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ESSAYS

SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES

WRITINGS OF ST. PAUL,

AND IN OTHER PARTS OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

BY RICHARD WHATELY, D.D.
AHCHBISI-IOP OF DUBLIN.

THIRD EDITION.

LONDON:
B. FELLOWES, LUDGATE STREET.
1833.

LONDON :
B. CT.AV, PRINTEK, linEAD-STREET- IlII.l.

MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

THIS VOLUME

OF WHICH THE SUBSTANCE WAS PREACHED

BEFORE THEM

AT SAINT MARY S CHURCH

AND WHICH IS PUBLISHED AT THE RECOMMENDATION

OF SEVERAL OF THEIR NUMBER

IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

BY THEIR SINCERE WELL-WISHER

THE AUTHOR.

A 2

PREFACE.

It is not to be wondered that any argu
mentative work, not altogether confined
to the inculcation of doctrines universally
admitted, should, if it attract any degree
of public attention, excite also, at first,
some animadversion. Accordingly, various
censures, — critical strictures, — objections,
&c. have been directed, more or less,
against either some part, or the whole, of^
I believe, every one of my publications.
And it is not unlikely that some of my
readers may wish to know whether I shall
defend myself against all or any of these ;
and in what form. I cannot perhaps better

VI PREFACE.

answer such an inquiry, than by republish
ing the substance of a letter sent by me to
the editor of a newspaper (and inserted by
him) in reply to an invitation from him to
vindicate myself, through the medium of
his columns, from an attack against me
which had appeared in them. It has no
particular reference either to the Author,
to the character, or to the subject, of that
particular attack.

"... Though I do . not intend to enter upon any
discussion of the subject of the attack in question, I
will briefly state, and request you to publish, my rea
sons for declining to do so ; as they apply, not only to
the present, but to all other similar cases. . . . My ab
staining from reply is in conformity with a resolution
I have adopted, never to answer any attacks whatever.
"This resolution does not spring from an arrogant
contempt of all opponents, indiscriminately. On the
contrary, I have, before now, taken occasion, in subse
quent editions of my works, to express more clearly
what had been thought liable to misinterpretation, and
to supply deficiencies which had been pointed out.
And if I shall ever find reason to beheve that any thing

PREFACE. Vll
I have advanced is unscriptural, or otherwise erroneous,
I shall take care to retract it.
"But whenever, on the other hand, it shall appear
that my statements have been misrepresented, or the
force of my arguments underrated, either from care
lessness, intellectual deficiency, or sophistical design, I
shall leave to the works themselves, with the aid of
time, the accomplishment of my vindication in the eyes
of candid and intelligent readers ; and those of an
opposite character I could not hope to convince by any
reply that could be framed. At all events I intend to
engage in no paper-war with any one.
" I do not mean to pass any censure on those who
are engaged in controversy : but most persons, I
imagine, will admit that the prevailing tendency is
rather towards an excess than a deficiency of polemical
writing ; and that, even when controversy is begun
with the best intentions, it ofi;en does more harm than
good. Men are so constituted, as to feel (whether as
parties or as mere spectators) great interest in a contest
of any kind, as a contest : and a mind thus occupied
is seldom in the most fit state for the calm and sober
investigation of truth. As fresh and fresh combatants
enter the field, each generally becomes more solicitous
than the last, about victory, and less about truth ; con
sidering rather what may be said in answer to each
argument, than how much it may contain that is just
and valuable : while most of the by-standers mean
time, are becoming insensibly more like the auditors of
one of the ancient school disputations, or the spectators

Vlll PREFACE.
of a tournament ; more eager to see which party gets
the better, than careful to make up their own minds
aright, as to the question debated.
" Considerations such as these, besides other reasons,
have determined me to abstain strictly from all contro
versy, and (as far as lies in my power, without compro
mising important truths,) from every thing likely to
lead to controversy.
" This declaration, though it may perhaps prevent
some attacks, may very likely invite more. But whe
ther the charges brought against me shall be many or
few, I shall leave them all unanswered ; trusting that,
if unjust, they will sooner or later fall to the ground
of themselves : and earnestly hoping that the same
may be the fate of my own doctrines, if they are in
deed at variance with right reason or with God's word."
I may add, that the expectations and
intentions expressed in the above letter
remain unchanged. No circumstances,
none at least that I can at present foresee,
or even conjecture, will induce me to en
gage in controversy. And subsequent ex
perience has tended only to confirm my
first decision on this point. Nothing that
I could urge in self-defence could have so

PREFACE. IX

much force as what is furnished by my
opponents; all of whom, without any ex
ception that I have met with, have re
sorted to gross mis-representation of my
opinions and arguments. This may influ
ence indeed such as abstain from perusing
the works themselves, (and to such it
would of course be vain for me to address
myself) but can mislead no reader of can
dour and of ordinary intelligence. A proof
is thus supplied much stronger than any
I could produce, that what I really have
maintained, is n(^ in the judgment of
adversaries, open to any valid objection.
Again, the sneering allusions I have often
met with, to "Logic," on which I have
published a treatise, and also to "Truth,"
(in reference I presume to the first Essay
in this Volume) I cannot but feel to be
consolatory and indeed flattering. Had
such expressions been always accompanied

PREFACE.

by attempts to refute the principles I have
endeavoured to establish, it would have been
understood that such implied censure was
meant to be directed against unfounded
pretensions. But as it is, such writers seem
to admit that it is Truth as Truth, and
Logical Reasoning as such, that they dis
like ; and that they are against Truth,
because they find that Truth is against
them. Now this could not have been so
strongly evinced by any thing I could
myself have urged- m
For this, as well as other reasons, I am
more than ever disinclined to enter into
any controversy.
It may be said, indeed, that my answer
ing some one particular charge, would not
necessarily imply my engaging in a course
of polemical writing : — that I might put

PREFACE. XI

forth a vindication, once for all, and there
stop. But such a procedure, I am inclined
to think, would be less prudent than to
abstain from reply altogether. Should I
once begin, I should be expected to answer
all, not only of the objections that have
been hitherto brought forward, but of the
rejoinders and surrejoinders, &c., which,
in such a case, are usually called forth ;
(since " the beginning of strife is like
the letting out of water") lest I should
appear either to treat with undue con
tempt those who were left unnoticed, or
to be silenced by unanswerable arguments.
I have thought it most advisable therefore,
on the whole, to keep clear of any thing
like the opening of a controversy; always
protesting, however, against being un
derstood as casting any censure on those
engaged in an 3^ contest of this kind; and
only claiming for myself the same liberty

Xll PREFACE.

of judgment and of action which I am
willing to allow to every one else.
Some of my friends having occasionally
asked, who the authors are that have been,
in this or that place, cited or alluded to
with disapprobation, it may be as well to
state publicly the answer I have given to
such inquiries. No one, either personally,
or as an individual writer, is the object
of any designed attack. The censure I
have at any time thought it necessary to
pass, has been always intended for the
opinions maintained, or the arguments
adduced. If there are several persons
by whom these are admitted, then, the
censure is directed against each of these
persons, as much as against the Author
I may have cited. If on the contrary
the opinions alluded to in any case, are
obsolete, or have attracted little or no-

PREFACE. Xlll

notice, that is my mistake ; I wish the
error and the refutation of it to be for
gotten together*. To call attention to
obscure and at the same time erroneous,
works, is far from my design.
When, indeed, I meet with any thing
that I deem an important error in the
works of some Author on whom I may
have thought it right to bestow high
praise for some other parts of his writings
on the same subject, there seems to be
then a sufficient reason for distinctly al
luding to him in the censure of such
error, lest his merits in other points
should give it currency. And this is the
single exception I have thought it right
to make to the rule just mentioned.
On the other hand I have thought it
proper to refer (whenever my memory

XIV PREFACE.

would serve me) to any Author to whom
I may have been indebted for a valuable
remark. And I have been of course
even the more careful to do this when
it has happened that such an Author
is one not generally known ; because in
that case I should be desirous, if pos
sible, to call attention to his works.
It may be necessary however to add,
that whatever writers I may refer to,
whether of small or of great reputation, I
do not mean to appeal to any as of
decisive authority, or to adopt them as
guides. Some of them may be such as
to create more or less of a presumption in
favour of their opinions till satisfactorily
refuted. Others may supply valuable tes
timony as to the prevailing opinions in
their time ; or may suggest arguments
which are to be judged of according to

PREFACE. XV
their intrinsic weight. But I have learned
to " call no man Master upon earth ;"
and to make a final appeal to nothing
but the records of inspiration and the
force of just reasoning.
The Note relative to the Sabbath
which was subjoined in the first edition
to Essay V., having been very consider
ably expanded, it has been thought ad
visable to place it in an Appendix at
the end of the Volume ; and also to
print it in a separate form, for the benefit
of the purchasers of the first edition.
In the present reprint of it, a few
additional references and other slight
alterations have been introduced. But it
may be needful to apprize the reader (as
a contrary statement has been circulated),
that, though some further arguments have

xvi PREFACE.
been adduced, the conclusions maintained
are precisely the same as in the first and
the second editions of the Essays.
The Note "on the Eucharist" has also
been transferred to the Appendix.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.
Page
Connexion of the former series of Essays with the present,
p. xxv. ; the Scriptures not to be regarded with
dread or disgust, on account of the difficulties to
be found in them, p. xxvii. ; outline of the present
series  xxviii.

ESSAY I.
ON THE LOVE OF TRUTH.
§ 1. Christian religion distinguished from Paganism and
characterised, by its claim to truth as established
by evidence, and its demand of Faith in that
Truth  1
§ 2. Liability of Christians to act inconsistently with this
characteristic, by not steadily following truth . . 15
§ 3. Necessity of self-examination as to this point, p. 18 ;
objections to the principle of universally pursuing
and propagating truth  20

XVlU CONTENTS. Page
§ 4. Danger of men's flattering themselves without suf
ficient grounds that they are lovers of truth,
p. 33 ; Maxim of making it not the second but
the first question, what is the truth, p. 34 ; ob
stacles to the cultivation of this habit, dislike of
doubt, p. 36 ; love of originality, p. 38 ; ex
cessive deference for authority, ibid. ; views of
expediency  41
§ 5. Cautionary maxims : no unfair argument to be used,
p. 42 ; nor erroneous notion countenanced, p. 43 ;
no revealed truth to be suppressed ; nor dread to
be entertained of the progress of science, p. 49 ;
human approbation not often bestowed on the
lover of truth  52

ESSAY II.
ON THE DIFFICULTIES AND THE VALUE OF ST. PAUL'S
WRITINGS GENERALLY.
§ 1 . Paul more exposed than any of the Apostles to the
attacks both of open enemies and false friends,
• — both personally, p. 54 ; and in his writings . . 60
§ 2. Ambiguity of the word Gospel, p. 62 ; full in
struction in the Christian scheme not to be found
in the Four Evangelists, p. 64 ; but in the apo
stolic Epistles, p. 74 ; especially Paul's, p. 76 ;
danger of misinterpretation not to deter us from
the study of them  79
§ 3. Study of Paul's writings not to be deferred till a
mass of theological learning has been acquired
from other sources  84

CONTENTS. XIX
Page
§ 4. Paul's writings dreaded chiefly from the unac-
ceptableness of some of his doctrines, p. 89 ; the
vehemence with whicli his works have been
decried, a proof of their importance  91
ESSAY III.
ON ELECTION.
Importance of explaining those parts of Scripture
especially, from which dangerous consequences
have been drawn  95
§ 1. In order to understand the Apostle Paul aright, we
should be acquainted with his character and situ
ation, p. 96 ; and with that of his hearers, p. 100 ;
his continual reference to the Mosaic dispensa
tion, p. 102 ; which was the shadow of the Gospel 103
§ 2. Disputes relative to Election, p. 106; Election
under the old dispensation, and the new, may
be expected to correspond  Ill
§ 3. Questions, whether under the former dispensation
Election was arbitrary, p. 112; who were elected,
p. 113; to what the Elect were chosen, ibid.;
application, by analogy, to the Gospel-scheme,
p. 116; confirmed by Paul's express authority,
p. 118 ; and by the analogy of God's general
providence, p. 121 ; no technical uniformity of
language to be looked for in Scripture, p. 123 ;
misinterpretations of Scripture produced by an
tecedent bias, p. 126; errors in reasoning com
mitted on both sides  130
§ 4. Metaphysical difliculties, resulting from ambi
guities of language, p. 131 ; objections connected
with the origin of evil, dangerous for both parties 136
a 2

XX CONTENTS. Page
§ 5. The chief object of inquiry to be, what truths are
revealed, as being relative to man, and practi
cally needful  138
§ 6. The danger of misleading some and disgusting
others, not to be wantonly incurred  147
ESSAY IV.
ON PERSEVERANCE AND ASSURANCE.
§ 1 . The same Apostle principally appealed to in sup
port of the doctrines of the final perseverance of
the Elect, and their full assurance of salvation . . 151
§ 2. Apprehended danger from these doctrines apt to
lead to an opposite danger  154
§ 3. Mode in which both dangers are to be avoided ... 159
§ 4. Confirmation of the view here taken, fi-om the
example of Paul's conduct, p. 162 ; and from
that of men in general  164

ESSAY V.
ON THE ABOLITION OF THE MOSAIC LAW.
§ 1. The Antinomian system supposed to be favoured
by Paul's declarations relative to the abolition of
the law  173
§ 2. Obligations of conscience not weakened by the
Christian's freedom from the Levitical law .... 177
§ 3. Importance of resting moral obligation on a right
basis  183

CONTENTS. XXI
Page
§ 4. Speculative less common than practical Antino-
mians, p. 184 ; liability of men to content them
selves with a literal observance of express
commands  186
§ 5. Principles substituted for Rules, under the Gospel-
dispensation, p. 189 ; tendency to prefer precise
injunctions, to watchful self-government  190
ESSAY VI.
ON IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS.
§ 1. Statement of the doctrine of the imputation of
Adam's transgression, and of the righteousness
of Christ  196
§ 2. Scripture authority on which it is made to rest,
p. 203 ; interpretation of the passage appealed to 204
§ 3. General drift of the Apostle in the passages which
treat ofthe subject  212
§ 4. Liability of men to be biassed by the love of
system, p. 216 ; no accurate and technical uni
formity in the employment by the Sacred Writers
of the word Justification  219
§ 5. Evils indirectly resulting from erroneous inter
pretation of Scripture  221
ESSAY VII.
ON APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS IN SCRIPTURE.
§ 1. Difficulties of Scripture a reason for the attentive
study of it  227
§ 2. Principles to be kept in mind in this study .... 231

XXU CONTENTS. Page
§ 3. The knowledge revealed, not speculative, but rela
tive to man, and practical, p. 235 ; in language
not scientific, but popular, p. 238 ; to be inter
preted by comparing one passage with another,
p. 239 ; especially those seemingly at variance . 240
§ 4. Apparent contradictions of Scripture, numerous,
p. 241 ; for what purpose designed  244
§ 5. The knowledge imparted of mysterious truths
analogical and indistinct  250
ESSAY VIII.
ON THE MODE OF CONVEYING MORAL PRECEPTS IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT.
Moral precepts of the New Testament often con
veyed in apparent contradictions  258
§ 1. Reasons for the employment of this and other
paradoxical forms  261
§ 2. Precepts, a literal compliance with which would
be either impossible, or absurd, or unimportant,
p. 267; instance of the last kind  277
§ 3. The mode of instruction adopted sufficient for the
candid and diligent, p. 279 ; for the opposite
character none would have been sufficient .... 280

ESSAY IX.
ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Indistinct notions entertained, at first, by the
disciples, of the character of their Master .... 285

CONTENTS. XXlll Page
§ 1. Promise of Jesus to send the Comforter, not li
mited to the first age, p. 288 j nor relating to
an abstract religious principle  290
§ 2. Difference between the Jewish and the Christian
churches in this respect  293
§ 3. Points of resemblance and of difference between
our condition at present and that of Christians
in the first age, in respect of spiritual gifts .... 296
§ 4. Miraculous gifts peculiar to the primitive Church,
p. 299 ; for what purpose bestowed, p. 301 ;
when and how withdrawn  306
§ 5. Extraordinary and ordinary operations ofthe Spirit,
compared  307
§ 6. The early Christians compared with those of the
present day in respect of the signs of the gifts
bestowed on each, p. 314; faith required in the
indications of power to work miracles  315
§ 7. Equality, in the most important point, between
the primitive and the present Church  327
§ 8. Sign of the Christian's admission to the privilege
of spiritual guidance, p. 335 ; design of the
Eucharist (note) p. 339. — See Appendix, p. 373.
§ 9. Example of the Apostles to be followed by re
versing in some points their procedure, p. 341 ;
complete certainty as to the rectitude of our
judgments, unattainable  345
APPENDIX.
Note A, on the Sabbath  349
Note B, on the Eucharist  373

INTRODUCTION.

It was my object in a former series of Essays
to set forth the importance of an earnest and
studious attention to the Christian revelation.
There is a notion, more commonly entertained
than acknowledged, that the Gospel is a mere
authoritative republication of natural religion ; —
that consequently it is chiefly, if not solely, to
those of unphilosophical and vulgar minds, in- '
capable of perceiving the internal evidence of
this natural religion, and the intrinsic beauty
of virtue, that such a revelation is important
or needful, — and that, to the more intelhgent
and refined, it matters little whether or not they
inquire minutely into the particulars of that
revelation, — whether they believe, or disbelieve,
or doubt, its reality — or whether they even
propose to themselves the question. With a

XXVI INTRODUCTION.
view to counteract this (as it may be called)
heresy of indifference, — in my view, the most
deadly of all errors, not excepting Atheism, — I
pointed out and dwelt on several peculiarities
of the Christian religion ; points wherein the
Gospel-scheme differs from all other systems of
religion, whether pretended revelations, or avow
edly the offspring of human reason, that have
ever existed. And the contemplation of these
peculiarities must evince, I thought, the im
portance of carefully ascertaining whether the
Gospel-revelation is real or fictitious ; and if
real, of endeavouring to understand as fully as
possible its character, and to embrace it heartily
as a rule of life. While at the same time the
consideration that Christianity differs thus widely
from every other religious system, in many im
portant points, and in many wherein they all
agree, and, in those very points in which a true
revelation might be expected to differ from any
scheme of man's devising, — this consideration,
I say, presents a phenomenon well deserving
the attention of such as are candidly inquiring
for the evidences of this religion. For till
unbelievers can propose some solution of this

INTRODUCTION. XXVU
phenomenon, other than the truth of the reve
lation, (which, in so many centuries, they have
never accomplished, nor, as far as I know, even
attempted,) it must afford, at the very least, a
strong presumption, that the religion is really
from God.^
These disquisitions seemed to lead naturally
to some remarks as to the mode in which the
Scriptures should be studied. For if it be sup
posed (and the notion is very prevalent) that
great part of them consist of a series of per
plexing difficulties, serving only to exercise the
ingenuity of theologians in endless controversies,
and barren of all edifying application, or even
leading to dangerous practical consequences,
the result will be, that the student's attention
=1 " It may be thought that some apology is necessary for
the frequent reference made to the treatise just mentioned, and
occasionally, to some other works of my own. It appeared
to me, however, that either of the other two alternatives
would have been more objectionable; viz. either to omit
entirely much that was needful for the elucidation of the
subject in hand ; or, to repeat, in the same or in other words,
what had been already published."- — Preface to Elements of
Rhetoric, p. viii.

XXVni INTRODUCTION.
will be confined to a small portion of the Sacred
Records, and to that portion which will, by
itself, furnish the most imperfect view of the
peculiar doctrines of Christianity : a result which
cannot fail to foster the error above alluded to,
of undervaluing the Gospel-revelation, and re
garding it as a mere authoritative declaration of
certain moral truths.
The first step then in an examination of the
Gospel-scheme, after we have once been con
vinced, generally, that it is worth examining, is
to guard against the bias to which we are liable,
either from the apprehension of perplexing dif
ficulties in it, or from a suspicion of the inutility,
or dangerous tendency, of its most remarkable
doctrines. Such a bias cannot fail to deprave
the judgment as to the real character of the
Christian revelation. In the preliminary Essay,
accordingly, I have endeavoured not only to
inculcate the importance of such an earnest pur
suit of Truth, and steady adherence to it, as
may overcome the seductions of indolence, and
of seeming expediency, but I have pointed out
also the several modes of self-deceit by which

INTRODUCTION. XXIX
men persuade themselves that they are, when
in fact they are not, sincere lovers of Truth ;
and the way in which that tendency may be
best combated ; namely, by assigning in every
case, not, as is usually done, the second, but the
first place, to the inquiry, what is True ?
In the Second Essay, I have offered some re
marks on the neglect or dread, prevalent among
many persons, of the Apostle Paul's writings ; —
on the causes which have produced this ; — and
the consequences to which it leads.
In the succeeding four Essays, I have treated
of certain doctrines which have given rise to
much controversy, and particular views of which
have mainly contributed to the dread felt by
many of this Apostle's writings. I have accord
ingly endeavoured to shew that the doctrines
in question, as taught by Paul, afford no just
ground of alarm ; and that the extravagant
representation of them that some have given,
has arisen from a hasty and partial view of the
works of this Apostle. In these Essays I have
especially endeavoured to set forth the import-

XXX INTRODUCTION.
ance of referring to the Old Testament as an
interpreter, by analogy, of the New.
Some other principles of interpretation, fre
quently overlooked, and very essential to the
right understanding both of Paul's Epistles, and
of the other Sacred Writings, I have pointed out,
in the Seventh and Eighth Essays, as applicable
to the doctrinal and to the moral precepts of
the New Testament Scriptures. The use to
be made of the apparent contradictions we so
frequently meet with, has been particularly
dwelt on ; with a view to shew that they ought
not to be regarded, as is commonly done, in the
light merely of difficulties to be surmounted, but
as a peculiar and most wisely-contrived mode of
instruction. In the concluding Essay, I have applied the
principles before laid down to the ascertainment
of the sense of Scripture respecting the doctrine
of spiritual influence : — a doctrine not only of
the highest practical importance ; and one con
cerning which the greatest difficulties have been
started ; — but also one in respect of which, more

INTRODUCTION. XXXI
perhaps than any other, Paul's authority has
been confidently appealed to by some in sup
port of the most extravagant conclusions, and
for that reason, depreciated or disregarded by
others. In treating of these subjects, it has been my
object, not to ascertain, on each point, everything
that may be reasonably believed and plausibly
maintained ; but, what we are bound to believe
and to maintain as a part of the Gospel-reve
lation ; and this distinction I have more than
once adverted to, as being one of the highest
importance, and not seldom overlooked.
In the prosecution of these inquiries, I have
freely availed myself of whatever remarks or
illustrations I chanced to meet with in various
authors, that appeared suitable to my purpose.
As therefore there is, I trust, no novelty in the
doctrines inculcated, so there is no pretension
to complete originality in the arguments ad
duced. If I shall have succeeded in select
ing such as are at once sound, and generally
intelligible, and in arranging and expressing

XXXU INTRODUCTION.
them in a perspicuous and interesting man
ner, the object proposed will have been accom
plished. I have only to add, that the design of the
present Work being, not so much to refute or
to advocate the tenets of any particular person
or party, by means of an appeal to Scripture,
as to facilitate the interpretation of Scripture
to those who are seeking in simplicity for divine
truths, I trust it will be received by the candid,
even among such as may in some points differ
from me, with no feeling of party-prejudice or
hostile suspicion.

ESSAY I.

ON THE LOVE OF TRUTH.

§ 1. That any one who undertakes to propa
gate or to maintain any religion should represent
it as a true one, and should demand reception
for it on that ground, seems to us of the present
day so natural and unavoidable, that many pro
bably would be ready to take for granted that
this must have been the case always ; — that the
question of " true or false?" must always have
stood, as it certainly ought to stand, on the very
threshold of every inquiry respecting such a sub
ject ; and that all who adhered to an old, or
embraced a new religious system, or rejected
either, however credulous, or prejudiced, or
otherwise bad judges of evidence they might be,
yet must have supposed themselves at least to be
determined by evidence of some kind or other,
B

2 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
to belief or disbelief in the truth of what was
proposed to them. And accordingly, there are,
probably, many who do not estimate the full
force and importance of our Lord's reply to
Pilate, " For this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness of the Truth."
A moderate acquaintance, however, with the
habits and modes of thought which prevailed
among the ancient heathen, may convince us
that the real state of things was by no means
such as the above reasoning would lead us to
suppose. Their minds were, on this subject
especially, estranged from the love of truth.
Many circumstances indeed concurred to render
them habitually indifferent to it. Among the
learned, philosophical pursuits seem to have
been originally introduced as an elegant re
creation {axokrj) : and there can be no doubt
that many at least attached themselves to this
or that sect, not from any sincere conviction of
the truth of its doctrines, but to furnish them
selves with suitable topics for declamations. The
Schools of the philosophers were a kind of intel
lectual palaestra ; and there was a close analogy
between their disputations, and the prevailing

§ 1.] On the love of Truth. 3
gymnastic contests : each was a game ; the
object of which was victory, without any ulterior
end, but only for the display of strength and
skill, bodily or intellectual. And the zealous
cultivation of rhetoric, to which the majority
of eminent men made all oth^r studies subor
dinate, and whose most appropriate object is,
not the discovery of truth, but the invention of
arguments, could not but foster the prevailing
disregard of truth. It seems too, to have been
the settled conviction of most of those who had
the sincerest desire of attaining truth themselves,
that to the mass of mankind truth was in many
points inexpedient, and unfit to be communi
cated; — that however desirable it might be for
the leading personages in the world to be in
structed in the true nature of things, there were
many popular delusions which were essential to
the well-being of society. And in the foremost
rank of these they placed their popular reli
gions. Their own notions respecting the Deity
were totally unconnected with morality ; and
they despaired of in^buing the vulgar with the
philosophical principles on which they made
virtiie to rest. They made it a point of duty,
B 2

4 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
therefore, to testify by their example the utmost
respect for the established religion ; and to im
press on the multitude that reverence for the
gods, and dread of divine judgment on crimes,
which they themselves in their own more private
writings derided. They did not however seek
to effect this object, (and this is a circumstance
deserving of especial attention,) by undertaking
to prove the truth of the popular religions. He
who labours to prove, implies the possibility of
doubt, and challenges inquiry ; and they well
knew that there was no evidence for the existing
superstitions which could satisfy doubts, or stand
the test of inquiry. The only thing to be done,
therefore, was to forbid all doubts as impious, —
to suppress all inquiry ; and, consequently, to
forego even the practice of asserting the truth
of the established systems, which had, as Paul
expresses it, " changed the truth of God into
a lie.""^ They were maintained as politically
expedient, by the civil magistrates ; whose ap
propriate instrument is not argument, but coer
cion : and who for the most part utterly
disbeheved them, and were sensible that they
^ Rom. i. 25.

§ 1.] On the love qf Truth. 5
could not be established by evidence, yet were
convinced that they ought to be established by
law. And as it is the nature of legal enact
ments to produce, not belief, but merely out
ward conformity and submission, it was the
inevitable result of this state of things that the
ideas of religion and of truth, — of pious demea
nour, and of sincere belief, — should come to be
completely disjoined in men's minds : and that
they should even be somewhat startled at the
very pretension to truth as resting on evidence,
in any religion, and at the requisition of faith
in it, on the ground of its truth. It was what
they had never been used to. Philosophers of
the most discordant tenets, poets of all descrip
tions, politicians and other men of business,
amidst all the variety of their views and conduct,
had always concurred in maintaining the popular
religions, and in maintaining them on any other
ground than that of truth : " The worship of
the gods is an institution of our country ; — these
rites are venerable from their antiquity ; '' — the
*> Suchiwas the remark of Tacitus respecting the religion
of the Jews : " Hi ritus, quoquo modo inducti, vetustate de-
fenduntur ; " a description much more suitable to the pagan

6 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
neglect of them would argue disrespect for our
ancestors, and contempt for the laws ; — a respect
for religion is useful for maintaining due subordi
nation among the people :" — These, and such as
these, were their arguments ; and the conclusion
accordingly drawn was, that every man ought to
worship the gods according to the established
institutions : truth, and belief in the truth, seem,
in this matter^ to have scarcely entered their
minds. Pilate accordingly seems to have been per
plexed by our Lord's reply, stating that he had
come into the world for the purpose of bearing
" witness to the truth." His inquiry, " What is
truth?" does not seem (as an eminent writer
imagines) to have been made in jest ; the Roman
Governor was evidently in no jesting mood, nor
at all disposed to treat Jesus with contempt ; but
(for whatever reason) was very seriously intent on
investigating his case, and procuring his acquittal.
Whether there be sufficient ground or not, for
religions ; both in respect of the fact, and of the opinions of
the respective votaries. It was the boast of the Jews that
they had " the form of knowledge and of the truth, in the
Law.'' Rom. iL 20.

§ 1.] On the love of Truth. 7
the conjecture of some, that he was in expecta
tion of Jesus assuming the temporal sovereignty,
by the employment of those miraculous powers
of which no one could have been ignorant, and
was disposed from views of personal aggrandize
ment to favour his pretensions ; at any rate it is
plain he was endeavouring to learn what his
designs and pretensions were ; and hence, eagerly
asked, catching, as it were, at his words, " Art
thou the king then?" The answer, in which
Jesus claims to be a minister of the Truth, seems
to have disappointed and perplexed him :
" What is truth?" he replied; as much as to say,
" what has truth to do with the present business ?
I wish for information as to your claims and
objects ; — what sovereignty it is that you pretend
to, or aim at ; and you tell me about Truth ;
what is that to the purpose ?"
On this and on other occasions, our Lord
points out Truth as, in an especial manner, the
characteristic of his religion ; " If ye continue in
my words, then are ye my disciples indeed, and
ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall
make you free :" " I am the way, and the Truth,
and the Life." — " They that worship God must

8 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
worship Him in Spirit and in Truth." — " When
He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he shall guide you
into all Truth." — " And for their sakes I sanctify
myself, that they also might be sanctified through
the Truth." His great Adversary, on the other
hand, is designated by Him as " a liar, and the
father of lies." And the apostles of Christ, in
like manner, perpetually make use of the words
" Truth," and " Faith," to designate the Christian
religion : e. g. " God will have all men to be
saved, and to come to the knowledge of the
Truth." 1 Tim. ii. 4. " The church of the
living God, the pillar and ground of the Truth."
1 Tim. iii. 15. " Having your loins girt about
with Truth." Ephes. vi. 14. " They received not
the love of Truth, that they might be saved."
2 Thess. ii. 10. " Chosen to salvation, through
belief of the Truth." 2 Thess. ii. 13. " After
we have received the knowledge of the Truth."
Heb. X. 26. " Ye have purified your souls in
obeying the Truth." 1 Pet. i. 22. " The way of
the Truth shall be evil-spoken of" 2 Pet. ii. 2.
" Hereby we know that we are of the Truth."
1 John iii. 19, &c. By all which, more, I conceive,
was implied than that the religion is true, and is

§ l.J On the love of Truth. 9
the only true one, and that faith in it is required ;
in the present day this would be implied by the
very circumstance of preaching any religion ;
but in those days the very pretension to truth, —
the very demand of faith, were characteristic
distinctions of the Gospel : the Heathen mytho
logy not only was not true, but was not even
supported as true : it not only deserved no faith,
but it demanded none. It was needful, therefore,
to inform and remind men not merely of the
strength of the Gospel claims, but of the nature
of those claims ; — to point out not only the
force of the evidence in its favour, but its appeal
to evidence.
Many, indeed, of our Lord's expressions con
cerning the truth of his religion, have a reference
rather to the types and shadows of the Mosaic
dispensation, than to the fables of the Heathen
mythology. As contrasted with these last, Chris
tianity was Truth as opposed to falsehood ; as
contrasted with the Jewish system, it was The
Truth, in the sense of " Reality," as distinguished
from the emblems, — symbols, — representations —
of that reality ; — from the " shadow of good
things to come," contained in the Levitical

10 On the love of Truth [essay i.
Law." In this sense it is that the Apostle tells us
" the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ :" and this also was pro
bably the chief import of our Lord's expression,
" the truth shall make you free ;" i. e. free from
the precise and minute directions, and burden
some ceremonial, of the Mosaic Law, which was
instituted for the very purpose of shadowing
forth, and preparing the way for, the glorious
truths, or realities of the Gospel.
This consideration, however, does not lessen
the force of what has been said respecting the
prominent place assigned to the " truth" of Chris
tianity as characteristic of the religion. Its truth,
in the sense of reality contrasted with type, and
substance with shadow, implies its truth as op
posed to falsehood also. It was the same quality
that distinguished it from the more imperfect
revelations of the " Law" on one side, and from
the fictions and misconceptions of the Pagans on
the other : "the truth as it is in Jesus "'^ was to
<= See "Hinds's Catechists' Manual," (p. 264), a book
which, in my judgment, no young clergyman or master of a
family should be without.
^ Ep. to Ephes. iv. 21.

§ 1.] On tlie love of Truth. 1 1
supersede both the heathen idolatry, by destroy
ing it, and " the Law and the Prophets," not by
destroying indeed, but by fulfilling them.
And it should be carefully borne in mind, that
though the reiterated allusions to " truth" were
in a great degree called forth by the strong
contrast which the new religion presented, in
this particular, to those at that time opposed to
it, the characteristic itself must equally belong
to the same rehgion at all times. The Gospel
itself is always and everywhere the same ; though
particular times and places may require that this
or that particular feature of it should be espe
cially pointed out and dwelt on. Even so, creeds
Or sets of articles, employed as a Symbol or test
fof orthodoxy, may vary, and have varied, accord
ing to the emergencies occasioned by the pre
valence of particular errors ; though the absolute
and intrinsic soundness of the articles of faith
themselves, must be always the same. Tempo
rary or local circumstances are the cause, not of
any Article's being or not being a part of the
Christian faith, but of its being a part whifch it
is needful or jjot needful to set forth prominently,
and insist on.

12 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
This distinction, though so obvious, when
stated, as to seem scarcely worth mentioning,
is often lost sight of in practice. For instance,
many even of the early Christian emperors were
urged to put down idolatry and heresy by the
civil sword.'' Jesus had indeed forbidden his
disciples to draw the sword in his cause, or to
call down fire from heaven on those who rejected
Him ; and had declared his kingdom to be " not
of this world;" and his first followers had pro
pagated his religion by gentle persuasion, " not
rendering evil for evil," but " in meekness in
structing them that oppose themselves :" but
then, it was replied, that such a procedure was
suited only to the first beginnings of Christianity;
that the earliest disciples had no power, when as
yet magistrates and kings were not arrayed on
their side,' forcibly to suppress idolatry ; — and
^ " Not more than twenty years after Constantine's entire
possession of the empire, Julius Firmicus Maternus calls upon
the Emperors Constantius and Constans to extirpate the relics
of the ancient religion ; . . . . modicum tantum superest, ut
legibus vestris .... extincta idololatriae pereat funesta con-
tagio." — Paley's Evidences, Part II. chap. 9.
' " Non invenitur exemplum in evangelicis et apostolicis
Uteris, aliquid petitum a regibus terra; pro ecclesia, contra

§ 1.] On the hve of Truth. 13
that our Lord's language to Pilate, and his re
jection of the attempts to make Him a king,
had reference to the then prevailing expectations
of a temporal Messiah. Now there was un
doubtedly this expectation of an anointed Son
of David, who should reign in bodily person
over the Jews, and should bestow on his follow
ers not only the spiritual blessings relating to a
future state, but also, worldly power and splen
dour. And, doubtless, his disclaimer had refer
ence to these expectations : but the question is.

inimicos ecclesise : quis negat non inveniri ? Sed nondum
implebatur ilia prophetia, et nunc reges intelligite, erudimini,
qui judicatis terram ; servite Domino in timore. Adhuc enim
illud implebatur quod in eodem psalmo paullo superius dicitur ;
Quare fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania 1 &c."
— Augustine Epist. 93, chap. iii. § 9.
The remainder of the passage is curious, in which this
Father goes on to represent the two opposite decrees of
King Nebuchadnezzar, as types of the two conditions of the
Church; the sentence of death passed on the three pious
Jews who refused to worship the golden idol, being typical
of the times of the Apostles and Martyrs ; and the present
time (Augustine's) being represented by the decree of the
same king, that whosoever should " speak any thing
amiss against the God of those Jews, should be cut in
pieces."

14 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
was this the cause of Christ's kingdom actually
being of such a character as He described it, or,
merely of his insisting on this, in those particular
expressions, and on those particular occasions ?¦
Are his rebukes to his disciples, for offering tq
call down fire from heaven, and to fight in his
cause, — rebukes which were evidently called
forth by their mistaken zeal on each occasion ;
are these to be regarded as having reference to
these occasions only, or as descriptive pf the
character of the religion universally ? ^
Now what has been said of the employment
oi force, may equally be applied to the employ^
ment of fraud, in the cause of Christianity.
The Romanists and others, who have practised
pious frauds in the cause of Christianity, probably
committed (unknown to themselves) a similar
error to the one just mentioned, in their view of
those passages of Scripture which insist oi^
" truth" as a characteristic feature of the relir
gion : those expressions, indeed, were probably
called forth in many instances by the peculiar
circumstances attending the first promulgation
of the Gospel ; but the character of the Gospel
f See " Origin of Romish Ercors," chap. v. § 4.

§ 2.] On the love of Truth. 15
itself is "the same yesterday, and to-day, and
for ever."
§ 2. But how, it may be said, do these con
siderations affect us Christians of the present
day ? We, it is to be hoped, are not chargeable
with that culpable carelessness about truth,
especially in religious matters, which charac
terised the ancients. We do believe in Jesus as
the " Way, and the Truth, and the Life."
Let it be remembered, however, that as the
ancient heathen are not the standard by which
we are to be measured ; so, it is not our supe
riority to them that will at once acquit us. They
had many excuses of which we have none, for
their disregard of truth : in particular, they
knew not (as we do) of any rehgion that did
challenge inquiry, and appeal to evidence, and
demand well-grounded and firm belief; that
taught them to " prove all things, and hold fast
that which is right," and to be " ready to give
a reason of their hope." Do Christians, then,
in this respect show themselves worthy of their
peculiar advantages? Do they speak and act
altogether consistently with a religion which is
built on Faith in the Truth? The professors

16 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
of such a religion ought not merely to believe
it in sincerity, but to adhere scrupulously to
Truth in the means employed on every occasion,
as well as in the ends proposed, and to follow
fearlessly wherever Truth may lead.
Now we should recollect that most of the
pretended miracles, the " pious frauds," as they
are called, perpetrated by the Romanists, and
many others, are, or at least were, in the first
instance, the work of men who were sincere
believers in the truth of their rehgion ; it is,
indeed, on this ground alone that they can claim
the title oi pious frauds: but they were men who
knew " not what manner of spirit they were of ;"
they sought to promote, by means of falsehood,
the cause of Him who lived and died for the
Truth : they believed the Gospel to have come
from God, but wanted faith in his power and
care to support and prosper it ; and turned aside
from the straight path of sincerity, to seek for
the expedient, by the crooked roads of worldly
pohcy. But still, though most unchristian in
their spirit, though they had " neither part nor
lot in this matter, but were in the gall of
bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity," their

§ 2.] On ihe love of Truth. 17
general belief in Christianity was doubtless, in
most instances, sincere ; and I have adverted to
their case for the very purpose of pointing out
the important circumstance, that the fullest
conviction of the truth of the cause in which we
may be engaged, is no security against our sliding
into falsehood, unless we are sedulous in forming
and cherishing a habit of loving and reverencing,
and strictly adhering to truth.
Protestants, however, in these times, it may
be said, have no pretended miracles — practise
no pious frauds. But how far is this to be attri
buted to a genuine detestation of falsehood, as
odious in his sight who lived and died in the
cause of Truth, with a firm reliance on his pro
vidence ; and how far, to a conviction furnished
by experience, that fraud is, in the end, detri
mental to the cause it is designed to serve, and
that in these days its success would be especially
short-lived? To what degree each man is in
each instance actuated by a love of truth, or by
considerations of expediency, can be fully known
only to the Searcher of hearts : it is only by the
most rigid self-examination that we can approach
to the knowledge of this in our case ; and it is
c

18 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
so far only as the former motive operates that
we are acting on Christian principle. It is
undoubtedly a just maxim, that in the long run
" honesty is the best policy;" but he whose
practice is governed by that maxim is not an
honest man. And it may be added, that a
steady and uniform adherence to honesty, never
will result from that maxim. He who adheres
to what is right, because it is right, vrill be
rewarded by afterwards perceiving that he has
taken the wisest course. But to those who
seek, in the first instance, for the best policy, it
is not given to perceive in all cases that honesty
is the best policy. The maxim therefore though
true and valuable, is never, to any one, the
habitual and constant guide of conduct. He
who is honest is always before it ; and he who
is not, will often be far behind it.
§ 3. To suggest a few topics for the self-
examination I have alluded to, may not be un
suitable with a view to the inquiries we are
engaged in. That all, even of the learned and
sagacious, have not arrived at true conclusions
respecting the doctrines of Scripture, is at once

§ 3.] On the love of Truth. 19
evident from the great diversity of their conclu
sions. It is necessary to consider, therefore,
how we may best escape being of the number of
those who fall into such various errors ; — how
we may be best qualified for profiting by the
lessons of Him whose "Word is Truth." And
this must surely be by a fervent desire and
sedulous watchfulness to acquire and preserve a
sincere, unbiassed, and candid disposition. With
out this, the highest ability, combined with the
most laborious study, will do nothing towards
the attainment of that object.
That we may not, however, be led into too
wide a field of discussion, it should be observed,
that I do not propose to inculcate the duty of
veracity in private life ; or to enter on any
metaphysical disquisition on the nature of truth
universally, or on what may be regarded as the
different species of it ; or to treat of the various
kinds of evidence by which it is to be established ;
but simply to speak of the importance, and the
difficulty, of cultivating and establishing as a
habit, a sincere love of Truth for its own sake,
and a steady thorough-going adherence to it in all
philosophical, and especially in religious inquiries.
c2

20 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
The first step towards attaining this state of
mind, and ascertaining how far we have attained
it, must evidently be, a strong conviction of its
value, together with a distrust of ourselves. If
we either care not to be lovers of Truth, or take
for granted that we are such, without taking any
pains to acquire the habit, it is not likely that
we ever shall acquire it. I must here, therefore,
briefly notice some objections which I have heard
urged against the very effort to cultivate such a
habit as I am recommending ; though, in fact,
they arise from misapprehension, and are directed
against a mistaken view of the subject.
(1.) The tirst is, that we cannot be required to
make Truth our main object, but happiness ; — that
our ultimate end is, not the mere knowledge of
what is true, but the attainment of what is good,
to ourselves and to others. But this, when urged
as an objection against the views here taken, is
evidently founded on a mistake as to the meaning
of the maxim, that Truth should be sought for its
own sake. It is evident, in the first place, that I
am not speaking of the pursuit of all truth on all
subjects. It would be ridiculous for a single
individual to aim at universal knowledge ; or even

§ 3. J On the love of Truth. 21
at the knowledge of all that is within the reach
of the human faculties, and worthy of human
study. The question is respecting the pursuit of
truth, in each subject, on which each person de
sires to make up his mind and form an opinion.
And secondly, the purport of the maxim that, in
these points, truth should be our object, is, not
that mere barren knowledge without practice, —
truth without any ulterior end, should be sought ;
but that truth should be sought and followed
confidently, not in each instance, only so far as
we perceive it to be expedient, and from motives
of policy, but with a full conviction both that it
is, in the end, always expedient, with a view to
the attainment of ulterior objects, (no permanent
advantage being attainable by departing from it,)
and also, that, even if some end, otherwise advan
tageous, could be promoted by such a departure,
that alone would constitute it an evil ; — that truth
in short, is in itself, independently of its results,
preferable to error ; — that honesty claims a pre
ference to deceit, even without taking into account
its being the best policy.
(2.) Another objection, if it can be so called, is,
that a perfectly candid and unbiassed state of

22 On tlie love of Truth. [essay i.
mind, — a habit of judging in each case entirely
according to the evidence, is unattainable. But
the same may be said of every other virtue :
a perfect regulation of any one of the human
passions is probably not more attainable than
perfect candour ; but we are not, therefore, to
give a loose to the passions ; we are not to relax
our efforts for the attainment of any virtue, on
the ground that, after all, we shall fall short of
perfection. (3.) Another objection which I have heard is,
that it is not even desirable, were it possible, to
bring the mind into a state of perfectly unbiassed
indifference, so as to weigh the evidence in each
case with complete impartiality. The evidence,
for instance, for the truth of the Christian
religion, it is said, a good man must wish, and
ought to wish, to find satisfactory; one who
loves and practises virtue, cannot be, and ought
not to be, indifferent as to the question whether
there be or be not a God who will reward it.
This objection arises, I conceive, from an in
distinct and confused notion of the sense of the
terras employed.'' A candid and unbiassed state
•i Sec Logic, Appendix. Article " Indifference."

§ 3.] On the love of Truth. 23

of mind, which is sometimes called indfference
or impartiality, i. e. oi the judgment, does not
imply an indifference of the will, — an absence
of all wish on either side; but merely an ab
sence of all influence of the wishes in forming
our decision, — all leaning of the judgment on the
side of inclination, — all perversion ofthe evidence
in consequence. That we should wish to find
truth on one side rather than the other, is in
many cases not only unavoidable but commend
able ; but to think that true which we wish,
without impartially weighing the evidence on both
sides, is undeniably a folly, though a very common
one. If a mode of effectual and speedy cure be
proposed to a sick man, he cannot but wish that
the result of his inquiries concerning it may be
a well-grounded conviction of the safety and
efficacy of the remedy prescribed ; it would be no
mark of wisdom to be indifferent to the restora
tion of health ; but if his wishes should lead him
(as is frequently the case) to put implicit confi
dence in the remedy without any just grounds for
it, he would deservedly be taxed with folly. Or
again, if a scheme be proposed to any one for
embarking his capital in some speculation by

24 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
which he is to gain immense wealth, he will doubt
less wish to find that the expectations held out
are well-founded ; but we should call him very
imprudent, if (as many do) he should suffer this
wish to bias his judgment, and should believe, on
insufficient grounds, the fair promises held out to
him : his wishes, we should say, were both natural
and wise ; but since they could not render the
event more probable, it was most unwise to allow
them to influence his decision. In like manner,
(to take the instance above alluded to,) a good
man will indeed wish to find the evidence of the
Christian religion satisfactory ; but a wise man
will not for that reason think it satisfactory, but
will weigh the evidence the more carefully on
account of the importance of the question.
By confounding together these two very dis
tinct things, indifference of the will, and indiffer
ence of the judgment, (or, which amounts to the
same, taking for granted that the two are inse
parably conjoined, and must be present or absent,
together,) I have known a person maintain, with
some plausibility, the inexpediency, with a view
to the attainment of Truth, of educating people
or appointing teachers to instruct them in any

§ 3.] On the love of Truth. 25
particular systems or theories, of astronomy,
medicine, religion, morals, politics, &c., on the
ground that a man must wish to believe and
to find good reasons for believing, the system in
which he has been trained, and which he has
been engaged in teaching; and that this wish
must prejudice his understanding in favour of it,
and consequently render him an incompetent
judge of truth.
It would follow from this principle, that no
physician should be trusted, who is not utterly
indifferent whether his patient recovers or dies ;
since, else, he must wish to find reasons for
hoping favourably from the mode of treatment
pursued : no plan for the benefit of the public,
proposed by a philanthropist, should be listened
to ; since such a man cannot but wish it may
be successful, &c. — No doubt the judgment is
often biassed by the inclinations ; but it is pos
sible, and it should be our endeavour, to guard
against this bias. And, by the way, it is utterly
a mistake to suppose that the bias is always in
favour of the conclusion wished for ; it is often
in the contrary direction. There is in some
minds a tendency to unreasonable doubt in cases

26 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
where their wishes are strong; — a morbid dis
trust of evidence which they are especially
anxious to find conclusive : e. g. Groundless
fears for the health or safety of an ardently-
beloved child, will frequently, on account of their
earnest wish for his welfare, distress anxious
parents. Different temperaments (sometimes
varying with the state of health of each indi
vidual) lead towards these opposite miscalcu
lations. Each of us probably has a natural
leaning towards one or the other (often towards
both, at different times) of these infirmities ; —
the over-estimate, or under-estimate of the rea
sons in favour of a conclusion we earnestly de
sire to find true. Our aim should be, not to
fly from one extreme to the other, but to avoid
both, and to give a verdict according to the
evidence ; preserving the indifference of the
Judgment, even when the Will cannot, and
indeed should not be indifferent.
There are persons, again, (though some of my
readers will, perhaps, be disposed to doubt the
fact,) who, in supposed compliance with the
precept, " lean not to thine own understanding,"
regard it as a duty to suppress all exercise of

§ 3.j On the love of Truth. 27
the intellectual powers, in every case where the
feelings are at variance with the conclusions of
reason. They deem it right to consult the heart
more than the head ; i. e. to surrender themselves,
advisedly, to the bias of any prejudice that may
chance to be present : thus, deliberately and on
principle, burying in the earth the talent en
trusted to them, and hiding under a bushel the
candle that God has lighted up in the mind.
But it is not necessary to dwell on such a case,
both because it is not, I trust, a common one,
and also because those who are thus disposed,
are clearly beyond the reach of argument, since
they think it wrong to listen to it.
I am far from recommending presumptuous
inquiries into things beyond the reach of our
faculties; — attempts to be " wise above what is
written ;" — or groundless confidence in the cer
tainty of our conclusions : but we cannot even
exercise the requisite humility in acquiescing in
revealed doctrines, unless we employ our reason
to ascertain what they are ; and there is surely
at least as much presumption in measuring every
thing by our own feelings, fancies, and prejudices,
as by our own reasonings.

28 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
(4.) Lastly, another objection sometimes
brought, not so much against the pursuit, as
against the propagation of truth, is, that the
minds of many men are incapable of rightly
apprehending it ; that the attempt to teach
some truths to such hearers as are not qualified
for receiving them, and to remove some errors
which they are not ripe for perceiving to be such,
would only excite their disgust towards every
thing they might hear from such instructors ; or
that some might assent to what they heard,
while they put the most mischievously false inter
pretation upon it ; or, lastly, that they might
misapply even what they had rightly understood :
as persons ignorant of medicine often do mischief
by administering, without judgment, some power
ful remedy, whose efficacy they have witnessed.
Even thus, it may be said, will the unlearned,
when they have been taught to reject some long-
established error, proceed, when their minds
are once unsettled, to reject well-grounded
doctrines also ; and will apply the arguments
by which they have been convinced in one
case, to another, perhaps very different, (though
they are incapable of understanding that

§ 3.] On the love of Truth. 29
difference,) so as to produce the most erroneous
results. Accordingly, it is urged, our Lord himself and
his Apostles abstained from teaching every thing
at once to their hearers, because they " were not
as yet able to bear them:" and even so important
a doctrine as the extension of the Gospel to the
Gentile world, was not fully made known to the
Apostles themselves, for several years after they
had received their commission.
All this is, in a certain sense, true ; and as far
as it is true, is no contradiction of the principle
I have laid down, but an application of it. For
to teach any thing which, though in itself true,
will inevitably be misunderstood by the hearers,
is in reality to propagate not truth, but error;
and if our teaching has in any case a necessary
tendency to lead a certain class of hearers into
such mistakes as to other points as we have no
power to guard against, we are not enlightening,
but leading them into darkness. If we were to
suppose a case (to resort to an illustration I have
elsewhere employed') of our informing a rustic
i See Appendix to Archbishop King's Discourse on Pre
destination, No. I.

30 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
that the sun stands still, while, for some reason
or other, we had no means of teaching him that
the earth turns round, he would evidently be
more perplexed than instructed, and would be
more than ever at a loss to understand the alter
nations of day and night.
To shew that what has here been said is not
a statement framed for the occasion, in order to
meet objections, I will take the liberty of citing
a passage to the same purpose from my Bampton
Lectures, published in 1822. — " Persons of in
ferior powers and attainments may be led, not to
knowledge, but to error, by hastily proposing
to them such statements and explanations as
surpass their capacity : though they may be in
telligible and instructive to the abler and more
advanced. No vain clamours, therefore, about
deceiving the people,— no groundless charges of
keeping the vulgar in ignorance, and preaching
a different gospel to different persons, should
deter us from following at once the dictates of
sound sense, and the example of St. Paul ; or
induce us so to perplex and confuse ' those who
are weak in the faith,' as really to incur the
blame of deceiving them, for the sake of avoiding

§ 3. J On the love of Truth. 31
the appearance of it. For it should be remem
bered that, practically speaking, all truth is
relative : that which may be to one man a true
statement of any doctrine, may be, in effect, false
to another, if it be such as cannot but lead him
to form false notions ; and that which gives him,
if not a perfectly correct notion of things as they
are, yet the nearest to this that he is capable of,
may be regarded as, to him, true."''
If then, on these principles, we withhold for
a time some part of the Truth from those who are
not yet able to bear it, — if we add " line upon
line, and precept upon precept; here a little, and
there a little," — striving gradually to qualify the
learner for a more full communication ; — if we
labour patiently to wear away prejudices by little
and little, when the attempt to eradicate them
abruptly would be unsuccessful, or pernicious, —
we are pursuing that method of inculcating truth
which is sanctioned by Christ and his Apostles.
But if we make the ignorance, weakness, or pre
judice of men a plea for suppressing or disguising
truth, or for conniving at error, without labouring
at the same time to remove those obstacles; —
k Lect. IV. pp. 129, 130. 3d Edit.

32 On the love of Truth. [essay r.
if we plead that they are not yet ripe for this
or that doctrine, and expect them to become ripe,
like the fruits of the earth, by mere waiting ; —
if we are content to leave them permanently
under the infiuence of delusion, — to postpone,
sine die, as the phrase is, the communication of
rehgious truths, — to wait indefinitely for some un
foreseen favourable conjuncture which we make
no exertions to bring about, — we are proceeding
in direct contradiction to the spirit of the Gospel,
and the example of its Author. " I have yet
many things," said He, " to say unto you, but
ye cannot bear them now;" but He did, by his
Spirit, gradually impart this knowledge to them
afterwards ; not to some subsequent generation,
but to those very same individuals. " I have fed
you with milk and not with meat," says St. Paul,
" for ye were not able to bear it ; neither yet are
ye able ; " he evidently implies a hope that they
(i. e. not some future generation, but those very
individuals) will be able to bear it : nay, he is
evidently reproaching them for not being already
better qualified for the reception of divine
Truth. Indeed the very similitude of babes, of
itself draws our attention, our hopes, and our

§ 4. J On the love of Truth. 33
endeavours, towards a progressive growth into
manhood.

§ 4. When, however, we have made up our
minds as to the importance of seeking in every
case for truth, .with an unprejudiced mind, the
greatest difficulty still remains ; which arises
from the confidence we are apt to feel that we
have already done this, and have sought for
truth with success. For every one must of
course be convinced of the truth of his own
opinion, if it be properly called his opinion ; and
yet the variety of men's opinions furnishes a proof
how many must be mistaken. If any one then
would guard against mistake as far as his intel
lectual faculties will allow, he must make it, not
the second, but the first question in each case,
" Is this true?" It is not enough to beheve
what you maintain ; you must maintain what you
believe ; and maintain it because you believe it ;
and that, on the most careful and impartial
review of the evidence on both sides. For any
one may bring himself to believe almost any
thing that he is inclined to believe, and thinks it
becoming or expedient to maintain. It makes
D

34 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
all the difference, therefore, whether we begin or
end with the inquiry as to the truth of our doc
trines. To express the same maxim in other
/ words, it is one thing to xmsh to have Truth on
'; our side, and another thing to wish sincerely to
' be on the side of Truth. There is no genuine
love of truth implied in the former. Truth is
a powerful auxiliary, such as every one wishes to
have on his side ; every one is rejoiced to find,
and therefore often succeeds in convincing him
self, that the principles he is already disposed to
adopt, — the notions he is inclined to defend, may
be maintained as true. A determination to
"obey the Truth," and to follow wherever she
may lead, is not so common. In this consists
the genuine love of truth ; and this can be
realized in practice only by postponing all other
questions to that which ought ever to come fore
most, "What is the Truth ?" The minds of most
men are pre-occupied by some feeling or other
which influences their judgment, either on the
side of truth or of error, as it may happen,
and enlists their learning and abihty on the side,
whatever it may be, which they are predisposed
to adopt.

§ 4. J On the love of Truth. 35
(1.) One of the most common of these feel
ings is an aversion to doubt; — a dislike of having
the judgment kept in suspense ; which, com
bined with indolence in investigation, induces"
the great mass of mankind to make up their
minds on a variety of points, almost according
to the first suggestion that is offered. As the
illustrious Greek historian expresses it, in lan
guage which will hardly admit of an adequate
translation, " the generality of mankind are so
averse to the labour of investigating truth,
that they are willing rather to adopt any state
ment that is ready-prepared for their accept
ance.'" But he who would cultivate an habitual
devotion to Truth, must be solicitous in the first
place to avoid error ; and consequently must
in all cases prefer doubt to the reception of false
hood, or to the admission of any conclusion on
insufficient evidence. One who has an aversion
to doubt, and is anxious to make up his mind,
and to come to some conclusion on every ques
tion that is discussed, must be content to rest
many of his opinions on very slight grounds ;
1 'AraXaeTTOipoe to'iq iroWoie V f)jr7)<7t£ Tfjg aXiidcias, /cai Itti
TCI 'sTOiua ficiWov Tpi-Kovrai.
d2

36 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
since no one individual is competent to inves
tigate fully all disputable points. Such a one,
therefore, is no lover of truth ; nor is in the
right way to attain it on any point. He may
more reasonably hope this, who, though he may
on many points perceive some (and perhaps a
great) preponderance of probability on this or
that side, is contented to come to a decisive con
clusion only on those few which he has been
enabled thoroughly to investigate."
The fault I have been speaking of, is one
which men are the less likely to detect in them
selves, from this circumstance ; that in many
practical cases it is necessary to come to some
decision speedily, even though we may not have
before us the fullest evidence that we could
desire, or even that we might hope, were more
time allowed us, to obtain. The Physician may
be compelled to prescribe, or the General, to
give his orders, immediately, and without waiting
to examine all the reasons on both sides ; because
delay would be as pernicious as mistake. In
cases of this kind, the utmost we can do is to
make up our minds according to the best reasons
•" Errors of Romanism, chap. iv. § 8.

§ 4.] On the love of Truth. 37
that occur ; and though we are not called on,
even then, to come to any certain conclusion in
our own minds, if there are no grounds for it ;
yet we must act as if we were certain. If, in a
journey, we have no means of knowing certainly
which of two or three roads will lead us aright,
we must yet choose one, because we are certain
we cannot reach the journey's end by standing
still. So also, if we are in doubt whether thieves
will come or not, we bar the door, as if we
were certain they would ; because to neglect this,
would be to stake all on the event of their not
coming. In like manner, he who has doubts
about the truth of Christianity, is bound in pru
dence to endeavour to act as if it were true.
For in these, and many other cases of practice,
" not to decide, is, to decide." And the habit is
often in this manner acquired, of forming our
opinions as hastily as our practical decisions;
and that too, even in cases where no immediate
step is necessarily to be taken — no danger, equal
to the danger of error, to be incurred by remain
ing in suspense."
n Essay on the " Omission of Creeds, &c. in Scripture," §9.

38 On tJie love of Truth. [essay i.
(2.) To that dislike of doubt which has been
mentioned as an obstacle to the cultivation of an
habitual love of Truth, many others may be
added which augment the difficulty. In many
it is the desire of originality, heightened some
times into the love of paradox, that pre-occupies
the mind. They are zealous for Truth, provided
it be some truth, brought to fight by themselves.
There are some accordingly, who have been
right where prevailing opinions are erroneous;
and erroneous, where the rest of the world think
rightly. And such persons often satisfy them
selves that they are guarded against this excess,
by the severity of their judgments on their
neighbour's originality, — by unsparing rejection
of every paradox, and every novelty, proceeding
from another. A crude theory or opinion, means,
in their language, one which (being new) has not
first occurred to themselves.
(3.) Others again, and they are more nume
rous, are unduly biassed by an excessive respect
for venerated authority; — by an undue regard for
any belief that is ancient, — that is established, —
that has been maintained by eminent men : they
are overpowered in short by the " argumentum

§ 4.] On the love of Truth. 39
ad verecundiam." I mean not, of course, that
the judgment of able men, and that of nume
rous independent authorities, furnishes no valid
argument; only, that it should not supersede
argument ; — that every other description of evi
dence should be called in ; — and that we should
not think ourselves bound to adopt an opinion
merely because it has been held by many before
us." And some are so biassed by authority,
that they not only admit carelessly as true what
they have not examined, but even tolerate a
considerable admixture of what they themselves
perceive to be untrue : " Errare malo cum
Platone, quam cum istis vera sentire," implies
no uncommon kind of feeling. And besides, any
errors which have long and extensively prevailed,
are by many regarded as of no great practical
consequence ; because, they think, if they had
led to any ill result, it would have been long
ago manifest. This is indeed by no means uni
versally the case ; for many doctrinal errors do
lead to practical evils which are not referred,
even by those who perceive them, to the causes
whence they sprung. Protestants, for instance,
° Errors of Romanism, chap. iv. § 8.

40 On the love of Truth. [essay I.
perceive the immoral effects which naturally
spring, in popish countries, from the doctrines
of purgatory, indulgences, image-worship, &c. ;
but a sincere Romanist, though he cannot but
perceive the existence of many of these im
moralities, is usually altogether blind to their
connexion with those causes. And the Pro
testant who wonders at this blindness, is perhaps
himself equally blind in some similar case. But
though, as has been said, the alleged harmless-
ness of long-established errors is in general very
rashly inferred, still it commonly is inferred ;
and there are not a few who have more dread of
any thing that savours of novelty, even when
they perceive nothing objectionable in it, than
of what is generally received, even when they
know it to be unsound. And hence, he is the
most likely to be, by such persons, accounted a
safe man, not whose views are on the whole the
most reasonable, but who is free from all errors,
except vulgar errors.
The two faults which have just been noticed,
that is, a certain degree of each, are not un
frequently combined. The hasty adoption of
striking novelties ori some occasions, is not

§ 4.] On the love of Truth. 41
incompatible with a blind adherence to the re
ceived doctrine on others. All men have been
told that wisdom consists in preserving a middle
course between opposite extremes ; and the weak,
the uncandid, and the unthinking, often congra
tulate themselves on having attained this happy
medium, by the mimic wisdom of sliding alter
nately into each extreme. True wisdom would
tell us not to receive one opinion because it is
old, and another because it is ne-w ; but to receive
and reject none on either ground, and to inquire
sedulously, in each case, what is true.
(4.) The greatest, however, of all the obstacles
to the habit of following truth, is, the tendency
to look in the first instance to the expedient.
Expediency does not, in reality, stand opposed
to Truth, except when made its rival for pre
cedence ; but while the genuine lover of truth
always regards that as the only sure road to
the expedient, the generality of men look out
first for what is expedient, and are contented if
they can afterwards reconcile that (which, with a
biassed mind, they are very likely to accomplish)
with a conviction of truth. And this is the sin
which most easily besets those who are engaged

42 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
in the instruction of others ; and it besets them
the more easily, inasmuch as the consciousness
of falsehood, even if it exist in the outset, will
very soon wear away. He who does not begin
by preaching what he thoroughly believes, will
speedily end by believing what he preaches.
His habit of discriminating the true from the
false, — the well-established from the doubtful, —
will soon decay for want of assiduous exercise ;
and thus inured to the practice of dispensing
with complete sincerity for the sake of supposed
utility, and accustomed to support true con
clusions by any premises that offer, he will
soon lose, through this faulty practice, even
the power of distinguishing what conclusions are
true.p § 5. The temptations to this fault are so great,
the occurrence of it so frequent, and the mischief
of it so incalculable, that I cannot, perhaps,
better close these remarks, than by classing,
under a few comprehensive heads, the cautions
to be observed in avoiding it.
P Errors of Romanism, chap. iii. § 6.

§ 5.] On the love of Truth. 43
(1.) First, then, one who would cherish in him
self an attachment to truth, must never allow
himself either to advance any argument, or to
admit and acquiesce in any when advanced by
another, which he knows or suspects to be un
sound or fallacious ; however true the conclusion
may be to which it leads, — however convincing
the argument may be to those it is addressed to,
^-and however important it may be that they
should be convinced. It springs from, and it
will foster and increase a want of veneration for
truth ; it is an affront put on "the Spirit of Truth ;"
it is a hiring of the idolatrous Syrians to fight the
battles of the Lord God of Israel. And it is on
this ground that we should adhere to the most
scrupulous fairness of statement and argument.
He who believes that sophistry will always in
the end prove injurious to the cause supported
by it, is probably right in that belief ; but if it
be for that reason that he abstains from it, —
if he avoid fallacy, wholly, or partly, through
fear of detection; it is plain he is no sincere
votary of truth.
(2.) On the same principle, we are bound
never to countenance any erroneous opinion.

44 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
however seemingly beneficial in its results, — to
connive at no salutary delusion (as it may*
appear,) but to open the eyes (when opportunity
offers, and in proportion as it offers) of those
we are instructing, to any mistake they may
labour under; though it may be one which leads
them ultimately to a true result, and to one
of which apparently they might otherwise fail.
The temptation accordingly to depart from this
principle is sometimes excessively strong; because
it will often be the case that men will be in
some danger, in parting with a long-admitted
error, of abandoning, at the same time, some
truth they have been accustomed to connect with
it. Accordingly, I have heard censure passed
on the endeavours to enlighten the Roman
Catholics, on the ground that many of them
had become atheists, and many, the wildest of
fanatics. That this should have been in some
instances the case, is highly probable ; it is a
natural result of the pernicious effects on the
mind, of the Roman-Catholic system ; it is an
Evil Spirit, which we must expect will cruelly
rend and mangle the patient as it comes out of
1 See Errors of Romanism, chap. iii. § 3.

§ 5.] On the love of Truth. 45
him, and will leave him half dead at its depar
ture. Again : the belief in the plenary inspiration of
Scripture, — its being properly and literally the
" Word of God," merely uttered, or committed
to writing by the sacred penmen, in the very
words supernaturally dictated to them, and the
consequent belief in its complete and universal
infallibility, not only on religious, but also on
historical and philosophical points, — these notions
which prevail among a large portion of Chris
tians, are probably encouraged or connived at
by very many of those who do not, or at least
did not originally, in their own hearts, enter
tain any such belief But they dread " the
unsettling of men's minds ;" they fear that they
would be unable to distinguish what is, and what
is not, matter of inspiration ; and, consequently,
that their reverence for Scripture and for religion
altogether would be totally destroyed ; while, on
the other hand, the error, they urge, is very
harmless ; leading to no practical evil, but rather
to piety of life.
On a like principle I have known some pious
persons object to any alteration of those passages

46 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
of our (in general excellent) version of the Bible,
in which they admit that our translators have
mistaken the sense of the original. It has a
tendency, they think, to unsettle the minds of
the vulgar ; who had better be left to receive
the Bible, i. e. our authorized version of it, as
the Word of God, without any suspicion of the
possibility of error in any passage they read ;
since if once (it is urged) they doubt the infalli
bility of our translators, they may go on to
doubt whether this, and that, or any passage
of Scripture may not be mistranslated ; till at
length the Bible will be, to them, no revelation
at ail.
This procedure is of a piece with that of the
Church of Rome in pronouncing the infallibility
of the Vulgate version : a step which proved a
convenience for the moment, and has placed
them in a dilemma ever since ; either the ad
mission, or the denial, of any error in the
Vulgate, being equally dangerous to the Church's
claim of infallibility. The inexpediency, in the
end, of our proceeding on such a principle in
respect of our translation, is to me very clear ;
but I despair of explaining it to the satisfaction

§ 5. J On the love of Truth. 47
of any one who chooses to try the question on
that ground. To any one who is resolved to
follow honesty for its own sake, it may easily be
made to appear in this case, that it is the best
policy also.
And, doubtless, such feelings as I have been
alluding to had a share in inducing the Roman
Catholics to retain the Apocrypha in their Bible.
Many of the learned among them must surely
have known, that these books have no title to
be considered as part of the Holy Scriptures ;
" but they are on the whole," they may have
thought, " rather edifying than hurtful ; and to
reject them might shake men's faith in the whole
of Scripture." The same reasoning probably
operates with many of them, to induce them to
maintain the infallibility of the Church, — the
authority of their Traditions, &c. Indeed, the
fault I have been speaking of is of the very
essence of Romanism, which is a complete
system of " pious frauds." Would that Pro
testants did not so readily flatter themselves,
that their separation from the Church of Rome
exempts them from all danger of errors like
hers !

48 On the love qf Truth. [essay i.
There is a strong temptation again to foster
or connive at the popular error of expecting
under the Christian dispensation those temporal
rewards and punishments which form no part of
the system ; a mistake which no doubt has often
produced partial good results, and which there
will often be, and oftener appear to be, danger
in removing.' Of the same character is the belief
that the moral precepts of the Levitical law are
binding on Christians ; and that the observance
of the Lord's day is a duty to which they are
bound by the fourth commandment.' Though
the desired conclusions may in these and similar
cases be reached by the paths of truth, there
will be an apparent, and sometimes a real
¦^ See "Discourse on National Blessings and Judgments."
* Of course, I am not at present alluding to those who,
after a full and candid examination, are themselves convinced
of this ; — whose sincere and deliberate belief is, that the
fourth commandment does extend to Christians, but that it
is sufficiently obeyed by the observance of the first day of
the week instead of the seventh ; or that the precise directions
of an express command of Scripture, which is admitted to be
binding on us, may allowably be altered by the traditions of
the Church. Though I cannot but regard such views as
erroneous, the error does not belong to the class now under
discussion. See Note A to Essay V.

§ 5.j On the love of Truth. 49
danger that those who have been long used to
act rightly on erroneous principles, may fail of
those conclusions, when undeceived. In such
cases it requires a thorough love of truth, and
a firm reliance on divine support, to adhere
steadily to the straight course.
(3.) A like danger will often be our appointed
trial in the converse case also ; — in firmly re
solving to suppress no clearly-revealed gospel-
truth, through apprehension of ill consequences.
Then only can we be " pure from the blood of
all men," if we " have not shunned to set before
them all the counsel of God." He did indeed.
Himself, think fit to hide for many ages, under
the veil of the Levitical law, the coming of the
Messiah's kingdom ; and it is but a small part
probably of the great scheme of redemption that
He has as yet imparted to us ; but he has not
authorized Man to suppress any part of what
He has revealed ; and it is an impious pre
sumption even to inquire into the expediency
of such a procedure.
(4.) Lastly, as we must not dare to withhold
or disguise revealed religious truth, so, we must
dread the progress of no other truth. We must
E

50 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
not imitate the bigoted Romanists who im
prisoned Galileo ; and step forward, Bible in
hand, (like the profane Israelites carrying the
Ark of God into the field of battle) to check
the inquiries of the Geologist, the Astronomer,
or the Political-economist, from an apprehension
that the cause of religion can be endangered by
them.' Any theory on whatever subject, that is
really sound, can never be inimical to a religion
founded on truth ; and any that is unsound may
be refuted by arguments drawn from observation
and experiment, without caUing in the aid of
revelation. If we give way to a dread of danger
from the inculcation of any scriptural doctrine,
or from the progress of physical or moral science,
we manifest a want of faith in God's power, or
in his will, to maintain his own cause. That we
shall indeed best further his cause by fearless
perseverance in an open and straight course, I
am firmly persuaded ; but it is not only when we
perceive the mischiefs of falsehood and disguise,
and the beneficial tendency of fairness and can
dour, that we are to be followers of truth : the
' See First Lecture on Political Economy.

§ 5.] On the love of Truth. 51
trial of our faith is, when we cannot perceive
this : and the part of a lover of truth is to follow
her at all seeming hazards, after the example of
Him who " came into the world that He might
bear witness to the Truth."
No one, in fact, is capable of fully appreciating
the ultimate expediency of a devoted adherence
to truth in all that relates to the Christian
religion, except the Divine Author of it; because
He alone comprehends the whole of that vast
and imperfectly-revealed scheme of Providence ;
and alone can see the inmost recesses of the
human heart ; and alone can foresee and judge
of the remotest consequences of human actions.
And much of the good policy of the course I have
been recommending, which can be perceived by
those of more cultivated minds, is beyond the
comprehension of a great majority of mankind.
The expediency of truth can be estimated by
few ; but its intrinsic loveliness, by all. None
are precluded, by want of intellectual power
and culture, from that undoubting faith and
firm rehance on their great Master, which will
lead them to aim at truth, out of veneration
to Him ; — to reject disguise, and sophistry, and
e2

52 On the love of Truth. [essay i.
equivocation, at once, as hateful to Him, without
stopping to inquire what further evil they may
lead to.
And it is no more than needful that those
who act thus, should have a more than common
assurance of his approbation ; for they will often
fail of that of their fellow-men. Besides being
occasionally censured as rash and mischievous,
they will constantly find a want of sympathy in
those (and they, I fear, are a great majority)
whose character is, in this point, opposite. They
may be valued indeed by many persons for other
good qualities ; but that zealous thorough-going
love of truth which I have been describing, is
very seldom admired, or liked, or indeed under
stood, except by those who possess it. Courage,
liberality, activity, &c. are often highly prized
by those who do not possess them in any great
degree ; but the quality I am speaking of, is,
by those deficient in it, either not perceived
where it exists, or perceived only as an excess
and extravagance.
" There is nothing covered," however, " that
shall not be revealed ; nor hid, that shall not be
known." And the genuine and fearless lover of

§ 5. ] On the love of Truth. 53
truth, who has sought, not the praise of men,
but the praise of God " who seeth in se
cret," shall be " sanctified through his Truth"
here, and by Him " be rewarded openly" here
after.

ESSAY IL

ON THE DIFFICULTIES AND THE VALUE OF THE
WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL GENERALLY.

§ 1. There appears to be a very remarkable
analogy between the treatment to which Paul
was himself exposed during his personal ministry
on earth, and that which his works have met
with since. In both he stands distinguished in
many points among the preachers of the Gospel ;
and it is possible that this distinction may in
some way be connected with the peculiar manner
in which he became one of that number.
The same Apostle, who had been originally so
bitter a persecutor of the Christians, was ex
posed, after his conversion, to a greater variety
of afflictions in the gospel-cause than any of the

§ l.J The Writings of the Apostle Paul. 55
others. He not only had to endure a greater
amount of persecution than any of the rest from
unbelievers, but was also peculiarly harassed by
vexatious opposition, and mortifications of every
kind from his Christian brethren. He was not
only " in labours more abundant," — he not only
endured a double portion of imprisonments,
scourgings, stoning, perils of every kind from
the enemies of the Gospel, being specially hated
by the Jews on account of his being the Apostle
of the Gentiles, the overthrower of the proud
distinctions of Israel " after the flesh ; " but he
was also troubled by the perversity of his own
converts ; especially such of them as were cor
rupted by false teachers, who endeavoured to
bring them into subjection to the Mosaic law,
and laboured to undervalue, his claims as a true
Apostle, and to rival him in the estimation of
his own churches.
It is not unlikely that his Lord designed thus
to place him foremost in the fight, — thus to
assign to him, both the most hazardous, and
also the most harassing and distressing offices
in the Christian ministry, — on account of his
having once been a blasphemer and persecutor.

56 On the importance qf studying [essay iL
Not as a punishment, — or again that he might
atone and make compensation for his former sin
(which no man can do) ; but that he might have
an opportunity of completely retracing his steps,
and of feeling that he did so ; — that he might
display a zeal, and firmness, and patience, and
perseverance, above all the rest, in the cause
which he had once oppressed ; — that by having
his own injurious treatment of Christians con
tinually brought to his mind by what he himself
endured, he might the more deeply and deh-
berately humble himself before God for it; —
that he might find room to exercise, in his
dealings with unbelievers, all that full know
ledge of the perverse prejudices of the human
mind, with which his own memory would furnish
him, by reflecting on his own case ; — and finally,
that both he and the other Apostles might feel
that he was placed fully on a level with them,
notwithstanding his former opposition to the
cause ; by enduring and accomplishing in it more
than all the rest, by suffering more than he had
ever inflicted, — by forwarding the cause of Truth
more than he had ever hindered it, — and by
bearing with him this pledge that God had fully

§ l.J the Writings of the Apostle Paul. 57
pardoned him — the pledge of his being counted
worthy not only to suffer in his Master's cause,
but to suffer more than any other, and with
greater effect. He who had been accessary to
the stoning of Stephen, himself, alone of the
Apostles, as far as we know, suffered stoning ;
he who had been so zealous in behalf of the law
of Moses, was destined to encounter not only
unbelieving Jews, but those Christians also who
laboured to corrupt Christianity by mixing the
law of Moses with it ; he who had been, as he
expresses it, " exceedingly mad against the dis
ciples, and persecuted them even unto strange
cities," was himself driven from city to city
by enemies whose fury knew no bounds, both
of his own countrymen, and of the senseless
rabble of idolaters, who assailed him like " wild
beasts, at Ephesus." He who had misinterpreted
the ancient prophecies respecting the Messiah,
and despised his disciples, had to endure not
only the contradiction and derision of unbe
lievers, but also the wilfulness and perversity of
" false brethren," who misrepresented and mis
interpreted the doctrines he himself taught, and
of arrogant rivals who strove to bring him into

58 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
disrepute with those who had learnt the faith
from him."
In all these troubles he was " more than con
queror, through Christ that strengthened " him.
Trusting that his Master would enable him to
go through the work to which he had been ap
pointed, and would turn even the malice and
perversity of men to " the furtherance of the
Gospel," he " rejoiced that Christ was preached,"
even when it was " through envy and strife," by
'^ " Here then we have a man of liberal attainments, and in
other points of sound judgment, who had addicted his life to
the service of the gospel. We see him, in the prosecution
of his purpose, travelling from country to country, enduring
every species of hardship, encountering every extremity of
danger, assaulted by the populace, punished by the magis
trates, scourged, beat, stoned, left for dead ; expecting,
wherever he came, a renewal of the same treatment, and the
same dangers, yet, when driven from one city, preaching iu
the next ; spending his whole time in the employment, sacri
ficing to it his pleasures, his ease, his safety : persisting in
this course to old age, unaltered by the experience of per-
verseness, ingratitude, prejudice, desertion ; unsubdued by
anxiety, want, labour, persecutions ; unwearied by long con
finement, undismayed by the prospect of death. Such was
St. Paul. We have his letters in our hands ; we have also
a history purporting to be written by one of his fellow-
travellers, and appearing, by a comparison with these letters,

§ l.J the Writings of the Apostle Paul. 59
those "who thought to add afl9icti6n" to the
Apostle's bonds ; he exulted in that very bon
dage, because it was made the means of intro
ducing him to the notice of some among the
Romans to whom he might not otherwise have
gained access ; (Phil. i. 12 — 18) ; and at Philippi,
when cruelly scourged and imprisoned untried,
by the Roman magistrates, he joyfully trusted
that Christ would make even this a means of
forwarding his cause ; which was done in the
consequent conversion of the jailor and his
certainly to have been written by some person well acquainted
with the transactions of his life." . . . . " We also find him
positively, and in appropriated terms, asserting that he
himself worked miracles, strictly and properly so called,
in support of the mission which he executed ; the history,
meanwhile, recording various passages of his ministry, which
come up to the extent of this assertion. The question is,
whether falsehood was ever attested by evidence like this.
Falsehoods, we know, have found their way into reports, into
tradition, into books ; but is an example to be met with, of
a man voluntarily undertaking a life of want and pain, of
incessant fatigue, of continual peril ; submitting to the loss
of his home and country, to stripes and stoning, to tedious
imprisonment, and the constant expectation of a violent death,
for the sake of carrying about a story of what was false, and
of what, if false, he must have known to be so ?" — Paley's
HorcE Paulince, pp. 338, 339.

60 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
family ; the germ, probably, of the exemplary
church of the Philippians.''
A like fate seems to attend the writings also
which this blessed apostle and martyr left behind
him. No part of the Scriptures of the New
Testament has been so unjustly neglected by
some Christians, and so much perverted by
others ; over and above the especial hatred of
•> The whole narrative of this transaction is particularly
affecting from the strong relief in which the incidents are
set, by the quiet simplicity of the language : " The magis
trates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast
them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely ;
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the
inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And
at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto
God : and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there
was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the
prison were shaken : and immediately all the doors were
opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the
keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing
the prison doors open, he drew his sword and would have
kOled himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying. Do thyself no
harm : for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul
and Silas, and brought them out, and said. Sirs, what must I
do to be saved ?" — Acts xvi. 22 — 30.

§ 2.j the Writings of the Apostle Paid. 61
them by infidels and by some descriptions of
heretics. Still may Paul be said to stand, in his
works, as he did in person while on earth, in the
front of the battle ; to bear the chief brunt of
assailants from the enemies' side, and to be
treacherously stabbed by false friends on his own ;
degraded and vilified by one class of heretics,
perverted and misinterpreted by another, and too
often most unduly neglected by those who are
regarded as orthodox. And still do his works
stand, and will ever stand, as a mighty bulwark
of the true Christian faith. He, after having
himself " fought the good fight, and finished his
course," has left behind him a monument in his
works, whereby " he being dead yet speaketh ;"
a monument which his Master will guard (even
till that day when its author shall receive the
" crown of glory laid up for him ") from being
overthrown by the assaults of enemies, and from
mouldering into decay through the negligence
of friends.
§ 2. In order to avoid being misunderstood
as to the sense in which this Apostle's writings
have been spoken of as a principal bulwark of

62 On the importance of .studying [essay ii.
gospel-truth, and as to the censure passed on the
comparative neglect they sometimes meet with,
I must entreat the reader's attention to some
considerations, which, though frequently over
looked in practice, are so obvious when once
fairly presented to the mind, that I fear it may
be thought trifiing to dwell on them.
Of all the ambiguities of language that have
ever confused men's thoughts, and thence led to
pernicious results in practice, (and unspeakable
is the mischief which has thus been done,) there
are few, perhaps, that has ever produced more
evil than the ambiguity of the word " Gospel."
The word, as is well known, signifies, according
to its etymology (as well as the Greek term of
which it is a translation), " good tidings ;" and
thence is applied especially to the joyful intelli
gence of salvation for fallen Man through Christ.
The same term has come to be applied, natu
rally enough, to each of the Histories which give
an account of the life of Him, the Author of that
salvation ; and thence men are frequently led to
seek exclusively, or principally, in those histories,
for an account of the doctrines of the Christian
religion : for where should they look, they may

§ 2.J the Writings of the Apostle Paul. 63
say, for " G^ospeZ-truth," but in the " Gospels?"
And yet it is plain, on a moment's reflection,
that whether they are right or wrong in such a
practice, this reason for it is no more than a play
upon words : for no one really supposes that
when the Apostles went forth to preach the
Gospel, the meaning of that is, that they re
cited the histories composed by Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, which were not written till
long after; or even that their teaching was con
fined to the mere narrative of the things there
recorded. In the primary sense of the word Gospel, —
the " good-tidings of great joy to all people,"
which were first proclaimed [preachedj by the
Heavenly Messengers to the shepherds, and
afterwards by Jesus and his disciples, — in this
sense, the writings of the Evangelists do contain
nearly the whole of the Gospel; and (as has
been just remarked) derived from this their title.
Ours is an historical religion ; not merely con
nected with, but founded on, certain recorded
events; — the Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection
of the Saviour ; — the pouring out of his Spirit
on the disciples, &c. Strictly speaking, there-

64 On the importance of studying [essay ii.
fore, the Gospel is the annunciation of what
God has done for Man. What man is to do on
his part, — the means towards the end, — the
Christian faith and practice by which he must
attain to a share of the proffered blessings, —
these are properly Gospel - c?ocifnree ; but by a
natural transition have come to be frequently
called, simply, the Gospel. It is not necessary
however to be curious about words any further
than is necessary to secure us against being
misled by them in respect of things. I am in
different whether the Apostolic Epistles are
called a part of the Gospel or not, provided il be
but admitted and carefully kept in mind, that
they are necessary to direct us how to attain
the blessings of the Gospel. An announcement
of the existence, and of the miraculous efficacy
of a Tree of Life, would be of no benefit to
those who were not instructed how to procure
and partake of its fruit.
But there is yet another and less obvious am
biguity in the same word : our Lord, while on
earth, was employed, together with his disciples,
we are told, in preaching " the Gospel of the
Kingdom ;" i. e. the good tidings that " the

§ 2.J the Writings qf the Apostle Paul. 65
kingdom of heaven (as He himself expressed it)
was at hand." And good tidings these certainly
were, to the Jews and others who looked for the
Messiah's promised kingdom, (to whom alone
he preached) that this kingdom was just about
to be established. And since, therefore, Jesus
is spoken of as preaching the Gospel, many are
hence led to look to his discourses alone, or prin
cipally, as the storehouse of divine truth, to the
neglect of the other Sacred Writings. But the
Gospel which Jesus himself preached, was not
the same thing with the Gospel which He sent
forth his Apostles to preach after his resurrec
tion. This may at the first glance appear a
paradox ; but on a moment's consideration it
will seem rather a truism, that the preaching of
Jesus and that of the Apostles was not, and
could not be, the same ; though they were, each,
the Gospel. I do not mean, of course, that they
were two different systems; much less, at vari
ance with each other ; but the one was a part
only, and the other a whole ; or rather I should
say, a greater part of that stupendous whole
which is not to be entirely revealed to us here
on earth, — the stupendous mystery of man's

66 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
redemption. How, indeed, could our Lord, during
his abode on earth, preach fully that scheme of
salvation, of which the key-stone had not been
laid, — even his meritorious sacrifice as an atone
ment for sin, — his resurrection frora the dead, —
and ascension into glory, — when these events
had not taken place ? He did indeed darkly
hint at these events, in his discourses to his dis
ciples (and to them alone) by way of prophecy ;
but we are told that " the saying was hid from
them, and they comprehended it not, till after
that Christ was risen from the dead ;" of course,
therefore, there was no reason, and no room,
for Him to enter into a full discussion of the
doctrines dependent on those events. He left
them to be enlightened in due time as to the true
nature of his kingdom by the gift which He kept
in store for them : " I have yet many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth is come.
He shall guide you into aU [thej truth." There
would have been no need of this promise, had
our Lord's own discourses contained a full ac
count of the Christian faith. But " the Gospel
of the Kingdom " which He preached was, that

§ 2.] ihe Writings of the Apostle Paul. 67
the " kingdom of Heaven was at hand" not
that it was actually established ; which was the
Gospel preached by his Apostles, when Christ,
" having been made perfect through sufferings,"
had entered into his kingdom, — had " ascended
up on high, and led captive" the oppressor of
men, and had "received gifts" to bestow on
them. Our Lord's discourses, therefore, while
on earth, though they teach, of course, the truth,
do not teach, nor could have been meant to
teach, the whole truth, as afterwards revealed to
his disciples. They could not, indeed, even
consistently with truth, have contained the main
part of what the Apostles preached ; because
that was chiefly founded on events which had
not then taken place. What chance then can
they have of attaining true Christian knowledge,
who shut their eyes to such obvious conclusions
as these ? who, under that idle plea, the mis
application of the maxim, that " the disciple is
not above his master," confine their attention
entirely to the discourses of Christ recorded in
the Four Gospels, as containing all necessary
truth ; and if any thing in the other parts of the
Sacred Writings is forced upon their attention,
F 2

68 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
studiously explain it away, and limit its signi
fication at all hazards, so that it may not go one
step beyond what is clearly revealed in the works
of the Evangelists ? As if a raan should, in
the culture of a fruit-tree, carefully destroy and
reject as a spurious excrescence, every part of
the fruit which was not fully developed in the
blossom that preceded it.
Even if Christ had in person publicly preached
after his resurrection, as well as his Apostles,
this plea, that " the disciple is not above his
master," would not have excused the insult
offered to Him in the person of his messengers :
the insult, I mean, of making the authority He
gave them go for just nothing at all ; which it
does, if they are to be believed, just as far as
they coincide with what He himself uttered in
person, and no further ; since, thus far, any one
of us is to be believed. For the Apostles, who
were divinely commissioned by Christ himself,
either were inspired by Him with his Spirit,
which " led them into all [thej truth," " or they
"= They were not inspired with a knowledge of all truth ;
being in many things left to act on their own judgment;
as they expressly tell us. But what they were inspired

§ 2.J ihe Writings qf the Apostle Paul. 69
were not : if we say that they were not, we make
Him a liar, for giving them this commission and
this promise, as well as them, for preaching what
they did : if they were thus divinely authorized,
it must follow inevitably that what they said (I
mean in the teaching of the Christian religion)
was said by Him, and has exactly the same
authority as if He had uttered it with his own
lips. Even an earthly king expects that a mes
senger, sent by hira with satisfactory credentials
and full powers, should receive the sarae credit
for what he says as would be given to himself in
person ; and would regard it as an unpardonable
affront if the message so sent were rejected.
" He that heareth you" (said Christ to his
Apostles) " heareth me ; and he that despiseth
you, despiseth me: and he that despiseth me,
despiseth Him that sent me."
But in truth, not only is the preaching of the
Apostles to be regarded as of divine authority,
¦with was (as the Greek plainly intimates) the knowledge
•of all the truth;" viz. that truth which they were commis
sioned to make known ; — the mysteries of the Christian
religion, in which Paul declares expressly he was instructed
by the Lord himself.

70 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
and therefore not requiring confirmation from
our Lord's personal discourses, nor submitting to
limitation by them, but from the very nature of
the case, it is impossible that such a complete
coincidence should exist between them. I have
just above supposed the case of Jesus himself
preaching publicly after his resurrection, con
jointly with his disciples ; but we know that He
did not do this : He sent them forth to testify of
events, and to teach doctrines founded on events,
which had not taken place during his personal
ministry on earth. It is comraonly supposed
indeed by ignorant Christians (ignorant, I mean,
of what they might learn from the Bible), that
Jesus Christ came into the world to teach a true
religion : but in fact, he carae chiefly for a dif
ferent purpose. He did not come to make a
revelation, so much as to be the subject of a reve
lation. He was only so far the revealer and
teacher of the great doctrines of Christianity, as
you might call the sun and planets the dis
covers of the Newtonian system of astronomy.
He accomplished what he left his Apostles to
testify and to explain ; He offered up himself on
the cross, that they might teach the atoning

§ 2.J the Writings of the Apostle Paul. 71
virtue of his sacrifice : He rose fi-om the dead
and ascended into heaven, that they might de
clare the great mystery of his divine and human
nature, and preach that faith in Him by which
his followers hope to be raised and to reign with
Him. The Christian faith is not merely to
believe what Christ taught, but to believe in Him.
As the promised Messiah, a raan might believe
in Hira while He was on earth ; but what the
Messiah should be, and that He should be a
Redeemer by his death, no one did or could
understand, till that great work was accom
plished ; the true character of the redemption,
and of the faith by which we must partake of it,
and all the circumstances of the Messiah's spi
ritual kingdom (a kingdom which did not exist
during his ministry on earth) his Apostles them
selves could not collect, even after his departure,
from all his former discourses, till they had
received inspiration from on high, to enable
them to preach the true doctrines of the Gospel.
And when they did understand this Gospel, they
thought it necessary to give an explanation of it
in their discourses and in their epistles. Those,
therefore, who neglect their inspired preaching.

72 On the importance qf studying [essay li.
and will learn nothing of Christianity except
what they find in the discourses of Jesus, confi
dent that these alone contain the whole truth,
are vi^ilfully preferring an imperfect to a more
complete revelation, and setting their own judg
ment above that of the Apostles. It is fright
ful to think how much they stake on this
their supposed superiority ; — what consequences
of their blind presumption they may have to
abide ; " professing themselves to be wise
they become fools ;" and as they despise the
teaching of the Holy Ghost who led the Apostles
" into all Truth," is it not to be feared that
if they persist in this their rejection of Him,
He will give them over to their own vain con
ceits ; and leave those who have turned aside
from the " living waters of the Spirit," to " hew
out for themselves broken cisterns that will hold
no water?"
The books, then, which we call the Four
Gospels, do not, it should always be remem
bered, contain a compendium of the Christian
Religion, but, chiefiy, memoirs of the life and
preparatory teaching of its Founder ; who came
into the world not to make a revelation, so much

§ 2. J the Writings qf ihe Apostle Paul. 73
as to be the subject of a revelation ; — to an
nounce the glad tidings (gospel) of salvation
through Him, but not to give any full description
of the means by which we are to embrace that
salvation ; and who, at the close of his personal
ministry, tells his disciples, " I have yet many
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them
now." Nor do the Evangelists undertake the
task of teaching the christian faith ; since they
wrote for the express use, not of unbelieving
Jews and idolaters, but of Christians, who had
heard the christian doctrines preached, and then
had been regularly instructed (catechised, as the
word is in the original) and examined, and,
finally, baptized into the faith. Christianity was
not (as many are apt to suppose) founded on
the Four Gospels, but, on the contrary, the Four
Gospels were founded on Christianity ; i. e. they
were written to meet the demand of Christians,
who were naturally anxious for something of a
regular account of the principal events from
which their faith was derived. " Forasmuch as
many have taken in hand to set forth in order, a
declaration of those things which are most cer
tainly believed among us . . . . it seemed good to

74 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
me also to write unto thee, in order, most excel
lent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the
certainty of those things wherein thou hast been
instructed." The book of the Acts of the Apostles contains
a history of the progress, but no detail of the
preaching, of Christianity. Many of the dis
courses mentioned as having been delivered, are
not themselves recorded : the object and design
of the work being (as in the case of the Four
Gospels) not to teach Christianity to its readers,
who were already Christians, but to give them a
history of its propagation.''
Our chief source, therefore, of instruction, as
to the doctrines of the Gospel, must be in the
apostolic epistles ; which cannot, indeed, be
expected to afford a regular systematic intro
duction to Christianity, — an orderly detail of the
first rudiments of faith, calculated for the instruc
tion of beginners entirely ignorant of it, since all
of them were written to those who were already
converts to Christianity ; but yet, from the va
riety of the occasions on which they were
* See Hinds's " History of the Rise and Early Progress
of Christianity." Part II. chap. 2.

§ 2.J the Writings qf ihe Apostle Paul. lo
composed, and of the persons to whom they
were addressed, and from their being purposely
designed to convey admonition, instruction, and
exhortation as to christian doctrine and practice,
(which is not the case with any other part of the
Sacred Writings), the apostolic epistles do con
tain, though scattered irregularly here and there,
according to the several occasions, all the great
doctrines of the Gospel, as far as it has yet been
revealed to men ; explained, enforced, repeated,
illustrated, in an infinite variety of forms of ex
pression ; thus furnishing us with the means, by
a careful study of those precious remains, and
by a diligent comparison of one passage with
another, of attaining sufficient knowledge of all
necessary truth, and of becoming " wise unto sal
vation, through faith, which is in Christ Jesus." "
« To the Scriptures therefore was assigned the office of
proving, but to the Church, that of systematically teaching,
the Christian doctrines. [See Dr. Hawkins's excellent little
work on Tradition.J This circumstance seems to me to
afford a powerful evidence of Christianity. That both the
Apostles themselves, and the Elders and other Ministers
immediately appointed and instructed by them, should have
abstsdned from transmitting to us, in writing, any catechism
(such as they must have been in the habit of employing

76 On ihe importance qf studying [essay ii.
The most precious part of this treasure we
have from the pen of the Apostle Paul ; he
orally) — any course of elementary instruction in Christianity,
consisting of a regular series of unquestionable credenda, —
articles of faith duly explained and developed, - — this, which
must appear to any one, on a moment's reflection, something
remarkable, strikes me as literally miraculous. I mean,
that the procedure appears to me dictated by a wisdom more
than human; and, that the Apostles and their immediate
followers must have been supernaturally vrithheld from taking
a course which would naturaUy appear to them the most
expedient. Thus much at least appears to me indubitable ;
that impostors would have taken sedulous care (as Mahomet
did) to set forth a complete course of instructions in their
faith ; and that enthusiasts would never have failed, some of
them at least, to fall into the same plan ; so that an omission
which is, on all human principles, utterly unaccountable,
amounts to a moral demonstration of the divine origin of our
religion. And let it be remembered, that this is not an argument
drawn from the wisdom of such an appointment : it holds
good equally, however little we may perceive the expediency
of the course actually pursued ; for that which cannot have
come from man, must have come from God. If the Apostles
were neither enthusiasts nor impostors, they must have been
inspired ; whether we can understand or not the reasons of
the procedure which the Holy Spirit dictated.
But in this case, attentive consideration may explain to us
those reasons. God's wisdom doubtless designed to guard
us against a danger, which I think no human wisdom would

§ 2.J ihe Writings of the Apostle Paul. 77
being the author of the far greater part of the
Epistles, (about five-sixths of the whole), and
have foreseen, — the danger of indolently assenting to, and
committing to memory, a " form of sound words ; " which
would in a short time have become no more than a form of
words ; — received with passive reverence, and scrupulously
retained in the mind ; leaving no room for doubt,- — furnishing
no call for vigilant investigation,- — affording no stimulus to
the attention, and making no vivid impression on the heart.
It is only when the understanding is kept on the stretch by
the diligent search, — the watchful observation, — the careful
deduction, which the christian Scriptures call forth, by their
oblique, incidental, and irregular mode of conveying the
knowledge of christian doctrines, — it is then only, that the
feelings, and the moral portion of our nature, are kept so
awake as to receive the requisite impression ; and it is thus
accordingly, that Divine Wisdom has provided for our wants,
" curis acuens mortalia corda."
Moreover, a single systematic course of instruction, carry
ing with it divine authority, would have superseded the
framing of any others ; — nay, would have made even the
alteration of a single word, of what would, on this supposition,
have been Scripture, appear an impious presumption : and
yet could not possibly have been well adapted for all the
varieties of station, sex, age, intellectual power, education,
taste, and habits of thought. So that there would have been
an almost ine¦^'itable danger that such an authoritative list of
credenda would have been regarded by a large proportion
of Christians with a blind and unthinking reverence, which
would have exerted no influence on the character ; they would

78 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
also furnishing even a greater variety still of
instruction than in proportion to this amount,
on account of the variety of the times, and
circumstances, and occasions, which produced
thera, and of the persons to whom they were
written : — individuals and entire churches ; Jews
and Gentiles ; converts of his own making, and
strangers to his person ; European and Asiatic ;
sound and zealous Christians, and the negligent
or misguided. The same faith is taught to all ;
the same duties enforced on all; but various
points of faith and of practice are dwelt on in
each, according to the several occasions. This
very thing, however, — the variety of the circum
stances, the temporary and local allusions, and,
in short, the thorough, earnest, business-like
style of his letters, — cannot but increase the
difficulty, in some places, of ascertaining the
writer's meaning; and those who are too in
dolent to give themselves any trouble on the
subject, shelter themselves under the remark
of the Apostle Peter, that the Epistles of Paul
have had " a form of godliness ; but, denying the power
thereof," the form itself would have remained with them only
as the corpse of departed religion. See Essays, First Series.

§ 2.J the Writings qf ihe Apostle Paul. 79
contain " things hard to be understood, which
they that are unlearned wrest to their own
destruction." Unlearned, i. e. not in systems of
human philosophy, but in the truths revealed in
the Bible. No doubt his writings do contain
" things hard to be understood," but that is a
reason why Christians should take the more
pains to understand them, and why those who
are commissioned by the chief Shepherd for
that purpose, should the more diligently explain
them to their flocks.
Nay, but his doctrines, it seems, are not only
difficult, but dangerous also, and, therefore, had
better be kept out of sight, lest the unlearned
should not only fail to understand them, but
should " wrest them to their own destruction."
Then let us throw aside the whole Bible at
once, and invent a safe religion of our own. For
hear but Peter's words : — " which they that are
unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also
the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
So that if this inference is to be drawn at all,
from the danger to the unlearned of wresting
doctrines to their own destruction ; — if to avoid
the danger of misinterpretation, we are to seal

80 On ihe importance of studying [essay ii.
up the book which contains them, the book so
sealed up raust be the Bible.
Dangerous indeed ! yes ; raost good things
are dangerous ; and the more, in proportion to
their excellence ; to those " who are unlearned,
and unstable ;" i. e. who will not learn how to use
thera aright, and who are unstable, — unsteady
in giving their attention to gain right know
ledge, and to apply it in practice. Meat and
drink are dangerous ; for what multitudes fall
a sacrifice to intemperance ! ShaU we then re
solve to perish with famine, and let our children
starve around us, lest we and they should thus
wrest to our destruction the good gifts of God ?
Shall the pastors, who are commissioned to feed
Christ's flock, shut them out frora the principal
pasture designed for their use, lest they should
stray beyond its bounds, or come to some harm
there ? What are Christian ministers appointed
for, but to instruct the people in the Scrip
tures, — to explain to them those Scriptures, —
and to warn them against the errors arising from
the wresting and perverting of God's word ? Ill
would they perforra their office should they
dare to mutilate God's word, by leaving out

§ 2. J the Writings ofthe Apostle Paul. 81
every thing that is " hard to be understood," to
save themselves the trouble of interpreting it ; —
should they seek to preserve their hearers from
the danger attendant on the Gospel truths, by
omitting to " declare to them all the counsel
of God."
And, after all, no such security as is sought
can ever be found; where there is true coin,
there will always be counterfeit in circulation ; —
there is no truth in the world that has not some
error very much resembling it : there is no
virtue but there is a corresponding vice that
apes its appearance : there is no right principle,
in Scripture or any where else, that may not
by the unlearned be " wrested to their own
destruction." Some will do this with the truths
of Scripture, in spite of all our care ; but there
is this difference ; that he who studies and leads
others to study the whole word of God, as his
inspired servants have left it, have at least good
reason to hope, that he and they, may, through
God's Spirit, attain truth vrithout error ; whereas
he who confines himself to a part of the Scrip
tures, and that too, a part which (it is plain
from what has been just said) cannot contain
G

82 On the importance of studying [essay ii.
the whole truth of the Gospel, and who wilfully
disregards the teaching of hira whose " Gospel
was not after man ; neither received of man,
nor taught, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ;"
such an one is sure to be wrong, and to lead
others wrong if they are guided by him : and he
is fully answerable both for his own errors and
for theirs : he makes the experiment at his own
peril; and on his own head must be the in
evitable consequence of rejecting an acknow
ledged revelation of Jesus Christ.
And he must also bear the blame even of the
errors into which others may lead his hearers.
If they chance to listen to some wild antinomian
fanatic, who cites perpetually texts from Paul,
which they have never heard differently ex
plained, how can it be expected that they should
perceive and avoid the error ? They know that
Paul's writings are admitted as canonical and
inspired; and they have not been taught that
his language will bear any other interpretation
than what they hear given ; and the silence of
their own pastor on the subject will have afforded
them a presumption that he can suggest no
other interpretation. And thus the wolf will

§ 2.] the Writings qf the Apostle Paul. 83
scatter and devour the fiock which their shep
herd has forsaken.
It is not, however, on the dangers to be
apprehended from such a procedure, and the
expediency of an opposite course, that I wish
principally to dwell. I would rather advert to
the principles laid down in the preceding Essay,
Supposing we were in any case quite sure '^ that
no fanatical sectaries would arise to take advan
tage of our omission or neglect of this Apostle's
writings, should we then be justified in thus
guarding against apprehended evils by keeping
out of sight the instructions he was commis
sioned by his Master to deliver ? — in taking
such liberties with the Gospel as to modify and
fashion it according to our views, and virtually
to expunge from the record of God's revelations
what we chance to think unnecessary ? Have
we a right, in short, even to entertain the ques
tion concerning expediency, instead of consider
ing simply what is the Truth as declared by
f This is the remark, almost verbatim, of an eminent
divine (now occupying a high station in the church) in a
conversation with the author, on the subject of the present
Essay.
G 2

84 On the importance of studying [essay ii.
divine inspiration, and resolving, at all events,
to follow the truth ?
§ 3. It is necessary to observe, however, that
there is a way of evading the force of all that has
been hitherto urged ; — a plan which certainly
may be, and I fear in some instances has been,
resorted to, for nullifying in effect, without pro
fessing to oppose, every argument that has been
adduced. And it is this : to extol Paul's writings,
and exhort men to the diligent study of them ;
' urging at the same tirae (what no one can deny)
the importance of interpreting them rightly ; and
insisting on a preliminary course of study, without
which no one is even to enter on the perusal of
thera ; and then to make this preparation con
sist in a thorough acquaintance with such a list
of books, as even those professionally devoted to
theological pursuits cannot be expected to master
without the assiduous labour of several years.
No plan could be devised more effectual (were it
generally adopted) for making Paul's epistles a
sealed book to all but about one in ten thousand
of the Christian world. For supposing even all
the Clergy, nay, even all candidates for ordina-

§ 3. J ihe Writings ofthe Apostle Paul. 85
tion, to have gone through this preparatory
course of study, the same could not be ex
pected of the laity, except a small portion of the
educated classes. And the benefits, whatever
they might be, of this preparation, would, after
all, be confined to those few who had gone
through it. They indeed, if they were careful
not even to open these epistles till their minds
were sufficiently biassed by a great mass of
human commentaries and disquisitions, would
doubtless be prepared to understand them very
differently from what they would have done on
another system ; (whether better or worse, is
not now the question) but they would not after
all be qualified to expound this writer to their
flocks, nor authorized to recommend the perusal
of him ; for these would be, by the hypothesis,
unfit to enter on the study of his epistles, or to
comprehend any exposition of them. And if
the principle were consistently followed up, it
would soon be reraarked that the mass of un
learned Christians are not duly prepared for the
thorough comprehension even of the rest of
Scripture ; so that we should speedily arrive at
the very point so earnestly contended for by the

86 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
Romanists against the Reformers ; viz. the in
expediency of putting the Bible into the hands
of the people, and the necessity of leaving them
to be instructed by their pastors in whatever
things these should judge most profitable for
them, and level to their capacities.
If these principles be correct, then, it is false
to say that the Christian Religion was designed,
or at least, is adapted, to be that of the mass of
mankind. Some, who say that it is so, (while
they ridicule the idea of instructing the lower
orders in the Evidences, and in the peculiar
Doctrines of the Gospel,) mean no more than
this ; that it is possible for a clown to practise
honesty, temperance, and other virtues which
Christianity inculcates. But it would be thought
strange to attribute an acquaintance with mecha
nics to savages, and to brutes, on the ground
that they employ the lever, — keep the centre of
gravity in the right situation, and accommodate
their movements to mechanical principles, of
which principles they know nothing. If Chris
tianity were designed for the People, it must
have been designed that their motives should be
Christian faith and Christian hope, and that they

§ 3.J the Writings qf the Apostle Paul. 87
should be able " to give a reason of the hope
that is in them."
Am I then contending, or did the Reformers
mean to contend, that either Paul's epistles, or
the rest of the Scriptures, can be as well under
stood by a clown or a child as by the most
learned theologian ? Surely not. The highest
abilities improved by the most laborious study,
are not more than sufficient for the full com
prehension of the Sacred Books ; but, if on this
ground they are not to be opened by any who
are not sq qualified, who will ever become thus
qualified ? If a number of books be pointed
out, without a knowledge of which the apostolic
epistles cannot be fully understood, it may pro
bably be added with equal truth, that these
books cannot be rightly understood without a
knowledge of those epistles. If we are to begin
at all, we must begin somewhere ; and we must,
of course, begin in imperfection. Else it might
be said, that since veteran soldiers are alone
well fitted to perform their part, therefore none
but veterans should be brought into the field.
The obvious and honest way of proceeding is,
not to postpone altogether the study of any

88 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
part of Scripture till we are qualified for the full
comprehension of it ; which, on such a plan,
we never should be, since our minds would be
pre-occupied with human expositions ; but to
study both the Scriptures, and the best helps
towards their explanation we can obtain, simul
taneously ; at the same time carefully guarding
ourselves against arrogantly supposing that we
do perfectly understand any thing at the first
glance. It is to this arrogant disposition that the
Scriptures are dangerous. " A little learning"
is the utmost that the generality can attain ; —
it is what all must attain before they can arrive
at great learning; — it is the utmost acquisition
of those who know the most, in comparison of
what they do not know. " A little learning"
is then only (and then always) " a dangerous
thing," when we overrate it, and are not aware
of its littleness.
On the sources of some of the principal errors
which have sprung from the misinterpretation of
this Apostle's writings, and the means of guard
ing even ordinary Christians against them, I
propose to offer some more particular remarks
in some of the following Essays.

§ 4.] the Writings of the Apostle Paid. 89
For all that has been here urged I should be
glad to think that there is little occasion. To
offer proofs of the existence of the error in
question, — such proofs as might be offered, is
what could not be done with propriety. Some
of my readers may, perhaps, regard me as com
bating a shadow, from having themselves never
met with that depreciation of Paul's epistles,
which I have been deprecating. I have only to
hope they never may : but I fear that on in
quiry they will find it but too prevalent ; — that
they will even meet with some who have gone
the length of proposing that no part of the
Scriptures should be printed for circulation
among the mass of the people, except the Four
Gospels : on the ground that they contain all
things needful, and that the " things hard to be
understood" in the Epistles would serve only to
perplex and mislead them. A man who gives
utterance to such an opinion, we may be sure,
entertains it ; but how can we be sure that all
those who do not give it utterance are strangers
to it?
§ 4. There is good reason, however, to believe

90 On tlie importance qf studying [essay ii.
that the chief objection to Paul's writings is not
from the things hard to be understood which
they contain, but from the things easy to be
understood ; — the doctrines so plainly taught by
him, that " by grace we are saved," — " that the
wages of sin is death," — " but eternal life is the
gift of God through Jesus Christ;" — that our
most perfect righteousness can never entitle us
to claim reward at the hands of God, nor our
own unaided strength enable us to practise that
righteousness ; but that the raeritorious sacrifice
of Christ is the only foundation of the Christian's
hope, and the aid of his Spirit the only support
of the Christian's virtue. These are doctrines
humbfing to the pride of the human heart, and
unacceptable to the natural man ; and therefore
they are rejected by many, as leading to im
moral life, and as favouring the notion that we
may " continue in sin that grace may abound ;"
though the moral precepts of this very Apostle in
every page, and his enforcement of a conformity
to them, as indispensable to the Christian's
acceptance with God, fly in the face of every
one who dares thus to wrest these Scriptures to
his own destruction.

§4.3 the Writings of ihe Apostle Paul. 91
But the dislike shewn to the Apostle's writings
by those, who on these grounds decry him, is
a proof, if he was inspired, and they uninspired,
not that he is wrong, but that they are. If the
Gospel is against a man, he will be against the
Gospel. And the more any work is depreciated
by those who are resolved to believe only just
what they please, the higher ought its value to
rise in the estimation of those who are willing
to " obey the truth." Now there is no one
of the Sacred Writers whose expressions have
been so tortured, whose authority has been so
much set at nought, as Paul's, by those who
reject many of the most characteristic doctrines
of the Gospel ; which is a plain proof that they
find him a formidable opponent ; ^ and which
should lead those who prize the purity of the
Gospel, to value his writings the more. I am
far from insinuating that the great truths of
Christianity, — the doctrines of the divinity of
our blessed Lord, — of his atoning sacrifice, — and
of salvation through Hira, — rest on this Apostle's
8 The Mahometans, who acknowledge the authority of the
four Gospels, though they pretend the Christians have inter
polated them, hold the name of Paul in detestation.

92 On the importance qf studying [essay ii.
authority alone ; but a presumption is afforded,
by the very hostility shewn towards him by the
opponents of those doctrines, that he is par
ticularly full and clear in enforcing thera, and
that he adds great confirmation to the testimony
in their favour of the other Sacred Writers.
It is perhaps to be wished, accordingly, that
those who, without professing to reject Chris
tianity, have avowedly laboured to disparage this
Apostle, and to represent him as at variance
with his Master, had written with more ability,
and had attracted more notice ; in order that
they might have directed men's attention more
strongly, not only to Paul's claims to a divine
commission, but also to his importance as a
bulwark of the christian faith. And I wish also
that some of them had set forth more strongly
the alleged discrepancy between Paul's doctrines
and those of the discourses of Jesus. This
certainly might have been done ; since (as
was above remarked), though there is nothing
contrary in the one to the other, there is much
that is different, as the nature of the case
required ; the sarae doctrines which were but
obscurely hinted at by the one, being fully

§ 4.J tlie Writings of ihe Apostle Paul. 93
developed, (the fit time being come) and earnestly
dwelt on, by the other. The doctrines which
Jesus preached were suited to the period where
the kingdom of Heaven was only at hand, and
were preparatory to the fuller manifestation of
Gospel-truth which He revealed to the Apostle
Paul when his kingdom was established. The
attention which a powerful opponent would thus
have called to a most important subject, too
often neglected by the advocates of our faith,
and the light which would in consequence have
been thrown on the subject, would have been
no small benefit to the cause of truth. Opposi
tion excites discussion ; and discussion leads to
inquiries which may end in not only bringing
truth to light, but impressing it forcibly on
minds which had been sunk in heedless apathy.
Next, after an able, and full, and interesting
vindication and explanation of Paul's writings,
the sort of work whose appearance ought most
to be hailed, is a plausible attack on them :
which, indeed, is the most hkely to call forth
the other. His labours can never be effectually
frustrated except by being kept out of sight.
Whatever brings him into notice will, ultimately.

94 On ihe importance, 8fc. [essay ii.
bring him into triumph. All the malignity and
the sophistry of his adversaries will not only
assail him in vain, but will lead in the end to
the perfecting of his glory, and the extension
of his Gospel. They may scourge him uncon-
deraned, like the Roman magistrates at Philippi ;
— they may inflict on him the lashes of calumni
ous censure, — but they cannot silence him : they
may thrust hira as it were into a dungeon, and
fetter hira with their strained interpretations; but
his voice will be raised, even at the midnight of
unchristian darkness, and will be heard effectually;
his prison doors will burst open as with an earth
quake, and the fetters will fall from his hands ; and
even strangers to Gospel-truth will fall down at
the feet of him, even Paul, to make that momen
tous inquiry, " What shall I do to be saved ?"
May God " grant (as the prayer of our Church
expresses it) that as the light of the Gospel has
been caused to shine through the preaching of
that blessed Apostle, we, having his wonderful
conversion in remembrance, may shew forth our
thankfulness for the same, by following the holy
doctrines which he taught, through Jesus Christ
our Lord."

ESSAY III.

ON ELECTION.

We learn, from the most undeniable autho
rity, that the writings of the blessed Apostle
Paul contain some " things hard to be under
stood, which they that are unlearned and un
stable wrest, as well as the other Scriptures, to
their own destruction." Now as it is evidently
of the highest importance to guard against such
a danger, so it is not less evident (as has been
formerly remarked) that this is not to be done
by keeping in the back-ground these Epistles,
and withdrawing, or encouraging Christians to
withhold, attention from them; not only because
it is neither wise nor pious to neglect the in
structions of one who " received not his doctrine
from men, but by inspiration of Jesus Christ ;"

96 On Election. [essay hi.
but also, because the very errors in question
will be the more easily propagated by such as
appeal to him in support of them, in proportion
as they are allowed to make this appeal uncon
tradicted ; if, while we admit the divine autho
rity of these works, we leave them chiefly in
the hands of extravagant fanatics, to put their
own interpretation on passages, of which their
hearers shall have been taught no better ex
planation. The christian instruction, in short,
to be derived frora a right interpretation of this
Apostle's works, and the mischief resulting frora
a misinterpretation of thera, furnish, each, a
most powerful reason for the attentive study of
them. I propose, accordingly, to suggest some prin
ciples which should be kept in mind by one who
would rightly understand this portion of Scrip
ture ; principles, the neglect of which has given
occasion to most of the errors into which " the
unlearned and unstable" have fallen.
§ 1. It is evident that, in order to understand
any author thoroughly, it is highly desirable,
if not absolutely necessary, to be acquainted, in

§ 1.] On Election. 97
some degree, with his character; the circum
stances in which he was placed ; and his habitual
modes of thought thence resulting. Nor will this
be sufficient, unless we have something of the
same knowledge respecting the persons to whom
he wrote. And the more remote any work is,
in point of time or of place, from ourselves, the
more diligent attention will be required in the
reader, not only to ascertain these circumstances,
but to keep them steadily and constantly in view.
Many things have an obvious reference to parti
cular persons, times, and places, and cannot
be at all understood without taking these into
consideration. When Moses, for instance, or
the other sacred writers, speak of places " be
yond Jordan," or " on this side of Jordan," every
one perceives the necessity of considering the
local situation of the author; but many other
circumstances, not at all less essential to the
right understanding of what is said, are apt to
escape the notice of one whose attention is not
steadily directed to the application of the prin
ciple laid down.
Now no one is ignorant that Paul was not
only a Jew, but one strictly educated in the
H

98 On Election. [essay hi.
principles of the most learned and most rigid
sect among the Jews-; but this circumstance is
not always practically kept in mind so much as
it ought to be. No one who reads his works
ought to lose sight of it for a moment, but con
stantly to bear in mind what habits of thought
and modes of expression would be natural to a
Jew, and to a Jew of that description.
Inspired, indeed, he was, with the knowledge
of the Gospel ; Jewish errors and prejudices were
corrected in him by the Spirit of Truth ; but we
have no reason to suppose that this inspiration
would go any further than was requisite to qua
lify him for his ministry ; that any thing besides
errors and prejudices would be altered.
If any one should imagine, that because one
and the same Spirit taught one and the same
Gospel to all its appointed Ministers, therefore
every distinction between them was done away,
all traces of individual character necessarily
swallowed up in one common revelation, an at
tentive study of the Sacred Writers will soon
convince him of his mistake. Even of the
Apostles, who were all of them Jews, no two
write precisely alike ; the variations of individual

§ l.J On Election. 99
character are perceptible, even when in national
character they all agree."
The Apostle Paul's writings, then, must be
studied as those of a man, not only acquainted
with the Scriptures of the Old Testament, but
familiar with them from childhood : full of an
early-implanted and habitual reverence for thera ;
and disposed to refer to them for argument and
for illustration, on every possible occasion. He
was likely, in short, to write as a learned and
zealous Jew, in every point except those in
which the teaching of the Spirit led him to cor
rect his former notions. And this divine moni
tor, it should be recollected, was so far from
instructing Christian ministers to keep the Old
Testament out of sight, that there is no point
more strenuously and uniformly insisted on, than
the connexion of the old and new dispensations.
Christianity is invariably represented, not as a
new religion, but as the completion of a scheme
long before begun ; it was plainly meant to be
engrafted, not on natural religion, but on Ju
daism. If this circumstance had been duly
* On this point I have treated more at large in the
Bampton Lectures. Lect. IV. pp. 124 — 128.
h2

100 On Election. [essay hi.
attended to, many of the heresies which have
corrupted our rehgion would have been avoided.
But what were the character and situation of
this Apostle's hearers 9 He was, indeed, more
especially the Apostle of the Gentiles ; but he
appears, wherever he went, to have addressed
himself flrst to his own countrymen ; his natural
feelings of warm attachment and partiality to
wards them, being by no raeans forbidden by his
heavenly Guide, who, on the contrary, designed
that the Jews should have this precedence. The
promises and threats of the Gospel were to be
declared " to the Jew flrst, and also to the
Greek." " It was necessary," says he, " that the
word of God should first have been spoken to
you ; but seeing ye put it from you, lo ! we
turn to the Gentiles." It is probable, indeed,
that the number of Paul's converts among his
own brethren was, in most places, but a small
proportion ; though in some of the churches it
appears, from several circumstances, that their
amount was not inconsiderable ; and in every
church, it is probable that Jews and " devout
Greeks" {i. e. such as had before renounced
idolatry, and acknowledged the divine origin of

§ l.J On Election. 101
the Jewish religion) were to be found among the
members, and among the earliest members. In
those places, however, in which the great ma
jority of the Christian brethren were converted
Gentiles, it might have been supposed that the
Old Testament would have been but little stu
died or thought of: so far however was this
from being the case — so far was Paul from allow
ing the Jewish Scriptures, those Holy Scriptures
which he represents as " able to make us wise
unto salvation," to be depreciated, or the Chris
tian revelation to be regarded as any other than
a completion of the Mosaic, that he seems to
have expected in all his converts, an intimate
acquaintance with the Old Testament ; and to
have earnestly, and not unsuccessfully, incul
cated the necessity of interpreting the one
scheme by the other, as two parts of the same
great whole, and of considering, " whatsoever
things were written afore-time," as " written for
their learning." On the Corinthian Church, for
instance, he impresses this principle as of high
importance ; and though but a small proportion
of them probably were Jews, he evidently im
plies that they were not on that account the

102 On Election. [essay hi.
less interested in all the concerns of the Jewish
Church, whose successor was the Christian : —
" I would not have you ignorant," says he, " how
that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all
passed through the sea ; and were all baptized
unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea 
But with many of them God was not well
pleased ; for they were overthrown in the wil
derness." And after touching on several points
in the history of the Church of Israel, he assures
the Corinthians that " these things happened
unto them for ensamples ; and they are written
for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
world are come ;" i. e. who live under the last
dispensation of God ; which is not, like the
Mosaic, to be succeeded by any other, but will
last to the end of the world.
The passage just mentioned is only one out
of many in which the Apostle adverts to the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, as of high
importance to be studied by Christians. And
the frequent allusions he makes to thera a.s fami
liar to his hearers, and of acknowledged value in
their eyes, convey his judgment on the subject
far more strongly than so many direct admo-

§ l.J On Election. 103
nitions on the subject ; they indicate what was
the early, the habitual, and the universal mode
of instruction employed by himself and all the
Christian teachers. No Christian, therefore, who
would copy the pattern of the divine teacher,
will leave the Old Testament out of sight; but
will learn from him that the former dispensation
must be carefully attended to by one who would
rightly understand the Gospel. And attention
to the same pattern may also serve to guard us
against another error, in some respects the oppo
site of that just alluded to ; the confounding
together of the two systems in one confused
medley, and blending the Law which had " a
shadow of good things to come," with the Gospel,
which is the fulfilment of it : an error not un-
coramon with those who unthinkingly study the
Bible as one book, without taking pains to dis
criminate the several parts of the great scheme
of Providence it relates to. The two dispen
sations correspond in almost every point, but
coincide in very few. Like the Flower and the
Fruit of any plant, the one is a preparation for
the other ; and each of its parts bears some
relation to the other, though they have but a

104 On Election. [essay hi.
very faint resemblance ; the parts which are the
most prominent and striking in each, respec
tively, being least so in the other ; so that if any
one were to give a representation in which the
parts of the blossom and of the perfect fruit
were confusedly combined and intermingled, it
would be an unnatural anomaly, very unlike
either the one or the other. The example of
the Apostle's teaching furnishes, as I have said,
a safeguard against this error ; he all along re
presents the Law as connected with the Gospel,
as the shadow with the substance ; — as " our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ ;" and the
condition of the Israelites as analogous to that
of Christians, but in many points dissimilar.
In several instances indeed, this correspond
ence and this difference are pretty generally
perceived and acknowledged. That the paschal
lamb, for instance, and the other Jewish sacri
fices, were typical of the atoning sacrifice of the
true Lamb of God, — the sin-offerings and other
outward rites of purification having the same
relation to ceremonial offences, and external
legal justification from them, that the offering of
our Lord has, to the wiping away of moral guilt.

§ l.J On Election. 105
and the inward sanctification of the heart, —
this is a point on which few professed Christians
are ignorant or doubtful ; the correspondence,
and, at the same time, dissimilarity, having been
explicitly stated, in the Epistle to the Hebrews :
" if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes
of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh ; how much more
shall the blood of Christ, who, through the
eternal Spirit, offered Hiraself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God ?" That the promised
land of Canaan, again, the place of rest to which
Jesus (Joshua) conducted the Israelites, is a
type of the heavenly rest to which our Jesus is
ready to lead his followers, is understood and
admitted by most Christians. That the sanction
of extraordinary temporal blessings and judg
ments, both national and individual, under which
the Jews lived, is withdrawn, and succeeded by
" the bringing in of a better hope " than that of
the Law, is a truth not so well understood by
many Christians ; there is a leaning in the minds
of not a few, to an expectation of that inevitable
vengeance in this world on the wicked, which

106 On Election. [essay hi.
was denounced under the Mosaic law ; and of
that temporal prosperity, as the reward of obe
dience, which forms no part of the promises of
a religion whose Founder was crucified, and
whose Apostles were, " if in this life only they
had hope in Christ, of all men most miserable."
The better-instructed part, however, of the
Christian world perceive the distinction in this
point between the old and the new dispensa
tions ; and understand that the promises and
threats of the one are applicable, figuratively
only, to the other ; the rewards and punishments
of a future life being substituted for those of the
present. There are many other points, how
ever, which are frequently overlooked, in which
the correspondence between the two systems is
such as to make the former a most useful inter
preter of the latter : and when we consider what
a familiar acquaintance with the Law, and with
the history of the Jews, Paul had himself, and
expected in his hearers, we cannot doubt that
this interpreter must be perpetually consulted, if
we would rightly understand his epistles.
§ 2. One only of the cases to which this

§ 2.J On Election. 107
principle may be applied will be noticed in the
present Essay. A question, which is one of the
most momentous ever agitated among Christians,
may be, I think, completely set at rest by such a
mode of consulting the Old Testament as has
been recommended. The question I allude to,
is that relating to such as are called by this
Apostle and by the rest, the " Elect " or " chosen
people " of God, " called, out of the world, to
be Saints," and inheritors of eternal life, by
God's favour (or grace) through Christ. It is
known that differences of no trifiing moment
exist among Christians in their opinions on this
subject. Some maintain, as is well known, that
there are among the rhembers of Christ's visible
Church, two classes of persons, the Elect and
the Non-elect, who are both fixed upon arbi
trarily by God's eternal, immutable, unconditional
decree; — that those who are the Elect, the
" called to be Saints," are regenerate, and made
sons of God by his Spirit, — are justified in his
sight through the merits of Christ, — are sancti
fied and led in the paths of Christian hohness by
the influence of divine grace, and are infallibly
conducted to eternal happiness in heaven : and

108 On Election. [essay iii.
that others on the contrary, i. e. all others,
though baptized into the faith, and though they
have heard the offers of the Gospel, are never
theless non-elect, passed by, and rejected by
God ; and consequently, are no less certainly
doomed to everlasting perdition.
This account of the Gospel-scheme is utterly
displeasing to others ; who maintain that the
election in question is not arbitrary, but has
respect to men's foreseen faith and obedience ; "
* " Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God,'' is an
expression sometimes appealed to in support of this view, but
(as will plainly appear to any one who studies the context)
not correctly. The Apostle's design in employing it will be ¦
found, on attentive inquiry, to be this : it was a stumbling-
block to the Jews, even to those who acknowledged Jesus as
the Messiah, that the Gentiles should be admitted to equal
privileges with themselves : the Israelites, they pleaded, had
been declared to be God's peculiar and highly -favoured people ;
was it to be supposed that He would alter his plans ? No,
said Paul ; there is no change in his plans ; but He all along
designed (and he cites the prophets to prove his assertion) to
admit, at a future time, such of the Gentiles as would hear his
call, into the number of his people : this, indeed, was formerly
a secret, not understood by our forefathers, and now for the
first time " made manifest" to men; but the design always
existed " that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs ; " the
mystery {i. e. the doctrine first hidden, and afterwards re-

§ 2. J On Election. 109
i. e. that God decrees to elect such as He fore
sees will be obedient to his commands, and
passes by those whose disobedience he foresees.
No candid and well informed student of Scrip
ture, can, I think, deny, that arguraents in sup
port of each of these opposite doctrines have
been alleged, which have at least sorae degree
of plausibility at first sight.
In support of the latter system, are urged the
declarations in Scripture that " Christ died for
all," that " He willeth all men to be saved," &c.
as well as the general tenour of the Gospel offers
of salvation, which seem to leave all that heard
them at full liberty to accept or reject them.
On the other hand, the expressions of Paul espe
cially are urged, where he speaks of men as
" clay in the hands ofthe potter," who has power
to make " of the same lump, vessels to honour,
and to dishonour " (j. e. to humbler and meaner
uses) ; and who speaks of the call to salvation as
originating entirely in the free bounty of God,
vealed ; which is the usual sense of the word mystery) of
their election, was, of course, always known to God himself,
though but lately revealed to us : they are " Elect according
to ftie foreknowledge of God."

110 On Election. [essay hi.
without reference to good works of ours either
previous or subsequent : God hath chosen us,
says Calvin, " non quia eramus, sed ut essemus
sancti," — not because we were, nor because He
foresaw that we should be, but (according to
Paul) in order that we might be hol}?^ in all good
works. It would be tedious and unnecessary to cite
all the texts that have been appealed to by both
parties on this question, and the arguraents
grounded on them. Suffice it to observe, that
they are generally opposed by other arguments
and other texts ; and that each party has gene
rally succeeded better in this, than in refuting
and explaining those adduced by their oppo
nents. In particular, the explanations given by
the opponents of the Calvinistic scheme, of the
passages urged in favour of it, appear to sorae
even of themselves, (I will not say unsatisfactory,
but) so far incapable of being satisfactorily laid
before the mass of ordinary Christians, that they
are often disposed to apprehend danger from the
study of Paul's epistles, and rather to draw the
attention of their fiocks to other parts of Scrip
ture in preference.

§ 2.j On Election. Ill
I cannot but think that an attentive examina
tion of the Old Testament will go far towards
furnishing a key to the true meaning of Paul's
and the other Apostolic epistles ; and will furnish
an answer, not only satisfactory, but capable of
being made clear to the unlearned, of the three
great questions on which the whole discussion
turns; viz. 1st, Whether the divine election is
arbitrary, or has respect toymen's foreseen con
duct ; 2dly, Who are to be regarded as the
Elect ; and, 3dly, In what does that Election
consist ?
In treating of these questions, it should be
premised that I design, in the first instance, to
look exclusively to the testimony of Scripture ;
waiving wholly, at present, the abstract questions
respecting Fate and Free-will, which belong
more properly to the province of natural-reli
gion, or of metaphysics ; and also, that my
examination of Scripture will be confined to the
light thrown generally on the Gospel-scheme
by the books of Moses. The Christian Church
being confessedly the successor of the Jewish,
and the Christian dispensation, of the Mosaic,
nothing can be more reasonable than to aid our

112 On Election. [essay hi.
judgment respecting the one by contemplating
the other.
§ 3. Now, with respect to the first question
before us, were the Israelites, who were evidently
God's Called, Elect, or Chosen, Holy and Pecu
liar people, were they, I say, thus chosen, arbi
trarily, or not ? This question seems to admit
of a speedy and complete decision. Moses
clearly and repeatedly states that this selection
of them was arbitrary. He often reminds thera
that they were not thus singled out from the
midst of other nations for their own righteous
ness, since they were a stiff-necked people, but
of God's free goodness, "who will have mercy
on whom He will have mercy, and will be
gracious to whom He will be gracious ;" and
" because He had a favour unto them." And
with respect to their fathers, though Abraham
indeed was tried, and found faithful and obedient,
there was certainly an arbitrary choice made
of Jacob in preference to his elder brother Esau ;
which, indeed, is one of the cases referred to by
the Apostle, who reraarks, that, " while the
children were yet in the womb, and had done

§ 3. J On Election. 113
neither good nor evil," it was declared by the
oracle of God, that " the elder should serve the
younger." Nor again (it should be observed)
could that selection of the children of Jacob
have been decreed with reference to their fore
seen faith and obedience ; since we know how
eminently deficient they were in those qualifi
cations ; stubborn and rebellious, — continually
falling into idolatry and other sins, — forgetting
what great things God had wrought for them,
and undervaluing their high privilege.
The divine election then under the old dis
pensation was, it is manifest, entirely arbitrary ;
but, in the second place, who were the objects
of it ? Evidently, the whole nation without any
exception. They were all brought out of Egypt
by a mighty hand, and miraculously delivered
from their enemies, and received the divine
commandments through Moses, who uniformly
addressed them, — not sorae, but all, — as God's
chosen, holy, and peculiar people.
But, lastly, what was the nature of this elec
tion of the Israelites ? To what were they thus
chosen by their Almighty Ruler? Were they
elected absolutely and infallibly to enter the

114 On Election. [essay hi.
promised land, and to triumph over their ene
mies, and to live in security, wealth, and en
joyment? Manifestly not. They were elected
to the privilege of having these blessings placed
within their reach, on the condition of their
obeying the law which God had given them ;
but those who refused this obedience, were not
only excluded from the promised blessings, but
were the objects of God's especial judgments,
far beyond those inflicted on the heathen na
tions, who had not been so highly favoured ;
whose idolatry and wickedness was, generally
speaking, far less uniformly and severely visited:
" With a mighty hand, and with a stretched-
out arm, and with fury poured out will I rule
over you," was the threat denounced against
the disobedient Israelites ; of the fulfilment of
which, numerous instances are recorded in
Scripture ; and one most striking one is before
our eyes ; the forlorn and ruined condition, as
a nation,'' at the present day, of those who
rejected the long-promised Messiah, and invoked
his blood upon " themselves and on their chil-
" I have enlarged on this subject in a discourse on " Na
tional Blessings and Judgments."

§ 3.J On Election. 115
dren." Still, however, whether obedient or re
bellious, they were all of them the peculiar and
elect people of God; because on all of them,—
on every individual without exception, — of that
people, the privileges were bestowed ; and to
every one of thera the offer made, of God's
especial blessing and protection, on condition of
their conforming to the commands He had con
descended to give them. But whether they
would thus conform or not, was all along stu
diously represented by Moses as a matter en
tirely dependent on themselves ; " Behold," says
he, " I have set before you this day good and
evil, blessing and cursing ; now, therefore, choose
blessing." The election then of the Jews was arbi
trary indeed ; but it was an election, not to
blessing, absolutely, but to a privilege and
advantage ; — to the offer and opportunity of ob
taining a peculiar blessing, such as was not placed
within the reach of other nations. Whether they
would accept the offer, or draw down God's curse
on them by their disobedience, rested with them
selves. And that they were left at liberty to
pursue this latter course is plain, from this most
i2

116 On Election. [essay hi.
remarkable circumstance; that of all the adult
individuals of thera who came out of Egypt, and
heard the law delivered from Mount Sinai, two
only reached the promised land. Of the rest,
the whole generation were cut off in the wilder
ness for their disobedience.
Now to apply these observations to the Gospel-
dispensation : it is plain, as has been said, that
the Christian church stands in the place of the
Jewish ; — that it succeeds it in the divine favour,
and enjoys, not the same indeed, but correspond
ing benefits and privileges ; it is reasonable,
therefore, to suppose, that since both dispensa
tions are parts of the one plan of the one heavenly
Author, those benefits and privileges should be
bestowed according to a similar system in each.
The Christian religion, however, is not, like the
Jewish, confined to one nation, nor the Christian
worship to owe place, like the temple at Jerusalem :
the Church of Christ is open to all to whom the
Gospel has been announced, and comprehends
all who acknowledge it : the invitations of that
Gospel are general ; all members of that Church
are "Called and Elected" by God, and are as
truly his people, and under his especial govern-

§ 3.J On Election. 117
ment, as the Israelites ever were. And though
they do not consist of any one nation in particular,
they are arbitrarily selected and called to this
privilege, out of the rest of the world, and in
contradistinction from their unenlightened an
cestors, according to God's unsearchable will, for
reasons known to Him alone, no less than the
Israelites were of old. Some nations, we know,
had the Gospel preached to them long before
others : the Apostles were directed by the Holy
Ghost what countries they should first visit and
enlighten by their ministry ; and many there are,
that remain in ignorance of Christianity to this
day. We can give no account of this distinction,
but that such is God's pleasure. No reason can
be assigned why we ourselves, for instance, in
this country, should have received the light of
the Gospel, while many other regions of the
earth remain in the darkness of idolatry. The
Calling and selection of us and of other Chris
tians to the knowledge of the true God, seems
as arbitrary as that of the Israelites. And as
this promise belonged not to some only, but to
every one, of that nation, whether he chose to
avail himself of it, or to convert it into a heavy

118 On Election. [essay iii.
curse by his neglect of it ; so we may conclude
that every Christian is called and elected to the
Christian privileges, just as every Jew was to
his ; but that it rests with us to use or abuse
the advantage. The Jews were not chosen to
enjoy God's favour and to enter into the promised
land, absolutely ; but to have the offer of that
favour, and the promise of that land, on con
dition of their obedience ; and as many as were
rebellious, perished in the wilderness. So also,
we may conclude, no Christian is elected to
eternal salvation, absolutely ; but only to the
knowledge of the Gospel, — to the privileges of
the Christian Church, — to the offer of God's
Holy Spirit — and to the promise of final sal
vation, on condition of being a faithful follower
of Christ.
Such, I say, we might antecedently conjecture,
must be the right interpretation of the Apostle's
language, considering how constantly and how
clearly all the circumstances of the old dispen
sation must be supposed to have been before
his mind. But in the instance now before us
we are not left to conjecture : he himself draws
the parallel for us, and strongly directs our

§ 3.J On Election. 119
attention to it ; reminding us, in the most
distinct manner, of the principles by which we
are to be guided in our examination of the
Gospel-scheme. He not only always addresses
his converts (the very persons whom he all
along congratulates as the Called, and Favoured,
and Elect of God) as if it depended on them
selves to avail themselves, or not, of these
offers, — to " lay hold on eternal life," or to
forfeit it by their own neglect, — but he also
warns them, from the very example of the
Israelites, against the error of misunderstanding
what it was to which they were elected. For
some of them, it is probable, having been always
addressed as the " Chosen" of God, were dis
posed to indulge in careless security, relying on
their baptismal privileges, and confident of final
salvation independent of such exertions as can
alone justify that confidence ; even as the Jews
" thought to say within themselves, we are
Abraham's children." The Apostle, accordingly,
himself expressly points out the correspondence
between their case and that of the children of
Israel; exhorting them to take warning from
the backslidings and punishment of their

120 On Election. [essay ih.
predecessors, God's favoured people of old. He
observes to the Corinthians, first, that it was
not a part only, but the whole of the Israelites
who were thus favoured : " all our fathers were
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud
and in the sea." But, notwithstanding this, (as
he proceeds to point out) " with many of them
God was not well-pleased ; for they were over
thrown in the wilderness. Now these things
were our examples, to the intent we should not
lust after evil things as they also lusted ; neither
be ye idolaters, as were some of them ; ....
neither let us commit fornication, as some of
them committed, and fell in one day three-and-
twenty thousand ; neither let us tempt Christ, as
some of them also tempted, and were destroyed
of serpents ; neither murmur ye, as some of
them also murmured, and were destroyed of
the destroyer. Now all these things (he adds)
happened unto them for ensamples : and they
are written for our admonition, upon whom
the ends of the world are come ;" and thence he
deduces the great general conclusion, " Where
fore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take

§ 3. J On Election. 121
heed lest he fall." Let not the Christian, that
is, though he is one of God's peculiar and
favoured people, as the Israelites were of old,
flatter himself that he is chosen, any more than
they were, to the absolute attainment of a final
blessing, but only to the offer of it, together
with the privileges and advantages which will
enable him to attain it : let him not doubt that
the option is left to him, as it was to thera, of
securing or forfeiting his ultimate reward : let
him learn from the example of the Israelites,
that neither his promised inheritance is infallibly
secured to him without obedience, nor he himself
absolutely secured in the requisite obedience,
without any watchfulness on his part ; since the
far greater portion of those whora God brought
out of Egypt never reached the promised land.*^
It is worth remembering, that the system just
described is the same with that pursued in the
ordinary course of God's providence also : a
man's being born, for instance, heir to great
3 " I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye
once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people
out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that
believed not." — Jude 5.

122 On Election. [essay hi.
wealth, — to high rank, — or to a kingdom, — of
a healthy constitution, — or of superior abilities,
does not depend on himself ; but it does depend
on himself whether such advantages as these
shall prove a blessing to him, by his making
a right use of them, or shall aggravate his
condemnation, through his ill-employment or
neglect of thera.
He then who diligently looks to the analogy
both of God's ordinary dealings with man, and
of his former dispensation to the Jews, and who
carefully interprets the New Testament by the
Old, will be enabled, I think, to clear up the
greater part of a difficulty which has furnished
matter of dispute among Christians for many
centuries. By contemplating the correspondence
between the Jewish and the Gospel-schemes, he
will clearly perceive that there is no such dis
tinction among Christians as the "Called" and
the uncalled, — the " Elect" and the non-elect; —
that the Gospel itself is a call to all who have
heard it ; and that those who, instead of obey
ing it, wait for any further call, are deluded by
the father of lies, who is watching for their
destruction. — He will perceive, that though all

§ 3. J On Election. 123
born in a Christian country, and initiated into
Christ's Church, are arbitrarily elected to this
invaluable privilege, their salvation is not arbi
trary, but will depend on the use they make
of their privileges ; those, namely, to which all
Christians are called, — the knowledge of the
Gospel, the aids of the Holy Spirit, and the
offer of eternal life ; privileges of which all are
exhorted, but none corapelled, to make a right
use ; and which will prove ultimately either a
blessing or a curse to each, according to the use
he makes of them.
When it is contended, however, that the term
" Elect," or that any other scriptural expression,
is to be interpreted in this or in that sense, this
must be understood, in reference to the parti
cular passages in question, or to the generality;
— not, as implying that no other sense is any
where admissible, and that if the explanation
given be correct, it must hold good in every
passage where the word occurs. For instance,
when the Apostles address their converts uni
versally as the " Elect," or " Chosen" of God,
(even as the whole nation of Israel were of old
his Chosen) this raust be understood of their

124 On Election. [essay hi.
being chosen out of the whole mass of the
Gentiles, to certain peculiar privileges, unknown
to successive generations of their ancestors, but
of which they were called and invited to avail
themselves. But our Lord applies the word
differently in the parables of the labourers of
the vineyard, and of the marriage-feast. The
wedding. He tells us, was furnished with guests
by an indiscriminate collection of all that could
be found in the highways ; but the guest who
refused to put on the wedding garment, was
" cast into the outer-darkness ;" " for many," he
adds, " are called, but few chosen ;" many, that
is, are " called" to the enjoyment of high privi
leges, but few make such a use of the advantage
as to be finally " chosen ;" not, in this instance,
(as the word is more commonly employed)
¦chosen to a privilege merely, but to ultimate
reward ; — chosen as having rightly availed them
selves of that privilege ; — selected from among
the faithless and disobedient to " enter into the
joy of their Lord." Not that in these cases the
word " chosen" is used in different meanings,
but that its application is different ; both parties
are, in the same sense, " chosen ;" but the things

§ 3.] On Election. 125
to which they are chosen are different ; and there
is a corresponding difference in the principles on
which the choice is conducted.^
There is, indeed, no more fruitful source of
error in this, and in many other points, than the
practice of interpreting Scripture on the prin
ciples of a scientific system, and endeavouring
to make out, as in mathematics, a complete
technical vocabulary, with precise definitions of
all the terms employed, such as may be applied
in every case where they occur.^ Nothing, mani
festly, was further from the design of the Sacred
Writers, than to frame any such system : their
writings were popular, not scientific ; they ex
pressed their meaning, on each occasion, in the
terms which, on each occasion, suggested them
selves as best fitted to convey it ; and he who
would interpret rightly each of these terras, must
interpret it in each passage according to the
context of the place where it is found. And
wherever the term " Elect" relates (as it does
in most instances) to an arbitrary, irrespective,
unconditional decree, it will, I think, be found
" See " Elements of Logic.'' Fallacies, Ch. iii. § 10.
f See Essay VI. § 4. and VII. § 2.

126 On Election. [essay hi
invariably to bear the sense in which I have
explained it.
That a doctrine, therefore, so opposite to the
one here laid down, should have been deduced
from the Scriptures by many ingenious and dih-
gent students of them, one can hardly avoid
attributing, in some degree, to their entering on
the study with a strong antecedent bias in favour
of the conclusion they draw ; in consequence of
their regarding it as a truth abstractedly de-
raonstrable by reason. But for such a bias, we
should hardly find so many passages of Scripture
interpreted so hastily, and often so much wrested
from their obvious sense, to make them afford
confirmation of the favourite hypothesis.
For instance, the scriptural similitude of the
Potter and the Clay is often triumphantly
appealed to, as a proof that God has from eter
nity decreed, and, what is more, has revealed to
us that He has so decreed, the salvation or per
dition of each individual, without any other
reason assigned than that such is his will and
pleasure. " We are in his hands," say these
predestinarians, " as clay in the potter's, who
hath power, of the same lump, to make one

§ 3.J On Election. 127
vessel to honour and another to dishonour ;"
not observing, in their hasty eagerness to seize
on every apparent confirmation of their systera,
that this similitude, as far as it goes, rather
makes against them ; since the potter never
makes any vessel for the express purpose of being
broken and destroyed. This comparison accord
ingly agrees much better with the view here
taken : the potter, according to his own arbitrary
choice, makes " of the same lump, one vessel to
honour and another to dishonour ;" i. e. some to
nobler, and some to meaner uses ; but all, for
some use ; none with design that it should be
cast away, and dashed to pieces : even so, the
Almighty, of his own arbitrary choice, causes
some to be born to wealth or rank, others to
poverty and obscurity ; — some in a heathen, and
others in a Christian country; the advantages
and privileges bestowed on each, are various,
and, as far as we can see, arbitrarily dispensed ;
the final rewards or punishments depend, as we
are plainly taught, on the use or abuse of those
advantages. Wealth and power, and christian
knowledge, and all other advantages, may
be made either a blessing or a curse to the

128 On Election. [essay hi.
possessor; since they plainly answer to the talents
in our Lord's parable : why one servant had five
talents intrusted to him, another two, and an
other one, — in what consisted " their several
abilities," — we are not told ; though we are clearly
taught that the distribution was not made on the
ground of the fore-seen use they would make of
the talents ; else, he who received the one, and
kept it laid up in a napkin, would not have been
intrusted with any. But we are plainly told on
what principles all these servants were ultimately
judged by their Master ; those who had received
the five, and the two talents, were rewarded, not
frora arbitrary choice, but because they had
rightly eraployed the deposit ; and the unprofit
able servant was punished, not because he had
received only one, but because he had let it
lie idle.
The " hardening of Pharaoh's heart " again,
which is mentioned in Scripture, is often tri
umphantly appealed to, as a recorded instance
in which (according to the hasty interpretation
soraetimes adopted) God made the King of
Egypt, what we call hard-hearted ; that is, cruel
and remorseless ; on purpose to display his

§ 3. J On Election. 129
almighty power upon him : whereas a very mo
derate attention to the context ys^ould plainly
evince that this (whether true or false) is very
far from being revealed in Scripture ; but, that on
the contrary, the hardening (or as some trans
late, the strengthening) of Pharaoh's heart,^ must
mean a judicial blindness of intellect as to his
own interest, and a vain and absurd self-confi
dence, which induced him to hold out against
Omnipotence. For it is remarkable that the
cruelties he had practised, had all of them taken
place before any mention is made of God's har
dening his heart. The tyrant who had subjected
to grievous slavery and attempted to extirpate
the Israelites, could scarcely, after that, be made
cruel ; but the most unrelenting miscreant would
have let them go, through mere selfish prudence,
had he not been supernaturally infatuated, when
he saw that they were " a snare unto him," and
e The "heart" is continually employed by the Sacred
Writers to denote the understanding ; as when our Lord is said
to " upbraid the disciples for their unbelief and hardness-of-
heart," &c. They never, I believe, employ aKXripoKapUa, to
signify cruelty. The same appears to have been anciently the
usage of our own language also ; of which we retain a rem
nant, in the expression of " leaming any thing by heart,"
K

130 On Election. [essay hi.
that " Egypt was destroyed " through the mighty
plagues inflicted on their account.''
To sum up, then, in a single sentence, the
error which appears to me to have originated
from a neglect of the lesson which the Old Tes
tament may supply : the doctrine that final
salvation is represented in Scripture as resting
solely on the arbitrary appointment of God, is
deduced frora two preraises ; 1st, that Election
infallibly implies salvation ; and, 2dly, that Elec
tion is entirely arbitrary ; whence it follows,
certainly, that final salvation is arbitrary. Now
^ I have been informed that some of the hearers of the
discourse of which this Essay contains the substance, under
stood the foregoing argument to be merely a repetition of
Bishop Sumner's, in his valuable work on " Apostolical
Preaching." Such a misapprehension is, I trust, less likely to
take place in the closet ; but to guard against the possibility
of it, it may be worth while here to remark, that though I
coincide vidth Bishop S. in his conclusion, the arguments by
which we, respectively, arrive at it, are different. The dis
tinction which he dwells on, is that, between national, and
individual election ; that on which I have insisted, is, the
distinction between election to certain privileges, and to final
reward; he, in short, considers principally the parties chosen;
whether Bodies of men, or particular persons : I, the things to
which they are chosen; whether' to a blessing, absolutely, or
to the offer of one, conditionally.

§ 4.J On Election. 131
many of the opponents of this conclusion are
accustomed to deny the true premise, and admit
the false one ; acknowledging that Election
necessarily implies ultimate salvation, but con
tending that it is not arbitrary, but depends on
foreseen faith and obedience ; a position which
gives their opponents a decided advantage over
them, and which the analogy of the old dispen
sation td the new may convince us is untenable ;
whereas, in denying that Election does neces
sarily iraply salvation they would find the whole
analogy of the Old Testament, and the general
tenour of the Apostle Paul's admonitions, so
completely in their favour, that the offensive
conclusions would be, as far as Scripture testi
mony goes, irrecoverably overthrown : and it
would be seen that the abstract metaphysical
questions respecting Fate and Free-will, are left
by the Bible exactly where it finds them, un
decided and untouched.
§ 4. Without entering at large on the meta
physical questions just alluded to, one remark
respecting them will not be irrelevant, as it
may throw light on the subject more particu-
k2

132 On Election. [essay hi.
larly before us. I mean that the difficulty and
confusion in which such questions have been
involved, have, in a great degree, arisen frora
inattention to the ambiguity of one particular
class of words — "possible"' and "impossible,"
" necessary," " certain," "contingent," and many
others of corresponding significations to these ;
which have, by their undetected ambiguity, be
wildered in a maze of fruitless logomachy most
of those who have treated of the subject. " Cer
tainty," for instance, and "uncertainty," which
in the primary sense, denote the state of our
own mind, have thence been transferred to the
facts and events respecting which we are certain
or uncertain, and ultimately, have come to be
considered as indicating an intrinsic quahty in
the events themselves, and not merely the re
lation in which they stand to our knowledge
or ignorance of them ; and " necessity," as well
as other words allied to it, whose signification
sometimes refers to coercion, or absence oi power,
sometimes again merely to undoubting and
' See " Logic," Appendix, article " Possible." See also
Appendix, No. I. to Archbp. King's Discourse on Predesti
nation.

§ 4.J On Election. 133
complete knowledge, have led to endless fallacies
and perplexities, when this distinction has been
overlooked. Thus, the " necessity " (i. e. the
absence of freedom) of human actions, has by
many been inferred from God's certain fore
knowledge of them. And to this it is not, I
think, altogether a satisfactory reply (which is
often made), that the divine prescience does
not fetter or control men's actions, nor in any
way operate upon them, any more than our
knowledge of any fact is the cause of its being
such ; for though this is undeniably true, it
hardly meets the difficulty ; since it is not meant,
I apprehend, that the divine foreknowledge
makes actions necessary, but that it implies that
they are so ; just as any one's seeing some
object before him, implies the real present ex
istence of that object ; though no one supposes
that his seeing it is, in any respect, the cause
of its existence. But the chief source of this
perplexity is the equivocal employment of the
word " necessity ;" which, in one sense, relates
to knowledge alone, and, therefore, is, of course,
implied by prescience ; but in another sense,
relates to compulsion, or want of power, which

134 On Election. [essay hi.
prescience does by no means imply."" When
we speak, for instance, of the "necessity" of
mathematical truths, we mean merely that they
admit of no doubt. And again, when we say
that a raan pining in captivity cannot but eagerly
embrace the offer of freedom, and restoration to
his country, we mean not that he is thus placed
under compulsion, but that we are well-assured
and have no doubt he will do so. On the other
hand, when we say that, while in captivity, he
cannot but submit to the will of his ra aster, we
mean that he wants power to resist, and liberty
to escape ; and when we speak of the necessity
of death, we raean that mortals are unable to
avoid it. If this distinction had been duly at
tended to, it would hardly, I think, have been
contended that that necessity of our actions,
which the divine prescience implies, is at all
incompatible with our freedom and power to act
otherwise. Whether our conduct be, in fact,
under any restraint or not, at least no restraint
is implied by the mere foreknowledge of it.
Let it be supposed (and the case is at least
conceivable) that you were fully and accurately
^ See Tucker's Light of Nature, Chap. 26.

§ 4. J On Election. 135
acquainted with all the inclinations of some man
who was left at perfect liberty to follow them ;
you could then as distinctly know and as ex
actly describe his future conduct, as any past
event ; and the very ground of your thus fore
seeing and foretelling it would be, not his being
under restraint, but his entire freedom from
it ; for the knowledge of his inclination, if he
were not free to follow it, would not enable you
to foresee the event.
The divine foreknowledge, again, of " con
tingent" or "uncertain" events, would not have
been raade a matter of such mysterious difficulty,
if it had been remembered that the sarae thing
may be contingent and uncertain to one person,
which is not. so to another ; since those terms
denote no quality in the events theraselves, any
more than the terms " visible " and " invisible "
when applied to eclipses ; inasmuch as that
which is visible in one part of the world is in
visible in another. For the same event may, in
like manner, be both a contingency and a cer
tainty ; though not to the same person. Any
event, for instance, which occurred yesterday in
some distant part of the world, is, to us, uncer-

136 On Election. [essay hi.
tain and contingent ; and one who calculates on
its having taken place in this way or that, would
be said to run the risk of fortune ; though to
those on the spot there is no contingency in the
case. Before I dismiss the consideration of this
subject, I would suggest one caution relative to
a class of objections frequently urged against the
Calvinistic scheme — those drawn frora the con
clusions of what is called natural religion, re
specting the moral attributes of the Deity ;
which, it is contended, rendered the reprobation
of a large portion of mankind an absolute impos
sibility. That such objections do reduce the
predestinarian to a great strait, is undeniable ;
and not seldom are they urged with exulting
scorn, with bitter invective, and almost with
anathema. But we should be very cautious
how we employ such weapons as may recoil
upon ourselves. Arguments of this description
have often been adduced, such as, I fear, will
crush beneath the ruins of the hostile structure
the blind assailaint who has overthrown it. It
is a frightful, but an undeniable truth, that mul
titudes, even in christian countries, are born and

§ 4.J On Election. 137
brought up under such circumstances as afford
them no probable, often no possible, chance of
obtaining a knowledge of religious truths, or a
habit of moral conduct, but are even trained from
infancy in superstitious error and gross depravity.
Why this should be permitted, neither Calvinist
nor Arrainian can explain; nay, why the Al
mighty does not cause to die in the cradle every
infant whose future wickedness and misery, if
suffered to grow up. He foresees, is what no
system of religion, natural or revealed, will
enable us satisfactorily to account for.
In truth, these are merely branches of the
one great difficulty, the existence of evil, which
may almost be called the only difficulty in theo
logy. It assumes indeed various shapes; — it is,
by many, hardly recognized as a difficulty ; and
not a few have professed and believed themselves
to have solved it ; but it still raeets them, though
in some new and disguised form, at every turn ;
like a resistless stream, which, when one chan
nel is dammed up, immediately forces its way
through another. And as the difficulty is one
not peculiar to any one hypothesis, but bears
equally on all alike, whether of revealed or of

138 On Election. [essay hi.
natural religion, it is better in point of prudence
as well as of fairness, that the consequences of
it should not. be pressed as an objection against
any. The Scriptures do not pretend (as some
have rashly imagined) to clear up this awfid
mystery : they give us no explanation of the
original cause of the evil that exists ; but they
teach us how to avoid its effects : and since they
leave this great and perplexing question just
where they find it, it is better for us to leave it
among " the secret things which belong unto
the Lord our God," and to occupy ourselves with
" the things which are revealed," and which
concern us practically, — which " belong unto us
and to our children," that we may " do all the
words of God's law."
§ 5. It is on these principles, viz. that the
first point of inquiry at least ought to be what
doctrines are revealed in God's word, — and that
we ought to expect that the doctrines so revealed
should be, not matters of speculative curiosity
but of practical importance — such as " belong
to us that we may do them ;" — it is in conformity,
I say, with these principles, that I have waived

§ 5, J On Election. 139
the question as to the truth or falsity of the
Calvinistic doctrine of Election ; inquiring only
whether it is revealed. And one of the reasons
for deciding that question in the negative, is the
very circumstance that the doctrine is, if rightly
viewed, of a purely speculative character, not
" belonging to us" practically, — and which
ought not at least, in any way, to influence our
conduct. It has indeed been frequently objected to the
Calvinistic doctrines, that they lead, if consistently
acted upon, to a sinful, or to a careless, or to
an inactive life ; and the inference deduced from
this alleged tendency, has been that they are
not true. But this is a totally distinct line of
argument, both in premises and conclusion, from
that now adverted to ; and I mention it, not for
the purpose either of maintaining or impugning
it, but merely of pointing out the distinction.
Whatever may be, in fact, the practical ill ten
dency of the Calvinistic scheme, it is undeniable
that many pious and active Christians, who have
adopted it, have denied any such tendency, — have
attributed the mischievous consequences drawn,
not to their doctrines rightly understood, but to

140 On Election. [essay in.
the perversion and abuse of them ; — and have so
explained them, to their own satisfaction, as to
be compatible and consistent with active virtue.
Now if instead of objecting to, we admit, the
explanations of this system, which the soundest
and most approved of its advocates have given,
we shall find that, when understood as they
would have it, it can lead to no practical result
whatever. Some Christians, according to them,
are eternally enrolled in the book of life, and
infallibly ordained to salvation, while others are
reprobate and absolutely excluded ; but as the
preacher, (they add) has no means of knowing,
in the first instance at least, which persons belong
to which class ; and since those who are thus
ordained, are to be saved through the means
God has appointed; the offers, and promises, and
threatenings of the Gospel are to be addressed
to all alike, as if no such distinction existed.
The preacher, in short, is to act in all respects,
as if the system were not true. Each individual
Christian again, according to them, though he is
to believe that he either is, or is not, absolutely
destined to eternal salvation, yet is also to believe,
that if\\\% salvation is decreed, his holiness of life

§ 5.] On Election. 141
is also decreed; — he is to judge of his own state
by "the fruits of the Spirit" which he brings
forth : to live in sin, or to relax his virtuous
exertions, would be an indication of his not being
really (though he may flatter himself he is) one
of the elect. And it may be admitted that one
who does practically adopt and conform to this
explanation of the doctrine, will not be led into
any evil by it ; since his conduct will not be
in any respect influenced by it. When thus
explained, it is reduced to a purely speculative
dogma, barren of all practical results.
Taking the system in question then, as ex
pounded by its soundest advocates, it is im
possible to show any one point in which a
person is called upon either to act or to feel,
in any respect differently, in consequence of his
adopting it. And this conclusion indeed may
be considered as virtually admitted by the
maintainers of the predestinarian scheme ; since
whenever they are engaged in setting forth the
beneficial results of their doctrines, they in
variably dwell on such as are not peculiar to
them ; such as, faith in the atonement, — self-
abasement and renunciation of all reliance on our

142 On Election. [essay hi.
own merits, — gratitude for Christ's redeeming
mercy, — and reliance on the promised guidance
of the Holy Spirit; and other such doctrines,
which are indeed both true and of inestimable
practical value, but which have no necessary
or natural connexion with the peculiar notions
of Calvin respecting Election ; and which, in
fact, are sincerely and heartily embraced by
numbers who reject those notions.
Were I as ranch inclined to enter into con
troversy as I am averse to it, on this point at
least, I should have no temptation to do so ;
since I cannot devise or even conceive any more
decisive proofs of what has been just remarked,
than the very objections adduced by those who
wish to disprove it. Let any one try the ex
periment of proposing to predestinarians the
assertion just made, of the purely-speculative
character of the doctrines in question ; - and he
will find the grounds on which it is denied,
sufficient to satisfy an unbiassed mind of its
truth. They will allege the cheering stiraulant
of love and gratitude which a man feels who is
convinced that his sins are forgiven, and that
a crown of glory is laid up for him after he

§5.] On Election. 143
shall have fought the good fight, and finished his
course : but they will adrait that this confidence
is false and dangerous, unless he shall have
ascertained by careful and candid self-exaraina-
tion that he is practically irabued with Christian
hope, faith, and charity, and is earnestly striving
to " increase more and more," and to " grow in
grace" to his life's end. Now all this may be
the case with one who does not hold the absolute
election to salvation of some, and the reproba
tion of others : while on the other hand, the
fullest conviction of the final perseverance and
acceptance of God's elect, affords no satisfaction
to one who may doubt whether he himself is one
of the elect. The cheering prospect is supplied,
not by the general doctrine of divine decrees,
but by each raan's view of his ow7i christian
state of holiness. And a confidence founded on
good grounds, I for one at least, should never
think of repressing." They wifi enumerate,
again, the many zealous and active Christians
who have been strict predestinarians ; — they will
speak of the Reformers, forward in testifying
1 See the next Essay.

144 On Election. [essay hi.
against Roraish errors, who have held the
same tenet ; — and of the attachment of many
bigoted Romanists to the doctrine of free-will ;
(though, by the way, Augustine, the strenuous
advocate of predestination, is, among the Fathers,
rather the favourite saint of the Roraish church),
as well as the immoral lives of many who reject
predestination, &c. But if any one keeps close
to the original question, and persists in asking.
How do you trace those good effects to a belief
in your absolute decrees ? How do you show
that your peculiar doctrines are, not merely
compatible with Christian virtue, (for that is
admitted) but conducive to it ? How do you
trace these other ill effects to a rejection of
those peculiar doctrines ? How is it proved that
the parties respectively act as they do, properly
in consequence of their belief or disbelief of this
tenet ? — if, I say, these questions are persisted
in, and all irrelevant matter set aside, I am
much mistaken if any satisfactory answer will
be obtained.
The fact is that several of the most important
and truly-practical doctrines of Christianity have
been, in the minds of some men, so intimately

§ 5.J On Election. 145
blended, from their childhood, with other tenets
which are not practical, that they themselves,
unless possessed of unusual clearness of thought,
are utterly unable to conceive them disunited ;
and might even be in some danger of abandoning
what is essential, were they induced to give up
some other point, in reality totally unconnected
with it. Their whole system of faith may be
compared to some of the ancient compound
medicines, of great efficacy and value, though
cumbered with several dregs that are utterly
inert. Many practitioners unskilled in analysis,
cannot conceive but that the success with which
the compound is often administered is a proof
of the efficacy of each ingredient, and of the
absurdity of thinking to separate them.
It is common in cases of this kind, to appeal
to the testimony of Experience ; though but a
small proportion of even the most experienced
men are fit judges of what it is that their ex
perience does testify. He who has long been
accustomed to administer a certain compound
medicine, or to teach a certain system of doc
trines, and who has found his patients recover,
or his hearers improve, will often beheve, not
L

146 On Election. [essay hi.
only that every part of this compound is essen
tial, but that this is estabhshed by experience.'"
I am far frora thinking harshly of predes
tinarians, or of deciding that their peculiar
doctrines are altogether untrue ; though to me
they do not appear, at least, to be either prac
tical or revealed truths. I do not call on them
to renounce their opinions as heretical, but
merely to abstain from imposing on others as
a necessary part of the Christian faith a doctrine
which cannot be clearly deduced frora Scripture,
and which there is this additional reason for
supposing not to be revealed in Scripture, that it
cannot be shown to have any practical tendency.
For since it is plainly the object of the Scriptures
to declare to us such truths as it concerns us
to know, with a view to the regulation of our
lives, not, such as are, to us, mere matters of
speculative curiosity ; and since the doctrines in
question, when so explained as to lead to no
evil results, lead to no practical results at all,
the natural inference must be (even independent
of the arguments formerly urged) that these
doctrines are not such as we can reasonably
¦" See Elements of Rhetoric, Part II. chap. iii. § 5.

§ 6.] On Election. 147
expect at least, to find revealed in Scripture ;
and if not so revealed, be they true or false, they
can constitute no part of the Christian faith.''
It is not contended that the doctrines in ques
tion have a hurtful influence on huraan conduct,
and consequently are untrue; but that they have,
according to the soundest exposition of them,
no influence on our conduct whatever ; and,
consequently, that they are not to be taught as
revealed truths.
§ 6, Let it not be said, however, that, being
at least harmless, it is unimportant whether they
are inculcated or not ; they are harmless, to those
who adopt them in the sense, and with the
quahfications just mentioned ; but it does not
follow that they are harmless to others. On the
one hand, that " the doctrines of predestination
and our election in Christ" may be so held as to
prove (according to the language of our article) a
" dangerous downfall," will hardly be denied by
any; and, on the other hand, they may prove
a stumbling-block to those who do not hold
n See Essay IV. First Series.
l2

148 On Election. [essay hi.
them, by raising a prejudice against other doc
trines — some of the most important of Chris
tianity, — when taught in conjunction with these,
and represented as connected with thera. Now
it is to be admitted, indeed, that there may
be dangers of this nature attendant on every
gospel-^rw^A ; since there is none that may not
be perverted by some, or that may not give
offence to others ; but in the case of any thing
which plainly appears to be gospel-truth, this
danger must be braved ; we must preach God's
word as we have received it, and trust in Him
to prosper and defend it. But it is not so, in
the case of doctrines which (whether true or
not) are not plainly declared in Scripture. The
dangers to which any such doctrines may lead,
are needlessly and wantonly incurred ; and those
who preach them are answerable for the re
sults. If the speculations of human ingenuity
be mingled with the revealed word of God, even
though the opinions maintained be true, some
may be misled, and others unnecessarily dis
gusted ; Christianity may be loaded (as Dr. Paley
expresses himself respecting transubstantiation)
with a weight that sinks it ; and the mischiefs

§6.] On Election. 149
ensuing will be justly imputable to the rashness
of those who give occasion to them.
Let Christians, then, be taught to rejoice in
deed in their high privileges, as the " Called,"
and " Elect," and " Pecuhar people of God ;"
but let them be taught also, while they offer up
their thanks for his unmerited mercies, to con
sider their own diligence and care as indispen
sable, not only to their attainment of the offered
blessings, but also to their escape from an
aggravated condemnation, — for " provoking and
grieving Hira, who has done so great things for
them," "as in the provocation, and as in the
day of temptation in the wilderness." Let them
be told to trust indeed firmly in the aid and
guidance of God's Holy Spirit, which will con
duct those who earnestly seek it, and walk
according to it, through the perils of the Wil
derness of this world, to the glories of their
promised inheritance ; but let them learn from
the rebellious Israelites, that He will not force
them to enter into that good land, but will even
exclude from it those who refuse to hearken to
Him. Wherefore, " let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall." God is indeed

150 On Election. [essay hi.
" faithful who hath promised ;" but He requires
us also to be faithful to ourselves ; and He has
taught us, both by direct precepts and by ex
amples, that if we harden our hearts, and will
not hear his voice, we shall not " enter into his
rest."

ESSAY IV.

ON PERSEVERANCE AND ASSURANCE.

§ 1. There are many passages in the Apostle
Paul's writings in which he expresses his assured
expectation of the final success of his converts
in attaining the gospel-promises : for instance,
" Being confident of this very thing, that he who
hath begun a good work in you will perforra it
until the day of Jesus Christ ;'' i. e. that at his
last coraing to judge the world, they will be
numbered araong the inheritors of iramortal
happiness with Hira. It is in a sirailar tone
that he addresses the Corinthians in the begin
ning of his first Epistle to thera : " Waiting
for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye
may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ." Indeed there is hardly any one of his

152 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
Epistles in which he does not express the same
exulting anticipation of eternal life awaiting his
beloved on earth : the gratitude and joy which
he consequently feels on their behalf, are scarcely
ever left unmentioned.
Passages of this description are appealed to as
establishing the doctrine of " final Perseverance"
and " Assurance ;" that is, of the impossibihty of
ultimate failure, to those who are once truly
elected of God ; and the complete conviction
which such persons may (or must) attain on
earth of their own safety. The dangerous con
sequences again, apprehended by many, from
these as well as other doctrines maintained on
this Apostle's authority, have accordingly but too
often led them to depreciate his writings, or to
regard thera with suspicion and dread, and to
keep them in a great degree out of sight.
That such opinions as those alluded to (as far,
that is, as they are erroneous and mischievous)
have been grounded on a misunderstanding of
these writings, and may be the most effectually
refuted by a fair and correct exposition of the
Author's meaning, I have endeavoured to show
in the preceding Essay, as far as relates to the

§ 1.] Perseverance and Assurance. 153
doctrine of Christian Election. Closely con
nected with this, and next in natural order to
it, are the other doctrines just mentioned ; on
which, accordingly, I now propose to offer some
remarks. But it will be the less necessary to
dwell on them, on account of that closeness of
connexion ; the one question being a kind of
offshoot from the other. Absolute predestination
to eternal life evidently implies the physical im
possibility of ultimate failure, — in short, the
infallible perseverance of the Elect ; and if any
one have arrived at the knowledge that he is
one of the Elect, he cannot but have the most
complete Assurance of his own safety. And these
notions are, not without some probable grounds
at least, regarded by many as pernicious in the
extreme ;— as naturally leading to careless and
arrogant confidence, — spiritual pride, — relaxation
of virtuous efforts, — and indulgence of vicious
propensities. They have accordingly laboured
to repel this danger by dwelhng much and se
dulously on the uncertainty, even to the last,
of the state of even the best Christian ; and of
the possibility of his falling even from the most
confirmed state of grace and holiness.

154 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
§ 2. It should be remembered, however, that
we may in our extreme caution against one
danger, fall into the opposite. Presumptuous
confidence, and careless security, are indeed
evils to be carefully guarded against ; but they
are not the only evils to be apprehended : de
spondency, and, what is more likely to occur, a
deadness of the affections in all that relates to
religion, and a total aversion of the mind to
wards it, may be generated, in some persons at
least, by dwelling too much and too earnestly
on the chances of ultimate failure. It should
be remerabered, too, that the doctrines of Per
severance in godliness, and of Assurance of sal
vation, in some sense or other, have received
the full sanction of the Apostle Paul ; nor would
he so often and so strongly have expressed his
grateful exultation in the spiritual state of his
converts, and his full confidence that the good
work begun in them would ultimately be com
pleted, had he not considered the exhibition of
these cheering and encouraging prospects, as
highly edifying, and conducive to their christian
progress. And I cannot but think that his
example in this point has been too little attended

§ 2.J Per sever aiice and Assurance. 155
to by some writers ; who overlook the dangers
on one side, while they overrate those on the
other ; which at the same time they do not take
the most effectual way to obviate. It is not
enough that they express the fullest confidence
in God's fulfilment of his promises, to all who
are not wanting on their part. To one whose
mind is disposed to serious thoughtfulness, all
doubts respecting his final salvation (however
well convinced he may be that if he fail of it, the
fault will be his own) — doubts which must imply
the apprehension of the unspeakably horrible
alternative, — cannot but suggest (in proportion
as they prevail) the wish that Christianity were
untrue : — that this life were the whole of his
existence, rather than that the remotest risk of
such an alternative should be incurred.* And a
» It is to be observed, that when I speak of the horror of
being in any doubt, or of apprehending any mA— contem
plating any chance, of this or that evil, &c., I mean, absolute,
not hsrpothetical or conditional risk, — possibility — probability,
&c., for this latter does not occasion any uneasiness. A man
is shocked, for instance, at the idea of the remotest risk of
being overwhelmed in the sea, or of perishing with hunger ;
but he knows that when walking on the sea-shore, he would
be probably overwhelmed, if he should stay there till the tide

156 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
wish of this kind is utterly at variance with such
a state of mind, as, according to Paul, the
Christian's ought to be. For it must not be
imagined that a wish relative to something which
(as in the present case) does not at all depend on
our choice, must, therefore, be wholly inopera
tive and unimportant. No man's wishes can
indeed make a religion false ; they may even not
cause him to disbelieve it ; but they may yet
very easily lead him (without any deliberate
design) habitually to withdraw his thoughts from
a painfully alarming subject. There is a pro
pensity in the human mind, (which, however
unreasonable and absurd, is instinctive, and
almost unavoidable) to turn away, insensibly
more and more, from the contemplation of that
which is unpleasant. Nor will such feehngs of
dread, distaste, and aversion, as have been alluded
to, be necessarily confined (as at first sight one
might suppose) to men who are knowingly lead
ing such a life as can afford them little or no
just ground of hope in the gospel-promises. For
came up ; and that he would be starved z/he should refuse to
take the food that is before him : but this (as it may be called)
hypothetical danger, gives him no vmeasiness at all.

§ 2.j Perseverance and Assurance. 157
it should be remembered, that the apprehension
of suffering is so incomparably more keen than
the anticipation of gratification, — so faint and
feeble are our conceptions of happiness, com
pared with those of misery, that the least admix
ture of a dread of any very terrible evil, will
(when really impressed on the mind) more than
counterbalance a far greater amount of favour
able hopes ; and, consequently, to a thoughtful
mind, the idea of certain annihilation would
appear far preferable to the remotest chance of
endless misery."
Now it is with those of a thoughtful turn that
we are concerned in the present question. As
for the great mass of the careless and worldly,
they are, indeed, for the most part, far too con
fident of salvation : but their confidence, com
monly results from a vague, general, unweighed
notion of God's mercy ; not, from any predesti
narian persuasion of their being selected from
the rest of mankind, and ordained to persevere
in holiness, under the constant guidance of the
Divine Spirit. They need, indeed, to be, if pos
sible, alarmed and filled with apprehension : but
b See the last Note.

158 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
it is a far different kind of alarm they need, from
that of which we have been speaking. They
need to be warned of the dangers attendant on a
careless, not on an active and zealous christian
life ; ofthe danger, not of ial]mg from a state of
grace, but of never striving to be in such a
state ; of the danger of losing heaven, not by
turning from the service of God, but by not turn
ing frora the service of sin. Their false security
arises, not from their dwelling, vrith too con
fident expectation, on the glories of a better
world, but from their thinking too little, or not
at all, of any world but this. Let such be
alarmed, by all means possible, into a just sense
of the ruin to which they are hastening by taking
no pains to lead a christian life ; and to urge such
a ground of alarm will have no tendency to dis
hearten those who are conscious of an earnest
desire, and endeavour to live to God. And the
more confidence is expressed of the final success
of those who will come to Christ, and set them
selves to work out their own salvation, the more
will the sinner be encouraged to begin in earnest,
and pursue with vigour, the great work of refor
mation.

§ 3. J Perseverance and Assurance. 159
§ 3. But is there, then, it may be asked, no
" fear and trembling " to be felt by all men in
working out their salvation ? Can any man be
exempt from all danger of excessive and pre
sumptuous confidence ? Undoubtedly such a
danger is always, and by every one, to be sedu
lously guarded against ; but it will be best
guarded against, not by seeking to lower the
Christian's hopes, but by connecting his confi
dence with his own unremitting efforts ; by
striving to establish in his thoughts an insepa
rable combination between the idea of the hap
piness he looks forward to, and that of the
requisite exertions on his part. The fullest
confidence of attaining any object, if the attain
ment of it be still regarded as dependent on
our own endeavours, and if that confidence be
grounded on a firm resolution to use those en
deavours, can never lead to neghgence and
inactivity." " There is a term applied in Scripture to persons who
embraced the Christian faith, for which our language affords
no adequate translation. We have not in English, as there
is in Greek, a present participle passive ; and this deficiency
often drives us into awkward and sometimes obscure circum
locution : thus, if TvirTOfiivuc is rendered " one who is beaten,"

160 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
The Christian who is earnestly striving to be
led by the Holy Spirit, and to " grow in grace "
this might be understood to relate to what is past and com
plete (which would be Tervfifievog) ; but it signifies properly,
though in uncouth English, " one who is being beaten." The
particular term I am now alluding to is (ru^ofiivoi ; " the
Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved ; "
rove enj)^ofj.Evov£ : (Acts ii. 47) the word rendered " such as
should be saved," (a rendering which has perhaps led some
readers who cannot, or do not, study the original, to suppose
that absolute predestination is implied in this passage,) sig
nifies merely " persons coming into the way of salvation,"
namely, by embracing Christianity.
It is to be observed, however, by the way, that there are
many expressions in Scripture, which do not even imply any
full conviction in the writer's mind that a particular event
will take place, or has taken place, though taken strictly, they
might seem to imply this, and have, probably, been often so
understood. Instances may be found, probably, in all lan
guages, but I think they are particularly common in Greek,
of the same terms being used in speaking of an object pro
posed, and of an object attained ; a full design and attempt to
do any thing, is often expressed in the same manner as if it
had been actually done. Thus in the Ajax of Sophocles (to
take an instance from a profane writer), Agamemnon charges
Ajax with having murdered him ; i. e. having done all that
in him lay to accomplish that purpose, though his design was
frustrated by extraneous impediments. And, indeed, nothing
is more common in most of the ancient writers, than to speak
of a person's having done this or that, i. e. having been doing

§ 3.J Perseverance and Assurance. 161
daily, must not be told indeed that he cannot
turn aside from the right path if he would ; that
it — having formed the design, and actually set about it, —
though the attempt was stopped. In this sense the Lord is
repeatedly said to have delivered the Israelites out of Egypt,
to bring them into the land of Canaan, which he had promised
to their forefathers ; and yet the whole generation perished in
the wilderness, through their own refusal, when summoned,
to take possession of the promised land ; and a considerable
portion of the promised land was never occupied even by their
posterity, through their own neglect to drive out the nations
whose territory had been allotted to them. In this case, the
positive and unqualified declarations of Scripture, not only
do not imply any compulsion exercised on the Israelites,
but do not even imply a foreknowledge that the events would
take place ; but merely that the Lord had performed his part,
and had left it completely in their power to bring about the
events in question.
So also, many of the expressions of the Sacred Writers, in
which they speak of the holiness of life here, and eternal life
hereafter, provided by the grace of God for those whom
they are addressing, not only do not relate to any absolute
predestination to reward, or irresistible control of the will ;
but do not necessarily imply, according to a fair construction
of the language, even so much as a perfect confidence in
the writers, that these objects will, in fact, be attained ; but
merely that such is the design and tendency of the gospel
dispensation ; — that God had placed these things within their
reach. I am not contending, be it observed, that this absolute
M

162 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
it is out qf his power to fall into a life of sin : but
that fear and trembling which I conceive Paul to
have intended, the conviction, namely, that our
care and diligence are never to be laid aside
even to the end, will not lessen such confidence
as proceeds on the full determination to retain
that diligent care ; nor will it dash with any
mixture of gloomy apprehensions the joyful an
ticipations with which such a Christian looks
forward to a future life.
§ 4. We may learn, not only from the Apostle's
precepts relative to christian trust and " joy in
the Holy Ghost," but also from his example, as
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, in concerns
of a different nature, that he at least did not con
sider the active and circumspect employment of
means, inconsistent with the most undoubting
certainty as to the event ; even a certainty

predestination and irresistible grace may not, in fact, be a
part of the gospel-scheme in the Divine Mind ; but only that
no inference' to that effect can be fairly drawn from the words
of the Apostles. They may be truths, but they are not re
vealed truths ; they may belong to the gospel-«cAeme, but not
to the gospel-reiJefah'on.

§ 4.J Perseverance and Assurance. 163
founded on immediate precise revelation from
heaven. Let any one read the account of what
befell him while imprisoned at Jerusalem, and he
will find him assured, by a supernatural vision,
ofhis deliverance from the then present danger ;
" Be of good cheer, Paul, for thou must bear
witness of me also at Rome." Yet when the
designs of the conspirators to murder him came
to his knowledge, he took every precaution (by
sending to warn the chief ciaptain) that prudent
apprehension could suggest.'^ Again was he
favoured, on the occasion of the shipwreck, with
a like supernatural assurance, that he, being
destined by his Master to arrive at Rome, should
be saved from the peril of the sea; and moreover,
that his companions should be spared also for
his sake,^ and should come safe to land : yet
immediately after, we find him using and sug
gesting every precautionary means that could
have occurred to the most doubting and fear
ful : it was through Paul's presence of mind
that the mariners were withheld from deserting
the ship, and depriving the passengers of their
needful aid : " Then said Paul, Except these
^ Acts xxiii. 17. ^ Acts xxvii. 22.
M 2

164 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. '"^ Was it
then that he doubted, in this or in the former
case, the supernatural assurance he had re
ceived ? Surely not : but he regarded that very
assurance as grounded on the supposition that
he himself should employ all those regular
means which he on his part was ready and fully
resolved to employ : his exertions (which he
was conscious of being determined to use) formed
the hypothesis (if I may so speak) on which the
divine proraise proceeded ; and he evidently
judged it possible that he might, in one sense of
the phrase, lose his life at Jerusalera, or in the
shipwreck ; i. e. it was in his power to cast away
his life if he chose not to use the requisite ex
ertions ; but such a possibility as this, could not
lead to any doubt or apprehension.^
Nor is this a distinction too refined for any
but the highest and most perfect order of minds;
on the contrary, experience shows that it is
within the reach of the most ordinary capacity.
Nothing indeed is more coramon than the ex
pression of a full conviction as to what some
person's conduct will be on some particular
'¦ Acts xxvii. 31. 8 Sec Note<"), p. 15,5, § 2.

§ 4. J Perseverance and Assurance. 165
occasion ; that conviction being grounded on
the supposition that his disposition as to the
point in question is fully ascertained, and that it
is a matter depending on his own free choice.
" Such a one is sure," it is said, " to act in this
manner ; " " he is incapable of doing so and so."
And when we thus prophesy another's conduct,
we are evidently exempt from all danger of
mistake, supposing we are originally correct in
our judgment as to the other's inclination, and
as to his being free to follow that inclination ;
and yet, though it is in a certain sense " im
possible " that he should act otherwise, so far is
this anticipation of his conduct from implying
that he is powerless, or under restraint, that it
proceeds on the very supposition of his being
left perfectly free.
And again, with respect to one's own conduct,
that confidence of success necessarily diminishes
exertion, is notoriously the reverse of truth.
Every general seeks to inspire his soldiers with
the firmest confidence of victory ; which ex
perience proves to be the best incentive to those
exertions that are requisite to ensure it. Many
a man, from having been persuaded by omens.

166 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
or by the predictions of astrologers, that he is
fated to attain some great object, has, in conse
quence, instead of being lulled into carelessness
by this belief, been excited to the most laborious
and unwearied efforts, such as perhaps he would
not otherwise have thought of making, for the
attainment of his object.'' And the common
^ The Macbeth of Shakspeare may be appealed to as an
example even more convincing than that of any single in
dividual of real history ; if at least it be admitted that
Shakspeare in his delineations of character is true to nature.
For if so, they must be conformable to general nature ; and
each character must be a representative, if not of Man uni
versally, at least of some class of men. A real individual,
on the contrary, may chance to be an exception to all general
rules ; but such a person could not be introduced in a drama
without bringing censure on the poet as guilty of a departure
from nature. Now Macbeth is evidently both prompted in
the first instance to aim at the crown, and fortified to go
through with his attempt, by the prediction of the witches.
We might abstractedly have supposed that he would even
have been withheld, had he previously had the design, fi-om
the perpetration of a crime he abhorred, by the consideration
that it must be needless, since it was infallibly decreed that
he should be king. Once, and only once, the thought occurs
to him, " If Chance will have me king, why Chance may
crown me without my stir ;" but far from acting on tliis view,
rational as it appears, his conduct is throughout in direct
opposition to it. It has been said, though not, I think.

§ 4.] Perseverance and Assurance. 167
sense, even of the simple and unlearned Chris
tian, will be sufficient to show him, and show
him practically, the distinction between that
vain confidence which leads to inactivity, and
a rational confidence connected with exertion ;
provided a due attention is but paid to those
ambiguities of language which have been already
noticed. In fact, he may be easily taught that
the distinction is one which he acts upon con
tinually in the ordinary affairs of life. When
returning, for instance, from his daily labour to
his home, he feels a perfect certainty (supposing
his life and limbs to be spared) that he shall
reach his home ; it is an event of which, practi
cally, he feels no more doubt than of the setting
of the sun ; but he does not therefore stand still,
correctly, that, in cases of this kind, the reason why belief in
Fate does not lead to inactivity, is because it is inoperative.
It does not indeed operate in the same way in which it would
in some persons : there are many who would be deterred from
incurring guilt or danger or toil for the sake of a kingdom by
their being fully convinced of being fated to attain it. But
others are led by this very belief to use efforts which they
otherwise would not have used. Now, surely it is npt cor
rect to call that belief inoperative, which does palpably lead
to results, merely because it seems to us strange that such
should be the result.

168 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
and neglect to use the means, because he is con
fident of the event ; on the contrary, the very
ground of his confidence is the full determination
he feels to press forward towards his object.
In like manner, (it may be explained to him)
it was in one sense possible, though in another
sense impossible, that Paul should, even at
his last trial, have deserted and renounced his
Saviour ; i. e. it was completely in his power ; it
depended on himself whether he would forsake
his Lord, and forfeit his rich inheritance, or " lay
hold on eternal life" which was just before him ;
so that in one sense it was true that he might
fall and perish eternally ; but he was conscious
that though he had the power, he had not the
will thus to apostatize ; and, therefore, fully
trusting in his Saviour's promises, and in a reso
lution supported by divine aid, he pours forth
(in his second Epistle to Timothy) his exulting
confidence of persevering even to the end.
" The time of my departure is at hand ; I have
fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ;
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, shall give me at that day ! "

§ 4.J Perseverance and Assurance. 169
It cannot be denied however that there is
practical danger in the tone in which sorae
preachers dwell on such topics as the " final
perseverance of God's people ;" — the " triumph
of faith ;" which, they say, is sure, if it be a
true saving faith, to prevail in the end, though
God suffers his saints to fall into grievous sins,
&c. All this may be, and certainly has been in
some cases (whether the recorded one of Oliver
Cromwell be authentic or not') interpreted to
mean that if a man has been at any time satis
fied, from his own feelings of being in a state
of grace, he will be infallibly saved, and is not
to regard any sin, or course of sin, he may
subsequently fall into, as endangering his final
acceptance. That this is not the meaning of many who
preach in the manner I have described, I am
well aware. But then, they are bound distinctly
to warn " him that thinketh he standeth, to take
heed lest he fall." They should explain that a
' O. Cromwell is said to have anxiously asked, when on
his death-bed, whether it were possible for the elect to fall
finally ; and being answered in the negative, replied, " then I
am safe ; for 1 am certain that I was once in a state of grace."

170 Perseverance and Assurance, [essay iv.
savirlg faith can only be known to be such, either
by the possessor of it, or by others, frora its
bringing forth fruits ; — and that, by asserting the
perseverance, or repentance and return to God,
in case of falhng into sin, of all God's people,
they mean, that those who fall away and do
not return, were deceived in supposing them
selves to have been, in this sense, God's people ;
— and that no man's state can be properly
judged of but by his leading a christian or an
unchristian life, or can be perfectly known except
at the day of judgment.
All this, it may be said, would be but a
circuitous way of stating, in the form of its
converse, the proposition, that " He that en-
dureth unto the end, the same shall be saved."
But this, it is evident, must be the real mean
ing of those who use the above-mentioned ex
pressions without intending to teach Antinomian
doctrines. But, as was observed in the preceding Essay
(§ 5.), it is not frora dwelling on general decrees,
but frora the application to each individual or
each description of individuals, of such ad
monitions or encouragements as suit the actual

§ 4.J Perseverance and Assurance. 171
apparent condition of each,— it is from this alone
that practical good results are to be hoped.
Let the careless Christian then be roused
and alarmed ; — let the presumptuous be warned
and repressed ;¦ — but let no distressing and dis
heartening doubts be implanted in the breast of
the zealous, though humble and timid follower
of Christ : only let his confidence be always
made to rest on the supposition of his own
unremitting care and earnest endeavour ; while,
at the same time, it is also made to rest not on
his own unaided strength, but on the promised
support of Him who " worketh in us both to will
and to do." Let him be encouraged to rejoice
at the bright prospect set before him ; but to
rejoice in the spiritual strength insured to him
by the Lord, who " never faileth thera that seek
Him." " Rejoice," (says the Apostle, to such
a Christian,) " rejoice in the Lord alway, and
again I say, rejoice .... being confident of this
. very thing, that He which hath begun a good
work in you, will perform it until the day of the
Lord Jesus Christ."

ESSAY V.

ON THE ABOLITION OF THE LAW.

There are very many passages relative to the
Mosaic Law occurring in the writings of the
Apostle Paul, (especially in the Epistle to the
Romans, and in those to the Galatians and to
the Hebrews), whose most obvious and simple
interpretations, at least, would seem to imply
the entire abolition of that law, by the establish
ment of the Gospel. For instance, Rom. vii. 6.
" But now we are delivered from the law, that
being dead wherein we were held ;" — or, accord
ing to another, and perhaps better reading,
which makes no material difference, " being
dead to that law wherein we were held." And
these passages constitute one class of those
from which such pernicious consequences have-

§ l.J On the Abolition ofthe Law. 173
been sometimes deduced, and oftener, perhaps,
apprehended, as have occasioned the writings
of this Apostle to be regarded by some persons
with suspicion and alarm. A few, and but a
few, have openly inferred, — a greater number
probably have incautiously led their hearers to
infer, — from Paul's declarations relative to our
justification " by faith, without the deeds of the
law," that the Christian is under no obligation
to the practice of virtue, — nor incurs, if he be
one of the Elect, any spiritual danger from
the commission of sin ; and the dread of this
Antinomian system has occasioned others, as
I have before reraarked, to withdraw their own
and their hearers' attention, either frora the
writings of this Apostle altogether, or from those
parts of thera which are thought to countenance
such a doctrine.
§ 1. That the virtuous or vicious conduct of
a Christian have nothing to do with his final
salvation, and are indifferent in God's sight, has
been inferred from the total abrogation, under
the gospel-scheme, of the Mosaic law; which
abrogation, it is contended, the Apostle plainly

174 On ihe Abolition qf the Law. [essay, v.
declares, without any limitation or exception —
any distinction between moral, and ceremonial or
civil precepts. On the other side is urged the
strenuous and repeated inculcation of moral
duties, not only by the other Sacred Writers,
but by Paul himself as much as any ; together
with his earnest and express denial of the licen
tious consequences which sorae might be dis
posed to infer frora his doctrines : for instance,
" What shall we say, then ? Shall we continue
in sin that grace raay abound ? God forbid."
And again, " Shall we sin because we are not
under the law, but under grace ? God forbid."
And hence it is concluded that that abolition of
the law which is spoken of, relates only to the
ceremonial and civil precepts ; and that the moral
law reraains binding on all men for ever. But
this mode of stating the case, though substan
tially correct, leaves a considerable difficulty
unsolved : it points out indeed the inconsistency
of the Antinomian scheme with one portion of
the Apostle's writings ; but it leaves unex
plained, and, consequently, open to unfavour
able suspicion, the other portion before alluded
to : it fails, in short, to reconcile the Writer

§ l.J On the Abolition of the Law. 175
with hiraself. For it cannot be denied that he
does speak, frequently and strongly, of the ter
mination of the Mosaic law, and of the exemp
tion of Christians from its obligations, without
ever limiting and qualifying the assertion, —
without even hinting at a distinction between
one part which is abrogated, and another which
reraains in full force. It cannot be said that
he had in his mind the Ceremonial law alone,
and was alluding merely to the abolition of that ;
for in the very passages in question, he makes
such allusions to sin, as evidently show that he
had the moral law in his mind ; as, for instance,
where he says, " The law was added because of
transgressions :" — " by the law was the know
ledge of sin ;" with many other such expressions.
And it is remarkable, that even when he seems
to feel himself pressed with the mischievous
practical consequences which either had been,
or he is sensible might be, drawn from his doc
trines, he never attempts to guard against these
by limiting his original assertion ; — by declaring
that though part of the law was at. an end, still,
part continued to be binding ; but he always
inculcates the necessity of moral conduct on

176 On the Abolition qf ihe Law. [essay v.
some different ground : For instance, " What
shall we say, then ? Shall we continue in sin
that grace may abound ? God forbid ! " He
does not then add, that a part of the Mosaic
law remains in force ; but urges this considera
tion, " How shall we, who are dead to sin, live
any longer therein? Know ye not that so many
of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were
baptized into his death ? Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death ; that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life."  " Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin." And again, " Shall we
sin because we are not under the law, but under
grace ? God forbid ! Know ye not that to whom
ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are to whom ye obey ? whether of sin, unto
death, or of obedience unto righteousness" 
" being then made free frora sin, ye becarae the
servants of righteousness." And such also is
his tone in every passage relating to the same
subject.

§ 2. J On the Abolition qf the Law. Ill
§ 2. Now let us but adopt the obvious interpre
tation ofthe Apostle's words, and adrait the entire
abrogation, according to him, of the Mosaic law ;
concluding that it was originally designed for the
Israelites alone, and that its dominion over them
ceased when the Gospel system commenced ; and
we shall find that this concession does not go a
step towards establishing the Antinomian con
clusion, that moral conduct is not required of
Christians. For it is evident that the natural
distinctions of right and wrong, which conscience
points out, must remain where they were. These
distinctions, not having been introduced by the
Mosaic law, cannot, it is evident, be overthrown
by its removal ; any more than the destruction of
the Temple at Jerusalera, implied the destruction
of the Mount Sion whereon it was built. The
Apostle does indeed speak in some passages, of
the law as having been a guide and instructor in
matters of morality ; as where he says, " I had
not known sin but by the law ;" but that this
must not be understood, in the fullest extent, as
implying that no moral obligation could exist, or
could be understood, independent of the Mosaic
revelation, is evident not only frora the nature of

178 On the Abolition of the Law. [essay v.
the case, but from his own remarks in the same
epistle, relative to " the Gentiles, which have not
the law," being capable of " doing by nature the
things contained in the law .... their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing
or else excusing one another;" and of their
" knowing" (in cases where they comraitted sin)
" that they who do such things are worthy of
death." To say, therefore, that no part of the
Jewish law is binding on Christians, is very far
from leaving them at liberty to disregard all
moral duties. For, in fact, the very definition of
a moral duty, implies its universal obligation
independent of all enactment. The precepts re
specting sacrifices, for instance, and other cere
monial observances, we call Positive ordinances ;
meaning, that the things in question became
duties because they were commanded: — the com
mandment to love one's neighbour as oneself,
on the contrary, we call a moral precept, on the
very ground that this was a thing commanded
because it was right. And it is evident that
what was right or wrong in itself before the law
existed, must remain such after it is abrogated.
Before the commandments to do no murder, and

§ 2.] On the Abolition of the Law. 1 79
to honour one's parents, had been delivered from
Mount Sinai, Cain was cursed for killing his
brother, and Ham for dishonouring his father ;
which crimes, therefore, could not cease to be
such, at least, as any consequence of the abo
lition of that law.
Nor need it be feared that to proclaim an
exemption firom the Mosaic law should leave
men without any moral guide, and at a loss to
distinguish right and wrong : since, after all,
the light of reason is that to which every man
must be left, in the interpretation of that very
Law. For Moses, it should be remembered, did
not write three distinct books, one of the Cere
monial Law, one of the Civil, and a third of the
Moral ; nor does he hint at any such distinction.
When, therefore, any one is told that a part
of the Mosaic precepts are binding on us, viz.
the moral ones, if he ask which are the Moral
precepts, and how to distinguish them from
the Ceremonial and the Civil, with which they
mingled, the answer must be, that his conscience,
if he consult it honestly, will determine that
point. So far, consequently, from the moral
precepts of the law, being, to the Christian,
N 2

180 On ihe Abolition ofthe Law. [essay v.
necessary as a guide to his judgment in deter
mining what is right and wrong, on the contrary,
this moral judgment is necessary to determine
what are the moral precepts of Moses.
The study, indeed, of the moral law of Moses
is profitable for instruction, and may serve to
aid our judgment in some doubtful cases that
may occur ; provided we are careful to bear in
mind all the circumstances under which each
precept was delivered. For there is a presump
tion" that what was commanded or prohibited by
Moses, is right or wrong in itself, unless some
reason can be assigned, which makes our case
at present different from that of the Israelites ; —
some circumstance of distinction, which either
leaves us more at large than they, or (as is
oftener the case) calls for a higher and purer
moral practice from us. But to consult a code
of moral precepts for instruction, is very different
from referring to that as a standard, and rule of
conduct. If the notion then that such as are not under
the Mosaic law, are, on that account, exempt
" See Elements of Rhetoric ; " Presumptions."

§ 2.3 On the Abolition of ihe Laiv. 181
from all moral obligations, be rejected as utterly
groundless, and if, consequently, no practical
danger or absurdity be involved in the suppo
sition of that law being fully abrogated, the
conclusion that it is so abrogated will hardly be
any longer open to doubt ; being evidently the
most agreeable to the Apostle's expressions in
their obvious, natural and unstrained sense. And,
indeed, the very Law itself indicates, on the face
of it, that the whole of its precepts were in
tended for the Israelites exclusively ; (on which
supposition they cannot, of course, be binding on
Christians,) not only frora the intermixture of
civil and ceremonial precepts with moral, but
from the very terms in which even these last are
delivered. For instance, there cannot be any
, duties more clearly of universal obligation, than
that of the worship of the one true God alone,
and that of honouring parents ; yet the precepts
for both of these are so delivered as to address
them to the children of Israel exclusively : " I
am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage ;
thou shalt have none other Gods but me." And
again, " Honour thy father and thy raother, that

182 On ihe Abolition of the Law. [essay v.
thy days may be long in the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee"
The simplest and clearest way then of stating
the case with respect to the present question,
is, to lay down, on the one hand, that the Mo
saic Law was hmited both to the nation of the
Israelites, and to the period before the Gospel ;
but, on the other hand, that the natural prin
ciples of morality, which, araong other things,
it inculcates, are, from their own character, of
universal obligation ; — that, as on the one hand,
" no Christian man (as our article expresses it)
is free from the observance of those command
ments which are called moral," so, on the other
hand, it is not because they are commandraents
of the Mosaic Law that he is bound to obey
them, but because they are moral. Indeed,
there are numerous precepts in the laws, for
instance, of Solon and Mahomet, from a con
formity to which no Christian can pretend to
exeraption ; yet, though we are bound to prac
tise almsgiving and several other duties there
enjoined, and to abstain from murder, for in
stance, and false-witness, which these lawgivers
forbid, no one would say that a part of the

§ 3. J On the Abolition of ihe Law. 1 83
Koran is binding on Christians ; since their con
duct is determined not by the authority of the
Koran, but by the nature of the case.
§ 3. The remarks, however, which have been
off'ered, may perhaps be admitted as just, by
some who will yet be disposed to doubt their
importance: " the proposed statement," they
may say, " of the character of a Christian's
moral obhgations, differs from the one opposed
to it, merely as a statement ; there is substanti
ally no difference, as long as it is fully admitted
that the Christian is not exempt from the rules
of morality." But it should be remembered
that the difference between an accurate and an
inaccurate statement of any doctrine, and of
the grounds on which it rests, is of no slight
importance, if not to those who embrace the
doctrine, at least in reference to such as are
disposed to reject or to doubt it. It is giving
a manifest advantage to the advocates of error,
to maintain a true conclusion in such a form,
and on such grounds, as leave it open to un
answerable objections. And this has been par
ticularly the case in the present instance ; for

184 On the Abolition of the Law. [essay v.
the only shadow of probability which has ever
appeared to exist on the Antinoraian side, has
arisen frora the question having been made to
turn on this point, whether the Mosaic Law be
entirely abolished, or not : one who denies that
it is, cannot but find a difficulty, at least, in
reconciling his position with raany passages of
Scripture ; whereas, if we admit the premiss
which the Antinomians contend for, but show
how utterly unconnected it is with their extra
vagant conclusion ; — if we show that though
the Mosaic Law does not bind us, our moral
obligations exist quite independent of that
Law, — ^the monstrous position that the moral
conduct of Christians has nothing to do with
their final doom is at once exposed as totally
untenable and absurd.
§ 4. It raay be thought, however, that real
decided speculative Antinomians are so rare,
and, moreover, are so far beyond the reach of
sober reasoning, that it is scarcely worth while
to devise arguments for their refutation. And
it must be admitted that the doctrines in ques
tion are not by any means prevalent ; a circum-

§ 4.J On the Abolition of the Law. 185
stance which is very remarkable, and strongly
indicates their intrinsic improbability. For a
system so evidently favourable to the natural
indolence and sinfulness of Man, as that which
makes our eternal destiny entirely independent
of our moral conduct, could not have failed to
become highly popular, among a large class at
least, were it not utterly repugnant to Reason.
A frightfully large portion of the world are,
undeniably, practical Antinomians ; i. e. they
live as if they did not expect to be hereafter
accountable for their conduct ; and yet it will
be found, that in theory, very few of these
adopt the Antinomian hypothesis, which would
be the most effectual in quieting the conscience
of the sinner : a circumstance which furnishes
most powerful testimony against the truth of
that hypothesis.
But however small may be the danger of the
Antinoraian heresy gaining ground, the right
interpretation of Scripture relative to this point,
is not, therefore, the less iraportant. The
opinion that the Gospel exempts men from
moral obligation is not the error which I have
had principally in view, but another, much

186 On the Abolition of ihe Law. [essay v.
raore prevalent — that of suspecting that Paul
lends some support to such an opinion; and
consequently, of depreciating the authority, or
discouraging the study, of his writings. It is on
this account chiefiy that I have endeavoured to
show, in this and two former Essays, how far
this Apostle is frora affording any countenance
to certain doctrines, the advocates of which
usually appeal to his authority.
But another, and perhaps still more iraportant
use, may be made of the view which has been
now taken. The Apostle, we find, while he
earnestly contends for the entire abolition of the
Mosaic Law, still recognizes the authority of
that moral law which is written on man's heart.
This consideration not only deprives Antino
mians of all shadow of support for their system,
and removes the prejudice which might exist
against the Apostle, but it also leads us to re
flect on his method of inculcating moral duties,
and on his reasons for adopting it.
If men are taught to regard the Mosaic Law
(with the exception of the civil and ceremonial
ordinances) as their appointed rule of life, they
will be disposed to lower the standard of Chris-

§ 4. J On the Abolition ofthe Law. 187
tian morality, by contenting themselves with a
literal adherence to the express commands of that
Law ; or, at least, merely to enlarge that code,
by the addition of such precise moral precepts
as they find distinctly enacted in the New
Testament. Now this was very far from being
the Apostle's view of the christian life. Not
only does the Gospel require a morality in many
respects higher and more perfect in itself than
the Law, but it places morality, universally, on
higher grounds. Instead of precise rules, it
furnishes sublime principles of conduct ; leaving
the Christian to apply these, according to his
own discretion, in each case that may arise ; and
thus to be " a law unto himself." Gratitude
for the redeeming love of God in Christ, with
mingled veneration and affection for the person
of our great Master ^ and an exalted emulation,
leading us to tread in his steps — an ardent
longing to behold his glories, and to enjoy his
presence in the world to come — with an earnest
effort to prepare for that better world — love
towards our brethren for His sake who died for
^ See Essays on the Peculiarities of Christianity,
Essay III.

188 On tlie Abolition of the Law. [essay v.
us and them — and, above all, the thought that
the Christian is a part of " the teraple of the
Holy Ghost," who dwelleth in the church — even
the " Spirit of Christ, without which we are none
of his," a teraple which we are bound to keep
undefiled ;— these, and such as these, are the
gospel-principles of morality, into a conformity
with which the Christian is to fashion his heart
and his life ; and they are such principles as the
Mosaic dispensation could not furnish. The
Israelites, as not only living under a revelation
which had but a shadow of the good things of
the Gospel, but also as a dull, and gross-minded,
and imperfectly-civilized people, in a condition
corresponding to that of childhood, were in few
things left to their own moral discretion, but
were furnished with precise rules in most points of
conduct. These answered to the exact regula
tions under which children are necessarily placed,
and which are gradually relaxed as they advance
towards maturity ; not by any means on the
ground that good conduct is less required of men
than of children ; but that they are expected to be
raore capable of regulating their own conduct by
their own discretion, and of acting upon principle.

§ 5.] On ihe Abolition ofthe Law. 189
§ 5. When, then, the Mosaic code was abo
lished, we find no other systera of rules substi
tuted in its place. Our Lord and his Apostles
enforced such duties as were the most liable to be
neglected, — corrected some prevailing errors, —
gave some particular directions which particular
occasions called for, — but laid down no set of
rules for the conduct of a Christian : they laid
down Christian principles instead : they sought
to implant Christian dispositions. And this is
the more remarkable, inasmuch as we may be
sure, from the nature of Man, that precise regu
lations, even though somewhat tedious to learn,
and burdensome to observe, would have been
highly acceptable to their converts ^ Hardly
any restraint is so irksome to Man {j. e. to " the
natural Man") as to be left to his own discretion,
yet still required to regulate his conduct accord
ing to certain principles, and to steer his course
"= If the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, had been three
times as long, and had consisted, not, as it does, of a delinea
tion of Christian dispositions, but of a catalogue of minute
directions for particular cases, it would doubtless have been
more satisfactory to the hearers. But for some further re
marks on our Lord's mode of conveying moral instruction,
see Essay VIII.

190 On ihe Abolition ofthe Law. [essay v.
through the intricate channels of life, vrith a
constant vigilant exercise of his moral judgment.
It is much more agreeable to human indolence
(though at first sight the contrary might be sup
posed) to have a complete system of laws laid
down, which are to be observed according to the
letter, not to the spirit ; and which, as long as a
man adheres to thera, afford both a consola
tory assurance of safety, and an unrestrained
liberty as to every point not deterrained by
thera ; than to be called upon for incessant*
watchfulness, — careful and candid self-examina
tion, — and studious cultivation of certain moral
dispositions. Accordingly, most, if not all systems of Man's
devising (whether corruptions of Christianity, or
built on any other foundation) will be found,
even in what appear their most rigid enactments,
to be accomraodated to this tendency of the
huraan heart. When Mahomet, for instance,
enjoined on his disciples a strict fast during a
certain period, and an entire abstinence from
wine and from games of chance, and the devotion
of a precise portion of their property to the
poor, leaving them at liberty, generally, to follow

§5.] On ihe Abolition qf the Law. 191
their own sensual and worldly inclinations, he
imposed a far less severe task on them than if
he had required them constantly to control their
appetites and passions, to repress covetousness,
and to be uniformly teraperate, charitable, and
heavenly-minded. And had Paul been (as a
false teacher always will be) disposed to comply
with the expectations and wishes which his
disciples would naturally form, he would doubt
less have referred them to some part of the
Mosaic Law as their standard of morality, or
would have substituted some other system of
rules in its place. Indeed there is strong
reason to think, (especially from what we find
in 1st Corinthians) that something of this nature
had actually been desired of him. He seems to
have been applied to for more precise rules than
he was willing to give ; particularly as to the
lawfulness of going to idol-feasts, and as to
several points relative to marriage and celibacy ;
concerning which, and other matters, he gives
briefly such directions as the occasion rendered
indispensable, but breaks off into exhortations
to " use this world as not abusing it ;" and
speedily recurs to the general description of the

1 92 On ihe Abolition qf the Law. [essay v.
Christian character, and the inculcation of
Christian principles. He will not be induced to
enter into minute details of things forbidden,
and permitted, — enjoined and dispensed with ;
and even when most occupied in repelhng the
suspicion that gospel-liberty exempts the Chris
tian frora raoral obligation, instead of retaining
or framing anew any system of prohibitions and
injunctions, he urges upon his hearers the very
consideration of their being exerapt from any
such childish trammels, as a reason for their
aiming at a raore perfect holiness of life, on
purer and raore generous motives : " Sin," he
says, " shall not have dominion over you ; for
ye are not under the Law, but under grace :" and
he perpetually incites them to walk " worthy
of their vocation," on the ground of their being
" bought with a price," and bound to " hve unto
Him who died for thera;" — as "risen with
Christ" to a new life of holiness, — -exhorted to
" set their affection on things above, not on
things on the earth ;" — as " hving sacrifices" to
God ; — as " the temple of the Holy Ghost,"
called upon to keep God's dwelling-place un
defiled, and to abound in all " the fruits of the

§5.] On the Abolition of the Law. 193
Spirit ;" — and as " being delivered from the Law,
that we should serve in newness of the Spirit,
and not in the oldness of the letter."
He who seeks then (as many are disposed to
do), either in the Old Testament or in the New,
for a precise code of laws by which to regulate
his conduct, mistakes the character of our re
ligion. It is indeed an error, and a ruinous one,
to think that we may " continue in sin, because
we are not under the law, but under grace:"
but it is also an error, and a far commoner one,
to inquire of the Scriptures in each case that
may occur, what we are strictly bound to do or
to abstain from, and to feel secure as long as we
transgress no distinct commandment*. But he
who seeks with sincerity for Christian principles
-will not fail to find them. If we endeavour,
^ I am inclined to believe that one reason which makes
some persons reluctant to acknowledge the total abolition
of the Mosaic law, is the notion that the sanctity of the
"Christian Sabbath" depends on the fourth commandment,
and that, consequently, the reverence due to the Lord's day
would be destroyed, or impaired, by our admitting the ten
commandments to be no longer binding. — On this subject I
have offered some remarks in Note A at the end of this
volume.

194 On ihe Abolition of the Law. [essay v.
through the aid of the Holy Spirit, to trace on
our own heart the delineation of the Christian
character which the Scriptures present, and to
conform all our actions, and words, and thoughts,
to that character, our heavenly Teacher wUl
enable us to " have a right judgment in all
things;" and we shall be "led by the Spirit" of
Christ to follow his steps, and to " purify our
selves even as He is pure ;" that " when He
shall appear, we may be made like unto Him,
and may behold him as He is."

ESSAY VI.

ON IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The importance of obtaining correct, and
avoiding erroneous notions, respecting any point
of doctrine, is not always to be measured by the
intrinsic importance of the doctrine itself, or by
the practical consequences immediately resulting
from this or that view of it. No error can be
considered as harmless and insignificant, which
tends to put a stumbhng-block in the way of
believers in the Gospel, and to afford to infidels
or heretics the advantage of a plausible objection
against its truths. The genuine and fundamental
doctrines of Christianity, may become liable to
be scoffed at by some, and dreaded or disre
garded by others, from their supposed connexion
vrith such as are in fact no part of the gospel-
revelation. It then becomes a matter of im
portance to rectify even those mistakes which
o 2

196 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
are in themselves of no moment ; since we thus
(to use once more the expression of Dr. Paley)
" relieve Christianity of a weight that sinks it."
God forbid that the Christian should deny or
explain away any thing that is a part of his
faith, for the sake of moderating the hostility, or
escaping the scorn that may be directed against
it ; but as little is he authorized needlessly to
expose his religion to that hostihty or scorn, by
maintaining or allowing to be maintained, as a
part of the Christian-revelation, any tenet (how
ever intrinsically true) which the Scriptures do
not warrant. The same authority which forbids
us to " diminish aught" from the word of God,
forbids us also to " add thereto."
That the Apostle Paul's authority in particular
has been appealed to in support of several con
clusions which are in fact not taught by him,
I have already endeavoured to show ; principally
with a view to the removal of that dread or
neglect of his writings which has too often been
the result.
§ 1. Another doctrine, or set of doctrines
rather, there is, in support of which, this

§ 1.] On imputed Righteousness. 197
Apostle's authority is principally referred to,
and which being (whether deservedly or not)
regarded by many with suspicion and alarm, or
with disgust and contempt, has thus proved a
source of objection, either to the gospel-scheme
altogether, or to the teaching of Paul in par
ticular, of which such tenets have been supposed
to form a part. I allude to the doctrine of
" imputed sin," and " imputed righteousness," as
set forth by some writers, who represent it as
the very key-stone of the Christian system.
I purposely abstain from referring to any
authors in particular ; because the proper cha
racter of a calm inquiry after truth, is so liable
to be lost in that of a controversy with some
individual or party ; and the discussion of any
question thus becomes, though more interesting
perhaps to some minds, yet less edifying ; since,
after all, the object ultimately proposed should
be, not the confutation of this or that theologian,
but the ascertainment of the genuine doctrines
of our religion ; which must rest, not on any
merely human authority, but on that of the
Holy Scriptures.
The system at present in question, as far as,

198 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
I have been able to collect its import, may be
briefly stated thus : that when our first pare.nts
had fallen from their state of innocence, they
transmitted to all their posterity (over and above
the proneness to sin which we are born with,
and our liability to natural death,) the guilt also
of the actual transgression committed by Adam :
this being imputed to every one of his poste
rity : for, it is said, he being the federal head
or representative of the whole human species,
his act is considered as theirs to all intents and
purposes ; and each descendant of Adam is con
sidered by his Almighty Judge as actually guilty,
from his birth, of the very sin of having eaten
of the forbidden fruit; and is, for that sin,
sentenced not merely to undergo natural death,
but also everlasting punishment in the next
world, independently of any sins committed by
himself This is not indeed always the sense in which
the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity,
and their consequent punishment, are spoken
of; there are some who understand by the ex
pression, merely, the forfeiture of immortahty —
the liability to temporal death; though it is

§ l.J On imputed Righteousness. 199
perhaps rather an incorrect use of language, to
apply the term punishment to the absence of that
immortality which was never our's : the human
race indeed, taken collectively, so as to include
our first parents, may be said to have lost im
mortal life; but each individual of their pos
terity, being born mortal, cannot, without great
laxity of language, be said to be punished by
being excluded from immortality.
The doctrine, however, in the sense before
stated, has been often expressly maintained, and
much oftener indirectly implied, and assumed as
indubitable. Then, to relieve mankind from this sentence,
and to procure for them immortal happiness in
heaven, our Saviour Christ, it is said, not only
in his death offered up an effectual sacrifice for
the sins of the whole world, — bearing in his own
person the punishment due both to the imputed
transgression of Adam, and to the actual sins
of men, — but also, during his abode on earth,
performed for them those good works of perfect
obedience to the law, both ceremonial, civil,
and moral, which are imputed to true believers
in Him, and considered as theirs : even as the

200 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
transgression of Adara is iraputed to all his
natural descendants. Thus, and thus only, it
is said, could the evil introduced by Adam's
transgression be (as far as respects the adoptive
children of God) effectually repaired : for as
Adam was the representative of the whole human
race, so that his sin is, by imputation, made
theirs, and they, all and each, thus lay under
the sentence of eternal punishment, so it was
necessary that the obedience and personal holi
ness of Christ, who stands as the representative
of his faithful servants, should be, in like manner,
imputed to them, and thus give them a title to
eternal happiness : — ^that He should, in short,
not only by his death undergo the punishment
due to Man from God, but also, in his life, fulfil
the righteousness due to God from Man ; in
each instance, suffering and performing what
He did, vicariously,— /o/-, and in the stead of,
his people ; who are thence regarded as having
themselves both paid the penalty of sin, and
also performed perfect obedience to the divine
laws; both having been accomplished by their
substitute and representative. And sorae there
are, who go so far as to maintain that as God

§ l.J On imputed Righteousness. 201
imputes to believers the good works of Jesus
Christ, and transfers to them the merit of his
obedient life, so He also imputed to Jesus, at the
time of his crucifixion, the actual guilt of those
sins for which he suffered, and regarded Him,
for the time being, as the actual transgressor ;
" bearing our sins" not only in respect of the
penalty of them, but of their intrinsic guilt, and
the divine wrath* against it. This, however, is
not, I believe, held by all who maintain the
imputation of Adam's sin, and of Christ's obe
dience. Some other slighter variations of statement
are to be found, as might be expected, in the
works of different authors ; but such, in the
main, as I have described, is the system taught,
not in abstruse theological disquisitions merely,
but in several popular treatises and sermons ;
and taught, as the very foundation of christian
faith ; of which indeed it must, if true, form no
insignificant part.
a There are many writers who never think of reminding
their readers, and, indeed, appear to have themselves gradually
learnt to forget, that wrath is attributed to the Deity only in
a figurative, not a literal sense. — See King's Discourse on
Predestination.

202 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
That it is paradoxical, — remote from all we
should naturally have expected, — and startling
to our untutored feelings, cannot be questioned.
This is, however, no reason why it may not be
true ; or why, if true, we should shrink from
receiving it ; since God's " ways are not as our
ways ;" and since, incapable as we are of esti
mating his counsels, it is for us, not to question,
but to receive, whatever He may have proposed
to us. It is a reason, however, why we should
inquire for, and expect, the more full and precise
revelation on such a point. What is discover
able by unassisted human Reason, we must not
expect to find revealed at all in Scripture.
Such things again as, though not discoverable
by reason, are yet conformable to its suggestions,
and contain no mysterious difficulty, — of these,
we may receive satisfactory assurance even in a
single passage, or in a few short hints. But
any doctrine which, like that now in question, is
wholly at variance with every notion we should
naturally be led to form, we may be sure will be
revealed, if revealed at all, in the fullest and
most decisive language. The doctrine, too,
which I have been considering, must, if it belong

§ 2.J On imputed Righteousness. 203
to the gospel-scheme, be as important as it is
mysterious : it must be the very key, as it were,
to eternal happiness ; since, according to this
view, it is only through the obedience of Christ
imputed to us, that we can have any claim or
hope to be admitted to the glories of his
heavenly kingdom.
§ 2. It is not once or twice, therefore, — it is
not obscurely or obliquely, — that we might ex
pect to find Paul speaking to his converts of
this imputed sin, and imputed obedience. As
the foundation of salutary dread, and of conso
latory hope, — as connected most intimately with
every question relative to the punishments and
rewards of the next world, — we might expect
him to make the most explicit declarations re
specting a point of such moment,— to dwell on
it copiously and earnestly, — to recur to it in
almost every page.
Now when we proceed to the actual examina
tion of Scripture, do we find these most reason
able expectations confirmed ? Far otherwise :
it is not, perhaps, going too far, to say that the
whole system is made to rest on a particular

204 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
interpretation of one single text (Rom. v. 19),
" As by one man's disobedience many" were
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many" be made righteous." For though there
are other passages which have been considered
as alluding to and confirming the tenet in
question, there is none that could, without mani
fest violence, be construed into an express de
claration of it.
The passage in question is one which we
cannot reasonably hope to interpret aright, if
we contemplate it as an insulated proposition ; —
if we do not take into account the general tenour
of the Apostle's teaching. Now, it is most im
portant to observe, that frequent as are his
allusions (as might be expected) to the Chris
tian's redemption, and acceptableness to God,
through Christ ; the reference is made, through
out, to his death, — to his cross, — to his blood, —
to his sufferings, — to his sacrifice of himself, as
the meritorious cause of our salvation ; not, to
the righteousness of his life imputed to behevers;
the transfer of the merit of his good works.
For instance, " He hath reconciled us to God,
i" 01 TToWoi the many ; i. e. the whole mass of mankind.

§ 2. J On imputed Righteousness. 205
in the body of his flesh through death :" " Being
justified freely by his grace, through the redemp
tion that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his
blood:" " He hath brought us nigh to God, and
made Him at peace with us, through the blood
of the cross:" " We are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all ;"
— besides numerous -other passages to the same
purpose. Frequent again as are the allusions to the
pure and perfect holiness of our Saviour's life,
we nowhere find this spoken of as imputed to
Christians, and made theirs by transfer of merit ;
but always, as qualifying Him to be, on the one
hand, an example to Christians, and on the
other, both the Victim and the Priest, of spotless
purity ; — ^as constituting Him the true Lamb
without blemish, — " the innocent blood," which
" taketh away the sin of the world," because He
who offered it had no need of atonement for Him
self For instance, " how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit,
offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse
your bodies from dead works to serve the hving

206 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
God ?" " Such an High Priest became us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin
ners." In these and many other such passages,
in which the personal holiness of Christ is spoken
of, and spoken of too in reference to our salva
tion, it is not said that the obedience of Christ is
imputed to us, and the merit of his good works
transferred to us, (which we might surely have
expected to find there mentioned, had it been
designed to teach such a doctrine) ; but, on the
contrary, it seems rather to be implied that his
obedience was imputed to Himself as necessary
to qualify him for the great sacrifice of atone
ment. And the language of Scripture on this point
coincides with the most sound moral judgment ;
which indicates that nothing short of a life of
unsinning virtue could have made Him, Himself,
acceptable, and fit for his great office ; that, in
short, it behoved Him "to fulfil all righteous
ness," in order that he might be a spotless
Victim, and an undefiled Priest: that in suffering
indeed an accursed death. He did more than
could be required of an innocent person on his
own account ; and that, therefore. He died, " the

§ 2.J On imputed Righteousness. 207
just for the unjust ;" but that his being just, —
the perfect obedience of his life, — could not be
more than requisite to constitute Hira perfect as
a man. I speak, of course, of his obedient life
in reference to his human nature alone ; in
respect of which He always declared, " My
Father is greater than I ;" to speak of his obedi
ence, considering Him as a Divine Person, would
be at least approaching very near to the Arian
doctrine ;" since all obedience necessarily implies
a superior. "= There is, I fear, in many Christians a strong habitual
leaning of the mind to this view of the Scripture doctrines ;
though they are unconscious of it, from their having formally
condemned Arianism, and distinctly asserted the equality of
the Son and the Holy Spirit -svith the Father : forgetting that
this is no security against a tinge being given to their ordi
nary course of thought on the subject, — a tendency practically
to contemplate three distinct Divine Beings, the second
inferior to the first, and the third to both.
That it is possible for men to become something very near
indeed to Arianism without knowing it, we have a curious
instance in ecclesiastical history. In the early stages of
Arianism, a confession of faith was agreed upon* which was
satisfactory to all parties, till some time after, the Arians
began to boast of their triumph, and to point out the sanction
* At Rimini, A D. 360. Above 400 prelates attended it.

208 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
Surely, then, when we read that " by the
obedience of [the] one, many [the manyJ shall
J? which the formula adopted gave to their doctrine ; and then
\ " the Church," says Jerome, " marvelled to find itself unex-
'' pectedly become Arian."
Something of the same kind, on a smaller scale, took place
very recently among ourselves. The discovery of Milton's
system of theology, startled many persons by its avowed
Arianism, who had been accustomed to commend his poems
for their sound theology ; though they convey the very same
views, stated almost as plainly as, in a poem, they could be.
Numerous passages indeed may be cited firom the " Paradise
Lost," which cannot be censured as heterodox, because they
are little more than metrical versions of portions of Scripture.
But such passages do not necessarUy prove any thing, one way
or the other, respecting a writer's opinions : since the Scrip
tures themselves appear, to an Arian, to speak Arianism, —
to a Socinian, Socinianism, &c. But that there is in the
poem a general leaning such as I have just alluded to, must
I think be evident, except to those who, from various causes,
and, among the rest, from an early and habitual study of
Milton, have themselves imperceptibly imbibed similar
notions. When I speak however of Milton as Arian, I do not
mean that he precisely coincided with Arius : much less,
designed to enrol himself among his disciples. I mean merely
to designate the Mnd of error towards which his language
tends. Milton certainly was " nullius addictus jurare in verba
magistri ;" well inclined to think for himself, though not
always to " think soberly."

§ 2.J On imputed Righteousness. 209
be made (or constituted, — Kara(rra6r\<T0VTai)
righteous," the presumption is strongly in favour
of such an interpretation as shall accord with
the declaration that we are "justified by his
blood." Now such an interpretation is not only
allowable, but is even, I may say, suggested
by the Apostle himself in another passage, in
which, speaking of Christ's death, he uses the
very corresponding word to (viraKori) " obedi
ence " in this place : Christ, he says " became
obedient (inri^Koos) to death, even the death of the
cross." His death, indeed, is more than once
These instances are amply sufficient to prove, at the very
least, such a possibility as I have alluded to.
Probably, indeed, the whole doctrine of justification through
the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers, may be
traced in a great degree to these semi-arian views. Men are
apt to conclude that the " righteousness of Christ " must
denote something distinct from the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, bringing forth fruit unto holiness ; because they fear to
confound together, what they habitually, though unconsciously,
consider two different Agents. Whereas Scripture, if they
would submit to be implicitly led by it, promises that Christ
will come unto his servants and " make his abode with
them ;"— that " hereby know we that He (Christ) dwelleth in
us, by his Spirit which He hath given us ;" and that " the
Lord is the (not " that" as our translation has it) Spirit."
P

210 On imputed Righteousness, [essay VL
referred to in this point of view ; namely, as a
part, and as the great and consummating act of
that submissive and entire obedience which he
rendered throughout to his Father's will. For
instance, in our Lord's own words just before
He suffered, " not my will, but thine be done :"
" Lo, I come to do thy will, O God ;" " when
He suffered He threatened not, but submitted
Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."
Then, with respect to the imputation of Adam's
sin to his descendants, it might, as I have said,
be expected that, if true, it would be frequently
and fully set forth. But at any rate it could
hardly fail to be mentioned on those occasions
where the Apostle is occupied in proving and in
sisting on the universal necessity of a Redeemer,
and the inevitable ruin of mankind without an
atoning sacrifice. Now this plainly is his object
in the opening of this very Epistle, (to the
Romans) which is generally regarded as the
most systematic of all that he wrote. What
then is Paul's procedure ? He dwells at large
on the actual sins of men ; he gives a copious
and shocking detail of the enormities of the
Gentile world, into which they had plunged in

§ 2.J On imputed Righteousness. 211
defiance of their own natural conscience; and
then expatiates on the sins of which the Jews
had been guilty, in violation of the law in which
they trusted. How needless would all this have
been for one who maintained the doctrine of
imputed sin ! No one, indeed, denies that men
do commit actual sin ; but the hypothesis I have
been speaking of would have cut the argument
short-: on that supposition it would have been
sufficient to say at once, that Adam's trans
gression being imputed to all his posterity, so
that they are all regarded as guilty of his act,
they must be, in consequence, whether sinful or
innocent, — whether more or less sinful, — in their
own persons, doomed to eternal perdition, unless
redeemed from this imputed guilt. Nor does
the passage I have appealed, to, stand alone in
this respect. Numerous as are the denuncia
tions of divine judgment against sin, all concur
in making the reference not to the imputed sin
of our first parents, but to the actual sins of
men : none of them warrants the conclusion
that any one is liable to punishment (I mean
in the next world) for any one's sins but his
own.
P2

212 On imputed Righteousness, [essay VL
§ 3. It should be observed also, that there is
an especial reason for interpreting that part of
the Epistle I have been alluding to* by reference
to other parts of Scripture : which is, that it is
not the Apostle's object, in this place, to declare
or establish the doctrine of original sin, and of
our deliverance from its consequences by Christ
our Saviour. It is plain from the context that
these points are established . only incidentally ;
the main drift of his argument being to set forth
the universality of the redemption, — as being
co-extensive vrith the evil introduced at the Fall,
which it was designed to remedy. The Jewish
converts, to whom he seems to be principaUy
addressing himself, were disposed, by their
ancient national prejudices, to limit the benefits
of the Messiah's advent to their own people.
The great and revolting mystery to ihem, was,
" that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs :" in
opposition to which exclusive spirit he infers the
universal redemption accomplished by Christ,
from the universality of that loss and corruption
which He undertook to repair : " as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive :"
* Rom. V. 19.

§ 3. J On imputed Righteousness. 213
" as by one man's disobedience many (the many
i. e. all) were made (or constituted, KaTeardOrja-av,)
sinners, even so by the obedience of the one
shall the many," (i. e. not the Jews only but the
whole race of mankind, as many as believe)
" be made righteous."
Now there is no doubt that such an oblique
allusion to any doctrine does not only establish
it, but establish it even more decidedly than
an express assertion : since it implies that it is
a known and undisputed truth ; but still the
difference between the two cases is not the less
important : we are not to look for the same full
and clear exposition of any point of faith in those
passages where it is merely alluded to inciden
tally, as in those wherein the object is to declare
and explain it. And some passage, in which it
is the direct object to reveal and inculcate the
doctrine now in question, would doubtless have
been appealed to by its advocates, had any such
passage existed. But fundamentally important
as this truth must be, if it be a truth, no portion
of Scripture can be found that can even be
represented as having for its immediate and
primary design to declare it. The sinfulness of

214 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
human nature is, indeed, abundantly set forth ;
but not the imputation to one man of the actuaL
transgression committed by another ; our salva
tion through Christ is earnestly dwelt on ; but
it is " through faith in his blood'' Nay, there
is mention made of imputation and non-imputa
tion ; but not of one man's act or desert to
another. God is spoken of as " not imputing
to raen their trespasses," (which, by the way,
would amount to nothing, if He still imputed
to them the trespasses of another) ; and we are
told, " faith (our own) shall be iraputed to us
for righteousness."
And this should teach us how to interpret
the passages in which we are said to be made
" the righteousness of God in Christ," and He,
to be " made sin for us ;" -viz. not that he was
considered in the sight of God as actually sinful,
but that He was made a " sin-offering" for us ;
diiaprla, which is literally, " sin," being com
monly used by the Septuagint translators in
the sense of a sin-offering. And again, when
we are said to be made righteous through his
" obedience unto death," — and to be " made the
righteousness of God in Him :" and He again is

§ 3. J On imputed Righteomness. 215
said to be " made of God unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp
tion," it is not meant that there is an imputation
to believers of the righteousness of Christ's life,
as if it were theirs ; any more than that the
wisdom of Christ is imputed to them, or the
redemption which He effected is regarded as
effected by them ; but that He purchased, by
the sacrifice of Himself, all th*ese benefits for
men ; for those, i. e. who should by faith be
admitted to be partakers of them ; — that when
He had been " delivered for our sins," He " rose
again for our justification ;" i. e. " ascended up
on high, and received gifts for men, that the
Lord God might dwell among them :" viz. that
his Holy Spirit, whose temple we are, might
reside in, and. sanctify our hearts, and impart to
us wisdom and righteousness, to be practically
displayed in our lives.^ And since vrithout this
holy guidance our own feeble and depraved
nature could never bring forth what the Apostle
calls " the fruits of the Spirit," nor follow the
steps of Christ, this may well be called the
" righteousness of Christ," or the " righteousness
" See Whitby on this subject.

216 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
of God in Christ." For " if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his :"
" if any man keep my saying, my Father will
love him, and we will come unto him, and make
our abode in him." " Little children," says the
Apostle John, " let no man deceive you ; he
that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He
is righteous." " They that are Christ's," says
Paul, "have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts ;" " if we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit." " If ye, through the Spirit,
do mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall live ;
for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God."
§ 4. From the consideration then of these
passages of Scripture which have been adduced,
as well as of many more to the same purpose
which might be appealed to if needful, I cannot
but conclude that that system of iraputed sin
and righteousness, which I have been consider
ing, is altogether fanciful and groundless. It
has indeed at first sight a sort of compactness,
coherency, and consistency of parts, which gives
it, till closely scrutinized, an air of plausibility ;

§ 4.J On imputed Righteousness. 217
but this very circumstance should, in any case,
put us the more carefully on our guard ; for
there is no more common error in many depart
ments of study, and especially in theology, than
the prevalence of a love of system over the love
of truth. Men are often so much captivated
by the aspect of what seems to them a regular,
beautiful, and well-connected theory, as to adopt
it hastily without inquiring, in the outset, how
far it is conformable to facts or to scriptural
authority ; and thus, often on one or two pas
sages of Scripture, have built up an ingenious
and consistent scheme, of which the far greater
part is a tissue of their own reasonings and con
jectures.* The whole subject indeed of justification has
been involved in great, and, I cannot but think,
needless, perplexity, by the practice formerly
alluded to (Essay III.) of first affixing (which
*' I would not be thought to appeal to our Articles, or to
any other human work, as decisive on such a point. But it is
worth considering by those members of our Church who regard
this doctrine as the key-stone of Christianity, that the Articles,
though insisting on justification through Christ, make no
allusion to the imputation to believers of his good works.
The expression is, "propter meritum," &c.

218 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
may be allowable) s a strict technical sense to
each of the principal Words that have been
employed in Scripture, and then (which is not
allowable) interpreting the word, whenever it
is found in the Sacred Writers themselves, ac
cording to such precise definition ; instead of
regarding their works as popular, not scientific,
and seeking for the meaning of their expressions,
in each case, from the context.
Thus, in the present instance, if three or four
perhaps of those who are accounted sound divines,
should be consulted as to the doctrine of Justifi
cation, it is not unlikely they would give as many
different accounts of it. All would agree as to
the importance of the doctrine ; but some per
haps would lay down two Justifications, others,
s Perhaps, however, it would have been better if, from
the very first, no scriptural terms had been introduced into
systems of theology. Some have objected to the word
" Trinity," and a few others, on the ground that they are
not found in Scripture : this appears to me their chief recom
mendation ; since in this case all danger is eflPectually avoided
of misinterpreting Scripture in the way I am describing. As
it is, one of our best safeguards against this danger would he,
to vary from time to time the language of our expositions of
Scripture doctrines.

§ 4.} On imputed Righteousness. 219
only one; and among these there would be found
great discrepancies ; and yet all probably would
be found, in their general views of the Christian
scheme, to arrive at nearly the same practical
results. It is hardly to be supposed indeed that
there can be so much difficulty (to the unlearned,
impossibility) as this discrepancy would seem to
imply, in ascertaining from Scripture, " what we
must do to be saved." And is there not there
fore ground to suspect that many divines have
been unconsciously involved in embarrassing dis
putes about words, from expecting in the Sacred
Writers a more scientific accuracy and uniformity
of language than they ever aimed at ?''
When one of the Apostles speaks to men of
th.e condemnation for sin, from which they were
to seek a way to escape, he naturally uses the
word BiKaiwdvvat, to be " justified," in the sense
of acquittal ; — their " not having their trespasses
imputed to them." (Acts xiii. 38, 39. Rom. iii. 25.
Rom. V. 9.) When again he alludes to the defile
ment oi sin, analogous to the ceremonial impu
rities which, under the Levitical Law, excluded
men from partaking of its sacred ordinances,
•> See Hampden's Bampton Lectures. Lect. I.

220 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
he as naturally uses "justified" to signify
their being accounted clean, — regarded as God's
holy people, and admitted without profanation
to approach Him, in the spiritual service of the
new covenant. (Rom. v. 1, 2.) When again the
Jews prided themselves on their law, as their
guide to a moral and religious life, and as
"justifying," that is, making men good, and fit to
obtain heavenly rewards, he sets forth the vain
ness of that expectation ; since, even if the Law
had had the "better hope" ofthe Gospel, — the
sanction of eternal rewards, — still, it could not
justify those who had not strictly obeyed all its
precepts ; which man, left to his natural strength,
had never fully accomplished ; (Rom. ii. 25, and
vii. 22, 23.) insisting, that we are to be justified,
that is, made good men, through faith in Christ,
which admits us to a participation of his Spirit,
(Rom. V. 12), even the Spirit which " helpeth
our infirmities," (Rom. vin. 26,) and " worketh in
us both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
Hence he speaks of Christ as being " delivered
for our sins, and rising again for our justifica
tion," (Rom. iv. 25, and vi. 4) ; that is, that when
He " ascended up on high. He received gifts

§5.] On imputed Righteousness. 221
for men," namely, "that the Lord God might
dwell among them." Hence also he occasionally
speaks of the "law of faith;'' and universally
contrasts, not (as many are apt to suppose) good
works with faith, but faith with the Mosaic law ;
as leading more effectually to good works,
(Rom. -viii. 4, 11, 12, 13, and Tit. iii. 5, and
1 Cor. vi. 1 1), by obtaining for us the aid of the
Holy Spirit, of which they are the fruits. The
chief cause indeed of this Apostle's giving so
prominent a place to the word "justification,"
may be found in the peculiar circumstances under
which he preached ; especially when addressing
the Jews, and those infected with their preju
dices ; who were always hoping to be justified
by the Law ; (imperfectly as they observed it ;)
that is, made at least sufficiently righteous to
inherit the rewards of a future life.'
§ 5. It may be said, however, that the system
which has been treated of in this Essay, is, even
if unsound, not practically dangerous, and, there
fore, not one which needs to be refuted. That
it has been held by pious and worthy men, I
i See Note (¦=', p. 207.

222 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vl.
am well aware ; nor would I contend that it had
any tendency to make them otherwise, and that
their notions on this point were inconsistent with
their religious and moral characters. But it
would be rash to conclude thence, that their
error, if it be one, must be altogether harmless.
Nothing is harmless which may put a stumbling'
block in the path of any sincere Christian:
nothing is harmless that tends to give an undue
advantage to unbehevers, — to disgust some with
what they are told is the orthodox faith, and to
furnish others with objections against it, by in
serting doctrines which the Scriptures do not
warrant : — nothing is harmless that leads to a
depreciation, a dread, or a neglect of the divine
instructions of the Apostle Paul. And such is
most remarkably the case in respect of the
system I have now been considering. It is a
favourite point of attack to the infidel, and the
heretic ; who pretend, and probably beheve
themselves, to have exposed to contempt the
great doctrines of the Atonement and the
Divinity of Christ, by exposing the chimerical
pretensions of doctrines which are taught in
conjunction with these, and represented as parts

§ 5.J On imputed Righteousness. 223
of the same system. And in others, the too-
prevailing neglect of Paul's writings, as neither
intelligible, nor safe, nor a profitable study to
any but theologians of the most profound
learning and wisdom, is fostered, by attributing
to him doctrines more likely to bewilder and
mislead, than to be applicable to any practical
benefit. Mysterious, no doubt, it is, that the sacrifice
of " the innocent blood" should be accepted as
an atonement for sin : but in this case we know
that the sacrifice was voluntary ; — " I lay down
my hfe ; no man taketh it from me, but I lay
it down of myself." Christ, of his own accord,
offered his life as " a ransom for many." But
when we are told of eternal punishment de
nounced against men for the actual sin of Adam,
and this, not by their own voluntary choice,
or by any act of their own, but by the absolute
decree of the Almighty Judge, our ideas of the
divine justice, whether drawn from reason or
from Scripture, cannot but be shocked. When
again, we find Christ spoken of as suffering
for us and in our stead, so that " by his stripes
we are healed," though we cannot comprehend

224 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
indeed, this act of mysterious mercy, we do com
prehend that " there is now, therefore, no con
demnation for them that are in Christ Jesus,"
but that his suffering in our stead exempts his
faithful followers from suffering in their own
persons. But when men are told that the
righteousness of Christ's life is imputed to be
lievers, and considered as their merit, they
are startled at the want of correspondence
of this doctrine with the former, and its ap
parent inconsistency with the injunctions laid
upon us to " bring forth the fruits of the Spirit "
unto everlasting salvation, because " God work
eth in us both to will and to do of his good
pleasure," while we are also told that Christ has
already fulfilled all moral obligations in our stead.
The Antinomian system is unhappily the only one
which surmounts this incongruity ; and its advo
cates accordingly have availed themselves of the
advantage : — Since, say they, Christ suffered for
us, and in our stead, so as to exempt us from
suffering ourselves, by parity of reasoning, the
good works which He performed, — the personal
holiness He possessed, — being imputed to us, as
performed for us and in our stead, must, in like

§ 5.J On imputed Righteousness. 225
manner, exempt us from any such performance
of our own.*"
I do not however mean to contend, that the
generality of those who maintain the system in
question, are tainted, or are even in danger of
tainting the minds of others, with the Antino
mian heresy. It is enough to say, that if they
bring Paul's writings into disrepute or disuse,
by attributing to him, without sufficient grounds,
doctrines which appear to lead to such pernicious
consequences, they are answerable for the evil
thence resulting. Whenever we teach for gos
pel-truths any thing which Scripture does not
waiTant, we are answerable for the effects pro
duced, not only on those who adopt our opinions,
but also on those who dissent from them.
Let Paul, as well as the rest of the Sacred
Writers, be studied with diligence and candour,
and without any bias in favour of an ingenious
and consistent theory, the offspring of our own
speculations ; let the student " prove all things,
and hold fast that which is right ;" and to this
end let him observe the wise maxim of admitting
no conclusion which is not, itself, as well as the
^ See Whitby on this subject.
Q

226 On imputed Righteousness, [essay vi.
premises it is drawn from, agreeable to the word
of God. And let the general tenour of each work
in particular, and of the Scriptures altogether,
be carefully attended to, instead of dwelling ex
clusively on detached passages : and then we may
boldly and constantly maintain every doctrine
which we find to be really revealed, however
mysterious, or however unacceptable.
We are, in reality, not preaching the Gospel,
unless we both preach the whole Gospel, and,
likewise, nothing but the Gospel ; nor can we
hope for the Apostle's consolatory trust of being
" pure from the blood of all men," unless, like
him, we declare to men " all the counsel of
God," and (as a part of the Christian faith)
nothing but " the counsel of God."

ESSAY VII.

ON APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS IN SCRIPTURE.

§ 1. It has been above remarked (Essay II.)
that the expression of the Apostle Peter relative
to the " things hard to be understood," in Paul's
writings, has been employed to furnish an ex
cuse at least, if not a reason, for neglecting and
keeping out of sight those writings ; as being,
to the generality of Christians, both too abstruse
to be studied with any profit, and too liable to
perversion to be approached with safety. And
the principle of avoiding altogether whatever is
hard to be understood, or liable to be wrested to
a destructive purpose, naturally extends itself, as
indeed the passage in question cannot but seem
to warrant, to other parts of Scripture as well as
to Paul's Epistles ; till the result ensues of an
exclusive attention to certain narratives of fact
q2

228 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
and plain moral precepts ; while all that relates
to the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, is left,
as matter of mere speculative inquiry, in the
hands of learned theologians.
Of the precise extent of such an error, no one
individual can be an adequate judge ; but that it
is not imaginary — that it does prevail to a con
siderable degree — is a conclusion which I am
convinced no one will doubt who has made ex
tensive and careful observations. Indeed there
is in the human mind a kind of indolence which
tends to produce this consequence. The remark
ofthe intelligent historian of Greece, will remain
as true as ever while huraan nature continues
the sarae ; that " the generahty of men are
averse to labour in the investigation of truth,
and ready rather to acquiesce in what is set
before them." The Church of Rome only took
-advantage of, what she could not have created,
this disposition of the many to leave the task of
searching the Scriptures to the learned few, —
to let them acquire knowledge, instead of them-'
selves, — and to acquiesce without inquiry into
whatever these should promulgate. The Ronian-
cathohc Clergy were thence looked to, not as

§ l.J in Scripture. 229
leaders and assistants to the laity in the study
of Scripture, but as their substitutes ; and the
word of God became, in consequence, a prohi
bited book to the great body of Christians ; who
were thus left to the guidance of men often
themselves ignorant of Scripture, but whose
ignorance the others had lost the means of de
tecting. This state of things, however, no
priestcraft could have brought about, had not
the dread of laborious investigation prepared the
way for it.*
That there are difficulties in many parts of
Scripture, — as great perhaps in Paul's writings
as in any, — and that there is consequent danger
of mischievous perversion, is undeniable ; and is
indeed what analogy would prepare us to ex
pect : for if the Scriptures could be properly
understood without any trouble, and were in
capable of perversion to bad purposes, they
would be extremely unlike the rest of God's
gifts. But the difficulties of Scripture, as well as the
a I have treated of this subject more at large in a Sermon
on the Christian Priesthood, subjoined to the Second Edition
of the Bampton Lectures.

230 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
danger of misinterpreting . it, are evidently an
additional reason for diligence in the study of
it. And Peter's iraphed censure of " those who
are unlearned" (that is, ill acquainted with the
religion of Jesus Christ) and (as will naturally
follow) " unstable," and likely to be " blown
about with every wind of doctrine," should
operate as a caution, not against the study of
the Scriptures, but against the faults which
would lead us to wrest them to our destruc
tion. To examine into all the difficulties of Scrip
ture, or even of Paul's writings alone, would be
a task to which perhaps the whole life of any
single individual would be scarcely adequate : to
lay down all the rules that might be apphcable
in such a task, would far exceed my present
limits; but it may be worth while to offer a
few remarks on some of the most important,
and, at the same time, most commonly over
looked, of those principles which should be kept
in view in the study of the doctrinal parts of
Scripture ; and the neglect of which has aggra
vated, if not produced, many of the difficulties
complained of (in Paul's writings especially,)

§ 2. J in Scripture. 231
and has led, in many instances, to perplexity,
if not to error.
§ 2. (1.) It is evidently of great importance,
with a view to the right interpretation of any
author, to consider, and to understand fully, his
general drift and design. If we are mistaken in
this point, the utmost diligence and the utmost
ingenuity may sometimes answer no other pur
pose than to lead us the further astray. Now it
is, I conceive, not uncommon to consider Reve
lation as designed, in part, to convey to us
speculative truths; — to increase our knowledge
concerning divine things as they are in their own
intrinsic nature ; — in short, to teach us not
merely religion properly so called, (that is, the
relations between God and man,) but also what
may be styled theological philosophy, — a certain
branch of abstract science." All raen, it is true,
acknowledge revelation to have a practical pur
pose ; but it is conceivable that this might still
be the case, though it were not confined to such
purposes ; — it might, conceivably, propose to
•• Hinds. " Rise and Early Progress of Christianity."
Introd. p. 31. See also Essay IV. First Series.

232 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
our belief, both practical truths, and speculative
truths also, distinct frora each other ; and such
a notion of the christian revelation, may, without
being distinctly avowed, be nevertheless practi
cally entertained and acted upon.
(2.) Nearly allied to, and resulting from, such
a view of the Scriptures, viz. as being, more or
less, of the nature of a philosophical system, is
the expectation (before alluded to) of finding in
them a regular technical vocabulary; — a set of
terms confined, each, to its own appropriate
sense, in which it shall be uniformly and pre
cisely employed. This might indeed take place
in a purely practical system ; but in any case
where speculative scientific truth was the object,
it would be altogether requisite ; and the more
the Scriptures are viewed in this light, the more
the student will be disposed to regard each word
and phrase as bearing throughout a fixed and
peculiar sense ; just as might be expected in a
Creed, — Catechism, — system of Articles, — code
of ethics, or any such composition.
(3.) In any scientific treatise, employing its
own appropriate technical terms, any single
detached passage will usually be sufficiently

§ 2.J in Scripture. 233
intelligible, to one who is familiar with the
definition of those terms. It may, indeed, need
others to establish its truth, or to be combined
with it for the proof of ulterior truths ; but not,
to ascertain its meaning. In proportion, there
fore, as the Scriptures are regarded as approach
ing to the character of a philosophical system,
furnished with a regular technical phraseology,
in the same degree will the student be disposed
to build conclusions on insulated passages, with
out thinking it necessary in every instance to
refer to the context, and to explain one part of
Scripture by others.
(4.) Lastly, one who has been accustomed to
take in any degree such a view of Scripture as ^
I have been describing, (and there are many who
are disposed to do so, though without acknow
ledging it, even to themselves,) will, of course,
when they meet with passages which seera at
variance with each other, be inclined (if, indeed,
they are not absolutely driven into doubts as to
the truth of some portion of Scripture) to regard
these merely in the light of difficulties designed
for the trial of their faith ; which they must sur
mount as well as they can, by explaining away

234 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
such texts as are most adverse to their own
conclusions ; while they dwell on every one that
favours them ; softening down, if I may so
speak, by their interpretation, every other part
of Scripture, into a conformity with the hypo
thesis which they have built on some selected
portion. It is true, indeed, that no one ever professed
a design of studying Scripture on such a plan
as has been described ; but it is no less true
that many have at all times evinced in various
degrees a tendency to slide into it insensibly ; —
that to these causes, in great measure, may be
traced almost all the erroneous systems of faith
which have at various times prevailed ; — and
that many of the difficulties complained of,
especially the discrepancies between the several
parts of Scripture, and particularly between the
Apostle Paul and the other Sacred Writers,
have been either produced or greatly aggravated
by this mistaken mode of studying the Sacred
Records. That the Scriptures contain nothing like a
philosophical system, set forth in technical
phraseology, and that we must not expect to

§ 3.j in Scripture. 235
understand them by confining our attention to
certain insulated passages, and disregarding or
explaining away the rest, but must interpret each
by the context, and from the rest of Scripture —
these maxims appear so obvious when distinctly
stated, that we are apt to be the less sensible,
what vigilant care is requisite in order to con
form to them steadily in practice. It may be
allowable, therefore, to offer sorae brief remarks
on each of the points that have been just
alluded to.
§3. (1.) That the natural desire of knowledge
for its own sake, tends to influence men's judg
ment respecting a divine revelation, in which
they are apt to seek, not merely practical truths,
but the gratification of speculative curiosity, I
have elsewhere taken occasion to reraark". All
pretended revelations accordingly, and legendary
tales of saints, — aU the disquisitions concerning
things divine, of the heathen philosophers, and, I
fear we may add, of some Christian theologians,
however otherwise different, concur in this, that
they relate in great measure, if not exclusively, *•
" Essay IV. First Series.

236 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
to the nature and attributes and woVks of the
Supreme Being, as He is in Himself; — to the real
state of things in the invisible world, however
unconnected with human conduct : while our re
velation is characterized, as I there observed, by
abstaining frora speculative points, — by refusing
to gratify mere curiosity, — by teaching, in short,
not philosophy, but what is properly called
Religion, — the knowledge, i. e. of the relations
between God and man, and of the practical
truths thence resulting.
Those, therefore, are not likely to interpret
Scripture rightly, who are not content with
relative truths, but seek to ascertain, in each
instance, the real state of things ; the knowledge
of which, in many cases probably, could not
be imparted to us with our present faculties ;
and is often withheld, where it might. Such
a student is likely to mistake the sense of the
Sacred Writers, fi'om not judging aright what
kind of instruction it is that they design to im
part; his religious notions are " spoiled through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ." And from such a view of the

§ 3.J in Scripture. 237
Scriptures, the conclusion that the doctrinal
parts of them are unnecessary, unprofitable, and
unsafe, to the great mass of Christians, will be
the natural result. Both the learned and the
unlearned will agree in taking this view of the
Scripture-doctrines : the presumptuous inquiries
of the one class, have a direct tendency to
sanction and foster the indolent indifference of
the other.^
* The sense of the term " mystery," as employed by the
Sacred Writers, is very commonly mistaken ; and the mistake
has been a source of much error. — See Parkhurst's Lexicon
to the New Testament, on the word Mvarripiov.
The ancient heathen had certain sacred rites, in which
were disclosed, to those " initiated," certain secrets, which
were carefully to be kept concealed from the uninitiated,
(dfivriToi,) the great mass of the professors of the religion.
The Apostle naturally makes allusion to these, by the use of
the word " mystery," to denote those designs of God's pro
vidence, and those doctrinal truths, which had been kept
concealed from mankind "till the fulness of time" was come,
"but now were made manifest" to believers. And he fre
quently adverts to one important circumstance in the Chris
tian mysteries, which distinguishes them from those of
paganism ; viz. that while these last were revealed only to
a chosen few, the gospel-mysteries, on the contrary, were
made known to all who would listen to and obey the truth ;
whether Jew or Gentile, bond or fi:ee, barbarian or Greek.

238 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
(2.) And as nothing was further from the
design of Paul and the other Sacred Writers,
than to frame a philosophical system, so, they
aimed at no philosophical regularity of language :
their writings, as I have before remarked, were
popular, not scientific ; they expressed their
meaning on each occasion, in the words which,
on each occasion, suggested themselves as best
fitted to convey it to readers of plain under
standing ; and these terms are to be understood,
though not indeed always in their ordinary
sense, yet, on the other hand, not according
All Christians were " initiated " {(rvfifivaraL, as one of the
ancient Fathers calls them), and those only remained in dark
ness who wilfully shut their eyes ; " if our gospel be hid, it is
hid to them that are lost, whom the prince of this world hath
blinded." Now our ordinary use of the word mystery conveys the
notion of something that we cannot understand at all, and
which it is fruitless to inquire into. I am not censuring this
use of the word ; but if we interpret according to our own
usage, an author who employs it differently, it is plain we
shall be misled. Both we and the Sacred Writers, indeed,
understand by the word, something hidden from one party
and known to another, (for we suppose all mysteries to be
known to God) ; but there is this difference ; that we use the
word in reference to the party from whom the knowledge is

§ 3.J in Scripture. 239
to any precise scientific definition, but each with
reference to the context of the place where it is
found. (3.) And again, it is this popular and un
systematic character of the Sacred Writings that
makes it the more unsafe to dwell on detached
portions of them, instead of comparing each part
of Scripture with the rest. Not merely incom
plete knowledge, but actual error, will often
be the result ; because it will often happen (as
might be expected in an unscientific discourse)
that the author has in view, in some particular
withheld; the Apostles, in reference to those to whom the
knowledge is revealed. Such an expression as, " this is a
mystery to us,'' conveys to us the idea that it is something
we do not and cannot understand ; to Paul it would convey
the idea that it is something which " now is made manifest,"
and which we are, therefore, called upon to contemplate and
study ; even as his ofiice was " to make known the mystery
of the gospel." Not that he meant to imply that we are able
fully to understand the divine dispensations ; but it is not in
reference to this their inscrutable character that he calls them
mysteries, but the reverse ; they are reckoned by him mys
teries, not so far forth as they are hidden and unintelligible,
but so far forth as they are revealed and explained.
For another use of mystery, to signify a symbolical repre
sentation. See Parkhurst.

240 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
passage, not the full development of any truth,
but the correction of some particular mistake, —
the inculcation of sorae particular caution, — or
the enforcement of some particular portion of a
doctrine or precept ; so that such a passage,
contemplated by itself, would tend to partial,
and consequently, erroneous views.
(4.) And as it is hence necessary to call in
the aid of different parts of Scripture for the
interpretation of each other, so, those which
appear the most at variance with each other, —
which if taken singly, and strictly interpreted,
would contradict each other, — are, for that
very reason, the most important to be brought
together and contemplated in connexion. The
seeming contradictions in Scripture are too
numerous not to be the result of design ; and
doubtless were designed, not as mere difficulties
to try our faith and patience, but as furnishing
the most suitable mode of instruction that could
have been devised, by mutually explaining, and
modifying or limiting, or extending, one another's
meaning. By this means we are furnished, in
some degree, with a test of the truth or falsity
of our conclusions : as long as the appearance

§ 4.J in Scripture. 241
of mutual contradiction remains, we may be sure
that we are wrong : — when we can fairly and
without violence" reconcile passages of opposite
tendencies, we may entertain a hope that we
are right.
Such must be the procedure of the candid
inquirer after truth ; and by which, through
divine help, he may hope to attain it. Those
whose object is to find arguments in support
of a favourite hypothesis built on a partial view
of Scripture, will often be no less successful in
their object; — in finding texts that will serve
to give plausibility to their own system, and
to perplex an opponent. But that opponent
will usually have exactly the same advantages on
his side also ; each party having apparently some
portion of Scripture favourable to his scheme,
and others which he can hardly reconcile with
it : and both parties perhaps being equally remote
from the truth, and guilty of the very sarae error
as to their mode of interpreting Scripture.
§ 4. That the apparent contradictions of
Scripture are numerous, — that the instruction
e See Pascal's Thoughts, XIII. 12.
R

242 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii,
conveyed by them, if they be indeed designed for
such a purpose, is furnished in abundance, — is
too notorious to need being much insisted on.
We are told that God " repented of having
made man upon the earth," — that He " repented
of having made Saul King over Israel," — that
" He repenteth Him of the evil ;" and again,
that " He is not the son of man that He should
repent ;" and that " in Him is no variableness
nor shadow of turning." We are told that
" whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin ;" yet again, by the very same author, that
" if we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves." We read in one apostolical epistle,
that Abraham was justified by faith, and in
another, that he was justified by works. One
discourse of our Lord's, in which He makes
mention of the day of judgment, and describes
the blessing and the curse respectively pronounced
on those who have performed or neglected such
charitable offices as feeding the hungry, clothing
the naked, and ministering to the sick, might
seem to favour the conclusion that our final
doom is to depend exclusively on our care or
neglect of our distressed brethren, without any

§ 4. J in Scripture. 243
regard to our faith, or to the purity or the
integrity of our lives ; in his final charge to his
disciples again, it might seem that every thing
is made to depend on right belief alone ; " he
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
We are told again by our Lord, to pray and to
give alms, secretly ; and again, to let our " light
so shine before men that they may see our good
works ;" and by the Apostle, " not to forsake
the assembling of ourselves together" for the
purpose of worship. We are told by our Lord,
" He that is not with me is against me ;" and
again, " he that is not against us is with us ;" —
that " he who hateth not his father and mother,
and wife and children, and all that he hath,
cannot be his disciple ;" and again by his Apostle,
that " he who provideth not for his own house,
is worse than an infidel." The sarae again who
tells his disciples, " the Father hath sent me ;"
" I go to the Father ;" " the Father is greater
than I ;" " I can of mine own self do nothing ;"
tells them also, " he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father, — I am in the Father, and the
Father in me, — I and the Father are one." The
same who tells them, that He " will not leave
r2

244 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
them comfortless, but will come unto them ;"
and " lo, I am with you always, even unto the
end of the world," tells them also, " if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you,
but if I depart I will send Hira unto you ;" yet
again He tells them of " the Comforter whom
the Father will send, in his (Christ's) name ;"
and again in another place, " if any man keep
my saying, my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him."
And He who was preached to Cornelius as " one
whora God anointed with the Holy Ghost and
with power," is spoken of by Paul, as " over
all, God blessed for ever," " in whom dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." "^ And
instances of a similar character might be mul
tiplied to a great extent.
I am well aware what copious and satisfactory
explanations have been given of a multitude of
such seeming discrepancies as these : the only
point that pertains to the present question, and
which we ought, I think, strongly to dwell upon,
is, that they are not to be regarded merely in the
light of difficulties, but rather as belonging to the
f See Appendix to Elements of Logic. Art. " Person."

§ 4. J in Scripture. 245
mode of instruction employed in Scripture. Even
in teaching moral duties, there are good reasons
for introducing, as we find is occasionally done,
some maxims which, taken separately, and in
terpreted with literal strictness, are at variance
with each other, but which, when taken in con
nexion, serve to explain and modify each other.
Instructions thus conveyed are evidently more
striking and more likely to arouse the attention ;
and also, from the very circumstance that they
call for careful reflection, more likely to make a
lasting impression.^ But there are additional
reasons for adopting this mode of conveying to
us the requisite knowledge concerning mysteries
which are not directly comprehensible by our
understanding. Since no language could convey
to man, with his present faculties, in proper
terms, a clear and just notion of those attributes
and acts of the Supreme Being, which revelation
designed to impart, it was necessary for this pur
pose to resort to analogical expressions, which
may convey to us, in faint shadows and figures,
such a knowledge of divine mysteries as is
8 See the following Essay.

246 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
requisite, and is alone within the reach of our
capacity." Now the disadvantage attending the use of
such language is, that men are sometimes apt
to understand it too literally, and to interpret
what is said more strictly than was intended.
And the best remedy against this mistake, is to
vary the figures employed as much as possible ;
— to illustrate the same thing by several different
analogies ; by which means these several ex
pressions, being inconsistent when understood
literally, will serve to limit and correct each
other; and thus, together, to convey more
clearly the real meaning designed.'
What has been just said, may be illustrated
by the language we employ in speaking of the
htiman mind and its operations ; respecting
which, we have few or no terms which are not
originally, at least, borrowed from the material
world. For instance, it is very coraraon to
speak of the Memory as a kind of storehouse or
repository : — we speak of treasuring up things in
the memory; of having the memory well stored;
'^ See King's Discourse on Predestination.
' See Stewart's Philosophy.

§ 4. J in Scripture. 247
and the like. Now there might be a danger
that by the long and familiar use of such figura
tive expressions, we should at length come to
forget that they are figurative ; — to imagine the
brain to be literally a kind of storehouse, and ideas
or notions to be some real things actually laid
up within it : but this mistake is guarded against
by another, and quite different, set of figurative
expressions for describing the same thing; for
we often again speak of the Memory as a kind of
writing-tablet ; we speak of things being written,
— imprinted, — engraved, on the memory; or
again, of their being erased from the memory.
Now these expressions again would mislead men,
if understood literally ; but this is prevented by
those other modes of expression before men
tioned ; which in their turn are limited and
explained by these. For by considering that the
two, when taken literally, contradict each other,
— that the memory cannot be, literally, at once
a storehouse and a writing-tablet, — we are habi
tually reminded that it is literally neither ; but
is so called, only by analogy ."^
^ iS'ee " Elements of Logic." Dissertation, chap. v. § 1,
towards the end.

248 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
Now as we are thus unable to speak even of
the workings of the human mind without using
such figurative expressions, much less can we
expect that all which is to be taught us of the
things relating to the Most High, can be con
veyed to us in any other way. And in each case
it is requisite that the figures eraployed should
be several and various, in order the better to
guard us against understanding any one of them
more literally than was intended. It was de
signed therefore that many of the expressions
eraployed should be such as would, if strictly
and literally interpreted, contradict each other ;
and such as may, when reconciled together, lead
us as near the truth as our minds are capable of
approaching. The raariner who has to steer his
passage through the untracked ocean, when it
happens that he cannot have the exact line of
his course pointed out, is often enabled to avoid
any important deviation from it, by being ac
quainted with certain boundaries on each side
of it, and by keeping his vessel between them.
Certain rocks and landmarks may serve to fur
nish to his eye a kind of line, which will secure
him, as long as he keeps within them, from

§ 4. J in Scripture. 249
certain shoals or currents which he is to avoid
on one side of his destined course : but this is of
no service in guarding him against the dangers
which may beset him on the opposite quarter :
for this purpose, another line must be pointed
out to him, in the same manner, on the contrary
side ; and though neither of these lines is pre
cisely that of the course he is to steer, yet an
attention to both of them will enable him to
proceed midway, in safety, and in the direction
required. Even thus, it will often happen, that
two apparently opposite passages of Scripture
raay together enable us to direct our faith or our
practice aright ; one shall be calculated to guard
us against certain errors on one side, and the
other, on the other side ; neither, taken alone,
shall convey the exact and entire truth ; but
both, taken in conjunction, may enable us suf
ficiently to ascertain it. Perplexity, therefore,
and error must be the result of an undue pre
ference, and an overstrict interpretation, of one
or two such expressions, to the neglect of the
others. For we have in many instances (to use
another illustration) something corresponding to
the composition of forces in mechanics : several

250 On apparent Contradictions [essay vu.
different texts will be analogous to several im
pulses in various directions acting on a body
which is to be set in motion, and whose combined
effect will propel it in the direction required ;
though no one of the irapulses, taken singly, is
acting precisely in that direction.
§ 5. After all, indeed, the notions conveyed
to us in this way can be but very faint and in
distinct ; but for that very reason they are the
less likely to be incorrect; for if we obtain a
full and clear notion of things beyond the reach
of the human faculties, it cannot fail to be an
erroneous notion. The main object of revelation
being to represent to us, not so much what God
is in Himself, as what He is relatively to us,
with a view to our practical benefit, this object
may be sufficiently accomplished by dim and
faint pictures of things which could not otherwise
be revealed at all. The " light which no man
can approach unto," if presented in unmitigated
blaze to eyes too weak to endure it, would blind
instead of enlightening; we now " see through a
darkened glass," what we could not otherwise
see at all.

§ 5. J in Scripture. 251
Although, however, we may well believe that
we are deficient in faculties for comprehending,
as they are in themselves, many things of which
the Scriptures furnish us with some faint repre
sentations, yet since, of course, no one can form
a distinct conception of the nature and extent
of his own deficiency, it may be profitable to
illustrate our own case by that of a person desti
tute of some faculty which we do possess ; by
which means we may the better understand the
nature of that mode of instruction which the
Scriptures adopt, and the advantage and ne
cessity of employing it for such Beings as we
now are. Let any one, for instance, attend to
the case of a raan born blind, and endeavour
to convey to him some idea of the sense of seeing,
and of the nature of light, and colours. When
you attempt this, you will then be in a situation
answering in some degree to that of the Inspired
Writers when they are instructing us in the
unseen things of God. — You might easily explain
to the blind man that colours are perceived by
the eyes ; which convey to men (as well as the
organs of the other senses, and even better) a
knowledge of the objects around us ; you might
also easily make him understand that light is

252 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
something different from heat, and yet proceeds
from the sun, — a fire, — a candle,- — or the like ;
and that when nothing of this kind is present,
there is darkness, in which no one can see ; and
also that light is cheerful and agreeable, and
darkness something melancholy. So far, we are
giving merely general descriptions ; which would
be intelhgible enough, but could convey only the
most faint and imperfect idea of Seeing. You
might then impart some further knowledge by
means of the analogy of the other senses ; for
instance, you might teach him that Seeing, in
one respect, resembles Hearing and Smelling, in
asmuch as it conveys a knowledge of things at
a distance, as they do ; but that, nevertheless,
it is as different from either of them as they are
from each other ; and that, moreover. Seeing
gives us, what Hearing and Smelling cannot, a
notion of the magnitude and of the form of
bodies ; in which respect, it agrees with the
sense of Touch ; though this last again conveys
the knowledge only of such bodies as are close
to us ; whereas Sight extends to a distance.
Now such instruction as this, given to a blind
man, may serve to illustrate what has been just
said about the apparent contradictions in Scrip-

§ 5.] in Scripture. 253
ture ; for the blind man might easily interpret
the two parts of this lesson as contradictory ;
and might say, " How can the same thing bear
any resemblance to Hearing, and at the same
time to Feeling ?" Or he might regard even each
part of the lesson as in itself contradictory and
impossible ; — saying, " You would fain persuade
me that there is some way of touching things at
a distance ; or that there is a kind of Hearing or
of Smelling by which one can judge of form and
magnitude ; neither of which is conceivable."
And it is plain, that if he regarded either part of
your instruction, by itself, and was not careful to
limit and explain it by the other, he would be
utterly misled ; for he would suppose Seeing to
be much more like some one of the other senses
than it really is. But if he were careful to
attend to the whole, together, and to consider
that two things may be very much alike in one
respect, and yet very different in others,' and that
the same thing may be compared to several
others which are themselves quite unlike, and
may resemble one of these things in one respect,
and another, in another, and in some respects
again may differ from all of them, he would
1 See King's Discourse on Predestination.

254 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
acquire, a faint, indeed, and indistinct notion of
Sight, but as far as it went, not an incorrect one :
for he would understand that Sight in one
respect corresponds, or is analogous, to Smelling
and Hearing, inasmuch as it extends to distant
objects ; and again, in another respect, to Touch,
inasmuch as it gives an idea of shape and size ;
that it differs from each of these respectively in
the circumstance wherein it agrees with the
other; and that it differs in raany points from
both. So that by interpreting each of these
analogies in such a manner as to be reconcUeable
with the other, he would be using the best means
to avoid misunderstanding either, and to attain
the most perfect knowledge which his natural
deficiency would allow. For if you attempted,
beyond this, to give him any distinct and precise
knowledge of the nature of light and colours,
you would be more likely to confuse and mis
lead, than to instruct him.
The circumstance that the knowledge conveyed
to us in Scripture, in many cases, is not raerely
incoraplete in degree, but, being conveyed to us
by Figures, is also different in kind from that
more direct and perfect knowledge which we
may hope hereafter to attain, is alluded to.

§ 5.J m Scripture. 255
perhaps, in that expression of Paul's respecting
the glorified state ; " whether there be knowledge
it shall vanish away :" we might have expected
him, perhaps, to promise rather an increase and
extension of our knowledge ; but it appeared to
him probably that the knowledge we now possess
concerning several points not fully comprehen
sible to us, is so utterly different in kind, from
that which is reserved for us, that the change
might more properly be palled an entire vanish
ing of the notions we are at present able to
form, and a substitution of others in their place.
In like manner, if we suppose a blind man who
had been instructed in the way just described,
to obtain Sight, all those faint analogical notions
of Seeing, which we may conceive him to have
formed, would fade away from his mind, and be
succeeded by others incomparably more direct
and clear."
Meanwhile our care must be, during our state
of trial here below, not to imagine our know
ledge more complete than it is ; nor to expect
™ See the interesting and valuable account of a boy born
blind and couched by Mr. Chesselden, extracted from the
Philosophical Transactions, by Mr. H. Mayo, in his Physio
logy, p. 163.

256 On apparent Contradictions [essay vii.
from the Scriptures such information as they
were not meant to supply." We must not study
" " Has the reader ever attempted to state to himself
distinctly, what he understands by the term revelation, mean
ing a revelation of the Divine-nature ? Neither the voice, the
vision, the dream, nor the instinct can be said to be God.
All are evidently vehicles, and modes of communicating his
messages to man. ' Him no man hath seen at any time.'
Suppose, then, we wished to convey a description of an object
of sight to one born blind ; (for that is our condition in
relation to the Divine-nature ;) he may perhaps be made to
receive some indistinct idea of it through his sense of hearing ;
and the vehicle of this revelation, as it may be termed, would
be a voice. Some contrivance may be afterwards invented
which should convey to him the same description, by submit
ting to his touch figures representing it, or, as is done in some
asylums, by letters and words strongly impressed, so as to
be distinctly felt. If it had so happened, that he was at
length favoured with the gift of sight, (as occurred with some
in the miraculous period ofthe Church,) that same description
might be set before his eyes in a painting. Meanwhile,
suppose him never yet to have witnessed the object itself,
thus variously represented. He would then have become
acquainted with it in three distinct ways, and have been
enabled to improve and to apply his knowledge of it by
means of each ; still, he would hardly be absurd enough to
make either of these assertions,
" 1. That the sounds, the figures, the writing, or the paint
ing, were the very thing described.
" 2. That the variety in the mode of conveying the descrip
tion implied any corresponding distinction in that one object,
the idea of which was thus variously communicated to him." —
Hinds' History of the Rise and Progress of Christianity.
Vol. I. pp. 295, 296.

§ 5. J in Scripture. 257
them as designed to convey, as it were, in terms
of art, the speculative truths of philosophy ; but
must seek, in the first instance at least, and with
the greatest diligence, such truths as are relative
to man, and practical ; — nor must we allow our
selves, in any case, to interpret strongly all the
texts which seem to offer theraselves on one
side, while we explain away all that are on the
other side ; as if, on the ground that they are
not to be taken literally, we were thence autho
rized to affix to them any signification whatever
that may chance to suit our views : but we
must endeavour honestly to reconcile Scripture
with itself, and thus to avail ourselves of that
mode of instruction which our Divine Teacher
has thought best for us. So shall we be en
abled, through divine help, to avoid, or to
diminish, many of the difficulties which pre
sumptuous speculators, or partial and preju
diced inquirers, have to encounter in the
Scriptures : we shall find them " able to make
us wise unto salvation, through faith which is in
Christ Jesus."

ESSAY VIII.

ON THE MODE OF CONVEYING MORAL PRECEPTS IN
THE NEW TESTAMENT.

In the preceding Essay some remarks were
offered relative to the methods eraployed for
communicating as much as was needful to be
known concerning the more abstruse doctrines
of our religion ; viz. by apparent contradictions ;—
by expressions which, if taken literally, would be
at variance with each other ; and which conse
quently must be mutually explained and modi
fied by each other, in order that they may be
reconciled. And in this case the advantage of
such a procedure is evident ; the things them
selves are such as we are no more capable of
distinctly and fully comprehending, than a blind
man can, the nature of light and colours; such in
struction, therefore, as we can receive concerning

Precepts in the New Testament. 259
them, must be necessarily imparted according to
the same principles by which we should convey
to the blind some idea of Sight ; viz. by employ
ing several different analogies, each of which
may serve to correct the others, and all of which
in conjunction may convey a notion as nearly
approaching to the reality as the case will permit.
But (as was observed in that Essay) in the
inculcation of moral precepts, there cannot be
the same reason for employing this method, as
there is in doctrinal instruction respecting in
scrutable mysteries. And yet there are not a
few directly practical passages, in different parts
of the New Testament, which, if taken literally
and in their full force, would contradict each
other; and such apparent discrepancies there
are, not only between the writings of the Evan
gelists and the Apostolic Epistles, but also be
tween different portions of our Lord's own
discourses. Not only is Paul's censure of that
man as " worse than an infidel," who neglects
to " provide for those of his own household," at
variance with our Lord's declaration, " If any
man hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and all that he hath, he cannot be
s2

260 Mode of conveying Moral [essay viii.
my disciple," if both be understood literally, and
without limitation ; but also, according to such
an interpretation, our Lord's own precept to his
disciples to " let their light shine before men,"
would be no less opposed to his coraraand that
their prayers and alras should be strictly con
cealed. And his description again of the day of
Judgment, in which the performance or neglect
of the works of charity seem to be the sole
ground of distinction between the saved and the
condemned, is apparently opposed not only to
the Apostle's declaration " by grace ye are saved,
through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God," and to numberless others ofthe
same character, but also to the literal import of
Christ's own parting declaration to his disciples,
which seems to make the absence or presence
of a right belief, the only point considered ; " he
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
And many other like instances might be adduced,
which plainly show that the system of instruct
ing by apparent contradictions is not confined to
doctrinal, but extends to practical points ; and
that in both cases it is requisite to compare and
balance, as it were, against each other, different

§ l.J Precepts in the New Testament. 261
parts of Scripture, if we would gain a correct
view of what it is intended to convey.""
§ 1. For what purpose, then, it raay be asked,
did our Lord and his inspired followers resort to
this method of instruction, in respect of those
practical duties which are not, like the more
abstruse points of faith, beyond the reach of
man's faculties ?
In order to answer this question, it will be
necessary to revert to some considerations which
have been formerly suggested.*"
" As I have treated of subjects nearly allied to the one now
before us, in the second, third and fifth Essays of the first
Series, it may be worth while briefly to notice in this plaee,
the connexion, and also the distinction, between those and the
present Essay. I was speaking, in them, of a peculiarity
(considering Christianity as compared with any human system)
in the motives employed by the sacred writers for producing
moral conduct, and also, in the examples (of Jesus Himself,
Essay II. and III. and of children, Essay V.) which they
propose for our imitation and self-instruction. At present, I
am considering their mode of conveying to us the precepts of
morality. In all, it is the moral-instruction of Scripture
that I have been treating of ; but, distinctly, of the diiferent
parts of which it (and indeed all complete moral-instruction)
consists ; namely, 1st, the Motives inculcated ; 2dly, th^
Examples proposed ; 3dly, the Precepts delivered,
•> Essay V.

262 Mode of conveying Moral [essay viii.
Let it be observed, then, that it was no part
of the scheme of the gospel-revelation to lay
down any thing approaching to a complete sys
tem of moral precepts, — to enumerate every
thing that is enjoined or forbidden by our
religion ; nor again, to give a detailed general
description of Christian duty, — or to dehneate,
after the manner of systematic ethical writers,
each separate habit of virtue or of vice. When
the Mosaic Law was brought to a close, — (a law,
of which we have no Scripture warrant for sup
posing that any part was intended to continue
in force, under the gospel-dispensation, or to be
extended to the Gentiles); when this Law, I
say, was brought to a close, no other set of pre
cise rules was substituted in its place. New
and higher motives were implanted ; — a more
exalted and perfect example was proposed for
imitation ; — a loftier standard of morality was
established ; — rewards more glorious, and punish
ments more appalling, were held out ; — and
supernatural aid was bestowed; and the Chris
tian, with these incentives and these advantages,
is left to apply, for himself, in each case, the
principles of the Gospel. He is left to act at

§ 1.] Precepts in the New Testament. 263
his own discretion, according to the dictates of
his conscience, — to cultivate Christian dispo
sitions, — and thus to be " a law unto himself."
From the exact regulations under which the
Israelites, when in a condition analogous to
childhood, were placed, he is released ; not that
he may be under a less strict moral restraint,
but that he may attain, under it, a more manly
self-government, — a higher degree of moral
excellence ; even as the precise rules and strict
control under which a child is placed, are gradu
ally relaxed as he advances towards maturity;
not on the ground that good conduct is less
required of a man than of a child, but, on the
contrary, because the very maturity of age,
which emancipates him from the trammels of
childhood, renders him capable of regulating
his conduct for himself by his own judgment.
" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,"
(according to the prophet Jereraiah, cited in the
Epistle to the Hebrews,) " when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel; not
according to the covenant which I made with
their fathers  for this is the covenant
which I will make with the house of Israel

264 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viii.
after those days, saith the Lord ; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts." The system, then, according to which the
Christian's life is to be regulated, is one under
which, not a less, but a greater degree of moral
perfection is expected of hira ; but which substi
tutes sublime principles for exact rules. It is
this system that the Apostle sometimes calls
" Faith," — sometimes " the Law of Faith," to
distinguish it, not from good works, but from the
Law of Moses. It is called the Law of Faith,
not because Christians are not (which he assures
us they are) to stand before Christ's tribunal " to
give an account of the things done in the body,"
but because their raoral conduct is required to
spring frora faith ; — from faith in the redeeming
mercy of God, " who was in Christ reconciling
the world unto Himself," and the devout grati
tude which is the natural result of this; from
faith in the divine holiness and purity of the
Saviour, and the consequent desire to tread in
his steps whose life is our example : from that
faith in his promised rewards which leads to the
endeavour after such a preparation of ourselves

§ l.J Precepts in the New Testament. 265
as may qualify us to dwell " for ever with the
Lord;" — from faith in his promised presence
with us, even unto the end of the world, by his
Spirit " which worketh in us both to will and to
do, of his good pleasure." "=
Such a system then, it was necessary so to
develop, that its true character might not be
mistaken. Since Christians were not to be
guided by a precise code of laws, it was neces
sary to guard thera carefully against expecting
one. And even during our Lord's own ministry,
before the "Law of faith" was perfectly laid
down, (the objects of that faith being but faintly
and partially revealed,) still it was needful, even
at the very outset, that men should not be led,
or left, to suppose, that either a collection of
exact rules, or a system of moral philosophy,
was about to be proposed to their acceptance ; —
that either the Mosaic law was to remain in
force as to the literal observance of its several
precepts, extended by the addition of others, —
or that any corresponding system — any fresh
enumeration of specific acts forbidden and en
joined,— was to be introduced in the room of it.
<: Essay III. First Series.

266 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viii.
And care was the more necessary on this point,
both because Man in general is more ready to
receive, even a burdensome law, of this cha
racter, than to be left to his own watchful and
responsible discretion in acting up to certain
principles, and also because the Jews in parti
cular had been accustomed to precise regulations,
and nice distinctions as to specific acts, even far
beyond what the written Law of Moses had laid
down. And yet our Lord's hearers had need of some
moral instruction. It was important that illus
trations should be afforded them of the applica
tion of the general principles of the new religion,
to each particular point; — it was desirable to
enforce such duties as were especially neglected,
and to point out the comparative degrees of im
portance of such as had been unduly estimated ;
— raany prevailing faults and prejudices called
for correction ; — and it was needful, universally,
to guard against the supposition that the new
covenant was designed to substitute faith for
virtuous practice, and to save those who should
" call Jesus Lord," while they continued "workers
of iniquity." And as all this was to be accom-

§ 2. J Precepts in ihe New Testament. 267
plished in the course of a short ministry, and the
instruction was to be conveyed to men for the
most part of untutored and unreflective minds, it
was the more important that the mode of con
veying it should be as striking and permanently
impressive as possible ; with a constant caution
at the sarae tirae against the mistake into which
the hearers were ever liable to fall ; — that of
imagining that they were to receive certain defi
nite precepts, and satisfying themselves with a
literal obedience to each.
Something peculiar then may be expected in
the mode of conveying moral instructions, when
the object proposed comprehended all the cir
cumstances just mentioned; — when it required
that, besides being suited to the capacity and to
the moral condition of the hearer, the precepts
should at the same time be both forcibly im
pressive, and also such as to exclude the idea of
any intention to lay down a complete moral
code. § 2. In the moral lessons of the Gospel,
accordingly, three peculiarities especially may
be observed, which have a reference to the

268 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viii.
circumstances I have noticed, and which may
be explained by them.
First, The precepts are often apparently con
tradictory to each other :
Secondly, They are often such that a literal
compliance with them would be, in many cases,
either impossible, or at least, extravagant and
irrational :
And, Thirdly, This literal compliance would
in many instances amount to so insignificant and
unimportant a point of duty, as could not be
supposed deserving of a distinct inculcation for
its own sake. And two, or all three, of these
characters may sometimes be found to meet in
one single precept.
The reason of all this is clear, from the prin
ciples that have been already laid down : every
mode is employed of warning the hearers against
satisfying themselves with an observance of these
precepts according to the letter, in doing or ab
staining from some particular action. For a
literal compliance with precepts which, literally
taken, are inconsistent, would be impossible;
where that literal compliance would be wrong or
absurd, it is manifest it could not be intended;

§ 2.J Precepts in the New Testament. 269
where it would be trifling, it is manifest that
it cannot be all that is intended. And thus the
disciples were driven, if they were sincerely de
sirous to learn, and would interpret rationally
and candidly what they heard, to perceive that
such precepts as I am speaking of were designed
to explain and to enforce those general principles
on which men are to regulate their conduct :
while the very circumstance that such instruc
tions excite sorae degree of surprise, and evi
dently call for careful refiection, renders them
the more likely to make a lasting impression.
Many instances of each description will readily
occur to most persons : I will advert to a very
few. When Jesus tells his disciples to pray and to
give alms in secret, and not to let their "left
hand know what their right hand doeth," and
yet exhorts them to " let their light shine before
men," it is plain from these precepts, taken in
conjunction, and explained by each other, that
his design was to discountenance an ostentatious
motive, but to leave to our own conscientious
discretion the mode of performing each action
on each occasion. When the publicity of our

270 Mode of conveying Moral [essay, viii.
alms and of our devotions, appears hkely to
" glorify God," and to benefit men by the influ
ence of a good example, the principles of the
Gospel prescribe that publicity ; in cases where it
tends only to the gratification of our own vanity,
and especially when we have reason to fear that
we may be too much actuated by the desire of
men's praise, then, concealment is to be preferred.
Again, when men's future destiny is described
in one place as determined by their performance
or omission of the social duties, — in another, by
the government of the tongue, — in another by
belief and baptism alone, — in another, (the para
ble of the rich man and Lazarus) apparently by
the luxuries enjoyed, or privations undergone
in the present life, — we may easily learn, by
comparing and balancing together all these pas
sages, that no good works of man, not springing
fi"om belief in the Gospel, can tend to salvation,
— yet that professions of faith in Christ are but
a mockery of Him, when unaccorapanied with
active benevolence towards those whom He calls
his brethren; — that we shall be condemned or
justified by our words as well as by our actions ; —
and that those who set their hearts on the good

§ 2.J Precepts in the New Testament. 27 1
things of this world, and lay up no treasures in
heaven, can have no reasonable expectation of
heavenly rewards.
Again, the injunction in the passage before
cited, to " hate father and mother," &c. if we
would be Christ's disciples,'^ is not only, if taken
* It may be observed by the way, what an evidence to the
truth of Christianity is afforded by this declaration of our
Lord, together with his warning that every one who would
be his disciple must be ready to " take up his cross and
foUow Him," and must, in imitation of a man designing to
build, and of a king about to make war, cooly calculate
before-hand whether he has resources and resolution suffi
cient to go through with the doctrine. All this constitutes
so uninviting a doctrine, that we may be sure no one would
have preached it who had any object in view except that of
teaching the truth.
We have here therefore one of those many internal evi
dences of our religion, which may be made completely intel
ligible to the unlearned Christian. For common sense may
convince any one, that had Jesus been either an impostor or
an enthusiast, he would never have entertained, and taught
others to entertain, such a -view of his religion. He would
have used all means to invite men to become his disciples,
instead of deterring them; and would either himself have
overlooked, or else concealed from the people, the difScidties
to be encountered by those who should embrace the Gospel ;
instead of pointing them out, and earnestly dwelling upon
them.

272 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viii.
literally, at variance with the exhortations to
universal benevolence, and to Paufs command to
provide for our families, but also to the plainest
dictates of conscience and of common sense.
This then is an instance which illustrates at once
two of the principles above laid down. It is
plain, therefore, that such a precept could not
be meant to be understood and obeyed literally :
and if there could be any doubt in what manner
Christ intended it should be obeyed. He himself
has given us in another place an explanation of
it ; " he that loveth father or mother more than
me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth
son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of
me," It is evident, therefore, that what is in
tended by the comraand to hate the objects of
our strongest regard, is, that the things of the
greatest iraportance to our happiness, and which
have the strongest hold on our affections, must
be accounted by us as nothing, in comparison
with our devotedness to Christ ; and that when
ever any of these objects shall chance to stand
in the way of our obedience to Him, we must be
ready to resign it without a murmur.
Sacrifices of this kind were doubtless much

§ 2. J Precepts in ihe New Testament. 273
more frequently called for in the first ages of the
Church, than they are now : because not only
many were called on to abandon their homes and
fi"iends, and devote themselves to the propa
gation of the Gospel in distant countries, but it
also frequently happened that men's nearest and
dearest connexions were at variance with them
respecting the religion of Christ ; and that they
had to suffer persecution, or at least censure and
contempt, from those very friends whose good
opinion and regard they had been the most accus
tomed to prize : " Think not that I am come to
send peace on earth ; I tell you nay, but rather
division : the father shall be divided against the
son, and the son against the father ;  a
man's foes shall be they of his own house
hold." It is plain, therefore, that a man must have
been (in such circumstances) very strongly
tempted to shrink from the bold and open pro
fession of his faith ; and to concede too much to
the authority of those around him : and, accord
ingly, we read of many leading men among the
Jews, who sought to compromise the raatter, by
outwardly renouncing the opinions they inwardly
T

274 Mode of conveying Moral [essay viii.
held, — who " believed in Jesus, but secretly,"
for fear of being " cast out of the synagogue ;
for they loved the praise of men more than the
praise of God."
There is not, however, nor will ever be, any
time or any country, in which the sincere Chris
tian is not liable to be called upon to raake some
sacrifices in the cause of Christ, — to do, or to
forego, or undergo, something, which occasions
a painful struggle to his nature ; and this our
Lord exhorts us deliberately to prepare for, and
if we would be his disciples, to give Him a most
decided and strong preference to every object
that may stand in the way of our faith or of our
obedience to Him. This, He in another place
very strongly enforces in a figurative form of
expression ; which also, common sense teaches
us, it would be absurd to understand literally ;
saying, " if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out
and cast it frora thee ;" meaning thereby, that
whatever offends us as Christians, that is, stands
in our way, and obstructs our progress in fol
lowing our Master's steps, though it may be as
dear to us as an eye, or a right hand, raust be
renounced thoroughly, and heartily, and cheer-

§ 2.J Precepts in ihe New Testament. 275
fully, for his sake, if we expect that He should
own us as his disciples.
Now this precept of plucking out an eye, or
cutting off a right hand, is by no means hard to
be understood, as to the spirit and intention of
it, and the disposition meant to be recomraended ;
and when it is understood, its effect will be, on
those who sincerely study to comply with it,
exactly what our Lord designed ; they cannot in
this case satisfy their conscience by a literal com
pliance with it in the performance of any specific
act ; and, consequently, will the more naturally
be led to cultivate that frame of mind, and study
to adopt that principle of thorough devotedness
to Christ, which He meant to recommend.
Again, in inculcating the duty of gentleness
and patience under provocation. He says, " if any
man smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him
the left also; if any man will take away thy
cloak, let him have thy coat also ; if any man
compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain ;"
in which it is evident, that his meaning was, not
the mere literal performance of those specific
actions mentioned, but the cultivation of a mild
and long-suffering temper. The strong way in
T 2

276 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viu.
which He delivered those precepts — the striking
and often paradoxical illustrations which He gave
of them — had the effect of making a more lively
impression on the hearers' minds, and at the
same time guarded them (as I have just before
observed) against supposing that it was enough
to perform, literally, the particular actions raen-
tioned, without adopting the principle of action
which He was illustrating. This last instance
again combines two of the circumstances above
mentioned : the mere literal observance of the
precept would not only be in many cases irra
tional, but also manifestly insufficient, and would
fall far short of what is meant to be inculcated ;
and hence a candid hearer is the more imme
diately led to understand, that obedience to it
implies not the bare performance of this or that
particular action, but the careful cultivation of a
certain habit of action.
The same observations will apply to our Lord's
precept against chusing " the most honourable
seats at feasts ;" and his exhortation to men to
occupy a lower place than they have a just title
to. He did indeed intend that his rule respect
ing good manners should be literally observed,

§ 2. J Precepts in tiie New Testament. 111
since good manners is a part of good morals;
but it is evident that this literal compliance was
the least part of what He designed, and that He
took this method of inculcating, generally, a
caution against arrogance and self-exaltation.
Universally indeed. He was accustomed to
illustrate whatever principle He had in view,
by some particular instance ; knowing that this
would take better hold on men's attention, and
be more surely fixed in their memory, than if
He had confined himself to the mere general
maxim ; and that it would be very easy for any
one, after being, by this exemplification, put in
possession of the general maxim, to extend and
apply it, for himself, to every case that might
occur; supposing him to have the sincere dis
position to do so, without which no instruction
can avail.
Thus, when He was called upon to explain
what kind of neighbourly love we ought to show,
and towards whom. He illustrates his raeaning
by relating the parable of a raan who " fell
araong thieves," and He concludes his instruction
by saying, " Go and do thou likewise ;" which
exhortation no one can be so stupid, if he be

278 Mode of conveying Moral [essay viii.
not also perverse, as to interpret by the letter,
as meaning merely that when he might chance
to meet with a traveller thus circumstanced, he
should relieve him, and that precisely such a
case as that in the parable was all that was con
templated. The interpretation of " Go and do
thou likewise" was clear enough to any one who
wished to understand it ; as signifying that we
are to regard every one as a neighbour to whom
we have an opportunity of doing service, and
are to be ready to perforra the kind offices of a
neighbour towards hira.
But, as I have said, our Lord chose not only
to illustrate his general maxim by some parti
cular exemplification ; but, also, in order to make
it tJie more clear to his hearers that this was his
object, — that the instances adduced were for the
purpose of illustrating the general rule, — it hap
pened very frequently, as in the case of some of
the illustrations just mentioned, that He selected
by choice such as were in themselves the smallest
and most insignificant instances ofthe rule. Thus,
when he wished to impress on his disciples in
the most forcible manner the duty of 'being ready
to serve, and perform kind offices for one ano-

§ 3.J Precepts in the New Testament. 279
ther. He taught them by an action, — by Himself
condescending to wash their feet ; and after
wards telling them, " ye ought also to wash one
another's feet." This, it is well known, was,
from the peculiar circumstances of the age and
country, one of the chief refreshments to travel
lers : this particular instance, consequently, was
chosen as affording an easy and familiar illus
tration of the general disposition He designed to
inculcate ; a readiness to perform all manner of
kind offices for one another. Now if the par
ticular office of kindness, selected by Him, had
been one of the more important services of life,
there might have been the more danger of their
supposing that his precept was meant to ex
tend only to that particular service mentioned :
whereas this was guarded against by his par
ticularizing one of the smallest: when He said
to them, " ye ought to wash one another's feet,"
they could not have a doubt that the precept
was meant to extend to more than that one
point of hospitality, and to comprehend a general
disposition to befriend one another.
§ 3. To those, then, who are sincerely de-

280 Mode of conveying Moral [essay viii.
sirous of instruction, and willing to use care and
dihgence in seeking it, and in practically apply
ing what they learn, it will, in most cases, be no
difficult task, to ascertain what principles those
are which our Lord and his Apostles intended,
on each occasion, to inculcate, and in what
manner Christians are required to exemplify
them in their lives.
If we, first, examine the whole of each passage,
so as to understand the occasion on which any
precept was delivered, and to what persons,
and under what circumstances ; and if we are
also careful to compare different (and especially,
apparently inconsistent) passages together, so
interpreting each as it is explained, or limited,
or confirmed, or extended, or otherwise modi
fied, by the rest ; we shall be employing those
means for ascertaining aright the sense of God's
word, which coraraon prudence would prescribe —
which doubtless were intended to be employed in
such an inquiry, — and which, we may trust, by
God's grace will not be employed in vain.
On the other hand, the inattentive and the
uncandid, — those who read the Scriptures with
out diligent study, or with a study only to find

§ 3.J Precepts in the New Testament. 281
confirraations of their preconceived notions, and
vindications of their own conduct, — such, could
not have been secured from error, even by any
other mode of instruction that could have been
adopted. Let it not be objected, therefore, to the
method pursued by our Lord and his followers,
that it affords an opening, for such as are so
disposed, to escape from any doctrines or duties
they may object to, and to model others accord
ing to their own inclinations, by dwelling on
and enforcing literally, such texts as suit their
purpose, and explaining away the rest. The
most precise and detailed precepts would have
been no less successfully evaded by the same
persons ; they would easily have found sorae
contrivance, when they were so disposed, to
" make the word of God of none effect, by their
tradition." And the most copious and philosophical system
of ethics would have proved no better safeguard
against the devices of a corrupt heart. Moral
treatises afford no substitute for the exercise of
discretion and of candour : philosophy cannot
teach its own application : on the contrary, such
studies are useful to those only who employ that

282 Mode qf conveying Moral [essay viii.
good sense and sincerity of intention, in bring
ing them into practice in the details of life. It
is not enough (as the most illustrious of the
ancient moralists has observed^) to lay down,
that, in each department of conduct, virtue
consists in the mediura between an excess and
a deficiency; it still remains to be decided in
each single instance, where this medium is to
be placed ; and as the determination of this is
necessarily left to the judgment and conscience
of the individual, so any one whose moral judg
ment is not uncorrupt, and who is seeking, not
to improve his character, but to vindicate it,
may easily find means first to represent, and
afterwards to believe, his own conduct to be
exactly the right medium. For the maxira laid
down in another place by the philosopher just
alluded to, for applying his own rules, is one
which the generality of men completely reverse :
he tells each man to observe to which of the
two extremes he is, in each point, most prone
by his own natural disposition, and to regard
that, as (relatively to him) the worse extreme
of the two ; being the one into which he is the
" Arist. Eth. Nicom. Book VI. chap. i.

§ 3.J Precepts in ihe New Testament. 283
more liable to fall. The common practice, on
the contrary, is for each to regard, (as, indeed,
is very natural) ihat, as the worse extreme, to
which he has the less tendency, and to look with
less abhorrence on each fault in proportion as it
is the more congenial to his own inclinations.
Without vigilant and candid self-examination,
then, no system of moral instruction that could
have been devised, would have been practi
cally available : and with this, the instructions
afforded in the Gospel will, through divine help,
prove sufficient. There are two objects, neither
of which a man will usually fail to attain, who
zealously and steadily seeks it : the one is, the
knowledge of what in each case he ought to do ;
the other is, a plausible excuse for doing as he
is inclined. The latter of these, the carnally-
minded might find in any set of precepts or
moral instructions that could have been framed ;
the former, the spiritually-minded will not fail to
obtain in the Gospel.
Only let him not seek in it for what he will
not find there; — precise and minute directions
for every case that can occur ; or a set of
insulated maxims which admit of being taken

284 Mode of conveying, ^c. [essay viii.
away, as it were, from the context, and inter
preted and applied without any reference to
the rest of Scripture ; or for a general detailed
description of raoral duties.
But he will find there the most pure and sub
lime motives inculcated, — the noblest principles
instilled,— the most bold and uncompromising,
yet sober and rational tone of morality main
tained,^ — the most animating examples proposed,
and above all, the raost effectual guidance, and
assistance, and defence provided; even that of
the Spirit of Truth, who will enable us duly to
profit by the teaching of his inspired Servants ;
that we " may have our fruit unto holiness, and
the end, everlasting life."

ESSAY IX.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Those things which God's raost favoured ser
vants under the old dispensation — which " many
prophets and kings had in vain desired to see and
hear,"— the disciples of Jesus had been permitted
to witness. They had seen the raan whom " God
had anointed with the Holy Ghost,"^ — and "given
it unto him not by measure ;"" — "the image of
the invisible God,"" "whom no raan hath seen
at any time,"'^ but whom " the only-begotten Son
had declared unto them;"' "being the express
image of his Person."^ Imperfect and indistinct
indeed, perhaps we may say confused, raust have
been the notions they entertained respecting the
» Acts X. 38. * John iii. 34.
"= Coloss. i. 15. * 1 John iv. 12 ; also John i. 18.
e John i. 18. f Heb. i. 3.

286 Influence of tlie Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
mysterious Person with whom they had been so
long holding intercourse. Such must be our
notions also concerning Him, unless they be
erroneous ; for the ideas we form on a subject
surpassing the powers of our present minds, and
which Scripture has but indistinctly revealed,
cannot be at once, clear, and correct. The dis
ciples, however, had, during our Lord's abode
with them, even more imperfect notions respect
ing Hira than they were afterwards taught to
form. He had " many things to say unto them,
which yet they could not bear." But they
" knew and were sure that He was the Christ,
the Son of the living God," and that " He had
the words of eternal life :" and they had latterly
been further taught that they were not to regard
Him as merely bearing the commission of the
Most High, hke the prophets of old ; nor yet as
merely some Being of a superhuman nature,
whether a creature, or (according to the pre
sumptuous fancies which afterwards prevailed)
some MoYi, or Emanation frora the Deity, and
partaking of the divine nature f for when asked
i The Gnostics («. e. men of " science, falsely so called,")
taught the doctrine of successive emanations (" endless genea-

§ 1.] Influence ofthe Holy Spirit. 287
by Philip, who probably was disposed to enter
tain some such notion, to show them the Father,
He replied, " Have I been so long with you, and
yet hast thou not known me, Philip ? he that
hath seen me hath seen the Father ; and how
then sayest thou. Shew us the Father ? Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father
in me ?'' the words that I speak unto you I
logies" alluded to by Paul) from the Deity (whom they
called the " Fulness"), and from one another, of these celestial
beings : in whom they personified many of the Scripture-
terms relating to the character or the dispensations of the
Most High. Such as Logos (the Word), of whom they re
garded Christ as an incarnation ; Ph6s (Light), feigned to
have been incarnate in John the Baptist ; Aletheia (Truth) ;
Zoe (Life) ; Monogenes (only-begotten), and others. Without
some acquaintance with this tissue of impious absurdity, it is
impossible to understand fully the opening of John's Gospel.
See " Hinds' History of the Rise and Early Progress of
Christianity," Vol. II. p. 49.
Paul's expressions also, " in Him dwelleth all the Fulness
of the Godhead bodily "  "it hath pleased the Father
that in Him should all Fulness dwell," have reference pro
bably to the same heresy.
*» This mode of expression seems to have been employed,
as it constantly is, by our Lord, to guard his hearers against
the notion of a local Deity, — against literally attributing
place to the Divine mind : thus. He says, " abide in me, and /
in you :" and, " the same dwelleth in me, and I in him," &c.

288 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
speak not of myself; but the Father that
dwelleth in rae. He doeth the works. Beheve
me that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me ; or else believe me for the very works'
sake." (John xiv.)
§ 1. Well therefore might the disciples, when
thus far taught, anticipate vrith grief and dismay
the approaching loss of this their Divine Master —
the destruction of " the temple of his body," and
the withdrawing of this " manifestation of God
in the flesh," with which they had been so long
favoured ; and He most tenderly sets hiraself to
relieve their fears and sorrows, by assuring them
ofhis speedy return to abide with them for ever;
" I go away, and come again unto you ; a little
while, and ye shall not see me, and again a little
while and ye shall see rae." It was not, indeed,
the bodily presence of their Master in the flesh,
that they were to look for as continuing with
them " always, even unto the end of the world,"
as these and several other of his expressions
would have led them to suppose, had there not
been others to modify and explain them ; it was
another comforter, — the Holy Spirit, whom the

§ l.J Influence qf the Holy Spirit. 289
Father should send in Christ's name, that should
teach them all things, and should " abide with "
them " for ever." Yet still Jesus suffers them
not to suppose that they were to transfer their
love and allegiance to a new master, or to look
for consolation and instruction to any distinct
Being from Himself ; though after his ascension
He would no longer be, as heretofore, the object
daily present to their senses ; " That Spirit of
Truth," He said, they knew ; " for He dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you :" " I will not leave
you comfortless, I will come unto you ; yet a
little while and the world seeth me no more ;
but ye see me ; because I live, ye shall live
also : at that day ye shall know that I am in my
Father, and ye in me, and I in you " ' 
" he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him"  " my Father will love him, and
we will come unto him and raake our abode
with him :" " abide in me, and I in you : ' as the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me ;
— without me ye can do nothing." (John xv.)
i See note ("> p. 287.
U

290 Influence qf the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
That these promises and these precepts of
Jesus were not so confined to the disciples then
around him as to concern no other Christians, is
most evident. If the Apostles could bring forth
no fruit except they " abode in Him, and He in
them," no more, surely, can we. He had ex
pressly declared that He " prayed not for them
alone, but for those also, who should believe on
Him through their word ;" nor would his pro-
raise of being " with them always even unto the
end of the world," have been fulfilled, by any
assistance bestowed exclusively on one genera
tion of mortal men.''
And it is equally clear, I think, to any one
who seeks in earnest to be led by the Scriptures,
that our Saviour's words are not to be explained
as relating merely to a system of doctrines and
motives, — to an abstract religious principle, — but
to a real, individual, personal agent, even the
Holy Spirit operating on the minds of believers ;
which is called, amidst the diversity of opera
tions, one and the same Spirit, not, figuratively,
as when we speak of the spirit of patriotism, —
the spirit of emulation, — the spirit of philoso-
k See Note (") p. 292.

§ l.J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 291
phical inquiry, and the like; but literally and
numerically, one Being, even the one God,
whose Temple is the whole body of the faithful ;
which Teraple they are warned not " to defile,
lest God destroy thera." ' For if any one could
even so strain this last expression (as well as
many other such) of the Apostle Paul, and like
wise all the words of Christ Himself, as to inter
pret them into mere metaphor, it would still be
impossible for him to conceive a mere principle
of action, — a christian spirit, in that transferred
sense of the word, — enabling Christians to work
sensible miracles; and these we find distinctly
attributed to the immediate agency of the Divine
Spirit. One indeed of the many important uses
of the miraculous gifts bestowed on the infant
Church, and one, doubtless, of those for which
they were designed, was this : they served to
prove, among other things, that the promised
indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in his Church,
was not to be understood as a mere figure of
speech, denoting their adherence to the doctrines
He taught, and the possession of the inspired
1 See " The three Temples of the one true God con
trasted," by Rev. S. Hinds.
u2

292 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
record of them, but a real, though unseen, pre
sence, by his Spirit ; — not the mere keeping of
his commandments through love for his memory,
but a spiritual union with Hira ; at once the
proraised reward, and the bond and support of
that obedient love, — the effect at once and cause
of our " keeping his saying." " For if any man
love me," said He, " he will keep my saying,
and my Father will love him, and We will come
unto him, and make our abode with hira."™ And
it is, I conceive, this, the raore intiraate union
of the Spirit of Christ with his disciples — more
intimate than that which had existed while He
was present with them in the flesh, — that He
teaches them to regard as a ground for not only
™ Would Jesus have said this of any man who loved Him,
if He had been speaking only of the Apostles, and of those
others who should receive miraculous gifts ? Or would
Paul, in that case, when writmg to the Romans, who had at
that time received no miraculous gifts (see Rom. i. 11.) have
said " the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us :" . . . . " as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God 
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you : if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his : ... . the Spirit
itself heareth witness with our spirit?" &'o. &c.

§ 2.] Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 293
not grieving, but rejoicing, at his departure,
which was to lead to such a re-union ; " if ye
loved me ye would rejoice."
§ 2. It may be said, however, that since
" every good and every perfect gift is from
above," — since from God " proceed all holy de
sires, good counsels, and just works," we must
not account spiritual influence as any peculiar
privilege of the gospel-systera, but must acknow
ledge that good men among the Israelites of old,
if not among the heathen also, acted under the
guidance of the Holy Ghost. Indeed we find
them even recognizing this influence by their
prayers to God to " make a clean heart within
them," &c. And yet on the other hand, there
can surely be no doubt that under the Gospel,
some new manifestation of God in the Spirit has
taken place. We cannot suppose that the per
sons, who by our Lord's directions were baptized
into" the name of the Father, Son and Holy
» Not " in the name," as it is in our translation ; which
probably in this and a few more instances showed too much
deference for the Vulgate Latin Version. That translates " in
nomine ;" a rendering plainly at variance with the original.

294 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
Ghost, — who were " born again of water and of
the Spirit," in order to their entering into the
newly-founded kingdom of heaven, were admit
ted to no privilege which had not been all along
enjoyed by their fathers even from the creation.
And every part of the New Testament confirms
this view. Araong the rest, we find in John's
Gospel, " this spake He of the Holy Ghost,
which they that believed on Hira should receive;
for the Holy Ghost was not yet;"° "because
that Jesus was not yet glorified." And again,
those tvpelve disciples whom Paul found at Ephe
sus in his third apostolical journey, had " not
so much as heard whether there be any Holy
Ghost." Yet certainly they could not have been
ignorant that God is a Spirit. Nor can it well
be supposed, that they, and the Evangelist John
in the passage just cited, refer to the miraculous
effusion alone, and call that extraordinary agency,
especially and exclusively, the Holy Ghost; since
they must have known how frequently God had
of old inspired the prophets, and enabled many
of them to perform various miracles.
° " Given," is ^dded by the translators.

§ 2.] Influence of the Holy Spirit. 295
In what then are we to conclude the difference
consisted between the Christian Church and her
predecessor, in respect of spiritual endowment ?
Without presuming to decide on the degree of
divine assistance bestowed on individuals under
the two dispensations respectively, (which would
be presumptuous,) this important distinction we
may plainly perceive ; that, of the Christian
Church the Holy Spirit is the promised and
permanent Comforter: He is the "¦promise of
the Father," sent that " He may abide with us
for ever." Whatever sanctifying aid may have
been, in fact, supplied, under the Old Covenant,
it was no part of that Covenant ; — of the Chris
tian Covenant, it is. God the Holy Ghost, —
God manifest in the Spirit, was not the per
manent Ruler of the former Church, as He is of
the Christian. As for the divine communications
to the prophets, and the miraculous powers be
stowed on them and on others, under the Old
Dispensation, these were not continuous, but
occasional; inward sanctifying grace, again,
bestowed on the humble and pious, may have
been, for aught we know, constant, but was not
promised. And hence the Jewish people was

296 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
never called, like the Christians, the " Temple
of the Holy Ghost."
What the Apostle John therefore (as well as
those disciples at Ephesus) meant by the Holy
Spirit, which, he says, " was not yet," (ouVtu r)v)
must have been, this covenanted and perpetual
manifestation of God in the Spirit, (a manifesta
tion now to faith only, though at first confirmed
by sensible miracles) as the Governor, Protector,
Consoler, in short. Paraclete, of the Christian
Church. For we are Christ's Body ; and
" hereby know we that He dwelleth in us, by his
Spirit which He hath given us." These consi
derations alone would be sufficient to prove,
were other proofs less abundant, that the pro
mised presence of God with the Christian
Church, cannot, without setting Scripture at
defiance, be understood as referring merely to
the writings of the New Testament which He
inspired ; since that would give us no advantage
over the Jewish Church ; for " holy men of old
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
§ 3. The promise of Christ, however, that He
would always, even unto the end of the world,

§ 3.] Influence qf the Holy Spirit. 297
be with his Church, which is thus constituted
" the temple of the Holy Ghost that dwelleth in
it," is not understood by all in the sarae extent.
While on the one hand, some enthusiasts have
pretended to inspiration, and other miraculous
gifts ; many on the other hand, who are far re
moved from this error, but who are satisfied with
vague and careless notions, have a sort of general
idea of spiritual aid not being wholly withdrawn
from Christians, but bestowed in a much less
degree than on the saints of the primitive times ;
without seeking to determine the measure, or the
kindoi spiritual assistance to be reasonably hoped
for by each class respectively, or the signs by
which each might recognize its presence.
And yet it might naturally be supposed, that
inscrutable as the nature of God must be to his
creatures, and little as they can understand of
the reasons and the modes of his dealings with
them, at least we should be capable of knowing
what the spiritual aid is that we are taught to
look for, and commanded to pray *nd to strive
for. The humblest peasant, who subsists by the
labour of his hands, may be left ignorant indeed
of the process by which corn vegetates in the

298 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
earth, or supphes nutriment to the human firame ;
but it is needful for his natural hfe that he should
understand how to gain his daily bread, which he
is taught to pray for, and to distinguish it from
what is useless or noxious ; and it is no less
needful that the plainest Christian should be able
to understand how his spiritual life is to be sup-'
ported, — the welfare of his soul secured ; and
should be capable of guarding against any dan
gerous error on the subject.
It is desirable, therefore, that both the resem
blances and the differences between our condition
and that of the primitive Christians, in respect
of this point, should be as accurately laid down
as possible, and should be frequently dwelt upon ;
since the worst consequences may result from
either underrating or overrating the spiritual aid
to be expected by Christians of the present day.
Thus much is generally admitted; that the
promise of the Holy Spirit extended to both
classes of Christians ; but that the sensibly-
miraculous gifts bestowed on the early Church
have been long since withdrawn ; and these are
usually, and very suitably, called the extraor
dinary gifts ; as bestowed at a particular time,

§ 4. J Influence qf the Holy Spirit. 299
and for an especial purpose ; and are thus dis
tinguished from what are called the ordinary
operations of the Spirit, as needful alike for all
Christians, and at all times. A more particular
consideration, however, of some of the several
points of resemblance, and of difference, between
the two cases, is requisite for the purpose of
guarding against some prevailing errors, and of
calling attention to doctrines not always suffi
ciently noticed, or adequately developed.
And this inquiry falls naturally under two
heads, (which however cannot be kept entirely
distinct); viz. 1st, as to the different classes of
gifts themselves ; and 2dly, as to the tokens by
which the presence of each is to be known — the
way in which each kind of spiritual infiuence is
to be recognized.
§ 4. First, then, the display of " signs and
wonders" in the primitive Church, constitutes
one great distinction between their case and
ours :P but this distinction being acknowledged,
p For it is not necessary at present to enter into an exa
mination of the false pretensions of some impostors and
enthusiasts, whether in the Church of Rome or in any other,
who have professed to work sensible miracles.

300 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
we should consider attentively on whom, and for
what purposes, these miraculous gifts were be
stowed; for it is not unnatural, nor I believe
uncommon to regard the persons who were thus
gifted, as holier, and more highly favoured of
God, than Christians of the present day ; — as
Saints, in sorae different sense or degree from
any thing that we are required or allowed to
become. But an examination of the case will
plainly show, that we have no reasons for re
garding the Christians thus gifted as having any
such advantage over us. It is not necessary to
enumerate and discuss the several kinds of ex
traordinary gifts ; it is plain that they were not
such as can be supposed to have been bestowed
for the direct benefit of the possessor. The gift
of tongues, for instance, or of prophecy, or of
healing the sick, could not, of themselves, and
iraraediately, conduce to the salvation of the
persons thus gifted. But raore than this, they
did not even afford proof that such persons were
corapletely acceptable to God, and in a safe
state in respect of their salvation ; for, strange
as it may appear to us, there is no possibility of
doubting that several of them not only incurred

§ 4. J Influence ofthe Holy Spirit. 301
the Apostle's severe rebuke for their misconduct,
but among the rest were censured for a vain
and contentious display of these very miraculous
endowments ; they showed a carnal mind, not
only while possessed of extraordinary spiritual
gifts, but even in the very employment of those
gifts. It appears probable, indeed, that the Apostles
(who alone had this power) ' conferred some ex
traordinary gift or other on every one, without
exception, of the converts who carae in their
way, as a token and pledge of their being in
truth a holy people to the Lord. At least no
mention is made of their bestowing these gifts
on some and not on others ; and certainly,
whether they made any selection or not, they
did not, as we plainly find, confine the gifts to
such as it was foreseen would make a right use
of them.
For what purpose then were these gifts be
stowed ? Principally, we may conclude, for these
three : 1st, for the satisfactory conviction and
assurance of the minds of the possessors ; 2dly,
q Acts viii. 16. xix. 6. Rom. i. 11, &c.

302 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
for the propagation of the religion ; and, 3dly,
for the edification of the Church.
And, First, Some external sensible operations
of the Spirit must have been highly important at
least, to satisfy the minds of the first Christians
of his actual presence among them. They had
so far shaken off their Jewish and Heathen pre
judices (prejudices which we of the present day
can hardly bring ourselves adequately to estimate)
as to receive the religion of Christ crucified, " to
the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks
foolishness ; " they had acknowledged that the
Eternal God, the Author and Ruler of the
Universe, had been manifested in the flesh, in
carnate in an obscure, despised, and persecuted
peasant, who had been executed as one of the
vilest of criminals; and* on being baptized into
this faith they were further required to believe
that they were thus " born again of water and
of the Holy Spirit," — that He, the same all-
present God, dwelt in an especial manner in the
Church, of which they were become members,
as in a most holy Temple, and was ever at hand
to sanctify and guide thera. " Know ye not,"
says Paul, " that ye are the Teraple of the Holy

§ 4. J Influence qf ihe Holy Spirit. 303
Ghost, which dwelleth in you?" Now all this
was so opposite to all their former notions, — so
strange to all their habits of thought, that they
might well need some special assurance of such
a doctrine as this last ; — some support against
the uneasy doubts and suspicions which might
suggest the question, " is the Lord araong us, or
not?" And such an assurance was graciously
afforded them in the sensible testimony of his
presence which God displayed, by conferring
powers manifestly miraculous. "^ Those, for in
stance, who received the gift of speaking in, or
interpreting, a language they had never learned,
could not suspect that they had been deceived
by a false teacher, or that they were under the
delusion of a heated" imagination : they would
have ground for undoubting confidence, there
fore, that they were indeed born of the Spirit,
and living stones of that holy Temple, not made
with hands, in which He resides. Not, however,
be it observed, that they were to regard their
extraordinary gifts as the only, or as the most
iraportant, instance of spiritual influence, but as
the proof and pledge of it : the truly important
' " Hinds's History," &c. Vol. I. p. 227.

304 Influence of tlie Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
benefit was, the sanctification by the Spirit, with
a view to eternal life ; the miraculous power
was the seal and the earnest of that benefit,—
the sign and notification, as it were, that the
treasure had been bestowed, — not the treasure
itself. Secondly, These extraordinary gifts were
needful in various ways for the propagation of
Christ's rehgion ; both to furnish those who
preached it with credentials, as it were, from
heaven, to prove the divine origin of the religion,
and also to enable all nations to " hear in their
own tongues the wonderful works of God."
Thirdly, Divers extraordinary gifts (probably
those designated as the " word of wisdom," " the
word of knowledge," and " the word of pro
phecy") were evidently needful for the edification
of the infant Church ; — for the supply of instruc
tion, both in doctrines and in moral duties, to
those whose Divine Master had not left behind
Him (like Moses) a book, containing the prin
ciples of Christian faith and practice, but had
left, instead, the promise of his Spirit, who should
" lead them into all [thej truth."
Such, principally, appear to have been the

§ 4.j Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 305
peculiar wants, and such the pecuhar supply of
those wants, in the infant Church. We have
the records of inspiration in the writings of the
Apostles and their followers, which supersede
the necessity of inspiration in ourselves : we have
the history of their miracles preserved, which,
together with the result of the miracles, — the
establishment and existence, at this day, of the
religion, — afford a sufficient evidence of its truth,
to all who are open to conviction ; since expe
rience, — now, long experience, has proved that
all attempts to account for its establishment by
human means, are vain. And as the blaze of
the pillar which guided the Israelites in the
wilderness, and proved to them the divine pre
sence among them, was withdrawn when they
were sufficiently convinced of that presence, and,
as it were, familiar with the belief that the Lord
was among them as their Protector and King, —
the manifestation of "the glory of the Lord"
being thenceforward enclosed within the most
holy place, — so, the outward and sensible marks
of God's presence in his Church, were gradually
withdrawn, when sufficient evidence had been
afforded of that presence ; which is still not less

306 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
real or less effectual than before ; and which is
no longer miraculously displayed, only because
it has been already sufficiently proved.'
The extraordinary gifts were probably with
drawn gradually, in proportion as the structure,
of which they were the temporary support, gra
dually acquired consistency. We have, accord
ingly, nothing recorded on the subject ; indeed,
much has come down to us respecting miracles,
pretended to have been wrought long after the
apostolic age, which we have good reason for
regarding as fabulous. The Sacred Writers,
however, furnish us with grounds for at least a
highly probable conjecture. It was through the
laying on of the hands of the Apostles only,
that extraordinary gifts were for the most part
conferred ; as may be proved from several parts
of the New Testament, particularly the account
in the Acts (chap, viii.) of the preaching of the
Gospel by Philip the Deacon to the Samaritans;
who were afterwards favoured with a visit, chiefly,
« I am indebted for this remark, and for several others in
the present Essay, to that most interesting and useful wbrk,
" Hinds' History of the Rise and Early Progress of Christi
anity ;'' first published in the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana.

§ 5. J Influence ofthe Holy Spirit. 307
as it appears, for this express purpose, by the
Apostles Peter and John. And the sarae may
be collected from the opening of the Epistle to
the Romans.
Such then being the mode in which, exclu
sively, miraculous powers were conveyed, (with
the exception of a very few cases, including, of
course, that of the Apostles themselves,) the
result must have been, that when all the Apo
stles had terminated their course on earth, all
the channels must have been stopped through
which this stream had hitherto flowed ; and as
the last generation dropped off, one by one, of
such as had been thus gifted, this extraordinary
manifestation of the Spirit gradually became
extinct. § 5. These extraordinary endowments, then,
constitute one important difference between the
early Christians and ourselves; but the corre
sponding point of resemblance is one of far
higher importance : for we have no reason to
suppose that that spiritual influence, which is
conferred for the benefit of the individual Chris
tian, — for his moral improvement and purifi-
x2

308 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
cation— for his support and guidance in the road
to eternal life, — is bestowed in any less degree,
on sincere Christians, at the present day, than
formerly. Now this surely is of incomparably
higher importance than the miraculous gifts we
have been speaking of These last without the
other, without, that is, the proper use having
been made of the other, would be utterly worth
less ; the sanctifying influence of the Spirit, if
we so walk after it as to bring forth the fruits of
the Spirit, hath the " end of everlasting life."
" Many," says our Saviour, " shall say in that
day. Lord, we have in thy name cast out demons,'
and in thy name done many mighty works ;
then will I say unto them, I know you not ;
depart from rae, all ye workers of iniquity" 
And again, " in this rejoice not, that the demons
are "subject unto you ; but rather rejoice, because
your names are written in heaven."
And Paul in like manner, when he has been
enumerating and comparing together the various
extraordinary spiritual gifts, which had been a
* The Devil (Aif(|8o\os) is used as a designation of Satan,
and, of course, always in the singular : the plural, which has
been injlidiciously rendered Devils, is Demons, (Aai/jovia.)

§ 5.J Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 309
subject of emulation and dissension among the
Corinthian Christians, concludes by utterly de
preciating all of them in comparison of that
which he calls a " more excellent way." This he
designates by the word ajdirr) ; which in most
places is rendered " love," but in the passage
in question " charity." It appears, however, to
have been employed in this place to denote
collectively all the sanctifying efficacy, — all of
what we call the ordinary operations of the Holy
Spirit ; this gift being at once the great proof
and instance of Christ's love to his Church, —
the ground of the love of Christians towards their
Master, and also the bond of their brotherly
love towards each other, not as fellow-creatures
merely, but as fellow-members of Christ's body.
The circumstance of the Apostle's setting ar/dirT)
above faith and hope (jn-la-Tts and eX'jj-ls) not
merely as the greatest of the three, but as in
cluding the other two, because it " hopeth all
things, and believeth all things," (jravra eXTrl^ei,
irdvra ina-revet) seems to indicate that he was
not in this case confining his view to Christian
benevolence alone : and if any one will compare
the fruits of djam}, as enumerated in the 13th

310 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians,
with " the fruits of the Spirit" in the Sth chap
ter of the Epistle to the Galatians, in the ori
ginal, he will perceive such a striking coincidence
in the Greek words employed in the two pas
sages, (much more striking than an English
translation exhibits,) as will leave little doubt
that the same train of thought was in the writer's
mind in both instances."
It may appear superfluous, however, to adduce
scriptural proofs of what js in itself so obvious
as the superior value of sanctifying grace to
miraculous endowments. But as long as lan
guage is employed by mankind to express their
thoughts, there will always be a danger of their
thoughts being influenced by language ; and
unless an especial attention is directed to this
danger, the best-chosen expressions will ever be
liable insensibly to become a snare to us. The
ordinary and the extraordinary operations of the
Holy Spirit have been very fitly so termed ; but
these words are likely, if we are not on our
guard against the danger, to suggest to us,
" See Hinds' " History of the Rise and Progress," &c.
VoL II. p. 221.

§ 5. J Influence of tite Holy Spirit. 31 1
gradually and imperceptibly, an erroneous idea.
Extraordinary abilities place a man much above
one of ordinary; extraordinary merit is some
thing much greater and better than ordinary;
and the like in many other cases. Such an
employment, therefore, of those words, is apt to
lead men insensibly to form an indistinct notion
of some very superior advantage possessed by
those endowed with the extraordinary gifts of
the Spirit ; especially as the title of saints is com
monly applied in Scripture to the early Christians,
as equivalent to that title; while by us it is
limited to a few of the most eminently pious that
are recorded.'' If one were even to hint at the
^ The application (among Protestants) of the title " Saint,"
in the present day, seems somewhat anomalous. It is never
applied to the indisputably holy (sancti) and even inspired
persons who lived under the Jewish dispensation ; such as
Moses, David, Daniel, &c., nor is it limited to such Chris
tians (viz. the Apostles and Evangelists) as were confessedly
inspired; for Protestants commonly speak of Saint Jerome,
Saint Augustine, &c. without attributing inspiration to them ;
nor again is it considered allowable to characterise by that
title such men of later days as appear to us eminent for
Christian knowledge and virtue ; as, for instance, the chief
promoters and martyrs of the Reformation. All this surely
tends to foster the notion that in the earlier ages of Chris-

312 Influence qf the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
possibility of any man's becoming, in the present
day, as perfect a Christian as one of the Apostles,
— of any set of Christians now, attaining an
equality with the best of those primitive Chris
tians, — becoming Saints in as high a degree
as those who are usually so called, — the very
idea would be reprobated by many persons as
an alraost impious presumption ; though in fact
there is much raore presumption in expecting
God's eternal favour, while we are content to
remain inferior.
Not that men deliberately assent to the propo
sition, that the power of working miracles is a
tianity, some men at least wei:e able to attain a higher degree
of Christian holiness than any one can hope for, or need
strive for, now.
The Romanist-system, a most complete and compact, and
well-proportioned edifice, but built on a foundation of sand,
seems to me in this matter, as in most others, very consis
tent with itself. The definition of a Saint according to that
system, — of one enrolled in the list, or canonized, as it is
called,^ — seems to be, one who is supposed to have performed
em'inent works of supererogation ; i. e. to have had more merit
than sufficed for his own salvation ; the overplus being, (as
is well known to all who are acquainted with the doctrines
of that school) stored up, as it were, in a kind of common
treasury, for the benefit of the rest of the Catholic Church
And no Romanist need be at a loss to know who is, and who

§ 5.J Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 313
better thing than a pure and holy mind ; nor
that they can be ignorant, if they are but mo
derately versed in Scripture, of the recorded
imperfections of many thus gifted, even in their
manner of exercising these very gifts ; but the
use of the word extraordinary, together with the
perceptible and striking character of these en
dowments, and our habit of prizing the most
highly what is rare, tend to leave a sort of vague
impression ou the mind, of some pre-eminent
sanctity in those who were partakers of them,
above what is attainable in the present day.
The splendid accompaniment which testified to
is not, to bear the title of Saint : the names are to be found in
a register, into which they are admitted by the Pope himself.
All this is at least consistent, and convenient, it wants nothing
but truth.
I would suggest however to Protestant-preachers the im
portance of frequently reminding their hearers, at least the
middle and lower classes, i. e. a large majority of most con
gregations, that it is a mistake (and I believe it to be a very
common one) to suppose that the admonitions and exhor
tations which the Apostles address to " Saints," do not con
cern, or do not equally concern, Christians in the present day ;
or that they are " not expected to be Saints." To assume that
title indeed as distinguishing them from their fellow-Christians
is most presumptuous ; but the Gospel-promises are limited
to those who live " as hecometh Saints."

314 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
them the reality of the spiritual influence be
stowed, is apt to enhance in our minds the value
of the benefit thus attested, above that which is
still placed within the Christian's reach. But if
we attentively consider the case, we shall be
convinced that the Lord has not given to the
one class of Christians any advantage over the
other, in that which tends to the spiritual wel
fare of the individual Christian, and leads to the
salvation of his soul; — that his promise to be
with his Church always, and to dwell spiritually
in the hearts of those who love Him and keep
his saying, extends equally to all who equally
strive to fulfil that, the condition of it; — and
that our situation resembles that of the primitive
Christians in all that is essential, and differs from
it only in circumstances which were not only
temporary but comparatively unimportant.
§ 6. Hitherto, I have been comparing together
the case of the early Christians and our own,
principally with a view to the intrinsic character
of the spiritual gifts themselves that were pro
mised. I shall proceed (according to the division
mentioned, § 3.) to offer some remarks on the

§ 6.] Influence of tlie Holy Spirit. 315
signs by which the two classes of gifts — the
influence of the Spirit in these two modes of
operation, the extraordinary, and the ordinary, —
are, respectively, to be recognized and ascer
tained. We shall hence be led to perceive some
ftirther points of difference and of resemblance,
between the condition of the first Christians and
our own ; and may thus be more effectually
guarded against each of those opposite errors,
which are but too prevalent ; that of neglecting
or depreciating those inestimable gifts, which are
placed within our reach ; and that of pretending
to, or expecting such as are not promised.
When our Lord said to his disciples, " If ye
have Faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do
this which is done to the fig-tree, but also, if ye
shall say unto this mountain. Be thou removed,
and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done,"
it is plain that the Faith, which in this and in
several other passages He was inculcating on
them, is not to be understood of mere behef in
Jesus as the Messiah, or in the doctrines of his
religion ; or of trust, generally, in divine power
and goodness. It evidently has reference to
miraculous powers, such as are not bestowed on

316 Influence of ihe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
all Christians ; though Faith, in another sense,
is required of all. But in this and other decla
rations of like import, there can be little doubt
that our Saviour had in view, confidence in those
admonitions and injunctions which his disciples
and many others of the early Christians from time
to time received, authorizing and empowering them
to work certain miracles. Their extraordinary
gifts were not at their own command. Even
Paul, who performed so many mighty works,
and, among others, possessed the gift of healing
in a high degree, yet was not always permitted
to exert this gift, even in favour of his dearest
friends.'' A special commission seems to have
been requisite to enable thera to exercise their
delegated powers. And this was conveyed to
them, — their coraraission and call to perform
miracles, was announced to thera, — in various
ways. During our Lord's abode on earth in the
fiesh. He Himself, whose authority they could
not doubt, uttered commands to this purpose
with his own lips. Besides the general commis
sion given to the Apostles and to the Seventy,
we find Him on one occasion giving a precise
y See 2 Tim. iv. 20.

§ 6.1 Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 317
direction to Peter to cast a hook into the sea,
and to take the fish that first came up, in whose
mouth he should find the piece of money (a
Stater) which the exigency required : in another
instance. He, at the request of the sarae Apostle,
commanded him to come and meet Him on the
surface of the water. Peter seems to have well
understood that his Master's command was at
once requisite and sufficient to enable him to
tread the waves without sinking. But even after
he had begun to experience the efficacy of that
command, his faith was shaken by alarm, and
he began to sink, and was reproached by his
Master for his doubts. The faith in which he
was in this instance found deficient, seems to
have been precisely that which our Lord on other
occasions so earnestly inculcated.
After our Lord's ascension, some other kind
of indication must have been given, by which
those who were on each occasion authorized to
work any miracle, might know that they were
thus empowered. A species of revelation, in
short, must have been bestowed, informing them
what they were enabled and required to perform ;
and in this revelation they were required to have

318 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
a full faith. Whatever mode may have been, in
each case, employed for conveying this revelation,
the indication given must always have been
something in which they could not be mis
taken — something as free from all doubt or
suspicion as the words which they heard Jesus
utter while with them ; since otherwise, this
unhesitating faith could not reasonably have
been required of them. It must have been
something, therefore, which could not possibly
be confounded with any suggestions of their
own minds.
This is a point concerning which we have no
precise statements in Scripture ; but the nature
of the case puts it, I think, beyond a doubt,
that the intimations or signs we are speaking of,
must always have been accorapamied by, or con
nected with, something sensibly miraculous. For
otherwise we must suppose the disciples to have
been left exposed to a double danger ; that of
mistaking any remarkable dream, or impression
on their waking minds, from natural causes, for
a communication from the Spirit ; in which case
they would have given faith to a delusion, and
have been disappointed in their expectations.

§ 6. J Influence qf tlie Holy Spirit. 319
contrary to our Lord's express promise : and
that of mistaking, on the other hand, some hea
venly communication for an ordinary dream or
thought ; in which case they would have failed
in faith vrithout any fault of their own. God
certainly would not leave his servants in any
such uncertainty ; and they could not possibly
be secured from it in any way but by the inter
vention of sensible miracles.
I have said, however, that the intimation in
question must be either accompanied by, or
connected with some sensible miracle, because
such a proof to the party concerned, of his not
being deluded, as would be necessary in the flrst
instance, might be dispensed with afterwards,
when some particular mode of communication
had been once stamped, as it were, with the
signature of divinity, by some plainly miraculous
accompaniment.^ A particular sort of internal
sensation, for instance, or mental emotion, which
a man might experience, however strikingly
different it might be from his ordinary feehngs,
he would be very rash in regarding as a signal of
^ " Hinds' History," &c. p. 187- Vol. I.

320 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
inspiration ; since he could not possibly tell that
it was not a symptom of disease, or of some
other natural change ; but if he experienced
something of this kind in immediate connexion
with a miraculous phenomenon, to which his
senses, and those of others, could testify, the
recurrence of this peculiar sensation or percep
tion afterwards, would then be of itself justly
regarded by him as a heaven-sent intimation.
For instance, a man may dream, or, if in an
excited state of mind, may fancy, that he hears
a voice addressing hira, when there is no such
thing ; but when Paul, on his road to Damascus,
was struck to the ground, and blinded by a
blaze of light, he thus received the assurance
of a sensible miracle ; then it was that he heard
himself addressed in the awful voice of the Lord
Jesus. He afterwards, as he tells us, received
from Him, at various times, revelations con
cerning the Gospel. Now if, as is most probable,
this revelation was communicated to him by that
same voice, — (even though unaccompanied by
the supernatural light) — a voice which could not
but be strongly impressed on his memory, he
would be in no more danger of delusion, than

§ 6.J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 321
any of us, in holding communication with a
well-known friend.
Again, when two of the disciples met with
their Master lately risen from the grave, as they
were going to Emmaus, their senses were at
first preternaturally obscured, so that they did
not recognize Him ; but they seem to have
experienced, while He was talking with them, a
certain remarkable inward sensation, not noticed
by them at the time, which they described by
their " hearts burning within them :" now this
may indeed have been no more than a natural
and ordinary emotion, elicited by the interesting
character of the discourse they were hearing : it
may, however, have been something peculiar ;
and the remarkable circurastances of the case
(especially their eyes being " holden that they
should not know Him,") render this not very
improbable. It is certainly not impossible ; and
therefore at any rate we may frame such a
supposition for illustration's sake : suppose then,
as is at least conceivable, this were a sensation
altogether different from any thing they had
ever before experienced ; its recurrence on any
subsequent occasion, would be justly regarded

322 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
by them, frora the miraculous circumstances
accompanying its first occurrence, as a token
of their Lord's presence, though useen,' and a
notice that they were to regard as a communi
cation from his Spirit, the ideas conveyed to
their minds through this vehicle.
But whenever (as has often been the case
with those of an enthusiastic temperament in
later times) we find a person strongly suspecting
that he has received a revelation, or fully con
vinced of it, from feeling (as they sometimes
express it) a certain thought forcibly borne in
upon his mind, we may be quite sure that he
is deluding hiraself. God would never leave
^ Whether in this particular instance the fact were or were
not such as I have supposed, makes no difference to the pre
sent argument ; the object being only to illustrate my meaning.
[-See " Elements of Rhetoric," Part I. Chap. iiL § 3.J It is
worth observing, however, that our Lord must have had so-me
design in thus presenting Himself to his disciples invisible ;
invisible that is, as their Master, Jesus : and his design, or at
least part of it, may have been, to teach them the meaning of a
certain peculiar internal impression, denoting his presence in
the Spirit. If so, the sensation, and its peculiarity, their own
consciousness would testify ; its meaning would be explained
to them by their Lord's afterwards opening tlieur eyes, so that
they knew who it was that had been with them.

§ 6.J Influence ofthe Holy Spirit. 323
any doubt, or any reasonable ground for doubt,
on the mind of any one to whom He might
think fit to impart a revelation ; He doubtless
never did, nor ever will, communicate any one
of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, without
attesting, to the person or persons concerned, its
reality, by the stamp of some sensible miracle.
The Apostle Paul, accordingly, we find en
abled to distinguish, and careful to distinguish
the fullest convictions of his own understanding,
from divine revelations.* During his last journey
* An admirable instance of this care, may be seen in
1 Cor. vii. Any such directions as he might have been sup
posed to deliver on divine authority, on points whereon he had
received " no commandment firom the Lord," he is careful,
though he could not but wish his advice to be followed, to
point out as merely the suggestions of his own judgment. In
points unconnected with religion, such as the directions he
gives about bringing his cloak and his books firom Troas, as it
would be absurd to suppose any inspiration, so there was no
need that he should disavow it.
And this applies to such purely historical passages in the
sacred writers as involve no religious doctrine or precept.
It is childish therefore to allege errors, real or imaginary, of
this nature, as reasons for doubting either the truth of Chris
tianity or the inspiration of our sacred writers. If indeed
they can be proved to have written like men so ill-acquainted
with the time, places, and occurrences, they speak of, as to
Y 2

324 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
to Jerusalem that is recorded in the Acts, he
was strongly impressed with the expectation that
he should there close his career by a violent
death. He took leave of the Elders of Ephesus
with an assurance of his complete conviction
that they should see his face no more ; but he
knew that this his conjecture (which, all things
considered, was a very probable one, though
show that they could not really have been what they profess,
this is an objection of a different kind ; and on this question
we may safely join issue. But when we are told of a blind
man healed by Jesus, according to one Evangelist (Mark
X. 46.) as He was going out of Jericho, and according to
another (Luke xviii. 35) as He was coming 'into Jericho, it
seems obvious that one of the two was mistaken as to this
circumstance ; — a circumstance so utterly insignificant, that
it would be extravagant to expect that the Holy Spirit should
interfere to correct the mistake. And any one who should,
on such a ground, deny the occurrence of the miracle, or the
general fidelity of the vpriters, would be acting on a principle
which if adhered to in ordinary life, would be regarded as a
symptom of utter mental imbecility.
There are other points again in which we coidd have no
ground for conjecturing, from the nature of the case, whether
supernatural guidance took place or not : as, for example,
when the Apostle Paul changed his first design of going into
Bithynia, and proceeded to Troas, there is no reason why this
"alteration of plan might not have been regarded as the result

§ 6. J Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 325
the event, we have every reason to believe, did
not agree with it) was merely a conjecture, and
not a revelation. He had received a divine ad
monition to take this journey, together with a
warning of approaching persecutions ; but the
ultimate event was as yet hidden from him :
" Behold, I go bound in the Spirit ° unto Jeru
salem, not knowing the things that shall befall
me there ; save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth
of his own natural judgment, but that we are expressly told
that " the Spirit suffered them not " to enter Bithynia ;
(Acts xvi. 6, 7.) In this case therefore either there was a
supernatural interference, or the writer is guilty of a direct
falsehood. This is a distinction most important to be re
membered, as it has been overlooked by eminent writers.
Many of the enactments of the Mosaic law again, are, in
themselves, such as we might conceive to have been framed
by the natural wisdom of Moses ; and his detaining the
Israelites forty years in the wilderness, is not a measure on
which we could pronounce, from internal evidence, that it
could not have been the result of his own judgment. But
when we find him distinctly declaring that he had received
express commands from the Lord on these points, no alter
native remains but either to admit that these were Divine
appointments, or to impute to the author a deliberate im
posture. = That is, I imagine, knowing by the revelation of the
Divine Spirit, that he was to be bound.

326 Influence qf the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
in every city that bonds and afflictions abide
me." Inspirations, however, and other miraculous
gifts, we have (as has been already observed) no
reason to expect in these days. Not, however,
that we are authorized to assert confidently that
nothing of the kind ever will recur ; but thus far
we may be confident, that if it does, it will be
accompanied by sufficient evidence to distinguish
clearly a miraculous interposition, from impos
ture or delusion.
And it is important to observe, that one who
rashly gives heed to such impostures or delu
sions is so far from being chargeable with erring
through excess oi faith, that he has in reahty for
feited all claim to the praise of faith as a Christian
virtue ; since he plainly shews that even what is
true in his belief is received by him not because
it is true, but because it agrees with some fancies
or prejudices of his own ; and that he is right,
where he is right, only by chance. Having
violated the spirit of the first comraandment, by
regarding what is human with the veneration
due to that only which is divine, his worship,
even of the true God, becomes an abomination.

§7.] Influence qf the Holy Spirit. 327
He has " set up idols in his heart," (see Ezek.
xiv.) and the Lord, the jealous God, will " set
his face against that man."
§ 7. The signs then by which the extraor
dinary gifts of the Spirit were announced, consti
tute (as well as those gifts themselves) a point
of difference between the early Christians and
their successors. There is a resemblance, and,
as we have every reason to conclude, an equality,
between the condition of the infant Church and
our own, in respect of that far more important
point, the ordinary grace of the Holy Spirit
operating in the sanctification of the heart.
What then is the sign of this gift ? — the token by
which we may be assured of " God's working in
us both to will and to do, of his good pleasure ?"
2%z's operation ofthe Spirit, there is every reason
to believe, not only is, but always was imper
ceptible ; and undistinguishable, except by its
fruits, from the ordinary workings of the human
mind. For if it was suggested to the mind of
one of the first Christians, that he ought to do
this or that, and suggested in such a manner
(which sometimes was the case) as to afford him

328 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
a satisfactory assurance of an imraediate com
mand from the Holy Ghost, this would clearly be
a case of revelation, and, consequently, would
belong to the other class of spiritual gifts ; — not
to that which we are now considering. But we
may be sure that they were not, even the most
highly gifted of them, thus guided by iramediate
revelation in all the actions of their lives ; but
were left to work out their " own salvation with
fear and trembling ;" though still encouraged to
do this by the assurance that " God wrought in
them." They were accordingly not uniformly
infallible ; for we find a dissension arising between
Paul and Barnabas ; nor was this settled by any
miraculous interposition, or authoritative decla
ration of the Spirit, to either of them. And
again, we find Paul withstanding and censuring
Peter ; but at the same time using arguments
to convince him of his error ; not charging him
with having wilfully rebelled against any express
immediate revelation respecting the particular
act in question.
In fact, the early Christians could hardly
have been moral agents, if they had not been
left watchfully to regulate their own conduct

§ 7. ] Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 329
according to the best of their judgment, but had
in every case recognized the imraediate dictates
of the Holy Spirit forbidding or enjoining each
action of their lives. And yet they were taught
that in all their conduct the assistance of God's
Spirit was requisite, and was promised to
them ; our Lord Himself told thera that with
out Him they " could do nothing ;" and the
Apostle's encourageraent to them to work out
their own salvation, is, " it is God that worketh
in you."
But how then were they, and how are we, to
know what are these suggestions of the sanctify
ing Spirit ? Our Lord Himself seems to instruct
us that we are to judge by the effects, when He
says, " the wind {jrveviia) bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth ;
so is every one that is born (tov TrvevfiaTos) oi
the Spirit." He here seems to have in view the
ordinary and universal operations of the Holy
Spirit, — those which extend to " every one that is
born of the Spirit," without which, " no one can
enter into the kingdom of Heaven." And as we
judge of the direction of any wind that blows

330 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
(though itself invisible) by its effects, — by the
direction in which it irapels the bodies moved by
it, — so, we must decide whether we are in each
instance influenced by God's Holy Spirit, or by
our own corrupt desires and the Spirit of Evil,
by observing the direction in which we are ira-
pelled ; whether to holiness or to sin, — towards
a conforraity, or an opposition, to the example
of our great Master, — the word of his inspired
servants, and the moral law which is written on
our conscience, though the characters be so far
obscured as not to be traced without diligent
study. The Apostle, in like manner, when ex
horting his converts to be " led by the Spirit,"
and to " walk after the Spirit," evidently refers
them to a similar test, by enumerating the prin
cipal of the fruits of the Spirit, and contrasting
them with " the works of the flesh," which, he
says, "are manifest."
From these considerations it will appear how
much those are in error, who imagine that such
as have attained a very high degree of Christian
perfection, and are eminently under the sanctify
ing influence of the Holy Spirit, will be able
distinctly to perceive, by a pecuharity of im-

§ 7. J Influence qf the Holy Spirit. 331
mediate sensation, and thus to distinguish from
their own natural thoughts, the suggestions of
the Holy Ghost. If this his ordinary operation, —
this grace which guides and assists the Christian
" to will and to do what is well-pleasing to God,"
always was (as there seems good reason to con
clude) insensible, we may be well assured that
it always will be so. As on the one hand, even
the lowest of the extraordinary spiritual gifts
alluded to by Paul must always have been ac
companied vrith a distinct manifestation of its
super-human origin, so as to prevent the possi
bility of its being mistaken for an exercise of
any natural power ; so, on the other hand, even
the very highest degree of purifying grace, is,
and always was, undistinguishable from the exer
cise of the natural powers, except by the holiness
which is the result. The " carnal mind," and the
" spiritual mind," are to be known, respectively,
by "the works of the flesh," and the " fruits of
the Spirit." It is, 1st, by the inclinations of
our hearts; 2dly, by our deliberations towards
the accomphshment of our wishes ; and, 3dly, by
the actions which are the result of these, that we
must know what spirit we are of; for it is from

332 Influence qfthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
God that " all holy desires, all good counsels,
and all just works do proceed."
Another error, opposite to the one just con
sidered, is that of those who acknowledge, in
general terms, the existence and the necessity
of the ordinary operations of the Spirit, but
explain them away in each particular case ; and
thus completely nullify the doctrine. They allow
that Christians are to expect the sanctifying
grace of the Holy Ghost ; but each separate
work in which this divine agency can possibly
operate, they attribute exclusively and entirely
to some other cause. If a man resist tempta
tion, they attribute this to his sense of the folly
and danger and sinfulness, of yielding to it ; and
thence deny that spiritual influence was con
cerned in the case : if he improve in religious
knowledge, they attribute this, exclusively, to
his dfligence in learning, and to the advantage
of good instruction ; and, accordingly, contend
that there is no need in such a case to suppose
spiritual influence concerned : if he does any act,
or entertains any sentiraent, which right reason
would approve, they regard this as a proof that
to right reason alone it is to be referred : and

§ 7.J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 333
by this means they exclude, one by one, every
possible instance in which the ordinary grace
of the Spirit can operate ; for any thing which
could not be traced to any natural cause, would
clearly be miraculous. But a doctrine which is
true generally, cannot be false in every particular
instance. In fact, what we mean by the ordinary
operation of the Holy Spirit, is his operation
through second causes,— his aid to our endea
vours, — his blessing upon the means of grace.
We are taught to pray for our daily bread as
God's gift, though it is not, like Manna, showered
miraculously from the skies ; and every christian
thought and word and deed is no less " from
above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights," though it come not accompanied with
fiery tongues and the " sound of a mighty wind."
Its christian goodness is the sign of its spiritual
origin. It is perhaps hardly worth while to notice an
objection I have heard, that every operation of
the Divine Spirit must be an interruption of the
course of nature, and miraculous ; and that con
sequently I have all along been teaching (though
I have said the direct reverse) that miracles are

334 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
to be expected in the present day; for if no
miracles, it is said, are to be looked for, no
spiritual influence at all is to be looked for. But
this surely is little better than a verbal cavil.
If this sense of the word " Miracle" is to be
adopted, then, I do teach (as indeed every one
must, whether sincerely or not, who recites the
formularies of our Church) that miracles have
not ceased, and that we are still to hope and
pray (as in the Collect for the Fifth Sunday
after Easter) that by God's " holy inspiration
we may think those things that be good,
and by his raerciful guiding may perform the
same." But this does not imply what is, per
haps the most properly, certainly, the most
usually, termed a " Miracle ; " viz. : a sensible
miracle, — an extraordinary and perceptible in
terruption of the general course of God's pro
vidence. I have all along been speaking of the
aid now to be looked for as the " ordinary"
operation of the Holy Spirit, — as not " sen
sible," but to be known only by its fruits —
and as so far frora being an " interruption,"
that it raay be considered as rather forming a
part, of the course of providence, as far as

§ 8.J Influence of tlie Holy Spirit. 335
Christians are concerned ; to all of whom this
spiritual aid is offered.
At least if this offer is not made in Scripture,
I cannot see what can be learned with any
certainty, or indeed how anything at all can
be learned, from the writings of the Apostles.
For if we are in this case to reject or to explain
away their most explicit and repeated declara
tions, on the ground that we have no sensible
proof of this divine agency, this is to make their
word go for nothing ; since if they announced to
us any phenomenon to which our senses did
bear testimony, we should believe it on that
ground, not, from faith in the declarations of
the sacred writers. But he who is content to
be taught by them, must I think accede to our
Church's doctrine as to the reality of a spiritual
influence not sensible or properly miraculous,
but known only by its effects to be the work of
Him to whom we must apply to " put into our
minds good desires, and to bring the same to
good effect."
§ 8. These " fruits of the Spirit" then, are,
and ever were, the criterion to Christians of

336 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
their being " led by the Spirit." The sign of
their having a claim to this spiritual guidance —
to the ordinary operation of the Spirit — of their
being admitted to a share in the offer oi this
grace, I cannot conceive to be, or ever to have
been, any other than their baptism into the
christian faith. There are some, indeed, who
represent baptism as a sign only of admission
into the visible Church, and not, necessarily,
of spiritual regeneration. But the shortest and
most decisive answer to these persons appears to
be, that they are making a distinction without a
difference. Such as the Church is described in
Scripture, viz. " as the body of Christ Jesus," as
the " Teraple of the Holy Ghost which dwelleth
in it," to speak of adraittance into this Church,
without an admission to the privileges bestowed
on it, seems a contradiction in terras. The pro
mises of Christ are made to the Society oi which
He is the Head ; and to individuals, not as
men, but as members of that Society. If (in the
case of temporal goods) any one is admitted a
member of any endowed Society, he is thereby
admitted to a share of its revenues : it would
be a contradiction to disjoin them. The visible

§ 8.J Influence ofthe Holy Spirit. 337
Church of Christ is a Society endowed by Him
with the richest privileges : but then, it rests with
each member of that Society (as it does with the
members of a human Society) to avail himself
aright of those privileges, or to neglect or abuse
them. The case of Christians is in this respect ana
logous to that of God's People of old. {See
Essay III.) All the Israelites were admitted
into covenant with the Lord ; and, being made
thus his " peculiar," " holy," and " elect" people,
were entitled to all the privileges and promises
of that covenant ; though it rested with each
individual to make a good or an ill use of these
advantages. The Lord was ready to perform
his part, if they would perforra theirs ; but if
they refused this, still they were not allowed to
draw back frora the engagement, but incurred
the heavier judgment for their disobedience.
The rebellious were not permitted, as they de
sired, " to return into Egypt," but were cut off
in the wilderness.
And the infants of the Israelites were admitted
into this covenant by the rite of circumcision,
at the age of eight days ; though they were, of
z

338 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
course, then, incapable of immediately enjoying
or understanding their privileges. If this had
been sufficiently attended to, it might have ob
viated the difficulties that have been raised from
the consideration that such as are baptized in
infancy cannot be, at once, nor till they become
moral agents, actually influenced by the Holy
Spirit ; whence it has been inferred by sorae,
that the new-birth does not necessarily take place
at baptism : while the Anabaptists (who alone act
consistently with these views) contending that
we should not put asunder what God has joined
together, — the sign, and the " inward spiritual
grace, or thing signified," — accordingly defer bap
tism till the party is arrived at years of discretion.
But after all, there is no more difficulty in
the case than in one which occurs every day ;
that of an infant inheriting an estate. He is
incapable, at the time, of using or comprehending
the advantage ; but still it is his ; he is not here
after to acquire the title and claim to it ; but
he will hereafter become capable of understand
ing his claim and employing his wealth ; and he
will become responsible at the same time for the
use made of it.

§ 8. J Influence of Uie Holy Spirit. 339
Christians in like manner are called upon at
their peril, to make the best use of their ad
vantages, as soon as they become capable of
understanding them : and if they fail to do this,
they are not on that account esteemed as never
having been admitted to those advantages, but,
on the contrary, incur, on that very ground, the
heavier condemnation. What, " know ye not,"
says the Apostle, " that ye are the temple of the
Holy Ghost which dwelleth in you ? and if any
man defile (j^delpei) the temple of God, him will
God destroy," {cpOepet).
It is then, and ever was, a matter of faith to
believe in the continual sanctifying presence of
God with his Church ; and in " the communion
of saints," viz. the participation of all Christians,
as far as they will avail themselves of the offer,
in the assistance of that Holy Spirit, frora which
every good and every perfect gift proceeds.'*
In this respect our case and that of the early
"* Doubtless one of the objects of our Lord, in the insti
tution of the Eucharist, was to remind Christians of this
" communion " or fellowship of the Holy Ghost, and to
impress it habitually on their minds. See Note B at the end
of this Volume.
z2

340 Influence of ihe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
Christians coincide. But there is this point of
difference between the two ; that this was not
to them, as to us, the great trial of their faith ;
because in the infant Church, the extraordinary
manifestations of the Spirit served as a visible
token to convince them of his actual presence.
The same Spirit still resides in the Church ; but
like the Shechinah concealed within the Holy of
Holies, it is screened from our view; we walk
wholly " by faith, and not by sight." They,
however, had counterbalancing trials : the fel
lowship in the Spirit, of Jews and Gentiles ; — to
the one party the admission of the unclean hea
then as fellow-heirs with the favoured children
of Abraham ; — to the other, the reception of a
religion and of a divine Master, from a nation of
obscure barbarians, despised and detested for
superstition, both that Master and his ministers
being rejected and abhorred even by that nation
itself; — in short, "Christ crucified, to the Jews
a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks, foolish
ness," constituted a trial to their faith which
we can hardly estimate. The indignities which
Jesus suffered, who was thence esteemed stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted, — the contradiction

§ 8. J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 341
which the new religion presented to all the
fondly-cherished hopes of the Jew, to all that
the Gentile most revered in philosophy, and was
most attached to in his religion and in his habits
of life — the inveterate malice of persecutors, —
the scorn and derision of the wisest and greatest,
— the censures, entreaties, and lamentations, of
kindred and friends, — all these, and numberless
other circumstances revolting to every preju
dice — every feeling — every habit, of the new
convert, formed a trial to his faith, of which we
can form but a faint idea ; and under which it
was needful that his gracious Master should
support him, by a constant visible display of his
presence. § 9. It is the part of Christians of the pre
sent day, on the one hand not to distrust the
reality of that presence, because it is no longer
thus miraculously displayed ; nor, on the other
hand, to require or look for such a miraculous
manifestation as God has thought fit no longer
to bestow. How we should have conducted
ourselves, if placed in the circumstances of the
primitive Christians, can be known only to the

342 Influence ofthe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
Searcher of hearts ; how we shall conduct our
selves under the circumstances in which we are
actually placed, — how we shall withstand our
own trials, and make use of our own advan
tages, — is the point which most concerns us ;
since of that we shall have to give an account.
And if we would profit by the example of the
raost eminent of God's servants, we must in
some respects reverse their procedure, in con
formity with the reversed circumstances in which
we are placed. We must endeavour to learn
and to perforra, as far as we are able, by our
natural powers, under the blessing of God's or
dinary operations, what the apostles were taught,
or were empowered to do, by miraculous gifts :
and the instruction they derived from their own,
or from each other's immediate inspiration, we
must seek to obtain in the records of that inspi
ration which they have left us. They could
in many instances infer this or that to be right
or true, from its being the suggestion of the
Spirit; which was attested, to themselves and
to others, by miracles : we, on the contrary, can
only prove any thing to be the suggestion of
the Spirit, by its being right and true ; and the

§ 8. J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 343
evidence of this, raust be sought in Scripture, —
that record of the dictates of the Holy Ghost,
which is the appointed standard for deciding
what does proceed from the Author of all good.
If our life and faith are agreeable to the Gospel,
this is the ground of confidence that they are
right; and if right, they must come from that
sanctifying and enlightening and supporting
grace, which alone can raise to life the dead
in sin, and purify man's corrupt nature, and
effectually open his eyes to the truth, and
" strengthen the feeble knees " to walk in God's
paths. This spiritual assistance is not (like the
other) a proof on which to build and support
our faith, but is itself a matter of faith ; — a truth
to be believed on God's assurances. And those
persons, therefore, are in fact wanting in faith (of
which they often pretend to a pre-eminent de
gree) who are not satisfied with this assurance,
but look for, and pretend to, sensible expe
riences, which are to afford a direct and decisive
demonstration to their minds of their being under
spiritual influence : " except they see signs and
wonders, they will not beheve."
We are to look then to the Holy Scriptures

344 Influence of the Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
which the Spirit of Christ inspired, not indeed
(according to the notion some have maintained)
as constituting the only assistance that the Holy
Ghost now bestows on the Church, but as con
stituting the ultimate standard by which we are
to judge how far we have received and are pro
fiting by that assistance. It is not in these
only that He is present, but it is by these, as
a test, that his presence is, in each case, to be
known.
It is, indeed, only through the enhghtening
and supporting grace of the Holy Spirit, that
even the Scriptures themselves can be consulted
with benefit. If we study thera with a mind
biassed by any of those numerous prejudices and
infirmities which beset our frail nature, we shall
receive the heavenly light of God's word through
a discoloured medium ; and its rays will thence
give an unnatural tint to every thing on which
they are shed. Many different persons, accord
ingly, have arrived at different conclusions {all
which consequently could not be correct), though
they have applied, apparently at least, the very
test that has been recommended : they have
compared their opinions or practices with the

§ 8.J Influence of ihe Holy Spirit. 345
standard of God's word, and finding them agree,
have concluded them to be the suggestions of
the Spirit which dictated that word; and yet
this agreement has perhaps been {must have
been, in some instances) the result of a partial
and prejudiced interpretation of Scripture ; they
may have suff'ered those opinions and prac
tices to bend the ruler" by which they were to be
measured. But how, after all (it may be said), is this
danger to be completely avoided ? Are we not
involved in a vicious circle, if we are to judge
whether we are under the influence of the Spirit
by consulting the Scriptures, and yet cannot
without that influence, interpret aright those
very Scriptures ? How, in short, are we to
arrive at a completely satisfactory decision as
to our own sentiments and conduct ?
The danger is one against which we never can
be completely secured in this life : the decisions
we attain can never be wholly exempt from all
ground for doubt : ' in other words, we must not
expect, with our utmost efforts and prayers, to
« Arist. Rhet. Book I. chap, i.
f See Essay VL § 10. First Series.

346 Influence of ihe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
attain perfect infallibility. If we could, this life
would hardly be any longer a state of trial. To
contend against the difficulty in question, — to
labour not only with diligence and patience, but
"with fear and trembling" also, that is, with
anxious and humble self-distrust, — is the very
task assigned us in this our state of preparation.
But if, while the Christian puts forth all his own
powers in this task, he at the same tirae earnestly
and importunately prays for heavenly guidance,
and relies with deep humility on Him who alone
can crown those efforts with success, he will be
continually approaching nearer and nearer to
" a right judgment in all things," and to a
corresponding perfection of life.
And in referring to and studying the Scrip
tures, though no infallible interpreter is to be
found, or hoped for, — no system of general
directions that will absolutely secure us against
mistake ; yet there are two maxims especially,
(already adverted to in these Essays,) which,
studiously dwelt upon, and perpetually recaUed
to our thoughts, will prove a safeguard against
many and various errors. The one is, to re
meraber that in studying the Scriptures we are

§ 8.J Influence of the Holy Spirit. 347
consulting the Spirit of Truth; and therefore
must, if we would hope for his aid, search
honestly and earnestly for the truth, not, for
a confirmation of our pre-conceived notions, or
a justification of the system, or the practice, to
which we may be inclined. This maxim is the
more frequently transgressed, from men's falsely
persuading themselves that they have coraplied
with it : the conclusions which they arrive at,
they, of course, believe to be true ; and thence,
from their having, as they suppose, found truth,
they take for granted that it was for truth they
were seeking. But a desire to have Scripture
on our side is one thing; and a sincere desire
to be on the side of Scripture, is another. It
is one thing to pray that we may learn what is
RIGHT ; and another thing, (though often mistaken
for it) to pray that we may find ourselves in
the right.
And, finally, in combination with this rule,
we should also keep constantly in mind, that, of
seeking in Scripture not only for truth, but for
practical truth, with a view to the improvement
of our life and heart : this is an express condi
tion on which spiritual aid in enlightening the

348 Influence of ihe Holy Spirit, [essay ix.
understanding is promised : " if any raan is
willing to do« the will of God, he shall know of
the doctrine." We must seek therefore in the
Scriptures, by the aid of Hira who gave them,
not for speculative knowledge respecting the
intrinsic nature of God, or of the human soul,
but for practical knowledge concerning the
relations existing between God and the soul of
man, that we raay be enabled to serve and
please Him the better ; and that " the inspira
tion of his Holy Spirit may cleanse the thoughts
of our hearts," and fit us for enjoying the more
imraediate presence of our Master in his tri
umphant kingdom. 8 dtktl.

APPENDIX.

Note A, to Essay V. p. 193.
I HAVE already (Essay I. § 5. p. 48) hinted my suspi
cions, that some persons, who do not really believe the
Mosaic Law relative to the Sabbath to be binding on
Christians, yet think it right to encourage or tacitly
connive at, that belief, from views of expediency, for
fear of unsettling the minds of the common people.
Indeed, I know, as a fact, respecting several persons,
what is probably the case with many others, that they
fully coincide with my views on the present question,
though they judge it not advisable, at present at least, to
come forward and avow their opinion. But there are
many, no doubt, who maintain the same tenet from
sincere conviction. Some again there are, who conceive
the observance of the Lord's day to be founded, not
on the authority of the Decalogue, but on a supposed
command given to all mankind at the creation: the force
of which, as it was antecedent to the Mosaic Law,
cannot, of course, be affected by its abolition, These
views, though I cannot coincide in them, are not, it is

350 Appendix.
plain, at all at variance with what has been said in the
fifth Essay.
But the opinion, that Christians are bound to the
hallowing of the Lord's day, in obedience to the fourth
commandment, goes to nullify all that I have there urged ;
since it implies that there is a part, at least, of the
Mosaic Law binding on Christians; I should say, the
whole; for since the fourth commandment is evidently
not a moral, but a positive precept, (it being a thing
in itself indifferent, antecedent to any command, whether
a seventh day, or a sixth, or an eighth, be observed,)
I cannot conceive how the consequence can be avoided,
that "we are debtors to keep the whole Law," cere
monial as well as moral. The dogma ofthe "Assembly
of Divines at VVestminster," — (in their " confession of
faith," chap. xxi. § 7) — that the observance of the
Sabbath is part of the moral Law" — is to me utterly
unintelligible. Yet unless we assent to this, adopting
some such sense of the term " moral " as it is difficult
even to imagine, I do not see on what principle we can,
consistently, admit the authority of the fourth command
ment, and yet claim exemption from the prohibition of
certain meats, and of blood, — the rite of circumcision, —
or, indeed, any part of the Levitical Law. But to those
" If it be meant by this expression, merely, that it is a moral duty
to allot a certain portion of time to devotion, though the specification
of particulars be a matter of positive enactment, it should be remem
bered that, in this sense, the Levitical Sacrifices also might, with
equal propriety, be termed a part of the moral law ; since natural
Conseience teaches the duty of worshipping God, though not the
particular mode of worship.

Appendix. 351
who fear that the reverence due to the Lord's day would
be left without support, should we deny the obligation of
the Mosaic Law, I would suggest two considerations,
either of which would alone be sufficient to show that
their apprehensions are entirely groundless :
1st, that there is no mention of the Lord's day in the
Mosaic Law.
2dly, that the power of the Church, bestowed by
Christ Himself, would alone (even independent of Apo
stolic example and ancient usage) be amply sufficient to
sanction and enforce the observance.
To seek, therefore, for support for an institution
which is " bound on earth" by the Church of Christ,
and which, consequently, he has promised to " bind in
heaven," among the abrogated ordinances of the Mosaic
Law, where, after all, it is not to be found, is to remove
it from a foundation of rock to place it on one of sand :
it is to " seek for the living among the dead."
In saying that there is no mention of the Lord's day
in the Mosaic Law, I mean, that there is not only no
mention of that specific festival which Christians observe,
on the first day of the week, in memory of our Lord's
resurrection on the morning following the Jewish Sab
bath, but there is not (as has sometimes been incau
tiously stated) any injunction to sanctify one day in
seven. Throughout the whole of the Old Testament,
we never hear of keeping holy some one day in every
seven, but the seventh day, as the day on which " God
rested from all his work." The difference, accordingly,
between the Jews and the Christians is not a difference

352 Appendix.
of reckoning; which would be a matter of no import
ance.* Our computation is the same as theirs. They,
as well as we, reckon Saturday as the seventh day of
the week ; and they keep it holy as the seventh day, in
memory of God's resting from the work of creation;
we keep holy the first day of the week, as the first, in
memory of our Master's rising from the dead on the day
after the Sabbath.
Now, surely it is presumptuous to say, that we are
at liberty to alter a divine command, whose authority
we admit to be binding on us, on the ground that it
matters not whether this day or that be set apart as
a Sabbath, provided we obey the divine injunction to
observe a Sabbath. One of the recorded offences, we
should remember, of " Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
made Israel to sin," was his instituting a feast unto the
Lord on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, " even
the day that he had devised of his own heart." The
Samaritans who " worshipped they knew not what,"
perhaps acted on a similar principle when they built a
Temple on Mount Gerizim ; though that was not " the
place which the Lord had chosen to put his name
'¦ When Pitcairn's Island, in the South Seas, was visited by an
English ship for the first time after its settlement by the remnant of
the mutineers of the Bounty, our voyagers, on the day they arrived,
which, to them was Saturday, found the islanders observing Sunday :
an obvious result of the circumstance that the Bounty and the other
ship had arrived at the same spot by sailing from England in opposite
directions. This is an instance of a mere difference of reckoning.
Both parties designed to observe the same festival, though they kept
it on different days.

Appendix. 353
there :" and so perhaps did Namaan the Syrian, when
he proposed to " wash in the rivers of Damascus, and be
clean," instead of Jordan. One river is as good as
another ; one mountain as good as another ; — one day
as good as another ; except when there is a divine com
mand which specifies one ; and then, it is our part not
to alter, or to question, a divine command, but to con
sider whether it extends to us, and, if it does, to obey it.
I cannot, therefore, but think that the error was less,
of those early Christians, who, conceiving the injunction
relative to the Sabbath to be binding on them, obeyed it
just as it was given, (provided they did not, contrary to
the Apostle's injunction, Rom. xiv. 2 — 6, presume to
judge their brethren who thought differently,) than of
those who, admitting the eternal obligation of the pre
cept, yet presume to alter it on the authority of tradition.
Surely if we allow that the " Tradition ofthe Church" is
competent to change the express commands of God, we
are falling into one of the most dangerous errors of the
Romanists ; and this, while we loudly censure them for
presuming to refuse the cup to the Laity at the Lord's
supper, on the authority of their Church, though Christ
said to his disciples, " Drink ye all of this ;" and for
pleading tradition in behalf of saint-worship, &c.
But in the present case there is not even any tradition
to the purpose. It is not merely that the Apostles left
us no command perpetuating the observance of the Sab
bath, and transferring the day from the seventh to the
first ; such a change certainly would have been autho
rized by their express injunction ; and by nothing short of
A A

354 Appendix.
that ; since an express divine command can be abrogated
or altered only by the same power, and by the same dis
tinct revelation by which it was delivered." But not
only is there no such Apostolic injunction, than which
nothing less would be sufficient ; there is not even any
tradition of their having made such a change ; nay,
more, it is even abundantly plain that they made no such
change. There are, indeed, sufficiently plain marks of
the early Christians having observed the Lord's day as a
religious festival, even from the very resurrection,
John XX. 19, 26; Acts xx. 7 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 2; Rev. i. 10:
but so far were they from substituting this for the Jewish
Sabbath, that all of them who were Jews, actually con
tinued, themselves, to observe not only the Mosaic Sab
bath, but the whole of the Levitical Law ; * while to the
Gentile converts they said, " Let no man judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the
new moon, or of the Sabbath day : which are a shadow
of things to come ; but the body is Christ."
And if we come down to later ages of the Church, we
not only find no allusion to any such tradition, but we
find the contrary distinctly implied both in the writings
of the early fathers, and in those of the most eminent of
the founders of our Reformation. For instance, in
Cranmer's Catechism, published in 1548, viz. the first
year of Edward VI., we find the following passage : —
° Accordingly I have pointed out, in Essay V., the Apostle's dis
tinct and repeated declarations, that the Mosaic Law is not binding
on Christians.
" Acts xvi. 3. and xxi. 20—27, &c.

Appendix. 355
" And here note, good children, that the Jewes in the
Old Testament were commanded to keep the Sabbath
day, and they observed it every seventh day, called the
Sabbat or Satterday. But we Christian men in the New
Testament are not bound to such commandments of
Moses' Law concerning differences of times, days, and
meats, but have liberty and freedom to use other days
for our Sabbath dayes, therein to hear the word of
God, and keep an holy rest. And therefore, that this
Christian liberty may be kept and maintained, we now
keep no more the Sabbath on Saturday as the Jews do ;
but we observe the Sundays and certain other days, as
the magistrates do judge convenient, whom in this thing
we ought to obey."
By the authority of the Magistrate, Cranmer evi
dently meant that of the Church ; the government of
which would, of course, be in the hands of the Civil
Magistrate, in such a Church as our Reformers con
templated ; viz. a strictly National Church ; in which
each subject of the State is necessarily, as such, a
member of the Church, also. In fact, the notion I am
contending against, seems, as far as I can collect, to
have originated with the Puritans not much more than
200 years ago : and to have been for a considerable time
confined to them ; though it was subsequently adopted
by several members of our Church.^
" See " Heylin's History ofthe Sabbath :" and also the Bishop of
Lincoln's Selections from the Writings of Justin. We learn from this
father, that the early Christians commemorated on Sunday (not the
end, but) the beginning of the creation, in which God gave Ught to
AA 2

356 Appendix.
The greater part of what I have said will apply to the
opinion of those also, who rest the observance of the
Lord's day, not indeed on the Mosaic Law, but on a
supposed command to Adam, (for none is recorded)
implied in the declaration that the Lord hallowed the
seventh day, because in that, He rested from the work
of creation. In reply to this (which however, if ad
mitted would not establish the conclusion inferred) it
has been urged, and not without reason, that it is not
said in Genesis, that the Lord hallowed the seventh day
at that time, but, for that reason ; and as Moses was
writing for the Israelites, who were charged to keep the
Sabbath, it was natural that, when recording the creation
in six days, he should advert to the day which they
observed in commemoration of it. This, I say, he would
naturally have done, even had there never been any such
observance till the delivery of the Law from Sinai : just
as any writer now, who should notice, in a summary of
Gospel history, the " Annunciation" to the Virgin Mary,
might naturally remark that this is the event which Chris
tians annually celebrate under the title of " our Lady's
the natural world, as well as the resurrection of Christ, the beginning
of the new spiritual creation, — the " light to enlighten all nations."
This serves to explain, in some measure, the reference which the
Christian festival, as well as the Jewish, has been generally supposed
to have to the creation. The one refers to the opening, the other to
the close of it.
The recurrence of the Christian festival every seven days,- (rather
than once in a decade, or in a month, &c.) that is, the adoption by
Christians of the division of time into weelts, may easily be traced to
the circumstance of their having derived their religion from Jews,
who used this mode of reckoning time.

Appendix. 357
day ;" without at all meaning to imply that the festival
was instituted at this or that period.
Nor does the expression "remember the sabbath day"
necessarily imply its having been before observed ; but
rather, that the precept was one liable to be violated
through negligence a.ndi forgetf ulness. We often say, in
like manner, " remember to call at such a place, at such
an hour ;" or, " remember to deliver this letter," &c. ;
meaning "take care not to forget it." It is not said
accordingly, " remember not to steal ;" " remember to
honour your parents," &c. ; though certainly these pre
cepts must have been always in force ; but they are such
as no one is likely to violate through forgetfulness.
It is, however, I think, more probable than not, that
the Patriarchs had some Sabbatical observance ; though
less strict than the Levitical Law enjoined ; else, " the
Lord's Sabbaths" would hardly have been called a "sign
between Him and the children of Israel."'' No such
injunction however to the Patriarchs Is recorded ; much
less, recorded as of universal and eternal obligation. The
whole question, indeed, respecting the patriarchal laws
and observances, is one which does not directly concern
Christians. For we may be sure that any law, by which
certain persons are to be bound, will be made known to
those persons, (except through some error or negligence,
such as one may often find indeed in human legislation,
but which it would be absurd and impious to attribute to
the Deity) not as a matter of probable conjecture, but
with certainty and precision. The very purpose of a laiv
*¦ Ezekiel, passim.

358 Appendix.
is to lay down accurately and determine what might have
been before dubious or indifferent; so as to leave no
room for hesitation as to our conduct in that particular.
To speak, therefore, of a probable law (in reference to
those for whom that law is designed) seems no other
than a contradiction in terms. It is, to speak of an
indeterminate determination; — of an undecisive deci
sion ; — of the removal of doubt by something that is
itself doubtful.
If, however, any persons are fully convinced that the
precept respecting the Sabbath was given to Adam, and
also conclude, thence, that it must bind all his posterity,
they are of com'se, at least equally, bound by the (re
corded) precept to Noah relative to abstinence from
blood. Any one who admits these obligations, and
complies with them just as they were given, observing
not the first, but the seventh day of the week as the
Sabbath, is acting on a system, which, though it may be
erroneous, is at least intelligible and consistent. But he
who acknowledges a divine command to extend to him
self, ought to have an equally express divine command
to sanction any alteration in it. Those Christians of
the present day, however, who admit the obligation of
the ancient Sabbath, have yet taken the liberty to change
not only the day, but also the mode of observance. I
believe they sometimes allege that the Jews were over
scrupulous on this point, and had superadded by their
tradition, burdensome restrictions not authorized by
the Mosaic Law. This is true ; but if we shelter our
selves under this plea, — if we admit the authority of the

Appendix. 359
written law, and reject merely the pharisaical additions to
it, we are then surely bound to comply at least with
the express directions that are written; for instance,
(Exod. xxxv. 2, 3.) " Ye shall kindle no fire throughout
your habitations upon the Sabbath-day ;" no one can pre
tend is a traditional precept ; yet I know of no Christians
who profess to observe it. Perhaps we may be told
that it is a regulation not suited to our climate. That
maybe an additional reason, of some weight, for believing-
that the Jewish Sabbath was an ordinance not designed
to be of universal obligation; but seems hardly sufficient,
if it were of universal obligation, to authorize Christians
to depart from the divinely-appointed mode of observing
it. I do not however know of any Christians who take
this liberty on the plea of actual necessity, and who do
comply with the precept, in summer time, and in warmer
countries. The rule which seems practically to be laid down by
most persons of piety and good-sense, is, to abstain from
anything that may interfere (in respect of ourselves and
of others) with the primary object of the Christian
Sabbath, viz. public worship, and religious studies and
exercises. This, in the Jewish Sabbath, seems to have
been the secondary, and rest the primary circumstance.
The fourth commandment, accordingly, does not
even contain any injunction respecting public worship,
or religious study. But the day was naturally made a
day of worship, because it was a day of rest ; the Lord's-
day ought to be made a day of rest because it is a day of
worship. The two objects are indeed, generally, so far

360 Appendix.
from interfering, that they aid each other : but if a case
should arise in which they do interfere, the secondary
point should give place to the primary : if, for instance,
it should happen that a man could not attend public
worship without labouring to clear away some obstruc
tion in a road, or employing the services of cattle, the
Christian would be as clearly bound to go, as the Jew
would have been to stay at home.
• It is worth observing by the way, that though the
Pharisees certainly had encumbered the observance of
the Sabbath with needless restrictions, it is a mistake to
suppose (as I believe some do) that in all, or most of the
cases in which they took offence at the conduct of Jesus
in respect of this point, his design was to reprove them
for such over-scrupulosity, and to point out in what way
the Sabbath ought to be kept according to the institution*
of Moses. In a few instances this was the case : but in
far the greater number, it will be plainly seen, on a
careful examination of the accounts given by the Evan
gelists, that Jesus did decidedly and avowedly violate
the Sabbath; on purpose, as it should seem, to assert,
in this way, his divine authority. For instance, when
He healed the cripple at the pool of Bethesda,^ He com
manded him to "take up his bed, and go to his house:"
'^ John V. 8 — 18. Where, by the way, the Evangelist records
a reply of our Lord to the censure passed on Him for breaking the
Sabbath, strongly illustrative of what I have been saying: viz. that
He had a right to work on the Sabbath, became his Father had been
doing so all along ; the process of vegetation, the motions of the hea
venly bodies, and all the other works of God, going on without inter
mission on the- Sabbath. "My Father worketh, hitherto; and I

Appendix. 361
now, the objections of tbe Pharisees to such an act of
charity as healing on the Sabbath day, may be regarded as
frivolous ; but the man's carrying his bed was a manifest
violation of the Sabbath, and could not be called an act
of necessity or charity ; yet it was expressly commanded ;
on purpose, as it seems, to show, that " the Son of Man"
claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath ; that is, to have
the Divine power of dispensing with positive enactments ;
oi\he justness ofwhich claim the miracle he had wrought
afforded proof.
So, also, when his disciples were censured for rubbing
out the grains of corn on the Sabbath, his defence of
them plainly turns on his own especial authority. He
alludes to the case of David and his companions, who
ate, not without the permission of the Priest, ihe shew
bread which it was not lawful for any but the priests to
eat: this was, 1st, tacitly acknowledging that the act
of his disciples was in itself as unlawful as the eating
of the shew-bread by any but a priest; 2dly, it was
clairaing for Himself, at least, equal authority with the
priest, who dispensed with the rule in David's favour;
3dly, it was claiming rather more authority; because
there was not, in this case, as in David's, the plea of
urgent necessity. But then, He proceeds to compare
this case with that of the " priests in the Temple'' who
were permitted to profane the Sabbath, by doing the
necessary work for the Temple-service : now, this could
work." The force of the Greek present tense in this place is hardly
conveyed by the English present, but rather by one of our compound
tenses ; viz. " My Father has been working up to this time."

362 Appendix.
not mean that the example of the priest^- in the Temple
authorized all men to go about their ordinary business
on the Sabbath; but that example did apply to the
disciples who were occupied in ministering to Him, who
was Himself the Temple, in whom " all the fulness
of the Godhead dwelt ;"'^ and who, on another occa
sion, to which I conceive he was in this place alluding,
claims for Himself the very title of the " Temple."'
Lastly, He declares that the " Son of Man is Lord"''
of the Sabbath, " inasmuch as the Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the Sabbath." On this
passage, which has often been but indistinctly under
stood, it may be remarked, 1st, that it implies an actual
violation of the Sabbath ; else it would have been
needless to plead a supreme power over that ordinance ;
2dly, that it not only cannot imply that any other man
had a similar dispensing power, but implies the very
reverse ; else it would have been nugatory to claim for
the " Son of Man" (the title by which Jesus distin
guished Himself) a power which others might equally
claim; 3dly, that these are not (as some have repre
sented) two distinct remarks, but stand in the relation
of Premiss and Conclusion ; " the Sabbath was made
for Man, and not Man for the Sabbath ; therefore the
Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." He evi
dently means that though He made no pretensions to a
dispensing power in respect of moral duties, (man being
" Mark ii. 23—28. Matt. xii. Luke vi. See Hinds' " Catechists'
Manual," on the same passage.
' Compare Matt. xii. 6. with John ii. 19 — 22. '' Kupios.

Appendix. 363
made for them) positive ordinances on the contrary,
being " made for man" («. e. designed as means,^ — often
as local or temporary means — to facilitate man's im
provement) might be dispensed with or abrogated by
the same authority which established them ; viz. by the
divine authority, which He claimed. The reasoning, at
full length, and stated regularly, will stand thus : " Any
positive ordinance {i. e. one made for Man, and not
Man for it) may be dispensed with by my (divine) autho
rity : the Sabbath is such an ordinance : therefore the
Sabbath may be dispensed vidth by my authority."
It is worth remarking again, that in the cure of the
blind man (recorded in John ix.), on the Sabbath,
Jesus is not content with choosing that day for his
work, but, instead of merely " speaking the word," He
"makes clay, and anoints the man's eyes;" as if on
purpose to draw attention to the circumstance of his
doing a work on that day.
Jesus however, though he studiously set forth his own
dispensing power over the Sabbath, did not, during his
ministry on earth, give any general release from the
observance, either of that, or of the rest of the Levitical
Law. This remained in full force, till its types had been
fulfilled by Himself, — till his Kingdom, which He had
proclaimed as " at hand," was come. And when it did
come, his Apostles were, as I have said, not com
missioned by Him to change the day, and perpetuate
the obligation, of the Jewish Sabbath ; but they and
their successors, even the Church which he promised to
be with " always even unto the end of the world," were

364 Appendix.
endued with ample power to enact regulations with a
view to Christian edification; and among the rest, to
set apart festival-days, such as the Lord's day, Christ
mas-day, Good-Friday, Holy-Thursday, &c.
For, after all, what need is there to bring ourselves
under the yoke of the Mosaic Law for the sake of
enforcing the observance of the Lord's day, which is
not even a part of that Law? The first day of the
week is set apart by all Christian Churches, as a reli
gious festival in celebration of Christ's resurrection,
agreeably to the practice of the Apostles and other
early Christians.' The custom of the primitive Church
would not, indeed, alone, make this an imperative duty ;
since the " Love-feasts"™ and some other ancient prac-i'
tices are now, by the rightful authority of the Ch;irch,
disused ; but their early custom gives additional solem
nity to an observance that has the sanction of the
Church — a sanction which would, even of itself, be
sufficient. For when our Lord " appointed to his
Apostles a kingdom," and declared that " whatsoever
they bound on earth should be bound in heaven,"
promising also to be " with them always even unto the
end of the world," He must surely have conferred on
' And the use of the hebdomadal division of time, which brought
round the festival every seven days, followed naturally frora our Lord
himself, and bis first disciples, being Jews. The very record of the
Saviour's having risen " on the first day of the -week," would of course
lead the Christians to reckon their time by weeks, and to commemo
rate the event one day in seven ; especially as tbey received the
gospel from those who had always been in the habit of so reckoning.
'" aycmai. Jude ]2.

Appendix. 365
his Church a permanent " power to ordain rites and
ceremonies," and to institute and abrogate religious
festivals, " provided nothing be done contrary to God's
word ;" and must have given the ratification of his
authority to what should be thus ordained. For if his
expressions have not this extent, what do they mean ?
But when reference is made to the power of a Church,
some understand this to mean that it would have been
equally right for any Church to consecrate the sixth, or
the eighth day, or Monday instead of Sunday, or no day
at all. Doubtless the governors of any Church would be
much to blame if they did not in this instance conform
to the Apostolical precedent, since the reasons for the
observance are the same, now, as in the times of the
Apostles. We are not to suppose that whatever is left
to our discretion is left to our caprice ; or that the delega
tion of power justifies the misuse of it. But a man may
have a rig^t to do many things which he would not be
right in doing.
But if any one, not satisfied with what is in reality a
sufficient foundation, attempts to strengthen the obliga
tion by an appeal to the Old Testament, he is not
merely making an unnecessary and useless addition, but
he is nullifying the very obligation which he seeks to
enhance : he is not merely superadding the shadow to
the substance, but losing the substance, while he catches
at the shadow; he is, as I before said, removing the
institution firom a rock to place it on the sand. For, if
the positive institutions of the Old Testament are wholly
abrogated, then, (and not otherwise) all days become in

366 Appendix.
themselves indifferent; and in such a case the Church
has, as I have above remarked, full power to sanctify
any that may be thought most fitting : but, on the other
hand, the Church has not power to ordain anything con
trary to God's word : so that if the precepts relative to
the ancient Sabbath are acknowledged to remain inforce,
then the observance of the first day of the week, instead
of the seventh, becomes an unwarrantable presumption.
This therefore is a case in which (unless we will conse
crate two sabbath-days in each week) we must absolutely
make our choice between the Law and the Gospel.
My reason for introducing this discussion I have
stated at the beginning of it; viz. its necessary connexion
with the argument of the fifth Essay, which must fall to
the ground if the perpetual obligation of the fourth com
mandment be admitted. But some, to whom most of the
foregoing arguments may have appeared so obvious as
hardly to need being developed at length, may, perhaps,
wonder that I should so fully have discussed the subject
in these days, when the prevailing fault is rather a
neglect, than an over-scrupulous observance of religious
ordinances and festivals. I will conclude, therefore, by
a brief statement of my reasons for doing so ; — the addi
tional reasons, I mean, over and above the connexion of
the subject with the argument of the fifth Essay.
The first and principal of these, is, the very one which
is urged on the opposite side ; viz. the prevailing dis
regard among many persons of religious festivals, and,
among the rest, of the Lord's day. For this surely
makes it the more necessary, for Christian ministers at

Appendix. 367
least, to inculcate a duty thus liable to be neglected.
And in doing so, they are bound, I should say in pru
dence, but at least in Christian sincerity, to place that
duty on its true grounds. They have no right, even
should they think it expedient, to encourage, or tacitly
to connive at misconceptions on the subject. If I should
either refer to the Mosaic Law, as the foundation of the
duty of observing the Lord's day, or so express myself as
to leave my hearers to suppose (as a great proportion of
them will, if the contrary be not stated) that I meant to
refer to that Law as binding, I should be guilty of
directly or indirectly fostering error. According to the
principles, therefore, ' laid down in Essay I., I cannot
allow myself even to deliberate as to the expediency
of such a procedure. Yet a person of undoubted
piety, well-informed, and singularly intelligent, avowed
to me, that though in his own mind he fully concurred
with my opinion, he should yet, if he had the regu
lation of a Christian community, think it advisable
to inculcate on the mass of the people the strictest
Sabbatarianism, based on the obligation of the Mosaic
Law. I cannot but think, however, that the duty may be
even more forcibly inculcated, if we continually refer
to the resurrection of Christ as commemorated on the
Lord's day ; — to the proof of his resurrection afforded
by this monument more durable than brass or stone, the
unbroken commemoration of the event (nearly one
hundred thousand times over) from its occurrence to
this time ; — to his repeated appearances to the disciples

368 Appendix.
in bodily person, on the first day of the week ; — to his
promise of being no less present, though by his unseen
Spirit, in each congregation of Christians assembled in
his name, on that day ; ° — to their hopes of hereafter
enjoying, along with the Apostles, his presence in beatific
vision, on that great Lord's day which shall never have
an end ; in short, to the Christian motives for the solemn
observance of the festival.
Such being at least my own sincere persuasion, and
the duty of observing the Lord's day being fully
admitted, while the only question is as to the grounds
of the observance, it might have been expected that this
question might have been discussed without acrimonious
violence ; especially when it is considered how little (if
any) censure was incurred by Dr. Paley ; who decidedly
denies the obligation of the fourth commandment, in a
work which is used as a text-book in one of our Univer
sities. But some cause or other, which did not operate
in his case, has, in the present, excited in several
writers, such a violence of opposition as has led them
even to mis-state and misrepresent my views. I regret
this, for the credit of the Christian name; though it is
so far satisfactory, as affording a presumption that what I
really have maintained, is not open, even in the judgment
of adversaries, to any valid objection.
° Many Christians, I suspect, from not being accustomed to hear
the morning and evening-service on week-days, are apt to forget that
the Composers of our Liturgy did not fi-ame any Service especially
appropriated to the Sunday, (with the single exception of Easter-
day) ; it is perhaps to be wished they had, and had introduced into it
some reference to the occasion of the festival.

Appendix. 369
I should add however that I am far fi'om attributing
intentional misrepresentation, to all, or even most, of
those who have put forth groundless censures. Several,
to my knowledge, and I suspect, a great majority, have
never read the publication they are misrepresenting,
but speak merely fi-om the reports of others ; who, in
some instances have even warned them not to read it.
Truth however, we may fully trust, will ultimately,
though perhaps slowly, prevail, through the promised
aid of Him who " came into the world to bear witness
ofthe truth."
(2dly.) Another reason for dwelling on the view I
have taken, is, the strong disposition in many Christians
to satisfy their conscience by devoting to God only one
day in seven, while the rest of their time is given up
to the world, with little or no thought of religion. One
instance out of many that might be given of the ten
dency towards this compromising system, is the practice
of some who have family-prayer on Sunday only ;
though it is a duty manifestly still more requisite on each
week-day. Christians need, therefore, to be often reminded that
they are required not merely not to " think their own
thoughts " on one day in the week, but, as the redeemed
of Christ, to " live henceforth not unto themselves, but
unto Him that died for them, and rose again ;" and
" whatsoever they do, to do all to the glory of God."
Numerous early Christian Fathers, accordingly, in their
commentaries on the Decalogue, describe the Jewish
Sabbath as corresponding, in the analogous scheme of
B B

370 Appendix.
Christianity, not so much to the Lord's day, as to the
whole life of the Christian, — to his abstinence from all
works that may draw off his affections from God, — and
to his complete dedication of himself to his service. See
Athanasius, Hom. de Sab. ; Hieronymus, in Decalog. ;
Origen, Tract 19. in Matt. ; Chrysost. Hom. 39. in
Matt. xii. ; Justin Martyr, Dial, cum Tryphone ; Cle
mens Alexandr. Strom, lib. iv. ; and Augustine, passfwj ,•
all of whom hold this language.
I refer however to these and to other human autho
rities, not as guides to regulate our faith and practice ;
for I am taught to " call no man Master upon earth ;"
but merely to shew that the novelty which has been
attributed to my views, lies in fact on the other side.
(3dly.) It seems to me very important to protest
earnestly against admitting a dangerous principle ; even
though in some particular instances, the conclusion it
leads to may be right, or may be insignificant. If we
acknowledge, for instance, the perpetual authority of the
precepts respecting the ancient Sabbath, but take the
liberty of changing, without any Scriptural warrant, the
day, or the prescribed mode of observing it, is there not
danger that the same principle may be applied to an
indefinite number of other cases also? — that this and
that Scripture-rule may come to be modified according
to our fancy ? till, at length, like the Romish Church,
we shall " make the word of God of none effect, by our
tradition ? " For it should be remembered, that neither
that Church, nor, probably, the ancient Jewish, nor
any other, began by the most flagrant encroachments

Appendix. 371
on divine authority. It is in small, and comparatively
harmless points, that a false principle begins to be ad
mitted and acted on, till its poison has been received into
the system, and gradually advances from the extremities
towards the vitals.
(4thly.) Lastly, the prevaihng dislike to acknowledge
any divinely-sanctioned power in a Church, has greatly
weighed with me. I am convinced that in many Chris
tians who are strenuous advocates for the observance of
the Lord's day, their anxiety to refer to the positive
precepts of the Law, for the authority of the ordinance,
is a consequence either of their aversion to admit any
such power to be vested in a Christian Community, and
binding on its members, or from their never having
known or thought at all whether there is or is not any
such right existing"- Now to such persons it is very
useful to show, that an institution, which they would be
very unwilling to see deprived of all Divine sanction, can
° I have met with a remarkable proof of the general reluctance
to admit (or rather, I should say, incapacity to understand) the claim
to such a right. A writer in one of the religious periodicals, in
speaking of the present subject, states the question to be, " Whether
the Lord's day is to be observed in compliance with the injunctions
respecting the ancient Sabbath, or, on the ground of conformity to the
Apostolic usage :" as if that were the only conceivable alternative.
Another writer, in the very same work, going a step further, remarks
that " if the fourth commandment is not binding, there can be no
ground for the observance of the Lord's day, except the enactments of
the Civil Magistrate!"
We seem to have almost passed the point when the Church's power
is disputed. It is hardly enough thought of to be considered even
worth denying.

372 Appendix.
derive such sanction from no other source than from the
power conferred by Christ on every Christian Church.
For, on the one hand, the rightful authority of any
government or code of laws, generally, and, on the other
hand, the obligation of any particular precept that rests
entirely on that authority, are two points which mutually
prove each other ; whichever of them we admit, the other
must be admitted also. Thus, as I have above said, not
only does it follow that, if the Mosaic Law is binding,
the Jewish Sabbath ought to be kept; but also, con
versely, if the Jewish Sabbath is an ordinance we are
bound to, on the authority of the Mosaic Law, then, we
must admit also that the whole of that Law is binding.
And so also in the present case ; it not only follows, if
we admit the authority of the Church, that we must
observe the Lord's day as She has ordained; but also,
if we hold as indispensable the observance of the Lord's
day, and that, on the Church's authority (which we must
do, if it can be established, as a binding ordinance, by
nothing else), then, we must admit that our Church's
claims to such a power are valid, and rest on the appoint
ment of our Lord.
As for the authorities of able and learned, but unin
spired, divines, I am myself inclined to attach the less
weight to them in the present case, from the character of
the question itself. The perpetual obligation under the
gospel-dispensation of one of the positive precepts of the
Old Testament (with or without alteration), and of one
too which concerns every individual Christian, whether
learned or unlearned, all his life long, is what I cannot

Appendix. 373
but feel persuaded, the Apostles, had such been their
intention, would have recorded so plainly as to leave no
doubt on any man's mind. Such a point they would
hardly have left to be made out by skilful Hebraists
from a critical examination of doubtful texts, fifteen or
sixteen centuries after their time.
For the benefit of those however who may wish,
from various reasons, to consult the writings of eminent
theologians on the present subject, I refer the reader
(in addition to the Authors already cited) to the learned
Dr. Peter Heylin's " History of the Sabbath ;" " Bp.
Sanderson's!" Cases of Conscience" (Case of the Sab
bath); " Paley's Moral Philosophy," Vol. ii. chap. 7;
and the Bishop of Lincoln's late publication of " Selec
tions from the Works of Justin." See also, in Vol. iii.
of Baxter's " Practical Works," p. 778, a discussion of
the Jewish Sabbath ; and, in p. 764, of the observance
of the Lord's day.
An able discussion of the question on both sides may
also be found in two very well-written articles in the
British Critic : the one side being maintained in No. X.
p. 377; the other, in No. XIII. p. 185.

Note B, to Essay IX. p. 339.
With a view to the mere commemoration of our Lord's
sacrifice, and expression of our faith in his atonement,
the mere breaking of the bread, and pouring out of the
' He was the last reviser of the book' of Common-prayer, and
author of the Preface to it.

374 Appendix.
wine in the Lord's Supper, might have been sufficient :
but the bread and wine, are by Christ's appointment
eaten and drunk; in conformity with his declaration,
" except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and di-ink
his blood, ye have no life in you -."i " He that eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, the same dwelleth in me,
and I in him." What then is it of which the devout
communicants are really partakers, under the outward
symbols of bread and wine? Surely, of the Spirit of
Christ ; for " hereby know we that He dwelleth in us,
by his Spirit which He hath given us ;" and hence,
Paul's expression, that " we are all made to drink"
(lTroTl(79i}lj.sv, 1 Cor. xii. 13.) " into one Spirit."
This obvious interpretation, the Romanists (and after
wards the Lutherans) were led to overlook, partly at least,
I conceive, from the habit of keeping too much out of
sight the divine Unity, and of regarding the Son and the
Holy Ghost, too much as distinct Beings ; so that to par
take of Christ must, they thought, be something different
from partaking of the Holy Spirit. Hence they infer
red that the communicants receive the literal, material,
body and blood of Christ ; and they accordingly boast
that they alone interpret the Scripture declarations not
figuratively. There is no need to adduce the well-known
refutations of this extravagant doctrine ; but there is one
answer to it, which is usually overlooked, and which goes
to overthrow the foundation of it ; viz. that if we could
actually receive into our mouths the very flesh and blood
'' See " Hinds' Catechists' Manual," p. 265, to the author of which
I am indebted for the substance of these remarks.

Appendix. 375
of Christ, this could not, qf itself, be productive of any
benefit to the soul : it might, if God willed it, be the ap
pointed token and means of our receiving such benefit ;
even as the water of the pool of Siloam was, of restored
sight ; but it could not itself confer any spiritual advan
tage, any more than water could cure blindness. It
must therefore, after all, be in a spiritual and figurative
sense that Christ says, " my flesh is meat indeed, and my
blood is drink indeed ;" if they were literally eaten and
drunk, they must still be the sign of something else, re
presented and conveyed by them. So that the violence
done to Scripture and to reason, for the sake of avoiding
a figurative interpretation, does not, after all, even ac
complish that object.
The error of transubstantiation, the English Church
has guarded against most carefully, by declaring that
the bread and wine remain unchanged, — that they are
only a sign of Christ's body and blood, — and that it is
only " after a spiritual manner" that his body and blood
are received by the faithfiil. But it would have been
better perhaps to have added to this, for the benefit of
the unlearned, a statement that the bread and wine not
only are merely a sign, but are a sign of a sign : i. e.
that they represent our Lord's flesh and blood, and that
his flesh and blood again are a sign of something else.
This is indeed implied, when it is said that Christ's
body and blood are " spiritually received," and that it
" strengthens and refireshes the soul;" for it is manifest
that literal, material, flesh and blood cannot be spiri
tually received, or refresh the soul. But for the sake of

376 Appendix.
avoiding those vague and confused ideas, which are apt
to lead ultimately to the regarding of the Eucharist as
a mere memorial, it might have been better to state dis
tinctly what it is that the faithful communicants do
really partake of. That which strengthens and refreshes
the soul of Christians, as bread and wine do man's body,
is " the Spirit of Christ," whereby " He dwelleth in us,
and we in Him ;" for " it is the Spirit that quickeneth ;
(^<j)o-Koiovv) the flesh profiteth nothing." John vi. 63.
And as it is the soul or spirit of a man that animates
(quickeneth) his body, which would otherwise be lifeless ;
so. Christians, who are, themselves, the figurative Body
of Christ, are quickened, — receive life and vigour —
" strength and refreshment," firom the Spirit which
dwelleth in them ; they " are the temple of the Holy
Ghost ;" " the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit."
And since it is as members of the holy community that
individual Christians obtain this gift, of this circumstance
they are reminded by their partaking together of the
Lord's Supper, — " the communion {koiviovio) of the
blood of Christ:" (1 Cor. x. 16,) " we have all been,
in one spirit, baptized into one Body ;" (i. e. all ad
mitted by baptism — being born of water and of the
Spirit, — into the Church, which is Christ's Body)
" and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."
1 Cor. xii. 13. THE END.

K. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STKEET-HII.L.

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