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LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 

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FEB  I  0  2005 

THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


^ 


V   * 


LECTURES 


IN 


D  I  V  I  N  I  T  Y. 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 


1 


FEB  I  0  2005 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


LECTURES 


IN 


DIVINITY, 


BY  THE  LATF. 


/ 

GEORGE  HILL,  D.D. 

FBINCIPAL  OF  ST.  MARy's  COLLEGE,  ST.  ANDRE^VS. 


EDITED  FROM  HIS  MANI'SCRIPT, 

BY  HIS  SON, 
ALEXANDER  HILL,  D.D. 

MINISTER    OF    DAILLY. 


THIRD   EDITION. 
VOL.  1. 


EDINBURGH:    WAUGH    AND    INNES, 

AX1>   WHITTAKER,  TREACHER  &   CO.,   LONDOX. 


MDCCCXXXllL 


Edinburgh  :     Printed  by  A.  Balfoui  i  Co.  NuWry  Street. 


PREFACE 

BY    THE    EDITOR. 


The  Author  of  the  following  Lectures  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  177^?  ^^^  completed  the  plan 
which  he  had  formed  for  himself,  in  about  four  years. 
In  every  succeeding  year,  he  revised  with  unwearied 
care  that  part  of  his  course  which  he  intended  to  read  to 
his  students ;  and  not  a  few  of  the  Lectures  appear  to 
have  been  recently  transcribed.  He  took  no  steps  him- 
self for  publishing  them  as  a  whole ;  but  he  is  known 
to  have  had  this  in  contemplation  ;  and  at  his  death  he 
consigned  them  to  the  Editor,  in  such  terms  as  implied 
that  the  publication  of  them  would  not  be  in  opposition 
to  his  wishes. 

It  will  be  agreeable,  the  Editor  believes,  to  the  wishes 
of  that  large  proportion  of  the  ministers  of  the  church 
of  Scotland,  who  went  from  the  hall  of  St.  Mary's  Col- 
lege with  unfeigned  respect  for  die  character  and  talents 
of  the  Author,  to  peruse  those  prelections  which  com- 
manded the  attention  of  their  earlier  years.  And  he  is 
well  persuaded,  that  there  are  many,  who,  from  per- 
sonal attachment  to  the  Author,  or  from  a  knowledge  of 

VOL.  I.  b 


IV  PREFACE. 

his  high  reputation,  are  anxious  to  become  acquainted 
with  his  sentiments,  on  points  so  important  as  those 
which  his  Lectures  embrace. 

These  considerations  alone,  however,  would  not  have 
induced  the  Editor  to  disclose  his  father's  manuscripts 
to  the  public  eye.  In  the  conclusion  of  his  opening 
address,  as  Professor  of  Divinity,  the  Author  pledged 
himself  by  making  this  solemn  declaration  :  "  Under 
the  blessing  and  direction  of  the  Almighty,  in  whose 
hands  I  am,  and  to  whom  I  thust  give  account,  no  in- 
dustry or  research,  no  expense  of  time  or  of  thought, 
shall  be  wanting  on  my  part,  to  render  my  labours  truly 
useful  to  the  students  of  divinity  in  this  college."  It 
was  under  a  strong  impression  that  this  pledge  has  been 
fully  redeemed  ;^'^in  the  firm  belief  that  the  publication 
of  his  theological  lectures,  one  of  the  principal  fruits  of 
the  Author's  active  and  laborious  life,  will  do 'honour  to 
his  memory  ;-^and  in  the  anxious  hope  that  the  object, 
for  which  the  Lectures  were  written,  to  teach  and  to  de- 
fend "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,*"  m^y  be  thus  more 
largely  attained,  that  the  Editor  resolved  to  present 
them  to  the  world. 

He  cannot  withdraw  from  the  charge,  which  he  has 
felt  it  both  a  duty  and  a  pleasure  to  fulfil,  without  ex- 
pressing the  increased  veneration,  which  an  attentive 
perusal  of  the  Lectures  has  excited  in  his  bosom  for  the 
Author  ;  and  without  offering  a  fervent  prayer  to  God, 
that  the  church,  of  which  he  formed  so  distinguished  a 
member,  may  never  want  men,  on  whom  the  example 


PREFACE. 


of  his  diligence  and  success  may  freely  operate,  who  may 
be  equally  eminent  in  biblical  and  theological  learning, 
and  may  cherish  his  liberal,  enlightened,  and  truly 
Christian  views. 

The  Author  himself  divided  his  course  into  Books, 
and  Chapters,  and  Sections,  first  when  he  printed  the 
heads  of  his  Lectures  for  the  use  of  his  students,  and 
afterwards  in  a  larger  work,  entitled  "  Theological  In- 
stitutes.""    In  the  present  publication  the  same  arrange- 
ment has  been  adopted.     This  has  necessarily  led  to 
some  inconsiderable  changes  on  the  Lectures,  as  they 
were  read  from  the  chair.     But  the  Editor  has  been 
scrupulous  in  making  as  few  other  alterations  on  the 
manuscript  as  possible.     The  introductory  discourse  to 
the  students,  which  related  to  the  sentiments  and  cha- 
racter essential  for  them  to  maintain,  has  been  much 
abridged,  as  it  bore  in  some  measure  upon  local  circum- 
stances in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews.    And  towards 
the  end  of  this  work,  it  will  be  found,  by  a  reference  to' 
the  notes,  that  those  parts  of  the  course  have  been  omit- 
ted, which  the  Author  himself  had  previously  given  to 
the  public. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  Editor  to  subjoin  a  note  of 
reference  to  every  quotation  made  by  the  Author.  But 
in  the  manuscript  it  frequently  happened  that  there  was 
nothing  to  lead  him  particularly  to  the  passage  or  au- 
thority cited.  In  his  remote  situation  he  had  not  access 
to  all  the  books  which  it  was  necessary  to  consult ;  and 
even  with  the  assistance  of  his  friends,  he  has  not  been 


VI  PREFACE. 


uniformly  successful  in  comparing  the  quotations  with 
the  works  from  which  they  are  extracted. 

He  has  annexed  to  different  chapters  the  names  of 
the  books  which  the  Author  was  accustomed  to  recom- 
mend to  his  students,  with  some  of  the  comments  which 
he  made  on  them.  His  remarks,  however,  were  usually 
delivered  without  having  been  written  ;  and  hence,  com- 
paratively few  are  preserved. 

It  may  be  thought,  that  the  printed  list  of  books 
recommended  is  far  from  being  complete.  But  it  is 
to  be  considered,  that,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Author's  labours,  the  library  of  St.  Andrews  was  defi- 
cient in  modern  theological  works  ;  that  those  which 
were  more  immediately  useful  were  only  gradually  pro- 
cured ;  that  it  was  far  from  being  his  object  to  load  the 
memory,  or  to  distract  the  attention  of  his  students  by 
multifarious  reading  ;  and  that,  as  the  business  of  his 
profession  occupied  his  mind  to  the  end  of  his  days,  it 
is  probable  that  there  was  no  publication  of  moment, 
which  he  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing,  of  which  he 
did  not  in  his  class-room  deliver  an  opinion. 


Manse  of  Dailly, 
April  2S,  1821. 


PREFACE 
TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


It  was  in  contemplation  to  present  the  following  course 
of  Lectures  complete,  by  subjoining  to  this  edition  the 
View  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and 
the  Counsels  respecting  the  Duties  of  the  Pastoral  Office, 
which  were  published  during  the  Author's  lifetime.  But 
being  unwilling  to  make  alterations  on  a  work  which  has 
been  so  favourably  received,  the  Editor  sends  it  forth  in 
the  state  in  which  it  originally  appeared,  only  freed,  he 
trusts,  from  many  of  the  errata  which  had  crept  into  the 
first  edition.  Such  readers,  as  may  wish  to  peruse  those 
parts  of  the  course  which  are  not  contained  in  this  work, 
will  find  a  note  referring  to  them  at  the  end  of  the  Lec- 
tures. 


Manse  of  Dailly, 
April  21,1825. 


PREFACE 
TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


The  established  character  of  Principal  HilFs  Theolo- 
gical Lectures,  and  the  gratifying  testimonies  which 
have  been  borne  to  their  value,  not  in  the  Scottish 
church  alone,  but  also  by  distinguished  men  in  other 
portions  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  have  induced  the 
Editor  to  present  them  again,  unchanged  as  to  the  matter 
of  which  they  treat. 

The  form  in  which  they  now  appear  has  been  adopted 
with  the  view  of  making  them  more  generally  accessible 
than  they  were,  and  of  suiting  the  convenience,  in  par- 
ticular, of  Students  of  Divinity.  To  them,  and  to 
readers  of  every  description,  the  Index,  which  is  sub- 
joined to  this  Edition,  will  probably  be  useful. 

April,  1833. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


BOOK  I. 


EVIDENCES  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN   RELIGIOX- 


Page 
INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE,  1 

Belief  of  a  Deity  founded  on  the  constitution  of  the  Human 
Mind — Almost  universal — Moral  government  of  God  traced 
in  the  constitution  of  Human  Nature,  and  the  state  of  the 
world — Brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel. 


CHAP.  I. 

COLLATERAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY  FROM  HISTORY,        .  14 

CHAP.  II. 

AUTHENTICITY  AND  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW 

TESTAMENT,  .  .  .  •  .  17 

Sect.  1-  External  Evidence  of  their  authenticity  full  and  va- 
rious— Internal  marks. 
2.  Various  readings— Sources  of  correction. 


Xll  CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  III. 


Page 
INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  .  26 

Manner  in  which  the  claim  of  containing  a  divine  revelation  is 
advanced  in  the  New  Testament — Contents  of  the  Books — 
System  of  religion  and  morality — Condition  of  the  sacred 
writers — Character  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  the  Apostles. 


CHAP.  IV. 

DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY — MIRACLES,     39 

Sect.  1.  Argument  from  the  miracles  of  Jesus — Uniformity  of 
the  course  of  nature — Power  of  the  Almighty  to 
interpose. — Communication  of  this  power  a  striking 
mark  of  a  divine  commission. — Harmony  between 
the  internal  and  external  evidence  of  Christianity — 
Miracles  of  the  Gospel  illustrate  its  peculiar  doc- 
trines. 

2.  Mr.  Hume's  argument  against  miracles — Circumstan- 

ces which  render  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles  cre- 
dible—  Confirmation  of  their  testimony — Faith  of 
the  first  Christians — Manner  in  which  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  are  narrated— No  opposite  testimony. 

3.  How  far  the  argument  from  miracles  is  affected  by  the 

prodigies  and  miracles  mentioned  in  history — Dura- 
tion of  miraculous  gifts  in  the  Christian  church. 

CHAP.  V. 

ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  78 

John  xi.  Exhibition  of  character — The  historian — The  other 
Apostles — The  family  of  Lazarus — Our  Lord — Resurrec- 
tion of  Lazarus — Effects  produced  by  the  miracle. 

«  CHAP.  VJ. 

EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY — PROPHECY,        103 

Sect.  1.  Antiquity  and  integrity  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 


CONTENTS.  XIU 

Page 
tameiit — Hope  of  the  Messiah  founded  on  the  re- 
ceived interpretation  of  the  prophecies. 
■2-   Correspondenae  between  the  circumstances  of  Jesus, 
and  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  Direct  prophecies  of  the  Messiah — Double  sense  of 

prophecy — Not  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  pro- 
phecy— Supported  by  the  general  use  of  language. 

4.  Quotations  in  the  New  Testament  from  the  Old  Tes- 

tament. 

5.  Amount  of  the  argument  from  prophecy. 

CHAP.  VII. 

PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS,  .  1.36 

Magnificence  and  extent  of  the  system  of  prophecy — Jesus  the 
object  of  the  old  prophecies,  and  the  author  of  new  ones — 
Advantages  of  attending  to  the  prophecies  of  our  Lord  and 
his  Apostles — Clearness  and  importance  of  his  predictions 
— Specimens. 

CHAP.  VIIL 

RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST,  .  .  180 

Resurrection  of  Christ  an  essential  fact  in  the  history  of  his  re- 
ligion— Evidence  upon  which  it  rests— Evidence  of  it  in 
these  later  ages — Universal  belief  of  the  fact — Clear  testi- 
mony of  the  Apostles — Their  extraordinary  powers. 

CHAP.  IX. 

PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  .  193 

Sect.  ] .  When  the  success  of  a  religious  system  forms  a  legi- 
mate  argument  for  its  di\dne  original — Progress  of 
Mahometanism  and  Christianity  compared. 

2.  Secondary  causes  of  the  progress  of  Christianity  as- 

signed by  Mr.  Gibbon  considered. 

3.  Rank  and  character  of  some  of  the  early  Converts  to 

Christianity. 

4.  Measure  of  the  effect  produced  by  the  means  em- 

ployed   in    propagating    the    Gospel — Objections 
drawn  from  it — Answers. 


XIV  coyTKJrra. 

BOOK  II 

GENERAL  VnEW  OP  THE  sCRIFirRE  SYsTEM- 

CHAP.    L 

Page 
rWPIRlTlO!*  OP  SCRinLUE,  iiS 

In^piiadoa  not  impoasible — Three  de^ree^  of  it — Necessary 
to  |]ie  Aposdes  for  the  purposes  of  their  nuasioij — Promised 
by  oar  Lord — Claimed  by  themselves — Admitted  by  their 
disciples — Not  contradicted  by  any  thing  in  their  writing-s. 

CHAP.  11. 

PECXXIAR  DOCTRiyES  OP  CHKBTIASITT,  251 

CHAP.  Ill 

CHRISTUMTT  OF  IMIMTE  IMP0RT.4SCE,  275 


Sect.  1.   TTie  Gospel  a  republication  of  Natural   Religio 
Mistakes  occasioned  by  the  use  of  this  tenri. 
2,    The  Grospel  a  method  of  saving  sinners — Duties  con- 
sequent upon  the  revelation  of  this  method. 

CHAP.  IV. 

DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  8CRIPTLRE  SYSTEM,  296 

Difficulties  to  be  expected — Extent  of  our  knowledge. 

CHAP.  V. 

LSE  OF  REASOX  IN  RELIGION,  .  :V)4 

CHAP.  VI. 

CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM,     314 

Multiplicity  of  Theological  Controversies — Platonic  and  Pe- 
ripatetic Philosophy — Progress  of  Science — Authority  of 
the  Fathers. 


CONTEXTS.  XV 

CHAP.   VIL 

ARUAneeaiEiT  of  the  course,  %6 

The  Gospel  a  remedy  for  anoen — All  opinions  respecting  it 
relate  to  the  Persons  by  whom  the  remedy  is  brought,  or 
to  the  nature,  extent,  and  application  of  the  remedy — 
Church  government. 


BOOK  III. 

OPINIONS    CONCEBNIXG  THE  SON,    THE  SPIRIT,    AND  THE 
MANNER  OF  THEIR  BEING  UNITED  WITH  THE  FATHER. 

CHAP.  I. 
OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  PERSON  OF  THE  SON.  :3;36 

Three  ajrstems — Socinians^Arians— Council  of  Nice. 

CHAP   n. 

SDfPLEST  OPCnOH  COWCERNI!«G  THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST,      .^7 

Christ  truly  a  llan — Not  the  whole  doctrine  of  Scripture 
respectii^  him. 

CHAP.  IIL 

PRE-EXI3TENCE  OF  JE8L5,  .  350 

Explicit  declarations  of  Smptnre — Soctnian  solution. 

CHAP    IV. 

ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESCS  IN  HIS  PRE-EX15TENT  STATE — 

CREATION,  .  365 

Sxcr.  1.  J»hn  i.  1—18. 
2.   Colos.  L  15 — 18. 


XVI  CONTENTS. 


Page 


,3.  Heb.  i. 

4.  Amount  of  the  proposition,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Creator  of  the  World. 


CHAP.  V. 

ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS  IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE, — 

ADMINISTRATION  OF  PROVIDENCE,  .  408 

Sect.  1.  All  the  divine  appearances  recorded  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, referred  to  one  Person,  called  Angel  and 
God. 

2.  Christ  the  Jehovah,  who  appeared  to  the  Patriarchs, 

was  worshipped  in  the  Temple,  and  announced  as 
the  author  of  a  new  dispensation, 

3.  Objections  to  the  preceding  proposition — Different 

opinions  as  to  the  amount  of  it. 

CHAP.  VI. 

DOCTKINE  CONCERNING  THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST  TAUGHT 

DURING  HIS  LIFE,  447 

Reserve  with  which  he  revealed  his  dignity — Circumstances 
attending  his  Birth — Voice  at  his  Baptism — Manner  in 
which  he  spoke  of  the  connexion  between  the  Father  and 
him — Omniscience — Miracles. 


CHAP.  vn. 

DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD,  462 

Sect.  1.  Jesus  called  God — Circumstances  which  intimate  that 
the  name  is  applied  to  Jesus  in  the  highest  sense. 

2.  Essential  attributes  of  Deity  ascribed  to  Jesus. 

3.  Worship  represented  as  due  to  Jesus — Supreme  and 

inferior  worship  of  the  Arians — Socmian  explana- 
tion of  passages  in  which  worship  is  given  to  Jesus. 

CHAP.  VHI. 

UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST,  .  496 

Passages  which  present  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  Christ 
together— opinions  as  to  the  manner  of  their  union — Gnos- 


CONTENTS.  XVll 

Page 
tics— ApoUinaris— Nestorius — Eutyches — Monophysites 
^Monothelites — Miraculous  conception —  Hypostatical 
union  the  key  to  a  great  part  of  the  phraseology  of  Scrip- 
ture— That  which  qualifies  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  Saviour 
of  the  world. 

CHAP.  IX. 

OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT,  .  520 

Form  of  Baptism — Instruction  connected  with  the  administra- 
tion of  Baptism — Catechumens — First  Christians  worship- 
ped the  Holy  Ghost — Gnostics — Macedonius — Socinus — 
Personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost — His  divinity. 

CHAP.  X. 

DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY,  .  533 

Sect.  1.  Unity  of  God,  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament. 

•2.  Three  systems  of  the  Trinity — Sabellian — Arian,  and 
Semi-Arian — Catholic. 

.3.  Principles  by  which  the  Catholic  System  repels  the 
charge  of  Tritheism. 

4.  Dr.  Clarke's  system — Amount  of  our  knowledge  re. 
specting  the  Trinity — Inferences. 


LECTURES  IN  DIVINITY. 


BOOK  I. 

EVIDENCES  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION. 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE. 

The  professed  design  of  students  in  divinity  is  to  prepare 
for  a  most  honourable  and  important  office,  for  being  work- 
ers togetlier  with  God  in  that  great  and  benevolent  scheme, 
by  which  he  is  restoring  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  his 
intelligent  offspring,  and  for  holding,  with  credit  to  them- 
selves and  with  advantage  to  the  public,  that  station  in 
society,  by  the  establishment  of  which  the  wisdom  of  the 
state  lends  its  aid  to  render  the  la'jours  of  the  servants  of 
Christ  respectable  and  useful.     Learning,  prudence,  and 
eloquence  never  can  be  so  worthily  employed  as  when  they 
are  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  mankind  :  and  a  good 
man  will  find  no  exertion  of  his  talents  so  pleasing  as  tliat 
by  which  he  endeavours  to  make  other  men  such  as  they 
ought  to  be.     We  expect  the  breast  of  every  student  of 
divinity  to  be  possessed  with  these  views.     If  any  person 
is  devoid  of  them,  if  he  despises  the  office  of  a  minister  of 
the  gospel,  if  tlie  character  of  his  mind  is  such  as  to  derive 
no  satisfaction  from  the  employments  of  that  office,  or  from 
the  object  towards  which  they  are  directed,  he  ought  to 

B 


2  INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE.    . 

turn  his  attention  to  some  other  pursuit.  He  catinot  ex- 
pect to  attain  eminence  or  to  enjoy  comfort  in  a  station, 
tor  which  he  carries  about  with  him  an  inward  disqualifi- 
cation ;  and  there  is  an  hypocrisy  most  disgraceful  and 
most  hurtful  to  his  moral  character  in  all  the  external  ap* 
pearances  of  preparing  for  that  station. 

In  attempting  to  lead  you  through  that  course  of  study 
which  is  immediately  connected  with  your  profession,  I 
begin  with  Avhat  is  called  the  Deistical  Controversy,  that 
is,  with  a  view  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  of 
the  various  cjuestions  which  have  arisen  in  canvassing  the 
branches  of  which  they  are  composed. 

I  assume,  as  the  ground-work  of  every  religious  system, 
these  two  great  doctrines,  that  "  God  is,  and  that  He  is  a 
rewarder  of  them  that  seek  him."*  When  I  say  that  I 
assume  them,  I  do  not  mean  that  human  reason  unassisted 
by  revelation  was  ever  able  to  demonstrate  these  doctrines 
in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  every  understanding.  But  I 
mean  that  these  doctrines  are  agreeable  to  the  natural  im- 
pressions of  the  human  mind,  and  that  any  religious  system, 
Avhich  purifies  them  from  the  manifold  errors  Avith  which 
they  have  been  incorporated,  corresponds,  in  that  respect, 
to  the  clear  deductions  of  enlightened  reason. 

It  IS  not  my  province  to  enter  into  any  detail  upon  the 
proofs  of  these  two  doctrines  of  natural  religion  ;  and  I  am 
afraid  to  engage  in  discussions  which  have  been  conduct- 
ed with  much  erudition  and  metaphysical  acuteness,  lest  I 
should  be  enticed  to  employ  too  large  a  portion  of  your 
time  in  reviewing  them.  Leaving  you  to  avail  yourselves 
of  the  copious  sources  of  information  which  writers  upon 
this  subject  afford,  I  will  not  enumerate,  far  less  attempt 
to  appreciate,  the  different  modes  of  reasoning  which  have 
been  adopted  in  proof  of  the  being  of  God,  and  of  his  moral 
government.  But,  having  assumed  these  doctrines,  I  think 
it  proper  to  give,  by  way  of  introduction  to  my  course,  a 
short  view  of  the  manner  in  which  it  appears  to  me  that 
they  may  be  established  as  the  ground-work  of  all  religion. 

When  we  say  that  there  is  a  God,  we  mean  that  the 
nniverse  is  the  work  of  an  intelligent  Being ;  that  is,  from 
the  things  which  we  behold,  we  infer  the  existence  of  what 

*  Hebrews  xi.  6» 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE.  O 

is  not  the  object  of  our  senses.  To  show  that  the  inference 
is  legitimate,  we  must  be  able  to  state  the  principles  upon 
which  it  proceeds,  or  the  steps  of  that  process  by  which  the 
mind  advances,  from  the  contemplation  of  the  objects  with 
which  it  is  conversant,  to  the  conviction  of  the  existence  of 
their  Creator,  Tliese  principles  are  found  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  human  mind,  in  sentiments  and  perceptions 
which  are  natural  and  ultimate,  which  are  manifested  by 
all  men  upon  various  occasions,  and  which  are  onlyfoUowed 
out  to  their  proper  conclusion  when  they  conduct  us  to  the 
knowledge  of  God.  One  of  these  sentiments  and  percep- 
tions appears  in  the  spirit  of  inquiry  and  investigation 
which  universally  prevails  ;  another  is  invariably  excited 
by  the  contemplation  of  order,  beauty,  and  design. 

A  spirit  of  inquiry  and  investigation  has  larger  oppor- 
tunities of  exertion,  it  is  better  directed,  and  is  applied  to 
nobler  objects,  with  some  than  Avith  others.     But,  to  a  cer- 
tain degree,  it  is  common  to  all  men,  and  traces  of  it  are 
found  amongst  all  ranks.     Now  you  will  observe  that  this 
spirit  of  inquiry  is  an  effort  to  discover  the  caVise  of  what 
we  behold.     And  it  proceeds  upon  this  natural  perception, 
that  every  new  event,  every  thing  which  we  see  coming 
into  existence,  every  alteration  in  any  being,  is  an  effect. 
Without  hesitation  we  conclude  that  it  has  been  produced, 
and  we  are  solicitous  to  discover  the  cause  of  it.     We  be- 
gin our  inquiries  with  eagerness  ;  we  pursue  them  as  far  as 
we  have  light  to  carry  us  ;  and  we  do  not  rest  satisfied  till 
we  arrive  at  something  which  renders  farther  inquiries  un- 
necessary. This  persevering  spirit  of  inquiry,  which  is  daily 
exerted  about  trifles,  finds  the  noblest  subject  of  exertion 
in  the  continual  changes  which  Ave  behold  upon  the  ajjpear- 
ances  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  upon  the  state  of  the  atmos- 
phere, upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  in  those  hidden 
regions  Avhich  the  progress  of  art  leads  man  to  explore. 
To  every  attentive  and  intelligent  observer,  these  continual 
changes  present  the  Avhole  universe  as  an  effect ;  and,  in 
contemplating  the  succession  of  them,  he  is  led,  as  by  the 
hand  of  nature,  through  a  chain  of  subordinate  and  de- 
pendent causes  to  that  great  original  cause  from  Avhom  the 
universe  derived  its  being,  upon  Avhose  operation  depend 
all  the  changes  of  Avhich  it  is  susceptible,  and  by  Avhose  un- 
controlled agency  all  events  are  directed. 


4  INTr.ODUCTOKY  DISCOURSE. 

Even  without  forming  any  extensive  observations  iipoft 
the  train  of  natural  events,  we  are  led  by  the  same  spirit 
of  inquiry,  from  eonsidering  our  own  species,  to  the  know- 
l(!(lg(!  of  our  Creator.  Every  man  knows  that  he  had  a 
beginning,  and  that  he  derived  his  being  from  a  succession 
(if  creatures  like;  hims<'lf.  However  far  hack  he  suj)j)0ses 
this  succession  to  be  carried,  it  does  not  afl'ord  a  satisfying 
account  of  the  cause  of  his  existence.  By  the  same  prin- 
ciph;  which  directs  him  in  every  other  research,  he  is  still 
led  to  seek  for  some  original  Being,  who  has  been  produced 
by  none,  and  is  himself  the  Father  of  all.  As  every  man 
knows  that  he  came  into  existence,  so  he  has  the  strongest 
reason  to  believe  that  the  whole  race  to  which  he  belongs 
had  a  bcgiiming.  A  tradition  has  in  all  ages  been  pre- 
served of  the  origin  of  the  human  race.  Many  nations 
have  boasted  of  antiquity.  None  hav(!  })retei!dcd  to  eter- 
nity. All  that  tlieir  records  -contain  beyond  a  (-ertain  pe- 
riod is  fal)ulous  or  doubtful.  In  looking  back  upon  the 
history  of  mankind,  \vv.  find  them  increasing  in  number?, 
acquiring  a  taste  for  the  ornaments  of  life,  and  improving 
in  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences;  so  that  unless  we  adopt 
without  proof  and  against  all  probability  the  supposition  of 
successive  deluges  which  drown  in  ol)Iivi()n  all  the  attain- 
ments of  civilized  nations,  and  sj)are  only  a  fl'W  savage  in- 
habitants to  propagate  the  race,  we  find  in  the  state  of 
mankind  all  the  marks  of  novelty  which  it  must  have;  borne, 
had  it  begun  to  be  some  few  thousand  years  ago.  But  if 
th(!  human  race  had  a  beginning,  we  unavoidably  regard 
it  as  an  effect  of  which  we  re(juire  some  original  cause  ; 
and  to  the  same  cause  from  which  it  derived  existence  we 
must  also  trace  tlu;  (pudities  by  which  the  race  is  distin- 
guished. The  Being  who  gave  it  existence  must  be  capa- 
l)le  of  imparting  to  it  these  (pialities,  that  is,  nnist  ])ossess 
them  in  a  nnich  higher  degree.  "  lie'  that  planted  the 
ear,  shall  he  not  hear?  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he 
not  see  ?  He  that  teacheth  man  knowledge,  shall  not  Ik; 
know?"'*  Thus,  from  the  intelligence  of  men,  Ave  neces- 
sarily infer  that  of  their  Creator;  while  the;  number  of  in- 
telligent beings  with  whom  we  converse  cannot  fail  to  give 
us  the  nobh  st  idea  fif  that  original  primary  intelligence 
from  \\!iich  theirs  is  derived. 

♦  Psal.  xclv.  9,  10. 
6 


lNTUOI>rCTORY   DISCOUHSE.  5 

While  tlic  sjiirit  of  inquiry,  which  is  natural  to  man,  thus 
loads  us  ti"oiu  tlu'  consciousness  of  our  own  existence  to 
acknowledge  the  existence  of  one  su})renu'  intelli'::ent  Bi- 
injf,  the  Tather  of  Spirits,  we  are  conducted  to  the  sanu* 
conclusion  by  that  otIu>r  natural  jiorcc'ption  which  I  said 
is  invariably  excitetl  by  the  conti>nij)lation  of  order,  beau- 
ty, and  design. 

The  grandeur  and   beauty  of  external   objects  do   not 
seem  to  ailret  the  other  animals.     But  they  atlbrd  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  i)leasure  to  all  nun;  and  in  many  persons  a 
taste  for  them   is  so  far  cultivated   that  tlu>  ph^tusures  of 
imagination  constitute  a  large  source  of  refined  enjoynunf. 
When  grandeur  and  bi  auty  are  conjoined  as  they  sehU>m 
fail  to  be  with  utility,  thev  do  not  nu>relv  afford  us  idea- 
sure.     We  not  only  jierceive  tlu>  objects  which  we  behold, 
to  be  grand  and  beautiful  and  iiseful ;  but   we  perceive 
them   to  be   effects  produced    by  a   designing   cause.     In 
viewing  a  complicated  machine,   it   is  the  design  which 
strikes  us.     In  a;l:niriiig  the  object,  we  admire  the  miad 
that  ibrmed  it.     M'ithout  hesitation  we  conclude  that  it 
had  a  former;  and,  although  ignorant  of  every  other  cir- 
cumstance respecting  him,  we  know  this  mueli,  that  he  is 
possessed  of  intelligi'uce,  our  idea  of  which  rises  in  ]iro- 
portion  to  the  design  discovereil  in  tlu'  ci)nstruction  of  the 
machine.     By  this  principle,  which  is  prior  to  all  rc'hson- 
ing,  and  of  which  we  can  givi'  no  other  aceoutit  than  that 
it  is  part  of  tlie  constitution    of  the  human    mind,  we  are 
raised  from  the  admiration  of  natural  objects  to  a  know- 
It-dge  of  the  existence,  and  a  si'use  of  the   i)erfections  of 
llim  who  made  them. 

When  we  contemplate  the  works  of  nature,  distinguished 
from  those  of  art  by  their  superior  elegance,  splendour, 
and  utility  ;  when  we  behold  the  sun,  th(>  moon,  and  the 
stars,  pertbrming  their  offices  with  the  nu)st  ]>eriect  regu- 
larity, and,  although  renu>ved  at  an  innnensi'  distance  from 
us,  contributing  in  a  high  di-gree  to  our  ])reservation  aiul 
condbrt ;  when  we  view  t'.iis  earth  fitted  as  a  convenient 
habitation  for  man,  adorned  with  numberless  beauties,  and 
.provided  not  only  with  a  supj)ly  of  our  wants,  but  with 
«A-erv  thing  that  can  minister  to  our  pleasure  anil  t'uter- 
tHitunent;  when,  i-\teniling  our  i)bservation  to  the  various 
iuiiuials  tluit  inliabit  this  globe,  we  find  that  every  cre;i- 


6  INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE. 

ture  has  its  proper  food,  its  proper  habitation,  its  proper 
happiness ;  that  the  meanest  insect  as  well  as  the  noblest 
animal  has  the  several  pax'ts  of  its  body,  the  senses  be- 
stowed upon  it,  and  the  degree  of  perfection  in  which  it 
possesses  them,  adapted  with  the  nicest  proportion  to  its 
preservation  and  to  the  manner  of  life  which  by  natural 
instinct  it  is  led  to  pursue ;  when  we  thus  discover  within 
our  own  sphere,  numberless  traces  of  kind  and  wise  de- 
sign, and  when  Ave  learn,  both  by  experience  and  by  ob- 
servation, that  the  works  of  nature,  the  more  they  are 
investigated  and  known,  appear  the  more  clearly  to  be 
parts  of  one  great  consistent  whole,  we  are  necessarily  led 
by  the  constitution  of  our  mind  to  believe  the  being  of  a 
God.  Our  faith  does  not  stand  in  the  obscure  reasonings 
of  philosophers.  We  but  open  our  eyes,  and  discerning, 
wheresoever  we  turn  them,  the  traces  of  a  wise  Creator, 
we  see  and  acknowledge  his  hand.  The  most  superficial 
view  is  sufficient  to  impress  our  minds  with  a  sense  of  his 
existence.  The  closest  scrutiny,  by  enlarging  our  ac- 
quaintance with  the  innumerable  final  causes  that  are 
found  in  the  works  of  God,  strengthens  this  impression, 
and  confirms  our  first  conclusions.  The  more  that  we 
know  of  these  works,  we  are  the  more  sensible  that  in 
nature  there  is  not  only  an  exertion  of  power,  but  an  ad- 
justment of  means  to  an  end,  which  is  what  we  call  wis- 
dom ;  and  an  adjustment  of  means  to  the  end  of  distribut- 
ing happiness  to  all  the  creatures,  Avhich  is  the  highest 
conception  that  we  can  form  of  goodness. 

A  foundation  so  deeply  laid  in  the  constitution  of  the 
human  mind  for  the  belief  of  a  Deity  has  produced  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  his  being,  almost  universal.  The  idea 
of  God,  found  amongst  all  nations  civilized  in  the  smallest 
degree,  is  such  that  by  the  slightest  use  of  our  faculties 
we  must  acquire  it.  And  accordingly  the  few  nations 
who  are  said  to  have  no  notion  of  God  are  in  a  state  so 
barbarous  that  they  seem  to  have  lost  the  perceptions  and 
sentiments  of  men. 

The  Atheist  allows  it  to  be  necessary  that  something 
should  have  existed  of  itself  from  eternity.  But  he  is  ac- 
customed to  maintain  that  matter  in  motion  is  sufficient  to 
account  for  all  those  appearances,  from  which  we  infer  the 
being  of  God.     The  absurdities  of  this  hypothesis  have 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE.  / 

been  ably  exposed.  He  supposes  that  matter  is  self-ex- 
istent, although  it  has  marks  of  dependence  and  imperfec- 
tion inconsistent  with  that  attribute.  He  supposes  that 
matter  has  from  eternity  been  in  motion,  that  is,  that  mo- 
tion is  an  essential  quality  of  matter,  although  we  cannot 
conceive  of  motion  as  any  other  than  an  accidental  pro- 
perty of  matter,  impressed  by  some  cause,  and  determined 
in  its  direction  by  foreign  impulses.  Ho  supposes  that  all 
the  appeai'ances  of  uniformity  and  design  which  surround 
lura  can  proceed  from  ii-regular  undirected  movements. 
And  he  supposes,  lastly,  that  although  there  is  not  a  plant 
which  does  not  spring  from  its  seed,  or  an  insect  which 
is  not  propagated  by  its  kind,  yet  matter  in  motion  can 
produce  life  and  intelligence,  properties  repugnant  in  the 
highest  degree  to  all  the  known  properties  of  matter. 

I  do  not  say  that  it  is  possible  by  reasoning  to  demon- 
strate that  these  suppositions  are  false ;  and  I  do  not  know 
that  it  is  wise  to  make  the  attempt.  The  belief  of  the 
being  of  God  rests  upon  a  sure  foundation,  upon  the  foun- 
dation on  which  He  himself  has  rested  it,  if  all  the  suppo- 
sitions by  which  some  men  have  tried  to  set  it  aside  con- 
tradict the  natural  perceptions  of  the  human  mind.  These 
are  the  language  in  which  God  speaks  to  his  creatures,  a 
language  which  is  heard  through  all  the  earth ;  and  the 
words  of  which  are  understood  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
By  listening  to  that  language  we  learn,  from  the  various 
yet  uniform  phenomena  of  natui'e,  that  there  is  a  wise 
Creator :  we  are  taught,  by  the  imperfection  and  depend- 
ence of  the  soul,  that  it  owes  its  being  to  some  original 
cause  ;  and  in  its  extensive  faculties,  its  liberty,  and  power 
of  self-motion,  we  discern  that  cause  to  be  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  matter.  The  voice  of  nature  thus  proclaims 
to  the  children  of  men  the  existence  of  one  supreme  intel- 
ligent Being,  and  calls  them  with  reverence  to  adore  the 
Father  of  their  spirits. 

The  other  great  doctrine,  which  I  assume  as  the  ground- 
work of  every  i-eligious  system,  is  thus  expressed  by  the 
Apostle  to  the  Hebrews :  "  God  is  a  rewarder  of  them 
that  seek  Him  ;"  in  other  words,  the  government  of  God  is 
a  moral  government. 

We  are  here  confined  to  an  inconsiderable  spot  in  the 
creation,  and  we  are  permitted  to  behold  but  a  small  part 


c^  INTRODUCTORY  DISCOUTTSE. 

of  the  operations  of  Providence.  It  beeomes  us  therefore 
to' proceed  in  our  inquiries  concerning  the  Divine  Go- 
vernment Avith  much  humility  :  but  it  does  not  become  us 
to  desist.  Tlie  character  and  the  laws  of  that  government, 
under  which  we  acknowledge  that  we  live,  are  matters  to 
us  of  the  last  importance;  and  it  is  our  duty  thankfully  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  light  which  Ave  enjoy.  The  consti- 
tution of  human  nature  and  the  state  of  the  world  are  the 
only  two  subjects,  within  the  sphere  of  our  observations, 
from  which  unassisted  reason  can  discover  the  character 
of  the  divine  government. 

When  we  attend  to  the  constitution  of  human  nature, 
the  three  following  particulars  occur  as  traces  of  a  moral 
government. 

1.  The  distribution  of  pleasure  and  pain  in  the  mind  of 
man  is  a  moral  distribution.  Those  affections  and  that  con- 
duct which  Ave  denominate  virtuous  are  attended  with  im- 
mediate pleasure  ;  the  opposite  affections  and  conduct  with 
immediate  pain.  The  man  who  acts  under  the  influence  of 
benevolence,  gratitude,  a  regard  to  justice  and  truth,  is  in 
a  state  of  enjoyment.  The  heart  which  is  actuated  by  re- 
sentment or  malice  is  a  stranger  to  joy.  Here  is  a  striking 
fact  of  a  very  general  kind  furnishing  very  numerous 
specimens  of  a  moral  government. 

2.  There  is  a  faculty  in  the  human  mind  which  approves 
of  virtue,  and  condemns  vice.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that 
righteousness  is  prudent  because  it  is  attended  Avith  plea- 
sure ;  that  Avickedness  is  foolish  because  it  is  attended  Avith 
pain.  Conscience,  in  judging  of  them,  pronounces  the  one 
to  be  right,  and  tlie  other  to  be  Avrong.  The  righteous, 
supported  by  that  most  delightful  of  all  sentiments,  the 
sense  thart;  he  is  doing  his  duty,  proceeds  with  self-appro- 
bation, and  reflects  upon  his  conduct  Avith  complacence  ; 
the  Avicked  not  only  is  distracted  by  the  conflict  of  various 
wretched  passions,  but  acts  under  the  perpetual  conviction 
that  he  is  doing  Avhat  he  ought  not  to  do.  The  hurry  of 
business  or  the  tumult  of  passion  may,  for  a  season,  so  far 
drown  the  voice  of  conscience,  as  to  leave  him  at  liberty 
to  accomplish  his  purpose.  But  Avhen  his  mind  is  cool,  he 
perceives  that  in  foUoAving  blindly  the  impulse  of  appetite 
he  has  acted  beneath  the  dignity  of  his  reasonable  nature ; 
the  indulgence  of  malevolent  aliections  is  punished  by  the 


INTRODUCTORY   DISCOURSE.  9 

sentimeat  of  remorse  ;  and  he  despises  himself  for  every 
act  of  baseness. 

3.  Conscience,  anticipating  the  future  conse(juences  of 
human  actions,  forebodes  that  it  shall  be  well  with  the 
righteous,  and  ill  with  the  wicked.  The  righteous,  al- 
though naturally  modest  and  unassuming,  not  only  enjoys 
pi'esent  serenity,  but  looks  forward  with  good  hope.  Tlie 
prospect  of  future  ease  lightens  every  burden,  and  the 
view  of  distant  scenes  of  happiness  and  joy  holds  up  his 
head  in  the  time  of  adversity.  But  every  crime  is  accom- 
panied with  a  sense  of  deserved  punishment.  To  the  man 
who  has  disregarded  the  admonitions  of  conscience  she 
soon  begins  to  utter  her  dreadful  j^resages  ;  she  lays  open 
to  his  view  the  dismal  scenes  which  lie  beyond  every  un- 
lawful pursuit ;  and  sometimes  awaking  with  increased 
fury,  she  produces  horrors  that  constitute  a  degree  of 
wretchedness,  in  comparison  of  which  all  the  sufferings  of 
life  do  not  deserve  to  be  mentioned. 

The  constitution  of  human  nature  being  the  work  of 
God,  the  three  particulars  Avhich  have  been  mentioned  as 
parts  of  that  constitution  are  parts  of  his  government.  The 
pleasure  which  accompanies  one  set  of  aifections  and  the 
pain  which  accompanies  the  opposite,  afford  an  instance  in 
the  government  of  God  of  virtue  being  rewarded,  and  of  vice 
being  punished : — the  faculty  which  passes  sentence  upon 
human  actions  is  a  declaration  from  the  Author  of  our  na- 
ture of  tliat  conduct  which  is  agreeable  to  Him,  because  it 
is  a  rule  directing  his  creatures  to  pursue  a  certain  con- 
duct : — and  the  presentiment  of  the  future  consequences 
of  our  behaviour  is  a  declaration  from  the  Author  of  our 
nature  of  the  manner  in  which  his  government  is  to  pro- 
ceed with  regard  to  us.  The  hopes  and  fears  natural  to 
the  human  mind  are  the  language  in  which  God  foretells 
to  man  the  events  in  which  he  is  deeply  interested.  To 
suppose  that  the  Almighty  engages  his  creatures  in  a  cer- 
tain course  of  action  by  delusive  hopes  and  fears,  is  at 
once  absurd  and  impious  ;  and  if  we  think  worthily  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  we  cannot  entertain  a  doubt  that  He,  who 
by  the  constitution  of  human  nature  has  declared  his  love 
of  virtue  and  his  hatred  of  vice,  will  at  length  appear  the 
righteous  Governor  of  the  universe. 

I  mentioned  the  state  of  the  world  as  another  subject 


10  INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE. 

within  the  sphere  of  our  observation,  from  which  unassist- 
ed reason  may  discover  the  character  of  the  government 
of  God.  And  here  also  we  may  mark  three  traces  of  a 
moral  government. 

1.  It  occurs,  in  the  first  place,  to  consider  the  world  as 
the  situation  in  which  creatures,  having  the  constitution 
which  has  been  described,  are  placed.  Acting  in  the  pre- 
sence of  men,  that  is,  of  creatures  constituted  as  we  our- 
selves are,  and  feeling  a  connexion  with  them  in  all  the 
occupations  of  life,  we  experience,  in  the  sentiments  of 
those  around  us,  a  farther  reward  and  punishment  than 
that  which  arises  from  the  sense  of  our  own  minds.  The 
faculty  which  passes  sentence  upon  a  man's  own  actions, 
when  carried  forth  to  the  actions  of  others,  becomes  a  prin- 
ciple of  esteem  or  contempt.  The  sense  of  good  or  ill 
desert  becomes,  upon  the  review  of  the  conduct  of  others, 
applause  or  indignation.  When  it  referred  to  a  man's  own 
conduct,  it  pointed  only  at  what  was  future.  When  it  re- 
fers to  the  conduct  of  others,  it  becomes  an  active  prin- 
ciple, and  proceeds  in  some  measure  to  execute  the  rules 
which  it  pronounces  to  be  just. 

Hence  the  righteous  is  rewarded  by  the  sentiments  of 
his  fellow-creatures.  He  experiences  the  gratitude  of 
some,  the  friendship,  at  least  the  good-will  of  all.  The 
wicked,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  stranger  to  esteem,  and 
confidence,  and  love.  His  vices  expose  him  to  censure  ; 
his  deceit  renders  him  an  object  of  distrust ;  his  malice 
creates  him  enemies ;  according  to  the  kind  and  the  de- 
gree of  his  demerit,  contempt  or  hatred  or  indignation  is 
felt  by  every  one  who  kno\ys  his  character ;  and  even 
when  these  sentiments  do  not  lead  others  to  do  him  harm, 
they  weaken  or  extinguish  the  emotions  of  sympathy ;  so 
that  his  neighbours  do  not  rejoice  in  his  prosperity,  and 
hardly  weep  over  his  misfortunes. 

Thus  does  God  employ  the  general  sense  of  mankind  to 
encourage  and  reward  the  righteous,  to  correct  and  pu- 
nish the  wicked ;  and  tlius  has  he  constituted  men  in  some 
sort  the  keepers  of  their  brethren,  the  guardians  of  one 
another's  virtue.  The  natural  unperverted  sentiments  of 
the  human  mind  with  regard  to  character  and  conduct  are 
upon  the  side  of  virtue  and  against  vice ;  and  the  course 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE.  11 

of  the  world,  turning  in  a  great  measure  upon  these  senti- 
ments, indicates  a  moral  government. 

2.  A  second  trace  in  tlie  state  of  the  world,  of  the  mo- 
ral government  of  God,  is  the  civil  government  by  which 
society  subsists. 

Those  who  are  employed  in  the  administration  of  civil 
government  are  not  supposed  to  act  immediately  from  sen- 
timent. It  is  expected  that,  without  regard  to  their  own 
private  emotions,  they  shall  in  eveiy  case  proceed  accord- 
ing to  certain  known  and  established  laws.  But  these 
laws,  so  far  as  they  go,  are  in  general  consonant  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  human  mind,  and,  like  them,  are  favour- 
able to  the  cause  of  virtue.  The  happiness,  the  existence 
of  human  government  depends  upon  the  protection  and 
encouragement  which  it  affords  to  virtue,  and  the  punish- 
ment which  it  inflicts  upon  vice.  The  government  of  men, 
therefore,  in  its  best  and  happiest  form,  is  a  moral  govern- 
ment ;  and  being  a  part,  an  instrument  of  the  government 
of  God,  it  serves  to  intimate  to  us  the  rule  according  to 
which  his  Providence  operates  through  the  general  sys- 
tem. 

3.  Setting  aside  all  consideration  of  the  opinions  of  tlie 
instrumentality  of  man,  there  appear  in  the  world  evident 
traces  of  the  moral  government  of  God.  Many  of  the  con- 
sequences of  men's  behaviour  happen  without  the  inter- 
vention of  any  agent.  Of  this  kind  are  the  effects  which 
their  way  of  life  has  upon  their  health,  and  much  of  its  in- 
fluence upon  their  fortune  and  situation.  Effects  of  the 
same  nature  extend  to  communities  of  men.  They  derive 
strength  and  stability  from  the  truth,  moderation,  temper- 
ance, and  public  spirit  of  the  members ;  whereas  idleness, 
luxury,  and  turbulence,  while  they  ruin  the  private  for- 
tunes of  many  individuals,  are  hurtful  to  the  community  ; 
and  the  general  depravity  of  the  members  is  the  disease 
and  weakness  of  the  state. 

These  effects  do  not  arise  from  any  civil  institution. 
They  are  not  a  part  of  the  political  regulations  which  are 
made  with  different  degrees  of  wisdom  in  different  states  ; 
but  they  may  be  observed  in  all  countries.  They  are 
part  of  what  we  commonly  call  the  course  of  nature  ;  that 
is,  they  are  rewards  and  punishments  ordained  by  tlie  Lord 
of  nature,  not  affected  by  the  caprice  of  his  subjects,  and 


12 


INTRODUCTORY  DISG0UE3E. 


flowing  immediately  from  the  conduct  of  men.  There 
arise,  indeed,  from  the  present  situation  of  human  affairs, 
many  obstructions  to  the  full  operation  of  these  rewards 
and  punislnnents.  Yet  the  degree  in  which  they  actually 
take  place  is  sufficient  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
government  of  God.  In  those  cases  where  we  are  able  to 
trace  the  causes  which  prevent  the  exact  distribution  of 
good  and  evil,  we  perceive  that  the  very  hindrances  are 
wisely  adapted  to  a  present  state.  Even  where  we  do  not 
discern  the  reasons  of  their  existence,  we  clearly  perceive 
that  these  hindrances  are  accidental;  that  vii-tue,  benign 
and  salutary  in  its  influences,  tends  to  produce  happiness, 
pure  and  unmixed  ;  that  vice,  in  its  nature  mischievous, 
tends  to  confusion  and  misery ;  and  we  cannot  avoid  con- 
sidering these  tendencies  as  the  voice  of  Him  who  hath 
established  the  order  of  nature,  declaring  to  those  who  ob- 
serve and  understand  them,  the  future  condition'  of  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked. 

And  thus  in  the  world  we  behold,  upon  every  hand  of 
US,  openings  of  a  kingdom  of  righteousness  corresponding 
to  what  we  formerly  traced  in  the  constitution  of  human - 
nature.  By  that  constitution,  while  reward  is  j^rovided 
for  virtue,  and  punishment  for  vice,  there  arise  in  our 
breasts  the  forebodings  of  a  higher  I'eward  and  a  higher 
punishment.  So  in  the  world,  Avhile  there  are  manifokl 
instances  of  a  righteous  distribution  of  good  and  evil,  there 
is  a  tendency  towards  the  completion  of  a  scheme  which 
is  here  but  begun. 

This  view  of  the  government  of  God,  which  we  'have 
collected  from  the  constitution  of  human  nature  and  the 
state  of  the  world,  is  brought  to  light  by  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ.  The  language  of  God  in  his  works  leads  us 
to  his  word  in  the  gospel.  All  our  disquisitions  concern- 
ing the  nature  of  his  government  only  prepare  us  for  re- 
ceiving those  gracious  discoveries,  which,  confirming  every 
conclusion  of  right  reason,  resolvirtg  every  doubt,  and  en- 
larging the  imperfect  views  which  belong  to  this  the  be- 
ginning of  our  existence,  bring  us  perfect  assurance  that, 
in  the  course  of  divine  government,  unlimited  in  extent,  in 
duration,  and  in  power,  every  hindrance  shall  be  removed, 
the  natural  consequences  of  action  shall  be  allowed  to 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE.  13 

operate,  virtue  shall  be  happy,  and  vice  shall  be  mise- 
rable. 

Abernetlij'  on  tlie  Attributes. 

Ciidworth's  Intellectual  System  •  a  magazine  of  learning,  where  all 
the  different  schemes  of  Atheism  are  combated  with  profound 
erudition  and  close  argument. 

Boyle's  Lectures  ;  a  collection  of  the  ablest  defences  of  the  great 
truths  of  religion  that  are  to  be  found  in  any  language-  Haying 
been  composed  in  a  long  succession  of  years,  by  men  of  different 
talents  and  pursuits,  they  furnish  an  abundant  specimen  of  all  the 
variety  of  argument  that  has  ever  been  adduced  upon  the  subjects 
of  which  they  treat. 

Butler's  Analogy,  the  first  chapters  of  which  should  be  particularly 
studied  in  relation  to  the  subjects  of  this  discourse. 

Essays  on  INIorality  and  Natural  Religion,  by  Henry  Home,  Lord 
Kaimes. 

Paley's  Natural  Theology,  the  1-ast,  and  perhaps  the  most  elaborate 
work  of  this  author.  He  had  here  his  pioneers  as  well  as  his  fore- 
runners. But  his  inimitable  skill  in  arranging  and  condensing  his 
matter,  his  peculiar  turn  for  what  may  be  called  "  animal  mecha- 
nics," the  aptness  and  the  wit  of  his  illustrations,  and  occasion- 
ally the  warmth  and  the  solemnity  of  his  devotion,  which,  by  a  happy 
and  becoming  process,  was  rendered  more  animated  as  he  drew 
nearer  to  the  close  of  life,  stamp  on  this  work  a  character  more 
valuable  than  originality. 


14}  COLLATERAL  EVIBENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 


CHAP.  I. 


COLLATERAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY  FR03I 
HISTORY. 

The  ground-work,  which  I  suppose  to  be  laid  in  an  in- 
quiry into  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  is  a  belief  of 
the  two   great  doctrines  of  natural  religion,  that  God  is, 
and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  seek  him.     You 
consider  man  as  led  by  the  principles  of  his  nature,  to  be- 
lieve that  the  universe  is  the  work  of  an  intelligent  Being, 
althouj^h  wandering  very  much  in  his  apprehensions  of 
that  Being  ;  you  consider  him  as  feeling  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Creator  of  the  world  is  a  righteous  govern- 
ment,  although  conscious  that  he  often  transgresses  the 
law  of  his  Maker,  and  very  uncertain  as  to  the   method 
in  which  the  sanctions  of  that  law  are  to  operate  with  re- 
gard to  him ;  and  you  propose  to  examine  whether  to  man, 
in  these  circumstances,  there  was  given  an  extraordinary 
revelation  by  the  preaching  of  the  Son  of  God,  or  Avhether 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  were  men  who  spoke  and 
Avrote  according  to  their  own  measure  of  knowledge,  and 
who,  when  they  called  themselves  the  messengers  of  God, 
assumed  a  character  which  did  not  belong  to  them.     It  is 
manifest  at  first  sight,  that  such  a  revelation  is  extremely 
desirable  to  man  ;  and  a  closer  investigation  of  the  sub- 
ject may  show  it  to  be  desirable  in  such  a  degree,  so  ne- 
cessary to  the  comfort  and  improvement  of  man,  as  to 
create  a  presumption  in  favour  of  the  proofs  that  the  Fa- 
ther of  the  human  race  has  been  pleased  to  grant  it.     But 
the  necessity  of  the  revelation  is  a  subject  upon  which,  in 
my  opinion,  it  is  better  not  to  enter  at  the  outset ;  because, 
if  the  proofs  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  be  defective,  the 
presumption  arising  from  this  necessity  will  not  be  suffi- 
cient to  help  them  out ;  and  if  they  be  clear  and  coiiclu- 


FROM  HISTORY.  15 

sive,  the  necessity  of  revelation  will  be  more  manifest  after 
you  proceed  to  examine  its  nature  and  effects. 

The  truth  of  Christianity  turns  upon  a  question  of  ftict, 
which,  like  every  other  question  of  the  same  kind,  ought 
to  lie  judged  of  calmly  and  impartially — not  by  the  wishes 
which  it  may  be  natural  to  form  on  the  subject,  but  by  tin; 
evidence  which  is  adduced  in  support  of  tlie  fact.  \Vc  al- 
low the  great  body  of  the  people  to  retain  all  the  early 
prejudices  which  they  happily  accpxire  on  the  side  of 
Christianity.  We  allow  its  full  weight  to  every  conside- 
ration which  is  level  to  their  capacity,  and  which  corre- 
sponds to  their  habits ;  because,  what  Ave  wish  to  impress 
upon  them  is  a  practical  belief  of  the  truth  of  religion ; 
and  this  practical  belief  may  be  sufficient  to  direct  their 
conduct  and  to  establish  their  hope,  although  it  be  not 
grounded  upon  critical  inquiries  and  logical  deductions. 
But  it  is  expected  that  the  teachers  of  religion  should  be 
able  to  defend  the  citadel  in  which  they  are  placed,  against 
tiie  attack  of  every  enemy,  and  that  they  shoidd  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  quarters  which  are  most  likely  to  be  at- 
tacked, with  the  nature  of  the  blow  that  is  to  be  aimed, 
and  the  most  successful  method  of  warding  it  off.  With 
them,  therefore,  belief  ought  to  be  not  merely  the  result 
of  early  habit,  but  a  conviction  founded  upon  a  close  ex- 
amination of  evidence ;  and  in  this,  as  in  every  other  in- 
quiry, they  ought  to  take  the  fair  and  safe  method  of  ar- 
riving at  the  truth,  by  bringing  to  the  search  after  it  a 
mind  unembarrassed  with  any  prepossession. 

A  person  who,  in  this  state  of  mind,  begins  to  examine 
the  question  of  fact  upon  which  the  deistical  controversy 
turns,  will  be  struck  with  that  support  which  the  truth  of 
Christianity  receives  from  the  whole  truth  of  history  for 
more  than  1700  years.  The  impartial  historians  of  those 
times,  Suetonius,  Tacitus,  and  Pliny,  in  passages*  which 
have  been  often  quoted  and  commented  upon,  and  the  ex- 
act amount  of  which  every  student  of  divinity  ought  to 
know,  concur  with  Celsus,  Porphyry,  and  Julian,  the 
learned,  inveterate,  and  inquisitive  adversaries  of  the 
Christian  faith,  in  establishing  beyond  the  possibility  of 

*  Sueton.  Claud,  cap.  2.5.     Sueton.  Nero.  cap.  16.     Tacit.  Ann. 
1.  XV.  44.     Phn.  1.  X.  ep.  97. 


16^  COLLATERAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

doubt  the  following  leading  facts ; — that  Jesus  Christ,  in 
the  reign  of  Tiberius,  was  put  to  death  ;  that  this  man,  dur- 
ing his  life,  founded,  and  his  followers,  after  his   death, 
supported  a  sect,  upon  the  reputation  of  performing  mi- 
racles ;  and  that  this  sect  spread  quickly,  and  became  very 
numerous  in  different  parts  of  the  Roman  empire.    A  suc- 
cession of  Christian  ^vriters  is  extant,  some  of  whom  lived 
near  enough  the  event  to  be  witnesses  of  it,  and  all  of  whom 
l>ublished  books,  which  must  have  appeared  absurd  to  their 
contemporaries,   if  the  facts  upon  which  these  books  pro- 
ceeded had  then  been  known    to  be  false.     A  chain  of 
tradition  can  be  shown,  by  which  the  principal  facts  were 
transmitted  into  the  Christian  church.     The  existence  of 
our  religion  can  be  traced  back  to  the  time  and  place  to 
which  the  beginning  of  it  is  referred;  and  since  that  time, 
by  the  institution  of  a  Gospel  ministry,  by  the  celebration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  by  the  observance  of  the  Lord's 
day,   there   have   continued,  in   many  parts  of  the  world, 
standing  memorials  of  the  preaching,  the  death,  and  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus. 

I  begin  with  mentioning  these  things,  because  every  li- 
terary man  will  perceive  the  advantage  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  this  strong  ground.  By  placing  his  foot  here  he  is 
furnished  with  a  kind  of  extrinsical  evidence,  the  force  of 
which  none  will  deny,  which  cannot  be  said  to  create  anj- 
unreasonable  prepossession,  and  yet  which  prepares  the 
jiiind  for  the  less  remote  proofs  of  a  Divine  revelation. 

Grotius  de  Veritate  Rel.  Chris. 

Macknight  on  the  Truth  of  the  Gospel  History. 

Addison's  Evidences.  t 

Lardiier's  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History. 


AUTHEXTICITV  AND  GENUINENESS,  &C.  I'J 


Chap.  ii. 


AUTHENTICITY  AND  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  THE 
NEW  TESTAMENT. 

The  whole  of  that  revelation  which  is  peculiar  to  Chris- 
tians is  contained  in  the  books  of  the  New  Testament ; 
and,  therefore,  it  appears  to  me,  that  before  we  begin  to 
judge  of  the  divine  mission  or  inspiration  of  the  persons 
to  whom  these  books  are  ascribed,  we  ought  to  satisfy  our- 
selves that  the  books  themselves  are   authentic  and  ge- 
nuine.    For  even  although  the  apostles  of  Jesus  did  really 
receive  a  commission  from  the  Son  of  God,  j^et  if  the  books 
which  bear  their  names  were  not  written  by  them,  or  if 
they  have  been  corrupted  as  to  their  substance  and  im- 
port since  they  were  written,  that  is,  if  the  books  are  not 
both  authentic  and  genuine,  we  may  be  very  much  misled 
by  ti'usting  to  them  notwithstanding  the  divine  mission  of 
their  supposed  authors.     I  oppose  the  word  authentic  to 
supposititious  ;  the  Avord  genuine  to  vitiated  ;  I  call  a  book\  je*  V 
authentic  which  wa«  tridy  the  work  of  the  person  whose  L,  . 
name  it  bears  ;  I  call  a  book  genuine  which  remains  in  all   p'-'^  • 
material  points  the  same  as  when  it  proceeded  from  the  ' 
author.     Upon  these  two  points,  the  authenticity  and  ge- 
nuineness of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  I   am  at 
l)resent  to  fix  your  attention.     Both  the  subjects  open   a 
wide  field,  and  have  received  much  discussion.     All  that 
I  can  do  is  to  mark  to  you  the  leading  circumstances 
which   have  been  discussed,  and  with  regard  to  which  it 
becomes  you  to  inform  and  satisfy'  your  minds. 

1.  The  canon  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  collection  of 
books  written  by  the  apostles  or  by  persons  under  their  di- 
rection, and  received  by  Christians  as  of  divine  authority. 
This  canon  was  not  formed  by  any  General  Council,  who 
claimed  a  power  of  deciding  in  this  matter  for  the  Chris- 


18  AUTHENTICITY  AND  GENUINENESS  OF 

tian  Churcli ;  but  it  continued  to  grow  during  all  the  age  of 
the  apostles,  and  it  received  frequent  accessions,  as  the 
different  books  came  to  be  generally  recognised.  It  was 
many  years  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus  before  any  of  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  were  written.  The  apostles 
were  at  first  entirely  occupied  with  the  labours  and  perils 
which  they  encountered  in  executing  their  commission  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations.  They  found  neither  lei- 
sure nor  occasion  to  write,  till  Christian  societies  were 
formed ;  and  all  their  writings  were  suggested  by  particular 
circumstances  which  occurred  inthe  progress  of  Christianity. 
Some  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Churches  were  the  earliest  of 
their  writings.  Every  Epistle  was  received  upon  unques- 
tionable evidence  by  the  Church  to  which  it  was  sent,  and 
in  whose  keeping  the  original  manuscript  remained.  Co- 
pies were  circulated  first  among  the  neighbouring  churches, 
and  went  from  them  to  Christian  societies  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance, till,  by  degrees,  the  whole  Christian  world,  consi- 
dering the  superscription  of  the  Epistle,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  came  to  them,  as  a  token  of  its  authenticity, 
and  relying  upon  the  original,  which  they  knew  where  to 
find,  gave  entire  credit  to  its  being  the  work  of  him  whose 
name  it  bore.  This  is  the  history  of  the  thirteen  Epistles 
which  bear  the  name  of  the  apostle  Paul,  and  of  the  First 
Epistle  of  Peter.  Some  of  the  other  Epistles,  which  had 
not  the  same  particular  superscription,  were  not  so  easily 
authenticated  to  the  whole  Church,  and  were,  upon  that 
account,  longer  of  being  admitted  into  the  canon. 

The  Gospels  were  written  by  different  persons,  for  dif- 
ferent purposes ;  and  those  Christian  societies,  upon  whose 
account  they  were  originally  composed,  communicated 
them  to  others.  The  book  of  Acts  went  along  with  the 
Gospel  of  Luke,  as  a  second  part  composed  by  the  same 
author.  The  four  Gospels,  the  book  of  Acts,  and  the 
fourteen  epistles  which  I  mentioned,  very  early  after  their 
publication,  were  known  and  received  by  the  followers  of 
Jesus  in  every  part  of  the  world.  References  are  made 
to  them  by  the  first  Christian  Avriters  ;  and  they  have  been 
handed  down,  by  an  uninterrupted  tradition,  from  the  days 
in  which  they  appeared,  to  our  time.  Polycarp  was  the 
disciple  of  the  Apostle  John  ;  Irenseus  was  the  disciple  of 
Polycarp  ;  and  of  the  works  of  Irenaeus  a  great  part  is  ex- 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  1^^ 

tant,  in  which  he  quotes  most  of  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  mentions  the  number  of  the  Gospels,  and 
the  names  of  many  of  the  Epistles.  Origen  in  the  third 
century,  Eusebius  and  Jerome  in  the  fourth,  give  us,  in 
their  voluminous  works,  catalogues  of  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament  which  coincide  with  ours,  relate  fully  the 
history  of  the  authors  of  the  several  books,  with  the  occa- 
sion upon  which  they  wrote,  and  make  large  quotations 
from  them.  In  the  course  of  the  first  four  centuries,  the 
greater  joart  of  the  New  Testament  was  transcribed  in  the 
writings  of  the  Christians,  and  many  particular  passages 
were  quoted  and  referred  to  by  Celsus  and  Julian,  in  their 
attacks  upon  Christianity.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
Church,  throughout  the  whole  Christian  world,  the  books 
of  the  New  Testaments  Avere  publicly  read  and  exjilain- 
ed  to  the  people  in  their  assemblies  for  divine  worship ; 
and  they  were  continually  appealed  to  by  Christian  wri- 
ters as  the  standard  of  faith,  and  the  supreme  judge  in  con- 
troversy. The  Christian  woi'ld  was  very  far  from  being 
prone  to  receive  every  book  which  claimed  inspiration. 
Although  many  were  circulated  under  respectable  names, 
none  were  ever  admitted  by  the  whole  Church,  or  quoted 
by  Christian  writers  as  of  divine  authority,  except  those 
which  we  now  receive.  And  it  was  very  long  before  some 
of  them  were  universally  acknowledged.  When  you  come 
to  examine  the  subject  particularly,  you  will  find  that  we 
stand  upon  ground  which  we  are  fully  able  to  defend, 
when  we  admit  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  smaller 
Epistles,  and  the  book  of  Revelation,  as  of  equal  authori- 
ty with  any  other  part  of  the  New  Testament.  At  the 
same  time,  the  hesitation  which,  for  several  ages,  was  en- 
tertained in  some  places  of  the  Christian  world  with  re- 
gard to  these  books,  is  satisfying  to  a  candid  mind,  because 
this  hesitation  is  of  itself  a  strong  presumption,  that  the 
universal  and  cordial  reception,  which  was  given  to  all  the 
other  books  of  the  New  Testament,  proceeded  upon  clear 
incontestable  evidence  of  their  authenticity. 

If,  then,  we  readily  receive,  upon  the  authority  of  tradi- 
tion, the  History  of  Thucydides,  the  Orations  of  Cicero, 
the  Dialogues  of  Plato,  as  really  the  composition  of  these 
immortal  authors,  we  have  much  more  reason  to  give  cre- 
dit to  the  explicit  testimony  which  the  judgment  of  con- 


29  'AUTKEXTICITY  AND  GENUINENESS  OF 

temporaries,  and* the  acknowledgment  of  succeeding  ages, 
have  borne  to  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  There 
is  not  any  ancient  book  witli  regard  to  which  the  external 
evidence  of  authenticity  is  so  full  and  so  various  ;  and  this 
variety  of  external  evidence  is  confirmed  to  every  person 
who  is  capable  of  judging,  by  the  most  striking  internal 
marks  of  authenticity, — by  numberless  instances  of  agree- 
ment with  the  history  of  those  times,  which  are  most  sa- 
tisfying when  they  appear  to  be  most  trivial,  because  they 
form  altogether  a  continued  coincidence  in  points  where 
it  could  not  well  have  been  studied ;  a  coincidence  which, 
the  more  that  any  one  is  versant  in  the  manners,  the  geo- 
graphy, and  the  constitution  of  ancient  times,  v.ill  bring 
the  more  entire  conviction  to  his  mind,  that  these  books 
must  have  been  written  by  persons  living  in  the  very 
country,  and  at  the  very  period  to  which  we  refer  those 
who  are  accounted  the  authors  of  them.  Undesigned  coin- 
cidences between  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  are  pointed  out 
with  admirable  taste  and  judgment  in  Paley's  Horas  Pau- 
linas, which  is  perhaps  the  most  cogent  and  convincing  spe- 
cimen of  moral  argumentation  in  the  Avorld ;  and  in  the 
first  volume  of  his  Evidences  of  Christianity, — Avhich  are 
professedly  a  compilation,  but  so  condensed  and  com- 
pacted, so  illuminated  and  enforced,  that  it  is  impossible 
not  to  admire  the  matchless  powers  of  the  compiler's  ge- 
nius in  turning  the  patient  drudgery  of  Lardner  to  such 
account, — the  authenticity  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts  is  esta- 
blished. 

2.  Having  ascertained  to  your  own  satisfaction  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  you  will 
next  proceed  to  inquire  whether  they  are  genuine,  that  is, 
uncorrupted.  For  even  although  they  proceeded  at  first 
from  the  apostles  or  evangelists  whose  names  they  bear, 
they  may  have  been  so  altered  since  that  time  as  to  con- 
vey to  us  very  false  information  M'ith  regard  to  their  ori- 
ginal contents.  It  does  not  become  you  to  rest  in  the  pre- 
sumption that  the  providence  of  God,  if  it  gave  a  revela- 
tion, would  certainly  guard  so  precious  a  gift,  and  trans- 
mit entire  through  all  ages  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints."*     The  analogy  of  nature  does  not  support  this 

Jude  V.  3, 


THE  BCOKS  OF  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT.  21  , 

presumption ;  for  the  best  blessings  of  heaven  are  abused 
by  the  vices  or  the  neglige  nee  of  those  upon  ^^■ho^l  tliey 
are  bestowed ;  and  succeeding  generations  often  suffer  in 
their  domestic,  political,  and  religious  interests,  by  abuses 
of  which  their  predecessors  were  guilty.  It  becomes  a 
divine  to  know,  that  the  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  were  originally  deposited  with  the  Christian 
societies,  no  longer  exist ;  that  there  have  been  the  same 
ignorance,  haste,  and  inaccuracy  in  transcribing  the  Gos- 
pels and  Epistles,  as  in  transcribing  all  other  books ;  an<l 
that  the  various  .readings  arising  from  these  or  other 
sources  were  very  early  obser\'ed.  Origen  speaks  of  them 
in  the  thi^d  century.  They  multiplied  exceedingly,  as 
was  to  be  expected  from  the  nature  of  the  thing,  after  his 
time,  when  the  copies  of  the  original  MSS.  became  more 
numerous  and  more  widely  diffused ;  so  that  Mill,  in  his 
splendid  and  valuable  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament,  has 
numbered  30,000  various  readings. 

This  has  been  a  subject  of  much  declamation  and 
triumph  to  the  enemies  of  our  Christian  faith.  Shaftes- 
bury, Bolingbroke,  Collins,  Toland,  Tindal,  and  many 
other  deistical  writers  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
boasted  that  Christians  are  not  in  possession  of  a  sure 
standard ;  and  they  built,  upon  the  supposed  corruption  of 
the  Greek  text,  an  argument  for  the  superiority  of  the 
light  of  nature  above  that  uncertain  instruction  which  va- 
ries continually^  as  it  passes  through  the  hands  of  men.  A 
scholar  must  be  aware  of  this  difficulty,  and  prepared  to 
meet  it. 

\Mien  3^ou  come  to  estimate  the  amount  of  the  30,000 
various  readings,  you  will  find  that  almost  all  of  them  are 
trifling  changes  upon  letters  and  syllables,  and  that  there 
is  hardly  one  instance  in  which  they  affect  the  great  doc- 
trines of  our  religion.  It  will  give  you  much  satisfaction 
to  observe,  that  the  different  sects  into  which  the  Christian 
church  was  early  divided,  watched  one  another ;  that  an}' 
great  alteration  of  a  book  which,  soon  after  its  being  pub- 
lished, had  been  sent  over  the  whole  world,  was  impos- 
sible ;  that  even  those  who  corrupted  Christianity  have 
preserved  the  Scriptures  so  entire,  as  to  transmit  a  full  re- 
futation of  their  own  errors ;  and  that  from  the  most  viti- 
ated copies  the  one  faith  and  hope  of  Christians  may  be 


22  AUTHENTICITY  AND  GENUINENESS  OF 

learned.  Still,  however,  it  is  desirable  that  these  various 
readings  should  be  corrected,  and  it  is  proper  that  you 
should  have  a  general  acquaintance  Avith  the  sources  from 
which  the  correction  of  them  is  to  be  derived.  These 
sources  are  four.  1.  The  MSS.  of  the  New  Testament 
which  abound  in  Germany,  France,  Italy,  England,  and 
other  countries  of  Europe.  I  mean  M8S.  written  long 
before  printing  was  in  use,  some  of  which,  particularly 
Codex  Vaticanus  and  Codex  Alexandrinus,  are  referred  to 
one  or  other  of  the  three  first  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era.  2.  The  ancient  versions- of  the  New  Testament,  which 
having  been  made  in  early  times  from  copies  much  nearer 
the  original  MSS.  than  any  that  we  have,  may  be  consi- 
dered as  in  some  degree  vouchers  of  the  contents  of  those 
MSS.  The  most  respectable  of  the  ancient  versions  is  the 
old  Italic,  which,  Ave  have  reason  to  believe,  Avas  made  in 
the  first  century  for  the  benefit  of  those  Christians  in  the 
Roman  empire  who  understood  the  Latin  better  than  any 
other  language.  It  has,  indeed,  undergone  many  altera- 
tions ;  but  so  far  as  it  can  be  recovered  in  its  most  ancient 
form,  it  is  the  surest  guide,  in  doubtful  places,  to  that  which 
was  the  original  reading.  3.  A  third  source  of  correction 
is  found  in  the  numberless  quotations  from  the  Ncav  Tes- 
tament Avith  Avhich  the  Avorks  of  the  Christian  fathers  and 
other  early  Avriters  abound.  Had  they  always  copied  ex- 
actly from  books  lying  before  them,  the  extent  of  their 
quotations  Avould  have  rendered  them  as  certain  guides  to 
the  genuine  reading,  as  they  are  unquestionable  Avitnesses 
of  the  authenticity.  But  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  as  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  Avere  perfectly  familiar  to 
them,  they  have  often  quoted  from  memory,  and  that  being 
more  careful  to  give  the  sense  than  the  Avords,  they  differ 
from  one  another  in  some  trivial  respects,  Avhen  quoting 
the  same  passage,  so  that  their  quotations  cannot  be  ap- 
plied indiscriminately  to  ascertain  the  original.  4.  The 
last  source  of  correction  is  sound  chastised  criticism, 
which,  joined  to  the  sagaciovis  use  of  the  most  ancient 
MSS.,  versions,  and  quotations,  cautious  but  skilful  con- 
jecture, determines  AVhich  of  the  various  readings  is  to  be 
preferred,  upon  principles  so  clearly  established,  and  so 
accurately  applied,  as  to  leave  no  hesitation  in  the  mind 
of  any  scholar.     The  canons  of  scripture  ci'iticism  haA'e 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  23 

been  investigated  and  digested  by  many  learned  men. 
You  will  find  collections  of  them  in  tlie  Prolegomena  to 
the  larger  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament.  They  are 
frequently  applied  by  the  later  commentators,  and  they  are 
the  introduction  to  a  kind  of  learning  which,  although  it  is 
apt,  when  prosecuted  too  far,  to  lead  to  what  is  minute  and 
frivolous,  yet  is  in  many  respects  so  essential  tliat  it  does 
not  become  any  one  who  professes  to  interpret  the  Scrip- 
tures to  others  to  be  entirely  a  stranger  to  it. 

Superficial  reasoners  may  think  it  strange  that  so  much 
discussion  should  be  necessary  to  ascertain  the  true  read- 
ing of  the  oracles  of  God ;  and  in  their  haste  they  may 
pronounce,  that  it  Avould  have  been  more  becoming  the 
great  purpose  for  which  these  oracles  were  given,  more 
kind  and  more  useful  to  man,  that  the  originals  should 
have  been  saved  fi'om  destruction ;  and  that  if  the  great 
extent  of  the  Christian  society  rendered  it  impossible  for 
every  one  to  have  access  to  them,  the  all-ruling  provi- 
dence of  God  should  have  preserved  every  copy  that  was 
taken  from  every  kind  of  vitiation.  They  Avho  thus  judge, 
forget  that  there  is  no  part  of  the  works  of  creation,  of  the 
ways  of  Providence,  or  of  the  dispensation  of  grace,  in 
which  the  Almighty  has  done  precisely  that  which  we 
would  have  dictated  to  him,  had  he  admitted  us  to  be  his 
counsellors,  although  we  are  generally  able,  by  consider- 
ing what  he  has  done,  to  discover  that  his  plan  is  more 
perfect  and  more  universally  useful,  than  that  which  our 
nari'ow  views  might  have  suggested  as  best.  They  forget 
the  extent  of  the  miracle  which  they  ask,  when  they  de- 
mand, that  all  who  ever  were  employed  in  copying  the 
New  Testament  shoidd  at  all  times  have  been  effectually 
guarded  by  the  Spirit  of  God  from  negligence,  and  that  their 
works  should  have  been  kept  safe  from  the  injuries  of  time. 
And  they  forget,  in  the  last  place,  that  the  very  circumstance 
to  which  they  object  has,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  been  highly 
favourable  to  the  cause  of  truth.  The  infidel  has  enjoyed 
his  triumph,  and  has  exposed  his  ignorance.  Men  of  eru- 
dition have  been  encouraged  to  apply  their  talents  to  a 
subject,  which  opens  so  large  a  field  for  the  exercise  of 
them.  Their  research  and  their  discoveries  have  demon- 
strated the  futility  of  the  objection,  and  have  shown  that 
the  great  body  of  the  people  in  every  country,  who  are  in^ 


24  AUTHENTICITY  AND  GENUI^IENESS  OF 

capable  of  such  research,  may  safely  rest  in  the  Scriptures 
as  they  are  ;  and  that  the  most  scrupulous  critics,  by  the 
inexhaustible  sources  of  correction  which  lie  open  to  them, 
may  attain  nearer  to  an  absolute  certainty  with  regard  to 
the  true  reading  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  than 
of  any  other  ancient  book  in  any  language.  If  they  re- 
quire more,  their  demand  is  unreasonable  ;  for  the  religion 
of  Jesus  does  not  profess  to  satisfy  the  careless,  or  to  over- 
power the  obstinate,  but  rests  its  pretensions  upon  evidence 
sufficient  to  bring  conviction  to  those  who  with  honest 
hearts  inquire  after  the  truth,  and  are  willing  to  exercise 
their  i-eason  in  attempting  to  discover  it. 

Griesbac^,  professor  at  Jena,  in  Saxony,  published  in  1796,  the  first 
volnrae  of  his  second  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament,  containing 
the  fonr  Gospels;  and  in  1806,  the  second  volume,  containing  the 
other  books  of  the  New  Testament.     He  availed  himself  of  the 

'  materials  which  sacred  criticism  had  been  collecting  from  the  time 
of  the  publicauon  of  Mill's  edition.  And,  adverting  to  all  the  ma- 
nuscript quotations  and  versions  which  the  research  of  a  number  of 
theological  writers,  in  difierent  parts  of  the  world,  had  brouglit  in- 
to view,  he  went  farther  than  the  former  editors  of  tlie  New  Tes- 
tament had  done.  They  adhered  to  what  is  called  the  textus  re- 
ceptus,  which  had  been  established  in  the  Elzevir  edition  of  the 
Greek  Testament  in  1624,  which  is  very  much  the  same  with  that 
of  the  editions  of  Beza  and  Erasmus,  and  which  is  now  in  daily 
use.  They  only  collected  various  readings  from  manuscripts,  ver- 
sions, and  quotations,  introduced  them  in  a  preface  or  notes,  and 
explained  in  large  and  learned  prolegomena,  the  degree  of  credit 
that  was  due  to  them  ;  thus  furnishing  materials  for  a  more  correct 
edition  of  the  Greek  Testament,  and  unfolding  the  principles  upon 
which  these  materials  ought  to  be  applied.  But  Griesbacli  pro- 
ceeded himself  to  apply  the  materials,  by  introducing  emendations 
into  the  text.  This  he  is  said  by  Dr.  Marsh,  late  Margaret  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  at  Cambridge,  and  now  Bishop  of  Peterbro', 
to  have  done  with  unremitted  diligence,  with  extreme  caution,  and 
with  scrupulous  integrity.  His  emendations  never  rest  merely 
upon  conjecture,  but  always  upon  authority  which  appeared  to  him 
decisive.  They  are  prnited  in  a  smaller  character  than  the  rest  of 
the  text,  or  in  some  clear  way  distinguished  from  the  received  text  : 
and  when  he  was  in  any  doubt,  they  are  not  introduced,  but  remain 
in  the  notes  or  margin.  I  have  great  satisfaction  in  saying,  that  in 
so  far  as  I  have  examined  Griesbiich's  New  Testament,  it  does  not 
appear  to  differ  in  any  material  respect  from  the  receive^  text ;  so 
that  all  the  n.dustry  and  erudition  of  this  laborious  and  accurate 
editor  serve  to  establish  this  most  comfortable  doctrine,  that  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  are  genuhie.     Dr.  Marsh  says,  that 


THE   BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT.  25 

Griesbach's  edition  is  so  correct,  and  the  prolegomenH,  or  critical 
apparatus  annexed  to  it,  so  full  and  learned,  that  there  will  be  no 
occasion  for  a  diflFerent  edition  of  the  Greek  Testament  during  the 
life  of  the  youngest  of  us.  I  quote  Dr.  Marsh,  because  in  that 
portion  of  his  lectures  which  has  been  published,  he  gives  the  most 
minute  and  ample  information  concerning  all  the  editions  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  He  mentions  repeatedly,  with  due  honour, 
Dr.  Gerard's  Institutes  of  Biblical  Criticism,  to  which  I  refer  you. 

Marsh's  Lectures,  and  his  translations  of  Michaelis's  Introductions. 

Macknight's  Preliminary  Discourses  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Epis- 
tles. 

Lardner's  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History,  and  Supplement  to  it. 
*•  Leland. 

Jortini 

Hartley  in  vol.  5th  of  Watson's  Theological  Tracts. 

Prettyman's  Institutes. 
^  Paley's  Horae  Paulinae,  and  Evidences  of  Christianity. 


C 


26  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHPaSTIANITT- 


CHAP.  III. 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  leading  characteristical  assertion  in  the  books  of  tlie 
New  Testament  is,  that  they  contain  a  divine  revelation. 
Jesus  said,  "  P*Iy  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent 
me;"*  and  when  he  gave  his  apostles  a  commission  to  preach 
his  gospel,  he  used  these  words,  "  As  the  Father  hath  sent 
me,  even  so  send  I  you.'f  "  He  that  heareth  you,  hear- 
eth  me  ;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  him  that  sent 
me.":j:  This  is  the  highest  claim  which  any  mortal  can 
advance.  It  holds  forth  the  man  who  makes  it  under  the 
most  dignified  character ;  and,  if  it  be  v/ell  founded,  it  in- 
volves consequences  the  most  interesting  to  those  who  hear 
him.  Such  a  claim  is  not  to  be  carelessly  admitted.  The 
grounds  upon  which  it  rests  ought  to  be  closely  scrutiniz- 
ed ;  and  reason  cannot  have  a  more  important  or  hon- 
ourable office  than  in  trying  its  pretensions  by  a  fair  stand- 
ard. 

As  every  circumstance  respecting  those  who  advanced 
such  a  claim  merits  attention,  the  first  thing  which  presents 
itself  to  a  rational  inquirer,  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
claim  is  made,  and  the  state  of  mind  which  those  who  make 
it  discover  in  their  conduct,  in  the  genera.l  style  of  their 
writings,  or  in  particular  expressions.  Now,  if  you  set 
yourselves  to  collect  all  the  characters  of  enthusiasm,  either 
from  the  writings  of  those  profound  moralists  who  have 
analysed  and  discriminated  the  various  features  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  or  from  the  behaviour  of  those  who,  in  difierent 
ages,  have  mistaken  the  fancies  of  a  distempered  brain  for 
the  inspiration  of  heaven,  you  will  find  the  most  marked 
opposition  between  these  characters  and  the  appearance 
which  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  present?    Instead 

*  John  vii.  IG.  f  John  xx.  21.  i  Luke  x.  16. 


INTERNAL  EV^IDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  27 

of  the  general,  indistinct,  inconsistent  ravings  of  enthusiasm, 
you  find  in  these  writings  discourses  full  of  sound  sense 
and  manly  eloquence,  connected  reasonings,  apposite  illus- 
trations, a  multitude  of  particular  facts,  a  continual  refer- 
ence to  common  life,  and  the  same  useful  instructive  views 
preservcvi  throughout.  Instead  of  the  gloom  of  enthusiasm, 
you  find  a  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  a  disposition  to  associate, 
an  accommodation  to  prejudices  and  opinions.  Instead  of 
credulity  and  vehement  passion,  you  observe  in  the  writ- 
ei's  of  these  books  a  slowness  of  heart  to  believe,  a  hesi- 
tation in  the  midst  of  evidence,  perfect  possession  of  their 
faculties,  with  calm  sedate  manners.  Instead  of  the  self- 
conceit,  the  turgid  insolent  tone  of  enthusiasm,  you  find  in 
them  a  reserve,  a  modesty,  a  simplicitj^  of  expression,  a 
disparagement  of  their  own  peculiar  gifts,  and  a  constant 
endeavour  to  magnify,  in  the  eyes  of  their  follov/ers,  those 
virtues  in  which  they  themselves  did  not  pretend  to  have 
any  pre-eminence.  The  claim  which  they  advance  sits  so 
easy  and  natural  upon  them,  that  the  most  critical  eye  can- 
not discern  any  trace  of  tliat  kind  of  delusion  which  has 
often  been  exposed  to  public  view ;  and  they  ai'c  so  unlikf! 
any  enthusiasts  whom  the  world  ever  saw,  that,  as  far  as 
outwai'd  appearances  are  to  be  trusted,  they  "  speak  the 
words  of  truth  and  soberness."* 

But  you  will  not  trust  to  appearances.  It  becomes  you 
to  examine  the  words  which  they  speak,  and  you  ai-e  in 
possession  of  a  standard  by  which  these  words  should  be 
tried,  and  m  ithout  a  conformity  to  which  they  cannot  be 
received  as  divine.  Reason  and  conscience  are  the  pri- 
mary revelation  which  God  made  to  man.  We  know  as- 
suredly that  they  came  from  the  Author  of  nature,  and 
our  apprehensions  of  his  perfections  must  indeed  be  very 
loAv,  if  we  can  suppose  it  possible  that  they  should  be  con- 
tradicted by  a  subsequent  revelation.  If  any  system, 
therefore,  which  pretends  to  come  from  God,  contain  pal- 
pable absurdities,  or  if  it  enjoin  actions  repugnant  to  the , 
moral  feelings  of  our  nature,  it  never  can  approve  itself  t) 
our  understandings.  It  is  unnecessary  to  examine  the  evi- 
dences of  its  being  divine,  because  no  evidence  can  be  so 

*  Acts  xxvi.  '25. 


28  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

strong  as  our  perception  of  the  falsehood  of  that  wliicli  iV 
absurd,  and  of  the  inconsistency  between  the  will  of  God 
and  that  which  is  immoral.     When  I  say  that  a  divine  re- 
velation cannot  contain  a  palpable  absurdity,  1  am  far  from 
meaning,  that  every  thing  contained  in  it  must  be  plain 
and  familiar,  such  as  reason  is  already  versant  with.     The 
revelation,  in  that  case,  would  be  unnecessary.     Neither 
do  I  mean  that  every  thing  contained  in  it,  although  new, 
must  be  such  as  we  are  able  fully  to  comprehend  ;  for  many 
insuperable  difficulties  occur  in  the  study  of  nature.     We 
have  daily  experience,  that  our  ignorance  of  the  manner 
in  which  a  thing  exists,  does  not  create  any  doubt  of  its 
existence  ;  and  in  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  Ave  admit, 
without  hesitation,  the  truth  of  facts  which,  at  the  time  Ave 
admit  them,  are  to  us  unaccountable.     The  presumption 
is,  that  if  a  revelation  be  given  it  Avill  contain  more  facts- 
of  the  same  kind  ;  and  it  addresses  you  as  reasonable  crea- 
tures, if  it  require  you,  in  judging  of  the  facts  Avhich  it  pro- 
poses to  your  belief,  to  folloAV  out  the  same  principles  upon 
which  you  are  accustomed  to  proceed  with  regard  to  the 
facts  Avhich  you  see  or  hear.     If  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  be  tried  Avith  this  caution  by  the  standard  of 
reason,  they  will  not  be  found  to  contain  any  of  that  con- 
tradiction Avhich  might  entitle  you  to  reject  them  before 
you  examine  their  evidence.     There   are  doctrines  to  the 
full  apprehension  of  Avhich  our  limited  faculties  are  inade- 
quate ;  and  there  has  been  much  perplexity  and  misappre- 
hension in  the  presumptuous  attempts  to  explain  these 
docti'ines.     But  the  manner  in  Avhich  the  books  themselves 
state  the   doctrines,   cannot  appear  to  any  philosophical 
mind  to  involve  an  absurdity.     The  system  of  religion  and 
morality  Avhich  they  deliver  is  every  way  worthy  of  God. 
It  corresponds  to  all  the  discoveries  which  the  most  en- 
lightened reason  has  made  Avith  regard  to  the  nature  and 
the  Avill  of  God  ;  and  it  comprehends  all  the  duties  Avhich 
are  dictated  by  conscience  or  clearly  suggested  by  the  love 
of  order.     The  feAv  objections  Avhich  have  been  made  to 
the  morality  of  the  gospel,   as  being  defectiAe  in  some 
points,  by  not  enjoining  patriotism  or  friendship,  or  too  ri- 
gorous in  others,  admit  of  so  clear  and  so  easy  a  solution, 
that  nothing  but  the  desire  of  finding  fault,  joined  to  the 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  29 

•Ufficulty  of  discovering  any  exceptionable  circumstance, 
could  have  drawn  remarks  so  frivolous  from  the  authors  in 
whose  works  they  appear. 

You  may,  then,  Avithout  much  trouble,  satisfy  yourselves 
that  neither  the  manner  in  which  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  advance  their  claim,  nor  the  contents  of  their 
books,  afford  anj'  reason  for  rejecting  that  claim  instantly, 
without  examining  the  evidence.  I  do  not  say  that  this 
affords  any  proof  of  a  divine  revelation  ;  for  a  system  may 
be  rational  and  moral  without  being  divine.  This  is  only 
a  pre-requisite,  which  every  person  to  whom  a  system  is 
proposed  under  that  character  has  a  title  to  demand. 
But  we  state  the  matter  very  imperfectly  when  we  say, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  manner  or  the  contents  of 
these  books  which  deserves  an  immediate  rejection.  A 
closer  attention  to  the  subject  not  only  renders  it  clear 
that  they  may  come  from  God,  but  suggests  many  strong 
presumptions  that  they  cannot  be  the  work  of  men.  These 
presumptions  make  up  what  is  called  the  internal  evidence 
of  Christianity. 

The  Jirsi  branch  of  this  internal  evidence  is  the  manifest 
superiority  of  that  system  of  religion  and  morality  which 
is  contained  in  the  l30oks  of  the  New  Testament,  above 
any  that  was  ever  delivered  to  the  world  before.  Here  a 
Christian  divine  derives  a  most  important  advantage  from 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  ancient  heathen  philo- 
sophers. He  ought  not  to  take  upon  trust  the  accounts 
of  their  discoveries  which  succeeding  writers  have  copied 
from  one  another.  But  setting  that  which  they  taught, 
over  against  the  discourses  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  writ- 
ings of  his  apostles,  he  ought  to  see  with  his  own  eyes  the 
force  of  that  argument  which  arises  from  the  comparison. 
Do  not  think  yourselves  obliged  to  disparage  the  writings 
of  the  heathen  moralists.  The  effort  which  they  made  to 
raise  their  minds  above  the  grovelling  superstition  in  which 
they  were  born  was  honourable  to  themselves ;  it  was  use- 
ful to  their  disciples,  and  it  scattered  some  rays  of  light 
through  the  world.  It  does  not  become  a  scholar,  who  is 
daily  reaping  instruction  and  entertainment  from  their 
works,  to  deny  them  any  part  of  that  applause  which  is 
their  due  ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  for  a  Christian.  You 
may  safely  allow  that  they  were  very  much  superior  in  the 


30  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

knowledge  of  religion  and  morality  to  their  countrj'men ; 
and  yet,  when  you  take  those  philosophers  who  lived  be- 
fore the  Christian  era,  and  compare  their  writings  with  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  the  disparity  appears  most 
striking.     The  views  of  God  given  in  these  books  not  only 
are  more  sublime  than  those  which  occasional    passages 
in  the  writings  of  the  philosophers  discover,  but  are  purified 
from  the  alloy  which  abounds  in  them,  and  are  at  once 
consistent  with,  and   apposite  to,  the  condition  of  man. 
Religion  is  here  uniformly  applied  to  encourage  man  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty,  to  support  him  under  the  trials  of 
life,  and  to  cherish  every  good  affection.     To  love  God 
with  all  our  heart,  and  strength,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and 
to  love  our  neighbour  as  ourselves,  the  two  commandments 
of  the  gospel,  are  the  most  luminous  and  comprehensive 
principles  of  morality  that  ever  were  taught.     The  parti- 
cular precepts,  which,  although  not  systematically  deduc- 
ed, are  but  the  unfolding  of  these  principles,  form  the  heart, 
regulate  the  conduct,   descend  into    every   relation,  and 
constitute  the  most  perfect  and  refined  morality, — a  mo- 
rality not  only  elevated  above  the  concerns  or  occasions  of 
ordinary  men,  but  sound  and  practical,  which  renders  the 
members  of  society  useful,  agreeable,  and  respectable,  and 
at  the  same  time  carries  them  forward  by  the  progressive 
improvement  of  their  nature  to  a  higher  state  of  being. 
The  precepts  themselves  are  short,  expressive,  and  simple, 
easily  retained,  and  easily  applied  ;  and  they  are  enforced 
by  all  those  motives  which  have  the  greatest  power  over 
the  human  mind.     That  future  life,  to  which  good  men  in 
every  age  had  looked  forward  with  an  anxious  wish,  is 
brought  to  light  in  these  books.     There  is  not  in  them  the 
conjecture,  the  hesitation,  the  embarrassment  which  had 
entered  into  the  language  of  the  wisest  philosophers  upon 
this  svibject.     But  there  is  an  explicit  declaration,  deliver- 
ed in  a  tone  of  authority  whicli  becomes  that  Being  who 
can  order  the  condition  of  his  creatures,  that  this  is  a  sea- 
son of  trial,  that  thcf  will  hereafter  be  a  time  of  recom- 
pense, and  that  the  conduct  of  men  upon  earth  is  to  pro- 
duce everlasting  consequences  with  regard  to  their  future 
condition.  To  the  fears,  of  wliich  a  being  who  is  conscious 
of  repeated  transgressions  cannot  divest  himself,  no  other 
system  had  applied  any  remedy  but  the  repetition  of  un- 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CKKISTIANITY.  31 

availing  sacrifices.     These  books  alone  disclose  a  scheme 
of  Providence  adapted  to  the  condition  of  sinners,  an- 
nounced, introduced,  and  conducted  with  a  solemnity  cor- 
responding to  its  importance,  admirably  fitted  in  all  its  pai'ts, 
supposing  it  to  be  true,  to  revive  the  hope-s  of  the  penitent, 
to  restore  the  dignity,  the  purity,  and  happiness  of  the  in- 
telligent creation,  and  thus  to  repair  that  degeneracy  which 
all  writers  have  lamented,  of  which  everj'  man  has  experi- 
ence, and  to  the  cure  of  which  all  human  means  had  proved 
inadequate.     This  grand  idea,  which  is  characteristical  of 
the   books  of  the  New    Testament,   completes   tlieir   su- 
periority above  every  other  system,  and  gives  a  peculiar 
kind  of  sublimity  to  both  the  religion  and  the  morality  of 
the  gospel. 

The  seco7id  hrajicb.  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Christiani- 
ty arises  from  the  condition  of  those  men  in  whose  writ- 
ings this  superior  system  appears.  We  can  trace  a  pro- 
gress in  ancient  philosophy ;  we  see  the  principles  of 
science  arising  out  of  the  occupations  of  men,  collected, 
improved,  abused ;  and  we  can  mark  the  effect  which  both 
the  improvement  and  the  abuse  had  in  producing  that  de- 
gree of  perfection  which  they  attained.  To  every  person 
versant  in  the  history  of  ancient  philosophy,  Socrates  must 
appear  an  extraordinary  man.  Yet  the  eminence  of  So- 
crates forms  only  a  stage  in  the  progress  of  his  country- 
men. His  disciples,  who  have  recorded  his  discourses, 
were  men  placed  in  a  most  favourable  situation  for  polish- 
ing and  enlarging  their  minds  ;  and  the  Roman  philoso- 
phers trode  iti  their  steps.  But,  if  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  be  authentic,  the  writers  who  have  delivered  to 
us  this  superior  system,  were  men  bom  in  a  mean  condi- 
tion, without  any  advantages  of  education,  and  Avith  strong 
national  prejudices,  which  the  low  habits  formed  by  their 
occujjations  could  not  fail  to  strengthen.  They  have  in- 
terwoven in  their  works  their  history  and  their  manner  of 
tliinking.  The  obscurity  of  their  station  is  vouched  by 
contemporary  writers,  and  it  was  one  of  the  reproaches 
thrown  upon  the  Gospel  by  its  earliest  adversaries.  Yet 
the  conceptions  of  these  mean  men  upon  the  most  import- 
ant subjects,  far  transcend  the  continued  efforts  of  ancient 
philosophy ;  and  the  sages  of  Greece  and  Rome  appear 
as  children  when  compared  with  the  fishermen  of  Galilee. 


32  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

From  men,  whose  minds  we  cannot  suppose  to  have  been 
seasoned  with  any  other  notions  of  divine  things  than  those 
which  they  derived  from  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees, 
who  had  obscured  the  law  by  their  traditions,  and  loaded 
it  with  ceremonies,  there  arose  a  pure  and  spiritual  reli- 
gion. From  men,  educated  in  the  narrowness  and  bigotry 
of  the  Jewish  spirit,  there  arose  a  religion  which  enjoins 
universal  benevolence,  a  scheme  for  diffusing  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God  over  the  whole  earth,  and  forming 
a  church  out  of  all  the  nations  under  heaven.  The  divine 
plan  of  blessing  the  human  race,  in  turning  them  from 
their  iniqviity,  originated  from  a  little  district, — was  adopt- 
ed, not  by  the  whole  tribe  as  a  method  of  retrieving  their 
ancient  honours,  but  by  a  few  individuals  in  opposition  to 
public  authority, — and  was  prosecuted  with  zeal  and  ac- 
tivity under  every  disadvantage  and  discouragement. 
When  his  contemporaries  heard  Jesus  speak,  they  said, 
"  Whence  hath  this  man  wisdom  ?  Hom'  knoweth  this  man 
letters,  having  never  learned  ?"*  When  the  Jewish 
council  heard  Peter  and  John,  they  marvelled,  because 
they  knew  that  they  were  ignorant  and  unlearned  men  ;f 
and  to  every  candid  inquirer,  the  superiority  of  that  sys- 
tem, and  the  magnificence  of  that  plan  contained  in  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  when  compared  with  the  natu- 
ral opportunities  of  those  from  whom  they  proceeded,  must 
appear  the  most  inexplicable  phenomenon  in  the  history 
of  the  human  mind,  unless  we  admit  the  truth  of  their 
claim. 

A  third  branch  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Chnstianity 
arises  from  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  often  said 
with  much  truth,  that  the  Gospel  has  the  peculiar  excel- 
lence of  proposing  in  the  character  of  its  author  an  ex- 
ample of  all  its  precepts.  That  character  may  also  be 
stated  as  one  branch  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Christiani- 
ty, whether  you  consider  Jesus  as  a  teacher,  or  as  a  man. 
His  manner  of  teaching  was  most  dignified  and  most  win- 
ning. "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  He  taught  by 
parable,  by  action,  and  by  plain  discourse.  Out  of  familiar 
scenes,  out  of  the  objects  which  surrounded  him,  and  the 
intercourse  of  social    life,  he  extracted  the  most  pleasing 

*  Matt.  xiii.  54.     John  vii.  13.  t  Acts  iv.  13. 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  33 

and   useful   instruction.     He  repelled   the   attacks  of  his     » 
enemies  with  a  gentleness  which  disarmed,  and  a  wisdom 
which  confounded  their  malice.    There  was  a  plainness,  yet 
a  depth  in  all  his  sayings.     He  was  tender,  persuasive,  or 
severe,   according  to    circumstances ;  and   the  discourse, 
which  seemed  to  have  been  dictated  to  him  merely  by  the 
occasion,  is  found  to  convey  lasting  and  valuable  counsel 
to  posterity.     His  character  as  a  man,  is  allowed  to  be  the 
most  perfect  which  the  world  ever  saw.     All  the  virtues 
of  which   we  can  form  a  conception,  were  united  in  him 
with  a  more  exact  harmony,  and  shone  with  a  lustre  more 
bright  and  more  natural,  than  in   any  of  the  sons  of  men. 
His  descending  from  the  glories  of  heaven,  assuming  the 
weakness  of  human  nature,  and  voluntarily  submitting  to 
all  the  calamities  which  he  endured  for  the  sake  of  men, 
exhibits  a  degree  of  benevolence,  magnanimity,  and  pa- 
tience, which  far  exceeds  the  conception  that  Plato  formed 
of  the  most  tried  and  perfect  virtue.     The  majesty  of  his 
divine  nature  is  blended  with  the  fellow-feeling  and  con- 
descension implied  in  his  office ;  and  although  the  history 
of  mankind   did  not  afford  any  model  that  could  here  be 
followed,  this  singular  character  is  supported  throughout, 
and  there  is  not  any  one  of  the  words  or  actions  ascribed  to 
him,   which   does  not  appear  to  the   most  correct  taste  to 
become  the  man  Christ  Jesus.     It  is  not  possible  that  a 
manner  of  teaching,   so   infinitely  superior  to  that  of  the 
JScril:)es  and  Pharisees,  or  that  a  character  so  extraordinary, 
so  godlike,  so  consistent,  could  have  been  invented  by  the 
fishermen  of  Galilee.     Admit  only  that  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament  are  authentic,  and  you  must  allow  that  the 
authors  of  them  drew  Jesus  Christ  from  the  life.     And  how 
do  they  draw  him  ?     Not  in  the  language  of  fiction,  with 
swoln  panegyric,   with   a  laborious  effort  to  number  his 
deeds,  and  to  record  all  his  sayings,  but  in  the  most  natu- 
ral artless  manner.     Four  of  his  disciples,  not  many  years 
after  his  death,  when  every  circumstance  could  easily  be 
investigated,   write  a  short  history   of  his  life.     Without 
attempting  to  exhaust  the  subject,  without  studying  to  co- 
incide with  one  another,  without  directing  your  attention 
to  the  shining  parts  of  his  history,  or  marking  any  contrast 
between  him  and  other  men,  they  leave  you,  from  a  few 
facts,  to  gather  the  character  of  the  man  whom  they  had  fol- 


34)  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

lov/ed.  Thus  yovi  learn  his  innocence  not  from  their  pro- 
testations, but  from  the  whole  complexion  of  his  life,  from 
the  declaration  of  the  judge  who  condemned  him  ;  of  the 
centurion  who  attended  his  execution  ;  of  a  traitor,  who, 
having  been  admitted  into  his  family,  was  a  witness  of  his 
most  retired  actions,  who  had  no  tie  of  affection,  of  delica- 
cy, or  consistency,  to  restrain  him  from  divulging  the 
whole  truth,  and  who  might  have  pleaded  the  secret  wick- 
edness of  his  master  as  an  apology  for  his  own  baseness, 
who  Avould  have  been  amply  repaid  for  his  information, 
and  yet  who  died  with  these  worcls  in  his  mouth,  "  I  have 
sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood."*  Had 
Judas  borne  no  such  testimony,  an  appeal  to  him  was  the 
most  unsafe  method  in  which  tlie  writers  of  this  history 
could  attest  the  innocence  of  their  master.  But  if  the  wis- 
dom of  God  had  ordained,  that  even  in  the  family  of  Jesus 
the  wrath  of  his  enemies  should  thus  praise  him,  it  was 
most  natural  for  one  of  the  evangelists  to  record  so  strik- 
ing a  circumstance  :  and  I  mention  it  here,  only  as  a  speci- 
men of  the  manner  in  wliich  the  character  of  Jesus  is 
drawn,  not  by  the  colouring  of  a  skilful  pencil,  but  by  a 
continual  reference  to  facts,  which  to  impostors  are  of  dif- 
ficult invention,  and  of  easy  detection,  but  which,  to  those 
who  exhibit  a  real  character,  are  the  most  natural,  the 
most  delightful,  and  the  most  effectual  method  of  making 
their  friend  known.  "  Shall  we  say,"  writes  Rousseau,  no 
uniform  champion  for  the  cause  of  Christianity,  "  shall  we 
say  that  the  history  of  the  gospel  is  invented  at  pleasure  ? 
No.  It  is  not  thus  that  men  invent.  It  would  be  more 
inconceivable  that  a  number  of  men  had  in  concert  pro- 
duced this  book  from  their  own  imaginations,  than  it  is 
that  one  man  has  furnished  the  subject  of  it.  The  morality 
of  the  gospel,  and  its  general  tone,  were  beyond  the  con- 
ception of  Jewish  authors  ;  and  the  history  of  Jesus  Chrjst 
has  marks  of  truth  so  palpable,  so  striking,  and  so  perfect- 
ly inimitable,  that  its  inventor  would  excite  our  admira- 
tion more  than  its  hero."* 

A  fourth  branch  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Christianity 
arises  from  the  characters  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus  as  drawn 

*  Matt,  xxvii.  4.  f  Rousseau,  Emile,  ii.  98. 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OP  CHRISTIANITY.  35 

hi  their  own  writings.  Their  condition  renders  the  supe- 
riority of  their  doctrine  inexplicabh',  witliout  admitting  a 
divine  revelation  :  their  character  gives  the  highest  credi- 
bility to  their  pretensions.  We  seldom  read  the  work  of 
any  person,  without  forming  some  apprehension  of  his 
chpi-acter;  and  if  his  work  represent  him  as  engaged  in  a 
succession  of  trials,  pouring  forth  the  sentiments  of  his 
heart,  and  holding,  in  interesting  situations,  much  inter- 
course with  his  fellow-creatures,  we  contract  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  him  before  we  are  done,  and  we  are 
able  to  collect  from  numberless  circumstances,  whether  he 
be  at  pains  to  disguise  himself  from  us,  or  whether  he 
be  really  such  a  man  as  he  wishes  to  appear.  No  scene 
ever  was  more  interesting  to  the  actors,  than  that  in  which 
the  writings  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus  exhibit  them ;  and  the 
gospels  and  epistles  taken  together,  afford  to  every  atten- 
tive reader  a  complete  display  of  their  character.  We 
said,  that  they  appear  from  their  writings  devoid  of  en- 
thusiasm, cool  and  collected.  Yet  this  coolness  is  remov- 
ed at  the  greatest  distance  from  every  mark  of  imposture. 
They  are  at  no  pains  to  disguise  their  infirmities  ;  all  their 
prejudices  shine  through  their  narration ;  and  they  do  not 
assume  to  themselves  any  merit  for  having  abandoned 
them.  We  see  light  opening  slowly  upon  their  minds, 
their  hopes  disappointed,  and  themselves  conducted  into 
scenes  very  different  from  those  which  they  had  figured. 
"  We  trusted,"  said  they,  after  the  death  of  their  master, 
"  that  it  was  he  which  should  have  redeemed  Israel."* 
Yet  it  is  not  long  before  they  become  firm,  and  cheerful, 
and  resolute.  Not  overawed  by  the  threatenings  of  the 
magistrates,  nor  shaken  by  the  persecutions  which  they 
endured  from  their  countrymen,  they  devoted  their  lives 
to  the  generous  undertaking  of  spreading  through  the 
world  the  knowledge  of  that  religion  which  they  had  em- 
braced. Appearing  as  the  servants  of  another,  they  dis- 
claim the  honours  which  their  followers  were  disposed  to 
pay  them  ;  they  uniformly  inculcate  quiet  inoffensive  man- 
ners, and  a  submission  to  civil  authority ;  and  labouring 
with  their  hands  for  the  supply  of  their  necessities,  they 
stand  forth  as  patterns  of  humility  and  self-denial.     The 

"  Luke  xxiy.  21. 


36  INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

churches  to  which  they  write  are  the  witnesses  to  poste- 
rity of  their  holy,  unblameable  conduct ;  their  sincerity 
and  zeal  breathe  through  all  their  epistles ;  and,  when  you 
read  their  writings,  you  behold  the  most  illustrious  ex- 
ample of  disinterested  beneficence,  that  exalted  love  of 
mankind,  which  made  them  forego  every  private  consi- 
deration, in  order  to  promote  the  virtue  and  happiness  of 
those  to  whom  they  were  sent.  They  had  differences 
amongst  themselves,  which  they  are  at  no  pains  to  con- 
ceal ;  yet  they  remained  united  in  the  same  cause.  They 
had  personal  enemies  in  the  churches  which  they  planted ; 
yet  they  were  not  afraid  to  reprove,  to  censure,  to  excom- 
municate ;  and,  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  death,  they 
continued  their  labour  of  love. 

Such  is  the  character  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus,  as  it  ap- 
pears in  their  authentic  writings,  not  drawn  by  themselves, 
but  collected  from  the  facts  which  they  relate,  and  the 
letters  which  they  address  to  those  who  knew  them.  It  is 
a  character  so  far  raised  above  the  ordinary  exertions  of 
mortals,  and  so  diametrically  opposite  to  the  Jewish  spirit, 
that  we  naturally  search  for  some  divine  cause  of  its  be- 
ing formed.  We  are  led  to  consider  its  existence  as  a 
pledge  of  the  truth  of  that  high  claim  which  such  men  ap- 
pear not  unworthy  to  make ;  and  this  assurance  of  their 
veracity  which  we  derive  from  their  conduct,  disposes  our 
minds  to  attend  to  that  external  evidence  which  they  offer 
to  adduce. 

I  have  thus  stated  what  appear  to  me  the  principal 
parts  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Christianity.  I  have  not 
mentioned  the  style  or  composition  of  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  because  although  I  am  of  opinion  that 
there  are  in  them  instances  of  sublimity,  of  tenderness, 
and  of  manly  eloquence,  which  are  not  to  be  equalled  by 
any  human  composition,  and  although  the  mixture  of  dig- 
nity and  simplicity  which  characterises  these  books  is 
most  worthy  of  the  author  and  the  subject  of  them,  yet 
this  is  a  matter  of  taste,  a  kind  of  sentimental  proof  which 
will  not  reach  the  understandings  of  all,  and  where  an 
affirmation  may  be  answered  by  a  denial.  The  only  evi- 
dence which  Mahomet  adduced  for  his  divine  mission,  was 
the  inimitable  excellence  of  his  Koran.  Produce  me, 
said  he,  a  single  chapter  equal  to  this  book,  and  I  renounce 


INTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  37 

my  claim.     We  are  not  driven  to  this  necessity;   and 
therefore,  although  every  person  of  true  taste  reads  with 
the  highest  admiration  many  parts  of  the  New  Testament, 
although  every  divine  ought  to  cultivate  a  taste  for  the 
sacred  classics,  and  has  often   occasion  to  illustrate  their 
beauties,  it  is  better  to  rest  the  evidence  of  our  religion 
upon  arguments  less  controvertible.    Neither  have  I  men- 
tioned that  inward  conviction  which  the  excellence  of  the 
matter,  the  grace  of  the  promises,  and  the  awfulness  of  the 
threatenings,  produce  on  every  mind  disposed  by  the  in- 
fluence of  heaven  to  receive  the  truth.     This  is  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit,  the  highest  and  most  satisfying  evidence 
of  divine  revelation ;  the  gift  of  God,  for  which  we  pray, 
and  which  every  one  who  asks  with  a  good  and   honest 
heart  is  encouraged  to  expect.     But  this  witness  within 
ourselves,  although  it  removes  every  shadow  of  doubt  from 
our  own  breasts,  cannot  be  stated  to  others.     They  are  to 
be  convinced,  not  by  our  feelings  but  by  their  own  ;  and  the 
truth  of  that  fact,   upon  which  the  Deistical  controversy 
turns,  must  be  established  by  arguments  which  every  un- 
derstanding may  apprehend,  and  with  regard  to  which  the 
experience  of  one  man  cannot  be  opposed  to  the  expe- 
rience of  another.     Of  this  kind  are  the  points  which  I 
have  stated  ;  the  superior  excellence  of  that  system  con- 
tained in  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  taken  in  con- 
junction with  the  condition  of  those  whom  we  know  to  be 
the  authors  of  them,  the   character  of  Jesus  Christ,  as 
drawn  by  his  disciples,  and  their  own  character  as  it  ap- 
pears from  their  writings.     I  do  not  say  that  these  argu- 
ments will  have  equal  force  with  all ;  but  I  say  that  they 
are  fitted   by  their  nature  to   make  an  impression  upon 
every  understanding  which  considers  them  with  attention 
and  candour.     I  allow  that  they  form  only  a  presumptive 
evidence  for  the  high  claim  advanced  in  these  books ;  and 
I  consider  the  external  evidence  of  Christianity  as  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  establish  our  faith.     But  I  have  called 
your  attention  particularly  to  the  various  branches  of  this 
internal  evidence,  not  only  because  the  result  of  the  four 
taken  together  appears  to  me  to  form  a  very  strong  pre- 
sumption, but  also  because  they  constitute  a  principal  part 
of  the  study  of  a  divine.    By  dwelling  upon  these  branches 
— by  reading  with  care  the  many  excellent  books  which 


38  INTERMAL  EVIDENCE  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

treat  of  them, — and,  above  all,  by  searching  the  Scrip- 
tures with  a  special  view  to  perceive  the  force  of  this  in- 
ternal evidence,  your  sense  of  the  excellence  of  Christianity 
is  confirmed ;  your  hearts  are  made  better,  and  j-^ou  ac- 
quire the  most  useful  furniture  for  those  public  ministra- 
tions in  which  it  will  be  more  your  business  to  confirm 
them  that  believe,  than  to  convince  the  gainsayers.  The 
several  points  which  I  have  stated  perpetually  recur  in 
our  discourses  to  the  people  ;  our  lectures  and  our  ser- 
mons are  full  of  them;  and  therefore,  the  more  extensive 
and  various  our  information  is  with  regard  to  these  points, 
and  the  deeper  the  impression  which  the  frequent  con- 
templation of  them  has  made  upon  our  own  minds,  Ave  are 
the  better  able  to  magnify,  in  the  eyes  of  those  for  whose 
sakes  we  labour,  the  unsearchable  riches  of  the  Gospel, 
and  to  build  them  up  in  holiness  and  comfort  through 
faith  unto  salvation. 

Newcome  on  the  Character  of  our  Saviour. 
Leechnian's  Sermons. 
Conybeare's  Answer  to  Tindal. 

Leland  on  the  Advantages  of  the  Christian  Revelation. 
Leland's  View  of  the  Deistical  Writers. 
Duchal's  Sermons. 

Jenjns  on  the  Internal  Evidences  of  Christianity. 
Macknight  on  the  Truth  of  the  Gospel  History. 
Paley's  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Vol.  II. 
Bishop  Porteus'  Summary  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

1 


39 


CHAP.  IV. 


DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Having  satisfied  your  minds  that  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  are  authentic  and  genuine,  that  they  contain 
nothing  upon  account  of  which  they  deserve  immediately 
to  be  rejected,  and  that  their  contents  afford  a  very  strong 
presumption  of  their  being  w-hat  they  profess  to  be, — a 
revelation  from  God  to  man,  it  is  natural  next  to  inquire 
what  is  the  direct  evidence  in  support  of  this  presumption  ; 
for,  in  a  matter  of  such  infinite  importance,  it  is  not  desir- 
able to  rest  entirely  upon  presumptions  :  and  it  is  not  to 
be  supposed  that  the  strongest  evidence  which  the  nature 
of  the  case  admits  will  be  withheld.  The  Gospel  professes 
to  offer  such  evidence ;  and  our  Lord  distinguishes  most 
accui'ately  between  the  amount  of  thatpresumptive  evidence 
Avhich  arises  fi'om  the  excellence  of  Christianity,  and  the 
force  of  that  direct  proof  which  he  brought.  Of  the  pre- 
sumptive evidence  he  thus  speaks :  "  If  any  man  will  do 
the  will  of  God,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it 
be  of  God."*  i.  e.  Every  man  of  an  honest  mind  will  infer 
from  the  nature  of  my  doctrine,  that  it  is  of  Divine  origin. 
But  of  the  direct  proof  he  says  :  "  If  I  had  not  done  among 
them  the  Morks  which  none  other  man  did,  they  had  not 
had  sin.  But  now  they  have  both  seen  and  hated  both 
me  and  my  Father."  "  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Fa- 
ther, believe  me  not :  But  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not 
me,  believe  the  works."-]-  To  the  direct  proof  he  constant- 
ly appeals  :  "  The  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me 
to  do  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the  Father  hath  sent  me.":j: 
He  declares  that  the  same  works  which  he  did,  and  greater 
than  them,  should  his  servants  do  :§  And  what  these  works 

•  John  vii.  17.  f  Jo^'"  xv.  24;  x.  37,  38.  J  John  v.  3G. 

§  John  xiv.  12. 


40  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE  '     " 

are,  we  learn  from  his  answer  to  the  disciples  of  John  the 
Baptist,  who  brought  to  him  this  question,  "  Art  thou  he 
that  should  come  ?"  "  Go,"  said  he,  "  and  show  John 
again  those  things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see.  The  blind 
receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk ;  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised."*  The  Gos- 
pel then  professes  to  be  received  as  a  divine  revelation 
ujDon  the  footing  of  miracles  ;  and,  therefore,  every  person 
who  examines  into  the  truth  of  our  religion,  ought  to  have 
a  clear  apprehension  of  the  nature  of  that  claim. 

That  I  may  not  pass  hurriedly  over  so  important  a 
subject,  I  have  been  led  to  divide  my  discourse  upon 
miracles  into  three  parts :  in  the  first  of  which  I  shall  state 
the  force  of  that  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity 
which  arises  from  the  miracles  of  Jesus  recorded  in  the 
New  Testament. 


SECTION  I. 


All  that  we  know  of  the  Almighty  is  gathered  from  his 
works.     He  speaks  to  us  by  the  effects  which  he  produces  ; 
and  the  signatures  of  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness,  which 
appear  in  the  objects  around  us,  are  the  language  in  which 
God  teaches  man  the  knowledge  of  himself.     From  these 
objects  we  learn  the  providence  as  well  as  the  existence  of 
God ;  because,  while  the  objects  are  in  themselves  great 
and  stupendous,   many  of  them  appear  to  us  in  motion, 
and,  through  the  whole  of  nature,  we  observe  operations 
which  indicate  not  only  the  original  exertions,   but  also 
the  continued  agency  of  a  supreme  invisible  power.     These 
operations  are  not  desultory.     By  experience  and  infor- 
mation we  are  able  to  trace  a  certain  regular  course,  ac- 
cording   to   which    the    Almighty   exercises    his   power 
throughout  the  universe  ;  and  all  the  business  of  life  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  supposition  of  the  uniformity  of  his  opera- 
tions.    We  are  often,  indeed,  reminded  that  our  experi- 
ence and  information  are  very  limited.     Extraordinary 

•  Matt.  xi.  4,  5. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  41 

appearances  at  particular  seasons  astonish  the  nations  of 
the  eartli ;  new  powers  of  nature  unfold  themselves  in  the 
progress  of  our  discoveries  ;  and  the  accumulation  of  facts, 
collected  and  arranged  by  successive  generations,  serves 
to  enlarge  our  conceptions  of  the  greatness  and  the  order 
of  that  system  to  which  we  belong.  But  although  we  do 
not  pretend  to  be  acquainted  with  the  whole  course  of 
nature,  yet  the  more  that  we  know,  we  are  the  more  con- 
firmed in  the  belief  that  there  is  an  established  course : 
and  every  true  philosopher  is  encouraged  by  the  fruit  of 
his  own  researches  to  entertain  the  hope,  that  some  future 
age  will  be  able  to  reconcile  with  that  course  appearances 
which  his  ignorance  is  at  present  unable  to  explain. 

Although  the  business  of  life  and  the  speculations  of 
philosophy  proceed  upon  the  uniformity  of  the  course  of 
nature,  yet  it  cannot  be  understood  by  those  who  believe 
in  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Intelligent  Being,  that  this 
uniformity  excludes  his  interposition  whensoever  he  sees 
meet  to  interpose.  We  use  the  phrase,  laws  of  nature,  to 
express  the  method  in  Avhich,  according  to  our  observation, 
the  Almighty  usually  operates.  We  call  them  laws,  be- 
cause they  are  independent  of  us,  because  they  serve  to 
account  for  the  most  discordant  phenomena,  and  because 
the  knowledge  of  them  gives  us  a  certain  command  over 
nature.  But  it  would  be  an  abuse  of  language  to  infer 
from  their  being  called  laws  of  nature,  that  they  bind  him 
who  established  them.  It  would  be  recurring  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  atheism,  to  fate,  and  blind  necessity,  to  say  that 
the  author  of  nature  is  obliged  to  act  in  the  manner  in 
which  he  usually  acts ;  and  that  he  cannot,  in  any  given 
circumstances,  depart  from  the  course  which  we  observe. 
The  departure,  indeed,  is  to  us  a  novelty.  We  have  no 
principles  by  which  we  can  foresee  its  approach,  or  form 
any  conjecture  with  regard  to  the  measure  and  the  end  of 
it.  But  if  we  conceive  worthily  of  the  Ruler  of  the  vmi- 
verse,  we  shall  believe  that  all  these  departures  entered 
into  the  great  plan  which  he  formed  in  the  beginning ; 
that  they  were  ordained  and  arranged  by  him ;  and  that 
they  arise  at  the  time  which  he  appointed,  and  fulfil  the 
purposes  of  his  wisdom. 

There  is  not  then  any  mutability  or  weakness  in  those 
occasional  interpositions  which  seem  to  us  to  suspend  the 


•1-2  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

iaws  and  to  alter  the  course  of  nature.  The  Almighty 
Being,  Avho  called  the  universe  out  of  nothing,  whose 
creating  hand  gave  a  beginning  to  the  course  of  nature, 
and  whose  will  must  be  independent  of  that  which  he  him- 
self produced,  acts  for  wise  ends,  and  at  particular  seasons, 
not  in  that  manner  which  he  has  enabled  us  to  trace,  but 
in  another  manner  concerning  Avhich  he  has  not  furnished 
us  with  the  means  of  forming  any  expectation,  and  which 
is  resolvable  merely  into  his  good  pleasure.  The  one 
manner  is  his  ordinary  administration,  under  which  his 
reasonable  offspring  enjoy  security,  advance  in  the  know- 
ledge of  nature,  and  receive  much  instruction  :  the  other 
manner  is  his  extraordinary  administration,  which,  al- 
though foreseen  by  him  as  a  part  of  the  scheme  of  his 
government,  appears  strange  to  his  intelligent  creatures, 
but  which,  by  this  strangeness,  may  promote  purposes  to 
them  most  important  and  salutary.  It  may  rouse  their 
attention  to  the  natural  proofs  of  the  being  and  perfections 
of  God  ;  it  may  afford  a  practical  confutation  of  the  scep- 
ticism and  materialism  to  which  false  philosopliy  often 
leads;  and,  rebuking  the  pride  and  the  security  of  man, 
may  teach  the  nations  to  know  that  the  Lord  God  reign- 
eth  "  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  in  the  seas,  and  all  deep 
places."* 

To  such  moral  purposes  as  these,  any  alteration  of  the 
course  of  nature,  by  the  immediate  interposition  of  the 
Almighty,  may  be  subsei'vient ;  and  no  man  will  presume 
to  say  that  our  limited  faculties  can  assign  all  the  reasons 
which  may  induce  the  Almighty  thus  to  interpose.  But 
we  can  clearly  discern  one  most  important  end  which  may 
be  promoted  by  those  alterations  of  the  course  of  nature, 
in  which  the  agency  of  men,  or  other  visible  ministers  of 
the  divine  power,  is  employed. 

The  circumstances  of  the  intelligent  creation  may  ren- 
der it  highly  expedient  chat,  in  addition  to  that  original 
revelation  of  the  nature  md  the  Avill  of  God  which  thej'^ 
enjoy  by  the  light  of  rci'son,  there  shovdd  be  superadded 
an  extraordinary  revelation,  to  remove  the  errors  which 
had  obscured  their  knowledge,  to  enforce  the  practice  of 
their  duty,  or  to  revive  and  extend  their  hopes.      The 

•  Psalm  cxxxv.  6. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  43 

wisest  ancient  philosophers  wished  for  a  divine  revelation; 
and  to  any  one  who  examines  the  state  of  the  old  heathen 
world  in  respect  of  religion  and  morality,  it  cannot  appear 
unworthy  of  the  Father  of  his  creatures  to  bestow  such 
a  blessing.  This  revelation,  supposing  it  to  be  given,  may 
either  be  imparted  to  every  individual  mind,  or  be  confin- 
ed to  a  few  chosen  pei'sons,  vested  with  a  commission  to 
communicate  the  benefits  of  it  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 
It  is  certainly  possible  for  the  Father  of  spirits  to  act  upon 
every  individual  mind  so  as  to  give  that  mind  the  impres- 
sion of  an  extraordinary  revelation  :  it  is  as  easy  for  the 
Father  of  spirits  to  do  this,  as  to  act  upon  a  few  minds. 
But,  in  this  case,  departures  from  the  established  course 
of  nature  would  be  multiplied  without  end.  In  the  illu- 
mination of  every  individual,  there  would  be  an  immediate 
extraordinary  interposition  of  the  Almighty.  But  such 
frequent  extraordinary  interpositions  would  lose  their  na- 
ture, so  as  to  be  confounded  with  the  ordinary  light  of 
reason  and  conscience  :  or  if  they  were  so  striking  as  to 
be,  in  every  case,  clearly  discriminated,  they  would  sub- 
due the  understanding,  and  overawe  the  whole  soul,  so  as 
to  extort,  by  the  feeling  of  the  immediate  presence  of  the 
Creator,  that  submission  and  obedience  which  it  is  the 
character  of  a  rational  agent  to  yield  with  deliberation  and 
from  choice.  It  appears,  therefore,  more  consistent  with 
the  simplicity  of  nature,  and  with  the  character  of  man, 
that  a  few  persons  should  be  ordained  the  instruments  of 
conveying  a  divine  revelation  to  their  fellow-creatures ; 
and  that  the  extraordinary  circumstances  which  must  at- 
tend the  giving  such  a  revelation  should  be  confined  to 
them.  But  it  is  not  enough  that  these  persons  feel  the  im- 
pression of  a  divine  revelation  upon  their  own  minds :  it  is 
not  enough  that,  in  their  communications  with  their  fellow- 
creatures,  they  appear  to  be  possessed  of  superior  know- 
ledge and  more  enlarged  views :  it  is  possible  that  their 
knowledge  and  views  may  have  been  derived  from  some 
natural  source  ;  and  we  require  a  clear  indisputable  mark 
to  authenticate  the  singular  and  important  commission 
which  they  profess  to  bear.  It  were  presumptuous  in  us 
to  say  what  are  the  marks  of  such  a  commission  which  the 
Almighty  can  give  ;  for  our  knowledge  of  what  He  can 
do,  is  chiefly  derived  from  our  observation  of  what  he  has 


44  DIRECT  OB  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

done.  But  we  may  say,  that,  according  to  our  experience 
of  the  divine  procedure,  there  can  be  no  mark  of  a  divine 
commission  more  striking  and  more  incontrovertible,  than 
that  the  persons  who  bear  it  should  have  the  privilege  of 
altering  the  course  of  nature  by  a  word  of  their  mouths. 
The  revelation  made  to  their  minds  is  invisible ;  and  all 
the  outward  appearances  of  it  may  be  delusive.  But  ex- 
traordinary works,  beyond  the  power  of  man,  performed 
by  them,  are  a  sensible  outward  sign  of  a  power  which  can 
be  derived  from  God  alone.  If  he  has  invested  them  with 
this  power,  it  is  not  incredible  that  he  has  made  a  revela- 
tion to  their  minds  ;  and  if  they  constantly  ajipeal  to  the 
works,  which  are  the  sign  of  the  power,  as  the  evidence  of 
the  invisible  revelation,  and  of  the  commission  with  which 
it  was  accompanied,  then  we  must  either  believe  that  they 
have  such  a  commission,  or  we  are  driven  to  the  horrid 
supposition  that  God  is  the  author  of  a  falsehood,  and  con- 
spires with  these  men  to  deceive  his  creatures. 

When  I  call  the  extraordinary  works  performed  by  these 
men  the  sign  of  a  power  derived  from  God,  you  recollect 
that  all  the  latiguage  which  we  interpret  consists  of  signs  ; 
i.  e.  objects  and  operations  which  fall  under  our  senses, 
employed  to  indicate  that  which  is  unseen.  What  are  the 
looks,  the  words,  and  the  actions  of  our  fellow-creatures, 
but  signs  of  that  internal  disposition  which  is  hidden  from 
our  view  ?  What  are  the  appearances  which  bodies  exhi- 
bit to  our  senses,  but  signs  of  the  inward  qualities  which 
produce  these  appearances  ?  What  are  the  works  of  na- 
ture, but  signs  of  that  supreme  intelligence,  "  whom  no 
man  hath  seen  at  anytime?"*  Upon  this  principle  all 
those  events  and  operations,  beyond  the  compass  of  hu- 
man power,  which  happen  according  to  the  established 
course  of  nature,  form  part  of  the  foundations  of  Natural 
Religion  ;  and  any  person  who  foretells  or  conducts  them 
only  discovers  his  acquaintance  with  that  course,  and  his 
sagacity  in  applying  what  we  call  the  laws  of  nature. 
Upon  the  same  principle  all  those  events  and  operations, 
which  happen  in  opposition  to  the  established  course  of 
nature,  imply  an  exertion  of  the  same  power  which  esta- 
blished that  course,  because  they  counteract  it ;  and  any 

,  ..       •  John  i.  18. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  45 

person  who,  by  a  word,  produces  such  events  and  opera- 
tions, discovers  that  this  power  is  committed  to  him.  To 
command  the  sun  to  run  his  race  until  the  time  of  his  go- 
ing down,  and  to  command  him  to  stand  still  about  a 
whole  day,  as  in  the  valley  of  Gibeon  in  the  time  of 
Joshua,*  are  two  commands  which  destroy  one  another ; 
and,  therefore,  if  we  believe  that  the  will  of  the  Almighty 
Ruler  of  the  universe  produces  an  uniform  obedience  to 
the  first,  we  must  believe  that  the  obedience  which,  upon 
one  occasion,  was  yielded  to  the  second,  was  the  effect  of 
liis  will  also.  As  no  creature  can  stop  the  working  of  his 
hand,  every  interruption  in  that  course  according  to  which 
he  usually  operates  happens  by  his  permission  ;  and  the 
power  of  altering  the  course  of  nature,  by  whomsoever  it 
be  exerted,  must  be  derived  from  the  Lord  of  nature. 

This  is  the  reasoning  upon  which  we  proceed,  when  we 
argue  for  the  truth  of  a  revelation  from  extraordinary 
works  performed  by  those  through  whom  it  is  communi- 
cated ;  and  here  we  see  the  important  purpose  which  the 
Almighty  promotes  by  employing  the  agency  of  men  to 
change  the  order  of  nature.  Those  changes  which  pro- 
ceed immediately  from  his  hand,  however  well  fitted  to 
impress  his  creatures  with  a  sense  of  his  sovereignty,  do 
not  of  themselves  prove  any  new  proposition,  because  their 
connexion  with  that  proposition  is  not  manifest.  But,  when 
visible  agents  perform  works  beyond  the  power  of  man, 
and  contrary  to  the  course  of  nature,  they  give  a  sign  of 
the  interposition  of  the  Almighty,  which  being  applied  by 
their  declaration  to  the  doctrine  which  they  teach,  becomes 
a  voucher  of  the  truth  of  what  they  say.  To  works  of  this 
kind,  the  term  miracles  is  properly  applied ;  and  they  form 
what  has  been  called  the  seal  of  heaven,  implying  that  de- 
legation of  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  Lord  of  all, 
which  appears  to  be  reserved  in  the  conduct  of  providence 
as  the  credential  of  those  to  whom  a  divine  commission  is 
at  any  time  granted.  This  was  the  rod  put  into  the  hand 
of  Moses,  wherewith  to  do  signs  and  wonders,  that  Pha- 
raoh and  the  children  of  Israel  might  believe  that  the 
Lord  God  had  sent  him.  This  was  the  sign  given  to 
Elijali,  that  it  might  be  known  that  he  was  a  man  of  God ; 

•  Joshua  .X.  12 — 14. 


46  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

and  this  was  the  Avitness  which  the  Father  bore  to  "  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God  by  miracles,  Avhich 
God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  the  people,"*  and  to  the 
apostles  of  Jesus  who  went  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel,  ".the 
Lord  working  with  them,  and  confirming  the  word  by  signs 
following."f 

The  nature  of  the  revelation  contained  in  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament  aiFords  a  very  strong  presumptive 
proof  that  it  comes  from  God ;  whilst  the  works  done  by 
Jesus  and  his  Apostles  are  the  direct  proof;  and  the  two 
proofs  conspire  with  the  most  perfect  harmony.  The  pre- 
sumptive proof  explains  the  importance  and  the  dignity  of 
that  occasion  upon  which  the  Almighty  was  pleased  to 
make  the  interposition,  of  which  these  works  are  the  sign : 
The  direct  proof  accounts  for  that  transcendent  excellence 
in  the  doctrine  and  the  character  of  the  author  of  this  sj's- 
tem,  which,  upon  the  supposition  of  its  being  of  human 
origin,  appeared  to  be  inexplicable  ;  and  thus  the  internal 
and  external  evidence  of  Christianity,  by  the  aid  whichthey 
lend  to  one  another,  make  us  "  ready  to  give  an  answer 
to  every  man  that  asketh  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is 
m  us.  I 

We  have  found  that  the  reasoning,  involved  in  the 
argument  from  miracles,  proceeds  upon  the  same  princi- 
ples by  which  a  sound  theist  infers  the  being  and  perfec- 
tions of  God :  in  both  cases,  we  discover  God  by  his  Avorks, 
which  are  to  us  the  signs  of  his  agency.  This  analogy 
between  the  proofs  of  natural  and  revealed  religion  is  verj'- 
much  illustrated  by  considering  the  particular  miracles 
recorded  in  the  Gospel.  When  we  investigate  the  evi- 
dences of  natural  religion,  we  find  that  any  works  mani- 
festly exceeding  human  power  would  lead  us,  in  the  course 
of  fair  reasoning,  to  a  Being  antecedent  to  the  human  race, 
superior  to  them  in  strength,  and  independent  of  them  in 
the  mode  of  his  existence.  But  it  is  the  transcendent 
grandeur  of  those  works  which  we  behold,  their  inimitable 
beauty,  their  endless  variety,  their  harmony  and  utility ; 
it  is  this  infinite  superiority  of  the  works  of  nature  above 
the  Avorks  of  art,  which  renders  the  argument  completely 

»  Acts  ii.  22.  f  IMark  xvi.  £0. 

i  1  Peter  iii.  15. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  i^ 

satisfying:,  and  leaves  no  doubt  in  our  minds,  either  of  the 
power  or  of  the  moral  character  of  that  Being  from  whom 
they  proceed.  In  like  manner,  although,  in  stating  the 
argument  from  miracles  in  support  of  the  Gospel,  we  have 
reasoned  fairly  upon  this  simple  principle,  that  they  are 
interruptions  of  the  course  of  nature,  yet,  when  we  come 
to  consider  those  particular  interruptions  upon  vdiich  the 
Gospel  founds  its  claim,  we  perceive  that  their  nature  fur- 
nishes a  very  strong  confirmation  of  the  general  argument, 
and  that,  like  the  other  works  of  God,  they  proclaim  their 
Author. 

In  Him  who  ruled  the  raging  of  the  sea,  and  stilled 
the  tempest,  we  recognise  the  Lord  of  the  universe.     lu 
that  command  which  gave  life  to  the  dead,   we  recognise 
the  Author  of  life.     In  the  works  of  Him  who,  by  a  word 
of  his  mouth,  cured  the  most  inveterate  diseases,  unstopped 
the  ears  which  had  never  admitted  a  sound,  opened  the 
eyes  which  had  never  seen  the  light,  conferred  upon  the 
most  distracted  mind  the  exercise  of  reason,  and  restored 
the  withered,  maimed,  distorted  limb,  we  recognise  the 
Former  of  our  bodies  and  the  Father  of  our  spirits.     This 
is  the  very  power  by  which  all  things  consist,  the  energy 
of  Him  "  in  whom  we  live,   and  move,   and  have  our  be- 
ing."*    The  miracles  of  the  Gospel  were  performed  with- 
out preparation  or  concert ;  they  were  instantaneous  in 
the  manner  of  being  produced,  yet  their  eifects  were  per- 
manent ;   and,  like  the  works  of  nature,   although  they 
came  without  effort  from  the  hands  of  the  workman,  the}- 
bore  to  be  examined  by  the  nicest  eye.     There  does  not 
appear  in  them  that  poverty  which  marks  all  human  exer- 
tions ;  neither  the  strength  nor  the  skill  of  Him  who  did 
them  seemed  to  be  exhausted ;  but  there  was  a  fulness  of 
power,  a  multiplicity,  a  diversity,  a  readiness  in  the  exer- 
cise of  it,  by  which  they  resemble  the  riches  of  God  that 
replenish  the  earth.     Yet  they  were  free  from  parade  and 
ostentation.     There  were  no  attempts  to  dazzle,  no  anxiety 
to  set  off  every  work  to  the   best  advantage,  no  waste  of 
exertion,  no  frivolous  accompaniments  ;  but  a  sobriety,  a 
decorum,  all  the  dignified  simplicity  of  nature.     The  ex- 
traordinary power  which  appeared  in  the  miracles  of  the 

•  Acts  xvii.  28. 


48  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

Gospel  was  employed  not  to  hurt  or  to  terrify,  but  to  heal, 
to  comfort,  and  to  bless.  The  gracious  purpose  to  which 
they  ministered  declared  their  divine  origin  ;  and  they  who 
beheld  a  man  who  had  the  command  of  nature,  and  "  who 
went  about  doing  good,"*  dispensing  with  a  bountiful 
hand  the  gifts  of  heaven,  lightening  the  burdens  of  human 
life,  and  accompanying  every  exercise  of  his  power  with  a 
display  of  tenderness,  condescension,  and  love,  were  taught 
to  venerate  the  messenger,  and  the  "  express  image"  of 
that  Almighty  Lord,  whose  kingdom  excels  at  once  in 
majesty  and  in  grace. 

As  the  religion  which  these  miracles  were  wrought  to 
attest  is  in  every  respect  worthy  of  God,  so  they  were 
selected  with  divine  wisdom  to  illustrate  the  peculiar  doc- 
trines of  that  religion  ;  and  in  the  admirable  fitness  with 
which  the  nature  of  the  proof  is  accommodated  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  thing  to  be  proved,  we  have  an  instance  of  the 
same  kind  with  many  which  the  creation  affords  of  the 
perfection  of  the  divine  workmanship.  Jesus  came  preach- 
ing forgiveness  of  sins ;  and  he  brought  with  him  a  sen- 
sible sign  of  his  having  received  a  commission  to  bestow 
this  invisible  gift.  Disease  was  introduced  into  the  world 
by  sin.  Jesus  therefore  cured  all  manner  of  disease,  that 
we  might  know  that  he  had  power  to  forgive  sins  also. 
His  being  able  to  remove,  not  by  the  slow  uncertain  ap- 
plications of  human  art,  but  instantly,  by  a  word  of  his 
mouth  spoken  at  any  distance,  those  temporal  maladies 
which  are  the  present  visible  fruits  of  sin,  was  an  assur- 
ance to  the  world  of  his  being  able  to  remove  the  spiritual 
evils  which  flow  from  the  same  source.  It  was  a  specimen, 
a  symbolical  representation  of  his  character  as  physician 
of  souls.  Jesus  was  that  seed  of  the  woman  who  was  to 
bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,  and  he  gave  in  his  miracles 
a  sensible  sign  of  the  fall  of  Satan.  The  influence,  which 
this  adversary  of  mankind  in  every  age  exercises  over  the 
minds  of  men,  was  in  that  age  connected  with  a  degree  of 
power  over  their  bodies.  It  was  the  general  belief  in 
Judea,  tliat  certain  diseases  proceeded  from  the  possession 
which  his  emissaries  took  of  the  human  body.  To  the 
Jews  therefore,  the  casting  out  devils  was  an  ocular  de- 

•  Acts  X.  38. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  49 

luonstration  that  Jesus  Avas  able  to  destroy  the  works  of 
the  devil.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  triumphs  of  this 
mighty  prince,  a  trophy  which  he  brought  from  the  land 
of  the  enemy,  to  assure  his  followers  of  a  complete  victory. 
I  have  bound  the  strong  man.  Do  you  ask  a  proof?  See, 
I  enter  his  house  and  spoil  his  goods.  I  set  free  the  mind 
and  conscience  which  he  had  enslaved.  My  people  will 
feel  their  freedom,  and  will  need  no  foreign  proof.  But 
does  the  world  require  one  ?  See,  by  the  finger  of  God,  I 
set  free  those  bodies  which  Satan  torments.  His  raising 
the  dead  was  a  practical  confirmation  of  that  new  doctrine 
of  his  religion,  that  the  hour  is  coming  M'hen  they  who 
are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth  to  the  resurrection.  You  cannot  say  that  the  thing 
is  impossible  ;  for  you  see  in  his  miracles  a  sample  of  that 
almighty  power  which  shall  quicken  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust,  a  sensible  sign  that  Jesus  "  hath  abolished  death," 
and  is  able  to  "  ransom  his  people  from  the  power  of  the 
grave."* 

Other  miracles  of  Jesus  may  be  accommodated  to  the 
doctrines  of  religion,  and  much  spiritual  instruction  may 
be  derived  from  them.  But  these  three,  the  cure  of  dis- 
eases, the  casting  out  devils,  and  the  raising  the  dead,  are 
applied  by  himself  in  the  manner  which  I  have  stated. 
They  are  not  only  a  confirmation  of  his  divine  mission, 
by  being  a  display  of  the  same  kind  of  power  which  ap- 
pears in  creation  and  providence,  but,  from  their  nature, 
they  are  a  proof  of  the  characteristical  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  we  are  led  by  considering  works  so  great  in 
themselves,  and  at  the  same  time  so  apposite  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  wrought,  to  transfer  to  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  that  devout  exclam.ation  which  an  en- 
larged view  of  the  creation  dictated  to  the  Psalmist : 
"  How  manifold  are  thy  works,  O  Lord ;  in  wisdom  hast 
thou  made  them  all."-f- 

I  have  tlius  stated  the  force  of  that  argument  which 
arises  from  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  as  they  are  recorded  ia 
the  New  Testament.  They  who  beheld  them  said,  "  When 
Messias  cometh,  will  he  do  more  miracles  than  those  which 
this  man  doth  ?   This  is  the  prophet.":}:     They  spoke  what 

*  2  Tim.  i.  10;  Hos.  xiii.  14.     f  ?«•  ^W.  24.     +  Jobn  vii.  31—40. 

D 


50  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL    EVIDENCE 

they  felt,  and  the  deductions  of  the  most  enlightened  rea- 
son upon  this  subject  accord  v.ith  the  feelings  of  evcry 
unbiassed  spectator.  But  we  are  not  the  spectators  of  the 
miracles  of  Jesus :  the  report  onlj'^  has  reached  our  ears  ; 
and  some  farther  principles  are  necessary  in  our  situation 
to  enable  us  to  apply  the  argument  from  miracles  in  sup- 
port of  the  truth  of  Christianity. 


SECTION  II. 


It  appeared  more  consistent  with  the  simplicity  of  nature 
and  the  character  of  man,  that  one  or  more  persons  should 
be  ordained  the  instruments  of  conveying  an  extraordinary 
revelation  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  than  that  it  should  be 
imparted  to  every  individual  mind.  The  commission  of 
these  messengers  of  heaven  may  be  attested  by  changes 
upon  the  order  of  nature,  which  the  Almighty  accom- 
plishes through  their  agency.  But  the  works  Avhich  they 
do  are  objects  of  sense  only  to  their  contemporaries  with 
whom  they  converse.  Without  a  perpetual  miracle  exhi- 
bited in  their  preservation,  those  facts  which  are  the  proof 
of  the  divine  revelation  must  be  transmitted  to  succeeding 
ages  by  oral  or  written  tradition,  and,  like  all  other  facts 
in  the  history  of  former  times,  they  must  constitute  part  of 
that  information  which  is  received  upon  the  credit  of  tes- 
timony. Accordingly  we  say,  that  Jesus  Christ,  for  a  few 
years,  did  signs  and  wonders  in  the  presence  of  his  dis- 
ciples, and  before  all  the  people :  the  report  of  them  was 
carried  through  the  world  after  his  departure  from  it  b}- 
chosen  witnesses,  to  whom  he  had  imparted  the  power  of 
working  miracles  ;  and  many  of  the  miracles  done  both  by 
him  and  his  apostles  are  now  written  in  authentic  genuine 
records  which  have  reached  our  days,  that  we  also  may 
believe  that  he  is  the  Son  of  God.  Supposing  then  we 
admit,  that  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  rea- 
soned justly  when  they  considered  them  as  proofs  of  a 
divine  commission  ;  still  it  remains  to  be  inquired,  whether 


OF  CIIRISriANITY.  51 

the  evidence  which  has  transmitted  these  miracles  to  us, 
is  sufficient  to  warrant  us  in  drawing  the  same  inference 
which  we  should  have  drawn  if  we  ourselves  had  seen 
them. 

There  are  three  questions  which  require  to  be  dis- 
cussed upon  this  subject.  Whether  miracles  are  capable 
of  proof?  Whether  the  testimony  borne  to  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  was  credible  at  the  time  it  was  given  ?  And 
whether  the  distance  at  which  we  live  from  that  time  de- 
stroys, or  in  any  material  degree  impairs,  its  original  cre- 
dibility ? 

1.  it  was  said  by  one  of  the  subtlest  reasoners  of  mo- 
dern times,  that  a  miracle  is  incapable  of  being  proved  by 
testimony.  His  argument  was  this  :  "  Our  belief  of  any 
fact  attested  by  eye-witnesses  rests  upon  our  experience 
of  the  usual  conformity  of  facts  to  the  reports  of  wit- 
nesses. But  a  firm  and  unalterable  experience  hatli  esta- 
blished the  laws  of  nature.  When,  therefore,  witnesses 
attest  any  fact  which  is  a  violation  of  tiie  lav/s  of  nature, 
here  is  a  contest  of  two  opposite  experiences.  The  proof 
against  a  miracle,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  fact,  is  as 
entire  as  any  argument  from  experience  can  be  imagined ; 
and  if  so,  it  cannot  be  surmounted  by  a  proof  from  testi- 
mony, because  testimony  rests  upon  experience."  Mr. 
Hume  boasted  of  this  reasoninsr  as  unanswerable,  and  he 
holds  it  forth  in  his  Essay  on  Miracles  as  an  everlasting 
check  to  superstition.  The  principles  upon  which  the 
reasoning  proceeds  have  been  closely  sifted,  and  their 
fallacy  completely  exposed,  in  Campbell's  Dissertation  on 
Miracles;  one  of  the  best  polemical  treatises  that  ever  was 
written.  Mr.  Hume  meets  here  with  an  antagonist  who 
is  not  inferior  to  himself  in  acuteness,  and  who,  supported 
by  the  goodness  of  liis  cause,  has  gained  a  triumphant 
victory.  I  consider  this  dissertation  as  a  standard  book 
for  students  of  divinity.  You  will  find  in  it  accurate  rea- 
soning, and  much  information  upon  the  whole  subject  of 
miracles,  and,  in  particular,  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
question  which  I  have  now  stated. 

It  is  not  true  that  our  belief  in  testimony  rests  wholly 
upon  experience  ;  for,  as  every  man  has  a  principle  of  ve- 
racity which  leads  him  to  speak  truth,  unless  his  mind  be 
under  some  particular  wrong  bias,  so  we  are  led,  by  the 


52  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

consciousness  of  this  principle,  and  by  the  analogy  which 
we  suppose  to  exist  between  our  own  mind  and  the  mind 
of  others,  to  believe  that  they  also  speak  the  truth,  until 
we  learn  by  experience  that  they  mean  to  deceive  us.  It 
is  not  accurate  to  state  the  firm  and  unalterable  expe- 
rience which  is  said  to  establish  the  laws  of  nature  as 
somewhat  distinct  from  testimony  ;  for  since  the  observa- 
tions of  any  individual  are  much  too  limited  to  enable 
him  to  judge  of  the  uniformity  of  nature,  the  word  expe- 
rience, in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  used  in  this  proposition, 
presupposes  a  faith  in  testimony,  for  it  comprehends  the 
observations  of  others  communicated  to  us  through  that 
channel.  It  is  not  true  tliat  a  firm  and  unalterable  ex- 
perience hath  established  the  laws  of  nature,  because  the 
histories  of  all  countries  are  filled  with  accounts  of  devia- 
tions from  them. 

These  are  objections  to  the  principles  of  Mr.  Hume's 
argument,  which  his  subtle  antagonist  brings  forwai'd,  and 
presses  with  much  force.  But,  independently  of  these  in- 
ferior points,  he  has  shown  that  the  argument  itself  is  a 
fallacy  ;  and  the  sophism  lies  here.  Experience  vouches 
that  which  is  past ;  but,  if  the  word  has  any  meaning,  ex- 
perience does  not  vouch  that  which  is  future.  Our  judg- 
ment of  the  future  is  an  inference  Avhich  we  draw  from 
the  reports  of  experience  concerning  the  jiast :  the  repoi'ts 
majr  be  true,  and  yet  our  inference  maj'  be  false.  Thus 
experience  declares  that  it  is  not  agreeable  to  the  usual 
course  of  nature  for  the  dead  to  rise.  Suppose  twelve 
men  to  declare  that  the  dead  do  usually  arise,  there 
would  be  proof  against  proof;  a  particular  testimony  set 
against  our  own  personal  observations,  and  against  all  the 
re])orts  and  observations  of  others  which  we  had  collected 
upon  that  subject.  But  suppose  twelve  men  to  declare 
that  one  dead  man  did  arise,  here  is  nd^'observation  be- 
tween the  reports  of  experience  and  their  testimony ;  for 
it  does  not  fall  within  the  province  of  experience  to  de- 
clare tliat  it  is  impossible  for  the  dead  to  rise,  or  that  the 
usual  course  of  nature  in  this  matter  shall  never  be  de- 
parted from.  We  may  hastily  draw  such  inferences  from 
the  reports  of  experience.  But  the  inference  is  our  o^^■n  : 
we  have  taken  too  wide  a  step  in  making  it ;  and  it  is  a 
sophism  to  say,  that  because  experience  vouches  the  pre- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


53 


mises,  experience  vouches  also  that  conclusion  which  is 
drawn  from  them  merely  by  a  detect  in  our  mode  of  rea- 


sonmg, 


When  M'itnesses  then  attest  miracles,  experience  and 
testimony  do  not  contradict  one  another.  Experience  de- 
clares that  such  events  do  not  usually  happen  :  testimony 
declares  that  they  have  happened  in  that  instance.  Each 
makes  its  own  report,  and  the  reports  of  both  may  be  true. 
Instances  somewhat  similar  occur  in  other  cases.  Unusual 
events,  extraordinary  phenomena  in  nature,  strange  revo- 
lutions in  politics,  uncommon  efforts  of  genius  or  of  me- 
mory, are  all  received  upon  testimony.  Magnetism,  elec- 
tricity, and  galvanism  are  opposite  to  the  properties  of 
matter  formerly  known.  Yet  many,  who  never  saw  these 
new  powers  exerted,  give  credit  to  the  i-eports  of  the  ex- 
periments that  have  been  made.  Experience  indeed  be- 
gets a  presumption  with  regard  to  the  future.  We  are 
disposed  to  believe  that  the  facts  which  have  been  uni- 
formly observed  will  recur  in  similar  circumstances  ;  and 
we  act  upon  this  presumption.  But  as  new  situations 
may  occur,  in  which  a  difference  of  circumstances  pro- 
duces a  difference  in  the  event,  and  as  we  do  not  pretend 
to  be  acquainted  with  all  the  circumstances  which  discri- 
minate every  new  case,  this  presumption  is  overturned  by 
credible  testimony  relating  facts  different  from  those  which 
have  been  observed.  Without  the  presumption  suggested 
by  experience  we  should  live  in  perpetual  amazement ; 
without  the  credit  given  to  testimony,  we  should  often 
remain  ignorant,  and  be  exjxjsed  to  danger.  By  the  one, 
we  accommodate  our  conduct  to  the  general  uniformity 
of  events ;  by  the  other,  we  are  apprized  of  new  facts 
which  sometimes  arise.  The  provision  made  for  us  by  the 
Author  of  our  nature  is  in  this  way  complete,  and  we  are 
prepared  for  our  whole  condition. 

There  does  not  appear,  then,  to  be  any  foundation  for 
saying,  that  a  miracle  is,  from  its  nature,  incapable  of 
being  proved  by  testimony.  As  nothing  can  hinder  the 
Author  of  nature  from  changing  the  order  of  nature  when- 
soever he  sees  meet,  and  as  one  very  important  purpose  in 
his  government  is  most  effectually  promoted  by  employ- 
ing, at  particular  seasons,  the  ministry  of  men  to  change 
this  order,  a  miracle  is  always  a  possible  event,  and  be- 


54  DIRECT  OR  EXTER2-:AL  EVIDKNCE 

comes,  in  certain  circumstances,  not  improbable.  Like 
every  other  possible  fact,  therefore,  it  may  be  communi- 
cated to  such  as  have  not  seen  it  by  the  testimony  of  such 
as  have.  It  is  natural,  indeed,  to  weigh  very  scrupulously 
the  testimony  of  a  miracle,  because  testimony  has  in  this 
case  to  encounter  that  presumption  against  the  fact  which 
is  suggested  by  experience.  The  person  who  relates  it 
may,  from  ignorance,  mistake  an  unusual  application  of  the 
laws  of  nature  for  a  suspension  of  them  ;  an  exercise  of 
superior  skill  and  dexterity  for  a  work  beyond  the  power 
of  man,  or  he  may  be  disposed  to  amuse  himself,  and  to 
promote  some  private  end  by  our  credulity.  Accordingly 
we  do  not  receive  any  extraordinary  fact  in  common  life 
upon  the  credit  of  every  man  whom  we  chance  to  meet. 
We  attend  to  the  character  and  the  manner  of  tlie  re- 
porter ;  we  lay  together  the  several  parts  of  his  report, 
and  we  call  in  every  circumstance  v/hich  may  assist  us  in 
judging  whether  he  is  speaking  the  truth.  The  more  ex- 
traordinary and  important  the  fact  be,  there  is  the  more 
reason  for  this  caution  ;  and  it  is  especially  proper,  in 
examining  the  reports  of  those  facts  which  deserve  the 
name  of  miracles,  i.  e.  works  contrary  to  the  course  of  na- 
ture, said  to  be  performed  by  man,  as  the  evidences  of  an 
extraordinary  revelation. 

2.  We  are  thus  led  to  the  second  question  which  I  stated. 
Whether  the  testimony  borne  to  the  miracles  of  Jesus  was 
credible  ? 

The  Apostles  were  chosen  by  Jesus  to  be  witnesses  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  of  all  things  which  he  did, 
both  in  the  land  of  the  Jews  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  of  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  This  was  the  commission 
which  they  received  from  him  immediately  before  his  as- 
'cension,  the  character  under  which  they  appeared  before 
the  Jewish  council,  and  the  office  which  they  assume  in 
their  M^ritings.  It  is  not  my  business  to  spread  out  the 
circumstances  which  render  theirs  a  credible  testimony, 
and  give  to  each  its  proper  colouring.  It  is  enough  for 
me  to  mention  the  sources  of  argument. 

In  judging  of  tlie  credibility  of  this  testimony,  you  are 
led  back  to  that  branch  of  the  internal  evidence  of  Chris- 
tianity which  arises  from  the  character  of  the  Apostles,  as 
it  appears  in  their  writings — in  their  unblemished  conduct, 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  55 

and  distinguished  virtues — in  that  soundness  of  under- 
standing, and  cahuness  of  temper  which  are  opposite  to 
enthusiasm, — and  in  those  simple  artless  manners  which 
are  most  unlike  to  imposture.  You  are  farther  to  observe, 
that  their  relation  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  consists  of 
palpable  facts,  which  were  the  objects  of  sense.  The 
power  by  which  a  man  born  blind  received  his  sight  was 
invisible ;  but  that  the  man  was  born  blind  might  be  learn- 
ed' with  certainty  from  his  parents  or  neighbours :  and  tliat, 
by  obeying  a  simple  command  of  Jesus,  he  recovered  his 
sight,  was  manifest  to  every  spectator.  The  power  which 
raised  a  dead  man  was  invisible ;  but  that  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  met  a  large  company  carrying  forth  a  young  man 
to  his  burial — that  this  young  man  was  known  to  his 
friends,  and  believed  by  all  the  company  to  be  truly  dead, 
and  that  upon  Jesus'  coming  to  the  bier,  and  bidding  him 
arise,  he  sat  up  and  began  to  sjieak  ;  all  these  are  points 
which  it  did  not  require  a  superior  learning  or  sagacity  to 
discern,  but  concerning  which  any  person  in  the  exer- 
cise of  his  senses,  Avho  was  present  and  who  bestowed  an 
ordinary  degree  of  attention,  could  not  be  mistaken.  The 
case  is  the  same  with  the  other  miracles.  We  are  not  re- 
quired to  rest  upon  the  judgment  of  the  Apostles — upon 
their  acquaintance  with  physical  causes,  for  the  miracu- 
lous nature  of  the  works  which  Jesus  did  ;  for  they  give 
us  simply  the  facts  which  they  saw,  and  leave  us  to  make 
the  inference  for  ourselves.  There  is  no  amplification  in 
their  manner  of  recording  the  miracles,  no  attempt  to  ex- 
cite our  wonder,  no  exclamation  of  surprise  upon  their 
part ;  they  relate  the  most  marvellous  exertions  of  their 
Master's  power  with  the  same  calmness  as  ordinary  facts ; 
they  sometimes  mention  the  feelings  of  joy  and  admira- 
tion which  were  uttered  by  the  other  spectators ;  they 
hardly  ever  express  their  own. 

This  temperance,  with  which  the  Apostles  speak  of  all 
that  Jesus  did,  gives  every  reader  a  security  in  receiving 
their  report,  which  he  would  not  have  felt  had  the  narra- 
tion been  turgid.  Yet  he  cannot  entertain  any  doubt  of 
their  being  convinced  that  the  works  of  Jesus  were  truly 
miraculous  ;  for  by  these  works  they  were  attached  to  a 
stranger.  While  they  lived  in  honest  obscurity,  an  extra- 
ordinary personage  appeared  in  their  country,  and  called 


56  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

upon  them  to  follow  him.  They  left  their  occupations 
and  their  homes,  and  continued  for  some  years  the  wit- 
nesses of  all  that  he  did.  They  were  Jews,  ^nd  had  those 
feelings  which  have  ever  distinguished  the  sons  of  Abra- 
ham with  regard  to  the  national  religion.  Their  educa- 
tion, instead  of  enlarging  their  views,  had  confirmed  their 
prejudices.  Yet  they  were  converted :  with  every  thing 
else,  they  forsook  their  religion,  and  joined  a  man  who 
was  the  author  of  a  system  which  professed  to  supersede 
the  law  of  Moses.  They  received  him  as  the  promised 
Messiah.  But,  possessed  with  the  fond  hopes  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  they  believed  that  he  was  a  temporal 
prince,  come  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  and  to  make 
the  Jews  masters  of  the  world.  They  were  undeceived. 
Yet  this  disappointment  did  not  shake  their  faith.  Al- 
though they  had  followed  Jesus  in  the  expectation  of  be- 
ing the  ministers  and  favourites  of  an  earthly  prince,  they 
were  content  to  remain,  during  his  life,  the  wandering 
attendants  of  a  man  who  had  "  not  where  to  lay  his  head  ;" 
and  they  appeared  in  public,  after  his  departure  from  the 
earth,  as  his  disciples.  The  body  of  the  Jewish  people, 
attached  to  the  law  of  Moses,  regarded  them  as  traitors  to 
their  nation.  To  the  priests  and  rulere,  whose  influence 
depended  upon  the  established  faith,  they  were  pecu- 
liarly obnoxious.  That  civil  power,  with  which  the  spirit 
of  the  Jewish  religion  had  invested  its  ministers,  was  di- 
rected against  the  apostles  of  Jesus  :  and  without  any 
attempt  to  disprove  the  facts  Avhich  they  asserted,  every 
effort  was  made  to  silence  them  by  force.  They  were  im- 
prisoned and  called  before  the  most  august  tribunal  of  the 
state.  There  the  high  priest,  armed  with  all  the  dignity 
and  authority  of  his  sacred  office,  commanded  them  not 
to  preach  any  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Yet  these  men, 
educated  in  servile  dread  of  the  higher  powers,  with  the 
prospect  of  instant  punishment  before  their  eyes,  declared 
that  they  would  ol)ey  God  rather  than  man.  Their  con- 
duct corresponded  to  this  heroic  declaration.  Although 
exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  populace  and  the  vengeance  of 
the  rulers,  they  continued  in  the  words  of  truth  and  so- 
berness to  execute  their  commission ;  and  they  sealed 
their  testimony  with  their  blood ;  martyrs,  not  to  specu- 
lative opinions   in  which  they  might  be  mistaken,  but  to 


OF  CHRISTIAMXy.  5"] 

facts  which  they  declared  they  had  seen  and  heard,  which 
they  said  they  were  commanded  to  publish,  and  which  no 
threatening  or  punishment  could  make  them  either  deny 
or  conceal. 

The  history  of  mankind  has  not  preserved  a  testimony 
so  complete  and  satisfying  as  that  which  I  have  now  stat- 
ed. If,  in  conformity  to  the  exhibitions  which  the  writ- 
ings of  these  men  give  of  their  character,  you  suppose 
their  testimony  to  be  true,  then  you  can  give  the  most 
natural  account  of  every  part  of  their  conduct,  of  their 
conversion,  their  stedfastness,  and  their  heroism.  But  if, 
notwithstanding  every  appearance  of  truth,  you  suppose 
their  testimony  to  be  false,  inexplicable  circumstances  and 
glaring  absurdities  crowd  upon  you.  You  must  suppose 
that  twelve  men  of  mean  birth,  of  no  education,  living  in 
that  humble  station  which  placed  ambitious  views  out  of 
their  reach  and  far  from  their  thoughts,  without  any  aid 
from  the  state,  formed  the  noi)lest  scheme  that  ever  enter- 
ed into  the  mind  of  man,  adopted  the  most  daring  means 
of  executing  that  scheme,  and  conducted  it  with  such  ad- 
dress as  to  conceal  the  imposture  under  the  semblance  of 
simplicity  and  virtue.  You  must  suppose  that  men  guilty 
of  blasphemy  and  falsehood  united  in  an  attempt  the  best 
contrived,  and  which  has  in  fact  proved  the  most  success- 
ful, for  making  the  world  virtuous;  that  they  formed  this 
singular  enterprise  without  seeking  any  advantage  to 
themselves,  with  an  avovvcd  contempt  of  honour  and  pro- 
tit,  and  with  the  certain  expectation  of  scorn  and  persecu- 
tioa;  that  although  conscious  of  one  another's  villany, 
none  of  them  ever  thought  of  providing  for  his  own  secu- 
rity by  disclosing  the  fraud  ;  but  that,  amidst  sufferings  the 
most  grievous  to  iiesh  and  blood,  they  persevered  in  their 
conspiracy  to  cheat  the  world  into  piety,  honesty,  and  be- 
nevolence. 

They  who  can  swallow  such  suppositions  have  no  title 
to  object  to  miracles.  They  should  remember  that  there 
is  a  moral  as  well  as  a  physical  order ;  that  there  ai'e  cer- 
tain general  principles  by  which  human  actions  are  regu- 
lated, and  upon  which  we  are  accustomed  to  proceed  in 
our  judgments  of  the  conduct  of  men  ;  and  that  it  is  mucli 
more  dithcult  to  conceive  that,  in  opposition  to  those  prin- 


58  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

ciples  Avhich  analogy  and  experience  have  established, 
such  a  testimony  as  the  apostles  uttered  should  be  false, 
than  that  the  laws  of  nature  in  some  particular  instances 
should  have  been  suspended.  Of  the  suspension  of  the 
laws  of  nature  we  can  give  a  rational  account :  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  said  to  have  been  made  renders  it  not 
incredible.  But  the  falsehood  of  testimony  in  such  cir- 
cumstances would  be  a  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  the 
human  mind  so  strange  and  inexplicable,  that  we  need  not 
be  afraid  to  apply  to  this  case  the  words  of  Mr.  Hume, 
although  he  certainly  did  not  mean  them  to  be  so  apj^lied  : 
"  No  testimony  is  sufficient  to  establish  a  miracle,  unless 
the  testimony  be  of  such  a  kind,  that  its  falsehood  would 
be  more  miraculous  than  the  fact  which  it  endeavours  to 
establish."  The  falsehood  of  the  testimony  of  the  apos- 
tles would  be  more  miraculous,  i.  e.  it  is  more  improbable 
than  any  fact  wdiich  they  attest. 

3.  But  although  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  appears, 
upon  all  the  principles  according  to  which  we  judge  of 
such  matters,  to  have  been  credible  at  the  time  when  it 
was  given,  it  remains  to  be  inquired,  whether  the  distance 
at  which  we  live  from  that  time  does,  in  any  material 
degree,  impair  to  us  its  original  credibility. 

It  is  allowed  that  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  received 
the  strongest  confirmation  from  its  having  been  emitted 
immediately  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus,  in  the  very  place 
where  they  said  he  had  performed  many  of  his  mighty 
works,  under  tlie  eye  of  that  government  wdiich  had  per- 
secuted him,  and  in  presence  of  multitudes  to  whom  they 
appealed  as  witnesses  of  what  they  declared.  This  must 
be  allow  ed  by  all  who  are  qualified  to  judge  of  evidence. 
Now  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  benefit  of  this  confii'- 
mation  is  not  lost  to  us,  because,  although  their  testimony 
was  at  first  oral,  given  in  their  preaching  to  those  whom 
they  converted,  it  was  soon  recorded  in  books  which  we 
receive  upon  satisfying  evidence  as  authentic  and  genuine. 
There  is  therefore  no  room  to  allege  in  disparagement  of 
this  testimony,  the  inaccuracy  of  verbal  reports,  or  the 
natural  disposition  to  exaggerate  in  the  repetition  of  every 
extraordinary  event.  We  are  put  in  possession  of  the 
facts  as  they  were  published  in  the  lifetime  of  the  apostles, 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  59 

without  the  embellishments  of  succeeding  ages ;  and  every 
circumstance  which  moved  those  who  heard  their  testi- 
mony is  preserved  in  their  books  to  establish  our  faith. 

The  early  publication  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts  is  to  us 
an  unquestionable  voucher  of  the  following  most  import- 
ant facts, — that  the  miracles  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles 
were  not  done  in  a  corner  before  a  few  select  friends,  and 
by  them  artfully  spread  through  the  world,  but  were  per- 
formed openly,  in  the  fields,  in  the  city,  in  the  temple, 
before  enemies  who  had  every  opportunity  of  examining 
them,  who  did  not  regard  them  y\Hh.  indifference,  who 
were  alarmed  with  the  effect  which  they  produced  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people,  and  were  zealous  in  bringing  for- 
ward every  objection.  Had  any  one  of  these  circumstan- 
ces been  false,  the  early  publication  of  books  asserting 
them  would  have  overturned  the  scheme.  Further,  there 
is  much  particularity  in  the  narration  of  many  of  tlie 
miracles :  reference  is  made  to  time  and  place  ;  many 
local  circumstances  are  introduced  ;  persons  are  marked 
out,  not  only  by  their  distress,  but  by  their  rank  and  their 
names ;  the  emotions  of  the  spectators,  the  joy  of  those 
who  received  deliverance,  the  consultations  held  by  rulers, 
and  the  public  orders  in  consequence  of  certain  miracles, 
all  enter  into  the  record  of  these  books.  While  every 
intelligent  reader  discerns  in  this  particular  detail  the 
most  accurate  acquaintance  with  the  prejudices  and  the 
manners  of  the  times,  and  is  from  thence  satisfied  that  the 
books  are  authentic,  he  must  also  be  satisfied  that  a  detail 
which,  by  its  particularity,  called  so  much  attention,  and 
admitted,  at  the  time  it  was  published,  of  so  easy  investi- 
gation, is  itself  a  voucher  of  its  own  truth.  Again,  the 
history  of  the  miracles  is  so  closely  interwoven  with  tlie 
rest  of  the  narration,  that  any  man  who  reads  it  may  be 
satisfied  that  it  could  not  have  been  inserted  after  the 
books  were  published.  There  are  numberless  allusions 
to  the  miracles  even  in  those  passages  where  none  of 
them  are  recorded  ;  the  faith  of  the  first  disciples  is  said 
to  have  been  founded  upon  them,  and  the  change  upon 
their  sentiments  is  truly  inexplicable,  unless  we  suppose 
the  miracles  to  have  been  done  in  their  presence.  AH, 
therefore,  who  received  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  in  early 
times,  when  they  couW  easily  examine  the  truth  of  th« 


60  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

facts,  may  be  considered  as  setting  their  seal  to  the  mira- 
cles of  Jesus  and  his  apostles ;  and  the  number  of  the  first 
converts  out  of  Judea  and  Jerusalem  forms,  in  this  way,  a 
cloud  of  witnesses. 

That  confirmation  of  the  testimony  of  the  apostles,  which 
appears  to  be  implied  in  the  faith  of  all  the  first  Christians, 
is  rendered  much  more  striking,  by  the  peculiar  nature  of 
a  large  part  of  the  New  Testament.  I  mean  the  epistles 
to  the  different  churches.  Paul,  in  several  of  the  epistles 
which  he  sent  by  particular  messengers  to  those  whose 
names  they  bear,  and  which  were  authenticated  to  the 
whole  Christian  world  by  his  superscription,  mentions  the 
miracles  which  he  had  performed,  the  efl'ect  which  his 
miracles  had  produced,  and  the  extraordinary  powers 
which  he  had  imparted.  A  large  portion  of  the  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  is  occupied  with  a  discourse 
concerning  spiritual  gifts,  in  which  he  speaks  of  them  as 
common  in  that  church,  as  abused  by  many  who  possessed 
them,  and  as  inferior  in  excellence  to  moral  virtue.  In 
his  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  which  is  known  to 
have  been  the  earliest  of  the  apostolical  writings,  Paul 
says,  "  Our  Gospel  came  to  you  not  in  word  only,  but  in 
power  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  they,  i.  e.  your  own 
citizens,  in  their  progress  through  difterent  parts  of  the 
world,  show  of  us  what  manner  of  entering  in  we  had  unto 
you,  and  how  ye  turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living 
God."*  Here  is  a  letter  written  not  twenty  years  after 
the  ascension  of  Jesus,  sent  as  soon  as  it  Mas  written  to 
the  church  of  Thessalonica  to  be  read  there,  and  in  the 
neighbouring  churches,  copied  and  circulated  by  those  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  uniformly  quoted  since  that  time 
by  the  succession  of  Christian  writers,  and  come  down 
to  us  with  every  evidence  that  can  be  desired,  indeed 
without  any  dispute,  of  its  being  a  genuine  letter.  In  this 
letter  the  apostle  tells  the  Thessalonians  that  they  had 
been  converted  to  the  Gospel  by  the  miracles  of  those  who 
preached  it,  and  that  the  eftect  which  this  conversion  had 
produced  upon  their  conduct  was  talked  of  everywhere. 
If  these  facts  had  not  been  known  to  the  Thessalonians, 
the  letter  would  have  been  instantly  rejected,   and  the 

•  1  Thess.  i.  5,  9. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  61 

cliaracter  of  him  who  wrote  it  would  have  sunk  into  con- 
tempt. Its  being  publicly  read,  held  in  veneration,  and 
transmitted  by  them,  is  a  proof  that  every  thing  said  in  it 
concerning  themselves  is  true,  and  therefore  it  is  a  proof 
that  those  who  could  not  be  mistaken,  believed  in  the 
miracles  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord.  This  argument  is 
handled  by  Butler,  and  all  the  ablest  defenders  of  our 
religion  ;  and  I  have  been  led  to  state  it  particularly,  be- 
cause it  has  always  appeared  to  me  an  unanswerable  ar- 
gument, arising  out  of  the  books  themselves,  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  that  is  independent 
of  their  personal  character,  and  yet  is  demonstrative  of 
the  estimation  in  which  they  were  held  by  their  contem- 
poraries, and  of  the  credit  which  we  may  safely  give  to 
their  report. 

4.  It  only  remains  to  be  added  upon  this  question,  that 
a  testimony  thus  strongly  confirmed  is  not  contradicted 
by  any  opposite  testimony.  The  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment are  full  of  concessions  made  by  the  adversaries  of 
Christianity  ;  concessions,  the  force  of  which  must  be  ad- 
mitted by  all  who  believe  the  books  to  be  authentic :  and 
it  is  very  remarkable,  that  concessions  of  exactly  the  same 
kind  with  those  made  by  the  Jews  in  our  Saviour's  days, 
were  made  by  the  zealous  and  learned  adversaries  of 
our  faith  in  the  first  four  centuries.  Celsus,  Porphyry, 
Hierocles,  and  Julian  did  not  deny  the  facts ;  they  only 
attempted  to  disparage  them,  or  to  ascribe  them  to  magic. 
Julian  was  emperor  of  Rome  in  the  fourth  century.  He 
had  renounced  Christianity,  and  his  zeal  to  revive  the  an- 
cient heathen  worship  made  him  the  bitterest  enemy  of  a 
system  which  condemned  all  the  forms  of  idolatry.  Yet 
this  man,  with  every  wish  to  overturn  the  establishment 
which  Christianity  had  received  from  Constantine,  does 
not  pretend  to  say  in  his  work  against  the  Christians,  that 
no  miracles  were  performed  by  Jesus.  In  one  place  he 
says,  "  Jesus,  who  rebuked  the  winds,  and  walked  on  the 
seas,  and  cast  out  da^uons,  and  as  you  m  ill  have  it,  math' 
the  heavens  and  the  earth."  In  another  place,  ".  Jesus  has 
been  celebrated  about  three  hundred  years,  having  done 
nothing  in  his  lifetime  Avorthy  of  remembrance,  uidess 
any  one  thinks  it  a  mighty  matter  to  heal  lame  and  blind 
people,  and  exorcise  dajmoniacs  in  the  villages  of  Bethsaida 


62  DIRECT  OR  EX'TERNAL  EVIDENCE 

and  Betliany/'*  The  prejudices  of  the  emperor  led  him  to 
speak  slightingly  of  the  miracles  ;  but  the  facts  are  admit- 
ted by  him.  It  was  reserved  for  infidels  at  the  distance  of 
seventeen  hundred  years  from  the  event,  to  dispute  a 
testimony  which  had  appeared  satisfying  to  those  who 
heard  it,  and  Avhich  had  not  received  any  contradiction 
in  the  succession  of  ages.  Because  they  did  not  believe 
in  magic,  and  saw  the  futility  of  that  account  of  the  works 
of  Jesus  which  the  prejudices  of  the  times  had  drawn 
from  their  predecessors  in  infidelity,  they  have  taken 
a  new  ground,  and  they  affirm,  against  the  principles 
of  human  nature,  against  the  faith  of  historj^,  and  the  con- 
cessions of  the  earliest  adversaries,  that  the  Avorks  never 
were  done.  But  Christianity  has  nothing  to  fear  from  any 
change  in  the  mode  of  attack.  Sound  philosophy  will  al- 
ways fui'nish  weapons  suflficient  to  repel  the  aggressor ;  and 
the  truth  will  be  the  more  firmly  established  by  every  dis- 
play of  the  mutability  of  error. 

It  appears  then,  that  even  that  part  of  the  external  evi- 
dence of  Christianity,  which  from  its  nature  is  the  most 
likely  to  be  affected  by  length  of  time,  is  not  evanescent ; 
that  various  circumstances  preserve  it  from  diminution  ; 
and  that  we,  in  these  latter  ages,  may  certainly  know  the 
truth  of  the  testimony  borne  by  those  who  declare  in  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  that  which  they  saw  and 
heard. 


SECTION  III. 


The  subject  would  now  be  exhausted  if  the  oidy  miracles 
recorded  in  history  were  those  to  which  Jesus  and  his 
Apostles  made  their  appeal.  This  singular  attestatioji, 
given  upon  so  important  an  occasion,  would  then  appear  a 
decisive  mark  of  the  interposition  of  the  Almighty ;  and 
eves'y  person  who  believes  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  be  authentic,  might  be  expected  to  join  in  the 
opinion  of  Nicodemus,  who  said  to  Jesus,  "  We  know  that 

*  Lardner's  Heath.  Test.  ch.  xlvi. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  63 

thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God ;  for  no  man  can  tio 
these  miracles  that  thou  doest,  excejjt  God  be  with  him."* 
But  the  subject  is  involved  in  new  difficulties,  and  assumes 
a  much  more  complicated  form,  when  we  recollect  that  ac- 
counts of  prodigies  and  miracles  abound  in  all  history, 
that  these  miracles  are  generally  connected  with  the  reli- 
gion of  the  country  in  which  the  record  of  them  is  pre- 
served, and  that,  as  the  religions  of  different  countries  are 
widely  different,  the  miracles  of  one  country  appear  to  con- 
tradict the  miracles  of  another.  If  it  be  said  that  all  the 
reports  of  miracles,  excepting  those  recorded  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, are  false,  then  it  follows  that  there  must  be  a  facility 
of  imposition  in  this  matter  against  which  the  human  mind 
has  never  been  proof.  If  some  other  reports  of  miracles, 
besides  those  in  Scripture,  are  admitted  to  be  true,  then  it 
seems  to  follow,  that  miracles  are  not  the  unequivocal 
mark  of  a  divine  commission. 

This  multitude  of  reports  concerning  miracles  has  af- 
forded much  triumph  to  the  adversaries  of  Christianity, 
and,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Hume,  the  authority  of  any  tes- 
timony concerning  a  religious  miracle  is  so  much  dimi- 
nished b)'^  the  ridiculous  stories,  and  the  gross  impositions 
of  the  same  kind  in  all  ages,  that  men  of  sense  shouM  lay 
down  a  general  resolution  to  reject  it  without  any  exami- 
nation. The  zeal  with  which  he  writes  has  led  him  to 
recommend  a  resolution  very  unbecoming  a  philosopher. 
At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  allowed  that,  upon  the  one 
hand,  the  prejudice  arising  from  the  multitude  of  false  mi- 
racles which  have  been  reported  and  believed,  and,  upon 
the  other  hand,  the  suspicion  that  out  of  the  number  pre- 
served in  ancient  history,  some  may  have  been  real  mira- 
cles, furnish  a  very  plausible  objection  against  this  brancli 
of  the  external  evidence  of  Christianity  ;  an  objection 
which  every  person  -whose  business  it  is  to  defend  the 
truth  of  our  religion  must  be  prepared  to  meet ;  and  an 
objection  which  there  is  the  more  reason  for  studying  with 
care,  because  the  attempts  to  answer  it  have  not  always 
been  conducted  with  sufficient  ability  and  prudence,  and 
some  zealous  champions  of  Christianity  have  mistaken  the 

*  John  ill.  2. 


64  DIIIECT  OR  EXTERNAL    EVIDENCE 

ground  which  ought  to  be  maintained  in  repelling  this  at- 
tack. 

The  four  observations  which  follow,  appear  to  me  to 
embrace  the  leading  points  in  this  controversy,  and  when 
properly  extended  by  reading  and  reflection,  will  be  found 
sufticient  to  remove  the  objection  arising  from  the  multi- 
tude of  miracles  mentioned  in  history. 

1.  No  religion,  except  the  Jewish  and  Christian,  which, 
by  every  person  who  understands  the  Gospel,  are  account- 
ed one  religion, — no  other  religion,  that  we  know  of,  claim- 
ed to  be  received  upon  the  footing  of  miracles  performed 
by  its  author. 

Some   of  the  ancient  lawgivers  said  that  they  had  pri- 
vate conferences  with  the  Deity,  in  which  the  system  of 
religious  or  civil  polity,  which  they  established,  was  com- 
municated to  them.     But  none  of  them  pretended  to  pro- 
duce, in  the  presence  of  the  people,  changes  upon  the  or- 
der of  nature.     The  Pagan  mythology  was   much  more 
ancient  than  auj   record  of  miracles  in  profane  history. 
Many   of  the    achievements   of  the   gods  run    back  into 
those  periods    of  which  there   is  no  history  that  is  not 
accounted   fabulous  ; — some   are    known   to    tlie    learned 
to  be  an  allegorical  method  of  conveying  moral  or  physi- 
cal truth  ;  and  others  are  merely  the  colouring  which  fable 
and  poetry  gave  to  the  transactions  of  a  remote  antiquity 
handed  down  by  oral  tradition.     The  miracles  recorded  in 
the  times  of  authentic  history  coincided  with  a  supersti- 
tion already  established,   the   influence  of  which  prepared 
the   minds  of  men  for  receiving  them.     They  were  per- 
formed by  priests,  or  men  of  rank,   to  \yhom  tlie   people 
were  accustomed  to  look  up  with  reverence  ;  generally  in 
temples  consecrated  by  the  offerings  of  ages,  where  it  was 
impious  for  the  eye  of  the  worshippers  to  pry  too  closely ; 
under  the  protection  of  civil  government ;  and  in  supj  ort 
of  a  system  which  antiquity  had  hallowed,  and  which  tlie" 
law  commanded  the  citizens  to  respect.     The  miracles  of 
the  Gospel,  on  the  other  hand,  were  performed  by  obscure 
despised  men,  in  the  midst  of  enemies,  as  the  vouchers  of 
a  new  doctrine  which  was  accounted  an  insult  to  the  gods, 
and  which  did  not  flatter  the  passions  of  men.     It  is  mani- 
fest that  the  cases  are  widely  difterent ;  and  before  pro- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


65 


ceeding  to  any  particular  examination  of  the  heathen  mi- 
racles, you  are  warranted  in  considering  the  whole  nmlti- 
tude  of  them  as  clearly  discriminated  from  the  miracles 
recorded  in  Scripture,  by  this  circumstance,  that  they 
were  not  wrought  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  credit  to  a 
new  system  of  faith.  In  the  seventh  century  Mahomet 
appeared  in  Arabia,  calling  himself  the  chief  of  the  pro- 
phets of  God,  sent  to  extirpate  idolatry,  and  to  establish  a 
new  and  perfect  religion.  He  acknowledged  the  divine 
mission  both  of  Moses  and  of  Jesus,  He  often  mentions 
the  evident  miracles  which  Jesus  wrought,  and  he  has 
preserved  the  names  of  the  persons  whom  our  Loi'd  raised 
from  the  dead.  Those  who  opposed  him  demanded  a  sign 
of  his  mission.  He  gave  various  reasons  for  not  comply- 
ing with  this  demand,  and  in  different  places  of  the  Koran 
appears  solicitous  to  obviate  the  doubts  which  his  refusal 
excited.  But  although  his  reasons  were  not  satisfying,  and 
he  was  harassed  with  importunity, — although  he  lived 
amongst  a  barbarous  unlearned  people,  and  although  he 
possessed  a  very  uncommon  share  of  ability  and  address, 
he  had  the  prudence  never  to  make  the  experiment  of 
working  a  miracle,  and  he  confesses  that  God,  in  his  so- 
vereignty, had  withheld  fi'om  him  that  power.  The 
Church  of  Rome  claims  the  power  which  Mahomet  did 
not  assume,  and  the  history  of  that  church  is  full  of  won- 
ders said  to  be  performed  at  the  shrines  of  saints  and  mar- 
tyrs, by  the  divine  virtue  residing  in  a  relic,  or  by  the 
power  committed  to  a  religious  order,  to  a  particular 
sect,  or  to  the  whole  church.  But  all  these  are  in  sup- 
port of  a  system  already  established,  and  in  conformity  to 
the  wishes  and  expectations  of  the  spectators ;  and,  like  the 
heathen  miracles,  they  extend  the  prevailing  superstition 
by  introducing  or  confirming  doctrines,  rites,  and  prac- 
tices, exactly  similar  to  those  which  had  been  formerly 
received. 

It  appeal's,  then,  from  this  review,  that  the  history  of 
the  world  does  not  present,  out  of  that  multitude  of  mira- 
cles which  it  has  recorded,  any  that  were  performed  un- 
der the  disadvantages  which  attended  the  Christian,  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  a  change  upon  the  religious 
sentiments  of  mankind.  All  the  rest  were  aided  by  the 
prevailing  opinions  ;  these  alone  were  opposed  by  them  : 


bb  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

ail  the  rest  found  men  ready  to  believe  ;  these  alone  pro- 
duced a  new  faith. 

2.  As  the  circumstance  which  I  have  mentioned  forms, 
upon  a  general  view  of  the  matter,  a  clear  discrimination 
of  the  miracles  of  the  Bible,  so,  when  we  enter  upon  a 
particular  examination,  there  appears  to  be  the  most  strik- 
ing difference  between  them  and  all  other  miracles,  in  the 
evidence  with  which  they  are  transmitted.  The  testimo- 
ny for  a  miracle  requires  to  be  tried  with  caution,  because 
it  contradicts  the  presumption  suggested  by  experience  ; 
and  the  more  instances  there  are  of  imposition  or  mistake 
in  reports  of  this  kind,  there  is  the  more  reason  for  weigh- 
ing every  report  with  the  most  scrupulous  exactness. 
When  we  proved  the  testimony  borne  by  the  apostles  to 
the  miracles  of  Jesus,  we  found  a  multitude  of  circum- 
stances Avhich  conspire  to  render  it  credible.  But  when 
we  try,  by  the  same  standard  of  sound  criticism,  the  testi- 
mony borne  either  to  the  heathen  or  to  popish  miracles,  it 
is  found  to  be  very  much  wanting.  Many  of  the  heathen 
miracles  were  prodigies  which  had  no  connexion  with  any 
religious  system,  or  they  were  phenomena  which  appeared 
v/onderful  to  ignorant  mcin,  but  which  a  more  enlarged 
acquaintance  with  nature  has  enabled  us  to  explain. 
Others  M^ere  extraordinary  works,  recorded  long  after  the 
time  when  they  are  said  to  have  been  performed,  and  re- 
corded by  historians  Avho,  while  they  adorn  their  writings 
with  popular  stories,  are  careful  to  distinguish  the  narra- 
tion, which  they  consider  as  authentic,  from  the  reports 
which  they  retail  because  they  received  them.  The  mira- 
cles which  Tacitus  reports  as  performed  by  the  Emperor 
Vespasian,  the  feats  of  Alexander  of  Pontas,  which  we 
learn  from  Lucian,  who  represents  him  as  an  impostor, 
and  the  works  ascribed  to  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  whom 
some  of  the  later  Platonists  are  said  to  have  raised  up  as 
a  rival  to  our  Lord, — all  these  have  been  examined  by 
men  of  learning  and  judgment ;  and  the  most  zealous 
friend  of  Christianity  could  not  wish  for  a  more  favourable 
display  of  the  unexceptionable  testimony  upon  which  its 
miracles  are  received,  than  is  obtained  by  contrasting  it  with 
the  air  of  falsehood  which  runs  through  all  these  accounts. 

Mr.  Hume  has  been  solicitous  to  place  the  evidence  of 
some  popish  miracles  in  the  most  advantageous  light,  and 


OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


67 


he  has  collected,  with  an  air  of  triumph,  various  circum- 
stances which  conspired  to  attest  tlie  miracles  said  to  be 
]jerformed  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  in  the 
church-yard  of  St.  Medard,  at  the  tomb  of  the  Abbe  Paris. 
But  although  a  particular  jourpose  induced  him  to  assume 
the  appearance  of  an  advocate  for  these  miracles,  yet  the 
imposture  was  manifest  at  the  time  to  many  who  lived 
upon  the  spot,  and  it  has  since  that  time  been  completely 
exposed  in  several  treatises.  In  Campbell's  Dissertation, 
in  the  Criterion  by  Dr.  Douglas,  late  bishop  of  Salisbury, 
in  Macknight's  Truth  of  the  Gospel  History,  and  in  other 
books,  there  is  an  investigation  of  many  pretended  mira- 
cles ;  and  I  believe  it  will  be  acknowledged,  without  hesi- 
tation, that  Dr.  Campbell  and  Dr.  Douglas  have  clearly 
shown,  M'ith  regard  to  all  the  miracles  to  which  their  in- 
vestigation extends,  either  that  the  accounts  of  them,  from 
the  circumstances,  appear  to  be  false,  or  that  the  facts, 
from  their  nature,  are  not  miraculous.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that,  as  far  as  this  investigation  can  be  carried,  it 
will  be  found  uniformly  to  apply  to  the  miracles  recorded 
ia  heathen  story,  or  in  popish  legends ;  and  that,  as  a  per- 
son, who  has  been  accustomed  to  read  much  history  and 
much  fable,  is  at  no  loss  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the 
other  when  they  are  presented  to  him,  so  any  one  who  duly 
considers  the  circumstances  of  the  case  will  most  readily 
discriminate  the  precise  assured  testimony  of  miracles 
V  rought  by  Jesus  as  a  divine  teacher,  which  eye-witnesses 
submitted  at  the  very  time  and  place  to  the  examination 
<»f  their  enemies,  from  the  hesita.ting,  suspicious  record  of 
wonders  said  to  be  performed  for  some  insignificant  purpose, 
which  the  historians  did  not  see,  or  which  the  rank  and 
characters  of  the  person  to  whom  they  are  ascribed  pre- 
served from  the  scrutiny  even  of  those  v/ho  saw  them. 
The  evidence  of  the  miracles  of  the  Gospel,  far  from  being- 
diminished  by  the  number  of  impostures,  is  very  much  il- 
lustrated by  this  contrast.  Men,  indeed,  cannot  perceive 
the  diiference  without  an  exercise  of  understanding.  They 
are  required  here,  as  upon  every  other  subject,  to  sepa- 
rate truth  from  falsehood,  to  "prove  all  things,  and  to 
holdfastthat  which  isgood."*  Extensive  information  andeu- 

*  1  Thcss.  V.  21. 


68  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

lightened  criticism  are  called  in  to  be  the  handmaids  of 
religion  ;  and  the  continued  increase  of  human  knowledge^ 
instead  of  giving  Christians  any  reasonable  ground  for  ap- 
prehending danger,  enables  them  to  defend  the  principles 
which  they  have  embraced,  dissipates  objections  which 
might  occur  to  the  ignorant,  and  establishes  the  faith  of 
those  who  inquire. 

I  said,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  if  the  investigation 
of  which  Dr.  Douglas  and  Dr.  Campbell  have  given  a 
specimen,  were  extended  farther,  it  would  be  found  to  ap- 
ply uniformly  to  the  miracles  recorded  in  heathen  story 
or  in  popish  legends.  I  used  this  guarded  expression,  be- 
cause I  do  not  consider  any  man  as  warranted  to  say, 
before  he  has  examined  them,  that  all  apparent  miracles, 
excepting  those  recorded  in  the  Bible,  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  dexterity  of  an  impostor,  or  by  the  carelessness 
or  ignoi'ance  of  the  spectators. 

3,  And,  therefore,  my  third  observation  is,  that  although 
we  should  ascribe  some  of  the  extraordinary  works  recorded 
in  history  to  the  agency  of  evil  spirits,  the  argument  from 
miracles  for  the  truth  of  Christianity  is  not  impaired. 

They  who  can  satisfy  their  minds  that  such  works  are 
not  miraculous,  or  that  the  accounts  of  them  are  false, 
leave  the  argument  from  miracles  entire  to  Judaism  and 
Christianity.  They  who  cannot  satisfy  their  minds  in  this 
manner,  and  who  judge  from  the  nature  of  the  works,  or 
the  purpose  which  they  promote,  that  they  did  not  pro- 
ceed from  God,  are  led  by  their  principles  to  ascribe  them 
to  some  intermediate  beings  between  God  and  man.  But 
this  system,  as  we  have  been  taught  by  our  Lord  to  rea- 
son,* does  not  affect  the  argument  from  miracles.  For 
thus  stands  the  case :  The  orders  of  intermediate  beings 
are  wholly  unknown  to  human  reason.  Tliere  may  be 
good,  and  there  may  be  bad  spirits,  and  their  measure  of 
power  may  be  more,  or  it  may  be  less.  But  as  we  infer 
from  all  the  appearances  of  nature,  and  especially  from  the 
constitution  of  our  own  minds,  that  this  world  is  not  the 
work  of  an  evil  being,  so  having  found  that  the  nature  of 
the  revelation  contained  in  the  New  Testament  affords  a 
very  strong  presumption  of  its  coming  from  God,  we  can- 

*  Matt,  cliap.  xii. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  69 

not  suppose  that  the  miracles,  which  are  the  direct  proof 
of  this  presumption,  and  which  actually  were  the  means 
of  establishing  the  Gospel,  came  from  an  evil  being.  The 
conduct  of  the  adversary  of  mankind  was  indeed  very 
opposite  to  the  cunning  which  is  ascribed  to  him,  if  he 
gave  his  sanction  to  the  man  who  was  manifested  to  de- 
stroy' the  works  of  the  devil,  and  employed  his  power  to 
undermine  his  own  kingdom,  and  put  an  end  to  his  own 
malicious  joy.  As  far,  then,  as  the  argument  from  mi- 
racles for  the  truth  of  Christianity  is  concerned,  the  power 
of  evil  spirits  is  merely  a  speculative  point,  upon  which, 
as  upon  many  other  speculative  points  concerning  which 
our  information  is  imperfect,  different  opinions  may  be 
held  without  any  injury  to  the  truth.  Whatever  system 
we  adopt  with  regard  to  the  power  of  Satan,  howsoever 
evil  spirits  may  be  supposed  to  have  acted  at  other  times, 
Me  are  as  certain  as  the  nature  of  the  thing  can  make  us, 
that  their  power  was  not  exerted  in  the  establishment  of 
our  faith,  and  we  rest  in  the  miracles  of  Jesus  as  wrought 
bj'  the  finger  of  God. 

But.  although  speculations  concerning  the  power  of  evil 
spirits  are  in  no  degree  necessary  to  a  rational  belief  of 
Christianity,  yet  they  ^^  ill  naturally  fall  in  your  Avay,  when 
you  are  investigating  the  argument  from  miracles,  and  you 
ought  not  to  be  strangers  to  the  grounds  upon  which  the 
ditiierent  opinions  rest.  It  has  l>een  said,  that  God  alone 
can  work  miracles,  because  the  sovereign  of  the  universe 
never  Avill  permit  any  evil  spirit  to  encroach  so  far  upon 
the  prerogatiAC  of  his  majesty,  as  to  produce  any  work 
contrary  to  the  order  of  nature.  This  opinion  seems  to 
present  the  most  honourable  view  of  the  Almighty  ;  it 
])rofesses  to  aflbrd  security  against  many  delusions,  which, 
according  to  other  systems,  are  practicable ;  it  leaves  the 
argument  from  miracles  clear  and  unembarrassed,  and  it 
has  been  supported  by  much  ingenious  reasoning.  But  it 
appears  to  me  presumptuous,  because  it  assumes  more, 
ami  pronounces  with  a  more  decisive  tone  concerning  the 
conduct  of  the  divine  government,  than  is  competent  to 
our  ignorance.  It  contradicts  the  obvious  interpretation 
of  several  passages  of  Scripture,  and  the  attempts  to  give 
these  passages  a  meaning  not  inconsistent  with  it,  have 
tortured  Scripture  in  a  manner  which  is  not  justifiable.    It 


70  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

has  been  said,  on  the  other  hand,  that  evil  spirits  have 
been  accustomed,  in  all  ages,  to  exercise  their  povvcr  in 
astonishing,  deluding,  and  misk'ading  the  minds  of  men  ; 
that  all  false  religions  have  been  supported  by  their  in- 
fluence, and  that  they  are  continually  busied  in  corruot- 
ing  true  religion.  Even  the  able  and  profound  Cudworth 
i"epresents  it  as  unquestionable,  that  Apollonius  of  Tyana 
was  made  choice  of  by  the  policy,  and  assisted  by  the 
pov/ers  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  for  the  doing  some 
things  extraordinary,  in  order  to  derogate  from  the  mi- 
racles of  our  Saviour,  and  enable  Paganism  to  bear  up 
against  the  attacks  of  Christianity.  Vv'hen  the  matter  is 
thus  stated,  a  most  uncomfortable  view  of  the  moral  state 
of  the  universe  is  presented  to  us  ;  a  view  which,  without 
some  qualiiieation,  approaches  very  near  to  the  Mani- 
cheean  system,  by  subjecting  the  feeble  race  of  man,  in 
their  most  important  concerns,  alternately  to  the  domi- 
nion of  opposite  powers.  The  safe  opinion  upon  this  sub- 
ject appears  to  me  to  lie  in  the  middle  between  these  two. 
We  cannot  pretend  to  say  that  an  intermediate  being  never 
is  allov/ed  to  suspend  the  laws  of  nature.  But  we  are 
certain  that  all  power  is  dependent  upon  the  Lord  of  na- 
ture. We  should  be  careful  not  to  bewilder  ourselves,  by 
carrying  the  ideas  suggested  by  the  weakness  of  human 
government  into  our  speculations  concerning  the  ways  of 
God  ;  and,  we  should  always  remember,  that,  in  the  admi- 
nistration of  Him  whose  eyes  are  in  every  place,  there 
can  be  no  delay  or  opposition  to  his  purpose  from  the 
multitude  of  his  ministers.  "  He  doeth  according  to  his 
will  in  the  army  of  heaven."  God  is  all  in  all.  The  power 
of  working  miracles  may  descend  from  the  Almighty 
through  a  gradation  of  good  spirits  ;  and  he  may  commis- 
sion evil  spirits,  by  exercising  the  power  given  to  them, 
to  prove  his  people,  or  to  execute  a  judicial  sentence  upon 
those  who  receive  not  the  love  of  the  truth.  But  both 
good  and  evil  spirits  are  absolutely  under  his  control ; 
they  fulfil  his  pleasure,  and  he  Avorks  by  them. 

This  is  the  system  which  appears  to  be  intimated  in 
Scripture,  as  far  as  the  Spirit  of  God  hath  seen  meet  to 
reveal  a  speculative  point  M'hich  is  not  essential  to  our 
improvement  or  comfort.  It  is  indeed  veiy  remarkable, 
that  at  the  introduction  of  both  the  Jewish  and  the  Chris- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  7^ 

tian  dispensations,  tliere  seems,  according  to  the  most  na- 
tural interpretation  of  Scripture,  to  have  been  a  certain 
display  of  the  power  of  evil  spirits — I  mean  in  the  works 
of  the  Egyptian  magicians,  and  in  the  demoniacs  of  the 
New  Testament.  But  in  both  cases  the  display  appears 
to  have  been  iiermitted  by  God,  that  it  might  be  made 
manifest  there  was  in  nature  a  superior  power.  The  ma- 
gicians, after  they  had  imitated  some  of  the  works  of  Mo- 
ses, could  go  no  farther,  but  said  "  This  is  the  finger  of 
God  ;"  and  therefore  God  says  to  Pharaoh,  "  For  this 
cause  have  I  raised  thee  up  for  to  show  in  thee  my  power, 
and  that  my  name  may  be  declared  throughout  all  the 
earth."*  The  evil  spirits  which  had  afflicted  the  bodies  of 
men  owned,  in  like  manner,  the  power  of  Jesus,  and  re- 
tired at  his  command.  Therefore  he  says,  "  I  beheld  Sa- 
tan as  lightning  fall  from  heaven  ;"  and  again,  "  If  I  with 
the  finger  of  God  cast  out  devils,  no  doubt  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  come  to  you."-]-  Both  dispensations  give  warn- 
ing of  false  prophets  who  should  sIioav  signs.  Moses  says, 
"  If  there  arise  among  you  a  prophet  and  giveth  thee  a 
sign  or  a  wonder,  saying,  let  us  go  after  other  gods,  thou 
shalt  not  hearken  unto  the  words  of  that  prophet,  for  the 
Lord  your  God  proveth  you,  to  know  whether  you  love 
him  with  all  j^our  soul.";}:  Our  Lord  says,  "  There  shall 
arise  false  Christs,  and  shall  show  great  signs  and  won- 
ders ;"§  and  it  is  part  of  the  description  which  his  Apostle 
gives  of  Antichrist,  •'  His  coming  is  after  the  working  of 
Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders." |j 
Even  although  you  suppose  it  to  be  meant  by  these  warn- 
ings, that  the  signs  and  wonders  were  to  be  performed 
with  the  assistance  of  evil  spirits,  still  the  miracles  upon 
Ayhich  the  two  dispensations  are  founded  afford  a  clear 
demonstration  of  the  supremacy  of  their  Author ;  and  if 
evil  spirits  had  permission  given  them  to  exercise  a  certain 
power  at  those  times,  it  was  only  to  prepare  for  the  de- 
struction of  their  power. 

In  the  very  constitution  of  the  evidence  of  the  two  re- 
ligions, provision  is  made  for  preserving  the  true  disciples 

•  Exod.  viii.  19.  ;  ix.  16.  f  Luke  x.  18  ;  xi.  20. 

J  Dent.  xiii.  1,  2,  3.  «  Matt.  xxiv.  24. 

II  2  Thess.  ii.  9. 


72  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE  ^ 

from  the  dread  of  evil  spirits.  Whatever  opinions  may 
have  been  entertained  concerning  their  power,  tlicy  mani- 
festly stand  forth  in  the  Bible  confessing  their  inferiority, 
and  furnishing  by  this  confession,  to  all  vi'hose  understand- 
ings are  sound,  and  whose  hearts  are  upright,  a  perpetual 
antidote  against  the  fears  of  superstition. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  system  which  ascribes  manj' 
of  the  miracles  recorded  in  history  to  the  agency  of  evil 
spirits  does  not  detract  from  the  evidence  of  Christianity, 
because  our  faith  rests  upon  works  whose  distinguishing 
character,  and  whose  manifest  superiority  to  the  power  of 
evil  spirits,  are  calculated  to  remove  every  degree  of  hesi- 
tation in  applying  the  argument  which  miracles  aftbrd. 

One  observation  more  shuts  up  the  subject, 

4.  The  uncertainty  with  regard  to  the  duration  of  mi- 
racles in  the  Christian  church,  does  not  invalidate  the  ar- 
gument arising  from  the  miracles  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles. 

All  Protestants,  and  many  Catholics,  believe  that  the 
claim  of  working  miracles  which  the  Church  of  Rome  ad- 
vances as  one  mark  of  her  being  the  true  Church  is  with- 
out foundation  ;  and  no  impartial  discerning  person,  who 
reads  the  history  of  the  wonders  a\  hich  for  many  centuries 
have  been  recorded  by  that  Church,  can  hesitate  a  mo- 
ment in  classing  them  with  the  tricks  of  heathen  priests. 
Dr.  Middleton,  in  his  letter  from  Rome,  has  shown  that 
many  of  the  Popish  are  an  imitation  of  the  heathen  mira- 
cles, and  even  those  who  do  not  admit  that  they  have 
been  borrowed,  cannot  deny  the  resemblance.  On  the 
other  hand,  every  Christian  believes  that  real  miracles 
were  performed  in  the  days  of  tlie  Apostles :  and  the 
unanimous  tradition  of  the  Christian  Church  has  preserved 
the  memory  of  many  in  succeeding  ages.  It  is  natural 
then  to  inquire  at  what  period  the  true  miracles  ceased, 
and  the  fictitious  commenced.  Some  mark  is  called  for 
to, distinguish  so  important  an  era,  and  the  imprudence  of 
which  some  Christian  writers  have  been  guilty  in  their 
attempts  to  fix  it,  has  afforded  a  kind  of  triumph  to  those 
who  were  willing  to  expose  every  weak  quarter  in  the 
defence  of  Chi'istianity.  Dr.  Middleton,  in  his  book,  en- 
titled— A  free  Inquiry  into  the  Miraculous  Powers  a\  hich 
have  been  supposed  to  subsist  in  the  Christian  Churchy 
maintained  this  position,   that  after  the  days  of  the  Apos- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  ^3 

ties,  the  Church  did  not  possess  any  standing  power  of 
working  miracles.  Those  who  were  zealous  for  the  honour 
of  the  early  fathers  attacked,  with  much  bitterness,  a  posi- 
tion which  directly  impugned  their  authority.  Some  of 
them  very  unadvisedly  said,  that  if  all  the  miracles  after 
the  days  of  the  Apostles,  which  were  attested  unanimously 
by  the  primitive  fathers,  are  no  better  than  enthusiasm 
and  imposture,  then  we  are  deprived  of  our  evidence  for 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel  miracles.  Others  undertook  to 
defend  the  reality  of  the  miracles  in  the  first  four  centu- 
ries ;  and  they  weakened  their  defence  by  extending  their 
frontier.  The  controversy  was  keenly  agitated  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  ;  and  the  attention  of  the  world 
was  lately  drawn  to  it  by  the  fascinating  language  of  Mr. 
Gibbon,  who,  mixing  truth  and  falsehood  together,  and 
colouring  both  with  his  masterly  pencil,  has  contrived  to 
reflect,  from  the  claims  of  the  primitive  Church,  a  degree 
of  suspicion  upon  the  Gospel  miracles. 

No  person  who  believes  the  Gospel  will  think  it  incredi- 
ble that  miracles  were  performed  during  the  whole  of  the 
first  century,  because  the  Apostle  John  lived  about  the 
end  of  it,  and  many  of  those  to  whom  the  Apostles  had 
communicated  spiritual  gifts  probably  survived  it.  All 
the  Christian  writers  of  the  second  and  third  centuries 
affirm  that  miraculous  gifts  did,  in  certain  measure,  con- 
tinue in  the  Christian  Church,  and  were,  at  times,  exerted 
in  the  cure  of  diseases,  and  the  expulsion  of  demons.  But 
those,  who  have  examined  their  writings  with  critical  ac- 
curacy, have  shown  that  there  is  much  looseness  and  ex- 
aggeration in  the  language  which  Mr.  Gibbon  has  em- 
ployed with  regard  to  these  gifts.  To  satisfy  you  of  this, 
I  shall  place  a  passage  from  that  historian  over  against 
passages  from  Irenaeus,  Origen,  and  Eusebius.  Mr. 
Gibbon  says,  the  Christian  Church,  from  the  times  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  first  disciples,  has  claimed  an 
uninterrupted  succession  of  miraculous  powers.  Amongst 
these  he  mentions  the  power  of  raising  the  dead.  In 
the  days  of  Irenaeus,  he  affirms,  about  the  end  of  the 
second  century,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  was  far  from 
being  esteemed  an  uncommon  event ;  the  miracle  was  fre- 
quently performed  on  necessary  occasions,  by  great  fasting 
and  the  joint  supplications  of  the  church  of  the  place,  and 


74  DIRECT  OR  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

the  persons  thus  restored  to  their  prayers,  lived  afterwards 
apiong  them  many  years.*     Now  hear  Irenasus  himself. 
The  true  disciples  of  Jesus,  by  a  power  derived  from  him, 
conferred  blessings   upon  other  men,   as  each  has  been 
enabled.     Some  expel  demons  so  effectually,  that  they 
who   have  been  delivered  from  evil  spirits   believe   and 
become  members  of  the  church ;  others  have  knowledge  of 
futurity,  see  visions,   and  utter  prophecies ;  others  cure 
diseases  by  the  imposition  of  hands  ;  and,  as  we  have  said, 
the  dead  too  have  been  raised,  and  remained  some  years 
with  us.f     Observe  he  changes  the  tense  in  the  last  clause ; 
it  is  «y5§^Jicr«ii,  7ru^if4.itvci9.     He  does  not  speak  of  the  power 
of  raising  the  dead  as  present,  but  as  having  been  exerted 
in  some  time  past,  so  that  the  persons  who  were  the  objects 
of  it  reached  to  his  own  days.     Mr.  Gibbon  himself  has 
shown  that  the  Bishop  of  Antioch  did  not  know,   in  the 
second  century,  that  the  power  of  raising  the  dead  existed 
in  the  Christian  church ;  and  no  Christian  writer,  in  the 
second  or  third  centuiy,  mentions  this  miracle  as  per- 
formed in  his  time.     You  may  judge  from  this  specimen 
of  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Gibbon.     Origen  says,  in  the  third 
century,  signs  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  shown  where  Jesus 
began  to  teach,  more  numerous  after  his  ascension  ;  and, 
in  succeeding  times,  less  numerous.     But  even  at  this  day, 
there  are  traces  of  it  in  a  few  men  who  have  had  their 
souls  cleansed.^     Eusebius,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
century,  says,  Our  Lord  himself,  even  at  this  day,  is  wont 
to  manifest  some  small  portions  of  his  power  in  those 
whom  he  judges  proper  for  it.§     If  you  give  credit  to 
these  respectable   testimonies,    and  they   are  entitled  to 
respect,  both  from  the  manner  in  which  they  are  given, 
and  from  the  characters  of  the  authors,  you  will  believe 
that  the  profiision  of  miraculous  gifts  which  was  poured 
forth  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles  was  gradually  withdrawn 
in  the  succeeding  ages,  and  that  the  lathers  were  sensible 
of  this  gradual  cessation,   but  boasted  that  some  gifts  did 
continue,  and  were  occasionally  exerted  during  the   first 

»  Gibbon's  Rom.  Hist.  cb.  15. 
•f  Iren.  lib.  ii.  cap.  32. 
+  Orig.  contra  Cels.  lib.  vii.  p.  337. 
§  Eus.  Dem.  Ev.  lib.  iii.  p.  109. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  ^5 

three  centuries.  This  gradual  cessation  is  agreeable  to 
the  analogy  of  the  divine  procedure  in  other  matters.  It 
left  an  occasional  su}3portto  the  faith  of  Christians,  so  long 
as  they  were  exposed  to  persecution  under  the  heathen 
emperors  ;  and  it  serves  to  account  for  what  Mr.  Gibbon 
calls  the  insensibility  of  the  Christians  with  regard  to  the 
cessation  of  miraculous  powers.  If  these  powers  were 
withdrawn,  one  by  one,  and  the  display  of  them  became 
gradually  less  frequent,  the  insensibility  of  Christians  with 
regard  to  the  cessation  of  miracles  is  not  wonderful ;  and 
the  writers,  whom  I  have  quoted,  have  spoken  of  the  sub- 
ject in  that  manner  which  was  most  natural. 

Although  it  seems  probable  that  miraculous  powers  did, 
in  certain  measure,  continue  in  the  Christian  church  during 
the  first  three  centuries,  yet  it  cannot  be  said  that  the 
testimony  borne    to   all   the   miracles    of  that  period   is 
unsuspicious.     There  probably  was  much  credulity  and 
inattention  in  the  relaters,  and  their  reports  are  destitute 
of  many  of  those  circumstances  which  are  found  in  the 
testimony  of  the  Apostles.     But  it  is  always  to  be  remem- 
bered that  the  two  are  independent  of  one  another.     We 
do  not  receive  the  miracles  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  testi- 
mony of  the  fathers ;  and,  although  all  the  miracles  said  to 
be  wrought  after  the  days  of  the  Apostles  be  rejected,  the 
evidence  of  the  works,  which  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  did, 
would  rest  exactly  upon  that  footing  on  Avhich  we  placed  it. 
It  was  to  be  expected,   that  miraculous  gifts  which  had 
perceptibly  decreased  till  the  days  of  Constantine,  would 
cease  entirely  when  the  protection   afforded  by  the   civil 
government  to  the  Christians  rendered  them  less  necessary. 
Yet  we  find   ecclesiastical  history,  after  Christianity  be- 
came the  religion  of  the  state,  abounding  with  a  diversity 
of  the  greatest  miracles.     No  wise  champion  of  Christia- 
nity will  attempt  to  defend  the  reality  of  these  wonders ; 
at  the  same  time,  the  extravagance  of  the  later  fictions 
will  not  discredit,  with  any  wise  inquirer,  the  miracles  of 
former  times.     It  is  obvious  to  observe,  that  the  Christian 
world  was  prepared,  by  having  been  witnesses  of  real  mira- 
cles, for  receiving  without  suspicion  such  as  were  fictitious, 
that  the  effect,  which  true  miracles  had  produced,  might 
induce  vain  or  deceitful  men  to  employ  this  engine  in  ac- 
complishing their  own  purposes,  and  that  after  Christian- 


76  DIRECT  OB  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCE 

ity  was  the  established  religion,  the  use  of  this  engine  be- 
came as  easy  to  the  Christians,  as  it  was  to  the  heathen 
priests  of  old.  The  innumerable  forgeries  of  this  sort, 
says  Dr.  Middleton,  strengthen  the  credibility  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  miracles.  For  how  could  we  ac- 
count for  a  practice  so  universal,  of  forging  miracles  for 
the  support  of  false  religions,  if  on  some  occasions  they 
had  not  actually  been  wrought  for  the  confirmation  of  a 
true  one?  Or  how  is  it  possible  that  so  many  spurious  copies 
should  pass  upon  the  world,  without  some  genuine  origi- 
nal from  whence  they  were  drawn,  whose  known  existence 
and  tried  success  might  give  an  appearance  of  probability 
to  the  counterfeit  ?  We  may  add,  that  if  these  counterfeits 
were  at  any  time  detected,  the  strong  prejudice  which 
would  arise  from  the  detection  against  that  religion,  in 
support  of  which  they  were  adduced,  could  be  counter- 
balanced only  by  the  unquestionable  evidence  of  the  mira- 
cles of  former  times. 

It  appears  then,  that  the  duration  of  miracles  in  the 
Christian  church  is  a  question  of  curiosity  in  no  degree 
essential  to  the  evidence  of  our  religion.  If  no  miracles 
were  really  performed  after  the  days  of  the  apostles,  then 
every  Christian  receives  all  that  ever  were  wrought  upon 
unquestionable  testimony.  If  there  were  some  real  mi- 
racles in  after-times,  they  must  stand  upon  their  own  evi- 
dence. We  may  receive  them,  or  reject  them,  as  they  ap- 
pear to  us  well  or  ill  vouched  ;  and  we  can  draw  no  in- 
ference, from  the  multiplicity  of  imitations  or  forgeries, 
unfavourable  to  the  truth  and  divinity  of  the  original. 

Bonnet,  in  his  philosophical  and  critical  inquiries  concerning  Chris- 
tianity, has  given,  besides  much  other  rahiable  matter,  the  most 
satisfying  statement  that  I  have  met  with  of  the  argument  from 
miracles.  Bonnet's  work  was  written  in  French.  An  extract  of 
the  part  of  it  most  interesting  to  a  student  in  divinity,  was  trans- 
lated by  a  clergjTnan  of  this  church,  and  published  some  years  ago. 

Bishop  Sherlock,  in  his  first  volume  of  sermons,  which  is  chiefly  oc- 
cupied in  stating  the  superiority  of  revealed  to  natm'al  religion, 
has  two  discourses,  the  ninth  and  tenth,  upon  miracles  considered 
as  the  proof  of  revelation.  He  treats  the  subject  in  his  usual  lumi- 
nous manner,  and  suggests  many  just  and  useful  views. 

Newcome,  in  his  observations  on  the  conduct  of  our  Saviour,  has 
written  largely  and  delightfully  of  his  miracles. 

Jortin  also,  in  some  of  his  essays  or  discourses,  and  in  bis  remarks 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  77 

on  ecclesiastical  history,  has  very  ably  illustrated  the  fitness  with 
which  our  Lord's  miracles  were  adapted  both  to  prove  the  truth  of 
his  religion,  and  to  impress  upon  his  followers  the  characteristical 
doctrines  of  the  gospel.  This  yiew  of  the  subject  is  also  prose- 
cuted by  Ogden  in  his  sermons. 

Campbell's  Dissertation  on  Miracles. 

Douglas's  Criterion. 

Butler's  Analogy. 

Macknight's  Truth  of  the  Gospel  History. 

Paley's  Evidences. 

Farmer  on  Miracles. 

Cudworth,  translated  by  Mosheim. 

Leland's  View  of  Deistical  Writers. 

Randolph's  View  of  our  Lord's  Ministry. 

Clarke. 

Boyle's  Lectures. 

Middleton. 

Sir  David  Dalrymple, 


78  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 


CHAP.    V. 


ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Those  lectures  upon   Scripture  are  properly  called  criti- 
cal, which  are  intended  to  elucidate  the  meaning  of  a  dif- 
ficult passage,  and  to  bring  out  from  the  words  of  an  author 
the  sense  which  is  not  obvious  to  an  ordinary  reader.    The 
sources  of  this  elucidation  are,  such  emendations  upon  the 
reading  or  the  punctuation  as  may  warrantably  be  made, 
an  analysis  of  the  particular  words,  a  close  attention  to  the 
manner  of  the  author,  to  the  scope  of  his  reasoning,  and 
to  the  circumstances  of  those  for  whom  he  writes ;  and, 
lastly,  a  comparison  of  the  passage,  which  is  the  subject 
of  the  criticism,  with  other  passages  in  which  the  same 
matters  are  treated.     There  is  great  room  for  critical  lec- 
tures of  this  kind,  and  my  theological  course  abounds  with 
specimens  of  them.      Much  has  been  done  in  this  way 
since  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  by  the  application 
of  sound  criticism  to  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  one  great 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  an   intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  learned  languages,  and  from  the  habit  of  analyz- 
ing the  authors  who  wrote  in  them,  is,  that  you  are  there- 
by prepared  for  receiving  that  rational  exposition  of  the 
word  of  God,  which  is  the  true  foundation  of  theological 
knowledge. 

There  is  another  kind  of  critical  lecture,  which  jirofesses 
by  a  general  comprehensive  view  of  a  passage  of  scrip- 
ture, to  illustrate  some  important  jooints  in  the  evidence 
or  genius  of  our  religion.  This  kind  of  lecture  is  appli- 
cable to  those  passages  where  there  is  not  any  obscuritj/^ 
in  the  expression,  any  recondite  meaning,  or  any  contro- 
verted doctrine,  but  where  there  is  a  number  of  circum- 
stances scattered  throughout,  the  force  of  which  may  be 
missed  by  a  careless  or  ignorant  reader,  but  which  by  be- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  7^ 

ing  arranged  and  placed  clearly  in  view,  may  be  made  to 
bear  upon  one  point,  so  as  to  bring  conviction  to  the  un- 
derstanding, at  the  same  time  that  they  minister  to  the 
improvement  of  the  heart.  The  inimitable  manner  of 
Scripture,  so  natural  and  artless,  yet  so  pregnant  with 
circumstances  the  most  delicate  and  the  most  instructive, 
affords  numberless  subjects  of  this  kind  of  lecture ;  and  I 
do  not  know  any  method  so  well  calculated  to  give  a  per- 
son of  taste  and  sensibility  a  deep  impression  ot  the  excel- 
lency and  the  divinity  of  the  Scriptures.  One  is  teippt- 
ed,  by  the  peculiar  fitness  of  the  passages  which  occur 
to  him,  to  adopt  this  mode  of  lecturing  occasionally  in 
speaking  to  an  assembly  of  Christians,  although  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  ordinary  method  of  lecturing,  by  sug- 
gesting remarks  from  particular  verses,  is  more  adapted  to 
that  measure  of  understanding,  of  attention,  and  of  me- 
mory, which  is  found  in  the  generality  of  hearers. 

But  such  a  mode  may  here  be  followed  with  advantage  ; 
and  I  am  led  to  give  you  now  a  specimen  of  this  criticism 
upon  the  sense,  rather  than  upon  the  words  of  an  evange- 
list, because  the  eleventh  chapter  of  John's  Gospel  may  be 
stated  in  such  a  light  as  to  illustrate  much  of  what  has 
been  said  with  regard  both  to  the  internal  evidence  of 
Christianity,  and  to  that  branch  of  the  external  evidence 
which  arises  from  miracles. 

The  eleventh  chapter  of  John  is  the  history  of  the  re- 
surrection of  Lazarus,  the  greatest  miracle  which  Jesus 
performed.  Upon  such  a  general  view  of  the  chapter  as 
a  critical  lecture  of  this  kind  is  meant  to  give,  we  are  led 
to  attend  to  that  exhibition  of  character  which  the  chap- 
ter contains — to  the  nature  and  circumstances  of  the  mi- 
racle— and  to  the  effects  which  the  miracle  produced. 

I.  The  exhibition  of  character  which  this  chapter  con- 
tains is  various,  and  our  attention  is  directed  to  several 
very  pleasing  objects. 

It  is  natural  to  speak  first  of  the  exhibition  given  of  the 
character  of  the  historian.  The  other  evangelists  have  not 
mentioned  this  miracle,  perhaps  out  of  delicacy  to  Laza- 
rus, who  was  alive  when  they  wrote.  They  did  not  choose 
to  expose  the  friend  of  their  master  to  the  fury  of  the 
Jews,  by  holding  him  forth  in  writings  that  were  to  go 


80  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

through  the  world,  as  a  monument  of  his  power.  But  John, 
who  lived  to  see  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  probably 
survived  Lazarus  ;  and  there  was  everj-  reason  why  this 
evangelist,  who  has  preserved  other  miracles  and  dis- 
courses which  the  former  historians  had  omitted,  should 
record  this  event.  It  is  a  subject  suited  to  the  pen  of 
John  :  the  beloved  disciple  seems  to  delight  in  spreading 
it  out ;  tor  he  has  coloured  his  narration  with  many  beau- 
tiful circumstances,  which  unfold  the  characters  of  the 
other  persons,  and  discover  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
his  master's  heart.  It  is  a  striking  instance  of  that  strict 
propriety  which  pervades  all  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  which  marks  them  to  every  discerning  eye  to 
be  authentic  writings,  that  the  tenderest  scenes  in  our 
Lord's  life,  those  in  which  the  warmth  of  his  private  affec- 
tions is  conspicuous,  are  recorded  by  this  evangelist.  From 
the  others  we  learn  his  public  life,  the  grace,  the  conde- 
scension, the  benevolence  which  appeared  in  all  his  inter- 
course with  those  that  had  access  to  him.  It  was  reserved 
to  "the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved"  to  present  to  suc- 
ceeding ages  this  divine  person  in  his  family,  and  amongst 
his  friends.  In  his  Gospel  we  see  Jesus  washing  the  feet 
of  his  disciples  at  the  last  supper  that  he  ate  with  them. 
It  is  John,  the  disciple  that  leaned  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus 
while  he  sat  at  meat,  who  relates  the  long  discourse  in 
which,  with  the  most  delicate  sensibility  for  their  condi- 
tion, he  soothes  the  troubled  heart  of  his  disciples,  spares 
their  feelings,  while  he  tells  them  the  truth,  and  gives  them 
his  parting  blessing.  It  is  John,  whom  Jesus  judged  wor- 
thy of  the  charge,  who  records  the  filial  piety  with  which, 
in  the  hour  of  his  agony,  he  provided  for  the  comfort  of 
his  mother  ;  and  it  is  John,  whose  soul  was  congenial  to 
that  of  his  Master,  tender,  affectionate,  and  feeling  like 
his,  who  dwells  upon  all  the  particulars  of  the  resurrection 
of  Lazarus,  brings  forward  to  our  view  the  sympathy  and 
attention  with  which  Jesus  took  part  in  the  sorrows  of 
those  wliom  he  loved,  and  making  us  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  them  and  with  him,  presents  a  picture  at  once  de- 
lightful and  instructive. 

The  next  object  in  this  exhibition  of  character  is  the 
friendship  which  Jesus  entertained  for  the  family  of  Laza- 
rus.    Bethany  was   a  small  village  upon  the  mount   of 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  81 

Olives,  within  two  miles  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  road  from 
Galilee.  Jesus,  who  resided  in  Galilee,  and  went  only  oc- 
casionally to  Jerusalem,  was  accustomed  to  lodge  witli 
Lazarus  in  his  way  to  the  public  festivals  :  and  we  are  led 
to  suppose,  from  an  incidental  expression  in  Luke,*  that 
during  the  festivals  he  went  out  to  Bethany  in  the  evening, 
and  returned  to  Jerusalem  in  the  morning.  To  this  little 
family  he  retired  from  the  fatigues  of  his  busy  life,  from 
the  disputations  of  the  Jewish  doctors,  and  the  bitterness 
of  his  enemies ;  and  being,  like  his  brethren,  compassed 
with  infirmity,  like  his  brethren  also  he  found  refreshment 
to  his  soul  in  the  intercourse  of  those  whom  he  loved. 
"  Now  Jesus,"  says  John,  "  loved  Martha,  and  her  sister, 
and  Lazarus."  He  loved  the  world ;  he  loved  the  chief 
of  sinners.  That  was  a  love  of  pity,  the  compassion  which 
a  superior  being  feels  for  the  wretched.  This  was  the  love 
of  kindness,  the  complacency  which  kindred  spirits  take 
in  the  society  of  one  anothei'.  Of  the  brother  he  says  to 
his  apostles,  with  the  same  cordiality  with  which  you  would 
speak  of  one  like  yourselves,  "  Our  friend  Lazarus."  And 
although  we  shall  find  the  character  of  the  two  sisters 
widely  different,  yet  he  discerned  in  both  a  mind  worthy 
of  his  friendship. 

It  appears  strange  to  me,  that  any  person  who  ever 
read  this  chapter  can  blame  the  Gospel,  as  some  deistical 
writers  in  the  last  century  were  accustomed  to  do,  for  not 
recommending  private  friendship.  Can  there  be  a  strong- 
er recommendation  than  this  picture  of  the  Author  of  the 
Gospel,  drawn  by  the  hand  of  his  beloved  disciple  ?  Vv^hen 
you  follow  Jesus  to  Jerusalem,  you  may  learn,  from  his 
public  life,  fortitude,  diligence,  wisdom.  When  you  re- 
tire with  him  to  Bethany,  you  may  learn  tenderness,  con- 
fidence, and  fellow-feeling,  with  those  whom  you  choose 
as  your  friends.  The  servants  of  Jesus  may  not  in  every 
situation  find  persons  so  worthy  of  their  friendship  as  this 
family ;  and  there  is  neither  duty  nor  satisfaction  in 
making  an  improper  choice.  Many  circumstances  niay 
appoint  for  individuals  days  of  solitude,  and  therefore  tiie 
universal  religion  of  Jesus  has  wisely  refrained  from  de- 
livering a  precept  which  it  may  often  be   impossible   to 

*  Luke  xxi.  37,  38. 


89  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

obey.  But  they,  who  are  able  to  follow  the  example  of 
their  master,  by  having  a  heai"t  formed  for  friendship,  and 
by  meeting  with  those  who  are  worthy  of  it,  have  found 
the  medicine  of  life.  Their  happiness  is  independent  of 
noise,  and  dissipation,  and  show  ;  amidst  the  tumult  of  the 
world,  their  spirits  enter  into  rest ;  and  in  the  quiet, 
pleasing,  rational  intercourse  of  Bethany,  they  forget  the 
strife  of  Jerusalem, 

The  next  object  in  this  exliibition  is  the  character  of  the 
two  sisters,  painted  in  that  most  perfect  and  natural  man- 
ner, which  the  Scriptures  almost  always  adopt,  by  ac- 
tions, not  by  words.  As  soon  as  Lazarus  is  sick,  the  two 
sisters  send  a  message  to  Jesus,  with  entire  confidence  in 
his  power  to  heal,  and  his  willingness  to  come.  He  is  now 
beyond  Jordan  ;  the  countries  of  Samaria  and  Galilee  lie 
between  Bethany  and  his  present  abode.  But  the  sisters 
of  Lazarus  knew  too  well  his  affection  for  their  brother, 
and  his  readiness  to  do  good,  to  think  that  distance  would 
prevent  his  coming.  They  say  no  more  than,  "  He  whom 
thou  lovest  is  sick,"  and  they  leave  Jesus  to  interpret 
their  wish.  When  Jesus  arrives  at  Bethany,  after  the  death 
of  Lazarus,  the  different  characters  of  the  two  sisters  are 
supported  with  the  most  delicate  discrimination,  even  un- 
der that  pressure  of  grief  which,  in  the  hand  of  a  coarse 
painter,  would  have  obliterated  eveiy  distinguishing  fea- 
ture. Martha,  who  had  been  "  cumbered  with  much  serv- 
ing," when  she  had  to  entertain  our  Lord,  rises  with  the 
same  officious  zeal  from  the  ground,  where  she  was  sitting 
dishevelled  and  in  sackcloth,  amongst  the  friends  who  had 
come  to  comfoi't  her.  She  rises  the  moment  she  hears  by 
some  chance  messenger  that  Jesus  is  at  hand,  and  runs  to 
meet  him.  Mary,  who  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  so 
much  engaged  with  his  discourse  as  not  to  think  of  pro- 
viding for  his  entertainment,  is  incapable  of  so  brisk  an 
exertion,  or  thinks  it  more  respectful  to  Jesus  to  wait  his 
coming.  This  difference  in  the  conduct  of  the  two  sisters 
is  in  the  style  of  nature,  according  to  which  the  particular 
temper,  and  feelings  of  particular  persons,  give  a  very 
great  variety  to  the  language  of  passion  upon  occasions 
equally  interesting  to  all  of  them.  A  man  may  know,  he 
ought  to  know,  every  corner  in  his  own  heart,  liow  far 
any  part  of  his  conduct  proceeds  from  the  defect  of  good. 


OP  CHRISTIANITY.  83 

or  the  prevalence  of  wrong  principles.     But  the  most  inti- 
mate acquaintance  does  not  give  him  access  to  know  all 
the  notions  of  delicacy  and  propriety  which   may  restrain 
or  urge  on  others  at  particular  seasons,  and  may  give  to 
their  conduct,  in  the  eye  of  careless  observers,  a  very  dif- 
ferent appearance  from  that  which  they  would  wish  ;   and 
it  argues  both  an  uncandid  spirit,  and  verjr  little  knowledge 
of  the  world,  to  say  or  to  think  this  man  does  not  feel  as  he 
ought,  because  he  does  not  express  his  feelings  as  I  would 
express  mine.     Martha  ran  and  met  Jesus  :  Mary  sat  still 
in  the  house.     When  Martha  comes  to  Jesus,  there  is  in 
her  first  words  a  mixture  of  reproach  for  his  delay,  and  of 
confidence  in  his  kindness,  "  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here, 
my  brother  had  not  died."     A  gleam  of  hope,   indeed, 
shoots  athwart  the  sorrowful  mind  of  Martha  at  the  sight 
of  Jesus.     But  her  wish  was  so  great  that  she  is  afraid  to 
mention  it.     "  I  know,   that  even  now,  whatsoever  thou 
wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  it  thee  "     She   has   con- 
ceived a  hope,  in  the  state  of  her  mind  it  was  a  wild  hope, 
that  her  brother  whom  she  had  lost  might  be  instantly  re- 
stored.    Jesus  composes  her  spirit,  prepares  her  for  this 
gift,  by  recalling  her  thoughts  from  the  general  resurrec- 
tion to  himself,  and  probably  gives  her  some  sign  or  some 
direction,  in  consequence  of  which  she  goes  to  the  house, 
and  without  alarming  the  Jews  who  wei'e  assembled  there, 
says  secretly  to  her  sister,  "  The  Master  is  come,  and 
calleth  for  thee."     This  message  instantly  rouses  Mary. 
Her  spirit,  bowed  down  with  grief,  revives  at  his  call,  and 
without  knowing,  probably  without  conceiving  the  pur- 
pose for  which  he  called  her,  she  arose  quickly  and  went 
to  him.     When  she  ai'rives,   there  is  more  submission,  in 
her  manner  than  there  had  been  in  that  of  Martha.     The 
marks  are  stronger  of  a  depressed  and  afflicted  spirit.  She 
fell  down  at  his  feet,  weeping.     But,   as  if  to  remind  us 
that  we  should  look  beyond  these  outward   expressions, 
which  being  very  much  a  matter  of  constitution,  vary  ex- 
ceedingly in  different  persons,  the  evangelist  puts  the  same 
words  into  the  mouth  of  both,  "  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been 
here,  my  brother  had  not  died ;"  and  whatever  interpre- 
tation we  give  to  these  words  when  they  are  spoken  by  the 
one  sister,  we  cannot  avoid  giving  them  the  .same  when 
they  are  spoken  by  the  other.     In  this  exhilition  of  the 


84  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

manner  of  tlie  two  sisters  there  is  so  much  of  nature,  and 
of  nature  appearing  strongly  in  minute  circumstances,  as  to 
be  far  superior  to  that  truth  of  painting  which  we  admire 
in  a  fancied  picture,  and  to  carry  with  it  an  internal 
evidence  that  John  w^as  a  witness  of  what  he  describes, 
and  that  his  draAving  is  part  of  a  scene  which,  from  the 
powerful,  yet  different  emotions  of  the  two  sisters,  had 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  his  feeling  breast. 

The  next  object  which  presents  itself  in  this  moral  ex- 
hibition is  the  character  of  the  Apostles.  The  Gospels 
present  us  with  the  most  natural  picture  of  the  Apostles  ; 
their  doubts,  their  fears,  their  slowness  of  apprehension 
and  of  belief.  By  circumstances  that  seem  to  be  inciden- 
tally recorded,  we  see  them  feeling  and  acting,  not  indeed 
in  the  manner  which  would  have  occurred  to  a  rude,  un- 
skilful hand,  had  he  attempted  to  draw  those  who  were 
honoured  with  being  the  companions  of  Jesus,  but  in  the 
manner  which  any  one  intimately  acquainted  with  the  hu- 
man heart  will  perceive  to  be  the  most  natural  for  men  of 
their  condition  and  education,  and  situated  as  they  were. 
We  see  them  differing  from  one  another  in  sentiments  and 
conduct,  Avith  the  same  kind  of  variety  which  is  observa- 
ble amongst  our  neighbours  and  companions,  each  pre- 
serving in  every  situation  his  peculiar  character,  and  all 
at  the  same  time  uniting  in  attachment  to  their  master. 

Although  the  companions  of  Jesus  were  interested  in 
the  fate  of  his  friend  Lazarus,  yet  they  did  not  understand 
the  hints  which  our  Lord  gave  them.  Although  sleep  is 
one  of  the  most  common  images  of  death,  they  suppose 
when  Jesus  says,  "  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth,"  that  he 
was  enjoying  a  refreshing  sleep,  by  which  nature  was  to 
work  his  cure  ;  and  not  attending  to  the  improjDriety  of  Je- 
sus going  a  long  way  to  awake  him  out  of  such  a  sleep, 
they  say,  "  Lord,  if  he  sleep  he  shall  do  well."  When  Je- 
sus tells  them  plainly  "  Lazarus  is  dead,"  Thomas  stands 
forth,  and  by  one  expression  presents  to  us  the  same  cha- 
racter which  is  more  fully  unfolded  in  another  chapter  of 
this  Gospel."* 

All  the  disciples  were  filled  with  sorrow  and  despair, 
when  they  saw  their  Master  condemned,  executed,  and 

•  John  XX.  9,  19,  20,  24—28. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  85 

laid  in  the  tomb.  "  For  as  yet,"  says  John,  "  they  knew 
not  the  Scripture  that  he  must  rise  again  from  the  dead." 
At  length,  "  Jesus  came  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them." 
"  Then  were  the  disciples  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord." 
It  happened  that  Thomas  was  not  present.  And  when 
"  the  other  disciples  had  said  to  him,  we  have  seen  the 
Lord,"  his  answer  was,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands 
the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of 
the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  be- 
lieve." About  eight  days  after,  Jesus  condescended  to 
give  him  this  proof.  "  Reach  hither,"  said  he,  "  thy  finger, 
and  behold  my  hands ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  side,  and  be  not  faithless  but  believing. 
And  Tliomas  answered  and  said.  My  Lord  and  my  God." 
He  had  felt  doubts,  but  his  heart  appears  full  of  affection 
and  reverence.  Now,  mark  here  the  same  Thomas.  The 
disciples  were  alarmed  at  the  danger  of  going  back  to  Ju- 
dea.  They  had  tried  to  dissuade  their  Master,  but  they 
find  him  fixed  in  his  purpose.  "  Lazarus  is  dead,  never- 
theless let  us  go  unto  him.  Then  said  Thomas  unto  his 
fellow-disciples,  let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with  liim." 
You  see  here  the  same  warmth  of  temper,  the  same  firm 
detei'mined  mind  which  appeared  at  the  other  time,  but 
you  see  also  the  same  defect  of  faith.  Thomas  does  not 
think  it  possible  that  Jesus  could  shelter  himself  from  the 
Jews.  He  does  not  see  any  purpose  that  could  be  served 
by  the  journey.  He  thinks  Jesus  is  going  to  throw  away 
his  life.  Yet  he  resolves  himself,  and  he  encourages  his 
fellow-disciples  not  to  part  with  him.  Our  Master  makes 
a  sacrifice  of  his  life.  We  have  forsaken  all  and  followed 
him.  Let  us  follow  him  also  in  this  journey  ;  "  let  us  go 
that  we  may  die  with  him."  It  is  the  strong  effort  of  a 
mind  which  loved  and  venerated  Jesus,  yet  distrusted  and 
did  not  know  his  divine  power  :  Thomas  faithless,  yet  af- 
fectionate and  manly. 

Such  is  the  mixture  of  character  which  we  often  meet 
witli  in  common  life.  Thej^  who  are  most  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  workings  of  the  human  heart,  and  who 
have  observed  most  accurately  the  manners  of  those 
around  them,  will  best  perceive  the  truth  of  that  picture 
which  the  Evangelists  have  drawn  of  themselves,  and  they 
will  be  struck  with  the  force  of  that  internal  evidence  for 


86  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

the  Gospel  history  which  arises  from  this  simple  natural 
record.  We  cannot  attend  to  this  picture  without  recol- 
lecting the  divine  power  which,  out  of  these  feeble  doubt- 
ing men,  raised  the  most  successful  instruments  of  spread- 
ing the  religion  of  Jesus.  There  Avas  no  want  of  faith  af- 
ter the  day  of  Pentecost.  Thomas  was  one  of  that  com- 
pany which  was  assembled,  when  they  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  he  who  now  says,  "  Let  us  go  and 
die  with  Jesus,"  with  power  gave  witness  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Lord.* 

The  principal  object  in  this  moral  exhibition  yet  re- 
mains. It  is  Jesus  himself.  The  striking  feature  through- 
out the  whole  is  tenderness  and  love.  But  we  discern  also 
prudence,  fortitude,  and  dignity ;  and  this  chapter  may 
thus  serve  as  a  specimen  of  that  most  perfect  and  most  dif- 
ficult character,  which  the  Apostles  were  incapable  of 
conceiving,  and  which,  had  they  conceived  it,  they  would 
have  been  unable  to  support  in  every  situation  with  such 
exact  propriety,  if  they  had  not  drawn  it  from  the  life. 

After  he  receives  the  message  from  the  sisters,  he  re- 
lieves himself  from  the  importunity  of  his  disciples,  by  an 
assurance  which  was  sufficient  to  remove  their  anxiety, 
and  he  lingers  for  two  days  in  the  place  where  he  was. 
The  purpose  of  his  lingering  was,  that  Lazarus  might  be 
truly  dead,  that  he  might  not  merely  recover  a  man  who 
was  sick,  but  that  he  might  raise  a  man  who  had  been  in 
the  grave.  But  this  lingering  did  not  proceed  from  indif- 
fei'ence.  Mark  how  beautifully  the  fifth  verse  is  thrown 
in  between  the  assurance  given  to  the  disciples,  and  the  re- 
solution to  delay.  He  loved  the  family.  He  entered  into 
their  sorrows.  His  sympathy  for  them,  indeed,  yields  to 
his  prosecution  of  the  great  purpose  for  which  he  came, 
yet  his  love  is  not  the  less  for  delay.  How  tender  and 
how  soothing  !  The  merciful  High  Priest,  to  whom  Chris- 
tians still  send  their  requests,  is  not  forgetful,  although  he 
does  not  instantly  grant  them.  He  loves  and  pities  his 
own.  But  he  does  not  think  their  time  always  the  best. 
His  own  time  for  showing  favour  is  set.  No  intervening- 
circumstance  can  prevent  its  coming ;  and  when  it  arrives, 
they  themselves  will  acknowledge  that  it  has  been  well 

•  Acts  iv.  31,  33. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  87 

chosen,  and  all  their  sorrow  will  be  forgotten  and  oveiijaid 
by  the  joy  which  is  brought  to  their  souls.  One  of  the 
finest  moral  lessons  is  conveyed  by  this  delay  of  Jesus. 
It  is  pleasing  to  act  from  kindness,  compassion,  and  love. 
But  the  excess  of  good  affections  may  sometimes  mislead 
us ;  and  there  are  considerations  of  prudence,  of  fidelity, 
and  justice,  which  may  give  to  the  conduct  of  the  most 
tender-hearted  man  an  appearance  of  coldness  and  seve- 
rity. The  world  may  judge  hastily  in  such  instances, 
But  let  every  man  be  satisfied  in  his  own  mind,  first,  that 
he  has  good  affections  ;  and  next,  that  the  considerations 
which  sometimes  restrain  the  exercise  of  them  are  such 
that  he  need  not  be  ashamed  of  their  influence. 

It  is  strongly  marked  in  this  moral  picture,  that  the  de- 
lay of  Jesus,  although  dictated  by  prudence,  did  not  pro- 
ceed from  any  consideration  of  his  personal  safety.  For, 
when  the  disciples  represented  the  danger  of  retiring  to 
Judea,  his  answer  is,  "  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the 
day  ?  If  any  man  walk  in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  be- 
cause he  seeth  the  light  of  this  world.  But  if  a  man  walk 
in  the  night,  he  stumbleth,  because  there  is  no  light  in 
him."  His  meaning  is  explained  by  other  similar  expres- 
sions. The  Jews  divided  the  day  both  in  summer  and 
winter  into  twelve  hours,  so  that  an  hour  with  them  mark- 
ed, not  as  with  us,  a  certain  portion  of  time,  but  the 
twelfth  part  of  a  day,  longer  in  summer,  and  shorter  in 
winter.  The  time  of  his  life  upon  earth  was  the  day  of 
Jesus,  during  which  he  had  to  finish  the  work  given  him 
to  do.  While  this  day  continued,  none  of  his  enemies  had 
power  to  take  away  his  life,  and  he  had  nothing  to  fear  in 
fulfilling  the  commandment  of  God.  When  this  day  ended, 
his  work  ended  also  ;  he  fell  indeed  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies ;  but  he  was  ready  to  be  offered  up.  And  thus  in 
the  same  picture  Jesus  is  exhibited  as  gentle,  feeling,  com- 
passionate to  his  friends,  undaunted  in  the  face  of  his  ene- 
mies, assiduous  and  fearless  in  working  the  work  of  Him 
that  sent  him.  There  shines  throughout  the  whole  of  this 
picture  a  dignity  of  manner ;  no  indecent  haste ;  no  dis- 
trust of  his  own  power ;  a  delay,  which  rendered  one  work 
more  difficult,  yet  which  is  not  employed  in  preparing  for 
an  uncommon  exertion.  "  Lazarus  is  dead,  and  I  am  glad 
for  your  sakes  that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  intent  ye  may 

5 


88  ILLUSTKATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

believe."  He  wishes  to  give  his  disciples  a  more  striking 
manifestation  of  his  divine  power  ;  and  the  display  is  made 
for  their  sakes,  not  for  his  own.  With  what  awful  solem- 
nity does  he  unfold  to  Martha  his  exalted  character  in 
these  words :  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  ;  he  that 
believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ; 
and  whosoever  liveth,  and  believeth  in  me,  shall  never 
die ;"  and  how  suitably  to  the  authority  implied  in  that  cha- 
racter does  he  require  from  Martha  a  confession  of  her  faith 
in  him !  Yet  how  easily  does  he  descend  from  this  dignity  to 
mingle  his  tears  with  those  of  his  friends.  "When  he  saw  Mary 
weeping,  and  the  Jews  also  weeping  which  came  with  her,  he 
groaned  in  the  spirit,  and  was  troubled :"  and  as  they  led 
him  to  the  sepulchre,  "  Jesus  wept."  How  amiable  a  pic- 
ture of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  !  He  found  upon  earth  an 
hospital  full  of  the  sound  of  lamentation,  a  dormitory  in 
which  some  are  every  day  falling  asleep,  and  they  who  re- 
main are  mourning  over  those  who  to  them  are  not.  He 
hath  brought  a  cordial  to  revive  our  spirits,  while  we  are 
bearing  our  portion  of  this  general  sorrow,  and  he  hath 
opened  to  our  view  a  land  of  rest.  But  even  while  he  is 
executing  his  gracious  purpose,  his  heart  is  melted  with 
the  sight  of  that  distress  which  he  came  to  relieve,  and  al- 
though he  was  able  to  destroy  the  king  of  terrors,  he  was 
troubled  Avhen  he  beheld  in  the  company  of  mourners  a 
monument  of  his  power.  W^e  do  not  read  that  Jesus  ever 
shed  tears  for  his  own  sufferings.  When  he  was  going  to 
the  cross,  he  turned  round  and  said,  "  Daughters  of  Jeru- 
salem, weep  not  for  me."  But  he  wept  over  Jerusalem 
when  he  thought  of  the  destruction  that  was  coming  upon 
it  ;*  and  here  the  anguish  of  his  friends  draws  from  him 
groans  and  tears.  He  was  soon  to  remove  their  anguish. 
But  it  was  not  the  less  bitter  during  its  continuance  ;  and 
it  is  the  present  distress  of  his  friends  into  which  his  heart 
enters  thus  readily. 

Let  the  false  pride  of  philosophy  place  the  perfection  of 
the  human  character  in  an  equality  of  mind,  unmoved  by 
the  events  that  befal  ourselves  or  others.  But  Christians 
may  learn  from  the  example  of  him  who  was  made  like  his 
brethi'en,  that  the  variety  in  the  events  of  life  was  intend- 

*  Luke  xxiii.  28  ;  xix.  41. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  89 

ed  by  the  author  of  nature  as  an  exercise  of  feeling ;  that 
it  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  harden  our  lieart  against  the 
impressions  which  they  make,  and  tliat  we  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  expressing  what  we  feeh  That  God  who  chas- 
tens his  children  loves  a  heart  which  is  tender  before  him  ; 
and  Jesus,  who  wept  himself,  conmiands  us  to  weep  with 
them  that  weep.  The  tears  shed  are  both  a  tribute  to  the 
dead,  and  an  amiable  display  of  the  heart  of  th«  living,  and 
they  interest  every  spectator  in  the  persons  from  whom 
they  flow. 

Thus  have  we  seen  in  this  moral  picture  of  the  charac- 
ter of  Jesus,  tenderness,  compassion,  prudence,  fortitude, 
dignity,  "  Christ,  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of 
God,"*  the  strength  of  an  almighty  arm  displayed  by  a 
man  like  his  brethren,  "  the  glory  of  the  only  begotten  of 
the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."-f-  The  assemblage  of 
(jualities  is  so  uncommon,  and  the  harmony  with  which 
they  are  blended  so  entire,  that  they  convey  to  every  in- 
telligent reader  an  impression  of  the  divinity  of  our  reli- 
gion, and  we  cannot  contemplate  this  picture  without  feel- 
ing the  sentiment  which  was  afterwards  expressed  by  the 
Centurion  who  stood  over  against  the  cross  of  Jesus  : 
"  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God.";}: 

II.  Circumstances  of  the  miracle. 

Mr.  Hume  and  other  philosophers,  both  before  and  after 
his  time,  have  denied  the  conclusiveness  of  the  general  ar- 
gument from  miracles,  or  they  have  endeavoured  to  de- 
stroy that  evidence  from  testimony  upon  which  we  give 
credit  to  the  works  recorded  in  the  Gospel.  But  there  is 
a  set  of  minute  writei's  in  the  deistical  controversy,  who 
liave  adopted  a  style  of  philological  or  verbal  objections, 
which  would  set  aside  the  truth  of  the  record,  not  by  any 
general  reasoning,  but  by  supposed  instances  of  inaccuracy 
or  impropriety  in  particular  narrations.  This  style  of  ob- 
jections enters  into  ordinary  conversation  ;  it  is  level  to 
the  understanding  of  many,  who  are  incapable  of  appre- 
iiending  a  general  argument ;  and  it  is  the  usual  refuge  of 
those  who  have  nothing  else  to  oppose  to  the  evidences  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

•  I  Cor.  i.  24.  t  J"h"  i-  ^4.  :{:  Matt,  xxvii.  o-l. 


90  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

You  will  find  objections  of  this  kind  occasionally  thrown 
out  in  many  deistical  writers.     But  they  were  formed  into 
a  sort  of  system  in  a  treatise  published  about  sixty  years 
ago,  by  Mr.  Woolston,   and  entitled,  "  Discourses  upon 
the  Miracles  of  our   Saviour,"   a  book   now  very  little 
known,  but  which  drew  great  attention  at  the  time,  and 
was  overpowered  by  a  variety  of  able  answers.    Mr.  Wool- 
ston attempted  to  show  that  the  earliest  and  most  respecta- 
ble writers  of  the  Christian  church  understood  the  mira- 
cles of  our  Saviour  purely  in  an  allegorical  sense,  as  em- 
blems of  the  spiritual  life  ;  and  that  there  was  good  reason 
for  doing  so,  because  the  accounts  taken  in  a  literal  sense 
are  absurd  and  incredible.     He  has  been  convicted,  by 
those  who  have   answered  him,  of  gross  disingenuity  in 
maintaining  the  first  of  his  positions.     It  is  true  that  the 
fathers,  even  of  the  first  century,  were  led  by  their  attach- 
ment to  that  philosophy  in  which  they  had  been  educated, 
to  seek  for  hidden  spiritual  meanings  in  the  plain  historical 
parts  of  Scripture.      And  Origen,  in  the  third  century, 
went  so  far  as  to  undervalue  the  literal  sense  in  comparison 
with  the  allegorical,  saying,  "  the  Scriptures  are  of  little 
use  to  those  who  understand  them  as  they  are  written."* 
He  has  pursued  this  manner  of  interpreting  the  miracles 
of  our  Saviour  much  farther  than  became  a  sound  reason- 
er.     But  although  it  appeared  to  him  more  sublime  and 
instructive  than  a  simple  exposition  of  the  facts  recorded, 
yet  it  proceeds  upon  a  supposition  of  the  truth  of  the  facts ; 
and  accordingly  in  his  valuable  work  against  Celsus  the 
Jew,   where  he  answers  the    objections  to  the   truth  of 
Christianity,  and  states  with  great  force  of  reason  the  ar- 
guments upon  which  our  faith  rests,  he  appeals  repeatedly 
to  the   miracles  which  Jesus  did,  which  he  enabled  his 
apostles  to  do,  and  some  faint  traces  of  which  remained  in 
the  days  of  Origen.     He  says  that  the  miracles  of  Christ 
converted  nations,  and  that  it  would  have  been  absurd  in 
the  apostles  to  have  attempted  the  introduction  of  a  ncAV 
religion   without   the  help  of  miracles.      Mr.  Woolston, 
therefore,    is  left  without  the  support  of  that  authority 
which  he  pleads ;  for  Origen,  the  most  allegorical  of  the 
fathers,  even  where  he  prefers  the  allegorical,  does  not  ex- 

*  Origen,  Stromata,  lib.  x. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  91 

elude  the  literal  sense ;  and  his  argumentative  discourse 
proceeds  upon  the  acknowledged  truth  of  the  facts  re- 
corded. 

The  second  position  does  not  profess  to  rest  upon  the 
authority  of  any  name,  but  upon  the  nature  of  the  narra- 
tion, which,  Mr,  Woolston  says,  is  so  filled  with  monstrous 
incredibilities  and  absurdities,  that  the  best  way  in  which 
any  person  can  defend  it,  is  by  having  recourse  to  the  al- 
legorical sense.  But,  in  this  way,  the  argument  from  mi- 
racles is  totally  lost,  because,  if  we  regard  them  not  as 
facts,  but  as  a  method  of  conveying  spiritual  instruction, 
the  appeal  which  Jesus  continually  made  to  the  works  that 
he  did,  must  appear  to  us  chimerical  or  false.  Although, 
therefore,  Mr.  Woolston  has  the  effrontery  to  pretend  a 
zeal  for  the  honour  of  Jesus,  in  his  attemjjts  to  get  rid  of 
the  difficulties  arising  from  the  literal  sense,  that  literal 
sense  must  be  defended  by  every  Christian. 

It  is  impossible  to  lead  you  through  all  the  objections 
wliich  have  been  made  by  Woolston  and  other  writers. 
But  I  shall  point  out  the  sources  from  which  satisfying 
answers  may  be  drawn,  and  give  some  specimens  of  the 
application  of  these  sources. 

The  sources  of  answers  are  three :  An  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  local  manners,  customs,  and  prejudices — 
an  analysis  of  the  true  meaning  of  the  words  in  the  origi- 
nal— and  a  close  attention  to  the  whole  contexture  of  the 
narration. 

1.  An  intimate  acquaintance  with  local  manners,  cus- 
toms and  prejudices.  One  of  the  most  satisfying  evidences 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  books  of  the  Ncav  Testament, 
arises  from  their  reference  to  the  peculiarities  of  that 
country  in  which  we  say  the  authors  of  them  lived,  a  re- 
ference so  exact,  so  uniform,  and  extending  to  such  minute- 
ness, as  to  afford  conviction  to  any  person  who  considers 
it  properly,  that  these  are  not  the  production  of  a  later  age 
or  anoth(>r  country.  This  continual  reference,  while  it  is 
a  proof  of  their  authenticity,  colours  every  narration  con- 
tained in  them  with  circumstances  which  appear  strange 
to  a  reader  who  is  not  versant  in  Jewish  antiquities ;  and 
this  strangeness  furnishes  many  objections  to  those  who 
are  themselves  ignorant,  or  who  wish  to  impose  upon  the 
ignorance  of  others.     But  the  phantom  is  dissipated  by 


92  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

that  local  knowledge  which  may  be  easily  acquired  and 
easily  applied. 

2.  An  analysis  of  the  words  in  the  original.  Particular 
objections  against  the  miracles  of  Jesus  are  multiplied  by 
this  circumstance,  that  we  read  a  narration  of  them,  hav- 
ing a  continual  reference  to  ancient  manners,  not  in  the 
language  in  which  it  was  originally  written,  but  in  a  trans- 
lation. For,  allowing  that  translation  all  the  praise  that 
is  due  to  it,  and  it  deserves  a  great  deal,  still  it  must  hap- 
pen that  the  words  in  the  translation  do  not  always  con- 
vey precisely  the  same  meaning  with  those  to  which  they 
correspond  in  the  original.  Different  combinations  of 
ideas,  and  different  modes  of  phraseology  diversify  those 
words  which  answer  the  most  exactly  to  one  another  in 
different  languages  ;  and  although  translations  even  under 
this  disadvantage  are  sufficient  to  give  every  necessary  in- 
formation to  those  who  are  incapable  of  reading  the  origi- 
nal, yet  we  have  experience,  in  reading  all  ancient  authors, 
that  the  delicacy  of  a  sentiment  and  the  peculiar  manner 
of  an  action  may  be  so  far  lost  by  the  words  used  in  a 
translation,  that  there  is  no  way  of  answering  objections 
grounded  upon  the  mode  of  exhibiting  the  sentiment  or 
action,  but  by  having  recourse  to  the  original. 

3.  A  close  attention  to  the  whole  contexture  of  the  nar- 
ration. Those  who  are  forward  to  make  objections  are 
not  disposed  to  compare  the  different  parts  of  the  narra- 
tion, because  it  is  not  their  business  to  find  an  answer. 
They  choose  rather  to  lay  hold  of  particular  expressions, 
and  to  give  them  the  most  exceptionable  form,  by  pre- 
senting them  in  a  detailed  view.  The  beautiful  simplicity 
of  Scripture  leaves  it  very  much  exposed  to  this  kind  of 
objections.  When  all  the  circumstances  of  a  story  are 
artfully  arranged,  so  as  to  have  a  visible  reference  to  one 
another,  the  manifest  unfairness  of  attempting  to  present  a 
part  of  the  story  disjointed  from  the  rest  betrays  the  de- 
sign of  a  person  who  makes  such  an  attempt.  But  when 
the  circumstances  are  spread  carelessly  through  the  whole 
narration,  inserted  by  the  historian  as  they  occurred  to  his 
observation  or  his  recollection,  without  his  seeming  desi- 
rous to  prepossess  the  readers  with  an  opinion  that  the 
story  is  true,  or  aware  that  any  objection  could  be  raised 
to  it  in  this  natural  manner,  which  is  the  manner  of  truth 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  93 

and  the  manner  of  Scripture,  it  is  easy  to  raise  a  variety  of 
plausible  objections  ;  and  a  connected  view  of  the  whole  is 
necessary  in  order  to  discern  the  futility  of  them. 

From  these  three  sources  answers  may  be  drawn  to  all 
the  objections  that  have  ever  been  made  to  the  literal  sense 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus.  To  show  their  utility,  I  shall 
give  a  specimen  of  the  application  of  them  to  some  of  the 
objections  which  Mr.  Woolston  has  urged  against  three  of 
the  miracles  of  our  Lord ;  the  cure  of  the  paralytic  in  the 
second  chapter  of  Mark,  the  turning  of  water  into  wine  at 
Cana,  in  the  second  chapter  of  John,  and  the  resurrection 
of  Lazarus  in  the  eleventh  chapter. 

"  And  again  he  entered  into  Capernaum,  after  some 
days  ;  and  it  was  noised  that  he  was  in  the  house.  And 
straightway  many  were  gathered  together,  insomuch  that 
there  was  no  room  to  receive  them,  no,  not  so  much  as 
about  the  door :  and  he  preached  the  word  unto  them. 
And  they  come  unto  him,  bringing  one  sick  of  the  palsy, 
which  was  borne  of  four.  And  when  they  could  not  come 
nigh  unto  him  for  the  press,  they  uncovered  the  roof  where 
he  was :  and  when  they  had  broken  it  up,  they  let  down 
the  bed  wherein  the  sick  of  the  palsy  lay."* 

Mr.  Woolston  says,  in  a  mode  of  exi^ression  which  he 
uses  without  any  scruple,  this  is  the  most  monstrously  ab- 
surd, improbable,  and  incredible  of  any,  according  to  the 
letter.  If  the  people  thronged  so  much  that  those  who 
bore  the  paralytic  could  not  get  to  the  door,  why  did  not 
they  wait  till  the  crowd  was  dismissed,  rather  than  heave 
up  the  sick  man  to  the  top  of  the  house  with  ropes  and 
ladders,  break  up  tiles,  spars,  and  rafters,  and  make  a  hole 
large  enough  for  the  man  and  his  bed  to  be  let  through,  to 
the  injury  of  the  house,  and  the  danger  and  annoj^ance  of 
those  who  were  within  ?  A  slight  attention  to  the  ordi- 
nary style  of  architecture  in  Judea,  and  to  the  words  of  the 
original,  removes  every  appearance  of  absurdity  in  the 
narration.  The  houses  in  Judea  were  seldom  more  than 
two  stories  high,  and  the  roofs  were  always  flat,  with  a 
battlement  or  parapet  round  the  edges,  so  that  there  was 
no  danger  in  vvalking  or  pitching  a  tent,  as  was  often  done, 
upon  the  roof.     There  was  a  stair  within  the  house,  which 

•  Mark.  ii.  1—4. 


94  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

led  to  a  door  that  lay  flat  when  it  was  not  opened,  form- 
ing to  all  appearance  a  part  of  the  roof,  and  was  secured 
by  a  lock  or  bolt  on  the  inside,  to  prevent  its  being  readily 
opened  by  thieves.     By  this  door  the  inhabitants  of  the 
house  could  easily  get  to  the  roof,  and  there  was  often  a 
fixed  stair  leading  to  it  from  the  outside,  or  where  that  was 
wanting,  a  short  ladder  was  occasionally  applied.     Sup- 
posing, then,  the  house  mentioned  by  Mark  to  have  been 
built  after  this  common  fashion  ;  the  court  before  it  so  full, 
that  it  was  not  possible  to  get  near  the  door  of  the  house ; 
the  people  so  throng,  and  so  earnest  in  listening,  that  it 
was  vain  to  think  of  their  giving  place  to  any  one ;  in  this 
situation,  the  four  persons  who  carried  the  palsied  man 
upon  a  little  couch,  scXm^itv,  think  of  going  round  to  an- 
other jjart  of  the  house,  at  which  by  a  stair  or  ladder  they 
easily  reach  the  roof.     The,  find  the  door  lying  flat,  and 
the  word  £|o£j;|«vt5?  implies  that  some  force  was  necessary 
to  break  it  open.     That  force  might  have   disturbed  the 
family  had  they  been  quiet.     But  at  present  they  are  too 
much  engaged  to  attend  to  it,  or  their  knowledge  of  the 
pvirpose  for  which  the  force  was  used,  prevents  them  from 
giving  any  interruption.     The  door  being  made  to  allow 
persons  to  come  out  upon  the  roof,  and  the  couch  being  a  . 
xXivihiov,*  it  would  not  be  difficult  for  four  men  to  let  down 
the  couch  by  the  stair  on  the  inside,  two  of  them  going 
before  to  receive  it  out  of  the  hands  of  the  others.     After 
the  couch  is  thus  brought  into  the  room  where  Jesus  was, 
in  the  only  method  by  which  access  could  be  found  to 
him,  he  rewards  the  faith  of  the  sick  man  by  performing, 
in  presence  of  his  enemies,  several  of  whom  appear  to  have 
mingled  with  the  multitude,  an  instantaneous  and  wonder- 
ful cure.    The  palsy  is  a  disease  seldom  completely,  never 
suddenly  removed.     The  extreme  degree  in  which  it  af- 
fected this  man  was  knoM^i  to  the  four  who  carried  him, 
to  the  multitude  in  the  midst  of  whom  he  was  laid,  to  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Capernaum.     Yet  by  a  word  from  the 
mouth  of  Jesus,  he  is  enabled  to  rise  up  and   carry  his 
couch.     Judge  from  this  simple  exposition,  whether  the 
narrative  of  Mark  deserves  to  be  called  monstrously  ab- 
surd and  incredible. 

•  Luke  V.  19,  24. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  95 

The  turning  of  water  into  wine  is  recorded  in  the  se- 
cond chapter  of  John.  The  only  objection  to  this  miracle, 
which  merits  consideration,  is  the  offence  conceived  by  Mr. 
Woolston  at  the  expression  which  our  Lord  uses  to  his 
mother.  And  I  doubt  not  that  it  sounds  harsh  in  the  ears 
of  every  English  reader.  "  When  they  wanted  wine,  the 
mother  of  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  they  have  no  wine ;  Jesus 
saith  unto  her,  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ? 
Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come."  Here  an  analysis  of  the 
words  in  the  original  appears  to  me  to  afford  a  satisfying 
answer  to  the  objection.  I  need  scarcely  remark,  that 
ywn  is  the  word  by  which  women  of  the  highest  rank  were 
addressed  in  ancient  times  by  men  of  the  most  polished 
manners,  when  they  wished  to  show  them  every  mark  of 
respect.  It  is  used  by  Jesus,  when  with  filial  affection,  in 
his  dying  moments,  he  provides  every  soothing  attention 
for  his  mother.  The  jDhrase  t<  e^o*  xat  a-ti  occurs  in  some 
places  of  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  also  in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  uniformly  render- 
ed "  What  have  I  to  do  m  ith  thee  ?"  and  seems  to  mark  a 
check,  a  slight  reprimand,  a  degree  of  displeasure.  It  m  as 
not  unnatural  for  our  translators  to  give  the  Greek  phrase 
the  same  sense  here ;  and  many  commentators  understand 
our  Lord  as  checking  his  mother  for  directing  him  in  the 
exercise  of  his  divine  power.  I  do  not  think  that  such  a 
cheek  would  have  been  inconsistent  with  that  tender  con- 
cern for  his  mother  which  our  Lord  showed  upon  the 
cross.  It  became  him,  who  was  endowed  with  the  Spirit 
without  measure,  to  be  led  by  that  Spirit  in  the  discharge 
of  his  public  office,  and  not  to  commit  himself  to  the  nar- 
row conceptions  of  any  of  the  children  of  men.  I  do  not 
therefore  find  fault  with  those  who  understand  Jesus  as 
saying,  the  time  of  attesting  my  commission  by  miracles 
is  not  come,  and  I  cannot  receive  directions  from  you 
when  it  should  begin.  This  may  be  the  meaning  of  the 
words.  But  as  they  will  easily  bear  another  translation, 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of 
Christ,  I  am  inclined  to  prefer  it.  "  What  is  that  to  thee 
and  me  ?  The  want  of  wine  is  a  matter  that  concerns  the 
master  of  the  feast.  But  it  need  not  distress  you ;  and 
my  friends  cannot  accuse  me  of  unkindness  in  withholding 
an  exercise  of  my  power,  that  may  be  convenient  for  them  ; 


96  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

ibr  I  have  yet  done  no  miracle,  the  season  of  my  public 
manifestation  not  being  come."  We  know  that  Jesus  did 
not  enter  upon  his  ministry  till  after  John  was  cast  into 
prison.  We  find  John,  in  the  next  chapter,  baptizing  near 
Salim,  and  this  is  called  the  beginning  of  miracles.  Ac- 
cording to  this  translation,  every  appearance  of  harshness 
is  avoided,  and  the  whole  story  hangs  perfectly  together. 
You  will  observe,  Mary  was  so  far  from  being  offended  at 
the  supposed  harshness  of  the  answer,  or  conceiving  it  to  be 
a  refusal,  that  she  says  to  the  servants,  "  Whatever  he  saith 
unto  you,  do  it :"  and  our  Lord's  doing  the  miracle  after 
this  answer,  is  a  beautiful  instance  of  his  attention  to  his 
mother.  Although  his  friends  had  no  reason  to  expect  an 
interposition  of  his  power,  because  his  hour  was  not  come, 
yet,  in  compliance  with  her  desire,  he  supplies  plentifully 
M'hat  is  wanting. 

To  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  John,  Mr.  Woolston  objects,  that  the  person  raised  was 
not  a  man  of  eminence  sufficient  to  draw  attention — that 
he  gives  no  account  of  what  he  saw  in  the  separate  state 
— that  it  was  absurd  in  Jesus  to  call  with  a  loud  voice  to 
a  dead  man — that  Lazarus  having  his  head  bound  is  sus- 
picious— and  that  the  whole  is  a  romantic  story.  Now  the 
answer  to  all  this  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  contexture  of 
the  narrative,  in  which,  beautiful,  simple,  and  tender  as  it 
is,  there  are  interwoven  such  circumstances  as  can  leave 
no  doubt  upon  the  mind  of  any  person  who  admits  the  au- 
thenticity of  this  book,  that  the  greatest  of  miracles  was 
here  really  performed.  Instead,  therefore,  of  following  the 
frivolous  objections  of  Mr.  Woolston  one  by  one,  I  shall 
present  you  with  a  connected  view  of  these  circumstances, 
as  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  the  credibility  of 
other  miracles  may  be  illustrated. 

Jesus  lingered  in  the  place  where  he  was,  when  he  re- 
ceived the  message  from  the  sisters,  till  the  time  when,  by 
the  divine  knowledge  that  he  possessed,  he  said  to  the 
apostles,  "  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth."  After  this,  he 
had  a  long  journey  to  Bethany ;  and  it  does  not  appear 
that  he  performed  it  hastily,  for  he  learned,  as  he  approach- 
ed the  village,  that  Lazarus  had  lain  four  days  in  the 
grave.  He  delayed  so  long,  that  the  divine  power,  which 
he  was  to  exert  in  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  might  be 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  97 

magnified  in  the  eyes  of  the  spectators  ;  and,  at  the  samo 
time,  he  provided  an  unquestionabk^  testimony  for  the 
truth  of  the  miracle,  by  arriving  before  the  days  of  mourn- 
ing were  expired.  You  will  be  sensible  of  the  effect  of  this 
circumstance,  if  you  attend  for  a  moment  to  the  manners 
of  the  Jews  respecting  funerals.  One  of  the  greatest  ca- 
lamities in  human  life  is  the  death  of  those  persons  whose 
society  had  been  our  comfort  and  joy.  It  has  been  the 
practice  of  all  countries  to  testify  the  sense  of  this  calamity 
by  honours  paid  to  the  dead,  and  by  expressions  of  grief 
on  the  part  of  the  living.  In  eastern  countries,  where  all 
the  passions  are  strong,  and  agitate  the  frame  more  than 
in  our  northern  climates,  these  expressions  of  grief  are 
often  exceedingly  violent;  and,  notwithstanding  somewise 
prohibitions  of  the  law  of  Moses,  the  mourning  in  the  land 
of  Judea  was  more  expressive  of  anguish  than  that  which 
we  commonly  see.  The  dead  body  was  carried  out  to  bu- 
rial not  long  after  the  death.  But  the  house  in  which  the 
person  had  died,  the  furniture  of  the  house,  and  all  who 
had  been  in  it  at  that  time,  became  in  the  eye  of  the  law 
unclean  for  seven  days.  During  that  time,  the  near  re- 
lations of  the  deceased  remained  constantly  in  the  house, 
unless  when  they  went  to  the  grave  or  sepulchre  to  mourn 
over  the  dead.  They  did  not  perform  any  of  the  ordinary 
business  of  life ;  they  were  not  considered  as  in  a  proper 
condition  for  attending  the  service  of  the  temple,  and  their 
neighbours  and  acquaintances,  for  these  seven  days,  came 
to  condole  with  them,  bringing  br-ead  and  wine  and  other 
victuals,  as  there  was  nothing  in  the  house  which  could 
lawfully  be  used.  Upon  this  charitable  errand,  a  number 
of  Jews,  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  had  come  out  to  Be- 
thany, which  was  within  two  miles  of  the  city,  upon  the 
day  when  Jesus  arrived  there  ;  and  thus,  as  we  found 
the  sisters  brought  out  to  the  sepulchre  one  after  an- 
other, by  the  most  natural  display  of  character,  so  here, 
without  any  appearance  of  a  divine  interposition,  but  mere- 
ly by  their  following  the  dictates  of  good  neighbourhood 
or  of  decency,  the  enemies  of  Jesus  are  gathered  together 
to  be  the  witnesses  of  this  work.  When  the  Jews  saw 
Mary  rise  hastily  and  go  out,  after  the  private  message 
which  Martha  brought  her,  knowing  that  she  could  not  go 
anywhere  but  to  the  sepulchre,  they  naturally  arose  to  fol- 

VOL.   I.  F 


98  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES 

low  her,  that  they  might  restrain  the  extravagance  of  her 
grief,  and  assist  in  composing  her  spirit  and  bringing  her 
home.     They  found  Jesus  in  the  highway  where  Martha 
had  first  met  him,  groaning  in  spirit  at  the  distress  of  the 
family,  and    soothing  Mary's    complaint  by   this    kindly 
question,  "  Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?"  a  question  which 
showed  his  readiness  to  take  part  in  her  sorrow,  by  go- 
ing with  her  to  the  house  of  the  dead.      The  Jews  an- 
swer his  question,  "  Lord,  come  and  see ;"  and  Jesus  suf- 
fers himself  to  be  led  by  them,  that  they  might  see  there 
was  no  preparation  for  the  work  he  was  about  to  perform, 
%\  hen  he  stepped  out  of  the  highway  along  with  them,  and 
allowed  them  to  reach  the  sepulchre  before  him.    His  tears 
draw  the  attention  of  tiie  crowd  as  he  approaches  the  place  ; 
and  the  Evangelist  has  presented  to  us,  in  their  different 
remarks,  that  variety  of  character  which  we   discover  in 
every  multitude.     The  candid  and  feeling  admired  this 
testimony  of  his  affection  for  Lazarus,  "  Behold  how  he 
loved  him  !"    Others,  who  pretended  to  more  sagacity,  ar- 
gued from  the  grief  of  Jesus,  that,  in  the  death  of  Lazarus, 
he  had  met  with  a  disappointment  which  he  would  have 
prevented  if  he  could.     Jesus,  without  making  any  reply 
to  either  remark,  arrives  at  the  grave.     John,  who  wrote 
his  Gospel  at  a  distance  from  Jerusalem,  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  were  strangers  to  Jewish  manners,  has  given  a 
short  descinption  of  the  grave,  which  Ave  must  carry  along 
with    us.     The   Jews,   especially    persons   of  distinction, 
were  generally  laid,  not  in  such  graves  as  we  commonly 
see,  but  in  caves  hewn  in  the  rocks,  with  which  the  land 
of  Judea  abounded.      Sometimes   the  sepulchre  was  in 
part  above  the  ground,  having  a  door,  like  that  in  which 
our  Lord  lay.    Sometimes  it  was  altogether  below  ground, 
having    an    aperture   from   which   a   stair   led    down   to 
the  bottom,  and  this  aperture  covered  with  a  stone,  ex- 
cept when  the  sepulchre  was  to  be  opened.     The  body, 
swathed  in  linen,  with  the  feet  and  hands  tightly  bound, 
and  the  whole  face  covered  by  a  napkin,  was  laid,  not  in 
a  cofiin,  but  in  a  niche  or  cell  of  the  sepulchre.     As  the 
Jews,  at  the  command  of  Jesus,  were  attempting  to  take 
away  the  stone,  Martha  seems  to  stagger  in  the  faith  which 
she  had   formerly    expressed.     "  Lord,    by    this  time  he 
stinketh,  for  he  hath  been  dead  four  days,"  T£r«gT«<9s  y«g 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  99 

io-ri.     The  word  means,   that  he  has  been  four  clays  in 
some  particular  condition,  without  exjiressing  what  con- 
dition is  meant.     Now,  his  present  condition  is,  being  in 
the  cave.     It  was  mentioned  before,  that  he  had  been  there 
four  days,  and  therefore  our  translators  should  have  in- 
serted   in    italics  the  word   buried,    not   the  word   dead. 
Jesus  revives  the  faith  of  Martha;   and  as  soon  as  the 
stone  is  removed,  he  lifts  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and  thanks 
the  Father  for  having  heard  him.    His  enemies  said  that  he 
did  his  mighty  works  by  the  assistance  of  the  devil.   Here, 
in  the  act  of  performing  the  greatest  of  them,  he  prays,  with 
perfect  assurance  of  being  heard,   ascribes  the   honour  to 
God,  and  takes  to  himself  the  name   of  the   messenger  of 
heaven.     Think  of  the  suspense  and  earnest  attention  of 
the  multitude,  while  after  the  sepulchre  is  opened  Jesus 
is  uttering  this  solemn  prayer.     How  would  the  suspense 
be  increased,  when  Jesus,  to  show  the  whole   multitude 
that  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  was  his  deed,  calls  Avith  a 
loud  voice,  "  Lazarus,  come  forth  !"     And  what  would  be 
their  astonishment  when  they  saw  this  command  instantly 
obeyed ;  the  man,  who  had  lain  four  days  in  the  sepulchre, 
sliding  his  limbs  down  from  the  cell,  and  standing  before 
it  upright !     The  bandages  prevent  him  from  moving  for- 
ward.   But  Jesus,  by  ordering  the  Jews  to  loose  him,  gives 
them   a  nearer  opportunity  of  examining  this  wonderful 
sight,  and  of  deriving,  from  the  dress  of  his  body,  from  the 
state  of  the  grave-clothes,  from  the  manner  in  which  the 
napkin  smothered  his  face,  various  convincing  proofs,  that 
the  man,  whom  they  now  saw  and  touched  alive,  had  been 
truly  numbered  among  the  dead. 

The  contexture  of  this  narration  is  such  as  to  efface 
from  our  minds  every  objection  against  the  consistency  of 
it ;  and  the  greatness  of  the  miracle  is  obvious.  We  be- 
hold in  this  work  the  Lord  of  Life.  None  can  restore  a 
man  who  had  seen  corruption,  but  He  who  in  the  begin- 
ning created  him.  Jesus  gives  us  here  a  sample  of  the 
general  resurrection,  and  a  sensible  sign  that  he  is  able  to 
deliver  from  the  second  death.  This  is  the  meaning  of 
that  expression,  "  Whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me 
shall  never  die,"  cv  /ttji  ccTrcSxvyi  it?  rov  utwvx,  i,  e.  shall  not  die 
for  ever.  Natural  death  is  the  separation  of  soul  and 
body ;  eternal  death  is  the  loss,  the  degradation,  and  final 


\ 


100  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE,  E\''IDENCES 

wretchedness  of  the  soul.  Both  are  the  ^vages  of  sin,  and 
Jesus  delivers  from  the  first,  which  is  visible,  as  a  pledge 
of  his  being  able  to  deliver,  in  due  time,  those  who  live 
and  believe  in  him,  from  the  second  also.  The  miracle  is- 
in  this  way  stated  by  himself,  both  as  a  confirmation  of  his 
mission,  and  as  an  illustration  of  the  great  doctrine  of  his 
religion. 

Before  leaving  the  circumstances  of  the  miracle  I  would 
observe,  that  however  ably  such  objections  as  I  have  men- 
tioned may  be  answered,  there  is  much  caution  to  be  used 
in  stating  them  to  a  Christian  assembly.  It  is  very  impro- 
per to  communicate  to  the  people  all  the  extravagant  fri- 
volous conceits  that  have  been  broached  by  the  enemies, 
of  Christianity.  '  The  objection  may  remain  with  them  af- 
ter they  have  forgotten  the  answer ;  and  t!\eir  faith  may 
l)e  shaken  hy  finding  that  it  has  received  so  many  attacks. 
It  becomes  the  ministers  of  religion,  indeed,  to  possess  their 
minds  '\\  ith  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  evidences  of 
Christianity,  and  of  the  answers  tliat  may  be  made  to  ob- 
jections. i3ut  out  of  this  storehouse  they  should  bring 
forth  to  the  people  a  clear  unembarrassed  view  of  every 
subject  upon  which  they  speak,  so  as  to  create  no  doubt 
or  suspicion  in  those  who  hear  them,  but  to  give  their  faith 
that  stability  which  is  alv.ays  connected  with  distinct 
apprehension. 

III.  It  remains  to  say  a  few  words  upon  the  effects 
which  this  miracle  produced.  Some  of  the  persons  who 
had  come  to  comfort  Mary,  when  they  sav/  "  the  things 
Avhicli  Jesus  did,  believed  on  him."  It  was  the  conclu- 
sion of  right  reason,  that  a  man  who,  in  the  sight  of  a  mul- 
titude, exerted,  without  preparation,  a  power  to  which  no 
human  exertion  deserves  to  be  compared,  Avas  a  messenger 
of  heaven.  It  was  the  conclusion  of  an  enlightened  and 
unprejudiced  Jew,  tliat  this  extraordinary  person,  appear- 
ing in  tlie  land  of  Judea,  was  the  Messiah,  whose  coming 
was  to  be  distinguished  by  signs  and  wonders.  The  chosen 
])eople  of  God,  who  "  waited  for  the  consolation  of  Israel," 
found  in  this  miracle  the  most  striking  marks  of  him  that 
should  come.  The  conclusion  seems  to  arise  naturally  out 
of  the  pi'emises.  Yet  it  was  not  drawn  bj'  all.  IMany  be- 
lieved, "  but  some  went  their  ways  to  the  Pharisees  and 
told  them  what  things  Jesus  had  done."     They  knew  the 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  101 

enmity  wliieh  those  leading  men  entertained  against  him. 
Tile}'  were  afraid  of  incurring  their  anger  liy  appearing 
to  be  his  disciples ;  they  hoped  to  obtain  their  favour  by 
informing  against  him ;  and,  sacrificing  their  conviction  to 
this  fear  and  tliis  hope,  they  go  from  the  sepulchre  of  La- 
zarus, where  with  astonishment  they  had  seen  the  power  of 
Jesus,  to  inflame  the  minds  of  his  enemies  by  a  recital  of 
the  deed.  And  what  do  these  enemies  do  ?  They  could 
not  entertain  a  doubt  of  the  fact.  It  was  told  them  by 
witnesses  who  had  no  interest  in  forging  or  exaggerating 
miracles  ascribed  to  Jesus.  The  place  was  at  hand ;  in- 
quiry was  easy ;  and  the  imposture,  had  there  been  any, 
could  not  have  remained  hidden  at  Jerusalem  ibr  a  day. 
The  Phai'isees,  therefore,  in  their  deliberations,  pro- 
ceed upon  the  fact  as  undeniable.  "  This  man  does  many 
miracles."  But,  from  mistaken  views  of  political  expedi- 
ency, the  result  of  tlieir  deliberation  is,  "  They  take  coun- 
sel together  to  put  him  to  death." 

There  is  thus  furnished  a  satisfactory  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion that  has  often  been  asked.  If  Jesus  really  did  such 
miracles,  how  is  it  possible  that  any  Avho  saw  them  could 
remain  in  unbelief?  Many,  we  are  told,  did  believe;  and 
here  is  a  view  of  the  motives  which  indisposed  others  for 
attending  to  the  evidence  which  was  exhibited  to  them, 
and  even  determined  them  to  reject  it.  You  cannot  be 
surprised  at  the  influence  which  such  motives  exerted  at 
that  time,  because  the  like  influence  of  similar  motives  is 
a  matter  of  daily  observation.  The  evidence  upon  which 
we  embrace  Christianity  is  not  the  same  which  the  Jews 
had ;  but  it  is  suflicient.  All  the  parts  of  it  have  been 
fully  illustrated ;  every  objection  has  received  an  apposite 
answer  ;  the  gainsayers  have  been  driven  out  of  every  hold 
which  they  have  tried  to  occupy ;  the  wisest  and  most  en- 
liglitened  men  in  every  age  have  admitted  the  evidence, 
and  "  set  to  their  seal  that  God  is  true."  Yet  it  is  reject- 
ed by  many.  Pride,  false  hopes,  or  evil  passions,  detain 
them  in  infidelity.  They  ask  for  more  evidence.  They  say 
they  suspect  collusion,  enthusiasm,  credulity.  But  the  ex- 
ample of  those  Jews,  who  went  their  ways  to  the  Pharisees, 
may  satisfy  you  that  there  is  no  defect  in  the  evidence, 
and  that  there  is  the  most  literal  truth  in  our  Lord's  de- 
claration, "  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  nei- 


A 


102  ILLUSTRATION  OF  THE  EVIDENCES,  &C. 

ther  will  they  be  persuaded   though  one  rose  from  the 
dead." 

The  different  eifects,  which  the  same  religious  truths  and 
the  same  religious  advantages  produce  upon  different  per- 
sons, afford  one  instance  of  a  state  of  trial.  God  is  now- 
proving  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men,  drawing  them 
to  himself  by  persuasion,  by  that  moral  evidence  which  is 
enough  to  satisfy,  not  to  overpower.  Faith  in  this  way  be- 
comes a  moral  virtue.  A  trial  is  taken  of  the  goodness 
and  honesty  of  the  heart.  "  If  thine  eye  be  single,  thy 
whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light ;  but  if  thine  eye  be  evil, 
thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  darkness.  If,  therefore, 
the  light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness  !"  The  same  seed  of  the  word  is  scattered  by 
the  blessed  sower  in  various  soils,  and  the  quality  of  the 
soil  is  left  to  appear  by  the  j^roduce. 

Pierce's  Commentary. 


103 


CHAP.  VI. 


EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY PROPHECY. 

Had  Jesus  appeared  only  as  a  messenger  of  heaven,  the 
points  ah-eady  considered  might  have  finished  the  defence 
of  Christianitj'^,  because  we  should  have  been  entitled  to 
say  that  miracles  such  as  those  recorded  in  the  Gospel, 
transmitted   upon  so  unexceptionable   a  testimony,    and 
wrought  in  sujiport  of  a  doctrine   so  worthy  of  God,  arc 
the  complete  credentials  of  a  divine  mission.     But  the  na- 
ture of  that  claim  which  is  made  in  the  Gospel  requires  a 
further  defence :  for  it  is  not  barely  said  that  Jesus  was  a 
messenger  from  heaven,  but  it  is  said  that  he  was  the  Mes- 
siaJi  of  the  Jews,  "  the  prophet  that  should  come  into  the 
world."*     John,  his  forerunner,  marked  him  out  as  the 
Christ.-]-     He  himself,  in  his  discourses  with  the  Jews,  of- 
ten referred  to  their  books,  which  he  said  wrote  of  him.;}: 
Before  his  ascension,  he  .expounded  to  his  disciples  in  all 
the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself  §    The}'^  went 
forth  after  his  death  declaring  that  they  said  none  other 
things  than  those  which  the  prophets  and  Moses  did  say 
should  come  ;||   and  in  all  their  discourses  and  writings 
they  held  forth  the  Gospel  as  the  end  of  the  law,  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  the  performance  of 
the  mercy  promised  to  the  fathers. 

If  the  Gospel  be  a  divine  revelation,  these  allegations 
must  be  true  ;  for  it  is  impo^aible  that  a  messenger  from 
heaven  can  advance  a  false  claim.  Although,  therefore, 
the  nature  of  the  doctrine,  and  the  confirmation  which  it 
receives  from  miracles,  might  have  been  sufficient  to  esta- 
blish our  faith,  had  no  such  claim  been  made ;  yet,  as  Je- 
sus lias  chosen  to  call  himself  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  it 

•  John  iv.  26  ;  vi.  14.      f  Jo^"  '•  29—31.         +  John  v.  39,  46. 
§  Luke  xxiv.  27.  11  Acts  xxvL  22. 


104  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

is  incumbent  upon  Christians  to  examine  the  correspond- 
ence between  that  system  contained  in  the  books  of  the 
Jews,  and  that  contained  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  their 
faith  doth  not  rest  upon  a  solid  foundation,  unless  they  can 
satisfy  their  minds  that  the  characters  of  the  Jewish  Mes- 
siah belong  to  Jesus.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  he  had 
wise  reasons  for  taking  to  himself  this  name,  and  that  the 
faith  of  his  disciples  will  be  very  much  strengthened  by 
tracing  the  connexion  between  the  two  dispensations. 
But  the  nature  andthe  force  of  theargument  from  prophecy 
will  unfold  itself  in  the  progress  of  the  investigation  ;  and 
it  is  better  to  begin  with  attending  to  the  facts  upon 
which  the  argument  rests,  and  the  steps  which  lead  to  the 
conclusion,  than  to  form  premature  conceptions  of  the 
amount  of  this  part  of  the  evidence  for  Christianity. 


SECTION  I. 


In  every  investigation  it  is  of  great  importance  to  ascer- 
tain precisely  the  point  from  Avhich  you  set  out,  that  there 
may  be  no  danger  of  confounding  the  points  that  are  as- 
sumed, with  those  that  are  to  be  proven.  There  is  much 
reason  for  making  this  remark  in  entering  upon  the  sub- 
ject M'hicli  we  are  now  to  investigate,  because  attempts 
have  been  made  to  render  it  confused  and  inextricable,  by 
mis-stating  the  manner  in  which  the  investigation  ought  to 
proceed.  Mr.  Gibbon,  speaking  of  that  argument  from 
prophecy,  which  often  occurs  in  the  apologies  of  the  pri- 
mitive Christians,  calls  it  an  argument  beneath  the  notice 
of  philosophers.  "  It  might  serve,"  he  says,  "to  edify  a 
Christian,  or  to  convert  a  Jew,  since  botli  the  one  andthe 
other  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  prophets,  and  both 
are  obliged  with  devovit  reverence  to  search  for  their  sense 
and  accomplishment.  But  this  mode  of  persuasion  loses 
much  of  its  weight  and  influence,  when  it  is  addressed  to 
those  who  neither  understand  nor  respect  the  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation, or  the  prophetic  spirit."*  Mr.  Gibbon  learn- 
ed to  use  this  supei-cilious  inaccurate  language  from  Mr. 

*  Gibbon's  Roman  History,  chap,  xv. 


OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


105 


Collins,  an  author  of  whom  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
Cully  before  I  finish  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  and  who 
lays  it  down  as  the  fundamental  position  of  liis  book,  that 
Christianity  is  founded  upon  Judaism,  and  from  thence 
infers  that  the  Gentiles  ought  regularly  to  be  converted  to 
Judaism  before  they  can  become  Christians.  The  object 
of  the  inference  is  manifest.  It  is  to  us,  in  these  later  ages, 
a  much  shorter  process  to  attain  a  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity,  than  to  attain,  without  the  assistance  of 
the  Gospel,  a  conviction  of  the  divine  origin  of  Judaism  : 
and,  therefore,  if  it  be  necessary  that  we  become  converts 
to  Judaism  before  we  become  Christians,  the  evidence  of 
our  religion  is  involved  in  numberless  difficulties,  and  the 
field  of  objection  is  so  much  extended,  that  the  adversaries 
of  our  faith  may  hope  to  persuade  the  generality  of  man- 
kind that  the  subject  is  too  intricate  for  their  understanding. 
The  design  is  manifest  ;  but  nothing  can  be  more  loose  or 
fallacious  than  the  statement  which  is  employed  to  accom- 
plish this  design.  In  order  to  perceive  this  you  need  on- 
ly attend  to  the  difference  between  a  Jew  and  a  Gentile 
in  the  conduct  of  this  in\^estigation.  A  Jew,  who  respects 
the  Mosaic  dispensation  and  the  prophetic  spirit,  looks  for 
the  fulfilment  of  those  prophecies  which  appear  to  him  to 
be  contained  in  his  sacred  books,  and  when  any  person 
declares  that  these  prophecies  are  fulfilled  in  him,  the  Jew 
is  led,  by  that  respect,  to  compare  the  circumstances  in  the 
appearance  of  that  person  Avith  what  he  accounts  the  right 
interpretation  of  the  prophecies,  and  to  form  his  judgment 
whether  they  be  fulfilled.  A  Gentile,  to  whom  the  di- 
vinity of  the  prophecies  was  formerly  unknown,  but  who 
hears  a  person  declaring  that  they  are  fulfilled  in  him,  if 
he  is  disposed  by  other  circumstances  to  pay  any  respect 
to  what  that  person  says,  will  be  led,  by  that  respect, 
to  inquire  after  the  books,  in  M'hich  these  jjrophecies  ar(^ 
said  to  be  contained,  will  compare  the  appearance  of  that 
jierson  with  what  is  written  in  these  books,  and  will  judge 
from  this  comparison  how  far  they  correspond.  Both  the 
Jew  and  the  Gentile  may  be  led,  by  this  comparison,  to  a 
firm  conviction  that  the  messenger,  whose  character  and 
history  they  examine,  is  the  person  foretold  in  the  prophe- 
cies. "  Yet  the  Jew  set  out  v.ith  the  belief  that  the  pro- 
iihecies  are  divine ;  the  Gentile  only  attained  that  belief 


106  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

in  the  progress  of  the  examination.  It  is  not  possible,  then, 
that  a  pi'evious  belief  of  the  divinity  of  the  prophecies  is 
necessary  in  order  to  judge  of  tlie  fulfilment  of  them  ;  for 
two  men  may  form  the  same  judgment  in  this  matter,  the 
one  of  whom  from  the  beginning  had  that  belief,  and  the 
other  had  it  not. 

The  true  point,  from  which  an  investigation  of  the  ful- 
filment of  prophecy  must  commence,  is  this,  that  the  books, 
containing  what  is  called  the  prophecy,  existed  a  consi- 
derable time  before  the  events  which  are  said  to  be  the 
fulfilment  of  it.  I  say,  a  considerable  time,  because  the 
nearer  that  the  first  appearance  of  these  books  was  to  the 
event,  it  is  the  more  possible  that  human  sagacity  may 
account  for  the  coincidence,  and  the  remoter  the  period  is, 
to  which  their  existence  can  be  traced,  that  account  be- 
comes the  more  improbable.  Let  us  place  ourselves,  then, 
in  the  situation  of  those  Gentiles  whom  the  fix'st  pi'eachers 
of  the  Gospel  addressed  ;  let  us  suppose  that  we  know  no 
more  about  the  books  of  the  Jews  than  they  might  know, 
and  let  us  consider  how  we  may  satisfy  ourselves  as  to  the 
preliminary  point  upon  Avhich  the  investigation  must  pro- 
ceed. 

The  prophecies,  to  Avhich  Jesus  and  his  apostles  refer, 
did  not  proceed  from  the  hands  of  obscure  individuals, 
and  appear  in  that  suspicious  form  which  attends  every 
prediction  of  an  unknown  date  and  a  hidden  origin.  They 
Avere  presented  to  the  world  in  the  public  records  of  a  na- 
tion ;  thejr  are  completely  incorporated  with  these  records, 
and  they  form  part  of  a  series  of  predictions  Avhich  cannot 
be  disjoined  from  the  constitution  and  history  of  the  state. 
This  nation,  howcA'er  singular  in  its  religious  principles, 
and  in  Avhat  appeared  to  the  Avorld  to  be  its  political  revo- 
lutions, Avas  not  unknoAvn  to  its  neighbours.  By  its 
geographical  situation,  it  had  a  natural  connexion  Avith 
the  greatest  empires  of  the  Avorld.  War  and  connnerce 
occasionally  brought  the  flourishing  kingdom  of  Judea  in- 
to their  vieAv  ;  and,  although  repugnant  in  manners  and  in 
Avorship,  they  Avere  Avitnesses  of  the  existence  and  the 
peculiarities  of  this  kingdom.  The  captivity,  first  of 
the  ten  tribes  by  Salmanazar,  afterAvards  of  the  tAAO 
tribes  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  served  still  more  to  draAv 
the  attention  of  the  Avorld,  many  centuries  before  the  birth 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  107 

of  Christ,  to  the  peculiarities  of  Jevvisli  manners.     And 
there  was  a  circumstance  in  tlie  return  of  tlie  two  tribes 
from  captivity,  which  was  to  those  who  observed  it  in  an- 
cient times,   and  is  to   us  at  this  day,  a  singular  and  un- 
questionable voucher  of  the  early  existence  of  their  books. 
Nehemiah  was  appointed  by  the  king  of  Persia  to  super- 
intend the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.     He  had 
received  much  opposition  in  this  work  from  Sanballat,  the 
governor  of  Samaria,  that  district  of  Palestine  which  the 
ten  tribes  had  iidiabited,  and  into  which  the  king  of  As- 
syria had,  at  the  time  of  their  captivity,  transplanted  his 
own  subjects.     The  Avork,  hoAvever,  Avas  finished,  and  Ne- 
hemiah proceeded  in  making  the  regulations  which  appear- 
ed to  him  necessary  for  maintaining  order,   and  the  ob- 
servance of  the  law  of  Moses  amongst  the  multitude  whom 
he  had  gathered  into  Jerusalem.     Some  of  these  regula- 
tions were   not  universally  agreeable ;  and  Manasseh,  a 
son  of  the  high  priest,  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  San- 
ballat, fled  at  the  head  of  the  malcontent  Jews  into  Sama- 
ria.   The  law  of  Moses  was  not  acknowledged  in  Samaria, 
for  the  king  of  Assyria,  after  the  first  captivitj^,  had  sent 
a  priest  to  instruct  those  whom  he  planted  there,  in  the 
worship  of  the  God  of  the  country,   and  for  some  time 
they  had   offered   sacrifices  to   idols  in  conjunction  Avith 
the  true  God.    But  Manasseh,  emulous  of  the  Jews  Avhom 
he  had  left,  and  considering  the  honour  of  a  descendant  of 
Aaron  as  concerned  in  the  ])urity  of  worship  which  he  es- 
tablished in  his  new  residence,  prevailed  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants to  put  away  their  idols,  built  a  temple  to  the  God  of 
Israel  upon  Mount  Gerizim,  and  introduced  a  copy  of  the 
law  of  Moses,  or  the  Pentateuch.     He  did  not  introduce 
any  of  the  later  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  lest  the  Sa- 
maritans, observing  the  peculiar  honours  with  which  God 
had   distinguished  Jerusalem,  "  the  place  which   he   had 
chosen,  to  put  his  name  there,"  should  entertain  less  reve- 
rence lor  the  temple  of  Cierizim.     And  as  a  farther  mark 
of  distinction,  Manasseh  had  the  book  of  the  law  wiitten 
lor  the  Samaritans,  not  in  the  Chaldee  character,  w  hich 
Ezra  had  adopted  in  the  copies  of  the  law  which  he  made 
for  the  Jews,  to  whom  that  language  had  become  familiar 
during  the  captivity,  but  in  the  old  Samaritan  character. 
During  the  successive  fortunes  of  the  Jewish  nation,  the 


108  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

Samaritans  continued  to  reside  in  their  neighbourliood, 
worshipping  the  same  God,  and  vising  the  same  law.  But 
between  the  two  nations  there  was  that  kind  of  antipathy, 
which,  in  religious  differences,  is  ofteit  the  more  bitter, 
the  less  essential  the  disputed  points  ai'e,  and  which,  in  this 
case,  proceeded  so  far  that  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  not 
only  held  no  communion  in  worship,  but  had  "  no  deal- 
ings with  one  another." 

Here  then  are  two  rival  tribes  stated  in  opposition  and 
enmity  five  hundred  years  before  Christ,  yet  acknow- 
ledging and  preserving  the  same  laws,  as  if  appointed  by 
Providence  to  watch  over  the  corruptions  which  either 
might  be  disposed  to  introduce,  and  to  transmit  to  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth,  pure  and  free  from  suspicion,  those 
books  in  which  Moses  wrote  of  Jesus.  The  Samaritan 
Pentateuch  is  often  quoted  by  the  early  fathers.  After  it 
had  been  unknown  for  a  thousand  years,  it  was  found  by 
the  industry  of  some  of  those  critics  who  lived  at  the  be- 
ginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  amongst  the  remnant 
who  still  Avorship  at  Gerizim.  Copies  of  it  Avere  brought 
into  Europe,  and  the  learned  have  now  an  opportunity  of 
comparing  the  Samaritan  text  used  by  the  followers  of 
Manasseh,  with  the  Hebrew  or  Chaldee  text  used  by  the 
Jews. 

While  this  ancient  schism  thus  furnished  succeeding 
ages  with  jealous  guardians  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  exist- 
ence and  integrity  of  all  their  Scriptures  were  vouched  by 
another  event  in  the  history  of  the  Jews. 

Alexander  the  Great,  in  the  progress  of  his  conquests, 
either  A'isited  the  land  of  Judea,  or  received  intelligence 
concerning  the  Jews.  His  inquisitive  mind,  which  was  no 
stranger  to  science,  and  which  was  intent  upon  great  plans 
of  commerce  not  less  than  of  conquest,  was  probably 
struck  with  the  peculiarities  of  this  ancient  people  ;  and 
when  he  founded  his  city  Alexandria,  he  invited  many  of 
the  Jews  to  settle  there.  The  privileges  which  he  and 
his  succe.;sors  conferred  upon  them,  and  the  advantages 
of  that  situation,  multiplied  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of 
Alexandria  ;  and  the  constant  intercourse  of  trade  obliged 
them  to  learn  the  Greek  language,  which  the  conquerors 
of  Asia  had  introduced  through  all  the  extent  of  tlie  Ma- 
cedonian empire.     Retaining  the  religion  and  manners  of 


OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


109 


Judea,  but  gradually  forgetting  the  language  of  that  coun- 
try, they  became  desirous  that  their  Scriptures,  the  canon 
of  which  v.as  b}'  this  time  complete,  should  be  translated 
into  Greek  ;  and  it  was  especially  proper  that  there  should 
be  a  translation  of  the  Pentateuch  for  the  use  of  the  syna- 
gogue, where  a  portion  of  it  was  read  every  Sabbath-day. 
We  have  the  best  reason  for  saying  that  that  translation  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which,  from  an  account  of  tlie  manner 
of  its  being  made,  probably  in  many  points  fabulous,  has 
received  tlie  name  of  the  Septuagint,  was  begun  at  Alex- 
andria about  two  hundred  and  eighty  years  befoi'e  Christ ; 
and  Ave  cannot  doubt  that  the  whole  of  the  Pentateuch 
was  translated  at  once.     Learned  men  have  conjectured, 
indeed,  from  a  difference  of  style,  that  the  other  parts  of 
the  Old  Testament  were  translated  by  other  hands.     But 
it  is  very  improbable  that  a  work,  so  acceptable  to  the 
numerous  and  wealthy  body  of  Jews  who  resided  at  Alex- 
andria, would  receive  any  long  interruption  after  it  was 
begun  ;  and  a  subseqvient  event  in  the  Jewish  history  ap- 
])ears  to  fix  a  time  when   a  translation   of  the  prophets 
would  be  demanded.     About  the   middle   of  the  second 
century  before  Christ,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  king  of  Sy- 
ria, committed  the  most  outrageous  acts  of  Avanton  cruelty 
against  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews ;  and  as  he  contend- 
ed with  the  king  of  Egypt  for  the  conquest  of  Palestine, 
we  may  believe  that  the  Jcavs  of  Alexandi'ia  shared  the 
fate  of  their  brethren,   as  far  as  the  power  of  Antiochus 
could  reach  them.    Amongst  other  edicts  which  he  issued, 
he  forbade  any  Jews  to  read  the  law  of  Moses  in  public. 
As  the  prohibition  did  not  extend  to  the  prophets,  the 
Jews  began  at  this  time  to  substitute  portions  of  the  pro- 
phets instead  of  the   law.     After  the  heroical  exploits  of 
the  Asmonaean  family,  the  Maccabees,  had  delivered  their 
country  from  the  tyranny  of  Antiochus,  and  restored  the 
reading  of  the  law,  the  prophets  continued  to  be  read  also  ; 
and  we  know  that,  before  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  reading 
both  the  law  afid  the  prophets  was  a  stated  part  of  the 
synagogue  service.     In  this  way  the  whole  of  the  Sej)tua- 
gint  translation  came  to  be  used  in  the  chui'ches  of  the 
Hellenistical  Jews  scattered  through  the  Grecian  cities ; 
and  we  are  told  it  was  used  in  some  of  the  synagogues  of 
Judea. 


110  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

When  Rome,  then,  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the 
princes  of  the  Asmonsean  line,  who  were  at  that  time  in- 
dependent sovereigns,  and  when  Judea,  experiencing  the 
same  fate  with  the  other  allies  of  that  ambitious  republic, 
was  subdued  by  Pompey  about  sixty  years  before  the 
birth  of  our  Saviour,  the  books  of  the  Jews  were  publicly 
read  in  a  language  which  was  then  universal.  The  diffu- 
sion of  the  Jews  through  all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire, 
and  the  veneration  in  which  they  held  their  Scriptures, 
conspired  to  assure  the  heathen  that  such  books  existed, 
and  to  spread  some  general  knowledge  of  their  contents  : 
and  even  could  we  suppose  it  possible  for  a  nation  so  zeal- 
ous of  the  law,  and  so  widely  scattered  as  the  Jews  Avere, 
to  enter  into  a  concert  for  altering  their  Scriptures,  Ave 
must  be  sensible  that  insufferable  difRculties  were  thrown 
in  the  way  of  such  an  attempt,  by  the  animosity  between 
the  religious  sects  which  at  that  time  flourished  in  Judea. 
The  Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees  differed  upon  essential 
points  respecting  the  interpretation  and  extent  of  the  law ; 
they  were  rivals  for  reputation  and  influence  ;  there  Avere 
learned  men  upon  both  sides,  and  both  acknowledged  the 
authority  of  Moses  ;  and  thus,  as  the  Samaritans  and  the 
JcAA's  in  ancient  times  Avere  appointed  of  God  to  Avatch  over 
the  Pentateuch ;  so,  in  the  ages  immediately  before  our 
Saviour,  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees  Avere  faithful 
guardians  of  all  the  ancient  Scriptures. 

Such  is  the  amount  of  that  testimony  to  the  existence  of 
their  sacred  books,  long  before  the  days  of  our  Saviour, 
with  Avhich  the  Jcaa^s,  a  nation  superstitiously  attached  to 
their  law,  Avidely  spread,  and  strictly  guarded,  present 
them  to  the  Avorld  ;  and  to  this  testimony  there  are  to  be 
added  the  many  internal  marks  of  authenticity  Avhich  these 
books  exhibit  to  a  discerning  reader, — the  agreement  of 
the  natural,  the  civil,  and  the  religious  history  of  the 
Avorld,  Avith  those  AdcAvs  Avhich  they  present — the  inciden- 
tal mention  that  profane  Avriters  have  made  of  JcAvish 
customs  and  peculiarities,  Avhich  is  ahvays  strictly  con- 
formable to  the  contents  of  these  books — the  express  re- 
ference to  many  of  them  that  occurs  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, a  reference  Avhich  must  have  destroyed  the  credit 
of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  if  the  books  referred  to  had 
not  been  known  to  have  a  previous  existence — and,  lastl}^, 


OF  CHRISTIANITY,  111 

the  evidence  of  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  a  man  of 
rank  and  of  science,  who  may  be  considered  as  a  contem- 
porary of  Jesus,  and  who  lias  given  in  his  works  a  catalogue 
of  the  Jewish  books,  not  upon  his  own  authority,  but  upon 
the  authority  and  ancient  conviction  of  his  nation,  a  cata- 
logue which  agrees  both  in  number  and  in  description 
with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  that  we  noAv  receive. 
Even  Daniel,  the  only  writer  of  the  Old  Testament  against 
the  authenticity  of  Avhose  book  any  special  objections  have 
been  offered,  is  styled  by  Josephus  a  prophet,  and  is  ex- 
tolled as  the  greatest  of  the  prophets  ;  and  his  book  is  said 
by  this  respectable  Jew  to  be  a  part  of  the  canonical  Scrip- 
tux'es  of  his  nation.* 

It  appears  from  laying  all  these  circumstances  together, 
that  as  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  had  a  title  to  assume,  in 
their  addresses  to  the  Gentiles,  the  previous  existence  of 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  as  a  fact  generally  and  clearly 
known,  so  no  doubt  can  be  reasonably  entertained  of  this 
fact,  even  in  the  distant  age  in  which  we  live.  I  do  not 
speak  of  these  Scriptures  as  a  divine  revelation  ;  I  abstract 
entirely  from  that  sacred  authority  which  the  Christian 
religion  communicates  to  them ;  I  speak  of  them  merely 
as  an  ancient  book ;  and  I  say,  that  while  there  is  no  im- 
probability in  the  remote  date  which  any  part  of  this  book 
claims,  there  is  real  satisfying  evidence,  to  which  no  de- 
gree of  scepticism  can  justify  any  man  for  refusing  his  as- 
sent, that  all  the  parts  had  an  existence,  and  might  have 
been  known  in  the  world,  some  centuries  before  the  Chris- 
tian era. 

Having  thus  satisfied  our  minds  of  the  previous  exist- 
ence of  those  Scriptures,  to  which  Jesus  appeals  as  con- 
taining characters  of  the  Messiah  which  are  fulfilled  in 
him,  it  is  natural,  before  we  examine  his  appeal,  to  inquire 
whether  the  nation,  who  have  transmitted  these  Scriptures, 
entertained  any  expectation  of  such  a  person.  For  al- 
though it  be  possible  that  they  might  be  ignorant  of  the 
full  meaning  of  tlie  oracles  committed  to  them,  and  that  a 
great  Pi'ophet  might  explain  to  the  nations  of  the  earth 
that  true  sense  which  the  keepers  of  these  oracles  did  not 
understand,  yet  his  appeal  would  be  received  with  more 

*  Joseph,  lib.  x.  cap.  11,  12. 


112  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

attention,  and  even  with  a  prejudice  in  its  favour,  if  it  ac- 
corded with  the  hopes  of  those  who  had  the  best  access  to 
know  the  grounds  of  it.     Now,  it  is  admitted  upon   all 
hands,  that  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  birth  there  was  in 
the  land  of  Judea  the  most  earnest  expectation,  and  the 
most  assured  hope,  that  an  extraordinary  personage,  to 
whom  the  Jews  gave  the  name  of  Messiah,  was  to  arise. 
We  read  in  the  New  Testament,  that  manj^  looked  for  re- 
demption in  Jerusalem,  and  waited  for  the  consolation  of 
Israel ;  that  when  John  appeared,  all  men  mused  in  their 
heai'ts  whether  he  was  the  Christ,  and  the  priests  and  Le- 
vites  sent  messages  to  ask  him,  Art  thou  that  prophet  ? 
that  the  conclusion  which  the  people  drew^  from  some  of 
the  first  of  our  Lord's  miracles  was,  "  This  is  of  a  truth 
that  prophet  that  should  come  into  the  world  ;"  and  that 
the  expectation  of  this  person  had  spread  to  other  coun- 
tries ;  for  w  ise  men  came  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  in 
search  of  him  who  was  to  be  born  King  of  the  Jews.* 
You  will  not  think  it  unfair  reasoning  to  quote  these  pas- 
sages from  the  New^  Testament  in  proof  of  the  expectation 
of  a  Messiah ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  the  books  which 
refer  in  such  marked  terms  to  a  sentiment  so  universal 
and  strong,  could  have  been  received  by  any  inhabitant 
of  Judea,  if  that  sentiment  had  no  existence  ;  and  the  in- 
ference, which  we  are  thus  entitled  to  draw  from  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  is  confirm- 
ed in  every  way  that  the  nature  of  the  case  admits  of,  by 
historians  who  write  of  these  times,   by  the  books  of  the 
ancient  Jews,  and  the  sentiments  of  the  modern.     Jose- 
phus,  Suetonius,  and  Tacitus,  although  desirous  to  flatter 
the  Roman  emperor  Vespasian,  by  applying  the  prophecies 
to  him,  yet  unite  in  attesting  the  expectation  M'hich  these 
prophecies  had  raised.    Josephus  says,  "  That  which  chief- 
ly excited  the  Jews  to  war,  was  an  ambiguous  prophecy 
found  in  the  sacred  books,  that  at  that  time  some   one 
within  their  country  should  arise,  that  should  obtain  the 
empire  of  the  world.     For  this  they  had  received  by  tra- 
dition, that  it  was  spoken  of  one  of  their  nation,  and  many 
wise  men  were  deceived  with  the  interpretation.     But,  in 
truth,  Vespasian's  empire  was  designed  in  this  prophecy, 

*  Luke  ii.  and  iii- ;  John  i.  and  vi. ;  Matt.  ii. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  113 

who  Avas  created  emperor  in  Jiidea."*    Josephus,  although 
he  aft'ects  in  this  place,  (he  speaks  otherwise  elsewhere,) 
to  condemn  that  interpretation  of  the  jDrophecy  Mhich  led 
the  Jews  to  expect  a  Messiah,  yet  acknowledges  that  this 
expectation  was  general,  derived  from  the  prophecies,  and 
entertained  by  many  of  the  wise.     Suetonius  says,  "  Per- 
crebuerat  oriente  toto  vetus  et  constans   opinio,  esse  in 
fatis,  ut  eo  tempore  Judaea  profecti  rerum  potirentur.     Id 
de   imperatore   Romano,   quantum  postea  eventu  patuit, 
prgedictum,  Judaei  ad  se  trahentes,  rebellarunt."f    Tacitus 
says,  "  Pluribus  persuasio  inerat,  antiquis  sacerdotum  libris 
contineri,  eo  ipso  tempore  fore,  ut  valesceret  oriens,  pro- 
fectique  Judtea  rerura  potirentur.     Quae  ambages  Vespa- 
sianum   ac   Titum  praedixerant.      Sed  Vulgus,   more  hu- 
manae  cupidinis,  sibi  tantani  fatorum  magnitudinem  inter- 
pretati,  ne  adversis  quidem  ad  vera  mutabantur.";};     Both 
historians,  with  that  very  cupido  which  they  charge  upon 
the  Jews,  apply  the  prophecy  to   a  Roman  emperor ;  an 
application  which,   at  the  time,  was  most  unnatural,  and 
which  the  event  has  clearly  shoA\n  to  be  false.     But  both 
bear  witness  to  the  existence  and  antiquity  ot  the  prophe~ 
cy,  and  to  the  universality  and  strength  of  the  expectation 
grounded  upon  it.     The  oldest  Rabbinical  books  extant 
are  the  Targuni  of  Onkelos  on  the  Pentateuch,  and  the 
Targum  of  Jonathan  on  the  Prophets ;  Targums,  i.  e.  in- 
terpretations or  paraphrases   of  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, composed  for  the  instruction  of  the  people,  and  used 
in  the  synagogues.     There  are  many  more  modern  Tar- 
gums.    But  these  two,  Onkelos  and  Jonathan,  are  said  by 
the  Jews  to  have  been  written  before  or  about  the  time  of 
our  Saviour,  and  they  appear  to  be  collections  from  more 
ancient  books.     They  continued  always  in  the  hands  of 
the  Jews ;  they  were  not  kno'.vn   to  the  Christians  till  a 
few  centuries  ago,  yet  they  uniformly  bear  testimony  to 
the  national  expectation  of  a  Messiah,  and  mark  out  the 
prophecies  which  had  produced  that  expectation.     Even 
the  Samaritans,  who  had  only  the  Pentateuch,  entertained 
the  same  expectation  with  the  Jews.     "  I  know,"  said  the 
Samaritan  woman,  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  "  that  Messias 

*  Jos.  Hist.  vi.  31.  -)-  Suet.  Vespas.  vi.  8. 

:|:  Tacit.  Hist.  lib.  v.  9. 


114  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

Cometh.  Vv^hen  he  is  come,  he  will  tell  us  all  things."* 
And  it  deserves  to  be  mentioned,  that  those  learned  men, 
who,  in  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century,  introduced  the 
Samaritan  Pentateuch  into  Europe,  obtained  also  from  the 
remnant  which  still  worships  upon  Mount  Gerizim,  a  de- 
claration of  their  faith  concerning  the  Messiah.  "  You 
would  know,"  they  say,  in  a  letter  which  is  extant,  "  whe- 
ther the  Messias  be  come,  and  whether  it  be  he  that  is 
promised  in  our  law  as  the  Shiloh.  Know  that  the  Mes- 
sias is  not  yet  risen.  But  he  shall  rise,  and  his  name  shall 
be  Hathab."  It  is  well  known  that  the  modern  Jews  still 
retain  hopes  that  the  Messiah  Mdll  come.  They  have  de- 
vised various  schemes  to  account  for  his  delay,  and  to 
elude  the  argument  which  we  draw  from  the  application 
of  the  prophecies  to  Jesus.  But  even  their  modern  doc- 
tors declare,  that  he  who  believes  the  law  of  Moses  should 
believe  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  ;  for  the  law  commands 
us  to  believe  in  the  prophets,  and  the  prophets  foretel  his 
coming. 

This  much,  then,  we  have  gained  by  attending  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  Jews — satisfying  evidence  that  it  was  not 
an  invention  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles,  to  say,  that 
Moses  wrote  of  the  Messiah ;  that  Abraham  rejoiced  to 
see  his  day  ;  that  David,  being  a  prophet,  foresaw  him  in 
spirit ;  and  that  all  the  prophets,  from  Samuel,  foretold  of 
his  days.  The  Jews  said  the  same  thing,  and  looked  for 
the  fulfilment  of  the  promises  made  to  their  fathers.  How 
ancient  this  expectation  was  we  cannot  say,  because  ex- 
cept the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  have  no 
Jewish  books  of  unquestionable  authority  older  than  the 
days  of  our  Saviour.  But  as  it  is  clear  that  the  expecta- 
tion was  not  at  that  time  new,  as  the  first  of  the  Jewish 
books  extant  declare,  that  all  the  prophets,  from  Moses  to 
Malachi,  prophesied  only  of  the  Messiah,  and  abound  with 
explications  of  particular  predictions,  and  as  the  most  an- 
cient prayers  of  the  people  in  their  synagogues  adopt 
these  explications,  speaking  of  the  Messiah  under  the 
names  and  characters  ascribed  to  him  in  the  predictions, 
it  does  not  seem  to  admit  of  a  doubt,  that  the  hope  of 
the  Messiah  was,  in  all  ages  among  the  Jews,  the  re- 

*  John  iv.  25. 


OF  CHKISTIANITY.  115 

ceived  national  interpretation  of  those  predictions  in  which 
they  gloried. 

The  matter,  then,  is  brought  to  a  short  issue.  Certain 
books  existed  some  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Jesus, 
which  raised  in  the  nation  that  kept  them  a  general  ex- 
pectation of  an  extraordinary  personage.  Jesus  appeared 
in  Judea,  claiming  to  be  that  personage.  The  people,  in 
whose  possession  the  books  had  always  remained,  are 
bound  by  their  national  expectations  to  examine  his  claim. 
The  curiosity  of  the  other  nations  to  whom  this  claim  is 
made  known,  or  to  whom  the  person  advancing  it  appears 
upon  other  accounts  respectable,  is  excited  by  the  coinci- 
dence between  the  claim,  and  the  expectations  of  that 
people  upon  whose  ancient  books  it  is  founded  :  and  thus 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  without  any  previous  agreement 
in  religious  opinions,  are  called  to  attend  to  the  same 
object,  and  one  point  is  submitted  to  their  examination  ; 
Whether  the  predictions  concerning  the  Jewish  Messiah 
apply  to  the  circumstances  in  the  appearance  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth. 


SECTION  II. 


The  obvious  method  of  proving  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah 
of  the  Jews  is  to  compare  the  predictions  in  their  Scrip- 
tures with  the  circumstances  of  his  appearance.  It  is  im- 
possible, in  any  other  way,  to  attain  a  conviction  of  the 
justness  of  his  claim  to  that  character :  and  it  is  clear, 
that  if  his  claim  be  m  ell  founded,  this  method  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  ascertain  it.  This  is  the  method  which  our  Lord 
prescribed  to  the  Jews.  •'  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  these 
are  they  which  testify  of  me."  It  is  the  method  which  he 
employed  when,  before  his  ascension,  "  he  expounded  to 
his  disciples  the  things  which  were  written  concerning  him 
in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the 
Psalms."  It  is  the  method  by  which  Philip  converted  the 
minister  of  the  Queen  of  Ethiopia,  when  he  began  at  the 
33d  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  preached  to  him  Jesus.    And  it 


116 


EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 


is  the  method  which  is  continually  recurring  in  the  dis- 
courses and  writings  of  the  apostles. 

A  person  who  had  no  previous  information  upon  the 
subject,  would  be  obliged,  in  following  this  method,  to 
jnark,  as  he  read  through  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, those  passages  which  to  him  appeared  to  point  to 
an  extraordinary  person  ;  and  then  he  would  cither  apply 
€very  one  singly,  or  all  of  them  collectively  to  Jesus,  in 
order  to  judge  how  far  they  were  fulfilled  in  him.  But  we 
are  provided  with  much  assistance  in  this  examination. 
We  are  directed,  in  our  search  of  the  Old  Testament,  by 
the  passages  which  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  have  quoted, 
by  the  knowledge  which  men  versant  in  Jewish  learning 
have  diffused  of  tlie  predictions  marked  in  the  Jevvish  Tai"- 
gums,  and  by  the  labours  of  the  ancient  apologists  for 
Christianity,  and  of  many  divines  since  the  Keformation, 
and  more  especially  since  the  beginning  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, who,  with  very  sound  critical  talents,  and  much  his- 
torical information,  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  eluci- 
dation of  this  subject.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
not  avail  ourselves  of  these  helps.  They  abridge  the  la- 
bour of  investigation  ;  but  they  do  not  necessarily  bias  our 
judgments.  We  may  examine  a  prophecy  which  is  point- 
ed out  to  us,  as  strictlj^  as  if  we  ourselves  had  discovered 
it  to  be  a  prophecy.  We  may  even  indulge  a  certain  de- 
gree of  jealousy  with  regard  to  all  the  prophecies  which 
are  suggested  by  the  friends  of  Christianity,  and  may  for- 
tify our  minds  with  the  resolution  that  nothing  but  the 
most  marked  and  striking  correspondence  shall  overcome 
this  jealousy.  It  is  right  for  you  to  employ  every  fair 
precaution  against  being  deceived ;  and  then  take  into 
your  hands  any  of  those  ])ooks  which  serve  as  an  index  to 
the  predictions  in  the  Old  Testament  respecting  the  Mes- 
siah. You  have  an  excellent  index  in  Clarke's  Evidences 
of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion,  which  is,  upon  the 
whole,  one  of  the  best  elementary  books  for  a  student  in 
divinity,  and  which  is  rendered  peculiarly  useful  with  re- 
gard to  the  prophecies,  by  a  part  of  Dr.  Clarke's  charac- 
ter that  appears  in  all  his  theological  writings — an  intimate 
profound  knowledge  of  Scripture,  and  a  faculty  of  bring- 
ing together,  and  arranging  in  the  most  lucid  order,  all  the 
texts  Avhich  relate  to  a  sulyect.     You  have  another  index 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  117 

in  Bishop  Chandler's  Defence  of  Christianity.  Sherlock, 
Newton,  Jortin,  Hurd,  Halifax,  Bagot,  Macknight,  and 
other  divines,  have  both  given  a  full  explication  of  some 
particular  predictions,  and  directed  to  the  solution  of  many 
others.  The  comparison  of  the  predictions  in  the  Old 
Testament  respecting  the  Messiah,  with  the  facts  recorded 
in  the  New,  is  one  of  the  most  essential  parts  of  the  edu- 
cation of  a  student  in  divinity.  Other  Cliristians  may  not 
have  leisure  for  such  an  employment.  But  it  is  expected 
from  your  profession,  that  you  knoAv  the  occasions  upon 
Avhich  the  predictions  were  given,  and  that  you  are  able 
to  defend  the  received  interpretations  of  them,  and  to  state 
the  order  in  which  they  succeeded  one  another,  and  the 
manner  in  which  they  Avere  fulfilled.  And  if  you  either 
bring  to  this  inquiry  critical  sagacity,  and  historical  infor- 
mation of  your  own,  or  avail  yourselves  judiciously  of  the 
labours  of  others,  you  will  attain  an  enlightened  and  firm 
conviction  that  Jesus  is  not  only  a  messenger  from  heaven, 
but  the  Messiah  of  the  Jews. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  lead  you  through  all  the  par- 
ticulars of  this  investigation.  But  I  shall  mention,  in  a 
few  words,  the  result  to  which  men  of  the  soundest  judg- 
ment have  been  conducted,  and  which  they  have  rendered 
it  easj'  for  us  to  teach  ;  and  then  I  shall  give  you  a  speci- 
men of  the  exact  fulfilment  of  Jewish  prophecy  in  Jesus. 

INIoses,  b}'  whom  the  most  ancient  predictions  were  com- 
j)iled,  lived  a  thousand  years  before  Malachi ;  and  Malachi 
lived  after  the  Jews  had  returned  from  their  captivity, 
above  four  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour. 
During  the  long  period  that  intervened  between  the  ear- 
liest and  the  latest  prophets,  there  are  scattered  through 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  predictions  of  a  dispensa- 
tion of  Providence,  to  be  executed  in  a  future  time  by  an 
extraordinary  personage.  And  all  these  predictions  are 
found  to  apply  to  the  history  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Al- 
though the  predictions,  which  point  through  such  a  length 
of  time  to  one  dispensation,  differ  widely  from  one  an- 
other in  clearness  and  imageiy,  not  one  of  them  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  facts  recorded  in  the  Gospel.  By  the  help 
of  that  interpretation  which  the  event  gives  to  the  pro- 
phecy, we  can  see  an  uniformity  and  continuity  in  the 
scheme.     The  more  general  expressions  of  the  ancient 


118  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

prophets,  and  the  more  minute  descriptions  of  the  later, 
illustrate  one  another.  Every  prediction  appears  to  stand 
in  its  proper  place,  and  every  clause  assumes  importance 
and  significancy. 

There  are  two  circumstances  which  every  false  prophet 
is  careful  to  avoid,  or  at  least  to  express  in  ambiguous 
terms,  but  which  were  precisely  marked,  and  literally  ac- 
complished with  regard  to  the  Messiah.  The  circum- 
stances are,  time  and  place.  It  was  foretold  in  a  succes- 
sion of  limiting  prophecies,  that  that  seed  of  the  woman, 
which  was  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,  should  arise 
out  of  the  family  of  Abraham,  out  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
out  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  out  of  the  house  of  David,  and 
out  of  the  town  of  Bethlehem,  where  David  was  bom.  It 
is  said  in  the  book  of  Chronicles,  "  Judah  prevailed  above 
his  brethren,  and  of  him  came  the  chief  ruler."*  And  to 
satisfy  us  that  this  prophecy  was  not  exhausted  by  the 
rulers  that  had  formerly  come  of  Judah,  we  read  in  Micah, 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  King  Hezekiah,  "  But  thou,  Beth- 
lehem Ephratah,  though  tliou  be  little  among  the  thou- 
sands of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto 
me  that  is  to  be  the  ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth 
have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting."-|-  Here  is  the 
place,  an  obscure  village  in  Judea,  so  fixed  by  prophecy, 
seven  hundred  years  before  the  event,  that  the  ancient 
Jews  expected  the  Messiah  was  to  be  born  there ;  and 
some  of  the  modern  Jews  have  said  that  he  was  born  be- 
fore Bethlehem  was  desolated,  and  lies  hidden  in  the  ruins. 
The  time  is  also  fixed.  Daniel  numbered  seventy  weeks, 
that  is  according  to  the  pi'ophetic  style,  in  which  a  day 
stands  for  a  year,  four  hundred  and  ninety  years,  as  the 
interval  between  the  coimuandment  to  rebuild  Jerusalem, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,;{:  This 
interpretation  of  the  weeks  of  Daniel,  which  learned  men 
have,  I  think,  incontrovertibly  established,  is  confirmed  by 
other  predictions  still  more  clear,  which  declare  that  the 
extraordinary  personage  Avas  to  arise  out  of  Judea,  while 
it  remained  a  distinct  tribe,  possessing  some  authority,  and 
while  its  temple  stood ;  and  that  he  Avas  to  arise  during 
the  fourth  kingdom,  after  the  Romans  became  masters  of 

•  1  Chroii.  V.  2.  t  Micah  v.  2.  t  Daniel  ix.  24,  25. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  119 

the  world.     The  four  successive  king<loms  are  described 
in  the  interpretation  of  the  vision  in  the  seventh  chapter 
of  Daniel,  and  so  described,  tliat  any  person  versant  in 
history  cannot  mistake  the  Babylonian,  Persian,  Macedo- 
nian, and   Roman.     The  Romans  had  successively  con- 
(juered  the  three  other  branches  of  the  Macedonian   em- 
pire.    But  Egypt  still  existed  as  an  independent  kingdom, 
till  the  unfortunate  Cleopatra  ended  her  days  at  the  battle  of 
Actium,  thirty  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour ;  the 
next  year  Egypt  was  made  ti'ibutary  to  Rome ;  and  then, 
first,  says  the  historian  Dion  Cassius,  did  Caesar  alone  pos- 
sess all  power.     The  city  and  temple  of  Jerusalem  were 
destroyed,  and  the  constitution  of  the  Jewish  state  anni- 
hilated about  seventy  years  after  the  birth  of  our  Saviour. 
Thus  the  establishment  of  the  universal  empire  of  Rome, 
and  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem,  are  two  limits  marked  by 
ancient  prophecy.     The  Messiah  was  to  be  born  after  the 
first,  and  before  the  last.     They  contain  between  them  a 
space  of  about  a  hundred  j'cars,  within  which  space  the 
Messiah  was  to  be  born  ;   but  at  such  a  distance  from  the 
last  of  the  two  limits,  as  to  allow  time  for  his  preaching  to 
the  Jews,  for  his  being  rejected  by  them,  and  for  their  suf- 
fering upon  account  of  that  rejection  ;  all  M'hich  events 
were  also  foretold.     Within  tJie  space  of  a  hundred  years 
the  different  divisions  of  Daniel's  seventy  weeks  had  their 
end ;  and  within  this  space  Jesus  was  born.     According 
to  every  method,  then,  in  which  the  time  of  the  Messiah's 
birth  can  be  computed  from  ancient  predictions,   it  was 
fulfilled  in  Jesus  ;  and  this  fulfilment  of  the  time  brought 
about,   by  a  wonderful  concurrence  of  circumstances,   a 
fulfilment  with  regard  to  the  place  also  of  the  Messiah's 
birth.     After  the  Romans,   in   the  progress  of  their  con- 
quests, had  subdued  Syria,  and  the  other  parts  of  the  Ma- 
cedonian empire  adjoining  to  Judea,  that  state,  standing 
alone,  could  not  long  remain  independent.     Its  form   of 
government  was  for  some  time  preserved  by  the  indul- 
gence of  the  Romans.     But,  about  forty  years  before  the 
birth  of  our  Saviour,  an  act  of  the  senate  set  aside  the  suc- 
cession of  the  Asmonaean  princes,  and  conferred  the  crown 
of  Judea  upon  Herod  the  Great.     Although   Herod  was 
king  of  Judea,  he  held  his  kingdom  as  a  prince  dependent 
tipon  Rome ;  and,  in  token  of  his  vassalage,  an  order  was 

1 


120  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

issued  by  Augustus,  before  his  death,  that  there  should  he 
a  general  enrolment  of  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine  ;  that 
is,  the  Roman  census,  by  which  the  state  acquired  a  know- 
ledge of  the  numbers,  the  wealth,  and  the  condition  of  its 
subjects,  was  extended  to  this  appendage  of  the  Roman 
empire.  In  conformity  to  the  Jewish  method  of  classing 
the  people  by  tribes  and  families,  every  inhabitant  of  Pa- 
lestine was  ordered  to  have  his  name  enrolled,  not  in  the 
city  where  he  happened  to  reside,  but  in  that  to  which 
the  founder  of  his  house  had  belonged,  and  which,  in  the 
language  of  the  Jews,  was  the  city  of  his  people.  By  this 
order,  which  was  totally  independent  of  the  will  of  Joseph 
and  Mary,  and  which  involved  in  it  a  decree  of  the  Ro- 
man emperor  then  for  the  first  time  issued  concerning  Ju- 
dea,  and  a  resolution  of  the  king  of  Judea  to  adopt  a  par- 
ticular mode  of  executing  that  decree,  Joseph  and  Mary 
are  brought  from  a  distant  corner  of  Palestine  to  Bethle- 
hem. They  are  brought  at  a  time  when  Mary  would  not 
have  chosen  such  a  journey ;  and  Jesus,  to  their  great  in- 
convenience and  distress,  is  born  in  a  stable,  and  laid  in  a 
manger.  It  is  not  easy  for  any  person,  who  attends  to 
these  circumstances,  to  refrain  from  acknowledging  the 
hand  of  Providence  connecting  the  time  and  the  place  of 
the  birth  of  Jesus,  so  as  that,  without  the  possibility  of  hu- 
man preparation,  they  should  together  fulfil  the  words 
of  ancient  prophets. 

I  have  selected  these  two  necessary  accompaniments  of 
every  action,  because  it  was  possible,  within  a  short  com- 
pass, to  give  you  a  striking  view  of  the  coincidence  be- 
tween the  prediction  and  the  event.  But  the  same  coin- 
cidence extends  through  a  multitude  of  circumstances, 
which  in  the  prophecies  appear  minute,  unrelated  and 
sometimes  contradictory,  and  Avhich  cannot  be  applied  to 
any  one  person  who  ever  lived  u^jon  earth,  except  to  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  in  whom  they  are  united  with  perfect  har- 
mony, so  that  every  one  has  a  meaning,  and  all  together " 
form  a  consistent  whole. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  we  are  fully  warranted  in  say- 
ing that  the  circumstances  in  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
correspond  to  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament  re- 
specting the  Messiah  of  the  Jews,  and  that  the  presumptive 
proof  and  the  direct  proof  of  his  being  a  messenger  of  hea- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  121 

ven,  are  entitled  to  all  the  support  which  they  can  de- 
rive from  the  justness  of  his  claim  to  the  character  of 
Messiah. 


SECTION  III. 


But  the  adversaries  of  Christianity  do  not  allow  us  so 
readily  to  draw  this  conclusion  :  And  there  are  objections 
to  the  argument  from  prophecy,  the  jiroper  answer  to  which 
well  deserves  j'our  study.  These  objections  were  brought 
forward,  and  stated  with  mucli  art  and  plausibility,  in  a 
book  entitled,  Grounds  and  Reasons  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion, written  after  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  by 
Mr.  Collins.  Bishop  Chandler's  Defence  of  Christianity, 
from  the  propiiecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  was  an  answer 
to  this  book :  and  Mr.  Collins  published  a  reply,  entitled, 
The  scheme  of  Literal  Prophecy  Considered.  Bishop 
Sherlock  in  his  discourses  on  Prophecy,  Warburton  in  his 
Divine  Legation  of  Moses,  and  many  modern  divines, 
have  combated  with  sound  learning  and  argument  the  po- 
sitions of  Mr.  Collins  ;  so  that  any  student  who  applies  to 
this  important  subject,  may  receive  very  able  assistance  in 
forming  his  judgment. 

I  shall  state  to  you  the  objections,  with  the  answers. 
The  position  of  Mr.  Collins'  book  is  this :  Christianity  is 
founded  on  Judaism.  Our  Lord  and  his  apostles  prove 
Christianity  from  the  Old  Testament.  If  the  proofs  which 
they  draw  from  thence  are  valid,  Christianity  is  true :  if 
they  are  not  valid,  Christianity  is  false.  But  all  the  pro- 
phecies of  the  Old  Testament  are  applicable  to  Christ  only 
in  a  secondary,  typical,  allegorical  sense.  Such  a  sense, 
being  fanatical  and  chimerical,  cannot  be  admitted  ac- 
cording to  the  scholastic  rules  of  interpretation.  And  thus 
Christianity,  deriving  no  real  support  from  Judaism  upon 
which  it  is  professedly  grounded,  must  be  false. 

To  this  artful  mis-statement  of  the  subject,  we  have  two 
answers. 

The  first  is,  that  there  are  in  the  Old  Testament  direct 
prophecies  of  the  Messiah,  which,  not  in  a  secondary,  but 
in  their  primary  sense,  apply  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth.     Ther(i 

VOL.  I.  G 


122  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

is  ill  the  Pentateuch  a  promise  of  a  prophet  to  be  raised 
lip  from  amongst  the  Jews  like  unto  Moses.*  But  none 
in  all  the  succession  of  Jewish  prophets  was  like  him  in  the 
free  intercourse  which  he  had  with  the  Almighty,  the  im- 
portance of  the  commission  which  he  bore,  and  the  signs 
which  he  did.  And,  therefore,  that  succession  not  only 
kept  alive  the  expectation,  but  was  itself  a  pledge  of  the 
great  prophet  that  should  come.  The  writings  of  the  suc- 
cession of  prophets  are  full  of  predictions  concerning  a  new 
dispensation  more  glorious,  more  general,  more  spiritual  than 
the  Jewish  economy,  when  "the  sons  of  the  stranger  should 
join  themselves  to  the  Lord  ;'"  when  "  his  house  should  be 
an  house  of  prayer  for  all  people ;"  when  "  the  gods  of 
the  earth  should  be  famished,"  no  more  offerings  being 
presented  to  them,  and  "  every  one  from  his  place,"  not 
at  Jerusalem,  but  in  his  ordinary  residence,  "  should  wor- 
ship Jehovah."  "  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord," 
by  Jeremiah,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  captivity,  "  that 
I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and 
with  the  house  of  Judah,  not  according  to  the  covenant 
which  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took 
them  by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 
But  this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the 
house  of  Israel ;  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
hearts ;  and  I  Avill  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will  re- 
member their  sin  no  more."-|-  It  is  further  to  be  remark- 
ed, that  the  prophecy  of  this  new  s^iiritual  dispensation  is 
connected  throughout  the  Old  Testament  with  the  men- 
tion of  a  person  by  whom  the  dispensation  was  to  be  in- 
troduced. If  it  is  called  a  covenant,  we  read  of  the  Mes- 
senger of  the  covenant.  If  it  is  called  a  kingdom,  set  up 
by  the  God  of  heaven,  which  should  never  be  destroyed, 
we  read  of  a  chief  ruler  to  come  out  of  Judah,  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace  who  was  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  father  David, 
to  establish  it  with  justice  and  judgment  for  ever  ;  of  one 
like  the  Son  of  man  coming  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  to 
whom  is  given  an  universal  and  everlasting  dominion.  If 
the  new  dispensation  is  represented  as  a  more  perfect  mode 
of  instruction,  we  read  of  a  proijhet  upon  whom  should 

•  Deut.  xviii.  15,  18.  f  Jer.  xxxi.  31—34. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  123 

rest  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding.  If  it  is  styled 
the  deliverance  of  captives,  there  is  also  a  redeemer  ;  or 
victory,  there  is  also  a  leader  ;  or  a  sacrifice,  there  is  also 
an  everlasting  priest.  The  intimations  of  this  extraordi- 
nary personage,  so  closely  connected  with  the  new  dispen- 
sation, became  more  clear  and  pointed  as  the  time  of  his 
coming  approached  :  and  there  are  predictions  in  Malachi 
and  the  later  prophets,  which  in  tlieir  direct  primary  sense 
can  belong  to  no  other  but  the  Messiah.  "  Behold,"  says 
God  by  Malachi,  "  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall 
prepare  the  way  before  me ;  and  the  Lord  whom  ye  seek 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple  ;  even  the  messenger  of 
the  covenant  whom  ye  delight  in."  And  again,  "  Behold 
I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  great  and 
dreadful  day  of  the  Lord."*  Even  Grotius,  whose  prin- 
ciple it  was,  in  his  exposition  of  the  Old  Testament,  to 
seek  for  the  primary  sense  of  the  prophecies  in  the  Jewish 
affairs  which  were  immediately  under  the  eye  of  the  pro- 
phet, and  to  consider  their  application  to  Jesus  as  a  se- 
condary sense,  and  who  has  often  been  misled  by  this 
jorinciiole  into  very  forced  interpretations,  has  not  been 
able  to  assign  any  other  meaning  to  these  prophecies,  with 
which  the  Old  Testament  concludes,  and  with  a  repetition 
of  which  Mark  begins  his  Gospel,  than  that  Malachi,  with 
whom  the  prophetical  spirit  ceased,  gave  notice  that  it 
should  be  resumed  in  John  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah, 
Mho  in  the  spirit  and  the  power  of  Elias,  should  prepare 
the  way  before  the  messenger  of  the  covenant. 

The  first  answer  then  to  Mr.  Collins  is,  that  there  are 
in  the  Old  Testament  direct  prophecies  of  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Gospel,  and  of  the  Messiah. 

The  second  answer  is,  that  prophecies  applicable  to 
Jesus  only  in  a  typical  and  secondary  sense  are  not  fana- 
tical or  unscholastic. 

We  are  taught  by  the  Apostle  Paul  to  consider  all  the 
ceremonies  of  the  law  as  types  of  the  more  pei'fect  and 
spiritual  dispensation  of  the  Gospel.  The  meats,  tlie 
drinks,  the  washings,  the  institution  of  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, the  paschal  lamb,  and  the  other  sacrifices,  were 
figures  for  the  time  then  present,  shadows  of  good  things 

•  Malachi  iii.  1,  4,  5. 


124  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

to  come,  a  rough  draught,  as  the  word  tj-pe  properly  im- 
ports, of  the  blessings  of  that  better  covenant  which  the 
law  announced.     ^lauy  actions  and  incidents  in  the  lives 
of  eminent  pei"sons  under  the  law  are  held  fonli  as  types 
of  the  Christ ;  and  by  the  application   which  is  made  in 
the  Gospels,  the  Acts,   and  the  Epistles,   of  various  pas- 
sages in  the  Old  Testament,  we  are  led  to  consider  many 
prophecies,  which  originally  had,  both  in  the  intention  of 
the  speaker  and  in  the  sense   of  the   hearers,  a  reference 
only  to  Jewish  ati'airs,  and  were  then  interpreted  by  that 
reference,  as  receiving  their  full  accomplishment  in  the 
events  of  the  Gospel.    This  is  what  we  mean  by  the  double 
sense  of  prophecy.     The  seventy-second  psalm  is  an  ex- 
ample.    It  is  the  paternal  blessing  given  by  David  in  his 
dying  moments  to  Solomon,  when  with  the  complacency 
of  an  affectionate  father  and  a  good  prince,  he  looks  for- 
ward to  that  happiness  which  his  people  were  to  enjoy 
under  the  peaceful  reign  of  his  son.     But  while  he  con- 
templates this  great  and  pleasing  object,  he  is  led  by  the 
Spirit  to  look  beyond    it,  to  that  illustrious  descendant 
■nhose  birth  he  had  been  taught  to  expect, — that  branch 
which  in  the  latter  days  was  to  spring   out  of  the  root  of 
Jesse.     The  two  objects  blend  tJiemselves  together  in  his 
imagination  ;  at  least  the  words  in  which  he  pours  forth 
his  conceptions,  although  suggested  by  the  promise  con- 
cerning Solomon,   are   much  too  exalted  when  applied  to 
the  occurrences  even  of  his  distinguished  reign,  and  Avere 
fiilfilled  only  in  the  nature  and  the  extent  of  the  blessings 
conveyed  by  the  Gospel.     Had  we  no  warrant  from  au- 
thority upon  other  accounts  respectable,  to  bring  this  se- 
condaiy  sense  out  of  some  prophecies ;  or  had  we  no  pro- 
phecies of  the  Messiah  in  the  Old  Testament  of  another 
kind,  it  would  be  unfair  and  unscholastical  reasoning  to 
infer  that  Jesus   is  the  Messiah,   because  some  passages 
may  be  thus  transferred  to  him.     We  rest  the  argument 
from  prophecy   upon  those  predictions  which    expressly 
point  to  the  ^Nlessiah,  and  upon  that  authority  which  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  gave  to  them   as   inter- 
preters of  prophecy :  and  we  say  that  when  their  interpre- 
tation of  those  prophecies,  which  were  originally  applicable 
to  other  events,  gives  to  every  expression  in  them  a  natu- 
ral and  complete  sense,  and  at  the  same  time  coincides 


OF  CHK/STIANITY.  125 

with  the  spirit  of  those  predictions  concerning  the  Gospel 
which  are  direct,  we  have  the  best  reason  for  receiving 
this  further  meaning,  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other, 
but  as  the  full  exposition  of  the  words  of  the  prophet. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  prophecy,  or  the  ge- 
neral use  of  language,  inconsistent  with  this  account  of  the 
matter.  If  you  allow  that  prophecy  is  a  thing  possible, 
you  must  admit  that  "  it  came  not  bj'^  the  will  of  man,  but 
that  holy  men  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Prophecy  by  its  nature  is  distinguished  from 
other  kinds  of  discourse.  At  other  times,  men  utter  sen- 
timents which  they  feel  ;  they  relate  facts  which  they 
know ;  they  reason  according  to  the  measure  of  their  fa- 
culties. But  when  they  prophesy,  that  is,  when  they  de- 
clare, by  the  inspiration  of  God,  events  which  are  out  of 
the  reach  of  human  foresight,  they  speak  not  of  them- 
selves ;  they  are  but  the  vehicles  for  conveying  the  mind 
of  another  Being;  they  pronounce  the  words  which  he 
puts  into  their  mouth  ;  and  whether  these  words  be  intelli-  , 
gible  or  not,  or  what  their  full  meaning  may  be,  depends  \ 
not  upon  them,  but  upon  him  from  whom  the  words  pro-  \ 
ceed.  It  is  thus  clearly  deducible  from  the  nature  of  pro- 
phecy, that  there  might  be  in  the  predictions  of  the  Old 
Testament,  a  further  meaning  than  that  which  was  dis- 
tinctly presented  to  the  minds  of  those  who  spake.  And 
we  may  conceive,  that  as  the  high  priest  Caiaphas  was  di- 
rected in  the  Jewish  council  to  emploj'^  words  which,  al- 
though in  his  eyes  they  contained  only  a  political  advice, 
were  really  a  prophecy  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  the 
death  of  Christ,*  so  the  Spirit  of  God  might  introduce  in- 
to predictions,  which  to  those  who  uttered  them  seemed 
to  respect  only  the  present  fortune  of  their  country,  or  the 
fate  of  some  illustrious  personage,  expressions,  in  a  certain 
sense  indeed,  applicable  to  them,  but  pointing  to  a  more 
important  event,  and  a  more  glorious  personage,  in  whom 
it  was  to  appear  at  a  future  period  that  they  were  literally  ] 
fulfilled. 

As  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  prophecy  incon- 
sistent Avith  that  account  of  types  and  secondary  senses 
which  constitutes  our  second  answer  to  the  objection  of 

*  John  xi.  49. 


126  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

Mr.  Collins,  so  this  account  is  supported  by  the  general 
use  of  language.    And  any  person  versant  in  that  use,  will 
not  be  disposed  to  call  the  application  of  types  and  second- 
ary prophecies  unscholastic.     The  typical  nature   of  the 
Jewish  ritual  accords  with  that  most  ancient  method  of 
conversing  by  actions,   that  kind  of  symbolical  language, 
which  is  adopted  in  early  times  from  the  scantiness  of 
words,  which  is  retained  in  advanced  periods  of  society, 
in  order   to   give  energy  and  beauty  to    speech,  which 
abounds  in  the  writings  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  and  ap- 
pears to  have  been  in  familiar  and   universal  use  through 
all  the  regions  adjoining  to  Judea.     In  like  manner,  pro- 
phecies which  admit  of  two  senses,  one  immediate  and  ob- 
vious, the  other  remote  and  hidden,  are  agreeable  to  that 
allegory  Avhich  is  only  the  symbolical  language  appearing 
in  an  extended  discourse.     Both  sacred  and  profane  poets 
afford  beautiful  examples  of  allegory.     In  the  14th  Ode  of 
the  first  book  of  Horace,  the  poet,  under  a  concern  for  the 
safety  of  his  friends  at  sea  in  a  shattered  bark,  contrives  at 
the  same  time  to  convey  his  apprehensions  concerning  the 
issue  of  the  new  civil  war.     There  is  a  finished  allegory  in 
the  80th  Psalm.     And  Dr.  Warburton  has  pointed  out  a 
prophecy  in  the  two 'first  chapters  of  Joel,  where  the  pro- 
phet, he  says,  in  his  prediction  of  an  approaching  ravage 
by  locusts,  foretells   likewise,   in   the  same  words,  a  suc- 
ceeding desolation  by  the  Assyrian  army.     For,  as  some 
of  the  expressions  mark  death  by  insects,  and  others  deso- 
lation by  war,  both  senses  must  be  admitted.     Allegory 
abounds  in  all  the  moral  writings  of  antiquity,  and  is  em- 
ployed at  some  times  as  an  agreeable  method  of  commu- 
nicating knowledge,  and  at  other  times  as  a  cover  for  that 
which  was  too  refined  for  vulgar  eyes.     There  is  not  any 
particular  reason  for  saying  that  it  was  unworthy  of  God 
to  accommodate  the  style  of  many  of  his  pi-ophecies  to 
this  universal  use  of  allegory  ;  because,  whenever  the  Al- 
mighty condescends  to  speak  to  us,  whether  he  uses  plain 
or  figurative  language,  he  must  speak  after  the  manner  of 
men  ;  and  we  are  able  to  assign  a  most  important  purpose 
which  was  attained  by  those  prophecies  of  a  double  sense, 
the  interpretation  of  which,  although  very  far  from  de- 
serving the  name  of  unscholastic,  may  be  called  allegori- 
cal.    It  pleased  God,  in  the  intermediate  space  between 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  127 

the  first  predictions  of  the  Messiah  and  the  fulfilment  of  ' 
them,  to  establish  the  Jewish  economy,  an  institution  sin- 
gular in  its  nature,  and  limited  in  its  extent.  This  inter- 
mediate institution  being  for  many  ages  a  theocracy,  there 
arose  a  succession  of  prophets  by  whom  the  intercourse  be- 
tween the  Almighty  Sovereign  and  his  people  was  maintain- 
ed ;  and  the  whole  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Jews 
was  long  conducted  by  the  prophets.  It  was  natural  for 
this  succession  of  prophecy  to  give  some  notice  of  the  bet- 
ter covenant  which  was  to  be  made  ;  and  accordingly  we 
can  trace  predictions  of  the  Messiah  from  the  books  of 
Moses,  till  the  cessation  of  the  prophetical  spirit  of  Mala- 
chi.  The  Holy  Ghost,  by  whom  the  prophet  spoke,  could 
have  rendered  these  notices  of  the  spiritual  and  universal 
nature  of  the  future  dispensation  clear  and  intelligible  to 
every  one  who  heard  them.  But,  in  this  case,  the  inter- 
mediate preparatory  dispensation  would  have  been  despis- 
ed. The  Jews  comparing  their  burdensome  ritual  with 
the  simplicity  of  Gospel  worship, — their  imperfect  sacri- 
fices with  the  efiicacy  of  the  great  atonement, — their  tem- 
poral rewards  with  the  crown  of  glory  laid  up  in  heaven, 
would  have  thrown  off  the  yoke  which  they  were  called 
to  bear ;  and  those  rudiments  by  which  the  law  was  given 
to  train  their  minds  for  the  perfect  instruction  of  the  Gos- 
pel, would  have  been  cast  away  as  "  beggarly  elements." 
If  the  law  served  any  purpose,  it  was  necessary  that  it 
should  be  respected  and  observed  so  long  as  it  was  to  sub- 
sist ;  and  therefore  it  would  have  been  inconsistent  with 
the  wisdom  of  Him  from  whom  it  proceeded,  that  it  should 
impart  such  a  degree  of  light  as  might  have  destroyed  it- 
self. Enough  was  to  be  declared  to  raise  and  cherish  an 
expectation  of  that  which  was  to  come,  but  not  enough  to 
disparage  the  things  that  then  were.  This  end  is  most 
perfectly  attained  by  the  types,  and  the  prophecies  of  a 
double  sense  which  are  contained  in  the  Olcl  Testament. 
Both  were  so  agreeable  to  the  manners  of  the  times,  and 
both  received  such  a  degree  of  explication  from  the  direct 
prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah,  that  there  was  an  uni- 
versal apprehension  of  their  further  meaning.  Yet  their 
immediate  importance  preserved  the  respect  which  was 
due  to  the  law  ;  and  when,  in  the  end  of  the  age  of  pro- 
phecy, predictions  of  the  Messiah  were  given  by  different 


128  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

prophets  -nhicli  could  not  apply  to  aiiy  other  person, — 
these  direct  predictions  were  clothed  in  a  figurative  lan- 
guage, all  the  figures  ot  which  were  borrov.ed  from  the 
law.  The  law,  in  this  way,  was  still  masuified  ;  and  as 
the  child  is  kept  under  tutors  and  governors  till  the  time 
appointed  of  the  father,  so  says  the  apostle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  the  Jews  Mere  kept  under  the  law,  the  guardians  of 
the  oracles  of  God the  depositaries  of  the  hopes  of  man- 
kind, until  the  time  came  that  the  faith  should  be  reveal- 
ed.* When  it  was  revealed,  then  the  allegory  received 
itii  interpretation  ;  the  significancy  of  the  types,  the  reddi- 
tion  of  the  parables,  the  hidden  meaning  of  the  ancient 
prophecies,  and  the  propriety  of  the  figures  in  which  the 
latter  were  clothed,  all  now  stand  forth  to  the  admiration 
and  conviction  of  the  Christian  world.  What  was  a  hy- 
perbole, in  its  application  to  Jewish  afiairs.  becomes,  says 
Dr.  Warburton,  plain  speech,  or  an  obvious  metaphor, 
when  transferred  to  the  Gospel ;  and  the  Old  Testament 
appears  to  have  been,  what  St.  Austin  calls  it,  a  continued 
prophecy  of  the  New. 


SECTION  IV. 


Before  I  proceed  to  state  the  amount  of  the  argument 
from  prophecy,  there  is  one  other  objection  to  that  argu- 
ment which  requires  to  be  mentioned.  The  objection 
arises  from  a  kind  of  verbal  criticism,  but  does  not  deserve 
upon  that  account  to  be  dismissed  as  unimportant. 

It  was  long  ago  observed,  that  many  of  the  passages, 
quoted  from  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New,  do  not  exact- 
ly agree  with  the  text  of  our  copies  of  the  Old  Testament. 
The  apolosA'  commonly  made  for  this  dift'ereuce  was,  that 
our  Lord  and  his  apostles  did  not  quote  fi-om  the  Hebrew, 
but  from  the  Septuagint  translation,  which  was  known  and 
respected  in  Judea,  But.  upon  accurate  investigation,  it 
was  found  that  the  quotations  do  not  always  correspond 
with  the  Septuagint ;  and  that  there  are  many  which  agree 

•  Gal.  iv. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  129 

neither  with  the  Septuagint  nor  with  the  Hebrew.    It  was 
insinuated,  therefore,  by  the  adversaries  of  Christianity, 
that  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  liad  not  been  scrupulous  in 
their  method  of  quoting  the  Old  Testament ;  but  wishing 
to  ground  Christianity  upon  Judaism,  and  finding  it  diffi- 
cult to  lay  this  foundation  with  the  materials  that  existed, 
had  accommodated  the  words  of  the  Old  Testament  to  their 
argument,  and  made  the  prophets  say  what  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  conclusiveness  of  that  argument  they  should 
seem  to  say.     It  appears  at  first  sight  veiy  unlikely  that 
our  Lord  and  his  apostles,  who  began  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  from  Judea,  would,  in  the  hearing  of  the  Jews,  use 
such  liberty  with  the  Scriptures  which  were  publicly  read 
in  those  very  synagogues  where  they  were  thus  misquoted. 
The  detection  of  the  fraud  was  easy,  or  rather  unavoidable, 
and  must  have  been  ruinous  to  the  cause  of  Christianity. 
But  however  improbable  it  may  seem  that  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles  should  be  guilty  of  such  a  fraud,  the  fact  is 
undeniable,  that  the  quotations  in  the  New  Testament  do 
not  always  agree  with  the  books  from  which  they  are  ta- 
ken ;  and  it  remains  with  the  friends  of  Christianity  to  ac- 
count for  this  fact.    Many  zealous  Christians  have  thought 
it  essential  to  the  honour  of  that  revelation  granted  to  the 
Jews,  to  maintain  the   integrity  of  the   original  Hebrew 
text ;  and  even  during  the  course  of  the  last  century,  some 
men  versant  in  Jewish  learning  argued  most  strenuously, 
that  the  Providence  of  God  employed  the  vigilance  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  certain  precautions  of  the  Jewish  Rab- 
bis, to  preserve  the  Hebrew  text  through   all  ages  from 
every  degree  of  adulteration.    Were  this  opinion  sound,  it 
does  not  appear  to  me  that  any  satisfying  account  could 
be  given  of  the  difference  between  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New,  in  those  passages  where  the   latter  professes  to 
quote  the  former.     But  as  suspicions  had  been  long  en- 
tertained that  there   were  variations   in  the  Hebrew  text, 
so  the  opinion  of  those  who  maintain  its  integrity  was  in 
the  last  century  completely  refuted  by  the  labours  of  Dr. 
Kennicott,  who,  from  a  collation  of  six  Imndred  manuscripts 
of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  has  demonstrated  that  there  have 
been  numberless  small  alterations,  and  some  of  considera- 
ble  importance.      We  found   formerly  that  the    various 
readings  of  the  Greek  text  of  the  New  Testament  arose 


130  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

from  the  ignorance  or  carelessness  of  transcribers,  and  that 
their  being  permitted  could  easily  be  reconciled  with  the 
wisdom  of  God,  and  the  divine  original  of  Christianity. 
We  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  the  same  causes  pro- 
ducing similar  effects  with  regard  to  the  Hebrew  text.  It 
has  been  said,  that  particular  circumstances  may  naturally 
lead  us  to  look  for  a  greater  number  of  such  varieties  in 
the  Hebrew  text  than  in  the  Greek ;  and  there  is  much 
reason  to  suspect  that  both  the  Hebrew  text  and  the  Sep-; 
tuagint  translation  were  wilfully  corrupted  by  the  Jews 
after  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  in  order  to  elude  the  argu- 
ment which  the  Christians  deduced  from  the  clear  appli- 
cation of  Jewish  prophecies  to  him.  We  know  that,  in 
the  second  century,  another  Greek  translation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  by  Aquila,  more  inaccurate,  and  designedly 
throwing  a  veil  over  many  prophecies  of  the  Messiah,  was 
substituted  by  the  Jews  in  place  of  the  Septuagint.  Taking 
then  the  learned  men  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  this 
study  as  our  guides,  and  resting  in  the  conclusions  which 
they  have  established  by  a  laborious  induction  of  particu- 
lars, we  say,  that  the  copies  both  of  the  Hebrew  text  and 
of  the  Septuagint,  which  were  in  use  in  the  days  of  our 
Saviour,  were  more  correct  than  those  which  we  now  have  ; 
that  by  the  help  of  many  manuscripts,  and  of  the  Samari- 
tan Pentateuch,  which  was  much  less  corrupted  than  the 
books  of  Moses  in  Hebrew,  the  true  reading  of  the  He- 
brew has  been  discovered  in  many  places  where  it  had 
been  vitiated ;  and  that  the  honour  of  our  Lord  and  his 
apostles  has  been  fully  vindicated ;  for  it  appears  that  they 
quoted  from  the  Septuagint  when  the  sense  of  the  author 
was  there  clearly  expressed ;  that,  at  other  times,  they 
translated  the  original  for  themselves,  or  used  some  trans- 
lation more  perfect  than  the  Septuagint,  and  that  there  are 
many  places  in  which  their  quotations,  although  different 
from  the  Hebrew  that  is  now  read,  agree  exactly  with  the 
Hebrew  text,  as  by  sound  criticism  it  may  be  restored. 

Such  is  the  important  sei'vice  which  sound  criticism  has 
rendered  to  religion.  The  unbeliever  triumphed  for  a  sea- 
son in  an  objection  which  was  plausible,  because  the  an- 
swer to  it  was  misapprehended  or  unknown.  But  the  pro- 
gress of  investigation  has  unfolded  the  truth,  and  has  pla- 
ced, in  the  most  conspicuous  light,  the  fidelity  and  accu- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  131 

racy  of  the  quotations   made   by  those   who  grounded 
Christianity  upon  Judaism. 


SECTION  V. 


Having  thus  cleared  the  way,  by  settling  every  prelimi- 
nary point,  and  removing  the  objections  which  appear  to 
me  the  strongest,  I  come  to  state  concisely  the  argument 
from  prophecy,  or  the  nature  of  that  support  which  the 
truth  of  Christianity  dei'ives  from  the  coincidence  between 
the  appearance  of  Jesus,  and  the  predictions  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

In  stating  this  argument,  we  allow  that  there  are  pas- 
sages quoted  by  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  from  the  Old 
Testament,  in  which  there  is  merely  an  accommodation  of 
words,  that  had  been  spoken  in  one  sense,  to  another  sense, 
in  which  they  are  equally  true.  When  it  is  said,  in  the 
second  chapter  of  Matthew,  "  Joseph  took  the  young  child 
and  his  mother  by  night,  and  departed  into  Egypt,  and 
was  there  until  the  death  of  Herod :  that  it  might  be  ful- 
tilled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying, 
out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son,"  nothing  more  is  meant 
by  the  expression,  "  that  it  might  be  fultilled,"  and  the 
idiom  of  ancient  languages  does  not  require  any  thing 
more  to  be  understood,  tlian  that  the  words  which  in  Ho- 
sea  are  applied  to  Israel,  whom  God  calls  his  Son,  re- 
ceived another  meaning  when  he,  who  is  truly  the  Son  of 
God,  was  brought  out  of  the  same  place  from  which  Israel 
came.  We  allow  that  it  does  not  follow,  from  the  possi- 
bility of  this  accommodation,  that  Hosea  meant  to  foretell 
the  future  transference  of  his  words,  any  more  than  that 
he  who  first  enunciated  a  proverbial  saying,  foresaw  all 
the  particular  occasions  upon  which  it  might  be  fitly  ap- 
plied. We  admit,  further,  that  the  secondary  sense  of 
those  prophecies  in  which  we  say  the  Messiah  was  includ- 
ed, and  the  typical  nature  of  those  ceremonies  or  actions 
which  prefigured  him,  are  not  always  obvious  upon  the 
consideration  of  particular  prophecies  or  types.  Nay,  we 
admit  that  there  is  a  degree  of  obscurity  or  doubt  with  re- 


132  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

gard  to  some  of  those  prophecies  in  which  the  Messiah  is 
directly  foretold ;  and,  therefore,  the  argument  does  not 
depend  upon  the  clearness  of  any  single  prophecy,,  or  up- 
on the  interpretation  which  may  be  given  to  this  or  that 
passage,  but  it  arises  from  a  connected  view  of  the  direct 
predictions,  the  secondary  prophecies,  and  the  types,  as 
supporting  and  illustrating  one  another.  Allow  as  much 
as  any  rational  inquirer  can  allow  to  the  shrewdness  of 
conjecture,  to  accidental  coincidence,  and  to  human  pre- 
paration, still  the  induction  of  particulars  that  cannot  be 
accounted  for  by  any  of  these  means,  is  so  complete  and  so 
striking,  as  to  constitute  a  plain  incontrovertible  argument. 
From  the  exact  fulfilment  of  predictions  extending 
through  many  centuries,  uttered  by  diffei'ent  prophets, 
with  different  imagery,  yet  pointing  to  one  train  of  events, 
and  marking  a  variety  of  circumstances,  in  their  nature 
the  most  contingent ;  from  the  aptness  of  all  the  parts  of 
the  intermediate  dispensation  to  shadow  forth  the  blessings 
and  the  character  of  that  ultimate  dispensation  which  it 
announced,  and  from  the  sublime  literal  exposition  which 
the  events  of  the  ultimate  dispensation  give  to  all  those 
prophecies  under  the  preparatory  dispensation,  which  are 
expressed  in  language  too  exalted  for  the  objects  to  which 
they  were  then  applied  ;  from  these  things  laid  together, 
there  arises,  to  any  person  who  considers  them  with  due 
care,  the  most  satisfying  conviction  that  the  whole  scheme 
of  Christianity  was  foreseen  and  foretold  under  the  Old 
Testament.  If  you  admit  this  position,  there  are  two 
consequences  which  you  will  admit  as  flowing  from  it. 
The  first  is,  that  the  prophets  under  the  Old  Testament 
were  divinely  inspired.  The  very  means,  by  which  you 
attain  a  conviction  that  they  prophesied  of  the  gospel, 
render  it  manifest  that  the  things  foretold  were  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  sagacity ;  and  there  is  thus  presented  to 
us  in  the  fulfilment  of  their  predictions,  an  evidence  of  the 
ti'uth  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  as  clear  as  that  arising 
from  the  miracles  performed  by  Moses  before  the  children 
of  Israel.  The  second  consequence,  and  that  which  we  are 
more  immediately  concerned  in  drawing,  is  this,  that  the 
scheme  in  which  the  predictions  of  these  pi-ojihets  were 
f'.ilfilled  is  a  divine  revelation.  In  order  to  perceive  how 
this  consequence  flows  from  the  position  which  we  have 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  133 

been  establishing,  you  will  attend  to  the  two  uses  of  pro- 
phecy, its  immediate  use  in  the  ages  in  which  it  was  given, 
and  that  further  use  which  extends  to  the  latest  ages  of 
the  world.  It  is  certain  that  prophecy  ministered  to  the 
comfort,  the  instruction,  and  the  hope  of  those  who  lived 
in  the  days  of  the  prophets  ;  and  we  know,  that  the  predic- 
tions respecting  the  Messiah  were  so  far  understood,  as  to 
excite  in  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews  an  expectation  of 
the  Messiah,  and  to  cherish  in  just  and  devout  men  that 
state  of  mind,  which  is  beautifully  styled  by  Luke  in  the 
second  chapter  of  his  gospel,  "  waiting  for  the  consolation 
of  Israel,"  and  "  looking  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem." 
But  that  this  was  not  the  whole  intention  of  the  prophe- 
cies concerning  the  Messiah,  appears  indisputably  from 
hence,  that,  according  to  the  account  which  has  been  gi- 
ven of  these  prophecies,  they  contain  a  further  provision 
than  was  necessary  for  that  end.  There  were  many  parts  of 
them  which  were  not  understood  at  that  time,  but  were 
left  to  be  unfolded  to  the  age  which  was  to  behold  their 
fulfilment.  As  such  parts  were  useless  to  the  age  which 
received  the  prophecy,  we  must  believe  that,  if  they  had 
any  use,  they  were  designed  for  that  future  age,  and  that 
the  prophets,  as  the  apostle  Peter  speaks,  "  ministered  not 
unto  themselves,  but  unto  us,  the  things  which  are  now 
reported  by  them  that  have  preached  the  gospel."* 

Bishop  Sherlock  wrote  his  admirable  discourses  on  the 
use  and  intent  of  prophecy  in  the  several  ages  of  the  world, 
to  show  that  prophecy  was  intended  chiefly  for  the  sup- 
port of  faith  and  religion  in  the  old  world,  as  faith  and  re- 
ligion could  not  have  existed  in  any  age  after  the  fall  with- 
out this  extraordinary  support ;  and  he  has  been  led,  by 
an  attachment  to  his  own  system,  to  express  himself  in 
some  places  of  his  book  to  the  disparagement  of  the  fur- 
ther use  of  prophecy.  Yet  even  Bishop  Sherlock  admits 
that  prophecy  may  be  of  great  advantage  to  future  ages, 
and  says  that  it  was  not  unworthy  of  the  Avisdom  of  God 
to  enclose,  from  the  daj's  of  old  in  the  words  of  prophecy, 
a  secret  evidence  which  he  intended  the  world  should  one 
day  see.  The  Bishop  has  stated  in  these  few  words,  Mith 
his  wonted  energy  and  facility  of  expression,  that  further 

•  1  Peter  i.  12. 


134  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

use  of  prophecy  of  which  I  am  speaking.  It  is  merely  a 
dispute  about  words,  whether  the  laying  up  this  secret 
evidence  was  the  primary  or  the  secondary  intention  of 
the  Giver  of  prophecy.  But  it  is  plain,  that  when  all  the 
notices  of  the  first  coming  of  Christ,  that  were  communi- 
cated to  different  nations,  are  brought  together  into  our 
view,  and  explained  by  the  event,  they  illustrate,  in  the 
most  striking  manner,  both  the  truth  and  the  importance 
of  Christianity.  The  gospel  appears  to  be  not  a  solitary 
unrelated  part  of  the  divine  economy,  but  the  purpose 
which  God  purposed  from  the  beginning ;  and  Jesus  comes 
according  to  the  declared  counsel  of  heaven  to  do  the  will 
of  his  Father.  The  miracles  which  he  wrought  derive  a 
peculiar  confirmation,  from  being  the  very  works  which 
ancient  prophets  had  foretold  as  characteristical  of  the 
Messiah.  Prophecy  and  miracle,  in  this  way,  lend  their 
aid  to  one  another,  and  give  the  most  complete  assurance 
which  can  be  desired  that  there  is  no  deception ;  for  as 
miracles  could  not  have  justified  the  claim  of  Jesus  to  the 
character  of  Messiah,  unless  ancient  predictions  had  been 
fulfilled  in  him,  so  the  miracles  which  he  wrought  were  an 
essential  part  of  that  fulfilment ;  and  hence  arises  the  pe- 
cular  significancy  and  force  of  that  answer  which  he  made 
to  the  disciples  of  John,  when  they  asked  him,  "  Art  thou 
he  that  should  come  ?"  "  Go,"  said  he,  "  and  show  John 
again  those  things  which  j^e  do  hear  and  see.  The  blind 
receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and 
the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them."  He  refers 
to  his  miracles  ;  but  he  mentions  them  in  the  very  words 
of  Isaiah,  thus  conjoining  Avith  that  divine  wisdom  which 
shines  in  all  his  discourses,  the  two  great  arguments  by 
which  his  disciples  in  all  succeeding  ages  were  to  defend 
their  faith.  The  internal  evidence,  too,  arising  from  the 
nature  of  his  undertaking,  is  very  much  heightened,  when 
we  sec  that  that  undertaking  was  the  completion  of  the 
plan  of  Providence.  We  are  often  able  to  vindicate  and 
explain  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Christianity,  by  referring 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  sketched  out  bj^  the 
preparatory  dispensation  ;  and  the  intimate  connexion  of 
the  two  systems,  which  enables  us  to  give  a  satisfactory 
account  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  law,  reflects  much  dig- 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  135 

nity  upon  the  gospel.  While  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
are  spoken  of  onlj'^  in  so  far  as  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
was  to  be  affected  by  their  fate,  we  see  the  servants  of  the 
Almighty  preparing  the  way  for  the  Prince  of  Peace  ;  the 
continued  effusion  of  the  divine  Spirit  does  honour  to 
Jesus  ;  the  prophets  arise  in  long  succession  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  him ;  and  our  respect  for  the  sundry  intimations  of 
the  will  of  heaven  is  concentred  in  reverence  for  that 
scheme  towards  which  all  of  them  tend.  In  the  magnifi- 
cence of  that  provision  which  ushered  in  the  Gospel,  we 
recognise  the  majesty  of  God ;  in  the  continuity  and  nice 
adjustment  of  its  parts,  we  trace  his  wisdom  ;  and  its  in- 
creasing light  is  analogous  to  that  gradual  preparation, 
by  which  all  the  works  of  God  advance  to  maturity. 

Such  is  the  support  which  the  truth  of  Christianity  de- 
rives from  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament  respecting 
the  Messiah.  The  argument  from  prophecy,  therefore, 
was  not,  as  Mr.  Gibbon  sarcastically  and  incorrectly  says, 
merely  addressed  to  the  Jews  as  an  argumentum  ad  homi- 
nem.  To  those  to  whom  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
are  known  chiefly  if  not  entirely  by  the  references  made 
to  them  in  the  gospel,  it  affords  much  confirmation  to  their 
faith,  and  much  enlargement  of  their  views  with  regard  to 
Christianity. 

Prideaux — Hartley — Gray — Prettyman's  Institutes  —  Stilliiigfleet's 
Orig.  Sacrae  —  Chandler — Hurd — "W'arhnrton — Newton — Law — 
i^Sykes — Kennicot — Randolph's  Collation — Geddes's  Prospectus 
— Lowth  de  Sacra  Poesi — Home's  Preface  to  Commentary  on  the 
Psalms. 


136 


CHAP.  VII. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

The  support  of  which  we  have  hitherto  spoken  proceeds 
upon  those  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament  concerning 
the  Messiah,  which  were  fulfilled  by  his  appearing  in  the 
flesh.  But  a  due  attention  to  the  subject  leads  us  much 
further,  and  we  soon  perceive  that  the  birth  of  Christ,  im- 
portant and  glorious  as  that  event  was,  far  from  exhausting 
the  significations  given  by  the  ancient  prophets,  only  serv- 
ed to  introduce  other  events  most  interesting  to  the  hu- 
man race,  which  were  also  foretold,  which  reach  to  the  end 
of  time,  and  which,  as  they  arise  in  the  order  of  Provi- 
dence, are  fitted  to  afford  an  increasing  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  Christianity. 

In  entering  upon  this  wide  field  of  argument,  which 
here  opens  to  our  view,  I  think  it  of  importance  to  direct 
your  attention  to  the  admirable  economy  with  which  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  are  disposed.  They  may 
be  divided  into  two  great  classes,  as  they  respect  either 
the  temporal  condition  of  the  .Jews  and  their  neighbours, 
or  that  future  spiritual  dispensation  which  was  to  arise  in 
the  latter  days. 

As  the  whole  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Jews 
was  for  many  ages  conducted  by  prophecy,  there  are,  in  the 
Old  Testament,  numberless  predictions  concerning  the 
temporal  condition  of  themselves  and  their  neighbours. 
Some  of  these  predictions  were  to  be  fidfilled  in  a  short 
time,  so  that  the  same  person  who  heard  the  prophecy  saw 
the  event.  This  near  fulfilment  of  some  predictions  pro- 
cured credit  for  others  respecting  more  distant  events. 
"  Behold,"  said  the  Almighty  to  the  nation  of  the  Jews, 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  137 

"  the  former  things  are  come  to  pass,  and  new  things  do  I 
declare.  Before  they  spring  up,  I  tell  you  of  them."'* 
There  are  prophecies  of  the  temporal  condition  of  nations, 
viiich  are  at  this  day  fulfilling  in  the  world.  The  present 
state  of  Babylon,  of  Tyre,  of  Egypt,  of  the  descendants  of 
Ishraael,  and  of  the  Jewish  people  themsehes,  has  been 
shown  by  learned  men,  and  particularly  by  Bishop  New- 
ton, to  correspond  exactly  to  the  words  of  ancient  pro- 
phets ;  and  thus,  as  the  experience  of  the  Jewish  nation 
taught  them  to  expect  every  event  which  their  prophets 
amiounced,  so  the  visible  continued  accomplishment  of 
what  these  prophets  spoke,  two  or  three  thousand  years 
ago,  is  to  us  a  standing  demonstration  that  they  were  mov- 
ed by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

But  this  whole  system  of  prophecy  was  merely  a  ve- 
hicle for  preserving  and  conveying  to  the  world  the  hopes 
of  a  future  spiritual  dispensation.  It  embraced  indeed  the 
temporal  affairs  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  nations  with  whom 
they  were  particularly  connected,  because  an  intermediate 
preparatory  dispensation  was  established  till  the  better 
hope  should  be  brought  in.  But  all  the  prophecies  of 
temporal  good  and  evil  were  subservient  to  the  promise  of 
the  Messiah,  and  the  fulfilment  of  those  prophecies  che- 
rished among  the  nation  of  the  Jews  the  expectation  of 
that  future  covenant  which  was  the  end  of  the  law.  The 
birth  of  the  Messiah  justified  this  expectation.  It  did  not 
indeed  acomplish  all  the  words  of  the  prophets,  but  it 
brought  assurance  that  there  should  be,  in  due  time,  a 
comjilete  accomplishment.  Several  great  events  happen- 
ed soon  after  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  according  to  the 
ancient  Scriptures.  Other  instances  of  fulfilment  are  at 
this  day  seen  in  the  religious  state  of  the  world,  and  there 
are  parts  of  the  prophecy  yet  to  be  fulfilled.  We  are  thus 
placed  in  the  middle  of  a  great  scheme,  of  which  we  have 
seen  the  beginning  and  the  progress.  The  conclusion  re- 
mains to  be  unfolded.  But  the  correspondence  to  the 
words  of  the  prophets  both  in  the  events  which  are  past, 
and  in  the  present  state  of  things,  may  establish  our  hope 
that  the  mystery  of  God  will  be  finished  ;  and  the  succes- 
sion of  events,  as  they  open  in  the  course  of  Providence 

•  Isaiah  xlii,  9, 


138  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

upon   the  generations  of  men,  gradually  explains  those 
parts  of  the  prophecy  which  were  not  understood. 

The  prophecies  of  the  temporal  state  of  Babylon,  Tyre, 
Egypt,  and  other  nations  which  are  now  fulfilling  in  the 
world,  are  so  clear,  that  any  one  versant  in  history  may 
compare  the  event  with  the  prediction — and  I  do  not  know 
a  more  pleasing,  satisfactory  book  for  this  purpose  than 
Newton  on  the  Prophecies.  But  the  prophecies  of  those 
events  in  the  spiritual  state  of  the  world,  which  were  to 
happen  after  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  are  in  general  short 
and  obscure ;  and  although  any  person  who  is  capable  of 
considering  the  scheme  of  ancient  prophecy,  may  be  sa- 
tisfied of  its  looking  forward  to  the  end  of  all  things,  yet 
without  some  assistance  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to 
form  a  distinct  conception  of  what  was  to  follow  the  birth 
of  the  Messiah,  and  difficult  even  to  refer  events,  as  they 
arise,  to  their  place  in  the  prediction.  This  kind  of  ob- 
scurity was  allowed  by  God  to  remain  upon  the  ancient 
predictions  respecting  the  future  fortunes  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom,  because  a  remedy  was  to  arise  in  due  time  by 
the  advent  of  that  great  Prophet  who,  having  fulfilled  in 
his  appearance  one  part  of  those  predictions,  became  the 
interpreter  of  that  which  remains.  The  miracles  by  which 
he  showed  that  he  was  a  messenger  of  heaven,  and  the  ex- 
act coincidence  between  the  history  of  his  life,  and  the 
characters  of  the  Jewish  Messiah,  were  sufficient  to  pro- 
cure credit  for  his  interpretation.  He  was  worthy  to  take 
the  book  which  Daniel  had  said  was  sealed  till  the  time  of 
the  end,  to  open  the  seals  of  it,  and  to  explain  to  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  the  words  which  were  shut  up  therein. 
Thus  Jesus  stands  forth  not  only  as  the  personage  whom 
ancient  prophets  had  foretold,  but  as  himself  a  Prophet. 
The  same  Spirit  which  had  moved  them,  but  whose  signi- 
fications of  future  events  had  ceased  with  Malachi,  speaks 
by  that  messenger  of  the  covenant  whom  Malachi  had  an- 
nounced, and  upon  whom  Isaiah  had  said  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  should  rest :  and  there  is  opened,  in  the  discourses  of 
Jesus  and  the  writings  of  his  apostles,  a  series  of  predic- 
tions explicatory  of  the  dark  parts  of  ancient  prophecy, 
and  extending  to  the  consummation  of  all  things. 

It  is  not  possible  to  conceive  a  more  perfect  unity  of 
design  than  that  which  we  have  now  traced  in  the  system 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  139 

of  prophecy ;  and  every  human  scheme  fades  and  dwmdies 
when  compared  with  the  magniticence  and  extent  of  this 
plan — Jesus  Christ  the  corner-stone  which  connects  the 
okl  and  the  new  dispensation ;  in  whom  one  part  of  the 
ancient  predictions  received  its  accomplishment,  and  from 
whom  the  other  received  its  interpretation.  The  spirit  of 
prophecy  thus  ministers  in  two  distinct  methods  to  the 
evidence  of  Christianity.  It  enclosed  in  the  words  and 
actions  of  the  Old  Testament  a  proof  that  Jesus  was  that 
person  whom  the  Father  had  sanctified,  and  sent  into  the 
world ;  and  it  holds  forth,  in  the  words  uttered  by  Jesus 
and  his  apostles,  that  mark  of  a  divine  mission,  which  all 
impostors  have  assumed,  and  which  mankind  have  often 
ascribed  to  those  who  did  not  possess  it,  but  which,  where 
it  really  exists,  may  be  easily  distinguished  from  all  false 
pretensions,  and  is  one  of  the  evidences  which  the  Al- 
mighty hath  taught  us  to  look  for  in  every  messenger  of 
his.  He  claims  it  as  his  prerogative  to  declare  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the  things  that 
shall  be  ;  he  challenges  the  gods  of  the  nations  to  give  this 
proof  of  their  divinity ;  "  Produce  your  cause,  saith  the 
Lord  :  bring  forth  your  strong  reasons,  saith  the  King 
Jacob.  Show  the  things  that  are  to  come  hereafter,  that 
we  may  know  that  ye  are  gods."*  And  he  hath  given  this 
mark  of  his  messengers :  "  When  the  word  of  the  prophet 
shall  come  to  pass,  then  shall  the  prophet  be  known,  that 
the  Lord  hath  truly  sent  him."f 

As  Jesus  assumed  this  universal  character  of  a  divine 
messenger,  so  he  was  distinguished  from  other  prophets 
by  the  clearness,  the  extent,  and  the  importance  of  his 
predictions.  And  he  showed  that  the  Spirit  was  given  to 
him  without  measure,  by  exercising  the  gift  of  prophecy 
upon  subjects  very  different  from  one  anotlier,  both  in 
their  nature,  and  in  their  times.  He  foretold  events  which 
seem  to  be  regulated  by  the  caprice  of  men,  and  those 
which  depend  purely  upon  the  will  of  God.  He  foretold 
some  events  so  near,  that  we  find  in  Scripture  both  the 
prophecy  and  the  fulfilment ;  others  which  took  place  a 
few  years  after  the  canon  of  Scripture  was  closed,  with  re- 
gard to  which  we  learn  the  complete  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 

*  Isaiah  xli.  21,  23;  xlvi.  9,  10.  +  Jer.  xxviii.  9. 


140  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

phecy  from  contemporary  historians ;  others  which  are 
carrying  forward  in  the  world,  with  regard  to  which  the 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  is  a  matter  of  daily  observation  ; 
and  others  which  reach  to  distant  periods,  and  to  the  con- 
summation of  all  things,  which  are  still  the  objects  of  a 
Christian's  hope,  but  with  regard  to  which,  hope  rises  to 
perfect  assurance  by  the  recollection  of  what  is  past. 

This  is  a  general  view  of  the  prophecies  of  Jesus  and 
his  apostles  ;  and  I  recommend  them  to  your  particular 
attention  and  study,  because,  in  my  opinion,  the  evidence 
of  Christianity  derives  two  great  advantages  from  the 
study  of  them.  The  Jirsl  advantage  arises  from  their  ap- 
pearing to  be  the  explication  and  enlargement  of  the  short 
obscuiZ-e  predictions  contained  in  the  Old  Testament  with 
regard  to  the  same  events  ;  such  an  explication  as  no  other 
person  was  qualified  to  give,  and  therefore  as  clear  a 
demonstration  of  the  prophetical  spirit  of  Jesus  as  if  he 
had  uttered  a  series  of  predictions  perfectly  new,  yet  such 
an  explication  as  illustrates  the  intimate  connexion  of  the 
two  dispensations.  The  prophecies  of  Jesus  and  his 
apostles,  while  they  introduce  many  particulars  that  are 
not  found  in  the  writings  of  the  ancient  prophets,  are  al- 
ways consistent  with  the  words  spoken  by  them,  referring 
to  their  images,  and  unfolding  their  dark  sayings.  The 
highest  honour  is,  in  this  way,  reflected  upon  the  extent 
of  the  scheme  of  ancient  prophecy ;  and  Jesus,  by  honour- 
ing this  scheme,  and  carrying  it  forward,  confirms  his 
claim  to  the  character  of  the  Jewish  Messiah,  because  he 
speaks  in  a  manner  most  becoming  that  great  Prophet, 
who  was  to  be  raised  up  like  unto  Moses.  The  second 
advantage  arising  from  a  particular  study  of  the  predic- 
tions of  Jesus  is  this,  that  all  the  events,  which  constitute 
the  history  of  his  religion,  thus  appear  to  be  the  fulfilment 
of  prophec3\  Besides  the  support  which  every  one  of 
them  in  its  place  gives  to  the  truth  of  Christianity,  all  to- 
gether unite  as  parts  of  a  system  which  had  entered  into 
the  mind  of  the  Author  of  our  religion,  and  when  they 
happen,  they  afford  a  demonstration  that  the  God  of  know- 
ledge had  put  words  into  his  mouth. 

To  perceive  distinctly  the  nature  and  the  importance  of 
this  secondary  advantage,  the  four  Gospels  should  be  read 
from  beginning  to  end,  with  a  special  view  to  mark  the 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  141 

prophecies  of  Jesus.  In  doing  this,  you  will  set  down  the 
many  instances  in  which  he  discovers  a  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart,  of  the  intentions  and  thoughts  of  both  his 
friends  and  his  enemies,  as  of  the  same  order  with  the  gift 
of  prophecy.  You  will  find  predictions  of  common  occur- 
rences, and  near  events,  which  must  have  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  those  who  lived  with  him ;  and,  scattered 
through  all  his  discourses,  you  will  meet  with  predictions 
of  remote  events,  for  which  the  fulfilment  of  the  predic- 
tions of  near  events  was  fitted  to  procure  credit.  Out  of 
the  many  particulars  which,  upon  such  a  review,  may  en- 
gage your  attention,  I  select  the  following  important  ob- 
jects, as  affording  a  specimen  of  the  variety  of  our  Saviour's 
prophecies,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  those  events  which 
constitute  the  history  of  his  religion,  may  be  considered  as 
the  fulfilment  of  his  predictions  ;  the  prophecies  of  his 
death,  of  his  resurrection,  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of 
the  situation  and  behaviour  of  his  disciples,  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  of  the  progress  of  his  religion  previous 
to  that  period,  of  the  condition  of  the  Jewish  nation  sub- 
sequent to  it,  and  of  the  final  discrimination  of  the  right- 
eous and  the  wicked. 

1.  The  death  of  Jesus,  that  great  event  which,  Avhen 
considered  in  the  Scripture  view  of  it,  is  characteristical 
of  the  Gospel  as  the  religion  of  sinners,  is  the  subject  of 
many  of  our  Lord's  prophecies.  He  marks,  without  hesi- 
tation, the  time,  the  place,  and  the  manner  of  it;  the 
treachery  of  one  disciple,  the  denial  of  another,  the  deser- 
tion of  the  rest,  the  sentence  of  condemnation  which  the 
supreme  council  of  the  Jewish  nation,  at  a  time  when 
Jews  were  gathered  from  all  corners  of  the  land,  was  to 
pronounce  in  Jerusalem  upon  an  innocent  man,  whom 
many  of  the  people  held  to  be  a  prophet,  and  the  execu- 
tion of  that  sentence  by  the  Gentiles,  to  whom  the  rulers 
of  the  Jews,  jealous  as  they  were  of  their  own  authority, 
and  indignant  under  the  Roman  yoke,  were  to  deliver  the 
pannel.  But  of  all  the  kinds  of  death  which  might  have 
been  inflicted,  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  selects  one  unknown 
in  the  land  of  Judea,  and  reserved  by  the  Romans  for 
slaves,  who,  having  been  distinguished  from  freemen  in 
their  life,  were  distinguished  also  in  the  manner  of  their 
death.     It  is  not  possible  to  conceive  any  events  more 


]  42  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

contingent  than  those  which  this  prophecy  embraces.  Yet 
it  was  literally  fulfilled.  When  you  examine  it  attentively, 
there  are  several  particulars  which  you  will  be  delighted 
with  marking,  because  they  constitute  an  indirect  support 
to  the  truth  of  Christianity,  arising  out  of  the  contexture 
of  the  prophecy.  Thus,  you  Avill  find  that  the  prophecy 
applies  to  Jesus  many  minute  circumstances  in  the  Jewish 
types  of  the  Messiah,  and  in  this  way  shows  us  that  as  the 
death  of  the  Messiah  had  been  shadowed  forth  by  the  sa- 
crifices of  the  law,  and  foretold  by  Isaiah  and  Daniel,  so 
the  manner  of  it  had,  from  the  beginning,  been  in  the  view 
of  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  was  signified  beforehand  in 
various  ways.  You  will  admire  the  magnanimity  of  that  man 
who  came  into  the  world  that  he  might  lay  down  his  life, 
and  who  never  courted  the  favour  of  the  people,  or  shrunk 
from  the  discharge  of  any  dutj',  although  all  the  circum- 
stances of  barbarity  that  marked  his  death  were  fully  be- 
fore his  eyes.  You  Avill  admire  the  dignity,  and  the  re- 
gard to  the  peace  of  his  country,  which  restrained  Jesus 
from  raising  the  pity  and  indignation  of  the  multitude  by 
publishing  his  future  sufferings  to  them,  and  Avliich  led 
liim  to  address  all  the  clear  minute  predictions  of  his 
death  to  his  disciples  in  private.  You  Avill  admire  the 
tenderness  and  wisdom  with  which  he  delayed  any  such 
communication  even  to  them,  till  they  had  declared  a  con- 
viction of  his  being  the  Messiah,  and  then  gradually  un- 
folded the  dismal  subject  as  they  were  able  to  bear  it ;  and 
you  will  perceive  the  gracious  purpose  which  was  promot- 
ed by  the  growing  particularity  of  his  prophecy,  as  the 
event  drew  near.  "  Now,"  says  he,  "  I  tell  you  before  it 
come,  that  M'hen  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  may  believe  that  I 
am  he.'"* 

2.  The  circumstances  of  his  death,  every  one  of  which 
had  been  foretold  by  himself,  thus  served  to  procure  cre- 
dit for  that  prophecy  of  his  resurrection,  which  was  always 
conjoined  with  them.  The  ancient  prophets  had  declared 
that  the  Messiah  was  to  live  for  ever  ;  and  as  both  Isaiah 
and  Daniel,  who  spoke  of  his  everlasting  kingdom,  had 
spoken  also  of  his  being  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  liv- 
ing, their  words  implied  that  he  was  to  rise  from  the  dead. 

*  John  xiii.  19. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  143 

This  implication  of  a  resurrection  was  brought  out  by  our 
Lord.     Conscious  of  the  divine  power  which  dwelt  in  him, 
he  said  that  on  the  third  day  he  sWuld  rise  again  ;  and  in  the 
hearing  of  all  the  people,  iie  fefelcWfer^Jonas  as  a  type  of 
himself.     The  people  rec6llect€^U||Pp»^ords  as  soon  as  he 
was   put  to   death,  for  "  the   chrar  priests  and   Pharisees 
came  together  unto  Pilate,  sayings  Sir,  we  remember  that 
that  deceiver  said,  Avhile  he  wa^yet  alivS^tftcr  three  daj's 
I  Mill  rise  again  :"*  and  thej^  vainly  employed  precautions 
to  prevent  the  fulfilaient  of  J^is  prophecy.     The  apostles 
have  left  a  most  natuf  al  pict^r^oj'  their  own  weakness  and 
disappointment,  by  transmittiajft  vipoij  record  to  posteri- 
t}',  that  the  death  of  Jesus  effaced  from  their  minds  his 
promise  of  rising  again,  or  at,  least  destroyed  in  the  inter- 
val their  faith  olF  its  being  fuffilled.     But  you  will  find  that 
both   the    angels  who  appeared   to  the  women,  and  our 
Lord  in  his  discourses  with^'liis  disciples,  recalled  the  pro- 
phecy to  their  minds:  ,apd,  by  one  expression  of  John, 
you  may  judge  of  the  CGtSfixiiadxicTn  which  their  faith  was 
to   receive  from  the  reofmefu^  of  predictions  which  had 
been  addressed  to  themselves,  and  the  fulfilment  of  which 
they  had  seen.     When  the^Jews  a^ked  a  sign  of  him,  he 
said,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise 
it  up."     The  Jews  understood  him  to  mean  the  temple  in 
which  they  were  standing.     "  But  he  spake,"   says  John, 
"  of  the  temple  of  his  body.     When,   therefore,  he  was 
risen  from  the  dead,  his  disciples  remembered  that  he  had 
said  this  unto  them  ;  and  they  believed  the  Scripture,  and 
the  word  which  Jesus  had  said."f     There  is  no  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  Christian  religion  more  important  than  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus.     It  is  that  seal  of  his  commission, 
without  which  all  the   others  are  of  none  avail ;  the  assu- 
rance to  us  that  the  purpose  of  his  death  is   accomplished, 
and  the  pledge  of  our  resurrection.      "  If  Christ  be  not 
risen,  our  faith  is  vain."    As  the  evidence  of  the  fact  there- 
fore will  appear  to  us,  when  we  proceed  to  examine  it,  to  be 
most  particular  and  satisfying,  so  it  was  most  natural  that 
this  very  important  fact  should  be  the  subject  of  prophecy. 

3.  Our  Lord  foretold  also  that  he  was  to  ascend  into  hea- 
ven ;  and  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  was  made  an  object 

•  Matt,  xxvii.  62,  63.  +  John  ii.  18—22. 


144!  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

of  sense  to  the  apostles  as  far  as  their  eyes  could  reach.   But 
that  they  might  be  satisfied  there  was  no  illusion,  and  that 
the  rest  of  the  world   might  know  assuredly  that  he  was 
gone  to  the   Father,  the  prophecy  of  this  ascension  was 
connected  with  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  he 
said  he  would  send  from  his  Father  to  comfort  the  disciples 
after  his  departure,  to  qualify  them  for  preaching  his  re- 
ligion, and  to  ensure  the  success  of  their  labours.    You  learn 
from  the  Book  of  Acts  the  fulfilment  of  this  promise  ;  and, 
when  you  examine  the  subject,  the  following  circumstances 
will  deserve  your  attention.     The  miraculous  gifts  poured 
forth  on  the   day  of  Pentecost  are  stated  by  the  apostle 
Peter,  as  "  that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel ; 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I 
will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh."*     The  last  days 
is  a  prophetical  expression  for  the  age  of  the  Messiah,  which 
was  to  succeed  the  age  of  the  law.     It  is  plain  that  the 
prophecy  of  Joel  had  not  been  fulfilled  before  the  day  of 
Pentecost ;  for  during  the   greater  part  of  the  time  that 
had   elapsed   between  the  word  of  Joel  and  that  day,  the 
prophetical  spirit  had  ceased  entirely.     His  word  did  re- 
ceive a  visible  fulfilment  upon  that  day ;  and  this  fulfil- 
ment being  an  event  which  our  Lord  had  taught  his  apos- 
tles to   look  for,   Peter  was  entitled  to  apply  the  word  of 
Joel  to  the   event  which  then  took  place  ;  and  our  Lord  - 
appears  in  his  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  in  his  other 
prophecies,   to  be  the  true  interpreter  of  ancient  predic- 
tions.     Further,  the   promise  of  Jesus  does  not  respect 
merely  the  inward  influences  of  the  Spirit.     These,  how- 
ever essential  to  the  comfort  and  improvement  of  man,  do 
not  admit  of  being  clearly  proved  to  others,  either  by  the 
testimony  of  sense,   or  by  the  deductions  of  reason,  and 
cannot  always  be  distinguished  by  certain  marks  from  the 
visions   of  fanatical  men.     But  the  promise  of  Jesus  ex- 
presses  precisely    external   visible    works,    to  which  the 
power  of  imagination  does  not  reach,   and  with  regard  to 
w^hich  every  spectator  may  attain  the  same  assurance  as 
with  regard  to  any  other  object  of  sense.     "  These  signs," 
said  Jesus  before   his  ascension,   "  shall  follow  them  that 
believe.    In  my  name  shall  they  cast  out  devils  ;  they  shall 

»  Actsii.  16,  17. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  145 

s'Teak  with  new  tongues  ;  they  shall  take  up  serpents,  and, 
if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt  them ; 
they  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  i-e- 
cover."*  It  limits  a  time,  within  which  the  faculty  of  per- 
forming such  works  was  to  be  conferred ;  and  it  chooses 
the  most  public  place  as  the  scene  of  their  being  exhibited. 
For  Jesus,  just  before  he  was  taken  up  into  heaven,  "  com- 
manded his  apostles  that  they  should  not  depart  from  Jeru- 
salem, but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  Avhich," 
saith  he,  "  ye  have  heard  of  me  ;  ye  shall  be  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence."-|-  Lastly,  You 
will  be  led  by  the  examination  of  this  subject  to  observe, 
that  when  the  works,  performed  in  consequence  of  the 
gifts  conferred  vipon  the  day  of  Pentecost,  became  palpa- 
ble to  the  senses  of  men,  they  were,  like  the  miracles  of 
Jesus,  the  vouchers  of  a  divine  commission.  Being  per- 
formed in  his  name,  and  in  fulfilment  of  his  promise,  they 
were  fitted  to  convince  the  world  that  he  had  received 
power  from  the  Father  after  his  ascension,  and  that  he 
had  given  this  power  to  his  apostles.  These  men  were,  in 
this  way,  recommended  to  the  world  as  sent  by  Jesus  to 
carry  forward  the  great  scheme  which  he  had  opened. 
Full  credit  was  procured  for  all  that  they  taught,  because 
their  works  were  the  signs  of  those  internal  operations  by 
which  they  were  inspired  with  the  knowledge,  wisdom,  and 
fortitude  necessary  for  their  undertaking ;  and  their  works 
were  also  the  pledges  of  tlie  fulfilment  of  that  promise 
which  extends  to  true  Christians  in  all  ages,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  shall  be  given  to  those  who  ask  it,  according  to  the 
measure  of  their  necessities. 

4.  The  fourth  subject  of  our  Lords  prophecies  which  I 
mentioned  was  the  situation  and  behaviour  of  his  apostles 
after  he  should  leave  them.  He  never  amused  them  with 
false  hopes  ;  he  forewarned  them  all  of  the  scorn,  and  ha- 
tred, and  persecution  which  they  were  to  expect  in  preach- 
ing his  religion ;  and  yet,  although  he  had  daily  experi- 
ence of  their  timidit}'',  and  slowness  of  apprehension,  al- 
though he  foretold  that  at  his  death  they  would  forsake 
him,  yet  he  foretold  with  equal  assurance,  that  after  his 
ascension  they  should  be  his  witnesses  to  the  ends  of  the 

*  Mark  xvi.  17,  18.  t  ^cts  i.  4.  a. 

VOL.  I.  H 


146  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

earth  ;  and  he  left  in  the  hands  of  these  feeble  men,  who 
were  to  be  involved  in  calamities  upon  his  account,  that 
cause  for  which  he  had  lived  and  died,  without  expressing 
any  apprehension  that  it  would  suffer  by  their  weakness. 
"  If  ye  were  of  the  world,"  he  says  in  his  last  discourse  to 
them  before  his  death,  "the  world  would  love  his  own, 
but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you. 
They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues  ;  yea,  the  time 
Cometh,  that  whosoever  killeth  you,  will  think  that  he  doth 
God  service.  And  these  things  Avill  they  do  unto  you, 
because  they  have  not  known  the  Father,  nor  me.  But 
these  things  have  I  told  you,  that  when  the  time  shall 
come,  ye  may  remember  that  I  told  you  of  them."*  There 
is  in  all  this  a  dignity  of  manner,  and  a  consciousness  of 
divine  resources,  which  exalt  Jesus  above  every  other 
person  that  appeal's  in  history.  When  we  see  in  the  pro- 
pagation of  his  religion,  the  fortitude,  the  wisdom,  and  the 
eloquence  of  his  servants,  their  steadfastness  amidst  trials 
sufficient  to  shake  the  firmest  minds,  and  the  joy  which 
they  felt  in  being  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  his  name, 
we  remember  his  words,  and  we  discern  the  fruits  of  that 
baptism,  wherewith  they  were  baptized  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost. In  a  heroism,  so  different  from  the  former  con- 
duct of  these  men,  and  so  manifestly  the  gift  of  God,  we 
recognise  the  spirit  which  both  dictated  the  prophecy,  and 
brought  about  the  event ;  and  our  Lord's  prediction  of  the 
situation  and  behaviour  of  his  apostles,  when  thus  com- 
pared with  the  event,  furnishes  the  most  striking  illustra- 
tion of  his  truth,  his  candour,  his  knowledge,  and  his  power. 

5.  We  come  now  to  the  longest  and  most  circumstan- 
tial of  our  Lord's  prophecies.  It  respects  immediately  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem :  but  we  shall  find  that  it  em- 
braces also  the  remaining  subjects  of  prophecy  which  I 
mentioned,  and,  in  speaking  of  them,  I  mean  to  follow  it 
as  mj^  guide. 

The  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  ut- 
tered at  a  time  when  Judea  was  in  complete  subjection 
to  the  Romans.  A  Roman  governor  resided  in  Jerusa- 
lem with  an  armed  force  ;  and  this  state,  no  longer  at  en- 

*  John  XV.  19  ;  xvi.  2,  -3,  4.         ;_ 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  147 

mity  with  the  masters  of  the  world,  was  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  Roman  empire.  There  was,  it  is  true,  a  general  in- 
dignation at  the  Roman  yoke,  a  tendency  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  to  sedition  and  tumult,  and  a  fear  in  the  coun- 
cil lest  these  sentiments  should  at  some  time  be  expressed 
with  such  violence,  as  to  provoke  the  Romans  to  take  away 
their  place  and  their  nation.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  turbii- 
lent  spirit,  and  the  repeated  insurrections  of  the  Jewish 
people,  which  did  incense  the  Romans  ;  and  a  person  well 
acquainted  with  the  disaffection  which  generally  prevail- 
ed, and  the  character  of  those  who  felt  it,  might  foresee 
that  the  public  tranquillity  would  not  continue  long,  and 
that  this  sullen  stiff-necked  people  were  preparing  for 
themselves,  bj^  their  murmurings  and  violence,  more  se- 
vere chastisements  than  they  had  endured,  when  they 
were  reduced  into  the  form  of  a  Roman  province.  But 
although  a  sagacious  enlightened  mind,  which  rose  above 
vulgar  prejudices,  and  looked  forward  to  remote  conse- 
quences, might  foresee  such  an  event,  yet  the  manner  of 
the  chastisement,  the  signs  which  were  to  announce  its 
approach,  the  measure  in  which  it  was  to  be  adminis- 
tered, and  thelength  of  time  during  which  it  was  to  continue, 
— all  these  were  out  of  the  reach  of  human  foresight. 
There  is  a  particularity  in  this  prophecy,  bj^  which  it  is 
clearly  distinguished  from  the  conjectures  of  wise  men. 
It  embraces  a  multitude  of  contingencies  depending  upon 
the  caprice  of  the  people,  upon  the  wisdom  of  military  com- 
manders, upon  the  fury  of  soldiers.  It  describes  one  cer- 
tain method  of  doing  that  which  might  have  been  done  in 
many  other  ways,  a  method  of  subduing  a  rebellious  city 
very  different  from  the  general  conduct  of  the  Romans, 
who  were  too  wise  to  destroy  the  provinces  which  they 
conquered,  and  very  opposite  to  the  character  of  Titus 
the  emperor,  under  whose  command  Jerusalem  was  be- 
sieged, one  of  the  mildest  and  gentlest  men  that  .ever  lived, 
who,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  empire  of  the  world,  is  called 
by  historians,  the  love  and  delight  of  mankind.  The  author 
of  a  new  religion  must  have  been  careless  of  his  reputa- 
tion, and  of  the  success  of  his  scheme,  who  ventured  to 
foretell  such  a  number  of  improbable  events  without  know- 
ing certainly  that  they  were  to  come  to  pass ;  and  it  re- 
quired not  the  wisdom  of  a  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  the  God 


148 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 


of  knowledge,  to  foresee  that  all  of  them  would  concur, 
before  the  generation  that  was  then  alive  upon  the  earth 
j^assed  away.  Yet  this  prophecy  Jesus  uttered  about 
^•^^'^y  years  before  the  event.  The  prophecy  was  not  laid 
np  after  it  was  uttered,  like  the  pretended  oracles  of  the 
heathen  nations,  in  some  repository,  where  it  might  be  cor- 
rected by  the  CA-ent.  But,  having  been  brought  to  the  re- 
membrance of  those  who  heard  it  spoken,  by  the  Spii'it 
which  Jesus  sent  into  the  hearts  of  his  apostles  after  hi.>< 
ascension,  it  was  inserted  in  books  which  were  published 
liefore  the  time  of  the  fulfilment.  We  know  that  John 
lived  to  see  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  is  not 
certain  whether  he  wrote  his  Gospel  before  or  after  that 
event.  But  John  has  omitted  this  prophecy  altogether. 
Our  knowledge  of  it  is  derived  from  the  Gospels  of  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  and  Luke,  which  were  carried  by  the  Chris- 
tian converts  into  all  parts  of  the  world  while  Jerusalem 
stood,  which  Mere  early  translated  into  different  languages, 
which  were  quoted  by  writers  in  the  succeeding  age,  and 
were  universally  held  by  the  first  Christians  as  books  oi 
authority,  as  the  standards  of  faith.  In  these  books  thus 
authenticated  to  us,  we  find  various  intimations  of  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  by  parables  and  short  hints  inter- 
woven in  the  thread  of  the  history ;  and  all  the  three  con- 
tain the  same  long  particular  prophecy,  with  a  small  va- 
rietj'  of  expression,  but  without  the  least  discordance,  or 
even  alteration  of  the  sense.  The  greatest  part  of  this 
long  prophecj^  has  been  most  strikingly  fulfilled,  and  there 
are  parts,  the  fulfilment  of  Avhich  is  now  going  on  in  the 
w^orld. 

We  learn  the  fulfilment  of  the  greater  part  of  this  pro- 
phecy, not  from  Christian  writers  only,  but  from  one  au- 
thor, whose  witness  is  unexceptionable,  because  it  is  not 
the  witness  of  a  friend  ;  and  who  seems  to  have  been  pre- 
served by  Providence,  in  order  to  transmit  to  posterity  a 
circumstantial  account  of  the  siege.  Josephus,  a  Jew,  who 
WTOte  a  history  of  his  country,  has  left  also  a  relation  of 
that  war  in  Avhich  Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  he  was  a  commander  in  Galilee.  But 
being  besieged  bj'  Vespasian,  he  fied  with  forty  more,  after 
a  gallant  resistance,  and  hid  himself  in  a  cave.  Vesijasian. 
liaving  discovered  their  lurking  place,  ofiTered  them  theii 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  149 

Kfe.  Josephus  was  willing  to  accept  it.  But  his  com- 
panions refused  to  surrender.  With  a  view  to  prolong  the 
time,  and  in  hopes  of  overcoming  their  obstinacy,  he  pre- 
vailed upon  them  to  cast  lots  who  should  die  first.  The 
lots  were  cast  two  by  two :  and  that  God,  who  disposeth 
of  the  lot,  so  ordered  it,  that  of  the  forty  thirty-nine  were 
killed  by  the  hands  of  one  another,  and  one  only  was  let" 
with  Josephus.  Tins  man  j^ielded  to  his  entreaties  ;  and 
these  two,  instead  of  drawing  lots  who  should  kill  the 
other,  went  together,  and  offered  themselves  to  Vespasian. 
Tiie  miserable  fate  of  their  companions  procured  them  a 
kind  reception  ;  and  from  that  time  Josephus  remained  in 
the  Roman  camp,  an  eye-witness  of  everything  that  hap- 
pened during  the  siege.  He  has  the  reputation  of  a  dili- 
gent faithtul  historian  in  his  other  work.  And  his  very 
particular  account  of  the  siege  was  revised  by  Vespasian 
and  Titus,  and  published  by  their  order.  The  only  im- 
peachment that  has  ever  been  brought  against  the  veraci- 
ty of  Josephus  is,  that,  although  his  history  of  the  Jews 
comprehends  the  period  in  which  our  Lord  lived,  he  hard- 
ly makes  mention  of  his  name ;  and,  although  exact  and 
minute  in  everj^  thing  else,  enters  into  no  detail  of  the  me- 
morable circumstances  that  attended  his  appearance,  or 
the  influence  which  it  had  upon  the  minds  of  the  people. 
He  takes  no  notice  of  this  prophecy.  A  Jewish  priest, 
whose  silence  betrays  enmity  to  Jesus,  certainlj'^  did  not 
wish  that  it  should  be  fulfilled  :  and  yet  his  history  of  the 
siege  is  a  comment  upon  the  prophecy ;  eveiy  word  whicli 
our  Lord  utters  receiving  the  clearest  explication,  and 
most  ijlainly  meeting  its  event  in  the  narration  of  this  pre- 
judiced Jewish  historian. 

Archbishop  Tillotson,  Newton  on  the  Prophecies,  Lard- 
ner,  Jortin,  Newcome,  and  many  other  writers  have  made 
very  full  extracts  from  Josephus,  and,  by  setting  the  nar- 
ration of  the  historian  over  against  the  prediction  of  our 
Lord,  have  shewn  the  exact  accomplishment  of  the  words 
of  the  great  Prophet,  from  the  record  of  a  man  who  did 
not  acknowledge  his  divine  mission.  These  extracts  well 
deserve  your  study.  But  it  is  not  necessary,  after  tlie  la- 
bour which  so  many  learned  men  have  bestowed  upon  this 
subject,  that  I  should  lead  you  minutely  through  the  parts 
of  the  prophecy.     There  are,  however,  some  circumstances 


150  TREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

iijDon  which  •!  tliink  it  of  importance  to  fix  your  attention. 
I  mean,  therefore,  to  give  a  distinct  account  of  the  occa- 
sion which  led  our  Lord  to  utter  this  prophecy  ;  and,  after 
collecting  brieflj'^  the  chief  points  respecting  the  siege,  I 
shall  dwell  upon  the  striking  prophecy  of  the  progress  of 
Christianity  before  that  period,  which  Matthew  has  pre- 
served in  his  twenty-fourth  chapter. 

Our  Lord  had  vittered  in  the  temple,  in  the  hearing  of  a 
mixed  multitude,  a  pathetic  lamentation  over  the  distress 
that  awaited  the  Jewish  nation.  As  he  goes  out  of  the 
temple  towards  the  mount  of  Olives,  the  usual  place  of 
his  retirement,  the  disciples,  struck  with  the  severity  of 
an  expression  he  had  vised,  "  Behold  your  house  is  left  un- 
to you  desolate,"  as  if  to  move  his  compassion  and  mitigate 
the  sentence,  point  out  to  him  while  he  passed  along,  the 
buildings  of  the  temple,  and  the  goodly  stones  and  gifts 
with  which  it  was  adorned.  The  great  temple,  which  So- 
lomon had  built,  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity.  Cyrus  permitted  the  two  tribes,  who  re- 
turned to  Judea,  to  rebuild  the  house  of  their  God.  And 
this  second  temple  was  repaired  and  adorned  by  Herod 
the  Great,  who,  having  received  the  crown  of  Judea  from 
the  Romans,  thought  that  the  most  eft'ectual  way  of  over- 
coming the  prejudices,  and  obtaining  the  favour  of  the 
Jewish  people,  was  by  beautifying  and  enlarging,  after  the 
plan  of  Solomon's  temple,  the  building  which  had  been 
hastily  erected  in  the  reigns  of  Cyrus  and  Darius.  It  was 
still  accounted  the  second  temple,  but  was  so  much  im- 
proved by  the  reparation  which  Herod  made,  that  both 
Josephus  and  the  Roman  historians  celebrate  the  extent, 
the  beauty,  and  the  splendour,  of  the  building.  And  Jo- 
sephus mentions,  in  particular,  marble  stones  of  a  stupen- 
dous size  in  the  foundation,  and  in  different  parts  of  the 
building.  The  disciples,  we  may  suppose,  point  out  these 
stones,  lamenting  the  destruction  of  such  a  fabric ;  or  per- 
haps meaning  to  insinuate,  that  it  would  not  be  easy  for 
the  hand  of  man  to  destroy  it.  But  Jesus  answered, 
"  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  shall  not  be  left  here  one 
stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down."  It 
is  a  proverbial  saying,  marking  the  complete  destruction 
of  the  temple  ;  and  there  would  not,  according  to  the  ge- 
neral analogy  of  language,  have  been  any  impropriety  in 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  151 

the  use  of  it,  if  the  temple  had  been  rendered  unfit  for  be- 
ing a  place  of  worship,  although  piles  of  stones  had  been 
left  standing  in  the  court.     But,  by  the  providence  of  God, 
€ven  this  proverbial  expression  was  fulfilled,  according  to 
the  literal  acceptation  of  the  words.     Titus  was  most  soli- 
citous to  pi^eserve  so  splendid  a  monument  of  the  victories 
of  Rome  :  and  he  sent  a  message  to  the  Jews  who  had  en- 
closed themselves  in  the  temple,  that  he  was  determined  to 
save  it  from  ruin.     But  they  could  not  bear  that  the  house 
of  their  God,  the  pride  and  glory  of  their  nation,  should 
fall  into  tJie  hands  of  the  heathen,  and  they  set  fire  to  the 
porticoes.     A  soldier,  observing  the  flames,  threw  a  burn- 
ing brand  in  at  the  window ;  and  others,  incensed  at  the 
obstinate  resistance  of  the  Jews,   without  regard  to   the 
commands  or  threatenings  of  their  general,   who   ran  to 
extinguish  the  flames,   continued  to  set  fire   to  different 
parts  of  it,   and  at  length  even  to  the   doors  of  the  holy 
place.    "  And  thus,"  says  Josephus,  "  the  temple  was  burnt 
to  the  ground,  against  the  will  of  Titus."     After  it  was  in 
this   way  rendered  useless,  he  ordered  the  foundations, 
probably  on  account  of  the  unusual  size  of  the  stones,  to 
loe  dug  up.     And  Rufus,  who  commanded  the  army  after 
his  departure,   executed  this  order,   by  tearing  them  up 
with    a   plough-share ;   so  truly  did    Micah   say   of  oldL 
"  Zion  shall  be  ploughed  as  a  field,  and  Jerusalem   shall 
become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house  as  the  high 
places  of  the  forest."* 

The  multitude  probably  pressing  around  our  Lord  as 
he  went  out  of  the  temple,  the  diciples  forbear  to  ask  any 
particular  explication  of  his  words,  till  they  come  to  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  That  mount  was  at  no  great  distance 
from  Jerusalem,  and  over  against  the  temple,  so  that  any 
person  sitting  upon  it  had  an  excellent  view  of  the  whole 
fabric.  The  disciples,  deeply  impressed  with  what  they 
had  heard,  and  anxious  to  receive  the  fullest  information 
concerning  the  fate  of  the  city  of  their  solemnities,  now 
that  they  are  retired  from  the  multitude,  come  around 
Jesus  upon  the  mount,  and  looking  down  to  the  temple, 
say,  "  Tell  us,  when  shall  these  things  be  ;  and  what  shall 
Jbe  the  sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?"f 

•  Micah  iii.  12,  f  Matt.  xxiy.  3, 


152  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

It  is  of  consequence  that  you  form  a  clear  apprehension  of 
the  import  of  this  question.  The  end  of  the  world,  accord- 
to  the  use  of  that  phrase  to  which  our  ears  are  accustom- 
ed, means  the  consummation  of  all  things.  And  this  cir- 
cumstance, joined  with  some  expressions  in  the  prophecy, 
has  led  several  interpreters  to  suppose  that  the  apostles 
were  asking  the  time  of  the  judgment.  But  to  a  Jew,  « 
a-vvizMm  rov  etiavti,  often  conveyed  nothing  more  than  the 
end  of  the  age.  Time  Mas  divided  by  the  Jcavs  into  two 
great  periods,  the  age  of  the  law  and  the  age  of  the  Messiah. 
The  conclusion  of  the  one  was  the  beginning  of  the  other, 
the  opening  of  that  kingdom  which  the  Jews  believed  the 
Messiah  was  to  establish,  which  was  to  put  an  end  to  their 
sufferings,  and  to  render  them  the  greatest  people  upon 
the  earth.  The  apostles,  full  of  this  hope,  said  to  our 
Lord,  immediately  before  his  ascension,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou 
at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"  Our  Lord 
used  the  phrase  of  his  coming,  to  denote  his  taking  ven- 
geance upon  the  Jews  by  destroying  their  city  and  tem- 
ple. "  There  be  some  standing  here,"  he  said,  "  that  shall 
not  taste  of  death  till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in 
his  kingdom."*  All  that  heard  him  are  long  since  gathered 
to  their  fathers,  and  Jesus  has  not  yet  come  to  judge  the 
world.  But  John,  we  know,  survived  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  There  are  two  other  places  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament where  a  phrase  almost  the  same  with  li  o-wrtXstx  rev 
citavci  occurs.  And  in  neither  does  it  signify  what  we  call 
the  end  of  the  world.  The  apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  ix. 
26,  says,  "  But  now  once,  twi  a-vvriMtci  t&>v  uiuvuv  hath 
Christ  appeared."  At  the  conclusion  of  that  dispensation 
under  which  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  was  offered  upon 
the  altar  of  God,  "  Christ  appeared,  to  put  away  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself."  The  apostle  to  the  Corinthians  says, 
"  These  things  are  written  for  our  admonition,  uj^on  whom 
are  come  to,  nX-^  tuv  ei,tuvwii"-\-  our  translation  renders  it 
the  ends  of  the  world  ;  yet  the  world  has  lasted  about 
1800  years  since  the  apostolic  days  ;  the  meaning  is,  the 
ends  of  the  ages,  the  conclusion  of  the  one  age,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  other,  are  come  upon  us ;  for  we  have  seen 
both. 

•  Matt.  xvi.  28.  t  ^  Cor.  x.  1 1. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  153 

It  is  agreeable,  then,  to  the  phraseology  of  Scripture 
and  to  the  expectations  of  the  apostles,  to  interpret  their 
question  here,  "  What  shall  be  the  sign   of  thy  coming, 
and  of  the  end  of  the  world  ?"  as  meaning  nothing  more 
than  the  corresponding  question,  to  which  an  answer,  in 
substance  the  same,  is  given  in  the  13th  chapter  of  Mark, 
and  the  21st  of  Luke.     What  shall  be  the  sign  when  these 
things,  this  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  shall 
be  fulfilled,  or  come  to  pass  ?    But  the  language,  in  which 
the  question  is  proposed  in  Matthew,  suggests  to  us  the 
sentiment  which  had  probably  arisen  in  the  minds  of  the 
apostles,  after  hearing  the  declaration  of  our  Lord,  as  they 
walked  from  the  temple  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.     They 
conceived  that  the  whole  frame  of  the  Jewish  polity  was 
to  be  dissolved,  that  the  glorious  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
was  to  commence,  and  that,  as  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
were  to  be  gathered  to  this  kingdom,  and  Jerusalem  was 
.  to  be  the  capital  of  the  world,  the  temple  which  now 
stood,  extensive  and  magnificent  as  it  was,  would  be  too 
small  for  the  reception  of  the  worshippers,  that  on  this  ac- 
count it  was  to  be  laid  in  ruins,  and  one  much  more  splen- 
did, more  suitable  to  the  dignity  of  the  Messiah,  and  far 
surpassing  every  human  work,  was  to  be  erected  in  its 
stead.     Possessed  with  these  exalted  imaginations,  and  an- 
ticipating their  own  dignity  in  being  the  ministers  of  this 
temple,  they  come  to  Jesus  and  say,  "  Tell  us  when  these 
things  shall  be,  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming, 
and  of  the  end  of  the  age  ?"     The  question  consists  of  two 
parts.     They  ask  the  time,  and  they  ask  the  signs.     Our 
Lord  begins  with  giving  a  particular  answer  to  the  second 
question.     He  afterwards  limits  the  time  to  the  existence 
of  the  generation  then  alive  upon  the  earth.     But  he  re- 
presses their  curiosity  as  to  the  day  or  the  hour. 

Of  the  signs  mentioned  by  our  Lord,  I  shall  give  a  short 
general  view,  deriving  the  account  of  the  fulfilment  of  his 
words  from  the  history  of  the  events  left  us  by  Josephus, 
and  shall  then  fix  your  attention  upon  that  prophecy  of 
the  general  progress  of  Christianity  befoi-e  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  which  you  will  find  in  the  24th  chapter  of 
Matthew. 

The  first  sign  is  the  number  of  false  Christs  who  were 
to  arise  in  the  interval  between  the  prophecy  and  the 


154  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY   JESUS. 

event;  impostors  who,  finding  a  general  expectation  of 
the  Messiah,  as  the  seventy  weeks  of  Daniel  were  con- 
ceived to  be  accomplished,  and  a  disposition  to  revolt 
from  the  Romans,  assumed  a  character  corresponding  to 
the  wishes  of  the  people.  There  is  frequent  reference  to 
these  impostors  in  the  book  of  Acts  :  and  Josephus  says, 
that  numbers  of  them  were  taken  under  the  government  of 
Felix.  They  led  out  the  deluded  people  in  crowds,  pro- 
mising to  show  them  great  signs,  and  to  deliver  them  from 
all  their  calamities,  and  thus  exposed  them  to  be  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  Roman  soldiers,  as  disturbers  of  the  peace. 
Our  Lord  graciously  warns  the  apostles  not  to  go  after 
these  men  ;  to  put  no  faith  in  any  message  which  they 
pretended  to  bring  from  him,  but  to  rest  satisfied  with  the 
directions  contained  in  this  prophecy,  or  hereafter  com- 
municated to  themselves  by  his  Spirit.  While  he  thus 
preserves  his  followers  from  the  destruction  which  came 
upon  many  of  the  Jews,  he  enables  them,  by  reading  in 
that  destruction  the  fulfilment  of  his  words,  and  a  proof  of 
his  divine  character,  to  derive  from  the  fate  of  their  un- 
wise countrymen  an  early  confirmation  of  their  own  faith. 
The  second  sign  consists  of  great  calamities  which  were 
to  happen  during  the  interval.  The  madness  of  Caligula, 
who  succeeded  Tiberius,  butchered  many  of  the  Jews  ; 
and  there  was  in  his  reign  the  rumour  of  a  war,  which  was 
likely  to  be  the  destruction  of  the  nation.  He  ordered  his 
statue  to  be  erected  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  Not 
conceiving  why  an  honour,  which  was  granted  to  him  by 
the  other  provinces  of  the  empire,  should  be  refused  by 
Judea ;  and  not  being  wise  enough  to  respect  the  religious 
prejudices  of  those  who  were  subject  to  him,  he  rejected 
their  remonstrances,  and  persisted  in  his  demand.  The 
Jews  had  too  hi^h  a  veneration  for  the  house  of  the  true 
God,  to  admit  of  any  thing  like  divine  honours  being  there 
paid  to  a  mortal,  and  they  resolved  to  sufier  every  distress, 
rather  than  to  give  their  countenance  to  the  sacrilege  of 
the  emperor.  Such  was  the  consternation  which  the  ru- 
mour of  this  war  spread  through  Judea,  that  the  people 
neglected  to  till  their  lands,  and  in  despair  waited  the  ap- 
proach of  the  enemy.  But  the  death  of  Caligula  removed 
their  fears,  and  delayed  for  some  time  that  destruction 
which  he  meditated.    Although,  therefore,  says  Jesus,  you 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  155 

will  find  the  Jews  troubled  when  these  wars  arise,  as  if  the 
end  of  their  state  was  at  hand,  be  not  ye  afraid,  but  know 
that  many   things    must   first   be    accomplished.      What 
strength  was  the  faith  of  the  apostles  to  derive  from  this 
projihecy,  but  a  few  years  after  our  Lord's  death,  wheu 
they  heard  of  rumours  of  wars,    when  they  beheld  the 
despair  of  their  countrymen,  and  yet  saw  the  cloud  dis- 
pelled, and  the  peace   of  their  country  restored  !     The 
peace,  indeed,  was  soon  interrupted,  by  frequent  engage- 
ments  between  the  Jewish  and  heathen    inhabitants    of 
many  cities  in  the  province   of  Syria ;  by  disputes  about 
the  bounds  of  their  jurisdiction,  amongst  the  govei'nors  of 
the  different  tetrarchies  or  kingdoms  into  which  the  land 
of  Palestine  was  divided ;  and  by  the  wars  arising  from 
the  quick  succession  of  emperors,  and  the  violent  compe- 
titions for  the  imperial  diadem.     It  was  not  the  sword  only 
that  filled  with  calamity  this  disastrous  interval.    The  hu- 
man race,  according  to  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  suffer- 
ed under  those  judgments  which  proceed  immediately  from 
heaven.     Josephus  has  mentioned  famine  and  pestilence, 
earthquakes  in  all  places  of  the  world  where  Jews  resided, 
and  one  in  Judea  attended  with  circumstances  so  dreadful 
and  so  unusual,  that  it  was  manifest,   he  says,   the  whole 
power  of  nature  was  disturbed  for  the  destruction  of  men. 
The  third  sign  is  the  persecution  of  the  Christians.     The 
sufferings  of  which  we  read  in  the  Epistles  and  the  Acts 
were  early  aggravated  by  the  famines,  and  pestilence,  and 
earthquakes  with  which  God  at  this  time  afflicted  the  earth. 
The  Christians  were  regarded  as  the  causes  of  these  calami- 
ties ;  and  the  heathen,  without  inquiring  into  the  nature  of 
their  religion,  but  viewing  it  as  a  new  pestilential  supersti- 
tion, most  offensive  to  the  gods,  tried  to  appease  the  divine 
anger,  which  manifested  itself  in  various  judgments,   by 
bringing  every  indignity  and  barbarity  upon  the   Chris- 
tians.    The  example  was  set  by  Nero,  who,  having  in  the 
madness  of  his  wickedness  set  fire  to  Rome  that  he  might 
enjoy  the  sight  of  a  great  city  in  fiames,  turned  the  tide 
of  that  indignation,  which  the  report  excited,  from  him- 
self against  the  Christians,  by  accusing  them  of  this  atro- 
cious crime.     He  found  the  people  not  unwilling  to   be-, 
lieve  any  thing  of  a  sect  whom  they  held  in  abhorrence  ; 
and  both  in  this,  and  in  many  other  instances,  the  Chris* 


156  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY   JESUS. 

tians  suffered  the  most  exquisite  torments  for  crimes  not 
their  own,  and  as  the  authors  of  calamities  which  thej'  did 
not  occasion.  The  persecution  which  they  endured  has 
been  Avell  called  by  one  of  the  oldest  apologists  for  Chris- 
tianity,* a  war  against  the  name,  proceeding  not  from  ha- 
tred to  them  as  individuals,  but  from  enmity  to  the  name 
which  they  bore.  "  Ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for 
my  name's  sake." 

The  fourth  sign  is  the  apostacy  and  treachery  of  many 
who  had  borne  this  name.  Although  persecution  natural- 
ly tends  to  unite  those  who  are  persecuted,  and  although 
the  religion  of  Jesus  can  boast  of  an  innumerable  com- 
pany of  martyrs,  who,  in  the  flames  witnessed  a  good  con- 
fession, yet  there  were  some  in  the  earliest  ages  who  made 
shipwreck  of  faith,  and  endeavoured  to  gain  the  favour  of 
the  heathen  magistrates  by  informing  against  their  breth- 
ren. This  apostacy  is  often  severely  reprehended  in  the 
Epistles  of  Paul;  and  the  Roman  historian  speaks  of  a 
multitude  of  Christians  who  were  convicted  of  bearing  the 
iiame,  upon  the  evidence  of  those  who  confessed  first.-|- 
It  cannot  sur2:)rise  any  one  who  considers  the  weakness  of 
human  nature,  that  such  examples  did  occur.  But  it  must 
appear  very  much  to  the  honour  of  Jesus,  that  he  adven- 
tures to  utter  such  a  prophecy.  He  is  not  afraid  of  sow- 
ing jealousy  and  distrust  amongst  his  followers.  He  knew 
that  many  were  able  to  endure  the  trial  of  affliction,  and 
he  leaves  the  chaff  to  be  separated  from  the  wheat. 

The  fifth  sign  is  the  multitude  of  false  teachers,  men  who, 
either  from  an  attachment  to  the  law  of  Moses,  or  from  the 
pride  of  false  philosophy,  corrupted  the  simplicity  of  the  Gos- 
pel. This  perversion  appeai-ed  in  the  days  of  the  apostles. 
Complaints  of  it,  and  w  arnings  against  it  are  scattered  through 
all  their  Epistles.  Neither  the  sword  of  the  persecutor, 
nor  the  wit  of  the  scorner  has  done  so  much  injury  to  the 
cause  of  Christianity,  as  the  strifes  and  idle  disputes  of 
those  who  bear  his  name.  Many,  in  early  times,  were 
shaken  by  the  errors  of  false  prophets.  Imjjroper  senti- 
ments and  passions  were  cherished ;  the  union  of  Chris- 
tians was  broken,  and  the  religion  of  love  and  peace  became 
an  occasion  of  discord.     But  these  corruptions,  how^ever 

*  Justin  Martyr.  f  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  44. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  157 

tlisgraceful  to  Christians,  are  a  testimony  both  of  the  can- 
dour and  the  divine  knowledge  of  the  author  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  even  those  who  perverted  his  religion  fulfilled 
his  words. 

We  have  now  gone  through  those  signs  which  announced 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  we  are  come  to  the  cir- 
cumstances, marked  in  the  prophecy,  which  happened  du- 
r'uvj;  the  siesje. 

The  first  is,  Jerusalem  being  compassed  with  armies, 
or,  as  Matthew  expressed  it,  the  abomination  of  desola- 
tion, spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  standing  in  the  ho- 
ly place.  There  were  commonly  engraved  upon  the  Ro- 
man standards,  after  the  times  of  the  republic,  the 
images  of  those  emperors  whom  admiration  or  flattery  had 
translated  into  the  number  of  gods.  The  soldiers  were 
accustomed  to  swear  by  these  images,  to  worship  them, 
and  to  account  them  the  gods  of  battle.  The  Jewt^,  edu- 
cated in  an  abhorrence  of  idolatry,  could  not  bear  that 
images,  before  whom  men  thus  bowed,  should  be  brought 
within  the  precincts  of  their  city  :  and  soon  after  the 
death  of  our  Lord,  the}'  requested  a  Roman  general,  Vi- 
tellius,  who  was  leading  troops  through  Judea  against  an 
enemy  of  the  emperor,  to  take  another  road,  jjecause,  said 
they,  it  is  not  ttcct^iov  v.f^iv  to  behold  from  our  city  any 
images.  With  strict  propriety,  then,  the  dark  expression 
of  Daniel,  which  had  not  till  that  time  been  understood, 
is  interpreted  by  our  Lord  as  meaning  the  offensive  images 
of  a  great  multitude  of  standards  brought  within  that  space, 
a  circumference  of  two  miles  round  the  city  which  was 
accounted  holy,  in  order  to  render  the  city  desolate  ;  and 
he  mentions  this  as  the  signal  to  his  followers  to  fly  from 
the  low  parts  of  Judea  to  the  mountains.  It  may  appear 
to  you  too  late  to  think  of  flying,  after  the  Roman  armies 
were  seen  from  Jerusalem.  But  the  manner  in  which  the 
siege  was  conducted  justified  the  wisdom  of  this  advice. 
A  few  years  before  Titus  destroyed  Jerusalem,  Cestius 
Gallus  laid  siege  to  it ;  he  might  have  taken  the  city  if  he 
had  persevered  ;  but  without  any  reason  that  was  known, 
says  Josephus,  he  suddenly  led  away  his  forces.  And  af- 
ter his  departure  many  fled  from  the  city  as  from  a  sink- 
ing ship.  Vespasian,  too,  was  slow  in  his  approaches  to 
the  city  ;  and  by  the  distractions  which  at  that  time  took 


158  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

place  in  the  government  of  Rome,  was  frequently  diverted 
from  executing  his  purpose  ;    so   that  the   Christians,  to 
whom  the  first  appearance  of  Cestius's  army  brought  an 
explanation  of  the  words  of  Jesus,  by  following  his  direc- 
tions, escaped  entirely  from  the  carnage  of  the  Jews.     Our 
Lord  Avarns  his  disciples  of  the  imminency  of  the  danger, 
and  urges  them,  by  various  expressions,  to  the  greatest 
speed  in  their  flight.     The  reason  of  this  urgency  is  ex- 
plained by  Josephus.     After  Titus  sat  down  befoi'e  Jeru- 
salem,   he  surrounded  the  city  with  a  wall,  which  was 
finished  in  three  days,  so  that  none  could  escape  ;  and  fac- 
tions were  by  that  time  become  so  violent,  that  none  wei'e 
allowed  to  surrender.     The  party  called  zealots,  who   in 
their  zeal  for  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  hope  of  receiv- 
ing deliverance  from  heaven,  thought  it  their  duty  to  re- 
sist the  Romans  to  the  last  extremity,  put  to  death  all  who 
attempted  to  desert,  and  thus  assisted  the  enemy  in   en- 
closing an  immense   multitude  within  this  devoted  city. 
With    what  gracious  foi'csight  does   the    divine   prophet 
guard  his  followers  against  this  complication  of  evils,  and 
repeat  his  warning  in  the  most  striking  words,  in  order  to 
convince  all  who  paid  regard  to  what  he  said,  that  their 
only  safety  lay  in  flight ! 

A  second  circumstance,  by  which  our  Lord  marks  this 
siege,;  is  the  unparalleled  distress  that  was  then  to  be  en- 
dured.    "  Then  shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not 
since  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this  time,  no,  nor  ever 
shall  be."     It  is  a  very  strong  expression,   of  itself  suffi- 
cient to  distinguish  this  prophecy  from  conjecture.     And 
the  expression,  strong  as  it  appears,  is  so  strictly  applica- 
ble to  the  subject,  that  we  find  almost  the  same  words  in  Jo- 
sephus, who  certainly  did  not  cojiy  them  from  Jesus.    "  Li 
my  opinion,"  he  says,  "  all  the  calamities  which  ever  were 
endured  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  were  iuferior  to 
those  which  the  Jews  now  suffered.     Never  was  any  city 
more  wicked,  and  never  did  any  city  receive  such  punish- 
ment.    Without  was  the  Roman  army,  surrounding  their 
walls,  crucifying  thousands  before  their  eyes,  and  laying 
waste  their  country  :   within  were  the  most  violent   con- 
tentions   among    the    besieged,    frequent   bloody    battles 
between    different  parties,    rapine,    fire,   and   the    extre- 
mity of  famine.     Many  of  the  Jews  prayed  for  the  sue- 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  159 

cess  of  the  Romans,  as  the  only  method  to  deliver  them 
from  a  more  dreadful  calamity,  the  atrocious  violence  of 
their  civil  dissensions." 

A  third  circumstance  mentioned  by  our  Lord  is  the 
shortening  of  the  siege.  Josephus  computes  that  there 
fell,  during  the  sie^e,  by  the  hands  of  the  Romans,  and  by 
their  own  faction,  1,100,000  Jews.  Had  the  siege  con- 
tinued long,  the  whole  nation  would  have  perished.  But 
the  Lord  shortened  the  days  for  the  elect's  sake  :  the  elect, 
tJiat  is,  in  Scripture  language,  the  Christians,  both  those 
Jews  within  the  city,  whom  this  fulfilment  of  the  words  of 
Jesus  was  to  convert  to  Christianity,  and  those  Christians 
who,  according  to  the  directions  of  their  Master,  had  tied 
out  of  the  city  at  the  approach  of  the  Roman  army,  and 
were  then  living  in  the  mountains.  The  manner  in  which 
the  days  were  shortened  is  most  striking.  Vespasian  com- 
mitted the  conduct  of  the  siege  to  Titus,  then  a  young 
man,  impatient  of  resistance,  jealous  of  the  honour  of  the 
Roman  army,  and  in  haste  to  return  from  the  conquest  of 
an  obscure  province  to  the  capital  of  the  empire.  He  pro- 
secuted the  siege  with  vigour ;  he  invited  tlie  besieged  to 
yield,  by  offering  them  peace  ;  and  he  tried  to  intimidate 
them,  by  using,  contrary  to  his  nature,  every  species  of 
cruelty  against  those  who  fell  into  his  hands.  But  all  his 
vigour,  and  all  his  arts,  would  have  been  in  vain,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  madness  of  those  within.  They  fought 
with  one  another ;  they  burned,  in  their  fury,  magazines 
of  provisions  sufficient  to  last  them  for  years ;  and  they 
deserted  with  a  foolish  confidence  strong  holds,  out  of 
which  no  enemy  could  have  dragged  them.  After  they 
had  thus  delivered  their  city  into  his  hands,  Titus,  when 
he  was  viewing  it,  said,  "  God  has  been  upon  our  side. 
Neither  the  hands  nor  the  machines  of  men  could  have 
been  of  any  avail  against  those  towers.  But  God  has 
pulled  the  Jews  out  of  them,  that  he  might  give  them  to 
us."  It  was  impossible  for  Titus  to  restrain  the  soldiers, 
irritated  by  an  obstinate  resistance,  from  executing  their 
fury  against  the  besieged.  But  his  native  clemency  spared 
the  Jews  in  other  places.  He  would  not  allow  the  senate 
of  Antioch,  that  city  in  which  the  disciples  were  first  call- 
ed Christians,  to  expel  the  Jews  ;  for  where,  said  he,  shall 
these  people  go,  now  that  we  have  destroyed  their  city  ? 


160  PEEDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

Titus  was  the  servant  of  God  to  execute  his  vengeance  on 
Jerusalem.  But  when  the  measure  of  that  vengeance  was 
fulfilled,  the  compassion  of  this  amiable  prince  was  em- 
ployed to  restrain  the  wrath  of  man.  "  The  Lord  short- 
ened the  days." 

A  fourth  circumstance  is  the  number  of  false  Christs, 
men,  of  v^'hom  we  read  in  Josephus,  who,  both  during  the 
siege  and  after  it,  kept  up  the  spirits  of  the  people,  and 
rendered  them  obstinate  in  their  resistance,  by  giving 
them  hopes  that  the  Messiah  was  at  hand  to  deliver  them 
out  of  all  their  calamities.  The  greater  the  distress  was, 
the  people  were  the  more  disposed  to  catch  at  this  hope  ; 
and,  therefore,  it  was  necessary  for  our  Lord  to  warn  his 
disciples  against  being  deluded  by  it. 

The  last  circumstance  is  the  extent  of  this  distress. 
Our  Lord  has  employed  a  bold  figure.  But  the  boldest 
of  his  figures  are  always  literally  true  :  "  As  the  lightning 
cometh  out  of  the  east,  and  shineth  even  unto  the  west,  so 
shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be:  For  whereso- 
ever the  carcase  is,  there  shall  the  eagles  be  gathered  to- 
gether." The  Roman  army,  who  were  at  this  time  the 
servants  of  the  Son  of  man,  entered  on  the  east  side  of 
Judea,  and  carried  their  devastation  westward ;  so  that,  in 
this  grand  image,  the  very  direction  of  the  ruin,  as  well  as 
the  suddenness  of  it,  is  painted :  and  it  extended  to  every 
place  where  the  Jews  were  to  be  found.  A  gold  or  silver 
eagle,  borne  on  the  top  of  a  spear,  belonged  to  every  le- 
gion, and  was  always  carried  along  with  it.  Wheresover 
the  carcase — the  Jewish  people  who  were  judicially  con- 
demned by  God — v,as,  thei'e  were  also  those  eagles.  There 
was  no  part  of  Judea,  says  Josephus,  which  (lid  not  par- 
take of  the  miseries  of  the  capital;  and  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  war  ends  with  numbering  the  thousands  who  fell 
in  other  places  of  the  world  also  by  the  Roman  sword. 

I  have  thus  led  you,  as  particularly  as  appears  to  me  to 
be  necessary,  through  the  prophecy  of  our  Lord  respect- 
ing the  signs  which  announced  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  circumstances  which  attended  the  siege ;  and 
I  wish  now  to  fix  your  attention  upon  a  particular  predic- 
tion interwoven  in  this  prophecy,  concei-ning  the  progress 
of  Christianity  previous  to  that  period,  both  because  the 
subject  renders  it  interesting,  and  because  the  place  which 


PREDICTIOMS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  161 

our  Lord  has  given  it  in  this  prophecy,  opens  a  most  in- 
structive and  enlarged  view  of  the  economy  of  the  divine 
dispensations. 

6.  The  prediction  is — "  And  this  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world,  for  a  witness  to  all  na- 
tions, and  then  shall  the  end"  of  the  Jewish  state  "come." 

We  find  our  Lord  always  speaking  with  confidence  of 
the  establishment  of  his  religion  in  the  world.  It  is  a  con- 
fidence which  could  not  reasonably  be  inspired  by  any 
thing  he  beheld :  multitudes  following  him  out  of  curiosi- 
ty, but  easily  offended,  and  at  length  demanding  his  cruci- 
fixion— a  few  unlearned,  feeble  men,  affectionately  attach- 
ed indeed  to  his  person,  but  with  very  imperfect  appre- 
hensions of  his  religion,"  and  devoid  of  the  most  likely  in- 
struments of  spreading  even  their  own  apprehensions 
through  the  world — a  world  which  hated  him  while  he 
lived,  and  which  he  knew  was  to  hate  his  disciples  after 
his  death — a  world,  consisting  of  Jews,  wedded  to  their 
own  religion,  and  abhorring  his  doctrine  as  an  impious  at- 
tempt to  supersede  the  law  of  Moses ;  and  of  heathens, 
amongst  whom  the  ^philosophers,  full  of  their  oAvn  wisdom, 
despised  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  vulgai',  de- 
voted to  childish  abominable  supei'stitions,  and  averse 
from  the  spiritual  worship  of  the  Gospel,  were  disposed  to 
execute  the  vengeance  of  jealous  malignant  deities  upon  a 
body  of  men  who  refused  to  off"er  incense  at  their  altars — 
a  world,  too,  in  which  every  kind  of  vice  abounded — in 
which  the  passions  of  men  demanded  indulgence,  and 
spurned  at  the  restraint  of  the  holy  commandment  of  Je- 
sus. Yet,  in  these  circumstances,  with  such  obstacles,  our 
Lord,  conscious  of  his  divine  character,  and  knowing  that 
the  Spirit  was  given  to  him  without  measure,  foretels,  with 
perfect  assurance,  that  his  Gospel  shall  be  preached  in  all 
the  world.  Had  he  fixed  no  time,  this  prophecy,  bold  as 
it  is,  might  have  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  acts  by  which 
an  impostor  tries  to  raise  the  spirits  of  his  followers  ;  and 
we  should  have  heard  it  said,  that,  instead  of  a  mark  of 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  there  was  here  only  the  sagacity  of 
a  man,  who,  aware  of  the  wonderful  revolutions  in  the 
opinions  and  manners  of  men,  trusting  that,  in  some  suc- 
ceeding age,  after  some  other  systems  had,  in  their  turn, 
been  exploded,  his  system  might  become  fashionable,  had 


162  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

ventured  to  say,  that  it  should  be  preached  in  all  the 
world,  and  left  the  age  which  should  see  this  publication 
to  convert  an  indefinite  expression  into  an  accomplished 
prophecy.     But  here  is  nothing  indefinite — a  pointed,  pre- 
cise declaration,  which  no  impostor,  who  was  anxious  about 
the  success  of  liis  system,  would  have  hazarded,  and  con- 
cerning  the   truth    of  which,    many    of  that   generation 
amongst  whom  he  lived  remained  long  enough  upon  earth  to 
be  able  to  judge.    Tlie  end,  by  the  connexion  of  the  words 
with  the  context,  means  the  conclusion  of  the  age  of  the  law; 
and  it  is  still  more  clearly  said,  in  the  13th  chapter  of  Mark, 
in  the  middle  of  the  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem, "  But  the  Gospel  must  first  be  published  to  all  na- 
tions."   Now,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  happened  with- 
in forty  years  after  the  death  of  our  Saviour,  so  that  we 
are  restricted  to  this  space  of  time  in  speaking  of  the  ful- 
filment of  the  prophecy.     We  learn  from  the  book  of  Acts, 
that  many  thousands  were  converted  soon  after  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  and  that  devout  Jews  out  of  every  nation  under 
heaven  were  witnesses   of  the  miraculous  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.     These  men,  all  of  whom  were  amazed,  and 
6<om.e  of  whom  were  converted,  by  what  they  saw,  could 
not  fail  to  carry  the  report  home,  and  thus  prepared  dis- 
tant nations  for  receiving  those  who  were  better  qualified, 
and  more  expressly  commissioned,  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
After  the  death  of  Stephen,  there  arose  a  great  persecu- 
tion against  the  church  at  Jerusalem,  which  by  this  time 
had  multiplied  exceedingly  ;    and  they  "  were  scattered 
abroad  through  the  regions  of  Judea  and   Samaria ;  and 
they  travelled  as  far  as  Phoenice,  and  Cyprus,  and  Anti- 
och  ;  and  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them,  and  a  great 
number  believed."*     The  book  of  Acts  is  chiefly  an  ac- 
count of  the  labours  of  the  Apostle  Paul ;  and  we  see  this 
one  apostle,  to  adopt  the  words  of  a  fellow-labourer  of  his, 
a  preacher  both  in  the  East,  and  to  the  utmost  boundaries 
of  the  West,  planting  churches  in  Asia  and  in  Greece,  and 
travelling  from  Jerusalem  to  Illyricum,  a  tract  which  has 
been  computed  to  be  not  less  than  2000  miles.     If  such 
were  the  labours  of  one,  what  must  have  been  accomplisli- 
led  by  the  journeyings  of  all  the  twelve,  who,  taking  difier- 

*  Acts  yiii.  1.  ;  xj.  19,  20, 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  163 

ent  districts,  went  forth  to  fulfil  the  last  command  of  their 
master,  by  being  his  witnesses  to  the  uttermost  ends  of 
the  earth  ?  The  Apostle  Paul  says,  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  "  that  their  faith  was  spoken  of  throughout  all 
the  world  ;"  and  to  the  Colossians,  "  that  the  word  which 
they  had  heard  was  by  that  time  preached  to  every  crea- 
ture." We  know  certainly  that  Paul  preached  the  Gospel 
in  Kome  :  and  such  was  the  eifect  of  his  preaching,  that, 
seven  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Tacitus 
says  there  was  an  inmiense  number  of  Christians  in  that 
city.*  From  the  capital  of  the  world  the  knowledge  of 
Christianity  was  spread,  like  all  the  improvements  in  art 
and  science,  over  the  world ;  that  is,  according  to  the  com- 
mon sense  of  the  phrase,  throughout  the  Roman  empire. 
When  the  whole  known  world  was  governed  by  one  prince, 
the  communication  was  easy.  In  every  part  of  the  empire 
garrisons  were  stationed — roads  were  opened — messengers 
were  often  passing — and  no  country  then  discovered  was 
too  distant  to  hear  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  ge- 
nerally agreed,  that  within  the  forty  years  which  I  men- 
tioned, Scythia  on  the  north,  India  on  the  east,  Gaul  and 
Egypt  on  the  west,  and  ^^ithiopia  on  the  south,  had  re- 
ceived the  doctrine  of  Christ :  and  we  know  that  the  island 
of  Britain,  which  was  then  regarded  as  the  extremity  of 
the  earth,  the  most  remote  and  savage  province,  was  fre- 
quently visited  during  that  time  by  Roman  emperors  and 
their  generals.  It  is  even  said  that  the  Gospel  was  preach- 
ed publicly  in  London  ten  years  before  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  As  far,  then,  as  our  information  goes,  whether 
we  collect  it  from  the  book  of  Acts,  from  the  occasional 
mention  made  by  heathen  historians  of  a  subject  upon 
which  they  bestowed  little  attention,  or  from  the  concur- 
ring testimony  of  the  oldest  Christian  historians,  the  word 
of  Christ  was  literally  fulfilled  ;  and  you  have,  in  the  short 
space  of  time  to  which  he  limits  the  fulfilment  of  this  word, 
a  striking  proof  of  his  prophetic  spirit. 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  attend  to  the  fulfilment  of  this 
prophecy.  The  place  which  it  holds,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  expressed,  suggest  to  us  something  farther. 
The  Gospel,  at  whatsoever  time  it  be  published,  is  a  witness 

•  Tacit.  Ann,  lib.  xy,  44. 


164 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 


to  those  who  hear  it,  of  the  being,  the  providence,  and  the 
moral  government  of  God.  But,  as  it  is  said,  "  it  shall  be 
preached  to  all  the  world,  for  a  witness  to  all  nations,  and 
then  shall  the  end  come,"  we  are  led  to  consider  that  pav- 
ticular  kind  of  witness  which  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel, 
before  the  end  of  the  Jewish  state,  afforded  to  all  nations ; 
and  it  is  here,  I  said,  that  there  opens  to  us  a  most  instruc- 
tive and  enlarged  view  of  the  economy  of  the  divine  dis- 
pensations. 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  early  and  universal  preaching, 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus  would  have  appear- 
ed to  the  world  an  event  of  the  same  order  Mith  the  de- 
struction of  any  other  city.  They  might  have  talked  of 
the  obstinacy  of  the  besieged — of  the  fury  of  the  con- 
querors— of  the  unexampled  distress  which  was  endured  ; 
but  it  would  not  have  appeared  to  them  that  there  was  in 
all  this  any  thing  divine,  any  other  warning  than  is  sug- 
gested by  the  ordinary  fortune  of  war.  But  when  the 
Gospel  was  first  published,  it  was  a  witness  to  all  nations, 
that  in  the  end  of  the  Jewish  state  there  was  a  fulfilment 
of  the -prophecy — a  punishment  of  infidelity — and  the  ter- 
mination of  the  law  of  Moses. 

1.  It  was  a  witness  of  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
Wherever  the  first  preachers  of  Christianity  went,  they 
carried  the  Gospels  along  with  them,  as  the  authentic  his- 
tory of  Him  whom  they  preached.  We  have  reason  to 
think,  that  in  many  parts  of  the  world  the  three  Gospels 
of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  were  translated  into  the 
language  of  the  country,  or  into  the  Latin,  which  was  ge- 
nerally understood,  before  Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  Tlie 
early  Christians,  then,  in  the  most  distant  parts  of  the 
world,  had  in  their  hands  the  prophecy  before  the  event. 
The  Roman  armies,  and  the  messengers  of  the  empire, 
would  soon  transmit  a  general  account  of  the  siege.  The 
history  of  Joseplms,  written  and  published  by  the  order  of 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  would  transmit  the  particulars  to 
some  at  least  of  the  most  illustrious  commanders  in  dis- 
tant provinces  ;  and  thus,  while  all  who  named  the  name 
of  Christ  would  learn  the  fact,  that  Jerusalem  was  destroy- 
ed, they  who  were  inquisitive  might  learn  also  the  circum- 
stances of  the  fact,  and  by  comparing  the  narration  which 
they  received,  with  the  prophecy  of  which  they  had  been 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  165 

formerly  in  possession,  would  know  assuredly  that  he  who 
had  uttered  that  prophecy  was  more  than  man.  There  are 
still  great  events  to  happen  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
church,  which  we  trust  will  bring  to  those  who  shall  be 
permitted  to  see  them,  a  full  conviction  of  the  divine  cha- 
racter of  Jesus.  But  it  was  wisely  ordered,  that  the  ear- 
liest Christians  should  receive  this  prophecy  long  before 
it  came  to  pass,  that  the  faith  of  those  who  had  not  seen 
the  Lord's  Christ,  might,  at  a  time  when  education,  autho- 
rity, and  example,  were  not  on  the  side  of  that  faith,  be 
confirmed  bj^  the  event ;  and  that  all  the  singular  circum- 
stances of  this  siege  might  afford  to  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  in  the  beginnings  of  the  Gospel,  a  demonstration 
that  Jesus  spake  the  truth. 

2.  A  witness  of  the  punishment  of  infidelity.  The  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  was  foretold,  not  merely  to  give  an 
example  of  the  divine  knowledge  of  him  who  uttered  the 
prophecy,  but  because  the  Jews  deserved  that  destruction. 
The  crime  which  brought  it  ujion  them  is  intimated  in 
many  of  our  Lords  parables,  and  is  declared  clearly  in 
other  passages,  so  that  those  who  were  in  possession  of 
the  pi'ophecy  could  not  mistake  the  cause.  All  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  to  whom  the  Gospel  was  preached,  kne^^■ 
that  the  Jews  had  killed  the  Lord  Jesus  with  this  horrid 
imprecation,  "  His  blood  be  upon  us,  and  upon  our  chil- 
dren ;"  that  they  had  rejected  all  the  evidences  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity  which  were  exhibited  in  their  own  land, 
and  not  content  with  despising  the  GosjDel,  had  stirred  up 
the  minds  of  the  heathen  against  the  disciples  of  Jesus, 
and  appeared,  so  long  as  their  city  existed,  the  most  bitter 
enemies  of  the  Christian  name.  Tlie  nations  of  the  earth 
saw  this  obstinacy  and  barbaritj-  recompensed  in  the  very 
manner  which  the  Author  of  the  Gos])el  foretold,  and  hav- 
ing his  predictions  in  their  hands,  they  beheld  his  enemies 
taken  in  the  snare  which  he  had  announced.  The  mighty 
works  which  he  did  upon  earth  were  miracles  of  mercj-, 
by  Avhich  he  meant  to  win  the  hearts  of  mankind.  But  the 
execution  of  his  threatenings  against  a  nation  of  enemies 
was  a  miracle  of  judgment.  And  the  unparalleled  calami- 
ties, which  the  Jews,  according  to  his  words,  endured,  were 
a  warning  from  heaven  to  all  that  heard  the  Gospel,  not  to 
reject  the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves. 


166 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 


3.  A  witness  that,  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  there 
was  the  termination  of  the  law  of  Moses.  While  many  Jews 
persecuted  the  Christians,  there  were  others  who  attempt- 
ed, by  reasoning,  to  impose  upon  them  an  observance  of 
the  law  of  Moses.  They  said  that  it  was  impious  to  for- 
sake an  institution  confessedly  of  divine  original,  and  that 
no  subsequent  revelation  could  diminish  the  sanctity  of  a 
temple  built  by  God,  or  abolish  the  offerings  which  he 
had  required  to  be  presented  there.  You  find  this  reason- 
ing most  ably  combated  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  But  the  argu- 
ments of  the  apostle  did  not  completely  counterbalance 
the  evil  done,  by  the  Judaizing  teachers,  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  Many  were  disturbed  by  the  sophistry  of  these 
men  in  the  exercise  of  their  Christian  liberty ;  and  many 
were  deterred  from  embracing  the  Gospel,  by  the  fear  of 
being  brought  under  the  yoke  of  the  Jewish  ceremonies. 
Some  signal  interposition  of  Providence  was  necessary  to 
disjoin  the  spiritual  universal  religion  of  Jesus  from  the 
carnal  local  ordinances  of  the  law  of  Moses,  and  to  afford 
entire  satisfaction  to  the  minds  of  those  who  wished  for 
that  disjunction.  The  destrviction  of  Jerusalem  was  that 
interposition  ;  and  the  general  publication  of  the  Gospel, 
before  that  event,  led  men  both  to  look  for  it  as  the  solu- 
tion of  their  doubts,  and  to  rest  in  it  after  it  happened,  as 
the  declaration  from  heaven  that  the  ceremonial  law  was 
finished.  The  service  of  the  temple  could  not  continue 
after  one  stone  of  the  temple  was  not  left  upon  another ; 
the  tribes  could  no  longer  assemble  at  Jerusalem  after  the 
city  was  laid  in  ruins  ;  and  that  bondage,  under  which  the 
Jewish  nation  wished  to  bring  the  Christians,  ceased  after 
the  Jews  were  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

And  thus  we  are  enabled,  by  the  place  which  this  pro- 
phecy holds,  to  mark  a  beautiful  consistency,  and  a  mu- 
tual dependency  in  the  revelations  with  which  God  hath 
favoured  the  world, — the  manifold  wisdom  of  God  conspi- 
cuous in  the  whole  economy  of  religion.  The  Almighty 
committed  to  Abraham  and  his  descendants  the  hope  of 
the  Messiah,  and  the  law  was  a  schoolmaster  to  bring 
men  to  Christ.  When  he  who  was  the  end  of  the  law  ap- 
peared, he  appealed  to  Moses  and  the  prophets  as  testify- 
ing of  him,  and  he  claimed  the  character  of  that  prophet 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  167 

whom  they  had  announced.  But  the  purpose  of  the  law 
being  fulfilled  bj'^  his  appedi'ance,  it  was  no  longer  neces- 
sary that  the  preparatory  dispensation  with  its  appurte- 
nances should  continue.  He  gave  notice,  therefore,  of  the 
conclusion  of  the  age  of  the  law,  and  as  that  age  began  and 
was  conducted  with  visible  symbols  of  divine  power,  'so 
with  like  symbols  it  Mas  finished.  The  declaration  of  these 
symbols,  published  to  the  world  in  the  Gospels,  prevented 
them  from  looking  upon  the  event  with  the  astonishment 
of  ignorance,  and  taught  them  to  connect  this  awful  end- 
ing of  the  one  age  with  the  character  of  that  age  which 
then  commenced.  Having  seen  a  period  elapse  sufficient 
for  the  faith  of  Christ  to  gain  proselytes  in  many  countries, 
thej^  saw  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  by  an  interposition 
which  was  the  literal  fulfilment  of  the  words  of  Christ 
taken  down,  and  were  thus  assured  that  the  hour  was  in- 
deed come  at  which  ancient  prophets  had  more  obscurely 
hinted,  and  which  Jesus  had  declared  in  express  words  as 
not  very  distant,  when  men  were  not  to  worship  the  Fa- 
ther at  Jerusalem,  but  Avhen  the  true  worshippei's,  every 
one  from  his  place,  should  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  The  effect  of  the  event,  thus  interpreted  by  the 
prophecy,  was  powerful  and  instantaneous.  It  furnished 
the  earliest  Christian  fathers  with  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment against  the  Judaizing  teachers  :  it  solved  the  doubts 
of  those  who  were  stumbled  by  their  reasonings  :  it  re- 
moved one  great  objection  which  the  Gentiles  had  to  the 
Gospel :  and  when  the  wall  of  partition  was  thus  removed, 
numbers  were  "  turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living 
God." 

7.  I  mentioned  as  the  next  subject  of  the  predictions  of 
Jesus,  the  condition  of  the  Jewish  nation  subsequent  to  the 
destruction  of  their  cit3^ 

You  may  mark  first  the  immediate  consequences  of  the 
siege.  "  Immediatelj^  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days, 
shall  the  sun  he  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her 
light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers 
of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken  ;  and  then  shall  appear  the 
sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven."  It  seems  to  be  plain 
that  these  expressions  point  to  the  consequences  of  the 
siege,  for  they  are  thus  introduced,  "  Immediately  after 
the  tribulation  of  those  days,"  i.  e.  the  distress  endured 


168  PEEDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

during  tlie  siege  ;  and  as  if  on  purpose  to  show  us  that  the 
event  pointed  at  was  not  very  distant,  it  is  said  a  few 
verses  after,  "  This  generation  shall  not  pass  till  all  these 
things  be  fulfilled."  To  perceive  the  propriety  of  using 
such  expressions  in  this  place,  you  will  recollect  that  sym- 
bolical language  of  which  we  spoke  formerly, — dictated 
by  necessity  in  early  times,  when  the  conceptions  and  the 
Avoi'ds  of  men  were  few, — retained  in  after  times  partly 
from  habit,  and  partly  to  render  speech  more  significant, 
— universally  used  in  eastern  countries, — and  abounding 
in  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  who,  speaking  under  the 
influence  of  inspiration,  full  of  the  events  which  they  fore- 
told, and  elevated  above  the  ordinary  tone  of  their  minds, 
employ  a  richness  and  pomp  of  imagery  which  exalts  our 
conceptions  of  the  importance  of  what  they  say,  but  at  the 
same  time  increases  the  obscurity  natural  to  prophecies, 
and  made  the  people  whom  they  addressed  often  call  their 
discourses  dark  sayings.  This  eastern  imagery,  which 
pervades  the  prophetical  style,  is  especially  remarkable 
when  the  rise  or  fall  of  kingdoms  is  foretold.  The  images 
are  then  borrowed  from  the  most  splendid  objects ;  and  as 
in  the  ancient  mode  of  writing  by  hieroglyphics,  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  stars,  being  bodies  raised  above  the  earth, 
were  used  to  represent  kingdoms  and  princes,  so  in  the 
prophecies  of  their  calamities,  or  prosperity,  changes  upon 
the  heavenly  bodies,  bright  light,  and  thick  darkness  came 
to  be  a  common  phraseology.  Of  the  punishment  which 
God  was  to  infiict  on  Judea,  he  says  by  Jeremiah,  "  I  will 
stretch  out  my  hand  against  thee  and  destroy  thee ;  she 
hath  given  up  the  ghost ;  her  sun  is  gone  down,  while  it  is 
yet  day."*  Of  Egypt,  by  Ezekiel,  "  All  the  bright  lights 
of  heaven  will  I  make  dark  over  thee,  and  make  darkness 
over  thy  land,  saith  the  Lord  God."-]-  So  by  Joel,  "  The 
earth  shall  quake  before  them,  the  heavens  shall  tremble  ; 
the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  dark,  and  the  stars  shall  with- 
draw their  shining ;  and  the  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice  be- 
fore his  army.":}:  And  when  God  promises  deliverance 
and  victory  to  his  people,  it  is  in  these  beautiful  words, 
"  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon 

*  Jer.  XV.  6,  9.  t  Ezek.  xxxii.  8. 

+  Joelii.  10,  11. 


3PREDICTI0XS  DELIVKRED  BY  JESUS.  169 

witlidraw  itself.  But  the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the 
light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be  seven- 
fohl.  "*  It  was  most  natural  for  the  Messiah  of  tiie  Jews 
to  introduce  this  uniform  language  of  former  prophets  in 
foretelling  the  dissolution  of  their  state  ;  and  all  that  he 
says  was  fulfilled,  according  to  the  appropi'iated  use  of 
that  language,  immediately  after  the  siege.  For  the  eitj^ 
was  desolated ;  the  temple  was  burnt ;  that  ecclesiastical 
constitution  Avhich  the  Romans  had  tolerated  after  Judea 
became  a  ^^rovince  of  the  empire  was  dissolved  ;  the  San- 
hedrim no  longer  assembled ;  the  office  of  the  High  Priest 
could  no  more  be  exercised  according  to  the  command- 
ment of  God ;  everj^  privilege  which  had  distinguished  the 
people  of  the  Jews  ceased  ;  the  sceptre,  in  api^earance  as 
well  as  in  reality,  departed  from  Judah,  and  the  very 
forms  of  the  dispensation  given  by  Moses  came  to  an  end. 

As  changes  upon  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  are  i^ro- 
duced  by  the  all-ruling  providence  of  God,  so  the  ancieiit 
prophets  often  represent  him  in  their  figurative  language 
as  coming  in  the  clouds  of  h(>aven  to  execute  vengeance 
upon  a  guilty  nation ;  and  Daniel  applies  this  language 
to  the  exertion  of  the  power  of  the  Son  of  Man,  when  he 
was  to  take  away  the  dominion  of  the  four  beasts  whom 
Daniel  had  seen  in  his  vision,  and  to  give  the  kingdom  to 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High.f  You  find  our  Lord  referring 
to  this  expression,  which  was  familiar  to  every  Jew.  Im- 
mediately after  the  distress  of  the  siege  you  shall  see  the 
sign  of  the  Son  of  man  in  heaven.  The  sign  which  you 
have  been  taught  to  look  for  is  not  a  comet,  or  meteor,  a 
wonderful  appearance  in  the  air  to  astonish  the  ignorant : 
it  is  the  Son  of  man  employing  the  Roman  armies  as  his 
servants,  to  execute  vengeance  upon  those  who  crucified 
him,  and  demonstrating  to  the  world,  by  the  complete 
dissolution  of  the  Jewish  state,  that  all  power  is  committed 
to  him. 

The  first  part,  then,  of  our  Lord's  prophecy  concerning 
the  condition  of  the  .Jewish  people  subsequent  to  the 
siege,  although  expressed  in  sublime  and  figurative  lan- 
guage, may  be  understood,  by  the  analogy  of  the  prophe- 
tical style,  to  mean,  that  the  political  and  ecclesiastical 

•  Isaiah  Ix.  20;  xxx.  26.  f  Dar.  vii.  13,  14,27. 

VOL.  I.  I 


170  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

constitution  of  Judea  was  to  be  annihilated  immediately 
after  that  event. 

But  you  may  observe  in  Luke  another  prophecy  con- 
cerning their  condition,  reaching  to  a  remote  period,  and 
marking  events,  in  their  natui'e,  most  contingent.  "  Je- 
rusalem shall  be  trodden  dovi^n  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."*  Not  only  shall  the 
city  be  taken,  and  the  constitution  be  dissolved,  and  many 
Jews  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  SAvord,  and  many  be  led  cap- 
tive into  all  nations :  but  Jerusalem  shall  belong  to  the 
Gentiles,  and  be  used  by  them  in  a  contemptuous  manner 
till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled.  As  this  predic- 
tion, when  taken  in  connexion  with  other  passages  of 
Scripture,  means  a  great  deal  more  than  is  obvious  at  first 
sight,  and  as  the  present  state  of  the  Jews  is  one  of  the 
strongest  visible  arguments  for  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
I  shall  lay  before  you  the  history  of  Jerusalem  since  it  was 
taken,  the  condition  of  the  Jewish  people  during  the  deso- 
lation of  their  city,  and  that  prospect  of  a  better  time 
which  is  intimated  in  the  concise  expression  of  our  Lord. 

The  history  of  Jerusalem,  from  the  time  of  its  being  de- 
stroyed by  Titvis  till  this  day,  is  a  literal  fulfilment  of  the 
expression,  "  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gen- 
tiles." The  emperor  Adrian  conceived  the  design  of  re- 
building Jerusalem  about  forty-seven  years  after  its  de- 
struction. He  planted  a  Roman  colony  there,  and  in 
place  of  the  temple  of  the  God  of  the  Jews  he  erected  a 
temple  to  Jupiter.  The  Jews,  who  inhabited  the  other 
parts  of  Judea,  inflamed  by  this  insulting  act  of  sacrilege, 
engaged  in  open  rebellion  against  the  Romans,  and,  as- 
sembling in  vast  multitudes,  got  possession  of  their  city, 
and  kept  it  for  a  short  time.  But  Adrian  soon  expelled 
them,  demolished  their  towns  and  castles,  desolated  the 
land  of  Judea,  and  scattered  those  who  survived  over  the 
face  of  the  earth.  He  re-established  the  Roman  colony 
in  Jerusalem,  gave  it  a  new  name,  and  forbade  any  Jew 
to  enter  it.  Three  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  our 
Saviour,  Constantine,  the  first  Roman  emperor  who  em- 
braced Christianity,  built  many  splendid  Christian  churches 
m  this  Roman  colony,  and  dispersed  the  Jews  Avho  at- 

*  Luke  xxi.  24- 


TREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  I7I 

tempted  to  disturb  the  Christians  in  their  worship.  With- 
in tliirty  years  after  the  death  of  Constantine,  the  Empe- 
ror Julian,  who  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Apostate, 
because,  although  he  had  been  bred  a  Christian,  he  be- 
came a  heathen,  out  of  hatred  to  the  Christians,  and  with 
a  view  to  defeat  the  prophecy,  invited  the  body  of  the 
Jewish  people  scattered  through  the  empire,  to  return  to 
their  city  ;  and  professing  to  lament  the  oppression  which 
they  had  endured,  gave  orders  for  I'ebuilding  their  temple. 
His  lieutenants  did  begin.  But,  says  the  Roman  histo- 
rian Ammianus  Marcellinus,  whose  respectable  authority 
there  is  no  reason  in  this  instance  to  question,  balls  of  fii'c 
bursting  forth  near  the  foundation  made  it  impossible  for 
the  workmen  to  approach  the  place,  and  the  enterprise 
was  laid  aside.*  Julian  did  not  reign  above  two  years ; 
and  as  all  the  emperors  who  succeeded  him  were  Chris- 
tians, no  attempt  was  ever  made  to  rebuild  the  temple, 
and  the  Jews  were  jDrohibited  from  living  in  the  city.  It 
was  only  by  stealth,  or  hj  liribing  the  guards,  that  they 
obtained  a  sight  of  the  ruins  of  their  temple.  In  the  year 
637,  Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  successors  of  the  great 
impostor  Mahomet.  A  mosque  was  built  upon  the  very^ 
spot  where  the  temple  of  Solomon  had  stood ;  and  this 
mosque  was  afterwards  so  much  enlarged  and  beautified, 
that  it  became  the  resort  of  the  Mahometans  in  the  ad- 
joining countries,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  temple  had 
been  of  the  Jews.  Since  that  time  it  has  passed,  in  the 
succession  of  conquests  made  by  different  nations  and 
tribes,  through  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  the  Egyptians,  and 
the  Mamelukes.  It  was  for  some  time  in  possession  of 
Christians,  Avho,  having  marched  from  Europe  at  the  era 
of  the  Crusades,  to  deliver  their  brethren  in  the  holy  land 
from  oppression,  and  to  rescue  the  sepulchre  of  our  Lord 
out  of  the  hands  of  Mahometans,  took  Jerusalem,  and  es- 
tablished a  kingdom  w  hich  lasted  about  a  century.  The 
Christian  forces  were  at  length  expelled  ;  the  Mamelukes, 
and  after  them  the  Ottoman  Turks,  regained  the  city,  and 
till  tliis  day  the  Mahometan  worship  is  established  there.. 
Christians,  who  are  drawn  thither  by  reverence  for  the 
place  where  our  Lord  laj',  are  admitted  to  reside  ;  and 
their  worship  is  tolerated  upon  their  paying  a  large  tribute. 

*  Amm.  Marcel.  lib.  xxiii. 


172  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

But  hardly  any  Jews  are  to  be  seen  in  the  city.  Ther 
consider  it  as  so  much  defiled  by  the  Mahometans  and 
Christians,  that  they  clioose  rather  to  worship  God  in  any 
other  place.  They  are  persecuted  by  the  reigning  power. 
And  the  poverty  of  the  city  does  not  afford  them  much 
temptation  in  the  way  of  gain  to  counterbalance  the  in- 
con  veniencies  to  which  they  would  be  obliged  to  submit 
if  they  attempted  to  live  there.  Jerusalem  then,  is  still 
trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles.  Dui'ing  the  seventeen 
hundi'ed  years  that  have  elapsed  since  it  was  destroyed  by 
Titus,  the  Jews  have  never  been  quietly  settled  there.  It 
has,  with  hardlj^  any  interruption,  belonged  to  Gentile  na- 
tions ;  and  it  has  received  every  thing  which  the  Jews  ac- 
count a  pollution. 

You  will  attend  next  to  the  condition  of  the  Jewish 
people  during  this  desolation  of  their  city.     Amongst  the 
many  striking  circumstances  in  the  history  of  the  ancient 
Jews,  every  intelligent  observer  will  reciion  the  frequent 
dispersions  of  that  unhappy  people.     Blost  other  nations, 
when  subdued  by  a  warlike  or  powerful  neighbour,  have 
continued  to  inhabit  some  portion  of  their  ancient  terri- 
tory.    They  haA  e  either  adopted  tlie  laws  and  manners  of 
their  conquerors,  and  in  process  of  time  have  been  so  com- 
pletely incorporated  with  them,  as  not  to  form  a  distinct 
body;  or  if  the  cruel  policy  of  the  conquerors  marked  out 
for  them  a  humbler  station,  thej'  have  descended  from  their 
former  rank  of  freemen,  without  changing  their  climate,  and 
have  remained  as  servants  in  the  land  of  wliicli  thej^  were 
once  the  masters.     But  the   conqueiors   of  Judea  in  all 
ages,  not  content  with  the  subjection   of  the  inhabitants, 
transplanted  them  into  other  countiues,  and  in  distant  lands 
marked  out  the  cities  which  they  were  to  possess,  and  the 
fields  which  they  were  to  cultivate.  Thus  Esai'haddon,  king 
of  Assyria,  took  away  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel,  and  planted 
them  beyond  the  river  Euphrates,  in  the  cities  of  the  Medes. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  130  years  after,  carried  the  two  tribes  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin  captive  to  Babylon  ;  and  the  Romans 
also  at  a  later  period  led  the  Jews  captive  into  all  nations. 
Whatever  were  (be  motives  which  led  the  enemies  of  the 
Jews  to  adopt  tiiio  singular  system  of  policy,  in  following  it 
out,  they  only  fulfilled  the  appointment  of  heaven  :  and  the 
kings  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  and  the  emperors  of  Rome, 
although  they  meant  it  not  so  in  their  hearts,  yet  by  the 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  173 

peculiar  sufferings  which  they  brought  upon  the  captive 
nation,  were  the  instruments  of  accomplishing  trie  prophe- 
cies contained  in  its  sacred  books.  Moses,  amongst  other 
curses  which  were  to  overtake  the  children  of  Israel  in 
case  of  disobedience,  mentions  this  :  "  I  will  make  thy  ci- 
ties waste,  and  I  will  bring  the  land  into  desohition ;  and 
tl)ine  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished  at 
it.  The  Lord  shall  bring  against  thee  a  nation  from  far, 
and  he  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy  gates,  until  thy  high 
and  fenced  walls  come  down.  And  ye  shall  be  plucked 
off  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it;  and  the  Lord 
shall  scatter  thee  among  all  people,  from  the  one  end  of 
the  earth  even  unto  the  other."*  The  frequent  captivities 
and  dispersions  of  the  Jews  corresponded  exactly  to  the 
words  of  the  curse  ;  and  this  singular  punishment  has  been 
repeated  as  oflen  as  the  sins  of  the  nation  called  for  the 
iud<!;ments  of  heaven. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that,  by  these  frequent 
ilispersions,  the  whole  race  of  the  Jews  would  be  con- 
founded amongst  other  nations.  But  it  is  most  remark- 
able, that  although  distinguished  from  all  other  people  by 
being  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  they  remain  dis- 
tinguished also  by  their  religion  and  customs ;  and  al- 
though t.'verywhere  found,  they  are  cveiywhere  separated 
from  those  around  them.  1  speak  not  of  the  ten  tribes 
carried  away  by  Esarhaddon,  vvho  were  so  far  estranged 
from  the  true  God  before  they  left  their  own  land,  that  they 
<asily  adopted  the  idolatry  of  the  nations  to  which  they 
were  led  captive,  and  so  ceased  to  be  a  people.f  But  I 
speak  of  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  composing 
what  was  properly  called  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  which  ad- 
liered  to  the  family  of  David  after  Israel  had  rebelled 
against  them,  to  which  the  j)romise  of  the  Messiah  had 
been  restricted  by  the  patriarch  Jacob,  and  in  which  th(; 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  concerning  the  fortunes  of  the 
Jewish  nation  is  to  be  looked  for.  Now  we  know  that 
when  Jiulah  Avas  carried  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to 
Babylon,  the  captives  did  not  woi-ship  the  gods  of  the  con- 
ijjuerors.     Daniel  and  other  great  men  were  raised  up  by 

•  Levit.  xxvi.  31,  32;  Deut.  xxviii.  passim. 
f  Bucliaiian's  Christian  Researches. 


174?  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

God  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  piety,  and  the  fortitude  of 
the  servaats  of  heaven.     And  by  a  concurrence  of  cir- 
cumstances which  the  providence  of  God  combined  to  ful- 
fil his  pleasure,  those  who  were  for  the  God  of  Israel  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  and  to  rebuild 
the  temple.     The  edict  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia  contained 
these  words  :*  "  The  Lord  of  heaven  hath  charged  me  to 
build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem.     Who  is  there  among 
you  of  all  his  people  ?     His  God  be  with  him,  and  let  him 
go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah,  and  build  the  house 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel."    It  Avas  under  the  character  of 
the  servants  of  God,  by  which  character  they  were  distin- 
guished from  their  idolatrous  neighbours,  that  the  Jews 
returned  ;  and  the  calamities  which  they  liad  suffered  du- 
ring their  captivity,  seem  to  have  cured  that  proneness 
to  idolatry,  which  the  more  ancient  prophets  so  often  re- 
prove.    All  that  returned  are  spoken  of  in  the  books  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah  as  zealous  for  the  worship  of  the  true 
God.     Their  descendants,  who  settled  and  multiplied  in 
the  Holy  Land,  never  showed  any  inclination  to  worship 
idols.     They  endured  a  severe  persecution  under  Antio- 
chus,  because  they  Avould  not  submit  to  the  worship  which 
he  prescribed ;  and  one  of  the  causes  M'hich  incensed  the 
Romans  against  them  was  their  abhorrence  of  the  gods  of 
the  empire.     Since  their  dispersion  by  Titus  and  by  Ad- 
rian, they  have  never. joined  in  Heathen,   Christian,  or 
Mahometan  worship.     Their  rites,  burdensome   as  they 
are,  and  contemptible  as  they  apjiear  in  the  eyes  of  stran- 
gers, have  been  religiously  observed  by  the  whole  nation. 
A  sullen,  uncomplying,  covetous  spirit,  has  conspired  with 
the  singularity  of  their  rites  to  render  them  odious  and  ri- 
diculous.   The  character  of  a  Jew  is  marked  in  every  cor- 
ner of  the  earth  ;  and  one  can  find  no  words  which  so  li- 
terally express  the  condition  of  this  people,  as  the  words 
uttered  more  than  3000  years  ago  by  their  own  lawgiver. 
"  These  curses  shall  come  upon  thee  for  a  sign  and  for  a 
wonder,  and  upon  thy  seed  for  ever ;  and  thou  shalt  become 
an  astonishment,  a  proverb,  and  a  by-AA'ord  among  all  the 
nations  whither  the  Lord  shall  lead  thee."-|-     In  this  won- 
derful manner  have  the  Jews,  whose  native  land  is  still 

*  Ezra  i.  2,  3.  -j-  Dent,  xxviii.  ol,  4Q. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  175 

trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  been  preserved  in  all  parts 
of  the  earth  a  distinct  people. 

But  the  prediction  brings  into  our  view  the  prospect  of 
a  better  time :  "  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles,  till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled;"  which, 
in  plain  grammatical  construction,  implies,  that  when  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled,  Jerusalem  shall  no  longer 
be  trodden  down.  Our  Lord  is  referring  to  the  latter  part 
of  Daniel's  prophecy  of  the  seventy  weeks:  "  The  people 
of  the  prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the 
sanctuary,  and  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood ;  and 
— he  shall  make  it  desolate,  even  until  the  consummation, 
and  that  determined  shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolate  ;" 
or,  as  I  am  assured  by  the  best  authority,  it  may  be  ren- 
dered, "  upon  the  desolator."*  Now,  this  consummation, 
what  the  Septuagint  calls  oj  a-vvTif.noi  rou  xxi^ov,  is  to  be 
learned  from  other  parts  of  the  book  of  Daniel,  in  which 
there  is  a  most  circumstantial  prophecy  of  the  fate  of  the 
great  empires  of  the  world,  and,  amongst  the  rest,  of  the 
empire  of  the  Romans,  who  were  the  desolators  of  Judca.-j- 
A  great  part  of  that  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled.  Learn- 
ed  men  have  traced  so  striking  a  coincidence  between  the 
words  of  Daniel  and  the  history  of  the  world,  as  is  suffi- 
cient to  impress  every  candid  mind  with  the  divine  inspi- 
ration of  this  prophet,  highly  favoured  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
beget  a  full  conviction,  that  every  Avord  which  he  has  spo- 
ken will  in  due  time  be  accomplished.  When  that  will  be, 
or  how  it  will  be,  we  know  not.  But  as  the  events  that 
have  already  happened  have  reflected  the  clearest  light  upon 
former  parts  of  the  prophecy,  we  may  rest  assured  that 
the  end,  when  it  arrives,  will  explain  those  parts  which  are 
tJtill  dark,  and  that  there  are  methods  in  reserve,  by  which 
the  times  of  the  Gentiles,  that  which  is  determined  upon 
the  desolator,  all  the  purposes  of  God's  providence  re- 
specting the  kingdoms  which  have  arisen  out  of  the  Ro- 
man empire,  shall  be  fulfilled.  It  is  perfectly  agreeable  to 
our  Lord's  words,  to  consider  the  return  of  the  Jews  to 
their  own  land  as  connected  with  this  end,  the  fulfilment 
of  the  times  of  the  Gentiles :  and  when  we  take  into  our 
view  other  parts  of  Scripture,  hardly  any  doubt  is  left  iu 

*  Pun.  ix.  26,  27.  +  Dan.  ii.  and  vii. 


176  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

our  minds  that  this  was  his  meaning.     Moses,  \yhen  he 
threatens  the  Jevrs  with  dispersion,  gives  notice,  that  if,  in 
their  captivitj',  tliey  returned  to  the  Lord,  he  would  ga- 
ther them   from  the  nations  to  which  he  had  scattered 
them  :  "  And  yet  for  all  that,  when  they  be  in  the  land  of 
their  enemies,  I  will  not  cast  them  away,  neither  will  I  ab- 
hor them  to  destroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break  my  cove- 
nant with  them ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  their  God."*     You 
find  this  hope  expressed  by  David,  by  Solomon,  by  Isaiah, 
and  Jeremiah.     Accordingly  the  two  tribes  who  remem- 
bered the  God  of  their  fathers,  in  fidfilment  of  this  pro- 
mise, as  Nehemiah  intei-prets  their  deliverance,  were  ga- 
thered from  their  captivity.     After  their  return,  the  same 
threatenings  of  dispersion  were  denounced  against  them  if 
they  disobeyed,  and  the  same  promises  of  being  brought 
back  if  they  repented.     Zechariah,  who  prophesied  after 
the  return,  says,  ''  I  will  gather  all  nations  against  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  city  shall  be  taken."'     But  he  says  also,  the 
day  is  coming  when  "  I  will  seek  to  destroy  all  the  nations 
that  come  against  Jerusalem.     And  I  will  pour  upon  the 
house  of  David,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  supplication.'f  And  this  is  agree- 
able to  the  words  of  more  ancient  prophets  :  for  God  says 
by  Jeremiah,  "  Though  I  make  a  full  end  of  all  the  na- 
tions v/hither  I  have  scattered  thee,  yet  will  I  not  make  a 
full  end  of  thee;":};  and  by  Amos,  ='  I  will  plant  them  upon 
their  land,  and  they  shall  no  more  be  pulled  out  of  the 
land  which  I  have  given  them."§     These  prophecies,  and 
many  others  of  the  same  import,  open  to  our  view  a  time 
wlicn  the  Jews  are  to  be  brought  back  from  captivity. 
Their  return  from  Babvlon,  which  was  a  fulfilment  of  their 
own  prophecies,  is  a  pledge  that  the  greater  promise  oi  an 
everlastiiig  settlement  in  their  own  land  shall  be  fulfilled 
also.     Their  being  to  this  day  a  distinct  people,  separate 
from  all  others,  renders  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  pos- 
sible, and  seems  intended  as  a  standing  miracle   to  keep 
alive  in  the  world  the  faith  of  this  event.     Our  Lord,  at 
the  verj'  time  vvhen  he  foretells  the  destruction  of  the  holy 
city,  and  the  second  long  captivity  of  the  Jews,  intimates, 

»  Levit.  xxvi.  44.  t  ^ech.  xiv.  2;  xii.  9,  10. 

t  Jer.  xxx.  11.  S  Amos  Lx.  15. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS.  177 

by  his  mode  of  expression,  that  it  was  not  to  be  perpetual : 
and  his  apostle  Paul,  to  whom  Jesus,  after  his  ascf^nsion, 
revealed  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  delights  to  dvvell  upon 
this  thought — "  I  would  not,  brethren,"  he  says  to  the  Ro- 
mans, "  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this  mystery,  that 
blindness  in  part  has  hai)pened  to  Israel,  till  the  fulness  of 
the  Gentiles  be  come  in  ;  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved."* 
What  a  glorious  view  is  here  presented  of  the  universal 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  which  is  at  length  to  comprehend 
even  the  children  of  those  who  slew  him !     What  a  con- 
sistency and  grandeur  in  the  conduct  of  divine  Providence 
with   regard  to  the  Jews,   that  people  whom  God  form- 
ed for  himself  to  show  forth  his  praise  !     Raised  up  at  first 
as  a  light  in  a  dark  place — retaining  the  knowledge  and 
worship  of  the  true  God  amidst  the  idolatry  of  the  nations 
— keeping  in  their  oracles  the  hope  of  the  Saviour  of  man- 
kind— carrying  by  their   dispersions    these    oracles,  this 
knowledge  and  hope,  through  the  whole  earth,  and  thus 
rendering  the  Messiah  the  desire  of  all  nations — exhibiting 
in  their  singular  misfortunes  the  holiness  and  the  power  ot 
their  God — a  monument  to  the  woi'ld  in  their  present  state, 
that  Jesus  is  able  to  tike  vengeance  of  his  enemies — and 
yet  preserved,  even  in  the  midst  of  that  punishment  which 
they  endure  for  obstinacy  and  infidelity,  to  receive  Christ 
as  a  nation,  and  thus  to  be  the  future  instruments  of  the  con- 
version of  the  whole  world !     When  this  people,  by  the 
out-stretched  arm  of  the  Almighty,  shall  be  brought  back 
in  his  time  from  the  lands  where  they  now  sojourn,  to  that 
land  which,  in  the  beginning,  he  chose  for  them,  and  Je- 
rusalem, which  is  now  trodden  down  of  the  (xentiles,  shall 
be  delivered  to  the  Jews ;  when  every  prophecy  in  their 
books  shall  be  found  to  conspire  most  exactly  a;  ith  the 
words  spoken   by   Christ  and  his  apostles,  and  all  shall 
receive  a  striking  accomplishment  in  events  most  interest- 
ing to  the  whole  universe — what  eye  will  be  so  sealed  as 
to  exclude  this  light,  what  mind  so  hardened  as  not  to 
yield  to  a  conviction  which  the  infinite  knowledge  and 
poAver  of  God  will  then  appear  to  have  united  in  produc- 
ing !     Every  charge  of  partiality  in  the  Lord  of  nature, 
wliich   the  superficial  infidel   is  hasty  to   bring  forward, 

•  Rom.  xi.  2.5. 


178  PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JESUS. 

shall  then  be  swallowed  up  in  the  full  exposition  of  that 
great  scheme  which  is  now  carrying  forward  for  the  final 
salvation  of  all  the  children  of  God,  and  every  tongue  will 
join  in  that  expi'ession  of  exalted  devotion  with  which  the 
Apostle  Paul  shuts  up  this  subject — "  O  the  depth  of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God,  how  un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding 
out !  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  or  who 
hath  been  his  counsellor  ?"* 

8.  I  mentioned,  as  the  last  svibject  of  our  Lords  pro- 
phecies, the  final  discrimination  of  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  at  the  day  of  judgment.  This  great  event  is  fore- 
told under  similitudes,  in  plain  words,  without  hesitation, 
with  solemnity,  with  minuteness.  The  veil  is  in  some 
measure  removed,  and  we,  whose  views  are  generally  con- 
fined to  the  events  of  the  little  spot  which  we  inhabit,  are 
enabled  by  the  great  Prophet  to  look  forward  to  the  end 
of  the  world.  He  has,  indeed,  hidden  the  time  from  our 
eyes,  but  he  has  minutely  described  every  other  circum- 
stance. The  clearness  of  his  predictions  upon  such  a  sub- 
ject distinguishes  him  from  every  other  teacher  who  had 
appeared  before  his  time,  and  affords  a  presumption  of  his 
divine  character.  But  this  is  not  the  place  for  enlarging 
upon  these  predictions,  and  I  mention  them  at  present, 
only  to  state  the  connexion  between  them  and  the  pro- 
phecy which  we  have  been  considering.  The  darkening 
of  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars — the  Son  of  man  coming 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven — his  sending  forth  his  angels  with 
a  trumpet,  and  gathering  his  elect  from  the  four  winds  ; 
all  these  circumstances  bring  to  our  minds  a  day  more 
awful  and  important  than  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  or 
any  of  its  immediate  consequences.  And  although  it  is 
possible,  and  agreeable  to  the  analogy  of  Scripture  lan- 
guage, to  find  a  meaning  for  the  various  expressions  here 
used,  in  the  dissolution  of  the  Jewish  state,  in  the  general 
publication  of  the  gospel  after  that  event,  and  the  great 
accession  of  converts  which  it  contributed  to  bring  to 
Christianity — yet  we  know  that  these  are  the  very  expres- 
sions by  which  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  have  described 
that  day,  when  all  who   have  lived  upon  the  face  of  the 

-  Rom.  xi.  33,  34. 


PREDICTIONS  DELIVERED  BY  JKSUS.  179 

t>arth  shall  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  Se- 
veral commentators  liave  been  of  opinion  that  there  is 
here,  in  addition  to  the  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem, a  direct  prophecy  of  the  day  of  judgment.  But 
the  limitation  of  the  time  of  the  fulfilment  to  the  existence 
of  the  generation  then  alive,  is  an  unanswerable  objection 
to  this  opinion  ;  and,  therefore,  I  consider  the  latter  part 
of  this  prediction  as  a  specimen  given  by  our  Lord  of  a 
prophecy  with  a  double  sense.  We  found  that,  in  the 
Old  Testament,  the  language  of  the  prophet  is  often  so 
contrived  as  to  apply  at  once  to  two  events,  the  one  neai- 
and  local,  the  other  remote  and  universal.  Thus  David, 
in  describing  his  own  sufferings,  introduces  expressions 
which  are  a  literal  description  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Mes- 
siah, and  are  applied  as  such  by  the  Evangelists  ;  and  the 
woi'ds  in  which  he  paints  the  peaceful  reign  of  Solomon, 
received  a  literal  accomplishment  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  So  here  the  Messiah,  who  often,  in  other 
respects,  copies  the  manner,  and  refers  to  the  words  of 
ancient  prophets,  while  he  is  immediately  foretelling  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  looks  forward  to  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, and  expresses  himself  in  a  language  which,  although, 
by  the  established  practice  of  the  prophets,  it  is  applicable 
in  a  figurative  sense  to  the  fall  of  a  city  and  the  dissolu- 
tion of  a  state,  yet  in  its  true,  literal,  precise  meaning,  ap- 
plies to  that  day  in  which  all  cities  and  states  are  equally 
interested.  While  the  fulfilment  then  of  the  direct  sense 
of  this  prophecy  is  a  standing  proof  of  the  divine  know- 
ledge of  Jesus,  it  is  also  a  pledge,  tliat  the  secondary  sense 
shall  in  due  time  be  accomplished ;  and  thus  the  exhorta- 
tion with  which  our  Lord  concludes  this  prophecy,  antl 
which  is  manifestly  expressed  in  such  a  manner,  as  shows 
that  it  was  intended  for  his  disciples  in  every  age,  is  en- 
forced upon  us  as  well  as  upon  those  that  heard  him.  The 
Christians  were  delivered  from  the  destruction  in  which 
their  countrymen  were  involved,  bj'  following  the  direc- 
tions of  Jews;  and  upon  our  watchfulness  and  obedience 
to  him  depend  our  comfort,  our  improvement,  and  the  sal- 
vation of  our  souls  in  the  great  day  of  the  Lord. 

Josephus,  Hurd,  and  Commentaries  on  tlie  24th  chapter  of  Mat' 
thew,  in  the  works  of  Tillotson,  Jortin,  Newton,  Newcome,  &c. 


180 


CHAP.  VIII. 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


Many  of  the  principal  facts  in  the  Christian  religion  may 
be  introduced  as  instances  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophe- 
cies of  Jesus,  and  as  thus  serving  to  illustrate  the  abun- 
dant measure  in  Avhich  the  spirit  of  prophecy  was  given  to 
that  Great  Prophet,  Avho  had  been  announced  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world.  But  two  of  these  facts  deserve  a 
tnore  particular  consideration  in  a  view  of  the  evidences  of 
Christianity,  because,  independently  of  their  having  been 
foretold,  they  bring  a  very  strong  confirmation  to  the  high 
claim  advanced  in  the  Scriptures.  The  two  facts  which  I 
mean  are,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  the  propagation 
of  Christianity. 

The  first  of  these  facts  is  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Had 
lie  never  returned  from  the  grave,  his  enemies  would  have 
considered  his  death  as  the  completion  of  their  triumph : 
and  those  who  had  admired  his  character,  and  had  been 
convinced  by  his  works  that  he  was  a  teacher  sent  from 
God,  must  have  considered  his  blood  as  only  adding  to 
the  sum  of  all  the  righteous  blood  that  had  been  shed  upon 
the  earth.  His  friends  might  have  made  a  feeble  attempt 
to  transmit,  with  distinguished  honour  to  posterity,  the 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  a  prophet  mighty  in  word 
and  in  deed.  Yet  even  they  would  have  been  stumbled 
vvhen  they  recollected  his  pretensions  and  his  prophecies. 
He  had  claimed  a  character  and  an  authority  verj^  incon- 
sistent with  the  notion  of  his  being  a  victim  to  the  malice 
of  men  ;-and  he  had  foretold  that  after  being  three  days, 
that  is,  according  to  the  Jewish  phraseology,  a  part  of 
three  days  in  the  grave,  he  would  rise  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day  ;  resting  the  truth  of  his  claim  upon  this 
fact  as  the  sign  that  was  to  be  given.  The  resurrection  of 
Jesus,  then,  is  not  merely  an  important,   it  is  an  essential 


• 


RESURRECTION   OP  CHRIST.  181 

fact  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  If  the  Author  of  this 
religion  did  not  return  from  the  grave,  he  is,  according  to 
ids  own  confession,  an  impostor  :  if  he  did,  all  who  are 
satisfied  with  the  evidence  of  this  singular  fact,  must  ac- 
knowledge, from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  he  was  the 
Son  of  God  with  power,  by  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead. 

It  behoves  you  to  examine  with  particular  care  the  kind 
of  evidence  upon  which  the  wisdom  of  God  has  chosen  to 
rest  a  I'act  so  essential.  To  the  apostles,  who  were  Avith 
Jesus  when  he  was  apprehended,  who  knew  certainly  that 
he  was  crucified,  one  of  whom  saw  him  on  the  cross,  and 
all  of  whom  were  permitted  to  converse  with  him  after  he 
was  risen,  his  resurrection  was  as  much  an  object  of  sense, 
at  least  it  was  an  inference  as  clearly  deducible  from  what 
they  did  see,  as  if  they  had  been  present  when  the  angel 
rolled  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  when 
Jesus  came  forth  in  the  same  manner  as  Lazarus  had  done 
a  little  before  at  his  command.  But  this  evidence  of  sense 
could  not  extend  beyond  the  forty  days  during  which 
Jesus  remained  upon  earth.  And  the  first  thing  that  meets 
you,  in  an  inquiry  into  the  truth  of  the  resurrection,  is  the 
number  of  persons  to  whom  this  evidence  of  sense  was 
vouchsafed.  The  time  is  limited.  Ikit  there  is  no  neces- 
sary limitation  of  the  number  that  might  have  seen  Jesus 
during  that  time,  and,  as  the  faith  of  future  ages  must  in 
a  great  measure  rest  upon  their  testimony,  it  is  natural  to 
consider  whether  there  be  any  thing  in  the  particular  num- 
ber to  which  this  evidence  of  sense  was  confined,  that 
serves  to  render  the  fact  incredible. 

The  number  is  much  greater  than  will  appear  at  first  sight 
to  a  careless  reader  of  the  Gospels.  The  soldiers,  the 
women,  and  the  disciples  only  are  mentioned  tliere.  But 
you  will  find  it  said,  that  Jesus  went  l)efore  his  disciples 
into  Galilee,  w  here  he  had  appointed  them  to  meet  him ; 
and  one  of  the  appearances  narrated  by  John  is  said  to 
have  been  at  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  which  lay  in  Galilee. 
Now  Galilee  was  tlie  country  where  our  Lord  had  spent 
the  greatest  part  of  his  life,  wlun-e  his  person  was  perfectly 
well  known,  where  his  mother's  relations  and  the  families 
of  the  apostles  resided.  His  going  to  Galilee  therefore, 
after  his  resurrection,  was  giving  to  a  number  of  persons 


182  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

deeply  interested  in  the  fact,  an  opportunity  of  being  con- 
vinced by  their  own  senses  that  the  Lord  was  risen  indeed, 
and  thus  crowned  those  evidences  of  his  divine  mission 
which  they  had  derived  from  their  former  acquaintance 
with  him.  Accordingly  Paul  says,  that  our  Lord  "  was 
seen  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once,"  which  must 
have  happened  in  Galilee,  for  the  number  of  disciples  in 
Jerusalem  after  the  ascension  was  but  "  an  hundred  and 
twenty."  The  testimony  of  this  multitude  of  Avitnesses  in 
Galilee  was  sufficient  to  diffuse  through  their  neighbours 
and  contemporaries  a  conviction  of  the  fact  which  they 
saw. 

But,  it  has  been  asked,  why  did  Jesus  retire  to  a  re- 
mote province,  and  show  himself  at  Jerusalem  only  to  a 
few  witnesses  ?  Why  did  he  not  appear  openly  in  the 
temple,  in  the  synagogue,  in  the  streets  of  the  holy  city, 
as  he  was  accustomed  to  do  before  his  death,  and  over- 
power the  incredulity  of  the  Jews  by  an  ocular  demonstra- 
tion of  his  divine  power?  It  is  admitted  that  he  did  not 
show  himself  to  all  the  people.  But  the  objection  arising 
from  this  supposed  deficiency  in  the  evidence,  has  been 
completely  answered  by  some  of  the  best  commentators 
upon  the  New  Testament,  and  by  writers  in  the  deistical 
controversy.  The  heads  of  the  answers  are  these.  The 
Jewish  nation,  who  had  resisted  all  the  evidences  of  our 
Lord's  divine  mission  which  were  exhibited  before  their 
eyes  during  his  ministry,  were  not  entitled  to  expect  that 
any  further  means  should  be  employed  by  heaven  for  their 
conviction.  The  probability  is,  that  the  same  narrow  views 
and  evil  passions  which  had  produced  their  unbelief  while 
he  lived,  would  have  rendered  his  appearance  in  their  citj^ 
after  his  death  ineffectual.  Our  Lord,  Avho  foresaw  this 
inefficacy,  seems  to  suggest  it  as  the  reason  of  his  conduct 
in  this  matter,  Avhen  he  concliules  one  of  his  parables  with 
saying,  "  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither 
will  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from  the  dead." 
After  our  Lord  spake  these  words,  the  experiment  was 
made  in  the  case  of  Lazarus.  Many  of  the  neighbours  of 
Mary  might  know  certainly  that  her  brother  had  been 
raised  by  the  power  of  Jesus.  Yet  some  of  them  who  had 
seen  all  the  things  that  were  done,  went  and  told  the  Pha- 
risees ;  and  the  Pharisees,  upon  the  report  of  this  miracle, 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  183 

took  counsel  to  put  Jesus  to  death.  It  was  not  meet  that 
liis  own  resurrection  shouhl  gi\'e  occasion  to  similar  plots 
again  to  take  away  his  life.  To  all  this  it  is  to  be;  added 
in  the  last  place,  that,  whatever  reception  Jesus  had  met 
with  in  Jerusalem,  the  evidence  for  Christianity  might 
have  been  injured  by  his  appearing  there  after  his  resur- 
rection. Had  the  Jews  continued  to  reject  and  persecute 
him,  the  united  testimonj'^  of  the  nation  against  the  resur- 
rection might  have  been  represented  as  sufficient  to  out- 
weigh the  positive  testimony  of  the  apostles.  Had  they 
received  him  as  their  Messiah  after  he  was  risen,  the 
Christian  religion  might  have  been  represented  as  a  state- 
trick  devised  by  able  men  for  the  glory  of  the  nation, 
which  met  with  opposition  at  first,  but  to  the  faith  of  which 
a  well-concerted  story  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  its 
author  did  at  last  suljdue  tlie  minds  of  the  people.  From 
this  specinum  of  the  answers  which  may  be  made  to  the 
objection,  it  appears  that  God  tries  the  honesty  of  our 
hearts  1)y  the  methods  which  he  employs  to  enlighten  our 
reason,  that  the  evidence  of  religion  was  not  intended  to 
overpower  those  whose  minds  are  perverted,  but  to  satisfy 
those  who  love  the  truth,  and  that,  in  examining  any 
branch  of  that  evidence,  our  business  is  not  to  incjuire  what 
God  might  have  done,  but  to  consider  what  he  has  done, 
and  to  rest  on  those  facts  which  appear  to  our  understand- 
ing to  be  sufficiently  proven,  although  our  imagination 
may  figure  other  proofs  by  which  they  are  not  supported. 

Having  seen  that  the  objection,  suggested  by  the  limi- 
tation of  the  number  of  those  who  saw  Jesus  after  his  re- 
surrection, may  easily  be  answered,  I  proceed  to  state  the 
different  kinds  of  evidence  which  we,  in  these  later  ages, 
have  for  the  truth  of  this  fact.  They  are  three.  The  tra- 
ditionary evidence  arising  from  the  universal  diffiision  of 
the  belief  of  this  fact  through  the  Christian  worlil — the 
clear  testimony  of  the  apostles  recorded  in  their  writings — 
and  the  extraordinary  powers  conferred  upon  the  ajjostles. 

The  lowest  degree  of  evidence,  which  we  enjoy  for  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus,  isthat  kind  of  traditionary  evidence 
which  arises  from  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  belief  of 
this  fact  through  the  Christian  world.  It  appears  from 
the  earliest  Christian  writers,  that  it  was  the  general  faith 
of  all  who  named  the  name  of  Christ,  that  he  had  risen 


184  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

fVom  the  dead.  We  are  told  that  the  first  Christians,  in 
that  exultation  of  mind  of  -which  our  familiarity  with 
the  great  truths  of  religion  makes  it  diificult  for  us  to  form 
a  just  conception,  Avere  accustomed  to  salute  one  another 
when  they  met,  with  this  expression,  X^ta-Tog  civitty,  :  and 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  which,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  church,  was  called  Kv^txxn  ^Jas^o,  and  in  all 
parts  of  the  Christian  woi'ld  has  been  observed  as  the  day 
upon  which  the  followers  of  Jesus  assemble  for  the  exer- 
cises of  devotion,  is  a  standing  unequivocal  memorial  of  the 
truth  of  the  fact  which  upon  that  day  especially  is  remem- 
bered. It  is  impossible  to  conceive  how  so  extraordinary 
a  fact  should  have  been  so  universally  ])ropagated,  if  it 
had  not  been  founded  in  the  certain  uncontradicted  know- 
ledge of  those  who  lived  near  the  time.  But,  strong  as 
this  presumption  may  justly  be  held,  the  faith  of  future 
ages  in  so  essential  a  fact  required  a  -more  determinate 
support. 

And  this  is  found  in  the  clear  precise  testimoi  ly  of  the  apos- 
tles, those  witnesses  chosen  before  of  God,  who  did  eat  and 
drink  with  Jesus  after  he  rose  from  the  dead  ;  a  testimony 
transmitted  to  us  in  the  authentic  genuine  record  of  dis- 
courses that  were  delivered  before  his  murderers  in  the  city 
where  he  suffered,  six  weeks  after  he  rose  ;  and  of  other  dis- 
courses, and  histories,  and  epistles,  in  which  eye-witnesses 
declare  what  they  had  seen,  and  heard,  and  handled  of  the 
word  of  life.  To  this  office  Jesus  separated  the  apostles,  when 
he  called  them,  as  soon  as  he  began  to  teach,  to  be  always 
with  him ;  and  when  he  said  to  them  a  little  btifore  his 
death,  "  Ye  also  shall  bear  witness,  because  ye  have  been 
with  me  from  the  beginning ;"  and  a  little  before  his  as- 
cension, "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth."  The  apostles  had  this  apprehension 
of  the  nature  of  their  office ;  for  when  the  place  of  Judas 
was  to  be  supplied,  Peter  says  to  the  disciples,  "  Of  these 
men  that  have  companied  with  us,  all  the  time  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  us,  nuist  one  be  or- 
dained to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection."  And 
to  Paul,  who  v/as  an  apostle  "  bor)i  out  of  due  time,"  Jesus 
appeared  from  heaven,  that  he  might  also  be  a  witness  of 
tl',e  things  which  he  had  seen. 

You  may  n)ark  here  an  uniformity  in  the  evidence  of 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  185 

Christianity.  The  same  persons,  who  are  to  us  the  wit- 
nt\«ses  of  the  signs  which  Jesus  did  in  the  presence  of  liis 
disciples,  are  witnesses  also  of  his  liaving  risen  from  the 
dead.  In  both  cases  they  do  not  declare  opinions  upon 
doubtful  points,  but  they  attest  palpable  facts,  level  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  plainest  understanding :  and  their 
clear  unambiguous  testimony  to  the  miracles  and  the  re- 
surrection of  Jesus,  in  which  they  agreed  with  themselves 
and  w  ith  one  another  till  the  end,  is  written  in  the  same 
books,  that  we  may  believe  tliat  he  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God. 

We  are  thus  led  back  to  those  circumstances  which 
were  formerly  stated  as  giving  ci'edibility  in  our  days  to 
the  miracles  of  Jesus;  such  as  the  character  of  the 
apostles,  the  scene  of  danger  and  suffering  in  which  their 
testimony  was  given,  the  fortitude  with  which  they  ad- 
hered to  it,  and  that  simplicity,  that  air  of  truth,  which 
pervades  the  evangelical  liistory,  and  whicli  falsehood  can- 
nut  uniformly  preserve.  All  these  circumstances  are 
common  to  the  record  of  the  miracles  and  to  the  record  of 
the  resurrection.  But  there  are  some  internal  marks  of 
truth  in  the  history  of  the  resurrection,  which  are  pecu- 
liarly fitted  to  impress  conviction  upon  all  who  are  capa- 
ble of  apprehending  them.  I  shall  mention  the  three 
tbllowing.  The  history  of  the  resurrection,  published 
during  the  life  of  the  witnesses  of  that  event,  relates  the 
consternation  which  it  excited  amongst  the  enemies  of 
Jesus,  the  awkward  attempts  which  they  made  to  afiix  the 
charge  of  imposture  upon  the  disciples,  and  the  currency 
of  that  report  among  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  the  publica- 
tion of  the  history.  Again,  the  historians  exhibit  the  pre- 
judices of  the  apostles,  their  slowness  of  heart  to  believe, 
the  natural  manner  in  which  their  doubts  were  overcome, 
and  the  combination  of  circumstances  by  which  a  firm 
})elief  of  the  resurrection  was  established  in  the  minds  of 
the  witnesses,  and  a  foundation  was  laid  for  the  faith  of  suc- 
ceeding ages.  There  are,  lastly^  that  apparent  imperfec- 
tion and  inaccuracy  in  the  several  accounts  of  this  trans- 
action, and  those  seeming  contradictions,  which  render  it 
impossible  for  any  person  to  believe  that  there  was  a  col- 
lusion amongst  the  evangelists  in  framing  their  story,  and 
which    yet   are    of  such    a  kind,    that   the  ingenuity   of 


186  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

learned  men,  by  attending  to  minute  and  delicate  circum- 
stances which  escape  ordinary  observers,  has  formed  out 
of  the  four  narrations  a  consistent,  probable  account  of  the 
whole  transaction.  It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  enlarge 
upon  these  points.  But  they  are  so  essential  to  this  most 
interesting  article  of  our  faith,  that  they  deserve  your 
closest  studjr.  And  for  that  purpose  I  recommend  to  you 
the  four  following;  books,  which  every  student  of  divinity 
ought  to  read.  The  first  is  Ditton  on  the  Resurrection. 
One  part  of  this  book  is  a  general  view  of  the  nature  of 
moral  evidence,  and  of  the  obligation  which  lies  upon 
every  reasonable  being  to  assent  to  certain  degrees  of  mo- 
ral evidence  ;  the  other  part  is  an  application  of  this  gene- 
ral view  to  the  testimony  upon  which  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  is  I'cceived  ;  and  is  calculated  to  show  that  this 
testimony  has  all  the  qualifications  of  an  evidence  obliga- 
tory on  the  human  understanding.  The  second  book  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Trial  of  the  Witnesses.  There 
are  a  judge,  a  jury,  and  pleaders  upon  both  sides  of  the 
question.  The  arguments  are  summed  up  by  the  judge, 
and  the  jury  are  unanimous  in  their  verdict  that  the 
apostles  were  not  gudty  of  bearing  false  witness  in  their 
testimony  of  the  resurrection.  The  form  of  the  book,  as 
well  as  the  excellence  of  the  matter,  has  rendered  it  po- 
pular ;  and  it  will  be  particularly  useful  to  you  by  making 
you  acquainted  with  the  objections  and  the  heads  of  the 
answers.  The  third  is,  Gilbert  West's  Observations  upon 
the  history  of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  you 
will  find  both  as  a  separate  book,  and  also  inserted  in 
Watson's  Tracts.  This  masterly  ^vriter  lays  together  tlie 
several  narrations,  so  as  to  form  a  consistent  account  of 
the  whole  transaction.  He  gives  a  very  full  view,  first,  of 
the  order  and  the  matter  of  that  evidence  which  was  laid 
before  the  apostles,  and  then  of  the  arguments  which  in- 
duce us,  in  this  remote  age,  to  receive  that  evidence.  His 
book,  according  to  this  plan,  not  only  places  in  the  strongest 
light  those  internal  marks  of  credibility  by  which  the  his- 
tory of  the  resurrection  is  distinguished,  but  also  embraces 
most  of  the  arguments  for  the  truth  of  Christianity.  The 
fourth  is  Cook's  Illustration  of  the  General  Evidence  of  the 
Resurrection  of  Christ,  a  work  which  displays  much  acute- 
jiess,  and  a  degree  of  novelty  in  the  manner  of  stating  that 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  187 

evidence.  Even  Dr.  Priestley,  an  author  whom  I  frequent- 
ly mention  in  the  following  parts  of  my  course,  but  whose 
name  I  seldom  have  occasion  to  quote  in  support  of  any 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  whose  creed  Mr. 
Gibbon  has  well  called  a  scanty  one,  has  said  in  one  of  his 
latest  publications,  "  The  resurrection  of  our  Saviour, 
being  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  events,  the  evidence  of 
it  is  remarkably  circumstantial,  in  consequence  of  which, 
there  is  not  perhaps  any  lact  in  all  ancient  histoiy  so  per- 
fectly credible,  according  to  the  most  established  rules  of 
evidence,  as  it  is.'"* 

Besides  the  universal  tradition  in  the  Christian  church, 
and  the  written  testimony  of  the  apostles,  there  is  yet  a 
third  ground  upon  which  we  believe  the  resurrection  of 
Christ. 

"  If  Me  receive  the  witness  of  men,  the  witness  of  God 
is  greater ;"  and  that  witness  was  given  in  the  extraordi- 
nary powers  which  were  conferred  upon  the  apostles  before 
they  began  to  execute  their  commission,  and  which  con- 
tinued with  them  always.  I  stated  these  powers  formerly 
as  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy.  But  they  present  them- 
selves at  this  place  as  the  vouchers  of  the  testimony  of  the 
apostles  ;  and  in  this  light  they  are  uniformly  stated  both 
by  our  Lord  and  by  the  witnesses  themselves.  He  said  to 
them  before  his  death,  "  But  v.hen  the  Comforter  is  come, 
whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  he  shall  testi- 
fy of  me  ;"  and  "  he  will  convince  the  world  of  sin,  because 
they  believe  not  on  me."-|-  Again,  a  little  before  his  as- 
cension, he  said,  "  Ye  shall  receive  power  afiter  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  yoU;  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
to  me.":j:  Peter,  in  one  of  his  first  sermons,  speaking  of 
the  resurrection  and  exaltation  of  Jesus,  says,  "  We  are 
his  witnesses  of  these  things ;  and  so  is  also  the  Holy 
Ghost  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey  him."§ 
The  word  translated  Comforter,  in  the  first  passage  that  I 
quoted,  is  Trx^xKXr.TOi,  which  exactly  corresponds  in  ety- 
mology to  the  Latin  word  advocatus,  from  which  comes 
our  word  advocate,  a  person  called  in  to  stand  by  another 
in  a  court  of  justice,  to  assist  him  in  pleading  his  cause, 

*  Hist,  of  Early  Opinions,  iv.  19.         f  John  xv.  26;  xvi.  8,  9. 
*  Acts  i.  8,  j  Acts  V.  32, 


188 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 


and  confuting  his  adversaries.  The  apostles  spake  before 
kings  and  governors,  before  the  whole  world,  bearing  wit- 
ness to  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  But  lest  they  should 
be  confounded  by  the  subtlety,  or  overwhelmed  by  the 
power  of  their  enemies,  here  is  a  divine  person  promised 
to  confirm  what  they  said,  and  to  join  with  them  in  con- 
vincing the  Avorld  of  their  sin  in  rejecting  Jesus,  and  of  his 
righteousness,  that  although  he  had  been  condennied  as  a 
malefactor,  he  was  accounted  righteous  in  the  sight  of 
God.  His  own  works  were  the  evidence,  to  which  he 
always  appealed  in  his  lifetime,  that  God  was  with  him ; 
and  Avhen  he  left  the  earth,  the  works  which  he  enabled 
his  servants  to  perform,  the  same  in  kind  with  his  own, 
were  the  evidence  that  he  had  returned  to  his  Father. 
"  Therefore,"  says  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  "  being 
by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of 
the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed 
forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."* 

Here  is  another  instance  of  that  uniformity  which  we 
have  often  occasion  to  mark  in  the  evidence  of  Christianity ; 
the  same  divine  attestation  of  the  servants  of  Jesus  as  of 
himself;  tlie  same  proof  of  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  as 
of  the  high  claim  which  he  ad  vanced  when  he  was  alive.  "The 
workswhich  I  do,"hesaid,  "bear'witnessthatthe  Father  hath 
sent  me  ;  and  the  works  which  1  do,  shall  ye  my  apostles  do 
also,  because  I  go  to  my  Father."  We  are  thus  led  back 
to  the  amount  of  the  argument  from  miracles,  in  order  to 
perceive  the  nature  of  that  confirmation  which  this  testi- 
mony of  the  Spirit  gives  to  the  testimony  of  the  apostles. 
If  there  be  an  almighty  Ruler  of  the  universe,  who  has 
established  what  we  call  the  laws  of  nature,  and  who  can 
suspend  them  at  his  pleasure ;  and  if  this  almighty  Ruler 
be  a  God  of  truth,  who  takes  an  interest  in  the  happiness 
of  his  reasonable  offspring,  it  is  impossible  that  the  apostles 
of  Jesus  could  be  invested  with  powers,  the  exertion  of 
which  was  fitted  to  convince  every  candid  observer  of  the 
truth  of  an  imposture ;  and,  therefore,  since  signs  and 
wonders,  far  beyond  the  measure  of  human  power  are 
ascribed  to  the  apostles  in  authentic  histories  published  at 
the  time,  in  epistles  addressed  by  themselves  to  the  wit- 
nesses of  those  signs,  and  in  the  writings  of  authors  nearly 

*  Acts.  ii.  33. 


RESURKECTION  OF  CHRIST.  189 

contemporary ;  since  no  attempt  was  made  to  disprove 
the  facts  at  the  time  when  the  imposture  might  have  been 
easily  exposed,  and  since  the  signs  were  expressly  wrought 
in  confirmation  of  this  assertion  of  the  apostles,  that  their 
Master  was  risen  from  the  dead,  we  are  constrained  by 
the  stx'ongest  moral  evidence  to  believe  that  that  assertion 
was  true. 

It  is  impossible  for  words  to  make  this  argument  plain- 
er. But  there  are  some  particulars  which  may  illustrate 
the  economy  of  the  divine  dispensation  in  conferring  these 
extraordinary  powers,  and  the  connexion  which  they  have 
Avith  the  other  branches  of  the  evidence  for  Christianity. 

The  day  upon  which  our  Lord  rose  was  the  day  after 
that  Sabbath  which  was  the  passover,  i.  e.  it  was  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  the  Jewish  Sabbath  being  the  seventh; 
and  it  was  called  in  the  Levitical  law,  the  wave-offering. 
Pentecost  was  the  -T^ivrYtX.oa-TTi  '/if^i^x,  the  50th  day  from  the 
Avave-offering.  It  was  therefore  also  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  and  it  Avas  a  day  upon  Avhich  all  the  males  of  Judea 
Avere  supposed  to  be  present  before  the  Lord  in  Jerusa- 
lem. Our  Lord  remained  forty  days  upon  earth  after  his 
resurrection,  and  he  probably  spent  the  greatest  part  of 
that  time  in  Galilee.  But  he  Avas  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Jerusalem  upon  the  fortieth  day,  for  he  ascended  from 
Mount  Olivet.*  The  apostles,  who  probably  A\ould  feel 
it  to  be  their  duty  as  Jcavs  to  be  present  at  the  approach- 
ing festival,  were  commanded  by  their  Master  not  to  de- 
part from  Jerusalem  till  they  received  the  promise  of  the 
Father:  for,  said  he,  "  Ye  shall  be  baptized  Avith  the 
Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence." 

Accordingly  the  eleven  returned  from  the  mount,  where 
they  had  Avitnessed  the  ascension,  to  Jerusalem,  and  con- 
tinued quietly  Avith  the  disciples  in  prayer  and  supplica- 
tion. We  have  reason  to  think  that  they  did  not  appear 
in  public  ;  and  we  do  not  read  of  any  other  transaction 
but  filling  up  the  Apostolical  College,  till  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost, the  lOtli  day  after  the  ascension,  Avhen,  being  "  all 
with  one  accord  in  one  place,  they  Avere  all  filled  Avith  the 
Holj'^  Ghost."  The  gift  of  tongues  Avas  the  first  that  Avas 
exercised,  because  it  Avas  suited  to  the  occasion.     Devout 

*  Luke  xxiy.  50  ;   Acts  i.  12. 


190  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

Jews  and  proselytes  were  assembled,  from  respect  to  the 
festival,  out  of  all  countries.  To  every  one  in  his  own 
tongue,  the  apostles,  inspired  with  fortitude,  another  gift 
of  the  Spirit,  spoke  the  wonderful  works  of  God.  And 
Peter  explained  the  appearance  which  excited  their  won- 
der, to  be  the  attestation  which,  in  fulfilment  of  their  own 
prophecies,  God  was  now  bearing  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  Messiah,  whom,  after  all  the  works  that  he  had  done 
in  the  midst  of  them,  their  rulers  had  crucified,  but  whom 
God  had  exalted.  You  can  thus  trace,  in  the  time  of  con- 
ferring these  powers,  the  wise  adjustment  of  means  to  an 
end.  You  see  the  silence  and  quietness,  wliich  had  been 
maintained  after  the  death  of  Christ,  abundantly  compen- 
sated by  the  public  manner  in  which  the  gospel  is  first 
preached.  The  apostles  are  directed  to  submit  their 
claim  to  the  examination  of  the  greatest  multitude  that 
could  be  assembled  at  Jerusalem ;  and  the  report,  which 
this  multitude  would  carry  to  their  own  countries  of  so 
extraordinary  an  appearance,  was  employed  as  an  instru- 
ment of  preparing  many  different  parts  of  the  world  for  the 
preaching  of  the  apostles,  who  were  soon  to  visit  them. 
The  powers  themselves  are  delineated  in  the  Acts  and  in 
the  Epistles.  You  read  of  the  word  of  wisdom,  ^.  e.  a  clear 
comprehensive  view  of  the  Christian  scheme — the  word  of 
knowledge,  probably  the  faculty  of  tracing  the  connexion 
between  the  Jewish  and  Christian  dispensation — prophecy, 
either  the  applying  of  the  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, or  the  foretelling  future  events — healing — the  gift 
of  tongues — the  gift  of  interpreting  tongues — and  the  gift 
of  discerning  spirits,  i.  e.  perceiving  the  true  character  of 
men  under  the  disguise  which  they  assumed,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  detect  impostors.*  There  is  a  variety  in  these 
gifts  corresponding  to  all  the  possible  occasions  of  the 
teachers  of  this  new  religion.  Some  of  them,  being  ex- 
ternal and  visible,  were  the  signs  and  pledges  of  those 
which,  although  invisible,  were  not  less  necessary.  Some 
of  them  were  disseminated  through  the  Christian  church, 
and  the  gifts  of  healing  and  of  tongues  were  often  con- 
ferred hy  the  hands  of  the  apostles  upon  believers.  This 
abundance  of  miraculous  gifts  w-as  proper  at  that  time,  to 

•  1  Cor.  xii.  8—10. 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST.  191 

demonstrate  to  the  world  the  fulness  of  those  treasures 
which  were  dispensed  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  dignity  with 
which  he  had  invested  his  apostles,  and  the  obligation 
which  lay  upon  all  Christians  to  receive  his  word  at  their 
mouth.  It  was  proper  to  rouse  the  attention  of  the  world 
to  a  new  religion,  to  overcome  those  considerations  of 
prudence  which  made  them  unwilling  to  forsake  the  reli- 
gion of  their  fathers,  and  to  inspire  them  with  steadfastness 
in  the  faith.  It  was  proper  also  to  remove  the  prejudices 
which  the  Jews  entertained  against  the  Heathen,  and  to 
satisfy  those  who  boasted  of  the  privileges  of  the  law,  that 
God  had  received  the  Gentiles.  Cornelius  and  his  kins- 
men and  his  friends  were  the  first  uncircumcised  persons 
to  whom  the  Gospel  was  preached.  They  of  the  circum- 
cision who  believed  were  astonished  Avhen  they  saw  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  poured  out  upon  them,  and  heard 
them  speak  with  tongues.  Peter  considered  this  as  his 
warrant  to  baptize  them ;  and  when  he  reported  it  after- 
wards to  the  apostles  and  brethren  at  Jerusalem,  they  no 
longer  blamed  what  he  had  done,  but  "  held  their  peace, 
and  glorified  God,  saying,  Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life." 

This  abundance  of  miraculous  gifts,  which  so  many 
reasons  rendered  proper  at  the  first  appearance  of  Chris- 
tianity, was  gradually  withdrawn  as  the  occasions  ceased. 
We  have  no  reason  to  think  that  any  but  the  apostles  had 
the  power  of  conferring  such  gifts  upon  others.  We  are 
not  indeed  warranted  to  say  that  miraculous  gifts  Mere 
never  visible  in  any  who  had  not  received  them  from  thc^ 
hands  of  the  apostles.  But  we  know  that  in  the  succeed- 
ing generations  they  became  more  rare.  And  when  we 
were  speaking  of  this  subject  formerly,  we  found  writers 
in  the  third,  and  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  ac- 
knowledging that  only  some  vestiges  of  such  gifts  remain- 
ed in  their  days. 

If  you  lay  together  the  several  particulars  which  have 
been  mentioned  respecting  the  economy  of  these  miracu- 
lous gifts,  it  will  appear  that,  as  from  their  nature,  they 
were  the  unquestionable  witness  of  the  Spirit,  confirming 
the  testimony  which  tlu;  apostles  bore  to  the  resurrection 
of  their  Master :  so,  in  the  manner  of  their  being  con- 
ferred, every  wise  observer  may  trace  the  finger  of  God. 


192  RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

There  is  none  of  that  waste  which  betrays  ostentation,  none 
of  that  scantiness  or  delay  which  implies  a  defect  of  power, 
no  circumstance  unworthy  of  the  divine  author  of  them  ; 
but  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  are  united  in  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel,  and  the  same  fitness  and  dignity,  which 
distinguished  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  are  transferred  to  the 
works  which  his  Spirit  enabled  his  apostles  to  perform. 


193 


CHAP.  IX. 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


In  our  Lord's  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
we  meet  witli  these  words :  "  This  Gospel  of  the  kingdom 
shall  first  be  preached  to  all  the  world  for  a  witness  to  all 
nations,  and  then  shall  the  end  come."  These  words  mark 
the  space  intervening  between  the  prediction  and  the  ter- 
mination of  the  Jewish  state,  that  is,  a  space  of  less  than 
forty  years,  as  the  period  within  which  the  Gospel  was  to 
be  preached  to  all  nations.  When  we  attended  to  the  ful- 
filment of  this  prophecy,  we  found  that  the  account  given 
in  the  book  of  Acts,  of  the  multitude  of  early  converts, 
of  the  dispersion  of  the  Christians,  and  of  the  success  of 
Paul's  labours,  is  confirmed  bj^  the  most  unexceptionable 
testimony.  We  learn  from  Tacitus,  that  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  63,  thirty  years  after  his  death,  there  was  an  immense 
multitude  of  Christians  in  Rome.  From  the  capital  of  the 
world  the  communication  was  easy  through  all  the  parts  of 
the  Roman  empire ;  and  no  country  then  discovered  was 
too  distant  to  hear  the  gospel.  Accordingly  it  is  generally 
agreed  tliat,  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Scythia  on 
the  north,  India  on  the  east,  Gaul  and  Egypt  on  the  west,  and 
Ethiopia  on  the  south,  had  received  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 
And  Britain,  which  was  then  regarded  as  the  extremity  of 
the  earth,  being  frequently  visited  during  that  period  by 
Roman  emperors  or  their  generals,  there  is  no  improbabi- 
lity in  what  is  athrmed  by  Christian  historians,  that  the 
Gospel  was  preached  in  the  capital  of  this  island  thirty 
years  after  the  death  of  our  Saviour.  The  last  fact  which 
Scripture  contains  respecting  the  propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity is  found  in  the  book  of  the  Revelation.     It  appears 

VOL.  I.  K 


194  PKOPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

from  the  epistles  which  John  was  commanded  to  write  to 
the  ministers  of  the  churches  of  Ephesus,  Smyrna,  Perga- 
mos,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Pliiladelphia,  and  Laodicea,  that 
there  were,  during  the  life  of  that  ajiostle,  seven  regular 
Christian  churches  in  Asia  Minor.  We  may  consider  the 
facts  hitherto  mentioned  as  the  fulfilment  of  that  prophecy 
which  I  quoted.  As  to  the  progress  of  our  religion,  sub- 
sequent to  the  period  marked  in  the  prophecy,  we  derive 
no  light  from  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  because 
there  is  none  of  them  which  we  certainly  know  to  be  of  a 
later  date  tlian  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  But  there- 
are  other  authentic  monuments  from  which  1  shall  state  to 
you  the  fact ;  and  then  I  shall  lead  you  to  consider  the 
force  of  the  argument  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  which 
has  been  grounded  upon  that  fact. 

The  younger  Pliny,  proconsul  of  Bithynia,  writes  in  the 
end  of  the  first  century  to  the  emperor  Trajan,  asking  di- 
rections as  to  his  conduct  v  ith  regard  to  the  Christians. 
The  letter  of  Pliny,  the  97th  of  the  10th  book,  ought  to 
be  familiar  to  every  student  of  divinity.  He  represents 
that  many  of  every  age  and  rank  were  called  to  account 
for  bearing  the  Christian  name  ;  that  the  contagion  of  that 
superstition  had  spread  not  only  through  tlie  cities,  but 
through  the  villages  and  fields  ;  that  the  temples  had  been 
deserted,  and  the  usual  sacrifices  neglected.  There  are 
extant  two  apologies  for  Christianity,  Avritten  by  Justin 
Martyr,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  one 
by  TertuUian  before  the  end  of  it.  These  apologies,  which 
were  public  pajjers  addressed  to  the  emperor  and  the  Ro- 
man magistrates,  mention  with  triumph  the  multitude  of 
Christians.  And  there  is  a  work  of  Justin  Martyr,  en- 
titled a  dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew,  published  about 
the  year  146,  in  Avliich  he  thus  speaks, — "  There  is  no  na- 
tion, whether  of  Barbarians  or  Greeks,  whether  they  live 
in  waggons  or  tents,  amongst  whom  prayers  are  not  made 
to  the  Father  and  Creator  of  all,  through  the  name  of  the 
crucified  Jesus."'  Both  Christian  and  heathen  writers  at- 
test the  general  diffusion  of  Christianity  through  the  em- 
pire during  the  third  century  ;  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth,  Constantine,  the  emperor  of  Rome,  declared  him- 
self a  Christian.  If  we  consider  the  emperor  as  acting 
from  conviction,  Christianity  has  reason  to  boast  of  the  il- 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  195 

lustrious  convert.  If  we  consider  him  as  acting  from  po- 
licy, his  finding  it  necessary  to  pay  such  a  compliment  to 
the  inclinations  of  the  Christians  is  the  strongest  testimony 
to  their  numbers.  After  Christianity  became,  by  the  de- 
claration of  Constantine,  the  established  religion  of  the  em- 
pire, it  was  diffused,  under  that  character,  through  all  the 
provinces.  It  was  embraced  by  the  barbarous  nations  who 
invaded  different  parts  of  the  empire,  and  it  received  the 
sanction  of  their  authority  in  the  independent  kingdoms 
which  they  founded.  From  them  it  has  been  handed  down 
to  the  nations  of  modern  Europe.  It  is  at  present  profess- 
ed throughout  the  most  civilized  and  enlightened  part  of 
the  world ;  and  it  has  been  carried  in  the  progress  of  mo- 
dern discoveries  and  conquests  to  remote  quarters  of  the 
globe,  where  the  arms  of  Rome  never  penetrated. 

Upon  these  facts  there  has  been  grounded  an  argument 
for  the  truth  of  our  religion.  Gamaliel  said  in  the  sanhe- 
drim, w  hen  the  Gospel  was  first  preached,  "  If  this  coun- 
sel or  this  work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to  nought.  But  if 
it  be  of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it."*  The  counsel  has 
not  been  overthrown,  therefore  it  is  of  God.  The  argu- 
ment is  specious  and  striking,  and,  with  proper  qualifica- 
tions, it  is  sound.  But  much  caution  is  required  in  stating 
it.  And  as  I  have  given  you  the  facts  without  exaggera- 
tion, so  it  is  my  duty  to  suggest  the  difficulty  to  which  the 
argument  is  exposed,  and  to  warn  you  of  the  danger  of 
hurting  the  cause  which  you  mean  to  serve,  by  arguing 
loosely  from  the  success  of  the  Gospel. 


SECTION  I. 


We  are  not  warranted  to  consider  the  success  of  any  sys- 
tem which  calls  itself  a  religion,  as  an  infallible  proof  that 
it  is  divine.  The  prejudices,  the  ignorance,  the  vices,  and 
follies  of  men,  a  particular  conjuncture  of  circumstances, 
and  the  skilful  application  of  human  means,  may  procure  a 


Acts  v.  36,  39. 


190  PROP.AGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITT. 

favourable  reception  for  an  imposture,  and  may  give  the 
belief  of  its  divinity  so  firm  possession  of  the  minds  of  men, 
as  to  render  its  reputation  permanent.  We  justly  infer 
from  the  moral  attributes  of  God  that  he  will  not  invest  a 
false  prophet  with  extraordinary  powers.  But  we  are  not 
warranted  to  infer  that  he  will  interpose  in  a  miraculous 
manner  to  remove  the  delusion  of  those  who  submit  their 
understandings  to  be  misled  by  the  arts  of  cunning  men. 
He  has  given  us  reason,  by  the  right  use  of  which  we  may 
distinguish  truth  from  falsehood.  He  leaves  us  to  suffer 
the  natural  consequences  of  neglecting  to  exercise  our  rea- 
son ;  and  it  is  presumptuous  to  say  that  there  can  be  no 
fraud  in  a  scheme,  because  the  Almighty,  for  the  wise  pur- 
poses of  his  government,  or  in  just  judgment  upon  those 
who  had  not  the  love  of  the  truth,  permitted  that  scheme 
to  be  successful. 

As  the  reason  of  the  thing  suggests  that  success  is  not 
an  unequivocal  proof  of  the  divine  original  of  any  system,  so 
the  providence  of  God  has  afforded  Christians  a  striking 
lesson,  how  careful  they  ought  to  be  in  qualifying  the  ar- 
gument deduced  from  the  propagation  of  Christianity. 
For,  in  the  seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era,  there 
arose  an  individual  in  Arabia,  who,  although  he  be  regard- 
ed by  every  rational  inquirer  as  an  impostor,  was  able  to 
introduce  a  religious  system,  which  in  less  than  a  century 
spread  through  Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria,  and  Persia,  whicli 
has  subsisted  in  vigour  for  more  than  eleven  hundred 
years,  and  is  at  this  day  the  established  religion  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  world  much  larger  than  Christendom.  The 
followers  of  Mahomet  triumph  in  the  extended  dominion  of 
the  author  of  their  faith.  But  a  Christian,  who  under- 
stands the  method  of  defending  his  religion,  has  no  reason 
to  be  shaken  by  the  empty  boast.  For  thus  stands  the  ar- 
gument. When  we  are  able  to  point  out  the  human  causes 
which  have  produced  any  event,  the  existence  of  that  event 
is  no  decisive  proof  of  a  divine  interposition.  But  when 
all  the  means  that  were  employed  appear  inadequate  to  the 
end,  we  are  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  finger  of  God  ; 
and  the  inference,  which  arises  from  our  being  unable  to 
give  any  other  account  of  the  end,  will  be  drawn  without 
hesitation,  if  there  be  positive  evidence  that,  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  end,  there  was  an  exertion  of  divine  power. 


PROrAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  197 

When  you  apply  this  universal  rule  in  trying  the  argu- 
ment which  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  equally  implied  in 
the  success  of  the  two  religions,  you  find  the  history  of 
the  one  so  clearly  discriminated  from  the  history  of  the 
other,  that  the  inference,  which  a  proper  examination  of 
<'ircumstances  enables  a  Christian  to  draw  from  the  success 
of  the  Gospel,  does  in  no  degree  belong  to  the  disciples  of 
Mahomet.  The  best  guide  whom  you  can  follow  in  mak- 
ing this  discrimination  is  Mr.  White,  who,  availing  himself 
of  that  acquaintance  with  eastern  literature  to  which  his 
inclination  and  his  profession  had  conspired  to  direct  him, 
has  published  a  volume  of  Sermons,  entitled,  A  Compara- 
tive View  of  Christianity  and  Mahometanism,  in  their  his- 
tory, their  evidence,  and  their  effects.  There  is  in  these 
sermons  much  valuable  and  uncommon  information  com- 
bined withgreat  judgment,  and  expressed  in  a  nervous  and 
elevated  style.  They  meet  many  of  the  objections  of  mo- 
dern times,  and  form  one  of  the  most  complete  and  mas- 
terly defences  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  You  will  learn 
from  him,  better  than  from  any  other  writer,  the  favour- 
able circumstances  to  which  Mahomet  owed  his  success. 
And  the  short  picture,  which  I  am  now  to  give  you  of 
these  circumstances,  is  little  more  than  an  abridgment  of 
some  of  Mr.  White's  sermons. 

Born  in  an  ignorant  uncivilized  country,  and  amidst  in- 
dependent tribes  of  idolatrous  Arabs,  when  the  Roman 
empire  was  attacked  on  every  side  by  barbarians,  when 
the  Christian  world  was  torn  with  dissension  about  inexpli- 
cable }K)ints  of  controversy,  when  the  simplicity  o^f  the 
Cjrospel  was  corrupted,  and  when  Christian  charity  was  for- 
gotten in  the  bitterness  of  mutual  persecution,  Mahomet, 
who  possessed  strong  natural  talents,  saw  the  possibility  of 
rising  to  eminence  as  the  great  reformer  of  religion.  Hav- 
ing waited  till  his  own  mind  was  matured  by  meditation, 
and  till  he  had  established  in  the  minds  of  Ms  neighbours 
an  opinion  of  his  sanctity,  he  began  at  the  age  of  forty  to 
deliver  chapters  of  the  Koran.  During  the  long  space  of 
twenty-three  years,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  the 
sentiments  of  his  countrymen.  By  successive  communi- 
cations he  corrected  what  had  proved  disagreeable,  and  he 
accommodated  his  system  so  as  to  give  the  least  possible 
cffeiice  to  Jews,  or  Christians,  or  idolaters.    He  admitted 


198  PROPAGATION  OF  CHKISTIANITY. 

the  divine  mission  of  Moses  and  of  Jesus.  He  inculcated 
the  unity  of  God,  which  is  a  fundamental  article  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  religions,  and  which  was  not  denied 
by  many  of  the  surrounding  idolaters.  From  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  he  borrowed  many  sublime  descriptions  of 
the  Deity,  and  much  excellent  morality ;  and  all  this  he 
mixed  with  the  childish  traditions  and  fables  of  Arabia, 
with  a  toleration  of  many  idolatrous  rites,  and  with  an  in- 
dulgence of  the  vices  of  the  climate.  And  thus  the  Koran 
is  not  a  new  system  discovering  the  invention  of  its  au- 
thor, but  an  artful  motley  mixture,  made  up  of  the  shreds 
of  different  opinions,  without  order  or  consistency,  full  of 
repetitions  and  absurdities,  yet  presenting  to  every  one 
something  agreeable  to  his  prejudices,  expressed  in  the 
captivating  language  of  the  country,  and  often  adorned 
with  the  graces  of  poetry.  To  his  illiterate  countrymen 
such  a  work  appeared  marvellous.  The  artifice  and  ele- 
gance with  which  its  discordant  materials  were  combined 
so  far  surpassed  their  inexperience  and  rudeness,  that  they 
gave  credit  to  the  declarations  of  Mahomet,  who  said  it 
was  delivered  to  him  by  the  angel  Gabriel.  The  Koran 
became  the  standard  of  taste  and  composition  to  the  Ara- 
bians ;  and  the  blind  admiration  of  those  who  knew  no  ri- 
val to  its  excellence  was  easily  transformed  into  a  belief  of 
its  divinity. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  scheme,  Mahomet  met  with 
much  opposition,  and  he  was  obliged  at  one  time  to  fly 
from  Mecca  to  Medina.  His  reputation  had  prepared  for 
him  a  favourable  reception  in  that  city.  His  address,  his 
superior  knowledge,  and  the  influence  of  his  connexions, 
soon  gathered  round  him  a  small  party,  with  which  he  be- 
gan to  make  those  predatory  excursions,  which  have,  in 
every  age,  been  most  agreeable  to  the  character  of  the 
Arabs.  Mahomet  pretended,  that  as  all  gentle  methods 
of  reforming  mankind  had  proved  ineffectual,  the  Almighty 
had  armed  him  with  the  power  of  the  sword  ;  and  he  went 
forth  to  compel  men  to  receive  the  great  prophet  of  hea- 
ven. Plis  talents  as  a  leader,  the  success  of  his  first  ex- 
]jeditions,  and  the  hope  of  booty,  increased  the  number  of 
his  followers.  It  was  not  long  before  he  united  into  one 
body  the  tribes  of  Arabs  who  flocked  around  his  standard  ; 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  meditating  distant 


PROrAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  199 

conquests.  The  magnificent  project  which  he  had  con- 
ceived and  begun  was  executed  with  ability  and  success 
by  the  caliphs,  to  whom  he  transmitted  his  temporal  and 
spiritual  power.  They  led  the  Arabs  to  invade  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces,  and  by  their  victorious  arms  they 
founded,  upon  the  religion  of  the  Koran,  an  empire,  which 
the  joint  influence  of  ambition  and  enthusiasm  continued 
for  ages  to  extend. 

Mahomet,  then,  is  not  to  be  classed  with  the  teachers  of 
piety  and  virtue,  whose  success  may  be  considered  as  an 
example  of  the  power  of  truth  over  the  mind.     He  ranks 
with  those  conquerors,  whom  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
a  concurrence  of  circumstances  have  conducted  from  a 
humble  station  to  renown  and  to  empire.     He  is  distin- 
guished from  them  chiefly   by  calling  in  religion  to  his 
aid ;  and  his  sagacity  in  employing  so  useful  an  auxiliary 
is  made  manifest  by  the  progress  and  the  permanence  of 
his  scheme.     But  the  means  were  all  human  ;  the  only  as- 
sistance which  Mahomet  pretended  to  receive  from  hea- 
ven consisted  of  the  revelation  which  dictated  to  him  the 
Koran,  and  the  strength  which  crowned  him  with  victory. 
How  far  a  revelation  was  necessary  for  the  composition  of 
the  Koran  may  be  left  to  the  decision  of  any  person  of 
taste  and  judgment  who  remembers,  when  he  reads  it,  that 
Mahomet  was  in  possession  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament.     How  far  the  strength  of  heaven  was 
necessary  to  give  victory  to  Mahomet  may  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  any  one  who  compares  the  spirit  of  the  Arabs, 
influenced  and  directed  by  the  character  and  the  views  of 
their  leader,   with  the  wretched  condition  of  those  whom 
they  conquered.     Yet  these  were  the  only  pretences  to  a 
divine  mission  which  Mahomet  made.     He   declared  that 
he  had  no  commission  to  work  miracles  ;  and  he  appealed 
to  no  other  prophecies  than  those  which  are  contained  in 
our  Scriptures. 

And  thus,  as  the  introduction  of  his  scheme  did  not  im- 
ply the  exei'cise  of  supernatural  powers,  as  no  positive  un- 
equivocal evidence  of  his  possessing  such  powers  was  ever 
adduced,  so  his  success  may  be  fully  accounted  for  by  hu- 
man means.  The  more  that  an  intelligent  reader  is  con- 
versant Avith  the  Koran,  he  discerns  the  more  clearly  the 
internal  marks  of  imposture;  and  the  more  that  he  is  con- 


200  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

versant  with  the  manners  of  the  times  in  v  hich  Mahomet 
lived,  and  with  the  history  of  the  progress  of  his  empire, 
he  is  the  less  surprised  at  the  propagation  and  the  conti- 
nuance of  that  imposture. 

Wlien  you  turn  from  this  picture  to  view  the  history  of 
the  progress  of  Christianity,  the  striking  contrast  will  ap- 
pear to  you  to  warrant  the  conclusion  which  the  followers 
of  Jesus  are  accustomed  to  draw  from  the  success  of  his 
religion. 

In  a  province  of  the  Roman  empire,  after  it  had  reached 
the  summit  of  its  glory,  and  in  the  Augustan  age,  the  most 
enlightened  period  of  Roman  history,   there  appeared  a 
Teacher  delivering  openly,  in  the  temple  and  the  syna- 
gogue, the  purest  morality,  the  most  spiritual  institutions 
of  worship,  and  the  most  exalted  theology,  not  in  a  syste- 
matical form,  but  in  occasional  discourses,  and  in  the  sim- 
plest  language.     He  committed  his    instructions,   not  to 
writing,  but  to  a  few  illiterate  men  who  had  been  his  com- 
panions ;  and  the  number  of  his  disciples^  after  he  was  cru- 
cified by  the  voice  of  his  countrymen,  did  not  exceed  120. 
His  apostles,  in  teaching  what  they  had  received  from  their 
Master,  had  to  encounter  an  opposition  which,  by  all  hu- 
man rules  of  judgment,  was  suliicient  to  create  an  insur- 
moimtable  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  their  doctrine.    They 
had  to  combat  the  vices  of  an  age  which,  according  to  all 
the  pictures  that  have  been  drawn  of  it,  appears  to  have 
exceeded  the  usual  measure  of  corruption.     Yet  they  did 
not  accommodate  their  precepts   to  the  manners   of  the 
world,  but  denounced  the  wrath  of  God  against  all  unright- 
eousness of  men,  against  practices  which  were  nearly  uni- 
versal, and  the  indulgence  of  passions  which  were  esteem- 
ed innocent  or  laudable.     The}-  had  to  combat  what  is  ge- 
nerally more  obstinate  than  vice,  the  religious  spirit  of  the 
times ;  for  they  commanded  men  "  to  turn  from  idols  to 
serve  the  living  God."     That  reverence  for  public  institu- 
tions which  even  an  unbeliever  may  feel,  that  attachment 
to  received  opinions,  that  fondness  for  ancient  practices, 
and  those  prejudices  of  education,  which  always  animate 
narrow  minds,  united  with  the  influence  of  the  priests,  and 
of  all  the  artists  who  lived  by  ministering  to  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  temples,  against  the  teachers  of  this  new  doc- 
trine*    The  zeal  of  the  worshippers,  revived  by  the  return 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  201 

of  those  festivals  at  Mhich  the  Christians  refused  to  par- 
take, often  broke  forth  with  fury.     The  Christians  were 
considered  as  atheists ;  and  it  was  thought  that  the  wrath 
of  tlie  gods  could  not  be  better  appeased  than  by  pouring 
every  indignity  and  abuse  upon   men  who  presumed  to 
despise  their  worship.     The  wise  men  in  that  enlightened 
age,  who  rose  above  the  superstition  of  their  countrymen, 
although  they  joined  with  the  Christians  in  thinking  con- 
temptuously of  the  gods,  were  not  disposed  to  give  any 
countenance  to  the  teachers  of  this  new  system.     They 
despised  the  simplicity  of  its  form,  so  different  from  the 
subtleties  of  the  schools.     When  at  any  time  they  conde- 
scended to  listen  to  its  doctrines,  they  found  some  of  them 
inconsistent  with  their  received  opinions,  and  mortifying 
to  the  pride  of  reason.     They  confounded  with  the  popu- 
lar superstitions  a  doctrine  which  professed  to  enlighten 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  and  they  condemned  the 
prohibition  of  idolatry  ;  for  it  was  their  principle,  thatphi- 
bsophers  might  dispute  and  doubt  concerning  religion  as 
they  pleased,  but  that  it  was  their  duty,  as  good  citizens, 
to  conform  to  the  established   modes  of  worship.     Upon 
these  grounds,  Christianity  was  so  far  from  being  favour- 
ably received  by  the   heathen   philosophers,  that  it  was 
early  opposed  and  ridiculed  by  them  ;  and  they  continued 
to  write  against  it  after  the  empire  had  become  Christian. 
The  unl>elieving  Jews  were  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the 
Christian  feith.     They  beheld   with  peculiar  indignation 
the  progress  of  a  doctrine,   which  not  only  invaded  the 
prerogative  of  the  law  of  Moses,  by  claiming  to  be  a  di- 
vine revelation,  but  even  professed  to  supersede  that  law, 
to  abolish  the  distinctions  which  it  had  established,  and  to 
enlighten  those  whom  it  left  in  darkness.     National  pride, 
and  the  bigotry  of  the  Jewish  spirit,  were  alarmed.     The 
rulers,  who  had  crucified  the  Lord  Jesus,  continued  to  em- 
ploy all  the  power  left  them  by  the  Romans  in  persecuting 
his  servants  ;  and  the  sufferings  of  the  first  Christians  arose 
from  the  envj-,  the  jealousy,  and  fear  of  a  state,  which  the- 
prophecies  of  their  Master  had  devoted  to  destruction. 
^  It  was  not  long  before  the   Christians  felt  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  Roman  emperors   and   magistrates.     The  Ro- 
man la\y  guarded  the  established   religion   against  the  in- 
troductiou  of  any  new  mode*  of  worship  which  had  not  re- 


202  PROPAGATION  OF  CHP.ISTIANITY. 

reived  the  sanction  of  public  authority  ;  and  it  was  a  prin- 
ciple of  Roman  policy  to  repress  private  meetings  as  the 
nurseries  of  sedition.  "  Ab  nullo  genere,"  says  M.  Por- 
cius  Cato,  in  a  speech  preserved  by  Livy,  "  non  seque 
summum  periculum  est,  si  coetus,  et  concilia,  et  secretas 
consultationes  esse  sinas."*  Upon  this  principle,  the  Chris- 
tians, who  separated  themselves  from  the  established 
worship,  and  held  secret  assemblies  for  the  observance  of 
their  own  rites,  were  considered  as  rebellious  subjects  ; 
and  when  they  multiplied  in  the  empire,  it  was  judged 
necessary  to  restrain  them.  Pliny,  in  the  letter  to  which 
I  referred,  says  to  Trajan,  "  Secundum  tua  mandata  £t«<|<i!«? 
esse  vetueram ;"  and  Trajan,  in  his  answer,  requires  that 
every  person  Avho  was  accused  of  being  a  Christian  should 
vindicate  himself  from  the  charge,  by  oifering  sacrifice  to 
the  gods.  "  Conquirendi  non  sunt ;  si  deferentur  et  ar- 
guentur  puniendi  sunt ;  ita  tamen  ut  qui  negaverit  se 
Christianum  esse,  idque  re  ipsa  raanifestum  fecerit,  id 
est,  supplicando  dels  nostris,  quamvis  suspectus  in  prae- 
teritum  fuerit,  veniam  ex  poenitentia  impetret." 

It  was  not  always  from  the  profligacy  or  cruelty  of  the 
emperors  that  the  sufferings  of  the  Christians  flowed. 
Some  of  the  best  princes  who  ever  filled  the  Roman  throne, 
men  who  were  an  ornament  to  human  nature,  and  whose 
administration  was  a  blessing  to  their  subjects,  felt  them- 
selves bound,  by  respect  for  the  established  i^eligion  and 
care  of  the  public  peace,  to  execute  the  laws  against  this 
new  society,  the  principles  of  whose  union  appeared  for- 
midable, because  they  were  not  understood.  According- 
ly, ecclesiastical  historians  have  numbered  ten  persecu- 
tions before  the  conversion  of  Constantine ;  and  an  innu- 
merable company  of  martyrs  are  said  to  have  sealed  their 
testimony  with  their  blood,  and  to  have  exhibited  amidst 
the  most  cruel  suff'erings,  a  fortitude,  resignation,  and  for- 
giveness, which  not  only  demonstrated  their  firm  convic- 
tion of  the  truths  which  they  attested,  but  conveyed  to 
every  impartial  spectator  an  impression  that  these  men 
were  assisted  by  a  divine  power  which  raised  them  above 
the  weakness  of  humanity.  Voltaire,  Gibbon,  and  other 
enemies  of  Christianity,  aware  of  the  force  of  that  argu- 

*  Liv.  xxxiy.  2. 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  203 

ment  which  arises  from  the  multitude  of  the  Christian 
martyrs,  and  from  the  spirit  with  which  they  endured  the 
severity  of  their  sufferings,  have  insinuated  that  there  is 
much  exaggeration  in  the  accounts  of  this  matter  ;  that  the 
generous  spirit  of  Roman  policy  rendered  it  impossible 
tliat  there  should  be  an  imperial  edict  enjoining  a  general 
persecution ;  that  although  the  people  might  be  incensed 
against  the  obstinacy  and  suUenness  of  the  Christians,  the 
magistrates,  in  their  different  provinces,  were  their  pro- 
tectors ;  that  there  was  no  wanton  barbarity  in  the  man- 
ner of  their  sufferings  ;  and  that  none  lost  their  lives  but 
such  as,  by  provoking  a  death  in  which  they  gloried,  put 
it  out  of  the  power  of  the  magistrates  to  save  them. 

It  is  natural  for  a  friend  to  humanity  and  an  admirer  of 
Roman  manners,  to  wish  that  this  apology  were  true  ;  and 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  vanity  of  Christian  historians, 
indignation  against  their  persecutors,  and  the  habits  of 
I'hetorical  declamation,  have  swelled,  in  their  descriptions, 
the  numbers  of  tlie  martyrs.  It  is  most  likely  that  the 
mob  were  more  furious  tlian  the  magistrates  ;  that  those 
who  were  entrusted  with  the  execution  of  the  Roman  laws 
would  observe  the  spirit  of  them  in  the  mode  of  trying 
persons  accused  of  Christianity ;  and  that  the  governors 
of  provinces  might,  upon  several  occasions,  restrain  the 
eagerness  with  which  the  Christians  were  sought  after,  and 
the  brutality  and  iniquity  with  which  the}'  were  treated. 
But  after  all  these  allowances,  any  pei'son  who  studies  the 
history  of  the  Christian  church  will  perceive  that  there  is 
much  false  colouring  in  the  apology  which  has  been  made 
for  the  Roman  magistrates  ;  and  we  can  produce  incon- 
testible  evidence,  the  concurring  testimony  of  Christian 
and  heathen  writers,  that,  upon  the  principles  which  have 
been  explained,  Christianity  was  j)ublicly  discouraged  in 
all  parts  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  and  that,  although  favour- 
able circumstances  procured  some  intervals  of  respite, 
there  \\  ere  many  seasons  when  this  religion  was  persecuted 
by  order  of  the  emperors — when  the  Christians  were  liable 
to  imprisonment  andconiiscation  of  their  estates — and  when 
death,  in  some  of  its  most  terrifying  forms,  was  inflicted 
upon  those  who,  being  brought  before  the  tribunals,  re- 
fused to  abjure  the  name  of  Christ. 

Such  was  the  complicated  opposition  which  the  apostles 


204  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Jesus  had  to  encounter.  Yet  the  measure  of  their  suc- 
cess was  such  as  I  have  stated.  Without  the  aid  of  power, 
or  wealth,  or  popular  prejudices  ;  without  accommodation 
to  reigning  vices  and  opinions  ;  without  drawing  the  sword 
or  fomenting  sedition,  or  encouraging  the  admiration  of 
their  followers  to  confer  upon  them  any  earthly  honours — 
but  by  humble,  peaceable,  laborious  teaching,  they  diffu- 
sed through  a  great  part  of  the  Roman  empire  the  know- 
ledge of  a  new  doctrine ;  they  turned  many  from  the  idols 
which  they  had  worshipped,  and  from  the  enormities 
.which  they  had  practised,  to  serve  the  living  God ;  and 
this  spiritual  system  advanced  under  every  discourage- 
ment, till  the  conversion,  or  the  policy  of  Constantine  ren- 
dered it  the  established  religion  of  the  Roman  empire. 
All  speculations  concerning  the  contagion  of  example,  the 
zeal  that  is  kindled  by  persecution,  the  power  of  vanity, 
and  the  love  of  the  marvellous,  are  A-isiouary,  when  you 
apply  them  to  account  for  the  change  which  Christianity 
made  during  the  three  first  centuries.  That  multitudes  in 
every  country,  and  of  ever\-  age  and  rank,  should  forsake 
the  religion  in  which  they  had  been  educated,  and  embrace 
one  which  was  much  stricter,  and  which  brought  no  world- 
ly advantage,  but  exposed  them  to  the  heaviest  alttictions; 
that  they  should  be  thus  converted  by  the  preaching  of  mean 
men,  and  that  their  conversion  should  appear  in  the  reforma- 
tion of  their  lives  as  well  as  in  the  alteration  of  their  wor- 
ship, is  a  phenomenon  of  which  we  require  some  cause, 
whose  influence  does  not  depend  upon  refined  speculations, 
but  is  real  and  permanent ;  and  not  being  able  to  find  any 
such  cause  in  the  human  means  that  were  employed,  we 
are  led  by  the  principles  of  our  nature  to  acknowledge  the 
interposition  of  the  Almighty. 

But  this  is  the  verj'  conclusion  to  which  we  were  for- 
merly conducted.  It  is  said  in  their  books  that  God  bare 
witness  to  the  apostles  by  signs,  and  wonders,  and  divei-s 
miracles  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  there  is  as 
clear  historical  evidence  as  the  nature  of  the  case  admits 
of,  that  this  assertion  is  true.  The  change,  then,  which 
we  have  been  contemplating,  is  no  longer  unaccountable. 
Miracles  wrought  by  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity 
were  sufficient  to  rouse  the  attention  of  the  world  even  in 
the  most  superstitious  age,  and  the  argument  employed  in 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  205 

them  was  so  plain  as  to  be  level  to  every  understanding, 
and  so  powerful,  that  we  are  not  surprised  at  its  overcom- 
ing, in  the  breasts  of  those  who  beheld  them,  all  consider- 
ations of  prudence  and  expediency.  The  eye-witnesses  of 
the  miracles,  yielding  to  the  demonstrations  of  the  Spirit, 
gave  glory  to  God  by  receiving  his  servants;  and  when  the 
signs  done  by  the  hands  of  the  ai)ostles  Avere  transmitted 
to  succeeding  ages,  attested  by  an  innumerable  cloud  of 
witnesses,  the  certain  knowledge  that  they  had  been  wrought 
produced  in  the  minds  of  numbers  a  full  conviction,  that 
the  religion  of  Jesus  was  introduced  into  the  world  by  the 
mighty  power  of  God. 

Thus,  then,  stands  the  argument  arising  from  the  pro- 
pagation of  Christianity.  The  human  means  appear 
wholly  inadequate  to  the  effect.  But  there  is  positive  evi- 
dence of  a  divine  interposition  ;  and  if  that  be  admitted, 
the  effect  may  easily  be  explained.  The  two  parts  of  the 
argument  illustrate  one  another.  The  miracles,  which 
we  receive  upon  a  strong  concurring  testimony,  enable  us 
to  assign  the  cause  of  the  propagation  of  Christianity ;  and 
the  knowledge  of  that  propagation,  which  we  derive  from 
history,  reflects  additional  light  and  credibility  upon  the 
miracles.  The  discrimination  between  the  success  of  iMa- 
homet  and  the  establishment  of  Christianity  is  so  clear 
and  striking,  that  we  may  with  perfect  fairness  apply  the 
reasoning  of  Gamaliel  to  the  latter,  although  we  do  not  ad- 
mit that  it  has  any  force  when  applied  to  the  former. 

These  are  the  principles  upon  Mhich  you  may  safely 
argue  from  the  success  of  the  gospel  that  it  is  of  divine  ori- 
gin. But  although  the  argument,  when  thus  stated,  ap- 
proves itself  to  every  candid  mind  as  sound  and  conclu- 
sive, there  are  still  several  difficulties  respecting  the  pro- 
pagation of  Christianity. 


SECTION  II. 


I  MENTION,  first,  an  objection  which  a  celebrated  part  of 
of  the  writings  of  Mr.  Gibbon  has  suggested  to  the  ac- 
count given  in  the  preceding  Section.  The  15th  chapter 
in  his  first  volume  professes  to  be  a  candid,  but  rational 


206  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

inquiry  into  the  progress  and  establishment  of  Christian- 
ity. "  Our  curiosity  is  naturally  prompted  to  inquire  by 
what  means  the  Christian  faith  obtained  so  remarkable  a 
victory  over  the  established  religions  of  the  earth.  To 
this  inquiry  an  obvious  but  satisfactory  answer  may  be 
returned  ;  that  it  was  owing  to  the  convincing  evidence  of 
the  doctrine  itself,  and  to  the  ruling  Providence  of  its 
great  Author.  But  as  truth  and  reason  seldom  find  so 
favourable  a  reception  in  the  world,  and  as  the  wisdom  of 
Providence  frequently  condescends  to  use  the  passions  of 
the  human  heart  and  the  general  circumstances  of  man- 
kind as  instruments  to  execute  its  purpose,  we  may  still 
be  permitted,  though  with  becoming  submission,  to  ask, 
not  indeed  what  were  the  first,  but  what  were  the  second- 
ary causes  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Christian  church." 

The  soundest  divine  might  have  used  this  language. 
We  acknowledge  that  the  providence  of  God  condescends 
to  employ  various  instruments  to  execute  his  purpose ; 
and  therefore,  while  we  affirm  that  the  manifestation  of  the 
power  of  God  was  the  great  mean  of  overcoming  those 
prejudices,  which  prevented  the  easy  admission  of  truth 
and  reason  into  the  minds  of  the  first  hearers  of  the  gospel, 
we  admit  that  there  were  also  means  prepared  by  the 
providence  of  God  to  facilitate  the  progress  of  this  reli- 
gion. But  it  happens  that  Mr.  Gibbon,  is  doing  the  office 
of  an  enemy,  while  he  speaks  the  language  of  a  friend. 
His  object  is  to  show,  that  the  joint  operation  of  the  five 
secondary  causes,  which  he  enumerates,  is  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity ;  and  the  in- 
fluence which  the  whole  chapter  tends  to  convey  to  the 
mind  of  the  reader,  although  it  be  nowhere  expressed,  is 
this,  that  there  is  not  any  occasion  for  having  recourse,  in 
this  matter,  to  the  ruling  providence  of  God.  The  five  se- 
condary causes  enumerated  by  Mr.  Gibbon  are  these, 
1.  "  The  inflexible  and  intolerant  zeal  of  the  Christians, 
derived,  it  is  true,  from  the  Jewish  religion,  but  purified 
from  the  narrow  and  unsocial  spirit  Avhich,  instead  of  in- 
viting, had  deterred  the  Gentiles  from  embracing  the  law 
of  Moses."  2.  "  The  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  improved 
by  every  additional  circumstance  which  could  give  weight 
and  efficacy  to  that  impoi'tant  truth."  3.  "  The  miracu- 
lous powers  of  the  primitive  church."     4.  "  The  virtues  of 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIAMTY.  207 

the  primitive  Christians."  5.  "  The  union  and  discipline 
of  the  Cliristian  republic,  which  gradually  formed  an  inde- 
pendent and  increasing  state  in  the  heart  of  the  Roman 
Empire." 

Mr.  Gibbon's  illustration  of  these  five   causes  is  not  a 
logical  discussion  of  their  influence  upon  the  propagation 
of  Christianity,  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
his  manly  understanding.     But  it  is  filled  with  digressions, 
which,  although  they  often  detract  from  the  influence  of 
the  causes,  serve  a  purpose  more  interesting  to  the  author 
than  the  illustration  of  that  influence,  by  presenting  a  de- 
grading view  of  the  religion  which  these  causes  are  said 
to  promote.     It  is  filled  with  indirect  and  sarcastic  insin- 
uations, with  partial  representations   of  facts  and  argu- 
ments, and  with  very  strained  uses  of  quotations  and  au- 
thorities.    I  consider  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Mr.  Gibbon's 
history  as  the  most  uncandid  attack  Avhich  has  been  made 
upon  Christianity  in  modern  times.     The   eminent  abili- 
ties, the  brilliant  style,  and  the  high  reputation  of  the  au- 
thor, render  it  particularly  dangerous  to  those  whose  in- 
formation is  not  extensive :  and  therefore  I  recommend 
to  you — not  to  abstain  from  reading  it.     Such  a  recom- 
mendation would  imply  some  distrust  of  the  cause  which 
Mr.  Gibbon  has  attacked,  and  a  compliance  with  it  would 
be  very  unbecoming  an  inquirer  after  truth.     But  I   re- 
commend to  you  to  read  along  with  this  chapter  some  of 
the  answers  that  have  been  made  to  it.     I  know  no  book 
that  has  been  so  completely  answered.     The  author,  in- 
deed, continues  to  discover  the  same   virulence  against 
Christianity  in  the  subsequent  volumes  of  his  work,  upon 
subjects  of  less  importance  than  the  causes  of  its  propaga- 
tion, and  where  the  indecent  controversies  amongst  Chris- 
tians give  him  the  appearance  of  a  triumph  in  the  eyes  of 
those  who  confound  true  religion  with  the  corruptions  of 
it.     But  any  person  who  has  examined  the  fifteenth  chap- 
ter with  due  care,  and  with  a  sufficient  measure  of  infor- 
mation, must,  I  think,  entertain  such  an  opinion  of  the  in- 
veteracy of  Ml'.  Gibbon's  prejudices  against  Christianity, 
and  of  the  arts  which  those  prejudices  have  made  him 
stoop  to  employ,  as  may  fortify  his  mind  against  any  in- 
clination to  commit  himself  to  a  guide  so  unsafe  in  every 
thing  which  concerns  religion. 
1 


208  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

When  you  attend  to  the  nature  of  the  five  secondary 
causes,  you  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  they  come  to  be 
ranked  in  the  place  which  Mr.  Gibbon  assigns  them.     If 
by  the  intolerant  and  inflexible  zeal  of  the  first  Christians 
be  meant  their  ardour  and  activity  in  promoting  a  reli- 
gion which  they  believed  to  be  divine,  we  readily  admit 
that   the   labours    of  the    apostles   and   their   successors 
were  an    instrument   by  which   God  spread   the    know- 
ledge of  the  Gospel.     But  this  cause  is  so  far  from  ac- 
counting for  the  conviction  which  the  first  teachers  them- 
selves had  of  the  facts  which  they  attested,  that  their  ar- 
dour and  activity  are  incredible,  unless  they  proceeded  from 
this  conviction ;  and  the  kind  of  inflexibility  and  intole- 
rance of  the  idolatry  and  the  vices  of  the  world,  which  was 
necessarily  connected  with  their  conviction  of  the   great 
facts  of  Christianity,  was  more  likely  to  deter  than  to  in- 
vite men  to  embrace  it.     If  by  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life 
be  meant  the  hope  of  life  eternal,  which  is  held  forth  Avith 
assurance  in  the  gospel  to  the  penitent,  this  is  so  essential 
a  branch  of  the  excellence  of  the  doctrine,  that  it  cannot, 
with  any  pi'opriety,  be  called  a  secondary  cause  ;  and  those 
adventitious  circumstances  which  Mr.  Gibbon  represents 
as  connected  with  this  hope,  he  means  the  sjDeedy  dissolu- 
tion of  the  world,  and  the  reign  of  Christ  with  his  saints 
upon  earth  for  a  thousand  years,   commonly   called  the 
Millennium,  appear  to  every  rational  inquirer  to  have  no 
foundation  in  Scripture,  and  never  to  have  formed  any  part 
of  the  teaching  of  the  apostles.     If  by  the  miraculous  pow- 
ers of  the  primitive  church  be  I'ueant  the  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit,  which  accompanied  the  first  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  signs  and  wonders  done  by  the  hands  of  the 
apostles,  this  is  manifestly  a  part  of  the  ruling  providence 
of  its  great  Master.     It  is  not  denied  that  the  miracles, 
which  rest  upon  unexceptionable  historical  evidence,  were 
succeeded  by  many  pretensions  to  miraculous  powers  after 
this  gift  of  the  Spirit  was  withdrawn.     But  it  is  not  easy  to 
conceive  how  these  pretensions  obtained  any  credit  in  the 
Christian  church,  unless  it  was  certainly  known  that  many 
real  miracles  had  been  wrought ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  the 
multitude  of  delusions  which  were  practised  tended  to  dis- 
credit tlie  Gospel  in  the   eye   of  every  rational  inquirer, 
and,  instead  of  promoting  the  success  ^f  the  new  religion, 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  209 

was  most  likely  to  confound  it  with  those  Pagan  fables 
which  it  commanded  men  to  forsake.  The  virtues  of  the 
primitive  Christians  were  exhibited  in  circumstances  so 
tryhig,  that  they  recommended  the  new  religion  most 
])Owerfully  to  the  world.  But  these  virtues,  which  were 
the  native  expression  of  faith  in  the  Gospel,  and  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit,  must  be  resolved  into  the  excellence  of  the 
doctrine.  Mr.  Gibbon,  indeed,  has  drawn  under  this  head 
a  picture  of  the  manners  of  the  primitive  Christians,  which 
liolds  them  up  to  the  ridicule  and  censure,  not  to  the  ad- 
miration, of  the  world.  The  colouring  of  this  picture  has 
been  discovered  to  be,  in  many  places,  false  and  extrava- 
gant :  and  this  glaring  inconsistency  strikes  every  person 
who  attends  to  it,  that  an  author  who  assigns  the  virtues 
of  the  primitive  Christians  as  a  cause  of  the  propagation  of 
Christianity,  chooses  to  degrade  that  religion  by  such  a 
representation  of  these  virtues,  as,  if  it  were  true,  would 
satisfy  every  reader  that  they  had  no  influence  in  produc- 
ing the  effect  which  he  ascribes  to  them. 

In  stating  the  last  cause,  there  is  an  obvious  inaccuracy, 
which  Mr.  Gibbon  would  not  have  been  guilty  of  upon  an- 
other subject.  He  is  professing  to  account  for  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  Christian  church.  His  fifth  cause  is  the 
union  and  discipline  of  the  Christian  republic,  which  ^rrt- 
dually  formed  an  independent  state  ;  and  his  account  of 
the  manner  of  its  formation  extends  through  the  three  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  It  matters  not  to  the  sub- 
ject upon  which  it  is  introduced,  whether  the  account  be 
just  or  false ;  for  it  is  manifest  that  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  Christian  church  in  the  first  and  second  centuries  can- 
not be  ascribed  to  the  union  and  discipline  of  the  Christian 
republic,  which  was  not  completed  till  after  the  third  cen- 

You  will  perceive  by  the  short  specimen  which  I  have 
given,  that  the  danger  of  Mr.  Gibbon's  book  does  not  arise 
from  his  having  discovered  five  secondary  causes  of  tlie 
propagation  of  Christianity,  to  which  the  world  had  not 
formerly  attended.  It  arises  from  the  manner  in  a\  hich  he 
has  illustrated  them  :  and  the  only  way  to  obviate  the  dan- 
ger is  to  canvass  his  illustration  very  closely.  There  is 
very  complete  assistance  provided  for  you  in  this  exercise. 

Mr.  White  has  touched  upon  Mr.  Gibbon's  five  causes 


210  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

shortly,  but  ably,  in  his  Comparative  View  of  Mahometan- 
isni  and  Christianity.  Bishop  Watson,  in  his  Apology  for 
Christianity^,  has  given,  with  much  animation,  and  without 
any  personal  abuse,  a  concise  clear  argument  upon  every 
one  of  the  five  causes,  which  appears  to  me  to  show,  in  the 
most  satisfactory  manner,  that  they  do  not  answer  the  pur- 
pose for  which  they  are  introduced,  and  that  it  is  still  ne- 
cessary to  have  recourse  to  the  ruling  providence  of  the 
great  Author  of  Christianity  in  order  to  account  for  its 
propagation.  After  Bishop  Watson's  Apology  was  pub- 
lished, an  answer  was  made  to  this  13th  chapter,  by  Sir 
David  Dalrymple,  Lord  Hailes,  entitled,  An  Inquiry  into 
the  secondary  causes  which  Mr.  Gibbon  assigns  for  the 
rapid  growth  of  Christianity.  Sir  David  was  peculiarly 
fitted  for  such  an  inquiry.  He  had  an  acute  distinguish- 
ing mind,  enriched  with  a  very  uncommon  measure  of 
theological  reading,  and  capable  of  the  most  patient  minute 
investigation.  He  was  a  zealous  friend  of  Christianity. 
And  he  has  applied  his  talents  with  great  success  in  hunt- 
ing out  every  misrepresentation  and  contradiction  into 
which  Mr.  Gibbon  was  betrayed  by  his  favourite  object. 
There  is  not  so  much  general  reasoning  in  the  Inquiry  as 
in  the  Apology.  But  Lord  Hailes  has  sifted  the  15th 
chapter  thoroughly.  He  treats  his  antagonist  with  de- 
cency, and  yet  he  triumphs  over  him  in  so  many  instances, 
and  brings  conviction  home  to  the  reader  in  so  pointed  a 
manner,  that  he  is  warranted  to  draw  the  conclusion  which 
I  shall  give  you  in  the  moderate  terms  that  he  has  chosen 
to  employ.  "  Mr.  Gibbon's  first  proposition  is,  that  Chris- 
tianity became  victorious  over  the  established  religions  of 
the  earth,  by  its  very  doctrine,  and  by  the  ruling  provi- 
dence of  its  great  Author ;  and  his  last,  of  a  like  import, 
is,  that  Christianity  is  the  truth.  Between  his  first  and  his 
last  propositions  there  are,  no  doubt,  many  dissertations, 
digressions,  inferences,  and  hints,  not  altogether  consistent 
with  his  avoAved  principles.  But  much  allowance  ought 
to  be  made  for  that  love  of  novelty  which  seduces  men  of 
genius  to  think  and  speak  rashlj' ;  and  for  that  easiness  of 
belief,  which  inclines  us  to  rely  on  the  quotations  and 
commentaries  of  confident  persons,  without  examining  the 
authors  of  whom  they  speak.  From  a  review  of  all  that 
he  has  said,  it  appears  that  the  things  which  Mr.  Gibbon 


PROPAGATION  OP  CHRISTIANITY.  211 

considered  as  secondary  or  human  causes,  efficaciously 
promoting  the  Christian  religion,  either  tended  to  retard 
its  progress,  or  were  tlie  manifest  operations  of  the  wis- 
dom and  power  of  God." 


SECTION  III. 


As  Mr.  Gibbon  dwells  upon  secondary  causes,  it  occurs  in 
this  place  to  mention  the  rank  and  character  of  those  who 
were  converted  to  Christianity  in  early  times.  It  is  obvi- 
ous to  observe,  that  although  the  condition  and  circum- 
stances of  the  first  teachers  had  been  ever  so  mean,  if  by 
any  accident  their  doctrine  had  been  instantly  adopted  by 
men  of  superior  knowledge  or  of  commanding  influence, 
there  might  have  been,  in  this  way,  created  a  secondary 
cause,  sufficient,  in  some  measure,  to  account  for  the  pro- 
pagation of  Cln-istianity.  But  the  fact  long  continued  to 
correspond  to  the  description  given  by  the  apostle  Paul, 
not  many  wise,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  were 
called.  God  employed  the  foolish  to  confound  the  wise, 
and  those  who  were  despised  to  confound  those  who 
were  highly  esteemed,  that  no  flesh  might  glory  in  his 
presence,  and  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  might  ap- 
pear to  be  of  him.*  Yet  even  here  a  bound  was  set  by 
the  wisdom  of  God.  Had  Christianity  been  embraced  in 
early  times  only  by  the  ignorant  vulgar,  it  might  have 
been  degraded  in  the  eyes  of  succeeding  ages ;  and  the 
universal  indifference  or  unbelief  of  those,  whose  under- 
standings had  i-eceived  any  degree  of  culture  and  enlarge- 
ment, might  have  conveyed  to  careless  observers  an  im- 
pression that  this  new  religion  was  an  irrational,  mean  su- 
perstition. To  obviate  this  objection,  even  the  Scriptures 
mention  the  names  of  many  persons  of  superior  rank  who 
embraced  Christianity  at  its  first  publication  :  and  we  know 
that,  during  the  two  first  centuries,  men  completely  versed 
in  all  the  learning  of  the  times  left  the  schools  of  the  phi- 
losophers, and  employed  their  talents  and  their  knowledge 
in  explaining  and  defending  the  doctrines  of  Christ.    Qua- 

»  1  Cor.  i.  26,  27, 28  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  7. 


212  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

<lratus  and  Aristides  were  Athenian  philosophers,  who 
flourished  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  second  century, 
and  who  continued  to  wear  the  dress  of  philosophers  after 
the}'  became  Christians.  Their  apologies  for  Christianity 
are  quoted  by  very  ancient  historians  ;  but  the  quotations  . 
made  from  them  are  the  only  parts  of  them  now  extant. 
We  still  have  several  works  of  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived 
in  the  second  century.  In  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho  the 
Jew,  he  gives  an  account  of  the  time  and  attention  which 
he  had  bestowed  upon  the  study  of  Platonism,  and  the  ad- 
miration in  which  he  once  held  that  doctrine.  But  now,  he 
says,  having  been  acquainted  with  the  prophets  and  those 
men  who  were  the  friends  of  Jesus,  I  have  found  that  this 
is  the  only  safe  and  useful  philosophy.  And  thus  I  have 
become  a  philosopher  indeed.     TawTjjv  f^cvov  'iv^t(rx.ov  (ptXoa-o- 

There  was  one  early  convert  to  Christianity,  whose  at- 
tainments and  whose  character  may  well  be  considered  as 
constituting  a  most  powerful  secondary  cause  in  its  propa- 
gation. I  mean  the  apostle  Paul,  a  learned  Pharisee,  bred 
at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  a  man  of  an  ardent  elevated  mind, 
and  of  a  strong  well- cultivated  understanding,  who  labour- 
ed more  abundantly  than  all  the  apostles,  with  indefatiga- 
ble zeal,  and  with  peculiar  advantages.  But  it  is  remarka- 
ble that  this  man,  in  preaching  the  Gospel,  did  not  avail 
himself  of  all  the  arts  which  he  had  learned  to  employ.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law  was  used  not  to  svipport,  but  to  over- 
turn the  system  in  which  he  had  been  bred.  There  is  not 
in  his  writings  the  most  distant  approach  to  the  forms  of 
Grecian  or  Asiatic  eloquence  ;  and  there  are  a  freedom  and 
a  severity  in  his  reproofs,  very  different  from  the  courtly 
manner  which  his  education  might  have  formed.  His  con- 
version is  in  itself  an  illustrious  argument  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  You  will  find  the  force  of  this  argument  well 
stated  in  a  treatise  of  the  first  Lord  Lyttelton,  entitled, 
Observations  on  the  Conversion  and  Apostleship  of  St. 
Paul  ;  one  of  those  classical  essays  which  every  student 
of  divinity  should  read.  The  elegant  and  amiable  writer, 
whose  name  is  dear  to  every  man  of  taste  and  virtue,  de- 
monstrates the  following  points  with  a  beautiful  persuasive 
simplicitj'.  1.  The  supposition,  either  of  enthusiasm  or  of 
imposture,  is  insufficient  to  account  for  the  couvei'sion  of 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  213 

this  apostle  ;  2.  The  character  of  his  mind,  and  the  history 
of  his  life,  conspire  in  confirming  the  narration  so  often  re- 
peated in  the  book  of  Acts ;  3.  That  narration  involves  in 
it  the  truth  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  gi'eat  fact 
which  the  apostles  witnessed  ;  4.  Paul  had  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  holding  any  previous  concert  with  the  other  apos- 
tles, but  was  completely  separated  from  them ;  5.  His  si- 
tuation gave  him  the  most  perfect  access  to  know  whether 
there  was  truth  in  the  report  published  by  them,  as  wit- 
nesses of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus ;  and  therefore  his  con- 
currence with  the  other  apostles,  in  publishing  that  report, 
and  preaching  the  doctrine  founded  upon  it,  is  an  accession 
of  new  evidence  after  the  first  promulgation  of  Christianity. 
The  force  of  this  new  evidence  will  always  remain  with 
those  who  acknowledge  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
to  be  authentic.  And,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christians 
who  lived  before  the  books  were  published,  it  was  wisely 
contrived  that  the  new  evidence  should  arise  out  of  the 
history  of  that  man  whose  labours  contributed  most  large- 
ly to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  so  that,  in  the  very  per- 
son from  whom  they  received  their  faith,  they  had  a  de- 
monstration of  its  being  divine. 

And  thus  you  observe,  that,  while  the  humble  station  of 
the  rest  of  the  apostles  necessarily  leads  us  to  a  divine  in- 
terposition, as  the  only  mean  of  qualifying  such  men  for 
being  the  instructors  of  the  world,  the  condition  and  edu- 
cation of  the  apostle  Paul,  which  furnished  a  secondary 
cause  that  was  useful  in  the  propagation  of  Christianity, 
do,  at  the  same  time,  render  his  conversion  such  an  ar- 
gument for  the  truth  of  that  religion,  as  is  much  more  than 
sufficient  to  counterbalance  all  the  advantages  which  it 
could  possibly  derive  from  his  knowledge  and  his  talents. 
All  this  you  will  find  illustrated  in  a  very  full  life  of  St. 
Paul,  which  Dr.  Macknight  has  prefixed  to  his  commen- 
tary on  the  epistles. 


SECTION  IV. 


I  HAVE  stated  the  qualifications  which  are  necessarj^  in  or- 
der to  render  the  argument  arising  from  the  propagation 


214  PROPAGATION  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Christianity  sound  and  conclusive  ;  I  have  suggested  tlie 
manner  of  obviating  the  objections  contained  in  Mr.  Gib- 
bon's account  of  the  secondary  causes  which  promoted  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  Christian  church ;  and  I  have  marked 
the  argument  implied  in  the  conversion  of  the  apostle 
Paul. 

All  that  I  have  hitherto  said  respects  the  means  employ- 
ed in  propagating  the  Gospel.  But  there  is  another  set 
of  objections  that  will  often  meet  you  respecting  the  mea- 
sure of  the  effect  which  these  means  have  produced.  "  If 
the  Gospel  was  really  introduced  by  the  mighty  power  of 
God,  why  was  it  not  published  much  earlier  ?  It  is  as 
easy  for  the  Almighty  to  exert  his  power  at  one  time  as  at 
another,  yet  the  world  was  four  thousand  years  old  before 
the  Gospel  appeared.  Why  is  this  beneficent  religion  dif- 
fused through  so  small  a  poi'tion  of  the  globe  ?  It  has  been 
said  that  if  our  earth  be  divided  into  thirty  equal  parts, 
Paganism  is  established  in  nineteen  of  those  parts,  Ma- 
hometanism  in  six,  and  Christianity  only  in  five.  Why 
have  the  evil  passions  of  men  been  permitted  to  mingle 
themselves  with  the  work  of  God  ?  Why  has  the  sword 
of  the  persecutor  been  called  in  to  aid  the  counsel  of  hea- 
ven ?  Why  does  the  Gospel  now  spread  so  slowly,  that  the 
triumphs  of  this  religion  seem  to  have  ceased  not  many 
centuries  after  they  began  ?  Why  has  a  system,  in  sup- 
port of  which  the  Ruler  of  tlie  universe  condescended  to 
make  bare  his  holy  arm,  degenerated,  throughout  a  great 
part  of  the  Christian  world,  into  a  corrupt  form,  very  far 
removed  from  its  original  simplicity  ?  And  why  is  its  in- 
fluence over  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men  so  inconsiderable, 
even  in  those  countries  where  the  truth  is  taught  as  it  is 
in  Christ  Jesus  ?  This  partiality,  and  delay,  and  imper- 
fection in  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  resemble  very 
much  the  work  of  man,  whose  limited  operations  corres- 
pond to  the  scantiness  of  his  power.  But  all  this  is  very 
unlike  tlie  word  of  the  Almighty,  which  runneth  swiftly 
throughout  the  whole  earth,  to  execute  all  the  extent  of 
the  gracious  purpose  formed  by  the  Universal  Father  of 
mankind." 

I  have  stated  these  objections  in  one  view  with  all  their 
force.     You  will  find  them  not  only  urged  seriously  in  the 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  215 

works  of  deistical  writers,  but  thrown  out  lightly  and  scoft- 
ingly  in  conversation,  so  that  it  behoves  you  very  much 
to  be  well  apprized  of  the  manner  of  answering  them.  It 
is  impossible  for  me  to  enter  into  any  detail  upon  this  sub- 
ject ;  but  I  shall  suggest  to  you,  in  the  six  following  pro- 
positions, the  heads  of  answers  to  all  objections  of  this 
kind,  leaving  them  to  be  enlarged  and  applied  by  your 
own  reading. 

1.  Observe  that  these  questions,  were  they  much  more 
pointed  and  unanswerable  than  they  are,  could  not  have 
the  effect  to  overturn  historical  evidence.  If  there  be  po- 
sitive satisfying  testimony  that  the  divine  power  was  exert- 
ed in  support  of  Christianity  at  its  first  promulgation,  our 
being  unable  to  account  for  the  particular  measure  of  the 
effect  which  that  exertion  has  produced  does  not,  by  anj^ 
clear  connexion  of  premises  with  a  conclusion,  invalidate 
the  testimony,  but  only  discovers  our  ignorance  of  the 
ways  of  God ;  and  this  is  an  ignorance  which  we  feel  up- 
on everjr  other  subject,  which,  in  judging  of  the  works  of 
nature,  we  never  admit  as  an  argument  against  matter  of 
fact,  and  which  any  person,  who  has  just  impressions  of  the 
limited  powers  of  man,  and  the  innnense  extent  of  the  di- 
vine counsels,  will  not  consider  as  of  weight  when  applied 
to  the  evidences  of  religion. 

2.  Observe  that  all  the  questions  imply  an  expectation 
that  God  will  bestow  the  same  religious  advantages  upon 
the  children  of  men  in  every  age  and  country.  But,  as  no 
23erson,  who  understands  the  terms  which  he  uses,  will  say 
that  God  is  bound  in  justice  to  distribute  his  favours 
ecjually  to  all  his  creatures,  so  no  person  who  attends  to 
the  course  of  Divine  Providence  will  be  led  to  draw  any 
such  expectation  as  the  questions  imply,  from  the  conduct 
of  the  Almighty  in  other  matters.  Recollect  the  diversi- 
ties of  the  human  species,  the  differences  amongst  indivi- 
duals, in  vigour  of  constitution,  in  bodily  accomplishments, 
in  the  powers  of  understanding,  in  temper  and  passions,  in 
the  opportunities  of  improvement,  and  the  measure  of 
comfort  and  enjoyment,  or  of  toil  and  sorrow,  which  their 
situations  afford.  Recollect  the  differences  amongst  na- 
tions in  climate,  in  government,  in  the  amount  of  natural, 
and  political  advantages,  and  in  the  whole  sum  of  national 
prosperity.     It  is  impossible  for  us  to  conceive  how  the 


216 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


subordination  of  society  could  be  maintained,  if  all  men 
had  the  same  talents ;  or  how  the  course  of  human  affairs 
could  proceed,  if  every  part  of  the  globe  was  like  every 
other.  Being  thus  accustomed  to  behold  and  to  admire 
the  varieties  in  the  natural  advantages  of  men,  we  are  pre- 
pared, by  the  analogy  of  the  works  of  God,  to  expect  like 
varieties  in  their  religious  advantages ;  and  although  we 
may  not  be  able  to  trace  all  the  reasons  why  the  light  of 
the  Gospel  was  so  long  of  appearing,  or  is  at  present  so 
unequally  distributed,,  yet  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  this  is 
but  the  beginning  of  our  existence,  and  that  every  man 
shall,  in  the  end,  be  dealt  with  according  to  that  which  had 
been  given  him,  Ave  shall  not  for  a  moment  annex  the  idea 
of  injustice  to  this  part  of  the  Divine  conduct. 

3.  Observe  that  these  questions  imply  an  expectation 
that,  while  human  works  admit  of  preparation,  the  work  of 
God  will,  in  every  case,  be  done  instantly.  But  it  is  ma- 
nifest that  this  expectation  also  is  contradicted  by  the  whole 
course  of  nature.  For  although  God  may,  by  a  word  of 
his  mouth,  do  all  his  pleasure,  yet  he  generally  chooses, 
for  wise  reasons,  some  of  which  we  are  often  able  to  trace, 
to  employ  means,  and  to  allow  such  a  gradual  operation 
of  those  means,  as  admits  of  a  progress,  in  which  one  thing 
paves  the  way  for  another,  and  gives  notice  of  its  approach. 
In  all  that  process  by  which  food  for  man  and  beast  is 
brought  out  of  the  ground — in  the  opening  of  the  human 
mind  from  infancy  to  manhood — and  in  those  natural 
changes  which  affect  the  bowels  or  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
we  profit  very  much  l)y  marking  the  slow  advances  of  na- 
ture to  its  end ;  and  therefore  we  need  not  be  surprised  to 
find  the  steps  of  Divine  Providence  in  the  publication  of 
the  Gospel  very  different  from  the  haste,  which,  in  our 
imagination,  appears  desirable.  As  there  is  a  time  of  ma- 
turity in  natural  productions  to  which  all  the  preparation 
has  tended,  so  the  Gospel  appeared  at  that  season  which  is 
styled  in  Scripture  the  fulness  of  time,  and  which  is  found, 
upon  a  close  attention  to  circumstances,  to  have  been  the 
fittest  for  such  a  revelation.  There  is  an  excellent  sermon 
upon  this  subject  by  Principal  Robei'tson,  Avhich  you  will 
find  in  the  "  Scots  Preacher,"  distinguished  by  that  sound- 
ness of  thought,  and  that  compass  of  historical  information, 
which  his  other  writings  may  lead  you  to  expect.     The 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  217 

same  subject  will  often  meet  you  in  the  books  that  you 
read  upon  the  deistical  controversy ;  and  when  you  attend 
to  the  complete  illustration  which  it  has  received  from  the 
writings  of  many  learned  men,   you  will  be  satisfied  that, 
as  the  need  of  an  extraordinary  revelation  was  at  that  time 
become  manifest,  so  the  improvements  of  science,  and  the 
political  state  of  the  world,  conspired  to  render  the  age  in 
which  the  Gospel  appeared  better  qualified  than  any  pre- 
ceding age  for  examining  the  evidences  of  a  revelation,  for 
aflPording  many  striking  confirmations  of  its  divine  origi- 
nal, and  for  conveying  it  with  ease  and  advantage  to  fu- 
ture ages.     The  preparation  which  produced  this  fulness 
of  time  had  been  carrying  forward  during  4000  years  ;  and 
nearl}^   2000  have    elapsed   while   Christianity  has  been 
spreading  through  a  fifth  part  of  the  globe.     But  this  slow- 
ness, so  agreeable  to  the  general  course  of  nature,  will  not 
appear  to  you  inconsistent  with  the  wisdom  or  goodness  of 
the  iVlmighty,  when  you, 

4.  Observe  that  in  all  this  there  was  a  preparation  for 
the  universal  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  A  considerable 
measure  of  religious  knowledge  was  diffused  through  the 
Avorld  before  the  appearance  of  the  Gospel ;  and  the  delay 
of  its  universal  publication  has  perhaps  already  contribut- 
ed, and  may  be  so  disposed  in  future  as  to  contribute  still 
more  to  prepare  the  world  for  receiving  it.  The  few  simple 
doctrines  of  that  traditional  religion  which  existed  before 
the  deluge,  were  transmitted,  by  the  longevity  of  the  pa- 
triarciis,  thi'ough  very  few  hands  for  the  first  1400  years 
of  the  world.  Methuselah  lived  many  years  with  Adam; 
Shem  lived  many  years  with  Methuselah  ;  and  Abraham 
lived  with  Shem  till  he  was  7o.  Between  Adam  and 
Abraham  thei'e  were  only  two  intermediate  links  ;  yet  a 
chain  of  tradition,  extending  through  nearly  1700  years, 
and  embracing  the  creation,  the  fall,  and  the  promise  of  a 
Saviour,  was  preserved.  The  calling  of  Abraham,  al- 
though it  conferred  peculiar  advantages  upon  his  family, 
was  fitted,  by  his  character  and  situation,  to  enlighten  his 
neighbours ;  and  the  whole  histor}'  of  the  Jewish  people 
— tiieir  sojourning  in  Egypt,  the  place  which  they  were 
destined  to  inhabit,  their  conquests,  and  the  captivities  by 
which  they  were  afterwards  scattered  over  the  face  of  the 
earth,  rendered  them,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  lights  of 

VOL.  I.  L 


218  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

the  world.  Bryant,  in  his  "  Mythology,"  and  men  who 
have  applied  to  such  investigations,  have  traced,  with  much 
probability,  a  resemblance  to  the  Mosaic  system  in  the  re- 
ligions of  many  of  the  neighbouring  nations  ;  and  if  we  pay- 
any  attention  to  the  force  of  the  instances  in  which  this  re- 
semblance has  been  illustrated,  even  although  we  should 
not  give  credit  to  all  the  conjectures  that  have  been  ad- 
vanced, we  can  hardly  entertain  a  doubt  that  the  revela- 
tion with  which  the  Jews  were  favoured  was  a  source  of 
instruction  to  other  people.  During  the  existence  of  this 
peculiar  religion  wise  men  were  raised,  by  the  providence 
of  God,  in  many  countries,  who  did  not,  indeed,  pretend 
to  be  the  messengers  of  heaven,  but  whose  discoveries  ex- 
posed the  growing  corruptions  of  the  established  systems, 
or  whose  laws  imposed  some  restraint  upon  the  excesses 
of  superstition ;  while  the  progress  of  society,  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  reason,  opened  the  minds  of  men  to  a  more 
perfect  instruction  than  they  had  formei'ly  been  qualified 
to  receive. 

These  hints  suggest  this  enlarged  view  of  the  economy 
of  Divine  Pi'ovidence,  that  God  in  no  age  left  himself  with- 
out a  witness,  and  that  the  several  dispensations  of  reli- 
gion, in  ancient  times,  both  to  Jews  and  heathens,  were 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  human  race,  so  as  to 
lead  them  forward  by  a  gradual  education  from  times  of 
infancy  and  childhood  to  the  rational  sublime  system  un- 
folded in  the  Gospel. 

It  is  following  out  the  same  view,  to  consider  the  partial 
})ropagation  of  the  Gospel  as  intended  to  prepare  the  world 
for  receiving  it.  Many  of  the  heathen  moralists,  Avho  liv- 
ed after  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  discover  more  I'efined  no- 
tions of  God,  and  more  enlarged  conceptions  of  the  duties 
of  man,  than  any  of  their  predecessors.  They  profited  by 
the  Gospel,  although  they  did  not  acknowledge  the  obliga- 
tion ;  and  they  disseminated  some  part  of  its  instruction, 
tilthough  they  disdained  to  appear  as  its  ministers.  The 
Koraninculcates  the  unity  of  God,  and  retains  a  part  of 
tlie  Christian  morality  ;  and  thus  the  successful  accommo- 
dating religion  of  Mahomet  may  be  considered  as  a  step, 
})y  which  the  providence  of  God  is  to  lead  the  nations  that 
liave  embraced  it  from  the  absurdities  of  Paganism  to  the 
true  faith.     When  Christianity  became  the  established  re- 


PROPAGATIOX  OP  CHRISTIANITY.  219 

ligion  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  other  parts  of  the  world 
were  very  far  behind  in  civilization,  and  many  of  the  coun- 
tries tliat  have  been  lately  discovered  are  in  the  rudest 
state  of  society.  But  the  conversion  of  savage  tribes  to  a 
spiritual  rational  system  is  impracticable.  Much  time  is 
necessary  to  open  their  understandings,  to  give  them  ha- 
bits of  industry  and  order,  and  to  render  them,  in  some 
measure,  acquainted  with  ideas  and  manners  more  polish- 
ed than  their  own.  A  long  intercourse  with  the  nations 
of  Europe,  who  appear  fitted  by  their  character  to  be  the 
instructors  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  may  be  the  mean  ap- 
pointed by  God  for  removing  the  prejudices  of  idolatry 
and  ignorance ;  and  as  the  enlightened  discoveries  of  mo- 
dern times  make  us  acquainted  M'ith  the  manners,  the 
^'iews,  and  the  interests,  as  well  as  with  the  geographical 
situation  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  we  may,  not 
indeed  with  the  precipitancy  of  visionary  reformers,  but  in 
that  gradual  progress  which  the  nature  of  the  case  requires, 
be  the  instrument  of  prejDaring  them  for  embracing  our  re- 
ligion ;  and,  by  the  measure  in  which  they  adopt  our  im- 
provements in  art  and  science,  they  may  become  qualified 
to  receive,  through  our  communication,  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God  and  of  his  Son  Christ  Jesus. 

5.  Observe  that  the  objection,  implied  in  some  of  the 
questions  that  I  stated,  necessarily  arises  from  the  employ- 
ment of  human  means  in  that  partial  propagation  of  the 
Gospel  which  has  already  taken  place.  Any  such  objec- 
tion might  have  been  effectuallj-  obviated  by  a  continued 
miracle ;  but  it  remains  to  be  incjuircd  whether  the  nature 
of  the  case,  or  the  general  analogy  of  Divine  Providence, 
gives  any  reason  to  expect  this  method  of  obviating  the 
objection.  Had  the  outstretched  arm  of  the  Almighty, 
which  first  introduced  the  Gospel,  continued  to  be  exerted 
through  all  succeeding  ages  in  tlie  propagation  of  it,  the 
course  of  human  affairs  would  have  been  unhinged,  and 
the  argument  from  miracles  would  have  been  weakened, 
because  the  extraordinary  interposition  of  the  Almighty 
would,  l)y  reason  of  its  frequent  returns,  have  been  con- 
founded with  the  ordinary  course  of  nature.  The  divine 
original  of  the  gift,  therefore,  being  ascertained,  the  hand 
of  Him  from  whom  it  had  proceeded  was  wisely  withdrawn, 
and  human  passions  and  interests  wex*e  combined,  by  his 


220 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHEISTIANITY. 


all-ruling  Providence,  to  diftuse  it  in  the  measure  "which  he 
had  ordained.     The  pious  zeal  of  many  Christians  in  early 
and  later  times,  the  vanity,  ambition,  or  avarice,  which  led 
others  to  promote  their  private  ends  by  spreading  the  faith 
of  Christ,  the  wide  extent  of  the  Roman  empire   at  the 
time  when  Christianity  became  the  established  religion  of 
tlie  state,  the  subsecjuent  dismemberment  of  the  empire  by 
the  invasions  and  settlements  of  the  barbarous  nations,  and 
the  spirit  of  commerce  which  has  carried  the  descendants 
of  these  nations  to  regions  never  visited  by  the  Roman 
arms,  are  some  of  the  instruments  employed  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God  in  the  propagation  of  Christianity.     It  was 
not  to  be  expected,  that  in  a  propagation  thxis  committed 
to  human  means,  the  heavenly  gift  would  escape  all  con- 
tamination   i'rom    the    imperfect   and    impure    channels 
through  which  it  was  conveyed  ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  there  have  been  many  corruptions,  many  improper 
methods  of  converting  men  to   Christianity,    and  man}- 
gross  adulterations  and  perversions  of  "  tlie  faith  once  de- 
livered to  the  saints."     But  you  will  observe  in  general, 
that  although  the  gifts  of  God  are  liable  to  abuse  through 
the  imperfections  and  vices  of  men,   such  abuse  is  never 
considered  as  anj^  argument  that  the  gifts  did  not  proceed 
from  him  :   and  with  regard  to  the  corruptions  of  Chris- 
tianity in  particular,  you  will  observe,  that  so  far  from  their 
creating  any  presumption  against  the  evidence  of  our  reli- 
gion, there  are  circumstances  which  render  them  an  argu- 
ment for  its  divine   original.     They  are  foretold  in  the 
Scriptures.     They  arose  by  the  neglect  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  they  were  in  a  great  measure  remedied  at  the  Refor- 
mation, by  the  return  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  to  that   truth   which  the   Scriptures  declare. 
The  case  stands  thus.     The  Gospel  contains  a  system  of 
faith  and  practice,   which  is  safeh"^  deposited  in  those  au- 
thentic records  that  are  received  by  the  whole  Christian 
world.     That  system  was  indeed  deformed  in  its  progress 
by  the  errors  and  passions  of  men,  but  it   breaks  through 
this  cloud  by  its  own  intrinsic  light.     The  striking  manner 
in  which  the  prophecy  of  the  corruptions  of  Christianity 
has  been  fulfilled  forms  an  important  branch  of  the  evi- 
dence of  our  religion.     The  discussions  which  they  occa- 
sioned have  contributed  very  much  to  render  the  nature 

6 


PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  221 

of  the  Gospel  more  perfectly  understood  ;  and  the  further 
that  the  Christian  world  departs  either  from  those  corrup- 
tions to  which  the  Reformation  applied  a  remedy,  or  from 
an}'-  others  which  the  Scriptures  condemn,  the  divinity  of 
their  religion  will  become  the  more  manifest.     Hence  you 
may  perceive  an  advantage  arising  from  the  slowness  with 
which  the  Gospel  was  propagated  for  many  centuries.     In 
its  rapid  progress  before  tlie  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the 
pure  doctrine  of  the  apostles  was   carried  by  themselves, 
or  tluMr  immediate  successors,  through  all  the  parts  of  the 
then  known  world.     But  had  it  spread  with  ecjual  raj)idity 
in  the  dark  ages,  all  the  absurdities  which  at  that  time  ad- 
hered to  it  would  have  spread  also  ;  and  so  universal  a  dis- 
ease could  hardly  have  admitted   of  any   remedy.     It  is 
now  purified  from  a  great  part  of  the  dross.     The  influ- 
ence of  the  Reformation  has  extended  even  to  Roman  Ca- 
tholic countries  ;  and  in  those  which  are   reformed,  the 
progress  of  knowledge,  and  the  application  of  sound  criti- 
cism, are  continuing  to  illustrate  the  genuine  doctrines  of 
Christ.     The  Gospel  will  thus  be  communicated  with  less 
adulteration  to  those  parts  of  the  world  which  are  yet  to 
receive  the  first  notice  of  it  :   and  that  free   intercoui-se, 
which  the  spirit  of  modern  commerce  is  now  opening  be- 
tween countries  which  formerly  regarded  each  other  witli 
jealousy,  may  be  the  mean  of  extirpating  the  errors  of  Po- 
pery which  were  sown  in  remote  regions  by  the  zeal  of 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries.     These  are  pleasing  views, 
sufficient  to  overpower  the  peevish  objection  suggested  by 
the  corruptions  of  Christianity ;  they  lead  us  to  consider 
the  Almighty  as  making  all  things  work  together  for  the 
establishment  of  truth  and  righteousness  upon  earth  ;  and 
they  teach  us  to  rest  with  assurance  in  the  declaration  of 
Scripture,  that  "  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  shall  be- 
come the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord." 

6.  One  part  of  the  objection  onlj'-  remains.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  there  is  much  wickedness  in  Christian 
countries,  even  in  those  Avhich  hold  the  truth  in  its  primitive 
simplicity.  It  is  not  unnatural  for  a  benevolent  mind, 
which  wishes  the  virtue  of  mankind  as  the  only  sure  foun- 
dation of  their  happiness,  to  regret  that  the  Gospel  does 
not  produce  a  more  complete  reformation  of  the  \ices  of 
the  world  ;  and  if  the  most  important  blessing  which  a  re- 


222  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

velation  can  confer  is  to  turn  men  from  their  iniquities,  a 
doubt  may  sometimes  obtrude   itself  even  upon  a  candid 
and  devout  mind,  how  far  the  effect  ideally  produced  is  pro- 
portioned to  the  long  preparation,  and  the  mighty  works 
which  ushered  in  the  Gospel.     The  following  observations 
serve  to  remove  this  doubt.     It  is   extremely  difficult  to 
attain  to  ajiy  precise  notion  of  the  sum  of  wickedness  in 
ancient  times ;  and  there  are  no  data  upon  which  we  can 
form  any  estimate  of  what  would  have  been  the  measure 
of  wickedness  in  the  present  circumstances  of  society,  if 
the  Gospel  had  not  appeared.     The  religion  of  Jesus  has 
extirpated  some  horrid  practices  of  ancient  times :  it  has 
refined  the  manners  of  men  in  war,  and  in  several  import- 
ant articles  of  domestic  intercourse;  and  it  has  produced 
an  extension  and  activity  of  beneficence  unknown  in  the 
heathen  world.     It  imposes  restraints  upon  those  evil  pas- 
sions and  inordinate  desires,  which,  were  it  not  for  its  in- 
fluence, would  be  indulged  by  many  without  control ;  and 
it  cherishes  in  the  breasts  of  individuals  those  private  vir- 
tues of  humility,  patience,  and  resignation,  which  do  not 
receive  all  the  honour  which  is  due  to  them,  because  their 
excellence    withdraws  them  from  public  observation.     It 
addresses  itself  to  every  principle  of  action  in  the  human 
breast  with  greater  energy   than   any  other  sj^stem  ever 
did  :  the  tendency  of  all  its  parts  is  to  render  men  virtu- 
ous ;  and  if  it  fails  in  reforming  the  world,  we  cannot  con- 
ceive any  method  of  reformation  consistent  with  the  cha- 
racter of  free  agents,  that  is  likely  to  prove  effectual.     It 
is  according  to  this  character  that  God  always  deals  with 
the  children  of  men.     Religion  joins  its  influence  to  rea- 
son.    But  it  is  an  inconsistency  in  terms  to  say  that  reli- 
gion should  compel  men  to  be  virtuous,  because  compul- 
sion destroj's  the  essence  of  virtue. 

These  observations  appear  to  me  to  be  a  sufficient  an- 
swer to  the  objection  against  the  truth  of  Christian itj-, 
which  has  been  drawn  from  its  appearing  to  have  little  in- 
fluence upon  the  lives  of  Christians.  But  I  am  sensible 
that  they  are  not  sufficient  to  counteract  the  influence  of 
this  objection  upon  the  minds  of  men.  The  wickedness  of 
those  who  call  themselves  Christians  is  undoubtedly  a  re- 
proach to  our  religion.  It  is  a  grief  to  the  friends  of  Christ- 
ianity, and  the  most  ready  sarcasm  in  the  mouths  of  its 


PBOPAGATION  OF  CHKISTIANITY.  223 

enemies.  It  is  your  business,  the  office  for  which  all 
your  studies  are  meant  to  prepare  you,  to  diminish  the 
influence  of  this  objection.  If  you  convert  a  sinner  from 
the  error  of  his  ways,  or  brighten  by  your  example  and 
your  discourse,  the  graces  of  the  disciples  of  Christ,  you 
confirm  the  argument  arising  from  the  propagation  of  our 
religion.  And  the  best  service  that  you  can  render  to  that 
honourable  cause,  in  support  of  which  you  profess  to  exert 
your  talents,  is  to  exhibit  in  your  own  character  the  ge- 
nuine spirit  of  Christianity,  and  to  illustrate  the  principles 
of  that  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godliness,  in  such 
a  manner  as  may  render  them,  through  the  blessing  of 
God,  the  means  of  improving  the  character  of  your  neigh- 
bours. 

The  amount  of  the  answers  which  I  have  suggested  may 
be  summed  up  in  a  few  words.  Any  objection,  arising 
fi'om  the  measure  of  the  effect  produced  by  the  Gospel, 
cannot  overturn  direct  historical  evidence  of  a  divine  in- 
terposition. We  are  not  warranted,  by  the  course  of  na- 
ture, and  the  conduct  of  divine  Providence  in  other  mat- 
ters, to  expect  either  that  the  Almighty  will  confer  the 
same  religious  advantages  upon  all  his  creatures,  or  that 
he  will  accomplish,  in  a  short  space  of  time,  that  publica- 
tion of  the  Gospel  which  formed  part  of  his  original  pur- 
pose. A  considerable  measure  of  religious  knowledge  was 
diffused  through  the  world  during  the  preparation  for  the 
appearance  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  delay  of  its  universal 
publication  may  contribute  to  prepare  the  world  for  re- 
ceiving it.  The  corruptions  of  Christianity,  which  arose 
unavoidably  from  the  human  means  employed  in  its  pro- 
pagation, could  not  have  been  obviated  without  a  conti- 
nued miracle  ;  and  the  imperfect  degree  in  -which  the  Gos- 
pel has  actually  reformed  the  world,  however  much  it  may 
be  a  matter  of  regret  to  Christians,  yet,  when  compared 
with  the  excellence  and  energy  of  the  doctrine,  is  only  a 
proof  that  religion  was  given  to  improve,  but  not  to  de- 
stroj^  the  character  of  reasonable  agents. 

Besides  the  books  mentioned  in  the  course  of  this  chapter,  you  may 
read  two  excellent  sermons  of  Bishop  Atterbury,  on  the  Miracti- 
lous  Propagation  of  the  Gospel. 

You  will  derive  the  most  enlarged  views  uoon  this,   as  upon  every 


224  PROPAGATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Other  subject  connected  with  Christianity^  from  Butler's  Analogy, 
particularly  from  Part  li.  chap.  vi.  at  the  beginning. 

Consult  also  Jortin. 

Law's  Considerations  on  the  Theory  of  Religion. 

Paley's  Evidences,  vol.  ii. 

Hill's  Sermons. 

Shaw  and  Dieli  upon  the  Counsel  of  Gamaliel. 

Macknight's  Truth  of  the  Gospel  History  ;  a  book  that  deserves  to 
be  better  known,  and  more  generally  read  than  it  is.  All  the  au- 
thorities and  arguments,  which  are  concisely  stated  by  other  writers, 
are  spread  out  in  that  large  work  with  a  fiUness  and  clearness  of 
illustration  that  is  very  useful,  and,  in  many  places,  with  a  degree 
of  acuteness  and  ingenuity  that  is  not  commonly  met  with.  He  has 
dwelt  very  largely  upon  the  argument  for  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion,  which  arises  from  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christia- 
nity. You  will  find,  in  this  part  of  his  work,  a  most  complete  eluci- 
dation of  the  whole  argument — the  history  of  the  ten  persecutions 
before  Constantine — and  a  great  deal  of  information  with  which  it 
is  highly  proper  your  minds  should  be  furnished,  and  which  you 
will  not  easily  gather  from  any  other  single  treatise. 


225 


BOOK  II. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  SCRIPTURAL  SYSTEM. 


CHAP.  I. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

I  HAVE  stated  the  evidence  upon  which  we  receive  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  as  authentic  genuine  records  ; 
and  I  have  long  been  employed  in  examining  this  high 
claim  which  they  advance,  that  they  contain  a  divine  reve- 
lation. It  appeared  that  this  claim  was  not  contradicted 
by  the  general  contents  of  the  books,  but  rather  that  there 
M'as  a  presumption  arising  from  thence  in  its  favour.  W  e 
found  the  claim  directly  supported  by  miracles  received 
upon  clear  historical  evidence,  by  the  agreement  of  the 
new  dispensation  with  a  train  of  prophecies  contained  in 
books  that  are  certainly  known  to  have  existed  many  ages 
before  our  Saviour  was  born,  by  the  striking  fulfilment  of 
his  prophecies,  by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  by  the 
miraculous  powers  conferred  upon  his  apostles  after  his  as- 
cension, and  by  the  propagation  of  his  religion. 

But,  even  after  this  review  of  the  principal  evidences  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  there  remains  a  very  interesting 
(juestion,  before  we  are  prepared  to  enter  upon  a  particu- 
lar examination  of  the  system  of  truth  revealed  in  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  question  is,  whether  we  are 
to  regard  these  books  as  inspired  writings  ?  It  is  possible, 
you  will  observe,  that  Christ  was  a  divine  messenger,  that 


226  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

the  persons  whom  he  chose  as  his  companions  during  his 
abode  upon  earth  were  endowed  by  him  with  the  power 
of  working  ijiiracles ;  and  yet  that,  in  recording  the  his- 
tory of  his  life,  and  publishing  the  doctrines  of  his  religion, 
they  were  left  merely  to  the  exercise  of  their  own  recol- 
lection and  understanding.  Upon  this  supposition,  the 
miracles  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  may  be  received  as 
facts  established  by  satisfying  historical  evidence ;  and  an 
inference  may  be  drawn  from  them,  that  the  person  who 
performed  such  works,  and  who  committed  to  his  disciples 
pov.ers  similar  to  his  own,  was  a  teacher  sent  from  God ; 
and  yet  the  writings  of  the  apostles  will  be  considered  as 
human  compositions,  distinguished  from  the  works  of  other 
men  merely  by  the  superior  advantages  which  the  authors 
had  derived  from  the  conversation  of  such  a  person  as  Je- 
sus, but  in  no  respect  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

This  is  the  system  of  the  modern  Socinians,  which  their 
eagerness  to  get  rid  of  some  of  the  doctrines,  that  other 
Christians  consider  as  clearly  revealed  in  Scripture,  has 
led  them  of  late  openly  to  avow.  I  quote  the  sentiments 
of  Dr.  Priestley  from  one  of  his  latest  publications,  the  very 
same  in  which  he  bears  a  strong  testimony  to  the  credibi- 
lity of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  "  I  think  that  the  Scrip- 
tures were  written  without  any  particular  inspiration,  by 
men  who  wrote  according  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge, 
and  who,  from  their  circumstances,  could  not  be  mistaken 
with  respect  to  the  greater  facts  of  which  they  were  pro- 
per witnesses,  but  (like  other  men  subject  to  prejudice) 
might  be  liable  to  adopt  a  hasty  and  ill-grounded  opinion 
concerning  things  which  did  not  fall  within  the  compass  of 
their  own  knowledge,  and  which  had  no  connexion  with 
any  thing  that  was  so."  "  Setting  aside  all  idea  of  the  in- 
spiration of  the  writers,  I  consider  Matthew  or  Luke  as 
simply  historians,  whose  credit  must  be  determined  by  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  wrote,  and  the  nature  of  the 
facts  which  they  relate."  And  again,  when  he  is  speaking 
of  a  particular  doctrine,  in  proof  of  which  some  passages 
in  the  Epistles  are  generally  adduced.  Dr.  Priestley  says, 
"  It  is  not  from  a  few  casual  expressions  in  epistolary 
writings,  which  are  seldom  composed  with  so  much  care 
as  books  intended  for  the  use  of  posterity,  that  we  can  be 
authorised  to  infer  that  such  was  the  serious  opinion  of  the 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  22^ 

apostles.  But  if  it  had  been  their  real  opinion,  it  "would 
not  follow  that  it  was  true,  unless  the  teachingof  it  should 
appear  to  be  included  in  their  general  commission."* 

And  thus,  according  to  Dr.  Priestley,  there  is  no  kind 
of  inspiration  either  in  the  Gospels  or  in  the  Epistles.  He 
admits  them  to  be  writings  of  the  apostles.  But  he  main- 
tains that  the  measure  of  regard  due  to  any  narration  or 
assertion  contained  in  these  Avritings  is  left  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  rules  of  criticism,  by  human  reason  judging 
how  far  that  assertion  or  narration  was  included  in  tlie 
commission  of  the  apostles,  I.  e.  how  far  it  is  essential  to 
the  Christian  religion.  Different  persons  entertain  differ- 
ent apprehensions  concerning  that  which  is  essential  to  re- 
velation. And,  according  to  Dr.  Priestley's  system,  every 
person  being  at  liberty  to  deny  any  part  of  Scripture  that 
appears  to  him  unessential,  there  is  no  invariable  standard 
of  our  religion  ;  but  the  Gospel  is  to  every  one  just  what 
he  pleases  to  make  it.  Accordingly  Dr.  Priestley,  who 
sometimes  argues  very  ably  for  the  divine  mission  of  Je- 
sus, by  availing  himself  of  that  liberty  which  he  derives 
from  denying  the  inspiration  of  Scripture,  has  successive- 
ly struck  out  of  his  creed  many  of  those  articles  which  ap- 
pear to  us  fundamental.  And  you  may  judge  of  the  length 
to  which  his  principles  lead,  when  one  uf  his  followers,  in 
a  publication  avowedly  under  his  protection,  has  written 
an  essay  to  show  that  our  Lord  was  not  free  from  sin. 
Many  years  before  Dr.  Priestley's  writings  appeared,  the 
received  notions  of  the  inspiration  of  the  apostles,  which 
had  been  held  by  Christians  without  much  examination, 
were  acutely  canvassed.  Dr.  Conyers  Middleton,  author 
of  the  Life  of  Cicero,  has  done  eminent  service  to  the  pro- 
testant  cause,  by  exposing  the  imposture  of  the  Popish  mi- 
racles, and  by  tracing,  in  his  Letter  from  Rome,  the  hea- 
then original  of  many  ceremonies  of  the  church  of  Rome. 
But  his  attachment  to  Christianity  itself  is  very  suspicious, 
and  he  is  iar  from  being  a  safe  guide  in  any  questions  re- 
specting the  truth  of  our  holy  faith.  In  some  of  his  mis- 
cellaneous tracts,  he  infers  from  the  dispute  between  Peter 
and  Paul  at  Antioch,-!"   from  the  variations  in  the  four 

•   History  of  Early  Opinions,  vol.  iv.  p.  5,  58  ;  vol.  i.  p.  70. 
t  Gal.  ii. 


228  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

evangelists,  and  from  other  circumstances,  that  the  inspici' 
ation  of  the  ap  ostles  was  only  an  occasional  illapse,  com- 
municated to  their  minds  at  particvdar  seasons,  as  the  pow- 
er of  working  miracles  was  given  them  only  at  those  times 
when  they  had  occasion  to  exert  it ;  that  they  were  not 
under  the  continual  direction  of  an  unerring  Spirit :  and 
that,  on  ordinary  occasions,  they  were  in  the  condition  of 
ordinary  men.  Nearly  the  same  opinion  was  held  by  the 
late  Gilbert  Wakefield,  who  was  a  disciple  of  Priestley,  but 
Avho  does  not  appear  to  advance  so  far  as  his  master.  He 
contends,  that  a  plenary  infallible  inspiration,  attending 
and  controlling  the  evangelists  in  every  conjuncture,  is  a 
doctrine  not  warranted  by  Scripture,  unnecessary,  and  in- 
jurious to  Christianity ;  although  he  admits  that  the  illu- 
minating Spirit  of  God  had  purified  their  minds  and  en- 
larged their  ideas.  The  system  of  Bishop  Benson,  in  his 
essay  concerning  inspiration,  prefiixed  to  his  paraphi'ase  of 
St.  Paul's  Epktles,  is,  that  the  whole  scheme  of  the  Gos- 
pel was  communicated  from  heaven  to  the  minds  of  the 
apostles,  was  faithfully  retained  in  their  memories,  and  is 
expounded  in  their  writings  by  the  use  of  their  natural 
faculties.  The  loose  notions  concerning  inspiration,  en- 
tertained by  the  vulgar  and  by  those  who  never  thought 
deeply  of  the  subject,  go  a  great  deal  farther.  But  it  is 
proper  that  you  should  know  distinctly  what  is  the  measure 
and  kind  of  inspiration  which  we  are  warranted  to  hold. 

In  order  to  establish  your  minds  in  the  belief  that  the 
Scriptures  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  it  is  necessary 
to  begin  with  observing,  that  inspiration  is  not  impossible. 
The  Father  of  Spirits  may  act  upon  the  minds  of  his  crea- 
tures, and  this  action  may  extend  to  any  degree  which  the 
purposes  of  divine  wisdom  require.  He  may  superintend 
the  minds  of  those  who  write,  so  as  to  prevent  the  possibili- 
ty of  error  in  their  writings.  This  is  the  lowest  degx'ee  of 
inspiration.  He  may  enlarge  their  understandings,  and 
elevate  their  conceptions  beyond  the  measure  of  ordinary 
men.  This  is  a  second  degree.  Or  he  may  suggest  to 
them  the  thoughts  which  they  shall  express,  and  the  words 
which  they  shall  employ,  so  as  to  render  them  merely  the 
vehicles  of  conveying  his  will  to  others.  This  is  the  high- 
est degree  of  inspiration.  No  sound  theist  will  deny  that 
all  these  three  degrees  are  possible ;  and  it  remains  to  be 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  229 

inquired,  what  reason  we  have  for  thinking  that  the  Al- 
mighty did  act  in  any  such  manner  upon  the  minds  of  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament.  If  they  Avere  really  in- 
spired, the  evidence  of  the  fact  will  probably  ascertain  the 
measure  of  inspiration  which  was  vouchsafed  to  them.  The 
evidence  consists  of  the  following  parts  :  The  inspiration 
of  the  apostles  was  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  their  mis- 
sion— It  was  promised  by  our  Lord — It  is  claimed  by 
themselves — The  claim  was  admitted  by  their  disciples — 
And  it  is  not  contradicted  by  any  circumstance  in  their 
writings. 

I.  Inspiration  of  the  apostles  appears  to  have  been  ne- 
cessary for  the  purposes  of  their  mission ;  and,  therefore, 
if  we  admit  that  Jesus  came  from  God,  and  that  he  sent 
them  forth  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  we  shall  ac- 
knowledge that  some  degree  of  inspiration  is  highly  pro- 
bable. 

The  first  light  in  which  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment lead  us  to  consider  the  apostles  is,  as  the  historians  of 
Jesus.     After  having  been  his  companions  during  his  mi- 
nistry, they  came  forth  to  bear  witness  of  him  ;  and  as  the 
benefit  of  his  religion  was  not  to  be  confined  to  the  age  in 
which  he  or  they  lived,  they  left  in  the  four  Gospels  a  re- 
cord of  what  he  did  and  taus-ht.     Two  of  the  four  were 
written  by  the  apostles  Matthew  and  John.     Mark  and 
Luke,  whose  names  are  prefixed  to  the  other  two,  were 
probably  of  the  seventy  whom  ovir  Lord  sent  out  in  his 
lifietime ;    and  we  learn  from  the  most  ancient   Christian 
historians,  that  the  gospel  of  Mark  was  revised  by  Peter, 
and  the  gospel  of  Luke  by  Paul ;  and  that  both  were  af- 
terwards approved  of  by  John,  so  that  all  the  four  may  be 
considered  as  transmitted  to  the  church  with  the  sanction 
of  apostolical  authority.    Now,  if  you  recollect  the  condi- 
tion of  the  apostles,  and  the  nature  of  their  history,  you 
Avill  perceive  that,  even  as  historians,   they  stood  in  need 
of  some  measure  of  inspiration.     Plato  might  feel  himself 
at  liberty  to  feign  many  things  of  his  master  Socrates,  be- 
cause it  mattered  little  to  the  world  whether  the  instruc- 
tion that  A\  as  conveyed  to  them  proceeded  from  the  one 
philosopher  or  from  the  other.     But  the  servants  of  a  di- 
vine teacher,  who  apjieared  as  his  witnesses,  and  professed 
to  be  the  historians  of  his  life,  were  bound  by  their  office 


230  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

to  give  a  true  record.     And  their  history  was  an  imposi- 
tion upon  the  world,  if  they  did  not  declare  exactly  and 
literally  what  they  had  seen  and  heard.     This  was  an  of- 
fice which  required  not  only  a  love  of  the  truth,  but  a  me- 
mory more  retentive  and  more  accurate  than  it  was  possi- 
ble for  persons   of  the   character  and  education    of  the 
apostles  to  possess.     To   relate,  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
years,  long  moral  discourses,  which  were  not  originally 
written,  and  which  were   not  attended  with  any  striking 
circumstances  that  might  imprint  them  upon  the  mind ;  to 
preserve  a  variety  of  parables,  the  beauty  and  significancy 
of  which  depended  upon  particular  expressions  ;  to  record 
long  and  minute  prophecies,  where  the  alteration  of  a 
single  phrase  might  have  produced  an  inconsistency  be- 
tween the  event  and  the  prediction  ;  and  to  give  a  particu- 
lar detail  of  the  intercourse   which  Jesus   had  with  his 
friends  and  with  his  enemies ;  all  this  is  a  work  so  very 
much  above  the  capacity  of  unlearned  men,  that,  had  they 
attempted  to  execute  it  by  their  own  natural  powers,  they 
must  have  fallen  into  such  absurdities  and  contradictions 
as  would  have  betrayed  them  to  every  discerning  eye.    It 
was  therefore  highly  expedient,  and  even  necessary  for 
the  faith  of  future  ages,  that  besides  those  opportunities  of 
information  which  the  apostles  enjoyed,  and  that  tried  in- 
tegrity which    they  possessed,    their  understanding  and 
their  memory  should  be  assisted  by  a  supernatural  influ- 
ence, which  might  prevent  them  from  mistaking  the  mean- 
ing of  what  they  had  heard,  which  might  restrain  them 
from  putting  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus  any  words  which  he 
did  not  utter,  or  from  omitting  what  was  important,  and 
which  might  thus  give  us  perfect  security,  that  the  Gos- 
pels are  as  faithful  a  copy,  as  if  Jesus  himself  had  left  in 
writing  those  sayings  and  those  actions  which  he  wished 
posterity  to  remember. 

But  we  consider  the  apostles  in  the  lowest  view,  when 
we  speak  of  them  as  barely  the  historians  of  their  Master. 
In  their  epistles  they  assume  a  higher  character,  which 
renders  inspiration  still  more  necessary.  All  the  benefit 
which  they  derived  from  the  public  and  the  private  in- 
structions of  Jesus  before  his  death,  had  not  so  far  opened 
their  minds  as  to  qualify  them  for  receiving  the  whole 
counsel  of  God.    And  he,  who  knows  what  is  in  man,  de- 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  231 

clares  to  them  the  night  on  which  he  was  betrayed,  "  I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot 
bear  them  now."*  The  purpose  of  many  of  his  parables, 
the  full  meaning  even  of  some  of  his  plain  discourses,  had 
not  been  attained  by  them.  They  had  marvelled  when  he 
spake  to  them  of  earthly  things.  But  many  heavenly 
things  of  his  kingdom  had  not  been  told  them  ;  and  they, 
"w^ho  were  destined  to  cari'y  his  religion  to  the  ends  of  tlie 
earth,  themselves  needed,  at  the  time  of  their  receiving 
this  commission,  that  some  one  should  instruct  them  in 
the  doctrine  of  Christ.  It  is  true  that,  after  his  resurrec- 
tion, Jesus  opened  their  understandings,  and  explained  to 
them  the  Scriptures,  and  he  continued  upon  earth  forty 
days,  speaking  to  them  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  It  appears,  however,  from  the  history 
which  they  have  recorded  in  the  book  of  Acts,  that  some 
further  teaching  was  necessary  for  them.-|-  Immediately 
before  our  Lord  ascended,  their  minds  being  still  full  of 
the  expectation  of  a  temporal  kingdom,  they  say  unto  him. 
Lord,  M  ilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ? 
It  was  not  till  some  time  after  they  received  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  that  they  understood  that  the  gospel  had 
taken  away  the  obligation  to  observe  the  ceremonies  o|! 
the  Mosaic  law  ;  and  the  action  of  Peter  in  baptizing  Cor- 
nelius, a  devout  heathen,  gave  offence  to  some  of  the 
apostles  and  brethren  in  Judea  Avhen  they  first  heard  it.;}: 
Yet  in  their  epistles,  we  find  just  notions  of  the  spiritual 
nature  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  as  a  kingdom  of  righteous- 
ness, the  faithful  subjects  of  which  are  to  receive  remission 
of  sins,  and  sanctification  through  his  blood,  and  just  no- 
tions of  the  extent  of  this  religion  as  a  dispensation,  the 
spiritual  blessings  of  which  are  to  be  communicated  to  all 
in  every  land  who  receive  it  in  faith  and  love.  These  no- 
tions appear  to  us  to  be  the  explication  both  of  the  ancient 
predictions,  and  of  many  particular  expressions  that  occur 
in  the  discourses  of  our  Lord.  But  it  is  manifest  that  they 
had  not  been  acquired  by  the  apostles  during  the  teaching 
of  Jesus.  They  are  so  adverse  to  every  thing  which  men 
educated  in  Jewish  prejudices  had  learned,  and  had  hoped, 
that  they  could  not  be  the  fruit  of  their  own  reflections ; 

•  Join  XV.  12.  t  -^cts,  ch.  i.  +  Acts,  ch.  xi. 


232  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE^ 

and,  therefore,  they  imply  the  teaching  of  that  Spirit  who 
gradually  impressed  them  upon  the  mind,  guiding  the 
apostles  gently,  as  they  were  able  to  follow  him,  into  all 
the  truth  connected  with  the  salvation  of  mankind.  As 
inspiration  was  necessary  to  give  the  minds  of  the  apostles 
possession  of  the  system  that  is  unfolded  in  their  epistles, 
so  many  parts  of  that  system  are  removed  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  human  discoveries,  and  are  liable  to  such  mis- 
apprehension, that  unless  we  suppose  a  continued  super- 
intendence of  the  Spirit  by  whom  it  was  taught,  succeed- 
ing ages  would  not  have  a  sufficient  security  that  those, 
who  were  employed  to  deliver  it,  had  not  been  guilty  of 
gross  mistakes  in  some  most  important  doctrines. 

Inspiration  will  appear  still  further  necessary,  when  you 
recollect  that  the  writings  of  the  apostles  contain  several 
predictions    of  things   to    come.     Paul   foretells,    in    his 
epistles,  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  many 
other  circumstances  which  have  taken  place  in  the  histoiy 
of  the  Christian  Church  ;  and  the  Revelation  is  a  book  of 
prophecy,  of  which  part  has  been  already  fulfilled,   while 
the  rest,  we  trust,  will  be   explained  by  the  events  which 
are  to  arise  in  the  course  of  Providence.     But  prophecy  is 
a  kmd  of  writing  which  implies  the  highest  degree  of  in- 
spiration.    When  predictions,  like  those  in  Scripture,   are 
particular  and  complicated,   and  the  events  are  so  remote 
and  so  contingent  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  human  sa-; 
gacity,  it  is  plain  that  the  writers  of  the  predictions  do  not 
speak  according  to  the  measure  of  information  which  they 
had  acquired  by  natural  means,  but  are  merely  the  instru- 
ments through  which  the  Almighty  communicates,  in  such 
measure  and  such  language  as  he  thinks  fit,  that  know- 
ledge of  futurity  Avhich  is  denied  to  man.     And  althougk 
the  full  meaning  of  their  own  predictions  was  not  under- 
stood by  themselves,  they  Avill  be  acknowledged  to  be  true 
prophets,  when  the  fulfilment  comes  to  reflect  light  upon 
that  language,  which,  for  wise  purposes,  was  made  dark  at 
the  time  of  its  being  put  into  their  mouth. 

Thus  the  nature  of  the  writings  of  the  apostles  suggests 
the  necessity  of  their  having  been  inspired.  They  could 
not  be  accurate  historians  of  the  life  of  Jesus  without  one 
degree  of  inspiration  ;  nor  safe  expounders  of  his  doctrine 
without  a  higher ;  nor  prophets  of  distant  events  without 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  233 

the  highest.  As  all  the  three  degrees  are  equally  possible 
to  God,  it  is  natural  to  presume,  from  the  end  for  which 
the  apostles  were  sent,  that  the  degree  which  was  suited 
to  every  part  of  their  writings  was  not  withheld ;  and  we 
find  the  promise  of  Jesus  perfectly  agreeable  to  this  pre- 
sumption. 

11.  Inspiration  of  the  apostles  Avas  promised  by  our 
Lord.  It  is  not  unfair  reasoning  to  adduce  promises  con- 
tained in  the  Scriptures  themselves,  as  proofs  of  their  di- 
vine inspiration.  It  were,  indeed,  reasoning  in  a  circle,  to 
bring  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  in  proof  of  the  divine 
mission  of  Jesus.  But  that  being  established  by  the  evi- 
dence which  has  been  stated,  and  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  having  been  proved  to  be  the  authentic  genuine 
records  of  the  persons  whose  names  they  bear,  we  are  war- 
ranted to  argue  from  the  declarations  contained  in  them, 
what  is  the  measure  of  inspiration  which  Jesus  was  pleased 
to  bestow  upon  his  servants.  He  might  have  been  a  divine 
teacher,  and  they  might  have  been  his  apostles,  although 
he  had  bestowed  none  at  all.  But  his  character  gives  us 
security  that  they  possessed  all  that  he  promised.  We 
read  in  the  Gospels,  that  Jesus  "  ordained  twelve  that 
they  should  be  Avith  him,  and  that  he  might  send  them 
forth  to  preach."*  And  as  this  was  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  first  called,  so  it  was  the  charge  left  them  at  his 
departure — "  Go,"  said  he,  "  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature ;  make  disciples  of  all  nations."-)-  His  constant 
familiar  intercourse  with  them  was  intended  to  qualify  them 
for  the  execution  of  this  charge  ;  and  the  promises  made 
to  them  have  a  special  reference  to  the  office  in  which  thej"^ 
were  to  be  employed.  When  he  sent  them  during  his  life 
to  preach  in  the  cities  of  Israel,  he  said,  "  But  when  they 
deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought  how  or  what  ye  shall 
speak,  for  it  shall  be  given  you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye 
shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of 
your  Father  which  speaketh  in  you."-|-  And  when  he 
spake  to  them  in  his  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 

•  Mark  iii.  U. 

-|-  Mark  xvi.  IG;   Mnn.  xxviii.  19.     See  original. 

J  Matt.  X.  19,  tlO.     bee  orijjinal. 


231  INSPIKATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

salem,  of  the  persecutions  which  they  were  to  endure  after 
his  death,  he  repeats  the  same  promise  :  "  For  I  will  give 
you  a  mouth  and  wisdom,  which  all  your  adversaries  shall 
not  be  able  to  gainsay  nor  resist."*  It  is  admitted  that 
the  words  in  both  these  passages  refer  properly  to  that  as- 
sistance, which  the  inexperience  of  the  apostles  was  to  de- 
rive from  the  suggestions  of  the  Spirit,  when  they  should 
be  called  to  defend  their  conduct  and  their  cause  before 
the  tribunals  of  the  magistrates.  But  the  fulfilment  of  this 
promise  was  a  pledge,  both  to  the  apostles  and  to  the 
world,  that  the  measure  of  inspiration  necessary  for  the 
more  important  purpose  implied  in  their  commission  would 
not  be  withheld  ;  and  accordingly,  when  that  purpose  came 
to  be  unfolded  to  the  apostles,  the  promise  of  the  assis- 
tance of  the  Spirit  was  expressed  in  a  manner  which  applies, 
it  to  the  extent  of  their  commission.  In  the  long  affection- 
ate discourse  recorded  by  John,  when  our  Lord  took  a  so- 
lemn farewell  of  the  disciples,  after  eating  the  lastpassover 
with  them,  he  said,  "  And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he 
shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with 
you  for  ever ;  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  whom  the  world 
cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth 
him.  But  ye  know  him,  for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you.  The  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you 
all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  what- 
soever I  have  said  unto  you.  I  have  yet  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  j'ou  cannot  bear  them  now.  Howbeit, 
when  he  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth  ;  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself,  but  whatsoever 
he  shall  hear  that  shall  he  speak ;  and  he  will  show  you 
things  to  come."-f-  Here  are  all  the  degrees  of  inspiration 
which  we  found  to  be  necessary  for  the  apostles:  the  Spirit 
was  to  bring  to  their  remembrance  what  they  had  heard — 
to  guide  them  into  the  truth,  Avhich  they  were  not  then 
able  to  bear — and  to  show  them  things  to  come  ;  and  all 
this  they  were  to  derive,  not  from  occasional  illapses,  but 
from  the  perpetual  inhabitation  of  the  Spirit.  That  this 
inspiration  was  vouchsafed  to  them,  not  for  their  own 

*  Luke  xxi.  1.5. 

f  John  xiv.  16,  17,  26  ;  a;vi.l2,  13.     See  original. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  235 

sakes,  but  in  order  to  qualify  them  for  the  successful  dis- 
charge of  their  office  as  the  messengers  of  Christ,  and  the 
instructors  of  mankind,  appears  fi'om  several  expressions  of 
that  prayer  which  immediately  follows  the  discourse  con- 
taining the  promise  of  inspiration  ;  particularly  from  these 
words,  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also 
which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word ;  that  they 
all  may  be  one,  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee ; 
that  they  may  be  one  in  us ;  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me."*  In  conformity  to  this  prayer, 
so  becoming  him  who  was  not  merely  the  friend  of  the 
apostles,  but  the  light  of  the  world,  is  that  charge  Avhich 
he  gives  them  immediately  before  his  ascension,  "  Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptising  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world," — the  conclusion  of  the  age  that  has  been 
introduced  by  my  appearance.  I  am  with  you  alway,  not 
by  my  bodily  presence,  for  immediately  after  he  was  taken 
out  of  their  sight,  but  I  am  with  you  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
which  I  am  to  send  upon  you  not  many  days  hence,  and 
v»'hich  is  to  abide  with  you  for  evei'.f 

The  promise  of  Jesus  then  implies,  according  to  the 
plain  construction  of  the  words,  that  the  apostles,  in  execu- 
ting their  commission,  were  not  to  be  left  wholly  to  their 
natural  powers,  but  were  to  be  assisted  by  that  illumina- 
tion and  direction  of  the  Spirit  which  the  nature  of  the 
commission  required ;  and  you  may  learn  the  sense  which 
our  Lord  had  of  the  importance  and  effect  of  this  promise 
from  one  circumstance,  that  he  never  makes  any  distinc- 
tion between  his  own  words  and  those  of  his  apostles,  but 
places  the  doctrines  and  commandments  which  they  were 
to  deliver  upon  a  footing  with  those  which  he  had  spoken ; 
"  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth  me ;  and  he  that  de- 
spiseth  you,  despiseth  me ;  and  he  that  despiseth  me, 
despiseth  him  that  sent  me.":j;  These  words  plainly  imply, 
that  Christians  have  no  warrant  to  pay  less  regard  to  any 
thingcontained  in  the  Epistles  than  to  thatwhich  is  contained 

•  John  xvii.  20,  21.     f  ^^^^t  xxviii.  19,20.     See  original. 
I  Luke  X   iG. 


233 


INSPIRATION  OP  SCRIPTURE. 


in  the  Gospels ;  and  teach  us,  that  every  doctrine  and  pre- 
cept clearly  delivered  by  the  apostles,  comes  to  the  Chris- 
tian world  with  the  same  stamp  of  divine  authority  as  the 
words  of  Jesus,  who  spake  in  the  name  of  him  that  sent 
him. 

The  author  of  our  religion,  having  thus  made  the  faith 
of  the  Christian  world  to  hang  upon  the  teaching  of  the 
apostles,  gave  the  most  signal  manifestation  of  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  promise  which  was  to  qualify  them  for  their 
office,  by  the  miraculous  gifts  with  which  they  were  en- 
dowed on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  by  the  abundance  of 
those  gifts  which  the  imposition  of  their  hands  was  to  dif- 
fuse through  the  church.  One  of  the  twelve  indeed,  whose 
labours  in  preaching  the  Gospel  were  the  most  abundant 
and  the  most  extensive,  was  not  present  at  this  manifesta- 
tion, for  Paul  was  not  called  to  be  an  apostle  till  after  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  But  it  is  very  remarkable,  that  the  man- 
ner of  his  being  called  was  expressly  calculated  to  supply 
this  deficiency.  As  he  journeyed  to  Damascus,  about  noon, 
to  bring  the  Christians  who  were  there  bound  to  Jerusalem, 
there  shone  from  heaven  a  great  light  round  about  him. 
And  he  heard  a  voice,  saying,  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  perse- 
cutest.  And  I  have  appeared  unto  thee  for  this  purpose, 
to  make  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness,  both  of  these  things 
which  thou  hast  seen,  and  of  those  things  in  the  which  I 
will  appear  unto  thee ;  and  now  I  send  thee  to  the  Gen- 
tiles to  open  their  eyes.*  In  reference  to  this  manner  of 
his  being  called,  Paul  generally  inscribes  his  epistles  with 
these  words :  Paul  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will 
or  by  the  commandment  of  God  ;  and  he  explains  very 
fully  what  he  meant  by  the  use  of  this  expression,  in  the 
beginning  of  his  epistie  to  the  Galatians,  where  he  gives 
an  account  of  his  convei'sion.  "  Paul  an  apostle,  not  of 
men,  neither  by  man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  the 
Father,  who  raised  him  from  the  dead.  I  neither  received 
the  Gospel  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but  by  the  re- 
velation of  Jesus  Christ.  When  it  pleased  God,  who  se- 
parated me  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by  his 
grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him 
among   the   heathen;  innuediately  I   conferred  not  with 

*Actsxxvi.  12—18. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  237 

flesh  and  blood,  neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them 
which  were  apostles  before  me  ;  but  I  went  into  Arabia."* 
All  that  we  said  of  the  necessity  of  inspiration,  and  of  the 
import  of  the  promise  Avhich  Jesus  made  to  the  other 
apostles,  receives  veiy  great  confirmation  from  this  history 
of  Paul,  who,  being  called  to  be  an  apostle  after  the  as- 
cension of  Jesus,  received  the  Gospel  by  immediate  reve- 
lation from  heaven,  and  was  thus  put  upon  a  footing  with 
the  rest,  both  as  to  his  designation,  which  did  not  proceed 
from  the  choice  of  man,  and  as  to  his  qualifications,  which 
were  imparted  not  by  human  instruction,  but  by  the  teach- 
ing of  the  author  of  Christianity.  The  Lord  Jesus,  who 
appeared  to  him,  might  furnish  Paul  with  the  same  advan- 
tages which  the  other  apostles  had  derived  from  his  pre- 
sence on  earth,  and  might  give  him  the  same  assui'ance 
of  the  inhabitation  of  the  Spirit  that  the  promises  which 
we  have  been  considering  had  imparted  to  them. 

III.  Inspiration  was  claimed  by  the  apostles,  and  their 
claim  may  be  considered  as  the  interpretation  of  the  pro- 
mise of  their  Master. 

You  will  not  find  the  claim  to  inspiration  formally  ad- 
vanced in  the  Gospels.  This  omission  has  sometimes  been 
stated  by  those  supei'ficial  critics  whose  prejudices  serve 
to  account  for  their  haste,  as  an  objection  against  the  ex- 
istence of  inspiration.  But  if  you  attend  to  the  reason  of 
the  omission,  you  will  perceive  that  it  is  only  an  instance 
of  that  delicate  propriety  which  pervades  all  the  New  Tes- 
tament. The  Gospels  are  the  record  of  the  great  facts 
which  vouch  the  truth  of  Christianity.  These  facts  are  to 
be  received  upon  the  testimony  of  men  who  had  been  eye- 
witnesses of  them.  The  foundation  of  Christian  faith  be- 
ing laid  in  an  assent  to  these  facts,  it  would  have  been  pre- 
posterous to  have  introduced  in  support  of  them,  that  su- 
perintendence of  the  Spirit  which  preserved  the  minds  of 
the  apostles  from  error.  For  there  can  be  no  proof  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  apostles,  unless  the  truth  of  the  facts  be 
previously  admitted.  The  apostles,  therefore,  bring  for- 
ward the  evidence  of  Christianity  in  its  natural  order, 
when  they  speak  in  the  Gospels  as  the  companions  and 
eye-witnesses  of  Jesus,  claiming  that  credit  which  is  due 
to  honest  men  who  had  the  best  opportunities  of  knowing 

*  Gal.  1.1,12,13,  16.  17. 


238  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTUllE. 

what  they  declared.  This  is  the  language  of  John.* 
"  Many  other  signs  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his  dis- 
ciples. But  these  are  written  that  ye  may  believe,  and 
this  is  the  disciple  which  testifieth  these  things."  The 
evangelist  Luke  appears  to  speak  differently  in  the  intro- 
duction to  his  Gospel  ;f  and  opposite  opinions  have  been 
entertained  respecting  the  information  convej^ed  by  that 
introduction. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion,  first,  with  regard  to  the 
time  when  Luke  v/rote  his  Gospel.  It  appears  to  some  to 
be  expressly  intimated  that  he  wrote  after  Matthew  and 
Mark,  because  he  speaks  of  other  Gospels  then  in  circu- 
lation ;  and  it  is  generally  understood  that  John  wrote  his 
after  the  other  three.  But  the  manner  in  which  Luke 
speaks  of  these  other  Gospels  does  not  seem  to  apply  to 
those  of  Matthew  and  Mark.  He  calls  them  many,  which 
implies  that  they  were  more  than  two,  and  which  would 
confound  these  two  canonical  Gospels  with  imperfect  ac- 
counts of  our  Lord's  life,  which  we  know  from  ancient 
writers  were  early  circulated,  but  were  rejected  after  the 
four  Gospels  were  published.  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that 
Luke  would  have  alluded  to  the  two  Gospels  of  Matthew 
and  Mark  without  distinguishing  them  from  other  very 
inferior  productions  ;  and  therefore  it  is  probable,  that 
when  he  used  this  mode  of  expression,  no  accounts  of  our 
Lord's  life  were  then  in  existence  but  those  inferior  pro- 
ductions. There  appears  also  to  very  sound  critics  to  be 
internal  evidence  that  Luke  wrote  first.  He  is  much  more 
particular  than  the  other  evangelists  in  his  report  of  our 
Lord's  birth,  and  of  the  meetings  with  his  apostles  after 
his  resurrection.  They  might  think  it  unnecessary  to  in- 
troduce the  same  particulars  into  their  Gospels  after  Luke. 
But  if  they  wrote  before  him,  the  want  of  these  particulars 
gives  to  their  Gospels  an  appearance  of  imperfection  which 
we  cannot  easily  explain. 

The  other  point  suggested  by  this  introduction,  upon 
which  there  has  been  a  diffei-ence  of  opinion,  is,  whether 
Luke,  who  was  not  an  apostle,  wrote  his  Gospel  from  per- 
sonal knowledge,  attained  by  his  being  a  companion  of 
Jesus,  or  from  the  information  of  others.  Our  translation 
certainly  favours  the  last  opinion;  and  it  is  the  more  ge- 

*  John  XX.  0,  1,  and  xxi,  2.         -f-  Luke  i.  1 — 4. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  239 

neral  opinion,  defended  by  very  able  critics.  Dr.  Ran- 
dolph, in  the  first  volume  of  his  Avorks,  which  contains  a 
history  of  our  Saviour's  life,  supports  the  first  opinion, 
and  suggests  a  punctuation  of  the  verses,  and  an  interpre- 
tation of  one  word,  according  to  which  that  opinion  ma}' 
be  defended.  Read  the  second  and  third  verses  in  con- 
nexion. KxOui  TTce^i^mrxv  i/^iv  o't  ctv  »^x^;  otvTCTrrxt  xcti  ijr^g- 
trxt  yivofisvoi  tov  Xoyov  ESo^e  xecfioi,  7rcc^r,>coXe>v6f,>c»rt  oivuhy  Trctcriv 

a.K^i'oui  Kctii^Yti  o-o<  y^ct^eii,  icfXTKni  GioipiM.  By  ifitv  is  un- 
derstood the  Christian  world,  who  had  received  infor- 
mation, both  oral  and  written,  from  those  that  had  been 
avTovrxi  x-ui  vTryi^irxi.  Kxuci  means  Luke,  who  proposed  to 
follow  the  example  of  those  xvtotttxi  in  writing  what  he 
knew ;  and  he  describes  his  own  knowledge  by  the  word 
7rx^riy,oXovSr.KOTi,  which  is  more  precise  than  the  circumlo* 
cution,  by  which  it  is  translated,  "  having  had  perfect  un- 
derstanding of  all  things."  Perfect  understanding  may  be 
derived  from  various  sources ;  but  Ti-x^xKo^ouhii  properly 
means,  I  go  along  with  as  a  companion,  and  derive  know- 
ledge li"om  my  own  observation.  And,  it  is  remarkable, 
that  the  word  is  used  in  this  very  sense  by  the  Jewish  his- 
torian Josephus,  who  published  his  history  not  many  years 
after  Luke  wrote,  and  who  in  his  introduction  represents 
himself  as  worthy  of  credit,  because  he  had  not  merely  in- 
({iiired  of  those  who  knew,  but  'prx^n-^oXovSijy.aTx  tc<?  yiyovoa-iv 
which  he  explains  by  this  expression,  ttoX^.uv  jksv  xvrnv^ycc, 
'TTg^u^iuv,  "TFhua-Tiav  ^'xuTOTTTiij;  yivof4.iVOi.  If  this  interpretation  is 
not  approved  of,  then,  according  to  the  sense  of  those  verses 
Avhich  is  most  commonlj^  adopted,  Luke  will  be  understood 
to  give  in  the  second  verse,  an  account  of  that  ground  up- 
on which  the  knowledge  of  the  Christian  world  with  re- 
gard to  these  things  rested,  the  reports  of  the  xvToTnxi  x«« 
y^>ig£T«<;  and  to  state  in  the  third  verse,  that  he,  hav- 
ing collected  and  collated  these  reports,  and  employed  the 
most  cai'eful  and  minute  investigation,  had  resolved  to 
write  an  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus.  Here  he  does  not 
claim  inspiration ;  he  does  not  even  say  that  he  was  an 
eye-witness.  But  he  says  that,  having  like  others  heard 
the  report  of  eye-witnesses,  he  had  accurately  examined 
the  truth  of  what  they  said,  and  presented  to  the  Chris- 
tian world  the  fruit  of  his  researches. 

The  foundation  is  still  the  same  as  in  John's  gospel,  the 


240  INSPIRATION   OF  SCRIPTURE. 

report  of  those  in  whose  presence  Jesus  did  and  said  what 
is  recorded.  To  this  report  are  added,  1.  The  investiga- 
tion of  Luke,  a  contemporary  of  the  apostles,  the  compa- 
nion of  Paul  in  a  great  part  of  his  journeyings,  and  ho- 
noured by  him  with  this  title,  "  Luke  the  beloved  physi- 
cian."* 2.  The  ap^irobation  of  Paul,  who  is  said  by  the 
earliest  Christian  writers  to  liave  revised  this  gospel,  writ- 
ten by  his  companion,  so  that  it  came  abroad  with  aposto- 
lical authority.  3.  The  universal  consent  of  the  Christian 
church,  which,  although  jealous  of  the  books  that  were 
then  published,  and  rejecting  many  that  claimed  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  apostles,  has  uniformly,  from  the  earliest  times, 
put  the  Gospel  of  Luke  upon  a  footing  with  those  of 
Matthew  and  Mark  ;  a  clear  demonstration  that  they  who 
had  access  to  the  best  information  knew  that  it  had  been 
revised  by  an  apostle. 

As  then  the  authors  of  the  Gospels  appear  under  the 
character  of  eye-witnesses,  attesting  what  they  had  seen, 
there  would  have  been  an  impropriety  in  their  resting  the 
evidence  of  the  essential  facts  of  Christianity  upon  inspir- 
ation. But  after  the  respect  which  their  character  and 
their  conduct  procured  to  their  testimony,  and  the  visible 
confirmation  Mhich  it  received  from  heaven,  had  establish- 
ed the  faith  of  a  part  of  the  world,  a  belief  of  their  inspira- 
tion became  necessary.  They  might  have  been  credible 
Avitnesses  of  facts,  although  they  had  not  been  distinguish- 
ed from  other  men.  But  they  were  not  qualified  to  exe- 
cute the  office  of  apostles  without  being  inspired.  And 
therefore,  as  soon  as  the  circumstances  of  the  church  re- 
quired the  execution  of  that  office,  the  claim  which  had 
been  convej^ed  to  them  by  the  promise  of  their  Master, 
and  which  is  implied  in  the  apostolical  character,  appears 
in  their  writings.  They  instantly  exercised  the  authority 
derived  to  them  from  Jesus,  by  planting  ministers  in  the 
cities  where  they  had  preached  the  gospel,  by  setting 
everything  pertaining  to  these  Christian  societies  in  order, 
by  controlling  the  exercise  of  those  miraculous  gifts  which 
they  had  imparted,  and  by  correcting  the  abuses  which 
ha])pened  even  in  their  time.  But  they  demanded,  from 
all  who  had  received  the  faith  of  Christ,  isubmissiou  to  the 

*   Coloss.  iv.  14. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  241 

doctrines  and  commandments  of  his  apostles,  as  the  in- 
spired messengers  of  heaven.     "  But  God   hath  revealed 
it,"  not  them,  as  our  translators  have  supplied  the  accusa- 
tive, revealed  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  dispensation  of  the 
Gospel  "  unto  us  by  his  Spirit ;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth 
all  things,  j'ea,  the  deep  things  of  God.     Now  v/e  have  re- 
ceived not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is 
of  God  ;  that  we  might  know  the  things  which  are  freely 
given  us  of  God ;  which  things  also  Ave  speak,  not  in  the 
words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth."*     "  If  any  man  think  himself  to  be  a 
prophet,  or  sj^iritual,  let  him  acknowledge  that  the  things 
that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  :"' 
».  e.  Let  no  eminence  of  spiritual  gifts  be  set  up  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  authority  of  the  apostles,  or  as  implying  any 
dispensation  from  submitting  to  it.f     "  For  this  cause  also 
thank  we  God  without  ceasing,  because  when  ye  received 
the  word  of  God  which  ye  heard  of  us,  ye  received  it  not 
as  the  Avord  of  men,   but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of 
God.":|;     Peter   speaking   of  the    epistles  of  Paul,   says, 
"  Even  as  our  beloved  brother  Paul  also,  according  to  the 
wisdom  given  unto  him,  hath  Avritten  unto  you."§     And 
John  makes  the  same  claim  of  inspiration  for  the  other 
apostles,  as  well  as  for  himself.     "  We  are  of  God  :  he  that 
knoweth  God,  heareth  us ;  he  that  is  not  of  God,  heareth 
not  us."  II 

The  claim  to  inspiration  is  clearly  made  by  the  apostles 
in  those  passages,  where  they  place  their  own  writings  up- 
on the  same  footing  with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
for  Paul,  s])paking  of  tlie  ke^a  ypoLf^^curci,  a  common  expres- 
sion among  the  Jews  for  their  Scriptures,  in  which  Timo- 
thy had  been  instructed  from  his  childhood,  says,  "  All 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God."^  Peter  speak- 
ing of  the  ancient  prophets,  says,  "  The  Spirit  of  Christ 
was  in  them  ;"  and  "  The  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time 
by  the  will  of  man  ;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."**  And  the  quotations  of 

•  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  12,  13.  f  1  Cor.  xiv.  37. 

$  1  Thess.  ii.  13.  (J  2  Pot.  iii   15. 

II   1  John  iv.  G.  4  2  Tim.  iii.  16. 

••  1  Pet.  i.  11;  2  Pet.  i  21. 
VOL.  I.                                           M 


242  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

our  Lord  and  his  apostles  from  the  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament are  often  introduced  with  an  expression  in  which 
their  inspiration  is  directly  asserted.  "  Well  spake  the 
Holy  Ghost  by  Esaias ;"  "  By  the  mouth  of  thy  servant 
David  thou  hast  said,"*  &c.  &c. 

With  this  uniform  testimony  to  that  inspiration  of  the 
Jewish  Scriptures,  M'hich  ^vas  universally  believed  among 
that  people,  you  are  to  conjoin  this  circumstance,  that 
Paul  and  Peter  in  different  places  rank  their  own  writings 
with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  Paul  commands 
that  his  epistles  should  be  read  in  the  churches,  where 
none  but  those  books  which  the  Jews  believed  to  be  in- 
spired were  ever  read.f  He  says  that  Christians  "  are 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets ;" 
iTTt  Tai  5s^2//a)  7w»  ciTrotrToXwi  x.cct  7r^o(pnTuv,'^  a  conjunction 
which  would  have  been  highly  improper,  if  the  former  had 
not  been  inspired  as  well  as  the  latter ;  and  Peter  charges 
the  Christians,  to  "  be  mindful  of  the  words  which  were 
spoken  before  by  the  holy  prophets,  and  of  the  command- 
ment of  us  the  apostles."§  The  nature  of  the  book  of  Re- 
velation led  the  apostle  John  to  assert  most  directlj^  his 
personal  inspiration ;  for  he  saj^s  that  "  Jesus  sent  and 
signified  by  his  angel  to  his  servant  Jolui  the  things  that 
were  to  come  to  pass  ;"  and  that  the  divine  person,  like  the 
Son  of  Man,  who  appeared  to  him  when  he  was  in  the  spi- 
rit, commanded  him  to  write  in  a  book  what  he  saw  ;  and 
in  one  of  the  visions  recorded  in  that  book.  Rev.  xxi.  14, 
when  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel  was  presented  to  John 
under  the  figure  of  a  great  city,  the  new  Jerusalem,  de- 
scending out  of  heaven,  there  is  one  part  of  the  image  that 
is  a  beautiful  expression  of  that  authority'  in  settling  the 
form  of  the  Christian  church,  and  in  teaching  articles  of 
faith,  which  the  apostles  derived  from  their  inspiration : 
"  The  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in  them 
the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the  Lamb."'|| 

These  are  only  a  fev/  of  the  many  passages  to  the  same 
purpose  which  will  occur  to  you  in  reading  the  New  Tes- 


•   -Acts.  i.  16  ;  iv.  25  ;  xxviii.  25.  +   Col.  iv-  16. 

t  Ephes.  ii.  20.  §  2  Pel.  iii.  2. 

y    Rev.  i.  1.  10— 19;  xxi.  14. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTUKE.  243 

lament ;  but  it  is  manifest  even  from  them,  that  the  man- 
ner in  M'hich  the  apostles  speak  of  their  own  writings  is  cal- 
culated to  mislead  every  candid  reader,  vmless  they  really 
wrote  under  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  So  gross 
and  daring  an  imposture  is  absolutely  inconsistent  not  on- 
ly with  their  whole  chai-acter,  but  also  with  those  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Gliost,  of  which  there  is  unquestionable  evidence 
that  they  were  possessed ;  and  which,  being  the  natural 
vouchers  of  the  assertion  made  by  them  concerning  their 
own  writings,  cannot  be  supposed,  upon  the  principles  of 
sound  theism,  to  have  been  imparted  for  a  long  course  of 
years  to  persons  who  continued  during  all  that  time  as- 
serting such  a  falsehood,  and  appealing  to  those  gifts  for 
the  truth  of  wliat  they  said. 

IV.  The  claim  of  the  apostles  derives  much  confirmation 
from  the  reception  which  it  met  Avith  amongst  the  Chris- 
tians of  their  daj's.  It  appears  from  an  expression  of  Peter, 
that  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  his  second  epistle,  the 
epistles  of  Paul  Mere  classed  with  the  other  Scriptures,  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  ^.  e.  were  accounted  inspired 
writings.*  It  is  well  known  to  those  v/ho  are  versant  in 
the  early  history  of  the  church,  with  what  care  the  first 
Christians  discriminated  between  the  apostolical  writings, 
and  the  compositions  of  other  authors,  however  much  dis- 
tinguished by  their  piety,  and  with  what  reverence  they 
received  those  books  which  were  known  by  their  inscrip- 
tion, by  the  place  from  which  they  proceeded,  or  the  man- 
ner in  which  they  were  circulated,  to  be  the  work  of  an 
apostle.  In  Lardner's  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History 
you  will  find  the  most  particular  information  upon  this 
subject ;  and  you  will  perceive  that  the  whole  history  of 
the  superstitious  writings,  which  appeared  in  early  times, 
conspires  in  attesting  the  veneration  in  which  the  autho- 
rity of  the  apostles  was  held  by  the  Christian  church.  We 
learn  from  Justin  Martyr  that,  before  the  middle  of  the  se- 
cond century,  rm  ec7rofiv/>ftovivfAoiTx  tuv  atTroa-ToXuv  KXi  tot  vvy- 

y^oiuf^xrcc  tcjv  ar^o^nTwi' were  read  together  in  theChristian  as- 
semblies :  we  know  that,  from  the  earliest  times,  the  church 
has  submitted  to  the  writings  of  the  apostles  as  the  infalli- 
ble standard  of  faith  and  practice ;  and  w^e  find  the  ground 

•  2  Peter  ill.  16. 


244'  INSPIIiAlION  OF  SCKIPTL'RE, 

of  this  peculiar  respect  expressed  by  the  first  Christian 
writers  as  well  as  by  their  successors,  who  speak  of  the 
writings  of  the  apostles  as  Bitut  y^cttpcct,  s|  i'^tTrvoiu?  uytw 

V.  The  only  point  that  remains  to  be  considered  isy 
whether  there  be  any  thing  in  the  books  themselves  in- 
consistent with  the  notion  of  their  being  inspired.  It  is 
impossible  for  me  to  follow  the  detail  into  which  this, 
point  runs.  But  I  may  suggest  the  general  heads  of  an- 
swer to  the  multiplicity  of  objections  which  fall  under  it. 
Even  those  who  acknowledge  the  excellence  of  the  gene- 
ral system  contained  in  the  New  Testament,  who  admit 
that  it  must  have  been  revealed  to  the  authors  of  the  books 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  that  there  are  some  instances 
in  v/hich  the  clearness  of  the  predictions,  and  even  the 
majesty  of  the  style  impl3r  a  peculiar  illumination  and  di- 
rection of  their  minds,  even  such  persons  meet,  in  read- 
ing the  New  Testament,  with  difficulties  which  they  are 
unable  to  reconcile  with  the  notion  of  inspiration ;  and  if 
they  are  stumbled,  others,  who  wish  to  discredit  the  truth 
of  Christianity,  represent  the  notion  of  inspiration  as  ren- 
dered Avholly  indefensible,  and  even  ridiculous,  by  the 
mistakes  in  small  matters,  tlie  contradictions,  the  varieties, 
and  littlenesses  that  occur  in  several  places,  and  the  num- 
berless instances  of  a  style  very  far  removed  from  that 
■which  the  Almighty  might  be  conceived  to  assume. 

When  you  come  to  examine  these  olijections,  there  are 
two  general  remarks  which  it  will  be  of  great  importance 
for  you  to  carry  in  your  minds. 

1.  Recollect  that  the  objectors  upon  such  a  subject  have 
great  adAantage.  It  is  very  easy  to  start  difiiculties  and 
objections.  And  when  the  solution  is  to  be  derived  from 
an  examination  of  the  context,  and  from  a  knowledge  of 
ancient  languages  and  customs,  the  difficulty  or  objection 
may  be  urged  in  so  specious  or  lively  a  manner  as  to  make 
a  deep  impression,  before  the  solution  can  be  brought  for- 
ward. But  the  diligence,  the  learning,  and  sagacity  ot 
modern  commentators  ha^•e  furnished  every  student,  who 
wishes  the  Scri])tures  to  be  true,  with  satisfyuig  answers 
to  the  most  formidable  objections  against  particular  parts 

*  Lardner's  Cred.  vol.  i.  p.  273  ^  vol.  iii.  p.  230. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  245 

of  them  ;  and  it  is  a  general  rule  which  you  ought  to  ob- 
serve in  your  study  of  the  Scriptures,  never  to  suppose, 
never  to  allow  the  most  positive  affirmation  or  the  most 
pointed  ridicule  to  persuade   you,  that  a  passage  is  inde- 
fensible, because  that  measure  of  information  respecting 
antiquity  and  of  experience  in  sacred  criticism  which  you 
possess,  does  not  suggest  the  manner  in  which  it  can  be 
defended.     You  will  find,  upon  inquiry,  that  apparent  con- 
tradictions in  the  narration  of  the  Gospels,  or  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  epistles,  may  be   easily  reconciled  ;  that  ex- 
pressions, which  have  been  represented  as  mean,  are  justi- 
fied by  the  pi'actice  of  classical  writers ;   that  the  harsh 
sense,  which  single  phrases  seem  to  contain,  is  removed 
either  by  a  more  accurate  translation  of  the  original,  or 
by  the  coimexion  in  which  they  stand ;  that  supposed  er- 
rors in  chronology  or  geography  either  disappear  upon  be- 
ing closely  examined,  or  arise  from  some  of  those  trifling 
variations  in  the  copies  of  the  New  Testament  which  mo- 
dern criticism  has  investigated ;  that  those  parts  of  the 
conduct  of  Peter  and  Paul  which  have  been  censured  are 
in  no  respect  inconsistent  with  the  general  doctrine  which 
they  taught ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  that  as  the  general 
matter  of  the  New  Testament  could  not  have  been  known 
to  any  who  were  not  inspired  of  God,  and  as  the  manner 
in  which  that  matter  is  delivered  appears,  the  more  it  is 
considered,  to  be  the  more  fit  and  excellent,  so  there  is 
nothing  throughout  all  the  books  unworthy  of  that  mea- 
sure of  inspiration  of  which  we  have  hitherto  spoken. 

2.  Observe  that  the  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  particular  passages  of  the  New  Testament  are  in 
general  of  no  weight  in  overturning  the  doctrine  of  inspi- 
ration, unless  you  suppose  that  the  authors  wrote  contin- 
ually under  the  influence  of  what  has  been  called  the  in- 
spiration of  suggestion,  i.  e.  that  every  thought  was  put  in- 
to their  mind,  and  every  word  dictated  to  them  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  But  this  opinion,  which  is  probably  enter- 
tained by  many  well-meaning  Christians,  and  which  has 
been  held  by  some  able  defenders  of  Christianity,  is  now 
generally  abandoned  by  those  who  examine  the  sub- 
ject with  due  care.  And  the  following  reasons  will  satisfy 
you  that  it  has  not  beeu  lightly  abandoned.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  suppose  that  tliis  highest  degree  of  inspiration 


246  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

is  extended  through  all  the  parts  of  the  New  Testament, 
because  there  are  many  facts  in  the  Gospels,  which  the 
apostles  might  know  perfectly  from  their  own  observation 
or  recollection,  many  expressions  which  would  naturally 
occur  to  them,  many  directions  and  salutations  in  their 
epistles,  such  as  were  to  be  expected  in  that  correspon- 
dence. It  is  not  only  unnecessary  to  suppose  that  the 
highest  degree  of  inspiration  was  extended  through  all  the 
parts  of  the  New  Testament,  but  the  supposition  is  really 
inconsistent  with  many  circumstances  that  occur  there. 
I  shall  mention  a  few.  Paul  in  some  instances  makes  a 
distinction  between  the  counsels  which  he  gives  in  matters 
of  indifference,  upon  his  own  judgment,  and  the  command- 
ments which  he  delivers  with  the  authority  of  an  apostle  ; 
"  I  speak  this  by  permission,  and  not  of  commandment." 
"  This  I  command,  yet  not  I,  but  the  Lord  ;"  a  distinction 
for  which  there  could  have  been  no  room,  had  every  word 
been  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of  God.*  Paul  sometimes 
discovers  a  doubt,  and  a  change  of  purpose  as  to  the  time 
of  his  journeyings,  and  other  little  incidents,  which  the 
highest  degree  of  inspii-ation  would  have  prevented.-)-  It 
is  allowed  that  there  is  a  degree  of  imperfection  and  ob- 
scurity, which,  in  some  instances,  remains  on  the  style  of 
the  sacred  writers,  and  particularly  of  Paul,  which  we  can- 
not easily  reconcile  with  the  highest  degree  of  inspiration.;}: 
Once  more,  there  are  peculiarities  of  expression,  and  a 
marked  manner,  by  which  a  person  of  taste  and  discern- 
ment may  clearly  distinguish  the  writings  of  every  one, 
from  those  of  every  other.  But  had  all  written  uniform- 
ly under  the  same  inspiration  of  suggestion,  there  could 
not  have  been  a  difference  of  manner  corresponding  to  the 
difference  of  character ;  and  the  expression  used  by  all 
might  have  been  expected  to  be  the  best  possible. 

These  circumstances  lead  us  to  abandon  the  notion  that 
the  apostles  wrote  under  a  continual  inspiration  of  sug- 
gestion. But  they  are  not  in  the  least  inconsistent  with 
that  kind  of  inspiration  which  we  found  to  be  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  their  mission  :  which  is  commonly  call- 
ed an  inspiration  of  direction,  and  which  consists  in  this, 

*  1  Cor.  vii.  6,  10.  t  1  Cor.  xvi.  3—6,  10,  II. 

+  2  Pet.  iii.   16- 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  247 

that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  although  allowed 
to  exercise  their  own  memory  and  understanding,  as  far 
as  they  could  be  of  use  ;  although  allowed  to  employ  their 
own  modes  of  thinking  and  expression,  as  far  as  there  was 
no  impropriety  in  their  being  employed,  were,  by  the  su- 
perintendence of  the  Spirit,  effectually  guarded  from  er- 
ror while  they  were  writing,  and  were  at  all  times  fur- 
nished with  that  measure  of  inspiration  which  the  nature 
of  the  subject  required.  In  his  history  every  evangelist 
brings  forward  those  discourses  and  facts  which  had  made 
the  deepest  impression  upon  his  mind  ;  but  while,  from  the 
variety  which  thus  naturally  takes  place  in  the  histories, 
there  arises  the  strongest  proof  that  there  was  no  collusion, 
the  recollection  of  every  historian  was  so  far  assisted,  that 
he  gives  us  no  false  information  ;  and  by  laying  together 
the  several  accounts,  we  may  attain  as  complete  a  view  of 
the  transactions  recorded  as  the  Spirit  of  God  judged  to 
be  necessary.  In  the  book  of  Acts  we  see  the  mind  of  the 
apostles  gradually  led,  by  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  to  a 
full  apprehension  of  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  In  the 
Epistles  they  apply  the  knowledge  which  had  thus  been 
imparted  to  them  by  revelation,  in  ministering  to  the  edi- 
fication, the  comfort  or  reproof  of  the  churches  which  they 
had  established;  and  the  Spirit,  who  had  by  this  time 
guided  them  into  all  truth,  abode  with  them,  so  that  from 
the  w^ords  and  commandments  of  the  apostles  we  may 
learn  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

It  hath  pleased  God  that  the  Christian  world  should 
derive  those  treasures  of  divine  knowledge  which  resided 
in  the  apostles,  not  by  formal  systematical  discourses  com- 
posed for  the  instruction  of  future  ages,  but  by  the  short 
familiar  incidental  mention  of  the  Christian  doctrines  in 
their  epistles.  This  form  of  the  doctrinal  WTitings  of  the 
apostles  has  been  stated  as  an  objection  to  their  beino-  in- 
spired; but  by  a  little  attention  you  will  perceive  the 
great  advantages  of  their  being  permitted  to  adopt  this 
form.  Our  industry  is  thus  quickened  in  searching  the 
Scriptures.  The  doctrines  are  rendered  more  level  to 
the  capacity  of  the  great  body  of  Christians,  and  more 
easily  recalled  to  their  minds  by  this  mode  of  being  de- 
livered :  and  the  books  containing  the  doctrines  are  thus 
made  to  bring  along  with  them  internal  marks  of  authen- 


248  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

ticity,  w  liicli  could  not  have  belonged  to  them  had  they 
been  in  another  form.*  The  inscription  of  the  epistle  is 
a  sure  voucher,  transmitted  from  the  earliest  times,  that  a 
letter  had  truly  been  sent  by  an  apostle  of  Christ  to  a 
church.  The  character  of  the  apostle  is  marked  in  his 
epistle,  and  the  many  little  circumstances,  which  his  situa- 
tion or  that  of  the  church  introduces  into  an  aifectionate 
letter,  while  they  exhibit  the  natural  expressions  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  bring  a  conviction,  more  satisfying  than 
that  which  arises  from  any  testimony,  that  the  apostles  of 
Jesus  proceeded,  in  execution  of  the  charge  given  them  by 
their  Master,  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations. 

In  the  prophecies  which  the  New  Testament  contains 
there  must  have  been  the  inspiration  of  suggestion.  Neither 
the  words  nor  the  thoughts  could  there  come  by  the 
will  of  man ;  and  the  writers  spake  as  they  were  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Accordingly  Paul  introduces  his 
predictions  with  these  words.  The  Spirit  speaketh  ex- 
pressly ;  and  John,  we  found,  says  in  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, that  he  was  commanded  to  write  what  he  saw  and 
heard. 

I  have  explained  under  this  second  remark,  that  kind  of 
inspiration,  which  the  different  branches  of  the  evidence 
that  has  been  stated  appear  to  me  clearly  to  establish, 
and  which  is  now  generally  considered  as  all  that  was  ne- 
cessary for  the  purposes  of  the  apostolical  office.  We  do 
not  say  that  eveiy  thought  was  put  into  the  mind  of  the 
apostles,  and  every  word  dictated  to  their  pen  by  the  Spi- 
rit of  God.  But  we  say,  that  by  the  superintendence  of 
the  Spirit,  they  were  at  all  times  guarded  from  error,  and 
were  furnished  upon  every  occasion  with  the  measure  of 
inspiration  which  the  nature  of  the  subject  required. 
Upon  this  view  of  the  matter,  we  can  easily  account  for 
all  the  circumstances  that  are  commonly  urged  as  objec- 
tions against  the  notion  of  inspiration.  We  may  even  ad- 
mit that  the  apostles  were  liable  to  err  in  their  conduct, 
and  were  left  ignorant  of  some  things  which  tliey  wished 
to  know  :  and  at  the  same  time  we  have  all  that  security 
against  misrepresentations  of  fact,  or  error  in  doctrine, 
which  the  nature  of  the  commission  given  to  the  apostles 

•  Paley's  Horse  Paulins. 


INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE.  249 

and  the  importance  of  the  truths  declared  by  them  render 
necessary  for  our  faith.  By  this  kind  of  inspiration,  while 
a  provision  is  made  for  the  introduction  of  those  internal 
marks  of  authenticity  by  which  the  Bible  is  distinguished 
above  every  other  book  in  the  v/orld,  there  is  also  a  per- 
fect fulfilment  of  the  promise  given  to  the  apostles  by  Je- 
sus, a  justification  of  the  claim  which  their  writings  con- 
tain, and  a  rational  account  of  that  entire  submission 
which  the  Christian  church  in  every  age  has  yielded  to  the 
authority  of  the  apostles. 

Here  then  is  the  ground  upon  which  I  rest  my  foot,  and 
the  point  from  which  I  desire  to  be  considered  as  setting 
out  in  my  Lectures  upon  Divinity.  Jesus  was  a  teacher 
sent  from  God.  His  apostles,  who  were  commanded  by 
him  to  publish  his  doctrine  to  the  world,  received,  in  ful- 
filment of  his  promise,  such  a  measure  of  the  visible  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  as  attested  their  commission,  and  such  a  mea- 
sure of  internal  illumination  and  direction,  as  render  their 
writings  the  infallible  standard  of  Christian  truth.  From 
hence  it  follows,  that  every  thing  which  is  clearly  contain- 
ed in  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  or  which  may  be  fairly  de- 
duced from  the  words  there  used,  is  true  ;  and  that  every 
thing  which  cannot  be  so  proved  is  no  part  of  the  doc- 
rrine  that  Christians  are  required  to  believe.  After  we 
have  attained  this  point,  sound  criticism  becomes  the 
foundation  of  Theolog5%  My  business  is  not  to  frame  a 
riystem  of  Divinity,  but  to  delineate  that  system  which  the 
Scriptures  teach,  by  a  clear  ex})osition  of  the  passages  in 
which  it  is  taught ; .  and  to  defend  it,  by  rescuing  the 
Scriptures  from  misinterpretation.  We  shall  be  very 
much  assisted  in  this  course  by  our  knowledge  of  the 
Greek  language.  The  Greek  Testament  will  be  our  con- 
stant companion  ;  and  the  best  preparation  for  what  you 
are  to  learn  from  me  is  to  apply  the  knowledge,  which  you 
have  acquired  elsewhere,  in  rendering  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment familiar  to  your  minds. 

The  doctrine  of  the  bispiration  of  Scriptiiie  is  touched  upon  in  all 
the  complete  defences  of  Christiiinity  ;  of  most  of  which  you  have 
both  an  Index  and'an  Abridgment  in  Leland's  view  of  the  Deistical 
Writers. 

Bishop  Uurnet  has  treated  it  shortly  in  liis  Exposition  of  the  Gtb  Ar- 
ticle of  the  Church  of  England. 


250  INSPIRATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

There  are  many  excellent  Sermons  of  English  Divines  upon  this 

subject.      I   mention   particularly   Archbishop   Seeker's,   in  the 

third  volume  of  his  works. 
And  there  is  a  rational,  masterly  essay  upon  this  subject,  in  Bishop 

Benson's  Paraphrase  on  the  Epistles  of  Paul. 
Potter's  Praelectiones  Theologicse  in  Opera  Theologica,  tom.  iii. 
Le  Clerc's  Letters  on  Inspiration,  with  Lowth's  Answer. 
Randolph's  Works. 
Wakefield  on  Inspiration. 
Middleton. 

Prettyman's  Elements  of  Christian  Theology. 
Watson's  Apology  for  the  Bible  and  for  Christianity. 
Preliminary  Essays  prefixed  to  Dr.  Macknight's  new  translation  ot 

the  Epistles. 
Dick  on  the  Inspiration  of  Scripture. 
Jones's  Canon  of  Scripture. 
Doddridge. 
Paley. 
Marsh's  Michaelis. 


251 


CHAP.  II. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Having  established  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament,  we  have  next  to  learn  from  this  in- 
fallible guide  that  system  of  doctrine  which  characterizes 
the  Christian  religion.  It  is  presumptuous  and  childish 
to  busy  ourselves  in  fancying  what  that  system  ought  to 
be.  If  the  books  containing  the  Gospel  of  Christ  were 
really  written  by  men  under  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  they  will  teach  us  the  truth  without  mixture  of  er- 
ror ;  and  all  our  speculations  vanish  before  the  authorita- 
tive declarations  which  they  bring. 

I  need  not  occupy  time  with  delineating  the  great  truths 
of  natural  religion.     These  must  be  the  same   in  every 
true  system,  because  they  are  unchangeable ;   and  it  oc- 
curred formerly,  in  stating  the  evidences  of  Christianity, 
that  this  revelation  carries  along  with  it  one  strong  pre- 
sumption of  its  divine  original,  by  giving  in  the  simplest 
language,  and  the  plainest  form,  views  of  the  nature  of 
God,  and  of  the  duty  of  man,  more  clear,  more  consistent, 
and  more  exalted  than  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  writ- 
ings.    If  you  were  to  throw  out  of  the  Scriptures  all  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Christianity,   there  would  remain  a 
complete  system  of  natural  religion,  in  comparison  with 
which,  even  the  speculations  of  the  enlightened  and  vir- 
tuous sage  of  Athens  appear  low  and  partial.     But  it  is  of 
these  peculiar  doctrines  that  Christian  theology  consists  ; 
and   I   mean  at  present  to  prepare  for  lixamining  them 
particularly,  by  stating  them  in  a  short  connected  view.    I 
cannot  propose  to  meet  in  this  view  the  sentiments  of  all 
the  different  sects  of  Christians  ;  for  if  I  were  to  attempt  to 
accommodate  the  sketch  that  is  to  be  given,  to  the  pecu- 
liar tenets  of  some  sects,  I  should  be  obliged  to  leave  out 
several  doctrines  which  appear  to  me  most  essential  to 

1 


252  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Christianity.  But  although  I  cannot  meet  the  sentiments 
of  opposite  sects,  I  do  not  wish  to  derive  this  short  system 
ffoni  the  discriminating  tenets,  or  the  peculiar  language  of 
any  one  sect :  I  wish  to  avoid  the  use  of  any  terms  that 
are  not  scriptural,  and  to  present  to  you  the  form  of  sound 
words  which  is  taught  by  the  apostles  themselves.  We 
shall  have  enough  of  controverted  opinions  when  we  come 
to  attend  to  the  different  facts  of  the  system.  But  it  seems 
to  me  proper  that  you  should  carry  in  your  minds  a  gene- 
ral distinct  conception  of  the  subjects  upon  which  the  con- 
troversies turn,  before  we  be  entangled  in  that  thorny  path. 

The  foundation  of  the  Gospel  is  this,  that  men  are  sin- 
ners. If  jfou  take  away  this  proposition,  the  whole  system 
is  left  without  meaning :  if  you  receive  it  in  its  full  import, 
you  perceive  the  use  of  the  different  parts,  and  the  har- 
mony with  which  they  unite  in  producing  the  effect  that 
is  ascribed  to  the  whole.  The  proposition  is  often  enun- 
ciated in  Scripture ;  but  the  truth  of  it  is  independent  of 
the  authority  of  any  revelation,  and  must  be  admitted  by 
every  candid  observer,  whether  he  believes  or  rejects  the 
divine  mission  of  Jesus.  Although  different  states  of  so- 
ciety have  exhibited  different  forms  of  wickedness,  authen- 
tic history  does  not  record  any  in  which  human  virtue  has 
appeared  pure.  A  great  part  of  the  business  of  every  go- 
vernment is  to  interpose  restraints  upon  the  evil  passions 
of  the  subjects  :  yet  so  ineffectual  are  those  restraints,  that 
the  peace  of  the  best  constituted  society  is  often  disturbed 
1)y  enormous  crimes,  while  there  are  transgressions  of  vir- 
tue which  elude  the  law,  that  indicate  a  deeper  depravity 
of  mind  tlian  those  enormities  which  are  punished:  and 
even  the  best  of  the  sons  of  men,  those  who  by  the  inno- 
cence of  their  lives  are  exemjjted  not  only  from  the  punish- 
ments, but  even  from  the  censures  of  human  society,  have 
the  consciousness  of  imperfection,  of  failing,  and  demerit. 

The  Scriptures  connect  this  abounding  of  iniquity  with 
,  a  transaction  which  took  place  soon  after  the  creation  of 
Adam.  "  By  one  man,"  says  Paul,  "  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men, 
for  that  all  have  sinned: — By  the  offenceof  one,  judgment 
came  upon  all  men  to  condenniation ;  in  Adam  all  die."* 

*  Fiom.  V.  12,  18.     1  Cor.  xv.  22. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRIiNES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.         253 

This  is  the  commentary  made  by  an  apostle  upon  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis ;  and  when  we  take  that  chapter,  the 
connnentary  of  Paul,  and  other  incidental  expressions  in 
connexion,  we  are  led  by  the  Scriptures  to  consider  the 
transgression  of  the  first  parents  of  the  human  race  as  al- 
tering the  condition  of  their  posterity,  rendering  this  earth 
a  less  c«)mfortable,  and  less  virtuous  habitation,  than  with- 
out that  transgression  it  would  have  been,  and  introducing 
sin,  with  all  its  attendant  misery,  amongst  a  part  of  the  ra- 
tional creation  who  were  made  at  first  after  the  image  of 
God. 

Something  analogous  to  this  effect  of  the  transgression 
of  our  first  parents,  may  often  be  observed  in  human  con- 
nexions. And  we  are  guarded  against  wantonly  rejecting 
the  Scripture  account  of  this  early  transaction,  as  incredi- 
ble or  inconsistent  with  the  government  of  God,  when  we 
see,  in  numberless  instances,  the  sins  of  some  pex'sons  ex- 
tending their  baleful  influence  to  the  minds  and  the  for- 
tunes of  others,  a  father  corrupting  the  manners  of  his 
children,  entailing  upon  them  disease,  disgrace,  poverty 
and  vice,  and  thus  reducing  them  by  his  wickedness  to  a 
calamitous  state,  which,  had  they  sprung  from  other  pa- 
rents, it  appears  to  us  they  might  have  avoided. 

To  this  it  must  be  added,  that  in  the  present  condition 
of  the  human  race  there  are  many  symptoms  of  degrada- 
tion. The  combat  between  the  higher  and  the  lower  parts 
of  our  nature,  the  temptations  to  vice  which  every  thing 
around  us  presents,  the  judgments  which  are  often  exe- 
cuted by  changes  upon  the  face  of  nature,  that  abridgment 
of  the  comforts  of  life  which  arises  from  our  own  faults,  or 
those  of  others,  and  the  violence  which  is  done  to  our  feel- 
ings and  our  affections  by  the  manner  in  which  we  are 
called  out  of  the  world  ;  all  this,  and  much  more  of  the 
same  kind,  indicates  a  disordered  state,  and  accords  with 
the  slight  incidental  openings  which  the  Scriptures  give  us 
into  that  ancient  transaction,  to  M'hich  they  trace  the  sin 
and  misery  of  mankind.  The  effects  of  this  transaction 
continue  in  the  world  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of 
philosophj',  good  government,  and  civilization.  Neither 
the  vigilant  education  and  rigorous  discipline  prescribed 
in  some  ancient  states,  nor  the  circumspection  and  morti- 
fication learned   in  some  ancient  schools,  were  able  to 


254  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

cleanse  the  heart  of  any  one  individual  from  every  kind  of 
defilement,  or  to  maintain  a  life  in  all  respects  blameless. 
And,  whatever  remedy  the  progress  of  improvement  may 
be  conceived  to  have  applied  to  the  other  evils  which  pro- 
ceed fi'om  sin,  there  is  one  standing  memorial  of  its  power, 
which  defies  the  wit  and  the  strength  of  man.  None  can 
deliver  his  own  soul,  or  the  soul  of  his  brother  from  death. 
"  It  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die."*  But  death 
is  represented  in  the  Scriptures  as  the  fruit  of  sin  ;  and 
therefore  the  continuance  of  death  is  one  of  those  practi- 
cal lessons  which  the  Almighty  often  administers,  wliichis 
independent  of  speculation,  but,  being  by  its  nature  a 
strong  confirmation  of  the  discoveries  that  are  made,  is 
sufiicient  to  teach  all  who  receive  the  Scriptures,  that  the 
transaction  to  which  they  ascribe  the  introduction  of 
death  has  not  exhausted  all  its  force. 

The  Gospel  then  proceeds  upon  a  fact,  which  was  not 
created  by  the  revelation,  but  would  have  been  true,  al- 
though the  Gospel  had  not  appeared,  that  that  part  of  the 
reasonable  ofi^spring  of  God  who  inhabit  this  earth  are  sin- 
ners, and  that  their  efforts  to  extricate  themselves  out  of 
this  condition  had  proved  ineffectual.  But  sin  is  repug- 
nant to  our  moral  feelings,  and  excites  our  abhorrence. 
How  much  more  odious  must  it  appear  in  the  sight  of 
Him,  whom  natural  religion  and  the  declarations  of  Scrip- 
ture teach  us  to  consider  as  infinitely  holy !  We  see  only 
a  small  portion  of  human  wickedness.  But  all  the  demerit 
of  every  individual  sinner,  and  the  whole  sum  of  iniquity 
committed  throughout  the  earth,  are  continually  present  to 
the  eyes  of  Him  with  whose  nature  they  are  most  incon- 
sistent. The  sins  of  men  are  transgressions  of  the  law 
given  them  by  their  Creator,  an  insult  to  his  authority,  a 
violation  of  the  order  which  he  had  established,  a  diminution 
of  the  happiness  which  he  had  spread  over  his  works.  It  is 
unknown  to  us  what  connexions  there  are  amongst  diffe- 
rent parts  of  the  universe.  But  it  is  manifest  that  no  go- 
vernment can  subsist  if  the  laws  are  transgressed  with  im- 
punity. It  is  very  conceivable  that  the  other  creatures  of 
God  might  be  tempted  to  disobedience,  if  the  transgressions 
of  the  human  race  received  no  chastisement.     And  there- 

■  Heb.  ix.  27. 


PECULIAB  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  255 

fore,  as  every  temptation  to  disobey  laws  which  bring 
peace  to  the  obedient  is  really  an  introduction  to  misery, 
it  appears  most  becoming  the  Almighty,  both  as  the  Ruler 
and  the  Father  of  the  universe,  to  execute  his  judgments 
against  the  human  race.  Accordingly  the  Scriptures  re- 
cord many  awful  testimonies  of  the  divine  displeasure  with 
sin  ;  and  they  represent  the  whole  world  as  the  children  of 
wrath,  guilty  before  God,  and  under  the  curse,  because 
they  are  the  children  of  disobedience.  It  is  not  in  the  na- 
ture of  repentance  to  avert  those  evils  which  past  transgres- 
sions had  deserved.  But  we  have  seen  that  men  were  un- 
able to  forsake  their  sins  ;  and  we  cannot  form  a  concep- 
tion of  any  mode,  consistent  with  the  honour  and  the  great 
objects  of  the  divine  government,  by  which  a  creature  who 
continues  to  transgress  the  divine  laws,  can  stop  the  course 
of  that  punishment,  which  is  the  fruit  of  his  transgression. 
In  this  situation,  when  the  reasonings  of  nature  fail,  and 
every  appearance  in  nature  conspires  to  show  that  hope  is 
presumptuous,  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel  is  fitted  by  its 
peculiar  character  to  enlighten  and  revive  the  human  mind. 
We  there  learn  that  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  moved  by 
compassion  for  the  work  of  his  hands,  for  the  great  love 
wherewith  he  loved  the  world,  conceived  a  plan  for  deli- 
vering the  children  of  Adam  from  that  sin  and  misery  out 
of  which  they  were  unable  to  extricate  themselves.*  Hav- 
ing foreseen,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  they 
Avould  yield  to  the  temptation  of  an  evil  spirit,  and  abuse 
that  liberty  which  forms  an  essential  part  of  their  nature, 
he  comprehended  in  the  same  eternal  counsel  a  purpose  to 
create,  and  a  purpose  to  save.f  Immediately  after  the 
transgression  of  the  first  man  there  was  some  discovery  of 
the  gracious  plan.  At  the  same  time  that  a  curse  is  pro- 
nounced upon  the  ground,  and  death  is  declared  to  be  the 
punishment  of  sin,  there  is  an  intimation  of  future  deliver- 
ance in  these  words  :  "  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee 
and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  it 
shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."J 
The  promise  was  unfolded,  and  the  plan  gradually  opened 

•  Ephes.  ii.  1,  2,  3,  4,  5.     Rom.  iii.  19 ;  v.  12.    Gal.  iii.  10, 22. 
Col.  iii.  5,  6, 7. 
t  Ephes.  iii.  11.  +  Gen.  iii.  15. 


256  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

through  a  succession  of  dispensations,  all  conspiring  in 
their  place  to  produce  the  fulness  of  time,  when  the  plan 
was  executed  by  the  manifestation  of  that  glorious  jserson 
whom  prophecy  had  announced.     The  light  of  nature  does 
not  give  any  notice  of  the  existence  of  this  person.     But  as 
the  importance  of  the  office  which  he  executed  renders  his 
character  most  interesting  to   the  human  race,  the  Scrip- 
tures declare  that  he  was  with  God  in  the  beginning,  that 
by  him  God  made  the  worlds,  that  he  was  God,  but  that 
veiling  his  glory,   although  he  could  not  divest  himself  of 
the  nature  of  God,  he  was  born  in  a  miraculous   manner, 
was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  took  part  of  flesh  and 
blood,  and  dwelt  with  those  Avhom  he   is  not  ashamed  to 
call  his  brethren.*     The  purpose,  for  which  this  extraordi- 
nary messenger  visited  the  earth,  was  declared  by  the  an- 
gel who  announced  the  singular  manner  of  his  birth  :  "  Thou 
shalt  call  his  name  Jesus ;  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from 
their  sins."f     John  his  forerunner  thus  marked  him  out : 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.":}:     He  said  of  himself,  "  I  am  come  to  call  sin- 
ners to  repentance  ;  to  give  my  life  a  ransom  for  many."§ 
And  the  charge  which  he  gave  to  his  apostles,  and  which 
they  executed  in  all  their  discourses  and  writings,  was  this, 
that  I'epentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached 
in  his  name  amongst  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  || 
These  expressions  imply  that  the  peculiarity  of  the  Jew  ish 
state  was  concluded  by  the  appearance  of  this  prophet,  and 
that  the  bent^fit  of  his  manifestation  was  to   extend   to  all 
nations.     The  same  expressions  imply  also  that  the  nature 
of  that  benefit  was  acconnnodated  to  what  we  have  found 
the  situation  of  mankind  to  require.     In  fulfilment  of  that 
character  of  a  Saviour  which  he   assumed,   he  not  only 
taught  men  the  will  of  God  by  precept  and  by  example, 
unfolded  that  future  state  in  which  they  are  to  receive  ac- 
cording to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  and  enforced  the 
practice  of  righteousness  by  every  motive  addressed  to  the 
understanding  and  the  affections,  but  he  voluntarily  sub- 

*  John  i.  1,  2,  3,  14;  xvii.  5.  Heb.  i.  2 ;  ii.   14.     Phil.  ii.  6,  7. 
Luke  i.  2G— 38. 

f  Matth.  i.  21.  +  John  i.  29. 

§  Matth.  ix.  13;  xx.  28.  |J  Luke  xxiv.  47. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  257 

mitted  to  the  most  grievous  sufferings,  and  the  most  cruel 
death,  as  the  method  ordained  in  tlie  counsel  of  heaven  for 
procuring  tlieir  deliverance  from  sin.  There  is  no  mode  of 
expression  that  we  can  devise,  which  is  not  employed  by 
Scripture  to  convey  this  conception,  that  the  death  of 
Christ  was  not  barely  a  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, an  example  of  disinterested  benevolence  and  of 
heroic  virtue,  but  a  true  sacrifice  for  sin,  oft'ered  by  him  to 
God  the  Father,  in  order  to  avert  the  punishment  which 
the  sins  of  men  deserved,  and  to  render  it  consistent  with 
the  character  of  the  Deity  and  the  honour  of  the  divine 
lav.s,  to  forgive  men  their  trespasses.  "  I  am  the  good 
shepherd,"  says  Jesus ;  "  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life 
for  the  sheep."*  "  God  hath  set  him  forth  to  be  a  propi- 
tiation through  faith  in  his  blood  to  declare  his  righteous- 
ness for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past."f  "  We  are  re- 
deemed with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  with- 
out blemish  and  without  spot."'J  The  natural  conclusion 
which  any  person,  whose  mind  is  not  Marped  by  a  parti- 
cular system,  will  draw  from  these  and  numberless  other 
expressions  of  the  same  kind,  is  this,  that  as  the  scheme 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  human  race  originated  from  the 
love  of  God  the  Father,  so  it  was  accomplished  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  that  person,  who  is  called  in  Scriptui'e  the 
Son  of  God, 

As  the  effect  of  this  instrumentality  is  clearly  declared 
in  Scripture,  so  it  is  analogous  to  one  part  of  the  divine 
procedure  whicli  we  have  often  occasion  to  observe.  The 
whole  course  of  human  affairs  is  carried  on  by  alternate 
successions  of  wisdom  and  folly.  Evils  are  incurred,  and 
they  are  remedied.  The  good  affections  or  the  generosity 
of  some  are  employed  to  retrieve  the  faults  or  the  misfor- 
tunes of  others  :  and  the  condescension  and  zeal,  with 
which  the  talents  of  an  exalted  character  are  exerted  in 
some  cause  which  did  not  properly  belong  to  him,  are  of- 
ten seen  to  restore  that  order  and  happiness  which  the  ex- 
travagance of  vice  appeared  to  have  destroyed.  The  dis- 
pensation revealed  in  the  Gospel  is  the  same  in  kind  with 
these  instances,  although  infinitely  exalted  above  them  in 
magnificence  and  extent.     We  see  there  sin  and  misery 

•  Johnx.  11.  t  Rora.  iii.  25.  t  1  Pet.  i.  18,  19. 


258  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

entering  into  the  world  by  the  transgression  of  one  man, 
the  effects  spreading  through  the  whole  race,  and  the  re- 
medy brought  by  the  generous  interposition  of  a  person 
who  had  no  share  in  the  disaster,  whose  power  of  doing 
good  was  called  forth  purely  by  compassion  for  the  dis- 
tressed, and,  in  opposition  to  all  the  obstacles  raised  by  an 
evil  spirit,  was  exerted  with  perseverance  and  success,  in 
removing  the  deformity  and  disorder  which  he  had  intro- 
duced into  the  creation.  "  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 
God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of 
the  devil."*  "  He  took  part  of  flesh  and  blood,  that 
through  death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death,  that  is,  the  devil,  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear 
of  death  were  all  their  life-time  subject  to  bondage."-|- 

That  the  interposition  of  the  Son  of  God  was  effectual 
in  promoting  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  made,  and  that 
his  death  did  really  overcome  that  evil  spirit,  who  is  styl- 
ed the  prince  of  this  world,;}:  was  declared  by  his  resurrec- 
tion, and  by  the  gifts  which  in  fulfilment  of  his  promise 
were  sent  upon  his  apostles  after  his  ascension.§  This  is 
the  Scripture  proof,  "  that  Jesus  is  able  to  save  to  the  ut- 
termost all  that  come  to  God  by  him."||  So  speaks  Peter 
in  one  of  his  first  sermons.^  "  The  God  of  our  fatliers 
raised  up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew  and  hanged  on  a  tree.  Him 
hath  God  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel  and  forgiveness 
of  sins.  And  we  are  his  witnesses  of  these  things  ;  and  so 
is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey 
him,"  ^.  e.  Our  testimony  of  his  resurrection,  confirmed  by 
the  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  the  evidence  that  God 
hath  exalted  him  to  be  a  Saviour.  He  is  now,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  God,  the  dispenser  of  those  blessings  which 
he  died  to  purchase  ;**  the  Mediator  of  the  new  covenant, 
which  was  sealed  by  his  blood,  and  which  is  established 
upon  better  promises,-|-f  of  the  fulfilment  of  which  we  re- 
ceive perfect  assurance  from  the  power  that  is  given  to  him 


•  1  John  iii.  8.  f  Heb.  ii.  14,  15. 

X  John  xiv.  30.  §  Rom.  i.  4.  Acts  ii.  32,  33. 

II  Heb.  vii.  25.  f  Acts  v.  30—32. 

*•  Heb.  xii.  2.  ff  Heb.  viii.  4.;  ix.  12,  15. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  259 

in  heaven  and  in  earth.*  Pardon,  grace,  and  consolation, 
flow  from  him  as  their  proprietor,  who  hath  acquired  by 
his  sufferings  the  right  of  distributing  gifts  to  men.f  "  Be- 
ing justified  by  his  blood,  we  have  peace  with  God,  and 
access  to  the  Father  through  him."j:  He  is  now  the  ad- 
vocate of  his  people,§  who  appears  in  the  presence  of  God 
for  them; II  "who  ever  lives  to  make  intercession,"^ 
and  by  whom  their  prayers  and  services  are  rendered  ac- 
ceptable.** He  directs  the  course  of  his  Providence, 
so  as  to  promote  their  welfare,  not  by  abolishing  the  pre- 
sent consequences  of  sin,  but  by  rendering  them  medici- 
nal to  the  soul  iff  and  death,  which  is  still  allowed  to  con- 
tinue as  a  standing  memorial  of  the  evil  of  sin,  shall  at 
length  be  destroyed  by  the  working  of  his  mighty  power, 
which  is  able  to  quicken  the  bodies  that  had  been  mingled 
with  the  dust  of  the  earth.J;];  "  I  am,"  says  he,  "  the  re- 
surrection and  the  life."§§  "  The  hour  is  coming,  in 
the  which  all  that  are  in  the  grave  shall  hear  the  voice  of 
the  Son  of  God,  and  shall  come  forth."  ||  ||  "  Power  is  given 
him  over  all  flesh,  that  he  may  give  eternal  life  to  as  many 
as  he  will."^^  And  the  crown  of  life  that  shall  be  confer- 
red at  the  last  day  upon  those  for  whom  it  is  prepared,  is 
represented  in  Scripture  not  as  a  recompense  which  they 
have  earned,  but  as  the  gift  of  God  through  him.  "  The 
wages  of  sin  is  death  ;  but  eternal  life  is  the  gift  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."*** 

In  this  manner  the  blessings,  which  that  divine  Person 
who  interposed  for  the  salvation  of  mankind  is  able  to  be- 
stow, imply  a  complete  deliverance  from  the  evils  of  sin. 
"  As  through  one  man's  oflence,  death  reigned  by  one,  so 
they  who  receive  abundance  of  gi-ace,  and  of  the  gift  of 
righteousness,  shall  reign  in  life  by  one  Jesus  Christ."f  ff 

Hitherto  we  have  confined  our  attention  to  the  interpo- 
sition of  that  Person,  who  appeared  upon  earth  to  save  his 
people  from  their  sins.     But  we  are  introduced  in  the 

*  Matth.  xxviii.  18.  f  Ephes.  iv.  8- 
+  Rom.  V.  1,  2,  9,  11.  Eph.  ii.  18.      §  1  John  ii.  1. 

II  Heb  ix.  24.  4  Rom.  viii.  34. 

••  Rev.  viii.  3,  4.  -f  f  Rom.  viii.  28- 

tX  Phil.  iii.  21.  §§  John  iii.  25.       . 

II 11  John  v.  28,  29.  ^1[  John  xvii.2. 

•••  Rom.  vi.  23.  -f-ft  Horn.  v.  17. 


260  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

Gospel  to  the  knowledge  of  a  third  Person,  who  concurs  in 
the  salvation  of  niankujd  ;  whoproceedeth  from  the  Father, 
who  is  sent  by  the   Son  as  his   Spirit,*  whose  power  is 
spoken  of  in  exalted  terms,f  to  whom  the  highest  reverence 
is  challenged,:};   and  who,    in  all  the  variety  of  his  opera- 
tions, is  one  and  the  self  same  Spirit,   dividing  to   every 
one  severally  as   he  will.§     One  God  and  Father  of  all  is 
known  by  the  works  of  nature :  the  Son  of  God  is  made 
known  by  revelation,  because  the  world  which   he  had 
made  stood  in  need  of  his  interposition  to  redeem  it :   and 
the  Spirit  is  made  known  by  the  same  revelation,  because 
the  benefits  of  this  redemption  are  applied  through  his 
agency.     Our  knowledge  in  this  way  grows  with  our  ne- 
cessities.    We  learn  how  inadequate  our  faculties  are  to 
comprehend  the  divine  nature,  vfhen  we  see  such  impor- 
tant discovei'ies  superinduced  upon  the  investigations  of 
the  most  enlightened  reason.     And  we  learn  also  that  the 
measures  of  knowledge,  Avhich  the  Father  of  Spirits  sees 
meet  to  communicate,  are  not  intended  to  amuse  our  minds 
with  speculation,  and  to  gratify  curiosity,  but  are  imme- 
diately connected  with  the  grounds  of  our  comfort  and 
hope.     They  comprehend  all  that  is  necessary  for  us  in 
our  present  circumstances.     But  they  may  be  far  from  ex- 
hausting the  subject  revealed :   and  from  the  very  great 
addition  which  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel  has  made  to 
our  knowledge,  it  is  natural  for  us  to  infer  that  creatures 
in  another  situation,  or  we  ourselves  in  a  more  advanced 
state  of  being,  may  see  distinctly  many  things,  which  we 
now  in  vain  attempt  to  penetrate.     The  mode   in   which 
the  Son  and  the  Spirit  subsist,  and  the  nature  of  their  con- 
nexion w  ith  the  Father,  however  much  they  have  been  the 
subject  of  human  speculation,   are  nowhere  revealed  in 
Scripture.     But  the  offices  of  these  persons,  being  of  in- 
finite importance  to  us,  are  revealed  with  such  hints  only 
of  their  nature,  as  may  satisfy  us  that  they  are  c]ualified 
for  these  offices. 

We  have  seen  the  office  of  the  Son  in  the  redemption 
of  the  world,  the  right  which  he  acquired  by  his  perfect 
obedience  and  suffering  to  dispense  the   blessings  of  his 

*  John  XV.  26.  f  Acts  iv.  31,  33.     Rom.  viii.  11,  26. 

2  Cor.  iii.  17,  18.       *  Heb.  ix.  14  j  x.  29.        §  I  Cor.  xii.  4—11. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  261 

pursliase.  It  i.s  in  the  dispeRsation  of  those  Talessings  that 
the  oifice  of  the  Spirit  appears.  This  office  commenced 
i'rom  the  earliest  times  :  For  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of 
all  the  holy  prophets,  who  prophesied,  since  the  world  be- 
gan, of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  of  the  glory  that  should 
follow.*  To  his  agency  the  miraculous  conception  of  the 
Son  of  man  is  ascrilied.f  He  descended  upon  Jesus  at 
his  baptism  :^  he  was  given  to  him  without  measure  du- 
ring his  ministry  ;§  and  after  his  ascension  he  was  mani- 
fested in  the  variety  and  fulness  of  those  gifts  which  dis- 
tinguished the  first  preachers  of  Christianity, |j  But  all 
these  branches  of  the  office  of  the  Spirit,  so  necessary  for 
confirming  the  truth,  and  for  diftusing  the  knowledge  of 
the  Christian  religion,  were  only  the  pledges  of  those  ordi- 
nary influences,  by  which  the  same  Divine  Person  continues 
in  all  ages  to  apply  the  blessings  which  are  thus  revealed. 

The  ordinary  influences  of  the  Spirit  are  represented  in 
Scripture  as  opposed  to  all  those  circumstances  in  the  pre- 
sent condition  of  human  nature,  which  indispose  men  for 
receiving  such  a  religion  as  the  Gospel.  Thus  you  read, 
that  "the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  God; 
they  are  foolishness  to  him,  because  they  are  spiritually 
discerned." «[  But  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  is 
given  to  Christians,  that  "  the  eyes  of  their  understanding 
being  enlightened,  they  maj'  know  what  is  the  hope  of 
their  callintj."**  You  read,  that  "  the  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity  against  C-lod,  and  cannot  be  subject  to  his  law  :  But 
they  that  are  led  b}'  the  Spirit,  mind  the  things  of  the  Spi- 
rit."f  f  You  readof  acomplacency  in  their  own  righteous- 
ness, which  prevents  many  from  submitting  themselves  to 
the  righteousness  of  God.tt  But  the  Spirit  casts  down 
every  high  thought  which  exalteth  itself." §§ 

In  all  this  there  is  nothing  contrary  to  the  reasonable 
nature  of  man.  We  have  daily  experience  of  the  influence 
which  one  mind  has  over  another,  by  presenting  objects 
in  the  light  best  fitted  to  command  assent  and  conviction, 
by  suggesting  forcible  motives,  by  over-ruling  objections, 
by  addressing  every  generous  principle,  and  exciting  every 


•  1  Pet  i.  11 . 

t  Luke  i.  35.              *  Luke  iii.  22. 

§  John  iii.  34. 

1)  Actsii.  4.                %  1  Cor.  ii.  14, 

••Ephes.  i.  17,  18. 

tt  Rom.  viii.  5,  7.   ♦:;:  Kom.  x.  3. 

§§  -i  Cor.  X.  5. 

262  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

latent  spark  of  good  affection.     You  sometimes  see  or 
hear  of  persons  formed   for  commanding  others,   not  by 
force,  but  by  an  acknowledged  eminence  in  talents  and 
virtues :  and  you  often  see  men  conducted  by  a  skilful  ex- 
jDOsition  to  the  clear  apprehension  of  truths  which  seemed 
to  be  above  their  capacity,  and  irresistibly,  yet  freely,  led, 
by  well  adapted  persuasion,  to  exertions  which  they  con- 
sidered as  beyond  their  power.     All  this  is  a  very  faint 
image  indeed,  but  it  may  assist  you  in  forming  some  con- 
ception of  the  action  of  the  Spirit  of  God  upon   the  mind 
of  man.     He  who  knows  every  spring  of  that  heart  which 
he  formed,  every  method  of  approach,  every  secret  wish, 
every  reluctant  thought,   and  whose  power  over  mind  is 
as  entire   as  that  which  he  exercises  over  matter,  can  in 
various   ways  illuminate  the   darkest  understanding,  and 
bend  the  most  stubborn  will,  without  destroying  that  free- 
dom which  is  the  essential  character  of  the  being  upon 
whom  he  acts.     The  influence  is  efficacious,  and  the  pur- 
pose of  him  from  whom  it  proceeds  cannot  be   defeated. 
Yet  the  being  who  is  thus   moved  has  as  little  feeling  of 
constraint,  acts  as  much  from  choice  and  deliberation,  as 
if  the  views  and  motives  had  occurred  to  his   own   mind 
without  a  guide,  or  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  any  of 
his  neighbours.     Hence,   although  this   influence   of  the 
Spirit  is  expressed  in  Scripture  by  a  new  creation,*   and 
the  quickening  of  those  who  were   dead,-|-   although  our 
Lord  hath  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again  of  the  Spi- 
rit, he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  i.  e.  be- 
come a  Christian  ;  and  again,   "  No  man  can  come  unto 
me,  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  me,  draw  him,"J 
yet  the  persons  thus  created,  quickened  and  drawn,  are 
said  to  be  "  willing  in  a  day  of  power."§     "  Where  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,"   says  the  Apostle,  "  there  is  liber- 
ty," ||   the   liberty  which  belongs  to   those  whose  under- 
standings know  the  truth,  whose   affections  are  orderly, 
and  who  are  not  the  servants  of  sin.     The  Gospel  is  styled 
"  the  perfect  law  of  liberty."^    A  Christian  is  significantly 
called  "  the  Lord's  freeman."**     And  Jesus  said  to  those 


*  2  Cor.  V.  17.         t  Ephes.  ii,  1.         t  Jo^'"  i"-  3,  5  ;  vi.    44. 
§  Psalm  ex.  3.  ||  2  Cor.  ill.  17.       1  James  i.  25. 

*•  1  Cor.  vii.  22. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  263 

who  believed  on  him,  "  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  ye 
shall  be  free  indeed."* 

Such  is  the  nature  of  that  influence,  which  the  Scrip- 
tures represent  the  Spirit  of  God  as  exerting  upon  every 
true  Christian.  The  immediate  effect  of  that  influence  is 
called  in  Scripture  faith ;  a  word,  which  according  to  its 
etymology,  Tric-Tti,  denotes  a  firm  persuasion  of  truth,  but 
which,  in  the  Scripture  sense  of  the  word,  comprehends 
all  the  sentiments  and  affections  which  naturally  arise 
from  a  firm  persuasion  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  ;  a  cor- 
dial acquiescence  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  a  thank- 
ful acceptance  of  the  method  of  salvation  fi'om  sin  there 
offered,  a  reliance  upon  the  promises  of  God,  and  a  sub- 
mission to  his  will.  Although  an  acquaintance  with  the 
historical  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  be 
the  natural  foundation  of  a  persuasion  of  its  truth,  yet  a 
person  may  have  studied  these  evidences  with  care,  and 
may  be  able  to  answer  the  objections  that  have  been  ur- 
ged against  them,  who,  at  the  same  time,  from  some 
wrongness  of  mind,  does  not  attain  to  the  sentiments  and 
dispositions  implied  under  faith.  The  Scriptures  hold 
forth  examples  of  this  in  the  enemies  of  our  Lord  during 
his  life,  who  had  clearer  evidences  of  his  divine  mission 
before  their  eyes  than  we  are  able  to  attain  with  all  our 
investigation,  and  in  many  of  those,  who,  by  teaching  and 
doing  wonderful  works  in  his  name,  had  that  evidence 
within  themselves,  yet  are  for  ever  separated  from  him  by 
his  own  declai'ation.f  And  these  examples  will  not  ap- 
pear strange  to  any  person  who  has  bestowed  a  philoso- 
phical attention  upon  the  inconsistencies  in  the  human 
mind,  and  the  small  influence  which  deductions  of  the  un- 
derstanding often  appear  to  have  ujion  the  heart.  On 
the  other  hand,  both  the  Scriptures  and  our  own  expe- 
rience afford  many  examples  of  persons,  who,  with  limited 
information  and  narrow  jjowers  of  reasoning,  j'et  by  a 
tractable  disposition,  a  love  of  the  truth,  and  a  fairness  of 
mind,  have  attained  to  what  the  Scriptures  call  faith,  and 
become  the  discijiles  of  Christ  indeed.  To  this  purpose 
Jesus  says,  "  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and 

*  John  viii.  36.  f  Matt.  ni.  22,  23. 


SGi  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANtTY. 

prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes.  Even  so> 
Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight."*  And  again, 
"  Except  ye  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  i.  e.  Except  ye  receive 
the  truth  with  that  freedom  from  prejudice,  that  desire  of 
learning,  and  that  simplicity  of  intention,  which  are  all  im- 
plied in  the  character  of  children,  ye  cannot  become 
Christians.-)-  In  another  place,  our  Lord  says,  "  If  anj'' 
man  will  do  the  will  of  God,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine 
whether  it  be  of  God;":j;  and  he  explains  the  good  soil,  in 
which  tlie  seed  fell  that  produced  an  hundred  fold,  by  a 
good  and  honest  heart,  in  which  they  keep  the  Avord,  who 
bring  forth  fruit  with  patience."§  AH  these  expressions 
imply  not  merely  tliat  faith  is  an  exercise  of  understand- 
ing, but  that  a  certain  preparation  of  heart  is  requisite  for 
it ;  and  hence  you  will  perceive  that,  although  faith  be  a 
reasonable  act  proceeding  upon  evidence,  there  is  room 
for  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  in  disposing  the  mind  to  at- 
tend to  the  evidence,  and  to  see  its  force,  in  overcoming 
prejudice,  and  carrying  home  the  truth  with  power  to  the 
heart.  Accordingly  the  Apostle  Paul  says  expressly,  that 
faith  is  "  the  gift  of  God  ;"  II  and  this  declaration  is  only 
expressing,  in  one  sentence,  the  uniform  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture upon  this  subject. 

Faith,  whicli  is  thus  produced  by  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  the  mind  of  man,  is  the  character  with 
which  a  participation  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  is  al- 
ways connected  in  Scripture.  These  blessings  were  ac- 
quired, and  are  dispensed  by  the  Lord  Jesus.  But  they 
are  applied  by  his  Sph'it  only  to  them  who  believe.  "  God 
so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish."  "  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  he  that  be- 
lieveth not  shall  be  damned."  "  This  is  the  word  of  faith 
which  we  preach,  that  if  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart,  that  God 
hath  raised  him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."  We 
are  said  to  be  "justified  by  faith  :"  and  the  only  direction 
which  Paul  gave  to  the  jailor,  when  he  cried  out,  "  What 

i    *   Matt.  xi.  25,  26.         t  Matt,  xviii.  3.         :;:  John  vii.  17- 
§  Luke  viii.  15.  ||    Ephes.  ii.  8. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OP  CHRISTIANITY.  265 

must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  was  this,  "  Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Chfist,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."* 

Declarations  of  this  kind  abound  in  Scripture.  But 
Uiere  are  Uvo  mistakes  which  such  declarations  are  apt  to 
occeision  ;  and  both  are  so  opposite  to  the  Scripture  sys- 
tem, that  they  require  to  be  mentioned  in  this  short  ac- 
count of  it. 

The  first  mistake,  into  which  you  may  be  led  by  the 
Scripture  declarations  concerning  faith,  is  to  imagine  that 
faith  is  the  procuring  cause  of  our  salvation  ;  that  because 
Christ  says,  "  this  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on 
him  whom  he  hath  sent,"  any  person  who  does  the  work 
receives  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  as  the  wages  which  he 
has  earned.  But  such  an  opinion  contradicts  all  the  views 
which  we  have  hitherto  deduced  from  Scripture.  For  the 
Gospel  being  a  salvation  from  sin,  those  who  are  to  be 
saved  are  considered  as  sinners,  until  they  partake  of  the 
salvation.  The  investiture  witli  a  certain  character  is  in- 
deed a  present,  and  in  some  sense  an  immediate  effect  of 
the  salvation,  and  is  so  inseparably  connected  with  it,  as 
to  be  the  Scripture  mark,  that  a  person  has  "  passed  from 
death  unto  life."  But  being  an  effect,  it  cannot  in  the  na- 
ture of  things  be  a  cause  of  that  from  which  it  proceeds ; 
and  therefore  the  Scriptures  speak  in  perfect  consistency 
with  themselves,  when  they  declare,  "  God  hath  saved  us, 
and  called  us  with  an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which 
was  given  us  in  Christ  ,Iesus."f  "  When  we  were  dead  in 
sins,  he  quickened  us  together  with  Christ,  for  by  grace  ye 
are  saved  through  faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is 
the  gift  of  God.":j:  Faith  is  the  instrument  by  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  applies  to  us  tlie  blessings  which  Christ 
hath  acquired  the  right  of  dispensing.  But  there  is  no 
merit  in  the  instrument.  Since  all  had  sinned,  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God,  "  we  are  Justified  freely  by  the 
grace  of  God,  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Je- 
sus ;"  and  he  is  "  the  Lord  our  rigiiteousness." 

The  second  mistake  into  which  you  may  be  led  by  tlie 

*  John  iii.  16.     Mark  xvi.  16.     Rom.  x.  8,  9  ;  v.  i.     Acts  xvi. 
30,  31. 

t  2  Tim.  i.  9.  *  Ephes   ii.  1,  8. 

VOL.  I.  N 


266  PECULIAR-  DOCTRINES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

Scriptuve  declaration  concerning  faith  is,  that  faith  is  the 
only  thing  which  is  required  of  a  Christian.  If  all  that 
Paul  said  to  the  jailor  was,  "  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  slialt  be  saved,"  it  seems  to  follow  that,  if 
he  believed,  it  mattered  not  how  far  he  disregarded  every 
other  precept  of  the  Gospel.  But  the  Scriptures,  by  all 
their  descriptions  of  faitli,  mean  to  teach  us  that  it  cannot 
be  alone.  It  is  the  principle  of  a  divine  life,  by  which  we 
are  united  to  Christ  and  derive  from  him  grace  and  strengtl* 
for  the  discharge  of  every  duty.  It  works  by  love,  and 
purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the  world.  So  we  read 
in  Scripture  of  a  life  of  faith,  of  the  obedience  of  faith,  of 
faith  being  dead,  because  it  is  without  works.  "  Do  Ave 
make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid ;  yea,  we 
establish  the  law."*  Here  then  you  will  mark  the  place 
which  good  works  hold  in  the  Christian  system.  They 
are  not  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God,  for  the 
whole  world,  according  to  this  system,  being  guilty  before 
God,  we  must  have  remained  for  ever  excluded  from  his 
favour  had  good  works  been  the  condition  upon  which  our 
being  received  into  it  was  suspended.  "  Therefore,"  the 
Apostle  Paul  says,  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh 
be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God."  Neither  are  those  the 
good  works  of  a  Christian,  which,  although  fit  in  them- 
selves, and  profitable  to  those  who  do  them,  and  to  others, 
are  done  merely  upon  considerations  of  reason,  honour, 
and  conscience,  which  ought  to  actuate  the  mind  in  every 
situation.  But  the  good  works  required  in  the  Gospel 
flow  from  faith,  i.  e.  they  are  performed  in  the  spirit  of  a 
Christian,  from  the  motives  suggested  by  a  firm  persuasion 
of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  Good  works,  therefore,  are 
stated  in  Scrioture  as  the  fruits  and  evidences  of  faith,  the 
necessary  efi'ect  of  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
"  For  we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Jesus  un- 
to good  works,  which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we 
should  walk  in  them  ;"-|-  and  there  thus  appears  to  be  the 
most  perfect  consistency  between  the  doctrine  of  Paul  and 
that  of  James.  Paul  says,  that  we  are  not  justified  by  any 
thing   that  we  can  do   ourselves,   but   freely   by   grace, 

«  Gal-  V.  6  ;  ii.20.    Acts  xv-  9.    1  John  v.  4.     Rom.  i.  5;  iii.  31. 
James  ii.  12. 

-|-  Ephes.  ii.  10. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  267 

through  faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  James  says,  Show 
me  thy  faith  by  thy  works ;  faith  without  works  is  dead, 
as  the  body  without  the  spirit.  And  he  concludes,  that  a 
man  is  justified  not  by  faith  only,  i.  e.  by  such  a  faith  as 
does  not  produce  what  Paul  had  stated  to  be  the  constant 
effect  of  a  true  faith,  but  by  that  faith  which  by  works  is 
made  perfect. 

As  the  Gospel  calls  men,  by  motives  peculiar  to  itself, 
and  with  an  energy  which  no  other  system  ever  possessed, 
to  the  practice  of  righteousness,  so  it  is  uniformly  suppos- 
ed in  Scripture,  that  the  followers  of  Jesus  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished by  the  zeal  and  constancy  with  which  they 
abound  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  question  of  our 
Lord,  "  What  do  ye  more  than  others  ?"  and  such  expres- 
sions as  these,  "  being  dead  to  sin,"  "  crucifying  the  flesh 
with  the  affections  and  lusts,"  "  being  alive  vmto  God," 
"  putting  on  the  new  man,"  "  walking  after  the  Spirit," 
imply  an  eminence  and  uniformity  of  virtues,  a  light  which 
shines  before  men.  That  innocence  which  the  laws  of  our 
country  enjoin,  that  measure  of  virtue  which  a  regard  to 
public  opinion  or  even  the  principles  of  natural  religion  re- 
quire, falls  very  far  short  of  the  evangelical  standai'd.  It 
is  the  duty  of  a  Christian  to  aspire  after  perfection,  yet 
never  to  count  that  he  has  attained  it ;  to  forsake  the  vices 
of  othei's,  and  to  endeavour  to  excel  their  virtues,  yet  to 
be  deeply  sensible  of  his  own  imperfection,  and  ready  to 
allow  his  brethren  all  the  praise  which  they  deserve ;  to 
fill  up  his  life  with  the  various  exertions  of  active,  diffu- 
sive, disinterested  benevolence,  yet  to  guard  against  the 
emotions  of  vanity,  and  that  spirit  of  ostentation  by  which 
a  good  deed  loses  all  its  value ;  and  to  ascribe  the  honour 
of  his  progress  in  virtue,  not  to  his  natural  disposition,  to 
his  own  tiiligence  or  watchfulness,  or  to  any  concurrence 
of  favouraliie  circumstances,  but  to  that  God  who  called 
him  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  to  that  Saviour  by 
the  faith  of  whom  he  lives,  and  that  Spirit  by  whose  in- 
fluence he  is  sanctified. 

The  Scriptures  assure  us  that  the  good  works  which 
thus  proceed  from  faith,  although  imperfect  in  degree,  and 
mingled  with  many  infirmities,  are  well  pleasing  in  the 
sight  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  He,  in  allusion  to  the 
Jewish  law,  is  represented  as  the  high  priest  over  the  house 


268  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

of  God,  who,  having  yielded  a  perfect  obedience  to  the  di- 
vine law,  has  no  occasion  to  make  any  offering  for  his  own 
sins,  but  appears  in  the  presence  of  God  for  his  people.* 
And  the  good  works  which  they  perform  through  the 
strength  which  his  Spirit  imparts,  are  styled  spiritual  sa- 
crifices acceptable  to  God  by  him.f  The  Almighty  lifts 
the  light  of  his  countenance  upon  those  who  offer  this  sa- 
crifice ;  he  admits  them  into  his  family ;  he  rejoices  over 
them  to  do  them  good ;  he  chastens  them  with  the  tender- 
ness of  a  father ;  he  seals  them  by  his  Spirit  unto  the  day 
of  redemption ;  and  he  will  receive  them  hereafter  to  that 
incorruptible  inheritance  which  is  not  due  to  their  services, 
but  a  reward  of  grace,  purchased  by  the  death  of  Christ, 
secured  by  his  intercession,  and  "  reserved  in  heaven  for 
those  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto 
salvation." 

It  appears  then  from  the  Scriptures  that  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  having  for  its  ultimate  design  the  removal  of  those 
evils  which  sin  had  introduced,  destroys  the  present  do- 
minion of  sin  in  all  true  Christians.  Its  tendency  is  to  re- 
store uj^on  the  soul  of  man  that  image  of  God  after  which 
he  was  made,  to  revive  those  sentiments  and  desires  Avhich 
constitute  the  excellence  and  dignity  of  his  nature,  to  ele- 
vate his  affections  from  earth  to  heaven,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  enforce  the  discharge  of  those  relative  duties 
which  his  present  condition  renders  necessary  to  the  com- 
fort of  society.  It  is  plain  that  if  this  religion  were  uni- 
versally acknowledged  and  obeyed,  the  character  of  every 
individual  would  be  rescued  from  the  degradation  of  vice, 
and  assimilated  to  the  most  exalted  beings  in  the  universe  ; 
that  the  happiness  of  human  life  would  receive  the  most 
substantial  and  permanent  improvement,  and  that  the 
abode  of  the  human  race  upon  earth  would  be  a  stage  in 
the  progress  of  their  existence  to  the  perfection  and  the 
joys  of  heaven.  It  is  not  possible  to  conceive  any  design 
more  worthy  of  the  Father  of  mankind,  and  more  benefi- 
cial to  his  creatui'es.  There  is  implied  in  the  nature  of 
this  design  the  strongest  obligation  upon  every  reasonable 
being  to  whom  the  knowledge  of  it  is  communicated,  to 
co-operate  in  its  accomplishment ;  and  it  is  specially  to  be 

•  Heb.  vii.  25—28.  ^     t  1  P^ter  ii.  5. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRfNES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  2G9 

remarked,  in  a  view  of  the  Scripture  system,  that  this  co- 
operation is  not  only  required  by  precept,  but  is  recom- 
mended by  the  most  illustrious  examples.  The  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  condescend  to  take  part  in 
this  scheme ;  the  angels  attend  to  the  progress  of  it,  re- 
joice in  the  conversion  of  a  sinner,  and  are  "  ministering 
spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of  salvation." 
All  the  prophets  and  holy  men  in  ancient  times  of  whom 
the  Scriptures  speak  looked  forward  to  it,  and  contributed 
in  some  measure  to  its  approach.  And  now  that  it  is  ma- 
nifested, every  one  is  called  upon  to  be  a  worker  together 
with  God.  The  whole  Christian  world  is  represented  as 
one  great  society,  united,  by  their  submission  to  the  same 
Master  and  by  the  guidance  of  the  same  Spirit,  in  follow- 
ing "  after  holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord :"  and  "  after  the  things  wherewith  one  may  edify 
another." 

We  are  warranted  to  speak  of  this  co-operation  in  ac- 
complishing the  great  design  of  the  Gospel ;  for  although 
the  Scriptures  represent  the  blessings  there  revealed  as 
acquired  by  the  interposition  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the 
character  necessary  in  oi'der  to  a  participation  of  them  as 
originating  from  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  yet  they  uni- 
formly address  us  in  a  style  which  supposes  that  there  is 
something  for  us  to  do.  We  are  commanded  to  "  work 
out  our  own  salvation,"  and  we  are  required  to  help  our 
brethren  in  the  good  ways  of  the  Lord.  We  soon  bewilder 
ourselves  in  our  speculations,  when  we  attempt  to  settle  the 
boundaries  between  the  agency  of  God  and  the  agency  of 
man.  But  the  Scriptures,  without  condescending  to  enter 
into  these  discussions,  abound  in  exhortations  ;  and  we 
cannot  suppose  that  our  shallow  reasonings  upon  subjects 
so  infinitely  above  our  comprehension,  will  be  sustained  as 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  to  obey  precepts  so  often  repeat- 
ed and  so  plainly  expressed. 

The  Scriptures  mention  various  means  which  the  Spirit 
of  God  employs,  in  producing  that  faith  which  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Christian  character,  and  those  good  works 
which  flow  from  this  principle.  But  they  have  nowhere 
furnished  any  marks  to  distinguish  the  natural  operation 
of  these  means  from  that  agency  of  the  Spirit,  without 


270  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 

which  they  are  inefFectual.    "  The  wind,"  says  our  Lord, 
"  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thei'eof,  but  canst  not  tell  Avhence  it  cometh  and  whither 
it  goeth  ;  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."     The 
Spirit  may  act  as  he  will,  but  there  is  no  warrant  to  ex- 
pect that  the  conversion  of  any  individual  will  be  brought 
about  in   a  sudden   sensible  manner.     The  exercises  of  a 
pious  education,  the  habits  of  virtuous  youth,  the  impres- 
sions fixed  upon  the  mind  by  the   continued  instruction 
and  conversation  of  the  wise,  may  have  so  gradually  dis- 
posed a  person  for  receiving  the  Gospel  in  faith,  that  he 
shall  not  be   able  to  mark  any  great  change  which  ever 
took  place  in  the  state  of  his  soul,  or  the  time  when  faith, 
the  gift  of  God,  was  imparted  to  him  by  the  Spirit.     Yet 
this  man  may  appear  to  be  a  Christian  indeed,  by  bring- 
ing forth  in  his  life  those  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  which  ai'C  the 
evidences  of  faith.     The  assui'ance  which  arises  from  these 
evidences  may  give  him  that  "  peace  of  God  which  pass- 
eth  understanding ;"  and  the  Spirit  itself  may  bear  witness 
with  his  spirit  that  he  is  a  child  of  God.     From  hence  we 
/    deduce  the  duty  of  using  the  means  by  which  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit  are  ordinarily  conveyed,   and  the  pre- 
sumption of  all  who,  undervaluing  the  means,  say  that  they 
wait  for  an  extraordinary  instantaneous  iilapse  of  the  Spirit. 
Hence  too  you  perceive  the  reason  why  the  Scriptures  re- 
present the  earliest  Christians,  and  speak  of  Christians  in 
all  succeeding  ages,  as  a  society  distinguished  by  certain 
regulations  and  outward  ordinances.    If  the  Spirit  operated 
immediately  upon  every  individual,  all  these  would  be  a 
yoke  of  ceremonies.     But  if  the  heavenly  gift,  as  well  as 
the  conimon  bounties  of  Providence,  is  to  be  dispensed  by 
the  instrumentality  of  men,  the  establishment  of  what  we 
call  a  church  is  necessary  for  "  perfecting  the  saints,  and 
for  edifying  the  body  of  Christ."     So  speaks  the  apostle 
Paul.     "  How  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed  ?  And  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard  ?  And  how  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher  ?  And    how  shall   they  preach    except  they  be 
sent  ?  So  faith  cometh   by   hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  God."*     The  promise  of  our  Lord  to  his  apostles, 

»  Rom.  X.  14,  15. 


/ 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  2/1 

'**  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world,"  seems,  by  the  terms  of  it,  to  extend  to  a  much 
longer  period  than  their  ministry  required;  and  that  it 
does  really  imply  the  presence  of  Jesus  with  his  church  in 
all  ages,  not  indeed  by  extraordinary  inspiration,  but  by  his 
countenance  and  protection,  is  manifest  from  another  de- 
claration of  his,  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  my  church,"  and  from  the  practice  of  his  apostles, 
who  ordained  teachers,  overseers  of  the  flock,  in  every  city 
where  they  preached,  and  who  made  provision  that  the 
instruction  which  they  gave  by  word  or  writing  should  be 
transmitted  to  future  generations.  "  The  things,"  says 
Paul  to  Timothy,  the  minister  of  Ephesus,  "  that  thou  hast 
heard  of  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit  thou 
to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also."* 
Some  of  the  epistles  of  Paul  contain  a  delineation  of  the 
form  of  those  churches  to  the  ministers  of  which  he  writes, 
and  directions  concerning  the  conduct  of  the  several  office- 
bearers, and  concerning  the  exercise  of  discipline.  There 
«an  be  no  doubt  that  this  form  had  been  established  by 
his  authority  ;  and  it  is  natural  for  all  Christian  churches 
to  endeavour  to  show  that  their  ecclesiastical  institutions 
do  not  depart  far  from  it.  Yet  it  is  nowhere  said  that  this 
ought  to  be  the  foi'm  of  the  church  universal ;  and  there 
are  expressions  in  the  epistles  of  Paul  which  imply  that 
Christians  are  allowed  to  use  a  prudent  accommodation  to 
circumstances  in  matters  of  external  order.  The  spirit  of 
Christianity  calls  our  attention  to  things  infinitely  more  im- 
portant than  the  varieties  of  church  government.  "  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness, 
and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  :"f  and  those  so- 
cieties, whose  institutions  approach  nearest  to  the  aposto- 
lical practice,  have  no  warrant  to  condemn  their  brethren, 
who  have  been  led  by  a  different  progress  of  society  to  es- 
tablishments farther  removed  from  it. 

But  amidst  this  difference  in  matters  of  order,  which 
the  Scriptures  do  not  condemn,  there  are  points  resulting 
from  the  design  of  their  institution  in  which  all  churches 
ought  to  agree,  otherwise  they  are  not  the  churches  of 
Christ.     They  must  acknowledge  him  as  their  head  and 

*  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  f  Rom.  xiv.  17- 


272  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

master,  teaching  no  other  doctrine  than  that  form  of  sound 
doctrine,  which  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  writings  of  his 
apostles.  They  must  maintain  that  spiritual  worship 
which  he  hath  substituted  in  place  of  the  idolatry  of  the 
heathen,  and  the  ceremonies  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  ; 
and  they  must  observe,  according  to  his  institution,  the 
ordinances  which  he  hath  established  in  his  church.  We 
apply  the  word  ordinances  or  sacraments  to  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  the  first,  a  rite  borrowed  from  the 
Jewish  custom  of  plunging  into  water  the  proselytes  from 
heathenism  to  the  law  of  Moses,  but  consecrated  by  the 
words  of  Jesus,  and  the  universal  practice  of  his  disciples, 
as  the  mode  of  admitting  members  into  the  Christian  so- 
ciety ;  the  second,  a  rite  which  originated  in  the  aftection- 
ate  leave  which  our  Lord  took  of  his  disciples  at  the  do- 
mestic feast  that  followed  the  celebration  of  the  Jewish 
passover.  The  words  of  the  institution,  "  As  often  as  ye 
eat  this  bread  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's 
death  till  he  come,"  imply  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is,  by 
the  appointment  of  Christ,  a  perpetual  ordinance  in  the 
Christian  church,  in  which  there  is  a  thankful  commemo- 
ration of  the  benefits  purchased  by  his  death  ;  and  the 
Scriptures  lead  us  to  entertain  a  very  high  conception  of 
the  spiritual  effects  of  this  ordinance  with  regard  to  those 
who  partake  of  it  worthily,  by  calling  it  "  the  communion 
of  the  body  and  the  blood  of  Christ."*  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  the  external  badges  of  the  Christian 
profession,  the  rites  by  which  the  author  of  the  Gospel 
meant  that  the  society  which  he  was  to  found  should  be 
distinguished  from  every  other.  They  are  most  apposite 
to  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  his  religion  ;  there  are  a  simpli- 
city and  a  significancy  in  them  which  accord  with  the 
whole  character  of  the  Gospel :  and,  as  they  were  appointed 
by  Jesus  himself,  no  human  authority  is  entitled  to  add  to 
their  number,  or  to  make  any  material  alteration  upon  the 
manner  of  their  being  observed. 

Upon  this  account,  we  rank  the  right  administration  of 
Baptism  and  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  preaching  the 
•'  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  and  the  maintenance 

"  1  Cor.  X,  16. 


PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  273 

of  spiritual  worship,  as  the  marks  of  a  Christian  church. 
We  gather  all  the  three  marks  from  the  nature  of  such  a 
society,  and  from  several  places  of  Scripture  ;  and  we  find 
the  three  brought  into  one  view  in  the  description,  given 
in  the  book  of  Acts,  of  the  3000  who  were  added  to  the 
number  of  the  disciples  by  the  sermon  which  Peter 
preached  ten  days  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus.  "  Then 
they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were  baptized.  And 
they  continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fel- 
lowship, and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers."* 

The  Church  of  Christ,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  by  these  marks  of  distinction,  is  not  set  in  opposi- 
tion to  human  government.  But  the  Gospel,  without  en- 
tering into  any  discussion  of  the  claims  made  by  subjects 
and  their  rulers,  enforces  obedience  by  the  example  of  Je- 
sus and  of  his  apostles,  and  by  various  precepts  such  as 
these,  "  Render  unto  Caisar  the  things  that  are  Ceesar's." 
"  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher  powers."  "  Sub- 
mit yourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man  for  the  Lord's 
sake."f  The  ministers  of  this  religion,  although  invested 
with  a  sacred  character,  and  constituted  by  their  master 
the  spiritual  rulers  of  that  society,  for  whose  good  they  la- 
bour, are  not  entitled  to  assume,  in  virtue  of  their  office, 
any  measure  of  civil  power.  They  are  not  the  arbiters 
between  the  parties  who  contend  for  dominion.  But  they 
co-operate  with  the  authority  of  government,  by  their 
prayers,  by  their  exhortations,  and  by  the  natural  tendency 
of  discourses  composed  upon  the  true  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, to  diffuse  a  general  spirit  of  industry,  sobriety,  and 
order.  Upon  this  account  thej-^  have  received,  in  every 
Christian  country,  the  protection  of  the  state;  and  in  these 
happy  lands  where  we  live,  tlie  establishment  of  that  form 
of  Church  government,  which  was  supposed  to  be  most 
agreeable  to  the  inclinations  of  the  people,  is  incorporated 
with  the  civil  constitution.  The  ministers  of  the  establish- 
ment have  legal  security  for  their  livings.  They  have,  in 
critical  times,  by  their  influence  over  public  opinion,  ren- 
dered very  important  services  to  their  country  ;  and,  al- 
though that  unwillingness  to  part  with  any  portion  of  their 

•  Acts  ii.  41,  42.     f  Mm.  xxii.  21.     Rom.  xiii.  1.     1  Pet-  ii.  13. 


274  PECULIAR  DOCTRINES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

property,  which  is  felt  by  all  the  orders  of  the  state,  and 
which  grows  with  the  progress  of  luxury,  may  prevent  any 
great  augmentation  of  the  moderate  provision  which  is 
made  for  the  ministers  of  our  church,  they  cannot  fail, 
while  they  discharge  their  duty,  to  continue  to  receive  the 
countenance,  the  support,  and  the  indulgence  of  the  legis- 
lature. 


275 


CHAP.  III. 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

Out  of  the  preceding  view  of  the  Scripture  system,  tliere 
arise  some  general  observations  upon  which  I  wish  to  fix 
your  attention,  because  I  think  they  may  be  of  use  in  pre- 
paring your  minds  for  the  more  particular  discussions  up- 
on which  we  are  to  enter. 

The  first  observation  respects  the  importance  of  Chris- 
tian it3\ 

This  is  a  subject  upon  which,  for  the  reason  which  1 
mentioned  in  the  outset,  I  have  hitherto  hardly  said  any 
thing.  The  common  method  is,  to  place  what  is  called 
the  necessity  of  revelation  before  the  evidences  of  it,  and 
to  argue  from  the  necessity  to  the  probability  of  its  having 
been  given.  But  I  have  always  thought  this  an  unfair  and 
a  presumptuous  mode  of  arguing.  It  appears  to  me,  that 
we  are  so  little  qualified  to  judge  of  what  is  necessary,  and 
so  little  entitled  to  build  our  expectation  of  heavenly  gifts 
u])on  our  own  reasonings,  that  the  only  method  becoming 
our  distance,  and  our  ignorance  of  the  divine  counsels,  is 
first  to  establish  the  fact  that  a  revelation  has  been  given, 
and  then  to  learn  its  importance  by  examining  its  contents. 
Agreeably  to  this  method,  I  have  led  you  through  the 
principal  evidences  of  the  divine  mission  of  Jesus  ;  I  have 
given  a  general  account  of  the  system  contained  in  those 
liooks,  which  his  servants  wrote  by  inspiration  ;  and  I 
now  mean  to  deduce  from  that  account  the  importance  of 
what  the  inspired  books  contain. 

There  are  two  views  under  which  the  importance  of 
Christianity  may  be  stated.  We  may  consider  the  Gospel 
as  a  republication  of  the  religion  of  nature,  or  we  may 
consider  it  as  a  method  of  saving  sinners. 


2/6         CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMrORTANCE. 


SECTION  I. 

We  may  consider  the  religion  of  Jesus  as  a  republication 
of  the  religion  of  nature.  1  have  adopted  this  phrase,  be- 
cause, from  the  very  respectable  authority  by  which  it  has 
been  used,  as  well  as  from  its  own  significancy,  it  has 
become  a  fashionable  phrase  ;  and  yet  there  are  two  capi- 
tal mistakes  which  the  unguarded  use  of  it  may  occasion. 
The  first  is  an  opinion,  that  Christianity  is  merely  a  repub- 
lication of  the  religion  of  nature,  containing  nothing  more 
than  the  doctrines  and  duties  which  may  be  investigated 
by  the  light  of  reason.  But  it  follows  clearly  from  the  ge- 
neral view  of  the  Sci^pture  system,  that  this  is  an  imper- 
fect and  false  account  of  Christianity  ;  because  in  that  sys- 
tem there  are  doctrines  concerning  the  Son  and  the  Spirit, 
and  their  otRces  in  the  salvation  of  men,  of  which  reason 
did  not  give  any  intimation ;  and  there  are  duties,  result- 
ing from  the  interposition  recorded  in  the  Gospel,  which 
could  not  possibly  exist  till  the  knowledge  of  that  interpo- 
sition was  communicated  to  man.  The  Gospel  then,  pro- 
fessing to  be  more  than  a  republication  of  the  religion  of 
nature,  a  view  of  its  importance,  proceeding  upon  the  sup- 
position that  it  is  merely  a  republication,  must  be  so  lame 
as  to  do  injustice  to  the  system  thus  misrepresented. 

The  second  mistake,  which  the  unguarded  use  of  this 
phrase  may  occasion,  is  an  opinion  that  the  religion  of  na- 
ture is  essentially  defective  either  in  its  constitution,  or  in 
the  mode  of  its  being  promulgated,  and  that  the  imperfec- 
tion originally  adhering  to  it  called  for  amendment.  But 
this  is  an  opinion  which  appears  at  first  sight  unreasona- 
ble. If  the  Creator  intended  man  to  be  a  religious  crea- 
ture, it  is  to  he  presumed  that  he  endowed  him  in  the  be- 
ginning with  the  faculty  of  attaining  such  a  knowledge  of 
the  divine  nature  as  might  be  the  foundation  of  religion. 
If  he  intended  him  to  be  a  moral  accountable  creature,  it 
is  to  be  presumed  that  he  furnished  him  with  a  rule  of  life. 
These  presumptions  are  confirmed,  when  we  proceed  to 
examine  the  subject  closely  ;  for  we  cannot  analyze  the 
human  mind,  without  discovering  that  an  impression  of  the 
Supreme  Being  is  congenial  to  many  of  its  natural  senti- 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.       277 

ments.  There  is  a  strain  of  fair  reasoning,  by  which  we 
are  conducted,  from  principles  universally  admitted,  to 
some  knowledge  of  the  divine  attributes.  There  are  obli- 
gations implied  in  the  dependence  of  a  reasonable  beino- 
upon  his  Creator.  There  is  a  certain  line  of  conduct  dic*^ 
tated  by  the  constitution  and  the  circumstances  of  man  ; 
and  there  is  a  general  expectation  with  regard  to  the  fu- 
ture conduct  of  the  divine  government,  created  by  that 
part  of  it  which  we  behold,  and  corresponding  to  hopes 
and  fears  of  which  we  cannot  divest  ourselves.  All  tliis 
makes  up  what  we  call  natural  religion.  And  it  is  mani- 
festly supposed  in  Scripture;  for  we  read  there,  that 
"  that  which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  among 
them :  for  God  hath  shown  it  to  them ;  for  the  invisible 
things  of  God  are  clearly  seen  ever  since  the  creation  of 
the  world,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made, 
even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead :  so  they  are  without 
excuse,  because  that  when  they  knew  God,  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God."  We  read  that  those  who  had  no  writ- 
ten law  "  are  a  law  to  themselves,  their  conscience  bear- 
ing witness."*  And,  through  the  whole  of  Scripture,  there 
are  appeals  to  those  notions  of  God  which  are  agreeable  to 
right  reason,  and  to  that  sense  of  right  and  wrong  which 
is  there  considered  as  a  part  of  the  human  constitution. 
Although,  therefore,  some  zealous  unwise  friends  of  Chris- 
tianity have  thought  of  doing  honour  to  revelation  by  de- 
preciating natural  religion,  and  although  you  will  find  that 
some  sects  of  Christians  have  been  led  by  their  peculiar 
tenets  to  deny  that  man  has  naturally  any  knowledge  of 
God,  you  will  not  suppose  that  all  who  use  the  phrase, 
Republication  of  the  religion  of  nature,  adopt  these  opin- 
ions, or  even  approach  to  them  ;  and  you  will  find,  that 
the  soundest  and  ablest  divines  consider  natural  religion 
as  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  man  at  the  time  of  his 
creation.  If  you  take  the  known  history  of  the  human 
race  in  conjunction  with  the  principles  of  human  nature, 
you  will  readily  perceive  that  the  opinion  of  these  divines 
is  well  founded.  There  would  undoubtedly  be  transmitted 
from  the  first  man  to  his  descendants  a  tradition  of  his 
coming  into  the  world,  and  of  his  finding  every  thing  there 

•  See  Macknighfs  translation  of  Rom.ii.  15  ;  i.  18, 19,20. 


278  CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

new  ;  and  if  you  admit  the  truth  of  the  Mosaic  account, 
this  tradition,  by  the  long  lives  of  the  first  inhabitants  of 
the  earth,  would  pass  for  many  centuries  through  very  few 
hands.     It  is  to  be  presumed,  too,  even  independently  of 
the  authority  of  Moses,  that,  in  the  infancy  of  the  human 
race,  there  would  be  a  more  immediate  intercourse  between 
man  and  his  Ci'eator,  than  after  the  connexions  of  society 
had  been  formed  and  established  upon  the  earth.  This  tra- 
dition and  this  revelation  might  fix  the  attention  of  the  po- 
sterity of  the  first  man  upon  those  suggestions  and  deduc- 
tions of  reason,  which  give  some  knowledge  of  the  being, 
the  attributes,  and  the  moral  government  of  God;  and 
there  might  be  thus  a  foundation  laid  for  the  universal  ob- 
servance of  some  kind  of  worship  as  the  expression  of  gra- 
titude and  trust.     From  a  sense  of  dependence  upon  the 
Creator,  there  would  arise  the  feeling  of  obligation  to  serve 
him,  so  that  natural  religion  would  come  in  aid  of  the  dic- 
tates of  conscience  ;  and  the  obedience  which  man  yielded 
to  the  law  of  morality,  while  by  the  constitution  of  his  na- 
ture it  was  rewarded  with  inward  peace,  would  enable  him, 
by  his  apprehension  of  a  righteous  Sovereign  of  the  uni- 
verse, to  look  forward  with  good  hope  to  those  future 
scenes  of  the  divine  government  under  which  he  might  be 
permitted  to  exist.    I  do  not  say  that  this  complete  system 
of  pure  natural  religion  ever  was  established  in  any  coun- 
try merely  by  reasoning  ;  but  I  do  say,  that  all  the  parts 
of  it  may  be  referred  to  principles  of  reason ;  that   early 
tradition  called  and  directed  men  to  apply  these  principles 
to  the  subject  of  religion  ;  and  that,  had  they  been  proper- 
ly followed  out,  man  would  have  been  possessed,  indepen- 
dently of  any  extraordinary  revelation,  of  a  ground  of  reli- 
gion, and  a  rule  of  life,  suited  to  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  M^as  created. 

Having  guarded  against  the  second  mistake  which  I 
mentioned,  by  fixing  in  your  minds  this  preliminary  point, 
that  the  religion  of  nature  was  not  originally  defective,  you 
proceed  to  consider  what  importance  the  Gospel  derives 
from  being  a  republication  of  that  religion. 

You  will  begin  with  observing  it  to  be  very  conceivable 
that  the  whole  system  of  natural  religion  may  admit  of  be- 
ing proved  by  reason,  and  yet  that  particular  circumstances 
may  have  prevented  that  continued  exercise  of  reason,  by 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  279 

Avhich  the  knowledge  of  it  might  have  been  attained.  We 
often  see  men  remaining,  through  their  own  fault  or  ne- 
glect, ignorant  of  many  things  which  they  might  have 
known  ;  and  the  recency  of  many  great  discoveries  is  a 
proof  how  slowly  the  human  mind  advances  to  truth,  al- 
though no  one  is  so  absurd  as  to  infer,  from  the  abounding 
of  error,  that  truth  is  not  agreeable  to  reason.  If  there 
was  an  early  departure  from  the  duties  of  natural  religion, 
it  is  plain  that  this  circumstance  in  the  history  of  mankind 
would  estrange  them  from  that  God  whom  they  were  con- 
scious of  disobeying,  would  weaken  the  original  impression 
of  that  law  which  they  were  breaking,  and  would  overcast 
the  hopes  connected  with  the  observance  of  it.  The  uni- 
versal tradition  of  the  creation  might,  for  a  few  genera- 
tions, in  some  measure  counterbalance  this  tendency.  But 
as  men  spread  over  the  earth,  the  memory  of  the  truths  re- 
ceived from  their  first  parents  would  become  fainter ;  as 
their  passions  were  excited  by  a  multiplicity  of  new  objects, 
the  restraints  to  which  they  had  submitted  in  a  simpler 
state  of  society  would  lose  their  power,  and  a  growing  cor- 
ruption of  religion  would  accompany  the  progress  of  vice. 
This  is  the  very  account  of  the  matter  which  the  apostle 
Paul  gives  us.  "  When  they  knew  God,  they  glorified 
him  not  as  God,  nor  were  thankful,  but  became  vain  in 
their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened  ; 
and  they  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into 
an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and 
four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.  And  even  as  they 
did  not  like  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave 
them  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  to  do  those  things  which  are 
not  convenient."  These  are  the  words  of  Paul  in  his  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans ;  and  the  best  commentary  upon  them 
is  the  religious  history  of  the  heathen  world.  You  need 
not  look  to  those  savage  tribes,  where  the  faculties  of  the 
human  mind,  depressed  by  unfavourable  circumstances, 
have  a  very  limited  range,  and  man  appears  raised  but  a 
few  degrees  above  the  beasts  with  whom  he  associates. 
Recollect  the  polished  and  learned  nations,  whose  philoso- 
phy we  study,  and  to  whose  writings  every  scholar  feels  and 
owns  his  obligations ;  and  in  their  religious  history  you 
will  find  abundant  confirmation  of  the  words  of  St.  Paul. 
Although  reason  was  there  highly  cultivated  ;  although  art 


280  CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

and    science    made  distinguished  progress;    although  the 
public  establishments  of  religion  were  magnificent  and  ex- 
pensive, yet  the  fathers  of  science,  in  respect   of  religious 
knowledge,  were  as  children,  "  and  the  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God."     There  was  a  darkness  with  regard  to  the 
nature  of  God.    The  knowledge  of  one  supreme  Being,  the 
Creator  and  Ruler  of  all  things,  the  rewarder  of  those  who 
seek  him,  the  friend   and  protector  of  the  good,   and  the 
avenger  of  the  wicked,  this  most  valuable  knowledge  was 
lost  in  the  belief  of  a  multiplicity  of  gods,  who  had  the 
passions,  the  vices,  the  contentions  of  men,  whose  charac- 
ter and  conduct,  instead  of  administering  comfort  in  dis- 
tress, and  strength  under  temptation,  sunk  the  afflicted  in 
despair,    and    corrupted  the  manners  of  the  worshipper. 
There  was  a  darkness  with  regard  to  the  method  of  pleasing 
the  gods.     Multiplied  sacrifices  offered  with  much  doubt, 
and  with  the  fear  of  giving  offence,  a  pageantiy  of  costly 
ceremonies,  a  wearisome  round  of  superstitious  observances, 
made  up  the  religion  of  the   heathen,  and  excluded  that 
worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  which  it  is  the  honour  of  a 
reasonable   creature    to    offer  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts. 
There  was  a  darkness  with  regard  to  the  duties  of  life. 
The  voice  of  conscience  was  not  only  left  without  the  sup- 
port of  true  religion,  but  was  in  many  instances  perverted 
by  corrupt  systems.     No  scholar  will  deny,  that  the  laws 
and  the  constitution  of  ancient  states  cherished  certain  pub- 
lic virtues  which  were  both  useful  and  splendid ;  and  the 
names  of  many  citizens  will  be  celebrated  as  long  as  the 
world  lasts,  for  heroism,  the  love  of  their  country,  disinter- 
estedness, and  generosity.     But  any  person,  who  takes  a 
near  view  of  the  manners  of  the  great  body  of  the  people 
in  ancient  times,  finds  that  the  established  system  of  mo- 
rality was  loose  and  debauched ;  for,  although  the  state 
often  required  great  exertions  from  the  citizens  for  its  own 
preservation,  no  restraint  was  imposed  upon  the  indulgence 
of  many  evil  passions,  and  the  grossest  vices  were   con- 
ceived to  be  consistent  with  pure  virtue.     There  was  still 
greater  darkness  with  regard  to  the   hopes   of  men.     The 
impression  of  a  future  state  is  so  congenial  to  the  mind  of 
man,  that  it  could  not  be  effaced.     But  the  opinions   ge- 
nerally entertained  with  regard  to  the  future  place  of  both 
the  good  and  the  bad  were  mixed  with  a  number  of  childish 


*>>,. 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  281 

fables,  which  exposed  to  ridicule,  and  even  brought  into 
suspicion,  that  important  truth  which  they  only  obscured. 
The  wise  men  who  arose  in  different  ages,  although  they 
did  not  implicitly  adopt  the  vulgar  errors,  were  not  fitted 
to  dispel  this  darkness.  Some  were  led  by  the  absurdity 
of  the  received  creeds  rashly  to  reject  the  fundamental  ar- 
ticles of  religion  ;  and  that  they  might  depart  as  far  as  pos- 
sible from  the  superstition  of  their  countrymen,  they  de- 
nied the  being  of  a  God,  or  they  excluded  him  from  the 
government  of  the  world.  Those  who  did  not  thus  con- 
tradict the  natural  sentiments  of  the  human  mind  were  un- 
able to  divest  themselves  of  an  attachment  to  prevailing 
opinions  and  universal  practice ;  and  while  their  writings 
contain  many  ti'aces  of  a  rational  system,  they  sacrificed  in 
public  to^  the  gods  of  their  country.  Their  writings  and 
their  discourses  did  enlighten  the  minds  of  their  scholars. 
But  these  scholars  were  few.  The  great  body  of  the  peo- 
ple had  neither  leisure  nor  capacity  to  follow  their  investi- 
gations. But  they  saw  that  the  practice  of  the  philoso- 
phers did  not,  in  any  material  respect,  differ  from  their 
own.  The  authority  of  the  wise,  therefore,  instead  of  cor- 
recting, confirmed  the  popular  system,  and  that  system, 
founded  in  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  took  deep  root  in  the 
minds  of  men,  and  was  established  by  law,  by  example,  and 
by  custom. 

I  need  not  dwell  longer  upon  this  picture  of  the  religi- 
ous state  of  the  heathen  world.  You  find  it  drawn  at  full 
length  in  the  books  which  are  commonly  read  upon  this 
subject,  particularly  in  Clarke's  Evidences  of  Natural  and 
Revealed  Religion,  in  Leland's  Advantages  of  the  Christi- 
an Revelation,  and  in  the  first  volume  of  Bishop  Sherlock's 
Discourses.  But  even  from  the  slight  sketch  that  has  now 
been  given,  it  is  manifest  that  there  is  a  very  great  differ- 
ence between  the  system  of  natural  religion,  which  we  are 
able  to  deduce  from  principles  of  reason,  and  the  forms  of 
religion  which  obtained  in  the  most  enlightened  nations. 
It  is  true  that  the  land  of  Judea  enjoyed,  from  very  early 
times,  a  revelation  of  one  God.  The  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth  was  worshipped  in  that  country  for  many  ages  with- 
out the  mixture  of  idolatry,  and  a  system  of  pure  morality 
was  contained  in  the  books  that  were  read  in  the  Jewisli 
fsynagogue.     But  the  revelation  which  distinguished  this 


282  CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

narrow  district  was  not  intended,  and  was  not  fitted,  to  be 
the  light  of  the  world.  At  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  birth, 
it  was  obscured  by  tradition  ;  and  the  law  given  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  instead  of  being  able  to  correct  the  pre- 
vailing superstition,  stood  in  need  of  a  more  spiritual  inter- 
pretation than  it  received  from  the  Jewish  doctors.  But 
whatever  was  the  measure  of  light  which  the  Jews  enjoy- 
ed, it  extended  in  very  scanty  uncertain  portions  to  other 
nations,  and  they  were,  as  the  apostle  speaks,  "  without 
God,  and  without  hope  in  the  world,"  till  the  pure  system 
of  natural  religion  which  they  had  lost  was  republished  in 
the  gospel. 

It  appears,  then,  from  the  religious  history  of  the  world, 
that  a  republication  of  the  religion  of  nature  was  most  de- 
sirable. And  when  you  attend  to  the  Gospel,  you  will 
find  that  it  not  only  contains  the  knowledge  which  Avas 
lost,  but  is  peculiarly  fitted  by  its  character  to  give  such  a 
republication  as  the  circumstances  that  have  been  stated 
seem  to  require.  Those  notions  of  the  being,  the  attri- 
butes, and  the  government  of  God,  which,  as  soon  as  they 
are  proposed,  appear  most  agreeable  to  right  reason,  are 
delivered  by  a  teacher  who  was  sent  from  heaven  to  de- 
clare God  to  man.  That  law  which  the  Almight}^  wrote 
in  the  beginning  upon  the  human  heart  is  taught  by  au- 
thority as  the  will  of  our  Creator  ;  and  the  hope  of  future 
recompense  is  established  by  his  promise.  The  manifest 
signatures  of  a  divine  interposition,  which  attended  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Gospel,  rouse  the  attention  of  the  Avorld 
to  the  system  there  republished ;  the  form  in  which  that 
system  is  delivered  renders  it  level  to  the  capacities  of 
every  one ;  and  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel  perpetuate 
the  instruction  which  it  conveys. 

It  is  particularly  to  be  remarked  upon  this  subject,  that 
the  simplicity  which  distinguishes  the  Gospel  corresponds 
in  the  most  admirable  manner  to  its  character,  as  a  repub- 
lication of  the  religion  of  nature.  The  ancient  philosophers 
were  accustomed  to  exercise  their  reason  in  profound  and 
subtle  disquisitions,  and  valued  any  system  according  to 
the  depth  and  acuteness  of  thought  which  it  discovered. 
There  are  many  points  respecting  the  nature  of  the  soul, 
the  manner  of  its  existence,  and  its  operations,  which  tiiey 
had  investigated  vrith  much  care,  and  which,  after  all  tlieir 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  283 

research,  they  found  involved  in  much  darkness.  But 
such  speculations,  however  agreeable  an  amusement  tliey 
afford  to  a  thinking  mind,  form  no  part  of  natural  religion  ; 
and  accordingly  they  do  not  enter  into  the  republication 
of  it.  There  is  not  in  the  Gk)spel  any  delineation  of  the 
nature  and  properties  of  spiritual  substances,  or  any  solu- 
tion of  those  questions  about  which  the  ancient  schools 
were  divided.  All  abstruse  points  are  left  just  where  they 
were  ;  and  the  important  jjractical  truths,  in  which  the 
learned  and  the  unlearned  are  equally  concerned,  are  rest- 
ed not  upon  long  deductions  of  reasoning,  which  the  great 
body  of  the  people  find  themselves  incapable  of  following, 
but  upon  an  authority  which  they  are  at  no  loss  to  appre- 
hend, the  simple  assertion  of  men  who  bring  with  them  the 
most  satisfying  evidence  that  they  speak  the  truth. 

The  order  and  precision  of  a  philosophical  system  might 
have  pleased  the  learned.  But  had  the  Gospel  condescend- 
ed, in  this  respect,  to  assimilate  itself  to  works  of  human 
genius,  it  would  have  borne  on  its  face  this  manifest  incon- 
sistency, that  while  it  professed  to  teach  doctrines  of  equal 
importance  to  all,  it  taught  them  in  a  manner  which  few 
only  could  understand.  That  it  might  be  of  universal  use, 
and  might  truly  supply  what  was  wanting,  it  came  at 
first  "  not  with  excellency  of  speech,  or  of  wisdom,"  but 
with  great  plainness  of  words,  accompanied  Avith  the  de- 
monstration of  the  Spirit.  The  book  in  which  this  repub- 
lication is  handed  down,  from  the  historical  form  of  some 
parts,  and  the  familiar  epistolary  style  of  others,  imprints 
itself  deeplj'  upon  every  understanding,  mingles  itself 
readily  with  the  habits  and  modes  of  thinking  of  ordinary 
men,  and  is  retained  in  the  memory,  so  as  to  be  easily 
ajiplied  upon  every  occasion.  Those  who  are  not  accus- 
tomed to  form  general  views,  to  connect  in  their  minds 
the  parts  of  a  whole,  or  to  act  systematically,  carry  away 
from  the  reading  of  this  book  detached  sentences  and  pre- 
cepts, which  minister  to  their  comfort  and  improvement : 
and  even  when  their  quotations  discover  narrow  or  mis- 
taken notions  of  theology,  their  hearts  are  made  better  by 
the  facility  with  which  the  quotations  occur. 

To  all  this  there  must  be  added  that  popular  and  fami- 
liar mode  of  instruction,  which  the  institutions  of  the  Gos- 


284         CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

pel  furnish.  The  crowd  of  worshippers,  who  assembled  in 
a  heathen  temple  to  behold  a  splendid  sacrifice,  retired 
without  any  rational  conceptions  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
No  attempt  was  made  to  connect  the  ordinary  services  of 
religion  with  the  information  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  and  lessons  of  morality  were  confined  to  the  schools 
of  the  philosophers.  But  all  who  live  in  a  Christian  coun- 
try enjoy,  by  the  republication  of  natural  religion,  a  stand- 
ing kind  of  admonition,  with  which  the  world  was  unac- 
quainted in  former  ages.  Those  truths  and  those  duties 
which  are  intimately  connected  with  the  happiness  of 
society,  as  well  as  with  the  eternal  interests  of  man,  are 
placed  before  them  in  a  language  which  every  one  that  is 
willing  to  hear  may  understand.  Persons  who  feel  them- 
selves unequal  in  every  other  respect  are  admitted  to  re- 
ceive the  same  benefit  and  consolation.  The  ignorant  are 
enlightened,  and  the  careless  are  put  in  remembrance. 

And  thus,  as  we  formerly  found  that  the  system  of 
natural  I'eligion  contained  in  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  infinitely  more  perfect  than  any  that  had  been 
published  before,  as  we  found  also  that  the  growing  im- 
provement of  those  that  have  been  published  since  cannot 
reasonably  be  ascribed  to  any  other  cause  than  to  the 
benefit  which  they  derived  from  this  republication,  so  to 
the  same  cause  we  may  ascribe  the  universal  diffusion  of 
the  principles  of  natural  religion  in  every  Christian  coun- 
try. The  public  establishment  of  Christianity  is  a  stand- 
ing memorial,  a  perpetual  remembrancer  of  the  fundamen- 
tal truths  of  religion,  and  the  great  duties  of  life.  It  has 
given  the  vulgar  in  our  days  more  sound  and  enlarged 
conceptions  of  the  nature  and  government  of  God,  of  the 
extent  of  our  obligations  and  our  hopes,  than  almost  any 
philosopher  in  ancient  times  was  able  to  attain  ;  and  it  is 
not  easy  to  find  any  words,  which  so  perfectly  express  the 
difference  between  the  heathen  world  and  those  countries 
where  Christianity  is  professed  in  simplicity  and  purity, 
as  the  words  by  which  Jeremiah  foretold  the  change. 
"  After  those  days,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  I  will  put  my  law 
in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts :  And 
they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbour,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying,  know  the  Lord ;    for  they 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.         285 

shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  to  the  greatest 
of  them."* 

The  sum  of  what  has  been  said  upon  the  first  view  of 
the  importance  of  Christianity  is  this.  The  Gospel  is  a 
republication  of  the  religion  of  nature,  imparting  that 
knowledge  upon  this  subject,  which  is  agreeable  to  the 
deductions  of  the  most  enlightened  reason,  but  which 
unfavourable  circumstances  had  prevented  any  man  from 
attaining  by  means  of  reason,  removing  those  errors  to 
which  no  other  method  of  instruction  had  applied  any 
effectual  remedy,  and  diffusing  by  its  institutions,  to  men 
of  every  condition,  the  information,  the  instruction,  and 
the  comfort  which  it  conveys.  If  knowledge  be  better 
than  ignorance  ;  if,  of  all  kinds  of  knowledge,  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  principles  of  true  religion  contribute  the 
largest  share  to  the  consolation  and  improvement  of  human 
life  ;  and  if  this  most  valuable  knoM  ledge  be  now  ren- 
dered accessible,  extensive,  and  permanent, — Christianity, 
which  has  accomplished  so  happy  a  change  by  republish- 
ing the  religion  of  nature,  is  in  this  view  most  important. 
It  deserves  to  be  received  with  thankfulness,  to  be  cherish- 
ed with  care,  to  be  honoured  and  encouraged  by  every 
friend  of  mankind.  He,  whose  discourse  or  example  re- 
commends Christianity  to  others,  contributes  by  so  doing 
to  preserve  and  to  spread  the  light  that  is  in  the  M'orld. 
He,  who  employs  any  means  to  depreciate  the  public  esta- 
blishment of  Christianity,  does  so  far  contribute  to  extin- 
guish that  light,  and  to  bring  back  those  times  of  heathen 
darkness,  from  which  this  republication  of  natural  religion 
hath  rescued  a  great  part  of  the  human  race. 


SECTION  II. 


The  general  account  of  the  Scripture  S3fstem  presented 
Christianity  to  us  as  a  remedy  for  the  depravity  which  has 
pervaded  the  human  race.  I  am  now  to  illustrate  its  im- 
portance considered  in  this  view. 


•  Jer.  xxxi.  33,  34, 


286         CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

Although  the  religion  of  nature  be  liable  to  be  obscured 
by  the  general  practice  of  vice,  yet  if  it  were  fitted,  by  its 
original  constitution,  to  be  the  religion  of  a  sinner,  nothing 
more  than  a  republication  would  at  any  time  be  required, 
in  order  to  render  it  suitable  to  the  circumstances  of  man. 
But  even  after  the  religion  of  nature  has  been  restored  in 
its  original  purity,  the  provision  made  by  it  for  the  com- 
fort, the  direction,  and  the  hope  of  man,  is  inadequate  to 
the  new  situation  in  which  he  is  placed,  by  being  a  sinner. 
In  this  new  situation,  the  deformity,  the  weakness,  the 
depravity  of  mind,  which  belong  to  sin,  enter  into  his 
condition  ;  he  is  also  a  transgressor  of  the  divine  law,  and 
as  such  is  liable  to  the  consequences  of  transgression.  But 
religion  cannot  exist  in  such  a  situation,  without  the  know- 
ledge of  some  method  of  obtaining  pardon.  For  the  ex- 
pression which  you  read  in  the  130th  Psalm,  is  strictly 
accurate.  "  If  thou.  Lord,  shouldst  mark  iniquities,  O 
Lord,  who  shall  stand  ?  But  there  is  forgiveness  with 
thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  feared  ;"  i.  e,  there  can  be  no 
fear  of  God,  no  religion  to  a  sinner,  unless  there  be  for- 
giveness with  God :  and,  therefore,  the  first  thing  .to  be 
considered  in  judging  of  the  importance  of  Christianity 
under  this  second  view  is,  What  are  the  hopes  of  forgive- 
ness in  the  religion  of  nature  ?  From  whence  are  these 
hopes  derived  ? 

It  is  manifest,  that  the  hopes  of  forgiveness  are  not  ne- 
cessarily connected  with  that  law  which  the  religion  of 
nature  delivers.  A  law  enjoins  obedience,  promises  re- 
ward, it  may  be,  to  those  who  obey,  and  always  denounces 
punishment  against  those  who  disobey.  It  would  destroy 
itself,  if  it  were  delivered  in  these  terms  :  You  are  com- 
manded to  obey,  but  you  shall  be  forgiven  although  you 
transgress.  The  hopes  of  forgiveness,  then,  are  to  be 
sought  in  some  part  of  the  religion  of  nature  distinct  from 
the  law.  But  it  is  not  pretended  that  the  religion  of 
nature  contains  any  specific  promise  of  forgiveness,  the 
record  of  which  may  be  pleaded  by  transgressors  as  a  bar 
to  the  full  execution  of  the  sanctions  of  the  law.  It  is  not 
possible  to  show  the  place  where  such  a  record  is  to  be 
found.  And  therefore  there  is  no  source  from  which  the 
hopes  of  forgiveness  can  be  drawn  under  the  religion  of 
nature,  but  those  general  notions  of  the  compassion  of 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.         287 

God,   from  which   it  may  appear  probable  that  he  will 
accept  of  the  repentance  of  a  sinner,  and  reinstate  in  his 
favour  those  who  have  offended  him,  when  they  return  to 
their  duty.     It  is  admitted,  by  all  who  have  just  notions 
of  the  divine  character,  that  the  same  process  of  reason- 
ing, which  conducts  us  to  the  knowledge  of  the  being  of 
God,  establishes  in   our  minds  a  belief  of  his  goodness. 
It  is  natui'al  to  think  that  the  goodness  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  when  exercised  to  frail  fallible  creatures,  will  as- 
sume the  form  of  compassion  or  long-sviffering.     We  see, 
in  the  course  of  his  Providence,   various   instances  of  a 
delay  or  mitigation  of  punishment ;  and  there  are  many 
appearances,  which  clearly  indicate  that  we  live  under  a 
merciful  constitution.     But  we  are  by  no  means  warranted 
from  them  to  draw  this  general  conclusion,  that  all  who 
repent  will  finally  be  forgiven   under  the  Divine  govern- 
ment.    You  will  be  satisfied  that  this  conclusion  goes  very 
far  beyond  the  premises,  if  you  attend  to  the  following  gir- 
cumstances.     The  sam.e  process  of  reasoning  which  leads 
us  to  the  belief  of  the  goodness  of  God,  ascertains  also  his 
holiness,  his  wisdom,  and  his  justice,  all  of  which  seem  to 
require  the  punishment  of  sinners.     It  is  true  that  those 
perfections,  of  which  our  conceptions  lead  vis  to  speak  as 
separate  from  one  another,  unite  in  the  Deity  with  entire 
harmony  to  form  one  purpose,  and  that  there  never  can  be 
any  opposition  among  them  in  the  Divine  mind,  or  in  the 
execution  of  the  Divine  counsels.     But  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  say  how  far  any  particular  exercise  of  justice  or  of 
goodness  is  consistent  with  this  harmony ;  and  it  is  mani- 
fest that  every   reasoning,   which  proceeds  upon  a  partial 
view  of  the  divine  character,  must  be  insecure.     Further, 
we  are  not  acquainted  with  the  relations  which  subsist 
amongst  the  parts  of  the  universe.     But  Ave  can   suppose 
that  reasons  of  the  divine  conduct,  inexplicable  to  us,  may 
arise  from  these  relations  ;  and  even  in  that  part  of  the 
universe  which  is  most  open  to  our  observation,  although 
we  cannot  always  account  for  the  limitations  of  the  divine 
goodness,  we  can  mark  instances  where  the  long-suffering 
of  God  seems  to  be  exhausted,  where  repentance  ceases  to 
be  of  any  avail,  and  men  are  left  to  endure,  without  allevi- 
ation, all  the  evils  which  they  had  incurred  by  transgres- 
sion.    It  is  possible  that  instances  of  this  kind,  which 


288        CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

are  very  numerous,  may  be  mingled  with  the  examples  of 
compassion  in  the  Divine  government  to  guard  us  against 
the  conclusion  which  repeated  compassion  might  seem  to 
warrant,  to  give  us  warning  that  the  time  for  repentance 
has  an  end,  and  that,  in  the  final  issue  of  the  system  in 
which  we  are  placed,  the  obstinate  transgressors  of  the 
divine  law  shall  bear  without  remedy  the  full  weight  of 
that  punishment  which  they  deserve. 

But  even  although  there  were  not  so  many  analogies  in 
nature,  conspiring  to  show  that  repentance  is  not  always 
efficacious,  the  bare  impossibility  of  demonstrating,  from 
any  known  principles,  that  every  penitent  shall  be  for- 
given, is  sufficient  to  evince  the  infinite  importance  of 
Christianity.  If  the  religion  of  nature,  with  all  those  in- 
timations of  the  divine  goodness,  which  are  the  ground  of 
trust  and  hope  to  those  who  obey,  does  not  give  a  positive 
assurance  that  it  is  consistent  with  the  nature  and  govern- 
ment of  God  to  forgive  all  who  transgress,  then  it  is  plain 
that  the  new  situation,  into  which  men  are  brought  by 
being  sinners,  rendei's  a  promise  of  pardon  most  desirable 
to  them,  because  without  this  special  declaration  of  the 
divine  will,  their  religion  must  rest  upon  a  very  precari- 
ous foundation ;  and  therefore  the  Gospel,  whose  pecu- 
liar character  it  is  to  contain  such  a  declaration,  which 
publishes  the  forgiveness  of  sins  through  the  blood  of  him, 
by  whom  all  that  believe  are  justified,  and  have  peace  with 
God,  deserves  the  name  of  £yayysA<o»,  good  tidings,  better 
than  any  other  message  which  the  world  ever  heard,  and 
is  in  truth  the  best  gift  which  heaven  could  bestow.  It  is 
further  to  be  observed,  that  while  the  religion  of  nature 
leaves  the  reason  of  a  sinner  to  struggle  with  his  passions, 
and  does  not  revive  his  soul,  under  the  experience  of  his 
weakness,  by  the  assurance  of  his  receiving  any  assist- 
ance in  the  conflict,  the  Gospel  contains  a  promise  of 
grace  as  well  as  of  pardon.  It  confirms  the  law  of  his 
mind  by  those  influences  of  the  Spirit,  which  we  stated  as 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  reasonable  nature  of  man, 
and  while  it  publishes  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past, 
places  him  in  circumstances  so  favourable  to  his  moral 
improvement  as  may  prevent  a  repetition  of  sins.  That 
progress  in  virtue,  which  the  grace  of  the  Gospel  forms, 
is  connected  with  the  hope  of  a  reward,  which  is  infinitely 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  289 

jnore  precious  tlian  the  most  exalted  creature  of  God  can 
claim  as  a  recompense  due  to  his  obedience,  but  which, 
having  been  purchased  by  the  death  of  Christ,  is  reserved 
in  heaven  to  crown  the  feeble  divided  services  of  a  dege- 
nerate race,  and  the  security  of  which  is  so  completely  in- 
corporated with  the  whole  constitution  of  the  law,  that  no 
doubt  of  this  unmerited  gift  being  at  length  conferred  can 
remain  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  live  under  the  power  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

From  the  circumstances  that  have  been  mentioned,  you 
may  mark  the  precise  difference  between  the  religion  of 
nature  and  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  former  has  no 
original  defect.  When  properly  understood,  i.  e.  when 
conclusions  are  fairly  and  fully  drav'n  from  premises  which 
the  light  of  reason  may  discover,  it  includes  the  most  ex- 
alted views  of  the  perfections  of  God,  and  of  his  moral  go- 
vernment, and  a  complete  delineation  of  the  duties  of  man 
as  a  creature  of  God,  an  individual,  and  a  member  of  so- 
ciety. But  being,  by  its  constitution,  the  religion  of  those 
who  perform  their  duty,  it  holds  forth  only  general 
doubtful  grounds  of  hope  to  those  who  transgress.  The 
Gospel,  on  the  other  hand,  having  been  revealed  after 
transgression  was  introduced,  and  professing  to  be  the 
I'eligion  of  sinners,  makes  an  adequate  provision  for  the 
new  situation  of  man.  It  is  this  difference  which  consti- 
tutes the  infinite  importance  of  Christianity.  A  remedy  is 
there  offered  for  that  state  of  depravity  which  is  acknow- 
ledged to  be  universal.  The  remedy  is  complete  iu  its 
nature.  But  it  is  not  of  use  to  those  by  whom  it  is  re- 
jected. In  what  degree  its  efficacy  may  extend  to  those 
who  never  heard  of  it  we  have  no  warrant  to  say.  But 
it  is  most  reasonable,  that  those,  who  refuse  the  remedy 
when  it  is  offered  to  them,  should  remain  under  the  dis- 
ease. The  disease  was  not  created  by  the  Gospel ;  it  ex- 
isted beforehand,  and  unless  it  be  removed  the  natural 
effects  of  it  must  be  felt.  The  Scripture,  therefore,  says, 
that  "  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but 
the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him,"*  i.  e.  the  sentence  of 
condemnation,  which  his  sins  deserve,  retains  its  force. 
And  he  cannot  surely  complain,   if  when  he  despises  the 

•  John  iii.  36. 
VOL.  I.  O 


290        CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

deliverance  which  the  Gospel  brings,  he  continues  in  the 
same  state  in  which  the  whole  world  would  have  been,  if 
there  had  been  no  Gospel. 

Hitherto  Ave  have  dedviced  the  importance  of  Christi- 
anity from  its  suitableness  to  the  present  circumstances  of 
man,  from  the  value  of  the  blessings  which  are  peculiar  to 
this  religion,  and  from  this  plain  position,  that  a  rejection 
of  it  necessarily  implies  a  forfeiture  of  its  peculiar  bless- 
ings. But  we  have  not  yet  exhausted  the  subject,  and 
there  remain  some  awful  views  of  the  importance  of 
Christianity,  which  imply  that  the  rejection  of  it  is  not 
only  a  forfeiture  of  blessings,  but  is  attended  with  a  high 
degree  of  positive  guilt. 

In  order  to  enter  into  these  views,  you  will  recollect, 
from  the  general  account  of  the  Scripture  system,  that  the 
manner  in  which  the  assurance  of  pai'don  is  conveyed  by 
the  Gospel,  discloses  to  us  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  of  God, 
two  persons,  of  whose  existence  the  light  of  nature  had  not 
given  any  intimation,  but  who,  by  their  active  interposi- 
tion in  our  behalf,  claim  the  reverence  and  gratitude  of  all 
to  Avhom  that  interposition  is  made  known.  The  sentiments 
Avhich  it  becomes  us  to  entertain  towards  any  person  cor- 
respond to  the  knowledge  that  we  have  of  his  character 
and  his  exertions.  And  therefore  as  the  first  duties  of 
natural  religion  respect  the  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is 
made  known  to  us  by  his  works,  so  there  are  duties  re- 
sulting immediately  from  that  knowledge  of  the  Son  and 
the  Spirit  which  is  communicated  by  the  Gospel ;  and  a 
failure  in  these  duties  is  as  truly  a  breach  of  morality  as 
any  transgression  of  the  law  of  nature. 

It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  these  duties  are  binding 
only  upon  those  Avho  study  the  revelation  of  the  Gospel, 
and  that  if  any  person  willingly  remains  ignorant  of  the  pe- 
culiar nature  of  that  interposition  which  it  records,  he  is 
not  ansAverable  for  neglecting  the  duties  created  by  that 
interposition.  But  it  will  readily  occur  to  you  in  an- 
swer to  this  objection,  that  a  reasonable  creature  is 
as  much  bound  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  ex- 
tent of  his  duty,  as  to  perform  it  after  it  is  knoAvn  :  and 
you  Avill  find  that  the  plea,  draAvn  from  Avilful  ignorance 
or  unbelief,  to  excuse  the  neglect  of  the  peculiar  duties  of 
the  Gospel,  is  diametrically  opposite  to  the  declarations  of 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  291 

Scripture.     We  read  tliere,  that  "  he  that  believeth  not  is 
condemned,"  for  this  very  reason,   "  because  he  hath  not 
believed  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God."  *     His  unbelief 
is  the  cause  of  his  condemnation.     The  enemies  of  Chris, 
tianity  have  formed,  out  of  such  declarations,  a  very  heavj 
charge  against  our  religion.     They  say  that  the  Gospel 
means  to  threaten  men  into  a  belief  of  its  doctrines,  and 
that  the  manner  in  which  we  ai'e  now  stating  the  import- 
ance of  Christianity  is  calculated  to  supply  the  defect  of 
evidence  by  working  upon  the  principle  of  fear,   and  to 
force  assent   in  spite  of  reason.     We  admit  tliat  if  this 
charge  were  true,   the  Gospel   would  indeed  be  unworthy 
of  God,  and  unworthy  of  man.     We  admit  that  authority 
never  can  supply  the  place  of  truth,  and  that  not  even  the 
immediate  prospect  of  danger  can   compel   a  reasonable 
creature  to  yield  his  assent  without  sufficient  evidence. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  we  assert,  that  it  h  often  incum- 
bent upon  a  reasonable  creature  to  exercise  his  reason,  and 
that  he  may  deserve  punishment  for  refusing  his  assent, 
when  sufficient  evidence  is  offered  him.     In  common  life 
we  meet  with  many  instances  where  men  bring  calamities 
upon  themselves  and  their  families,  bj''  not  believing  what 
they    would  have   believed,   if  they  had  bestowed  proper 
attention.     It  is  therefore  no  new  doctrine,  and  it  is  per- 
fectly analogous  to  the  ordinary  procedure  of  the  Divine 
government,  that  men  should  suffer  for  unbelief;  and  in 
the  case  of  the  Gospel,  there  are  circumstances  which  ren- 
der unbelief  in  a  peculiar  degree  criminal.     The  Gospel 
contains  the  strongest  call  which  a  reasonable  creature  can 
receive  to  exercise  his  reason  in  judging  of  evidence.     It 
professes  to  be  a  message  from  God,  the  author  of  human 
nature,   affording  man   that  assistance  in  recovering  the 
dignity  and  happiness  of  his  nature,   of  which  he  is  con- 
scious that  he  stands  in  need.     The  person,  who  delivered 
this  gracious  and  seasonable  message,  appealed  to  a  series 
of  prophecies  meant  to  prepare  ti     world  for  his  coming, 
and  to  works  of  his   own>    far  exceeding   human  power. 
Unlike  the  foi'mer  servants  of  It  ,;ven,  he   called  himself 
the  Son  of  God  ;  and  he  introduioJ  his  doctrine  not  as  a 
temporary  institution,   looking  forward  to  something  be- 

•  John  iii.  18. 


292  CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPOSTANCE, 

yond  itself,  but  as  a  complete,  universal,  and  unchangC' 
able  religion.  "  Last  of  all,"  says  Jesus,  "  he  sent  unto 
them  his  Son,  saying,  they  will  reverence  my  Son."  We 
behold  here  every  circumstance,  which  is  fitted  to  rouse 
attention,  and  which  can  render  inattention  unpardonable. 
That  the  most  exalted  Spirit  should  refuse  to  listen  to  any 
thing  which  bears  the  name  of  a  message  from  his  Creator, 
is  presumption.  But,  that  a  feeble  imperfect  creature, 
who  is  conscious  that  he  has  offended  God,  should  preci- 
pitately reject  a  religion  which  brings  the  offers  of  mercy, 
is  madness.  It  might  be  expected,  that,  even  although 
he  doubted  of  its  truth,  he  would  eagerly  examine  it,  be- 
cause, if  it  be  true,  it  brings  him  the  most  joyful  tidings, 
and,  if  it  be  true,  to  reject  it  is  to  reject  the  counsel  of 
God  against  himself,  and  to  exclude  himself  from  all  fu- 
ture hope  of  mercy.  For  you  will  notice,  and  it  is  an 
awful  consideration  which  places  the  importance  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  strongest  light,  that,  however  men  might 
flatter  themselves,  under  the  simple  religion  of  nature,  with 
general  reasonings  concerning  divine  mercy,  the  moment 
that  a  special  revelation  is  published,  promising  the  mercy 
of  God  upon  certain  terms,  and  disclosing  a  particular 
manner  of  dispensing  pardon  to  those  who  repent,  these 
general  reasonings  are  at  an  end.  If  every  one  must  ad- 
mit that  God  knows  better  than  we  do,  what  is  becoming 
his  nature  and  consistent  with  his  administration,  it  follows 
undeniably  that  it  is  most  presumptuous  in  those  who  ac- 
knowledge that  pardon  is  necessary,  to  reject  the  particu- 
lar method  of  dispensing  pardon  that  is  revealed,  and  yet 
still  to  build  upon  uncertain  reasonings  an  expectation  that 
it  will  be  dispensed.  If  the  words  which  Jesus  uttered  be 
true,  the  hopes  of  nature  are  included  in  the  hopes  of  the 
Gospel,  and  no  hope  is  left  to  those  who,  neglecting  the 
"  great  salvation  spoken  by  the  Lord,"  betake  themselves 
to  the  religion  of  nature. 

"  This,"  then,  "  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners."  It  is  supposed  by  your  profession  that  you  un- 
derstand and  acknowledge  the  infinite  importance  of 
Christianity  considered  in  this  view  ;  and  it  will  be  your 
peculiar  business  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  others  a 
sense  of  that  importance.    For  this  purpose  you  must  "  be 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  293 

ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  one  that  asketh 
you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  ;"  you  must  show, 
by  your  manner  of  defending  Christianity,  that  you  are 
not  afraid  of  the  light,  and  that  you  consider  the  evidences 
of  Christianity  as  capable  of  bearing  the  narrowest  scru- 
tiny, and  those  whom  you  call  to  receive  it  as  entitled  to 
examine  into  the  truth.  But  your  chief  difficulty  will  be 
to  bring  them  to  this  examination  with  a  fair  unprejudiced 
mind.  You  will  meet  with  many  who  ascribe  to  want  of 
evidence,  or  to  a  peculiarity  in  their  understanding,  what 
does  in  fact  proceed  from  an  evil  heart.  You  have  to  en- 
counter that  pride  which  refuses  to  submit  to  the  right- 
eousness of  God,  and  those  evil  passions,  which,  because 
they  do  not  expect  to  receive  indulgence  under  the  Gos- 
pel, create  a  secret  Avish  that  it  were  false.  If  your  la- 
bours, performed  with  good  intention,  with  diligence,  with 
prudence,  and  with  ability,  shall,  through  the  blessing  of 
God,  overcome  these  obstacles,  shall  form  in  the  minds  of 
your  hearers  what  our  Lord  calls  a  good  and  honest  heart, 
and  shall  establish  their  faith  upon  a  rational  foundation, 
you  will  not  only  promote  the  welfare  of  society  by  teach- 
ing in  the  most  effectual  manner  the  great  duties  of  mo- 
rality, but  you  will  be  the  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God 
of  saving  the  souls  of  men  from  death,  and  so  carrying 
forward  the  great  purpose  for  which  this  dispensation  of 
grace  was  given. 

I  have  chosen  throughout  this  chapter  to  avoid  a  phrase 
which  you  often  hear,  the  necessity  of  the  Christian  re- 
velation, because  that  phrase,  when  unguardedly  used,  is 
apt  to  convey  improper  notions.  It  may  be  conceived  to 
imply,  that  God  was  in  justice  bound  to  grant  this  reve- 
lation ;  whereas  it  should  always  be  i-emembered,  in  theo- 
logical discussions,  that  sinners  have  no  claim  to  any 
thing,  and  that  the  Gospel  is  a  free  gift  proceeding  from 
the  unmerited  grace  of  God,  for  the  bestowing  or  with- 
holding of  which  He  is  in  no  degree  accountable  to  any 
of  his  creatures.  The  phrase,  necessity  of  the  Christian 
revelation,  may  also  be  conceived  to  imply,  that  it  was 
impossible  for  God,  in  any  other  way,  to  save  the  world  ; 
whereas  we  have  no  principles  that  can  enable  us  to  judge 
what  it  is  possible  for  God  to  do.  We  investigate,  accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  our  understanding,  the  fitness  of 


294^  CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE. 

that  which  he  has  clone.  But  there  is  an  irreverence  in 
our  saying  confidently,  that  infinite  wisdom  could  not  have 
devised  other  ways  of  accomplishing  the  same  end.  I 
have  chosen  rather  to  speak  of'  the  desirableness  and  the 
importance  of  Christianity,  which  imply  all  that  should  be 
meant  by  the  necessity  of  it,  viz.  that  it  republishes  with 
clearness  and  authority  the  religion  of  nature  ;  that  it  gives 
the  penitent  that  assurance  of  pardon  which  the  religion 
of  nature  did  not  aftbrd  them  ;  that  it  brings  along  with 
it  an  indispensable  obligation  upon  those  to  whom  it  is 
made  known  to  examine  its  evidence ;  and  that  it  leaves 
those  who  wantonly  reject  it  to  perish  in  their  sins. 

I  have  spoken  of  this  subject  with  an  earnestness  and 
seriousness  suited  to  its  nature.  You  often  hear  it  stated 
from  the  pulpit,  and  there  are  many  printed  sermons 
where  it  is  fully  illustrated.  It  enters  into  most  of  the 
books  which  treat  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  But  it 
requires  from  you  a  particular  study  ;  and  when  you  have 
leisure  to  bestow  close  attention  upon  it,  I  would  recom- 
mend to  you  to  read  the  ablest  book  that  ever  was  written 
against  the  importance  of  Christianity.  I  mean  Tindal's 
book,  entitled,  Christianity  as  old  as  the  Creation.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  book  is  to  show  that  the  law  given  to  man  at  his 
creation  was  complete  ;  that  it  is  published  in  the  most 
perfect  manner ;  that  it  does  not  admit  of  amendment ; 
and  that  the  additions,  which  succeeding  revelations  pro- 
fess to  make  to  it,  are  a  proof  that  these  revelations  are 
spurious.  The  positions  of  this  book,  then,  if  they  be  true, 
completely  annihilate  the  importance  of  Christianity ;  for 
they  go  thus  far  to  show  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  Gos- 
pel true,  ^ut  what  was  from  the  beginning  contained  in 
the  religion  of  nature,  and  published  more  universally,  and 
with  much  less  danger  of  error,  by  being  written  on  the 
heart  of  man,  than  by  being  recorded  in  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.  I  would  not  advise  you  to  read  this 
boolc,  which  is  written  with  great  art,  without  at  the  same 
time  reading  some  of  the  answers  to  it.  Leland,  on  the 
Advantages  of  the  Christian  Revelation,  has  given  a  full 
picture  of  the  religious  and  moral  state  of  the  world,  when 
the  Gospel  was  published,  which  demonstrates  that  there 
is  much  false  colouring  in  Tindal's  book.  Foster  also,  the 
author  of  Sermons  and  Discourses  on  Natural  Religion, 
has  written  against  Tindal.     But  the  most  complete  an- 


CHRISTIANITY  OF  INFINITE  IMPORTANCE.  295 

r>wer,  whicli  ought  to  be  read  by  every  student  who  reads 
Tindal,  is  Conybeare's  Defence  of  Revealed  Religion. 
There  have  been  few  abler  divines  than  Bishop  Conybeare. 
He  had  a  clear  logical  understanding,  and  his  talents  were 
whetted  and  called  forth  by  very  formidable  antagonists. 
He  was  contemporary  with  Lord  Bolingbroke,  whose  nu- 
merous writings  against  Christianity  are  replete  with  false 
pliilosophy,  malicious  misrepresentations  of  facts,  and  keen 
satire.  Lord  Bolingbroke  used  to  say,  that  it  cost  more 
trouble  to  demolish  Conybeare's  outworks,  than  to  take 
the  citadel  of  any  of  his  other  opponents ;  an  expression 
which  implies  that  this  divine  took  always  strong  ground, 
and  knew  well  where  to  rest  his  defence.  Accordingly  in 
his  answer  to  Tindal's  book,  he  has  detected  all  its  so- 
phisms and  equivocations  :  he  has  affixed  a  precise  mean-, 
ing  to  his  words,  and  has  shewn,  in  a  train  of  the  most 
convincing  and  masterly  reasoning,  that  that  republication 
of  the  religion  of  nature,  and  that  method  of  redemption 
which  the  Gospel  contains,  were  most  desirable  ;  and  that 
these  views  of  the  importance  of  Cliristianity  are  not  in- 
consistent with  the  original  perfection  which  every  sound 
theist  ascribes  to  the  law  of  nature.  Bishop  Conybeare's 
book  is  a  complete  illustration  of  the  importance  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  there  are  three  other  names  which  cannot 
be  omitted  at  this  time.  Clarke,  in  his  Evidences,  has 
stated  fully  what  is  commonly  called  the  necessity  of  re- 
velation. In  the  first  volume  of  Sherlock's  Discourses, 
which  is  almost  wholly  occupied  with  this  subject,  you 
find  those  luminous  views  which  distinguish  the  writings 
of  that  eminent  jDrelate  :  and  Bishop  Butler,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  the  second  part  of  his  Analogy  of  Natural  and 
Revealed  Religion,  with  rather  less  obscurity  than  is  found 
in  other  chapters  of  that  precious  treatise,  but  M'ith  no  less 
depth  of  thought,  has  stated,  in  a  short  compass,  the  im- 
portance of  Christianity. 

Leland  on  the  Christian  Revelation. 
Foster  on  Natural  Religion. 
Conybeare's  Defence  of  Revealed  Religion- 
Clarke's  Evidences. 
Sherlock's  Discourses. 
Butler's  Analogy. 
Paley's  Evidences. 
Brown  against  Tindal. 
Halyburton  on  Deism. 


29G 


CHAP.  IV. 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTKIM. 


A  sKCONi)  geiKiral  observation  arising  out  of  tlie  short  uc- 
coiirit  of  (lie  Sttripturc  Hysfciii  is  fliis,  tli;it  we  may  cxpcctt 
lo  liud  ill  tiiat  syst(aii  many  tilings  wliicli  vvc  do  not  fully 
<'om])r('ii('n(l.  Dc^istical  write  is  urge;  this  as  an  ol))c('tion 
against  the;  (iospcl.  1  In'y  say  that  it  is  tlic  very  t'liaracter 
of  revelation  to  iiuike  every  thing  plain,  hnttliat  a  system 
which  contains  mysteries,  leaves  lis  still  in  the  (hirk,  and, 
therefore,  that  the  niyst(.'ries,  witli  which  (he  (iospel 
:d)oniids,  an;  a  eonvineiiig  evidence  that  it  did  not  |)ro- 
cecMJ  i'rom  the  (iod  of  light  and  truth.  Tint  same  word, 
mysteries,  which  generally  enters  into  the  statement  of 
this  ohjeetion,  occurs  often  in  the  writings  and  the;  dis- 
courses of  many  ])ious  Christians,  who  mean  to  speak  of 
tJui  (jospcfl  with  the  iiighest  revereiuie.  And  yet,  there  is 
reason  to  think,  that  neither  the  former  class  of  writers, 
nor  the  latter,  has  jiaid  a  jiroper  attention  to  the  Scrip- 
imc  use  of  the  word.  Upon  this  ac<Mnint,  heforc  I  pro- 
ceed to  iinswer  the  ohjeetion  hy  illustrating  my  scicond 
o))serva(ion,  I  shall  stiite  the  sense  in  wliicli  the  Scriptures 
us(!  the  word  mysttTy,  and  in  so  doing  shall  explain  the 
reason  why  I  eIioos(!  to  avoi«l  that  word  ujion  this  subject. 
The  cennnonics  of  the  iincieiit  h<;ithen  worshi|>  w<!re  of 
two  kinds.  Some  vere  public,  performed  <»penly  in  the 
lemiile,  before  tlu"  greiit  body  of  tin;  peoph;  wdio  were  sii[)- 
poHi'd  to  join  in  them.  Others  \V(n'(^  private,  pctrlbrined  in 
a  retired  place,  often  in  the  night,  fai"  from  the  view  of  the 
multitude;  and  they  were  never  divulged  to  the  crowd, 
but  were  communicated  only  to  a  lew  ciilighten<d  wor- 
shippers. Tli(!  persons  to  whom  these  secret  rites  we  it! 
made  known  were  said  to  be  initiated  ;  and  the  rites  them- 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.         297 

selves  wen"  called  ftvirm^'x.  Every  god  had  liis  secret  as 
wtll  as  his  open  worship ;  and  hence  various  mysteries 
are  occasionally  mentioned  by  ancient  writei-s.  "  Hut," 
says  Dr.  Warburton,  who  has  investis^ated  this  subject  in 
his  Divine  Legation  of  Moses,  "  of  all  the  mysteries,  those 
wlueh  bore  tliat  name  by  way  of  eminence,  tlie  Eleusi- 
nian,  celebrated  at  Athens  in  honour  of  Ceres,  were  by 
far  tile  most  renowned,  and,  in  course  of  time,  eclipsed 
and  almost  swallowed  up  the  rest.  Hejice  Cicero,  speak- 
ing of  Eleusina,  says,  udi  initiantitr  <fentts  oriirum  ttlti- 
iiue.'"*  1  have  quoted  this  passage  from  \\'arburtoii,  be- 
cause it  contains  the  reason  why  you  seKlom  read  of  any 
otlier  than  the  Eleusiniiui  mysteries,  although  the  word 
hail  oriirinallv  a  ireneral  aeeentation.  The  theme  of  the 
Mord  is  juyjki,  ihtIucIo,  from  whence  coaies  juvix,  in  sacris 
instifuo,  referriuir  to  tlit»  silence  which  the  initiated  were 
required  to  observe ;  anil  from  Mvi«»  comes  ftvjrt)»to>,  the 
amount  of  whieh  may  be  considered  as  ecpiivalent  to  ar- 
cd/tum.  The  writers  of  the  New  Testiiment  have  adoptetl 
this  word,  which  was  at  that  time  well  understood;  and 
it  is  useil  by  them  in  a  variety  of  instances  to  tienote  that 
whieh  CJod  had  purposed,  but  whieh  was  not  known  to 
men  till  he  was  phased  to  reveal  it.  When  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  came  to  liim,  and  said,  "  Why  speakest  thou  to 
tJie  peojtle  in  parables  ?"  his  answer  was.  Matt.  xiii.  11, 
'•  Beeause  it  is  iriven  unto  you  to  know  the  mysteries  of 
the  kingilom  of  heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given." 
i.  e.  there  are  circumstances  respecting  tht>  nature  and 
the  history  of  my  religion,  whieh  1  explain  elearly  to 
you  my  disciples  by  whom  it  is  to  be  publisheil,  but 
wiiich  it  is  proper  at  present  to  convey  to  tlie  peoph- 
uniler  the  disguise  of  parables.  Vou  will  not  umler- 
stand,  however,  from  these  wortls,  that  tJiere  wen>  lUways 
to  continue,  uniler  the  religion  of  Jesus,  two  kinds  of  in- 
struction, one  for  the  initiated  and  one  for  the  vulirar;  for 
our  Lord  had  said  to  these  very  diseiples  a  little  before. 
Matt.  X.  '2{i,  '27,  "  There  is  nothing  eovertul  that  shall  not  be 
revealed,  and  hid  that  shall  not  be  known.  Wh;'.t  1 
tell  you  in  darkness  that  speak  ye  in  light,  and  what  ye 
hear  iu  the  ear,  that  preach  ye  upon  the  house  tops," 

•  \'i}l.  ii.  book  ii.  -I. 


298        DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTE3I. 

Accordingly,  when  the  apostles  came  forth  to  execute  their 
commission,  the  character  under  which  they  appeared  is 
thus  expressed  by  Paul,  1  Cor.  iv.  1  :  "  Let  a  man  so  ac- 
count of  us,  as  of  the  ministers  of  Clirist,  and  stewards  of 
the  mysteries  of  God  :"  dispensers  of  that  knowledge  which 
was  communicated  to  us  first,  for  this  very  purpose,  that 
we  might  be  the  instruments  of  conveying  it  to  others. 
Paul  calls  the  Gospel,  Col.  i.  26, — "  The  mystery  hid  from 
ages  and  from  generations,  but  now  made  manifest  to  his 
saints,"  hid  from  ages,  because  it  was  not  investigated  by 
reason,  and  must  have  remained  for  ever  unknown,  if  it 
had  not  been  declared  by  God  in  his  word.  The  rejec- 
tion of  the  Jewish  nation,  who  had  always  considered 
themselves  as  the  favourite  people  of  heaven,  is  called  a 
mystery,  Rom.  xi.  25,  because  it  was  very  opposite  to  the 
opinions  and  expectations  of  men  ;  and  for  tlie  same  reason, 
the  calling  of  the  heathen  by  the  Gospel  to  jjartake  of  all 
the  privileges  of  the  people  of  God  is  in  man}^  places 
styled  a  mystery,  Ephes.  iii.  3,  5,  6.  I  mention  only  one 
other  instance,  1  Cor.  xv.  51.  The  resurrection  of  the  body 
is  called  a  mystery,  because  although  many  philosophers 
had  speculated  concerning  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  it 
had  never  entered  into  the  minds  of  any  that  the  body  was 
to  rise. 

Dr.  Campbell,  in  the  first  volume  of  his  new  translation 
of  the  Gospels,  has  one  dissertation  upon  the  word  mys- 
terj'.  He  states  that  the  leading  sense  of  ,wv«-Tijg<ev,  in  the 
Septuagint,  the  Apocrypha,  and  the  New  Testament,  is 
arcanum,  any  thing  not  published  to  the  world,  though 
perhaps  communicated  to  a  select  number.  With  his 
usual  accurate  and  minute  attention,  he  mentions  another 
meaning  very  nearly  related  to  the  former,  or  more  pro- 
perly only  a  particular  application  of  that  general  mean- 
ing. It  is  sometimes  employed  to  denote  the  figurative 
sense,  which  is  conveyed  under  any  fable,  pai'able,  alle- 
gory, symbolical  action,  or  dream.  The  reason  of  this  ap- 
plication is  obvious.  The  literal  meaning  of  a  fable  is 
open  to  the  senses  ;  the  spiritual  meaning  requires  pene- 
tration and  reflection,  and  is  known  only  to  the  intelligent. 
In  Rev.  i.  20,  and  xvii.  7,  John  saw  the  figures,  but  he 
did  not  understand  the  meaning  intended  to  be  conveyed 
by  them,  till  it  was  ex})lained  to  him  by  the  angel.     To 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEiVI.  ^99 

him  it  was  arcanum.  There  is  an  allusion  to  this  import 
of  the  word  mystery  in  Mark  iv.  11.  "  Unto  you  it  is 
given  to  know  the  mystery  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  but 
unto  them  that  are  without,  all  these  things  are  done  in 
parables."  The  Eleusiuian  mysteries  being  accessible  only 
to  the  initiated,  the  early  Christians,  to  whom  the  language 
and  the  practice  of  the  heathen  were  familiar,  transferred 
to  the  Lord's  Supper  the  word  mysteries  ;  l)ecause  from 
that  ordinance  were  excluded  the  catechumens,  Avho  had 
not  yet  been  baptized,  and  the  penitents,  who  had  not  yet 
been  restored  to  the  communion  of  the  church.  It  was 
administered  only  to  those  who  had  been  initiated  by  bap- 
tism; and  from  fear  of  persecution  it  was  often  adminis- 
tered in  the  night.  On  account  of  this  secrecy,  and  the 
select  number  of  communicants,  strangers  might  apprehend 
a  similarity  between  the  Lord's  Supper  and  the  heathen 
mysteries ;  and  from  whomsoever  this  use  cf  the  word  ori- 
ginated, the  Christians  might  not  be  unwilling  to  retain  it, 
as  conveying,  according  to  the  language  of  the  times,  an 
exalted  conception  of  their  distinguishing  rites. 

It  appears  then,  from  this  deduction,  that  there  are 
three  acceptations  of  the  word  //.va-TYig^ioy.  In  the  New  Tes- 
tament it  is  used  to  express  that  which  God  had  purposed 
from  the  beginning,  which  was  not  known  till  he  was 
pleased  to  reveal  it,  but  which  by  the  revelation  wa.'; 
shown  and  made  manifest.  With  early  ecclesiastical 
writers  it  means  the  solemn  positive  rites  of  our  religion  ; 
and  so,  in  the  communion  service  of  the  Church  of  Ent;- 
land,  the  elements  after  consecration  are  called  holy  mys- 
teries. In  modern  theological  writings,  and  in  the  objec- 
tions of  the  deists,  mystery  denotes  that  which  is  in  its  na- 
ture so  dark  and  incomprehensible,  that  it  cannot  be  lui- 
derstood  after  it  is  revealed.  As  this  sense  is  really  oppo- 
site to  the  sense  in  which  the  Scriptures  use  the  word 
mystery,  it  appears  to  me  advisable,  both  in  discourses  to 
the  people,  and  in  theological  discussions,  to  choose  other 
expressions  for  denoting  that  which  cannot  be  compre- 
hended. 

But  although,  by  avoiding  an  unscriptural  use  of  a 
Scripture  word,  we  may  guard  against  the  aliases  and  mis- 
takes which  the  change  of  its  meaning  has  jjiobabl}-  occa- 
sioned, yet  we  readily  admit  that  there  are,   in  the  Scrip- 


300        DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCKIPTURE  SYSTEM. 

ture  system  of  the  Gospel,  many  points  which  we  do  not 
fully  comprehend.  And  this  is  so  far  from  being  a  solid 
objection  to  the  Gospel,  that  to  every  wise  inquirer  it  ap- 
pears to  arise  from  the  nature  of  that  dispensation.  In 
order  to  account  for  the  difficulties  which  are  found  in  the 
revelation  made  b}^  the  Gospel,  we  may  follow  the  same 
division  which  occurred  when  we  were  speaking  of  the 
importance  of  Christianity,  and  consider  the  Gospel  as  a 
republication  of  the  religion  of  nature,  and  as  a  method  of 
saving  sinners. 

1.  Even  were  the  Gospel  nothing  more  than  a  republi- 
cation of  the  religion  of  nature,  we  could  not  expect  to 
find  every  thing  in  it  plain  ;  for  we  have  experience  that 
many  points  in  natural  religion,  concerning  the  evidence 
of  which  we  do  not  entertain  any  doubt,  are  to  our  under- 
standing full  of  difficulties.  We  have  very  indistinct  con- 
ceptions of  the  nature  of  spirits,  or  of  the  manner  in  whicli 
spirit  acts  upon  matter.  The  eternity  and  infinity  of  God 
are  connected  with  all  the  intricate  s]jeculations  concern- 
ing time  and  space.  The  origin  of  evil,  under  the  govern- 
ment of  a  Being,  whose  wisdom  and  goodness  are  not  re- 
strained by  any  want  of  power,  has  perplexed  the  human 
mind  ever  since  it  began  to  reason  ;  and  liberty,  the  very 
essence  of  morality,  appears  to  be  affected  by  that  depen- 
dence of  a  moral  agent  upon  the  influence  of  a  superior 
Being,  which  is  inseparable  from  the  notion  of  his  being  a 
creature  of  God.  Reason  is  unable  to  solve  all  the  diffi- 
culties that  have  been  started  upon  these  points,  yet  she 
draws,  from  premises  within  her  reach,  this  conclusion, 
that  a  Spirit  who  exists  in  all  times  and  places  exercises  a 
moral  government  over  free  agents.  Revelation  has  given 
assurance  to  this  conclusion,  has  diffused  the  knowledge  of 
it,  and  inculcates  with  authority  the  practical  lessons 
which  it  implies.  But  revelation,  far  from  professing  to 
enter  into  the  speculations  connected  with  this  conclusion, 
leaves  man,  with  regard  to  many  metaphysical  questions 
that  have  no  influence  upon  his  virtue  or  happiness,  in  the 
same  darkness  M^hich  all  the  sages  of  antiquity  experienced. 
A  clear  explication  of  these  points,  supposing  it  possible, 
might  have  afforded  amusement  to  a  few  inquisitive  minds. 
To  the  great  body  of  mankind,  for  whose  sake  the  religion 
of  nature  is  republished  in  the  Gospel,   it  is  insignificant, 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.        301 

and  would  have  only  loaded  a  system  whose  simplicity  is 
fitted  to  render  it  of  universal  use,   with  subtleties  which 
the    generality   find    neither  interesting  nor   intelligible. 
Such  an  explication,  then,  would  have   been   of  little  im- 
portance.    I  said,  supposing  it  possible  ;  for  they  who  de- 
mand it  know  not  what  they  ask.     Difficulties  in  any  sub- 
ject are  merely  relative  to  the  understanding  and  opportu- 
nities of  those  who  consider  it.     As  a  child  cannot  form 
any  conception  of  the  nature   of  the   exertion   which   is 
made,  or  of  the  object  Mhich  is  proposed  in  many  of  the 
employments  of  men  ;  as  a  man,  whose  mind  has  been  un- 
tutored, or  whose  observation  has  been  narrow,  wonders  at 
the  discoveries  of  Astronomy,  or  the  refined  operations  of 
art,  and  while  he  believes  that  both  exist,   is  incapable  of 
apprehending  the  principles  upon  which  they  proceed ;  so 
it  is  likely  that  we  feel  ourselves  involved  in  an  inextrica- 
ble labyrinth  upon  questions,  which  superior  orders  of  be- 
ing can  easily  resolve.     We  inhabit  a  spot  in  the  creation 
of  God.     We  are  placed  in  a  system  consisting  of  many 
parts,  the  relations  and  dependencies  of  which  are  beyond 
our  observation  ;  and  our  faculties  in  vain  attempt  to  ex- 
plore the  intimate  essence  of  those  objects  which  are  most 
familiar  to  us.     There  are  measures  of  knowledge  to  which 
our  condition  is  manifestly  not  suited.     There  is  a  deoree 
of  mental  exertion  of  which  we  may  be  supposed  incapable. 
"  Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly  ;"  and  it  is  fbrgettino- 
our  condition  and  our  character,  to  ask  that  every  thing  in 
nature  should  at  present  be  made  plain  to  our  apprehen- 
sion.    If  there  be  such  a  thing  as   Natural  Keligion,  the 
comfort  and  improvement  which  it  administers  cannot  im- 
ply a  kind  of  illumination,   which  man  is  not  qualified  to 
receive.     They  must  be  compatible  with  the  rank  which 
he  holds  in  the   intellectual  system,  and  they  may  leave 
him  unacquainted   with   many  parts  of  that  system,  the 
whole  extent  of  which  he  is  at  present  incapable  of  appre- 
hending.    It  cannot,   therefore,  be  stated  as  an  objection 
to  the  gospel,  that  while,  by  republishing  the  religion  of 
nature,  it  restores  that  comfort  and  improvement  in  the 
most   perfect   manner,  it   keeps   his  knowledge  confined 
within  the  limits  suited  to  his  condition.     Other  orders  of. 
spirits  may  clearly  apprehend  the  nature  of  objects,  and 
the  solution  of  questions,  to  which  his  faculties  are  inade- 


302        DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM. 

quate ;  because  the  knowledge  of  them  is  not,  in  any  de- 
gree, necessary  for  his  enjoyment  of  the  portion,  or  his 
discharge  of  tlie  duties,  assigned  him  by  his  Creator. 

2.  If  difficulties  belong  to  the  Gospel,  as  it  is  a  re- 
publication of  the  religion  of  nature,  we  may  expect  to 
meet  with  more  difficulties,  when  we  consider  it  in  its 
higher  character,  as  the  religion  of  sinners.  By  this  cha- 
racter the  Gospel  makes  provision  for  a  new  situation, 
which  had  brought  upon  men  evils,  any  remedy  of  which 
was  not  suggested  by  their  knowledge  of  nature.  We 
found  that  all  those  notions  of  the  Divine  character  and 
government,  which  constitute  natural  religion,  fail  us  in 
this  new  situation  ;  and  that  the  assurance  of  pardon  rests 
upon  an  interposition  of  the  Creator.  What  parts  of  the 
universe  may  be  affected  by  that  interposition  we  cannot 
say  ;  and  it  is  presumptuous  to  think,  that  all  the  branches 
and  the  ends  of  it  may  be  fully  comprehended  by  our  un- 
derstanding, since  it  is  a  subject  confessedly  farther  be- 
yond our  reach  than  any  part  of  nature.  But  if  the  reve- 
lation of  the  Gospel  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  interposition 
has  been  made,  and  that  the  effects  of  it  with  regard  to  us 
are  attained,  this  is  all  the  knowledge  that  is  of  real  im- 
portance upon  the  subject.  Clear  evidence  of  the  fact  is 
sufficient  to  revive  our  hopes  ;  and  although  the  manner  in 
which  the  interposition  is  calculated  to  produce  the  effect 
had  not  been,  in  any  measure,  revealed  to  us,  we  should 
have  been  in  no  worse  situation  with  regard  to  this  fact 
thaji  with  regard  to  many  others  in  nature,  most  import- 
ant to  our  being  and  comfort,  where  we  know  that  an  effect 
exists,  but  have  no  apprehension  of  the  kind  of  connexion 
betM'een  the  effect  and  its  cause.  If  this  interposition  in- 
volve the  agency  of  other  beings  that  are  not  made  known 
to  us  by  the  light  of  nature,  and  if  their  agency  be  a  ground 
of  hope,  or  the  principle  of  any  duty,  the  revelation  must 
inform  us  that  they  exist.  But  the  knowledge  of  their 
existence  and  agency  does  not  require  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  their  nature.  There  are  in  natural  reli- 
gion many  intricate  questions  concerning  the  manner  iii 
which  the  Deity  exists,  that  do  not  in  the  least  affect  the 
proof  of  his  existence.  The  manner  in  which  those  beings 
exist,  who  are  made  known  to  us  merely  by  revelation, 
may  be  still  farther  removed  beyond  the  reach   of  our  fa- 


DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEJI.  303 

culties.  At  any  rate,  the  knowledge  of  it  is  not  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  the  revelation  ;  and,  therefore,  although 
so  very  little  be  revealed  concerning  them,  as  to  leave  im- 
penetrable darkness  over  all  the  speculations  by  whicli 
men  attempt  to  investigate  the  manner  in  which  tliey  are 
distinguished  from  one  another,  and  the  manner  in  wiiich 
they  are  united,  still  their  existence  and  their  agency  may 
be  placed  beyond  doubt  by  explicit  declarations,  and  the  re- 
liance upon  these  declarations  may  establish,  on  the  firmest 
grounds,  that  hope  which  the  revelation  was  meant  to  con- 
vey. 

The  state  of  the  case,  then,  with  regard  to  the  difficul- 
ties of  religion,  is  precisely  this.     We  have,  by  reason,  the 
means  of  acquiring  that  knowledge  which  the  orginal  con- 
dition of  our  being  required,  but  not  that  which  our  curio- 
sity may   desire  ;  and   accordingly  when  we  launch  into 
questions  and  speculations  of  mere  curiosity,  our  pride  is 
i-ebuked,  and  we  are  reminded  that  "  we  are  of  yesterday, 
and  know  nothing."     The  Gospel,  by  the  pi'ovision  which 
it  has  made  for  the  change  in  our  original  condition,  has 
opened  to  us  a  state  of  things  in  many  respects   new,  by 
which  we  perceive  how  very  limited  the  range  of  our  na- 
tural knowledge  was.     But  this  state  of  things  is  intimated 
only  in  so  far  as  the  provision  for  our  condition  renders 
an  intimation  necessary ;  and  while  all   the  facts  of  real 
importance  to  our  comfort  and  hope  are  published  with  the 
most  satisfying  evidence,  we  are  checked  in  our  specula- 
tions concerning  this  new  state  of  things,   by  the  very 
scanty  measure  of  light  which  is  afforded  us  to  guide  them. 
This  is  a  view  of  the   extent  of  our  knowledge  not  very 
flattering  to  our  pride.     But  it  may  be  favourable  both  to 
our  happiness  and  to  our  improvement ;  and  if  we  are  wise 
enough  to  cultivate  the  temper  of  mind  wliich  such  a  view' 
is  peculiarly  calculated  to  form,  we  may  derive  much  pro- 
fit from  the  bounds  which  are  set  to  our  inquiries,  as  well 
as  from   the  enlargement  vhich   is  given  to  our  hopes. 
There  does  arise,  however,  from  this  view  of  our   know- 
ledge,  one  most  interesting   and    fundamental    (juestion, 
which  is  the  subject  of  my  third  preliminary  observation. 
What  is  the  use  of  reason  in  matters  of  religion  ? 

Butler.  Sherlock.  Campbell. 


304 


CHAP.  V. 


USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION. 

If  the  Christian  religion  contain  many  points  which  Ave  do 
not  fully  comprehend,  and   if  we   be   required  to  believe 
these  points,  a  difficult}^  seems  to  arise  with  regard  to  the 
boundai'ies  between  reason  and  faith.     This  is  a  subject 
upon  which  it  is  of  very  great  importance  to  form  distinct 
apprehensions,  before  we  proceed  to  a  particular  consider- 
ation of  the  doctrines   of  Christianity.     When  you  stud}"^ 
church  history,  you  will  find  that  this  question  has  been 
agitated  in  various  forms  from  the  beginning  of  Christiani- 
ty to  this  day.     It  is  not  my  province  to  relate  the  progress 
of  this  dispute,  or  the  different  appearances  which  it  has 
assumed.     And,  in  truth,   many  of  the  controversies  to 
which   it   has  given  occasion  are    insignificant,    because 
when  they  are  examined  they  appear  to  be  purely  verbal. 
Those,  who  said  that  reason  was  of  no  use   in   matters  of 
religion,  sometimes  meant  nothing  more  than  that  i-eligion 
derived  no  benefit  from  that  which  is  really  the  abuse  of 
reason,  false  philosophy,  and  the  jargon  of  metaphysics. 
The  argument  was  kept  up  by  the  equivocation  between 
reason  and  the  abuse  of  reason ;  and  had  the  disputants 
shown  themselves  willing  to  understand  one  another  bj' 
defining  the  terms  which  they  used,  it  would  have  appear- 
ed that  there  was  very  little  difference  in  their  opinions. 

But  this  account  will  not  apply  to  all  the  controversies 
that  have  turned  upon  this  question.  The  sublime  incom- 
prehensible nature  of  some  of  the  Christian  doctrines  has 
so  completely  subdued  the  understanding  of  many  pious 
men,  as  to  make  them  think  it  pi'esumptuous  to  apply  rea- 
son any  how  to  the  revelation  of  God ;  and  the  many  in- 
stances, in  which  the  simplicity  of  truth  has  been  corrupt- 
ed by  an  alliance  with  philosophy,  confirm  them  in  the 
belief  that  it  is  safer,  as  well  as  more  respectful,  to  resign 


USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION.  305 

their  minds  to  devout  impressions,  than  to  exercise  their 
understandings  in  any  speculations  upon  sacred  subjects. 
Enthusiasts  and  fanatics  of"  all  different  names  and  sects 
agree  in  decrying  the  use  of  reason,  because  it  is  the  very 
essence  of  fanaticism  to  substitute  in  place  of  the  sober  de- 
ductions of  reason,  the  extravagant  fancies  of  a  disordered 
imagination,  and  to  consider  these  fancies  as  the  imme- 
diate illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Insidious  wri- 
ters in  the  deistical  controversy  have  pretended  to  adopt 
those  sentiments  of  humility  and  reverence,  wliich  are 
inseparable  from  true  Christians,  and  even  that  total  sub- 
jection of  reason  to  faith  which  characterises  enthusi- 
asts. A  pamphlet  was  published  about  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  that  made  a  noise  in  its  day,  although  it 
is  now  forgotten,  entitled,  Christianity  not  Founded  on 
Argument,  which,  while  to  a  careless  reader  it  may  seem 
to  magnify  the  Gospel,  does  in  reality  tend  to  undermine 
our  faith,  by  separating  it  from  a  rational  assent ;  and  Mr. 
Hume,  in  the  spirit  of  this  pamphlet,  concludes  his  Essay 
on  Miracles,  with  calling  those,  dangerous  friends  or  dis- 
guised enemies  to  the  Christian  religion,  who  have  under- 
taken to  defend  it  by  the  principles  of  human  reason. 
"  Our  most  holy  religion,"  he  says,  with  a  disingenuity 
very  unbecoming  his  respectable  talents,  "  is  founded  on 
faith,  not  on  reason," — and  "  mere  reason  is  insufficient 
to  convince  us  of  its  veracity."  The  Church  of  Rome,  in 
order  to  subject  the  minds  of  her  votaries  to  her  authority, 
has  reprobated  the  use  of  reason  in  matters  of  religion. 
She  has  revived  an  ancient  position,  that  things  may  be 
true  in  theology  which  are  false  in  philosophy ;  and  she 
has,  in  some  instances,  made  the  merit  of  faith  to  consist 
in  the  absurdity  of  that  which  is  believed. 

The  extravagance  of  these  positions  has  produced,  since 
the  Reformation,  an  opjjosite  extreme.  While  those  who 
deny  the  truth  of  revelation  consider  I'cason  as  in  all 
respects  a  sufficient  guide,  the  Socinians,  who  admit  that 
a  revelation  has  been  made,  employ  reason  as  the  supreme 
judge  of  its  doctrines,  and  boldly  strike  out  of  their  creed 
every  article  that  is  not  altogether  conformable  to  those 
notions  which  may  be  derived  from  the  exei'cise  of  reason. 

These  controversies,  concerning  the  use  of  reason  in 
matters  of  I'eligion,  are  disputes  not   about  words,  but 


306  USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION. 

about  the  essence  of  Christianity.  They  form  a  most  in- 
teresting object  of  attention  to  a  student  of  divinity,  be- 
cause they  affect  the  whole  course  and  direction  of  his 
studies  ;  and  yet,  it  appears  to  me  that  a  few  plain  obser- 
vations are  sufficient  to  ascertain  where  the  truth  lies  in 
this  subject. 

hxa^iLe-,  !•  The  first  use  of  reason  in  matters  of  religion  is  to  ex- 
amine the  evidences  of  revelation.  For  the  more  entire 
the  submission  which  we  consider  as  due  to  every  thing 

'^'^r^^  that  is  revealed,  we  have  the  more  need  to  be  satisfied 
"'   ''' '  that  any  system  which  professes  to  be  a  divine   revela- 
tion does  really  come  from  God.     It  is  plain  from  the  re- 
view which  we  took  of  the  evidence  of  Christianity,  that 
very  large  provision  is  made  for  affording  our  minds  a  ra- 
tional conviction  of  its  divine  original ;  and  the  style  of 
argument,  which  pervades  the  discourses  of  our  Lord,  and 
the  sermons  and  the  writings  of  his  apostles,  is  a  continued 
call  upon  us  to  exercise  our  reason  in  judging  of  that  pro- 
vision.    I  need  not  quote  particular  passages ;  for  that 
man  must  have   read  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  with  a  very  careless  or  a  very  prejudiced  eye, 
who  does  not  feel  the  manner,  in  which  our  religion  was 
proposed  hy  its  divine  author  and  his  immediate  disciples, 
to  be  a  clear  refutation   of  the  position  which   I  men- 
tioned lately,  that  Christianity  is  nc  t  founded   on  argu- 
ment. You  will  recollect  too,  that  all  the  different  branches 
of  the  evidence  of  Christianity  are  ultimatelj'  resolvable  in- 
to some  principle   of  reason.     The  internal  evidence   of 
Christianity  is  only  then  perceived,  Avhen  you  try  the  sj's- 
tem  of  the  Gospel  by  a  standard  which  you  are  supposed 
to  have  derived  from   natural   religion.     The  argument 
which  miracles  and  prophecies  afford  is  but  an  inference 
from  the  power,  wisdom,  and  holiness  of  God,  all  of  which 
you  assume  as  premises  that  are  not  disputed ;  and  that 
complication  of  circumstances  which  constitutes  the  histo- 
rical evidence  for  Christianity',  derives  its  weight  from  those 
laws  of  probability  which  our  experience  and  reflection 
suggest  as  the  guide  of  our  judgment.     It  is  not  easj'^  to 
conceive  that  a  creature,  who  is  accustomed  to  exercise 
his  reason  upon  every  other  suljject,  should  be  required  to 
lay  it  aside  upon  a  subject  so  interesting  as  the  evidences 
of  religion  ;  and  it  is  plain,  that  to  substitute  as  the  ground 


USE  OF  KEASON  IN  RELIGION.  307 

of  our  faith  certain  impressions,  the  liveliness  of  which  de- 
pends very  much  upon  the  state  of  the  animal  spirits,  in 
place  of  the  various  exercises  of  reason  which  this  subject 
calls  forth,  is  to  render  that  precarious  and  inexplicable 
which  might  rest  upon  sure  principles,  and  to  disregard 
the  provision  made  by  the  author  of  our  faith,  who  hath 
both  connnanded  and  enabled  us  to  "  be  always  ready  to 
give  an  answer  to  every  one  that  asketh  a  reason  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  us." 

2.  After  the  exercise  of  reason  has  established  in  our 
minds  a  firm  belief  that  Christianity  is  of  divine  original, 
the  second  use  of  reason  is  to  learn  what  are  the  truths  re- 
vealed. As  these  truths  are  not  in  our  days  communicat- 
ed to  any  by  immediate  inspiration,  the  knowledge  of  them 
is  to  be  acquired  only  from  books  transmitted  to  us  with 
satisfying  evidence  that  they  were  written  above  seventeen 
hundred  years  ago,  in  a  remote  country,  and  a  foreign 
language,  under  the  direction  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  In 
order  to  attain  the  meaning  of  these  books,  w-e  must  study 
the  language  in  which  they  were  written,  and  we  must 
study  also  the  manners  of  the  times,  and  the  state  of  the 
countries  in  which  the  writers  lived,  because  these  are  cir- 
cumstances to  which  an  original  author  is  often  alluding,  and 
by  which  his  phraseology  is  generally  affected  :  we  nmst 
lay  together  different  passages  in  which  the  same  word 
or  phrase  occurs,  because  without  this  labour  Me  cannot 
ascertain  its  precise  signification  ;  and  we  must  mark  the 
difflerence  of  style  and  manner  that  characterizes  different 
writers,  because  a  right  apprehension  of  their  meaning 
often  depends  upon  attention  to  this  difference.  All  this 
supposes  the  application  of  grammar,  history,  geography, 
chronology,  and  criticism  in  matters  of  religion,  ^.  e.  it 
supposes  that  the  reason  of  man  had  been  previously  ex- 
ercised in  pursuing  these  different  branches  of  knowledge, 
and  that  our  success  in  attaining  the  true  sense  of  Scrip- 
ture depends  upon  the  diligence  with  which  we  avail  our- 
selves of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  them.  It  is 
obvious  that  every  Christian  is  not  capable  of  making  this 
application.  But  this  is  no  argument  against  the  use  of 
reason  of  which  we  are  now  speaking.  For  they,  Avho  use 
translations  and  connnentaries,  only  rely  upon  the  reason 
of  others,  instead  of  exercising  their  own.     The  several 


308  USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION. 

branches  of  knowledge,  which  I  mentioned,  have  been  ap- 
plied in  every  age  by  some  persons  for  the  benefit  of 
others ;  and  the  progress  in  sacred  criticism,  which  distin- 
guishes the  present  times,  is  nothing  else  but  the  con- 
tinued application,  in  elucidating  the  Scriptures,  of  reason 
enlightened  by  every  kind  of  subsidiary  knowledge,  and 
very  much  improved  in  this  kind  of  exercise,  by  the 
employment  which  the  ancient  classics  have  given^it  since 
the  revival  of  letters. 

As  the  use  of  reason  thus  leads  us  into  the  meaning  of 
the  single  words  and  phrases  of  Scripture,  so  it  is  equally 
necessary  to  enable  us  to  attain  a  comprehensive  view  of 
the  whole  system  of  Scripture  doctrine.  Our  Lord  said 
to  his  apostles  a  little  before  his  death,  "  I  have  yet  many 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now." 
The  Spirit  guided  them  into  all  truth  after  the  ascension 
of  their  master ;  and  their  discourses  and  epistles  are  the 
fruit  of  that  perfect  teaching,  which  they  had  not  been 
able  to  receive  during  his  life.  The  epistles  of  Paul  to 
the  different  churches  refer  to  points  which  he  had  ex- 
plained to  the  Christians  when  he  was  with  them,  or  to 
questions  which  had  arisen  amongst  them  after  his  depar- 
ture. They  mention  rather  incidentally  than  formally  the 
great  truths  of  the  Gospel :  and  there  is  no  passage  in 
them  which  can  be  considered  as  a  comjilete  delineation 
of  all  that  we  are  called  to  believe.  Yet  the  apostles  speak 
of  "  the  form  of  sound  words,"  of  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Je- 
sus," of  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  for  which 
Christians  ought  to  contend.  The  knowledge  of  this  form 
of  sound  words,  this  truth  and  faith,  we  are  left  to  attain 
by  searching  the  Scriptures,  by  comparing  the  discourses 
of  our  Lord,  and  the  writings  of  his  apostles,  by  employing 
expressions  which  are  plain  to  illustrate  those  which  are 
obscure,  by  giving  such  interpretations  of  the  sacred 
writers  as  will  preserve  their  consistency  with  themselves 
and  with  one  another,  by  marking  the  consequences  which 
are  fairly  deducible  from  their  explicit  declaration,  and  by 
framing,  out  of  what  is  said  and  what  is  implied  in 
their  writings,  a  system  that  shall  appear  to  be  fully 
warranted  by  their  authority.  Without  all  this,  we  do  not 
learn  the  revelation  which  is  in  the  Gospel ;  and  yet  this 
tmplies  some  of  the  highest  exercises  of  reason,  sagacity. 


USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION.  309 

investigation,  comparison,  abstraction ;  and  it  is  the  most 
important  service  which  sound  philosophy  can  render  to 
Christianity,  that  it  enables  us  by  these  exercises  to  at- 
tain a  distinct  and  enlarged  apprehension  of  the  Gospel 
scheme  in  all  its  connexions  and  consequences.  It  is  very 
true,  that  many  pious  Christians  derive  much  consolation 
and  improvement  from  the  particular  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, although  the  narrowness  of  their  views,  and  the 
distraction  of  their  thoughts,  render  it  impossible  for  them 
to  form  a  just  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole. 
But  it  is  the  professed  object  of  those  who  propose  to  be 
teachers  of  Christianity  to  attain  such  a  view.  It  is  an 
object  for  which  they  are  supposed  to  have  leisure  and  op- 
portunity ;  and  unless  they  thus  know  the  truth,  they  are 
not  qualified  to  show  that  Christ  is  indeed  "  the  power  of 
God  and  the  wisdom  of  God,"  or  to  defend  the  Gospel 
scheme  against  the  objections,  and  rescue  it  from  the 
abuses,  to  which  a  partial  consideration  has  often  given 
occasion. 

3,  After  the  two  uses  of  reason  that  have  been  illustrat-  ■ 
ed,  a  third  comes  to  be  mentioned,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  compounded  of  both.     Reason  is  of  eminent 
use  in  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  adversaries  of  Christi- 
anity. 

When  men  of  erudition,  of  philosophical  acuteness,  and 
of  accomplished  taste,  direct  their  talents  against  our  re- 
ligion, the  cause   is   very   much  hurt  by  an  unskilful  de- 
fender.    He  cannot  unravel  their  sophistry ;  he  does  not 
perceive  the   amount  and  the   effect  of  the   concessions 
which  he  makes  to  them ;  he   is  bewildered  by  their  quo- 
tations, and  he  is  often  led  by  their  artifice  upon  danger- 
ous ground.     In  all  ages  of  the  church  there  have  been 
Aveak  defenders  of  Christianity  ;  and  the  only  triumphs  of 
the  enemies  of  our  religion   have  arisen  from  their  being 
able  to  expose  the  defects  of  those  methods  of  defending 
the  truth,  which  some  of  its  advocates  had  unwarily  chosen. 
A  mind,  trained  to  accurate  philosophical  views  of  the 
nature  and  the  amount  of  evidence,  enriched  with  histori- 
cal knowledge,  accustomed  to  throw  out  of  a  subject  all 
that  is  minute  and  unrelated,  to  collect  what  is  of  impor- 
tance within  a  short  compass,  and  to  form  the  compre- 
hension of  a  whole,  is  the  mind  qualified  to  contend  with 


310  USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION. 

the  learning,  the  wit,  and  the  sophistry  of  infidelity. 
Many  such  minds  have  appeared  in  this  honourable  con- 
troversy during  the  course  of  this  and  the  last  century  ; 
and  the  success  has  corresponded  to  the  completeness  of 
the  furniture  with  which  they  engaged  in  the  combat. 
The  Christian  doctrine  has  been  vindicated  by  their  mas- 
terly exposition  from  various  misrepresentations  ;  the  ar- 
guments for  its  divine  original  have  been  placed  in  their 
true  light ;  and  the  attempts  to  confound  the  miracles  and 
prophecies,  upon  which  Christianity  rests  its  claim,  with 
the  delusions  of  imposture,  have  been  effectually  repelled. 
Christianity  has,  in  this  way,  received  the  most  important 
advantages  from  the  attacks  of  its  enemies ;  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  its  doctrines  Avould  never  have  been  so 
thoroughly  cleared  from  all  the  corruptions  and  subtleties 
which  had  attached  to  them  in  the  progress  of  ages,  nor 
the  evidences  of  its  truths  have  been  so  accurately  under- 
stood, nor  its  peculiar  character  been  so  perfectly  discri- 
minated, had  not  the  zea  land  abilities,  which  have  been 
employed  against  it,  called  forth  in  its  defence  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  masters  of  reason.  They  brought  into 
the  service  of  Christianity  the  same  weapons  which  had 
been  drawn  for  her  destruction,  and,  wielding  them  with 
confidence  and  skill  in  a  good  cause,  became  the  success- 
ful champions  of  the  truth. 

I  cannot  speak  of  this  third  use  of  reason  in  matters  of 
religion,  without  recommending  to  you  an  excellent  book, 
in  which  you  will  find  the  advantage  that  Christianity  has 
derived  from  it  very  fully  illustrated.  I  mean  Disserta- 
tions on  the  genius  and  evidences  of  Christianity,  by  Dr. 
Gerard,  foi-merly  Professor  of  Divinity  in  King's  College, 
Aberdeen.  All  his  works  show  Dr.  Gerard  to  have  been 
an  acute  distinguishing  man.  The  observations  in  this 
book  are  very  ingenious,  and  although  there  is  in  some  of 
them  an  appearance  of  remoteness  and  research  that  is 
not  perfectly  agreeable,  yet  they  are  spread  out  at  such 
length,  and  placed  in  so  many  different  views,  as  to  satisfy 
every  reader  not  only  that  they  are  just,  but  that  they  add 
considerable  weight  to  the  collateral  presumptive  evidence 
of  Christianity.  The  first  part  of  the  book  is  intended  to 
show  that  the  manner  in  which  our  Lord  and  his  apostles 
proposed  the  evidences  of  Christianity  was  the  most  per- 


USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION.  311 

feet.  It  is  the  second  part  which  relates  more  directly  to 
our  present  subject.  Dr.  Gerard  entitled  the  second  part, 
Christianity  confirmed  by  the  opposition  of  Infidels.  He 
states  the  advantages  which  it  derived  from  the  opposition 
of  early  infidels,  and  then,  with  much  useful  reference  to 
the  present  state  of  theological  discussions,  the  advantages 
which  it  has  derived  from  opposition  in  modern  times,  and 
the  argument  thence  arising  for  its  truth.  The  whole  se- 
cond part  is  the  best  illustration,  that  I  can  point  out,  of 
the  use  of  reason  in  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  adversa- 
ries of  Christianity. 

But  while  many  of  the  champions  of  Christianity  have 
adorned  and  illustrated  that  truth  which  they  defended, 
you  will  find  that  others,  by  a  licentious  use  of  reason, 
have  mutilated  the  Christian  doctrine,  and  reduced  it  to 
little  more  than  a  system  of  morality.  And  therefore  it 
becomes  necessary  to  speak, 

4.  Of  the  fourth  use  of  reason  in  judging  of  the  truths 
of  religion.     The    principles   upon   this    subject   are    so 
simple  and   clear,  that  I  shall  be  able  to  state  them  in  a 
few  words  ;  and,  although  there  has  been  very  gross  abuse 
of  reason  in  judging  of  the  truths  of  religion,  it  will  not 
readily  occur  to  you,   how  any  person  who  understands 
the  principles   can  fail  essentially  in    the  application  of 
them.     Every  thing  which  is  revealed  by  God  comes  to 
his  creatures  from  so  high  an  authority,  that  it  may  be 
rested  in  with  perfect  assurance  as  true.     Nothing  can  be 
received  by  us  as  true  which  is  contrary  to  the  dictates  of 
I'eason,  because  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  perceive  at  the 
same  time  the  truth   and  the  falsehood   of  a  proposition. 
But  many  things  are  true  which  we  do  not  fully  com- 
prehend, and  many  propositions,  which  appear  incredible 
when  they  are  first  enunciated,  are  found,  upon  examina- 
tion, such  as  our  understanding  can  readily  admit.    These 
principles  appear  to  me  to  embrace  the  whole  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  they  mark  out  the  steps  by  which  reason  is  to 
proceed  in  judging  of  the  truths  of  religion.     We  first  ex- 
amine the  evidences  of  revelation.     If  these   satisfy  our 
understandings,  we  are  certain  that  there  can  be  no  con- 
tradiction between  the  doctrines  of  this  true  religion,  and 
the  dictates   of  right  reason.     If  any  such  contradiction 
appear,  there  must  be  some  mistake :  by  not  making  a 


312  USE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION. 

proper  use  of  our  reason  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Gospel, 
we  suppose  that  it  contains  doctrines  which  it  does  not 
teach  :  or,  we  give  the  name  of  right  reason  to  some  nar- 
row prejudices  which  deeper  reflection  and  more  enlarged 
knowledge  will  dissipate  ;  or,  we  consider  a  proposition  as 
implying  a  contradiction,   when,   in  truth,  it  is  only  im- 
perfectly understood.     Here,  as  in  every  other  case,  mis- 
takes are   to  be   corrected  by  measuring  back  our  steps. 
We  must  examine  closely  and  impartially  the  meaning  of 
those   passages  which  appear  to  contain  the  doctrine :  we 
must  compare  them  w  ith  one  another :  we  must  endea- 
vour to  derive  light  from  the  general  phraseology  of  Scrip- 
ture and  the  analogy  of  faith  ;  and  we  shall  generally  be 
able,  in  this  way,   to  separate  the  doctrine  from  all  those 
adventitious  circumstances  which  give  it  the  appearance 
of  absurdity.     If  a  doctrine,   which,  upon  the  closest  ex- 
amination, appears  unquestionably  to   be  taught  in  Scrip- 
ture, still  does  not  approve  itself  to  our  understanding,  we 
must  consider  carefully  what  it  is  that  prevents  us  from 
receiving  it.     There  may  be  preconceived  notions  hastily 
taken   up  which    that  doctrine  opposes ;    there   may    be 
pride  of  understanding  that  does  not  readily  submit  to  the 
views  which  it  communicates  ;  or  reason  may  need  to  be 
reminded,  that  we  must  expect  to  find  in  religion  many 
things  which  we  are  not  able  to  comprehend.     One  of  the 
most  important  offices  of  reason  is  to  recognise  her  own 
limits.     She  never  can  be  moved  by  any  authority  to  re- 
ceive as  true  what  she  perceives  to  be  absurd.     But  if  she 
has  formed  a  just  estimate  of  the  measure  of  human  know- 
ledge, she  will  not  shelter  her  presumption  in  rejecting  the 
truths  of  revelation   under  the  pretence  of  contradictions 
that  do  not  really  exist ;  she  will  readily  admit  that  there 
may  be  in  a  subject  some  points  which  she  knows,  and 
others  of  which  she  is  ignorant ;  she  will  not  allow  her 
ignorance  of  the  latter  to  shake  the  evidence  of  the  for- 
mer ;  but  will  yield  a  firm  assent  to  that  which  she  does 
understand,  A^ithout  presuming  to  deny  what  is  beyond 
her  comprehension.     And  thus  availing  herself  of  all  the 
light  which  she  now  has,  she  will  wait  in  humble  hope  for 
the  time  when  a  larger  measure  shall  be  imparted. 

The  importance,  and  indeed  the  meaning,  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  I  have  stated,  w^ould  be  best  understood  by 

5 


rSE  OF  REASON  IN  RELIGION.  313 

■examples.  But  were  I  to  attempt  to  exemplify  them,  I 
should  anticipate  the  subjects  upon  which  we  are  to  enter. 
These  principles  will  often  recur  in  the  progress  of  my 
Lectures  upon  the  particular  doctrines  of  Christianity ; 
and  therefore  I  shall  content  myself  with  having  stated 
them  in  this  general  manner  at  present. 

A  right  apprehension  of  this  fourth  use  of  reason  in 
matters  iof  religion  constitutes  the  defence  of  Christianity 
against  a  large  class  of  objections,  that  are  often  urged 
against  some  of  its   peculiar  doctrines.     You  will  find  it 
therefore  occasionally  stated  in  all  the  writers  who  treat  of 
these  doctrines,  and  if  there  is  a  proper  selection  of  your 
reading,  just  views  upon  this  important  subject  will  be- 
come familiar  to  your  minds  at  the  same  time  that  yovi  are 
studying  the  Scripture  system.     The  best  preparation  for 
these  views  is  sound  logic,   which,   in  teaching  the  right 
nse  of  reason,  ascertains  its  boundaries,  and  guards  against 
the  abuse  of  it.     You  bring  that  furniture  with  you  when 
you  enter  upon  the  study  of  divinity.     You  improve  it  du- 
ring  the    prosecution  of  that  study,   by  reading  Bacon, 
Locke,  and  Reid,   and  the  other  Avriters  who  treat  of  the 
intellectual  powers,  and  by  all  those  exercises,  which  ren- 
der your  own  intellectual  powers  more  sound  and  more 
acute,  which  increase  their  vigour,  while  they  check  their 
presumption.     I  would  recommend  to  you  particularly  to 
read  and  study  upon  this  subject,  Reid's  Essay  on  the  In- 
tellectual Powers,  and  five  chapters  of  the  4th  book  of 
Locke's  Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding,  which  treat 
of  assent,  reason,  faith  and  reason,  enthusiasm,  wrong  as- 
sent and  error.    They  contain  a  most  rational,  and  I  think, 
when  properly  understood,  a  just  view  of  reason  in  judg- 
ing of  the  truths  of  religion  ;  and  every  student  ouglit  to 
be  well  acquainted  with  them. 

Potter,  Proelectiones  Theologicoe,  vol-  iii. 
Randolph. 


VOL.  I. 


314  CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY 


CHAP.    VI. 


CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY  THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM. 

The  last  preliminary  observation  arising  out  of  the  general 
view  of  the  Scripture  system  respects  the  controversies,  to 
Avhich  that  system  has  given  occasion.  Even  those,  Avho 
agreed  as  to  the  divine  authority  of  tlie  Christian  religion, 
have  differed  very  widely  in  their  interpretation  of  its  doc- 
trines. These  differences  have  not  been  confined  to  trifling 
matters,  but  have  often  touched  upon  points  which  are 
said  to  concern  the  very  essence  of  the  religion,  and  they 
who  held  the  opposite  opinions  have  discovered  a  mutual 
contempt  and  bitterness,  very  inconsistent  with  the  spirit 
which  might  be  supposed  to  animate  the  disciples  of  the 
same  Master. 

When  we  endeavour  to  account  for  the  controversies  in 
religion,  we  must  begin  with  recollecting  that  there  is 
hardly  any  subject  of  speculation,  upon  which  those  by 
whom  it  has  been  thoroughly  canvassed  have  not  differed 
in  opinion.  The  degrees  of  understanding  and  the  oppor- 
tunities of  improvement  are  so  various,  and  there  is  such 
variety  in  the  circumstances  and  connexions  which  direct 
nien  to  their  first  opinions,  and  which  insensibly  warp 
their  judgment,  that  the  same  subject  is  seldom  viewed  by 
two  persons  exactly  in  the  same  light.  Minuter  shades  of 
difference  are  generally  overlooked  by  those  who  agree  in 
important  points.  But  there  are  Opinions  so  far  removed 
from  one  another,  that  no  explication  of  terms,  no  conces- 
sions which  either  side  can  make  in  consistency  Avith  their 
own  principle,  are  sufficient  to  reconcile  them.  Hence  the 
different  systems  which  have  been  framed,  and  zealously 
maintained  with  regard  to  several  branches  of  natural 
theology  and  pneumatics,  with  regard  to  the  principles  of 
morality,  with  regard  to  politics,  I  do  not  mean  the  poli- 
tics of  the  day,  but  the  general  science  of  politics,  and 
with  regard  to  various  questions  in  natural  philosophy. 


THE  SCRirXUKE  SYSTEM.  315 

Any  person  avIio  is  conversant  with  the  writings  of  the  an- 
cient and  modern  philosophers  knows  that  without  oj)po- 
i^ition  of  interest,  merely  from  a  difference  in  the  mode  of 
exercising  the  understanding  upon  subjects  which  ap})ear 
to  be  within  the  reach  of  the  human  powers,  controvei'sies 
have  been  agitated  ever  since  men  began  to  speculate,  and, 
after  receiving  the  fullest  discussion,  have  revived  in  a  new 
form  with  fresh  vigour. 

But,  notwithstanding  this  multiplicity  of  controversies, 
which  the  love  of  disputation  lias  produced  upon  all  other 
subjects,  it  may  occur  to  you,  that  the  authority,  with 
which  a  messenger  of  heaven  speaks,  should  put  an  end  to 
all  dispute  with  regard  to  the  subjects  of  his  mission, 
amongst  those  who  acknowledge  that  he  comes  from  God. 
You  consider  it  as  essential  to  a  divine  revelation,  that  all 
which  is  necessary  to  be  known  should  there  be  delivered 
in  ex])licit  terms,  and  you  think  it  impossible  that  any 
Christian  should  deny  those  jiropositions  which  are  clearly 
contained  in  Scripture.  A  little  attention,  however,  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  will  enable  you  to  reconcile  the 
existence  of  theological  controversy  with  these  principles. 

The  different  parts  of  my  discourse  upon  this  subject 
are,  from  their  nature,  so  blended  together,  that  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  keep  tliem  asunder  by  separate  heads.  But 
the  points  to  which  I  am  to  call  your  attention,  as  serving 
to  account  for  the  multiplicity  of  theological  controversies, 
are  these — the  manner  in  which  the  truths  of  the  Gospel 
are  to  be  learned, — the  nature  and  importance  of  these 
truths — the  sentiments  and  passions,  which,  from  the 
weakness  of  humanity,  frequently  operated  in  the  breasts 
of  persons  who  speculated  concerning  them — and  the  ge- 
nius of  that  philosophy  in  which  many  of  those  persons 
were  educated. 

The  truths  of  the  Gospel  must  be  deduced  from  an  in- 
terpretation of  the  words  of  Scripture  ;  and  this  interpre- 
tation admits  of  variety,  according  to  the  measure  in  a\  hich 
those  who  profess  to  interpret  are  acquainted  with  the  lan- 
guage, the  manners,  and  the  phraseology  of  the  writers, 
according  to  the  attention  which  they  bestow,  and  tiie  ho- 
nesty of  mind  with  which  they  receive  the  truth.  In  the 
plainest  language  that  can  be  used,  there  are  metaphorical 
expressions  which  some  may  stretch  too  far,  and  others 


316  COxVTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BV 

niaj'  consider  as  not  admitting  of  any  direct  application  to 
tlie  subject.  In  every  discourse  extending  to  a  consider- 
able length,  there  are  limitations  of  general  expressions, 
arising  out  of  the  occasion  upon  which  they  are  used,  that 
may  be  overlooked,  or  that  may  be  perverted ;  and  with 
legard  to  the  Gospel  in  particular,  there  are  pre-conceived 
opinions,  which,  by  bending  everj^  proposition  to  a  confor- 
}nity  "v^ith  themsehes,  may  lead  men  far  from  the  truth, 
without  their  being  conscious  of  showing  any  contempt  of 
the  authority  of  the  revelation.  These  causes  have  ope- 
rated even  with  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  precepts  of 
the  Gospel,  and  have  produced  that  casuistical  morality, 
which,  while  it  acknowledges  Scripture  as  the  standard  of 
practice,  has  abounded  in  controversies  concerning  the  ap- 
plication of  that  standard  to  particular  cases. 

But  the  controversies,  with  which  you  are  chiefly  con- 
cei^ned,  respect  not  so  much  the  practical  parts  of  our  re- 
ligion as  its  doctrines ;  and  you  will  not  be  surprised  at 
the  multiplicity  of  these,  Avhen  you  recollect  the  imperfect 
measure  in  which  the  Gospel  has  opened  to  the  human 
mind  new,  interesting,  and  profound  subjects  of  specula- 
tion. We  found  formerly,  that,  while  the  Gospel  brings 
the  most  convincing  evidence  of  the  great  facts  in  natural 
theology,  it  leaves  all  the  intricate  questions  which  have 
occurred  concerning  these  facts  just  where  they  were;  and 
that,  while  by  revealing  a  new  dispensation  of  Provi- 
dence it  necessarily  mentioned  the  existence  of  per- 
sons not  known  by  the  religion  of  nature,  their  relation  to 
ui,  and  the  conduct  of  that  scheme  in  which  they  are  en- 
gaged for  our  benefit,  it  has  communicated  only  such 
infoimation,  with  regard  to  this  new  set  of  facts  that 
are  to  be  received  upon  the  authority  of  revelation,  as 
is  of  real  importance,  leaving  many  points  in  dark- 
ness. Here  is  the  most  fruitful  subject  of  controversy  that 
can  be  conceived.  The  propositions  revealed  in  Scrip- 
ture are  so  few  and  simple,  tliat  it  is  hardly  possible  for 
those  who  rest  in  Scripture  to  disagree.  But  the  pride  of 
human  wisdom  does  not  readily  submit  to  be  confined 
within  bounds  so  narrow.  Those,  m  ho  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  speculate  upon  other  subjects,  continue  their 
speculations  upon  religion,  and,  forgetting  the  proper  pro- 
ivince  of  reason  -with  regard  to  trutlis  that  are  revealed, 


THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM!.  Sl'J 

uliich  is  to  receive  with  humility  what  does  not  appear 
upon  examination  to  be  absurd,  tliey  reject  as  unimport- 
ant every  thing  that  reason  did  not  investigate ;  or  they 
endeavour,  by  means  of  reason,  to  carry  tlieir  explanations 
and  discoveries  far  beyond  the  measure  of  light  contained 
in  the  Scripture ;  or  they  embarrass,  by  the  terms  and  dis- 
tmctions  of  human  science,  subjects  so  imperfectly  re- 
vealed as  not  to  admit  of  them."  It  cannot  be  expected 
that  there  should  be  uniformity  in  employments  such  as 
these,  which  do  not  proceed  upon  certain  principles,  and 
do  not  admit  of  being  reduced  to  any  fixed  rule.  When 
nien  of  different  modes  of  education,  and  different  habits 
of  thmking,  undervaluing  the  simplicity  of  the  facts  re- 
vealed in  Scripture,  and  desirous  to  be  wise  above  what 
IS  written,  carry  their  inquiries  into  the  manner  of  these 
facts,  they  set  out  from  different  points,  they  wander  with- 
out a  guide  in  a  boundless  field  of  conjecture,  and,  having 
assumed  their  premises  at  pleasure,  they  arrive  at  opposit'e 
conclusions. 

Even  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  "  the  form  of  sound 
words"  which  they  delivered  was  complicated,  and  dis- 
guised by  the  prejudices  of  those  who  embraced  it.  The 
Jewish  converts,  retaining  an  implicit  veneration  for  the 
teachers  of  the  law,  wished  to  incorporate  with  the  Chris- 
tian faith  all  the  fables  which  they  found  in  the  writings 
of  their  Rabbins  ;  and  many  of  the  heathen  converts  pro- 
ceeded to  canvass  the  subjects  of  revelation,  with  the  pre- 
sumptuous and  inquisitive  spirit  of  the  philosophy  which 
tiiey  had  learned.  Hence  you  read  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
ot  "  foolish  and  unlearned  questions  which  gendi^r  strife ;" 
of  teachers  "  who,  concerning  the  truth  had  erred,  and 
overthrew  the  faith  of  some  ;"  of  "  fables  and  endless 
genealogies ;"  and  of  "  oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so 
called.  \\e  learn  from  Peter  that  the  unlearnecrand 
unstable  wrested  some  things  in  Paul's  Epistles  that  are 
fiard  to  be  understood,  and  the  other  Scriptures  also,  to 
their  own  destruction  :  and  it  is  a  tradition  from  the  ear- 
liest Christian  writers,  that  John  wrote  both  his  first 
Epistle  and  his  Gospel  with  a  view  to  combat  a  heresy 
concerning  our  Lord's  person,  which  attachment  to  the 
oriental  philosophy  had  introduced  amongst  the  first  Chris- 
tians.    If  controversy  thus  found  a  place  in  the  church 


318  CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY 

even  under  the  eye  of  the  apostles,  and  was  not  effectually 
repressed  by  their  explanation  of  their  own  words,  and  by 
their  authority,  j'^ou  may  expect  that  it  would  multiply 
fast  after  their  departure,  when  the  only  standard  of  faith 
was  the  written  word,  and  no  person  was  entitled  to  impose 
his  interpretation  of  that  word  as  the  true  mind  of  the 
apostles.  The  same  presumptuous  curiosity,  which  had 
appeared  in  the  earliest  times,  continued  to  extend  to  all 
the  parts  of  Christian  doctrine.  Men  speculated  concern- 
ing the  manner  in  v/hich  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  exist  with 
the  Father.  Instead  of  jtulgiug  of  the  evidences  of  the 
divine  mission  of  Jesus,  they  proceeded  to  scan  the  reasons 
of  that  dispensation  which  they  were  required  to  believe. 
They  investigated  the  ])rinciples  upon  which  the  several 
parts  of  the  dispensation  combine  in  producing  the  end, 
and  they  pretended  to  ascertain  the  nature  and  the  man- 
ner of  their  operation.  They  spread  out  the  scanty  infor- 
mation which  Scripture  aiibrds  upon  all  these  subjects  into 
large  systems.  But  the  original  materials  being  very  few, 
and  the  rest  being  supplied  by  imagination  and  false  phi- 
losophy, the  s^'steras  differed  widely  from  one  another, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  find  any  method  of  reconciling 
the  difference. 

You  will  not  suppose  that  these  discussions  proceeded 
in  every  instance  purely  from  a  desire  of  attaining  the 
truth,  or  that  they  were  conducted  with  the  calm  disin- 
terested spirit  which  becomes  a  lover  of  knowledge.  Any 
person,  Avho  has  that  acquaintance  with  human  nature 
which  history  and  experience  afford,  will  not  be  surprised 
to  find  that  other  passions  often  mingled  their  infiuence 
with  the  pride  of  reason.  Jealousy  of  a  rival  produced 
opposition  to  his  opinions,  so  that  some  systems  of  theo- 
logy grew  out  of  a  private  quarrel.  The  vices  of  an  in- 
dividual needed  some  shelter,  and  he  tried  to  find  it  in  the 
zeal  and  ingenuity  with  which  he  brought  forward  specu- 
lations upon  some  of  the  points  that  were  then  universally 
interesting.  The  love  of  power  induced  some  to  stand 
forth  as  the  leaders  in  theological  conti'oversy,  whilst  meaner 
desires  dictated  to  others  the  station  which  they  Avere  to 
assume,  and  the  humble  offices  by  which  they  were  to 
maintain  the  combat.  Matters  of  order,  ceremonies  of 
worship,  and  all  those  usages  in  Christian  societies,  which 


THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.  319 

the  word  of  God  has  left  as  mattei's  of  indifference  to  be 
regulated  by  human  prudence,  were  laid  hold  of  by  artful 
men,  who  knew  that  they  were  of  no  essential  importance, 
and  placed  in  such  a  light  as  to  be  the  most  effectual  means 
of  inflaming  the  minds  of  the  multitude.  Some  of  the 
earliest  and  most  violent  controversies  respected  the  time 
of  celebrating  Easter ;  and  the  history  of  the  churcli 
abounds  with  others  equally  insignificant.  By  this  mix- 
ture of  more  ignoble  principles  with  the  presumptuous 
curiosity  that  pried  into  tliose  "  secret  things  which  belong 
to  the  Lord,"  theological  subjects  became  one  field  for 
exhibiting  the  angry  passions,  which  from  tlie  beginning 
of  the  world  have  disturbed  the  peace  of  society.  Had 
that  field  been  wanting,  men  Avould  have  found  other  pre- 
texts for  acting,  from  jealousy,  ambition,  and  avarice  ;  and 
many  of  the  controversies  of  the  Christian  Church  are,  in 
one  respect,  a  proof  of  that  depravity  of  human  nature, 
which,  notwitlistanding  the  remedy  brought  by  the  Gos- 
pel, continued  to  operate  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  pro- 
fessed to  receive  that  religion. 

The  number  and  intricacy  of  theological  controversies 
were  very  much  increased  by  the  philosophy  of  the  times. 
In  the  second  century  the  philosophy  of  Plato  was  held 
in  the  highest  admiration,  and  some  of  the  learned  Chris- 
tians, having  been  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  later 
Platonists,  retained  the  sentiments,  and  even  the  dress  of 
philosophers,  after  they  became  the  disciples  of  Christ. 
In  the  thii'd  century,  Origen,  who  by  the  extent  of  his 
erudition,  the  intenseness  of  his  application,  and  tlie  vigour 
of  his  genius,  was  qualified  to  lead  the  minds,  not  of  his 
contemporaries  only,  but  of  succeeding  ages,  was  a  pro- 
fessed Platonist.  In  his  theological  sy§tem  he  accommo- 
dates the  whole  scheme  of  Christian  doctrine  to  the  lead- 
ing principles  of  Platonism  ;  and  in  his  interpretation  of 
the  Scriptures  he  adopts  that  allegorical  and  mystical 
metliod  of  exposition,  to  which  the  luxuriant  fancy  and 
the  sublime  imagery  of  the  Athenian  philosopher  had 
given  occasion,  and  the  Platonic  father  was  thus  able  to 
bring  out  of  the  sim})licity  of  the  Scriptures  all  the  pro- 
found speculations  which  he  wished  to  find  there.  Origen 
is  generally  regarded  as  the  father  of  scholastic  theology, 
wJiich  derives  its  name  fi-om  applying  the  terms  and  dis- 


320  CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY 

tinctions  of  human  science  to  the  truths  of  revelation. 
Scholastic  theology  assumed  different  forms,  correspond- 
ing to  the  succession  of  particular  systems  of  philosophy. 
But  during  the  whole  period  of  its  existence  it  maintained 
this  general  character,  that  it  altered  and  corrupted  the 
divine  simplicity  of  the  Gosjiel,  and  that,  by  affecting  meta- 
])hysical  precision  upon  subjects  w  hich  the  Scriptures  have 
left  undefined,  it  was  productive  of  endless  controversies. 
The  progress  of  these  controversies,  which  rendex'ed  it 
necessary  for  the  opposite  parties  to  entrench  their  opin- 
ions behind  definitions,  divisions,  and  terms  of  art,  recom- 
mended to  theologians  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle.  The 
subtile  distinguishing  genius  of  Aristotle  had  invented  a 
language  peculiarly  fitted  to  convey  the  discriminating 
tenets  of  their  systems,  and  his  authority  had  introduced 
and  established  the  syllogistical  mode  of  reasoning,  a  mode 
of  no  avail  in  making  discovery,  but  of  singular  use  in  dis- 
putation, because  it  furnishes  a  kind  of  defensive  weapons, 
which,  by  keeping  an  opponent  at  a  distance,  may,  when 
skilfully  managed,  render  it  impossible  for  him  to  gain  a 
victory.  For  these  reasons,  as  well  as  for  others,  which 
it  is  not  my  province  to  explain,  the  Platonic  philosophy 
yielded  after  a  few  centuries  to  the  Peripatetic.  The 
authority  of  Aristotle  became  as  complete  in  the  schools 
of  theology  as  in  those  of  logic  or  metaphysics  ;  and  all 
theological  systems  abounded  so  much  with  the  barbarous 
jargon  then  in  use,  that  we  cannot  at  this  day  understand 
the  opinions  which  were  held  upon  intricate  points  of 
divinity  witliout  attempting  to  learn  it.  Upon  all  subjects 
this  language  served  to  conceal  ignorance  under  an  osten- 
tatious parade  of  words.  But  when  it  is  applied  to  those 
subjects  w  hich  the  wisdom  of  God  hath  seen  meet  to  reveal 
in  very  imperfect  measure,  the  number  of  clear  ideas  bears 
so  very  small  a  proportion  to  the  multitude  of  words,  that 
the  study  of  it  forms  a  very  unprofitable  waste  of  time  ; 
for  it  requires  much  labour  to  apprehend  the  meaning, 
and,  unless  your  mind  be  so  unhappily  constituted  as  to 
remember  \A'ords  better  than  things,  the  meaning  escapes 
almost  as  soon  <,s  it  is  attained. 

Since  the  era  of  the  Reformation  the  Aristotelian  phi- 
losophy has  been  gradually  sinking  in  the  public  esteem  ; 
and  the  human  mind,  having  broken  the  fetters  in  which 


THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.  321 

she  had  long  been  bound,  has  freely  canvassed  all  subjects 
connected  M'ith  religion.  While  the  ablest  writers  have, 
appeared  during  the  two  last  centuries  in  the  deistical  con- 
troversy, all  the  other  controversies  relating  both  to  the 
doctrine,  and  to  the  rites  or  discipline  of  the  Christian 
church,  have  called  forth  men  of  profound  erudition  and 
of  philosophical  minds.  The  same  causes  which  we  for- 
merly mentioned  have  produced  in  modern  times  a  dif- 
ference of  ojiinion,  both  with  regard  to  those  intricate 
questions  in  natural  theology  which  the  Gospel  has  not 
solved,  and  with  regard  to  those  new  points,  concerning 
which  the  information  given  in  Scripture  is  by  no  means 
satisfying  to  the  curiosity  of  man.  A  more  rational  cri- 
ticism, than  that  used  in  ancient  times,  has  been  applied 
to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  A  more  enlighteneii 
philosophy,  a  sounder  logic,  and  a  language  less  techn  - 
cal,  but  not  deficient  in  precision,  have  been  employed  iu 
supporting  the  different  theological  opinions  which  former 
habits  of  thinking,  or  the  interpretation  of  Scripture,  has 
led  men  to  adopt.  The  most  controverted  points  have 
been  the  subject  of  public  national  disputes,  as  well  as  of 
private  incjuiry.  Churches  are  discriminated  from  one 
another  by  the  system  upon  those  points  which  enters  in- 
to their  creed ;  and  individual  members  of  every  church, 
with  that  boldness  of  inquiry  of  which  the  Reformation 
set  the  example,  have  carried  their  researches  into  many 
points  which  most  creeds  had  left  undefined.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  thorough  examination  of  the  Sci'ipture  sys- 
tem has  been,  not  that  all  the  parts  of  it  are  understood, 
but  that  the  measure  in  which  they  can  be  understood  is 
known;  every  unnecessary  degree  of  obscurity  which  had 
been  attached  to  them  is  removed,  and  the  limits  of  rea- 
son in  judging  of  religion,  together  with  the  proper  nu- 
thod  of  its  being  applied  to  that  subject,  are  ascertained. 
The  opponents  in  these  controversies  have  corrected  th«^ 
errors  of  one  another.  The  appeals  which  have  been  con- 
stantly made  to  Scripture,  the  diligence  with  which  all 
the  passages  relating  to  every  subject  have  been  collect- 
ed, and  the  ingenuity  with  which  they  have  been  applied 
in  support  of  different  systems,  enable  an  impartial  in- 
quirer to  attain  the  true  meaning  :  and  a  student  of  divi- 
nity must  be  very  much  wanting  to   himself,  if",  after  all 


322  CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY 

the  labours  of  those  who  have  gone  before  him,  lie  does 
not  acquire  a  distinct  notion  of  the  various  opinions  that 
have  been  entertained  concerning  the  several  paits  of  the 
Scripture  system,  and  an  apprehension  of  the  train  of  ar- 
gument by  Avhich  every  one  of  them  is  supported. 

A  review  of  the  controversies  forms  a  principal  part  of 
a  course  of  theological  lectures.  We  do  not  bring  for- 
ward to  the  people  all  the  variety  of  opinions  which  have 
been  held  by  presumptuous  inquirers,  or  superficial  rea- 
soners.  To  men  who  have  not  leisure  to  speculate  upon 
religion,  and  who  require  the  united  force  of  all  its  doc- 
trines to  promote  those  practical  purposes,  which  are  of 
more  essential  importance  tlian  any  other,  it  is  much  bet- 
ter to  present  "  the  form  of  sound  words,"  as  it  was  "  once 
delivered  to  the  saints,"  unembarrassed  by  human  dis- 
tinctions and  oppositions  of  science,  and  to  imprint  upon 
their  minds  the  consolation  and  "  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness," which,  when  thus  stated,  it  is  well  fitted  to  admi- 
nister. This  is  the  business  of  preaching.  But  this  is  not 
the  only  business  of  students  of  divinity.  You  are  not 
masters  of  your  profession,  you  are  not  qualified  to  defend 
tiie  truth  against  the  multiplicity  of  error,  and  your  con- 
ceptions of  the  system  of  theology  have  not  that  enlarge- 
ment and  accuracy  which  they  might  have,  unless  you 
study  the  controverted  points  of  divinity.  It  is  true  that 
there  have  been  many  disputes  merely  verbal ;  that  there 
have  been  others  that  cannot  be  called  verbal,  the  matter 
of  which  is  wholly  unimportant ;  and  that  perhaps  all 
have  been  conducted  with  a  degree  of  acrimony  which 
the  principles  of  Christian  t(.)leration,  when  thoroughly 
understood,  will  enable  you  to  avoid.  These  general  re- 
marks will  find  their  proper  place  after  reviewing  the  par- 
ticular controversies.  But  in  that  review  you  Avill  meet 
Avitli  many  which  turn  upon  points  so  essential  to  the 
Christian  faith,  where  the  arguments  upon  both  sides  ap- 
])ear  to  have  so  much  force,  and  have  been  urged  in  a 
manner  so  able,  and  so  well  fitted  to  enlighten  the  mind, 
that  you  will  think  it  childish  to  affect  to  despise  theolo- 
gical controversies  in  general,  because  there  has  been  some 
impropriet}'  in  the  manner  of  their  being  conducted,  or 
because  some  of  them  are  insignificant. 

The  time  was  when  the  decision  of  all  theological  con- 


THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.  323 

troversies   turned    upon  a  kind  of  traditional  authority. 
The  writers   in  the  first  four  centuries   of  the  Christian 
church  were  supposed  to  be  much  better  acquainted  with 
the  mind  of  the  apostles,  and  to  have  been  in  a  more  fa- 
vourable situation  for  knowing  the  truth  upon  all  difficult 
(}uestions,  than  those  who  apply  to  the  study  of  theology 
in  later  times.     They  were  dignified  with  the  name  of  tlie 
fathers.     Their  opinions  were  resorted  to  with  a  kind  of 
reverence,  which  is  not  due  to  any  human  compositions. 
They  were  considered  as  the  only  sure  interpreters  of 
Scripture ;  and  such  confidence  was  reposed  in    their  in- 
teri^retation,  that  their  works  were  sometimes  placed  very 
nearly  upon  a  level  with  the  inspired  writings.  The  charm 
of  human  authority  was  dispelled  by  the  Reformation.    An 
accurate  enlightened   criticism  lias  appreciated  the  merit 
of  the  Christian  fathers.     We   allow  them  all  the  credit, 
which  is  due  to  honest  men  attesting  facts  that  came  with- 
in their  own  knowledge.     We  venerate  their  antiquity ; 
we  prize  that  knowledge  of  the  early  rites  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  of  the  tradition  of  doctrine  from  the  davs  of 
the  apostles,  which  can  be  derived  only  from  them.    Above 
all,   we  consider  their  writings  as  an  inestimable  treasure 
upon  this  account,   that  by  their  mention  of  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  by  the  quotations  from  Scripture 
with  which  they  abound,  they  are  to  us  the  vouchers   of 
the  authenticity  of  the  sacred  books,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  canon  of  Scripture  Avas  completed.     But  our 
sense  of  their  merit,  and  of  their  importance  to  the  Chris- 
tian faith  in  the  character  of  historians,  does  not  induce 
us  to  submit  to  them  as  teachers.     Without  any  invidious 
detraction,  with  every  indulgence  which  the  manners  of 
the  times  and  the  imperfection  of  other  early  writers  de- 
mand for  the  Christian  fathers,  Protestants  adhere  to  their 
leading  principle,  which  is  this,  to  consider  the  Scriptures 
as  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith.     They  have  learned  to 
call  no  man  their  master,  because   one   is  their  Master, 
even  Christ :  and  in  interpreting  the  words  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  they  consider  themselves  as  no  less  entitled 
to  judge  for  themselves,  and  as,   in  some  respects,   no  less 
qualified  to  form  a  sound  judgment,  than  those  who,  living 
in   earlier  times,   had  prejudices  and  disadvantages  from 
which  we  may  be  exempt.     I  cannot  express  this  principle 


324  CONTROVERSIES  OCCASIONED  BY 

better  than  in  the  words  of  our  Confession  of  Faith  : — 
"  The  Supreme  Judge,  by  which  all  controversies  of  reli- 
gion are  to  be  determined,  and  all  decrees  of  councils,  opi- 
nions of  ancient  writers,  doctrines  of  men,  and  private 
spirits,  are  to  be  examined,  and  in  whose  sentence  we  are 
to  rest,  can  be  no  other  but  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  in 
the  Scripture." 

This  is  the  principle  to  be  followed  in  that  review  of  the 
great  controversies  of  religion,  which  forms  a  prominent 
subject  of  my  lectures.  I  may  often  give  you,  from  an- 
cient writers,  the  history  of  opinions,  and  may  occasional- 
ly combat  those  misrepresentations  of  that  history  which 
are  found  in  modern  authors,  eager  to  call  in  every  aid  to 
support  their  particular  systems.  But  I  shall  quote  the 
Christian  fathers  as  historians,  not  as  authorities.  I  know 
no  authority  upon  which  you  ought  to  rest  in  judging  of 
the  truth  of  any  doctrine  but  the  Scriptures,  and  therefore 
I  consider  sacred  criticism  as  the  most  important  branch 
of  the  study  of  theology.  We  are  to  avail  ourselves  of  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  language  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, i.  e.  with  the  meaning  of  single  words,  with  the 
usual  acceptation  of  phrases,  and  with  the  real  amount  of 
figurative  expression.  We  are  to  study  the  general  cus- 
toms of  the  people  amongst  whom  that  language  was  used, 
and  the  habits  of  thinking  which  might  dictate  a  particular 
phraseology  to  some  writers.  We  are  to  investigate  the 
mind  of  an  author,  by  comparing  his  language  in  one 
place  with  that  which  occurs  in  another,  and  we  are  to 
endeavour  to  attain  a  full  and  precise  conception  of  the 
whole  doctrine  of  Scripture  upon  every  point,  by  laying 
together  those  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  it  is  stated 
imder  different  views. 

It  is  by  this  patient  exercise  of  reason  and  criticism  that 
a  student  of  divinity  is  emancipated  from  all  subjection  to 
the  opinions  of  men,  and  led  most  certainly  into  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  the  great  object  of  my  lec- 
tures to  assist  you  in  this  exercise,  and  I  may  hope,  after 
having  bestowed  much  pains  in  going  before  you,  to  be 
of  some  use  in  abridging  yoir  labour,  by  pointing  out  the 
shortest  and  most  successfil  method  of  arriving  at  the 
conclusion.  I  shall  not  decline  giving  my  opinion  upon 
the  passages  which  I  quote,  and  the  comparison  of  Scrip- 


THE  SCRIPTURE  SYSTEM.  325 

ture  wliich  I  shall  often  make.  But  I  do  not  desire  j'ou 
to  pay  more  regard  to  my  opinions  than  to  those  of  any 
other  writer,  unless  in  so  far  as  they  ajjpear  to  you  upon 
examination  to  be  ■well  founded.  You  will  derive  more 
benefit  from  canvassing  what  I  say  than  from  imbibing  all 
that  I  can  teach ;  and  the  most  useful  lessons  which  you 
can  learn  from  me  are  a  habit  of  attention,  a  love  of  truth, 
and  a  spirit  of  inquiry. 


/ 


326 


CHAP.  VII. 

ARKANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE. 

Our  Shorter  Catechism,  and  our  Confession  of  Faith,  are 
formed  upon  the  course  in  v.hich  systems  of  divinity  com- 
monly proceed,  and  both  of  them  are  clear  and  vvell  di- 
gested.    You  will  find  another  excellent  abridgment   of 
the   ordinary   course   in  Marckii   Medulla    Theologice,   a 
duodecimo  of  300  pages,  which  used  to  be  the  text  book 
in  St.  Mary's  College,  and  which,  in  ray  opinion,  ought  to 
be  read  by  every  student  of  divinity,  not  early,  but  be- 
fore he  finishes  his  studies.    You  will  see  in  this  little  book 
all  the  controversies  that  have  been   agitated.     But  you 
will  see  them  in  the  order  of  the  system,  and  the  order  is 
this.     After  a  general  account  of  the  nature  of  theology, 
and  of  the  Scriptures  as  the  principle  of  theologj^,  the  fol- 
lowing subjects  succeed  one  another.     God   and  the  Tri- 
nity— the  decrees  of  God — the  execution  of  these  decrees 
in  the  works  of  Creation — a  view  of  the  visible  and  invisi- 
ble world — the   Providence  and  government  which   God 
exercises  over  his  works — man — the  state  of  innocence — 
the  fall — the  consequences  of  sin — the  covenant  of  grace — 
the  person,  offices,  and  state  of  the  Mediator  of  the  cove- 
nant— the  benefits  of  the  covenant — the  duties  of  those 
who  partake  of  the  benefits — the  sacraments — the  Church 
— the  final  condition  of  mankind. 

Upon  all  these  subjects,  the  orthodox  doctrine  is  stated, 
and  the  objections  that  have  been  made  to  the  several 
parts  of  the  doctrine  are  answered,  so  that  every  chapter 
contains  an  account  of  the  several  opinions,  that  have  been 
held  upon  all  the  points  that  occur  in  the  chapter.  I  was 
afraid  to  entangle  myself  in  this  course,  partly  from  an  ap- 
prehension, proceeding  both  upon  the  number  of  subjects 
which  it  endjraces,  and  upon  the  experience  of  other  pro- 
fessors of  divinity  who  have  engaged  in  it,  that  it  was 
likely  to  stretch  out  to  such  a  length,  as  to  leave  me  no 
hope  of  finishing  my  lectures   during  the  longest  term   of 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE.  327 

attendance  which  the  law  prescribes  to  students ;    and 
partly  from  an  opinion  that  the  arrangement  adopted  in 
the  ordinary  course  is  not  the  most  perfect.     You  m  ill  not 
think  this   opinion  ill  founded,  when  you   come  to  read 
Marckii  Medulla ;  for  there,  and  I  believe  in  eveiy  other 
of  the  common  systems,  there  is  so  close  an  alliance  be- 
tween the  subjects  treated  under  the  different  heads,  that 
the  same  principles  are  frequently  resorted  to   in  order  to 
illustrate  the   orthodox  doctrine  ;  objections,  the  same  in 
substance  with  those  that  had  been  answered  in   a  former 
chapter,  recur  under  a  different  form,  and  the  same   an- 
swers are  repeated  with  only  a  little  variation  in  the  man- 
ner of  applying  them.     I  am  very  far  from  condemning 
this  arrangement    as  in    all   respects  improper.      It  was 
adopted  by  very  able  men  ;   it  is  most  useful  for  giving 
a  thorough  acquaintance  with  all  the  parts  of  the  Scrip- 
ture system  ;  and  there  is  one  book  in  which   it  appears 
to  such  advantage,  that  what  I   account  its  imperfection 
is    almost   forgotten,   I   mean    Calvin's    Institutes  of   the 
Christian  religion ;  a  book   written  in  Latin,  tliat  is  not 
only  perpicuous,  but  elegant,  and  giving  a  most  masterly 
comprehensive  view  of  the  great  points  of  theology.     It 
consists  of  four  books.     The  first  is  entitled,  De  Cogni- 
tione   Dei  Creatoris.      The  second,  De  Cognitione   Dei 
Redemptoris.     The  third,   De  Modo  Percipiendae  Chris- 
ti  gratiae,  et  qui  fructus  inde  nobis  proveniant,  et  qui   ef- 
fectus    consequantur.      The  fourth,  De  Externis   Mediis 
ad  Salutem.     It  requires  much  time  to  read  this  book 
carefully  ;  but  when  a  student  has  leisure  to  make  it  his 
business,    he    will    find    his    labour    abundantly    recom- 
pensed ;  and  I  do  not  know  a  more  useful  book  for  a  cler- 
gyman in  the  country.     It  may  be  purchased  for  a  trifle, 
and  it  is  the  best  body  of  divinity.    But  excellent  and  pro- 
fitable as  this  book  is,  the  imperfection  which  I  mentioned 
adheres  to  the  plan  upon  which  it  is  composed  ;  and  al- 
though the  order  of  Calvin's  Institutes  appears  to  me  sim- 
pler and  more  natural  than  that  of  any  other  sj'stem  which 
I  have  read,  yet  I  think  that,  if  I  were  to  attempt  to  follow 
it,  I  should  be  reminded  by  frequent  repetitions,  that  a 
more  perfect  arrangement  might  have  rendered  the  course 
shorter  and  less  fatiguing. 

This  impression  led  me  to  attend  to  another  arrange- 

3 


328  ARRAXGEMEXT  OF  THE  COURSE. 

ment  of  the  controversies,  which  has  beea  executed  with 
much  ability  by  some  theok)gical  ^n■iters.  Every  contro- 
versy is  stated  by  itself;  t.  e,  all  the  distinguishing  opi- 
nions of  those,  who  derive  a  particular  name  from  the  pe- 
culiarity- of  their  tenets,  are  brought  into  one  view,  and 
are  referred  to  one  general  principle,  so  that  you  see  the 
system  of  their  creed,  and  can  mark  the  connexion  be- 
tween the  several  parts.  To  give  an  example :  Socinianism 
is  the  system  of  those  who  hold  the  opinions  of  Sociuus.  The 
principle  of  Socinianism  is,  that  man  may  be  saved  by  that 
religion,  which  is  founded  upon  the  relation  between  God  the 
Creator,  and  man  his  creature.  From  this  principle  flow 
their  opinions  with  regard  to  the  intention  of  Christ's  death 
as  a  witness  to  the  truth,  and  an  example  to  his  follow- 
ers, but  not  as  an  atonement  for  sin  ;  their  exclusion  of 
mysteries  from  religion  ;  and  all  the  tenets  by  which  they 
transform  the  Christian  religion  into  the  most  perfect  sys- 
tem of  morality.  The  principle  of  Pelagianism,  or  of  those 
who  hold  the  opinions  of  Pelagius.  is  this,  that  the  natural 
powers  of  man  since  the  fall  are  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
keep  the  law  of  God.  From  this  principle  flow  the  opi- 
nions of  the  Pelagians  concerning  original  sin,  the  decrees 
of  God.  the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  measure  of 
perfection  which  may  be  attained  upon  earth. 

This  methed  of  arranging  the  controversies  is  manifest- 
ly much  more  scientific  than  the  former.  In  every  set  of 
opinions  which  deserves  the  name  of  a  system,  there  are 
some  leading  principles  which  connect  the  several  parts. 
It  is  an  agreeable  exercise  of  the  understanding  to  trace 
these  principles,  and  to  mark  that  kind  of  unity  and  sub- 
ordination which  arises  from  their  influence.  It  is  an  act 
of  justice  in  those  who  examine  the  opinions  of  others,  to 
take  into  -s-iew  that  mutual  dependence  which  renders  them 
a  consistent  whole :  and  it  is  an  endless  unavailing  task  toat- 
tempt  to  defend  the  truth  against  a  multitude  of  detached 
errors,  unless  your  reasoning  reach  the  sources  from  which 
these  errors  proceed.  I  recommend  it,  therefore,  to  those 
students  who,  in  the  course  of  their  reading,  have  attained 
an  intimate  acquaintance  both  with  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity and  wirh  the  particular  doctrines  of  our  faith,  to 
study  the  most  important  controversies  in  this  scientific 
manner.     You  will  derive  much  assistance  in  this  branch 


ARRA>'GEME>'T  OF  THE  COURSE.        329 

ot  your  researches  from  Mosheim's  Church  History,  which 
is  an  invahiable  treasure  of  theological  knowledge.  This 
ino&t  learned  and  ingenious  author,  who,  when  read  along 
with  the  able  and  judicious  notes  of  his  translator  Mac- 
laiue,  is  in  almost  everj'  instance  a  safe  guide,  has  given,  in 
one  division  of  his  work,  a  summary  of  all  the  heresies  or 
particular  opinions  that  were  held  in  the  different  ages  of 
the  Church.  He  has  traced  their  rise  and  their  progress, 
and  has  discriminated,  with  critical  acumen,  those  which 
appear  to  an  oi'dinary  eye  almost  the  same.  As  his  work, 
from  its  nature,  makes  mention  of  all  the  controversies, 
both  those  which  are  important  and  those  which  are  trifling, 
you  cannot  expect  that  even  the  opinions,  upon  which  he 
has  judged  it  proper  to  bestow  the  most  particular  atten- 
tion, will  be  fully  elucidated  in  a  book  which  comprehends 
such  an  extent  of  time,  and  such  a  variety  of  matter.  You 
will  supply  this  unavoidable  defect  by  the  books  which 
Mosheim  quotes  in  his  notes,  or  which  I  recommend  :  and 
from  the  general  index  which  he  furnishes,  and  the  treatises 
which  professedly  explain  the  particular  subjects,  you  will 
be  able  to  form  a  distinct  connected  view  of  every  one  of 
the  five  controversies  which  are  universallj'  interesting,  and 
which  are  commonlj'  known  by  the  names  of  Ariaiiism, 
Pelagianism,  Socinianism,  Arminianism,  and  the  Popish 
controversy'.  There  are  man}'  other  controversies  that 
turn  upon  very  important  points.  But  they  have  not  been 
so  perfectly  digested  into  the  form  of  a  system  as  the  five 
now  mentioned,  nor  have  they  been  defended  with  such 
ability  as  to  occupy  a  great  part  of  the  attention  of  a  student. 
Although  I  thus  earnestly  recommend  attention  to  the 
scientifical  arrangement  of  the  controversies,  I  have  been 
restrained  from  adopting  it  as  the  plan  of  my  course  by 
the  following  reasons.  Some  of  the  five  great  controver- 
sies resemble  one  another  in  several  points.  Thus  Pela- 
gianism and  Arminianism  both  turn  upon  the  natural  pow- 
ers which  man  has,  since  the  fall,  to  obey  the  will  of  God. 
Socinianism  agrees  with  Pelagianism  upon  this  point,  and 
it  agrees  with  Arianism  in  denj'ing  that  Jesus  is  truly  God, 
while  it  differs  from  Arianismin  the  account  which  it  gives 
of  his  person.  You  may  judge  from  this  specimen,  that 
although  the  scientifical  method,  which  I  mentioned,  is  un- 
ijuestionably  the  best  for  making  you  acquainted  with  any 


330 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE. 


particular  system  of  opinions,  yet  to  us,  who  mean  to  re- 
view all  the  most  important  controverted  points,  it  would 
necessarily  be  attended  with  much  repetition.  We  should 
often  meet,  under  different  names,  with  the  same  objec- 
tions, and  the  same  heretical  opinions,  and  we  should  be 
obliged  to  bring  forward  the  same  arguments  and  the  same 
passages  of  Scripture  in  answer  to  them.  Further,  our  ob- 
ject is  not  so  much  to  know  who  held  the  particular  opini- 
ons, and  what  was  the  age  in  wliich  they  lived ;  but  what 
were  the  various  opinions  upon  the  great  subjects  of  theo- 
logy, and  what  were  the  grounds  upon  wliich  they  rested. 
We  may  attain  this  object,  although  we  confound  the 
shades  of  difference  between  systems  that  nearly  approach, 
and  therefore  to  us  it  were  a  needless  waste  of  research 
and  of  time  to  discriminate  them  nicely.  Further  still,  as 
every  one  of  the  five  great  controversies  embraces  particu- 
lar opinions  upon  many  different  points,  the  arranging  the 
five  separately  breaks  the  subjects  of  theology  into  parts, 
and  does  not  afford  a  full  united  view  of  any  one  subject. 
You  will  understand  what  I  mean  from  an  example.  Be- 
sid.es  the  opinions  of  the  early  ages  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ,  one  opinion  was  held  in  the  third  century  by 
Arius,  another  at  a  much  later  period  by  Socinus,  and  a 
third  has  been  the  general  doctrine  of  the  Christian  churcli. 
Any  one  who  wishes  to  make  himself  master  of  this  inter- 
esting subject  will  desire  to  see  the  different  opinions 
brought  together,  that  he  may  compare  their  probability, 
that  he  may  judge  of  the  suppoi't  which  every  one  of  tliem 
receives  from  particular  passages  of  Scripture,  or  from  the 
analogy  of  faith,  and  may  thus  attain  a  conclusion  whicJi 
he  can  defend  by  good  reasons.  Had  you  a  book  conti- 
nually by  you,  in  which  all  the  controversies  were  arranged 
singly,  you  might  make  a  collation  of  the  different  opinions 
upon  the  same  subject,  by  reading  first  a  part  of  Arianism, 
then  the  corresponding  part  of  Socinianism,  and  next  the 
corresponding  part  of  that  system  which  is  called  Ortho- 
dox, in  the  same  manner  as  you  get  a  full  view  of  a  siege 
in  the  Peloponnesian  war,  by  passing  directly  from  the  por- 
tion of  the  siege  which  is  written  in  one  book  of  the  his- 
tory of  Thucydides,  to  the  portion  of  the  same  siege  which 
is  writen  in  another  book.  But  you  could  not  make  this 
collation  in  hearing  a  course  of  lectures,  unless  I  repeated 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE.  331 

under  one  controversy  as  much  of  what  I  had  said  under 
the  corresponding  part  of  another,  as  to  bring  it  to  your 
mind  ;  and  this  repetition  would  be  a  proof  that  the  ar- 
rangement, however  favourable  to  your  understanding  any 
one  system  ofopinions,  is  unfavourable  to  your  understand- 
ing the  whole  controverted  subject. 

Once  more,  there  is  in  the  different  opinions  upon  the 
same  subject  a  progress  that  may  be  traced,  by  which  you 
see  how  one  paved  the  way  for  the  other ;  and  the  succeed- 
ing opinion  is  often  illustrated  by  the  pi'eparation  which 
had  been  made  for  its  reception.  This  advantage  is  lost, 
when  you  throw  together  the  different  subjects  that  were 
agitated  in  one  system  of  opinions.  You  see,  in  this  way, 
the  chain  which  binds  together  all  the  jiarts  of  Pelagian- 
ism,  Arminianism,  or  Socinianism.  But  in  passing  along 
the  chain,  you  miss  the  thread  which  conducts  you  from 
the  opinions  on  a  particular  subject  found  under  one  sys- 
tem, to  the  opinions  on  the  same  subject  found  under  an- 
other. 

For  these  reasons,  I  resolved  neither  to  follow  the  path 
of  the  ordinarjr  systems  of  theology,  nor  to  adopt  the  more 
scientific  mode  of  classing  the  opinions  that  distinguish 
difierent  sects  of  Christians.    The  plan  of  my  course  is  this  : 

Out  of  the  mass  of  matter  that  is  found  in  the  system,  I 
select  the  great  subjects  which  have  agitated  and  divided 
the  minds  of  those  who  profess  to  build  their  faith  upon 
the  same  Scriptures.  1  consider  every  one  of  these  sub- 
jects separately  ;  1  present  the  whole  train  and  progress  of 
opinions  that  have  been  held  concerning  it ;  and  I  state 
the  grounds  upon  which  they  rest,  passing  slightly  over 
those  opinions  which  are  now  forgotten,  or  whose  extrava- 
gance prevents  any  danger  of  their  being  i*evived,  and 
dwelling  upon  those  whose  plausibility  gave  them  at  any 
time  a  general  possession  of  the  minds  of  men,  or  which 
still  retain  their  influence  and  credit  amongst  some  deno- 
minations of  Christians. 

In  selecting  the  great  subjects  to  be  thus  brought  for- 
ward, I  was  guided  by  that  general  view  of  the  Gospel 
which  was  formcrh'^  illustrated.  We  found  its  distinguish- 
ing character  to  be  the  religion  of  sinners, — a  remedy  for 
the  present  state  of  moral  evil,  provided  by  the  love  of 
God  the  Father,  brought  into  the  world  by  Jesus  Christ, 


332  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE. 

and  applied  by  the  influences  of  the  Spirit.  All  the  contro- 
versies which  are  scattered  through  the  ordinary  systems, 
and  which  have  been  classed  under  the  different  heads, 
Arianism,  Pelagianism,  Arininianism,  and  Socinianism, 
respect  either  the  Persons  by  wliom  the  remedy  is  brought 
and  applied,  or  the  remedy  itself.  The  different  opinions 
respecting  the  Persons  comprehend  the  whole  of  the  Arian, 
a  part  of  the  Socinian,  and  all  that  is  commonly  called  the 
Trinitarian  controversy,  upon  which  so  much  has  been 
written  since  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  The  dif- 
ferent opinions  coucerning  the  remedy  itself  respect  either 
the  nature  of  the  remedy,  the  extent  of  the  remedy,  or  the 
application  of  it ;  and  they  comprehend  the  whole  system 
of  Pelagian  and  Arminian  principles,  a  part  of  the  Socini- 
an, and  many  of  the  doctrines  ot  Popery.  Opinions  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  remedy  depend  upon  the  apprehensions 
entertained  of  the  nature  of  the  disease;  so  that  all  the 
questions  concerning  original  sin,  the  demerit  of  sin,  and 
the  manner  in  which  guilt  can  be  expiated,  fall  under  this 
head.  Opinions  as  to  the  extent  of  the  remedy  embrace 
the  questions  concerning  universal  and  particular  redemp- 
tion, and  concerning  the  decrees  of  (lod.  Opinions  as  to 
the  application  of  the  remedy  turn  upon  the  necessity  of 
divine  assistance,  the  manner  in  which  it  is  bestov.ed 
and  received,  and  the  effects  which  it  produces  upon  the 
mind  and  the  conduct  of  those  to  whom  it  is  given. 

It  appears  to  me,  therefore,  that  by  this  distribution  we 
do  not  omit  any  of  the  great  controversies,  with  which 
students  of  divinity  ought  to  be  acquainted  ;  at  the  same 
time,  by  tracing  with  undistracted  attention  the  progress 
of  opinions  upon  every  subject,  by  viewing  their  points  of 
opposition,  and  examining  their  respective  merits,  we  con- 
sider one  subject  closely  upon  all  sides  before  we  proceed 
to  another,  and  are  thus  saved  the  necessity  of  returning 
at  any  future  period  upon  the  ground  which  we  had 
formerly  trodden.  Much  light  will  probably  be  struck 
from  this  collision  of  different  opinions.  You  have  expe- 
rience that  you  are  never  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
a  subject,  as  when  you  have  heard  the  discussion  of  the 
several  questions  to  which  it  gives  rise,  either  in  conver- 
69.tion,  or  in  more  formal  debate  ;  and  therefore  j'ou  have 
reason  to  expect  that  your  knowledge  of  theology  will  be 


ARBANGEMEXT  OF  THE  COURSE.  333 

i*endered  much  more  accurate  and  profound,  by  canvas- 
sing the  difl'erent  opinions  hehl  in  a  succession  of  ages  by 
very  able  men,  and  defended  by  them  Avith  a  zeal  that 
cannot  be  supposed  to  have  omitted  any  argument,  be- 
cause it  was  dictated  not  only  by  the  love  of  truth,  but  in 
many  instances  by  the  desire  of  victory. 

After  I  have  derived  all  the  benefit  which  the  labours 
of  these  men  can  afford,  in  opening  to  you  those  doctrines 
of  Christianity  which  are  the  great  subject  of  your  studies, 
I  next  consider  the  cliurch  of  Christ  as  a  society  founded 
by  its  Author.  This  branch  of  our  course  entered  into 
the  general  x'lew  of  the  Scripture  system  ;  and  it  demands 
your  particular  attention,  not  only  from  the  mention  made 
of  it  in  Scripture,  but  also  from  the  many  violent  contro- 
versies to  which  it  has  given  birth.  The  notion  of  a  so- 
ciety implies  the  use  of  certain  external  observances,  which 
are  necessarj-  to  distinguish  it  from  other  societies,  and  to 
maintain  order  amongst  the  members.  It  is  natui-al,  there- 
fore, in  speaking  of  the  Christian  society,  to  give  a  history 
of  chuiTh  government,  or  an  account  of  the  various  prac- 
tices and  cpiestions  which  have  occurred  upon  this  head ; 
and  in  this  account  I  am  led  to  investigate  the  grounds  of 
that  claim  advanced  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  as  the  Head 
of  the  church,  and  the  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth.  There 
are  many  of  the  doctrines  of  the  church  of  Kome,  which 
fall  under  some  of  the  eontrovei'sies  that  Ave  propose  to  re- 
view. But  these  doctrines  were  only  called  in  as  auxili- 
aries of  the  hierarchy,  to  lend  their  aid  in  supporting  that 
system  of  spiritual  power,  of  which  the  claim  made  by  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  was  the  principal  pillar  ;  so  that  by  much 
the  greater  part  of  the  Popish  contix)versy  belongs  to  the 
head  of  church  government. 

It  is  impossible,  in  this  country,  to  consider  Church  go- 
vernment without  bestowing  attention  upon  the  claims  of 
Episcopacy  and  Presbytery.  After  examining  the  suj)- 
poi't  which  they  derive  from  the  word  of  God,  and  from 
the  practice  of  antiquity,  the  transition  is  natural  to  the 
constitution  of  that  Church,  of  which  you  expect  to  become 
members.  The  Clmrch  of  Scotland,  like  every  other  esta- 
blished Church,  requires  her  office-bearers  to  subscribe  a 
declaration  of  their  faith.  It  is  proper,  therefore,  to  con- 
sider the  right  upon  which  such  a  requisition  rests,  and  the 


334  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  COURSE. 

propriety  of  that  right  being  exercised.  The  peculiar 
doctrines  contained  in  that  declaration,  which  we  call  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  Mill  have  passed  in  review  before  we 
come  to  this  part  of  our  course.  But  it  will  be  proj)er  that 
you  attend  to  the  reason  of  the  peculiarities  of  that  wor- 
ship, in  which  3'ou  may  soon  be  called  to  preside,  and  to 
the  principles  of  that  discipline  and  government,  of  whicli 
you  may  soon  be  called  to  be  the  guardians  and  the  ad- 
ministrators. 

The  different  parts  of  the  office  of  a  parish  minister  are 
familiar  to  those  who  live  in  this  countrj^  where  they  are 
not  neglected.  But  some  observations,  with  regard  to  the 
importance  of  jDcrforming  them  properly,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  may  be  rendered  most  viseful,  will  not  aj)- 
pear  unseasonable  to  those  who  are  about  to  enter  upon 
the  office  of  the  ministry  ;  and  there  is  one  branch  of  that 
office,  I  mean  the  preparation  and  the  delivery  of  sermons, 
concei'ning  which,  after  all  that  you  have  heard  of  com- 
position elsewhere,  you  will  naturally  expect  some  practi- 
cal rules  in  a  place  where  your  own  discourses,  the  legal 
specimen  of  your  proficiency  in  the  study  of  theology,  are 
exhibited  and  judged. 

When  I  have  filled  up  this  plan  to  my  own  satisfaction, 
I  shall  think  that  I  discharge  that  part  of  the  public  duties 
of  my  station  which  consists  in  lecturing,  by  contributing 
the  whole  stock  of  my  information  and  experience  for  your 
advantage.  My  princijile  is  to  condense  the  execution  of 
the  plan  as  much  as  possible.  I  shall  be  disappointed,  if 
I  be  not  able  to  comprise  my  whole  course  in  such  a  pe- 
riod as  will  give  to  every  residing  student  of  divinity  an 
opportunity,  if  he  chooses,  of  hearing  all  the  parts  of  it ; 
and. I  shall  think  it  an  advantage,  if,  by  omitting  some 
parts,  and  abridging  others,  I  can  so  reduce  the  course, 
as  to  admit  of  passing  over  it  twice,  in  the  time  jirescribed 
for  regular  attendance  at  college. 

Tunetin,  abridged  by  Russenius,  is  a  very  useful  book  for  giving  a 

short  view  of  all  the  controverted  points. 
Stapferi  Instit.  Theol.  Polemics,  in  5  vols,  is  a  valuable  \Aork.   The 

different  systems  of  opinions  concerning  the  truths  of  religion  are 

thei'e  separately  arranged. 


335 


•  4 

BOOK  III. 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THK  SON,  THE  SPIRIT,  AND  THE 
MANNER  OF  THEIR  BEING  UNITED  WITH  THE  FA- 
THER. 


The  Gospel  reveals  two  persons,  whose  existence  was  not 
known  by  the  light  of  nature ;  the  Son,  by  whom  the  re- 
med}'  offered  in  the  Ciospel  was  brought  into  the  world, 
and  the  Spirit,  by  \vhom  it  is  applied.  The  revelation 
concerning  the  first  of  these  persons  is  much  more  full 
than  that  concerning  the  second,  and  has  given  occasion 
to  a  greater  variety  of  opinions.  I  shall  begin  therefore 
Avith  stating  the  opinions  concerning  the  Son ;  I  shall  next 
give  a  short  view  of  the  opinions  concerning  the  Spirit ; 
after  which,  there  will  remain  a  general  subject,  arising, 
as  we  shall  lind,  out  of  the  illustration  of  these  separate 
branches  ;  and,  in  speaking  of  this,  I  shall  have  to  state 
the  opinions  respecting  the  manner  in  which  these  two 
jjersons  are  united  with  the  Father. 


CHAP.  I. 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  PERSON  OF  THE  SON. 


In  entering  upon  the  opinions  concerning  the  person  of 
the  Son,  I  must  warn  you  not  to  consider  the  subject  as 
unimportant.  It  is  the  language  of  Dr.  Priestley,  that  the 
value  of  the  Gospel  does  not,  in  any  degree,  depend  upon 
the  idea  which  we  may  entertain  concerning  the  person  of 


336  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE 

Christ,  because  all  that  is  truly  interesting  to  us,  is  the 
object  of  his  mission,  and  the  authority  with  which  his  doc- 
trine is  promulgated.  But  this  language  is  inconsistent 
with  the  general  strain  of  the  New  Testament,  a  great  part 
of  which  we  shall  find  occupied  in  giving  us  just  concep- 
tions of  the  person  of  Christ :  It  is  inconsistent  with  the 
general  sentiments  of  the  Christian  Church,  who  have  can- 
vassed this  subject  with  much  diligejice,  and  with  deep  in- 
^terest,  ever  since  the  Gospel  appeared:  It  is  inconsistent 
with  the  zeal  which  Dr.  Priestley  and  his  associates  have 
discovered  in  communicating  their  opinions  upon  this  sub- 
ject to  the  world ;  and  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  natural 
propensity  to  which  the  Scriptures  have  graciously  ac- 
commodated themselves,  and  by  which  every  one  is  led  to 
connect  the  importance  of  a  message  with  the  dignity  of 
the  messenger.  It  does  not  become  any  one  to  suppose, 
that  the  discoveries  made  in  the  Gospel  concerning  the 
person  of  Christ  contain  merely  a  popular  argument,  to 
which  it  is  unnecessary  for  him  to  attend.  But  it  becomes 
every  person,  who  believes  that  the  message  proceeds  from 
heaven,  to  receive  with  reverence  the  discoveries  concern- 
ing the  messenger,  as  conveying  important  truth,  which 
claims  the  attention  of  every  understanding  to  which  it  is 
made  known,  and  creates  duties  which  a  Christian  ought 
not  to  neglect. 

With  this  impression  of  the  importance  of  the  subject, 
I  proceed  to  analyse  the  opinions  concerning  the  Person 
of  Christ.  I  do  not  propose  to  follow  the  order  of  time, 
because  there  is  some  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  dates 
of  particular  opinions,  because  the  order  in  which  they 
arose  is  not  always  very  material,  and  because  the  frequent 
revival  of  old  opinions  in  new  systems  would  render  a  chro- 
nology of  them  full  of  repetitions.  Neither  do  I  propose 
to  fatigue  j-our  attention  with  the  useless  uninteresting  de- 
tail of  all  the  extravagant  conceits  broached  by  particular 
men,  or  of  the  minute  shades  of  difference  among  those 
who  agreed  in  their  general  system.  I  shall  furnish  j^ou 
with  the  information  that  is  of  real  importance,  by  bring- 
ing forward  tlie  three  great  systems  upon  this  subject. 
Their  featxires  are  strongly  marked  and  clearly  discrimi- 
nated, and  they  appear  to  comprehend  all  the  variety  of 
which  the  subject  admits,   because  the   several   opinions 


PERSON  OF  THE  SON.  *      337 

which  have  at  some  times  heen  exploded  and  at  other  times 
revived,  are  always  reducible  to  one  or  other  of  these  three 
systems. 

The  simplest  opinion  concernins;  the  person  of  Clirist 
is  that  he  v  as  merely  a  man  who  had  no  existence  before 
he  was  bora  of  Mary ;  who  was  distinguished  from  the 
former  messengers  of  heaven,  not  by  any  thing  more  sacred 
in  his  original  character,  but  by  the  virtues  of  his  life,  and 
by  the  extraordinary  powers  with  which,  upon  account  of 
the  peculiar  importance  of  his  commission,  he  was  invest- 
ed ;  who,  after  he  had  executed  this  commission  witli  fide- 
lity, with  fortitude,  and  zeal,  was  rewarded  for  his  obe- 
dience to  God,  his  good-will  to  men,  and  his  patience  un- 
der suffering,  by  being  raised  from  the  dead,  and  exalted 
to  the  highest  honour,  being  constituted  at  iiis  resurrection 
the  Lord  of  the  creation,  and  entering  at  that  time  into  a 
kingdom  which  is  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
the  administration  of  which  entitles  him  to  reverence  and 
submission  from  the  human  race.  Some  who  held  this  ge- 
neral system  admitted  that  Jesus  was  born  in  a  mix'aculous 
manner  of  a  virgin ;  while  others  contend  that  he  Mas  li- 
terally the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  Some  said  that  Je- 
sus might  be  worshipped  upon  account  of  the  dominion  to 
which  he  is  raised ;  while  others,  who  allow  that  gratitude 
and  honour  are  due  to  him,  confine  adoration  to  the  Fa- 
ther. But  these  two  difterences  do  not  affect  the  general 
principle  of  the  system.  In  whatsoever  manner  Jesus 
came  into  the  world,  he  is,  according  to  this  system,  -J/tXa^ 
dvi^anro;,  a  mere  man  ;  and  whether  reverence  in  general, 
or  that  particular  expression  of  reverence  that  is  called 
adoration,  be  considered  as  due  to  him,  it  is  not  upon  ac- 
count of  any  essential  property  of  his  nature,  but  upon  ac- 
count of  a  dominion  that  was  given  him  by  God. 

The  grounds  upon  which  this  opinion  rests  are,  the  ge- 
nri-:l  strain  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 
wl  i"h  Jesus  is  foretold  as  the  seed  of  the  woman ;  the  ge- 
neral strain  of  the  New  Testament,  in  wliich  our  Lord 
speaks  of  himself,  and  his  apostles  speak  of  him,  as  a  man  ; 
the  accounts  of  his  birth,  his  childhood,  his  sufiierings,  and 
his  giving  up  the  ghost ;  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
Scriptures  frequently  state  his  glory  as  the  recompense  of 
what  he  did  upon  earth.     The  argument  drawn  from  this 

VOL.   I.  Q 


338  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE 

language  of  Scripture  is  supported  by  general  reasoning:? 
concerning  the  fitness  of  employing  a  man,  whose  life  is  a 
pattern  v.hich  we  may  be  supposed  capable  of  imitating, 
and  Tvhose  resurrection  and  exaltation  furnish  an  encour- 
agement, suited  to  the  condition  of  those  who  encounter 
hardships  the  same  in  kind  with  those  which  he  overcame  : 
and  this  argument  is  defended  by  attempts  to  explain  away 
such  passages  of  Scripture  as  seem  to  contradict  the  sys- 
tem, and  particularly  by  referring  every  thing  that  is  said 
of  the  glory  of  Christ  to  that  power  which  was  given  him 
upon  earth,  or  to  that  state  of  exaltation  which  he  now 
liolds  in  heaven. 

It  is  said  that  this  opinion  was  held  in  the  first  century 
by  a  small  sect  of  Jewish  converts,  called  the  Ebionites, 
who  received  no  other  part  of  the  canon  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament but  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  after  reject- 
ing the  first  two  chapters.  The  opinion  was  openly  taught 
by  Theodotus  and  Artemon,  about  the  end  of  the  second 
century ;  and  Eusebius  says  that  Theodotus  was  the  first 
who  taught  the  simple  humanity  of  Christ.*  It  may  be 
traced  also  in  other  systems  that  divided  the  Christian 
church  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  which  met  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fourth  century.  But  after  that  Council, 
this  opinion  appears  to  have  been  exploded  till  the  time  of 
the  Reformation,  when  it  was  revived  by  Socinus,  and 
propagated  among  his  disciples,  who  abounded  in  Tran- 
syhania,  Hungary,  and  Poland.  It  continues  to  form  one 
of  the  leading  characteristical  features  of  those  who  are 
called  Socinians.  It  was  insinuated  with  modesty  and 
diffidence  by  some  (  minent  men  in  the  course  of  the  last 
century,  amongst  whom  is  Lardner,  who  has  deserved  so 
well  of  the  Christian  world  by  that  laborious  and  valuable 
collection  entitled  the  Credibility  of  the  Gospel  History. 
It  has  of  late  been  published  with  zeal  and  confidence  by 
Lindsey,  Priestley,  and  their  associates  ;  and  it  is  the  avow- 
ed principle  of  those  Socinians  who  choose  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  the  title  of  Unitarians. 

The  second  opinion  concerning  the  person  of  Chrir-t  is. 
that  he  was  not  a  mere  man,  but  that  he  existed  before  h" 
appeared  upon  earth.     It  occurs   to  mention  under  this 

*  Eus.Hist.Ecc.  lib.  v. 


PERSON  OF  THE  SON.  339 

second  opinion  one  branch  of  the  tenets  of  the  Gnostics, 
those  heretics  who  j)egaii,  even  in  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
to  corrupt  the  sinipHcity  of  the  Gospel  by  a  mixture  of 
oriental  ^ihilosoph}^  They  held  that  the  Christ  was  an 
emanation  from  the  Supr-ime  Mind,  one  of  those  beings 
whom  they  considered  as  tilling  the  pleroma,  and  to  whom 
they  gave  the  name  of  iEons.  This  glorious  i^on,  who 
was  sent  by  the  Supreme  Being  to  the  earth,  according  to 
some  of  the  Gnostics,  united  himself  to  the  man  Jesus  at 
his  baptism,  and  left  him  at  his  crucifixion ;  according  to 
others,  he  only  assumed  the  appearance  of  a  man ;  so  that 
the  body  which  the  Jews  saw,  and  which  they  thought 
they  crucified,  was  a  shadowy  form  that  eluded  their  ma- 
lice. Hence  this  latter  class  of  Gnostics  was  called  by 
the  ancient  fathers  Doceta^,  from  doy-ta,  videor,  as  they 
ascribed  a  seeming,  not  a  real  body  to  Jesus.  It  were 
endless  to  follow  all  the  differences  of  opinion  concerning 
the  person  of  Christ  among  those  who  held  the  Gnostic 
principles  ;  because  as  the  principles  were  merely  the  fruit 
of  imagination,  resting  upon  no  solid  ground  either  in  rea- 
son or  in  revelation,  they  admitted  of  .infinite  variety.  A 
sounder  philosophy  has  exploded  these  abuses  of  fancy, 
and  given  human  speculations  a  more  useful  direction,  so 
that  the  whole  system  of  Gnostic  principles  is  now  an  ob- 
ject of  study,  only  in  so  far  as  some  acquaintance  with  it 
is  necessary  to  throw  light  upon  those  parts  of  the  sacred 
writings  in  which  it  is  attacked.  Mosheim  has  delineated 
that  system  in  his  Church  History  M'ith  great  ingenuity 
and  learning,  with  moi'e  minuteness  in  some  instances, 
than  it  appears  to  deser\'e,  and  with  as  much  precision  and 
clearness  as  its  obscure  airy  form  admitted.  You  will 
learn  from  him  all  that  needs  to  be  known  upon  this  sub- 
ject ;  and  you  will  find  that  almost  all  the  Gnostic  sects 
considered  Jesus  as  dignified  and  animated  by  some  kind 
of  union  with  a  celestial  yEou,  who  had  existed  in  the 
pleroma  before  he  descended  to  earth.  * 

It  is  of  more  importance  to  fix  your  attention  upon  the 
substantial  definite  form  which  the  second  opinion  con- 
cerning the  perso!i  of  Christ,  I  mean  that  whicli  raised 
him  above  man  by  ascribing  to  him  pre-existence,  ajisumed 

*  Mosheim's  Eccles.  Hist.  Cent.  11.  Part  II.  ch.  V. 


340  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE 

in  the  system  of  Arius.     It  was  the  leading  principle  of 
this  system,  that  the  Christ,   the  first  and  most  exalted  of 
the  creatures  of  God,  existed  before  the  rest  were  created, 
and  is  not  like  any  thing  else  that  was  made.     I  call  thi* 
the  characteristical  principle  of  Arianism  ;  because,  what- 
ever traces  of  it  some  have  pretended  to  discover  in  more 
ancient  writers,  Arius  is  universally  allowed  to  be  the  first 
who  taught  it  systematically  ;  and   this  principle  was   the 
opinion  for  which  he  was  condemned  by   the  council  of 
Nice  in  the  beginning  of  the   fourth  century.     The  writ- 
ings of  Arius,  in  which  he  unfolded  and  defended  his  sys- 
tem, were  burnt  by  the  authority  which   condemned  his 
opinions.     But  a  few  of  his  epistles,  the  creed  which  he 
gave    in   to   Constantine,    and    the    sentence   pronounced 
against   him  by  the   council   of  Nice,  are  extant;  from  a 
comparison  of  which,  a  candid  inquirer  may  attain  a  clear 
conception  of  the  ovitlines  of  his  system.     His  system  was 
this — the  one  Eternal  God,   the  source  of  all  being  and 
power,  did,  in  the  beginning,  before  any  thing  was  made, 
produce  by  his  own  will  a  most  perfect  Creature,  to  whom 
he  communicated  a  large  measure   of  glory  and  power. 
By  this  Creature,  God  made  the  worlds,  all  things  that  are 
in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth,  so  that  he  alone  proceeded 
immediately  from  God,   while  all  other  creatures  not  onlj^ 
existed  after  him,  but  were  called  into  being  by  his  instru- 
mentality, and  placed  by  the  Father  under  his  administra- 
tion.    Having  been  the  Creator  of  the  first  man,   he  was 
from  the  beginning  the  medium  of  all  divine  communica- 
tion with  the  human  race.    He  appeared  to  the  patriarchs  ; 
he  spake  by  the  prophets,  and  in  the  fulness  of  time  he  was 
incarnate,  i.  e.  clothed  with  that  body,  which,  by  the  im- 
mediate operation  of  God,  was  formed  out  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  ;  and  thus,  according  to  the  Arian  system,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus  had  a  real  body,  like  his  brethren.     But  that 
body,  instead  of  being  animated  by  a  human  soul,  was  in- 
formed by  the  super-angelical  spirit,  who  had  been  with 
God  from  the  beginning,  who  condescended  to  leave  that 
glory,  partook  in  the  sorrow  and  agony  which  filled  up  the 
life  of  Jesus,  and  in  recompense   of  this   humiliation  and 
obedience  was  exalted  to  be  the  Saviour,   the  Sovereign, 
and  the  Judge  of  mankind. 

Arius  professed  to  have  received   this  faith  from  the 


PERSON  OF  THE  SON.  341 

Gospel,  and  to  hold  the  sense  of  tlie  Scriptures ;  and  he 
might   suppose  that  his   system  reconciled  those  passages 
which  speak  of  the  dignity  and  eternity  of  the  Son  of  God, 
with  those  which  seem  to  imply  an  inferiority  to  the  Fa- 
ther.    It  appeared  to  him,  that  this  first  creature,   upon 
account  of  the  supei'-eminent  glory  and  power  communi- 
cated to  liim,  might  without  impropriety  be  called  the  on- 
ly begotten  Son  of  God,  and  God ;  and  he  admitted  that 
this  creature  was  in  one  sense  eternal,  because  he  proceed- 
ed from  God  before  the  existenceof  those  measures  of  time, 
which  arise  from  the  motion  and  succession  of  created  ob- 
.fects.     He  thought  himself  at  liberty,   therefore,  to   hold 
this  language  in  his  creed,  "  We  believe  in  one  God,  the 
*'  Father  Almighty,  and  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
"  who  was  made  by   him,   liegotten  before  all  ages,  God 
"  the  Word,  bj^  whom  all  things  were  made  in  heaven  and 
"  in  earth."     But  although  all  these  expressions,   except 
one,  "  who  was  made  by  him,"  might  have  been  used  by 
those  who  held  the  received  opinions,   there  were  three 
points  in  his  system  which  were  condemned  by  the  coun- 
cil.    He  said  of  the   Son,   »iv  ttots  'on  ovx.  ijv — tt^iv  yivvr.^yi'/ut 
ovx  r,t — and  s|  ovK  ovTuv  iymro.     The  meaning  of  the  three 
points  upon  which  he  was  condemned  was  this.    Although 
Arius  carried  back   the  existence   of  the   Son  before  all 
worlds,  and  so  before  all  times,  yet  it  was  possible,  accord- 
ing to  his  system,   to  conceive  some  point  from  whence 
that  existence  commenced.     The  Son  had  no  existence  till 
the  act  of  the  Father  produced  him,  and  he  was  produced, 
not  out  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  but  like  other  crea- 
tures, out  of  nothing.     We  suffer  persecution,  says    Arius 
in  one  of  his  epistles,  because  we  have  said,  the  Son  hath 
a  beginning,  but  God  hath  no  beginning,  and  because  we 
Jiave  asserted  ^lat  the   Son  is  out  of  nothing.*     This  opi- 
nion was  opposed  by  the  authority   of  successive  councils, 
and  by  the  ilecrees  of  the  Komaii  Emperors,  who  had  by 
this  time  embraced  Christianity,  and  those  by  whom    it 
was   avowed  were  exposed   to  contumely  and  barbarity. 
Before  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  it  was  extirpatctl  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  appears  to  have 
l>een  so  much  forgotten,  that  all  the  Divines  who  wrote 

•  K.  ;..  apud  Epiph.  H.  69.  N.  vi. 


342  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE 

upon  this  subject  after  that  period  till  tiie  Reformation, 
Avere  almost  wholly  employed,  not  in  exph'ining  or  com- 
bating the  Arian  system,  but  in  proposing  dilferent  modi- 
fications of  that  Mhich  I  am  to  state  as  the  third  opinion 
concerning  the  person  of  Christ.  The  opinion  of  Arius 
revived  in  the  se\enteenth  century,  when  the  progress  of 
the  Reformation  allowed  greater  liberty  in  religious  specu- 
lation ;  and,  although  it  be  contrary,  not  only  to  the  con- 
fessions of  the  established  churches  of  Great  Britain,  but 
to  the  laws  of  the  land,  it  has  appeared  with  little  disguise 
in  many  able  treatises,  and  was  held,  with  certain  qualifi- 
cations, by  some  of  the  most  eminent  divines  in  the  last 
century. 

The  third  opinion  concerning  the  person  of  Christ  is, 
that  from  all  eternity  he  was  God.  Neither  the  Socinians 
nor  the  Arians  deny  that  the  name  God  is  ascribed  to 
liim.  But  as,  according  to  their  systems,  the  only  founda- 
tion of  that  name  is  the  degree  of  glory  and  dominion  with 
which  he  Mas  invested  at  an  earlier  or  a  later  period,  and 
as  the  same  will,  which  thus  freely  distinguished  him  above 
the  other  creatures,  may  remove  the  distinction  when  the 
purposes  of  it  are  accomplished,  it  is  manifestly  implied  in 
these  systems,  that  Christ  lias  a  dependence  upon  the  will 
of  another,  and  a  possibility  of  change,  which  require  that 
the  word  of  God,  when  ap])lied  to  the  Son,  be  understood 
in  a  sense  very  different  from  that  in  which  it  is  applied  to 
Him  Mho  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  is  God.  Although 
therefore  the  three  opinions  coincide  in  the  use  of  the  same 
name,  the  third  is  essentially  distinguished  from  the  se- 
cond as  well  as  from  the  first  in  this  point,  that  according 
to  it  Christ  eternally  and  necessarily  co-existed  with  God. 
All  the  perfections  of  the  divine  nature  belong  to  him  es- 
sentially ;  no  past  time  can  be  conceived  in  Mhich  he  did 
not  possess  them,  and  no  time  shall  arrive  hereafter  in 
which  any  of  them  can  be  separated  from  him. 

There  has  been  much  controversy  whether  this  M'as  the 
general  opinion  of  the  Christian  church  before  the  council 
of  Nice.  Petavius,  a  learned  Jesuit,  in  his  immense  Mork, 
entitled  Dogmata  Theologiea,  has  laboured  to  shoM-,  that 
the  Fathers  of  the  first  thre(>  centuries  inclined  to  Arian- 
ism,  and  have  in  many  places  spoken  of  Christ  as  aii  infe- 
rior God.     Bishop  Bull,  Mho  wrote  in  the  seventeenth 


PERSON  OF  THE  SOS.  34i3 

•century,  and  is  by  much  the  ablest  defender  of  this  third 
opinion,  lias  rendered  it,  in  my  opinion,  more  than  pro'oa- 
ble  that  Petavius  gives  a  false  representation  of  thos(;  wlio 
are  called  tlie  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  und  that,  although 
upon  many  occasions  they  express  themselves  loosely  and 
inaccurately,'  yet  it  was  the  constant  opinion  of  the  most 
respectable  writers  in  the  first  three  centuries,  that  Christ 
was  from  eternity  God.  JJut  the  truth  is,  this  controversy 
concerning  the  opinion  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  has 
derived  more  importance  from  the  labour  and  zeal  with 
which  it  has  been  agitated  than  it  deserves.  For  the  ques- 
tion does  not  depend  upon  human  authority  ;  and  in  what- 
ever manner  ancient  writers  have  expressed  themselves 
upon  this  subject,  the  truth  remains  the  same.  Even  al- 
though Dr.  Priestley  could  establish  the  position  which  he 
has  maintained  in  other  smaller  treatises,  and  in  a  great 
work  of  four  octavo  volumes,  entitled,  the  History  of  Early 
Opinions  concerning  the  Person  of  Christ,  that  the  Christi- 
an church  from  the  earliest  times  was  in  general  what  he 
calls  Unitarian,  and  that  the  Godhead  of  the  Son,  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word,  was  unknown  to  the  great  body 
of  Christians,  and  is  found  only  occasionally  mentioned  in 
the  works  of  a  few  authors  ;  still  the  matter  rests  upon  its 
original  ground,  and  the  question  recurs,  which  of  the 
three  opinions  concerning  the  person  of  Christ  is  most 
agreeable  to  the  revelation  made  in  Scripture  on  that  sub- 
ject. We  derive  from  the  study  of  the  ancient  Christian 
writers  the  history  of  the  progress  of  theological  opinions  : 
we  may  learn  the  manner  in  which  very  able  men,  who 
bestowed  their  whole  attention  upon  theological  subjects, 
illustrated  and  defended  the  opinions  which  they  held,  and 
we  may  thus  be  assisted  in  understanding  the  truth,  and 
directed  where  to  find  the  proper  arguments  in  support  of 
it.  But  these  arguments  must  ultimately  be  drawn  from 
Scripture,  and  Dr.  Clarke,  however  persons  may  differ 
as  to  the  merits  of  his  s^'stem,  of  whieh  I  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  afterwards,  nmst  be  allo^\■ed  to  have  suggest- 
ed the  only  proper  method  of  attaining  the  Scripture  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  by  collecting  all  the  texts  in  which 
there  is  any  mention  of  that  doctrine.  You  will  under- 
stand, then,  that  when  at  any  time  I  quote  the  sayings  of 
ancient  or  respectable  Christian  writers,  I  quote  them  as 


344  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE 

evidences  of  what  their  opinion  was,  not  as  proofs  that  that 
opinion  was  true  ;  and  you  will  agree  with  me  in  thinking, 
that  I  should  very  much  mispend  your  time,  if  I  entered 
into  a  minute  investigation  of  those  passages  in  their  works 
which  appear  to  be  contradictory,  and  followed  the  la- 
bours of  many  modern  authors  in  thus  endeavouring  to 
ascertain  what  were  the  sentiments  of  Tertullian,  Eusebi- 
us,  or  Origen. 

But  while  we  disclaim  every  kind  of  submission  to  the 
authority  of  the  Fathers,  there  are  expressions  which  re- 
cur frequently  in  their  writings  so  marked  and  significant, 
that  they  deserve  to  be  brought  forward,  as  they  may  as- 
sist you  in  understanding  what  the  third  opinion  concern- 
ing the  person  of  Christ  truly  is.  The  Ante-Nicene  Fathers 
often  speak  of  the  kindling  of  one  light  by  another,  as  the 
image  which  most  fitly  expresses  the  generation  of  the  Son 
from  the  Father,  because  in  this  case  there  is  no  separation  or 
difference  of  kind.  The  original  light  remains  undiminished, 
and  that  which  is  kindled  appears  to  be  the  same.  They  say, 
that  as  the  sun  in  the  heavens  cannot  exist  without  emit- 
ting light,  as  no  interval  can  be  conceived  between  the  ex- 
istence of  the  sun  and  the  emission  of  his  rays,  so  Christ 
always  existed  with  God ;  and  they  argue  the  eternity  of 
Christ  from  his  being  the  wisdom,  the  reason,  what  the 
Greek  ^vriters  called  the  /oy«?  of  the  Father.  The  words 
of  Athanasius,  the  great  antagonist  of  Arius,  are  these,  'omy, 

Qiog.  s|  oiuTou  xxt  ovTWiov  >^oyov  ix,it'  "«'  ovTi   0  Xoyoi    iTTtyiyoviv 

ovx  uv  TT^oji^ov,  cvn  0  TtctTYi^  stXoyoi  r,v  TTOTs.*  The  meaning  of 
these,  and  other  similitudes,  with  which  the  Ante-Nicene 
Fathers  abound,  was  precisely  ascertained  by  that  word 
which  the  council  of  Nice  adopted  in  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  Arius.  They  said  that  the  Son  is  o^oxa-ioi  with 
the  Father.  This  word  the  Arians  could  not,  in  consist- 
ency with  their  principles,  admit  into  their  confession. 
They  held  that  the  Son  Avas  produced  immediately  by  the 
Fatlu  r  out  of  nothing.  But  they  saw  that,  if  he  be  of  the 
same  substance  with  God,  he  is  God,  and  that  if  he  is  God, 
he  cannot  have  a  temporary  precarious  existence,  but  must 
have  always  been  with  the  Father  A^hat  he  now  is.  This 
word  therefore  became  the  mark  of  distinction  between  the 

*  Athanas.  Orat.  passim. 


PERSON  OF  THE  SON.  345 

second  and  the  third  opinions  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ,  and  the  precise  amount  of  'o/^oaa-ioi;  when  applied  to 
the  Son  is  this,  that  although  it  be  implied  in  the  name  of 
the  Son,  that  he  proceeded  from  the  Father,  and  although, 
in  reference  to  his  procee<ling  from  God,  he  be  called  th<' 
only  begotten  of  the  Father,  yet  the  essential  glory  and 
perfections  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  the  same. 

It  is  further  to  be  stated,  that  while  the  Socinians  be- 
lieved the  Christ  to  be  a  mere  man,  in  whom  an  extraordi- 
nary measure  of  the  power  of  God  dwelt,  while  the  Ari- 
ans  belieA'ed  that  the  Christ  was  composed  of  a  super-au- 
gelical  spirit  and  a  human  body,  those  who  hold  the  third 
opinion  believe  that  Chi-ist  assumed,  at  the  incarnation,  the 
<'omplete  human  nature  into  union  with  the  divine  ;  in 
other  words,  that  the  body  of  Christ  was  animated  by  a 
human  soul,  and  this  soul  was  so  united  with  the  God- 
head that  the  divine  and  human  nature  formed  one  per- 
son. 

I  enter  not  at  present  into  the  grounds  of  this  third 
opinion.  I  mean  onl}^  to  state  what  it  is,  and  in  order  to 
assist  your  aj^prehension  of  both  parts  of  it,  I  shall  recite 
to  j'ou  a  part  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  by  which  this  third 
opinion  was  more  clearly  defined  than  it  had  been  before, 
and  those  parts  of  the  confessions  of  the  two  established 
churches  in  Britain,  by  which  it  appears  that  both  of  them 
have  adopted  the  third  opinion  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ.  The  words  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  translated  liter- 
ally from  the  Greek,  are  these :  "  We  believe  in  one  God, 
the  Father,  Almighty,  maker  of  all  things,  both  visible  and 
invisible,  and  in  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  that  is  to  say,  of 
the  substance  of  the  Father,  God  of  God,  light  of  light, 
very  God  of  very  God,  begotten  not  made,  of  the 
same  substance  with  the  Father,  by  w  horn  all  things  were 
made  both  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  who  for  us  men,  and 
for  our  salvation,  came  down,  and  was  incarnate,  being 
made  man."  The  second  of  the  thirty-nine  articles  of  tin; 
church  of  England  is  in  these  words  :  "  The  Son,  which  is 
the  Word  of  the  Father,  begotten  from  everlasting  of  the 
Father,  the  veiy  and  eternal  God,  of  one  substance  with 
the  Father,  took  man's  nature  in  the  womb  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  of  her  substance,  so  that  two  whole  and  perfect 


346    OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  TEESON  OF  THE  KON. 

n  atures,  that  is  to  say,  the  godhead  and  manhood,  were 
joined  together  in  one  person,  never  to  be  divided,  where- 
of is  one  Christ,  very  God  and  very  man."  The  words  of 
Our  Confession  of  Faith  are  :  "  The  Son  of  God,  the  se- 
cond person  in  the  Trinity,  being  very  and  eternal  God, 
of  one  substance,  and  equal  with  the  Father,  did,  when 
the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  take  upon  him  man's  nature, 
with  all  the  essential  properties  and  common  infirmities 
thereof,  yet  without  sin,  being  conceived  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  her 
substance,  so  that  two  whole  perfect  and  distinct  natures, 
the  Godhead  and  the  Manhood,  were  inseparably  joined 
together  in  one  person,  without  conversion,  composition 
or  confusion,  which  person  is  very  God,  and  very  man, 
yet  one  Christ." 


I 


347 


CHAP.  11. 


SIMPLEST  OPINION  CONCERNING   THE    PERSON  OF  CHRIST. 


Having  stated  the  three  opinions  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ,  to  which  all  others  may  be  reduced,  I  proceed 
to  compare  the  grounds  upon  which  they  rest. 

And  here  I  must   begin   with  observing,  that  general 
reasonings   concerning   the   probability  of  any   of  these 
opinions,  or  its  apparent  suitableness  to  the  end  of  Christ's 
manifestation,   ought  not   to  enter  into  this  comparison. 
Ingenious  men  have  said  plausible  things  in  the  way  of 
general  reasoning  in  support  of  all  the  three.     It  may  to 
some  appear  difficult  to   balance   one  of  the  speculations 
against  the  other,  because  men  will  be  inclined  to  give  a 
preference  according  to  the   complexion  of  their  under- 
standing, and  their  former  habits  of  thinking.    But  you  will 
be  satisfied  that  such  reasonings  are  of  little  or  no  weight 
in  the  scale  of  evidence,  when  you  recollect  how  soon  they 
lead  us  beyond  our  depth.     Probability  in  this  subject  de- 
pends upon  a  multitude  of  circumstances,   which  are  not 
within  the  sphere  of  our  observation.     Fitness  or  expedi- 
ency in  this  subject  depends  upon  the  order  and  the  de- 
signs of  that  universal  government  of  which  we  see  only  a 
part.     The  fact,  that  Jesus  Christ  appeared  in  the  land  of 
Judea  the  teacher  of  a  new  religion,  could  not  have  been 
investigated  by  reason,  but  like  all  other  facts  is  received 
upon  credible  testimony.     The  particular  character  and 
dignity  of  this  person,  therefore,  is  matter  of  revelation  to 
be  gathered  from  the  books  that  inform  us  of  his  appear- 
ance ;  and  the  only  solid  ground  of  any  opinion  concern- 
ing his  character  is  a  right  interpretation  of  the  books  in 
which  it  is  described.     After  we  have  attained  by  sound 
criticism  the  information  which  is  thus  afforded  us,  reason 
may  be  employed  in  vindicating  the  opinion  which  that 


348  siaiPLEST  opfNioN  concerning 

information  warrants  us  to  hold,  in  bringing  forward  those 
views  of  its  expediency  which  revelation  enables  us  to 
assign,  and  in  balancing  the  difficulties  which  may  adhere 
to  it,  against  those  difficulties  and  objections  which  apjiear 
to  attend  other  opinions  not  taught  by  Scripture.  Reason- 
ing comes  here  in  its  proper  place  to  support  our  faith,  by 
being  opposed  to  other  reasonings  that  attempt  to  shake 
it,  and  to  rescue  the  opinion  that  is  delivered  in  the  word 
of  God  from  the  charge  of  absurdity.  But  we  profess  to 
learn  the  opinion  from  the  Scriptures  ;  and  we  hold  it  with 
firmness,  because  it  is  revealed. 

This  general  observation  suggests  the  plan  upon  which 
I  mean  to  proceed  in  comparing  the  grounds  of  the  three 
opinions.     I  defer  all  speculations  concerning  them,  till  we 
have  learned  what  the  Scriptures  teach.     I  jjegin  with  the 
simplest  propositions,   advancing,   as   the   information    of 
Scripture  leads  us,  to  those  which   are  farther  removed 
from  ordinary  apprehension ;  and  in  this  way,  I  shall  not 
arrive  at  the  most  intricate  parts  of  the  subject,  till  our 
minds  are   established  in  the  belief  of  those  facts  which 
ought  to  guide  our  reasonings.     This  patient  method  of 
proceeding  is  not  the  most  favourable  to  disputation  upon 
this  subject ;  it  is  not  the  best  calculated  for  lecturing  upon 
it  in  a  showy  amusing  manner ;  but  it  appears  to  me  that 
in  which  I  ought  to  persevere,  as  the   only  method  be- 
coming our  distance,  and  the  certain  method  of  attaining 
truth. 

The  simplest  opinion  concerning  the  person  of  Christ  is, 
tliat  he  vras  merely  a  man,  tJ/<Xo?  otv&gwTroi ;  and  the  advo- 
cates of  this  opinion  rest  it  upon  numberless  passages  of 
Scripture,  upon  a  solution  of  those  declarations  concern- 
ing  Christ,   which  appear  to   be  inconsistent  with   their 
opinion,  and  upon  the    insuperable   difficulties  in  which 
they  represent  all  other  opinions  as  involved.     I  lay  aside 
at  present  all  consideration  of  these  difficulties,  because  I 
consider  every  speculation  concerning  them  as  calculated 
to  create  a  prejudice   either  for  or  against  the  evidence 
that  is  to  be  examined  ;  and  T  direct  your  attention  only 
to  the  Scripture  grounds  upon  which  this  opinion  is  rested, 
and  the  declarations  of  Scripture  by  which  it  is  opposed. 

I  take  the  Scripture  grounds  of  this  opinion  from  a  book 
published  about  the  year  1773  by  Mr.  Lindsey,  who  gave 


THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST.  349 

the  world  a  pledge  of  his  honesty,  by  resigning  his  jircter- 
nient  in  the  Church  of  England,  because  he  held  this  opi- 
nion.    The  following  arguments  and  testimonies,  he  says, 
will  abundantly  show^  that  Christ  was  a  man  like  ourselves, 
saving  tliose   extraordinary  gifts    of  divine    wisdom  and 
power,  by  which   he   was  distinguished  from  the   rest  of 
mankind.     1.  The  prophecies  that  went   before  concern- 
ing   Cin-ist   speak    of  him   as    a   man, — the  seed    of  the 
woman  ;  the  seed  of  Abraham  ;  a  prophet  like  to  Moses  ; 
the  son  of  David.     2.  In  consequence  of  these  predictions, 
the  Jews  in  all  times  have  expected  the  Messiah  to  be  a 
man.     "  Hath  not  the  Scripture  said,"  observe  the  people 
in  the  gospel  of  John,  "  that  Christ  cometh  of  the  seed  of 
David,  and  out  of  the  town  of  Bethlehem,   where  David 
vvas  ?"     3.  Christ's  appearance  in  the  world ;  his  birth ; 
his  increase   in  wisdom   and   stature :  and  the  visible  cir- 
cumstances of  his  condition  answered  to  the  prophecies 
concerning  him  that  he  was  to  be  a  man.     4.  Christ  C(m- 
tinually  spake  of  himself  as  a  man,  the  son  of  man  being 
the  phrase  by  which  he  commonly  designed  himself;  and 
the  son  of  God,  the  title  which  he  sometimes  assumed,  ad- 
mitting of  an  interpretation,  which  does  not  contradict  his 
being  a  man.     5.  John,  his  forerunner,  calls  him  a  man. 
And,  6.  The  four  evangelists  show  by  their  narration  that 
they  took  him  to  be  a  man ;  and  in  the  other  books  of  the 
New  Testament  he  is  often  so  designed. 

The  testimonies  Avhich  Mr.  Lindsey  has  collected  under 
these  heads*  prove  that  Christ  was  truly  a  man  ;  they  un- 
doubtedly convey  an  impression  that  he  was  a  man  in  all 
res})ects  like  us ;  and  if  they  contained  the  whole  doc- 
trine of  Scripture  concerning  the  nature  and  person  of 
Christ,  the  first  opinion  would  claim  to  be  received  upon 
the  highest  possible  evidence.  But  Mr.  Lindsey  is  aware 
that  there  are  passages  in  Scripture  which  appear  to  con- 
tradict this  opinion.  Like  all  those  who  have  agreed  with 
him  in  opinion,  he  attempts  to  give  a  solution  of  them  ; 
and  the  point  that  must  be  considered  is,  whether  there 
are  declarations  in  Scripture  of  such  a  kind,  as  to  efface 
the  impression  made  by  the  testimonies  collected  under 
the  six  heads  now  mentioned,  and  to  show  that  the  first 
opinion  rests  upon  a  partial  view  of  Scripture. 

*  Sequel  to  Apology,  by  Tbeoiibilus  Lindsey,  ch.  ?• 


350 


CHAP.  III. 


PKE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS. 


The  philosophy  which  you  have  learned  has  completely 
exploded  the  fanciful  doctrine  of  some  ancient  sects,  that 
the  souls  of  men  existed  before  they  animated  those  bodies 
with  which  we  behold  them  connected.  You  know  that 
this  doctrine  supposes  a  fact,  which  is  nowhere  revealed, 
which  is  not  vouched  by  human  testimony,  which  is  not 
supported  by  any  solid  argument,  and  is  contradicted  by 
the  principle  of  consciousness.  You  believe  that  the  souls 
of  men  began  to  exist  with  th^ir  bodies  ;  and,  although  you 
cannot  explain  the  time  or  the  manner  of  the  union  be- 
tween these  two  companions,  you  never  ascribe  to  the 
being  of  the  man  any  date  more  ancient  than  the  first  for- 
mation of  his  body.  If  then  there  be  evidence  that  Christ 
had  a  being  before  he  was  conceived  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
he  cannot  be  a  man  like  us.  He  may  be  truly  a  man  witli 
all  the  essential  properties  of  human  nature,  so  that  there 
is  no  impropriety  in  ascribing  to  him  the  name  of  man,  or 
the  Son  of  Man.  But  the  opinion  of  those  who  consider 
him  as  ^tXcg  etvS^uTrtii,  nothing  more  than  man,  must  be 
false.  Accordingly,  all  those  who  hold  the  second  and  third 
opinions  oppose  to  the  Socinian  system  one  simple  position, 
viz.  there  is  evidence  from  Scripture  of  the  pre-existence 
of  Jesus  Christ.  This  position  is  sufficient  to  overturn  the 
first  opinion,  and  it  is  necessary  to  lay  a  foundation  for  the 
second  and  third.  For  although  it  does  not  follow  from 
the  pre-existence  of  Christ,  either  that  he  is  the  most  ex- 
alted creature  in  the  universe,  or  that  he  is  God,  yet,  if  he 
did  not  exist  before  he  was  born  of  Mary,  he  cannot  be 
either  the  one  or  the  other. 

A  position  which  contradicts  the  first  opinion,  and  which 
is  assumed  in  the  other  two,  seems  to  be  the  proper  point 
from  which  to  set  out  in  examining  the  three  opinions  con- 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS.  351 

cerning  the  person  of  Chi'ist.  Unless  you  are  satisfied  of 
the  truth  of  this  position,  you  will  not  be  disposed  to  give 
yourselves  much  trouble  in  canvassing  the  second  and  third 
opinions.  But  if  you  find  evidence,  that  by  his  pre-exist- 
ence  he  is  more  than  man,  it  will  be  natural  to  proceed  to 
inquire  how  far  he  is  exalted  above  man,  whether  he  is  a 
creature  of  a  higher  rank,  or  whether  he  be  entirely  ex- 
empted fi'om  the  order  of  creatures. 

In  examining  this  position,  I  shall  first  bring  forward 
those  passages  of  Scripture,  which  teach  plainly  that  our 
Saviour  did  pre-exist ;  and  I  shall  next  direct  your  atten- 
tion to  those  passages  which  ascribe  to  him  different  ac- 
tions in  his  state  of  pre-existence.  From  tlie  first  set  of 
passages  I  do  not  mean  to  derive  any  thing  more  than  sim- 
ply a  proof  of  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus ;  but,  in  attending 
to  the  second,  we  shall  unavoidably  be  led,  by  the  descrip- 
tions of  those  actions  which  are  ascribed  to  Christ,  to  con- 
sider his  original  character  and  dignity,  and  we  shall  thus 
pass  naturally  from  the  proofs  of  his  pre-existence  to  the 
proofs  of  a  higher  point,  to  those  passages,  upon  a  right 
interpretation  of  which  turns  the  decision  of  the  question 
between  the  second  and  third  opinions. 

I  shall  at  present  bring  forward  only  those  passages  of 
Scripture  which  teaoh  plainly  that  our  Saviour  existed  be- 
fore he  was  born  of  Mary ;  and,  in  reviewing  them,  I  shall 
lay  before  you  those  solutions  of  their  meaning  which  are 
given  by  the  more  early  or  the  later  Socinian  writers,  that 
you  may  judge  how  far  it  is  easy  to  reconcile  them  with 
the  opinion  of  our  Lord's  being  i]/<Ao?  avC^uTro;. 

You  will  recollect  a  language  which  runs  through  a  great 
part  of  the  New  Testament,  that  "  God  sent  Jesus  into  the 
world,"  that  Jesus  "  came  in  the  flesh,"  "  was  made  flesh," 
"  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,"  "  took  part  of 
flesh  and  blood."  Now  this  language  is  greatly  wanting 
in  propriety  and  significancy,  if  Jesus  began  to  exist  at 
that  time  when  he  is  said  to  have  come  in  the  flesh  ;  where- 
as the  expressions  recited  are  the  very  manner  in  which  it 
is  necessary  to  speak  of  his  becoming  a  man,  if  he  had  an 
existence  beforehand.  A  language  which  thus  implies  that 
Jesus  existed  before  he  was  born  of  Mary,  being  found  in 
numberless  places,  may  be  considered  as  meant  to  correct 
the  inference  which  might  otherwise  be  drawn  from  the 


352  PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS. 

phraseology  of  Scripture,  in  which  he  is  spoken  of  as  a 
man.  At  the  same  time,  you  will  not  consider  this  impli- 
cation as  the  proper  ground  upon  which  to  rest  so  import- 
ant a  conclusion.  We  derive  the  knowledge  of  the  pre- 
existence  of  Jesus  from  explicit  declarations  of  Scripture, 
and  having,  in  this  way,  attained  assurance  of  the  fact,  we 
find  the  general  phraseology  of  Scripture  so  contrived  as 
to  reconcile  this  fact  Avith  his  being  truly  a  man.  These 
explicit  declarations  were  made  by  John  the  Baptist,  by 
our  Lord  himself,  and  by  his  apostles. 

1.  John  the  Baptist  bore  witness  of  Jesus  in  these  words. 
Jo.  i.  15,  30.  "  After  me  cometh  a  man  which  is  preferred 
before  me,  for  he  was  before  me,"  Trgi^ros  iu.ov  vp.  You 
would  expect  7rg&)r?^o?  instead  of  ^^^re?.  But  there  are  many 
instances  in  the  best  Greek  writers  of  a  simihir  construc- 
tion. Hg;tjs  11  Ui^a-M'j  Trgcarov  ttxvtuv  -xot^uov,  is  an  expression 
used  by  Aristophanes ;*  and  if  ^rgo^ris  f/.ov.Jirst,  when  com- 
pared with  me,  be  equivalent  to  ^rgsrsgos  f^w,  there  seems  to 
be  here  a  plain  declaration  of  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus. 
The  Socinian  interpretation  is,  "  the  Christ,  who  is  to  be- 
gin his  ministry  after  me,  has,  by  the  divine  appointment, 
been  preferred  before  me,  because  he  is  my  chief  or  princi- 
pal, 9r|6)TocrT;tT»)5  f^ou,  and  I  am  only  his  servant."  But  Bishop 
Pearson,  on  the  second  article  of  the  creed,  has  well  observed, 
that,  according  to  this  interpretation,  athing  is  made  the  rea- 
son of  itself.  He  is  preferred  before  me,  because  he  is  my 
chief;  whereas  if  Trg^res  jtioyiiv  be  considered  as  expressive  of 
time,  notof  dignity,  it  contains  a  reason  for  the  former  clause. 
He  who  was  born  a  few  months  after  me,  and  whose 
ministry  begins  after  mine,  has  been  placed  before  me, 
has  a  higher  station  assigned  him  in  the  economy  of  that 
dispensation  which  is  now  opening,  because  he  had  an  ex- 
istence before  me.  It  is  true,  that  the  three  other  evan- 
gelists make  John  the  Baptist  say,  "  He  that  cometh  after 
me  is  mightier  than  I."  <c^;^JJ;§oT£go;  f^ov.  But  you  will  per- 
ceive, when  you  compare  the  four,  that  the  phrase  is  equi- 
valent to  if^7re,f><^k)i  fioy,  "  is  preferred  before  me,"  not  to 
irgwra?  fiov.  For  the  speech  in  the  other  three  consists  only 
of  one  clause  ;  and  John,  who,  writing  after  the  others,  has 
supplied  many  things  that  were  wanting  in  them,  added 

•  Aristoph.  O^w^'i;,  lin.  484. 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS.  353 

tlio  words  oTt  TT^uTci  fA.ou  jjv.  He  lias  used  the  same  expres- 
•sion  ill  another  place  of  his  Gosjiel,  where  it  must  denote 
time.  If  the  world  hate  you,  says  Jesus  to  his  disciples, 
yivuffKiti  oT«  lui  TT^arov  If^m  ^ifAiami.  You  wiU  observe,  too, 
that  if  tile  phrase  had  had  the  uncommon  remote  meaning 
which  the  Socinians  affix  to  it,  instead  of  Tr^^yros  y,v,  it  should 
have  been  Tr^uroi  ia-n.  For  unless  Jesus  jire-existcd,  he 
was  not  the  chief  of  John  till  he  entered  upon  his  ministry, 
the  beginning  of  which  John  was  only  announcing.  Lard- 
ner,  aware  probably  of  the  force  of  the  objections  made  by 
Bishop  Pearson,  has  given  another  interpretation  of  these 
Avords,  which  some  of  the  modern  Socinians  consider  as 
probably  expressing  the  meaning  still  more  truly.  "  He 
that  Cometh  after  me  has  always  been  before  me,  or  in  my 
view,  L  e.  present  to  my  mind  as  the  object  of  my  conti- 
nual expectation  and  reverence ;  for  he  was  my  superior." 
I  leave  you  to  judge,  whether  it  is  likely  that  the  hearers 
of  John  would  affix  either  the  latter  or  the  former  Socinian 
meaning  to  his  words,  and  whether  a  declaration,  which  h6 
repeats  frequently  as  his  witness  to  the  Messiah,  is  not  to 
be  understood  according  to  the  plain  obvious  sense  given 
in  our  translation. 

John  iii.  31.  "  He  that  cometh  from  above  is  above  all : 
he  that  is  of  the  earth  is  earthly,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth  : 
he  that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all."  John  is  mak- 
ing a  comparison  between  himself  and  Jesus.  "  He  must 
increase,  but  I  must  decrease."  The  31st  verse  states  a 
distinction,  not  merely  in  respect  of  dignity,  but  in  respect 
of  origin  and  extraction ;  and  the  heavenly  extraction  of 
Jesus  is  introduced  as  the  ground  of  his  superior  dignity. 

I  have  called  your  attention  to  this  passage,  because  it 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  answer  to  a  sophism  which  is  fre- 
quent in  the  modern  Socinian  writers.  When  such  ex- 
pressions, as  Jesus  being  sent  from  God  and  comino-  from 
heaven,  are  urged  in  proof  of  his  pre-existence,  they  uni- 
formly answer,  that  these  exj)ressions  mean  nothing  more 
than  that  he  received  a  divine  commission.  "  FoiV'  they 
say,  "  John  also  is  called  a  man  sent  from  God ;  and  our 
Lord,  upon  one  occasion,  asked  the  chief  priests^  the  bap- 
tism  of  John,  was  it  from  lieaven,  or  was  it  from  men  ?  he 
meant  was  it  of  divine  or  of  human  institution  ;  and  it  was 
the  same  thing,  whether  he  had  asked  did  John  come  from 


354  PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS. 

heaven,  or  was  his  baptism  from  heaven  ?"  But  the 
Avords  of  John  Baptist  in  this  place  show  that  he  under- 
stood there  would  have  been  an  essential  difference  be- 
tween the  two  questions.  He  asserts  in  other  places  that 
lie  was  sent  by  God  to  baptize  with  water  ;  and  therefore  his 
baptism  might  be  said  to  be  from  heaven.  But  here  he 
admits  that  he  himself  was  of  earth,  whereas  the  person  to 
whom  he  bore  witness  was  from  heaven.  Their  commis- 
sion had  the  same  authority  ;  for  both  were  sent  by  God. 
But  the  one  was  a  man  who  received  this  commission  a,fter 
he  was  born  :  the  other  was  a  Being  who,  having  existed 
before  in  heaven,  came  from  heaven,  and  was  made  man, 
that  he  might  execute  his  commission. 

John  iii.  13.  "  And  no  man  hath  ascended  up  to  hea- 
ven, but  he  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son 
of  man  which  is  in  heaven."  These  words  appear  to  con- 
tain a  declaration  that  the  Son  of  man  came  down  from 
'  heaven.  But  in  order  to  elude  the  force  of  this  declara- 
tion, two  different  expositions  have  been  given.  The  one 
was  the  exposition  of  Socinus  and  his  immediate  followers  ; 
the  other  is  adopted  by  the  modern  Socinians.  The  first 
is  this :  "  It  is  very  probable,  and  agreeable  to  the  words 
of  Scripture,  that  Christ,  between  the  time  of  his  birth, 
and  his  entering  upon  the  office  of  Messiah,  was  translat- 
ed by  God  to  heaven,  and  remained  there  some  time,  that 
he  might  see  and  hear  those  things  which  he  was  to  pub- 
lish to  the  world.  As  Moses,  who  is  acknowledged  to  be 
a  type  of  Jesus,  was  forty  days  on  the  mount  with  God, 
and  brought  from  thence  the  two  tables  of  the  law,  and  the 
pattern  of  all  things  pertaining  to  the  worship  of  God,  so 
it  was  most  fit  that  Jesus  should  go  up  to  heaven,  of  which 
Sinai  was  a  type  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  time  of  our 
Lord's  temptation,  when  he  is  said  to  have  been  forty  days 
in  the  wilderness,  was  the  time  of  his  being  admitted  to 
converse  with  God  in  heaven."  According  to  this  exposi- 
tion our  Lord  says  to  Nicodemus,  no  man  hath  ascended 
up  to  heaven,  to  learn  these  heavenly  things  which  I  have 
to  tell  you,  but  he  who  came  down  from  heaven,  after  he 
was  instructed  in  them,  even  the  Son  of  man,  who  was — 
rendering  uv  the  imperfect  participle,  who  was  in  heaven. 
This  exposition  was  employed  to  solve  all  those  passages 
where  we  read  of  Christ's  coming  from  heaven,  proceed- 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF    JESUS.  355 

ing  from  the  Faf.her,  being  sent  by  God.  But  you  will  ob- 
serve, that  tliere  is  no  other  proof  of  the  fact  vipon  which 
this  exposition  pi'oceeds  but  this  single  circumstance,  that 
it  is  possible,  in  this  way,  to  explain  such  passages  as  these, 
without  supposing  the  pre-existonce  of  Jesus.  His  trans- 
lation to  heaven  is  admitted  without  evidence,  in  order  to 
exclude  his  pre- existence.  I  say  without  evidence.  For 
although  it  would  liave  been  most  honourable  for  a  man 
to  be  thus  admitted  to  converse  with  God  in  heaven,  al- 
though, according  to  the  bociiiian  system,  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  followers  of  Jesus  to  have  this  assurance, 
that  the  words  spoken  by  aman  like  themselves  are  truly  the 
words  of  God,  there  is  not  any  one  passage  in  the  New 
Testament  which  plainly  declares,  or  even  by  certain 
inference  implies,  that  he  was  translated  to  heaven. 
Other  circumstances  are  mentioned  in  the  short  accounts 
that  are  given  us  of  that  part  of  his  life  which  elapsed  be- 
fore he  appeared  preaching  the  Gospel.  But  this  fact,  in 
comparison  of  which  most  of  them  are  insignificant,  is 
passed  over  in  silence  by  all  the  evangelists. 

The  modern  Socinians  have  abandoned  an  exposition 
thus  resting  upon  a  conjecture,  which  is  not  only  desti- 
tute of  evidence,  but  is  contradicted  by  the  silence  of  the 
historians.  And  they  have  adopted  another  exposition, 
founded  upon  the  figurative  language  which  abounds  in 
Scripture.  In  our  way  of  apprehension  they  say,  a  man 
that  would  be  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  the  divine 
will  should  go  to  heaven  to  converse  with  God.  Accord- 
ingly it  is  said  by  Moses :  "  The  commandment  which  I 
command  thee  this  day  is  not  in  heaven,  that  thou  shouklest 
saj^,  who  shall  go  up  for  us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto 
us,  that  we  maj^  hear  it  and  do  it."*  But  if  ascending  to 
heaven  easily  signifies  being  admitted  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  divine  counsels,  coming  down  from  heaven  may  signi- 
fy being  authorized  to  reveal  it  to  men  ;  and  being  in  hea- 
ven, or  in  the  Ijosom  of  the  Father,  means  no  more  than 
being  highly  favoured  of  God,  and  made  acquainted  with 
his  counsels.  The  declaration  of  Jesus  to  Nicodenius, 
therefore,  does  not  necessarilj'  imply  a  literal  ascent  and 
descent;  but,  when  stripped  of  the  metaphorical  language 

»  Deiit.  XXX.  11,  12. 


356  PRE-EXrSTENCE  OF  JESL'S. 

in  which  it  is  clothed,  it  amounts  merely  to  this — He  alone 
was  admitted  to  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God, 
and  authorized  to  reveal  it  to  men. 

This  exposition  is  much  more  plausible  than  the  former  ; 
and  it  is  agreeable  to  that  interpretation  which  we  are  of- 
ten obliged  to  give  to  figurative  language.  But  you  will 
observe  that  the  language  in  this  passage  is  not  figurative  ; 
the  words  are  perfectly  simple  ;  there  is  no  obvious  neces- 
sity^ for  departing  from  that  sense  which  is  agreeable  to  the 
plain  construction  of  them  ;  and  if  a  liberty  is  allowed  of 
considering  plain  language  as  figurative,  in  order  to  give 
it  a  meaning  very  remote,  and  evade  a  doctrine  which  it 
seems  clearlj^  to  teach,  there  can  be  no  certainty  in  the  de- 
clarations of  Scripture.  You  will  observe  also,  that  ac- 
cording to  this  exposition  there  is  a  tautology  in  the  words, 
which  is  both  ungraceful  and  unmeaning.  No  man  hath 
known  the  divine  counsels  but  he  vvho  has  a  commission 
to  declare  them,  even  the  Son  of  man,  who  is  intimately 
acquainted  with  them.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  under- 
stand the  second  clause,  according  to  the  literal  import  of 
the  words,  and  according  to  many  other  declarations  of 
the  New  Testament,  to  denote  a  real  descent  from  heaven, 
then  the  first  and  third  clauses  are  clearly  distinguished. 
If  you  consider  (wn  as  the  imperfect  participle,  the  third 
clause  means,  the  Son  of  man  who  was  in  heaven  before 
he  descended.  If  you  consider  uv  as  the  present  participle, 
you  give  the  third  clause  a  meaning  which  cannot  be  re- 
conciled with  the  Socinian  system,  but  which  is  adopted 
by  our  translators  in  opposition  to  that  system  ;  the  Son 
of  Man,  who,  being  according  to  the  views  communicated 
in  other  passages  of  Scripture  both  God  and  man,  is  in 
heaven  while  he  now  dwells  upon  earth.  There  is  an  ap- 
parent difficulty  in  the  clause,  "  No  man  hath  ascended 
up  to  heaven  but  the  Son  of  Man ;"  for  we  know  tliat 
Elijah  did  ascend,  and  our  Lord  had  not  ascended  when 
he  spake  these  words.  But  attention  to  the  context  cnaljles 
us,  without  doing  violence  to  the  words,  bj'^  an  accommo- 
dation to  circumstances  which  is  easy  and  obvious,  to  re- 
move that  difficulty.  Our  Lord  had  been  stating  to  Ni- 
codemus  some  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion, 
at  which  this  master  of  Israel  is  stumbled,  saying,  "  How 
can  these  things  be  ?"     Our  Lord  answei's  in  words  most 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS.  35'7 

expressive  of  the  dignity  of  his  character,  and  the  entire 
credit  to  whicli  he  was  entitled.  "  We  speak  that  we  do 
know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen.  If  I  have  told  you 
earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not,  how  shall  ye  believe  if 
I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things  ?"  i.  e.  There  are  doctrines 
more  sublime  and  heavenly  than  these  at  which  you  are 
stumbled.  My  doctrine,  according  to  the  expression  oi 
Moses  with  which  you  are  well  acquainted,  may  be  said 
to  be  in  heaven ;  and  you  can  learn  it  from  none  but  me, 
for  no  person  has  ascended  to  heaven  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  it  from  thence,  u  ^/i,  unless  you  choose  to  apply 
that  expression  to  the  person  who,  having  been  in  heaven, 
came  down  from  it.  He  is  better  qualified  to  instruct 
you  in  heavenly  things,  than  if  he  had  ascended  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  them  down. 

John  vi.  6-2.  "  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man 
ascend  up  where  he  was  before  ?"  The  ancient  and  the 
modern  Socinians  explain  away  this  declaration,  in  the 
same  manner  as  that  which  we  have  now  been  consider- 
ing. One  of  their  latest  commentaries  is  in  these  words  : 
— "  When  you  shall  see  me  go  up  to  heaven  to  God,  where 
I  was  before,"  i.  e.  from  whom  I  have  received  my  instruc- 
tions and  authority,  "  you  will  then  understand  the  lan- 
guage which  I  now  hold  with  you."  As  this  declaration 
of  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus  is  simpler  and  less  embarras- 
sed with  other  circumstances  than  that  in  the  third  chap- 
ter, so  the  context  necessarily  leads  us  to  reject  the  Soci- 
nian  paraphrase,  and  to  understand  the  words  in  their  ob- 
vious sense.  Our  Lord  had  been  holding  a  long  discourse 
with  the  Jews,  in  which  he  spoke  of  himself  as  the  "  bread 
of  life  that  came  down  from  heaven."  The  Jews  under- 
stood this  to  be  an  assertion  of  his  having  been  in  heaven, 
and  they  opposed  to  it  their  knowledge  of  his  birth.  "  Is 
not  this  Jesus  the  son  of  Joseph,  whose  father  and  mother 
Ave  know  ?  how  is  it  then  that  he  saith,  I  came  down  from 
heaven."  Our  Lord,  in  answer  to  their  mui-murings,  re- 
peats and  enforces  his  former  assertion ;  and,  after  he  had 
left  the  synagogue,  understanding  from  his  disciples 'that 
they  also  were  offended  at  this  hard  saying,  he  says  to 
them,  "  Doth  this  offend  you  ?  what  and  if  ye  shall  see 
the  Son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before ;"  i.  e.  to 
heaven,  of  which  he  had  been  speaking.     The  expression 


358  PKE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUc. 

implies  a  literal  ascent  to  heaven,  which  v/as  to  be  an  ob- 
ject of  sense,  5s»giiT£ ;  and  the  intimation  of  this  gloriou? 
event,  v/hich  was  to  remove  all  their  doubts  and  their  of- 
fence, is  conjoined  with  a  repetition  in  simple  language  of 
that  assertion  at  which  they  had  been  offended.  The 
Evangelist  had  told  us  the  sense  which  the  Jev/s  affixed  to 
that  assertion  :  the  complaint  of  the  disciples  implies  that 
they  affixed  the  same  sense  to  it ;  and  we  cannot  suppose 
that  they  were  mistaken,  because  this  private  declaration 
of  our  Lord,  where  I  was  before,  is  expressly  calculated  to 
confirm  them  in  the  mistake.  You  have  our  Lord,  there- 
fore, in  this  sixth  chapter  of  John,  holding  both  in  the  sy- 
nagogue of  the  Jews,  and  in  a  confidential  intercourse 
with  the  disciples,  such  a  language  as  his  hearers  under- 
stood to  mean  that  he  was  in  heaven,  before  they  saw  him 
upon  earth. 

John  viii.  58.  "  Before  Abraham  w^as,  I  am."  The  old 
Socinian  interpretation  was : — "  I  exist  before  that  Pa- 
triarch has  become,  according  to  the  import  of  the  name 
Abraham,  the  Father  of  manjr  nations ;  for  that  name  is  to 
receive  its  fulfilment  by  the  preaching  of  my  religion,  in 
which  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  to  be  blessed  through 
the  seed  of  Abraham."  But  this  is  saying  nothing ;  for 
the  Jews,  to  whom  our  Lord  is  speaking,  existed  also  be- 
fore this  event :  I  am,  and  ye  all  are,  before  the  Patriai-ch 
becomes  Abraham  in  this  sense.  The  modern  Socinian 
interpretation  is  not  more  plausible.  "  Before  Abraham 
was  born,  I  am  he ;"  i.  e.  the  Christ,  in  the  destination  and 
appointment  of  God.  My  commission  as  Pv'Iessiah  was 
fixed  and  determined  by  the  Almighty,  before  Abraham 
had  a  being.  But  this  is  saying  nothing  peculiar  to  the 
Messiah  ;  tor  known  to  God  are  all  his  works.  The  exist- 
ence and  the  circumstances  of  the  meanest  creature  were 
as  much  fore-ordained  as  those  of  the  highest  angel.  The 
natural  meaning  of  the  words  is,  that  Christ  had  a  being 
before  the  birth  of  Abraham.  U^iv  yinc-ijcii  ixuv»v  is  a  com- 
m<ja  classical  phrase  for  before  his  birth  ;  and  although 
sya  u)'  might  rather  have  been  expected,  as  he  is  speaking 
of  existence  in  a  past  time,  yet  the  present  tense  does  af- 
firm existence  ;  and  there  is  a  reason  ibr  this  peculiar 
mode  of  expression  which  will  occur  aftei'wards.  This  ob- 
vious intei-pretation  of  the  words  is  very  much  confirmed 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS.  359 

by  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  spoken.  Our 
Lord  had  said,  "  Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see  my 
day,  and  he  saw  it,  and  was  glad."  The  Jews  understood 
from  this  expression  that  he  had  seen  Abraham,  that  is, 
they  understood  him  to  affirm  that  he  existed  in  Abra- 
ham's day  ;  vand  they  answered,  "  Thou  art  not  yet  fifty 
years  okl,  and  hast  thou  seen  Abraham  ?"  Our  Lord  had 
not  said  tliat  he  had  seen  Abraham,  but,  because  it  was 
true,  he  does  not  disavow  it ;  and  he  confirms  the  conclu- 
sion Avhich  they  had  drawn  from  his  former  saying,  by  de- 
claring expressly  that  he  existed  not  only  in  the  time,  but 
before  the  birth  of  Abraham.  "  Before  Abraham  was,  I 
am."  They  did  not  mistake  his  meaning  ;  but  they  were 
filled  with  indignation  at  the  presumption  which  his  words 
appeared  to  them  to  discover ;  and  "  they  took  up  stones 
to  cast  at  him."  Other  texts,  as  John  xvi.  28,  John  xiii.  3, 
1  Cor.  XV.  47,  2  Cor.  viii.  9,  also  teach  the  pre-existence 
of  Jesus. 

To  assist  you  in  understanding  the  principles  of  that  so- 
lution, by  which  the  Socinians  endeavour  to  evade  the 
force  of  the  plainest  declarations  concerning  the  pve-exist- 
ence  of  Jesus,  I  shall  give  a  particular  account  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  thej'^  explain  John  xvii.  3.  "  And  now,  O 
Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  ownself,  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was."  Jesus  ap- 
pears in  this  place  to  declare  explicitly,  and  at  a  most  so- 
lemn time,  when  he  "  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,"  and  in 
the  hearing  of  his  dibciples  prayed  to  God  immediately  be- 
fore he  Avent  out  to  the  garden  M'here  he  was  betrayed, 
that  he  had  glory  M'ith  the  Father  before  the  world  was : 
and  it  is  very  remarkable  that  he  introduces  the  mention 
of  this  glory,  when  it  was  not  necessary  to  complete  the 
sense  of  any  proposition ;  for  he  is  praying  that  God 
Avould  glorify  him.  And  yet,  as  if  on  purpose  to  prevent 
the  apostles  who  heard  the  prayer  from  supposing  that  he 
was  asking  that  which  he  had  not  possessed  in  any  former 
period,  he  adds,  "  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was."  To  a  plain  reader  it  would  seem, 
that,  if  Jesus  never  had  any  such  glory,  these  wortls,  ut- 
tered in  such  circunistnnres,  discover  the  highest  presump- 
tion and  impiety.  But,  observe  the  Socinian  exposition  : 
"  The  glory  for  which  Jesus  prays  is  something  posterior 


360  P RE-EXISTENCE  OP  JESUS. 

to  his  sufferings ;  yet  lie  speaks  of  it  in  the  22cl  and  24th 
verses  as  already  given  him,  tkv  ^a^oiv  mv  i/^rjv  yjv  %^ux.x<;  £ft»<. 
He  had  not  at  this  time  received  it ;  but  the  Father  had 
promised  it.     And  since  the  promise  of  God  can  never 
fail,  he  considers  it  as  fully  his  own  as  if  he  had  been  in 
possession  of  it.     In  the  same  manner  he  says  he  had  glory 
with  God  before  the  world  was ;  not  that  he   had  really 
been  in  possession  of  it  before  the  world  was,  but  because 
it  was  then  destined  for  him  by  God.     God  is  ?aid  to  have 
'  chosen  us  before  the  foundation  of  the  world ;'   and  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  said  to  be  prepared  for  us  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  although  we  had  then  no  being. 
And   so   Christ  says   that  God  loved    him,   and  that  he 
had    glory   with   God  before  he  had  a  being.     And  the 
glory   for   which    he    prays    is   not   his  own  private   ad- 
vancement, but  the  success  of  that  gospel  by  which  the 
virtue  and  happiness  of  mankind  were  to  be  promoted. 
This  had  been  his  sole  aim,  for  which  he  had  lived,  and  for 
which  he  was  about  to  die.     And  now,  at  the  approach  of 
death,  he  says,  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest 
me  to  do.     And  now,  O  Father,  complete  thine  own  work 
in  the   happy  beneficial   consequences  of  my  death,   and 
speedy  restoration  to  life,  as  in  thine  all-wise  eternal  pur- 
pose thou  hast  decreed."      These    are  the  most  exalted 
sentiments  which  can  be  conceived   to  animate  a  human 
breast ;  and  I  doubt  not  you  feel,  as  I  have  often  felt,  that 
admiration  of  these  sentiments  creates  a  kind  of  prejudice 
in  favour  of  that  interpretation,  which  supposes  them  to  be 
uttered,  in  the  most  trying  scenes,  by  a  mere  man.     But 
we  should  recollect  that  there  are  many  occasions  in  which 
the  infiuence  of  the  principle  of  admiration  makes  us  over- 
look the  simplicity  of  truth  ;  and  that  the  excellence  of  an 
object  is  then  really  known,   not  when  it  is  magnified  by 
our  imaginations  in  a  particular  light,  but  when  its  whole 
nature  is  considered.     The  Scriptures,  by  teaching  clearly 
the  pre-existence  of  Jesus,  by  representing  him  as  acting 
at  all  times  under  a  consciousness  of  his  original  dignity, 
and  an  assurance  of  his  exaltation,  do  not  leave  room  for 
that  enigmatical  exposition  of  the  words  of  this  prayer,  by 
which  his  sentiments  at  the  close  of  his  life  are  assimilated 
to  the  heroism  of  mortals.    The  expressions  which  he  uses, 
according  to  the  plain  sense  of  them,   are  becoming  him 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OP  JESUS. 


3G1 


T.lio  knew  whence  he  came  and  whither  he  was  going ; 
«ncl,  if  tiiej^  do  not  present  us  with  an  extraordinary  effort 
of  mere  human  virtue  in  the  Son  of  man,  thej'  present  us 
with  a  worthier  object  of  our  faith  and  liope,  the  Son  ot 
God,  who  had  been  made  man,  returning  to  his  Father. 

Before  I  leave  tliose  passages  which  teach  the  pre- 
pxistence  of  Jesus,  it  is  proper  to  speak  of  a  title,  the  true 
meaning  of  which  is  intimately  connected  v.ith  this  sub- 
ject. One  of  the  grotinds  of  the  Socinian  opinion,  I  said, 
is  this,  that  Jesus  commonly  designs  himself  the  Son  ol 
man,  and  that  the  other  title,  the  Son  of  God,  which  he 
sometimes  assumes,  admits  of  an  interpretation  not  incon- 
sistent with  his  being  a  mere  man.  This  interpretation 
the  Socinians  derive  from  different  passages  of  Scripture, 
where  Jesus  is  styled  the  Son  of  God,  for  reasons  that 
have  no  connexion  with  his  existence  in  a  jwevious  state. 
The  ffrst  is  his  miraculous  conception.  The  angel  said  to 
Mary,  "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the 
power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee ;  therefore 
also  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee,"  i.  e.  be- 
gotten of  thee,  "  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."  The 
second  is  the  distinguished  commission  which  he  received 
as  Messiah,  and  the  honour  conferred  upon  him.  For  in 
the  language  of  the  New  Testament  the  Christ,  or  Mes- 
siah, and  the  Son  of  God,  are  used  as  equivalent  inter- 
changeable terms.  "  We  believe,"  said  the  disciples, 
"  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."' 
The  High  Priest  asked  Jesus  at  his  trial,  "  Art  thou  the 
Son  of  the  Blessed?"  and  John  concludes  his  Gospel  with 
saying,  "  These  things  are  written  that  ye  might  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God."  There  is  still 
a  third  reason  upon  account  of  which  Jesus  is  called  in 
Scripture  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  is  his  resurrection 
For  Paul  says.  Acts  xiii.  33,  "  God  hath  fulfilled  the  pro- 
mise which  was  made  unto  the  fathers,  in  that  he  hath 
raised  up  Jesus  again,  as  it  is  also  written  in  the  second 
psalm,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee :" 
and  he  says  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  "Jesus  was  de- 
clared to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  by  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead."  It  appears  undeniably  from  these 
jjassages  that  there  is  an  intimate  connexion  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture  betMeen  this  title,  the  Son  of  God,  and 

VOL.  I.  u 


3G2  PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS. 

these  three  circmnstances,  the  miraculous  conception,  the 
office,  and  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  But  none  of  these 
three  necessarily  imply  that  he  existed  in  a  previous  state ; 
and,  therefore,  it  appears  to  me,  that  although  it  be  natu- 
ral to  form  the  most  exalted  conceptions  of  a  person  called 
the  Son  of  God,  yet,  if  no  other  premises  were  given  us, 
we  should  not  be  warranted  to  infer  the  pre-existence  of 
Jesus  from  his  bearing  that  name.  You  must  first  esta- 
blish by  other  evidence  that  he  did  pre-exist,  and  then 
you  infer,  from  his  being  called  the  Son  of  God,  that  the 
meaning  of  that  name  is  not  exhausted  by  his  miraculous 
conception,  his  office,  and  his  resurrection,  but  that  it 
serves  farther  to  intimate  the  manner  of  his  pre-existence. 
This  reasoning  Avould  be  fair  and  conclusive  if  our  Lord 
were  called  simply  the  Son  of  God.  But  its  conclusive- 
ness appears  more  manifest  when  you  consider  those  dis- 
criminating epithets  which  are  joined  to  this  name.  God 
is  our  Father  by  creation,  and  by  the  grace  of  the  Gospel, 
and  they  Avho  partake  of  that  grace  are  often  called  his 
sons.  But  Jesus  Christ  is  styled  his  own  Son,  the  Son  of 
his  love,  his  beloved  Son  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased  ;  and, 
in  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  of  John,  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God ;  all  which  imply  that  the  highest  meaning 
of  this  title  belongs  to  Jesus.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
phrase,  only  begotten  Son,  which  is  peculiar  to  John, 
means  nothing  more  than  beloved.  But  these  two  phrases 
are  not  synonymous  amongst  men.  A  child  may  be  only 
begotten  Avithout  being  beloved,  and  he  may  be  beloved 
without  being  only  begotten.  It  is  irreverent  to  suppose 
that  so  significant  a  phrase  would  be  emploj^ed  by  John 
upon  Such  a  subject,  in  a  sense  so  inferior  to  its  natural 
import.  And  it  is  known  that  the  Christians,  from  ilir 
earliest  times,  adopted  in  their  creeds  this  phrase,  his  only 
begotten  Son,  or  his  only  Son,  as  distinguishing  Jesus 
from  every  other  Son  of  God. 

Now  you  will  observe,  that  although  the  name  of  the 
Son  of  God  is  connected  in  Scripture  Avith  the  miraculous 
conception  of  Jesus,  his  office,  and  liis  resurrection,  none 
of  these  three  come  up  to  the  meaning  of  this  phrase,  the 

only  Son  of  God.     Not  his  miraculous  conception He 

was  indeed  conceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  Adam  also  is  called  the  Son  of  God;  and  unless  you 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS.  363 

deny  that  Jesus  was  truly  the  son  of  Mary,  you  must  ad  " 
mit  that  there  was  in  this  respect  still  greater  propriety  in 
giving  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God  to  a  person,   wlio,  be- 
ing formed  without  father  or  mother  out  of  the  dust  of  the 
earth,   was   still   more  immediately   the  workmanship  of 
God — Not  his  office  as  Messiah ;  for  many  special  mes- 
sengers had  been  sent  by  God  to  men   in  former  times. 
In  allusion  to  them,   Jesus  is  often  styled   a  prophet,  a 
messenger,  the  sent  of  God.     But  the  mark  of  distinction 
between  him  and  them,  wliich  some  prophecies  of  the  Old 
Testament  announce,   and  which  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  often  express,  is  this,  that  he  is  the  Son  of  God, 
his  only  begotten  Son;  words  which  have  no  meaning,  if 
they  refer  purely  to  that  commission  Avhich  he  received  in 
common  Avith  others,  and  A\hich  are  always  so  introduced 
as  to  lead  our  thoughts  to  a  character  Avhich  he  had  before 
he  received  the  commission.     Neither  does  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  come  up  to  the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God.     He  was  indeed  brought  by 
the  Father  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth.     But  we  are 
taught  that  all  who  are  in  their  graves  shall  rise  ;  and  he 
himself  hath  said  that  they  who  are  accounted  worthy  to 
obtain  the  world  to  come   are  the  children  of  God,  being 
the  children  of  the  resurrection,  wo/  itct  toxji  Qio-j,  t'/jc  a^,asra- 
Giu;  iiioi  ovrig.     According  to  the  views  given   in  Scrip- 
ture, Jesus  is  the  first  that  rose  from  the  dead  never  to 
die  any  more,  and  the  resurrection  of  good  men  is  the  ef- 
fect of  his.     He  is  thus,  in  respect  of  his  resurrection,  the 
first  among  many  brethren.      "  Every   one   in  his  own 
order,   Christ  the  first  fruits ;   afterwards   they   that   are 
Christ's."     His  resurrection  was  indeed  the   demonstra- 
tion that  that  name  av  hich  he  had  taken  to  himself  during 
his  life  did  really  belong  to  him  ;  and  therefore  it  is  said, 
he  "  was  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  Avith  poAver  by  his 
resurrection."     But  to  say  that  his  resurrection  made  him 
the  Son  of  God  is  to  confound  the  evidence  of  a  thing 
Avith  the  thing  itself. 

These  few  remarks  may  satisfj^  j^ou  that  neither  tlic 
miraculous  conception  of  Jesus,  nor  his  office,  nor  his  re- 
surrection, contains  the  full  import  of  this  name,  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.  But  there  is  a  more  ancient  and  a 
more  exalted  title  to  this  name,  Avhich  is  inseparable  from 


364  PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  JESUS. 

his  nature.  I  enter  not  at  present  into  the  various  and 
intricate  speculations  to  which  this  subject  has  given  oc- 
casion. We  shall  be  better  prepared  afterwards  for  touch- 
ing them  slightly.  I  meant  only,  by  connecting  the  men- 
tion of  this  name  with  those  passages  which  teach  the  pre- 
existence  of  Jesus,  to  make  you  bear  in  your  minds  dur- 
ing the  progress  ofour  researches,  that  the  peculiar  reasons 
of  a  name,  which  you  will  find  uniformly  appropriated  to 
Jesus,  are  to  be  sought  for  not  in  the  history  of  his  ap- 
pearance upon  earth,  but  in  those  passages  which  contain 
the  revelation  of  his  pre-existent  state. 


365 


CHAP,  IV. 


ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS  IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE. 


Creation. 


Having  drawn  from  explicit  declarations  of  Scripture 
sufficient  evidence  that  Jesus  existed  before  he  was  born 
of  Marjs  I  am  next  to  direct  your  attention  to  those  pas- 
sages which  ascribe  to  him  different  actions  in  his  pre- 
existent  state.  The  nature  of  the  actions,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  narrated,  will  unaV-oidably  lead  us  to 
form  some  conception  of  the  character  and  dignity  which 
belonged  to  Jesus  before  he  appeared  upon  earth  ;  so  that, 
if  this  branch  of  the  examination  shall  confirm  the  belief 
of  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus,  it  will  not  only  destroy  the 
first  opinion,  but  Avill  assist  us  in  comparing  the  grounds 
upon  which  the  second  and  third  opinions  rest. 

As  no  action  in  which  we  have  any  concern  can  be 
more  ancient  than  creation,  it  is  natural  to  begin  with 
those  passages  in  which  creation  is  ascribed  to  Jesus.  The 
Apostle  Paul  says,  Eph.  iii.  9,  "  God,  who  created  all 
things  by  Jesus  Christ."  But  as  the  last  words,  dt'  IriSc-j 
Xpistov,  are  not  found  in  the  most  ancient  MSS.  and  were 
not  quoted  by  any  of  the  Christian  writers  before  the 
Council  of  Nice,  it  is  conjectured  by  Mill,  in  whose  valu- 
able edition  of  the  Greek  Testament  all  the  various  read- 
ings are  collected,  that  these  words  were  first  written  in 
the  margin,  as  a  commentary  suggested  by  expressions  in 
the  other  Epistles,  and  were  afterwards  adopted  by  the 
transcribers  of  the  New  Testament  into  the  text.  The 
conjecture  appears  plausible,  and  the  most  zealous  defen- 
der of  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus  need  not  hesitate  to  sub- 


366  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

scribe  to  it ;  for  our  faith  in  this  important  article,  that  he 
is  the  Creator  of  the  world,  does  by  no  means  rest  upon 
this  incidental  expression,  which,  supposing  that  it  was 
not  originally  written  by  the  apostle,  would  never  have  ob- 
tained a  place  in  the  text,  had  it  not  been  literally  derived 
from  the  more  full  declarations  contained  in  other  passages 
of  Scriptui'e. 

These  full  declarations  are  found  in  the  beginning  of  the 
Gospel  of  John,  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians,  and  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  All  the  three  ap})ear  to  teach,  explicitly  and 
particularly,  that  Jesus  is  the  Creator  of  the  world.  Yet 
they  have  received  different  interpretations,  of  which  you 
ought  not  to  be  ignorant ;  and  your  being  able  to  deduce 
with  certiiinty  that  which  we  account  the  true  meaning  of 
the  words,  and  to  defend  it  against  the  objections  by  which 
it  has  been  attacked,  depends  upon  the  knowledge  of  cir- 
■eunistances  which  form  so  essential  a  branch  of  your  stu- 
dies, that  I  think  it  my  duty  to  give  a  particular  elucida- 
tion of  these  three  passages. 


SECTION  I. 

JOHN  I.  1 18. 


You  will  begin  with  observing  the  steps  by  which  the 
apostle  jjroceeds  in  enunciating  his  meaning.  The  first 
five  verses  do  not  of  themselves  mark  out  the  person  to 
Avhom  they  apply.  It  would  seem  that  a  person  is  intend- 
ed :  For  time,  sv  ag%»3,  place,  wo;  rov  &iov,  and  action,  -^-avra 
5('  a-jTo-j  sysjfro,  are  ascribed  to  6  Aoyo;.  But  the  name  is 
)iot  clear  enough  to  mark  out  who  he  is.  In  the  6th  verse 
there  is  the  proper  name  of  a  man,  loMvvni.  And  it  appears 
from  the  sequel  of  the  chapter,  that  this  lijavvjj;  is  the  per- 
son whom  we  are  accustomed  to  call  John  the  Baptist.  It 
is  said  of  this  lua-m,g,  in  the  7th  verse,  olrog  ri>Jiv  sig  (lasrvsiav, 
ha  fjt,aorusr,(r'y]  Tiei  tov  (pairog.  The  article  defines  the  word 
(puTog,  and  leads  you  back  to  a  light  already  spoken  of,  and 


IX  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  367 

consequently  supposed  to  be  known  to  the  reader  ;  L  e.  tiis^ 
light  mentioned  in  the  4th  verse,  which,  from  the  construc- 
tion, is  unquestionably  the  same  with  6  Xoyo;.  Ev  avrw,  i.  e. 
?.oyw,  ^w)j  rjv,  xai  rj  ^utj  vjv  to  (put,  ruv  ayi}^'jyr'jiv.  It  is  said  in  tlie 
5th  vei'se  that  this  light  appears  ;  and  the  7th  verse  estab- 
lishes a  connexion  betv/een  the  appearance  of  the  light  and 
the  appearance  of  John,  for  he  came  to  bear  witness  of  it. 
8th  verse,  oyx  ^i/  va-bivo;  to  pcoj,  aX}C  ha  n,ao  rv^r,ar]  rrsoi  ro-j 
ip'MTOi.  The  time  of  this  shining  of  the  light  must  have 
been  posterior  to  the  appearance  of  John,  and  the  manner 
of  the  shining  must  have  been  explained  by  his  words, 
otherwise  his  testimony  could  not  have  been  of  any  use  in 
making  men  believe.  But  John  the  Baptist  was  the  con- 
temporary and  the  countryman  of  the  writer  of  this  Gos- 
pel. He  died,  indeed,  at  an  early  period  of  life.  Still, 
however,  many  of  the  persons  into  wliose  hands  this  Gos- 
pel came  might  know  perfectlj'^,  eitlier  from  their  own  re- 
collection, or  from  wliat  they  had  heard  others  report,  the 
general  purport  of  John's  testimony,  so  as  to  be  directed 
by  his  words  in  applying  the  expression  of  the  evangelist. 
Those,  who  knew  what  John  the  Baptist  had  said,  could 
not  fail  to  know  what  was  the  ro  (p'jj;  of  which  he  came  to 
bear  witness.  It  is  further  stated  that  the  person  who  had 
been  called  in  the  iirst  five  verses,  6  Xoyog  and  to  poig,  was 
an  inhabitant  of  earth  at  the  time  of  John's  appearance  ; 
for  you  read  in  the  10th  verse,  iv  tm  zogim'j)  '/jf, — 14th  verse, 
iOiOLaaij.iQa  tyiv  oo'^av  aurov.  And  this  glory,  which  was  be- 
held, was  not  a  celestial  transient  glory,  dazzling  the  sight 
of  mortals  like  a  meteor,  and  quickly  hid  in  clouds  ;  for  6 
Aoyog  ffaa^  syivsro,  7cai  id/trivoiSiv  sv  tj/JjIv.  It  appeared  in  a  bo- 
dily substantial  form.  The  person,  who  has  been  called  6 
Xoyo;,  pitched  his  tent,  dwelt  for  some  time  amongst  men, 
and  while  the  glory  which  they  beheld  impressed  them 
with  a  notion  of  his  dignity,  he  engaged  their  affections  by 
the  grace  of  his  manners  ;  for  he  was  rrXri^rig  %aa/ro;  zai  akri- 
6ua;.  Here  are  limiting  circumstances  so  peculiar  in  their 
nature,  that  they  cannot  apply  to  any  other  inhabitant  of 
earth  in  the  days  of  John  Baptist  but  that  extraordi- 
nary personage,  whose  memory  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
his  countrymen  when  this  Gospel  was  written,  and  whose 
name  is  expressly  mentioned  in  the  17th  verse,  Irjsov; 
Xg/ffroj.     It  deserves  particular  notice,  that  with  all  that 


368 


ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 


simplicit}''  of  manner  whicli  distinguishes  the  writer  of  this 
Gospel,  he  has  insei'ted  this  name  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  it  the  explication  of  all  that  had  gone  before.  He 
had  said  in  the  14th  verse,  6  Xoyoj  ffa^g  sysviro'  /.at  sS/itivoigzv 
sv  Tjfxiv,  (^zui  iSiaga/j.s(}a  tTiV  8o^av  aurou,  do^av  ug  /M'^nysnug 
Kraoa  <;:a.Tooc,)  tA^^jj;  yj/.^trog  xai  akrfinac.  Here  he  applies 
to  6  Xoyoj,  the  person  of  whom  he  had  been  speaking  from 
the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  two  phrases,  iMmysv/ig,  and 
tXjjp'/jj  yjxpirog  ymi  aXr\htu.g  :  and  in  the  17th  verse,  he  in- 
troduces the  name,  IryCouc  Xj/irrog,  after  the  repetition  of  one 
of  these  phrases,  and  before  the  repetition  of  the  other, 
manifestly  connecting  the  name  with  both  the  phrases.  It 
appears,  then,  from  this  general  analysis  of  these  eighteen 
verses,  that  this  evangelist  must  be  not  merely  a  most  incon- 
sequential writer,  but  a  writer  who  purposely  and  artificially 
misleads  his  readers,  unless  the  person  who  is  called  6  Xoyoj 
in  the  first  verse  be  the  same  who  is  called  Ijjcoyj  X^'/orog 
in  the  17th,  that  is,  unless  the  whole  of  this  passage  be  ap- 
plicable to  Jesus  Christ.  But  if  the  whole  be  applicable 
to  him,  we  have  the  testimony  of  an-  apostle,  that  all  things 
were  made  by  him.  Havra  ht'  avrou  sysviTO'  xai  yyoig  avTO-o 
sy-vs70  cvd-  sv  6  y-yovs. 

I  have  chosen  to  lead  you  in  this  manner  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  person  meant  by  6  Xoyog,  because  the  fairest 
way  of  interpreting  a  passage  is  to  lay  the  whole  of  it  to- 
gether, and  so  bring  the  sense  of  an  author  out  of  his 
words.  But  it  is  natural  to  inquire,  why  did  John  use 
this  dark  expression  ?  Why  has  he  begun  his  Gospel  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  require  this  circuitous  method  of  ar- 
riving at  his  meaning?  Would  it  not  have  been  better  to 
have  said  plainly,  In  the  beginning  was  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Jesus  Christ  was  with  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  was  God  ? 

In  answer  to  this  question,  you  Avill  recollect  that  many 
of  those  modes  of  expression  in  ancient  writers,  which  ap- 
jiear  hurtfid  to  perspicuity,  were  dictated  by  some  circum- 
stances peculiar  to  the  country,  or  the  times  in  which  the 
writers  lived;  and  tliat  the  obscurity,  in  which  to  us  such 
expressions  seem  to  be  involved,  is  removed  by  the  know- 
ledge of  those  circumstances  which  rendered  them  the 
most  proper  and  significant  when  they  were  used.  There 
has  been  much  dispute  what  were  the  circumstances  that 
led  John  to  use  this  expression,  6  Xoyoc.     The  subject  is 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  369 

involved  in  considerable  obscurity  from  our  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  dates  of  particular  tenets.  But  I  shall 
endeavour  to  give,  in  a  short  compass,  the  result  of  a  very 
fatiguing  examination  of  the  dispute. 

Before  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  there  were  Targums, 
i.  e.  Chaldee  paraphrases  of  the  Old  Testament,  for  the 
use  of  the  vulgar  Jews,  wlio,  upon  their  return  from  the 
Babylonish  captivity,  did  not  understand  the  original  He- 
brew. As  these  Targums  were  composed  by  the  learned 
men  of  the  nation,  and  portions  of  them  were  read  every 
Sabbath-day  in  the  synagogues,  they  may  be  considered 
as  the  national  interpretation  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures  : 
and  they  have  often  been  quoted  by  those  who  have  en- 
tered deeply  into  the  argument  from  prophecy,  as  the 
vouchers  of  the  sense  which  the  Jews  aftixed  to  their  own 
predictions  before  the  days  of  our  Saviour.  These  Tar- 
gums, in  almost  every  place  where  Jehovah  is  mentioned 
in  the  Hebrew  as  talking  with  men,  assisting  them,  or 
holding  any  immediate  intercourse  Avith  them,  have  used 
this  circumlocution,  the  word  of  Jehovah.  In  the  Hebrew, 
Jehovah  created  man  in  his  own  image  ;  in  the  Targum,  the 
word  of  Jehovah  created  man.  In  the  Hebrew,  Adam  and  Eve 
heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God  ;  in  the  Targum,  they 
heard  the  voice  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  God.  In  the 
Hebrew,  Jehovah  thy  God,  he  it  is  that  goeth  before  thee  ; 
in  the  Targum,  Jehovah  thy  God,  his  word  goeth  before 
thee.  Those  who  are  qualified  to  judge  of  this  matter 
say  that  all  the  personal  characters  of  action  are  ascribed 
in  the  Targums  to  the  Word ;  and  that  there  are  places 
•where  the  sense  renders  it  impossible  to  understand  the 
word  of  Jehovah  as  merely  an  idiom  of  the  language  equi- 
valent to  Jehovah.  Thus  in  the  Hebrew  it  is,  God  came 
to  Abimelech ;  in  the  Targum,  his  word  came  from  the 
face  of  God  to  Abimelech.  And  the  110th  Fsalm  is  thus 
paraphrased.  Jehovah  said  to  his  Word,  sit  thou  at  my 
right  hand.  We  cannot  suppose  that  this  mode  of  expres- 
sion would  have  been  introduced  into  the  Targums,  at  the 
time  when  they  were  composed,  had  it  then  appeared  a 
novelty ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that,  by  the  weekly  read- 
ing of  the  paraphrases,  it  would  become  familiar  to  the 
ears  of  Jews.  Accordingly,  in  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon, 
a  book  which  is  understood  to  have  been  written  a  hun- 


370  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

di'ed  years  before  Christ,  we  meet  with  the  following  ex- 
pression, referring  to  the  judgment  upon  the  land  of 
Egypt :  "  Thine  ahiiighty  word  leaped  down  from  heaven 
out  of  tliy  royal  throne,  as  a  fierce  man  of  war  into  the 
midst  of  a  land  of  destruction,  and  brought  thine  unfeign- 
ed connuandment  as  a  sharp  sword,  and  standing  up,  filled 
all  things  with  death,  and  it  touclied  the  heavens,  but  it 
stood  upon  the  earth."'*  This  may  appear  to  you  a  bold 
expressive  figure  for  the  divine  energy  which  was  exerted 
in  the  punishment  of  the  Egyptians,  in  the  same  manner 
as  that  passage  in  Psalm  xxxiii.  "  By  the  vi^ord  of  the 
Lord  were  the  heavens  made,"  does  not  necessarily  con- 
vey to  a  mind  accustomed  to  weigh  the  import  of  lan- 
guage any  more  than  that  the  heavens  were  made  by  the 
Lord.  But  there  appears  the  best  reason  for  thinking 
that  the  constant  use  of  this  circumlocution  cherished  in 
the  minds  of  the  body  of  the  Jews  the  belief  that  there 
was  a  person  distinct  from  the  Father  whose  name  was  the 
word  of  Jehov^ah  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Philo,  a  learned 
Jev/,  bred  at  Alexandria,  who  lived  about  the  time  of  our 
Saviour,  whose  books  were  published  before  his  death, 
s})eaks  in  numberless  places  of  the  "kr^yog,  whom  he  calls  a 
second  God,  the  Son  of  God,  the  image  of  God,  the  in- 
strument by  whom  God  made  the  Morlds.  Philo  did  not 
learn  this  word  in  the  Platonic  school ;  for  although  ao- 
yog  occurs  often  in  the  writings  of  the  later  Platonists, 
who  lived  in  the  second  and  third  centuries,  there  is  no 
evidence  that  Plato,  or  any  of  his  disciples  before  Philo, 
used  ^.oyoj  as  the  name  of  a  person  distinct  from  God.  It 
is  do.nbted  by  Mosheira  whether  Philo  himself  believed 
that  there  was  a  distinction;  and  that  indefatigable  in- 
quirer has  brought  together,  in  his  notes  upon  Cudworth, 
several  passages  v.hich  appear  to  me  to  make  it  probable 
that  Philo,  like  many  other  philosophers,  had  an  esoteric 
and  an  exotei'ic,  a  secret  and  an  ostensible  doctrine.  His 
secret  doctrine  was,  that  what  his  countrymen  called  7,oyog 
was  nothing  else  but  the  conception  formed  in  the  mind 
of  God  of  the  work  which  he  was  to  execute,' and  that 
Avhat  they  accounted  a  distinction  of  persons  was  ideal  and 
nominal,  accommodated  to  the  narrowness  of  our  appre- 

*   Wisdom  i&£,  Solomon,  xviii.  15,  16. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  371 

liension.     But  if  tiii:3  was  truly  liis  private  sentiment,  his 
calling  the  Xoyng  the  Son  of  God,  and  a  second  God,  is  a 
proof  that  the  opinion  concerning  the  Word  of  Jehovah  as 
a  person,  had  so   firm  a  possession  of  the  minds  of  his 
countrymen,   that  he   did  not   wish  to   offend  them    by 
teaching  openly  and  unequivocally  a  doctrine  oppositi;  to 
that  which  they  had  derived  from  Scripture  and  tradition. 
Not  long  after  the  writings  of  Philo   were  publislied, 
there  arose  the  Gnostics,  a  sect,  or  rather  a  multitude  of 
sects,  who  having  learned  in  the  same  Alexandrian  school 
to  blend  the   principles   of  oriental  philosophy  with   the; 
.doctrine  of  Plato,  formed  a  system  most  repugnant  to  the. 
simplicity  of  Christian  faith.     It  is  this  system  which  Paul 
so  often  attacks  under  the  name  of  "  false  philosophy, 
strifes  of  words,  endless  genealogies,  science  falsely  so  call- 
ed."    The  foundation  of  the  Gnostic  system  was  the  in- 
trinsic and  incorrigible  depravity  of  matter.     Upon  this 
principle  they  made  a  total  separation  between  the  spi- 
ritual and  the  material  world.     Accounting  it  impossible 
to  educe  out  of  matter  any  thing  which  was  good,   they 
held  that  the  Supreme  Being,  wlio  presided  over  the  in- 
numerable spirits  that  were  emanations  from  himself,  did 
not  make  this  earth,  but  that  a  spirit  of  an  inferior  nature, 
very  far  removed  in  character  as  well  as  in  rank  from  the 
Supreme  Being,  formed  matter  into  that  order  which  con- 
stitutes the  world,  and  gave  life  to  the  different  creatures 
that  inhabit  the  earth.     They  held  that  this  Inferior  Spirit 
was  the  Ruler  of  the  creatures  whom  he  had  made,   and 
they  considered  men,  whose  souls  he  imprisoned  in  earth- 
ly tabernacles,  as  experiencing  under  his  dominion   tlie 
misery  which  necessarily  arose  from  their  connexion  with 
matter,  and  as   estranged  from  the  knowledge  of  the  ti'ue 
God.     Most  of  the  later  sects  of  the  Gnostics   rejected 
every  part  of  the  Jewish  law,  because  the  books  of  Moses 
give  a  view  of  the  creation  inconsistent  with  their  system. 
But  some  of  their  earlier  sects,  consisting  of  Alexandrian 
Jews,  incorporated  a  respect  for  the  law  with  the  princi- 
ples of  their  system.     They  considered  the  Old  Testa- 
mtrnt  dispensation  as  granted  by  the   8:,a!(jvoyo;  the  iVIaker 
and  Ruler  of  the  world,  who  was  incapable  from  his  want 
of  power,  of  delivering  those  who  I'eceived  it  from  the 
thraldom  of  matter:  and  they  looked  for  a  more  glorious 


372  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

messenger,  wliom  the  compassion  of  the  Supreme  Beinsj 
was  to  send  for  the  purpose  of  emancipating  the  human- 
race.  Those  Gnostics  who  embraced  Christianity  regard- 
ed the  Christ  as  this  messenger,  an  exalted  JEon,  who  be- 
ing in  some  manner  vinited  to  the  man  Jesus,  put  an  end 
to  the  dominion  of  the  ^ri,'jbi<jioyr;c,  and  restored  the  souls  of 
men  to  eomraunion  with  God.  It  was  natural  for  the 
Christian  Gnostics  who  had  received  a  Jewish  education, 
to  follow  the  steps  of  Philo,  and  the  general  sense  of  their 
countrymen,  in  giving  the  name  Xoyog  to  the  driMou^yoc  ; 
and  as  XpiSto;  was  understood  from  the  beginning  of  our 
Lord's  ministry  to  be  the  Greek  word  equivalent  to  the 
Jewish  name  Messiah,  there  came  to  be,  in  their  system, 
a  direct  opposition  between  Xoicrog  and  Xoyog.  Aoyog  was 
the  maker  of  the  world  :  X^ierog  was  the  iEon  sent  to  de- 
■^troy  the  tyranny  of  Xoyog. 

One  of  the  first  teachers  of  this  system  was  Ccrinthus. 
We  have  not  any  particular  account  of  all  the  branches 
of  his  system  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  we  may  ascribe  to- 
him  some  of  those  tenets  by  which  later  sects  of  Gnostics 
were  discriminated.  But  we  have  authority  for  saying" 
that  the  general  principle  of  the  Gnostic  scheme  was  open- 
ly taught  by  Cerinthus  before  the  publication  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  John.  The  authority  is  that  of  Irenasus,  a  bishop 
who  lived  in  the  second  century,  who  in  his  youth  had 
heard  Polj'carp,  the  disciple  of  the  apostle  John,  and  who 
retained  the  discourses  of  Polyearp  in  his  memory  till  his^ 
death.  There  are  yet  extant  of  the  works  of  Irenasus 
five  books  which  he  wrote  against  heresies,  one  of  the 
most  authentic  and  valuable  monuments  of  theological 
erudition.  In  one  place  of  that  work  he  says,  that  Ce- 
rinthus taught  in  Asia  that  the  world  was  not  made  by  the 
Supreme  God,  but  by  a  certain  power  very  separate  and 
far  removed  from  the  Sovereign  of  the  Universe,  and  ig- 
norant of  his  nature.*  In  another  place,  he  saj'^s,  that 
John  the  apostle  wished,  by  his  Gospel,  to  extirpate  the 
error  which  had  been  spread  among  men  by  Cerinthus  ;f 
and  Jerome,  who  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  says  that 
Jolni  wrote  his  Gospel,  at  the  desire  of  the  Bishops  of 
Asia,  against  Cerinthus  and  otbei;  heretics,  and  chiefly 

*  Iren.  contra  Hser.  lib  ill.  cap.  xi.  1.         -f-  Id.  lib.  i.  xxvi,  1. 


JN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  373 

agaihst  the  doctrines  of  the  Ebionites,  then  springing  up, 
wlio  said  that  Christ  did  not  exist  before  he  was  born  of 
Mary.* 

From  laying  these  accounts  together  it  appears  to  have 
been  tiie  tradition  of  the  Christian  Church,  that  John,  who 
lived  to  a  great  age,  and  who  resided  at  Ephesus,  in  pro- 
consular Asia,  was  moved  by  the  growth  of  the  Gnostic 
heresies,  and  by  the  solicitations  of  the  Christian  teachers, 
to  bear  his  testimony  to  the  truth  in  writing,  and  particu- 
larly to  recollect  those  discourses  and  actions  of  our  Lord, 
which  might  furnish  the  clearest  refutation  of  the  persons 
who  denied  his  pre-existence.     This  tradition  is  a  key  to 
a  great  part  of  his  Gospel.     Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke, 
had  given  a  detail  of  those  actions  of  Jesus  which  are  the 
evidences  of  his  divine  mission  :   of  those   events  in  his 
life  upon  earth  which  are   most  interesting  to  the  human 
race  ;  and  of  those  moral  discourses  in  Avhich  the  wisdom, 
the  grace,  and  the   sanctity  of  the  Teacher  shine   with 
united  lustre.     Their  whole  narration   implies  that  Jesus 
was  more  than   man.     But  as  it  is  distinguished  by   a 
beautiful  simplicity  which  adds  very  much  to  their  credit 
as  historians,  they  have  not,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
incidental  expressions,  formally  stated  the  conclusion  that 
Jesus  was  more  than  man,  but  have  left  the   Christian 
world  to  draw  it  for  themselves  from  the  facts  narrated,  or 
to  receive  it  by  the  teaching  and  the  writings  of  the  Apos- 
tles.    John,  who  was  preserved  by  God  to  see  this  con- 
clusion,   which    had   been  drawn    by  the  great  body  of 
Christians,  and  had  been   established   in  tlie  Epistles,  de- 
nied by  difterent  heretics,  brings  forward,   in  the  form  of 
a  history  of  Jesus,  a   view  of  his  exalted  character,  and 
draws  our  attention  particularly  to  the  truth  of  that  which 
had  been  denied.     Wlien  you  come  to  analyze  the  Gospel 
of  John,  you  will  find  that  the  first  eighteen  verses  con- 
tain the  positions  laid  down  by  the  Apostle,  in  order  to 
meet  the  errors  of  Cerinthus  ;  that  these  positions,  which 
are  merely  affirmed  in  the  introduction,  are  proved  in  the 
progress  of  the   Gospel,   by  the  testimony  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  by  the  words  and  the  actions  of  our  Lord  ;  and 
that  after  the  proof  is  concluded  by   the  declaration  of 

•  Jerome  De  Vit.  lUust.  cap.  ix. 


374  ACTIONS  ASCBIBED  TO  JESUS 

Thomas,  who,  upon  being  convinced  that  Jesus  had  risen, 
said  to  him,  "  my  Lord  and  my  God,"  John  sums  up  the 
amount  of  his  Gospel  in  these  fcAvwords:  "  These  are  written 
that  ye  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,"  i.  e.  that  Jesus  and  the  Christ  are  not  distinct  pei'- 
.sons,  and    that   Jesus  Christ   is  the   Son  of  God.     The 
Apostle  does  not  condescend  to   mention   the   name  of 
Cerinthus,  because  that  would  have  preserved,  as  long  as 
the  world  lasts,  the  memory  of  a  name  which  might  other- 
wise be   forgotten.     But   although  there  is   dignity  and 
propriety  in  omitting  the  mention  of  his  name,  it  was  ne- 
cessary, in  laying  down  the   positions  that  were  to  meet 
his  errors,  to  adopt  seme  of  his  words,  because  the  Chris- 
tians of  those  days  could  not  so  readily  have  applied  the 
doctrine  of  the  Apostle  to  the  refutation  of  those  heresies 
which  Cerinthus  was  spreading  among  them,  if  tliey  had 
not  found  in  the  exposition  of  that  doctrine  some  of  the 
terms   in   which   the    heresy  was  delivered:    and  as  the 
chief  of  these  terms,  Xoyog,  which  Cerinthus  applied  to  an 
inferior  spirit,  was  equivalent  to  a  phrase  in  common  use 
among  the  Jews,  the  word  of  Jehovah,  and  was  probably 
borrowed  from  thence,  John,  by  his  use  of  "koyog,  rescues 
it  from   the  degraded  use  of  Cerinthus,    and   restores  it 
to  a  sense  corresponding   to  the  dignity  of  the  Jewish 
phrase. 

You  will  perceive  from  this  induction  the  fitness  Avith 
which  the  Apostle  John  introduces  this  word  Xuyoc,  al- 
though it  had  not  been  used  by  the  other  Evangelists  Avho 
wrote  before  the  errors  of  Cerinthus.     You  may  think  it 
.strange  that  Xoync,  which  is  announced  with  such  solemnity 
at  the  beginning,   does  not  occur  again  in  this  Gos2iel. 
But  the  reason  is  suggested  by  the  introduction  itself. 
John  has  said  in  the  14th  verse,   6  Xoyog  cao^  sysviro,  and 
he  has  inserted  Jesus  Christ  in  the  17th  verse  as  the  name 
of  the  man  who  was  the  Word  made  flesh.     Our  Lord  was 
y.oyog  in  the  beginning.     But  during   his    ministry  upon 
earth  his  name  was   properly  Jesus    Christ  ;   and   John 
might  suppose  that  every  reader  who  was  acquainted  with 
his  introduction  would  understand  by  that  name,  as  often 
as  it  occurred,  the  same  person  whom  he  had  there  called 
Xoyog.     But  although  this  name  could  not  with  propriety 
occur  in  a  history  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  it  is  found  in 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  375 

rlie  beginning  of  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  which,  like  his 
Gospel,  was  opposed  to  the  errors  of  Cerinthus.  "  That 
which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have  heard, 
which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked 
upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the  word  of  life,  tjj; 
rcy  Aoyou  t'/j;  ^wtjs,  that  declare  we  unto  you."  And  in  one 
of  those  sublime  descriptions  of  the  person  of  our  Saviour, 
in  his  glorified  state,  which  are  found  in  the  book  of  Re- 
velation, this  name  is  directly  applied  to  him.  "  And  he 
was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipt  in  blood  ;  and  his  name 
is  called  the  Word  of  God,"'  6  Xoyog  rov  Qiou.  Rev.  xix.  13. 
If  the  book  of  Revelation  was  ^vritten,  as  there  has  always 
appeared  to  me  great  reason  to  suppose,  before  the  Gospel 
of  John,  this  direct  application  of  6  Xoycg  to  our  Saviour, 
would  render  it  easy  for  the  Christians  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  this  introduction. 

After  having  gone  at  such  length  into  the  reason  of  the 
use  of  the  word  Xcr/og,  which  is  the  only  real  difficulty  in 
this  passage,  I  shall  easily  deduce  the  proposition  for  the 
sake  of  which  I  quoted  it,  that  Jesus  created  the  world. 
Observe  then,  that  tv  a^xv  necessarily  brings  to  our  minds 
the  first  words  of  Genesis,  ef  a^%ji  sto/jjcji/  6  ©so;  rov  ouoavov 
■/.ai  rr,v  yr^v ;  and  that  both  by  tliis  obvious  reference  to  a 
well-known  passage,  and  by  what  is  said  in  the  third  verse, 
Taira  hi  avrov  sysvsro,  iv.  a^xV  ^^^^^  l^e  understood  to  mean 
a  time  before  any  thing  was  made.  The  Apostle  asserts 
that,  at  this  time,  sv  o-oyri,  the  Word  was.  He  does  not 
say  zyviiTo,  was  made,  but  ?jv,  existed  ;  and  that  the  Word 
existed,  not  in  a  state  of  distance,  but  cr^o:  ro'i  Qsov,  at,  or 
with  God ;  not  in  a  state  of  inferiority,  but  Gso;  tjv  6 
}.oyog.  This  last  clause  is  properly  rendered,  "  The  Word 
was  God."  It  is  common  in  the  Greek  language  to  dis- 
tinguish the  subject  of  a  proposition  from  the  predicate, 
by  prefixing  the  article  to  tlie  subject,  and  giving  no  arti- 
cle to  the  predicate.  Examples  of  this  will  be  found  in 
Dr.  Campbell's  Commentary,  and  will  occur  to  those  who 
are  familiar  with  the  New  Testament  in  the  original.  John 
iv.  24  ;  xvii.  10. 

To  draw  the  attention  of  the  Christians  to  the  error  of 
Cerinthus,  the  second  position  is  rejieated  in  the  second 
verse,  6  Xoyog  tjv  rr^og  rov  Q=ov :  and  then,  after  tliis  explicit 
repeated  affirmation  of  his  original  dignity,  it  is  added,  cravra 


376  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

3/'  aurou  ijimo.     It  is  not  said  that  all  other  things  wera 
made  by  him,   as  if  he  was  one  created  being.     But  Tccira 
t!   avrou  iysvsTo :    and,   according  to  the   manner   of  this 
apostle,  which  abounds  In  repetition,  and  is  here  peculiarly 
fitted  to  meet  the  error  of  Cerinthus,  it  is  added,  x^S'^  aurov 
iyinra  ouSe  \\>  h  yiyovi,  which  marks    strongly  that  his  cre- 
ating power  extended  to  all  j^arts  of  the  universe.     "  In 
him,"    says  the   apostle,    "  was   the  life   of  men."      Not 
only  the  great  oljjects  of  nature  were  formed  by  him,  but 
every  individual   being,   every  animal,  derived  existence 
from  him.     When  he  came  to  enlighten  the  world  which 
he  had  made,  he  came  ng  ra  ibia,  to  his  own  dominion,  and 
thoee  who  did  not  receive  him  were  o'l  idioi,  his  own  sub- 
jects.   According  to  the  system  of  the  Gnostics,  the  Christ, 
the  light  of  the  world,   came  into  the  territory  of  another, 
to  emancipate  men  from  the  tyranny  of  their  maker.    But 
here  original  creation  and  future  illumination  are  express- 
ly  ascribed  to  the  same  person,    who  being   before    all 
things  with  God,  in  the  beginning  made,  and  at  a  subse- 
quent period  enlightened,  the  world.     I  have  only  further 
to  remark,  that  Xoyog  and  /xovoyivrig,  which,   in  the  system 
of  some  of  the  Gnostics,  were  different  tEous,  are  in  this 
passage  the  same  with  Jesus  Christ. 

Having  thus  easily  attained  the  proposition,  which  this 
passage  was  adduced  to  prove,  I  shall  not  have  occasion 
to  occupy  time  in  refuting  the  two  other  interpretations 
which  it  has  received.  The  one  is  the  old  Socinian  in- 
terpretation, according  to  which  Jesus  is  called  Xoyog, 
merely  because  he  revealed  or  spoke  the  will  of  God  to 
man  ;  and  the  first  three  verses  receive  the  following  pa- 
raphrase. "  In  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel,  there  was  a 
man,  who,  being  the  rcvealer  of  God's  will,  was  called  6 
Xoyog,  who  was  with  God,  being  taken  up  to  heaven  after 
his  birth,  that  he  might  tlierc  learn  what  he  was  to  teach 
to  others  ;  and  who  received,  after  his  resurrection,  the 
title  of  God,  in  virtue  of  the  powers  conferred  upon  him, 
and  the  office  to  which  he  was  exalted.  By  this  person 
the  Gospel  dispensation  was  established,  and  without  him 
no  part  of  the  world  Mas  reformed."  According  to  this 
interpretation,  it  i^  supposed,  without  evidence,  that  the 
man  Jesus  was  taken  up  to  heaven :  Ev  a^xV'  contrary  to 
its  obvious  meaning,  is  applied  to  the  beginning  of  the 


IN  HIS  PRE-E  -V  ISTENT  STATE.  377 

Gospel :  tlie  phrase  Qiog  riv  6  Xoyog  is  considered  as  equiva- 
lent to  this  proposition,  which  appears  to  be  directly  op- 
posite, the  man  who  was  not  God  is  now  ijiade  God ;  and 
expressions  which,  by  the  analogy  and  use  of  the  Greek 
language,  denote  that  things  were  brought  into  being,  are 
explained  of  a  reformation  of  tlieir  state. 

But,  besides  all  these  reasons  suggested  by  the  words 
themselves,  the  history  which  I  have  given  of  the  term 
Xoyoc  is  a  clear  refutation  of  this  forced  construction.  For 
^0705,  or  its  equivalent  in  the  Chaldee,  being,  at  the  time 
when  this  Gospel  was  written,  commonly  applied  to  a 
person  who  made  the  worlds,  John  unavoidably  misled  his 
readers,  if  he  gave  that  name  to  a  man  who  did  not  exist 
before  he  was  born  of  Mary,  and  said  of  that  man  bearing 
this  name,  that  all  things  were  made  by  him,  when  he  only 
meant  that  all  things  were  reformed  by  him. 

This  Socinian  interpretation  is  generally  abandoned, 
even  by  those  who  deny  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus;  and 
they  have  adopted  in  place  of  it,  the  old  Sabellian  inter- 
pretation. Aoyog  signifies  reason  as  well  as  speech  ;  7'atio 
menfe  concepta  and  ratio  emmciutiva.  If  it  be  translated 
in  this  place  reason,  the  words  of  John  will  bear  a  striking 
allusion  to  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  eighth  chapter  of 
the  book  of  Proverbs.  Wisdom  thus  speaks,  "  The  Lord 
possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his 
works  of  old.  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  be- 
ginning, or  ever  the  earth  was.  Before  the  mountains 
were  settled,  before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth.  When 
he  prepared  the  heavens,  I  was  there  ;  when  he  appointed 
the  foundations  of  the  earth,  then  I  was  by  him,  as  one 
brought  up  with  him,"  Solomon,  says  Mr.  Lindsey,  re- 
presents Wisdom  as  a  person  dwelling  with  God,  beloved 
by  him,  present  with  him,  attending  upon  him  in  all  his 
works  of  creation ;  and  so  John  says,  in  the  beginning 
reason  or  wisdom  was  with  God,  i.  e.  God  was  complete 
in  wisdom  before  he  made  any  manifestation  of  himself  to 
his  creatures ;  and  all  things  were  made  by  reason,  i.  e. 
were  created  according  to  the  most  perfect  wisdom ;  and 
reason  was  made  flesh,  i.  e.  the  same  divine  wisdom  whicix. 
liad  appeared  from  the  beginning  in  the  creation  of  the 
\ijorId,  was  communicated  in  large  measure  to  the  man 
Jesus  Christ,  and  residing  in  him  became  visible  to  us. 


378  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

When  you  judge  of  this  interpretation,  you  v.ill  carry 
along  with  you,  that  all  the  Christian  writers,  from  the 
earliest  times,  apply  the  description  of  Wisdom  in  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Proverbs  to  Christ.  It  is  quoted  and 
argued  upon  in  this  light;  and  both  those  who  held  that 
Christ  was  God,  and  those  who  held  that  he  was  a  crea- 
ture, defended  their  opinions  by  particular  expressions  in 
this  passage.  To  us  who  enjoy  the  revelation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, every  fact  of  that  description  appears  most  apposite  to 
Christ,  The  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  respecting  the 
person  of  Christ  seems  to  have  been  anticipated  by  his 
illustrious  predecessor;  and  John,  by  the  manifest  simi- 
larity of  some  expressions  in  this  passage  to  expressions  in 
the  description  of  Wisdom,  appears  to  give  his  sanction  to 
this  interpretation  of  the  meaning  of  Solomon.  It  is  not, 
however,  in  my  opinion,  probable  that  any  person  who  had 
not  our  advantages,  would  have  found  the  person  of  Christ 
in  this  description  ;  and  if  you  lay  out  of  your  mind  what 
you  know  of  Christ,  and  attend  merely  to  the  poetical 
strain  of  the  first  nine  chapters  of  the  book  of  Proverbs, 
you  will  probably  be  disposed  to  consider  the  passage  in 
the  eighth  chapter  as  a  beautiful  and  well-supported  in- 
stance of  prosopopoeia.  But  allowing  what  no  person  can 
certainly  know,  that  Solomon  meant  nothing  more  in  that 
passage  than  to  personify  the  divine  attribute  of  wisdom, 
this  does  not  afford  the  most  distant  reason  for  imagining 
that  John  also  personifies  reason.  For  observe  the  dift'er- 
ence  of  the  cases.  The  prosopopoeia  of  Solomon  is  in  the 
midst  of  other  passages  of  a  like  kind  ;  and  there  is  no  part 
of  it  inconsistent  with  those  rules  which  are  not  of  modern 
invention,  but  are  essential  to  the  nature  and  the  beauty 
of  this  figure.  But  the  prosopopoeia  in  this  place,  if  there 
be  one,  is  introduced  abruptly,  without  preparation,  at  the 
beginning  of  a  plain  history.  It  is  executed  in  so  inartifi- 
cial a  manner,  that  words  and  phrases,  perpetually  occurring 
in  the  passage,  destroy  the  illusion,  and  require  a  great 
effort  of  imagination  to  recal  it.  Reason,  one  attribute  of 
the  Deity,  is  called  the  only  begotten,  as  if  he  had  no 
other.  Reason  is  called  a  man  to  whom  another  man  bore 
witness  :  and  instead  of  GD(pia,  the  word  used  by  the  Sep- 
tuagint  in  that  personification  which  John  is  supposed  to 
imitate,  he  introduces,  and  applies  to  the  man  of  whom  he 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  379 

speaks,  Xoyo;,  a  term  applied  at  the  very  time  of  his  writing 
to  a  person  different  from  God,  and  inferior  to  him.  To 
consider  John,  therefore,  as  meaning  here  a  personifica- 
tion of  tlie  divine  attribute  of  wisdom,  is  to  suppose  that 
he  employs  a  misplaced  and  ill-supported  figure  of  speech 
on  purpose  to  mislead  his  readers ;  that  when  he  intended 
to  say,  Jesus  was  a  man  in  whom  the  wisdom  of  God  the 
maker  of  all  things  dwelt,  he  used  language  which,  to  the 
persons  living  in  those  days,  and  to  all  who  study  that  lan- 
guage, cannot  fail  to  convey  the  impression,  that  this  man 
was  a  being  Avho  existed  before  any  thing  was  made,  and 
Avho  created  the  world. 


SECTION   IL 
Col.  i.  15 — 18. 


The  Apostle,  in  reminding  the  Christians  at  Colosse, 
amidst  t'le  sufferings  to  which  their  faith  might  expose 
them,  of  the  grounds  of  thankfulness  which  it  afforded,  is 
led  into  one  of  those  digressions  which  are  common  in  his 
v.ritings.  He  had  been  speaking  of  that  redemption  through 
the  blood  of  Christ,  which  is  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  religion.  The  redemption  suggests  to  him 
the  dignity  and  character  of  the  ransomer.  He  expatiates 
upon  these  topics  for  a  few  verses,  and  then  returns  to  the 
point  from  which  he  had  set  out.  The  digression,  al- 
though it  appears  to  interrupt  the  course  of  his  argument, 
promotes  most  effectually  the  great  design  of  his  Epistle, 
because  it  serves  to  satisfy  the  Colossians,  that  the  Author 
of  the  new  religion  was  qualified  for  the  office  which  he 
assumed,  and  that  their  faith  in  him,  without  any  aid  from 
Jewish  ceremonies,  was  able  to  save  them.  This  digres- 
sion is  contained  in  the  15th,  IGth,  17th,  and  18th  verses 
of  the  first  chapter. 

I  shall  first  give  that  interpretation  of  these  verses,  wliich 
seems  to  arise  out  of  the  words  themselves ;  and  I  shall 
next  comment  upon  another  interpretation  which  they  have 
received. 


380  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

'Og  sdriv  ukuv   rou  Q-c-j  rou  ao^UTov.     It  is  proper  to  take 
along  with  this  expression,  two  corresponding  phrases  in 
Heb.    i.    3. — 'O?    cov    a'rav'yag,iMa    rrig    do^rig,    xai  y^a^ax-r}^ 
rvii  b-xoGraciiMg  avrov.     All  the  three  are  highly  figurative, 
as  the  whole  language  in  which  we   presume  to  speak  of 
the  Almighty  necessarily  must  be.     But  attention  to  the 
point  in  which  the  three  images  coincide  may  assist  us  in 
understanding  every  one  of  them.     E/xojy  is  a  likeness  or 
portrait,  representing  the  features  of  a  person,  the  expres- 
sion and  air  of  his   countenance ;  airauyaeiJjO,,  that  which 
shines  forth  from  a  ray,   a  bright  ray  of  his  glory.     The 
expression  is  probably  borrowed  from  the  book  of  Wis- 
dom, vii.   25,  where    Wisdom  is   called,  airo^^oia  rri;  rou 
'Travroz^UTc^og   do^i^g  iiTjx^ivrjg,    a'rawyaafia   furog    aidiov,    "  a 
pure  ray  flowing  from  the  glory   of  the  Almighty,    the 
brightness  of  the  everlasting  light."     As  light,   says  Dio- 
nysius  of  Alexandria,  who  wrote  before  the   Council  of 
Nice,  is  known  by  its  shining    forth,   so  ovrog  au  tov  (puirog,- 
dt^Xov  ug  iffTiv  as/  to  a'7ravya(rij,o(„     On  this   expression  was 
grounded  an  argument  for  the  eternity  and  consubstanti- 
ality  of  the  Son,  his  being  always  with  the  Father,  and  of 
the  same   nature.      Xaw^KTrje,  from    y^a^aasu,    iwprimo,  a 
stamp,  an  impression,  as  that  by  which  the  figure  engrav- 
ed on  a  seal  is  truly  represented  in  wax.     Tjjs  uTosTassug 
avrou.     I  must  warn  you  that  the   word   vvocraaig,   which 
our  translators  have  rendered  Person,  does  not,  either  by 
its  etymology,  or  by  its   use  in  the  days  of  the  Apostle, 
necessarily  convey  that  distinction  which  we  now  mark, 
when  we  speak  of  the  three  Persons  in  the  Godhead.    For 
the  first  three   centuries,    ovsia  and    v-Trosrasig  were  used 
promiscuously,  and  it  was  in  the  progress  of  controversy, 
that  men  lieing  obliged  to  speak  with  more  precision,  and 
to  define  their  terms,    came  to   appropriate   urocTaC/s  to 
denote  a  person,  while  ouaia  signified  that  nature  or  sub- 
stance which  different  persons  might  have  in    common. 
It  would  therefore  have  been  more  correct,  because  more 
agreeable  to  the  language  of  the  Apostle's  time,  to  have 
rendered  yjxoaxTr^o  rrig  vTograSt'jjg  ajrov,  the  express  image 
or  representation  of  his  substance,  ?'.  e.  of  his  essential  at- 
tributes.    It  is  always  unsafe  to  build  an  argument  upon 
figurative  expressions  ;  and,  until  we  be  further  advanced 
in  this  inquiry,  yve  are  not  warranted  to  say  whether  these 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXrSTENT  STATE.  381 

three  phrases  ought  to  receive  that  strict  interpretation 
Avhich  renders  them  descriptive  of  the  nature  of  Chi  ist. 
This  much  they  certainly  imply,  that  the  glor}^  of  the  di- 
vine perfections  was  most  accurately  reflected  and  exhi- 
bited to  man  in  Jesus  Christ.  They  may  imply  that  this 
accurate  exhibition  arises  from  a  similitude,  or  sameness 
of  nature ;  and  if  plain  declarations  of  Scrijjture  shall  au- 
thorize us  to  affix  this  meaning  to  these  figurative  phrases, 
you  will  recollect  that  it  is  such  as  they  seem  easily  to  bear. 

n^MTOToxog  'Traffrjg  xriffiug.  The  M'ord  'TT^cdroroKo;  is  applied 
by  Homer,  II.  xvii.  5,  to  an  animal  who,  for  the  first 
time  brought  forth  young ;  ff^wrsro^coj  xtvu^ri,  ou  <<:pv  ndvia 
roy.oio,  non  prius  experta  pai'tum.  If  we  folloAved  the  ana- 
logy of  the  passage,  we  should  translate  T^u-oTOKog  '7:aa7,g 
TiTiesug,  he  who  first  brought  forth  the  whole  creation, 
which  would  render  it  equivalent  to  a  phrase,  Ilev.  iii.  14, 
where  Jesus  calls  himself  jj  oc^x^  ''1^  xr/ffsw;  Toy  Qiov. 
A^X/l,  in  the  language  of  ancient  philosophy,  denoted  an 
efficient  cause,  that  which  gave  a  beginning  to  other 
things,  a  principle  or  source  of  existence. 

According  to  this  received  sense  of  the  word,  asyri  7r,g 
■/.Tidiuig  Tou  Giov  means  more  than  our  English  translation 
conveys, — the  beginning  of  the  creation  of  God  ;  it  is  he 
■who  gave  a  beginning  to,  produced,  the  creation  of  God. 
But  there  are  several  reasons  which  prevent  us  from  giving 
'TT^uTOTo-Mg  'n-acirig  ZTidiug  the  sense  which  renders  it  equiva- 
lent to  this  true  meaning  of  a^y/i  rrjg  ZT/GBug.  1.  Although 
rr^uToroxog,  like  other  compounds  of  nroxa,  occurs  in  an 
active  sense,  there  is  no  instance  of  its  governing  a  case 
of  the  word,  denoting  the  thing  brought  forth ;  and  that 
case,  if  there  were  one  governed  by  it,  would  not  be  the 
genitive.  2.  In  other  places  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
in  the  18th  verse  of  this  chapter,  t^wtotoxdj  must  be  trans- 
lated in  a  passive  sense,  not  the  first  who  brought  forth, 
but  the  first  who  was  brought  forth.  3.  If  you  trans- 
late it  here  in  an  active  sense,  then  the  16th  verse  on- 
ly repeats  in  a  multitude  of  words  that  proposition  of 
which  it  professes  to  give  a  reason.  He  brought  forth 
the  whole  creation  ;  "  for  all  things  were  created  by  him." 
For  these  reasons,  Christian  writers  from  the  earliest  times 
have  understood  this  expression  in  a  passive  sense ;  and 
you  will  understand  the  meaning  which  they  affix  to  it, 


382  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

iVom  the  commentary  of  Justin  Blartyr  in  tlie  second 
century  ;  e  Xoyog,  vr^o  tco'j  ■:ror/i/jbaroov  Cv'^m  -/.at  yivoiMvcg.  And, 
T^uTCTOxov  Tov  ©SOU,  zai  Tgo  'TTUiiTuv  ruv  zrig/jLUTOJV.  By  their 
use  of  the  preposition  Tgo  in  explaining  this  vvord,  it  ap- 
pears that  they  would  have  translated  it  in  English,  born 
or  begotten  before  every  creature  ;  and  this  method  of  ren- 
dering the  superlative  is  agreeable  to  the  expression  in 
John,  T^uTog  /mu  jjv,  he  was  before  me,  i.  e.  in  compa- 
rison with  me,  he  was  the  first ;  and  it  is  analogous  to  se- 
veral other  expressions  that  occur  in  the  best  Greek 
writers.  I  mention  only  one,  suggested  by  Dr.  Clarke, 
from  Euripides ;  ovrig  aA/.ri  dus-v^ssra-'/j  yvvri  i/m/j  'm<p-j-'iiv, 
there  is  no  other  woman,  who,  considered  in  comparison 
with  me,  deserves  the  name  of  the  most  imhappy.  So 
here,  Jesus,  in  respect  of  crad'/jg  zrissuig,  is  'TTPC/jrorozog  the 
first  born,  i.  e.  he  was  born  before  it.  Tiacng  zriffsug  is 
rendered  in  our  translation,  "  every  creature."  Accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  the  Greek  language,  if  zr/^w  means 
creo ,  '/.TiGig  is  cr€atio,ihe  actof  creati!ig,and  zrifffxa creatura, 
the  thing  ci'eated.  It  is  true  that  this  distinction  is  not 
invariably  observed  ;  for  as  'nsa^tg  often  denotes  an  action, 
a  thing  done,  so  zriaig  sometimes  in  the  New  Testament 
must  be  translated  a  creature.  But  there  are  several 
passages  where  it  must  be  understood  in  its  original 
import,  as  Rev.  iii.  14,  already  quoted,  and  Rom.  i. 
20,  TO.  ao^ara  avrou  a~o  ■/.r/ffic/jg  xoe'MO-j,  roig  'noniijjugi  voovixzva 
xaQooarat.  The  Eng-lish  would  have  come  nearer  the  Greek 
if  the  word  creation  had  been  used  here  instead  of  crea- 
ture ;  and  if,  at  the  same  time,  the  true  force  of  crawroro- 
xog  had  been  expressed  by  the  insertion  of  the  preposition, 
so  as  t(T  make  the  whole  clause  stand  thus,  begotten  be- 
fore the  whole  creation,  an  inconvenience  would  have 
been  avoided  which  arises  from  the  present  translation. 
To  a  careless  reader,  indeed  to  every  one  who  is  not  cap- 
able of  lookiiig  into  the  original,  these  words,  first-born  of 
every  creature,  seem  to  eonvey  that  Jesus  is  of  the  same 
rank  and  order  with  other  creatures,  distinguished  from 
them  only  in  seniority  ;  and  some  Arians  have  urged  this 
phrase  in  proof  of  the  leading  position  of  their  system. 
But  the  words,  if  closely  examined,  really  contain  a  refu- 
tation of  that  position  which  they  appear  to  support.  Had 
it  been   said,   ir^o^TozriGTog  'zacrjg  :i7iG:ug,  this   Avould  ha^t; 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  383 

implied  that  Jesus  was  a  y.TiS'Ma,  like  all  other  beings. 
But  the  word  rrouroroy.og  separates  him  from  all  the  -/.nc- 
/JMra.  The  act  of  producing  tliem  is  -/.riGig.  But  he  is 
ri-)(&uc,  derived,  produced  from  the  Father  in  a  ditTerent 
manner,  before  any  of  them  were  made.  It  is  not  inti- 
mated in  the  word  crswroroxoc,  or  in  the  phrase  used  by 
John  £y  "-iyjii  fit  what  time  the  Son  was  thus  produced, 
whetlier  immediately  before  the  creation  or  from  eternit}'. 
That  must  be  gathered  from  other  passages  of  Scripture. 
All  that  vtc  learn  here  is,  that  the  existence  of  the  Son  of 
God  was  prior  to  that  of  any  created  being,  and  that  the 
manner  of  his  being  produced  is  marked  by  a  word  differ- 
ent from  creation. 

In  verse  sixteenth,  the  Apostle  mentions  an  infallible 
proof  of  that  which  we  have  given  as  the  amount  of  crswrc- 
ro-Mg  -uaCTig  -/.rmug.     The  Son  of  God  was  born  before  the 
whole  creation,  for  every  thing  tliat  can  be  conceived  as 
a  part  of  the  creation  was  made  b}'  him.     'Or/  iv  auruj  sxric- 
6ri  ra  'Zavra,  ra  sv  roig  ov^avoig  zai  rrx,  s'lri  rrig  y/jg,  ra  hoara  xui 
ra  aooara,  sin  ^oovoi,  uri  xy'/orjjrsc,  uri  apy^ai,  sirs  s^ovsiar  Ta 
rravra  di'  avrov   '/.at  iig  aurov  r/.ricrai.     The  proposition   is 
enunciated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  draw  our  attention  very 
strongly  to  the  universalitj'^  of  it.     There  is  first  the  same 
division  as  in  the  first  book  of  Genesis.     £•;  a^XV  S'^o/?;(r;v 
6  Q:og  roy  o-j^avov  xa;  tYiV  yr^'j.  Here  ra  rravra  ra  vi  roig  ovsuioig  zai 
ra  zrri  rrjg  yjjc.     And  with  the  same  anxiety  to  mark  the 
universality  of  the  proposition,  which  suggested  the  repo 
tition  that  we  found  in  John,  this  Apostle  adds,  ra  ooa- 
ra  y.ai  ra  aooara.     We  deduce  the  propriety  of  this  addi- 
tion from  what  we  know  of  the  tenets  of  the  Gnostics. 
They  said  that  the  visible  world  was  made  by  the  oj^/x/- 
oiisyoj,  an  I]:.o\\  of  inferior  rank  ;  but  that  the  invisibh;  v.orld, 
all  the  different  orders  of  angels,  were  emanations  from  the 
Supreme  Mind.    To  them,  therefore,  rravra  ra  vj  rug  o-jwMg 
y.at  ra  im  r%g  yr,g  might  seem  only  to  imply  that  the  ce- 
lestial bodies  and  this  lower  world  were  the  work  of  Jesus. 
But  ra.  aooara  joined  to  ra  hoara.,  has  no  meaning  unless  it 
comprehends  the  angels ;    and  that  no    order   of  angels 
might  be  conceived  to  be  exempted,  the  Apostle  adds  se- 
veral names,  all  of  which,  being  introduced  by  the  particles 
iir-,  appear  to  be  partitions  of  ra  aooara.     We  cannot  ex- 
plain tlie  reason  why  these  particular  names  are  chosen. 

1 


rf^84<  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

But  we  naturally  infer,  from  their  being  chosen,  that  thev 
refer  to  a  system  and  a  language  with  regard  to  angels  that 
was  then  known.  It  was  one  of  the  doctrines  of  heathen 
philosophy,  that  between  God,  the  Father  of  spirits,  and 
man,  there  were  many  intermediate  spirits,  who  had  parti- 
cular provinces  allotted  them  in  the  government  of  the 
universe  ;  and  this  doctrine  was  readily  embraced  by  those 
Avho  wished  to  incorporate  heathen  philosophy  with  Rab- 
binical learning.  Por  it  accorded  with  the  views  given  in 
the  Old  Testament  of  the  dispensation  of  the  law  which 
was  ordained  by  angels,  and  with  the  whole  of  that  inter- 
course which  the  Almighty  condescended  to  maintain 
with  his  chosen  people.  We  read  in  Scripture  of  Michael 
an  archangel,  and  of  a  chief  pi'ince,  of  cherubim  and  sera- 
phim, all  which  gives  us  reason  to  suppose  that  there  are 
different  orders  amongst  the  sjDirits  who  excel  in  strength. 
Learned  men  have  collected  from  the  most  ancient  writings 
of  the  Jews  that  are  extant,  and  from  the  mention  which 
other  authors  incidentally  make  of  their  tenets,  that  they 
not  only  agreed  in  opinion  with  the  heathen  as  to  the  su- 
perintendence of  angels,  but  that  many  of  them  formed 
systems  with  regard  to  the  orders  and  offices  of  these  spirits, 
gave  names  to  the  different  orders,  and  paid  them  a  degree 
of  homage  corresponding  to  the  opinion  entertained  of 
their  nature.  To  these  opinions  and  practices  the  Apostle 
manifestly  refers,  Col.  ii.  18.  And  in  accommodation  to 
the  systems  formed  upon  this  subject,  he  says  here,  that 
the  angels,  all  of  whom  are  Avithdrawn  from  the  eyes  of 
mortals,  were  made  by  the  Son,  whatever  be  their  rank, 
implied  in  S^ow/;  or  power,  in  -/.xjoto-riTic, from  -/X^wg;  or  ex- 
tent of  dominion,  in  aoyjxi ;  or  liberty  allowed  them  in 
exercising  their  jiowei',  in  s^o-jff/a/,  from  s^esti,  licet.  All 
sv  ai/rw  vATiC)6ri,  and  5;'  aurou  sx.ri6rai.  These  two  expressions 
are  equivalent.  They  were  made  through  the  exertion  of 
a  power  i-esiding  in  him.  But  n;  aurov  implies  more  ;  n; 
marks  the  point  to  which  an  object  tends ;  and  the  use  of 
it  in  this  place  suggests  that  Jesus  did  not  create  all  things 
for  the  purpose  of  ministering  to  the  pleasure  or  glory  of 
another,  but  that  as  they  proceeded  from  him,  so  they  refer 
to  him  as  their  end.  It  is  equivalent  to  an  expression  in 
the  book  of  Revelation,  i.  8.  Eyu  sifj,i  to  A  xai  ro  Cl,  a^yji 
7.ai  rsAoc,  y.iyii  6  Kuj/o;.     It  deserves  your  j^articular  notice, 


I 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  385 

that  b}'^  the  use  of  this  preposition,  sig,  one  of  the  forms  of 
expression,  which,  in  other  places,  seems  to  be  appropriated 
to  the  Father,  is  here  applied  to  the  Son.  We  read,  Rom. 
xi.  36,  £^  avrov,  yxii  61'  aurov,  xai  eic  avTov  ra  rravra,  and 
1  Cor.  viii.  6,  Aaa  7;fMiv  i'lg  ©eog  6  ':rarris,  fg  &y  ra  Tacra,  y.at 
itfLvg  ejg  avrov.  xai  ug  Kveing  Irisovg  Xoiarog,  di'  oi  ra  vavra,  xcci 
v]fiBii  Bi"  auTcu.  'H/Mig  ng  avrov  is  not,  "  we  in  him,"  as 
in  our  translation,  but  "  we  to  him,"  or  "  for  him."  The 
distinction  made  by  the  Apostle  to  the  Corinthians,  seems 
to  be  removed,  when  it  is  said,  'jravra  bi  avrov  %ai  ug  avrov 
iKriisrat. 

Verse  17th.  Kai  avrog  isri  ergo  rravruv.  The  Apostle  may 
be  considered  as  repeating  the  amount  of  the  expression, 
'TT^uroroxog  'xaffric  y.riosug,  that  the  existence  of  Jesus  was 
prior  to  that  of  any  created  being,  a  repetition  made  with 
propriety,  after  the  thing  affirmed  by  him  has  been  proved, 
by  his  being  the  Creator  of  all  things  ;  or  he  may  be  con- 
sidered as  saying  something  new.  There  are  two  circum- 
stances which  lead  us  to  understand  him  so.  1 .  The  im- 
port of  avrog,  a  pronoun  which  is  more  proper  to  introduce 
a  new  proposition  than  to  repeat  a  former  one.  2.  The 
tense  of  h/mi,  which  intimates  not  what  Jesus  was  before 
his  creation,  but  what  he  is  now. 

These  circumstances  render  the  first  clause  of  the  seven- 
teenth verse  an  expression  of  pre-eminence.  He  who 
existed  before  all,  and  who  created  all,  now  stands  before 
all,  in  a  higher  rank  than  aay  created  being.  Kai  ra  Tavra 
iv  avr'jj  (ruvsCTJixs ;  and  in  him  they  consist,  being  continually 
preserved  by  his  agency.  Paul  has  expressed  creation 
fully  in  the  sixteenth  verse.  And  the  pronoun  avru)  giv- 
ing notice  that  something  further  is  to  be  said  of  the  same 
,  person,  it  is  most  natural  to  translate  <svviGr7;y.sv,  according 
to  classical  use,  by  preservation.  This  is  perfectly  agree- 
able to  the  passage  in  Aristotle.  Ap^aiog  //.sv  rig  Xoyog  y.ai 
-aroicg  idrt  Taff/v  avdowrroig,  ojg  iz  rnv  Qiov  ra  '^avra,  xai  bia  Qiov 
Tifiiv  evKerri'/.r  ovh'xta  02  (pvaig,  avrr\  -/.aS  iavrvjv  avraoxr/g  s^TiIMu- 
kiea  rrjg  i%  rovrov  aujrr,^iag.*  And  also  to  an  expression  of 
Paul,  Acts  xvii.  28,  where  Paul  shows  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Athenian  poets.  The  quotation  has  been  referred 
both  to  Aratus  and  Cleanthes. 

•  Arist.  Opera,  vol.  i.     Lib.  de  Mundo,  ch.  vi.  375.     Ed.  Lug. 
VOL.  r.  s 


386  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

Thus,  then,  by  an  analysis  of  these  three  verses,  wc 
have  found  a  learned  Jew  employing  the  language  suggest- 
ed by  the  writers  of  his  own  country  and  the  philosophers 
of  the  times,  as  the  most  proper  for  expressing  that  Jesus, 
tlie  Son  of  God,  is  the  creator  and  the  preserver  of  all. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  person  here 
tipoken  of.  For  there  is  no  other  antecedent  to  the  rela- 
tive 6g,  but  wov  TTjg  ayarr/ig  avrov ;  and  as  the  eighteenth 
verse,  by  its  meaning,  must  be  applied  to  Jesus  Christ,  the 
first-born  from  the  dead,  there  is  as  clear  an  intimation  as 
can  well  be  given,  that  the  verses  intervening  between  the 
fifteenth  and  the  eighteenth  apply  to  him  also.  But  these 
intervening  verses,  according  to  the  analysis  that  has  been 
given  of  them,  are  inconsistent  with  the  first  opinion  concern- 
ing the  person  of  Christ.  And,  therefore,  those  who  hold  that 
opinion,  being  unable  to  apply  these  verses  to  any  other, 
are  obliged  to  bring  forward  a  system  of  interpretation,  ac- 
cording to  which  they  may,  in  consistency  with  their  opi- 
nion, be  applied  to  Christ.  As  this  system  is  emploj^ed  in 
the  explication  of  several  other  passages,  and  is  a  charac- 
teristic mark  perpetually  recurring  in  the  writings  of  those 
Avho  are  called  Socinians,  I  shall  take  this  opportunity  of 
laying  it  before  you  fully,  with  the  grounds  upon  which  it 
is  rested  by  themselves. 

The  Gospel  is  represented  in  Scripture  as  making  a 
complete  change  upon  the  character  of  all  who  embrace  it 
in  faith.  The  opinions,  the  sentiments,  the  affections,  the 
desires,  the  whole  conduct  of  those  M'ho  Avere  converted 
from  the  superstition  and  gross  vices  of  heathenism  became 
different.  They  put  oft'  the  old  man  which  >vas  corrupt, 
and  they  put  on  the  new  man  which  is  renewed  in  know- 
ledge after  the  image  of  him  that  created  him.  This  total 
change,  which  restores  the  image  of  God  upon  the  soul  of 
man,  is  called  in  different  places  by  St.  Paul,  xaivri  xri(f:g ; 
a  significant  figure,  the  meaning  of  which  becomes  more 
obvious,  if  you  translate  it  literally  a  new  creation,  rather 
than  a  new  creature.  E/  rig  sv  Xaisrui,  -/Mtr/^  xr/ff/;*  tcc  ajp/a/a 
rra^T^Xdsv,  idou  yiymi  nuiva  -^avTa.  2  Cor.  v.  17.  And  the  apostle, 
in  an  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  written  at  the  same  time  as 
this  Epistle,  joining  himself,  according  to  his  usual  man- 
ner, with  the  converts,  says,  \\jto\)  ya^  ac/isv  ':ToiriiJ.a,  Krisk^ng 
sv  X^idTw  Iriffov  tm  s^yoig  aya&oig,    Eph.  ii.  10.    But  the  figu- 


IX  HIS  PRE-EXrSTENT  STATE.  387 

rative  language  of  Scripture  docs   not  stop   here.     The 
Jewish  prophets  were  accustomed  to  describe  future  events 
relative  to  the  fall  of  kingdoms,  or  their  restoration,  bv 
images  drawn  from  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation.     I 
will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  is  explained  by  Hag- 
gai  to  mean,  I  will  overthrow  the  throne  of  kings.     That  I 
may  plant  the  heavens,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  the  earth, 
means,  in  Isaiah,  the  deliverance  and  restoration  of  the  Jews. 
— In  conformity  to  this  frequent  language  of  ancient  pro- 
phecy, the  evangelical  prophet  Isaiah  paints  those  blessed 
events  which  were  to  be  the  consequences  of  Christ's  com- 
ing, the  conversion  from  idolatry,  the  assurance  of  pardon, 
the  practice  of  righteousness,  and  the  union  of  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles under  one  head,  by  these  \vords :   "  Behold  I  create 
new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  :  And  the  former  shall  not 
be  remembered,  nor  come  into  mind."*    There  was  a  par- 
ticular reason  for  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  adopting  and 
extending  this  image  of  Isaiah,  because,  in  the  interval  be- 
tween the  days  of  the  prophet  and  their  days,  the  earlj'^ 
opinions  with  regard  to  the  different  orders  of  spiritual  be- 
ings had  been  formed,   by  a  mixture   of  Jewish  tradition 
and  heathen  philosophy,  into  a  regular  system.     It  was 
believed  that  those  angels,  who  had  rebelled  against  God, 
exercised  a  malignant  influence  over  the  minds  and  bodies 
of  men  ;  and  that  the  heathen  were  subject  to  the  rule  of 
the  prince  of  those  spirits,  who  is  styled  in  Scripture  "  the 
prince  of  this  world."f     But  Jesus  "  was  manifested,  that 
he  might  destroy  the  works   of  the  devil."J     He  himself 
says,  "  I  beheld   Satan  as  lightning  fall  from   heaven."§ 
He  gave  his  disciples  power  over  evil  spirits :  and  he  is 
said  to  be  now  "  set  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all 
principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  dominion  ;  angels, 
and  authorities,  and  powei-s  being  made  subject  to  him."|| 
The  Gospel  dispensation,  then,  is  represented  in  Scrijjture 
under  the  idea  of  a  new  creation  of  men  ;  a  regulation  of 
the  heavenly  communities,  a  reformation  of  all  things,  rra- 
>jyyi\i6ia :  and  all  this  is  only  a  figurative  language,  ac- 
cording to  the  style  of  ancient  prophec}^  describing  in  a 
manner  the  most  likely  to  convince  the  understandings, 

•  Isaiah  Ixv.  17.  f  John  xiv.  30.  +  1  John  iii.  8. 

§  Luke  X.  18.  II  Ephes.  i.  20,  21.    1  Peteriii   '.22. 


388  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

and  to  affect  the  imaginations  of  those  who  were  addressed, 
the  infinite  importance  of  the  Gospel,  the  power  exerted 
in  its  propagation,  its  intended  universality,  and  the  effi- 
cacy with  which  it  establishes  truth  and  virtue  in  the  mind 
of  man. 

According  to  this  general  system  of  interpretation, 
which  is  applied  to  many  passages  of  Scripture,  the  three 
verses  in  question  are  thus  understood.  The  Son  of  God, 
under  whose  rvde  you  converts  are  now  placed,  is  the  re- 
presentative of  the  invisible  God,  the  Lord,  (the  word 
first-born  is  conceived  to  be  adopted  instead  of  Lord,  in 
reference  to  that  right  which  primogeniture  conveys 
amongst  men,)  the  Lord  of  the  new  creation ;  Jews  and 
Gentiles  being  regenerated  into  one  mass  by  that  doctrine 
Avhich  he  first  preached.  For  the  effects  of  his  religion 
may  be  represented  under  the  figure  of  a  new  creation  of 
all  things,  there  being  not  only  a  reformation  of  the  world 
of  mankind,  but  a  subjection  to  Christ  of  those  heavenly 
powers  who,  according  to  Jewish  notions,  formerly  bore 
rule  on  earth.  The  terms  in  which  these  powers  are  here 
!>poken  of  were  found  in  Jewish  traditions.  But  it  matters 
not  how  far  the  traditions  are  well-founded.  Whether  the 
powers  were  real  or  imaginary,  the  style  used  would  convey 
to  those  whom  the  apostle  is  addressing  the  same  exalted 
idea  of  the  power  of  Christ.  And  the  whole  image  is  in- 
troduced merely  to  paint  the  excellency  of  the  Gospel 
above  all  former  dispensations. 

I  have  endeavoured,  in  the  exposition  of  this  system  of 
interpretation,  to  do  justice  to  the  princiisles  upon  Avhich 
it  rests.  And  I  have  explained  it,  not  according  to  the 
rude  forio  which  it  first  bore,  but  with  all  the  improve- 
ments and  corrections  to  which  modern  Socinians  have 
been  driven  by  a  multitude  of  objections. 

Before  we  proceed  to  examine  particularly  the  applica- 
tion of  this  system  to  the  passage  before  us,  there  are  two 
general  observations  which  I  wish  to  premise,  the  one 
concerning  the  use  of  allegory  in  Scripture ;  and  the  other 
concerning  the  interpretation  of  allegory. — I.  It  is  allowed 
that  allegory  was  a  favourite  method  of  convej'ing  truth  in 
ancient  times,  and  that  while  the  vulgar  rest  in  the  literal 
sense,  an  enlargement  of  understanding  is  discovered  in 
apprehending  the  further  meaning.     There  are  allegories 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  389 

of  different  kinds  in  the  Old  Testament.  There  are  many  pas- 
sages, such  as  Psalm  Ixxii.,  which  apply,  in  a  certain  sense,  to 
events  that  fell  under  the  prophet's  observation,  but  the  full 
explication  of  which  is  found  in  the  dispensation  of  the  Gos- 
pel. This  arose  naturally  from  the  character  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, which  was  a  preparatory  disiDensation,  looking  for- 
ward in  all  its  points  to  the  grace  and  truth  that  were  to 
come  by  Jesus  Christ.  When  grace  and  truth  did  come, 
this  reason  for  the  use  of  allegory  ceased.  For  the  Gospel 
being  the  last  dispensation,  it  has  not,  like  the  law,  to  give 
intimation  during  its  existence  of  an  approaching  change. 
Yet  still  the  general  uses  of  figurative  language  continue : 
and  it  may  be  expected  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, educated  in  reverence  for  the  books  of  the  ancient 
prophets,  and  full  of  their  images,  would  not  lay  them 
aside  entirely  in  describing  the  events  which  those  images 
had  been  employed  to  foretel.  Hence  an  acquaintance 
with  the  figurative  language  of  the  Old  Testament  is  of 
great  service  in  expounding  the  New  ;  and  the  exact  cor- 
respondence between  the  two  dispensations  may  be  so  em- 
ployed as  to  make  them  throw  light  upon  one  another. 
'2.  With  regard  to  the  interpretation  of  the  allegories  wliich 
are  found  in  Scripture,  I  have  to  observe,  that  the  same 
propensity  to  allegorize,  or  to  find  hidden  spiritual  mean- 
ings in  plain  expressions,  which  is  discovered  by  some 
commentators  upon  Homer  and  other  ancient  writers,  has 
been  the  occasion  of  very  great  abuse  in  the  exposition  oi' 
Scripture.  From  the  days  of  Origen  to  the  present  times, 
the  inspired  writings  have  been  brought  into  ridicule,  or 
have  had  the  truths  in  them  perverted  by  the  intemperate 
exercise  of  this  propensity.  In  mystical  authors  the  Gos- 
pel has  been  made  to  assume  a  form  Avhich  disfigures  its 
simplicity,  and  alters  its  character  :  and  by  those  writers, 
whose  principles  lead  them  to  banish  out  of  Christianity 
every  doctrine  that  is  not  easily  comprehended,  the  lan- 
guage of  that  religion  is  often  rendered  enigmatical.  For, 
as  has  been  pointedly  said  of  them,  the  Socinians  take 
mysterj'^  out  of  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  where  it  is  ve- 
nerable, and  they  place  it  in  the  phrase  of  Scripture,  where 
it  is  repugnant  to  God's  sincerity.  The  recollection  of 
these  abuses  should  make  you  receive  with  some  suspicion 
every  allegorical  exposition  of  Scripture.     And  in  judging 


390  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

of  it,  it  becomes  you  to  recollect  those  rules  concerning 
the  proper  introduction  of  figurative  language,  which  have 
been  dictated  by  good  sense  and  enlarged  observation, 
and  which  are  commonly  applied  in  reading  other  writers,^ 
both  as  a  test  of  their  good  taste,  and  as  a  method  of  at- 
taining their  true  meaning.  You  have  direct  notice  from 
some  expressions  in  a  passage,  that  the  words  are  to  be 
understood  in  a  figurative  sense.  Or  you  find,  upon  ex- 
amining them  closely,  that  there  is  a  defect  in  the  mean- 
ing if  you  understand  them  literally.  Or  the  context  in- 
timates that  a  passage  which  appeared  when  considered 
singly  to  be  literal  is  really  figurative.  There  does  not 
occur  to  me  any  other  way,  in  wiiich  you  can  be  warrant- 
ed to  give  a  passage  of  an  inspired  author  a  sense  ditferent 
from  that  which  the  words  naturally  bear ;  and  if  none  of 
these  directions  are  given  us  in  this  place,  the  Socinian 
interpretation  of  these  three  verses  must  be  considei'ed  an 
unnecessary  and  licentious  introduction  of  allegory. 

There  is  not  any  expression  in  these  verses  which  ne- 
cessarily suggests  a  figurative  sense.  All  the  nominatives 
introduced  as  distributives  of  ra  vavrt,  are  words  general- 
ly used  in  the  language  of  those  times  to  denote  created 
objects ;  and  kti^o)  with  its  derivatives,  is  the  verb  com- 
monly used  in  the  New  Testament  to  denote  creation.  Agfo; 
£/,  Kvgis,  XaZiiv  TYiV  hot,av  on  Gv  SKrisag  ra  'rravra,  xui  dia  ro  ^s- 
Xrjf^a  aou  ndi,  xai  sxriG^rjeav.  Rev.  iv.  11.  citto  ■/jriss'j)c  ftocfiou. 
Horn.  i.  20.  It  is  true  that  xr/^w  and  xr/c/c,  are  employed 
to  denote  reformation.  But  some  expression  is  always 
joined  with  them  in  these  passages  to  give  notice  that  they 
are  transferred  from  their  original  meaning.  When  Paul 
uses  xnaig  in  this  sense,  2  Cor.  v.  17,  Gal.  vi.  15,  he  pre- 
fixes the  epithet  xaivri,  which  is  probably  borrowed  from 
the  Septuagint  translation  of  that  passage  in  Isaiah,  which 
runs  in  our  Bibles,  "  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth,"  Edrai  6  ov^avog  xai  ri  yr]  xaivr\ :  and  when  he  uses  the 
verb  XT/^w  in  the  same  figurative  sense,  the  intimation  is 
still  more  direct,  -/.TKjdsvrsg  ec/  esyoig  ayadoig,  Ephesians  ii. 
10.  In  these  places  the  writer  plainly  leads  us  from  the 
literal  to  the  figurative  sense.  Here  there  is  no  such  inti- 
mation ;  and  the  first  appearance  of  the  words  does  not 
suggest  any  reason  why  we  may  not  translate  them  literal- 
ly. When  we  examine  them  according  to  this  literal  trans» 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  391 

latioii,  we  do  not  find  such  a  defect  in  the  meaning  as 
might  warrant  our  rejecting  it  and  substituting  a  figurative 
sense  in  its  place.  We  believe,  by  the  light  of  nature, 
that  all  things  here  spoken  of  ixrisrai,  were  called  out  of 
nothing.  The  new  information  given  us  is,  that  this  was 
done  £11  at/rw  by  the  Son  of  God.  But  it  is  a  very  bold 
speculation  to  reject  the  obvious  meaning  of  a  proposition 
contained  in  the  Gospel,  merely  because  it  gives  new  in- 
formation ;  and  those  who  believe  the  inspiration  of  Scrip- 
ture will  require  some  other  reason  to  be  assigned  before 
they  find  themselves  at  liberty  to  depart  from  the  obvious 
meaning  ;  more  especially  as  they  observe  that  the  attempt 
to  bring  plain  truth  out  of  the  words  in  this  place,  by  such 
departure,  is  very  unsuccessful.  You  cannot  conceive  a 
reason  for  so  particular  an  enumeration  as  is  here  given  in 
the  partitives  of  rot.  'ffccvra,  unless  the  action  meant  by  the 
word  iXTiarai  extended  to  all  the  things  enumerated.  But 
that  action  cannot  be  reformation  ;  for  with  regard  to  the 
phrase  rcc  st/  rr,g  yr;;,  even  although  you  restrict  its  mean- 
ing to  men,  the  inhabitants  of  earth,  we  know  that  many 
have  died  without  hearing  the  Gospel,  and  that  many  who 
do  hear  it  are  not  the  better  for  it :  and  with  regard  to 
the  other  phrase,  ra  ev  rw  ou^avuj,  we  have  no  ground  for 
thinking  that  the  character  of  the  evil  angels,  revealed  in 
Scripture,  was  in  the  least  improved  by  our  Saviour's  com- 
ing, or  that  the  character  of  the  good  angels  stood  in  need 
of  any  amendment :  and  thus  the  notion  conveyed  by  the 
phrase  Kaivrj  xrisii,  does  not  apply  to  a  great  part  of  the 
ra  J-;  rri;  yr^g,  or  to  any  of  the  ra  iv  tuj  ovpavu.  The  mo- 
dern Socinians,  aware  of  the  force  of  this  objection,  have 
substituted  in  place  of  x.aivr}  -/.risig,  or  rather  have  added  to 
it  what  they  call  regulation.  The  evil  angels,  they  say, 
are  stripped  of  their  power  by  Jesus,  and  he  is  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  angelic  host.  But  this  is  a  figurative  use 
of  the  word  xr/^w,  not  warranted  by  the  other  expressions 
in  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  where  a  new  creation  is  meant ; 
and  if  it  be  adopted  hei'e,  by  departing  from  the  plain  li- 
teral sense  of  exr/(r^»],  you  are  obliged  in  the  same  sentence 
to  give  it  two  figurative  meanings,  one  reformation,  ap- 
plied to  those  inhabitants  of  earth  who  become  by  the 
Gospel  "  the  workmanship  of  God,  created  unto  good 
works ;"  the  other  regulation  or  subjection,  applied  to  all 


392  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

those  beings  whose  character  is  not  changed  by  the  Gos- 
pel. It  is  plain  then,  that  as  the  words  themselves  do  not 
necessarily  suggest  a  figurative  sense,  nothing  is  gained  in 
point  of  easy  or  significant  interpretation  by  forcing  it 
upon  them.  But  perhaps  the  context  will  justify  it.  In 
an  extended  allegory,  the  first  sentence  is  generally  ob- 
scure. But  the  primary  and  secondary  sense  are  gradu- 
ally vmfolded  by  the  art  of  the  composition  ;  and,  when  we 
look  back  to  the  beginning  after  having  arrived  at  the  end, 
the  whole  becomes  clear.  Here  the  case  is  totally'  difi^'erent. 
In  the  eighteenth  verse,  Jesus  is  styled  "  the  head  of  the 
body,  the  church,"  i.  e.  of  those  who  were  rescued  by 
his  lolood  out  of  the  slavery  of  sin,  and  translated  into  his 
kingdom.  The  same  word  ffgwT-oroxog,  which  had  been  ap- 
plied to  him  in  reference  to  ffaffjjs  tctigsu:,  is  there  applied 
to  him  in  reference  to  viy.pojv,  because  he  was  the  first  that 
rose,  or  was  brought  forth  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
never  to  die  any  more  ;  and  as  he  was  not  only  before  the 
creation  but  produced  it,  so  he  was  not  onl}^  the  first  that 
rose,  but  also  ac'%''5,  the  efiicient  cai\se  of  the  resurrection 
of  others.  The  Head,  by  rising,  gave  assurance  that  the 
members  of  the  body  shovdd  in  due  time  be  raised  also. 
And  thus,  as  the  pronoun  avrog  is  the  natural  intimation 
that  something  else  is  to  be  said  about  the  Person  who 
had  been  mentioned  before,  so  if  you  understand  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  verses  as  expressing  a  literal  crea- 
tion, there  is  a  striking  analogy  between  the  phrases  that 
had  been  used  upon  that  subject,  and  the  phrases  used 
upon  the  new  subject  in  the  eighteenth  verse.  And  there 
seems  to  be  a  direct  notice  jriven,  that  the  subjects  are 
different,  by  the  last  clause  of  the  eighteenth  verse,  ha  ys- 
vrjTai  sv  'Kastv  avrcg  'rr^artuMv,  by  which  means  he  might  be- 
come the  first  in  all  things.  He  was  the  first  in  creation, 
both  as  existing  before  all  creatures,  and  as  having  made 
them :  He  became  after  his  death  the  fii"st  also  in  the 
scheme  for  the  recovery  of  the  world,  because  being  the 
first  that  rose,  he  is  the  cause  of  the  resurrection  of  others. 
Such  is  the  light  which  a  plain  interpretation  of  the  first 
three  verses  throws  upon  the  context.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  you  understand  them  figuratively,  you  are  reminded 
as  you  advance  in  the  context  that  the  harsh  intei-preta- 
tion,  which  you  have  been  obliged  to  impose  upon  the 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE. 


393 


phrases  contained  in  them,  is  not  the  true  one,  because  by 
it  you  confound  these  three  verses  with  the  eighteenth  ; 
you  lose  the  beauty  in  the  analogy  of  the  corresponding 
parts,  and  in  the  repetition  of  the  word  cr^uro-o'/.o; ;  and 
you  destroy  entirely  the  meaning  of  the  last  clause  of  the 
eighteenth  verse. 

It  appears,  then,  that  according  to  those  rules  of  inter- 
pretation, which  a  regard  to  perspicuity  or  ornament  sug- 
gests, the  Socinian  sense  of  this  passage  is  indefensible  ; 
and,  therefore,  it  must  be  considered  in  the  sense  which 
naturally  presents  itself  to  every  person  who  reads  it,  as  a 
<leclaration  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Creator  of  the  world ; 
a  declaration  introduced  most  seasonably  in  this  place,  to 
exalt  the  dignity  of  the  Author  of  the  Gospel  in  the  eyes 
of  the  new  converts  to  that  religion. 


SECTION  III. 

HEBREWS  I. 


The  last  passage  which  I  mentioned  as  containing  a  full 
declaration  that  Jesus  is  the  creator  of  the  world,  is  the 
first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  I  do  not  mean 
to  give  a  particular  commentary  upon  all  the  parts  of  that 
chapter,  because  many  of  them  have  no  immediate  con- 
nexion with  our  present  object ;  but  I  shall  state  in  general 
the  purport  of  the  apostle's  argument,  that  you  mny  see 
the  propriety  and  significancy  with  which  the  declaration 
that  we  seek  finds  a  place  in  this  chapter. 

The  apostle  is  writing  to  Jews,  who  had  embraced  the 
Gospel,  in  order  to  furnisli  them  with  answers  to  tliosc 
objections  which  their  unbelieving  countrymen  urged 
against  the  new  religion.  The  first  source  from  which  the 
answers  are  drawn  is  the  superior  dignity  of  the  author  of 
that  religion.  The  law,  indeed,  was  given  from  Mount 
Sinai  by  the  ministry  of  angels  ;  and  the  succession  of  pro- 
phets, who  enlightened  the  Jewish  nation,  were  messengei-s 
of  heaven.    But  the  various  manifestations  of  himself,  which 


394j  actions  ASCRIBEB  to  JESU3 

the  Almighty  had  made  in  former  times,  irokvijji^oi^  xai 
ToXvr^oTrui,  cannot  claim  so  high  a  degree  of  reverence  a& 
that  message  which,  in  the  last  days,  the  time  that  had 
been  announced  as  the  conclusion  of  the  law,  was  brought 
by  a  person  more  glorious  than  a  prophet  or  an  angel : 
'  Ov  idrjxi  KXrtOovofiov  'rravruv,  oi'  60  xai  rovg  aiojvag  B'xoii^ssr  '  0$  wv 
a'7:auya(jfjja  rrig  do^rig,  xai  ^agazrrjo  rrjg  V'^rodTaasug  avrov,  (fi^uv 
TB  rcf,  '::a\Ta  rw  '^rifiari  rrjg  dvva/xsug  avrov,  di'  iavrov  xa&apefiov 
■TTOirigafLivog  rojv  a/xctgr/wc  ri/MJV,  rKaQidv  sv  ds^ia  Trig  iJ^iycfJkoiCvnig 
sv  b^rikoig.  This  is  the  description  given  of  that  person,  by 
whom,  says  the  apostle,  God  in  these  last  days  hath  spoken 
to  us.  When  it  is  said  of  the  King  Eternal,  b&ti-ab  -/.X'^^ovo/xov, 
we  must  understand  this  figurative  expression  in  a  sense 
consistent  with  his  unchangeable  glory,  and  such  a  sense  is 
suggested  by  the  ideas  universally  annexed  to  xXtjoovo^oj. 
The  heir  has  an  interest  in  the  estate  more  intimate  than 
that  of  any  one  person  except  the  proprietor ;  and  he  may 
be  intrusted  with  a  degree  of  authority  over  it,  because  it 
cannot  be  supposed  that  he  will  abuse  that  which  he  is  to 
possess.  Hence,  in  the  old  Roman  law,  h(e?'es  and  domi- 
nus  were  considered  as  equivalent  terms.  "  Pro  haerede 
gerere  est  pro  domino  gerere,"  says  Justinian :  and  Paul, 
in  allusion  to  this  maxim  of  law,  says,  Gal.  iv.  1,  "  The 
heir  while  he  is  a  minor  is  under  tutors,"  -/.vPiog  'xavrcta  m. 

Agreeably  to  this  import  of  the  word  xX^owiMg,  Christians 
of  every  sect  understand  the  expression  here  used  to  mean 
that  God  constituted  Jesus  Lord  of  all.  They  agree  also, 
that  his  appointment  to  this  sovereignty  was  declared  to 
the  world  at  his  resurrection.  The  point  upon  which  they 
differ  is.  the  character  of  Jesus  before  this  appointment. 
Those  who  hold  the  first  opinion  concerning  his  person, 
that  he  is  -^tXog  avd^wjrog,  consider  the  titles  of  honour,  that 
are  ascribed  to  him  in  Scripture,  as  flowing  from  his  being 
constituted  Lord  of  all  things  ;  and  they  endeavour  to  ex- 
plain the  first  three  verses  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  they 
shall  not  seem  to  imply  any  original  dignity  of  nature. 
He  is  called  the  Son  of  God,  they  say,  because  he  is  made 
heir  or  Lord  of  all.  By  him  God  regulated  and  reformed 
the  world  ;  or,  understanding  aiuvag,  according  to  the  literal 
import  of  the  word,  and  its  use  in  several  places  of  Scrip- 
ture, to  denote  the  ages,  and  considering  di'  ov  as  equivalent 
to  di"  ov,  they  thus  paraphrase  the  last  clause  of  the  second 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  395 

vpvse  ;  foi"  whom,  in  respect  to  whom,  in  order  to  illustrate 
whose  glory,  when  he  should  be  constituted  Lord  of  all, 
God  disposed  or  ordered  the  ages :  i.  e.  the  antediluvian, 
the  patriarchal,  and  the  legal  ages,  all  the  divine  dispensa- 
tions towards  the  sons  of  men.  They  interpret  the  first 
two  clauses  of  the  third  verse  as  expressions  of  that  perfect 
representation  of  the  divine  perfections  which  appeared  in 
the  character  of  Jesus  while  he  dwelt  upon  earth.  Every 
one  who  saw  that  excellent  man  in  whom  the  power,  the 
wisdom,  and  the  goodness  of  God  resided,  saw  the  Father 
also.  They  apply  the  clause,  upholding  all  things  by  the 
•word  of  his  jx)wer,  to  his  transactions  upon  earth,  that 
command  over  nature  which  was  given  him,  and  all  those 
miracles  by  which  he  proved  his  divine  commission,  and 
established  that  dispensation  which,  having  been  opened 
by  his  preaching,  and  sealed  by  his  death,  is  magnified  in 
the  eyes  of  men  by  the  resurrection  of  its  author,  and  by 
their  knowing  assuredly  that  he  is  set  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  throne  of  God,  having  obtained  an  authority  and  a  rank 
superior  to  that  of  the  angels. 

There  is  an  apparent  consistency  in  this  interpretation 
which  renders  it  plausible.  But  when  you  weigh  the  se- 
veral expressions  here  used,  you  will  find  that  it  is  by  no 
means  adequate  to  their  natural  import.  1.  Jesus  is  called 
the  Son  of  God,  whom  he  made  heir,  a  construction  which 
implies  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God  before  his  appointment  to 
the  sovereignty.  2.  6/  ob  xa;  roug  aiuvag  i'rroirigiv  are  words  that 
would  not  probably  suggest  to  the  first  readers  of  this  epis- 
tle either  by  whom  God  reformed  the  world,  or  by  whom 
he  disposed  the  ages.  Some  critics  have  thought  the  na- 
tural translation  of  them  to  be,  by  whom  God  made  the 
angels,  as  it  is  likely  that,  before  this  epistle  was  written,  the 
Gnostics  used  0/  a/w^sg  to  mark  the  multitude  of  spirits  who 
were  emanations  from  the  supreme  mind.  But  although 
this  use  of  the  word  might  be  known  to  the  apostle,  we. 
have  no  reason  for  thinking  that  it  was  at  that  time  so  fa- 
miliar to  Christians,  that  the  apostle  would  choose,  with- 
out any  explication,  to  introduce  it  into  an  epistle  wiitten 
for  the  purpose  of  confirming  their  faith  in  the  Gospel, 
more  especially  as  another  interpretation  of  these  words 
could  not  fail  readily  to  occur  to  their  minds.  We  are  told 
*hat  0}  aims;  is  equivalent  to  a  Hebrew  phrase,  which  the 


396  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

ancient  Jews  employed  to  mai'k  the  whole  extent  of  crea- 
tion, divided  by  them  into  three  parts,  this  lower  world, 
the  celestial  bodies,  and  the  third  heavens,  or  habitation  of 
God.  The  Greek  word  aio)v,  ait  wv,  was  applied  to  the 
world  as  marking  its  duration  in  contradistinction  to  the 
short  lives  of  many  of  its  inhabitants.  The  word  occurs  often 
in  the  New  Testament  in  this  sense  ;  and  there  is  one  passage 
which  appears  to  be  decisive  of  the  meaning  of  this  phrase. 
Heb.  xi.  3,  iriOTii  voou/xsv  '/.arriortGdai  rove,  aiMvag  '^ri/Jburi  Qiou. 
If  you  join  to  this  received  use  of  a/wiaj  that  sto/jj^s  is 
the  word  used  in  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  first 
verse  of  Genesis,  and  that  dia  is  one  of  the  prepositions 
Avhich  we  found  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  express- 
ing the  creation  of  all  things  by  the  Son,  you  will  not  be 
inclined  to  doubt  that  this  clause  contains  another  declara- 
tion to  the  same  purpose ;  and  when  you  so  understand  it, 
you  see  the  reason  of  the  particle  xa/  being  introduced. 
The  Son,  whom  God  did  "  appoint  heir  of  all,  6/  oj  zai, 
by  whom  also,"  it  is  a  further  information  concerning  his 
person,  no  way  implied  in  the  appointment,  and  its  being 
additional  is  marked  by  r.ai,  "  he  made  the  worlds."  3. 
According  to  this  interpretation  of  81'  ou  zai  roug  ociuivag 
SToirjffi,  (fs^ojv  rs  rcc  'jzavra  rt/j  '^ri,u,ari  roic  duva,UjBU)g  abrov,  will  na- 
turally express  his  being  the  preserver  and  supporter  of  all 
things  Avhich  he  created,  as  the  apostle  to  the  Colossians 
had  said,  "  by  him  all  things  consist."  And,  4th,  The  first 
two  clauses  of  the  third  ^erse,  which  are  equivalent  to  the 
expression  that  we  found  there,  sixuv  rou  &soo  rou  aooarov, 
appear  by  their  form,  as  well  as  their  meaning,  intended  to 
convey  additional  information  concerning  the  person  of  the 
Son,  so  that  the  amount  of  the  third  verse  may  be  thus 
stated,  the  Son,  appointed  by  God  the  Lord  of  all,  by  whom 
God  created  the  world,  viho  being  originally  a  bright  ray 
of  the  Father's  glorj^,  and  the  exact  representation  of  his 
essence,  and  supporting  without  any  fatiguing  exertion  all 
the  things  made  by  him,  did  in  the  last  days  appear  to 
wash  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and,  having  ac- 
complished this  work,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high. 

It  appeal's  from  this  review  of  the  first  three  verses,  that 
besides  the  simple  proposition  which  the  Socinians  find  in 
them,  that  the  man  by  whom  God  spoke  in  the  last  days 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  397 

is  now  tlie  Lord  of  all,  tlioy  contain  also  farther  intimation 
concerning  this  man,  as  being  the  Son  of  God,  by  whom 
he  made  the  worlds.  These  farther  intimations  require 
proof,  and  they  do  not  admit  the  same  kind  of  proof  with 
the  simple  proposition  that  he  is  now  Lord  of  all.  That 
was  made  manifest  by  the  extraordinary  gifts  with  which 
he  endowed  the  first  preachers  of  his  religion,  gifts  suffi- 
cient to  prove  that  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  is  now 
given  to  him,  but  not  sufficient  to  establish  with  certainty 
any  conclusion,  which  extends  to  his  state  previous  to  the 
time  of  his  receiving  that  power.  As  there  is  thus  occa- 
sion for  proving  the  further  intimations  concerning  the  per- 
son of  Christ,  which  we  have  found  in  the  first  three  verses, 
it  is  natural  to  look  for  that  proof  in  the  remaining  part  of 
the  chapter,  which  seems  at  first  reading  to  relate  to  the  same 
subject ;  and  the  proof  is  formally  introduced  by  the  fourth 
verse.  ToaouTW  x^httuv  ysvo/juevog  ruu  ayysXuv,  oc^w  dia(po^cijrspov 
rra^'  aurou;  xs/iXrigovofMrixiv  ovo/j^a,  which  maybe  literally  render- 
ed thus  :  "  being  as  far  superior  to  the  angels  as  the  name 
which  he  hath  inherited  is  more  excellent  than  theirs."  The 
point  to  be  proved  is  not  that  he  is  now  superior  to  the  an- 
gels ;  that  is  self-evident,  if  he  be  Lord  of  all ;  but  that  the 
name  which  he  has  inherited  as  always  belonging  to  him,  and 
the  characters  by  which  he  has  been  announced  in  the  for- 
mer revelations  of  God,  imply  a  pre-eminence  over  the  an- 
gels corresponding  to  his  present  exaltation.  This  point,  a 
proof  of  which  the  train  of  the  apostle's  argument  x'equires, 
is  fully  established  in  the  following  verses,  in  the  manner 
most  satisfactory  to  the  Hebrews,  by  a  reference  to  their 
own  Scriptures.  I  shall  just  mark  the  steps  of  the  proof, 
without  staying  to  illustrate  fully  the  several  quotations. 

L  He  is  called  the  Son  of  God,  with  an  emphasis  which 
is  never  applied  to  any  other  being.  Of  the  two  citations 
in  the  fifth  verse,  the  one  is  taken  from  Psalm  ii.  which  the 
Jews  considered  as  a  prophecy  of  the  Messiah ;  the  other 
from  a  message  which  the  prophet  Nathan  brought  to 
David,  1  Chron.  xvii.  1 1 — 14.  There  is  no  mention  in 
that  message  of  the  Messiah,  but  there  are  these  words, 
which  point  to  a  greater  than  Solomon.  "  And  it  shall 
come  to  pass  when  thy  days  be  expired,  that  thou  must  go 
to  be  with  thy  fathci's,  that  I  will  raise  up  thy  seed  after 
thee,  which  shall  be  of  thy  sons.     1  will  be  his  Father, 

6 


398  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

and  he  shall  be  my  Son;  and  I  will  settle  him  in  mine 
Jiouse,  and  in  my  kingdom  for  ever." 

2.  The  Psalmist  represents  the  Son  as  the  object  of 
worship  to  angels.  6.  'Orav  dsTaXiv  iisayay/j  rov  t^utotoxov 
SIS  rrjv  olMVifLBvifjv,  Xeyu'  Kai  cr^ocxwrigarCfKrav  avrw  'Tzavrsg 
ay/sXai  Qsov.  The  repetition  of  the  adverb  TaXiv  is  the  com- 
mon method  by  which  the  apostle  introduces  a  succession 
of  quotations.  It  is  therefore  a  very  forced  construction 
which  has  been  given  to  this  verse,  "  When  he  bringeth 
again  the  first  begotten,  when  he  raiseth  him  from  the 
dead."  The  command  is  taken  from  the  Septuagint  trans- 
lation of  Psalm  xcvii.  The  psalm  appears  to  relate  to  God 
the  Father.  But  we  are  taught  by  the  authority  of  the 
apostle,  in  this  citation,  to  apply  it  to  the  Son.  "  When 
God  bringeth  in  the  first  begotten,  i.  e.  when  he  announ- 
ceth  his  coming  into  the  world,  he  saith,  Let  all  the  angels 
of  God  worship  him." 

3.  The  pre-eminence  of  the  Son  over  the  angels  is  in- 
ferred from  the  very  different  language  which  is  employed 
in  relation  to  the  angels  and  him.  n^os  fj^sv  roug  ayyikoMC 
Xsysi.  U^og  ds  rov  v'lov.  7,  8,  9.  The  angels  are  spoken 
of  as  servants ;  the  Son  is  addressed  by  the  name  of  God, 
as  a  king,  whose  throne  is  everlasting.  The  quotations  are 
taken  from  Psalms  civ.  and  xlv.  which  the  Jews  Avere  ac- 
customed to  apply  to  the  Messiah.  Although  it  be  not 
very  much  to  my  present  purpose,  I  cannot  avoid  men- 
tioning an  ingenious  criticism  on  the  7th  verse,  Avhich  is 
found  in  Grotius,  which  was  adopted  by  Dr  Lowth  in  his 
elegant  book  De  Sacra  Poesi  Hebraeorum,  and  is  illus- 
trated by  Dr  Campbell  in  one  of  his  critical  dissertations. 
Three  authorities  so  respectable  claim  our  attention.  It 
is  not  easy  to  affix  any  meaning  to  the  seventh  verse, 
which  both  in  this  place,  and  in  Psahn  civ.  is  thus  render- 
ed, "  Wlio  maketh  his  angels  spirits,  and  his  ministers  a 
flame  of  fire."  But  the  Hebrew  as  well  as  the  Greek 
word  for  spirits  may  be  translated  "  winds,"  and  ayyiKog  is 
the  general  word  for  "  messenger ;"  so  that  the  verse  ad- 
mits of  a  translation  most  agreeable  to  the  context  in 
Psalm  civ.  "  Who  maketh  the  clouds  his  chariot,  who 
walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind  ;  who  maketh  the 
winds  his  messenger,  and  the  flaming  fire  his  servant,"  i.  e. 
vt'ho  employs  wind  and  fire  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  399 

This  meaning  enters  most  naturally  into  the  Psalm,  which 
celebrates  the  glory  of  God  as  it  appears  in  the  material 
creation,  and,  if  adopted  here,  contributes  very  much  to 
the  force  of  the  apostle's  reasoning,  by  the  improvement 
which  it  makes  upon  the  sense  of  the  quotation,  "  So 
little  sacredness  is  there  in  the  name  Angels,  that  it  is  ap- 
plied in  Scripture  to  inanimate  objects,  storm,  and  light- 
ning. But  so  saci-ed  is  the  name  of  the  Son,  that  the  Per- 
son who  bears  it  is  addressed  by  the  Almighty  as  an  ever- 
lasting King.     Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever." 

There  is  one  objection  to  this  change  which  I  was  very 
much  surprised  to  find  the  minute  accuracy  of  Dr.  Camp- 
bell had  omitted  to  mention.  It  is  contrary  to  the  rule  to 
Avhich  I  referred  when  speaking  of  these  words,  Qsog  r,v 
6  Xoyoc,  that  in  Greek  the  predicate  is  commonly  distin- 
guished from  the  subject  of  a  proposition  by  being  with- 
uut  the  article,  more  especially  when  the  predicate  stands 
first ;  n»g  rj  ^,aspa  iyivsro.  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  a  re- 
gard to  this  rule  which  led  our  translators  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  to  adopt  a  dark  expression  instead  of  an 
obvious  one.  I  believe  that  this  distinction  between  the 
predicate  and  the  subject  of  a  proposition  is  observed  with 
very  few  exceptions ;  and  much  advantage  arises  from  the 
observance  of  it.  At  the  same  time,  as  the  rule  is  founded 
merely  upon  practice,  and  not,  as  far  as  I  know,  upon  any 
thing  essential  to  the  constitution  of  the  language  ;  and  as, 
in  the  best  writers,  anomalous  expressions  sometimes  oc- 
cur, it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  the  place  of  the  article 
in  this  verse  is  a  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting  a  transla- 
tion which  is  so  striking  an  improvement. 

4.  The  fourth  quotation,  10,  11,  12,  is  taken  from 
Psalm  cii.  There  is  not  in  that  psalm  any  direct  men- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God.  But  if  you  admit  that  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament  are  inspired,  you  cannot  suppose 
that  the  apostle  was  mistaken  in  applying  these  words; 
and,  therefore,  the  only  question  is,  Whether  he  does 
apply  them  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  succession  of  quotations 
leads  you  to  expect  this  application,  for  there  would  be  an 
abruptness  inconsistent  both  with  elegance  and  perspicuity, 
if  between  the  third  and  the  fifth  quotations,  both  of  which 
are  addressed  to  the  Son,  there  should  be  introduced,  with- 
out any  intimation  of  the  change,  one  addressed  to  the 


400  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

Father ;  and  all  the  attempts  to  establish  a  connexion  made 
by  those  who  consider  it  as  thus  addressed  are  so  forced 
and  unnatural,  as  to  satisfy  us  that  they  are  mistaken. 
You  may  judge  of  the  rest  by  that  attempt  which  is  the 
latest,  and  is  really  the  most  plausible.  Those,  then,  Avho 
consider  the  10th,  11th,  and  .12th  verses,  as  addressed  to 
God  the  Father,  endeavour  to  prepare  for  this  application 
of  the  words  by  translating  the  beginning  of  the  8tli  verse 
in  a  manner  which  the  sj^ntax  admits,  although  it  creates 
a  very  harsh  figure.  "  Unto  the  Son,  he  saith,  God  is 
thy  throne  for  ever,"  i.  e.  the  support  of  thy  throne.  As 
it  is  said  by  God  to  the  Messiah,  Psalm  Ixxxix.  4,  "  I  will 
build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations."  And  they  con- 
sider the  10th,  11th,  and  12th  verses  as  introduced  to  show 
the  unchangeableness  of  that  God  who  is  the  support  of 
the  Messiah's  throne.  It  shall  endure  for  ever ;  for  that 
Lord  who  hath  pi'omised  to  support  it  has  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  earth,  and  remains  the  same  after  the  hea- 
vens are  dissolved.  And  thus  the  apostle  is  made  to  inter- 
rupt a  close  argument  by  bringing  in  three  verses,  in  order 
to  prove  what  nobody  denied,  that  God  is  unchangeable. 
The  question  is  not  whether  God  be  able  to  fulfil  his  pro- 
mise. That  was  admitted  by  all  the  Hebrews,  whether 
they  received  the  Gospel  or  not.  But  the  question  is, 
what  God  had  promised  and  declared  to  the  Messiah : 
and,'  therefore,  these  three  verses,  according  to  the  inter- 
pretation now  given  of  them,  may  be  taken  away  without 
hurting  the  apostle's  argument,  or  detracting  in  the  least 
from  the  information  conveyed  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ.  On  the  other  hand,  if,  following  the  train  of  the 
apostle's  reasoning,  you  consider  this  quotation  as  addressed 
to  the  same  person  with  the  third  and  fifth,  it  is  a  proof  of 
that  assertion  in  the  end  of  the  2d  verse,  di'  ou  %ai  rovg 
aimci!,  Z'-oiriCi,  of  which  no  proof  had  hitherto  been  ad- 
duced ;  and  it  is  a  direct  proof  of  such  a  kind  that  it  can- 
not be  evaded.  For  the  figurative  sense,  given  by  the 
Socinians  to  the  passage  in  the  Colossians,  will  not  avail 
them  here,  because  the  heavens  and  the  earth  spoken 
of  in  this  place  are  to  perish,  and  wax  old  like  a  garment. 
But  the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  which  Isaiah  expressed 
by  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  shall  endure  for  ever. 
The  number  of  its  subjects  is  continually  increasing ;  and 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  401 

they  who  are  "  the  workmanship  of  God  in  Clirist  Jesus, 
created  unto  good  works,"  shall  shine  for  ever  with  un- 
fading lustre  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  The  mate- 
rial, not  the  moral  creation,  shall  be  changed ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  material  creation  must  be  meant  by  that  earth 
and  those  heavens,  which  are  said  to  be  the  work  of  the 
Lord  here  addressed. 

5.  The  original  pre-eminence  of  Jesus  Christ  is  inferred, 
in  the  last  place,  from  the  manner  in  which  the  promise  of 
that  dominion,  which  was  to  be  given  him,  is  expressed  in 
the  Old  Testament.     The  quotation  in  the   13tli  verse  is 
taken  from  Psalm  ex.  which  the  ancient  Jews  always  ap- 
plied to  the  Messiah.     It  contains  a  promise  which  was 
fulfilled  in  the  Son's  being  appointed  Lord  of  all  things, 
and  in  his  sitting  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty 
on  high.     The  argument  turns  upon  the  style  of  this  pro- 
mise.    A  seat  on  the  right  is  in  all  countries  the  place  of 
honour ;    and   when  the  Almighty  says  to  the  Messiah, 
"  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy 
footstool,"  the  address  conveys  to  our  minds  an  impression 
of  the  dignity  of  the  person  upon  whom  so  distinguished 
an  honour  was  conferred,  as  well  as  of  the  stability  and 
pei-petuity  of  his  kingdom.     The  Almighty  never  spoke  in 
this  manner  to  any  angel.     They  do  not  sit  at  his  right 
hand.     They  are  spirits  employed  in  public  works,  sent 
forth  at  his  pleasure  in  different  services.     They  are  not 
the  servants  of  men.     But  the  services  appointed  them  by 
God  are  dia  roug  fj^iXkoi/rag   zAr,oo\/o,iMiv  eu-ripav,    upon  ac- 
count of,  for  the  benefit  of,  those  who  are  to  inherit  eternal 
life.     The  Son,  on  the  other  hand,  remains  in  the  highest 
place  of  honour,  without  ministration,  till  those  who  resist 
his  dominion  be  completely  subdued. 

There  arises  from  this  review  of  the  latter  part  of  the 
chapter,  the  strongest  presumption  that  we  gave  a  right 
interpretation  of  the  first  three  verses.  For  if  we  consider 
the  apostle  as  there  stating  the  original  pre-eminence  of 
the  person  who  is  now  appointed  Lord  of  all,  we  find  the 
most  exact  correspondence  between  the  positions  laid 
down  at  the  beginning,  and  the  proofs  of  them  adduced  in 
the  sequel :  whereas  if,  by  a  forced  interpretation  of  some 
phrases  in  the  first  three  verses,  we  consider  them  as  stat- 
ing simply  the  dominion  of  Christ,  without  any  respect  to 


402  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

liis  having  been  in  the  beginning  the  Son  of  God,  and  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  we  are  reminded,  as  we  advance,  of 
the  violence  which  we  did  to  the  sense  of  the  author,  by 
meeting  with  quotations  which  we  know  not  how  to  apply 
to  that  simple  proposition  to  which  we  had  restricted  his 
meaning. 


SECTION  IV. 


Having  now  found  in  Scripture  full  and  explicit  decla- 
rations that  Christ  is  the  Creator  of  the  world,  I  shall  di- 
rect your  attention  to  the  amount  of  that  proposition, 
before  I  proceed  to  the  other  actions  that  are  ascribed  to 
Jesus  in  his  pre-existent  state. 

The  three  passages  that  have  been  illustrated  are  a 
clear  refutation  of  the  first  opinion  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ.  If  he  was  the  Creator  of  the  world,  he  cannot 
be  -vj/zXes  ocviPU'Tog,  But  it  is  not  obvious  how  far  this  pro- 
position decides  the  question  between  the  second  and 
third  opinions,  whether  he  be  the  first  and  most  exalted 
creature  of  God,  or  whether  he  be  truly  and  essentially 
God.  It  has,  indeed,  been  said  by  a  succession  of  theo- 
logical writers,  from  the  Ante-Nicene  fathers  to  the  pre- 
sent day,  that  creation,  i.  e.  the  bringing  things  out  of 
nothing  to  a  state  of  being,  is  an  incommunicable  act  of 
Omnipotence  ;  that  a  creature  may  be  employed  in  giving 
a  new  form  to  what  has  been  already  made,  but  that 
creation  must  be  the  work  of  God  himself;  so  that  its  be- 
ing ascribed  in  Scripture  to  Jesus  Christ  is  a  direct  proof 
that  he  is  God. 

It  appears  to  me  upon  all  occasions  most  unbecoming 
and  presumptuous  for  us  to  say  what  God  can  do,  and 
what  he  cannot  do  :  and  I  shall  never  think  that  the  truth 
or  the  importance  of  a  conclusion  warrants  any  degree  of 
irreverence  in  the  method  of  attaining  it.  The  power 
exerted  in  making  the  most  insignificant  object  out  of 
nothing  by  a  word   is  manifestly  so  unlike  the  greatest 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  403 

human  exertions,  that  we  have  no  hesitation  in  pronounc- 
ing that  it  could  not  proceed  from,  the  strength  of  man  ; 
and  when  we  take  into  view  the  immense  extent,  and 
magnificence,  and  beauty  of  the  things  thus  created,  the 
different  orders  of  spirits,  as  well  as  the  frame  of  the  ma- 
terial world,  our  conceptions  of  the  povv^er  exerted  in  cre- 
ation are  infinitely  exalted.  But  we  have  no  means  of 
judging  whether  this  power  must  be  exerted  immediately 
by  God,  or  whether  it  may  be  delegated  by  him  to  a 
creature.  It  is  certain  that  God  has  no  need  of  any  mi- 
nister to  fulfil  his  pleasure.  He  may  do  by  himself  every 
thing  that  is  done  throughout  the  universe.  Yet  we  see 
that  in  the  ordinary  course  of  providence  he  withdraws 
himself,  and  employs  the  ministry  of  other  beings ;  and 
we  believe  that,  at  the  first  appearance  of  the  Gospel,  men 
were  enabled  by  the  divine  power  residing  in  them  to  per- 
form miracles,  ^.  e.  such  works  as  man  cannot  do,  to  cure 
the  most  inveterate  diseases  by  a  word,  without  any  ap- 
plication of  human  art,  and  to  raise  the  dead.  Although 
none  of  these  acts  imply  a  power  equal  to  creation,  yet  as 
all  of  them  imply  a  power  more  than  human,  they  destroy 
the  general  principle  of  that  argument,  upon  which  crea- 
tion is  made  an  unequivocal  proof  of  deity  in  him  who 
creates.  And  it  becomes  a  very  uncertain  conjecture, 
whether  reasons  perfectly  unknoAvn  to  us  might  not  induce 
the  Almighty  to  exert,  by  the  ministry  of  a  creature, 
powers  exceeding  in  any  given  degree  those  by  which  the 
apostles  of  Jesus  raised  the  dead. 

But  although  I  do  not  adopt  the  language  of  those  who 
presume  to  say  that  the  Almighty  cannot  employ  a  crea- 
ture in  creating  other  creatures,  thei'c  appears  to  me,  from 
the  nature  of  the  thing,  a  strong  probability  that  this 
work  was  not  accomjilished  by  the  ministry  of  a  creature ; 
and  when  to  this  probability  is  joined  the  manner  in  which 
the  Scriptures  uniformly  speak  of  creation,  and  the  style 
of  those  passages  in  which  creation  is  ascribed  to  Jesus, 
there  seems  to  arise  from  this  simple  proposition,  that 
Christ  is  the  Creator  of  the  world,  a  conclusive  argu- 
ment that  he  is  God. 

I.  A  strong  probability,  from  the  nature  of  the  thing, 
that  the  work  of  creation  was  not  accomplished  by  the 
ministry  of  a  creature.     By  creation  we  attain  the  know- 


404}  ACTIONS  ASCKIBED  TO  JESUS 

ledge  of  God.  In  a  course  of  fair  reasoning,  proceeding 
upon  the  natural  sentiments  of  the  human  mind,  we  infer 
from  the  existence  of  a  world  which  was  made  the  exist- 
ence of  a  Being  who  is  without  beginning.  But  this 
reasoning  is  interrupted,  in  a  manner  of  which  the  light  of 
nature  gives  no  warning,  if  that  work  which  to  us  is  the 
natural  proof  of  a  Being  who  exists  necessarily,  was  ac- 
complished by  a  creature,  i.  e.  by  one  who  owes  his  being, 
the  manner  of  his  being,  and  the  degree  of  his  power,  en- 
tirely to  the  will  of  another.  By  this  intervention  of  a 
creature  between  the  true  God  and  the  creation,  we  are 
brought  back  to  the  principles  of  Gnosticism,  which  se- 
parated the  Creator  of  the  world  from  the  Supreme  God  ; 
and  the  necessary  consequence  of  considering  the  Creator 
of  the  world  as  a  creature  is,  that,  instead  of  the  security 
and  comfort  which  arise  from  the  fundamental  principle 
of  sound  theism,  we  are  left  in  uncertainty  with  regard  to 
the  wisdom  and  power  of  the  Creator,  to  entertain  a  sus- 
picion that  he  may  not  have  executed  in  the  best  manner 
that  which  was  committed  to  him,  that  he  may  be  unable 
to  preserve  his  work  from  destruction  or  alteration,  and 
that  some  future  arrangement  may  substitute  in  place  of 
all  that  he  has  made,  another  world  more  fair,  or  other 
inhabitants  more  perfect.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  un- 
certainty and  suspicion,  which  necessarily  adhere  to  all 
the  modifications  of  the  Gnostic  system,  would  be  adopted 
in  a  Divine  Revelation  ;  that  a  doctrine  which  combats 
many  particular  errors  of  Gnosticism  would  interweave 
into  its  constitution  this  radical  defect,  and  would  pollute 
the  source  of  virtue  and  consolation  which  natural  religion 
opens,  by  teaching  us  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  are 
the  work,  not  of  the  God  and  Father  of  all,  but  of  an  in- 
ferior minister  of  his  power,  removed,  as  every  creature 
must  be,  at  an  infinite  distance  from  his  glory. 

II.  This  presumption,  which,  however  strong  it  appears, 
would  not  of  itself  warrant  us  to  form  any  conclusion,  is 
very  much  confirmed,  when  we  attend  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  Scriptures  uniformly  speak  of  creation.  You 
will  recollect  that,  in  the  Old  Testament,  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth  is  the  characteristic  of  the  true  God,  by  Mhich 
he  is  distinguished  from  idols.  "  The  Lord,"  says  Jere- 
miah, "  is  the  true  God  ;  he  is  the  living  God,  and  an 


IN  HIS  TOE-EXISTENT  STATE.   •  405 

everlasting  King.  The  gods  that  have  not  made  the  hea- 
vens and  the  earth,  even  they  shall  perish  from  the  earth, 
and  from  under  these  heavens.  He  hath  made  the  earth 
by  Lis  power,  he  hath  established  the  world  by  his  wis- 
dom, and  hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  by  his  discre- 
tion." Jer.  X.  10,  1],  12.  Creation  is  uniformly  spoken 
of  as  the  work  of  God  alone.*  And  it  Ji^  stated  as  the 
proof  of  his  being,  and  the  ground  of  our  trust  in  him.f 
"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  his  handy-work.  The  sea  is  his,  and  he 
made  it,  and  his  hands  formed  the  dry  land.  O  come,  let 
us  worship  and  bow  down  :  let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord 
our  Maker.  O  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works :  in 
Avisdom  hast  thou  made  them  all/'J  I  have  selected  only 
a  few  striking  passages.  But  they  accord  with  the  whole 
strain  of  the  poetical  books  of  the  Old  Testament :  and 
the  apostle  Paul  states  the  argument  contained  in  them, 
when  he  says  to  the  Romans,  i.  20.  "  The  invisible  things 
of  him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  be- 
ing understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his 
eternal  power  and  Godhead."  The  things  made  by  God 
are  to  us  the  exhibition  of  his  eternal  power :  and  a  few 
verses  after,  when  he  is  speaking  of  the  worship  of  the 
heathen,  the  form  of  his  expression  intimates  that  no  being 
intervenes  between  the  creature  and  the  Creator.  "  They 
served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed 
for  ever."  rov  uriaavra,  6c  ssnv  iuXoy/jTo:  ug  rov;  aiuvag.  I  have 
only  to  add,  that  the  book  of  Revelation  states  creation  as 
the  ground  of  that  pJraise  which  is  offered  by  the  angels  in 
heaven.  "  The  four  and  twenty  elders  fall  down  before 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  and  Morship  him  that  liveth 
for  ever  and  ever,  and  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne, 
saying.  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and 
honour  and  power ;  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and 
for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were  created."§ 

in.  The  style  of  the  three  passages  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  which  creation  is  ascribed  to  Jesus  Christ,  does 
not  admit  of  our  considering  him  as  a  creature.     In  the 

•  Job  xxxviii.     Isainh  xl.  12  ;   xliv.  24. 

f  Isaiah  xl.  '26.    Jer.  xiv.  22.  J  Psalm,  xix.  xcv.  civ. 

§  Rev..iv.  10,  11. 


406  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESU3 

first  of  the  three  passages  Jesus  is  called  God.     It  is  ad- 
mitted that  the  word  God  is  used  in  Scripture  in  an  in- 
ferior sense,  to  denote  an  idol,  which  exists   only  in    the 
imagination  of  him   by  whom  it  is  worshipped  as  a  god, 
and  to  denote  a  man  raised  by  office  far  above  others. 
But  it  has  been  justly  observed,  that  the  arrangement  of 
John's  words  renders  it  impossible  to  affix  any  other  than 
the  highest  sense  to  Qioc  in  this  place.     In  the  first  verse 
of  .John,  the  last  word  of  the  preceding  clause  is  made  the 
first  of  that  which  follow  s.     Ev  a^'x^ri  r\-j  it  Xoyo:,  %«/  6  7^oyog  ri'i 
TPc;  rov  Qsov,  zcii  Qsog  jjv  o  'Koyog.  There  must  be  a  purpose  to 
mislead,  in  a  writer  who  with  this  arrangement  hasadifferent 
meaning  to  0se?  at  the  end  of  the  second,  and  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  third  clause.     The  want  of  the  article  is  of 
no  importance.     For  in  the  sixth  verse   of  that  chapter^ 
and  in  numberless  other  places,  0jog  without  the  article, 
is  applied  to  God  the   Father.      In  the   second   passage 
Jesus  is  called  s/xcov  toj  ©soi;  roj  aooarou.     And  in  the  third 
a-?ravya(rfji,a   rri<;  do'i^ri;,    %ai   yjxoay.rris    rr,g    (jcroaraSiMg    avrov, 
phrases  which  must  be  understood  in  a  sense  very  far  remov- 
ed from  the  full  import  of  the  figure,  unless  they  imply  a 
sameness  of  nature.     In  the  second  passage,  it  is  said  that 
all  things  were  made  bi'  avrou,  a  phrase  which  might  apply 
to  a  creature  whom  the  Almighty  chose  to  employ  as  his 
minister.     But  it  is  said  in  the  same  passage,  that  they 
were  made   sig  a-o^dv,  which   signifies  that  he  Avas  mucli 
more  than  an  instrument,  and  that  his  glory  was  an  end 
for  which  things  were  made.     It  is  said  also,  craira  vi  avru 
<jV]ii(r~r,-/.$,  which  implies  that  his  power  is  not  occasional 
and  precarious,  but  that  he  is  able  to  preserve  what  he  has 
made,  and  so  may  be  an  object  of  trust  to  his  creatures. 
In  the  third  passage  it  is  said  that  God  made  the  worlds 
by  the  Son.     But  the  quotation  from  the  Psalms  adduced 
in  proof  of  this  position,  represents  the  Son  as  the  Creator  ; 
and  as  in  no  degree  susceptible  of  the  changes  to  which 
Iiis  works  are  subject.     "  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning 
Last  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  and  the  heavens  are 
the  work  of  thy  hands.    Thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years 
shall  not  fail." 

When  you  take,  in  conjunction  with  the  strong  proba- 
bility that  the  Creator  of  the  world  is  not  a  creature,  the 
language  of  the  New  Testament,  where  creation  is  ascribed 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  407 

to  Jesus,  you  discover  the  traces  of  a  system  vhich  recon- 
ciles the  apparent  discordance.  Jesus  Christ  is  essentially 
God,  ahvays  with  the  Father,  united  with  him  in  nature, 
in  perfections,  in  counsel,  and  in  operations "  Whatso- 
ever things  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  like- 
Avise."*  The  Father  acts  by  the  Son,  and  the  Son,  in 
creating  the  world,  displayed  that  power  and  Godhead 
which  from  eternity  resided  in  him.  If  this  system  be 
true,  then  creation,  the  characteristical  mark  of  the  Al- 
mighty, may,  in  perfect  consistency  with  the  passages 
quoted  from  the  Old  Testament,  be  ascribed  to  Jesus, 
because,  although  the  Father  is  said  to  have  created  the 
world  by  him,  upon  account  of  the  union  in  all  tlieir  oper- 
ations, j'et  he  is  not  a  creature  subservient  to  the  will  of 
another,  but  himself  "  the  everlasting  God  the  Creator  of 
the  ends  of  the  earth."  This  system  is  delivered  in  the 
earliest  Christian  writers.  "  The  Father  had  no  need," 
they  say,  "  of  the  assistance  of  angels  to  make  the  things 
which  he  had  determined  to  be  made ;  for  the  Son  and 
the  Spirit  are  always  v  ith  him,  bj'  whom  and  in  whom  he 
freely  made  all  things,  to  whom  he  speaks  when  he  says. 
Let  us  make  man  after  our  image  ;  and  who  are  one  with 
him,  because  it  is  added,  So  God  created  man  in  his  own 
image."f 

We  require  more  evidence  than  we  have  yet  attained, 
before  we  can  pronounce  that  this  system  is  true.  You 
will  only  bear  in  mind,  that  it  is  suggested  in  all  the  pas- 
.sages  of  the  New  Testament  which  give  an  account  of 
the  creation  of  the  world  by  Jesus  Christ ;  and  hat  if  it 
shall  appear  to  be  supported  by  sufficient  evidence,  it  re- 
conciles that  account  with  the  natural  impressions  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  declarations  of  Scripture  concerning 
the  extent  of  power  and  the  supremacy  of  character  im- 
plied in  the  act  of  creation. 

•_^John  V.  19.  f  Irenaeus.  lib.  iv.  cap.  20,  edit.  Massuet 


408 


CHAP.  V. 


ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS  IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT 

STATE. 

Administration  of  Providence. 

Those  passages,  from  which  we  learn  that  Jesus  is  the 
Creator  of  the  world,  taught  us  also  to  consider  him  as 
the  preserver  of  all  the  things  which  he  made.  This  last 
character  implies  a  continued  agency,  and  resolves  all 
that  care  of  Providence,  by  which  the  creatures  have  been 
supported  from  the  beginning,  into  actions  performed  by 
Jesus  in  a  state  of  pre-  existence.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature  which  indicates  the  agency  of 
this  person  ;  there  is  no  part  of  the  principles  of  natural 
religion  which  requires  that  we  should  distinguish  his 
agency  from  the  power  of  the  Almighty  Father  of  all ; 
and  therefore  the  Scriptures,  in  speaking  of  those  inter- 
positions of  Providence  which  respect  the  material  world, 
and  the  life  of  the  different  animals,  are  not  accustomed  to 
direct  our  attention  particularly  to  that  Person,  by  whom 
the  divine  power  is  exerted.  But  they  do  intimate 
that  the  particular  economy  of  Providence,  which  respects 
the  restoration  of  the  human  race,  was  administered  in  all 
ages  by  that  Pei-son,  by  whose  manifestation  it  was  ac- 
complished: and  upon  these  intimations  is  founded  an 
opinion  which,  since  the  days  of  the  apostles",  has  been 
held  by  almost  every  Christian  writer  who  admits  the 
pre- existence  of  Jesus,  that  he,  who  in  the  fulness  of  time 
Avasmade.flesh,  appeared  to  the  patriarchs,  gave  the  law  from 
mount  Sinai,  spake  by  the  prophets,  and  maintained  the 
Avhole  of  that  intercourse  with  mankind,  which  is  record- 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTEMT  STATE.  409 

cd  in  the  Old  Testament  as  preparatory  to  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah. 

The  early  date  of  this  opinion,  and  the  general  con- 
sent with  which  it  has  been  received,  the  frequent  men- 
tion made  of  it  in  theological  books,  the  unifonnity  Mhich 
it  gives  to  the  conduct  of  the  great  plan  of  redemption, 
and  the  extent  of  that  information  which  it  promises  to 
open,  all  conspire  to  draw  our  attention  to  it,  and  induce 
me  to  lay  before  you  the  grounds  upon  which  it  rests. 
TJiey  consist  not  of  explicit  declarations  of  Scripture,  suf- 
ficient by  themselves  to  establish  the  opinion,  but  of  an 
induction  of  particulars,  which,  although  they  may  escape 
careless  readers,  seem  intended  to  unfold  to  those  who 
search  the  Scriptures,  a  view  both  of  that  active  love  to- 
wards the  human  race  which  characterizes  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  and  of  the  original  dignity  of  his  person. 

The  general  principles  of  this  opinion  are  tliese.  God, 
the  Father,  is  represented  in  Scripture  as  "invisible,  whom 
no  man  hath  seen  at  any  time."  But  it  is  often  said  in  the 
Old  Testament  that  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  and  the 
people  saw  God  ;  and  there  is  an  case,  a  familiarity  of  inter- 
course in  man}'  of  tlie  scenes  which  are  recorded,  incon- 
sistent with  the  awful  majesty  of  him  who  covereth  him- 
self with  thick  clouds.  The  God  of  Israel,  Avhom  the 
people  saw,  is  often  called  an  angel,  i.  e.  a  person  sent ; 
therefore  he  cannot  be  God  the  Father,  for  it  is  impossible 
that  the  Father  should  be  sent  by  any  one.  But  he  is  also 
called  Jehovah.  The  highest  titles,  the  most  exalted  ac- 
tionSj  and  the  most  entire  reverence  are  appropriated  to 
him.  Therefore  he  cannot  be  a  being  of  an  inferior  order. 
And  the  only  method  in  which  we  can  reconcile  the  seem- 
ing discordance  is,  by  supposing  that  he  is  the  Son  of 
God,  who,  as  we  learn  from  John,  "  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God,  and  was  God,"  who  being  at  a  particular  time 
'•  made  flesh, '  and  so  manifested  in  the  human  nature,  may 
be  conceived,  without  irreverence,  to  have  manifested  him- 
self at  former  times  in  different  ways.  Tliis  supposition, 
suggested  by  the  language  of  the  Old  Testament,  seems  to 
•be  confirmed  by  the  words  of  our  Lord,  John  vi.  46,  "  Not 
that  any  man  hath  seen  the  Father,  save  he  which  is  of 
God,  he  hath  seen  the  Father;"  and  of  his  apostle,  John 
i.  18,  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time :  the  only  be- 

VOL.  I.  T 


410  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

gotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath 
declared  him."  The  meaning  of  tliis  passage  extends  to 
the  former  declarations  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament. 
For  it  is  remarkable  that  it  is  not  the  preterperfect  tense 
Avhich  is  used  in  the  original,  but  the  aorist,  which  inti- 
mates that  he,  "  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  hath 
declared  him"  also  in  times  past.  He  who  alone  was  qua- 
lified to  declare  God,  who  certainly  did  declare  him  by  the 
Gospel,  and  who  is  styled  by  the  apostle,  "  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,"  as  the  person  in  whom  the  glory  of  the 
Godhead  appeared  to  man,  seems  to  be  pointed  out  as  the 
angel  Avho  was  called  by  the  name  of  God  in  ancient  times. 
These  general  principles  receive  a  striking  illustration 
when  we  attend  to  the  detail  of  the  appearances  recorded 
in  the  Old  Testament,  because  we  find  upon  examination 
that  all  the  divine  appearances,  made  in  a  succession  of 
ages,  are  referred  to  one  person,  who  is  often  called  in  the 
same  passage  both  Angel  and  Jehovah,  and  that  several  in- 
cidental expressions  in  the  New  Testament  mark  out  Christ 
to  be  this  person. 


SECTION  I. 


ALL  APPEARANCES    IN   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    REFERRED 
TO  ONE  PERSON,  CALLED  ANGEL  AND  GOD. 

In  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  it  is  said  that  "  the 
Lord,"  which,  when  written  in  capital  letters,  is  always  the 
translation  of  Jehovah,  that  "  Jehovah  appeared  unto 
Abraham  in  the  plains  of  Mamre  ;"  and  tlie  manner  of  the 
appearance  is  very  particularly  related.  "  Abraham  lifted 
up  his  eyes,  and  three  men  stood  by  him."  He  received 
them  hospitably,  according  to  the  manner  of  the  times.  In 
the  course  of  the  intervicAv  one  of  the  three  speaks  with 
the  authority  of  God,  promises  such  blessings  as  God  only 
can  bestow,  and  is  called  by  the  historian  Jehovah.  Two 
of  the  men  departed  and  "  went  toward  Sodom,  but  Abra- 
ham," it  is  said,  "  stood  yet  before  tlie  Lord."   He  inquires 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  411 

of  him  respectfully  about  the  fate  of  Sodom  ;  he  reasons 
with  him  as  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  who  has  it  in  his 
power  to  save  and  to   destroy ;  and  we  may  judge  of  the 
impressions  which  he  now  has  of  the  nature  of  the  man, 
whom  a  little  before  he  had  received  in  his  tent,  when  he 
says  to  him,  "  Behold  now,  I  have  taken  upon  me  to  speak 
unto  the  Lord,  who  am  but  dust  and  ashes."     It  is  the 
same  Lord,  whom  Abraham  saw  in  this  manner,  that  ap- 
peared to  him  at  other  times,  and,  after  his  death,  to  his 
son  Isaac ;  for  a  reference  is  made  in  the  future  appear- 
ances  to  the  promise  that  had  been  made  at  this  time. 
To  Jacob,  the  grandson  of  Abraham,  the  Lord  appeared 
upon  different  occasions,  under  the  name  of  the  God  of 
Abraham  and  Isaac,  i.  e.  the  God  who  had  blessed  them ; 
he  repeats  to  Jacob  what  he  had  said  to  them,  that  his  pos- 
terity should  possess  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  become  a 
great  nation,  and  that  in  his  seed  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  should  be  blessed,  xxviii.  13,   14.     Jacob,  after  one 
appearance,  said,  "  I  have  seen  God  face  to  face,"  xxxii. 
30  ;  after  another,  "  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and 
he  called  the  name  of  the  place  Bethel,"  i.  e.  the  house  of 
God,  xxviii.  IG — 19.     He  raised  a  pillar  ;  he  vowed  a  vow 
to  the  God  whom  he  had  seen,  and  at  his  return  he  paid 
the  vow.     Yet  this  God,  to  Avhom  he  gave  these  divine 
honours,  and  of  whom  he  spoke  at  some  times  as  Jehovah 
the  God  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  at  other  times  he  calls  an 
angel.     "  The  angel  of  God,"  he  says,  "  spake  unto  me  in 
a  dream,  sajnng,   I  am  the  God  of  Bethel,"  xxxi.  II — 13  ; 
and  upon  his  death-bed  he  gives  in  the  same  sentence  the 
name  of  God  and  angel  to  this  person,  xlviii.  15.     "  He 
blessed  Joseph,  and  said,  God,  before  whom  my  fathers 
Abrahanr  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which  fed  me  all  my 
life  long  anto  this  daj',  the  Angel  which  redeemed  me  from 
all  evil,  bless  the  lads."     The  prophet  Hosea  refers  hi  one 
place  to  the  earnestness  with  which  Jacob  begget^  a  bless- 
ing from  the  Lord  who  appeared  to  him,   which  is   called 
in  Genesis  his  wrestling  with  a  man  and  prevailing.     So 
says  Hosea,  xii.  2 — 5.     "  By  his  strength   he  had  power 
with  God,  yea,  he  had  power  over  the  angel,  and  prevail- 
ed ;  he  found  him  in  Bethel,  and  there  he  spake  with  us, 
even  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  the  Lord  is  his  memorial." 


412  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

The  same  person  is  called  in  this  passage  God,  the  angel, 
and  the  Lord  God  of  hosts. 

In  Exodus  iii.  we  read,  that  when  Moses  came  to  Ho- 
reb,  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  him  in  a  flame  of 
fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush."     Moses  turned  about  to 
see  this  sight,  "  And  when  the  Lord  saw  that  he  turned 
aside  to  see,  God  called  unto  him  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
bush,  and  said,  I  am  the  God  of  thy  father,   the   God  of 
Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.     And 
Moses  hid  his  face  ;  for  he  was  afraid  to  look  upon  God. 
And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction  of  my 
people  which  are  in  Egypt,  and  I  am  come  down  to  deliver 
them,  and  to  bring  them  up  out  of  that  land  unto  a  good 
land.     Come  now,  therefore,  and  I  will  send  thee  unto 
Pharaoh,  that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people."     You 
will  observe  in  this  passage  an  interchange  of  the  names 
angel  and    God,  a    reference  to  the  former  appearances 
which  the  patriarchs  had  seen,  and  a  connexion  established 
between  this  appearance  and  the  subsequent  manifestations 
to  the  children  of  Israel ;  so  that  the  person  whom  Abra- 
ham saw  in  the  plains  of  Mamre,  and  who  brought  Israel 
out  of  Egypt,  is  declared  to  be  the  same.     Moses  asks  the 
name  by  which  he  should  call  the  God  who  had  thus  come- 
down to  deliver  the  children  of  Israel.     "  And  God  said,  I 
am  that  I  am :   thou  shalt  say  to  the  children  of  Israel,  I 
am  hath  sent  me  unto  you."     This  very  particular  mode  oi' 
expression  is  intended  to  be  the  interpretation  of  Jehovah, 
the  incommunicable  name  of  God,  implying  his  necessary, 
eternal,  and  unchangeable  existence.     Other  beings  may 
be,  or  may  not  be.    There  was  a  time  when  they  were  not ; 
the  will  of  him  who  called  them  into  existence  may  annihi- 
late them ;  and  even  while  they  continue  to   exist,  there 
may  be  such  alterations  upon  the  manner  of  their  being,  as 
to  make  them  appear  totallj^  different  from  what  they  once 
were.  But  God  always  was,  and  always  will  be,  that  which 
he  now  is  ;  and  the  name  which  distinguishes  him  from 
every  other  being,  and  is  truly  expressive  of  his  character, 
is  this,  £701  s/,u,/  0  uv. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  the  same  passage  in  which 
the  person  who  appealed  to  Moses  assumed  this  signifi- 
cant phrase  as  his  name;  he  is  called  by  the  historian;  the 


I 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  413 

angel  of  the  Lord ;  and  Stephen,  Acts  vii.  30,  35,  in  relat- 
ing this  history  before  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  shows  the 
sense  of  his   countrymen  upon  this  point,   by  repeating 
twice  the  word  cmgel.     "  There  appeared  to  Moses  in  the 
wilderness  of  Mount  Sina  an  angel  of  the  Lord  in  a  flame 
of  fire."     And  again,  "  This  Moses  did  God  send  to  be  a 
ruler  and  deliverer  by  the  hands  of  the  angel  which  ap- 
peared to  him  in  the  bush."     Stephen  says  most  accurate- 
ly that  Moses  was  sent  to  be  a  ruler  and  deliverer  by  the 
hands  of  this  angel ;  for  it  was  the  same  angel  who  appear- 
ed to  him  in  the  bush  ;  that  put  a  rod  in  his  hand  where- 
with to  do   wonders  before  Pharaoh ;  that  brought  forth 
the  people  with  an  out-stretched  arm,  and  led  them  througli 
the  wilderness.      Accordingly,  Exod.  xiii.  21,  we  read, 
"  The  Lord  went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud, 
and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire."     In  the  next  chapter, 
xiv.  19,  we  read,  "  The  angel  of  God,  which  went  before 
the  camp  of  Israel,  removed  and  went  behind  them."    The 
same  Jehovah  who  led  them  out  of  Egypt  gave  them  the 
law  from  INIount  Sinai ;  for  we  read,  Exod.  xx.   1,  2,  "I 
am  the  Lord  tliy  God,  which  have  brought  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage."     Our  attea- 
tion  is  thus  carried  back  by  the  preface  of  the  law  to  that 
appearance  which  Moses  had  seen ;  and  accordingly  Ste- 
phen says.  Acts  vii.  38,  "  Moses  was  in  the  church  in  the 
wilderness  with  the  angel  which  spake  to  him  in  the  Mount 
Sina."     An  angel  then  spake  to  Moses  in  Mount  Sinai, 
yet  this  angel  in  giving  the  law  takes  to  himself  the  name 
of  Jehovah.     The  first  commandment  is,  "  Thou  shalt  have 
no  other  gods  before  me :"  and  Moses,  when  he  recites  in 
Deuteronomy  tlie  manner  of  giving  the  law,  says  express- 
ly that  God  had  given  it ;  iv.  33,  36,  39,  "  Did  ever  peo- 
ple hear  the  voice  of  God  speaking  out  of  the  midst  of  the 
fire  as  thou  hast  heard,  and  live  ?     Out  of  heaven  he  made 
thee  to  hear  his  voice,  that  he  might  instruct  thee ;  and 
tliou  heardest  his  words  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire.    Know, 
therefore,  this  day,  and  consider  it  in  thine  heart,  that  the 
Lord  lie  is  God  in  heaven  above,  and  upon  the  eartli  be- 
.  neath,  tliere  is  none  else." 

All  the  interpositions  recorded  in  the  Pentateuch,  by 
which  the  enemies  of  the  children  of  Israel  Avere  put  to 
flight,  and  the  people  were  safely  conducted  to  the  land  of 


414)  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

Canaan,  are  referred  to  the  same  person,  who  is  often  call- 
ed the  angel  of  the  Lord  that  went  before  them.     Moses, 
who  begins  the  blessing  which  he  pronounced  upon  the 
children  of  Israel  before  his  death  with  these  words,  Deut. 
xxxiii.  "  The  Lord  came  from  Mount  Sinai,"  seems  to  in- 
tend  to   connect  the  first  appearance,   which  this  Lord 
made  to  him  in  Horeb,  with  every  subsequent  manifesta- 
tion of  divine  favour,  when,  in  speaking  of  Joseph,  he  calls 
the  blessing  of  God  for  which  he  prays,  "  the  good  will  of 
him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush."     During  a  succession  of  ages 
all  the  affairs  of  the  Jewish  nation  were  administered  with 
the  attention   and  tenderness  which  might  be  expected 
from  a  tutelary  deity,  or  guardian  angel,  to  whom  that 
province  was  specially  committed ;  and  the  prophet  Isaiah 
has  expressed  that  protection  amidst  danger,  that  support 
and  relief  in  all  their  distresses,  which  the  people  had  ex- 
perienced from  his  guardianship,  in  these  beautiful  words, 
Isaiah  Ixiii.  7,  9 :  "  I  will  mention  the  loving-kindnesses  of 
the  Lord,  and  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  according  to  all  the 
great  goodness  towards  the  house  of  Israel,  which  he  hath 
bestowed  on  them.     In  all  their  afrliction  he  was  afflicted, 
and  the  angel  of  his  presence  saved  them :  in  his  love  and 
in  his  pity  he  redeemed  them,  and  he  bare  them  and  car- 
ried them  all  the  days  of  old."     Yet  we  are  guarded  in 
other  places  against  degrading  the  God  of  Israel  to  a  level 
with  the  inferior  deities  to  whom  the  nations  offered  their 
worship.     "  Where  are  their  gods,"   says   the    Lord   by 
Moses,  Deut.  xxxii.  36 — 40,   "  their  rock  in  whom  they 
trusted  ?     See  now  that  I,  even  I,  am  he,  and  there  is  no 
God  with  me :  For  I  lift  up  my  hand  to  heaven,  and  say  I 
live  for  ever."     And  Isaiah  xliv.  6  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
the  King  of  Israel,  and  his  Redeemer  the  Lord  of  hosts,  I 
am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last,  and  besides  me  there  is  no 
God."     This  is  the  language  in  which  the  God  of  Israel 
speaks  of  himself!,  and   in  which  he  is  addressed  by  the 
people  through  all  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and 
in  the  long  addresses,  several  of  which  are  recorded,  the 
high  characters  which  distinguish  the  true  God  are  con- 
joined with  the  manifestations  in  former  times,  of  which  I 
have  been  giving  the  history,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show 
that  both  are  applied  to  the  same  person.     One  of  the 
most  striking  examples  is  the  solemn  thanksgiving  and 


IM  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  41 5 

praj^er  offered,  Neheraiah,  cli.  ix.  by  all  the  congregation 
of  Israel,  who  returned  from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in 
consequence  of  the  edict  of  Cyrus  the  Great.  "  Thou, 
even  thou,  art  Lord  alone  ;  thou  hast  made  heaven,  the 
heaven  of  heavens,  with  all  their  host,  the  earth,  and  all 
things  that  are  therein,  the  sea,  and  all  that  is  therein,  and 
thou  preservest  them  all,  and  the  host  of  heaven  worship- 
peth  thee.  Thou  art  the  Lord,  the  God  who  didst  choose 
Abraham, — and  madest  a  covenant  with  him, — and  didst 
see  the  affliction  of  our  fathers  in  Egypt, — and  didst  di- 
vide the  sea  before  them, — and  leddest  them  in  the  day  by 
a  cloudy  pillar,  and  in  the  night  by  a  pillar  of  fire.  Thou 
earnest  down  also  upon  Mount  Sinai,  and  spakest  with 
them  from  heaven — yea,  forty  years  didst  thou  sustain 
them  in  the  wilderness,"  &c.  There  is  no  interruption, 
no  change  of  person  in  the  progress  of  this  prayer,  so  that 
we  must  suppose  a  delusion  to  run  through  the  whole  of 
the  Old  Testament,  unless  the  Creator  of  heaven  and 
earth  be  the  same  person  whom  Jacob,  and  Moses,  and 
Isaiah,  and  Stephen,  call  the  Angel  of  the  Lord. 

In  order  to  connect  all  the  intimations  which  the  Old 
Testament  gives  concerning  the  God  of  Israel,  you  must 
carry  this  along  Vvith  you,  that  the  person  who  appeared 
to  Moses,  and  who  gave  the  law  from  Mount  Sinai,  com- 
manded the  people  to  make  him  a  sanctuary,  that  he  might 
dwell  amongst  them.  The  command  was  given  to  Moses 
at  the  time  when  he  went  up  into  the  midst  of  the  cloud 
that  abode  upon  Mount  Sinai,  and  when  the  sight  of  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  was  like  devouring  fire  on  the  top  of  the 
Mount  in  the  eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel.  At  this  time 
Moses  received  from  God  the  pattevn  of  the  ark  of  the  ta- 
bernacle, and  of  the  mercy-seat  on  the  top  of  the  ark,  hav- 
ing cherubims  which  covered  the  mercy-seat  with  their 
wings,  and  looked  towards  one  another.  "Thou  shalt 
put,"  said  God,  "  the  mercy-seat  above  upon  the  ark,  and 
in  the  ark  thou  shalt  put  the  testimony  that  I  shall  give 
thee.  And  there  I  will  meet  with  thee,  and  I  will  com- 
mune with  thee  from  above  the  mercy-seat,  from  between 
the  two  cherubims,  of  all  things  which  I  will  give  thee  in 
commandment  to  the  children  of  Israel,"  Exod.  xxv.  21. 
As  soon  as  the  tabernacle  was  reared,  and  the  ark  with 
these  appurtenances  was  brought  into  it,  "  a  cloud  covered 


416  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

the  tent  of  the  congregation,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  fill- 
ed the  tabernacle."  This  cloud  Y»as  the  guide  of  the 
children  of  Israel  in  their  journeyings.  When  the  cloud 
was  taken  up  from  the  tabernacle,  they  went  on  ;  when  it 
Avas  not  taken  up,  they  rested ;  and  you  may  judge  ho\\- 
intimately  they  connected  the  appearance  of  the  ark  with 
the  presence  of  God,  from  the  words  recorded,  Numb.  x. 
-'^5,  36,  as  used  by  Moses  in  the  name  of  the  congregation- 
The  ark  of  the  Lord,  it  is  said,  went  before  them.  "  And 
when  it  set  forward,  Moses  said,  Rise  up,  Lord,  and  let 
thine  enemies  be  scattered  ;  and  let  them  that  hate  thee 
flee  before  thee.  And  when  it  rested,  he  said,  Return,  O 
Lord,  unto  the  many  thousands  of  Israel."  Wheresoever 
the  ark  was,  the  God  of  Israel  was  conceived  to  be.  In 
that  place  he  met  with  his  people.  There  they  consulted 
him  in  all  their  exigencies  ;  and  the  glory  which  filled  the 
tabernacle,  called  the  Shechinah,  was  the  visible  symbol 
of  the  presence  of  the  God  of  Israel.  When  Solomon 
built  a  temple,  he  introduced  into  it  the  ark  and  the  taber- 
nacle. And  the  joy  which  he  felt  in  accomplishing  that 
work  arose  from  his  having  found  a  fixed  habitation  for 
that  sacred  pledge  of  the  divine  favour  which  had  often 
been  exposed  to  danger,  M'hich  had  for  some  time  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  enemas  but  which  every  devout 
Israelite  regarded  as  the  glory  and  security  of  his  nation. 
In  Psalm  cxxxii.,  which  appears  to  have  been  composed  to 
celebrate  the  introduction  of  the  ark  into  the  temple,  you 
find  these  words  :  "  Arise,  O  Lord,  into  thy  rest,  thou,  and 
the  ark  of  thy  strength.  The  Lord  hath  chosen  Zion  ;  he 
hath  desired  it  for  his  habitation.  This  is  my  rest  for 
ever ;  here  will  I  dwell."  In  the  solemn  prayer  of  Solo- 
mon, at  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  1  Kings  vi.  it  is  de- 
clared to  be  a  house  built  for  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  who 
had  made  a  covenant  with  their  fathers,  when  he  brought 
them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  As  soon  as  the  ark  was 
brought  into  its  place  in  the  temple,  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
filled  the  house  of  the  Lord.  To  this  place  all  the  prayers 
and  services  of  the  people  in  succeeding  generations  were 
directed.  The  Lord  was  known  by  this  name,  Jehovah 
the  God  of  Israel,  who  dwelleth  between  the  cherubims. 
And  hence  arises  the  significancy  of  that  prayer  of  the 
ijood  king  Jehoshaphat,  when  he  stood  in  the  house  of  the 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  417 

Lord  before  the  new  court,  2  Chron.  xx.  7,  8.  "  O  Lord 
(iod  of  our  fathers,  art  not  thou  our  God  who  didst  drive 
out  the  inhabitants  of  this  land  before  thy  people  Israel, 
and  gavest  it  to  the  seed  of  Abraham  thy  friend  for  ever  ? 
and  they  dwelt  therein,  and  have  built  thee  a  sanctuary 
therein  for  thy  name." 

These  circumstances  also  explain  to  us  various  expres- 
sions in  the  book  of  Psalms,  which,  without  attending  to 
them,  appear  unintelligible.  The  Psalms  were  the  hymns 
composed  for  the  service  of  the  temple.  The  particular 
occasions  upon  which  several  of  them  were  composed  are 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  history.  And  many  of 
them  have  a  special  reference  to  that  principle  which  was 
incorporated  into  the  very  constitution  of  the  Jewish 
state,  that  the  peculiar  residence  of  the  God  of  Israel  was 
in  the  ark,  and  that  his  presence  was  manifested  by  a 
visible  glory  encompassed  with  clouds,  and  shining  some- 
times with  a  dazzling  splendour  which  none  could  ap- 
proach ;  sometimes  with  a  milder  lustre  which  encouraged 
the  servants  of  the  sanctuary  to  draw  nigh.  Ps.  Ixxvi.  1. 
"  In  Judah  is  God  known :  his  name  is  great  in  Israel. 
In  Salem  also  is  his  tabernacle,  and  his  dwelling  in 
Zion."  Ps.  xcix.  1.  "  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  people 
tremble  :  He  sitteth  between  the  cherubims,  let  the  earth 
be  moved."  Many  of  the  Psalms,  by  their  reference  to 
events  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation,  show  us  that 
the  God  who  was  worshipped  in  the  sanctuary,  is  the  same 
who  made  a  covenant  witli  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
who  appeared  on  Mount  Sinai,  and  led  his  people  like  a 
flock  by  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron.  Psalms  Ixxviii.  cv. 
and  cvi.  contain  an  historical  detail,  and  Psalm  Ixviii.  con- 
firms in  a  striking  manner  tlie  glory  in  which  God  ap- 
peared in  the  sanctuary  with  his  former  manifestations  to 
Israel.  "  O  God,  when  thou  wentest  forth  before  thy  peo- 
ple ;  when  thou  didst  march  through  the  wilderness,  the 
earth  shook,  the  heavens  also  dropped  at  the  presence  of 
God  :  Even  Sinai  itself  was  moved  at  the  presence  of  God, 
the  God  of  Israel.  They  have  -  seen  thy  goings,  O  God, 
my  king,  in  the  sanctuary.  Because  of  thy  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  shall  kings  bring  presents  to  thee.  O  God, 
thou  art  terrible  out  of  thy  holy  places."  While  the  Psalms 
thus  bring  together  the  former  events  in  the  history  of 


418  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

Israel,  and  the  glory  of  their  God  in  the  sanctuary,  they 
address  this  person  as  Jehovah,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  who 
made  the  world  and  the  fulness  thereof,  the  might}'  God, 
the  king  and  judge  of  all  the  earth,  whom  the  angels  wor- 
ship, and  who  alone  is  to  be  feared. 

The  view  of  the  information  contained  in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  Testament,  concerning  the  person  by  whom  the 
law  was  given,  will  be  complete  M'hen  it  is  added,  in  the 
last  place,  that  the  writings  of  the  later  prophets  repre- 
sent him  also  as  the  Saviour  of  Israel,  and  the  author  of 
a  new  dispensation,  which  was  to  be  introduced  in  the  last 
days.     The  interpositions  of  the  God  of  Israel,  to  deliver 
them  out  of  the  many  national  calamities  which   mark 
their  history,  do  by  no  means  exhaust  the  meaning  of  the 
prophecies  and  thanksgivings,  which  abound  in  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Jews.     The  expressions  even  of  the  earlier 
writers  bear  a  more  exalted  sense  than  is  attained  by  ex- 
plaining them  of  any  temporal  mercies.     And  about  the 
time  of  the  captivity  of  the  nation,  and  of  their  return  to 
their  own  land,  the  prophets,  in  some  places,  speak  plain- 
ly of  a  spiritual  deliverance,  and  in  others  adopt  a  richness 
of  imagery,  which  is  unmeaning  and  even  ridiculous,  un- 
less it  be  understood  to  point  to  the  days  of  the  Messiah. 
But  the  clearest  intimations  of  the  future  glorious  dispen- 
sation are  always  conjoined  with  the  mention  of  its  being 
accomplished  by  that  very  person  who  was  the  God  of 
Israel.     Isaiah  sometimes  represents  the  Almighty  as  him- 
self the  Saviour  and  Redeemer  of  Israel :  at  other  times, 
he  speaks  of  a  servant,  an  elect  of  God,  who  was  to  be 
mighty  to  save.     But  this  elect  is  distinguished  by  such 
names,  Immanuel,  i.  e.  God  with  us,  the  mighty  God,  the 
Prince  of  peace :  and  his  character  and  appearance  are 
described  with  such  majesty,  that  we  soon  recognise  the 
God  of  Israel,  for   whom  the  people  are   commanded  to 
wait.     Later  prophets  give  the  name  of  Jehovah  to  the 
person  who  was  to  be  employed  in  bringing  the  salvation. 
Zech.  ii.  10,  11.     "  Sing  and  rejoice,  O  daughter  of  Zion, 
for  lo,  I  come,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  thee,  saith 
the  Lord.     And  thou  shalt  know  that  the  Lord  of  hosts 
hath  sent  me  unto  thee."     Here  is  one  Jehovah  sendino- 
another  to  dwell  in  Judah.     "  I  will  have  mercy  upon 
the  house  of  Judah,"  Hosea  i.  7,  "  and  will  save  them  by 


IN  HIS  PRK-EXISTENT  STATE.  419 

the  Lord  their  God."  Micah  v.  2.  foretells  a  "  ruler  in 
Israel  that  was  to  come  out  of  Bethlehem,"  not  a  new 
person,  but  one  "  whose  goings  forth  have  been  of  old, 
from  everlasting."  Jeremiah  says  expressly  that  the  new 
covenant  with  Israel  was  to  be  made  by  the  same  person 
who  had  made  the  old.  Jer.  xxxi.  31.  "  Behold  the 
days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  cove- 
nant with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Ju- 
dah  ;  not  according  to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with 
their  fathei's  in  the  day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to 
bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  But  this  shall  be 
the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel. 
After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  ia 
their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts,  and  will  be 
their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people."  In  reference 
to  the  covenant  mentioned  by  Jeremiah,  Malachi,  the  last 
of  the  prophets,  announces  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  in 
these  words,  Mai.  iii.  1 :  "  Behold  I  will  send  my  messen- 
ger, and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me ;  And  the 
Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom  ye  delight  in  ; 
behold  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  The 
Lord  coming  to  his  own  temple  is  the  God  of  Israel  re- 
turning to  illuminate  and  glorify  by  his  presence  that 
Jewish  temple,  which  had  been  originally  built  for  his 
name,  but  which,  after  the  destruction  of  the  fabric  erect- 
ed by  Solomon,  had  been  left  without  the  Shechinah,  the 
visible  symbol  of  his  presence.  By  his  coming,  the  glory 
of  the  latter  house,  according  to  the  prophe^^y  of  Haggai,* 
Avas  made  greater  than  the  glory  of  the  former,  because 
no  symbol,  however  sacred  or  splendid,  deserved  to  be 
compared  with  the  actual  presence,  and  inhabitation  of 
the  Lord  of  glory.  The  Lord  coming  to  his  own  temple 
is  called  in  this  prophecy  the  Angel  or  Messenger  of  the 
covenant,  in  whom  the  Jews  delighted,  i.  e.  a  person  sent 
by  another  for  the  purpose  of  making  that  new  covenant 
with  the  house  of  Israel,  which  their  sacred  books  taught 
them  to  expect.  Here,  then,  we  are  brouglit  back,  at  the 
end  of  the  Old  Testament,  to  the  same  word  Angel  or 
Messenger,  whicli  we  found  at  the  beginning  of  iU     The 

•  Hagg.  ii.  9. 


420  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

Angel,  who  had  appeared  to  Abraham,  to  Jacob,  and  to 
Moses,  who  had  made  the  old  covenant  with  Israel,   who 
had  been  worshipped  in  his  own  temple  at  Jerusalem,  is 
here  called  the  Angel  of  the  covenant  which  was  to  be 
established   upon  better  promises.     The  conjunction    of" 
names  in  this  concluding  prophecy  collects  all  the   infor- 
mation concerning  this  person,  which  we  have  found  scat- 
tered through  the  Old  Testament,  and  seems  to  be  intro- 
duced on  purpose  to  teach  us,  that  he  who  had  conducted 
the  former  dispensation  was  to   open  the  new ;  that  the 
same  person,  by  whom  the  whole  plan   of  Divine  Provi- 
dence respecting  the  souls  of  men  had  been  carried  on 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  was  to  visit  the  Jewish 
temple  before  it  was  demolished  a  second  time  ;  and  hav- 
ing received  the  adorations  of  that  people  whom  he  had 
chosen  in  the  temple,  which  was  his  own   during  all  the 
time  that  it  stood,  was  to  be  entitled  by  another  manifes- 
tation, and  a  fresh  display  of  his  love,  to   adorations  and 
thanksgivings  corresponding  to  the   nature  and  extent  of 
the  blessings  conveyed  by  the  new  covenant. 

This  singular  prophecy,  which  collects  all  the  informa- 
tion concerning  the  person  of  whom  we  have  been  speak- 
ing, is  found  in  the  conclusion  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  New  it  is  applied  by  Mark  to 
Jesus  Christ.  This  application  is  a  favourable  omen  of 
the  success  to  be  expected  in  the  second  part  of  this  dis- 
cussion, in  which  I  propose  to  show,  that,  as  all  the  di- 
vine appearances  made  in  a  succession  of  ages  are  referred 
in  the  Old  Testament  to  one  person,  who  is  called  both 
Angel  and  Jehovah,  so  many  incidental  expressions  in  the 
New  Testament  mark  out  Christ  to  be  this  person. 


SECTION  II. 


There  is  no  passage  in  the  New  Testament  which  directly 
affirms  that  every  thing  said  in  the  Old  Testament  of  that 
Person  who  is  called  both  Angel  and  Jehovah  belongs  to 
Christ.  But  this  is  not  the  only  instance  in  which  the 
intimate  connection  between  the  two  dispensations  is  left 

3 


JN   HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  421 

to  be  gatliei'ed  by  those  who  inquire.  There  are  many- 
parts  of  the  counsel  of  God,  with  respect  to  which,  as  the 
Apostle  speaks,  to  those  whose  minds  are  blinded,  the  veil 
remains  untaken  away  in  reading  the  Old  Testament. 
And  it  does  not  appear  unworthy  of  the  wisdom  of  God 
to  have  provided  in  this  way  a  reward  for  that  industry 
which  is  dii'ected  to  the  Scriptures,  a  satisfaction  to  spe- 
culative minds,  and  an  increase  of  the  evidence  of  Chris- 
tianity, according  to  the  progress  which  men  make  in 
sacred  knowledge. 

In  the  progress  of  this  part  of  the  discussion,  you  will 
have  a  specimen  of  what  the  Apostle  calls  "  comparing 
spiritual  things  Mith  spiritual,"  in  order  to  "  know  the 
things  that  are  freely  given  us  of  God."  You  will  find  the 
proof  consisting  of  a  number  of  detached  circumstances. 
But  you  will  not,  upon  that  account,  think  it  incomplete. 
Circumstantial  evidence  is  often  resorted  to  in  human  af- 
fairs. There  are  many  occasions  upon  which  it  is  not 
judged  worthy  of  less  credit  than  the  most  direct  testi- 
mony ;  and,  with  regard  to  the  particular  object  of  this 
discussion,  if  we  are  attentive  and  patient  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture,  the  sentiments  of  the  apostles,  whose 
writings  are  the  standard  of  our  faith,  may  be  as  certainly 
known  from  the  manner  in  which  tliej^  have  expressed 
themselves  at  many  different  times,  as  if  any  of  them  had 
judged  it  proper  formally  to  show  that  Christ  is  the  Jeho- 
vah who  appeared  to  the  patriarchs,  Avho  Avas  worshipped 
in  the  temple,  and  who  was  announced  as  the  author  of  a 
new  dispensation. 

In  collecting  the  evidence  of  this  whole  proposition,  it  is 
natural  to  invert  the  ortler  in  which  I  brought  forward  the 
different  parts  of  it.  For  Christ  is  known  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament as  the  author  of  the  new  dispensation.  That  is  the 
character  under  which  we  find  him  there.  The  first  thing, 
therefore,  to  be  derived  from  thence,  is  an  answer  to  this 
question,  whether  the  terms  in  which  the  author  of  the  new 
dispensation  was  announced  under  the  Old  Testament  are 
applied  to  Christ  in  the  New.  If  they  are,  we  should  be 
warranted  to  infer,  from  the  induction  of  particulars  for- 
merly stated,  that  he  was  also  worshipped  in  the  temple, 
and  that  he  appeared  to  the  patriarchs.  But  our  faith  in 
the  whole  proposition  will  be  very  much  confirmed,  itj  in- 


422  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

depenclently  of  tliat  proof  of  the  second  and  third  facts 
which  necessarily  arises  from  the  proof  of  the  third,  we  find 
them  also  established  by  separate  evidence. 

I.  It  appears  from  various  expressions  in  the  New  Tes- 
ment  that  Christ  is  Jehovah,  the  Saviour  of  Israel,  who  was 
announced  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the  author  of  a  new 
dispensation.  The  allusions  that  occur  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  expressions  in  the  Old  respecting  the  Saviour  of 
Israel  are  infinite  in  number,  and  constitute  a  striking  il- 
lustration of  this  part  of  the  general  proposition.  But 
there  are  two  heads  under  which  we  may  arrange  those 
passages,  which  afford  the  most  conclusive  proof  that 
Christ  is  the  person  who  was  thus  announced.  The  first 
is  the  application  made  in  the  New  Testament  of  the  pro- 
phecies respecting  the  forerunner  of  Jehovah,  the  Saviour 
of  Israel ;  and  the  second  is  a  number  of  quotations,  from 
a  long  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  that  extends  from  the  seventh  to 
the  twelfth  chapter. 

1.  Application  of  the  prophecies  respecting  the  forerun- 
ner of  Jehovah,  the  Saviour  of  Israel.  The  first  two  verses 
of  Mark's  Gospel  are  these :  "  The  beginning  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  ;  As  it  is  written  in  the 
prophets,  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
which  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee ;"  and  the  same 
prophecy  is  applied  in  Mattliew  and  Luke  to  John  Baptist. 
The  words  are  taken,  with  a  small  variation,  from  Malachi 
iii.  1.  In  the  prophet,  the  person  whose  messenger  was  to 
prepare  the  way  before  him  speaks,  "  Behold,  I  send  my 
messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me."  In 
the  Gospels,  the  Almighty  speaks  to  the  person,  Avhose 
way  the  messenger  was  to  prepare.  "  I  send  my  messen- 
ger before  thy  face."  As  the  passage  is  literally  the  same 
in  all  the  three  Gospels,  the  variation  from  the  present 
reading  of  the  Old  Testament  was  probably  occasioned  by 
some  version  or  copy  of  the  Hebrew,  different  from  any 
now  extant.  The  amount  of  the  prophecy  is  the  same, 
and  the  fulfilment  equally  exact,  whether  j^ou  read  "  before 
me,"  or  "  before  thee  ;"  and  the  direct  application  to  John 
the  Baptist  of  the  first  part  of  the  verse  in  Malachi,  is  a 
clear  warrant  to  apply  the  second  part  of  the  verse  to  Jesus, 
the  person  before  whom  John  went,  i.  e.  to  consider  Jesus 
as  Jehovah  coming  to  his  own  temple,  the  messenger  of  the 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  423 

covenant,  whom  the  Jews  were  taught  by  the  later  pro- 
phets to  expect.  This  inference,  legitimately  drawn  from 
the  use  made  of  the  first  part  of  the  verse  in  ^iNIalachi,  is 
established  by  that  quotation  which  immediately  follows  in 
Mark,  and  M'liich  is  adopted  by  the  other  Evangelists  in 
the  beginning  of  the  Gospels.  "  The  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  wilderness.  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
his  paths  straight."  This  is  the  account  which  John  gave 
of  himself  when  the  Jews  sent  to  him,  asking,  "  Who  art 
thou?  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  said  the  prophet 
Esaias."  The  quotation  is  taken  from  the  fortieth  chapter 
of  Isaiah,  the  first  eleven  verses  of  which  are  an  account  of 
the  nature  and  the  manner  of  that  salvation  which  the  God 
of  Israel  was  to  bring.  When  you  recollect  the  language 
which  John  uniformly  employed  with  regard  to  himself, 
"  I  am  not  the  Christ,  but  I  am  sent  before  him  ;  that  he 
should  be  made  manifest  to  Israel,  therefore  am  I  come, 
baptizing  with  water  ;"  and  when  you  find  the  inspired  his- 
torians agreeing  with  John  himself  in  applying  to  him  this 
prophecy  of  Isaiah,  you  have  no  doubt  that  Jesus  is  the 
Lord,  whose  way  the  voice  was  to  prepare ;  and  you  are 
directed  to  apply  to  Jesus  all  the  expressions  employed  in 
that  passage  to  characterize  the  person  before  whom  the 
voice  went,  i.  e.  you  will  find,  upon  reading  these  eleven 
verses  of  Isaiah,  that  you  are  taught  by  this  application  of 
one  of  them  to  consider  Jesus  as  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, who  came  himself,  with  a  strong  hand,  to  be  their 
Saviour  and  their  Shephei'd.  Accordingly  the  angel,  in 
the  first  chapter  of  Luke's  Gospel,  thus  announces  to  Za- 
charias  the  birth  of  John  :  "  Many  of  tlie  children  of  Israel 
shall  he  turn  to  the  Lord  their  God  ;  and  he  shall  go  before 
him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias,  to  make  ready  a 
people  prepared  for  the  Lord,"  referring,  in  tliis  annuncia- 
tion, to  the  prophecies  of  Ipoth  Isaiah  and  Malachi :  and 
our  Lord,  by  taking  to  himself  the  name  of  the  good  shep- 
herd, and  by  frequently  calling  his  disciples  his  flock,  his 
sheep,  and  his  lambs,  plauily  refers  to  these  words  of  the 
fortieth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  "  He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a 
shepherd ;  he  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  his  arm."  But 
as  all  the  parts  of  that  prophecy  mark  one  person  whom 


424  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

the  voice  was  to  announce,  if  this  expression  belong  to 
him,  the  rest  belong  also. 

2.  The  other  head,  under  which  I  proposed  to  arrange 
those  expressions,   which  afford  the  most  conclusive  proof 
that  Jesus  is  the  person   who  was  announced  in  the  Old 
Testament,  as  Jehovah,  the  Saviour  of  Israel,  is  a  number 
of  quotations  from  a  long  prophecy  in  Isaiah,  that  extends 
from  the  seventh  to  the  twelfth  chapter.     The  kings  of  Sy- 
ria and  Israel  had  combined  against  the  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dah,  and  they  threatened  to  dethrone  Ahaz,  the  king,  and 
to  raise  a  stranger  to  rule  over  the  house  of  David.     The 
prophet  is  sent  to  comfort  the  king  and  the  people,  by  giv- 
ing them  assurance  of  the  stability  of  the  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dah,  and  of  deliverance  from  their  present  enemies.     The 
prophecy  has  an  immediate  reference  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  kingdom.     But  you  find,  upon  reading  it,  such  a 
mixture  as  is  not  unconmion  in  the  Old   Testament  pro- 
phecies.    You  meet  with  expressions  which  seem  to  look 
far  beyond  the  events  of  which  the  prophet  is  speaking, 
names  and  epithets  which  cannot,  without  a  striking  im- 
propriety, be  applied  to  any  person  born  about  that  time, 
but  which  are  a  natural  description  of  the  character  and 
office  of  that  illustrious  descendant  of  David,  whom  former 
prophecies  had  announced,  and  whose  everlasting  domi- 
nion is  introduced  into  this  prophecy  of  a  temporal  deliver- 
ance, as  the  most  entire  security  that  the   designs  of  the 
enemies  of  Judah  must  fail,  because  the  counsels  of  heaven 
did  not  admit  of  an}'  inten-uption  in  the  lineal  succession 
to  that  crown,  which  was  to  flourish  for  ever  upon  the 
head  of  the  Messiah.     This  is   the  train   of  thought   bj- 
which  the  promises  of  temporal  and  of  spiritual  deliver- 
ance are  blended  together  in  this  message  to  the   king  of 
Judah.     It  is  not  easy  to  separate  them  from  one  another, 
and  some  of  the  expressions  are  so  dark,   that  in  order  to 
form  a  just  conception  of  their  meaning,  you  will  ffnd  it 
necessary  to  call  in  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  many  au- 
thors by  whom  they  have  been  illustrated.     You  will  de- 
rive  particular   advantage  from  reading   one    of  Bishop 
Kurd's  Lectures,  in  which  a  part  of  this  prophecy  is  eluci- 
dated with  the  clearness  and   accuracy  which  distinguish 
this  master  of  sacred  criticism.     Even  although  you  should 


IN  HIS  PRE- EXISTENT  STATE.  425 

not  follow  the  prophet  in  all  the  changes  of  subject,  oi'  as- 
sign the  precise  meaning  of  every  expression,  you  are 
hid  by  a  general  acquaintance  witli  the  language  of  the 
Old  Testament  prophecies  to  consider  many  of  the 
names  that  occur  in  this  prophecy  as  descriptive  of  the 
Messiah ;  and  you  find  tlie  apostles  of  our  Lord  mak- 
ing the  application  to  him.  Matthew,  in  relating  the 
miraculous  conception  of  our  Lord,  as  announced  by  the 
angel  to  Mary,  says,  "  Now  all  this  was  done,  that  it  might 
be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet 
sajang,  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring 
forth  a  Son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel,  Avhich 
being  interpreted  is,  God  with  us."  This  is  taken  from 
Isaiah  vii.  14,  and,  being  applied  to  Jesus,  we  are  taught 
that  he  is  God  with  us,  the  Jehovah  of  Israel,  who,  accord- 
ing to  the  promise  by  Zechariah,  was  to  come  and  dwell 
in  the  midst  of  them.*  The  Word  was  God,  and  the 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.  The  angel 
who  appeared  to  Mary  said,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Luke, 
"  Thou  shalt  bring  forth  a  Son,  and  shalt  call  his  name 
Jesus:  And  he  shall  be  great,  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David ;  and  he  shall 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever  and  ever ;  and  of 
his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end."  There  is  a  reference 
here  both  to  Isaiah  vii.  14,  and  also  to  Isaiah  ix.  6,  "  Unto 
us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given  ;  and  the  go- 
vernment shall  be  upon  his  shoulder :  and  his  name  shall 
be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty  God,  the  ever- 
lasting Father,  the  Prince  of  peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his 
government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the 
tiu'one  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  and  to 
establish  it  for  ever."  Jesus,  then,  being,  according  to 
this  application  of  the  ])rophecy,  that  Son  of  David  who 
was  to  sit  for  ever  on  the  throne  of  his  Father,  is  also  the 
mighty  God.  In  another  part  of  this  prophecy,  Isaiah 
calls  this  Son  "  a  rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,"  and  "  a 
branch  out  of  his  roots,  which  should  stand  as  an  ensign 
to  the  people,  and  to  which  the  Gentiles  should  seek." 
And  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  the  course  of  an  argument  to 
show  that  Jesus  Christ  not  only  fulfilled  the  promises  made 

•  Zechar.  ii.  10,  11. 


426  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

to  the  fathers,  but  was  given  also  that  the  Gentiles  might 
glorify  God  for  his  mercy,  applies  these  words  to  him, 
Rom.  XV.  12 :  "  And  again  Esaias  saith,  "  There  shall  be 
a  root  of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the 
Gentiles,  in  him  shall  the  Gentiles  trust."  Allusions  to 
other  expressions  of  this  prophecy  are  to  be  found  in  the 
writings  of  the  apostles.  But  the  direct  quotations  which 
have  been  made  are  sufficient  to  show  that,  in  their  eyes, 
Jesus  Christ  is  that  Saviour  of  Israel  whom  the  prophet, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  spiritual  part  of  the 
prophecy,  announces.  That  Person,  according  to  the 
prophet,  is  Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel.  Therefore  we 
have  the  authority  of  the  inspired  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament for  the  truth  of  the  third  part  of  our  general  pro- 
position. 

It  is  true  that  he  is  often  styled  in  the  New  Testament 
a  man  sent,  given,  I'aised  up  by  God  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  It  is  said  that  he  received  power  of  God ;  that 
the  Spirit  was  given  him ;  that  he  came  to  do  his  Father's 
vviU.  And  this  language  may  seem  to  be  inconsistent 
with  his  being  Jehovah.  But  you  will  recollect  that  we 
meet  with  the  same  inconsistency  in  the  Old  Testament. 
The  ancient  Scriptures  speak  of  the  Saviour  of  Israel  as 
Jehovah  sent  by  Jehovah,  himself  the  mighty  God,  the 
everlasting  Father,  and  as  a  Son  born  of  a  virgin.  It  is 
by  this  peculiar  manner  of  designation  that  we  distinguish 
him  in  the  Old  Testament  from  God  the  Father.  When 
we  find  the  same  peculiarity  in  the  New  Testament,  we 
are  confirmed  in  the  application  Avhich  we  have  made ; 
and  Jesus  the  Saviour  must  be  the  Jehovah,  who  was  to 
come  and  save  Israel,  because,  like  him,  he  is  called  both 
the  messenger  of  God,  and  God. 

II.  The  second  part  of  the  general  proposition  is,  that 
Jesus  is  the  Person  who  was  worshipped  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  and  whose  glory  filled  the  tabernacle.  It  might 
be  sufficient  to  rest  the  proof  of  this  upon  the  prophecy  of 
Malachi.  The  same  Person  is  there  called  the  Lord  com- 
ing to  his  own  temple,  and  the  messenger  of  the  covenant. 
But  Jesus  is  unquestionably  the  messenger  of  the  coven- 
ant. Therefore  the  temple  to  which  he  came  was  his,  and 
it  could  not  without  impiety  be  called  his,  unless  he  was 
worshipped  there.     This  proof  is  confirmed  by  many  ana- 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  427 

logies,  and  by  some  express  intimations  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

The  analogies  are  of  this  kind.  Jesus  is  called  the  ef- 
fulgence of  the  Father's  glory.  John  says,  egzrivusiv,  he 
tabernacled  amongst  us,  and  sOzccffa/MiJu  do^av  aurou,  we  con- 
templated his  glory ;  a  phraseology  most  natural  in  a  Jew, 
who  considered  the  Shechinah  as  the  visible  symbol  of 
the  divine  presence,  if  he  also  believed  that  the  Person, 
who  had  exhibited  that  symbol  for  many  ages  in  the  temple, 
became  by  his  incarnation  an  inhabitant  of  earth.  His 
body  was  a  tabernacle  which  veiled  the  glory  of  his  pre- 
sence in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  safe  for  mortals, 
hasaaSai,  to  look  steadily,  for  some  time  upon  it.  There 
is  one  occasion,  indeed,  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  when 
this  glory  burst  forth  so  as  to  overpower  the  beholders. 
Upon  a  mount  to  which  Jesus  led  three  of  his  disciples, 
"  he  was  transfigured  before  them,  and  his  face  did  shine 
as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  snow,  and  a  bright 
£loud  overshadowed  them."  This  is  called  by  Peter,  when 
relating  this  vision, /jti^/aXorssT?};  doi^a,  the  transcendant  glo- 
ry. The  veil  wiiich  usually  concealed  the  majesty  of  the 
Godhead  from  the  sight  of  the  disciples  was  for  a  moment 
dropped,  and  their  senses  were  astonislied  with  an  efful- 
gence, such  as  filled  the  tabernacle  at  those  times  when  it 
%vas  unsafe  even  for  the  sons  of  Aaron  to  enter.  This  ap- 
pearance, however  transitory,  was  fitted  to  mark  out  Je- 
sus to  those  who  were  permitted  to  behold  it  as  the  Lord 
of  glory :  and  it  is  stated  by  the  apostle  as  the  pledge  of 
that  glory  in  which  he  is  now  enthroned,  and  in  which  he 
shall  come  to  judge  the  world,  2  Peter  i.  16,  17.  "  We 
have  not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  wlien  we  made 
known  to  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty.  For  he  re- 
ceived from  God  the  Father  honour  and  glory,  when  there 
came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent  glory,  when 
we  were  with  him  "in  the  holy  mount."  The  new  Jerusa- 
lem is  thus  described  by  Johji.  "  Behold  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them.  The 
glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  there- 
of." Rev.  xxi.  3,  '23.  It  is  said  that  Jesus  shall  come  at  the 
last  day,  ec  tu^i  <f},oyog  :  And  that  he  shall  destroj'  the  man 
of  sin,  Tjj  irrKfaysia  Tr}g  Ta£ovciag  airov,  with  the  manifestation 


428  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

of  his  presence.  2  Thess.  ii.  8.  All  this  language  of  the 
New  Testament  is  borrowed  from  the  Shechinah.  And  it 
will  appear  most  proper  and  significant,  when  you  consi- 
der Jesus,  whose  glory  enlightens  heaven,  whose  bright- 
ness dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  disciples  on  the  mount,  and 
whose  excellence  might  be  contemplated  when  it  shone 
"  full  of  grace  and  truth  "  through  the  veil  of  his  flesh,  as 
the  Lord  of  the  temple,  whose  presence  had  formed  both 
the  more  awful  and  the  more  encouraging  appearances  ot 
the  Shechinah.  Analogies  of  this  kind,  when  they  are 
frequent  and  striking,  constitute  a  very  satisfying  evidence 
to  those  who  are  capable  of  tracing  them.  But  as  they 
may  be  abused,  it  is  always  desirable  to  have  them  sup- 
ported by  some  direct  proofs  of  which  the  judgment  may 
lay  hold,  without  the  aid  of  imagination.  The  direct  proofs 
of  the  point  suggested  by  these  analogies,  are  of  two  kinds. 
The  first  consists  of  quotations  applied  to  Jesus  from  those 
Psalms  in  which  the  glory  of  the  Jehovah  of  Israel  in  his 
temple  is  described.  The  second  is  the  testimony  of  the 
Apostle  John. 

1.  The  Psalms  were  hymns  composed  for  the  service  of 
the  temple ;  and  several  of  them  were  mentioned  formerly 
in  proof  of  this  position,  that  the  person  worshipped  in  the 
temple  was  the  same  who  had  appeared  to  the  patriarchs. 
But  several  expressions  in  these  very  Psalms  are  applied 
by  the  apostles  to  Christ.  We  read  in  Psalm  Ixviii,  •'  This 
is  the  hill  which  God  desireth  to  dwell  in.  They  have 
seen  thy  goings,  O  God,  my  king,  in  thy  sanctuary."  But 
the  apostle,  Eph.  iv.  8,  when  speaking  of  the  gift  of  Christ, 
quotes  in  proof  of  it,  the  18th  verse  of  this  Psalm  :  "  Where- 
fore he  saith,  when  he  ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  capti- 
vity captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men  ;"  and  he  argues  tliat 
the  propriety  of  the  expression,  "  he  ascended,"  arises  from 
this,  that  the  same  person  who  ascended  had  first  descend- 
ed. Now  one  person  is  addressed  or  spoken  of  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Psalm.  It  is  impossiljle  that 
at  the  18th  verse  there  can  be  an  abrupt  address  to  Christ, 
without  any  intimation  that  the  person  addressed  is  dif- 
ferent from  him  mentioned  in  the  1 7th  verse,  and  spoken 
of  in  the  sequel.  We  have,  therefore,  the  authority  of  the 
Apostle  Paul  for  applying  the  whole  of  Psalm  Ixviii.  to 
Jesus,  so  that  we  may  say  of  him,  as  in  the  29th  verse, 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  429 

*'  Because  of  thy  temple  at  Jerusalem  shall  kings  bring 
presents  to  thee."  Again  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews  de- 
rived one  proof  that  Jesus  was  originally  superior  to  angels 
from  the  command  given  them  to  Avorship  him.  But 
this  command  is  found  in  Psalm  xcvii.  where  the  majesty 
of  the  God  of  Israel  is  described  in  his  temple.  "  The 
Lord  reigneth.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him. 
A  tire  goeth  before  him.  Confounded  be  all  they  that 
serve  graven  images :  worship  him,  all  ye  gods,  or  angels. 
Zion  heard,  and  was  glad."  The  command  is  introduced 
in  a  manner  v.hich  plainly  distinguishes  the  person  to  be 
worshipped  from  idols,  and  marks  him  to  be  the  God  of 
Israel.  He  then,  v  hom  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews  calls 
the  first  begotten,  is  the  same  v  ho  in  Judah  "  was  high 
above  all  the  earth. '  Once  more,  the  apostle  derives  his 
proof  that  Christ  created  the  world  from  a  jiassage  in 
Psalm  cii.  But  we  cannot  consider  these  words  as  ad- 
dressed by  the  Psalmist  to  Christ,  without  admitting  that 
he  is  the  person  mentioned  in  the  former  part  of  the  psalm. 
And  the  reasoning  of  the  apostle  is  inconclusive  and  so- 
phistical, unless  the  person  of  whom  he  is  speaking  in  that 
chapter  be  the  same  of  whom  the  Psalmist  is  speaking  in 
that  psalm,  i.  e.  the  God  who  was  worshipped  in  Zion,  the 
Saviour  of  Israel,  who  was  to  appear  in  his  glory,  and 
whose  praise  was  to  be  declared  in  Jerusalem,  when  he 
built  up  Zion. 

2.  The  argument  founded  upon  these  quotations  is  con- 
firmed by  the  express  testimony  of  John,  xii.  41.  The 
evangelist,  spealsing  of  the  many  miracles  which  were  per- 
formed by  Jesus  before  the  Jews,  but  which  had  not  the 
effect  of  leading  them  to  believe  on  him,  cjuotes  a  passage 
from  the  sixth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  in  which  the  unbelief  of 
the  Jews  is  foretold ;  and  then  he  subjoins, — "  These  things 
said  Esaias,  when  he  saw  his  glory  and  spake  of  him." 
When  you  read  that  chapter  of  Isaiah,  you  will  find  a  most 
awful  and  majestic  description  of  the  glory  of  the  Almigh- 
ty in  the  temple,  not  that  cloud  which  encouraged  the 
priests  to  draw  near,  but  that  bright  refulgent  glory  which 
no  man  could  see  and  live.  "  I  saw,"  saj's  Isaiah,  "  the 
Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up ;  and  his  train 
filled  the  temple."  The  expression  in  the  Septuagint  is  rr/.y,- 
07,;  6  or/.o;  rr,;  6oH»i9  aurcv.    This  was  shown  in  vision  to  Isaiah 


430  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

before  the  date  of  the  long  prophecy  to  which  1  formerly 
referred,  as  if  to  qualify  the  prophet  for  receiving  that  ex- 
traordinary communication  of  the  spiritual  deliverance 
prepared  for  his  people.  But  he  felt  the  weakness  of  hu- 
manity in  this  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord. 
"  Woe  is  rae,"  he  said,  "  for  I  am  undone  ;  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  the  king,  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Now  that  which 
Isaiah  saw  is  called  by  John  his  glory,  i.  e.  according  to 
the  context,  the  glory  of  Christ.  Therefore  Christ  is  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  whose  glory  filled  the  temple.  In  order  to 
evade  the  force  of  this  evident  conclusion,  those  who  deny 
the  pre-existence  and  the  divinity  of  Christ  have  adopted  the 
paraphrase  of  Dr.  Clarke.  "  The  true  meaning,",  he  says, 
"  is,  when  Esaias  saw  the  glory  of  God  the  Father  reveal- 
ing to  him  the  coming  of  Christ,  he  then  saw  the  glory  of 
him  who  was  to  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father.  Esaias 
in  beholding  the  glory  of  God,  and  in  receiving  from  him 
a  revelation  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  saw,  that  is,  foresaw 
the  glory  of  Christ  just  as  Abraham  saw,  ^.  e,  foresaw  his 
day  and  was  glad."*  You  may  judge  of  the  influence 
which  attachment  to  system  has  upon  the  most  acute  and 
enlightened  minds,  when  such  a  man  as  Dr.  Clarke  could 
do  such  violence  to  tv/o  words  in  this  short  sentence  of 
John.  He  considers  saw  as  equivalent  to  foresaw,  al- 
though neither  Isaiah  nor  John  intimate  that  the  objects 
presented  to  the  prophet's  sight  were  a  prophecy  of  future 
events  ;  and  he  considers  his  glory,  i.  e.  the  glory  of  Christ, 
as  equivalent  to  the  glory  of  God  revealing  to  him  the 
coming  of  Christ  at  the  end  of  the  world.  I  should  rather 
say  that  his  interpretation  gives  a  double  meaning  to  each 
of  the  words,  siBs  rriv  bo'^av  aurov.  He  saw  the  glory  of  God, 
and  he  foresaw  the  glory  of  Christ. 

III.  One  part  of  the  general  proposition  still  remains. 
That  Christ  is  the  person  who  appeared  to  the  patriarchs, 
and  gave  the  law. 

We  are  entitled  to  consider  this  as  an  inference  from 
the  points  already  proved.  For  Christ  having  been  found 
to  be  the  Saviour  of  Israel,  who  was  worshipped  in  the 
temple,  he  must,  according  to  the  induction  stated  in  the 
former  section,  be  the  same  who  appeared  to  the  patriarchs, 
and  who  gave  the  law  from  Mount  Sinai.     But  we  are  not 

*  Clarke's  Works,  vol.  iv.  No.  597. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE,  431 

obliged  to  have  recourse  to  this  mode  of  proof.  Even  of 
this  last  point,  seennngly  the  most  remote  from  the  Gos- 
pel, the  New  Testament  contains  separate  evidence  ;  for 
there  are  many  expressions  in  the  New  Testament,  of 
■which  this  part  of  the  proposition  gives  the  most  natural 
interpretation,  and  there  are  others  which  require  the  be- 
lief of  it.  Of  the  first  kind  are  the  following  :  When  our 
Lord  says,  John  viii.  59,  "  Abraham  saw  my  day,  and  was 
glad ;"  the  words  will  appear  most  significant,  if  Christ 
was  the  person  who  appeared  to  Abraham.  When  Peter 
says,  1  Pet.  i.  10,  11,  "  The  prophets  prophesied  of  the 
grace  which  should  come,  searching  what  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  which  was  in  them,  did  signify,"  he  seems  to  say 
that  Christ  spake  by  the  prophets ;  and  when  he  says,  in 
the  same  Epistle,  "  Christ  Avas  quickened,"  i.  e.  raised 
from  the  dead  "  in  the  spirit,  by  which  also  he  went  and 
preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison,  which  sometime  were 
disobedient,  when  once  the  long-suffering  of  God  waited 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  preparing,"  all  the 
other  meanings  which  have  been  afiixed  to  these  obscure 
words  appear  forced  and  unnatural,  when  compared  Avith 
this,  that  Christ  is  Jehovah,  who  said  before  the  flood, 
"  My  spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man,  yet  his  days 
shall  be  one  hundred  and  twenty  years,"  and  who,  during 
this  time  of  forbearance,  raised  up  Noah,  a  preacher  of 
righteousness.  Once  more,  when  our  Lord  says,  Matth. 
xxiii.  37,  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the 
prophets,  and  stoncst  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even 
as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye 
would  not !"  if  you  consider  our  Lord  as  the  person  who 
had  carried  the  Jews  in  the  days  of  old,  who  had  sent  pro- 
phets, and  by  a  mixture  of  mercies  and  chastisements,  had 
called  them  to  repentance,  this  lamentation  over  Jerusalem 
has  a  consistenc}',  a  beauty,  and  an  energy,  which  are  very 
much  lost,  by  supposing  that  his  peculiar  care  of  them  only 
began  with  his  manifestation  in  the  flesh- 

It  is  plain  that  all  these  passages  derive  much  light  and 
improvement  from  admitting  that  Jesus  is  the  person  who 
appeared  to  the  patriarchs  and  gave  the  law.  But  there 
are  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  the  sense  of 
which  obviously  requires  the  truth  of  this  part  of  the  pro- 


432  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

position.  The  Apostle,  1  Cor.  x.  4,  in  applying  the  his- 
tory of  the  children  of  Israel  as  an  example  and  warning 
to  Christians,  has  these  words :  "  They  drank  of  that  spi- 
ritual rock  that  followed  them,  and  that  rock  was  Christ." 
The  part  of  Jewish  history  to  which  the  Apostle  refers,  is 
thus  related.  Psalm  Ixxviii.  15,  16,  "  He  clave  the  rocks 
in  the  wdlderness,  and  gave  them  drink  as  out  of  the  great 
depths.  He  brought  streams  also  out  of  the  rock."  In 
grateful  remembrance  of  this  seasonable  exertion  of  divine 
powder,  God  is  often  called  in  the  Old  Testament  the  Rock 
of  Israel ;  so  Psalm  Ixxviii.  35,  it  is  said,  "  They  remem- 
bered that  God  was  their  rock,  and  the  High  God  their 
Redeemer."  Now  the  Apostle  says,  that  the  spiritual 
rock  that  follow'ed,  i.  e.  went  along  with  them  in  their  jour- 
ney, Avas  Christ.  His  power  brought  water  out  of  the 
rock,  and  the  same  power  continued  to  defend  and  guide 
them.  Again,  1  Cor.  x.  9,  the  Apostle,  continuing  to  draw 
a  lesson  to  Christians  from  the  history  of  the  Israelites, 
says,  "  Neither  let  us  tempt  Christ  as  some  of  them  also 
tempted  and  were  destroyed  of  serpents."  We  read,  Deut. 
vi.  16,  "  Ye  shall  not  tempt  the  Lord  j'^our  God,  as  j'e 
tempted  him  in  Massah."  And  here  the  Apostle  substi- 
tutes Christ  in  place  of  the  Lord  their  God.  The  Greek 
runs  thus,  Mj^Ss  vK'^rnpa^uij^iv  tw  'Xoiff-ov,  'a.u&m§  xat  'i'lvig  a'jTuv 
sTsi^affa'j.  It  has  been  well  observed  that  the  particles 
za9oJc  '/Ml,  require  us  to  repeat  after  imipaeav  the  same  ac- 
cusatives which  had  followed  sz's-s/^a^w/xsv :  and  almost  all 
the  MSS.  and  the  most  ancient  versions  agree  with  the 
eai'liest  writers  who  quote  this  passage  in  reading  Xcis- 
nv  as  the  first  accusative.  The  18th  verse  of  Psalm  Ixviii. 
which  I  mentioned  formerly  as  quoted  by  the  apostle  to 
the  Ephesians,  and  applied  to  Christ,  innnediately  follows 
another  verse  of  that  Psalm,  in  which  are  these  words, — 
<'  The  Lord  is  among  them  in  the  holy  place,  as  in  Sinai ;" 
so  that  the  same  person  who  ascended  on  high  was  in  Si- 
nai :  and  accordingly  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews  xii.  25, 
26,  has  taught  us  that  it  was  the  voice  of  Christ  which 
shook  Mount  Sinai.  "  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him  that 
speaketh  from  heaven  ;  for  if  they  escaped  not  who  re- 
fused him  that  spake  on  eai'th,  much  more  shall 
not  we  escape,  if  we  turn  away  from  him  that  speak- 
eth from  heaven.     Whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth." 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT   STATE.  433 

It  is  not  easy  for  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  New  Testament,  to  understand  any  other  by 
"  him  that  speaketh  from  lieaven"  than  Jesus  Christ.  But 
this  is  the  immediate  antecedent  to  the  relative,  which  be- 
gins the  next  clause,  "  Whose  voice  ;"  and  the  time  mark- 
ed by  "  then  "  is  sufficiently  determined  by  the  context  to 
be  the  time  of  giving  the  law  from  Mount  Sinai. 

All  these  particulars  laid  together  constitute  an  evidence 
which  appears  to  be  satisfactory,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
pei'son  wlio  ajipeared  to  the  patriarchs,  and  gave  the  law 
from  Mount  Sinai,  who  was  worshipped  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  and  who  was  announced  bj'^  the  prophets  as  the 
author  of  a  new  dispensation. 


SECTION  III. 


There  are  some  objections  to  the  conclusiveness  of  the 
evidence  now  adduced,  and  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
with  regard  to  the  amount  of  the  proposition,  supposing 
it  to  be  proved.  It  is  proper  that  you  should  be  acquaint- 
ed both  with  the  objections  and  with  the  different  opinions. 
In  following  out  this  discussion,  I  was  led  to  consult  a  va- 
riety of  authors,  many  of  whom  repeat  the  same  things, 
with  a  small  change  of  expression.  By  comparing  them 
together,  I  shall  be  able  to  state  the  objections  and  the 
different  opinions  clearly :  and  it  may  be  both  agreeable 
and  useful  to  you  to  know  the  names,  and  to  receive  a 
specimen  of  the  manner  of  those  writers  who  have  entered 
most  deeply  into  this  controversy.  In  the  quotations 
which  follow,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  oppose  Socinian, 
Arian,  and  Athanasian  writers  to  one  another.  For  the 
objections  which  the  Socinians  make  to  the  evidence  of 
the  proposition  are  answered  not  only  by  the  Athana- 
sians,  but  by  the  Arians  also ;  and  the  futility  of  the  in- 
ference which  ^he  Arians  draw  fi'om  the  proposition  is  ex- 
posed by  the  Socinians,  as  well  as  by  the  Athana-sians.  So 
that  those  who  hold  the  third  opinion  concerning  the  Per- 
son of  Christ,  have  for  their  allies,  in  one  part  of  this  dis- 
cussion, those  who  hold  the  second  opinion,  and  in  another 
part  of  it,  those  who  hold  the  first. 
VOL.  I.  U 


434  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

The  Socinians  are  obliged,  in  consistency  with  their 
principles,  to  combat  the  whole  of  that  proposition  which 
we  have  been  endeavouring  to  establish,  because,  if  it  be 
true,  it  leaves  no  doubt  with  regard  to  the  pre-existence 
of  Jesus.  I  will  not  follow  them  in  their  attempts  to  give 
another  interpretation  to  those  texts  which  constitute  the 
evidence  of  the  proposition,  but  will  leave  you  to  judge, 
from  reviewing  them,  whether  that  interpretation  by  which 
the  proposition  is  supported  be  not  agreeable  to  the  na- 
tural sense  of  the  words  in  every  particular  passage,  and 
to  the  analogy  of  all  of  them  taken  together.  In  stating 
the  objections  to  the  evidence,  I  have  two  things  to  lay 
before  you : — 1.  The  Socinian  solution  of  that  expression, 
in  the  Old  Testament,  an  Angel  of  Jehovah,  which  furnish- 
es one  of  the  general  grounds  of  the  proposition.  2.  A 
plausible  argument  against  it,  drawn  from  a  mode  of  ex- 
pression which  occurs  in  different  places  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. 

1.  The  Person  whom  we  traced  through  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  often  called  an  angel,  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  from 
M'hence  it  has  been  inferred  that  he  cannot  be  God  the 
Father.  But  Mr.  Lindsey,  one  of  the  latest  and  ablest 
defenders  of  pure  Socinianism,  in  the  Sequel  to  his  Apo- 
logy, furnishes  the  following  solution  of  that  expression  : 
"  In  the  account  which  is  given  of  the  divine  appearances 
in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  sometimes  related  in  what  form  and 
""manner  they  were  notified  and  made,  viz.  by  an  extraor- 
dinary light,  fire,  cloud,  audible  voice,  &c.  At  all  other 
times  it  cannot  be  doubted  but  there  was  some  sensible 
sign  given,  though  it  be  not  always  mentioned.  Now  this 
outward  token  of  the  presence  of  God  is  what  is  meant 
generally  by  the  angel  of  God,  where  not  particularly  spe- 
cified and  appropriated  otherM'ise  ;  that  which  manifested 
his  appearance,  whatever  it  was."  He  considers  the  She- 
chinah,  or  material  symbol  of  glory,  and  the  audible  voice 
of  the  oracle  from  thence,  as  angels  of  the  Lord,  the  true 
God  acting  upon  them,  and  manifesting  himself  by  them ; 
and  therefore  he  concludes  that  it  was  not  any  great  an- 
gel or  separate  spirit  who  was  seen  and  heard  in  the 
instances  quoted  from  the  Old  Testament,  but  God  him- 
self appearing  in  the  only  way  in  which  a  spiritual  being 
ean  appear,  by  sensible  tokens  and  actions,  exhibited  for 
the  end  proposed,  such  as  an  extraordinary  light,  a  parti- 

6 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  435 

cular  shape  or  figure,  an  articulate  voice,  &c.  &c.*  The 
solution  proceeds  upon  this  sound  principle  of  theism,  that 
all  the  creatures  of  God  may  be  employed  to  execute  his 
purposes.  He  maketh  the  winds  his  messengers,  and  fire, 
pestilence,  and  sword,  receiving  their  destination  from  him, 
may  be  called  his  angels.  But  this  principle,  however 
true,  does  not  give  a  satisfactory  explication  of  the  sub- 
ject to  which  it  is  applied.  For  the  appearances  to  be  ac- 
counted tor  are  not  occasional,  unconnected,  and  vary- 
ing. We  have  found  one  angel  of  God  stantling  forth 
through  all  the  Scrijjtures,  bearing  a  certain  character, 
and  employed  in  offices  and  actions  which  are  described 
with  every  circumstance  of  time  and  place  that  can  serve 
to  mark  a  person,  and  often  with  a  reference  to  former 
offices  and  actions  of  the  same  person.  I  shall  give  you 
this  answer  to  the  Socinian  solution,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Taylor,  an  English  clergyman,  who  published,  some  years 
ago,  a  book  entitled,  the  Apology  of  Ben  Mordecai  to  his 
friends  for  embracing  Christianity.  Under  the  assumed 
appearance  of  a  Jew,  stating  the  reasons  which  made  him 
think  the  Christian  faith  not  inconsistent  with  the  law  of 
Moses,  Mr.  Taylor  artfully  introduces,  and  defends  with 
learning  and  ingenuity,  his  own  views  of  the  peculiar 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  He  considers  Jesus  as  the  first 
of  the  creatures  of  God,  an  angel  distinguished  above 
every  other,  who  conducted  the  dispensation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  who  completed  the  scheme  for  the  re- 
demption of  the  human  race,  by  assuming  a  body  at  the 
time  when  the  Gospel  was  preached.  This  part  of  his 
creed  leads  him  to  defend  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus 
against  the  attacks  of  the  Socinians  ;  and  in  answer  to 
their  hypothesis,  that  all  the  appearances  which  we  have 
ascribed  to  one  person  are  nothing  more  than  the  appear- 
ance of  the  invisible  Jehovah  by  symbol,  he  thus  reasons : 
"  The  accounts  of  many  of  these  appearances  are  given  in 
so  plain  and  historical  a  manner,  and  with  so  many  cir- 
cumstances, which  cannot  be  accounted  for  either  by  vi- 
sion or  figurative  expression,  that  both  the  Jews  and 
Christians  of  former  ages  have  looked  upon  them  to  be 
literal ;  and  if  they  are  not  historical  facts,  there  is  no 

•  Sequel  to  Lindsey's  Apol.  p.  324,  336. 


436  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

dependence  upon  the  literal  sense  of  any  one  action  re- 
corded in  Scripture."  "  A  plague  or  an  earthquake  may 
be  called  a  messenger  of  Jehovah,  though  it  be  no  person. 
But  it  is  never  called  Jehovah  :  and  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive how  an  angel  called  Jehovah,  who  was  visible  to  several 
people  at  the  same  time,  and  conversed  with  them  person- 
ally, can  be  considered  merely  as  a  symbol,  or  as  any 
other  than  a  real  person."* 

2.  The  second  objection  against  the  proposition,  which 
we  have  been  illustrating,  is  a  plausible  argument  drawn 
from  a  mode  of  expression  that  occurs  in  different  places 
of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  said  in  the  first  verse  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times,  and 
in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by 
the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by 
his  Son."  And  there  are  many  other  expressions  to  the 
same  jDurport,  which  seem  to  imply  that  God  had  not 
spoken  by  his  Son  till  the  last  da3's ;  and  undoubtedly,  if 
we  knew  nothing  more  of  the  divine  dispensations  than 
these  words  contain,  this  is  the  interpretation  we  should 
give  them.  But  every  author  is  to  be  explained  in  a  man- 
ner which  renders  his  meaning  in  one  place  consistent 
with  his  meaning  in  another ;  and  every  author,  supposing 
that  his  readers  will  observe  this  rule,  is  not  accustomed 
to  say  in  one  place  every  thing  that  may  be  said  upon  a 
subject,  but  leaves  much  to  be  supplied  from  other  places. 
When  we  take  into  view  what  we  may  learn  from  the  rest 
of  Scripture  concerning  the  character  and  offices  of  the 
Son,  it  is  easy  to  interpret  the  words  of  the  apostle  in  this 
manner.  God  spake  formerly  by  the  prophets,  the  mes- 
sengers of  his  will  to  the  fathers.  The  Son  did  not  appear. 
It  was  not  known  to  the  world  or  to  the  prophets  that 
they  were  inspired  by  the  ministry  of  the  Son ;  and  no 
inconvenience  arose  from  this  circumstance  not  being- 
made  known,  because  the  message  was  equally  divine, 
and  claimed  the  same  reverence,  whether  the  prophets  re- 
ceived it  from  God,  or  from  the  Son  of  God.  But  now 
the  Son  hath  been  made  manifest.  A  person  assuming 
that  name,  and  conversing  freely  with  men,  hath  declared 
God,  not  in  vision  to  prophets,  but  openly  to  the  people. 
Now,  therefore,  it  is  fit  to  reveal  the  original  dignity  of 

•  Ben  Mordeeai,  p.  228,  256. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  437 

this  Person,  in  order  that  respect  for  the  messenger  may 
procure  attention  and  obedience  to  the  message.  The 
earliest  Christian  writers  furnish  the  answer  which  I  have 
now  given.  "  The  Lord  was  truly  tlie  instructor  of  the 
ancient  people,  first  hy  Moses,  afterwards  by  the  prophets. 
But  he  is  the  guide  of  the  new  people,  by  himself  face  to 
face."*  And  the  answer  has  been  adopted  by  those  w  ho 
hold  the  second  and  third  opinions  concerning  the  Person 
of  Christ,  as  sufficient  to  repel  this  part  of  the  Socinian 
objection.  "  The  plain  sense  of  the  word, '  says  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, "  appears  to  me  to  be  this :  God  spake  formerly  to  our 
fathers  by  the  mediation  or  ministry  of  the  prophets,  but 
now  speaks  to  us  by  the  Son  himself,  without  any  such 
mediation."-]-  But  there  is  another  part  of  this  objection 
arising  from  those  expressions  in  the  New  Testament 
where  the  law  seems  to  be  ascribed  to  angels.  "  Our 
fathers,"  says  Stephen,  Acts  vii.  53,  "  received  the  law  by 
the  disposition  of  angels."  And  the  apostle  to  the  He- 
brews argues  upon  this  ground,  that  the  Gospel  is  superior 
to  the  law.  "  If  the  word  spoken  by  angels  was  steadfast, 
and  every  transgression  and  disobedience  received  a  just 
recompense  of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect 
so  great  salvation,  which  began  to  be  spoken  by  the 
Lord  ?"  It  is  impossible,  then,  say  the  Socinians  to  other 
Christians,  that  the  Son,  whom  you  account  a  being  su- 
perior to  angels,  was  the  Author  of  the  law,  for  the  excel- 
lence of  the  Gospel  is  made  to  consist  in  this,  that  it  was 
given  by  him.  The  answer  to  this  objection  is,  in  part, 
the  same  as  to  the  former. 

It  is  implied  in  some  passages  of  the  Old  Testament, 
that  the  giver  of  the  law  was  attended  upon  Mount  Sinai 
by  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host. — "  The  Lord,"  says 
Moses,  Dent,  xxxiii.  2,  "  came  from  Sinai :  He  shined 
forth  from  Mount  Paran,  and  he  came  with  ten  thousand 
of  his  saints ;  from  his  right  hand  went  a  fiery  law  for 
them."  The  Son  of  God  was  not  then  revealed.  His 
superiority  to  the  retinue  of  his  angels  was  not  known  ;  and 
no  particular  mention  being  made  of  him,  it  is  said  accu- 
rately by  Stephen  that  the  fathers  received  the  law  ug  bia- 

*  Clem.  Alex.  Psedag.  L.  I.  c-  8,  II. 
-j-  Ben  Mordecai,  p.  317. 


438 


ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 


Tayac,  ayyikav,  inter  turmas  angelorum.  Whereas  the  Gospel 
was  spoken  by  the  Lord  himself,  without  that  attendance 
of  the  heavenly  host  which  constituted  part  of  the  awful 
scene  upon  Mount  Sinai,   but  with  a  manifestation  of  his 
own  original  glory.     In  this  respect  the  manner  of  giving 
the  law  is  clearly  distinguished  from  the  manner  of  giving 
the  Gospel,  without  our  being   obliged  to  infer  from  the 
expressions  used  that  an  angel  was  the  author  of  the  law. 
But  in  order  to  perceive  the  full  force  of  the   answer  to 
this  objection,  you  must  recollect  that  the  ten  command- 
ments are  not  included  under  "the  word  spoken  by  angels;" 
for  the  history  of  Moses  requires  us  to  make  a  distinction 
between  the  decalogue  and  the  rest  of  the  law.  The  ten  com- 
mandments were  spoken  by  God  himself.  "  God  spake  these 
words,  saying,   I  am  Jehovah."     But  the  majesty  with 
which  they  were  delivered  was  so  terrible,  that  the  peo- 
ple entreated  God  would  not  speak  to  them  any  more. 
"  Speak  thou  with  us,"  they  said  to  Moses,  "  and  we  will 
hear,  but  let  not  God  speak  with  us,  lest  we  die."     Ac- 
.  cordingly  Moses  says,  Deut.  v.  22,  "  These  words,"  the 
Ndecalogue,  "the  Lord   spake  unto  all  your, assembly  in 
I  the  mount  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  with  a  great  voice, 
/  and  he  added  no  more."     "  The  rest,"  says  Dr.  Randolph, 
both  the  judicial  and  the  ceremonial  law,  was  delivered,  and 
1  the  covenant  was  made,  by  the  mediation  of  Moses  :  and 
therefore  the  apostle  says.  Gal.  iii.  19,  '  The  law  was  or- 
dained by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  Mediator :'  hence  it  is 
/  called  the  law  of  Moses.     And  the  character  given  of  it 
/  in  the  Pentateuch  is  this — these   are  the   statutes,  and 
/  judgments,  and  laws,  which  the  Lord  made  between  him 
/    and  the  children  of  Israel  in  Mount  Sinai,  by  the  hand,  of 
Moses.     In  like  manner,  after  the  tabernacle  was  reared, 
\     God  communed  with  Moses  from  between  the  cherubims 
\    on  the  mercy-seat,  who  represented  angels,  and  with  the 
\  priests  who  entered  the  tabernacle.     But  the  people  were 
not  permitted  to  approach."*     So  far  Dr.  Randolph,  for- 
merly Professor  of  Divinity  in  Oxford,   whose  writings, 
one  entitled  a  Vindication  of  tlie  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
\  and  another,  Praelectiones   Theologicae,  chiefly  upon  the 
divinity  of  our  Saviour,  I  have  found  very  useful,  com- 

•  Prael.  Theolog.  vol.  iii.  p.  397. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  439 

posed  with  sound  judgment,  and  with  much  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures.  You  will  attend  to  the  force  of  the  dis- 
tinction which  he  has  mentioned.  The  ten  command- 
ments, which  are  of  perpetual  and  universal  obligation, 
and  which  are  incorporated  as  part  of  the  Gospel,  so  that 
the  moral  law  is  established  by  faith,  were  spoken  by  God 
himself.  But  the  judicial  and  ceremonial  law,  which  were 
local  temporary  institutions,  not  extending  beyond  the 
boundaries  and  the  duration  of  the  Jewish  state,  were  or- 
dained by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  Mediator.  The  divine 
Author  ofthem  was  withdrawn  from  the  eyes  of  the  peo- 
ple, for  Moses  stood  between  him  and  them ;  but  there 
was  no  intervention  of  this  kind  in  the  delivery  of  the 
Gospel.  Instead  of  that  terrible  majesty  which  had  ac- 
companied the  giving  of  the  ten  commandments,  which 
made  the  people  request  that  God  would  not  speak  any 
more,  there  was  in  the  appearance  of  Jesus  a  grace  which 
invited  men  to  draw  near ;  and  he  himself  spoke  the 
words  of  eternal- life. 

Considering,  then,  the  Socinian  objections  as  not  suffi- 
cient to  invalidate  the  evidence  that  has  been  adduced,  I  ^' 
shall  now  direct  your  attention  to  the  different  opinions  >j 
that  have  been  held  concerning  the  amount  of  the  general 
proposition.  If  Jesus  appeared  to  the  patriarchs,  gave 
the  law,  and  was  worshipped  in  the  temple,  it  is  plain  that 
he  existed  before  he  was  born  of  Mary.  But  it  is  not 
self-evident  whether  he  be  an  exalted  creature,  or  essenti- 
ally God.  And  many  of  those  who  consider  him  as  the 
first  of  the  creatures  of  God,  while  they  defend  his  pre- 
existence  against  the  Socinians,  endeavour  to  reconcile 
this  proposition  with  their  own  system.  You  will  judge 
of  the  nature  of  the  attempt  from  two  books  in  which  it  is 
formally  made.  The  one  is  entitled.  Essay  on  Spirit,  by 
Dr.  Clayton,  formerly  Bishop  of  Clogher  in  Ireland. 
The  principles  of  his  book  are  these.  The  whole  expanse 
is  full  of  spirits  of  different  ranks  and  degrees.  God  may 
communicate  wliat  proportions  of  his  attributes  he  pleases 
to  the  different  gradations  of  created  beings  ;  and,  accord- 
ing to  an  ancient  opinion,  he  may  employ  those  upon 
whom  he  has  conferred  more  exalted  powers,  to  act  in  a 
middle  station  between  him  and  the  lower  productions  of 
his  Almighty  hand.     Now,  while  inferior  angels  were  ap- 


440  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED   TO  JESUS 

pointed  to  preside  over  other  people  and  nations  upon 
earth,  one  angel,  who  is  called  by  Moses  Jehovah,  had 
Israel  assigned  to  him  by  the  Most  High  as  the  portion  of 
his  inheritance.  He  was  the  guardian  angel  of  the  pos- 
terit}'^  of  Abraham ;  and  the  peculiar  distinction  conferred 
upon  him  was  this,  that  he  was  authorised  to  appear  in 
the  name  and  person  of  Jehovah,  as  his  image  and  repre- 
sentative. Hence,  although  in  some  places  he  is  distin- 
guished from  the  Almighty  who  sent  him,  yet,  in  others, 
he  takes  the  name  of  Jehovah,  and  claims  and  receives 
the  honours  due  to  God. 

The  other  book  is  the  apology  of  Ben  Mordecai,  one 
great  object  of  which  is  to  elucidate  and  support  the  opi- 
nion that  had  been  delivered  in  the  Essay  on  Spirit.     Mr. 
Taylor  lays  down  this  principle,  that  as   it  is  said  in  the 
Jewish  Scriptures  that  Jehovah  often  appeared  and  con- 
versed with  men ;  and  as  the  supreme  God  and  Father 
never  was  seen  by  any   one,   there  must  be  some  other 
person  besides  him  who  is  called  by  that  name.     He  il- 
lustrates the  truth  of  this  principle  by  most  of  the  passages 
in  the  Old  Testament,  to  which  I  have  referred  in  Section 
First ;  and  then  he  concludes  from  them  : — "  Thus  we  see 
that  the  sacred  writers  attribute  to  the  angel  who  acts  in 
the  name,  and  authority,  and  moral  character  of  God,  the 
name  Jehovah.     And  this  angel,  speaking  in  the  name  of 
God  that  sent  him,  uses  the  first  person  ;  and  whatever  is 
performed  by  this  angel  is  said  to  be  performed  by  God 
himself     So  the  angel   who  appeared   to   Moses  in  the 
bush,  said,  '  1  am  that  I  am.     Thus  shalt  thou  say  to  the 
children  of  Israel,  I  am  hath  sent  me  unto  you.'     All  this 
is  agreeable  to  the  received  customs  of  mankind,  and  well 
understood.     The  angel  takes  the  name  of  Jehovah,  be- 
cause it  is   a  common   maxim,  loqidtur  legatus  sermone 
mitfentis  eww,  as  an  ambassador  in  the  name  of  his  king,  or 
the  fecialis  when   he  denounced  war  in  the  name  of  the 
Roman  people  :  and  what  is  done  by  the  angel,  is  said  to 
be  done  by  God,  according  to  another  maxim.     Quifacit 
per  alium,facitper  se."* 

From  these  two  writers  you  may  learn  the  Arian  opi- 
nion with  regard  to  the  amount  of  the  proposition  which 

*  Ben  Mordecai,  p.  245,  233. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  441 

we  have  been  considering.  That  person,  tliey  say,  whom 
the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  call  both  angel  and 
Jehovah,  is  a  created  spirit,  who  was  allowed  to  personate 
the  Almighty,  not  only  speaking  by  his  authority,  but  ap- 
pearing in  his  person,  and  bearing  his  name,  who  having, 
in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  conversed  with  the  patriarchs, 
and  given  the  law,  came  in  the  last  days  in  his  own  person 
to  preach  the  Gospel. 

To  this  opinion  I  shall  oppose  the  words  of  Mr.  Lind- 
sey  and  of  Dr.  Randolph. 

It  is  an  opinion  which  the  Socinians  cannot  admit,  be- 
cause it  establishes  the  pre-existence  of  Jesus :  and  as 
this  opinion  appears  to  reinove  some  of  the  difficulties 
which  attend  the  third  opinion  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ,  and  has  been  adopted  by  many  as  a  middle  system 
between  that  which  degrades  the  Saviour  of  the  world  to 
the  rank  of  a  man,  and  that  which  exalts  him  to  be  equal 
with  God  the  Father,  the  Socinians  consider  it  as  peculi- 
arly formidable  to  their  tenets,  and  they  attack  it  with  much 
vigour,  and  often  with  sound  argument.  I\Ir.  Lindsey, 
after  (juoting  the  manner  in  which  the  Lord  passed  by 
and  proclaimed  his  name  before  Moses,  says,  "  If  this  be 
not  a  description  and  peculiar  character  of  God,  where 
shall  we  meet  with  it  ?  An  angel  ever  so  great,  ever 
so  ancient,  is  still  a  creature  ;  and  can  never  be  clothed, 
nor  ought  to  be  clothed  with  these  divine  attributes 
upon  any  occasion."  The  whole  transaction  at  Mount 
Sinai  shows  that  Jehovah  was  present,  and  acted,  and 
not  another  for  him.  It  is  the  God  that  had  delivered 
them  out  of  Egypt,  with  whom  they  were  to  enter  into 
covenant,  as  their  God,  and  who  thereupon  accepted 
them  as  his  people,  who  was  the  author  of  their  religion 
and  laws,  and  who  himself  delivered  to  them  those  ten 
commands,  the  most  sacred  i)art.  There  is  nothing  to 
lead  us  to  imagine  that  the  person  who  was  their  God,  (lid 
not  speak  in  his  own  name ;  not  the  least  intimation  that 
here  was  another  representing  him."* 

The  author  of  the  Essay  on  Spirit  is  aware  of  the  force 
of  these  objections  to  his  system.  "  The  only  difficulty  in 
this  case,"  he  says,  "  is  that  the  Jehovah  of  Zion  does  not 

•  Lindsey,  p.  313— 339. 


442  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

always  declare  that  he  is  deputed,  but  actually  and  lite- 
rally speaks  in  his  own  name,  calls  himself  Jehovah,  and 
positiv^ely  prohibits  the  worship  of  any  God  but  himself. 
Thou  shalt  have  none  other  Gods  before  me ;  thereby 
seeming  to  forbid  even  the  worship  of  the  Supreme  Jeho- 
vah." His  answer  to  this  difficulty  is,  that  the  Hebrews 
were  far  fi'oni  being  explicit  and  accurate  in  their  style ; 
and  that  it  was  customary  for  prophets  and  angels  to  speak 
in  the  name  and  character  of  God.* 

You  will  judge  how  far  this  answer  removes  the  diffi- 
culty, from  the  following  extract  out  of  the  writings  of  Dr. 
Kandolph,  who,  in  his  vindication  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Trinity,  has  given  a  formal  answer  to  the  Essay  on  Spirit ; 
and  in  other  parts  of  his  works  also  employs  much  pains 
to  establish  tliis  point,  that  the  angel  who  is  called  Jeho- 
vah in  the  Old  Testament  is  not  a  creature,  but  truly 
God.  "  Some,  to  evade  these  strong  proofs  of  our  Lord's 
divinity,  have  asserted  that  this  was  only  a  created  angel, 
appearing  in  the  name  or  person  of  the  Father ;  it  being 
customary  in  Scripture  for  one  person  to  sustain  the  cha- 
racter, and  act  and  speak  in  the  name  of  another.  But 
these  assertions  want  proof.  I  find  no  instances  of  one 
person  acting  and  speaking  in  the  name  of  another,  with- 
out first  declaring  in  whose  name  he  acts  and  speaks. 
The  instances  usually  alleged  are  nothing  to  the  purpose. 
If  we  sometimes  find  an  angel  in  the  book  of  Revelation 
speaking  in  the  name  of  God,  yet  from  the  context  it  will 
be  easy  to  show  that  this  angel  was  the  great  angel,  the 
angel  of  the  covenant.  But  if  there  should  be  some  in- 
stances in  the  prophetical  or  poetical  parts  of  Scripture,  of 
an  abrupt  change  of  persons,  where  the  person  speaking  is 
not  particularly  specified,  this  will  by  no  means  come  up 
to  the  case  before  us.  Here  is  a  person  sustaining  the 
name  and  character  of  the  most  High  God  from  one  end 
of  the  Bible  to  the  other ;  bearing  his  glorious  and  fearful 
name,  the  incommunicable  name  Jehovah,  expressive  of 
his  necessary  existence;  sitting  in  the  throne  of  God; 
dwelling  and  presiding  in  his  temple ;  delivering  laws  in 
his  own  name  ;  giving  out  oracles ;  hearing  prayers ;  for- 
giving sins.     And.  yet  these  writers  would  persuade  us 

•  Essay  on  Spirit,  p.  65. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  443 

that  this  was  only  a  tutelary  angel ;  that  a  creature  was 
the  God  of  Israel,  and  that  to  this  creature  all  their  service 
and  worship  was  directed ;  that  the  great  God,  '  whose 
name  is  jealous,'  was  pleased  to  give  his  glory,  his  worship, 
his  throne,  to  a  creature.  What  is  this  but  to  make  the 
law  of  God  himself  introductory  of  the  same  idolatry  that 
was  practised  by  all  the  nations  of  the  heathen  ?  But  we 
are  told  that  bold  figures  of  speech  are  common  in  the 
Hebrew  language,  which  is  not  to  be  tied  down  in  its  in- 
terpretation to  the  severer  rules  of  modern  criticism.  We 
may  be  assured  that  those  opinions  are  indefensible,  which 
cannot  be  supported  without  charging  the  word  of  God 
with  want  of  propriety  or  perspicuity.  Such  pretences 
might  be  borne  with,  if  the  question  were  about  a  phrase 
or  two  in  the  poetical  or  prophetical  parts  of  Scripture. 
But  this,  if  it  be  a  figure,  is  a  figure  which  runs  through 
the  whole  Scripture.  And  a  bold  interpreter  must  he  be, 
who  supposes  that  such  figures  are  perpetually  and  uni- 
formly made  use  of  in  a  point  of  such  importance,  without 
any  meaning  at  all.  This  is  to  confound  the  use  of  lan- 
guage, to  make  the  Holy  Scripture  a  mysterious  unintelli- 
gible book,  sufficient  to  prove  nothing,  or  rather  to  prove 
any  thing,  which  a  wild  imagination  shall  suggest."* 

I  have  not  been  willing  to  interrupt  the  impression 
which  this  whole  passage  is  fitted  to  make.  The  three 
great  circumstances  contained  in  it,  and  which  constitute 
the  whole  argument  upon  this  subject,  are  these.  1.  The 
uniformity  with  which  the  angel  appears  in  the  person  of 
Jehovah.  It  is  not  upon  a  few  particular  occasions,  when 
an  abrupt  change  of  persons  mighf  be  dictated  by  strong 
emotions,  or  interpreted  by  inten;sting  situations.  But 
throughout  the  whole  Bible,  at  the  delivery  of  laws,  in 
plain  historical  narration,  as  well  as  in  impassioned  poetrj', 
the  angel,  without  any  intimation  of  a  figure,  speaks  as 
God.  But,  as  has  been  well  said,  even  an  ambassador, 
when  he  declares  the  commands  of  his  prince,  speaks  in 
the  third  person, — The  King  my  master.  The  prophets 
commonly  introduced  their  revelations  with  this  exor- 
dium. Thus  saith  the  Lord,  before  they  presumed  to  speak 
in  his  name.     Angels,  when  they  appeared  in  vision,  de- 

"  Randolph's  View,  vol.  ii.  p.  129. 


& 


444'  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS 

clared  that  they  were  sent  by  the  God  of  heaven ;  and 
there  appears  the  grossest  impiety  in  supposing  that  a 
creature  during  a  succession  of  ages,  histroniam  exercuisse  iti 
qua  Dei  nomen  assumat,  et  omnia,  qua  Dei  sunt,  sibi  attri- 
buat.*  2.  The  second  circumstance  is,  that  this  angel  not 
only  takes  tlie  other  names  by  which  the  Ahnighty  is 
known,  but  calls  himself  Jehovah,  although  that  word, 
both  by  its  natural  import,  and  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  Scriptures  introduce  it,  appears  to  be  the  proper  dis- 
tinguishing name  of  the  Supreme  God.  E/w  s//^'  »  wv,  is  the 
exposition  which  the  Septuagint  gives  of  this  name.  Now 
70  o/was  the  name  given  by  Plato  to  the  Supreme  Being. 
'E/,  Thou  art,  was  the  single  word  written  upon  the  en- 
trance of  th.e  temple  at  Delphos;  and  Plutarch  says  that 
this  name  is  solely  applicable  to  God,  since  that  which 
truly  is  must  be  sempiternal.  The  Scripture  use  of  the 
name  Jehovah  corresponds  to  the  import  of  this  exposi- 
tion. "  Thou  v/hose  name  alone  is  Jehovah."  "  Jehovah 
is  my  name,  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another."f 
Yet  this  word  the  angel  takes  to  himself;  and  when  Moses 
asked  him,  if  "  they  shall  say  unto  me,  what  is  his  name  ? 
What  shall  I  say  unto  them  ?"  this  is  the  name  which  he 
desires  Moses  to  carry  to  the  children  of  Israel  as  his.J 
3.  The  third  circumstance  is,  that  the  angel  not  only  de- 
mands worship,  but  claims  it  as  his  to  the  exclusion  of 
every  other  being.  The  professed  object  of  the  law  of 
Moses  was  to  preserve  the  Jews  from  the  idolatry  of  the 
surrounding  nations.  But  if  the  author  of  their  law  was 
only  a  creature  of  a  higher  rank  than  the  angels  who  pre- 
sided over  other  kingdoms,  and  if  the  continued  use  of  a 
figure  of  speech,  which  was  never  properly  explained,  led 
them  to  consider  this  creature  as  God,  then  did  the  Al- 
mighty lend  his  name  to  establish  in  the  land  of  Israel  the 
worship  of  a  creature ;  and  all  the  preparation  and  splen- 
dour of  the  law  were  insignificant,  since  it  only  taught  the 
Jews  to  worship  one  creature,  while  their  neighbours  were 
worshipping  another. 

These  reasons  appear  to  show,  that  without  supposing 
an  inextricable  delusion  to  run  through  all  the  Scriptures, 

«  Bull,  p.  10.         f  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  18.     Isaiah  xlii.  8. 
±  Extl.  ili.  13—15. 


IN  HIS  PRE-EXISTENT  STATE.  44)5 

we  must  admit  that  the  person  whom  we  have  traced  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  is  not  a  creature,  but  that  the 
name  which  he  uniformly  takes  to  himself,  belongs  to  him 
by  nature. 

It  may  perhaps  occur  to  you,  that  by  ascribing  that  in- 
tercourse with  mankind  which  is  recorded  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament to  a  person  who  is  himself  truly  God,  we  remove 
God  the  Father  from  all  care  of  the  children  of  men,  and 
detract  from  the  honour  due  to  him.  But  we  may  find, 
as  we  advance  in  this  subject,  that  the  Scriptures  have  ob- 
viated this  difficulty,  by  intimating  that  perfect  union  be- 
tween the  Father  and  the  Son,  which  was  just  mentioned 
in  summing  up  the  argument  from  creation.  Although 
God  made  the  worlds  by  his  Son,  yet  he  is  also  the  Crea- 
tor of  all,  because  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one  ;  and 
although  God  from  the  beginning  manifested  himself  by 
his  Son,  "  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  yet  the 
glory  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  the  same.  It  was  the 
power  of  the  undivided  Godhead  which  was  exerted  by  the 
Son  at  creation;  it  was  the  majesty  of  the  undivided  God- 
head which  appeared  in  the  Son  upon  mount  Sinai ;  and  all 
the  adorations  offered  through  ages  to  the  giver  of  the  law 
were  the  tribute  which  the  one  true  God  is  alone  worthy  to 
receive.  We  may  find  that  this  system  is  revealed  in  Scrip- 
ture; and  that  it  reconciles  all  the  discoveries  made  concern- 
ing the  person  of  the  Son  of  God.  At  present  we  are  em- 
ployed in  collecting  the  facts  upon  which  this  system  rests  ; 
and  without  pretending  to  speculate  as  to  the  probability 
of  any  particular  fact,  we  receive  the  information  which 
the  Scripture  affords. 

One  great  advantage  we  derive  from  the  proposition 
which  has  lately  engaged  our  attention.  It  connects  in 
the  closest  manner  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  They 
not  only  point  to  one  great  object,  but  they  were  conduct- 
ed by  one  person,  who,  as  Justin  Martyr  speaks,  although 
he  did  at  length  for  good  reasons  take  to  himself  a  body, 
yet  had  always  been  doing  good  to  the  human  race  ;  for 
no  excellent  thing  was  ever  performed  by  men  Avithout  the 
presence  of  this  Divine  Person.  You  may  expect  then  to 
find  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament  that  unity  of  design, 
and  that  correspondence  and  analogy  of  parts,  which  mark 
all  the  schemes  of  a  superior  enlightened  mind.    According 


446  ACTIONS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS,  &C. 

to  this  proposition,  the  glorious  person,  who  had  establish- 
ed the  dispensation  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  not  made  to 
withdraw  as  soon  as  it  comes  to  an  end.  But  he  appears 
in  the  New  Testament  under  another  character,  with  a 
display  of  more  condescending  and  more  universal  love,  to 
complete  the  work  which  he  had  begun,  and  to  fulfil  the 
words  of  his  prophets.  Every  thing  said  by  them  con- 
cerning the  person  who  had  sent  them  is  applied  by  this 
proposition  to  the  person  whom  they  announced ;  and 
there  is  a  depth  and  perfection  of  wisdom  in  the  manner 
of  the  application.  As  it  was  not  necessary  that  the  Son 
of  God  should  be  known  while  the  Old  Testament  dispen- 
sation existed,  we  find  that  the  ancient  Jews  had  very  im- 
perfect conceptions  of  his  nature.  But  when  he  came  in 
the  flesh,  he  took  off*  the  veil  from  the  ancient  Scriptures. 
The  Old  Testament  now  appears  to  be  full  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  all  the  revelations,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
collected  and  interpreted  by  their  application  to  him,  re- 
dound to  the  honour,  and  illustrate  the  original  dignity  of- 
the  angel  of  the  covenant. 


447 


CHAP.  VI. 


DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  THE  PERSON   OF    CHRIST  TAUGHT 
DURING  HIS  LIFE. 


I  HAVE  considered  both  those  passages  of  Scripture,  which 
teach  plainly'  that  Jesus  existed  before  he  was  born  of 
Mary,  and  those  which  ascribe  certain  actions  to  him  in 
his  pre-existent  state.  The  manner  in  which  these  actions 
are  described  not  only  contains  a  clear  refutation  of  the 
fii'st  opinion  concerning  the  person  of  Christ,  but  seems 
intended  to  convey  an  impression  that  he  is  not  a  creature  ; 
and  with  the  prejudice  arising  from  this  impression,  we 
now  proceed  to  attend  to  those  passages  of  Scripture  which 
are  to  direct  us  in  forming  a  conception  of  his  original  dig- 
nity. 

Dr.  Clarke,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Scripture  Doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  expresses  himself  thus:  "'Tisathing 
very  destructive  of  religion,  and  the  cause  of  almost  all  di- 
visions amongst  Christians,  when  young  persons,  at  their 
first  entering  upon  the  study  of  divinity,  look  upon  human 
and  perhaps  modern  forms  of  speaking,  as  the  rule  of  their 
faith  ;  understanding  those  also  according  to  the  accidental 
sound  of  the  words,  or  according  to  the  notions  which  hap- 
pen at  any  particular  time  to  prevail  in  the  world,  and 
then  picking  out,  as  proofs,  some  few  single  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture, which,  to  minds  already  strongly  prejudiced,  must 
needs  seem  to  sound,  or  may  easily  be  accommodated,  the 
same  way  ;  Avhile  they  attend  not  impartially  to  the  whole 
scope  and  general  tenor  of  Scripture.  Whereas  on  the 
contrary  were  the  whole  Scriptures  first  tlioroughly  stu- 
died, and  seriously  considered,  as  the  rule  and  only  rule 
of  truth  in  matters  of  religion;  and  the  sense  of  all  hu- 


44)8  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRISt's  PERSON 

man  forms  and  expressions  deduced  from  thence,  the 
greatest  part  of  errors,  at  least  of  uncharitable  divisions, 
might  in  all  probability  have  been  prevented.'' 

Dr.  Clarke  speaks  the  language  of  all  true  Protestants, 
when  he  says  that  the  Scriptures,  thoroughly  studied  and 
seriously  considered,  are  the  rule,  and  the  only  rule   of 
truth  in  matters  of  religion.     He  speaks  like  a  sound  cri- 
tic, when  he  says  that  texts  ought  not  to   be  understood 
according  to  the  accidental  sound  of  the  words,  or  accord- 
ing to  the  notions  which  happen  at  any  particular  time  to 
prevail.     But  it  does  not  appear  to  me  how  we  can  attain 
a  certain  knowledge  of  the  whole  scope  and  general  tenor 
of  Scripture,  without  a  close   examination  of  particular 
texts.     In   every  inquiry  we   find  it  necessary  to  guard 
against  the  errors  which  arise  from  partial  views,  by  com- 
paring different  parts  of  the  subject,  and  Ijy  correcting  the 
conclusions  which  had  been  too  hastily  formed.     But  still, 
notwithstanding  this  danger,   the  scientific  method  of  ar- 
riving at  truth  in  all  subjects  is  to  proceed  by  an  induction 
of  particulars  to  an  apprehension  of  the  whole  :  and  in  the 
study  of  theology,  which  is  in  truth  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, any  notions  formed  of  the  doctrine  contained  in 
them  must  be  loose  and  precarious,  unless  you  investigate 
by  sound  criticism  the  amount  of  words  and  phrases.    Al- 
thougli  therefore  I  consider  the  collection  of  texts  from  the 
New  Testament  relative  to  the  doctrine   of  the   Trinity, 
which  Dr.  Clarke  has  made  the  ground-work  of  his  pro- 
positions, as  a  most  useful  help  to  any  one  who  sets  him- 
self to  examine  the  subject,  I   do  think  that  by  following 
the  method  of  studying  it  which  he  recommends,  there  is 
a  danger  of  being  prevented,  by  a  phi^aseology  which  runs 
through  many  of  the  texts,  from  receiving  the   obvious 
sense  of  others.     If,  because  it  is  said  in  numberless  places 
that  the  Son  is  sent  by  the  Father,  and  came  to  do   the 
will  of  the  Father,   aiid  that  all  things  are  given  him  bj'^ 
God,  we  infer  that  there   is  an   inferiority  to  God  in  his 
nature,  and  afterwai'ds  find  this  inference  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  those  texts,  which  teach  that  there  is  an  equality, 
we  have  reason  to  presume  that  we  have  committed  a  mis- 
take ;  and  M^e  are  reminded,   that  the  proper  method   of 
proceeding  was  not  to  draw  a  conclusion  from  a  general 
impression,  but  to  begin  with  ascertaining  the  sense  of 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  449 

particular  texts,  and  to  rest  in  that  conclusion  which  af- 
fords a  consistent  interjjretation  of  all  the  passages  that 
I'elate  to  the  same  subject. 

I  said,  indeed,  that  we  bring  with  us,  to  the  part  of  the 
subject  upon  which  we  are  now  entering,  an  impression 
that  Jesus  is  not  a  creature.  But  this  is  an  impression 
suggested  by  a  careful  and  patient  examination  of  those 
texts  in  which  he  is  described  as  the  Creator  of  the  world, 
and  by  the  whole  tenor  of  those  parts  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  in  which  he  is  described  as  the  Person  by  whom 
all  intercourse  between  the  Deity  and  the  human  race  has 
been  conducted.  It  is  impossible  to  make  progress  in  any 
subject  without  forming  some  opinion  as  we  advance.  If 
that  opinion  receive  no  support  in  the  further  prosecution 
of  the  subject,  it  rests  upon  its  original  foundation.  If  it 
be  contradicted,  we  ought  to  revise  the  grounds  of  it,  that 
we  may  discover  where  the  mistake  lies  :  but  if  it  be  found 
to  coincide  with  the  amount  of  future  researches,  it  re- 
ceives light  and  confirmation  from  this  concurrence  of 
evidence. 

These  are  the  principles  upon  which  I  am  to  proceed  in 
a  critical  examination  of  those  texts  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  true  meaning  of  which  must  decide  the  question  be- 
tween the  second  and  third  opinions  concerning  the  per- 
son of  Christ.  But  as  the  texts  are  found  chiefly  in  the 
Epistles,  which  were  not  written  for  twenty  years  after 
our  Lord's  death,  I  think  it  proper  to  begin  with  an  his- 
torical view  of  the  manner  in  which  the  doctrine  concern- 
ing his  person  was  taught  during  his  life. 

It  is  manifest  to  any  one  who  reads  the  Gospels,  that 
our  Lord  did  not  unfold  all  the  truths  of  his  religion  at 
once  to  his  disciples.  In  condescension  to  the  naiTowness 
of  their  views,  and  the  strength  of  their  prejudices,  there 
was  a  preparation  by  which  he  led  them  on,  as  they  were 
able  to  bear  it,  to  points  of  difficult  apprehension.  When 
we  observe  that  he  never  spoke  plainly  of  his  sufferings, 
till  they  had  declared  their  faith  in  him  as  the  Messiah — 
that  the  future  extension  of  his  religion  was  intimated  to 
them  in  parables — that  they  were  not  permitted  before  his 
death,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  an}-  but  Jews — and  that 
their  expectations  of  a  temporal  kingdom  continued  till 
his  ascension,  we  cannot  doubt  that  some  of  the  funda- 


450  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRISt's  PERSON 

mental  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  very  imperfectly 
known  by  the  apostles  while  our  Lord  was  with  them  ; 
and  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  these  words  in  his  last 
discourse  to  them,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto 
you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now."*  If  he  was  truly 
God,  there  was  a  peculiar  fitness  in  the  reserve  with  which 
he  chose  to  reveal  the  dignity  of  his  person.  He  appear- 
ed as  a  man,  that  he  might  converse  familiarly  with  his 
brethren — that,  by  leading  a  life  of  sorrow,  he  might  go 
before  his  companions  in  the  practice  of  those  virtues 
which  they  also  were  to  be  required  to  exercise — and  that, 
by  falling  in  due  time  a  victim  to  the  malice  of  his  ene- 
mies, he  might  accomplish  the  salvation  of  the  world.  For 
these  purposes,  the  veil  of  humanity  was  assumed  ;  and  if 
it  was  indeed  the  Godhead  which  that  veil  concealed  from 
the  eyes  of  ordinary  beholders,  the  same  purposes  requir- 
ed that  those  persons,  who  were  continually  around  the 
person  of  Jesus,  should  have,  during  his  life,  only  an  in- 
distinct impression  of  the  glory  and  majesty  of  him  with 
whom  they  conversed — and  that  the  clear  knowledge  that 
he  was  God,  should  be  conveyed  to  their  fciinds  after  his 
death,  by  that  recollection  and  explication  of  his  words, 
which  they  were  to  derive  from  the  illumination  «  his 
Spirit.  After  he  had  ascended  to  heaven,  they  couicf  not 
think  too  highly  of  his  character  ;  and  their  conceptions  of 
the  wisdom  and  grace  of  their  Master  would  be  very  much 
raised,  when  they  found  that  those  words,  the  full  force  of 
which  they  understood  not  at  the  time  when  they  were 
spoken,  admitted  of  an  interpretation  every  way  suited  to 
the  exalted  notions,  which  they  were  taught  by  the  Spirit 
to  entertain  concerning  the  dignity  of  him  from  whom 
they  had  proceeded. 

This  appears  to  be  the  plan  which  the  wisdom  of  God 
followed  in  revealing  this  subject.  We  find,  during  the 
life  of  Jesus,  intimations  of  the  superiority  of  his  character, 
such  as  are  not  only  perfectly  consistent  with  the  future 
revelation  that  he  is  God,  butj  such  as  nothing  less  than 
that  revelation  can  fully  explain.  At  the  same  time,  we 
find  both  the  apostles  and  Jews  rather  confounded  than 
enlightened  by  these  intimations  ;  and  it  is  not  in  the  cou- 

*  John  xvi.  12. 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  451 

versations  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  but  in  the  expressions 
used  by  the  authors  of  them,  or  by  the  other  apostles 
after  the  day  of  Pentecost,  that  we  discern  their  know- 
ledge of  the  character  of  their  Master.  By  giving  a  short 
connected  view  of  these  previous  intimations,  I  shall  fol- 
low tlie  preparation  which  our  Lord  used  in  showing  him- 
self to  his  disciples. 

All  the  circumstances  which  attended  the  birth  of  Jesus 
marked  him  out  as  an  extraordinary  person.  The  annun- 
ciation by  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  first  to  Mary,  and  after- 
wards to  Joseph — the  reference  to  ancient  prophecy  in 
the  language  which  the  angel  iised — the  glory  which  shone 
around  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
— and  the  song  of  the  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host 
which  was  with  the  angel  that  spake — together  with  the 
visit  of  the  wise  men,  who,  led  by  a  star  in  ihe  East, 
"  came  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  him  that  Mas  born  King 
of  the  Jews," — all  these  things  could  not  fail  to  be  noised 
abroad  ;  they  were  matter  of  wonder  to  those  that  heard 
them,  and  Mary,  not  understanding  what  they  meant, 
"  kept  all  these  things,"  we  are  told,  "  and  pondered  them 
in  her  heart."  The  first  direct  explication  of  them  was  at 
the  baptism  of  Jesus.  John,  Avhose  mother  Elizabeth  was 
a  relation  of  Mary,  had  been  born  a  few  montlis  before 
Jesus.  The  Angel,  who  appeared  to  his  father  Zacharias 
the  priest,  had  said  that  the  son  who  was  to  be  born 
"  should  go  before  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  in  the  spirit 
and  power  of  Elias  ;"  and  Zacharias,  instructed  by  the 
temporary  dumbness,  which  had  been  the  punishment  of 
his  unbelief,  to  repose  entire  confidence  in  the  words  of 
the  angel,  said,  after  John  was  born,  "  Thou,  child,  shalt 
be  called  the  Prophet  of  the  Highest;  for  thou  shalt  go 
before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to  prepare  his  ways."  *  When 
John  was  about  thirty,  "  the  word  of  God  came  unto  him," 
and  he  appeared,  according  to  the  destination  of  ancient 
prophecy  applied  to  him  at  his  birth,  "  the  voice  of  one 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the 
Lord."f  Although  personally  acquainted  with  Jesus, 
John  knew  not  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  till  taught  by 
these  words,  in  what  manner  he  was  to  be  distinguished 

"  Luke,  cb.  i.  -f  Luke  iii.  3-^G. 


452       DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRISt's  PERSON 

from  others :  "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  de- 
scending and  remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  which  bap- 
tizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."*  Soon  after  this  revelation 
was  made  to  John,  Jesus  came  with  the  multitude  to 
be  baptized  of  John,  who  preached  the  baptism  of  repent- 
ance ;  and  as  he  went  up  out  of  the  water,  the  heavens 
were  opened,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  descended,  either  in 
the  shape  of  a  dove,  or  in  the  manner  in  which  a  dove  de- 
scends, and  lighted  upon  him.  "  And  lo,  a  voice  from 
heaven,  saying,  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased."  Instantly  John  recognised  Jesus  as  the 
Person  to  whom  he  was  sent  to  bear  witness.  Having 
seen,  he  "  bare  record,  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God,"  and 
pointed  out  Jesus  as  such  to  the  Jews.f 

It  api^ears  impossible  to  me  that  any  person,  who,  to  all 
the  circumstances  that  had  conspired  to  raise  the  highest 
expectations  concerning  Jesus,  joins  the  solemnity  and 
splendour  of  that  appearance  by  which  he  is  made  known 
to  John,  his  forerunner,  can  interpret  the  words  uttered  by 
the  voice  from  heaven  in  a,n  inferior  metaphorical  sense, 
or  can  give  them  any  other  than  that  exalted  import  which 
they  naturally  bear,  and  which  is  suggested  by  the  use  of 
them  in  ancient  jorophecy.  This  ojiinion  founded  upon 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  is  confirmed  by  two  critical 
remarks  which  deserve  attention.  The  one  is,  that,  by  all 
the  three  Evangelists  who  record  them,  the  article  is  pre- 
fixed both  to  the  substantive  and  the  adjective.  Matt.  iii.  17, 
ouTog  sStiv  6  v'loc,  [iw  o  aya'Trriroc ;  the  most  discriminat- 
ing mode  of  expression  that  could  be  emploj^ed,  as  if  to 
separate  Jesus  from  every  other  who  at  any  time  had  re- 
ceived the  appellation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  lead  back 
the  thoughts  of  the  hearei's  to  the  prophecies  in  which  the 
Messiah  had  been  announced  under  that  name.  This  is 
that  Son  of  mine  who  is  the  beloved.  The  other  critical 
remark  is,  that  all  the  three  Evangelists  use  the  verb  of 
the  second  clause,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  in  the  first 
aorist,  tv  w  sudr)-/.riga.  Now,  although  we  often  render  the 
Greek  aorist  by  the  English  present,  yet  this  can  be  done 
with  propriety  only  when  the  proposition  is  equally  true 
whether  it  be  stated  in  the  present,  in  the  past,  or  in  the 

*  John  i.  33.  f  Matt.  iii.  16,  17.         John  i.  34. 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  453 

future  time.  Ta;  (liv  ron  (pa/jKuv  ffuirihtac  oAiyog  /(^iovoc 
disA-jGsv.  It  matters  nothing  to  the  truth  or  significancy 
of  this  proposition,  in  what  time  you  translate  Bnhuss ;  for 
a  short  space  of  time  has  dissolved  the  connexions  of  the 
wicked  in  past  ages,  does  dissolve  them  in  our  days,  and 
will  dissolve  them  in  the  days  of  our  posterity.  This 
force  of  the  Greek  indefinite  tense  is  preserved  in  English 
by  introducing  the  adverb  always.  A  short  space  of  time 
always  dissolves  the  connexions  of  the  wicked.*  And 
thus  the  analogy  of  the  Greek  language  requires  us  not 
only  to  consider  the  name,  Son  of  God,  as  applied  in  a  pe- 
culiar sense  to  Jesus,  but  also  to  refer  to  the  expression 
used  at  his  baptism  that  intercourse  which  had  subsist- 
ed between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  before  this  name  was 
announced  to  men. 

This  voice  from  heaven,  which  John  heard,  appeared  to 
have  conveyed  to  his  mind  the  most  exalted  apprehen- 
sions of  that  Person  whom  it  marked  out  to  him.  For  the 
words  in  which  he  afterwards  speaks  of  Jesus  correspond 
to  the  third  opinion  concerning  his  person,  rather  than  to 
the  second.  "  He  that  cometh  from  above  is  above  all. 
And  what  he  hath  seen  and  heard,  that  he  testitieth.  The 
Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into  his 
hand."f  We  cannot  say  that  the  full  meaning  of  the  ex- 
pression was  known  to  the  apostles,  and  that  they  could  not 
consider  a  man,  to  whom  such  a  name  had  been  given  in 
such  a  manner,  as  merely  a  man  whom  God  had  sent. 
And  yet,  Avhen  we  find  them  introducing  at  different  times 
into  declarations  of  their  faith,  this  expression.  Thou  art 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they 
referred  to  the  voice  heard  at  his  baptism.  There  is  one 
place  in  John's  Gospel,  where  our  Lord  appears  to  found 
an  argument  for  his  divine  mission  upon  this  voice.  John 
V.  37,  38.  He  had  spoken  of  the  Witness  which  he  re- 
ceived from  John,  and  of  the  works  that  he  did,  which 
bare  witness  that  the  Father  had  sent  him  :  and  he  adds, 
according  to  our  translation,  "  And  the  Father  himself, 
which  hath  sent  me,  hath  borne  Avitness  of  me.  Ye  have 
neither  heard  his  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen  his  shape.  And 

•  Dalzels  Coll.  Graca  Majora,  Notae  in  Herod.  19,  6.  Ed.  1808 
t  John  iii.  51,  32,  35. 


454  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRISTS  PERSON 

ye  have  not  his  ward  abiding  in  you ;  for  whom  he  hath 
sent,  him  ye  believe  not."  A  different  translation  of  these 
verses,  which  had  been  suggested  by  others,  and  which 
always  appeared  to  me  probable,  is  adopted  and  ably  de- 
fended by  Dr.  Campbell.  His  translation  is,  "  Nay,  the 
Father  who  sent  me,  hath  himself  attested  me.  Did  ye 
never  hear  his  voice,  or  see  his  form  ?  Or  have  ye  forgot- 
ten his  declaration,  that  ye  believe  not  him  whom  he  hath 
commissioned  ?"  The  reader  will  observe,  says  Dr.  Camp- 
bell, in  a  note,  that  the  two  clauses,  which  are  rendered  in 
the  English  Bible  as  declarations,  are  in  this  version  trans- 
lated as  questions.  The  difference  in  the  original  is  only 
in  the  pointing.  That  they  ought  to  be  so  read,  we  need 
not,  in  my  opinion,  stronger  evidence,  than  that  they  throw 
much  light  upon  the  whole  passage,  which  i-ead  in  the 
connnon  way  is  both  dark  and  ill-connected. — Our  Lord 
here  refers  them  to  the  testimony  given  of  him  at  his  bap- 
tism ;  and,  when  you  read  the  two  clauses  as  questions, 
all  the  chief  circumstances  attending  that  memorable  tes- 
timony are  exactly  pointed  out.  Have  ye  never  heard 
his  voice,  (po:vn  vk  tuv  oupai,uv,  nor  seen  his  form — the 
cufiariTLov  sioog,  in  which  Luke  says  the  Holy  Ghost  de- 
scended ?  And  have  ye  not  his  declaration  abiding  in 
you,  rev  Xoycv,  the  words  which  were  spoken  at  that 
time  ? 

There  appears  to  me  very  strong  internal  evidence  for 
the  correction  proposed  by  Dr.  Campbell,  according  to 
which  our  Lord  here  refers  to  the  Aoyoc,  the  words  ut- 
tered at  his  baptism,  as  his  warrant  for  calling  himself  the 
Son  of  God.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  takes  that  name 
to  himself  in  an  eminent  sense,  both  in  his  discourses  with 
his  disciples,  with  Nicodemus,'a  master  in  Israel,  with  the 
people  of  the  Jews,  and  at  his  trial,  when,  being  asked  by 
the  High  Priest,  "  Art  thou  the  Son  of  God  ?"  he  acknow- 
ledged that  he  was :  a  confession  which,  according  to  the 
sense  affixed  to  the  question  by  those  who  put  it,  was  di- 
rect blasphemy.  "  What  need  we  any  further  witnesses," 
said  the  High  Priest :  "  ye  have  heard  the  blasphemj^" 
It  is  very  remarkable,  that  although  our  Lord  seems  to  de- 
light in  calling  the  Almighty,  when  he  is  speaking  of  him 
to  the  disciples,  your  Father,  your  heavenly  Father,  a  gra- 
cious name  most  suitable  to  the  discoveries  of  his  religion; 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  455 

and  although,  in  the  prayer  which  he  taught  them  to  use, 
the  address  is,  "  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,"  yet  he 
never  uses  the  expression  our  Father  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  include  himself  with  them.  All  his  discourse  implies 
that  God  is  his  Father,  in  a  sense  different  from  that  in 
which  he  is  the  Father  of  all  mankind ;  and  the  form  of 
his  expression  in  one  place  seems  chosen  to  mark  the  dis- 
tinction, John  XX.  17,  "  Go  tell  my  brethren,  I  ascend  unto 
my  Father  and  your  Father,  and  to  my  God,  and  your 
God."  Indeed  the  strongest  proofs  j  of  the  divinity  of 
Jesus,  that  are  found  in  his  own  words,  arise  from  the 
manner  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  connexion  between  his 
Father  and  him.  "  All  things  are  delivered  unto  me  of 
my  Father;  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son  but  the  Father: 
neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father  but  the  Son,  and  he 
to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  him."*  Here  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son  are  held  forth  as  alike  incomprehensible 
to  mortals.  "  What  things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  these 
doeth  the  Son  likewise."  f  Here  is  an  exact  likeness  in 
their  works.  E/w  -/.ai  o  varrio  h  ic/xs\/,  "  I  and  the  Fa- 
ther are  one.":]:  The  argument  arising  from  the  two  last 
passages  becomes  much  stronger  than  it  appears  at  the 
first  hearing  them,  when  you  attend  to  the  circumstances 
in  which  the  declarations  were  made.  In  the  fifth  chapter 
of  John,  our  Lord,  being  accused  of  breaking  the  Sabbath, 
because  upon  that  day  he  made  a  man  whole,  makes  this 
apology,  V.  17  :  'O  ■Trarrjo  //,ov  kug  aari  siya^iTUi,  xayw  spya- 
^ofji,ai,  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work,"  i.  e.  My 
Father,  who  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  the  work  of  cre- 
ation, never  rests  from  the  work  of  preserving  and  blessing 
his  creatures;  and  I,  after  his  example,  do  works  of  mercy 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  The  Jews  were  offended  with  this 
saying,  because  they  conceived  it  to  imply  that  Jesus  called 
God  'Trar-sa  thiov,  which  means  much  more  than  our  trans- 
lation has  expressed,  "  said  that  God  was  his  Father."  Ibm 
Tarsffa  means  his  Father,  in  a  sense  appropriated  to  him. 
Ibtoc  is  opposed  to  -/.moi.  And  I  call  him  ibioc  'zarri^,  wlio  is 
not  the  Father  of  others  as  well  as  of  me,  but  who  is  the 
Father  of  me  only.  From  his  calling  God  peculiarly  his 
Father,   they   inferred  that  he  made  himself  equal  with 

"  Matth.  xi.  27.  t  John  v-  19.  X  John  x.  30. 


456  DOCTKINE  CONCERNING  CHRIST^S  PERSON 

God  ;  and  therefore  they  sought  to  kill  him.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  give  a  different  inteqDi'etation  to  the 
18th  verse.  But  they  appear  to  me  so  forced  that  I  will 
not  recite  them.  What  the  verse  conveys  to  every  plain 
reader  is  this,  that  the  Jews,  although  they  looked  up  to 
God  as  the  father  of  their  nation,  considered  it  as  blas- 
phemy in  any  individual  to  call  God  in  a  peculiar  manner 
his  Father,  because  this  was  putting  in  a  claim  to  that 
title,  the  Son  of  God,  which  seems  to  imply  a  sameness  or 
equality  of  nature  with  the  Supreme  Being,  and  which 
they  were  taught  by  their  Scriptures  to  regard  with  the 
highest  reverence.  But  our  Lord,  instead  of  giving  such 
an  explication  of  his  words  as  might  exculpate  him  from 
this  cliarge  of  blasphemy,  subjoins  in  his  answer  other  ex- 
pressions which  appear  to  be  a  direct  assertion  of  that 
equality  with  God,  which  the  Jews  conceived  to  be  implied 
in  his  calling  God  peculiarly  his  Father.  He  says,  "  What 
things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son 
likewise,"  assuming  the  omnipotence  of  God.  He  says, 
"  The  Father  showeth  the  Son  all  things  that  himself 
doeth,"  making  his  knowledge  commensurate  with  the 
works  of  God.  He  says,  "  The  Son  quickeneth  whom  he 
will.  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath  he  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself."  It  is  acknowledged  in 
all  these  expressions,  that  whatsoever  the  Son  has  is  com- 
municated to  him  by  the  Father ;  and  this  is  implied  in 
the  very  name  the  Son  of  God.  But  if  this  communica- 
tion he  not  of  so  peculiar  a  kind  as  to  impW  an  equality 
with  God,  a  sameness  of  nature  and  perfections,  there  is 
not  only  an  unwarrantable  presumption  in  the  words  of 
our  Lord,  but  in  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  ut- 
tered there  is  an  equivocation  inconsistent  with  the  sin- 
cerity of  an  honest  man. 

This  argument  is  confirmed  by  attending  to  a  similar 
passage  in  the  10th  chapter  of  John.  Our  Lord,  speaking 
of  that  assurance  of  eternal  life  which  his  religion  conveys 
to  his  disciples,  says,  x.  29,  30,  "  They  shall  never  perish. 
My  Father  which  gave  them  me  is  greater  than  all ;  and 
none  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand.  I 
and  my  Father  are  one.  Then  the  Jews  took  up  stones 
to  stone  him."  And  they  assign,  as  the  reason  for  so  do- 
ing, the  very  same  which  John  had  mentioned  in  the  fifth 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  457 

cliUpter :  "  Wo  stone  thee  for  blasphemy,  because  that 
thmi,  being  a  man,  makest  thyself  God."     Our  Lord's  an- 
swer is,  "  Is  it  not  written  in  your  law,  I  said,  ye  are  gods  ? 
If  he  called  them  gods  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came, 
and  the  Scriptures  cannot  be  broken,  ^.  e.  if  the  language 
of  Scripture  be  unexceptionable,  say  ye  of  him  whom  the 
Father  hath  sanctified  and  sent  into  the  world,  thou  blas- 
phemest,  because  I  said  I  am  the  Son  of  God  ?  "     These 
words  are  quoted,  in  support  of  their  opinion,  by  those  who 
hold  that  our  Saviour  is  called  the  Son  of  God  purely  up- 
on account  of  the  commission  which  he  received.     But  the 
force  of  the  argument,  and  the  consistency  of  the  discourse, 
require  us  to  affix  a  much  higher  nieaning  to  that  expres- 
sion.    Our  Lord  is  reasoning  n  fortiori.     He  vindicates 
himself  from  the  charge  of  blasphemy  in  calling  himself  the 
Son  of  God,  because  even  those  who  hold  civil  oirtces  upon 
earth  are  called  in  Scripture  gods.      But  that  he  might 
not  appear  to  put  himself  upon  a  level  with  them,  and  to 
retract  his  former  assertion,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one," 
he  not  only  calls  himself  "  him  whom  the  Father  hath  sanc- 
tified and  sent  into  the  world,"  which  implies  that  he  had 
a  being,  and  that  God  was  his  Father  before  he  was  sent ; 
but  he  subjoins,  "  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father  be- 
lieve me  not.     But  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not  me,  be- 
lieve the  works,  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the 
Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  him  ;"  expressions  which  appear 
to  be  equivalent  to  his  former  assertion,  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  one,"  and  which   were  certainly   understood  by  the 
Jews  in  that  sense  ;  for,  as  soon  as  he  had  uttered  them, 
"  they  sought  again  to  take  him."     The  full  argument  of 
our  Lord  is,  that  the  union  between  the   Father  and  him 
gives  him  a  much  better  title  to  the  name  of  the   Son  of 
God  than  any  office  can  give  men  to  the  name  gods  :  and 
thus  at  the  very  time  that  he  shelters  himself  from  the 
charge  of  blasphemy  under  this  Scripture  expression,  he 
intimates  repeatedly,  in  the  hearing  of  those  who  accused 
him  of  blasphemy  for  what  he  said,  the  superior  dignity  of 
his  person. 

As  our  Lord,  in  this  emphatical  manner,  took  to  himself 
the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  so  there  is  a  remarkable  pas- 
sage in  M'hich  he  guards  those  with  whom   he  conversed 
against  supposing  that  his  being  called  the  Son  of  David 
VOL.     I.  x 


458  DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRIST's  PERSON 

implied  a  sameness  of  nature,  or  an  equality  in  point  of 
dignity  with  his  erathly  progenitor.     "  While  the  Phari- 
sees were  gathered  together,  Jesus  asked  them,  What  think 
ye  of  Christ  ?     Whose  son  is  he  ?     They  say  unto  him, 
the   son  of  David.     He  saith  unto  them.  How  then  doth 
David  in  spirit  call  him  Lord,  saying,  The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord,  sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  ene- 
mies thv  footstool.     If  David  then  call  him  Lord,  how  is 
he  his  son  ?     And  no  man  was  able  to   answer  him   a 
word."*     It  is   known  to  those  who  have  read  Psalm  ex. 
in  the  original,  that  although  the  Septuagint  version  be 
u-Ttiv  6  Kv^iog  ruj  Kv^ioj  /xou,  and  our  English  translation  be, 
"  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord  ;"  yet  the  word  in  the  no- 
minative is  different  from  that  which  is  in  the  dative.    The 
nominative  is  Jehovah,  the  incommunicable  name  of  God 
expressing  his  necessary  existence.     The  dative  is  Adonai, 
a  word  expressing  dominion  or  sovereignty.     It  admits, 
therefore,  of  being  construed  with  a  possessive  pronoun,  my 
Lord  ;  and  it  may  denote  different  kinds  and  degrees  of 
dominion.     The  difficulty,  then,  is  not  what  our  translation 
might  suggest,  that  the  same  name  Lord  is  applied  to  the 
Messiah  as  to  the  Supreme  Being.     But  it  lies  here.     Da- 
vid, a  Sovereign  Prince,  who  had  no  earthly  superior,  who 
was  taught  by  the  promise  of  God  to  consider  the  Messiah 
as  his  descendant,  yet,  many  ages  before  the  Messiah  was 
born,  calls  him  "  my  Lord  ;"   an  expression  which  is  a  di- 
rect acknowledgment  of  his  inferiority  to  his  own  descend- 
ant, and  which  implies  that  the  Messiah  existed  in  a  supe- 
rior nature   before  he   descended  from  him.     Our  Lord 
draws  the  attention  of  the  Pharisees  to  this  difficult}^  in 
their  own  Scriptures,  which  they  seem  to  have  overlooked, 
and  which  they  were  unable  to  solve.     He  could  not  solve 
it  without  unfolding  to  them  what  he  chose  at  present  only 
obscurely  to  intimate.     But  he  leaves  it  with  them  as  a 
proof  drawn  from  an  authority  which  they  did  not  ques- 
tion, that,  if  they  considered  the  Messiah  as  of  no   higher 
extraction  than  a  son  of  David,  they  were  mistaken. 

The  whole  conduct  of  our  Lord  tended  to  confirm  the 
impression  arising  from  this  manner  in  which  he  spake  of 
himself.     Amidst  all  the  simplicity,  the  humility,  and  con- 

•  Matth.  xxii.  41— -46.  ' 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  459 

tlcscension  of  his  life,  there  was  an  unafFected  dignity  uni- 
foi'nily  supported  In   his   words  and  actions,  which  mark 
him,  to  an  unprejudiced  observer,  as  more  than  man.     He 
discovered,  upon  many  occasions,  that  knowledge  of  the 
secret  workings  of  the  heart,  and  that  acquaintance  with 
transactions  the  most  retired  from  the  eyes  of  men,  which 
constitute  a  large  part  of  the  divine  omniscience.     And 
you  cannot  suppose,  that  repeated  displays   of  this  omni- 
science would  be  overlooked  by  those  who  were  continu- 
ally with  him,  when  you  observe  the  effect  which  one  in- 
stance produced ;  John  i.  47,  "  Jesus  saw  Nathanael  com- 
ing to  him,  and  saith  of  him,  behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  is  no  guile.     Nathanael  saith,  whence  knowest  thou 
me  ?      Jesus   answered,    before   that   Philip   called  thee, 
when  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee ;"  referring 
probably  to  some  act  of  secret  devotion,  or  of  private  be- 
neficence.    Nathanael  finding  that  this  stranger  knew  a 
transaction  which  no  eye  had  seen,  and  no  ear  had  heard 
from  him,  immediately  exclaims,  "  Rabbi,  thou   art  the 
Son  of  God  ;  thou  art  the  King  of  Israel."     In  our  Lord's 
miracles  there  was  an  ease  and  readiness  which  showed 
that  he  exerted  inherent  powers,  and  a  command  over  na- 
ture which  indicates  its  Lord.     Upon  some  occasions  he 
chose,  for  the  instruction  of  the  spectators,  to  direct  their 
attention  to  his  Father,  from  whom  he  acknowledged  that 
he  received  all  power ;    but  at  other  times,  he  healed  dis- 
eases, or  raised  the  dead  by  a  word.     "  I   will,  be  thou 
clean."     "  Young  man,"  speaking  to  him  that  M'as  dead, 
"  I  say  unto  thee,  arise."     He  taught  men  to  infer  from  all 
his  works,  the  union  between  his  Father  and  him  :  and  he 
interprets  one  of  his  miracles  as  a  direct  proof  of  his  hav- 
ing power  to   do  what  belongs  to  God  alone.     Mark   ii. 
Knowing,  probably,  that  the  sick  of  the  palsy  who  was 
brought  to  him  was  humbled  by  disease,  and  prepared  to 
receive  with  contrition  the  Lord's  Christ,  he  said  to  him, 
"  Son,  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee."     The  scribes,  who  were 
sitting  by,  reasoned  in  their  hearts,  "  Why  doth  this  man 
thus  speak  blasphemies  ?     Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God 
only  ?"     He  discerned  their  reasonings,  and  he  answered 
them  by  saying,  "  Whether  is  it  easier  to  say,  thy  sins  be 
forgiven  thee,   or  to  say,   arise,  and  take  up  tiiy  bed  and 
walk  ?"     The  same  divine  power  which  would  have  ran- 


460       DOCTRINE  CONCERNING  CHRISt''s  PERSON 

dered  the  one  of  these  sayings,  when  pronounced  by  me. 
effectual,  entitles  me  to  use  the  other :  "  And  therefore, 
that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath  power  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise."  Here,  then, 
Jesus  takes  to  himself  a  right  to  forgive  sins ;  that  prero- 
gative which  the  scribes,  both  by  reason,  and  by  express 
(ieclarations  of  their  OAvn  Scriptures,  were  taught  to  consi- 
der as  belonging  exclusively  to  God. 

Such  are  the  proofs  of  the  superior  nature  of  Jesus, 
which  were  laid  before  the  world  during  his  abode  upon 
earth.  The  ablest  critics  on  the  New  Testament  have 
not  agreed  as  to  the  inference  which  the  apostles  drew 
from  these  proofs,  whether  a  belief  of  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
accompanied  their  belief  of  his  being  the  Messiah.  The 
question  appears  to  me  problematical,  and  I  do  not  tliink 
that  the  New  Testament  contains  sufficient  evidence  to  de- 
cide the  point.  But  it  is  not  of  great  importance.  I  ob- 
served, that  the  intimations  of  the  divinity  of  our  Lord, 
given  during  his  life,  Mere  purposely  obscure ;  and  the 
apostles  brought  with  them  such  prejudices,  and  met  with 
such  disappointment  in  tlieir  expectations,  that  it  is  no 
wonder  if  they  did  not  reason  from  these  intimations  as 
they  might  have  done.  But  there  is  recorded  in  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Gospel  of  John  a  declaration  made  by  one 
of  the  apostles,  after  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  of  his  hav- 
ing then  attained  the  knowledge  of  that  doctrine,  which 
all  these  intimations  seem  intended  to  prepare  them  for  re- 
ceiving. Thomas,  after  his  scruples  were  removed,  an- 
swered and  said  to  Jesus,  John  xx.  28,  6  Kv^ioc  /mv,  zai  6  Qnog 
fiov  ;  a  conjunction  of  words  probably  from  Ps.  xxxv. 
23,  "  Awake  to  my  judgment,  my  God,  and  my  Lord." 
The  Socinians  consider  the  words  of  Thomas  as  an  excla- 
mation of  surprise  upon  seeing  Jesus  alive,  or  of  gratitude 
to  God  who  had  raised  him  :  My  God  and  my  Lord  hath 
done  this.  But  you  Avill  observe,  it  is  expressly  said  that 
these  words  are  addressed  to  Jesus,  as  an  answer  to  what 
he  had  spoken,  ccTrix^idj^  xa;  n'Trsv  avrw ;  and  our  Lord  in  his 
reply,  considers  them  as  a  confession  of  Thomas's  faith  : 
"  Because  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  beljeved  :  Blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 
Either,  therefore,  the  nominative  is  here  as  in  many  other 
places,  equivalent  to  the  vocative,  or  the  ellipsis  is  to  bp 


TAUGHT  DURING  HIS  LIFE.  461 

supplied  by  £/  ffv.  It  is  so  natural  to  interpret  these  word« 
as  a  declaration  of  Thomas's  believing  Jesus  to  be  his  God, 
that  if  our  Lord  had  wished  them  not  to  be  so  understood, 
the  ambiguity  required  a  correction  from  him.  But  by 
accepting  this  declaration,  and  pronouncing  his  blessing 
upon  those  who,  without  the  same  evidence  of  sense, 
should  make  the  same  declaration,  he  approves  of  what 
Thomas  had  eaid,  according  to  the  obvious  sense  of  the 
words,  and  teaches  his  followers  in  succeeding  ages,  to  ac- 
knowledge him  not  only  as  their  Master  or  Lord,  but  as 
ihfiir  God. 


462 


CHAP.  VII. 


DIRECT  PROOFS    THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

The  confession  made  by  the  apostle  Thomas  may  be  con- 
sidered as  an  introduction  to  tliose  plain  assertions  of  the 
divinity  of  Jesus,  which  are  found  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  after  the  ascension  of  their  Master :  and  the  words 
of  that  confession  direct  us  to  attend,  in  the  first  place,  to 
those  passages  in  which  Jesus  Christ  is  called  God.  But, 
before  we  begin  to  examine  them  particularly,  it  is  proper 
to  advert  to  a  difficulty  attending  the  argument  that  is 
founded  upon  them. 


SECTION  I. 


If  the  name,  God,  were  in  Scripture  appropriated  exclusive- 
ly to  the  Supreme  Being,  those  passages  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  which  it  is  applied  to  Jesus  Christ  w  ould  afford  an 
unequivocal  proof  that  he  is  not  a  creature.  But  the  fact 
is,  that  although  God,  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense  of  that 
word,  is  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  there  is  a  loose  or 
figurative  sense  in  which  the  use  of  it  is  very  much  extended. 
Admiration,  which  delights  in  magnifying  its  objects,  has 
often  prompted  men  to  speak  of  their  fellow-creatures  in 
language  to  which  no  mortal  is  entitled.  The  expression 
in  Homer,  leodiog  (pojg,  we  have  copied  in  the  epithets  god- 
like and  divine.  By  frequent  use  and  by  the  progress  of 
science  these  epithets  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  figures 
of  speech.  But  they  were  originally  dictated  by  a  prin- 
ciple which  is  most  observable  in  ruder  states  of  society, 
a  proneness  to  consider  all  who  discover  eminent  qualities 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  463 

or  extraordinaiy  powers,  as  raised  above  the  condition  of 
human  nature.  The  supposed  existence  of  many  of  the 
heatlien  gods  may  be  traced  to  this  principle.  The  pro- 
tectors and  benefactors  of  their  country,  who  had  been  ad- 
mired during  their  life,  were  adored  after  their  death,  i.  e. 
were  enrolled  amongst  those  higher  orders  of  being,  to 
whom  it  was  conceived  they  had  always  been  assimilated. 
Nay,  there  were  instances  in  which  the  extravagance  of 
flattery,  and  the  excess  of  vanity  which  that  flattery  nou- 
rished, conspired  in  ascribing  to  a  mortal,  even  while  he 
remained  upon  earth,  the  name  and  honours  of  a  god. 
The  Scriptures,  which  must  speak  according  to  the  senti- 
ments and  usages  of  those  who  are  addressed,  have  adopt- 
ed, in  numberless  jjlaces,  this  popular  extension  of  the 
name  of  the  Supreme  Being.  The  first  commandment  is, 
Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,  as  if  any  other 
could  exist.  The  name,  gods,  is  uniformly  given  in 
the  Old  'I'cslament  to  those  fictitious  objects  of  wor- 
ship before  which  the  nations  bowed :  and  the  apostle 
Paul,  1  Cor.  viii.  5,  at  the  very  time  that  he  says,  "  An 
■mol  is  nothing  in  the  world,  and  there  is  none  other  God 
but  one,"  adds,  "  Though  there  be  that  are  called  gods, 
whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth,  as  there  be  gods  many." 
The  Hebrew  word  for  gods  is  applied  to  the  angels  "  who 
excel  in  strength,"  and  who  dwell  in  heaven.*  To  rulers, 
because  they  are  exalted  above  their  subjects,  it  is  said, 
"  Ye  are  gods,"-|-  The  belly  of  the  sensualists,  to  the  ser- 
vice of  which  they  are  devoted,  is  called  their  god  ;;}:  and 
the  Almighty  himself  says  to  Moses,  Exod.  vii.  1,  "  See, 
I  have  made  thee  a  God  to  Pharaoh,  and  Aaron  thy  bro- 
ther shall  be  thy  prophet,"  i.  e.  the  king  shall  be  as- 
tonished at  the  displays  of  thy  power  ;  and  the  or- 
ders which  thou  shalt  issue  to  him  shall  be  delivered  by 
the  mouth  of  Aaron,  who  shall  thus  be  thy  prophet  to 
Pharaoh. 

This  extended  figurative  use  of  the  name  of  God  has 
suggested,  to  those  \\  ho  hold  Jesus  to  be  an  exalted  crea- 
ture, the  following  system,  which  I  give  in  the  words  of 
the  author  of  the  Essay  on  Spirit,  p.  89.  "  As  the  self- 
existent  cause,  of  whom  are  all  things,  can  alone  be  pro- 

•  Psalm  viii.  5.         +  Psalm  bcxxii.  6.         :}:  Phil.  iii.  19. 


464  DIEECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

perly  called  God,  when  this  title  is  given  in  the  Scriptures 
to  any  other  being  but  tlie  Father,  we  are  to  understand  it 
only  as  expressive  of  some  god-like  power  wliich  hath  been 
given  or  communicated  to  that  being  by  God  the  Father. 
In  this  sense  the  application  may  be  attributed  to  the  Son, 
because,  when  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  was  given  to 
him,  he  was  made  a  god  to  those  beings  over  whom  that 
power  was  given."  This  systou  is  supported  by  a  remark 
borrowed  from  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  and  adopted  by  Dr. 
Clarke.  "  God,"  says  Sir  Isaac,  "  is  a  relative  term,  which 
has  reference  to  subjects;  and  the  word  deity  denotes  the 
dominion  of  God  over  subjects :"  and  again,  "  we  wor- 
ship and  adore  God  on  account  of  his  dominion."  In  like 
manner.  Dr.  Clarke,  having  laid  it  down  as  the  25th  pro- 
position in  his  scripture-doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  "  The 
reason  why  the  Son,  in  the  Old  Testament,  is  sometimes 
styled  God,  is  not  upon  account  of  his  meta])liysical  sub- 
stance, how  divine  soever,  but  of  his  relative  attributes  and 
divine  authority,  communicated  to  him  from  the  Father 
over  us" — supports  the  proposition  in  the  notes  by  the 
following  reason — "  I'he  word  God,  when  spoken  of  the 
F"ather  himself,  is  never  intended  in  Scripture  to  express 
philosophically  his  abstract  metaphysical  attributes,  but  to 
raise  in  us  a  notion  of  his  attributes  relative  to  us,  his  su- 
preme dominion,  authority,  power,  justice,  goodness,"  &c. 
However  profound  the  respect  is  which  every  one,  who 
has  imbibed  the  rudiments  of  science,  must  entertain  for 
the  name  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  you  will  probablj^  find  rea- 
son to  think,  when  you  examine  his  writings  upon  subjects 
not  capable  of  strict  demonstration,  that  in  them,  accord- 
ing to  the  expression  used  by  Bishop  Horsley,  the  editor 
of  his  mathematical  works,  the  great  Newton  went  out 
like  a  common  man.  It  has  been  shown  by  Dr.  Water- 
land,  in  his  Vindication  of  Christ's  Divinity,  and  by  Dr. 
Randolph,  in  his  Vindication  of  the  Trinity,  that  the  name 
God,  when  applied  in  Scripture  to  the  Supreme  Being, 
involves  in  it  the  notion  of  the  excellence  of  his  nature,  his 
wisdom,  power,  eternity,  and  all-sutticiency.  I  need  not 
mention  anj'^  other  scripture-jjroof  of  this,  than  that  deci- 
sive passage  in  Psalm  xc "  Before  the   mountains  were 

brought  forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the 
world,  even  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  thOu  art  God." 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  465 

Dr.  Waterland  observes,  that  although  dominion  enters 
into  the  notion  of  God,  yet  it  is  the  excellence  of  the  di- 
vine nature  manifested  to  us  in  his  works,  which  is  the  ob- 
ject of  our  adoration,  and  the  foundation  of  his  dominion 
over  us :  so  that  the  whole  idea  of  God  is  that  of  an  eter- 
nal, unchangeable,  almighty  Ruler  and  Protector.  "  If," 
says  Dr.  Randolph,  p.  77,  "  God  be  only  a  relative  term, 
which  has  reference  to  subjects,  it  follows  that  when  there 
were  no  subjects,  there  was  no  God ;  and,  consequently, 
either  the  creatures  must  have  been  some  of  them  eternal, 
or  there  must  have  been  a  time  when  there  was  no  God. 
Again,  as  the  creatures  are  none  of  them  necessarily  ex- 
istent, it  will  follow  that  God  himself  does  not  exist  neces- 
sarily ;  and  if  we  suppose  God  to  annihilate  all  creatures, 
he  would  thereby  annihilate  his  own  deity,  and  cease  to 
be  God." 

Although  this  reasoning  should  satisfy  you  that  the 
word  God  is  not  merely  a  relative  term,  but  that,  in  its 
proper  sense,  it  implies  a  transcendent  and  independent 
excellence  of  nature,  yet,  at  the  same  time,  you  will  per- 
ceive that  as  it  does  imply  dominion  founded  upon  this  ■ 
excellence  of  nature  it  may  be  used  relatively.  My  God. 
is  that  being  whose  infinite  perfections  are  employed  in  my 
protection,  and  are  an  object  of  trust  and  submission  to 
me.  You  will  perceive,  also,  from  this  account  of  its  true 
meaning,  how  it  may  be  applied  in  a  loose  figurative  sense 
,to  those  who  resemble  the  Supreme  Being  in  any  part  of 
the  whole  idea  annexed  to  the  word ;  who  have  either  at- 
tained any  measure  of  the  excellence  of  his  nature,  or  who 
are  intrusted  by  him  with  the  exercise  of  any  portion  of 
his  universal  dominion. 

It  appears,  from  what  has  been  said,  that  much  circum- 
spection is  necessary  in  drawing  au  argument  for  the  di- 
vinity of  Jesus  from  those  passages  in  which  he  is  styled 
God  ;  but  it  does  not  follo\v  that  the  argument  is  necessa- 
rily inconclusive.  There  is  hardly  any  word  which  is  not 
occasionally  used  in  a  sense  somewhat  loose  and  figura- 
tive. It  is  one  of  the  oHices  of  sound  criticism  to  judge 
whether  we  are  to  interpret  words  and  phrases  more  or 
less  strictly ;  and  every  accurate  composition  furnishes 
some  discriminating  circumstances  which  guide  us  in 
making  this  judgment.    No  person  can  be  led  into  so  gross 


466  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

a  mistake  as  to  think  Moses  truly  a  god,  when  the   Al- 
mighty says  to  him, — "  See,   I  have  made  thee  a  god  to 
Pharaoh  ;"  or  civil  magistrates  truly  partakers  of  a  divine 
nature,  when  we  read,  "  I  said  ye  are  gods  ;  but  ye  shall 
die  like  men  ;"  or  the  angels,  however  exalted  above  men, 
really  like  to  God,  when  we  read  a  command  given  them 
to  worship  another  being  ;  or  the  idols,  before  whom  the 
nations  bowed,  worthy  of  trust,   when  the  prophets,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  call  them  gods,   say  they  are  vanity, 
the  work  of  errors,  and  have  no  power  to  do  good  or  evil. 
It  may  be  expected,  from  the  analogy   of  these  instances, 
that  if  this  name  be  given  in  an  improper  figurative  sense 
to  any  other  person,  more  especially  if  it  be  often  so  given, 
we    shall,  in   some  way,   be    effectually  guarded   against 
mistake.       The  preservative,    indeed,    it   has   been    said, 
against  applying  the  term  God  in  the  highest  sense  to  that 
person  who  is  often  called  God,  is  to  be  found  in  those 
general  declarations  of  Scripture  that  there  is  but  one  God: 
"  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord.''    "  There 
is  none  good  but  one,  that  is  God."     But  a  little  attention 
will  satisfy  you  that  this  preservative  is  not  sufficient ;  for 
the  very  person  who  is  often  called  God  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament,  says,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one  ;"  and  this  de- 
claration, taken  in  conjunction  with  the  expressions  of  the 
Divine  unity,  has  appeared  to  many  pious  Christians,   and 
to  many  of  the  most  able  and  inquisitive  men  in  all  ages, 
to  teach  this  system,  that  although  there  be  but  one  God, 
the  Person  to  whom  that  name  is  often  given  in  the  New 
Testament,  is,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word,  God.    The 
general  preservative  being  thus  insufficient  to  guard  against 
mistake,   if  the  highest  sense  of  the  word  does  not  belong 
to  that  Person,  there  was  much  occasion  for  some  marks 
of  inferiority   in  the  manner  of  its  being  applied  to  him 
which  might  suggest  a  lower  sense.     But  if,  instead  of 
meeting  with  such  marks,  we  meet  with  circumstances  in 
the  manner  of  his  being  called  God,  which  imply  that  the 
word,  in  the  strict  and  most  exalted  sense,  belongs  to  him  ; 
and  if  the  interpretation  which  we  are  thus  led  to  give  to 
the   name  correspond  with   other  scripture-proofs  of  the 
Divinity  of  the  Person  to  whom  it  is  applied,   we  cannot 
avoid  concluding,  that  the   Scriptures,    by  calling  Jesus 
Christ  God,  meant  to  teach  us  that  he  is  God. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  467 

Let  your  examination  of  the  texts  which  are  commonly 
alleged  for  this  purpose  be  scrupulous  and  suspicious. 
Every  point  of  importance  ought  to  be  carefully  examined; 
and  it  is  the  great  advantage  which  accrues  from  diversity 
of  opinion,  that  you  are  both  guarded  against  that  supine 
indolence  with  which  assent  is  yielded  to  points  in  which 
men  are  generally  agreed,  and  that  you  are  furnished  with 
the  best  means  of  attaining  the  truth,  by  having  an  oppor- 
tunity of  opposing  to  one  another  the  arguments  which 
very  able  men  have  adduced  upon  either  side.  I  shall 
not,  therefore,  barely  enumerate  the  texts  in  which  Jesus 
is  plainly  called  God,  but  I  shall  endeavour,  in  canvassing 
their  meaning,  to  exhibit  a  specimen  of  that  kind  of  scrip- 
ture-criticism, without  the  continued  exercise  of  which  you 
can  neither  arrive  at  certainty,  nor  give  a  good  reason  of 
your  own  opinions  upon  any  of  the  disputed  questions  of 

theology. 

1.  Tlie  first  text  is  contained  in  that  passage  at  the  be- 
ginning of  John's  Gospel,  which  has  already  been  fully  ex- 
plained.    The  whole  passage  was  then  vindicated,  from 
the  Sabellian    interpretation,   by  showing  that  6  X0705  is  a 
distinct  person  from  the  Father,  the  same  who  is  called  in 
the  17th  verse  Jesus  Christ.     It  was  observed  that  in  the 
second  clause  of  the  first  verse,  6  Xoyog  tji/  ergo;  tov  0£ov,  the 
word  0SOS   occurs  in  the  highest  sense ;  and  that,  as  the 
form  of  the  apostle's  expression  is  to  make  the  last  word 
of.  one  clause  the  first  word   of  the   succeeding,  nothing 
but  a  purpose  to  mislead  could  have  induced  him,  without 
any  warning,  to  apply  the  name  God  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
beginning  of  the  third  clause,  if  he  had  meant  it  to  be  un- 
derstood there  in  a  sense  ditferent  from  that  in  which  he 
had  used  it  at  the  end  of  the  second.     It  was  ol)served, 
further,   that  the  want  of  the  article  makes  no  essential 
difference,  both  because  the  analogy   of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage requires  that  the  article  should  be  prefixed  to  the 
subject  rather  than  to  the  predicate  of  a  proposition  ;  and 
also,  because  0£og,  without  the  article,  in  the  following 
verses  of  this  chapter,  and  in  many  other  places,  is  used  in 
the  highest  sense.     I  have  only  to  add   to  these  observa> 
tions,  that  @ioc,  cannot  be  understood  here  merely  as  a  re- 
lative term,  because  it  is  not  said  ©sog  ijiviro  6  Xoyog,  the 
word  became,  or  was  made  God  after  the  world  was  ere- 


468 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 


ated  ;  but  Qiog  r,v  6  Aoyog,  the  word  was  God  in  the  begin- 
ning, L  e.  before  he  proceeded  to  make  any  thing,  when 
there  were  no  creatures  and  no  subjects.  Even  Dr. 
Clarke,  therefore,  is  obliged  to  paraphrase  this  expression 
thus :  "  Partaker  of  divine  power  and  glory  with  and  from 
the  Father,  not  only  bei'ore  he  was  iiiade  flesh,  or  became 
man,  but  also  before  the  uorld  was."  'b<o\v,  if  the  manner 
in -which  the  name  God  is  here  given  to  Jesus  implies  that 
the  excellencies  of  the  Divine  nature  belonged  to  him  in 
the  beginning  when  no  creatures  existed,  and  if  there  is 
no  limitation  of  the  degree  in  which  he  then  possessed 
these  excellencies,  we  seem  warranted,  by  fair  construction 
of  the  apostle's  words,  to  infer  from  his  being  called  God 
that  he  is  God. 

2.  The  second  passage  is  Acts  xx.  28.  H^oGiy^in  cuv 
eocvToig,  -/mi  'xavri  tijj  zuj/miw,  iv  w  vn,ac  r«j  nnv/j.a  ro  ayiov  sdiTO 
imczo'-ovg,  rroifji,a:viiv  rriv  ixyJ^riiriav  nv  Qiou,  riv  inoti'TroiriSaTo  dia 
Tou  ibiou  aifx-arog.  The  nominative  to  •-spu'TroiriSaro,  which  is 
not  expressed  in  the  Greek,  and  is  supplied  in  our  transla- 
tion by  the  pronoun  he,  nmst  be  taken  from  the  nearest 
substantive,  ©s&u.  There  is  no  other  noun  in  the  whole 
verse  which  admits  of  being  made  the  nominative.  But 
€)ioc  cannot  here  mean  the  Father;  for  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel  is,  that  we  are  redeemed  or  purchased  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  an  action  appropriated  to  him  in 
all  the  descriptions  of  the  method  of  our  salvation.  He 
took  a  body  that  he  might  shed  his  blood  for  us  ;  and  the 
phrase  idiov  ai/Ma,  the  blood  which  was  proper,  peculiar  to 
him,  is  used  also  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  there 
opposed  to  a'/fia  aXkor^m,  Heb.  ix.  12,  25,  to  show  that  it 
was  truly  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  of  no  other  person,  tliat 
was  shed.  The  nominative  to  'ns^ii'-oirjcaro,  therefore, 
whatever  the  word  be,  must  mean  Jesus  Christ ;  and  con- 
sequently in  this  place  he  is  called  God. 

JBut  it  is  propel-  to  mention  that  the  MSS.  of  the  New 
Testament  do  not  agree  in  reading  &iou.  Grotius  con- 
jectures that  the  original  reading  was  X^isrou,  abbreviated 
into  Xov,  and  that  out  of  Xov  came  @ov,  for  &iov.  But 
this  conjecture  is  unsupported  by  any  authority.  Mr. 
Mill,  Avho,  in  his  most  valuable  edition  of  the  Greek  Tes- 
tament, has  collected  the  various  readings,  and  mentioned 
the  authorities  by  which  every  one  of  them  is  supported, 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST   IS  GOD.  46*9 

informs  us  that  some  read  zu^iov  ;  others  y.v^u/o  -/.at  Qso-j ; 
others,  &iov.  Mr.  Mill,  who  had  access  to  judge  of  all  the 
manuscripts,  versions,  and  quotations  in  favour  of  each  of 
the  three,  has  no  difficulty  in  preferring  ©soj  as  the  best 
supported.  Griesbach,  the  latest  editor  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, prefers  ku^iov,  and  says  it  is  supported  by  the  best 
and  most  ancient  manuscripts,  by  the  most  ancient  ver- 
sions, and  by  the  fathers.  There  is  not  any  reason,  from 
the  nature  of  the  thing,  for  giving  up  our  reading,  s-z-xXyisia 
Qio-j;  it  is  a  very  conniion  conjunction  of  words  in  the; 
New  Testament,  and  God's  purchasing  the  church  v.ith 
his  own  blood,  is  an  expression  fully  justified  by  the  per- 
fect union  between  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  Christ. 
At  the  same  time,  as  •/.-j^iov  appears  to  be  a  very  ancient 
reading,  which  may  be  tiaced  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
Irenaius,  in  the  second  century,  the  present  reading,  how- 
ever probable,  cannot  be  certainly  known  to  have  been 
that  which  proceeded  from  the  apostle  ;  and  no  man  who 
is  guided  purely  by  the  love  of  truth,  would  choose  to 
rest  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour  upon  such  cjuestionabie 
ground. 

3.  With  regard  to  the  next  passage,  Rom.  ix.  5,  there  is 
no  difficulty  of  this  kind.  Upon  the  authority  of  Mill,  I 
say  that  all  the  manuscripts,  and  all  the  ancient  version:* 
support  the  pi'esent  reading  ;  and  Griesbach  does  not  pro- 
pose any  various  reading.  It  is  quoted  by  the  fathers 
both  before  and  after  the  Council  of  Nice,  as  a  clear  proof 
that  Christ  is  God.  And  there  does  not  appear  the  least 
ground  for  thinking  that  the  text  Avas  ever  read  in  any 
other  manner.  We  are  at  liberty,  therefore,  to  argue  from 
the  words  as  they  now  stand  ;  and  the  only  question  is, 
what  is  the  true  interpretation  of  them?  Dr.  Clarke  says, 
that  the  Greek  words,  being  of  ambiguous  construction, 
admit  of  three  different  renderings  ;  and  I  choose  to  quote 
him,  because  he  expresses  accurately  and  concisely  what 
others  have  spread  out  more  loosely.  "  They  may  signify 
either,  of  whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came  : 
God,  who  is  over  all,  be  blessed  for  ever.  Amen  :  or.  Of 
whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came,  who  is  over 
all;  God  be  blessed  for  ever,  Amen:  or,  Of  whom,  as 
concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came,  who  is  over  all  God 
blessed  for  ever,  Amen."     He  admits  that  the  third  ren- 


470  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

dei'ing  is  the  most  obvious.  But  he  inclines  to  prefer  to 
t  either  the  first  or  second,  for  these  two  reasons.  1. 
E-oXojTjrcg  is  applied  in  Scripture  to  God  the  Father,  and 
seems  to  have  been  used  by  the  Jews  as  his  proper  name; 
for  the  High  Priest  said  to  Jesus  on  his  trial,  2u  si  6  Xg/tr- 
ro$,  6  v'log  rov  iuXoyrirou. *  2.  6  sot  Tairwi;  Qsog  was  generally 
understood  to  be  a  title  so  peculiar  to  God  the  Father,  that 
it  could  not  be  applied  to  the  Son,  without  danger  of  Sabelli- 
anism,  i.  e.  of  confounding  the  person  of  the  Father  and  Son. 
These  are  Dr.  Clarke's  reasons  for  preferring  either  of  the 
two  first  renderings  to  the  third.  But  you  will  observe 
the  present  question  is,  whether  these  two  titles  are  here 
applied  to  Christ.  It  is  not  an  answer  to  this  question  to 
say  that  they  are  commonly  applied  to  the  Father.  For  it 
is  possible,  and  there  may  be  verj^  good  reasons  for  so 
doing,  that  names  and  titles  which  are  generallj'^  appro- 
priated to  the  Father,  should,  in  some  places,  be  given  to 
the  Son.  We  may  learn  from  such  occasional  applica- 
tions that  the  two  persons  are  equal,  and  j^et  by  attending 
to  the  discriminating  marks  which  the  Scriptures  furnish, 
we  may  be  preserved  from  the  danger  of  confounding  them. 
It  remains,  then,  to  be  examined,  whether  the  construc- 
tion of  the  words  warrants,  or  seems  to  require,  that  these 
titles  be,  in  this  place,  applied  to  Christ.  In  order  to  judge 
of  this,  it  will  be  of  use  to  attend  to  the  four  following  ob- 
servations : — 

1.  The  first  observation  respects  the  clause  ro  xara 
(Tagjca.  The  apostle,  having  expressed  in  the  preceding 
verse  the  warmest  affection  for  the  Israelites,  his  country- 
men, rojv  gvyyivuv  /xou  -/.aru  ca^za,  enumerates  in  the  4th 
verse  many  privileges  which  distinguished  his  nation  from 
every  other;  and  he  proceeds  in  his  enumeration  at  the 
beginning  of  the  5th,  uv  0/  variPsg,  "  Whose  are  the  Fa- 
thers," i.  e.  Who  are  descended  from  the  patriarchs,  those 
venerable  names  that  are  found  in  Jewish  history,  =5  uv  6 
X^idTog,  "  and  from  whom  is  descended  the  Christ."  The 
apostle  adds  a  limiting  clause,  ro  xara  (saf/.a,  secundum  id 
quod  pertinet  ad  carnem,  which  implies  that  there  were 
circumstances  pertaining  to  the  Christ,  in  respect  of  which 
he  did  not  descend  from  the  Israelites.     Had  the  sentence 

*  Markxiv.  61. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  471 

ended  here,  this  clause  would  have  been  a  warning  to  the 
reader  that  the  Christ  waa  not  %a.ra  "Tiavra  g^  uxjtuv  ;  and 
the  reader  would  have  been  left  to  supply,  by  his  know- 
ledge of  the  subject  derived  from  other  sources,  vhat 
the  respects  are  in  which  the  Christ  did  not  descend  from 
the  Israelites. 

2.  But  you  will  observe,  that  the  sentence  does  not  ap- 
pear to  end  with  this  limiting  clause,  because  the  form  of 
the  subsequent  clause  refers  it  to  X^isrog.  6  ojv  is  a  relative 
expression,  which  carries  you  back  to  the  preceding  nomi- 
native. This  kind  of  reference  is  perfectly  agreeable  to 
the  analogy  of  the  Greek  language.  And  it  is  used  by  this 
apostle,  2  Cor.  xi.  31,  where  the  form  of  expression  is  very 
similar. 

3.    You  will  observe   that  by  thus  referring  the  last 
clause  to  Xpiercg  you  obtain  an  antithesis  to  to  xar-a  cagjca, 
and  you  discover  the  reason  why  the  apostle  introduced 
that  restricting  clause,  viz.  that  the  same  person,  who  in 
one  respect  was  descended  from  the  Israelites,  was  also  God 
over  all,  and  in  that  respect  certainly  was  not  of  human 
extraction.     It  is  a  most  satisfying  coincidence,  that  the 
connexion  of  the  two  clauses,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  one 
strictly  grammatical,  furnishes  that  very  information  con- 
cerning the  person  mentioned,  which,  witliout  this  con- 
nexiun,  you  would  be  obliged  to  derive  from  other  sources 
of  knowledge.     And  it  is  usual  with  the  apostle,  in  some 
such  manner  as  this,  to  complete  the  description  of  this 
person.     Rom.  i.  3,  4,  the  same  person  is  the  Son  of  God, 
and  the  descendant  of  David.     He  was  visibly  the  descend- 
ant of  David,  by  the  manner  of  his  birth  :  He  was  demon- 
strated to  be  the  Son  of  God,  by  that  attestation  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  gave  to  his  claim  when  he  was  raised  from  the 
dead;  and  thus,  in  that  passage,  as  well  as  in  this,  the  apostle 
himself  furnishes  the  antithesis  to  the  restricting  clause, 
xara  ffacxa. 

4.  Observe  that  the  complete  description,  which  the 
apostle,  according  to  his  manner  in  other  places,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  expectation  raised  by  the  limiting  clause, 
here  gives  of  Xpiotoc  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  gen*>- 
ral  scope  of  his  discourse  in  this  place.  He  wishes  to 
magnify  the  honours  of  his  nation  ;  he  has  enumerated 
many  of  their  privileges ;  and  he  concludes  by  crowning 
5 


472  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

all  of  them  with  the  mention  of  this,  that  he  who  is  God 
over  all,  when  he  assumed  the  human  form,  took  a  body 
from  the  seed  of  Israel. 

These  four  observations  seem  to  constitute  a  strong  in- 
ternal evidence  in  favour  of  the  received  translation  ;  and 
this  evidence  is  confirmed,  when  you  attend  to  the  conse- 
quences which  result  from  adoptingeither  of  the  other  two 
renderings.     If  you  put  a  poiait  at  xara  cae^ta,  you    ob- 
tain the  hrst ;  "  Of  whom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ 
came :  God,  who  is  over  all,  be  blessed  for  ever, — Amen." 
By  this  rendering,  the  information  concerning  X^isrog  is 
incomplete.     There  is  introduced  most  abruptly  a  doxo- 
logy  to  God  the  Father;  and  the   form  of  expression  in 
this  doxology  is  not  classical.     For  6  wi/  being  a  relative 
expression,  which  leads  you  back  to  a  preceding  word,  the 
participle  uv  is  redundant  and  improper,  if  a  succeeding 
word,  Osoc,  be  the  nominative  that  agrees  with  it.     If  you 
put  a  point  at  ■ravrwi',  you  obtain  what  Dr.   Clarke  calls 
the   second   rendering ;    "  Of  whom,  as   concerning  the 
flesh,  Christ  came,   who  is   over  all :  God  be  blessed  for 
ever.     Amen."     By  this  rendering,  the  information  con- 
cerning X^iarog  is  more  complete,  and  uv  is  referred  to  a 
preceding  nominative.     But  still  there  is  the  abrujit  intro- 
duction of  a  doxology  to  a  Person  who  had  not  been  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  clause  ;  and  there  is  a  barrenness 
in  the  word  Qiog,  which  in  this  situation   requires  to  be 
clothed  with  an  article,  6  &sog  svAoyriroc.     It  is   further  to 
be  added,  that  the  earliest  Christian  writers  who  quote  this 
passage  api^ear,  by  the  course  of  the  argument,  to  under- 
stand it  as  a  plain  declaration  that  Christ  is  God  over  all, 
blessed  for  ever.     It  is  so   rendered  in  the  most  ancient 
versions,  and  the  possibflity  of  another  interpretation  was 
not  suggested  till  the  sixteenth  century.     If  the  apostle, 
then,  did  not  mean  to  give  these  titles  to  Jesus,  he  employs 
a  form  of  expression,   in  which  the  natural  gi'ammatical 
construction    of  the    words  misled    the   vhole   Christian 
church  for  1500  years.     If  he  did  mean   to  give  them  to 
Christ,  then  not  only  is  this   Person   called  God,  but  the 
name  has  such  accompaniments  that  it  must  be  understood 
in  its  most  exalted  sense.     It  is  not  said  that  he  was  ap- 
pointed God  to  a  particular  district,  but  in  the  most  abso- 
lute terms  that  he  is   God.     '  O  m  s--i  rranuv  &sog,  as  it  is 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  473 

said  of  God  the  Father,  Eph.  iv.  6,  Qsog  km  --arriP  tuv- 
rwii,  6  svi  'jravroov.  To  him  is  ascribed  the  title  ivAoyriroi, 
which  is  used  in  the  New  Testament  as  the  name  of  the 
Most  High,  and  which  was  employed  by  the  whole  con- 
gregation of  the  Jews  in  their  adoration  of  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, 1  Chron.  xxix.  10,  EvAoyriToc.  n,  Kiws,  6  &sog  iGoarf/^. 
We  can  place  no  reliance  upon  the  language  of  Scripture, 
if  there  be  an  inferiority  of  nature  in  a  Being  thus  de- 
signed. And  the  very  purpose  of  the  expressions  here 
used  seems  to  be,  to  teach  us  that  every  notion  which  can 
be  conceived  to  be  implied  under  the  name  God  belongs 
to  this  Person  as  well  as  to  the  Father. 

4.  1  Tim.  iii.  16 — There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  with 
regard  to  the  reading  of  one  word  in  this  verse.  Two  of 
the  most  ancient  versions  of  the  Greek  Testament  I'cnder 
the  verse  as  if  0soj  were  not  there.  One  Greek  MS.  has 
c  in  place  of  ©so$  ;  another  has  Ig.  It  has  hitherto  been 
conjectured  that  ©sog  is  an  interpolation  made  by  some 
zealous  Christian,  who  wished  to  add  this  verse  to  the 
other  proofs  of  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour.  But  you  will 
observe,  that  if  the  word  be  o,  the  neuter  of  the  relative, 
the  antecedent  is  fji^varri^iov,  i.  e.  the  Gospel ;  in  which  case, 
the  sense  of  several  of  the  clauses  will  be  forced  and  un- 
natural. The  Gospel,  "  manifested  in  the  flesh,  seen  of 
angels,  received  up  into  glory."  If  the  word  be  og,  either 
the  masculine  of  the  relative,  or  the  pronoun  of  the  third 
person,  it  is  not  manifest  who  is  meant.  Jesus  Christ,  to 
whom,  by  this  reading,  all  the  clauses  are  referred,  had 
not  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse ;  and  it  is  not 
according  to  the  manner  of  a  perspicuous  or  grammatical 
M'riter,  to  oblige  his  readers  to  educe  an  antecedent  to  6c, 
out  of  the  amount  of  the  preceding  clause  /Mya  iC-i  to 
rr,;  iuGiZuug  fiugrriPiov.  There  is,  thus,  internal  evidence 
that  some  substantive  noun,  marking  the  person  spoken  of, 
is  the  nominative  to  the  succession  of  verbs ;  and  all  the 
(jreek  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  except  the  two  men- 
tioned above,  concur  in  reading  0£&g  as  the  nominative. 
It  is  true  that  we  do  not  find  this  verse  formerly  quoted  in 
the  Arian  controversy  till  the  end  of  the  fourth  century, 
so  that  we  have  not  an  opjjortunity  of  judging  by  early 
quotations  what  was  the  original  reading.  But  besides 
the  authority  of  the  most  ancient  Greek  MSS.  in  support 


474  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST   IS  GOD. 

of  the  word  Qsog,  there  is  this  farther  evidence  for  the 
genuineness  of  that  reading,  that  if  ©sog  be  the  nomina- 
tive, we  can  give  an  easy  explication  of  every  one  of  the 
clauses  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  analogy  of  facts,  and 
the  language  of  the  most  ancient  writers. 

Having  mentioned  the  MSS.  of  the  New  Testament,  I 
shall  notice,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  the  state  of  the  con- 
troverted word  in  the  Alexandrian,  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  respectable  of  these  MSS.  There  has  been  some 
controversy  with  regard  to  the  age  of  this  manuscript.  But 
there  appears  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  written 
in  the  fourth  century,  not  long  after  the  Council  of  Nice, 
by  the  hand  of  an  Egyptian  lady.  It  was  carried  from 
Alexandria  to  Constantinople.  It  was  given  by  the  Pa- 
triarch of  Constantinople  to  Charles  I.  of  England.  It  is 
now  deposited  in  the  British  Museum ;  and  a  fac  simile, 
i.  e.  an  edition  in  which  the  form  of  the  letter  is  an  exact 
representation  of  the  original,  has  been  published  by  Mr. 
Woide.  To  understand  his  description  of  the  controvert- 
ed word,  it  should  be  known  that  abbreviations  of  such 
words  as  frequently  occur  being  common  in  the  ancient 
MSS.  there  was  written,  instead  of  0sog,  the  Greek  capi- 
tal 0  and  (T,  with  a  line  above  the  two  letters,  as  a  mark  of 
the  abbreviation.  Mr.  Woide  says,  "  While  I  am  writing, 
and  looking  at  this  place,  -which  has  been  often  too  impru- 
dently touched  by  the  finger,  I  can  hardly  distinguish  any 
thing  but  the  short  line  of  abbreviation,  the  point  in  the 
middle  of  the  0  now  become  faint,  and  some  small  remains 
of  the  circle  round  the  point."  Bishop  Walton,  who  pub- 
lished a  Polyglott  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  who  has 
collected  the  various  readings  with  great  industiy  and  fide- 
lity, and  who  has  mentioned  the  change  upon  this  word  in 
another  MS.  appears,  by  expressing  no  doubt  with  regard 
to  the  reading  of  ©sog  in  the  Alexandrian  MS.  to  have 
found  it  there  in  his  time.  Bishop  Pearson,  the  very 
learned  author  of  the  Exposition  of  the  Creed,  says, 
that  all  the  transverse  line  was  even  then  so  faint,  that 
at  first  he  thought  the  word  was  6g,  yet,  upon  a  narrower 
inspection,  he  saw  marks  which  satisfied  him,  that  there 
had  been  such  a  line  ;  and  Mr.  Woide  says,  that,  on  first 
inspecting  the  manuscript,  he  agreed  in  opinion  with  Mill, 
although,  as  the  0  is  now  almost  wholly  effaced,  he  can- 


DrRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  475 

not  affirm  the  same  from  the  present  state  of  the  MS. 
From  this  induction  of  particulars,  it  appears  to  be  the 
opinion  of  the  most  learned  men  who  have  examined  this 
subject,  that  &iog  is  the  genuine  reading  of  the  Alexan- 
drian MS.  coeval  with  the  MS.  itself.  They  think  that 
the  reading  6g  arose  from  the  faintness  of  the  transverse 
line,  and  that  6;  was  changed  into  6,  because  the  neuter 
antecedent  /xuerri^wv  did  not  admit  of  a  masculine  relative. 
I  observe  that  Griesbach  prefers  the  reading  6g,  and  has 
introduced  it  into  the  text :  but  I  adhere  to  the  opinion  of 
former  editors  of  the  New  Testament,  supported,  as  they 
say,  both  by  the  Alexandrian,  and  by  other  very  ancient 
MSS. ;  and  you  will  observe,  that  if  Gsoc  be  the  genuine 
reading  in  this  passage,  it  affords  an  instance  not  only  of 
the  name  being  applied  to  Jesus,  but  of  its  being  applied 
to  him,  when  it  is  the  subject  not  the  predicate  of  a  pro- 
positioii.  This  is  an  advantage  in  the  argument  for  the 
divinity  of  Jesus,  because  those  who  contend  that  he  is 
called  God  only  in  an  inferior  sense  of  that  word,  affirm 
that  .the  word  may  be  predicated  of  him,  but  that  when  it 
is  the  subject  of  a  proposition,  it  is  always  the  name  of 
the  Father.  Dr.  Clarke's  1 1th  Proposition  "^is,  "  The  Scrip- 
ture, when  it  mentions  God  absolutely  and  by  way  of 
eminence,  always  means  the  Person  of  tlie  Father,  particu- 
larly when  it  is  the  subject  of  a  proposition."  The  r«  ason 
of  the  rule  is,  that  when  the  word  is  predicated  of  Jesus, 
we  are  taught  by  this  very  circumstance,  that  it  is  predi- 
cated of  a  Person  different  from  the  Supreme  Being,  to 
give  it  certain  limitations  ;  but  when  it  is  the  subject  of  a 
proposition,  it  is  of  necessity  stated  absolutely,  without 
any  sign  of  limitation.  This  would  be  the  reason,  if  the 
Scriptures  did  make  such  a  distinction  in  the  use  of  this 
word.  But  here  is  an  instance  in  direct  opposition  to  Dr. 
Clarke's  rule,  where  the  Father  cannot  be  meant,  because 
he  was  never  manifested  in  the  flesh,  where  the  person 
meant  is  Jesus  Christ,  and  God  is  stated  as  the  subject  of 
the  propositions  affirmed  concerning  this  person.  Dr. 
Clarke,  indeed,  aware  probably  that  the  present  reading 
cannot  upon  any  sufficient  grounds  be  rejected,  says  that 
it  is,  in  reality,  of  no  importance  ;  for  the  sense  is  evident, 
that  that  person  was  manifested  in  the  flesh  whom  John, 
in  the  beginning  of  his  Gospel,  styles  ©so;.     But  this  is 


476  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

giving  up  his  own  distinction  between  the  subject  and  the 
predicate  of  a  proposition.  For,  in  John,  Qsof  was  the 
predicate  ;  here  Qsoc  is  the  subject :  and,  therefore,  either 
the  distinction  which  he  made  in  his  11th  Proposition  is 
of  no  importance,  or  something  more  decisive  with  regard 
to  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour  is  contained  in  tliis  passage 
of  Timothy  than  in  the  beginning  of  John's  Gospel. 

5.  1  John  v.  20.  In  some  manuscripts  and  versions, 
^i?6v  is  inserted  after  aXi^dmv  in  this  verse.  This  is  of  no 
importance  to  the  sense.  But  there  is  a  controversy  with 
regard  to  the  application  of  the  last  clause ;  and  that  you 
may  judge  whether  it  is  most  natural  to  refer  it  to  the  Fa- 
ther, or  to  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  I  shall  give  two  interpreta- 
tions of  it,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Clarke  and  Dr.  Randolph. 
Dr.  Clarke's  is,  "  The  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  has  en- 
lightened the  eyes  of  our  understanding,  that  we  may 
know  the  true  God  ;  and  we  are  in  that  true  God  by  or 
through  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  God,  whom  the  Son 
has  given  us  an  understanding  to  know,  is  the  true  God, 
and  to  be  in  him  by  his  Son  is  eternal  life.  This  is  the 
worship  of  the  true  God,  and  the  way  to  eternal  life."  Dr. 
Randolph's  is,  This  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  "  given  us  an 
understanding  to  know  him  that  is  true,  is  the  true  God 
and  eternal  life."  By  this  interpretation,  ovroi  is  referred 
to  the  antecedent  immediately  preceding,  which  is  also 
the  principal  subject  of  the  whole  verse ;  the  tautology 
which  Dr.  Clarke's  paraphrase  fixes  upon  the  apostle, 
"  The  true  God  is  the  true  God,"  is  avoided  ;  the  strongest 
reason  is  given  for  our  being  in  the  true  God  by  Jesus 
Christ,  that  he  himself  is  the  true  God,  and  so  cannot 
mislead  us  :  and,  lastly,  no  more  is  affirmed  concerning 
Jesus  Christ  than  may  be  gathered  from  other  places  of 
John's  writings.  He  is  elsewhere  called  life.*  "  Eternal 
life,"  it  is  said,  "  is  in  the  Son."f  He  is  called  God ;  he 
is  called  0  aXr,6ivog.-^  And  if  John  meant  to  teach  us  that 
he  who  is  called  God  is  truly  God,  it  was  most  natural 
for  him  to  join  this  adjective  to  the  suljstantive  when 
speaking  of  the  Son,  in  the  same  manner  as  when  speak- 
ing of  the  Father.  This  text  was  urged  in  the  Council  of 
Nice  against  the   Arians ;   and  they  did  not  deny  that 

*  1  John  i.  2.         t  1  Jo^n  v-.  11.  J  Rev.  iii.  7,  14. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  477 

Jesus  Christ  is  here  called  the  true  God ;  but  contented 
themselves  with  saying,  that  if  he  was  truly  made  God,  he 
is  the  true  God  ;  an  evasion  which,  joined  to  many  others, 
produced  the  insertion  of  the  term  ou^oo-jSio;  in  the  ortho- 
dox creeds,  as  a  term  necessaril}^  implying  that  the  Son 
had  not  been  made  God,  but  is  essentially  God. 


SECTION  II. 


To  those  passages  in  which  the  name  of  God  is  given  to 
Jesus  Christ,  there  naturally  succeed  those  which  ascribe 
to  him  attriliutos  that  constitute  the  character  of  the  be- 
ing to  whom  that  name  belongs. 

The  passages  in  which  all  power  is  ascribed  to  Jesus 
are  innumerable ;  and  they  are  various  and  strong  in 
point  of  expression.  But  to  the  argument  for  his  divinity 
that  is  derived  from  the  extent  of  his  power,  it  is  opposed 
by  the  Arian  system,  that  the  Almighty  is  the  sole  foun- 
tain of  all  the  power  that  is  exerted  throughout  the  uni- 
verse, that  we  behold  various  measures  of  power  commu- 
nicated to  the  creatures  with  whom  we  converse,  that  the 
purposes  of  the  divine  government  may  require  that  a 
degree,  infinitely  beyond  any  which  we  behold,  or  which 
we  can  conceive,  may  be  imparted  to  that  being  by  whom 
God  made,  by  whom  he  saves,  and  by  whom  he  is  to 
judge  the  world ;  but  that  as  all  the  power  in  heaven  and 
in  earth  which  is  given  to  Jesus  Christ  was  derived  from 
God,  it  redounds  to  the  honour  of  Him  from  whom  it 
proceeds,  and  does  not,  in  fair  argument,  prove  the  divi- 
nity of  him  by  whom  it  is  received.  This  argument  will 
appear  to  many  to  be  counterbalanced  by  the  manner  in 
which  the  Scriptures  speak  of  the  power  of  Jesus.  They 
will  think  it  not  likely  that,  if  Jesus  were  a  creature,  anv 
exertions  which  he  was  enabled  to  perform  would  be  de- 
scribed in  language  by  which  they  are  assimilated,  both  in 
the  greatness  and  in  the  facility  of  them,  to  those  of  the  Crea- 
tor. But  as  this  language  may  not  make  the  same  impression 
upon  every  mind,  and  as  it  was  acknowledged  by  Jesus, 
and  is  often  said  by  his  apostles,  that  he  received  all 


478  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

power  from  God,  we  require,  in  arguing  from  the  attri- 
butes of  Jesus  to  his  divinity,  some  attributes  which  do 
not  admit  of  the  same  communication  as  power  does,  some 
which  respect  rather  the  manner  of  his  being,  than  the 
extent  of  his  exertions. 

You  may  attend,  first,  to  the  time  of  his  being.  If 
Jesus  is  the  Creator  of  all,  it  follows  that  he  existed  before 
any  of  those  measures  of  time  which  ai'e  deduced  from  the 
motion  or  succession  of  created  objects.  In  this  sense 
the  Arians  allow  eternity  to  Jesus,  saying  that  he  was  be- 
gotten cffo  'TTavTuv  ai(f}]/oiv.  But  the  Scriptures  do  not  admit 
of  any  equivocation  with  regard  to  this  attribute  of  Jesus, 
because  the  very  same  terms  in  which  the  eternity  of  God 
is  described  are  applied  to  him  ;  so  that  if  the  Scriptures 
are  not  sufficient  to  prove  the  eternity  of  the  Son,  neither 
do  they  prove  the  eternit}'  of  the  Father.  The  ancients, 
all  of  whom  applied  the  description  of  wisdom  in  Proverbs 
viii.  to  that  person  whom  John  calls  Xoyog,  argued  from  the 
similarity  between  Psalm  xc.  2,  "  Before  the  mountains 
were  brought  forth,  thou  art  God ;"  and  a  part  of  that 
chapter,  "  I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from  the  begin- 
ning, or  ever  the  earth  was."  If  we  consider  that  Christ 
is  only  a  beautiful  personification  of  wisdom,  we  shall  not 
admit  the  foi'ce  of  this  argument.  But  there  are  plain  de- 
clarations to  the  same  purpose  in  the  book  of  the  Revela- 
lation.  And  you  will  observe  the  reason  why  in  that 
book  they  become  plain.  In  the  conversations  with  the 
apostles  which  the  Gospels  record,  Jesus  purposely  ob- 
scured his  divinity,  because  he  was  with  them  in  the  hu- 
man form.  But  when  Stephen,  before  his  martyrdom, 
"  looked  up  stedfastly  to  heaven,  he  saw  the  glory  of  God, 
and  Jfsus  standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God."  When 
Jesus  appeared  to  Paul  after  his  ascension,  "  there  was  at 
mid-day  a  light  from  heaven  above  the  brightness  of  the 
sun ;"  and  out  of  that  light  the  Lord  spake  to  Paul,  say- 
ing, "  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest."  In  both  in- 
stances, it  was  the  full  eff'ulgence  of  the  Shechinah,  which 
every  Jew  regarded  as  the  visible  symbol  of  the  divine 
presence.  In  like  manner,  in  the  book  of  the  Revelation, 
Jesus  speaks  to  his  servant  John  from  heaven  in  his  glori- 
fied state.  In  the  description  of  the  person  whom  John 
saw,  the  most  splendid  objects  in  nature  are  brought  to- 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT    CHRIST  IS  GOD.  479 

gether  to  convey  some  conception  of  his  majesty.  The 
brightness  of  the  sun  is  the  image  of  his  countenance ; 
his  eyes  are  like  a  flame  of  fire  ;  in  his  hand  he  wields 
seven  stars ;  and  when  he  speaks,  it  is  not  the  weak  sound 
of  man's  voice  ;  it  is  as  the  sound  of  many  waters,  loud, 
continued,  and  impetuous.  The  manner  in  which  Jesus 
speaks  of  himself,  Rev.  i.  7,  8,  corresponds  most  properly 
to  this  description  of  his  Majesty.  It  has  been  doubted 
whether  the  person  speaking  in  the  8th  verse  is  the  Father 
or  the  Son.  But  you  will  find  when  you  consider  the 
whole  passage,  that  by  applying  this  verse  to  the  Father 
there  is  a  most  abrupt  change  of  person  ;  whereas  the  con- 
text leads  us  to  consider  Jesus  Christ,  the  person  who  is 
described  in  the  7th  verse,  and  who  begins  to  speak  to 
John  at  the  llth,  as  giving  this  account  of  himself  in 
the  8th. 

The  only  reason  for  not  following  the  direction  of  the 
context,  in  applying  this  8th  verse  to  Jesus  Christ,  is  that 
the  two  last  titles  here  introduced  are  considered  as  pecu- 
liar to  the  Father.  But  it  has  been  clearly  shown  that  this 
reason  proceeds  upon  a  mistake.  'O  wv',  -/.ai  6  tjv,  -/.at  6  s^'^o;jt,svog, 
is  indeed  used  in  the  4th  verse,  as  the  distinguishing 
character  of  the  Father.  But  it  is  known  by  the  learned 
that  the  amount  of  these  words  is  the  full  exposition  of  the 
name  Jehovah.  Now  we  found,,  by  comparing  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  many  places  in  which  the  name  Je- 
hovah is  given  to  Jesus ;  and  our  Lord  seems  to  take  it 
to  himself  by  the  peculiarity  of  that  expression,  John  viii. 
58,  Tg/f  AC^aa/Mysviadai,  not  syw  TjV,  but  syu  h'mi.  IlavToxoarwg, 
a  word  expressing  the  most  exalted  power  and  the  most 
universal  dominion,  the  sovereign  and  proprietor  of  all,  is 
used  occasionally  by  the  Septuagint  as  the  translation  of 
the  same  Hebrew  phrase  which  they  elsewhere  render, 
Lord  of  Hosts,  xug;o;  bwafituv.  But  there  are  many  places 
in  the  Old  Testament,  where  that  Hebrew  phrase  is  ap- 
plied to  the  angel  of  the  covenant ;  and  we  learjiod  from 
John  xii.  41,  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  which 
Isaiah  saw  was  the  glory  of  Christ.  The  application  then 
of  the  two  last  titles  to  Jesus  does  not  afford  any  reason 
for  transferring  the  whole  verse  from  the  Son  to  the  Fa- 
ther ;  and  the  two  first  titles  are  elsewhere  assumed  by 


480  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD, 

the  Son  as  his.*  "  I  am  the  first  and  the  last."  "  I  am 
A  and  n,  the  beginning  and  the  end."  But  these  are  the 
very  descriptions  wliich  tlie  Father  gives  of  his  eternity. 
Isaiah  xliv.  6,  "  I  am  the  first ;  and  I  am  the  last ;  and 
beside  me  there  is  no  God."  Isaiah  xliii.  10,  "  Before 
me  was  there  no  God  formed,  neither  shall  there  be  after 
me ;"  titles  which,  both  by  their  natural  import,  and  by 
their  being  consecrated  as  the  description  of  God  the  Fa- 
ther, imply  that  a  being  to  whom  they  are  applied  had  no 
beginning,  and  shall  have  no  end. 

As  the  existence  of  Jesus  is  thus  affirmed  to  be  with- 
out beginning,  so  the  Scriptures  declare  that  it  is  not  sus- 
ceptible of  change.  An  unchangeable  existence  is  the 
character  of  Him  "  who  is,  who  was,  and  who  is  to  come. ' 
And  the  same  thing,  which  is  clearly  implied  in  this  name, 
is  directly  expressed  in  that  part  of  Psalm  cii.  which  we 
found  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrews  in  the  first  chapter  ap- 
plying to  Jesus.  "  Thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  fail 
not : "  and  to  this  corresponds  another  expression,  Heb. 
xiii.  8, 1'/jffoug  XoiSTog  ^dig  zai  crau^ov  o  a-jTog,  xai  ng  nvg  ai'Mug. 
For  although  the  Arians  understand  these  words  to  mean 
nothing  more  than  this,  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ  is  un- 
changeable, yet  it  is  plain  that  this  is  a  figui'ative  sense  of 
the  words  ;  that,  according  to  the  literal  interpretation, 
they  teach  that  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same  in 
all  times,  past,  present,  and  future ;  that  this  literal  mean- 
ing is  the  only  sense  which  the  words  in  the  first  chapter 
will  bear ;  and  that  the  unchangeableness  of  his  person  is 
the  surest  foundation  of  the  unchangeableness  of  his  doc- 
trine. It  is  not  easy  for  any  one  who  attends  to  these 
things  to  believe  that  the  apostle,  in  commending  the 
steadfastness  with  w^hich  Christians  ought  to  adhere  to  the 
faith,  would  choose  to  introduce  an  expression  which  so 
naturally  leads  his  hearers  to  ascribe  immutability  to  the 
author  of  that  faith,  if  Jesus  was  not  truly  exempt  from 
all  the  vicissitudes  that  are  inseparable  from  created 
beings. 

An  existence  thus  without  beginning,  and  continued  in 
all  times  without  change,  is  represented  also  as  extended 

•  Rev.  i.  17;  iii.  14;  xxii.  13. 


DTRECT  PROOF'S  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  481 

through  all  space.  While  it  is  the  essential  condition  of  a 
creature  to  inhabit  the  spot  assigned  him,  or  to  change 
his  habitation  according  to  the  will  of  his  Creator,  and 
thus  to  1)0  only  in  one  place  at  one  time,  Jesus  says  of 
liimself,  John  iii.  13,  6  sx  rou  ouoavov  -/.araCag,  o  v'log  rou  ocvd^uTou 
0  uv  sv  T({}  c'joavui :  words  which,  according  to  their  most  na- 
tural exposition,  imply  that  he  who  came  down  from  hea- 
ven is  in  heaven.  He  promises,  Matth.  xviii.  20,  w  ya^  sisi 
duo  ri  r^ni  evvTjy/Mivoi  ng  to  s/mov  ovof^a,  sksi  sifii  sv  fii(!<x>  aurm.  He 
had  said  that  his  Gospel  was  to  be  preached  in  all  the 
world.  The  fact  has  corresponded  to  the  prophecy.  Yet 
here  is  his  promise,  that  in  every  place  \vhere  his  disciples 
are  assembled,  there  he  is ;  and  in  like  manner  he  said  to 
his  apostles,  when  he  was  just  aboiit  to  ascend.  Matt, 
xxviii.  20,  ;So-j,  iyu  /xs^'  iz/xwif  ztju  craffaj  rag  rifj^ioag,  swg  r>j5  Cuv- 
rsXiiag  rov  aiuvog.  It  cannot  be  said  by  any  one  who  under- 
stands the  terms  which  he  uses,  that  omnipresence,  like 
power,  may  be  communicated  to  a  being  who,  in  some 
former  period  of  his  existence,  did  not  possess  it.  But 
even  this  assertion  is  precluded  by  the  Scriptures,  which 
ascribe  this  essential  attribute  to  Jesus  from  the  begin- 
ning, ra  rravra  sv  avrw  ffuvsffrT^zs ;  words  which  imply  that 
his  existence,  since  the  creation,  is  co-extended  with  his 
works. 

This  extended  existence  is  connected  with  the  conti- 
nued exercise  of  the  most  perfect  intelligence.  The  know- 
ledge possessed  by  the  most  exalted  spirits  must  be  limit- 
ed in  proportion  to  the  bounds  of  the  space  which  they 
inhabit.  At  least  their  knoAvledge  of  any  thing  beyond 
that  space  cannot  be  immediate,  but  must  be  communi- 
cated to  them  by  other  beings,  or  acquired  by  investiga- 
tion. But  of  Jesus  Christ  it  is  said,  that  he  knoweth  all 
things  ;  that  he  knows  that  God  who  is  incomprehensible 
to  man ;  that  he  knows  what  is  in  man.*  His  knowledge 
extends  to  that  region  which  is  removed  from  the  eyes  of 
mortals,  and  the  knowledge  and  judgment  of  which  the 
Almighty  reserves  to  himself  as  hi>i  prerogative.  "  Thou, 
even  thou  only,"  says  Solomon,  1  Kings  viii.  39,  "  know- 
est  the  hearts  of  all  the  children  of  men."  "  I  the  Lord," 
says  the  Almight)'-,  Jer.  xvii.  10,  "  search  the  heart,  I  try 

•  Matt.  xi.  27.     John  ii.  24,  25. 
VOL.  I.  Y 


482  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

the  reins."  But  Jesus,  who,  while  he  was  upon  earth, 
had  discovered  in  numberless  instances  his  knowledge  of 
the  heart,  claims,  in  the  book  of  the  Revelation,  this  di- 
vine prerogative  as  his  own,  Rev.  ii.  23,  "  All  the  church- 
es shall  know,  on  iyoi  niii  6  s^svvmv  vi(p^o\jg  xai  xa^6/as." — 
And  there  is  a  description  of  6  Xoyog  roo  Qsoy,  Heb.  iv.  12, 
13,  which  all  the  ancients  apply  to  Christ  the  Word,  in 
which  it  is  said  that  the  Word  is  "  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart :  and  that  there  is  no 
creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight." 

Thus  we  find  the  Scriptures  ascribing  to  Jesus  an  ex- 
istence without  beginning,  without  change,  without  limi- 
tation, and  connected,  in  the  whole  extent  of  space  which 
it  fills,  with  the  exercise  of  the  most  perfect  intelligence. 
These  are  the  essential  attributes  of  Deity.  Measures  of 
power  may  be  communicated ;  degrees  of  wisdom  and 
goodness  may  be  imparted  to  created  spirits  :  but  our  con- 
ceptions of  God  are  confounded,  and  we  lose  sight  of  every 
circumstance  by  which  he  is  characterized,  if  such  a  man- 
ner of  existence  as  we  have  now  described  be  common  to 
him  and  any  creature.  When  we  recollect  that  the  per- 
son to  whom  this  manner  of  existence  is  ascribed  is  the 
Creator  of  the  world  ;  that  by  him  all  the  intercourse  be- 
tween the  Deity  and  the  human  race  has  been  carried  on 
from  the  beginning ;  that  in  the  Old  Testament  he  often 
bears  the  incommunicable  name  Jehovah,  and  that  in  the 
New  Testament  he  is  called  God,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
that  word  :  when  we  lay  together  these  things,  which  are 
the  premises  that  have  been  established,  the  conclusion 
appears  to  be  clear.  The  Scriptures  mean  to  teach  us- 
that  this  person  is  God  :  and  this  conclusion  will  be  con- 
firmed when  we  find  that  in  Scripture  he  is  worshipped  a? 
God. 


SECTION  III. 


This  remaining  ground  of  argument  upon  the  subject  of 
our  Saviour's  divinity  it  is  proper  that  I  should  state 
fully,  on  account  of  the  different  opinions  to  which  it  has 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  483 

given  occasion,  and  the  extent  of  some  of  the  discussions 
in  which  the  different  ojDinions  have  been  supjiorted. 

It  appears  to  be  agreeable  to  reason  that  worship,  which 
is  the  humblest  expression  of  entire  veneration,  and  of  a 
sense  of  dependence,  should  be  appropriated  to  the  Su- 
preme Being.  It  Avas  the  character  of  heathen  idolatry 
that  even  those,  who  believed  in  one  Being  far  exalted  in 
power  and  dignity  above  every  other,  gave  to  inferior 
deities  testimonies  of  respect  and  submission  the  same  in 
kind  with  those  which  he  recei-^ed.  It  was  the  great  ob- 
ject of  the  law  of  Moses  to  form  a  peojile,  who,  instead  of 
going  after  other  gods,  and  bowing  down  before  them, 
should  confine  their  worship  to  the  one  Lord,  the  God  of 
Israel. — Hence  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  abound 
with  descriptions  of  the  vanity  of  idols:  the  Almighty  is 
there  known  by  the  name  Jealous,  claiming  worship  as 
liis  incommunicable  right ;  and  the  spirit  of  the  whole  in- 
stitution is  thus  expressed  by  Isaiah  xlii.  8  :  "  I  am  the 
Lord,  that  is  my  name,  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to 
another."  This  spirit  of  the  law  seems  to  be  incorporated 
into  the  Gospel,  since  our  Lord,  upon  being  tempted  by 
the  devil  to  worship  him,  says,  "  Get  thee  hence,  Satan  ; 
for  it  is  written.  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve."*  And,  upon  being  ask- 
ed, Which  is  the  first  connnandment  of  all?-]-  he  began 
his  answer  thus  :  "  The  first  of  all  the  commandments  is, 
Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord." 

Upon  a  comparison  of  these  quotations,  it  seems  to  be 
obvious  that  our  Lord  meant  to  exclude  every  other  being 
from  a  competition  with  the  Lord  God,  either  in  the  affec- 
tions of  the  heart,  or  in  that  expression  of  those  affections, 
which  is  commonly  called  worship.  Yet  the  Apostle  to 
the  Hebrews,  i.  6,  applies  to  Jesus  Christ  these  words  of 
the  Psalmist,  "let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him." 
Our  Lord  says,  John  v.  23,  "  that  all  men  should  honour 
the  Son,  even  as  they  honour  the  Father  ; "  words  which 
may  imply  an  equalitj'^  in  tiie  degree,  and  a  sanuniess  in 
the  expressions  of  honour.  The  Apostle  to  the  I'hilippi- 
ans  ii.  10,  says,  "  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should   bow."     During  our  Lord's   intercourse  with   his 

•  Matt.  iv.  10.  f  Mark  xii.  29. 


484  DIRECT  PROOfS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

apostles,  the  astonishment  excited  in  their  breast  by  some 
of  his  -works  produced  expressions  of  reverence,  which 
implied  at  least  a  momentary  apprehension  of  his  divine 
chai-acter ;  and  as  he  was  carried  up  from  them  into  hea- 
ven, "  they  worshipped  him."  *  The  last  words  of  the 
martyr  Stephen  were,  "  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit. 
Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge."  f 

The  Epistles  contain  many  petitions  which  are  directl}^ 
addressed  to  Jesus,  and  in  which  his  name  is  conjoined 
Avith  that  of  God  the  Father.  In  the  book  of,  the  Revela- 
tion Jesus  receives  the  adoration  of  all  the  host  of  heaven. 
The  twenty-four  elders,  who  fall  down  before  him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  fall  down  before  the  Lamb  also  ;  and 
John  heard  every  creature  in  heaven  saying,  "  Blessing 
and  glory  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
to  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever."j: 

The  Christian  church,  following  these  examples  in 
Scripture,  introduces  the  name  of  Jesus  into  the  earliest 
doxologies  that  are  recorded.  M?^'  ob  Got  ho^a,  y.ai  rw  ay/w 
Ttisv/xan,  and  So/  do^a,  xai  t-w  Suj  Taidi  Itjsov,  xai  rtf)  ayiwrrn-o- 
•Jjolti,  are  fonns  found  in  tlie  writings  of  Clemens  Romanus, 
one  of  the  apostolical  fathers  ;  and  the  conclusion  of  the 
prayer  of  Poly  carp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  which  is  preserved  in 
a  letter  from  the  church  of  Smyrna,  giving  an  account  of  his 
sufferings  in  the  second  century,  runs  thus  :  Ir.Gvj  X^igtov 
rcu  ayoi.'zri'ro-j  gov  <7amc,'  oi^  ov  Goi  Gw  avTu>  sv  tviv/jlc/.ti  dyitij  dc^a 
y.at  vv'J,  -/Ml  !i:  rovg  fisXko\>rag  aiuvac.  A/iJjv.  These  doxolo- 
gies of  Clemens  and  Polycarp  were  not  peculiar  to  them, 
but  were  agreeable  to  the  practice  of  the  church  in  their 
days ;  and  from  this  venerable  authority  is  derived  that 
form  of  words  which  appears  to  have  been  used  through 
all  the  ages  of  the  Christian  church,  and  is  often  repeated 
in  the  English  liturgy,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to 
the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost." 

This  account  of  the  early  doxologies  is  confirmed  by 
Pliny,  in  his  letter  to  Trajan,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century,  when,  speaking  of  the  Christians,  he  says, 
"  Affirmabant  banc  fuisse  summam  vel  culpae  suae, 
vel  erroris,  quod  essent  soliti  stato  die  ante  lucem  con- 
venire ;  carmcnque  Christo,  quasi  Deo,  dicere  secum  invi- 

*  Luke  xxiv.  52.  f  Acts  vii.  59,  CO-  J  Rev.  v.  13. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  13  GOD.  48-5 

cem."*  And  Eusebius  appears  to  be  describing  this  carmen, 
or  "  the  psalms,  and.  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,"  of  wliich 
the  Apostle  Paul  speaks,  Eph  v.  19,  when  he  says  in  the 
fourth  century,  -^/aX/xo/  xa/  uhai  abiKfuv  a-vaoyji;  \j~o  marMv 
ys>a(pit(Sai,  rov  Xoyov  rou  ®£&u,  tov  Xff/fl'roi'  bfivovCi  dioXcr/ouvng.-f 

Although  the  Christians,  in  the  earliest  times,  honoured 
the  memory  of  martyrs  by  meeting  at  the  places  where 
they  had  suiFered,  by  celebrating  the  anniversary  days  of 
their  martyrdom,  and  by  recommending  the  imitation  of 
their  example,  they  distinguished  most  scrupulously  thi; 
honours  which  they  paid  to  mortals  from  the  worship 
which  is  due  to  God.  For  their  principle,  as  it  is  express- 
ed at  a  later  period  by  Origen,  was  this,  •'  God  only  is  to 
be  worshipped :  other  beings  may  be  Ti/j^ri;  a^ia  on  /j.-v 
xa/  Tgofrxuvrjffswg  xai  aCaSfjjov."  And  yet,  notwithstanding 
this  distinction,  the  two  verbs  v^ocxuvsiv  and  aiZeadai  are 
used  by  Justin  Martyr  in  the  second  century  to  ex- 
press the  homage  which  belongs  to  the  Son  and  the  Spirit, 
as  well  as  that  which  belongs  to  the  Father.  When  the 
Christians  were  charged  with  atheism,  because  they  did 
not  worship  idols,  Justin  Martyr  answered,  "  We  acknow- 
ledge that  we  are  atheists  in  respect  of  those  who  are  com- 
monly called  gods,  but  not  in  respect  of  the  true  God,  the 
Father  of  all ;  both  him,  and  the  Son  who  came  from  him, 
and  the  prophetical  Spirit,  ciZo/Mda  xa/  rr^ocxwovfiiv,  "koyw  ■/.%! 
aXridiia  rifLuvrsg."'^ 

The  particulars  which  I  have  mentioned  may  suffice  as 
a  specimen  of  the  sentiments  and  practice  of  the  first  three 
centuries.  I  do  not  propose  to  entangle  myself  in  that 
controversy  with  regard  to  the  meaning  of  particular  pas- 
sages, which  Dr.  Priestley's  hasty  and  superficial  History 
of  Early  Opinions  concerning  Jesus  Christ  has  occasioned. 
It  appears  to  me  that  his  inaccuracy  has  been  completely 
exposed  by  his  able  and  learned  antagonists,  and  that  the 
more  carefully  any  one  examines  the  records  which  are 
preserved  in  the  earliest  Christian  writers,  he  will  be  the 
more  fully  satisfied  of  the  following  points  :  that  although 
a  few  individuals  had  begun,  even  then,  to  disseminate 
other  opinions  concerning  the  person  of  Christ,  yet  the 

•  Plin.  Epist.  Lib.  X.  97. 
t  Ens.  Hist.  Ecc.  Lib.  V.  cap.  28. 
>  J  Apol.  Prima,  p.  11. 


486  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

great  body  of  the  Christian  church  considered  him  as  en- 
titled to  receive  the  same  worship  with  the  Father,  and 
were  accustomed,  in  different  parts  of  their  public  services 
of  devotion,  to  ascribe  this  worship  to  him  ;  that  his  title 
to  this  worship  was  in  their  minds  connected  with  the  di- 
vinity of  his  nature  ;  and  that  the  principle  upon  which 
their  practice  rested  was  the  same  which  is  expressed  in 
the  fourth  century  by  Cyril,  who,  when  the  Christians 
were  accused  by  the  Emperor  Julian  of  worshipping,  like 
the  Heathen,  a  dead  man,  thus  answered  :  "  We  do  not 
make  a  god  of  a  man,  but  we  worship  him  who  is  essen- 
tially God,  and  on  that  account  is  fit  to  be  worshipped."* 
This  being  the  principle  upon  which  the  Christian 
church  from  the  earliest  times  had  worshipped  our  Sa- 
viour, when  the  Arians,  in  the  fourth  century,  avowedly 
taught  that  Jesus  Christ  is  a  creature,  and  yet  joined  with 
other  Christians  in  worshipping  him,  Athanasius,  and  all 
those  writers  who  held  the  received  opinion  concerning 
his  Person,  charged  them  with  idolatry,  the  same  in  kind 
as  that  which  was  practised  among  the  heathen.  Their 
argument  was  this.  Heathen  idolatry  did  not  consist  in 
ascribing  the  same  dignity  and  rank  to  all  the  multiplicity 
of  gods  who  were  worshipped  ;  for  the  cosmogony  of  the 
philosophers,  which  always  exhibited  some  theory  of  the 
gods  as  a  branch  of  the  system  of  nature,  generally  pro- 
ceeded upon  the  supposition  of  there  being  s/c  ayswriTog, 
■/Ml  ToKXoi  ysnriToi ;  and  the  popular  traditionary  theology 
of  the  poets  and  the  vulgar  exalted  the  Father  of  gods  and 
men  far  above  the  other  objects  of  worship.  But  heathen 
idolatry  consisted  in  this,  that  the  same  kind  of  worship 
was  paid  to  deities  who  were  acknowledged  to  be  inferior 
and  produced,  as  to  that  Being  who  was  called  supreme ; 
and  that  men,  proceeding  gradually  in  this  prostitution  of 
that  which  belongs  exclusively  to  one  unoriginate  Intelli- 
gence, came  to  worship  animals  which  had  their  birth  up- 
on earth,  and  even  inanimate  objects,  which,  however 
splendid  or  useful,  are  confessedly  the  workmanship  of 
some  mind.  This  is  the  very  account  of  the  idolatry  of 
the  heathen  whicli  the  Apostle  Paul  gives,  Rom.  i.  25, 
when  he   says,  EGsCacdrjaav  -/mi  iKar^ivsav  rp  xrien  'xa^a  rov 

•  Cyril,  cont.  Jul.  Lib.  VI.  p.  203.  Ed.  Lips. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  487 

KTisawcL ;  not  as  in  our  translation,  "  worsliipped  and 
served  the  creature  more  tlian  the  Creator ;"  but,  "  by  the 
side  of  the  Creator,  along  with  him."  But  these  words,  in 
which  the  apostle  most  accurately  describes  the  practice  of 
the  heathen,  may  be  literally  applied  to  the  Arians.  For 
in  their  zeal  to  maintain  the  honour  of  God  the  Father, 
they  had  represented  him  as  having,  by  an  act  of  his  will, 
produced  out  of  nothing  that  glorious  being  who  is  called 
the  Son,  and  after  having  thus  separated  the  Son  from  the 
Father,  as  far  as  a  creature  is  necessarily  separated  from 
the  Creator,  they  worshipped  this  creature,  zXar^vj^av  rp 
xTiSii  •xa^a.  70V  %7i6avra.  It  is  true  that  the  heathen  Avor- 
shipped  many  created  beings  in  conjunction  with  one  su- 
preme, whereas  the  Arians  only  worshipped  one:  but  this 
circumstance  did  not  constitute  any  essential  difference 
between  them.  The  principle  upon  which  the  Arians 
worshipped  Christ  was  so  far  from  being  repugnant  to  the 
worship  of  other  created  beings,  that  it  naturally  led  to 
this  extension  of  worship.  For,  as  Athanasius  reasons,  if 
Christ  is  worshipped  on  account  of  the  superior  eminence 
of  his  glory,  it  follows  that  every  inferior  being  ought  to 
worship  its  superior  ;  aXX'  ojx  iOTiv  obrug  -KTitsijuaTi  yag  y.TiGixa 

Such  was  the  reasoning  of  Athanasius  and  the  writers 
of  his  day,  when  they  accused  the  Arians  of  idolatry,  for 
worshipping  a  being  whom  they  considered  as  a  creature. 
The  answer  which  was  then  made  to  the  charge  is  not  ex- 
tant, for  almost  all  the  writings  of  the  ancient  Arians  are 
lost.  But  if  we  may  judge  of  their  answer  from  the  re- 
plies of  their  adversaries,  it  appears  to  have  been  the  same 
with  that  which  is  found  in  the  writings  of  those  Mdio  in 
later  times  have  held  their  opinions. 

The  modern  Arians  attempt  to  vindicate  themselves  from 
the  charge  of  idolatry  by  making  a  distinction  between 
the  worship  which  they  pay  to  God  the  Father,  and  that 
which  they  pay  to  the  Son :  the  former  they  call  supreme 
divine  worship,  tiie  latter,  inferior  religious  worship.  You 
will  find  amongst  the  tracts  of  Mr.  Thomas  Emlyn,  a  sin- 
cere and  zealous  assertor  of  Arian  principles  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  treatise,  entitled,  A  Vin- 

•  Atban.  Orat.  IL  23. 


488  DIKECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

dication  of  the  worship  of  the  Lord  Jesus  on  Unitarian 
principles.  The  plan  of  the  treatise  is  to  show,  that  su- 
preme divine  worship  is,  in  Scripture,  neither  given  nor 
required  to  be  given  to  Jesus  Christ ;  that  the  inferior  re- 
ligious worship  of  him,  which  the  Scriptures  allow  and 
command,  does  not  intrench  upon  the  peculiar  prerogative 
of  God  ;  and  that  as  this  mark  of  honour  to  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  which  the  Scriptures  expressly  warrant,  cannot 
be  called  will-worship,  so  it  does  not  afford  any  sanction 
to  Pagan  or  Popish  idolatry.  A  distinction  of  the  same 
kind  is  the  subject  of  several  of  those  propositions  in  which 
Dr.  Clarke  sets  forth  what  he  calls  the  Scripture  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  ;  and  this  is  his  manner  of  stating  it.  "  Su- 
preme honour  or  worship  is  due  to  the  person  of  the  Fa- 
ther singly ;  and  all  prayers  and  praises  ought  primarily 
or  ultimately  to  be  directed  to  the  person  of  the  Father : 
the  honour  which  the  Scriptures  direct  to  be  paid  to  the 
Son  is  upon  account  of  his  actions  and  attributes  relative 
to  us,  in  accomplishing  the  dispensation  of  God  towards 
mankind,  and  must  always  be  understood  as  redounding 
ultimately  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

The  Roman  Catholics  employ  the  same  distinction  be- 
tween supreme  and  inferior  worship,  in  vindication  of  their 
worshipping  angels,  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  departed  saints. 
They  have  marked  the  distinction  by  Xar^s/a,  and  douXna, 
two  words  which  were  used  promiscuously  in  ancient 
times,  but  which  are  carefully  separated  in  the  Church  of 
Rome  ;  the  first  being  employed  to  express  that  worship 
which  belongs  to  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Creator  and 
Preserver  of  all ;  the  second,  to  express  that  inferior  wor- 
ship which  it  appears  to  them  lawful  and  fit  to  yield  to 
beings  created  by  God.  They  admit,  that  the  practice  of 
the  heathen  deserves  the  severest  condemnation,  because 
it  was  iiduXb}MT^sia,  i.  e.  idololatria,  giving  the  highest  wor- 
ship to  idols ;  but  they  contend  that  no  part  of  their  prac- 
tice deserves  the  name  of  idolatry,  because  it  is  only  dovXna 
which  they  pay  to  any  of  the  creatures  whom  they  worship. 

It  is  of  no  importance  in  the  present  argument  to  in- 
vestigate at  what  period  of  the  Christian  church  the  dis- 
tinction of  these  two  words  was  invented.  It  is  manifest 
that  the  distinction  was  unknown  to  the  apostle  Paul ;  for, 
speaking  of  the  heathen,  he  says  in  one  place,  iXaT^maav  ttj 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  489 

ZTiffsi  'Ta^a  rov  zrisavra ;  *  in  another,  idouXsvGccri  roic  firi 
<pvsit  ovffi  ^loig.-f  Atlianasius,  and  thq  writers  of  his  day, 
appear  to  have  followed  the  Scripture  in  the  promiscuous 
use  of  the  two  words ;  and  the  whole  train  of  reasoning 
which  they  employ  against  the  Arians  shows  that  they 
were  ignorant  of  that  distinction  betwixt  supreme  and  in- 
ferior worship,  which  the  two  words  have  been  employed 
to  mark.  The  fallacy  of  the  distinction  has  been  fully 
exposed  by  the  learned  Bishop  Stillingfleet,  in  several 
places  of  his  works,  and  particularly  in  his  Discourse 
concerning  the  Nature  of  Idolatry.  It  is  touched  upon 
occasionally  by  Dr.  Cudworth,  in  his  valuable  work,  en- 
titled The  Intellectual  System  of  the  Universe  ;  and  it  is 
stated  at  great  length  and  with  much  perspicuity,  by  Dr. 
Waterland,  in  his  reply  to  Dr.  Clarke,  and  by  the  other 
writers  whom  the  revival  of  the  Arian  controversy  in  the 
last  century  has  called  forth  in  defence  of  the  ancient  faith 
of  the  church. 

The  arguments,  opposed  by  the  Athanasian  writers  to 
the  answers  by  which  the  Arians  endeavour  to  exculpate 
themselves  fi'om  the  charge  of  idolatry,  may  thus  be  stated 
in  few  words.  There  is  no  intimation  in  Scripture  of 
any  distinction  between  supreme  or  ultimate,  and  infe- 
rior or  relative  worship.  On  the  other  hand,worship, 
which  is  the  expression  of  that  veneration  and  that  sub- 
mission of  soul  Avhich  are  due  to  God,  is  represented  in 
Scripture  as  consisting  of  certain  outward  acts,  such 
as  adoration,  prayer,  offering  sacrifice,  burning  sacri- 
fice, burning  incense,  and  making  vows  ;  all  which  acts 
are  clearly  discriminated  from  expressions  of  the  respect 
due  to  creatures.  Instead  of  allowing  these  acts  of  wor- 
ship to  be  performed  to  creatures  upon  this  provision  that 
they  ultimately  tend  to  his  glory,  the  Almighty  hath  cho- 
sen to  guard  the  honour  of  his  great  name,  by  claiming 
them  as  exclusively  his  own ;  and  we  are  not  left  to  dis- 
tinguish an  act  of  worship  performed  to  a  creature,  from 
the  same  act  performed  to  the  Creator,  by  the  difference 
of  intention,  the  different  degrees  of  esteem  which  accom- 
pany the  act ;  but  we  are  required  to  follow  the  precise 
rule  laid  down  in  Scripture,  according  to  which  the  wor-. 

•  Rom.  i.  25.  t  Gral.  iv.  8. 


490  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

ship  of  a  creature  never  can  agree  with  the  worship  of  the 
Creator,  but  is  directly  opposite  to  it,  being  an  invasion  of 
the  prerogative  of  the  Supreme  Being.  The  character 
which  Paul  gives  of  the  heathen,  is,  sSouXeucars  roig  jxr]  fvan 
ouei  ^ioig;  and  Christians,  says  one  Father,  return  to 
heathenism,  rri  zrisn  auvava.TXv/.ovTig  tov  (puGti  Qsov.  "  Either, 
therefore,"  says  another,  "  let  the  Arians  cease  to  worship 
him  whom  they  call  a  creature,  or  cease  to  call  him  a  crea- 
ture whom  they  worship,  lest,  under  the  name  of  worship, 
they  be  found  to  commit  sacrilege." 

Such  is  the  state  of  the  argument  upon  both  sides  in 
the  Arian  controversy,  with  regard  to  the  worship  of 
Christ.  I  have  now  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  form 
which  this  subject  has  assumed  in  the  Socinian  contro- 
versy. 

When  Socinus,  about  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
revived  that  opinion  which  had  been  broached  by  a  few 
individuals  in  the  first  century,  that  Christ  was  a  mere 
man,  he  did  not  so  far  depart  from  the  practice  of  the 
Christian  Church  as  to  deny  that  Christ  ought  to  be  wor- 
shipped. But  having  represented  the  title  of  Christ  to 
worship,  as  founded  upon  that  universal  dominion  with 
which  he  was  invested  after  his  resurrection,  Socinus  en- 
deavoured to  show,  that  there  is  no  instance  in  Scripture 
of  our  Saviour's  being  worshipped  prior  to  his  resurrec- 
tion, and  that  all  the  instances  of  worship  paid  to  him 
posterior  to  that  period  have  a  reference  to  the  glory  and 
power  to  which  he  was  then  exalted  in  consequence  of  the 
actions  which  he  had  done  upon  earth  ;  and  he  maintain- 
ed that,  independently  of  any  positive  precept,  the  king- 
dom which  our  Lord  received,  and  the  authority  which 
he  continues  to  exercise  in  relation  to  us,  create  an  obli- 
gation upon  Christians  to  worship  him.  Several  of  those, 
who  held  the  same  opinion  with  Socinus  concerning  the 
person  of  Christ,  did  not  agree  with  him  in  this  speculation. 
They  contended  that  if  Christ  be  merely  a  man  he  never 
can  be  entitled  to  any  other  kind  of  honour  than  that 
which  is  due  to  human  excellence,  and  that  no  degree  of 
exaltation  is  a  sufficient  warrant  to  his  disciples  for  as- 
cribing to  him  that  worship  which  belongs  to  God.  So- 
cinus did  not  perceive  or  did  not  choose  to  admit  that  this 
was  a  consequence  which   flowed   from   his   principles. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD.  491 

There  is  extant  in  his  works  a  dispute  between  him  and 
Franciscus  Davides,  upon  this  subject.  The  dispute  end- 
ed, like  most  others,  without  changing  the  opinion  of 
either  of  the  parties  ;  Socinus  continued  to  inveigh  against 
those  who  refused  to  worship  Christ;  and  he  gave  his 
consent  that  Franciscus  Davides  should  be  suspended  from 
his  public  ministry,  merely  for  his  teaching  that  Christ 
ought  not  to  be  worshipped. 

But  there  is  so  manifest  a  repugnancy  between  the  wor- 
ship of  Christ  and  the  pure  principles  of  Socinianisra,  that 
it  was  impossible  for  any  authority  to  preserve  this  branch 
of  the  practice  of  Socinus  amongst  those  who  received  and 
followed  out  his  system.  Accordingly  Dr  Priestley,  Mr. 
Lindsey,  and  all  the  Socinians  of  the  last  century,  who  call 
themselves  Unitarians,  have  ojDenly  disclaimed  the  worship 
of  Christ.  While  they  profess  the  highest  veneration  for 
the  name  of  Socinus,  they  consider  his  zeal  for  defending 
the  worship  of  Christ  as  either  an  accommodation  to  esta- 
blished opinion,  which  he  judged  prudent  at  the  first  in- 
troduction of  his  system,  or  as  a  degree  of  prejudice  and 
weakness  of  which  even  his  mind  was  unable  to  divest  it- 
self: and  they  remove  what  they  call  an  imperfection 
which  adhered  to  the  first  sketch  of  the  Socinian  doctrine, 
by  avowing  as  their  principle,  that  religious  worship  is  to 
be  offered  to  one  God  the  Father  only,  as  his  incommuni- 
cable honour  and  prerogative.  Their  chief  objectiorus 
to  the  liturgy  of  the  church  of  England  amount  to  this, 
that  it  contains  prayers  addressed  to  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
their  practice  in  their  meetings  is  to  avoid  every  form  of 
words  which  seems  to  imply  that  he  is  an  object  of  worship. 

The  arguments  by  which  the  modern  Unitarians  vindi" 
cate  this  practice,  appear  to  derive  considerable  advantage 
from  the  different  acceptations  of  v^offK-j'Jzu,  the  word  which, 
both  in  the  Septuagint  and  in  the  New  Testaraenlt,  is 
translated  worship.  It  sometimes  marks  adoration,  and 
sometimes  nothing  more  than  that  prostration  of  the  body 
which  was  common  in  eastern  countries  upon  the  appear- 
ance of  a  superior.  It  is  used  in  this  last  sense  by  Hero- 
dotus,* and  even  in  the  Old  Testament.  Thus,  1  Chron. 
xxix.  20,  we  read,  "  that  all  the  congregation  bowed  down 

•  Herod.  Polym.  136. 


492  DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOB. 

their  heads,  and  worshipped  the  Lord  and  the  king,"  i.  e. 
they  bowed  their  bodies  in  testimony  of  reverence  both 
for  the  God  and  for  the  king  of  Israel.  Nay,  in  one  of  our 
Lord's  parables,  Matt,  xviii.  26,  it  is  said,  that  the  servant 
falling  down  before  his  Master,  "  •r'aoffsxyi/s/ aurw."  But  the 
advantage  which  the  Unitarians  derive  from  this  ambiguous 
use  of  the  Greek  word  is  more  apparent  than  real.  For 
besides  that  circumstances  will  almost  always  clearly  indi- 
cate whether  the  action  marked  by  'r^oocuvioj  expresses,  in 
that  case,  religious  homage,  or  merely  the  highest  degree 
of  civil  respect,  we  derive  our  warrant  for  worshipping 
Christ  not  simply  from  the  application  of  that  word,  but 
from  a  variety  of  acts  which,  although  they  are  by  no 
means  implied  in  the  literal  sense  of  Tr^ocrxyvew,  go  to  make 
up  the  general  notion  of  worship,  and  in  which  there  is. 
nothing  equivocal.  We  say  that  there  are  in  Scripture 
many  instances  of  praise,  thanksgiving,  and  prayer,  being 
addressed  to  Jesus,  all  of  which  imply  a  conviction  in  the 
worshippers  that  his  knowledge  and  power  are  not  limit- 
ed, and  that  he  is  everywhere  present :  and  from  these 
instances,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  conmiand  to  hon- 
our him  even  as  we  honour  the  Father,*  and  with  the  re- 
velation of  the  glory  of  his  character,  and  his  relation  to 
us,  we  infer  that  it  is  not  only  lawful  but  proper  for  Chris- 
tians to  worship  him. 

The  Unitarians  endeavour  to  invalidate  this  conclusion 
by  a  laboured  attempt  to  explain  the  Scriptures  in  a  con- 
sistency with  their  own  system.  They  say,  that  the 
thanksgivings  which  we  quote  are  mei'e  effusions  of  grati- 
tude ;  that  the  prayers  are  only  wishes ;  that  the  invoca- 
tion of  Stephen  in  the  book  of  Acts  and  the  doxologies  in 
the  book  of  the  Revelation  were  addressed  to  Jesus  when 
he  was  present,  and  do  not  warrant  us  to  pray  to  him  or 
praise  him  when  he  is  absent.  It  is  impossible  to  enter 
into  the  detail  of  their  criticisms.  But  if  you  take  the  in- 
stances of  worship  being  paid  to  Jesus,  which  Dr.  Clarke 
Las  very  fairly  collected  in  his  Scripture-Doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  and  read  at  the  same  time  the  commentaries  up- 
on these  texts,  which  Mr.  Lindsey  has  inserted  in  the  se- 
quel to  his  Apology,  and  in  a  separate  dissertation  upon 

»  John  V.  23. 


DIRECT  PROOFS  THAT  CHRIST  13  GOI>.  493 

this  subject,  you  will  have  an  excellent  specimen  of  that 
kind  of  Scripture-criticism  which  the  Socinians  are  often 
obliged  to  employ  in  defence  of  different  parts  of  their 
system,  and  which,  in  giving  a  sense  of  Scripture  far  from 
being  obvious,  requires  such  an  expense  of  ingenuity  as 
has  always  appeared  to  me  to  be  of  itself  a  sufficient  proof 
that  their  opinions  are  not  founded  in  Scripture. 

The  controversy  between  the  Athanasians,  the  Arians, 
and  the  Socinians,  upon  the  points  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  may  be  thus  shortly  stated.  The  Athanasian 
syllogism  is,  none  but  God  ought  to  be  worshipped :  Je- 
sus Christ  is  worshipped  in  Scripture  ;  therefore  he  is  God. 
The  Arian  syllogism  is,  supreme  worship  is  due  to  God, 
but  inferior  worship  may  be  paid  to  a  creature :  It  is  only 
inferior  worship  that  is  paid  to  Jesus  Christ  in  Scripture  ; 
therefore,  although  he  be  worshipped,  he  is  a  creature. 
The  Socinian  syllogism  is,  none  but  God  ought  to  be  wor- 
shipped :  Christ  is  not  God  ;  therefore  all  the  passages  of 
Scripture,  which  seem  to  ascribe  worship  to  him,  are  to 
be  explained  in  such  a  sense  as  to  be  consistent  with  this 
conclusion.  The  Socinians  adopt  the  major  proposition 
of  the  Athanasian  syllogism,  that  Christ  is  not  to  be  wor- 
shipped.    The  Arians  deny  it. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Arians  attempt  to  evade  the 
force  of  the  major  proposition  is  by  a  distinction  which, 
we  say,  has- no  foundation  in  Scripture.  The  manner  in 
which  the  Socinians  attempt  to  evade  the  force  of  the 
minor  proposition  is  by  a  kind  of  criticism  which,  we  say, 
does  violence  to  Scripture.  If  it  shall  appear  to  you,  up- 
on examining  the  subject,  that  we  are  right  in  saying  so, 
you  will  be  struck  with  the  simplicity  and  consistency  of 
the  Athanasian  system.  According  to  that  system,  the 
Scriptures  having  ascribed  to  Jesus  the  names,  the  attri- 
butes, and  the  actions  of  God,  and  having  expressly  de- 
clared that  he  is  God,  give  us  a  practical  proof  that  those, 
whom  the  Spirit  guided  into  all  truth,  considered  him  as 
God,  by  their  paying  him  that  worship  which  the  Scrip- 
tures declare  to  be  the  incommunicable  prerogative  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  Here  is  a  chain  of  argument  in  which 
nothing  appears  to  be  wanting.  All  the  parts  of  it  hang 
together,  and  support  one  another.  It  produced  a  con- 
viction of  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour  in  the  minds  of  those 

6" 


494  DIRECT  PROOFS   THAT  CHRIST  IS  GOD. 

to  whom  it  was  first  proposed  ;  and  the  authority  of  ex- 
ample, the  respect  which  it  is  natural  for  us  to  pay  to  the 
opinions  of  those  who  were  placed  in  a  most  favourable 
situation  for  judging,  is  thus  superinduced  to  warrant  that 
conclusion  which  the  declarations  of  Scripture  appear 
to  us  to  establish,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  truly  and  essentially 
God. 


495 


CHAP.  VIII. 


UNION  OP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

It  is  one  part  of  the  third  opinion  concerning  the  person 
of  Christ,  that  he  is  truly  God.  But  the  whole  history  of 
his  life  exhibits  him  as  a  man ;  and  the  constant  language 
of  Scripture  upon  this  head,  which  has  led  the  Socinians 
to  consider  him  as  merely  a  man,  is  the  ground  of  the 
other  part  of  the  third  opinion  concerning  his  person,  that 
he  is  not  only  truly  God,  but  also  truly  man. 

The  proofs  of  the  human  nature  of  Christ  found  in  the 
Scriptures  are  obvious  to  the  plainest  understanding ;  and 
whatever  difficulties  may  occur  to  those  who  attempt  to 
speculate  upon  the  subject,  the  opinion  itself  has  been  ge- 
nerally held  in  the  Christian  church.  Although  Jesus 
upon  some  occasions  assumes  this  exalted  title,  "  the  Son 
of  God,"  he  generally  calls  himself  by  a  name  most  signi- 
ficant of  his  humanity,  "  the  Son  of  Man."  We  found  by 
an  analysis  of  the  beginning  of  John's  Gospel,  that  "  the 
Word,"  who  "  in  the  beginning  was  with  God,  and  was 
God,"  is  called  Jesus  Christ ;  and  we  read  elsewhere  of 
Jesus  Christ,  that  he  was  "  wearied  with  his  journey,"  * 
that "  he  was  hungry,"  f  that "  he  ate  and  drank,"  J  that  his 
soul  was  "exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto  death," §  that 
"  he  gave  up  the  ghost,  that  he  was  buried,  and  that  he 
rose  from  the  grave."  |1 

These  propositions,  so  opposite  to  one  another,  imply  a 
corresponding  difference  of  nature  in  the  person  concern- 
ing whom  all  of  them  are  affirmed.  There  is  an  illusion 
throughout  the  New  Testament,  if  he  who  made  the  worlds, 
and  he  who  "  was  an  hungered,"  is  not  the  same  person  ; 
and  yet  we  have  seen  that  he  who  made  the  worlds  was 
God,  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  who  was  an  hungered 

•  John  iv.  6.  f  Mark  xi.  12.  J  Mark  ii.  14. 

§  Matth.  xxvi.  38.        ||  John  xix.  xx. 


496  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHKIST. 

was  man.  The  inference  thus  clearly  drawn,  from  laying 
different  passages  together,  is  confirmed  by  an  examina- 
tion of  those  places  which  present  in  one  view  the  divine 
and  the  human  nature  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  Of  this 
kind  are  the  three  following. 

John  i.  14.  Kai  6  Xoyog  ca^^  syevsro.  The  Socinians,  in 
conformity  to  their  interpretation  of  the  first  part  of  the 
chapter,  understand  this  phrase  to  mean  nothing  more 
than  that  the  reason  or  wisdom  of  God  resided  in  the  man 
Jesus  Christ,  and  might  thus  figuratively  be  said  to  have 
become  flesh.  But  all  those,  both  Athanasians  and  Ari- 
ans,  who  consider  Xoyog  in  the  first  verse  as  denoting  a 
person,  must  understand  what  is  here  said  of  him  as  mean- 
ing, "  this  person  became  flesh,  or  was  incarnate."  And 
all  that  is  said  of  the  Xoyog  in  the  former  verse  may  be 
applied  to  the  person  who,  at  a  certain  time,  became 
flesh. 

Phil.  ii.  6,  7,  8.  The  apostle  is  recommending  to  Chris- 
tians humility  from  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  Let 
this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus."  In  or- 
der to  explain  what  mind  was  in  Christ,  or  what  degree 
of  humility  he  exhibited,  the  apostle  describes  two  differ- 
ent states  of  Christ,  one  which  he  resigned,  and  another 
to  which  he  submitted  ;  and  his  humility  consisted  in  de- 
scending from  the  one  to  the  other.  The  first  state  is  ex- 
pressed by  this  phrase,  6g  iv  /MP^y]  Qiou  u'ra^y^w.  The  So- 
cinians, who  do  not  admit  that  Jesus  Christ  ever  was  in 
any  state  more  dignified  than  that  of  a  man,  have  no  other 
mode  of  explaining  this  phrase,  but  by  applying  it  to  those 
extraordinary  displays  of  divine  wisdom  and  power  which 
Jesus  exhibited  upon  earth,  and  by  which  he  who  was 
merely  a  man,  appeared  to  the  eyes  of  the  beholders  to  be 
God.  But  this  interpretation,  besides  that  it  is  by  no 
means  adequate  to  the  import  of  the  phrase,  inverts  the 
order,  and  impairs  the  force  of  the  whole  passage.  It  re- 
presents the  fM^(pyi  Qiou  as  posterior  to  the  ^svoitf/u,  and  the 
humility  of  Christ  as  consisting  purely  in  this,  that  he  did 
not  employ  his  extraordinary  powers  in  preserving  his 
life.  Whereas  the  /x.cgf?3  Qsou  appears  intended  by  the 
apostle  to  represent  a  state  prior  to  the  zsvMdig,  by  which 
means  the  whole  of  Christ's  appearance  upon  earth  be- 
comes an  example  of  humility. 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  497 

The  Arians,  who  admit  that  Jesus  Christ  often  appeared 
under  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  person,  and  by  the  name 
of  Jehovah,  employ  these  appearances  to  explain  this 
phrase,  "  Who,  being  before  his  incarnation  in  the  form  of 
God,  appeared  during  his  life  in  the  form  of  a  man."  The 
Athanasians,  who  believe  that  Jesus  is  essentially  God, 
understand  by  1^0^2)71  Qiov  ,  not  a  character  which  he  occa- 
sionally personated,  but  those  glories  of  the  divine  nature 
which  from  eternity  belonged  to  him,  which,  in  reference 
to  the  phrase  used  in  tlie  4th  verse,  may  be  called  ra  iaurou, 
and  which  correspond  to  the  concluding  clause  of  the  6th 
verse,  ro  nvai  isa.  Oico.  Whether  the  Arian  or  Athanasian 
interpretation  of/M^^ri  Qbou,  be  adopted,  Jesus  Christ  did 
display  great  humility  in  becoming  a  man.  But  the 
Arians  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile  their  system  with  the 
second  clause  of  the  6th  verse.  They  cannot  adopt  our 
translation,  "  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,"  because  that  clearly  implies  that  he  was  once  equal 
with  God,  and  that  he  considered  this  equality  as  his 
right,  which  he  was  not  under  any  obligation  to  resign. 
They  translate  the  clause,  therefore,  thus,  "  He  did  not 
look  upon  the  being  honoured  equally  with  God,  as  a 
prize  to  be  snatched,  eagerly  laid  hold  of.  He  did  not 
covet  it."  Dr.  Clarke  has  defended  this  translation  with  the 
ability  of  a  scholar  ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  as  far  as  a^itayiJ.m 
Tjyrjsaro  is  concerned,  with  success.  For  whether  we 
consider  these  two  words  in  themselves,  or  compare  the 
few  places  of  other  authors  where  they  occur,  it  appears 
more  natural  to  render  them,  "  thought  it  a  prey  of  which 
he  was  eager  or  tenacious,"  than  "  thought  it  a  robbery." 
But  if  you  read  the  perspicuous  able  commentary  which 
Bishop  Sherlock  has  given  in  the  first  three  parts  of  his 
discourse  on  this  text,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
volume  of  his  discourses,  you  will  perceive  that,  although 
the  Arians  are  delivered  from  that  direct  contradiction  to 
their  system  which  the  translation  in  our  Bible  bears,  yet 
even  their  own  translation  does  not  give  any  essential  sup- 
port to  their  system.  For  to  snai  taa  Qstfj  refers  to  the  same 
thing  with  /x&^p^  Qsou,  and,  being  set  in  opposition  to  the 
appearance  of  a  creature  which  Christ  assumed,  implies 
an  essential  equality  with  God.  But  if  he  had  no  right 
to  this  equality,  it  is  a  strange  instance  of  humility  in 


498  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

Christ,  that  he  had  not  the  presumption  to  lay  hold  of  it. 
Whereas  if  he  had  a  right,  his  not  eagerly  retaining  it, 
but  laying  aside  the  appearance  of  it,  was  the  greatest 
humility.  So  that  the  apostle's  argument  turns  upon  the 
right  of  Christ  to  be  like  God  ;  and  the  only  difference 
created  by  the  two  translations  is  this — according  to  our 
translation,  the  last  clause  of  the  6th  verse  is  a  continua- 
tion of  the  description  of  the  prior  state  of  Christ :  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Clarke's,  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  description 
of  his  humiliation.  You  will  perceive  the  course  of  the 
apostle's  argument  in  the  following  paraphrase :  "  Jesus 
Christ,  who,  before  he  appeared  upon  earth,  was  in  the 
form  of  God,  i.  e.  possessed  all  the  glories  of  the  divine 
nature,  was  not  tenacious  of  this  equality  with  God,  did  not 
consider  it  as  a  thing  to  be  eagerly  grasped,  but  emptied 
himself.  He  could  not  cease  to  be  God,  but  he  divested 
himself  of  those  glories  which  constitute  the  form  of  God, 
having  taken  the  form  of  a  servant.  Had  he  appeared  as 
an  angel,  this  would  have  been  taking,  in  respect  of  God, 
the  form  of  a  servant ;  and  therefore  it  is  added  as  the 
specific  description  of  that  form  of  a  servant  which  he  took, 
liaving  become  in  the  likeness  of  men  ;  and  although  he 
retained  the  nature  of  God,  yet,  as  to  outward  appearance 
or  fashion,  being  found  by  those  who  sought  to  take  away 
his  life,  such  as  man  is,  he  humbled  himself  so  far,  that, 
when  he  had  power  to  retain  his  life,  he  surrendered  it, 
and  submitted  to  an  ignominious  death." 

By  tliis  natural  interpretation,  the  succession  of  propo- 
sitions contained  in  this  passage  teaches  us  that  the  same 
,  person  who  was  God  became  man ;  and  since  he  who  was 
once  God  must  be  always  God,  the  nature  of  God  being 
unchangeable,  it  follows  that  he  was  at  the  same  time  both 
God  and  man. 

The  same  thing  is  intimated  less  clearly,  but  with  a 
little  attention  it  will  appear  not  less  exclusively,  in  the 
third  passage,  Heb.  ii.  14,  16.  The  apostle  is  giving  a 
reason  why  the  Captain  of  Salvation  took  part  of  flesh  and 
blood.  The  reason  is,  that  he  might  have  it  in  his  power 
to  die,  because  his  death  was  to  be  the  instrument  of  our 
deliverance  from  death.  But  as  nobody  thinks  of  giving  a 
reason  why  a  man  should  be  a  man,  the  apostle's  giving  a 
reason  why  Christ  took  part  of  flesh  and  blood  implies 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  499 

that  this  was  not  the  necessary  condition  of  his  being,  but 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  choice  ;  and  therefore  it  follows  not 
only  that  he  existed  before  he  made  the  choice,  but  that 
he  had  it  in  his  power  to  make  a  different  choice,  i.  e.  that 
he  existed  in  a  state  which  admitted  of  his  choosing 
a  more  splendid  appearance,  had  he  so  inclined.  That 
this  state  was  superior  to  the  condition  of  angels,  is  made 
plain  by  the  16th  verse,  the  most  literal  and  proper  ren- 
dering of  which  is,  "  For  truly  he  lays  not  hold  of  angels, 
but  he  lays  hold  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,"  69i]i,  upon  ac- 
count of  his  making  which  choice,  it  was  necessary  that 
lie  should  in  all  things  be  made  like  his  brethren.  Now, 
whether  "  laying  hold  of  angels"  implies,  as  the  Socinians 
are  fond  of  interpreting  the  phrase,  "  helping  angels," 
because  they  do  not  suppose  that  Christ  had  it  in  his 
power  to  be  like  an  angel :  or  whetlier  it  means,  accord- 
ing to  our  translation,  laying  hold  of  them,  so  as  to  assume 
their  nature  and  form,  the  phrase  is  very  improper,  un- 
less the  Being  to  whom  it  is  applied  was  so  far  superior  to 
angels,  that  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  pass  by  them  or  not, 
to  lay  hold  of  them  or  not,  as  he  pleased.  And  this  Be- 
ing, who,  in  his  antecedent  state  of  existence  was  superior 
to  angels,  it  is  here  said,  took  part  of  flesh  and  blood, 
which  are  the  characteristics  of  men  ;  and  because  he  was 
thus  made  in  all  things  like  them,  they  are  called  his 
brethren. 

The  review  of  these  three  passages  suggests  the  whole 
of  the  argument  upon  this  subject,  which  may  be  thus 
stated  in  a  few  words.  The  names,  the  characters,  the 
actions,  and  the  honours  of  God  are  ascribed  to  Jesus 
Christ :  the  affections,  the  infirmities,  and  the  sufferings  of 
man  are  also  ascribed  to  Jesus  Christ ;  therefore  in  him 
the  divine  and  human  natures  were  united,  or  the  same 
Person  is  both  God  and  man. 

It  would  seem  that  this  inference  should  be  admitted 
by  all  those  who  pay  a  due  regard  to  the  plain  declara- 
tions of  Scripture  :  and,  had  Christians  rested  in  this  in- 
ference, there  could  not  have  been  much  variety  of  opi- 
nion upon  the  subject.  But  when  men  began  to  speculate 
concerning  the  manner  of  that  union  which  the  Scriptures 
teach  us  to  believe,  they  soon  went  far  beyond  the  mea- 
sure of  information  which  the  Scriptures  afford.     They 


500  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

multiplied  words  without  having  clear  ideas ;  their  mean- 
ing being,  in  this  way,  never  perfectly  apprehended  by 
themselves  was  readily  misunderstood  by  others ;  and  the 
controversies  upon  this  point,  which,  at  the  beginning, 
involved  a  fundamental  article  of  the  Christian  faith,  de- 
generated at  last  into  a  verbal  dispute,  conducted  with 
much  acrimony  in  the  mere  jargon  of  metaphysics. 

Those  sects  who  considered  Jesus  as  merely  a  man, 
whatever  was  the  date  of  their  existence,  or  whatever  were 
the  numbers  that  embraced  their  tenets,  escaped  by  the 
simplicity  of  their  system  from  this  controversy.  But  the 
great  body  of  Christians,  who  learned  from  Scripture  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  more  than  man,  differed  widely  in  their 
speculations  as  to  the  manner  of  reconciling  the  opposite 
descriptions  of  his  Person  ;  and,  in  the  early  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity, the  dispute  was  of  much  importance,  because  it 
turned  upon  the  reality  of  the  two  natures,  or  the  per- 
manency of  their  union. 

In  the  history  of  this  controversy  our  attention  is  first 
engaged  by  the  opinion  of  the  Gnostics.  All  the  Gnos- 
tics agreed  in  considering  the  Christ  as  an  emanation  from 
the  Supreme  Mind,  an  iEon  of  the  highest  order  sent  from 
the  Pleroma,  i.  e.  the  space  inhabited  by  those  spirits  who 
had  emanated  from  the  Supreme  Mind,  to  deliver  the  hu- 
man race.  But  as  the  fundamental  principle  of  their  sys- 
tem was  the  inherent  and  incorrigible  depravity  of  matter, 
all  of  them  agreed  also  in  thinking  it  impossible  that  so 
exalted  a  spirit  was  truly  and  permanently  united  to  a 
gross  material  substance.  Some  of  them,  therefore,  sup- 
posed that  Jesus,  although  made  in  the  likeness  of  men, 
was  not  really  a  man  ;  that  the  body  which  the  Jews  saw 
was  either  a  phantasm  that  played  upon  their  senses,  or,  if 
it  had  a  real  existence,  was  a  spiritual  substance,  i\ot  formed 
of  the  same  corrujitible  materials  with  our  bodies,  standing 
in  no  need  of  those  supplies  which  it  seemed  to  receive, 
and  incapable  of  those  sufferings  which  it  seemed  to  en- 
dure. Those  Gnostics,  who  considered  Jesus  as  a  man 
only  in  appearance,  are  known  by  the  name  Aoxjjra/. 
Other  Gnostics,  who  found  it  difficult  to  reconcile  the 
mere  phantasm  of  a  body  with  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ, 
followed  the  more  substantial  system  of  Cerinthus,  who 
held  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  man  born  like  other 


u>rioN  of'natures  in  christ.  501 

men,  and  not  distinguished  from  liis  countrymen,  till  he 
^vas  thirfy  years  of  age,  in  any  other  way  than  by  the  in- 
nocence of  his  life  ;  that  when  he  came  to  John  to  be  bap- 
tized, that  exalted  JEon  called  the  Christ  descended  upon 
him  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  or  in  the  manner  in  which  a 
dove  descends,  and  continued  to  inhabit  his  body  during 
the  period  of  his  ministry ;  that  the  person  called  Jesus 
Christ  was  a  man,  all  whose  actions  were  directed  by  the 
^on  who  dwelt  within  him,  but  that  when  he  was  deliver- 
vd  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  the  Christ  returned  to  the 
Pleroma,  and  Jesus  was  left  to  suffer  and  to  die. 

It  is  a  tradition  derived  from  the  eai'liest  Christian 
writers,  that  the  Apostle  John  lived  to  witness  both  these 
branches  of  the  Gnostic  heresy,  and  that  he  wrote  his  Gos- 
pel and  his  Epistles  on  purpose  to  correct  their  errors  ; 
and  this  tradition  is  very  much  confirmed  by  our  observ- 
ing that  by  means  of  the  continual  reference  which  his 
writings  bear  to  the  tenets  that  were  then  spreading 
among  Christians,  we  are  able  to  derive  from  them  the 
clearest  proofs  both  of  the  divinity  and  of  the  humanity  of 
our  Saviour.  Thus,  in  his  Gospel,  as  he  begins  with  de- 
claring "  the  word  was  God,"  so  he  says  at  the  14th  verse, 
"  the  word  was  made  flesh :"  and  in  his  1st  Epistle,  v. 
20,  as  he  says  of  Jesus  Christ,  "  This  is  the  true  God,"  so 
he  bears  his  testimony  both  against  the  Cerinthians,  who  se- 
parated Jesus  from  the  Christ,  (ii.  22,)  and  against  the  Do- 
cetae,  who  said  that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  truly  a  man.  (iv. 
2,  3.)  The  phrase  used  in  the  last  of  these  jDassages, 
"  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,"  furnishes  an  argu- 
ment which  Dr.  Horsley  has  urged  with  his  wonted  acute- 
ness  against  the  modern  Unitarians.  The  argument  is 
this:  Unless  the  words  "  in  the  flesh"  are  mere  exple- 
tives, they  limit  the  words  "  is  come  "  to  some  particular 
manner  of  coming.  This  limitation  either  is  nugatory,  or 
it  presumes  a  possibility  of  other  ways  of  coming.  But  it 
was  not  possible  for  a  mere  man  to  come  otherwise  than 
in  the  flesh  ;  therefore  Jesus  Christ  is  more  than  man. 
And  thus  in  this  proposition  "  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the 
flesh,"  the  denial  of  which  John  makes  a  mark  of  Anti- 
christ, there  is  an  allusion  both  to  the  divinity  and  to  the 
incarnation  of  our  Saviour. 

While  the  general  principles  of  the  Gnostics  led  them 


502  UNION  OP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

to  deny  the  reality  of  Christ's  body,  it  is  the  character  of 
that  system  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Apollina- 
rian,  to  ascribe  to  our  Saviour  a  true  body,  but  not  a  hu- 
man soul.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  ancient 
Arians,  who  held  Christ  to  be  the  most  exalted  spirit  that 
had  proceeded  from  God,  considered  this  spirit  as  per- 
forming the  functions  of  a  human  soul  in  the  body  which 
it  assumed,  so  that,  as  in  all  mere  men,  there  is  the  union 
of  a  body  with  a  human  soul,  there  was  in  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ  the  union  of  a  body  with  an  angelical  spirit. 
Apollinaris  did  not  hold  the  distinguishing  tenet  of  Arius, 
He  was  the  friend  of  Athanasius,  himself  an  able  and  zeal- 
ous assertor  of  the  divinity  of  Christ.  But  he  conceived 
that  the  most  natural  way  of  explaining  the  incarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God  was  to  consider  the  Godhead  as  supply- 
ing the  place  of  a  soul,  and  the  body  which  the  Godhead 
animated,  as  in  all  respects  like  the  bodies  of  other  men  ; 
and  as  this  system  appeared  to  degrade  the  Godhead,  by 
subjecting  it  to  all  the  sensations  of  a  human  soul,  Apol- 
linaris endeavoured  to  obviate  the  objection  arising  from 
this  degradation,  by  recurring  to  a  distinction  well  known 
in  the  ancient  Greek  philosophy ;  a  distinction  between 
■^v^ri,  the  sensitive  soul  which  man  has  in  common  with 
the  other  animals,  and  voug,  the  rational  soul  by  which  he 
is  raised  above  them.  Apollinaris  held  that  Christ  as- 
sumed, together  with  a  body,  the  ■J'UXJi,  or  principle  of 
animal  life ;  but  that  he  did  not  assume  the  voug,  the  prin- 
ciple of  thought  and  reason,  because  all  the  offices  which 
belong  to  this  higher  power  were  in  him  performed  by  the 
Godhead. 

The  modern  Arians,  who,  in  the  last  century,  have  re- 
vived the  ancient  tenet,  that  Christ  the  Word  is  an  exalted 
angel,  incline  to  adopt  the  ApoUinarian  system.  It  ap- 
pears to  them  superfluous  to  place  the  spirit  of  an  angel 
and  the  spirit  of  a  man  in  the  same  body ;  and  they  say, 
that  the  easiest  explication  of  this  phrase,  "  the  Word  \vas 
made  flesh,"  that  which  preserves  the  most  proper  unity 
of  person,  and  renders  Jesus  Christ,  strictly  speaking,  one 
intelligent  agent,  is  this,  that  the  spirit  of  the  angel,  who 
is  called  the  Word,  inhabited  and  animated  a  human  body. 
The  modern  Arians  defend  this  ApoUinarian  system  by  the 
following  arguments.     As  the  body  is  the  only  part  of  hu- 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  503 

man  nature  which  we  perceive,  and  as  we  are  entirely  ig- 
norant of  the  manner  of  the  union  between  body  and  mind, 
the  name  man  is  properly  applied  to  every  being  which 
possesses  a  human  body,  performing  its  functions  under  the 
guidance  of  a  spirit,  whatever  the  origin  or  rank  of  that 
spirit  be  :  and,  accordingly,  those  inhabitants  of  heaven 
who  appeared  frequently  under  the  Old  Testament,  and 
the  angels  M^ho  appeared  at  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  are 
called  men,  because  they  had  the  appearance  of  men,  al- 
though it  was  never  supposed  that  they  had  a  human  soul. 
The  Scriptures  speak  of  Chx'ist's  coming  in  the  flesh,  of  his 
being  made  flesh,  of  his  taking  part  of  flesh  and  blood  : 
they  never  speak  of  his  taking  a  soul ;  and  all  the  phrases, 
in  which  the  soul  and  spirit  of  Christ  are  mentioned,  do 
not  denote  difterent  parts  of  the  same  person,  but  are  He- 
brew idioms  which  mean  nothing  more  than  Christ  him- 
self. 

The  answers  to  these  arguments  of  the  modern  Arians 
which  readily  occur  are  the  following :  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  not  truly  a  man,  unless  he  assumed  that  kind  of  spirit 
which  is  characteristical  of  the  human  species ;  that  man 
is  what  he  is  by  his  mind  more  than  by  his  body  ;  and 
that  if  our  Lord  stooped  to  the  external  form,  it  is  not 
likely  that  he  Mould  disdain  to  connect  himself  with  the 
spiritual  inhabitant ;  that  there  is  no  analogy  between  the 
transient  appearances  of  angels  recorded  in  Scripture,  and 
the  permanent  complete  humanity  manifested  in  the  words, 
the  actions,  and  the  sufferings  of  him  who  "dwelt  among" 
men ;  and  that  the  expressions  of  Scripture  referring  to 
the  soul  of  Christ  are  so  many,  and  repeated  in  such  a  va- 
riety of  forms,  that  a  great  part  of  the  history  of  Jesus  is 
enigmatical  and  illusory,  unless  he  was  truly  a  man  in  re- 
spect of  his  soul  as  well  as  in  respect  of  his  body. 

Such  are  the  arguments  which  our  habits  and  modes  of 
thinking  suggest,  and  which  the  Athanasians  and  Socini- 
ans  of  our  days  conspire  in  opposing  to  the  Apollinarian 
system.  But  there  is  another  argument  which  Avas  con- 
sidered in  ancient  times  as  a  more  effectual  refutation  of 
the  Apollinarian  sj'stem  than  any  that  I  have  mentioned. 
It  was  universally  believed  in  the  flrst  ages  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  that  there  is  a  place  for  departed  spirits, 
where  the  souls  of  the  righteous  rest  in  joy  and  hope,  aU 


504  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

though  they  are  not  put  in  possession  of  the  complete  hap- 
piness of  heaven,  until  they  are  reunited  to  their  bodies  at 
the  last  day.  This  place  was  called  Hades,  hell,  a  ^rord 
which,  in  ecclesiastical  writers,  denoted  originally  not  a 
state  of  punishment,  but  merely  the  habitation  of  departed 
spirits,  as  the  grave  is  the  receptacle  of  the  body.  Of  this 
place  David  was  supposed  to  speak  in  Psalm  xvi.  "  For 
thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither  wilt  thou  suf- 
fer thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption  ;"  and,  as  the  Apostle 
Peter  expressly  applies  these  words  to  Jesus,  Acts  ii.  31, 
when  he  says,  "  David,  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the  re- 
surrection of  Christ,  that  his  soul  was  not  left  in  hell,  nei- 
ther did  his  flesh  see  corruption,"  it  was  believed  on  this 
authority,  that  M'hen  the  body  of  Christ  was  committed  to 
the  grave,  his  soul  went  to  the  place  of  departed  spirits, 
and  remained  there  till  his  resurrection.  But  if  the  soul 
of  Christ  went  to  the  place  of  departed  spirits,  it  follows 
that  he  had  a  complete  human  soul,  and  was  in  this  re- 
spect, as  well  as  in  respect  of  his  body,  made  like  his  l)re- 
thren.  For  the  -^'oyjCi  the  sensitive  soul  of  animals,  does 
not  enter  that  place  :  the  Godhead  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  been  confined  there ;  and  therefore  it  could  be  no- 
thing but  the  wji;,  the  reasoning  soul,  which  the  Apol- 
linarian  system  denied  to  Christ,  that  waited,  in  the  same 
place  with  other  souls,  the  resurrection  of  his  body. 

When  the  council  of  Constantinople,  in  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century,  the  second  of  those  which  are  called  gene- 
ral councils,  condemned  the  opinion  of  ApoUinaris,  they 
declared  that  they  considered  Christ  as  being  o-jn  a-^i-jyjiv^ 
ouTi  avow,  and  that  they  did  not  hold  arsXri  ri^v  rrig  ca^xog 
orMvo/jjiav,  i.e.  that  they  believed  him  to  be  truly  and  com- 
pletely a  man.  The  church  did  not  long  rest  in  this  ac- 
knoAvledgment  of  that  truth  which  the  Scriptures  seem  to 
teach  upon  this  subject,  but  soon  began  to  speculate  con- 
cerning the  manner  in  which  this  complete  human  nature 
is  united  with  the  Godhead,  and  from  their  speculations 
upon  this  incomprehensible  point  there  arose  different 
sects,  whose  peculiar  tenets  are  still  retained  in  some  parts 
of  the  Christian  church.  It  is  the  business  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal history  to  trace  the  origin  and  the  progress  of  these 
sects.  I  shall  content  myself  with  marking  their  distin- 
guishing opinions,  and,  instead  of  attempting  to  follow 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  505 

them  through  the  labyrinth  of  metaphysics,  in  which  they 
contended  with  one  another,  I  shall  barely  suggest  the  ge- 
neral views  upon  which  the  different  opinions  proceeded. 

Nestorius,  who  had  been  taught  to  distinguish  accu- 
rately between  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  Christ,  was 
offended  with  some  expressions  commonly  used  by  Chris- 
tians in  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  which  seemed 
to  destroy  that  distinction,  and  particularly  with  their 
calling  the  vii'gin  Mary  %cTo-/.og,  as  if  it  were  possible  for 
the  Godhead  to  be  born.  His  zeal  provoked  opposition ; 
in  the  eagerness  of  controversy  he  was  led  to  use  unguard- 
ed expressions  ;  and  he  was  condemned  by  the  third  of 
the  general  councils,  the  council  of  Ephesus,  in  the  year 
431.  It  is  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  the  opinions  of  Nes- 
torius, if  he  had  been  allowed  by  his  adversaries  fairly  to 
explain  them,  would  have  appeared  inconsistent  with  the 
doctrine  established  by  the  council  of  Ephesus,  that 
Christ  is  one  person,  in  whom  two  natures  were  most 
closely  united.  But  whatever  was  the  extent  of  the  error 
of  Nestorius,  from  him  is  deriveil  that  system  concerning 
the  incarnation  of  Christ,  which  is  held  by  a  large  body 
of  Christians  in  Chaldea,  Assyria,  and  other  regions  of  the 
east,  and  which  is  known  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of 
the  west  bji"  the  name  of  the  Nestorian  heresy.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  Nestorians  is  to  avoid  every  appearance  of  as- 
scribing  to  the  divinity  of  Christ  the  weakness  of  huma- 
nity ;  and  therefore  they  distinguish  between  Christ,  and 
God  who  dwelt  in  Christ  as  in  a  temple.  They  say  that 
from  the  moment  of  the  virgin's  conception  there  com- 
menced an  intimate  and  indissoluble  union  between  Christ 
and  God,  that  these  two  persons  presented  in  Jesus  Christ 
one  Tiocwcroy,  or  aspect,  but  that  the  union  between  them  is 
merely  an  imion  of  will  and  affection,  such  in  kind  as  that 
which  subsists  between  two  friends,  although  much  closer 
in  degree. 

Opposite  to  the  Nestorian  opinion  is  the  Eutychian, 
which  derives  its  name  from  Eutyches,  an  abbot  of  Con- 
stantinople, who,  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  in 
his  zeal  to  avoid  the  errors  of  Nestorius,  was  carried  to 
he  other  extreme.  Those  who  did  not  hold  the  Nestorian 
opinions  had  been  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  "  one  in- 
carnate nature"  of  Christ     But  Eutyches  used  this  phrase 

VOL.  I.  z 


506  UNION  oP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

in  such  a  manner  as  to  appear  to  teach  that  the  humanna- 
ture  of  Christ  was  absorbed  in  the  divine,  and  that  his 
body  had  no  real  existence.  This  opinion  was  condemned 
in  the  year  451,  by  the  council  of  Chalcedon,  the  fourth 
general  council,  which  declared,  as  the  faith  of  the  catholic 
church,  that  Christ  is  one  person ;  that  in  this  unity  of 
person  there  are  two  natures,  the  divine  and  the  human ; 
and  that  there  is  no  change,  or  mixture,  or  confusion  of 
these  two  natures,  but  that  each  retains  its  distinguishing 
properties.  The  decree  of  Chalcedon  was  not  universally 
submitted  to.  But  many  of  the  successors  of  Eutyches, 
wishing  to  avoid  the  palpable  absurdity  which  was  ascribed 
to  him,  of  supposing  that  one  nature  was  absorbed  by  an- 
other, and  anxious  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  that  unity 
which  the  Nestorians  divided,  declared  their  faith  to  be, 
that  in  Christ  there  is  one  nature,  but  that  this  nature  is 
twofold  or  compounded. 

From  this  tenet,  the  meaning  of  which  I  do  not  pretend 
to  explain,  the  successors  of  Eutyches  derive  the  name  of 
Monophysites  ;  and  from  Jacob  Baradseus,  who  in  the  fol- 
lowing century  was  a  zealous  and  successful  preacher  of 
the  system  of  the  Monophysites,  they  are  more  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  Jacobites.  The  Monophysites  or 
Jacobites  are  found  chiefly  near  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris ; 
they  are  much  less  numerous  than  the  Nestorians  ;  and  al- 
though they  profess  to  have  corrected  the  errors  which 
were  supposed  to  adhere  to  the  Eutychian  heresy,  they 
may  be  considered  as  having  formed  their  peculiar  opi- 
nions upon  the  general  principles  of  that  system. 

The  Monothelites,  an  ancient  sect,  of  whom  a  remnant 
is  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Libanus,  disclaim 
any  connexion  with  Eutyches,  and  agree  with  the  Catho- 
lics in  ascribing  two  natures  to  Christ ;  but  they  have  re- 
ceived their  name  from  their  conceiving  that  Christ,  be- 
ing one  Person,  can  have  only  one  will :  whereas  the  Ca- 
tholics, considering  both  natures  as  complete,  think  it  es- 
sential to  each  to  have  a  will,  and  say  that  every  inconve- 
nience, which  can  be  supposed  to  arise  from  two  wills  in 
one  person,  is  removed  by  tlie  perfect  harmony  between 
that  will  which  belongs  to  the  divine,  and  that  which  be- 
longs to  the  human  nature  of  Christ- 
Only  one  circumstance  remains  to  be  stated,  in  order  to 


UNION  OP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  507 

complete  the  view  of  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  concern- 
ing the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  what  is  call- 
ed the  miraculous  conception  of  our  Saviour;  by  which  is 
meant  that  the  human  nature  of  Christ  was  formed,  not  in 
the  ordinary  method  of  generation,  but  out  of  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Virgin  Mary,  by  the  immediate  operation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  evidence  upon  which  this  article  of  the  Christian 
faith  rests  is  found  in  Matt.  i.  18 — 23,  and  in  the  more 
particular  narration  which  Luke  has  given  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  Gospel.  If  we  admit  this  evidence  of  the 
fact,  we  can  discern  the  emphatical  meaning  of  the  appel- 
lation given  to  the  Saviour,  when  he  is  called  the  seed  of 
the  woman,  Gen.  iii.  15  ;  we  can  perceive  the  meaning  of 
a  phrase  which  Luke  has  introduced  into  the  genealogy  of 
Jesus,  Luke  iii.  23,  and  of  which  otherwise  it  is  not  possi- 
ble to  give  a  good  account ;  wi/,  ug  Bvofj^t^iro,  vio;  loxsrif  ;  and 
Ave  can  discover  a  peculiar  significancy  in  the  expression 
of  the  Apostle  Paul,  Gal.  iv.  4,  "  God  sent  forth  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman." 

Some  sects  of  early  Christians,  whose  principles  did  not 
allow  them  to  admit  the  miraculous  conception,  got  rid  of 
this  article  of  the  Christian  faith  by  rejecting  the  first  two 
chapters  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  the  only  Gospel  which  they 
received ;  and  Dr.  Priestley  has  spent  half  a  volume  in  at- 
tempting to  show  that  this  doctrine  may  be  false,  although 
it  is  delivered  by  two  Evangelists.  Upon  those  who  be- 
lieve the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of  Scripture,  his  ar- 
gument will  make  no  impression,  and  as  these  are  the  two 
fundamental  principles  upon  which  my  course  proceeds,  I 
will  not,  at  this  stage  of  our  progress,  spend  any  time  in 
combating  the  reasons  which  Dr.  Priestley  presumes  to  op- 
pose to  the  authority  of  Scripture.  The  miraculous  con- 
ception,  the  last  article,  as  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  which  Dr. 
Priestley  has  struck  out  of  his  scanty  creed,  has  been  the 
uniform  faith  of  the  Christian  church  :  it  is  the  foundation 
of  several  questions  concerning  Mary,  more  curious  than 
useful,  which  have  been  eagerly  discussed ;  and  it  is  im- 
plied in  those  honours  M'hich,  from  the  beginning,  have 
been  paid  to  her,  and  which,  in  the  church  of  Rome,  have 
degenerated  into  idolatry.  The  conception  of  Jesus  is  the 
point  from  M'hich  we  date  the  union  between  his  divine 


508  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

and  human  nature  ;  and,  this  conception  being  miraculoas, 
the  existence  of  the  Person  in  whom  they  are  united  wa» 
not  physically  derived  from  Adam.  But,  as  Dr.  Horsley 
speaks  in  his  sermon  on  the  incarnation,  union  with  the 
uncreated  Word  is  the  very  principle  of  personality  and 
individual  existence  in  the  Son  of  Mary.  According  to 
this  view  of  the  matter,  the  miraculous  conception  gives  a 
completeness  and  consistency  to  the  revelation  concerning 
Jesus  Christ.  Not  only  is  he  the  Son  of  God,  but,  as  the 
Son  of  man,  he  is  exalted  above  his  brethren,  ivhile  he  is 
made  like  them.  He  is  preserved  from  the  contamination 
adhering  to  the  race  whose  nature  he  assumed  ;  and  when 
the  only  begotten  Son,  Avho  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
was  made  flesh,  the  intercourse  which,  as  man,  he  had 
with  God  is  distinguished,  not  in  degree  only,  but  in  kind, 
from  that  wliich  any  prophet  ever  enjoyed,  and  is  infinite- 
ly more  intimate,  because  it  did  not  consist  in  communi- 
cations occasionally  made  to  him,  but  arose  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  his  human  nature  had  its  existence. 

After  the  fact  is  admitted,  that  the  divine  and  human 
natures  were  united  in  Jesus  Christ,  all  speculations  con- 
cerning the  manner  of  the  fact  are  vague  and  unsatisfy- 
ing ;  all  disputes  upon  this  point  instantly  degenerate  into 
a  mere  verbal  controversy,  in  which  the  terms  of  human 
science  are  applied  to  a  subject  which  is  infinitely  exalted 
above  them,  and  words  are  multiplied  very  far  beyond  the 
number  and  clearness  of  the  ideas  entertained  by  those 
who  use  them.  There  are  no  disputes,  even  in  scholastic 
theology,  which  are  more  frivolous,  and  none  which,  in 
the  present  state  of  science,  apj^ear  more  uninteresting, 
than  those  that  respect  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation ; 
and  there  is  a  danger  that  you  may  from  thence  conceive 
a  prejudice  against  the  importance  of  the  doctrine  itself. 
I  mean,  therefore,  to  lay  aside  all  consideration  of  the  dif- 
ferent opinions,  and  to  take  hold  of  that  simple  proposition 
which  the  Scriptures  declare,  that  I  may  show  j'ou  the 
rank  which  it  holds  in  the  scheme  of  Christianity — the 
consequences  which  flow  from  it — and  the  influence  which 
it  sheds  over  other  articles  of  our  faith. 

We  have  learned  from  Scripture  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
truly  God :  we  liave  learned  from  Scripture  that  he  is 
truly  man  ;  and  therefore  it  is  unquestionably  the  doctrine 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  '  509 

of  Scripture  that  he  is  both  God  and  man.  This  union  of 
the  nature  of  God  and  the  nature  of  man  in  his  person,  is 
called  by  divines  the  Hypostatical  or  Personal  Union,  of 
which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  form  an  adequate  concep- 
tion, and  upon  which  the  mind  soon  wanders  when  it  be- 
gins to  speculate ;  but  which,  with  those  who  rest  in  the 
declarations  of  Scripture,  is  understood  to  mean  that  the 
same  person  is  both  God  and  man. 

Since  Jesus  Christ  is  both  God  and  man,  it  follows  that 
each  nature  in  him  is  complete,  and  that  the  two  are  dis- 
tinct from  one  another.  If  the  divine  nature  were  incom- 
plete, he  would  not  be  God  ;  if  the  human  nature  were  in- 
complete, he  would  not  be  man  ;  and  if  the  two  natures 
were  confounded,  he  would  neither  be  truly  God,  nor 
truly  man,  but  something  arising  out  of  the  composition. 
In  this  respect  the  union  of  the  soul  and  body  of  a  man  is 
a  very  inadequate  representation  of  the  hypostatical 
union.  Neither  the  soul  nor  the  body  is  by  itself  com- 
plete. The  soul  without  the  body  has  no  instrument  of 
its  operations  :  the  body  without  the  soul  is  destitute  of 
the  principle  of  life ;  the  two  are  only  different  parts  of 
one  complex  nature.  But  Jesus  Christ  was  God  befoi'e  he 
became  man  ;  and  there  was  nothing  deficient  in  his  hu- 
manity ;  so  that  the  hypostatical  union  is  the  union  of 
two  distinct  natures,  each  of  which  is  entire. 

The  hypostatical  union,  thus  understood,  is  the  key 
which  opens  to  us  a  great  part  of  the  phraseology  of 
Scripture  concerning  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  God ;  He  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  man  ; 
and  things  peculiar  to  each  nature  are  affirmed  concerning 
him,  not  as  if  he  possessed  one  nature  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  other,  but  because,  possessing  both,  the  characters  of 
each  may  with  equal  propriety  be  ascribed  to  him.  This 
is  known  in  the  Greek  theological  writers  by  the  name  of 
avTidosig  idtoj'jMruv,  which  the  Latins  have  translated  com- 
munieatio  proprietatum,  the  communication  of  the  pro- 
perties. You  will  not  understand  them  to  mean  by  this 
phrase,  that  any  thing  peculiar  to  the  divine  nature  was 
communicated  to  the  human,  or  vice  versa  ;  for  it  is  im- 
possible that  the  Deity  can  share  in  the  weakness  of  hu- 
manity, and  it  is  impossible  that  humanity  could  be  exalt- 
ed to  a  participation  of  any  of  the  essential  perfections  of 


510  UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

the  Godhead.  Although,  tliereforo,  the  Word  fills  heaven 
and  earth,  because  bv  him  all  thinsis  consist,  vet,  as  it  is 
of  the  very  nature  of  body  to  occupy  a  certain  portion  of 
space,  the  body  of  Christ,  without  losing  that  nature  from 
whicli  it  derives  its  name,  cannot,  by  union  with  the 
Word,  become  omnipresent,  but  during  our  Loi'ds  minis- 
try- was  upon  eartli,  forty  days  after  his  resurrection  as- 
cended. J.  e.  was  transferred  by  a  local  motion  from  earth 
to  heaven,  and  is  now  in  heaven. — I  have  chosen  this  ex- 
ample, because  the  Lutheran  church,  in  attempting  to  ex- 
plain the  words  used  by  our  Lord  in  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  "  This  is  my  body, '  have  conceiveil  that 
ubiquity  is  derived  to  the  body  of  Christ  from  it^  connex- 
ion with  the  Xoyoi. 

This  error  our  church  iustlv  condemns.  Each  nature 
we  conceive  to  retain  its  own  properties,  and  there  is  said 
to  be  a  communication  of  properties  for  this  reason,  be- 
cause the  properties  of  both  natures  are  ascribed  to  the 
same  pei^son,  in  so  much,  that  even  when  Jesus  Christ  de- 
rives his  name  from  his  divine  nature,  as  when  he  is  called 
the  Son  of  God,  things  peculiar  to  the  humaji  nature  are 
affirmed  of  him.  "  Christ,  in  the  work  of  mediation,  act- 
eth  according  to  both  natures,  bv  each  nature  dolus:  that 
which  is  proper  to  itself.  Yet,  bj^  reason  of  the  unity  of 
the  person,  that  Mhich  is  proper  to  one  nature  is  sometimes 
in  Scripture  attributed  to  the  pei"son  denominated  by  the 
other  nature."* 

Thus,  when  we  read  of  the  "  church  of  God  which  he 
hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood," — "  that  God  laid 
down  his  life  for  us," — "•'  that  the  Lord  of  glory  was  cruci- 
fied,"— we  do  not,  fi'ora  such  expri?ssions,  infer  that  God 
could  sufier :  but,  taking  the  passages  from  which  we  had 
inferred  the  union  of  two  natures  in  Christ  as  a  guide,  we 
consider  these  expressions  as  only  transferring,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  closeness  of  that  union,  to  him  who  is  call- 
ed God,  because  he  is  God,  the  actions  and  passions  which 
belong  to  him  because  he  is  man.  In  like  manner,  when 
we  read  that  all  things  were  made  by  the  Word,  we  do 
not  suppose  that  thej-  were  made  by  the  Word  after  he 
became  flesh  ;  and  when  our  Lord  says,  "  the  Son  of  man 

•  Confession  of  Faith,  viii.  7. 


cjfion  or  yATvna  ik  cbbut.  511 

hatb  ptjwer  to  brffre  ■tns,"  we  recoOeet  that  the  Peraon 
who  claims  this  high  and  incommgnkaMe  prerc^atnre  of 
the  Deity  b  the  Word  who  **  in  the  beginning  was  with 
God,  and  was  God ;"  and  the  truth  of  the  propowtion  does 
not  appear  to  as  to  be  in  the  least  impaired  %  bis  oonde* 
scalding  to  remind  us,  at  the  rerj  time  «iien  he  claims 
this  prerogatire,  that  he  is  also  the  Son  of  man. 

This  mode  of  ^Making,  so  frequent  in  Scriptore,  by- 
which  the  properties  of  Iwtfc  God  and  man  are  ^ipBed  to 
Jesus  Christ,  the  propoties  of  Goderenwhoi  be  is  eaOed 
man,  and  the  propCTties  of  man  ewea  when  he  is  eaOed 
God,  has  given  occasion  to  one  dist2nctim&  whidi  is  osed 
by  the  aiuaent  thedk^gicalwrit^s,  and  to  anotho-wludi  is 
wed  by  the  modem.    Nether  distinction  is  expressed  in 
the  wcntds  of  Scripture :  bat  both  are  warranted  by  the 
anthonty  of  Scripture ;  and  bodi  are  ea^loyed  for  the 
mme  purpose,  to  exjrfain  sereral  passages  coiiccrning 
Jesos  Chnst,  wfaidi,  without  attending  to  soch  distmetioas, 
appear  to  contradict  the  analogy  oS  baiiL.    The  andent 
distinction   is  thos  exfiained  by  ffiriiop  BoO,*  whose 
woffds  I  shaH  nearly  tnuHbte.    *<TliewMedocbrineeoo- 
eenung  Christ  was  Prided  by  the  ancient  doctors  of  the 
dmrch  into  two  parts,  whidi  th^  called  ^kt^jjm.  and 
taumfucu    By  3$9>^97Mfttfa^  meant  ererythii^  that  rdated 
to  the  di^-inity  of  oar  Sarioor ;  his  braig  the  Son  of  G^xL 
begotten  of  the  Father  htSore  all  ages,  and  the  worid's 
being  made  by  him.    Bf  tatm/na  they  meant  his  incama- 
tion,  and  erery  thing  tlat  he  did  in  the  flash  to  ptoenre 
the  salvation  of  nww^"**<      Oar  God  Jesus  Chrut,  says 
fgnari— J  was  bom  by  Mary  xar  uumiuea  Oeiu.  Chiisliaas, 
satjrs  Justin,  acknowledge  Christ  dK  Son  of  God,  who  was 
bdbie  the  monnag  star,  and  condescended  to  be  made  flesh 
mt  &a  nK  tmmpMi  rosnrti  the  serpent  mig^  be  destroyed. 
We  bdiere,  ss^s  heosea*,  in  the  Son  of  God,  Jesos  Christ 
our  Ijord,  by  whom  are  aU  things,»u  asnac;  tam/ims  eamtj 
by  winch  the  Son  of  God  became  man."     These  three 
primitnre  writefs,  aU  of  whom  lired  befiice  the  middle  of 
the  second  eentnzy,  ledOe  way  to  thdr  ■■cccssori  in  the 
•se  of  the  word  ttmmpm ;  and  the  andent  mode  of  ex- 
fbining  those  pumagcs  which  seemed  to  be 


iEce.Cfl&.ar.Y.p.4S.  ^'J 


512  tJNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

with  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour  was  to  refer  them  to  the 
o/xovo/z/a. 

The  same  thing  is  meant  by  the  modern  distinction, 
according  to  which  some  things  are  said  to  be  spoken  of 
our  Saviour  in  his  human  nature,  and  otiiers  in  his  divine. 
It  is  allowed  that  the  words  divine  and  human  nature  of 
Christ  are  not  found  in  Scripture.  But  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  he  is  there  spoken  of  sometimes  as  God  and 
sometimes  as  man,  and  that  some  propositions  which 
would  appear  to  be  false,  if  he  were  only  God,  and  others 
which  would  appear  to  be  false,  if  he  were  only  man,  are 
atiirmed  concerning  him  who  is  both  God  and  man.  We 
conceive,  therefore,  that  the  Scriptures,  although  they  do 
not  use  the  words,  afford  us  a  sufficient  warrant  for  the 
modern  distinction :  and  we  learn,  from  numberless  in- 
stances in  which  the  distinction  is  clearly  implied,  to  ex- 
ercise our  judgment  in  interpreting  those  passages  which 
have  some  degree  of  obscurity,  according  to  either  the 
divine  or  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  as  may  best  pre- 
serve the  analogy  of  faith. 

I  shall  give  you  a  specimen  of  this  use  of  the  ancient 
and  modern  distinctions,  by  applying  them  to  the  expli- 
cation of  passages  respecting  the  three  following  subjects, 
the  humiliation  of  Jesus,  his  exaltation,  and  the  termina- 
tion of  that  kingdom  which  is  said  to  have  been  given 
him. 

1.  The  ancient  and  modern  distinction,  suggested  by  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture  concerning  the  incarnation  of  Christ, 
is  of  use  to  explain  the  descriptions  that  are  given  of  his 
humiliation.  It  is  said  that  "  Christ  came  down  from 
heaven  ;"  that  he  who  "  was  rich  became  poor  ;"  that  "  he 
was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels;"  that  iy.z<JU(Siv  ka-jTov, 
Mhich  we  render  <'  made  himself  of  no  reputation,"  but 
v/hich  properly  means  emptied  himself  of  that  which  he  liad. 
Now  it  has  been  asked  with  triumph  by  those  who  deny 
the  original  dignity  of  our  Saviour's  person,  how  a  God 
could  leave  heaven ;  how  it  is  consistent  with  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  universe  to  desert  his 
station,  and  confine  himself  for  thirty  years  Avithin  a  hu- 
man body ;  and  how  his  place  was  supplied  during  this 
temporary  relinquishment  of  the  care  of  all  things  ?  The 
answer  to  these  questions  is  derived  from  the  distinction 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  513 

of  which  we  are  speaking,  /.  c.  the  expressions  now  quoted 
are  to  be  referred  to  the  oty.ovoiJ.iot,.     They  do  not   imply 
any  change  upon  the  divine  nature  of  Christ,   which  by 
being  divine  is  incapable  of  change ;  they  do   not  mean 
that  the  powers  of  the  Godhead  were  impaired  or  suspend- 
ed, but  only  that  the  exercise  of  them  was  concealed  from 
the  eyes  of  mortals,   and  that  the  form  of  God,  which 
Jesus  had  before  the  worlds  were  made,  was  veiled  by  the 
humanity  which  he  assumed.     For,  as  Eusebius  speaks, 
(see  Bull,  275,)  '<  he  was  not  so  entangled  with  the  chains 
of  flesh  as  to  be  confined  to  that  place  w^iere  his  bo(iy 
was,  and  restrained  from  being  in  any  other ;  but  at  the 
very  time  when  he  dwelt  with  men,  he  filled  all  things,  he 
was  with  the  Father,  and  he  took  care  of  all  things  which 
are  in  heaven  and  which  are  in  earth."     And  all  this  is 
but  a  commentary  upon  these  words  of  our  Lord,  John 
iii.  13,  "  And  no  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven,  but  he 
that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  man  which 
is  in  heaven  ;"  who  is  in  heaven  at  the  very  time  when  the 
body  with  which  he  has  united  himself  is  upon  earth.  The 
same    distinction  suggests   the    proper   interpretation   of 
those  phrases  in  which  our  Lord  speaks  of  himself  accord- 
ing to  the  language  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  as  the  servant 
of  God.     "  As  the  Father  gave  me  commandment,  even 
■so  I  do.     As  my  Father  hath  taught  me,  I  speak  these 
things.     I  came  not  to  do  mine  own   will,  but  the  will  ot 
him  who  sent  me."*     The  Apostle  to  the  Hebrews,  v.  7, 
8,  speaks  still  more  strongly.     Now  if  we  knew  nothing 
more  of  Jesus  than  these  passages  contain,  we  could  not 
hesitate  to  admit  all  that  inferiority  to  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing which  the  Arians  or  even  the  Socinians  teach.     But  if 
we  recollect  that  the  attributes  and  names  of  God  are 
elsewhere  applied  to  him,  then  according  to  the  rules  ot 
sound  criticism,  which  teach   us  to  adopt  that  interpreta- 
tion by  which  an  author  is  made  consistent  with  himself, 
we  must  refer  the  jjassages  containing  that  strong  lan- 
guage to  the  oiKovo/Mia,  and  consider  them  as  spoken  of  the 
man  Jesus  Christ,  who  at  his  incarnation  became  the  mi- 
nister of  his  Father's  will,  who,  as  man,  prayed  and  gave 

•  John  xiv.  01  ;  riiu  28 ;  vi.  38. 


514  UNION  OP  NATUBES  IN  CHRIST. 

thanks  to  his  God,  and  whose  human  nature  admitted  of 
learning,  and  suffering,  and  strong  crying,  and  fear. 

In  the  same  manner  we  are  accustomed  to  explain  that 
remarkable  expression  of  our  Lord,  Mark  xiii.  32  :  "  Of 
that  day  knoweth  no  man,  no  not  tlie  angels,  neither  the 
Son,  but  the  Father."  The  Son  of  God  cannot  be  igno- 
rant of  the  day  of  judgment.  For  we  read,  that  in  him 
"  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge ;" 
that  "  the  Father  showeth  the  Son  all  things  that  himself 
doeth  ;"  that  "  no  man  knoAveth  the  Father,  save  the  Son."* 
We  are  obliged  therefore  to  have  recoui'se  to  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  divine  and  human  nature  of  Christ : 
and  as  the  expression,  Luke  ii.  52,  "  Jesus  increased  in 
wisdom  and  stature,"  unquestionably  means  that  the  hu- 
man soul  which  animated  his  body  improved  as  his  body 
grew,  although  the  "koyog  united  to  the  soul  knew  all 
things  from  the  beginning,  so  here  the  Son,  considered  as 
the  Son  of  man,  by  which  name  our  Lord  had  spoken  of 
himself  at  the  26th  verse,  is  said  to  be  ignorant  of  that 
which  the  Son  of  God  certainly  knew. 

2.  We  avail  ourselves  of  the  same  distinction  to  explain 
what  is  said  in  Scripture  concerning  the  exaltation  of 
Jesus.  You  read  in  numberless  places  of  a  dominion  be- 
ing given  to  Jesus,  of  his  receiving  power  from  the  Fa- 
ther, of  his  overcoming  and  entering  into  his  glory.  You 
find  the  connexion  between  his  sufferings  and  his  exalta- 
tion stated  explicitly,  Heb.  ii.  9,  and  Phil.  ii.  8,  9,  10; 
and  the  words  of  our  Lord,  John  v.  26,  27,  appear  to  be  to 
the  same  purpose.  The  inference  obviously  drawn  from 
such  passages  is  this,  that  Jesus  Christ  received  from  God 
the  Father  a  recompense  for  his  obedience  and  sufferings 
in  procuring  our  salvation ;  that  this  recompense  was  not 
only  the  highest  honour  and  felicity  conferred  on  himself, 
but  also  a  sovereignty  over  those  whom  he  had  redeemed; 
and  that  thus  by  his  recompense  there  is  derived  to  him 
from  God  a  right  to  the  worship  and  service  of  the  human 
race. 

It  is  so  agreeable  to  our  natural  sense  of  justice,  that 
eminent  virtue  should  be  crowned  with  an  illustrious  re- 

•  Col.  ii.  8.  John  v.  £0.  Matth.  xi.  27. 


UNION  OP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  51*5 

ward  ;  it  is  so  flattering  to  our  ideas  of  the  dignity  of  hu- 
man nature,  to  behold  a  man  raised  by  the  excellence  of 
his  character  to  the  government  of  the  universe,  that  this 
inference  constitutes  by  much  the  most  pleasing  part  of 
the  Socinian  system :  and  as  it  may  be  stated  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  be  perfectly  consistent  with  that  doctrine 
which  you  profess  to  teach,  you  will  find  that  you  cannot 
introduce  into  your  sermons  a  more  popular  topic  of  ex- 
hortation, and  of  encouragement  to  persevering  exertion  in 
the  discharge  of  our  duty. 

But  pleasing  and  useful  as  this  view  of  the  exaltation  of 
Jesus  is,  it  plainly  does  not  contain  the  whole  account  of 
the  matter,  for  the  following  reasons : — 1.  Some  of  the 
very  passages  which  speak  of  a  recompense  being  given 
to  Jesus,  had  declared,  a  little  before,  the  original  dignity 
of  his  person.  He  had  been  styled  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  "  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  ;"  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  "  he  who  was  in  the  form  of 
God;"  and  he  had  said  of  himself,  John  v.  19,  "What 
things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son 
likewise."  2.  Many  passages  of  Scripture,  by  declaring 
that  Jesus  Christ  created  all  things,  teach  us  that  before 
he  obeyed  or  suiFered  in  the  flesh  he  possessed  a  clear 
title  to  universal  dominion.  And,  3.  This  original  dignity 
of  person,  and  this  most  ancient  title  to  dominion,  are  of 
such  a  kind  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  receive  any 
accession.  He  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God 
could  not  by  any  new  state  be  rendered  more  glorious  or 
more  happy ;  and  no  gift  or  subsequent  appointment 
could  constitute  a  more  perfect  right,  or  a  more  complete 
subjection  of  all  things  to  Jesus  Christ,  than  that  which 
arose  from  his  being  the  Word  by  whom  all  things  were 
made,  and  by  whom  they  consist. 

For  these  reasons  it  is  manifest  that,  if  we  consider 
Christ  only  as  the  Son  of  God,  his  exaltation  can  mean 
nothing  more  than  that  his  original  title  to  dominion  was 
published  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  universally 
recognised,  and  that  to  this  original  title  to  dominion  tliere 
was  superadded  the  newtitle  of  Redeemer  of  the  world.  But 
this  is  not  a  full  explication  of  all  the  places  in  which  his  ex- 
altation is  spoken  of;  for  the  passages  quoted  from  the. 


516  UNION  OP  NATURES  IN  CHRIST. 

Hebrews,  the  Philippians,  and  from  John,  lead  us  to  at- 
tend, in  the  very  appointment  of  this  dominion,  to  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Son  of  God.  The  dominion  is  said  to  be 
given  him  because  he  is  the  Son  of  Man — for  the  suffer- 
ing of  death, — because  he  humbled  himself;  and  we  are 
thus  obliged,  in  explaining  that  dominion,  to  have  re- 
course to  the  ancient  and  modern  distinction  which  we 
are  now  applying.  It  is  part  of  the  o/xovo/i/a,  which  the 
Scriptures  teach,  that,  as  the  Son  of  God,  when  he  was 
luade  flesh,  veiled  his  glory,  so  after  his  resurrection,  the 
flesh  which  he  had  assumed  was  exalted  to  partake  of  that 
glory.  All  tliat  from  the  beginning  had  appertained  to 
the  Son  of  God  is  now  declared  to  belong  to  that  person 
who  is  both  God  and  man  :  and  he  is  invested  with  the 
office  of  Ruler  and  Judge,  in  the  execution  of  which  he 
completes  that  work  which  he  began  when  he  was  made 
flesh.  It  is  not,  therefore,  in  respect  of  the  divine  nature 
of  Christ,  which  does  not  admit  of  a  recompense,  but  in 
respect  of  his  human  nature,  that  his  exaltation  is  stated 
under  the  notion  of  a  reward  :  the  scandal  attending  his 
humiliation  is  thereby  completely  removed  :  and  the  de- 
claration of  his  appointment  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  uni- 
verse is  the  provision  which  God  hath  made,  that,  not- 
withstanding his  humiliation,  "  all  men  should  honour  the 
Son,  even  as  they  honour  the  Father." 

3.  By  the  same  distinction  we  are  enabled  to  account 
for  Avhat  is  said  in  Scripture  concerning  the  termination 
of  the  dominion  given  to  Christ.  The  words  of  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  upon  this  subject,  1  Cor.  xv.  24,  25,  28,  cannot 
mean  that  the  dominion  of  Christ,  which  is  founded  on 
his  having  created  all  things,  shall  come  to  an  end  ;  for 
this  must  continue  as  long  as  any  creature  exists  ;  neither 
can  they  mean  that  the  gratitude  and  worship  of  those 
whom  he  redeemed  by  his  blood,  and  that  riglit  to  their 
obedience  which  arises  from  his  interposition,  shall  ever 
cease ;  for  this  is  an  obligation  which  must  co-exist  with 
the  souls  of  the  redeemed.  Accordingly,  John  heard 
every  creature  in  heaven  and  in  earth  saying,  "  Blessing, 
and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power  be  unto  Him  that  sit- 
teth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  for  ever  and 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  517 

ever:"*  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  represented,  both  in 
the  Old  and  in  the  New  Testament,  as  everlasting.  The 
meaning,  therefore,  of  the  words  of  the  Apostle  must'  be, 
that  the  office  with  which  the  Son  of  Man  was  invested, 
in  order  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  purposes  of  his  incar- 
nation, which  divines  are  accustomed  to  call  his  mediato- 
rial kingdom,  shall  cease  Avhen  these  purposes  are  accom- 
plished. His  authority  to  execute  judgment  must  expire, 
after  the  quick  and  the  dead  have  received  according  to 
their  works ;  and  he  can  no  longer  rule  in  the  midst  of 
his  enemies,  after  they  are  all  put  under  his  feet.  Every 
thing  which  the  ancient  tlieological  writers  meant  by 
o/xow/x/a  will  then  be  concluded  :  and  although  the  Son  of 
God  never  can  lay  aside  his  relation  to  those  whom  by 
that  economy  he  hath  brought  to  his  Father,  yet  the 
offices  implied  under  the  character  of  Mediator,  which 
had  a  reference  to  their  preparation  for  heaven,  can  have 
no  place  amongst  the  glorified  saints,  but  God  shall  be  all 
in  all,  and  the  Son  shall  reign  in  the  glory  which  he  had 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was. 

In  this  manner,  from  the  union  between  the  divine  and 
human  natures  of  Christ,  and  the  communication  of  the 
properties  of  the  two  natures,  we  are  able  to  deduce  an 
explication  of  several  passages  of  Scripture  which  would 
otherwise  appear  unintelligible.  There  is  one  other  use 
of  the  doctrine  concerning  the  incarnation,  which  is  clearly 
stated  in  Scripture,  and  with  which  I  close  all  that  relates 
particularly  to  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  by  the  union  of  two  natures  in  one  person  that 
Christ  is  qualified  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  He 
became  man,  that  with  the  greatest  possible  advantage  to 
those  whom  he  was  sent  to  instruct,  he  might  teach  them 
the  nature  and  the  will  of  God  ;  that  his  life  might  be 
their  example ;  that  by  being  once  compassed  with  the 
infirmities  of  human  nature  he  might  give  them  assurance 
of  his  fellow-feeling ;  that  by  suffering  on  the  cross  he 
misrht  make  atonement  for  their  sins  ;  and  that  in  his  re- 
ward  they  might  behold  the  earnest  and  the  pattern  of 
theirs. 

But  had  Jesus  been  only  man,  or  had  he  been  one  of 

•  Rev.  V.  13. 


518  UNiaN  OF  NATURES  IX  CHRIST. 

the  spirits  that  surround  tlae  throne  of  God,  he  could  not 
have  accomplished  the  work  which  he  undertook  :  for  the 
whole  obedience  of  every  creature  being  due  to  the  Crea- 
tor, no  part  of  that  obedience  can  be  placed  to  the  account 
of  other  creatures,  so  as  to  supply  the  defects  of  their  ser- 
vice, or  to  rescue  them  from  the  punishment  which  they 
deserve.  The  Scriptures,  therefore,  reveal,  that  he  who  ap- 
peared upon  earth  as  man  is  also  God,  and,  as  God,  was 
mighty  to  save  ;  and  by  this  revelation  they  teach  us  that 
the  merit  of  our  Lord's  obedience,  and  the  efficacy  of  his 
interposition,  depend  upon  the  hypostatical  union.* 

All  modern  sects  of  Christians  agree  in  admitting  that 
the  greatest  benefits  arise  to  us  from  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  being  man ;  but  the  Arians  and  Socinians  contend 
earnestly  that  his  suiFerings  do  not  derive  any  value  from 
his  being  God;  and  their  reasoning  is  specious.  You 
say,  they  argue,  that  Jesus  Christ,  who  suffered  for  the 
sins  of  men,  is  both  God  and  man.  You  must  either  say 
that  God  suffered,  or  that  he  did  not  suffer ;  if  you  say 
that  God  suffered,  you  do  indeed  affix  an  infinite  value  to 
the  sufferings,  but  you  affirm  that  the  Godhead  is  capable 
of  suffering,  which  is  both  impious  and  absurd  :  if  you  say 
that  God  did  not  suffer,  then,  although  the  person  that 
suffered  had  both  a  divine  and  a  human  nature,  the  suffer- 
ings were  merely  those  of  a  man,  for,  according  to  your 
own  system,  the  two  natures  are  distinct,  and  the  divine 
is  impassible. 

In  answer  to  this  method  of  arguing,  we  admit  that  the 
Godhead  cannot  suffer,  and  we  do  not  pretend  to  explain 
the  kind  of  support  which  the  human  nature  derived  un- 
der its  sufferings  from  the  divine,  or  the  manner  in  which 
the  two  were  united.  But  from  the  uniform  language  of 
Scripture,  which  magnifies  the  love  of  God  in  giving  his 
only  begotten  Son,  which  speaks  in  the  highest  terms  of 
the  preciousness  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  which  represents 
him  as  coming  in  the  body  that  was  prepared  for  him,  to 
do  that  which  sacrifice  and  burnt-offering  could  not  do — 
from  all  this  we  infer  that  there  ^vas  a  value,  a  merit,   in 


«•*)»  5/a   T-/];   tita.i    '.r^o;  ixan^ovs    otKiiornroi   lis   ((itXiaM  Koti  ofitroiav  Toy,- 

KfttpoTi^ovi  (tvyayayiiv.     Iren.  cont.  HiBr.  lib.  iii.  cap.  187- 


UNION  OF  NATURES  IN  CHRIST.  519 

the  sufferings  of  this  person,  superior  to  that  which  be- 
longed to  tiie  sufferings  of  any  other  :  and  as  the  same 
Scriptures  intimate  in  numberless  places  the  strictest 
union  between  the  divine  and  human  natures  of  Christ,  by 
applying  to  him  promiscuously  the  actions  which  belong 
to  each  nature,  we  hold  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
separate  in  our  imagination  this  peculiar  value  which 
they  affix  to  his  sufferings,  from  the  peculiar  dignity  of  his 
person. 

The  hypostatical  union,  then,  is  the  corner-stone  of  our 
I'eligion.  We  are  too  much  accustomed,  in  all  our  re- 
searches, to  perceive  that  things  are  united,  without  being 
able  to  investigate  the  bond  which  unites  them,  to  feel  any 
degree  of  surprise  that  we  cannot  answer  all  the  questions 
which  ingenious  men  have  proposed  upon  this  subject : 
but  we  can  clearly  discern,  in  those  purposes  of  the  incar- 
nation of  the  Son  of  God  which  the  Scriptures  declare, 
the  reason  why  they  have  dwelt  so  largely  upon  his  divi- 
nity ;  and  if  we  are  careful  to  take  into  our  view  the  whole 
of  that  description  which  they  give  of  the  person  by  whom 
the  remedy  in  the  Gospel  was  brought ;  if,  in  our  specula- 
tions concerning  him,  we  neither  lose  sight  of  the  two 
parts  M'hich  are  clearly  revealed,  nor  forget  what  we  can- 
not comprehend,  that  union  between  the  two  parts  which 
is  necessarily  implied  in  the  revelation  of  them,  we  shall 
perceive,  in  the  character  of  the  Messiah,  a  completeness, 
and  a  suitableness  to  the  design  of  his  coming,  which  of 
themselves  create  a  strong  presumption  that  we  have 
rightly  interpreted  the  Scriptures. 


520 


CHAP.  IX. 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

i  HAVE  now  given  a  view  of  the  different  opinions  that 
have  been  held  concerning  that  Person,  by  whom  the  re- 
medy oiFered  in  the  Gospel  was  brought  to  the  world. 
But  there  is  also  revealed  to  us  another  Person,  by  whom 
that  remedy  is  applied,  who  is  known  in  Scripture  by  the 
name  of  the  Spirit,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and 
whom  our  Lord,  in  different  places  of  that  long  discourse 
which  John  has  recorded  in  chap.  xiv.  xv.  and  xvi.  of  his 
Gospel,  calls  'Tra^axXrirog.  When  you  read  John  x\.  26, 
3'ou  cannot  avoid  considering  6  va^axXrirog  as  the  same 
v>^ith  TO  'Trvtu/Moc,  and  as  a  person  distinct  from  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  Tia^axXT^rog  is  derived  from  rrccgaxaXsu,  the 
precise  meaning  of  which  is,  "  standing  by  the  side  of  a 
person  I  call  upon  him  to  do  something,"  and  which  is 
commonly  translated,  "  I  comfort  or  encourage."  Hence 
the  word  -Tra^azXyiTog  is  rendered  in  our  Bibles  the  Com- 
forter ;  but  if  you  attend  to  the  analogy  of  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, you  will  perceive  that  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
formed  from  the  verb,  suggests  as  the  more  literal  inter- 
pretation of  the  noun  advocattis,  advocate,  "  one  who,  be- 
ing called  in,  stands  by  the  side  of  others  to  assist  them." 

Of  the  offices  of  this  Person  I  shall  have  to  speak,  Avhen 
I  proceed  in  the  progress  of  my  plan  to  the  application  of 
the  remedy.  At  present  I  have  only  to  state  the  informa- 
tion which  the  Scriptures  afford,  and  the  different  opinions 
to  which  that  information  has  given  rise,  concerning  the 
character  of  this  Person.  The  subject  lies  within  a  much 
narrower  compass  than  that  which  I  have  just  finished. 

Dr.  Clarke  has  collected,  in  his  Scripture-Doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  all  the  passages  of  the  New  Testament  in 
which  the  Spirit  is  mentioned.  They  are  very  numerous ; 
they  have  been  differently  interpreted;  and  corresponding 

1 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 


521 


to  this  difference  of  interpretation  is  the  variety  of  opi- 
nions which  have  been  held  concerning  this  Person.  The 
simplest  method  in  which  I  can  state  the  progress  of  these 
opinions,  is  to  begin  with  directing  your  attention  to  the 
form  of  baptism  taught  by  our  Lord,  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
Baptism  or  washing  is  found  in  the  religious  ceremonies 
of  all  nations.  Among  the  heathen,  the  initiated  after 
having  been  instructed  in  certain  hidden  doctrines  and 
awful^'rites,  were  baptized  into  these  mysteries.  The  Is- 
raelites are  said  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  x.  2,  to  have 
been  baptized  into  Moses,  at  the  time  when  they  followed 
him  as  the  servant  of  God,  sent  to  lead  them,  through  the 

Red  Sea. 

Proselytes  to  the  law  of  Moses  from  other  nations  were 
receivefl  by  baptism  ;  and  all  the  people  who  went  out  to 
hear  John,  the  forerunner  of  Jesus,  were  baptized  by  him 
into  the  baptism  of  repentance.  In  accommodation  to  this 
general  practice,  Jesus,  having  employed  his  apostles  to 
baptize  those  who  came  to  him  during  his  ministry,  sent 
them  forth,  after  his  ascension,  to  make  disciples  of  all  na- 
tions by  baptizing  them.  But,  in  order  to  render  baptism 
a  distinguishing  rite,  by  which  his  followers  might  be  se- 
parated from  the  followers  of  any  other  teacher  who  chose 
to  baptize,  he  added  these  words,  "  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  earliest  Christian  writers  inform  us  that  this  solemn 
form  of  expression  was  uniformly  employed  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  church.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
the  Apostle  Peter  said  to  those  who  were  converted  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  Acts  ii.  38,  "  Repent  and  be  bap- 
tized every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ;"  and 
that,  in  different  places  of  the  book  of  Acts,  it  is  said  that 
persons  were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus :  and 
from  hence  those  who  deny  the  argument,  which  I  am 
about  to  draw  from  the  form  of  baptism,  have  inferred 
that,  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  this  form  was  not  rigor- 
ously observed.  But  a  little  attention  will  satisfy  you  that 
the  inference  does  not  follow,  because  there  is  internal  evi- 
dence from  the  New  Testament  itself,  that  when  the  his- 
torian says  persons  -were  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  he  means  they  were  baptized  according  to  the 
form  prescribed  by  Jesus,      Thus  the  question  put  by 


522  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

Paul,  Acts  xix.  2,  3,  shows  that  he  did  not  suppose  it  pos- 
sible for  any  person  who  administered  Christian  baptism 
to  omit  the  mention  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  even  after 
this  question,  the  historian,  when  he  informs  us  that  the 
disciples  were  baptized,  is  not  solicitous  to  repeat  the 
whole  form,  but  says  in  his  usual  manner.  Acts  xix.  5, 
"  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  baptized  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus."  There  is  another  question  put  by  the 
Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  i.  13,  which  shows  us  in  what  light 
he  viewed  the  form  of  baptism.  The  question  implies  his 
considering  the  form  of  baptism  as  so  sacred,  that  the  in- 
troducing the  name  of  a  teacher  into  it  was  the  same 
thing  as  introducing  a  new  master  into  the  kingdom  of 
Christ. 

There  is  nothing,  then,  in  the  New  Testament  contrary 
to  the  clear  information  which  we  derive  from  the  succes- 
sion of  Christian  writers,  who  agree  in  declaring  that  the 
form  of  baptism  originally  prescribed  by  Jesus  was  from 
the  beginning  observed  upon  every  occasion.  At  a  time 
when  Christianity  was  not  the  established  religion  of  the 
state,  but  was  spreading  rapidly  through  the  Roman  em- 
pire, many  were  daily  baptized  who  had  been  educated 
in  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  other  religions,  and  bap- 
tism was  their  initiation  into  the  faith  of  Christ.  In  order 
to  prepare  them  for  this  solemn  act,  they  received  instruc-- 
tion  for  many  days  in  the  principal  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  particularly  in  the  knowledge  of  the  three  Per- 
sons into  whose  name  they  were  to  be  baptized,  and  they 
were  required  at  their  baptism  to  declare  that  they  believ- 
ed what  they  had  been  taught.  The  practice  of  connect- 
ing instruction  with  the  administration  of  baptism  rests 
upon  apostolical  authority ;  *  and  upon  this  was  probably 
founded  the  following  practice,  which  we  learn  from  early 
writers  to  have  been  universal.  Those  who  were  to  be 
baptized  underwent  a  preparation,  during  which  they 
were  called,  in  the  Greek  church,  xaDip^ou/AEvo/ ;  in  the  La- 
tin church,  competentes.  YLarri'xoxjjMivoi  is  derived  from  xa- 
T'/iyju),  a  compound  of  xara  and  riyiM,  sono,  which  imjilies 
that  they  were  instructed  viva  voce  by  catechists,  whose 
business  it  was  to  deliver  to  them  in  the  most  familiar 

•  Acts  viii.  35—38.     Rom.  x.  10.     1  Pet.  iii.  21.  " 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  S^PIRIT.  523 

manner  the  rudiments  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ :  Compe- 
tentes,  competitors,  or  candidates,  implies  that  they  Avere 
seeking  together  the  honour  of  being  initiated  into  Chris- 
tianity. When  the  catechumens  or  competentes  were 
judged  to  have  attained  a  sufficient  measure  of  knowledge, 
they  were  brought  to  the  baptismal  font,  and  immediately 
before  their  baptism  two  things  were  required  of  them. 
The  one  was  called  acoraf/j  ro\j  2arava,  segregatio  a  Sa- 
tana  ;  the  other,  awra^ig  ■ra.og  X^/ffroc,  aggregatio  ad  Chris- 
tum. By  the  one  they  renounced,  in  a  form  of  words  that 
was  prescribed  to  them,  the  devil,  his  works,  his  worship, 
and  all  his  pomp,  i.  e.  they  professed  their  resolution  to 
forsake  both  vice  and  idolatry  :  by  the  other,  they  declar- 
ed their  faith  in  those  articles  in  which  they  had  been  in- 
structed. The  most  ancient  method  of  declaring  this  faith 
was  taken  from  the  form  of  baptism.  The  person  to  be 
baptized  said,  "  1  believe  in  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Hol}'^  Ghost."  By  these  words  he  professed  that  his 
faith  embraced  that  whole  name  into  which  he  was  to  be 
baptized ;  and  the  creeds,  which  came  to  be  used  in  differ- 
ent churches,  appear  to  have  been  only  enlargements  of 
this  original  declaration,  the  substance  of  which  was  re- 
tained in  all  of  them,  but  was  extended  or  explained  by 
insertions  which  were  meant  to  oppose  errors  in  doctrine 
as  they  sprang  up,  and  which  consequently  varied  in  every 
church  according  to  the  nature  of  the  errors  that  prevailed 
there,  and  the  light  in  which  these  errors  Avere  viewed. 
Every  church  required  its  catechumens  to  repeat  its  own 
creed  before  they  were  baptized,  so  that  the  repetition  of 
the  creed  was  a  declaration,  on  the  part  of  the  catechu- 
mens, that  their  faith  in  the  name  into  which  they  were 
to  be  baptized  was  the  same  with  that  of  the  church  from 
which  they  were  to  receive  ba])tism. 

It  appears  by  this  deduction  that  faith  in  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  a  branch  of  the  rudiments  of  Christianity,  de- 
rived fi'om  that  form  by  which  our  Lord  appointed  disci- 
ples to  be  initiated  into  his  religion  :  and  in  this  form  you 
observe  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  conjoined  with  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  in  such  a  manner  as  obviously  to  imply  that 
he  is  a  person  of  equal  rank  with  them.  When  you  recol- 
lect the  exalted  conceptions  which  the  Gospel  gives  of  the 
Father,  and  the  full  revelation  which  it  has  made  of  the 


524  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

dignity  of  the  Son ;  when  you  recollect  that  there  is  au- 
thority in  the  New  Testament  for  worshipping  the  Son  as 
well  as  the  Father  ;  and  when  you  consider  farther  that  the 
persons  who  professed  their  faith  in  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  did  at  the  very  same  time  renounce  the  worship  of 
idols,  you  will  acknowledge  that  there  is  an  unaccountable 
ambiguity  in  the  expression  prescribed  by  our  Lord ;  nay 
that  the  form  used  upon  his  authority  has  a  necessary 
tendency  to  lead  Christians  into  the  practice  of  idolatry 
which  they  then  renounced,  unless  the  Holy  Ghost  be, 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  an  object  of  worship.  This 
clear  inference  from  the  form  of  baptism  was  probably  con- 
firmed in  the  earliest  ages  by  its  being  observed,  that,  be- 
sides all  those  places  of  the  New  Testament  which  teach 
us  to  reverence  the  Spirit,  there  is  one  passage  where  the 
Apostle  Paul  has  joined  tlie  three  Persons  together  in  such 
a  manner  as  seems  intended  to  convey  to  his  readers  a 
conception  of  the  equality  of  their  rank.*  "  The  grace  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  commun- 
ion of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  with  you  all." 

Upon  these  authorities  the  Christian  church,  from  the 
very  beginning,  worshipped  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  is 
clear  evidence  of  this  fact,  in  a  passage  from  Justin  Mar- 
tyr,f  whom  we  are  accustomed  to  quote  as  the  best 
voucher  of  the  opinions  and  the  practices  of  early  times. 
The  succession  of  Christian  writers  from  Justin  say  the 
same  thing,  and  the  Spirit  is  conjoined  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son  in  the  most  ancient  doxologies.  But  it  was  a 
principle  with  the  fii'st  Christians,  rov  Qsov  /movov  bs;  rr^o<s-/.\j- 
vuv.  The  worship  of  any  creature  was  in  their  eyes  idol- 
atry ;  and  therefore  their  worshipping  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
expressing  by  their  practice  the  same  inference  which  they 
draw  in  their  writings  from  the  form  of  baptism,  viz,  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  person  of  the  same  rank  with  the  Fa- 
ther and  the  Son. 

If  this  uniform  testimony  of  the  Christian  writers  could 


iii.  jii.- 


*  2  Cor.  xiii- 

•j-  AXA.'  iKUvoy  Ti  (vrare^a)  xat  tdv  -Tta.^  oturov  vlov  tX^ovra,  xai  h^a- 
?,avTa  ri/^a,;  ravra.  nai  rov  ruv  aXXuv  'fTofiivay  xai  i^efiiiov/iivnv  aycc^Mv 
ayyiXMH  <rr^aroy,  i-vsv/ua  rt  ro  <!r^(i(^YiriKov  gi^oft-i^a.  nai  'rpaiTKU.ouf/.lv, 
XoyM  Kcci  aXn^ua  rifiuvrn.      See  Bull.  Def.  70. 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT.  525 

be  supposed  to  require  any  support,  we  might  quote  a 
dialogue  entitled  Philopatris,  commonly  ascribed  to  Lucian, 
and  certainly  written  either  by  him,  or  by  some  contem- 
porary of  his,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
The  author  means  to  give  a  ludicrous  representation  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  catechumens  were  instructed, 
and  amongst  other  circumstances,  he  introduces  the 
following.*  The  scholar  asks  by  whom  he  should 
swear,  and  the  Christian  instructor  ansAvers  in  words  which 
imply  that  the  Christians,  in  the  days  of  Lucian,  were  ac- 
customed to  swear  by  all  the  three  Persons  mentioned. 
But  as  swearing  by  a  person  is  one  of  those  honours 
which  are  most  properly  called  divine,  Lucian  infers  from 
this  part  of  the  practice  of  the  Christians,  that  in  their 
estimation  every  one^  of  the  three  Persons  was  Zsu;  xa/ 
Qzog ;  and  thus  his  testimony  comes  to  be  a  voucher  of 
botii  the  opinions  and  the  practice  of  the  great  body  of 
Christians  with  regard  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

During  the  first  three  centuries,  there  was  not  any  parti- 
cular controversy  upon  this  subject,  except  that  which  was 
occasioned  by  the  system  of  the  Gnostics.  The  numerous 
sects  that  come  under  this  description,  who  corrupted  the 
simplicity  of  the  Gospel  by  a  mixture  of  the  tenets  of 
oi'iental  philosophy,  held  both  Christ  and  the  Spirit  to  be 
i^ons,  emanations  from  the  Supreme  Mind.  But  as  they 
denied  the  divine  original  of  the  books  of  Moses,  they  said 
that  the  Spirit,  which  had  inspired  him  and  the  prophets, 
was  not  that  exalted  JEon  whom  God  sent  forth  after 
the  ascension  of  Christ,  but  an  ^on  very  much  inferior, 
and  removed  at  a  great  distance  from  the  Supreme  Being. 
It  was,  on  the  other  hand,  the  general  belief  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  that  the  same  Spirit  who  was  afterwards  sent 
to  the  apostles  had  operated  in  the  saints  from  tlie  begin- 
ning; and  the  character  uniformly  given  of  the  Spirit  by 
Justin  Martyr,  Irenaeus,  and  the  other  primitive  writers, 
was  in  such  words  as  these  :  to  ';r^o<priri7cov  rrviv/jLu — ro  dia  tuv 
rroo^YiTm  -/.izricv^og  rag  or/.ow/xiag  Qiov.  In  order,  therefore, 
to  oppose  the  errors  of  the  Gnostics,  there  came  to  be  in- 
troduced into  the  creed  of  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  which 
was  honoured  throughout  the  east  as  the  mother  of  all  the 

•  See  Bull,  Def.  F.  N.  73,  and  Jud.  32., 


526  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

churches,  in  addition  to  the  original  words,  "  I  believe  sig 
TO  ayiov  TVEu/xa,"  the  following,  "  to  rra^axXriTov,  to  "kaXriaav 
dia  tuv  '7r^o(priTOjv.''  We  know  that  Cyril,  who  was  bishop 
of  Jerusalem  in  the  fourth  century,  wrote  an  exposition  of 
the  creed  of  which  these  words  are  a  part ;  and  we  learn 
from  his  writings,  that  this  creed  was  explained  to  the  cate- 
chumens in  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  they  were 
required  to  repeat  it  before  they  received  baptism. 

Here  the  matter  rested  till  after  the  time  of  the  Arian 
controversy.  As  Arius  held  the  Son  to  be  the  most  ex- 
cellent creature  of  God,  by  whom  all  others  were  created, 
the  Spirit  was  necessarily  ranked  by  him  amongst  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  Son :  and  accordingly  the  ancient  writers 
who  have  left  an  account  of  the  heresy  of  Arius,  say  that 
he  made  the  Spirit  xTisixa  XTieiJMrog,  the  creature  of  a  crea- 
ture. But  as  his  attacks  were  chiefly  directed  against  the 
divinity  of  the  Son,  and  as  his  opinions  concerning  the  Spi- 
rit were  only  an  inference  from  the  leading  principles  of 
his  system,  they  did  not  draw  any  particular  attention  in 
the  council  of  Nice.  This  first  general  council,  which  met 
A.D.  323,  published  the  creed,  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Nicene  creed,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  er- 
rors of  Arius.  Accordingly,  there  are  added  in  this  creed 
to  the  second  article  of  the  ancient  creeds,  that  concern- 
ing the  Son,  several  clauses  which  were  meant  to  declare 
the  dignity  of  his  person,  and  his  consubstantiality  with  the 
Father ;  but  the  third  article,  that  concerning  the  Spirit,  is 
continued  in  the  same  simple  mode  of  expression  which 
had  been  originally  suggested  by  the  form  of  baptism  -/.ai 
sii  TO  TTviufj^a  TO  ayiov. 

In  the  course  of  the  fourth  century,  Macedonius,  who 
held  a  particular  modification  of  the  Arian  system  con- 
cerning the  Son,  following  out  the  principles  of  that  sys- 
tem, openly  denied  the  divinity  of  the  Spirit,  and  was  the 
founder  of  a  sect,  known  in  those  times  by  the  name 
IlvsvfiaToiiayjit.  Macedonius  is  said  by  some  to  have  de- 
nied that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  person  distinct  from  the  Fa- 
ther, and  to  have  considered  what  the  Scriptures  call  the 
Spirit  as  only  a  divine  energy  diffused  throughout  the 
creation.  According  to  others,  he  held  the  Spirit  to  be  a 
creature,  the  servant  of  the  Most  High  God.  We  are  not 
acquainted  with  the  detail  of  his  opinions.     We  only  know 

(i 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT.  527 

in  general,  that  he  did  not  admit,  what  in  his  time  had 
been  generally  received  in  the  Christian  church,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  a  person  of  the  same  divine  nature  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son  ;  and  we  have  the  clearest  evidence 
that  the  opinion  of  Macedonius  appeared  to  the   church 
to  be  an  innovation  in  the  ancient  faith.     For  as  the  first 
general  council,  the  council  of  Nice,  had,  A.  D.  325,  con- 
demned the  opinions  of  Arius  Avith  regard  to  the   Son, 
so  the  second  general  council,  the  council  of  Constantino- 
ple, A.  D.  381,  condemned  the  opinions  of  Macedonius 
with  regard  to  the  Spirit.     The  council  of  Nice  testified 
their  disapprobation  of  the  opinions  of  Arius,  and  guarded 
those  who  should  be  received  into  the  Christian  church 
against  his  errors,  by  the  additions  which  they  made  to  the 
second  article  of  the  ancient  creeds ;   and  the  council  of 
Constantinople    in  like  manner  entered  their  testimony 
against  the  errors  of  Macedonius  by  the  following  change 
\ipon  that  creed  which  had  been  used  in  the  church  of  Je- 
rusalem, and  which  appears  to  have  been  the  same  in  sub- 
stance Avith   that   used  throughout  the   Christian  world. 
The  third  article  of  the  ancient  creed  had  run  thus,  £/$  ro 
ayiov  irviufia,  ro  Ta^axXi^Tov,  to  XaXriffav  hia,  ruv  v^ocpriruiv.     In- 
stead of  TO  '^a^axy.TiTov,  which  might  be  conceived  to  convey 
a  notice  of  inferiority  and  ministration  in  the  Holj''  Ghost, 
the  council  of  Constantinople  introduced  the  following  ex- 
pressions :   Ka/  £/s  ro  mroiJ^a  ro   ayiov,  ro   tcv^iov  ro   Z^uotoiow, 
ro  ex  ro-j  rrar^og  £Xffogsuo,a£i'Ov,  ro  ffvv  'xar'^i  xai  -j'i'jj  •T^oex.vvou/Mivov 
xai  auvbo^a^o/jjivov,  ro  XaXrjCav  bta  ruv  Tgo^Tjrwv. 

The  expressions  inserted  instead  of  ro  rrupaxXrirov  were 
intended  to  declare,  what  the  natural  import  of  the  worda 
very  strongly  conveys,  that  majesty  of  character  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  that  equality  with  the  Father  and  the  Son 
in  worship  and  glory,  Avhich  those  Avho  are  admitted  to 
Christian  baptism  after  being  catechumens  had  been  taught, 
in  the  application  of  the  original  form,  to  believe,  and 
which  it  does  not  appear  that  the  great  body  of  the  church, 
till  the  time  of  Macedonius,  had  ever  thought  of  ques- 
tioning. 

When,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  opinions  concerning  the 
Son,  much  bolder  than  those  Avhich  had  been  held  by 
Arius,  or  any  of  his  folloAvers,  Avere  avoAved  and  published 
by  Socinus,  it  Avas  not  possible  that  he  could  acquiesce  in 


528  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

the  received  creed  concerning  the  Spirit :  and  the  opinion 
vvliich  he  adopted  upon  this  subject  was  the  same  with 
that  refined  system  which  has  been  ascribed  by  some  to 
Macedonius.  Socinus  did  not  say  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
a  creature ;  he  said  that  it  is  the  power  and  energy  of  God 
sent  from  heaven  to  men  ;  that  by  its  being  given  without 
measure,  as  the  Scriptures  speak,  to  Jesus  Christ,  this 
great  Prophet  was  sanctified,  and  led,  and  raised  above  all 
the  other  messengers  of  heaven  ;  that  by  the  extraordinary 
measure  in  which  it  was  given  to  his  apostles  they  were 
qualified  for  executing  their  commission ;  and  that  it  is 
still  communicated  in  such  manner  and  such  degree  as  is 
necessary  for  the  comfort  and  sanctification  of  the  disciples 
of  Jesus. 

This  is  the  system  of  the  modern  Socinians,  which 
Lardner  has  brought  forward  in  some  pieces  that  are  pub- 
lished in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  volumes  of  his  works,  and 
which  is  found  often  recurring  in  the  writings  of  Priestley 
and  Lindsey.  The  arguments  upon  which  this  system 
rests  are  of  the  following  kind.  An  attempt  is  made  to 
reconcile  with  this  system  all  those  passages  of  Scripture 
which  seem  to  imply  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  distinct 
person  :  it  is  said  that  the  Spirit  of  God  sometimes  denotes 
the  power  or  wisdom  of  God,  as  they  are  communicated 
to  men,  i.  e.  spiritual  gifts  ;  that  it  is  sometimes  merely  a 
circumlocution  for  God  himself;  and  that  when  the  Spirit 
of  God  appears  to  be  spoken  of  as  a  person,  we  are  to  un- 
derstand that  there  is  a  figure  of  speech,  the  same  kind  of 
prosopopoeia  by  which  it  is  said  that  charity  is  kind  and 
envietli  not — that  sin  deceives  and  slays  us — and  that  the 
law  speaks.  It  is  allowed  that  the  figure  is  variously  used 
in  different  places  :  but  it  is  alleged,  that,  by  a  moderate 
exercise  of  critical  sagacity,  all  those  passages  of  the  New- 
Testament,  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  is  mentioned,  may 
be  explained  without  our  being  obliged  to  suppose  that  a 
person  is  denoted  by  that  expression. 

This  is  the  Socinian  mode  of  arguing  with  regard  to  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Upon  the  other  side,  it  is  argued  by  Bishop 
Pearson,  who  has  treated  the  subject  very  fully  and  dis- 
tnictly  in  his  Exposition  of  the  Creed ;  by  Dr.  Barrow,  in 
one  of  his  Sermons  on  the  Creed ;  by  Bishop  Burnet,  on 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  by  others,  that  numberless 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT.  529 

aclions  and  operations  which  unavoidably  convey  the  idea 
of  a  person  are  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Ghost — that  there 
are  many  places  in  which  neither  prosopopoeia  nor  any 
other  figure  of  speech  can  account  for  this  manner  of 
speaking — and  that  the  attributes,  and  names,  and  descrip- 
tion of  this  person,  are  such  as  clearly  imply  that  he  is  no 
creature,  but  truly  God. 

The  subject,  it  may  be  seen,  from  this  general  account 
of  the  argument  upon  both  sides,  runs  out  into  a  long  de- 
tail of  minute  criticism.  Without  attempting  to  enter  in- 
to this,  I  will  only  suggest  four  general  observations,  which 
it  is  proper  to  carry  along  with  you  when  you  examine 
those  passages  which  Di".  Clarke  has  fairly  collected  in  his 
Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  upon  which  the 
other  writers  argue. 

1.  In  many  places  of  Scripture  "  the  Spirit  of  God  " 
may  be  a  circumlocution  for  God  himself,  or  for  the  power 
and  wisdom  of  God.  Thus  when  we  read,  "  whither  shall 
I  go  from  thy  Spirit,  and  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  pre- 
sence ?" — "  they  vexed  his  holy  Spirit," — "  by  his  Spirit 
he  hath  garnished  the  heavens  ;"  or  when  Jesus  says,  "  if 
I  by  the  Spirit  of  God ;"  in  another  Gospel  it  is,  "  if  I  by 
the  finger  of  God  cast  out  devils,"  it  is  not  more  reason- 
able to  infer  from  these  expressions  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  a  person  distinct  from  God,  than  it  would  be  to  suppose 
that,  when  we  speak  of  the  spirit  of  a  man,  we  mean  a 
person  distinct  from  the  man  himself.  You  Mill  not  think 
that  because  the  circumlocution,  for  which  the  Sociniaus 
contend,  does  not  give  the  true  explication  of  all  the  pas- 
sages to  which  they  wish  to  apply  it,  there  is  no  instance 
of  its  being  used  in  Scripture :  and  you  will  always  carry 
along  with  you  this  general  rule  of  Scripture  criticism,  that 
it  is  most  unbecoming  those,  who  profess  to  derive  all 
their  knowledge  of  theology  from  the  Scriptui-es,  to  strain 
texts  in  order  to  make  them  appear  to  support  particular 
doctrines,  and  that  there  never  can  be  any  danger  to 
truth,  in  adopting  that  interpretation  of  Scripture  which  is 
the  most  natural  and  rational. 

2.  There  are  many  passages  in  which  "  the  Spirit  of 
God"  means  gifts  or  powers  communicated  to  men,  atid 
from  which  we  are  not  warranted  to  infer  that  there  rs  a 
person  who  is  the  fountain  and  distributer  of  these  gifts. 

vox .  I.  2  a 


530 


OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 


So  we  read  often  in  the  Old  Testament,  "  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  came  upon  hiui/'  when  nothing  more  is  necessarily 
implied  under  the  expression,  than  that  the  person  spoken 
of  was  endowed  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of  skill,, 
or  might,  or  wisdom.  So  the  promises  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, "  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  you,"  were, 
fulfilled  under  the  New  Testament  by  what  are  there  call- 
ed "  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  in  reference  to  which 
we  read,  "  that  Christians  received  the  Holy  Ghost," — 
"  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given  to  them," — "  that  they 
were  filled  with  the  Spirit."  Neither  the  words  of  the  pro- 
mise, nor  the  words  that  relate  the  fulfilment  of  it,  suggest 
the  personality  of  the  Spirit ;  and  if  we  knew  nothing  more 
than  what  such  passages  suggest,  the  Socinian  system  up- 
on this  subject  would  exhaust  the  meaning  of  Scripture, 
and  the  Spirit  would  appear  to  be  merely  a  virtue  or 
energy  proceeding  from  God. 

3.  But  my  third  observation  is,  that  if  there  are  passages 
in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  is  clearly  and  unequivocally  de- 
scribed as  a  person,  then,  however  numerous  the  passages 
may  be  in  which  "  the  Spirit  of  God"  appears  to  be  a 
phrase  meaning  gifts  and  powers  communicated  to  men, 
this  does  not  in  the  least  invalidate  the  evidence  of  the 
personality  of  the  Spirit,  because  it  is  a  most  natural  and 
intelligible  figure  to  express  the  gifts  and  powers  by  tho 
name  of  that  person  who  is  represented  as  the  distributer 
of  them.  The  true  method,  then,  of  stating  the  question 
upon  this  subject  between  the  Socinians  and  other  Chris- 
tians, is  not,  whether  it  be  possible  to  interpret  a  great 
number  of  passages  that  speak  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  with- 
out being  obliged  to  suppose  that  there  is  a  distinct  Per- 
son to  whom  this  name  is  given,  but  whether  there  are  not 
some  passages  by  which  the  personality  of  the  Spirit  may 
be  clearly  ascertained. 

There  are  two  passages  of  this  last  kind  to  which  I 
would  direct  your  attention.  The  first  is  the  long  dis- 
course of  our  Lord,  in  chap.  xiv.  xv.  and  xvi.  of  John's 
Gospel,  where,  in  promising  the  Hol}^  Ghost  to  the  apostles, 
he  describes  him  as  a  person  wlio  was  to  be  sent  and  to 
come,  who  hears,  and  speaks,  and  reproves,  and  instructs ; 
as  a  person  different  from  Jesus,  because  he  was  to  come 
after  Jesus  departed,  because  he  was  to  be  sent  by  Christ, 


OPINIONS  concehning  the  spirit.  531 

and  to  receive  of  Christ,  and  to  glorify  Christ;  as  a  person 
different  from  the  Father,  because  he  was  to  be  sent  by  the 
Father,  and  because  he  was  not  to  speak  of  himself,  but  to 
speak  what  he  should  hear.  The  second  passage  is  a  dis- 
course of  the  Apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  xii.  1 — 13,  where  the 
apostle,  in  speaking  of  the  diversities  of  spiritual  gifts,  re- 
presents them  as  under  the  administration  of  one  Spirit. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  words  which  can  mark  more 
strongly  than  the  11th  verse  does,  that  there  is  a  Person 
who  is  the  author  of  all  spiritual  gifts,  and  who  distributes 
them  according  to  his  discretion. 

You  will  meet,  in  the  collection  of  texts  upon  this  sub- 
ject, with  many  other  passages  which  show  that  the  apostles 
considered  the  Spirit  as  a  person  :  and  to  the  inference 
obviously  suggested  by  all  these  passages  you  are  to  add 
this  general  consideration,  that  as  the  prosopopceia,  to 
Avhich  the  Socinians  have  recourse  in  order  to  evade  the 
evidence  of  the  personality  of  the  Spirit,  appears  to  be 
forced  and  unnatural,  w-hen  it  is  applied  to  the  long  dis- 
coui'se  recorded  by  John,  so  the  supposition  of  any  such 
prosopopcieia  being  there  intended  is  rendered  incredible 
by  our  Lord's  introducing,  after  that  discourse,  the  Holy 
Ghost  into  the  form  of  baptism,  and  thus  conjoining  the 
Holy  Ghost,  whom  he  had  described  as  a  person,  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  who  are  certainly  known  to  be  per- 
sons. There  is,  in  all  this,  a  continued  train  of  argument, 
so  much  fitted  to  impress  our  minds  with  a  conviction  of 
the  personality  of  the  Spirit,  that,  if  the  Socinian  system 
on  this  subject  be  true,  it  will  be  hard  to  fix  upon  any  in- 
ference from  the  language  of  Scripture  in  which  our  minds 
may  safely  acquiesce. 

4.  My  fourth  observation  is,  that,  if  the  Spirit  of  God  be 
a  person,  it  follows  of  course  that  he  is  God.  I  do  not  say 
that  the  Spirit  is  anywhere  in  Scripture  directly  called 
God  :  and  although  the  writers  on  this  subject  have  re- 
peatedly said  that  this  name  is  given  him  by  implication, 
because.  Acts  v.  3,  4,  lying  to  the  Holy  Ghost  is  stated  as 
the  same  with  lying  to  God ;  and  our  bodies  are  called, 
1  Cor.  vi.  19,  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  1  Cor.  iii. 
16,  the  temple  of  God,  yet  I  would  not  rest  so  important 
an  article  of  faith  upon  this  kind  of  verbal  criticism.  The 
clear  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may  in  my 


532  OPINIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

opinion  be  thus  shortly  stated.  Since  all  spiritual  gifts  are 
represented  as  being  placed  under  the  administration  oi' 
this  person  ;  since  blasphemy  against  him  is  declared  to  be 
an  unpardonable  sin ;  since  our  Lord  commands  Chris- 
tians to  be  baptized  into  the  name  of  this  person  as  well  as 
into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  and  since  the 
apostle  Paul  prays  or  m  ishes  for  the  communion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  for  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
the  love  of  God,  it  is  plain  that  the  Scriptures  teach  us  to 
honour  and  worship  this  person  as  Ave  honour  the  Father 
and  the  Son  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that,  if  he  bore 
to  these  two  persons  the  relation  of  a  creature  to  the  Crea- 
tor, we  should  be  in  this  manner  led  to  consider  all  the 
three  as  of  the  same  nature. 

So  much  force  is  there  in  this  argument,  that  the  sup- 
position of  the  Spirit's  being  a  creature  has  long  been 
abandoned.  It  has  not  even  that  support  which  the  Soci- 
nian  opinion  concerning  Jesus  Christ  appears  to  derive 
from  the  expressions  relating  to  his  humanity.  The  Spirit 
is  nowhere  spoken  of  in  those  humble  terms  which  belong 
to  the  man  Christ  Jesus :  and  they  who  are  not  disposed 
to  admit  his  divinity,  finding  no  warrant  for  affixing  to  him 
any  lower  character,  are  obliged  to  deny  his  existence,  by 
resolving  all  that  is  said  of  him  into  a  figure  of  speech. 

Your  business,  therefore,  in  studying  the  controversy 
concerning  the  Spirit,  is  to  examine  whether  this  figure  of 
speech,  which  is  natural  in  some  passages,  can  be  admitted  . 
as  the  explication  of  all ;  or  whether  the  impropriety  of 
attempting  to  introduce  it  into  some  places  where  the  Spi- 
rit is  described  be  not  so  glaring,  as  to  leave  a  conviction 
upon  the  mind  of  every  candid  inquirer,  that  the  Scrip- 
tures reveal  to  us  a  third  person,  whose  agency  is  exerted 
in  accomplishing  the  purposes  of  the  Gospel :  and  if  your 
minds  are  satisfied  of  the  personality  of  the  Spirit,  you 
have  next  to  examine  whether  the  descriptions  of  this  per- 
son, being  incompatible  with  the  notion  of  that  inferiority 
of  character  which  belongs  to  a  creature,  do  not  lead  yon 
to  consider  him  as  truly  and  properly  God. 


533 


CHAP.  X. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


,Prom  the  information  which  is  given  us  concerning  the 
two  persons  whom  the  Gospel  reveals,  it  appears  to  follow 
that  both  the  Son  and  tlie  Holy  Ghost  are  truly  and  essen- 
tially God.  But  this  communication  of  the  attributes,  the 
names,  and  the  honours  which  belong  to  God  the  Father, 
implies  that  these  two  persons  have  an  intimate  connexion 
with  him,  and  with  one  another :  and  we  are  thus  led,  after 
considering  the  two  persons  singly,  to  attend  to  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  united  with  the  Father.  For  when  rea- 
son is  able  to  deduce  from  Scripture  that  there  are  three 
persons,  each  of  whom  is  God,  that  curiosity,  which  is  in- 
separable from  tlie  exercise  of  our  powers,  renders  her 
solicitous  to  investigate  the  connexion  that  subsists  amongst 
the  three  :  and  it  is  not  till  after  she  has  made  many  un- 
successful attempts,  that  she  is  forced  to  acquiesce  in  a 
consciousness  of  her  inability  to  form  a  clear  apprehension 
of  the  subject. 

I  am  now  therefore  to  subjoin,  to  the  Scripture  account 
of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  view  of  the  opinions 
that  have  been  held  concerning  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  united  with  the  Father  ;  a  subject  which  is  known  in 
theology  by  the  name  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  In 
stating  these  opinions,  I  shall  not  recite  a  great  deal  that 
I  have  read  without  being  able  to  penetrate  its  meaning ; 
nor  shall  I  attempt  to  go  minutely  through  all  the  shades 
of  difference  that  may  be  traced  ;  but  I  shall  produce  the 
fruit  which  I  gathered  from  a  wearisome  perusal  of  many 
authors,  by  marking  the  great  outlines  of  the  three  systems 
upon  this  subject,  which  stand  forth  most  clearly  distin- 


534> 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


guished  from  one  another.  I  shall  give  them  the  names 
of  the  Sabellian,  the  Arian,  and  the  Catholic  systems.  I 
call  the  third  the  Catholic  system,  because  it  is  the  opinion 
concerning  the  Trinity  which  has  generally  obtained  in 
the  Christian  Church. 


SECTION  I. 


The  point,   from  which  a  simple  distinct  exposition   of 
opinions  concerning  the  Trinity  sets  out,  is  that  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  natural  religion,    the  unity  of  God. 
Although  the  heathens  multiplied  gods,  yet,  even  in  their 
popular  mythology,  a  wide  distinction  was  made  between 
the  subordinate  deities  and  that  Supreme  Being  from  whom 
they  were  derived,  and  by  whom  they  were  controlled ; 
and  the  more  enlightened  that  the  mind  of  any  philosopher 
became,  he  rose  the  nearer  to  an  apprehension  of  the  divine 
unity.     Our  notions  of  the  perfection  of  the  divine  nature 
involve  the  idea  of  unity ;  and  that  nice  analogy  of  parts, 
which  a  skilful  observer  discovers  in  the  works  of  nature 
and  Providence,  is  an  experimental  confirmation  of  all  the 
reasonings  upon  which  this  idea  is  founded.     The  law  of 
Moses,  which  separated  the  Jews  from  the  worship  of  the 
gods  of  the  nations,  declares  that  there  is  none  other  be- 
sides him,  and  asserts  his  unity  in  these  words,  Deut.  vi. 
4,  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord."    Oiir 
Saviour,  Mark  xii.  32,  adopts  the  unity  of  God  as  the 
principle  of  the  first  and  great  commandment  of  his  reli- 
gion.    In  another  place,  Mark  x.  18,  he  disclaims  the  ap- 
pellation of  good,  saying,  "  there  is  none  good  but  one, 
that  is  God."     The  divine  unity  is  asserted  in  the  strongest 
terms  by  his  apostles,  "  To  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the 
only  wise  God,  who  only  hath  immortalitj'."*     It  is  said, 
that  those  who  were  converted  "  turned  to  God  from  idols 
to  serve  the  living  and  true  God  ;"-|-  and  we  cannot  read 
the  New  Testament  without  being  strongly  impressed  with 
this  truth,  that  the  supposition  of  a  number  of  gods,  which 

•  1  Cor.  viii.  G.     1  Tim.  i.  17 ;  vi.  16.      f  1  Thess.  i.  9. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  535 

philosophy  and  Judaism  discard,  is  most  repugnant  to  the 
perfect  revelation  made  by  Him  who  came  from  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  to  declare  God  to  man. 

If  there  be  truth  in  this  first  principle  of  natural  religion, 
so  earnestly  inculcated  by  the  general  strain  of  the  New 
Testament,  then  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
cannot  be  three  Gods,  but  there  must  be  a  sense  in  which 
these  three  Persons  are  one  God.     Our  Lord  has  been 
generally  understood  to  intimate  that  there  is  such  a  sense, 
when  he  says,  John  x.  38,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one ;" 
and  his  apostle  says  the  same  thing  with  regard  to  all  the 
three,  1  John  v.  7.    It  is  proper,  however,  that  you  should 
be  aware  of  the  objections  that  have  been  made  to  this  ap- 
plication of  these  two  texts.     With  regard  to  the  first,  it 
has  been  said  that  the  words  of  our  Lord  do  not  necessa- 
rily imply  that  unity  of  which  we  are  speaking,  and  that, 
whether  we  consider  the  context,  or  the  similar  expres- 
sions which  he  uses  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  John, 
his  words  may  mean  no  more  than  this,  I  and  my  Father 
are  one  in  purpose,  i.  e.  his  power,  which  none  can  resist, 
is  always  exerted  in  carrying  into  effect  my  gracious  de- 
signs towards  my  disciples.     With  regard  to  the  second 
text,  it  has  been  said  that  the  whole  verse  is  an  interpola- 
tion, because  it  is  wanting  in  many  Greek  manuscripts, 
and  because  it  is  not  quoted  by  any  Christian  father  who 
wrote  in  Greek  before  the  Council  of  Nice.     The  authen- 
ticity of  this  verse  is  certainly  problematical,  for  very  able 
judges  have  formed  diffierent  opinions  concerning  it.    Mill, 
the  celebrated  editor  of  the  New  Testament,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  last  century,  after  stating  at  great  length  the 
arguments  upon  both  sides,  gives  it  as  his  judgment,  that 
the  verse  is  genuine.     But  Griesbach,  the  latest  editor  of 
the  New  Testament,  after  a  long  investigation,  declares  in 
the  most  decided  manner  that  the  strongest  testimonies 
and  arguments  are  against  this  verse  ;  and  that,  if  it  is  ad- 
mitted upon  the  slight  grounds  which  have  been  alleged 
in  defence  of  it,   Textus  Novi  Testamenti  universus  plane 
incertus  esset  atque  dubius.     This  was  also  the  opinion  of 
Porson,  the  late  celebrated  Greek  Professor  in  England, 
and  of  Herbert  Marsh,  the  Editor  of  Michaelis.     I  must 
accede  to  such  authoi'ities — and  I  have  further  to  say,  that 
ereu  although  we  should  admit  this  verse,  we  cannot  po- 


)36 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


sitively  affirm  that  it  teaches  an  unity  ofnature  in  three 
persons ;  for  it  may  mean  nothing  more  than  an  agree- 
ment in  that  record,  which  all  the  three  are  there  said  to 
bear. 

It  is  not,  then,  upon  this  controverted  verse  in  John's 
Epistle,  nor  upon  the  probability,  however  strong,  that  the 
emphatical  words  of  our  Lord,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one," 
mean  something  more  than  an  unity  of  purpose,  that  the 
unity  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  ought 
to  be  rested ;  but  it  is  upon  the  following  clear  induction. 
The  Scriptures,  in  conformity  with  right  reason,  declare 
that  there  is  one  God :  at  tlie  same  time,  they  lead  us  to 
consider  every  one  of  the  three  Persons  as  truly  God.  But 
the  one  of  these  propositions  must  be  emploj'ed  to  qvialify 
the  other ;  and  therefore  there  certainly  is  some  sense  in 
which  these  three  persons  are  one  God.  This  induction 
is  confirmed  by  the  language  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  never  speaks  of  three  Gods,  but  uniformly  mentions 
these  three  persons  in  such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  an 
union  of  counsel  and  operation  infinitely  moi'e  perfect  than 
any  which  we  behold. 

The  force  of  the  induction  which  I  have  now  stated  has 
been  felt  in  all  ages  of  the  church.  The  earliest  Christian 
WTiters,  who  paid  the  same  honours  to  the  Son  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  to  the  Father,  declared  their  abhorrence 
of  polytheism,  and  considered  themselves  as  worshippers 
of  the  one  true  God.  In  the  second  century  the  word 
7"g/ac,  trinitas,  was  imported  from  the  Platonic  school,  to 
express  the  union  of  the  three  persons;  and  the  whole  suc- 
cession of  the  Ante-Nicene  fathers,  although  their  illustra- 
tions are  not  always  the  most  pertinent,  discover  by  innu- 
merable passages  that  they  worshipped  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  constituting  what  Tertullian 
calls,  in  the  second  century,  Trinitas  unius  diviniiatis,  and 
Cyprian,  in  the  third,  Adunala  trinitas,  and  Athanasius,  in 
the  fourth,  adiaiPiroc  r^iac. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  537 


SECTION    II. 


The  first  attempt,  in  the  way  of  speculation,  to  reconcile 
with  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  what  Cliristians  had  learnt 
to  call  the  Trinity,  was  made  in  the  second  century  l)y 
Praxeas,  and  was  continued,  in  the  beginning  of  the  third 
century,  by  Noetus,  and  in  the  middle  of  it  by  Sabellius. 
— There  may  be  some  shades  of  diiference  in  the  opinions 
of  these  three  men :  but  as  the  leading  parts  of  their  sys- 
tem were  the  same,  the  names  of  Praxeas  and  Nootus 
came  to  be  lost  in  the  name  of  Sabellius,  and  the  points 
common  to  all  the  three  constitute  that  system  of  the  Tri- 
nity which  is  known  by  the  name  of  Sabellianism.  Ac- 
cording to  this  system,  God  is  one  Person,  who,  at  his 
pleasure,  presents  to  mortals  the  different  aspects  of  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  In  respect  of  his  creating  and  pre- 
serving all  things,  he  is  the  Father ;  in  respect  of  what  he 
did  as  the  Redeemer  of  men,  he  is  the  Son  ;  and  in  respect 
of  those  influences  which  he  exerts  in  their  sanctification, 
he  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  accounts  which  ancient 
writers  give  of  the  opinions  of  Sabellius  lead  us  to  think 
that  he  considered  the  distinction  of  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost  as  merely  nominal,  calling  God  r^iuvv/Mg.  But 
several  circumstances,  collected  by  the  acute  and  indus- 
trious Mosheim,  render  it  probable  that  Sabellius  con- 
ceived a  ray  or  portion  emitted  from  the  divine  substance 
to  have  been  joined  to  the  man  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to 
form  the  Son  ;  so  that  his  opinion  concerning  the  Person 
of  Christ  coincided  with  that  of  the  Gnostics,  who  consid- 
ered Jesus  Christ  as  a  man  to  whom  an  emanation  of  the 
Supreme  Mind  was  united,  and  with  that  of  the  modern 
Socinians,  who  consider  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  as 
dwelling  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus.  But  even  after  this  re- 
finement upon  the  opinions  of  Praxeas  and  Noetus,  (iod 
continued  to  be  stated  in  this  system  as  one  person,  who 
assumes  different  names  from  the  different  aspects,  which 
himself  or  a  part  of  himself  presents  :  and  the  true  charac- 
ter of  Sabellianism  is  this,  that  it  destroys  the  distinction 


538  DOCTHINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

of  persons  which  the  Scriptures  teach,  confounding  the 
sender  with  the  person  sent,  him  that  begat  with  hira  that 
is  begotten,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  Father,  from 
whom  he  is  said  to  proceed.  TertuUian  who  wrote  against 
Praxeas  in  the  second  century,  and  the  writers  of  the  third 
M'ho  opposed  Sabellius,  urge  with  great  strength  of  argu- 
ment the  various  passages  in  which  this  distinction  is  ex- 
pressed or  implied  :  and  that  they  might  place  in  the  most 
odious  light  the  doctrine  by  which  it  was  confounded,  they 
gave  to  Sabellius  and  his  followers  the  name  of  Patropas- 
sians,  meaning  to  represent  it  as  a  consequence  of  their 
doctrine,  that  the  God  and  Father  of  all  had  endured  those 
sufferings  which  the  Scriptures  ascribe  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Sabellianism  preserves  in  the  most  perfect  manner  the 
unity  of  God  ;  and  on  this  account  it  may  appear  to  be 
the  most  philosophical  scheme  of  the  Trinity.  But  insu- 
perable objections  to  it  arise  from  the  language  and  views 
introduced  into  the  New  Testament.  Those  who  wrote 
after  this  system  was  first  published  were  so  sensible  of 
the  force  of  these  objections,  that  they  discover  an  extreme 
solicitude  to  express  clearly  the  distinction  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  They  Avere  sometimes  led  by  this 
solicitude  into  m.odes  of  speaking,  which  have  been  repre- 
sented as  inconsistent  with  a  belief  of  the  divinity  of  the 
Son :  and  the  great  controversy  which  was  agitated  about 
a  hundred  yeai's  ago,  with  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the 
Ante-Nicene  fathers  concerning  the  person  of  the  Son, 
took  its  rise  from  this  circumstance,  that  there  being  in 
their  times  some  who  denied  the  divinity  of  our  Saviour, 
and  others  who  denied  the  distinction  of  persons  in  the 
Godhead,  these  fathers  wrote  against  both,  and,  from  their 
zeal  for  the  truth,  or  from  the  eagerness  of  controversy, 
used  expressions  in  attacking  the  one  of  those  heresies, 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  with  the  expressions  used . 
against  the  opposite  heresy. 

The  language  employed  by  some  of  the  ancient  writers 
in  condemning  Sabellianism  encouraged  Arius,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  to  avoid  every  appear- 
ance of  confounding  the  person  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
by  broaching  an  opinion  which  his  contemporaries  repre- 
sent as  an  innovation,  till  that  time  unheard  of.  He  said 
that  the  Son  was  a  creature  who  had  no  existence  till  he 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  533 

was  made  by  God  out  of  nothing— that  his  being  begotten 
means  nothing  more  than  his  being  made  by  the  will  of 
the  Father — and  that  this  peculiar  term  is  applied  to  him, 
because  he  was  made  before  all  other  creatures,  that  he 
might  be  the  instrument  of  the  Almighty  in  creating 
them.  By  this  system  Arius  steered  clear  of  Sabellianism, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  preserved  the  unity  of  God.  For 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  him,  is  in  reality  a  creature, 
and  only  called  God  upon  account  of  the  offices  in  which 
he  was  employed,  and  the  honour  and  dignity  with  which 
he  was  invested  by  the  Father  Almighty.  To  Arius, 
therefore,  there  was  but  one  God,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
that  word  :  but  as  he  admitted  that  Jesus  Christ,  a  differ- 
ent person  from  the  Father,  was  also  God,  because  he  was 
constituted  God,  his  opinion  must  be  stated  as  one  of  the 
ancient  systems  of  the  Trinity. 

I  have  formerly  explained,*  at  great  length,  the  grounds 
upon  which  this  opinion  of  Arius  concerning  the  Son  was 
rejected  by  the  Christian  church.  At  present  I  have  to 
advert  to  the  meaning  of  those  terms  in  which  the  council 
of  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  expressed  their  condemnation  of  this 
opinion.  The  council,  who  knew  the  sense  in  whicli 
Arius  applied  the  words  God,  and  only  begotten  Son  of 
God,  to  Jesus  Christ,  wished  to  frame  such  a  creed  as  could 
not  be  repeated  by  those  who  held  the  Arian  opinions : 
and  with  this  view  they  made  a  large  addition  to  the  second 
article  of  the  ancient  creed,  and  annexed  to  the  creed  a 
condemnatory  clause.f 

•  Book  iii.  ch.  I. 

+  Kai  ti;  'Tov  sva  Kuaiav  Xnifout  X^ifrof,  rov  ula»  rou  Biov,  •ycvvy,hvra,  ix 
70U  -TTir.raoi  /^tvoyitij,  rourirrn  (k  tjj;  ouffias  Tou  ■rxr^osn.  Biov  £»  9-sow,  (pu; 
IK  (pare;,  S^iov  a-Xvih^ot  tx.  &t<ju  aXxAvou,  ymnSura  ev  iroirjitra,  ifioovffioy 
7U  •raroi,  V  ou  to.  •aroara.  lymro.  k.  t.  X.  thu;  Ss  Xsyoura;,  >i»  .'^■oti,  ort 
avK  nv,  xai  T^iv  ytnnhvxt,  ovk  »i»,  x.ai  on  li,  ouk  o\rut  lyuiro,  *)  £?  iri^a,; 
V'TTifrtirtai!  n  outricc;  tpairxoivaf  iivai,  v  KTitrrov,  n  tj jarov,  ??  aXXo/iw- 
T3V   T«»  v'lav  TOU    B^ay,    ravrouf    avahfiaril^it    »    Ka.6oXix.ri    xat    aTOffroXixi) 

ixxXr.iritx..  The  second  clause  is  thus  translated  by  the  church  of 
England,  'in  that  creed  which  they  call  the  Nicene  Creed,  and  which 
forms  part  of  the  communion  service.  "  And  in')pi% -LoTd' J^sus 
Christ  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  begotten  of  his  Father  before 
all  worlps,  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God, 
begotten  not  made,  being  of  one  substance  with  the  Father,  by 
whom  allthings  were  made,"  &c.  &c.  The  anathematizing  clause  is 
not  adopted  by  the  Church  of  England. 


540  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

The  word,  in  this  addition,  which  requires  the  most  par- 
ticular attention,  upon  account  of  its  frequent  use  in  the 
controversy  concerning  the  Trinity,  is  o/j^oo'jgiog.  It  is  com- 
pounded of  ofMo;,  idem,  and  oveia,  substantia  ;  denoting  that 
which  is  of  the  same  substance  or  essence  with  another. 
It  had  been  used  by  classical  Greek  writers  in  this  sense. 
So  Aristotle  says,  o/MOovffia  Tacra  asr^a.  It  had  been  ap- 
plied. *  by  Christian  writers  long  before  the  council  of 
Nice,  in  the  very  sense  in  which  it  was  used  by  the  coun- 
cil :  and  it  only  expresses  the  amount  of  those  images 
which  had  been  employed  by  the  succession  of  writers 
from  the  earliest  times,  to  mark  the  relation  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  one  of  the  most  common  and  signi- 
ficant of  which  is  introduced  into  the  creed  itself  pug  v/. 
(p'jjTog.  As  a  derived  light  is  the  same  in  nature  with  the 
~  original  light  at  which  it  was  kindled,  so,  whatever  be  the 
meaning  of  (puig  when  applied  to  the  Father,  the  word  must 
have  the  same  meaning  when  the  Son  is  called  fi/ig  sx 
(p'jjTog. 

There  is  a  circumstance  respecting  the  ancient  use  of 
the  word  c/Mouaiog,  Avhich  it  is  proper  to  state,  because  it 
creates  some  embarrassment,  and  has  been  the  subject  of 
satire  and  ridicule.  This  word,  which  the  council  of  Nice 
introduced  into  their  creed,  had  been  prohibited  by  a 
council  which  met  sixty  years  before  at  Antioch ;  and  this 
inconsistency  between  two  early  councils  has  been  stated 
in  a  light  very  unfavourable  to  the  uniformity  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  But  the  true  account  of  the  matter  appears  to 
be  this.  At  the  time  of  the  council  at  Antioch,  the  con- 
troversy was  with  the  Sabellians,  who  denied  the  distinc- 
tion of  persons  between  the  Father  and  the  Son.  The  Sa- 
bellians, employing  every  method  to  fix  an  odium  upon 
the  doctrine  generally  held  concerning  the  Son,  represen- 
ted the  word  o/xoovsiog,  which  Christians  often  used,  as  im- 
plying that  there  was  a  substance  anterior  to  the  Father 
and  tlie  Son,  of  which  each  received  a  part.  The  council 
of  Antioch  judged  that  the  easiest  way  of  repelling  this  at- 
tack of  the  Sabellians,  was  by  lajang  aside  the  use  of 
b,aoouijwg :  and  although  they  did  not  mean  to  acknowledge 
that  those  who  had  used  the  word  held  the  doctrine  said 

•  Bull,  D.  F.  N.  28. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  541 

by  the  Sabellians  to  be  couched  under  it,  they  effectually 
disowned  that  doctrine,  by  recommending  that  other  terms 
should  be  employed  for  expressing  the  Catholic  opinion. 
At  the  time  of  the  Council  of  Nice  Sabellianism  was  less 
an  object  of  attention.     The  impossibility  of  reconciling 
that  system  with  the  language  of  Scripture  had  been  com- 
pletely exposed ;  the  sense  of  the  church   with  regard  to 
the  distinction  of  the  Father  and  the   Son  had  been  pre- 
cisely expressed  ;  there  was  little  danger  of  any  misappre- 
hension of  terms  upon  this  subject ;  and  a  new  adversary, 
Avho  held  opinions  directly  opposite  to  those  of  Sabellius, 
but  whose  system  was  conceived  to  be  not  less  inconsis- 
tent with  Scripture,  by  agreeing  with  the  church  in  the 
expression  which  had  been  introduced  into  former  creeds 
concerning  the  Son,  seemed  to  demand  some  unequivocal 
declaration  of  the  common  faith.     The  council  of  Nice, 
therefore,  whose  faith  we  have  the  best  reason  for  thinking 
was  the  same  with  that  of  the  council  of  Antioch,  revived 
the  word  6/zoo-j(r/oc,  not  in  the  Sabellian  sense,  upon  account 
of  which  the  council  of  Antioch  had  laid  it  aside,  but  in 
the  sense  in  which  it  had  been  used  by  more  ancient  wri- 
ters, and  in  which  it  was  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  gen- 
eral train  of  their  doctrine :   and  the  reason  of  the  coun- 
cil's adopting  this  particular  phrase  was  this,  that  no  other 
could  be  found  so  diametrically  opposite  to   the  Arian 
system.      For  although  the  Arians  might  call  Jesus  God, 
meaning  that  he  was  constituted  God,  and  might  say  that 
he  was  begotten  of  the  Father,  meaning  by  begotten  creat- 
ed, yet  as  they  held  that  he  was  made  it,  ouk  ovtmv,  they 
could  not  say  that  he  was  £x  r)j;  coaiai  var^og  ;  and  as  they 
said  that  he  was  sx  T»jg  srsoa?  o-jdiac,  being  a  creature  in  re- 
spect of  the    Creator,  they  could  not  say  that  he  was 
o/xo6-j(r/os.   Eusebius,  the  patron  of  the  Arians,  declared  in  a 
letter  to  the  council  of  Nice,  that  this  word  was  incompa- 
tible with  their  tenets ;  and  for  this  very  reason  we  are 
told  it  was  adopted  by  the  council,  that  according  to  an 
expression    of  Ambrose,   which  has   been  often  quoted, 
"  with  the  sword  which  the  heresy  itself  had  drawn  from 
the  scabbard,  they  might  cut  off  the  head  of  the  monster." 
Whether  it  would  have  been  more  prudent   to  have 
avoided  a  term  which  a  great  body  of  Christians  declared 
they  could  not  use,  and  to  have  introduced  into  the  creed 


542  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

only  those  general  Scripture  phrases  in  which  the  Arians 
were  ready  to  join  with  the  Catholics,  is  a  point  to  be  de- 
cided by  some  of  the  general  principles  of  church  govern- 
ment.    At  present,  in  explaining  the  terms  that  have  been 
introduced  into  the  controversy  concerning  the   Trinity, 
we  have  only  to  observe,  that  an  aversion  to  the  word 
QlMovawg  is  the  mark  which  distinguishes  all  those  who  hold 
any  modification  of  the  Arian  system.     Some  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Arius,  wishing  to  avoid  the  harshness  of  callino- 
so  exalted  a  Being  a  creature,  said  that  the  Son  was  differ- 
ent from  all  other  ci'eatures,  but  still  they  were  obliged  by 
their  principles  to  say  that  he  was  a'joixoiog  tu>  <7:aTp.  Others 
who  received  the  name  of  Semi-Arians,  substituted  oi/.om- 
ff/ojin  place  of  o/Aoouc/os,  i.  e.they  admitted  that  the  Son  was 
not  only  unlike  all  other  creatures,  but  that  he  was  like 
the  Father,  having  this  peculiar  privilege  granted  to  him, 
to  have  a  substance  in  all  things  similar  to  that  of  God. 
The  Semi-Arians  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  digni- 
ty of  the  Son  ;  and  it  was  not  easy  for  those  who  approach- 
ed so  near  to  one  another  as  the  Catholics  and  they  did, 
to  preserve,  upon  an  incomprehensible  subject,  a  marked 
difference  in  their  writings.     But  the  Semi-Arians  never 
admitted  the  word  o/xoojc/og  into  their  creeds,  because  it  im- 
plied more  than  they  believed.     They  believed  that  the 
Father  had  granted  to  the  Son  a  similarity  to  himself;  but 
o/jboovffiog  implies  that  there  is  an  essential  sameness  of  na- 
ture between  them. 

We  are  thus  led,  by  the  explication  of  this  discriminat- 
ing term,  to  what  I  called  the  third  or  Catholic  System  of 
the  Trinity,  which  may  be  shortly  expressed  in  words  of 
common  use  with  the  Ancient  Church,  /xia  ovffia  xajTosig 
■j'ToffTadiig,  or,  s'lg  Qsog  sv  r^idiv  v'XoffTaffsffi. 


SECTION  III. 


The  ecclesiastical  sense  of  the  word  'vroOTadig  was  not  per- 
fectly ascertained  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century. 
By  some  it  was  considered  as  denoting  the  being  or  sub- 
sistence of  a  thing,  and  so  as  equivalent  to  o-Jdia :  by  others 

I 


DOCTRINE  OP  THE  TRINITY. 


543 


it  was  understood  to  mean  that  which  has  a  subsistence, 
the  thing  subsisting,  a  person.  It  appears  to  be  used  in 
the  first  sense  by  the  council  of  Nice,  when  in  one  part  of 
the  anathematizing  clause  they  condemn  those  wlio  said 
that  the  Son  s^  engaj  ovffiag  ri  h-zoGraaiu;  eivai ;  and  accord- 
ing to  this  sense  the  council  of  Sardis,  in  the  fourth  en- 
turv,  declared  /Miav  iivai  brroaraffiv  rov  •^rargo;  x«/  rov^  viov  y.at 
Tw'kym  TVE-j.aarog.  Had  the  council  meant  by  y-rrocfraGig 
a  person,  their  decree  would  have  been  pure  Sabellianism. 
Some  alarm  was  spread  through  the  church  when  the  de- 
cree was  first  published,  from  an  apprehension  that  this 
might  be  the  meaning  of  it.  But  when  the  matter  came 
to  be  investigated,  it  was  found  that,  as  the  council  of 
Sardis  understood  iffooraff/c  in  the  first  sense,  and  those, 
who  said  r^sig  nvai  h-roGTaCitc,  understood  it  in  the  second, 
the  meaning  of  both  was  precisely  the  same ;  and  after 
this  explication,  it  was  generally  understood  that  mcia 
should  denote  the  being  or  essence  of  a  thing,  'ovoeTatsig 
the  person  subsisting.  In  this  sense  the  last  word  had 
been  used  by  the  Platonic  school  and  by  many  of  the 
Christian  writers,  before  the  council  of  Nice.  It  is  ex- 
plained in  the  ancient  Greek  lexicons  by  cr^offajCTf,  and  it 
was  rendered  by  the  Latins  persona,  a  living  intelligent 
agent. 

The  third  system,  then,  was  distinguished  from  Sabel- 
lianism by  admitting  r^ng  y-Toffratfs/g  ;  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  instead  of  being  considered  as  one 
person  manifesting  himself  in  various  ways,  were  stated 
as  three  persons,  each  of  whom  has  a  permanent  distinct 
subsistence.  It  was  distinguished  from  Arianism  by 
ascribing  to  all  the  three  persons  fiia  oixr/a.  And  as 
Athanasius  speaks,  to  fj.iv  <p\j<fiv  fijjXo/  ttjs  SeoTrjror  ''o  ^^  ''«? 
rm  r^im  idiorr,Tag.  Those  who  held  this  system  would 
not,  with  the  Arians,  call  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  sr?- 
eovmi,  because  this  conveyed  the  idea  of  separation  and 
inferiority,  such  an  essential  difference  as  there  is  between 
the  nature  of  the  creature  and  that  of  the  Creator.  Nei- 
ther did  they  adopt  the  words  ravToouaioi  and  /^ovoovmi,  be- 
cause these  might  seem  to  favour  the  Sabellian  confusion 
of  persons.  But  they  said  the  three  persons  were  o/xooj- 
mi,  of  one  substance.  Jesus  Christ,  said  the  council  of 
Chalcedon,  is  oiMoovmc  riij.iv  xctoi.  ttjv  ap'^swcrcrTira,  xa/  ofioovciog 


544  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

rrar^i  xarcc  t-jjv  ^sorrjTa:  an  expression  which  leads  us  to 
conceive  the  meaning  of  the  chui'ch  in  those  days  to  have 
been,  that  as  all  men  partake  of  the  same  human  nature, 
so  the  divine  nature  was  common  to  the  three  persons. 

But  it  will  occur  to  you  that  three  persons  having  a  dis- 
tinct subsistence,  and  having  the  same  divine  nature,  are 
in  reality  three  Gods ;  that  the  most  perfect  agreement  in 
purpose,  and  the  most  invariable  consent  in  operation,  do 
by  no  means  correspond  to  that  unity  of  God,  which  is  a 
lirst  principle  of  natural  religion  ;  and  that  if  those  who 
lield  the  third  opinion  had  reason  to  accuse  the  Arians  of 
paganism  and  idolatry  for  worshipping  a  supreme  and  an 
inferior  God,  the  Arians  had  reason  to  accuse  them  in 
turn  of  polytheism  for  believing  in  three  Gods.  Accord- 
ingly, the  names  which  Mr.  Gibbon  gives  to  the  three  dis- 
tinct systems  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Divine  Trinity, 
which  he  professes  to  delineate  in  the  second  volume  of 
his  History,  are  these,  Arianism,  Tritheism,  Sabellianism ; 
and  the  charge  which  is  commonly  brought  against  Atha- 
iiasians,  the  name  given  to  those  who  hold  the  third  or 
Catholic  opinion,  is  that  they  are  Tritheists.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  Athanasius  and  his  followers  uniformly  dis- 
claimed tritheism, — and  that  while  they  asserted  the  equa- 
lity of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  with  the  Father,  by 
saying  that  the  divine  nature  was  common  to  all  the  three, 
they  maintained  at  the  same  time,  that  the  three  persons 
were  united  in  a  manner  perfectly  different  from  that 
union  which  subsists  amongst  individuals  of  the  same  spe- 
cies. In  order,  therefore,  to  do  justice  to  the  Catholic 
system,  it  is  necessary  to  state  the  manner  in  which  those 
who  hold  this  sj'stem  endeavour  to  reconcile  the  divine 
unity  with  the  subsistence  of  the  three  persons.  What  I 
have  read  of  their  writings  upon  this  subject,  appears  to 
me  reducible  to  two  heads.  1.  That  the  Father  is,  in 
their  language,  the  fountain  of  deity,  the  principle  and 
origin  of  the  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  2.  That  the  three 
persons  are  inseparably  joined  together. 

1.  The  Father  is  the  fountain  of  deity,  rrriyrj  ^oryjTog. 
They  called  the  Father  a^%5i,  not  in  the  common  sense 
of  that  word,  the  beginning,  as  if  the  Father  existed 
before  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  in  the  philoso- 
phical sense  of  the  word,  the  principle  from  M'hich  another 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  545 

arises.  In  this  sense  he  was  called  ava^-xog — aymrtroi — 
ajTia  xj'iou.  It  was  said  to  be  implied  in  the  very  name  of 
Father  that  he  was  airia  xa/  a^^x/i  I'ov  st,  aurou  yivvri^iv- 
rog ;  and  the  difference  of  the  three  persons  was  conceived 
to  consist  in  this,  that  tlie  Father  was  avamog ;  and  that 
both  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were  ainaroi. 

Upon  this  principle  the  ancient  Catholics  grounded 
the  unity  of  God.  They  did  not  conceive  that  there 
were  three  unoriginated  beings,  but  that  there  Avas  /Mia 
«fX1  ^iorrjToi,  and  that  the  Father,  by  being  the  «»%>!,  is  the 
EKW(T/5.  God,  they  said,  is  one,  because  the  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost  are  referred  iig  ev  amov.  On  this  account  they  held, 
that,  although  there  are  three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  iMvag 
^soTTiTog  adiaiBiTog. 

Different  names  were  employed  to  express  the  manner 
of  causation  with  regard  to  the  two  persons  who  were  con- 
sidered as  aiTiaroi.  It  was  said  of  the  one  that  he  was  be- 
gotten, of  the  other  that  he  proceeded.  The  generation  of 
the  one  was  suggested  by  his  being  called  in  Scripture  viog 
rov  Qsov — /MovoyiVTig  rtctoa  'Kaz^og.  The  procession  of  the 
otiier  was  suggested  partly  by  his  being  called  CTsu/jta,  a 
'ffviu,  spiro,  I  send  forth  breath ;  and  partly  by  our  Lord's 
saying  in  one  place,  John  xv.  26,  ro  Tveu/xa  rrig  aXi^kiag,  o 
rraoa  rov  'xan^og  ix-TTo^suirai.  But  although  generation  be 
applied  to  the  Son,  we  must  be  sensible  that  the  manner 
in  which  he  derived  his  origin  from  the  Father  cannot 
bear  any  analogy  to  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word  ;  and 
that  all  attempts  to  explain  the  manner  of  this  derivation 
must  be  in  the  highest  degree  presumptuous  and  unprofit- 
able. The  procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  word  of 
more  general  signification,  and  does  not  convey  any  pre- 
cise idea  of  the  manner  in  which  this  Person  is  derived. 
It  is  appropriated  to  Him,  because  the  Scripture  nowhere 
says  of  him  that  he  is  begotten  of  the  Father.  But  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  form  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  procession  and  generation,  the  two  t(>rnis 
which  are  stated  as  the  idiorrjng  of  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  both  denote  the  communication  of  the  divine  es- 
sence from  the  Father ;  and  all  the  attempts  of  ancient  and 
of  modern  writers,  to  discriminate  the  modes  in  which  the 
connnunication  may  be  made,  consist  of  words  without 
meaning. 


54)6  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

Although  those  who  held  the  third  system  of  the  Trinity 
maintained  the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  by  saying  that  the 
Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were  derived  from  the  Father, 
they  are  not  to  be  understood  as  meaning  that  the  exist- 
ence of  these  two  Persons  had  a  beginning,  or  that  the 
Father,  after  existing  for  some  time  alone,  brought  thera 
into  being  by  an  act  of  his  will,  and  imparted  to  them 
such  powers  as  he  chose.  This  is  the  Arian  creed;  but 
it  cannot  be  received  by  those  who  hold  r^iig  vTrodTaeuc  sn 
//./a  ouc/a  ;  for  the  divine  nature,  being  incapable  of  change, 
cannot  be  extended  to  three  Persons  after  having  been  pe- 
culiar to  one  ;  and  if  the  being  of  two  of  these  Persons  had 
been  precarious,  communicated  to  them  at  a  certain  time 
by  the  will  of  another,  both  of  them  would  want  eternity 
and  immutability,  two  of  the  essential  properties  of  the  di- 
vine nature. 

The  Athanasians,  therefore,  in  consistency  with  the 
leading  principles  of  their  system,  considered  the  Son  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  having  always  existed  with  the  Father; 
and  they  illustrated  their  meaning  by  saying  that  as  light 
cannot  exist  without  effulgence,  nor  the  sun  without  emit- 
ting his  rays,  nor  the  mind  without  reason — so  the  Father 
never  existed  without  the  Son  and  the  Spirit. 

The  Son  was  v'log  a'/diog  ot,7diov  var^og — uv  guva'idiog  yMi  rw 
xu^iw  iTvroiJbaTi.*  And  in  the  confession  of  faith  of  Gre- 
gory, an  illustrious  writer  of  the  third  century,  after  a  de- 
scription of  the  three  Persons,  it  is  added,  r^iag  rikna.  66^?;, 
%UJ  a'loioTriri  xai  ZaMtkua  fir)  iMiDtZpfx,ivri. 

The  same  general  reasoning  applies  to  the  necessary 
and  eternal  co-existence  of  both  the  ainaroi  with  the 
amog.  But  as  the  dignity  of  the  person  of  the  Son  was 
much  more  an  object  of  attention  and  controversy  in  the 
early  ages,  than  that  of  the  Spirit,  most  of  the  images,  and 
the  greatest  part  of  the  language  employed  on  this  sub- 
ject, refer  particularly  to  him.  One  of  the  images,  proba- 
bly suggested  by  the  Apostle  John's  often  calling  the  Son 
?^oyog,  arose  from  the  meaning  of  that  word.  It  was  said 
by  the  Platonic  fathers,  that  "  God  being  an  eternal  intel- 
ligence from  the  beginning  had  the  Xoyog  in  himself,  being 
eternally  rational;"  and  hence  they  often  called  Jesus  Christ 

•  Bull,  D.  F.  N.  199. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  547 

X0705  a/5i&5  Tar^o^.  I  shall  illustrate  this  principle  by  the 
words  of  Bishop  Horsley,  who  concurs  in  it  with  the  an- 
cient Platonists.  "  The  personal  subsistence  of  a  divine  Xo- 
70;  is  implied  in  the  very  idea  of  a  God.  The  argument 
rests  on  a  principle  which  was  common  to  all  the  Pla- 
tonic fathers,  and  seems  to  be  founded  on  Scripture,  that 
the  existence  of  the  Son  flows  necessarily  from  the  divine 
intellect  exerted  on  itself;  from  the  Father's  contemplation 
of  his  own  perfections.  For  as  the  Father  ever  was,  his 
perfections  have  for  ever  been,  and  his  intellect  hath  been 
ever  active.  But  perfections  which  have  ever  been,  the 
ever-active  intellect  must  ever  have  contemplated  ;  and 
the  contemplation  which  hath  ever  been  must  ever  have 
been  accompanied  with  its  just  effect,  the  personal  exist- 
ence of  the  Son."  * 

This  method  of  illustrating  the  necessary  co-existence 
of  the  Son  with  the  Father,  which  has  passed  from  the 
Platonic  fathers  of  the  second  century  through  a  succes- 
sion of  Athanasian  writers  to  the  present  time,  does  cer- 
tainly convey  to  ordinary  readers  an  idea  that  the  Son  is 
merely  an  attribute  of  the  Father,  the  reason  of  God ;  and, 
accordingly.  Dr.  Priestley  and  others  have  represented 
the  earlier  writers  who  called  the  Son  Xoyog,  as  speaking  a 
Sabellian  language ;  and  they  say  that  it  was  to  avoid 
the  Sabellianism  implied  in  the  use  of  this  word,  that  the 
Arians  made  a  distinction  between  the  Xoyo;,  which  always 
was  with  God,  i.  e.  his  own  reason,  and  the  Xoyog,  by  whom 
lie  made  the  world,  i.  e.  the  person  whom  he  created  to  be 
the  instrument  of  making  other  things.  The  former  is 
?.(r/o;  ivbiadiTog,  ratio  insita,  reason.  The  latter  is  Xo/o^ 
Too(po^ixci;,  ratio  pro/ata,  speech,  reason,  brought  forth  in 
words.  The  Son,  said  Arius,  might  be  compared  to  the 
latter,  in  order  to  express  that  he  proceeded  immediately 
from  God,  but  he  cannot  be  compared  to  the  former, 
which  means  only  an  attribute  of  the  Deity.  This  was  a 
distinction,  by  which  Arius  wished  not  only  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  Sabellianism,  but  also  to  evade  tlu;  argu- 
ment for  the  necessary  and  eternal  co-existence  of  the 
Son  with  the  Father,  drawn  from  his  being  called  '/.oyog 
Gib'j.     It  cannot  be  denied  tliat  the  analogy  between  the 

•  Horsley's  Tracts,  p.  61.  3d  edit. 


548 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


relation  of  the  Father  to  the  X070?,  and  the  relation  of 
every  man's  mind  to  its  own  thoughts,  Avhich  the  early 
writers  laid  hold  of  as  furnishinsr  an  argument  for  the 
eternal  co-existence  of  the  Son,  was  pursued  too  far  by 
some  of  them,  and  that  the  obscurity  and  inconsistency 
which  always  flow  from  an  abuse  of  images  was  the  con- 
sequence. At  the  same  time  it  is  certain  that  the  very 
same  writers,  who  make  the  most  frequent  use  of  this 
image,  far  from  conceiving  the  Xoyog  to  be  an  attribute  of 
the  Father,  speak  of  the  Son  as  a  distinct  person,  and  as 
eternal ;  it  has  been  made  probable  by  Bishop  Bull,  that, 
when  tliey  spoke  of  Xoyos  ivbiahrcg,  they  meant  a  person, 
the  oifspring  of  the  divine  mind,  who,  having  been  from 
eternity  with  the  Father,  became  before  the  creation  Xoyog 
'Tso(pogiKoc ;  and  we  know  that  Athanasius,  probably  aware 
of  the  abuse  of  this  image,  does  not  approve  of  applying 
either  Xoyog  ivbtakrog  or  Xoyog  T^o(popaog  as  a  description  of 
the  Son,  but  calls  him  v'log  auTortXrig. 

The  distinction,  which  the  ancient  Catholic  writers  up- 
on the  Trinity  made  between  Xoyog  ivhiakrog  and  XoyoQ 
'T^opo^ixog,  is  connected  with  a  circumstance  which  has  con- 
tributed very  much  to  this  apparent  embarrassment  and 
contradiction  in  what  they  say  of  the  person  of  the  Son. 
The  circumstance  is  this,  that  the  generation  of  the  Son 
has  with  them  different  meanings,  according  as  it  respects 
the  divine  nature  of  this  person,  or  his  exei-tions  towards 
the  creatures.  The  generation  of  the  Son  properly  means 
the  manner  in  which  the  divine  essence  was  from  all  eter- 
nity communicated  to  him.  In  respect  of  this,  he  is  styled 
in  Scripture  fxovoysvrjg  craga  crar^oc;  and,  in  the  Nicene 
creed,  Qsog  ex  Qsoj;  and,  in  reference  to  this,  Athana- 
sius says,  Qsog  aei  uv  an  rou  uiou  rrarri^  tgri.  But  the  ancients 
often  speak  of  a  generation  of  the  Son  which  took  place  at 
a  particular  time,  immediately  before  the  creation  of  the 
world.  By  this  they  mean,  not  the  beginning  of  his  exis- 
tence, but  the  display  of  his  powers  in  the  production  of 
external  objects.  In  reference  to  this,  Athanasius  ex- 
plains the  expression  which  Paul  applies  to  the  Son,  rr^oro- 
roxog  rraffTjg  xriffsug,  begotten  before  all  creation ;  not  that 
lie  then  began  to  be,  for  he  had  existed  as  a  distinct 
person  from  all  eternity,  but  he  had  remained  with  the 
Father  without  exerting  his  powers  upon  external  objects, 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  549 

and  at  the  creation  came  forth  from  the  Father.  This, 
therefore,  was  properly  named  vPOiV.'.usig — ■■z^oQo/.ri,  prola- 
tio,  the  projection  of  his  energies  ;  and  the  ancient  writers, 
vho  gave  it  the  name  of  generation,  never  conceived  that 
this  coming  forth  to  act  was  the  beginning  of  the  Son's  ex- 
istence. But  the  Arians,  laying  hold  of  this  improper  ex- 
pression, and  sheltering  their  opinion  concerning  the  crea- 
tion of  the  Son  under  what  the  ancients  had  said  of  his 
figurative  generation,  declared  it  to  be  an  article  of  their 
faith,  that  the  Son  did  not  exist  before  he  was  begotten. 
The  declaration  appears  to  carry  intrinsic  evidence  of  its 
own  truth.  Yet  the  council  of  Nice  condemned  those  who 
say  of  the  Son  Tf/c  yiv^ri^rivai  cux  rjv ;  a  part  of  the  ana- 
thematizing clause,  of  which  we  could  not  make  sense,  if 
we  did  not  know  that  the  ancient  writers,  who  say  that 
the  Son  was  begotten  when  he  came  forth  to  create,  un- 
derstood by  this  expression  merely  a  iigurative  generation, 
not  the  bejrinningr  of  his  existence  but  the  exertion  of  his 
powers,  and  that  they  believed  that  before  this  TcoeXsuc/f  6 
"koyoc,  as  John  speaks,  '/if  t^ciS  tov  QcOv. 

There  is  yet  a  third  generation  of  which  the  ancients 
speak,  when  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh."  This  genera- 
tion is  part  of  that  c/xovo/x/a  which  the  Scriptures  reveal, 
and  there  is  much  better  authority  for  applying  the  word 
generation  in  this  sense  than  in  the  former.  For  the  angel 
said  to  Mary,  "  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee, — 
therefore,  also,  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."* 

It  is  plain  from  what  has  been  said,  that  neither  the 
vsoO.vjoi:  of  the  Son,  nor  his  incarnation,  has  anv  connex- 
ion  with  the  manner  of  his  being.  They  were  oulj'  what 
the  ancients  called  suyxaraQacsig,  acts  of  condescension  in 
a  person  who  had  a  complete  existence.  But  in  this  view 
they  serve  to  illustrate  the  first  principle  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking.  For,  by  being  acts  of  condescension,  they 
imply  that  subordination  in  the  Son  which  results  from 
the  Father's  being  the  foundation  of  deity.  There  cannot 
be  degrees  of  perfection  in  the  godhead,  a  greater  and  a 
less  divinity ;  and,  if  the  Son  be  ofMooudiog  rraroi,  he  must 
possess  all  the  essential  perfections  of  deity.     But  he  is,  in 

•  Luke  i.  33. 


550  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRIlflTY. 

this  respect,  less  than  the  Father,  that  he  hath  received 
from  him.     He  is  ayro^oj,  a  word  of  frequent  use  among 
the  ancient  writers  of  the  Trinity,  if  the  word  be   under- 
stood to  mean  ipse  Detis,  very  God,  but  he  is  not  a-jrokog, 
if  the  word  be  understood  to  mean  Deus  a  se  ipso  ;  for,  in 
this  sense,  the  Father  alone  is    auroho;,  while  the  Son  is 
^log  sx.  Ssou.      When  Jesus  therefore  saj^s,    "  my  Father 
is  greater  than  I,"  although,   upon  the  principles  of  the 
third  system,  he  cannot  mean  any  difference  of  nature,  he 
may  mean  that  pre-eminence  of  the  Father  which  is  ne- 
cessarily implied  in  his  being  ayiwrirog ;  a  pre-eminence 
w^hich  does  not  appear  to  us  to  admit  of  any  act  of  conde- 
scension in  the  Father,  of  his  receiving  a  commission,  or 
being  appointed  to  hold  an  office  ;  whereas  there  is  a  ma- 
nifest congruity  in  the  Son,  who  derived  his  nature  from 
the  Father,  being  employed  to  exert  the  perfections  of  the 
Godhead  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  particular  purpose. 
Hence,  as  our  Lord  speaks  of  the  Father's  giving  him  a 
commission,  of  his  being  sent  by  God,  of  his  coming  to  do 
the  will  of  God,  so  those  ancient  writers,  who  represent  the 
Son  as  equal  to  the  Father,  speak  of  him  at  the  same  time 
as  ayysXog,  ■j'^riPirrig  &sou  ;   and  the  fitness  of  that  oix.ovDfjja, 
which  he  undertook  for  the  salvation  of  mankind,  results 
from  the  essential  subordination  of  the  Son  to  the  Father. 
In  like  manner,  the  Spirit  who  "  proceedeth  from  the 
Father"  is,  upon  that  account,  subordinate  to  the  Father. 
Hence,  in  numberless  places  of  Scripture,  he  is  both  call- 
ed the  Spirit  of  God,  and  is  said  to  be  sent  by  the  Father. 
But  the  Scriptures  intimate  also  a  subordination  of  the 
Spirit  to  the  Son,  for  he  is  called  the  Spirit  of  Christ.    Je- 
sus says,  in  the  discourse  formerly  quoted  from  John's 
Gospel,  "  I  will  send  him — Fie  shall  glorif^^  me ;  for  he 
shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  to  you."*     It  is 
not  indeed  anywhere  said  in  Scripture,  that  the  Spirit 
proceedeth  from  the  Son,  and,  for  this  reason,  the  council 
of  Constantinople,  A.D.  381,  when  they  condemned  the 
errors  of  Macedonius,    introduced   amongst   the  exalted 
titles  which  they  applied  to  the  Spirit,  this  designation, 
taken  literally  from  Scripture,  to  bx  to-j  -rar^o;  £;c'Toosjo^svoi'. 
In  the  fifteenth  century  it  became  a  controversy  whether 

•  John  XV.  26;  xvi.  14. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  551 

the  Spirit,  not  in  respect  of  occasional  mission,  for  none 
could  deny  what  the  Scriptures  say,  that  the  Spirit  is  sent 
by  the  Son,  but,  in  respect  of  his  nature,  proceeds  from 
the  Son  as  well  as  from  the  Father.  Most  of  the  Greek 
fathers,  while  they  acknowledged  the  personality  and  di- 
vinity of  the  Spirit,  would  not  adopt  an  expression  con- 
cerning him,  which  appeared  to  them  improper,  because  it 
is  unscriptural,  and  preserved  the  language  of  the  council 
of  Constantinople,  t&  rrviUfLa  6  sx  rou  rrar^og  iXTro^iUcrai.  But 
the  Latin  fathers  argued  in  this  manner.  Since  the  Spirit, 
who  is  called  in  Scripture  the  Spirit  of  God,  is  called  also 
the  Spirit  of  his  Son  ;  and  since  the  Spirit,  who  is  sent  by 
the  Father,  is  also  said  to  be  sent  by  the  Son,  it  follows 
that  there  is  the  same  subordination  of  the  Spirit  to  the 
Son  as  to  the  Father.  But  the  subordination  of  the  Spirit 
to  the  Father  is  grounded  upon  his  proceeding  from  the 
Father,  and  his  being  subordinate  to  the  Son  must  have 
the  same  foundation,  i.  e.  as  the  divine  nature  was  commu- 
nicated by  the  Father  to  the  Son,  so  it  was  communicated 
by  the  Father  and  the  Son  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Upon  the  strength  of  this  reasoning  the  Latin  fathers 
made  an  addition  to  the  creed  of  Constantinople,  and  in- 
stead of  simply  translating  the  clause  used  in  that  creed, 
"  qui  a  Patre  procedit"  the}'^  said,  "  qui  a  Patre  Jilioque 
procedit."  The  Greek  churches,  who  did  not  admit  the 
truth  of  that  which  was  added,  were  enraged  at  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  Latin  churches  in  making  an  addition,  up- 
on account  of  their  peculiar  tenets,  to  a  creed  which  had 
been  composed  by  a  general  council,  and  had  been  de- 
clared to  be  unchangeable  ;  and  a  contention  for  authority 
thus  mingling  itself,  as  has  often  happened  in  the  church 
of  Christ,  with  a  difference  of  opinion,  the  word  ^'Jilioque" 
came  to  be  an  ostensible  ground  of  that  schism  between 
the  Greek  and  Latin  churches,  which  began  in  the  eighth 
century,  and  continues  till  this  day.  The  reformed 
churches,  without  vindicating  the  Latin  church,  or  assert- 
ing its  right  to  make  the  addition,  acquiesce  in  the  reason- 
ing upon  which  its  opinion  was  founded,  and  say  with  it 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son. 

I  have  now  stated  the  full  amount  of  the  first  principle, 
by  which  I  said  those  who  hold  the  third  or  Catholic  sys- 


5-52  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

tern  of  tlie  Trinity  endeavour  to  maintain  the  unity  of 
God.  Tiiey  do  not  believe  in  three  unoriginated  beings, 
co-ordinate  and  independent.  But  they  believe  in  three 
persons,  from  the  first  of  whom  the  second  and  third  did, 
from  all  eternity,  derive  the  nature  and  perfections  of  the 
Godhead  ;  and,  upon  this  communication  of  the  substance 
of  the  Father  to  the  Son,  and  the  substance  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  ground  that  gradual 
subordination,  which,  with  an  entire  sameness  of  nature, 
constitutes  the  most  perfect  consent  and  co-operation  of 
the  three  persons. 

But  aftei'  we  have  admitted  all  that  is  implied  in  this 

first  principle,  the  third  system  of  the  Trinity  appears  to 

fall  very  short  of  those  conceptions  of  the  unity  of  God 

which  reason  and  Scripture  teach  us  to  form.     We  must 

■  therefore  take  into  view  the  second  principle. 

2.  It  may  be  thus  expressed  ;  the  three  persons  are  in- 
separably joined  together.  So  necessary  and  indissoluble 
is  this  connexion,  that  as  the  Father  never  existed  Avithout 
the  Son  and  the  Spirit,  so  the  Son  and  the  Spirit  were  not 
separated  from  him  by  being  produced  out  of  his  sub- 
stance. Every  idea  of  section,  and  division,  and  interval, 
which  is  suggested  to  us  by  material  objects  and  by  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  species,  is  to  be  laid  aside  when  we 
raiee  our  conceptions  to  that  distinction  of  persons  under 
which  the  Deity  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  Scripture.  We 
are  to  attempt  to  conceive  that  this  distinction  does  not 
dissolve  the  continuity  of  nature, — that  while  every  one 
of  the  three  persons  has  his  distinct  subsistence,  they  are 
never  /zE^U/js/c^ivo/,  jj  ^s^o/  aKkr[koiv,  aXX'  iv  aXXrjXoig  advy^urug 
Ti^i^ciJiouyng, 

There  Avere  two  phrases  which  the  ancient  Catholics 
employed  to  mark  this  idea.  In  order  to  show  that 
they  did  not  consider  the  Son  as  sent  forth  from  the  Fa- 
ther, as  our  children  are  sent  forth  to  have  an  existence 
separated  from  their  parents,  they  called  his  generation 
an  interior,  not  an  external  production,  meaning  that  he 
remained  in  the  Father,  from  whom  he  was  produced ; 
and,  in  order  to  mark  the  indissoluble  connexion  of  all 
the  three  persons,  they  used  the  word  'Xi^iyu^riSig  or  s/iffs- 
^i-^ooondig,  circum-hicessio,  M'hich  is  thus  defined,  "  that 
union  by  which  one  being  exists  in  another,  not  only  by 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  553 

a  participation  of  nature,  but  by  the  most  intimate  pre- 
sence with  it,  so  that,  although  the  two  beings  are  dis- 
tinct, they  dwell  in  and  penetrate  one  another."  They 
considered  both  these  phrases  as  warranted  by  such  ex- 
pressions in  Scripture  as  the  following,  John  x.  38,  "  Tliat 
ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father  is  in  me  and  I 
in  him  ;"  and,  John  xiv.  10,  "  The  Father  that  dwelleth 
in  me,  he  doeth  the  works."  And  they  considered  this  in- 
dwelling of  the  persons  in  one  another  as  completing  the 
unity  of  God. 

If,  upon  this  subject,  they  sometimes  speak  unintelligi- 
bly, and  at  other  times  approach  to  the  language  of  Sabcl- 
lianism,  the  apology  is  to  be  found  in  their  own  confession, 
that  the  manner  of  the  divine  existence  is  above  the  com^^ 
prehension  of  man,  and  in  their  anxiety  to  reconcile  a 
fundamental  truth  of  natural  religion  with  the  discoveries 
of  revelation. 

I  cannot  better  illustrate  the  third  or  Catholic  system 
which  I  have  now  delineated,   than  by  giving  an  account 
of  what   is  called  the  Platonic  Trinity.     I  do  not  mean 
the   Trinity  held  by  Plato  himself;  for,   although  it  has 
been  said  that  this  philosopher  anticipated  the  revelation 
of  three  persons  in  the  godhead,  and  that  his  philosophy 
prepared  the  world  for  receiving  this  incomprehensible 
truth,   yet  the  passages  relating  to  this   subject,  -which 
I  either  found   in  his  works,  when  I  read  them,  or  Avhioh 
I  have,  since  that  time,   seen   extracted  froni  him,  arc  so 
few  in  number,  so  short,  and  so  obscure,  that  it  seems  to 
me  impossible  for  any  person,  who  had  not  much  previous 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  to   draw  that  conclusion  from 
them,  which  they  have  sometimes  been  brought  to  esta- 
blish.    It  has  been  said,  indeed,  that  the  Trinity  of  per- 
sons in  the  Deity  was  a  secret  doctrine  of  Plato,  which, 
although  couched  in  his  writings  under  dark  words,  was 
plainly  taught  to  those  disciples  who  were  able  to  receive 
it.     I  know  not  upon  what  evidence  this  is  said  ;  but  sup- 
posing it  to  be  true,   it  must  be  allowed  that  this  secret 
doctrine  was  not  published  to  the  world  till  the  second  or 
third  century   of  the   Christian  era,    when   the   Platonic 
school,  following  out  the  sublime  views  of  the  divine  na- 
ture given  by  their  master,  which  in  some  points  corres* 
ponded  with  the  Christian  revelation,  and  themselves  en* 

VOL.  I.  2  B 


654> 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


lightened  by  acquaintance  with  the  Gospel,  which  they 
could  not  fail  to  acquire  while  it  vras  spreading  over  the 
Roman  empire,  and  Avas  embraced  by  many  Platonists, 
brought  forward  in  the  language  of  Plato  a  scheme  very 
niucli  resembling  what  I  called  the  third  system  of  the 
Trinity. 

The  following  is  a  short  view  of  this  scheme,  in  the 
w  ords  of  Bishop  Horsley,  who  writes  like  one  deeply  read 
in  ancient  philosophy,  and  whose  acknowledged  eminence 
as  a  man  of  science  procures  credit  for  his  account  of  the 
opinions  of  otlier  men.     Dr.  Priestley  having  asserted  in 
one  of  his  publications,   that  it  was  never  imagined  that 
the  three  component  members  of  the   Platonic   Trinity 
were  either  equal  to  each  other,  or  were,  strictly  speaking, 
one,  his  zealous  and  able  antagonist  ascribes  this  assertion 
to  an  ignorance  of  the  true  principles  of  Platonism,  and 
opposes  to  it  the  following  account  of  these   principles, 
which  I   gather  from  different  parts  of  his  13th  letter  to 
Dr.  Priestley.     The  three  principles  in  the  Deity  are  to 
ayadov,  goodness,  vov;,  intelligence,  ■^u'^ri,  vitality.     These 
three,  strictly  speaking,  are  more  one,  thon  any  thing  in 
nature  of  which  unity  may  be  predicted.     No  one  of  them 
can  be  supposed  without  the  other  tvi'o.     The  second  and 
third  being,  the  first  is  necessarily  supposed ;  and  the  first 
being,  the  second  and  third  must  come  forth.     All  tlie 
three  were  included  by  the  Platonists  in  the  divine  nature, 
the  TO  '^iiov ;  a  notion  implying  the  same  equality  which  the 
Christian  Fathers  maintained.     To  the  first  principle  they 
ascribed  an  activity  of  a  very  peculiar  kind — such  as  might 
be  consistent  with  an  undisturbed  immutability.     He  acts 
fjjivuiv  sv  iuuTcv  Tjki,  h\  a  simple  indivisible  unvaried  energy  ; 
which,  as  it  cannot  be  broken  into  a  multitude  of  distinct 
acts,  cannot  be  adapted  to  the  variety  of  external  things  ; 
on  which,  therefore,  the  first  God  acts  not,  either  to  create 
or  to  preserve  them,  otherwise  than  through  the  two  sub- 
ordinate principles.     But  eternal  activity  was  sujiposed  to 
be  the   consequence  of  the  goodness  of  the  Deit}' ;  and 
from  this  eternal  activity  flowed, by  necessary  consequence, 
the  existence  of  intellect,  and  the  vital  principle,  in  which 
alone  the  divine  nature   is  active  upon  external  things. 
According  to  this  system  too  the  world  was  supposed  to 
be  eternal,  because  it  was  conceived  that  the  goodness  of 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  THIXITY.  555 

the  Deity  could  not  suffer  that  to  be  delayed  whieli,  be- 
cause he  hath  done  it,  appears  tit  to  be  done.  But  the 
world  was  supposed  to  be  eternal,  not  by  its  own  nature, 
liut  by  the  choice  of  a  free  agent  who  might  have  willed  the 
contrary;  whereas  intellect  and  the  vital  principle  have  been 
(^ternal  ])y  necessity,  as  branches  of  the  divinity;  and,  there- 
fore, when  the  converted  Platonists,  upon  the  authority  of 
revelation,  discarded  the  notion  of  the  world's  eternity, 
they  did  not  iind  themselves  obliged  to  discard  with  it  the 
eternity  of  the  voi/j,  which  they  considered  as  equivalent 
to  the  Christian  Xoyog,  because  that  was  an  eternity  of 
quite  another  kind. 

Such  is  the  view  of  the  Platonic  Trinity  given  by  Dr, 
Horsley  ;  and  in  perfect  conformity  to  this  is  the  confes- 
sion of  his  faith  in  the  Christian  Trinity,  which  his  loth 
and  15th  letters  to  Dr.  Priestley  contain,  and  which  form 
the  most  useful  recapitulation  that  I  can  give  of  what  has 
been  said  upon  the  Catholic  system.  "  I  hold,"  says  Dr. 
Horsley,  "  that  the  Father's  faculties  are  not  exerted  on 
external  things,  otherwise  than  through  the  Son  and  the 
H0I3'  Ghost ;  that  the  Scriptures,  by  discovering  a  trinity, 
teach  clearly  that  the  metaphysical  unity  of  the  divine 
nature  is  not  an  unity  of  persons,  but  that  they  do  not 
teach  such  a  separation  and  independence  of  these  per- 
sons as  amounts  to  tritheism.  I  maintain  that  the  three 
persons  are  one  being — one  by  mutual  relation,  indissolu- 
ble connexion,  and  gradual  subordination  ;  so  strictly  one, 
that  any  individual  thing  in  the  whole  world  of  matter 
and  of  spirit  presents  but  a  faint  shadow  of  their  unity. 
I  maintain  that  each  person  by  himself  is  God,  because 
each  possesses  fully  every  attribute  of  the  divine  nature. 
But  I  maintain  that  these  three  Persons  are  all  included 
in  the  very  idea  of  God.  I  maintain  the  equality  of  the 
three  Persons  in  all  the  attributes  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  their  equalitj'  in  rank  and  authority  with  respect  t() 
all  created  thing-,  whatever  relations  or  differences  mav 
subsist  between  themselves.  Differences  there  must  i)e, 
lest  we  confound  the  persons,  which  was  the  error  of  Sa- 
bellins.  But  the  differences  can  only  consist  in  the  per- 
sonal projjerties,  lest  we  divide  the  substance,  and  make  a 
plurality  of  independent  god»." 


556  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


SECTION  IV. 


The  third  or  Catholic  system  of  the  Trinity  is  the  declared 
faith  of  both  the  established  churches  of  Great  Britain. 
The  first  of  the  thirtj'-nine  articles  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land contains  this  clause  :  "  And  in  the  unity  of  this  God- 
head there  be  three  persons,  of  one  substance,  power,  and 
eternity,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  And 
the  creed  called  the  Creed  of  Athanasius,  because  it  de- 
livers with  great  fulness  of  expression  that  doctrine  oi 
which  he  was  the  distinguished  champion,  is  appointed  to 
be  read  upon  certain  days,  as  the  most  explicit  declaration 
that  the  Church  of  England  is  equally  removed  from  the 
Sabellian  and  the  Arian  systems.  The  words  in  the  se- 
cond chapter  of  our  Confession  of  Faith  are  nearly  the 
same  with  those  of  the  first  article  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. "  In  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  there  be  three  per- 
sons, of  one  substance,  power,  and  eternity  ;  God  the  Fa- 
ther, God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Fa- 
ther is  of  none,  neither  begotten  nor  proceeding ;  the  Sou 
is  eternally  begotten  of  the  Father;  the  Holy  Ghost  eter- 
nally proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the  Son."  And  this 
doctrine  is  accounted  by  our  church  so  essential,  that  it  is 
introduced  into  the  catechism  which  they  recommend  for 
the  instruction  of  young  persons  in  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion. 

In  Scotland  there  were  few  publications  during  the 
course  of  the  last  century  that  particularly  respected  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ;  and  in  most  parts  of  the  country 
the  minds  of  the  great  body  of  the  people,  from  the  force 
of  early  instruction,  acquiesce,  perhaps  without  much  spe- 
culation or  inquiry,  in  the  Catholic  system.  But  in  Eng- 
land many  writers  since  the  beginning  of  the  last  century 
have  drawn  a  large  share  of  the  public  attention,  and  have 
produced  a  considerable  degree  of  agitation  in  the  minds 
of  Christians,  by  the  theories  which  they  have  offered,  in 
order  to  reconcile  the  trinity  of  persons  with  the  unity  of 
the  Godhead.     A  particular  account   of  these   theorie* 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  557 

would  lead  into  a  very  perplexed  and  tedious  detail,  and 
is  in  reality  of  no  use,  because  all  of  them  approach  to  one 
or  other  of  the  three  systems  that  have  been  mentioned. 
By  assuming  a  new  name  they  may  seem  to  keep  clear  of 
the  objections  that  have  been  urged  against  their  parent 
system  ;  but  when  they  are  narrowly  canvassed,  they  are 
always  found  to  be  resolvable  into  the  same  principles, 
and  they  must  be  tried  upon  the  same  grounds. 

Although  for  these  reasons  I  shall  not  recite  the  names 
of  all  who  have  held  some  particular  opinion  about  the 
Trinity,  or  attempt  to  discriminate  their  tenets,  there  is 
one  exception  which  I  cannot  avoid  makmg.  Dr.  Samuel 
Clarke  is  so  deservedly  held  in  high  estimation  for  his  abi- 
lities as  a  general  scholar,  and  for  the  excellence  and  use- 
fulness both  of  his  sermons  and  of  his  discourses  on  the 
evidence  of  natural  and  revealed  religion  ;  his  theoiy  of 
the  Trinity  is  a  work  executed  with  such  labour  and  skill, 
and  the  controversy  to  which  it  gave  occasion  was  carried 
on  with  such  eagerness  at  the  time,  and  is  still  referred  to 
in  so  many  theological  treatises,  that  there  would  be  an 
essential  defect  in  this  view  of  opinions  concerning  the 
Trinity,  if  no  particular  notice  were  taken  of  his  system. 

Dr.  Clarke  has  entitled  his  book.  The  Scripture  Doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity.  The  first  part  is  a  collection  and  ex- 
plication of  all  the  texts  in  the  New  Testament  relating  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  The  collection  is  a  complete 
and  a  fair  one  ;  his  explication  of  some  of  the  texts  does 
not  agree  with  the  interpretation  most  generally  received ; 
but  he  defends  his  criticisms  like  a  scholar  and  an  acute 
reasoner ;  and  upon  this  collection  of  texts  and  his  expli- 
cation of  them,  is  founded  the  second  part,  in  which  what 
he  accounts  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  set  fox'th  at 
large  in  fifty-five  distinct  propositions.  He  accompanies 
these  propositions  with  references  to  the  particular  texts 
which  support  them,  and  often  both  with  illustrations  of 
his  own,  and  with  citations  from  ancient  and  modern 
writers;  his  object  being  to  show  that  the  doctrine  which 
he  professes  to  ground  upon  the  Scriptures  is  also  agreea- 
ble to  the  sentiments  of  the  succession  of  ecclesiastical 
writers.  It  has  been  said  that  there  is  not  the  same  fair- 
ness in  his  citations,  as  in  the  collection  of  texts.  He  not 
only  omits  those  passages  which  are  unfavourable  to  his 


558  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

own  opinion,  but  lie  often  leaves  out  parts  of  the  sentences 
which  he  quotes,  and  he  gives  them  in  so  detached  a  form, 
that  they  sometimes  appear  to  speak  a  meaning  perfectly 
different  from  that  which  a  reader,  who  has  an  opportuni- 
ty of  comparing  them  with  the  context,  perceives  to  be  the 
sense  of  the  author.  His  book,  therefore,  is  by  no  means 
a  safe  guide  to  those  who  wish  to  be  instructed  in  the  sen- 
timents of  the  ancient  church  with  regard  to  the  Trinity. 
But  to  those  who  have  derived  that  knowledge  from  other 
less  exceptionable  authority,  or  who  read  his  book  merely 
from  a  desire  to  know  what  Dr.  Clarke  himself  thought,  it 
presents  the  following  consistent  and  intelligible  scheme, 
which  I  give  as  the  amount  of  the  fifty-five  propositions 
that  constitute  the  second  part  of  his  book. 

There  is  one  living  intelligent  agent  or  person,  who 
alone  is  self-existent,  the  author  of  all  being  and  the  origin 
of  all  power,  who  is  supreme  over  all.  With  this  first  Su- 
preme Cause  and  Father  of  all,  there  have  existed  from  the 
beginning  a  second  divine  person,  who  is  his  Word  or  Son, 
and  a  third  divine  person,  who  is  his  Spirit;  and  these 
three  are  distinguished  in  Scripture  by  their  personal  cha- 
racters. When  the  Scriptures  mention  the  one  God,  the 
only  God,  or  God  by  way  of  eminence,  they  always  mean 
the  Person  of  the  Father.  The  Son  derived  his  being  and 
all  his  attributes  from  the  Father,  and  therefore  he  is  not 
the  self-existent  substance.  But  as  the  Scriptures  have 
not  declared  the  metaphysical  manner  of  this  derivation, 
they  are  worthy  of  censure  who  affirm  that  the  Son  was 
made  out  of  nothing ;  and,  as  the  Scriptures  never  make 
any  limitation  of  time  in  declaring  the  Son's  derivation 
irom  the  Father,  they  are  also  worthy  of  censure  who  say 
that  there  was  a  time  when  the  Son  was  not.  The  Son 
derived  his  being  from  the  Father,  not  by  mere  necessity 
of  nature,  but  l)y  an  act  of  the  Father's  incomprehensible 
power  and  will.  In  like  manner,  the  Spirit,  without  any 
limitation  of  time,  derived  his  being  from  the  Father. 
The  Son  is  sometimes  called  God,  not  on  account  of 
his  metaphysical  nature,  how  divine  soever,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  relative  attributes  and  divine  authority  com- 
municated to  him  from  the  Father  over  us.  To  the  Son 
are  ascribed  all  communicable  divine  powers,  i.  e.  all 
powers  which  include  not  the  independence  and  supreme 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  551d 

authority  by  which  the  God  and  Father  of  all  is  distin- 
guished ;  for  in  this  the  Son  is  evidently  subordinate  to 
the  Father,  that  he  derived  his  being,  attributes,  and  power 
from  the  Father.  Every  action  of  the  Son  is  only  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  Father's  power  communicated  to  him,  and 
the  reason  why  the  Scriptures,  although  they  style  the  Fa- 
ther God,  and  also  style  the  Son  God,  yet  at  the  same 
time  always  declare  there  is  but  one  God,  is,  because  there 
being  in  the  monarchy  of  the  universe  but  one  authority, 
original  in  the  Father,  derivative  in  the  Son,  therefore  the 
one  God,  absolutely  speaking,  always  signifies  him  in 
whom  the  power  and  authority  are  original  and  underived. 
In  like  manner,  the  Holy  Spirit,  whatever  his  metaphysi- 
cal nature  be,  and  whatever  divine  power  or  dignity  be 
ascribed  to  him,  is  evidently  subordinate  to  the  Fatlier ; 
and,  in  Scripture,  he  is  also  represented  as  subordinate  to 
the  Son,  both  by  nature  and  by  the  will  of  the  Father. 
And  thus  all  authority  and  power  are  original  in  the  Father, 
and  from  him  derived  to  the  Son,  and  exercised  according 
to  the  will  of  the  Father,  by  the  operation  of  the  Son,  and 
by  the  influences  of  the  Spirit. 

This  system  was  regarded  at  its  first  appearance  as  he- 
retical. A  prosecution  was  commenced  against  the  au- 
thor by  the  lower  house  of  Convocation  in  England ;  anil 
he  was  attacked  by  many  divines,  at  the  head  of  whom  is 
Dr.  Waterland.  After  reading  a  great  part  of  what  has 
been  written  by  Dr.  Clarke  and  his  antagonists,  it  appears 
to  me  that  the  difference  between  them  may  be  stated 
within  a  narrow  compass.  Dr.  Clarke  avoids  the  most  of- 
fensive expressions  used  by  the  Arians.  Instead  of  call- 
ing Christ  a  creature,  or  limiting  the  beginning  of  his  ex- 
istence, he  says  "  that  the  Son  was  eternally  begotten  by 
the  will  of  the  Father."  But  the  word  eternally  in  this 
sentence  means  nothing  more  than  that  the  Son  was  be- 
gotten before  all  ages,  before  those  measures  of  time  which 
the  succession  of  created  objects  furnishes,  in  the  incom- 
pi'ehensible  duration  of  the  Father's  eternity :  and  the 
phrase  "  by  the  will  of  the  Father,"  implies  that  the  Fa- 
ther might  not  have  produced  the  Son,  or  that  he  might 
have  produced  him  at  any  other  time  as  well  as  at  the 
time  when  he  did ;  so  that  however  great  the  powers  are 
which  the  Father  hath  been  pleased  to  communicate  to  the 


5G0  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

Son,  he  is  not  essentially  God,  but  there  are,  in  the  man- 
ner of  his  existence,  a  mutability  and  a  dependence  incon- 
sistent with  our  ideas  of  the  Divine  Nature.  The  opinion 
of  Dr.  Clarke,  therefore,  is  in  reality  that  of  the  Semi-Ari- 
ans,  who  were  called  Horaoiousians,  because  they  exalted 
Christ  above  the  rank  of  creatures,  and  held  that,  not  by 
necessity  of  nature,  but  by  special  privilege,  he  Avas  like  to 
God.  On  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  third  system, 
eternity  in  its  proper  sense,  and  necessary  existence,  are 
ascribed  to  the  Son.  All  the  attributes  of  the  godhead  are 
conceived  to  belong  to  him  by  nature,  and  it  is  not  sup- 
posed possible  that  he  could  be  other  than  that  which  he 
is.  Dr.  Clarke  and  his  opponents  agree  that  the  Son  is 
not  self-existent ;  for  both  account  the  Father  the  fountain 
of  deity.  But  Dr.  Clarke  thinks,  that,  since  the  Son  is 
not  self-existent,  he  does  not  exist  necessarily,  while  his 
opponents  affirm,  that,  with  the  consent  of  the  Father,  and 
according  to  his  will,  yet  by  necessity  of  nature,  the  Son 
derived  his  being  from  the  Father.  Dr.  Clarke  and  his 
opponents  agree  that  the  Son  is  subordinate  to  the  Father; 
but  the  subordination  of  Dr.  Clarke  implies  an  essential 
inferiority  of  nature,  while  his  opponents  do  not  admit  of 
any  difference  in  point  of  duration  or  dignity,  and  under- 
stand the  word  subordination  as  respecting  merely  order. 
Dr.  Clarke  and  his  opponents  agree  that  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  three  distinct  persons, 
to  every  one  of  whom  the  name  God  is  applied :  but  Dr. 
Clarke  considers  that  name  as  belonging  in  its  highest 
sense  to  the  Father,  and  only  in  an  inferior  sense  to  the 
other  two,  and  thus  maintains  the  unity  of  the  godhead 
upon  the  same  principle  with  the  Arian  system,  while  his 
opponents,  making  no  distinction  between  the  word  God 
when  applied  in  Scripture  to  the  Father,  and  the  same 
word  when  applied  in  Scripture  to  the  Son,  and  inferring, 
from  the  language  of  Scripture,  that  it  may  also  be  applied 
to  the  Spirit,  have  recourse  to  the  principles  which  were 
stated  under  the  third  system,  for  maintaining  the  unity  of 
three  persons,  each  of  whom  is  truly  God. 

In  stating  this  unity,  the  opponents  of  Dr.  Clarke  ad- 
hered to  the  word  which  had  been  used  by  the  council  of 
Nice,  saying  that  the  three  persons  were  o'Moustoi,  con-sub- 
stantial, which  is  rendered,  both  in  the  English  Articles 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  561 

and  in  our  Confession  of  Faith,  "  of  one  substance."  It 
did  not  escape  the  acuteness  of  Dr.  Clarke,  that  the  phrase 
is  ambiguous.  "  One  substance  "  may  mean  one  numeri- 
cal substance,  i.  e.  a  substance  which  is  one  in  number,  in- 
dividual ;  or  one  genericai  substance,  t.  e.  the  same  in 
kind,  tliat  which  belongs  to  all  of  one  kind,  as  Aristotle 
said  all  the  stars  are  6fioo-j(Jia.  On  account  of  this  ambi- 
guity, Dr.  Clarke  required  his  opponents  to  declare  in 
what  sense  they  understood  the  word  ;  and  by  a  succes- 
sion of  writers,  who  followed  his  steps,  and  wished  to  ex- 
pose the  third  system  as  untenable,  the  following  dilemma 
is  often  stated.  "  If  you  mean,  by  con-substantial,  that 
the  three  persons  are  of  the  same  individual  substance,  you 
destroy  their  personality  ;  for  three  persons,  of  whom  each 
has  not  his  own  distinct  substance,  but  who  are  in  one 
substance,  are  only  different  modifications  or  manners  of 
being,  so  that  your  Trinity  becomes  nominal  and  ideal, 
and  in  your  zeal  for  the  unity  of  the  godhead,  you  recur 
to  Sabellianism.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  mean  by 
con-substantial,  that  the  three  persons  are  of  the  same  ge- 
nericai substance,  then  you  destroy  their  unity  ;  for  three 
persons,  having  the  same  substance  in  kind,  have  each 
of  them  his  own  substance,  and  are,  in  reality,  three 
beings." 

This  dilemma,  like  many  others  which  appear  to  be  in- 
extricable, is  merely  captious.  For  the  ancients,  who  seem 
to  have  understood  o/moougioc,  as  marking  a  genericai  iden-  ^ 
tity  of  substance,  declare  that  they  consider  the  three  per-  \ 
sons  as  not  separated  from  one  another  like  three  indi-  ■ 
viduals  of  the  same  species,  but  as  united  in  a  manner 
more  perfect  than  we  are  able  to  conceive ;  and  the  mo- 
derns, many  of  whom  seem  to  understand  con-substantial 
as  marking  a  numerical  identity  of  substance,  declare  that 
they  consider  each  of  the  three  persons  as  having  a  dis- 
tinct subsistence,  and  the  divine  substance  as  in  this  re- 
spect essentially  distinguished  from  every  thing  material, 
that  without  diminution  or  division  it  extends  to  three 
persons.  The  difficulty,  therefore,  arising  from  the  ambi- 
guity of  the  word  con-substantial,  with  which  those  who 
hold  the  Catholic  system  have  been  so  often  pressed,  is 
only  a  proof  that  it  is  a  vain  attempt  to  apply  the  terms 
of  human  science  to  the  manner  of  the  divine  existence 


'J 


562 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 


and  that  the  multiplication  of  words  upon  this  subject  does 
not  in  any  degree  increase  the  stock  of  our  ideas. 

We  are  thus  brought  back,  after  reviewing  a  multiplicity 
of  opinions,  to  the  few  simple  positions  which  constitute 
the  whole  amount  of  the  knowledge  that  Scripture  has 
given  us  concerning  the  Trinity,  and  which  may  be  thus 
briefly  stated.  The  Scriptures,  while  they  declare  the 
fundamental  truth  of  natural  religion,  that  God  is  one, 
reveal  two  persons,  each  of  whom,  with  the  Father,  we  are 
led  to  consider  as  God,  and  ascribe  to  all  the  three  dis- 
tinct personal  properties.  It  is  impossible  that  the  three 
can  be  one  in  the  same  sense  in  which  they  are  three  :  and 
therefore  it  follows,  by  necessary  inference,  that  the  unity 
of  God  is  not  an  unity  of  persons;  but  it  does  not  follow, 
that  it  may  not  be  an  unity  of  a  more  intimate  kind  than 
any  which  we  behold.  An  unity  of  consent  and  will 
neither  corresponds  to  the  conclusions  of  reason,  nor  is  by 
any  means  adequate  to  a  great  part  of  the  language  of 
Scripture,  for  both  concur  in  leading  us  to  suppose  an  un- 
ity of  nature.  Whether  the  substance  common  to  the  three 
persons  be  specifically  or  numerically  the  same,  is  a  ques- 
tion, the  discussion  of  which  cannot  advance  our  know- 
ledge, because  neither  of  the  terms  is  applicable  to  the 
subject ;  and  after  all  our  researches  and  reading,  we  shall 
find  ourselves  just  where  we  began,  incapable  of  perceiving 
the  manner  in  which  the  three  persons  partake  of  the  same 
divine  nature.  But  we  are  very  shallow  philosophers  in- 
deed, if  we  consider  this  as  any  reason  for  believing  that 
they  do  not  partake  of  it ;  for  we  are  by  much  too  ignorant 
of  the  manner  of  the  divine  existence  to  be  warranted  to 
say  that  the  distinction  of  persons  is  an  infringement  of 
the  Divine  unity.  "  It  is  strange  boldness  in  men,"  says 
Bishop  Stillingfleet,  (iii.  352,)  '<  to  talk  of  contradictions 
in  things  above  their  reach.  Hath  not  God  revealed  to  us 
that  he  created  all  things  ;  and  is  it  not  reasonable  for  us 
to  believe  this,  unless  we  are  able  to  comprehend  the  man- 
ner of  doing  it?  Hath  not  God  plainly  revealed  that  there 
shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead  ?  And  must  we  think 
it  unreasonable  to  believe  it,  till  we  are  able  to  compre- 
hend all  the  changes  of  the  particles  of  matter  from  the 
creation  to  the  general  resurrection  ?  If  nothing  is  to  be 
believed  but  what  may  be  comprehended,  the  very  being  of 


''^63 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  O 

(led  must  be  rejected,  and  all  his  unsearchable  perfections^.* 
If  we  believe  the  attributes  of  God  to  be  infinite,  how  can 
we  comprehend  them  ?  We  are  strangely  puzzled  in  plain 
ordinary,  finite  things  ;  but  it  is  madness  to  pretend  to  com- 
prehend what  is  infinite  ;  and  yet,  if  the  perfections  of  God 
be  not  infinite,  they  cannot  belong  to  him.  Let  those,  who 
presume  to  say  that  there  is  a  contradiction  in  the  Trinity, 
try  their  imaginations  about  God's  eternity,  not  merely  how 
he  should  be  from  himself,  but  how  God  should  co-exist  with 
all  the  differences  of  times,  and  yet  there  be  no  succession 
in  his  own  being  ;  and  they  will  perhaps  concur  with  me  in 
thinking  that  there  is  no  greater  difficulty  in  the  concep- 
tion of  the  Trinity  than  there  is  of  eternity.  For  three  to 
be  one  is  a  contradiction  in  numbers  ;  but  whether  an  in- 
finite nature  can  communicate  itself  to  three  different  sub- 
stances, without  such  a  division  as  is  among  created 
beings,  must  not  be  determined  by  bare  numbers,  but  by 
the  absolute  perfections  of  the  Divine  nature  :  which  must 
be  owned  to  be  above  our  comprehension." 

Since  then  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  one,  and  since  the  unity  of  three 
persons  who  partake  of  the  same  divine  nature  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  an  unity  of  the  most  perfect  kind,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  the  more  we  can  abstract  from  every  idea  of 
inequality,  division,  and  separation,  provided  we  preserve 
the  distinction  of  persons,  our  conceptions  approach  the 
nearer  to  the  truth.  But  since  the  manner  of  the  Divine 
existence  is  confessedly  above  our  comprehension,  and 
since  no  words  or  images  that  we  can  employ  are  found  to 
correspond  to  the  unity  of  these  three  persons,  there  are 
two  inferences  or  advices  that  present  themselves  upon 
this  subject,  which  I  shall  just  mention  in  taking  leave  of  it. 

The  ifirst  inference  is,  that  men  of  speculation  ought  to 
exercise  mutual  forbearance  if  they  differ  from  one  another 
in  their  attempts  to  explain  that  which  all  acknowledge  to 
be  inexplicable.  It  is  vain  to  think  of  confining  the  human 
mind  to  those  researches  in  which  she  may  easily  attain 
some  certain  conclusion.  She  loves  to  soar  and  to  roam, 
and  she  gathers  much  wisdom  from  her  own  most  adven- 
turous flights  ;  but  this  lesson  surely  should  not  be  one  of 
the  last,  that  those  who  presume  to  expatiate  in  the  sub- 
lime regions,  where  the  light  of  human  science  becomes 


564}  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

dim  and  uncertain,  need  not  be  surprised  to  meet  with 
many  wanderers.  Every  sober  inquirer,  who  finds  that, 
after  all  his  investigations,  the  union  of  the  three  persons 
in  the  Godhead  remains  to  him  involved  in  impenetrable 
darkness,  will  judge  with  candour  of  the  attempts  made  by 
other  men  to  obtain  a  solution  of  the  difficulties  which 
presented  themselves  to  their  minds ;  and  he  will  not 
readily  suppose  that  they  doubt  of  the  fact,  although 
they  may  differ  from  him  in  the  manner  of  explaining  the 
fact. 

The  second  inference  or  advice  is,  that  as  you  cannot 
expect  to  give  the  body  of  the  people  clear  ideas  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  three  persons  are  united,  it  may  be 
better  in  discoursing  to  them,  to  avoid  any  particular  dis- 
cussion of  this  subject ;  and  to  follow  here,  as  in  every 
other  instance,  the  pattern  of  teaching  set  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Our  Lord  and  his  Apostles  do  not  propose  any 
metaphysical  explication  of  the  unity  of  the  Divine  nature. 
But  they  assume  it,  and  declare  it  as  a  fundamental  truth ; 
and  they  never  insinuate  that  it  is  in  the  smallest  degree 
infringed  by  the  revelation  which  they  give  of  the  three 
persons.  After  this  example,  I  advise  you  never  to  per- 
plex the  minds  of  the  people  with  different  theories  of  the 
Trinity,  and  never  to  suggest  that  the  unity  of  the  Divine 
nature  is  a  questionable  point ;  but,  without  professing  to 
explain  how  the  three  persons  are  united,  to  place  before 
your  hearers,  as  you  have  occasion,  the  Scripture  account 
of  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  of  the  Father, 
and  thus  to  preserve  upon  their  minds  what  the  Scrip- 
tures have  revealed,  and  what  upon  that  account  it  is  cer- 
tainlj'^  of  importance  for  them  to  learn,  the  dignity  of  the 
second  and  third  persons,  their  relation  to  us,  and  their 
power  to  execute  the  gracious  offices  necessary  for  our 
salvation.  These  essential  points  of  Christian  instruction, 
which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  to  im- 
press upon  the  people,  are  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  be  in  no  danger  of  leading  into  the 
Sabellian,  the  Arian,  or  the  Tritheistic  scheme  of  the 
Trinity  ;  and,  therefore,  if  we  adhere,  as  we  ought  al- 
ways to  do,  to  the  pure  revelation  of  Scripture  in  our  ac- 
count of  the  three  persons,  we  have  no  occasion  to  expose 
to  the  people  the  defects  of  these  schemes ;  and  we  may 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  565 

reserve  to  ourselves  all  the  speculations  about  the  manner 
in  which  the  three  persons  are  united. 

I  conclude  this  specimen  of  the  variety  of  opinions,  and 
of  the  kind  of  language  which  you  may  expect  to  find  in 
ancient  and  modern  writers  upon  the  Trinity,  with  men- 
tioning the  books  from  which  I  have  derived  most  assist- 
ance. 

The  best  writer  in  defence  of  the  Catholic  system  of  the 
Trinity  is  Bishop  Bull.  His  works  are  published  in  a 
large  folio  volume,  more  than  half  of  which  is  filled  with 
the  three  following  treatises:  Defensio  Fidei  Nicenae — 
Judicium  Ecclesiae  Catholicae — Primitiva  et  Apostolica 
Traditio.  All  the  three  respect  the  Trinity,  and  are  often 
quoted  by  succeeding  writers,  who  borrow  the  greatest 
part  of  their  matter  from  this  very  learned  and  able  divine. 
His  principal  work  is,  Defensio  Fidei  Nicena?,  which  con- 
sists of  four  parts.     1.  The  "r^oUrae^/,',  pre-existence  of  the 

Son 2.  TO  6,(Moovgiov,  consubstantiality   of  the   Son — 3.  to 

eu'M'ihm,  his  eternal  co-existence  with  the  Father,     4.  His 
subordination  to  the  Father.     Bishop  Pearson,  in  his  Ex- 
position of  the  Creed,  gives  the  same  view  of  the  Trinity 
with  Bishop  Bull ;  which  is  the  true  Athanasian  scheme  ; 
and  he  states  it  as  he  states  every  other  point  in  theology 
of  which  he  treats,  with  clearness,  with  sound  judgment, 
and  with  much  learning.     Dr.  Cudworth,  in  that  magazine 
of  learning,  which  he  calls  the  Intellectual  System,  gives 
a  full  view  of  the  Christian  and  the  Platonic  Trinity.     If 
you  consult,  when  you  read  him,  the  ingenious  and  learned 
notes  which  Mosheim  has  added  to  his  Latin  edition  of 
Cudworth,  you  will  be  preserved  from  some  errors,  and 
your  views  of  the  subjects  treated  will  be  much  enlighten- 
ed  and  improved.     When  you  come  down  to   the    last 
century,  Dr.  Clarke's  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is 
the   first  book  which  will  engage  your  attention.     As  a 
collection  of  texts  upon  the  subject  it  is  most  useful ;  as  a 
view  of  the  opinions  of  the  ancient  church  it  is  to  be  read, 
for  the  reasons  which  I  mentioned,  with  suspicion  ;  and  as 
the  argument  of  a  very  able  and  acute  man,  upon  a  sub- 
ject which  seems  to  have  been  near  his  heart,  it  is  proper 
that  you  should  read  at  the  same  time  what  was  said  by 
his  opponents.     There  are  two  books  by  Dr.  Waterland. 


y 


566  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY. 

The  one,  Sermons  in  Defence  of  the  Divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  the  other,  A  Vindication  of  Christ's  Divinity. 
And  there  is  an  excellent  book,  not  so  controversial  as 
Dr.  Waterland's,  which  should  be  read  by  every  student 
of  divinity,  A  Vindication  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
by  Dr.  Thomas  Randolph.  Dr.  Randolph  opposes  the 
principles  of  Dr.  Clarke.  But  he  writes  directly  in  an- 
swer to  a  small  book  entitled,  An  Essay  on  Spirit,  which 
])resent3  a  modification  of  the  Arian  system.  You  will 
read  with  pleasure  a  rational  intelligible  history  of  Arian- 
isni,  which  Dr.  Jortin,  who  is  very  far  from  having  any 
prejudice  in  favour  of  the  Catholic  S3'stem,  gives  in  the 
third  volume  of  his  Remarks  on  Ecclesiastical  History.  I 
referred  formerly  to  Ben  Mordecai's  Apulogy  by  Taylor. 
You  Mill  find  many  able  attacks  upon  all  the  parts  of  the 
Catholic  system,  in  the  works  of  Mr.  Thomas  Emlyn. — 
Mosheim,  in  his  valuable  work,  De  Rebus  Christianorum 
ante  Christianum  Magnum,  gives  the  most  complete  in- 
formation as  to  Sabellianism,  and  the  other  early  systems 
of  the  Trinity  ;  and  his  Church  History  joins  to  a  short 
account  of  all  the  variety  of  opinions  upon  this  subject, 
references  to  the  authors  who  have  treated  of  them  more 
largely.  Mr.  Gibbon  has  introduced  into  his  second  vo- 
lume a  history  of  the  Arian  controversy,  in  which  he  pro- 
fesses to  delineate  the  three  systems  of  the  Trinity.  But 
it  displays  the  same  inveterate  prejudice  against  religion, 
and  the  same  constant  endeavour  to  turn  into  ridicule 
every  branch  of  that  subject,  which  disgrace  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  writings  of  this  illustrious  historian.  Some 
of  the  books  which  I  have  mentioned  will  prej^are  you  for 
reading  this  part  of  Gibbon,  by  enabling  you  to  discern 
where  his  account  is  lame  or  unfair.  Lardner,  Priestley, 
Lindsey,  and  the  other  Socinians  of  later  times,  incline  to 
the  Sabellian  system,  and  employ  every  art  to  represent 
the  other  two  as  contrary  to  Scripture,  to  reason,  and  to 
the  opinions  of  the  primitive  church.  They  have  been 
attacked  by  many  modern  writers.  But  you  will  need  no 
other  antidote  to  their  heresy  than  the  volume  of  tracts 
by  Bishop  Horsle^^,  a  formidable  antagonist,  whose  supe- 
riority in  argument  and  in  learning  gives  him  some  title 
to  use  that  tone  of  disdain  which  pervades  the  volume. 


DOCTRINE  OF  THE  TRINITY.  567 

It  consists  of  a  charge  to  the  clergy  of  his  Archdeaconry, 
exposing  the  errors  in  one  of  Dr.  Priestley's  publications  ; 
of  letters  to  Dr.  Priestley,  occasioned  by  his  reply  to  the 
charge  ;  of  a  sermon  on  the  incarnation,  and  of  supple- 
mental disquisitions. 

Of  other  writers  avIio  have  published  particular  schemes 
of  the  Trinity,  I  am  almost  entirely  ignorant.  From  the 
short  accounts  of  their  works  which  have  come  in  my 
way,  I  found  that  their  schemes  are  only  certain  modifi- 
cations of  the  first  or  the  third  systems,  by  which  ingeni- 
ous men  have  attempted  to  satisfy  their  own  minds,  or  to 
remove  the  objections  which  others  had  made ;  and  know- 
ing well  that,  after  all  our  researches,  difficulties  must 
remain,  and  that  these  difficulties  furnish  no  argument 
against  the  truth,  I  thought  that  my  time  might  be  em- 
ployed more  profitably  than  by  labouring  to  fix  in  my 
mind  their  nice  discriminations,  which  it  might  be  difficult 
to  apprehend  and  impossible  to  retain.  • 


END  OF  VOL.  1. 


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