^/d? ^1^ PRINCETON, N. J. Skel/.. Division . Section... Nu7nber. w .mm w ^v ^^ ^' I 1^5! is LEAHY, Bookseller, 5th & M'alnat, Philada. EIGHT DISCOURSES ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT CONSIDERED AS TWO PARTS OF THE SAME DIVINE REVELATION, AND DEMONSTRATIVE OF THE GREAT DOCTRINE OF ^TOJVJEMEJVT: ACCOMPANIED WITH ■ A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED Co tf)t pouiTger Clergy: CONTAINING SOME REMARKS ON THE LATE PROFESSOR CAMPBELL'S ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BY^'THE REV. CHARLES DAUBENY, L. L. B. FELLOW OF WINCHESTER COLLEGE, MINISTER OF CHRIST'S CHURCH, BATH, AND AUTHOR OF " A GUIDE TO THE CHURCH.'* SECOND EDITION. "Comparing spiritual things with spiritual.'* i Cor. ii. i5. \ .......... ' PRINTED rOR /. HATCHARD, BOOKSELLER TO HER MAJESTY, NO. 190, PICCADILLY. 1802, Brettell and Bastie, Printers, Vo. S4, Great Windmill Street, Haymarkefc CONTENTS. Page Preliminary Discourse ------ \ DISCOURSE I. Heb. XIII. 8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday^ to-day ^ Old for ever --- 151 DISCOURSE 11. Heb^ XIII. 8. Jesus Christy S^c. - - 197 DISCOURSE III. Heb. XIII. 8. Jesus Christ, 8^c. 225 DISCOURSE IV. 1 Cor. I. 30. IVlio of God is i7iade unto us JVisdojn, and Righteousness, and Sanctif cation, and Redemption -..-.--- 255 DIS- CONTENTS. DISCOURSE V. . 1 Cor. I. 30. IVho of God, 8sc. ----.-- 293 DISCOURSE VI. 1 CoR. 1. 30. Who of God, ^c. .---.-- 341 DISCOURSE VIL Rom. VI. 23. The TVages of Sin is Death; but the Gift of God is eternal Life, through Jesus Christ our Lord ------- '^'^']' DISCOURSE VIII. Heb. XII. 1. 2. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Wit- nesses, let us lay aside every Weight, and the Sin that doth so easily beset us; and let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us : looking unto Je- sus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith 419 PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE, RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSEO TO THE YOUNGER CLERGY. -»^N\^\'^K'Jft5^'V5ft« THE well known adage, " Nihil dici potest quod non dictum prius ;'' ap- plies perhaps more strictly to the subject of Divinity, than to any other whatever: for on no other subject has the mind of man been so generally exercised. Though the age therefore in which we live wears much of the Athenian cast about it, beinsc taken up for the most part " in telling and hearing some new things," Acts xvii. 21; yet to attempt at this time to bring for- ward any thing on Religion, Avhich may have the charm of novelty to recommend it, would be an undertaking not less vain than unprofitable: because on a subject of this important nature, it is not novelty, but B truth C 2 ] truth alone which ought to challenge at- tention. The substance of the Christian faith, must for ever remain what the Scripture has fixed it. And to the doctrine of Atone- ment the general tenor of Scripture bears testimony. — To reason then with the Apos- tle ; " what if some do not believe ; shall their unbelief make the faith of God of none effect? — God forbid.'' God must be true, though every man be found a liar. From whence it follows, that the diver^ sity of opinion which prevails on Religion, proves tlie imperfection and corruption of the human understanding, not the fal- libility of the standard which has been set up for its direction. The Religion of God, like man when iirst created, came perfect from his hands* And because it did so, and is calculated to answer the purpose of its divine institu- tion, by furnishing that knowledge which is necessary to man's fallen condition, it has been the continued object of the grand enemy of mankind, to corrupt or pervert it through every stage of its progress. Hence the authority of Divine Revelation itself [ 3 ] itself has failed in establislilng a general standard for religious truth. In conse- quence of the vain reasonings, coiTupt aft'ections), and fanciful conceptions of mankind, which the arch Deceiver has in- dustriously employed, for the purpose of obliterating that benign plan, which was graciously intended to counteract the mischief he had wrought; the science of Theology has undergone more frequent and strange metamorphoses than any other science whatever. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, when that light which was designed to lead mankind in the way of peace, has, in consequence of the false mediums through which it has passed, been turned into comparative darkness ; that the creature who is to be conducted by it, should be left at some loss with re- spect to the course he has to take : in other words ; if, amid the perplexity of various opinions, and the parade of ima- ginary improvement, the mind of man should frequently lose sight of that sure ground of faith and hope, to which it was the chief object of Revelation to direct his thou2;hts. It [ 4 ] ' It was an observation of Dr. Johnson's, that " no honest man could be a deist ; for no man could be so after a fair exami- nation of tlie proofs of Christianity/' — But the misfortune is, according to the loose system of morality now prevailing, it is not generally considered to be any im- peachment of a man's honest}^, for him to pronounce a decided judgement on a sub- iect of the utmost importance to the wel- fare and happiness of his fellow creatures, which he has had neither the patience nor candour fairly to examine. Such was the case with Hume ; who con- fessed that he had never read the New Testament with attention. And such is the case with all those falsely called Philoso- phers, who, governed by that grand princi- ple of error, which Lord Bacon has excel- lently described to be " nimia et prasprope- ra mentis festinatio ad conclusiones temere deducendas ;" are zealously employed iu eradicating all settled ideas from the hu- man mind; for the purpose of introducing those baseless theories, which are the mis- shaped creatures of their own ungovernb'd fancy. Hence have wo to lament that • disregard [ 5 ] disregard for received opinions, and thai contempt for established institutions, >vhich have by degrees generated that loose sys- tem of morality, and that general indiffer- ence for religion, which it will require the wisdom and exertion both of the Statesman and Divine effectually to counteract. But effectually to counteract an evil, we must be competent to trace it to the source from whence it has proceeded. The doctrine of the Church must, gene- rally speaking, be grossly corrupted, before the establishment of it will be overturned in any country : for the Candlestick, it is presumed, will not be removed whilst it sends forth its due portion of useful light. But this corruption will necessarily take place, in proportion as our knowledge of spiritual things is attempted to be derived from any other fountain than that of Re- velation. Heathenism was originally built on the corruption of Revelation. And by the neglect of that divine source of illu- mination, many Christians have fallen, and are continually falling back into a similar state of spiritual darkness. In both cases the vain imagination of foolish man has superseded L 6 J superseded the infallible standard of reli- gious truth: and the effect in both cases has not failed to correspond with the cause. On spiritual subjects nothing can be discovered by the light of unassisted rea- son. What is to be known on those sub- jects, man must be contented to learn in the way and degree in which God has thought fit to teach him. To consider, therefore, any spiritual subject by the light of Nature and Reason, whilst we neglect that Revelation whose professed object it is to furnish all necessary information upon it ; is to reject day-light and an open road to travel in, that we may shew our genius or our self-sufficiency, by taking an ad- venturous walk among pits in the dark, at the risk of falling headlong into the first that lies open in our way. In this case there is doubtless too much at stake. Consequently to every wise man, opinions, however plausible and ingenious, will afford but a poor compensation for any deviation from the standard of Divine Truth. Rational Criticism, it must at the same time be admitted, can seldom, if ever, be misemployed. But to be entitled to the honour- C 7 ] honourable distinction of rational criticism, it must proceed on this acknowledged prin* ciple; that what has been rcvealed must be true ; and consequently that no defect of comprehension on our parts can justify an aro'iiment aoainst the clear letter of Scripture. Under the sanction of this distinction it will be readily allowed, that the science of Divinity owes much of its present improved state to that talent for close reasoning and critical investigation, which distinguishes the writings of some modern divines ; and renders them hardly less serviceable to the cause of Christianity, than the ])ious, learned, and unwearied labours of its more early professors. Soundness in the faith, and an hcartv zeal for its promotion, were the excellencies which pai'ticularly marked the character of the primitive Fathers of the Church. Their writings, for the most part, had neither elegance of language, nor ingenuity of thought to recommend them. It sufficed that they were plain, simple, and convinc- ing. Philosophical researches, metaphy- sical subtleties, and vain reasonings, ac- companied the introduction of human learning [ 8 ] learning into the science of theolog}^ And to this ill-iudoed mixture of Heathenish and Christian ideas, the truth and simpU- city of the Sacred Writings had well nigh fallen a sacrifice. It is to be lamented, that such is the condition of even the best t4ings below, that we could not have the use in this case, where it was so much wanted, and where it may always be most profitably employed, without having to deprecate the abuse. From this first state of degeneracy the science of Divinity was not recovered ^ when the barbarous ignorance, which fol- lowed the desolating footsteps of the Northern invaders, put a fatal stop to the progress of all intellectual improve- ment. The dark night of bigotry and su- perstition, at length giving place to the returning dawn of enlightened reason, this divine science emerging from her long state of cloistered concealment, gradually shook off the unintelligible jargon of the schools, and once more presented an ob- ject worthy the attention of rational minds. The [ 9 ] The seventeenth century bore witness to such a rapid progress of the human understanding, as no preceding age had experienced. Human reason, by a more than ordinary exertion, seemed desirous of I'edeeming the time she had lost. The, science of divinity could not fail to reap^ advantage from the increasina; knowledoe of an improving age : and was manifestly travelling back towards that state of pri- mitive perfection, from which it had long since departed. But as evil sometimes arises out of good^ so it.may be questioned, whether the same reasons wliich confess- edly contributed to the revival and re- cstablishment of true divinity, have not since proved instrumental to its corrup- tion. Human reason, it should seem, had not long been restored to the full exercise of her just rights, before she discovered the same disposition which had been manifest- ed in Paradise, to set aside the letter of Revelation, and to bring all s})iritual sub- jects under her own immediate jurisdiction. Human learning at the same time making hasty advances towards the supposed ze- nith C 10 ] nith of its perfection. Divines, in com- pliance with the prevailing taste, had re- course to it; instead of applying, as they ought to have done, to the Oracles of God for assistance. Thus human learning and human reasoning, grafting themselves on the old and decaying stock of divine knowledge, produced in time, a system of such a mixed and heterogeneous qualit}-, as bore too imperfect a resemblance to the simple and substantial character of primi- tive divinity, to be acknowledged for its genuine descendant. When in complimeiit perhaps to a learned age, the Christian minister classed himself with the unen- lightened sage of antiquity, and conde- scended to draw arguments on the subject of his profession, from the impure foun- tain of heathen philosophy; it is not to be wondered at, that natural religion, that base born child of the human imagination, should take advantage of the ground on which it was imprudently placed; and having first claimed precedence of divine Revelation, should by degrees gain a firm establishment at the expence of its utter rejection. This C 11 ] This fatal consequence of an undue mixture of sacred and profane knowledge, sound divinity has to put in the balance against the benefit she derived from the change of dress, in which an improving ase had clothed her. They who have attended to the state of this science, in its different stages of pro- gression, will best determine what com- parison the polished systems of some mo- dern divines will bear with the simple, less adorned, and less sophisticated producti- ons of a preceding age. And should it he found, that refinement and paradox have not unfrequently occupied the place of sound criticism ; they need not hesitate to pronounce, that the present age is, in some respects at least, gone backwards in the study of the most important of all sciences; and that instead of knowing more, we for the most part know perhaps much less than the generality of those, whom we affect so lightly to esteem. The fallibility of ancient Commentators, discoverable in some instances, no sooner became the subject of remark, than the human mind, as if possessed of a general distrust [ 12 ] distrust of antiquity, seemed prepared td receive any interpretation that had novelty and ingenuity to recommend it. A field being thus opened for the boundless exer- tion of literary abilities, and the specious display of fanciful interpretations, it has sometimes happened, that, in a rage for improvement, old things have been hastily rejected before they have been thoroughly understood, and before the value of the new ones, substituted in their stead, has been duly ascertained. Of the ancient Commentators in general it may be said, that in their interpreta- tions of Scripture, they looked no farther than to the obvious sense of the passage under consideration. It would have been as well, perhaps, if modern Commentators had for the most part followed their exam- ple; or at least had not overlooked the obvious sense, through eagerness to dis- cern latent meanings. The science of Divinity, we may venture to say, would have suffered less from the want of ori- ginality in the writings of its Professors, than it has from the fanciful speculations and specious improvements of its pre- tended [ 13 1 tended reformers. And before we pro- nounce decisively on the supposed short- sightedness of the old Divines, it may bo - proper to consider, whether modern Di- vines luive not carried their boasted talent for discernment, to a blameable extreme; by pretending to see further into some subjects, than it was ever intended they should see, and by attempting to draw meanings out of words and actions, which they were never intended to convey. How far the force of this remark ought to ex- tend, sound judgement alone must deter- mine. To place subjects in a different point of view from that in wliich they have been hitherto seen, and to strike new lights out of materials already worn, as it v/ere, smooth by frequent collision, seems at first sight to denote a superior understanding ; and the laudable ambition of appearing to possess such an understanding, has tempt- ed many ingenious and learned m^en, un- guardedly and unadvisedly, to forsake the plain beaten road of science, where they weie constrained to tread for the most part in the steps of those who had gone beiore [ 14 ] before them ; for fancied paths of theit own tracing, which presented a more un- bounded scope for the indulgence of their own peculiar notions, and for a more liberal display of their own particular attainments. That singularly able man, the late Bishop Warburton, presented the world with an ill- digested mass of heathen learning, which by a vigour of intellect peculiarly characteris- tic, he had industriously brought together for the purpose of proving that the Jews, the chosen people of God, were really less informed with respect to the spiritual con- cerns of another life, than the most ignorant of the idolatrous nations that surrounded them. To have demonstrated the divine le- gation of Moses by a regular method of proof drawn from a consideration of the tenor of the history, the life, and miracu- lous acts of that great prophet, would have been natural, but it would not have been singular. Something new and surprising was to be attempted, which might astonish mankind. The comprehensive but vision- ary genius of a Warburton was displayed, and the public has marked the success of the paradoxical undertaking. " Literal nimiaj [ 15 ] nimiae et disputandi fervor, liominum eru- ditorum animos a sc7isii communi avocant, nimisque intendendo oculos caecutiunt." — Eichhorn. By these general remarks on the pro- gross of Divinity, considered as a science, we are prepared the better to appreciate the present state of it in this country ; which, though it confessedly wears more the appearance of a Christian science than it did at some former periods of our his- tory, is still too much adulterated, to be acknowledged for the genuine produce of the Sacred Writings. The discourses from our pulpits are still too often disgraced with a profane mixture of heathen philo- sophy and natural religion ; whilst even those amono; them which are intended to inculcate the essential doctrines of Chris- tianity, do it, at times, in a manner calcu- Jated to lead the hearer to the conclusion, that the Sacred Records are, of all other, the Records most at variance with them- selves. The fact is, knowledge in divinity is not so often derived from the Bible itself, as from some intermediate source at se- cond I 16 1 cond hand. The perfection of it therefore must correspond with that of the medium through 'which it passes. Private judge- ment, in this as in most other cases, is not original in itself ; but derived, in a great degree, from the books we read, or the parties with whom we converse. Thus it is that truth and error beget their own likeness; and as the attachment is placed, so Avill tlic progeny be continued. Hence it follows that men of education, from a settled bias to the authority of great names, are perhaps as liable to take up with erroneous opinions, as the more vul- gar and ilhterate. " It is the fate of scholars to fall early in life into the company of their elders or their equals, from whom they imbibe a set of principles, to which they are soon at- tached ; either because those principles flatter their pride, or encourage their idle- ness, or agree with their inclinations or appetites ; and unless they are blessed with natural strength of mind and rectitude of intention, and favoured by some happy incidents which brino- new thouohts to their minds, their reading and conversa- tion [ ir ] tiou flows generally in the same channel through the whole course of their lives : they turn aAvay with scorn from every thing which contradicts their favourite tradi- tions, and thus they live and die dupes of the first information they received." The foregoing observations, made by one * well acquainted with the workings of the human mind, applies particularly to Divines ; whose professional exertions wear the stamp of whatever system has been early established in their heads. Hence it is that opinions, erroneous in themselves, have received a kind of pre- scriptive authority, by being handed down from one celebrated writer to. another; the fallacy of which it required, it should seem, but a small portion of sound judge- ment, had men been in the habit of di- recting their judgements to such objects, to discover. By attending to the writings and dis- courses of many, otherwise well-informed, Divines, we shall fmd two points, gene- rally speaking, taken for granted ; and * Rev. W. Jones. " Letters from a Tutor to his Pu- pils/'— Letter 2G — " on Private Judgment." c argued [ 18 ] argued upon accordingly. The first Is, that natural religion constitutes the basis of Revelation: the second, that the Jewish dispensation had relation only to temporal objects. It is more to be wondered at that positions, demonstrably false in them- selves, should originally receive the sanc- tion of the first literary abilities ; than that, on the ground of such sanction, they should continue to pass current in the world. But a very moderate exercise of the intellectual powers will be sufficient to convince us, that no uthority, however respectable, can establish positions which have neither reason nor Revelation to sup- port them. It has been repeatedly said, with that air of confidence which gene- rally accompanies conviction, that Reve- lation is a superstructure on the founda- tion of natural religion ; " than which nothing (we are told) is more manifest throughout the Scriptures; most of whose instructions prc^ceed on the supposition of some previous religious knowledge being ill the mind.''* * See Monthly Review for July 1791, on *' The Charge of Samuel Lord Bishop of St. David's to the Clergy of his Diocese." Not [ 19 ] Not admitting the position itself, it must be concluded that we consider the proof here adduced as inadequate to its establishment. The texts generally brought forward as demonstrative on this occasion, are to be found in the first and second chapters of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ro- mans. But if these texts are to be under- stood in the sense in which they have been too generally taken, they make the Apostle inconsistent with himself: for they de- scribe the condition of the Gentiles, pre- vious to their conversion, very different from what St. Paul has represented it to be in every other part of his writings. Should the position in question be ad- mitted, it follows that natural religion, considered as the foundation of all spiri- tual knowledge, must have been laid ; be- fore Revelation, as a superstructure, could have been raised upon it. In order of time, therefore, natural religion must ne- cessarily have preceded Revelation. But does this appear to have been the case.? 33id natural religion exist previous to the first delivery of Divine Revelation in Pa- radise ? If it did, the Scriptures have fur- nished [ 20 ] iii^hcd a very imperfect account of the most important science of religion ; for it has not, m this case, taken the least notice of its supposed origin. " Most of the instructions in Scripture proceed (it has been said) on the supposi- tion of some previous knowledge being in the mind */' But this proves nothing to the establishment of the position in ques- tion, unless it can be made appear, that this previous knowledge, supposed to exist in the human mind, as a ground for future instruction, was itself derived from a mere natural source. In fact from the commencement of Revelation in Paradise, one Revelation has succeeded to another, and one degree of spiritual information has been, as it were, built on that which preceded it, as the circumstances of mankind from time to time required, and the accomplishment of the gracious object the Deity had in view in communicating divine knowledge t o the world, rendered necessar}^ * See Monthly Review ibr July 1791^ on the Charge of the Bishop of St. David's. That [ 21 ] That famous passage, Rom. i. 19, 20. on wliicli so mucli nwic has been built than the passage will support, and which does not apply to the case of the absolufeli/ unenlightened Heathen; gives the reader to understand only what conclusions may be drawn relative to God, and invisible things, from reason rightly exercised in the works of the Creation. It tells him in fact Avhat may be, not what actually has been ; namely, that the invisible things of God may be understood by the things that are made. And we readily subscribe to the position. But we know at the same time, that when man has been left to the niere light of nature, the visible creation has never furnished him with this important intelligence. ]n fact, when the eyes of man have been opened by Reve- lation, the visible things of the creation, in their relation to the great Creator of them, have then been seen; but not before. To prove this, and thereby to ascertain what is to be understood by natural religion, properly so called, our conclusion on this huijject must be drawn irom the condition of man in an imcivi- lized [ 22 ] Uzed state of nature, in Avhich he may be supposed to be governed by the dictates of unassisted reason. But we will take man in a civilized state, and give him the advantage of all the light which Heathenism originally borrowed from Revelation. And how will the case stand then ? The Egyptians were a nation famed for wisdom, particularly for that species of wisdom to be derived from the investigation of natural causes. But what did this wisdom do for them on the subject of religion? So far from being- instrumental in bringing them to the knowledge of the true God, it did not even dispose their minds to the reception of that knowledge, when it was actually brought among them. The Patriarchs, and their posterity, the chosen people of God, sojourned in the Land of Egypt four hundred years. Had the knowledge of the true God been na- tural to the human mind, it may be sup- posed that the Egyptians could not fail to have profited under such religious instruc- tors. But the fact was notoriously other- wise. The Israelites, who earned the knowledge [ 23 ] knowledge of the true God into Egypt, were greatly corrupted by their connec- tion with the Egyptians ; whilst the Egyp- tians themselves remained unimproved by it. When the Israelites departed from Egypt, they left the inhabitants of that land, as a nation, in the same state of wretched idolatry, in which they found them, worshipping the creature instead of the Creator. If we carry on our observation to the more advanced civilization of Greece and Rome, we shall have no better proof to produce of the competency of unassisted reason to the attainment of true religion. Dr. Clarke has told us in his Catholic Doctrine (Pref. p. 32, edit. 3.) that the unity of person in the Supreme Nature is the " first principle of natural religion.'' But the testimony of Cicero, whose writ- ings were prior to the Christian Revelation, must have more weight on the subject of natural relio;ion, tlian those of Dr. Clarke. " Omnibus innatum est; et in animo quasi insculptum, esse Deos." Cic De Natura Deor: And what these gods were, which nature j ointed out as objects of religious worship, [ 2* ] worship, St. Paul has mformecl us in the following: declaration to his Gentile eon- verts at Galatia: " When ye knew not God, (says the Apostle,) i. e. before your conversion to Christianity, ye did service unto them, which by nature are no gods. But now after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God," &c. Gal. iv. 8^ From Avhence the obvious conclusion is, that had not God been pleased to visit the Gentiles, who sat in darkness, with the light of Revelation through the preach- ing of the Apostles, they would have re- mained in the same state of spiritual igno- rance in which the Apostles found them; bowing down to wood and stone ; waiting on altars dedicated to the unhnown GocI, as was the case with the learned Athe- nians ; or worshipping, with the Ephe- sians, the great goddess Diana, and the image supposed to have fallen down from Jupiter. Acts xix. 35. And shall we say that natural religion, which, during a long night of Pagan dark- ness, could not distinguish the creature from the Creator, nor an idol from the living God, constitutes the basis of Reve- lation ? [ 25 ] lation ? in other words, that tlie religion of of the true God was built on the foiui- dation of that gross idolatr}-, which the grand Deceiver of mankind set up in the world for the express purpose of supplant- ing it ? — God forbid ! — " I say," says the Apostle, " that the tilings ^\hich the Gen- tiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God/' 2 Cor. x. 20. — See also Deut. xxxii. IJ. It was well observed by a late emi- nent Divine,* (than whom no one was better qualified to decide on the present subject,) " that if the reasoning faculty coidd have inferred with precision any spiritual truth, from an analogy in na- ture, the only proper ground of natural religion,) it must have been that of a resurrection ; which yet did never make any part of the religion or philosophy of the Heathens. This doctrine was at length preached to them by St. Paul, upon unquestionable authority ; but, we are told, that " when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, they mocked." * The late Rev. W. Jones. See his excellent Letter to a Young Gentleman intended for Holy Orders. Acts [ 26 ] Acts xvii, 32. — It was the best intelli-- gence ever brought into the world : it was pubhshed at Athens, a seat of learning, by as great an orator as ever spoke: all na- ture suggests the truth of it: but philoso- phers, through wisdom, neither believed nor understood it/' What then shall we say of this boast of Deism, natural reUgion ; which is often set up in opposition to Revelation; but that it is as mere an idol of the imagination, as any of the Gods which the heathen worshipped. Man's religious education commenced in the school of divine Revelation. When he went out of that school, false philoso- phy was ready to take him up at the door, and has since been leading him astray through that boundless field of human imagination, which ultimately terminates in idolatry of one kind or another. We shall not be thought, we trust, to depreciate the power of human reason, by assigning to her her proper province. A due exercise of the rational faculties will qualify a man to attain the wisdom of this world. But it is divine Revelation that furnishes that knowledge, which can alone [ 27 ] alone make him wise unto salvation. AVlien Ave see reason, therefore, usurping the . place of Revelation, it is time to examine her pedigree and determine her preten- sions. And common sense must be sul- ficient to inform us of what the experience of the world has abundantly confirmed, that reason, by herself, could never disco- ver ; what, even when discovered, reason, unassisted by grace, has at no time been disposed to receive. It is with peculiar pleasure that I make a quotation from a celebrated layman * on this subject, because it furnishes the hope, that this heathenish religion of nature is on the eve of beins; banished from our pulpits ; convinced as I am that the Chris- tian religion can receive no advantage from so profane a connection. " Let the modern reasoncr, therefore, who would make as good a religion by the help of nature and his o^vn faculties, as we have received from the lights of Re- velation and the doctrines of the Gospel,^ * Plain Reasons vshy we should believe in Ciirist ; addressed to the Patrons of the New Pliilosophy by R. Cumberland. take [ 28 ] take his ground where he will, provided he does not go without the heathen pale, and let him keep it. Let him borrow no assistance from Moses, and let him as- sume to himself all the lights that he can find, all the rational religion he can col- lect, not only in the world then known, but in the w^orld since discovered; in all the nations of the East, where reason, surely, as far as arts and sciences were con- cerned, was in no contemptible state ; in America, to the north and south, in all the continents and islands wdiich modern navigation has added to the map of the world, as the Romans knew it in the Augustan age ; let him pursue his re- searches, and Avhen he has made his tour through all their temples and pagodas, let him erect his trophies to reason, and publish his discoveries with what confi- dence he may. Alas! for mankind and the boasted dignity of human reason, he- will bring back nothing but a raree-show of idols; a museum of monsters; Egyp- tian, Indian, and Chinese deformities and nondescripts; the creatures of earth, air, and sea: snakes, reptiles, even stocks and stones [ 29 1 stones promoted to be Gods; and man, de- generating and debasing himself, to kneel down before these dumb divinities, and pay them worship. — And now, if this is all that he, who opposes the religion of Revelation, can discover and make prize of in the religion of reason, I give him joy of his discoveries, and wish him can- didly to declare if, upon result of those discoveries, he can believe so w^ell of him- self as to suppose that had he lived in those days, he would have found out any thing more than was found out by those who lived in them: whether, if he had singly engrossed the collected wisdom of the seven wise men of Greece, he would have revealed a better system of religion to the world than Christ has revealed; and whether he would have known the will of God better than God knew him- self, and more clearly have communicated it to mankind." The second position which frequently presents itself to notice in modern ser- mons, and which proves that the Old Tes- tament is less understood than it formerly was, respects the spiritual blindness and ignorance [ 30 ] io-norance of the Jewish nation. When the subject of the Jewish dispensation is introduced into Sermons, the hearers are generally given to understand, that the Jews lived under a temporal covenant; that consequently they looked not beyond an earthly possession in the Land of Ca- naan ; and that the doctrine of a future state, if revealed at all, was so faintly re- vealed under the law, as to make little or no impression on the public mind. This notion has frequently led to a false com- parison between the Jewish and Chris- tian dispensations ; calculated to prevent a proper judgement being formed of ei- ther. It may seem strange that, with the seventh article of our church before their eyes, which expressly declares " that both in the Old and Ncav Testament, everlast- ing life is offered to mankind by Christ, and consequently that they are not to be heard who feio;n that the old fathers did look only for temporal promises;" — any ministers of the church of England should feel themselves justified in propagating an opinion, which so directly militates against [ 31 ] against their profession. The article con- siders the opinion under consideration to be a fiction, and as such to be rejected. A fiction, however, as it most certainly is, this opinion has nevertheless received the sanction of some of our most learned di- vines. The great Dr. Barrow in his Sermons on the Imperfection of the Jewish Religion, says expressly; that, " as to evident disco- very concerning the immortality of man's soul, or the future state (so material a point of religion, of so great moment and influence upon practice), even the Gentile theology (assisted by ancient common tra- dition) seems to have outgone the Jewish, grounding upon their revealed law; the Pagan priests more expressly taught, more frequently inculcated arguments drawn from thence, than the Hebrew prophets: a plain instance and argument of the im- perfection of this religion." And it was upon the principle of the same supposed inferiority of the Jewish to the Pagan re- ligion, so far as respected the knowledge of a future state, that Bishop Warburton (as it has been already observed) grounded his [ 32 j his paradoxical argument in support of the divine authority of Moses. We should not be so much surprised to tind an opinion, thus supported, generally received, did not the plain language of Scripture speak so decidedly against it. " Search the Scriptures,'' said our Saviour to the unbelieving Jews, " for in them ye think ye have eternal life." On another occasion, to prove the resurrection from the dead, he appeals to the title which God assumed in his address to Moses. " As touching the resurrection of the dead, have 3^e not read that which Avas spoken unto you by God, sa3nng, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? God is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matt. xxii. 31. In fact, the doctrine of a resur- rection was the established doctrine of the Jewish Church. The exception in the case of the Sadducees, Vvho denied a re- surrection, proves the establishment of the general doctrine. The Sadducees were Heretics in the Jewish Church. " And their heresy consisted in their maintaining a peculiar opmion, in opposition to the ac- knowledged [ 33 ] knowledged Doctrine of the Church to which they belonged. That a Resurrec- tion from the dead was a settled article of belief in the Jewish Church, there cannot (it should be supposed) remain the least doubt, in the mind of any one tolerably conversant with the Sacred AVritings. St. Paul, when he stood before Agrippa, spoke most decidedly on this subject. " I stand (said he) and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers. Unto which promise our Twelve Tribes, instanth', serving God night and day, hope to come : for which hope's sake I am ac- cused." To prove what the promise was, as well as the absurdity of the accusation brought against him, the Apostle imme- diately subjoins; " Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the Dead ?" — Acts xxvi.6. — The promise therefore, to which the Twelve Tribes looked forward in hope, Avas that of a Resurrection from the Dead, Judaism, it must be observed, was the Type of Christianity. The promise, there- fore, relative to the Land of Canaan, must have its spiritual accomplishment, D as [ 34 ] as well as every other part of the Jewish dispensation. If this were not the case, the person to whom the promise was ori- ginally delivered, was certainly deceived by it: for if the reward of his faith and obedience was to consist in the possession of temporal blessings in the Land of Canaan, Abraham never received it. — St. Stephen, speaking of Abraham, says, what every one acquainted with the history of the Patriarch knows to be true; that " God gave him none inheritance in Ca- naan, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession." — Acts vii. 5. — The earthly Canaan was therefore the Type or figure of that heavenly country, to which the faithful were taught to look forward for a possession. That they really did so, St. Paul, in his Epistle to the He- brews, expressly declares, producing in- stances through the whole course of the Patriarchal and Jewish dispensation of those faithful worthies, who lived in hope of promises they had never received: looking in eager expectation to their ac- complishment in a better country, namely an [ 35 ] an heavenly. God having " provided better things'^ for them, than an earthly Canaan was able to furnish. That a future state was pointed out to the Jews, under the emblem of Canaan, as the land in which faithful travellers throuo;h the wilderness of this world, should ultimately find a rest ; is moreover to be demonstrated by St. PauFs mode of arguing on this subject. — The Apostle after having spoken of that rest in the Land of Canaan into which those " whose carcases fell in the wilderness, were not ])ermitted to enter because of unbelief;" lieb. iii. 17, &c. thus applies the case to Christians. " Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his Rest^ any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel preached asVell as unto them.'' — Heb.iv.l. But what (it may be asked) had Christians to do with the Rest in Canaan, taking those words in their literal sense "^ " We, which have believed (says the Apostle) do enter into Rest." There is a Rest then under the Christian dispensation for all true believers. But this Rest cannot mean that [ 36 ] that which God is said to have entered into, when he finished the works of Crea- tion; for this had taken place from tlie foundation of the world. Nor can it mean the Rest of the Israelites in Canaan; for then the Psalmist would not have spoken of it as of a Rest still to be looked forward to, at a time when the Israelites were in actual possession of that promised Land. Psalm xcv. — " Seeing therefore (continues the Apostle) it remaineth, that some must enter into Rest, and they to wdiom the Gospel was first preached, entered not in because of unbelief;" seeing, moreover, that the promise of this Rest, was limited by David to a certain day, as it is said, " to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts:" — For if the meaning contained in this prophecy, was completed when Joshua led the Israelites into the liand of Canaan ; if he had then given the Rest here spoken of, " then would he not afterward have spoken of another dav :" Then follows the conclusion of the x\ posticus argument; " There remaineth therefore a Best for the people of God.'' A conclusion, which carries with it irre- sistible [ 37 ] sistible conviction. And what the nature of the Rest under consideration was, the Apostle proceeds to inform us, by corn- paring it wilh that Rest which God is said to have entered into when he finished the works of Creation. " For he that is entered into his Rest, he hath also ceased from his own works, as God did from his/ The Rest therefore here pointed out, into which the Christian was to labour to enter, was that Rest which was to take place when he had finished his works on earth: of which Rest the Land of Canaan was but the Type or Emblem. For the Pa- triarchs and holy men under the Jewish dispensation, who were in actual pos- session of the literal Canaan, still looked forward to a spiritual Canaan; a Land of Rest eternal in the Heavens; considering themselves as strangers and pilgrims on earth : on which account they are pointed out by the Apostle in a subsequent part of this Epistle, as examples for Christians to follow after. The moral of the whole doctrine deli- vered by the Apostle on this subject, (to make use of the words of an excellent inter- [ 38 J interpreter of Scripture *) being this ; that " we should look as they did who went before us, unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith: that seeino- Him to be the beginning of our strength, and the end of our hope, Ave may follow Him through the dangers of life and the terrors of death, to that Rest which remaineth for the people of God/' With such a connected chain of argu- ment on this subject to be met with in the Apostolic Writings, it seems somewhat strange that a position in such direct con- tradiction to it, which represents the Jews as looking only for temporal revvards un- der a temporal Covenant, should be main- tained by Divines of the Christian Church. But this position, like that respecting na- tural religion, stands in a great measure on the sandy foundation of a misinter- preted text of Scripture. From the ac- count the Apostle has given of the mani- festation of the Grace of God by the ap- pearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh, for the * Rev. W. Jones. See his excellent " Course of Lectmes on the figurative Language of the Holy Scrip- tm-e." — Lecture 1, on the Hebrews. purpose t 39 1 purpose of " abolishing death and bringing life and immortality to light," it has been hastily and generally concluded, that all those who lived previous to Christ's Incar- nation, were in a state of blindness with respect to a future state. But if from the above account we are to conclude that the doctrine of immortality was first brought to light by Jesus Christ in the flesh; in other words, that He revealed what was not known before ; our conclusion will certainly not be warranted by Scripture. The Gospel we are told was preached to Abraham, the Patriarchs, and their suc- cessors under the law. By whomsoever the Gospel was understood, to them it brought life and immortality to light. For by the Gospel we understand, glad tidings to fallen man of a restoration to his lost condition. Had not man sinned, death had not entered into the world ; man consequently would have been im- mortal. A restoration therefore to the condition man had lost by the fall, must be a restoration to life and immorfaUtij. What the Apostle says then on this subject, refers not to the doctrine of im- mortality [ 40 ] mortality, but to the event by which that doctrine was clearly established. Jesus Christ brought life and immortality to light by what he did, not by what he preached. During his appearing on earth, he actually manifested that grace " which was given us in him before the world began," by abolishing death, and giving us a demonstration of life and immorta- lity, by his resurrection from the grave : (i>MTiiTCivroc, illuminating, or bringing to the light in his own person, life and incor- ruptioji. That the Jews at the time of our Savi- our's appearance were become carnally minded, is a point on all hands admitted. From the Babylonish Captivity to the coming of Christ, in consequence of the prevalence of oral tradition, the plain letter of Scripture w^as in a progressive state of corruption. Still, under such cir- cumstances, the belief of a resurrection was generally received among them. The doctrine was so firmly established, as ap- parently to bid defiance to the growing corruption. " I know (said Martha, speak- ing of her brother who then lay dead) that he [ 41 ] he shall rise again at the resurrection, at the last day/' John xi. 24. — In conse- quence indeed of that spiritual ignorance which had been suffered to grow on the minds of the Jewish people, their law had, for the most part, become a dead letter. But our Saviour gave the reason for this, when he told the lawyers, that " they had taken au'ay the keij of knou- ledger—Luke xi. 52. The wisdom of God, in communicatinsr himself to man, has generally thought fit to lock up the precious doctrines of life under the cover of parables and figures: for the unlocking of which, a kei/ of know- ledge was prepared for the use of the wise and prudent. And there certainly was a time when this key was properly em- ployed. To form an estimate therefore of the spiritual state of the Jewish nation, at a time when this key of knowledge was confessedly lost among theni; is certainly to do great injustice to the dispensation under which they lived : and such misre- presentation tends to disfigure the plan of JDivine Providence, by destroj^ing the con- [ 42 ] connection between its several parts. On this supposition, that intervening link in the chain of the divine oeconomy of Grace, which w^as intended to connect tlie Patriarchal and Christian dispensation, becomes inadequate to the purpose to ■which it was designed to minister. For if the doctrine of life and immortality, which had been revealed in Paradise and to the Patriarchs, w as a doctrine w^hich had no existence under the Jewish law; there ap- pears to be a sort of unintelligible chasm in the great scheme of Redemption, to- tally irreconcileable wdth that unity of design, which must characterize the plan of an all-wise Being. Nevertheless, such has been the system of divinity which has received the sanction of great learning in the Christian Church ; and thereby become a sort of standard of direction to those, who have either not possessed the ability or inclination to ex- amine this subject for themselves: a system which, in defiance both of Scripture and reason, represents the Jews, whom Moses describes to be " a wise and understanding people," in consequence of their communi- cation [ 43 ] cation with the true God, — Deut. iv. — as more ignorant on the most important of of all subjects, tlian those nations who confessedly lived " without God in the world." For this strange misrepresentation we are principally indebted to that great in- attention, to the language and spiritual meaning of the ]\Iosaic law, which had long been growing on the Christian world ; and which has, at length, tended to render the Scriptures of the Old Testament, in a great degree, unintelligible to the Christian reader; and thereby give advantage to the impugners of the characteristic doctrines of the Cross, by removing out of sight some of the strongest evidence b}' which they are supported. To counteract the effects of such fatal inattention, which have been manifested in those various schemes of Relio-ion, which the human imagination has at different times substituted for that of the Bible; it becomes necessary, for the more firm establishment of our faith, that we re-as- cend to its original source; and thence follow [ 44 ] follow Revelation in its course, till we are brought, bj a regular progression, to its perfect consummation in the character and office of Christ in the flesh. Such was the object before me, when I entered on the following discourses. In the execution of my projected plan, I have only proved to myself, the truth of an observation of our great moralist; " that no man ever obtains more from his most zealous endeavours, than a painful conviction of his own defects.'' — Rambler. But as I presume to write only for the use of my younger brethren of the clerical order, I flatter myself, they will con- descend to receive from an honest, though unworthy minister of the Christian Church, an endeavour, however imperfectly exe- cuted, to re-open to them that field for their professional exertion, which the ge- neral insufficiency of modern divinity has, in a great degree, shut up. For the confutation of Heresy, every thing perhaps has been done, that the col- lation of different texts of Scripture, fairly interpreted according to the letter, is ca- pable [ 45 ] pable of accomplishing. After that com- plete specimen * of biblical research and verbal criticism, with which one of the ablest Divines (to whom every sound mem- ber of the Church must look up with gra- titude) favored the world some years since, and to which every Clerical Student may have recourse in confidence, as to a standard Text Book of his profession; an attempt to add any thing to the perfection of such a species of proof, would at best be superfluous. But repeated experience has shewn, that no species of verbal proof, however fairly drawn, is capable of establishing a doc- trine which the prejudice of the human mind is indisposed to receive. Whilst the plea of erroneous translations, supposed interpolations, and imaginary defects of inspiration is made use of, to get rid of an obvious but offensive interpretation ; to hunt heretics out of all their hiding places, and effectually to dislodge them from all their fastnesses, will continue to be, what it ever has been, an hopeless attempt. * Rev. W. Jones's Catholic Doctrine. All [ 46 ] All that remains therefore, with any prospect of success, to be done in this case, is to convince gainsayers, if they are open to conviction, that the proof of the essen- tial doctrines of Christianity does not so much depend on the admission or rejection of a few particular texts, which may pos- sibly allow of some latitude of interpreta- tion, as on the united testimony, which the general tenor of Revelation will on ex- amination be found to bear to the doc- trines in question. For when it is consi- dered that the divine scheme of Redemp- tion consitutes the great subject of Reve- lation ; and that the Revealer is that wise Being to whom all things are present; and with whom " is neither variableness nor shadow of turning )' it follows that an uni- formity of design must be a characteristic of that scheme; and consequently that any apparent discordance between separate parts of Revelation, should weigh nothing in the balance against the general corre- spondence that pervades the whole of it. With this idea in my mind I have been accustomed to read my Bible; and have the satisfaction to think that my convic- tion [ 47 ] tion respecting the establishment of God's Church, considered as the divine means of preserving and conveying, through the se- veral changes of the world, the precious Doctrines of Salvation, from the beginning to the end of time, has increased in a de- gree proportionate to my acquaintance with the contents of that Sacred Book. On the divine establishment and parti- cular constitution of the Church, in its immediate reference to the dispensation under which we are placed, I have, on a former occasion, committed myself to the public ; in the humble hope of being, in a degree at least, instrumental, through di- vine blessing, in checking the progress of those unsettled principles, which have ge- nerated an indifference for established in- stitutions peculiarly characteristic of the present age. From the utmost attention that I have been able to pay to this subject, and it has been my endeavour to examine it im- partially ; I feel no hesitation in declaring it to be, in my opinion, not less the duty of Christians to conform to that ecclesias- tical polity which has received the sanction of ■ [ 48 ] of divine institution, whenever Providence has favoured them with the opportunity so to do, than to preserve the purity of those doctrines which characterize their profes- sion. AVhat that ecclesiastical polity really is, the most diligent inquiry has left me without a doubt. I thank God for having placed me in a country where that polity is estajjlished. On the condition of those to whom Providence has not been pleased to vouchsafe the same blessing, it is not necessary that an opinion should be ha- zarded. It is sufficient, and it is satisfac- tory to think, that they are in God's hands: for God, we know, may dispense with his own institutions under whatever circum- stances he sees fit : thouo'h it must be at man's peril that he at any time assumes to himself the same privilege. Did I stand in need of additional con- firmation on the subject of the Apostolic government of the Church, a late publica- tion could not fail to furnish me with it. When a writer of distinguished abilities and established character takes a profes- sional subject in hand, we have to expect that the whole strength of the argument will C 49 ] will be brought forth. In Dr. Campbeirs Lectures on Ecclesiastical Histor}^ it may therefore be fairly concluded, that every thing has been said in favor of the Presb}"- terian Establishment, that could be said on the occasion. With submission however to the judgement of the Doctor's surviving friends, I am clearly of opinion, that no addition of credit will be derived to Dr. Campbell's name, by the publication in question. It may, indeed, and it probably will, satisfy those who are prepared to be satisfied with what a Professor in the Scotch Kirk, of great literary reputation, may think fit to say on such a subject; but it will not, I am inclined to think, bring con- viction to any one, duly acquainted with the sources from whence knowledge in ec- clesiastical matters is to be derived. In the Doctor's ardent zeal against Epis- copacy, which we must take leave to call, in some respects, zeal without adequate knowledge; he has given a picture of the Apostolic Church, whicli bears as little resemblance to the estabUshcdKirk of Scot- land, as it does to the primitive Church of Christ. AVhilst with an inconsistency, not E easy C 50 ] easy to be accounted for, he maintains at one time the necessity of what, for the sake of supporting his favorite democratic sys- tem, it is his object at other times to dis- prove; the disproval of which must in its consequences, affect the estabhshed order of the Kirk, and that of the Church of England, in an equal degree. " Nothing, (says the Doctor) can be conceived more absurd in itself, or more contradictory to the declarations of Scrip- ture, than to say that a man s belief and obedience of the Gospel, however genuine the one, and however sincere the other, are of no significancy, imless he has received his information of the Gospel, or been ini- tiated into the Church by a proper Minis- ter. Yet into this absurdity those mani- festly run, who make the truth of God's pro- mises depend on circumstantials, in point of order no where referred to, or mentioned in these promises." — P. 86. It is no uncommon thing for writers to make out a bill of indictment against their 8Uj>posed opponents, and to proceed to pass judgement upon it, before the charge has been fairly made to bear on the party accused. [ 51 ] accused. How far this may be the case in tlie present instance, we stop not to en- quire ; but proceed to observe what frorqi the general tenor of Scripture we are given to understand ; that man acquires the abihty to believe and obey the Gospel, by the faithful use of certain appointed means of Grace; for in his natural condition he is indisposed for either. " How (says the Apostle) shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a Preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent ?" Rom. X. 4. — From whence the conclusion is, that some appointed Institution was originally set on foot, and certain Ministers vested with a divine Commission for the purpose of carrying on the design of the Christian Church in the world. AVithout such an In- stitution and such a Commission, we have no conception how the affairs of Christ's kingdom, in their ordinary course, could be managed with any probabihty of success. How far the promises of God may have been made to depend on the circumstan- tials of Religion, instituted for the above gracious piu'pose, it is presumption in us to deter- [ 52 ] determine. But because the circumstan** tials of Religion ai'e no where precisely marked down in Scripture; to build an ar- gument on that ground which tends to ge- nerate a total indifference about them, how- ever it may accord with the unsettled prin- ciples of the present day, is certainly to- tally irreconcileable with that idea, which the general language of Scripture teaches us to form on this important subject. " Not but that a certain model of Govern^ 7nent (continues the Doctor) must have been originally adopted for the more effectual preservation of the Evangelical Institution in its native purity ; and for the careful transmission of it to after aoes.'' — ^To this position we readily subscribe ; and such being the reason for the original adoption of a certain model of government, it is to be presumed, that the Apostles, allowing them to have possessed only the com- mon judgement of uninspired Governors of the Church, could not fail to take some steps for the future establishment of what they deemed so necessary to be adopted. But in a subsequent page of the Doctor's History, by a conclusion drawn from some unguarded [ 53 ] unguarded expressions of the learned Dod^ well ; the reader is given to luiderstand, *' that nothing was further from the view of the inspired Writers, than to prescribe any rule to us on the subject, or to give us any information Avliich could lead us to imagine, that a particular form of polity was necessary, or even more acceptable to God, than another/ — P. 99- But to say, because no regular system of ecclesiastical government is totickm verbis to be found on record in the Apostolic Writ- ings, that therefore the Apostles never meant to prescribe any rule, or give an}^ informa- tion on the subject, is surely, if not to argue weakly, at least to beg the question. The presumption in this case is certainly against any such conclusion. The Apostles might not think it necessary at the time to lay down any regular system of ecclesiatical government. Their thoughts were princi- pally engaged, it may be supposed, in esta- blishing the essentials of Christianity. The circumstantials of it they might leave to be regulated by the example of their own mi- nistry. The government of the Church was. in their hands ; and thcii' office in it was* carried [ 54 ] carried on under the immediate direction of the IIolj Spirit. Their practice under such circumstances, they might therefore consi- der, would prove sufficient prescription in this case. And on this head sufficient in- formation is to be met with in their writings, for the direction of all those who are dis- posed to be directed by it. That the Apostles were not mistaken in their judgement on this occasion, the set- tled constitution of the Christian Church, v/hich has preserved a general conformity to the Apostolic model down to the present time, furnishes the most convincing proof. In page l60, the Professor appears to differ in opinion from the learned Vitringa, ^Yh.o has displayed much erudition to prove, that the government of the Christian Church was formed on the model of the Jewish syna2;o2ue. " It is not even probable,'' says Professor Campbell, " that this was the case : their different uses and purposes, suggesting the propriety of many differences in their structure and procedure.'' At the same time the Professor fails not to leave on the minds of his Disciples, on this sub- ject, an impression more favourable to the Tres- [ 53 ] Freshyterian t\\2Ln Episcopal form of govern- ment. " On the first erection of the Chris- tian Senate or Council/' he says, " they could hardly fail to take as much of the form of the JcAvish, as was manifestly of equal convenience in both. It still adds to the probability of this, that in the s3aiagogue, from which many of the terms used in the Church in those early times, ■were boiTowed, he who presided in con- ducting the worship, and in directing the reading of the Law, was styled the Angel of the cono;re2:ation." In a subsequent page the Professor seems desirous of confirming that idea in the minds of his Disciples, which represents " the Christian Churches as orighially ana- logous, in point of polity, to the Jewish establishment of Synagogues ; by observing that the very names of Church otHcers were borrowed from the Synagogue." — Page 219- The reader may know, perhaps, that the argument in favour of Presbyterian Govern- ment, from the names of officers in the synagogue having been originally adopted in the Christian Church, has been generall^^ advanced by l^resbytcrian advocates, and repeat- [ 66 1 repeatedly answered. It is an argument which, at best, has more of plausibilj than of substance in it. The Professor himself, though desirous of deriving from it all the advantage that it is capable of furnishing to his cause, does not appear to build upon it with any confidence. — In fact, the great opposition the early establishment of the Christian Church met with, was from the Jewish Priests. An apprehension of the abolition of the law, and the destruction of the Temple was an idea that, at this time, strongly worked on their minds. Whilst the object our Saviour and his Apostles had in view was to introduce the Christian Dis- pensation into the place of the Jewish; and to make the worshippers in the Temple zealous members of the Christian Church. With this object in view, it might be con- sidered prudent, during the time the Jewish Temple was destined to remain, to abstain from the use of those titles which had a pe- culiar correspondence with the service of it ; lest they might be instrumental in adding fuel to the fire of that Jewish prejudice, which already burnt sufficiently strong against the infant Church, Titles bor- rowed [• 57 ] rowed from the Sanhedrim, were not so liable to objection Grotius, who was no very great friend to the Priesthood, observed, in reference to this subject, tliat it was not without some reason that our Saviour and his Apostles abstained from the use of these supposed obnoxious titles. His w^ords are these, " Ut autem Praecones Novi Testamcnti Sacerdotes speciatim appellentur, est quidem recep- tum antique Ecclesiae consuetudine! sed non de nihilo est, quod ab eo loquendi gen ere, et Christus ipse, et Apostoli semper abstinuerunt." — De imperio Sum. Potest. Cap. ii. 5. Such an authority had not, it is probable, much weight with a Professor of the Scotch Kirk; who might consider the office of the Priesthood to have terminated w ith the , Jewish Temple. But there is an authority which, it should be supposed, could not have escaped the attention of a Lecturer on Ecclesiastical History; and which can- not fail to have weight on this subject; I mean that of the celebrated historian, Eu- sebius; who in his book " Dc Denwnstrationc Evajigelicd;" after having made the follow- in fj [ 58 ] ing quotation from the Prophet Isaiah, " In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the Land of Egypt :" Isaiah xix. 19- — thus proceeds; " If they had an altar, and that they were to sacrifice to Almighty God, xavrw? %o\i nai iepiXi<7vvvig ctl^iu^'/iacv- Tcci, they must be thought worth}^ of a Priest- hood also. But the Levitical Priesthood could not be of any use to them, and there- fore they must have aiiother. Nor was this spoke, (saith he) of the Egyptians only, but of all other nations and idolatrous people, Trav ysvoq tSv rpiv ii^ccKoKar^Sv dv'^f,cc%uv', who now pour forth prayers, not unto many Gods, but to the one and only Lord; and unto him erect an altar for reasonable and unbloody sacrifices, (^vs-iugrv^piov avaiihmv yai hoyrAZv '^vc-i!:tiy :) in every place of the whole habitable world, according to the myste- ries of the New Testament/' Ayhat these mysteries were, Eusebius declares fully in the tenth chapter of his first book. — " Christ, (says he) is the propitiaton/ sacrifice for all our sins, since Avhen, even those among the Jews are freed from the curse of Moses' Law ; celebrating daily (as they ought) the commemoration of his Bod}^ and Blood; which [ 59 ] which is a far more excellent sacrifice and ministry, than any in the former times." He then adds, that " Christ our Saviour ofFerino; such a wonderful and excellent sacrifice to his heavenly Father, for the Salvation of us all, appointed us to offer daily unto God the commemoration of the 5ame, (avr/ t^; 'hvaki) foi\ and as a sacrifice. And that whensoever vv e do celebrate the memorial of tlrat sacrifice on the table, participating of the elements of his Body and Blood, Ave shovdd say with David * Thou prcparest a table for me in the pre- sence of mine enemies, thou anointedst my head with oil, my cup runneth over/ Wherein he signifieth, most manifestly, the mystical unction, and the reverend sacri- fices of Christ's table ; where we are taught ta offer up unto the Lord, by his own most eminent and glorious Prie.st, the unblood\% reasonable, and most acceptable sacrifice all our life long/' — This he intitlcs after- ward, " 'J'he sacrifice of praise, the divine, reverend, and most holy sacrifice, the pure sacrifice of the New Testament. So we sec, that in this sacrifice pre- scribed [ 60 ] scribed to the Christiaii Church by our Lord and Saviour, there were two proper and distinct actions. The first to celebrate the memorial of our Saviour's Sacrifice, intitled, the commemoration of his Body and Blood once offered, (tou ^v^aro; tvjv ^iv'^fx^v) the memory of that his sacrifice: (that is as he clearly explains himself) that we should offer this commemoration, avr; r^g ^vaiag for a Sacrifice. — The second, that withal we should offer to him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, which is the reasonable service of a Christian man, and to him most acceptable. " Therefore (says he) we sacrifice Ovasv nul Suo/xev, and offer as it were Avith incense, the memorial of that great sacrifice, celebrating the same accord- ing to the mysteries by him given unto us, and giving thanks to him for our salvation; with godly hymns and prayers to the Lord our God; as also oftering to Him our whole selves, both soul and body, and to his Priest, which is the Word." From the above striking picture of the sacrifice of the Christian altar, drawn by Eusebius; it appears evident that the Christian [ 61 ] Christian Church was formed on the model of the Jewish Temple ; and for the follow- ing reason: The characteristic serA'ice of the Jewish Dispensation, Avhich was that of the altar, was performed no where but in the Temple. Now St. Paul says, that " we Christians have an altar;" and consequently a Pricst- Jiood and ci sacrifice; for these are correlative terms. The above description given by Eusebius of the service of the primitive Church, confirms this idea. The Christian altar then having succeeded to the Jewish, and the Christian Priesthood to the Leviti- cal ; it is most reasonable to conclude, that the Cinistian Church was formed on the model of the Temple, wliere the altar ser- vice was performed ; and not on that of the Synagogue, where it certainl}^ Avas not. But exclusive of the reason of the thins:, there is direct proof to be brought forward sufficient to determine this point; part of which the learned Professor has misrepre- sented, and part he has passed over in silence. " Some have ascribed (says the Professor) but very unjustly, the origin of the distinc- tion [ 62 ] tion r/e have been considering, (namely, between the Clergy and Laity) to Clemens Piomanus, who, in his Epistle to the Co- rinthians, which I had formerly an occasion of quoting, contradistinguishes ^^amoi (the Laics as we should be apt to render it) from the High Priest, the Priests, and the Levites." To get rid of the conclusion that was to be drawn from this passage of St. Clemens, relative to the different orders in the Chris- tian Church, the Professor informs his pupils, " it ought to be observed, that it is introduced by him, when speaking of the Jewish Priesthood, and not of the Christian Mimstrij." — But it is not of whom St. Cle- mens is speaking, but to whom he is address- ing himself, that determines the precise meaning of what he says on this occasion. ,The fact was this, and the Professor, as an Ecclesiastical Historian, ought to have stated it fairl}^ When St. Clemens made use of the pas- sage under consideration, he was writing to the divided members of the Church of Co- rinth, for the express purpose of pressing on them the duty of ecclesiastical subordina- tion [ 63 ] tion and obedience. With this object in view, he made use of the ibllowing analo- gical mode of reasoning. " To the High- Priest (said he) were allotted his proper offices ; to the Priests, their proper place was assigned ; and to the Levites, their ser- vices were appointed : and the Laj^mcn were restrained within the precepts of Laymen." But, it may be asked, what had the mem- bers of the Christian Church, to whom St. Clemens was writing, to do with the High Priest, Priests, Levites, and Laymen of the Jewish temple, but in the way of allusion. If, then, no distinctions of order had been established in the Christian Church, cor- responding with those in the Jewish Temple, the analogical mode of reasoning, here ad- dressed to the Christians at Corinth, had been totally irrelevant; and the allusion, here made use of, incapable of application. What the professor says, that St. Clemens is speaking of the Jewish Priesthood and not of the Christian Ministry^ is therefore not strictly true. St. Clemens, on this oc- casion, is not speaking of the Jewish Priest- hood, as the subject under consideration; but of the Christian ]\Iinistry, by an al- lusion [ 64 J luslon to tlie different orders in the Jewish Priesthood ; an allusion which must, it is presumed, in the judgement of ail impartial persons, go a great way towards establishing that very idea, which the Professor takes every opportunity to discountenance. But more direct evidence on this subject still remains to be adduced, of which the Professor has not thought proper to take notice. St. Jerom, in his Epistle to Evagrius, wrote thus : — * " That we may know that the i\postolic Traditions and Institutions are taken from the Old Testament, what Aaron and his sons, and the Levites were in the Tem])le, that the Bishops, the Preshyters, and the Deacons claim to he in the Church/* The Professor having made use of the au- thority of St. Jerom, it may be concluded, on the supposition that he quoted from the Original, that the above passage from the same authority could not have escaped his observation. On what principle then, it * Et ut sciamus traditioncs Apostolicas sumptas de veteiiTestamento : Quod Aaron etjilii ejus atque Levitts in Templo fuerunt, hoc sibi Episcopi et Preshijtcri atque Diaconi vendicent in Ecclesia. — Jerom. Epist. ad Evagr. may t 65 ] may be asked, has it been kept back? Did the Professor think that such decisive evi- dence on the point at issue, might lead his pupils to a conclusion more favorable to the form of the Episcopal Church, than to the Establishment to which they were attached ? If so, the reader may be led to think, that the Professor's own observation has in this case been verified in himself; that " when once the controversial spirit has gotten pos- session of a man, his object is no longer truth but victorij," That a Professor in the Scotch Kirk should possess a very inadequate idea respecting the Priesthood of the Christian Church, >vhen we consider the origin to ^\'hich the Scotch Kirk is to be traced up, can be no subject for surprize. That he should there- fore, as far as possible, keep the office of the Priesthood out of sio-ht, as an office which, considered in reference to the exer- cise of it in the Church of England, belonged not, in his opinion, to the Con- stitution of the Church of Cluist, is what was to be expected. The Professor would not have been a faithful member of the Scotch Kirk, had he thought or written r otherwise. [ 66 ] Otherwise. But the method which the Pro- fessor has taken, for the purpose of impres- sing the same idea of the Christian Priest- hood on the minds of his disciples, which appears to have taken possession of his Own, is not what was to have been expected from a person of Dr. Campbell's character and abilities. What the Professor has said on the sub- ject of the Priesthood, as applied to our Saviour, will readily be admitted. But because our Saviour is, in the strictest Eense, our 07?/^ Priest, he aIo7ie having of- fered up the trite propitiatory sacrifice for man; does it thence follow, that the office of the Priesthood was never exercised by any other person ? Such a concession ope- rates with no less strong th against the Levi- tical, than against the C/iristianVnesthood; and consequently the Professor's argument in this case, applies witb- equal propriety to the Jewish as to the Christian Dispensa- tion; the Priesthood under both being equally representative. Whilst the argument which the Professor has buill on the allego- rical style adopted in Scriptare, " wherein Christians are represented as Priests, and the [ 67 ] the whole community as an holy Priest- hood," to prove that the office of Priest- hood, under the Evangelical Dispensation, does not exclusively belong to any particular order of men, appears to be just as con- vincing; as would be an argument, to prove the abolition of the exclusive office of Kins^Sj (yi members of the Christian Church being Kings as well as Priests,) grounded on that alleo-orical lano-uajo-e of the Apostle ; Avhen speaking of Jesus Christ, he says, that " he hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father." — ■ Rev. i. 0. To sive additional strength however to the ground he has here taken, the Profes- sor brings forward the authority of Justin Martyr. The authority of the early Fathers, if fully and fairly deduced, would be most decisive against the Professor. His appeal to them therefore we are not surprized to find very limited. And even in the appeal he occasionally does make, limited as it is, he sometimes mutilates the evidence, and thereby misrepresents the meaning of its author. On the present occasion, the Professor quotes [ 68 ] quotes Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho, " after mentioning Christ as our all-sufficient High Priest, as insisting, that in consequence of our Christian Vocation, we, his Disciples, not the Pastors exclu- sivelj/, are God's true sacerdotal family/' Page 312. AVhen we wish to ascertain the opinion of an author on any given subject, we seek it, it is presumed, not in an accidental allegorical expression that may occur in his writings, but in those plain and repeated passages, which speak decidedly to the point under consideration ; if any such are to be found. Let the Apologist's opinion on the subject before us be fairly ascertained by this rule of judgement, and the Professor shall be at full liberty to make the most of his authority. Justin Martyr, in his first apology, after having related our Saviour's institution of the Sacrament of His Supper, when he commanded his Apostles to take Bread, and having given thanks, to say, " This is my Body," &c. and likewise the Cup, saying, " This is my Blood," cS:c. observes to the Gentiles, that the wicked Daemons had [ 69 J had, by way of imitation, coinnianded the same to be done in the Sacraments of Mi f lira. " For, (saith he) you either know, or may know for certain, that a loaf and a cup of water, Avith a form of words, was used in the solemn sacrifices for him, who was initiated in that Relioion ;" meaning, as he had shewn, that the holy Eucharist was administered immediately on the bap- tism, or initiation of men into the Christian Religion: his parallel therefore between the two mysteries, and initiation implies ; that the Eucharistical Bread and Wine was * TeXfTvi, a solemn material sacrifice in the opinion of Christians, as the other diabolical Bread and Water was in the mysteries of Mithra ; and consequently that the Ministers of Baptism and the holy Eucharist in the Christian Church, were as proper Priests, as the Priests of Mithra, or the Sun, w^ere by his -svorshippers esteemed to be. To the same subject of the Christian Priesthood, Justin Martyr speaks thus oUldas. TEAETH. Overix /xv^ftu^ns, ri fjLsyl^, kxi rmiuirlox, — Saciificium Mysteriorum^ plenum, maximum, hono- rutissimuin. plainly [ 70 ] plainly in his Dialogue with Tryplio the Jew. — Page 259- — " The meat offering of fine flour, which was appointed to he offered for those who were cleansed from the le- prosy, was a Type of the Eucharistical Bread, which Jesus Christ our Lord com- manded to be offered in remembrance of his Passion; which he suffered for those, whose souls are purged from all sins ; &c. and therefore God by Malachi, who was one of the Twelve Prophets, speaks of the sacri- fices which you then otfered, thus: " I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hands; for from the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, my Name shall be great among the Gentiles; and m cDery place incense shall be offered unto my Name; and a pure offering; for my Name shall be o^reat anions: the Heathens, saith the Lord, but you have profaned it. But of the sacrifice of the Gentiles offered up by us in every place, that is to say, of the Bread of the Eucharist, and Cup of the Eucharist, he then spoke before -hand, saying, that we glorified his Name, but you profaned it:" — Plainly signifying, that the sacrifice [ 71 ] sacrifice of the Jewish Temple should cease, and the pure sacrifice of the Chris- tian altar be introduced in its place; and, consequently, that the priests under the Evangelical as under the Jewish dispensa- tion, had an office appropriated to them. " Our Saviour, and all priests from him, (says Eusebius, li. p. l6. Ap. 1. 6.) cele- brate a spiritual sacrifice in bread and wine/' From these premisses it appears, that the Professor would give his Disciples to understand, on the authority of a single allegorical expression from Justin Martyr, that the general opinion of the earliest Fathers was favourable to the conclusion, he had drawn, respecting the non-existence of the Priesthood, as a peculiar office under the Evangelical Dispensation; at the same time that there are plain and circumstan- tial passages to be produced from the same writer^ which necessarily lead the reader to the direct opposite conclusion. By Divines of the Scotch Kirk, in whose scale of judgement the authority of their learned Professor may weigh heavy, his mode of reasoning on this occasion may be [ 73 ] ' be taken on trust, and considered as ster- ling;. But Divines of the Church of Eng- land will, I trust, examine this subject for themselves : and when they do, they will be convinced that their opinion of the sen- timents of the early Fathers of the Church is not to be taken from the pages of Dr. CampbelFs Ecclesiastical History : and per- haps they may moreover conclude, that the cause must in itself be very weak, for the siipport of which an able advocate con- descends to employ such inconclusive ar- gument. Had the Professor discarded all evidence that was to be drawn from the early Fathers of the Church, we should only have said, that he had a right to place his subject on what ground he thought proper. But if he does appeal to their authority, we have a right to require, that these Fathers should be allowed to speak fairly for themselves. There is still one observation on the Doctors work which I feel much disin- clined to make : it respects the supercilious contempt with Avhich the Doctor, generally speaking, appears to treat those who en- ter tai.i opinions different from his own. This [ 73 ] This is conduct wluch must dis2;i'are the best of causes, and can add strenii;th to none. Harsh and ilUberal epithets (see p. 90) apphcd to opponents, if they were in character, considered as proceeding from a Professor ex Cathedra, certainly do not become the scholar, much less the Divine. And, how high soever Dr. Campbell may be thouo'ht to stand in either or both those characters, yet for him to have spoken with proper respect of men of such profound erudition and distinguished excellence, as Doclwdl and Hickes, however mistaken they might be, would certainly not have dimi- nished in the least his own reputation in the world. AVith the view however of exposing what is called the " inconsequential reasoning'' of Dr. Hickes, Professor Campbell has fur- nished his reader with an opportunity of weighing his own knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures, and that of Dr. Hickes against each other. Dr. Hicke* (in his first Letter on the Christian Priesthood, C. 3.) says, '* that our Lord, as a Jew, was to observe the Law and the Temple worship, and live in com- munion [ 74 ] munion with the Jews : which, though he could do as a King and a Prophet, yet he could not do with congruity, had he de- clared himself to be their Sovereign Pontiff; that very High Priest, of which Aaron himself was but a Type and Shadow.-r- But allow me to ask (continues the Profes- sor) why could he not? Was it because there was a real incongruity betwixt his conforming to the Jewish worship, and his character of High Priest? If there was, he acted incongruously, for he did conform: and all he attained by not declaring him- self a Priest, was not to avoid, but to dissemble this incongruity. And if there was none in conforming, where v,as the in- congruity in avowing a conduct, Avhich was in itself congruous and defensible ? We are therefore forced to conclude, from this passage, either that our Lord acted incon- gruousl}^, and was forced to recur to dissi- mulation to conceal it, or that Dr. Hickes argues very inconsequentially." — Page 313. Such is the mode of reasoning adopted by the Professor, with the view of vindicat- ing our Saviour's Character, from that charge of political dissimidatio?i which ap- pears [ 75 ] pears, in his opinion, to have been inad- 'certently ascribed to it on this occasion by Dr. Hickes. Might I presume to hokl the balance between these two learned men, I should observe, what, from a due attention to the argument on both sides, appears to me to be the case: that the Professor has certainly commenced his attack on Dr. Plickes's position, by a palpable misinter- pretation of it; and on that misinterpreta- tion has built his conclusion. The Professor supposes the incongruity in this case, according to Dr. Hickes's position, to consist in our Saviour's con- formity to the Jewish worship, and his character of High Priest ; and on this sup- position proceeds to say, that our Saviour acted incongruously, for he did conform^ But the incongruity alluded to by Dr. Hickes, would have consisted, not in our Saviour's conformity to the Temple wor- sliip, and his character of High Priest tinder the Gospel, for in this there w^as nothing incongruous; but in our Saviour's observing the Law and Temple worship as a Jew, and his assuming to himself the office [ 76 J office of High Priest binder that Dispensa- tion. We are not therefore forced to con- clude with the Professor from this passage from Dr. Hickes, either " that om* Sa- viour acted incongruously, and was forced to recur to dissimulation to conceal it, or that Dr. Hickes argues inconsequentially;" because our Saviour was not chargeable with the incongruity to which Dr. Hickes alluded: he observed the Law and Temple worship OS a Jew; but never assumed the office of High Priest under the Law: there was therefore no occasion for our Saviour (if we may so say) to use dissimulation for the concealment of a character, to which he made no pretensions. Our Sa- viour being bom under the Law. was to observe the Law. This he could do as a King or a Prophet; but in assuming the office of Sovereign Pontiff, he would have broken the Law; for he belonged to the Tribe of Judah, not to the Tribe of Levi, to which the office of Priesthood exclusively apper- tained. The difference between a man's conforming to an established worship, and acting as an officiating Minister in it, must, it is presumed, be sufficiently apparent. The [ 7r 1 The fallacy of Dr. Campbell's argument against Dr. Hickes appears to consist then in its confounding, what it was the inten- tion of Dr. liickes to discriminate; namely, the congruity of our Saviour's conduct in observing the Temple worship as a Jew, with what would have been the incon- gruity of it, had he officiated in it as a Priest. There was no incongruity in the formef case; in the latter there certainly would have been; and for the following obvious reason : The Jewish Dispensation was Typical of the Christian. The Hio;h Priest of the Law was the Type of Christ, the great High Priest of the Gospel. It would therefore have been a confusion of the divine oeconomy of Grace, for the Type and Anti-type to have been made to co-eaist under the same Dispensation. St. Paul gives the reason why our Saviour should not have been a Priest under the Law. — " If he were on earth (sa3^s the Apostle) lie should not he a Priest; seeing that there are Priests that offer gifts according to the Law/' Heb. viii. 4. Our Saviour's Priest- hood was to be exercised not on earth but in I 78 ] in heaven. It was a Priesthood not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchisedeck: a Priesthood " made not after the Law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another Tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar." Heb. vii. 13. Having thus stated the case, and I trust fairly, between these two learned men, the decision shall be left with the reader. To follow the Professor, step by step, through the Course of his Lectures, were I either disposed, or at leisure for the undertaking, would lea'd too far astray from the work immediately before me. My object has been to make those occa- sional remarks on the performance in question, which might operate, by way of caution, on the minds of those who might otherwise be led to pay too implicit a deference to the acknowledged abihties of its author. It is not to be supposed, that a person in Dr. Campbelfs station could really mean to lessen the respect due to established institutions; [ 79 ] institutions ; or give countenance to those prevailing opinions which are subversive of all order and government in the Church whatever. Passages however, and not a few, are to be found in his Lectures, which may operate in such a way. I v^^ill detain the reader only, while I point out one to his attention. In page 90, we are told, in unqualified language and of universal ap- plication, " that the terms of the Gospel are not in the Sacred Pages connected with, or made to depend on either the Mi- nister, or the form of Ministry/' — The question is not, whether the above words may not admit of a certain qualified sense, in which we are ready to receive them; but whether, in the heads of indiscriminating persons, they do not obviously lead to the following dangerous conclusion; that those, to whom our Saviour delivered the evaiioeli- cal commission, did not thereby acquire any particular authority; and that the form of Baptism instituted by our Saviour, was not more valid than any other form that might be adopted for the purpose. The govern- ment of the Church was therefore left as it were ad arhitrium vulgL Every man mi2:ht [ 80 ] might take on himself the office of a Mi- nister, and any form of Ministry be adopted with equal prospect of securing the terms of the Clnistian Covenant. This is indeed an extensive principle ; for it justifies all sects, and supersedes all institutions and sacraments whatever *. But i * An ingenious and very eminent Dignitary of our own Churchj has not hesitated to carry this dangerous notion to a still more dangerous extreme ; by maintain- ing^ that the Doctrines of the Church, " in consequence of tlie changes wliich are wont to take place in the Judgement of mankind," are not less subservient to the varying opinions and circumstances of the world, than the Constitution of it : tliercby furnishing a proof of %vhat we fear will be found too true ; namely, that a laxity of opinion relative to the Constitution of the Church, is often accompanied with an equal degree of laxity v>'ith respect to its Doctrines. For, on the hasty assumption that many Injunctions were addressed to, and imposed on the Apostles and first Disciples, which are not obligatory on Christians in after-times, Dr.Paley has classed one of the fundamental Articles of our Faith, among the Doctrines of temporary duration. In a Ser- mon preached at a Visitation of the late Lord Bishop of Carlisle, on July 1,5, 1777, Dr.Paley writes thus; and we do not perceive from any subsequent publica- tion, that he has altered his opinion : " if any one asks, what the expressions in Scripture, Regenerate,— Born of the Spirit,— New Creatures, mean T— We answer ; that, they [ 81 ] But on this principle it may be asked, with what propriety does St. Paul call on the members of the Church " to obey them that had the rule over them, and to submit themselves ?" Or with what pro- priety does Dr. Campbell find fault with the founders of new sects, by which he probably means the modern Seceders from the Scotch Establishment ? For if no au- thority in Church matters is lodged any where, and all forms of Ministry are equally effectual and equally acceptable ; sects of every denomination have an equal right to plead private opinion, as a full justifica- tion for their practice, however eccentric : and consequently it remains to be proved, they mean nothing ! nothing to iis ! — nothing to be found, or sought for, in the present circumstances of Christianity." — Such an opinion, however confidently dehvercd, no authority of Genius, Learning, or Station can possibly establish. For, as we understand it, it is the heretical opinion of an individual, against the de- cision of the Church, and the language of the Bible. We have only to hope therefore, for the sake of the rising Generation, that where Dr. Paley's Writings shall be considered as a Study proper to form the mind of the young Academician ; they will not fail to be accom- panied with a Comment necessary to counteract the ap- parently unscritural, as well as unconstitutional notions of their Author. G in [ 82 ] in what sense those tmch?'ist ian sepavations, of which the Doctor himself cdtnplains, (Page 108,) can be said to exist. These are some few of the remarks which presented themselves on a general view of the Professor's publication. But as a consi- derable part of that publication is point- edly directed against the Episcopal Esta- blishment of the Church in this country, it may be expected from a Minister of that Establishment, that he should brino; for- ward something decided on that head. Considering however that this subject has been so frequently and completely handled, as to render a particular anal}"- sis of it unnecessary; it will be my object, to bring what I maj^ have to say upon it vv'ithin the shortest possible compass; by laying hold of what Lesley significantly calls the juguhim caiisce; with the view of .strangling the subject as* it were in its birth. A multiplicity of words and argu- ments, by confounding and amusing the understanding, ofttimes tends more to ob- scure the truth, than to illustrate it. The heart of a cause lies (generally speaking) in one point: by a judicious exposition of which. [ 83 ] which, judgement on the case is brought to a speedy issue. When a writer builds on a false foun- dation, it is not necessary to waste time in pulling down his superstructure, stone by stone; the shortest method will be to draw away the foundation; in which case the building, be it carried ever so high, becomes at once an heap of rubbish on the ground. The point which Professor Campbell has most laboured to establish, and which constitutes the foundation on which, in common with other Advocates in the same cause, he has erected his superstructure of Presbyterian Parity, is, that one Bishop was invariably considered, in the most an- cient usage, as having only one Churchy or Congregation of Christian people: from whence sayS the Professor, " it is manifest that his inspection at first was only over one Farisk." Page 206. The word emXviaiet, Church, in the opinion of the Professor, having " but two original senses in the New Testament ; the one denoting only a single congregation of Christians : the other the whole Christian Community."" — When [ 84 ] When therefore we find nothing in the expression, or in the scope of the passage to determine us to hmit the Church to any particular district, as when Christ says, " on this rock will I build my Church;" — we are to understand of course not any particular Church, but the Catholic Church wheresoever dispersed: but when on the contrary we read of the Church of God at Corinth, or in any other given place, we are then to understand only one single congregation of assembled Christians. The latter of these two positions is the only one with which we are at present concerned. And as the Professor appears to write on this subject, as if he thought himself standino; on hig-h. ground, from whence he might look down with contempt on all Avho dissented from him; I shall pro- ceed to examine this position with some dc2;ree of attention. And though I shall not address to Dr. Campbell that coarse and illiberal lanouape which he has thought proper to apply to the learned Dodwell, where he calls his positions on the subject of Episcopacy *' extravagancies, more like the ravings of a disordered brain, than the sober [ 85 ] sober deductions of a mind capable of re- flection ;" P. 188 — yet I shall not hesitate to say, with the view of guarding my younger Brethren against the prevalence of the pre- sent latitndinarian principles; that the in- dependent notions contained in Dr. Camp- bell's late publication, are those which have alread3^been productive of infinite mischief to the cause of Christianity ; and if not timely counteracted, bid fair to terminate in its total destruction. And if Dr. Campbell, with all his acknowledged abilities, had not been a blind worshipper of his favorite idol, Presbijteriaimifi, he could not have acquiesced in a system of Church govern- ment, " to which all the sources of evidence hitherto known in theological controversy, reason, Scripture, and tradition, (if fairly produced) are equally repugnant.^' But before T proceed to the examination of particulars, it may be observed that the fundamental position on which the Pro- fessor's argument against Episcopacy is built, namely, that a primitive Bishop was a Minister only of a single parish; the proofs oi^ ^vhich are now attempted to be drawn from the state of the Church in the first aofcs ; [ 86 ] ages ; was never heard of till many years after the separation from the Church of Rome had taken place. Had those foreign Reformers, who, when they separated from the Roman Church, unfortunately neglect- ed to take the steps necessary to I'etain Episcopacy among them, entertained any such idea on the subject, they certainly would not have kept it out of sight; much less would they have spoken decidedly in favor of the Episcopacy of the Church of England, and condemned unequivocally as they did all separations from it. The words of Beza on this occasion are re- markably strong*. '* If there are any, (says he) which you can hardly make me believe, who reject the Avhole order of Bi- shops, God forbid that any man in his sound reason should consent to their mad- ness." And speaking of the Hierarchy of * Si qui sunt autem (quod sane mihi non facile persua- seris) qui omnem Episcoporum ordinem rejiciunt, absit ut quisquam satis sanae mentis furoiibus illorum assen- tiatur." " Fruatur sane ista singulaii Dei beneficenti^;, quae utinam sit illi perpetua."— Beza ad Tract, de Minist. Ev. Grad. Belgce Edit. C. 1 et 18, the [ 87 ] the Church of England, he says, *" Let her enjoy that singular blessing of God, which I wish she may ever retain." And Calvin, if" he is to be judged by his writ- ings, must have thought the cause in which Dr. Campbell has engaged, more worthy of an anathema than of vindication. " If (says he, speaking in opposition to the Popish Hierarchy) they would give us an Hierarchy in which the Bishops were so eminent, as that they would not refuse to be svibject to Christ, and depend on him as their only head, and be referred to him; — then I confess them wortli}^ of all ana- themas, if there shall be any such, that would not reverence such an Hierarchy, and submit to it with the utmost obedi- ence.'' Such an Hierarchy Calvin acknow- ledged that of the Church of England to be. In fact, the Reformation, in the original * " Talem si nobis Hierarchiam exhibeaiit^ in qua sic emineant Episcopi^ ut Christo subcsse non recusent, ct ab illo tanquam unico capite peudeant, ct ad ipsum re- feraiitur ; — tum vero nullo now auathemate dignos fatcar, !si (,ui erunt qui non earn reverc;iutur^ sunimuque obodi- cntia obscrvent." — De Neccss. JEccl. Refor. and [ S8 ] and proper sense of the word, did not consist in a separation from Episcopacy as such; for that was not the point at issue ; but in a separation from the cor- ruptions which the Papal Usurpation had grafted upon it. It was a separation grounded upon gross and notorious facts, imcompatible with the doctrine and spirit of Christianity, not on mere speculative opinions. In the enjoyment of this sepa- ration, with an Episcopacy independant of the Pope, the Church of England, con- tinued for some years, when there was no such being as a Presbyterian in the na- tion. The arguments which have been since employed in support of Presbyterian - ism, derive their origin chiefly from that spurious spirit of Puritanism, which, hav- ing first manifested itself in a factious, and for the most part senseless opposition to the order and discipline of the Church of England, at length terminated in that fatal separation from it, which Separatists feel themselves pledged at all events to justify. Such discrimination is necessary to dis- tinguish the glorious cause of our Refor- mation, [ 89 J Illation, from that degenerate one, whieh Presbyterian ism is at all times vainly at- tempting to associate with it. The turbulent Cartwright in Queen Eli- zabeth's clays, was the first who wrote a book to prove the very position, that has occupied so many pages of Dr. Camp- bell's liistor}^ namel}^ that primitive Churches with their Bishops, were Parishes only; and that each city contained but one parochial congregation. — A full and learned answer to this book, which soon followed its publication, laid this contro- versy to rest for about a century. It was then revived, and considered as a new discovery by one Clark son, under the bold title of " No Scripture Evidence for Dio- cesan Bishops;" — which speedily drew after it a compleat answ^er from Dr. Maurice, in his admirable defence of Diocesan Episco- pacy, which again laid the subject to rest for some time. This same subject thus (if we may so say) repeatedly nonsuited, was again brought to trial about the be- ginning of the last century under the title of " An Enquiry into the Constitution, Discipline, Unity, and Worship, of the Primitive [ 90 ] Primitive Church, within the first three hundred years after Christ." — Having at- tended to the progress of this controvers}^, and particularly marked the ground on which from time to time it has been placed ; I have no difliculty in tracing the road in which the Professor has travelled; and there is little doubt on my mind that the pub- lication last mentioned was the one which the Professor had before him, when he put together that part of his Lectures, which is now more immediately under considera- tion : because the same arrangement of argument and proof; the same mutilation of extract ; the same want of appeal to that evidence which the Scriptures are competent to furnish, together with the sa.me turn of expression, are to be met with in the publications of both writers ; a circumstance not to be accounted for but on the supposition of one having copied from the other. Indeed the chief marks by which the publication of the Professor appears to be distinguished from that of most other advocates in the same cause, are that unqualified boldness of assertion and peremptoriness of decision, which cer- tainly [ 91 ] tainly prove, not so much the truth of a cause, as the confidence of its supporter. Now if Dr. Campbell did not know that the publication above-mentioned, entitled " An Enquiry into the Constitu- tion of the Primitive Church," &c. from which it is here presumed, that he closely copied; had been so completely answered by the author of " A?i Original Draught of the Frimitive Church;" as to bring over the Enquirer to that author's opinion; he was certainly not fully qualified to read Lectures on Ecclesiastical History; be- cause, having taken but a partial view of the point on which the government of the Christian Church is supposed to turn, his History of Church matters must be consi- dered rather as the History of his own prejudices, than a detail of authenticated facts. On the other hand, if the Doctor had made himself acquainted with the answers which have been repeatedly given to the positions he has so confidently pro- duced; which, in such case he must have known, completely overturned the foun- dation on which he builds, on this occa- sion; by withholding information so neces- sary [ 92 ] sary to qualify his pupils to form an im- partial judgement on the subject before them, he was acting that disingenuous part, which is not to be reconciled with the character of an honest man. Indeed it should seem, (and we are very sorry that such an imputation should even ap- pear to lie against Dr. Campbell) that the Professor, having long since made up his own mind to the Presbyterian Standard, determined either not to meet this subject fairly; or having privately met it, thought it most adviseable in his public Lectures to pass over such a circumstance unno- ticed. According to which plan of pro- ceeding, controversy must be endless : we have but to adopt the motto of pride and self-sufficiency, " Non persuadebis, etiamsi persuaseris,'' and we may dispute the ground without an inch being gained on either side from generation to generation. The Professor's advice to his Pupils, (Page 166,) is confessedly, that of a wise and candid man; — " Revere truth (says he) above all things, wherever ye find it. Attend coolly and candidly to the voice of reason, from what quarter soever it comes. [ 93 ] comes. Let not the avenues of your un- derstanding be clioaked up with preju- dices and prepossessions, but be always open to conviction/' Had this excellent advice possessed sufficient influence on the mind of the Professor, persuaded I am, that both the premisses and conclu- sions which he has adapted to the support of the point in question, are what the discriminating judgement of Dr. Campbell must have rejected with scorn. But as the reader has a right to expect more than declamation on such a subject, 1 shall proceed to lay before him the foundation on which the Doctor has thouoht fit to build on this occasion ; with the view of examining briefly the solidity of the materials of which it is composed. The foundation, which Dr. Campbell considers to have been so hrmly laid in the primitive days of the Church as not to be shaken, is, that the charge of one Bishop was originally confined to one congregation: the word Church being only used in Sacred AVrit in two senses, cither as applicable to one congregation : or to the whole community of Christians; " the plural [ 94 ] plural number, Churches^ being invaria- bly usedj when more congregations than one are spoken of, unless the subject be of the whole commonwealth of Christ/* Page 205. Hence it follows, in the Doc- tor's words, that " the Bishop's inspection was at first only over one Parish." — " Ac- cordingly the territory to which the Bi- shop's charge extended, was always named in the period I am speaking of, in Greeks i:ctpomci', in Latin, Parochia; or rather Pa^ rcecia-, which answers to the English word Parish', and means properly a neighbour- hood." Pa^re 206. Of the meanino; of the English word Parish, there can be at this time no room for doubt; but before this part of the Doctor's foundation can stand firm, it must be proved that the word %cipoivau at the period of which the Doctor was speaking, and the English word Parish, in its modern acceptation, mean the same thing: otherwise we may be takino; sound for sense. This is a point the Doctor also thinks necessary to be established: and for this, reason he appeals to the authority of Ste- phanus, a lexicographer; oliserving at the same [ 95 ] same time, that in the first application of a name to a particular purpose, a strict regard is commonly paid to etymology. By which (if I mistake not the Doctor's meaning,) he would give his reader to un- derstand, that in the application of the word Tecpoiyiiu to a Bishop's charge in the Primitive Church, particular regard was paid to its original derivation. The exposition of the word by Stepha- nus, is, it must be admitted, exactly suited to the Doctor's hypothesis. But as the object in view is to ascertain the meaning of the word in question, at the period of which the Doctor was speaking, the signi- fication of it ouonht to have been traced from that period : in which case it Avould have been found that the original meaning of the word and Stephanus's exposition of it differed so widely from each other, as to militate against, rather than support, the conclusion which Dr. Campbell has drawn from it. To suppose that the ap- plication of the word %cipomu. to a Primi- tive Bishop's charge had any respect to the language now in use among us of this nation, is an opinion too absurd to be admitted [ 96 ] admitted by any thinking man; whatever affinity there may be between the ancient word and the modern one (should any continue to exist) must be derived, not from any reference which the original word could have to the future application of it; but from a conformity of modern usage with its original interpretation. This conformity must then be first ascertained, before any conclusive argument can be built upon it. Now the true method by vrhich to as- certain the meaning of a Primitive Eccle- siastical word, is by the sense it bears in Holy Scripture, if to be found there: by the continued use of it in the Primitive Church, and by the common signification of it in the original language from whence it is taken. Let the word 'Kupoi-mu be tried by these touchstones, and it will be found that Dr. Campbeirs cause has no claim to its assistance. To begin with the Holy Scripture, St. Luke uses the word in his Gospel for a stranger. " Art thou only a sti^anger in Jerusalem.'' — Su fj^ovog Tiapomsig, &c.— St. Paul uses the word in the same sense. Eph. ii. 19- " You . t 9T J " You are no longer strangers and /o- reigners, &c. wapo/Ko/,* in which passage the words strangers and foreigners are used in opposition to " fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God/' — From whence it appears, that the word 'srapoma must have suggested to the minds of the primitive Christians, an idea very different from that which Dr. Campbell, on the authority of Stephanus, has annexed to to it. If from the touchstone of Sacred Writ, we proceed to try the word in question by that of the primitive writers of the Church ; the word Tnupoiyiict both in Greek and Latin writers for several ages, is to be met with denoting a diocese of many Parishes and congregations in it : Avhich plainly proves that the narrow notion which modern usage has affixed to the English word Parishy did not origiimlly belong to it. For the establishment of this point one or two instances may be sufficient. St. Jerom, * translating an Epistle of Epi- phanius, to John, Bishop of Jerusalem, ex- * Epiphan. Epist. ad Joannem Ilycrosol. inter opera iTyeron. Vol. ii. Tom. 3. to\. 71. II presses [ 98 ] presses both their large dioceses by the word Parochia onl3^ St. Augustin * in his Epistle to Pope Coelestin tells him, that the Town of Fussala, 40 miles dis- tant from Hippo, with the country round about it did, before his time, belong to the FarcEcliia of his Church of Hippo. And our own countryman, the A^enerable Bede, calls the diocese of Winchester by the same name, even when the whole Province of the South Saxons did belong to it. " Provincia Australium Saxonum ad Civitatis Ventana^ Farochiaiti pcrtine- bat."— Bede, Eccl. Hist. 1. v. c. 19- Prom the testimony borne to this word by the primitive writers of the Church, we pass on to its signification in the original language from which it is taken. On appeal to the inquisitive Suicer we find the word z^upor^sio rendered by the Latin, advend or peregrinus sum; in con- formity with the meaning annexed to it by the inspired Penmen, as above remarked; and the word y.ciiomm opposed to it; which (he says) according to ancient glosses, * August. Opera a Theol. Lovan. Edit. Colon. Agrip. I6l0. Tom, ii. p. 325. . signifies [ 99 ] signifies to dwell, or have an habitation in any place. Whicli interpretation of the word, in direct opposition to tiie meaning annexed to it on this occasion by the learned Professor, Suicer has confirmed by tlie authority of Philo Juda^us, Basil, and Theodoret. With an appearance of candor, the Pro- fessor indeed tells his pupils, that he would not have it imagined that " he laid too great a stress on the import of words, whose significations in time come insensibly to alter/' P. 206. At the same time he docs the very thing which he would not be thought to do; for in almost the next sentence, without taking the least notice of the alteration that the insensible lapse of time has introduced into the use of the original word in question, he proceeds to determine the judgement of his pupils on this subject, by informing them in de- cided language, that the word " tzupa'Aiu. can be applied no otherwise, M'hen it relates to place, than the word Parish is with us at this day:'—?. 20?. Thus much for that part of the Profes- sor's foundation, which has been laid on the [ 100 ] the interpretation annexed by him to the word vapoiyiici ; which appears to be in direct contradiction to the original sense of it; as that sense is capable of being ascer- tained by Xhe language of the sacred Pen- men, the primitive writers of the Church, and the common signification of the word in the language to which it belongs: sources of information to which the Pro- fessor on this occasion ought certainly to have had recourse. That part of the Professor's foundation which he has raised on the three words fT/ ro uvio, w^ill not be found to have more solidiUj in it, than the part already exa- mined. The conclusion drawn by the Pro- fessor from the expression fx/ ro avlo is, that the Avhole iiock with their Bishop assem- bled together in the same place ; conse- quently that there could be but one congre- gation in one city. This the Professor observes is evident from the writings of Justin Martyr, of Irenaeus, of Tertullianj of Cyprian, and several others. Admitting that the expression in question ^vas meant to convey the precise meaning annexed to it on this occasion, the Pro- fessor's C 101 ] fessor s foundation, so far as this? expression is concerned, appears to stand firm. But to disprove this point, it will be sufficient to examine the authority only of one of the writers, to whom the appeal is here made. Justin Martyr, for instance, makes use of the expression in his apology to the Heathen Emperor for the then persecuted Christians. " For brevity's sake (the Pro- fessor says) he does not produce the pas- sage at length.'' — But the passage must strike the reader as too short in itself, to require an abbreviation. It will be more for the credit of the Professor s character, therefore, to suppose him implicitly adopt- ing the observation heretofore made by the Enquirer into the " Constitution of the Pri- mitive Church" on this passage; because that author's conclusion from it Avas built on a similar mutilation of the Martyr's text; than to suppose the Professor arguing from an appeal to the writings themselves: because such appeal, to a person of Dr. Campbell's judgement, must have deter- mined the passage to be totally inapplica- ble to the point it is brought to prove. The [ 102 ] The Apologist was writing to the heathen emperor in vindication of the persecuted Christians throughout the Roman empire; and towards the close of his apology he sets forth the general method they adopted in the performance of their religious ser- vice. His apology being general for the whole body of Christians every where dis- persed throughout the empire ; the prac- tice which he described must consequently have the same general application. His description was contained in the following words; '^' mavlm aalccmoXeig' Vj ccypsg /xevov^wv e%i to civio ffweXsvui; yivelat." All throughout citics and countries assemble together in one place ; admitting such to be the proper translation of the passage. These words, in the sense of the Apologist, undeniably contained a description of the Christian practice throughout the Roman empire : that on Sundays, all Christians both in ci- ties and countries assembled together, for the purpose of public worship. A descrip- tion, which equally applies to the practice of the Christian Church at this time in this country. But if thes^ words prove any thing, to the establishment of the po- sition [ 103 ] sition the Professor lays down, namely, that the Avhole flock assembled together with their Bishop and Presbyters in the same place', from which premisses, the conclu- sion is meant to be drawn, that a Bishop's charge did not originally extend be^'ond a single congregation ; they certainly prove too much : for in such case they prove, that all the Christians, dispersed throughout the wide extent of the Roman empire, as- sembled together in one place on days of public worship, and made but one congre- gation. To put the glaring absurdity of such a conclusion out of sight, the E?i' quiver into " the Constitution of the Pri- mitive Church" has prudently omitted the words ^^ 'ma.'jloi'j v.ulu 'UJo'Kiiq v\ uypsg y^^vovloov^'" whlch determine the application of the passage to the general practice of Christians through- out the Roman empire; with the view of accommodating it to the particular case he had to establish, relative to the confined nature of the Bishop's charge ; thereby affixing a sense to the words of the Apo- logist, totally different from that which the Apologist himself designed them to con- vey. And in this notorious misrepresen- scutalioD [ 104 ] tation of Justin Martyr s meaning, Pro- fessor Campbell appears to have followed the Enquirer s example. But the Professor should moreover have known, that the propriety of the transla- tion, on which his argument in this case is built, is at least of a very questionable kind. The learned Grotius translates this same phrase, eti to avio, Acts iii. 1, — " circa idem tempus, about the same time.'' — Beza's Paraphrase on the same phrase occurring in Acts ii. 44. is this : " The common as- semblies of the Church, with their mutual agreement in the same doctrine, and the great unanimity of their hearts were sig- nified by it.'' — " All that believed, (says Dr. Wells in his Paraphrase on the same passage,) were wont to assemble together in the several places where they lived, to perform divine worship." In the Greek translation of Ps. xxxiv. 3. what the Septuagint render e^i to uvio, Aquila translates 0/xo9ujx«Sov, that is, " with one mind and one heart." — ^The same phrase is to be met with again in Acts iv. 26. where it is said of the kings of the earth and of the [ 105 1 the rulers, that they were gathered toge- ther ; " (rvvyzh(riiv fx/ 70 civio." — But the word «-uvvi%Gvi(7«v justifies the above translation, without the addition of fT/ to uvio. By the addition therefore of that phrase in this place, may be understood, that they were met together, not in the same place, but with the same mind, or for the same purpose. The whole passage then taken together would have been more fully and signifi-r cantly rendered thus ; — " The kings of the earth and the rulers conspired together ;" &c. • — for it is not to be supposed, that the kings of the earth and the rulers, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were met together in oiie assembly on this oc- casion. Nor can this phrase, in the use Justin Martyr made of it, as it has been above observed, be understood in the sense annexed to it by the Professor, without a similar absurdity of bringing all Christians throughout the cities and countries of the Roman empire together on holy days, for the purpose of public Avorship. How conclusive the argument must be, which proceeds on the arbitrary interpre- tation of a single phrase, in itself of an indefinite [ 106 ] indefinite nature, which has been diiFer- ently understood by different writers, and which, in the case before us, absolutely militates against the meaning of the ori- ginal author, to whom the appeal is here made, the reader shall be left to determine. But in order to " evince beyond all possible doubt, (to make use of the Pro- fessor's strong language on this occasion,) that the Bishop's cure was originally con- fined to a single Church or Congregation ;" P. 210. — ^The Professor proceeds to state with confidence the language of Ignatius, as intended to confirm that idea : where the holy Martyr says to the Philadel- phians ; " Ev "hviiuqvi^m, ug eig EiiKTuoxog."' — *' There is but one Altar, as there is but one Bishop." — " The illustration (says the Pro- fessor) of 0716 Bishop, puts it beyond ques- tion, what sort of unity St. Ignatius as- cribes to the Altar , " one Altar as one Bishop ;' i. e. one identical thing in both cases : with the view of proving, that all antiquity is unanimous in assigning to one Bishop no more than one fKxA»i(r/a or Congregation, and one zrupomia or Parish. For this reason, though it was a proper Episco- [ 107 ] Episcopacy, in respect of the disparity of the Ministers, it was a parochial Episco- pacy in respect to the extent of the charge." P. 209. The reflection wliich the Professor has cast on those who differ from him in opinion, with respect to the meaning in- tended to be conveyed by the above-cited language of Ignatius, in pages 211, 212, is not more unworthy the Professor s cha- racter, than my notice. I proceed there- fore, without comment, to the point to be ascertained. The Reader lias already seen what strength the word 'sreipomia, and the phrase i%t TO etvio, as interpreted b}^ the Professor, have contributed to the foundation on which he builds on this occasion. He may now judge whether the language of Ignatius is calculated to furnish him with sounder materials. The idea annexed to Ignatius's words, Ev 'h\jciuqv[^iov^ See. by the Professor, is, that " as there can be in one diocese but one individual Bishop, there can be in one diocese but one individual altar.'' Sec. Page 212. Heucc from the expressions to be found [ 108 ] found ill the primitive writings of one prayer, and one supplication; and the sup- posed personal superintendance of the Bishop over his whole flock, together with his personal administration of all the of- iices of Religion, the Professor proceeds to the conclusion, that " it is not possible to conceive otherwise of the Bishop, during the period of Avhich he is apeaking, (namely the second and third centuries) than of the Pastor of a single parish." P. 214. If this idea of the Episcopal Office be so necessarily connected with it, that it is not possible that any other should be en- tertained on this subject, than what the Professor here delivers to the world ; it may be asked, how it is to be accounted for, that such idea should have had no existence in the human mind during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian sera; particularly that during; the three first centuries of the Christian Church, when the language of the primitive writers must have been better understood than they can be at present, in consequence of the practice which fur- nished a continued comment upon them, no such idea relative to the very confined nature [ 109 ] nature of the Episcopal Office is any where to be found. And if such idea did not exist during the three first centuries of the Church; we shall not be called upon to demonstrate the certainty of its having had no existence in tlie world, prior to the introduction of the Presbyterian model in the sixteenth centmy. When we consider moreover the strong and unqualified manner, in Avhich the Pro- fessor protests against the modern pre-emi- nence of the Episcopal character, as an encroachment on the original right of the Presbyter; we cannot but think that the circumstance of a Presbyter of Jeromes learning and character, fully acquainted, as he must be, with the true merits of the case, and engaged as he was in repelling the arrogant pretensions of the Deacon against his own office; admitting in the most unequivocal language the acknow- ledged station of the Bishop to be distinct from, and superior to, that of Presb3^ter, as furnishing the most incontrovertible tes- timony against the position wliich the Professor had at heart to establish. St. Jerom, in his Epistle to Evagrius, writes [ no ] writes thus ; " Wherever * a Bishop is, whether at Rome, Eugubium, Constanti- nople or Rhegium, Alexandria or Tani, he is of the same merit, and the same Priest- hood. Neither the power of riches, nor the humility of poA^erty, maketh a Bishop higher or lower ; but they are all succes- sors of the Apostles/' — " With us, (says he in liis Ep. contra Montan.) the Bishops hold the place of the Apostles/' In his Ep. ad Nepot. he writes; " Be subject to the Bishop and receive him as the Father of your Soul." — And the power which the Bishops possessed he elsewhere calls " a supremacy, a plenitude of power, the sub- lime and divine power of governing the Church, an imaccountable and eminent power/' — " Exors quaedam et ab omnibus eminens potestas." Such was the light in Avhich St. Jerom placed the supreme office * " Ublcunque fuerit Episcopus, sive Romse, sive Eugubii, give Constautinopoli, sive Rhegii^ sive Alex- andriae, sive Tanis, ejusdem meiiti est, et ejusdcni Sa- ccrdotii, potentia Divitiarum et Paupertatis humilitas, \cl sublimiorem vcl inferiorem Episcopum non facit. Ca.>tcriim omnes Apostolorum successoies sunt." — Hieron. ad Evagr. of [ 111 ] of Bisliop; who, though a Presbyter him- self, and in that character desirous of mas- nifying his own office against the arrogant pretensions of the Deacon, at the same time took care to mark that hne of dis- tinction drawn by the exclusive right of or- dination, between the office of Bishop and Presbyter, which determined the subjection of the Presbyter to his Bishop; and by observing on the same occasion, " that the Apostohcal constitution was taken from the Law; consequently, that what Aaron, his Sons, and the Levites were in the Temple, the same are the Bishops, Pres- byters, and Deacons in the Church/' Such a testimony from such a quarter, might, it should be supposed, put an end to all dispute on this point. And if disputes were not the children of pride, prejudice, and passion, much more than of reason, it certainly Avould. But in page 356 the Professor tells his pupils, in reference to Presbyterian Ordi- nation, that " whoever is ordained among them is ordained a bishop by a class of bishops. We are not the less bishops (con- tinues the Professor) in every thing essen- tial [ 112 ] tial, for being more conformable to the Apostolical and Primitive models, when every bishop had but one parish, one cOn- ereaation, one church, one altar, one com-* munion table." — Accordmg to the Apos- tolic model then, every bishop had but one parish, one congregation. " This parish (the Professor elsewhere says) was gene- rally no more than one city or village with its suburbs and environs: and this cit}^, &c. containing but one church or congregation." P. 218. — Admitting these Premisses, no- thing can be more evident, than that the language of Ignatius, from which the Pro- fessor has concluded that there was but one bishop in one city and its environs, which, it is probable, was the extent of a primitive bishop's charge, does not apply to the Presbyters, for whose episcopal au- thority the Professor is here pleading. In St. Luke's History of the Apostolic Acts, we read that Barnabas and Paul " ordained Presbyters in every church." Acts xiv. 23. —From which incontrovertible evidence it appears, that whilst according to the united testimony of Antiquity, there could be hwionc bishop in one church, there might be [ 113 ] be, and certainly were from the beginning, many Presbyters. Therefore, the Presbyters ordained in every Church must be different persons from the Bishop, of whom Ignatius is speaking; otherwise his authority mili- tates against that of St. Luke : consequently, the high authorit}^ of which the Professor seems here desirous of availing himself, does not appl}^ to the point which that authority is brought to prove. But the Professor, with the view of establishing the ground on which tlie whole strength of his congregational sys- tem is built, proceeds to amuse his piipils with an imaginar}^ description of the Pri- mitive Church, during the three first cen- turies; I call it imaginary, because the plain evidence of facts, if produced, woidd be found at complete variance with it. After having observed to his pupils, that previous to the building magnificent edi- fices for the reception of Christian assem- blies, the best accommodation, for more than a century, was the private hoiises of the wealthiest disciples, on which account the cono;reo;ations, for more than a cen- I tury, [ ni ] turr, could not be numerous: the Profea- sor proceeds to calculate the number of Christians in the places where the Apostles planted Churches, to amount to one thir- tieth of the people: and on the ground of this calculation, (the offspring of the Pro- fessor's own imagination,) he concludes, that " one of the primitive Bishoprics, in order to afford a congregation equal to that of a middling parish, ought to have been equal in extent to thirti/ parishes in this island." Had the Professor wished to enable his pupils to foiTn a decided judgement on the actual state of the Primitive Church, the Bible would have furnished him with au- thentic testimony on the subject; and it seems somewhat singular that a Professor, reading Lectures on Ecclesiastical Ilistorj, should unnecessarily lead his pupils into the field of imaginary conjecture, or should prefer the authority of Bingham and Til- lemont^ whose testimony at best does not bear directly on the point in question, to that of St. Luke. But when the reader shall have placed St. Luke's testimony be- fore [ 113 ] fore him, he may perhaps be at no loss for the reason of its having been passed over in silence. The Church of Jerusalem was the first founded by the Apostles; in conformity with the express direction of our Saviour before he left the world. Lukexxiv. 47- — Of this Church, according to the testimony of Hegesippus and other early writers, St. James was appointed Bishop by the Apos- tles themselves. The number of Disciples first assembled together at Jerusalem, (mentioned in Acts i. 15.) amounted to one hundred and twenty. To these were soon added three thousand souls. Acts ii. 41. — And to this number we read (v. 47.) " the Lord daily added.'' Proceeding with the History of this Mother Church, we find Acts iv. 4. the number of its members increased to five thousand. And believers, both of men and women, were still addins: to the Church. Acts v. 14. " Still the word of God (we read Acts vi. 7-) increased; and the number of Disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly;" insomucli, that in a few years we find, on St. Paul's return from his commission to the Gentiles, these thou- sands [ 116 ] sands of converted Jews were described by the multiplied number of mi/riads. " vjo^ut imupiaSe? sKTiv." Acts xxi. 21. Tliesc myriads of Christian converts could not assemble together; for if such a thing had been practicable, there was no building for thd purpose; their best accommodation, for more than a century, being, according to the Professor^s admission, private houses. From whence it follows, that the Bishop of Jerusalem must have had many congre- gations of Christians under his superintend- ance at a time, and consequently many Presbyters officiating under him for the discharge of ministerial purposes. And St. Luke's History confirms this represen- tation; for when St. Paul went in unto James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, for the purpose of making his report relative to the success of his Mission to the Gentiles, " all the Presbyters (we read) were pre- sent." Acts xxi. 18. To this testimony of the inspired Pen- man may be added that of Tertullian, who lived most of his time in the second cen- tury ; who in his Apology to the Roman Magistrates, which was written about the year year 200, glories in the multitude of Christian Professors. " We (says he) are of yesterday; * yet every place is filled with us; your cities, the islands, the forts, your corporations, the councils, the ar- mies, the tribes and companies : 3^ea, the palace, senate, and courts of justice; your temples only have we left free. Should we go off and separate from you, you would stand amazed at your own desola- tion, be affrighted at the stop and dead- ness of affairs amongst you : and you would have more enemies than subjects left you." — And in his Treatise addressed to the persecuting Scapula, he fairly tells him, which he would not have ventured to have done, had not the fact been true, that so o-reat was the multitude of Chris- tians, that they constituted " almost tiie greatest part of every Cit}^ :" Pars pccnc * " Hestcrni sumue, et vestra omnia implevimus; urbes, iusulas, castella^ municipia, conciliabula, castia ipsa, tribus, decurias, palatium, senatum, forum: sola vobis reliquimus tcmpla.^' Tcituli. Apol. p. .'';3. cap. 37. — Si tanta vis homiiinm in ali([uem oibis rcmoti siniun abrupissemus a vobis, — procul tlubio c.vpavissctis ad soUtudincm vestram, ad silentium verum, et stuporeiu fjueudam quasi mortui oibis." lb. ib major [ 118 3 mqjo7' ctijusqtie civitatis." Tertul. ad Scap. c. ii. p. 86. The accurate Historian, Eusebius, who wrote his history early in the fourth century, speaking in general of the Primitive Christian Churches in every city and country about the close of the Apostolic age; uses such singular terms to express the number contained in them, as denote them to be rather hosts and legions, than " congregations of middling parishes,'^ as the Professor describes them, by com- paring their " thronged and crowded societies to grain heaped upon a ham floor."^ And speaking of the peaceful times which the Christians enjoyed during the last forty 3'ears of the third century, he thus ex- presses himself. " Who san describe (says he) the innumerable increase and concourse of them? the numbers of assemblies in each city ? and the extraordinary meetings in their houses of prayer? So that not content with the buildings they had of old, they founded new and larger Churches Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 1. 2. c. 3. throughout [ 119 ] througliout every citi/."* To which shall be added only what Optatus, Bishop of Milevis says, that when Dioclesian de- stroyed the Christian Churches, (which was within five years after the expiration of the third century,) there was above forty Basilicee, or public places for Chris- tian worship, in the single city of Rome.-j- From the foregoing testimony, (to which much might be easily added,) when opposed to the description given by the Professor of the state of the Church in the primitive days, in which, according to the Professor's imaginary calculation, " one Bishopric, in order to afford a congregation equal to that of a middling parish, is supposed to have- been equal in extent to thirty modern pa- rishes ;" p. 216. — I shall leave the reader to draw his own conclusion, conceiving that further proof on this point cannot be neces" sary. TIms oav ris Sixyfx-\>tiz rls (jLVfitx-^opui tKtnxs tTriavixyu>fXi ', y.xi Ta vrX-nOv tZv kxIx zjx./v udfiOKT^aruji), tols rt I'mantJ.tif h roTt 'SsfQVtVAmflois ffvydfoixxs ', Zv oh hmx (xr^x^us 'in, rots •zjx/.xHon- oJxo- cofA.rtixx(ri apKV(ji.i)ioi, lipsixs s's TrAaror u\x ':^i.axi rxi TshXuf jx S>)/jtt- A/aK a»/raii- 'KxxXrcri'a/y." Enscb. Ilist. Ec'cl. 1. viii. C. 1. t Vide Optat. de Schism. Donat. I. ii. p. 39. From [ 120 ] From what has been said, the intelhgcnt reader has seen of what materials the foim- dation is composed, on which the Professor has raised his superstructure on this occa- sion* He will therefore judge it unneces- sary that time should be wasted in examin- ino' into the defects to be found in different parts of his building ; because, with what skill and contrivance soever the several parts of it may be put together, the whole, structure must fall to the ground, so long as the foundation on which it is placed, shall prove unequal to its support. The great point the Professor labours to prove is, that as there was but one Bishop in a Church, so there was but one Church to a Bishop. This is certainly primitive lan- guage ; and Avould moreover be primitive truth, if the Professor's notion of a parti- cular Church, (by which he understands only a si?igle congregation,) did not turn a Catholic maxim into an ecjuivocal proposi- tion. This point relative to the word Church being in primitive language used to denote only a single congregation ; except when meant to apply to the Catholic Church in general, the Professor endeavours to esta- blish [ 121 ] blish (as be says) " beyond all possible doubt" by the interpretation annexed to the word Tjyapoi'Aici ; by the expression eti to uvio used by Justin Martyr, and other primitive Amters, and by the language of Ignatius; Ev ^vctacvr piQv ug eig Erianorog. There is bat one Altar, as but one Bishop/' These several evidences have been exa- mined. The result of that examination has been, that they prove against the point in- tended to be established by them. The evidence furnished by the original interpretation of the word -s^upoimu, leads to a conclusion the very opposite to the one attempted to be here drawn from it. The evidence drawn from the interpretation an- nexed by the Professor to the phrase en ro Kvio, is grounded on a sense of it totally ir- reconcileable with the meanins; of the au- thor, who originally used it. AVhilst the interpretation annexed by the Professor to the words of Ignatius, at the same time that it is a total perversion of the Martyr's meaning, argues a compleat ignorance of the language of primitive antiquity. Had the Professor been moderately con- versant with the writings of Cyprian, to whose [ 122 ] ^vhose authority he has appealed, he would have found a passage in them which fur- nished so plain a comment on the forego- ing language of Ignatius, as to render a misinterpretation of it impossible. " No man (says Cyprian) can regularly constitute another Altar, or a new Priesthood, besides the one Altar, and the one Priesthood."* This passage of Cyprian has always been considered as parallel to, and consequently explanatory of the foregoing one from Ig- natius. The same idea conveyed in both, opens the meaning of all similar expres- sions, so frequently to be met with in the Avritings of the primitive Fathers : by which we understand that the Unity of the Altar, the Unity of the Bishop, the Unity of Prayer; in short, the Unity of the Church, are all founded on the com- mon principle of the Unity of the Christian Vricsthood. A figurative I)ut striking de- scription of which Unity, we have in that celebrated passage of Cyprian; a passage so noted in its kind, that it should not have * "■ Aliud Altaic constitui, aut Sacerdotium novum fieri, prajter imum Allarc, et wium Sacerdotiam, non potest."— Cypr. Ep. xl. §. 4. escaped [ 123 ] escaped the observation of the Professor.— " Episcopacy (says Cyprian in his small tract of the Unity of the Church) is I)ut one ; a part whereof each (Bishop) holds, so as to be interested for the whole. I'hc Church is also one\ which by. its fruitful increase improves into a multitude; as the beams of the Sun are many ; as branches from trees and streams from a fountain ; whose number, though it seems dispersed by the abundant plenty of them, yet their unity is preserved by the common original of them all." * Let this simple principle of Unity be applied to the several primitive expressions of our Church, " One Altar, one Bishop;* and it will be found to consist with as many Churches, Altars, and Bishops, as can be proved to be undeniably derived from one and the same original institutor. * " Episcopatus est unus, cujus a singulis in solidum pars tenetur. Ecclesia quoque una est, quai in niultitu- dinem latius incremento fcecunditatis extenditur ; quo modo Solii multi radii, sed lumen unum, &c. Numcro- sitas licet diffusa videatur exunditatis copiaj largitatc, luiitas tamen servalur in origine." — Cypr. dc Unit. Eccl. p. 108. The [ 124 ] The Unity of whose divine power and spirit, diffused at first among the chosen Twelve, stamps a Character of Unity upon, all who regularly descend from them: and upon every individual, who only claims under, and owns his authority from, and his dependance on such as them. Conse- quently the Unity of separate congrega- tions of Christians assembled within the same diocese, consisted, according to the primitive idea on this subject, in tlie mi- nisterial offices of each conoregation beinc: CD CD CD performed by a person duly authorized, and acting under the appointment and di- rection of the rightful Bishop of the whole flock. — Thus the plurality of Eucharists is made one, throughout all the united Provin- ces and Dioceses of the Catholic Church ; in conformity to the well known maxim, " Qui facit per alium, facitper se/' — Thus Ignatius, one of the great Advocates for the Unity of the Christian Altar, when he says, " Let that Eucharist be looked upon as firm and established," interprets his meaning by adding ; * " which is either offered [ 125 J offered by the Bishop, or by him to whom the Bishop has committed it." — The Bishop was then, in the primitive Church, considered as the centre of Unity to that particular Church, OA^cr which he was placed. So long as all order of ministration in tliat Church was regularly derived from him, and carried on under his superintending authority, so long the Unity of that Churcti was preserved. Thus Tertullian in his book about Baptism, to the question, " Who may baptize i^'' answers positivel}^; ''The High- Friest, who is the Bishop^ hath the power of baptizing ; and after him (or in subor- dination to him,) Presbyters and Deacons ; but not without the Bishops authority J' ^ — And before his time, the Apostolical Igna- tius, who spent almost all his days in the first century, said in express terms ; " That it is not lawful to baptize without the Bishop, f " Much more might be said ; was it not * " Dandi quidcm jus liabct summus Saceidos, qui est Episcopus; dehinc Presbyteri ct Diaconi; non tameu sine Episcopi auctoritate.'* C. 17. + OIk f^oy ff'v X'^V^ '*'* 'Ew/o^xo'Sra hrt ^cctrTi'^iiv, See, Epist. ad Smyrn. p. 6. my [ 126 ] my purpose to confine my observations chiefly to those points which constitute the foundation, on which the Professor has raised his imaginary superstructure, re- specting the Constitution of the primitive Church. The reader has seen, that the Cathohc phrase oiOne Altar and one Bishop, used by Ignatius, on which the Professor builds with such confidence and apparent securit}^ no more proves the necessity of but ojie congregation in a primitive Bishop's Diocese, than it would do in the most ex- tensive one of this or any other former ages ; provided every person who minis- tered at each separate congregation, had a regular commission from his Bishop for so doinor. The reader has had the meaning: of Ignatius explained by himself; and that meaning confirmed by the testimony of Tertullian and Cyprian, both living within the third century of the Church. He has seen enough, it is therefore presumed, to authorize the conclusion, that the Professor has in this case dealt with the testimony of Ignatius, as he had before done with that drawn from other quarters ; namely, brought it to prove what the author of it never t 127 J never designed that it should prove. The reader will also perceive (if 1 have suc- ceeded in treating this subject intelligibly,) that the Professor's misinterpretation on this occasion, has proceeded from an ig- norance of the language of the primitive writers; in which the expression, One Altar, is used to signify, not ofie individual altar, (as the Professor understands it ;) but the communion of the Bishop, though in dis- tant places and Churches ; in allusion to the o?ie altar at Jerusalem under the Law, and the ojie High-Priest; with whom the Synagogues in different places, and all the inferior Priests, did communicate; without supposing the personal presence of the High-Priest: upon the general idea, that personal presence, and virtual presence by delegated authority, meant the san^e thing. Of this imperfect acquaintance with the language of the Scriptures and antiquity, many more instances, certainly of not less importance, must occur to the recollection of all those scholars and critics, who have read, with due attention, the sundry dis- sertations and discussions, crowded into his translation [ 128 ] translation of the Gospels; more to sup- port particular prejudices, and to serve, it would seem, party purposes, than to pro- mote the general interests of Christianity. The unsoundness of the materials, of which the Professor's foundation is com- posed, having now been laid open; the superstructure raised upon it may be left to its fate. Where premisses are false, the conclusion drawn from them cannot be true. The detection of the former renders therefore the disproval of the latter but a waste of time. Thus much I have judged necessary to say, with the view of guarding those who' may be strangers to the subject before us, from paying more deference to the autho- rit}^ of Dr. Campbell, than, on this occa- sion he is entitled to challenge. His pub- lication appears to me, to contain one of the most hostile, most illiberal, and most unsupported attacks upon the Episcopacy of the Church of Christ, that ever has been made. Those who would enter more at large into his subject, from the com- plete satisfaction to be found, in one or other [ 129 ] Other of the publications mentioned in the margin,* on every prominent feature of the Professor's argument; will be sur- prized that a man of the Professor's ac- knowledged abilities, should commit him- self in the maintenance of points, which have been repeatedly and decidedly dis- proved. But though I do not profess to follow the learned Professor through all the ground over which he has travelled; there are however two parts of his publication, -which wear too strong marks of illiberality towards the Episcopal Churches of Eng- land and Scotland, to be passed over wholly unnoticed. We are prepared to * " Dr. Maurice on Diocesan Episcopacy." — " Tlie Principles of the Cyprianic Age, together with its Vin- dication against Gilbert Rule, by Bishop Sage, of the Scotch Episcopal Church. Anno. 1695." — " An Origi- nal Draught of the Primitive Church, in Answer to a Discourse entitled an Enquiry into the Constitution, Discipline, Unity, and Worship of the Primitive Church, within the first three hundred years after Christ. Anno 1717." To which maybe added the excellent Review of Dr. Campbell's Ecclesiastical History, that has lately appeared in the Anti-Jacobin JS umbers fur Eebruary IbOI, et seq. K make [ 130 ] make all due allowance for those prejudices generated by different habits of education, which lead others to an opinion different from our own on the subject of Ecclesi- astical government: at the same time that we lament the existence of that difference, because it necessarily tends to the destruc- tion of that Unity, which under God, constitutes the surest preservative of the Christian Faith. For tlie promotion of this Unity, that " with one heart and one mouth God" might be glorified; and Di- vision, the parent of Heresy, prevented; the Christian Church, wdth its appropriate go,vernment was originally established. From the evidence furnished by the Sacred Writings and primitive practice of the Church, if fairly appreciated, it appears evident almost to demonstration, that the government of the Church of England is ■built on the foundation laid by the Apos- tles, in conformity with the directions they received. And when we consider the various divisions that unfortunately took place among Christians on subjects of inferior moment; more particularly when we advert to that notorious attempt to [ 131 ] to raise the office of the Deacon above that of the Presbyter, which called forth most pointed animadversions from St. Jerom; we think it next to an impossibi- lity, (admitting Presbyters to be of like passions with other men,) that there should not be found in the History of the Church, the least trace of any remon- strance on the part of the Presbyter, against the superior authority of his Bishop; supposing the Episcopal autho- rity reall}^ to have been, what the Professor has studiously represented it, " an unwar- rantable usurpation and encroachment on the original Presbyterian form of Church government." — But we are not reduced to the necessity of depending on this argu- ment; on what strong ground soever it may appear to stand; being furnished* with the most decisive evidence to prove, that the direction of the affairs of the Church was originally carried on by three distinct Ministers; who, according to their respective degrees of office, became, to- wards the end of the Apostolic age, dis- tinguished from each other, by the appro- priate titles of Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon : [ 1.52 ] Deacon; iii conformity with a similar dis- tinction in the Jewish Church, of High Priest, Priest, and Levite. That such a correspondence between the Jewish and Christian Church should be preserved, is what will be expected by every one who considers, that the one was designed to be the Type of the other; and that the same Divine Being was the founder of both. It is admitted by the Professor himself, " that the outward form of Church polity, though not of the essentials of Religion, is not to be considered as a matter abso- lutely indifferent; for though the house in which a man lodges makes no part of his person, either of his body or his soul; one house may prove a very comfortable and convenient lodging, and another so incom- modious as to be scarcely habitable. And certain it is (continues the Professor) that one model of Church government may be much better calculated for promoting the belief and obedience of the Gospel than another." P. 249-— The rational conclu- sion from which premisses appears to be, that such model of government in this case was prescribed and adopted; it not being to [ 133 ] to be conceived that, a Divine Founder of a Church would fail to pay atten- tion to a circumstance, on which the suc- cessful promotion of the object he had in view on the occasion so much depended. Nor is it to be imagined that He, b}^ whose express appointment the service of the Jewish Church had been regulated, and who in his own person paid a delicate re- gard to the ordinances of the old dispen- sation, which were to give way to the new; should leave the aftairs of the Chris- tian Church in an irregular and unsettled condition. To say then " uitli freedom^" (as the Professor does in P. 14 1.) that if a parti- cular form of polity had been essential to the Church, it had been laid down in ano- ther manner in the Sacred Book, is not sa much to reason, as to presume. AAliilst the admission, that the success of the Gos- pel might depend much on the model of Church orovernment, tends to demonstrate the impropriety of the position. That our Saviour accompanied the delivery of the \ j}ostolic commission with any particu- lar directions on tliis subject, the Sacred Recordia I 134 ] Records certainly furnish no data to prove. At the same time, the fair conclusion to be drawn from the circumstance of the Apos- tles not having left on record the direc- tions they might have received, is not, that no directions were delivered; but that for sufficient reasons they were not judged necessary to be particularized. But whether our Saviour did or did not deliver directions in person on this subject, so long as the Apostles are allowed to have carried on their office under the immediate guidance of the Holy Spirit, the model of Church government which they adopted, must be considered as equally sanctioned by Divine Authority. In what that model consisted, there has been but one opinion in the Church, from the days of the Apostles down to the present time: an opinion which all the attempts from time to time to justify separation from it, have been unable to invalidate. That no marked deviation from the Jewish model of Church government, is expressly to be found in the Apostolic Writings, is more than presumptive proof that no such deviation took place; for had such [ 135 ] feiich been the case, the certain conse-* qiience of that strong prejudice which the Jewish converts to Christianity, still re-» tained for the Mosaic Dispensation must have been, that such a notorious, and to them offensive, deviation from it, could not have been passed over in silence. From the silence of the Sacred Records then on this subject we draw a conclusion, the very opposite to what Latitudinarians draw from it ; by considering it as furnish- ing that species of circumstantial proof, in favor of the ministry of the Christian Church having been modelled after that of the Jewish Temple, built on the ground of rational conclusion, which nothing short of the most decided contrary evidence can be deemed competent to set aside. But that such a correspondence between the o'overnmentof the Jewish and Christian Churches did actually exist; the writings of the above mentioned Clement, together with those of Ignatius, Cyprian, and St. Jerom, to mention no other; authorize us to affirm: otherwise, their writings, from the analoo'ical mode of reasonins: occa- sionally to be found in them, relative to the [ 136 ] the diflerent orders in the Levitical Priest- hood, on the supposition that no analogy between that and the Christian Priesthood subsisted, were calculated to deceive the parties to whom they were addressed. But whilst we thus feel ourselves justi- fied in deriving the Constitution of our National Church from its undouhted Apos- tolic origin; still we do not think ourselves authorized, by the spirit of the Religion we profess, to revile Dr. Campbell, because the establishment Avith which he was con- nected stands, in our opinion, on no better foundation, than that which was originally laid by John Calvin. At the same time it must be observed, that had not Dr. Camp- bell's name been prefixed to the publication under consideration, we should have con- eluded, that it could not possibly have fallen from the pen of a member of any regular Religious Establishment whatever; but from that of some levelhng Independ- ant: whilst in the general management of the argument, we are constrained to saj^ that the able and ingenious Refuter of the sophistical Hume is not often to be traced. Indeed, interested as we are for the con- sistency [ 137 ] sistency of the character of a man, ^ho once, much to his credit, and the satisfac- tion of the Christian workl, Avas the able and successful Champion of Truth, against one of the most powerful of her enemies ; we find it difficult to persuade ourselves, that this work, which can be highly ac- ceptable only to wild Independants, and strongly prejudiced members of the Scotch Kirk, could be left by Dr. Campbell for publication, as it is. But when we hear a Presbyter of the Scotch Kirk, (a Religious Establishment unknown to the world for the first fifteen hundred years of Chiistianity,) indecently reviling the form of Church polity, esta- blished in this country; by stigmatizing, w^hat we maintain to be a Divine Institu- tion^ with the coarse title of an " arrogant pretension, the offspring of sectarian bi- gotry and ignorance;" (P. l-il.) our thoughts are suddenl}^ carried back to those disgraceful days of covenanted zeal, Avhich charity towards Christian Brethren disposes us to forget. And though we feel indisposed to return any answer to such language: we cannot refrain from lamenting the E 138 ] the assumption of that dictatorial author rity; by which an individual deals out his peremptory decrees with that contemptuous disregard of others, which no distmction of talents can excuse, no pre-eminence of learning justif)^ And Avhen it is consi- dered moreover, that the Professor pre- pared these Lectures for the press; we think that what Dr. Johnson said of Lord Chesterfield, he might probably, had he Jbeen living, have applied on this occasion to Dr. Campbell; by saying, that he had charged his blunderbuss asiainstthe Church of England, and left it to his executors to be fired off; because he himself was afraid of the recoil: for the Professor must have known, it is presumed, that there were not wanting Divines in the Church of England, (and I add with pleasure, in the Episcopal Church of Scotland also,) qua- lified to remove that veil of fallacy, with which, through the concurrent assistance of unfiiir representation, partial quotation, inconclusive reasoning, and confident as- sertion, he has contrived to disguise, and thereby, disgrace the cause he undertook to maintain. To [ 139 J To what the Professor has thought pro- per to say on the subject of the Scotch Episcopal Church, the Reviewer of Dr. Campbell's Lectures in the Anti-Jacobin has rendered any farther reply unneces- sary. The weakness of the ground the Professor has taken, for the purpose of supporting his illiberal attack on the Epis- copal character of the Scotch Bishops, has been so completely laid open by this manly, clear, and judicious critic; that to dwell longer on the subject, would be to trespass on the time and patience of the intelligent reader. I shall onlj^ therefore briefly observe; that Dr. Campbell must be little acquainted with the nature of the Christian Church, to suppose that any human authority can annihilate the Apos- tolical commission of its Divine Founder. And that no suspension in the exercise of that commission has taken place in Scot- land, the regular succession of the Scotch Episcopacy furnishes demonstrative proof Whilst Dr. Campbell's attempt to depriAC the Scotch Bishops of tlieir just title to the Episcopal character, grounded on the circumstance of their not having the charge of [ 140 3 of* any particular diocese to superintend ; (were the fact admitted to be strictly true;) appears to have no more of reason to support it, than would the attempt of a lawless banditti, who had made a forci- ble entry into my parsonage, and by violence driven me from the charge of my parish; to deprive me of my pastoral character, because I had it no longer in my power to feed my particular flock. And when I consider on the one hand, the steps by which Presbytery in Scotland ar- rived at its present establishment ; and on the other, the Christian resignation which has marked the character of the Scotch Episcopal Church during the days of her humiliation ; I feel no hesitation in declar- ing, on the supposition that Church govern- ment was a subject of more doubtful con- troversy then it really is; Malo cum Epis- copo errare, quam cum Presbyteris recte sentire. It is indeed to be lamented, that it is become the fashion in these days, which are remarkable for nothine; so much as for the unsettlement of all established insti- tutions, to weigh the Circumstantials of Religion [ 1-n J Religion against the EssentUih of it ; as if there was a necessity of drawing a com- parison between two things, which the Deity designed never to be separated. This plan of setting the purity of rehgion against the Establishment of it, the author of all confusion has already adopted with sig- nal success ; and the Church of Christ in this country, has never completely reco- vered from the fatal experiment. Did nations grow Avise by experience, it might be hoped, that language, which has been so fully understood, should be incapable of leading thinking minds into a second imposition. To those who now make use of it for the same purpose to which it so effectually ministered at a former period of our History, we of the Clergy must, it is supposed, continue to be silent ; for we are the last persons they wish to hear. But to those pious well-meaning people, who suffer their minds to be so occupied with ©ne idea on this subject, as to leave little or no place for any other, we beg leave to say a few words, in the hope, that with them our influence is not, as yet, entirely lost. [ 142 J AVe would wish them to consider then, that Rehgion, though a subject of a spi- ritual nature, must be adapted to the condition of the parties for whom it is designed. That the form and spirit of it, though in themselves essentially distinct from each other, appear nevertheless to have been so connected together by its Divine Author, that their separation has generally proved mutually destructive. All true Religion, it should be remembered, has its source in Revelation. To that same source the essentials, and for the most part the circumstantials of it also, are to be traced up. Considered in that light, it is our Duty to hold them in equal reverence. The Divine Author of Religion at all times knew by what means the knowledge of it was to be best preserved in the world. Under every dispensation of it, he has not failed therefore to provide accordingly. And by our conformity to the provision made, we may rest assured, the end de^ signed to be answered by it, will be most ettectually secured. " But (to make use of the observation of the judicious Butler,) as it is one of the peculiar weaknesses of hu- man [ 143 ] man nature, when, upon a comparison of two things, one is found to be of greater importance than the other, to consider this other as of scarce any importance at all ; it in highly necessary that we remind our- selves, how great presumption it is, to make light of any Institutions of Divine Appointment ; that our obligations to obey all God's commands whatever, are abso- lute and indispensible : and that Com- mands merely positive, admitted to be from him, lay us under a moral obligation to obey him ; an obligation moral in the strictest and most proper sense." — Eutler's Analogy, p. 270. Whatever hasty idea some pious persons may have been occasionally led to form on the subject ; they may be convinced, if they will judge the Clergy fairly ; that our zeal for the essence of religion is not less warm tlian their own ; although there may be a diiference of opinion between themselves and us, with respect to the best mode of exercising it. The provision made under the Christian Dispensation for the preservation of true religion in the world, we ai'c persuaded, was the Jpostolic Const i- tutkm [ 144 ] tuti(m of the CJiurch. To the circumstan- tials of Older and government, as they exist in the Episcopal Chm'ch of this country, considered as a branch of the Cathohc Church of Christ, we look up, as to means divinely appointed, for the pur- pose of conducing to a certain important end. Were we to be asked, in the loose but imposing language of the day, which Ave thought to be of most importance ; the Circumstantials of Religion or the Esse7itiuh of it ? we should hold the question to be as littl-c entitled to answer, as if we were to be asked ; which we thought of most consequence, the Bodi/, or the Garment that covers it? because, it is presumed, that none but fools or madmen will expose the human frame to the injuries it must suffer from the inclemency of seasons, on the conviction that the covering appointed for the preservation of the body was, com- paratively speaking, of infinitely less value, than the body intended to be preserved by It. With this idea in my mind, I think that the greatest service the Clergy can do to thQ [ 1« J the cause in which they are engaged, not less than to the country to Avhich they be- long ; will be to convince all persons really disposed for conviction on the subject, that the " lips of the priest in this land still preserve that knowledge, which is to be expected from his mouth. Conviction ou this head will most effectually counteract separation from the Church ; by removing the ostensible cause of it : and should it not succeed so far, as to bring Separatists back from the error of their ways, it will at least, with the blessing of God, preserve those members of the Church from going astray, who still remain in it. The great body of the people in this country are attached to their Bible. Ge- nerally speaking, tliey know when they hear it. And if they hear it, as they ought to do, in the Church, they will certainly have no reason, and it is to be hoped little inclination, to wander in search of it in other places. And when it is considered, that the great body of the people carry with them the political weight of the coun- try they inhabit; their religious instruction ought to constitute an object of primary L importance [ 146 J importance in every well-regulated govern- ment. To behold with indifference that grow- ing separation from the Church, which ig- norance, misguided zeal, and the preva- lence of latitudinarian principles have con- tributed to introduce among us, would arffue a want of attachment to the Chris- tian cause, Avhich no honest Minister of the Church can be supposed to feel. When therefore it is considered, that the Establishment, whether of Church or State, in any country, depends for its security on the support which it receives from public opinion ; the obvious conclusion appears to be, that in proportion as the direction of that opinion is withdrawn from those teachers, to whom the Consti- tution in Church and State has committed it, will tlie Establishment in either case be proportionably endangered. But when the Church is viewed, not merely in its political connection, but as a society incorporated by divine wisdom, for the purpose of preserving the standard of Cliristian truth in the world ; the convic- tion that a corruption of the doctrine of the t 1*7 ] the Church is the general consequence of a separation from its government, leads to the still more serious apprehension, that such separation may increase to a degree, to render the removal of a Church from any country, a judgement necessary to be carried into execution. So long therefore, as a rectitude of sen- timent in religion continues to be regarded as a matter of importance, so long will the possession of a well educated Clergy be deemed essential, to the spiritual condition of a Christian country. This is a conside- ration which must weigh heavy in the scale of every thinking man. I speak with cautious reverence and fear; acknowledging myself liable to error. But it will be happy for those who shall live some years hence, if they can prove me guilty of error on the subject, to which I now more immediately allude. The times in which we live call for all the energy of the human mind, to stop the progress of that desolating system, which derives its origin from the licentious creed, wliich has long been stealing on the world. [■ 14S ] ■world. To the Clergy, as to the appointed o-uardians of the Christian Altar, the pro- fessional interpreters of the Evangelic code, and the constitutional promoters of order and government, the public eye is in such times particularly directed. And whilst there is any spring of Theological activity in the Clerical mind ; whilst any energy of religious zeal, any regard for professional character remains in the Clerical heart ; — they will not disappoint the public expec- tation ; but will continue to be, what they heretofore have been, the most learned, as well as the most zealous, of Christian Di- vines. In such case ; should it be the will of Providence to put the Church of this coun- try to a severer trial, than she has hitherto experienced ; Ave shall have the consolation to think, that her Watchmen will be found prepared for the event. And though, in DivineWisdom it may be judged necessary, to rouse us from that lukewarmness and indifference, which are too apt to graft themselves upon a state of undisturbed prosperity; still we trust, that the spirit of our [ 149 ] our pious Reformers will not be found so far to have departed, as to provoke God to remove his Candlestick from this fa- voured land; but, that through Grace, it may be permitted to give light among us eveji unto the End. DISCOURSE [ 151 ] DISCOURSE I. HEB. xiii. 8. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. HE Prophecies delivered, and the Mi- racles recorded in the different parts of Holy Writ, prove the dignity of the person to whom they refer : " the testimony of Jesus being, in their respective ways, the spirit of both." Taken collectively, they furnish an as- semblage of proof, in support of the stu- pendous scheme for the salvation of man, moving on from its origin in the divine councils, through several appointed stages of advancement, to its perfect accomplish- ment at the consummation of all things ; which, if fully drawn forth and ddy ap- preciated, places the truth of Christianity on that firm basis of Revelation, which bids [ 152 ] bids defiance to every attack that infidelity can make avainst it. All sound members of the Church there- fore, must consider themselves indebted to champions, who, in the armour of truth, take the field against those Goliahs of infi- delity, who, in our days of rebuke and blas- phemy, are come forth to defy the armies of the living God: whose object is no longer confined to insidious and disguised attacks on the Church of Christ; but has manifested itself in that open and determined hostility to it, which, in the paroxysms of their athe- istic insanity, they have promised them- selves, will terminate in its total destruc- tion. > But, whilst some of the Watchmen of Israel are engaged in the field with the open and declared enemies of Christianity; others may be not less usefully employed, in confirming the faith of those who are still desirous of holding fast their profes- sional engagement. Whilst some are ho- nourably employed in tearing away the disguise from tliat wretched system, which, under the veil of superior perfection, is now endeavouring to cheat the world to its utter [ 133 J utter ruin; others may contribute some- thing to the general cause, by rendering Christians less open to the specious reason- ings of those false pliilosophers ; uho have proved, to the conviction of every thinking mind, that in " professing themselves wise, they are, in the emphatic and appropriate language of the Apostle, become very fools." For, as all heresy is a stage of advance- ment towards open infidelity ; every suc- cessful attempt to establish the truth, as it is in Christ Jesus, must tend to stop, in a degree, the progress of those baneful prin- ciples ; which, in exchange for our best enjoyments and best expectations, offer nothing to the contemplative mind, but a disorganized society, and an hopeless fu- turity. With these ideas before me, my object will now be, not to prove the establishment of Christianity, by tracing its fortunes, with the concurring light of history and pro- phecy, through the difi'ercnt stages of its progress in the Avorld ; a work whicli must have addressed itself chiefly to the learned; but to write down to the understanding of the more common Christian ; by illustrat- ing [ 154 J ing and confirming the essential doctrine of the Christian rehgion, b}^ that internal evidence, which the Bible, as a book at unity with itself, cannot fail, Avhen properly understood, to furnish for that purpose. Aware, it should seem, of the decided conclusion to be drawn from that concen- trated evidence resulting from the united testimony of Divine Revelation, unbeJiev- crs are in the habit of adopting a ready way of disposing of all those parts of Scrip- ture, which are irreconcileable with their systems; by denying their inspiration. AVith such underminers of the foundation, on which stands all our knowledge of spiritual things, we profess not to reason ; be- cause our admission of the current asser- tion, that truth can never be injured by debate, must be received in this qualified sense ; that the method of debate and the subject debated on, are properly suited to each other. If what the Apostle says, has not lost its authority, " that the things of God know- eth no rnan, but the Spirit of God;" 1 Cor. ii- 11- — the only way of acquiring a know- ledge of spiritual things, must be by an attention [ 155 ] attention to what the Spirit of God has revealed. Those -who admit the inspira- tion of the Sacred Writings, to act con- sistently Avith that admission, must, in reasoning on spiritual subjects, be governed by this principle. Whilst those v/ho reject it, are not to be reasoned with at all ; be- cause they quit the ground, on which alone sound reasoning, in matters of this nature, can possibly be built. To the Scripture then we must go for information in spiritual things: and the more that Scripture is made the Inter- preter of itself, the better reason shall we have to be satisfied, that the information derived from it is correct. AVhen it is considered, that the prose- cution of one divine plan appears to direct the ways of Providence, from the begin- ning to the end of time; and that the great ycheme of Redemption constitutes the chief burden of Revelation, from its first opening in Paradise, to the final testimony vouchsafed to the favourite Apostle; we shall conclude with our Article, that " the Old Testament cannot bo contrary to the New;" life having from the beginning been revealed [ 136 ] revealed to man through that promised seed, which has been manifested to the world in " Jesus Christ, the same yester- day, to-da}^ and for ever." In this boasted Age of Reason, but declining Age of Faith, it may be expe- dient therefore to trace from time to time, that wide foundation, on which Christian- ity has been placed by the different dis- pensations of Divine Wisdom ; that Chris- tian Professors may be convinced, that in preaching the doctrine of the Cross, wc bring no strange thing to their ears; but that doctrine which was desioned to cha- o racterize the Church, through every stage of her militant state on earth ; as prepa- ratory to its becoming the endless theme of her triumph in a future state of glory. This mode of establishing the Faith proceeds on a supposition not to be con- troverted; namely, that what has been once stamped by the authority of Divine Revelation, must ever be true. Conse- qucntl3^, from the analogy to be traced between the different dispensations of Re- ligion, which at different times have re- ceived the sanction of Divine Appoint- ment ; [ 157 ] ment; a conviction must be derived to every mind capable of appreciating the force of rational evidence, with respect to the uniform tenor of the doctrine meant to be established. Thus, for instance, the marked correspondence between the dis- tinguishing service of the Jewish Temple, and that of the Christian Church, the lat- ter considered as the instituted commemo- ration of that sacrifice, of which the for- mer was the appointed shadow, furnishes a proof, the most direct and conclusive, in support of Christianity. For it is obvious to remark, that what- ever evidence we have for the Divine In- stitution of the Levitical service in the Temple, the same, and at least an equal degree of evidence, is to be produced for the establishment of the correspondent service in the Christian Church. And as it is not to be supposed that the Spirit of God would, on a former occasion, set the Divine Seal of Miracles to an Institution which was not his own; so neither is it to be supposed, that in these latter days lie would bear the like, and still more circum- stiintial testimony to such Expounders of it, as [ 1^8 ] as by ignorant mistakes, or studied false- hoods had misrepresented its meaning, and thereby perverted its design. Conse- quently, the Jewish and Christian dispen- sations, considered as constituting two connected parts of the same Divine QEco- nomy, must stand or fall together. In fact, from the fall there has been but one way of Salvation. The only variation which Divine Wisdom has thought proper to adopt, relative to this important sub- ject, respects, not the subject itself; but the manner in which the knowledge of it has been communicated to the world. This has given rise to different Dispensations of Religion, suited to the circumstances of the parties at different periods; whilst the promotion of one essential consideration was the uniform design of each; namely, that of directing the mind of fallen man to the same divine object of Faith and Hope. This object originally pointed out by the mystic representation in Paradise, Avas more distinctly marked by the typical ser- vice appointed to accompany it. Which service, through its different stages, proved the [ 159 ] the means of keeping up the true Faith, Avherever it was kept up; till God, in wis- dom thought fit, by the mouth of his Son, to speak a plainer language to the Avorld. . The application, therefore, which our Saviour and his Apostles made of the types of the Old Testament, to their cor- responding truths in the New, directly proves, that the Christian Faith was the pbject of the Jewish dispensation: Avhilst an attention to the meaning those types were designed to convey, qualifies us to determine on the best authority, what the nature of that Faith is. Thus the Old and New Testament, by their mutual illustration of each other, furnish that accumulated mass of evidence in support of the characteristic doctrines of the Cross, which cannot fail, when duly appreciated, to bring conviction to the mind of every one, who has not ad- vanced so far in the school of modern infidelit}', as to reject the foundation, on which alone all sound reasoning on Chris- tian subjects is built. But, before we enter on the Subject proposed, it may be of advantage to ex- pose [ 1^0 J pose the futility of that specious mode of arguing, which proud reasoners, substi- tuting the light of Nature for that of Re- velation, so confidently adopt: by which the inquisitive mind is too apt to be drawn away from that Scriptural path of light, which shines more and more, until the per- fect day; into that dark and comfortless one, which, through the perplexing maze of doubt and uncertainty, generally leads to universal scepticism. When we consider the various opinions which have prevailed, and continue to prevail, on the subject of Religion, it might be expected that we should be at some loss to reconcile them with that uni- form consistenc}^, which is one of the most striking characteristics of truth; no less than with the benevolent design which the Deity must have had in view, in re- vealing that truth to the Avorld. But when we consider man, in his present fallen state, a being perverse in will, and corrupt in understanding; we cease to be surprized at an effect, Avhich must necessarily result from that variety of causes, to which the opinions and practices of men are at dif- ferent [ 161 ] ferent times to be traced up. A single-* ness of heart, accompanied with an un- corrupt love of truth for the trutKs sakcy is a perfection rarely to be expected from that p-eneral deransjement of the human faculties, which Avas brought about by t^he fall. Reason is the gift of God to mau: and had it been always employed, as it ought to have been, in the service, and for the honour of the Giver, it would have proved, what it was designed to be, the firmest support of Revelation. But alas ! it was in opposition to Revelation, that the first notorious exertion of its powers became distino-uished. And the success which the grand Adversary of mankind gained in Paradise, by this original perversion of tlie human understanding, has encouraged him to a continued repetition of the same fiaitering temptation. " Ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil," was that confRlent assurance, which by setting up the reason of man in opposition to the revealed, word of his MaAcr, laid the foundation for infidelity, in all the variegated forms iu which it has >i since [ 162 ] since appeared in the world. The pro- gress of this insinuating temptation is uniform. It commences with flattering the pride of human reason; and under the plausible and captivating idea of free inquiry, and liberal discussion, terminates in an absurd and blasphemous attempt, to circumscribe the ways of infinite wisdom, within the narrow limits of a finite under- standing. To this radical source of atheistic folly, are to be traced up those speculations, which in the vaunting language of indivi- duals, are represented as so many laudable efforts of the human mind, to advance the important subject of Religion through dif- ferent stages of improvement, to its utmost degree of perfection. " In nature, we have been told, we see no bounds to our en- quiries. One discovery always gives hints for many more, and brings us into a wider field of speculation. Now why should not this (continues the same writer*) be in some measure the case with respect to knowledge of a moral and religious kind.^' * Dr. Priestley. Free Enquiry. Fof [ 1G3 ] For the best reason in tlic world it niajr be answered ; because the subjects are of a very different nature, and productive of very different consequences to tlie parties concerned in them. The works of Nature and of Art open a wide fiehi for specula- tion, and were doubtless designed to exer- cise, and thereby enlarge the iaculties of the human mind. Upon these subjects there can be no bound set to enquiry or improvement: because the works of Na- ture and Art appear to be as intinite, as the extent of man's rational powers is un- determined. But the work of Grace in the revelation of the divine Avill to man, is to be seen in a different lio-ht. This beino; desio;ned not so much to exercise the head, as to ame- liorate the heart, ou.i>ht on that account to be independent of the speculations of the party, intended to be reformed by it. The discoveries in Nature and in Art, though calculated to inq)rove the condi- tion of man in this woiid, both as a ra- tional and a social being, by adding to his in:orni;;tion, as well as to his eonil'ort in life, [ 16* ] life, were still left to depend for their ad- vancement, on the exertion of those natural faculties with which God thought fit to furnish him. But the knowledge of Reli- gion, was a subject of too essential im- portance both to the present and future happiness of man, to be left on such an uncertain footing. The propagation of it therefore became an object of immediate attention to the Deity himself. As a demonstrative proof of which, that Being who sees the end from the begin- ning, so orders the ways of men, that the kingdoms of the earth in the eventful pages of their respective history, become subservient in their turns to the promo- tion of the divine plan. That scheme which had been projected in the councils of Heaven, and partially revealed from time to time, travelled on through several successive stages of advancement, till it arrived at that fullness of time, when from a variety of concurrent circumstances, the world was in some degree prepared, for a more compleat display of Divine Revelation in the personal ministry of the Son of God. Religion [ 165 ] Religion therefore, considered in itself, as coming from God, must be perfect, and can receive no improvement from the wit of man. We may talk of the progress of arts and sciences ; and in this sense the phrase is properly applied : but when we carry the same idea with us into Religion, we are attempting to place subjects under the same point of view, which are as widely separated from each other, as Earth from Heaven. In compliment to reason, it has been supposed that the increasing light of sci- ence must contribute to the advancement of religious knowledge. But this suppo- tion has certainly not been verified by ge- neral experience. So far from it, that superior attainments in human science, instead of bringing men nearer to God, have too frequently proved the means of drawing them further from him. For no- thing throws so great a stumbling block in the way of spiritual knowledge as carnal wisdom. On this account it doubtless was, that our blessed Saviour spake thus decidedly to his Disciples : " Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom [ 166 ] kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein/' That line of just discriniination neces- sary to be drawn bet\Yeen the use and abuse of Science, somi' judgement on this occasion will not fail to draw. AVe arc aware that Science, truly and properly so called, has in no way or degree injured Religion: and that the most cultivated and improved minds, if so cultivated as to merit the name, are, and in the nature of things must be, the most teachable and humble. Sir Isaac Newton, one of the most scientific men that ever lived, was no less exemplarily modest, meek, and unassum- ing ; and studied the Scriptures, if not with compleat success, yet with much me- ritorious singleness of heart. That worthy disciple of the Newtonian school, the ce- lebrated Madaurin, not only a profound mathematician and philosopher, but also a pious Christian like his master; was one of the most strenuous defenders of Re- vealed Religion, against that false Science Avlii{;h lias brought the name of philosophy into disrepute, and so much contributed to spoil our taste and corrupt our morals. . It [ 1S7 ] It is not therefore to those respected promoters, of that sound and correct know- ledge, which is entitled to the name of true science, and constitutes the firmest bul- wark against atheism ; but it is to those vain proficients in false science, whose su- perficial views of Nature do not lead up to Nature's God, who affect to be wise above what is written, that we must be understood to address the observation; that an unpresummg teachableness of disposi- tion, Avhich is the characteristic of child- hood, is the best qualification for the re- ception of Gospel truth ; which " casteth down imaginations, and every high thing that cxalteth itself asiainst the knowlcdo;e of God ; and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." In fact, the mysterious doctrines of the Gospel have nothing to do with our im- provements in any human science what- ever ; as they were originally revealed by God, the same they must continue ; ob- jects for faith, not for speculation, to the end of time. " It is very weakly urged, that Religion should keep pace with sci- ence in improvement ; for nothing can be : . more t 1G8 ] more absurd tlian tlie idea of a progressive Religion ; which being founded upon the declored, not the imagined^ will of God; must, if it attempts to proceed, relinquish that Revelation, which is its basis; and so cease to be a Religion founded on God's word. God has revealed himself; and all that he has spoken, and consequently all that is demanded of us to accede to, is declared in one Book ; from Avhich nothing is to be retrenched, and to which nothing can be added. All that it contains, was as perspicuous to those Avho first perused it, as it can be to us now, or as it can be to our posterity in the fiftieth generation." Free inquiry, if restrained within due bounds, and applied to proper subjects, is a most important privilege of the human mind ; and if Avell conducted, is one of the greatest friends to truth. But when Reason knows neither its office nor its limits ; when it is employed on subjects^ foreign to its jurisdiction ; and Revelation itself is as it were called upon to bow down to its usurped authority; it then be- comes a privilege dangerous to be exer- cised • because a want of due respect for the [ 169 ] tlie mysterious doctrines of Religion, sel- dom fails to end in a total disbelief of them. Religion, it is certain, may be corrupted ; and as the best of things, it is perhaps most liable so to be. In such case, it becomes necessary that it should be reformed ; by being reduced to its original standard. But then every attempt at reformation must tend to some established point ; and be governed by some fixed rule of judge- ment : otherwise a boundless field of spe- culation being opened on the human mind, theory will follow upon theory, in endless succession, according to the varying sen- timents and circumstances of the Church at different periods; till the members of it, with respect to their most important concern, will be left in the hopeless con- dition described by the Apostle; " ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.'* We know that what has been revealed by God must be true, whether we can perfectly comprehend it or not ; and this, we may depend upon it, is sufficient for us to know in our present state; otherwise we should [ 170 ] sTiould not be ciicuinstanced in this respect, as we are. Shbiild it be asked, wh}' God has thought fit to reveal any fact, unaccompanied with circumstances calculated to render it com- prehensible to the human mind ; the an- swer is obvious ; that the probable design of such a Revelation was, that it might become an exercise of faith, and a test of luimility ; tluit our understanding, not less than our will, might become obedient to the Divine Word. Ihe passage in our text, for instan-ce, points out the eternal existence of Jesus Christ the Son of God, and Saviour of the world ; that divine Person, " who was and is, and is to come," as an essential branch of the xlpostolic Faith ; and consequently, a fundamental doctrine of the Christian Church. Now, though the human mind is unable to measure Eternity, or " to search the deep things of God '" neverthe- less, what, on the ground of Divine Revela- tion, was the faith of the church seventeen hundred years ago, must continue to be so still ; foi* the fashion of the world can have nothing to do with a business of this kind. Religion, [ 171 ] Religion, as deriving its establishment from that Beins; " with whom is neither variableness nor shadow of turning,*' is not a thing to be new-modelled every day, in compliance with the varying fancies and never-ending speculations of capricious man ; but must be expected to wear the character of its Divine Author, that of be- ing " the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Those therefore who go out of the com- mon road, running counter, as it were, to what has been hitherto considered as the established faith of the Church, by preach- ing up a religion stript of all the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, must do it at their own peril. As ministers of Christ, we lament their delusion, and pray for their conversion ; that their ej'cs being opened, they may become wise unto sal- vation. But with the utmost charity for persons, we are still bound to shew none to errors ; one part of our office as. Watch- ers for souls, beino- to ouard the members of the Christian Church from mistaking poison for wholesome food. One of the master prejudices of this enlightened [ 173 J enlightened age is, alas ! that all opinions or modes of faith are equally good. That liberality of sentiment, which is misnamed Charity, the offspring of modern philoso- phy, affects to think well of men's safety in any religion, and even without any ; thereby encouraging a sentiment, which at the same time that it prevents all serious enquiry after truth, confirms men in their infidelity. But however inclined we might be to pay deference to those who stand emi- nently distinguished by their mental pow- ers, nevertheless in a matter Avhere so much is at stake, no compliment must be paid. If we ourselves really believe, that salvation through the blood of a crucified Saviour, is the only foundation on which the hope of a Christian can be built ; whether this essential doctrine be received by others or not, cannot possibly, in such case, be considered by us as a matter of indifference. And it will be but a poor satisfaction to those who are pledged to preach Christ crucified, as " the power of God unto Salvation;" upon casting up the account of their time and talents, to re- flect [ 173 ] fleet; that they have sacrificed the cause of Salvation to the speculative opinions of any man, however distinguished: by " forsaking the fountain of living water, and having recourse to cisterns which hold no water/' This consideration will strike the more, forcibly, on our recollecting, that the wis- dom of God has taken care to guard us particularly against that sort of men, who, beino; considered as li2;hts of this lower world, are, on that account, generally looked up to as directors, in some mea- sure, of public opinion. When tlie Gospel was preached by the Apostles, we find that neither the w^ise man, nor the scribe, nor the disputer of this world, were to be found in the number of its hearers. The Doctrine of the Cross was then, what it has continued to be, generally speaking, ever since, " a stumbling block to the Jew, and to the Greek, foolishness." — The wise and prudent of this world, who ap- pear strong in understanding, are some- times very weak in faith : while tlie poor and simple have that faculty of the soul, that inestimable talent of a believing heart, [ 174 ] heart, which alone enables man to receive and understand the things of Heaven. The argument therefore which may be drawn from the opposition of human Sci- ence to the revealed doctrine of the Cross, is only pne link in that long chain of proof, by which the evidence for the Christian Relioion is held too:ether. It is an arou- ment which set out with the Gospel from the beginning of its general publication, has travelled on with it to the present day, and leads to this uniform conclusion ; that God will reserve to himself the honour of his own Dispensation. With this view he made choice of the meanest instruments for the effecting his gracious purpose in the propagation of the Gospel; passing by the wise, the mighty, and the noble, he made choice of the " foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the mighty ;" that the wisdom of the wise of this w^orld being destroyed, and the understanding of the prudent be- ing brought to nought, " no flesh should glory in his presence, but that he that glorieth, might glory in the Lord." At the same time, whilst thus guarding aoainst o [ 175 ] against that vain pretension to science, which affects to look clown with contempt on the revealed truths of Religion; we must not be understood as encouraart of our subject; that there is a species of wisdom more to be dreaded by Christians than even folly ; and that the smallest portion of true humility is of more estima- tion in the eye of Heaven, than the most boasted advantages of scientific attain- ment. Truth, indeed, at the same time that it Avants not beauty, is both plain, simple, and uniform. He that would fix upon it, must be content to think as others do. For truth cannot put on those various modes and shapes, that are suited to tlie levity of human affections. It cannot start things new and strange to take the multitude, which admires nothing so much as monsters. It cannot give way to the pride of singularity ; the love of contra- diction; the vanity of leading ; or the in- terest of siding with a sect. All these are the rights and privileges of error. And it would be no difficult matter to make it appear, that of all the errors and heresies that have ever sprung up, to the disturb- ance of the Christian world, scarce one of them derived its origin from invincible ig- norance, [ 177 ] norance and want of light ; but from an affectation of superior knowledo-e and want of humility. From whence it fol- lows, that the surest guard against heresy, is to set a constant watch against the temp- tations of pride. For pride lies at the bottom of all heresies, as the source from whence they spring. It would be inconsistent Avith the bre- vity allotted to discourses of this nature, to enter at large into a subject of this very extensive kind. Whilst therefore the op- position which the doctrine of the Cross has met with in the world, has, through the disposition of an All-wise Being, made the infidelity of man operate to the more perfect elucidation of divine truth ; it may at the same time be observed, that all the arguments employed against it, have only changed the dress which they wore on former occasions ; nothino; material be- ing now advanced on this subject, for which an answer is not ready prepared m writings, that have long since b;^cn before the workl. St. Paul knew, that the prejudiced Jew N and [ ITS ] and the learned Gentile, took great offence at the doctrine of a crucified Saviour; and he could not but see, that Christianity would be more favourably entertained by both, if that offence was removed ; and the Gospel reduced to a scheme of mere mo- rality ratified by Divine Authority ; and in- forced by stronger assurances of rewards and punishments than had ever been given before. And such is the favourite scheme, which, under the name of Christianity, to which it bears no affinity, is now taken up, and propagated with so much zeal and confidence. The Unitarian of the present day, (as he is commonly though improper li/ distin- guished,) is, in a great measure, what the blind unconverted Jew was in St. Paul's day. He believes in one God. So like- wise did the Jew. He has a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Similar to this was the record which St. Paul bare to the religious character of his countr}'^- men ; Rom. x. 2. The Unitarian, upon the ground of a supposed moral perfection, goes about to establish his own righteous- ness ; [ 179 ] ness ; and cannot submit himself to the righteousness of God. Such was precisely the case ^\iih. the unbelieving Jew. Now if the condition of the Jew under these circumstances had been a safe one ; St. Paul's anxiety for the salvation of his countrymen would have been vain; and the continual sorrow which lie felt, for the hopeless state of those who knew not Christ, been feeling thrown away; Rom. ix. The Jews were desirous of being saved ; but -were strangers to the plan on which salvation w^as to be obtained. Whilst there- fore the Apostle gives them some credit for their sinceritv, he laments their blind- ness and delusion. At the same time he faithfully executes his commission towards them, by boldly preaching to them Chi'ist crucified, as " the power of God unto sal- vation." And all JNIinisters, who w^ould not basely betray the cause they are i)io- fessionally bound to maintain, must follow St. Paul's example. The world has been told, that a good moral life contains the whole sum and sub- stance of the Christian Religion ; and a man may do -well, nay better without any acquaintance [ 180 ] acquaintance with the Christian mysteries: that Christianity would recommend itself to more general acceptance, if these mys- terious and offensive doctrines, as they are called, did not constitute a part of it : and as a powerful argument in favour of this plan of general conversion, we are told, that if we would succeed with Jews and Maho- metans, the stumbling block of Christ's divinity must be moved out of the way*. What is this but to deceive men Avith a name, by dressing out a sort of splendid morality, and calling it Christianity ; and l^iien flattering ourselves that we are mak- ing converts to the Christian Religion. Whereas this is in truth, not bringing the Jew and Mahometan up to Christianity, by preaching to them those doctrines which constitute the distinguishino; characteristics of the Christian Faith; but brinoino: Chris- tianity down to them; by removing every thing out of it, but what we may be sup- posed to hold in common with them. This plan of extending the Christian commu- nion at the expence of the Christian Faith, * Dr. Priestley's " Importance of Free Inquiry." by [ 181 J by so generalizing our creed, that persons of any persuasion may find no difficult}" in subscribing to it, may answer the pur- pose of enlarging our congregations ; but in that case they will be congregations of unbelievers, rather than what they were designed to be. Had the Christian Religion been of this very comprehensive nature, or had the first preachers of it thought fit to have adopted such easy and conciliatory measures, for the sake of making converts to it; instead of preaching up the Faith as it is in Christ Jesus ; the history of the Church would have presented us with a very dilierent scene from what it does at present ; and the Apostles and Martyrs might have died natural deaths. But they who reason thus, are surely unacquainted with the nature of the Chris- tian Dispensation ; which represents faith and practice as connected with each other; the former considered as the root, from which the latter, as the branch, dcM'ivcs its support. " I am tl e vine, (said Christ to his disciples,) ye are the branches. He that abidcth in me, and I in him, the same bringetji [ 182 ] bringetli forth much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing." Practical hohness, on a right principle, is the genuine fruit of Christianity : consequently it can thrive only, in proportion as the doctrines of Christianity are received in the world. None but fools look for grapes from thorns, or fios from thistles. None but those who are " spoiled through philosophy and vaii> deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ,^' expect to gather the fruit of Chris- tianity from the stock of heathenism. The world has been told moreover " that the only essential article of its religion is the doctrine of the Resurrection from the dead." In conformity with which idea, it has been said, that " should there be found a man, who really believes in a fu- ture life of retribution, and governs his conduct by that faith, so as to be as per- fect a character as a Christian; to him Christianity would be superfluous. What is all Religion, continues the same para^ doxical writer, * but a means to a certain * Dr. Priestley's " Importance of Free Inquiry." end? [ 183 ] end ? and if any man can in fact attain to this end, to lead a godly, righteous, and sober life without Christianity, (which has this very thing for its great object;) he is as good a man, and as valuable a character as any person who attains the same by the help of it/' To such an hypothetical argument, scarce to have been expected from one who had ever lived in a Christian coun- try, it may sufiice to answer; that could fallen man have led a godly, righteous, and sober life, independent of the grace vouchsafed to him under the Christian dispensation; in a word, could he have done as well without Christianitj^ as with it ; we may venture to say, that Christi- anity would never have been heard of in the world: no axiom in science being more incontrovertible, than that an All -wise Being cannot do any thing in vain. The very introduction therefore of Christian- ity into the world proves both the impro- priety and absurdity of such a mode of rea- soning. At least, it may be said, that till this boasted character is found out, who may fairly be supposed to have led a godly, righteous. [ 184 ] rigliteous, and sober life, without the ad- vantages of Christianity, it is unnecessary to place this subject in a point of view, which by confounding two characters, in their nature so distinct as that of the moral man and the Christian^ seems calculated to answer no other purpose than that of deceiving the unwary. Had man been in a different condition from what he is, doubtless the dispensa- tions of Divine Providence towards him would have been different from what they are. Could he, for instance, have justi- fied himself in the eyes of God, on the ground of his own righteousness; in other words, could he, by any work^ of his own, Iiavc saved himself; we should have heard nothing of the expedient provided for his salvation, by the sacrifice of a crucified Saviour; for in such case that Saviour had died in vain. But man, it is to be re- membered, is not what he originally was ; but in a fallen condition, with a law in his members warring against the law in his mind, and continually bringing him into ca])tivity to the law of sin. Every man, who knows any thing of human nature, feels [185 J feels the truth of this statement; and con- siders the perfect man, independent of Divine Grace, as an imaginary sort of crea- ture ; existing no where but in the heads of those, who neither know Christ nor themselves. Our Saviour tells us, that " when we have done all things that we are command- ed, (supposing that to be possible) we arc unprofitable servants/' St. James reminds , us, " that in many things we offend all.'' St. Paul, says, in still stronger language, " that there is none righteous, no not one." And to remove all vain ground of confidence at once out of our way, we are told in plain terms by the Psalmist, " that in the sight of God no man living shall be justified." Here then is that ciitical case which called for divine interpositon. AAvorld lying in wickedness, sold under sin, and univcr- sall}^ guilty before God, was to be redeemed to eternal life. The Apostle tells us " that the wages of sin is death." Rom. vi. 23. And that " without shedding of blood there is no remission." Heb. ix. 22. At the same time he says, in reference to the sacrifices under the law, that ** it is not possible [ 18^ ] possil)rc for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin/' Heb. x. 4. From whence the obvious conclusion is, that, in tiie divine councils, blood of some kind was intended to be effectual to this pur- pose. In conformity to which gracious intention, when our Blessed Saviour insti- tuted the representative memorials of his bod}' and blood; on taking up the cup, he said " This is my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins/' Matt, xxvi. 28. Here, then, is that mystery of godliness, which angels, we are told, desire to look into : namely, " God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; not imputing then* trespasses unto them : having made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the riohteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. v. 19. 21. Was I therefore called upon to point out the peculiar and distinguishing doctrine of the Gospel; it should not be that of the Resurrection from the dead ; (though this must be allowed to be an essential one ;) but that most important and inte- resting of aU other doctrines, which pro- claims t 187 J claims Salvation to fallen man through the blood of a crucified Saviour. For what is the doctrine of most import- ance to man in his religious concerns ? Doubtless, it is that of his redemption from sin and sorrow, from death and hell ; to righteousness and joy, to immortality and glory. The resurrection from the dead would be but an uncomfortable doctrine, unaccompanied with an assurance relative to our condition in another state. It is not sufficient to know, that this life ended, we shall live again ; unless we also know that our Redeemer livetli ; and that where he is, there we shall be also; provided we believe in him as we ought. It is not enough to know, that we shall, in the end, triumph over death and the grave; unless we also know, that the sting of death, which is sin, is taken away ; and that those who die in Jesus, shall rise in him to glory. It is this comfortable considera- tion which makes us join in gratitude with the Apostle, in giving thanks to God, which giveth us tlie victory over the grand enemy of our salvation, throudi our Lord Jesus Christ. In [ 188 ] In this point of view, then, the subject presented to us in the text becomes a sub- ject of primary importance; as it evidently marks out the distinction between the cha- racter of Christ, and that of any other prophet. Had Jesus been a mere teacher . of moral righteousness ; to have believed in him, would have been the same thing as to have beheved in John the Baptist, or any other prophet: and his death would have suggested no other idea to the Chris- tian mind, than that of John or any other dvinsr saint. But considered in the lioht in which he is here placed before us, " as the same yesterda}^ to-day, and for ever;" his character, stretching itself beyond the limits of this world, carries us up with it in a manner into lieaven, from whence he came down. For, as we read, this same Jesus who died upon the Cross " had glory with the Father before the world began f that " b}^ Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth.'* " That in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ;" " that He is God overall;" " the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is for evermore ;" — " The Lord I 189 ] Lord of gloij!" — " King of Kings; and Lord of Lords/' Such is the Christian Faitli on this im- portant article. Hold fast the profession of it, I beseech you, and let no man de- ceive you. Should it be asked, where 3'ou have learnt it? — Answer with confidence; in the school of St. Paul; that chosen vessel, who, as he describes himself, was ** an Apostle not of men, neither by men, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father/' Supported b}^ such authority, 3^0 u will not suffer yourselves to be staggered by any bold attempts of modern infidelity against the established doctrines of the Church; especially, when you consider that the advocates for the present prevail- ing heresy, cannot otherwise give a colour to their wretched cause, than by denying the inspiration of the Sacred Historians, that they may seem to themselves at jibert}^ to reject their testimony. But after all, we are not to expect that all men should think Avith us on this sub- ject. The Apostles themselves could not preserve the Church from heresy; and to prevent [ 190 ] prevent our being surprized at its conti- nuance, we are plainly told, that there must be heresies ; and the reason given for them is, " that they which are approved may be made manifest/' That we may not, therefore, be deceived by appearances in matters of this natme, the following consideration ought always to be kept alive in our minds; that sin- cerity in profession furnishes an argument only in favour of the earnestness of the professor; not of the truth of the opinion professed. It proves no more in fact, than that the party really means what he pro- fesses. But as zeal is not always accom- panied with knowledge, this sincerity may consist with a wrong as well as with a right opinion; and consequently no conclusion can be drawn from it, in confirmation of either. A man, for instance, may believe his own lie, with the same confidence that another believes the truth : and the Scrip- ture tells us, that " there is a way which seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Should, however, the error of those who vainly I 191 ] vainly think they can do without a Saviour, tend to confirm our faith in Him, by- making us better acquainted with the 2;round on which that Faith is built; oood in such case will be brought out of evil; and we have only to take heed that it be not thrown away upon us. Whilst we are watchfully guarding against the deception of others, it is possible that we may still deceive ourselves. Christian Faith, it is to be remembered, furnishes the most power- ful motives to Christian practice. For what principles shall we suppose capable of workino' on the ing-enuous mind, if love and gratitude do not? The doctrine of the Cross, therefore, considered in this point of view, is the most important doc- trine, because the most calculated to pro- duce effect on the human mind, that was ever preached. And if whilst engaged, as Christians ought frequently to be, in the contemplation of the stupendous work of Redemption, we can neglect to shew forth in our lives the praise of the Redeemer; by giving up ourselves to his service, and by walking before him in holiness and riuhteous- [ 192 J righteousness; we are of all others most unworthy to be saved by him. But whoever believes sincerely, will sel- dom fail to practise conscientiously: for these two thinos, like cause and effect, do generally, though not necessarily accompany each other. We may, indeed, deceive ourselves with a name: we may call ourselves Christians: and in some respects manifest a zeal for our profession ; whilst at the same time " we hold the truth in unrighteousness :'' but it is the faith working by love, and producing such a transformation in our life and manners, which no other principle has power to do, that can alone entitle us to the benefit of the Gospel covenant. " A mind that is conformed to this world, and given up to its pleasures, though it repeat the creed without questioning a single article of it, will be abhorred in the sight of God, as a vessel unfit for the master's use, because unprepared to stand in the most holy place/' *' Without faith, we know, it is impos- sible to please God." — But by faith is not to [ -193 ] to be understood a barren assent to the evidence of the Gospel, unaccompanied with its corresponding effects; but a term of enlarged signification, comprehensive of the whole extent of Christian obligation. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was that Lamb without spot, who offered up his life to reconcile the justice and mercy of an offended God; that man, through Him, might be saved; unless our lives are so ordered, as to correspond with another very important object Christ had in view on coming into the world; namely, " to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works/' Whilst therefore the pride and prejudice of the human understanding must be sa- crificed to the irresistible evidence of Di- vine Revelation; the corruption of the heart must be equally sacrificed to the purity of the Divine precepts. Man must be made holy, in order that he may be qualified to be made happy. And in his continued endeavour after that holiness, which constitutes the ground both of his present and futiue happiness, consists that o spiritual [ 194 ] spiritual warfare; in which the Christian is constantly engaged with the enemies of his Salvation; and from whom he must not hope to be completely delivered, till " Death shall be swallowed up in vie* tory." DISCOURSE [ 193 ] DISCOURSE II. ■a9t»®®<|>-«#i^^>®uritication of their nature, to a capacity for eternal uloiy : wIumi we con- sider, moreover, the dignity of that Per- hon [ 205 ] son, who undertook this gracious office, as he is described in Scripture, under those siiper-angeUc titles of the word and wisdom of God, " the eternal Son of the Father/ " the brightness of his glory, and the ex- press image of his person :" we shall readily conclude, that the sublimity of the pur- pose, together with the dignity of the Per- son engaged in it, constituted the fittest subject for the manifestation of Divine Providence in the oeconomy of human affairs, as ministerial to the accomplishr ment of that great scheme, for which the Lamb of God had, in the divine councils, been slain from the foundation of the world. But as the accomplishment of this great scheme was to be gradual and progressive,; the Letter of Prophecy attendant upon it, and bearing decided testimony to the directing power of the Supreme Disposer of events, must be suited to the nature of the Divine Dispensation ; furnishing only that degree of evidence from time to time, which might best correspond with God's general design, in the revelation of his plan to the world. In proportion then as the [ 207 J the scheme of Christianity draws toward* its final accomplishment at the consum- mation of all things, the evidence from prophecy will proportionably increase in strength ; in consequence of the various lights reflected from various prophecies meeting together in one luminous Centre ; for the purpose probably of counteracting, as far as may be, the grossness of that spi- ritual darkness, which, we are given to understand, shall overshadow the world in its last days. Still, when it is considered that the Messiah was, in the most exalted sense of the words, to be a blessing unto all na^ tions ; and that the great scheme of Re- demption had its commencement from the foundation of the world ; we shall form but an inadequate judgement of the di- vine wisdom and goodness, if we hesitate to conclude, that an attestation suited to the different stages of the Divine Dispen- sation, for the purpose of conducting man- kind to that tiuth in the fulness of time to be revealed, was uniformly and regu- larly vouchsafed. To this end the types exhibited under the [ 208 J the patriarchal and Jewish Dispensation, were designed to minister. They were ])ictures drawn by the hand of a Master, dehneative of some future Original : pat- terns or shadows, sketched with a greater or less degree of precision, of some future reality ; calculated to prepare and pre- dispose the parties, for whose use they were appointed, for the acknowledgement of the Object to which they referred. And as their principal reference was to the cha- racter and office of that Divine Person, who was to be the true propitiatory Sacri- fice for Sin, that " Lamb of God without spot or blemish," who was to be mani- fested in the last da3^s ; a proper acquaint- ance with them will be found to furnish an evidence, in support of the uniform doctrine of Christianity as strong, as pro- phecy, which relates chiefly to the fortunes of Christ's Church in the world, can fur- nish, in support of its Divine Establish- ment. For Type and Prophecy, however the nature of their evidence may differ, are in this respect agreed ; that " the Tes* timony of Jesus is the spirit of both.'' AVhat our. Saviour said of the one, may therefore [ 209 ] therefore with little variation and equal truth be said of the other. " These things have I told you before I came, that when they come to pass, ye may believe that I am He/' — He might have added in reference to the types of the Old Testa- ment, as pre-figurative of the truths con- tained in the New ; these things have I shewed you before, that wlien they were accomplished in me, ye might believe that I was He, who should come into the world. That such was the principal design of the typical or emblematic service of the Law, we have the most decided authorit}^ to determine. Our Saviour in his dis- course to his Disciples, previous to his Assumption, told them plainly, that " all things must be fulfilled, which were writ- ten in the Law of Moses, and in the Pro- phets, and in the Psalms, concerning him.*' Luke XX iv. 44. The Law of Moses then wrote of Jesus Christ. ]jut it did not write of Ilim life- raily ; for there is no personal mention made of Him throughout the Law. AA hat was written tlierefore oi' Christ in the Law, p was [ 210 ] was written in the figurative language of the times ; in conformity with which, the office of the promised Messiah was de- scribed under certain appropriate emblems ; the design of which was to keep alive the hope, and direct the faith of the parties, " who were kept under the Law, and shut up unto the faith, which should hereafter be revealed/' Gal. iii. 23. The types and ceremonies of the Law exhibited the outlines of that character which Jesus Christ was to fill up ; and in this sense the Law is called by the Apos- tle, " the Shadow of good things to come;" a Figure for the time present ; a School- ' master to bring those who lived under it to Christ. Now the office of a school- master is to teach. The Lesson then which the Law, as a Schoolmaster, was calculated to teach, must have been desio-ned for the use of them to whom the Law was given ; otherwise the Law appears to have been, to say the least of it, an useless institu- tion. For when Christ came in person, the use of the Law, as a Schoolmaster, was in a great measure superseded. The Les- son which it was originally designed to teach, [ 211 ] teach, oiiglit then to have been learnt; and ready to be reduced to practice ; in the welcome reception of Him, who was the Perfection of the Law, and the Con- summation of the Gospel. It was in re- ference therefore to this want of proper application of the Law, as well as of the Prophets to him, in whom they were ful- fdled, that our Saviour thus upbraids his Disciples: " O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory } And, beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he expounded to tlicm in all the Scrip- tures the things concerning himself." — And he said unto them, " these are the things which I speak unto you, that all things must be fulfilled which were writ- ten in the La^\^ of Moses, and in the Pro- phets, and in the Psalms concerning me." Luke xxiv. The Law as a shadow was to remain in quiet possession, till the substance came to thrust it out. AYhen the typical parts of it had been fulfdled by the death and sacrifice of Christ, the oilicc of the Law, as [ 212 ] as a schoolmaster to teach, was to be super- seded by the practical application of the lesson taught. That slowness of heart to believe, which the Jewish nation manifested at the com- ing of the Messiah in the flesh, might be attributed to various causes : but the charge o^ folly brought against them by our Saviour alluded, it is probable, to their want of understanding the lesson which their Law in particular was ex- pressly designed to teach them. As if he had said ; from a comparison of the ser- vices of your Law with what has been fulfilled in my character and office, you should have known, that all things that have been brought to pass, ought neccssarilif to have taken place. For it is not to be supposed that our Saviour would have called the Jews fools, for not understand- ing Avhat was not in itself to be understood. The Law therefore was calculated to con- vey a lesson of information to those who lived under it, relative to the character and office of Jesus Christ; which those few, who, at our Saviour's appearance in the flesh, still saw the Law in its proper light, and [ 213 ] and by looking through it to Christ, " waiteci for the consolation of Israel \' we.^e wise enough to understand. That this was the happy condition of some, even amid the general blindness vOf the Jewish nation, we have recorded proof, in the characters of Zachariah and Eliza- beth, of Mary, of good old Simeon, and Anna the Prophetess ; who all in difterent ways bore testimony to Jesus, as to the looked-for Redeemer of his people. A more striking and more decided testimony to the character and office of the Saviour of the world, than that which was borne by the devout Simeon, to whom " it had been revealed by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, till he had seen the Lord's Christ," is no where to be met with in Sacred Writ. When, on coming (as we read) " by the Spirit into the temple, he took the Child Jesus up in his arms, and, 4)lessing God, said ; — Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation ; which Thou hast prepared before the ftice of all ])eoj)le. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel/' Luke ii. 29. And [ 214 ] And it was on the ground of the in- formation that was to be derived from the Law, that John the Baptist, whose imme- diate office it was to prepare the way of the Lc)vd, on seeing Jesus coming towards him, s.ddressed himself to the standers b3^e in language expressly calcvdated to lead them to the obvious application of it: " Behold, says he, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." As if he had said; behold the completion of the Law. Behold the typical Lamb, which, according to the Mosaic Ritual, you have been ac- customed to offer up, realized in the person of the Son of God ; that Lamb without ble- mish and without spot, which was devoted from the foundation of the Avorld. That this language was at the time un- derstood, there is reason to conclude, from what immediately followed. For it is re- corded by the same Evangelist, that " one of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew ; who, upon finding his brother Simon, saith unto him; AVe have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." John i. 40. And on the day following this event, an observation [ 215 ] observation to the same eftect, though still more particular, was made by Philip, ano- ther of our Saviour's disciples ; who on finding Nathaniel, saith unto him, " We have found Him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth." John i. 45. The Law of Moses then had its appro- priate signification. And it ought to have been understood ; because it was written in that language, to Avhich the world had been long accustomed ; which was in fact as old as i\.dam ; that language of signs, shadows, and figures, of visible things, of which God had been pleased to make use, in the communication of the divine scheme of Redemption to man. For Sacrifice, as the Type of the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, had been in use from the be2;innin2[ : and there was scarce a ceremony in the Mosaic Ritual, which is not to be traced to an hioher origin. And although, as it was to be expected, when we consider the length of time from Adam to Moses, corru])ti<)n and abuse might have rendered some additions necessary to be made to the original esta- l)lished [ 216 ] blislied Ritual of Religion; still the object of every appointed Ritual, whether ^n a more simple or complicated state, being to preserve a representative memorial of that covenanted Redemption, to which fallen man was to look for Salvation; it follows, that the Service of the Church was for sum and substance the same from Adam to Christ. And if the Service of the Church from Adam to Christ was the same, the Doctrine of it cannot be different ; for the Service comprehended the Doctrine, and was designed to preserve it. Hence it is, that with reference to his Religion it may be said, " Jesus Christ, is the same yester- day, to-day, and for ever." In the language of the seventh Article of our Church ; " The Old Testament is not contrary to the New : for both in the Old and New Testament everlastino; life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. AVherefore they are not to be heard which feign, that the Old Fathers did look only for transitory promises." — That promise which related to eternal life through the blood of a Re- deemer [ 217 ] deemer, the performance of wjiicli Adaiil, Abraham, and Moses, in their Sacrifices pre-Jigured, we Christians in the Sacrifice of our Altar commemorate, as having been actually accomplished on the Cross. The sacrifices before and since the coming of Christ differ in their kind, but agree in the object to which they refer. In both cases the eye of faith brings to sight, what the eye of sense does not discern. The Jewish nation then, if regarded ac- cording to the important station, which they were destined to fill in the oeconomy of Divine Grace, may be considered as a light set up for general illumination. " To them, says the Apostle, were committed the oracles of God.'' Rom. iii. 2. And they were committed to them for this gracious purpose ; that, through the medium of that Dispensation, of which they were the appointed conductors, the light of divine truth being by degrees carried forth into the world, mankind might becpme prepared for the reception of that Sun of Righteous- ness, who was in the fidness of time to shine forth. " The Law (says one of the Old Fathers,) was not for the Jews only, nor [ 218 J nor were the Prophets sent for them alone ; but this nation was the sacred school of the whole world, from whence they were to fetch the knowledge of God, and the way of spiritual living." — And to know- ledge originally derived from this sacred fountain, but grossly perverted by the devil, are all the corruptions of idolatry, which, according to the imaginations of mankind at difierent times, have disgraced the world, to be traced up. The Law delivered to the Jews con- tained the rudiments of the Gospel, and was designed to make them, and all who communicated with them, thorough profi- cients in the great doctrine of vicarious sacrifice for sin, and the necessity there was for man's looking beyond himself for a meritorious title to salvation. For which reason the Jew became the proper channel of communication, through which the full Revelation of the Gospel should pass to the Gentile. Because, being possessed, in the figurative service of the law, of the shadow of the good things to come: he was thereby qualified to judge of the re- semblance which the reality bore to it. Long [ 219 J Long accustomed to the emblematic re- presentation of the great doctrine of Atone- ment in the service of the Tem}:)le, he was not only qualified to judge of the nature of the Messiah's office, as the great Uio-h- Priest of our salvation, but to ascertain the reality of his character and pretensions, by an appeal to those Records, of which he was the appointed Guardian. For this reason it probably was, that the Gospel went forth first from Jerusalem, as from the seat of the divine oracles, that it might be proclaimed with authority and irresistible evidence among the rest of the nations It being the design of divine wisdom, that the Jew should be, as it were, the con- necting medium between the Law and the Gospel; whose office it was to verify the one, by an appeal to the other, and thus establish the conviction of the Gentile on the uniform consistency of the divine plan. The Jew had in his possession the evidence, by which his own faith ought to have been established, and by which the conversion of the Gentile was to he effected. A con- sideration which accounts for the frequent appeals made both by our Saviour and his Apostles, [ 220 ] Apostles, to the Law and the Prophets, as bearing that decided testimony to the character and office of Jesus Christ which was calculated to remove every stumbling block out of the way of the Gospel. To this end, the Law and the Prophets ought to have been employed by those guardians, to whom, for that purpose, they had been committed. And it was not till after the Jewish nation had delibe- rately rejected the council of God in their favour, by first crucifying the Lord of Life, and afterwards opposing the propagation of his Gospel; that the Apostles turned themselves to the Gentiles. " For so had the Lord commanded them.'^ The defence, therefore, which St. Paul set up before Agrippa against the accu- sation brought by the Jews, was most per- tinent in its direct application to his accu- sers. " I continue (said he) in the city, witnessing both to small and great;" but the witness I bear, is of a nature that my accusers, as disciples of Moses, are bound to receive; for I say " none other things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should come. That Christ should suffer [ 221 ] suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles/' Acts xxvi. 22, 23. If then, as St. Paul affirms, ]\Ioses preached Christ crucified, as the great sa- crifice for sin; those to whom he preached, so long as the spiritual meaning of the Mosaic writings was kept in sight, must have known, that no other sacrifice could be accepted as an atonement for sin, and consequently, that the benefit which the faithful worshipper received from evcij other sacrifice, was derived from its rela- tion to that Great Original, which it was appointed to represent. The blmdness of the Jew at the time of our Saviour's appearance, though it coun- teracted the efiect, could not take away the design of the Mosaic institution. The design of the Ritual Law confessedly was, to pre-figure the actual accomplishment of the covenanted plan of Redemption in Christ. The Gospel, therefore, which sig- nifies the good news of Salvation to fallen man, through the promised Redeemer, was preached to the Jews under their Dis- pensation, [ 222 ] pensation, as well as it is to us, though in a different manner. And the reason wh}^, at the coming of Christ, it did not profit them, was, as the Apostle has observed, because " it was not mixed up with faith in them that heard it." Heb. iv. 2. To render the Law, therefore, instru- mental to the purpose for which it had been instituted, it became necessary only to place it before them in its proper light; by representing the sacrifices of it to be, not what they then considered them, real and original atonements, but pre-figurative emblems of that great atonement, which was in the fulness of time to be made. This point being admitted, the types of the Law instituted to keep up the true faith in the world, in their application, fur- nished the most decisive argument asjainst Jewish infidelity. For if the Law (as the Apostle informs us) made nothing perfect, and was designed only to be the introducer of a better hope; and if, (as our Saviour expressly declared) Moses in the Law wrote of him; the sacrifices of the Law, pre-figured that of the Cross; the proof, consequently, that the typical service of sacrifice, [ 223 ] sacrifice, had actually been realized in the person and office of Jesus Christ, drew after it a conclusion, which nothino- but wilful blindness could resist. Such was the nature of the ])roof, which the Apostle detailed to his Jewish Brethren in his Epistle to the Hebrews; which, by fitting the two counterparts of the Jewish and Christian Dispensation to each other, by bringing together the corresponding circumstances of each, furnished, from the marked consistency of the divine plan of Redemption, the most convincing evi- dence in favour of Christianity. An evi- dence designed to lead to the important conclusion here drawn from the words of the text; that " Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." — In other words, that Salvation through Christ, con stituted the fundamental article in the Creed of the faithful under every Dispen- sation ; and consequently, that the Old and New Testament form but two parts of the same uniform, and consistent scheme of Salvation. A conclusion, which the Apostle corroborates in the eleventh chap- ter of this Epistle, by the examples of those [ 224 ] those Worthies, who had, in cliiferent ages of the Church, borne witness to the truth. " All of whom (says he) died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them ; and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims upon earth f thereby declaring plainly that they seek a country ; that is, " an heavenly^ Heb. xi. 13. Now, as there is but one faith, founded on the promises of God to man, through Jesus Christ, it obviously follows; that these Worthies, to make use of the lan- guage of our Homilies, looked " for all the benefits of God the Father, through the merits of his Son Jesus Christ." Their faith was consequently a Christian Faith, And, " therefore (concludes the Apostle) God is not ashamed to be called tlicir God^ for lie hath prepared for them a city,'' Ileb. xi. 16. DISCOURSE [ 225 ] DISCOURSE III. »»«©®-Te9@-<^@e9< HE nature of man beins; the same now as from the beginning of the world, and the nature of God beino- unchano;e- able ; it must follow that the great object of the Dispensations of God must be tlie same in every age ; though the form and manner after which that object is pursued may be different: so that what God spake in former times to the Fathers by the Pro- phets, will be found the same in sense and effect, with what he spake hi the last days by his Son: though he spoke in divers manners, as occasion might rcciuirc, at sundry times/' Q Such [ 226 ] Such was the inference meant to be drawn in a former Discourse, from the words of the text ; considered as contain- ing the following important position; That the doctrine of Salvation through Christ, was, and is, and always will be the same, independent of the imaginations of way- ward and sinful men. That, as God is a Being " with whom is neither variableness nor shadow of turn- ing ;" as -all his works are known unto him from the beginning ; and can be known unto man only so far as He has been pleased to reveal them ; it follows, that the Revelation which has been vouchsafed for that purpose, must necessarily be uniform and consistent. When indeed it is considered, that the great scheme of human redemption en- gaged the divine councils before the world began ; that the three Great Ones in the Godhead, each made himself a Party in the execution of it; and that this great scheme, commencing with the Fall, was to travel on through all the successive changes in the world, to its consumma- tion at Christ's second coming in Glory ; it [ 227 ] if is but to be expected tliat a scheme, in which both Heaven and Earth, appear so deeply interested, should constitute the chief subject of Revelation; that its History should be coeval with that of the Globe itself, should run through every stage of its existence, and outlast its utmost du-^ ration. With this idea before us, we shall readily conclude, that the mode which divine wisdom made choice of from time to time, for the purpose of keeping alive in the world the hope of the promised Redeemer, was the mode best suited to the circum- stances of the age, and the condition of the parties, for whose use it was em- ployed. In this important point of view we have endeavoured to place the tvjucal service of the Law ; as a Divine Institution, de- signed to be preparatory to a more perfect Dispensation, and, in the most prominent featuie of it, to be expressly pre-figurative of that great sacrifice of the Cross, which constituted the completion of the Divine Covenant in favour of fallen man. But in so doing, Ave do not mean to countenance [ 228 ] countenance that licentious interpretation of Scripture, which some of the Old Fa* thers of the Church inadvertently gave into ; by which, with the help of forced and unnatural Types, the Sacred AVritings were made to mean every thing they were supposed capable of signifying; instead of that alone which they were designed to signify. Neither Types nor Prophecies were in- tended to open a field for the airy excur- sions of a fanciful imagination ; but for the sober exercise of a sound and rational understanding ; in the application of them to those particular subjects, to the illus- tration and evidence of which they were severally, though in different ways, de- signed to minister. Our rule of judgement therefore in this case must be regulated by the standard set up for it in Scripture ; which directs us not to reject all typical illustration, on ac- count of the extreme to which it has been occasionally carried ; but to confine the use of it within those bounds, which ap- pear to have been drawn out for it by its Divine Author. In such case, whilst we steer [ 229 ] Steer clear of imaginary allusions, which, by making the Scriptures subservient to the irregular flights of human fancy, tend to destroy the substance of all sound Di- Adnity; we shall have more time to ex- amine and appreciate the propriety and striking particularity of those Types ; which, having received the sanction of divine wisdom ; must, the better they are understood ; in consequence of the cor- respondence between the Figure and the Reality being exactly traced out ; contri- bute more powerfully to the establishment of that cause, to which they were origi- nally designed to minister. Imaginary types necessarily lead to ima- ginary interpretations; which seldom fail, more or less, to divert the mind from the proper subject of religious investigation. Whereas real types have that appropriate signification annexed to them, which, when properly understood, must lead to a deci- sive and unambiguous conclusion. The Tery name of Types implies a resemblance to the thing typified. But then it is not cwery sort of resemblance, that is sufficient to constitute a type; but such a simili- tude [ 230 ] tude as is to be found betwceil the Picture and the Original ; wliich proves it to be a designed, though imperfect likeness to the Anti-type. As Pictures then, types must refer to their proper Originals ; for the purpose of conveying their in- tended meaning ; they could not other- wise have been made a ground of accusa- tion against the unbelieving Jews ; much less could they have furnished the most powerful argument for their reception of Christianity. In this light they were considered both by our Saviour and his Apostles ; whose reasoning with the Jews on the subject of their promised Messiah chiefly turned, on the spiritual application of their own Scrip- tures. In adopting that typical mode of reasoning, which was the consequence of applying the Law to the elucidation of the Gospel; they considered themselves to be proceeding on known and established ground; and had not the corruption of the heart in this case prevented the proper exercise of the understanding, acknow- ledged premisses would not have failed to have led the parties, to whom that mode of [ 231 ] of reasoning was addressed, to the intended conclusion. For the Law, to answer to the character given of it, must of neces- sity furnish a figurative representation of what was to take place under a subse- quent Dispensation : otherwise it was a shadow unattended with a correspondent reality. Considered in itself, exclusive of its relation to Christ, and the object it had in view of preserving the backsliding Israel- ites from the surrounding idolatry, the Ritual service of it was both unmeaning and unprofitable. For what could the pouring out the blood of bulls and of goats, whilst the eye of the sacrificer looked no further, have to recommend it ? But, considered as a preparatory intro- duction to a more spiritual Dispensation ; as pre-figurative of that " better hope ia the fulness of time to be brought in, by which alone fallen man has access to God/' Heb. vii. 19. — it constituted a subject of the most interesting and edifying kind. It was indee^l a temporary provision adapted to the circumstances of the par- ties, for whose use it was innnediately designed ; the object of which was to lead to [ 23^ ] to pei'fection ; at the same time that hi itself it made notliing perfect. On which account it may be considered as a sort of connectins: medium between tlie oripinal promise made to Adam, and the actual fulfihiient of it. Consequently when that fulfihnent eventually took place in the person of Jesus Christ, the conclusion to which the typical reasoning addressed to the Jews was designed to lead, was obvi- ously this; that the presence of the reality superseded the use of the shadow; that the actual sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, ren- dered the continuance of its type useless : in which case, the fiourative service of the Xaw, and the more spiritual Dispensation of the Gospel, Avould have appeared to the Jews in their proper light. For, in such case, they would have been seen to have been not only the ultimate end, but the very sum and substance of the whole Law : the life and energy of every part and every ordinance: cdl without Him being but a dead form and an empty name. But though the blindness of the carnal Jew, who at the time of our Saviour's ap- pearance in the liesh, had totally lost sight of [ 233 ] of the spiritual object to \vliich the Ritual Service was designed to point, prevented this obvious conclusion from being gene- rally drawn ; still the Law, considered as one link in that chain of Providence, by which the different parts of the occonomy of Divine Grace are as it were held toae- ther, is not without its important use. Though its actual observance has been superseded, the spiritual application and moral use of it still remains : furnishins: to Christians, from that striking coincidence to be traced between the shadows of the Law and the good things of the Gospel, a ground for the most decided conviction in support of the Christian cause. For, as a certain period of time had been deter- mined on, lor carrying into effect the great scheme of Redemption; it is to be ex- pected, in justice to the consistency of the divine plan, that every preceding Dispen- satioiv of Providence, should contribute its proportionate degree of evidence to the confirmation of that plan when actually accomplished. We do not mean to sav, that tlK^ cor- respondence between the Types and the things [ 234 J things typified, constitutes the only ground on which the Advocate for the truth of- Christianity may take his stand; but this we say ; that by marking the steps which Providence took in conducting the great work of Redemption to its perfect comple- tion, it points out to notice that striking con- nection between the several parts of Divine Revelation, Avhich cannot fail, when duly appreciated, to strengthen the faith and confirm the practice of every considerate tnan. It points out Him, who is the Alpha and Omega of all God's Dispensations in the ceconomy of Divine Grace ; " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ;" " in whom all the promises of God to man are Yea and Amen." For, as far as laying open the secret pur- pose of that Being, who seeth the end from the beginning, by regularly tracing the progress of his Dispensations, caa be a proof; so far are the Types of the Old Testament as they are applied and fulfilled in the New, a proof of the truths of Chris- tianity. " These providential congruities (as they have been styled) between the times of the Old and New Testament, do very l: 23.5 ] very much confirm the authority of both Testaments. From hence we learn that the Scriptures comprehend one entire scene of Providence, which reaches from one end of the world to the other. And that God, who is the beginning and end of all things, by various steps and degrees, pursues one great design ; namely, the setting up the kmgdom of his Son, through the several stages of the world ; and will still carry it on by such measures as seem best to his^ infinite w^isdom ; till the great day of the consummation of all things. Such a gra- dual opening of this wonderful scene of Providence, is a new aroument of that infinite wisdom which contrived it, and justifies this mystical way of propounding it. The conclusion to which the forecjoinfj observations lead, has, in some degree, been already anticipated : namely, that the Old and New Testament, constituting two parts of the same Divine Revelation, having for their subject one and the same scheme of Redemption ; all the rays of divine light, which have at different times been shed abroad in the world, for the j)urpose [ 236 J purpose of enlightening the mind of fallen man on this great subject, must meet to- gether in some one central point. For tliough the dispensations of divine grace have been varied with the circumstances of the world, yet the object of them has been uniformly the same. Every part of Revelation, therefore, Avhich respects tliat object, however obscure and difficult to be understood it may have been rendered, from the corruption of the channel through which it has passed ; must, nevertheless, have a determined application, corres- pondent with the eternal purpose which the manifold wisdom of God purposed in Christ Jesus : " that in the Dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ.'' — • Ephes. i. 10. The Doctrine consequently which ac- companies the mysterious work of Re- demption, must be of a piece with the revealed plan: otherwise that Revelation which was desioiied to e;ivc information on this subject, would be at variance with itself. Such was the conclusion, to which the analogy [ 237 J analogy between the Law and the Gospel, so expressly urged both by our Saviour and his x\postles ; was designed to lead the Jewish nation. But thouo;h the arhed from that of every other teacher or mes- senger from God whatever: a distinction necessary to be attended to by all, who would form an adequate judgement of the Christian Dispensation. Koah and Moses, the prophets and John the Baptist, were all, in their respective departments, commissioned from God to teach wisdom and rio;hteousness to man- kind ; but with a view only of preparing them to reap the benefit of that great work, which was, in the fulness of time to be accomplished. AVhilst the object of Christ's ministry on earth was, not merely to teach men the good and the right way, but to place them in a condition to be benefited by his instructions ; by finishing tliat great work of reconciliation, which, according to the covenant of grace, he had engaged to perform ; for that purpose becoming unto them " of God wisdom, and [ 257 ] and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." The personal ministry of Jesus Christ then is to be considered, as the last of God's Dispensations, for the salvation of his fallen creature ; and the perfection of that wisdom, v, hich had at sundry times^ and in divers manners been revealed to mankind from the be2;innino; : that conse- quently, to which all former dispensations were designed to lead, and in which they have their ultimate completion. On this account, we who live under this last Dis- pensation of Divine Grace, are said by the Apostle, " to be compleat in Christ." No new Dispensation is therefore to be expected by us ; every thing necessary to our salvation, in conformity with the plan of the divine oeconomy, having been fully accomplished. By which we understand, every thing that God undertook to perform hi the great work of Redemption, so far as the personal ministry of the Son of God on earth was concerned in the business, has been fulfilled. When Jesus Christ bowed his sacred head on the Cross, he expired uttering these memorable worJs; " It is s fmhhcd!' [ 258 ] finished.'' — The work which the Father had oiven him to do on earth, was then finished. Tjie penalty due to sin being paid, and satisfaction made, the hand-writing that was against us was thereby so removed ; as to render it possible, consistently with di- vine justice, for sinners to be saved. But Christ, (says the Apostle,) " in that he died^ he died unto sin once : Death hath no more dominion over Him." — " There remaineth consequently no more sacrifice for sin." A consideration, which obviously leads to the following awakening conclu- sion ; that whosoever is to be saved, must be saved in conformity with that divine plan, which, so far as God is concerned in it, has already been carried into ctibct. Hence it was that St. Peter, at the com- mencement of his minister}^, delivered him- self so decidedly on this subject, to the Chief Priests, Riders, and Scribes, who required to know the authority by which he exercised his Apostolic function. " Be it known (says he) unto you all, and to all the people of Israel; that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom Ciod raised from the dead, even by Him doth [ 259 ] doth this man stand here before you wholes This is the Stone whieh was set at naught of you builders, which is become the Head of the Corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts iv. 10, 8cc. By the terms of the Gospel then, the final condition of fallen man is to be irre- vocably determined. From whence it fol- lows that a proper acquaintance with those terms becomes a matter of primary consi- deration : that man, knowing what he has to expect, and what to perform, according to the tenor of that covenant under which he lives, may so conduct himself in this world, that the Grace revealed by the Gospel may not be bestowed on him in vain. To this end, he must know not only to whom he looks for Salvation, but also the ground on which he is authorized to expect it. He must know in what sense Jesus Christ is made unto him zvisdom, and righ- teousness^ and sand ijicaf ion, and redemption : or he will never form a true estimate of the character, in wliich Christ appeared in thr [ 260 ] the world. And if he knows not the pro- per character of Jesus Christ, there is httle or no probabihty of his reaping benefit from the work of his ministry. It shall be my object therefore so to ex- plain the words of the Text, in conformity with the general tenor of Scripture, that they may become a kind of fixed standard, both for the establishment of faith and tjie regulation of practice : that the mem- ber of the Christian Church may be- come perfect in the sense in which that word is applied to him by the Apostle ; that having been made acquainted with the plan of Salvation by Jesus Christ, he may through Grace become finally quali- fied for the possession of it. The words of the Text were originally addressed to the Gentile and Jewish con- verts, in the Church of Corinth. They contain a summary of Gospel blessings, strikingl}^ adapted to the respective condi- tion of the parties in question. And they shew, in brief, the manner, in which the Christian Religion corrected the errors and depravities of Heathenism, by substituting true wisdom for extravagant folly ; at the same [ 2G1 ] same time that it supplied tlie defects, by realizing the shadows of tlie Law; thereby perfecting the great plan of Salvation Ijy Jesus Christ. " Christ, (says the Apostle,) is made unto us wisdom," To understand what is here meant by this expression, we must know to what particular subject it applies, and on what occasion it was originally made use of. St. Paul, in the opening of the Epistle from whence the words of the Text are taken, is calling his disciples at Corintli to account, for the divisions that had taken place among them. These divisions, as they were given to understand, had been occasioned chiefly by the preference given to some Ministers above others ; in con- sequence of superior abilities which they were supposed to possess. 'J'o counteract a prejudice, which could not fail to destroy that unity and harmony, by which the members of the Christian Cburcli shouhl at all times be joined together; St. l^iul enters into argument on this subject, with the view of convincing his chsciples at "Corinth; that Kisdom, in the uorld/ij ac- ceptation [ 262 ] ceptation of the word, had much less to do with the preaching of the Gospel than they vainly imagined. " Christ (says he) sent me to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect." — 1 Cor. i. 17. Lest, in consequence of the attention being fixed upon the eloquence and abili- ties of the preacher, the goodness of God, in the Redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, should be disregarded : and thus the disciple led to look to man rather than to God, as the Author of his Salvation. In such case indeed the Cross of Christ must become of none effect. At the time when this Epistle was writ- ten, the seat of the Roman Empire, had attained to the highest pitch of civilized perfection. Philosophy, following the fate of arms, had there fixed her residence ; and the state, to which the arts and sciences had advanced at this important period, appears to authorize a conclusion, that the powers of the human mind, had been carried to the extent of their natural exer- tion. Had [ 263 ] Had tlic wisdom of this world tlien been necessary to the propagation of the Chris- tian cause, it Avouhl doubtless have been employed. But the wisdom of this world was become so foolish in the eyes of God, that it was not to be honoured with so di- vine a work. On the contrary, its ini[)os- ing authority was, on this occasion, to be scrupulously guarded against. And for the following very evident reason. The wise men of the heathen world, witli all their boasted knowledge, neitlier knew God, nor the relation in which man stood to his ]\Iaker. In searching after what thev called wisdom, they had totally lost the way to all true knowledge; having, according to the Apostle's description, " their under- standing darkened, being alienated from the life of God, throuoh the io:norance that was in them." Eph. iv. 18. In fact, their wisdom Avas even unable to preserve the world from that most wretched state of mental depravity, which was a distj;race to rational beiniis; in con- sequence of which, " they changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible man, ancj to [ 264> ] to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things; changing (as the Apostle strongly expresses it) the truth of God into a lie, and worshipping the creature more than the Creator/' Rom. i. 25, In fact, the further men dispersed from the patriarchal seats, where Revelation was never extinguished, and came the nearer to an uninstructed state, which is properly that of nature; the deeper thej sunk in ignorance and barbarity. In the strong words of Job, they sat " in a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death; without any or- der, and where the light is as darkness/* Job. X. 22. Such w^as natural Religion, even when accompanied with the boasted advantages of worldly wisdom. Let its advocates* behold * Dr. Clarke, whose object it was to place the case of the heathens in the most favourable point of view^ is obliged to make use of a scale of diminution, when describing their condition. "" Men, (says he) without the assistance of Revelation, did not attain to a right knowledge of God, in any considerable degree: some argued themselves out of the belief of the very being of God ; and in these enquiries, wherein they professed them to [ 265 ] beliold the deformity of the idol, which, in compUment to human reason, they so often to be most w'lse, they became fools." Rom, i. 22. To what lengths will a bad c uise cany learned men? Thej knew God, but not rightly; than falsely ; nor in any considerable degree; theretbre not at all; for God is not discoverable by scraps or halves: they knew what their own ratiocination forced them to unknow, so far as to disbelieve his very existence. And after professedly laying out the whole effort of the human mind, to at- tain some wisdom in these sublimer subjects, they re- mained arrant fools; not knowing what, orMhy they worshipped. Nor will it mend the matter to gleau a few detached sentences, scattered up and down the ancient writings, how charming soever they may bo, and then cry out. Behold the strength of reason ! but let a philosopher be named, even the divine Plato, who rightly judged, " that nothing should be attributed to God, that is not consentaneous to his nature;" Kep. ii. p. 37.9. And if a thousand glaring absurdities, false- hoods, contradictions, ivnd inconsistencies, are not to be found in him, (which Cicero saw and lamented la his Deus Hit noster,) the cause shall he given up. If they occur in every page, the few bright sayings are no more than flashes of lightning, which may amaze, but not direct the benighted traveller, and only prove, thiit they heard of subjects, which they did not understand^ and repeated a name, the true import of which they never knew. It has also been acknowledged by lieathcns, as well as Christians, that man may as well have no (iod, as to entertain base, unworthy conceptions of II im. \et, [ 266 ] often dignify with the distinction of being (if we may so call it) the elder brother of the Christian Revelation. Such was the wretched condition in which the most en- lightened Professors of it were found, at the time when the Gospel of Christ was first introduced among them. So far as related to the knowledge of God and spi- ritual things, all was darkness, ignorance, and error. Even those who might have been better informed, had they been as eager to collect the rays of light, which, though greatly obscured, still beamed forth from Divine Revelation, as they were to become distinguished by worldly wisdom; who, from their proficiency in by the tenor of the Gentile Catholic Faith, he was looked on as a material, impotent, and polluted Being. The Scriptures account for all this; that the " nations had forgot God." Psalm ix. 7- After which, they never recovered the knowledge of Him, '' nor called upon His name." Psalm Ixxix. 6. '' And when they knew not God, they did service to them, which by nature are ]iot Gods." Gal. iv. 8. For " they sacrificed to devils, not to God." Deut. xxxii. 17- — 1 Cor. x. 23. So that except belief and disbelief, knowledge and ignorance, tnith and falsehood, have changed places, the heathens were utter strangers to the true Jehovah. Ellis's Enquiry. some i 2C7 J some subjects of sublime speculation, might, with such aid, from the visible things of nature, have inferred the ]>eing and attributes of Nature's God ; even these were nearly as ignorant, with respect to the great subject which it most concerned them to know, as the most unlettered of their community. If they knew anything of God, it was a knowledge of that un- settled kind, that never led them to glorify him as God. The information which they might, and which they occa- sionally did receive from the contempla- tion of the works, they had not grace to turn to the honour of the Worker, by either publicly acknowledging his power, or even attempting to introduce his worship to any people or nation, amongst whom they lived; for they could not communicate to others, what they themselves did not know. One example, from among the number of heathen sao;es, it will be sufficient to produce on this occasion ; because his case is that, on which the advocates for natural Religion are apt to lay great stress. T\\r example I mean, is that of Socrates; who, tliouixh [ 268 ] though he appeared unshaken on the brink of eternity, concluded, nevertheless, his famous apology with these remarkable words : " It is now time that I go hence to die, and you to live; but which is best, no mortal, I think, can tell/' Still, it has been generally understood, that Socrates knew the true God. By those who main- tain this opinion, his conduct in the clos- ing scene of his life, remains to be ac- counted for; when, during his long im- prisonment, he made a serious preparation for death, by composing verses to the daemon of Delphos, and translating ^sop's Tables ; and in his last moments, called back, as it v/ere, his departing soul, to or- der the discharge of a vow, by as stupid an act of idolatry, as the most ignorant savage was ever guilty of. In reference, therefore, to the unpro- fitableness of the wisdom of the heathen sages in this respect, the Apostle proceeds to apply to them the words of the Prophet. " It is written, (says he) I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and Avill bring to nought the understanding of the prudent." 1 Cor. i. 19. — Their wisdom and under- standing [ 2G9 J standing had been useless; for they had left the world uninformed on the most im- portant of all subjects. " Tliercfore did God make foolish the wisdom of this world/' 1 Cor. i. 20. He put the vain possessors of it to shame ; by employing poor unlettered fishermen to teach that les- son to their disciples, Avhich was not to be learned in the heathen academies; a lesson by which they might become wise unto salvation. " For (continues the Apostle) after that in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God; it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe." 1 Cor. i. 21. " To the wise men among the heathens, the preaching of the Cross appeared, as it does to the wise men of the present day, foolishness." It affects not that vain parades of science and system calculated to flatter the pride of the human understanding ; but in the plain, tliough dignified lan- guage of inspired truth, teaches men what they most want to learn; the knowledge of God, and of themselves. Let the preaching of the Gospel then be styled foolishness by the wise men of the [ 370 J tlie world; still, as the foolishness of God, it is wiser than man. It has taught the world true xdsdom, which none of the hea- then philosophers were ever able to do, and which modern philosophers, (as they are falsely called) if we may judge from some specimens of their talents lately pro- duced, are still less likely to do. It has brought those who sat in gross" darkness, at the coming of Christ in the flesh, to the clear lio;ht of Evanoelical Truth. In con- sequence of which glorious manifestation of true wisdom, by the shining of the Sun of Righteousness on the world, the dumb idols of senseless superstition fell prostrate at the foot of the Cross; whilst it has been rendered possible, by the aid of that Light which has shined from on high, for the most unlettered peasant in a Christian country, to boast himself of more true- wisdom than the wisest philosopher of antiquity. It was, therefore, to give the most striking specimen of the unprofitableness of all knowledge, that does not lead it^ possessor up to God; that at the publi- cation of the Gospel, God thought proper to [ 271 J to make a marked distinction between the wisdom of this world, and that wisdom which Cometh from above, by passing by for the most part the wise men after the flesh, the mighty and the noble ; and choosing the foolisli and weak things of the world, to confound the wise and the mighty : that the foolishness of preaching (as it was contemptuously styled) might bring those back to God, whom the wis- dom of this world (falsely so called,) had been instrumental in drawing il^\^y from Ilim. And one principal object which God had in view, in thus humbling the wise men of the Heathen world, by making theij' boasted learning and philosophy give way to the argumen.ts and })rool's, with which the first, for the most part, imlet- tered Teachers of the Gospel were fur- nished, was, (as the Apostle proceeds to inform us,) to teach mankind that import- ant lesson, which must accompany the Gospel, to render it etlcctual ; namely, " that nofiesh should glory before God : but that he that glorieth, might glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. i. 29- 31.— That fallen man should [ 272 J slioukl in humility and gratitude look up to God, as the Author of Salvation, and the fountain of all true Avisdom : that all " ima2:inations should be cast down, and every high thing that exalte th itself against the knowledge of God; and ever}^ thought brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," 2 Cor. x. 5.—" who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." From this review of the Apostle's mode of arguing on this .occasion it appears ; that in reminding his disciples at Corinth, that Jesus Christ was made unto them wisdom^ he had the condition of the Gen- tile world principally in view ; meaning thereby to contrast the true wisdom, by Avhich man becometh wise unto Salvation, with that vain wisdom of the Heathen philosophers ; which so far as respected all saving knowledge, left the possessors of it in a state of ignorance and folly. By Jesus Christ, that etnboclied tmsdom from on high, the great mystery of godli- ness had been fully revealed. AVith refer- ence to this divine subject. He was made msdom unto them that believed : not, as the [ 273 ] the Apostle observes; " the -wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, Avho come to nought; but the wis- dom of God in a mystery; even that hid- den wisdom, which God had ordained before the world to our glory." 1 Cor. ii. J. Thus was Christ made zcisdom to the Gen- tile; leading him, by the light of his Gos- pel, from the dark ignorance of his hea- thenish state, to that supreme species of knowledge, which constitutes the perfec- tion of human nature; the knowledge of God, and his Salvation. But Jesus Christ is not only made unto us zcisdoin, that is, he is not only the au- thor of all true wisdom; but he is also made unto us righteousness ; in the proper sense of that expression; to the end, that every one disposed to glory, " might glory in the Lord." With reference to this part of our Saviour's office, one of the names, by which he was distinguished in the Old Testament, was that of the Just One. The idea is taken from the equality of scales and weights. Hence it is, that Jus- tice is ^blematically represented with a pnir of equal scales in her hand, to signify ! ■ T that [ 274 ■] that the essence of Justice consists in a« equal disb'ibution. The object of the covenant entered into by the Divine Persons in the Godhead was, to restore to its proper standard, the scale, by which the rewards of a just God were to be measured out to his reasonable crea- tures. The Fail had rendered man's pay- ment so short of the divine demand, and thereby inclined the scale so much against him, that it required an extraordinary weight to be thrown in, to bring it back to its just equilibrium. That Divine Person who undertook to do this for man, was, therefore, distin- guished by the title of the " Lord our Justifier:" " the Just One," or the Giver of Justice. Hence it was, that the sacrifices under the Law, were called " Sacrifices of JRighteotisncss,'" because they typically re- presented that Person, who was to be Righteousjiess for man; for, considered in themselves, sacrifices had no claim to such a title. '^ Offer unto God (says the Psalm- ist) the Sacrifces of Righteousness, and trust in the Lord." Psalm iv. 5. When, there- fore, the Prophet proclaimed the advent of [ 275 ] of our Saviour, he described him under this interesting title ; " Behold, thy King Cometh unto thee, the Jzist One, and hav- ing Salvation." Zech. ix. 9- In correspondence with which character- istic description of our Saviour, M'as the accusation brought by St. Stephen against the stiff-necked Jews. " \Yhich (said he) of the Prophets, have not your Fathers persecuted? and they have shiin them which shewed before of the coming of the Jtist One." Acts vii. 52. To the same characteristic title, Ananias " a devout man according to the Law,'* referred, in the delivery of his commission, to Saul. " And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Jmt One." Acts xxii. 14. To this prominent part of our Saviour's character, Isaiah appears to alhide in that Evangelical description of Him, to be found in the fifty-third chapter of his pro- phecy; in the eleventh verse of which it is said of him, that by his knowk^dge shall my righteous servant make justifica- tion [ m ] tion * C3''2t? to the Great Ones. Therel^^re will I divide liim a portion D^QT with the Great Ones. Because he shall empty out his body to death, and be numbered with the transgressors, and bear the forfeiture due to the Great Ones; and he shall inter- cede for trans stressors." Isaiah liii. 11, 12. According to this plan of commutative righteousness, which bears equal testimony to the infinite justice, and infinite mercy of its Divine Author; fallen man, in con- sequence of his obedience having been made, through the righteousness of the Just One, full weight in the scale of Hea- ven, becomes entitled to an heavenl}^ re- ward ; and is thereby placed, through the stupendous mystery of the Covenant of Grace, on safer ground, than that on v/hich he stood before the Fall; that Sal- vation, which, when originally entrusted to himself, was lost, being now, as it were * The same -word CHT which, without apparent reason, has been rendered differently in our translation, is thereby calculated to keep out of sight, that part of our Saviour's character, which, I conceive, it was the object of the prophecy, in this passage, to point out to nv-lie':^. put [ 277 ] put in trust for hiui, in llie hands ot" uno- ther, who is " mighty to save." As the Apostle, in observing that Jesus Christ is made unto us wisdom, alkides to the false wisdom of the heathen world ; so in addino- that he is made unto us Rinfi- teousncss, he appears to have had inune- diately in view, that erroneous conclusion, which the pride and prejudice of the Jewish nation had drawn on this important sub- ject; I say, the Apostle appears to have had the Jewish nation immediatdij in view on this occasion; but without meaning to countenance the idea, that the erroneous conclusion in question, was cvclusiielij ap- propriated to them ; for it is confessedly the offspring of human pride in every con- dition. " I bear them record (says St. Paul, speaking of liis brethren, the Jews) that they have a zeal of God, but not ac- cording to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their ozcn risrhteoKsness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Horn. \. 'J, 3. At the time of our Saviours appearance in the world, the Jews, as a nation, were 11 nil I- [ 278 ] uninformed, both with respect to the end and design of their Law. Thej had lost the key of knowledge, which could alone enable them to unlock the meaning of their own Scriptures. Unacquainted, through the blindness that was in th^m, with that covenanted plan of Salvation, by which man was, in the Evangehcal sense, to become righteous before God; their ignorance, on this head, led them to have recourse to a plan of Salvation of their own, totally incompatible with it. *' Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a riohteous branch, and a King shall reign and pros- per, and shall execute judgement and jus- tice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteotimess" Jer. xxiii. 5,'6. In confonnity with* this striking pro- phecy, allusive to the restoration of Israel, the Apostle tells the Jews plainly, that " Christ was the end of the Law for righ- teousness.'' Rom. X. 4. Hence, the Law is called a Schoolmaster, whose object it ^ was [ 279 ] - was to instruct those who lived under it, in the character and office of tliat Divine Person, by whom Judah shall be saved. But a judicial blindness had, at this linie, fastened itself on the 63x8 of the Jewisli people. In consequence of which, instead of looking through the Law for right cous- ness, to that Divine Person pre-fjgurcd by it, they looked to the Lciii: itself for Sal- vation. " They souglit righteousness (says the Apostle) not by faith in a Redeemer, but, as it wxre, by the works of the Law." Hence, proceeded that unfortunate zeal for the Law, w^iich indisposed the Jews for the reception of the Gospel. With this false prejudice on their minds, the Saviour of the world became a stumbling: block and rock of offence to them. Their Temple and their Law they thought were to be perpetual. They understood not, that the former was a type of the body of Christ, and the latter a shadow of the good things of the Gospel. When our Saviour, therefore, said to the Jews, in allusion to his own body, as the Temple in which the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily; an allusion, which was design^xl to lead the Jews [ 280 ] Jews to a conception of the divinity of our Lord's person: " Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up/' Their ideas were not carried beyond the Jiteral construction of the words. " Then (said the Jews) forty and six years was this Temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it up in three days ? But he spake of the Temple of his body." John ii. 20. Under the influence of the same con- fined notions, when our Saviour " came to his own, his own received him not;" not so much because they knew him not ; as because they beheld him in a most offen- sive light, as one come to change the Law and the Customs which Moses had deli- vered. Whereas had they gained that knowledge, to which the Law was de- signed to lead, they would have discerned the truth and importance of what Jesus Christ said to them, with the view of re- moving their ill-grounded apprehensions ; *' that he was not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfil it ;" in other words, to render it compleat for the purpose for which it had been given ; by performing on his part that condition of the Evange- lical [ 281 ] lical Covenant, ])y which man*s obedience, imperfect as it necessarily must be in his present fallen state, might still, through Him, fmd acceptance with God. In such case they would have understood that all the change our Saviour was about to in- troduce was from an outward Law to an inward one ; from the form to the mbstance; from the Letter which killeth, to the Spirit which endurcth for ever. Thus stood the case with the bulk of the Jewish nation. Their prejudice for the Law accompanied with their ignorance of the Gospel, had led them to build their righteousness on a false foundation. In directing: the attention of his Jewish con- verts therefore to what ought to be the object of their hope on this subject, the Apostle guarded them against the error that proved so fatal to then* unheal icving countrymen. As if he had said ; " Your brethren the Jews seek a righteousness of their own by the works of the Law. And, it must be allowed, " iiad there bc^cn a Law given which could have given lite," their plan would be a wise one ; for in fcuch case, " verily Righteousness should have [ 282 ] have been by the Law/' Gal. iii. 21. — But fallen man not being in a state to fulfil the condition, on which alone life is promised by the Law; and the sentence of the Law being absolute and irrespective; thafe " cursed is every one who continueth not ill all things that is written in the Law to do them ;" it necessarily follows, that by the works of the Law, either as an ap- pointed ritual, or moral rule, no man liv- ing can be justified. Do ye therefore, (the Apostle may be supposed to add, by way of conclusion to his argument,) Do ye seek for righteousness from another quarter. Seek it on the plan which Christ has re- vealed; according to which every humble, penitent, and obedient sinner stands justi- fied before God, through the merits of a crucified Redeemer. This mode of reasoning, (as it has been already observed) did not so immediately apply to the Gentile Converts in the Church of Corinth. As members of the Christian Church, however, it was neces- sary that they should be reminded that Christ was unto them also made Righteous^ vess. All the ideas they had hitherto gained [ 283 ] gained on this subject, if they liad gained any, had been derived from that uncertain standard which Reason had set up in tiie fitness and unfitness of things ; independ- ent of all relation to the will of God; which constitutes the only proper ground of moral obligation. Knowing nothing,of God, they could know nothing of his will; conse(|ucntly they possessed no true prin- ciple, by which their moral conduct could be directed. It was to be expected, there- fore, that the corruption of their morality would keep pace with their corruption in Religion. And such was the case. St. Paul tells us that Gc'd, by way of punish- ment for their not retaining him in their knowledge, gave them uj) to a reiMobate mind: in consequence of which, they were filled with all unrighteousness, fornica- tion, wickedness, covetousness, and mali- ciousness.''— Rom. i. 29. tScc. Sunk down to this low state of corrup- tion, as the heathen world confessedly was at the coming of Christ, to place before his Gentile Converts the character of that Divine Person, whose othce it was, by- bringing them out of darkness into light, to [ 284 ] to instruct them in the wisdom and righ- teousness revealed by the Gospel, was to take the readiest way to make them sen- sible of the advantage of their present condition. It was, in effect, to say what on a similar occasion he said to his Gen- tile Converts at Ephesus; " you, who were without Christ, aliens from the common- wealth of Israel, and strangers to the cove- nant of promise, having no hope, and living without God in the world, are now made nigh by the blood of Christ; who has made both Jews and Gentiles, One :'* that is ; hath brought them both together into his Church ; that he might " recon- cile both in one Body unto God by the Cross ; having slain the enmity thereby." — In consequence of which Death on the Cross, Christ is made llighteousness^ unto Gentile, as well as unto Sq\\. — That " through Him both Jew and Gentile might have access by one spirit unto the Fa- ther."— Ephes. ii. 12. might have lived in gross darkness, as our heathen forefathers did, previous to their conversion: had it not been our happiness to be born in a country, where the light of Christ's Gospel may be said to light every man that cometh into the world. A blessing, which, on our part, demands the utmost return of gratitude; a return, which can in no way be so acceptably shewn, as in the worthy use of the blessings we enjoy. " For Avhat nation is there so great, avIio hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon liim for?" Deut. iv. 7. Christ Jesus is made unto us wisdom^ The light of his Gospel has eftectually chased away those clouds of heathen ig-*. norance, which must otherwise have sur- rounded us. In this sense our Blessed Saviour calls himself " the lii;lit of the world ;" [ 287 ] world;" and says, that whoever followeth him, " shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life/' Being then, by the preaching of the Gospel, made light in the Lord, let it be our concern, my Brethren, to walk as children of the light; that the Sun of Righ- teousness be not provoked, by withdrawing his shining, to plunge us again into that darkness, from which we have been provi- dentially delivered. To this end, let us " take heed to ourselves, and keep our souls diligently, lest we forget the things which our eyes have seen; and lest they depart from our hearts all the days of our lives/' Particularly let us watchfully guard against that xiisdom of this world, which, under the pretence of superior illumina- tion, is now doing its utmost to extinguish the light which hath been graciously re- vealed. Remembering, at all times, that whilst spiritual knowledge is the parent of humility, the wisdom of this world seldom fails to generate pride. And as pride once cast angels out of heaven; we may rest assured, that it will oppose the most effec- tual [ 288 ] ttial barrier to the admission of mortals into it. In thus guarding against that wisdom of this world, which is, what it ever was, " foolishness with God ;" we shall adopt the most prol^able means of securing our- selves against the self-sufficienc}^ of those, who profess to be their own Saviours : re- membering with humble gratitude, that Jesus Christ is made unto us Righteousness; hy becoming that expiatory sacrifice, which took away the curse of the Law, which must otherwise have been executed on the sons of fallen Adam ; Jesus Christ himself being made a curse for us; thereby giving us a right to plead his righteousness and sufferings on our behalf, as performed in our nature and in our stead. In this sense did Christ condescend to become our Ilighteoiisness ; by giving us a covenanted title to the benefit of that Righteousness which lie wrought in the flesh : and thus compleating that gracious plan of Salvation ; according to Avhich, it became possible for sinful creatures, on certain conditions, to be accounted righ- teous [ 289 J teous before God: being iustified bv liis blood shed for tlie remission of sins ; and reconciled to God by his death: being justified', i. e. being accepted or approved of as just ; standing recti in curia before God: absolved iVom all guilt and punisli- ment; " to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved; in whom we have redemp- tion throuoh his ])lood, the foroiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." Eph. i. 6. Which mode oi\justifi/ing ain^ ners, is described by St. Paul, as an act of judgement on the part of God; by which he declareth his own righteousness or jus- tice, in the acceptance of a competent satisfaction oUc.red to him in amends for the debt due to him, and in reparation of the injury done to him: in consequence thereof acquitting the debtor, and remit- ting the offence. " Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that ine past, through the forbearance of God; to de- u clarc [ 290 ] clare, at this time, his righteousness; that He might be just, and the justifier of him, which believeth in Jesus." Rom. iii. 24. From whence it appears, that man's jus- tification is the consequence of Christ's redemption; Jesus Christ having been made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. V. 21. Not that Christ was himself a sin- ner, for " he knew no sin.'' But was made a sin offering for man; in the words of the Prophet, " the chastisement of our peace was upon Him." Isaiah hii. Nor that His righteousness so becomes ours, that we are righteous as he was: for, in such case, we could not be saved as sinners; but that the benefit of His righteousness * is so * The doctrine of Christ's righteousness, considered as the source of spiritual benefit to fallen man, proves the divinity of our Saviour's character. If Christ were not Jehovah, he could not possibly be our righteousness. For as a creature, the righteousness of Christ, however perfect, could not be more so, than the Law of God required that it should be for his oa'n justification; con- sequently, in such case, no benefit could be derived from it to others. But Jesus Christ, we are told, " is made unto ns righteousness;" therefore Jesus Christ must have been more than man, in the words of the Prophet; " the Lord our righteousness." Jcr. xxiii. G. imputed [ 291 ] imputed, or made over to us, that thraugh Him, we fallen, condemned creatures, are placed in a condition to be accepted at the Throne of Grace; not for any n)orits of our own, but for the merits of that all- sufficient Saviour; who, by his obedience unto death, has prevented the sins of all true believers from rising up in judgement against them. " For God hath shut up all in disobedience, that all being sinners before him, he might have mercy upon all, through the gracious mediation of that Son, in whom He is well pleased." DISCOURSE ( [ 293 J DISCOURSE V. »®«€)fH»(*^€>®«)«< 1 COR. i. 30. JVho of God is made unto us JVisdotn, and Righteousness, and Sanctijication, and Re- demption. •••9®'<^>-9®®'*0" aN a former Discourse on this subject, it was shewn in what sense Jesus Christ is made wisdom and righteousness; as these words were originally addressed by the Apostle to his Disciples at Corinth; and as they are still applicable to all member^ of the Christian Church. We now proceed to the consideration of the remaining part of this important subject, which renders complete, that saving doctrine of the Cross, by which the Christian profession is distinguished from all other religious professions in the world. Jesus [ 294 ] Jesus Chiist, in his character of the dnointed of God^ came into the world, not only to teach man true wisdom, and to bring him acquainted with that plan of Evangelical rigiiteousness, according to which alone, he might, as a fallen crea- ture, venture to appear before the tribunal of a just God; but also (as the Apostle proceeds) to be made unto him sanctifica- tion and redemption. In other words to render the plan, which lie revealed, a com- plete one; by fulfilling, in his own person, the conditions on which it had been origi- iiall}^ established ; being, with this gracious object in view, " made unto us of God, \^Qi o\\\y zcisdom and lighicoiisness, hut sanc- ti/ication also and redemption." On the Fall of Adam, all free commu- nication between an innocent creature and his Creator was at an end. The first cove- nant, the observance of which secured the privilege of free access to the Tree of Life, (the emblem and pledge of eternal happi- ness,) had been wilfully broken. The con- sciouness of sin, accompanied with the fear of the displeasure of his justly offended ]\Iaker, was the cause of Adam's foolish attempt [ 295 ] attempt to hide himself from God. " I heard thy voice in the garden, (said he, in answer to God's enquiry after him) and was afraid, and hid myself." Gen. iii. 10. In this state of conscious guilt, and con- sequent fear of punishment, Adain was ]jrevented from falling into desj)air, by the revelation of that gracious plan of re- demption, which had been prepared in the divine councils, according to which he was given to understand, that though as a fallen creature, he had lost all access to the emblematic Tree of Life; a way was still kept open to it, through the medium of that Divine Person, who had under- taken to undo the mischief the devil had wrought, by freeing man from the guilt and consequence of sin, and thereby restoring him, on certain terms, to his forfeited inheritance. In allusion to this gracious plan, our Saviour is described by the Apostle, as " that new and living way, by which man has boldness to enter into the holiest." Heb. X. 20. AVhilst the restoration pro- vided for fallen man is described, with a marked reference to the original forfeiture. " To [ 296 J " To him that overcometh, (said the Alpha and Otiiega, in the prophetic vision of St. John,) will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." Rev. ii. 7. The change which took place in Adam's condition by his Fall, was necessarily fol- lowed b}^ a suitable change in his religious worship. He was driven out from the earthly Paradise, because that free com- munication with the Tree of Life, which, ,as an innocent creature he enjoyed, had been forfeited by transgression, and the only remaining access to what that Tree jcpresented, was through the office of a promised Redeemer; which a conscious- ness of guilt and corruption, had now shewn to be necessar}^ To convince him of the heinous nature of sin, and, at the same time, to fix in the mind of Adam and his posterity, an idea of the divine method, by which the guilt of it was to be done away; a form of worship allusive to the great work, which the second per- son in the Godhead had covenanted to perform, was, at this time, instituted. 1 or as the Gospel w^as published to Adam, in [ 297 ] in the sentence denounced aojainst the okl serpent, that the " seed of the woman should bruise his head;" a rehgious ser- vice analagous to the Gospel, accompanied, it is to be presumed, the original publica- tion of it. A literal account of the circumstances "vvhich took place on this occasion, is not to be expected. For at this early period, and long after it, all knowledge, relative to spiritual and invisible things, were con- veyed by emblematic representation. In- deed, after the use of letters had been established, the hieroglyphic mode of cloathino' ideas was still retained. It was that language of the senses, by which, alone, any notion of things supernatural, and otherwise unintelligible, could be conveyed to the understanding. In allu- sion to which method of conveying spn*i- tual knowledge, St. Paul observes, that " the invisible things of God are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things which are made." Hence it is, according to the Apostle's words in another place, that " nozi\ that is in this life, we sec through a glass in an enigma^' [ 298 J eiuormaJ' the fio;iires of visible things bein«: made use of, for the purpose of reflecting on our minds, some faint image of invisible thino-s: but when we shall have attained to a state of perfection in a better world, we shall no longer see spiritual things by re- flection, as it were from the glass of the creation, but we shall see them *■' face to face" as they are. In conformity, then, with this mode of conveying spiritual knowledge, through the medium of visible objects, a certain em- blematic representation, under the name of the Cherubim^ was set up " at the east of the Garden of Eden,'' Gen. iii. 24. immediately after the Fall, for the pur- pose (as it is recorded) of keeping or pre- serving a way to the Tree of Life. This emblematic representation, which had probably been lost amidst the corruptions of Egypt, Moses, on coming out of that idolatrous country, was directed to make new^ after a particular pattern delivered to him in the I\Iount, for the service of the Tabernacle. Exodus xxv. The same em- blematic representation was afterwards made to be placed in the Holy of Holies in [ 299 ] in the Temple, by the express direetlon of David to his son Solomon, according to the pattern delivered to Solomon for that purpose; which, David says, " the liord had made him understand in writinjr by his hand upon him, even all the works of this pattern." 1 Chron. xxviii. IQ. Before this emblematic representation, set up in the holy places made with hands, which St. Paul expressly calls *' tkejigures of the triie^" the blood of the sacrifice was, on the solemn day of atonement, sprinkled by the High Priest. " A\ ho served (says the Apostle) unto the example and shadow of heavenly things;" Ileb. viii. 5. Or as it may be translated, " who waited upon the exemplar, or emblematic representation of heavenly things; per- forming before it, that figurative typical service, which signified, and pre-figured that offering, which Christ made to God in heaven, when, by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Ileb. ix. 12. Though, therefore, (St. Paul says) " he cannot now speak particularly" on this subject; [ 300 J subject; from whence it is to be concluded 5 that the analogy, by which this emblema- tic exhibition was calculated to convey spiritual information to the human mind, is 7wz^ not necessary to be particularly known, because we are now living under a more perfect Dispensation; still, with any one duly conversant with the Hebrew Scriptures, there seems to be no room for doubt, that the Cheruhhn were de- signed as an emblematic representation of the Covenant of Grace, entered into by the three Great Ones in the Godhead; set up for the comfort and support of man in his fallen condition; and before which, as a sacred memorial of that sublime mystery, which was, in the fulness of time, to be more perfectly re- vealed, the religious service of the infant Church, was, in faith, to be offered up. That this is not mere unfounded con- jecture, may be concluded from the testi- mony, which Solomon bears to this sub- ject; where he says, either on the autho- rity of revelation or tradition, that the altar in the Temple, was a resemblance of that which had been set up by God in the [ 301 ] the Holy Tabernacle from the beuinning. " Thou hast commanded me, says Solo- mon, to build a Temple upon thy Holy Mount, and an altar in the city wherein Thou dwellest, a rcsemhhince of the Iloh/ Tabernacle, which Thou hast prepared from the beginning." AVis. of Sol. ix. 8. Now we know, tliat the bk)od of atone- ment shed on the altar, was afterwards sprinkled before the Cherubim in the Holy of Holies ; for, as it has been above ob- served, it was unto the exejnphu\ or pattern of heavenly things that the Priests minis- tered. From wlience the fair conchision is, that the Cherubim were originally set up at the east of Paradise, for the purpose of the same religious service being per- formed before them thor, that was, in process of time, performed before them in the Temple. It is true, indeed, that on the first set- ting up the Cherubim, no express com- mand is to be found in Scripture, directing the form of worship by sacrifice. Still the first mention made of sacrifice, in tli(M\ay of relation, proves its early institution. We know, moreover, tluit under the Law, tiie [ 302 ] the service of sacrifice was established by express direction delivered to Moses from the Deity. As natural reason, then, is utterly unable to point out any analogy between the blood of an innocent firstling of the flock offered up in sacrifice, and the sin of guilty man; we are, from the foregoing premises, fully justified in con- cluding, that it was in consequence of a divine command, that the blood of the sa- crificed creature assumed its important significance, as the appointed emblem of that precious blood, which, according to the eternal purpose was to redeem the life of man. On this head, modern philosophers and we are so far perfectly agreed, that animal sacrifices could not have gained establish- ment in the world, either on the principles of natural reason or reliaion. But when they ascribe the origin of them to super- stition, we must remind them, that super- stition is but the corruption of revelation, and consists in followins; the dictates of our ovrn imagination in religious worship, instead of scrupulously abiding by the di- vine institutions. Had there been no true Religion [ 30:3 ] Religion, tlicre could not have been any that is false. Had there been no divine institutions, superstition would have had no foundation on which to have raised its imaginary superstructure. But God never established a covenant, without appoint- ing some outward signs, or memorials, as pledges of his promises, and man's obe- dience. The very abuse of sacrifice, there- fore, to the purposes of heathenism, proves the divinity of its origin. For to the per- version of sacred tradition,* are the cor- ruptions of heathenism to be traced up.j- And * Isaiah i. 11. Psalm Ix. 6.— 1. 9.— li. iG. '|- The more this subject, the most fruitful in the whoh; compass of literature, is investigated, the more satisfied shall we be, that the images of heathen idolatry, werr but the corruptions, according to the imaginations ul" men at different times, of that primitive symbolical representation, originally set up at the Fall, for the pur- pose of preserving the Faith, and characterizing the worship of the true Religion. The readei has only U) go far enough back, and he will arrive at the same di- vine fountain, to which the pure stream of patriarchal tradition, and the corrupt one ol" heathenish superstition arc to be traced up. Mr. Maurice, in his " Disserta- tion on the Oriental Trinities," (wiiich, by bringing the tounterfeits, the Pagan Triads, to prove Uic litalitiin, tli( rcby [ 304 ] And as the Deity repeatedly and for- mally disclaimed all virtue, considered as inherent in the sacrifices themselves, the divine appointment of them could have no other object in view, than to direct the eye of the offerer to that great atonement, which the blood of the slain animal was designed to shadow forth. In correspondence with this conclusion warranted by the practice of sacrifice, the ceremonial part of the first religious ser- vice of which the Scriptures make men- tion, considered as the foederal rite of that new covenant, which was instituted imme- diately after the Fall; the reception which thereby makes the coiiuption of revelation bear testi- mony to the truth of it,) has done much in assisting the reader in this interesting research. If the reader would be further assisted, he will find more useful, because more correct information upon it, in the " Trinitarian Analogy, ^^ by tliat most excellent Divine, the late W. Jones. But should he be desirous of entering more deeply into this subject, (provided he be not prejudiced by the sound of a name) he will find most full and cu- rious information upon it, in the writings of the late celebrated Mr. Hutchinson, who, with an industry of investigation peculiar to himself, has traced the doc- trines and rites of heathenism backward to the remotest antiquity. Abel's [ 305 J Abel's sacrifice met with, comparatively with that of Cain, is to be accounted for. " In process of time," (says the Sacred Historian,) or as it is better translated in the margin of om* Bible, *' at the end of days ;" on the periodical return of that day, wiiicli had been sanctified fiom the beirin- ning, and thereby more immediately set apart for religious worship ; " it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And AbcL he al^o brouoht of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain and his offering lie had not respect." Gen. iv. 3, 4. The reason for this marked preference is given by the Apostle in the eleventh chapter to the Hebrews ; where he says, *' that by Faith, Abel offered unto God a more eicellent sacrifice than Cain; by which he obtained witness that he was righteous; God testifying of his gifts." Hcb. xi. 4. Now " Faith (we are told by the same Apostle in the opening of the chapter^ which records the powerful effects pro- duced by it on different occasions,) is the X substance [ 306 J substance of things hoped for." Abel sa- crificed in Faith. He sacrificed therefore in de^endivcncQ o\\ something hoped for. He ofi'ered up the appointed emblem of that all-sufiicient sacrifice, to which divine re- velation had taught him to look forward in hope, as the ground of his acceptance with God. And God bare testimony to his being accepted m the Beloved^ by having respect to his offering. Abel offered " of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof." Gen. iv. 4. The consecration of the firstlings to the Lord, we find afterwards receiving the public sanction of the Divine Command. " Every firstling that cometh of a beast, ^vhich thou hast, the males shall be the Lord's." Exod. xiii. 12. (see also xxii. 29, and xxxiv. 19-) God's express order for burning the fat is to be found in Exodus xxix. 13. " And thou shalt take all the fat tliat covereth the iuAvards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidnies, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar." This sort of sacrifice was for n^V an Holocaust, or burnt otlcring; it Avas the sacrament [ 307 ] sacrament of atonement for sin, and could not, therefore, have been orioinally instituted but by that Divine Being, against wliom sin had been committed. Tlie of- fering up of which sacrifice, procured a cessation, or rather suspension from merited punishment; " a savour of rest," (as it is significantly called, Gen. viii. 21.) till the Great At oner should come, to supply the imperfection of his typical representative, by paying down the full price for man's peace. Abel, therefore, in his sacrifice conformed to the instituted Ritual, under the Covenant of Grace, the outward part of which, consisted in shedding the blood of animals, as an acknowledgement of the forfeiture of life ; and the emblematic re- presentation of that Sacred Bloody by which life was covenanted to be restored. The inward part consisted in the admis- sion, that an atonement was to be made? for the sacrificing party, and the olfering up of the emblem, was the act to be per- formed to obtain the benefit of it. Cain, on the other hand, " ofibred up of the fruit of the ground." His sacrifice was an acknowledgement of tiie Deit}' in hiM [ 308 J his character of Creator of the zcorlcU and may be considered as a sort of quit-rent paid to the Lord of Nature, for possession and enjoyment. A very proper sacrifice to be offered up by man, whilst he conti- nued in his original state of innocence. But after sin had been introduced into the world, a sacrifice of a difterent kind was necessary to accompany it, in order to render man acceptable in the eyes of his Maker. By not oifering up, therefore, the appointed emblem of that sacrifice, which was alone able, by taking away sin, to make the ofterer righteous before God, Cain acted not in conformity with that di- vine plan of salvation through the blood of a Redeemer, Avhich the Fall had rendered necessary. For this reason, it is presumed, his sacrifice was rejected; not that it was in itself improper, for such sacrifice also had, doubtless, the authority of divine sanction, it being afterwards enjoined un- der the Law; but because it was inade- quate to the circumstances of Cain's pre- sent condition. It was the sacrifice of tlianksgi'ving, not that of atonement. The ^sacrifice of an innocent creature to an all- bounteous [ 309 ] bounteous Creator, not thtit of a guiUij one to an olTended God ; and tlicrrfore umvclconie, because unacconi})anicd with that appointed memorial, whicli alone could gain it acceptance. The olrbring up, therefore, of such a sacrifice under such circumstances, might be considered as a formal rejection on Cain's jxirt of that Covenant of Grace, which had been esta- blislied in tlie promised Seed. On the ground of the foregoing state- ment, relative to the Cherubim, and the marked approbation by which God distin- guished the sacrifice of Abel from that ol' Cain, the circumstance which ibllowed this event, " when Cain (as the history proceeds to inform us) Avent outiVom the presence of the Lord" Gen. iv. l6". admits of a ready solution. The Cheruljim set up in the Holy of Holies, St. Paul expressly calls " the exemplar, or image of heavenly things." Hence, the placet Vvhere this cMiiiplar, or imaoe of heaveidv things stood, and Avhcre the Lord of Glory ap]>ear((l in the cloud over the mercy seat, Lev. xvi. 'J. Ezek. i. 26. wai; called the (luxllina:, or rcahkitce [ 310 ] i^emlence of those in heaven, and nia}^ therefore, be considered as the presence chamber of the Godhead on earth. In correspondence with this idea, when the High Priest entered into the holy place, he was said to " go in before the Lord ;'* Exod, xxviii, 30. for he then appeared in the presence of the divine representatives. When Cain, therefore, is said to have ^^ gone forth from the presence of the Lord,^ it may be understood, that he went forth from the Holy Tabernacle, in which the consecrated emblems were originally placed by God ; and by thus turning his back on the instituted form of worship appropriate to the condition of fallen man, manifested his decided rejection of the Covenant of Grace. The reason given by the Apostle for Cain's murder of his brother is, " because his^own works were evil and his brother's righteous." 1 John iii. 12. But in what sense could these two important words be applied to this occasion, unless with refer- ence to tlie quality of the sacrifice offered by each party? And with what propriety can the two ditfcrent sacrifices of Cain and Abel [ su J Abel, (for they both offered to the Lord) be thus characterized, unless the sacrifice of the former be considered to have been that of a Deist, who acknowledges no Saviour; whilst that of the latter was the sacrifice of a Christian, looking forward in hope to the divine promise ; on which ac- count " Abel being dead, yet speakefh." It does not appear from the histor}', that God Avas any respecter of persons on this occasion. But his respect seems to have regarded the different quality of the sacrifice offered by each party. *' Why is th}^ countenance fallen? said God to Cain; if thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted ? (or as it is in the margin) " shalt thou not have the excellency ? and if thou doest not, sin liethatthe door." Gen. x.7' Cain was rejected, because he did not weU; he ofibred not the emblem of that sacrifice, by which alone sin could be removed from liis door. And instead of profiting by the reproof he had received, in an immediate attempt to recover the ground he was losing, he persisted in his rejection of the covenanted plan of salvation. In sullen- ncss and wrath " he went out IVom the presence [ 313 ] presence of the Lord;" virtually turned his back on revelation; and thereby laid the foundation for heathenism. For from this divine institution of sacri- fice in Paradise, for the purpose of direct- ing the attention of the sacrificer to the great object of his hope in the promised Seed, which was to bruise the serpent's head; was derived the custom of making this ceremonial rite an essential part of the religious worship of every country. And though the original design and object of the institution was soon lost, through the gradual perversion of it, yet the idea annexed to such a sei vice, still kept posses- sion of the human mind. A received opi- nion derived, it is probable, partly from the tradition of the Fall, partly from a conscious sense of imperfection, prevailed in the early days of the world, that hu- man nature had undergone some change for the worse ; that it had contracted a corruption from which it became necessary that it should be cleansed, in order to its being in a capacity to be restored to the favour of its Maker. This generally received opinion, gave rise to the number- less [ 313 ] Irss forms of superstitious purification, Avhirh cliaracterizcHt the hcalheu liitual; which, at the same tiuic that thoy exposed the vain imaginations of the ])artic.s con- cerned in them, bore, at k^ast, indin'ct testimony to the leality of the fact lo which they alkuled ; namely, that sancti- fj cation was necessary to the actual concU- tion of mankind. The general expectation oi' the h(Miefit which was to accrue from blood, liad not onl}^, in very early days, drawn the hea- thens into the practice of oblations of blood, nay, even of human blood; but also into the practice of sti-angling crea- tures, that they might eat the blood in the flesh; a practice which continued after tl;(? appearance of Christ in the world. Jn opposition to which customs, Avas that fa- mous decree of the Apostles. Acts xv. 20. *' That they abstain from pollution of idols, and from fornication, iiiid from things strangled, and from blood." A great part of the civilized world was in this state of corruption, with respect (o religious Avorship, when the Hebrew na- tion sojourned in the Land of Egypt. Having [ S14 J Having lost the knowledge of the true God, they had set up the works of his hands as objects of worship in his stead. Become dark in their understanding, they looked not beyond second causes. To the host of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars, as to their Saviours and divine benefactors, temples, altars, and idols, had been set up, accompanied with such appropriate emblems and services, as had been sug- gested by the corrupt imagination of the worshippers. When the Hebrews, there- fore, were delivered from that land of gross superstition, in Avhich they had long sojourned, and brought into the wilderness in their way to Canaan; it became neces- sary^ to recover them from the idolatrous corruption they had contracted, to the pure worship of the God of their fathers. , For this purpose they were placed under the severe yoke of the Law, which was calcu- lated to preserve them from any con- formity to the idolatrous services, to which they were but too much inclined, by that attention whicli a regular observance of their own burthensome Ritual now exacted from tlicm. " The Law (the Apostle says) [ 315 -J .says) was added, because of transgres- sions." It was added to the Patriarchal Religion, to prevent those abominations which heathenism had brought into it. Gal. iii. The Law was added to the pro- mise, not for the purpose of making any change in the Evangelical promise made to Abraham, but with a view to its better security. The transgressions which had prevailed, in consequence of the corrup- tion of the patriarchal religion, had ren- dered the introduction of the Law abso- lutely necessar}^ not only as a moral rule, but moreover as a fence to the Hebrew nation against the idolatry of the countr\-, from which they had been brought forth; as well as ao;ainst that of the different na- tions which they were commissioned to cast out. " When (says God l)y tlie mouth of his prophet.) I brought tluMU forth of the Land of Egypt, I said unto them, cast ye away every man the abo- mination of his eyes, and defile not your- selves with the idols of Egypt, I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken imto me, nei- ther did they forsake the idols of Egyj)t. "NVhcrcforo [ 316 ] Wlierefore I caused them to go forth out of the Land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judge- ments, which if a man do he shall live in them." Ezek. xx. 7- And it does not seem to have been God's design to have loaded his people Avith such a burthensome ritual, had they not sinned in the affair of the Golden Calf, by setting up an Egyptian idol for the object of their religious worship. " Thus saith the Lord of Hosts ; I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying; Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people : and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. But they hearkened not." Jer. vii. .22. — " The house of Israel rebelled aoainst me in the wilderness; because they had not executed my judgements, but had despised my sta- tutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after thdr fathers idols . Wherefore [ 317 ] Wherefore (or on tliis account,) T gave I hem statutes ziliich were not good, and jiulgenients whereby they should not live." Ezek. xx. 24; 25. To the moral Law was ackkMl the Law of carnal ordinances, whw^h the Apostle tells us was afterwards abolished for the weakness and unprofitableness of it. Ileb. vii. 16. AVeak liowever and unprofitable as the liaw was, when considered in itself, it answered the end of its institution for the time being, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made, l^y a particular ritual it separated the Jewish people from all other nations, for the ex- j)ress purpose of making them the Pre- servers of the true Religion against the superstitious and idolatrous corruptions of it; at a period when, that people alone excepted, all mankind had apostatized from the worship of the true God. " Ye shall be holy unto me, (said God to the children of Israel,) for I the Lord am holy; and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine." Lev. x\. 26. — At the same time the Law kept in memory, through the mediiim of its typical service. [ 318 ] servicfe, the promise of the Messiah made to their fathers ; by leading their thoughts forward to that Person in whom the Pro- mise was to be fulfilled. The Law was added, in another sense, •' because of transgressions ;" that being convinced, that, by the Law, as a rule of life, all men are concluded under sin ; the Jews might be prepared to welcome the appearance of that Divine Person, who was the end of the Law for justification, to every one that believeth/' Rom. x. 3. — " The Law (says the Apostle in this sense) worketh wrath/' Rom. iv. 15. — It Avas partly intended that it should do so: in order that those who livxd under it, might be led forward to a better hope. And in this point of view, the Law was, what the Apostle calls it, " a Schoolmaster" to bring the Jews to Christ. Such being the important design of the Law, the ceremonial ritual of it Avas- of course valuable only so far as it minis- tered to the purposes of its institution. It was originally imposed to restrain a self- willed and corrupted people from idol- atry: on which account it had a continued reference [ 319 ] reference to the then reigning supersti- tions. But as this security from idolatry, was for the sake of preserving a sound and pure basis for the Christian Dispensa- tion; it pleased Divine Wisdom that the Ceremonial Law should not only be directed against the prevailing superstitions ; but should likewise be typical of the ess("ntial parts of that Dispensation, which it was designed to usher in. On this account it is to be expected that the ritual service of it, should have some marked reference to the particular character and ofiice of the Person designed to be pointed out by it. This was strikingly the case on the great day of expiation ; when the High Priest under the Law went into the Holy of Holies, to sprinkle the blood of Atone- ment for himself and the people before the Lord; who appeared in tlic cloud upon the Mercy Seat." Lev. xvi. 2. Now this service, with every thing that appertained to it, St. Paul expressly in- forms the Hebrews, in the ninth chapter of his Epistle, to them, wdsjigurative and /r- prescutative. On which account, God, who secth the end [ 320 ] end from the beginning, who consequently ill liis institution of the Law, beheld its accomphshment in the Gospel; expressly })rovided, that the sacrifices offered on tiiis important occasion should be slain by tlie Priest's own hand ;* that the blood so slain should afterwards be brought by him into the Holy of Holies ;f- that He should not presume to enter that sacred place without blood at any time ; nor even with blood but at this aimual solemnity; that part of this blood should be sprinkled be- fore the mercy seat, on which the Em- blems of the divine Presence were placed: tliat he should afterwards sanctify the altar X before the Lord by putting some of this consecrated blood upon it; and, lastly, that after the ceremonies relating to the Scape Goat wei"e performed, the bodies of the bullock and goat slain for the sin offering, sliould be burnt with fire without the camp.§ Now all these things, according to the- course of the Apostle's argument, were a * Levit. xvi. 11.15. t Exod. xxx. 10. — Levit. x\i. 10.— Heb. ix. 7. t Levit. xvi. 18, If). § Levit. xvi 28, 29, fioure ![ 321 ] •figure of Christ, and accomplished in him. The Holy of Holies on earth represented the residence of the Deity in heaven. The service that was performed in it, con^ sequently represented the service that was to be performed in heaven. The High 'Priest imder the Law, therefore, repre- sented the person of our great High Priest tmd Intercessoi' on this occasion ; and the blood which he sprinkled before the Che- tubim on the mercy seat, was the Type of that blood, the merits of which our great High Priest, when " entered within the vail,'' Heb. vi. 19- was afterwards to plead before his heavenly Father. " Christ (says the Apostle) is not Wintered into the holy place made with hands, i.e. into the Holy of Holies in the Temple, " which are the figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, (the actual residence of the Deity) there to appear in the presence of God for us.'' Heb. ix. 24<. And, .as the High Priest on earth was not permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies on the great day of atonement, " without blood of others;" so his great Antitype, Jesus Christ, " being become an HUAi Priest of good thincrs to X come," 1 322 ] come," qualified his human nature for ajti entrance into the holy place in heaven, by the offering of his own blood. Each High Priest acted under a public character, each .sustaining the persons of those whom he represented. The Pligh Priest under the Law " offered for himself, and the errors of the people." Our great High Priest under the Gospel " appeared in the pre- sence of Godyb;* lis:" whilst the burning the sin offering without the Camp, an- swers to Christ's suffering without the gate of Jerusalem. As the covenant for the redemption of fallen man was, by divine direction, to be typically exhibited on earth, with the view of preserving the true faith in the world, by directing the eye of the sacrificer to its proper object; it necessarily followed, that such an exhibition must be performed, be- fore the Emblems appointed to represent the divine presence. For God literally -speaking, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. " The heavens (saith the Lord) is my throne, and the earth is my footstool ; where is the house that ye build unto me?" Isaiah Ixvi .1. Still we find God [ 323 ] God giving express direction to Moses, relative to the building of the Tabernacle, in the following words. " Let them make me a Sanctuary, according to all that I shew thee after the pattern, that I may dwell among them/' Exod. xxv. 8. Now^ there are two senses, a literal and a figurative sense; in one of which every writing is to be understood, if it is to be understood at all. When, therefore, the Holy of Holies is called the Safictuari/, the dwelUng-placp ot residence of tlie Deit^s it must necessarily be understood, in ^figu- rative sense, to be a Type of heaven. Con-r sequently the Figures or Emblems, which were ordered to be set up in the holy place, of which a particular description is given in the letter of the Law, must have been patterns, or representations of things in the heavens. In conformity with which idea, after having reminded the Hebrews to whom he w^s writing, that all things by the Law were purged with the blood of calves and of goats of-: fered in sacrifice; the Apostle proceeds to observe, that " it was necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be puriticd [ 324 ] -ptirified with thfese ; but the heavaihj fhwgs themselves, (the Divine Realities, which those patterns were intended to represent), with better sacrifices than these/' Heb. ix. 25. " Jesus Christ then being become an ^ighPriestof good things to come, entered not (says the Apostle) into the Holy of Holies oh earth, with the blood of calves and of goats; but after his sacrifice on the Cross, he " entered once into the holy place in heaven/' Heb. ix. 11, 12. " If he were on earth, (observes the Apostle) he should not be a Priest; seeing, or be- cause there are Priests th^t offer gifts ac- cording to the Law.'' Heb. viii. 4. The shadow and the reality could not, according to the divine plan, co^Cxist under the same Dispensation. AVheh our blessed Saviour, therefore, having yielded up his life on the Cross, entered into heaven to offer his own blood for mans redemption, the Priesthood of the Law virtually ceased, and his own unchans-eable Priesthood com- menccd; by the cfHcacy of which, " he is able to save, to the uttermost, them that (Gdmc unto God by him, seeing he ever livcth [ 325 ] liveth to make intercession for them." Jieb. vii. 25. Such a mode of reasoning addressed to the Hebrews, on the supposition tl>at they J>ad ]fet9.ip,ed the least idea of the typical nature of their Temple service, was unan- swerable. If the reality, of what their Lp-w exhibited but the ahadou^ was actu- ally accomplished, the use of the Jipw was necessarily superseded. AVhen that which is perfect was come, that which is impcr- feet,, according to the verdict of common sense, was of course to be done awav. la its reference, therefore, to the full and jfinal accomplishment of its Ritual service in the great propitiatory sacrifice on the Cross, the whole value of the Ceremonial Law consisted. Abstracted from this, it was a formal, unmeaning, and conse- quently unprofitable exhibition. The same idea, therefore, which gave value to the sacrifice of Abel, and accom- panied the sprinkling the blood of tha lamb on the door posts of those who were delivered from the destroying angel, pre- vious to their departure from Egypt; sig- nifyiui^S that deliverance from the guilt and [ 326 ] bondage of sin, was not, according to the Covenant of Grace, to be effected, but hy shedding of blood; was intended to be kept alive in the services of the Law; for the purpose of leading those who lived under it to the knowledge of that Divine Person, who " by one offering of himself hath perfected for ever them that are sancti- fied." rieb. X. 14. And for this reason, in allusion to the method, by which, according to the di- vine plan, this sanctification was to be effected, " all things by the Law Avere purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there was no remission." Heb, ix. 22. Now common serise might be supposed competent to have informed the Jews, that blood literally applied, must, instead of cleansing any thing, add rather to its de- filement. Had they not, therefore, lost sight of the spiritual meaning of their Law, they must have concluded, that the blood of sacrifice, applied for the purpose of purgation, was the s'lgiii but could not possibly be the thing signified. And he- Cause the life of every animal is in the blood, [ 327 ] blbod, that on that account it was an appointed emblem of the benefit derived to the sacrificer from that promised Seed of tlie Woman, whose deatli, according to the eternal purpose, Avas to cleanse mankind from the defilement of sin. " The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to jou upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls; for it is tlic blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Levit. xvii. 11. Accordn:ig to tliis idea, (which prevailed in the mind of the faithful under the old Dis- pensation, who with Abraham looked for- ward to the day of Christ, and rejoiced in it in hope;) one of the names by which the Messiah is distinguished in the Old Testa- ment, is that of the Pi^r//ter nnil: the same word, which in some other passages of Scripture is translated soap: the known property of which is to cleanse and purify. "• Though thou wash me with nitre, and take thee mucli soap, nn:i, thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord.'' Jer. ii. 22. And again in that striking pas- sage of the prophet Malachi. " AVho may abide the day of His couiing? and who shall [ 328 J shall stand wiicn he appeareth ? For He is like the refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap nn::. — Here the Messiah, under the significant emblem of a refiner's fire and fuller's soap, is pointed out in the char racter of that Divine Purifier, whose office it is, in a spiritual sense, to cleanse and pu- rify mankind from the defilement of sin. In allusion to this his important cha- racter of Fiirijitry the saints who are de- scribed in the Book of Revelation as ar- rayed in white robes, are said to have 'iDashed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Rev. vii. 14. Garments, by being washed in Mood, can- not, in a literal sense be made white. But when it is considered that Sin, in the figu- rative language of Scripture, is the spiri- tual defilement of the Soul; and that it is through the Sacrifice offered on the Cross that Man, rendered impure by the Fall, is restored to a state of purity in the Eyes of God; we can be at no loss to un- derstand the Apostle, when he says, that " if we walk in light, the blood of Christ deamcth us from all Sin:" — and conse- quently, in what sqnse the Robes of the sinner [ 329 ] sinner are made white^ by being washed in the blood of the Lamb. Thus does the Bible, from the begin- ning of it to the end, direct the eye of tlie faithful to the same divine object of Christian hope; from Abel's offering in Paradise, through the representative ser- vice of the Law, down to the actual ful- filment of it by the personal sacrifice of Christ on the Cross ; and the efi'ect pro- duced by that great event, in the em- blematic description of the saints, stand- ins: before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes. When, therefore, Christ Jesus appeai'cd in the flesh, he who was sent to prepare the way before him; in other words, to prepare the Jews for his immediate recep- tion; described I Jim by his most signifi- cant title of " the Lamb of God;" " Be- hold (said he) the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." — As if he had said; Behold the great Purifier of mankind. Behold that divine Person whom the Prophet has told you should be brought as a lamb to the slaughter, when it shall please his Father to make his soul' an [ 330 ] an offering for sin. Isaiah liii. — Behold the true Paschal Lamb, to whom all the t3^pi- cal service of the Law was designed to lead 3^ou. Behold the Lamb of God, slain in the Divine Councils before the Avorld began ; who, in the fulness of time, shall, with his own Bloody enter once into the holy place not made with hands; that through the eternal spirit " offering himself with- out spot to God, he may purge your con- sciences from dead works to serve the livino; God." Ileb. ix. 14. Tims has it been shewn in what sense Jesus Christ is made unto us Sanctification . He came into the world, (as he himself said) not to destroy the Law but to fulfil it. This commission he executed partly in his character of Sancfifier, To the Jew he rendered the law perfect by filling it up : and at the same time furnishing, in his own divine Person, that true sanctification, of which the purifications of the Law were designed as figures for the time being. To lead the Jewish nation to this important conclusion, our Saviour, when expiring on the Cross, made use of these strikino- words : -' It is fumhed" As if he had said, the woi'k [ 331 ] Work which I covenanted to perform on earth is compleated. At the same time the vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. The Apostle tells us, that by the High Priest on earth entering within the vail into the second tabernacle with blood once every year, the Holy Ghost signified " that the way into the holiest of ah was not yet made manifest." Heb. ix. 8. The cir- cumstance, therefore, of this vail being rent from top to bottom, at the death of Christ, was intended, it it presumed, to convey, in the same symbolic language, this important idea ; that at the death of Christ, the way into the holiest of all, was really made manifest; and that therefore the emblematic service, which had hitherto been performed within the vail of the ta- bernacle on earth, was no longer neces- sary to be continued. The scene was now changed from earth to heaven; where the great work of atonement was in future to be carried on by that spotless High Priest, who with his own blood was ascended into heaven for that gracious })urpose. In this sense, then, Jesus Christ became the [ 332 ] the true sanctifier of his chosen people. Whilst the Gentile, through the preach- ing of his Gospel, was rescued from the gross impurity of the superstitious worship to which' he had been accustomed, by which the glory .of the incorruptible God had been changed, through the suggestions of the devil, into images made like to cor- ruptible man, to birds, beasts, and creep- ins; thinfifs." In a general sense, both to Jew and Gentile, that is, to every member of the Christian Church, Jesus Christ is made saiictijication, by virtue of his having ap- peared once in the end of the world, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself: and in consequence of that abundant ef- fusion of his spirit shed abroad under the Christian Dispensation, by which that leal ptn-ifi/ of heart and mind is effected, which the riiifal purifications of the Law were de- signed to typify ; and to which all the ap- pointed means of grace under the Gospel are designed to lead. Tlie short view which has been here taken of a most important subject, bears testimony to the plan of divine wisdom in the [ 333 ] the covenant of Grace, sufficient, it is pre- sumed, to establish the faith, and direct the practice of every Christian Professor. For, short as it is, it makes the Bil:)lc speak a consistent kino-uaoe from Genesis to Re- velations ; directing tlie attention of the reader to the same divine object of Chris- tian hope, from the revehition of the pro- mised Seed to Adam in Paradise, through tlie shadows of the Law, to its actual com- pletion in the person of Jesus Christ; " who for us men and for our salvation came dov/n from Heaven, was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, and crucified under Pontius Pilate." Who, in correspondence with the figurative language of the Prophet, by which he is described as coming " with dyed garments from the vintage, red in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength, speaking in righteousness, and mighty to save," is represented in the Book of Revelations, as '' clothed in a vesture dipped in Blood;" the emblematic memorial of the bloody work which He liad performed for Man, and his name, (as the Divine Revelation proceeds to in- form us) " is called the Word of God. And He [ 334 ] He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords/' Rev. xix. 16. The correspondence between the symbol of the Old Testament, and the letter of the New is well worthy of remark ; because it bears striking testimony to the consistency of the divine plan, in the execution of tho Christian Covenant. The Cherubim, ♦it has been observed, were set up at the east of the Garden of Eden, immediately after the Fall. This same emblematic representation was after- wards made from a pattern expressly de- livered by God to Moses, and in process of time, to David for the religious service of the Tabernacle and Temple. The par- ticular construction of the Cherubim was also revealed to Ezekiel in a vision. Under this emblematic representation. Divine Wisdom was pleased to convey that know- ledge of spiritual things, necessary to give effect to the worship of those, who lived under the Dispensations, preceding that which commenced with the ministry of Jesus Christ. This latter Dispensation graciously ex- chano'cd I 335 ] changed the symbol of Christianity for the letter of it : that Divine jMystery em- Jblematieally represented under the figure of the Cherubim having been elearly re- vealed, in the Incarnation of one of the Di vane Persons in the Godhead; and the subsequent direction given to the Apostles to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; those three Great Ones, who had en2:a2;ed themselves in Covenant for the redemption of fallen Man. In proceeding to the revelation of things that are to come to pass at the end of days; when the Patriarch, the Jew, and the Christian shall be assembled before the throne ; we find the symbol and the letter blended together: we behold the Son of Man, the typical Lamb under the Xaw, who had been slain for the sins of mankind, standing in the midst of tlu^ throne, and of the four Beasts, or ratlu^r living creatures ; which, according to the testimony of Kzekiel, were intended to exhibit " the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord," Ezek. i. 28.— under those Dispensations, in which God thouojit C3 [ 336 3 thought fit to convey divine knowledge through a symbolical medium ; as if, bj bringing into one point of view the differ- ent parts of the Divine CEconomy in the work of Redemption, to convey this es- sential idea ; that in the character and of- fice of Jesus Christ, each Dispensation of Grace had received its accomphshment. ^^oever then can fairly read his Bible, and conclude that all that apparatus of divine vasdom, (if it may be so called) ma- nifested in the Dispensations preparatory to tlie perfection of the Gospel, was made use of for the purposeof introducing Jesus Christ into the world, in the sole character of a moral teacher, must have a vail before his eyes, as thick as that, which is judi- ciously suffered still to remain before the eyes of the carnal Jew. To us, (on whom we trust the light hath shined,) the divinity of the promised seed, that " Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world • who, in the Book of Revelations is called " theWord of God ;" which Word, St. John in his history expressly tells us " was God;'* appears to be written, as it were with a s?un-beam, iuiilmost every page of the Sa^ cred [ 337 ] cred Scripture. It is the substance of the Law, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the per- fection of the GospeL That divine Per- son, the only ground for hope to fallen man, we trace in every Dispensation. By the light of the Gospel, we see him in the ceremonials of the Jewish Ritual, as clearly as we behold Him in the appointed ordi- nances of the Christian Church. And seeing Him as we do, we tremble for the condition of those in an enlightened coun- try, who see Him not. Whatever flatter- ing ideas they may annex to their due ac- knowledgment of God in his character of Creator and Governor of the world, and to the conscientious discharge of moral du-* ties ; yet certain it is, from the general tenor of Revelation, that " without shed- ding of blood there is no remission." If he that despised Moses' Law, died without mercy, under two or three witnesses, of how much sorer punishment shall they be thought wortliy, who have trodden under foot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing ? For their saciifice, however perfect in its kind, resembles not the sacrifice of Abel, z which [ 338 ] which was accepted ; but that of Cain, which was rejected ; because it was not a isacrifice in correspondence with the cove- nant of Grace. With this conviction on our minds, we have but to offer up our earnest prayers to God, for those who now sit in darkness ; that the eyes of their un- derstanding being opened, they may be brought acquainted with the fuhiess of Divine Wisdom in the great mystery of Re- demption; and thereby become prepared to join in that new song, which shall, at the end of time, be sung to the honour of the Redeemer ; on the consideration, that it is '' through Him alone, that there is access to the Father." " I beheld (says St. John in a vision) and lo ! in the midst of the throne and of the four Beasts, and in the midst of the Elders, stood a La?nb, as it had been slain : and lie came, and took the Book out of the right hand of Him, that sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts, and four-and-twentv elders, fell down before the Laml:>: and they svmg a new^ song, saying; Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thoii wast . C 339 ] wast slain and hast redeemed us to God hi) thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts and the elders ; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- sands of thousands : saying with a loud voice ; AVorthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is ia heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the seas, and all that are in them, heard I say ; blessing and honour, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." — Amen. DISCOURSE [ 3*1 J DISCOURSE VI. — •wr*N«^\ i curity of his superstructure depends. This plan of Redemption makes divine Revela- tion speak, as it might be expected it should speak, an uniform and consistent language through all its parts; pointing out under every Dispensation, the same divine object of consolation to fallen man. It exhibits to us one great mysterious scheme of Redemption from the effects of the fall, in which each Person in the God- head condescended to take a part; travel- ling on through several progressive stages of maturity, to its final and perfect accom- plishment in the character and office of Jesus Christ. — " In whom all the promises of God to man are Yeu and Amen:" i. e. have their full and determinate comple- tion. This is a subject big with importance to every soul of man. Though, alas ! it is a subject, which seldom meets with the at- tention, to which it is so justly entitled. If, as the general tenor of Scripture au- thorizes us to affirm, the great scheme of Redemption, so far as respects the work of the Redeemer in the flesh, has been com- pleatcd in the character and office of Jesus Christ I 365 ] Christ on cartli, this important scene of Providence is closed ; and fallen man has no other plan of Salvation to expect. " For Jesus Christ, in that he died, died unto sin once; and having been raised from the dead, he dieth no more.'* Rom. vi. 9- 10. There remaineth, consequently, no more sacrifice for sin. Heb. x. 26. Under these circumstances man is upon his last trial ; the event of which must be final and irreversible. Considered in this liffht the doctrine of the Cross is a doctrine of universal and most interesting concern ; as including under it the Salvation or con* tlemnation of every man. If then, (as we read) " there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus of Nazareth;" — Acts iv. 12. it cannot be a matter of indiflerence, in what character he is acknowledged. For should he not be acknowledged in that most prominent part of his character, in which he has been revealed, as the Re- deemer of fallen man ; he cannot be ac- knowledged to any saving purpose. Those therefore who in these enlightened days of the [ 366 ] the Gospel affect to receive Jesus Christ, in no other character than that of a Prophet sent from God, to improve what they un- derstand bj the religion of. nature; by teaching a more compleat system of mo- rality, than that of which the world was before in possession ; or as an example of perfect righteousness set up for men to copy after; such persons receive Jesus Christ to their own condemnation; Avhilst they reject him in the only character in which Christ cau stand them in any stead in the day of judgement. For in such case they have received from Christ a Law of religious and moral duty, by which they cannot be justified ; because they do not keep it ; and an example which must condemn them, because they do not imi- tate it. In the pride of human self-suffi- ciency they place themselves therefore on the same ground, on which Adam in his state of innocence was unable to stand : and by rejecting the plan of Salvation which has been graciously accommodated to their fallen condition, they challenge to themselves judgement unaccompanied with mercy. This [ 367 J This is a consideration (and a most awe- ful consideration it is,) in which the Deist, the Socinian, and the self-righteous mo- ralist of every description are equally con- cerned. For, if the Scripture doctrine of Redemption be true, (and if it is not, 5uch a doctrine had not been revealed,) it follows, that Redemption from the conse- quences of the fall was absolutely neces- sary to the salvation of the fallen party; otherwise it would be inconsistent with the wisdom of the Deitv, which doetli nothino- in vain, that such a process should ever have taken place. If then the testimony of Scripture be ad- mitted, as furnishing evidence competent to the establishment of any revealed fact, (and to suppose otherwise is blasphemy in the extreme,) there is certainly no ground on which a reasonable doubt can be built relative to the subject before us. It has been clearly revealed, (in fact it consti- tutes the ground on which the mystery of godliness was built,) that man by original transgression fell under the sentence of the hn\', which pronounced a curse on every transgressor of it; and that in this con- demned r 368 J demned condition, man has ever since con- tinued. Now if no means have been adopted to take away this general curse, that cui'se must still remain ; consequently in such case no man living can be capable of salvation. But through grace it has been also re- vealed to us, that Jesus Christ " redeemed us from the curse of the Law, himself be- ing made a curse for us." — At the same time we are expressly told that no man in this case can redeem his brother; and for this obvious reason, because man in his collective character is the party to be re- deemed. When two persons are in bond- age for a debt, which they are both equally unable to discharge ; they must remain in bondage, till a third person be found, who is not only in a state of perfect solvency himself, but is moreoA'er possessed of at suf- ficiency to spare for the relief of their dis- tress. Jesus Christ therefore in his cha- racter of Redeemer could not be mere man : for, as man, by fulfilling the Law to the letter, he could only have saved himself: in such case it had been in vain for us to have looked for a ransom to him; who, though [ 369 ] though he had paid his own debt, had no- thing to spare for the relief of his captive brethren. The fair loe-ical inference from which premisses is, that Jesus Christ, to be competent to the great work of man's Redemption, must himself have been more than man. But our conclusion in tliis case is not left to stand on the ground of mere looical in- ference; because the testimony borne by Scripture to this important subject is de- cided and unequivocal. The Psalmist after observing, in refer- ence to those who trusted in their riches, *' that none of them could by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him," concludes with the following consolatory reflection. " God (says he) will redeem my soul from the power of the grave : for he shall receive me." Ps. xlix. 7- Where the Apostle exhorted his disciples to glorify God in their body and spirit; the ground on which his exhortation was built was this; that they were G od* a proper ti/; having been bought by him with a price. God then was the purchaser of fallen man. But B B we [ 370 ] we are informed by the same Apostle that the precious blood of Christ was the price paid for man's Redemption. " Jesus Christ (says he) by his own blood, entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal Redemption for us." Heb, ix. 12. The necessary conclusion from which premisses is; that i?i Jems Christ was perfected that mysterious connection, which according ta the wisdom of the divine plan, was neces- sary to the completion of man's redemp- tion. For had not Jesus Christ been man, he could not have shed his blood for the sins of man. And had he not been God^ the blood which he shed for the Redemp- tion of sinners had not been adequate to the purpose. In that compound charac- ter then in which Jesus Christ is described in Scripture as " the second Adam," and at the same time " the Lord from Heaven ;* 1 Cor. XV. 47. — as the son of man, and at the same time " the Word of God ;' and in that alone, was he qualified to answer ta the interesting title, by which " the righ- teous branch raised unto David,'' was here- totbre distinguished. " This i§ his name, whereby he shall be called,'' says the Pro- phet, [ 371 ] phet, " The Lord our Righteousness." Jcr. xxiii. 6. When therefore we put this case toge- ther ; considering on the one hand what a gracious God has done, to open the gate of everhisting life, which the fall of man had shut against him ; and beholding on the other, self-sufficient man taking a leaf, if we may so say, out of the devil's book; setting up for independence, and daringly rejecting the proffered plan of Salvation through the medium of a crucified Re- deemer; we tremble at the idea; and con- clude with the Apostle, that we are at a loss to know " how they shall escape who neglect so great salvation." — For if the precious blood shed on the Cross availeth nothing in this case, most true it is that the Scripture holdeth forth no other pros- pect to sinful man, " but a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indig- nation/' Heb. X. 27. But by a common abuse of language, unbelievers are often given credit for be- ing wiser than other m€n; because they dissent from established opinions; as if wisdom consisted in sinqularity, or to he- Heve. [ 372 ] lieve, was a reflection on the competency of man's rational faculty. On this head it may be sufficient to observe ; whilst no folly is equal to the folly of those ^vho pre- tend to be wise above Avhat has been re- vealed ; that it is as great an abuse of rea- son to reject a truth, capable of being proved by its ow^n proper evidence, be- cause we do not fully comprehend it, as it is a neglect of it to admit a truth, with- out the examination of any evidence at all. For, to reason, is to examine the truth or falsehood of any subject, by comparing it with its own proper evidence. But to de- termine on a subject abstracted from its evidence, as many do on the doctrines of Christianity, is not to reason so much as to conjecture', it is to suffer pride, preju- dice, or interest, to take place of fair argu- ment; and in such case, the conclusion drawn, will not be the conclusion of a sound head and unpervcrted understand- ing, but that of a corrupt heart, and licen- tious imagination. AVith respect to the point at issue be- tween unbelievers and Christians, we he- feilate not, confidently to affirm, that no historical [ 373 ] liistorical facts whatever, of equal date, arc so Avell authenticated, as those re- corded in the Bible ; nor is there any pro- position in the whole circle of science more capable of satisfactory demonstra- tion, than that Christian doctrine of Re- demption, which the uniform tenor of Scripture conspires to illustrate and con- firm ; " to wit, that God was in Christ recon- ciling the world to himself/' 2 Cor. v. I9. Those philosophers, as they are falsely called, who pride themselves in prejudg- ing a cause, which they want cither can- dour, honesty, or ability fairly to examine, are not to be reasoned with, so much as to be prayed for. To members of the Christian Church, who, as such, professedly embrace the doctrine of Salvation through a crucified Redeemer, it may be proper to observe in conclusion ; that as the danger of being wise above Avhat is written is certainly very great; so the danger of being wise against what is written, is by no means inconsider- able. In the one case, man is led to irjcct the gracious plan of Salvation through Christ ; [ 374 ] Christ ; in the other to abuse it. To lie wise unto Salvation, we must read the Bible as it is written; neither adding to, nor diminishing aught from the contents of that sacred Book; neither making myste- ries where there are none, nor disbelieving those which have been revealed. As a divine Revelation, the whole of the Bible must be taken together: the design of it being to furnish that information on the great subject of Redemption, necessary tq man under the different circumstances of his present state of trial. With this idea before them, the Apostles preached the Old Testament, compleated in the great subject of the New. A mode of preach- ing Avhich can alone do justice to the con- sistency of the divine plan of Salvation; by making the spirit of God speak the same language from Genesis to Revela- tions. When therefore it is considered that the work of Redemption was the voluntary act of the Reedeemer, in consequence of man s having forfeited his original state of happiness, and being rendered utterly in-r capable [ 375 ] capable of recovering it ; it must be con- cluded, that the benefit to be derived from that gracious work, must depend, on a compliance with the conditions annexed to it. To this end, the words of the text must be taken in their full extent. Jesus Christ must be made unto us not only wisdom and righteoustiess, but sanctijication and re- demption. He must not only be the foun- tain of all true wisdom, and righteousness ; but the sanctijier, as well as the Redeemer of his fallen creatures. For thouo-h he has in a sense redeemed all mankind from the consequences of the fall ; having " given himself a Ransom for all ; yet will he prove a compleat Redeemer to none but those, who receive him in the fulness of his di- vine character and office. " B}^ one of- fering of himself (says the Apostle) he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctijied." licb. x. 14. — These are import- ant words. The obvious conclusion from them is ; that, on the authority of Scrip- ture, none must expect to be perfecly re- deemed by the blood of Christ, who are not [ 376 ] not previously sanctified by his spirit. And unto them who in faith look for their Re- deemer in that sahahle condition; and unto them only, " shall he appear, the se- cond time, without sin, unto Salvation/* — Heb. ix. 28. DISCOURSE [ 377 ] DISCOURSE VII. »v^^^^^'S?^^^^^,^^•- ROM. VI. 23. The Wages of Sin is Death ; Imt the Gift of God is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ksa«$($®'<^>l$®(iisc JL HESE words furnish a compendious summary of Divine Revelation; so far as it respects the state of man previous to the fall, and his present state in consequence of that important event. The first posi- tion in the text, by leminding us of the condition on which the happiness of man originally depended, and the forfeiture which took place on that head ; is calcu- lated to prevent our adopting that plan of Salvation, which has already so noto- riously miscarried. AVhilst the conclude ing position in the text, points out in mercy the only plan on which eternal life is now to [ 378 ] to be obtained. The words of the text then, taken together, describe the nature of the Gospel Dispensation, connected with the reason for its gracious institution. — " The wages of sin is death.'* In confor- mity with this unequivocal position, who- ever seeks eternal life as the reward due to service, must in reason expect to receive the wages which his service has earned. — Adam made a trial on this plan of judicial probation; and was condemned. The consequence then of this decided position, that " death is the wages of sin,'' — and that these wages had actually become due to fallen man, constituted the ground on which the Evangelical Covenant was built. Nothing indeed can be more conclusive on the subjects to which they point, than the words of the text: which seem pur- posely opposed to each other, with the view of preventing all possibility of mis- take on a matter of this primary import- ance: that, considering on what ground fallen nibin is to expect eternal life, he might not appear in the character of a pre- sumptuous claimant demanding wages for service performed ; but in that of an hum» ble. t 379 J ble, penitent, and grateful Receiver of a free and undeserved gift. " The wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord/* That the doctrine contained in this compendious summary of Revelation, is in substance to be found in every part of Scripture, as constituting the essence of the great mediatorial scheme; and the only doctrine, that, by harmonizing with that scheme, can make the Bible a con- sistent and intelligible book, it has been the design of some former discourses to prove. And it is in explaining this essen- tial doctrine of Christianity in such a way, that the wages of sin shall become com- patible with the gift of eternal life ; the justice of the law, with the mercy of the lawgiver, that the important office of rightly dividing the word of truth chiefly consists. Such, in conformity with the words of the text, will be the object of the following discourse. " In the day that thou catcst thereof thou shalt surely die." — Or as it may be translated, ** dying thou shalt die." Such was [ 380 ] was the sentence appropriate to the plan of Salvation, under which Adam was ori- ginally created. Had Adam acted in con- formity to it, he would have saved him- self; and in such case, by eating of the Tree of Life, he would have lived for ever. But having, through the temptation of Satan, failed upon the trial, and in conse- quence subjected himself to the sentence denounced ; it became necessary, if grace was to be extended to him, that a new plan of Salvation, adapted to the circum- stances of his condition, should be re- vealed; according to which, something was to be done for man, to put him into a ca- pacity for Salvation, which man, in his fallen state, could not possibly do for him- self. Adam's life was forfeited: and the justice of an offended God against sin, re- mained to be satisfied. No plan of Salva- tion therefore which admitted Adam to a fature trial of obedience on any terms? could suit the exigency of his case, but such an one as effectually provided for this difiiculty. ]>u t t h i s wa s t h at d i ffi c ul ty , (that dign tis xhulice nodus, if we may so call it,) which required [ 3S1 J required the interposition of divine wis- dom; a difficulty which, having been foreseen, produced in the divine mind that gracious plan, which, by reconciling the divine attributes of justice and mercy to each other, placed Adam on a more se- cure footing with respect to his future hap- piness, than that on which he stood before \\c fell. " I looked (said Christ by the mouth of his Prophet) and there was none to help; therefore mine own arm brought salvation." Isaiah Ixiii. 5. Had it been consistent with infinite justice (according to the idea of some rea- soners,) to have remitted the sentence de- nounced against sin, and to have received fallen Adam on his giving proof of future obedience, supposing him to have been in a condition to perform it : in such case the doctrine of vicarious atonement had certainly not been found in Scripture. But Adam's natural inability to resist the evil Power, .which had rebelled against God, and was now in arms against his creature, iiaving been foreseen; the adoption of that subhme scheme of Salvation now called Christianity, became necessary for the purpose t 382 ] purpose of disappointing the evil design of^ Satan, and of bringing Glory to God by a compleat triuiTiph over him, in the final te- covery of that chosen creature, who had fallen a sacrifice to his malice in such a manner, as left no room for objection against the equity of the divine proceeds ing. Oh ! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and goodness of God! How unsearchable are his judgements^ and his ways past finding out ? Such then being the benign plan which the Persons in the Godhead condescended to form for the recovery of lost man ; and this world having been created, that it might serve as a stage on which this great drama of redemption rdiould be repre- sented; it is to be concluded, that the same divine wisdom and love which contrived the stupendous scheme, should be engaged in providing for its perfect accomplish-* ment. For this purpose, nothing was more necessary, than to impress on the mind of man that full sense of his fallen condition, which might induce him to conform with gratitude to the gracious plan that had been provided; and thereby prevent him iVom [ 383 ] from seeking Salvation in a vray, in which it was no longer to be found. To this end, the sentence of death was to be kept con- stantly in view; that the forfeiture which had taken place, remaining fresh on the mind of the sinner, he might never lose sight of the gracious condition in Avhieh he was now placed. Such, it is presumed, was the object of sacrifice; which as we have above observed, had its commencement with the Dispensa- tion of grace; and immediately succeeded to the transgression, which demanded its atoning efficacy. The obvious design of it was to furnish a typical representation of the means by which, eiccording to divine appointment, the sentence denounced against sin was to be done away. On this account, it was to accompany the new Dis- pensation through its diii\3rent stages of advancement, for the purpose of support- ing the hope, and preparing the mind of tlie fallen sinner for that fulness of time, when the promised Reality was to take place of the appointed Shadow. The decided position in the text that *1 death is the wages of sin," was a posi- tion [ 384 ] tion written in characters of blood in every sacrifice that was offered up. To this sen- tence, every sacrificer considered himself obnoxious ; the very essence of sacrifice being this, that the death of the animal was substituted for that of the sacrificing party. This essential idea w^liich pos* sessed the minds of the faithful under the Patriarchal dispensation, the ritual of the Mosaic Law (as it has been already ob- served) was instituted to preserve and con- firm. With this view, the direction given to the offerer was, that he " should put his hand on the head of his burnt offering, and that in such case it should be ac- cepted for him, to make atonement for him.'' L(^vit. i. 4. But besides the daily service of the Jewish ritual, which had always the same object in view, that of doing away the continued effect of sin ; it was ordained by theLaw; doubtless, for the purpose of more strongly fixing in the mind of the worship- per the same important idea, on which the Salvation of man nov/ turned ; that on one solemn day in the year, the whole congre- gation, both priests and people should bear the [ 385 J the most public testimony to the position in tlie text; that '' death is the wages of sin. On this great and solemn day of general humiliation, both priests and people were required by- an everlasting statute, to plead virtually guilty to the sentence that had been denounced against sin : the parti- cular service of this day being expressly calculated to leave a stronger impression on the human mind, respecting the nature of sin and the manner in which its effect was, by divine appointment, to be done away, than if such ideas had been con- veyed only by words. For on that day, the appointed atonement, by the sprink- ling before the mercy-seat the blood of the sin-offering which had been slain, was accepted both for priests and people ; *' to cleanse them, that they might be clean from all their sins before the Lord." Levit. xvi. 30. — Whilst, for the more compleat satisfaction of the Jewish worshipper on this occasion, the High Priest proceeded to confess over the head of one of the two goats, which had l^ecn brought by the congregation of the Children of Israel, for c c the [ 386 ] the business of this day's solemnity, all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins; and putting them on the head of the live goat, sent him away as the scape goat for the Children of Israel into an uninhabited land. Levit. xvi. 21. A ceremony which carries with it so obvious an interpreta- tion, as to render all comment on it unne- cessary. This essential idea of vicarious atone- ment, thus connected by Divine Provi- dence with sacrifice, considered as a reli- gious service, (for on no other ground is the propriety or reasonableness of sacrifice to be established,) made that strong and general impression on the public mind, which enabled it even to survive the cor- ruption of the service to which it was an- nexed. The Heathens, when they de- parted from the knowledge of the true God, in consequence of their losing sight of the proper object to which sacrifice was originally directed, and corrupting the emblems which were designed to preserve the true faith in the world, carried away this idea of vicarious atonement with them, and [ 387 ] and applied it to the service of their false Gods: their sacrifices* being uniformly considered, as the means of preventing the fatal consequence of sin, by propitiating the anger of their ofl^ended Deities, and providing for the offerers, through an ap- pointed consecrated medium, a recovery to their lost favour and protection. So that, whether this su])ject be traced throuo:h the dark and diso-raceful annals of Heathenism, or through the luminous and instructive page of Revelation, the same important idea intended to be esta- blished by the representative service intro- duced at the fall, will be the prominent one; namely, that " tlie zoages of sin is death :' and on that ground, the fallen sinner, not being in a condition to save himself, some- thing consequently remained to be done for him in that state, for the purpose of rendering him acceptable to the professed object of his worship. But, not to insist particularly on the ge- neral prevalence of this idea of vicarious atonement, as constituting the ground on * Vide note at the end of this Discourse. M'hich [ 388 ] which all sacrifice was built ; it is suffi- cient for our purpose to prove, that the whole tenor of divine Revelation relative to man's Redemption, proceeds upon it ; and that no other plan of Salvation but the Christian, through the blood of an atoning Mediator, can be consistent with it. The sentence annexed to the Law de- livered by Moses Avas this ; " Cursed is he that confirmeth not (or as it should be translated,) continueth not in all the words of this Law to do them/' Deut. xxvii. 26". — This sentence corresponded therefore with the position in the text, that " the wages of sin is death." But, on this principle, as the Apostle argues, Gal. iii. 10. in reference to this ju- dicial sentence of the Law, no man living- can be justified, in the sight of God ; all men being more or less sinners. The ob- ject the Apostle had in view on this occa- sion, was to convince the Galatians, that justification was not to be had by the Law, and therefore must be souoht for in some other Avay. For the Law speaks not a word relative to justification hi/ faith; but places it on quite a different foundation; namelv, f 389 ] namely, on a sinless perfect obedience to all the commands of it. On this account it is that St. Paul says, no man can be justified by it; because a Law cannot exist as such, independent of the judge- ment of the Lawgiver. If therefore we look not beyond the Law, we must be go- verned by the sanctions of it. And under such circumstances the case of fallen man is hopeless and without a remedy. For as our notions of the divine attributes, how- ever imperfect they must be, can be taken only from some supposed resemblance to their corresponding qualities in the human mind, our ideas of divine and human jus- tice must consequently bear strict analogy io each other; or there will be no sound ground for argument on this subject. The end of all human justice is, or ought to be the moral government of society. To promote this necessary object. Laws have been promulgated. The judge in the court is the administrator of these Laws. Whatever disposition to mercy he may feel, his regard for justice and the general welfare of the community obliges him to deliver the sentence, which those laws have denounced [ 390 ] denounced against the crime in question. In which case, no repentance of the cri- minal opposes a bar to the execution of the sentence; nor is the consideration of his having broken that one law, by which he stands condemned, admitted in extenu- ation of his guilt. Was not the judicial process administered according to the let- ter, there would shortly be an end to all government in society. The justice of the Divine Being must be seen in a similar point of view. His Law has been delivered for the moral govern- ment of intelligent and consequently ac- countable creatures; together with a pe- nalty annexed, as a sanction for the se- curity of its observance. AVhere then a law subsists, its condemning power must be in full force. Indeed, nothing can be consi- dered to be either good or evil, so as to be matter of reward or punishment, but by some law: for " sin without the Law is dead." Rom. vii. 8. Whereas " the strength of sin is the Law.'' 1 Cor. xv. 56. It is the instrument by which sin prevails against man, to convict him of unrigh- t^^ousness. Shguld we then confine our thoughts! [ 591 ] thoughts to the divine attribute of justice alone, our ideas upon it must be con- sistent. God, as a God of justice, must proceed in conformity to the tenor of his own Law. To remit sin without punish- ment is mercy, but it is not justice. And the attributes of God must be all infinite and compleat. Death then having been declared by the Law to be the appointed wages of sin, and all men confessedly be- ing transgressors of the Law, eternal life, as the gift of God to sinners, cannot con- sistently take place. For God, as supreme judge of the earth, cannot act in contra- diction to himself. It may then be asked, on what plan the sentence annexed to the breach of the divine Law, can be pre- vented from being carried into etfect. This is a question which never could have been answered by man, had not God qualified him to do it, in the revelation of that divine plan of redemption, which constitutes, if we may so say, the begin- ning and the end, the Alpha and Omega of the Christian Dispensation; by which mystery of Godliness, the divine attributes of justice and mercy have been brought into [ 392 ] into a perfect state of reconciliation with each other. The Apostle, therefore, having brought the subject to this critical point, by placing fallen man under the covenant of works, and thereby subjecting him to the con- demnation of the Law as a sinner, takes care not to leave it there. But to preserve man from falling into utter despair, since on forfeiting the divine favour, he had no further claim to it, and had consequently the wages of sin only to expect, he pro- ceeds to point out to him that stupendous instance of divine benignity, to which he might still look forward in hope. For, having observed to the Galatians, on the nature of the Law as a rule of universal obligation, that it was evident no man could be justified by it, he proceeds to point out that revealed plan of covenanted mercy, which provided for the exigency of the present case. With this view he refers to the message, which God ordered the Propet Habakuk to deliver, and write in such legible characters, that he who ran might read it: the purport of which message Avas, that the Jews to whom it [ 393 ] it was addressed, should believe and wait in patience for the accomplishment of the divine promises. *' For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold his soul which is hfted up, is not upright in him: but the just shall live by faith." Heb. ii. 3, 4. A passage which the Apostle renders more striking and intelligible, when, referring to it on another occasion, he follows the Septuagint translation. Speaking to the Hebrews, with the view of preventing them from casting away their confidence, he says, " ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little Avhile, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in them." Heb. X. 36. The Apostle's argument to the Gala- tians is strictly logical, and may be reduced into the following syllogism. If God hath declared that " the just shall r 394 J shall live by faith;" it is evident that no man can be justified by the Law, for " the Law is not of faith/' But God hath declared by the mouth of his Prophet Habakuk, even to the people who lived under the Law, that *' the just shall live by faith." Therefore, by the Law can no man be justified. To keep the important object of that faith, by Avhich, according to the Covenant of Grace in Christ, fallen man was to live, constantly before his eyes, was (as it has been already observed) the evident design of sacrifice. The institution of which in Paradise, coupled with the subsequent regulation of it under the Mosaic Ritual, by the express direction of the Deit}^ him- self, incontestably proves it to have been the intention of the Deity, that remission of sins should somehow be obtained by the shedding of blood. " It is the blood (said God to Moses) that maketh an atonement for the soul." Levit. xvii. 11. The argument raised by the Apostle on this ground, with the view of bringing the Jews to the acknowledoement of a cruci- fied Saviour, at the same time that it con- firmed [ 395 ] firmed the foregoing general position, ex- posed the corruption to which it had led. " Almost all things (says the Apostle) are by the Law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. But in those sacrifices which were made under the Law, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins/' Heb. X. 3, 4. Still the blood of bulls and of goats was the blood appointed by God under the Law for that purpose. But it was in- consistent with the wisdom of God to in^ stitute means, inadequate to the object in view. To do justice then to the divine plan in the oeconomy of the Jewish Dis- pensation, here is an apparent difficulty which must be solved. And Scripture has taught us thus to solve it. AVhen sacrifice was offered up with an eye of faith direct- ed to that promised Messiah, whose atone- ment it was appointed to represent, it then answered the design of its institu- tion, and was consequently an acceptable service: but when the Jewish people in their [ 396 ] their degenerate state having lost sight of the spiritual meaning of their Law, instead of looking to Christ as " the end of the Law for righteousness," rested in the letter of it, and considered the Law to be as it were the end of itself; they thereby be- came possessed of an idea, which could not in the reason of things be realized. After having, therefore, expressed the con- tempt in which the legal sacrifices, consi- dered merely in themselves, and with reference to the abuse to which they had been ultimately made to minister, were held by the Deity, as " vain oblations '," the Apostle proceeds to introduce the great Archetype, which all those sacrifices were designed to represent, and in whom alone they had their completion, " Wherefore, (says the Apostle) when the great High Priest of our salvation cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou pre- pared me. In burnt oftering and oifering for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, " Lo ! I came (in the volume of tlie book it is written of me) to do thy will." Ileb. X. o. God [ 397 ] God by the mouth of liis Prophet had plainly declared to tlie sacrificcrs under the Law, that the multitude of their sacrifices Avere to no purpose, for that " He delighted not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs, or of he-goats/' Isaiah i. 11. It was at the same time the declared will of God under the Law, that blood should atone for sin. Lev. xvii. 11. — What was written therefore in the volume of the sacred Book relative to this important subject, was written not of the typical sacrifices under the Law, but of their great anti-type Cluist. In corre- spondence with which idea, we are ex- pressly told by the Apostle that " the blood of Christ clcanscth from all sin." 1 John i. 7.— The will of God then literally understood was tliis, that his only begot- ten Son, in his character of Redeemer of fallen man, should " by his one ofi^ering of himself, perfect for ever them that are sanctified.'' And therefore did God pre- pare him a body, that he might have blood to slied for the purpose. Of this we can have no possible doubt if we admit the testimony of the Holy Ghost. " ^y hereof (continues the Apostle) even [ 398 ] even the Hplj Ghost is a witness to us. For after that he had said, This is the co- venant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;" he then adds, by way of conclusion, " their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where re- mission of these is, there is no more offer- ing for sin/' Heb. x. 14. Jesus Christ then having " redeemed us from the curse of the Law, himself being made a curse for us ;" having, as our Church strongly expresses herself, " by his one oblation of himself once offered made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacri- fice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world ;" the great stumbling block in the way of pardon has thereby been graciously removed. Thus the two positions in the text are brought to con- center in the character of Jesus Christ, as the appointed Redeemer of fallen man. The wages of sin having been discharged on his devoted person, the condemned criminal becomes an object for mercy. And eternal life, purchased by the obedi- ence [ 399 ] ence of Christ, may now be conferred, as the gift of God, on sinners, without any impeachment of divine justice. This is that mystery of Godliness, which angels desire to look into; but which, in its full extent, is unfathomable; for " the love of Christ passeth knowledge;'' — " That mystery which had been hid from the beginning of the world, but is now made manifest to the saints f Eph. iii. 9. — which has so compleatly counteracted the malice of Satan. By the fall, Adam for- feited his right of access to the tree of life, as an innocent creature. Satan tri- umphed in the idea that such right was never to be recovered. But in this he has been disappointed. Through divine grace, *' a new and living way" to the tree of life, " through the vail of Christ's flesh," has been marked out to us. For, on reference to that part of Revelation, which relates to the concluding scene of Christ's mediato- rial oflfice, where the same symbolical lan- guage, in which the events in Paradise are described, is preserved ; we find that a right to the tree of life, the symbol of im- mortality, is still to be obtained through Christ ; [ 400 ] Christ ; in whom, as the second Adam, we see things working backward, to tlie recovery of that estate which had been lost by the first. For " blessed, saith the angel to St. John, are they that do his com- mandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life." Rev. xxii. 14. A right, not founded on that rigorous condition to which Adam, in his perfect state, was un- able to conform ; tjut a right of promise, founded on the revealed conditions of that benign covenant, sealed in the blood of Christ, which fallen man may still through grace be enabled to fulfil. In this sense may l^e understood the prophetic title ori- ginally to be met with in Jer. xxiii. 6. and afterwards enlarged upon by the Apostle; Cor. i. 30. " The Lord our Righteousness." The Lord, who, having himself acquired a kingdom founded on a decree; Ps. ii. 6, 7, J I is right to which he himself in Person pro- claimed; Matt, xxviii. 18. a right which he will cxeicise till the final consummation of the mediatorial system ; lias, in virtue of the power delivered to him in heaven and in earth relative to the afiairs cf this king- dom, devolved on Christians, according to the [ 401 ] the tenor of the 2:veat charter of our riahts delivered in Scripture, a right to it, as heirs in reversion; a right derived from Him and held of him, the Lord our Righteousnes.i, the Author and Finisher of our Salvation. " Having then (in the language ad- dressed by St. Paul to his Hebrew bre- thren, with the express view of leading them from the shadows of the Law to the reali- ties of the Gospel,) liberty to enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus; by a new and living way which he hath new made for us, through the vail, that is to sa}^ his flesh ; and having an High Priest over the house of God ; Let us draw near with a true heart, in full as- surance of faith; having our hearts sprin- kled from an evil conscience, and our bo- dies washed with pure water. Let us hold the profession of our faith without wav^er- ing. For he is faithful that hath pro- mised." Heb. X. 19. The great subject in which we have been engaged, leads to a conclusion, in which every one to whom the Ciospel has been sent is dee{)ly interested. With respect to his salvation, man, whether in an inno- D JJ cent [ 402 ] Cent or fallen state, could make no condi- tions for himself. His obtaining it there- fore, must under all circumstances depend on his conformity to the conditions vouch- safed to him by his Maker. What those conditions of Salvation were before the fall, we Christians are not concerned with. What they now are under the covenant of grace, it is the object of the Bible to in- form us. By adopting that golden canon of criticism, prescribed in the twentieth Article of our Church ; a canon necessary to the interpretation of writings of every kind; which directs us not so to expound one part of Scripture that it be repugnant to another, we feel ourselves warranted in determining the great doctrine of vica- rious atonement for sin by the shedding of blood, to be the true doctrine of Scripture; because it is the only doctrine that makes the Bible a consistent book. This idea, therefore, must be expected to accompany Divine Revelation through all its parts. To be satisfied that it does, all that is ne- cessary is, that its contents be duly exa^ mined. The Patiiarchs and faithful Jews pre- ^ served [ 403 ] served tliis important idea in its proper application to the blood of the promised Messiah. Of Him every prophet who arose in Israel bare witness. " Receive (says St. Peter) the salvation of yom' souls j of which salvation (through Christ) the Prophets have enquired and searched dili- gently, who prophesied of the grace that should come/' 1 Eph. i. 10. So tha every age of the world from the beginning,, has had its evangelists.* Through the type, the faithful under each former dispensation looked forward to the Anti-tj^pe; rejoicing with Abraham to see the day of Christ. " They therefore (as the Apostle describes thcnr condition) died in faith, not having re- ceived the promises ;" but in consequence of their full persuasion on the subject, having actually embraced them." Pleb. xi. 13. The sins of David were irremis- sible by the Law. He knew however that forgiveness was to be had in Heaveu through Him to M'hom he looked up as * Hence the learned Mcde owns that the Gospel Or glad tidings of Salvation through Christ, was as ancient as the time of man's s-in, and afterwards re- peated and continued. P. 1 10. " his f 404 J " his Strength and his Redeemer." — On the ground of this faith therefore he confessed and humbled himself, prayed for and ob- tained absolution. " Against thee only have I sinned ; deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my Salva- tion! and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.'' Psal. li. The apostate Jews, who had compleatly deserted that standard of faith, which stamped a value on the religion of their forefathei-s, still preserved the same idea ; but applied its efficacy to the stated ob- servances of the ritual Law, to which alone they looked for Jighteousness. And the object the Apostles had in view was, to re- store this doctrine of atonement to its or/- gi?ial standard ; by correcting the fatal errors which had been g;iafted on this im- portant subject, and teaching men to look for Salvation only through faith in the blood of a crucified Redeemer. Whilst even the Heathens, directed by that ray of light which Revelation had imparted to them, adopted the same pre- vailing idea, as the ground, on which their rehgious service, false as it was, was ori- ginally [ 405 ] ginally built. Those sublime mysteries which had Ijccn carried off with them, on their separation from the worshippers of the true God, though grossly corrupted l)y filthy prostitutions, served nevertheless to preserve some general notion relative to the object of their institution. From whence it appears, that each species of worshippers, however different their reli- gious service, agreed in one point; that of looking beyond themselves, for what was to render them acceptable to the object of their respective worship. It was reserved for professors under the Christian dispensation, to exchange this general idcR of vicarious atone)7ientfo7' siti, to which Paganism no less than Divine Reve- lation, bears decided testimony, for that anost fatal one of self-sufficiency and in- dependence; an idea not more incompati- ble with the present state of fallen man, than it is revolting to that gracious plan, Avhich has been set on foot for liis reco- very. Those, who in former dispensations have been blessed with the advantaoe of Revela- tion, have been ojuidcd, or at least have professed f 406 J professed to be guided by it. Under the Christian Dispensation, we are constrained to see that extraordinary phenomenon of Revelation openly rejected: and men, call- ing themselves reasonable beings, setting themselves up to be their own oracles, and their own Saviours. This fatal delusion can be considered but as one of the last desperate efforts of the grand enemy of mankind, to counteract the gracious scheme of Redemption, by rendering them indisposed to receive it. But such men, who aifect to be wise above what is written, it may be proper to remind, that reason was given for the pur- pose of enabling them to form a proper judgement with respect to the evidence on which a Revelation stands ; but not to be set up in opposition to the Revelation itself. When employed in ascertaining the au- thenticity of a Revelation, it is employed in the execution of a task to which it was intended to be competent; that of guard- ing against notorious imposition: but when appealed to as an infallible standard of judgement, by which the contents of a Re- velation [ 407 ] relation are to be dcternuned, reason is then employed by them against the Divine Being from whom they have received it. Not that we would be understood as con- fining the province of reason in religion to the mere estimating the evidence of Reve- lation ; because to a certain degree it must be employed in judging of its con- tents. But this we mean, that when rea- son has ascertained a Revelation to be di- vine, it is most unreasonable in man to ?'eject or attempt to evade any doctrines, which by legitimate interpretation such Revelation is found to contain, on the ground that they cannot fully comprehend them.* If then the aroument in favour of Christianity, which is to be drawn from the several parts of Scripture regularly and * The generality of unbelievers, it may be suspected, possess strong propensities to err about divine things, and a seerct indisposition to admit truths, which lay open the weakness and corruption of our fallen nature in such manner as to mortify their pride and humble their pretensions; by holding out to them a light of such a clear and piercing quality as never fails to discover to them those latent vices and evil inclinations, which man, unassisted by grace, is seldom, if ever brought to. acknowledge. fairlv [ 408 ] fairly collated, be not in itself sufficient to produce conviction on their minds, we la- inent tlieir Avant of discernment. But if they will not give themselves the trouble to bring the subject to this test, they are incompetent to form a judgement on its merits: and in such case they act not like reasonable men (unless they can be called reasonable men, who make no use of their reason;) but deceive themselves, by neg- lecting to place the most important of all subjects on that ground, on which, if fairly placed, it cannot fail to stand secure. Under such circumstances we must leave them to God ; but not without earnestly beseeching them in the bowels of Christ, not to refuse him, " whose blood speaketh better things than the blood of Abel." " For if they escaped not, who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from Heaven.'' Heb. xii. 25. To sound members of the Christian Church, (thanks be to God) such language does not apply. They know in whom they have believed. From the plain une- quivocal language of the text, they have learnt [ 409 ] learnt to expect eternal life, on the only plan, on which it has been promised ; " as the gift of God through Jesus Christ." — They consequently are prepared, we trust, by divine grace, to resist that fatal delu- sion, which exchanges the well-grounded hope of the Christian, for the presump- tuous confidence of the self-righteous man ; by placing a condemned sinner before the throne of grace, not in the becoming cha- racter of an humble suppliant, but in the offensive one of an arrogant claimant. But, be it remembered, that in no page of the Bible do Ave read, blessed are the proud ; blessed are the high-minded ; blessed are the self-sufficient ; — but on the contrary, " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of Heaven." — And whoever expects Christ for his Sa- viour, must first take the example of Christ for his pattern : he must learn of him to be " meek and lowly in heiut," if he would find " rest unto his soul," NOTE [ 410 ] NOTE. The classical scholar has many proofs of this estab- lished opinion, relative to sacrifices among the Heathen, to produce from his favourite poets. — Homer in strict conformity to the Mosaic Ritual, points out the^firsilings of Iambs, as particularly applied to this sacred use. II. S. 120. To this universal doctrine of atonement, Horace refers in his second Ode. Cul dabit partes fcdus expiandi Jupiter ? The opinion relative to the steam or smoke of burnt sa- crifices, being in a certain sense grateful to the Deity, as derived from a variety of texts of Scripture, was, tliough perverted, universally retained by the Heathens. — Homer (Iliad i. 493) makes Phoenix speak thus, with the intent of soothing the anger of Achilles, ZrpiTTToi Je T£ k^ Qsol xvroi, Kaf( fAEv rovs ©vesaat k, bvvmX^s acyxvuitrif AoiQyi T£, y.yto-ari re, 'nxfxr(ui'rtu(7 ecv^puTTOi) Ai(TaoiJ.ivoi, ore vai th vvifQrm, k^ oc^j-xprn. -The Gods themselves are flexible ; And when sinful man, praying, makes requests, OfF'ring up odours, vows, libations, steam. He then ir.clincs them to forgive his sin. See [ *11 J See also Iliad, a. 515. — and a, 18. Virgil, speaking of Paphos, the beloved city of Venus, fi.iys^ (TEneJd, lib. i. 420) -Ubi Templum illi centumque Subaso Thure calent ara;, sertisque reccntlbus halant. There was her Temple, where with incense sweet And fragrant fiow'rs an hundred altars fum'd. And Ovid (Metam. lib. xii. 153) to mention no more, i>pcaks of a sacrifice thus: Et Dis acccptus pcnctrarlt in asthera nidor^ The steam so grateful to the Gods above, Ascended up to Heaven, By reading the Chissics, as they ought to be read, with a Christian eye: Ileatlienism, being brought to bear its appropriate testimony to divine Revelation, may bo made to answer a purpose contrary to its intention and nature, by confirming, what it was intended to con- found; and thus the devil himself be compelled, to sup port the cause of truth. Whilst the C'uistian Disciple, by thus dedicating the first fruits of his education to the honour of the true God, furnishes the best security to the Church for the perfection of her future harvest; by his uniting in the same person, the Scholar and the Di- vine. For there is scarcely a doctrine of the Script lucs, which classical writers have not preserved, nor a miracle, which they have not imitated and transferred to them- selves, in some form or other; in so nnich, that Cclsus, one of the earliest writers against Christianity, most impudently pretended, that the Books of Moses were compiled [ 412 J compiled from the miracles of Paganism. Two excel- lent letters on this subject are to be found among the late Mr. Jones's " Letters from a Tutor to his Pupils." The reader will not, I trust, think that I step out of my way, whilst on this subject, in taking some short notice of a heavy charge, which has been lately brought against the public seminaries of this kingdom. It has been said, on the authority of Dr. Kennel, since sup- ported by that of the Bishop of Meath, that " in some of our best endowed seminaries, all consideration of the revealed will of God is passed over, with a resolute, si/s- tcmatic, and contemptuous neglect ; which is not ex- ceeded in that, which the French call their National Institute : and that there is scarcely an internal danger which we fear, but what is to be ascribed to a Pagan education, under Christian establishments, in a Chris- tian country," (Vide note a, to Dr. Rennel's sermon preached before the Society, 1799.) — Should the above charge be true, the evil included under it, is of that na- tional importance, that it ought not to remain a day Avithout a remedy ; and those to whom the direction of public seminaries has been committed, if they have pre- tensions to a Christian character, ought to be most so- licitous for its application : — should it be false, as we trust it Is, for the honour of the parties who have brought it, as well as for that of those against whom it has been inconsiderately brought, the charge ought to be re- tracted as publickly as it has been made. To this charge however, unqualified as it is, the So- ciety for promoting Christian Knowledge has inadvert- ently given its respectable passport; thereby making it- self the instrument of proclaimmg to the world, that the present Directors of the public seminaries of this king- dom. [ 413 ] dom, have apostatized from tlic sacred trust commit- ted to them by their pious Founders. Standing on that broad ground of public estimation, which the Society for promoting Cliristian Knowledge most deservedly docs; it may be worthy its consideration, whether any composition ought to be published under its name, which has not previously undergone its appointed re- vision. For, although the preachers themselves may by some be considered, as alone responsible for what they advance; still, it is presumed, that every one pos- sessing a becoming respect for that honourable societv', whose object it is to do the most essential good; will be hurt at the idea of its appearing to countenance, by the sanction of its Imprimatur, what will, by very many, be considered to be something worse than illiberal censure. Due allowance will be made for the language of a po- pular discourse: and had Dr. Kennel confined his obser- vations to the general depravity of the times; to the evils, neglects, and imperfections, which, in conse- quence of that depravity, must in a degree be found in ail public seminaries, in proportion as they partake of the general corruption; for it is not in the nature of things, that the wisest and best conducted institution biiould, under such circumstances, produce all its in- tended effects; 1 say, had Dr. Kennel confined his elo- quence to this popular topic, we should have thanked Jiim for his exertion, as a zealous divine, interested, as 111' ought to be, lor the honour of (jod and the welfare of his country. But the language made use of by Dr. Uennel on this subject, contains a charge of such gross mental pravity, against the parties apparently concerned in it; of such a wilful, systematic, and disgraceful pros- titution of talents to the worst of purposes, as every Con- ductor [ 414 J dUctor of a public seminary, not lost to all sense of dutjy must hi^hlv resent. Dr. Vincent has resented it. He has moreover proved, what therefore remains unnccessarj'^ to be fur- tiier insisted upon, that Dr.Rennel's attempt, by a gross, though doubtless, unintentional perversion of terms, to bring public seminaries into disrepute,, by representing them as tbc nurseries o( Paganisfn, was unworthy the discrimination of Dr. Rennel; whom no paroxysm of zeal, it is presumed, could so hurry on, as to leave him incapable of marking the broad line of distinction, be- tween a Pagan education, and a classical one. On this head, however. Dr. Vincent has left no room for re- mark. But Dr. Rennel appears desirous of withdrawing his charge, so far as the seminary over which Dr. Vincent presides, is concerned in it.— Dr. Rennel's long resi- dence in Winchester, might have qualified him to have made a similar exception, in favour of the celebrated se- minary in that place. And it i* to be wished, that a name, which Dr. Rennel has introduced into his Sermoiij whose well known manual of prayers is ihevade ntecum of VV^inchester scholars, had induced the Doctor to have made himself particularly acquainted, with the system of education adopted in a seminary, of which pious Bishop Kenn was once a disiinguished ornament. Had this been the case, we flatter ourselves, it would have been found ; that, making due allowance for the in con- sideration of youth, and the tedium which, through the infirmity of human nature, will always more or less ac- company a round of tbc same repeated exercises; there is no public seminary, in which u,i attention to religion, IS more uniformly blended with tlie education of the school. [ 415 ] scliool, than in that of Winchester college. Dr. Ren- iiel would have found, moreover, that the present Di- rectors of that illustrious seminary, are not only to be classed among firet rate scholars ; but may also chal- lenge a place on the same line with himself, as sound and zealous divines. Possessed of such a character, it is not in charity to be supposed, that they can be so shamefully regardless of a most important part of their duty ; as, in any degree to justify the severity of Dr. Kennel's charge, they unquestionably ought to be. The opinion of persons, respectable for their character and station, should at all times, be delivered with cau- tion and reserve : {)articularly so, when it relates to cha- racters of equal respectability with their own. This consideration does not appear to have had its full weight on the present occasion. For, had the nature of the charge in question, in all its bearings, been sufficiently attended to; it is to be presumed, that the framers ot it might have concluded for themselves, that such a charge, unqualified as it is, would bear a much stronger mark of inconsideriition, than either of judgement, of jus- tice, or of charity. To tell the world at large, that those to whom the public education ol' youth is committed, and to whom this country chiefly looks, for the supply of that sound well-grounded knowledge, which, under God, is to counteract those loose theories and unsettled prin- ciples, which threaten the subversion of our Constitution, are, in the di.scharge of their important office, worse than Infidels; carries \uth it surely no mark of" judgement. AVhilst it is not less consistent with justice, to pronounce decidedly a sentence against parties uidieard ; than it is uith charity, to circulate hastily an evil report. XSo one can be more sensible than myself, of the e.K- treme [ 416 ] treme importance of the attention, most necessary at this time te be paid, to the rehgioiis instruction of the rising generation. And Dr. Rennel ought to be given full credit, for his intention in marking this subject out for serious consideration. At the same time, when I consider the treatment which men of education should receive from ,each other ; it is with regret I remark, that the charge brought forward on this occasion, appears to have proceeded from zeal, unaccompanied with that information necessary to entitle it to implicit credit. It will be concluded perhaps by many readers, that Dr. Rennel and the Bishop of ]\Ieath aie prepared to sub- stantiate and particularize the charge, on which they have committed themselves. If this be the case, let them, in God's name, proceed in their censorial office; the community at large will be bound to thank them for the honest discharge of it : and every religious Di- rector of a public seminary, lamenting in common with Dr. Rennel and the Bishop; the present declining state of religion and morals in this country, will, we trust, be among the foremost to acknowledge his obli- gation for the introduction of any system, which, on mature consideration, shall be admitted to be a real im- provement on that, in which he is at present engaged. Did a general charge challenge any particular defence to be made against it, the Society, to which I have the honor to belong, would not want much abler advocates than myself for the undertaking. And when Dr. Ren- nell shall think fit to exchange an hasty and. unqualified decision, for the more deliberate verdict of sober argu- ment and candid enquiry, they will find little difiiculty in proving, that the lamentable want of religious prin- ciple, which so strongly marks the character of the pre- sent [ 417 ] sent age, and which all good men must be equally soli- citous to counteract ; is not, wc trust, to be attributed to a defect of system in our public seminaries, or to the wil- ful neglect of those \vhose duty it is to superintend them ; so much as to the notorious prevalence of some other causes, over which they have no controul. Still the charge in question, inducriininate and w«- qualified as it is, being of a nature to do injury, without the probability of doing good ; the Framers of it cannot but expect, to be made amenable to the private judge- ment of every individual, who feels interested for the credit of the society of which he is a member. For my own part, I should consider myself unworthy trie ad- vantages 1 may have received from a public education, as well as unjust to the sentiment I entertain of the ex- cellency of the Wiccamical Institution; did I forego the present opportunity of entering my decided protest against a charge, so far at least as that Institution is con- cerned in it, notoriously false in itself; a charge which 1 conceive, has not been more inconsiderately made, than it has been injudiciously circulated* E E DIS- [ «9 1 DISCOURSE Vlll. t999>9-^^'9>99*^ HEB. XII. 1. Wherefore, seeing we art compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight which doth so easily he- set us; and let us run with patience the race that is set before us; looking unto Jesus, the Autlior and Finisher of our Faith. -»V!fi«{^«!k^^^ayn explained ----- 360 Altar, Jewish and Christian compared - - - - 36 1 Archetype ------_-__-_ 3^(3 Antitype __3g7 Atonement INDEX. page Atonement doctrine of, restored to its original standard by the Apoatles ----- 403, 404 ■Ml I — Doctrine of, the Doctrine of Salvation through every Dispensation . - • - . 345 I Bishop one, one Church, or Parish ----- g3 This position never heard of till long since the Re- formation ----------- 80 Butler, quotation from him --.----143 Baptist John, his testimony ---:--- 214 Beloved, accepted in the — -justified ----- £89 Blood literally applied cannot cleanse, therefore it was the sign ---------- S26 Berith, Purifier explained -------- 327 bondage in Egypt, an emblem ------ 349 Bought with a price. Christians ------ 355 Blood not to be eaten by the Jews, why - - - 359 Blood of Christ the veri/ blood of Atonement - 44Q C. Church Government, a certain model of, admitted 52 '^ a regular system not found in Scripture, furnishes no decisive argument against it ---------- - ^^ Christian Church formed on model of the Jewish Temple $\ Clemens misinterpreted by Dr. Campbell - -. - GS} Campbell's Dr. coarse language ------ 84 Cartwright. ClarkKon ---------89 Church polity reviled - ---137 Circumfctanti^lj} tagd Circumstantials und essentials improperly opposed to each other ---------- 141 Chesterfield's Lord, saying applied to Br. C. - - 133 Chrysostora, of the connection between the Law and Gospel ----^_---- 245 Covenants two, meet in Christ ------ 24G Christ distinguished from all other teachers - - C56 Christ — ^^^^isdom, in what sense - - , • ^ - 26I Cherubim. Emblematic representation, &c. - QQS . the use of it - - - - - - - - ' - 299 \\-hat it was ----r-^-T- 300 Cain's sacrifice rejected, why ------- 308 Cain did not well; how to be understood ^ - - 311 Correspondence between the symbol and the letter of Christianity -- 334 Christ must be received in his compleat character 342 Celsus .,.,--..-.--- 411 J). Diocesan Episcopacy maintained by Dr. Maurice 129 Divinity Christ's — Dr. Priestley's proposal - - 180 Dispensations of God the same in every age - - S§l5 Difference between Christ and other teachers ^ 256 Dispensation, no new one to be expected - - - 257 Death came into the world — how ----- 344 Devil the, found no Redeemer, w hy - - - ,- 345 ' — — his inHlice foieseen and provided against - - 346 Dignus vindice nodus --------- ,^S0 Divine Attributes to be judged of by the corre- sponding qualities in the Imman mind - - 389 Devil dii:itppoinle^ by the plan of Kedcmption - 399 Davig[ INDEX. Pager David looked to Christ ---,---_ 403 Pifferent case of Jew and Gentile with respect tcf the Gospel ----------- 422 £. Eusebius's Account of the Christian Altar - - - 58 Episcopacy, what Dr. C. says against it, equally militates against Church government of every kind ---------- 4.9, 50 Episcopacy. Beza and Calvin's Opinion of it - 86, 87 Episcopal Church, Scotch, illiberal attack upon it by Dr. Campbell - - . 13q Evanson ------------- 204 Ellis's Enquiry about natural Religion - - - - 264 Eap/a/io« under the Law, figurative - - - - 319 the great day of it — its service - - - 320 Egyptian bondage emblematical of what - - - 349 Egypt, Redemption from — applied - - - - 356 Evangelical covenant, the foundation of it - - - 373 Emblems of Christianity corrupted by the Hea- thens ------------ 386 Eternal life, the Gift of God through Christ - - 398 F. Faith true, the ground of Christian practice - - 182 « — , not an empty profession - - - 192,193 Faith one, Christian --------- 224 Finished it is — Christ's work on earth - - 258.330 Faith, justification by it, not the language of the Law ---..-.--_-_ 388 Grotius INDEX. G. Page Grotius, quotation from him -• 57 Gospel, the Law fulfilled - - - 200 , more ancient than the Law - - _ - ibid Gospel covenant, the knowledge of it not confined to the days subsequent to our Saviour - - 244 , by the terms of it, man's final con- dition to be determined ------- 259 Gentile converts, representatives of us Christians — Conclusion from thence ---.-. 985 Garments washed ey/wYe in blood explained - - 328 Gospel the, preached to the Hebrews - - , - 437 — , preached to Abraham ----- 433 Gospel to be read in the Law and the Law in the Gospel ------------ 438 H. Hickes Dr. an inconsequential reasoner. Dis- proved ----------- 73_, 74 Hales Dr. -.-_24l Heathens, Dr. Clarke places their case in the most favourable light ----_--__ 064 Hutchinson ------------ 3Q4, Holocaust, what -----_-_-_ sO? Heathenism, rites of it derived from the true re- ligion 312 Homer. Horace --------«_4io Heathenism bears testimony to Christianity - - 411 Hebrews, Epistle to the, object of it . . , - 437 Jerom;, I. Page Jerom, an important passage from liim, taken no notice of by Dr. Campbell ------ 64, Justin Martyi-'s authority misrepresented - 68. 102 Ignatius's authority misrepresented ----- 10? Jerom's authority for episcopacy ------ no Jew the, connecting medium between the Law^ and theGbspel ---- - 219 Jesus Christ tlie Alpha and Omega of all the di- vine dispensations -------- 034 Inspector. Dr. Hales ---------241 Justin Martyr of the Law and Gospel - - - - 045 Infidel, both Jew and Christian, to be led from the Jewish Temple into the Christian Church - 248 Jew converted, picture of him - - - - - - 251 Jews erred through ignorance of their Scriptures - 247 Isaiah LIII. passage in it explained - - - - 076 Justified, what --- - 289 Justification, consequence of Christ's Redemption 290 .1 ubilee year of, a type of general Redemption - 350 Just One, the name of, applied ------ 274 Jews the, stumbled at the threshold of Christianity 42 1 Justice of God in the justification of man proved 442 Justin Martyr's testimony concerning the Heathen philosophers --__------ 443 K. Kirk Scotch ^-----137 Knowledge of Christ's character necessary - - 259 Knowledge unprofitable that does not lead up to God ---- ---_--- 270 Kenn Bishop •,.^^--^ -^414 Life INDEX. L. Page Life everlasting offered both in the Old and New Testament. Proved ------ 30, et scq. Line to be drawn between the presumption of phi- losophy and that of ignorance - - - - 17j Law, the spriritnal ---------- 20O , the Gospel typified -------- ibid Life eternal in the Scriptures of the Old Testament 202 Law typical, the design of it ------- 209 , a shadow of good things - - - - - - 210 , superseded by the Gospel - - - - - - 211 LiunbofGod -------^-->214 Law the, not for the Jews alone - - »• - - - 217 , preparatory to a more perfect Dispensation - 227 - ■ , a connecting medium ----_-_ 032 , Christ the end of it for Righteousness - - 278 •——, a schoolmaster ------_., j^id ■ , the Jews looked to it for Salvation - - - 279 — — , fulfilled by Christ -------_ OSO • the original design of it ------ 314. '•——absolutely necessary -----^,_ 315 ceremonial added to the moral; why - - 317 — — moral, added in another sense - - - - - 3 1 8 ceremonial valuable, in what sense - - - ibid Lamb of God, true paschal ------- 329 ■ a title which could not be applied to our Saviour as a mere teacher - - - -^ 454 M. Maurice Br. ---------.., 59 Maclaurin -- 1(56 Moses's INDEX. Page Moses's Law had its proper signification - •- £1.5 Miracles bear testimony to the character of our Saviour, rather than to his doctrine - - - 037 Miracles and prophecy, argument from them com- pared --^--------- 238 Maurice's Oriental Trinities ------- 303 Man bought by the Evil One - 356 Mere Man, Jesus Christ could not be, for as such he could not have been a Ransom for man - 368 Man no, can redeem his brother. Argument from it applied to Christ -------- 370 Meath, Bishop of -.--. 420 Mindof man like a Mirror ------- 420 Mysteries rejected, because they are what they should be, why --------- 424 ^ N. Newton Sii- Isaac --.-------166 Natural Religion, an idol -------- 196 • , the state of it at the coming of Christ in the flesh 264 "fr— called the elder brother of Reve- lation ------------ 2G6 ■— — —r — ■ — the wretched state of its professors when the Gospel was first preached - - - ibid Name of The Just One applied and explained - 274 O. Old Testament not contrary to the New - - - 155- Old and New Testament, different signs of - - - 19.9 Old and New Testament brought together - - 245 Qbedience perfect, the condition of the first co- venant ------------ 344 Priests INDEX. i\ Pace Piiest, a word not used in the Christian Church by the Apostles, why -_--___ 5(5^ ^y. Priesthood Christian maintained ------ fig Paley Dr. unscriptural - - --- - - - 81 Parish, its original meaning investigated - (jG, ct scq. Presbyters not Bisho})s -----___ na Primitive Church, imaginary idea about it - - 114 described by St. Lnke - - - 1 15 Priestley Dr. IG2. 180. 18'i Prophecy, the declared use of it - - - - - - oq^ • evidence from it --_____ 038 Priestley's Dr. Letter to a young man - - - _ 240 Philosophy Heathen, state of it - - - - - - 263 Presence of the Lord, what meant by it - - - 310 Priest High under the Law, the Type of Christ - 321 ■ both representative ------ 305 Priest Christ, not a on earth, why - - . 394 Paschal Lamb an emblem ------- 34^ Passover Christ our, applied ------- 357 Prophet, Jesus Christ not only a the consequence of receiving him only in that character - - 366 Priestly Dr. ----- 40^ Q. Questions important, proposed to those who object to our Saviour's character as Lamb of ^°^ - - - 451,450,4.53 Quotation from Justin Martyr in reference to the consistency of Scripture ------ ^ 463 Religion INDEX, R. Page Religion natural not the foundation of Revelation ig^ S)c. Revelation the only source of divine knowledge - 155 Religion, not variable --------- 170- Resurrection, not the only essential article; ac- cording to Dr. Priestley ------- igg Redemption by Christ the most essential - - - ]87 Revelation must be consistent ------198 all parts of it must meet ----- 236 Doctrine of it must be uniform - - ibid ■ parts must be in unison - - - - - 259 Religionof reason, an idol ---____ 047 Righteousness, Jesus Christ properly so - - - - 273 commutative ----.,-_ o'jQ r— to the Jew first ------ 277 Righteousness of the Jew on a false foundation - 281 argument of the Apostle on it - - 282 Righteousness, Jesus Ciirist to the Gentiles 'in iPiliat ' sense - ■ - - - - -- - -- ' Mi'^is^ Righteousness, Jesus Christ made unto us, how - 288 . CiuJst's, not ours, but imputed - - 290 Redemption pre-supposes bondage; applied to Christ ---_---.-,.._ 34^ Ransom, Christ a -------„._ 354 Redeemer, Christ our, in what sense - - - _ 3(53 Reason to, and to conjecture the diftcrcnce - - 372 Ransom for 3^4 Sacrifices iaeffcctiml, why ----.._ 305 Society for promoting Christian knowledge - - 412 Scripture the standard of infallibility - - - - 427 Sacrifice speaks the same language under e\ery Dispensatro.n ------.._, 4 '^o Sacrifice INDEX. Page Sacrifice offensive to the deity, why - - - - 434 Sacrifices legal, their inefficacy ----- - 435 — . taken away b}'^ Christ ------ 436 Science true, comparison of true Christianity - 450 Sacrifices Heathen, y-vrf^v^x ---__-_ 467 Son of man, more than man, and yet not an angel. , r „ Conclusion from thence ----'-- 473 T Tertullian's testimony relative to the Primitive Church 117 Temple Jewish, and Christian Church, the corre- spondence between them — proof of Chris- tianity ------------ 157 Testament Old and New illusUate each other - - 159 Type, evidence for the time present - - _ - 204 Type and prophecy, distinction between - - - 205 Types, pictures, &-c. --------- 2O8 Testaments, Jesus Christ the substance of both - 199 Types, sober use of them -------- 22S imaginary and real -------- 229 pictures referring to originals ----- 230 a proof of the ti'uth of Christianity - - - 234 argument from them applies immediately to the Doctrine of the Cross ----- 239 Temple a type of the body of Christ - - - - 279 Iree of Life an emblem -------- 294 Temporal Redemption at the Year of Jubilee a type of spiritual Redemption by Christ - - 350 Testimony of Scripture competent ----- 426 Texts of Scripture not repugnant to each other - 4t)3 Temple^ INDEX. Page Temple, type of Christ's body applied and ex- plained ---'^-------- 474 The True Tabernacle, Christ's body - - - - 475 U. Unitarian compared with the Jew ----- 178 Unsafe condition of ____----- 179 Understanding, pride of, to be sacrificed to Reve- lation ------- 19s Unbelievers supposed wiser than other men, why 372 V. Vitringa ------------- 54 Visible things — the image of invisible - - - - 097 Vail of the Temple rent, explained - - - ~ 331 Vincent Dr. --------.---414 W. Warburton Bishop, paradoxical ------ 14 Worthies, testimony borne to them by St. Paul - 224 Wise men to, the preaching of the Cross, foolishness 269 Wisdom true ----------- 070 Wise men of the Heathen world, God's object in humbling them --------- 07 1 Wisdom true, and vain contrasted ----- 072 Wisdom to the Gentile, Jesus ------ 073 Wisdom of this world --------- 287 The JV'ord oi' God 336 Wise above what is written, and against, the diflcr- ence — both dangerous ---_-__ 373 Wages INDEX. Wages of sin, death -----_-__ s^g Winchester College --------^4]5 Witnesses cloud of , assembled to see tlie Christian race ------------^ 444 Word made fleshy why -------- 47s Rrettell and Bastie, Printers, No. 54, Great Windmill Street, Hay-marV't. ;^ ^i W&::^^} 1 - '^