'^'?#?» IMAGE EVALUATION f EST TARGET (MT-3) r^- /•: 1.0 ^^^ ^B ^ lU 122, ^'^ 2? HA ^" l\ ■■■ = US. 11.25 I U 1 1.6 t "N as WBT MAM STRHET Wn S T«l, H .Y. 1 458 ..--.'-V Corparalion (716)«72«4S03 — — -f ^^4^ CIHM Microfiche Series (Monograplis) ...# ,- iCMH Collection de microfiches (monographies) -* ■ .» v- Canadian Instituta for Historical MiGroraproductlona /Inttltut canad^n da microraprodurtlona hittoriquaa H, *#;" TMhfiical and MbNofrapMc Notts / NolM TIM ImtiMtt hM «nMiip«id to ebttki th« b«f orifbMl eopv ■wilibtofoffWimwt. FMtyrw of thh eo^ Mlikli may to MbNomphiaNy uniqiM. vrMdi may ilttr any of tto imaiM in Iha raprodiMtion, or wrtikh NMV lignifiaantlv dwnti tto ummI matliod of filmint. aro etodiadtolow. •: r^CeloMnd co«*n/ IJ^ XotMamini 4a coSavr Q Covari damapd/ Cowvartufa □ Covan rtttorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartufa rastaHrAa at/ou pallieul4a □ Co«ar tMa MiMinf/ La tHir* da eoyvartura manqwa OCblouradi CairlBt fteirapMquai an eoulaur Cotouiad ink (i.«. othar tton Mua or Maeli)/ f ncra da eoniour (i.a. autrt qua Maua ou noirt) □ CofoOfad plalM and/or illuttratiom/ PliiiclMi at/ou illiHtrftiont an aoulmir □ ■ound with ottor matarwl/ tMIt avae d'avtrtt doeumanti □ Ti#it Mndint may catna shadows or distortion along inttrior mwfin/ La raliura sarrte paut causar da I'ombra ou da la distorskNi la lonf da la mat^i intiriaiua D Blank laavas addad durin* rastoration may appaar svithin tha taxt Whanawar possiMa, thasa ha«a baan omittad from f iiminf/ II sa paut qua eartainas pafH blanchas aiouttes km d'una rastauration apparaissant dans la taxta, mats, torsqua cab Hait possiMa. cas pagH n'ont " pasMftknAas. . k n Additional eommants:/ Cemmantairas supplt m antairast taehniquas at MMiofraphiquas ' L'lnttitut a mierofihn* la maUlaur axamplaira qu'il . kli a M possiMa da sa procurar. Las d*taHs da eat A a x ampl a ira qui sont paiit4tra uniquas du point da «i»a bibHographkiua, qui pauvant modif iar una knaga raproduha. ou qui pauvant axigar una modif icatkM dans la mMmda normala da f ikn|pp sont fc»dlqu #s ci dasseus. □ Cokiurad pagas/ ' > - Pagas da coulaur n Pagas rastorad and/or laminatod/ Pagas rastturtes at/ou pailieuMas r~Tfigas disookMHod. stainad or foxad/ I ^ PagM diMokirias. tachatias ou pkpiias □ PagaidMiad/ Pagas datacnaas "~~: # ■■ r~W«howthrough/ Li^ Transparanca r X Lea anemplalree originaun dont la eouverture en pepier est imprimOe sont fllmOs en oommencent per le premier plet et en Mrmlnant soit par la derniire pege qui compono une emprelnte d impression ou d'iilustretion, soit per le second plat, salon le oas. Toua lee autree OHempleires origineux sont fllm4a en eommen^ant par la prarhlAre page qui eomporto una amprajnta d'impraesion ou d'iliuetration at an tdrmlnant par la dernl#re page qui eomporto una telle emprelnte. On dea symbolaa suivanta apparaltra sur la derniOre imege do cheque microfiche, selon Ip eaa: la symboia -*• aignifia "A SUIVRE". la symbola V signlfle "FIN". ^^ t~^ Lea cfirtes. plenchee. tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmAs 4 des taox da rAductiori diffOrents. Lorsque le document eat trop grand pour Atra rf fiqduit en un saul clichA. 11 aet f limA A partir f'langle s^pArieur gauche, da gauche A droite. do hsiut en baa,°en pronf m la nombre (I'imeges nAcessaira. Lea diagrammoa suivants tiiustront la mAthodo. tiYT '!"'■'' .,*;'•" /f"^-". ' ".' -..■IIF ; ■ -**^-;- ..'S^^' ■■- I i- "5^'^3S*^JCt.-T-r-. SSip^^^w?; * ■ ■ • \ . ■ . . -., ■■ . \ ■ ..• . ^- ■ f • . , ■ .'• ■ • * ■ ■■ . \ ' ■ , ' '\ ■ ■"■■ . \ ' \ • ■ •■• V /. . ' , ■ - '"■ . ^ ■' ■ . ■ . • ': ...i 1 'tf*^ * 1 If :,..-^'"" :^'^v ' ■ '' Ik V 1,*'^'^^^ " ■• -/ ^;;: ■ \ ■ - ■ ; 1 9 '■"''''''' . _ . 1 ■ ':{-:i- • ^' ■-'■''- 'v ' , r " ■ • ■'*■* ' 1 ■ "l ■ ::::;»,••■ * \- ■ .■ ' ■ . - .• ~ .•■ .^•'■v ■;■■;;■ :' : ::;; '^ ■■/■' ... ...... ■,.^;,;„_ - \ y\- ■ ■■:.■■/:.- ■■'^^i ■" ^' ' ' . - ■ ' ■ ' "i'^^ — ""^^-"i-^ '^ \£ ■ \ ■: ■ ■■ _ _ f. ■-."_ .; ; .. '■■-':.::: ■' \\'?--' *■■/■:'':: ': • • ' \ BIBLICAL piFFICULTIES DISPELLED: I ^>. niMO AN AN8WKB TO QUK&IK8 KBSPKOTINO 80-OAU.KD DISCREPANCIES IN SOlilPTDRE; ■ISUNDBRSTOOD AND MISINTERPRETED ^XTS, BY !i ; GEORGE SEXTOI^, M.A.; LL.b., Vtnorary and Corrupoitding Fellow of the Italian Soeietyc/ Soienoe ; Honorary Men^>erqfL'Aeeadmniadeiqmriti,Bdme. AUTHOa OP 'The Bftvelen Fabric of SoiratMo Sceptidam ;" 'ugMr. ■■ ; , ■ - ■ '■.- :■. ;:>\- -. ■■" :■■•■. ■■■■:■,■. ■■■. , " ■:■■ ■'; ^ ^ TORONTO, CANADA: -I* WILLIAM BRIGGS, 78 k 80 KING STREET BAST. MoimuuL: 0. W. OOATES. Halwaz, N.S. : 8. F HUESTI8; -* " i , . ■ '■■'-■ ■ -■-■ — '- LONDON, ENGLAND;:'*. ';• SMART. LONDON HOUSE TAJtii, E.O »"''. IflflK* •■ .- « ' 1885. .. u ■ ■ ■' -- - :- \ ■■:;:■■: :.:^v-^-^::' ,:/b;^::.:%: .;:::/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^y-r'.-' - ::^'-"---' ■ "■- -■:■ ■'■:'^ '-:-,' ^M-'- ■ .: '"^'"^- '■■';>-■■•'/:.-. ■■ ■-. ■ • ■• - ♦ ■X :■#' ^ 'V. V' PREFACE. BcBiirG the nine years that I have been engaged almoBt exolnrively in the field of " Christian Apologetics/' many hundreds of questions have been propounded ,to me on the difficulties to be met with in relation to religion and the sacred scriptures. Some of these have been put orally at the close of lectures, others have cropped up in public debates that I have held ifith leading sceptical advocates-; and others— by far the migor portion-:— hav^ been sent through the post. ^11 have been replied to in one way or another, the last nam.ed mainly in writing. The question^flhi have been of various classes ; some of them anxious enquirers, troubled with doubts that may have arisen in their own '^ 'minds, or, pestered with difficulties brought before them by their oompanipns or fellow-workmen, whose queries were put in a respectful tonie and a reverential frame of mind, for the purpose of obtaining information ; and others, persons who were insolent and defiant in their questionings, seem- ingly caring for nothing but to air their crotchets and perplex the respondent. All the following answers have appeared in the 8hidd of Faith. I have preserved the phraseology^ of the questioners in each case, omitting the 1, o K IP ■^ o iv 'iiw?-', "•"■^a!;- PREFACE. . n«me, which wag, however, generaUy a pseudonym. A great number of other replies to similar questions I have by me, which I may hereafter publish in a new series. That my explanations have already cleared away doubts from many minds I know, ahd I can only hope that, by the blessing of God, the wider circulation that the replies will now obtain may result in increased good. i ■'■:■-■■■■.■■-' ■ ' > . "■■■■:■( The volume was quite ready for the press before I left \ EngUuid in August hist; but a combination of circumstances prevented me from getting it out at that time, and I conse- quentiy concluded to defer its publication until my return. In this country, however, I found something of the kind as much needed as in England, and many friends with whom I conversed on the subject expressed a wish that I would bring out the volume here. 1 could haixMy refuse this request, as all my other bpoks have been most favourably received on this side of the Athmtic, both by the press and the public, and are still commanding a huge circuhition. ■^ - '.■ --/■' GEORGE SEXTON T?«oiTo, OiHiBi, Dm. l»t, 1884. 4- •;^:- V^ ..< :\ .. ^.., ...iiv. t "^ " %^ , ■t* ■■JtfK f r ■ 4 rw. A bave by ■ ' '" That 8 from by the es will ♦ ' : ■ . ■ • , ■ . ' 1. )Ileft\ ^3. .-V-' V" -■ ----4. itances \ 5. ,1 6. conse- '7. •eturn. 8. 9. :mdas 10. 11. horn I 1 A would 12. B this 13. 14. irably 16. 16. a and . 17- 18. n. 19. 20. i . ■ ■ ., . ^1. m. 22. 23. . \ . '' 24. 26. "' ■! ' ■' 26, '""'\ "■.':. 27. - -\'-- 28. ■ ■■ V .. , 29; V ' ^ - 30, \ 31. ■ ■■ \ ■ 32. ■ • ' " . \^ . 33. ! ■'. ''■■. ■■ 34. 1 36. 1 ■ V :?">.". :'z m::mm CpNTElS#§. Tftking no Thought for .the Morrow. Is the Knowledge of Christ Limited ? Two Accounts of St. Paul's Conversion. How did God come from Teman ? "^ Is the Song of Solomon an Impure Book ? Esau's Inability to Repent. Irresponsibility for Opmions. / - The Falling of a .^uBt Man. - r ' Do Men's Thoughts Perish at Death ? ^ / Is OatbrTaking Wrong? The Three Days and Three Nights that the Body of Jesus was in the Grave. The Number of Women who Visited the Tomb on the Occasion of the Resurrection of the Ilord. Men and Women Before Adam and Eve. Christ's Cry on the Cross. Straining ata Gnat. Job's Children. God Resting and being Refreshed. » . Taming the Waters of Egypt into Blood. ' ' God Not All-powerful. Two Accounts of the Ascension of Christ. Two Accounts of the Death of Judas. Jacob's Fraud on Esan. tpn Christ in Heaven and Earth at the Same Time. Bible Witchcraft. /^ Evil Spirit from God. ^/^ Who was Cain's Wife? /^ Christians Enjoined to Procure Swords. Impossibility of Repentance after Falling. Jephtha's Itakughter. Christ's Inabifity to Work MihMsles Because of the People's Unbelief. David Tempted to Number Israel. Christ Cursing the Barren Fiff-tree. ^ The Condemnation of Idle Words. The Water Required to Produce the Flood. Abraham Offering up Isaac. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 4fi. 46. 47. -4a 49. 60. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. .67. 68. -.■-•.;-../,'■'■ CONTENTS.; ..■.-•-'.■• Djjvid* Man After God'. Own Heart. I The Bunal Place of Christ, ttid Abraham Marry hia Sister? Uod Orfy Immorti^ , Was Peter the Foundation Stone of the Church ? "^^r^ST"" ^^ •^~- *o n- IM^ipl- X the Resur- Sh^w* ***'ft'*"?^«"«« A***^* » Beast. Old Testament Prophecy of Christ. ^^ mUmb in the J^dstiif the ThLe. ^RnnjMnent and the Waters. ^ . Uod Hardemng Pharaoh's Heart J» Anger a Sin? W^J^^iS^o^i^su^^^^^^ Q^ W^"^^^"' Comersf and Side??' ii^!*1 * ^«? o^ War anS yet butl'stripling. i's Foreknowledge. D^th^iJy*?^./^,*^ " i^oreknowledge. iwcS ift^^P*"* Intercede in Heavin? S! ^*°u!^ ^^^*^ ^o' *he Day of ^U Over Riirhteon« jm»>'« Name ? Chnst s Last Dnnk on the Cross. ^ ^^^ *^'!n-' " ■* i^'. „>v.'" CONTENTS. .>>'" Vll ,.'X 85. The Miracle of iheCroBiftiiig the S'dftlaii.'^ 86. The Sin Affainst the Holy Ghoat. 87. The Church of Ood Purchaged with His Own Blood 88. Proportionate Numbers of the Believers of Different Religioaa ' Systems. 89. The Meekness of Moses. ,^ 90. The Lord Seeking to Kill Moses. 91. A Jewish Son of the Law 92. Veracity of Jesus in Beariujp; Witness to Himself. 93. How could Lazarus come forth from th^ Tomb when he was Bound Hand and Foot? 94. The^ns of Ood who Married the Daughters of Men. 95. St. Paul's Scholarship. 96. Saints Judging Men and Angels, 97. Blind Men Healed by Christ. . 98. Observance of Daj's and Times. 99. Saul's Family. , ^ & 100. Death of Eutychus. • lOL The Syro- Phoenician Woman. 102. The Law of Retaliation. 103. The Holy One of Israel and his Maker. 104. Appearances of Christ after His Resurrection. 105. Positions of the Ancients at Meals. 106. How could David's Sons be Priests? • 107. Destruction of the Canaanites. 108. Will the Earth be Destroyed? 109. Man Becoming like Ctod by Sinning. 110. The Law of God, Freedom and Bondage, in. Lot's Wife. 112. Inspiration of the Scriptures.^ 113. Who Carried Christ's Cross? 114. How was Christ made Sin? 115. What did David Pay for Oman's Threshing-floor? 116. Leprosy. 117. Christ's First Sermon. 118. Abraham's Age. 119. Fowls Produced from the Waters. , * 120. Can Flesh and Blood Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven ? 121. Did Darwin BeUeve in God ?/'" 122. God Tempting Abraham. 123. Omnipresence of God. • 124. Abraham's Destinatioja. 1^. HeaUng by Peter's Shttdow. 126. Balaam's Prophecy. 127\ Pharaoh's Magicians. % D y\ ( viii ) " Oh, Book of books ! though sceptioism flout Thy sacred origin, thy worth decry ; ' l^ough atheistic folly give the lie To what thoa tjpachest ; though the critic doubt This fact, thac miracle, and raise a shout .^ Of triumph o'er each incongruity He in thy pages may perchance espy; As in his strength the effulgent sun shines out, ' Hiding innumerable stars, so dost thou shine With heavenly light,, all human works excelling; Thy oracles are holy and divine, Of free salvation through a Saviour telling ; All truth, — all excellence dost thou enshrine The mists of ignorance and sin dispelling." W. LlOTD OABBISOIf. reveals himself in his word, as he does in his works. In both we see a self -revealing, self -concealing God, who makes himself known only to those who earnestly seek him ; in both we find stim- ulants to faith and occasions for unbelief ; in both we find contra- dictions, whose higher harmony is hidden, except from him who gives up his whole mind in reverence ; in both, in the word, it is a law of revelation that the heart of man should be tested in receiving it ; and that in th^ spiritual life, as well as in the bodily, man must eat his bread in ^e sweat of his brow."— i\reaneut. xxxiii. 2y " The liord Came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them ; He shineth forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints ; from His right hand went a fiery law for them." Paran is the desert region, extending from the south Of Judah to Sinai, and Teman is so identified with Seir as to be substituted for it by Habakkuk. The pro- phet is appealing to God's glorious manifestations to His people, as the ground for praying that He will revive His work. Is THB Song of Solomok an Impure Book? Qtustion 6.— Is not the '* Song of Solomon " an impure book, and therefore out of p^ace in the Bible ? ^ * * Answer. — ^There is nothing whatever impure in the " Song of Solomon," and the persons who say there is are either destitute of scholarship or possessed q^ that morbid kind of imagination which sees impuriiy, lurkiilg everywhere, or perchance both. Biead the admirable^translation of Dr. Ginsburg, or those of Zockler and Withington, and you will be struck' with the mar' vellous beauty of the language of tiiis book. it must be borne in mind that Orientalists possess muofh greater freedom both of speech and manners than ourselvM. Their style of thought is impassioned, warm, and voluptuous, and they have a much greater license of expression than would be tolerated in Western lands. What we should simply indicate by circumlocution and, Euphemism, they would express by direct language. This fact alone wiU serve to explain' many of the -^ ft • £■ ' „ ••• > I'Ji, It . BIBUCA£ DIFFI0ULTIB8 DISPB^D. •o-oallad mdelithat in the Beat women were ezduded from the aodclT' c^ "^^ *ii<^ •* a conaequence, gpreater freedom of apeeoh w«| iU(^|d than in bnda where the aezea mix freely together, liii fdiM to thia, ~ it muat be remembered that the atyle of draii Worn waa alto- gether difBnent froA oura, and certain parte of the body were ezpoaed which we ke^ covered. The Rev. -W. M. Thompaon pbaerrea, ** While the face ia veiled, the boaom ia expoaed in a way not at all in accordance with our ideaa of propriety." To an Oriental there would be no more indelicacy in praiaing the breaata of a female than with na in eulogizing the hair or the Our tnmalation of thd Oanttdea, too, might be improved; but compare it with any otiier .book written at the aametune, and ita purity ia aomething marvelloua. Shakeap^w preaenta a wonderful contraat to all other writera of ^Mii^e for the purity and delicacy of hia language, and yet-he^alla in thia reapect infi-: " ' below the SngUah^^pandation of the Soripturea. laaao Solomon, *' If a half dosen heedleiafy of our Engliah vendona were amended, aa sy might bcj then the Cantidea would oonaiat throughoiit ■ of the pureat utterancea of ccmjugal affection." AndProfeaaor W. H. Green remarka, " There ia not the aUghteat taint of im- purity or immodeaty to be found in any portion of thia elegant tyric^'* Infidela have, aa ia their cuatom, dealt very nnfturly with thia beautifn} production. And yet, conaidering the daaa of booka they have often iaaued and defended, one would hardly expect them to be faaUdioua over auch mattera aa indelieaoj of eiqt re a ai on. - a< m ei b i n -a n m c F r b a K I r r a t a t a « u t i t ,- ■ ' ' ' ' ■. / ■■ 0- ■ 1 '•.'■; ■ ff ;:-■ VO kt .. '•'* m / ■ ■'.' ''' ' ^ K) .-;''■' in ■■■ . "■' ' '•■■ M ■' '■ ■ ' '■ ">* !»■ ..' ■ > 0- "» . v. J* m -. ■ . ' A • " ■ ?o : . te 16 ■ ■■ U--^ •♦■■;■■," » ■ ' " . ■ ••. fcy , ., ' / ". ■ ft- : ■' ■ - -^ /; M ly M ■' ■■ * * :> -" -. '■ or >-: ... _ ^ n- . ■ ■ Dt :■-:■ ■ ■- Jy . '">• -■-".. ly . "... of ""■ .' ■'■•■. :• - ? ■. ■ ■• ^•■. V "\:..^ *>rH BIBUOAL BiFncULTIES DISPELLED. 18 iHABiLmr TO Rnranr. QuuUon 6.— Wh*t are we to understand by the paaiage which ■tatea that Esau was unable to repent, though he desired to do *'He found no place of repmitanoe, though he sought it BO ♦ • • carefully with tears ? " (Heb. xii. 1,7). ilfinoir.-^The passage unquestic^m^bly refers to the impossi- bility of reTersing what had bee^ done. Bo it is explained by Alfoid, Delitasoh, Bleek, De Wette, and others. And in this vsapeot Esau's fate is just thatdf every man. No one of us can _: - avert the results that may floJ from our deeds, however much we may weep over ^em and lament them. Esau may change, so may any man, but that will not undo the past. There are certain penalties, which, in the very nature of things, attach to pwticular acts, and these omnot be removed. That Esau might repent of his sin and find pkxdon of Qod is very possible, but his Jnrthrii^t is irretrievably forfeited, and the blessing pronounced apon Jacob irrecallable. A man may destroy his health by dis- sipation and debauchery, and afterwards repent and be foigiyen by Qod, but that will not restore his broken constitution. Thousands of instances occur in which men find no place for repentance* however much their tears may flow and their cries rMidtheair. iBEsspoiTsiBiLmr FOB OmnoNS. Qtudion 7.^Row can a num be ropponsible for hit opinions . seeing that he can only believe according to evidence 1 * * «f ilfMuwr.— Supposing it to be true that a man can only believe according to evidence, he may yet lajj^flty of n^lec^g to ob^ tain evidenoe> A determination not t^ivestigate is irvoluntary act, and that very detwmination may lead to a rejection of the truth. There is much nonsense talked and written on the irre^ sponsibility of men for their opinions. The perception of truth is often a moral act Says Fichte, *' Men do not will according to their reaaon, but reason according to their will." <*Men often _ decide," says Paley, "under the power and influence of sinfid, ^ temptation; but having decided, the decision is literwarda remembered by them, and grows into a settled and habitual ■5^ ;* 'wr«*'W?T;^'!rc'WlP>nTni5II[!«5!WBH6'^^ r ,ff r . u BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. opinion, ii much m if they had prooeedfld in it without •nj bias or' ' prejudice whatever." Many beliefs depend largely upon volition, , and are therefore oriminaL Aristotle has well said: "And moreover they punish those who act in Ignoranoe of any partiou- • lar enactment of the laws which ought to be known, and which it is not difficult to learn ; and, indeed, in all cases of ignorance whatsoever, where th^ .ignorance appears to be the result of neg> ligMioe ; since it was in t)ie man's power to avoid such ignorance, bk that he was perfect able to give the matter all due atten- ' tiiai.'^ (Bthicsiil,T:9^ Williams' Translation.) . ■ : ■..i\:-'.^V.. .,.- ^ / .,, - ., . ■ ■ .....--:'•''■■/■■■■: ■ Paluwo p» A Just Mijr. ^^^^^,^^, - QusUion a— In your answer to queues I sliould feel obliged if you would give a few words of explanation on the 16th verse of . Uie 24th chapter of Plroverbe. Please explain how a just man can fall so frequently and yet bo considered a just man. * ■, * jliiMiwr.— This i)assag0 has no reference to falling into sin. The Hebrew word b$p (iMiVphaZ'), which is here reiidered/oU- ethf is never used for " sinneth," but umply for falling' into trials. The meaning of the passage is, therefore, obvious enough; the righteous man may fall into oiUamities seven (i.«., ever so many) times, but by the help of Qod he riseth up .again, whilst tiie V .wicked will fall and be overthrown in even ona calamity. The ^. wicked man is conflCquen^y advised not to plot^punst the right- eous, npr to rejoice when troubles overwhelin him, for they will onty be for a time, and in the end he wlU comft^ forth triiimphant. Dr. David Thomas; in hit most excellent work, '^llie Practical ^ Pliiloaopher,"thuscdmmentson t&e'passage: " The wic|ced can- not ruin the good. For 4 just man fidleth s^ven times and riseth up again. Oalamity, and notf immorality, is referred to here, and widced men may cause a just man to fsll into difficulties and J^ubles: Through their malignant endeavours they may darken his reputation, mar the harmony of his^ social oirde, thwart his secular plans, aji4 reduoe him to bankmpt<7, ^^t notwithstand- -^"^ ing this hiB shall ' rise again.' There is a marvellous buoyancy in goodness. If the just man who has fidlen into calamity rises not to hia fofmw SfBCular position, he rises in q;>iiit above his triids7 "^ 4 ^ ^TF,^ Is'- BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DI8PKLL1D. 15 !• 4^ '■ -#^ ■ " '•.,■""'■ !?■■■■■•' ^ . f ( . ■, 1 ., . - - ■ . ■ • a ^ • •, t *; ■ - — > ■■ ■ • i. ■ B ' ■ ) « * :n -. I '■■■'■. ^ ^ r^ ':/■■-:-' 1" -. ■ ^^ Hit r«ligion, like ft lifeboat, baftfi Uin orer the billows and out- rides the itorm. Be«idei this ekatioity, which ia in goodnesa itaelf, God'a prpvidential hand will be outatretohed to raiae the fallen map. A juat man ia near to the heart of Ood : * He that tovioheth you touoheth the apple of my eye/ * I am Jeaua whom ilhou peraeouteat,' ' He shall deliver thee in aix troubles, yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee,' * Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.' He thft ia engaged, therefore, in endeavouring to injure the good, ia engaged in a fruitleaa work. The juat man ia destined to rise ; no sea of persecution a deep enough to drown him ; he will rise and, like his Maater, * walk upon the biUowa.' " Do Mmr's Thoughts Pbbish at Dsath? Quettion 0.— I read in Psalms oxlvi. 4, that when man retumeth to earth— t.e., I presume dies, " hi that very day hia thoughta periah." .If this be so, how can he be aaid to live in another world, where hia thoughta muat neceaaarily be active ? Annoer. — According td literaliatio principlea, thia would imply that there waa no immortality, conditional or unconditional. .Tet scores of paaaages could be quoted to show that David believed in a future life, and looked forward cheerfully to the time when he should enter upon its inheritance. {Vid« Dr. Sexton's " Doctrine of Immortality aa taught in the Old Testa- ment.") The word rendered thoughts refer unqueationably to plans, projects, schemes, etc. In Isaiah Iv. 7, the word ia used in a similar sense, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man hia thoughts," that is, not stop thinking, but cease from his evil designs. At death the wicked man's plans and purposes will come to nought, literally perish. Sajrs Heng- stenberg, '* The thoughts which go to the grave with the dying man are his vain projects. " In the caae of the rich man menr tioned in the Qospel, his "thoughts" of worldly prosperity, his •ohemes for building larger banis in which to store his goods, hia aQticip»ted yean of luxury and ease, and his contemplated future comfort "perished" in the same night. Not that the man himself ceased to be, for his soul was demanded by the if T^- I, ■»?p^: 1 'Vfi- 7"' 10 . BIftLIOAL DIFFICULTI18 DI8P1LLID. ATenging angAlt. «« Thy soal nhMil b« inquired of thee/ or, m Arohbishop Tnnoh r«nd«n it, "Thit night theyrvquin thj ■oul of th**.*'"^ \ ■■/■'''■■■ "m.'. ■ ■■%"-■■ "U Oaot. Taxwo Weono? ^"••SSm 10.— I am much perplexed on the question of o«the. Ought a Ohristian on any oooaaioh to swear biu» oourt of justice with the plain teaching of Ohrist beforeTwi, as xeooided in Matt. ▼. 33.37 7 Are not th* Quakm right in the course they lake in these matters f • • « »'Aiuw0r.^Ii is dear that our Lbrd did nbt refer to judicial ■wearing, since He allowed Hims^ to be put under oath, and thus recognised the validity of the aOt when the High Priest said to Him, '< I «^r« thee, (that is, cause thee to swear) by the liring Goid." Jes1i||submitted to be thus sworn, aifd hence responded to the solemn obligation. Great numbers of instances recorded in the Scriptures in which good msg. angels, and ev " ' '^ " for confirmwron. God Himself «)mployed the oa It must be l>orn« in mind on earth th«r Jews .were frivolous <4>at! the temple, hf anything they oaths they did n says: "If anyo and so forth, altl^i^fh >t at the time when our Lord ly in the habit of using vain and conversation. They swore by earth, by the head, and by almost ipt the name of God. These .. — iouhffly binding. Bfiaimonides ^7 ^^^^^if. the earth, by the sun, 111 the intention of him who swears in these words to swear by Him who created these things, yet this is not an oath ; or, if one swears by one of the prophets, or by one of the books of Scripture,, although it be the purpose of the sw6ar«ir to swear by Him who sent 1^ prophet or who gave tliiat book, nevertheless, this is not an oath." ^ The sophistry of this kind of sweariiq; and the gross abuse of it will be at once apparent. Michaelis sayii that such oaths were ^ at.one time so common and so firequentjy^d basely abused as to have become perfectly disgraceful t/^lB Jews, even in the eyes of the le«B treacherous heathen i|^und them, and justly di s tingui s h e d by t he i >ame Jewish oathsi* R was against this ■ %,% ■p '■ ■ ■■ te » ♦ ♦ * m Qi b« ■" sn ■'■:s' T] '^^■^■ trivial swearing that our Lord warned His disciples, " Let your i*^- io ■■■' ,' ' i . ■ v.. -T^ _KL_ u»\^ .. 'I^UGAL DirnCtJLTim DISPILLID. ,'• h- 17 r.¥ •pe«oh or oonT^nation be ymk. mmI n»7,'' that ii, do not ti- tempt t9 IxJtler up your stAtementa by fmoloui oethe that are meeninglen. It ia to be obeenred that ■wearing by the name of Ood ia not meittioned in the prohibition, for that would have been judicial and consequently binding ; only trivial and fooliah ■wearing> ia therefore forbidden. ., ; y Tbi Thwui Dati ahd THBULNicrtim that ths Body of Juum Qu0tiotrll^How can it be ihown that the body of Jeeua three days and three nighti in the grarel <^ * , * . '. Atuw«r. — The expression used in reference to this erent, in Matt. xiL 40, b what is termed a synecdoche, a figure of speech ^ in which the whole of a thing ia put for a part, or a part for the whole. With the Jews it was common to count fractional years ; ;.^ ior w||ple ones. L^htfoot says^ that according to the Babbins, i^lfflf^'*ike very first day of a year may stand in computation for the . whole year." Aben Ezra referring to Leviticus xii. 3, remarks that, "If an infant was borii in the last hour of the day, such hour waa counted a whole day.^' Such method of computing time always prevafled- amongst orientals, and does so stiU. *' Thus the year ending on a certain day,;any pfurt of the fore- going year ia raokooed a whole year. A, child bom in tb^ laat week of our December would be reckoned a year old on the first day of January, because bom in ^e old year." Dr. Robinson tells that in hia own experience he found " that fire days " of quarantine really meant '* only three whole days and portions of two others." In several passages of Scripture this method of t computing time will be seen. Vxd» 1 Samuel xxx. 12, 13. In Hebrew the words day and night ue sometimes not separated aa with ua, so aa to describe two ^tinct periods of time ; one word is employed which includes both. Thus in Qen. i. 6, 8, 13, • ' ^9, 23, 31, the evening and the morning are said to comprise the gth' -rev. or day. In Oen. vii. 17, the term '* forty days" if uaed for forty days and ni^ts. A very good; illustration of the sense — iif wh^ the e xpr ess ion thr ee days' and thre e night e ia us a din Scripture, will be found in the book of Eather. It ia there re- ,4... ;■ :^% .'.'if--^'-'. 4';i|^% ;'a,; .^ .' 0{ i,V 'W _ ♦• o "0 '.,.' ' -^ PI. ■'I. m BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES piSPELLED. ■i corded that the Queen and the Jewg farted "thre^ days and three nighte » (Either iv. loi Yet we learn that tke day on which the command was givei is included, and the third day of *h^ fiut is the day of the ^ianquet (v. 4). Thus the "three days and three nights *' comiirised but one whole day, a part of two other days, and two nights. The prediction representing ^e time that the body of Jeeus was to remain in the tomb, was Oierefore not seveniy-two hours, but some portions of three separate days. And this was fulfilled. ^ JSTlTMBMl OF WOMKK WHO YlSlClD THB TOKB ON THE OOCASIOIT or j^mi RisuBBBonoN or THB LoBD. Qvittum I2.--H0W are the accounts in the four gospels respect- ing .the number of women who visited the tomb on the ooca- WOn of Christ's resurrection to be reconcUed ? Mark names three ; Matthew names two ; John names one ; and Luke naines Antwer.-^No one of the Evangelists state that no more w'omen were present than those whom he names. John, for example, does not say that only Mary Magdalene was present, in point rof fact his words imply the contrary, for he represents her as ■»ying, " We know not where tlfey have hud Him." Eadi writer amgles out one or more of the dersoiy^ whom he mentions, more ^ particukrly, for some reason, bikt his words in no way preclude ^the possibility of others being p^sent. Then there can be no doubt that diflferent poinU of time are referred toby the four ^writers, each one specifying the number of women * present at the time to which he referi. "There were two distinct iwrties of women— the Mary's an^l their friends, and the Galil^n I:-? w-«uuen— who followed our Lord. lodged ^ iBunong their friends^ ii diferent parts of the city, and to avoid suspicion on the part Ptabably tiie women having of the Jews, would come by different paths to the sepulchre and would not arrive at the same moment. We may therefore suppose that Mary Magda- lene arrived first (so John) ; sokn the other Mary arrives (so Matthew); then Salome comes (jw Mark); finally the "other women " make their appearance (so Luke)."— Haley. ■ "■■■. 1 .*■--■" ■ ■■- ■ ■ " •\ BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES PISFELLEI:^ 19 td m af at «./ M le. ..■>'* .» ♦. ■■\ i.-'': MxH IKD Wqukn Bbvobb Adam and Etx. QuMfton 13. — DoM not the 24th verse of 2nd chapter of OenedB . imply ihat there weire men and women before Adam and Eye 9 ilMnMr.— Assuredly not. The mMninp; of the passage appeanf. ▼ery simple. The law of marriage and the aflTection which ought _to exist between the husband and the wife here finds its founda- tion and origin. ,Being8 were hereafter to come into the wodd who should mari'^:^ were in |Mt already in existence when the passage was writtenj. Moses stii^ the fact as to the origin of woman, and then draws from it a very natural and legitimate conclusion applicable in his time and for all future ages. Chbist's Cby on tm Cboss. Queation 14. ^U our Lord Jesus spoke in Greek, how is it that when He cried on the cross (Matt. xxviL 46) that the people thought He cried for Elias (▼. 47), yet we lure told that in Greek it meant •* My God, My God, &c. ? * ♦ * Aruwer. — The words which the ^rd used oh this occausion were quoted ifrom the 22nd Psalm. He spoke then in AratnaiCt the language of His childhood. This in no way proves that He did not usually in ordin^ conversation speak in Greek. "The language we have heard< from our mother's lips, and spoken in childhood, may be laid aside in after years for ano^r, to meet the requirements of life;, and Jesus, doubtless, in l£i^" ^finow.^It might be rendered with greator precision "straiif out agnat," and it has probably a reference to a custom that prevailed at the time of straining the wine and other drinks be- fore taking them, lest a gnat should be inadvertently swallowed. Onats were undean according to the Mosaic Law {Vidt Leyit. xi 20. 23), and, therefore, to be avoided most carefully. Travellers report that the practice still prevails in the east of unfolding the end of the turban, pkcing' it over the month of the ioto, and drinking through it, so that the muslin may act as a strainer to strain out the gnats whose larvae abound in the water. The figure employed by our Lord is therefore a very forcible one, and most easy to be understood. >, '(N*- ^J$bV[ Ohildbjbw. y QuetUon 16.— From Job i. 19, it would appear that all Job's sons and daughters were killed by the faUingof the house in which.they were feasting when the storm arose. But in chapter xix. verse 17, some of the children are referred to as though they were still alive. What is the explanation of this ? ♦ * ♦ ^n«w.— Several very eminent Biblical critics, amongst srhom we may name Oesenius, Delitach, Stuhhnan, Schlott- man, Oonant, and Winer, think that the Hebrew expression used in tiie ktter verse is equivalent to '* my * brethren." Wetatein, comparing the Arabian idiom, says that it denotes '♦aU my rektions by blood." Oertain it is that it ineans kinsmen of some kind, not necessarily children. Dr. Davidson thinks that ^ grand children " are referred to, which is quite possible. There is nothing in the text to imply that any of J$^ jUdr^ were left alive. V. BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. Si xrj-rfw OoD BBsnifd IKD Bsnro RmtisHxi). Qttcieioii 17.— What iB the meaning of Uie worda, " For in six •days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day- reetedandtrasrefredied?" (Elod. zxzi. 17). * * * iiiMtiw.^The terms "rested and waa refreshed" do not imply physical exhaustion, but with the Bebrews simply oon> ▼eys the idea pf cessation 'from the work under consideration. It is a vivid Oriental way of saying that the work w^s ended, and the Lord took a delight in surveying it. ThePouqr Bible renders it very correctly as follows, ** For in six days the Loxd made heaven and earth ; and in the seventh day He ceased from His work," i.e., ceased because the work was finii^ed. Dr. J. P. Thompson remarks on this text : *' To * rest ' here does not mean to seek repose from fatigue, but to suspend activity in ft particular mode of operation, to cease from doing thus and so." Maimonides says that the word used in the parallel text (Bxod. XX. 11) properly means, /* ceased. " And the Septuagint agrees with this explanation. Murphy observes, *' * Refreshed ' in- cludes at all evtots the pure delight arising from the conscioiis- neiM of a desigpi accomplished, and from the contemplation of the intrinsicexcellence of the work." I^his is the true meaning, for " The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faibteth not, neither is weary " (Isaiah xl. 28). TuB^a THB Wa'ibbs of EoYFr INTO Blood. ^; Quettion IS.^When Aaron turned all the waters of lE^^t into blood ire read that the magicians did likewise, how do you explain thii ? (Exod. vii). ♦ ♦ ♦ ^ ilfuioer.T-It is very probable that the word " all^^ued in ^the nineteenth and twentieth verses does normean the whole of the water in the land, tot, as Hengstenber^W pointed tot, imtvMv^ tai ttmu pxe used throughout tfie narrativk Such an idiom is a ' vezy cieniiimon one in all languMes. Kurtz thinks that only the Kile water was changed, that in the wdls being unaffected, and this is very likely, for if the whole of the' water had been change^ lihe nation mwt have perished. Besides, it would seem a^ Mr. Alexander has suggested, tiiat the /' water when ■J.... ■' . . ■. r- ■ ::-4t3^v \^ n BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIIS DISPELLED; *^;, Hi. ^"isi.; fil^red through the earth on the bank of the river, waa restored to its salubrity." Hence the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink (v. 24). Some water was therefore left upon jrhioh the magicians could operate. ..--^ God NOT AIL PowrawuL. Qusation 19.— What is the exphmation of the passage, " And the Lord was with Judah and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain ; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the ▼alley, because they had chariots of iron " (Judges i. 19). > * # _ .^tMuw.—Yoltaire was, we think, the first to put the un-^ natural construction on this passage that it was the Loid #ho could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley. Modem infidels have of course repeated it ad nauseam. But the fact is, , that the pronoun he refers to the neaiest antecedent Judah. It waa, therefore, Judah— not the Lord— who could not drive the inhabitants out of the valley because of their iron chariotfk The Douay Bible translates the passage, " And the Lord was with Judah and he (*.«. Judah) possessed the hill country, but was not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, because they had many chariots armed with scythes." Of course this implies a limitation of the help that the Lord gave to Judah, but that is a matter with which we can have no concern. God doubtless did in that case, as in all others, bestow as much pros- perity or success aa is good for the i«cipients. Two AoOOtXHTS OF xaX ASOKNSIOK OF CmusT. Question 20.— How do you reconcile the two accounts of the ascension of Christ ? Lukexxiv., Actsi. 9. 12. * * ♦ Answer.— TioB is one of the so-called discrepancies to be found in a book entitled "One Hundred and Forty-four Self- cootFadictions of the Bible," and it may be taken as a specimen t)f the rest Certainly it displays gross ignorance on the part of 1 the Author. It must be remembered that, as Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles, the two statements were made by the same author, and so very painslakinf^ and careful a writer as Luke was not likely to contradict himself. The fact is, the ^^ -4*inT5^- p.. BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. 23 village ol Bethany was built on the south-east side of the Mount of Olives. Both accounts are, consequently, correct. ** Persons," says Haley, "returning from Bethany to Jem- X^salem would pass over the top of Olivet, and hence might be ^ said to return from this mount. 't,,.- Two AooouMTs OF THE Dbath or Jvdas. Question 21.— There are two accounts of the death of Judas _ (Matt, xxvii. 6, Acts i. 18), how are these to be reconciled ? * * Answer. — These accounts are not contradictory, for one does not exclude the other. Both are quite compatible. "Judas suspended himself frop a tree on the brink of the precipice overhanging the valley of Hinnon," and at some time or other —it may have been after he had been hanging for sometime , and decomposition had set in->the rope or the branch of the tree gave way and his body fell, striking upon some point in the rock and his bowels gushed out. Professor Hackett not long since visited the supposed scene of this event, and declared after doing so that such an explanation was " entirely natural." Haley says "as he stood in the valley, and looked up to the rocky terraces which hang over it, and which he found by " mcMuturement to vary from twenty-five to forty feet almost per- pendici^lar height, he felt more than ever satisfied with thfe solution just given. He apeajfn of trees as still growing upon the margin of these preoipicias, and of a rocky pavement at the bottom of the ledges, upon which the traitor would be crushed an'! 84 BtBUOAIi^ilfigULTIES DISFEIXED. .J •u-» *. al|d thiMe ware then— «nd hairp eyer remained— una hateful to Gkxl, and injorioua to men. For purauing the line of conduct deaoribed, Jacob waa nnqueationably greatly to be bUmed. But the predidion aa to the aetritude ia quitd another matter, and ref era not to Jacob and Saau peraonally, but to their deacendanta.' ^e very text quoted ahowa thia, *' ^wo nationa are in thy womb, two manner of peoplea ahall be aeparated from thee, i^ the one people ahall be atronger than the other people, and the^ "elder ahall aerve the younger," ».«., the elder people, or the dfe- Boendanta of the eldw child, ahall aenre the deacendanta of tW younger child. Nothing can be clearer than thia. Baau never did aerve Jacob peraonally. He aurrendered hia birthright to hini, but he waa never hia aervant. It waa upon the Edomitea, the deacendanta of Eaau, that the judgmenta of God fell. ( Vide MalachiL2,a) I- ■ - V-..- ". ■■ ■■"■.;".■:■-»-"•.., '■/■ . : -\. OmtlST IN HXAVXN ASD ON EaBTH AT THB SAlia TtMB. QuMtion 23.— Will you kindly explain the 13th verae of the 3rd chaptjBr of St. John ? How are we to underatand Ghriat when He poaitively aaserta Hia being in Heaven whilat He ia conver- aing witii NicodemuB on the earth ? ;( ^ Antwer. — ^There ia no difficulty whatever about the teaching in thia text. In one aenae Ghriat came from heaven, in another He alwaya ntaiained in heaven. It ia not a pj^aioal locality that ia Preferred to in the latter caae, but a atate <>f perfect holineaa and parity. Heaven ia the atate of bquI that we make for ouraelvea ; and thoae who follow Ghriat are aa He waa, but in a amaUe^ de- cree,, in hMven even >whilat on earth. We donot fly awayat death to aoine place milliona of milea diatant, itomewhere beyond the akiea, but awake to a perfect realization of the apititual con- ditiona and aurroundinga tiiat- we have formed for ouraelvea on earth. No man goea to heaven when he paaaea from eirth who waa liot in heaven whilat on the earth. The Lord waa in the fuUeat aenae always in heaven, m fact, Hia preaenoe would make any placeaheaven»'--.-.,._^..7-.-U-_:-,:i.-: ..^_:,:^i^_^.^.4--_--,.-_i-;^.^l-^--- ^ , ■ m-.^ av th iii ^ B, ^^ lil \ Si " ' mi ,1 ;*w-' w ~^^T- ,^^«ii *K rj,j-,fp,__^„-. "vrrj" ^' t «^- «. (\ BIBUOAL DIFFICULTIBS DISPELI^BD. u Qmdim 24.— Will yoq give me your opinion on the text whioh Myi^ *< Thou ihalt not auiTer a witoh to livet" This it often quoted by Moulurista m » propf that the Bible favoun ■upentitions. *' • * iliMioer.— The Moeaio l»w 4id not decide m to the validity of the dainu of those pretending to the power of witohoraft, but siinply condemned to death persons who assumed to exercise it. But whether the power was jreal or not, dearly it Was in no sense like the so-called witchcraft of a later time. The woman of V Bndor was very unlike the Scotch hags of the reign of James. T^%great extent the witchcraft of the Bible resolves itself , as Sir Wilti^ Scott observes, intd a trafficking with idols, and ask- ing counsel Qf fidse deities, or, in other words, into idolatiy. This is the opmioii ol many eminent writers, amongst whom may be named Dr. Qraves,^Mr. Denham, and Mr. R. S. Poole. The latter gentleman has written a very able article on the subject in Dr. Smith's Biblical Dictionalcy^(Article "Magic "). In this he endeavours to show that it is a distinctive characteristic of the teaching of the Bible, that it wammtsno belief in charms and incantations, as capable of producing evil. consequences when employed against any person. "In the Psaliins, the post per- sonal of all the books of Scripture, there is no pray«r to be pro- tected against magical influences. The believer prays to be delivered from every kind of evil that could hiirt the body or soul, but he says nothing of tlje machinations of sorcerers." Th^ modem notion of witchcraft was certainly unknown to the He- brews. Even supposing that the power claimed by the ancient witch oir wizard was real — and we are very much inclined to think it was— then it was necromancy, and this in the Jewish law was denounced as a crime. It seduced the people from tjieir allegiance to the True Ood, led them into idolatiy, and caused them to practice the abominations of the sunrpunding peoples, and was consequently punished with death. It must never be forgotten that at this time the Israelites were living 1^lder a Theocracy, and hence the severe punishments which followed a violation of " l^fUM^'kp^ '**5fBT^ - '^m^ i- . BIBLIOAL DiFflCULTIKS DISPELLKt). ' Bvn. Spnurr nu>M God. , Quution 26.— Will you be so good m to give me an ezpbiM- tion^ of the following pMp^ ? In 1 Samuel, xviii. 10, you will find these word*, •♦ And it came to pass on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul." An explanation of the above would much oblige. ♦ * * Anmntr.— The article is not in the Hebrew. The true reading is therefore, " an evil spirit," not *♦ the evil spirit." And this ■pirit came upon Saul as a punishment for his wicked deeds. The passage shows the Sovereignty of God in .the world of spirits as well as in the material universe. Not even evil spirits can go forth without His permission, and when they do go they are often the means of bringing punishment upon evil doers. Qod uses evil to chastise evil. This frequently occurs in the prcbent world where mep are the agents employed, and there is there- fore no reason why the Almighty should not use evil spirits for punitive purposes. . ^ : / Who WA8 Gain's Wot? Quution SB. — I shall be obliged by your ezplaiutiou of the first part of the 17th yerse of the 4th chapter i if Genesis. I have heard several take those words as showing (as they say) the un- truthfulness of the Bible, by saying, ** Where was the wife to oomefromt" * * * iifiMMr.— The passage presents no difficulty. Adam and Bye ' had probably many other children besides those named in the Bible The silence of Scripture regarding them by no means diainoves the fact. Some other child of our first parents was therefore doubtless Cain's wife. There are a good many theories prevalent on tiie subject, but they are all speculations, and may ooasequently be taken for what they are worth. If it be objected that for a man to many his sister would be to commit incest, we r^y tiu^ ^e prohibition agunst such marriages had not at that t^' ' ftv^ • ''i', , • , r' 4 ' ^ * \ I ')• ' 1 J . . ^ ] r -.J*,. ^' . 4 .:■■ '/ *^ tine been given, and they were consequently allowable. It is stniige that a soeptio should object to incest, since nature, his great authority in morals, knows of no such crime. The lower a nim a l s .pr ac t i o e it , a nd it is i m po ss ib le to prov e it wroii gHMtve- ! t '<:./ ■--• ■^. ts re It »- le o e A A'' ' « d i.. * ■ , ^ BIBUOAL DirnCULTUB DISTBLIA ' * ■'^' / .'' ■'■'■ .>'v.-;- ... ..,■■...•/..'■;, ■•^*^ ■'■'.; '■■;..';■>■;•;).': V i« appeal to Soriptore. Dr. Sleigh remarka : " There are " >^. *^® ^•'^ obvioua reaaona why, at the Ugvtming, near relations ¥ 'Wdre not prohibited intermarrying: ^ .,^ > ♦ * 1. No phyaioal ,e?il ariaea from it tiU repeated through ■everal generationa. a. In the beginning, as it aeemed fit to the Creator that the earth ahoilld be populated from one pair,' it waa indiapenaably neoeaaary for even brothera and aiatera to many, but aa genem- tiona began to inoreaae the neoeaaity beowine diminiahed and the phyaical evil inoreaaed, tin it aeemed good 4o the Almighty to give apeoifio direotiona on the aubjeot^ ..... Since that time, of eourae, intermarrying with near relatione haa been criminal." Moreover, recent phyaiological reaearohea have ahown that the mere physical evila oonaequent upon the marriage ot,near rela- tione have been enormoualy exaggerated. OmtlSTIAlfS TO PBOOUKa Swo&Ds. Qiuition 27.— I ahaU Im) glad if you will teU me how yon reconcile Luke xxR 36 witii tiie peaceful doctrinea ao often in- culcated by Chriat ? ToteU men to sell tiieir garmenU to buy aworda looka to me very like war. ♦ ♦ ♦ .AfMfMw.— The Greek word fiAxatpa here rendered awoidi la frequently uaed f or » knife. Vide Gen, xxiL 6. 10. laddeU and Scott give aa one of ita definitiona a Jtoife for aurgical, aacrifidal or other purpoaea, and itia often employed in that aenae botii in the Septuagint and in daaaical Greek. SchoLoa differ with regard to the exact meaning of the paaaage, but all agree that it doeanot inculcate fightiipg. Wordaworth alya, "A proverbial expreaaion, intimating tiiat they would now be reduced to a odndition in which men of the world resort to such meana of defence." Alford remarka-** The aaying ia both a deacription to them of their altered situation with reference to the world without, and a dedaiation that aelf-defence and aelf^proviaion would henceforth be neceasaiy;" Ooateraee and many others *q»lain the text in a aimiUff way. Clearly tiieawoida~if aword^e^ meant— were not intended to be uaed for pnixwu^g of warfcre, becauae when the diaoiplea informed the Lord that 'j:'''T- '■'*■ J '•/^ i S8 BIBLICAL DIFPI0ULTIB8 DI8PBU.II). ; nfitgr wan already in - poMM^on of two, He replied, >** It im *«iiough." Now two iwords would hare been anything bni •nongh for them all to fight with, had a combat arisen. f ; 1 ' liPot a i ML iCT or ItoinMiTAiwi ajtmi FALLaro. i^iuditm^ 28.— Allow me heartily to thank yon .for the Ugbt thrown npon many difficult portion* ol Scripture by the ■iiapin giren in your paper to the yarioui queries that hare be^^piii lo you. I can aaaure yon I have read them with thankfulneii: ' I therefore venture to aak with confidence for an explination of 7 Hebrews vi the 4th, 6th, and 6th verses ? • * # ilNMiwr.— The writmr is exhorting those whom he jddresses to p rogg o — on to perfection, and warning them of the terrible danger that they incur should they fall away, after having been once enlightened, Ac. The case put is somewhat hypothetical. Barnes says, "It is not an affirmation that any had actually fallen away,- or that in fact they would do it ; but the statement is that on the supposition that they had fallen away, it would be impossible to renew them agun.'' The word A ▼iigin, but baoauae one haa to lire, and remain a Tiigin. Tfiai- much aa the hiatory laya apeoial emphaaia upon her bewailing her virginity, thia muat have stood in aome peculiar relation to the nature of the vow. Obaerve, too, that thia lamentation takea place 'upon the mountaina.' Oaaael obaervjp thi^ if ^^ lift had been in queation her teara might have been ahad i| . home. But lamentationa of (Au character could not be uttered in the town and in the preaenoe of men. For such pl*ints» modesty required the solitude of the inountaina. The woida of , the thirty-ninth verse are very explicit They aaaert that her father fulfilled hia vow through the f^ that ' ahe ^ew no man.' That is, the vow waa fulfilled in the dedication of ker life to the Lord, .aa a apiritua) bnmt-ofiering, in a lifelong chastity. * Oom* ' pleteness of consecration aa a spiritual aaorifice '• seems the A pervading idea in the caae of Jephthah'a sacrifice."— Hal(^. It can hardly be supposed that during the two months that elapaed bcitween Jephthah's return and the sacrifice, some meana would not have been taken to avoid if poaaible the barbarous and sinful act of giving this maiden aa a *Vbumt-<^ering." An inquiry could hate been inade of the Lord, with a view to obtain a release from the vow. 'Diis waa not done, and the only legitimate con- eluaionia that no such sacrifice waa involved in the vow.' dHEin'felKABILmr to WobK MzBACUS BsOi^Uia of THB PBOPLffil' ■ ''/:--S-'- ■:'. ■.'■■*■-■.■ ■ XJNBKLiKjr. ■. .^ •■■'■:/'■:/- K;- .f;;.,;.^'' Q,m»tiim 30.— How am I to understand the passage in Matt, ziii. 58 7 " And He did not many works there because of their unbelief." Does not thia imply limitation of power, influenced bjth^belief of the people? ♦ ♦ ♦ AMvm. — ^There is assuredly no limitation of power named. The oauaea operatii^ to prevent the mii^M ato Qot physical, but moral It simply means that it waa incompatable with CSmst's putpose to perfonn Hia mighty works under the dbroum- ■t a no ea . — AlfOTd sa ys: "Th e sa m e voic e which could s t i ll t h e .'■.■■ t ■ ■ ,* \' ■' \ -. -' . ;. ' ■:-.* ^ % ,■■■■- »■ ^ - . . ■ ■ ■■■ ■'' .1 1 "1 ■'■> ^IBUCAt DirnOULTIIfl DISPILUBD. tl .1 ■. oommanded diaeMM to ob«y ; but in mo«t cams of humui,- infirmity, it wm the Lord'a prAotioe to require faith in the reci- pient of aid, and that being wanting, the help could not be given." The paaaage does not iay that Ohriat could no^ perfcrm the miraolee, but that He did Hot, which is a very dilfereht mat' teir. In Merk vi. 6 the language ia perhepe more aa the loeptio would have it, but the meaning ia the lame. Indeed, one rendering of thia laat named text it : *VAnd He waf vnwillii^ to do any miraclea there," Ac. ; and in the very next verse the unbelief is referred to as the cause. We frequently say, " I ooUld not do that," meaning not physical inability, but moral diai^dination. How djurious it is that men find fault with langiisge in the Bible, which they themselves use regularly in everyday lifeT :■ : '^•^'y- ^ ■- ■ ■ David TjacPTSiD to Numbkb Ibbael. Qiuilion 31. — In 2 Samuel xxiv. 1, we read thai the Lord moved David to number the people of Israel and Judi^ ; while in 1 Chronicles xxi. 1, it says thai it waa Satan. Qow do you reconcile these passages ? * ♦* ♦ iltMiMT. — In Hebrew modes of expression, and indeed of thought, it was common to ascribe to Ood whatever happened under His overruling providence, that is whatever He suffered to take place. But the text in Samuel bas been rendered by Hervey and other eminent Biblical scholars : ** The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, for one moved David against them," 4&C. In Chronicles the word iSd^fd^n is used without the article, and hence may be rendered simply, an advtnairy. Vide Kum. xxii. 22, 32 ; 1 Sam. xxix. 4 ; 2 Sam. xix. i22 ; 1 Kings V. 5; XL. 14, 23, 26 ; in a^ of which passages it is so trans- lated. Boothroyd, Davidson, and several others, render the- passage under consideration, **An adversary stood up against Israel," &c., that is some person whose name is not given, end who proved himself to be an enemy to the best interests of Israel, urged thd king to number the people. Taking this view of th e t e xt s th e re is no discr e p a ncy what e v e r. t o # "* # • « f n <>?■ ■ - / - 8> BIBLICAL DIFFICULTISi DISPELt^ ■J:l. Ohbist tluBsmo thb Babbkn Fio Tbkk. Qimtum32. — ^Does not the fact that CSiriat ouned the fig tree |>eoaiue it had only leaves on, when ** the time of figs waa not - yet," prove that He waa guilty of petulance and unreaaonable oonduot, to aay the least of it ? ♦ ♦ *, . . Antvfer. — Assuredly it proveanothing of the kind. The account as given in St. Matthew is as ^sdOToi^S'— " Now in the morning, aa He returned into, the city. He hungered^^i4iid when He saw a fig tree in the way. He came to % and found nothing thereon but l eaves only, and said unto it, *let no fruit grow on thee hence- j^p. forth for ever.' And presently the fig tree with^^ away." St. . -Marie adds '* for the time of %i was not yet. " A writer in the OAritfuNi Life recently dealt with this aa follows— ' ' We must re- member that a fig is not an ordinary fruit, indeed, botanioally : speaking, it is not a fruit at all ; it is an enlarged shoot with- its flower and fruil inside— what we call tiie seeds are the real fruits ,1 , — and these shoots set twice a year, viz., in spring and in mid- summer, and although in this country the spring shoots generally fisal, in hot countries men gather the sprnig shoots at the end of the same year, and the midsummer shoots in the f olloiring year, so that a fig tree always shows what it is going to^bear for ihe next crop. And when * the time of figs is not yet^ then it shows . what its product will be for the next two cn^, so that the abso- lute barrennesi of the fig tre^ which possessed only leaves would thus be clearly apparent; The fig tree has always been considered pretty generally throughout the East as a sacred tree, and as such was regarded with a peculiar reverence, so that to destroy a fig tree was almost an act of sacrilege. Thus the fig tree in iti assume saCTcdnoM fiUy embodied the idea of the proudPhaiisee, and in its character of bearing leaves only and no fruit showed the absolute barrenness of their outwardly righteous but in- wardly impure life. Nothing could be much more suitable to Ohrist's purpose than the indication of the curse resting on such a life, and He showed this symbolically by the outward act of publicly cursing the fig tree. We are not txerei$td by this act any more than we are by Tarquin's act of cutting off all the tallest poppies to show the messenger his plan of subduing the BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. qity bj eatting ojf all the principal oitisena. But we are rexj much 'exeroiaed ' at the fuaa made over the 'poor fig treei,' which aeems a sort of 'apeoialpet' of certain critics of Chiia- tianity, so that one might indeed sometimes imi^^e from the styliB of atf(ument used, that the killing of the fig tree was a crime scarcely, if at aU, second to that of actual murder. It is true these same critics pass pveir as something quite trivial, as something which detracts little, if at all, from their admiration for the Old Icelandic King, the fact that he slew his own son as a sacrifice to the gods that they might be so pro- - pirated sis to cast on shore a log 6f pine wood 60ft. long ; but iiKey turn round and appeal to us whether it is possible we am any longer seriously entertain any reuil respect for the petulant ourser of fig trees, who, because like a spoiled dhild He wanted figs when the time of figs was not yet, cruelly cursed the poor unoffianding tree ! " The quibbles of unbelievers are really rerj contemptible. • ■V ' THK GOMDKMNATION OF Il>LB WoBOS. ^ Quettion 33. — In Mattl^ew xii. 36, there is a threat i^iainst idle words wMch I do not quite understand. Is not the condemna- tion out of proportion to the ofienoe^ that is, if idle words mean simply frivolous talk ? * * * Afuw«r.— The words in the Greek are v&v j^fia ap/ybv^ and their meaning will of course depend upon the exact force that is at- tached to the adjective (ipydv. Some have supposed that it really means " wicked," and that tiie condemnation consequently applies to sinful conversation. Such a rendering, however, appears to be out of harmony with, the connection of thitf passage, and is certainly not supported by any Greek author. On the other hand, it is quite certain that the threat cannot be meant to apply to light conversation such as may provoke a laugh , or afford amusement, for the Lord would not have condemned that which is beneficial both to the body and the mind. The cfmduct of the Pharisees is. especially in question in the passage, and no doubt it is their language that is particularly referred to. Words without meaning or candour, that is, insincere words, are' SSt I M BIBI40AL mmCULTIBB DI9PELUED. Pfobftbly intanded. The Oraek tenn means void of effect, radi Jiehave no oorreeponding refilt and are oni of hannony with the Z Uh> Tbib oondeinnation ia therefore of the empty hypocritical luguage of penK>na who say one thing and mean another. Titt- jnan paraphrasea the paasage aa follows :— ' ' Believe me, he who ipea false and insincere language shall suffer grievous^ punish- ment ; your words if uttered with sincerity and ingenuousness ^ iliallbeapproved;but if theyare dissembled, although they bear / 1^ strongest appearance of sincerity, they shall be condemned. " ^^XspeoiaUy is this the case in connection with religidn. _ j - . Thb Waxbk Rbqui&bo to Pbooucb TEX Flood. y^ Qtuitum 34.-<-From what source did the water come to cause jMie flood, so that the highest mountains on the earth were fKyvered t -J^ . ; « * ; ;^v Amwer.— The flood waa brought about, it would appear, by ^ exoeasiye raiii causiod by evaporation taking pisce on the surface ht the ocean to an ^treme degree. The Biblais very dear on the subject : ** For yet seven di^, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth for^ days and forty nights " (Gen. vii. 4). An- other interpretation has been sometimes adopted in consequence of the statement that '*the fountains of the great deep" were ** broken up," or rather, opened ; but thia doea not mean that '^ the seas wuinbd over the land, but thi^ the evaporation was ex- cessive. The following remarks are from a most excellent little bode just issued : — *' Then as r^;ard8 the expression, * All the fountains of the great deep were opened,' the meaning is ex- plained by Proverbs viii. 28 : ^ When He made firm the douda ibove, when He streugthenedTthe fountains of the deep ; where ^ *thef(mndtaum$ofthed0q^' evidently mean, not fountains which ^ impply the ocean, but fountains from the surface of the ocean, iphieh, by evaporation, supply the douds ; , and * strengthening ' jAie dowds above, and tiie fountains of the deep, is the impres- pkig on each of them those laws by which the restricted amouni r noticed with r^;ard to the sup|dy of rain-douds, that it is sud in Genesis vii^ 11, * All the fountains of the great deep were opened,' from which we ma^I think, oondnde that diirtant parts of the globe contributed to this abnormal supply of rain-clouds, con- veyed to this particular region probably by winds, which also removed the clouds when no loiiger needed. The whole ooour- lence must be regarded as miraculous, . though the description does dertainly lead us to infer that God worked by natural agendes ; and Hhe fact that marks of Noah's Deluge can scarcely anywhere be traced, seems to confirm the view that it was lim- ited in extent, and accompanied with no ipreat disturbance of the earth's crust." (Befiind the Surface. By Edward Duke, M.A., F.G.S.) There is no reason for beUeving that the flood was universal, in the sense of jextending over the whole earth. It was intended to destroy man, and was doubtless therefore limHod to the region inhabited by, him. We are not conse- <^ 36 filBUCAVtilfnciTLTIES DISPkLLBD. • qnently oalled upon to •uppoae that the HinudiiyM Mid the AlidM were ooyered inth the w»ter, but limply that if rose abore the high^ mountuiM in ^ xUttriot. Such a view i« perfeotlf oom- petible with the true ^dering of the Hebrew text. ABBiiLAM Owwrnutto UP Ibaao, QuetH&n 36.— I find! a very grettt diffionlty in reference to the oommaild ai QoA> to A braham, to offer up Isaao as a bumt-oflbr- ii^ ' Vide Oen. ziii 2 . Can you help me in the matter T * ^ ^.4AMwr.---Tbeoommittid in the ori^pnal is somewhat ambigUf ous. It reads ** make his asoent*for a butnt-ofEerinif." Abrslnm doubtless interpreted the words literally, and thought that they imidied the actual slaying of his son. But this very mistaiEe was the means of testii^^ lis faith, and of proving his obedience. The intention on the part of the Almighty was not to bring about an outward act, but to secure a particular state of mind, a willingness to give u]i the most beloved object in tiie worfd. ** The principle of thii great trial," says Dr. Arnold, *< was the teme which has been japplied to God's servante in every ag^— whether they were willing h part with what they loved best on earth, when Ck>d's service ctOled for it." Ssys Kurts, *'It/ifl true that God did not seek the slaying of Isaac infaetOf but only the implicit imrrendc^r of the lad in mind and heart" And Hengstonberg showed that satisfaction was rendered to the lord's command when the spiritual sacrifice was comfdeted." All the beet scholars ^«ree in this view. David a Mak AFxnt God's owh Hxabt. * - . , (iuutitm 36.— I frequently come into contact with sceptics Vho ma^« great deal of David's sin, and of tiie statement that Ke was £ man after God's own heart, will you ^adlij explain it for ;,iiie? ♦ ♦ *■• I -\';; , / ,,. ;. iliuioer.-^There can be no doubt thi^t sceptics midce too mndv .both of the commendation of David, and of his sins. He is spoken df by these people as thoi^h he had bden an unmitigated ruffian, and as such received the praise ol Qod. Neither ie true. The prsise bestowed upon him has a ref ftraniAi tn tiim w^ nply fa 1 — : I s BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIIS DISPSXLED. 87 His Idiigly ohaxAotor, and to the oontnat that he presented in thif reepect to his predecessor. In oomparison with Saul hia hewriwas "perfect with the Lord his God." Says Haokett, " This commendation is not absolute, but describes the character of David in ^comparison with that of Saul." *' It merely indi- . oatea/' says a moddtn Biblical s^olar,' " a man whom dod will approve in distinction from Saul, who was rejected." Then, on the other hand, David on the whole was one of the grandest per- sonages that ever appeared in the history of the world. Dean Stanly has well said of the character of this weople jtut at the moment of their toansi- tioii from^ the lofty virtues of the' older qrstem to the fuller civiliation and cultivation df the later. In this manner he be- 'oomiea naturally, if one may so say, the likeness or portrait of the last and grandest development of the nation and of Uie dlonarohy, in the person and the period of Messiah. ; > .' Bis Psalms (whether those actually written 1^ himself be many t>r f aw), have been the source bf bonsol^oi and instruction beyond any other part of the Hebrew Scriptures. In them appears qualities of mind and reli^ous perceptions, not before expressed in the sacred writings,, but eminentiy characteristic 6f David — the love of |itture,, the sense of sinfand the tender, ardent trust in, and communion wit^ Ood: N - >i BIBUCAL DIFFlCin.TliES DISI^LLED. of it. ThoniM Oarlyle hu the f ollowiog wiM remaf In cm llil^ ~- irhioh evet^MWptio would do well to take to heart, coming at they do, from a man who moat certainly was hot biaaaed in Ikyoiir of Christianity : "David, the Hebrew king, had fallen . into aim enough— -bhMskett Crimea— there waa no want of ain. 'And tiliereforft the unbelievers, sneer, and ask, *J» thiaypuir . man aooor^ing to Qod's heart ? V Th,e sneer, I must say, aeema to mjB but a shallow one. What are fa^ts, what are the outward - detail* of a life, if th^ inner secret of It, the remorse, tempta- tiona, the oft^n baffled, never ended struggle of it be forgotten f » . . David's life and history, as written for us in those PnilihB of his, I condderto be tiie truest emblem ever given of » man's moral progress and warfare here below. All Muniest ■onls will ever discern in it tiie faithful struggle of an earnest, human soul towards what is good and best. Struggle often ■" baiBed— scoe baffled — driven as into^^ntke wreclcf yet a struggle never ended; ever, with tears, rep«htance, true, unconquerable purpose, begun anew. " DaviU's repentance waa as heartfelt, deep,' uid' thorough^ as his sins w^ flagrant, and in opposition ^ to the l4w of Ood. He stands before the world as a grand mora^ hero, d^pite hia ains, challenging the admiration of all man- ^Idlid;^'-;;'- •■:■., ■• „m,:-;\ -.■..■■.■ ■: - . ■ ^ ' Thb BuBiAL Plaov or CratiST. QuitUon 37.— Having been much interested in your very able di^urise on ** The Resurrection of Christ," I would be glad to ilave some inforiQatiottr^[arding the topib^ ludd Uie stone that waaiolledtothedoortu^ose the vault. * * * ^iiiMiwr.— These'east^m tombs were very unlike the grmvea or vttolts thatwe ^mployatthepreaent day in thia counter, in one, of the joqmalsof the " F^estine Exploration Society " the fol- lowing in^resting notes referring to the tomb in which the body of the Lord was deposited, appeared. They tend to throw oon- nd«rable lig^t on the aulrject : <* All accounts concur in describ- ing itjk an excavated sepulchre, a new and recently flnished woric, and not as yet used for the pi^rpose of burial. The general idej concerning the tomb is that h was single-celled. Wli^ti oonatntcting it, Joseph could. never have had any idea of the . t A-. rr V tnr HI id ^^ ft! I 1--. M; J BIBLICAL ^^FFICULTIES DISPELLED. M MoiM use to whiofarit would be applied, and muat have had in ■Hew a multi- (not uni*) locular (inpanj Eaatern tomba oonsiat of a laxge ohamVer with-recefses in the walls for the oorpM8)^atnt(y sepulchre. "^ The nuTative» uphold the idea of a multi-looulai* . (many-oelled) tomb ; had it been othOTwise, the angel's inyita- ' tion, * Gome, see the place where the Lord lay ' (Matt. ^yiii. 6)* . would have been unnecessary, for a glance would have revealed' the interior to the two Mary's. St. Mark's uMratiye is more oiear ; he describes evidently an ante-chamber, firom whidi the ^ ioouli (cells) branch |^ ; and in this case there, were apparently only two rows, right and left. On enterii^ the diamber, the Mjury's find the angel ' sitting on the rif^ht side,' probably at Uie entrance of the lately tenanted loculus (cell), which he points out to the afHighted women. ' * Behold the place where they laid Him.'v According to St. Luke, it was only on entering the. chamber that the women found not the Lord's body (xxivi 8) ; : if it had been a one-celled tomb, a glance fitom the entraa||> wcn^ ' have revealed |bs emptiness. Again, the presence of a loouluH bi|uiching off firom the chamber would necessitate the stooping ^f Peter to see |he grave-clothes laid by themsdves (xxiv. 12). So with St. John, the chamber pt the sepulchre admits botJK^ Peter and John (xz. 8), from which fhey view the vacant o^ sad oarefully-aminged graye-dothes. The tomb wm dosed 1^ ;« great stone rolled to the entrance. How wais. this done? Her* again the general idea is very nvgue, and refers to the laborioa# rolling of a huge spherical mass of rock (for only such could roll) to thedoor of theto^ab, no attention being paid to the fact tha* such a mass could ndt accurately fit the upright entrance, mudi ^ less' receive the proteotidn of the seal. The Bev^ J. Porter deseribes a Jjawish tomb whidi was aoc^irately dosed by a mill- ptone-like slab whidi was rolled down an incline plane, at the' bottom of which was the circular entratioe to the sepulchre.; Sbmer sudi arrangement would be necessary to meet the requirements of St Matthew's narrative, where the angel rolls away (not back) ikiie stone and sits ttpofi it." ; '«, - The writer also adds some very interestii^ notes respecting the loeality of the tomb. He say* :—** According to St Matthew*! \ BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. namtiye we *re, I think, driven to the oondusion that «t the' •oene of the burial there were two hill-iidea, with a' valley between them, for he deeoribee the two Mary's as * jutting over against the sepulohre ' (zxvii. 61), ae if, supposing the tomb had been on tlM side of Olivet, the Mary's had been looking on from tM\ opposite side of the valley, beneath the eity walls, but yet in full view, the distanoe being about 160 yards. . . . . St. John minutely describes the locality (of the tomb) :— * Nqw in the place where He was crucified there was it garden (xxviiL 1), which St. Matthew and St. Mark describes as near a place, or state, or hamlet, caUed Gethsemane (Hi. Gatht winepress ; shemen, oil). Now, was the garden of the sg«my identical with the garden of the burial ? If not why dbes St. John use the same word (k^oc) to describe two localities? 11 they were (identical), then we csn understand why our Lord, * ofttimes resorted ' to the gsrden which witnessed His sgony, •ad was to be the scene of His burial, and in its gloomy shfede Hie trod iilii solitude the wineprMs of the wrath of the Almighty GkxL Oethsmnane witnessed the agony and burial ; if this be allowed, then it witnessed also the. crucifi»on, for the gaiden was in the place where He was crucified. . . . The women watdied, beholding *afar off' (Matt, zxvii. 66). St. Mark de- scribes the centurion in command as standing ?over against Him' (xv. 80), and 1^ and St Luke also descries the wpmen as 'watching afar offl' I should fanqr that the site of the crnd- fiziom (and burial) must be sought along the Bethany-road, on tfai eastem! side of the valley of lehoshaphafc'* -/' Did ABB4Hiif MiBBT HIS SisraB ? < iiiiatitm 38.<— In Oenesis zz. 12, Abraham declares that Sarah, his wife, was also his sister. iVas this true? and if so, did he not in marrying her commit a crime according to the Levitioal Law? (Lev. zviii.andzx.) ♦ ♦ ♦ . « iliMKMr.— In ancient times, and with eastern peoplOi the terms "brother," *' sister," Ac, were used with much greater lata- tude than we give them to-day. They correspond with the Latin wotd panAkit or wjfth our word " cousin.' Thuli latter term is A, .,V: M^.' > m- be l«n ' len de- list len " "^ id- V on. /""^ :". y" ,v -/ BIBUCAL DIFFICUimES DISPELLED. ' 41 •■-■.■■'■ ' -■'"'■:/■■ ■:.■■■■'■ •■'. ■^'■■■%- , , . : . qted by tu to detoribe »]] kinds of relation^p^ snd sometimes ^ none at alL In the Scriptures, Lot, Abrahsm's nephew, is osUed his brother. (Genesis xiV/l2, 16.) Rebeksh's pother, end "brother" ssid unto her, **Thouftrt our sistor." (Oen. zzir. 60.) Jsoob spesks of himself ss his uncle's t* brother" (Qen^ zziT. 12), snd Dinsh is styled by her brothers '* our daughter^ (Oen. JOMV. 17X The term "sister," thereforo, applied to Elsiah, shows that she was a near relative of Abraham, but by no means describes the d^pree of relationship existing between ^ vih«n. Bush and Delitssch think that she may have bem a ^nisoe of Abraham, daughter of lus brother, or half-brother, Haran. And this is the view taken by Josephus, the Talmud,; Jonathan's Tkrgum,' Rashi, and almost aU Jewish writers. It * was alfo held by Jerome. Hany aiicient Jewish and Christian writoiBcidentify Sarah with Iscah (Oen. u. „29). Lange suggests that she was simply an " adopted sistter " of Abraham. In any case we are not jfuit^ed in saying that the relationship fell within the prohibited degrees of matrimony. Odd 05LT Immortal. Qiuttion 39.— I read in 1 Tim. vL 16, 16, "The King of kings and Lord of lords. Who only hath immortality." How, then, can you speak of man a|i immortal ? Anmver. — ^The text no mo]|« means that Qod has immortality ezdusively, than the pass^g^ in Bom. xvL 27, wher^>sHa^ spoken of as "Qod only wise,|' implies thatmenl|Aveno wisdoirn. God is the Sole Fountain of Wisdom as He is of Immortality, and other beings are wise ajpd immortal only sd for as th^ receive wisdom and immortaliW fAm Him. In Deity these qualities are inherent and undienvecP Theodoret has it, " Im- mortal by essdioe, not by partiinpation," and Justin Hartyr says, "He has. this, not throtigh the will of another, as all other immortals, but through His onU essej^ce. " This text in no way favours the doctrine of ThnetojJMqrohism, an old heresy now being revived in curtain quarters with a good dea} of seal. Sv f "C: •it BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. Ought WomN to bi Au/mrno to Prbaoh f Qv4$t%on AO.—l find in 1 Cor. chap, xiv., and verse 34, Ui Paid uying, •• Let your women keep silence in the churches. " 'Does not this condemn womep preaching as We find them doing at the present day 7 Oan you throw any light upon the sub- ject? ♦ # ♦ . . ' Afuwet. — lluiy able oommehtators think that the language of Paul does prohibit in every place and for all time, the speaking of women upon religipuii topics in public assemblies. And the fact that this is the opinion of such men as Alford, EUicott, Oonybeure, Neander, Wordsworth, Schaff, Meyer, Ac., should lead us to treat such a view with respect At the same time, much may be said on the other side. It is difficult with such passa^ before us as Luke ii. 36-38 ; Acis ii. 18, xviii. 26, xxi. 9; Rom. xvi. 12; 1 Oor. xi. 5; and Phil. iv. 3, to come to the conclusion that the Apostle's injunction in the text in question was general, rather than local. There was probably something in the situation and furroundings of thoso to whom St. Paul was writing, which justified the prohibition in that particular case. Sensuality prevailed in the city df Oorinth to an *l*rming extent. Ifr. Oonybeare speaks of the " peculiar licentiousness of manners " prevalent there, and adds, " So notorious was this, that' it had actually passed into the vocabulary of the Greek tongue, and the very word 'to Oorinthianize ' m^juit * to play the wanton ;' nay, the bad reputation of the city had become proverbial, even in foreign languages, and ia immortalized by ^ the Latin jpoetti." The same author, - enumerating the wnh: whieh-prevailed at that time in ^e Corinthian Ghuich, says that " itomen had forgotten the modesty of their sex, and came forward unveiled (contrary to the hAbit of their country) to' address the pubUo aliisembly." 'Here we have the probdble . ezpliuiation of the prohibition. The Corinthians would deem tike fact of a Wdman speaking in public a proof thati she ihui nnduMite. Even Neander thkiks that in this passa^se St Paul vmerely refers, for example, to what was going on in the ChurolL. a t Qori n tf i. T he an c i ent Mont a n is t s thought tha t Paul m a^^r^ % ■ ."^^ i BIBLICAL DIFnCULTIBS DISPELLED. : M the public expresiion of their rel^ioni txptrlenoe. Dr. Adiyaoi 01*rke oonsiden that the Apoetle merely prohibits a woman'a queitiomng, disputing, Ao., as men were allowed to do in the igmagogue Mid other public aiaembliee, and thia ia, in our opinion, the^oorreot view. They were to apeak in a mo^at manner, by way of luggestion, and not to become polemioa, and to indulge in wranglingv^nd oontroveny. . . Thi SpntiTg nr Pbibq^. — :";-/^ '< — — ^ Quettion il.—Vfm you pleaae to. explain 1 Peter, chap, iii., . veraea 19, 20, in your valuable paper ? It leema a great bulwark > with Roman Oatholioa in auSstantiation of purgatory. * * ^ iiiuiMr.— The phraae "quickened by the apirit, by (or in) which he alao went and preached unto the ,lipirita in priaon,'* Ao.t ia conatrued by many eminent teholara to mean aimply that Ohriat waa preached by Noah, to the a)»tediluviana, and that no peraonal viait ia intended. Alford, how(h(er, entertaina )R diflforent view. He aaya : " With the great majority of com- mentatora, ancient and modern, I.underatand theae irybrda to aay that our Lord, in Hia diaembodied atate, did go to tne place of detention of departed apirita, 4nd did there announce Hia work of redemption, preach aalvation in fact, to the diaembodied epirits of thoae who ref uaed to obey the voice of Ood when the judgment of the flood waa hanging over them." Profeaaor Taylor Lewia alao obaervea : " We are taught that there waa a wor]^ of GhHat in Hadea. He deacended into 9adea ; he makee prooUmation (Mpvfev) in ^ad^ to those who are there' < in ° ward.'" That tiiia interpre^bn waa%ulopted ahnost univer- uUfy hj the eariy CSiriatiaii Ohurch there can be no doubt. Says Pjofeaaor Huide)|coper : ** In the second , and third oen^ torifls, ^ery branch and diviaion of Chriatians, ao hx aa their repQfda enable ua to judge, believed that Ohriat preached to the ' departed."— Cairist'a Ifiaaioa to the Underworld, pp. 61, 62. IHetehnfir, in hia elaborate "Hittoria Dogmatu U(ii»), but limply heralded, that ia, made announce- ment of Hia finished work, thereby confirming what had^been aaid by Noah, and declaring the condemnation of tha antediluriaaa, and tta cause. In no sense can uiy support for the Romish doctrine of putgatoiy be found in the text. Purification by fire ia not even hinted at, and the persons preached to are such aa even Boman Oatholics would hardly place ilx purgatory at all. Very much more might be said on the tezt^ but out space is neoesssrily limited, r: .v^ • ■ \. ■■:'""\ •■'"" -....:■'.■■-■.''■■■■ .; ■ ■ ■• '■-.. V, \-r \ : ■ :■■;-■'.- - Waa n ^Ttmis' MiMioN to BiviuT CAmmt ., QmiUok 42.— -Waa it Judaa' mission to betray jurist, and if so, will he on that acoonnt.be caat into everlaating darkness? * * AnmMr.—li was certainly not the mission of Judas to betray Ohxiat, if by that be meant that God had appointed thia particu- lar man to do the work. Our Lord tell us thi^ '*it must needs be that offences come : but woe to that num by whom the oflenoe oometh " (Matt, xviii. 7). The c^nce is {ureidicted be- cause it is foreseen byOod, as was the crime of Judas, but' thia in no aenai^ relieves tfce oflfonder of the responsibility. God's foreknowledge is not the cause of the ofiiance, it simply sees what the perverse will of the man will do, and aa a consequence inredicts it before the art haa occurred, juat aa a human being daioribea an event after it has taken place. Foreknowledge^ ia not foretwdinatioii. We each foreknow that the auQ will riaa to*morrow momupig, but auoh knowledge has nothing to do with the caute of the event foreaeen. And to God there' ia^aa j9it^ wa preaent^ but an etomal Now.- ■■■' : . '^- ■ ■ ■; ■■^■^' \J ^ 3^ %» — a»w 'M- I I r - %-*■- '-W ' . I, p. ', t" r"- '.V -'\ :: BIBLICAL DIWIC'I/LTIES DI8PELLID. 40 0am OoD n Snort QuuUon 43. — If injour aiuwen to queries you would oleur up the apparent oontndiotion between Oeneeie zxxiL 90, " I have Men Qod feoe to fftoe/' »nd Exodue zxxiii., ** And He laid, Thou oanet not lecr my face ; for there ehAll no man eee my feoe *nd lire," and Johji's Ootpel, i. 18, '* No man hath aeen 6od at any time," I should feel greaUy obl^? * * • iliuMwr.— In the Old ^^Mlamfliit all the manifestations '^wsire made through » chosen medium. The ancient Jewish Ohuroh reoognized & Irvine Pers9n under the name of Mimrthr- i term having the tame meaning as the Logoi or the Word of the New Testament. This Person had diyine attributes ascribed to Him, and was therefore fitly called Qod. In His divine Es- sence Deity cannot be seen. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him ; but the Mimra^ or Word was seen and heard and spoken with on many occa- sions. Modem Jews do not belieye in this Divine Aftmro, but herein they show to what an extent they have departed from the primitive and pure faith of their fathers. Their ancient commen- tators, or Targumists, as they are called, are dear and explicit enough upon the subject. The Ohaldee paraphrases abound with references to this gr^iiat and mighty Person. From them /■ we learn that it was the Mimn, or Word, that always appeared under the name of the Angel of the Lord ; and they, as well as the Scriptures, ascribe to this Being Divine honours,, and call Wm hj the sacred, awful, and unoommunicable name of Jeh<>- vah. Hundreds of passages could be quoted from the Targums to prove this. Suffice it to say that it was Uie Word, or Aftmro, who spoke to A.dam in the Garden of Eden ; who apposred to Abraham in the door of his tent ; who led Israel in the pillar of • doitd 1 who shut the door of the aric on Noah ; who wrought miraolei thnxfigh Moses ; wko destroyed Sodom'p who punished Israel for making the goldtt o^f ; who made man after His own image ; and by whom, in fact, the world wasoreated. What a ouirvelloas uniformity we see between the teadiing of the an- oent Jeira and the New Testament, although now Judaism haT become so teniUjQomiptedl The Jerusalem Taigom says that t ^ ^ ^ i ■ ■..» 4A BIBLICAL DiFriCULTHas 1>I8PKLLEi>. i Godoreftted the world by Hit wudom— thitt u^theLo^; tar ■o Philo, also a Jew, expluiu it. And Paul, ■peaking of Ohrit^ •aya, "BywhomalaoHe made the worida." (Dr. Sezton'aTheiatio PM>bleina, pp. 139, .40). Taking thia view of the qneation, fhiK^ ia no oontradiotion Whatever in the paaaagea quoted^ TheAftmrci waa aeen in the Old Diapenaationi aa waa the Logo$ in the New, bat no mortal being oan, look upon the Divine Eaaoioe of God. W^ Finn vbi FooimAxioir Sioiii or xmi OHimoHf i^ Qttution 44.— What. ia the meaning of Matthew xvL 18, 19, ^ where Chriat aaya, *' Tl^ou art Peter, and upon .thia rook I will build my Ghurdi," etc.? ♦ ♦ ♦ Antwer. — ^There ia an ezaUed play upon the word "rock," which ia loat in our tranalation.' In the Aftmuue, or SyrO' Ohaldaie language uaed 1^ our Lord, the aame word atanda for Peter and rock, aa it doea in modem French, Even in Greek the two worda differ : ai el JUrpoc, kc^M raimi rlf irlrpa. The Took upon which the Church ia built waa not Peter peraonally, for Ohriat Himaelf ia the only foundation atone (Pa. oxviii. 22, laaiah zzv]|l 16, 1 Oor. iii 11, Bph. iL 20, 1 Peter ii 6)^ but tiutt oonfeaaion of faith which the Apoetle had juat made, "Thoii iut the Ohriat the Son of the living God." Thia ia the everhMt* im rock, the foundation atone of the Ohurchof Ohriat in«ll .. agM. The k«^ named are the emblema of authority, aa they ^ were alwaya with the ancienta (laaiah xzii. 22, Rev. iii. 7, 8). It Th^ are given to Peter becauae he waa the firat to make oonfea- aion of Ilia faith; and he afterwarda opened the door of the I preaching of the Goapel both to the Jewa on the day^of Pente- coat, and to the Gentilea in the caae of Oomeliua. The aame power waa apeedily afterwarda extended to all the Apoatlea (ICaii. xviii. 18). |Tone of them ev^r forgave un. There ia not ; a ahadow of proof that Peter waa ever at Rome, to aay nothing \ <^hia being Biahop of the Ohurch there. ^IRbb ArswjjufioM or Jbsus to thb Disotrus Arrma. Hd ■. T;;'l ■ -■■- ;■■;::-; Rbsubsxoxxoh. , ,....------,-.-.- QtMi^ 45.— I read in the 24th chapter of St. Luke that Vn^en Ohriat appeared to Hia diadplea on the firat day of Hia •f. -fci %■■ :ik:'ii-..'^ BIBUCAL DIFFlOULnES DISPELLED/ rMorrection, there were eleven present at Jerusalem, and Blj» v John aaya that when* Christ appeaired to them the first day of His resurrection that Thomas was not with them. Will you be so kind as to say how this can be reconciled, and how there oouid be eleven wilbhout Thomas ? * ♦ * Annoer. — There were not eleven without Thomas, and he wsi absent as John jiays (xx. 24). Noi? does Luke say anything to the contrary, as will be seen by a capful rea4ing of his narra- tive. He tells tiBothat when the two returned' to Jerusalem, they found the eleven gathered together and them that were with them " (xxiv. 33). lAter on — at what interval we are not ioLd-^ the Lord appeared (a new paragraph commences at verse 36), only ten being then present. Clearly the time that elapsed was short, because the Conversation regarding the resurrection was stiU going on, but in the meantime Thomas had left. The appearance to the eleven took place on tiie Sunday following (John XX. 2(S et ss.) % HaXH MaK ANY P&E-EMmENOB ABOVE A BXAST? Qtieriion 46.^ — WUl ybu kindly give me your opinion on the 19th verse of the 3rd chapter of Ecolesiastes : " For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts ; even one«thing be- falleth them ; as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they ' have all one breath; so that a man haUi no pre*eminence above a beast, for all is vanity?" ' An$wer.-^It is.quite certain that Solomon does not mean that man and the lower animals are idike to be totally extinguished at death. For in this yery book we have thcf'clearest possible indi- cation of a future life. * ' Then shall the dust return to the earth . as it was, and the spirit shall return upto Gk)d, who gave it (xii. 7). And in the book of Proverbs, it is almost impossible to> read a sii^le chapter without discovering that a future state of retri- bution must have been; uppermo'st in the mind of the iknthpr ' (Vide "The Doctrine of Immortality, as Taught in the Old Tes- tameint," by Dr. Sexton.) It is certain, therefore, that Solomon '' , believed firmly in a future state of reward and punishment, and that consequentiy such passages as appear to teach the contrary. kSM^-is^a^sismmi zi 4a BIBUCAL DIFFICfJLTIES DIJSPELLED. «' wre soMeptible of an interpretation in harmony with that htit. The one thinglhat befaUeth the man and the beaat is death. Aa the one^eth so dieth the other, and they have both one breath, that is, fthey breathe the same atmosphere, and upon that prooeas of respiration their Ufe depends. This Is strictly true as a matter of fact, and equaUy so is the statement that one has no pre-emi- nence above the other. As far as their material organisation ia concerned, both are dust, and both wiU return to the earth from which they originally came. There, however, the comparison ends, for the writer immediately goes on to say, " Who knoweth' the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth »' (v. 21), pointing unmistak- ably to the great difference between man and the lower animals, despite the similarity of his material organization to theirs. Old Tutamint Pbopbbot of Ohbist. ^ Qtteition 47.— Will you please explain the first six verses of the (Jth chapter of Mioah ? I don't know how to reconcile it, if th^ iperson referred to means Christ. I never heard of Christ going to war with^he Assyrians. * * * iinnoer.— The prophecy most certainly refers to Christ, as any one who reads it carefully will be convinced. His birthphtce is announced and His Divinity enunciated. " His goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity," so it should be rendered. " He shaU stand," i.e., persevere. His kingdom shall endure, and He shall sedulously watch over and guard His flock. Aaqrria was at that time Israel's most powerful enemy, ind she is made the representative of all foes to the ptople of Gted, who should come afterwards. It is a striking fact tiiat both Micah and Isaiah (ch. x. 24-34) agree in foretelling the deliverance from ' Aaqrria, although that nation was then in the height of its great power. It must be remembered that tiie propheqy is not as yet thoroughly fulfilled, for the remnant pf the chUdfen of Isradara still dispersed, but will some day be gathered' to their own land. .--- - _ . __ __ ' It Li 1- « u m n ii It c- h ^.; >^ telBLIOAL DIFflCULTIBS DISPILLED. 40 To Lamb ni xr* Mam or xn Tsmoira. «u««of heat eo that the figh^r parte ol the^waterinrerp carried < up and ,suap«nded in the viiihle faeaTens/ and thus beojpie divided from ^the great oceim which covered the Iwnd. 'Ilie command was,' *'l^t it be dividing or C(mtinu'e to divide."* TheT^ ■eparationWweehthe heavier nuun below aiSd the .more vola^ l||e portion above was to boa permanent onci, lien^ the firma- nM|nt or ttqjMuiae between' ^m; Ruddn iUustriteii the matter ac follpWs :— ^*< Ani unscientific reader knows jittle 'about tiie^' manner in „ which the volume, of the atmosphere surrotmds Uie earth; but I imsgine i^t he opuld , hardly glance at th^ sky when rain was falling' in the diitance, juild see the level line of" the bases of the dpuds from which the showeif descended, with* out being tble to attach an instant and easy'' ideaning to the wctrds * expansion in the midst of the waters.' Ax^ if, having once seiased the idea, he proceeded to examine mqre aocurately, he would perceive at oi|ce, if he had ever lioticed anything ci the nature of ike douds, that the level line of their bases did indeed^ most severely and stru^g^tly divide 'waters from waters,'-— that is to say, divide water in its collective and tangible siate from the water, in its divided and aerial state ; or the waters which /af£.abd jfbio front ihoae which rite and float. I under- stand the making the firmamoit to signify tha^ (so far as man ia concerned) most magnificent ordinance -Of the clouds ; the ordin- ance, that as ^e' great plain of waters was fozined on the lace of the earth, so i^ a plain of waters should be lUtretdhed along the heit{ht of air, and the face of the doud ansifer the face of the ocean ; and that this upper and heavenly shouIiSi be of waters, as it were, glorified in their nature, no long^i: quenching the ;fire,* but now bearing fire in their own bosoms ; no longer murmuring only when the winds raise them, or rocks divide, but answering- each otiher w ith t h eir ow n v oices fiwHn pole to pole j no l/of f^panaion, the Jsa^ ohara<^ristM of the aimospJbeM which sur- n^di e. .; V ' • -; ., Odd ^AMS>*sisa FwxkAoiBCB Bwa^. " j \' Quutiqn 60.-^Hipw coiild Pharaoh have been a i^ agent wHep we are distinctly told .f» M BIBLICAL DIFFICULTII8 DISPBLLED. .,#i^^ hardeiu oar heitfti. Siaart Myi-Huid rexy fanly— «■■ Was it Biors iok. David to Hati sib BlmuiiMt * S Quettion 1^2.— I have often ij^ondered why David prayed ao bitterly agMnathiaenemiea. ^e aaya (PuJm oziaix. 21), *o not I hate them, O Lord^ that hate Thee, I hate them wit^ per^ feet hatred, I count them mine enemiea." Ia it^ght to pny fp ^hen Ghriat commanda ua (Mi^ y. 4i), *<"LoTe yo)ir cnemiea ; bleaa them that curae you ; do good to them t)iat hate ' you, and pray for them that deapitefully uae ybuW4 pemeout^ ywit" An explanation wiU much oblige. ♦♦ * i^ ; * Annoer.—'Uke language here uaed no doubt appe^n'muoh' atronger to uji than it did to the Jewa, bjaeauae iiia intensely oriental. It probably aimplyexpreaaeaDavid'iB utter abhorr«nce of the vile conduct of the wicked. When he aaw tiiehr depraved and abominable acta fi^*^ hated " them, ^hile aa human ^inga he may^ve felt pity for them, and even lovedithem and d^piMd their repentance, *V^<^^^/'''^y*C«l^^i^' devoted, to 'the cultivation of pieiy he thoroughly abhorred JR impiety." At^e ■ame time, it muat not be losgbtten that in our day we have the full dear light of the goapel diapenaatidn which David had not. We ahould not now use the same langua^^, because it would Ibe out of harmcmy with our higher Ohristian principles, to say no- thing of ita bdng foreign to our western mode Of speech. r v- Salute ho Max by tbk Wa** . ^ • I Qitutum 69L— Is not the command given in Luke z. I, t^ ** salute no man by the way," to say the leaat of it, to act in aii unfriendly spirit to those who might be met on the road 7 *'**,.. Answer. — The disciplos were sent f ort& on an important mia-' 9' •ion, luad they were ordered, to throw the whole of their eneigiea ' < 54 BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIftS DISPI uli >v. • c r bto iSMf woik, ikad to wilto no ifafto iii idle ovramoiiiM «b4 ofoatonuL And the extremely formal ealutatione in uif' in the Saet would hare inTolred oonaiclerable delay. The reader may obtain a clear notion of these oiutoma from the following de- ■oriirtion taken from the worka of Van Lennep, by the author of ** Biblioal Thiilgi not Generally Sjiown," a moat uieful work f<^ hibUoal atudenta : " In performing the dutiea of hoiiidtality. to atrareller or Tiaitor, be he a atranger or a friend, the hoat re- 'Mxrea him in hia best room. <» in his UiSant if the weather be Biild. Tli4 reoeption-room becomes his apartment for the time being." Hen his Menda call ^ipon him, and here he tranaaota hiabuainess; Itere, alao, he^takes hia meals, his host himself waking ap nounees his iipptoaoh to tiie maater of the house, wlkrhastenstp hi» ipkte, holds the bridleand stinrup, and helpa himl» diamount. If th^ are old hitndi, ot of tank nearly equal, they embrace, eadi placing hii nght Intend on Uie other's left shoulder, and kiu- on the left cheek. It was thus that treaoheroua Joab Amasa, and instead of plaoing his right hand upon hia seiied .him by the beard and stabbed him * with the left ' * iii the fifth rib ' (2 Samuel, zz. 9, 10), And JFudaa Isoariot kiss our Lord." \ , ** llieMJaam is now exchanged, 'PelMM be unto thee. Answer, * And-unto thee b^ peicd.' But if the viiitor be of a higher Milk than his host, the latter |diies him not,' but 'bowa down to the earth ' when he salutea li^, touching the ground with his hand, which he theii brings to his lips and his head (Qen. xriiL 2), This mode of salutation eddsted in PeraiaMid Egypt, being pii>- ' tared upon the^nonumenta. The host now leads the way into i house, plaoes his friend in the seat of honour, the diief cor- of tike divan ; then takea a aeat 1^ his side, if on a footing oi •i|uali^, or kisses his hand, the hem of his garment, or even hia feet, aocjiding to hia rank, and, retiring a few ateps, croaaea hia hapdaup^hia girdle-r-the habitaalpoptureof the •ervant-'-thaa •igni^fuig that he is waiting for orders.. The guert, on the othtiT thna *-, ■•/,:" 'H '■■a. "^^ \ BIBUQAL DIITFICULTIES DISPELLED. 65 tilund, ftMinii not to Im outdone in poiiteneit | ho Moepti tfce honoun due to his poaition, but eifdeavoun to'^make hit hoat feel tA OMO by inaisting upon his sitting down : * No,' not tin the floOT, I beg you, nor there on the fftrtheat oomeriof the diviui, but here by my lide.' Then follow udutations, alwayt l^^n by >the man of higher rank, with^inqii^ea oonoeming health, .and |^/ hoat of empty phrases which display the good breeding pf thi^ pitrtiea. llie Persians excel all other Orientals in the use of these phrasep and forms of etiquette, whllph they carry to » "^ pitch often ridiculed by their Neighbours. It is curious to find, Herodotus states, that the Persians in his day *piud so gre«t . attention to forpi of address that one could/thereby at once a** 'certain .the rank of a stranger ; when of equal nuoJc, instead of v speaking they kiss each other on the lipa ; when one is a little inferior to the other, the kiss, is given on the cheiek ; and when' the difference of rank is great, the infei^r proikratea himself ' upon the ground.'" , ■■'"■."'■ _. ,-,-^,;.,^^--,^-- } ^Y ■. .^.;; ' The elaborate and hindering salutations custf friends at the roadnside have been otherwise illu«> trated. Such' salutations are particularly formal land tedious ,, among the Druses and other non-Ohnstian sects of Ithe present / time. Dr. Bonar gives the fo^krwing" strikingly illustrative inoi-'' *d«nt : — '* As we were tumi]% in by a narrow, dwk, V^^iied lane' '^ ai Ouro, my4onkey-man sprung aside witii a lou4^shout of ' ^eligl^t and leh m0. Of 09urBe I halted, hot knowiiW my wajr. Some donkeys wwe coming on in front, and my drive^had seen in the foremost of the riders a brother of a friend who was re- .,' tazning from a journey. Hy donkey>man was on foot, but this mattered noi In a moment he leaped up and seized^ hiend round the neck, hugging him most strenuously, and kiiiuuqg him'^ ^t on on# side of the face and then onr the other. Thu inutual , operation being x>Ver Hiej inquired after each other's health, imd then wait on their way.'* ' How w^ Phrist xhb Fntm Fbuhs op xhsm Tsja kixnf /. QuuUokHgn^Ja what way opuld our .Saviour have bip^ the dmtfruits of them that slept, When others had been~ IB^I ■^ 56 i BIBUOAL DIFnCULTIlQB DISPELLED. •N- - /-tlie reramoiion of Jmiii WM of ft ohanusto mlike that of vaj of tho other penons wM were rettoied to life. He Mwe in a new eenae, to a new and higher life, while ' they were iimply reeuwateted to a freeh ttrm of temporal axiftenoe in thia world. He aroae, bnnt the bonda of death, to die no more ; the reat were raiaed for a time, but most in the ^' end paaa again through the gatea of death. Rom. ri. 9, afforda an explanation of the whole difficulty. Over Him, <* death no r more hath dQminion." Thua He ia truly the *' fint begotten of the dead." vt.;:' "''■M. Thb Second CbMXMo or Christ. Qtudicn 66.— Paul, addreeaing the Oorinthiana, eaya— '*We ^all not all sleep, but we ahall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,"' and writing to the Theaaaloniana in hia ibat epistle, saya, "We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Loril, ahaU not prevent them which are aaleep." Boea not^thia prove that the coming of the Lord waa expected in that day ? And yet in the aecond epiatle to the Thessaloniana he wama thoae to whom he wtitea againat expecting that the day would come untU after there had been a foiling away, Aa, and against men believing " that the day of Chriat was at hand. * ♦ An$w«r.—ThiB ia a "discrepancy," of which Baur makea a good deal ; but it ampunta to nothihg, whatever. The laat passage reads, in the Revised Veraion, **M that the day of the Lord ia* now preaent" But even De Wette, who cannot be accused of leaning to orthodox Ohriatianity, says, " It ia no con- tradiction of the first epiatle tiiat Paul after exhorting them to ateadfaatly await the aecond coming of Christ (1 These, iv. 16), felt himaelf bound to moderate their too excited npectatitma ; and 2 Thess. ii. 1, &a, is completely in the q>irit of primitive Christianity.'^ So Dr. Davidson, speaking of the passage in 1 Cor. XV. 52, j»ya, "The expression we means auch Christiana ito ahall then be alive; all believers then living are grouped to- gether." And in 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17, he saya, " Hence • we which ar e alive and j ^ main,' Ac., can onl y m^U ' ■tiali niiri«fei^T>ff as vlive and remain.' Paul employe himaelf and the early Ohriatiana I i J l^ » «• Ito hile' oral , ta--* the >kUi . no i k of the hit ^ the t ^i' BIBUCAL DITFICULTIIS DI8PBLLID. 57 M the r e pt ee e ntetfvei of thow raooeeding Ohrietiaiui who ehouM be aliTe »t the Redeemer's aeoond adTent. Thu in l>eut. zmx. I, the gene|»tion eddreeeed ia the repreeentetiTe of * rae- oeeding one ; and in John ri. 38, • eaooeeding generation is employed to represent a past tme." There is no evidenee that the apostles expected the second coming of Christ to take place in their day. 'Suyn Andrew Fuller: "ETerything with respect to degrees is what it' is by comparison. Taking into consideration the whole of time, the coming of Ohriat WM 'at hand.' There is reason to beliere from this, and many other passages of the New Testament, tU^ the saored writers considered themselves as having passed the^eridian of , time, and entered into the afternoon of the world, as we may say. Sttoh appears to be thei'mport of the following among other passages, * God hath in in (hue Icut day$ spoken,' Ac But taking into consideration only a single generation, the day of Ohrist was not at hand. The Theasalonians, though a very amiable people, were by some means mistaken on this subject, so as to expect tiiat the end of the world would take place in iheir lifetime, Vor within a very few years. To correct this' error, which might have been productive of very serious evfk| was a principal design of the second epistle to that people. " ■.■' Dqks not thk Bibli Sanction Bobbebt? QuMticm 66T — I read in Exodus iii. 21, 22, that the Israelites on leaving Egypt were to borrow several kinds of valuable articles of the Egyptians. Now as these things were taken away without the slightest idea of their ever being returned^ does not this look like a mild form of robbery ? * * * ilfUiMr.— To borrow things with no intention <^ restoring them to their rightful owners, is not a mild, but a very marked, form of robbery. Bd* did the Israelites do this ? We think not. The explanation giten by Michaelis, which is accepted by many theo- log^ums, is as fdlows : He thinks that when the articles were bor- rowed, tlbre was every intention on the part of the Israelites to "timt in the hur r y of their midnight departure. la.tt- L\ 5f BlillCAL DIFFICULTies DISPELLED. ^ thfj had no opportunity to do io. R«noe they carried th« artidw •way with them, intending to reetore them m soon as an oppor- tunity prbaented itielf. Such an opportunity never came« for in a day or two the Egyptian* made war upon them. This hostile act, U&ia " breach of the peace," completely changed the rela- tionship between the two parties, and justified the Israelites in detaining the property of their enemies as articles, to a certain ez- tmt, " contraband of war." Thus this great scholar maintains that the act was far removed from robbery, being simply a deten' tion of, an enemiea' property after a declaration of war. Ewald holds that since the Israelites could not return to Egypt in con- sequence of the treachery of Pharaoh, and the incidents on the Red Sea, they were not bound to return the borrowed articles, and that they consequently did right in keeping them and deapoiluig the Egyptians. He sees in this turn of afiairs a kind of ** divine recompense," a piece of "high retributive justice, far abov^ human inequalities, that those who had long been oppressed in Egypt should now be forced to borrow the necessary vessels from tlie Egyptians, and be obliged by Pharaoh'a subasf^ qoMit treachery to retain them, and thus be indemnified -for Itmg oppression." ^There is, however, a far pimpler and, in our fi6w,'a more satisfactory explanation. The Hebrew word b»tD thA-tUf means, according to Fuerst and Oesenius, to luk or 4tmandf as well as to borrow. It ia used in the former sense in Ptalm ii. 8, ** Ask of me," Ac, There is no good reason why we should not adopt this roidering in Exodus. We are told that *'the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyp- tians," also that Moses was " very great " in their sight. The awe which they felt for Moses, as also for the Israelites so signally favoured of God, induced the Egyptians to comply with tha demands, of the Hebrews to that extent, that the latter "■polled," that is, tmpovsrMM, the former. Says Hengsten/ berg : *' They had spdled Israel ; now Israel carries away the spoil of Egypt." This author, witii Bosenmiiller, Lilienthal, Tholuck, Winer, Lange, Murphy, Keil, Wordsworth, and a host of critics, under* tands Uutt the Hebrews asked and received these things simply m giJU. And Josephus corroborates this joew .< ■. ? -iT" ■ H ifrr- iBjnei m BIBLICAL DIFFK mm/ iPELLED 59 faying of the Egyptians, ** The^^mipiiioured the Hebrews with gift* ; some in order to MeuiPDieir speedy departure, and other* on account of neighbourly Intimacy with tibem." This explanation relieves the entire difficulty. —Haley. It will b#t seen, therefore, that there is no ground whatever for charging the Israelites with theft, or for saying that the Qiblo inculcates dishonesty.... . ; ■- ... . -v , ,%,;■., v" „'..,■■ Will thosi who sbbk Qod bablt winv Hmt Quution 57.-1 shall be glad if you- will inform me how I am to reconcile the two following texts : "They that seek me earlj shall find me " (Proverbs \ iii. 17). " They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me " (Proverbs i. 28). ♦ *^ Annotr. — Th^ discrepancy is apparent, not real mHb entirely different clswes of persons are referred to, as may MulBen by the oontexi. The first text is i ntende d to apply to the young, those who seek Ood in early life. 'hieSrord rendered ** seek early ^ oomes from a noun denoting the morning dawn. ' * It signifies,"' says Zochler, " to seek something while it is yet early, in th« obscurity of the morning twilight, and so illustrates eager, dili- gent seeking." This is the View taken by such eminent critics as Noyes, Davidson, Parkhurst, Moore, Stodiius, Opitius Frey, Ao. It means, therefore, *' those who seek me in youth shall find me/' The other text contemplates t)bstinate and hardened transgressors who are described, in the chapter as *' fools " and ** soomers," wh^ have hated knowledge, not chosen the fear of the hotdf and despised His reproofs. It is rendered by Stuart, *"ni^ shall earnestly seek me and shall not find me." Intheone case we have the young seeking Ood in their early years, ana in the other impenitent sinners calling for mercy in the hour of their approaching doom, and in the sight of the coming retribu- , tion tluroui^ fear «f impending .punishment Ood is always to be found of those who seek Him in the true spirit of penitence, but fear ma|''^ory aloud for mercy ixrhere there is no true com- punction for sin. And herein liM all the difference between the twooases.^ ''. 3i_i_ ,?i>^i«H M:m "^ I ea filBUCAliblFFIdULTIES DISPlStLED. Has tbb Eakth Pillabs, Gobnbbs, ajkh Sidbs? Queition 58.— The following' passages record the earUi as ing foiipdations, pillars, four comers, and corner stones and sides.* Job xxxviii. 4-6 ; ix. 6^; zxxViiL 18 ; 1 Samuel A 8 ; Psalm Ixxv. 3; civ. 5; Isaiah xlviii 13 ; xl 12; Eev^lation yii./l ; Psalixi cii. i26 ; Hebrews i 10. llie proved conclusion of science is that the earth is roimd and flat at the poles. Will you be good enough to explain the above passages? J^ulariats make a r^^lar practice of quoting these passages to shew that the Bible is not in harmony with the science of th(^ present day, and what every school boy is taught. * * * •/ Annogr.—^^ixetvl consideration of i^l these passages wiU show ■ that there is nothing taught in them cbntr^ to our modem sdentifio knowledge of the shape .of ^e earth. In the first one Ood b represented as asking Job, " Where was thou wlien I laid the foundations of the earth?" andvl^en saying fiurthelr, ' ** Whereupon are the foundations thereof/fastened ? (or made to sink, accordii^ig to the Hebrew) or thereof ? " \lt must be remembered wh( anotiier places " He stretcheth out laid the comor stone this same writer sayif in north oyAr tiie empty nothu^g."- Job xxvi.,7. on is UBi^liuilogically, and place, and hangeth the earth uj Clearly, therefore, the term f()imc the allusion, as has been in^gested^ by Mr. Duke, In his' work, ."Beneath the Surface," is to the great law of gravitation^ by means of which the globe is supported in Bpaee. Jifr. Duke're- nuirks *' that this is the 'fdundation' here intended is amply confirmed by other passages o^ Scripture, l^tfucn to Ptoverbf 'viii. 22, where I find a description of exceeding grandeur of thd' gradual f ormatidn oi our earth, dating its .commencement ^m a ' time incalculably remote. " But referring, to verse 2i9, I find it said, "Wheii He (the Wisdom df Gk)d) appointed the founda- tions of the earth." But the word "^>pointed" is not quite t&e best which might have been used. It means more accurately, , " When/He "oretatTUtd propriately used to-day. Moreover the Hebrew word V'J^ WC- - reUi in hundreds of passages of Scripture simply meai|s land, and it is literally correct to say that the land rests upon pillars. When the cooling down process took phlce in the interior of thid eann, the outer crust became broken up, portions of it were submerged beneath the waters and other piui« resting upon pillars of rocks rose above the surface of the oceans and so "dry land appeared." Thus the dry land called earth. was literally laid on "founda- tions " and supported by ** pilhrfs." The word rendered "cor- oners" in Isaiah xi. 12 is in Hebrew wtn<7«, and means, as must be obvious to any one who reads the passage carefully, the'fqiir quar- ters of the earth; and the passage in Revelations has a similar iueanii^. Besides, do we not often speak even to-day of going to " the ends of the earth, " and ydit^no sceptic cavils at the ex- . P^ession? % ' " . ' Qoi> Sknmko Mbn Stboko I>u.itsionb. ' Question 69. — Will you be so good as to give pe i^ expWation Qj[ the following passage in the second epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, 2 chapter, 11, 12 versesT "And for this cause ( God sluJl send them strong delusion that they shduld believe ■aUe,"&C;^* ♦ *' ■ - ■ - ■; ^ ■:': ' l^ '^l^r- ' \7 ■': , Answer. —God sends these delusions in the same Jr^^ tibi^t He < ' may be sakl to send everything else that He in His Divine wis- , ^ domjiermits to come to mankind. Men reject the triith, tddn^ - " pleasure in unrighteousness ;" they delude themsi^ves iifto-the belief ola lie, and %-and-by become aa incapp^ble of seeing the Divine law as a man is. of distinguishing objects placed before ' ../- s> ^ . :*»a^(*^* >, ■ ▲L bimCl^TIES DISPELLED. ^ •y '■■\ him. in |i strong light whose eyes have bcien for years accustomed W darkness. Let any one voluntaxily ehoose to dwell for the greater part of his life in physical darkness, and his oigant of vision will adapt themselvss to' this state, by a law of Qod indeli- bly stamped upon his organization, and when the sunlight is admitted it wilf' not only cause l^if) and yet it came of his own free choice. And so tilose persons wl^are bent upon misapprehending ^^^ truth, and living in enPoHfr the reason given in the text, whicl^^ must not be overlooked, that they take "pleasure in unright- eousness," will in the end becotm^ vpintuaUy blind and see tlift facts reUiting to Ood and their own higher selves through a dis- torted m^um of their owt^ creating, and thus become deluded ^' and believe a lie, bringing abovijetiiereby their oWn condemna- tion. Those who reject the trut^ Qod gives up in righteowi judgment to Satan's delusions; they cast off allegiance to God, settle down into believing a lie||»n4 ^ awful climax is sure t6 , ' come. The terms rendered " strong delusion, " htpyeutv vMviKi mean an effectual (energizing) working of error, answering to the working of Satan, contrasted with the effectual (energizing) working in belieyers by the Holy Spirit. "If," says an able modem author, *'we disparage Scripture, and treat it las any other book,' then Almighty God, who is the author of Scripture, will punish us hy our own devices. He will choose our delu- sions;' He will^hastise us by our.wickednoM,' and 'reprove us by our backslidings,' and -{;ive us the reward of our own hands.' Our presumptioni and our irreverence wiU be the instruments of our punishment. In the Divine . govemnient of this'%orld sin not unfrequently carries its reward in its own bosom." The Spiritual laws are as certain in their operation as those of the material universe. .%.':.■■■'■ '-•-■■.'"■■ ^v/- ■' v c-v---^ - pAViD A, Man of War and yet but a SraiPUNOi - - Question 60.— Cap you explain why David in 1 Samuel, xvi 18, is called " a mighty valiant^man, and aman of war," and yet "te \ ed he of U- ift iU a IS lift ia- ed la- «> t>le ny re, lu. lift \b.' of Bin "he ^j \ ^' ^ •t i f,t ;*-. BIBUCAL pIFFlCULTIES DISPELLEI>. «5 •^- \ •t i < Y in the fire I bnow it idU burn, hAl my knowledge does not bom it. It Ui the fire that does that. ,' {i If men ^reasoned about natural things aajlK>me do about monil^ ' they .would si^^ in th§ spring, "The Lord knows whether! ■hall have a crop or not. If He knows 1 shall have one, I certainly shall. Then what is the use of ploughing jind sow- ing? , If He knows that T shall n^ Have a harvest, I •Ml not^^howefver hard I may work. Then what is the ^^-use^ of working ?'^' It is quite tnw that Qod knows whether tiie fanner will hare Lffl?op. He knows that he will not have ' one unless he breaks 'iq> his ground and casts his 'peed mto'it* and protects and otdtivates it. He k^owqi he ifUlhave one, 'under ordinary oircumstancds^if he uses the piropeif means.' If the correspondent Who asks this c^uestien has a wife, she mi^t, if she followed his reasoning, say to.him^ <*The Lord knows ' whether you will have any cunner or not, andrityou have.one, of what it win be composed, so I will bid you good n^ornji^;, make a call upon a nei^bour.", v^hen the father tellMus d to'j^rform someservicS^fpr him,^ would hardly be content to be told, that the Lord knew whether hejrould do it or not, and^ < therefo^efthere would be.no i^ in' hi^Ki|ki|3ig a step inth^e matter. Tbb fathet' w«uld be likely to m^f^his aigumeniLas the 't old (Qreek did that of his slave, -who, havihg been oaughqJP^^ the ^act of steiJing, and bein^ about pleaded in ex- shoiiQd steal", ^nuation of his crime, ," It was fated that I "Tes," repUed his master, ** I ^^ow that, and it was fatefl that ypu should be whipped," ,.Any one whor should excuse him- self ^&om not using the proper nMtaps to secure' his ends, m ' natural things, ))ecause- the I^rd *knows the result^- would, be considered unwise— to putitas mil41y as possible.' Our action is ' one of the faetors which enters mto every effect, spiritiial as #ell 'as-natural.' And the Lord knows that tbi^ result will always be, determined by all the means imd forces which were* employed to acconq;^li^,it. ;.' ;: "■'..■y ^ f-M '■•' ■ /- ■;" . ;^, ■" ' ■. MsaSt freedom Is not touched in taafi^nae by God's knowledge of- results. He. employs His infinite wisdom and power to arrange and direct 4all causes*, in a manner to produce the :\ .# r / ^ iUi- JgimAmt. 'muohthe timliord in Hoi )eMi^ upo^ hi»^ • * #v ' , into dvezy Mt^ ,\ 14 .humim qaitlity, '^ audi. Tliu freedom for ^^, or ever ca^ petmlioh with Qim, todnot i^e peittlt. ;^ ; ♦ "/ / B0Hy^iiH<»^^^^|ftfMaA°Q|i>«h perpl^e^ i^t die meaning (^ Boibans viii^, ^'X^wiM the:%ii|^ ii^ hel{teth our in- finnitiee: '(e;^ J^ Imow' wji what we'ehoiM" p»ay for as we otl^ht ; but. the;. Spirit itaelfmak^ int»|K)^on for us/ with hich-itenildt b^ uttered.'^ - Dm^ not this impljr that 1 ,* i •^ * ^ »¥ ^« Trinit748 pleading with another ? So i^ it has i>een)>M ioTi^e .by a toeptio,. and I confess it looks like f -^nMcwt^.—llli^tllMiMig^hasno'suchntoaningfasmustbeobvbu^ • to anyone f^ ie6<^sts upon the phraseology employed. '* It ^ amply meiSfc*' skys Barnes, ** thac the Holy Spirit greatly aids ^ o^ i^wsts ; nopby pnying tor us, but in oittraayefs and Infirmi- tiei'^ 1%e growings are ouijb, not His. ^S^'^^oMor JStuart : j " ^yer or supplication made, by tlM|k»irit' is not here intend > l^e Spirit \makei& mteroesuon/.flbidtingin longings for oonformity to Qod, mfSKftvoAb feom evil, and •Qjoymei^ of future, bleaiiedness as no language can adequai e^nete.^* Alford, tqft remiurks: ^^'SofinUrcution i/n^htavm ' bene spoken of, but a pleading in u$ by the indwelling Spirit, of a na^tore' above our comprehension and utterance." This is fthe , view tak^ of it by all eminent scholars, and it is most spiely a common-sense view, and one in strict harmony with the phrase- ology^ the £n{^ version. The sceptic rd^elred to has puthis own' meaning into the' text; he did not find it^there. h I*- W ■\ X' ,.i:_ BIBUCAL[*t>IFFICULTIE8 DISPELLED. «7 o, . ,1 l-'a' •e- >;:-\ 4 his' ' ■L;.;:U W^ Thb WidKXD Obiatbd roB thb Bat of Eyxi. Qutition 63.— PleiM expUun Proverb* zvi. 4, " The Lord huth nuuie all thingii for Himself ; yei^ even the wicked for tihe dsy of evil." ♦ ♦ # Aruvoer, — The real meanini^ of the text is, that the Lord hath ordered eyeiything' for its own end, i.'«., hath ordered all things well 'This, of course, include* " a day of evil " for the wicked who deserve it.' The reading in the authorized version, ^**for Himself," is not in accordance with the Hebre^. Nor does thej text imply that God created the evil man as an evil itaan, biit that he has reserved for such an evil day in which his sins will find him out, and receive their just punishment. , • ' w ■'--'--■::■':■;-:■' : /;•: ^•■^'■■.: OvsB Rtobtkous and Ov«r WitnatBD. t' ^nestion 64.— Will you hMO good as to give me an explanstibb :1| /^" of the following t^assage, in Ecdesia^t^ vii 16, 17: "Be not ^ righteous over much; neither-^make thyself over wise; why' shotUdest thou destroy thyself: Be not over much wi(>ked ; neithl^r be thbu foolish ; why shouldest thou die before thy time." You will much oblige,— Tours truly ^^ ♦ • ♦ ** • , Annoer.—No be^i||iqd^jMdA passage can. be given than that of Peai^ppmpm^ljrld^ lA^e entire : ** Here again- ^^ we havo ik difri^ct reproduotu»t m on0 at the current maxims of Greek thoug% Mtiihf'Sy&t{N«fuidnmi»^:Soiiii^^^^ ^ Theognis 402, and of GKilon(Piog. Ue#l l,4p, >J^kV that irikich is in itself gcKxl, virtue Ues, luir Anatoide liiad tai^ht ,, {Mtifi. Nieq/m. ii 6, 7), in a mean betweim opp^ra «xti«itie»,^' Popular language has raabodied the Ihot^W in the. proVerbr^ i^ummum' jw^ Sium/fiM injuria.' Even in 1Kb 6tUef^ienso O^'i. * righteouaness,*- jts Mjjying personal inti^ty^i^rBoi^ W^-: gion, there mightlK^^Tthe ideal of the Plumsees aaCfejiftBes,' and. Stoics, the ;*^8HK>a^ tlkt *o'ei|eap8 itself ^^■'; aiid« Vwhat was true of ^PgihJI^idusnesiB was tn^e also ot speculative philosophy.' The fi|||oin that will liot l>e.co|itent%> rest in ignor- imce of thtt^mknoinMe, is, indeed, un^irisdom, and * fools rush in where angels feai^ tb ^^4> ' ( "Why shovldett thmvLLKO*' bthat of * being ianustd/ituiinod^ Mioniihed,' and voaj Imw been ohoeen to exptew Uie botplied wnd bedused •piritu*! pride whiohSt. Pftol pMBtoby the periioiple * puffed up.' > [rvfuO^) in 1 Tim. iii. 6., and whioh wm but too oommonly the aocom- ' peniment of fsnoied ezoeUenoe in kqioirledge or in . conduct & not ov$r mMAwiek$d. There eeeme eomething like » penidox in the oounseL Surely, we think, the teeoher is oanying hie do0* trine of th^ meen too far when he gives » precept,^ which by forbidding exceaih seenu to eanotion a moderate Sunount of- wiokedneea. Yarioua attempt* have been made to tonedown the preoept by takii^ ' wicked ' as— not subject to rule, or—en- gaged in woridly affiurs (the *■ mammon of unrighteousness') that so often lead to wiokedneis. The difficulty Tanishei, how* «ver, if we will but admit that the writer might have learnt- the* . art of a playful irony from hi* Oreek teachers, ae has utte^red the precept, *Be not righteous over much.' That most men would receive as a true application of the doctrine of 'Nothing in excess,' or, in the phrase we owe to Tallynnd, 'Surtout, pdnt de eiie.' He mentally seesj as it ilrere, the comi^lacent smile of those who were in no danger of that faulty end Who think tiiat the ptecept gives them just the license they want, and he meets the feeling it expresfes by another maxim, * Yes, my :6ittnds,' he seems to say, '* but there is another * over much ' against which you need a wamingi jmd its results are even more fatal than those d tiie other." In avoiding one extreme' men might easiljT faU into the other. - Why shouldest thou die before thy time ?,, Literally, not in tl^ time. The fonli <^ the Warning is singuErly appropriate. 'Die vices thought of and the end to whidi they^ead are clearly those of the sensual license describ^ in Prov. viL Death is the issue here, as the lossof spiritiialdis- eernment was b( the Pharisaic^r the over-philosophizing temper described in the preceding verse. In both precepts Ve may trace Koheletii's personal experience. Ch. u. tlfaces the history of one ' who in his life raaMpments had been both "over much* wise,"^ and, it must be ^m4 " over much wicked." ^S^, '\r I kC I: ft ICAL BIFFICULTIl^ ■ v DISPELLED, IB Ck>I> PaBHAL in TBI BUTOWMSKT 07 Hl8 PbIVILBOM f QwiUcH 66. -^Ddes it not Mem lomewhat h»rd that Saul shoulc be rejected byOod, that hi* "kingdom jhould not contihue,r f<»r a comparatively ilight tranlgr^Mion, committed under th< influence of fear, while David, who was guilty of many moi ■erioua offences, waa lo greatly bleaeed'? * * * • '^^lAiMr.-^Jod cannot be partial in the beetowment o!^ privileges in the sense that He is uinjust. ^ut.it is i^ien impos- Bi|iley tb^ur limited vision, to see iwhy He gives'in one case and! withholds in ano^er, especially when there seems no moral rea:«l< wdk for tiie differ^ce, AH we can say is first, i^t Qod can have Bio motive to do any wrong to His creatures; .and secondly, that | the oases of S%ul and Kayid are only a part of the items jot the probKmofJPr^vi4enoe a^li works itself out before our eyes^very day, but which probl^ni will one day be solved to the perfect moraliatisfactionof »ey^Qneof God's creattires. Thousands --' -'v^ V Sudx^ A li4H Haas His Fathib AND MoTHBB ? QuStHon 06. ^In, St. tnoar more." j^. - ^ ^ Says IJ*. Jones, Bishop of St. David's : *^fe lasr^l series of things wh^oh the disciple is o^ed to hate #, .■ :\ 'W '•\^ £^' ■^*iPf- 76 ttBOOAJU^ i^^w* ' fl^^ DI8i*KJU.ED. U{»t* i<., Animal lii^ ifdMiig^Jtlie highest sciite, which eould ha,W9 been expreasedftil the origimd bjT a diffiaren^ word ; tee note on oh. xiL 20) i« tha key to the meaning of the whole. So far as the love of any ei^hly object x>r of any earthly penon may come inlo oompetition With the lo^of Qod^ nay more, «o far as these things are loved because th»flform part of Vour oiln life ' (the lore of kindred being sometimes anfy selfishness in th« second degree) #nd not *»njhe Lordi^then they Ought to be hated and not loved, \^e ^i^bbom aiid rebellious son ' under the law waa to be denounced by hisparen^ (Deut. zxi. 18, 21): our Lord , ' simply spiritualtEea this precept "(Godft). JJe wore forcible exj^mwiona in this passsge compared jrith||i^ z. 37, frej^ aeobunted for by Hm diflbrent dircumstanoes; theM words #^ «pok«& with s^ial refeiipnce^to ^l^vt^f tiialiimmtadiati^ imp«ndlng.'^ «W- :(;x ^ ■ " P OhIIiST B|||KOIKO ▲ Swoa^i^BilPTHB Qm$t^ 67. —In Bfiatt z. 34, 36, Jeat&l says, V 1?h^t noMbat' I am como to send peace on earth ; t eome j^ In iiiiiii1j|itiiii,Jiiil asword.'^ '■''■-:''%*■, :-^y/. '■■-"'■•:■' . •^i:■■; ,^-**^ '■.':^ ^'^Stky" '^ "•p'». ** For I am ciane to iet a n}aa nt ^vl^ianoe and the daughter |§iliis|»liy potherf, yd a^Miuit h«r mqtlMr-in^w:''^ *^ ^^ ^^ ^: fa^MT. ir-in-law. Sf. And yet ill Siro^, h»uih9tii v^Kit; J4|i|K£ama|bi«dfMhre«i union and disunion, Moreover it is pro- «^^6o !• what would neeeaearily follow from the preaching of the ptevtQitils of Ohzist'tleUgion. The (lh>ipel tends to separate the ijghte<^s from the wicked, and hence to \>roduce disunion )(|tween thein. And liistory shows thut tiiiis build wayft beeji the leaolt'^Divisj^onsVinl^^ are not agreed* Ohriat teaches that His disoiplea miis^iikcide f or Him regardless of theioffecta tttodueed in the family or the social circle!^ ITia 1 i t 1 ^* 1 I > • I « I 4 I t I "t 1 a * t t t t I a ] ti r h naw life changes the^.old raktiouthipa/ for he who is in Ohtiat i^ t' ^j^ '^^*l- ^^^^■M' 1W> At' at' ;i «• ■• '; 6v ?- 1 ^ . BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. fl ; ■"■:,:\*-i? ::•■:■ ■■-,.::-'■■> ■-■m'--' ■■''^'-'' ■'^'■'■'- mm^ Morifice all for his Dirine Mut^ It !■ not the wish of Ohmt that families should be at variance, for He is essentially thelViniiA of Peace, but the inevitable result of His religioii ^x would be that those who did not accept it would oppose and fight against those who did. Says an able American writer : " Think iibtth|it you can escape the trial. The throne of peace is to be in the midat ^f fliscprd and war. Love enten with essage, ^ rebuke against sin, its offers of mercy, but iQst itj^and strife and wars ensue. ' What now f ol- ipr, do#n to v. 39, form *a circle of ideas which;' S' never came from the mind of mortal be- subliming of aU the prophetic expectations >m l>f God into the. transcendent and future and heavenly ;■ in perfect-oorrespondenoe with the true sense of all prophecy, which never could, however, till now be so clearly apprehefidled and expressed. This is a testimony which is effec tuiBIy thrdwn in the way of all who would build up the kingdom otpeafie on this side. . . .* , , . But although everythinlf in His kingdom looks forward to the beyond and the future, tf the finding of life, in respect to ut, by a stinng figure of speech, for the object or purpose qI that odxaing. It certainly never wiis the direct aim of Jesus to send strife into families or communities. His intentions were pacific. His birth-song was *0q earth peace.' But it would be the unavoidable result of Hisi^ming and the gradual spread of His reUf^on in the face of a sinful i^orld, to stir up opposition, hatred, and par^ spirit. The Gospel Would divide men into sects -i.-. -■ . b^ore it would finish its work and produce a state of union. ' ■>^- "- ^ m. ' 71 BIBLICAL PIFriCULTIKS DISPKLLKD. ,/fe.';^' .' ■ . ■' ■ • ■ /■■ . Bevere diMMei need powerful remediei. As the world was deeply oomipted, the purifying fire (Matt iii/ll, Luke xil 49), «nd the separating sword of the Spirit, must go forth to purge the ita^, and out off its abominations before tliere oould be a reign ' of peace: There oaabe no peace until the conditions of peace are complied with. This prophecy of Jesus has been fulfilled on «irery page of ecclesiastical history, and is now fulfilling. I earns ^met to und peace but a tworil,i^e.f shall send a sword rather than ^^ij. peace. The consequences temporarily of my advent will be aa warlike, as if I had come on purpose to produce dissension. But ^ these consequences are not chargeable to religion, but to the -\.> prejudices and passioiyM^ meii. In the end, Ghristianity pro- duo^ peace in the sotd, peace in the world, peace towards Qod. " The whole of the passage shows what the temporary effect of the teaching of Christ will be in this world. For illustration vide MieahTuL ft, / . , . . ;.\ -^ ,r ■ ■•...-:■• ^'^-^ ■. ;. -.'v ■ ■■■.:-■ ■%..■ OoD Crsatinq Evil. " . ' '. QiuitioH 65. — Will you be so good as to give me an explanation ci the following passage in Isaiah xlv. 7 : " I form the light and create darkness ; I make peiuse and create evil ; I the Lord do all these things?'* * ♦ ♦ . Antwer,^-It must be remembered that the Jews had been ' ' taught monotheism, and that this great truth was the primary les, one of gobd,uid the other of evil. Ahriman, the Persia^/ spirit of evil, survived amongst the late Jews as "the impioiiis Armilos," and the text warns those to /^ 'whom it is addressed against the belief of an Sternal Principle of evil. Moreovei^ the evil refenred to, is not moral evil or sin^ ^^ but physical evil, MxuAi as would chastise uul afflict the 'people.^f^ Sven in our dai/ we speak of calamities 101 evil, and these are unquestionably sent .by Qod. We suffer often as a chastisement ^ for our wrong doing ; and such suffe r ings a r e ine v itably the r esult of Ck»d'8 lawfc and may theref oi;e b^teuly said to be sent by *. BIBUOAL DUTFICULTUS DISPELLED, n i I Him. There ia eril in the mium of misfortune often experienoed, wid this oomee from Ood m certainly m what we oall our good fortune, or what the world absunlly denominates luok. Books or Jashkr amd of tsb Waw of th« Lord. Qim^vm 69.— What is to he understood by the book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers xxi 14), and the book of Jasher (Joshua X. 13)? ♦ ♦ * 'W/ - iiiuww.— Of the book d* the Wars of the Lord nothing is known. That there was once in existence such a book is evide&t from the pasbage quoted, but more than that cannot now be^ learned. •* It was apparently a collection of sacred odes com- membrative of that triumphant progress of God's people which this chapter records. From it is taken the ensuing fragment of ancient poetry renting to the passage of the Amon, and pro- bably also the Songof the Well, aiyi the Ode on the Conquest of the Kingdom of Sihon (vv. 17, 18, 27-30) "—Samuel Clarke, M. A. Hie book of Jasher means the '* upri|^t " or '* righteous. " Hie Septuagint has it : ^fiXiovT*w» t ranalAted " deoetved,". literally means enticed. Dr. Davidson rehdtes the -- - ^'- / ",11 ' r a * m "fe" %r * 1 «4/ » , • t4 i BiBtidALDiFFictJLTiEs Dispelled. - , I passage, "O I/>itl, thou hast constrained me, and I wastion- stxained." Henderson, "Thou didst persuade me, Q Jehovah, andl was persuaded." In Blayney's translation of 'the whole passage, it reads s-r.;.^. '*..:.,, ■■ ,..-•_'.,:_ v. ■ '<. -:] J> -'..] Thou didst allure me, O Jehovah, and I wasalluredj Thou didat encourage me, and didst prevail ; ■ . s* I am become a laughiug-8l|pck (Bvery day, / ■** Ridicule hath spent its whole force upon me. - ■'.■ '■■, . , / «^ - ., . - *nie alluring or enticing is used in a good, not an evil sense. ** - ' Is QoD Cruel? : ■;: QmHion Tl.-^'Wiirypu kindly tell me what I am to understand by the command in 1 Samuel xv. 3, •* Now go and smite AmaJpk, and uttcirly destroy ifll that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and wonuin, infanVand suckling, ox and sheep,, 0Mneiand:as8rV' *- ♦.'♦/.;,..:■■ ' •■,,.,•,..-/■/- ' 4iMtiwri^I> must be remembered, that when the Hebrews weye tratelling along their we»iite iTttice so hardened and depraved, so utterly lost to the nobler feelings of mankind. Hence, He said to Sjiul, " Go and utterly destroy •.*■■•■ •^* -. v: ■4 ^:.i^ slay l)oth man and woman, 4^l>' t i infknt and suckling.' "s 1 o 'H* nd k,: ■ ut to DO, tth he byi let lat nd lya »g >he arn >iis ' to * ,i the jid of ~V Etn, •■■ ' V;. ." ■4 A, ■^,;-.--^ N^>i '»■-■'' •{«?.. ■'■' -■V' tl5 , BIBLICAL .D|FFICULTIES^DISPELLED. ■¥:. 75 «► I' • It !■ objected thtit thw cqintnand proVea God to°be ' ** crueL" If so, the fact that in numberiess caa^ He shiys- tender babepi^^ innocent little, ones, hy painful diabase, famine, pestilence, eatthi quakes, hurricanes, and the like, militates equlUly i^^ainst Him. The charge of *♦ cruelty" li^s just as heavily aj|rainst tfie order of thing* in tKiiworH., by wliatefver nanie it may Be designated, asit does against the acts of ihe %jord recotded in "Scripture. Tlie objection qnthe ground^of cruelty lies mainly against the destruction of the women and thildrefi..- But"liad th^e been spared, there urould soon havlei , been, a fresh prop of adiklt Apdekitesj^ preioisely like the|p jiredftcessors: Or, j^ilppoie tMrel|^thec]pdre^ had^beensav^^:if1e^^ career thenifc Mlve9,?;they mud^- We iniserably perished of stai^s^tion ; tf Ipj^ and reared in lasiwUtQftltoiliiBS,' they might, froin ^heir h^r^flnry diispositions fmd prooliyities to evil have prov^^lt leisirabto and pernicious elienient in the natioiju^^^lt ifliui, probably^ on the whole,; tiiel^t thing fdr thipiiiEM^ that the Anudekite race should be extenninated.' We must not forget the fact that the Is^'eliteij lived under a ^eocra^y, wd had divine giiidiajace in matters wjbere we hav* i^>*Buchlttd. ; ^ ^* ■■%♦ Jif it: . CHBrar's l^cunoK, I4wvqt and Uiifc4.%j,uL. -' - ' Jiiuttu^ l^^^t rea4 in" John xii. 7 : ;* We have a Uiw, and >y our'l^w,vHe [Christ] ought to die," whUst in "T^inxviii. 31, it says, "It is not lawful for us to" put liny^man:S^ death." I shalUbe glad' to know how yoU reconcile these passages. * * ^ii«uwr.—Therf is.no dic^r^pancy whatever. The^first text '*^^3£* ^^^^^^^^^^^^ second tb the' restrictioiis ' im» P**®^y l^^^™a» government. Thejiaeaning of the com- ^. bmed pas8pges4p, ♦'^By our code ofja^a He oug^t to die, but it .^^K,»npfc^"jfui for us (^ot permitted iis % the |Loman gpvem- -ij'^ .^ent) ^^ut any inkn to deat^^^^^ Says Alford, "From th^, ; . **°*® wheHi^Axcheteu^f^was deposed (a.d. C or 7), &nd .Judoa be-t ;••:' c»me s/ Roman province^ it would follow by the nlomiin kw that fhfi Jews lost the power of life' and death." From Josephiis we learn, that it was not permitted the high-priest even to ;■**■ f^l 7« ^BiBiMiM'^tnlnfwmjnjsB dispelled* ' u MMinble a Sanhedrim without the conaoht of the Roman pro- curator. Vide Antiq.xx.. 9. 1. The two pawagea are therefore itrietly in harmony, ; : & ' >v: , ; ^ ■-• ■.■■'■: ■■■: " ■■':':■'■ .--^ - A -Sm. uKito Dbath. ■ V Qtuition ^..— Will you kindly explain the 16th and 17tli" Teraesolthe 5Ui chapter of the Ut epistle of John, "If any mmn see his brother sin a ain which is not unto death, he ahall ■ak and he shall give him life for them th&t sin not unto death. There is a iin unto death : I do not aay ttat he shall pray for it, ♦ ^All unrighteoiiness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. iiiittw.— The idb ii£» referred to.does not seem to be any particular wn, but some general sin. The reading is •* There is *»in," n0 a sin, "I say not concerning that, that he shall en- quire." It seems to be the case of one who, by obstinate. - unbelief and utter worldlmess, has passed from a state of life to spiritual, though not necessarily etemaldeath, the ma|i has become an apostate and practically an atheist He has doiie what in hiin lies to poison the roots of his soul, and so to destroy whatever of Christian life there might be there. To a man thus obstinately and wilfully sinning against light and knowledge, with his eyes ', wide open, it might be said^that he was sinning a sin uhto death, and it would be, useless under thf circumstances tQ pray or /•nquire for it. The absolute and eternal destiny of such a man does not com^ within the scope of the pa3s^e. Hammond says, " I say not that he— that is the Christian brother— shall p»ay for 'it," which may' seem cautiously set. Not that he forbids, but only doth not 1)id to gray for them, or did not promise good auccess for prayer offered for such a one. See the prohibition Jeremiah vii. 16. Lecture 18 of Maurice on the Bp«les of it. John treats this subject at large. TpB Conversation BBTWEteN God and Satan respkoting ' ; ■"' •, ■' Job.- •\ ■ ^ ■ "'. Qu^jfion 74.— WUl you kindly explain that part of the l«t TT^hapt^ of Job, where our Lord is represented as being incomwr- i' i S* m *4 ,'f. ^■ 4%. BlBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DlfigPEttHD. :'t^: *■ I. it,* ' i Mtion with the Devil ; »ugge»tuig JoB" for eonsideration, and faihilf and property for i^ertain destruction, by being placed in the Devil's power. — Tbun respec^ulfy. * * ♦ ^ ^ ^ Atuwer — The book of Job is a dramatic poem ojF marvellous beauty and force, and in the introduction we have a description of the ^tifpn and cause pf what is to follow. It is sot to be sup- posed that ui actiial conversation is described as tak\ng place between the Almighty and Satan. The narrative ns/ no doubt, figurative luijpl highly symbolical Great spiritual truths are taught, and these ar^ in na wj^y i^ected by the f£ict that iike whole thing is allegoiioai. r \' v^ , HXABbrO /Aim irOT l^BrDKBSTANDINQ. , I Qite8tion75. — ^Will you be so good an to give m^ an explana* > tion of the following passage in tte \4th chapteri^St. muk'fi Gospel, 12th vene. "That seeing they may see,^|l not ^jwrceive ; and hearing they may hear, and not und^wHT; lest ' \jif^ any time Siey should be converted, and 'their 8%s should be ' fl|f forgiven theni." # # « J^ ; /* ' ' Ajuwer.~-The passage above literr&i^ n^^ b^ ^^ed back I* to Isaiah vi. 9, 10, which Barnes tnoillS&tes thijf^ "And^eN.- said, Go, and say unto this people, Hear ye indeed but under- stand not, and see ye indeed but perceive not. Make gross the heart of this people, make their esirs dull and s&ut their ey^, lest they see with their ey^s, and hear with their ears,' * and understand with their hearts and be converted and be healed." St. Matthew quotes this passage from gtljib Sep- • tuagint,>nd St. Mark luM the same pasE^e in Ml mind. The • • effect of Isaiah's mission to the people, would be rather to their injury than their benefit, aIthou|^ not intentionally .$o ; but because of their own %^,ul ignorance and obstina<^ ; and the Pi«pl|^et is describing ^ the/ language of irony what would b^ the result, rather than what was the IHvine and merciful intention. The mercies tha/ do not soften, harden. Men are lost by the Gospel as well as saved l^y it, just as %^ Pharaoh's heart was hardened by the very meantf which tvere intended to soften it. The following quotiation is from a stiik- <^l / »v 78 mBlACAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. iiif exporitioto of H-'l^wtte^otB. 'E«iai d' Tnterpretation de Saint Mi^tthieu," pp. 207-»)9 :— «'It is not to be supposed t^i the Parables, obscure as they may have been sometimes even for the most clearsighted, were intended to hide the truths they 4^ntained. Th^y hid them only from those who, fay from ask- ^ ing their Master, likfe the disciples, for an explanation, wilfully did ail they could ^ disable themselves from, knowing the meajfiing." / "":■''.■ -' ' -..;*' ■ "■ '-T :>•■ '''■'■■ W ■ \ • What Sobt or Chabacmbs wmix Ikhabit Hbavbki Question 76.— I shall be glad if you\wiU tell me how you reconcile the two following passages: ^att. xxi. 31, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you;" 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, "Neither fomicakprs, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor eflfeminate, nor abusers 6f ^mselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor^covetous, nor dtunl^^a^, nor revUers, nor extortioners, shaU inherit the kingdom of 5^?" ♦ * * AfUioer.—It must be a sti^mgely coBstitute^ J^d that ca!n see any oontrjidiction here. PubUcans and hai0k as such do not enter the kingdom of heaven ; hut the Lord points out that ^ their chance of salvation was greater ^an that of the chief priests and elders, who professed so mwjh and practised little. . In the very verse succeeding the one quoted from the epistle to the Corinthians, Paul adds, " Apd such were some of you, but '^^ are washed, but ye w^sanetifled, but ye are justified." They had been corrupt and wicked, but were so no longer. Iliepe ai» they tiiat ehW il. ... y.^- ■'f / ' tfe ;/ '^ r . II JMMEJDAL MPFiCULTiEi BISPELLED. 2^|. re '.■• > '"'- bh ■ * '^ ♦ Be .,•■ - , . ot at ef r:t-^:\:; ie. . ■ -x- ■ to ut ^'' '" :' '.= e^ fO ' ■'' K ' ■■- '-■ii Dg -Hi ■'V":'J Ml . ite- '/""""■ ■ ■ '* : ad' At "■ ■^- ."" " ■".» -*' , 1/ * invpvoveB them not, it is proper that th^ should he t«k«i \«niif /'' And this is the law of the universe. We see it in ope- ration everywhere in huoiah UAture. Whether the SeriptusM come from God or not, this law is a great fact which none can gainsay. Says Aiford : " He who hath — he who not only heart ^ with the ear but understands with the heart, has more givem hiip. ' ' • He who lutth nof — in whom there •is no spark of spirstual desire nor meetness to receive the engrafted word, has taken from him even that which he hath (^ueemeth to /ww,' Liike); even the pour confused notions of heavenly doctrint which a sensual and careTess life allow him ate further bewilaered and darkened by this simple teaching, into the depths of whieh )l^ \ cannot penetrate so far as even to ascertain that they exist." Juvenal furnishes a fine parallel to this text. I>ryd#;n thus reoiders the lines : ' ' v^ ' ' / , " 'T is true poor Codrus nothing bad to hoast ; ' - And yet poor CoUrus all that nothing lost^" ■ •, ' ' ■ '■ ' Who Approached Christ iji the case of the Centurion? - Question 78. — In Matt, viii., 5th verse, there is an account of a centurion whp came to Qhrist asking to have his servant healed. . But in liuke vii. 3, the centurion is represMited noc as going Jiimself to Jesus, but as sending unto Him by the "elders of the Jews." How ami to understand this ? * * ♦ Answer. — Many writeni, including Alfor4 iuid Ebrard, think that Matthew, writing in a condensed style, speaks of the ^ntur rionafu himself doing that wluch he really accomplisl^ed So Robinson, who quotes the old law-maxim| ^ui jf«^^l^^ aliurji^ faoit per se — He who does a thing by aHpther^ ;does ii himself. This i^ a general rule which obtains eveliiy^K^re and in all titn^. Many cases in illustration of }t may .be °fbuad jtn the Scriptures. Zebfi^ee'»^wifemi^e8 a certain re(]||ieit for h(»r sons ^Matti xj.yi^-, theymakeitfor^tlieiipBives^l^^ g«. with regard to DAvyf |[^l£iW il|^^^ the Ammonites killed imit%2 SamuMlftiJ ITk II |jk^ the Levites promuljg[ated th^ *[ bleiEuii9]|»° V and J ' ctir^s ^ (]>«!iit.» •xiviL 14 i5)iia^i^oshui|'iii4 a Ji^ t" a: t , ^^,s^«„ ■Vff. i' DIFFlCULIIiES DlSFSLIiKI^ \. potter's field (Matt xrtii. 6, 7); and JadM > is, fttmithedthe ocetuion for it* piUithaie (Ae^ >!■ more common than that figure of speech hj Si^'.to the man himself any act which he has Indirectly procured to be doile. — (Haley X At ' 'the same timg ft is quite possible that the centurion first sent ^ ,t / the elders to Jesus, an^ then in his great snxie^ went hims^ '^/^^fterwardsl -^ :\ ■'-.■/'■:■ :\ ■:.■■'-: '^'-■:--' -^'^ '.i,:.'-.' '' '- * • Worship OF. A^ioKLs. ^ ' s I-- Que$tion 79.— Kindly tell me how I am to understand the fol- lowii^ passage. It has retonUy been quoted tame to ptpre tiiat angels should be worshipped. " Behold thfjire stdod a man over against him with hi^ sword drawn in his, hand. \ . Anft Joshua fell qn his ftibe to the earth, and "did worship" (Jpshuav. 18, Mf '* -.* ♦ ■•■■'.. >■' AniMtr,^%M wonl j^fX^X'^^-'S^^')* whidhis here rendered ** worship," does not necMsarily mean to pay divine hononn to, but to bow before, to mlJce obeisance. , Keil says that thii word **does not always mean Divine worship, but ver^ frequently ' means nothing more than the deep Oriental reverence paid by a dependant' to his superior, or king." And @es4nius tells us that >'this' honour was paid not only to sup^ors,<«s 'to kings and Iprinces, but also to equals.*' Many passages could be Quoted in proof of this. I^ie worship of angels un , ' t ■t^: Vi. ' '■ '»j»? f- * •. * * .-' ; ' Is PBlftSEGUTION JC8TIFIABlilt ■•■■■«;■„■ • -' . ■ ' " j^^ be glad to know whether the following ;^xt does not inculcate, persecution for a difference of opinion : , ' I'And Elijah said unto them, take the prophets of Baal ; tet not > « d<^^otincvlca!tjB {^enmrn-,. ■^Mi3i^.:1it must be remembered t&it tls^ Jews^Mvejd uiid|^"li- «[' theooiscy, ah^ tre&soii ahd rejbsellion i^^ tJie *'■/:.'■' .•-■■^. "■ What Wab tbx MsAirtNa or Jacob's Namx? ■ ■ « ■ "".■■■-' ■*.«■■ Qiustion 81.^1 find two accounts of the origin of Jacol^ , name. In Genesis xxv. 26 it is ascribed tor the fact that he took . hold on Esau's he^l, whilst in the' same book (xxvii. 36) I read, ^ ** Is not he rightly named Jacob / foi* he hath supplanted me - theae two tuiOM." Will you explain theee pasaapes for.nie? ♦ ♦ ■*'■.•' :.■*:■".-.',':-'■■' > ..'■■:.■ "■--'■' ■' ■ "A ■';.' '-' Afifiwer. — According to the first passage the name Jacob c^w CtuM^ton 82.— I shall be glad if you will inform me how 1 am to nnderatand the following passage if Jesus Christ be God : "To sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall be-'given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father."— Matt. XX. 23. ♦ ♦ * Antwffr. — The words in italics in the authorized version have no i^ace in the original, and they serve to pervert the meaning oif the passage. Grotius, Chrysostom, Barnes, and many other " eminent f^oholars render the text, <^ Is not mine to^rive except for ». those for whom it is prepared of my Father." Ahd ihia accords with the whole scope of the New Testament. Christ simply inti- mates that places in His heavenly kingdom are not to be dis- pensed arbitrarily, but are reserved for those for whom they are preplired,' that is for the characters fitted to occupy them. Every man in the future world goes to the place prepared for Ijun, to the state where the surroundings are in harmony with his own nature. And even God cannot alter this without destroying that which gives to the man his individualiij^ or self -hood. A mo- ment s reflection will show this doctrine to be as jrataona! as it is scriptural. Hence the words qi|oted are na iirfxiiig^ment qi the Almighty power of the Limt - * i' i . . •-#.. .■'■■• .-^^. ..■-.:• ■.-,■■^■•^■..':*■ ^ . l^elSro'GBiimAi^iAs OF duB Lo$^ I " Qwution 83.— How am I toWii[cfle the two geli^gies^ Christ as given by St. MatthevsdRl|hb.,,Lafa|J'^&e9^ appear* me very confusing. *., ♦ "• ■" *' ' ; * Atuwer.—hoTd Astfanur^JBtervey has wntlen a vexy able book upon this question, and he;^in c«>tnmoi^:i^th many other epuneni scholars, such a^jdlord, ElMcot, Sjeyerj Wor&wort^,;&c.^ that t|ie two genealbgiea are bot}i thos4t)f Joaefiii; ilattfiew^z-- hibiting him as the legai heir to ti^e thrcxie of PAMd/thvanaming,' the successive heirs of ^^ kifJgdomfroitiJPa^^ 3^^«us; whilst Luke gives Joseph's Ipt^ii^ geniaalq^ ^iri! ■■;.■• .,■;■■■ T&B MiRAGLK or TH9 CBOS8INO THX JOKDAJX. Qusstum 85. — Am I to understand that in the miracle of the crossing of the JTordan mentioned in Joshua iii. 16, there was a display of supernatural power, or were there any natural causes adequate to the production of the result ? * * * AiMwer. — It is quite impossible for us to tell how far God may nave overruled natural agencies in the production of miraculous results. It is reasonable to believe that He has often done this. But the miracle would remain notwitjistanding, and the need for the supernatural as a primary cause would in no sense be lessened. Of the occurence in question ^Dr. Kitto says : — " The miracle connected with the crossing of the Jordan seems to ias a more signal one thjui the passage (^ the Bed Sea ; and it appears as if expressly frimed not only to effect its own objects, but to relieve the other from all naturalistic interpretations. In con- , neotion with the Red Sea passage, we hear travellers and soholan talk learnedly about east winds, and tidets, and shallows, BO that whether intentionally ^r not, th^ fact as a demonstration of Divine power is explained away or atten^iiiated. .«? \. \7 le a M 18 B. )r >o i& a re 1- , id id tt- I BIBLICAL DirncULTira DlSPKLLl 18$ le ' ■" ■ \ >d ■■■ ;. ' " m ot ■ f " id • ' ■ ■ V. - re P- ■> r '■: ■■ '■ But nothing of this is possible in the case of the passage of th# Jordan. The fact must be taken as it stand*. ' |t wss a mixmol* or it was nothing. There has not been, and there cannot bf^ any explanation of it on natural arounds, And if, therefore, metf ' are obliged to admit this, it becbmei^ scarcely' worth t)ietr f^^ft^ to tamper with the Red Sea miracle, unless thejr would den|^ the authority of the narrative altogether. But w^ftt >as Hm use of this miracle?. as it seems that the ^eb^ewB cotilti ha¥e entered fhe land without crobsing the Jor^ui at all ; uidasalittiW earlier, or a little later in the «easoh, ox^ some«rhere h%faer up,^: they oQuld have crossed the Jordan without a, mixp^, wlui,! . 'need was there for tbis gratuitous display rof that Irvine* pj^ii^er which is said to be never vainly nioi idly exerted I > iN^f* . have not far to seek for an answer. 'In^chap.' v. 1, the reason;; for the iniracle is .shown in the rei|ult which is pn^uoed : *And it came to pasJB, °when all the kings of the AmOrites;'*' ^ 9to.« To produce this impression was beyond questiob ^e primary object of the miracle. ^^We dan ourselves, in sam<^ measure, judge of the importance of thisimpreiision beitig rcM^, upon the nunds of the people with whom the Isradites were 'about to conunetice' a terrible wpfare ;• but any inili^uy mkgt, will be able to tell us,'with grea;t'i«.teiMity''of conviction^ 'that lor , the purposes of the war such an impression upon the mind of any enemy, however produced) is equal in value tti a suoQes^ sion of victoriei; for it is'se}doiA until an eneipy has been' repeatedly beaten that he cspi ^e brought into that state pf ^nfeebUng discouragement; whiish this verse d^scribf^s." There msff howevei:;^ have been natural . a^nt^es cidled specially into operation foi* , t^e purpose . of producing the result reqiiitisd. And. there is no irreve^ience whal$»ver in conjep-j turing what' these were^ An earthquake possibly— no one can speak positively on the question— «may have elevated the of the riv^r and thus damned b^k the watens into the Lake Galilee,, #hich might rise for many hoi^rs before the obstade would be overcome. No one can say how > the miracle was- wrought nor" what natural power God may have employed to- aocomplidi Hiis purpose. That there was a miracle is a dear. I ■. .ii ;-,«, / ijhed ■:vp '^■ .> r? „ _ " ' Vj ■" - ^ '«~ *' ■*• ^ : ■ *A> » • „« »"' • ' u ,1 . * : (- • i .. - * ' , t, J . " \ . (t». '■^, n^ • f-r* ■^*.-,?' * *> 9 ^9 -w t IMAGE EVALUATION ITEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/ ^ 4 • 1.0 H^tmsi II* lilii 122 % ^4, .'J • ■ *. r' X' ■ ♦ . U ««s|^^y-^'.i^ifw«-ff'sj5iwis. 86 BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES Di[SP£LLED. The 8IN AoAiNOT T^B Holy Ghost. ^ Quettion 86. — I am iil a difficulty with regard to Matthew »L 31 and 32. Does this really mean that repentance after the oommisBion of this sin is an imposaibility ? An auswer in your oolumns will greatly t>blige your obedient servaint. * * * Afuwer. — All sin if repented of can and will be forgiven. But there is evidently a fearful condition of soul possible to l^ redtohed, in which there will be no repentance, and no desire for paidon. God is always both wiUhig and desirous to let Bis Divine lioye flow into the human soul, but by a perverse wiU nuin may sin so obstinateiy and so persistently that he ceases to desire pardon, and to become the recipient of Divine Love. How can forgiveness reach such tkjoMa ? In Mark the'borves- p«[iding text reads, *' Whosoever tiiall blaspheftie against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal mxL" (Mark iiL 29, Revised Version.) Our Lord does not utter here a dark and mystical saying, as many theologians have sup- posed — ^but enunciates a great spiritual fact, that salvation comes 1^ the human will placing itself in harmony with the will of God, and that if men will not be saved they cannot be saved, i. «., if they persistently refuse to yield to the Divine- Spirit when it seeks to enter their souls, then renewal or r^;eneration by that Spirit is impossible. No one need have any anxiety as to whether he has committed this sin, for his very concern about himself proves condusivpiy that ho has not. When the condi- tion of soul is reached thai is here described, no desire for salva- tion, and no anxiety for pardon will be felt. CSonscience, which is the voice of God in the soul, will then be dead, and sin will be rather glorified in than followed by remorse. The subject is too large to discuss here at length* . , Dbixt or Cheist. '^9mm**^ Budilhitts ...>...' Christiiuui-.-V- ••• Himloos . . ....>.. Mohiimmedans . . . . C«nfaci • • • • !•••«• ...... 500,000, ooa ......5160,000,000 18O,00(i.00O 156,(A,000 ..80,001,000 ..14,000,000 7,000,000 167,000,000 • •.• •••••■ A >••• ••••• [■A ■ •.• >• r :~^' V * 88 BIBUCAL DIFFICULT]^ DISPBLLKD. tli« following i^ofni the nomeiioal itrength of the nuua divi- of Ohriftendom : — \^ BomAii Catholioa. . ., ^. . i .....',. . ^ .182,000,000 / Greek Chardi .... . ....^ ......... .^... ....... 76,000,000 Proteetante . . . . ....128,000,000 Tlie following u an eetimftte of the numerioal etrength of the principal Protectant ohuzchei : — litttueraDa . ..•<•;....••. ....•••.... ..^ * .86,000,000 Anglican Church ......,> 16,000,000 -, Calvinirte... ............ .... 16,000,000 1 :Methodisto 16,000,000 PreebyteriaDs.... ,............)..... ........ 14,000,000 JraptlOTB ..............'i. ............ ........ o,«jUv,WRC Congregationalitta, . . . ......,, 0,600,0001 Univeraaliits . . . . . ..>..... 660,00((^ Qoaktra. ...:. . . .... 200,000^ ' Unitanami .,...«.... 18«y,009 Mormons.. 180,(hK) Jnoravians ...... ...i..... ....•••...••.•: lou^wiu Bwedenborgiana... ..........."...,....•>. .."I^ 12,000 Among the 85,500,000 Engliah-apeaking races of the world, the figures stand as follows :—^ Bpisoopalians ..................... ... v. .... 20,000,000 - ^^<^^o^<^^<^^*"<^P^<^i^-*- '•^"""''' 16,000,000 "Roman CathoUes^.v*... .••••••«. .tr..."*. 14,000,000 Presbyterians of all descripti' -Vl ?* .'■"fijt'.J BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISP^ED. 89 Antwer.— The word ^55 gah-nahv^ here iranalated meek is rendered by Luther '• harassed or anoyed," 1^ Dr. Adam Olarke ** depresfed," by Dean Stanley *' enduring, affioted,! heedless of self," and by other scholars "disinterested." Anyojie of these transitions is to be preferred to that in the authorb^ version. But the sentence, it will be observed, is in a parenthesis, and was probably inserted by Ezra, or some later prophet. This is the view taken by such profound scholars as Jahn, Bosenmiiller, Kurtz, &c. ; Thx Lord BsKiciNo to Knx Mosxs. Queition 90.-^Would you givfe an explanation of Exodus iv. 24, why the Lord being infinitely wise and Almighty failed to accomplish* His purposes, etc.?s» By granting this favour you will oblige one who has taken tiie Shield of Faith since its commencement. ♦ * * ^ Aruwer.—ln our version the passage seems to read as tiioi^h the Lord was desirous of killing Moses, and could not or did not. succeed in doing so. This is evidently the view our correspon- dent takes. But iu> such meaning is intended. All that is im- plied is, that Moses Having disobeyed Gk>d by postponing the circumc^on of one of his sons to please his wife, is overwhelmed with mental distress, or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous calamity by which his death will be brought a,bout. "To dis- honour that sign and seal of the Covenant was criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so in one destined to be t%d leader and de- liverer of the Hebrews: and he seems to have 'fell his sickness ais a merited chastisement for the sinful omission."— ^JamiesonX Zipporah, in a state of concern for the safety of her husband, overcomes her maternal feelings of aversion to the rite, and' performed the ceremony herself with a sharp stone, with whibh that part of the doiert abounded. This done she brought the evidence to her husband, in a state of painful exciteinent, con- fl^uent ui>on the risk she had jpin in reference to the life of her child. Moses now recovered, but the fact would no doubt im- press him powerfully all the rest of his life. God's intention that the malady should kill Moses was Tike many other cases of a -\.-' > " .\ r -5- 'WJ f%M^ F^a«;„5'*-» ^'"'*~r- '^T ^" ^ --t^" ' ' ■ J(-^ ' » 90 BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. Wh-.- pimilar kind, conditional. The affliction from God, niet him, or found hi^ at the inn or halting-place for the nighC^d God purposed that unless the operation was performed Moses should die. The woid " sought " is perhaps too strong an expression. Bah-k(uh miffhthave been rendered purposed to kill him, or better still, required that he should die. . A Jewish Son of thb Law. .. . . Queitwn 91.— Kindly tell me what is the process of making a « SJpn of the Law " in the Jewis^i religion, and wh^her our Lord rent through the ceremony 1 * ♦ * \lfi«wr.— At the age of twelve every Jewish boy was put under a particular course of instructiofl, trained to attendance on^Uc worship, and the keeping of fasts^ etc., and set to learn atrade. He was then called a son of the law. For this purpose it was that Jesus was taken to Jerusalem as recorded by Luke (ii. 42). The following description of the ceremony in modem times is from an eye-witness : « A few days ago I attended a very inter- esting service in a JewUh synagogue, A boy just twelve years old was brought by his father to be admitted m a member of the syna- gogue ; there were present the parents ohhe boy, hU brothers Lid sisters, his friers, and some few strangers. After several ceremonies had been performed, the priest read a portion of^the law in Hebrew ; the bpy then stepped forward to the desk or platform, nwr th« centreNof the building, and read from the roll of parchment, in a clear, distinct voice.a short psalth. A pause enraed, and then theold makaddressed the boy in a few briel sen- tences-telling him that as heNhad attained to years of discretion, ind knew the diflference betweeV right and wrong, a great respon- Smty rested on him ; that itVas his duty to follow the good and Bhm the evil ; that it becam^him to show that the instruc- tion he had received had not been ^en in vain ; that he must diligently practice that which he kneV to be right ; be obedient to his parents, kind and affectionate tVhis brothers and smter.. charitable to those who neede^ his helpW faithful to the le- ligion he hadbeen instructed in. Then, Wacingjiis hand on the hoft head, he prayed earnestly that thevdod of Abraham, ot -t — BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. 91 or Isaac, and of Jacob would bless the lad, would preserve him from danger and from:si|i,.aiid make him a wise and good man if he should be spared \q see length of days ; or if his life should be short, that he might be admitted to the presence of Qod in heaven." From this practice no doubt arose the Christian cus- tom of taking the young of both sexes to the bishop for confirma- tion in the Episcopal Church, and among the Presbyterians in Scotland subjecting them to an examination by the minister. At the age of twelve it has always been supposed the mind becomes capable of a higher discipline both morally and intellectually thjin it has received before. ^ Vbbacitt of Jesus in Bkarino Witness of Himself. Quution 92.— The other day a sceptic put before me the two following texts, demanding to know how they could be reconciled. "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true " (John v. 31). " Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true : for I know whence I came and whither J go" (John viii. 14). Will you kindly help me in this matter 1 * * * ilfMtMr.— The second passage is supposed by Grotius to be put as a mere hypothesis as though it had read, " even though I bear witness of Myself." Bishop Pearce, Wakefield, and some others translate the first, *< If I bear witness of Myself is not My witness true 1 ** thus asking a question rather than making an afiSrmation. But retaining the common reading the meaning obviously is, "If I bear witness of Myself oton«, as the Mosaic law requires at least two witnesses (vide. Deut xix. 15), My testi- mony would^no^bktrue, that is, legally true or suflScient to meet the demands of the case." Says Andrew Fuller: "The one passage sets forth His testimony as it was in itself^ the other as it was in the account of men. . . . Admitting their laws or rules of evidence. His testimony woulf not have been credible ; and therefore in the verses following He appeals to that of John the Baptist, and the w;ork8 which He had wioughi in His Father's name, which amounted to a testimony from the Father." Alford remarks : " The assertion in chapter v. was, that His own unsup- por ted witn e s s (tuppoev n g t hat pouih l e) would not be trubt w orthy, :/S\ 92 BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. but that His testimony vm supported by, and in fact coincident ^ with, that of the Father. The very same argument is used in chapter viii., but lh« oUier tide of it presented to us. He doet wit- ness of Himself, beeatue His testimony is the testimony of the YaXhet yfho vitneueth in Him. . '■ - - " ■' .■ How coDLp Lazarus comb forth from the Tomb whmk HB WAS Bound Hand and FootI QuettionM.—lB there not a difficulty in understanding how, if Lazarus was "bound hand and foot," as stated in the a<^ount given by John, he could have come forth from the grave at the command of Jesus ] * ♦ ♦ iliMiiw.— There is no difficulty whatever when we take into consideration the nature of the sepulchres in the East. Thes^ were cavfes «xcavated id rocks. No coffins were employed, the bodies being simply swathed with baizes, and placed in niches cut in the lides of the cave. In the tsase of Lszarus probably the corpse was not bound very tightly so as to preclude all motion, ahd at the WQid of Jesus Lazarus raised himself up from his re- cumbent position, put forth his feet over the edge of the niche in which he Uy, and sliding down 'stood upright on the floor. Then Jesus bade them " loose him and let him go." Thb Sons of God who Married thb 'Dauohtbrs of Men. Quettwn 94—1 have been much perplexed by the passage in the Bible which says that " the sons of Ood saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which, they chose "(Gen. vi. 2). Can it possibly mean that angels from heaven married women on the earth, and if so, is not the occur- renbe absurd 1 * * * , iliMiwr.— The text is one which has considerably per. plexed commentators, and several diflferent opinions have been propounded as to ito meaning. The notion that the "sons of . God " were really angels who l>ecame enamoured of women was at one time entertained by some of the leading theological teach- ers. It was held, according to Josephns, in the later ages of the Jewish Church ; and it was certainly advocated by Justin Martyr, >l^- BfBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. 98 ■jjdmm^ Athenngoras, Henniai, Oommodian, Methodius, Lactantius, 1^ tian,Irenseu8, TertuUian, Ctement of Alexandria, and Theophilua* This was unquestionably a semi-pagan view, whether the apgels werie, m supposed by some, celestial beings who httd been ap- pointed to guard "Eden, or, as others thought, a cla^ pf fallen angels. Subsequently this wild and extremely gross theory was vehemently opposed by Ghrysostom, Augustine, and others; and it disappeared and Was heard of no more until recent times, when it became .revived ancl supported by such eminent scholars as Qesenius, Rosenmiiller, Kurtz, Enobel, and Delitzsch, in G(er- many, and some smaller theologians in England. Milton, Byron, Moore, and some other- poets resorted to it in their poetry, bat probably they did so simply for effect. ^ The only argumeigj^at can be advanced in favour of this view is, that in the boolrBpob angels are spoken of as *' sonrof Qod," which, supposing it vb be a fact, amounts to nothing, since w# are here in the region of poetry. But it is by no meims certain that angels are referred to in the passage in Job, dragged in to support this theory. The phrase " to present themselves before the Lord" does not neces- sarily imply heaven, for it Is used in Joshua xxiy. 1, and 1 Sam. X. 19, of th^ people assembling themselves to hear the Word of the Lord. All that is probably intended, therefore, is that the Adversary found his way into thjs Church. In the Pentateuch' angels are never called sons of Qod, as has been clearly shown by Eeil and somQ other able theologians. Another interpretation of the passage which has found favour «in the eyes of some modem authors is that there were races of men on the earth apart from Adai|a, and that the sons of these intermarried with the Adamites, the daughters of men. t The word Adam is, of course, often used gienerically for mankind, and hence the daughters of Adam may be intended. But the word Adam is nowhere applied to a race of men, and is never found in the phiral. Besides, this view never occurred to any of the ancient commentators, abd the ex- istence of the races assumed is unsupport^ by any evidence, to «ay nothing of the improbability of such races, had they existed, |>eing designated sons of Qod. The most rational explanation of 'A M BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIIM DISPELLED. Augustine in ancient times, *nd bj^OaTvin, Luther. Hen^tMi- berg, Keil, and others in modern days, is that the term " Sons of God is used to designate the descendants of Seth, and such other* M had been true to the religious light which they had, and were free fropi the abominations which prevailed around them. " Son* of Eldhim," is a common appellation in Scripture of His profes- sing people. Vide Ex. iv. 22, 23 ; Hosea i. 10 ; John i. 12 ; Rom. viii. 14, 19 ; Phil. ii. 15 ; 1 John ill 2. The daughters of men will then be the women of Cainite descent, and other degenerate branches of the Adamic family. Moreover, that the Hebrew word Adam, with or without tfe article, is often used to denote a par- ticukr class, in contradistinction to men in general-mep of worldly, irreligious character— will appearfrom the following pas- sages : Judges XV. 7 ; xviii. 28; Ps. Ixxiii. 6; 1 Cor. iii. 4; The meaning of the ckuse under notice, then, is that the professedly religious class of the antediluvians, consisting principally of Seth- ites, with some others-a chiss, who, by their principlej/and prac- tice, had long kept themselves separate- from the wo^ld-began gradually to relax their strictness, aiid to abandon their isolated p.>sition, by cultivating acquaintance and then forming alliances with "the daughters of men," of men in, general; theCaimte, and other women of a simikr character. That is what is referred to by Jude, when he says (verse 6), that they kept not [T^ iavrair inxifv] their primitive dignity as sons of God, and the original ex- cellence in which they were created, but left [rd Uiov oiK^epm\ their own proper Bituation.-(Bloomfield.) These marriages were no doubt brought about in consequence of the great beauty of the Cainite wom^, and so far no objection can be urged, for the charms of women have always a powerful influence over the minds of meii, and this is legitimate enough. « Bat the Sethitea seem, in their admiration of external charms, to have paid no regard to the wUl of God respecting religious principle and char- acter ; and as intermarriages with unbelievers and profane women have in all ages been productive of numerous evils (Gen. xxvu. 46; xxviil 1; iSx.xxxiv. 16 ; 2 Gor. vi. 14), it must be concluded that the sacred historian had such consequenc e s in vi e w when h e took such a prominent notice of the, manners which formed a / p. \ BIBLICAL DIFnCULTIES DISPELLED. 95 I p. \ te^t characteristic feature of the latest anteonavian age. . Mixed mar- riages between parties of opposite principles and practice must necessarily be sources of extensive corruption. The women, irre- ligious themselves, would, as wives and mothers, exert an influ. ence fatal to the existence of religion in their household, and consequently the later antediluvians sank to the lowest depravity. Bat the phrase 'took fhem wives of all which they chose,' evi- dently implies something very different from the simple exercise of a free choice ; and it seems a conclusion jj^erfeetly warranted by the terms of this passage that the practice of polygamy had widely spread, till it became the chief cause of that universal cor- ruption and violence which ensued."— (Jamieson). The weakand profligate women were probably taken by force to gratify the licentious passions of those now degenerate sons of Ehhimf and hence the wide-spread iniquUn^bich tollowed. Paul's Scholarship. ^,. QuMtion 95.— I frequently hear St. Paul spoken of from the , pulpit' as a great scholar. Is there any evidence that this was so? It appears 4o me that he never quotes the Hebrew text of the Scriptures, , but always the Greek Septuagint. I shall be glad to be informed if we have any proof that he was acquainted ; with the Hebrew language. Also, whether his classical quota- tions ^rove his Greek scholarship 1- * * ♦ Ansvaer. — There is certainly no evidence that St. Paul was so gr^t a scholar as he is often represented to have bedn ; the ten- dei^cy being to overrate his learning. But we must be careful not to err on the other side. Assuredly he must have - known Hebrew. On his way to Damascus the Lord addressed him^ t% that language, or at aJl events) in Syro-Chaldee, which was then in use in the country. This was substantially the same as that used in^ the Targum of Jonathan, and of the Syriac-Peshito. Paul, too, himself, delivers at lea«t one speech in Hebrew {vide Acts xxi. 40), and he declares that he had been instructed in the law {loide Acts xtii> 2). The latter fact would probably involve an acquaintance w ith Biblical Hebrew, although the fo r mer ■^•t' -r ■ t ^ whieh an ftlwajs moat apposite. He is extremely happf |& theie, which certainly shows an acquaintance with olaasio^l anthoTiw ^ ■• . ' , Saivtc JuDono Mkn and Anoi^ls. ^i^ A it unto the Lord" (Rom. xiv. 6) ;^and yet the practice of obaerv- ing facred times seems to be condemned in Gal. iv. 10. ♦ * * AfMuvr.-^The passage frtJm the Old Testament has no refer- ence to the Mosaic feasts, Aben Ezra and MichcBlis understand it as referring to " divination from the course of the clouds." Gesenius looks upon it ap denoting "some kind of divination connected with idolatry." Fuerst says, "It is better to set out with the fundamental signification, to cover, to wrap up.' The meaning would therefore be "to practice- enchantment secretly or covertly." Several Jewish Rabbi's derive the Hebrew term from gah^n, an eye, hence literally, to " ogle, to bewitch with the evil eye." Keil agrees with this kst view. In no one case can the prohibition refer to any of the Mosaic observances. The texts from Romans and Galatians refer to entirely diflferent dasses of persons. Andrew Fuller says that the former refers to Jwik conveHs^ who, having from their youth observed the ' Mosaic festivals as instituted by Divine authority, were per- mitted to continue this observance, and treated as "regarding these days unto the Lord." The latter te^t has respect to OentiU conwrtt, who having previously done service to^^idols, showed soi^e inclination to cUng to'their former unauthorized and superstitious observances ; and hence were reproved. . 0llj^ ■-'■; "\^ '*■:-.-,■.':: ■ "Saul's Family. Que$tion99.^lD. 1 Ohron. x. 6., I read. « So Saul died and his ' thttenon8,and all his house died together," whilst in 2 Sam. ii- Syaibnof Saul by name Ishbosheth is spoken of asUving after his father's death. What is the expUnation of this 1 * * * Annoer.—rbt expression « all his hottae," simply means ajl his men (vide 1 Sam. xxxi. 6). KeU explains it as follows: "All those who were about the king, i.e., the whole of the king's attend- ABto who had followed him into war." Fuerst gives people, fter- vawts, etc, among the significations of the Hebrew word n'J|i Bak'^^ wlAch is here employed. There is nothing thereifore in tSiis text to preclude the possibility of a son of Saul who was not pi^ssent on the occasion of his father's death being spared and con- sequently being spoken of as alive afterwards. W, \. .3g '^ f^'' \- BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. 90 Dbath of Eutychus. Que$tion 100. —A sceptical friend drew my attention, a few days since, to the following di8crepancy^||pecting the death of Eutyr chus, mentioned in Acts, xx. In^msci 9 it says he "fell down from the third loft and was taken up dead," whereas in the next verse- Paul fs reprc^nte,d.as saying, "Trouble not yourselves for life is'in him. EUndly tell me how I am to explain this. *. ♦ * WAruwer.—You will see on reading the passage carefully, that Paul uttered. the last quoted words after he had embraced the corpse, and, therefore, when the miracle had been partially per- formed. The case of the maiden mentioned by Luke (viii. 62, 63) is somewhat analogous ; of her, although really dead, our Lord said, " She is not dead, but sleepeth," that is, in relation to His power she was not irrevocably dead. By Him she could be awak- ened from death as easily as from natural sleep. ■ . ■ ' ■' ■ ' ■ ■■'•..■-.. ■ . ■..."..-■ _ Thb Stro-Phcbnioian Woman. QuMfton lOL— Mark relates an appeal made to Christ 1by ft Syro-Phoenician woman (vii. 26) to heal her daughter. In an ac- count of this same incident given, by Matthew xv. 22, the woman is said to have been a Ganaanite. How are these passages to be reconciled? * * ♦ . •" • ' Anawer. — St. Matthew describes her as " a woman of Canaan,' that is, one that resided in that land. Professor Rawlinson thinks that the term Canaanitish (xavavtUa) is used i^the place of St. Mark's Syro-Phoenician or Phoenician-Syrian, which is found in some copies, on the same ground that the Septuagint translate Canaan by Phoenicia (^tvlxe). The terms Ganaaan and Phoe- nicia had succeeded one another as geographical names in the same country ; and Phoenicians were called ** Canaanites," just as Englishmen are called " Briton?." The woman is said by Mark to have been a Oreek, or rather a Gentile, as opposed to a Jew. There is clearly no discrepancy whatever between the two pas- sages. The point in both accounts is^) show that she .did not belong to the Jewish people. •A <;*■ '■"--. ■T-P 100 BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. Quettion 102. — I am puzzled to know how to recoftcile the fol- lowing passages : " And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." (Ex. XXL 23-26). " But I say unto you which hear, love ^our enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And ^' unto him that smiteththee on the one cheek offer also the other ; and^imthat taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also." (Luke vi 27-29). ♦ ♦ ♦ ilfMuwr.— It should surely be sufficient to remember that these texts apply to different peoples, different times, and altogether different circumstances. Christianity is for all nations and peoples, which Judaism was not. Michaelis and Jahn think that the law of Moses addresses the perpetrator of the wrong, ad- monishing him of the satisfaction he must render for the wrongs inflieted by him, whilst Ghrist, on the other hand, addresses the ity'tfred party, forbidding him as an individual, to give vent to his vindictive feelings and take the retribution into his own ^ hands, instead of waiting for the due proicess of the law. Alford observes that '* Our Lord does not contradict the Mosaic law, but expantU and fulfiU it, declaring to us that the necessity for it #ould be altogether removed in the complete state of that king- dom which He came to establish." Says Warrington : ** On what principle are cases of this kind to be explained ? Surely by re- garding such laws 9a having been, when given, especially adapted to the p^ple and the time, and for these necessary ; but as being for later days and other people not necessary and unadapted> and, therefore, abrogated." The latter is no doubt the true explanation. ** The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ " (John i. 17). Thk Holt One of Israel and His Makkb. Quhtion 103<^Please e^j^in in your ** Respondent's column*' the following text : " Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of l8rael,andhi8Maker"(IsaUhidv. 11).— Yours in Christ * ♦ BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. 101 Amwer. — The meaning of the text seems to us clear enough./ The Holy One of Israel and his Maker, i.«., Israel's Maker! Israel's Holy One and Mak^r. This is its phiin and simpljt meaning. ' ^ Appbabanobs op Christ aftkb His •Rbsurbkotion. QuMtion 104.— Oan you give me in detailed order the variolas appearances of our Lord after His resnrrecUon, with the texts whidi. set forth the facts? * * • ^nnoer.—-The number of these appearances we gather to be ten in all. Ohristlieb in his "Modern Doubt and Christian Belief;^' gives them in the following order: "(1) Mary Magdalene sees the Lord first, on coming to the grave the second time (Mafk xvi. 9 ; John XX. 16) after having told Peter and John that the stone is rolled away and the grave empty. (2) The other wom^n, .Mary the mother of James, and Salome, having heard ^e angel's joyful message, huiiy back in fear and great joy, where, upon the Lord meets them (Matt, xxviii. 9, 10). (3) He dfto appears in the course of the same day to Peter (Luke xxiv. 34 ; 1 Cor. XV. 6). (4) In the evening to twa disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke xxiv. .15, et w,) ; (6) and after this to the ten apostles (without Thomas, assembled in Jerusalem (Luke xxiV. 36-44 ; John xx. 19, et w.). (6) On the Sunday following He ap- pears to the Apostles, with Thomas (John xx. 26, et $$.). these appearances took phice in Jerusalem and the neighbourhc shortly after the resurrection. Then come those between Pa. over and Pentecost, when the pilgrims to the former feast ht returned to GalUee, viz. : (7) at the Lake of Tiberias (John xxJ^ 1, €t M.) to seven discip|es ;^ the great manifestation on a mountain in Galilee to all t^p^sciples (Matt xxviU. 16 ; c/1, Mark xvi. 16-18 ; Luke xxiV. 45-49) ; and probably at the same time to the 600 mentioned in 1 Cor. xv. 6. (9) The special ap-; pearance accorded to James the brother of the^ Lord (1 Cor. xv. 7), when, perhaps, the diseiples were exhorted to return earlier than usual to keep the feast of Pentecost at Jerusalem. (10) The final appearance is thu to the apostles on tlie Mount of Olives which concluded with the ascension (Mark xvi. 19 ; Luke xxiv. lOi BIBUCAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. W, ttii,; Act* i. 4-18)." The mme order baa been adopted by Greiner and some other eminent echolars, and it is evidently as nearly correct as any arrangement can be made from the ac- counts that we have in the New Testament. The various appearances, although not fully detailed in any one record, are thus brought together and harmonized. Strauss has objected to U on the ground that 'John mentions the appearance at the Sea of Tiberias as the third (John xxi. 14), whereas according to this arrangement it was the seventh. But this is "easily ex$ plained," says Ghristlieb, « by the fact that St. John is here only , nt^oning the appearances among assettibled disciples, of which only two (the at'th and sixth) had gone before. " If the whole of the accounts of our Lord's appearances are compared and collated, all the difficulties disappear. ' Position or ths Amoikntp at Mpalb. QiM^ionlOft. — In Luke viL 38, the woman who washed the Lord's feet is represented as doing this whilst standing behind Him, He, at the same time, sitting at table. How could this be 1 Would not His feet be in front of Him 1 ♦ ♦ * Antw$r,— la. the days of our Lord |bhe custom was not to sit at table, as we understand the term, but to recline on a couch or sofa, and thus the feet of the person so reclining could be approached from behind. Different forms of tables were used ; the lower end was left open for those to enter who were engaged in removing the dishes. Says a modeim author: **Thus the woman who en* tered the Pharisee's house while Jesus was there at meat, stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and she washed His feeit with her tesn, etc Now, in sitting at table, the feet wofQd be under the table ; but a person lying on a sofa in the manner described, on one tide with his face towards the table, would naturally have his , feet oatermost, and near to any one standing behind. Thus, also^ our blessed ^id washed His disciples' feet as they lay on their coaches around the table. "Wfien at dinnw in the vice-consul's house at Damietta, we werej^lerested in observing a custom of the country. In the room where we weie received, besides the divsa on which we sat, there were seats all round the walls. BIBLICAL DIFFICULTIES OISPELLSD. 108 Many came in and took their place on those side seats uninvited, and yet unchallenged. Th^y spoke t<^ those at table on business or the news of the day, and our host sf^ke freely to them. .«. . We afterwards saw this tustom at Jerusalsm. . . . We were, sitting round Mr. Nicokyson's table, Jhen first one and then an- other stranger opened the door and dime in, taking seats by the wall. They leaned forward and spoki to those at table. This made us i^nderstand the scene in Simoii's house at Bethany, where Jesus sat at supper, and also the sceBein the Pharisee's house where the woman who was a sinner oime in, uninvited, and yet not forbidden. T TT In this lattei case, . . , Christ is dining at the Pharisee's table. As the feast gbes on the door opens, and a woman enters and takes her ^dit by the wall just behind Him. The Pharisee eyes ^lej. wifi abhorrence; but as custom pemiita it, he does not prevent her coming in. After a little time, as Jesus vt reclining with His feet sloped towards the bwk of the couch, the woman bends forward, pours her tears on His feet, and anoints them with precious ointment" Viewed in the light of the customs of the country, the Scripture narrative is very clear and explicit ^ow COULD David's Sons bb PBIB^T8? ' Quettion 106.--In several places in the Old Testament (e.g. , Num. iii. 10 ; xvi. 40), it states that none but those of the house of Aaron could enter upon the priesthood. How, then, could the sons of David become priests, as stated in 2 Sam. viiL 18 ? The expres- sion in the A. V. is « chief ruliw^" but I believe it is priests in the Hebrew. Is this so? find ii so, what is the expknation? « * « ^ • ■ ^nMMr.— The Hebrew wojrd for priest is Jae-hihn, and the ety- mology of it is very uncertaii^.' Qesenius refers it to the idea of prophecy, and interprets it as one who delivers a divine message, and stands as a sort of mediator between God uid man. Ewald thinks it means to array, to put in order, and hence has a refer-* ence to the primary office of the priest, as arranging the'sacrifice upon the altar. According to Saalschiitz, the primary meaning of the word is minister, and hence the wider application that is 104 BIBUGAL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. •X, flometimes given to it Babr connect* it with an Arabic root which signifies to draw near. " Of theae etymologies," says Dean Plamptre, " the last has the merit of answering most closely the received nsage of the word. In the precise terminology of the law it is used of one who may *draw near' to the Divide pre- sence (Ex. xix. 22; xxx. 20X while others remain afar off, and is applied, accordingly, for the most part, to the sons of Aaron, as those who were alllowin4iKts seem to nl||to teach that the earth will renaain for ever : ' "The earth which He hath eetabUshed for ever" (Pe. Ixxviii. 69). Who Uid the foundation of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever " (Pa civ. 6). " The earth abideth for ever "(Eccl ii. v). If this be so, whit is to be said of the following : « Of old hast Thou laid the founda- tion of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure ; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment " (Ps. cii. 25, 26). " Heaven and earth 106 BIBUCAL DimCTJlTIia DlSPELLKD. 8«v "Th« •«th. tlw, and the Work. that. •« therein .haU be * burned up* (8 Pet iiL I0)-yottr^ etc ♦ * * / , . . , .1««J. -That Ae earth, and even the .y»tem to which it be- .« long., wUl «>me day come to au end ie^tolerably certjdn. 8«. «Z noJ- than Scripture, declare, thui ««»«°°*«- 7, ^J! "•TiUble. The Uw of the di«ipation of energy would of t«U bring it about ' The -cred writer., therefore, ""P^f •"7**^ agr^t truth when they .poke of the pa-^ng aw.y ^'t^^^^^JT aSuie earth, a. at premmt conitituted. FoUowing them Shak- gpeare wrote : : •«The oUmdK»pped tower, the gorgeou. PjJaoe^ Se «>lemn tiS^ee, the great ri^e itwOf ; Ye* »U which it inherit, Aall xi.tence of the eartti, « L EngUA reader might .uppo«». , The Hebrew word « g»h- Wim^Vdered "for ever,»^y n& me^ impUe. without end. but «m3y aa indefinite perv>d, al lohg time, the end ' •^ Sci- >b« : ■"-.■■ UMU itid rent ■ 1 • ^ ■ ) ■ ■ ■ ■ r ! ■ <■-)■". rMti God, thpy that .My :a ^ adur- • texts ** ai,M 'gftb- tend, ieh is kmAnt ordin- BIBLICAL DimOULTIlS DISPILLBD. 109 rani J irony would not be introdae«d on to y«ry tolemn tat occ*> ■ion. ♦ ♦ ♦ itiwuwr.— Then it no irony whatever in the worda spoken— in- deed, the ocicasion ia one of far too awful a character for its intro- duction. The rendering in the Authorized Version is far from being correct Dr. Young translates the passage, ** Behold tht man was as one of us." It is the pott tense, not the prtantf and the veib to If is employed, not the verb heeom*. The reference, tliaiefore, is to man's original stote, whilst he temained in the image of Qod, not to his subsequent condition after he had fallen. He had been previously lilie a heavenly being as to the know- ledge of go6d and evil, ignorant of the nature of the latter by personal contact and experience ; now he has fallen, and the lustre of his moral nature has become dimmed, and his purity has passed awa]^ " ■ : j Thb Law or Qod, F&skdom and Bondaos. Quettvm 110.^The two following texts have been quoted to me as contradictory. WiU you kindly tell me their meaning ) ** These axe the two covenauttf ; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendertth to bondage " (QtH iv. 24). " So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of libertj^" (Jai^ ii IS). I confess I do not see much contradiction myselif, but my sceptical ahopmate does. * * * Aniwtr,—lt must assuredly be clear to any one who^ mind is not blinded by 'prejudice that then is no discrepancy whatever between these two texts. The "covenant-" of the first is in no way identical with the '* law" of the second. The first passage has a reference to the Koeaic law with its elaborate, complicated, and somewhat burdensome ritual, which gendered to bondage. ElliooU comments thus: *** Bearing ekHdrmMtUo bondage,* «'.«., to pais nnder and to inherit the lot of bondage." Peter terms it « ** yoke," which ** neither our fathers nor we were able to bear " (Acts XV. 10). The second passage refers to the rule of life con- tained in the Oospel, the Lord's law of love and liberty as em- bodied in the Sermon on the Mount Says Alford ; "It is the I'lJ'w 1i +^i.- 'W^ 110 BIBLICAL DIFFIt;»wifewa.ltter^^^^^ into a pilUr of mltl The account is <0£ made great .port of by infldelal * * *• ,/ _•-- *'-*^ -**^ ili«««r.-Thore can be no stronger objection urged agidMt t^it miracle on a priori ground, than against any other. The Judg- ment may seem wmewhat severe on Lot's wife, who could hardly have been wonw than her two daughters, both of whom escaped. In th# Authorized Version the language is clear and explicit, ** she %me a pillar of salt - (Qen. xi* 26). And this view i» in ttrict keeping with the traditions of Josephus, the Jewishjyna- gogue, and the early Church. But yrt it U very q«e.t*ii*l^ whether, such is the real meaning o(>iille words in the ' The Hebrew verb employed is Ndyah, which means " tol never « to become," except when it has a certain proposition att^r ^>- .'"'^ it,#hipft therefo] isaterm xvtii. 19 occurs in meaning tl^ mt in this passage. The true translation will^ ,di*« la (or shall be) a pillar of salt" Now sott Y to dpaignate perpetuitjr- In Kumbers venant of salt," and the same expresdon _ the li|^ of David in 8 Chron. xiii. 6 ingdom would be lasting or perpetual. The word rendered pillar rignifles anything set up appoint^, or constituted. It is transUted o^e^- in several placea in Scnp tun (wis 1 Kings iv. 19j 8 Chron. viii. 10), and gam$, BIBLICAL DIFf ICULTIIS DIBPIi;|XED. IntrauTioif or mi BomTPTuiiti ^"^> Qu$ttuni lis.— I shall feel much obliged ifyoa will tcH tnlhow I am to reconcile , the following panaagea: "In 8 Tim. iii l§, read, " All Scripture is given by inspiration of Qod, and ta prdlt- •bla/' atp., which seems to set forth the inspiration of every porliMi.. ofjthe Bible, then in 1 Oor. vH. 6, Paul says, ''Bnt I speak tUt by permission, and not of commandment," and in ver. 18, *< B!||'. to the reft spleak I, not the Lord." Ag|in in 8;Cpr. xl 17, w* have, ** That which I «peak^\I speak it not afterlhe.lLord, but, •• it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boatting." * « « Antwir. — The Syriac Peshito renders the first text, " Evejry Soriptare inspired by Ood is also profitable," etc. This reading i/t substantially accepted by many of the ablest Biblical scholars that have ever lived, amongdt whom may be jnamed Origan, Theodoret, Erasmus, Qrotius, Ldther, Cranmer, Tyndale, Ham- mond, Adam Clarke, £Uicot, Alford, etc. And in the Revised Wersibn the passage is rendered, " Every Scripture inspired of Ood is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness." There is, therefore, » ■nfficient degree of elasticity in the text to allow the Apoetlo, whilst writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to occasion- ally introduce his own opinion, even when the views enunciated were not directly inspired. But even if the reajiling in, the Authorized Yenion be adopted, which it is by men no less eminent as Biblical scholars than Chrysoetom, Gregory of Nyssa, Wplf, Bengel, Calvin, Owen, De Wette, Olshausen, Oosterzee, Bamea, Oonybeare, Wordsworth, Hodge, etc.; there is still no discrepancy in the texts quoted. According to Alford and Oonybeare, 1 Oor. vii. 6, means " I am not now speaking, by way of eommandj but merely expressing my permission," the permission being as much under inspiration as a commandment would have been. As to the 18th verse ot the same chapter, it probably means, " Bnt'V> the rest speak I," that is, I, Paul, in my capacity aa an ApostH^ not now from special revelation, but yet under the general snpc0» vision of the Holy Spirit. ** Not the Lord," that is, not .Christ by - K "■ t; ■^jji ^. 4^J4^ % i%; ,, ■«^ ■• > * ""^f^ -%,] /:Vr) ■■ Hi BIBLICAL DimCULTIES DI8FBLLED. b M ilk fhe SSili tene, ** I have no eonunuidraeiit of th« Lord, bat I gi^ my juagment" No doabt the Apoetle had fnll libertj to OzpnM hia own opinion, erei^ where he had received no apedal :^ oommandment, and there ian^ ineonaittency whatever in anppoi*'' ing anch opinion to be in peiCect harmony witji the mind oT Qod. In the 40th verse ip a text which may throw some light on the •abject, and Dr. Arnold, relerring to thia last named, deema it a token of Ood'a "eapecial mercy to us, that our faith in St. Panl'a general declarationa of divine truth might not be shaken, because in one particular point he was permitted to ^eakaift man, giving express notice at the time that he waa doing so." « The text In « Cor. xL 17," taya Haley, " *! speak it not after the Lord,' probably means, 'not after the exwmpfc of the Lord.' That ia, I am constrained to an appannt departure from that example. In vindication of mjaelf from theuniust aspersions of my enemies, I am compelled to apesk with seeming boaatfuUiesa M it we» 'foolishly.' This 'glorying after the flesh 'was not, howel^rsaKy contrary to our Lord's example, because it origi- nftod, not in love of boasting, but in thef neoessities^of the caae." lie whole of the texta quoted may, therefore, be reconciled with- out the least difficulty, upon the basis of an intelUgent and com- prehensive theory of the inspiration of the Holy Scripturea. «• Thi maxim of the whole boohf says Maurice, " ia that Ood ia the educator of that people and of evei^ people, that all the cir- cumstances are His instruments ; that aUevepta are aisertions of Hia presence ; that whatever happens to^en is a meana of show- ing to them His righteousness, and of moulding them to Hit ima^" Who Cabribd Qheibt's CbobsI ' • i^uution 113.— A sceptical friend has just drawn my attention to the followihg discrepancy which I shall be gtad if you will explain. In John xix. 17, Christ is spoken of as bearing Hia own cross, whilst in Luke xxiii. 26, Simon is said to have earned " iliMicw. — It is highly probable that the Lord earned the croat Himself, until His faUing strength led those , who had charge of Him to twmsf e rth e burden to Si mo n, whom Meyer conaiders to % \ BIBLICAL D iyflCUL T IEH DISPBLLIeD. 118 at to •1 ''« m. " hb It, m, I* j/ ter d.' iftt of eat lOt, igi- le." Oi. »m- ret. lit Bir- lof »w- tion irill Hit ried XOM B of I to %• \ -r~ hftta been a slave aeleeted on aceonnt of the indignity offend in the eervice to be performed. Ebiard thinks that Simon did not bear the crois alone, bnt limply walked bi^ind Jeeoa attd aided Him in carrying the loathsome burden. ■>>■■•'■ '. How WAS Christ madb Sin! Quation 114.— Kindly explain the following passage, which has pnuled me a little : ** For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin " (2 Cor. y. 21). How was Christ made to be sin, s^ing that Q^ was " Holy, harmless, nndeftled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews vii 26), and "without sin" (iv. 16X « « « ilnfioir.— The word '* sin ** in the first text clearly means "sin offering;" so it is inte^reted by Augustine, Ambrose, Erasmus, Lightfoot, Macnight, Whitby, and many other Biblical expositors. Schleusner^ i|i his Lexicon to the LXX., defines the original Qreekterm, ELLED. 11^ diwMe to whieh they gave a name derived from the elephant^ and which is now known as SUphantiatu Arabum, the * Barbadoes 1%/ < fioncenemia Tropica.' The XUphantiaria Graeeorwn is said to have been brought home by the Crusaders into thd various '-Meonntries of the Western and northern Earope. Thus an article on "leprosy" in the proceedings of the Royal Medical and Chi- riiigical Society of London, January, 1860, Vol iii. 8, p. 164, etc., by Dr. T^^ebster, describes what is evidently this disease." Vide Smith's Diet of Bible. But this was cleariy not the leprosy of the Mosaic law, for the symptoms as described in Levit. xiii. are not the same as those of EUqihantiasis. The term "white %s snow," used in one of the passages quoted, is no more applicable to Elephanticuw than it is to small-pox. Moreover, the fearful results of modern leprosy, such^as " the transformation of ^he fea- tures to a leonine expt«s8ion, and the corrosion of the joints, so that the fingers drop piecemeal," are wanting in the ancient dis- ease. « It is clear," says the author of the article in Smith's Die- titfnary, "that the leprosy of Levit. xiii. 19. means any severe disease spreading on the surface of the body in the way described, and so shocking of aspect, or so generally suspected of infection, that public feeling called for sepaiation. No doubt such diseases as syphilis, elephantiasis, cancer, and all others which not merely have their seat in the skin, but which invlule and disorganise the underlying and deep-seated tissues, would hiive been classed Levitically as * leprosy,' had they been so generally prevalent as to require notice." The separation, it mu^t be remembered, was ceremonial ;*' and to the ceremonial law we must appeal for the rules by which it was regulated. There may or may not have been infection ; in the majority of coses, I think, we may assume there was not. IJow, on turning^ Leviticus^iu^ it will be seen tjhat the disease having oveilspread the whble surface of the body was no longer unclean (v. 13). This may seem strange to us, but as the defilement was one of ritual, the force of the dis- ease was supposed to have exhausted itself when the body was covered. The Hebrew was reminded on all hands that he was one of Ood's peculiar people ; his time, his food, his laiment, his hair and beard,, his fields and fmit*treeg. were all snbjeftt tn th^ im BIBUGAL DimCULTiES DISPILLBD. Jotmnoiiial Uw. Ancl hit body, with the nuakdies to which it WM rabjeet, proved no exception. Ditease itwlf had^iacred leliH^ tionc irlntrBrily imposed. The oncleanneM of tjbeleproejt there- foN^did not sedBiMrily ariae from the datTger of contagion. TaUaff theae (keta into oonudention, ther^a no difficnlty in th« elM of Qehasi—whoae body waa quitreoyered with thil diaeaae-^ holding converse with Uie king. The caae of Naaman ia hardly to the point, aa the court of Syria waa not regulated by the MbaaieritaaL . - " ' ; rn^y^r; T. ■■'■ Chrbw^ Fnn 8ibi«»l "~ "" 7^"^ ^MMlioii lit.— In Matt v. 1, 8, Jeaua ia spoken of aa going up into a mountain and there delivering the fiimoua Semum on the Mount; whilst in Luke vi. 17, 18, it saya that He *< stood in the plain." Were these different occasions, and if not, what is the «qplanation? * ♦ ♦ Autmer.^—Bj some' commentatora it ia thought that the paa-/ sagea refer to two different occaaions. But even if they do not there ia no discrepancy. Dean Stanley long ego translated lihke'a worda, r&trov mdiv&b^ a level place, which rendering has now been \ adopted in the Revised Yersion of the New Testament Dean Stanley describes a hill with flattened top *< suitable for the col- lection of a multitude," and having also two peaks how called ^' the Homa of Hattin," from one of which the Lord descended id stood " upon the level place*" to address the people. ^ Abraham's Aoi. .^ ; QiMtfwm 118.— I should like you to explain the following : AWaham was bom 8056 b. a (Qen. xi. 86X and he died 18S8 b. a, a| the age of 176 (Oen. xxv. 7X aubstract 18S8 from S056 and the ra^ltia834. * ♦ * ' a l^iunmr.- The first text doea not say that Abraham waa bora in the year 8056 b. o., but that ''Tenth lived seventy years and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.*' Of course, the three weie not bom in the same year. It iaa general stat4»ment Terah waa tiM lather of them aU. Abram waa probably the youngest ^'"'^:: :: '^:' t- %- ' ■ >^'-^. BimiCAL DlrtlCUtTIBS PISPm^LED. 117 named before AaMm, althoagh Aaron wm ll^V^e/* ft fblldii, then, that Abram lef^ Ha»n at th«% of 75 (^ Qeneau xii 4). This was in 1921 b,c. , Now Abralpin died in 1828 b. o., 09 yean afterhe left Haran,i5fWqhjive»^^i§ age at death at474, ♦. ^-y^, *" >. ilfin00r.— Certainly flesh and blood cannot entdr into the spirit ' irorld, for these belong essentially to the material sphere of exist- ence. The passage in Jot^ is one about which there has been much controversy, some maintaining that there is, a re- fexehce in it to the resanection of the body^ which perhaps ik the genentl view, whilst others have contended that all that is meant is that Ood will in the end^nndicate Job before the world daring his life-time here. The truth probably lies between these two views. Job looks beyond the present life into Seheol, and there sen a vindiottion of his character, and a justification of the ways of God to men. The translation of Dr. Samuel Davidson is, in our opinion, to be preferred to any other. He renders the passage ** But I know my "Vindicator lives, And the last, He will arise over the dust : Yea, after my^Wn^when thisi (body) is destroyed. Even without mjrflMhjHriiall I see God : Yea, I shaU see Him for myadii^ Mine eyes shall behold Him, nonel»tiiers (shall do so), lly reins pine within me." Adopting this reading, it was not in the body, but out of it that Job was to have the bright vision of Ood, his Vindicator or Be^ deemer. - *'DiiJDABrivhiBBLiiVBi»Gop1 ■ . ■ ■ -. \ ■ • ■ ■ . • ,.■ ■ ..'" QuesUmi 121.— Did Darwin believe in a God 1 If sp, do*» he si^y so in any of his works, and where? ♦ ♦ * ^iMWr.— Unquestionably Dr. Darwin was a theist, and one of « very reverential tone of mind. There are hundreds of passages in his works which imply this, where it is not stated in so many words. The last paragraph in his " Origin of Species,", however, ia «oit explicit on the subject ThulHt runs : « There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the .Creator into a few forms or into one; and that • \ A. < BIBLIciL DIFFICULTIES DISPELLED. H9 whilit this planet hu gone cycling on, aceoTding to the axed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms moet beantl- ful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved." W« .have no faith in Darwin's theory, btit it is only just to Ihe memory of, a great man to say that he was no atheist, and never showed any sympathy with infidelity. ID TsMPTIirQ ABRAHAlf. qimtiim. 122.— Will you kindly explain the following contra- diction : "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man" (James L 13) ; « And it came to pass after these things, that Ood did tempt Abra^jam" (Gen. xxii. 1), and oblige yoms respectfully? * * * ^fuiMr.— The Hebrew word Nah'tah^ translated *< tempt," in the latter text, means to try any one, to prove him, to put him to the test So it is explained by Gesenius, one of the greatest authorities in Hebrew, and a raaft whose tendencies are certainly not in favour of orthodoxy. The same word is used in reference to David, when trying on Said's armour (1 Sam. xvii. 89X and of the Queen of Shdba when testing the wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings X. IX The meaning is, therefore, that God proved the patriarch Abraham. Some of the old versions read : " God did prove Abraham." Says Bush : " God may consistently, with all His perfections, by His providence, bring His creatures into cir- cumstances of ifpMMLljfrfAiaiion, not for the purpose of giving Rim information, but in order to manifest to themselves and to others th« prevailing dispositions of their hearts." God put Abraham to the proof, so that His faith and obedience might be made mani- fwt to all generations that should come after him. In the sense that we use the word tfempt, God, as St. James says, tempteth no num.^ . '.. ■■•■■ .-■■■'■ j , ; Omniprxsenob OF God. QuM/tbn 123.— In a discussion I remarked God was an Omni- present person, but my opponent tumed to Gen. xi. 5. I gave a ireasonfor it, but would be glad Jf you would comment on it in your valuable journal to help me to give a pn.per answer for the hope that it within me.— Yours obediently. * * « .> ! •-3=*'; ^J ':% t» mSUOAL DmiQULTlU OIBPILLID. * Ammr.—Tht OmnipreMnee of Ood is decIaRd in many Mons of pMMgM of Seriptara, and aMomod •Ttrjwhen thronghoat the Miend Toltimo. Nor ii thorn anything in the text quoted oppoaod to that gnat trath./Tho bnilden of this towar had been far away firom Ood, He was " not in all their thonghta." Now, however, He '* came down " ioto the iphere of their eonedonsnesa in a very signal mannner. It ii the most striking^ and most beautiful pe- euliarity of the Bible that it uses human language and therefore becomee adapted to the human understanding. God must ba spoken of as He appears to the human perceptions and as He can be oonodved of by the human mind. Rabbi Sohelomo strikingly obeenres that these texts represent Ood as *' coming down from His, throne of mercies to His throne of Judgment**— as if mercy were a more snene, exalted, and glorious attribute than justice. Such expressions as " God came down," the Jewish inters term " the tongue, or language, of the event '^— that is the proper in« terpretation of the event, the lesson it was designed to teach. In such cases God's oete are translated into vfordt. The *« (il«d if you win give «i expUnation hea^^I" v"^" ^T"' "*•'" ^ " aninetramentf" healuigtheMck,or producing minKulon. reanltel Byanawer- ing my query you will greatly oblige youns etc. * * * th. r.!I!r~°''"i' "'*'™P'«»i<>» conveyed by the word. i. that ^.STLTp Zrrf^ " '" »»'' • ."Utitiou. idea of the n^lt.^ f ^t.'^'"' ^"""^ """" mi-c-lon. virtue. Mid ™r^ ? ttM new u certainly not borne out by the Un- gn^eniployei Bedde^ there are other iu.tan«« in Scripture tTwlf r'**",' "^'*~' "**■«•«'. " "hon "» woman r^fw \'""'"''°""=''"8 *•■* !*«>'• g^ment (Matt. ix. aioSlJr " ? S"^ "" "™8l>t by handkerchiefii and ^u. belong.ng to Paul (Act. xix. 12). Lang. .b«rve. on thi. ^ail tht SX r "' *^"" * '"^"« "*'*"« » plainly •bribed h™iw .k " "^t •'"^- ^' *' » evident, «»t, that h«e only t^ce. „. epo k en of who had liuth in the um^ulo i u poweiB^offlie AposUes; secondly, it m only mentioned as the ~i:-*r- ^ > 'M>i lit BtBLICAt DIFFICtTLtlVS DISPELLED. t ' opinion favourably dirpoaed among the people, that even the^^^«| shadow of Peter could heal ; thirdly, it is indicated by the very ' Jy:[ form of the expression, that they sought the laying on of Peter's hands, but that in case of necessity, they would be content with his shadow overshadowing them ; not to mention that there is sometliing figurative in tliis expn^ion, which' points out the fact; that the sick expected a cure from every contact w|^' Peter.' (Dm Apott6li$(he Zeitalter), It is not to be suppoajpthit the shadow itself possesMd any powers or curative Virtues, but that "" fui aura or influence passed from the pexmn of the Apostle reach« ing those upon whom his shadow felt /--^-^ Balaam's Prophbot. ' Qutition 126.— I have found some difficulty in rightly under- standing the passage (Num. xxiv. 17), " I shall see Hm, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nt^^" The advice given me by a Sunday-school teacher is that Balaam is in Hell, and he beheld Jesus in Heaven. Jtev^ Sir, being an anxious inquirer, 1 ask. your help upon the passage. * ♦ ♦ ilutuer.— The prophecy of Balaam unquestionably refers to the future glory of Israel. . The correct reading of it is as follows : \. *' Balaam the son of Beor prophesies. The man unclosed of eye prophesies ; He prophesies whoheard the words of God, And knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Prostrate, but having his ey«i open, ' I see Him, but not now^ I behold Him, but not nteh: A star comes forth from Jacob, A sceptre arises out ot Israel, And smites the two sides of Moab, And destroys all the tumultuous people ; And Edom becomes a posscMsion, And Seir becomes a possession— his enemies ; For Israel achieves deeds of valour. . He who descendetii from Jacob Shall destroy whoever escapes firam the city." Some have supposed that *' star " has a reference to the meteor afterwards to be seen by the magi^althe birth of Christ It is « • the- fm. BIBUOAL DIFFICULTlia DISPELLED. 123 more likely, howevej, that the word w«i nied Biihplyas a eyinbol of dignity and power, and hence pointed to some illottriond ruler of Iirael whb was to make his appearance at a later date. The figure is very appropriate in the mouth of Balaam who came from Mesopotamia, a land where astrology was universally * belieTed in. The pronoun " Him '* probably refers to collective Israel. Balaam seems to^have had the actual scene before his mental vision, for the tense indicates a present view rather than . a prediction of the future. "I see Him, but not now," that is, I see the state of things pourtrayed, but the realization is not yet. Whether the prophecy referred to the Israelites in general, or to some special ruler in particular, the prediction is a vei^- remark- able one, coming from such a source. In any case there was a long interval between the prophecy and its fulfilment. Pharaoh's Maoicianb. Question 127.— Would you kindly answer— Aotoewr briefly— the foUowing question : « Must one believe the Ji/rst part of verse 12, Exodus vij. chapter, literally ? (f6r how could the Egyp. tian magicians hope to bring life out of inanimate objects ? And would God turn the heathen sorcerer's rods also to serpents when it strengthened Pharaohs unbelief?") ♦ * ♦ ^ Antwtr.—lt ijinot at all likely that a genuine miracle was wrought by the sorcerers. Their tricks were mere feats of sleight of hand, like those performed by the conjurors of more modem times. Pharaoh doubtless had demanded a proof of the Divine mission of Moses and Aaron, and when the first miracle was per- formed he called in his magicians, and' informed them of what had been done and requested them to do the same. The object of the king was, we may suppose, to ascertain whether a real miracle had been wrought or a mere trick performed. Th^ scorcers then, to show that nothing had been done which they could not imitate, threw down their rpds which also became serpents. Now the conjurors of the East, and especially of Egypt have ^^*y ^een celebrated for their power in chanyng serpents. TMt WAS usually accomplished by pressing on the nape of the neck of the snake by which means the animal was thrqpm into a .i 1S4 BIBLICAt DIFFICULTIES DI8F1LL1D. kind of caUlepay, and then became itiff and rigid reMmblinii a allflk. Theee aerpenU Ihey hare always been in the habit of concealing about their pereon, and then anddenly prodacing them from their dreat, when required. One of the principal feaU of the Peylli ia that of turning eerpenU into eticks, by making them rigid and apparently dead. Thua Jannes and Jam- bras withstood Moees (2 Tim. iii. 8). After the summons of the king, there was probably time for them to make the necessary pnpaiation for performing thia illusion, and thus imposing on the senses by their "enchantments." Then when Aaron's rod •wallowed up the rest, the magicians were discomfitted, and the king perplexed and astounded, "the badge of office of the sor- cerers was destroyed, and the symbol of the order gone. / * J ■*' - V , ■ X . . ( / WORKS BY THE REV. DR. SEXTON. of ing by ixa- the •ry on rod the lor- t* ^» Cloth Lettered. Prlee $1.76. '/' THE BASELESS FiBMO OF SOIEETIFIO SOEFTIOISI. ,w "1 ' , » ". ' ) »• "A iMrlwof diaeonnMdi«h«''^Qppoi|iioiit 6f SelMiM, tUNdy M-^sd^ tlM pntMit dajr. Th« wrlUr Bhowt a bfOMl aoqualnUoce with his rabjact, whieh to mora Uuui we c«n aav of ouuiv who lutve attempted recently to reoonoUe reUgloue and ■dantlflo thoiuht. It is one of the beet work* of the kind that hm recently ■ppearwl.''~XKe*inMn'e Thtotogieal Quarttrty. "Theee dlaoounee are, for the moet part, lecturce delivered ota the main featnrea of modern SoenCioUim, aa aet forth by ita apeoial and avowed advooatae The leetare on 'Sdentiflo Materialism' ia a reply to Profeaaor Tyndall'a Belfast Addreaa, and ia an inoiaive expoaure of the dominant fallacy of the Profeaaor'a leeture. In which toe aubatitutea the action of law in the material aniverae for the action of an intelligent Ood. The aplrltuality of man and hia immortality are well demonatrated aoainst the attacka of the Materlallatlo philoeophera. W« muat alao note, the argunAnt from authority ia well urg«l by Dr. Sexiop."— PitMie Opinion. " A valuable aerlee of addreeaee, in which adentlflc oblectiona to the trutha and teaching of Ohrtatianlty are acientiflcally dealt with. Dr. Sexton meeta hia opponenta on their own ground, and provea himself singularly fitted for the tMk he has undertaken."— «oc*. . . "Theae dlaoouraea are marked by vigour and learning. Th4^ are keen, forcible, and eloquent in their atyle of treatment. It ia evident that the author haa read wldeW, and that he haa made theae aubjecta hia earnest and painstaking study. He la fully prepared to hold bit pound against any •ntapolst.*— £»f«niry "It is not needful for iis to speak In praise of Dr. Sexton's oelebrlt;y aa a aoholar ; he haa long been befm the publio in the capacity of a Lecturer and Profeaaor of Natural Science of aome repute. The reply to Profeaaor Tyndall's Belfast Address is a masterpieoe of acute reasoning, logical acumen, and deep learning. Regarded in the light of the present day, the lectures in the volume before ua are unique for originality, and calculated to accomplish untold good among every class of thinkers. In our opinion. Dr. Sexton is unapproachable as a lecturer on Scientific Soeptloism, and we sincerely hope that hia lite will be long .spared to defend Chriatianlty againat the attacka of thia subtle enemy of the ftnth, which luu been gaining ground of late yeara, both among men of aoienoe and amoAg aome men who call themselves ministers of Uie Goniel!"— C'Aristian Union. "There Is no living man more thoroughly able to gra^le with Scepticism, as it has been developed In the 19th century, than the author of this book. He Is not merely a great scholar, and a man of laiye and varied reading. He is one who has made the subjects on which he discourses in this volume the study of a life. In the vohune before us there are six dWbourses which have beeA given ,in~various plMss. Among them is a moat eloquent and masterly reply to the addrees delivered by Professor TyndaU, at Belfast, a few years ago. That address created a profound sensation at the time, and made Sceptioa positively Jubilant. Dr. Sexton Itterally demt^iahea the effort of the distingulahed adentiat, and-ahowa how oompletoly baaelesa are the theorlea he then advanced. Other aubjecta, auoh aa ' Science and Beligion,' 'Ood and ImmortaUtv,' 'Man a Spiritual Behig,' are dealt with, and dealt with aa audi a maater of all the queatlona at laaue could deal. . . . Moat he a rtUy do we oommend th^ b oo k. It l a th e a ort of book th e tim es r e qui re . It is a noUe vindication of that faith which for nearly two thousand years has given the worid its noblest Impulses."— JMael9MK>{ Timet. . •r-*- -A <»? ^f'* ..HU/%j ^\'\ WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. Cloth Lettered. Priee $1.25. THEISflC PROBILeMS Bains Esuy* on th» Existenc* of Qod and His R|ilation«tilp to Man. " Dr. Sexton has handled auoh hackneyed subf eote a* the • Acnoaticiam— the Unknown God.' and the like, with a vigcair i •^FoUy of Atheism,' ^ _ ind vivacity whidi ^V,?;^«"* among tha? section of the middle "d lower cla««whidii.taiid^a^o«' •^•*«J'»5 *"*■*>!■ 'iff.iSS'i?!!^^ «u<«ugfaoot the book la of aoUd worth, a»d will b« U^ valued by Intelligent ntam."— ITnUtdMethodiH Free Churchetf Magazine. - "Dr. Sexton writea with gn»t force and deamees. F«Wy*«^'4 the details of the rationaliatic coiltroveray, he knows exactly what al to be met. and he dmia with them in a akUful and effective mwin«< well command the attention of M who have doubta to be aolved. - '.'.The rfiaaonlnga are logically arranged and fordbty expreaaed, , MHlfy conviction to svery earnest mind, which has be^n more or affected by the tdighttiqr Influenoe of doubt in relation jo matten religion.''— Aiv»y '««?'™g!Sf .."»* hoot to minlatsw. liml pwaphtra. Ii^t-ff. »"'* ""' rtmA»r» generally."— Pwrnittw moral tone, of Life and '—LiUrwry He moves is a woric intsd with all _ientshsve which may nd ought to MS seriously ertidning to MetkodUt. t^ iloh bed Mj lost It lOM :toii rell- •nd riet kUe lent the. ■thy B of hed Md- uoh e of the ring own- that 3hee Kip- ■ent ■hip rttee One im- nms one. and WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. ovee roik full/ ivttt. gent liaU have may It to tody ig to roos, 1 the ■J SJ Cloth Lettered. Price 90 Cents. THE WRITTEN DEBATE — I ... 1 BnwnDi *aa ■ ,; ^ REV. GEORGE SEXTON, M.A., LLB., Editor of" The Shield of Faith," AHD CHARLES WA-TTS, ESQ.. . ' Editor cf" The SeeularRevieU)," \ V"" ':. ■ ■■«» , .,'.■■■ "■'* CHRISTJAMIS^ AND SECULARISM .Whldi is tbe m siiited to moot tbo Wants of ManktaidT " Thla U a debikte on ^ svbjeet, Which !■ the better raitrd to meet the wanta of mankind— ChrUiianity or SeculkrlBm T It ta' an argumentative battle between two able oombatanta, veterana In^auch campaigns. As U> Dr. Sexton— coooeming whoM affluenoe in learning, power in reaauniqg, and majesty of eloquence, we have written more tlian onoe in these pa g e s we need oufy say that be appeara here as a hero, with whom it would be an honour fur any m*n to fight. Through the whole of tbia debater there is none of the abusive scurrility which disgraces the speeches of our polltieai leaders of both parties, and which, alaa. In iilages, has eharacterlaed theological and religioua euntrovenies. Personal detrartlons, ungenerous inuendoes. Had no place in these pages. The beariiig of each com-'' batant is Imposing in candour and magnanimity. Thla is Just the book for the skeptical men of the age, both young and old."— llomilist. "A debate which haa been going on for twelve months in one of the Free- thought Journala between the Bev. Dt. Sekton and Mr. Chariee Watts is just issued in a neat volume, bound in doth. Mr. Watts is one (Mt the ablest of the advocates of Becularism living, but in this controversy he and his cause have sustained a signal defeat. Dr. sexton is one of the beat oontroversialista of the day, and right nobly has he performed his task of defending our holy religion against the shafta aimed at it by Infldelity. To those who with to see all that can be said against the nsligion of Jesus, and how successfully it can be replied to, we cordially reoom- aend this volume."— CftrisHon ^|M. "Tills Is by ftir the ablest contribnUon towards the settlement le d both disputants is clear and elegant ; and although dealing aometimea with the dricHt and most abstruse aubjects, then Is , not an uninteresting page in the whole book."— £*ses Ttkgraph. "nioee who would like to know what Secularism can say for itaell ought to Mt thla debate; and thoee who would like to aee these arguments met by a keen logldikn, an aocomplished adiolar. a dear and correct thinker, wou'd do well to ^ the eontents of this deeply lntersst faigvolnmf ."^gatioaI adiool, that there to far etronger evidence of aelf oontndiotion than any that oan be alleged in tiie Ooapela. We ««P«pWl7 oommend the two aMe ehaptera whidi demonatrate that Seoularicm to deatttate of an ethioal code, and defldeot aa a moral guide.''~/>«M<« Opinion. "A vigoroua and well-written attaek by one who to thonmghlytnaater of the aabjeot, and bringa to bear upon it ability of no ordimury character."— iZpelr. The Folly of Atheism (Socond Edition). . . : . ......... 36c. "The theme to one on which the author, by hto previooa training and ezperi- tiite. to well qoaliUfd to apeak. Competent knowledge of the sabjeet, fiuailiMrttir with Socnptical objeotionat sound logiml reasoning, and intense eameatneas of airirit are maidfeat on every page,"— Baptid Jfcvtuina. Debate on SeoulariiAii with Mr. G. W/ Foote . . . . 35c. "Dr. Sexton may be fairiy ooagntqtot*^ <» U* comidete victoiy."— PwNie Opinion. ' -^ ; ^. v. The Union of Caiiistian Integilty with Ghristian liiberalitSr . - .•. 17c. "Thto disooome ought to be scattered over the whole land. It would prove suogeatlve and IMptnl to ralnisterB of the Ooapel and to the members of the aeveral (^totian ChnndMS. It to a c»Im, wise, beautiful, and timely lecture."— Jla«o(«n- «(alfi'yi«i*r«st.: .^.., .;.?,,;:.... ,„-• The Present Afire. • •* • . . . . . ^ . • . . vr * • • • • 170. "An eloquent and stirring discourse, exposing in vigorous language, the maul- fold sins, foUiea, and f raUtiea of the preaent age— its Materialism^ ita unscrupulpua and graq^ng greed— and full of vefytelBng anecdotes and lBddentB.-.iN(Uie Opia^ , ' " In thto lecture the prominent fMilts Mid daivers ATB8. MommiAL. S. f. UUKBTIS, Hautaz. ■;"■. ;"■■"■■*■.■•■:-■'■■■■-»■-■■■ '^\ "■■:■■ :-*' ■- ^■. -vvV : :. t ■ .■-■■■'" ■ f* ■.-■:■ .-■.■« ■■■'.-■.■■ />^ ... • / >J '? . ■■ ii / ■^. '4' \ • #-t '«. ^1 wm J ms WfOfT 1 t « V ». « :V >-•;■ ■ \ ■ - 1 (*• • ■ "V ■ I. ■■ -t ■ ■ |; -r-^- ' i i • -r^ fc » -' ■^^" ■ ''<:V « - • - ' " 'V «' % -■ ■'^.:-'' a ^ 4 ♦ it '•*' ■ .■■ y 'V^^■ . ..•■■;• ^ 1 ■h * « X w >r, ■■.-■ I • ■ ■• ■ « '■'}: ■' » ' . ■:<■■':■: > 'i ( • • ■' ■> • • ^ ;■-. ■ " . ■ ■ ^ , ., . • « . / 1* 1 5*¥7^ • . *• ■, I • '^r I %\ - ■■ ■■'€ ■■ ■■'.'■ s _ \ s * 'if ""." \ * f '. ■ ■>. . " [ • 1 / * • * t t P-. ' .■ . • ^ ^.7: ■ ■ ./" <. &k^-^' » ♦ * W' '. /- . 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