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 ‘THE DIVINE GLORY MANIFESTED IN THE CONDUCT 
 AND DISCOURSES OF OUR LORD. 
 
 EIGHT SERMONS 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, 
 
 IN THE YEAR MDCCCXXXVI, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 LECTURE 
 
 FOUNDED BY 
 
 THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, M.A. 
 
 CANON OF SALISBURY: 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES A. OGILVIE, M.A. 
 
 DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN TO HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 
 AND LATE FELLOW OF BALLIOL COLLEGE. 
 
 OXFORD, 
 
 PRINTED BY S. COLLINGWOOD, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY, 
 FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 
 SOLD BY J.H. PARKER, OXFORD: 
 AND BY J.G. AND F. RIVINGTON, LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVI. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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TO 
 
 THE REVEREND THE VICE-CHANCELLOR 
 
 AND TO 
 
 THE HEADS OF COLLEGES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 
 
 THE FOLLOWING SERMONS 
 
 PREACHED 
 
 BY THEIR APPOINTMENT 
 
 ARE 
 
 RESPECTFULLY 
 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2008 with funding from 
 Microsoft Corporation 
 
 https://archive.org/details/divineglorymanifOOogil 
 
 * 
 
EXTRACT 
 FROM 
 THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 
 or THE 
 
 REV. JOHN BAMPTON, 
 
 CANON OF SALISBURY. 3 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 “1 give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to 
 *¢ the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University 
 “« of Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and sin- 
 “gular the said Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the 
 “ἐ intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned ; that is to 
 * say, I will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the 
 “ς University of Oxford for the time being shall take and 
 “receive all the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and 
 ‘* (after all taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions 
 made) that he pay all the remainder to the endowment 
 ‘“‘ of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established for 
 ever in the said University, and to be performed in the 
 ** manner following : 
 
 “1 direct and appoint, that, upon the first Tuesday in 
 ‘** Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads 
 of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room adjoin- 
 “ἴῃ to the Printing-House, between the hours of ten in 
 ‘« the morning and two in the afternoon, to preach eight 
 ** Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. 
 ‘* Mary’s in Oxford, between the commencement of the 
 «ς Jast month in Lent Term, and the end of the third week 
 ‘in Act Term. 
 a2 
 
vi 
 
 EXTRACT FROM CANON BAMPTON’S WILL. 
 
 ‘** Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity Lec- 
 ture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the fol- 
 lowing Subjects—to confirm and establish the Christian 
 Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics—upon 
 the divine authority of the holy Scriptures—upon the 
 authority of the writings of the primitive Fathers, as to 
 the faith and practice of the primitive Church—upon the 
 Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ—upon the 
 Divinity of the Holy Ghost—upon the Articles of the 
 Christian Faith, as comprehended in the Apostles’ and 
 Nicene Creeds. 
 
 *¢ Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity 
 Lecture Sermons shall be always printed, within two 
 months after they are preached, and one copy shall be 
 given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy 
 to the Head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor 
 of the city of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the 
 Bodleian Library; and the expense of printing them shall 
 be paid out of the revenue of the Land or Estates given 
 for establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons; and the 
 Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled to the revenue, 
 before they are printed. : 
 
 « Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be qua- 
 lified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, unless he 
 hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at least, in one 
 of the two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge ; and 
 that the same person shall never preach the Divinity Lec- 
 ture Sermons twice.” 
 
Boke TF ΒΒ; 
 
 
 
 IT seems proper to prefix to the present 
 Volume a statement which may explain the 
 recent interruption of the Series of the Bamp- 
 ton Lectures. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1833, the De- 
 legates of Estates of the University of Oxford 
 declared the necessity of a far greater out- 
 lay on the Bampton Estate, than had been, 
 or could conveniently be, provided for, by any 
 yearly reserve of income for Repairs. The 
 result of their representation was a Decree 
 of Convocation, passed on the 22nd day of 
 April, in the same year, whereby it was de- 
 termined that the Lectures should be sus- 
 pended for two years; and that the proceeds 
 of the Estate, during that interval, should be 
 applied to the purposes of an expenditure, 
 which had become unavoidable. 
 
 The Author of the following Sermons, both 
 in choosing and in handling his subject, has 
 
 endeavoured to fulfil the intentions of the 
 
Vili PREFACE. 
 
 Founder of the Lecture; and he trusts that 
 he may have unfolded his views, in a manner 
 not altogether unsatisfactory or unservice- 
 able to the general reader. He has also been 
 desirous of consulting the advantage of the 
 younger Members of the Clerical Profession 
 and of Candidates for Holy Orders; and has 
 accordingly added Notes and Illustrations 
 with an especial reference to their circum- 
 stances. 
 
 To any of this class, whose attention he 
 may be happy enough to engage, he begs leave 
 to recommend, in the following exhortation 
 of an ancient writer, a brief summary of the 
 principles and precepts, which he has him- 
 self been anxious to bear in mind, and, to the 
 utmost of his power, exemplify: 
 
 “ Depositum, inquit Apostolus, custodi. Ca- 
 “ tholice Fidei talentum inviolatum inliba- 
 “tumque conserva. Quod {101 creditum, hoc 
 “ penes te maneat, hoc a te tradatur. Aurum 
 “accepisti: aurum redde. Nolo mihi pro 
 “aliis alia subjicias. Nolo pro auro aut 
 “jmpudenter plumbum aut  fraudulenter 
 
 ςς 
 
 ceramenta supponas. Nolo auri speciem 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 “sed naturam plane. O Timothee, Ὁ Sa- 
 “cerdos, O Tractator, O Doctor, si te Di- 
 “ vinum munus idoneum fecerit, ingenio, 
 “ exercitatione, doctrina, esto spiritalis 'Ta- 
 “bernaculi Beseleel; pretiosas Divini dog- 
 “matis gemmas exsculpe, fideliter coapta, 
 “adorna sapienter, adjice splendorem, gra- 
 “tiam, venustatem. Intelligatur, te exponente, 
 “ inlustrius quod antea obscurius credebatur. 
 “Per te, posteritas intellectum gratuletur 
 “ quod ante vetustas non intellectum venera- 
 “batur. Eadem tamen que didicisti, doce ; 
 “ut, cum dicas nove, non dicas nova.” Vin- 
 centit Lirinensis Commonit. I. 
 
 He who would imbibe the spirit, which this 
 admonition breathes, and observe the rules 
 here laid down, must have recourse to the 
 Remains of Christian antiquity; from a wise 
 and reverential use of which he will not fail 
 to reap the most valuable and the richest 
 fruits. The Author of these Lectures has 
 sought to encourage the study of the Fathers, 
 by furnishing a selection of passages, appro- 
 priate to his design, from the writings of 
 
 some few of their number. It is hoped 
 
 b 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 that these specimens, by reason of their in- 
 trinsic excellence, may effectually excite the 
 Student to enter upon researches of his own, 
 in this department of Inquiry. For the fur- 
 ther promotion of the same end, illustrative 
 and explanatory remarks have been occa- 
 sionally introduced ; but, above all, care has 
 been taken, by repeated references, to fix 
 attention on the Works of Bishop Bull and 
 the Reliquize Sacree of Dr. Routh. Under the 
 guidance of these two Authors, the early dif- 
 ficulties of the way will be rendered smooth; a 
 field of investigation, which is apt at first 
 sight to appear unbounded, will become cir- 
 cumscribed within reasonable limits; and 
 in the well beaten tracks of Catholic Theo- 
 logy will be found sure footing amidst the 
 dangers and safety from the misleading temp- 
 tations of a restless and speculative age, fond 
 of novelty and eagerly aiming at discoveries 
 
 even on the most sacred subjects. 
 

 
 
 PROPERTY ἡ on 4, 
 PEINCETOy < 
 
 
 
 Ware Sa 
 - αὐ ἤ7ΥΥΥ Ὁ aa Ε 
 - AA AY 4 Dd {4 
 γύψγυνς ied 
 
 SERMON I. 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE WHOLE INQUIRY. 
 St. John v. 39. 
 
 Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eter- 
 nal life, and they are they which testify of me.......... Boks 
 
 SERMON II. 
 On THE MiractzEs oF our Lorn. 
 St. Luke iv. 40. 
 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any 
 sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he 
 laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them....29. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 On THE Miracues oF our Lorp. 
 St. John xiv. 10. 
 
 Believest thou not that Iam in the Father and the Father 
 in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of 
 myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the 
 DOWNS as cinlee: coi s'p We ewer eiels ates os Aa ooraenchWa blowin S Wels εἰ τειν lade 59. 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 On THE PaRaBLEs OF THE GOSPELS. 
 St. Mark iv. 33 and 34 (in part.) 
 And with many such Parables spake He the word unto 
 them, as they were able to hear it. But without a Parable 
 ΟΣ ΟΣ «Presets Lee ses heel ede dee 87. 
 
 SERMON V. 
 ON THE PARABLES, AS EXPOUNDED BY OUR LorD. 
 St. Mark iv. 34 (in latter part.) 
 
 And when they were alone, He expounded all things to 
 ΠῚ 8. ORICON CSS. vier. vlna 4 darsias sere Marae anon aaeian ττ ΟΝ sine yee ase = 116. 
 
ΧΙ CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 Ow ovr Lorpv’s INTERCOURSE WITH PUBLICANS AND 
 SINNERS. 
 St. Luke xv. 1 and 2. 
 
 Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners 
 Jor to hear Him. And the Pharisees and Scribes mur- 
 mured, saying: This man receiveth sinners and eateth 
 nee ΣΝ TRA Fre PEA 143. 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 Own our Lorn’s GUIDANCE OF SUCH AS SINCERELY SOUGHT 
 INSTRUCTION FROM Him. 
 St. Matthew xix. 16. 
 And, behold, one came and said unto Him: Good Mas- 
 ter, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal 
 EMRE aoe b asi csaas vince batts on aeabndhn benedeni es am ae ον 172 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 Own our Lorp’s DEMEANOUR TOWARDS His CHOSEN COM- 
 PANIONS. 
 St. John xv. 15. 
 
 Henceforth I call you not servants: for the servant 
 knoweth not what his Lorpv doeth, but I have called you 
 friends ; for all things that I have heard of my Father, I 
 have made Known unto you. .........ccccerecrcecscsscoees 199. 
 

 
 
 SROPERTS MAMA 
 PRINCETON οἶς 
 
 δ: 
 
 RMON KL 4 
 ΘΝ KRU « 
 aa pane aw 
 JOHN v. 39. 
 
 Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye 
 have eternal life, and they are they which tes- 
 
 tify of me. 
 
 ‘THE interpreters of the New Testament 
 have differed in opinion, with regard to the 
 right method of reading and explaining these 
 words. On the present occasion, and with a 
 view to my present purpose, it is not neces- 
 sary to settle the dispute, to which the pas- 
 sage has given rise, by determining whether 
 the words are to be understood tmperatively 
 or indicatively; whether they are to be re- 
 garded as prescribing the duty, or stating the 
 usual practice of those persons, whom our 
 Lorp more immediately addressed, and who 
 were probably learned and inquisitive mem- 
 bers of the great Sanhedrim*. The last clause 
 of the verse, independently of any questions 
 that may affect the context, is a plain and 
 a Note A. 
 B 
 
ῷ SERMON I. 
 
 forcible declaration, on the part of our blessed 
 Saviour, that the Scriptures—those Sacred 
 Writings, which His hearers received as of 
 Divine authority, and which they were there- 
 fore in duty bound to examine with care and 
 diligence—are, in some peculiar sense, wit- 
 nesses concerning Himself. In the preceding 
 portion of the same memorable Discourse, 
 He had spoken of other testimony in his own 
 favour—of the testimony of John, in the first 
 place; and of the yet stronger testimony of 
 the works, which the Father had given Him 
 to finish, in the next place; which works did, 
 in fact, constitute the witness of the Father. 
 “ The Father himself, which hath sent me, 
 “hath borne witness of me”.” The Jews, 
 blind through prejudice, had overlooked these 
 evidences, decisive as they were; and our 
 Lorp, intent on persuading and convincing 
 them, proceeded, in the last place, to remind 
 them of the testimony, contained in those 
 Inspired Writings, with which they already 
 were, or might easily become familiar. 
 “Search the Scriptures,” or, “ye do search 
 “the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye 
 “have” — ye seem to have, and, without 
 doubt, really have—* eternal life, and they 
 “are they, which testify of me.” 
 
 b St. John v. 37. 
 
SERMON I. 3 
 
 From the reference thus made to the Sa- 
 ered Writings in general, an obvious and un- 
 avoidable conclusion is, that they were, accord- 
 ing to our Saviour’s own estimate, and in 
 His unerring judgment, reckoned among the 
 most important and most valuable means of 
 making good His pretensions to that high 
 distinction, which, in the same Discourse, He 
 had already vindicated for Himself: “ The 
 “ Father hath committed all judgment unto 
 “the Son: that all men should honour the 
 “Son, even as they honour the Father °.” 
 And it is interesting to observe how He ap- 
 pears, in this instance, to have given before- 
 hand the sanction of His authority to the 
 early Apologists of the Christian cause, who 
 are well known deliberately to have preferred, 
 in their arguments both with Jewish dispu- 
 tants and with Heathen antagonists, that 
 branch of evidence, which the Prophetic 
 writings supply. 
 
 But on the same reference may fairly be 
 grounded a presumption, that some portions 
 of the Sacred Volume above others have an 
 especial claim on our attention and regard. 
 Whilst the expressions employed by our 
 Lorp warrant an expectation that no page 
 of Holy Scripture will prove altogether barren 
 
 ¢ St. John v. 22, 23. 
 B2 
 
4 SERMON I. 
 
 of instruction respecting Himself, His nature, 
 His Person, and His offices; whilst they di- 
 rect the views of all, who were then within 
 reach of His voice—of all, who should after- 
 wards become His Disciples—to the abund- 
 ance of types and prophecies, which pervade 
 the whole Volume of the Old Testament ; 
 they serve to point, in a precise and determi- 
 nate manner, to such portions as are eminent 
 above the rest, in conveying “ the testimony 
 “of Jesus Curist?;” they seem, with an 
 emphatic earnestness, to recommend these 
 portions in particular to the exacter scrutiny 
 of every student of the Sacred Word. Nor 
 can it be wrong to impart to the expressions of 
 the text, a prospective, as well as a retrospec- 
 tive, meaning. We may surely find in them 
 an anticipation of those Records of our 
 Lorp’s own life and conduct—of His words 
 and actions, which were, soon after the time 
 when He spake as man with men, to be pre- 
 pared by His faithful followers, under the 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit—which were by 
 them to be added to the Canon of Inspired 
 Scripture ; and which were, in every future 
 age of the Church and of the world, to exhibit 
 Him, as at once the object of religious wor- 
 ship and the pattern to be humbly imitated. 
 
 d Rev. 1. 2. 
 
SERMON I. 5 
 
 There cannot for one moment be a doubt, 
 where Christians are to look for a display of 
 the character; for a disclosure of the doc- 
 trines, of the Masrer, after whose name they 
 are called. For them, it is the record of the 
 Holy Gospels, which testifies of Him. In 
 that record they begin—in the same record 
 they expect to terminate, their sacred studies; 
 well assured that, after their widest excur- 
 sions into the field of Biblical learning— 
 after their most accurate investigation of the 
 Law, the Prophets and the Psalms—after 
 their most attentive survey and most dili- 
 gent examination of that developement of 
 the Christian scheme, which is contained in 
 the Apostolical Epistles—well assured that, 
 after all, it will be their highest wisdom and 
 their only safety to return again to the pure, 
 simple, unadorned narratives of the Four 
 Evangelists ©; and from them, as from a per- 
 ennial source, to “ draw with joy the water 
 “of salvation ’’—* that living water, which 
 “shall spring up within them into everlast- 
 “ 1ηρ 1{6 8. 
 
 Under a deep sense of the preeminent in- 
 terest, which thus belongs to the Gospel his- 
 tory, and of the vast importance which may 
 safely be assigned to that portion of the New 
 
 © Note B. f Isaiah xu. 3. § St. John iv. 14. 
 
 B 3 
 
6 SERMON I. 
 
 ‘Testament, I purpose, in the course of Lec- 
 tures about to be delivered from this place, 
 to dwell on certain selected passages of the 
 Life and Doctrine—the conduct and dis- 
 courses, of our Lorp and Saviour, JEsus 
 Curist. Numerous have been the attempts 
 to compile, from the authentic history of the 
 Evangelists, the life of Curist; and they 
 have been attended with various degrees of 
 success, according to the various views, senti- 
 ments and abilities of their authors. It was 
 scarcely possible that any should entirely 
 fail; since the instance is one, in which the 
 original sources of information are copious 
 and easy of access—in which the character 
 and actions to be pourtrayed, even by such 
 as form the lowest conception of them, are 
 beyond measure wonderful and engaging. 
 Hence, from the earliest Harmonies down to 
 the latest endeavours to put forth a well con- 
 nected series of the events and circumstances 
 of our Saviour’s Life, much valuable service 
 has been rendered to the interpretation of 
 the New Testament and to the cause of our 
 Holy Religion. Fresh light has been, from 
 time to time, thrown on the difficulties of the 
 Sacred Narrative: apparent discrepancies have 
 been reconciled ; alleged inconsistencies have 
 disappeared; and the devout Christian has 
 
SERMON I. ἢ 
 
 derived, from the labours of the learned, a 
 continually increasing power of commending 
 to the acceptance, even of the doubtful and 
 disputatious mind, the unexceptionable Me- 
 morials of the Founder of his faith. 
 
 I am far from intending to add one more 
 to the number of these laudable and useful 
 attempts. Such an undertaking is not well 
 suited to this place or occasion; and, if it 
 were so, would be less necessary in our Uni- 
 versity, where diligent care has, often in for- 
 mer times and recently in our own, been be- 
 stowed upon this inquiry. My intention 
 rather is to draw, from the Evangelical His- 
 tory, some of the leading illustrations and 
 instances, which it has been providentially 
 appointed to preserve, of the, “great mystery 
 “of Godliness—Gop manifest in the flesh".” 
 My endeavour will be to apply to practice 
 the Christian doctrine on the union in our 
 Savrour’s person, of the Divine with the human 
 nature, by bringing into distinct notice not 
 indeed formal statements on the subject, but 
 some of the principal facts, events and circum- 
 stances of the four Gospels, in which that 
 great doctrine is assumed, and, if I may so 
 speak, exhibited in action. 
 
 I am well aware, that the high argument 
 
 h 1 Tim. ii. 16. 
 B 4 
 
8 SERMON I, 
 
 with which my design is connected, little re- 
 quires the aid of any fresh advocate. “ The 
 “ Divinity of our Lorp and Saviour, JEsus 
 “ Curist,” is a subject, for the consideration 
 of which, the Institution of this Lecture has, 
 in express terms, provided; and to which, ac- 
 cordingly, the talents and learning of several 
 of my predecessors have been usefully direct- 
 ed. Room is however left for subordinate, 
 although they may be feebler, efforts; and 
 the following remarks will shew the nature 
 and amount of the advantage proposed, on 
 the present occasion, to be sought from an 
 uncontroversial study of the Holy Gospels. 
 For weak and imperfect creatures, such as 
 we find ourselves to be, endowed indeed with 
 intellectual, moral and spiritual faculties, but 
 impeded in the exercise of those faculties by 
 a material body, their allotted vehicle and in- 
 strument; surrounded also by external ob- 
 jects, that suit our appetites and gratify our 
 senses; for creatures, like ourselves, thus cir- 
 cumstanced, one of the most difficult of all 
 efforts is, to withdraw our thoughts from the 
 works of Gop, and fix them steadily on the 
 mighty Work-master, the Author, the Pre- 
 server and the Governor of all that is within 
 us and around us. “ Lo! He goeth by us, 
 “and we see Him not: He passeth on also, 
 
SERMON I. 9 
 
 “but we perceive him not'.”. Even when some 
 determined exertion of the mind has been 
 made, and has proved not altogether unsuc- 
 cessful, there is danger lest the result should 
 be a cold, barren, unpractical speculation ; or 
 an awful impression, thrilling for the soul, 
 while it shall last, likely soon to fail; and cal- 
 culated, even during its short continuance, 
 rather to alienate the affections from a Being 
 so tremendous than to attract and win the 
 heart. 
 
 The universal tendency of fallen man to 
 idolatry sets this difficulty in a clear light. 
 In every age and every region, he has embo- 
 died such notions as tradition may have con- 
 veyed or reason have suggested, of the Divine 
 Being and attributes, in gross, earthly forms, 
 perceptible and tangible; and thus he has 
 hoped to keep alive in his own bosom and in 
 the breasts of others, some sense of that Su- 
 preme authority, to which he acknowledges 
 the duty of submission. The attempt is vain 
 —the hope deceitful; for the result has ever 
 been what adistinguished Father of the Church 
 has well called—“a godless multiplicity of 
 “ gods},” a real and practical forgetfulness 
 and oversight of the true Gop. 
 
 It pleased the Atmicuty and ALL-wISsE 
 
 i Job ix. 11. j Note C, 
 
10 SERMON I. 
 
 Jenovan, in placing one chosen nation under 
 
 a peculiar dispensation, to provide against the 
 common danger in this respect, by adopting 
 an extraordinary system of direct and fre- 
 quent interference, whereby His presence and 
 superintendence might be indubitably ascer- 
 tained; whilst, at the same time, He with- 
 
 held all such manifestation of His glory, as 
 
 might afford occasion or excuse for material 
 
 representation. “'The Lorp spake unto you 
 
 ςς 
 
 - 
 -- 
 
 out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the 
 voice of the words, but saw no similitude; 
 only ye heard a voice. ‘Take ye therefore 
 good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no 
 manner of similitude on the day that the 
 Lorp spake unto you in Horeb, out of the 
 midst of the fire; lest ye corrupt yourselves, 
 and make you a graven image, the simili- 
 tude of any figure, the likeness of male or 
 female, the likeness of any beast that is on 
 the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl 
 that flieth in the air, the likeness of any 
 
 ‘thing that creepeth on the ground, the like- 
 
 ness of any fish that is in the waters be- 
 neath the earth ; and lest thou lift up thine 
 eyes unto heaven; and when thou seest the 
 sun and the moon and the stars, even all the 
 host of heaven, shouldest be driven to wor- 
 ship them, and serve them, which the Lorp 
 
SERMON I. 11 
 
 “thy Gop, hath divided unto all nations, 
 “under the whole heaven‘.” Notwithstanding 
 these precautions—notwithstanding prohibi- 
 tions thus plain and express—in spite of the 
 scheme of the Theocracy, in the beginning 
 of their national independence ; and the con- 
 tinuance during the gradual decline of the 
 Theocracy, and through the whole period of 
 their national existence, of a system of rites, 
 ceremonies and ordinances, well adapted to 
 carry into all the transactions of private and 
 ordinary life an abiding sense of the presence 
 and authority of Gopo—the descendants of 
 Abraham often betrayed the degenerate ten- 
 dency of the common race of Adam; and, by 
 their actions, loudly declared: “!We will be 
 “as the heathen, as the families of the coun- 
 “ tries, to serve wood and stone™.” In the con- 
 summation of the Law by the Gospel; in that 
 system of “grace and truth,” which followed 
 “the law given by Moses and which came by 
 “« Jesus CurisT®,” we are called to observe a 
 striking contrast between the Old and the New 
 Dispensation, of superior means for accom- 
 plishing the same end. “Gop, who at sundry 
 “ times and in divers manners spake in time 
 “ past unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath, 
 
 k Deut. iv. 12, 15—19. ! Ezek. xx. 32. 
 m Note D. n St. John 1. 16, 17. 
 
12 SERMON I. 
 
 “in these last days, spoken unto us by His 
 “Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all 
 “ things.” “The Word was made flesh, and 
 “ dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, 
 “the glory as of the only begotten of the 
 “ Father,) full of grace and truth’.” In this 
 arrangement of the Divine wisdom and good- 
 ness, is made a suitable provision for the 
 wants—by this astonishing Dispensation is 
 afforded an effectual help, for the weakness 
 of our moral and spiritual nature’. And of 
 the Holy Gospels, the divinely ordained means 
 of announcing and publishing this arrange- 
 ment and this dispensation to the world, it is 
 one chief purpose—one main end and office, 
 to place within constant reach of man the 
 provision and the help, of which he is, and 
 ever will be in need. If we rightly under- 
 stand and duly use, our Christian privilege, 
 we are allowed to see Gop, no longer by dim 
 analogy; nor darkly through the ill-reflecting 
 mirror of human reasoning and deduction, 
 but substantially revealed, in the Person of 
 His well-beloved Son, in whom “ 'dwelleth all 
 “ the fulness of the GopueEap bodily*®.” The 
 Divine Majesty is thus veiled, without being 
 in any degree sullied. The awe and reve- 
 
 ° Heb.1. 1, 2. P St. John i. 14. 
 4 Note E. Y Con ἢν DS: 5 Note F. 
 
SERMON I. 13 
 
 rence, which the presence of Gop is fitted to 
 inspire, are tempered and moderated by a 
 sense of His condescension to our low estate. 
 His attributes of justice and of benevolence, 
 which most nearly concern us, as subjects of 
 His moral government, are rendered dis- 
 tinctly intelligible; and are shewn to be exer- 
 cised towards us on principles that are in 
 strict accordance with the apprehensions of 
 our minds and the sentiments of our hearts; 
 whilst His attributes of power, of knowledge 
 and of purity, (attributes, on the first disco- 
 very of which weak, sinful and dependent 
 beings may well shudder,) are so brought near 
 and so benignantly accommodated to our 
 thoughts and feelings, as to encourage our re- 
 liance on them, and our hope of being bene- 
 fited by them. Thus is it that, on the most 
 momentous of all subjects—on the first prin- 
 ciple of all true religion—we are secured 
 against the danger of running, on the one 
 hand, into cold, philosophical abstractions ; 
 and, on the other, into gross conceptions; 
 into low, unworthy, and debasing practices. 
 But in order to gain this security, in order to 
 avail ourselves of this, our lofty privilege, it 
 becomes necessary to dwell, with fixed atten- 
 tion, on the Gospel narratives; and to con- 
 template, with steadfast eye, the adorable 
 
14 SERMON I. 
 
 Person and the wonderful actions of the Son 
 of Gop, who was also the Son of man. We 
 must form the habit of listening, with a quick, 
 intelligent and willing ear, to His engaging 
 eloquence. We must take pains to trace His 
 unwearied footsteps, in His journeyings of 
 charity through Judza, Samaria and Galilee. 
 We must observe, and, in observing, pause to 
 admire, the ever wakeful activity of His bene- 
 ficence, the mild majesty of His demeanour, 
 the firmness of His patience, the simplicity, 
 the beauty, the practical wisdom and power- 
 ful efficiency of the lessons, which He taught. 
 Then are the hearts of His faithful followers 
 most likely to burn within them—to glow 
 with a devout and holy satisfaction in what 
 they have already learned, and with an eager 
 curiosity to learn yet more—when “ He,” 
 through the medium of the Gospels, as it were, 
 again “ talks with them by the way, and opens 
 “to them the Scriptures '.” Through that me- 
 dium especially, are we invited and encou- 
 raged to “make ourselves acquainted with 
 “ Gop, and be at peace."” By becoming fami- 
 liar with those scenes, in which the incarnate 
 Word relieved the wants, soothed the sorrows, 
 and entered into the secret thoughts and feel- 
 ings of the companions and hearers, by whom 
 
 t St. Luke xxiv. 32. u Job xxn. 21. 
 
SERMON I. 15 
 
 He was surrounded, are we to gain a just con- 
 ception—a conception that can be applied and 
 used, of the goodness, the omnipresence and 
 the all-pervading influence of Gop. The soft 
 and tender tones of mercy, which, in the Gos- 
 pels, pronounce the sentence of forgiveness of 
 sins—the uncomplaining, yet touching notices, 
 therein preserved, of trials undergone, of con- 
 tumely borne, of privations and sufferings en- 
 dured, for the sake, not of the meek and mer- 
 ciful Redeemer Himself, but of sinners, way- 
 ward and perverse—His persecutors and His 
 murderers; these are intended and well cal- 
 culated to convey to our inmost souls a lowly 
 hope of reconciliation with Gop, even for our- 
 selves, to be effected by the interference of 
 “the one Mediator between Gop and man, 
 “the man Curisr Jesus*.” By us the pre- 
 cepts of the Divine Law are to be understood, 
 as they are graciously interpreted in the Dis- 
 courses of our Lorp; and to be obeyed, as 
 they are in the same Discourses enforced by 
 the most cogent motives, the most persuasive 
 addresses to each feeling of admiration, grati- 
 tude and love. In the prayers, which He of- 
 fered to His Father; above all, in that hal- 
 lowed form of prayer, which He prescribed 
 for the use of His disciples, we are to learn 
 χα πὴ aa 
 
10 SERMON I. 
 
 the duty and the privilege of Prayer’. When 
 He speaks at once of the omniscience and 
 the omnipotence of Gon, and of the absolute 
 necessity of prayer—when He thus combines 
 the attributes of Gop and the duty of man, 
 which a short-sighted philosophy has often 
 deemed irreconcilable with each other—we 
 are called to remember and to confess that 
 we are listening to a Teacher, who speaks 
 “as one having authority and not as the 
 “ Scribes? ;” that, as “the only begotten Son, 
 “ which is in the bosom of the Father*,’ He 
 has, in this instance, “ declared the Father” 
 —explained His dealings, and given an ac- 
 count of His dispensations?. 
 
 Nor let it be said that the duty and the 
 advantage of having recourse to the Gospel 
 History, for purposes like these, are too well 
 known and too universally acknowledged to 
 need any special enforcement or any express 
 guidance and direction. It may justly be 
 feared that such is far from being the case. 
 It may reasonably be doubted whether or 
 not, in some former ages of the Church, there 
 have been found—whether or not, in the 
 present age, there are found, the kind and 
 the degree of interest in the Evangelical Re- 
 
 y Note G. z St. Matt. vn. 29. 
 a St. John i. 18. b Note H. 
 
SERMON I. 17 
 
 cords, which it will be the object of these 
 Lectures to awaken and keep alive. The 
 Holy Gospels have undoubtedly been sifted 
 with a jealous anxiety, of which the history 
 of Literature scarcely affords any parallel in- 
 stance. The scruples of friends and the sus- 
 picions of enemies; the acumen of learned 
 critics, professing an entire indifference re- 
 specting what they contemptuously call Dog- 
 mas of faith, and actuated by curiosity alone; 
 the arts of wily and insidious adversaries ; 
 the attacks of open and avowed assailants ; 
 all have contributed towards the severity of 
 that ordeal, to which the Memorials of our 
 Lorp and Saviour have been subjected. 
 Nor is it possible to reflect on the earlier 
 dangers of suppression, depravation and cor- 
 ruption, to which they were exposed, or on 
 the daring speculations, for which they have 
 in modern times furnished occasion, without 
 being led thankfully to acknowledge that 
 vigilance of the Christian Church, which, 
 under the good Providence of Gop, has suc- 
 ceeded in preserving the sacred treasure and 
 in handing it down, from age to age, unmuti- 
 lated and unimpaired. There is matter for 
 farther thankfulness in the consideration 
 that the very difficulties, which, from the 
 nature of the case, have unavoidably beset 
 c 
 
18 SERMON I. 
 
 a written History, have been over-ruled for 
 good. As, in ancient times, the existence of 
 spurious or altered Gospels and the attempts 
 to pass them current, had the effect of ren- 
 dering unambiguous and undoubted the evi- 
 dence in favour of the genuine and authentic 
 writings of the Evangelists; so, in our own 
 times, the numerous questions that have 
 arisen and have been warmly agitated, re- 
 specting the original sources, the inspiration, 
 the language, the comparative merits of the 
 Four Gospels, have been followed by the ex- 
 cellent result of so attracting and employing 
 the various faculties of the human mind as 
 to arrest and fix attention; and of fixed at- 
 tention the farther result has generally been 
 and surely will be, for each well trained and 
 judicious inquirer, to impart an increased 
 confidence in referring to witnesses, distinct 
 yet harmonious—to reporters of the same 
 events and circumstances, marvellously agree- 
 ing in the main, yet so far differing as to 
 shew plainly that their general agreement 
 was without concert or collusion. From re- 
 searches of the deepest interest, in which he 
 has been engaged, the student at length rises, 
 abundantly satisfied with regard to the chief 
 subject of his inquiry ; and having moreover 
 gained the incidental advantage of impress- 
 
SERMON I. 19 
 
 ing on his memory and engraving on his 
 heart the occurrences and the lessons of the 
 most important of all Histories. And among 
 these lessons are doubtless included many, 
 which put prominently forward the combina- 
 tion, in the Person of our Lorn, of Divine 
 perfections with human virtues; many, which 
 shew, not in the vivid colouring of Prophetic 
 description, but in the energy of life and ac- 
 tion, “the high and lofty One that inhabit- 
 “eth eternity, whose name is Holy, dwelling 
 “also with him that is of a contrite and 
 “humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the 
 “ humble, and to revive the heart of the con- 
 “trite ones®.” True as this statement 15 of 
 the collateral and, as it were, incidental ad- 
 vantage, which attends even the critical exa- 
 mination of the Holy Gospels, when it is un- 
 dertaken and carried on with sincerity, in a 
 serious temper and by competent ability; it 
 may still be contended that far less fre- 
 quently than was either to be expected or to 
 be desired, have the Gospels been approached 
 and surveyed as a conspicuous portion of that 
 “matchless Temple, in which the Derry is 
 “ preached and adored ;” and that far too 
 seldom have they been examined and em- 
 ployed, for the express and designed end of 
 ¢ Ts. lvn. 15. 
 ew 
 
90 SERMON I. 
 
 “ increasing the awe and exciting the devo- 
 “tion” of the lowly worshipper’. 
 
 On the present occasion then it 15. pro- 
 posed that “ disputes and questions, enemies 
 “to piety, abatements of true devotion and 
 “hitherto in this cause but over-patiently 
 “heard, shall for a while take their rest®.’” 
 Heresy will be, not so much confuted, as an- 
 ticipated and excluded. An endeavour will be 
 made so to store the mind with sound and 
 wholesome doctrine and so to bring home 
 that doctrine in all its practical bearings on 
 the heart and conduct, in respect at least of 
 one grand and influential verity, that “ there 
 “may be no place left, either for error in re- 
 “ ligion or for viciousness in life.” Against 
 the vain love of discovery and theory on sub- 
 jects too lofty for the reach, too dark for the 
 penetration of man—against the fatal ten- 
 dency to be misled by plausible but shallow 
 conceits and notions—against a fond indul- 
 gence in subtle refinements and in perplex- 
 ing niceties of speculation—against error, 
 alike in its earlier and in its later forms; a 
 security will be sought in the plain letter of 
 the Sacred Narrative—in the affecting, yet 
 simple statements, which the pages of the 
 
 4 Note I. ς Hooker’s Eccles. Pol. V. 67. 
 ' Exhortation in the Form for the Ordering of Priests. 
 
SERMON I. 21 
 
 Holy Gospels contain. Had the curious and 
 restless temper of our race submitted to this 
 salutary control, had men been satisfied with 
 that truth, which has been revealed for their 
 information and comfort,the Christian Church 
 would have been spared the misfortune and 
 the misery of witnessing many serious evils 
 that have disturbed her peace and diminished 
 her influence. The annals of primitive and 
 even Apostolical times would not then have 
 had to record an occasional denial of the pro- 
 per Divinity—a more frequent denial of the 
 real humanity, of our Lorp and Saviours— 
 the annals of the succeeding ages would not 
 have related such attempts to reconcile the 
 notion of His distinct Personality with the 
 doctrine of the Divine unity or to explain 
 the union of the two natures in His Person 
 as ended—as indeed could not but end—in 
 inextricable confusion of thought and lan- 
 guage ; nor would they have furnished so 
 many proofs as they now unhappily contain 
 of a rashness which boldly intruded into the 
 sanctuary of the presence of the Most Hicu 
 —and presumed confidently to decide the 
 subtlest questions that could arise respecting 
 His essence and attributes. Neither would 
 the more recent history of the Church, have 
 
 & Note K. 
 623 
 
22 SERMON I. 
 
 been disfigured by accounts of unprofitable 
 discussions and dogmatical decisions, at direct 
 variance with each other; sometimes, on mo- 
 mentous questions, concerning the Person 
 and ministry of our Lorn, which affect the 
 whole scheme of Christian doctrine ; at other 
 times, on minor points, connected with the 
 same great subject, which admit not of being 
 settled by any efforts of human ingenuity or 
 of being applied to practice, and which there- 
 fore, in spite of the exaggerations of party 
 zeal, on the one side and on the other, must 
 be pronounced to be, after all, indifferent. 
 Had the Gospel History been thoroughly 
 learned and candidly apprehended and _ac- 
 cepted, a large portion of Christendom would 
 not have been still disgraced and disadvan- 
 taged by a machinery of intercessors, of 
 images and of relics, which bars the approach 
 of sinners towards the throne of Gop, and 
 places serious obstacles in their way, as often 
 as they sue for “mercy” and seek “grace to 
 “help in time of need':” nor, under the 
 purer forms of Protestantism, would there 
 have been found that extreme difficulty, 
 which still exists, of realizing the Divine Pre- 
 sence and of “ enduring, as seeing Him, who 
 “ is invisible.” | 
 
 h Note L. ' Heb. iv. 16, k Heb. xi. 27. 
 
SERMON I. 23 
 
 There remains yet another view, under 
 which I am desirous of recommending my 
 present Design to your favourable notice. 
 That our Lorw is the perfect exemplar of 
 His Church, is a truth universally acknow- 
 ledged ; and that to become so was one end 
 of His appearance upon earth will scarcely 
 be denied by any Christian. In the midst of 
 this general agreement, however, there exist 
 wide differences of opinion; and on a point, 
 which, at first sight, appears manifest and 
 incontrovertible, misapprehensions and mis- 
 takes have prevailed that call for our caution, 
 watchfulness and care. Some insist that to 
 furnish a pattern of piety and virtue and to 
 supply the most solemn attestation in their 
 favour, were the highest purposes of our 
 blessed Savrour’s life, sufferings and death. 
 His moral and religious lessons these persons 
 profess to value, as being in harmony with 
 His own conduct; as deriving illustration 
 and practical influence from His actions ; 
 and as serving, in their turn, to throw light 
 upon the scenes, in which He vouchsafed to 
 be present. In Him they behold such an 
 union, as they can perceive in no other in- 
 stance, of strictness of rule with undeviating 
 practice; of unbending firmness of principle 
 and precept with a correspondent exactness 
 
 c 4 
 
94. SERMON I. 
 
 of manners and behaviour. In the meantime, 
 they overlook the sublimer mysteries of Re- 
 demption; as they dwell not on the grandeur 
 of the achievements of the Son of Gop, in 
 behalf of the race of man, so neither do they 
 contemplate that union in His Person of the 
 Divine with the human nature, by virtue of 
 which He is in Holy Scripture represented 
 to have effected those achievements. 
 
 Others, conversant with the details of 
 Evangelical doctrine, as those details have 
 been drawn from Holy Scripture and _ ar- 
 ranged in one well-compacted system, confess 
 indeed that they too see, in the Divine Re- 
 deemer, a copy of each excellence, at which 
 it is their duty to aim. They hear His voice, 
 which loudly, yet with winning tenderness, 
 bids them “learn of Him” and follow the ex- 
 ample of His “ meekness and lowliness of 
 “heart! ;’ and they declare their resolute 
 purpose to comply with the command. But 
 the real tendency of their minds is in an- 
 other direction. They are fond of fixing 
 their thoughts and their hopes chiefly on the 
 great work, which Jesus Curist accomplished 
 for mankind; the faith in Him, which they 
 endeavour to cherish, is a simple reliance on 
 His sufferings, regarded as vicarious; on His 
 
 | St. Matt. x1. 29, 
 
SERMON I. 25 
 
 meritorious cross and passion; on His pre- 
 cious death and His prevailing intercession. 
 Now it is conceived that both of these op- 
 posite parties require equally to be reminded 
 that there is a way of contemplating the 
 Holy Gospels, which they have too much 
 neglected. The former class of persons need 
 to be admonished that, in the Person and 
 character of our Lorp, are displayed the imi- 
 table attributes of Gop, which by virtue of 
 their mysterious connection with the sinless 
 yet sympathizing nature of man are brought 
 down to the level of our perceptions. They 
 are to be told that through Him we can best 
 learn what is that perfection of virtue, in 
 which we are by Himself exhorted to become 
 like our Father, which is in heaven; and that 
 then only are His human virtues likely to 
 exert their full and transforming influence 
 over our souls, when we behold them in their 
 just relation to the glory of His Gopueap. 
 Such must have been the impression, under 
 which St. Paul charged the Philippians to 
 “let this mind be in them, which was also in 
 “Curist Jesus™’—for, having given this 
 charge, he immediately insists upon that stu- 
 pendous proof of condescension and humility, 
 
 m Phil. 1]. 5. 
 
26 SERMON I. 
 
 which was afforded by concealing under “ the 
 “ form of a servant and the likeness of men,” 
 that nature, in which He was “ equal with 
 “Gop.” It is clear that St. Paul founds the 
 precept here given on the principle that our 
 attempts to imitate even His lowly temper, 
 depend, for their success, upon keeping in 
 view the Divine glory of our Pattern®. Nor 
 can we be surprised that they who forget this 
 principle of the inspired Apostle, and who, in 
 denying or overlooking the Divine nature and 
 essential dignity of our Lorn, profess an in- 
 tention of magnifying the importance and 
 increasing the value of His hwman example, 
 are disappointed of their hope. Their griev- 
 ous error returns upon themselves; and by 
 lowering their conceptions of the Savrour’s 
 majesty, they, in fact, diminish the useful- 
 ness—they really detract from the influence, 
 of His high and holy example. 
 
 Again, the second class of persons require 
 to be cautioned against attaching undue im- 
 portance to theoretical accuracy and system- 
 atic precision—against spoiling the simplicity 
 and tarnishing the lustre of the plan of sal- 
 vation by the devices of men. They are to 
 be roused to a just feeling of the indispen- 
 
 n Note M. 
 
SERMON I. 27 
 
 sable necessity, after all that has been done 
 jor them, of a great work, which is to be 
 effected within them—of a moral renewal 
 and a spiritual elevation, towards which, un- 
 der the promised agency of the Holy Spirit, 
 every possible aid will be wanted and must 
 be employed. Nor can they be more effec- 
 tually roused to this wholesome feeling, or 
 more happily guided and assisted, when they 
 are once under its influence, than by being 
 directed to form an intimate acquaintance 
 with the Gospel narratives; to renew once 
 more the scenes therein described ; and to 
 borrow from the Sacred page the lively image 
 of a Friend and an Instructor, hwman and 
 therefore suited to all the exigencies of daily 
 life; Divine, and therefore ever near at hand, 
 and “mighty to save°.” 
 
 It is unnecessary to add more by way of 
 introduction to that undertaking, which I 
 shall endeavour, in the ensuing Lectures, to 
 execute. For the present, therefore, I shall 
 content myself with expressing an earnest 
 hope that my attempts may be made, and 
 their results accepted, in the spirit, which 
 dictated to a bright ornament of the Western 
 Church, in the fifth century, the following 
 
 ° Ts. ΧΙ. 1. 
 
98 SERMON I. 
 
 language: “ Let the weakness of man ever 
 “ sink under the burden of telling the glory 
 “ of Gop, and own itself unequal to the task 
 “ of unfolding the works of His mercy. Dull 
 “in perception, slow in talent, wanting in 
 “ eloquence for such a theme, let us make 
 “our utmost efforts, and we shall still find 
 “that even our v7ght thoughts and feelings, 
 “ concerning the Majesty of our Lorp and 
 “ Saviour, will prove too lowP !” 
 
 P Note N. 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 
 
 ST. LUKE iv. 40. 
 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had 
 any sick with divers diseases brought them unto 
 
 him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, 
 and healed them. 
 
 ----»- 
 
 THE most cursory reader of the Gospels, in 
 casting only a superficial glance over their 
 contents, is compelled to take notice of the 
 Miracles, ascribed to our Lorp during His 
 ministry, and recorded, sometimes, in a brief 
 and comprehensive summary, like that of the 
 text; at other times and more frequently, in 
 detailed and circumstantial narratives. It is 
 to this feature of the Evangelical History that 
 I purpose, on the present occasion, to draw 
 your attention. I intend to contemplate the 
 supernatural works performed-—the extraor- 
 dinary deeds of power and of mercy done by 
 Jesus Curist “ in the days of His flesh*”— 
 more especially with a view to ascertain what 
 indications they afford of the glory of His 
 a Heb. v. 7. 
 
90 SERMON II. 
 
 Divine nature—to mark how, through their 
 means, some rays of a Divine effulgence are 
 shed over His Person and actions—and finally, 
 to observe in what manner and to what de- 
 gree these instances, in which “ Himself took 
 “our infirmities and bare our sicknesses ”,” 
 may be applied to our consolation and sup- 
 port; how they may convey into our souls 
 an assurance of the presence of Gop with our- 
 selves, and may serve to shew that we too are 
 nearly interested in the display and the ope- 
 ration of the sublime attributes of the Mosr 
 Hien. Profiting by a suggestion of St. Au- 
 gustine, I shall “ ask of the very miracles of 
 “the Gospels what it is, which they speak 
 “ concerning Curist? They, if they be but 
 “ rightly understood, have a tongue of their 
 “own, and can speak. For, since Curisr 
 ‘ Himself is the Word of Gop, each deed of 
 “ Him, who is the Word, is to be by us 
 “ esteemed a Word from Gop *.” 
 
 The way however must be cleared by a few 
 preliminary remarks. The meaning of the 
 word miracles", so far as we are at present 
 
 . 
 
 concerned with it, may be assumed to be well- 
 known and universally granted. In the ac- 
 ceptation of works, surpassing human power 
 and addressing the senses of those who attest 
 
 b Matt. vin. 17. © Note O. 4 Note P. 
 
SERMON II. 91 
 
 them, this word has been and will continue 
 to be, understood, by every man of common 
 honesty, who knows the ordinary use of lan- 
 guage and has good sense enough to see that, 
 for the convenience of intercourse, he must 
 adhere to that use. That unbelievers them- 
 selves sometimes forget their own pretended 
 difficulties and objections, and the question- 
 ings and cavils, thence arising, is evident from 
 the fact that they are far from relying on 
 any niceties of definition, when they are 
 brought into actual conflict with their Chris- 
 tian opponents. They then choose rather to 
 adopt the method of denying altogether the 
 existence or of explaining away the charac- 
 teristics, of facts, which, as they are alleged 
 and stated to have taken place, they them- 
 selves do not hesitate to call miraculous. Now 
 it is to be observed that the name of miracles 
 is given to certain actions of our blessed Lorp, 
 in precisely the same sense, in which it is ap- 
 plied to certain works of Prophets, under the 
 Old Dispensation ; of Apostles and ‘Teachers, 
 under the Gospel; and that, in all cases, the 
 works, so called, are regarded and employed, 
 by the advocates of Revealed Religion, as 
 serving one and the same purpose of evi- 
 dence, in favour of the Divine commission of 
 those who perform them. Since this whole 
 
32 SERMON II. 
 
 subject is one, upon which some indistinct- 
 ness of conception is apt to lurk, even in 
 minds well-informed and for the most part 
 well-regulated, it becomes important that 
 every statement, with regard to it, should be 
 as clear, as explicit and as secure from the 
 danger of mistake, as language will allow. 
 Be it then remembered that mracles were 
 for our Saviour Curist, exactly what similar 
 works were for the Prophets, who preceded, 
 and for the Apostles and Preachers of the 
 Gospel, who followed, Himself. For Him and 
 for them, these wonderful works were cre- 
 dentials, proving them to be messengers from 
 Gop, shewing that Gop was with them, add- 
 ing the sanction and authority of Gop to all 
 those words and works of theirs, for which 
 they claimed such sanction and authority. 
 Accordingly, to all Scriptural miracles in com- 
 mon have belonged, the sure marks, the un- 
 doubted characteristics, the inseparable ac- 
 companiments of plain and palpable matters 
 of fact. As matters of fact, they were, at first, 
 fearlessly submitted to eye-witnesses; as such, 
 they were published, and recorded in writing, 
 at or soon after, the times:of their occur- 
 rence ; as such, they have been preserved and 
 handed down, through the instrumentality of 
 authentic History. Nor is it a difficult matter 
 
SERMON II. 33 
 
 to discover the suitableness of miracles to an- 
 swer that valuable end, which has been as- 
 signed to them*. In works, that display more 
 than human power and, at the same time, 
 are declared, by those who do them, to be 
 done expressly that they may indicate the 
 presence and the interference of Gop—in 
 such works are undoubtedly seen, so many 
 real tokens of the Divine presence and inter- 
 ference; for the human mind here argues 
 (and if there be security against fatal error in 
 ‘the reason, which the Creator has implanted 
 in us, it yustly argues) that Gop, the Gop of 
 holiness and truth, will not allow, for the 
 purposes of imposture, an abuse of His awful 
 name, or a subversion of the laws and order 
 of His natural government, on the part of 
 beings, of whatever rank, still created, infe- 
 rior and dependent; subject to His control 
 and ever placed at His entire disposal. Be- 
 yond proving a Divine commission and sanc- 
 tion, however, the direct argumentative force 
 of miracles does not go. Nor will the Chris- 
 tian student find cause for any serious un- 
 easiness, if he should be led to observe that 
 the miracles of Jesus Curist have not al- 
 ways, exactly in the way, in which we should 
 _ have expected, been urged even thus far, by 
 e Note ῷ. 
 D 
 
94 SERMON II. 
 
 those distinguished defenders of the Christian 
 cause, whose proximity to the life-time of our 
 Lorp might, at first sight, seem to render 
 likely a frequent recurrence to this particular 
 line of argument and a decided partiality for 
 it. Let it not be imagined or surmised that 
 the Fathers of the Church have preserved si- 
 lence, on the subject of the Gospel miracles ; 
 or have shrunk from the duty of maintaining 
 the reality of the facts of the Sacred History, 
 on all fit occasions. One golden fragment, 
 which Eusebius has preserved, is a specimen 
 of the contrast, that, in the earliest times, was 
 drawn between the works of our Saviour and 
 the practices of mere pretenders to extraor- 
 dinary powers'. “ Now the works of our Sa- 
 “viour were ever before the eyes of men; 
 “ for they were real; the persons, whose dis- 
 “ eases were healed ; they, who rose from the 
 “ dead—these were objects of sight, not only 
 “in the act of receiving cures and of rising ; 
 “but also, in their open continuance after- 
 “ wards among men; and this, not only while 
 “our Saviour sojourned upon earth, but af- 
 “ter His removal also; for they lived a con- 
 “ siderable while, so that some of them have 
 “ reached even my own times.” 
 
 Such are the words—the few, but precious 
 
 f Note R. 
 
SERMON II. ao 
 
 words—of a cotemporary and surviving scho- 
 lar of the Apostles ; the abruptness of their 
 commencement (for they begin with a con- 
 junction of contrast) puts before us, in a for- 
 cible manner, the nature of that whole pas- 
 sage of his Apology, from which they have 
 been torn; and gives us an affecting hint of 
 the kind of loss which we have, in this in- 
 stance, to deplore. Nor is this primitive 
 writer singular, in the notice, which he takes, 
 of the subject; or in the purpose, to which 
 he applies his just and discriminating view of 
 the case. It would be easy to collect an un- 
 interrupted series of testimonies to the same 
 effect, from his age downwards, until we 
 should reach that point of time in the Chris- 
 tian era, at which no farther interest would 
 be attached to the inquiry. Passages, which 
 have been sometimes quoted from the most 
 eminent Christian Apologists of the three 
 first centuries, (and the number of such pas- 
 sages might easily be increased) establish be- 
 yond contradiction their cordial acceptance 
 of and firm confidence in, the miracles of the 
 Gospel Historys. They often go so far as to 
 derive from those miracles direct proofs of 
 the Divine nature of Him who wrought 
 them. 
 8 Note 5. 
 D2 
 
90 SERMON II. 
 
 If, however, it be granted, that in some re- 
 markable instances they fall short of expecta- 
 tions which we may have formed; and ap- 
 pear to us to unfold this particular argument 
 less fully, or to insist on it less strongly than 
 we could have desired, we may rest assured 
 that their conduct was guided by a prudent 
 reference to those habits of thought, and pre- 
 possessions of their adversaries, of which we 
 can perceive the very distinct traces in their 
 own allusions, statements and answers. They 
 themselves knew well—they have often shewn 
 that they knew well—how to distinguish the 
 Christian miracles from the juggling tricks 
 and lying wonders of magic, and its kindred 
 arts: yet was it expedient that, in selecting 
 and enforcing their arguments, they should 
 advert to the blindness, which could not see 
 —to the perverseness and wilfulness, which 
 would not perceive, the manifest and striking 
 difference. Meanwhile, for any appearance 
 of omitting, or undervaluing the argument 
 from the miracles of our Lorn on the part of 
 Christians; for any insensibility to the nature 
 and efficacy of the same argument, on the 
 part of the enemies of Christianity, an abund- 
 ant compensation is made by the service, 
 which has, in this respect, been rendered to 
 ourselves and to the Church for ever. Our 
 
SERMON II. 37 
 
 certain knowledge—our satisfactory and en- 
 tire assurance of the reality of those miracu- 
 lous facts, on which our faith is founded, we 
 partly owe to the conspiring and coinciding 
 testimonies of both friends and foes, in the 
 early ages of Christianity. On all hands, the 
 facts are acknowledged ; the events in ques- 
 tion are allowed to have happened. ‘The 
 disputes turn rather on the character, the 
 sources and the ends of the works done, than 
 on the existence of the works themselves. 
 This is an observation of no small moment; 
 since it is impossible to doubt that such Jew- 
 ish objectors, as Trypho and his companions, 
 or such heathen adversaries as Celsus and 
 Porphyry would gladly and eagerly have 
 availed themselves of every possibility of im- 
 pugning facts, which it cost them much trouble 
 to explain away and to deprive of the force 
 of evidence. Had these acute and skilful 
 disputants adopted a different method; had 
 they ventured to deny the assertions and to 
 refute the statements of their Christian anta- 
 gonists, we should undoubtedly have received, 
 at the hands of the latter, a vindication well 
 suited to what would then have been the 
 posture of affairs—a vindication, to which 
 their abilities were fully competent, and for 
 which they were furnished with all requisite 
 D3 
 
98 SERMON II. 
 
 materials. But, under the actual cireum- 
 stances of the case, we are in possession of 
 proofs, which, if they cannot be called stronger, 
 are, at all events, simpler and less embarrassed 
 than they would otherwise have been; we 
 secure a firm hold of that only link in the 
 chain of evidence, which it was the office of 
 antiquity to supply; and, living ourselves in 
 an atmosphere of light, which the united in- 
 fluence of reason and of religion has cleared 
 of the mists of superstition and of the illu- 
 sions of a disordered imagination, we can 
 calmly behold and justly estimate the rela- 
 tions, tendencies and results of facts, con- 
 cerning which eye-witnesses were not more 
 certain than ourselves.— Never, indeed, ought 
 we to forget, that the complete and _ perfect 
 demonstration of the Mrssrau includes within 
 its ample range an astonishing variety of con- 
 siderations, and makes its loud and unanswer- 
 able appeal to every faculty of the mind and 
 every feeling of the heart of man; yet are 
 we also bound to remember, that it ultimately 
 and originally rests upon the solid and deeply- 
 laid foundations of Prophecy and Miracles— 
 of Prophecy, fulfilled in the Person and the 
 Life—ot Miracles, wrought by the power of, 
 Jesus Curist—miracles, which in themselves 
 and taken alone, are sufficient to prove—to 
 
SERMON II. 39 
 
 establish beyond reasonable doubt—not in- 
 deed more, yet certainly not less, than that 
 He came as a messenger from God. 
 
 It is when we proceed to hear the message 
 itself, which He brought from Heaven and 
 delivered upon earth, that we gain the power 
 of using the same miracles, in the way of 
 proof, for a still higher purpose. It is when 
 we listen to the doctrines which He, as a Di- 
 vinely sanctioned Instructor, laid down in His 
 Discourses, and proposed to the acceptance of 
 mankind, that we are enabled to connect His 
 deeds with a power, not imparted but essen- 
 tial; not supernatural merely, but Almighty. 
 When we find that, on one occasion, He was 
 understood to claim Gop for his Father, in 
 such sense as to make Himself equal with 
 Gop', and yet spake not one word, which im- 
 plied that His meaning had been mistaken ; 
 when, on another occasion, we are informed 
 of his clear statement, “1 and my Father are 
 “ one'”—and of the effect of that statement 
 on the minds of his hearers, who “took up 
 “ stones to stone him',” and to His mild ex- 
 postulation replied, “For a good work we 
 “ stone thee not, but for blasphemy ; and be- 
 “ cause that Thou, being a man, makest thy- 
 
 h St. John v. 17,18. i St. John x. 30. 
 
 k St.John x. 31. 33. 
 
 D 4 
 
40 SERMON II. 
 
 “self Gop ;”’ and when we learn that the 
 statement was neither retracted, nor so ex- 
 plained as to lose its offensive character ; 
 since, after all that He had said, “they sought 
 “again to take Him'’—when, in short, we 
 discover that such were among the promi- 
 nent lessons of our Lorp’s ministry—then 
 are we fairly warranted in drawing, even 
 from His miracles, a decisive proof of His 
 proper Divinity™. He has Himself expressly 
 declared that He is Gop. ‘The declaration 
 is one of the most solemn of all those, which 
 He made in His office of “a Teacher come 
 “from God;” and, as such, “ doing miracles, 
 “ which no man can do, except Gop be with 
 “him ®;” and every declaration made under 
 circumstances like these, we are bound to be- 
 lieve. The direct and immediate proof here 
 consists of our SAvrouR’s own assertions; but 
 miracles impart to His assertions their weight 
 and value in the scale of evidence. And thus 
 is it, that the miraculous works of the Son of 
 man may be alleged as indirect and mediate, 
 yet valid proofs even of His Divine nature. 
 If I have exposed myself to the charge of 
 dwelling too long on considerations that can- 
 not but be familiar to the minds of many 
 and that are only introductory to my main 
 
 | St. John x. 39. m Note T. n St. John iii. 2. 
 
SERMON II. 41 
 
 design, I must own that I have deliberately 
 done so. ‘The suggestions, which I am about 
 to offer, relate to such secondary use and 
 application of the Gospel Miracles as can be 
 properly and safely made only by those, who 
 thoroughly understand and constantly keep 
 in mind the grand and primary intent and 
 purpose of those Miracles. 
 
 By insisting therefore strongly on the latter 
 point, I have endeavoured to guard, from 
 the first, against any confusion of thought, 
 on the Christian evidences, which might other- 
 wise arise ; and to discountenance an opinion, 
 which has not been—which is not without its 
 favourers, that the cause of our Holy Reli- 
 gion may be supported by what is called in- 
 ternal evidence, and may be left to stand 
 without any acknowledged dependence on 
 the basis of reasoning—of such sound reason- 
 ing as addresses the understanding and satis- 
 fies every demand of that master faculty. 
 
 The everlasting welfare of man is involved 
 in his religious hopes and persuasions; nor 
 were it fitting that interests so momentous, 
 should be intrusted to the fluctuations of feel- 
 ing, the uncertainty of a lively imagination 
 or the caprice of fancy. For the religious 
 wants of our nature, a far better provision 
 has been made; and the means of a firm con- 
 
49 SERMON II. 
 
 viction, resting on the immovable ground of 
 solid argument, have been abundantly sup- 
 plied. Numerous indeed are the instances, 
 to be found within the Christian Church, of 
 an unquestioning faith and a simple-hearted 
 reliance, which supersede the anxiety and la- 
 bours of investigation. Such faith and such 
 reliance are theblessed result of early train- 
 ing and the first reward of holiness of life. 
 Meanwhile, ample materials for a full inves- 
 tigation are known to be at hand; and un- 
 der an abiding assurance of this truth, every 
 Christian is invited to apply to the Sacred 
 Scriptures, in general, and to the Holy Gos- 
 pels, in particular, an exactness of inspection, 
 which daily practice will improve; whilst a 
 discovery of many internal proofs of Reve- 
 lation and of many illustrations of its lead- 
 ing doctrines, which were at first hidden from 
 his eyes, will soon repay his diligence. It 
 becomes his privilege to occupy a citadel, 
 whose situation and whose outworks bid de- 
 fiance to the assault of external foes; and to 
 dwell in an abode of safety and of peace, 
 whose unfrequented pathways he may ex- 
 plore, without fear of interruption—whose 
 fertility and beauty he may enjoy with a 
 never-failing freshness of delight. The far- 
 ther his researches are carried, the more will 
 
SERMON ILI. 43 
 
 new views of the excellence and harmony of 
 Divine truth open before him; and in these 
 opening views he will find the welcome con- 
 firmations of his faith—the means of remov- 
 ing doubts, of elucidating obscurities, of dis- 
 entangling perplexities, and of silencing the 
 voice of forward disputation. 
 
 It is to a research of this kind that I now 
 at length proceed; and, in pursuance of the 
 plan I have proposed, look for such indica- 
 tions of the Divine nature and Majesty as the 
 Miracles of our Lorp and Saviour, recorded 
 in the Gospels, may afford. My design ad- 
 mits not of being commenced, until the mira- 
 culous facts themselves have been allowed— 
 have served their proper ends of evidence— 
 and have assisted in establishing that great 
 doctrine of our Lorn’s Divinity, which I also 
 assume as, on other grounds, settled and 
 proved, before I approach the subject. 
 
 Now it may be, in the first place, remarked 
 that such indications as we seek, are before- 
 hand likely to be found. If there be indeed 
 that awful interval, which the voice of In- 
 spiration declares, between the messengers 
 and ministers of the human race, whom Gop 
 has been pleased to employ, and “ His Son, 
 “the brightness of His glory, the express 
 “image of His person, and upholding all 
 
4“ SERMON II. 
 
 “things by the word of His power °’—is it 
 not probable that some characteristic differ- 
 ences of manner, of action and of language 
 between Him and them, should impress on 
 His miracles a note of the vast—the infinite 
 superiority ? In agreement with this ante- 
 cedent probability, it has happened that mira- 
 culous powers were altogether withheld from 
 St. John the Baptist, the immediate forerun- 
 ner of our Lorn—the Elias of the New Tes- 
 tament—that illustrious messenger of Gop, 
 who was “more than a Prophet; than whom, 
 “among them that are born of women, there 
 “ had not risen a greater?.” If, in his instance, 
 one proof that his successor was “ mightier 
 “ than he, whose shoes he was not worthy to 
 “ bear ‘—the latchet of whose shoes he was 
 “not worthy to stoop down and unloose "’— 
 if, I say, one proof of St. John’s inferiority 
 was seen in the absence of miracles from his 
 ministry ; we may be confirmed in our ex- 
 pectation of finding in other instances, where 
 supernatural powers have been granted, some 
 marks of inferiority, in connection with their 
 exercise. Nor will it be denied that upon 
 the minds of most readers of the Gospel His- 
 tory has been produced some vague and ge- 
 
 © Heb.1.3. ΡΞ Matt.xi. 9.11.14. 9 St. Matt. m. 11. 
 ' St. Mark 1. 7. 
 
SERMON II. 45 
 
 neral impression of the superiority of our 
 Lorp, in respect of power and dignity, over 
 other workers of miracles, whether before or 
 after Himself. There is however one remark- 
 able passage, in which our great Teacher may 
 seem to warn us that such an impression is 
 wrong—that no such comparative view of 
 Himself and His Apostles can be rightly en- 
 tertained. St. John relates that Jesus, in His 
 last affecting conversation with His disciples 
 before He “went forth over the brook Ce- 
 “dron and entered the garden of Gethse- 
 “ mane ᾽ν uttered that promise of extraordi- 
 nary powers, which the Evangelists represent 
 Him to have given in plain terms on other 
 occasions : “Verily, verily, I say unto you: He 
 “ that believeth on me, the works that I do, 
 “shall he do also, and greater works than 
 “these shall he do, because I go unto my 
 “ Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in 
 “my name, that will I do, that the Father 
 “may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall 
 “ask any thing in my name, 1 will do 10“. 
 In these verses may be discerned the same 
 promise, which is elsewhere conveyed almost 
 in the same terms. But here is found a fea- 
 ture of comparison not elsewhere to be ob- 
 served. “ The works that I do, shall he do 
 
 s St. John xvi. 1. t St. John xiv. 12. 
 
40 SERMON II. 
 
 “also; and greater works than these shall 
 “he do.’ The expression “ works,” imtro- 
 duced into the latter clause of our transla- 
 tion, has no corresponding word in the ori- 
 ginal; and it may be safely said that the na- 
 tural interpretation, for one who reads the 
 Greek text without prepossession,is as follows : 
 “ The very works that I do, shall he do also ; 
 “and results, yet greater than these works, 
 “ shall he produce".” By this interpretation, 
 we are relieved from the difficult task, which 
 many commentators have deemed themselves 
 obliged to undertake, of seeking, in the mi- 
 racles of the Apostles, such marks as might, 
 in some sort and in some sense, exalt them 
 above those of their Master ; by the same in- 
 terpretation, we are left at perfect liberty 
 to pursue that train of reflection, upon which 
 we are now entering. In the marvellous 
 works, performed by the Apostles and their 
 companions, we perceive the fulfilment of 
 one clause of our blessed Saviour’s promise ; 
 whilst in the end which those works pro- 
 moted and to which they were subservient, 
 namely, the moral and spiritual improvement 
 of mankind—the regeneration of the world— 
 we behold that yet greater—that far more 
 important, vesu/t, of which He also spake. 
 « Note U. 
 
SERMON II. 47 
 
 As the end is greater than the means; as the 
 effect is more valuable than the instrument, 
 through which it has been produced; so was 
 that conversion of Jews and Gentiles to His 
 religion, which He anticipated and foretold, 
 justly reckoned and fitly called by Jesus 
 Curistr a result of the Divine interference 
 still greater—more valuable and more im- 
 portant than even His own display of mira- 
 culous agency. 
 
 When from a general acknowledgment 
 and admiration of our Lorp’s superiority 
 over other workers of miracles, however dis- 
 tinguished, we pass to a consideration of 
 the particular points in which that supe- 
 riority was displayed, we can scarcely fail, 
 in the very outset of the inquiry, to be 
 struck with the number and the variety of 
 His astonishing deeds. ‘These circumstances 
 alone have in them something very remark- 
 able and are well deserving of our especial 
 notice. As we read the Gospel History, we 
 are apt to forget into how narrow a space of 
 time its occurrences were crowded. When, 
 by an effort of attention, we have recalled 
 to our recollection the real state of the case— 
 when we calmly reflect that the public life 
 and ministry of Jesus Curisr were compre- 
 hended within the limits of three years at 
 
48 SERMON II. 
 
 the utmost, we are ready to own that the 
 glory, which He manifested forth in His mi- 
 racles shone so continuously as to throw a 
 lustre over every path He trod—over every 
 abode, where He condescended to take up 
 even His temporary home.—If such be the 
 impression, fairly and naturally received from 
 the history, which we read;—from the details 
 of narratives, with which we are favoured; how 
 much more deeply must the same impression 
 be made upon our minds, when we consider 
 that we have before us, in the Evangelical 
 Records, only a selection out of the whole 
 number of our Saviour’s deeds of power. 
 There are many brief and incidental notices, 
 which clearly intimate that the selection is, 
 in fact, a very limited one; and that the 
 number of wnecorded miracles far surpasses 
 that of those, which have been minutely re- 
 lated. Thus, St. John, in connection with the 
 beginning of the ministry of our Lorp and 
 on the occasion of His attendance at Jeru- 
 salem, for the First Passover of His public 
 life, says, “ When He was in Jerusalem, at the 
 “ Passover, in the feast-day, many believed in 
 “ His name, when they saw the miracles which 
 “Tle did.” Previously to this occasion, we 
 are acquainted with the particulars of one 
 x St. John 11. 23. 
 
SERMON II. 49 
 
 miracle only, as having been performed by 
 Christ ; and that one is the miracle at the 
 marriage Feast of Cana, in Galilee, of which, 
 we cannot doubt that the rumour would be 
 brought to Jerusalem, by the people flocking 
 thither for the Passover; but to which, we 
 are not at liberty to suppose that St. John 
 makes the most distant allusion in the words 
 that have been quoted. We are to remem- 
 ber that St. John is himself the sole and the 
 exact narrator of that “beginning of miracles 
 “at Cana, in Galilee,’ of which he states the 
 result to have been that “the disciples of 
 “ Jesus believed on Him’.” He has passed on 
 to a time and place, totally distinct, when he 
 speaks of the Paschal Feast at Jerusalem ; 
 nor could he have chosen expressions better 
 calculated than those which he has employed, 
 to signify that the miracles, to which he here 
 refers, were taking place—were in a course 
 of performance—before the eyes of the mul- 
 titude, assembled for the celebration of the 
 Feast; and that upon many individuals of 
 that multitude, who had not before had any 
 opportunity of seeing and hearing our Lorn, 
 they were powerful enough to produce a be- 
 lief in His name. Now of these miracles, as 
 it would seem neither few in number nor 
 y St. John 1.1.11. 
 E 
 
50 SERMON II. 
 
 inconsiderable in weight and influence, no 
 hint is given, no trace is observable, in the 
 three earlier Evangelists. They again, on 
 their part, agree in indicating miracles, con- 
 cerning which St. John is altogether silent. 
 A remarkable instance occurs in that passage 
 of the History, out of which the words of 
 the text are taken. St. Matthew and St. Mark 
 report, as distinctly as St. Luke, the cure at 
 Capernaum, of Simon’s wife's mother, who had 
 been taken with a great fever; and the three 
 Evangelists follow up this narrative with 
 equivalent statements, although conveyed in 
 different terms, concerning the nwmber and 
 variety of the gracious interpositions, with 
 which the people of Capernaum were in- 
 dulged. Their grateful sentiments and suit- 
 able behaviour, on this occasion, appear to 
 have entitled them to such indulgence ; since 
 St. Luke informs us that they “sought Jesus 
 “and came unto Him and stayed Him that 
 “he should not depart from them’.” Of 
 the particular incidents, which thus won the 
 affections of these warm hearted and honest 
 inhabitants of Capernaum, we have no other 
 account than that, which.is to be gathered 
 from the following notices. “ When the even 
 “was come, they brought unto Him many, 
 z St. Luke ἵν. 42. 
 
SERMON II. δῚ 
 
 “ that were possessed with Devils: and He cast 
 “out the spirits, with His word, and healed 
 “all that were sick*.” “ At even, when the 
 “sun did set, they brought unto Him all that 
 “ were diseased and them that were possessed 
 “ with devils; and all the city was gathered 
 “ together at the door. And He healed many 
 “that were sick of divers diseases and cast 
 “out many Devils’.” Such are the accordant 
 testimonies of St. Matthew and St. Mark, with 
 reference to the circumstances, of which 
 St. Luke observes: “°* Now when the sun was 
 “setting’—probably when the rest of the 
 Sabbath was over and another day, according 
 to the Jewish mode of calculation, was be- 
 ginning—“ all they that had any sick with 
 “divers diseases brought them unto Him; 
 “and He laid His hands on every one of 
 “them and healed them‘4.” Can these inti- 
 mations possibly convey less than an assur- 
 ance of our blessed Lorp’s performance of 
 unrecorded miracles, many in number, and 
 various, in character ?—The very next stage 
 in His life of beneficence is as plainly marked 
 by the same distinguishing features. In 
 His first journey through the whole of Gali- 
 lee, He is represented as “ healing all man- 
 
 a St. Matt. vii. 16. b St. Mark 1. 32. 
 € St. Luke av. 40. d Note V. 
 
 Bo 
 
52 SERMON II. 
 
 “ner of sickness and all manner of disease 
 “among the people. And His fame went 
 “throughout all Syria, and they brought 
 “unto Him all sick people that were taken 
 “ with divers diseases and torments and those 
 “ which were possessed with Devils and those 
 “ which were lunatick and those that had the 
 “ palsy, and He healed thems.” At a later 
 period of His ministry, upon His temporary 
 retirement from the attacks of the Pharisees 
 and Herodians, He could secure the privacy 
 He sought only by ordering that a small ship 
 should wait on Him; “ because of the mul- 
 “ titude, lest they should throng Him; for 
 “ He had healed many; insomuch that they 
 “pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as 
 “many as had plagues'.” Nor was He con- 
 tent with one circuit of the whole country of 
 Galilee: on yet another occasion of a like cir- 
 cuit to that already noticed, He again accom- 
 panied “ the preaching of the Gospel of the 
 “ Kingdom, with the healing of every sickness, 
 “and every disease among the peoples.” It 
 was in the same region that He afterwards 
 drew universal attention; and “ whithersoever 
 “ He entered, into villages or cities or coun- 
 “try, they laid their sick in the streets and 
 
 e St. Matt. iv. 23, 24. f St. Mark i. 9, 10. 
 8 St. Matt. ix. 35. 
 
SERMON II. 53 
 
 “besought Him that they might touch, if it 
 “were but the border of His garment: and 
 “as many as touched Him were made whole".” 
 And, once more, St. Matthew relates that, 
 when He had “ gone up into the mountain of 
 “ Galilee, and had sat down there, great mul- 
 “titudes came unto Him, having with them 
 “ those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed 
 “and many others, and cast them down at 
 “ Jesus’ feet; and He healed them'.” There are 
 two passages that ought to be added to those, 
 which have been already quoted. Both come 
 from the Gospel according to St. John. Among 
 the details of the occurrences of the Feast of 
 Tabernacles, at which our Lorp was present 
 in the last year of His ministry, it is mren- 
 tioned that “many of the people believed on 
 “ Him and said: When Curist cometh, will 
 “ He do more miracles than these which this 
 “man hath done*?” This allusion to mira- 
 cles wrought and to the effects produced by 
 them, although they have been passed over in 
 silence or noticed but slightly and generally 
 by the Sacred Historians, is so much the more 
 interesting, as it plainly shews, in the minds 
 of the Jews, an antecedent expectation of 
 miracles from their Mrss1au, whenever He 
 should appear, surpassing in nwmber those of 
 
 h St. Mark vi. 56. i St. Matt. xv. 29, 30. 
 k St. John vii. 31. 
 E 3 
 
δ4 SERMON II. 
 
 any former Prophet; while the sequel as 
 plainly shews, in the breasts of the Pharisees, 
 a persuasion, which they were at once reluc- 
 tant to own and unable to disguise, that, in 
 the instance of Jesus of Nazareth, such ante- 
 cedent expectation—an expectation, which they 
 had themselves cherished and which they had 
 doubtless taken pains to encourage in others, 
 as furnishing a criterion of any claim to the 
 rank and title of the Curist—was completely 
 fulfilled. Alarmed lest a claim, thus support- 
 ed on their own favourite principles, should 
 be universally allowed, “they sent officers to 
 “take our Lorp'’’—uapon whose return to 
 them, they had the mortification of hearing 
 the memorable answer, “ Never man spake 
 “like this man ;’—and of learning that His 
 words of grace and wisdom were in harmo- 
 nious co-operation with His mighty deeds, 
 towards the increase of /Zis influence and the 
 discomfiture of their attempts.—The testi- 
 mony of St. John, at the close of his Gospel, 
 is too striking to be omitted. It is with espe- 
 cial reference to the actions of our Lorp after 
 His resurrection that this Evangelist remarks: 
 “ Many other signs truly did Jesus in the 
 “presence of His disciples, which are not 
 “ written in this book" ;’—but it would seem as 
 
 1St. John vir. 32, 46. m St. John xx. 30, 31. 
 
SERMON II. 55 
 
 if a review of the whole career of His Master 
 had induced him, shortly after to add: “There 
 “are also many other things, which Jesus 
 “did, the which if they should be written 
 “every one, I suppose that even the world 
 “itself could not contain the Books that 
 “ should be written".”. The principle of se- 
 lection, which guided St. John, had guided 
 his brother-Evangelists also: “ These are 
 “ written, that ye might believe that Jxrsus is 
 “the Curist, the Son of Gon; and that, be- 
 “lieving, ye might have life through His 
 “name.” For all purposes of reasonable in- 
 vestigation—for every end of entire convic- 
 tion—a sufficient number of miracles have 
 ‘been related in detail. The rest are briefly 
 and summarily reported ; yet not even so will 
 they fail of their suitable effect, if, by reason 
 of their nwmber and variety, they lead us to 
 discover fresh and confirming indications that, 
 in the Person of our Saviour Crist resided 
 and was exerted, a Power properly Divine— 
 that to “Him, Gop gave not the Spirit by 
 “ measure®.” The mighty works, which dis- 
 played themselves in Him, were not occa- 
 sional and extraordinary efforts, called forth 
 by peculiar and pressing emergencies; they 
 were by no means studiously accommodated, in 
 n St. John xxi. 25. ° St. John ui. 94. 
 E 4 
 
56 SERMON II. 
 
 their circumstances of time and place, to the 
 sole end of manifesting openly His preten- 
 sions and of shewing publicly the firm foun- 
 dation, on which those pretensions rested. 
 Illustrating and exemplifying the Divine at- 
 tribute of mercy’, they found their way into 
 every department of human want and woe— 
 into the solitude of the desert, and the retire- 
 ment of domestic life, as well as into the busy 
 scenes of the occupations, the pleasures and 
 the cares of man. They occurred with a fre- 
 quency which imparts to them an air of na- 
 turalness ; they were marked by what we may 
 be permitted to call a facility of performance, 
 which implies that He, who performed them, 
 was exerting not a delegated and interrupted 
 but a native, inherent and ever-present ability. 
 The suffering Son of man abstained indeed 
 from such use of His power as would have 
 relieved His own wants, soothed His own sor- 
 rows, prevented or removed His own trials. 
 The abstinence was voluntary; and had re- 
 spect to the ends of His humiliation; as ap- 
 peared in that moment of extreme necessity, 
 when, with a calm dignity, He checked the too 
 forward zeal of His defender : “Thinkest thou 
 “that I cannot now pray to my Father and 
 “ He shall presently give me more than twelve 
 P Note W. 
 
SERMON II. 57 
 
 “legions of angels? But how then shall the 
 “ Scripture be fulfilled that thus ¢ must be?” 
 But the benevolent Son of Gop seldom check- 
 ed the free, the liberal effluence of His united 
 Power and goodness, when others were con- 
 cerned. If He any where “could not do many 
 “ miracles’, it was on account of some pecu- 
 liar unworthiness and fault of those, by whom 
 He was surrounded. When He occasionally 
 went beyond the bounds of those districts, to 
 which He chiefly confined His ministry, even 
 on the borders of Tyre and Sidon, it was in 
 vain that He “ entered into a house and would 
 “ have no man know it*.” His fame had gone 
 before Him; and He “ could not be hid.’ In 
 short, from a careful review of the course, 
 which our blessed Lorp pursued upon earth; 
 and from a thoughtful comparison of His mi- 
 racles, in respect of variety, frequency and fa- 
 cility with the miracles elsewhere related in 
 Holy Scripture to have been achieved for spe- 
 cial purposes by Gon’s chosen servants, who 
 were furnished with extraordinary powers ; 
 from such review and comparison, we can 
 scarcely receive any other impression than one 
 of awe and reverence; feeling that, in the 
 former case, we have been beholding “ Him 
 
 4 St. Matt. xxvi. 53, 54. r St. Mark vi. 5. 
 s St. Mark vil. 24. 
 
58 SERMON II. 
 
 “ that” in a high and eminent.sense “cometh 
 “ from above and therefore is above all ;’— 
 whilst, in the latter case, we have seen them, 
 who, however richly they may have been 
 gifted and endowed, were still “ of the earth” — 
 and therefore in their actions, betokening, in 
 their language, “ speaking of, the earth'.” 
 
 t St. John im. 31. 
 
SERMON HII. 
 
 
 
 ST. JOHN xiv. 10. 
 
 Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the 
 Father in me? The words that I speak unto 
 you, I speak not of myself: but the Father that 
 dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. 
 
 
 
 OF the numerous appeals, which our Lorp 
 and Saviour, Jesus Curist, is reported to 
 have made to His own miracles, in support 
 of the claims that He advanced, one of the 
 most remarkable is contained in the words of 
 the text. They were spoken in the presence 
 of the Eleven Apostles alone, after Judas had 
 already left the “/arge upper room*,” in which 
 he had partaken with his brethren and their 
 common Master, of the last Paschal supper, 
 and in which the rest appear for some time 
 to have lingered, hanging on the lips of that 
 Teacher, to whom they were in the habit of 
 paying a reverential attention. As they lis- 
 tened, after the traitor had gone out from 
 their company, Jesus awakened their sur- 
 
 a St. Mark xiv. 15. 
 
00 SERMON III. 
 
 prise, by intimating that “ now is the Son 
 “of man glorified, and Gop is glorified in 
 “ Him>;” but immediately baffled their cu- 
 riosity and checked each rising hope of that 
 kingdom, on which they loved to dwell, by 
 adding, with an engaging tenderness: “ Little 
 “ children, yet a little while I am with you. 
 “ Ye shall seek me; and as I said unto the 
 “Jews: Whither I go ye cannot come; so 
 “now I say to you.” Strange to the appre- 
 hensions and unwelcome to the ears of His 
 faithful followers must have been this com- 
 munication, respecting His own speedy re- 
 moval out of their reach! And hard was it 
 for them to reconcile the hint given of His 
 approaching glory with a declaration, too 
 plain to be misunderstood, of His departure 
 to a place, whither they themselves should 
 not be able to follow Him! The language 
 formerly addressed to the Jews, of which our 
 Lorp reminded them, and which He in fact 
 repeated, had not probably caused any unea- 
 siness in their breasts or involved them in 
 any perplexity; for such language was per- 
 fectly consistent with their opinion and their 
 expectation that, whithersoever their Master 
 might betake Himself, they should still be in 
 attendance on His Person, to fulfil His pur- 
 
 b St. John xii. 31. © St. John xi. 33. 
 
SERMON III. 61 
 
 poses and share His triumphs. But now, they 
 were called to abandon this fondly cherished 
 hope; and the difficulty of complying with 
 the call is graphically set before us, in St. 
 John’s account of the conversation that fol- 
 lowed. Simon Peter, with characteristic bold- 
 ness and eagerness, sought a satisfactory ex- 
 planation by asking: “ Lorn, whither goest 
 “thou?” As the first attempt did not at 
 once succeed, Thomas next seized the occa- 
 sion, which our Saviour’s condescending 
 manner and soothing discourse quickly af- 
 forded, of interposing his less direct ques- 
 tion: “ Lorn, we know not whither thou 
 “ooest, and how can we know the way* ?” 
 And finally, Philip, in the hope of causing 
 some farther light to be thrown over a sub- 
 ject, which was still felt to be involved in 
 obscurity, ventured to request: “ Lorp, shew 
 “us the Father and it sufficeth us.” It was 
 in reply to Philip that the words of the text 
 were spoken; and they demanded both of 
 Philip and of his companions, a cordial assent 
 to the doctrine of the intimate union of the 
 Son with the Father, on the ground that it 
 was a doctrine, which our Lorp had Himself 
 clearly stated to His Apostles; and that to 
 all His statements a Divine sanction was im- 
 
 4d St. John xin. 36. e St. John xiv. 5. f St. John xiv. 8. 
 
62 SERMON III. 
 
 parted by the works He had performed— 
 which works, He moreover, on this occasion, 
 in plain and unambiguous terms, described 
 as being the works of the Father—of Gop in 
 the Person of His Son. “*The Father that 
 “ dwelleth in me, He doeth the works'.” 
 With this assertion is naturally and closely 
 connected the train of reflection, which was 
 begun, in the last, and is to be carried on, in 
 the present, Lecture. Some indications of a 
 Power, truly and properly Divine, were then 
 observed in those circumstances of number 
 and variety, which belong to the miracles of 
 Jesus Curist. I now proceed to notice such 
 farther indications of the same sort as other 
 like circumstances may furnish. 
 
 Next in order to number and variety, among 
 the particulars distinguishing our Lorn’s mi- 
 racles, may be reckoned the tone of indepen- 
 dent authority with which He spake and they 
 were done. Of this circumstance, almost al- 
 ways accompanying His works, and of its na- 
 tural effect upon the minds of the beholders 
 and hearers, a more suitable instance or a 
 stronger illustration cannot be found, than 
 in the case of the “ man with an unclean spi- 
 “vit in the Synagogue of Capernaum’,” of 
 
 5. St. John xiv. 10. h Note X. 
 i St. Mark 1. 23. and St. Luke wv. 33. 
 
SERMON III. 63 
 
 whose deliverance both St. Mark and St. Luke 
 have preserved a memorial. The words of 
 rebuke: “ Hold thy peace and come out of 
 “him :” were no sooner uttered than they 
 were followed by the intended result; and 
 the witnesses “ were all amazed, insomuch 
 “that they questioned among themselves, 
 “saying: What thing is this? what new 
 “doctrine is this? for with authority com- 
 “ mandeth He even the unclean spirits and 
 “they do obey Him;” or, as St. Luke re- 
 ports, “they spake among themselves, saying; 
 “What a word is this! for with authority 
 “and power He commandeth the unclean 
 “spirits and they come out.” The more fa- 
 miliar any one becomes with the History of 
 the Old Testament, and with the earliest 
 Annals of the Christian Church, whether 
 those Annals are supplied by the Inspired 
 Scriptures or by the Writings that are near- 
 est to them in time and in authority; the 
 more will he be alive to the existence and 
 sensible of the force and import, of this cha- 
 racter of the miraculous agency of our Lorp. 
 The most illustrious of the Prophets are seen 
 to have ascribed their extraordinary and su- 
 pernatural deeds on all occasions to aid 
 vouchsafed from above, to strength imparted 
 from on high, to power borrowed and derived 
 
64 SERMON III. 
 
 from the Atmicutry source alike of wisdom 
 and of power. Moses, the greatest of them 
 all, appears before us every where, through- 
 out his astonishing History, as the subordi- 
 nate and commissioned agent of the Lorp 
 Jenovan. His earnest and pathetic inter- 
 cessions in behalf of the stiff-necked and re- 
 bellious people, whom he was appointed to 
 guide and govern ;—his severe expostula- 
 tions, when they murmured against himself 
 and Aaron: “ What are we, that ye murmur 
 “ against us?’ “What are we? Your mur- 
 “ murings are not against us but against the 
 “ Lorp:” his threatening of awful and im- 
 mediate vengeance, to be executed upon Ko- 
 rah and his company, which was destined to 
 shew that “the Lorn had sent him to do all 
 “ these works—for he had not done them of 
 “his own mind™:’—all these instances ex- 
 hibit him in the light of an exalted and 
 highly favoured minister of the Supreme 
 Gop—yet not more than a minister, openly 
 professing his dependence on that Being, 
 whose servant he was, and ever both speak- 
 ing and acting according to directions, which 
 he states himself to have received; and 
 for the production of results, which, in the 
 name of the Lorn, he had foretold.  Si- 
 
 | Exodus xvi. 7, 8. m Numbers xvi. 28. 
 
SERMON III. 65 
 
 milar remarks may be applied to the cases 
 of those distinguished Prophets under the 
 earlier Dispensation, who came after Moses, 
 and were, like him, endued with miraculous 
 powers. ‘They implore assistance suited to 
 the immediate occasion of their interference ; 
 they announce what they are about to do; 
 they speak of that, which they have done, 
 not as their own achievement, but as the sure 
 token of the Divine presence with them and 
 of the Divine sanction of their messages. 
 If, in some few instances, there seems, at first 
 sight, to be no express reference to agency 
 beyond that of the Prophet himself, a close 
 inspection of the Sacred narrative will shew 
 that even these instances are strictly in keep- 
 ing with the general tenour of the History, 
 in the midst of which they stand; and that 
 the attendant circumstances of the scene are 
 always such as to imply—often such as clearly 
 to indicate the acknowledged subordination 
 and dependence of instruments, that are but 
 human, although employed on special occa- 
 slons in super-human efforts". In the very 
 opening of the History of the Christian 
 Church, after our Lornp’s resurrection; in the 
 first beginning of the exercise of that power, 
 which was granted to the Apostles after the 
 n Note Y. 
 3 
 
66 SERMON III. 
 
 gift of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pente- 
 cost, we are indeed informed that “ many 
 “ wonders and signs were done by the Apo- 
 “ stles°:” but the earliest details, with which 
 we are furnished, on this subject, are given, 
 as if with an express design of setting before 
 us, in a Clear light, the secondary and deriva- 
 tive nature of their extraordinary powers. I 
 allude to the instance of the lame man, whom 
 “ Peter and John saw at the Beautiful gate 
 “of the Temple’.” It was “in the name of 
 “ Jesus Curistr of Nazareth” that Peter bade 
 him “ rise up and walk.” For himself and 
 his companion he presently, before the people, 
 “running together and greatly wondering,” 
 disclaimed the credit of the miracle: “ Why 
 “look ye so earnestly on us, as though, by 
 “our own power or holiness, we had made 
 “this man to walk? The Gop of Abraham, 
 “and of Isaac and of Jacob, the Gop of our 
 “Fathers, hath glorified His Son, Jesus ;— 
 “ whose name,through faith in His name, hath 
 “made this man strong.” And, on the fol- 
 lowing day, when summoned from the im- 
 prisonment, in which they had been held 
 during the night, to reply publicly to the 
 question : “ By what power or by what name, 
 “have ye done this?” Peter declared: “Ye 
 
 ° Acts 11. 43. P Acts πὶ. 2. 
 
SERMON III. 67 
 
 “rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if 
 “we this day be examined of the good deed 
 “done to the impotent man, by what means 
 “he is made whole; be it known unto you 
 “all, and to all the people of Israel that by 
 “the name of Jesus Curist of Nazareth, 
 “whom ye crucified, whom Gop raised from 
 “ the dead, even by Him doth this man stand 
 “here before you wholes.” On being dis- 
 missed with threatenings, they “went to their 
 “ own company and reported what the Chief 
 “Priests and elders had said unto them.” 
 Then all “ lifted up their voice to Gop with 
 “one accord',”’ in the words of that prayer, 
 which St. Luke has carefully preserved and 
 of which the conclusion is as follows: “ And 
 “now, Lorp behold their threatenings; and 
 “ orant unto Thy servants that, with all bold- 
 “ ness, they may speak Thy word, by stretch- 
 “ing forth Thy hand to heal; and that signs 
 “and wonders may be done by the name of 
 “ Thy holy Child, Jesus.” In the sequel of 
 the Apostolical History we read the recorded 
 answer to this prayer; marked, however, in 
 almost all its leading portions, by invocations 
 as loud, by acknowledgments of dependence 
 as clear and open, by references to aid from 
 Heaven as decided, as those on which our 
 4 Acts iv. 7, 8,9. * Acts iv. 24. 
 F 2 
 
68 SERMON III. 
 
 attention has now been fixed’. A slight ac- 
 quaintance with the remains of Christian an- 
 tiquity and with the notices, therein con- 
 veyed, of miraculous agency, continued in the 
 Church beyond the life time of the Apostles 
 themselves, may suffice to assure every in- 
 quirer that Martyrs and Confessors always 
 owned, in the lowly temper and in the very 
 language of their spiritual Fathers and their 
 Predecessors, that they were but humble in- 
 struments for the display of such signs and 
 wonders as Gop was pleased to shew forth in 
 them. I insist not (for it is not to my pre- 
 sent purpose to do so) on the testimony often 
 borne by the inspired Apostles and their im- 
 mediate successors to the superiority of our 
 Lorp over themselves, by the manner, in 
 which they connect all the power they either 
 had or expected to have, with His high and 
 Holy namet;—that name, “ which is above 
 “every name":” 1 am not now at liberty to 
 remark more than that between Him and 
 them, as workers of similar and equal mira- 
 cles, a distinction is observable, in respect of 
 independent authority on His side; and of 
 continual and avowed reliance upon Gov, on 
 their's. Review the pages.of the Gospel His- 
 tory; and you will perceive our Lorp acting 
 5. Note Z. ‘ Note AA. ἃ Phil, un. 9. 
 
SERMON III. 69 
 
 in His own person and in His own name. He 
 holds nature and Hell under His control 
 and regulates both according to His good 
 pleasure. ‘The elements are obedient to His 
 voice ; diseases and infirmities give way and 
 disappear at His bidding; evil spirits, awed 
 at His presence, are expelled by His com- 
 mand. “I will—be thou clean *’—* Arise, 
 “and take up thy bed and go thy way into 
 “thine house ”’—“Come out of the man, 
 “ thou unclean spirit ”’—“ Damsel, I say unto 
 “thee: Arise*:” such are some examples of 
 the forms of address that accompanied the 
 performance of our Saviour’s miracles. 
 Rarely and for reasons of admonition or in- 
 struction, which are either at first sight ob- 
 vious or may easily be conjectured, He was 
 pleased to use the intervention of such means 
 as would have proved altogether inefficacious, 
 if He had not chosen and adapted them to 
 serve His purposes>. Since the choice and 
 adaptation of means are evidently and en- 
 tirely His own, the comparatively slow and 
 gradual process of cure, in these few instances, 
 interferes not with our view of the independ- 
 ence of His power on any source or origin 
 beyond Himself. On the contrary, it rather 
 x St. Matt. vin. 3. y St. Mark ni. 11. 
 Z St. Mark v.8. a St. Mark v. 41. Ὁ Note BB. 
 F 3 
 
10 SERMON III. 
 
 indicates, in perfect harmony with such view, 
 that, as to the methods of exerting and dis- 
 playing His power, He was likewise free from 
 all restrictions. Sometimes, in action or in 
 word; sometimes, in both, He made an ex- 
 press and open reference to Heaven and to 
 His Father; but of such reference, in con- 
 nection with any of His miracles, the same 
 account may be given, which He Himself 
 gave of the voice from Heaven, granted in 
 answer to the prayer offered in the prospect 
 of His approaching end: “ This voice came 
 “not because of me, but for your sakes °%” 
 In like manner, of our blessed Lorn’s ad- 
 dresses to Heaven, when they most resemble 
 petitions for support and aid, may it be, with 
 truth, remarked, as indeed on one occasion 
 by a Saint and Bishop of the early Church 
 it has been beautifully remarked, that “ our 
 “ Lorp prays not with ἃ view to propitiate 
 “the Father or to gain the Divine help for 
 “ Himself; but for the purpose of procuring 
 “these blessings for us. For although the 
 “ Father hath put all things in the power of 
 “the Son, yet does the Son, in order that He 
 “may complete all that belongs to Him in 
 “ His form of man and because He is our ad- 
 
 © St. John xu. 30. 
 
SERMON III. 71 
 
 “ vocate, think proper to entreat the Father 
 “in our behalf ¢.” 
 
 A particular instance will however best il- 
 lustrate this subject; and I shall select that 
 one, which, of all the instances that occur, is 
 for various reasons most deserving of our no- 
 tice. You will anticipate my mention of the 
 raising of Lazarus. In that moment, when 
 “they had taken away the stone, from the 
 “ place °,” where the dead was laid ; and when 
 the anxious breast of “ Martha, the sister of 
 “him that was dead’”—was disturbed by con- 
 flicting emotions—by a reluctance to expose 
 the mouldering remains of the object of her 
 love and a faint hope that her lost brother 
 might still be restored to her arms—in that 
 moment of suspense—of deep and overwhelin- 
 ing interest, “Jesus lifted up His eyes and 
 “said: Father, I thank thee that Thou hast 
 “heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest 
 “ me always; but because of the people, which 
 “stand by, I said it, that they may believe 
 “that Thou hast sent me. And when He 
 “ had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice: 
 “ Lazarus, come forth.” [5 it the customary 
 strain of invocation, which we hear on this 
 occasion’? Is the act of worship performed, 
 
 4 Note CC. e St. John xi. 41. f Note DD. 
 
 F 4 
 
72 SERMON III. 
 
 is the accompanying language spoken, after 
 the usual form and manner of addresses to 
 Heaven on the part of Gon’s most highly ' 
 favoured servants—of Abraham, His friend, 
 or of David, the man after His own heart ? 
 Are we not rather led here to contemplate 
 a claim, urged and allowed, as of right and 
 title, to the Father’s ever-present aid and in- 
 fluence? Do we not find a strong and em- 
 phatic statement, explanatory of the slightest 
 appearance of inconsistency with such claim? 
 And are we not, by the authoritative terms 
 of the command, which follows, irresistibly 
 carried back to the doctrine previously deli- 
 vered by our Lorp of an unity of action, that 
 cannot imply less than an unity of nature, 
 subsisting between the Father and the Son ? 
 “ Verily, verily, 1 say unto you: The Son can 
 “do nothing of Himself but what He seeth 
 “the Father do; for what things soever He 
 “doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 
 “As the Father raiseth up the dead and 
 “ quickeneth them; even so the Son quicken- 
 “eth whom He will.” “ Verily, verily, I say 
 “unto you: The hour is coming and now is, 
 “when the dead shall hear the voice of the 
 “Son of Gop and they that hear shall live ; 
 “for as the Father hath life in Himself, so 
 
SERMON III. 73 
 
 “hath He given to the Son to have life in 
 “ Himselfs.” It was to the awakening voice 
 of the Son that Lazarus, already slumbering 
 in the grave, was called to listen; it was the 
 same powerful voice, which His spirit, al- 
 ready gone into the unseen regions, instantly 
 obeyed. Nor can there be discovered in this 
 example, when it has been thoroughly consi- 
 dered and is rightly understood, any real in- 
 consistency with what may be elsewhere ob- 
 served, of the independent authority, which 
 raised our Saviour above all other workers 
 of miracles; and which, as often as it is ob- 
 served, may prove for every thoughtful mind 
 an indication of God made manifest in Him. 
 The Gospel miracles supply a still farther 
 indication of the same sort, by the disclosure, 
 which they make, of our Lorn’s knowledge, 
 in connection with His power. We seldom 
 have an account of His interposition in fa- 
 vour of the suffering and the sorrowful, given 
 at any considerable length, which does not 
 inform us of His discernment of the thoughts 
 and feelings of the objects of His care and 
 bounty. We are often led to notice that He 
 was aware of the moral condition—that He 
 adverted to the spiritual qualifications and 
 necessities of those who approached Him as 
 8. St. John v. 19, ἕο. 
 
74 SERMON III. 
 
 suppliants. It is perfectly true that an abi- 
 lity to penetrate into the secret motives and 
 hidden intentions of their fellow-creatures 
 may be, as it has sometimes been, imparted 
 by that Gop, who searcheth the hearts and 
 trieth the remns of the children of men, to 
 His inspired servants; but, in all instances, 
 with which we are acquainted, of human be- 
 ings thus favoured, the gift has been occa- 
 sional, in point of time, and limited in de- 
 gree. Our Lorn, on the other hand, never 
 appears to have been left destitute of such 
 power, from the commencement of His min- 
 istry. Without consulting how He may dis- 
 play a faculty so wonderful, He continually 
 avails Himself of it, not in working His mi- 
 racles only, but in His general intercourse 
 with men. My present remarks are however 
 to be confined to His miracles alone; and of 
 them it may be stated that they both directly 
 and indirectly shew knowledge, like that which 
 brought home conviction to the understand- 
 ing and the heart of the woman of Samaria, 
 when, after His gracious conversation with 
 her, “she left her waterpot and went her way 
 “into the city and saith to the men: Come, 
 “see a man, which told me all things that 
 “ever I did. Is not this the Curisr"?”—It 
 h St. John iv. 28, 29. 
 
SERMON III. 75 
 
 will be remembered that the faith of the ap- 
 plicants for His help is put prominently for- 
 ward as the never failing plea in their fa- 
 vour; but this faith, often indicated by no 
 outward signs of speech or action, was dis- 
 cernible to His penetrating eye alone. The 
 absence again of faith—an absence of which 
 none but Himself was conscious, stayed His 
 bounteous hand and at least for a while sus- 
 pended His beneficent exertions. How af- 
 fecting is the instance, which the three earlier 
 Evangelists relate but which of the three 
 St. Mark most fully describes, of that woman, 
 who, during twelve years of sad disease, had 
 “suffered many things of many Physicians 
 “and had spent all that she had and was no- 
 “thing bettered but rather grew worse'!” 
 She had heard of Jesus; she beheld the 
 crowd, pressing around Him, as He was pro- 
 ceeding towards the house of Jairus, at the 
 request of that afflicted father, whose “ little 
 “daughter was then lying at the point of 
 “ death;” she felt that the moment was fa- 
 vourable for her trial of an experiment, which 
 might possibly prove successful, and on which, 
 at all events, she could venture, without dan- 
 ger of stopping the progress of our Lorp or 
 
 i St. Matt. ix. 20. St. Mark v. 26. St. Luke vin. 43. 
 
70 SERMON III. 
 
 interfering in any degree with His execution 
 of that purpose of kindness, on which He was 
 intent. 
 
 Accordingly “she came in the press behind 
 “and touched the hem of His garment; for 
 “she said within herself”—it was her secret 
 reflection, to which she gave no utterance— 
 “if I may touch but His clothes, I shall be 
 “whole.” The instant effect of her act was 
 the recovery of health. Who can fully enter 
 into her emotion, when “she felt in her body 
 “that she was healed of the plague,” that 
 had tormented her so long? Neither her 
 person nor her behaviour—neither the in- 
 ternal resolution she had formed nor the 
 steps she had taken to carry that resolution 
 into action—nothing in her circumstances 
 or character had escaped the notice of our 
 Lorp, who, having. first secured the atten- 
 tion of his disciples by a question asked and 
 a reply drawn from them, “ looked round 
 “about to see her that had done this thing.” 
 
 It was doubtless when His eye at once fixed 
 upon her that “she saw that she was not hid.” 
 In her alarm, she perceived and felt the ma- 
 jesty of that piercing eye; but overlooked the 
 mildness of compassion and: of mercy, with 
 which it was directed towards her. “ Fearing 
 “and trembling, she came and fell down be- 
 
SERMON III. 79 
 
 “fore Him; and in the presence of all the 
 “ people, told Him all the truth.” Little was 
 she prepared for the soothing and encou- 
 raging language, which immediately reached 
 her ears and gladdened her heart: “ Daugh- 
 “ter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath 
 “made thee whole: go in peace.” To her 
 unspeakable joy she found that she was con- 
 firmed in a sure possession of the blessing, 
 which she had received; and she must have 
 taken her departure, well persuaded that her 
 Benefactor had been no stranger to her in- 
 most thoughts—to the hopes, which she had 
 scarcely allowed herself to cherish ! 
 
 In the case of the “Greek woman, a Syrophe- 
 “ nician by nation,” who “ besought our Lorp 
 “that He would cast forth a Devil out of her 
 “young daughter ‘,” is afforded a touching, 
 although somewhat different, proof of His 
 exact and perfect knowledge of the moral 
 condition and circumstances of such as ap- 
 proached Him. Here the narrative is so con- 
 structed both by St. Matthew and by St. Mark, 
 but more especially by the former Evange- 
 list, as to carry with it a somewhat unusual 
 air of reluctance on the part of Jesus to lis- 
 ten to the petition urged. When however 
 we reach its close, and learn that our Lorp, at 
 
 k St. Matt. xv. 21; St. Mark vu. 24. 
 
78 SERMON III. 
 
 last “ answered and said unto her: O woman, 
 “oreat is thy faith: be it unto thee even as 
 “thou wilt’—we look back upon the pre- 
 ceding incidents and gain a new insight into 
 their meaning. They now seem to have been 
 designed rather to display than to explore 
 that faith, which our Saviour Himself from 
 the first saw, and which he had resolved both 
 to commend and to reward. He perceived 
 that this believing Gentile had a firmness of 
 mind and a strength of confidence, which 
 could bear the tentative treatment He was 
 pleased to apply to her case; and of that 
 treatment the end was, not to repel her, but 
 to shew openly to His disciples, still narrow- 
 minded and fettered by Jewish prejudices, 
 the real nature of those qualities, which, whe- 
 ther in Jew or in Gentile, would win His 
 favour and engage His compassion. 
 
 There is one remarkable feature of the mi- 
 racle of healing, wrought at Capernaum upon 
 the man, sick of the palsy, who was “ let down, 
 “ through the tiling, with his couch into the 
 “midst before Jresus',’ which is entitled to 
 our especial regard on the present occasion. 
 The faith, not of the sick man only, but of 
 those also who had brought -him, and who had 
 shewn their confidence in our Lorp’s power 
 
 1 St. Matt. ix. 2; St. Mark 11. 3; St. Luke v. 18. 
 
SERMON III. 79 
 
 and goodness by the expedient to which they 
 had had recourse, pleaded successfully their 
 cause, and drew forth an answer to their ap- 
 plication, which they could not but under- 
 stand—which the sick man himself soon ex- 
 perienced, to be favourable, although it was 
 couched in unexpected terms: “Son, be of 
 “good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee!” 
 The phrase gave quick offence to the Scribes 
 and Pharisees, “sitting” in the house, who 
 began to “reason in their hearts: Why doth 
 “ this man thus speak blasphemies ? Who can 
 “ forgive sins but Gop only?” To these rea- 
 sonings, before they had been uttered in 
 words, our Lorp replied: “Why reason ye 
 “ these things in your hearts ? Whether is it 
 “ easier to say to the sick of the palsy: Thy 
 “sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and 
 “take up thy bed and walk?” In order to 
 give them a sensible proof that, in His use of 
 them, these two forms of expression were equl- 
 valent, He condescended to substitute the 
 latter for the former; and thus made the re- 
 sult, which afterwards took place, agree with 
 the letter of the words He spake. “ He saith 
 “to the sick of the palsy: I say unto thee: 
 “ Arise and take up thy bed and go thy way 
 “ into thine house.” When the sick man im- 
 mediately obeyed, “rose up before them, took 
 
80 SERMON III. 
 
 “up that whereon he lay and departed to his 
 “own house, glorifying Gop,’ a more than 
 common astonishment was felt and expressed 
 —an astonishment, which was doubtless in part 
 owing to the demonstration afforded of the 
 power of the Son of man upon earth to forgive 
 sins. Again, must the Scribes and Pharisees 
 have questioned—again must the multitudes 
 have asked with anxious curiosity: “ Who is 
 “ this, that undertakes to forgive sins? Who 
 “is this extraordinary, this mysterious Per- 
 “ sonage, that claims authority alike in the 
 “ moral and in the natural world, and by His 
 “ manifest and undeniable control over the 
 “latter, asserts and establishes His right of 
 “ exercising similar control over the former ?” 
 It must have been in attempting to answer 
 these questions as well as in observing the 
 miracle wrought that “they were all amazed 
 “and glorified Gop and were filled with fear, 
 “ saying, We have seen strange things to day.” 
 They had beheld, under the form and in the 
 likeness of a fellow-creature, a Being, who 
 could discern the secret sorrow of a troubled 
 conscience, and who was careful to allay and 
 soothe that sorrow by words of forgiveness 
 and of peace, before He proceeded to restore 
 activity to the palsied limb and strength to 
 the enfeebled body. With their thankful ac- 
 
SERMON III. 81 
 
 knowledgments to “Gop, which had given 
 “such power unto men,” must have mingled 
 some latent apprehension that the great Pro- 
 phet, at whose words and deeds they mar- 
 velled, would eventually prove Himself to be 
 more than man”. 
 
 And thus, upon an attentive survey of the 
 miracles of Jesus Curist, we have observed, 
 as belonging to them, several characteristic 
 circumstances, which plainly distinguish them 
 from the wonderful works of the most emi- 
 nent of Prophets and Apostles; of Saints and 
 Martyrs. In their number and variety ; in 
 the independent authority, with which they were 
 done; in the knowledge, by which they were 
 accompanied ; we have found what we may 
 venture to call some indications of the Divine 
 nature of our Lorp and Saviour, Jesus 
 Curist. A serious and devout study of the 
 Gospel narratives will furnish many farther 
 illustrations of each of these topics; and the 
 brief remarks on the present occasion made, 
 indicating the method of investigation to be 
 pursued, may serve to fix thought steadily on 
 the valuable results, to which inquiries of 
 this kind may lead. What then, it will be 
 asked, are those results? What is the ob- 
 ject to be gained—what is the advantage 
 
 0 Note EE. 
 G 
 
89 SERMON III. 
 
 to be derived—from the review, in which 
 we have been engaged? [5 it expected that 
 the miracles of our Lorp, marked by the 
 characteristics which have been assigned to 
 them, are to have, in comparison with the 
 miracles of other messengers and ministers 
 of Gop—a force of evidence, peculiar and 
 distinct in kind or nature? Certainly not. 
 It has been already declared that Miracles 
 by whatever agents wrought, whether by the 
 Son of Gop or by the creatures of Gop of 
 lower rank, whether by angelic beings or by 
 men, are, in respect of evidence, essentially 
 the same; and accomplish one and the same 
 end of affording proof of the Divine aid or 
 at least of the Divine permission—which per- 
 mission, under the circumstances of appeal 
 to them, as tokens of the Divine presence, is 
 equivalent to a Divine Testimony—a Divine 
 sanction and support of those who work 
 them. And, accordingly, the miracles of our 
 blessed Saviour have been clearly seen to 
 effect their purpose of evidence in His favour, 
 previously to and independently of all dis- 
 closure of the doctrine of His proper Di- 
 vinity. 
 
 Is it then intended to vindicate for the 
 miracles of Jesus Curist a superiority over 
 other miracles in degree or manner of influ- 
 
SERMON III. 83 
 
 ence on the human mind? As far indeed as 
 the conviction of the understanding is con- 
 cerned, the question of greater or less does 
 not admit of being applied to the subject of 
 miraculous agency. ALmicHty power is to 
 be regarded as the true—the only primary 
 source, of all real miracles; and we are to 
 remember that where ALmicuty Power, whe- 
 ther it be original or delegated, is in opera- 
 tion, all obstacles disappear and degrees of 
 difficulty are unknown. But it is conceived 
 that the miracles of Curist, when contem- 
 plated as the interpositions of Gop in the 
 Person of His Son, may gain and keep a 
 firmer hold on the heart—on the affections 
 and the will—than any miracles of inferior— 
 of created Beings have gained and kept, or 
 are capable of gaining and keeping. And it 
 is with a view to such use and application of 
 them that they have now been considered. 
 Perceiving in their incidents and often in the 
 minute features of detail, which the Evan- 
 gelists have simply but beautifully drawn, 
 many distinct notices of a Divine Majesty 
 and glory, we pause and seek relief for the 
 sudden emotion of our souls, by exclaiming 
 with the holy Patriarch: “Surely the Lorp 
 “is in this place and I knew it not.” But 
 
 1 Genesis xxvii. 16. 
 
 α9 
 
84 SERMON III. 
 
 we have no sooner discovered and ascertained 
 the fact, which was at first calculated to 
 startle and alarm us, than we are enabled to 
 derive from it support and consolation. We 
 behold Divine perfections accommodated to 
 our weakness, by their union with the mild- 
 est and the most winning of human virtues. 
 We see before our eyes, in condescending in- 
 tercourse with men of like passions with our- 
 selves, the co-eternal and co-equal Son of 
 that exalted Being, whom we are taught to 
 regard and commanded to imitate as “ kind 
 “unto the unthankful and to the evile’— 
 “ merciful” —* making His Sun to rise on 
 “ the evil and on the good; and sending rain 
 “on the just and on the unjustP.” The idea 
 of the goodness of Gop thus becomes inse- 
 parably associated with the notion of His 
 power; nor need we any longer, whilst we 
 witness the Divine bounty, dispensed by our 
 Redeemer’s gracious hands, “ shudder at a 
 “ power, which can confer benefits of such 
 “ mighty importancei.” ‘Through the scenes 
 of the Gospel History, we form a lively image 
 of Gop present in the world, which by His 
 Word He created and which by the same 
 Word He governs; those scenes we learn to 
 represent to our minds, as if we had ourselves 
 
 © St. Luke vi. 35, 36. P St. Matt. v. 45. q Note FF. 
 
SERMON III. 85 
 
 been spectators of them: and by our Lorp’s 
 own authority, we are encouraged to believe 
 that we have in them a deep and lasting in- 
 terest. He is not indeed, as man, accessible 
 to men; for His extraordinary interference 
 in our behalf we are not, in any case, war- 
 ranted in looking; but we discover that 
 among the ends to be answered by the record 
 of His miracles, one was to teach us that we 
 may depend on His ever-present, although 
 secret and unseen aid—that we may be per- 
 suaded of His sympathy with our sufferings, 
 both mental and bodily—that we may per- 
 ceive how He enters into the particulars of 
 our condition, makes gracious allowance for 
 the difficulties that beset us in our way to 
 Heaven, pities our errors and pardons our 
 sins. The abodes, which He blessed with 
 His presence, were like our own homes ;— 
 darkened by sorrow and defiled with sin ; 
 and He chose to enter them, for the benevo- 
 lent purpose of banishing sorrow and coun- 
 teracting sin, the baneful cause and the pro- 
 lific parent of sorrow. It is in short our ex- 
 alted privilege, by gaining an intimate ac- 
  quaintance with the particulars even of the 
 miracles of the Gospel History, to realise the 
 presence of Gop with ourselves and to en- 
 courage a firm expectation of help and 
 
 Q 
 
 GO 
 
80 SERMON III. 
 
 strength from His sustaining influence. 
 While we are permitted to see the Son in 
 His deeds of united power and mercy, we 
 shall thankfully own that we have seen the 
 Father also"; and the bright but softened 
 beams of that glorious vision will for us dis- 
 pel the clouds, which must otherwise have 
 hidden from our view the Supreme Source of 
 truth and purity. 
 
 r St. John xiv. 9. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 
 
 St. Mark iv. 33 and 34 (in part.) 
 
 And with many such Parables spake He the word 
 unto them,.as they were able to hear it. But 
 without a Parable spake He not unto them. 
 
 - ee 
 
 FROM a consideration of the miracles of 
 our Lorp, I pass to a survey of the moral 
 and religious lessons, which He taught. Here 
 also may be opened to every mind, duly pre- 
 pared by a sincere love of truth and good- 
 ness for such an inquiry, many important 
 and highly interesting views of the wisdom, 
 the purity and the mercy of our Divine In- 
 structor. I must not however enter upon 
 this division of my subject, without disclaim- 
 ing the intention of seeking, in such distin- 
 guishing peculiarities of the doctrines of Jesus 
 Curist as are about to be noticed, whether 
 such peculiarities belong to the matter or to 
 the manner of His Discourses, any direct and 
 primary proofs of that nature, in respect of 
 G 4 
 
88 SERMON IV. 
 
 which He stands exalted above all other 
 Teachers, whom the world has seen. Some 
 of our Lorn’s doctrines are indeed so circum- 
 stanced as to furnish proofs of His proper 
 Divinity. His own assertions on the subject, 
 clear and undisputed, when taken in connec- 
 tion with the miraculous sanctions, by which 
 they were supported, are evidently and have 
 already been observed to be, sufficient for the 
 purpose. On these however I do not intend 
 to dwell. They belong not to my present 
 Design, which is limited to indirect and, as 
 it were, incidental notices and illustrations of 
 the Divine nature of Jesus Curisr. It may 
 then be granted that, when regarded in the 
 light of a Moral and Religious ‘Teacher 
 merely, our Lorp is not necessarily seen to 
 be Divine; that He has not brought with 
 Him from Heaven any discoveries of Moral 
 or Rehgious truth, that can serve for inde- 
 pendent and self-evident tokens of His lofty 
 origin. It has often been asserted that the 
 department of Moral truth admits not of dis- 
 coveries properly so called. The assertion is 
 one, which, after some explanation and under 
 some restriction, may be granted. In the de- 
 partment of religious truth, the case is dif- 
 ferent: here it has been perceived and is al- 
 lowed that there exists not only a possibility, 
 
SERMON IV. 89 
 
 but a previous likelihood, of what may be 
 strictly considered and justly termed disco- 
 veries. Such subjects as lie beyond the reach 
 of the eye of human understanding—the 
 manner of the Divine existence, the course 
 of the Divine dispensations, the final destiny 
 of man—such subjects as these form the ap- 
 propriate matters of an express Revelation. 
 The disclosures made respecting them are 
 discoveries, because these are subjects, which, 
 without Revelation, must have remained for 
 ever hidden. 
 
 And as, from these discoveries once made, 
 new duties immediately result; as, more- 
 over, by means of the same discoveries the 
 foundations of Moral science are more broadly 
 and more firmly Jaid, the force of moral mo- 
 tives greatly strengthened and a flood of light 
 thrown over the whole field of Moral specu- 
 lation; it is evident that the assertion, lately 
 noticed, requires to be restricted and quali- 
 fied by a reference to both these considera- 
 tions; for duties, previously recognised, are 
 thus seen to be invested with a character that 
 may entitle them to be called in some sort 
 new; and although of duties confessedly new 
 it may be contended that even they flow 
 from general moral principles, prior to the 
 disclosures, which rather make manifest and 
 
90 SERMON IV. 
 
 develop than create their obligation; it must, 
 after all, be conceded that these duties, in 
 some sort, partake of that character of disco- 
 veries, Which belongs to the religious truths, 
 whereon they depend. Yet even of religious 
 truths and duties, thus allowed to be of the 
 nature of discoveries, it is undeniable that, 
 in and of themselves, they are neither well- 
 suited nor in fact sufficient to shew to what 
 rank or order of Beings he who communi- 
 cates them is to be assigned. So far as their 
 direct, single and uncombined testimony 15 
 concerned, he may be Divine, Angelic, or hu- 
 man. Thus, it might undoubtedly have pleas- 
 ed Atmieuty Gop to convey a knowledge of 
 the most sublime and most awful verities of 
 our Holy Religion by other messengers and 
 ministers than His only begotten and well- 
 beloved Son. Since, however, the method, ac- 
 tually chosen, has been one of condescending 
 grace and goodness; since He, “who is the 
 “image of the invisible Gon, the first-born 
 “ of every creature; by whom were all things 
 “ created that are in Heaven and that are in 
 “ earth—visible and invisible—whether they 
 “ be thrones or dominions or principalities or 
 “ powers—who is before all things and by 
 “whom all things consist*”—since a Being, 
 ΑἸ. δὲ 10.110} 
 
SERMON IV. 91 
 
 thus great and glorious, has stooped to be- 
 come our Teacher, we may surely expect, in 
 listening to His instructions, to catch occa- 
 sionally the sound of more than mortal voice, 
 and to receive not unfrequently some deep 
 impressions of awe and wonder in His pre- 
 sence. His “word,” or “ Himself, the Word 
 “ of Gop,” as we may rather choose to under- 
 stand the passage, “ quick and powerful and 
 “ sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing 
 “even to the dividing asunder of soul and 
 “spirit and of the joints and marrow,” is 
 likely to prove “a discerner of the thoughts 
 “and intents of our heart.”—“ Naked and 
 “opened unto the eyes of Him, with whom 
 “we have to do’,” we shall be conscious, in 
 our own breasts, that “ He needed not,” even 
 in the day of His humiliation, “ that any 
 “should testify of man; for He knew what 
 “ was in man®.” We may realise that effect of 
 His teaching which St. Luke has described, 
 when he states that “Jesus taught in the 
 “Synagogues of Galilee, being glorified of 
 “4}} "Ὁ We may hope to gain, from a grow- 
 ing acquaintance with His Discourses, a fixed- 
 ness of purpose in His Service and a steadi- 
 ness of attachment to His adorable Person, 
 which no earthly power shall be able to 
 
 b Heb. iv. 12,13. © St. John τι. 25. 4 St. Luke iv. 15. 
 
92 SERMON IV. 
 
 shake. And, if temptations sometimes harass 
 our minds or momentary doubts intrude, we 
 shall hear His gentle expostulation: “ Will 
 “ye also go away?” and shall learn firmly 
 to answer: “ Lorp, to whom shall we go? 
 “Thou hast the words of eternal life: and 
 “ we believe and are sure that Thou art that 
 “ Curist, the Son of the Livine Gop*.” 
 
 The Parables, spoken by our Lorn, form a 
 considerable portion of His recorded teach- 
 ing; and on many accounts, demand the 
 earnest attention of all, who are desirous of 
 understanding and profiting by the lessons of 
 His ministry. The word Parable, as it is, in 
 its largest meaning, employed in the New 
 ‘Testament, comprehends several varieties of 
 illustrative and figurative language, for which 
 the Art of Rhetoric supplies several distinct 
 appellations. Commonly however the name 
 is, in our minds, associated with that complete 
 and most interesting form of illustration, 
 which has been called Fable or Apologue. 
 Accordingly, when we say that the Gospels 
 abound with Parables, we speak of narratives 
 of this kind; entire, consisting of parts, inge- 
 niously contrived, skilfully arranged, united 
 into one whole; and moreover so managed, 
 either as to the occasions or as to the manner 
 
 e St. John vi. 67, 68, 69. 
 
SERMON IV. 93 
 
 of their delivery, as to suggest some import- 
 ant moral or spiritual lesson. It was with 
 many such Parables as these that St. Mark, 
 in the words of the text, represents our Sa- 
 viour to have spoken the word publicly unto 
 the people; it was on such Parables that the 
 same Evangelist states Him to have founded 
 His private Discourses, uttered in the hearing 
 of His Disciples alone. The use of such Para- 
 bles as these however had not marked the be- 
 ginning of His ministry. From the first in- 
 deed, His plain, simple and authoritative doc- 
 trine was variegated and adorned by apt 
 similitudes; by lively comparisons; by illus- 
 _ trations, drawn from the occurrences of daily 
 life and the circumstances of surrounding 
 scenes—illustrations always graceful, digni- 
 fied and forcible—familiar, without being 
 low—neither far-fetched nor too obvious. 
 Who, that has read and studied the Sermon 
 on the Mount, can be at a loss for the means 
 of verifying this statement ? Who can follow 
 Jesus to the end of the sayings, which He, on 
 that occasion, spake, without being astonished 
 at the beauty, as well as the authority, of His 
 manner of teaching? Notwithstanding this 
 admission, it would seem that set and formal 
 Parables—Parables, in that limited sense, in 
 which we usually employ the word—were not 
 
04 SERMON IV. 
 
 spoken by our Lorp, until the first year of 
 His public life had been accomplished, and 
 the second had already made some progress. 
 This fact, in itself not undeserving of notice 
 for those, who would trace the order of His 
 proceedings, naturally leads us to inquire 
 what were the views and motives, which in- 
 fluenced Jesus Curist, when He at length 
 had recourse to the method of instruction, 
 that afterwards holds so prominent a place in 
 the Records of His ministry? St. Matthew 
 informs us that ancient Prophecy was thus 
 fulfilled: “ All these things spake Jesus unto 
 “the multitude in Parables; and without a 
 “ Parable spake He not unto them; that it 
 “might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the 
 “ Prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in 
 “ Parables; I will utter things, which have 
 “been kept secret from the foundation of the 
 “world'.” A distinguishing feature of the pro- 
 mised Mxss1an’s method of teaching, which 
 the Prophetic Volume had long before indi- 
 cated, is observed to mark the instructions of 
 Jesus of Nazareth and coincides with other 
 proofs in establishing His claims to the cha- 
 racter and the office of the Curist. But we 
 naturally desire and may innocently seek, a 
 farther degree of satisfaction on this subject. 
 
 f St. Matt. xin. 34, 35. Psalm Ixxvin. 2. 
 
SERMON IV. 95 
 
 The occasion of our Lorn’s first use of Para- 
 bles, to which the text relates, drew forth the 
 very question that we are inclined to ask; 
 and to the question Jesus Himself vouch- 
 safed to return a gracious answer. ΤῸ the 
 Evangelist, St. Matthew, we are indebted for 
 the full details of the incident. 
 
 “And the disciples came and said unto 
 “Him: Why speakest thou unto them in 
 “ Parables? He answered and said unto 
 “them: Because it is given unto you to 
 “know the mysteries of the Kingdom of 
 “ Heaven but to them it is not given. For 
 “ whosoever hath, to him shall be given ; and 
 “ he shall have more abundance; but whoso- 
 “ever hath not, from him shall be taken 
 “away even that he hath. Therefore speak 
 “ I to them in Parables, because they, seeing, 
 “see not; and hearing they hear not, neither 
 “do they understand. And in them is ful- 
 “ filled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith: 
 “ By hearing, ye shall hear and shall not un- 
 “ derstand; and seeing, ye shall see and shall 
 “not perceive; for this people’s heart 1s wax- 
 “ed gross and their ears are dull of hearing 
 “ and their eyes they have closed, lest at any 
 “time they should see with their eyes and 
 “ hear with their ears and should understand 
 “with their heart and should be converted 
 
96 SERMON IV. 
 
 “and I should heal them. But blessed are 
 “ your eyes, for they see; and your ears; for 
 “they hear. For, verily, I say unto you that 
 “many Prophets and righteous men have de- 
 “sired to see those things, which ye see and 
 “have not seen them; and to hear those 
 “ things, which ye hear, and have not heard 
 “ them®!” 
 
 In our Savriour’s account of this whole 
 matter, as it is here recorded, a clear distinc- 
 tion is made between the case of the multi- 
 tude and that of His disciples. He undoubt- 
 edly addressed the latter, as entitled to a pri- 
 vilege and enjoying an advantage, of which 
 the former were destitute; and He repre- 
 sented that privilege and that advantage to 
 be the result of opportunities improved, of 
 previous benefits accepted and employed, and 
 thus, by a diligent use, augmented and mul- 
 tiplied. He plainly referred to the course of 
 His preceding Ministry and willingly con- 
 fessed that, in the instance of His disciples, 
 the plan of teaching, which He had adopted 
 and hitherto pursued, had not proved vain or 
 ineffectual. But even for the multitude, 
 justly chargeable with inattention, neglect 
 and guilty indifference, His words breathe a 
 
 & St. Matt. xin. L1O—17. 
 
SERMON IV. 97 
 
 tender spirit of mercy and of condescending 
 kindness. He is pleased to say that He has 
 chosen a new method of instruction for their 
 sake. He saw that Parables were well suited 
 to their circumstances and likely to rouse 
 them from the torpor, into which they had 
 sunk ;—calculated to unclose their eyes and 
 unstop their ears; to open the avenues of ac- 
 cess to their understanding and their hearts; 
 and to convey into their souls, labouring 
 under the fearful disease of obdurate sin, the 
 healing medicine of His pure and perfect doc- 
 trine. Their condition, with a fatal exact- 
 ness, answered to the description, long before 
 given by the Prophet Isaiah ; and for persons 
 in such a condition of spiritual hardness and 
 insensibility, direct reproof, admonition and 
 instruction were but ill adapted. Offended 
 pride might spurn the salutary censure; car- 
 nal security would deride each intimation of 
 danger; carelessness would overlook the cap- 
 tivating lessons even of heavenly wisdom ; 
 stubbornness of heart would effectually resist 
 their gentle influence. There was however 
 still some chance that liveliness of illustra- 
 tion, beauty of figure, the clearness and the 
 force of imaginary scenes, pictured with un- 
 rivalled skill, might arrest attention, might 
 awaken interest;—by pleasing the fancy, 
 H 
 
08 SERMON IV. 
 
 might find a way to move the heart ;—by en- 
 gaging the imagination (that busy faculty, 
 which is too often successful in distracting 
 and misleading the mind) on the side of rea- 
 son, might collect the wandering thoughts 
 and induce a composure, favourable to serious 
 reflection. Fiction might render palatable 
 truths naturally distasteful. The principle of 
 self-love might be soothed and conciliated, by 
 the insinuating art, which leaves each hearer 
 to deduce his own inferences, to make his 
 own application, to detect within himself the 
 particular faults and imperfections, which 
 have been obliquely stated and, in general 
 terms, condemned. The benevolent Re- 
 deemer gladly availed Himself of the oppor- 
 tunity, which He perceived to be still re- 
 maining; and the Gospel History acquaints 
 us with the success of His attempts, when it 
 informs us that eager crowds were often at- 
 tracted by His eloquence and staid listening 
 to His instructions. If the figurative lan- 
 guage, in which He spake, sometimes proved 
 enigmatical and concealed, for the time, His 
 meaning from His immediate hearers, it is to 
 be remembered that this happened but on 
 few occasions—not more frequently than 
 might well serve to exemplify the caution, 
 which He delivered to His disciples—“ not 
 
SERMON IV. 99 
 
 “to cast their pearls before swine’.” A tem- 
 porary veil was thus thrown over predictions, 
 the chief use and value of which were to be 
 subsequent to their fulfilment; or truth was 
 for a while hidden from those, who had not 
 honesty of mind to deserve, or who were too 
 infirm of purpose, for the present, to bear, its 
 open disclosure. But these exceptions do 
 not seem to have entered into our Lorp’s ac- 
 count, when He explained Himself in the 
 manner reported by St. Matthew; nor can 
 they be observed to have had any consider- 
 able effect upon the character of His teaching 
 by Parables. 
 
 Before we are at liberty to pause, for the 
 purpose of reflecting, with due sentiments of 
 wonder and thankfulness, on the demonstra- 
 tion afforded, in our Saviour’s Parables, of 
 His united wisdom and goodness, we are met 
 by a difficulty, arising from the opinion that 
 He spake them with an intended and a stu- 
 died obscurity. According to this opinion, He 
 is said to have designed to hide from all but 
 His constant attendants and His faithful fol- 
 lowers, the lessons of virtue and piety, which 
 His words might to them, but could not to 
 others, convey. In short, His Parables are 
 thought to have been adapted to a state of 
 
 h St. Matt. vu. 6. 
 H 2 
 
100 SERMON IV. 
 
 judicial blindness, in which He found and in 
 which He meant to leave, His unhappy coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 Before any attempt is made to trace this 
 opinion to its origin and to shew the insecure 
 foundation, on which it rests, it may be worth 
 while to consider how irreconcilably it is at 
 variance with our Lorp’s own express decla- 
 rations of the ends of His ministry ;—with 
 His pathetic lamentation over Jerusalem, at 
 the close of His career, as then, but not till 
 then, doomed to inevitable ruin, on account 
 of the loss of opportunities and advantages, 
 which His presence and proposals—His words 
 and works, had afforded ;—with the plain 
 matter of fact, as shewn in the attention of 
 some and the offence of other hearers, on oc- 
 casions when Parables were delivered; and, 
 finally, with the reason of things and the 
 very nature of the case! For the universal 
 acknowledgment of men, in all ages and in 
 all countries—the suffrage alike of cultivated 
 taste and of that native perception of excel- 
 lence, which is, on such a subject, as safe a 
 guide—the universal consent of men assigns 
 to that method of teaching, which our blessed 
 Lorp adopted, qualities and effects, directly 
 opposite to those, which have been lately 
 mentioned. 
 
SERMON IV. 101 
 
 For the farther clearing up of a point, 
 which is of no slight importance in the inter- 
 pretation of the New Testament, it becomes 
 necessary to enter into some detail. It must 
 then, in fairness and candour, be owned that 
 the parallel passages in the Gospels of St. 
 Mark and St. Luke are such as, at first sight, 
 to countenance the notion of a penal and pu- 
 nitive design, on the part of our Lorp. 
 St. Mark reports His words more briefly than 
 St. Matthew; and St. Luke yet more briefly 
 than St. Mark. 
 
 “And He said unto them: Unto you it is 
 “ given to know the mystery of the Kingdom 
 “of Gop; but unto them that are without 
 “all these things are done in Parables—that 
 “ seeing they may see and not perceive—and 
 “ hearing, they may hear and not understand ; 
 “lest at any time they should be converted 
 “and their sins should be forgiven them'.” 
 Such is St. Mark’s statement. St. Luke is con- 
 tent with a yet shorter summary of what was 
 spoken : 
 
 “And He said: Unto you it is given to 
 “ know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Gop: 
 “but to others in Parables, that seeing, they 
 “ might not see, and hearing, they might not 
 “ understand*.” 
 
 i St. Mark iv. 11. k St. Luke vin. 10. 
 H 3 
 
109 SERMON IV. 
 
 No reader of the three Evangelists can 
 doubt that it is the design of each of them to 
 represent our Lorp as quoting, on this first 
 occasion of teaching by Parables, that remark- 
 able passage from the Book of the Prophet 
 Isaiah',which St. Matthew, alone of the three, 
 repeats at full length. In his Gospel,it stands, 
 word for word, as in the Septuagint Version; 
 except that, in two instances, there are varia- 
 tions, altogether immaterial; in one, the trans- 
 position of a pronoun ; in the other, a slight 
 alteration, in the form of a verb™. In the 
 Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke, we. have 
 found rather an allusion than a quotation. 
 The minute circumstantial differences in the 
 narratives can hardly be thought to warrant 
 an opinion, which has however been main- 
 tained, that our Lorp, on two separate, al- 
 though closely connected, occasions, quoted 
 the words of Isaiah; once, as St. Matthew re- 
 lates; and again, soon after and in private, as 
 St. Mark and St. Luke agree in relating; in 
 the former instance, no mention being made 
 of the final cause of speaking in Parables ; 
 in the latter instance, the real intent and 
 purpose of this method of teaching being 
 opened to the disciples, and being shewn by 
 Jesus Curist Himself, to have been punitive 
 
 115. vi. 9. πὶ Note GG, 
 
SERMON IV. 103 
 
 and judicial. Of attempts, like this, to re- 
 duce the Evangelists to a perfect harmony, 
 by multiplying the incidents of the History, 
 which they in common report, it may be re- 
 marked that they are sometimes in danger of 
 being carried too far, and of defeating the 
 very end, at which they aim. They are more 
 likely to magnify the importance of acknow- 
 ledged discrepancies than to leave in the 
 candid mind a settled persuasion of their 
 success. 
 
 A safer principle, for reconciling the three 
 Evangelists in the present case, is at hand; 
 and may be stated in the words of one of 
 those very Harmonists, from whose view of 
 this particular passage I have already ex- 
 pressed my dissent: it is the principle of 
 “estimating the testimony of the less ex- 
 “ plicit, the less circumstantial and the less 
 “ positive among the Evangelists altogether 
 “in conformity with the testimony of the 
 “more so®.” On this principle, St. Matthew 
 must, in the present instance, be chosen for 
 our guide; and under his guidance, it will 
 readily be determined that a mode of expres- 
 sion, which at first sounds like a statement 
 of the final cause, is, in truth, to be under- 
 
 n Note HH. 
 H 4 
 
104 SERMON Iv. 
 
 stood in a milder sense and implies no more 
 than that between our Lorn’s chosen method 
 of teaching and that moral condition of His 
 hearers, which the Prophet had long before 
 described, there was a designed correspond- 
 ence; in other words, that the former fitted 
 and suited, and was meant to fit and suit, 
 the latter. In the mean time, St. Mark and 
 St. Luke appear to be silent, respecting the 
 ultimate purpose of such correspondence: 
 what that is, we are to learn from St. Mat- 
 thew. Not indeed that St. Mark can be re- 
 garded as entirely silent; for, in the words 
 of the text, which belong to the same portion 
 of his Gospel, he plainly intimates that our 
 Lorp aimed at the improvement of His 
 hearers by a gracious accommodation of His 
 instructions to their intellectual and moral 
 capacity : “ With many such Parables spake 
 “ He the word unto them, as they were able 
 Sito hear ἐδ Γ᾽ 
 
 The case of the Gospel miracles may be 
 regarded as analogous to that of the Para- 
 bles; and in the analogy thus subsisting, may 
 be found a strong confirmation of the view, 
 which has now been taken, of the latter— 
 more especially of their design and pur- 
 
 © St. Mark iv. 33. 
 
SERMON IV. 105 
 
 pose, as contrasted with their actual results. 
 St. Matthew, in another passage of his Gospel 
 and on a distinct occasion; distinct, both as 
 being earlier in point of time; and as arising 
 out of that review of His mighty works, which 
 had caused our Saviour to upbraid the cities, 
 wherein most of them had been done; St. Mat- 
 thew, in a passage altogether distinct from 
 that, which has lately been considered, as- 
 cribes to Christ the following language : 
 
 “1 thank thee, O Father, Lorp of heaven 
 “and earth, because thou hast hid these 
 “ things from the wise and prudent and hast 
 “revealed them unto babes. Even so, Fa- 
 “ther; for so it seemed good in Thy 
 “ sight ?.” 
 
 And St. Luke‘ reports the same acknow- 
 ledgment in terms, precisely and without one 
 single variation, the same. 
 
 Whether, according to St. Luke’s narrative, 
 this acknowledgment was or was not made at 
 the same time and in the same place, to 
 which St. Matthew refers it, I undertake not 
 to determine; since, for my present purpose, 
 it 1s sufficient to insist that the words of our 
 Lorp, whether they were once spoken or: 
 more than once repeated, are, as both St. 
 Matthew and St. Luke inform us, founded on 
 
 P St. Matt. xi. 25, 26. q St. Luke x. 21. 
 
100 SERMON IV. 
 
 and suggested by, a retrospect of His mira- 
 cles and of their actual results. At the time, 
 when Jesus so spake, He thankfully owned 
 the wisdom of the Father and expressed a 
 calm acquiescence in His good pleasure. He 
 adored the justice and the mercy of that 
 Dispensation, under which the wise and pru- 
 dent—the Scribes and Pharisees—the saga- 
 cious and politic children of this world— 
 failed to profit by the opportunities afforded 
 to them; whilst babes—the feeble and un- 
 learned, but meek and humble, beholders of 
 His deeds—became children of light and en- 
 joyed clear discoveries of the word and will 
 of Gop. 
 
 The phrase, here employed, of “ hiding 
 “ these things from the wise and prudent” is 
 similar to language often found in the Sacred 
 Volume, which ascribes to Divine agency the 
 permitted results of human folly, wilfulness 
 and sin. ‘To a customary phrase, proceeding 
 from our blessed Saviour’s lips, must be as- 
 signed its usual meaning—as indeed appears 
 most evidently from the tenour of the pre- 
 ceding expostulation, in which He had in- 
 sisted, with a fearful emphasis, on the aggra- 
 vated guilt of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Ca- 
 pernaum, in comparison even with Tyre and 
 Sidon and the cities of the plain. To the 
 
SERMON IV. 107 
 
 towns and villages of Galilee had already 
 been vouchsafed such opportunities and such 
 privileges as Tyre and Sidon—Sodom and 
 Gomorrha—had not known; and it was by 
 the neglect of opportunities and the disre- 
 gard of privileges that the amount of their 
 guilt was increased. 
 
 The painful retrospect required and called 
 forth His lowly submission: it admitted of 
 no other comfort than that of contemplating 
 the happier case of the weak, the weary and 
 the heavy laden, who had reaped advantage 
 from His labours. But His strongest expres- 
 sions must be interpreted agreeably to the 
 view, which He had previously taken, of 
 the condition and circumstances of those, 
 concerning whom He spake. If the Father 
 had indeed “ hidden these things from the 
 “wise and prudent,” it was only in a sense 
 consistent with the display, before their eyes, 
 of miracles, plain and numerous—with the 
 employment of a machinery, contrived, ar- 
 ranged and admirably fitted for the purpose 
 of effecting their conviction and conversion. 
 It is remarkable that St. Luke concludes 
 the passage of his Gospel, which we have 
 now been considering, in the following man- 
 ner : 
 
 “ And He turned Him unto His disciples 
 
108 SERMON IV. 
 
 “and said privately: Blessed are the eyes, 
 “ which see the things that ye see; for I tell 
 “you that many Prophets and Kings have 
 “desired to see those things, which ye see 
 “and have not seen them; and to hear those 
 “ things, which ye hear and have not heard 
 “them*!” 
 
 The same train of thought, conveyed al- 
 most without variation in the same words, 
 St. Matthew, as we have already seen, ascribes 
 to our Redeemer, when He condescended to 
 explain His motives for teaching by Parables 
 and anticipated the results of the method of 
 instruction, which He deliberately and with 
 most merciful intent adopted. In His own 
 mind, the two instances of miracles and Pa- 
 rables were regarded as corresponding with 
 each other, in cause, in tendency and in re- 
 sult; nor does it seem that we should be 
 justified in assigning to the latter ἃ cha- 
 racter of studied obscurity and an express 
 purpose of concealment, which we cannot per- 
 ceive to belong to the former. 
 
 Once more—it is in connection with the 
 miracles of our Lorn that the Evangelist 
 St. John introduces the very same quotation 
 from the Prophet Isaiah, which the other 
 three Evangelists have stated that He Him- 
 
 r St. Luke x. 23, 24. 
 
SERMON IV. 109 
 
 self applied to the subject of His Parables; 
 and St. John’s formula of quotation from the 
 Prophet is precisely that, which St. Mark 
 and St. Luke have employed. When we learn 
 from St. John that, “ though Jesus had done 
 “so many miracles before them, yet they 
 “believed not on Him—that the saying of 
 “ Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which 
 “ He spake: Lorp, who hath believed our 
 “report ? and to whom hath the arm of the 
 “ Lorp been revealed ? Therefore they could 
 “not believe, because that Esaias said again: 
 “ He hath blinded their eyes and hardened 
 “their heart, that they should not see with 
 “their eyes, nor understand with their heart 
 “ and be converted and I should heal them*”— 
 when we read the passages thus quoted and 
 applied by St. John, we clearly understand 
 that the Evangelist is far from intending to 
 say that the inability to believe was superin- 
 duced and caused, in order that the predic- 
 tion of the Prophet might be accomplished ; 
 still less that the miracles in question were 
 wrought with a view to the end of incre- 
 dulity, on the part of those, who should wit- 
 ness them. 
 
 We see that the fact of their unbelief is 
 represented to bespeak a state of mind and 
 
 s St. John xu. 37, 38, 39, 40. 
 
110 SERMON IV. 
 
 heart, which rendered them the awful exam- 
 ples of such blindness and insensibility as the 
 inspired Prophet had foretold. In like man- 
 ner therefore are we to understand the simi- 
 lar language of St. Mark and St. Luke, with 
 respect to Parables. If by them Parables are 
 said to have been uttered “ that the people 
 “ seeing, might not see, and, hearing, might 
 “not understand,” we observe a brief form 
 of quotation or of reference; and discover 
 that it was the object of both these Evan- 
 gelists, in perfect agreement with St. Mat- 
 thew, to point out a twofold fulfilment of a 
 remarkable passage of the Prophetic Volume— 
 as that passage related, on the one hand, to 
 the moral condition of the hearers of the 
 Messran; and on the other, to the peculiar 
 manner of instruction, which He adopted. 
 And now, at length, from a discussion, 
 which will not be deemed unimportant and 
 which, it is hoped, may prove not unprofit- 
 able, we are at liberty to return to a consi- 
 deration of the aid, which Parables lent to 
 the attractive eloquence and the persuasive 
 doctrine of the Son of Gop. And here how 
 can we better form a conception of their na- 
 tural tendency and their powerful effect for 
 His immediate hearers, than by reflecting on 
 the manner, in which they reach ourselves 
 
SERMON IV. 111 
 
 and come home to our own bosoms? If an 
 appeal be made to our judgment and feel- 
 ings, we shall surely answer that there is not 
 for ourselves any peculiar difficulty in ascer- 
 taining the scope and purport and general 
 meaning of the Parables of the New Testa- 
 ment. We shall readily own that these are 
 not the passages, which place formidable ob- 
 stacles in our way—which perplex and em- 
 barrass us, in our sincere endeavours to un- 
 derstand the Sacred Word and apply its rules 
 to practice. On the contrary, are we not con- 
 scious that these are portions of Holy Scrip- 
 ture, on which we dwell with a lingering 
 fondness—to which we recur with never fail- 
 ing interest—in which we find engagement 
 without weariness and instruction without 
 offence? When in early childhood, we, like 
 Samuel, “ did not yet know the Lorp neither 
 “ was the word of the Lorn yet revealed unto 
 “us'’ these winning narratives had power 
 to fix our attention; and by them we were 
 gently and gradually taught to distinguish 
 the voice of Gop, calling us, from that loved 
 voice of parental or Pastoral authority, with 
 which for a while we innocently confounded 
 it. The same passages of the Holy Gospels 
 have formed the entertainment and the so- 
 t 1 Sam. im. 7. 
 
112 SERMON IV. 
 
 lace of our riper manhood; and we expect 
 that they will become for ourselves, what we 
 find that they have been and are for many 
 around us, the source of refreshment and of 
 mental vigour in declining years. 
 
 It is moreover from the Parables of our 
 blessed Lorn especially that we learn the 
 true philosophy of Morals. They furnish 
 principles of action rather than precise and 
 definite rules of conduct. Whilst they are 
 far removed from the stiffness and formal- 
 ity of burdensome and tedious directions 
 for the minute details of daily behaviour, 
 they stand equally distant from the vague 
 and inapplicable generalities of abstract 
 theory. Their lessons spring out of the 
 relations, events and circumstances of real 
 life—of that life, which we ourselves are liy- 
 ing—but the life, of which they draw the 
 striking picture, is for the most part stripped 
 of local and temporary peculiarities; if such 
 peculiarities are ever allowed to remain, they 
 impart only an additional interest, when they 
 are observed; and have scarcely a perceptible 
 influence, in rendering the proper practical 
 inferences less easy or less perspicuous for 
 men of every age and every country. Re- 
 taining each tender and touching association, 
 to which our common nature is alive, they 
 
SERMON IV. 113 
 
 yet condescend to nothing low, they are dis- 
 figured by no shade of coarseness ; they offer 
 no repulsive features. In short, it may be 
 truly said that, wherever the Holy Gospels 
 have been—wherever they shall be, read and 
 studied, the Parables, contained in them, have 
 served and will serve to exalt our Lorp and 
 Saviour Jesus Curist, as a Moral Teacher, 
 above all who have hitherto appeared in that 
 character. His vast superiority in this re- 
 spect cannot establish—is not alleged to prove 
 —the doctrine of His Divine nature. But 
 it is in perfect harmony with that doctrine, 
 which it in some sort confirms, and by 
 which it is itself illustrated and explained. 
 When we regard our great Instructor as Gop 
 in the form and likeness of man, we can ac- 
 count for the searching power and penetrating 
 force of the lessons, which He taught. The 
 Supreme Master of all minds, He knew well 
 how to reach those hidden recesses, which the 
 varying circumstances of time, of place and 
 of customs may disguise and cover but which 
 are really to be found in all”. “He that 
 “ planted the ear, shall He not hear ? He that 
 “ formed the eye, shall He not see* ἢ Since it 
 is “our Gop who instructs us to discretion 
 “ and teaches us;” since the words to which 
 « Note KK. x Psalm xciv. 9. 
 
114 SERMON IV. 
 
 we are called to listen, “come forth from the 
 “ Lorp of Hosts, which is wonderful in coun- 
 “ sel and excellent in working*®”—we perceive 
 a sufficient reason—a fit and adequate cause 
 —for the superior advantages, which we en- 
 joy. Since the wisdom and the goodness in 
 this instance concerned, are confessed to be 
 Divine, we see only their natural result, in 
 the dispensation, which has provided that the 
 essential elements of Poetry, concentrated 
 and embodied in the teaching of the Son of 
 Gop, should impart to that teaching a fresh- 
 ness and a life, of which no change of exter- 
 nal form or variety of language can deprive 
 it’. ‘Translation may lessen the energy or 
 mar the beauty of the moral precept and the 
 sententious apophthegm; over the Parables 
 of our Saviour it can have but a trifling in- 
 fluence. They depend for their effect upon 
 principles within the human breast, to which 
 an equally successful appeal may be made 
 under all those wide outward differences, 
 which shape or modify the character and the 
 speech of man. Like the works of the same 
 glorious Author, they too admit of being uni- 
 versally proclaimed and published. “ There 
 “ is no speech nor language, where their voice 
 “may not be heard. Their sound may go 
 Υ Isa. xxvii. 29. z Note LL. 
 
SERMON IV. 115 
 
 “ out into all lands and their words into the 
 “ ends of the world.” 
 
 The general view, which has been on the 
 present occasion taken, of the Parables of our 
 Lorp, will be best supported by some parti- 
 cular examples; but, in the first place and 
 especially, by such examples as He Himself 
 was pleased to unfold and apply. To these 
 therefore will our attention be directed in the 
 next Lecture. 
 
 a Psalm xix. 3, 4. 
 
 raed 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 
 
 St. MARK iv. 34 (in latter part.) 
 
 And when they were alone, He expounded all 
 things to His disciples. 
 
 THE interest of the Gospel History is 
 greatly heightened by the manner, in which 
 it often opens to our view the more retired 
 scenes of our blessed Saviour’s intercourse 
 with His chosen companions—with that small 
 band of the immediate attendants on His 
 Person, which consisted of the Twelve and 
 some few others, closely connected with them 
 by ties of relationship or friendship. Upon 
 these occasions we observe, on the part of 
 our Lorn, whatever His public career would 
 lead us to anticipate of mild dignity, of for- 
 bearance and of benevolence; whilst, on the 
 part of His disciples, we behold a demeanour, 
 perfectly suitable to their relation and cir- 
 cumstances—marked not less by a reveren- 
 tial deference to His authority than by a 
 
SERMON V. 117 
 
 freedom of speech, plainly indicating their 
 love and confidence. Passages of this sort 
 have the effect of imparting to the narra- 
 tives of the Evangelists the character and 
 the charms of Biography; they are among 
 the principal means of gratifying our natural 
 desire of information, when it has once been 
 awakened and directed towards the Person 
 and the actions of Jesus Curist; they rivet 
 our attention and engage our hearts. Nor 
 are they interesting only. ‘They may prove 
 eminently profitable-also; for by them light 
 is sometimes thrown over incidents and dis- 
 courses that might otherwise have appeared 
 to us, as to the multitude, in our Loryv’s own 
 day, they did actually appear, obscure and 
 difficult to be explained. The words of the 
 text fix our thoughts on an instance, in which 
 this advantage is set prominently before us. 
 Jesus is in them represented as having avail- 
 ed Himself of an opportunity of retirement, 
 immediately after His delivery of the first 
 series of Parables, which He spake, for the 
 purpose of “expounding all things”—doubt- 
 less all He had been lately saying—“ to His 
 “ disciples.” We can not read this general inti- 
 mation without an involuntary and transient 
 wish that we ourselves were in possession of 
 every word, which the disciples were privi- 
 
 13 
 
118 SERMON V. 
 
 leged to hear. We fancy that we should 
 thus approach the Parables of the Holy Gos- 
 pels with a far better chance than we now 
 have or can ever hope to have, of penetrating 
 into their real meaning and of ascertaining 
 their scope and purport. A slight reflection 
 will however serve to shew that wishes and 
 hopes of this kind are vain and useless; they 
 are in fact innocent, only while they retain 
 that involuntary character, which belongs to 
 them in the first moment of their occurrence. 
 Any such indulgence as renders them sub- 
 stantial or permanent is attended by the 
 mischievous and fatal consequence of sub- 
 stituting, for zeal and diligence in using the 
 means of improvement that have been grant- 
 ed and are within our reach, the idle amuse- 
 ment of imagining advantages and _ helps, 
 which might have been afforded to our weak- 
 ness. But in the particular instance now 
 under our consideration, much more may be 
 said for the reproof of such idle wishes. With 
 regard to the Parables of our Divine Instruc- 
 tor and His own interpretation of them, the 
 very wishes, to which I have alluded, have 
 been, to all practical intents and purposes, 
 indulged and gratified. We are favoured with 
 the full detail of His expositions of two out 
 of the whole number of those, which He de- 
 
SERMON V. 119 
 
 livered, when He first began to speak in Pa- 
 rables. Each of the three earlier Evangelists 
 is careful to relate one of these Parables and 
 ‘to join with it his Master’s own interpreta- 
 tion. St. Matthew also accompanies with our 
 Lorp’s own explanation another of the num- 
 ber, which he alone has preserved. On all 
 ordinary principles, applicable to such a sub- 
 ject, these two clear examples may well be 
 regarded as sufficing for specimens of the 
 method of the Teacher, whom we justly and 
 reasonably desire to follow. The fact how- 
 ever is that the Gospels furnish us with more 
 instances of moral use and improvement than 
 these two; and although it must be granted 
 that the whole number of both formal expo- 
 sitions and briefer applications is small, in 
 comparison with the whole number of the 
 recorded Parables, yet ought we to remember 
 that to the case of an Instructor designing 
 His lessons for everlasting continuance and 
 for universal circulation, and so transmitting 
 them, through the instrumentality of inspired 
 Reporters, are applicable other principles, be- 
 sides those to which reference has been al- 
 ready made. The peculiarity of this case is 
 such as to warrant, on our part, an expecta- 
 tion of authoritative guidance and to lead us 
 to the sure conclusion that, in our Lornp’s 
 14 
 
120 SERMON V. 
 
 recorded expositions and applications, how 
 small soever their number may be, we have 
 the key, which He condescended to put into 
 the hands of His followers, and whereby He 
 was pleased to enable them to unlock and to 
 unfold all the treasures of meaning that may. 
 be contained in His Parables. This however 
 is a conclusion, of which the interpreters of 
 the New Testament have too often lost sight ; 
 and in examining the views that have been 
 taken and the use that has been made of the 
 Parabolic portion of our Lorn’s doctrine, it 
 is really astonishing to observe how little of 
 salutary check or control His own example 
 and practice have exercised over the imagi- 
 nations and the fancies of men. The feeling 
 
 of astonishment naturally excited by the first 
 appearance of such a state of things, yields to 
 other and less agreeable feelings, upon a re- 
 view of the History of Scripture-interpreta- 
 tion. It is unnecessary here to dwell. on the 
 serious injury, which the Christian Church 
 has sustained from the attempts, ancient and 
 modern, of men fond of allegory and disposed 
 to find a mystical or spiritual meaning in 
 every passage of the Sacred Volume’. Since 
 even the Historical portions of that Holy 
 Volume have been thought, by eager and 
 
 ἃ Note MM. 
 
SERMON V. 121 
 
 mistaken, although confessedly, in many in- 
 stances, learned and able Commentators, to 
 convey remote and secondary senses, capable 
 of being exalted to a far higher importance 
 than any, which the letter of the narratives 
 can claim, we cease to wonder that other por- 
 tions, in their own nature more liable to the 
 abuse, should have been, in the most extra- 
 ordinary ways, misapplied, perverted, and, by 
 being rendered vague and nugatory, deprived 
 of their true practical efficiency and worth. 
 We are no longer surprised that Parables 
 especially have shared this fate; and with re- 
 gard to the Parables delivered by our Lorp 
 and recorded in the Gospels, we perceive a 
 reason for peculiar danger, to which they 
 have been exposed, in the view, that has been 
 frequently entertained of their express de- 
 sign and avowed object. As long as the opin- 
 ion is held and maintained that they were 
 spoken for the sake of concealment—that 
 their very end and purpose were to punish 
 wilful obstinacy and hardness of heart, by 
 withholding the instructions, of which that 
 state of mind is unworthy and for which it is 
 unfit—occasion is of course given for a labo- 
 rious search after abstruse and hidden mean- 
 ings and for painful efforts to discover the 
 mysteries that may by any possibility lurk 
 
129 SERMON V. 
 
 under the lovely imagery, which adorns and 
 beautifies the teaching of the Son of Gop. 
 A plain, simple and edifying application (al- 
 though that alone may be intended) is sure 
 to escape the notice of an eye, practised in 
 the nice, and over-curious examination of 
 minute particulars. Such an application is 
 equally sure to offend the taste of an appe- 
 tite for that which is entertaining or marvel- 
 lous, more especially if such appetite has 
 been long pampered by indulgence. 
 
 It was my endeavour, in the preceding Lec- 
 ture of this course, to maintain an opinion 
 directly opposite to that, of which I have been 
 stating some of the evil consequences ; and 
 to vindicate the wisdom and the goodness of 
 Jesus Curist, our Lorp, by shewing that 
 with a skill, which no philosopher has sur- 
 passed, He discerned—with a depth of feel- 
 ing and an energy of language, which neither 
 poet nor orator can rival, He adopted and 
 employed effectual means for the moral im- 
 provement of His hearers, whilst by His Pa- 
 rables more especially He arrested their at- 
 tention, reached their hearts and engaged 
 their strongest and best affections. It is my 
 design, on the present occasion, to confirm 
 and illustrate the opinion, already stated and 
 defended on general principles, by a consi- 
 
SERMON V. 123 
 
 deration of the particular instances, in which 
 our Saviour was pleased to provide for a 
 danger that He foresaw, by expounding or 
 applying His own Parables and causing His 
 expositions and applications to hold a conspi- 
 cuous place in the Records of His teaching. 
 It is obvious that the three earlier Gospels 
 differ widely from that of St. John, in the re- 
 lation which they bear, to our present subject 
 of Inquiry. The last of the Four Gospels is 
 destitute of set and formal Parables; and is 
 comparatively seldom ornamented with figu- 
 rative and illustrative language. And when 
 the three other Gospels are carefully exa- 
 mined, it is soon perceived that they too differ 
 among themselves in this respect. St. Mat- 
 thew, for instance, is more copious than St. 
 Mark, in his report of the Discourses of our 
 Lorp containing Parables; whilst St. Luke, 
 relating often the same Parables and some- 
 times virtually the same interpretation, occa- 
 sionally indeed omits what his predecessors 
 have stated, but more frequently, supplies 
 passages of this class, which are not found else- 
 where, and which impart to his Gospel an in- 
 terest and a value peculiarly its own. Notwith- 
 standing these slighter differences, St. Mat- 
 thew, St. Mark and St. Luke will all furnish 
 
 some useful materials for our present purpose. 
 
194 SERMON V. 
 
 The Parable of the Sower is reported as 
 the first in order of time of all our Saviour’s 
 Parables. It is the one which has been al- 
 ready mentioned as common to the three 
 Evangelists ; and it is in each Gospel followed 
 by that interpretation, which was readily 
 eranted in compliance with the request of 
 the Disciples’. The Parable and its inter- 
 pretation are, on these three occasions, given 
 with but few variations—seldom more than 
 verbal, always and altogether unimportant, 
 so far as the meaning of the whole passage is 
 concerned. The structure of the fictitious 
 narrative is simple and perfectly inartificial ; 
 and therefore, amidst such minor differences 
 of expression and of form as were natural and 
 almost unavoidable, easily preserves its iden- 
 tity; nor is it uninteresting to remark that 
 there is one particular, contributing towards 
 this identity, which is lost to the reader of 
 the English translation only. Each of the 
 Evangelists speaks of the sower—the way- 
 side—the stony places—stony ground or rock 
 —the thorns—and the good ground—with a 
 repeated and carefully preserved emphasis 
 of the definite article; an emphasis, falling 
 in with and confirming the opinion that our 
 
 b St. Matt. xin. St. Mark iv. St. Luke viii. 
 
SERMON V. 125 
 
 Lorp borrowed His illustration, in this in- 
 stance, from a process of the season then pre- 
 sent, going on before the eyes of Himself and 
 His hearers; and from such circumstances, 
 belonging to every field, as were, even while 
 He spake, open to the observation of all. 
 When from this Parable we turn to the moral 
 use, which its Author Himself made of it, we 
 acquire a new perception of its force and 
 beauty; we are struck with the ease, pro- 
 priety and gracefulness of the accommodation 
 in each particular; in the absence of every 
 trace of effort, of the distortion of a single 
 feature, of tedious minuteness in any one in- 
 stance, we pronounce the Apologue and the 
 lesson drawn from it to be alike faultless. 
 We are compelled to feel and own that the 
 lesson is one of universal and of everlasting 
 importance; nor can we conceive a fitter in- 
 troduction to that new method of teaching, 
 which our Lorp was about to employ than 
 the loud and affecting warning, in this Para- 
 ble contained, that the best instruction—the 
 instruction, most wisely contrived and most 
 skilfully conveyed,—depends, after all, for its 
 effect upon the state of mind and heart of 
 those, to whom it is addressed. 
 
 The Parable of the tares of the field is one, 
 which St. Matthew alone of the Evangelists has 
 
126 SERMON V. 
 
 recorded’. The fable here is, if I may so speak, 
 somewhat more highly wrought and more 
 finished than in the preceding example. The 
 incidents, without being either numerous or 
 intricate, have more of variety; and they are 
 woven, with a greater degree of art, into one 
 perfect whole. A scene, often verified in 
 man’s experience, is pictured with colours as 
 true to nature as they are vivid and striking ; 
 and to the whole scene the freshness and ani- 
 mation of real life are imparted by the intro- 
 duction of human agency—of the activity, the 
 vigilance and the prudence, which are con- 
 cerned in the regulation of human affairs. 
 But the application, made by our Divine 
 Teacher Himself, is, as in the former instance, 
 moral, in the strict and proper sense of the 
 word; and, as such, it is moreover plain, 
 forcible and practical. 
 
 “ He that soweth the good seed is the Son 
 “of man. The field is the world. The good 
 “ seed are the children of the Kingdom; but 
 “the tares are the children of the wicked 
 “one. The enemy that sowed them is the 
 “ Devil. The harvest is the end of the world; 
 “and the reapers are the angels. As there- 
 “ fore the tares are gathered and burned in 
 “the fire, so shall it be in the end of this 
 
 ¢ St. Matt. xiii. 24—30 and 36—43. 
 
SERMON ν. 127 
 
 “world. The Son of man shall send forth 
 “ His angels and they shall gather out of His 
 “ Kingdom all things that offend and them 
 “ which do iniquity ; and shall cast them into 
 “a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing 
 “and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the 
 “righteous shine forth as the Sun in the 
 “ Kingdom of their Father.” 
 
 Who can doubt respecting the main lesson 
 here actually derived from the Parable? As 
 little can any one hesitate, with regard to the 
 design of the Parable itself and the intention 
 of Him, who spake it. The purpose clearly 
 was to draw attention to a future public and 
 final declaration of the distinction between 
 the righteous and the wicked; and to found, 
 on the certainty of such declaration, a solemn 
 and impressive warning of the necessity of 
 righteousness and the danger of sin. The 
 machinery of the Parable was so contrived 
 and arranged as to afford occasion and to sup- 
 ply means for the display of some momentous 
 truths, to which our Saviour saw fit to refer, 
 because they were calculated to prove, in a 
 powerful manner, auxiliary towards His chief 
 design. The end of the world—the judicial 
 office, which He Himself shall then assume 
 and execute—the ministry of angelic Beings 
 under His orders—the opposite conditions of 
 
128 SERMON V. 
 
 misery and of glory, to which, after the day 
 of judgment, the race of man shall be con- 
 signed—these momentous facts and events of 
 the Divine Dispensations are incidentally dis- 
 closed and by most apt illustrations repre- 
 sented. ‘These are indeed and may, in a very 
 proper sense of the words, be called “ myste- 
 “ ries of the Kingdom of Heaven ;” but they 
 are mysteries, which the Gospel expressly and 
 avowedly, plainly and without figure, opens 
 and unfolds¢. The figurative language of 
 this Parable certainly serves rather to enforce 
 them on the consciences and to impress them 
 on the hearts of all, than to hide them from 
 one class of hearers and to make them known 
 for the first time to another. It is to be ob- 
 served that one prominent feature of the Pa- 
 rable is entirely overlooked and altogether 
 disappears in the exposition. “The Servants 
 “ said unto the householder: Wilt thou that 
 “we go and gather up the tares? But he 
 “said: Nay—lest while ye gather up the 
 “ tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 
 “Let both grow together until the harvest.” 
 Such was the natural—the almost unavoid- 
 able filling up of the fictitious narrative. No 
 more suitable reason than that, which is in 
 these words given, could have been assigned 
 d Note NN. 
 
SERMON ν. 129 
 
 for the householder’s refusal to comply with 
 the request of his zealous servants, in the 
 supposed case of a field abounding with tares. 
 The spirit, the liveliness and the dramatic 
 interest of the Parable depend in great mea- 
 sure upon the introduction of this striking 
 passage. In our Lorn’s exposition, we look 
 for it in vain. Far from finding any stress 
 laid upon these subordinate, yet by no means 
 unimportant, circumstances, of the fictitious 
 narrative, we cannot discover, in the applica- 
 tion, so much as a distant allusion to them. 
 There is no attempt to turn them to any pur- 
 pose of moral] or spiritual improvement. The 
 omission on the part of our Divine Teacher 
 is rendered so much the more remarkable, by 
 the significance, which He has, in the instance 
 of this Parable attributed to other circum- 
 stances, in themselves apparently not more 
 considerable. What then are we to learn 
 from His omission? What other lesson can we 
 learn than that, whenever we venture to inter- 
 pret the Parables of Holy Scripture, it is our 
 duty, in following the example, which He 
 has set us, to dwell rather on their main 
 scope and purpose than on such minuter fea- 
 tures as are but illustrative, ornamental and 
 subsidiary ? Thus, in the instance now before 
 us, the fact of the delay, until the end of the 
 K 
 
190 SERMON V. 
 
 world, of that broad distinction between the 
 righteous and the wicked, which is finally to 
 take place—the fact of this delay is clearly 
 indicated by the whole tenour of the Pa- 
 rable and forms the basis of its moral ap- 
 plication; but the reasons of the fact it 
 was not our Lorp’s immediate purpose to 
 explain; concerning them, the machinery, 
 which He had condescended to employ for a 
 different end, was not calculated to afford 
 any information. If we are desirous of learn- 
 ing what these reasons are, we need be at no 
 loss. ‘They are elsewhere in the Holy Gos- 
 pels, as well as in many other portions of the 
 Sacred Volume, both plainly stated and pa- 
 thetically urged. They are reasons of gra- 
 cious consideration, not for the righteous but 
 for the wicked—of long suffering and com- 
 passion towards those, who are spared, in or- 
 der that they may be brought to repentance, 
 amendment and salvation. 
 
 From St. Matthew, to whom we owe the 
 Parable of the Tares of the field, we receive 
 also that of the debtor of ten thousand talents 
 and his fellow-servant*. In the case of this 
 beautiful and affecting Parable, the circum- 
 stances of the occasion, which drew it forth 
 from the lips of our Redeemer, might seem 
 
 € St. Matt. xviii, 23 to 35. 
 
SERMON ν. 13] 
 
 sufficient to guard for ever against its mis- 
 application and to rescue its touching inci- 
 dents from the grasp of that criticism, which 
 tortures and deforms all that comes within 
 its reach. “Then came Peter to Him and 
 “said: Lorp, how oft shall my brother sin 
 “against me, and I forgive him? till seven 
 “times? Jesus saith unto him: I say not 
 “unto thee until seven times: but until se- 
 “venty times seven'.’ A more direct or fuller 
 answer to his question the Apostle could not 
 require, nor was it possible that he should 
 forget the terms of a precept, which taking 
 up his own expressions, had so employed 
 them as to put to shame the poverty of what 
 he had doubtless deemed his large and liberal 
 allowance for the faults of his offending bro- 
 ther. Our blessed Lorp however was not con- 
 tent with this method, impressive as it was, 
 of inculcating His favourite topic of mutual 
 forgiveness and of charity. He proceeded to 
 illustrate and enforce the lesson, which He 
 had already delivered, by a Parable, of whose 
 united tenderness and force of appeal none 
 but the most hardened heart can fail to be 
 susceptible. A debtor of the vast sum de- 
 noted by ten thousand talents, having no 
 power to pay, is condemned by his Lord to 
 
 f Ver. 21, 22. 
 mee 
 
199 SERMON V. 
 
 be sold and his wife and his children and all 
 that he had, that payment may be made. Is 
 it possible that one stroke can be added to 
 heighten this picture of hopeless distress and 
 of approaching ruin? ‘The unhappy man has 
 recourse to prayer for indulgence and to pro- 
 mises of final payment; and gains from his 
 compassionate Lorp what he had not ven- 
 tured to ask or to expect—the free forgive- 
 ness of the debt. In the future management 
 of his own affairs, he finds a fellow-servant, 
 owing him an hundred pence—a _ paltry 
 amount, not fit to be compared with his own 
 lately remitted debt: entirely forgetful of the 
 treatment, which he had himself just expe- 
 rienced—not recalled to a recollection of that 
 treatment by the very language of the ad- 
 dress, with which He had approached his 
 Lord, repeated now in his own ears and 
 urged upon himself—he proceeds to extre- 
 mities and casts his debtor into prison. The 
 sorrow of the fellow-servants—the just and 
 natural expression of that sorrow—the calm 
 and reasonable, yet indignant, expostulation 
 of the offended Lord of both debtors—the 
 wrath, with which every hearer must sym- 
 pathise, and the punishment, in the perfect 
 propriety of which all must acquiesce—these 
 several circumstances are put forward and 
 
SERMON V. 133 
 
 described in a manner, to which repetition in 
 any other language than that of the inspired 
 Evangelist cannot but do injustice. 
 
 Of this Parable we have our Saviour 
 Curist’s own moral use and application. It 
 is conveyed in the following brief and com- 
 prehensive terms: “So likewise shall my 
 “ Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye, 
 “from your hearts, forgive not every one his 
 “brother their trespasses.” In these few 
 words is contained the lesson, which He 
 meant to draw; and by such an improve- 
 ment of His own Parable, He has again em- 
 phatically warned us that conscience is ‘not 
 to be disturbed, in her salutary office of re- 
 proof and admonition, by the intrusion of 
 imagination—that the efficiency of His Mo- 
 ral Teaching is not to be diminished, by 
 wasting on its external clothing and its form 
 those efforts of attention, which its substance 
 ought rather to command. 
 
 The Parable of the Labourers in the vine- 
 yard (another of those Parables, which are 
 found in St. Matthew’s Gospel only) is fol- 
 lowed by our Lorp’s own application—an 
 application short indeed, but emphatic—sum- 
 med up in that sententious form of speech, 
 
 & St. Matt. xx. 1—16. 
 K 3 
 
194 SERMON V. 
 
 which He is reported, on other occasions, to 
 have used, and which, by the details of this 
 Parable, He appears to have intended to ex- 
 plain and to enforce. “So the last shall be 
 “ first and the first last; for many be called ; 
 “ but few chosen.” That privileges embraced, 
 as soon as they are offered—that advantages 
 diligently and faithfully employed, from the 
 first moment (how late soever that may be) 
 of receiving them—will, by Gon’s mercy, end 
 in the rich reward, originally promised to 
 the earliest possessors of the same privileges 
 and advantages—this is the general truth— 
 a truth of everlasting interest—which our 
 Saviour inculeates; and by which He gra- 
 ciously raises the hopes and cheers the spi- 
 rits of all such as may, even at “the eleventh 
 “hour of the day” of life, be raised to an 
 alarming consciousness that, as far as the ser- 
 vice of their rightful Lorp and Master is 
 concerned, they have been “ standing all the 
 “day idle.” ‘To the opposite class of per- 
 sons—to those, who are represented by “ the 
 “labourers hired early in the morning into 
 “ the vineyard”—a delicate and indirect ad- 
 monition is conveyed; and they are reminded 
 that the Dispensation, which. is for others one 
 of overflowing goodness, is for them and for 
 all one of perfect equity. “ Be not high- 
 
SERMON V. 135 
 
 “minded but fear"’—is the caution, which 
 they must hear, when they are informed that 
 their places in the Kingdom of Heaven may 
 finally be taken by those, who were once far 
 below themselves;—nor does this caution 
 lose any of its power, by reason of that “ lenity 
 “of supposition” of the Parable’, which as- 
 signs to all the labourers in the vineyard 
 their reward. In this particular instance it 
 is impossible not to observe a characteristic, 
 which belongs to several of our Lorn’s Para- 
 bles. It is well adapted to the circumstances 
 of His own times, and anticipates what was 
 to happen, upon the publication of the Gos- 
 pel to the whole world. ‘The events then 
 present or soon about to occur, were per- 
 ceived by our Lorp to be cases, coming un- 
 der His general supposition and exemplify- 
 ing His general principle; but overlooking 
 for the present, these special cases, as sure in 
 due season to attract the notice, to which 
 they were entitled and to indicate His Pro- 
 phetic foresight, He passes at once to that 
 grand Moral lesson, which is by Him design- 
 ed to belong to all times and places. 
 
 What reader of the Gospels can forget the 
 answer returned to the question of a certain 
 lawyer, who, having received satisfaction on 
 
 h Rom. xi. 20. ι Note OO. 
 K 4 
 
136 SERMON V. 
 
 one important point, “ willing to justify him- 
 “ self, said” farther “unto Jesus: And who 
 “is my neighbour?” The beautiful apo- 
 logue of the good Samaritan is the means of 
 rebuking his captious temper and of com- 
 pelling him to prescribe to himself his own 
 duty. 
 
 “ Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
 “was neighbour unto him that fell among 
 “ the thieves? And he said: He that shewed 
 “mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him: 
 “ Go and do thou likewise.” In words thus 
 few and impressive—in a manner thus point- 
 ed, yet full of dignity—did the Author of this 
 Parable himself explain, apply and enforce its 
 moral lesson! It is melancholy to reflect on 
 the contrast, which other interpretations of 
 the same Parable have often presented; on 
 the low and unworthy associations, which 
 have debased its incidents—on the cumbrous 
 load of fancies, which has concealed its real 
 import ! 
 
 The Parable of the rich man, whose ground 
 “ brought forth plentifully*” is both preceded 
 and followed by a plain and unmetaphorical 
 statement of the lesson, which it was designed 
 to teach: the introduction to the passage is 
 couched in the following terms: “'Take heed 
 
 k St. Luke xu. 15—21. 
 
SERMON V. 137 
 
 “ and beware of covetousness; for a man’s life 
 “ consisteth not in the abundance of the things 
 “which he possesseth”—and the improve- 
 ment, which follows, is comprehended in one 
 striking sentence: “So is he that layeth up 
 “ treasure for himself and is not rich towards 
 “ Gop.” 
 
 The instances, which have now been alleged 
 from the three earlier Evangelists, will abun- 
 dantly suffice for the purpose I have in view. 
 The passage of St. John’s Gospel, which bears 
 the strongest resemblance to the Parabolical 
 portions of the other Gospels, is the former 
 part of the Tenth chapter of that Gospel ; 
 although it is to be remarked that the word 
 there translated Parable is more commonly 
 rendered Proverb; and might perhaps lead 
 us to expect, what we certainly find, less of 
 distinctness and entireness of narrative in the 
 illustrations themselves and a greater degree 
 of intermixture between the figures and the 
 subject represented by them than we else- 
 where look for or discover in Parables. Of 
 set and formal Parables indeed, in that limited 
 sense of the word, in which we have in this 
 and the preceding Lecture employed it, it 
 has been already stated that the Gospel of 
 St. John is destitute. As however the passage 
 above mentioned may serve to throw light 
 
198 SERMON V. 
 
 upon our Savrour’s method of interpretation, 
 it is worth while here to bestow on it some 
 attention. The Shepherd of the sheep, enter- 
 ing by the door into the fold, readily admitted 
 by the Porter, and known to all the sheep, as 
 soon as his voice is heard—was an object fa- 
 miliar to the eye of every inhabitant of Jeru- 
 salem, where regular inclosures for separate 
 flocks kept ready for sacrifice were under the 
 superintendence and management of an ap- 
 pointed officer. From this source our Lorp 
 borrowed His illustration; but finding that 
 He was not understood, He graciously pro- 
 ceeded to point out a twofold application, of 
 which His figurative language admitted. “1 
 “am the door of the sheep—I am the door; 
 “ by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved 
 “and shall go in and out and find pasture.” 
 But the second application rises in beauty and 
 in importance. “I am the good shepherd: 
 “the good shepherd giveth his life for the 
 “sheep. Iam the good shepherd and know 
 “ my sheep and am known of mine.” Taking 
 the occasion, which this lively image furnished, 
 He contrasted Himself with thieves and rob- 
 bers and hireling shepherds, who had gone 
 before Himself, and plainly announced His 
 own purpose of laying down His life for the 
 sheep of that fold, whose limits were to be 
 
SERMON V. 139 
 
 extended, until for the whole world there 
 should be one fold and one shepherd. By thus 
 dividing, He, at the same time, simplified, the 
 application of the imagery, which He had em- 
 ployed; whilst by quickly varying that appli- 
 cation, He withdrew the minds of his imme- 
 diate hearers and meant doubtless to with- 
 draw the minds of His followers for ever, 
 from any over-curious search after some hid- 
 den and mysterious import of His figurative 
 language. 
 
 Upon the whole then we may now safely 
 inquire what ought to be for us the result of 
 a calm survey of the instances, wherein Jesus 
 Curist Himself interpreted or applied his 
 own Parables—whether privately before His 
 disciples only or in the presence of all His 
 hearers ? Does His practice encourage the no- 
 tion that He spake Parables, with a view to 
 cover and conceal His real meaning? Does He 
 sanction any expectation of latent predictions, 
 ultimately to be discovered; or fix our thoughts 
 on dark and enigmatical communications, that 
 may stimulate curiosity but long defy its most 
 successful efforts? That some indeed of His 
 Parables were prophetic, it is impossible to 
 deny: we have regarded one instance, and as 
 it were, specimen, as a proof that they were 
 so; an instance in which, subsequent events 
 
140 SERMON V. 
 
 corresponded with His intimations. And it is 
 as impossible to deny that future events in the 
 world or in the Church may still arise and 
 may disclose a Prophetic meaning in passages, 
 which are not at present held to have that 
 character. But, even in the instances wherein 
 a Prophetic design has been discovered, Pro- 
 phecy does not appear to have been the main 
 and primary object of the Parables: it is 
 rather subordinate to some great Moral pur- 
 pose, to which both immediate and future 
 attention was to be awakened and for the 
 sake of effecting which the texture itself 
 of the fictitious narrative was framed and 
 wrought. We are favoured with an exam- 
 ple and a proof of what we may not im- 
 properly call complex wisdom, as often as 
 we observe that into the substance of Moral 
 lessons are introduced and, as it were, inter- 
 woven prophetic notices also. Again, when 
 we are compelled by the instances, which we 
 have been contemplating, to grant that our 
 Lorp Himself was chiefly intent on drawing 
 a suitable moral or spiritual lesson, what is 
 the manner of doing so on His part, which 
 calls for our notice and imitation? Does He 
 dwell on every minute particular of the ima- 
 ginary scene, not content until He has dis- 
 covered for each its own peculiar significance ? 
 
SERMON V. 141 
 
 The case has been observed to be far other- 
 wise. No verbal niceties, no trifling remarks, 
 no fanciful interpretations can find either a 
 justification or an excuse in the example of 
 our great—our perfect Teacher. His lessons 
 are occasionally marked by what may be 
 called a minuteness of detail; but it is a mi- 
 nuteness which proves neither wearisome nor 
 low. More frequently they are short and em- 
 phatic admonitions, depending on the general 
 air and combined circumstances of images, 
 which He has for ever consecrated to the 
 end of the moral and spiritual improvement 
 of mankind”. 
 
 And now, if our blessed Lorn’s reason for 
 speaking in Parables has been satisfactorily 
 explained and vindicated from some misap- 
 prehensions, to which it has been liable; and 
 if a view, confessedly inadequate, yet in any 
 degree just and accurate, has been taken of 
 the Parables, which He spake and of His 
 own method of interpreting them—we may 
 return, with lowly thankfulness, to the ac- 
 knowledgment, already made, of the good- 
 ness and the wisdom of Him, who has conde- 
 scended to become our Guide and Teacher. 
 Every word that proceeded out of His mouth, 
 
 m Note PP. 
 
142 SERMON V. 
 
 is perceived and felt by us to be worthy of 
 the lofty source, to which we ascribe it; and, 
 as we advance in the knowledge and the 
 practice of His moral precepts, we gain a con- 
 tinually increasing confidence in worshipping 
 
 n 99 
 
 Him as “ Immanuel—Gop with us". 
 
 n St. Matt. 1. 23. 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 
 
 ST. LUKE xv. 1 and 2. 
 
 Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and 
 sinners for to hear Him. And the Pharisees 
 and Scribes murmured, saying: This man re- 
 ceiveth sinners and eateth with them. 
 
 i 
 
 THERE were several distinct occasions, on 
 which the malignant or the mistaken ob- 
 servers of the conduct of our Lorp excepted 
 against Him, on account of His associates ; 
 not indeed His constant and daily compa- 
 nions, but rather those, with whom He some- 
 times and under certain circumstances chose 
 to hold intercourse. <A review of these occa- 
 sions, as they are reported in the Gospel 
 History, falls in with the design and will fur- 
 ther the end of the present course of Lec- 
 tures; since it will place before us some of 
 the most affecting scenes of the ministry of 
 our Lorp and Saviour. In the objections 
 urged by His enemies; in the methods of 
 
144 SERMON VI. 
 
 meeting and removing those objections, adopt- 
 ed by Himself, we shall find matter for much 
 serious reflection; and shall discover some in- 
 cidental but striking notices of that Divine 
 glory, which the lowly condition of His hu- 
 man nature shrouded but did not always nor 
 entirely conceal. 
 
 The first of those occasions, which call for 
 our present attention, is that of the “great 
 “ feast,” which Levi or Matthew, if not zm- 
 mediately, at all events soon after his call, 
 “ made” for our Lorp “in his own house.” 
 
 Each of the three earlier Evangelists fur- 
 nishes a narrative of this occurrence*. ‘The 
 differences between their accounts respect 
 only such nicer touches of the picture as are 
 historically altogether unimportant, although 
 to the accurate eye of a fine moral discern- 
 ment by no means uninteresting. ‘Thus St. 
 Matthew himself, who was at once the host 
 and the reporter, employs not a single ex- 
 pression, which can, by any possibility, inti- 
 mate to the reader of his Gospel his own 
 studious care to do honour to his guest; or 
 which can convey the remotest hint of hospi- 
 tality conducted on a large and liberal scale. 
 From St. Luke alone we learn that Levi made 
 
 a St. Matt. ix. 9—13. St. Mark 1i1.14—17. St. Luke v. 
 a —32. 
 
SERMON VI. 145 
 
 a great feast; and that the company con- 
 sisted partly of his fellow publicans and partly 
 of such other guests as were within his reach 
 and willing to take their places at his board— 
 those doubtless of the number of his ac- 
 quaintance and neighbours, who were most 
 respectable at once in station and in charac- 
 ter; and, who, in the opinion of St. Matthew, 
 were most likely to derive advantage from 
 the Instructor, whose call he had himself re- 
 cently obeyed. The Scribes and Pharisees, 
 indeed, of whom mention is introduced in 
 connection with this feast, may seem, from 
 the reports of St. Matthew and St. Mark, to 
 have been by-standers and spectators only ; 
 but St. Luke’s manner of speaking implies 
 not improbably that they too were among 
 the guests and that they were surprised and 
 annoyed at discovering around them many 
 individuals of those classes of society, which 
 were the objects of their well-known aver- 
 sion. “ There was a great company of pub- 
 “licans and of others, that sat down with 
 “them; but the Scribes and Pharisees of 
 “ them”’—those of them, that were Scribes 
 and Pharisees—“ murmured.” ‘The terms 
 of their objection, according to St. Matthew 
 
 b Note QQ. 
 L 
 
140 SERMON VI. 
 
 and St. Mark, were as follows: “ Why eateth 
 “your Master—how is it that He eateth, 
 “with Publicans and sinners?” whilst St. 
 Luke reports the objection to have been the 
 same in substance and addressed, in the same 
 manner, indirectly to our Lorn, through His 
 disciples, but involving them also, with their 
 Master, in the censure: “ Why do ye eat and 
 “ drink with Publicans and sinners?” Jxrsus 
 overheard what was passing; and, with the 
 calm composure of His wonted dignity, re- 
 lieved His disciples by undertaking to return 
 an answer in behalf both of Himself and 
 them. He referred His censurers, on this 
 occasion, to a remarkable passage of the Pro- 
 phet Hosea, from which they might have 
 learned and ought to have learned how, in 
 the Divine esteem, moral qualities rank above 
 ceremonial observances—how great is the su- 
 periority, in Gon’s sight, of the virtues of the 
 heart over the appointed sacrifices and offer- 
 ings of His own law. St. Mark and St. Luke, 
 omitting the quotation and its awakening ap- 
 peal, mention only our Savrour’s vindication 
 of Himself—St. Mark, in the identical ex- 
 pressions of St. Matthew, St. Luke, in ex- 
 pressions slightly varying, but equivalent in 
 force and meaning: “They that are whole 
 
SERMON VI. 147 
 
 “need not a Physician; but they that are 
 “sick. Iam come, not to call the righteous 
 “ but sinners to repentance ©.” 
 
 Such is the language, in which the Son 
 of Gop vindicated His conduct from the 
 blame that had been cast upon it. We can- 
 not but acknowledge that these few words 
 were well calculated for their primary pur- 
 pose of silencing the cavils of those, in whose 
 hearing they were uttered; and that they 
 were worthy of that care, with which the 
 Evangelists have preserved and transmitted 
 them. In and by them, our blessed Lorp 
 declares that the sinners of the race of man 
 were and for ever will be, the objects of His 
 merciful regard—that it was in the discharge 
 of the very duty, which He had undertaken 
 to perform; in the execution of the very end 
 of His mission and ministry, that He entered 
 into their society, invited and encouraged 
 them to listen to His instructions and held a 
 condescending intercourse with them. He is 
 pleased to illustrate both His principle and 
 His practice by the analogy of a familiar ex- 
 ample; and to insist that a Physician might, 
 with as much propriety, absent himself from 
 the abodes and disregard the applications and 
 entreaties of the sick. as Himself withdraw 
 
 ¢ Note RR. 
 τ, 9 
 
 ~~ 
 
148 SERMON VI. 
 
 from the dwellings and shun the: conversa- 
 tion, of the sinful. That He spake here in a 
 tone of ivony—that He meant to reflect, with 
 any degree of sharpness or severity, on those 
 individuals of the company, in the midst of 
 which He was, who had called forth His ex- 
 planation and defence—it is not necessary to 
 suppose. We may indeed well believe that 
 His penetrating eye detected, in the breasts 
 of some of those around Him, a secret spirit 
 of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation, on 
 a comparison of their own moral condition 
 with that of others. He undoubtedly beheld 
 and pitied the mistake of some, who laboured 
 under a spiritual disease, of which they were 
 unconscious; and for which therefore they 
 neither desired nor sought a remedy. But 
 He thought fit to administer caution and re- 
 proof indirectly, in order that their gentle 
 and insinuating application might prove so 
 much the more influential’. He allowed, 
 for the moment, a contrast to be drawn be- 
 tween the righteous—the morally healthful 
 —and their brethren, the sinners, the spirit- 
 ually infirm and sick. The former He en- 
 deavoured, by the attraction of His own ex- 
 ample, to gain over to a candid interpretation 
 of the offences—to an indulgent commise- 
 d Note SS. 
 
SERMON VI. 149 
 
 ration of the circumstances, of their less 
 happy fellow-creatures. He was aware that 
 the sympathy, which He strove to awaken, 
 would gradually and imperceptibly but in- 
 evitably lead to the discovery that they them- 
 selves, partakers of one common nature, were 
 also sharers of the same sorrows, heirs of the 
 same imperfection, and liable to the same 
 errors and failings. He intended that the 
 distinction, on which He insisted, between 
 moral purity and legal strictness, should serve 
 to indicate to those, who were confessedly ir- 
 reproachable in respect of the latter, that 
 they might still be wanting in the former. 
 Above all, His plain and open statement of 
 the express purpose, for which He had come 
 into the world, was likely to fix the intent 
 observation of all upon His Person and upon 
 the office, which He assumed; whilst the 
 merciful and gracious nature of that avowed 
 purpose could hardly fail to melt the affec- 
 tions of all hearts towards Him. No hearer 
 would willingly be excluded from the num- 
 ber of those, whom so exalted an Instructor 
 had come down from Heaven to teach—whom 
 so skilful and so benevolent a Physician 
 sought to heals. Nor was our Lorn’s method 
 of reply and of defence suited to His first and 
 € Note TT. 
 
 Q2 
 
 Lo 
 
150 SERMON VI. 
 
 immediate hearers alone. It nearly concerns 
 all who have learned—all who shall hereafter 
 learn, His lessons of meekness and of charity: 
 it is well adapted even to our own case and 
 may yield warning and instruction to our- 
 selves’. Subdued and softened by the Divine 
 Redeemer’s care for sinners, we are taught 
 to cherish within our breasts the secret con- 
 sciousness that we too are included in that 
 number—a consciousness, in itself, indeed 
 painful and oppressive—yet freed from the 
 bitter anguish of despondency and rendered 
 a salutary principle of activity and of amend- 
 ment, by virtue of that disclosure of rich 
 mercy, from which it takes its origin. We 
 are admonished that, if we have enjoyed ad- 
 vantages of information and of virtue, above 
 many of our brethren, it becomes us to make 
 a thankful acknowledgment of the undeserved 
 goodness, which alone has caused the differ- 
 ence. Nor can we give a better or a more 
 decisive proof of our real thankfulness than 
 by endeavouring to follow, although it must 
 be at an humble distance, the example of con- 
 descension and of kindness, which our Sa- 
 vrour has, in this instance, plainly set before 
 us. He has shewn that intercourse even with 
 the bad is a duty, which we owe to them and 
 f Note UU. 
 
SERMON VI. 15] 
 
 which we may discharge without injury to 
 ourselves. Retirement from that world, which 
 He blessed with His presence and with His 
 unwearied efforts of benevolence, would im- 
 ply a conceit of our own merits or a super- 
 cilious contempt of our brethren, which He, 
 by His practice and by His vindication of 
 that practice, has both discountenanced and 
 condemned. Still are we ever to carry with 
 us into society one important caution, of 
 which our great Exemplar stood in no need®. 
 The declared purpose of His coming into the 
 world was to “call sinners to repentance”— 
 and for the accomplishment of this purpose, He 
 possessed the high qualifications of freedom 
 from all taint of sin and of a nature not liable 
 to its contagion. Our lowlier destiny is to 
 undergo a course of discipline and of proba- 
 tion, that may repair the ruins of our fallen 
 state, aid the natural weakness of our moral 
 powers, and impart to our oft-repeated efforts 
 the fixedness and constancy of virtuous habits; 
 and it is in the fulfilment of this, our own 
 destiny, that we are, each one of us, in his 
 proper station, expected and required to con- 
 tribute by our example and our influence, 
 towards the improvement of our fellow-crea- 
 tures. With a view to their improvement, it 
 8 Note VV. 
 L 4 
 
152 SERMON VI. 
 
 is manifest that we must hold intercourse 
 with them; but then only can we carry on 
 such intercourse profitably to others and with- 
 out disadvantage for ourselves, when we re- 
 member that it is by no means free from 
 danger. Occasions will arise, when we may 
 well shudder for our safety; nor among the 
 least perilous will be those, into which we 
 may have been led by a sincere and honest 
 desire to do good; and upon which we may 
 have entered with a firm resolution to main- 
 tain our own principles. From occasions of 
 this sort it will be the part of prudence some- 
 times to retire, lest our own weakness, mistaken 
 for the call of duty, expose us unnecessarily 
 to “the wicked, who lay wait, as he that set- 
 “ teth snares, who set a trap and catch men*.” 
 But if escape from the position of danger be 
 impossible; if the retreat, which prudence re- 
 commends, be not practicable; then may we 
 hope to be secure from injury, even in the 
 midst of danger; and one of the best means of 
 security we shall find in a steady and devout 
 contemplation of our Lorp and Saviour, 
 holding intercourse with sinners for their 
 welfare, and never, for one moment, unmind- 
 ful, in their company, of the sole end, which 
 He proposed. His holy example, thus sea- 
 h Jer. v. 26. 
 
SERMON VI. 153 
 
 sonably present to our minds, will exert a pow- 
 erful influence; and will, moreover, prompt 
 an earnest prayer, which He will vouchsafe to 
 hear and answer, that His “ grace may be suf- 
 “ficient for us—that His strength may be 
 “ made perfect in our weakness.” 
 
 The second of those occasions, which are to 
 be considered in the present Lecture, is re- 
 corded by St. Luke alone in the Seventh chap- 
 ter of his Gospel. We there read that an enter- 
 tainment was given to our Lorp in the house 
 of a Pharisee, named Simon, and that “a wo- 
 “man in the city, which was a sinner, when 
 “ she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pha- 
 “ visee’s house, brought an alabaster box of 
 “ ointment ” and bestowed its contents on the 
 person of our Redeemer, with every accompa- 
 nying action that could signify her sense of 
 guilt, her hope of pardon and her reverence 
 for His character and office. Before Him she 
 felt that her sins were open, without her own 
 confession ; and from Him, without any words 
 of prayer, she implored their forgiveness. The 
 thoughts of the Pharisee went to disparage 
 not so much the moral purity as the prophetic 
 discernment of his guest. He deemed the 
 woman unworthy of the reception, with which 
 she had been indulged ; and was ready to con- 
 
 12 Cor. xi. 9. 
 
154 SERMON VI. 
 
 clude that he had himself overrated the skill 
 and penetration of the Teacher, whom he had 
 evidently already learned to regard as inspired. 
 “ This man, if he were a Prophet, would have 
 ‘known who and what manner of woman 
 “ this is that toucheth him; for she is a sin- 
 * ner.” Such was the reflection, which Simon 
 probably owned to have been passing in his 
 mind, after he had been astonished by the 
 proof, which our Lorp immediately gave, of 
 its injustice and error. Of that proof it is for 
 us extremely difficult to conceive any thing 
 like the full force and value, when it was at 
 first afforded. Who indeed, even then, could 
 duly estimate it, save the Pharisee himself, to 
 whom our Saviour spake? By the answer 
 returned to his own unuttered reasonings ; 
 by the exposure of his inmost thoughts, he 
 must have been instantaneously persuaded 
 that himself—his guests—and “the woman, 
 “ which was a sinner”—were all alike open to 
 the inspection of a Teacher, who was truly 
 inspired—of One, who was indeed a Pro- 
 phet. 
 
 “ Jesus answering said unto him: Simon, 
 “1 have somewhat to say unto thee. And he 
 “saith: Master, say on. There was a certain 
 ἐς creditor, which had two debtors, the one 
 “ owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. 
 
SERMON VI. 155 
 
 “ And when they had nothing to pay, he 
 “ frankly forgave them both. Tell me there- 
 “fore which of them will love him most ἢ 
 “ Simon answered and said: I suppose that he, 
 “to whom he forgave most. And He said 
 “unto him: Thou hast rightly judged. And 
 “ He turned to the woman and said unto Si- 
 “mon: Seest thou this woman? I entered 
 “into thine house: thou gavest me no water 
 “for my feet; but she hath washed my feet 
 “with tears and wiped them with the hairs 
 “of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but 
 ‘“‘ this woman, since the time I came in, hath 
 “ not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with 
 “oil thou didst not anoint; but this wo- 
 “man hath anointed my feet with ointment. 
 “ Wherefore I say unto thee: Her sins, which 
 “ are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; 
 “but to whom little is forgiven, the same 
 “ loveth little.” 
 
 This passage has a deep pathos and an ex- 
 quisite tenderness, scarcely elsewhere equal- 
 led, certainly nowhere surpassed, even in the 
 Sacred Volume. The felicity of the intro- 
 duction, which is courteous, yet awakening ; 
 the appositeness of the imaginary case, put 
 in the Parable; its irresistible force, which 
 at once drew forth from the Pharisee him- 
 self the intended moral;—these circum- 
 
156 SERMON VI. 
 
 stances, in themselves highly interesting, yet 
 fall far short, in effect and moving influence, 
 of the incidents that follow. With mild 
 aspect turned towards the woman, whom 
 Simon had harshly judged, our Saviour 
 solicited the attention of His host; and by 
 means of a contrast, consisting of a series of 
 particulars rising one above another in beauty 
 both of conception and of language, did am- 
 ple justice to the proofs which she had af- 
 forded, of repentance and of grateful affec- 
 tion; and so defended His own acceptance of 
 her respectful offices of zeal and kindness.— 
 No longer could the Pharisee entertain a 
 doubt respecting our Lorp’s perfect know- 
 ledge “ who and what manner of woman she 
 “was” that had approached His Person. It 
 was in the very character of a large debtor to 
 Atmicury Gop—of a grievous sinner—that 
 she had received the encouragement, of which 
 Simon had deemed her, by reason of that cha- 
 racter, to be unworthy; but to the intuition 
 of Jesus Curist was open also that “ broken 
 “ and contrite heart,” of which Simon could 
 perceive only such outward tokens as might to 
 any but the all-seeing eye prove deceitful. 
 When Jesus said unto her: “ Thy sins are 
 “ forgiven :—Thy faith hath saved thee: Go 
 “in peace ’”’—the same astonishment, which 
 
SERMON VI. 157 
 
 had been excited by His use of the same lan- 
 guage, on an occasion already noticed in a 
 preceding Lecture, was again renewed; and 
 “ they that sat at meat with Him began to say 
 “within themselves: Who is this that for- 
 “ giveth sins also ?”—In attempting to return 
 a satisfactory answer to this question, Simon 
 and his guests were undoubtedly beset with 
 many difficulties, of which we are unconscious. 
 By ourselves may be clearly discerned, in the 
 Person of our Lorp and Saviour, that High 
 and Holy Being, against whom the sins of 
 men are committed; and to whom the debt- 
 ors of five hundred and of fifty pence are alike 
 accountable; nor is it until the whole trans- 
 action has been illustrated by the light, which 
 the doctrine of the Divine nature of Jesus 
 Curist throws over it, that its true purport 
 can be fully apprehended or its practical use- 
 fulness be duly felt and experienced *. 
 
 The occasion, which I shall notice as third 
 in order of this Discourse (without reference 
 to order of time, which is immaterial to my 
 purpose) is, like the last, furnished by St. 
 Luke only. It is that, on which a man, 
 named Zaccheus, a chief among the Publi- 
 cans, who was rich, “ received our Lorn joy- 
 “ fully!” Among the attending crowd, which 
 
 k Note WW. 'St. Luke xix. 2—10. 
 
158 SERMON VI. 
 
 was evidently great, the result of our Savi- 
 our’s unsolicited proposal to visit the house 
 of Zaccheus and of His immediate execution 
 of His gracious design, was a general mur- 
 mur of disapprobation and dissatisfaction. 
 “ And when they saw it, they all murmured, 
 “saying that He was gone to be guest with 
 “aman that is a sinner.” ‘There is much 
 reason to believe that the sinister representa- 
 tion thus given of the character of Zaccheus 
 was owing to prejudice against the order of 
 men, to which he belonged. It was a hasty 
 and inconsiderate application of that sweep- 
 ing censure, which, however natural and even 
 just it might be with regard to the whole 
 class, was yet not fit to be pronounced in- 
 discriminately of all the individuals of that 
 class. Widely different were the principles, 
 on which Jesus Curist formed His estimate 
 of character and conduct; and Zaccheus was, 
 in this instance, happy in being subjected to 
 a scrutiny, which adverted to all the pro- 
 prieties of his especial case. Of that exact 
 scrutiny however he was not aware, until 
 he heard the unexpected summons: “ Zac- 
 “ cheus, make haste and come down; for to 
 “day I must abide at thy house.” Unable to 
 catch a sight of Jesus passing, “ for the press, 
 “because he was little of stature,” he had 
 
SERMON VI. 159 
 
 run before and climbed up into a sycamore 
 tree. What then must have been his amaze- 
 ment—how strong the emotions of his bosom, 
 when he heard the voice of Jrsus calling 
 him by name and accompanying the call with 
 an anticipation of his wishes and with a free 
 and spontaneous offer to gratify and more 
 than gratify, his fondest hopes of “ seeing 
 “ Jesus, who He was!” “To day I must 
 “ abide at thy house.” “ Welcome but mys- 
 “terious words!” (so may we interpret the 
 Publican’s secret thought) “ What is that 
 “ necessity, of which Thou speakest ? What 
 “necessity in this case can there be, save 
 “that which is created by Thy overflowing 
 “ goodness—by Thy intention of meeting 
 “and of fulfilling my earnest desires—and 
 “of bringing even to my house those glad 
 “tidings of salvation, of whose messenger I 
 “ ventured to seek only a passing and a dis- 
 “tant view?” Zaccheus, by stating probably 
 his practice in time past rather than his re- 
 solution for the future, called forth the ap- 
 probation and the blessing of his illustrious 
 guest : 
 
 “ Behold, Lorp, the half of my goods I 
 “ give to the poor; and if I have taken any 
 “ thing from any man, by false accusation” — 
 if in the discharge of my official duties, 1 am 
 
160 SERMON VI. 
 
 misled by the false information of my de- 
 pendents—* I restore him four-fold™.” “ And 
 “ Jesus said unto him: This day is salvation 
 “come to this house; forsomuch as he also 
 “is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man , 
 “is come to seek and to save that which was 
 ἘΠ τς τῆι 
 
 This address was doubtless uttered in the 
 hearing of many, who had cast unmerited 
 reflections on Zaccheus. It intimates that 
 there had been nothing in the employment 
 of a Publican to forfeit for him that com- 
 mon privilege of the children of Abraham, 
 of which the Scribes and Pharisees were apt 
 to boast; it announces a general purpose of 
 loving-kindness and of mercy, within which 
 all orders and all individuals of the human 
 race are for ever to be included. 
 
 There still remains to be noticed a fourth 
 occasion, on which the Scribes and Pharisees 
 urged an objection against our Lorn, on the 
 ground of receiving sinners and eating with 
 them. It occurred before that one, which has 
 just been considered ; but is purposely taken 
 last in order, for the convenience of devoting 
 the conclusion of this Lecture to an exami- 
 nation of those Parables, by which Jesus met 
 
 m Note XX. 
 
SERMON VI. 161 
 
 and answered the murmuring complaints of 
 unfair and prejudiced judges of His con- 
 duct. 
 
 Of this occasion also we gain our know- 
 ledge from St. Luke alone, who, in the words 
 of the text, informs us that “then drew near 
 “unto Him all the Publicans and sinners 
 “for to hear Him. And the Pharisees and 
 “Scribes murmured, saying: This man re- 
 “ celveth sinners and eateth with them °”.” 
 
 It appears that, without other explanation 
 or defence, our Lorp at once delivered a se- 
 ries of three Parables, for His own vindica- 
 tion and for the reproof of His adversaries. 
 And of these Parables it will scarcely be de- 
 nied that, by reason of their clearness, ap- 
 propriateness and force, they were eminently 
 calculated to serve His two-fold purpose. A 
 review of them will contribute towards the 
 farther elucidation of those principles of in- 
 terpretation, which have been deduced from 
 our Lorp’s own practice; and will thus con- 
 firm the account that has been already given 
 of the general and main design of the Para- 
 bles of the New Testament. 
 
 The first of the three is that of the Jost 
 sheep’. ‘The imagery of this Parable is fami- 
 liar to every reader of Holy Scripture, in 
 
 n St. Luke xv. J, 2. ° Ver. 3—7. 
 M 
 
162 SERMON VI. 
 
 various portions of which it is beautifully 
 employed. Our Saviour is recorded to have 
 borrowed from it several touching illustra- 
 tions; and in one passage of St. Matthew’s 
 Gospel’, it appears in the form of a perfect 
 Parable. In the same form, but as uttered 
 on a distinct occasion, St. Luke here repre- 
 sents Curist to have used the same imagery, 
 and to have introduced it with the suitable 
 language of personal appeal to the hearts of 
 His hearers: “ What man of you”—which of 
 yourselves—* having an hundred sheep”—? 
 The Shepherd’s anxiety for the lost sheep— 
 His perseverance in the search after it—his 
 care to lay the wanderer, either worn with 
 fatigue or in danger of going astray yet again, 
 upon his shoulders—his secret joy on his 
 homeward journey—and the increase of that 
 joy, among his friends and neighbours, after 
 his arrival at the fold—all these details disap- 
 pear from the application, for which however 
 they prepare the way and of which they also 
 heighten the effect: “I say unto you that 
 “ likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sin- 
 “ner, that repenteth, more than over ninety 
 “and nine just persons, which need no re- 
 “ pentance.” 
 
 It is to be lamented di out of this affect- 
 
 P St. Matt. xvii. 12—14. 
 
SERMON VI. 163 
 
 ing application irrelevant and unprofitable 
 discussions have sometimes arisen. It has 
 been asked whom our Lorp meant by the 
 ninety and nine sheep that remained secure 
 within the fold; whether or not among the 
 sons of Adam are to be found those just per- 
 sons, Who are pronounced by Him to need no 
 repentance ; and how it has happened that 
 He intimates so great a disproportion of num- 
 bers as that of ninety-nine to one; and as- 
 cribes to the shepherd a livelier joy, on the 
 recovery of that one than in the safety of the 
 rest ? The proper answer to these and all si- 
 milar questions is that our blessed Lorn de- 
 signed not to settle nor even to allude to them. 
 Because the Parable is constructed in agree- 
 ment with that condition of our finite nature, 
 which permits not more engrossing objects 
 than one to be entertained at the same time, 
 we are not therefore to conclude that any 
 part of its intended lesson depends upon cir- 
 cumstances inseparable from such structure. 
 It is enough for us to know, on our Saviour’s 
 own authority, that all who stand in need of 
 repentance are indicated by the lost and wan- 
 dering sheep; and that for the purpose of 
 recalling them to safety and happiness His 
 Parable was spoken; since by its means, He 
 not only explained and defended the inter- 
 
 mM 2 
 
164 SERMON VI. 
 
 course which He actually held with sinners 
 but also proclaimed His everlasting concern 
 for the disobedient and the wilful. What- 
 ever may be believed or imagined respecting 
 other beings, under Gon’s moral government 
 —whether among creatures of a rank and 
 order similar to our own or belonging to some 
 higher department of the universal dominion 
 of the Father of all, there exist those, who 
 may be denoted by the sheep, that have never 
 left the fold—that have enjoyed, because they 
 have deserved, the uniform and unabated love 
 of the Heavenly Shepherd—whatever may be 
 determined on such points as these, we, at all 
 events, must feel—or if we do not yet feel, 
 we must, sooner or later, be brought to the 
 wholesome, although painful, feeling that “ all 
 “we like sheep have gone astray; we have 
 “ turned every one to his own way ‘.” 
 
 The following Parable of the woman having 
 “ ten pieces of silver and losing one of them',” 
 by an agreeable variety of illustration, accom- 
 plishes the same ends of vindicating our Sa- 
 viour, and of unfolding the riches of the 
 Divine mercy, which His intercourse with 
 sinners was meant to display. By the cir- 
 cumstances of lighting a candle, of sweeping 
 the house and of seeking diligently, our in- 
 
 ᾳ Note YY. ‘St. Luke xv. 8—10. 
 
SERMON VI. 165 
 
 terest and sympathy in favour of the woman 
 are awakened; and when we have entered 
 into that joy, which induced her to call her 
 friends and neighbours together, we listen 
 once more to the welcome words: “ Likewise, 
 “J say unto you, there is joy in the presence 
 “of the angels of Gop over one sinner that 
 “ repenteth.” Again we hear, nearly in the 
 same terms as before, the glad assurance 
 for all sinners, that their recovery diffuses, 
 through the regions of Heaven, a joy, aptly 
 shadowed forth, although inadequately repre- 
 sented, by the strong feeling pictured in the 
 Parable; and of this assurance we acknowledge 
 the full value, when we reflect that we owe it 
 to the lips of Him, who, having “come from 
 “ Heaven, testifieth” concerning heavenly 
 things “ what He hath seen and heard’*.” 
 
 In the preceding instances we have found 
 that the irrational animal and the inanimate 
 drachma hold their proper places; still with 
 that decorum, which ever marks the Parables 
 of the Son of Gop, and which consists in absti- 
 nence from a frequent practice of the most re- 
 nowned ‘Teachers by Parable, the practice of 
 ascribing the speech or the actions of man to 
 inferior beings or lifeless objects. But in the 
 third instance, which now claims our notice’, 
 
 s St. John i. 31, 32. t St. Luke xv. 11—32. 
 
 μ 3 
 
166 SERMON VI. 
 
 our Lorp passes altogether into the pro- 
 vince of human sentiments and human be- 
 haviour. 
 
 The Parable of the Prodigal Son may well 
 be called a wonderful passage of the Holy 
 Gospels. It has been left by its Author, 
 without one word of comment or of reflec- 
 tion, to produce its own effect and make its 
 own impression. ‘Touching, as it does, the 
 finest chords of those feelings, which belong to 
 the parental and the filial relations, it utters, 
 in tones that none can refuse to hear, the 
 welcome tidings of the compassion of our 
 Heavenly Father. The main purpose here, 
 as in the former cases, undoubtedly is to jus- 
 tify our Savrour’s practice and to shew how 
 well calculated that practice was to illustrate 
 and to magnify the Divine Mercy towards 
 the most ungrateful and grievous sinners. 
 
 Accordingly, a domestic scene 15 laid, which, 
 alas! too often finds its sad resemblance in 
 the world of real life around us. The younger 
 son of a disappointed Father, wilful, way- 
 ward and wasteful, is permitted to follow the 
 bent of his own inclinations, until hardships 
 and misfortune bring leisure for cool reflec- 
 tion and bitter regret for. his misconduct. 
 Sorrow gives birth to a resolution to return, 
 in the guise and with the language of an 
 
SERMON VI. 167 
 
 humble suppliant, to that home, which he 
 had wantonly abandoned. He is met by a 
 father, whose love had never failed and whose 
 eye had followed him even in his wanderings ; 
 welcomed with warm affection; and treated 
 with such open and public demonstrations of 
 joy as the uniform duty and steady obedience 
 of the firstborn of the family had never called 
 forth. The elder son—his absence in the 
 field—the communication made to him of his 
 brother’s return—his momentary anger—his 
 respectful, yet querulous expostulation—all 
 these are circumstances, true to nature and 
 warranted by experience—finely imagined 
 and exquisitely put, with a view to heighten 
 the effect of the reception given to the 
 returning Prodigal. They are incidental 
 only; they have their use, which however is 
 but subordinate; by dwelling on them, as if 
 they were designed to teach any important 
 truths, we shall be diverted from the scope 
 and purport of the whole Parable. If any 
 where, in the wide extent of the family of 
 Gop, there be found sons, who have not 
 neglected their own duty nor failed to fulfil 
 their ALmMicuty Faruer’s purposes, they are 
 to remember that their case 15 not injuriously 
 affected by the merciful mode of dealing 
 adopted towards the sinners of our race. 
 M 4 
 
168 SERMON VI. 
 
 “Son, thou art ever with me and all that I 
 “ have is thine.” We are rather concerned in 
 that abounding goodness, which declares: “ It 
 “was meet that we should make merry and 
 “be glad; for this thy brother was dead and 
 “is alive again; and was lost and is found.” 
 In the Father’s watchful eye, eagerly catching 
 the first distant glimpse of his son’s return ; 
 in the same Father’s readiness to interpret 
 the act of return into a sufficient evidence 
 of sincere repentance—are to us set forth 
 and represented the favourable regards of 
 our Father, which is in Heaven, towards our- 
 selves, His disobedient and unthankful chil- 
 dren. When, from bitter experience, we have 
 learned the unsatisfactory nature of those 
 earthly pleasures, which first tempted us to 
 abandon the shelter of Gop’s house and ser- 
 vice ;—when vexation and suffering have ren- 
 dered distasteful sources of enjoyment, which 
 we had fondly hoped to find always fresh and 
 for ever unfailing ;—when excess of indulgence 
 has deprived us of the means of farther gra- 
 tification or robbed us of that keen sensi- 
 bility, to the preservation of which a true 
 relish for the best blessings of life is owing;— 
 even then may we betake ourselves into the 
 presence of Gop with hope and confidence. 
 We may be assured that He will “ receive us 
 
SERMON VI. 169 
 
 “ oraciously ".” In every instance of our Sa- 
 viour’s condescending intercourse with sin- 
 ners, we are encouraged to perceive a proof 
 that He came expressly to fulfil the purpose 
 of His and our Father, by recovering His 
 lost children, by restoring them to the privi- 
 leges of His house and their inheritance—by 
 diffusing, through the courts of heaven and 
 among the hosts of angels, a joy, that may be 
 figuratively represented but must be inade- 
 quately described, by the purest and the 
 strongest emotions, of the human breast. 
 With reluctance I observe that in the case 
 of this Parable, as in that of the lost sheep, 
 curious speculation has often been busily and 
 as often unprofitably employed. Without tak- 
 ing notice of expositions, applications and in- 
 ferences, which a profound reverence for the 
 Sacred Word must incline every sincere be- 
 lever to pass over in silence, 1 will content 
 myself with remarking that there has been 
 among Commentators a very general agree- 
 ment that our Lorp, whatever may have been 
 His primary and principal object, does, at all 
 events, in this passage, anticipate the future 
 preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles; and 
 the animosity that would thus be excited 
 
 " Hosea xiv. 2. 
 
170 SERMON VI. 
 
 among the chosen race of Israel. In this 
 view—in an application or improvement of 
 the passage for such a purpose—it may be 
 allowed that there is nothing materially 
 wrong—nothing worthy of serious blame or 
 likely to be productive of serious mischief *. 
 I will however venture to suggest a doubt 
 whether such a view as this would ever have 
 occurred, if it had not been for associations, 
 which other plain passages of our Saviour’s 
 teaching, wherein reference is undeniably 
 made to the rejection of the Jews and the 
 call of the Gentiles, have supplied. It would 
 seem to have no proper place here and is in 
 danger of withdrawing attention from those 
 sublime disclosures of Infinite Mercy, which 
 Gov Incarnate has been pleased, in this 
 passage of His teaching, to open to man- 
 kind. Whenever we step beyond the strict 
 line of interpretation, which He has clearly 
 marked out for us, we stand in need of being 
 controlled by a salutary recollection that His 
 benign communications were not granted to 
 furnish occasion for our fond disputes or idle 
 fancies; nor can we be sufficiently thankful 
 that, in the pages of the Holy Gospels, those 
 communications remain for: us in their in- 
 
 x Note ZZ. 
 
SERMON VI. 171 
 
 tegrity and that they will for ever remain, 
 the means, if we rightly understand and use 
 them, of impressing on our memory and on 
 our hearts a just and lively image of the 
 Friend of sinners. 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 
 
 St. MATTHEW xix. 16. 
 
 And, behold, one came and said unto Him: Good 
 Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may 
 have eternal life ? 
 
 _—____«j>-———__— 
 
 IN a preceding Lecture it was observed that 
 our Lorp was always easy of access to His 
 disciples and ever ready to comply with their 
 requests for a fuller knowledge or a clearer 
 illustration of His doctrine than He was 
 pleased to give to the generality of His 
 hearers. The Gospel History farther shews 
 that He was not difficult of approach for 
 any, who sought religious instruction and 
 guidance with sincerity and earnestness of 
 mind or under circumstances which afforded 
 a fair opportunity of delivering, for the edifi- 
 cation of themselves and of others, the plain 
 and direct precepts of the Divine Law. The 
 mixture with better motives of some desire to 
 explore His wisdom and to try His preten- 
 
SERMON VII. 173 
 
 sions to the character and office of a Teacher 
 sent from Gop, by the test of the correspond- 
 ence of His principles and rules with the de- 
 clared will of Gop—is not found to have hin- 
 dered Him from granting, on certain occa- 
 sions, a decisive and satisfactory answer to 
 such as approached and questioned Him. 
 
 An instance occurs in the case of that 
 Lawyer, of whom St. Luke makes mention, as 
 having stood up and tempted Him, by asking: 
 “ Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal 
 “life*?” The proposer of the question was refer- 
 red to the Law, with which he was courteously 
 presumed to be already familiar; and, when 
 he had drawn from its provisions and enact- 
 ments a brief summary of Morals, that did 
 credit alike to his judgment and to his feel- 
 ings, He received such authoritative appro- 
 bation, command and promise as became an 
 Inspired interpreter alone; and as best be- 
 fitted the Author and Giver of the Law, so 
 interpreted and enforced. “'Thou hast an- 
 “ swered right: this do and thou shalt live.” 
 The lawyer’s farther question, which he is 
 reported to have asked from a wish to justify 
 himself—a wish at the least implying that 
 his attention had been arrested and his curi- 
 osity to hear more from our Saviour’s lips 
 
 a St. Luke x. 25. 
 
174 SERMON VII. 
 
 had been awakened—drew forth that Parable 
 of the good Samaritan, concerning the imme- 
 diate effect of which we learn nothing; but 
 of which we cannot believe that it proved 
 altogether unprofitable even for him, to whom 
 it was primarily addressed. 
 
 St. Matthew and St. Mark agree in relating 
 another instance similar to that, which has 
 been recorded by St. Luke’. When our Lorp 
 had by His skill disappointed the malicious 
 intent of the combined Pharisees and Hero- 
 dians; when, by the few words of His pure 
 and simple statement, He had cleared His 
 doctrine of the resurrection from those mists 
 of error, which the gross conceptions of the 
 Sadducees threw around the whole subject of 
 a future state; when He had traced their 
 grievous mistake to its true sources—an igno- 
 rance of the Scriptures and a forgetfulness of 
 the power of Gop—pointing, at the same time, 
 to a passage in those Sacred Writings, which 
 themselves acknowledged, where they might 
 discover the reality of a world of spirits; and 
 intimating that the Divine power could be at 
 no loss to accomplish whatever the nature and 
 purposes of that world might require; it was 
 when our Lorn had thus signally triumphed 
 over the arts of insidious adversaries and the 
 
 b St. Matt. xxi. 85; St. Mark xi. 28. 
 
SERMON VII. 175 
 
 imagined difficulties of men of corrupt minds 
 that “the multitude were astonished” and 
 that from “ certain” of the Scribes was extorted 
 an acknowledgment: “ Master, thou hast well 
 “said.” Nor “durst they,” as a body or in ge- 
 neral, “after that, ask him any question at 
 “alle.” One however of their number—a 
 Scribe—having probably a juster reliance than 
 the rest on the goodness and condescension of 
 the Teacher, whose success in reasoning with 
 the Sadducees they had all admired; but still 
 himself also influenced partly by a desire to 
 put the skill, of which he had witnessed the 
 display, to a farther trial, came forward and 
 asked: “ Master, which is the great command- 
 “ ment in the law Ὁ “ Which is the first com- 
 “ mandment of all ?” The answer returned to 
 this inquiry was direct and express, consisting 
 of a Summary, in all respects, similar to that, 
 which, when it was uttered by another, our 
 Lorp approved and sanctioned. It was by 
 the Scribe declared to be in perfect harmony 
 with his own persuasions; and of him our Sa- 
 viouR’s voice pronounced: “Thou art not far 
 “ from the Kingdom of Gop. And no man”— 
 not an individual, “ after that, durst ask Him 
 “ any question 4.” On the contrary, He availed 
 Himself of the occasion of becoming, in His 
 ¢ St. Luke xx. 40. 2 St. Mark xn. 34. 
 
176 SERMON VII. 
 
 turn, the questioner; and of reducing the Pha- 
 risees to a difficulty, from which they found it 
 impossible to extricate themselves—a difh- 
 culty, the feeling of which was calculated to 
 render them outwardly at least somewhat 
 humbler and more modest than they were ac- 
 customed to appear. Unable to reconcile the 
 language of David in the Psalms with their ex- 
 pectation of the Messiah’s descent from David, 
 they were afraid of risking any answer; and 
 desisted from farther attempts to annoy by dis- 
 putes and cavils Him, whom they discovered to 
 be equally well armed for His own defence and 
 for their defeat. We may imagine that the 
 greater number of them withdrew from His pre- 
 sence in an irritated temper of mind—under 
 the influence of dissatisfaction with themselves 
 and of anger against theircalm Rebuker—vexa- 
 tious and stinging feelings, which probably led 
 many of them to take part in the murderous 
 machinations, that soon afterwards seemed to 
 be successful. Some however wouldstill remain 
 within hearing, when, “in the audience of all 
 “ the people,” He addressed “to His disciples” 
 an emphatic warning against the Scribes, on 
 account of their ambition and hypocrisy ; and 
 presently afterwards speaking to the multitude 
 and to His disciples, pronounced that Dis- 
 course of severe reproof and terrible denunci- 
 
SERMON VII. 177 
 
 ation, which is contained in the Twenty-third 
 chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. In that 
 awful chapter appear to be brought together 
 and in one continued series repeated, all the 
 reproofs, expostulations and _ threatenings, 
 which the Scribes and Pharisees provoked 
 our merciful Redeemer, through the whole 
 course of His ministry, to utter. The desola- 
 tion, foretold and anticipated, is that very 
 ruin, which Moses from a remote distance saw, 
 as the final event of the fortunes of a nation, 
 that was to be privileged above others but 
 would prove “ void of counsel” and destitute 
 of “understanding*®.” We are however made 
 to feel and to confess that a Prophet, greater 
 than Moses is here. The figure of “an eagle, 
 “stirring up her nest, fluttermg over her 
 “ young, spreading abroad her wings, taking 
 “them, bearing them on her wings'’—is the 
 illustration, which Moses employs to set forth 
 the Providential care and guidance of Jrvo- 
 vaH—the only Lorn of Israel; but it is to 
 Himself that our Saviour Curist appropri- 
 ates an illustrative description of the same 
 Divine Providence, fraught with yet tenderer 
 associations: “ How often would J have gather- 
 “ed thy children together, even as a hen 
 
 € Deut. xxx. 28. f Deut. xxxn. 11. 
 
178 SERMON VII. 
 
 “ oathereth her chickens under her wings— 
 “and ye would nots!” 
 
 In the two instances of our Savrour’s reply 
 to inquirers after the import of the Divine 
 Law and the way to eternal life, which have 
 now been considered, we have been led to ob- 
 serve His discernment of the motives of those, 
 who approached Him; His gracious approval 
 of whatever was good, His condescending al- 
 lowance for what was still imperfect, and 
 above all, His readiness to impart those les- 
 sons of religious wisdom, which all His hear- 
 ers and His followers for ever might apply to 
 practice. To ourselves is the Moral law re- 
 commended in the terms of that comprehen- 
 sive summary, which he in the one instance 
 authoritatively sanctioned, and in the other 
 plainly stated and declared. On our hearts 
 and consciences are its precepts enforced by 
 His injunction and promise. That we may 
 obey His injunction and gain the fulfilment 
 of His promise, He has vouchsafed to grant 
 the ministry and the ordinances of His Church 
 and, through them, by His Father’s gift and 
 at His own intercession, the effectual aid of 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 A third instance of application to our 
 Lorp, on the part of one, who was not of 
 
 δ St. Matt. xxi. 37. 
 
SERMON VII. 179 
 
 the number of His disciples, is in some re- 
 spects not unlike the two, which have been 
 already noticed. It is certainly not less suit- 
 ed than they are to the purpose of unfolding 
 our blessed Saviour’s manner of teaching; 
 and of setting before us that union, in His 
 case, of high endowments and qualities, which 
 is elsewhere unexampled; and which, being 
 in harmony with His Divine nature, is not 
 well reconcilable with any lower supposition 
 concerning Him. I allude to the case of that 
 young ruler, of whom St. Matthew, St. Mark 
 and St. Luke® all furnish us with a detailed 
 narrative. The circumstances will be best 
 learned from a comparison of the three ac- 
 counts; of which that of St. Mark would 
 seem to be the fullest and the most accu- 
 rate. 
 
 This event happened on the return of 
 Jesus Curist towards Jerusalem from His 
 last journey of beneficence through the coun- 
 try on the eastern side of the river Jordan. 
 It is St. Matthew who mentions the age of 
 the applicant, for, at the close of his narra- 
 tive, he speaks of him, as a young man. St. 
 Luke incidentally adds the particular of his 
 rank and consideration among his country- 
 men, introducing him to the notice of his 
 
 h St. Matt. xix. 16. St. Mark x.17. St. Luke xvii. 18. 
 wn 2 
 
180 SERMON VII. 
 
 readers under the name of “a Ruler’”—a name 
 probably equivalent to the title of “ Ruler of 
 “ the synagogue,” which occurs elsewhere in 
 the New Testament and denotes a condition 
 of high respectability among the Jews of our 
 Saviour’s day. His wealth is both implied 
 and openly stated by each of the Evangelists. 
 St. Mark, indirectly and by the becoming ac- 
 tivity and eagerness of youth, sets before us 
 that season of life, which St. Matthew has ex- 
 pressly mentioned: “ There came one run- 
 “ning.” The posture, into which he threw 
 himself in the presence of Jesus and the 
 form of salutation, which he used, indicated 
 a most hopeful temper of teachableness and 
 humility: “He kneeled to Him and asked 
 “ Him: Good Master, what shall I do that I 
 “may inherit eternal life?” The question 
 proposed was the most momentous of all 
 questions that could possibly be asked. For- 
 tunately for the young Ruler, it was, on this 
 occasion, addressed to an Instructor, whose 
 knowledge and whose goodness ensured a 
 satisfactory answer. Our Saviour’s eye seems 
 from the first to have detected in the youth 
 who knelt before Him, the imperfection of 
 views and of character, which was yet con- 
 sistent with a sincere desire of information 
 and guidance. He was aware that He had 
 
SERMON VII. 181 
 
 Himself been approached only as a human 
 Teacher, entitled above others to profound 
 respect and implicit confidence. Of His Di- 
 vine nature this applicant neither had nor 
 could reasonably be expected to have, any 
 clear notion. The compassionate Redeemer 
 seized the opportunity, too precious in His 
 account to be neglected, of conveying such 
 instruction and admonition as His hearer 
 could well bear. Receiving therefore the 
 address in the sense, in which it had been 
 offered, and disclaiming even for Himself the 
 title of “ Good Master,” He appears to have 
 intended, by the happiest art of insinuation 
 and by an indirect method, which could in- 
 flict no wound on the most sensitive mind, 
 to correct the fault and amend the imperfec- 
 tion, which He discerned. The young Ruler 
 was evidently possessed of a somewhat high 
 opinion of his own virtue and goodness—an 
 opinion too agreeable and too fondly cherish- 
 ed to be at once surrendered, if an open at- 
 tempt were made to expose its vanity and 
 emptiness ; yet was the Moral Teacher, whose 
 assistance he implored, under an absolute ne- 
 cessity of endeavouring to remove so serious 
 an obstacle in the way of improvement. With 
 an union of kindness and of prudence ad- 
 mirably calculated to insure success—in a 
 
 n 3 
 
189 SERMON VII. 
 
 manner, surprising, yet easy and felicitous, 
 the attempt, in its own nature difficult and 
 full of hazard, was at once made. “ Jesus 
 “ said unto him: Why callest thou me good ? 
 “ There is none good but one, that is,Gop'.” 
 We can readily imagine the train of profit- 
 able reflection, likely to be occasioned by 
 this unexpected rejoinder. ‘The Ruler’s fa- 
 vourable estimate (an estimate naturally be- 
 longing to his years‘) of his fellow creatures 
 and of himself fully justified the epithet, 
 which he had employed in addressing our 
 Saviour. The fame of the miracles and of 
 the Discourses of the great Prophet, who was 
 now drawing near to the close of His short 
 but wonderful career, had reached the ears 
 and had produced a deep impression on the 
 mind and heart of one, who is, in this in- 
 stance, found gladly and eagerly to have 
 embraced what was probably for him the 
 earliest opportunity of personal intercourse 
 and actual observation. Nor can we doubt 
 that, on his near approach, our Lorn’s de- 
 portment and language confirmed every pre- 
 vious sentiment of respect and reverence. 
 “ Do I not here see” (thus he must have been 
 inclined to ask) “a man. more worthy of 
 “being called good than any other of the 
 ' Note AAA. kK Note BBB. 
 
SERMON VII. 183 
 
 “sons of men, whom I have ever beheld ? 
 “Yet even He rejects the title; and on a 
 “ principle of universal application, which re- 
 “ quires that the same title be withheld from 
 “ every individual of the human race.” 
 Could he do otherwise than pass from 
 thoughts like these to a reflection on his own 
 case—to an examination of his own hitherto 
 undisputed, and, as he supposed, indisput- 
 able, pretensions to a name, which he was now 
 charged with having inconsiderately applied? 
 Thus might he be gently and gradually led 
 to discover that he had been in the habit of 
 overrating his own merits. Thus might he 
 learn to distrust the accuracy of that report 
 of his moral and religious character, which 
 the voice of society, seconding his own desire 
 to be on good terms with himself, had loudly 
 and confidently given. An acknowledgment 
 of the possibility that he might have been 
 misled or mistaken with regard to himself 
 was, in his case, the first, the indispensable 
 step towards improvement ; and it was the 
 natural tendency of the language which he 
 had heard to carry him thus far. Here then 
 we are called to admire a display of the same 
 goodness and wisdom, which have been al- 
 ready observed in connection with the me- 
 N 4 
 
184 SERMON VII. 
 
 thod of teaching by Parables. For the ac- 
 complishment of His gracious purposes of 
 softening unpalatable truths and of convey- 
 ing salutary lessons of reproof, our blessed 
 Lorp was by no means limited to that par- 
 ticular method. Besides metaphor, allegory 
 and Parable, He had at His command, and 
 employed, whenever He saw fit, other effica- 
 cious means of winning attention, of fixing 
 thoughts too prone to wander, and of in- 
 sinuating instruction, that might otherwise 
 fail of its effect. In the conspicuous instance 
 now before us, He overlooked His own real 
 dignity and glory: having been accosted as 
 man, We was pleased to reply as man; and 
 so laid down a general principle, of which He 
 left the easy and obvious, but important, ap- 
 plication to His hearers, and especially to that 
 one hearer, who was principally concerned. 
 The passage, thus understood, presents not a 
 shadow of inconsistency with the doctrine of 
 our Lorp’s proper Divinity. For Himself He 
 disclaimed the title of good, only when that 
 title was given and applied by one, who ap- 
 proached and regarded Him, as man; and 
 for whose seasonable admonition the dis- 
 claimer was as benevolently intended as it 
 was wisely accommodated. For Himself, as 
 
SERMON VII. _ 185 
 
 Gop, He, on His own expressly stated prin- 
 ciple, reserved both that and every other title, 
 which of right belongs to God". 
 
 Having thus gently, yet effectually pre- 
 pared the way, Jesus proceeded to furnish 
 that instruction, which had been respectfully 
 solicited and which He perceived to be 
 honestly and sincerely desired. To the ques- 
 tion: “ What shall I do that I may inherit 
 “eternal life?” the plain answer was re- 
 turned: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep 
 “the commandments.” Anxious to under- 
 stand the right meaning of the precept and 
 apparently expecting to hear of some pecu- 
 liar strictness of rule—some characteristic 
 observance, which he had persuaded himself 
 to believe that he was ready at any cost of 
 labour or of expence to adopt and _ practise, 
 the Ruler inquired: “ Which command- 
 “ments? of what sort or class of command- 
 “ments dost thou speak ?” Again probably 
 was the answer widely different from that 
 which had been anticipated. “Thou knowest 
 “the commandments. Do not commit adul- 
 “tery—Do not kill—Do not steal—Do not 
 “bear false witness—Defraud not—Honour 
 “thy father and mother.” Or, in one short 
 sentence, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
 
 ' Note CCC. 
 
186 SERMON VII. 
 
 “ thyself.” A kind and conciliatory spirit 
 similar to that, already in a former instance 
 noticed, was shewn in the assumption here 
 made of a previous acquaintance with the 
 Moral law on the part of this new disciple; 
 but without dwelling on this feature of the 
 narrative, 1 pass at once to a remark, which 
 is more appropriate to the purpose of the pre- 
 sent Lectures. We may here perceive the 
 tokens of a sublime simplicity, which we can- 
 not but confess to be worthy of a Divine In- 
 structor. There was nothing, in the terms 
 of our Lorp’s answer, to astonish and, by 
 astonishing, to gratify and engage the mind 
 of a promising convert. ‘There was no at- 
 tempt, by novelty of system or by the pro- 
 posal of some untried expedient, to dazzle 
 his sight or to entertain his imagination. All 
 was stated to be beforehand well known; all 
 was plain and practical. Unlike the wise 
 men and the philosophers of this world, 
 Jesus “sought not His own glory but the 
 “olory of Him that sent Him™’—of His 
 heavenly Father, whose laws He emphati- 
 cally repeated and strongly enforced, with no 
 other end in view than that, for the glory of 
 Gop and the welfare of mankind, they might 
 
 m St. John vii. 18. 
 
SERMON VII. 187 
 
 be remembered, understood and obeyed. The 
 commandments of the Second Table were, in 
 the first place, enumerated: nor without good 
 reason; since the outward conduct in social 
 intercourse and daily life, which they are de- 
 signed to regulate, furnishes the most ob- 
 vious and the readiest indications of charac- 
 ter; and therefore fitly becomes the earliest 
 subject of inquiry for one, who would se- 
 riously enter upon the work of self-examina- 
 tion. ‘The discovery of any open dereliction 
 of duty in these instances—of any one per- 
 mitted sin—warrants and indeed calls for, a 
 sentence of condemnation against. ourselves ; 
 and “if our heart condemn us, Gop is greater 
 “than our heart and knoweth all things" ;” 
 if our own deliberate judgment of our cha- 
 racter and conduct be unfavourable, we may 
 be assured that the all-seeing Gop, who has 
 made conscience, in some sort, His represen- 
 tative within our bosoms, will ratify that sen- 
 tence. It does not appear that he, whose 
 case we are considering, had reason to charge 
 himself with immoral conduct—much less 
 with an allowed and habitual. course of sin. 
 His reply was ingenuous and expressive of an 
 honest and well-grounded confidence: “ And 
 “ he answered and said unto Jesus; Master, 
 
 n 1 Jehn m. 20. 
 
188 SERMON VII. 
 
 “all these have I observed from my youth. 
 “Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him.” 
 The latter words, which we read in St. Mark’s 
 narrative alone, imply that our Lorp, in fix- 
 ing on the youthful Ruler a steadfast eye of 
 interest and of affection, beheld the happy 
 results of sound instruction and of a careful 
 and judicious course of moral and religious 
 training. These results were, in His view, 
 lovely; and, by causing His exalted testimony 
 in their favour to be recorded in the Gospel 
 History, He has for ever encouraged the na- 
 tural guardians and guides of youth to spare 
 no pains—to put forth their utmost, their 
 unwearied efforts in the momentous task of 
 such education as may win for the objects of 
 their solicitude His approbation and blessing. 
 For those, who have enjoyed the privilege of 
 being brought up “in the nurture and admo- 
 “ nition of the Lorn°®’—whose tender age has 
 escaped many of the snares and has been 
 shielded from the worst dangers of a sinful 
 world, our Saviour, in this example, supplies 
 both encouragement and warning. He inti- 
 mates that the first-fruits of their life are an 
 offering, which He graciously accepts; but of 
 them He loudly demands, as of the young 
 Ruler He demanded, that the harvest of 
 © Ephes. vi. 4. 
 
SERMON VII. 189 
 
 their riper years be also presented as an 
 holy sacrifice to Gop. 
 
 “Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him 
 “and said unto him: One thing thou lack- 
 “est: Go thy way; sell whatsoever thou hast 
 “and give to the poor, and thou shalt have 
 “ treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy 
 “cross and follow me.” Pity was mingled 
 with the love of the Omniscient Teacher, 
 who discerned the deficiency of that virtue 
 which He had approved; and who saw that 
 the time was now come for applying a test 
 that would not fail to prove decisive. It was 
 in internal and truly religious principle that 
 the young Ruler fell short. He was wanting 
 in that love of Gop, which is the fulfilment 
 of all the commandments of the First Table ; 
 —in that supreme regard for the Divine au- 
 thority—in that sincere and abiding desire to 
 promote the Divine glory—which must be 
 the source of all social virtues that are to be 
 entitled to a final reward—and which imparts 
 to them, even here below, a lustre and an 
 usefulness not otherwise belonging to them. 
 Accordingly, he was subjected to a severe, 
 although undoubtedly, in his particular in- 
 stance and at that peculiar crisis of the affairs 
 of Curistr and His followers, a necessary, 
 trial. He was called, by selling his posses- 
 
190 SERMON VII. 
 
 sions and distributing them amongst the poor, 
 to abandon the advantages of an enviable lot 
 —the wealth and rank—the consideration in 
 society, flowing, by Providential appointment 
 and for the true welfare of mankind, from 
 wealth and rank—the ease and pleasures, of 
 a prosperous fortune. He perceived not— 
 he could not for the present be persuaded of, 
 the necessity of this sacrifice. Notwithstand- 
 ing that earnest desire of learning with cer- 
 tainty how he might inherit eternal life, which 
 had brought him into our Saviour’s presence; 
 notwithstanding his lowly deference to the 
 authority of the Teacher, whom He had of 
 his own accord resolved to consult—he seems 
 to have cherished a fond hope that his object 
 might be attained in some other way than 
 that which was proposed to him. His feeling 
 bore some resemblance to that of Naaman, the 
 Syrian, when he asked: “ Are not Abana and 
 “ Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all 
 “ the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them 
 “ and be clean’ ?”—Like Naaman, he too had 
 probably thought himself prepared for some 
 great achievement or some noble enterprise ;— 
 until our Saviour’s test was applied, he had 
 deemed his affection for earthly interests and 
 objects, inferior to his regard for the Supreme 
 
 P 2 Kings v. 12. 
 
SERMON VII. 191 
 
 Being—subordinate to his desire of future and 
 eternal happiness. “ And he was sad at that 
 “ saying and went away grieved; for he had 
 “ great possessions.” Or, according to the 
 stronger expression of St. Luke, “When he 
 “heard this, he became very sorrowful.’ His 
 grief in departing invests the whole scene, 
 which the Evangelists have described, with a 
 deep but melancholy interest. Grief, marking 
 his air and countenance, was the naturalandthe 
 affecting expression of a mind half-resolved— 
 reluctant to quit an Instructor, whose wisdom 
 and benevolence he was compelled to acknow- 
 ledge—yet unable to act on the suggestions, 
 which that Instructor had vouchsafed to grant, 
 at his request. When Jxrsus is stated to have 
 “ looked round about,” before He spake to His 
 disciples, we may imagine Him to have recall- 
 ed Himself from the last lingering regard of 
 compassion, with which He had followed the 
 youth, retiring from His presence. Who is 
 not inclined to follow him with a like regard 
 and to indulge a thought that he may possibly 
 have gained afterwards the moral strength, in 
 which he was deficient; and that he may 
 have become finally a faithful disciple of our 
 Lorp? From this passing and momentary 
 thought, however,we are called to a very differ- 
 ent reflection. It is not likely that in the few 
 
192 SERMON VII. 
 
 days, which intervened before the crucifixion, 
 he had again an opportunity of listening to the 
 voice of Curist; and the silence of the Gos- 
 pel History, checking our curiosity with regard 
 to his future proceedings and his ultimate de- 
 termination, conveys a solemn and impressive 
 warning that from ourselves privileges neg- 
 lected or abused may be for ever withdrawn. 
 Our Lorp Himself at once passed to a 
 practical use and application of the incidents, 
 which had engaged His attention. He “looked 
 “round about and saith unto his disciples: 
 “ How hardly shall they that have riches enter 
 “into the Kingdom of Gop! And the disci- 
 “ ples were astonished at His words.” ‘Their’s 
 doubtless was a mixed feeling of surprise and 
 of regret that their Master should, by this re- 
 flection, intimate that there was neither for 
 Himself nor for them any fair prospect of aid 
 from worldly power and riches, towards the 
 establishment of His kingdom. Perceiving 
 their astonishment, He added a condescending 
 explanation of that, which had at first ap- 
 peared harsh, and had evidently proved un- 
 welcome: “ Children, how hard is it for them 
 “ that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom 
 “of Gop! It is easier for a camel to go 
 “ through the eye of a needle than for a rich 
 “man to enter into the kingdom of Gop.”— 
 
SERMON VII. 193 
 
 When however neither the endearing mild- 
 ness of this address nor the material change 
 of phrase in describing those, of whom He 
 spake, had overcome the uneasiness originally 
 caused by His words and now prolonged by 
 that strong proverbial language, which the 
 three Evangelists have reported, He urged, in 
 final answer to all objections and difficulties : 
 “ With men it is impossible but not with Gop: 
 “ for with Gop all things are possible.” From 
 this whole passage then we learn that it was 
 an undue trust in riches—an entire reliance 
 for true happiness on the advantages of a pros- 
 perous fortune—a devotion of the soul to worldly 
 interests and enjoyments—against the danger 
 of which our Lorn and Saviour uttered His 
 solemn warning. He saw that the young 
 Ruler’s heart could be effectually disengaged 
 from earthly entanglements and set at liberty, 
 to fix itself on heavenly objects, only on the 
 condition of abandoning his possessions: such 
 therefore was the condition, which He pre- 
 scribed. He was aware of the near approach 
 of the time, when “the things concerning 
 ς Himself were to have an end4;” and He 
 knew how ill the advantages and the pleasures 
 of this life would at that crisis consist with a 
 profession of His religion—with an entrance 
 a St. Luke xxii. 37. 
 
 O 
 
194 SERMON VII. 
 
 into His kingdom; and therefore was it that 
 He demanded of His youthful and promising 
 hearer, at the outset, that sacrifice, which 
 every sincere and faithful disciple would soon 
 be required to make. When the lesson of our 
 Divine Instructor is repeated in owr ears, we 
 are to remember that it is for us modified by 
 the altered circumstances of the Church and 
 of the world. He undoubtedly bids us also 
 “ take up the cross and follow Him',” and by 
 these words, reminds us that there are duties 
 of self-denial, which we are called to practise ; 
 that there are principles, maxims and laws of 
 society, by which, as Christians, we must firmly 
 refuse to be guided; that, in spite of the pre- 
 vailing profession of true religion and the con- 
 sequent amelioration of the manners and the 
 institutions of civil and domestic life, still 
 there is around us a world, whose “ friendship 
 “is enmity with Gop*’—a world, which we 
 must forsake and renounce, if, by “ perfecting 
 “ holiness in the fear of Gopt,” we are desirous 
 of becoming “ meet to be partakers of the in- 
 “ heritance of the saints in light".” And, here 
 is it that the scene of our Saviour’s ministry, 
 which has been passing under review, has an 
 especial interest for all such as resemble the 
 
 r St. Matt. xvi. 24. SSt. James iv. 4. 
 t 2, Cor. vu. 1. ἜΘΟΣ 
 
SERMON VII. 195 
 
 young Ruler in age and in external circum- 
 stances. In the ranks of “the mighty and the 
 “ noble*’—among those, to whom the talents 
 of wealth and of influence have been already 
 or are likely soon to be entrusted, are there 
 any youthful disciples, who wisely rejoice in 
 the title and the privileges of their Christian 
 inheritance ? who have approached their Sa- 
 viour in a teachable spirit, and, having pro- 
 fited by His sacred lessons, have formed—are 
 now ready to avow—a firm purpose of glory- 
 fying Gop in their lives and of “laying up 
 “ for themselves treasures in heaven, where 
 “neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and 
 “where thieves do not break through and 
 “stealy?” Then will they be disposed, with 
 lowliness of mind, to listen to the terms 
 and conditions of the Master, whom they 
 intend to serve. He does not bid them 
 “sell whatsoever they have and give to the 
 “ poor.” He does not demand of them, for 
 His sake and in the cause of His Kingdom, 
 the sacrifice of property, of station and of con- 
 nections. But in the same spirit, which dic- 
 tated His address to the young man of the Gos- 
 pel History, their Gop and Saviour asks of 
 them hearts disengaged from the world, in 
 the midst of which they are yet to live; affec- 
 ΣῚ Cor. 1. 26. y St. Matt. vi. 19, 20. 
 02 
 
196 SERMON VII. 
 
 tions elevated above the objects and the af- 
 fairs, with which they are to be daily conver- 
 sant; hopes and desires fixed on the substan- 
 tial and eternal, although unseen, realities of 
 Heaven. Are they prepared to comply with 
 the demand ? Or are they, at some moments, 
 ready to withdraw, grieved at a saying, which 
 appears to them to disparage the blessings of 
 life and to cast a gloom over that fair pros- 
 pect of the future, which is beginning to open 
 before them; and which their sanguine tem- 
 per, not yet controlled by disappointment, 
 tells them that they may be sure of realising ? 
 In such moments of hesitation and of doubt, 
 it will be well for them to remember that the 
 Teacher, before whom the young Ruler knelt, 
 was Gop as well as man—Gop, condescend- 
 ing, in the Person of His Son and through 
 the veil of human nature, to manifest His 
 tender compassion and His boundless love. 
 He then prescribed—He now prescribes no 
 conditions, except such as are indispensably 
 requisite. He then enjoined—He now en- 
 joins no precepts, except such as are, in their 
 tendency and effects, the instruments and 
 means of real happiness ; of perfect and eter- 
 nal happiness hereafter; and even of that 
 earthly happiness, which alone deserves the 
 name. It is by setting too high a value on 
 
SERMON VII. 197 
 
 the goods of fortune, the rewards of patriot- 
 ism and of valour, the prizes of talent and of 
 industry, that the worldly man deprives them 
 of their natural power to yield satisfaction 
 and converts them into so many occasions of 
 vexation and annoyance. ‘The obedient and 
 faithful disciple of Jesus Curisr learns to es- 
 timate aright these objects of universal pursuit. 
 He aims not at them by any methods, which 
 can tarnish the glory or lessen the comfort of 
 their possession. He sets not his heart upon 
 them, when he is permitted to find that they 
 are the result of honourable conduct and of 
 laudable pursuits. Welcoming them, even 
 then, as the unmerited gifts of Gop’s good 
 Providence, he is conscious that he holds 
 them on a tenure, for himself indeed uncer- 
 tain and precarious, yet perfectly safe, so far 
 as his highest interests are concerned, because 
 it is dependent on the will of the Wisest and 
 the Best of Beings. A sense of dependence 
 like this is far from being a painful feeling : it 
 rather forms one element of that thankful- 
 ness towards the Heavenly Benefactor, which 
 exalts and increases every enjoyment. “ Pure 
 “and undefiled religion’”—that religion, 
 which is founded on self-denial, and, which, 
 keeping itself unspotted from the world, is 
 z St, James 1. 27. 
 
 Qo 
 
 02 
 
198 SERMON VII. 
 
 yet full of activity and of beneficence—has 
 the effect of preserving in its purity and of 
 perpetuating each source of pleasure, which 
 Gop has commanded to refresh and fertilise 
 the plains of human life. And they, who, in 
 their early years, have “set their affection on 
 “ things above, not on things on the earth*,” 
 will, to their joy, find, as life goes on, that 
 “ Godliness is profitable unto all things; 
 “ having promise of the life that now is and 
 “ of that, which is to come’.” They will sur- 
 mount the difficulties, which for their own 
 unassisted powers would have proved insu- 
 perable; and looking back, at the close of 
 their career, on the goodness and mercy, 
 which shall have followed them all their days, 
 they will acknowledge that, in their own ex- 
 perience, has been fully verified our Saviour’s 
 declaration: “ The things, which are impossi- 
 “ ble with men, are possible with Gop.” 
 
 a ‘Col, am: «Ὁ. b 1 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 St. JOHN xv. 15. 
 
 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the ser- 
 vant knoweth not what his Lorp doeth, but I 
 have called you friends; for all things that I 
 have heard of my Father, I have made known 
 unto you. 
 
 ἘΞ---  — 
 
 ‘THE union of lowliness and of dignity, in 
 the character and conduct of our Lorp and 
 Saviour, Jesus Curist, is nowhere more ap- 
 parent than in those passages of the Gospel 
 History, which relate the particulars of His 
 intercourse with His twelve chosen Apostles 
 and with such other disciples as were in con- 
 stant attendance on His Person. Some inci- 
 dental notice has been already taken of this 
 gracious and condescending intercourse ; but 
 its details well deserve a larger share of atten- 
 tion than has yet been bestowed upon them. 
 Simplicity and brevity mark those few nar- 
 ratives, which the Evangelists supply, of the 
 ο 4 
 
900 SERMON VIII. 
 
 first call of some, who sacrificed their worldly 
 employments and interests, to become the 
 followers of Curist. With their usual mo- 
 desty in all that relates to themselves or can 
 redound to the credit of their party’, the 
 Sacred Historians, in this instance, leave much 
 to the reflection of each thoughtful reader. 
 St. Luke” lends some help to our reflection, 
 by opening the state of Simon Peter’s mind, 
 when he had witnessed that miraculous 
 draught of fishes, which is generally sup- 
 posed to have preceded the call of himself, 
 his brother Andrew and the sons of Zebedee ; 
 and which, at all events, led them, whether 
 they had received an earlier call or not, to 
 take the decisive step of abandoning their oc- 
 cupations and their home’. Simon’s senti- 
 ment was not unlike that of Manoah, when 
 he said: “ We shall surely die, because we 
 “ have seen Gon?.” It was a sentiment of awe, 
 inspired by a consciousness of the presence— 
 of the near approach and of the immediate 
 influence, of a superior Being—of a Being, 
 too highly exalted in power and in purity to 
 admit of safe access for man, frail and sinful. 
 “ Depart from me, for I am a sinful man’— 
 
 99 
 
 aman and, as such, a sinner, “O Lorp-s. 
 
 a Note DDD. b St. Luke v. 6. ¢ Note EEE. 
 
 1 Judges xu. 22, οι, Luke v. 8. 
 
SERMON VIII. 201 
 
 These fears were allayed by a kind and per- 
 suasive address, diverting him for the future 
 from his secular employment and intimating 
 that in the draught of fishes, which had 
 “ astonished” himself and “ all that were with 
 “him,” he was to perceive an emblematic 
 representation of the success of his spiritual 
 labours. “ Fear not; from henceforth thou 
 “shalt catch men‘.” The call was without 
 hesitation obeyed; for we are informed that 
 “when the fishermen had brought their 
 “ ships to land, they forsook all and followed 
 “Him.” Their purpose, suddenly formed, 
 was yet deliberately and steadily executed ; 
 and the spirit of entire submission, which 
 their obedience in the first instance and 
 their future conduct shewed, was evidently 
 the result not less of a strong sense of 
 the Majesty than of a child-like reliance on 
 the goodness of our Lorp. It was in the 
 presence of the same individuals—of Simon 
 and Andrew, James and John—and in the 
 house of Simon—that the cure of Simon’s 
 wife’s mother, who “lay sick of a fever 8,” 
 took place. From St. Mark, the friend and 
 companion of St. Peter, we receive (as we 
 might expect) an account of some of those 
 
 f St. Luke v. 10, 11. δ St. Mark i. 29, 31. 
 
202 SERMON VIII. 
 
 minuter particulars of the incident, which 
 the other Evangelists have passed over in si- 
 lence; and they are particulars, which prove 
 that an affecting tenderness of manner ac- 
 companied the ready exertion of extraordi- 
 nary power. The parties interested told Jrsus 
 of the sickness, as soon as He had entered 
 the house; and it was in a benevolent com- 
 pliance with their request that He “ went to 
 “ the sufferer, took her by the hand and lift- 
 “ed her up; and immediately the fever left 
 “her.” In the minds of Simon and his as- 
 sociates must have been prolonged and in- 
 creased every previous feeling of awe and of 
 confidence: they must have been confirmed 
 in the purpose, which they had already re- 
 solved to execute, of listening to the call of 
 Curist, even when He bade them forsake all 
 and follow Him; since they saw that for the 
 homes, which they were about to leave be- 
 hind for His sake, they might hope to se- 
 cure His favour; since they beheld, in His 
 preservation of a life precious to themselves 
 and to their families, His value for those so- 
 cial interests and His regard for those ten- 
 der domestic charities, which He was Him- 
 self ready to abandon at the call of duty and 
 which He required them also, for His sake, to 
 abandon. 
 
SERMON VIII. 203 
 
 Now from this example, we may form some 
 estimate of the feelings, which were awakened 
 in the breasts of others, before they obeyed 
 the voice of Jesus Curis, calling them to 
 become His followers. When we duly con- 
 sider the proofs, which one plainly recorded 
 instance furnishes of the authority of the 
 Speaker and take into account the actions, 
 which, in that particular instance, illustrated 
 and enforced His summons, we cease to won- 
 der that words, apt for our ears to sound but 
 vain and impotent, had, whenever they were 
 employed, all that efficacy, which the Gospel 
 narrative ascribes to them. 
 
 On those two remarkable occasions, on 
 which our Lorp manifested His power over 
 the winds and the sea; when, in the one in- 
 stance, by His word, He appeased the storm, 
 which threatened danger to His disciples; 
 and in the other, came unexpectedly walking 
 on the water, already tossed with waves and 
 turbulent, joined them in their ship and en- 
 abled them to effect the passage, of which 
 they had begun to despair, we observe how 
 strongly the minds of His followers were 
 possessed with a sense of the safety for them 
 
 h St. Matt. vin. 23, 27. St. Mark iv. 36, 41. St. Luke 
 viii. 23, 25. and St. Matt. xiv. 22, 33. St. Mark vi. 45, 51. 
 St. John vi. 14, 21. 
 
904 SERMON VIII. 
 
 arising from His united power and goodness. 
 In the moment of their distress and per- 
 plexity, they “awoke Him, saying: Lorp, 
 “save us: we perish. Master, carest thou 
 “not that we perish?” The address is at 
 once an acknowledgment of His ability and 
 an expression of trust in His readiness, to 
 save them. St. Peter’s language and conduct, 
 in the instance, in which he is more espe- 
 cially concerned, are to the same effect ; and 
 shew him to have been under the influence 
 of the same feelings. At the close, fear and 
 wonder were tempered and qualified by 
 thankfulness for the deliverance from dan- 
 ger, which had been experienced ; and a con- 
 fession that He, who could “ command even 
 “ the winds and water and they obeyed Him,” 
 was “of a truth the Son of Gop’—as it is 
 stated to have been the actual result in one 
 of the two cases, was the natural—as it would 
 seem to ws, the unavoidable result, in both. 
 Having “learned even from the winds and 
 “sea to obey their Master’s voice and do His 
 “ will” the disciples had discovered also and 
 had felt “ how able and ready He was to help 
 “them that trusted in Him.” 
 
 The display of power and of mercy, in the 
 instances, which have now been noticed, was 
 
 ' Form of Thanksgiving after a Storm at Sea. 
 
SERMON VIII. 205 
 
 one, in which the disciples themselves were 
 more immediately and, as it were, personally 
 concerned. As such, it would have upon 
 their minds a direct and commanding in- 
 fluence. But its effect was heightened and 
 confirmed by what they continually saw and 
 heard. It was before them—in the presence 
 of more or fewer of their number—that our 
 Lorp wrought His miracles on all occasions ; 
 it was in their hearing that His public Dis- 
 courses were delivered. Whoever else might 
 be at hand—whether He was surrounded by 
 a gazing and incredulous crowd or by quick- 
 sighted and relentless adversaries, they, at all 
 events, were near to witness the proofs, which 
 He afforded, of high authority, of matchless 
 wisdom and of unfailing goodness. Whether 
 others might derive advantage or sustain loss 
 from the privileges, which He brought within 
 their reach and offered to their acceptance, 
 His disciples never wilfully thwarted His 
 purposes nor altogether disappointed His 
 merciful designs for their welfare. That 
 among themselves some inequality was per- 
 mitted to exist, in respect of their Master’s 
 favour, is an undeniable fact ; but it is a fact 
 by no means inconsistent with His affection 
 for them all. 
 
 In His ordinary intercourse, He was ac- 
 
206 SERMON VIII. 
 
 customed to treat them all as His Friends, 
 even before the arrival of the time, when He 
 expressly and formally called them by that 
 name. His conversations with them and His. 
 behaviour towards them exhibit combined 
 Majesty and meekness; a tender regard for 
 their prejudices, a kind indulgence for their 
 imperfections and mistakes. In the midst of 
 mild and patient efforts to comfort and even 
 to serve them, there is however found no 
 compromise of the dignity of the Instructor 
 and the Guide from Heaven. Thus, when, 
 at one time, “ His mother and His brethren 
 “ stood without, desiring to speak with Him‘,” 
 He seized the favourable opportunity of il- 
 lustrating, by the proper feelings of the filial 
 and fraternal relation, the nature and degree 
 of His regard for His faithful attendants. 
 “He stretched forth His hand toward His 
 “ disciples’ —“ He looked round about on 
 “them, which sat about Him’—“ and said: 
 “ Behold my mother and my brethren. For 
 “ whosoever shall do the will of my Father, 
 “ which is in Heaven, the same is my brother 
 “and sister and mother '.” Nor can we doubt 
 that the circumstances of the scene gave to 
 this illustration its full force; and that our 
 Lorp was in the act of preparing to comply 
 k St. Matt. xii. 46, 50. St. Mark in. 31,35. |! Note FFF. 
 
SERMON VIII. 207 
 
 with the wishes of His natural relatives, as 
 soon and as far as compliance might consist 
 with the ends and duties of His ministry, at 
 the very moment, in which He uttered this 
 affecting language. But we are to observe 
 and learn from this language, that obedience 
 to the will of His Heavenly Father—to that 
 will, of which He Himself was the messenger 
 and the interpreter, was the indispensable 
 condition of being admitted to His favour 
 and friendship. 
 
 In connection with our Saviour’s exposi- 
 tion of His own Parables, notice has been 
 already, in a previous Lecture, taken of 
 the freedom, allowed to the disciples, of ap- 
 proaching Him in retirement and of seek- 
 ing, in His presence, relief from perplexity 
 and doubt. A like freedom is exempli- 
 fied in the instance of that cure of a de- 
 moniac, which followed the descent from the 
 Mount of Transfiguration”. The disciples, 
 in the absence of their Master, and of Peter, 
 James and John, having received the parent’s 
 application, either declined to attempt a cure 
 or failed, if they did attempt it. The Scribes, 
 welcoming what they deemed a fit occasion 
 for cavil and dispute, and hoping doubt- 
 
 m St. Matt. xvii. 14, 21. St. Mark ix. 14, 29. St. Luke 
 ix. 37, 45. 
 
908 SERMON VIII. 
 
 less to lower both Jesus and His followers 
 in the opinion of the assembled multitude, 
 were questioning with the disciples, when 
 our Lorp, unexpectedly and to the great 
 amazement of all the people, appeared. He 
 at once silenced the cavillers, by asking: 
 “What question ye with them?” Before 
 He proceeded to interpose in behalf of the 
 afflicted Father and his child, He gave ut- 
 terance to the language of severe rebuke 
 and earnest expostulation: “O faithless and 
 “ perverse generation! how long shall I be 
 “with you? How long shall I suffer you ?” 
 These words were well calculated to keep 
 alive, in the minds of all who heard them, 
 that sensation of awe, which the first and 
 sudden approach of Jesus had, in this in- 
 stance, caused. In the reproof conveyed, 
 none present were altogether unconcerned ; 
 yet was its chief severity probably intended 
 and, at the time, felt to be intended, for the 
 Scribes, whose questionings respecting the 
 authority of Curisr and the dependence of 
 His followers upon His aid, were, by the lan- 
 guage of this seasonable rebuke, met and 
 answered, according to our Lorp’s frequent 
 manner, even before they had been repeated 
 in His presence". In whatever degree the 
 " Note GGG. 
 
SERMON VIII. 209 
 
 disciples may have been conscious that on 
 them too some reflection was cast, they were 
 notwithstanding well assured that to them- 
 selves the privilege of confidential intercourse 
 with their Master would not be denied. 
 “And when He was come into the house, 
 “ His disciples asked Him privately: Why 
 “ could not we cast him out?” A direct re- 
 ply was vouchsafed to their inquiry; and 
 that reply was accompanied with a large pro- 
 mise of all necessary aid for the future and 
 with a gracious apology for their past defi- 
 ciency: “ And He said unto them: Because 
 “ of your unbelief; for, verily, I say unto you: 
 “ If ye have faith, as a grain of mustard seed, 
 “ye shall say unto this mountain: Remove 
 “ hence to yonder place and it shall remove ; 
 “and nothing shall be impossible to you. 
 “ Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by 
 “prayer and fasting.” The unbelief, with 
 which they were here charged, was a defect 
 of faith, similar to that, which the humble 
 yet confiding parent had, in his own case, 
 acknowledged: “ Lory, I believe: help thou 
 “my unbelief.” It was the same defect, of 
 which the Apostles were themselves, on an- 
 other occasion, sensible, when they “said unto 
 “the Lorn: Increase our faith®.” In the 
 
 © St. Luke xvi. 5. 
 Ρ 
 
910 SERMON VIII. 
 
 instance now under consideration however 
 their prayer was anticipated; and, in terms 
 nearly the same, they were on this latter, as 
 they had been on the former, occasion, en- 
 couraged to rely on power, hereafter to be 
 imparted, whereby all difficulties might be 
 surmounted and all miracles achieved. The 
 inspiriting effect of this promise derived fresh 
 strength from the few words that were added 
 to account for and, as it were, to excuse, their 
 recent failure. The days of fasting had not 
 yet arrived for the Disciples, whilst their 
 Lorp continued with them; their delegated 
 and derived power was less required and 
 wanted, so long as He was at hand to make 
 bare His mighty arm in the eyes of all ob- 
 servers. With the impressions however, which 
 we receive from this example, of the kindness 
 and tenderness of our Saviour’s manner of 
 holding intercourse with His disciples, must 
 be mingled, as with similar impressions on 
 the minds of the disciples must have been 
 mingled, a sense of the superiority, which He 
 ever claimed and maintained. To Him they 
 were to look as the source of powers, which 
 they were to employ under His direction 
 and for the promotion of His designs; and 
 to Him they were to be prepared to render 
 a final account of their stewardship and ser- 
 
SERMON VIII. 211 
 
 vice. The address, which followed His reply 
 to their request for an increase of faith, must 
 have been, in its spirit and power, recalled 
 once more to their minds and must have 
 brought with it a deep impression of the obli- 
 gations, under which they were laid, to pay to 
 Him, their Lorp and Master, a faithful and 
 unwearied service. “So likewise” (after the 
 manner of ready and obedient servants) “ye, 
 “when ye shall have done all those things, 
 “which are commanded you, say: We are 
 “unprofitable servants: we have done that, 
 “ which was our duty to do?.” 
 
 The miracle of the raising of Lazarus has 
 been already noticed in a preceding Lecture. 
 The same event may now be viewed under 
 another aspect and may serve, in an interest- 
 ing manner, to unfold the nature and the 
 effects of our Lorp’s familiar converse with 
 His disciples. “ Now Jesus loved Martha 
 “and her sister and Lazarus*.” Such are 
 the few, but expressive words, in which St. 
 John describes the privilege, enjoyed by this 
 favoured family; a privilege that seems to 
 have excited, in the bosoms of our Lorp’s 
 other followers, no emotions save those of 
 endearment and of kindness; since we find 
 that when the death of. Lazarus was, im plain 
 
 Ρ St. Luke xvi. 10. 4 St. John xi. 5, &e, 
 Bie 
 
212 SERMON VIII. 
 
 terms, announced to the Apostles, Thomas 
 gave vent to the natural feeling of regret for 
 an irreparable loss; and “said to his fellow- 
 “ disciples: Let us also go that we may die 
 “with him.” “Then Martha, as soon as she 
 “ heard that Jesus was coming, went and met 
 “ Him.” Her first words bespeak a strong 
 confidence in His power, which had been 
 inspired by her acquaintance with His pre- 
 vious works: “Lorp, if thou hadst been 
 “here, my brother had not died. But I 
 “ know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt 
 “ask of Gop, Gop will give it thee.” The 
 simplicity and earnestness of her reliance 
 more than compensated the imperfection of 
 her views; and drew from our Lorp such 
 language as she had not before heard Him 
 utter: “I am the resurrection and the life: 
 “he that believeth in me, though he were 
 “ dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liv- 
 “eth and believeth in me shall never die.” 
 It was after she had heard these sublime and 
 mysterious, yet encouraging, words that she 
 “called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying: 
 “The Master is come and calleth thee.” 
 When Mary was come where “Jesus was and 
 “saw Him, she fell down at His feet” and, 
 repeating the very terms, which Martha had 
 already employed, shewed that her own and 
 
SERMON VIII. 213 
 
 her sister’s feeling were the same. The stu- 
 pendous event surpassed their fondest hopes ; 
 nor is it possible to conceive that such an 
 event, so occurring, contd fail to convey to 
 their minds, and, through them, to the minds 
 of many, to whom they would eagerly and 
 gladly communicate its particulars, loftier and 
 juster notions than they had hitherto enter- 
 tained of that exalted Personage, whose loud 
 voice had roused their brother from the deep 
 slumbers of the grave. 
 
 It is the Evangelist St. Luke who informs 
 us of that unseasonable “strife among the 
 “ Apostles, which of them should be account- 
 “ed the greatest',” that happened only just 
 before the treacherous purpose of Judas took 
 effect. The same spirit had been, on some 
 former occasions, manifested ; and had been 
 mildly, yet in a firm tone of reproof, and 
 once by the forcible illustration of a child, 
 placed in the midst and proposed as an.exam- 
 ple, checked and repressed *. Upon the last 
 occurrence of this unseemly contention, when 
 our Lorp was now on the eve of departure 
 from the world, He so far condescended as 
 to set before them for their imitation, that 
 
 r St. Luke xxn. 24. 
 s St. Matt. xvi. 1,2. St. Mark ix. 33,37. St. Luke 
 ix. 46, 48. and St. Matt. xx. 20, 28. St. Mark x. 35, 45. 
 
 Ρ 3 
 
914 SERMON VIII. 
 
 character, which, in the significant action of 
 washing their feet, they had lately seen Him 
 sustain: “I am among you as he that serv- 
 “eth.” The force of the example, thus urged, 
 clearly depended upon their acknowledgment 
 of Him, as their Master and Lord: “Ye call 
 “me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for 
 “so I am*.” And He is found at once to 
 have mercifully qualified His censure and to 
 have vindicated His own authority and real 
 dignity, by renewing, even then, that very 
 promise of a kingdom, which they had too 
 eagerly heard and had already misunderstood 
 and misapplied: “ Ye are they which have 
 “ continued with me in my temptations; and 
 “1 appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Fa- 
 “ ther hath appointed unto me; that ye may 
 “ eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom ; 
 “ and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
 “ of Israel.” 
 
 Of the closing scene of our Lorp’s inter- 
 course with His assembled Apostles, we are 
 favoured with a full and clear account. Each 
 of the three earlier Evangelists has recorded 
 those leading circumstances of the Last Sup- 
 per, in which the Christian Church has from 
 the first been, and will for ever be, deeply in- 
 terested ; whilst St. John, assuming the mat- 
 
 t St. John xi. 13. 
 
SERMON VIII. 215 
 
 ters of fact to be well known and universally 
 accepted, dwells on details, that fill up the 
 narratives of his predecessors and come most 
 appropriately from him. For to St.John had 
 been granted the privilege of enjoying, in a 
 higher degree than even his fellow-Apostles 
 enjoyed, the private regard and especial fa- 
 vour of his Master; and several incidents of 
 the Gospel History are observed to be in 
 beautiful harmony with the peculiarity and 
 intimacy of that relation, in which he is re- 
 presented to have stood to Jesus Curist. 
 Of one of these incidents a touching memo- 
 rial is found in the Remains of Christian 
 antiquity, whenever mention is made of St. 
 John under the description of him who re- 
 clined on the bosom of JEsus—or when he is 
 indicated by an expressive word, formed on 
 purpose to convey that meaning". His writ- 
 ings both illustrate and justify the other 
 title, by which he was also and, as it would 
 seem, yet sooner distinguished ; a title, which 
 is, in his own Gospel, sometimes substituted 
 for his name—“ the disciple, whom Jesus 
 “ Joved ;” for those writings every where dis- 
 play such excellencies of disposition and of 
 character as are in their own nature best 
 calculated to ensure affection and confidence ; 
 « Note HHH. 
 Ρ 4 
 
216 SERMON VIII. 
 
 and as could not therefore fail to recommend 
 him to the perfect discernment of our Lorn. 
 A warm and zealous temper appears to have 
 been in him matured, sanctified and elevated 
 by the transforming influence of that exalted 
 friendship, to which he had been raised; and 
 the lesson, which he chiefly delighted in un- 
 folding and inculcating was that:of mutual 
 love, in compliance with the command and 
 after the example of Curist. Nor is it from 
 his own Writings only that we draw this in- 
 ference: a tradition of the early Church re- 
 ports that, in extreme old age and when voice 
 and strength for the effort of speaking had 
 well nigh failed, he urged his favourite lesson 
 on the Christians of Ephesus, by repeating 
 over and over again, in each religious service, 
 one brief exhortation: “ Little children, love 
 “one another;” and that, on being asked 
 why he always spake the same words, he 
 replied : “ Because it is the Lorp’s command, 
 “and to obey that command alone, is enough*.” 
 It is from St. John then, the beloved disciple, 
 ever animated by a warm and untired spirit 
 of devotion to his Divine Master and of cha- 
 rity for his Christian brethren, that we learn 
 the particulars of that valedictory address 
 and that interceding prayer’, with which the 
 
 x Note III. y St. John xiv. xv. xvi. 
 
SERMON VIII. 217 
 
 oral communications of the Son of man, be- 
 fore His passion, were concluded. Who else 
 could have done justice to the moving ten- 
 derness, the affectionate anxiety, the free and 
 disinterested love, which were, in this in- 
 stance, signally displayed? It appears that 
 the prospect of approaching separation from 
 their Lorp and Master was one, which the 
 Apostles could no longer, by any artifice of 
 self-delusion, hide from their view ; what 
 their sorrow arising from this prospect was, 
 we may conceive from our SaviouR’s express 
 notice of their grief, repeated allusions to it 
 and studious endeavours to soothe their 
 wounded feelings. His prevailing tone of 
 sadness bespeaks the considerate care and 
 anxious forethought of a Protector, about to 
 quit the objects of His beneficence, who have 
 hitherto looked up to Him with reverential 
 love and with entire dependence: we mark 
 a reluctance to touch upon the painful to- 
 pic, that filled the minds and weighed down 
 the spirits of His hearers: whenever a con- 
 cern for their true welfare and a desire to 
 prepare them for the event that was coming, 
 rendered unavoidable an open anticipation of 
 that event, the reference was accompanied by 
 considerations, fraught with effectual comfort. 
 His promise of the Paraclete, as His own sub- 
 
218 SERMON VIII. 
 
 stitute; His legacy of peace ; His employ- 
 ment of the figure of a vine and its branches, 
 to denote the union subsisting between Him- 
 self and His followers—an union, which not 
 even the laying down of His life for their 
 sakes would be able to dissolve or to inter- 
 rupt ;—His declaration of the expediency of 
 His departure, in order that He might send 
 down upon them an abundance of richer 
 blessings than they had yet received,—these 
 were the chief sources of consolation, which 
 He opened for their refreshment and relief. 
 Throughout the whole of this wonderful 
 Discourse, there is, however, preserved an air 
 of high superiority, which it is impossible to 
 overlook or to mistake. He who speaks is 
 evidently in the act of kind and lowly con- 
 descension to His inferiors; but the conde- 
 scension of the Son of Gon is felt to be in its 
 nature and in its results, widely different 
 from the condescension of frail and imper- 
 fect men. ‘The latter can serve for the basis 
 of an insecure form of friendship only ; the 
 former takes place, in order that 10 may prove 
 the firm foundation of an intimate relation, 
 pure, permanent and beneficial for all who 
 shall be admitted into it.. “ Henceforth I 
 “call you not servants’—“ I no longer call 
 “you servants. That is a name, by which 
 
SERMON VIII. 219 
 
 “you have heretofore called and by which 
 “you may hereafter also fitly call, your- 
 “selves. But I, on my part, now give you a 
 “higher and a dearer appellation. I have 
 “called you—I now call you— Friends ; as 
 “such I have treated and shall treat you, in 
 “ the communications of my Father’s will.’— 
 “ Ye have not chosen me; but J have chosen 
 “you and ordained you that ye should go 
 “and bring forth fruit and that your fruit 
 “ should remain ; that whatsoever ye shall ask 
 “of the Lather in my name, He may give it 
 “you. These things | command you, that 
 “ye love one another.” Who does not per- 
 ceive that in this language of our Lorp, ad- 
 dressed to His Apostles, is implied an inef- 
 fable—a Divine condescension ? Of His 
 spontaneous choice they had been the happy 
 objects—to His commandments they were 
 required to yield submission—in His name 
 and through His effectual mediation, they 
 were to hope for the acceptance of their 
 prayers and the success of their petitions. 
 In their hearing, He Himself was pleased to 
 offer that prayer of intercession, which was 
 ever afterwards to sanction, to cheer and to 
 encourage His followers in their approaches 
 to “the throne of grace.”—“ Now I am no 
 “more in the world: but these are in the 
 
220 SERMON VIII. 
 
 “ world; and I come to Thee. Holy Father! 
 “ keep through Thine own name those, whom 
 “ Thou hast given me, that they may be one, 
 “as we are. Father! I will that they also, 
 “whom Thou hast given me, be with me, 
 “where I am; that they may behold my 
 “glory, which Thou hast given me; for 
 “ Thou lovedst me before the foundation of 
 “ the world.” Ι 
 
 Scarcely elsewhere can be found to have 
 proceeded from our Saviour’s lips a stronger 
 claim than that, which these words contain, 
 to the distinction of pre-existence from eter- 
 nity, and of a mysterious relation to His 
 Heavenly Father that falls not short of 
 equality ; and in the time and manner of 
 advancing this claim, we are compelled to 
 observe a wise and gracious accommodation 
 to the wants and weakness of the Apostles. 
 Their sinking spirits, at. that critical moment, 
 required support from an assurance of their 
 Master’s real glory; and the events, which 
 were soon to involve Him in depths of humi- 
 liation, lower than they could even yet pre- 
 vail upon themselves to imagine, would speed- 
 ily call for the powerful corrective of His 
 remembered deeds and words; of the deeds 
 of wonder, which He had performed, and of 
 the sublime words, concerning Himself and 
 
SERMON VIII. 221 
 
 His own purposes, which He had occasionally 
 uttered. 
 
 From the passages of the Gospel History, 
 which have now been considered, although 
 they are but a small number of those, which 
 might be examined for the purpose of illus- 
 trating our Lorn’s more private intercourse 
 with His disciples, arises a reflection on the 
 strange mistake, unless it ought rather to be 
 called the wilful misrepresentation, of such 
 as have complained or have affected to com- 
 plain that /rtendship is neither prescribed as 
 a duty nor commended as an ornament of 
 life, in the code of Christian Morals. It is 
 true that this objection admits of being tri- 
 umphantly answered by a reference to the 
 very genius of Christianity and to the spirit, 
 which it cannot but create and foster. The 
 true philanthropy and fervent charity, which 
 it is one main purpose of our Holy Religion 
 to implant within the breast, include all the 
 principles of genuine friendship and super- 
 sede the necessity of dry precepts and formal 
 rules. 
 
 But the review, in which we have now 
 been engaged, furnishes the means of return- 
 ing a readier and more definite answer. ‘The 
 fact is that friendship has been explained in 
 the example and is enforced by the authority 
 
2922. . SERMON VIII. 
 
 of Jesus Curist, our Lorp. In the small 
 body of His immediate followers—and in the 
 selection of individuals out of that small 
 body—in the instances of St. John, and of 
 Lazarus and his sisters more especially, we 
 discover the sharers of His retirement. We 
 perceive that the perfection of His sinless 
 humanity sought the solace of sympathy and 
 of affection; and that He was pleased, by 
 bringing other minds into close contact with 
 Himself, to mould and fashion them after 
 His own likeness. We observe, indeed, that, 
 in the powerful influence, which He exerted 
 over the hearts and characters of His attend- 
 ants, He had in view their preparation for 
 the labours and the sufferings of their future 
 ministry ; and we find that, in their lives and 
 in their death, testimony was afterwards borne 
 to His success. Their ability, their courage, 
 their firm resistance even unto blood—often 
 raised astonishment, and forced the witnesses 
 of their conduct, in attempting to account for 
 what they saw—to “take knowledge of them 
 “that they had been with Jrsus’.” Again, 
 we remark that our Saviour’s friendship 
 rather conferred benefits than aimed at any 
 reciprocal advantages. He neither stood nor 
 
 Acts iv. 13. 
 
SERMON VIII. 223 
 
 appeared to stand on a level with the chosen 
 objects of His love. Still, in spite of the pe- 
 culiarities of His case, may we behold, in His 
 relation to His Apostles and companions, an 
 example of friendship, sincere, warm and dis- 
 interested ; an example that may fitly be pro- 
 posed for our imitation. And then is Friend- 
 ship likely to be productive of its fairest 
 fruits, when it is formed after this example ; 
 when, founded on religious principle and cul- 
 tivated for the ends of moral and spiritual im- 
 provement, it exists between fellow-disciples 
 in the School of Curisr. Their pure and 
 virtuous union will be cemented by daily ex- 
 perience of mutual aid and comfort; but its 
 holiest and its firmest bond will consist in a 
 common relation to their Divine Master, and 
 in an elevating hope of being at last admitted, 
 through His merits and mercy, to those man- 
 sions of His Father’s house, where friendship, 
 begun on earth, may be perpetuated and per- 
 fected. 
 
 But there is another and yet higher lesson 
 to be learned from the Gospel narratives of 
 our blessed Saviour’s condescending inter- 
 course with His followers, whom He called 
 His friends. We have seen that this inter- 
 course, ever abounding with proofs and in- 
 stances of tender compassion and of love, was 
 
294. SERMON VIII. 
 
 yet marked by striking indications of His supe- 
 riority—of His essential dignity and glory. 
 “Gop was in Curisvt, reconciling the world 
 “unto Himself*”—and of that Divine presence 
 with the human nature in the Person of the 
 Son, we may discern some notices even in the 
 midst of His career of accommodation to our 
 low estate. Thus has Gop manifested to the 
 fallen race of man His loving kindness and 
 made “all His goodness pass before them”.” 
 No longer sheltered “in a clift of the rock,” 
 the disciples beheld—and we, as it were with 
 open face, may still behold “the Lorn pass- 
 “ing by and proclaiming: The Lorn, the 
 “ Lorp Gop, merciful and gracious, long-suf- 
 “ fering and abundant in goodness and truth, 
 “ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving ini- 
 “ quity and transgression and sin®.” Although 
 “our great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of 
 “ Gop, is passed into the heavens¢;” although, 
 having “ offered one sacrifice for sins, He 
 “ hath for ever sat down on the right hand of 
 “ Gop®”—yet is He, in His glorified human 
 nature, capable of being “touched with the 
 “feeling of our infirmities’—and, in the 
 same nature, does He “ ever live to make in- 
 
 42 Cor. v. 19. b Exod. xxxin. 19, 23. 
 ¢ Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. d Heb. iv. 14, 15. 
 ¢ Heb. x. 12. 
 
SERMON VIII. 225 
 
 “ tercession for those, that come unto Gop 
 “by Him" Even ourselves He bids aspire to 
 the distinction of becoming and of being 
 called, His friends ; and, through His means, 
 the friends of Gods. 'To our acceptance is 
 proposed the very same condition, which His 
 personal attendants heard: “ Ye are my 
 “friends, if ye do whatsoever I command 
 “you;” and in ou behalf was uttered His 
 prevailing prayer: “ Neither pray 1 for these 
 “ alone, but for them also, which shall believe 
 “on me through their word, that they all 
 “may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me 
 “and I in Thee, that they also may be one 
 “Truss? 
 
 And now at length having reached the 
 limits, which the Founder of this Lecture 
 has prescribed, I desist from farther pursuit 
 of the Inquiry originally proposed. Of that 
 Inquiry the avowed object was to apply to 
 practical purposes—to the ends “of instruc- 
 “tion in righteousness)” and of religious 
 improvement—some select passages of the 
 Gospel History, which might furnish, in the 
 life and actions of Jesus Curist, manifest in- 
 dications of the essential glory of His God- 
 
 f Heb. vii. 25. δ Note KKK. h 2 Tim. i. 16. 
 Q 
 
226 SERMON VIII. 
 
 head. Accordingly, in the Miracles of our 
 Lorp; in the Moral and religious lessons, 
 which He conveyed by means of Parables ; 
 in His intercourse with Publicans and sin- 
 ners; in His guidance of such as solicited 
 His instructions, although they were not 
 of the number of His disciples; and finally, 
 in His endearing demeanour towards His 
 chosen companions; have been observed clear 
 tokens of a dignity, well befitting and aptly 
 illustrating His Divine nature; whilst, under 
 each separate head of Discourse, care has 
 been taken to draw some suitable inferences 
 and lessons. The copious theme however 
 still remains unexhausted. The Divine Eco- 
 nomy—that Dispensation of Gon’s mercy for 
 the salvation of man, of which “the Pro- 
 “ phets” of former times ‘ enquired and 
 “searched diligently” and into “ which the 
 “angels desire to look',’ may for ever yield 
 employment for the understanding and en- 
 gagement for the heart and affections, of the 
 faithful Christian. The brief and imperfect 
 consideration of this vast subject, for which 
 the present occasion has sufficed, may pos- 
 sibly have the effect of giving an impulse 
 to farther and more successful investigations 
 
 ''1 Peter i. 10,12. 
 
SERMON VIII. 227 
 
 of the same sort; and may, in the mean 
 time, cherish that spirit of lowly reverence 
 for “*the great Gop and our Saviour Jesus 
 “ Curist|,” which is not less characteristic of 
 progressive holiness than essential to sincere 
 
 repentance. 
 
 k Titus n. 13. 1 Note LLL. 
 
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NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 SS ee 
 
 Note A, p. 1. 
 
 SOME Commentators are of opinion that our Lorp’s 
 Discourse was delivered before the Great Sanhedrim. 
 Dr. Townson refers to the opinion ; and himself concludes 
 that it is highly probable that the hearers were at least mem- 
 bers of that Council. See his Discourses on the Four Gos- 
 pels, p. 16, note 4. 
 
 Note B, p. 5. 
 
 The remark of Tittmann, in p. 4. of the Prolegomena to 
 his Meletemata Sacra in Evan. S. Joann. respecting the 
 comparative value of the Gospel of St. John and the Epi- 
 stles of the New Testament, may be applied to a compa- 
 rison of the Gospels and the Epistles generally : 
 
 Apostoli in Epistolis capita doctrine de Jesu Messta 
 seepissime quidem verbis, quamvis divinitus suppeditatis, 
 suis tamen, explicarunt ; Joannes autem verbis JEsu ipsius. 
 Apud illos, loquentem audimus, quamvis virum inspira- 
 tum, hominem tamen; apud hunc, Filium Derr, Mzsstam 
 ipsum. 
 
 The following testimonies to the same effect come from a 
 high authority : 
 
 “ς If our minds were but competent adequately to expand 
 ἐς the idea included in that one word, Gop, we should need no_ 
 ‘¢ thing further, except consciousness of our own honest pur- 
 “< pose, to set us at ease for time as well as eternity. But the 
 “ Sacred Volume contains this expansion. In every part, 
 «ς but, above all,in the Four Gospels, it unfolds Derry. It 
 ‘* shews us Him, who dwelleth in the light, which no man 
 ἐς can approach unto, condescending to provide for the mi- 
 
 “‘ nutest of our wants, directing, guarding and assisting us, 
 a 3 
 
230 NOTES AND 
 
 ‘each hour and moment, with an infinitely more vigilant 
 ‘and exquisite care than our own utmost self-love can 
 ἐς ever attain to.” Remains of Alexander Knox, Esq. Vol. 
 IT. p. 262. 
 
 ‘* Tn order to perceive the glory and appreciate the excel- 
 ἐς lence of our Redeemer, we must see Him in His own light 
 ἐς and estimate Him by the standard He has Himself afforded. 
 ςς We must take His own account of the motives which en- 
 “ vaged Him to assume our flesh and to tabernacle amongst 
 ‘us. In His Divine discourses, He has made both His de- 
 ‘sion and Himself known to us. We can be wise therefore 
 only by receiving this instruction ; and happy only by im- 
 proving this acquaintance. In thus appealing to our Re- 
 deemer himself, it is far from my thought to question either 
 the authority or the satisfactoriness of the Apostolic doc- 
 ςς trine. Thisalso affords us invaluable instruction and infal- 
 
 ςς 
 
 ς 
 
 . 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 ςς 
 
 *lible guidance. But it supposes, not supersedes, the im- 
 “ mediate lessons of Incarnate GopHEAD. ‘These have an 
 ἐς incommunicable pre-eminence, over all which was ever de- 
 livered; inasmuch as to Him, who spoke, Gop gave not 
 the Spirit, as He is intimated to give Himself in every 
 other instance, by measure. Let us then, as we are most 
 bounden, be ever mindful of what has been written for 
 our learning, by the Apostles of our Lorp and Saviour; 
 but still, let it be our highest and holiest care to sit, as it 
 were, with Mary at the feet of Him, who spake as never 
 *‘man spake. Except we hearken to His gracious words, 
 ‘“ we cannot be certain that we are His disciples indeed ; 
 nor can we estimate what we lose, in so relying on the 
 
 te 
 
 ςς 
 
 ςς 
 
 ς 
 
 ΄ 
 
 ςς 
 
 ς 
 
 ΄ 
 
 ςς 
 
 ΄ 
 
 ce 
 
 ** purest and highest streams as to draw less assiduously 
 ἐς ἈΠ] less profoundly from the fountain.” Ibid. p. 335, 
 336. 
 
 Note C, p. 9. 
 
 Οἱ νόμοι τῶν ἐθνῶν οἱ περὶ ἀγαλμάτων Kal THs ἀθέου πολυ- 
 θεότητος. Origen. contra Cels. 1.1. The expression is again 
 found in III. 73. of the same work, where Origen explains 
 the wise, of whom St. Paul speaks (1 Cor. 1. 27.), to be 
 πάντας τοὺς δοκοῦντας προβεβηκέναι μὲν ἐν μαθήμασιν, ἀπο- 
 πεπτωκότας δὲ εἰς τὴν ἄθεον πολυθεότητα. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 231 
 Nore Ὁ), px. 
 
 Διὰ τὸ σκληροκάρδιον τοῦ λαοῦ ὑμῶν, πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα év- 
 τάλματα (instituta, scilicet, Mosaica) νοεῖτε τὸν Θεὸν διὰ 
 Μωσέως ἐντειλάμενον ὑμῖν, ἵνα, διὰ πολλῶν τούτων, ἐν πάσῃ 
 πράξει πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἀεὶ ἔχητε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ μήτε ἀδικεῖν μήτε 
 ἀσεβεῖν ἄρχησθε. After enumerating some particular in 
 
 Pee nS P : Ξ 
 stances, the passage proceeds: διὰ τούτων δυσωπῶν ὑμᾶς ἀεὶ 
 
 ΄ 7 cat ΟὟ ed \ > / a 9, “Ὁ 7 
 μνήμην ἔχειν τοῦ Θεοῦ: ἅμα τε καὶ ἐλέγχων ὅτι ἐν ταῖς καρδί- 
 
 € lad y+ ἊΝ / a a a \ DANG “ 
 αις ὑμῶν οὔδε μικρὰν μνήμην ἔχετε τοῦ θεοσεβεῖν" καὶ οὔδ᾽ οὕ- 
 τως ἐπείσθητε μὴ εἰδωλολατρεῖν. Justin, Martyr. Dial. cum 
 Tryphone, c. 40. 
 
 Nore E, p. 12. 
 
 The words Dispensation and Arrangement are here in- 
 tended to answer to the word οἰκονομία, as it is often em- 
 ployed in the writings of the early Fathers. Dr. Routh 
 in his Notes on a Fragment of the Chronica of Africanus, 
 (Rel. Sacr. Vol. II. p. 241) incidentally remarks : ‘* vo- 
 “ cem οἰκονομίαν Tertulliano, qui Africano antiquior est, 
 “ὁ famiharem esse.” The following example may serve to 
 illustrate Tertullian’s use of the expression : 
 
 Nos vero et semper et nunc magis, ut instructiores per 
 Paracletum, Deductorem scilicet omnis veritatis, unicum 
 quidem Drum credimus ; sub hac tamen dispensatione, 
 quam @conomiam dicimus, ut unici De: sit et Filius, Sermo 
 Ipsius, qui ex ipso processerit, per quem omnia facta sunt 
 et sine quo factum est nihil: hune missum a Patre in vir- 
 ginem et ex ea natum hominem et Deum, Filium hominis 
 et Filum Det et cognominatum JEsum Curistum ; hunc 
 passum, hune mortuum et sepultum secundum Scripturas 
 et resuscitatum a Patre et in coelos resumptum sedere ad 
 dextram Patris, venturum judicare vivos et mortuos—qui 
 exinde miserit, secundum promissionem suam, a Patre Spi- 
 ritum Sanctum Paracletum, Sanctificatorem fidei eorum, qui 
 credunt in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum. Advers. 
 Prax. in 1η10. 
 
 The Economy or Dispensation, of which Tertullian here 
 speaks, embraces that whole scheme of the Divine mercy for 
 the salvation of mankind through the intervention of the 
 
 Qa 4 
 
232 NOTES AND 
 
 Second Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, of which His 
 Incarnation is one grand and leading feature. And such 
 would seem to be the proper Ecclesiastical sense of that 
 Greek word, which is usually, as in this passage of 'Tertul- 
 lian, translated Dispensatio, although sometimes, as in the 
 Vetus Interpretatio of Irenzeus contra Heereses, Dispositio. 
 The late Dr. Burton, in p. 62, note ὁ, of his Testimonies of 
 the Ante-Nicene Fathers to the Divinity of Curist, states 
 that it is his purpose to translate οἰκονομία, incarnation, 
 ‘* which is the sense, in which all the Fathers used the 
 ‘“‘ word.’ He appeals to Bp. Bull in support of the latter 
 assertion ; and, referring to Suicer’s Thesaurus, justly ob- 
 jects to the order, in which the two last meanings, assigned 
 to the word οἰκονομία, are given. Now it is readily granted 
 that the limited sense of Jncarnation must sometimes be 
 assigned to the word, which previously and more fitly sig- 
 nifies ‘‘ the whole economy or scheme pursued by Gon, im 
 *« nerfecting our Redemption.” Stull the propriety of ge- 
 nerally understanding the word in a meaning thus limited 
 may be fairly questioned. Have not some of the passages, 
 translated by Dr. Burton, sustained injury from the restric- 
 tion? And, further, does the authority of Bp. Bull sanc- 
 tion that assertion respecting the usage of the Fathers, 
 which it is alleged to support? Is not the language of that 
 eminent defender of the faith rather such as to preserve a 
 clear distinction between the Jncarnation and the Eco- 
 nomy ; and to represent the former word, as signifying a 
 part only of that whole, which the primitive writers denoted 
 by the latter? His words, in the place, to which Dr. Burton 
 refers (and many similar places may be pointed out—e. g. 
 Defen. Fid. Nic. II. nu. 4. IV. 1.2. IV. in. 4), are: 
 
 Manifestissimum est Ecclesize Doctores—significasse tum 
 apparitiones illas Der omnes, tum ipsam évodpxwow ad oi- 
 κονομίαν spectasse, quam suscepit Der Filius; que @cono- 
 mia Patri, quippe qui a nullo ortus sit principio nullique 
 auctoritatem suam acceptam referat, nequaquam conveniat, 
 Def. Fid. Nic. 1V. im. 12. 
 
 The ἐνσάρκωσις of this passage is equivalent to the évow- 
 μάτωσις of Origen, where he speaks of Jesus, as τὴν κατὰ 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 233 
 
 THY ἐνσωμάτωσιν οἰκονομίαν νῦν δι’ εὐλόγους αἰτίας πληρώ- 
 σαντα---((ἰοηῖτα Cels. VI. 78.)—a place, in which the 
 word οἰκονομία appears to be employed in its ordinary Ec- 
 clesiastical meaning; but in which it would obviously be 
 impossible to translate it incarnation. Upon the whole, it 
 would seem that the remarks of Valesius (Annot. in Lib. I. 
 Histor. Eccles. Eus. Pamph. p. 4.) give a juster account of 
 the prevailing usage of the Fathers: 
 
 Veteres Greeci οἰκονομίαν vocant quicquid Curistus in 
 terris gessit ad procurandam salutem generis humani. I ta- 
 que 7) πρώτη τοῦ Χριστοῦ οἰκονομία est incarnatio ; sicut 
 postrema οἰκονομία est passio. Errant enim qui existimant 
 οἰκονομίαν nihil aliud significare quam incarnationem; quippe 
 longe latius patet vox οἰκονομία et totam Curistt inter ho- 
 mines vitam complectitur. 
 
 Some observations of Dr. Herbert Marsh, Bishop of Peter- 
 borough (Lect. on the Crit. and Interpret. of the Bible, XI. 
 p- 487-489 of the Edition of 1828) connect the οἰκονομία of 
 the Fathers with what has been known, in modern phrase, 
 under the name of accommodation.—Mr. Newman (in p. 71— 
 87 of his Work on the Arians of the Fourth Century) recog- 
 nises the same connection. He dwells at some length on the 
 principles of interpretation κατ᾽ οἰκονομίαν, as well as on the 
 actual employment and legitimate use of such interpretation; 
 but is careful to supply some cautions, by which it should 
 be regulated. ‘The whole subject, opened by Mr. Newman 
 in this portion of his Work, deserves a fuller consideration 
 than is on the present occasion possible; but it is here no- 
 ticed for the purpose of remarking that, whatever decision 
 may be formed respecting the nature and the allowable 
 extent of the interpretation, of which he treats, there is 
 cause for much hesitation, before it can be granted that the 
 language of the Fathers expresses the meaning of modern 
 Divines. It would seem to be under the influence of this 
 reasonable hesitation that the Bishop of Lincoln (p. 398- 
 403 of his Account of the Writings of Clemens of Alexan- 
 dria) has furnished a long list of passages from the Works 
 of Clemens, in which the word οἰκονομία and its conjugates 
 occur, for the sake of shewing that the authority of that 
 
234 NOTES AND 
 
 Father in particular, bas been erroneously quoted in sup- 
 port of a mode of interpretation κατ᾽ οἰκονομίαν. A careful 
 examination of the passages, indicated by Bishop Kaye, un- 
 doubtedly renders it quite evident that Clemens’s use of the 
 language in question has no reference whatever to that sys- 
 tem of accommodation, to which the terms of the ancient 
 Church are, in our own times, often applied. An exami- 
 nation of the same passages farther shews the natural and 
 gradual transition of certain terms from their usual accep- 
 tation to a stricter, an Ecclesiastical and, as we may not im- 
 properly call it, a technical sense. In many of the alleged 
 passages, Clemens employs οἰκονομία, οἰκονομεῖσθαι, κ. τ. X. 
 according to the ordinary use of the Greek language ; 
 whilst from other passages, and, as every reflecting reader 
 will surely be inclined to say, from several of the number, 
 it is clear that the same words had already gained and were 
 beginning to be restricted toa properly Ecclesiastical meaning. 
 A service, similar to that which the Bishop of Lincoln has 
 in this instance rendered to the cause of sound Theology by 
 vindicating the language and sentiments of Clemens, might, 
 it is apprehended, be easily and with advantage rendered in 
 the case of the principal of those Fathers, whose names have 
 been associated with an interpretatio κατ᾽ οἰκονομίαν. 
 
 From a consideration then of that, which, in the un- 
 doubted language of the Primitive Church, is called the 
 Economy or Dispensation, a twofold advantage may result, 
 according to two distinct views that present themselves to 
 the mind. On the one hand, such actions, language and 
 sufferings of our Lorp and Saviour, Jesus Curist, as ap- 
 pear, at first sight, inconsistent with His Divine nature, 
 may be satisfactorily explained; whilst, on the other hand, 
 such rays of Divine greatness and glory as are discerned 
 through the veil and covering of His Flesh may be ac- 
 counted for and may become the objects of devout contem- 
 plation. The two views are closely connected with each 
 other; and both have been unfolded by the primitive 
 Writers; although of the two, the former, for reasons ob- 
 vious to every one conversant with their Remains and with 
 the history of the prevailing errors, which they had to op- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 235 
 
 ose, more frequently and more fully engaged their atten- 
 iad q 7, y engag 
 
 tion. ‘The present Lectures will be employed in some 
 developement of the latter view. 
 
 Nore F, p. 12. 
 
 Φήσομεν ἐν φωτὶ τυγχάνειν πάντα τὸν ταῖς τοῦ λόγου αὐγαῖς 
 ἀκολουθήσαντα, δείξαντος ad ὅσης ἀγνοίας καὶ ἀσεβείας καὶ 
 τῆς περὶ τὸ Θεῖον ἀμαθίας ταῦτα (τὰ τῶν ζωγράφων, 501}. καὶ 
 τῶν πλαστῶν) ἀντὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσεκυνεῖτο. 
 
 
 
 Διόπερ ἐὰν 
 ἔρηται ἡμᾶς Κέλσος πῶς οἰόμεθα γνωρίζειν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ πῶς 
 πρὸς αὐτοῦ σωθήσεσθαι; ἀποκρινούμεθα ὅτι ἱκανός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ 
 Θεοῦ λόγος, γενόμενος ἐν τοῖς ζητοῦσιν αὐτὸν ἢ τοῖς ἐπιφαινό- 
 μενον αὐτὸν παραδεχομένοις, γνωρίσαι καὶ ἀποκαλύψαι τὸν 
 πατέρα, πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὁρώμενον. Origen. c. 
 Cels. VI. 66 and 68. 
 
 Ta περὶ τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν τοίνυν, καθὸ μὲν νενόηται θεότητι ἐν 
 αὐτῷ πραχθέντα, ἐστὶν ὅσια καὶ οὐ μαχόμενα τῇ περὶ τοῦ Θείου 
 ἐννοίᾳ" καθὸ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἣν, πάντος μᾶλλον ἀνθρώπου κεκοσμη- 
 μένος τῇ ἄκρᾳ μετοχῇ τοῦ αὐτολόγου καὶ τῆς αὐτοσοφίας, ὑπέ- 
 μεινεν, ὡς σοφὸς καὶ τέλειος, ἅπερ ἔχρην ὑπομεῖναι τὸν ὑπὲρ 
 πάντος τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἢ καὶ τῶν λογικῶν, πάντα 
 πράττοντα. Ibid. VII. 17. 
 
 Tov ποιητὴν δὴ Kal πατέρα τοῦ πάντος ἡμεῖς φαμεν ἔργον 
 ἰδεῖν βλέπεται δὲ οὐ μόνον κατὰ τὸ, μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ 
 καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται: ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὸ λεγό- 
 μενον ὑπὸ τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ ἀοράτου Θεοῦ ἐν τῷ, 6 ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ 
 ἑώρακε τὸν πατέρα τὸν πέμψαντά με. 
 
 
 
 Νοήσας τις οὖν πῶς 
 δεῖ ἀκούειν περὶ μονογενοῦς θεοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ πρωτοτό- 
 κου πάσης κτίσεως, καθότι ὁ λόγος γέγονε σὰρξ, ὄψεται πῶς 
 ἰδών τις τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ γνώσεται τὸν πατέρα καὶ 
 ποιητὴν τοῦδε τοῦ πάντος. Ibid. 49. 
 
 Cum ergo in eo (Domrno et SALVATORE nostro) que- 
 dam ita videamus humana ut nibil a communi, id est mor- 
 talium fragilitate distare videantur, queedam ita divina ut 
 nulli alii nisi 111 primo et ineffabili in se conveniat Derrari 
 habere, humani intellectus angustia, tantee admirationis stu- 
 pore percussa, quo declinet et quo se convertat ignorat. Si 
 Devo sentiat, mortalem videt. Si hominem putet, devicto 
 Mortis imperio cum spoliis redeuntem a mortuis cernet. 
 
236 NOTES AND 
 
 Propter quod cum omni metu et reverentia contemplandum 
 est, ut in uno eodemque ita utriusque naturee veritas de- 
 monstretur ut neque aliquid indignum et indecens in Divina 
 illa et ineffabili substantia sentiatur, neque rursum que 
 gesta sunt falsis illusa imaginibus existimentur. Quze qui- 
 dem in aures humanas proferre et sermonibus explicare 
 longe vires vel meriti nostri vel ingemii ac sermonis excedit. 
 Arbitror autem quia etiam sanctorum Apostolorum super- 
 grediatur mensuram : quin immo etiam fortassis totius cre- 
 ature ccelestium virtutum eminentior est sacramenti istius 
 explanatio. Περὶ ᾿Αρχῶν, II. 6. 
 
 The translator, to whom we owe almost all that remains 
 of this work, may have been a Paraphrast as well as a 
 Translator ; yet may we well believe that, in this instance, 
 the general sentiments are those of Origen. 
 
 These passages will serve for specimens of the manner, 
 in which one distinguished Father of the third century 
 speaks on the general subject of these Lectures. ‘They are 
 quoted in the hope of drawing the attention of every stu- 
 dent, who is desirous of becoming a well-informed Theolo- 
 gian, to the work, from which they are taken. 
 
 The name and writings of Origen have experienced the 
 fate of being both too highly extolled and too severely 
 reprobated and condemned. And for this fate it is per- 
 fectly true that his great merits and eminent services in 
 the cause of Christianity, on the one hand—his grievous 
 errors and glaring faults, in the interpretation of the Sa- 
 cred Volume, on the other, may account. The defence 
 of this renowned champion of our common faith belongs 
 not to the present undertaking. It has been conducted 
 by able hands; and has triumphantly shewn that much 
 of mistake, of misrepresentation and of unfairness has 
 mingled with the exceptions justly taken against his doc- 
 trines and reasonings. Neither are the works that pass 
 under his name to be equally and indiscriminately re- 
 commended. ‘They have all been more or less subject to 
 corruption and adulteration ; and even if this had not been 
 the case, there are considerations urged by the learned and 
 candid Bp. Bull, of which no student should lose sight : 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 237 
 
 Si omnia Origenis scripta, eaque pura et incorrupta, hodie 
 extarent, haud omnia tamen verze ac genuine ejus senten- 
 tie declarand:e pariter inservirent; scilicet variorum auc- 
 toris πολυγράφου operum diversa foret ratio. Nam alia ad 
 amicos secreto scripsit, quae lucem nunquam visura spera- 
 vit; in quibus libere ac pene sceptice disseruit ac plerum- 
 que non tam suam certam ac definitam sententiam quam vel 
 aliorum ratiocinationes vel suos quosdam scrupulos ac du- 
 bitatiunculas, ad clariorem veritatis elucidationem, propo- 
 suit. Alia ipse in publicum emisit, sive contra infideles 
 sive adversus heereticos, seu denique ad instruendum ple- 
 bem Christianam ; in quibus, via trita ac tuta incedens, re- 
 ceptam in Ecclesia Catholica doctrinam studiosius tradidit. 
 Deinde alia properanter dictitavit, alia diligentiori cura 
 elucubravit. Denique alia (ut Huetii verbis utar) senex 
 Adamantius, ingenio per etatem magis subacto, elimavit ; 
 alia, efferente sese in juventutis estu foecunditate, profu- 
 dit. De quibus preclare dixit Hieronymus in Prologo ad 
 Com. in Lucam, Origenem in quibusdam tractatibus, quasi 
 puerum, talis ludere ; alia esse virilia ejus et alia senectutis 
 seria. Defen. Fid. Nic. 11. 1x. 3. 
 
 Of the Eight Books against Celsus, Bishop Bull pro- 
 nounces : 
 
 Hos preter lbrariorum σφάλματα, a quibus nulli vete- 
 rum libri prorsus immunes sunt, aliam violationem notabi- 
 lem subtisse nemo, quod sciam, hactenus suspicatus fuit.... 
 Hi summo auctoris studio, maxima eruditione, idque ab 
 ipso jam sexagenario majori (ut diserte testatur Eusebius 
 H. E. VI. 36.) elucubrati sunt. Defen. Fid. Nic. 11. ix. 
 2. and 3. 
 
 It is from this great work that all but one of the preced- 
 ing extracts are taken; and future occasions will arise of 
 borrowing illustrations from the same source. He who 
 would learn the first beginnings and the real nature of in- 
 fidel objections to Christianity, may discover, in those por- 
 tions of the work of Celsus which are preserved by Origen, 
 a subject of most interesting and most profitable research : 
 he will find that the difficulties started and the sophistry 
 employed are essentially the same as those of our own day ; 
 
238 NOTES AND 
 
 and that of old they needed, as they now need, the aid of 
 sarcasm and of buffoonery to recommend them to the low 
 taste of the depraved and wicked; or of the weak and 
 ignorant. Nor is this the only, or the chief advantage to be 
 gained. Inthe reasonings of the Christian Apologist, which 
 are, for the most part, sound and solid, and which display 
 a thorough acquaintance with the Sacred Volume and a 
 skilful application of that knowledge—in the acuteness, 
 with which he detects and in the force and clearness, with 
 which he exposes, the fallacies and the inconsistencies of his 
 adversary—in the elevated views, which he takes of the Divine 
 dispensations—above all, in his noble spirit of zeal and de- 
 votion to his Gop and Saviour and in his lowly temper of 
 dependence on help from Heaven, of which the proofs and 
 instances everywhere abound—in these characteristics of the 
 Books of Origen against Celsus the Theological Student 
 will meet with such materials for reflection, and such means 
 of mental and moral discipline as may well be allowed to 
 divert his attention from the religious publications of what 
 we are fond of calling our enlightened age. 
 
 The appeal of Rufinus, in the Preface to his Translation 
 of that First Book of the Apology for Origen of Pamphilus 
 and Eusebius, which of the Six Books alone is extant, de- 
 serves regard : 
 
 Quoniam ad judicium Der venturi sumus, non refugiant 
 scire quod verum est, ne forte ignorantes delinquant : sed 
 considerantes quia falsis criminationibus percutere fratrum 
 infirmorum conscientias in CHrisTUM peccare est, ideo non 
 accommodent criminatoribus aurem suam nec ab alio dis- 
 cant alterius fidem, maxime cum coram experiri sit copia 
 et oris sui confessio quid vel qualiter unusquisque credit 
 ostendat. 
 
 Nor is the following admonition unsuitable to our own 
 times : 
 
 ‘* Constant reading of the most perfect modern books, which 
 ‘* does not go jointly on with the ancients in their turns, will, 
 κε by bringing the ancients into disuse, cause the learning of 
 “the men of the next generation to sink; by reason that 
 ‘“‘ they, not drawing from those springs from whence those 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 239 
 
 * excellent moderns drew, whom they only propose to follow, 
 ‘¢ nor taking those measures which these men took, must for 
 ‘*¢ want of that foundation, which their modern guides first 
 ** carefully laid, fail in no long compass of time.” Wotton’s 
 Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning, p. 3. of pref. 
 as quoted by Waterland, ch. 7. of Import. of Doct. of Holy 
 Trin. (p. 305 of Vol. V.) 
 
 Nore G, p. 16. 
 
 Inter ceetera salutaria sua monita et preecepta divina, qui- 
 bus populo suo consuluit ad salutem, etiam orandi ipse Do- 
 minus formam dedit ; ipse quid precaremur monuit et in- 
 struxit. Qui fecit vivere, docuit et orare; benignitate ea 
 scilicet, qua et cetera dare et conferre dignatus est; ut 
 dum prece et oratione, quam Filius docuit, apud Patrem 
 loquimur, facilius audiamur. .... Oremus itaque, fratres 
 dilectissimi, sicut Magister Deus docuit. Amica et fami- 
 liaris oratio est Deum de suo rogare; ad aures ejus ascen- 
 dere Christi oratione. Agnoscat Pater Filii sui verba. Cum 
 precem facimus, qui habitat intus in pectore, ipse sit et im 
 voce. Et cum ipsum habeamus apud Patrem advocatum 
 pro peccatis nostris ; quando peccatores pro delictis nostris 
 petimus, Advocati nostri verba promamus. Nam cum di- 
 cat: quia quodcunque petierimus a Patre in nomine ejus 
 dabit nobis; quando (quanto, for.) efficacius impetramus 
 quod petimus in Christi nomine, si petamus ipsius oratione? 
 Sti Cypriant de Orat. Dom. in init. 
 
 Nore H, p. 16. 
 
 "Ore τοὺς ἰδίους ᾿Αποστόλους τοὺς μέλλοντας κηρύσσειν TO 
 εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ ἐξελέξατο (ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς) .. .. τότε ἐφανέρωσεν 
 ἑαυτὸν υἱὸν Θεοῦ εἶναι: εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἦλθεν ἐν σαρκὶ, πῶς ἂν ἐσώ- 
 θημεν ἄνθρωποι, βλέποντες αὐτόν ; ὅτι τὸν μέλλοντα μὴ εἶναι 
 ἥλιον, ἔργον χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχοντα, βλέποντες οὐκ ἰσχύουσιν 
 εἰς ἀκτῖνας αὐτοῦ ἀντοφθαλμῆσαι. Sti Barn. Epist. V. 
 
 Dicimus et palam dicimus et, vobis torquentibus, lacerati 
 et cruenti vociferamur: Deum colimus per CuristuM. 
 
240 NOTES AND 
 
 Illum hominem putate. Per eum et in eo se cognosci vult 
 Deus et coli. Tertull. Apol. XXI. 
 
 Igitur et manifestam fecit duarum personarum conjunc- 
 tionem, ne Pater seorsum quasi visibilis in conspectu desi- 
 deraretur et ut Filius repreesentator Patris haberetur. bid. 
 advers. Prax. XXIV. 
 
 Imago est enim invisibilis Der ut mediocritas et fragilitas 
 conditionis humanaz Drum Patrem videre aliquando jam 
 tune adsuesceret in imagine De1, hoc est, in Filio Derr. 
 Novat.de Trin. Lib. 
 
 The admirable Tract, from which this quotation comes, 
 is ascribed to Novatian and is added to the Works of Ter- 
 tullian. Nor ought the following testimony in its favour 
 to be overlooked : 
 
 Ceeterum, si Novatianus optimum illum libellum de Tri- 
 nitate, sive de Regula Fidei, 115 temporibus conscripsisset, 
 quando heee posuit Cornelius, haud utique malus ille extitit 
 δογματιστὴς seu Theologus. Rel. Sacr. Vol. 111. p. 38. 
 
 ‘O ᾿Ιησοῦς vids ὧν Θεοῦ καὶ πρὶν ἐνανθρωπῆσαι καὶ ἐνανθρω- 
 πήσας ἀποδείκνυται: ἐγὼ δέ φημι ὅτι καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπη- 
 σιν ἀεὶ εὑρίσκεται τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὀφθαλμοὺς ψυχῆς ὀξυδερκεστά- 
 τοὺς θεοπρεπέστατος καὶ ἀληθῶς θεόθεν πρὸς ἡμᾶς κατελθών. 
 Orig. c. Cels. 111.14. The same Author elsewhere speaks 
 of the Son as περιαιροῦντος ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τὸ λεγόμενον σκό- 
 τος, ὃ ἔθετο ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον περιβόλαιον 
 αὐτοῦ, τὴν ἄβυσσον, καὶ ἀποκαλύπτοντος οὕτω τὸν πατέρα. 
 Ibid. V1.1. 
 
 The following testimony belongs to a somewhat later 
 period of the same early age: 
 
 Θελήματι Θεοῦ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ γενόμενος καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς 
 ὡς ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἀπελείφθη τῆς θεότητος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἵνα τῆς δυνά- 
 μεως αὐτοῦ ἢ δόξης τελείας ἀποστῇ πτωχεύσας πλούσιος ὧν, 
 τοῦτο ἐγένετο" ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα καὶ τὸν θάνατον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τῶν ἁμαρ- 
 τωλῶν ἀναδέξηται, δίκαιος ὑπὲρ ἀδίκων, ὅπως ἡμᾶς προσαγάγῃ 
 τῷ Θεῷ, θανατωθεὶς μὲν σαρκὶ, ζωοποιηθεὶς δὲ πνεύματι. S. 
 Petri Alexandrini Frag. apud Rel. Sacr. Vol. ITT. 344. 
 
 Exinaniens se Filius, qui erat in forma Der, per ipsam 
 sui exinanitionem studet nobis Deiratis plenitudmem de- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 241 
 
 monstrare......Exinaniens se Filius Dr1 de equalitate Pa- 
 tris et viam nobis cognitionis ejus ostendens, figura expressa 
 substantiz ejus efficitur: ut qui in magnitudine Derrartis 
 suz positam gloriam mire lucis non poteramus aspicere, per 
 hoe quod nobis splendor efficitur, intuendz lucis Divine 
 viam, per splendoris capiamus aspectum. Orig. de Prin. 
 1. 2—8. This quotation is placed after the preceding, 
 because it is not perfectly safe to assign it to a remoter anti- 
 quity than the age of Rufinus. 
 Nore I, p. 20. 
 
 “1 use the Scripture, not as an arsenal, to be resorted to 
 ** only for Arms and Weapons to defend this Party or defeat 
 “Ὁ its enemies ; but asa matchless temple, where I delight to 
 “ὁ be, to contemplate the beauty, the symmetry and the mag- 
 “ἐς nificence of the Structure ; and to increase my awe and 
 ‘* excite my devotion to the Derry there preached and 
 ‘* adored.” Hon. R. Boyle’s Consid. touching the Style of 
 Holy Scripture, p. 78. 
 
 Note K, p. 21. 
 
 Preeter has tres Christianorum sectas (videlicet Carpocra- 
 tianos, Cerinthianos et Ebionzos) nulla alia a Scriptore ali- 
 quo Ecclesiastico commemoratur, qua Justini etate vel 
 prius JEsum nostrum hominem tantummodo esse ex homi- 
 nibus genitum doceret. Reliqui fere istoram temporum 
 heretici, qui de Curist1 persona male senserunt, veritatem 
 humane in ipso nature impugnarunt. Bull. Judicitwm Ec- 
 cles. Cath. VIT. 8. 
 
 Nore L, p. 22. 
 
 «ς Would to Gop the necessity never had arisen of stating 
 ‘¢ the discoveries of Revelation in metaphysical propositions ! 
 «ς The inspired Writers delivered their sublimest doctrines in 
 ‘¢ popular language and abstained, as much as it was possible 
 ‘* to abstain, from a philosophical phraseology. By the per- 
 “ς petual cavils of gainsayers and the difficulties, which they 
 “have raised, later teachers, in the assertion of the same 
 ςς doctrines, have been reduced to the unpleasing necessity of 
 ἐς availing themselves of the greater precision of a less fami- 
 “liar language.” Bp. Horsley’s Sermon on the Incarnation, 
 Ρ. 318 and 319 of T'racts in controversy with Dr. Priestley. 
 
 R 
 
242 NOTES AND 
 
 Vid. also in p. 458 and 459 of the same Vol. an admirable 
 passage on “ the extreme caution, which should be used to 
 ‘keep the Doctrine of the Trinity, as it is delivered in 
 ‘** Gop’s word, distinct from every thing that hath been de- 
 “ς vised by man or that may even occur to a man’s own 
 «ς thoughts, to illustrate it or explain its difficulties.” Bp. 
 Bull often wrote in a kindred spirit : 
 
 In hac rerum caligine, de hoe (τῆς περιχωρήσεως scil. mys- 
 terio) allisque mystertis Divinis, tanquam pueri et sentimus 
 et loquimur, imo balbutimus potius. Hic dum sumus, 
 Deum nostrum tanquam in speculo et anigmate contem- 
 plamur. Adveniet vero tempus, imo omni tempore et se- 
 culo ulterior seternitas, qua ipsum videbimus, facie ad fa- 
 ciem. Tenebras omnes tune a mentibus nostris fugabit 
 beatifica Der visio; qua ut nos tandem dignos efficiat Di- 
 vina misericordia, ipsam noctes diesque obnixe et supplices 
 oremus. Interea, dum viatores sumus, cognoscere optamus 
 potius quam liquido coguoscimus, ut doctissimi Athenagorze 
 (in Leg. pro Christianis) verbis utar, τίς ἡ τοῦ Παιδὸς πρὸς 
 τὸν Πατέρα ἑνότης" τίς ἡ τοῦ Πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν Ὑἱὸν κοινωνία" 
 τί τὸ Πνεῦμα" τίς ἡ τῶν τοσούτων ἕνωσις καὶ διαίρεσις ἑνουμέ- 
 νων, τοῦ Πνεύματος, τοῦ [Ταιδὸς, τοῦ Πατρός. Defen. Fid. 
 Nic. IV. iv. 14. ad fin. See also of the same work, ITT. ix. 
 12. in init. and IV. i. 9. ad fin. 
 
 Nore M, p. 26. 
 
 On this text, as quoted in the precious fragments of the 
 Kpistle of the Churches of Vienne and Lyons to those of 
 Asia and Phrygia, Dr. Routh observes: 
 
 (uomodocunque interpretanda sint verba, οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν 
 ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, hoc quidem constat, Lugdunenses 
 ex ills argumentum duxisse τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης Christi. 
 Neque vero hi soli id fecerunt; sed et alii multi veteres 
 Scriptores : imo vero id suscipere velim, nullum Ecclesias- 
 ticum auctorem ad Nicznorum usque tempus adduci posse, 
 qui significari τὸ non alienum a se esse arbitratus est verbis 
 οὐχ᾽ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο, clare atque aperte indicaverit. Haud- 
 quaquam tamen id fraudi est firmissimo argumento contra 
 Humanistas quos vocant, ex istis verbis Apostoli sumendo. 
 Rel. Sacr. Vol. I, p. 328. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 243 
 
 Bp. Bull’s remark on the same text is short but emphatic: 
 
 Qui unus locus, si recte expendatur, ad omnes hereses 
 adversus JEsu Curist1 Domini nostri personam repellendas 
 sufficit. Def. Fid. Nic. 11. 11.2. See also his Prim. Trad. 
 de Jes. Christ. Div. ΝῚ. 91. 
 
 Origen, having quoted the same text, remarks: 
 
 Οὕτω μέγα δόγμα τὸ περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐστὶν, ὡς μὴ 
 τὸν τυχόντα διδάσκαλον ἔχειν περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸν λέγειν τὸν 
 τηλικοῦτον ἡμῶν σωτῆρα, μάθετε ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾷός εἰμι καὶ 
 ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν. 
 Contra Cels. VI. 15. 
 
 And in another place, he observes : 
 
 ᾿Απ᾿ ἐκείνου (Ἰησοῦ, scil.) ἤρξατο θεία καὶ ἀνθρωπίνη συν- 
 υφαίνεσθαι φύσις" ἵν᾽ ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη τῇ πρὸς τὸ θειότερον κοι- 
 νωνίᾳ γένηται θεία οὐκ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς 
 μετὰ τοῦ πιστεύειν ἀναλαμβάνουσι βίον, ὃν ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐδίδαξεν" 
 ἀνάγοντα ἐπὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν φιλίαν καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖ- 
 νον κοινωνίαν, πάντα τὸν κατὰ τὰς Ἰησοῦ ὑποθήκας ζῶντα. 
 Ibid. IIT. 28. 
 
 The name of Dr. Lardner ought never te be mentioned 
 without the respect due to extensive learning, unwearied 
 patience in the investigationof truth, and a mild, candid 
 and amiable spirit. Yet is it deeply to be regretted that 
 this excellent man and most useful writer was so far misled 
 as to suppose that in maintaining the doctrine that our 
 Saviour was merely a man, he was gaining, among many 
 and great advantages, this one in particular—that ‘ the 
 ἐς example of Curist is thus justly set before us in all the 
 “ strength and beauty, with which it appears in the Gospels 
 ‘‘ and Epistles of the New Testament.” It is affecting to 
 consider that the reproof, which he addressed to others, 
 may be more fitly applied to himself and his own followers : 
 “ The truth is not in us: the words of Curis do not abide 
 “inus. We suffer ourselves to be deluded and perverted 
 «ς from the truth and simplicity of the Gospel by the philo- 
 a sophical schemes of speculative men. And so, almost 
 ‘“any man may take our crown. Rev. in, die?) Alea, 
 on the Logos, p.106 of Vol. XI. of Lardner’s Works. 
 The venerable authority of Clemens Romanus, or at all 
 
 R2 
 
244 NOTES AND 
 
 events of a writer of the 3rd Century passing under his 
 name (as Dr. Lardner in agreement with many others sup- 
 posed,) enforces a very different and a far better lesson: 
 ᾿Αδελφοὶ, οὕτως δεῖ ἡμᾶς φρονεῖν περὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὡς περὶ 
 Θεοῦ, ὡς περὶ κριτοῦ ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν. καὶ οὐ δεῖ ἡμᾶς μικρὰ 
 φρονεῖν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν" ἐν τῷ γὰρ φρονεῖν ἡμᾶς μικρὰ 
 περὶ αὐτοῦ, μικρὰ καὶ ἐλπίζομεν λαβεῖν: καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες ὥσπερ 
 μικρῶν, ἁμαρτάνομεν, οὐκ εἰδότες πόθεν ἐκλήθημεν καὶ ὑπό τινος 
 καὶ εἰς ὃν τόπον καὶ ὅσα ὑπέμεινεν ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς παθεῖν 
 ἕνεκα ἡμῶν. Sti Clementis Rom. Ep. ad Cor. IT. init. 
 
 The Symposium of Methodius contains the following 
 statement of the Divine example, as proposed in our Sa- 
 viour’s human nature: 
 
 Ταύτῃ ἡρετίσατο τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἐνδύσασθαι σάρκα Θεὸς ὧν 
 (scil. ὁ Λόγος) ὅπως ὥσπερ ἐν πίνακι θεῖον ἐκτύπωμα βίου βλέ- 
 ποντες ἔχωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς -ὃν γράψαντα μιμεῖσθαι. Sti Method. 
 Symp. I. as quoted by Grabe, in his Annot. in Def. Fid. 
 II. xi. 11 and by Dr. Burton, in his Testim. of Ante-Nic. 
 Fath. p. 407. 
 
 Nore N, p. 28. 
 
 Succumbat humana infirmitas glorize Der; et in expli- 
 candis operibus misericordize ejus, imparem se semper inve- 
 niat. Laboremus sensu, heereamus ingenio, deficiamus elo- 
 quio: bonum est ut nobis parum sit quod etiam recte de 
 Domini majestate sentimus! Sti Leonis M. in Serm. XT. 
 de Passione Domini. 
 
 The same becoming sentiment is more concisely but not 
 less forcibly expressed in the language of an early martyr: 
 Κἀγὼ, ἄνθρωπος ὧν, μικρὰ νομίζω λέγειν πρὸς τὴν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χρι- 
 στοῦ ἄπειρον θεότητα. Such were the words uttered by 
 Justin Martyr, in that good confession, which he made be- 
 fore the Roman Governor, and which immediately preceded 
 the event related in the following passage : 
 
 Οἱ ἁγίοι μάρτυρες (Justin and his four companions) δοξά- 
 Covres τὸν Θεὸν, ἐξελθόντες ἐπὶ τὸν συνήθη τόπον, ἀπετμήθη- 
 σαν τὰς κεφάλας καὶ ἐτελείωσαν αὐτῶν τὴν μαρτυρίαν, ἐν τῇ 
 τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὁμολογίᾳ" τινὲς δὲ τῶν πιστῶν λαθραίως αὐτῶν τὰ 
 σώματα λαβόντες, κατέθεντο ἐν τόπῳ ἐπιτηδείῳ, συνεργασάσης 
 αὐτοῖς τῆς χαρίτος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 245 
 
 εἰς τοὺς aidvas τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿Αμήν. (Acta Martyr. S. Just. 
 et Soc.) p. 586 Oper. 
 Note O, p. 30. 
 
 Interrogemus ipsa miracula quid nobis loquantur de’ 
 Curisto? Habent enim, si intelligantur, linguam suam. 
 Nam quia ipse Curistus Verbum Der est, etiam Factum 
 Verbi, Verbum nobis est. Sancti Aug. Hom.in Ev. Joan. 
 cap. 6. Tract. 24, in init. 
 
 St. Ambrose, to the same effect, says: Dominicee carnis 
 actus Divinitatis exemplum est; et invisibilia nobis ejus, 
 per ea quee sunt visibilia, demonstrantur. Com. in Luc. 
 c. 4. ν. 24, 
 
 The following passages are added in farther illustration 
 of the same view: 
 
 Οὐδεμία ἀνάγκη τοῖς νοῦν ἔχουσιν, ἐξ ὧν μετὰ TO βάπτισμα 
 © \ ” a N39 N Yd \ n 
 ὁ Χριστὸς ἔπραξε, παριστᾷν τὸ ἀληθὲς καὶ ἀφανταστὸν τῆς 
 ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ σώματος, τῆς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως" 
 XX Ν ᾿ς \ / Ὁ Ν cal / \ f 
 τὰ yap μετὰ TO βάπτισμα ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ πραχθέντα καὶ μάλιστα 
 τὰ σημεῖα, τὴν αὐτοῦ κεκρυμμένην ἐν σαρκὶ Θεότητα ἐδήλουν 
 
 ΝΡ. a “ 7 Ν ἊΝ ων ς lal \ + 
 καὶ ἐπιστοῦντο τῷ κόσμῳ. Θεὸς yap ὧν ὁμοῦ TE καὶ ἄνθρωπος 
 
 / ε 3: ἐὰν \ / ’ a 2 a 2 , (Fa Ἂς Ν 
 τέλειος ὁ αὐτὸς, τὰς δύο αὐτοῦ οὐσίας ἐπιστώσατο ἡμῖν" τὴν μὲν 
 
 ’ a XX a / 5 “ 7 a XX DN / 
 Θεότητα αὐτοῦ διὰ τῶν σημείων ἐν τῇ τριετίᾳ TH μετὰ TO βάπ- 
 τισμα, τὴν δὲ ἀνθρωπότητα αὐτοῦ, ἐν τοῖς τριάκοντα χρόνοις 
 
 a Ν “ / . 3 oe x \ > Ν \ ὯΝ 
 τοῖς πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος" ἐν οἷς διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τὸ κατὰ 
 
 / > , Ν al ° b “ 4 & Δ Ν 
 σάρκα ἀπεκρύβη τὰ σημεῖα τῆς αὐτοῦ Θεότητος" καί περ Θεὸς 
 ἀληθὴς προαιώνιος ὑπάρχων. Melitonis Frag. Rel. Sacr. Vol. I. 
 p- 115. 
 
 Ta μὲν σημεῖα καὶ τὰ τέρατα τὰ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις avaye- 
 γραμμένα ὁ Θεὸς ἦν ἐπιτελέσας" τῷ δὲ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος με- 
 τεσχηκέναι τὸν αὐτὸν, πεπειραμένος κατὰ ἁπάντα καθ᾽ ὁμοιό- 
 τητα, χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας. Ex Epistola missa Paulo Samosa- 
 tensi ab orthodoxis Episcopis, Anno Christi 269, Epistola 
 illa, cum pietate tum simplicitate sua se maxime commen- 
 dante atque illa antiquissima tempora nobis egregie referente. 
 Relig. Sacr. II. 465 and 494. The slight verbal amend- 
 ments of the text of this passage suggested by Dr. Routh 
 are here without hesitation adopted. 
 
 Si mediocritates in illo (Curtsto, scil.) adprobant hu- 
 manam fragilitatem, majestates in illo adfirmant Divinam 
 
 oO 
 
 hv 
 
940 NOTES AND 
 
 potestatem. Novatianus, sive Scriptor de Trin. Libri, 
 Oper. Tertull. additi. (p.713.) 
 
 Dum in terris ageret Filius, erat ἐν σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὃς 
 ἄνθρωπος, Nnempe merus, nihilque majus homine pra se 
 ferebat, nisi quod in miraculis scintillulae queedam Divine 
 Majestatis per nubem humane carnis subinde emicarent. 
 Bp. Bull, Primit. Trad. V1. 25. 
 
 Nore P, p. 90. 
 
 The limitation of the meaning of the word Miracle, as it 
 is employed on the present occasion, is obvious from the 
 first statement of the subject of this Discourse, which is to 
 be confined to the wonderful works done by our Lorp. 
 That evidence, which may justly be called Miraculous, in- 
 cludes indeed all such extraordinary manifestations of the 
 presence and power of Gop as have taken place on special 
 occasions and for special purposes. Thus, the event of 
 the appearance of the pillar of the cloud by day and the 
 pillar of fire by mght, recorded in Exod. xm. 21, 22. 
 is a miracle; and as such, it enters into the evidence in 
 favour of the Revelation made by Moses. In like manner, 
 the voice from Heaven at our Saviour’s baptism—the 
 darkness attending His crucifixion—the rending of the veil 
 of the Temple—these are events of the Gospel History, 
 strictly and properly miraculous; as such, they contri- 
 bute towards the proof of Christianity. The endowment of 
 Prophetic foresight ts itself miraculous ; and as such may 
 vindicate for those, who possess it, and for those, in whom 
 its oracles are fulfilled, the character of messengers of Gop. 
 “« Prophecy has been styled by some miraculum dicti...as 
 ** supernatural works have been called miraculum facti.” 
 Dr. Wheeler, Theol. Lect. 1. 77. And although the ordi- 
 nary distinction between miracles and Prophecy, as the two 
 leading branches of Evidence, may be conveniently ad- 
 mitted, yet is it well to remember that miracles, specifically 
 so called, and Prophecy both come under one and the same 
 general head of Miraculous attestations in favour of Re- 
 vealed Religion. As the youthful student is hable to se- 
 rious inconvenience from the statements on the subject of 
 Miracles to be met with in the Works even of approved 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 247 
 
 Authors, one of his first duties is to furnish himself with 
 such leading principles as may safely guide him through the 
 details of a momentous discussion and may enable him to 
 profit by the numerous Treatises of various Authors that 
 will unavoidably attract his notice and demand his attention. 
 For this purpose, he may be referred to the Analogy of 
 Bishop Butler, that invaluable storehouse of first principles 
 in almost every department of Theological Inquiry ; and more 
 particularly, to the Second and Seventh chapters of the Se- 
 cond Part of that immortal Work. With the same view may 
 be recommended “ A Treatise on the Evidence of the Scrip- 
 ‘* ture Miracles, by John Penrose, M. A. formerly of C.C.C. 
 ** Oxford.” The able Author of this Work, in handling 
 the whole subject of Miracles, has shewn himself to be no 
 unworthy disciple of the great Prelate abovementioned. 
 Norte Ὁ, p. 33. 
 
 That condition of the credibility of the doctrines to be 
 proved, which Mr. Penrose deems necessary towards the 
 validity of miraculous evidence in their favour, is here 
 omitted. Do not the Divine attributes, of which even Rea- 
 son may impart some knowledge, afford an ample security 
 against error in this important instance? It may be granted 
 that there are evil spirits, possessed of super-human powers, 
 ἀεὶ μὲν βουλόμενοι κακὰ Tovetv—but of the same beings, it 15 
 to be remembered, for our comfort, that they are οὐκ ἀεὶ 
 δυνάμενοι διὰ τὸ κωλύεσθαι. (Origen.) And we may with 
 confidence expect that the control, which we allow to be at 
 all times possible, will be effectually exercised for the bene- 
 volent and valuable end of protecting us against any serious 
 danger (such danger, that is, as honesty and attention cannot 
 obviate) of being misled and deluded in the momentous 
 concern of Revelation. On these principles, therefore, it 
 may be concluded that miraculous evidence, left unrefuted 
 by any counter-evidence, is abundantly sufficient for the 
 confirmation of doctrines, purporting to come from Gop, 
 independently of any reference to the nature and character 
 of those doctrines themselves. May it not be still farther 
 urged that such reference fails to remove the difficulty for 
 the sake of which it is prescribed? Is it not possible to con- 
 
 rn 4 
 
248 NOTES AND 
 
 ceive that an evil Being of superior skill and power mght 
 build on the ground of truths already known and acknow- 
 ledged an artfully contrived system, plausibly appearmg 
 perfective of all previous discoveries? And, in a case like 
 this, where would be our security agaist fatal error, except 
 in a rational hope of counter-evidence—of a plain and deci- 
 sive interference of Power really Divine, which should set 
 at nought the pretensions of all inferior beings? See how- 
 ever Penrose’s Treatise, Ch. II. Sect. 6, where the Author 
 unfolds and vindicates his own view. 
 
 Note ἢ, p. 34. 
 
 Τοῦ δὲ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰ ἔργα ἀεὶ παρῆν" ἀληθῆ yap jv’ οἱ 
 θεραπευθέντες" οἱ ἀναστάντες ἐκ νεκρῶν" ot οὐκ ὥφθησαν μόνον 
 θεραπευόμενοι καὶ ἀνιστάμενοι ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ παρόντες" οὐδὲ ἐπι- 
 δημοῦντος μόνον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπαλλαγέντος, ἦσαν ἐπὶ 
 χρόνον ἱκανόν" ὥς τε καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἡμετέρους χρόνους τινὲς αὐτῶν 
 ἀφίκοντο. Hee attulit Eusebius, Lib. IV. Hist. cap. 3. 
 Reliquie Sacre, vol. 1. 73, See also the introductory re- 
 marks to the same fragment, as given by Grabe, in his Spi- 
 cilegium, p.125 of Part II. He maintains the affirmative 
 on the question, which Dr. Routh, however, does not posi- 
 tively determine, respecting the identity of the Author of 
 the Apology and the Bishop of Athens. Every reader must 
 enter into the feeling, which Grabe expresses in the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 Utinam de hae Quadrati Apologia modo scribere posse- 
 mus quod Eusebius, Lib. IV. cap. 3. εἰσέτι δὲ φέρεται παρὰ 
 πλείστοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ἀτὰρ καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, τὸ σύγγραμμα ἐξ οὗ 
 κατιδεῖν ἐστι λαμπρὰ τεκμήρια τῆς τε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς διανοίας καὶ 
 τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ὀρθοτομίας. Sed periit eheu egregium istud 
 σύγγραμμα, nihil que ejus superest, preeter unicum, brevis- 
 simum quidem at nobile fragmentum, quod nobis conser- 
 vavit Eusebius loco modo citato ! 
 
 Nore S, p. 35. 
 
 Dr. Paley treats expressly on this subject in Chap. 5, of 
 
 Part 111. of his View of the Evidences of Christianity. In 
 
 that Chapter, he has noticed the passage of Quadratus, 
 lately quoted, and some other valuable testimonies from the 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 249 
 
 Fathers; but since he does not appear to have received so 
 strong an impression as the state of the case warrants of 
 their reliance on the miraculous facts of the Gospel History 
 for proofs of the Christian Religion, both some of his quo- 
 tations in the original languages and some few additional 
 passages, are here submitted to the reader. 
 
 Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, undoubtedly alleges 
 the miracles of the Christian history, where he insists on 
 them as real facts, in contradistinction, as it would seem, 
 to the pretences of the art of Magic : 
 
 σ Ν / 5 ‘\ τ lal 7 4 \ \ Se “ 
 
 Ὅπως δὲ μή τις ἀντιτιθεὶς ἡμῖν, τί κωλύει καὶ τὸν Tap ἡμῖν 
 λεγόμενον Χριστὸν, ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ὄντα, μαγικῇ τέχνῃ 
 a 7 / / \ / Ν a eX a 
 ἃς λέγομεν δυνάμεις πεποιηκέναι καὶ δόξαι διὰ τοῦτο υἱὸν Θεοῦ 
 > Ν 5 , ΝΜ , > a / A 
 εἶναι, τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἤδη ποιησόμεθα, οὐ τοῖς λέγουσι πιστεύον- 
 
 >) XN lal / ‘ Ων / Pht) / 
 τες ἀλλὰ τοῖς προφητεύουσι πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι, κατ᾽ ἀνάγκην πει- 
 θόμενοι, διὰ τὸ καὶ ὄψει ὡς προεφητεύθη ὁρᾷν γενόμενα καὶ γι- 
 νόμενα" ἥπερ μεγίστη καὶ ἀληθεστάτη ἀπόδειξις καὶ ὑμῖν, ὡς 
 νομίζομεν, φανήσεται. Apol. I. 30. 
 
 It is on the combined force of Miracles and Prophecy ; 
 on the agreement of seen and known facts with notices of 
 them long before given that the Apologist relies; but his 
 appeal is evidently made to such facts as in his opinion no 
 results of Magic could rival or imitate. 
 
 The passage, partly quoted by Dr. Paley from the Dia- 
 logue with Trypho, is as follows: 
 
 ΤΠηγὴ ὕδατος ζῶντος παρὰ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, γνώσεως Θεοῦ 
 (iu allusion to the language of Is. xxxv. which immediately 
 precedes this passage) τῇ τῶν ἐθνῶν γῇ ἀνέβλυσεν οὗτος ὁ 
 Χριστός" ὃς καὶ ἐν τῷ γένει ὑμῶν πέφανται καὶ τοὺς ἐκ γενετῆς 
 καὶ κατὰ τὴν σάρκα πήρους καὶ κωφοὺς καὶ χωλοὺς ἰάσατο, τὸν 
 μὲν ἄλλεσθαι, τὸν δὲ καὶ ἀκούειν, τὸν δὲ καὶ ὁρᾶν τῷ λόγῳ ad- 
 τοῦ ποιήσας" καὶ νεκροὺς δὲ ἀναστήσας καὶ ζῆν ποιήσας, καὶ διὰ 
 τῶν ἔργων ἐδυσώπει τοὺς τότε ὄντας ἀνθρώπους, ἐπιγνῶναι ad- 
 τόν" οἱ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὁρῶντες γινόμενα, φαντασίαν μαγικὴν γί- 
 
 Ν Ν Ἂς / a HN > 4 / \ 
 νεσθαι ἔλεγον" καὶ γὰρ μάγον εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐτόλμων λέγειν Kal 
 λαοπλάνον. Dial. cum Tryph. 69. 
 
 It will surely be perceived and felt that these words 
 convey afar more decisive appeal to the works of our Lorp, 
 and a much more forcible contrast of them with the idlu- 
 
250 NOTES AND 
 
 sions of Magic than the translation, adopted by Dr. Paley, 
 would imply. 
 
 One other instance of Justin’s appeal to our Saviour’s 
 miracles may be added: it is from an earlier Section (35) 
 of the Dialogue; and is highly interesting both from the 
 summary of the Christian evidences and from the display of 
 Christian feeling, which it contains: 
 
 “A πάσχομεν πάντα ἀναιρούμενοι ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων, προεῖπεν 
 ἡμῖν (ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς) μέλλειν γενέσθαι, ὡς κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον ἐπι- 
 λήψιμον αὐτοῦ λόγον ἢ πρᾶξιν φαίνεσθαι. διὸ καὶ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν 
 καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἐχθραινόντων ἡμῖν 
 εὐχόμεθα: ἵνα μεταγνόντες σὺν ἡμῖν μὴ βλασφημῆτε τὸν διά τε 
 τῶν ἔργων καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ νῦν γινομένων 
 δυνάμεων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς διδαχῆς λόγων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προφη- 
 τευθεισῶν εἰς αὐτὸν προφητειῶν, ἄμωμον καὶ ἀνέγκλητον κατὰ 
 πάντα Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν" ἀλλὰ πιστεύσαντες εἰς αὐτὸν, ἐν τῇ 
 πάλιν γενησομένῃ ἐνδόξῳ αὐτοῦ παρουσίᾳ σωθῆτε καὶ μὴ κατα- 
 δικασθῆτε εἰς τὸ πῦρ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. 
 
 The notice taken by Irenzeus of the evasion of the here- 
 tics, which was similar to that of the adversaries of Christi- 
 anity, 1s mentioned by Dr. Paley, and comes after the fol- 
 lowing passage, preserved only in the Latin Translation : 
 
 Ad opera producti, que ille (Jesus scil.) ad utilitatem 
 hominum et firmitatem fecit, mhil tale, nee simile nee se- 
 cundum aliquid in comparationem quod venire possit, per- 
 ficere inveniuntur. Sed et si aliquid faciunt, per Magicam 
 (quemadmodum diximus) operati, fraudulenter seducere ni- 
 tuntur insensatos: fructum quidem et utilitatem nullam 
 preestantes, in quos virtutes perficere se dicunt ; adducentes 
 autem pueros investes, et oculos deludentes et phantasmata 
 ostendentes statim cessantia et ne quidem stillicidio temporis 
 perseverantia, non Jesu Domino nostro sed Simoni Mago 
 similes ostenduntur. Et ex hoe autem quod Dominus sur- 
 rexit a mortuis in tertia die (firmum est) et discipulis se 
 manifestavit et videntibus els receptus est in coelum ; quod 
 ipsi morientes et non resurgentes, neque manifestat: quibus- 
 dam, arguuntur in nullo similes habentes Jesu animas. 
 
 ‘Then occur the words : 
 
 Ei δὲ καὶ τὸν Κύριον φαντασιαδῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα πεποιηκέναι 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 251 
 
 φήσουσιν, ἐπὶ τὰ προφητικὰ ἀνάγοντες αὐτοὺς, ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπι- 
 
 δείξομεν πάντα οὕτως περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ προειρῆσθαι καὶ γεγονέναι 
 i“ \ ISN , a \ εν “ lal 
 
 βεβαίως καὶ αὐτὸν μόνον εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Iren. contra 
 
 Heer. 57 cap. Lib. II. 
 
 From these words it is plain that the firm establishment 
 of the matters of fact was, in Irenzeus’s judgment, both in 
 itself possible and in its bearing on his argument important. 
 
 To the original of two passages of Origen, to which Dr. 
 Paley has referred, and of the former of which Dr. Lardner 
 
 9 
 
 has justly said that it is a “ glorious answer” to the objec- 
 tion of Celsus, the student will do well to have recourse ; 
 he will find them in Orig. c. Cels. II. 48. and I. 67, 68. 
 In several Editions of Paley the only reference to the Greek 
 is one, which belongs to the former place, but is incorrectly 
 assigned to the latter. The following may be added from 
 the same work : 
 
 Μόνοι ἡμεῖς τὸ καθαρῶς Kal ἀμιγὲς πρὸς TO ψεῦδος ἀληθὲς 
 ἐν τῇ Ἰησοῦ Χ Ὁ διὸ Ala a ἥμενοι εἶναι, OVX ἕαυ 
 ἐν τῇ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλίᾳ ἀποφαινόμενοι , οὐχ ἑαυ- 
 τοὺς ἀλλὰ τὸν διδάσκαλον συνίσταμεν, ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσι Θεοῦ 
 διὰ πλειόνων μαρτυρηθέντα καὶ τῶν προφητικῶν ἐν ᾿Ιουδαίοις 
 λόγων καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐναργείας" δείκνυται γὰρ οὐκ ἀθεεὶ τὰ τη- 
 λικαῦτα δεδυνημένος. Ibid. V. 51. 
 
 ᾿Αποδείξομεν ὅτι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ δέδοται αὐτῷ (τῷ “Iqood) τὸ τι- 
 μᾶσθαι: ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν υἱὸν καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν πατέρα. 
 at γὰρ πρὸ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ προφητεῖαι συστάσεις ἦσαν τῆς 
 
 a > “ 5 Ν, \ SS (ter) > a / / > 
 τιμῆς αὐτοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ Ta ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ γενόμενα παράδοξα, οὐ 
 
 7 « » ὟΝ b) Ἂς , / δόσαν 
 μαγγανείᾳ, ὡς οἴεται Κέλσος, ἀλλὰ θειότητι προειρημενῃ ὑπὸ 
 τῶν προφητῶν, τὴν ἀπὸ Θεοῦ εἶχε μαρτυρίαν. Ibid. VIII. 9. 
 
 Τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀναγεγραμμένα τεράστια εἴτ᾽ ᾿Ιουδαϊκὰ, εἴτε καὶ 
 περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, μύθους εἷναι νενόμικε 
 (ὁ Κέλσος). Τί γὰρ οὐχὶ τὰ μὲν ἡμέτερά ἐστιν ἀληθῆ, ἃ δὲ 
 ΄ Ὁ rd ¢ 
 Κέλσος λέγει, ἀναπλάσματα μυθικά ; οἷς οὐδ᾽ Ἑλλήνων φιλό- 
 σοφοι αἱρέσεις πεπιστεύκασιν, ὥσπερ ἣ Δημοκρίτου καὶ ἡ ᾽Ἔπι- 
 
 ΄, Noe eS f s\ “ bs % τ 
 κούρου καὶ ἡ ᾿Αριστοτέλους" τάχα ἂν πεπιστευκυΐαι διὰ τὴν ἐν- 
 ἀργειαν τοῖς ἡμετέροις, εἰ παρατετύχεισαν Μωῦσῇ ἤ τινι τῶν τὰ 
 παράδοξα ποιησάντων προφητῶν ἣ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ. Ibid. 
 VIII. 45. 
 
 The same Father, in another Work (Com. in Matth. 
 Tom. XII. 2.) having assigned some probable ways of 
 
252 NOTES AND 
 
 accounting for the unbelief of the Pharisees and Saddu- 
 cees, in our Saviour’s day, urges: 
 
 Οὐ μὴν ὥστε καὶ συγγνωστοὺς εἶναι, μὴ ἐνορῶντας τοῖς TOV 
 προφητῶν λόγοις πληρουμένοις ἐν ταῖς πράξεσι τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἃς 
 οὐδαμῶς πονηρὰ δύναμις μιμήσασθαι οἷά τε ἣν. ψυχὴν δὲ ἐξελ- 
 θοῦσαν ἐπιστρέψαι, ὥστε ἤδη ὄζοννττα καὶ τετάρτην ἡμέραν ἄγον- 
 τα ἀπὸ τῶν μνημείων ἐξελθεῖν, οὐδενὸς ἦν ἢ τοῦ ἀκούσαντος 
 ἀπὸ τοῦ πατέρος" ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ᾽ εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν 
 ἡμετέραν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνέμοις κελεῦσαι καὶ ὁρμὴν θαλάσσης λόγῳ 
 παῦσαι, οὐδενὸς ἄλλου ἦν 7) ἐκείνου, 60 οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ 
 θάλασσα καὶ οἱ ἀνέμοι γεγόνασιν. ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία ἐπὶ 
 τὴν ἀγαπὴν τοῦ κτίσαντος προσκαλουμένη, συναδόντως νόμῳ 
 καὶ προφήταις καὶ τὰς ὁρμὰς καταστέλλουσα καὶ τὰ ἤθη κατ᾽ 
 εὐσέβειαν μορφοῦσα, τί ἄλλο ἐδήλου τοῖς ὁρᾷν δυναμένοις ἢ ὅτι 
 ἀληθῶς θεοῦ υἱὸς ἦν ὁ τὰ τοσαῦτα ἐργαζόμενος ; 
 
 Arnobius treats the subject of the miraculous evidence in 
 favour of Jesus Curist and His religion so copiously and 
 so eloquently that it is difficult to keep the extracts from 
 his First Book adversus Gentes within moderate bounds. 
 
 In reply to the question: Deusne ille est Curistus ἢ 
 Arnobius answers : 
 
 Nulla major est comprobatio quam gestarum ab eo fides 
 rerum, quam virtutum novitas, quam omnia victa decreta 
 dissolutaque fatalia, quae populi gentesque suo geri sub lu- 
 mine, nullo dissentiente, videre : qué nec ipsi audent falsi- 
 tatis arguere, quorum antiquas seu patrias leges vanitatis 
 esse plenissimas atque inanissimee superstitionis ostendit. 
 Occursurus forsitan rursus est cum aliis multis calumniosis 
 illis et puerilibus vocibus: Magus fuit, clandestinis artibus 
 omnia illa perfecit, Aagyptiorum ex adytis angelorum poten- 
 tium nomina et remotas furatus est disciplinas. Quid dicitis, 
 O parvuli, incomperta vobis et nescia temerarize vocis lo- 
 quacitate garrientes? Ergone illa, quae gesta sunt, daemo- 
 num fuere preestigiz, et magicarum artium ludi? Potestis 
 aliquem nobis designare, monstrare ex omnibus illis Magis, 
 qui unquam fuere per seecula, consimile aliquid Curistro 
 millesima ex parte qui fecerit ? 
 
 The subject is then pursued in a glowing passage, which 
 enumerates most of our Lorp’s recorded miracles, repeating 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 253 
 
 over and over again the inquiry: Unus fuit e nobis, qui ta- 
 lia et tanta fecit ? 
 
 Nihil, ut remini, magicum, nihil humanum, prestigiosum 
 aut subdolum, mhil fraudis delituit in Curisvo, derideatis 
 licet ex more atque in lasciviam dissolvamini cachinnorum. 
 ...... Sed non creditis hac gesta. Sed qui ea conspicati 
 sunt fierl, et sub oculis suis viderunt agi, testes optimi cer- 
 tissimique auctores et crediderunt hee ipsi et credenda 
 posteris nobis haud exilibus cum approbationibus tradide- 
 runt. Quinam isti sint fortasse quzritis? Gentes, populi, 
 nationes et incredulum illud genus humanum. Quod nisi 
 aperta res esset et luce ipsa, quemadmodum dicitur, clarior, 
 nunquam rebus hujusmodi credulitatis sua commodarent 
 assensum. An numquid dicemus illius temporis homines 
 usque adeo fuisse vanos, mendaces, stolidos, brutos ut que 
 nunquam viderant, vidisse se fingerent ? et que facta om- 
 nino non erant, falsis proderent testimoniis aut puerili asser- 
 tione firmarent? cumque possent vobiscum et unanimiter vi- 
 vere et inoffensas ducere conjunctiones, gratuita susciperent 
 odia et execrabili haberentur in nomine?.... Imo quia hee 
 omnia et ab ipso cernebant geri et ab ejus preeconibus, qui 
 per orbem totum missi beneficia Patris et munera sanandis 
 (munera grandia, for.) animis, hominibusque portabant, 
 veritatis ipsius vi victze (gentes, scil.) et dederunt se Deo: 
 nec in magnis posuere dispendiis membra vobis projicere et 
 viscera sua lanianda praebere. Arnob. adv. Gentes 1. p. 24 
 to 33. of the Leyden Ed. of 1651. 
 
 What could the severest reasoner urge more satisfactorily ? 
 What could the warmest advocate utter more eloquently ? 
 If any reader should be tempted, by this beautiful passage, 
 to have recourse to the first of the seven Books adversus 
 Gentes, (contained in that Selection from the Writings of the 
 Fathers, which is entitled Opuscula quedam Selecta Scrip- 
 torum Ecclesiasticorum, and which we owe to the judgment 
 and piety of the venerable Editor of the Reliquiz Sacree,) 
 he will be gratified by many other proofs which that Book 
 above the rest contains of the success, with which Arnobius 
 devoted the skill acquired in the Schools of Rhetoric to the 
 cause of Curist and His Gospel. The real fault with 
 which, as a reasoner on the Miraculous evidence, he is in 
 
254 NOTES AND 
 
 this particular Book chargeable, is, that from the Miracles of 
 our Lorp he derives a direct and immediate proof of His 
 Divine nature. 
 
 Every word of the preceding extracts admits of being 
 used and applied by one, who keeps clear of this error, 
 which, common to Arnobius and others of the same age, 
 must at all events be allowed to be in the opposite extreme 
 to that omission of the argument from Miracles now under 
 consideration. 8. Petrus Alexandrinus (Rel, Sacr. vol. 111. 
 p- 346.) holds the following language : 
 
 Καὶ τῷ ᾿Ιούδα φησί: φιλήματι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου Tapa- 
 δίδως ; ταῦτα, τά τε τούτοις ὅμοια, τά τε σημεῖα πάντα ἃ ἐποί- 
 noe καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις δεικνῦσιν αὐτὸν Θεὸν εἶναι ἐνανθρωπήσαν- 
 Ta’ τὰ συναμφότερα τοίνυν δείκνυται ὅτι Θεὸς jv φύσει, καὶ 
 γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος φύσει. 
 
 Dr. Routh pronounces this to be a place, m quo veram 
 Cuxistr humanitatem simul atque DerraTem ejus, illam 
 quidem ex Servatoris verbis, hane vero, ut argumentart 
 mos fuit, ex miraculis cjus, vir sanctus probare aggressus 
 est. p. 369. Vol. III. Rel. Sacr. 
 
 In the Chapter of the Evidences above referred to, Arno- 
 bius is not mentioned ; and of Lactantius only a slight and 
 incidental notice is taken. A fuller testimony of the latter 
 than that, to which allusion is made by Dr. Paley, is to be 
 found in Lib. IV. ο. 15. Divin. Instit. 
 
 Exinde (after his baptism) maximas virtutes coepit ope- 
 rari (Jesus) non prestigiis magicis, que nihil veri ac so- 
 lidi ostentant, sed vi ac potestate calesti; que jampridem 
 Prophetis nuntiantibus canebantur. Que opera tam multa 
 sunt ut unus liber ad complectenda omnia satis non sit. 
 Enumerabo igitur illa breviter et generatim, sine ulla per- 
 sonarum ac locorum designatione. 
 
 This purpose he proceeds to execute; and having dis- 
 tinctly mentioned the miracle of feeding five thousand with 
 five loaves and two fishes, he pauses to ask : 
 
 Quzero igitur quid hie potuerit ars Magica moliri, cujus 
 peritia ad nihil aliud quam ad circumscribendos oculos valet ? 
 
 Nor is it irrelevant to our present purpose to observe that 
 Minucius Felix, although the nature of his Dialogue does 
 not lead him to dwell at length on the Gospel Miracles, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 255 
 
 still so speaks of Magical dllusions and pretences as to shew 
 plainly the contrast in his mind subsisting between the lat- 
 ter and those real miracles, which for him, as for all Chiris- 
 tians, ever “ lay at the bottom of the argument :” 
 
 Magi non tantum sciunt dsemonas, sed etiam quicquid 
 miracult ludunt per deemonas faciunt. Illis adspirantibus 
 et infundentibus preestigias edunt; vel quae non sunt, vi- 
 deri, vel quae sunt, non videri. Min. Fel. Octav. X XVI. 
 
 Nore T, p. 40. 
 
 Bishop Bull’s interpretation of this whole passage of St. 
 John’s Gospel is as follows: 
 
 Locum citatum penitius introspicienti liquebit, Christum 
 ibi se non dixisse, aut credi voluisse Dei Filium, propterea 
 imprimis, quod a Deo tanquam ejus Legatus, extraordinaria 
 authoritate instructus ac munitus, ad homines missus fuerit; 
 sed longe alia atque excellentiori ratione, qua scilicet, ante- 
 quam in mundum mitteretur, apud Deum Patrem extiterit, 
 ut verus, genuinus ac coessentialis ejus Filius, adeoque Deus 
 ipsissimus. 2.05.63 
 
 Manifestum est, Servatorem nostrum in superioribus, 
 nempe ver. 25. usque ad ver. 30. inclusive, sic locutum 
 fuisse ad Judeeos, ut 11 nihil aliud aut intellexerint aut cre- 
 diderint ab ipso dici, quam se Deum esse. Verba eorum 
 sunt, ver. 33. Ob bonum opus non lapidamus te, sed ob 
 blasphemiam ; quia scil. tu, homo cum sis, tetpsum facis 
 Deum. Nempe seepius Deum vocaverat διακριτικῶς Patrem 
 suum, et se et Patrem paulo ante unum esse dixerat. Jam 
 diligenter observandum est, Christum non respondisse, quod, 
 nisi se vere Deum esse scivisset, respondendum omnino erat, 
 nempe se revera Deum non esse, neque pro Deo unquam 
 semet venditasse; (hac enim responsione, si vera fuisset, 
 placare Judzorum iram facile potuisset, et debebat quoque 
 blasphemiam sibi objectam apertissimis verbis et cum abo- 
 minatione rejicere;) sed contra non obscure significasse, se 
 ipsissimum quidem Dei Filium, et consequenter Deum esse. 
 Nam se defendit adversus Judeeos duplici ratione; primum, 
 argumento ex ipsorum lege sumpto, nempe ex Psal. Ixxxn. 
 6. Respondit eis Jesus, Nonne scriptum est in lege vestra, 
 
256 NOTES AND 
 
 Ego dixi, dit estis? Qui locus videtur de judicibus magni 
 synedrii intelligendus, ut recte monuit Grotius. Ex hoc 
 autem loco ita Christus in sui defensionem argumentatur 
 ver. 35, 36. Si dlos divit deos, ad quos sermo Dei factus 
 est, et non potest solvi Scriptura, Mene, quem Pater sancti- 
 ficavit et misit im mundum, vos dicitis blasphemare, quia 
 divi, Filius Det sum? Argumentum a minori ad majus 
 manifeste ducitur in hune modum: Si illi qui nihil in se 
 divini habuere, nempe judices magni synedri, ad quos in 
 loco isto Psalmorum sermo fit, (nam Capello adstipulor, qui 
 sensit, articulum vocis ὁ λόγος vim hie ἀναφορικὴν habere, ut 
 referatur ad Psal. Ixxxii. quem ver. 34. citaverat Christus,) 
 ideo tantum quod imperii atque authoritatis divinee imper- 
 fectam quandam in se imaginem referrent, di appellantur ; 
 quanto magis ego, qui naturalis Dei Filius, atque insuper 
 excellentissima ratione a Deo Patre authorizatus sum, Dei 
 Filius, adeoque Deus vocari possum? Caterum hoc ipsum 
 Christus disertis quidem verbis non dixit, sed non obscure 
 significavit in verbis, Mene, quem Pater sanctificavit et mi- 
 sit in mundum. Non enim (N.B.) dicit, Mene, quem Deus 
 sanctificavit ; sed, Mene, quem Pater sanctificavit ; in- 
 dicans, se non ideo imprimis Deum pro Patre suo habuisse, 
 quod a Deo sanctificatus (h. 6. segregatus et designatus ad 
 munus sibi impositum) et in mundum missus fuerit; sed 
 contra a Deo jam Patre suo et sanctificatum, et in mundum 
 missum fuisse. Preaeterea nullus dubito quin Maldonatus 
 in verbis, et misit in mundum, emphasin recte statuerit, 
 qua significetur, Christum esse Dei Filium, non czeterorum 
 modo in terra, sed in coelo natum, indeque in hune mun- 
 dum missum. Ita enim Dominus, discipulos suos alloquens, 
 se clarius explicat, Jo. xvi. 28. Egressus sum a Patre, et 
 veni in mundum ; et rursus relinquo mundum, et vado ad 
 Patrem. Quibus verbis significasse Christum, se in potiore 
 sua natura in ceelis apud Deum, idque ut Patrem suum, 
 extitisse, antequam in hune mundum primum veniret, hoc 
 est, homo natus fuisset, nemo est, nist cul lema Sociniana in 
 oculis sit, qui non facile perspiciat. Confer Joan. iii, 19. 
 Pergit vero in sui defensione Dominus, ac divinitatem, 
 quam cum Patre communem habet, altero argumento ad- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 257 
 
 struit, a miraculis suis deducto, ver. 37, 38. S% non fucio 
 opera Patris mei, nolite credere mihi; sin vero illa facio, 
 etiamst mihi non credatis, operibus tamen credite 3 ut cog- 
 noscatis et credatis Patrem in me esse, et me in eo; q. d. 
 Quod me Dei Patris Filium διακριτικῶς appellaverim, adeo- 
 que me et Patrem unum esse dixerim, ea propter blasphe- 
 mize me postulatis. Quod quidem fortasse non immerito 
 facere videremini, si divinitatem meam verbis solummodo, 
 non etiam factis adstruerem. Cum vero etiam eadem om- 
 nipotentize opera cum Patre meo efficiam, cur me ejusdem 
 cum ipso naturee esse non creditis? A vobis non postulo, 
 ut meo de memet testimonio credatis, sed ut saltem ex ope- 
 ribus meis persuasum habeatis, Patrem in me esse, et me in 
 eo, hoc est, me et Patrem unum esse, quod ante dixi. 
 
 Ex his perspicuum est, Dominum nostrum Judzeis blas- 
 phemize crimen ipsi impingentibus, quod se Dei Filium δια- 
 κριτικῶς appellaverit, seque adeo Deum esse non obscure 
 significasset, ita respondisse, ut hoc ipsum, nempe se ejus- 
 modi Filium Dei esse, adeo non negaverit, ut fortissimis 
 argumentis adstruxerit. Quod etiam ipsi Judeei (qui he- 
 betes licet et stupidi satis, Socinistas, qui mortalium perspi- 
 cacissimi videri volunt, crassissimze profecto ἀβλεψίας con- 
 demnent) probe intellexerunt. Hine enim tantum abfuit, 
 ut Christum ob hanc ipsius responsionem a crimine blas- 
 phemize absolverint, ut contra ipsum propterea, tanquam 
 blasphemum, rursus de medio tollere aggressi sint. Sequi- 
 tur enim ver. 39. Querebant ergo eum iterum apprehen- 
 dere, sed exivit de manibus ipsorum. Cum evangelista dicit 
 οὖν, ergo, indicat, Judzeos illis rpsis verbis, quae in sui de- 
 fensionem dixerat Servator noster, iterum irritatos, ipsum 
 apprehendere voluisse, ut abductum extra templum (ubi 
 hunc sermonem habuerat ver. 23.) lapidibus obruerent. 
 Nam frustra omnino est Grotius, qui verba interpretatur, 
 quasi Judzel, quod Dominus blasphemiz crimen ita solvis- 
 set, ut ne species quidem restaret, consilium de lapidatione 
 tanquam in blasphemum mutarint, dederintque operam, ut 
 eum captum traderent synedrio, aliud aliquid crimen reper- 
 turo. Neque enim Judzi ideo Christum apprehendere vo- 
 Juerunt, ut synedrio sisterent, sed ut in locum abducerent, 
 
 5 
 
258 NOTES AND 
 
 ubi ipsum sine sacrilegio occiderent. “Templum enim, intra 
 cujus limites stetit ac locutus est Dominus, erat omni ex 
 parte sacrum, neque ulla cede aut sanguine polluendum. 
 Confer Act. xxi. 30. Preeterea vox πάλιν, tterwm, satis 
 ostendit, Judzeos voluisse rursus illud in Christum facere, 
 quod et antea facturi erant, hoc est, lapidare ipsum voluisse 
 ver. 91. Quo etiam in loco vox πάλιν occurrit, atque aliud 
 porro tempus manifeste designat, quo Judaei ex simili occa- 
 sione voluerunt Christum lapidibus obruere, de quo legere 
 est Joan. vii. ὅθ. Nam ibi etiam ex Christi sermone, se 
 ante Abrahamum fuisse dicentis ver. 58. Judeei recte judi- 
 carunt, Christum naturam quandam, in qua ante Abraha- 
 mum extiterit, hoc est divimam, 5101 tribuisse, adeoque 
 Deum se dixisse. Jud. Eccles. Cath. V.6. Works, Vol. VI. 
 p. 109—113. 
 Nove U, p. 46. 
 
 The Greek words are: Ta ἔργα & ἐγὼ ποιῷ κἀκεῖνος ποιή- 
 σει καὶ pelCova τούτων ποιήσει. 
 
 The following passage, if it may not be considered as 
 having any weight of authority, will yet serve the purpose 
 of illustrating the interpretation here given : 
 
 ᾿Εγὼ δ᾽ εἴποιμ᾽ ἂν ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ιησοῦ ἐπαγγελίαν οἱ μαθηταὶ 
 καὶ μείζονα πεποιήκασιν ὧν ᾿Ιησοῦς αἰσθητῶν πεποίηκεν. ἀεὶ 
 γὰρ ἀνοίγονται ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν τὴν ψυχήν" καὶ ὦτα τῶν ἐκ- 
 κεκωφημένων πρὸς λόγους ἀρετῆς ἀκούει προθύμως περὶ Θεοῦ 
 καὶ τῆς παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ μακαρίας ζωῆς" πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ χωλοὶ τὰς βά- 
 σεις τοῦ (ὡς ἡ γραφὴ ὠνόμασεν) ἔσω ἀνθρώπου, νῦν τοῦ λόγου 
 ἰασαμένου αὐτοὺς, οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἄλλονται ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἔλαφος πολέ- 
 μιον τῶν ὄφεων ζῶον καὶ κρεῖττον πάντος ἰοῦ τῶν ἐχιδνῶν" καὶ 
 οὗτοί ye οἱ θεραπευθέντες χωλοὶ λαμβάνουσιν ἀπὸ ᾿Ιησοῦ ἐξου- 
 σίαν πατεῖν τοῖς ποσὶν, οἷς πρότερον ἦσαν χωλοὶ, ἐπάνω τῶν 
 τῆς κακίας ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν 
 δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ πατοῦντες οὐκ ἀδικοῦνται" κρείττους γὰρ 
 καὶ αὐτοὶ γεγόνασι τοῦ πάσης κακίας καὶ τῶν δαιμόνων ἰοῦ. 
 Orig. c. Cels. II. 48. 
 
 The same view is taken by Origen in his 6th Homily on 
 Isaiah, which is extant in the Latin Version only ; but it 1s 
 there boldly applied as an unanswerable argument in sup- 
 port of that peculiar system of interpretation, which would 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 259 
 
 sometimes altogether set aside the literal sense of Holy 
 Scripture: a system, which may be safely characterised and 
 condemned in the strong language of one, whose profound 
 reverence for antiquity and whose extensive acquaintance 
 with its Remains impart to his sentence the weight of au- 
 thority : 
 
 Insania illa Origenis et aliorum, que fidem historiarum 
 Sacrarum subvertere ausa est ut mysticum adstrueret sen- 
 sum libris Sacris. Rel. Sacr. Vol. 111. p. 119. 
 
 That portion of Origen’s Commentaries on St. John, 
 in which this passage was included, is not extant. 
 
 Nore V, p. 51. 
 
 See also St. Luke vi. 17-19. The expressions employed 
 in the Gospel History itself both account for and justify 
 such language as Origen has not scrupled to use in the fol- 
 lowing instances : 
 
 ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ πηρώσεις ἰάθησαν μυρίαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ. Contra 
 Cels. VIII. 46. 
 
 Διὰ τοῦ καταλύσαντος μυρίους δαίμονας ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἡνίκα περιζει 
 ἰώμενος καὶ ἐπιστρέφων τοὺς καταδυναστευομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ δια- 
 
 βόλου. Ibid. 64. 
 
 Note W, p. 56. 
 
 ὋὉ Θεὸς, τελείως ἀγαθὸς ὧν, didiws ἀγαθοποιός ἐστιν. A- 
 thenagoras, Leg. pro Christ. X XVI. 
 
 Ab eo (Jesu Curisto) gesta sunt et factitata (miracula) 
 non ut se vana ostentatione jactaret, sed ut homines duri, 
 atque increduli scirent non esse, quod spondebatur, falsum : 
 et ex operum benignitate quid esset Deus verus, | jam ad- 
 discerent suspicari. 
 
 Curistus equaliter bonis malisque subvenit ; nec repul- 
 sus ab hoc quisquam est, qui rebus auxilium duris contra 
 impetum postulabat injuriasque fortuns. Hoc est enim 
 proprium Det veri potentieque regalis, benignitatem suam 
 negare nulli nec reputare quis mereatur aut minime: cum 
 naturalis infirmitas peccatorem hominem faciat, non volun- 
 tatis seu judicationis electio. Arnob. adv. Gent. 1. 
 
 5 2 
 
 ~ 
 
260 NOTES AND 
 Nore X, p. 62. 
 
 Sicut Pater operatur, ita operatur et Filius ; et imitator 
 est Filius omnium operum Paternorum, ut perinde habeat 
 unusquisque quasi jam viderit Patrem dum eum videt qui 
 invisibilem Patrem in omnibus operibus semper imitatur. 
 
 Nov. de Trin. XXVIII. 
 Nore Y, p. 65. 
 
 See especially 2 Kings iv. where are related some of 
 Elisha’s miracles, which call for a careful consideration 
 with a view to the point here noticed. The result of such 
 consideration will undoubtedly be a persuasion of the justice 
 of the contrast drawn in the following few but striking 
 words : 
 
 “Απαξ ἐλάλησε καὶ ὃν ἔπλασεν, ἤγειρεν" οὔτε yap as ᾿Ηλίας 
 ἔκλαυσεν: οὔτε ὡς ᾿Ελισαῖος ἀπόρησε' μονοφθόγγῳ φωνῇ 
 διύπνισε τὸν Tap αὐτῷ καθεύδοντα. S. Amphilochi in Qua- 
 trid. Lazarum Orat. 
 
 Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, in Lycaonia, in the 
 end of the fourth century, was the friend of St. Basil and 
 St. Gregory Nazianzene. Of the works ascribed to him 
 however some are confessed to be spurious, all are dubie 
 
 Jjider. 
 Note Z, p. 68. 
 
 St. Augustine in his Com. on St. John, ch. vi. re- 
 marks: 
 
 Magna signa facta sunt etiam cum Dominus resurrexit 
 et ascendit in coelum. ‘unc per discipulos facta sunt mag- 
 na; sed ille per illos, qui et per seipsum. Ipse quippe 
 illis dixerat : Sine me nihil potestis facere. Quando clau- 
 dus ille, qui sedebat ad portam, ad vocem Petri surrexit et 
 suis pedibus ambulavit ita ut homines mirarentur, sic eos 
 allocutus est Petrus, quia non in sua potestate ista fecit sed 
 in virtute illius, quem ipsi occiderunt. 
 
 Nore AA, p. 68. 
 This important consideration did not escape the notice of 
 the ancient Apologist : 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 261 
 
 Quid? quod istas virtutes, que sunt a nobis summatim, 
 non ut rei poscebat magnitudo, deprompte, non tantum 
 ipse (Curistus) perfecit vi sua, verum, quod erat subli- 
 mius, multos alios experiri et facere sui nominis cum affec- 
 tione permisit. Nam cum videret futuros vos gestarum ab 
 se rerum Divinique operis abrogatores, ne qua subesset 
 suspicio magicis se artibus munera illa beneficiaque largi- 
 tum, ex immensa illa populi multitudine, quae suam gra- 
 tiam sectabatur admirans, piscatores, opifices, rusticanos 
 atque id genus delegit imperitorum, qui per varias gentes 
 missi, cuncta illa miracula sine ullis fucis atque adminiculis 
 perpetrarent....... Si facias ipse quod possis et quod tuis sit 
 viribus petentatuique conveniens, admiratio non habet quod 
 exclamet: id enim quod potueris feceris et quod preestare 
 debuerit vis tua, ut operis esset una et ipsius, qui operare- 
 tur, qualitas. Transcribere posse in hominem jus tuum ; et 
 quod facere solus possis, fragilissimz rei donare et partici- 
 pare faciendum, supra omnia sitz est potestatis continentis- 
 que sub sese est rerum omnium causas et rationum faculta- 
 tumque naturas. Arnob. adv. Gent. I. 
 
 Nore BB, p. 69. 
 
 See Note D, p. 342 of Mr. Penrose’s Work on Miracles, 
 where some probable reasons for our Lorp’s adoption of a 
 process of cure in any instances are given from Dr. Graves 
 and Lightfoot.—As to the number of the instances, is it 
 not correct to say that there are more than three? In some 
 of the whole number, as, for example, those recorded in 
 St. Matt. viii. 2—6, (to which the parallel places are St. 
 Mark i.40, and St. Luke v. 12,) 1x. 28, and xx. 29, the 
 process was confined to the touching of the person of the 
 leper and the eyes of the blind; in the three, noticed by 
 Mr. Penrose, spittle also was applied; in one of the three 
 cases, to the deaf'and dumb, in the other two, to the blind. 
 
 Note CC, p. 71. 
 
 Orat ergo Dominus non ut pro se obsecret sed ut pro me 
 impetret. Nam etsi omnia posuerit Pater in potestate Filii, 
 
 s3 
 
262 NOTES AND 
 
 Filius tamen ut formam hominis impleret, obsecrandum Pa- 
 trem putat esse pro nobis, quia advocatus est noster. .S. Am- 
 
 bros. Com. Lib. V. in Luce. VI. 12. 
 
 Nore DD, p. 71. 
 
 Αὐτός ἐστιν ᾧ ὑπετάγη τὰ πάντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός" οὐκ ὧν 
 ἐλάττων τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσηύξατο. Dionys. Alex. 
 in Resp. ad Quest. as quoted by Bp. Bull, Defen. Fid. 
 Nic. IV. i. 7. 
 
 Εἴπερ τοῖς ἀξίοις τῶν ἐν σαρκὶ ζώντων καὶ μὴ κατὰ σάρκα 
 στρατευομένων εὐχομένοις, τοιαύτη τις λέγεται ὑπὸ Θεοῦ περὶ 
 
 a Sie ey ’ “ 3 ears A of an ny 3. σοὶ, ΡᾺΝ 
 τῆς εὐχῆς αὐτῶν ἐπαγγελία" καὶ ἔτι λαλοῦντος σοῦ, ἐρῶ" ἴδου 
 πάρειμι, τί χρὴ νομίζειν ἐπὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ κυρίου; ἢ πρὶν 
 λαλῆσαί σε, ἐρῶ: ἴδου, πάρειμι ; ἅμα γὰρ ἦρε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς 
 ἄνω καὶ εἶπε: τί δὲ εἶπεν ; εἰ οἷόν τέ ἐστιν ὡς ἐν τοιούτοις στο- 
 χάζεσθαι, ἀκολούθως τῷ" πρὶν λαλῆσαί σε, ἐρῶ, ἴδου πάρειμι, 
 ἵνα πλεῖον ἢ τὸ πρὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα λεγόμενον παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ πρὸς 
 
 Ν / ΒΞ 7] / “ Ν᾽ cal ny 5 un 
 τοὺς δικαίους ἐπαγγελίᾳ γεγραμμένον" ἔτι λαλοῦντος σοῦ, ἐρῶ, 
 ἴδου πάρειμι. Τί οὖν εἶπε; προέθετο μὲν εἰπεῖν εὐχήν" προ- 
 λαβόντος δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ εἴποντος ἂν αὐτῷ, πρὶν λαλῆ- 
 
 / εὐ τος yy, / 5 Ν “ Ν / x / 
 σαί σε, EPO, lOov, πάρειμι, ἀντὶ τῆς κατὰ πρόθεσιν ἂν λεχθεί- 
 
 > “ / Ἂς 3 ΟΝ “ / Ν. "] Ν > , 
 ons εὐχῆς, λέγει THY ἐπὶ τῷ προλάβοντι τὴν εὐχὴν εὐχαριστίαν" 
 
 AY Be I) Ν Tre) oe 5 / / > / es 
 καὶ ws ἐπακουσθεὶς ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐνενόησε μόνον, ov προήνεγκε δὲ ἐν 
 
 a y Tr , > = “ ” ! 
 τῷ εὔχεσθαι, φησί: Ilarep, εὐχαριστῶ σοι, ὅτι ἤκουσάς μου. 
 Orig. Com. in Joan. XXVIII. 5. 
 
 The command, which followed, is thus noticed by an an- 
 cient Preacher : 
 
 Ad¢ape, δεῦρο ἔξω: δεσποτικὴ ἣ φωνή" βασιλικὸν τὸ κέ- 
 
 - “ ’, Ν if lal Ν τ »} / Ν 
 λευσμα' ἐξουσίας τὸ πρόσταγμα. δεῦρο ἔξω" ἀποθέμενος τὴν 
 φθορὰν, ἀνάλαβε τὴν δι’ ἀφθαρσίας δοράν...... Hpto ὁ λίθος, 
 τὸ πρόσκομμα" βάδιζε πρός με τὸν καλοῦντά σε" δεῦρο ἔξω: ὡς 
 μὲν φίλος σοι προσφωνῷ, ὡς δὲ δεσπότης ἐπιτάσσω.......Ὃ 
 εἰπὼν, γενηθήτω φῶς, γενηθήτω στερέωμα, ἐγώ σοι παρακελεύ- 
 ομαι. ES. Andre Cretensis Oratione in Lazarum Qua- 
 trid. p. 71 of his Remains edited by Combefis, Paris, 
 1644. St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, is by Cave, in his 
 Historia Literaria, assigned to the early part of the seventh 
 century. 
 
 Liberare a dzemone et homines, sed in verbo Der, pos- 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 268 
 
 sunt: resurrectionem mortuis imperare Divine solius est 
 potestatis. 4S. Ambros. Homil. in Luc. iv. 38. 
 
 Tertullian justly regards and ably urges the recorded 
 instances of prayer to the Father, offered by Jesus Curist, 
 as decisive proofs of the distinct personality of the Son ; 
 yet not so as to admit of the notion of inferiority or in- 
 equality of nature, as belonging to the latter. Vid. his T'ract 
 adv. Prax. c. xxiil. 
 
 NoreE EB, p. 81. 
 
 On this miracle Irenzeus observes, so far at least as the 
 Latin Version represents his meaning : 
 
 Peccata remittens, hominem quidem curavit, semetip- 
 sum autem manifeste ostendit quis esset. Si enim nemo 
 potest remittere peccata nisi solus Deus, remittebat autem 
 hae Dominus et curabat homines; manifestum quoniam 
 ipse erat Verbum Der, Filius hominis factus; a Patre po- 
 testatem remissionis peccatorum accipiens;—quoniam homo, 
 et quoniam Deus: ut, quomodo homo compassus est nobis, 
 tanquam Deus misereatur nostri, et remittat nobis debita 
 nostra, que Factori nostro debemus Dro. Contra Her. V. 
 17. 
 
 And among the proofs of the proper Divinity of our 
 Loxp urged in the Tract on the Trinity, ascribed to Nova- 
 tian and usually printed with the works of Tertullian, to 
 which some previous references have been made in these 
 Notes, are the following : 
 
 Quod si, cum nullius sit nisi Det, cordis nosse secreta, 
 Curistus secreta conspicit cordis; Quodsi, cum nullius sit 
 nisi Der, peccata dimittere, idem Curistus peccata dimit- 
 tit....merito Deus est Curistus. T'ertull. Op. p. 715. 
 
 Note FF, p. 84. 
 
 “Though in a just idea of the Deity, perhaps none of 
 « His attributes are predominant, yet to our imagination, 
 ςς His Power is by far the most striking. Some reflection, 
 ἐς some comparing is necessary to satisfy us of His wisdom, 
 «ς His justice and His goodness. ‘To be struck with His 
 “ς power, it 1s only necessary that we should open our eyes. 
 «ς But whilst we contemplate so vast an object, under the 
 
 s 4 
 
904 NOTES AND 
 
 ‘arm, as it were, of Almighty Power, and invested, upon 
 “every side, with omnipresence, we shrink into the minute- 
 “ ness of our own nature, and are, in a manner, annihilated 
 ‘“ before Him. And though a consideration of His other 
 «ς attributes may relieve in some measure our apprehensions; 
 ** yet no conviction of the justice, with which it is exer- 
 ‘* cised, nor the mercy, with which it is tempered, can wholly 
 “ remove the terror that naturally arises from a force, which 
 ‘“ nothing can withstand. If we rejoice, we rejoice with 
 “ trembling ; and even whilst we are receiving benefits, we 
 «ὁ cannot but shudder at a power, which can confer benefits 
 “of such mighty importance.” Edmund Burke on the 
 Sublime and Beautiful, Part IT. Sect. 5. 
 
 Note GG, p. 102. 
 
 Διὰ τοῦτο ἐν παραβολαῖς αὐτοῖς λαλῷ, ὅτι βλέποντες οὐ 
 
 βλέπουσι καὶ ἀκούοντες οὐκ ἀκούουσιν οὐδὲ συνιοῦσι. καὶ ἀνα- 
 fal Δα.) > “Ὁ ε ’, be) “Κ ε / , a 
 πληροῦται ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς 1 προφητεία “Hoatov ἣ λέγουσα.  Axo7 
 Ν Qn 
 ἀκούσετε Kal ov μὴ συνῆτε" Kal βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ 
 » 3 / Ν « / “Ὁ Lal / \ ἴω 5 
 ἴδητε. ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶ 
 / ww x \ ᾽ ΤΕ νύν 3 / , 
 
 βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθάλμους αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν" μήποτε 
 » lal , / AN lal 5 \ 5 ͵ ‘ n / 
 ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθάλμοις καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσι Kal TH καρδίᾳ 
 συνῶσι καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσι καὶ ἰάσωμαι αὐτούς. St. Matt. ΧΗ]. 
 13—15. 
 
 The passage quoted stands thus in the Septuagint : 
 
 ᾿Ακοῇ ἀκούσετε Kal οὐ μὴ συνῆτε Kal βλέποντες βλέψετε Kal 
 > Ny: 5 MA Ν c i a fal / ᾿ς a 
 ov μὴ ἴδητε. ᾿Επαχύνθη yap ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου Kat Tots 
 ΜΠ τς Seta) / Ν \ Ν Ψ ERY A 
 ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθάλμους ἐκάμμυσαν, 
 
 / ww fa) 3 , \ o τ \ > / \ a 
 μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθάλμοις καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσι καὶ TH 
 καρδίᾳ συνῷῶσι καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσι καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς. Is. vi. 
 9 and 10. 
 
 The allusion to the same passage, in St. Mark and St. 
 
 δ 2 
 
 Luke, is introduced by the conjunction ἵνα, of which 
 Glassius thus explains the force: Mare. iv. 12.—ubi 76 iva 
 non αἰτιολογικῶς sed ἐκβατικῶς exponendum, Phil. Sacr. 11. 
 
 P. 1, Tr. 2. Sect. 5. p. 347 of 4to. ed. 
 Nore HH, p. 103. 
 
 This opinion is maintained by Mr. Greswell in the Twelfth 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 265 
 
 Dissertation of the second volume of his work on the Har- 
 mony of the Gospels; and the principle here adopted has 
 been by himself laid down in that very Dissertation. Mr. 
 Greswell is entitled to the sincere respect of all, who know 
 how to value talents, learning and industry consecrated to 
 the service of Gop and of the Church. It is however some- 
 times difficult to agree with him either as to his arrange- 
 ment of the particulars of the Gospel History or as to the 
 arguments and considerations, by which he endeavours to 
 support his views. The Exposition of the Gospel Parables, 
 out of which the Harmony and its accompanying Disserta- 
 tions arose, has more recently made its appearance. To 
 this Work the subject of the present and of the following 
 Lecture compels some reference. Let it then be once for 
 all remarked that the entirely opposite view of the whole 
 subject of Parables in these Lectures taken, is not to be 
 understood to imply that Mr. Greswell’s labours have been 
 overlooked. Without entering into a controversy, which is 
 altogether unnecessary and would be in this place unsuit- 
 able, it may be said that the general principles of interpre- 
 tation, here unfolded and defended, are the result of long 
 and serious reflection; that they had been deliberately 
 adopted before the publication of Mr. Greswell’s Work ; 
 and that they have been confirmed and enforced by that 
 farther attention to the subject, which his researches have 
 not failed to command. 
 Nore II *. 
 
 On this and similar language, both in the Old and in the 
 New Testament, there are found some striking remarks in a 
 Fragment of the Discussion between Archelaus and Manes, 
 preserved by Cyril of Jerusalem and given in the Rel. 
 Sacr. Vol. IV. p. 277—282. 
 
 Nore KK, p. 113. 
 
 On the attractive charm of our Saviour’s teaching, Origen 
 beautifully remarks : 
 Τοσαύτη yap τις Wy ἣν ἐν τοῖς ᾿Ιησοῦ λόγοις ὡς οὐ μόνον 
 
 * The reference to this Note is omitted from p, 106, 1. 21, where it ought 
 to have been at the word sin. 
 
266 NOTES AND 
 
 ἄνδρας ἕπεσθαι θέλειν αὐτῷ εἰς τὰς ἐρημίας ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναῖκας, 
 οὐχ ὑποτεμνομένας τὴν γυναικείαν ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν ἐν 
 τῷ ἀκολουθεῖν εἰς τὰς ἐρημίας τῷ διδασκάλῳ ἀπαθέστατα δὲ 
 παιδία, ἤτοι τοῖς γεννήσασιν ἑπόμενα ἢ τάχα καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς 
 θειότητος αὐτοῦ ἀγόμενα, ἵνα αὐτοῖς ἐνσπαρῇ θειότης, ἠκολούθει 
 μετὰ τῶν γεγεννηκότων. Οὐ. Cels. IIT. 10. 
 
 The Benedictine Editor suggests ὑπομεμνημένας instead 
 of ὑποτεμνομένας in this passage and accordingly translates 
 fieminee imbecillitatis oblite. May not the other reading 
 however be well understood to mean: not divesting them- 
 selves of-—although they did not lose the feeling of woman's 
 weakness nor cast aside the natural regard for character ? 
 
 Nore LL, p. 114. 
 
 Partitio Doctrinze humane ea est verissima, quae sumitur 
 ex triplici facultate anime rationalis, quae doctrine sedes 
 est. Historia ad memoriam refertur; Poésis ad Phantasiam ; 
 Philosophia ad Rationem. Per Poésim autem hoc loco in- 
 telligimus non aliud quam historiam confictam sive fabu- 
 las.... Neque alia censemus ad Theologica partitione opus 
 esse. Differunt certe informationes oraculi et sensus et re 
 et modo insinuandi: sed spiritus humanus unus est, ejus- 
 que arculee et cellae eadem. Fit itaque ac si diversi liquores 
 atque per diversa infundibula in unum atque idem vas reci- 
 piantur. Quare et Theologia aut ex Historia Sacra con- 
 stat; aut ex Parabolis, que instar Divine Poéseos sunt ; 
 aut ex praeceptis et dogmatibus, tanquam perenni quadam 
 Philosophia. Quod enim ad eam partem pertinet, quae re- 
 dundare videtur, Prophetiam videlicet, ea Historie genus 
 est; quandoquidem Historia Divina ea polleat supra hu- 
 manam preerogativa ut narratio factum praecedere non mi- 
 nus quam sequi possit. Bacont de Augmentis Scienti- 
 arum 11. cap. 1. 
 
 Having afterwards divided Poetry into Narrativa, Dra- 
 matica and Parabolica, the great Author thus defines 
 each: 
 
 Narrativa (Poésis) prorsus historiam imitatur, ut fere 
 fallat, nisi quod res extollat seepius supra fidem. Drama- 
 tica est veluti historia spectabilis ; nam constituit imaginem 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 267 
 
 rerum tanquam presentium, historia autem tanquam pre- 
 teritarum. Parabolica vero est historia cum typo, que in- 
 tellectualia deducit ad sensum. 
 
 Poésis Parabolica inter reliquas eminet et tanquam res 
 sacra videtur et augusta: cum preesertim Religio ipsa ejus 
 opera plerumque utatur et per eam commercia Divinorum 
 cum humanis exerceat. Attamen et hac quoque, ingeni- 
 orum circa allegorias levitate et indulgentia, contaminata 
 invenitur. 
 
 Est autem usus ambigui atque ad contraria adhibetur. 
 Facit enim ad Involucrum; facit etiam ad illustrationem. 
 In hoc Docendi queedam ratio; in illo occultandi arti- 
 fictum, queri videtur.—Hee autem docendi ratio, que 
 facit ad illustrationem, antiquis seculis plurimum adhibeba- 
 tur......Ut Hieroglyphica literis, ita Parabole argumentis 
 erant antiquiores. Atque hodie etiam et semper, eximius 
 est et fuit Parabolarum vigor; cum nec argumenta tam 
 perspicua nec vera exempla tam apta, esse possint. Alter 
 est usus Poéseos Parabolice priori quasi contrarius, qui fa- 
 cit, ut diximus, ad involucrum; earum nempe rerum, qua- 
 rum dignitas tanquam velo quodam discreta esse mereatur : 
 hoe est, cum occulta et mysteria Religionis, Politica, et 
 Philosophiz, fabulis et Parabolis vestiuntur. Ibid. cap. 13. 
 
 Nore MM, p. 120. 
 
 The Bampton Lectures for the year 1824, being an at- 
 tempt to trace the History and to ascertain the limits of the 
 Secondary and Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture, by the 
 late Mr. Conybeare, furnish an interesting and useful view 
 of this subject. Against the errors, which Mr. Conybeare 
 states and exposes, as well as against errors of interpreta- 
 uion in general, the student will find the best assistance, 
 which extensive learning and mature wisdom can supply in 
 the Bampton Lectures for the year 1814, entitled “ An 
 “ς Inquiry into the General Principles of Scripture-Inter- 
 «ὁ pretation,” by the late Dr. Van Mildert, Bishop of Dur- 
 ham. The following extract from one of the admirable 
 Sermons of that Volume contains a brief summary of the 
 
268 NOTES AND 
 
 principles, which it is the design of this and the preceding 
 Lecture to unfold and apply : 
 
 ἐς Parables form a very important part of the Sacred 
 Writings. Our Lord not only took frequent occasion 
 to introduce them, but by His own exposition of some, 
 taught us how to expound others....There is in every 
 
 ‘Parable a two-fold sense, the literal and the mystical, 
 
 coinciding in signification..... The literal is the external 
 sense; the mystical, the internal. The literal must there- 
 fore be first explained ; that the correspondence between 
 it and the mystical may be more readily perceived. 'This 
 correspondence however does not necessarily extend be- 
 yond the general purport of the similitude and its lead- 
 ing circumstances: nor is it always expedient to aim at 
 tracing the parallel in every minute particular. ....Gene- 
 rally indeed the more exactly the mystical exposition can 
 be made to accord with the literal, the more perfect the 
 Parable will appear to be; and therefore, though we 
 ought carefully to distinguish between essential and 
 merely circumstantial resemblances, yet where the latter 
 admit of an easy and natural application, they are by no 
 means to be overlooked: and it is observable that in 
 those Parables, which our Lord himself interpreted to 
 His disciples, few, if any, of the circumstantial points are 
 unapplied. But here great judgment 15 often necessary, 
 neither to do too little nor to attempt too much. Atten- 
 tion is principally requisite to the immediate design of 
 the Parable; which for the most part, is declared either 
 at its beginning or its conclusion, or sufficiently appears 
 from the occasion, on which it was delivered. Some 
 Parables indeed are evidently prophetical, and are to be 
 explained by the same rules to which Prophecies in gene- 
 ral are subject. Others serve to illustrate important 
 points of doctrine. Others have the force of moral pre- 
 cepts. A competent knowledge, therefore, of this branch 
 of mystical instruction is of very extensive importance.” 
 
 Serm. VII. p. 195—197. 
 
 The warning voice of Dr. Routh is often and loudly 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 269 
 
 raised against the excesses of mystical or spiritual interpre- 
 tation : 
 
 Apage vero (he exclaims on one occasion) hasce allego- 
 ristarum nugas, quibus, propter nonnulla vere typica in 
 Sacra Scriptura et alia quaedam vel tropice prolata vel am- 
 biguz interpretationis, magni alioqui viri, dum alios captare 
 volebant, suam ipsorum famam leserunt. Hel. Sacr. Vol. 
 TIT. p. 215. 
 
 Note NN, p. 128. 
 
 Quod ad Mysteriorum explicationem attinet, videmus non 
 dedignari Deum ad infirmitatem captus nostri se demittere ; 
 mysteria sua ita explicando ut a nobis optime ea possint 
 percipi; atque revelationes suas in rationis nostra syllepses 
 et notiones veluti inoculando; atque inspirationes ad intel- 
 lectum nostrum sic accommodando, quemadmodum figura 
 clavis aptatur figuree serae. Qua tamen in parte nobis ipsis 
 deesse minime debemus. Cum enim Deus ipse opera rationis 
 nostrz in illuminationibus suis utatur, etiam nos eandem in 
 omnes partes versare debemus, quo magis capaces simus ad 
 Mysteria recipienda et imbibenda. Modo animus ad ampli- 
 tudinem mysteriorum, pro modulo suo, dilatetur, non mys- 
 teria ad angustias animi constringantur. Bacon. de Aug’. 
 Scient. IX. 
 
 Note OO, p. 135. 
 
 This expression is borrowed from the following passage 
 of Dr. Townson’s Sermon on the Manner of our Savrour’s 
 teaching : 
 
 «* We may observe that, when the case did not demand se- 
 ἐς verity, there is a great lenity of supposition in the state of 
 « His Parables. The wise virgins are as many as the foolish. 
 ςς In the Parable of the ten talents, we find two good and 
 «ς faithful and only one unprofitable servant. At the marriage 
 ἐς feast, only one of a large assembly is represented as wanting 
 “a wedding garment :” p. 284 of Vol. 1. of Dr. Townson’s 
 Works. The whole of that beautiful Sermon is earnestly 
 recommended to the attention of the reader: if by its means 
 he should be induced to make himself acquainted with the 
 other writings of the same excellent Author, he will have 
 reason to be-thankful for this reference. 
 
270 NOTES AND 
 
 Note PP, p. 141. 
 
 The acute and able Tertullian, vir ille majori quidem in- 
 genio preeditus atque eruditione quam judicio (Rel. Sacr. 
 Vol. 111. 363.) has on this subject displayed more than his 
 usual discretion. He discerned the inconvenience of carry- 
 ing a mystical or spiritual interpretation of Holy Scripture 
 and even of the Parables of the Gospel, too far; and he has 
 expressed himself, in his Treatises de Resurrectione Carnis 
 and de Pudicitia, on the subject of the cautions and restric- 
 tions necessary to be observed, in a manner, which 15 indeed 
 far from being consistent with his own practice but may be 
 regarded as the result of his deliberate reflection. In the 
 former of these two Treatises, he is arguing against those, 
 who contended that every thing stated concerning the resur- 
 rection of the body is to be understood figuratively and who 
 went so far as to insist that all the instructions of our Sa- 
 viour were figurative. He proceeds : 
 
 Ad Evangelia provoco, hic quoque occursurus prius eidem 
 astutize eorum, qui proinde et Dominum omnia in Parabolis 
 pronuntiasse contendunt, quia scriptum est: Hee omnia 
 locutus est JEsus* in Parabolis et sine Parabola non loque- 
 batur ad illos, scilicet ad Judzeos. Nam et discipuli, Quare, 
 aiunt, in Parabolis loqueris? Et Dominus: Propterea in 
 Parabolis loquor ad eos ut videntes non videant et audientes 
 non audiant, secundum Esaiam. Quod si ad Jud@os in 
 Parabolis, jam non semper nec omnia parabole ; sed que- 
 dam, cum ad quosdam: ad quosdam autem, dum ad Ju- 
 dos: nonnunquam plane et ad discipulos. Sed quo- 
 modo referat Scriptura, considera: Dicebat autem et 
 Parabolam ad eos: ergo et non Parabolam dicebat, quia 
 non notaretur quum Parabolam loquebatur, si ita sem- 
 per loquebatur. Et tamen nullam Parabolam aut non 
 ab ipso invenias edissertatam; ut de seminatore in verbi 
 administratione; aut a commentatore Evangel praelumi- 
 natam, ut judicis superbi et viduze instantis ad perseveran- 
 tiam orationis; aut ultra conjectandam, ut arboris fici, di- 
 latee in spem, ad instar Judaicee infructuositatis. Quod si 
 nec Parabolae obumbrant Evangelii lucem, tanto abest ut 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 211 
 
 ~ 
 
 sententiz et definitiones, quarum aperta natura est, aliter 
 quam sonant sapiant. De Resur. Carnis, XX XIII. 
 
 The object of the Treatise de Pudic. is to exclude from 
 the hope of pardon all such Christians as might be guilty of 
 the grievous sins, against which it is more immediately di- 
 rected. In maintainmg this severe tenet of Montanism, 
 Tertullian is led both to enter into an examination of the 
 details of some Parables and to lay down certain general 
 principles of interpretation. A more convenient opportu- 
 nity of noticing the former will occur hereafter : for the pre- 
 sent, the latter only shall be selected : 
 
 Plerosque interpretes Parabolarum idem exitus decipit, 
 quem in vestibus purpura oculandis szepissime evenire est. 
 Quum putaveris recte conciliasse temperamenta colorum et 
 credideris comparationes eorum inter se animasse, erudito 
 mox utroque corpore et luminibus expressis, errorem omnem 
 traducta diversitas evomet. ....Quamquam etsi, omnia ad 
 speculum respondere possint, unum sit preecipuum pericu- 
 lum interpretationum, ne aliorsum temperetur felicitas com- 
 parationum quam quo Parabole cujusque materia man- 
 dawits 06%. A primordio secundum occasiones Parabolarum 
 (heeretici) ipsas materias confinxerunt doctrinarum. Vacavit 
 scilicet illis solutis a regula veritatis ea conquirere atque 
 componere, quorum Parabolz videntur. Nos autem, qui 
 non ex Parabolis materias commentamur sed ex materiis 
 Parabolas interpretamur, nec valde laboramus omnia in ex- 
 positione torquere, dum contraria queeque caveamus....... 
 Malumus in Scripturis minus si forte sapere quam contra. 
 Proinde sensum Domini custodire debemus atque pre- 
 ceptum. Non est levior transgressio in imterpretatione 
 quam in conversatione. De Pudic. VIII. IX. 
 
 NotE QQ, p. 145. 
 
 Both Hammond and Whitby disapprove of this way of 
 understanding αὐτῶν. The former suggests that the pro- 
 noun may be governed by κατὰ understood, and so may 
 come after the verb ἐγόγγυζον ; or that it may refer to the 
 inhabitants of the place or to the Jews; and so mean the 
 Pharisees of that place—those of the Jews, who were Phari- 
 
272 NOTES AND 
 
 sees. Dr. Whitby adopts the latter mterpretation. The 
 point, which is of no importance, may be left to the judg- 
 ment of the reader. 
 
 Nore RR, p. 147. 
 
 In the parallel places of St. Matthew and St. Mark, the 
 words εἰς μετάνοιαν are omitted from the text by Griesbach; 
 but they are retained by him in this passage of St. Luke, as 
 not admitting of any objection or doubt. 
 
 Note SS, p. 148. 
 
 The remarks of Gregory the Great on this passage of the 
 Gospel History are most just and beautiful : 
 
 Phariszi...dijudicantes Dominum quod peccatores susci- 
 peret, arenti corde ipsum fontem misericordiz reprehende- 
 bant. Sed quia zgri erant ita ut agros se esse nescirent, 
 quatenus quod erant agnoscerent, ccelestis eos Medicus 
 blandis fomentis curat, benignum paradeigma objicit et in 
 eorum corde vulneris tumorem premit. S#i Greg. P. in 
 locum Evangel. 
 
 Nore TT, p. 149. 
 
 Celsus had objected to the Christians that it was their 
 doctrine τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς πεπέμφθαι τὸν Θεόν ; and on this 
 objection he founded the questions: τί τοῖς ἀναμαρτήτοις οὐκ 
 5 / / / , \ \ c ΤΑ J ° 
 ἐπέμφθη ; τί κακόν ἐστι TO μὴ ἡμαρτηκέναι; Origen replies: 
 πρὸς τοῦτο δέ φαμεν ὅτι, εἰ μὲν ἀναμαρτήτους λέγει τοὺς μη- 
 
 “ « / 3 Lf Ν / «ς Ν c a > cal 
 κέτι ἁμαρτάνοντας, ἐπέμφθη Kal τούτοις ὁ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς, 
 > ΤΕ, 45 πα EN Ἢ , a x ΄ ς 
 GAN οὐκ ἰατρός" εἰ δὲ ἀναμαρτήτοις τοῖς μηδὲ πώποτε ἡμαρτη- 
 
 f 2} Ν ΄' “ “ « lal 2 "» nan “ ΕῚ ͵7 
 κόσιν, οὐ γὰρ διεστείλατο ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ λέξει, ἐροῦμεν ὅτι ἀδύ- 
 νατον εἷναι οὕτως ἄνθρωπον ἀναμάρτητον" τοῦτο δέ φαμεν, 
 ὑπεξαιρουμένου τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν νοουμένου ἀνθρώπου, ὃς 
 ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησε. Contra Cels. IIT. 62. 
 
 Nore UU, p. 150. 
 
 ** Still, again it must be urged, there are no actual pre- 
 “cepts or doctrines of Revealed Religion, which may not, 
 “¢ when regarded under their necessary modifications, afford 
 “* universal as well as particular instruction; nor may we ven- 
 « ture to affirm, of any single portion of Holy Writ that to 
 «ς believers in any age or country it is of no concern. But 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 273 
 
 ‘¢ there are doubtless many portions, of which the proper ap- 
 *¢ plication to other persons and to other times, must depend 
 ‘on a right understanding of their intended application to 
 ‘* those persons and times for which they were immediately 
 *‘ written. It is thus that directions the most special and per- 
 * sonal may afford general information to the rest of mankind. 
 ‘* They teach them how to act when similarly cireumstanced. 
 “‘ They serve either as specifications of general rules or as 
 “ἐς limitations of those which are elsewhere more indefinitely 
 “* expressed, or as enlargements of such as appear to be of a 
 “* more limited and restricted nature. In all cases, they sug- 
 “ς gest what, ceteris paribus or mutatis mutandis, is the pro- 
 “ per test of obedience to the Divine will. And thus the 
 ** Christian becomes more thoroughly acquainted with his 
 ** duty in special cases and under particular trials, as well as 
 ‘‘ with its general principles. Where these however are con- 
 “ς founded together or substituted the one for the other, 1η- 
 
 ‘* consistency and error will be the natural result.” Bishop 
 Van Mildert’s Bampton Lect. p. 141, 142. 
 
 Norn VV; p. 151]. 
 Ἢ ὥρα λέγειν καὶ τὸν ἰατρὸν ὁρῶντα δεινὰ καὶ θιγγάνοντα 
 9 ~ ψ Ν "2,2 b) 9 La) > Ν ye 
 ἀηδῶν ἵνα τοὺς κάμνοντας ἰάσηται, ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ εἰς κακὸν ἢ ἐκ 
 “ 5 > \ ee J > / > να Υ̓ 
 καλοῦ εἰς αἰσχρὸν, ἢ ἐξ εὐδαιμονίας εἰς κακοδαιμονίαν ἔρχεσθαι ; 
 ΄ ὩΣ Ἂ con Ἂς XX \ / a >) n > 
 καίτοιγε ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁρῶν τὰ δεινὰ καὶ θιγγάνων τῶν ἀηδῶν, οὐ 
 , ᾿] U4 Ν a > a / Pie SRN vA 
 πάντως ἐκφεύγει TO τοῖς αὐτοῖς δύνασθαι περιπεσεῖν ὁδὲ τραύ- 
 lal n n , a fal / cal 
 ματα τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν θεραπεύων διὰ TOU ἐν αὐτῷ λόγου θεοῦ, 
 αὐτὸς πάσης κακίας ἀπαράδεκτος Hv’ εἰ δὲ καὶ σῶμα θνητὸν καὶ 
 ψυχὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀναλαβὼν ὁ ἀθάνατος θεὸς λόγος δοκεῖ τῷ 
 Κέλσῳ ἀλλάττεσθαι καὶ μεταπλάττεσθαι: μανθανέτω ὅτι ὁ λόγος 
 “ ΒΡ Ύ / , IQS BS i Ὁ \ n Ὁ 
 τῇ οὐσίᾳ μένων λόγος, οὐδὲν μὲν πάσχει ὧν πάσχει τὸ σῶμα ἢ 
 a La a 
 ἡ ψυχή: συγκαταβαίνων δ᾽ ἐσθ᾽ ὅτε τῷ μὴ δυναμένῳ αὐτοῦ τὰς 
 rn / 
 
 μαρμαρυγὰς καὶ THY λαμπρότητα THs θειότητος βλέπειν, οἱονεὶ 
 σὰρξ γίνεται, σωματικῶς λαλούμενος, ἕως ὁ τοιοῦτον αὐτὸν πα- 
 a / / a 
 ραδεξάμενος, κατὰ βραχὺ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου μετεωριζόμενος δυνηθῇ 
 a [τ / Ν. , 
 αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν (iv οὕτως ὀνομάσω) προηγουμένην μορφὴν θεά- 
 
 σασθαι. Orig. c. Cels. IV. 15. 
 
 Note WW, p. 157. 
 
 There seems to be now so general an agreement among 
 
 Τ 
 
274 NOTES AND 
 
 Commentators, at all events among Protestant Commen- 
 tators, as to the distinction of this passage of the Gospel 
 History from the narratives contained in St. Matt. xxvi. 
 6—13, St. Mark xiv. 3—9, and St. John xii. 3—8, that it 
 is not necessary to do more than allude to the opinion, 
 which has connected the name of Mary Magdalen with this 
 transaction ; and to observe that the notice contained in the 
 summary of contents of the 7th chapter of St. Luke, in our 
 English New Testament, depends on no higher authority 
 than such opinion, at the time of our Version generally pre- 
 vailing. See on this subject the remarks of Dr. Lardner, 
 Ρ. 253—264 of Vol. XI. of his Works, 8vo. ‘The clearing 
 up of one single instance of this sort is by no means unim- 
 portant towards a more favourable and, assuredly, a juster 
 view of the character of our Lorp’s chosen companions 
 than many Commentators bave been fond of taking. It 
 must be allowed that they have been able to quote in their 
 favour, an early authority, which describes the Apostles 
 themselves, before our Saviour’s choice of them, as ὄντας 
 ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνομωτέρους. Sti Barn. Ep. in int. 
 The excellent remarks of Cotelerius on this passage are well 
 deserving of notice. 
 Notre XX, p. 160. 
 
 [60d τὰ ἡμίση τῶν ὑπαρχόντων μου, κύριε, δίδωμι τοῖς πτω.- 
 χοῖς᾽ καὶ εἴ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα, ἀποδίδωμι τετραπλοῦν. 
 These words are usually understood to be expressive of a 
 purpose for the future ; but it will be allowed that they are 
 well suited to denote a previous habit. 
 
 Nore YY, p. 164. 
 
 It was from this and from similar passages of the Gospels 
 that the cavil of Celsus took its rise: Τίς οὖν αὕτη ποτὲ ἡ 
 τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν προτίμησις; The answer of the Christian 
 Apologist is worthy of bis cause: 
 
 Καθάπαξ μὲν ἁμαρτωλὸς ov προτιμᾶται τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρτωλοῦ" 
 ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε ἁμαρτωλὸς συναισθόμενος τῆς ἰδίας ἁμαρτίας καὶ διὰ 
 τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ μετανοεῖν πορευόμενος, ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις τα- 
 πεινὸς, προτιμᾶται τοῦ ἔλαττον μὲν νομιζομένου εἶναι ἁμαρτωλοῦ, 
 οὐκ οἰομένου δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἀλλ᾽ ἐπαιρομένου ἐπί τισιν, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. Q75 
 
 e ὃ a / c “ , \ / > PEE) 3 
 οἷς δοκεῖ συνειδέναι ἑαυτῷ κρείττοσι καὶ πεφυσιωμένου ἐπ᾽ αὐ- 
 a > cal 
 TOW ess ot Ov βλασφημοῦμεν οὖν τὸν Θεὸν οὐδὲ καταψευδόμεθα, 
 / - lal . 
 διδάσκοντες πάνθ᾽ ὁντινοῦν συναισθέσθαι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης βραχύ- 
 c \ cal a Ν tad 
 τητος, ὡς πρὸς THY TOD Θεοῦ μεγαλειότητα" καὶ ἀεὶ αἰτεῖν ἀπ᾽ 
 ἐκείνου τὸ ἐνδέον τῇ φύσει ἡμῶ ὃ μόνου ἀναπληροῦν τὰ ἐλ 
 ον τῇ φύσει ἡμῶν, τοῦ μόνου ἀναπληροῦν τὰ ἐλ- 
 λιπῆ ἡμῖν δυναμένου. Orig. ο. Cels. IIT. 64. 
 
 Nore ZZ, p.170. 
 
 On a question of application or improvement of this sort, 
 a higher authority than that of Dr. Townson can scarcely be 
 adduced ; and he has declared himself in favour of the view 
 here noticed, both in the Sermon, to which reference was 
 lately made and in p.13 of his Discourses on the Gospels. 
 It is worth while to consider how much of the machinery of 
 the Parable, even according to that interpretation which ex- 
 plains it of Jews and Gentiles or of the genuine sons of 
 Abraham and Publicans and sinners, still remains inappli- 
 cable. The sternness, anger and jealousy of the elder son 
 may appear, under this view, natural and probable ; but the 
 interpreters have been little careful to explain, or, if they 
 have hazarded the attempt, have ill succeeded im explaining 
 how an equally happy accordance can be made out between 
 the expression of the Father’s feeling towards his first-born 
 son and the Divine disapprobation of the self-conceited and 
 proud Scribes and Pharisees. ‘Tertullian’s observations on 
 the three Parables of this Chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, in 
 the same Treatise from which his general principles for in- 
 terpreting Parables have been already taken, well deserve 
 attention. His object was to deprive his adversaries of that 
 support, which they drew from the particular Parables 
 now under consideration. Accordingly, he insisted that the 
 Parables, rightly understood, are reconcilable with that 
 limitation of the Divine mercy, which he advocated. His 
 mistake was grievous ; and it is only rendered more melan- 
 choly by the fact that he discovered and has recorded prin- 
 ciples, which lead directly towards the refutation of his own 
 error and which tend to shew this portion of our Lorp’s 
 teaching in the pure and unsullied light of its original com- 
 
 munication. 
 τῷ 
 
276 NOTES AND 
 
 Quare centum oves? et quid utique decem drachme? et 
 que illae scopz ?... Necesse erat qui unius peccatoris salutem 
 gratissimam Deo volebat exprimere, aliquam numer quan- 
 titatem nominaret, de quo unum quidem perisse describeret. 
 Necesse erat ut habitus requirentis drachmam in domo tam 
 scoparum quam lucernze adminiculo adcommodaretur. Hu- 
 jusmodi enim curiositates et suspecta faciunt quadam et 
 coactarum expositionum subtilitate plerumque deducunt a 
 veritate. Sunt autem que et simpliciter posita sunt ad 
 struendam et disponendam et texendam Parabolam ut illue 
 perducantur cui exemplum procuratur. Et duo utique filn 
 illue spectabunt quo et drachma et ovis. Quibus enim co- 
 herent, eandem habent causam, eandemque utique mussi- 
 tationem Phariseorum.—De Pud. VIYI. IX. 
 
 Nore AAA, p. 182. 
 
 In the Vulgate, the passage of St. Matthew's Gospel 
 stands thus: Magister bone, quid boni faciam ut habeam 
 vitam zternam ἢ Qui dixit ei: Quid me interrogas de bono ἢ 
 Unus est bonus Deus. 
 
 it is evident that this translation follows a reading, ap- 
 proved by many eminent critics and adopted into the text 
 by Griesbach, on the authority of the MSS. in which it is 
 found : 
 
 Ti pe ἐρωτᾶς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός. 
 
 As however, in the parallel places of St. Mark and St. 
 Luke, there is no such variety of reading, it would seem 
 fair to interpret St. Matthew’s language in a sense consist- 
 ent with the plainer expressions of the two other Evan- 
 
 gelists. 
 
 Nort BBB, p. 182. 
 
 Καὶ οὐ κακοήθεις ἀλλ᾽ εὐήθεις (εἰσὶν οἱ νέοι) διὰ τὸ μήπω τε- 
 θεωρηκέναι πολλὰς πονηρίας" καὶ εὔπιστοι, διὰ τὸ μὴ πολλὰ 
 ἐξηπατῆσθαι: καὶ εὐέλπιδες" καὶ μεγαλόψυχοι: οὔτε γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ 
 βίου οὔπω τεταπείνωνται ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἄπειροί εἰσι" καὶ 
 τὸ ἀξιοῦν αὑτὸν μεγάλων μεγαλοψυχία" τοῦτο δ᾽ εὐέλπιδος" 
 Arist. Rhet. IL. 12. 
 
 Nore CCQ, p. 185. 
 Bishop Bull, in defending Origen from the censure, 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. Q77 
 
 which Huet has cast upon his remarks on this passage (vid. 
 Orig. c. Cels. V. 11, and Huetii Origenian. 11. 2. 15.) well 
 observes: 
 
 Quis credat Origenem stupidi adeo ingenn fuisse ut non 
 intellexerit textum illum Evangelistee (Mare. scil. X. 18.) 
 ad Christi οἰκονομίαν, m assumpta natura humana suscep- 
 tam, omnino pertinere ? imo Origenes ibidem diserte monet 
 se Christum ista loquentem inducere, tanquam παράδειγμα, 
 exemplum, quod scil. hominibus ipse Christus, inter ho- 
 mines versatus, exhibere voluit. ...... Cum clare doceat 
 Origenes Filium esse, perinde ac Patrem, verum Deum, in- 
 creatum, immortalem, immutabilem, impassibilem, immen- 
 sum, ubique presentem, atque undequaque beatum et per- 
 fectum; qua is ratione potuit in eodem libro bonitatem, 
 480 Patri convenit, Filio, qua Deus est, detrahere ? Defen. 
 Fid. Nic. II. ix. 13 
 
 Nore DDD, p. 200. 
 
 The candour of the writers of the New Testament has 
 been well illustrated and urged by Dr. Paley, in the 
 third Ch. of Pt. 11. of his Evidences. It is interesting to 
 observe how an ancient Apologist briefly, yet emphatically, 
 touches on this point : 
 
 Συμβέβηκεν ὥστε τοὺς μὴ πιστεύοντας (τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων) τολ- 
 μῆσαι κατὰ τοῦ ᾿Τησοῦ τοιαῦτα, ἅτινα φιλαλήθως καὶ εὐγνωμό- 
 vos ἀνέγραψαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, οὐχ ὑπεκκλέψαντες τῆς περὶ 
 αὐτοῦ παραδόξου ἱστορίας τὸ δοκοῦν τοῖς πολλοῖς αἰσχύνην τῷ 
 λόγῳ Χριστιανῶν φέρειν. Orig. c. Cels. IIT. 28. 
 
 Notre EEE, p. 200. 
 
 Dr. 'ownson, having compared the parallel places—viz. 
 St. Matt. iv. 17-22, St. Mark i. 14-20 and St. Luke v. 
 1-11. concludes that ‘ the two accounts, that of St. Mat- 
 ςς thew and St. Mark on one side and that of St. Luke on 
 ‘¢ the other, thus concurring in the place and situation 
 ‘‘in which St. Peter was called, in the promise made to 
 «ς him and the time, when he was called, speak evidently of 
 ‘the same vocation.” He confirms his opinion by the 
 authority of several distinguished Authors, to whom he re- 
 
278 NOTES AND 
 
 fers. Mr. Greswell has arrived at a different conclusion, 
 which he states and maintains in the I Xth Dissertation of the 
 second Vol. of his Work on the Harmony of the Gospels. It 
 is to be regretted, that, after having pointed out a series of 
 inconsistencies between the narratives of St. Matthew and 
 St. Mark on the one hand and that of St. Luke on the 
 other, which appear to his own mind irreconcilable with 
 the notion that the three Evangelists are referring to one 
 and the same event, he should have indulged in a severity 
 of vituperation of all who may differ from himself, which 
 
 the occasion neither calls for nor can justify. See p. 347 
 and 348 of Vol. 11. of his Work. 
 
 Nore FFF, p. 206. 
 
 There is a touching simplicity in the Remarks made 
 on this passage of the Gospel History by Archelaus, Bp. 
 of Mesopotamia, in his Dispute with Manes, as that Dispute 
 is recorded in the letter of Archelaus to Diodorus, and 
 given in the Rel. Sacr. Vol. IV. p. 234-277. Manes had 
 urged our Lorp’s words: ‘* Who is my mother and who 
 ἐς are my brethren?” to disprove His natural relation to 
 Mary. Archelaus answers by contrasting His severe re- 
 proof of Peter, even after the blessing pronounced on him 
 for his confession, with the milder censure on this occasion 
 applied to the messenger : 
 
 Et ut te magis ac magis edoceam, multo amplius illum, 
 qui de matre nuntiaverat, honoratum: tu autem oblitus rei, 
 quze nobis proposita est, in aliud conversus es: audi ergo 
 breviter; si enim volueris diligentius intueri que dicta 
 sunt, inveniemus in illo priore multam Dominum Jesum 
 ostendisse clementiam, idque convenientibus te exemplis 
 edoceam. Rex quidam, cum adversus hostem processisset 
 armatus, et cogitaret atque disponeret quemadmodum posset 
 manum sibi hostilem atque barbaram subjugare, cumque 
 in multa esset cura, et solicitudine constitutus, in medio ad- 
 versariorum positus, ac postea jam captivos eos tenere inci- 
 piens, jam jam illa solicitudo immineret, quemadmodum eos, 
 qui secum laboraverant ac pondus belli toleraverant, procu- 
 raret, quidam ei nuntius importunus occurrens, de rebus 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 279 
 
 domesticis suggerere aliqua coepit. At ille admiratus est 
 audaciam, atque importunam suggestionem, et morti tra- 
 dere hujuscemodi hominem cogitabat ; quod nisi de caris- 
 simis affectibus talis nuntius extitisset, eo quod incolumes 
 esse hos, et recte ac prospere agentes omnia nuntiasset, dig- 
 num protinus potuit excepisse supplicium. Que enim erat 
 cura alia Regis, belli duntaxat tempore, nisi Provincialium 
 salus, nisi dispositio rei militaris? Ita et Domino meo Jesu 
 Christo pugnanti adversum passiones, que profunda visce- 
 rum obsederant, et curans eos qui multo tempore variis in- 
 firmitatibus fuerant devincti, et inclinato omni nisu pro 
 salute universitatis; ille nuntius importune adveniens de 
 matre et fratribus nuntiavit. Et potuit quidem similem 
 Petro, aut etiam graviorem accepisse sententiam ; sed matris 
 et fratrum intellectum nomen clementiam provocavit. 
 
 Nore GGG, p. 208. 
 
 Egregie observatum est quod Responsa Salvatoris nostri, 
 ad questiones non paucas ex 115, que proponebantur, non 
 videntur ad rem sed quasi impertinentia. Cujus rei causa 
 duplex est; altera, quod cum cogitationes eorum, qui inter- 
 rogabant, non ex verbis, ut nos homines solemus, sed imme- 
 diate et ex sese cognovisset, ad cogitationes eorum non ad 
 verba respondit ; altera, quod non ad eos solum locutus est, 
 qui tune aderant, sed ad nos etiam, qui vivimus et ad 
 omnis evi ac loci homines, quibus Evangelium fuerit pree- 
 dicandum. Quod etiam in aliis scripture locis obtinet. 
 Bacon. de Augm. Scient. 1X. 
 
 No stress has been here laid upon the strong language, 
 which St. Mark employs, to denote the feeling excited by 
 our Lorv’s appearance: Kal εὐθέως πᾶς 6 ὄχλος ἰδὼν αὐτὸν 
 ἐξεθαμβήθη καὶ προστρέχοντες ἠσπάζοντο αὐτόν. (St. Mark 
 ix.15.) It is indeed possible that these words may denote 
 no more than surprise, occasioned by His unexpected ap- 
 pearance ; yet has it been felt and acknowledged that they 
 may serve to imply ‘* some traces of the glory a His trans- 
 “ figuration still remaining on His countenance.” Is not this 
 hen to be considered as one of several instances, which 
 may be observed in the Gospel History, wherein the impres- 
 
280 NOTES AND 
 
 sion, produced by our Lorn’s presence and personal in- 
 fluence, is to be accounted for on the following prin- 
 ciple ? 
 
 Ἢ θειοτέρα τοῦ ᾿Ιησοῦ δύναμις οἴου Te ὄντος, ὅτε ἐβούλετο, 
 
 \ X τ a > / ,’ \ , 
 καὶ θυμὸν ἐχθρῶν ἀναπτόμενον σβέσαι καὶ μυριάδων θείᾳ χάριτι 
 περιγένεσθαι καὶ λογισμοὺς θορυβούντων διασκεδάσαι. (Origen. 
 in Joan. Tom. X.16.) See also St. Luke iv. 30. 
 
 Nore HHH, p. 215. 
 
 Anastasius Sinaita (who died Patriarch of Antioch at the 
 close of the 6th Century) thus mentions Papias: Λαβόντες 
 ν 3 x » ,ὔ a n¢ he) a 
 Tas ἀφορμὰς ἐκ Παπίοιν; τοῦ πάνυ τοῦ “lepamoAlrov, τοῦ ἐν τῷ 
 ἐπιστηθίῳ φοιτήσαντος. Dr. Routh remarks: 
 
 Czterum Joannes Apostolus ὁ ἐπιστήθιος Χριστοῦ a Ce- 
 dreno quoque nominatur in Historiar. Compend. p. 203. 
 Ed. Xylandri; et diu ante hune chronographum Anasta- 
 slumque tertio etiam vertente seeculo ab Anatolio Laodiceno 
 sic dictus est in Canone Paschali, cujus vetus interpres La- 
 tinus hee habet; Joanne scilicet Evangelista et pectoris 
 Domini incubatore. §. X. Ed. Bucherian. Imo et secundo 
 Kcclesize seeculo Polycrates Ephesinus Episcopus similiter 
 signavit Apostolum, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ᾿Ιωάννης ὁ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος τοῦ 
 Κυρίου ἀναπέσων. Reliq. Sacr. Vol. I. p. 15 et 37. 
 
 Origen employs the same description in the opening of his 
 Commentaries on St. John’s Gospel: the whole passage is, 
 for other reasons, worthy of being quoted: having briefly 
 characterised each of the three preceding Evangelists, 
 Origen proceeds : 
 
 ᾿Αλλά ye τηρεῖ (Λουκᾶς scil. of whom the previous sen- 
 tence speaks) τῷ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος ἀναπεσόντι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοὺς μεί- 
 Covas καὶ τελειοτέρους περὶ ᾿Ιησοῦ λόγους" οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐκείνων 
 ἀκρατῶς ἐφανέρωσεν αὐτοῦ τὴν θεότητα ὡς ᾿Ιωάννης παραστήσας 
 
 328 / Te Teo \ “ a , » ͵ὔ > € «ον 
 αὐτὸν λέγοντα ἐγὼ εἰμὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς 
 
 Vie iin ἢ» \ ve ΝΣ ες» alee pla εὐ. Ἐς 
 καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή" ἐγώ εἶμι ἡ ἀνάστασις" ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα 
 5 , > c Ν. ε / A pe? Lol 5 if > ip. Ν 
 ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός" καὶ 'ἐν τῇ ἀποκαλύψει, ἐγώ εἶμι τὸ 
 
 Ν Ν ε τὸ Ν \ Ν / «ς “ \ ie 
 a kal TO w, ἣ ἀρχὴ Kal TO τέλος, ὁ πρῶτος Kal ὁ ἔσχατος. ToA- 
 μητέον τοίνυν εἰπεῖν ἀπαρχὴν μὲν πασῶν γραφῶν εἶναι τὰ εὐ- 
 αγγέλια, τῶν δὲ εὐαγγελίων ἀπαρχὴν τὸ κατὰ ᾿Ιωάννην. Com. 
 in Joan. 6. Tom. I. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 281 
 
 Thus too, at a later period, speaks S. Andreas Cretensis, 
 in the beginning of that Sermon on Lazarus, which has 
 been already quoted in these Notes: 
 
 Παρίτω τοίνυν εἰς μέσον ἡμῶν ὁ θεοπτικώτατος ᾿Ιωάννης" ὁ 
 τῶν ἀποκρύφων αὐτόπτης" καὶ τῶν ἀῤῥήτων ὑφηγητής" ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ 
 στήθους ἀναπεσὼν τῆς πάντων ζωῆς" ὃς κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τοῦ 
 δεσποτικοῦ πάθους γενόμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν. μόνος τῶν ἄλλων ἰδίως 
 συγγράφει τὸ κατὰ τὸν Λάζαρον θαῦμα. Op. p. 57. 
 
 
 
 Norte ITT, p. 216. 
 
 Beatus Joannes Evangelista, cum Ephesi moraretur usque 
 ad ultimam senectutem ut vix inter discipulorum manus ad 
 Kcclesiam deferretur nec posset in plura vocem verba con- 
 texere, mihil aliud per singulas solebat proferre collectas 
 nist hoe: Filioli, diligite alterutrum. ‘Tandem discipuli et 
 fratres, qui aderant, taedio affecti_ quod eadem semper audi- 
 rent, dixerunt: Magister, quare semper hoc loqueris? Qui 
 respondit dignam Joanne sententiam: Quia praceptum 
 Domini est; et si solum fiat, sufficit. E S%z Hieronym. 
 Com. in Ep. ad Gal. vi. 10. 
 
 Nore KKK, p. 225. 
 
 « tal ia \ 3 “ \ “ «ς “ / b) Ἂς 
 Ἡμεῖς τεθήπαμεν τὸν Inoovy, τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν μεταθέντα ἀπὸ 
 πάντος αἰσθητοῦ, ὡς οὐ μόνον φθαρτοῦ ἀλλὰ καὶ φθαρησομένου 
 ΑΕ] f 2 \ Ss Ἂς ᾽ “Δ rs Ν \ 3 Ν lal \ 
 καὶ ἀνάγοντα ἐπὶ τὴν μετὰ ὀρθοῦ βίου πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι Θεὸν 
 τιμὴν μετ᾽ εὐχῶν, ἃς προσάγομεν αὐτῷ, ὡς διὰ μεταξὺ ὄντος τῆς 
 a 5 ΄-“ lal / / 
 τοῦ ἀγενήτου καὶ τῆς TOV γενητῶν πάντων φύσεως καὶ φέροντος 
 Ἂς Cc wn Ν 5 ἈΝ “ Ν > / ella ~ a 
 μὲν ἡμῖν Tas ἀπὸ Tod Πατρὸς εὐεργεσίας, διακομίζοντος δ᾽ ἡμῶν, 
 τρόπον ἀρχιερέως, τὰς εὐχὰς πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεόν. Orig. Cc. 
 Cels. III. 34. 
 Nort LLL, p. 227. 
 
 On the interpretation of these words, as belonging to our 
 Saviour alone, see Bishop Middleton on the Greek Ar- 
 ticle, p. 544 Edit. 1828. And with regard to the anti- 
 quity of such interpretation, the remarks and quotations of 
 Dr. Routh (Rel. Sacr. Vol. II. p. 26) are decisive. The 
 preceding Notes have served to shew how much the Author 
 
 U 
 
282 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 of these Lectures owes to the latter revered Scholar and 
 Theologian, towards whom his sense of public obligation is 
 accompanied and increased, by the most respectful senti- 
 ments of personal and private regard. 
 
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