A TRACT ON THE LAW OF NATURE, AND PRINCIPLES OF ACTION IN MAN.
BY GRANVILLE SHARP.
For ye are all the
SONS OF GOD
by Faith in Christ Jesus.
GAL. iii. 26.
"—one is your Master
(even) CHRIST,
and
ALL YE ARE BRETHREN.
And"—"one is your Father, which is in Heaven."
MATTH. xxiii. 8, 9.
LONDON: Printed for B. WHITE, at Horace's Head, in Fleet-street; and E. and C. DILLY, in the Poultry.
MDCCLXXVII.
A TRACT ON THE LAW OF NATURE, &c.
I HAVE neither leisure nor abilities to undertake a regular definition of
the Law of Nature,
with all the doctrines usually ranked under that head: and indeed, if I had both leisure and abilities, I should want inclination; because such a work would unavoidably become voluminous, on account of the variety of authors necessary to be mentioned, who have treated the subject with different views: and as all science is vain, which is not reduced to practice, so the more voluminous any subject is rendered, the less it can be useful, on account of the increased difficulty of communicating it to the generality of readers. I have therefore confined my tract to such
general
remarks on the subject, as are most necessary for the observation of my countrymen at large, with respect (more particularly) to one point, viz.
the Illegality
of reducing or subjecting mankind to
involuntary servitude,
either under political or private dominion: as all pretensions to an
unlimited authority
of any man or men over others, are contrary to
Natural Equity
and the
Laws of God,
as well as baneful to mankind in general; which effect is unhappily demonstrated by the numberless instances of
unnatural
oppression now prevailing to the destruction of mankind, in almost every part of the world. I have already shewn in my answer
This answer to Mr. Thompson is confined to one kind of slavery only, viz.
the oppression of private tyrants,
or petty slaveholders, and has already been printed
in America;
and therefore I need not now repeat the arguments which it contains, especially as I propose soon to reprint it in England with some other tracts expressly against
domestick slavery,
such as is
unlawfully tolerated
in the British colonies.
to the Reverend Mr. Thompson (an advocate for the African slave trade) that the Jewish constitutions were not strictly consistent
with the Law of Nature in all points;
and, consequently, that they are not to be considered as the rule by which lawyers and casuists may safely determine
"what is, or what is not, according to Nature."
The
Law of Nature
has been variously represented; but all the best writers, both ancient and modern, agree in adopting that maxim of the Civil Institutes
Servitus
autem est constitutio Juris Gentium qua quis dominio alieno
contra naturam
subjicitur." Justin. Institutes, Book 1. Tit. 3.
From whence the other authorities in the
Common Law
of England seem to be derived.
§ 2. Est quidem
Servitus
constitutio Juris Gentium qua quis dominio alieno
contra naturam
subjicitur," &c.
BRACTON, Lib. 1. Cap. 6.
"Est quidem
Servitus libertati contrarium;
item constitutio quaedam de Jure Gentium, qua quis dominio alieno
contra naturam
subjicitur," &c.
FLETA, Lib. 1. Cap. 3.
"
Servitude
is a constitution of the Law of Nations, by which,
contrary to Nature,
one is subjected to another's power."
COWELL'S Institutes, Tit. 3.
, which declares
involuntary servitude,
or
slavery, to be "contrary to the Law of Nature:"
this rule is commonly understood as applicable only to
domestic slavery;
but it is equally true when applied to
political oppression,
or the exercise of an
unlimited dominion
over a whole nation. Some few authors indeed have been so unreasonable, as to assert that
"there is no such thing as natural Law;"
but they are properly censured by the learned Baron Puffendorf, in his "Law of Nature and Nations." Book 2. Chap. 3.
He particularly mentions the argument of Carniades as contracted by Lactantius to the following effect.
"That men first instituted Laws to secure and promote their own advantage, &c. but that there was no such thing as
Natural Law
in the world," &c. p. 104.
Such doctrine is certainly very convenient for Tyrants and Slaveholders of every degree, who must otherwise remain without excuse, whenever
"the Law of Nature,"
and
"the Common Rights of Humanity,"
are urged against them: it is therefore necessary for them, either to misrepresent
the Law of Nature
(as the Reverend Mr. Thompson has done), or else (like Carniades) utterly to deny its existence. This latter method has been also adopted by some modern advocates for
Slavery,
who, in private discourse on this subject, have declared, that they esteem
"the Law of Nature"
to be no other than their
natural
propensity to pursue their own heart's desire of profit or pleasure: and this they call
"natural Liberty;"
though it certainly is the most
unnatural Tyranny:
for when the immutable necessity of
reciprocal consideration
is forgot, or set aside, there can be no safety among men, and consequently no
natural Liberty:
we must, therefore, submit ourselves to be
the servants of law,
in order to be truly
free;
according to the excellent observation of Cicero. "Legum denique idcirco omnes
Servi
sumus, ut
liberi
esse possumus." Tom. 2. p. 208.
Hamburgh Edition 1618.
. We may learn from the histories of all nations, that Lust, Avarice, Pride, Revenge, Love of Power, Jealousy, &c. are
Principles of Action,
which unavoidably produce
oppression
and
wrongs,
to the destruction of the human species, in all places where
will
and
pleasure
(whether in political or private dominion)
are supreme;
or whenever
Self-love
and
Private Interest
become entirely predominant among men. That
Self-love
is predominant with the
generality of mankind
is but too apparent; yet we are not, therefore, obliged to admit that
"Self-love" is "the universal principle of action;"
though an eminent and learned
law-writer
has (with very good intentions, as his argument proves) thought proper to give it that title.
"Honesty
(indeed)
is the best policy,"
even for a
selfish man
to pursue; and, it is certain, that the solid attainments of virtue and justice afford a real and substantial satisfaction, which in the end, most amply fulfils the purposes of
Self-love.
But though
Virtue
and
Honesty
are thus favourable to
Self-love
in their
natural effects,
yet this, by no means, proves that
Self-love
is the
motive
of all
virtuous
and
honest
men; or that it is the
"universal principle of action:"
for, if that were really the case, many of the most amiable virtues must be esteemed mere empty names. There could be no true Generosity or Benevolence; no Disinterested Goodness of heart; no sincere
Natural Affection
between parents and their children, husbands and their wives, brethren, friends, &c. whereas history affords many undoubted instances of
Self-love
being lost in
the superior affections, natural to generous minds,
in all these different degrees of connection; but it is needless to recite them, since, even in the brute creation there are
natural
That excellent English lawyer the Great Henry de Bracton informs us, that
"Natural Law
is that which
Nature
(or more properly God himself) has
taught all animals."
"Jus
Naturale
est quod
Natura,
i. e. ipse Deus, docuit omnia animalia," &c. and afterwards he further explains himself, saying, "Jus Naturale quod docuit omnia animalia Natura, i. e. per instinctum Naturae, &c. viz. Natural Law, which taught all animals by
Nature
that is, through the instinct of Nature," &c. Lib. 1. c. 5.
affections
superior to
Self-love.
The common hen is so inflamed with
Natural Affection,
and anxious care for her tender brood, that she seems to have as little sense of
Self-love
in time of danger, as of her own weakness; for she will boldly fly in the face of every invader (except man) however superior in size or strength to herself.
The timorous cow, it is said, will attack the fiercest tyger, when her calf is by her side. Many instances of very extraordinary
Affection
in dogs to their masters have been well attested. Those faithful animals have sometimes been known to lose all sense of danger to themselves in the necessary defence of their owners. And the very swine discover such a
Natural Affection
and real sympathy for their brethren of the sty, whenever they hear their cries of distress, that their example ought to shame the depraved part of mankind (imperial tyrants and royal robbers, who extend their dominion by breach of faith, unlawful invasion, murder and rapine, as also those petty tyrants and destroyers of mankind the African traders, and American slaveholders) lest the
affectionate brute,
notwithstanding his
sensuality,
should seem, on comparison,
a more generous,
and therefore a more
noble animal
than that
Man,
who stifles all
Natural Affection,
Fellow-feeling, and Charity to
his kind,
merely for the sake of acquiring power, or worldly profit to himself; and surely a time will come, when all such offenders against
the Law of Nature
(who prefer the wages of unrighteousness to the
natural
dictates of
Humanity
and
Conscience
) will have reason to esteem the lot of the most contemptible
brute
infinitely more eligible than their own!
Now, as it appears that
"Self-love"
is not the
"universal Principle of Action"
even in
brutes,
much less ought it to be esteemed so in
mankind,
because the
human soul
(besides the
Natural Affection
which men ought to have in common with other creatures) is endowed with a much more noble principle, or motive to good actions, I mean
Reason,
or that
"Knowledge of good and evil,"
which we inherit from our first parents, and which they
unlawfully
took upon themselves, at the instigation of their
spiritual enemy,
that they might thereby be rendered
accountable for all their actions,
and, through
Knowledge
"But of the tree of
Knowledge
of
Good
and
Evil
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Gen. ii. 17.
, become guilty before God!
The history of that fatal transaction demands our most careful consideration, since all mankind are particularly affected by it! And surely the principles of
our own Nature
are subjects of enquiry infinitely more important to us, than all the other branches of
natural Philosophy;
and yet perhaps they are less examined by men of science, and consequently are less understood, than any other! but in vain is the most accurate knowledge of plants, drugs, fossils, and minerals; or of the exact revolutions of the heavenly bodies, and of the nature and properties of all the elements, &c. if the philosopher is
unacquainted with himself
— Multi enim multa sciunt,
et scipsos nesciunt:
sed qui
seipsum nescit nihil b
ne novit,
quàm alia scire et se nescire, quid aliud est quam seipsum gravius condempnare, &c. Doct. & Stud. c. 13.
, and the properties and state of his own soul, which is too often the case! Knowledge, in all the former particulars, is indeed honourable and praise-worthy, but, in the latter, it is indispensable; for when men, through ignorance of the
compouna Nature
of man, slight the common means, which God has revealed, to guard their minds against
intellectual deceptions,
they are sure to be perverted
in their principles,
to the imminent danger both of body and soul! Such an one, probably, thinks himself
too judicious
a critic to admit the Mosaic account of the subject now before us, viz.
the Fall of Man;
at least in the
literal
sense of the text: so that the doctrines, which I propose to collect from it, will have very little weight, I fear, with men of that stamp. Nevertheless, as there are many doctrines in other parts of Scripture, which corroborate the
literal
meaning of that relation, and as there are also several circumstances discoverable in the
Nature of Man,
which cannot otherwise be reasonably accounted for, I must beg my readers to excuse me, even if they think me too prolix in my examination of that part of the sacred history, which I conceive to be absolutely necessary for the obtaining a true practical idea of the
Law of Nature,
and the
Principles of Action in Man.
God delivered a clear and express Law to
Man
before the fall;—
but of the tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
and then follows the denunciation of punishment;—
for
in the day
that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely
DIE.
Gen. ii. 17.
This was the
first and only penal Law;
A FORFEITURE OF LIFE! And though we find afterwards, that the declared punishment was not immediately executed according to the letter (that is, the penalty of
death
was not inflicted on
the day
of the transgression, as it seemed to be at first ordained) yet this affords no just exception against the truth and propriety of the relation.
The same ALMIGHTY BEING, who had
a right
(as all things are his own) to prohibit the action above-mentioned, and to assign a punishment for disobedience, had certainly
a right
also to respite, or postpone, or even to remit (if he had been pleased to do so) the execution of
the Law
which he himself had ordained. But for the present it is sufficient to remark, that the
nature of the penalty
had been clearly revealed to our first parents, and was as clearly understood by them, so that they were sufficiently sensible of their obligation to observe the said
Law,
previous to their breach of it: which plainly appears by the speech of the woman to the tempter, viz.
But of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, GOD
hath said,
ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it,
lest ye die.
After so clear an acknowledgment of the
divine
precept, the act of taking the fruit (which otherwise in itself would, probably, have been no crime) was certainly a
wilful sin
of a very heinous nature, being a
gross contempt of God's word,
for which our first parents very justly incurred the
penalty of death,
which, they were previously told, must be the consequence of disobedience.
They had received this caution even
from God himself,
whom they knew to be their Maker and Supreme Lord; and yet the unwary woman unhappily listened to an assertion, that was absolutely contradictory to her
Creator's word,
and thereby drew upon herself, and all her descendants, the irrevocable doom to
labour!—pain!
—and
mortality!
Perhaps the haughty philosopher will now be ready to arraign the justice of the divine decree, which involved the innocent progeny (that is, innocent with respect to this particular crime) in the punishment of their
guilty parents;
but if he will patiently follow me through this examination of
Human Nature,
he will, perhaps, be able to form a better idea of the
Nature of original Sin,
and of the cause of its being intailed (or rather
the effects
of its being
intailed
) on all the descendants of Adam. For the immediate
effect
of that
original Sin
of our first parents, was the acquisition of
an additional faculty
(even of a divine attribute) to the
Nature of Man,
which of course descends from these original stocks by
natural inheritance
to all their progeny, and thereby inevitably
involves them all
in the same condemnation; the manner of which shall be more particularly explained hereafter. This very ancient example of punishment for a
contempt of God's word
(the direful effects of which,
labour, pain,
and
mortality,
are ever before us) should teach mankind the extreme danger of paying attention to any doctrines and interpretations of Law or Religion, that have the least tendency to oppose or contradict the literal or most obvious meaning of God's word; for the efforts of our
spiritual Enemy
are never more baneful, than when he is pleased to assume the office of a commentator on the Laws of God; in which character he is frequently discoverable; for though he does not now present himself
outwardly
or
apparently,
as at first, in the assumed shape of a serpent, yet the venom of his doctrines is too often sufficiently distinguishable, both in the writings and discourses of men! And it is remarkable, that his first attempt against mankind should be in the capacity of a
critick
on the
Divine Law!
The influence of
spiritual enemies
is indeed a distinct
Principle of Action in Man,
which shall be more particularly mentioned in the course of this Tract.
But to return to the first fatal instance, before-mentioned, of Satan's success, in misleading mankind,
which
occasioned another distinct
Principle of Action in Man.
It appears that the Tempter was well well acquainted with the true nature and effects of the forbidden fruit, which he declared, indeed, but not without uttering, at the same time, a notorious falsehood.
Ye
shall not surely die
(said he) for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof
(viz. of the fruit taken from the tree of knowledge)
then your eyes shall be opened: and
ye shall be as gods, knowing Good and Evil.
Gen. iii. 4, 5.
Now this acquisition of
Knowledge,
which the Tempter promised, was really such as he represented it, viz. a
Divine Attribute
("Ye shall become
as gods, knowing Good and Evil;
" so that, in this one respect, indeed, his intelligence was
true:
for the inspired historian has recorded also the words of God himself to the same effect:—
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man
is become
AS ONE OF US,
to know Good and Evil.
(Chap. iii. 22.)
But
truth
is much more deceitful and dangerous, even than
falsehood itself,
when, for the purpose of misleading, it is maliciously blended with the latter; for notwithstanding the Deceiver's flattering assurance to our first parents, that
they should "not die;"
yet
in the very day
(as it seems)
of their transgression,
they heard the tremendous sentence of
misery
and
death
pronounced against them! and though it was not
then
finally executed, as they had reason to expect it would, according to the tenor of the Law before declared, on which the judgment was founded, (for God never judges men
without Law,
like the arbitrary princes of this world) yet the said
Law,
by which their lives were expressly forfeited, was sufficiently fulfilled
by the condemnation
of the transgressors (on the
very day
of their offence) to
mortality;
whereby their once
immortal
bodies were rendered continually liable to
diseases, injuries, misery,
and
death,
as the bodies of all their descendants have ever since been! and they were no longer entitled even to the food necessary for the support of their poor
mortal
bodies, without severe
labour, care,
and
assiduity!
—
Cursed is the ground for thy sake;
in sorrow
In sorrow
(or rather
in labour
) for
is the expression in the original; which, in the Targum, is explained by another Hebrew word (
) signifying rather
fatigue
or
labour,
than
sorrow;
and as the necessity of man's
labour
was the more immediate consequence of the earth's new propensity, through the curse, to bring forth thorns, thistles, and useless weeds, it seems the most
expressive
rendering in this place, and most suitable to the context in the following verse:
"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread."
In the Vulgate also it is rendered,
"in laboribus;"
and by Pagninus,
"in labore."
The
same word
is also necescessarily rendered
"Labours"
in Isaiah lviii. 3.
"and
exact all your labours;
and in Proverbs v. 10.
"Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth,
and
THY LABOURS
be in the house of a stranger.
"
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.—In the sweat of thy face
(said God to his guilty creature man)
shalt thou eat bread,
till thou return unto the ground:
for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.
(Gen. iii. 17, to 19.)
These have ever since been the conditions of human life; and though some men, who have store of worldly goods, endeavour to cast away care, and seem to live in a state of opposition to this general rule, yet they only deceive themselves; for no descendant of Adam, be he ever so rich, has any right
to eat the bread of idleness;
nor can he do so without offence against
his own soul,
as well as against this universal ordinance of God.—If Providence has afforded him
wealth
and
leisure,
he is accountable
for both;
being only a steward
for life;
after which, the performance of his duty to God, to his country, to
his neighbours,
nay, to
mankind in general,
his
brethren of the universe,
will be strictly scrutinized, and punished in proportion to the degree of his
wilful
neglect and disobedience; since nothing is more clearly revealed, than that
all mankind
lie under an indispensable obligation
to improve
their talents for
all these duties,
as well as to
use
them whenever there is an opportunity; so that the man who neglects to employ, in these services, a due portion of that
leisure,
which his rank, or situation in life affords him, may justly be said to mispend his
Master's time,
for it is
not his own:
and such an one must inevitably suffer with the
"unprofitable servant,"
described in the Gospel, who neglected to
improve
his
talent;
—
Cast ye the
unprofitable servant
into outer darkness!—There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matt. xxv. 30.
See the whole parable from the 14th verse, whereby it plainly appears, that mankind are laid under an indispensable necessity to improve their respective
natural talents,
to the best of their power, for their
Lord's service.
The
affluence,
and
unemployed leisure,
therefore, of many persons, whom we daily see amongst us, afford no just exception to God's general ordinance concerning the hard conditions of human life. It is almost too obvious to be mentioned, that riches and hereditary honours procure no exemption from the most material part of that sentence, viz.
"to dust thou shalt return!"
And that the time and manner of that
returning
to the
dust,
or to the
ground,
is
equally unknown
to the rich and to the poor, though to both
equally certain:
so that no man, not the greatest or most independent, can claim even a single day before-hand as his own:
I will say to my soul
(saith the rich man in the parable)
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool,
THIS NIGHT THY SOUL SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THEE;
then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?
Luke xii. 19, 20.
Wherefore, with respect also to the other part of the punishment for
the original sin
(viz. the doom
to labour
) let those men, who think themselves exempted, by their rank and fortunes, from the
necessity
of employment; who think they have a right to
spend their time,
as well as
their money,
just as they please, for their own amusement and mere self-satisfaction; and seem to enjoy
leisure
and
ease,
as if God's general ordinance to all mankind had been partial, or of none effect! Let such men, I say, be reminded of the alarming dreadful sentence pronounced by "the
Lord of the vineyard
" in the parable.
Behold, these three years I come
seeking fruit
on this fig-tree, and
find none:
cut it down,
why cumbereth it the ground
Luke xiii. 7.
?
How absurd therefore is
the pride
of those men, who value themselves on account of
territorial
authority (whether publick or private) and yet live as if the importance, which they assume in right of
landed possessions,
or
hereditary rank in life,
might of itself be esteemed a sufficient merit without the cultivation of any other! But let them remember, that there is a
Lord of the vineyard
"The Lord most High is terrible; he is
a great King over all the earth.
"
Psal. xlvii. 2. 7.
,
to whom all things belong
For though
God hath given the earth
to the children of men, Psal. cxv. 16. yet "the EARTH IS THE LORD'S and the fulness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. Psal. xxiv. 1.
, and to whom a strict account must be rendered of every
trust
For
(the kingdom of heaven is)
as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two," &c. "After a long time
the Lord of those servants cometh,
and reckoneth with them," &c. Matth. xxv. 14. to 30. Give an account
of thy stewardship:
for thou mayest be no longer steward. Luke xvi. 2.
, and of every
possession,
whether of lands, or of governments: so that the dominions and estates of
all temporal lords and landowners
(be their right of tenure ever so unexceptionable among men) are yet so far from being
their own,
that even they themselves, whenever they acquire a habit of
mispending
their
time
and
wealth,
are justly esteemed as INCUMBRANCES upon that very
ground,
in which all their
imaginary consequence
is planted! Now, shall we envy the rich man's enjoyment of
unemployed leisure,
if this be the consequence? Far better had it been for such a person to have endured, with the meanest labourer, the common lot of man, and in the
sweat of his face to have eat his bread
Gen. iii. 19.
, than thus to have lived an unworthy exception to
the general decree,
thereby rendering himself in the sight of God, as one that
cumbereth the ground!
It would be well for mankind, if
the consideration of this sentence
might be esteemed also a
general Principle of Action;
but, alas! we are all too apt to mispend our time in some degree; yet it is a failing to which the rich are more particularly liable. They are not compelled by necessity, like other men, to think for themselves; and from thence a fatal, inconsiderate notion is too apt to prevail among them, viz. that
their time is their own;
and therefore, as they presume upon a supposed right to spend their
leisure,
according to their own
Will and Pleasure,
they necessarily mispend their
substance
also, for which they are
equally accountable;
and as riches are also the ordinary means of procuring the sweets and enjoyments of life, they are, consequently, a continual source of temptation, as well to acquire them
unjustly,
as to expend them
improperly.
From hence, probably, arises the extreme danger of
riches
to the spiritual welfare of mankind!
Verily I say unto you (said our Lord) that
a rich man
shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then for
a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of GOD,
Matth. xix. 23, 24.
Go to now, ye
rich men,
—weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you!
James v. 1.
—
Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy
good things,
and likewise Lazarus
evil things:
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luke xvi. 25.
It is, nevertheless, through
the additional faculty
before-mentioned, which human nature acquired by the transgression of our first parents (viz.
the Knowledge of Good and Evil
) that
Sin
is imputed to us, whether we be rich or poor.
Our
spiritual Enemy
envied the happiness of mankind in their original state; and, therefore, artfully led them to the criminal usurpation of
forbidden Knowledge,
that they might, thereby, be rendered accountable to THE ETERNAL JUDGE for all their thoughts, words, and actions; and,
through Knowledge,
become guilty before GOD, and continually subject to
Sin
and
Death!
For this
divine Knowledge
obliges us (howsoever we act) to
approve,
at least, of virtuous actions, and to
condemn
vice; so that, when men transgress, it is, for the most part,
knowingly,
or
wilfully:
and as
the strength of Sin is the Law
The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the Law.
But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. xv. 56, 57.
,
so the
guilt
of every criminal action is
with justice
imputed to us, because we have
wilfully
offended against this
natural Light, or
LAW in our hearts, by which we ought to have known how
to refuse the evil, and chuse the good.
Isa. vii. 15.
The Gentiles, without the knowledge of Scripture, nevertheless acknowledged this principle. "Law" (according to Cicero)
is a
supreme Reason
planted in nature, which commands what
ought to be done,
and
prohibits the contrary;
" and he affirms, that "the same
Reason,
when it is established and perfected in the mind of man, is
Law.
"Lex" (says he, in his first Book
de Legibus
)
est
Ratio summa, insita in Naturâ,
quae jubet ea quae facienda sunt, prohibetque contraria. Eadem
Ratio,
cum est in hominis mente confirmata et confecta,
Lex est.
See Tom. 4. of his Works, p. 219.
Hamburgh Edition 1618.
.
Here the enlightened Heathen writer plainly acknowledges the
Principle
as
natural to Mankind
(—
Ratio summa,
insita in Naturâ
) and yet esteemed it, at the same time,
a divine Attribute,
by some means imparted from GOD (—
recta, et
a numine Deorum tracta
Ratio
) though he might probably be unacquainted with the occasion of its being engraffed in Human Nature. He mentions this Attribute again, in his second Book
de Natura Deorum,
where he speaks of Prudence, or the
choice of Good, and rejection of Evil,
as a
universal Law
common to God
and Man.
Sequitur ut
eadem
sit in his, quae in genere humano,
ratio, eadem veritas
utrobique sit,
eademque Lex;
quae est
recti praeceptio, pravique depulsio.
Ex quo intelligitur,
prudentiam
quoque,
et mentem á Diis ad homines pervenisse,
&c.
(Tom. 4. p. 157.)
And in his first Book
de Officiis,
he more particularly defines the
Law of Nature
in Man, by describing the double bias of soul, viz.
Appetite
and
Reason,
and instead of laying down Appetite, or the
Pursuit of Happiness,
as
the Rule of Obedience
(which some very eminent and learned lawyers have done) he wisely reverses that rule, and thence forms an unexceptionable
Rule of Action,
viz. that Reason must rule, but Appetite obey. See his own words:
Duplex est enim vis animorum, atque naturae: una pars in
appetitu
posita est, quae est
Graecè, quae hominem huc, et illuc rapit: altera
in ratione
quae docet, et explanat, quid
faciendum, fugiendumque sit.
Ita fit, ut
Ratio
praesit,
Appetitus
vero obtemperet.
Tom. 4. p. 248.
He also clearly describes this natural instinct,
the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
under the title of Common Sense,
"Communis Intelligentia,"
and lays it down as the
Law,
or
Rule
of
Nature ("Naturae Norma")
for distinguishing
good Laws
What a profitable and convenient reduction might be made in the bulk and number of our
Statute Books,
(especially of the later volumes) upon a revisal conducted strictly according to this excellent rule!
from bad,
right
from
wrong,
and
honourable
from
base,
which certainly is a much safer
Principle
to rely on than
"Self-love."
Atqui nos Legem
bonam à mala,
nulla alia nisi
Naturae Norma
dividere possumus. Nec solùm
jus
et
injuria
à natura dijudicatur, sed omnino omnia honesta, ac turpia. Nam et COMMUNIS INTELLIGENTIA nobis notas res efficit, easque in animis nostris inchoavit, ut
honesta
in virtute ponantur, in vitiis
turpia.
Haec autem in
Opinione
existimare, non in
Natura
posita, dementis est.
De Legibus, Lib. 1. Tom. 4. p. 222.
Hamburgh Edition 1618.
. And the Apostle Paul has also given a strong testimony concerning the power and influence of this instinct, or
first Principle
planted in
human Nature.
He informs us, that some men, who had not the written Law of God, were, nevertheless, capable of doing
by Nature
(or Instinct) the things contained in the Law—
For when the Gentiles, which have not the Law, do
by Nature
the things contained in the Law, these,
having not the Law, are a Law unto themselves
We find a remarkable instance of the
Natural Dictates of Conscience,
in the behaviour of
Tubourai Tamaide,
(a poor uninstructed inhabitant of the remote island of Otaheite) when he was unjustly charged with stealing a knife. The story is related in the account of Capt. Cook's voyage (Vol. 2. p. 101.) and the singularity of the circumstances leads the writer to the following remark:
Upon this occasion it may be observed
(says he)
that these people have a
Knowledge
of RIGHT and WRONG from the mere dictates of
Natural Conscience;
and voluntarily condemn themselves when they do that to others, which they would condemn others for doing to them. That Tubourai Tamaide felt the force of
Moral Obligation
is
certain;
for the imputation of an action which he considered as indifferent, would not, when it appeared to be groundless, have moved him with such excess of passion.
—But to what shall we impute the lamentable
Change
of PRINCIPLE in the same person, who was afterwards (on another occasion) absolutely
convicted of theft?
May not the licentious example of the English (whose criminal indulgences among the poor Indian women, proved that they had no fixed regard for that pure religion which they professed), have occasioned the corruption of the poor Heathen's morals, and natural Principles of Virtue? He was certainly become a worse man by his acquaintance with them!
; which
shew
the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness
(or the conscience witnessing with them)
and their thoughts the mean while
(or between themselves)
accusing, or else excusing one another; &c.
Romans ii. 14, 15.
This necessarily implies a
natural Knowledge of
GOOD
and
EVIL, so that this
divine faculty,
or instinct in
the Nature of Man,
seems plainly to be the grand
Principle,
whereby men,
who have
not the Law, are a Law unto themselves.
(Rom. ii. 14.)
And this I apprehend to be, properly,
THE LAW OF NATURE
in
MAN,
the Law written on our hearts,
or the
Conscience,
which bears witness with us, as the Apostle declares in the following verse:—Our
thoughts the mean while
accusing,
or else
excusing us;
—for there are few men so bad, as not to have been, at some time or other, sensible of remorse, through the accusation above-mentioned of
their their thoughts,
or
Conscience.
For what are these
thoughts
which
accuse
and
excuse,
but
Conscience
itself; that is, the very same
Principle,
only differently expressed by the Apostle, for the sake of explanation? And again, this
Conscience,
which
bears witness,
is not
a different,
or
distinct Principle
from
the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
but only another name or mode of expressing
the same Principle;
or if it be so defined by some writers, as to appear in any degree
different
or
distinct
from the latter, it cannot, at most, be otherwise esteemed than as a
different effect
of that same
Divine Knowledge:
and the like may be said of
Sinderesis
(
) as well as of
the Law of Reason;
both of which some authors have treated as
distinct Principles
from
Conscience,
notwithstanding that all these separate heads,
Sinderesis, Reason,
and
Conscience,
are necessarily resolved into one single principle or foundation, viz.
"the Knowledge of Good and Evil,"
to which the enquirer is naturally led, in attempting to define them; for indeed this same identical
Principle
or
Power
is equally attributed to them all.
Sinderesis
(says the author of Doct. et Student)
is a
natural Power
of the soul, set in the highest part thereof,
moving and stirring it to Good,
and
abhorring Evil
See Doct. et Stud. English version, 1668 and 1746. Dialogue 1. Cap. 13; but in the Latin copy of 1604, it is in the 11th Chapter.
Sinderesis
est
vis motiva
seu
potentia naturalis animae rationalis,
quae semper est nata figi in superioribus partibus animae
movens
et
stimulans
ad BONUM,
et abhorrens
MALUM, &c.
Doct. et Stud. Cap. 11.
And again:
Sinderesis etiam est Principium quo
ad speculativa
et quo
ad operativa;
(and therefore a
"Principle of Action."
) Exemplum de speculativis; ut omne totum est majus sua parte, quodlibet est, vel non est. Exemplum de
operativis
ut
nullum
MALUM
est faciendum:
BONUM
est prosequendum, et similia.
Et, ideo,
Sinderesis
dicitur à quibusdam
Lex Rationis,
quia principia
Legis Rationis
ministrat, quae ei insunt à
Natura,
&c. Ibid. Cap. 11.
. What is Sinderesis therefore, when thus explained, but the natural
Knowledge
in Man to
reject the Evil, and chuse the Good?
REASON is also explained by this celebrated author to the same effect:—
After (or according to) the Doctors—
Reason
(says he) is the power of the Soul that
discerneth between
GOOD
and
EVIL, and between GOOD
and
BETTER, comparing the one with the other: the which also sheweth virtues,
loveth
GOOD, and
flieth
VICES
See Chap. 14. in the English versions of 1688 and 1746; but the 12th Chapter in the Latin original according to the Edition of 1604:
Ratio,
secundum Doctores, est ipsa vis animae
rationalis
quae consulit et
discernit inter
BONUM
et
MALUM et MELIUS comparando unum ad alterum, quae etiam virtutes eligit, et Deum diligit. Et dicitur non solum
Cognitiva,
sed etiam
Motiva;
" (and therefore a
"Principle of Action."
) "Cum autem judicat aliquid esse
bonum
vel
malum
et ibi sistit, sic dicitur
Cognitiva:
si vero ulterius procedat, indicando aliquid esse
bonum
ut fiat, vel
malum
ut evitetur, sic dicitur
Motiva.
Si vero adhuc amplius procedat et non solum indicat aliquid esse
bonum
ut fiat, sed etiam
id fieri appetit,
sic dicitur
liberum arbitrium,
nam
liberum arbitrium
apprehendit
rationem,
et
voluntatem.
&c. Cap. 12.
.
In the beginning of the Chapter, he expresses himself, as if he supposed that Man was indued with this divine faculty of
Reason
before the fall, even at the time "when he was created
Cap. 12.
De
Ratione. Quando primus Homo creatus est
percepit duplicem à Deo oculum. Exteriorem scilicet et Interiorem. Exteriorem carnis quo visibilia cerneret. Et interiorem
Rationis
quo invisibilia agnosceret atque divina: per illum carnis ut visibiles posset hostes aspicere, cognoscere, et vitare, per illum
Rationis,
ut spirituales hostes contra animam decertantes superare valeret,
&c. Thus Englished in the Editions of 1668 and 1746, Chap. 14. Of Reason.
When the first Man Adam was created,
he received of GOD a double eye, that is to say, an outward eye, whereby he might see visible things, and know his bodily enemies, and eschew them; and an inward eye, that is, the eye of reason, whereby he might see his spiritual enemies that fight against his soul, and beware of them,
&c.
;" a doctrine which, certainly, is erroneous. That our first parents received from God, when they were first created, a due proportion of
Reason
suited to their original condition, is not to be doubted; but there is no authority whatever to warrant the supposition of their being at first indued with that
Perfection of Reason,
that Attribute of a
Divine and Spiritual Nature,
which afterwards became
natural
to Man; though the worthy author apparently means this supreme degree of
Reason,
when he tells us, that Man, by the gift of Reason, is
made like to the dignity of angels
—per quam etiam
Angelicam imitatur dignitatem
à falso discernendo verum, et à bono malum. Quamobrem valde à sua degenerat origine quoties
veritatem discernere negligit,
atque
malum bono
preponit.
Ibid. c. 12.
, discerning truth from falsehood, and
Evil
from
Good;
whereas it appears very plainly from the Scriptures, that this Perfection of Reason was afterwards acquired by unlawfully eating the fruit of
the Tree of Knowledge;
for it is plain, that the desire of
acquiring Knowledge
was part of the temptation to trangress: ("a
tree to be desired to make one wise,
" said the deluded Woman) and it was not until they had both of them eaten the forbidden fruit, that God said,
Behold, the Man
is become
AS ONE OF US, to
know Good and Evil;
(Gen. iii. 22.)
thereby plainly alluding to the
Knowledge then newly acquired
by the forbidden fruit; and they were driven out of the garden, we are expressly told, to prevent a further
acquisition
to the Nature of Man, viz.
lest
he put forth his hand, and
take (
) ALSO of the tree of Life, and eat and live for ever;
and therefore it is certain, that Man was not enlightened by the Divine
Law of Reason
within himself, when he was
first created;
or at least not with so great a share of it, as has since been justly attributed to Human Nature.
The third article which I have before mentioned, as a principle necessarily included in that divine Knowledge of
Good and Evil,
which our first parents unlawfully took upon themselves, is CONSCIENCE; and the ingenious author of Doctor and Student, before quoted, in describing the meaning of the word
Conscience,
has accordingly explained it exactly as if he had been defining the true purpose of the former
Principle,
the
Divine Knowledge of Good and Evil.
So God
(says he)
has placed
Conscience
in the midst of the rational soul, as a light by which it should discern what it
ought to do,
or ought not to do
Sic Deus posuit
Conscientiam
in medio animae rationalis, tanquam Lumen quo discernet quid facere, vel non facere debeat.
Doct. et Stud. c. 13.
.
This is exactly the purpose of
"the Knowledge of Good and Evil,"
viz. that we should use it
as a light to discern what we
ought to do,
or
ought not
to do;
or, in Scripture words, that we
may
know
to refuse the Evil, and choose the Good.
Isa. vii. 15.
and again in the 16th verse.
From what has been said, it must appear, that
Conscience, Reason,
and
Sinderesis,
though sometimes treated as
distinct Principles,
are nevertheless essentially founded on one
Great Principle,
viz. the
Divine Knowledge of
GOOD
and
EVIL; and when our first parents, contrary to the commands of God, took
that Knowledge
upon themselves, the immediate effects of it were the most pungent workings of
Conscience!
They were
conscious
of their disobedience to God!
Conscious
of their shame and nakedness!
Conscious
that the Divine Justice must pursue them, so that they would have even hid themselves, had it been possible, from the presence of their Almighty Creator! But how vain was the attempt to fly from God's universal presence
The universal presence of God is most elegantly described by the Psalmist:
Oh! whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
surely the darkness shall cover me:
even the night shall be light about me" (that is, with respect to God's knowledge of my thoughts and actions):
yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,
&c. See the whole 139th Psalm. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me, &c.
, when they could not even separate themselves from the anxious warnings and forebodings
even of
their own
Consciences!
For
Conscience
maintained its new habitation in their throbbing breasts, attending them in their most secret retirement with a stinging remembrance of their disobedience and ingratitude! And as the wilful taking of
Conscience
upon themselves was the cause of all their
misery;
so the effect of that
one fault
was the entailing
Sin
and
Death
on all their descendants (who by
the Laws of Nature
must, necessarily, partake of that
Nature
which their parents so unhappily assumed) for thus—
by
one Man Sin
entered into the world
(as we are informed by the great Apostle of the Gentiles)
and
Death
by
Sin;
and so
Death
passed upon
all Men
(
) in or through whom
all have sinned. For until
the Law
(that is, even before
the written Law of Moses
)
Sin was in the world:
Also
Also,
or
moreover
—The original word is
, which in this place, on account of the context, seems more intelligible if rendered
also,
than
"but;"
which latter is the common version.
Sin
is not imputed when there is
no Law. But
But
seems better to express the meaning of
in this place, than the common rendering
nevertheless,
which gives a different turn to the sense.
Death
reigned from
Adam to Moses,
even over them who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, &c.
(Rom. v. 12. to 14.)
Apparently meaning, that as
Death
(which was the effect and punishment of
imputed Sin
)
reigned
from Adam to Moses,
(that is,
"until the Law,"
) so we ought to conclude, that some sort of
Law,
previous to that of Moses, preceded
Sin,
as
Sin
preceded
Death,
viz. (
as Sin hath reigned unto Death,
see ver. 21.) for otherwise
Death
could not have
reigned
before the
written Law;
and consequently
the Law,
to be understood, by which
"Sin entered into the world,"
and by which
"Death passed upon all,"
and
"reigned from Adam to Moses,"
was the
Law
of internal
Knowledge,
or
Conscience,
by which
all Men,
from the time of our first parents (Christ alone excepted) are convicted
Sinners!
For as the
Ways of Man
are not equal to his assumed
Knowledge,
he is thereby rendered
guilty,
and obnoxious to
the eternal Justice
of GOD,
in whose sight shall no man living be justified!
(Psal. cxliii. 2.)
Hence a temporal DEATH, or departure from this world, is not the only fruit of
Sin,
but there is also a
certain fearful looking for of judgment,
and
fiery indignation, &c.
(Hebrews x. 27.)
, the
sense
of which is so deeply imprinted on the human
Conscience,
that even the most hardened offender is, at some time or other, affected with it; otherwise
Sin
could not be esteemed
"the Sting of Death"
—For if the natural light of
Human Reason
would permit men to indulge themselves with a positive assurance, that
Death
is really the last period, or
final dissolution
of their
existence,
the
Consciousness of Sin
would not encrease
the Fear of Death,
and could not, therefore, with propriety be esteemed
"the Sting of Death." Death
is, indeed, the King of Terrors; and Nature shrinks at its approach! But the anguish of the guilty and unbelieving soul springs from a deeper source than
Death!
viz. the dread of what must follow it! This is a further effect of
Reason
and
Human Knowledge:
for though a man refuses to be bound by the eternal Laws of
Reason,
yet
Reason
will inform him of his
guilt,
and
its deserts,
and vindicate her injured
Laws
by
dreadful expectation!
for the very Devils believe and tremble! (James ii. 19.)
Horrible gloom! when
Reason
sees no ground for hope!—Thus
Conscience,
though not obeyed, is
Conscience
still; and a time, we know,
will surely come,
when men shall
begin to say to the mountains,
fall on us;
and to the hills,
cover us
See also Revelation vi. 15, 16.
And
the Kings of the Earth,
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every
bondman,
and
every freeman
(for all will be equal in that tremendous day)
hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; and said,
Fall on us, and hide us
from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb:
for the great
day of his wrath is come,
and who shall be able to stand?
! (Luke xxiii. 30.)
Death,
therefore, it is manifest, is not the
only
object of the sinner's fear, or men would never seek
a hiding-place
in what must be their
graves,
by wishing to
be buried
under the very mountains and hills, with the vain hope of secreting themselves from the wrath to come! —And who is free from sin?—In the sight of God
shall no man living be justified.
(Psa. cxliii. 2.)
And
without shedding of
BLOOD
is no remission.
(Heb. ix. 22.)
Wherefore it is manifest, that the BLOOD of every man is forfeited before God!—But the Almighty was graciously pleased to accept the BLOOD of animals (probably as an acknowledgment of that forfeiture, and as a type of a future and more effectual redemption) to atone for human guilt—
For the life of the flesh
(said God to Moses)
is in the
BLOOD:
and I have given it to you upon the altar,
TO MAKE AN ATONEMENT
for your souls:
for
it is the
BLOOD
that maketh an
ATONEMENT
for the
SOUL.
(Lev. xvii. 11.)
But as the
Necessity of Redemption
is thus obvious, so the
means of obtaining it
has been as clearly revealed: and therefore the same innate
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
which has rendered us obnoxious to GOD'S
Eternal Justice
through disobedience, will lead us (if we use it as we ought) to repentance and amendment; and consequently to reconciliation and eternal happiness, through that more effectual propitiation and redemption, to which all mankind are invited by the Redeemer himself, who is
the
WAY,
and the Truth, and the Life:
as
no man cometh unto the Father, but by
him.
(John xiv. 6.)
For if through
the offence of
ONE
(our first parent Adam)
MANY be
dead;
much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace,
(which is)
by ONE
Man, Jesus Christ,
hath abounded unto MANY. And not as
(it was)
by
one
that sinned
(so is)
the gift;
for the judgment (was)
by
one
to condemnation, but the free gift
(is)
of
many
offences unto justification,
&c. (See the contrast as carried on by the Apostle Paul, in the 5th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans.)
Men seldom fall indeed into any very gross
offence
against the
Eternal Law,
till they are
initiated,
as it were, by lesser crimes; and have gradually stifled the natural restraint of the
innate Knowledge
or
Conscience
before described; and then they are no longer worthy to be called
Men,
being more properly
Brutes;
because
Conscience,
or the
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
which should distinguish the
Nature of Men
from
Brutes,
doth no longer influence their actions.
The state, indeed, of such unhappy men is worse than that of brutes; because there is still another capital distinction in their nature, which wicked men cannot cast off, as they do
Conscience!
they have a
living Soul,
which must, inevitably, be accountable for
all their actions,
as I have before remarked; and, therefore, when they prefer the temporal gratification of their passions (whether of
Pride, Love of unlimited Power, Avarice, Lust, Hatred,
or
Selfishness
) to the eternal welfare of their souls, they may be said to
sell themselves for nought;
because all unlawful passions are increased, instead of being satisfied, by indulgence; so that there is
no Bondage
so wretched as that of
Sin
—
They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean (or for a little) escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them
Liberty,
they themselves are the
Servants
(or
Slaves
) of
Corruption:
for of whom a man is
overcome,
of the same is he brought in
Bondage.
2 Pet. ii. 19, 20.
See also the remainder of the same chapter for the lamentable consequences of that
wretched Bondage,
the
Service
of Sin!
;
no Slave
so truly miserable, as the man who is
a Slave to his Passions
Whosoever committeth Sin, is the
Servant
(or Slave) of
Sin.
(John viii. 34.)
—
For the truth of this conclusion no further or better proof can be expected than our Saviour's authority.
Dr. Jackson, Book 10. Ch. 17.
. And, therefore, when we are endeavouring to trace out
the Law of Nature, and Principles of Action in Men,
it would be unreasonable to search for it
among Slaves
(I mean those that are
Slaves
to their passions) because such MEN
are not their own masters,
and consequently are not worthy the name of MEN. It would be neither just nor charitable to draw our conclusions concerning the
Nature of Man
from that depraved state of
Human Nature,
wherein the proper and
natural distinction
of
Manhood (the
KNOWLEDGE
of
GOOD
and
EVIL, which we
naturally
inherit from our first parents) has lost its influence!
No MAN, indeed, is
perfect; neither are
ALL MEN
depraved;
and though the
depraved
state of man may, perhaps, be
most general,
it, certainly, is not
universal;
and therefore
the universal Principle of Action in Man
is not to be drawn from thence. But it will be still much more profitable for us to remember (when any
Rule of Obedience
is proposed as an
universal Principle of Action
) that it is not so much our business or interest to trace out what REALLY IS
"the universal Principle of Action,"
as what it OUGHT TO BE. I have already produced the testimony of the most learned and able lawyer among the Heathens, that
the Knowledge of Good and Evil
is an
universal Principle, natural
to mankind; and he so far esteems it as
"a Rule of Obedience,"
that he lays it down as the foundation of
Law.
For Law (says he again in another place) is nothing else but
right and divinely inspired Reason, commanding what is honest,
and
forbidding the contrary
Est enim
Lex
nihil aliud, nisi RECTA et à
numine Deorum tracta
RATIO imperans honesta, prohibens contraria.
(Oratio Philippica 11. Vol. 2. p. 487.)
. But a modern, though very learned and respectable, law commentator, has referred us to a different Principle, as a
"Rule of Obedience,"
which is very liable to be misunderstood: he informs us in page 41, vol. 1. that the Creator
has graciously reduced the Rule of Obedience to this
one paternal Precept,— That Man should pursue his own Happiness.
"This," (says he)
is the foundation of what we call Ethics, or natural Law.
Yet, in justice to the worthy author, it must be allowed, that the Happiness, which he speaks of, is not
selfish, partial,
or
sensual Happiness
(for that would be a very improper subject for a
"paternal Precept"
) but
real Happiness,
and
substantial Happiness,
as he further expresses himself in the same page; and no Happiness can be
"real,"
or
"substantial,"
which is not lasting; so that it is plain this eminent writer means that
lasting
and
substantial Happiness
alone, which arises from Obedience to the will of God: for the Knowledge of which he refers us, at the same time, to the Holy Scriptures. See the following page 42.
Yet even such
"substantial Happiness"
can only be called an
effect,
of which a conscientious Obedience to the will of God is
one of the causes;
but the
primary cause, or motive
to that Obedience in
good Men,
is still different from both; and yet none of them can be the
proper foundation
of Ethics, or
natural Law.
The learned author has himself assigned a more probable foundation in the preceding page, to which perhaps he might mean to refer by the pronominal adjective
"This,"
in the sentence which immediately follows his
one paternal Precept,
(viz.
This
is the foundation of what we call Ethics, or natural Law
) for he observes in p. 40. that,
CONSIDERING the Creator only as a Being of infinite
Power,
he was able unquestionably to have prescribed whatever Laws he pleased to his creature Man, however unjust or severe. But as he is also a Being of infinite
Wisdom,
he has laid down only such Laws as were
founded
in
those relations of Justice
that existed in the nature of things, antecedent to any positive Precept.—THOSE RELATIONS of JUSTICE,
then, on which the
other Laws are founded,
are properly THE FOUNDATION. And "these" (the learned writer himself tells us in the following sentence)
are the eternal, immutable
LAWS
of
GOOD
and
EVIL, to which the Creator himself, in all his dispensations, conforms; and which he has enabled
Human Reason
to discover, so far as they are necessary for the conduct of human actions.
Thus THE FOUNDATION is clearly laid down, and there is no occasion to assign any other
Motive of Obedience
to the several Laws on
this Foundation,
than what is mentioned in the same sentence, viz.
Human Reason,
by which men are enabled to discover
these eternal and immutable Laws of
Good and Evil.
For
the Knowledge
of what
is Good,
or what
is Evil,
is surely a sufficient Motive for
chusing
the one, and
rejecting
the other; because
Good,
when known, is as truly amiable in itself, as
Evil
is detestable and frightful; so that the former most naturally engages our preference, without any other Motive than this
natural Knowledge
of their respective qualities.
Sinister Motives do, nevertheless, too frequently prevail, through the extreme frailty of
Human Nature,
which engages the greater part of mankind in the pursuit of temporal Interest, or partial and sensual Happiness!
So that, if the learned commentator had mentioned
Self-love,
as the
general,
instead of the
universal Principle of Action,
I should not have thought myself obliged to have taken particular notice of that part of his work.
Several reasons may be assigned why it cannot be admitted as the
universal Principle of Action.
And, first, Because the most worthy actions, as I have already observed, are frequently occasioned by a more generous motive than
Self-love.
Secondly, Because
bad
men are sometimes prompted to
good
actions, through the influence of their own
natural Knowledge of Good and Evil,
when the occasion happens not to interfere with their particular views of private Interest, or their predominant Passions
A more remarkable instance of this perhaps was never known, than what my own grandfather experienced in his acquaintance with the
Lord Chancellor Jefferies,
who was, perhaps, the most abandoned time-server of those days (if we except his companion in iniquity,
General Kirk
It would not have been possible
(says Rapin, speaking of Chancellor Jefferies
and
General Kirk) "for him"
(King James the IId.)
to have found in the kingdom two men more void of all Religion, of all Honour, aad all Humanity. They were two tigers chafed with blood, who had no pleasure but in carnage.
Tom. 10. p. 30.
.
Dr. Sharp
was as totally different and opposite to the
Chancellor,
in every part of his character, as it was possible for any man to be; yet the
Chancellor
entertained a very particular regard and esteem for him. He treated the Doctor very roughly indeed, when he had received his Royal Master's orders to prosecute him for
preaching against Popery;
but in every other point, which did not interfere with his
time-serving principles
and
politicks,
he was always ready to shew favour and kindness to Dr. Sharp, whenever he had an opportunity; and happy it was for him that he did so; for afterwards, in the time of his distress, when a
just retribution
of worldly trouble overtook him, (insomuch that he was not only a prisoner, expecting in his turn a
severe execution of the Laws
for his
injustice
and
cruelty,
but also grievously afflicted with the stone, and other diseases, in consequence of his former intemperance,) Dr. Sharp was the only person who afforded him any comfort in his misery; for he regularly visited the unhappy man in his confinement, and used his best endeavours to alleviate his distress, and prepare him for another world by advice and exhortation.
: for, if this was not the case, it is obvious (considering the great multitude of
selfish
men in comparison of the
Just
) that society could not exist.
And, thirdly, Because
bad
actions, which most abound, manifestly tend, even in the opinion of the offenders themselves, to defeat the most essential purposes of
Self-love;
for the most hardened sinners are conscious, through their innate
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
that their unlawful temporary gratifications tend to deprive them of their
"real"
and
"substantial
happiness," viz.
Eternal Salvation;
for if they had not this
Consciousness of Evil,
there could be no such thing as presumptuous sin.
Self-love,
however, under proper restrictions, is certainly a main branch of
the Law of Nature;
and, though it cannot be admitted as the
universal Principle of Action,
is nevertheless an
universal Principle;
but it cannot be admitted as a
"Rule of Obedience,"
because there are many occasions when it ought to be superseded by more noble Motives to
Action.
The
Knowledge of Good and Evil
is also an
universal Principle in Man;
though it is still much farther from being
the universal Principle of Action
than
"Self-love;"
and indeed my present attempt is not to prove
what is
the
universal Principle of Action,
but only what
it ought to be,
as I before remarked; being convinced, that
the one paternal Precept
laid down by the learned Law Commentator (though certainly with good intentions, and probably with good authority from other Law Writers) as the
"Rule of Obedience,"
(viz.
that we
should pursue our own Happiness
) is very defective; because the very
Rule
itself requires a multitude of other
Rules
to restrain it within due bounds, and curb the
Self-love
of individuals for the benefit of society.
Nothing is so liable to be misunderstood as
"our own Happiness;"
for when
Self
alone is the object,
Self-love
can imply nothing but
Partiality
and
Self-preference;
so that such
a Rule of Obedience
is liable to afford a handle of excuse for actions of mere
Self-gratification,
to which the learned and worthy author (or, perhaps, rather the adopter) of the hypothesis would be entirely averse: a
Slaveholder,
for instance, might alledge, that he
pursues his own Happiness,
by extorting the unwilling service of other men, because he is thereby enabled to maintain himself and family, not only comfortably, but elegantly; and that the maintenance and support of the sugar islands, and consequently the happiness of his wealthy neighbours, depends upon the employing of slaves; so that
social benefits
do also arise from it: and he will likewise alledge, that he is obliged by
Self-love
to persist in the measure, because he cannot maintain the same
Happiness
and comfort by any other means; so that he does not act contrary to
the Law of Nature,
or the
"Rule of Obedience,"
as laid down by the most eminent writers on the subject!
Thus the
"paternal Precept"
(as it is called) of pursuing our own
Happiness,
may lead men to form a false estimate of
necessity
(or what they may think themselves
obliged to undertake,
from their particular situation in life) and will afford them the like excuse for any other vice, on which a man's temporal subsistence depends.
It is therefore an
oblique Rule,
which insensibly declines into mere
Self-gratification,
or private Interest, which is the bane of Equity and Justice; so that
Self-love
can no otherwise be admitted
as a Rule,
than for the purpose of measuring the due proportion of
that Love which we owe to the rest of Mankind,
agreeable to a real
"paternal Precept"
that will never deceive us;
Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself.
Lev. xix. 18.
This excellent maxim of the
Old Law
is strongly enforced and recommended in the New Testament, which shall hereafter be shewn: nay, the very Heathens, it seems, were not entirely ignorant of this
Divine Precept;
for the favourite maxim of the Emperor
Alexander Severus
was much to the same effect, according to the report of Lampridius, quoted by the learned Joseph Mede, Book 3. p. 550. viz.
Quod tibi fieri nonvis, alteri ne feceris."
"Do not to another, what you would not have done to yourself.
Neither has the doctrine been overlooked by the writers on
the Law of Nature.
Hobbes very judiciously refers us
to this Rule of Obedience,
for the easy knowledge of what
the Law of Nature
dictates.
When a Man
doubts
(says he)
whether what he is going to do to another be agreeable to the
LAW OF NATURE,
let him suppose himself in the others room.
For by this means
(continues he)
when
Self-love
and the other passions, which weighed down one scale, are taken thence, and put into the contrary scale, it is easy to guess which, way the balance will turn
And Baron Puffendorf
Law of Nature and Nations, as translated by Basil Kennet. Oxford 1710. p. 109.
remarks thereupon, that —
this is no other than the great rule prescribed by our Saviour himself, of
doing to Men as we would be done by.
The learned Baron, nevertheless, remarks in the following paragraph—
that this Precept cannot be esteemed
a fundamental Axiom of the Law of Nature;
since it is only a corollary of that Law, which obliges us
to hold all Men equal with ourselves;
and therefore may be demonstrated
à priori.
But howsoever it may be capable of being demonstrated, yet this is no just objection to
Hobbes
's excellent rule for knowing,—
what the Law of Nature dictates;
especially as the learned objector seems, afterwards, to have sought
in vain
for a more
fundamental Axiom of the Law of Nature:
for I cannot find, that any thing, he has afterwards proposed, is at all worthy to be compared with it, either as
a Foundation,
or a
"Rule of Obedience."
Nevertheless, in justice to the learned Baron, I must observe, that he has well defended this
general Rule
against the objection of
Dr. Sharrock.
Dr. Sharrock is of opinion
(says he)
that this rule is not universal, because, if so, a judge must needs absolve the criminals left to his sentence; inasmuch as he would certainly spare his own life, were he in their place: I must needs give a poor petitioner what sum soever he desires; because I should wish to be thus dealt with, if I was in his condition: or I must clean my servants shoes; because I require him to clean mine.
But the rule
(says the learned Baron)
will still remain unshaken, if we observe, that
not
ONE
Scale only, but
BOTH
are to be considered;
or that I am not only to weigh and examine what is agreeable to me, but likewise what obligation or necessity lies on the other person, and what I can demand of him, without injuring either of our duties.
Book 2. Chap. 3. p. 109.
Neither does the Baron's own objection, which immediately follows, in the least affect the propriety of
Hobbes
's rule
for the easy Knowledge of what the Law of Nature dictates:
for though the nature of a
Rule,
or
Principle
of
Doctrine
(differing from
active Principles
) be such as to induce the necessity of supposing a
prior Principle,
or Instinct in man, whereby he may be enabled to suggest, adopt, approve, or obey this or any other
Rule
(which seems to be the reason of the Baron's refusing to acknowledge this excellent rule, as
a fundamental Axiom of the Law of Nature
) yet the learned Baron himself has multiplied the difficulty, by assigning still another
Rule,
or mere
Principle of Doctrine
(viz. the
holding all Men equal with ourselves
) as the foundation of this
Rule,
instead of a
real first Cause,
such as the
immediate Inspiration of God;
the
Revelation of his Will in the Scriptures;
or the
natural and divine Instinct of
KNOWING GOOD
and
EVIL. For whether
the Precept
is inculcated and made known to Man by
Divine Revelation,
immediate, or scriptural, or merely by the
natural Instinct
in Man, of
knowing Good and Evil,
it may nevertheless be justly esteemed
a fundamental Axiom of the Law of Nature.
The Jews and Christians, indeed, are taught the value and importance of
this Precept
by the Holy Scriptures, yet this is not the only means of its being known and received among men as
a Rule of Obedience;
—for, besides the example which I have already given concerning the Emperor Alexander Severus, it appears that the Gentiles, in every part of the world, have demonstrated a sense of this Precept, without the
assistance of Scripture:
not only the ancient Greeks and Romans, but the remote inhabitants of China and America: of which a few examples are here subjoined from the additional notes of the translator of Puffendorf, p. 109. viz.
Aristotle
(in Diogenes Laertius, Lib. 5. Segm. 21.)
being asked how we ought to behave ourselves towards our friends, answered,
as we wish they would behave themselves towards us.
Lib. 2. tom. 2.
Quod quis juris in alterum, &c.
Seneca de Ira, Lib. 3. c. 12.
Let us suppose ourselves in the same circumstances as the person with whom we are angry: That which now puts us in a passion is only the wrong opinion and estimate of ourselves: We are unwilling to
SUFFER
what we are willing to
DO.
'Tis a saying of
Confucius
(in Marcinus's Hist. Sin. Lib. 4. c. 25.)
Never do to another what you are unwilling to suffer from him.
The same Precept was made use of by
Ynca Manco Capac,
the founder of the
Peruvian
empire; in order to the reducing his subjects to a life of civility.
De la Vega, L. 1. c. 21.
Thus it appears, that not only the
Heathen nations
of
Europe,
but also the distant uninformed inhabitants of
China
and
America,
were endued, by their innate
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
with general ideas of that most excellent Precept which CHRIST himself has declared to be the
true Christian
RULE OF ACTION: and which, therefore, may justly be esteemed
a fundamental
Axiom of
the Law of Nature,
viz. —
All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for
this is the Law and the Prophets,
Matt. vii. 12. See also Luke vi. 31. The meaning and apparent intention of this GOLDEN RULE is exactly the same, in effect, as the other great commandment of the Law,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;
so that all persons, who carefully examine these and other parallel texts, must necessarily be convinced, that the command
to love our neighbour as ourselves
is the
ONE PATERNAL PRECEPT,
or rather, I should say, the ONLY
PATERNAL PRECEPT to which the
Creator has graciously reduced the Rule of Obedience,
since by the highest authority we are assured, that the equitable rule of
doing to others,
as we would that men should do unto us;
or, in short, to love our neighbour
as ourselves,
IS THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS;
which implies as much as if our Lord had said, This is the Spirit, or FIRST PRINCIPLE OF LAW, and contains
the Sum and Essence of all other Laws!
The testimony of the Apostle Paul is nearly to the same effect—
For
ALL THE LAW
(says he)
is fulfilled in
ONE WORD,
even in this,
THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.
(Gal. v. 14.)
Which might well be paraphrased as follows:
ALL THE LAW IS FULFILLED IN ONE WORD;
—for
the Creator
—
has graciously reduced the Rule of Obedience to this one paternal Precept
(not,—
that
Man should pursue his own Happiness;
—but)—
EVEN IN THIS, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF;
so that no other
"paternal Precept"
can possibly be received as a
general Rule of Obedience
for all occasions except this alone; which must, therefore, be acknowledged as
the fundamental Rule,
both of
Natural
and
Revealed Law.
Concerning this Golden Rule of Action, I have wrote a separate Tract under the title of
the Law of Liberty,
or
Royal Law,
to which I must beg leave to refer my readers for further remarks on that head.
Having now proved, I hope, that this
FUNDAMENTAL AXIOM OF THE LAW OF NATURE
ought to be
THE UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE OF ACTION IN MAN,
I can more safely resume my discourse concerning
Principles of Action
in general. It has already been shewn, that
the Knowledge of Good and Evil
is
an
universal Principle
in
Man,
as well as
Self-love.
But I must now remark, that the former has the following essential difference from
Self-love
as an
universal Principle,
viz. that it is never superseded, like the latter, by any
just Motive of
DUTY (though it is often violated in breach of DUTY through human Frailty); for all
just Motives of
DUTY are perfectly consistent with it, and influence the heart under its direction and guidance, and even the most
noble Motive
to Action (independent of
Inspiration,
or
immediate Revelation
) is so far from superseding the natural
"Knowledge of Good and Evil,"
that it may, more properly, be esteemed an exertion of it: for instance, by a due exertion of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
we promote the
very first
Principle of
all Duty,
as it is the
first
great commandment, viz.
The Love of God;
for if we have
Knowledge to chuse the Good, and reject the Evil,
the same
Knowledge
must incline us to prefer the
Author of all Good
(when revealed to us) and his Commandments before every other consideration; for so Abraham's Obedience in attempting to sacrifice his son, was rendered acceptable to God: he knew his Maker and supreme Lord by
unquestionable Revelation;
and, therefore, justly concluded, through his
natural
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
that the Command of God ought to supersede all
natural Affection,
and
Self-love;
so that this was an
Effect of Reason,
which seemed to counteract even the
Principles of Reason itself,
by dissolving all the ties
of Nature!
But the Patriarch thereby gave an ample proof of a sincere Faith, and of an unfeigned Love to his Creator.
By
what Principle of Action
also was Moses induced (though the meekest of
Men
) to
remonstrate
to his Creator, when the Divine Indignation was declared against the Ingratitude and Wickedness of the children of Israel, in worshipping the molten calf during the time that Moses continued in the mount to receive the Law? God said to Moses—
I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore
LET ME ALONE, (
LET ME REST,
that is, from your intercessions)
that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
CONSUME THEM:
and I will make of
THEE
a great nation.
Exod. xxxii. 9, 10.
Now, if
"Self-love"
had been
"the universal Principle of Action,"
Moses would not have declined the acceptance of such a distinguished honour, when tendered to him even by the ALMIGHTY LORD OF THE UNIVERSE, whose right of disposal could not justly be called in question! But the faithful minister of the Israelitish commonwealth did not seem to entertain the least sense of that imaginary
"paternal Precept"
mentioned above,
that Man should pursue his own Happiness:
for his answer on that occasion proves, that he was actuated by a
Principle
infinitely superior to
Self-love;
I mean a true and unfeigned
Zeal
for
the Glory of God,
arising from a right use of
his natural discretion,
or
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
which directed his choice, and enabled him to set aside all consideration of SELF, or private worldly Interest, when he thought the circumstances of the proposition seemed likely to affect the honour of GOD in the misinformed opinion of the Egyptians and other Heathen. For he
besought the Lord his God,
(though God had previously forbid him, saying, "LET ME ALONE")
and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of
EGYPT,
with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the
EGYPTIANS
speak and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath
(said
Moses
to the ALMIGHTY)
and repent of this evil against thy people.
And he also claimed the promise by which GOD had absolutely bound himself to the Patriarchs—
To whom
(said Moses)
thou swarest by thine
OWN SELF,
and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed,
&c. And the text immediately, informs us, that
the
LORD
repented of the evil
which he
thought
to
do unto his people.
(Exod. xxxii. 7. to 14.)
Thus God was pleased to manifest his regard and consideration even for
Human Judgment!
—even for the opinion of
a mere Man,
when founded on
Reason,
and other
just Principles,
such as mankind are capable of exerting! And shall earthly monarchs, then, presume to despise any reasonable remonstrance of their fellow men—of their equals in every other respect, except that of a delegated office, when it is apparent that even the SUPREME LORD, and MAKER OF ALL THINGS, has condescended to hear and graciously receive a remonstrance from his Creature Man! Nay, and that repeatedly on various occasions! The like remonstrance was also made by Moses, when God declared his anger against Israel, for murmuring at the report given of the promised land; and for proposing to return into Egypt; and also for attempting to stone
Joshua
and
Caleb,
who had endeavoured to appease, and convince them of their error. See the 14th Chapter of Numb. ver. 7.
And the
LORD
said unto Moses, how long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will
MAKE OF THEE
(
said GOD to
Moses)
a greater nation, and mightier than they.
But the noble Principles (far superior to
Self-love
) by which that Great Minister of State generally regulated his conduct, once more prevented his, acceptance of the glorious promise, even though tendered by his Maker! His sincere regard for
the Glory of God,
agreeable to the first great Commandment, made him jealous that the
Heathen nations
should falsely conceive, that the LORD JEHOVAH was not able to bring his people (the Israelites) into the land which he "sware unto them;" so that his
Zeal for the Glory of God
was, manifestly, the principal
Motive
of his answer on that occasion
And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them:) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land;
(for)
they have heard that thou, LORD,
(art)
among this people; that thou, LORD,
(art)
seen face to face; and
(that)
thy cloud standeth over them, and
(that)
thou goest before them by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Now
(if)
thou shalt kill
(all)
this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee, will speak, saying; Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is long suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing
(the guilty,)
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth
(generation.)
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt, even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word.
Numb. xiv. 13. to 20.
. And though a
natural Affection
(or brotherly Love) for his countrymen might, probably, be also included as an
additional Motive
to his intercession (worthy our imitation) yet his
"own Self-love"
was, manifestly, quite out of the question; since he might have attained for himself the highest pitch of worldly glory, without forfeiting his
real
or eternal Happiness by such an acquisition; for as the offer was made by
the God of the Spirits of all Flesh,
the acceptance of it could not have been imputed to him as sinful; though the contrary behaviour was apparently more agreeable to the will of the Almighty, who was pleased to signify his approbation of Moses's
remonstrance
and
intercession,
by declaring to him—
I have pardoned according to thy word.
Numb. xiv. 11. to 20.
Also upon the rebellion of Korah, related in the 16th chapter of Numbers, when God spoke to
Moses
and
Aaron,
saying,—
Separate yourselves from among this congregation,
THAT I MAY CONSUME THEM IN A MOMENT.
Yet these two great leaders of Israel were so little actuated by that imaginary
universal Principle of Action
SELF-LOVE, that they were entirely regardless of their
own danger,
notwithstanding the divine warning, and seemed to have no other care, but that of endeavouring
to save their brethren
from GOD'S wrath; for it does not appear, that they retreated, or
separated
themselves
from among the congregation,
as they were expressly directed, but only
"fell upon their faces,"
and exerted the powers of
Human Reason
in the following
short remonstrance
to their Maker—
O GOD, THE GOD
of the Spirits of all Flesh, shall
ONE MAN SIN,
and wilt thou be wroth with
ALL THE CONGREGATION?
Numb. xvi. 20—22.
The
like Remonstrance,
founded in sound
Reason
and
natural Equity,
had once before been made even to the Almighty himself, by his
faithful Servant
ABRAHAM, when God condescended to reveal to him the awful decree of
Divine Vengeance
against the populous cities of the plains of Sodom.
—
Wilt thou also destroy the Righteous with the Wicked?
(
said Abraham
And Abraham drew near, and said,
Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city, wilt thou also destroy, and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner; to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee:
shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
Gen. xviii. 23—25.
—shall not the
LORD
of all the earth
DO RIGHT?
Thus a due exertion of
right Reason
demonstrated the
Dignity of Human Nature,
and the examples, just mentioned, sufficiently prove, that THE ALMIGHTY requires his
Creature Man to judge of Right and Wrong,
and to form and declare a sound
Judgment
upon the eternal Principles of
Justice and Righteousness,
agreeable to that
Divine Knowledge
with which the
Human Mind
is most certainly endowed.
Though
Abraham
and his descendants,
Moses
and
Aaron,
knew that they could not exist, even a single moment, without the immediate protection of
Divine Providence,
yet they thought it their duty to
remonstrate
even to their CREATOR on the eternal Principles of
Justice and Judgment!
THE ALMIGHTY SEARCHER OF HEARTS knew beforehand what they would say, and the propriety of their future answers; and, therefore, undoubtedly afforded them these extraordinary opportunities of proving to all mankind their
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
as well as their
Faith
and entire dependence on the eternal
"Justice
and
Judgment"
of the
Divine
BEING, that these clear examples of the
Knowledge and Dignity of Human Nature,
as also of the regard and consideration which even the great Author of
that Nature
was graciously pleased to manifest, on those occasions, towards the mental Faculties of his Creature
Man,
might be recorded to the end of time!
Concerning the Spirit of
Justice
and
Judgment
with which
Abraham
was endowed, God previously declared —
I know him, that he will command his children, and his houshold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do
JUSTICE
and
JUDGMENT,
&c.
(Gen. xviii. 19.)
So that
Abraham
's Remonstrance, wherein he appealed to "
the
JUSTICE
and
JUDGMENT"
of
GOD, was apparently agreeable to the foreknowledge and expectation of the Almighty, as well as the other Remonstrance of Abraham's descendants,
Moses
and
Aaron.
For these extraordinary exertions of
Human Reason,
in appealing to the
Divine Justice,
were so far from being offensive even to THE SUPREME AND ETERNAL SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE, that, on the contrary, he clearly manifested his
approbation
by the gracious manner in which he accepted and answered these
human petitions!
He condescended to satisfy the
righteous
and
just Spirit
of ABRAHAM, by an assurance, that even
"if ten righteous persons"
only could be found amongst the wicked nations in the plains of
Sodom
—
I will not destroy it
(said he)
for the tens sake
Gen. xviii. 32. But alas, by the fatal catastrophe of all the nations in the plains of Sodom soon afterwards, and by the very small number of individuals that were found worthy of the divine warning to escape the
national punishment,
it is apparent that there were not even
five righteous persons
to be found in
five
royal cities.! (Gen. xiv. 2.) Horrible depravity!
. And to the Remonstrance of
Moses
and
Aaron
(the descendants of the
just
ABRAHAM) the like favourable attention was paid by
the God of the Spirits of all Flesh:
—for as their petition was offered up in behalf of
the whole Congregation
(viz. that they might not suffer for the fault of one or a few persons) God condescended to spare
the Congregation,
though they had
justly
incurred the forfeiture of life by joining
The text informs us, that
KORAH
gathered
ALL THE CONGREGATION
against them
(Moses and Aaron)
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
whereby the guilt of the
congregation
is manifest. Numb. xvi. 19.
the haughty and factious princes of Israel in open rebellion to the Divine Ordinances, contrary to the clearest evidence of all their senses! For Moses, on offering up this short petition, was immediately directed to separate the
Congregation
from the more notorious offenders—
Speak unto the Congregation, saying,—Get ye up from about the tabernacle of
KORAH, DATHAN,
and
ABIRAM.
—And
MOSES
rose up, and went unto
DATHAN
and
ABIRAM;
and the Elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the Congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
—And accordingly all persons, that had grace sufficient to repent of their connections with these wicked men, —
Gat up from the tabernacle of
Korah, Dathan,
and
Abiram,
on every side:
And immediately afterwards God was pleased to justify
Moses,
and to demonstrate the truth of his Divine Mission, by a tremendous and unusual example of
Vengeance
—
the ground clave asunder that
(was)
under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses,
&c.
upon the hardened offenders and their families! (Numb. xvi. 1. to 40.) And this being done in the presence of
the whole Congregation,
(then a populous
nation
) the evidence of it (which is handed down to us by their descendants,
the Jews,
and has also been confirmed, from time to time, by other instances of Divine
Vengeance
upon the
same nation
) was thereby rendered incontestable!
Nevertheless, the very next day,
all the Congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses, and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
—This further rebellion having once more provoked the Divine Justice, the cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord appeared! And Moses and Aaron were once more commanded to separate themselves from the Congregation, that a
National Vengeance
might take place!—
Get you up from this Congregation
(said the Almighty)
that I may
CONSUME THEM AS IN A MOMENT.
Nevertheless, these two worthy Ministers of God discovered no sense of fear
for themselves,
whilst the
national
danger demanded their endeavours in behalf of
their brethren;
and therefore, instead of separating themselves, as they had been
once more
commanded, they,
once more,
FELL UPON THEIR FACES,
to implore the Divine mercy and forgiveness of the
national
iniquity; so that
Self-love
was manifestly superseded by
Patriotism
and
brotherly Affection!
And as the plague was already begun among the people, the mediation of these two men was so far favoured by
the God of Israel,
that Moses was inspired with wisdom and presence of mind to instruct his Brother
Aaron
how to
make an atonement for the people
by the burning of incense— And accordingly Aaron
stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was staid.
Numb. xvi. 41—48.
These are unquestionable examples to demonstrate, that
"Self-love"
is not
"the universal Principle of Action."
Upon a former intercession also of Moses in behalf of his ungrateful countrymen, he permitted his
natural Affection
for them, to carry him (seemingly) far beyond the bounds of
Reason
and
Moderation,
in his expressions to the Almighty
And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin: and if not,
blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book,
which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will
I blot out of my book.
(Exod. xxxii. 31—33.)
; even so far as to wish, that he himself might be
blotted out of God's Book
Meaning (probably) an exclusion from
the temporal blessings
promised in God's covenant; or perhaps the
loss of life,
both of which came upon him afterwards for his unguarded expressions on another occasion. Compare Numb. xx. 12. with Numb. xxvii. 12—14. Deut. iv. 37. and Psalm cvi. 32.
, if the sin of the people was not forgiven! So that
Self-love
is by no means
the universal Principle of Action.
The affectionate Apostle Paul seemed also equally anxious for the eternal welfare and prosperity of
the same great Nation;
and he expressed the like unbounded Love towards them, by one of the strongest
hyperbolical
expressions (as Mr.
Burkitt
calls it) that he could possibly have chosen for that purpose.—
I could wish
(says he)
that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh.
(Rom. ix. 3.)
And though the Apostle, by the words—
, might perhaps mean to refer only to that
anathema
of
temporal misery
and destruction denounced by Christ himself, against Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jewish nation, for their open rejection of the Gospel
Behold your house
(said Christ)
is left unto you desolate.
Matt. xxiii. 38. Luke xiii. 35.
And again—
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,
) said our Lord;
Then let them which be
in Judea,
flee unto the mountains,
&c.
And
woe unto them
that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
&c.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.
Matt. xxiv. 15—21.
Under this severe ANATHEMA of
national Misery,
the unconverted part of the
Jewish people
might with propriety be accounted
,
accursed from the Messiah,
being then separated, or
excommunicated,
as it were, from the immediate protection of
the eternal
"KING of ISRAEL," and by him publicly given up to
temporal Vengeance;
the
Sufferings and Misery
of which (and not the
Reprobation
which occasioned them) the patriotic Apostle would willingly have endured, if it were possible,
in his own Person
(for no otherwise could he wish to be
separated from Christ,
but in
Sufferings;
for the
Love of Christ
was unalienable:—See preceding Chapter, ver. 35 to 39.)
if he could thereby have removed from his Nation this dreadful
ANATHEMA
of Christ's temporal Vengeance,
which, at the time the Apostle wrote, was dreadfully impending! But whether this conjecture of mine be right or not, and whether the
Anathema
mentioned by the Apostle is to be understood as
temporal,
as
eternal,
or
both;
yet the same limitation with respect to the
Love of Christ
must necessarily be understood, viz. that
the Apostle wished he might perish
(whether in this world or the next)
not as an Enemy of Christ, but as a Saviour of his Brethren,
(agreeable to the remark of the learned Chrysostom) and as CHRIST himself also was
MADE A CURSE FOR US.
(Gal. iii. 13.)
See this point clearly stated by the Rev. Dr. John Sharp, in his
Symphonia Prophetarum et Apostolorum.
Printed at Geneva in 1625.
; yet it is manifest, that the affectionate and truly patriotic Apostle would have been ready to suffer every kind of
temporal misery,
and even to
lay down his Life
for the
refractory Nation,
if he could thereby have averted the approaching vengeance from his countrymen, and restored them to Grace and the promised Privileges of the Gospel, to which they had been the first invited of all other nations! And therefore we cannot surely conceive, that
the Principle of Action,
or
Motive
to such a declaration, was
Self-love.
The disinterested Principles of this Apostle are evident also from some other expressions, and especially from that in his Epistle to the Romans, (v. 7.) viz.
—peradventure
for a good Man
(says he)
some would even
dare to die;
which idea totally excludes the Principle of
Self-love.
But though the Apostle's
Expressions
sufficiently prove that
Self-love was not
his Principle of Action, yet the same was more effectually demonstrated by his
Life
and
Practice!
And again, When we read of JONATHAN'S inviolable
Friendship
towards DAVID, can we conceive, that he was actuated, by
Self-love?
We cannot mention that
Principle
without injustice to the generous character of that truly noble Prince, unless we speak of it comparatively, to shew, that his
Friendship
and
brotherly Love was equal to it;
for the Scripture repeatedly informs us, that he
loved
DAVID
"as his own Soul."
It was not
an unreasonable Friendship;
he was well convinced of the
Merit
and
Virtue
of DAVID; for on these he founded his
Love;
and he had too much
Virtue
himself to violate a
reasonable Friendship,
even though his own
private Interest
and
very Inheritance
was at stake!
These points were most earnestly pressed upon him with all the authority that an anxious worldly-minded father could possibly assume, and yet without effect—
As long as the Son of Jesse liveth upon the ground
(said Saul to Jonathan)
thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom; wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
Now, if
Self-love
had been
the Principle of Action
with JONATHAN, he could not have greater temptation! But he knew how
to refuse
THE EVIL,
and
CHUSE THE GOOD,
and would not, therefore, submit (like modern statesmen) to the wretched policy of doing
"Evil that Good might come!"
—
Honour
and
Justice
were his
Principles of Action;
and he was willing to risque, not only his worldly dignity and state, but his life also, rather than injure and forsake an innocent man!
Wherefore shall he be slain?
(said he)
What harm hath he done?
—And when he found that his father persisted in his base resolution, he was filled with honest indignation; and, as the text informs,
rose from the table
IN FIERCE ANGER
—not on account of his father's injurious behaviour to
himself,
in attempting to kill him with a javelin, but because
he was grieved
FOR DAVID
(says the text) and that
his father had done him shame.
See 1 Sam. xx. 31. to 34.
And again—Was
David,
King of Israel, actuated by
Self-love,
when he tendered
his own Life,
to save
the Lives of his Subjects,
praying God to
Let his hand be against him, and against his father's house,
instead of the nation in general?
Surely his Principles of Action were very different from
Self-love,
or from that imaginary PATERNAL PRECEPT of
"seeking his own Happiness!"
His
Conscience
probably informed him, that he was guilty before God in having
numbered
the Israelites, to satisfy some vain or presumptuous curiosity concerning
the Strength of the Nation,
at a time when his whole confidence and hope of success against his enemies ought to have been placed in GOD
alone;
and he would perhaps then recollect, that the same
sinful Presumption within himself,
which had
occasioned
the undertaking, had also
occasioned
This example proves that KINGS and PRINCES are indispensably bound to exercise themselves daily and constantly in the study of the Holy Scriptures (agreeable to the command in Deut. xvii. 18—20.
And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this Law in a book, out of
(that which is)
before the Priests the Levites: and it shall be with him, and he shall
read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this Law, and these Statutes, to do them; that
his heart be not lifted up above his brethren,
and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand, or
(to)
the left: to the end that he may
prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children in
the midst of Israel
lest they should inadvertently
occasion
any breach of GOD'S LAWS, and thereby draw down the Divine Vengeance upon themselves, as well as their unwary subjects; who are
equally guilty,
whenever they comply with an
unlawful
command.
the neglect of that tribute or offering to God, which, in the Law, is expressly enjoined to be given as a ransom
for the Soul
of every individual of that nation, whenever they
should be numbered,
viz. half a shekel for every one:
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, after their number
(said GOD to Moses)
then shall they give
EVERY MAN A RANSOM FOR HIS SOUL UNTO THE LORD,
when thou numberest them: that
THERE BE NO PLAGUE
among them when thou numberest them,
&c. See Exod. xxx. 12. to 16.
REASON and CONSCIENCE therefore taught him, that he
himself
was the principal aggressor; and these
just Principles,
joined to a
patriotic Regard
for
the Preservation of his Countrymen,
certainly induced him to present himself to God as the proper victim of divine Vengeance!—For
DAVID
spake unto the
LORD,
when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said—Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee,
BE AGAINST ME, AND AGAINST MY FATHER'S HOUSE,
&c.
2 Sam. xxiv. 17.
It would, surely, be highly absurd to attribute so pathetic and penitent a declaration to the Principle of
Self-love
Some excellent arguments and very striking examples have been produced by the truly benevolent
Mr. Brooke
of Dublin, in his
"Fool of Quality,"
to prove that
Self-love
is by no means
the universal Principle of Action.
To quote the authority of a romance, in a Tract on the
first Principles of Law,
will perhaps, at first sight, give offence to many of my readers; but, for my excuse, I rely on the propriety of the arguments themselves, and the just application of the several
real examples
by which they are illustrated. I should never of my own accord, I confess, have consulted any work under
the Form of a Novel
for information of this kind; but the sentiments of this sensible author being pointed out to me by a worthy friend, I thought it would be injustice to my argument, if I neglected to refer my readers to the clear light which the worthy Author of
the Fool of Quality
has thrown upon the subject, when he makes his EARL OF MORELAND enquire
whence, how, by what means may a Man arrive at Happiness?—By getting out of himself, my Lord
—answered his worthy character MR. MEEKLY.
Out of himself, Mr. Meekly! you astonish me greatly. A contradiction in terms, unnatural, impossible! —
GOD
himself, my Lord, cannot make a Man happy in any other way, either here, or hereafter. It is, said the Earl, an established maxim among all thinking Men, whether Divines or Philosophers, that
SELF-LOVE
is the Motive to all Human Actions.—Virtue forbid! exclaimed Mr. Meekly; all Actions are justly held good or evil, base or honourable, detestable or amiable, merely according to their Motives. But if the Motive is the same in all, there is an end, at once, to the possibility of virtue; the cruel and the kind, the faithful and the perfidious, the prostitute and the patriot, are confounded together,
&c.
He afterwards relates, in very striking terms, the well-known example of
Damon
and
Pythias,
whose inviolable FRIENDSHIP triumphed over SELF-LOVE, as well as over the cruel intentions of the Tyrant
Dionysius.
—Then follows the Author's excellent definition of the term SELF, wherein he demonstrates the necessity of overcoming SELFISHNESS by
superior Principles
originally communicated to our Nature by the
Divine Intelligence;
and he proves that
such Principles
have prevailed in the world, by reminding us of the ancient states of SPARTA and ROME, which
derived their lustre and power, their whole pre-eminence and praise
(says he)
from this Principle of Communication, which, in them, was called
LOVE OF COUNTRY.
But this beatifying Principle
(continues he)
was still more eminently instanced in the Society of
THE CHURCH OF JERUSALEM,
who had all things in common; who imparted their possessions to all men, as every man had need; and thence did eat their common bread with gladness and singleness of heart, praising
GOD,
and having favour with all people,
&c.
He afterwards mentions the instances of the Roman
Regulus,
and the
Decii,
as also that of
Leonidas, and his three hundred Spartans,
who devoted their lives for THE LIBERTIES
of Greece,
&c. and, lastly, exemplifies
this
DISREGARD OF SELF,
the vital Source and Principle of every Virtue, in six Mechanics or Craftsmen of the city of Calais,
when it was besieged by King Edward the 3d.
The whole argument, with the examples, are too long to be inserted here, but are highly worthy the reader's perusal.—See THE FOOL OF QUALITY, vol. 1. p. 117. —130.
. The Monarch of Israel was actuated by a much less reasonable
Principle of Action,
(and still very opposite to
Self-love
) when he uttered that bitter lamentation for the death of his wicked, rebellious, and incestuous Son
Absalom
—
Would to
GOD
(said he)
I had died for thee my Son!
NATURAL PATERNAL AFFECTION was more powerful in this case than REASON; and every other
Principle of Action,
even
Self-love
(which is also a
natural Affection,
and generally very potent) was entirely superseded by it: for the King most earnestly wished, that he himself had died, instead of that unnatural wretch, who (he was well aware) ceased not, whilst he lived, to plot his father's ruin, being an enemy (he well knew) that was implacable, that was restless, and impatient to deprive him, not only of his kingdom, but of his life; and had already violated his bed, in the most publick and shameless manner, with the detestable crime of incest!— There was no room to hope for the reformation of a wretch that had so entirely lost
all distinction between
GOOD
and
EVIL!—No gleam of happiness for his injured father, but in his death!— And yet
paternal Affection
compelled the latter to esteem even
his own death
preferable, if he could thereby have prolonged the wretch's life!—
O my Son Absalom, my Son, my Son Absalom!— Would to God
(said he)
I had
DIED FOR THEE,
O Absalom, my Son, my Son!
2 Sam. xviii. 33.
Thus it appears that SELF-LOVE is by no means
the universal Principle of Action,
since there are other
Affections,
which sometimes supersede it, and become the leading
Principles of Action.
A certain noble Author of the last century, in a work, intituled
A View of the Soul,
has several chapters concerning the Power and Influence of the
Affections
over all the other natural faculties,
Reason itself
not being excepted: and in one chapter he attempts to prove,
that some Affection is the substantial Part of the Soul
I have thought
(says this Author)
and do think, and believe (which is somewhat more than a thought, it is a thought with the concurrence, approbation, and allowance of one's Reason) that the Soul of Man is immortal; and that the very Essence or substantial part of a Human Soul, disrobed of a Body, or subsisting of itself, is some restless working (however at some times invisible) affection; and that if those more noble faculties of our Soul (next and immediately under that bright heavenly Star) are the Pilots to conduct us unto rest, some affection (as it seems to me) is the chief Passenger in this frail and weak Vessel of the flesh. St. Paul, in that admirable Encomium of his of Charity, tells us, that
it abides,
when many other gifts fail. And if
we shall know, as we are known,
as he tells us in another place, there will be then little use of the Invention, Memory, Reason, or the like, which are but the Handmaids to knowledge. Neither can I rationally imagine, after return of the Soul to its place of rest, or for default thereof in its banishment to everlasting wandering, any use of other faculties than the affections, unless towards the exalting or heightening them in their several degrees, whether love and joy on the one side, or sorrow, fear, &c. on the other.
The Soul of Man being an emanation from that DIVINE LOVE, must necessarily partake of it, LOVE; and not able at present by any natural light it has, to reach unto itself its proper object, lays hold on any thing, rather than seem to vanish or be extinct; and withal that it happens to have such several inclinations in man, while it is here, is surely by reason of some false imaginary light, or the want of a true one, and that we want both power and skill, in the setting or tuning some strings of the affections, as I may call them. And it is want of a clear inspect into our nature and frame, that we become, as David speaks,
a stubborn generation, a generation that set not their hearts aright, and whose Spirit cleaveth not stedfastly to God.
And I do further believe, that all the faculties, strength, and power of the Soul, which we have, are given us towards the performance of that
first
and great
Commandment, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy Soul, and with a
thy mind:
The whole Soul beside seems naturally subservient, if not subsequent, to the affections motion, and the motion of the Soul would be strange without them, and not imaginable; they being as necessary as they are useful. And therefore I think we may as well cease to be, by our own power, as cease to affect; and they who have gone furthest or most covertly herein, have in going about to hide some particular affections, shewed others more visibly; and for the covering of their joy or sorrow, fear or anger, or the like, have set up for predominant in their Soul, a seeming contempt of all things; which is an affection itself, and, for ought I know, as subject to be faulty as any. For surely the Soul may seem no less glorious in its march, with all its parts and retinue, than some of them; provided it marches the right way, and each faculty help and assist, and not go about to destroy each other.
A VIEW OF THE SOUL. Sect. 5. pages 109, 110.
. But though the
Affections
are certainly to be esteemed
"Principles of Action,"
yet they cannot at any rate be admitted as
Rules of Obedience
(as I have before observed concerning the
Affection of Self-love
) because the generality of Mankind are more liable to be influenced by
evil, misplaced Affections,
than by those which might tend to their
real Happiness.
The
Affections
of the avaricious Man, for instance, are all subordinate to his
Affection
for amassing temporal wealth: —he may
love
his wife and children, perhaps, when the
natural Affections
of the husband and parent do not interfere with his predominant passion for riches; but, whenever they do, the wretch loses all feeling for his own flesh and blood, and will eagerly
sacrifice to
MAMMON the peace of his family, and the happiness of his beloved children, even in the most material circumstance of their lives! And though such a wretch is sometimes influenced, indeed, by the more general Principle of
Self-love
(that is, whenever the consideration of
Self
happens to fall in competition with his duty to other men) yet even
Self-love itself
must yield to the
Love of Hoarding,
since it is the well-known characteristic of the Miser to withhold all the comforts of life,
even from
HIMSELF, in order that he may indulge his unreasonable
Affection
for amassing wealth; which
Depravity,
if not assiduously and carefully checked in time, will most surely increase with age, till it becomes inveterate and irresistable, and entirely
enslave
its wretched Votary!
It would be well for such men, if they deprived themselves only of
temporal
comforts; but, alas, AVARICE defeats SELF-LOVE, even in its most important concern,
Eternal Welfare.
Go to now ye Rich Men, weep and howl of your miseries that shall come upon you.
James v. 1. Compare this with what has already been mentioned in pages 23—30.
The
depraved Appetites
and
Affections
of Drunkards and Gluttons are also PRINCIPLES OF ACTION, which are frequently too powerful both for
Reason
and
Conscience,
and even for
Self-love!
for they too often lead Men with their eyes open to
certain destruction,
even though they are warned by the clearest Conviction and
Foreknowledge
concerning the inevitable consequences of their respective vices! Diseases, misery, and death may stare them in the face, and mark them, by their gradual approaches, as the unfortunate victims of these criminal indulgencies;—but how seldom do they deter! Nay, the certain expectation even of eternal damnation is not sufficient to reform them; and the learned Dr. Hales has produced an example
—
so bewitching is this infatuation, that though they cannot, most of them, but be sensible,
(says Dr. Hales)
that they are manifestly shortening their days, and just plunging themselves into their graves; yet will they not refrain. This an eminent Physician was so sensible of, from his own unhappy experience, that he said, when Men had got a habit of it, THEY WOULD GO ON, THOUGH THEY SAW HELL-FIRE BURNING BEFORE THEM.
A Friendly Admonition to Drinkers of Gin, Brandy,
&c By
Stephen Hales,
D.D. p. 14.
concerning Drunkards, to prove that they would
go on,
even though they should see
Hell-Fire
before their eyes!
The depraved
Affections
for every other vice, as
Lust, Gaming,
&c. are equally capable of supplanting the universal Principles of
Self-love
and
Common Sense;
and do frequently carry Men headlong to destruction, when it is impossible but that they must have foreseen the necessary consequences of their inordinate pursuits!
How carefully therefore ought Mankind to guard themselves against every
unlawful Affection;
and strenuously to resist them, whenever they occur, lest any undue
Affection
should become the
reigning Principle of Action,
and lead the poor
enslaved
mortal to eternal destruction!
From whence
(come)
wars and fightings among you?
(Come they)
not hence,
(EVEN) OF YOUR LUSTS, THAT WAR IN YOUR MEMBERS?
Ye
LUST,
and have not: ye
KILL,
and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye
ASK NOT.
Ye
ASK,
and receive not, because ye
ASK AMISS,
that ye may consume it upon your
LUSTS.
Ye
ADULTERERS
and
ADULTERESSES,
know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
James iv. 1—4.
But many actions which may seem apparently to have been occasioned merely by
corrupt Affections,
are nevertheless promoted by a more latent cause: I mean the
Inspiration
or
Influence of the spiritual Enemies
THE DEVIL is not merely a name, which those who would sap the foundations of religion pretend religion has contrived to frighten timorous minds; nor is danger then only to be apprehended from him, when he is supposed to assume a bodily form: it is superstitious weakness to be afraid of him only when imbodied, and to neglect the secret and unseen influence, which his continual converse with us, as an unimbodied spirit, may have upon us. He and his angels are not yet
cast into outer darkness,
tho' it be prepared for them; the mouth of the bottomless pit is not yet closed over them: they fell from GOD, not so much by a local descent, as by mental apostasy and dissimilitude; and they have still this visible world, once the seat of their happiness and glory, to range in: they are, therefore, stiled by the Apostle
spiritual wickednesses in high places;
and their leader is called,
The God of this World, The Prince of Darkness, The Prince of the power of the Air.
Uncloathed and unimbodied spirits may converse with us by secret illapses, without our perception of the medium through which they act: even
the wind bloweth where it listeth, and we hear the sound thereof; but cannot tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.
As there are Divine Illuminations communicated to the soul by THE GOOD SPIRIT OF TRUTH, so there are impure suggestions to the fancy made by The Evil Spirit of Darkness; and a watchful observer of his own heart, must have heard the frequent whispers both of The Voice of Wisdom and The Voice of Folly: he, from whose eyes a Heaven-born Faith in CHRIST has removed the scales of corruption, may easily discern The Calm Irradiations of Divine Light leading him to holiness and peace, and the foul and disturbed fires of Satan betraying him into sin and misery.
But tho' our Enemy be invisible, and, on that account, more able to execute his malignant designs against us; yet let us not so dread his power, as to decline the contest. While our minds are constantly turned to
That Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world;
while we desire it, and depend upon it, as The Light of Life; we shall always be able to know and to guard against the stratagems of the Apostate Spirit, whether he appears in his own naked deformity, or cloaths himself like
an Angel of Light.
A forced imitation will always fall short of the archetype: and tho' sin and falsehood may put on the mantle of Holiness and Truth; yet he, that is inwardly acquainted with
The Truth as it is in
JESUS, and ingenuously loves and pursues it, will be able to detect the imposture, and through the veil behold the blackness and malignity of the enemies to his peace.
"Evangelical Discourses,"
by the worthy and ingenious Mr. John Payne. Discourse V. p. 121—124.
and
Deceivers of Mankind,
which must also be reckoned amongst the various
Principles
or
Motives to Action;
because nothing can be more certain, than that these
incorporeal
MALIGNANT BEINGS take a most dangerous advantage (though unperceived) of all immoral carnal
Affections
in unguarded worldly Men; and do thereby lead the unwary and careless Liver into the most detestable
Slavery
The
Original or Fundamental Temptation
by which Satan draws men into the snare of
Servitude,
or bondage spiritual, is by enlarging or improving their desires, not of things simply evil, but of things either natural, or indifferent; that is, for their kind or quality not unlawful. These desires being improved unto the full, or unto some excessive measure, do, by long custom or continuance, require satisfaction by as strong a law of necessity (at least as importunately) as our natural desires of food or raiment do. The more excessive or exorbitant any desire is, the more impatient it is of repulse. It is as impossible for a greedy or
ravenous Appetite
to be satisfied with a spare or moderate diet, as for a moderate appetite to be satisfied without any food at all. A vain
Fantastick,
that takes proud cloaths to be
Part of Himself,
is as desirous of change of suits or costly apparel, as a poor man is of apparel itself, or of such stuff as is sufficient to keep out cold and wet. An
ambitious Spirit
is not so well content with an ordinary place or rank amongst
Freemen,
as an ingenuous mind will be with the estate or condition of an hired
Servant;
if no better by means fair and honest be likely to befal him.
A Man apt to over-prize himself,
and jealous withal of contempt, of wrong, or of gross abuse, is not so easily appeased with streams of blood, as a calm and gentle spirit is with an ingenuous acknowledgment of wrongs done, or with a courteous answer for wrongs suspected. The desire of wealth or worldly goods, after it hath once exceeded its lawful bounds, becomes as unsatisfiable as Hell. It enlargeth itself by often satisfaction, and of all earthly and mortal things, it knows no stint or period of growth, but grows strong and lusty by waxing old.
None of these desires
of meat, of drink, of apparel, of satisfaction for wrongs done or suspected, of honour, riches, or preferment, are
in themselves,
or for their quality,
unlawful.
Their
unlawfulness
consists only in their
excess.
But even the best of these or like desires, being improved beyond its measure, will, for its private satisfaction,
betray the Soul,
which gives it harbour, into Satan's hands. He doth not, he need not tempt any man to be a thief, a robber, or a murtherer.
For,
(as St. James tells us, Chap. 1.14.)
Every man is tempted
(to these and the like crimes)
by his own concupiscence,
and our
concupiscences and sensual desires are always increased by custom.
He that hath long inured himself to exceed either in quality of meat or drink, or to fare deliciously, desires only to satisfy his appetite, or to observe his delightful
custom:
so these may be satisfied, he hath no desire to be a
thief,
to be a
cheater,
or couzener. But
rather than his intemperate appetite should be unsatisfied,
he will take himself to some other part of
Satan's Service;
and adventure on
theft
or
murther,
or any other breach of God's commandments.
Dr. Jackson's Works, Vol. 3. p. 62.
, that they may dishonour the work of God, and prepare the deluded Mortal for eternal shame and punishment!
The amazing power and force of the
unlawful Affections,
which I have already described, cannot reasonably be accounted for, on any other Principles. We have no right, however, to murmur at God's permission of
spiritual Temptations
(whereby the Divine
Knowledge
of
Good
and
Evil,
presumptuously assumed by Man, is
proved
and
tried
) especially as the Almighty has mercifully been pleased to give us the most ample warning throughout the Scriptures of our continual danger; insomuch that the Christian Church hath generally made the necessary resistance
to Evil Spirits
an express Article of the Baptismal Vow, viz. To
renounce the Devil and all his Works.
Nevertheless, the unreasonable
Heresy
of the
Sadduces
(who were the
Deists
of ancient times) not only subsists to this day, but seems even to prevail in a most dangerous degree; for there are many people amongst us, who
profess
to
believe
the Scriptures, and yet affect to
disbelieve
the existence of those malignant spiritual Beings, commonly mentioned and signified under the name of
"the Devil,"
though the Scriptures afford the clearest testimony concerning them: but our modern
Sadduces
endeavour to explain all texts, wherein Devils or Evil Spirits are mentioned, as mere customary figures of speech expressive of some
Evil
Affections, and sometimes of mere bodily Disorders
According to them
(said Archbp. Sharp)
the Devil that is so often spoken of in the Scriptures, is nothing else but either a disease of the body, or a phantasm in the brain, or the wicked principles and inclinations of a man's heart. This is the doctrine of Mr. Hobbs, and his followers.
But there cannot a vainer conceit enter into a man's head than this is. By the very same logic that they can prove this, they may likewise prove, that all those men that are spoken of in the Old and New Testament, were not real persons, but qualities. For it is certain, that the Devil is in the Scripture as much represented as a person, a real subsisting being, distinct from God and from good angels, and from mankind; I say, he is as plainly thus represented, as any man or woman, that is there mentioned, is. And he, for instance, that will say, that when our Saviour was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, all this was but a transaction of his imagination, and that it was only his own fancy that presented to his eyes all the kingdoms of the world, and that it was only his own fancy that set him upon a pinacle of the temple, and would have had him fallen down and worshipped it; I say, he that would give such an account as this, of that matter, may with the same reason say, that Jesus himself was but a phantasm, an imagination, and that there was never such a real person in the world.
The Devil then has a real Being of his own, independent of us, or any other creature: and that Being is of the
spiritual or angelic nature.
As there are good spirits, and good angels, so there are evil spirits, and evil angels; and of this latter sort is the the Devil.
But then, secondly, When we are speaking of the Devil, we are not to understand any one particular being, or any one particular evil spirit, but the whole aggregate, or company of evil spirits, which inhabit round about us in the lower regions of the air. All these are in the scripture language, and in common speech, called by the name of the Devil, and sometimes in the plural number, by the name of Devils.
For the understanding this we are to know, that among that infinite and innumerable company of angels which God created in a happy and glorious condition, all of them did not continue in that primitive happiness: but several of them, by their wilful apostasy from God, forfeited that dignity and glory they were possessed of, and so depraved their natures, that they were incapable of dwelling any longer where they did before: but were, by the just vengeance of God, cast down into these lower regions of the air, where they are reserved by Providence, to the judgment and punishment of the great day.
This is the plain account that the Scriptures give us as to this matter. Thus St. Jude in the 6th verse of his Epistle:
The angels,
saith he,
that kept not their first estate, but left their own habitations, them hath God reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.
And just to the same purpose, and almost in the same words, doth St. Peter speak in the second chapter of his second Epistle, verse the fourth.
These fallen angels now thus thrust down from heaven, tho' they do yet in a great measure retain all the intellectual accomplishments of the angelical nature, such as reason, and memory, and knowledge, yet are they in their moral qualities quite contrary to all the good angels; and particularly as to this, that as the good angels are infinitely kind and benign, great lovers of God and of mankind, and most intirely disposed to do all good offices to them whatsoever; so the nature of those fallen angels is cruel and revengeful, full of hatred, and spite, and malice to God, and to his whole creation; and upon account of this, the Scripture hath given to them the name of Satan or Devil, which two words (as all that understand the learned languages know) signify neither more nor less than an adversary, or an accuser, or calumniator. The one being the Hebrew word for it, and the other the Greek word. And indeed it is, with reference to this enmity to mankind, that most of these names and characters, that they bear in Scripture, are bestowed upon them. Upon this account it is, that the Devil is called a murderer, a deceiver, a lyar, and the father of lyes, the destroyer, the old serpent, the great dragon, with sundry other such appellations. But then, tho' these names being put in the singular number, seem to denote some single evil spirit, that bears ill-will to mankind; yet we are always to remember, that they are to be expounded collectively, that is to say, to signify the whole body of these apostate spirits, of which there are a vast number: I say, the whole body of them; for that these lapsed angels are formed into a body politic, or government, or kingdom, is plainly enough intimated in the New Testament: for there we meet with the kingdom of darkness, in opposition to the kingdom of light; and there we meet with the prince of the Devils as the chief of them; who is likewise by St. Paul called,
The god of this world, and the prince of the power of the air.
Under whom also, as in other societies, there are many subordinate officers, as St. Paul seems to intimate in the 6th of the Ephesians; where, among the wicked spirits in heavenly places (that is, in the air, as Grotius, with the ancients, rightly expounds it) that he saith we wrestle against, he makes mention in the plural number of principalities and powers, and other rulers of the darkness of this world.
This is the Scripture account of these matters. I must confess, it may seem a very odd thing to some, that there should be in the world a society of such spirits, as are confessedly endowed with all the knowledge and subtilty of the angelical nature, and yet are so horribly degenerated in their morals, as to take pleasure in every thing that is naught, and even in ruining mankind, if they could. But that it is really possible that there should be such beings,
doth in some measure appear from the prodigious instances of the depravation of reasonable natures, that we sometimes see among ourselves;
there being men of excellent parts and endowments to be found, that do sometimes so far degenerate from human kind, that for all manner of wickedness and malice, they may be rather called
Devils than men.
But that it is more than possible, that there are a race of such spirits, as do malign the welfare of mankind, and take pleasure in making fools, and wretches, and
slaves of them,
is too evident, both from all the histories of past ages, and from the sad experience of some nations at this day; who (if we may credit the histories that are writ of them) do miserably
groan under the violences and tyranny of the Devil.
But however, no one that acknowledgeth the truth of the Scripture, can possibly doubt of this; for what I have now delivered, is so plainly affirmed in the Old and New Testament, that there is no evading of it. And indeed, this hypothesis of the being of evil spirits, and their ill will to mankind, and their concerning themselves continually to do us mischief,
is so interwoven with, and makes so considerable a part of the scheme of, our religion, as it is delivered by Christ and his Apostles, that we cannot deny the one, without much weakening, if not altogether overthrowing, the other.
Archbishop Sharp's Sermons, Vol. 3. p. 60—65.
. Howsoever plausible this kind of sophistry may appear, where applied to some few particular passages, yet there are others so clear in the literal expression, and so well guarded by the scope or intention of the subject delivered in the context, that it is impossible to wrest them from the obvious literal meaning, without perverting all the rules of grammar and common sense.
We are most carefully warned by the great Apostle to the Gentiles, to be upon our guard against these powers of darkness.
Put on the whole Armour of God,
(says he)
that ye may be able to stand
AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL.
For we wrestle not with
FLESH
and
BLOOD,
but against
PRINCIPALITIES,
against
POWERS,
against
THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD,
against spiritual Wickedness in high places.
Eph. vi. 11, 12.
In the same Epistle (iv. 27.) the Apostle still further warns the Ephesians against the SPIRITUAL ENEMY.
Neither
(says he)
give place, to the
DEVIL.
And, in his 2d Epistle to the Corinthians (ii. 10, 11.) he signifies his forgiveness to some offending person (probably meaning that fornicator whom he ordered in the 1st Epistle (Chap. 5.) to be excommunicated. He says,
for
your sakes
(forgave I it)
in the person (or in the sight or presence) of Christ;
lest
SATAN
should get an advantage over us: for we are not ignorant of his Devices.
The Apostle James also warns us upon the same points:
Resist the Devil
(says he)
and he will flee from you.
(iv. 7.) And the Apostle Peter is still more particular in his advice on this head—
Be sober, be vigilant;
(says he)
because your Adversary
THE DEVIL,
as a roaring Lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom
RESIST
steadfast in the faith,
&c.
1 Pet. v. 8.
The same Apostle also tells us, that
GOD
spared not
THE ANGELS
that sinned, but cast them
DOWN TO HELL,
and delivered them into
CHAINS OF DARKNESS,
to be reserved unto Judgment.
(2 Pet. ii. 4.)
The Word which is here translated "
down to
HELL," viz.
(
down to
Tartarus,
or
in Tartarus;
)
is derived from the Greek verb
,
Terreo,
to
dread,
or
be in Terror;
so that even if
Tartarus,
or
Hell,
does not signify a real
Place
But the place of torment, or
Hell,
after the day of Judgment, must necessarily signify a
real Place
of material
Fire,
because
all Men
are to rise again
with their Bodies
And
(though)
after my skin
(worms)
destroy this
(Body) yet
IN MY FLESH
shall I see God.
Job xix. 26.
, and consequently will be capable of
bodily
punishment; for it is not the
Soul alone,
but the
whole Body
of the unrepenting Sinner, that will be
cast into Hell
If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that
thy
WHOLE BODY
should be cast into Hell.
Matt. v. 20.30.
;
and as
Human Bodies
after the Resurrection will be
incorruptible
For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal
must
put
on IMMORTALITY.
1 Cor. xv. 53.
or
everlasting,
so, of course, they will be capable of
everlasting bodily
punishment in
the fire that never shall be quenched: where
THEIR WORM DIETH NOT,
and the Fire is not quenched.
(Mark ix. 45, 46.) and this FIRE (which must be a
material
Fire, as
Bodies
are to be punished in it) is
the very same
FIRE that is
prepared for the Devil and his Angels
Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting Fire
prepared for
the Devil
and
his Angels.
Matt. xxv. 41.
, and consequently we may be assured, that the latter, though
Spirits,
will also be rendered as capable, as the Human Bodies, of feeling the perpetual torment of that Fire. And lastly, it is not improbable, that even
this Terrestial Globe,
on which the worldly-minded seem to place their whole desire and happiness, may hereafter become that very
Hell,
or place of future punishment both for wicked
Men
and
Devils,
since it has so long been the seat both of
Human
and
Diabolical
wickedness; for Moses seems to intimate, in his prophetical song, that there is a
worldly Hell
—
a Fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn
UNTO THE LOWEST HELL
(
)
and shall consume the earth, with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
(Deut. xxxii. 22.) Commentators generally remark indeed, that HELL is mentioned here only as a
Type
or
Metaphor
of the most extreme
temporal
misery, or sufferings in
this life,
agreeable to the tenor of the subject carried on in the following verses, yet the having recourse to such a
Metaphor
certainty implies a real idea of
Hell,
and of the future destruction of the world BY FIRE; for otherwise the recital of these circumstances, even as
Metaphors
or
Types,
would be useless and unintelligible. It may be objected, indeed, that the present world will be
consumed,
or (agreeable to the literal expression of the Hebrew in this text) EAT
by the Fire;
which is also foretold by the Apostle Peter—that
the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up.
(2 Pet. iii. 10.)
So that the
Earthly
FIRE must, at length, CEASE for want of materials, if all
earthly things
are to
"be burned up,"
and to
"pass away"
Heaven
and
Earth
shall PASS AWAY, but my words shall NOT PASS AWAY.
Matt. xxiv. 35. See also chap. v. 18. and Luke xvi 17.
in fire and smoke! Whereas the
"Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels,"
is expressly declared to be an
everlasting Fire.
(Matth. xxv. 41.) Yet these last considerations will afford no just objection to what I have before suggested, because THE ALMIGHTY can surely render the Fire
perpetual,
by a continual accession of new materials, as the old are consumed (or by a variety of other means, which, like most other operations of Providence, are infinitely above human comprehension) agreeable to the intimation of the Prophet Isaiah, tho' the same is also given as a
Metaphor
of extreme temporal sufferings—viz.
and the
STREAMS
thereof shall be turned into
PITCH,
and the
DUST
thereof into
BRIMSTONE,
and the
LAND
thereof shall become
BURNING PITCH.
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever,
&c. Isaiah xxxiv. 9, 10.
, it signifies, at least, an actual
State
or
Condition
of extreme
Terror
and
horrible Darkness,
in which even SPIRITS may be involved, or (as it were)
bound;
for the Apostle, by the idea of
Darkness
here expressed, may perhaps allude to a total
Exclusion
from the
Light, Comfort,
and
Influence
of the
Divine Grace,
or an entire Withdrawing of the glorious CREATOR'S
Light
and
Spirit,
by which
Exclusion
or
Withdrawing,
the wilful
Reprobacy
of these rebellious
Angels
might, probably, have been fixed upon them, as an indelible stain of infamy, to
mark them for future punishment,
and to exclude them from all hope of escaping the Divine Justice! So that those Spiritual Beings, which once were
glorious
in their Nature (being created
"Angels of Light"
) have rendered themselves most
inglorious
and
detestable,
by misusing that Liberty, in which the benevolent Creator had placed them; for they
kept not their first Estate
And the Angels, which
KEPT NOT THEIR FIRST ESTATE,
but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting Chains under Darkness unto the Great Day.
Jude 6.
, but
wickedly withdrew themselves from
"their own Habitation,"
and have thereby been the wilful Authors of their own disgraceful and depraved Nature (the Diabolical Disposition); which is founded only in their own voluntary wickedness;
for
GOD IS NOT
(the Author)
OF CONFUSION
God hath declared, indeed, by his Prophet Isaiah (c. xlv. 7.)
I FORM
the Light, and
CREATE DARKNESS:
I make Peace, and
CREATE EVIL.
I the
LORD DO ALL THESE
(Things).
But
the latter part of this sentence
(says the learned Dr. Louth, Prebend of Winchester in 1714)
explains the former:
LIGHT
being often put for Happiness, and
DARKNESS
for Adversity. The sense is
(continues the Doctor)
that all the vicissitudes of good or ill success are to be ascribed to Providence: God sets up one kingdom, that of
CYRUS,
and pulls down another, the
BABYLONIAN
monarchy.
(Commentary on Isaiah, p. 367.) To the same effect is the Paraphrase of the learned DEODATI, viz.
I am the cause of all Goodness and Prosperity through my
BENIGNITY:
as likewise by my
JUSTICE
I am Author of afflictions, punishments,
and
calamities.
And indeed Commentators in general agree, that the EVIL here to be understood is not the EVIL of
Sins
and
Vices,
(
modo hic excludas
PECCATA
et
VITIA,
quae sunt ex homine,
says the learned Vitringa) but the EVIL of
Afflictions, Sicknesses, subjection to foreign enemies,
and all other
external
or
bodily Sufferings,
whereby mankind are either
proved
and
tryed,
that they may thereby set forth due examples of
Faith
and
Patience
to others, or else are
punished
and
chastised
according to the just dispensation of GOD'S Providence in the government of the world. Nevertheless, GOD both
proves
and
punishes
mankind, even by
internal Evil:
for as the supreme direction and controul of all things whatsoever belong absolutely to GOD ALONE, he is said in Scripture to DO, what he only PERMITS upon
just
occasions
As when men wilfully forsake GOD's
Laws
and
Religion,
preferring temporal gratifications to
Justice, Righteousness,
and
Truth!
Such a gross abuse of the
natural Knowledge of Good and Evil
is presumptuous
Sin;
and "
he that committeth
SIN
is of the
DEVIL. (1 John iii. 8.) But if God permits men to be ensnared by the delusions of the DEVIL
after the working of
SATAN,
with all power,
and
signs,
and
lying wonders,
and
with all
DECEIVABLENESS
of unrighteousness in them that perish
—a plain reason is assigned for such permission—
because they received not the love of the
TRUTH,
that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
BELIEVE A LYE!
that they all might be damned
(or judged)
who believed not the
TRUTH,
but had pleasure in UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
(2 Thess. ii 9—12.)
, by withdrawing his restraining Grace from man, and
giving him up
entirely to the bent of his own inclination
GOD
also
GAVE THEM UP
to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,
&c. And again—GOD GAVE THEM UP
unto vile affections.
And again
GOD GAVE THEM OVER
to a reprobate mind,
&c. For all which plain reasons are given, shewing that the
wilful wickedness
of man is the one foundation or first cause of God's deserting, or thus GIVING THEM UP
so that they are without excuse:
(says the Apostle Paul)
Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
&c. WHEREFORE GOD
also
GAVE THEM UP
to uncleanness through the lusts of their
OWN HEARTS,
&c. (See Romans i. 20—32.) and even God's own servants may sometimes be deserted or left to themselves for a time, as King Hezekiah was upon a particular occasion, when the ambassadors came to him from Babylon
to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land;
for then
GOD LEFT HIM,
to try him, that he might know all
(
that
was)
in his heart.
2 Chron. xxiii. 31. That is (according to the Dutch annotation)
that God might make known to
HISKIA,
and to all the Church, what was in his heart. For God made tryal of him for a while by the forementioned desertion, that he might know himself, and out of the sense and feeling of his own weakness and impotency, might have cause to
HUMBLE HIMSELF;
and that all believers beholding their own weakness and infirmity in him, might work out their own salvation with fear and trembling
And accordingly we road, that
HEZEKIAH HUMBLED HIMSELF
for the pride of his heart, both he, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.
2 Chron. xxxii. 26.
This example affords a clear illustration of the true sense in which God may be said to
"tempt,"
or to
"lead into temptation"
viz. GOD LEFT HIM,
to try him,
" &c.
, or by ceasing to restrain the power of spiritual deceivers
When the Divine vengeance and retribution was to be poured upon the wicked King
Ahab,
he was GIVEN UP to the delusion of wicked spirits—
And the Lord said, Who shall persuade
AHAB,
that he may
GO UP AND FALL
at Ramoth Gilead? &c. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the
LORD,
and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a
LYING SPIRIT IN THE MOUTH OF ALL HIS PROPHETS.
And he said, Thou shalt persuade and prevail also: go forth and do so.
Wherefore the true Prophet Micaiah told Ahab—
Behold the
LORD
hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy Prophets,
&c. (1 Kings xxii. 20—23.) Here the effects of God's
permission
is plainly considered as
the act
of God; for the spirit, being rendered free to act agreeable to its own wicked principles upon the persons mentioned,
effected
the purpose of the
Divine Justice
and
Retribution
upon
Ahab.
Thus the
very Devils
are used as instruments to fulfil the eternal
Justice
and
Judgment
of the Almighty upon the
unrighteous;
and in such cases may properly be said to become the
"Principles of Action"
in Man!
. Hence arises the necessity of our daily prayer—
Lead us not into
TEMPTATION,
but deliver us from
EVIL,
notwithstanding that we are assured by the Apostle James, that GOD "TEMPTETH NONE" (
)
but
EVERY MAN
is tempted when he is drawn away of his
OWN LUST, and enticed.
Then
(says he)
when
LUST
hath conceived, it bringeth forth
SIN: and SIN,
when it is finished, bringeth forth
DEATH.
(Jam. i. 13—15.) This latter text teaches us how we are to comprehend and limit such expressions as that above quoted from the Lord's Prayer.
, BUT OF PEACE.
(1 Cor. xiv. 33.)
God cannot be tempted with Evil, neither tempteth he any Man,
or rather,
he tempteth
NONE, (
)
no Beings whatsoever,
(James i. 13.) and—
Out of the Mouth of the Most High proceedeth not
EVIL
and
GOOD?
(Lam. iii. 38.) so that as
Iniquity
can have no
Fellowship
GOD
is Light, and in him is
NO DARKNESS
at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
DARKNESS,
we lye, and do not the Truth: but if we walk in the
LIGHT,
as he is in the
LIGHT,
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
JESUS CHRIST
his Son cleanseth us from all Sin.
1 John i. 5—7.
with GOD, these Apostate Spirits have, of course, been totally excluded from every Ray of the
Divine
LIGHT; whereby, instead of continuing
Angels of Light,
as at first
created,
they are become totally
dark,
and
opposite in every Principle
to the LIGHT,
Goodness,
and
Mercy
of THE ALMIGHTY; so that they may now be called, with propriety, ANGELS of DARKNESS; for tho' they sometimes deceitfully assume the opposite character
FOR SATAN HIMSELF is transformed into AN ANGEL OF LIGHT.
2 Cor. xi. 14.
, in order to deceive the unwary, yet their
Power
is only of
Darkness
The Apostle Paul apparently means these wicked Angels or Spirits, when he warns us
against
POWERS,
against the
RULERS
of the
DARKNESS
of this world.
Ephes. vi. 12.
And elsewhere they are spoken of collectively, as "THE POWER OF DARKNESS."
Giving thanks unto the
FATHER
(says the same Apostle)
which hath made us to be partakers of the
inheritance of the Saints in
LIGHT: who hath delivered us from THE POWER OF DARKNESS, and hath translated
(us)
into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Col. i. 12, 14.
—
"This is your hour"
(said our Lord to the chief priests and elders of the Jews who came to apprehend him)
and
THE POWER OF DARKNESS." Luke xxii. 53.
The Power of Death
hath also been attributed to the same malignant Spirits; for Christ took upon himself our Nature,
Flesh
and
Blood
—
that through
DEATH he might
destroy him that had
THE POWER OF DEATH,
that is,
THE DEVIL, and
deliver them, who, through fear of
DEATH, were all their life-time
subject to
BONDAGE.
Heb. ii. 14, 15.
, being
bound
(as it were) in the
dark Chains
2 Pet. ii. 4.
of their own
Iniquity
or
Reprobacy
—in
the "everlasting Chains"
of horrible
Darkness
Jude 6.
, whereby they are effectually
"reserved for Judgment,"
without being deprived of that activity, in exercising the malignity of their fixed reprobate
Principles,
and proneness to do
Evil,
which the Scriptures in many other passages attribute to them. For without some such supposition, how shall we reconcile the above-mentioned text of the Apostle Peter, as also that which is parallel to it in the Epistle of Jude, (wherein the fallen Angels are represented as bound
in
everlasting Chains under Darkness
unto the Judgment of the Great Day)
And the Angels, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved
in everlasting Chains under
DARKNESS, unto the Judgment of the Great Day.
Jude 6.
with those other texts before quoted from the Apostles
Paul, James,
and
Peter,
concerning the
Activity
and
Vigilance
of Diabolical Spirits.
The Apostle Paul, as I before remarked, warns us of
the Wiles of the
DEVIL,
(by which word, in the singular number, is commonly understood the Prince
THE PRINCE of the Power of the Air, THE SPIRIT that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Eph. ii. 2.
Now shall
the Prince of this world
be cast out.
John xii. 31.
—Beelzebub the
PRINCE
of the Devils.
Matt. xii. 24—27.
, or Chief of
the fallen Angels
), and tells, that
we wrestle not against
FLESH AND BLOOD,
but against
PRINCIPALITIES,
against
POWERS,
against the Rulers of the
DARKNESS
of this World,
&c.
Eph. vi. 11, 12.) being a clear declaration of the
Agency
and
Activity
of these invisible Spiritual Beings.
Again, the Apostle
James
tells us, to
resist the
DEVIL,
and he will
FLEE
from us;
which excludes every idea of his being actually
bound
in chains of confinement. And the Apostle
Peter
represents him as
a roaring Lion, that
WALKETH ABOUT,
seeking whom he may devour;
which absolutely forbids the belief of
a local confinement
in any one place: so that
the Chains
of
Darkness in Tartarus
may very well express such a
total Darkness
of Apostacy and absolute Reprobation, as I have supposed, wherein the disobedient Angels are
bound
and
reserved
for the day of Vengeance; for
THE EVERLASTING FIRE
Having in a former note, at p. 131, made some remarks concerning the probability that the present
Terrestrial Globe
(on which the greater part of mankind seem to place their whole interest and desire) will hereafter become the region of EVERLASTING FIRE, or
Hell,
I have since had the satisfaction to find, on a further examination of that point, that the same opinion hath been long ago decisively asserted by my own grandfather, in a sermon concerning
"the manner of the day of judgment;"
and though I could wish my readers to peruse the whole sermon, yet I must beg leave to lay before them a short extract from it, which is much to my present purpose.—
The second particular
(says he)
which the Scriptures acquaint us with concerning the general judgment, is this; that
the earth shall then be set on fire,
and that in the most terrible manner imaginable. Whether this general conflagration will happen upon Christ's coming to judgment, or rather will be the last transaction of the judgment, the Scripture doth not declare. But that there shall be such a conflagration, and that THIS FIRE SHALL BE FOR THE EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT BOTH OF THE DEVIL AND WICKED MEN, WHO WILL ALL BE TUMBLED DOWN INTO THESE LOWER REGIONS, WHICH WILL THEN BE A PERFECT LAKE OR SEA OF FIRE (as the Scripture expresseth it, Rev. xix. 20.) is beyond all doubt. To this purpose let us observe what the Apostle says,
The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, to take vengeance of them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 Thess. i. 7.
But more expresly this conflagration of the world is taught us in the second Epistle of St. Peter, Chap. iii. 6, 7. where the Apostle tells us, that
as the world which was of old perished
by an universal deluge of
water, so the heavens and the earth which are now, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
From whence it is plain, that at the day of judgment this world shall be set on fire, and that fire shall be for the punishment of ungodly men. Furthermore, in the verses following, he adds to the same purpose,
The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up,
ver. 10.
If any one be at a loss to conceive how the heavens should be set on fire as well as the earth, as St. Peter three times in this chapter affirms they shall be; the difficulty will be removed by considering that the heavens here spoken of, are not those heavens in which stars are, (in which signification we commonly use that word) but the sublunary heavens, viz. those lower regions of the air, wherein are the clouds and vapours and other meteors, which are here called the elements, and in which sense the heavens are frequently taken in holy Scripture. Now these heavens, together with all that is in them, shall at that day pass away with a crackling noise of fire, and the earth, and all the things in it, shall be put in flames. David tells us, that
upon the wicked God shall rain fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup,
Psalm xi. 6. And our Saviour intimates the same, when he tells us, as
in the day when Lot went out of Sodom, it it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all; so shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed,
Luke xvii. 29, 30.
And now who can express the horror and confusion that shall be at that day? Who can fancy so sad and dismal a face of things, as shall then be all the world over? Could we imagine ourselves to be present, when the whole frame of nature is upon the point of dissolution, and the whole world in flames about our ears, with what terror and amazement should we be filled? How would our hearts fail us,
and our joints be loosed, and our knees smite against each other,
Dan. v. 6. unless we were sure we were in the number of those who should be wafted up to meet the bridegroom with comfort? Oh, what will then become of all impenitent sinners! What will become of all worldly, sensual, ambitious, voluptuous men, who set up their rest in this world, and mind nothing but their ease, and the gratification of their appetites, or the pursuit of their secular interests! When they shall see all that they loved, all that they admired, all that they delighted in, gone, irrecoverably gone in a moment! Lastly, what will become of all those bold profane persons, who entertained all discourses of a future judgment only with scoffs and derision! Oh, how will they find themselves abused, and see, to their great amazement, what they would never before believe, that
there is a reward for the righteous, that there is indeed a God that judgeth the earth!
Ps. lviii. 11. Archbishop Sharp's Sermons, Vol. 6. p. 184—186. 3d. Edit.
prepared for the
DEVIL
and
HIS ANGELS;
(Matt. xxv. 41.)
being marked and distinguished from
other Spirits
by their confirmed propensity to
Evil,
and their continual opposition to
every good Principle;
which renders their final condemnation to that
"everlasting Fire"
inevitable; for
"the
DEVILS
also believe and tremble:"
(James ii. 19.) by which, it seems, they
foreknow
their own certain condemnation, like those abandoned.
Human Sinners,
who
sin
WILFULLY
after
(they)
have received
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH;
to whom
there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sins, but a certain fearful
LOOKING FOR
of Judgment and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adversaries.
Heb. x. 26, 27.
This clear description of
Human Reprobacy
opens to us a very probable idea of the
Angelic Reprobacy,
or the mode whereby the
Nature of Devils
was first occasioned; and at the same time proves, that
Men
are equally liable to fall into the same lamentable Degeneracy and horrible Apostacy from God, and thereby may become a sort of
Devils
Thus the reprobate Judas was mentioned, even by our Lord himself, (who knew the wilful wickedness of his avaricious heart, John vi. 64.
For JESUS
knew,
from the beginning, who they were that believed not, and who should betray him,
John vi. 64.
and that he was
a thief,
John xii. 6.) was mentioned, I say, in express terms, as being A DEVIL—"
Have not I chosen you twelve
(said our Lord to his disciples) "
and one of you is
A DEVIL." John vi. 70. The MAN, indeed, was the
work
of the benevolent Creator, but he became A DEVIL by the operation of his
own mind,
assisted by the
spiritual Influence
of SATAN, whom he neglected to
resist
(thus wilfully abusing the divine hereditary
Knowledge of Good and Evil
within himself) and of course partook of the
Diabolical Nature;
which will, most certainly, be the unhappy case of
every other Man,
who, in like manner, neglects that necessary
Resistance
to SATAN, and his own predominant passions, whereby he is rendered a
Slave
to habitual
Sin!
, but indeed, of a very base and inferior order: for though they may be EQUAL, perhaps, IN WICKEDNESS (when the restraining Power of
Conscience,
or the
Divine Knowledge of Good and Evil,
is entirely effaced, or withdrawn from them) yet they must remain as much INFERIOR IN POWER and ABILITIES, as
Human Nature
is
inferior
to the created Part of
Devils,
I mean the
Angelic Nature;
for the Scriptures inform us, that ANGELS
are
GREATER
in Power and Might;
(2 Pet. ii. 11.)
and consequently must retain a GREATER proportion of both, (i. e.
Power
and
Might
) even in their
fallen State,
than
reprobate Men.
The
Devils,
or
Satanical Spirits,
are constantly represented in the Scriptures to be as diametrically opposite in their Nature to the infinite Goodness of GOD, as
Darkness
is to Light
GOD
is
LIGHT,
and in him is no
DARKNESS
at all.
1 John i. 5.
; as
Falsehood
Ye are of your Father the
DEVIL, &c.
When he speaketh a
LYE,
he speaketh of
HIS OWN:
for he is
a LYAR,
and the Father of it.
John viii. 44.
is
to Truth
I am the Way, and the
TRUTH,
and the Life.
John xiv. 6.
; as implacable and unprovoked
Malice
He
(the Devil)
was a MURDERER
from the beginning,
and abode not in
the Truth,
because there is
no Truth
in him.
John viii. 44.
is to everlasting
Mercy
and
Love
GOD is
Love.
1 John iv. 8.
For the
LORD (Jehovah)
is good: his
MERCY IS EVERLASTING,
and his
TRUTH
endureth to all generations.
Psa. c. 5.
! And, therefore, as they were really
"Angels"
in
"their first Estate,"
so entire a change in their very nature may fairly be accounted as "
Chains of Darkness"—of horrible Darkness!
wherewith they are
bound,
as it were, and reserved for eternal Judgment, without hindrance or impediment to their natural activity in promoting
Evil,
as far as God is pleased to permit, in order to prove the Faith of Mankind; as in the severe trials of Job's patience, and also in the temptation even of our Lord himself, which cannot be otherwise understood than in a literal sense; for CHRIST in
his Human Nature,
not only overcame those
extraordinary
exertions of the Devil's power, related by the Apostle Matthew (Chap. 4.) and the Evangelists Mark (Chap. 1.) and Luke (Chap. 4.) but was also
in all points tempted like as we are
(yet)
without Sin.
Heb. iv. 15.
And our Lord also declared the earnest wish and activity of the Spiritual Enemy to overcome the Faith of the Apostle Peter—
Simon, Simon
(said our Lord)
Behold,
SATAN HATH DESIRED
(to have)
YOU,
that
HE MAY SIFT (you) AS WHEAT:
but I have prayed for thee, that thy Faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
Luke xxii. 31, 32.
This is a clear Revelation that
Human Nature
is really liable to the impulse and temptations of
wicked Spirits
The above remarks are principally intended for the use of those persons who disbelieve the
Reality of Spiritual Influence;
but there are some people (and worthy people too) who are apt to fall into
a contrary Extreme
concerning
Spiritual
Adversaries: I mean those persons, who, through bodily disorders, are subject to
low Spirits and religious Melancholy,
whereby they are led to conceive,
either that
GOD
has forsaken them, and left them to themselves, or that it is the
DEVIL
that is always busy about them, and raiseth those tumults and disturbances in their minds.
And as this unhappy case of RELIGIOUS MELANCHOLY may be esteemed an
Affection of the Mind,
as well as
of the Body,
it certainly relates to my present subject, and seems worthy of as much notice in this tract, as most other
Affections of the Human Mind
which I have mentioned; but I am precluded from offering any remarks of my own upon it, by the writings of my grandfather, who has already treated this case so fully, so judiciously, and so satisfactorily for the comfort of such persons as may happen to want advice thereupon, that it would be superfluous to add any thing more than a reference to those parts of his works where the subject is examined and discussed. See Archbishop Sharp's Sermons, Vol. 3. Serm. 2. p. 21. and indeed all the Sermons collected in that Volume are on such points as are most liable to perplex and disturb the minds of persons subject to
low Spirits
and
religious Melancholy;
and the several difficulties are explained in such easy and natural arguments, as cannot fail to instruct and remove the doubts of every attentive reader.
, which will certainly prevail over us, and
become the Principles of Action,
if we are not careful and vigilant to
resist
them as we ought: for Christ did not forbid the Tempter from using his endeavours against
Peter,
but only prayed, that THE FAITH
of the Apostle
should not
fail;
whereby he has taught us, that a sound and stedfast FAITH (for which WE ALSO
are bound to pray
) will sufficiently enable us to resist the POWERS OF DARKNESS.
But when Men disbelieve the very existence of those active
Spiritual Adversaries,
how should they be upon their guard to resist their influence? For
Unbelief
in the existence of
Spiritual Beings
will certainly be promoted, even by the DEVILS
themselves,
in all places whereever they can gain advantage by it, and especially wherever Scepticism, Deism, and the groundless notions of
the Sadducees,
are openly set up in opposition to the clear testimonies of revealed Religion, and the true Faith: for in all such places, it is obvious, that the interest of
Satan
's empire will be promoted by a disbelief of his existence; and consequently, that the
Angels of Darkness
will, in such places, most carefully abstain from every outward and visible demonstration of their agency and power among Men. Whereas at other times, and in other places, where ignorance of a contrary nature has prevailed, and Men have been subjected to
superstitious
terrors, by neglecting the only proper object of their confidence, in such places, I say, the
Agency
and Interference of DEMONS with
Mankind
have ever been notorious and manifest; of which the histories of all Heathen nations bear ample testimony.
The uniformity of
Demon Worship,
in all parts of the world, before the preaching of the Gospel, affords also a clear proof of the worldly
Empire of Satan;
for though Devils were worshipped under various names, and various figures, yet there was a constant uniformity in all such particular points as tended most to
the Destruction of Mankind,
or to lead Men to the most direct opposition to the revealed Laws of God, whereby the universal Author or Promoter of such baneful devices was clearly discoverable; the same being for the most part contrary to the
Nature of Man,
and such, therefore, as could not
naturally
proceed from
Man
alone.
Hence we may plainly account for the universal adoption of
Human Sacrifices
amongst
all Heathen Nations!
Some of these deluded people withheld not even their own offspring from their
Spiritual Deceiver;
the spilling of
Human Blood
being most grateful to that
Being,
who "
was a
MURDERER
from the beginning
"
Ye are of your Father the Devil, and the lusts of your Father ye will do:
He was a Murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the Truth, because there is no Truth in him. When he speaketh a Lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a Liar, and the Father of it.
John viii. 44.
. Hence we may also account for
the Cuttings in the Flesh for the dead,
and the marking or
tattooing
of the skin, which still prevails amongst the African and American nations, and the present uninformed Islanders of the South Seas, as much as it formerly did amongst the Picts, and other more ancient Heathens; for their
marks in the flesh
were certainly intended by the Spiritual Deceiver, as a sort of
Dedication to himself
I have been informed by an Englishman, who lived many years amongst the Indians in the internal parts of North America, very far to the westward, (and who is himself
tatooed
with all the marks of distinction common to the nations with whom he has had any connections) that he once saw a party of Indians (who had taken some prisoners in war) tatoo a couple of their unfortunate captives with the most curious marks they could devise, and afterwards hang them up upon a tree, as a sacrifice to that
infernal Being
which they worshipped, saying at the same time in their language, that they hoped those
two fine Men
(viz. finely tatooed) whom they presented, would be acceptable to him; for though the Indians in general acknowledge that there is a
God,
whom they call the
Great and Good Spirit,
yet, through the delusions of the Devil, they think it more profitable to worship
Evil Spirits
by way of propitiation, lest they should hurt them.
Outre l'idée du premier Estre qu'ont les Sauvages,
(says Father Lafitau, speaking of the American Savages)
et qu'ils confondent avec le Soleil, ils reconnoissent encore plusieurs Esprits ou Genies d'un Ordre inferieur, que les Iroquois nomment
Hondatkon-Sona,
c'est-à-dire,
Esprits de toutes Sortes.
Le nombre n'en est point determiné, leur imagination leur en fait voir dans toutes les choses naturelles, mais encore plus dans celles, dont les ressorts leur sont inconnus, qui sont extraordinaires, et qui ont quelque air de nouveauté. Quoiquils leur donnent en general le nom d'Esprit,
d'Okki,
ou de
Manitou,
qui leur sont des noms communs avec le premier Estre, ils ne les confondent pourtant jamais avec cet Estre superieur, et ne leur donnent jamais certains noms particuliers, qui le designent lui seul, tel que sont les noms
Chemiin, Areskoui.
Ces Esprits sont tous des Genies subalternes; ils reconnoissent même dans la plûpart
un charactere mauvais, plus porté à faire du mal que du bien;
ils ne laissent pas d'en être les Esclaves, ET DE LES HONORER PLUS QUE LE GRAND ESPRIT, qui de sa nature est BON, mais ils les honorent par un effet de cette crainte servile, qui a le plus contribué à maintenir la superstition et l'idolatrie, que l'Ecriture Sainte appelle pour cette raison
une Servitude;
ainsi ils sont veritablement idolatres.
Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, Tom. 1. p. 145, 146.
, and as an affront to the Divine Creator, who formed Man without any such unnatural distinctions, and expressly commanded in his revealed Law.—
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead,
(or rather FOR THE SOUL)
nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord
(that is, JEHOVAH,
the only eternal
BEING.) Levit. xix. 28.
And as the
"forbidding to marry"
is declared in Scripture to be
a Doctrine of Devils
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to SEDUCING SPIRITS, and DOCTRINES OF DEVILS; speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
FORBIDDING TO MARRY
(and commanding)
TO ABSTAIN FROM MEATS, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1 Tim. iv. 1—3.
; so we accordingly find, that amongst the ancient Heathens there was an order of Nuns or Priestesses (called
Vestal
Virgins) that were bound,
contrary to Nature,
in vows of CELIBACY; and amongst the
Heathen
Tartars, Chinese, and other idolaters, even to this day
The celebrated Venetian
Father
MARK PAUL, in the account of his Travels through the East, speaking of the territories of the
Great Cham of Tartary,
informs us,
that there are
MANY MONKS
appointed to the worship of idols, who have a great
MONASTERY. Inveniuntur in Regione illa PLURIMI MONACHI, idolorum cultui deputati: habent hi MONASTERIUM quoddam magnum, &c. Novus Orbis Regionum ac Insularum, &c. p. 360. See also p. 385 of the Pagan
Monks
and
Monastery
at the city
Caigui.
Mr. Isbrants Ides, who was
Envoy Extraordinary
from their Czarian Majesties John and Peter Alexowitz, in 1692, to the Court of
China,
speaking of the town of
Jekutskoi,
on the river
Angara,
which rises from the lake of
Bakal,
says,
On one side of this town, likewise, there stands a
FINE MONASTERY,
or
CONVENT,
on that particular spot where the river
JAKUT,
from whence it derives its name, empties its waters into the
ANGARA.
Extract from Mr.
Isbrants Ides
Travels, inserted in the English edition of Mons.
Le Brun
's Travels, p. 165.—In the following page mention is made of the
Mongulian Devotees;
and he describes a
Mongulian
NUN, as well as a LAMA or
Priest
Whilst the envoy resided in this place, he met with a Taischa, that is to say, a Mongulian, or Mogulian lord, who had th
own himself under the shelter and protection of the Czar of Moscovy, and had been for some time a proselyte to the Christian faith, and received a member of the Greek church.
This young nobleman had a sister, who was a
Mongulian nun,
and was greatly inclined to become a Christian c
nvert, a
well as her brother. In conversation upon that serious and important topic, she would ingenuously acknowledge, that the God in whom the Christians put their trust and confidence, must of necessity, in her opinion, be an omnipotent God indeed; since he had expelled their Mongulian deity out of paradise; but she was firmly persuaded, that a time would come, when he should be restored,
(
a proof this that the
MONGULIAN NUNS are Pagans) "and never be subject to the like disgrace again.
When any of these NUNS, or MONGULIAN DEVOTEES enter into a room, they never salute any person present whomsoever, tho' 'tis a customary thing with their ladies, who live under no restraint; since their order is too strict to approve of such formal a
ts of complaisance. IN HER HAND SHE HELD A STRING OF BEADS, which she coun
ed over and over with her fingers; and was attended by a MONGULIAN PRIEST, whom they cal
ed
a Lama,
WHO HELD IN HIS HAND LIKEWISE A STRING OF BEADS, which he kept constantly counting with her, and at the same time visibly moved his lips, like one deeply engaged in private contemplation, AS IS CUSTOMARY AMONGST THE MONGULIANS, AS WELL AS THE CALMUCS. This priest, by the incessant practice of this branch of devotion, had wore his thumb, his nail, and the joints of his fingers to that degree, that he had perfectly lost the sense of all feeling in them.
Le Brun's Travels, p 166.
; from whence it is natural to conclude, that the monastery or convent beforementioned belonged to one or the other of these orders. They both kept their account of their vain repetitions and numerous prayers, by
Strings of Beads,
like our
Popish Christians
In the account of the
Dutch Embassy
to the Great Cham of Tartary (Ann. 1655 to 1657) where the author describes the idolatrous Chinese priests, (pars ultima, p. 54,) it appears that some of them use
Be
ds,
and are also, in many other respects, like
the Romish Priests,
as that they
fill their chapels with statues;
they
abstain from flesh, but not all;
however,
such crimes
(says the author, meaning such crim
s as the eating of flesh)
are easily pardoned for money;
and, like them,
they boast that the souls of the dam
ed are redeemed from hell by their prayers:
some live by begging, others live in caves and mountains, but
the greatest part in
MONASTERIES
Some of them have
a long
black robe
and
square cap,
and walk with a
Pater-nefter
or
Rosary,
(that is, a string of beads) in their hands. The women or NUNS have
separate monasteries,
shave their hair, and REJECT MARRIAGE; and the priests of the sect of
Lauzu
profess
celibacy, and live in monasteries.
Caeremonias fere instar Romanensium habent. Horas suas plane more Gregoriano cantillando recitant. Pagodas suos et SACELLA STATUIS REPLENT.
—
CARNIBUS, ET QUAE VIVUNT, ABSTINENT, sed non omne
, et talia peccata sacile argento condonant, jactantque damnatorum animas suis se precibus ab inferis redimere p
sse.
Capillos continue abradunt Alii mendicando vagantur, alii in speluncis et montibus vivunt;
maxima pars vitam in
COENOBIIS SACELLORUM agunt,
&c.—Vestitus eorum dispar, ut ex quatuor iconibus (
referring to the picture in p.
65.) videri potest. Aliqui, ut primus ad laevam (
on the left side of the plate
) longa nigra toga, quadrato pileo, PATER NOSTER, aut ROSARIUM MANU TENENTES, incedunt.—Habent foeminae separata monasteria, quae et ipsae capillos radunt, CONJUGIUM REPUDIANT et sinice
Nicu
vocantur. Tertiae Sectae
Lauzu
quidam
Confutii
coaetaneus auctor, &c. (of whose followers, he says, in the next sentence) HI IN COENOBIIS CAELIBESVIVUNT, &c. pars ultima, p. 54, 55. And lest the testimony of my Dutch author (who is nevertheless very respectable) should be called in question by any partial bigot of the Romish church, I must beg leave to add a similar testimony even of a learned Jesuit
(Athanasius Kircher)
who, in his
China Illustrata,
p. 154, makes particular mention of a MONASTERY of idolatrous
Chinese
Priests, or
Bonzes
at the city of
Camsan;
and in his account of the Japanese idols, p. 139, he informs us, that the Japanese believe that their idol
Amida
requires nothing of them to incline him to save them, except a FREQUENT REPETITION of the word,
Namu, Amida, Buth,
that is,
"Happy Amida, save us"
(Compare this with the vain repetitions of the
Popish Rosary.
) And when they repeat these words, they also use their
Rosaries,
or
Strings of Prayer Beads,
which the
Japanese
(says he)
have in common with the Christians,
and
which are commonly painted in the hands of their idols, as you see
(says he)
in the annexed picture, which shews the representation of
AMIDA,
and every way corresponds with the figure of
PUSSA,
the goddess of the
CHINESE.—Illos huic idolo tantum tribuere, ut ad salvandum se nihil aliud requiri credant, nisi
frequentem horum verborum repetitionem:
NAMU, AMIDA, BUTH, hoc est,
Felix Amida, salva nos.
Quae verba identidem
repetunt, Rosaria sua,
seu coronas e
globuiis precatoriis
confectas gerunt, quas
Japo
communes habent cum
Christianis,
et
in idolorum manibus fere depinguntur,
uti h
c imagi
e adjuncta vides, quae imaginem
Amidae,
refert, et
Pussae Sinarum
Deastrae undequaque respondet ut postea videbitur. See the plate at p. 154, where
Pussa
is represented holding a
Rosary
in one of her many hands. And in the picture of the Great
Lama,
the same author represents him holding a
String of Beads
in his right hand, p. 73: and the priest which attends the idol
Menipe
is represented in the plate at p 131 and 145, with a string of
Prayer Beads
hanging from his girdle after
the Popish Fashion.
; and though we have no account that the ancient Heathen used BEADS, yet they were certainly equally distinguished by their numerous prayers and repetitions (for which alone the
Beads are used
); as our Lord himself testified—
But when ye pray
(said he)
use not
VAIN REPETITIONS, AS THE HEATHEN DO: for they think that they
shall be heard for their
MUCH SPEAKING. Be not ye
therefore like unto them,
&c. Matt. vi. 7, 8.
, there are distinct orders of
Men,
it seems, as well as
Women,
laid under the same unnatural restraint through the instigation of their spiritual
Adversary
Adversary
—The name for an
Adversary, Hater,
or
Enemy,
is
Satan
(
) which name was generally applied by the Jews to the
Spiritual Enemy
in particular; and it is remarkable, that many of the Heathen Tartars worship the
Devil
under that very name to this day.
The author last quoted, respecting the Tartar
Devotees,
tells us, in page 152, concerning the idols of
the Ostiachs,
that
these idols are called
SAITANS,
a name which seems to derive its origin from
SATAN,
the arch fiend of Hell.
And in page 186, speaking of the people of BARABINSY, who are a kind of CALMUCS, he says—
When they traverse the woods, in order to hunt down their game, they take their
Saitan,
as they call it, along with them; which is an image made of wood, inelegantly carved with a knife only, and covered with a parti-coloured stuff, not unlike that which is frequently worn by the female Russians. This idol, or
Saitan,
of theirs is inclosed in a box, which is carried upon a particular sledge; and to this their god they offer up the first-fruits of their chace, be it what it will, without any exception.
When they prove more successful than they could reasonably expect, and when safely arrived at their respective cabbins, this
Saitan,
or idol, is deposited in the most conspicuous part of their tent, or hut, in its proper box, and covered over with the finest furs they are masters of, by way of grateful acknowledgment of the great success they have met with through their means; and there they are left untouched till they are grown rotten and worthless in process of time; for they are firmly convinced, that they should be guilty of the most heinous sin of sacrilege, should they strip them of those robes, or apply them to any other purpose whatsoever.
; and yet the same
Deceiver
promoted, almost universally amongst the Heathen, as a
sacred Rite,
the promiscuous use of Woman, in order to draw Men by their
natural Lusts
to join the superstitious Congregations of his Worshippers.
Of this kind were the Rites of Venus among the Greeks, Romans, and (more particularly among) the inhabitants of Cyprus
The young women here used to prostitute themselves to such strangers as came ashore, in order to raise money for their portions.
Univ. Hist. Vol. 8. p. 239.
; the shameful Rites of
Astarte
(whom the Heathens called
Queen of Heaven
) in her temple at
Byblus
—for there she had a temple as the
Venus
of
Adonis:
and there such women as would not conform to the custom of shaving their heads, at the annual time of lamenting
Adonis,
were
bound to prostitute their bodies, one entire day, for hire; and the money thus earned was presented to the Goddess.
Univ. Hist. Vol. 2. p. 342.
: Those of
Thammuz
"
There sat women weeping for
TAMMUZ," Ezek. viii. 14.
Whoever he was
(i. e.
Thammuz
)
the superstition of mourning over him was universally practised by the women in those parts,
(speaking of the country of the
Phoenicians,
or land of Canaan.)
They began their lamentations at a stated time: they set up their outcries as soon as they perceived the river
Adonis
to appear of a bloody hue, as at certain times it did
The cause of this red face of the river was anciently known; and, by those who were not so superstitious, as the rest of their cotemporaries and countrymen, ascribed to a kind of
Minium,
or red earth, which this river brought away when it swelled to an unusual height. It is still subject to the same appearance in the time of floods.
(For which he quotes Mr. Maundrel's Travels) Univ. Hist. Vol. 2. p 327.
. The lamentations of a mother for the loss of her only son could not be more loud, or tender: they then proceeded TO THE SACRIFICES OF THE DEAD, having first DISCIPLINED THEMSELVES WITH WHIPPING;
(which practices haye since been revived by THE CHURCH OF ROME, at the instigation, without doubt, of the same spiritual Author)
and the next day, pretending him to be revived, and ascended through the air to the upper regions,
they shaved their heads,
as the
Egyptians
did for the loss of
Apis;
and at
Byblus,
at least, those who would not comply,
were bound to
PROSTITUTE THEMSELVES
in the manner
and for the purposes above specified.
Univ. "Hist. Vol. 2. p. 345.
(or
Adonis
) among the Phoenicians, Syrians, and Apostate Jews: Those of
Tanais,
or
Anaitis,
among the
Armenians
In honour of this Goddess
(Tanais)
and in her temple, the
Armenians
used to prostitute their daughters, it being a custom among the young women to consecrate their virginity to
Tanais,
that is, to her priests.
Univ. Hist. Vol. 9. p. 491.
: And those of MYLITTA, the
Aphrodite,
or
Venus
of the ancient Babylonians, and more Eastern nations, at whose shrines women of all ranks, even of the first quality, were required once in their lives to prostitute themselves
(who is called also
in the same page)
&c. Herod. Lib. 1. p. 83. Frankfort Edit. 1608.
Herodotus also tells us, that there was a similar law at Cyprus—"
."
. The impious Rites of BAAL-PEOR (whereby many of the
Israelites
were ensnared by
"the Council of Balaam"
—
Behold
THESE
(said Moses, speaking of the
Midianitish women,
that were taken prisoners by the Israelites)
caused the children of
ISRAEL,
through the
COUNCIL
of
BALAAM,
to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of
PEOR,
and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.
Numb. xxxi. 16.
seem to have been of the same kind
For worshipping
Baal-Peor
(says Bishop Patrick)
into which they
(the Israelites)
were inveigled by the women; who invited them to a feast, and there by their charms excited another fleshly appetite in them: which they would not let them satisfy, unless they would both eat of their sacrifices, and worship their idol,
&c. On Numb. xxv. 18.
; and to increase the temptation to
Demon
worship, it appears that the women of the first quality, among the daughters of
Moab
and
Midian,
were not exempted from that most disgraceful and pernicious pollution, baneful both to body and soul: for the
Midianitish
woman, that prostituted herself to
Zimri
the Simeonite (and was killed, together with her captivated Israelitish paramour, by
Phineas
) is expressly declared to have been the daughter of Zur
By whose consent, no doubt
(says Bishop Patrick)
she went upon this wicked design, that by her noble garb and attendance she might the more powerfully intice the great men of
Israel
to idolatry.
, who was
HEAD OVER A PEOPLE,
and of a
CHIEF HOUSE
in Midian.
(Numb. xxv. 15.) And he is mentioned
afterwards
as one of THE KINGS
of Midian.
(Numb. xxxi. 8.)
Thus
"the Council of Balaam"
promoted the service and worship of
Devils;
and this should warn us of the extreme danger of yielding to the crime of
Fornication,
which, in all ages and nations, has been used as a snare to vilify mankind, and enslave them to
Spiritual Adversaries:
for as THE FORBIDDING TO MARRY is unquestionably THE DOCTRINE OF DEVILS (see p. 156 preceding) whereby those, who devote themselves to such
unnatural
commands, fall under more severe
Temptation to
FORNICATION
When Pope
Gregory
VII.
(Hildebrand)
removed the
married Priests
(in the year 1074) from officiating in the church service, and forbid the laity to hear them say mass, the numbers of
Monkish
or
unmarried
clergy were of course increased; and the scandal of
Incontinence
(the necessary effect of
"forbidding to marry"
) became notorious, of which even the
Monk Matthew Paris
bears ample testimony—
Porrò
PAUCIS CONTINENTIAM OBSERVANTIBUS,
aliquibus cam causa lucri ac jacantantiae simulantibus, multis
INCONTINENTIAM
perjurio multipliciori
ADULTERIO
cumulantibus.
M. Paris Hist. Angl. p. 9. And afterwards, in the reign of Henry I. (anno 1102) when Archbishop
Anselm
excommunicated the
married Priests
(whom he maliciously called
Sacerdotes concubinarios,
as if their lawful
wives
were no better than
concubines
) there were not wanting some prudent persons (even in those
dark days
) to declare the
immoral
tendency of the measure, as M. Paris testifies. "This"
(says he, speaking of the said excommunication of married Priests)
seemed good to some, and to others
DANGEROUS,
lest while they aim at
PURITY
greater than their strength, they should fall into worse
UNCLEANNESS
Hoc autem bonum quibusdam visum est, et quibusdam
PERICULOSUM,
ne dum mundicias viribus majores expeterent, in
IMMUNDITIAS LABERENTER DETERIORES. M. Paris Hist. Angl. p. 58.
;
a remarkable example of which he gives us in the person of
Cardinal John de Creme
Anno Domini M.C.XXV.
Johannes
Cremensis, Apostolicae sedis Cardinalis, de licentia Regis Anglorum veniens in Angliam, perendinavit per episcopatus et abbatias, et non sine magnis donariis, ad Nativitatem Beatae
Marioe
apud Londonias solemne Consilium celebravit. Ubi igitur
de concubinis Sacerdotum severissime tractasset,
dicens
summum esse Scelus de latere surgere meretricis, ad corpus
CHRISTI
conficiendum:
ipse cum die illa corpus
Christi
consacrasset, post vesperam
fuit in meretricio interceptus:
res notissima negari NON POTUIT,
dum magnum
decus in summum dedecus commutavit.
M. Paris Hist. Angl. p. 70.
, (Joannes Cremensis) who, after holding a council of the clergy in London (in the reign of Henry II.) against
married Priests
(and therein bitterly exclaiming against the
monstrous wickedness of rising from the side of a whore,
for so he affected to call the virtuous wife of a Priest, to
perform Mass
) was himself detected,
that very evening, in a real
brothel—
The affair was so VERY NOTORIOUS (says M. Paris) that it could not be denied, whilst the Cardinal exchanged great honour into profound disgrace.
, so, on the other hand, FORNICATION is reciprocal in its effects, by being one of the most baneful obstacles to lawful and virtuous MARRIAGE, and, consequently, to the increase and multiplication of mankind: but this, bad as it is, is not the worst consequence of habitual FORNICATION; for men, being thereby drawn away from the service and worship of their Creator, are gradually led to
greater crimes,
whereby their minds are more and more
darkened,
like those of the
fallen Angels,
until they are totally deprived of the
Light
and
Image
of their Creator, and lose both temporal and eternal Happiness!
When Men are IN BONDAGE
to their own Lusts,
there is no doubt but that Satan has already
"got an Advantage"
over them; and, by
their Lusts,
and unrestrained Affections, does hold them IN BONDAGE also
to himself!
So that a Man cannot free himself from
Spiritual
Bondage, without forsaking and repenting of his favourite sins; for we can have no direct idea of
resisting
the
Devil
(as the Scriptures command us) but that of
resisting Evil,
wherever we perceive it, whether in thoughts, words, or actions. But when Men entirely neglect this necessary resistance to
Evil,
they are sure to be led on from one vice to another, till the two before-mentioned natural and
universal Principles
in Mankind, intended for their
Preservation,
viz.
Common Sense
(or
Reason
) and
Self-love,
have lost their influence: for the
Actions
of of a great part of Mankind cannot be accounted for upon any other
Principle
than that of a
lamentable
BONDAGE
to the
SPIRITUAL ADVERSARY, who leads them to actions that are clearly contrary to
Self-love
and
Common Sense,
and contrary even to any probable gratification that might afford a
Temptation
to Human Beings!—to actions that apparently tend to their own everlasting destruction!
How common is it for Men to lift their hands against their own life, and deliberately to exclude themselves from all possibility of repentance? It must be allowed indeed, that real
Madness,
or Lunacy, and other
natural
distempers and frenzies, are frequently the
Principles of Action
which occasion Suicide; but we have too many instances of
deliberate Self-murder,
wherein no such
natural
causes can with justice be alledged, though generally assigned by the coroner's juries, through a false notion of mercy, which inclines them to adopt the erroneous maxim, that
all Men are mad who kill themselves.
But nothing is more false!
If the Brute Creation were equally liable to voluntary deaths,
Suicide
might with more probability be attributed to natural causes
only,
as they are almost equally liable to
distempers;
but herein appears a capital distinction between
Human Nature
and that of
Brutes.
None of the BRUTE CREATION ever violate the
universal Principle
of SELF-LOVE, which the Divine
Author of Nature
has given them for their preservation! And though MAN is also endowed with the
same Principle,
as I have already shewn, yet
the very
BRUTES make so much better use of it
than
MAN, that in them we distinguish the
same Principle,
even by another name, and call it INSTINCT—
an
INSTINCT
of Self-preservation
—an
Instinct,
because it is never violated. How are we to account for this seeming Superiority in the BRUTES? Why should HUMAN NATURE be more subject to Depravity than they are? MAN, who, in addition to that
natural Light
with which he was endowed at the time of his Creation, has since acquired an additional power of discernment and prudence for his preservation, even a
Divine Knowledge
of GOOD and EVIL, that he
may know how to refuse the
EVIL,
and chuse the
GOOD;
and yet is in general infinitely more depraved than the very BRUTES! Let any reasonable Man consider how impossible it is, by
natural Causes,
to account for so extraordinary a circumstance! That MAN, endowed with such a Superiority of
Knowledge
for SELF-PRESERVATION, and also endowed with
Self-love
in common with the rest of the Creation, should yet be subject to such monstrous Depravity, as to lose all sense of both, while the BRUTES are never known to violate that universal Principle,
Self-love!
except it be for
a reasonable Cause,
that they risk
their own Lives
in defence of their young, to preserve their species, or through gratitude, as Dogs will defend their masters, which surely is no Depravity! To what extraordinary cause then shall we attribute this very singular superiority of BRUTES in a circumstance so necessary to happiness. The cause is obvious, BRUTES have never been subject to
spiritual Delusions,
or to be actuated by
infernal Spirits,
since the time that the Serpent deceived our first parents!
There is no instance, I believe, since that time, of BRUTES being really
actuated by evil Spirits,
except one; and that was (be pleased to observe) by
express Permission
of
our
LORD
himself,
viz. when the Devils entered into the swine by the lake of Gennesareth. For it appears, that the
Demons
had no power to enter into the animals, till our Lord had expressly granted it: for—
the Devils
BESOUGHT HIM,
saying, If thou cast us out,
SUFFER US
to go away into the herd of swine, and he said unto them, Go.
THE PERMISSION being thus gained, the animals immediately acquired a new
"Principle of Action,"
too similar to that which actuates poor abandoned sinners among MEN (as when
the Devil
entered
Judas,
and led him, not only to betray his Lord, but to punish the horrid treason
with his own hands,
contrary to every conceivable
Natural Principle of Action
) so the unhappy Brutes by Gennesareth were no sooner subjected,
like Mankind,
to the Bondage of
infernal Spirits,
than they immediately lost that Principle of
Self-love,
which in them (because never violated but at this particular time) is called
Instinct;
and by the immediate consequence of that loss, they have afforded us a notable example of the baneful effects of
Diabolical Inspiration
This particular case of
the Gadarene Demoniacks
has been violently attacked by the opposers of the common received doctrine concerning
the Reality of Demoniacal Possessions.
Three very eminent and learned men among them, for instance, have endeavoured to accommodate to their own notions the evangelical history of this matter, and by the failure of their several attempts have proved, that the
literal meaning
of the terms in which the Evangelists have related the several circumstances of that case (and no less than three Evangelists out of the four have mentioned it) cannot possibly be set aside, without raising up in its stead the most glaring absurdities! One of these gentlemen (notwithstanding his own errors) has very fully and justly censured the miserable shift to which the other two learned men were reduced, in attempting to defend their own groundless hypothesis.
A farther argument
(says he)
in favour of
REAL POSSESSIONS,
is taken from the destruction of the herd of swine, which the
DEMONS
are said to have entered, and stimulated to instantaneous madness. This case is considered by some'
(continues he)
'as a decisive proof of the power of Demons, both over the human and
BRUTAL RACE
This conclusion is expressed in too general terms. The example is indeed "
a decisive Proof of the Power of Demons over the
BRUTAL RACE," whenever
Demons
can obtain the Divine Permission to enter
Brutes;
but without such EXPRESS PERMISSION the case itself sufficiently demonstrates, (as I have remarked above, for otherwise the
asking
and
granting
PERMISSION to enter the swine would be but vain circumstances,) that they have NO POWER over the
Brutal Race.
The case is very different with
Human Bodies,
which I have already shewn.
, and is thought even to have been purposely designed by Providence to refute the opposite opinion. To enervate this argument,
DR. SYKES
suggested, and
DR. LARDNER
strenuously contended, that
THE SWINE WERE FRIGHTED BY THE TWO MADMEN, AND SO DRIVEN DOWN THE PRECIPICE INTO THE SEA.
On the other hand'
(says he)
'the advocates for the common hypothesis insist upon it, (to my apprehension'
[continues he]
'with great reason,) that
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR TWO MEN, HOWEVER FIERCE, TO PUT SO VAST A HERD OF SWINE AS TWO THOUSAND INTO MOTION IN AN INSTANT, AND TO CAUSE THEM ALL TO RUSH WITH VIOLENCE DOWN A PRECIPICE INTO THE SEA; SWINE, CONTRARY TO THE NATURE OF MOST OTHER ANIMALS, RUNNING DIFFERENT WAYS WHEN THEY ARE DRIVEN.
But this part of the controversy might well be spared; it not appearing from the history, that the men ever fell upon the herd, or made any attempt to drive them into the sea. Nay, the history expressly refers their destruction to a different cause from the behaviour of the madmen.
"An Essay on the Demoniacks of the New Testament." P. 280, 281.
Many other insurmountable objections are alledged by the same ingenious writer, and may be seen at large in pages 283 to 290, if what I have already quoted should not be thought amply sufficient to confute the
groundless supposition
of the other two learned men. And he very justly concludes thereupon—
For these reasons
(says he)
I cannot accede to the opinion of those learned writers, who ascribe the destruction of the swine to the madmen.
But then (unfortunately for himself) he immediately adds—
Neither
(says he)
can I see any just ground for ascribing it to
THE AGENCY OF DEMONS.
P. 291.
He tells us elsewhere, that
what is called the ejection of
DEMONS,
is the case of a natural disorder,
p. 178 and 189
—
that there never was, nor can be, a real Demoniack,
' p. 240—'that the
DEMONIACKS
spoken of in the New Testament were
ALL
either
MADMEN
or epilepticks,
Prop.
vi. p. 92.
—And, with respect to the particular case before us, 'he asserts, that
all that can he inferred from their
(the Evangelists)
saying,
that
the Demons came out of the Men, and entered into the herd of swine,
is, that the madness of the former was transferred to the latter, in the same sense as
the leprosy of Naaman was to cleave to Gehazi, and to his seed for ever.
P. 292.
He allows, however,
what a learned writer
(says he)
contends for, that in the case before us,
the power of imagination could have no place
Dr. Warburton. p. 223, 224.
. It was never said, that the swine
FANCIED
themselves possessed; their disorder, I admit
(says this author)
was
REAL,
but not therefore
DEMONIACAL.
So great a miracle as that wrought upon them
(continues he)
can be ascribed to no other
AGENCY
than that of
GOD.
P. 293.
Certain it is, that no created Being whatsoever, whether
good
or
evil, visible
or
invisible,
can have any power to act without the
Knowledge
and
Permission
of the ALMIGHTY; but, at the same time, we must remember, that there is a very material difference between
the
AGENCY
of God,
and the PERMISSION of God.— God is, indeed, said to do what he only
permits,
as I have elsewhere remarked (see notes in pages 134 to 137) and he sometimes grants his
Permission
to very unworthy AGENTS, both
spiritual
and
temporal,
which act with views and intentions very opposite to the actual purposes of God, that are really
effected
by their
Actions;
for the histories of all nations sufficiently testify, that even the
vices
and
malicious dispositions
of the enemies both to
God
and
Man,
are frequently
permitted
to act
as Instruments
of DIVINE VENGEANCE (see my Tract on the
Law
of Retribution, pages 125, 184, and elsewhere) to promote the
eternal Justice
and
Glory
of the ALMIGHTY, as he alone can bring
Good
out of
Evil.
But in all such cases, wherein there is manifest evidence of
Evil
in the production of events, though the same are certainly by the
Sufferance
or
Permission
of God, yet it would be highly injurious to truth to ascribe the AGENCY to GOD.
In the case before us concerning the
Gadarene Demoniacks,
the PERMISSION and the AGENCY are clearly distinguished by the Evangelists in the most express terms.
So the
DEMONS
besought him, saying, if thou cast us out,
SUFFER US
to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them,
Go.
Matth. viii. 31, 32.
—
And all the
DEMONS
besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith
JESUS GAVE THEM LEAVE.
Mark v. 12.
—
And they
(the Demons)
besought him
(Jesus)
that he would
SUFFER THEM
to enter into then
(the herd of swine)
and
HE SUFFERED THEM.
Luke viii. 32.
Thus the DIVINE PERMISSION is clearly and distinctly declared; and the same faithful historians leave us as little room for doubt concerning the AGENTS in this matter: for,
when they'
(the DEMONS)
'were come out, they entered into the swine: and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Matth. viii. 32.
—
And the
UNCLEAN SPIRITS
went out, and entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place,
&c.
Mark v. 13.
—Then went the
DEMONS
out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down, &c.
Luke viii. 33.
Here is the most EXPRESS EVIDENCE of three Evangelists, that DEMONS, or UNCLEAN SPIRITS,
entered into the swine;
and the consequences of that
entering
are as clearly noted;—
the animals rushed headlong to their own apparent destruction!
A circumstance which was
never
known to happen, either before or since that time, to
any Brute Animals
whatsoever; so that it is unreasonable to attribute that singular deprivation of
Natural Instinct in Brutes
to
"a Natural Disorder,"
because the circumstances of it must necessarily be allowed to have been totally
unnatural to Brutes;
though with mankind, alas! it is far otherwise; for we have almost daily examples of men that are absolutely actuated with the same
violent desire to rush headlong out of the world!
But the reason of of this remarkable difference between
Men
and
Brutes
I have already (I hope) sufficiently explained.
Now, if it is unreasonable to attribute this singular destruction of
Brute Animals
to
a Natural Disorder,
it is much more unreasonable, nay, it will appear profane and blasphemous to say, that it
can be ascribed to no other
AGENCY
than that of
GOD,
when we consider that the
Demons,
which are said to have entered the swine, were not
mere nullities,
as this author supposes; not a mere name for deceased Souls, or
the Souls of
DEAD MEN, but are expressly declared by the Evangelist Mark to be UNCLEAN SPIRITS!
. Mark v. 13. For if the
Sin against the Holy Ghost
(the most unpardonable of all Blasphemies!) consisted, as many learned commentators have supposed, in attributing the the
Works of
GOD to "
Beelzebub
the
Prince of Demons,"
surely it must be almost equally dangerous to
ascribe to the Agency of
GOD the
furious and profane agitations
occasioned by the inspiration of
unclean Spirits!
But I impeach not
the intention
of the learned author, but only the tendency of his doctrines: his excuse, however, is already prepared; he doubts (in page 61.)
whether these epithets
(EVIL and UNCLEAN, given by the Evangelists to the SPIRITS ejected by Christ)
express their
PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS,
or only those
EFFECTS
they were supposed to produce;
nay, even
(Caco-Demon) with him is "not a
wicked Demon!"
See note in p. 61. And he tells us in another part of his work, p. 352. that
Infirmities, plagues,
and EVIL SPIRITS,
seem to be mentioned only as so many distinct species of
DISEASES.
These suppositions (for they are merely such) may seem at first sight to afford some excuse for his
ascribing to the Agency of
GOD
the declared effects of
unclean
SPIRITS.
But his error has still a deeper root; he has, in another tract
"An Inquiry into the Nature and Design of Christ's Temptation in the Wilderness." (2d Edit. enlarged).
, '
ascribed to the Agency of
GOD' that which no less than three Evangelists have
expressly
registered amongst the transactions of the
Devil himself,
(I mean the
temptation of Christ by the Devil in the wilderness
); and he roundly exculpates
Satan
from the charge
There was no real Presence
or AGENCY of SATAN (says he) ON THIS OCCASION,
p. 63.
and that
the DEVIL
was not really and personally present with Christ, but only in mental representation, and consequently could act no part in this whole transaction.
P. 62.
; and yet all this is carried on in such smooth language, and with such seeming plausibility, that the author himself is apparently deluded by his own sophistry and mistaken conclusions
After a great deal of sophistry (in p. 50 to 59) in comparing the Evangelists account of the
Temptation
with several expressions in
Ezekiel
and St.
John
relating to the Revelations of
the Spirit;
(viz. as that—
'the Spirit took me up'—lifted me up, and took me away'
—
I was in the Spirit
—
'He carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness,'
&c.) he boldly concludes thereupon in p. 59.—
Thus
(says he)
from
the EXPRESS TESTIMONY
of the
THREE
several Evangelists,
it appears,
that Christ was conveyed into the wilderness
IN A PROPHETICK VISION, TRANCE, or EXTACY,
under the afflatus or inspiration of the Spirit of God.
—But where has he shewn
the EXPRESS TESTIMONY of the
three
several Evangelists, that Christ was
conveyed in
A VISION?
He cannot shew, that even
one
of the
three
has
once
used any such EXPRESSION, or even the least insinuation about a VISION on that occasion. Though the EXPRESSIONS of
Ezekiel
and St.
John
relate to
Revelations received in the way of
VISIONS; yet that does not prove that all similar expressions, wherein the
Spirit
is said to
lift up,
or
take away,
must necessarily be understood as VISIONS. If his argument
proved
any thing at all, it would prove too much. Let us suppose it for once to be perfectly conclusive, and apply it to that text in the Acts of the Apostles, where we read, that—
the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,
and afterwards that he was
found at Azotus:
shall we say then (to argue like our critic) that—'
this 'passage of Scripture is to be understood as a history, not of a fact, but of a
VISION, p. 64; and that it appears "
from the
EXPRESS TESTIMONY" of the text (though the
text
contains not a single word about a VISION, TRANCE, or EXTACY, any more than the texts of the three Evangelists do about the supposed VISION of Christ) that Philip was
conveyed
in a VISION, that is, his removal was
not
REAL
and
CORPOREAL,
but
SPIRITUAL
and
MENTAL
only,
p. 60.
notwithstanding that the
text
afterwards asserts it as a FACT, that he was FOUND AT AZOTUS. The circumstances of this transaction necessarily oblige us to understand, that the operation of THE SPIRIT upon
Philip,
when he was "CAUGHT AWAY, was not
visionary,
but REAL; and it will appear upon further examination, that a similar
necessity
of literal interpretation is
equally
included in the circumstances of the other case also. Now
"if the Spirit of the Lord"
REALLY
"caught away Philip"
from the sight of the eunuch in the desart, and left him at
Azotus,
there is no absurdity in supposing that our Lord himself might also REALLY be
led" by
(or
in
)
the Spirit into the wilderness;
and that the history must
necessarily
be so understood, will, I trust, be hereafter shewn. That it was no unusual thing for the Prophets of God to be actually
"led"
—
"carried"
— or "
caught away," by
—or
in—the Spirit,
is manifest from the apprehension of such a
carrying by the Spirit,
expressed by the generous and faithful
Obadiah,
governor of king
Ahab
's house, when
Elijah
required him to acquaint his master where he might find him, 1 Kings xviii. 12. and the opinion of
Obadiah,
with respect to the true meaning of such
expressions,
is certainly to be preferred before the sentiments of the author of the
"Inquiry,"
&c. or perhaps than the opinion of any other man whatever, because
Obadiah
was not only personally acquainted with
Elijah,
but also with a great
many other Prophets of the Lord,
having himself preserved the lives of more than one hundred of them, by hiding and maintaining them in caves, so that he could not be unacquainted with the occasional effects of the HOLY SPIRIT upon
Prophets;
and therefore we may fairly conclude, that his apprehension of the SPIRITS removing or
carrying the Prophet
to a different place, was not without just foundation or example, or at least not without probability, especially as we read, that
Elijah
was at last actually
taken away
in a miraculous manner, which was equally attributed to
"the Spirit of the Lord"
by the sons of the Prophets at
Jericho
—
lest peradventure
(said they) THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD HATH TAKEN HIM UP,
and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.
(2 Kings ii. 16.)
And they cannot surely be be supposed to mean, that
the Spirit of the Lord
had
taken him up
in a mere
trance
or
vision.
: for, notwithstanding the plain testimony of the Evangelists above-mentioned concerning
the Agency
of the
Devil
and
Satan
in that temptation;
As that he was '
led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of
THE DEVIL (in which the AGENCY of
the Spirit,
and the AGENCY of the
Devil,
are clearly distinguished.) That Jesus said unto him (the DEVIL) '
Get thee hence,
SATAN:—and that —'then THE DEVIL (N. B. the appellations
Satan
and the
Devil
are manifestly applied to the same wicked Being) '
leaveth him,
&c. Matth. iv. 1—11.
And immediately the
SPIRIT
driveth him
(Jesus)
into the wilderness.
And he was there
IN THE WILDERNESS forty days TEMPTED OF SATAN,
and was with
THE WILD BEASTS, &c. Mark i. 12, 13. whereby the reality of our Lord's being
driven by the Spirit
INTO THE WILDERNESS is manifest: for though the Author of the Enquiry asserts in pages 47 and 48, that
it appears, by comparing the several Evangelists together, that Christ had but just left the banks of
JORDAN,
and therefore
WAS STILL IN
THE WILDERNESS,
at the very time he is said to have been led into it,
&c. yet that part of the
wilderness
where John baptized ceased
in effect,
though not
in name,
to be a
wilderness,
whilst it was the place of publick resort for all
Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan.
(Mat. iii. 5. Mark i. 5.)
and therefore, even supposing it true that Christ
was still in the wilderness at the very time he is said to have been led into it,
we must necessarily understand that he was
led
to some more solitary part of the wilderness than that which had been for some time before the place of publick resort for the whole nation, for otherwise he could not well be said to be "
there, in the wilderness"—"with the wild beasts."
But when our author wrote the above assertion, that "Christ
was still in the wilderness,
&c. (notwithstanding that the Evangelist Luke assures us
that he returned from Jordan
) he seems to have forgot that the word
return
(or
) implies a going BACK
to some other place from whence he had lately come,
and is used in that sense about thirty-four times in the New Testament without a single exception; so that it is much more prudent to believe the plain testimony of the Evangelist, that Christ
"returned from Jordan,"
that is,
from
the place where he was baptized, to some other place; or, at least, was on his way to some other place; than to believe the contradictory assertion of this critick, that he
was still in the wilderness at the very time
he is said to have been led into it.
; yet our author is pleased to assert, that it
is to be understood as a history, not of a fact, but of
A VISION.
As such
(says he)
the writers of the Gospel
EXPRESSLY
represent it
(by which, it seems, this learned author is so far blinded by hypothesis, as to forget the true meaning of the word EXPRESSLY; for not one of the writers of the Gospel have EXPRESSED the least idea about a VISION in that particular case; and yet he asserts, that they EXPRESSLY
represent it
)
without leaving us
(says he)
as the sacred penmen have been thought to do in other instances, to collect it from the nature and circumstances of the relation. They likewise
(continues he)
REPRESENT THIS VISION
(he must mean this VISION of his own imagination—this VISION of a VISION; for the Evangelists cannot justly be charged with any such REPRESENTATION)
not as
DIABOLICAL,
but
DIVINE;
ascribing it
(says he)
to the
SPIRIT OF GOD.
("An Inquiry," &c. p. 64, 65.)
. Now what shall we say to the assertions of this critick, when we turn to the authority of the Evangelists themselves, and find, that they are so far from ascribing any such supposed VISION of a temptation to
the Spirit of God,
that they
expressly
mention the
Devil
or
Satan
as the tempter; and do not
express
or
represent
a single word about a VISION in that particular case: nevertheless, our Commentator boldly adds to this monstrous perversion of evidence the following mockery of truth, viz.—
So that to all the other arguments urged above
(says he)
we may add (what we before promised to produce)
THE AUTHORITY OF THE EVANGELISTS
(whom he most notoriously contradicts)
and
THE EXPRESS LETTER OF THE TEXT
(which as notoriously contradicts him)
in confutation
(says he)
of those, who misconstrue Christ's temptation, either as an outward transaction, or as an illusion of Satan.
Inquiry, &c. p. 65. See also his proposition, p. 36.
—
that all the Evangelists, who have mentioned this affair, do,
IN EXPRESS TERMS,
affirm, that it passed
SPIRITUALLY
and
IN VISION,
that it was
AN IDEAL OR MENTAL REPRESENTATION;
and consequently could not be an outward transaction.
Now, "If such a method of explaining Scripture," (as he himself censures others in, p. 372. of his Essay on the Demoniacks, &c.)
"be allowed,
language can be of no use!"
He may think it a
generous action,
perhaps, to
excuse,
or endeavour to
exculpate
an
Adversary
(and more especially such an inveterate
Adversary
as
Satan himself
The author of the
Inquiry,
&c. in p. 3. objects, that
if the Evangelical History of our Lord's Temptation is to be understood as a narrative
OF REAL FACTS, &c.
it is unsuitable to the
SAGACITY
and
POLICY
of the Evil Spirit,
&c.—Now this would certainly be a good argument, if we could suppose that the
Evil Spirit
is prompted by no other
Principles of Action
than SAGACITY and POLICY; but, alas! he yielded himself a
Slave,
(as frail men do) to
Principles
very opposite to SAGACITY and POLICY, or he would surely have
kept his first estate,
and have still remained (as originally created)
an Angel of Light!
And therefore with respect to the particular circumstances of Christ's temptation EXPRESSLY ascribed to the DEVIL, or SATAN, by three Evangelists, we may reasonably conclude, that our
Spiritual Adversary
was prompted to that unequal contest with Christ by the same predominant
Principles of Evil
(viz. PRIDE, ENVY, and FALSEHOOD) that originally occasioned his
Fall from
GOD; but now occasioned a much more mortifying abasement to Satanical Pride and Envy—
a Defeat by
MAN!—even by
"the seed of the"
(deluded and much injured)
"Woman!"
) from the most
baneful
and
malicious
attempt that was ever made against the happiness of mankind! But this
generosity
(or whatever else it may be called)
to the Enemy,
is productive of consequences which the learned author (had he been aware of them) would not, perhaps, be willing to adopt: for his doctrine of SATAN'S INNOCENCE IN THIS MATTER (viz. that "
there was no real presence or
AGENCY OF SATAN
on this occasion,
p. 63.—that
the
DEVIL
was not really and personally present with
CHRIST,
but only in mental representation; and consequently could act no part in this whole transaction,
p. 62.
and that the Evangelists
represent this
VISION
—
We have as little reason to affirm, from the stile of the
Gospel
writers, and the manner of their expressions, that
Christ
's temptations are only'
"the history of a vision,"
as we have to affirm, that our Lord's restoring the lame to their feet, the blind to their sight, the lepers to their cleanness, the diseased to health, and the dead to life, was likewise all the history of what was transacted in a vision: or that the whole Gospel account of what our Lord did upon earth is no more than the history of so many
visions;
an account of what he saw,' "in spiritual raptures, by a prophetick afflatus and inspiration.
'Hui, quantam fenestram ad nequitiam patefeceris!'
See p. 55. of a little Tract printed in 1762, intituled,
Christ's Temptations real Facts; or a Defence
of the Evangelical History; shewing, that our Lord's temptations may be fairly and reasonably understood, as a narrative of what was really transacted,
&c. wherein the reader will find many sensible and learned remarks in confutation of the novel doctrine propagated by the Author of the Inquiry.
[as he is pleased to call it]
not as
DIABOLICAL,
but
DIVINE;
ascribing it to the
SPIRIT
of
GOD,
p. 65.
) This doctrine, I say, of SATAN'S INNOCENCE, not only deprives Christ, "
the Son of
MAN," of that actual triumph and victory, which he gained in his HUMAN NATURE (for the Restoration of
Mankind
) over the temptations of
the Prince of this world;
but it also necessarily implies, that GOD himself was the
tempter;
which, if not downright blasphemy, is at least a doctrine which is EXPRESSLY contradicted in Scripture—for there we read, that
God cannot be tempted of Evil,
NEITHER TEMPTETH HE ANY MAN.
(James i. 13.)
And though there are several passages of Scripture wherein
God
is said to
tempt
As for instance, we read in Genesis xxii. 1.—that
God did
TENET
Abraham, &c.
when he ordered him to offer up his only son for a burnt-offering. Yet this was not
a temptation to
SIN; for men if the command had been actually executed, the Patriarch would not have sinned; but, on the contrary, would have been
justified by his faith
in him that commanded, whom he knew to be
the Creator,
and
Lord of
LIFE, and therefore the only rightful disposer of LIFE in all
creatures:
but as the command was revoked just in so critical a time, as to demonstrate the Patriarch's readiness to obey, and yet to save the life of his son, the command was so far from being a
temptation
to SIN, that it was not (on the part of the righteous Lord who
commanded
) even a
temptation to
KILL, because the event shewed, that the command was not given with any
such intention,
but merely to PROVE the Patriarch's
faith
and
obedience.
The same Hebrew root
here rendered
did tempt,
is frequently used in other passages of Scripture, where it necessarily signifies to
prove
or
try,
as in Exod. xvi. 4. '
that I may
PROVE
them
' (
)
whether they will walk in my law or no.
And in Deut. viii. 16.—
that he might
PROVE
thee (
) "to do thee good,"
&c. See also Judges vi. 39. Psa. xxvi.
. &c.
, yet they are all clearly to be understood in a different sense from
the
tempting
mentioned by the Apostle James, which was
a tempting,
or being
tempted
of EVIL, apparently meaning a
temptation
to SIN
There is an expression, however, in 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. which, without a further explanation, would be very difficult to be reconciled with the text above cited from the Apostle James, that
God cannot be tempted of Evil, neither tempteth be any Man;
for the text in Samuel seems at first sight to imply a
temptation
to SIN by the Almighty.—And again,
the anger of the
LORD
was kindled against Israel: and
HE MOVED DAVID
against them, to say,
GO, NUMBER ISRAEL
and
JUDAH,
as if God himself had MOVED
David
to sin against Israel, which might seem to give countenance to the doctrine of the Author of the
Inquiry into the Nature and Design of Christ's Temptation,
viz. that it is represented,
not as
DIABOLICAL,
but
DIVINE,
ascribing it to the Spirit of God,
—and that
there was no real Presence or
AGENCY
of
SATAN
on this occasion,
p. 63. 65.
But we are happily relieved from the difficulty by further information in another text concerning the real AGENT in that temptation or MOVING of
David;
for we read in 1 Chron. xxi. 1. that—
SATAN
stood up against Israel,
and PROVOKED
David
(or MOVED
David,
for the same Hebrew word [
] is used in both texts)
to number Israel;
and therefore, when this text is compared with the former, wherein it is said that
God moved
David, we must necessarily understand, that
the moving
of David was indeed SUPERNATURAL
and
SPIRITUAL, but that the real AGENT (as the Action was
Evil
) was the spiritual Enemy (SATAN) acting by God's
Permission,
as a just judgment against Israel, and also against David himself, who at that time was probably so much elated by his temporal prosperity and successes, as to forget that his absolute dependance ought to be upon God, and not upon the
Number
of his subjects; and certain it is, that he was off his guard, and neglected that necessary vigilance over his
thoughts
and
actions,
which God requires of
all men;
for otherwise he would have
resisted
the EVIL SUGGESTION of Satan, whereas his yielding to it occasioned the
imputation
of sin.
. And in other passages, where the latter (or indeed any
spiritual influence of
EVIL whatever) is to be understood, the
Evil Spirit,
or real AGENT in the EVIL, is generally mentioned; and in that case the
Agency
cannot be
"ascribed to the Spirit of God,"
without gross absurdity, at least, if not blasphemy! even though the SPIRIT be expressly declared to be
"from the Lord,"
as in the case of Saul related in 1 Sam. xvi. 14. where we read, that
an Evil Spirit
FROM THE LORD
troubled him.
Now this expression, if we regard the literal meaning of it, clearly implies, not only, that the
Evil Spirit
came by the
Permission of
GOD (as it was
an Evil Spirit
FROM THE LORD
) but also that the said Evil Spirit was really "THE AGENT" which
troubled
Saul.
The same ingenious writer has attempted to set aside the literal meaning of this text also, by attributing Saul's disorder to
"a deep melancholy,"
meaning thereby a mere
natural disorder,
without any
supernatural spiritual influence
(for if he admitted the latter as the
cause of Saul's melancholy,
he must necessarily give up his whole hypothesis); but the futility of such a supposition shall be clearly shewn hereafter in a separate Tract
on the Case of
Saul, as I have already extended this note to a most unprecedented length; but as the
"Law of Nature,"
and
the Principles of Action in Man,
cannot be understood without a competent knowledge of those
Spiritual Beings,
with which the minds of men are liable to be influenced, I was obliged to take some notice of such contradictions to my general doctrine, as had been previously published by the ingenious Author of the
Essay on Demoniacks;
for I must acknowledge, that I was not aware of them, until my Tract was not only
finished
(as I thought) and sent to the press, but was also more than half printed; and therefore I hope my readers will excuse the irregularity of tacking
so long
a note to
so small
a Tract.
, to which at all other times
Mankind
alone are subjected;—for
behold
(says the text)
the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
Matth. viii. 28—32.
Thus
the Influence of
EVIL SPIRITS became, manifestly, a
Principle of Action
in the poor
Brutes,
which overpowered their
Natural Instinct of Self-preservation,
and hurried them headlong to destruction; and the cause being known, it is very natural to conclude, when we see
similar Effects
in
Human
Beings, that the same
"Principle of Action"
may perhaps have produced them; especially if there be no previous circumstances of
Distemper
or
Distraction,
which may leave room to hope, that
another Cause
might reasonably be assigned. And as the example also shews us, that Devils have no power to
enter Brutes
without
express Permission
of the Creator, let us, by a comparative consideration of our own bodies, learn to be continually upon our guard against the devices and instigations of our spiritual Enemies, always remembering, that they need
no such express Permission
from God to enter the
Human
Body; or rather, that God has already lodged the Power of
permitting
or
resisting
them, entirely in the Human Breast; since we are by Nature continually liable to receive
the Inspiration of the Devil and his Angels
as a
"Principle of Action,"
if we neglect the
necessary Resistance
commanded in the Scriptures; and consequently, that they already have
Permission
from God to enter all Human Beings, I mean all those as are capable of discerning between
Good
and
Evil,
and do not reject the
Evil
as they ought, according to that
Divine Knowledge
which we inherit from our first Parents!
This Peculiarity in our
Nature
is therefore apparently the reason why
Spiritual Adversaries
are permitted by the Almighty to approach
Mankind,
though they have no such
general Permission
with respect to the rest of the animal Creation. But Man took the
Knowledge of Good and Evil
upon himself, contrary to the express commands of God, as I have before remarked; and therefore we have no right to murmur at the Permission which God has granted to
the Devil and his Angels,
to take possession of all unguarded Souls, which unhappily yield to their suggestions and temptations, without resistance or repentance; and more especially we have no right to murmur (I say) at
this Permission,
if we consider that God has given us fair warning of our continual danger and warfare
with the Principalities and Powers of Darkness;
as the Holy Scriptures plainly inform us, that we are continually liable to Satanical influence; and that the DEVIL will get an advantage over us, if we do not resist him as we ought!—In this
necessary Resistance,
and the objects of it, consist the principal exercise of that assumed
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
for which we are accountable; viz. we know
Evil
from
Good,
and consequently know when we ought
to resist;
but if we do not
resist,
then we have
chosen the
EVIL, and (in whatsoever mode the EVIL is manifest) have given
Advantage to the Devil,
and submit ourselves to his
Bondage.
The
Choice
therefore, which is set before us, amounts to this—Whether we will chuse
the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness,
(Mat. vi. 33.)
and cheerfully
assent
(as the dignity of Human Nature requires) to that
perfect Law of Liberty,
which Christ has tendered to us for the regulation of our conduct towards
all Mankind,
as well as for
Self-preservation?
or—Whether we rather prefer the Empire of SATAN,
the spiritual Enemy,
for the sake of those temporal gratifications and vile indulgences, by which he holds Men
in Bondage,
through their carnal affections, till they become
personal Enemies, even to themselves!
The assumed Principle of
knowing Good and Evil,
will undoubtedly induce all Mankind most readily to CHUSE
the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness;
(Mat. vi. 33.)
but this is not a CHOICE to be made merely
once in our lives,
but to be
continually maintained,
or the prudent CHOICE will avail nothing! Are not Men in general bound by a solemn oath in the outward rite of
Water-Baptism,
thus to
maintain
that prudent CHOICE which they publickly profess? And yet how little do their practices in general correspond with such a resolution! Surely,
the Mammon of Unrighteousness,
(Luke xvi. 9.)
the
PRINCE
of this World,
that had been
cast out,
(John xii. 31.)
the Principalities, Powers,
and
Rulers of the Darkness of this World,
(not FLESH AND BLOOD)
with whom we
have to
WRESTLE, do apparently prevail over a great multitude in every rank of life! For,
this is the Condemnation, that Light is come into the World, and Men loved
DARKNESS
rather than
LIGHT,
(a lamentable
Choice!
a shameful prostitution of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil!
but the Apostle assigns the reason)
because,
(says he)
their Deeds were
EVIL.
For every one that doeth
EVIL,
hateth the
LIGHT,
neither cometh to the
LIGHT,
lest his Deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth the Truth, cometh to the
LIGHT,
that his Deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought
IN GOD.
John iii. 19. to 21.)
Let us therefore be upon our guard, and
put on the whole Armour of God, that
(we)
may be able to stand against the
WILES OF THE DEVIL.
(Ephes. vi. 11.)
But though Human Nature is thus liable to the Influence of
the Devil and his Angels,
let us remember at the same time for our comfort, that it
is equally capable
of being actuated by DIVINE INSPIRATION; and that Mankind (in the glorious FREEDOM of the Gospel) are equally left to
their
CHOICE for the admission of that supreme Good, "THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST," to regulate their
Principles of Action
in all cases, as they are for the admission of the contrary Spirit,
the Prince of Darkness!
For
the Promises of
CHRIST relating to that
heavenly Gift
are clear and absolute, and are tendered to all Mankind without exception, that they may exercise their
natural Knowledge of
GOOD
and
EVIL, in CHUSING, ACCEPTING, and
continually
CLAIMING them, if they really prefer
"the Kingdom of God"
to
"the Kingdom of this World!"
Here is true Freedom! a Charter of inestimable
Privileges!
ASK,
and it shall be
GIVEN YOU; SEEK,
and ye shall
FIND;
knock, and it shall be
OPENED
unto you, &c.
(Mat. vii. 7.)
And again,
"All things whatsoever ye shall
ASK IN PRAYER,
believing, ye shall receive."
(Mat. xxi. 22. and Mark xi. 24.) And after these general promises, our Lord appealed to
the common Sense
of his hearers concerning the efficacy of a son's request to a
natural Father,
to obtain things that are necessary for him; and concludes thereupon —
If ye then being
EVIL,
know how to give
GOOD GIFTS
to your Children:
HOW MUCH MORE
shall your heavenly Father
GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
to them that
ASK HIM?
(Luke xi. 9. to 13.)
So that every Man, who devoutly, and with due Faith, claims that glorious GIFT according to
the Promise,
and with such a disposition of mind as the Scriptures require, will undoubtedly receive it,
"for he is faithful that promised."
Heb. x. 23.
I am well aware how uncommon it is to introduce these religious topicks into
Tracts of Law,
but as
the Divine Influence of
THE HOLY SPIRIT
upon Mankind
may certainly be esteemed
the supreme "Principle of Action in Man,"
I am obliged, by the nature of my subject, to cite some testimonies concerning the general effect of that heavenly Gift, to which all Mankind are entitled; for such is the
compound Nature of Man,
that Enquiries concerning
Human Nature,
and
the Principles of Human Actions,
cannot be fairly and carefully defined, without a careful examination of this
Human Claim
to DIVINE INSPIRATION; nor indeed without a careful warning also against that very opposite and foreign
Spiritual Influence,
which is equally liable to alter
Human Nature,
and become
the Principle of Action;
which I hope I have already sufficiently proved from Scripture. And therefore with respect to the former, viz. the
inestimable Claim to Divine Inspiration
which we hold in CHRIST, it is proper to be remarked, that the peculiar and necessary Effect of that
glorious and heavenly Gift,
is a total change in the
Nature of Man
(from his fallen State, before described, to
A NEW CREATURE
) by
a Regeneration
or
New Birth
through THE SPIRIT; to which God has also been pleased to annex (as necessary on our
first publick Admission
to the Claims and Privileges of the Gospel)
an outward visible Sign
also, or typical Washing with
Water
Verily—Verily, I say unto thee,
(said our Lord to the Jewish Ruler, Nicodemus)
Except a Man be born of
WATER
and of
THE SPIRIT,
he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
John iii. 5.
Here are two distinct articles expressly mentioned by our Lord, as necessary to salvation, viz. 1st.
Water,
by which we outwardly profess our Faith,
in the Name of the Father,
and
of the Son,
and
of the Holy Ghost,
upon our first admission into Christ's church; for that is the
Form
of Baptism afterwards expressly ordained by Christ himself. (Matt. xxviii. 19.) and 2dly,
the Holy Spirit,
which we claim of
the Father,
in the name and through the merits
of the Son;
so that Faith in all the Three Divine Persons is undoubtedly necessary to constitute that
Spiritual Regeneration,
without which no Man can enter into
the Kingdom of God;
and as FAITH therefore must precede, we may clearly perceive the reason why WATER (the outward sign of initiation to the publick profession of that necessary FAITH) is first mentioned.
; by which we bear a publick or outward testimony of that
true Faith,
which alone can qualify our claim to the promise.
Thus Man, through the privileges of the Gospel, becomes "A NEW CREATURE," (2 Cor. v. 17.) and partakes even of THE DIVINE NATURE, if his own earnest and sincere endeavours are not wanting; for the Apostle PETER has expressly declared, that this is one of the effects of our Lord's most gracious promises.
Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you
(said the Apostle)
through the Knowledge of
GOD,
and of
JESUS OUR LORD,
according as his
DIVINE POWER
hath given unto us all things that
(pertain)
unto Life and Godliness, through the Knowledge of him that hath called us
TO GLORY
and
VIRTUE:
whereby are given unto us
EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES;
that by these ye might be
PARTAKERS
of the
DIVINE NATURE
(ΚΟΝΩΝΟΙ) having escaped the Corruption that is in the World through Lust.
(2 Pet. i. 2. to 4.)
Hence the Dignity and Superiority of MAN over the rest of the visible Creation is manifest! We not only possess, by
natural Inheritance
from our first Parents, a DIVINE ATTRIBUTE (as I have already shewn in the former part of this Tract) viz. the
Knowledge of Good and Evil;
but also, by a right use of
that Knowledge,
in CHUSING and preferring the
Good,
and in REJECTING and
resisting
the
Evil,
we are capable also (
through
CHRIST) of PARTAKING "
even of the
DIVINE NATURE;" so that if we consider this most extraordinary
Privilege,
which is tendered to us on the one hand, and that
deplorable Condition
on the other hand, which we shall probably fall into, if we neglect it (viz. the partaking of
the Diabolical Nature
by the inspiration of the
Devil and his Angels;
to which, as I have already shewn, we are continually liable, if we do not watch, and resist); it must be be evident that MAN is either the
most glorious,
or the
most miserable
and
base
of all other Creatures!
Surely the consideration of these things ought to humble the pride of those inconsiderate persons, who, on account of mere temporal honours, and worldly possessions, are so lifted up above their brethren, as to forget that they have
no natural Precedency;
but expect that the multitude of inferiors in fortune should implicitly submit to the will of the worldly superior, in all things; and who also seem to lose all sympathetick concern, all sense of fellow-feeling for the wants and sufferings of their poor dependants, as if they sprung from
a different Stock,
and were not of EQUAL DIGNITY
in the
SIGHT OF GOD!
But, alas, PRIDE is a
Principle of Action,
which occasioned
the Fall
even
of
SATAN
himself
1 Tim. iii. 6.
Lest being
PROUD,
he fall into the Condemnation
(or Judgment)
of the
DEVIL.
That is,
(says an old Commentator)
by means of
PRIDE
and High-mindedness be cast into Hell-fire, in manner as the
DEVIL
is:
by which,
to my seeming
(says he)
it is plain what the sin of the
DEVILS
was, namely, an ambitious affecting, aspiring unto, and arrogating
DIVINITY
to themselves, not content with their own condition; unto which very sin the
DEVIL
afterward, by the serpent, tempted Eve: ministers being young men, and young scholars
(continues this writer)
by
PRESUMPTION AND PRIDE,
are in no small danger of eternal destruction.
Complete Christian Dictionary (1655) p. 138.
, and of
his Angels,
and is equally pernicious to
Human Nature;
for it renders MANKIND more liable to forfeit that
glorious Liberty,
those
inestimable Privileges,
which I have before described, than any other vice! And the reason is plain; for THE PROUD MAN, of all others, is most liable to neglect that "ROYAL LAW," which I have already mentioned—that GOLDEN RULE, by which their notions of political government, and their behaviour to all Mankind, ought to be regulated; for if he was not guilty of this neglect, he would necessarily
cease
to be PROUD, he would
cease
to be
uncharitable;
he would
cease
to be
an Advocate for arbitrary Power,
either in
political Despotism,
or in
domestick Slavery,
both of which now unhappily prevail almost throughout the whole world! for even the enlightened
English Nation
is no longer qualified to censure the unnatural
Oppression
of the Peasantry and lower orders of people in
Russia, Poland, France,
some Part of
Germany,
and in many other States, which are commonly called
Christian;
since the
English
Government have publickly favoured, and do continue to encourage the most abominable
Oppressions
that ever disgraced Mankind; I mean the AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE carried on from England, and THE TOLERATION OF SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH COLONIES! Let the Advocates for these Oppressions seriously and carefully consider the DIGNITY and EQUALITY of HUMAN NATURE, which I have described, as well as their own STATE OF PROBATION in this life, and
the Forfeiture
of inestimable Privileges to which they are continually liable, and I trust they will become sensible of their danger!
But, alas, there are many other causes of failure, which tend to deprive Mankind of that
glorious and eternal Dignity,
for which ALL MEN should be candidates: for besides the ordinary temptations of
worldly Pleasures
This is
the Condemnation,
that Light is come into the world, and Men loved Darkness rather than Light,
because their deeds were evil.
John iii. 19.
, which draw the bulk of Mankind from considering the true means of obtaining the glorious promises of the Gospel, how often are the minds of Men puffed up with
Self-sufficiency,
and
the
PRIDE OF HUMAN LEARNING, and too often even with SPIRITUAL PRIDE, whereby they suffer themselves to be perverted through the deceitfulness even of their own sophistry!
How can such Men avail themselves of the glorious
Promise
of DIVINE INSPIRATION, as
"a Principle of Action,"
if they form to themselves a
Mode
of
believing,
which is totally different from
"the Faith once delivered to the Saints?"
Perhaps they will say—
We do ask the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, and have as good a Right as others to suppose that God's Promise is fulfilled in us;
nevertheless they must allow, that FAITH is necessary for those who ASK; and how can Men be said to have the NECESSARY FAITH, who form to themselves notions of God's HOLY SPIRIT, which are totally inconsistent with the DIVINE NATURE?
How can we conceive that
the
SPIRIT OF GLORY and OF GOD
(1 Pet. iv. 14.)
resteth upon
those who wickedly esteem that glorious and
Eternal Spirit
(Heb. ix. 14.)
no otherwise than as
a created Being,
and a
mere ministering Spirit;
and who refuse to join in that excellent Form of Prayer, the Litany of the Church of England, merely because THE HOLY GHOST is, therein, addressed AS GOD? Is not this to do "
despite unto
THE SPIRIT
of Grace?
(Heb. x. 29.)
These Men may
pray
for the HOLY SPIRIT, indeed; but, with such erroneous conceptions of that GLORIOUS GIFT,
it is impossible
that they should RECEIVE that eternal "SPIRIT OF TRUTH," till they have sincerely repented of their horrid blasphemies, and humbled their own
haughty Spirits
to receive the plain information of the
Scriptures;
for if our Belief in the HOLY TRINITY were set aside, the greatest part of those sacred Writings would become utterly unintelligible to us; because they must, in that case, seem to contain the grossest contradictions, as there are passages, which, without that necessary doctrine, would surely appear
inconsistent with grammar and common sense!
The doctrine of the HOLY TRINITY is expressed in the Articles and Liturgy of
the Church of England
in such guarded terms, as cannot easily be misconstrued and perverted: and though a certain set of men may pretend to found their objections to
the Church of England
on some other Articles of less moment, yet I am thoroughly persuaded, that the said
guarded Terms,
concerning
that
ONE
necessary Doctrine,
are the principal causes of offence to many of those mistaken Clergymen, who lately petitioned Parliament that they might be exempted from Subscription
It is reasonable and just, indeed, that all men should be at
liberty
to teach and profess whatever religious opinions they think
most consistent with the Holy Scriptures
(if we except any publick promulgation of that religion, which offends against the laws of
this nation,
as a civil society, by asserting a
foreign jurisdiction;
and which has also unhappily adopted some
antichristian
rites of
idolatry, sorcery,
and
inchantments!
But the petitioners cannot allege that they are not
already
AT LIBERTY to bear a publick testimony of their opinions; and it would be dangerous even to the
true religion,
were not SUCH LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE allowed: for supposing any material alteration should be permitted to be made in the Articles and Liturgy of
the Church of England,
a great majority, perhaps, of the present churchmen might think themselves obliged to dissent, and separate from what would then be called,
the Established Church;
and would certainly think themselves intitled to a free toleration, and a public use of
the present Liturgy
in their several separate congregations.
I am therefore a sincere advocate for LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE; but when a majority of the clergy and people have agreed upon the Articles of their Faith, and established the same as the
National Profession of Religion,
(which it surely is while the
majority
continue of that opinion) it is certainly no unjust restraint nor derogation from that NECESSARY LIBERTY above-mentioned, that those who are to be admitted public teachers of the
national Profession,
should be required to
subscribe
a declaration that they approve and will maintain the same. For otherwise the uniformity of doctrine would be banished from the pulpits, and the peace of congregations would be continually disturbed by the broaching of undigested notions diametrically opposite to the general and established opinions of the people; and even the publick Form of Prayer would be reduced and moulded according to the caprice of every officiating minister; for there can be no
Church Government
without a
written Test of Doctrine,
couched in such terms as are least liable to misconstruction and equivocation. The Catholick or Universal Church in
every age,
and in
every place,
hath ever had its
Tests of Doctrine,
or particular
Creeds,
to which the
assent
of all persons, but more particularly the
assent of the clergy,
was always required; so that the
Church of England
is not singular in requiring the assent or subscription of those persons who desire to be admitted and authorized by the
National
Church as publick teachers and expounders of the Christian Faith.
to the Articles of the
Church of England.
But as a
right Faith
must seal and authenticate our claims to the inestimable privileges and immunities of the Gospel, and as the
true Dignity of Human Nature
cannot be attained without the
Divine
Assistance, and the Inspiration of God's
Holy Spirit,
whereby
Men
are made partakers (as I have already shewn) of the
Divine Nature,
some knowledge of the latter (so far as the Almighty hath been pleased to reveal himself to us) is absolutely necessary for those Persons who desire to be acquainted with the
Law of Nature,
and
the Principles of Action in Man:
and therefore some observations relating to the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity,
are by no means foreign to the subject and intention of this Tract. But it is an awful mystery, that must be received more by
Faith
in what God has been pleased to reveal to us, than by
Human Comprehension.
The
finite
understanding of the NATURAL MAN
—
the NATURAL MAN receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know
(them),
because they are spiritually discerned.
(1 Cor. ii. 14).
cannot, in this life, conceive an adequate idea of that glorious and eternal BEING, which in every attribute is
infinite
perfection! Nay, even if we had a
perfect Knowledge
of that which is now so far above us, yet no language could supply words, no rhetorical figures of comparison could be found to express that
Knowledge! and it would,
therefore, remain unuttered,
in these lower Regions,
like those
"unspeakable Words"
which were heard by the Apostle Paul when he was
"caught up into Paradise!"
2 Cor. xii. 4. For—
To whom will ye liken God?
(said Isai. xl. 18.)
or what Likeness will ye compare unto him?
But a time will come, when we shall
know,
even as we are
known
For
NOW
we see through a glass darkly: but then
FACE
to
FACE:
now
I KNOW
in part
(said the Apostle to the Corinthians)
but then shall I
KNOW
even as also I am
KNOWN.
1 Cor. xiii. 12.
. This expression to KNOW,
even as we are
KNOWN, implies
a perfect Knowledge
of that eternal
Being,
which is
infinite
in
Knowledge,
in
Power,
in
Majesty,
in
Glory,
&c.—And therefore a more exalted State of Happiness cannot be conceived, than that which
a perfect Knowledge of
GOD must afford!—A
Happiness
to be expected only in Heaven, when
Human Nature
shall have put on
Incorruption
and
Immortality
For this
CORRUPTIBLE (Body) must
put on
INCORRUPTION,
and this
MORTAL (must)
put on
IMMORTALITY;
then shall be brought to pass the Saying that is written
(see Isaiah xxv. 8.)
DEATH
is swallowed up in
VICTORY.
1 Cor. xv. 53, 54.
. But though we can neither attain, in this life,
a perfect Knowledge of God,
nor that
perfect Happiness
which results from it, yet it is our duty to improve and cultivate our
limited Knowledge
concerning
the Divine Nature,
as far as God has been pleased to reveal himself to us in the Scriptures; for so FAR the
Knowledge
is undoubtedly
necessary
to MAN, even in this life, or otherwise, we may be assured, the
Revelation
would not have been made,
in the Scriptures,
by Inspiration of God
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, &c.
2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.
, who cannot act in vain! Let us therefore earnestly desire to partake of that
necessary Knowledge,
and let us look into the evidences of it with the most awful reverence, and the most humble submission of our FAITH to
the Word of
GOD; lest through any improper conception of the
Divine Nature,
we should unhappily fall under a similar condemnation to that of
Eliphaz,
and his two friends, who visited
Job
—
My Wrath
(said JEHOVAH)
is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me
(the thing that is)
right, &c.
(Job xlii. 7.)
When Moses desired to see
the Glory of
JEHOVAH (saying,
I beseech thee shew me
THY GLORY
) he was answered by the Almighty,
Thou canst not see my Face: for there shall no Man see me and live.
(Exod. xxxiii. 18.20.)
We must therefore limit our ideas of those appearances under which God revealed himself to the
Patriarchs,
and to
Moses;
—for the Gospel expressly informs us, that
no Man hath seen God at any time
(but the Evangelist immediately adds with respect to the Messiah)
the only begotten Son, which
IS IN THE BOSOM OF THE FATHER,
he hath declared.
(
) That is,
hath clearly declared
or shewn the Father, or, as Mr. Leigh has remarked upon the Word in his
Critica Sacra
—id est (says he) Nobis ad ejus veram cognitionem eruendam Dux et Auctor fuit, &c.
This is further explained by the declaration of our Lord himself—
He that hath
SEEN
me
(said our Lord)
hath
SEEN
the Father; &c.
(1 John xiv. 9.)
Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me
And yet they are distinct persons; for
the
LORD
said unto my
LORD,
—Sit
THOU
on
MY
right hand, &c.
(Mat. xxii. 44. Psa. cx. 1.)
.
(ib. ver. 11.)
Not that any
Man hath
SEEN the eternal
Being
(or JEHOVAH) I mean the
Divine Nature
Nam
DEUM,
ut est, nemo mortalium, quamlibet magnus, vidit unquam nisi per aenigmata. Et quanquam
MOSI,
Patriarchis, et Prophetis aliquam suorum arcanorum portionem quàdantenus patefecit, tamen hanc gratiae et veritatis plenitudinem solus unigenitus filius accepit: qui sic ad nos descendit, factus homo, ut
PER DIVINAM NATURAM
semper sit in sinu
DEI PATRIS.
Erasmi Paraphrasis in Evang. Joannis, p. 24.
, in which the
Son of Man
(even while ON EARTH) was and is
in the Bosom of the Father,
(and in which now that he is ascended into Heaven) he is always with his Church ON EARTH, though he
sat down
(
, which plainly implies a personal Residence)
on the Right Hand of the Majesty on High;
(Heb. i. 3.)
—for "GOD
is a Spirit,
" and cannot be seen by Human Eyes
For he is—
the King eternal, immortal,
INVISIBLE,
&c.
1 Tim. i. 17.
—
WHOM
no man hath
SEEN,
nor can
SEE.
(1 Tim. vi. 16.)
—
there shall no man
SEE
me and live.
Exod. xxxiii. 18. 20.
,
though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being.
(Acts xvii. 27, 28.)
But Christ being
the Image of the
INVISIBLE GOD
In whom we have redemption through his blood
(even)
the forgiveness of sins.
WHO IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD,
the first-born of every creature: for by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether
(they be)
thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers: all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all
(or among all)
he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased
(the Father)
that in him should all fulness dwell.
(Col. i. 14.19.)
But the word
Father,
expressed in this version, is not found in the original Greek, though it is here supplied as the
principal Substantive,
which is an unjustifiable violence to the text, especially as the proper
governing Substantive
of the sentence is plainly expressed in the original: I mean the words
, THE FULNESS, for it apparently means that
Divine
FULNESS, which the same Apostle in the very next chapter (9th verse) expressly calls
,
"all the Fulness of the Godhead"
—that DWELLETH,
,
bodily,
or
personally,
in Christ; so that both verses have the same application of the word
; and surely
"the Fulness of the Godhead"
may, with propriety, be said to
will
or
please
to dwell in Christ, according to the
literal sense
of the text, and therefore there can be no necessity to
supply
another
Substantive
to govern the
Verb
. The literal construction of the text is sufficiently intelligible—
, which is literally rendered by the learned
Hugh Broughton
as follows:
For that in him all
FULNESS
pleased to dwell
This is copied from an old printed Bible in my Possession, with MS. Corrections copied from Mr. Broughton's own Hand-writing. At the Bottom of the Page the same Verse is transcribed, with a little Variation in the Order, but equally literal—viz.
For all Fulness pleased to dwell in him.
.
The same literal interpretation exactly has been made by the author of the
Syriac Version,
which
Mons. de Dieu
translates as follows:
Quia in ipso voluit omnis
PLENITUDO
habitare.
The
Arabic Version
also has the same rendering, except in one word,
being construed PERFECTION, instead of FULNESS—
Quia
PERFECTIO
omnis in eo voluit habitare.
, in whom all Fulness dwelleth,
(Coloss. i. 15—19.)
for in him dwelleth all the Fulness of the
GODHEAD BODILY,
,
or
personally!
(Coloss. ii. 9.)
Who being the Brightness of his Glory, and express Image of his
(
that is, God's
See the first verse of the chapter, which contains the governing Substantive to which this relative Pronoun
his
plainly refers.—
GOD,
who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by
(his)
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of
(his)
glory, and the express image of
HIS
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Heb. i. 1—4.
Person (
)
and upholding all Things by the Word of his Power,
(Hebr. i. 3.)
in him alone, therefore,
who is the Image of God,
(2 Cor. iv. 4.)
can GOD
be seen!
and in him alone could be fulfilled that ancient Promise to the
Jewish Nation,
that they should SEE THEIR GOD: —
O Zion, that bringest good Tidings, get thee up into the high Mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good Tidings, lift up thy Voice with Strength: lift
(it)
up, be not afraid;
SAY UNTO THE CITIES OF JUDAH, BEHOLD YOUR GOD!
Isaiah xl. 9.
Compare this with the Context in the same Chapter. The Divine Person, whom "THE CITIES OF JUDAH" are here called upon to BEHOLD, was afterwards (agreeable to this prophecy) particularly pointed out by John the Baptist, to "
the Cities of Judah
For there
went out to him
(John the Baptist) JERUSALEM,
and all
JUDEA,
and all the Region round about Jordan.
(Matt. iii. 5.)
—whom John had previously forewarned, saying,—
After me cometh a Man which is preferred before me:
a Man whom he himself
knew not,
only that "
he should be
MADE MANIFEST" (
)
"to Israel."
(John i. 30, 31.) But as soon as this faithful Messenger was divinely instructed concerning the Identity of the Person that was to
be made manifest to Israel
(for "GOD was MANIFEST," (or
appeared,
) IN THE FLESH, 1 Tim. iii. 16.)
See Note in p. 223. concerning the true Reading in this Text.
he proclaimed him to
the Cities of Judah
(the People that flocked to him from
"Jerusalem, and all Judea"
) saying, "BEHOLD, THE LAMB
LAMB OF GOD, i. e.
the Lamb
foretold by Isaiah (liii. 7.)
He is brought as
A LAMB
to the Slaughter,
&c.
OF GOD,
which taketh away
(or
beareth
) the
"Sins of the World."
John i. 29.
, and the Office of that faithful Harbinger, or Forerunner, in proclaiming the
Advent
as well as the
Dignity
of the Divine Person, that was
to be seen,
or
made manifest to Israel,
is as distinctly foretold in the 3d and 5th Verses of the same Chapter.
The Voice of him that crieth in
THE WILDERNESS
(for
the Wilderness
was the appointed Place of John's Ministry)
Prepare ye the Way of the
LORD
(
"the Way of
JEHOVAH
")
make straight in
THE DESERT
(once more alluding to the Place wherein the
Messiah
was first proclaimed by his inspired Harbinger)
a Highway for
OUR GOD!
And again,
the Glory of
THE LORD
(
i. e.
"the Glory of
JEHOVAH,
"
)
shall be revealed, and
ALL FLESH SHALL SEE (it) TOGETHER,
&c. This latter Sentence was fulfilled only in part, when
"the Voice in the Wilderness"
proclaimed the Messiah, saying,
Behold the Lamb of God,
&c.—for though
Jerusalem, "and the Cities of Judah,"
then
beheld
their GOD in the Person of
the Son of God
"
He that
SEETH ME (said our Lord himself) SEETH HIM THAT SENT ME." (John xii. 45.) Compare this with 1 John iv. 9.—
because that GOD SENT
his only begotten Son into the World,
&c.
, and
saw the Glory
"
The
WORD
was
GOD,"&c.—
All
Things were made by him,
&c.—
And THE WORD
was made
FLESH,
and dwelt among us (and
WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, the GLORY
as of the only begotten of the Father) full of Grace and Truth.
John i. 1—14.
Agreeable to this, the Apostle Paul informs us, that "GOD WAS MANIFEST" (or
appeared,
)
IN THE FLESH.
1 Tim. iii. 16.
The Cavils of the learned Wetstein upon this Text are clearly confuted by the very accurate Observations of the Rev. Dr. J. C. Velthusen (printed at London in 1773) who proves, that
C, the proper Abbreviation for
(and not O C or O) is the true Reading in this Text.
of Jehovah,
that was promised to be revealed, without
perceiving it,
agreeable to another Prophecy of Isaiah (
in
SEEING
ye shall
SEE,
and shall not
PERCEIVE
—in them is fulfilled the Prophecy of
ISAIAH,
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and
SEEING
ye shall
SEE,
and shall not
PERCEIVE.
Matt. xiii. 14. Isai. vi. 9, 10. Ezek. xii. 2.
,
chap. vi. 9.) yet
all Flesh did not then
SEE
him together!
Succeeding Generations, indeed, may be said to
see,
and also to
perceive
the
Glory
of
Jehovah,
that is, with the Eye of Faith in the scriptures: but the prophecy will most certainly be
literally and universally fulfilled
AT THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, when
ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH
shall
SEE THE SON OF MAN
coming in the Clouds of Heaven, with Power and
GREAT GLORY.
(Matt. xxiv. 30.)
For then "THE GLORY OF JEHOVAH" will be so
revealed,
that
ALL FLESH SHALL SEE (it) TOGETHER,
even those Men
shall see,
that now presume to deny
the Divine Nature
of our Redeemer, and refuse to worship him; for
BEHOLD,
he cometh with the Clouds; and
EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM,
and they
(also)
which pierced him.
Rev. i. 7.
This is he
(said the learned Bishop Chandler, speaking of the Divine WORD
In the Beginning was the
WORD,
and the
WORD
was with
GOD,
and the
WORD
was
GOD.
The same was in the Beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was
LIFE,
and the
LIFE
was the
LIGHT
of Men. And the
LIGHT
shineth in Darkness, and the Darkness comprehendeth it not.
(John i. 1—5, &c.)
—And the
WORD
was made
FLESH,
and dwelt among us (and we
BEHELD HIS GLORY,
the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of Grace and Truth.
(John i. 14.)
, which was in the Beginning with God, and was God, and made all Things)
who in time
(says he)
was made Flesh, and is called JESUS
JESUS, or Iesous, from
Jeshouo, in the vulgar Tongue of the Jews, while our Lord was on Earth, signifying a SAVIOUR (
from
SALVATION
See Psal. xx. 7. where the Word is used as a Noun in that Sense,
"By the Strength" (or in the Mightinesses) "of THE SALVATION of his right Hand. See also Psal. L. 23.
, from whence is formed the Verb in Hiphal,
he SAVED) agreeable to the Purport of the Name JESUS declared by an Angel before the Birth of
Christ:
She shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his Name
JESUS,
for he
SHALL SAVE
his People from their Sins.
(Matt. i. 21.)
—The Apostle Peter also bore the like Testimony concerning the true Meaning of Christ's Name, when he was
"filled with the Holy Ghost"
in the Presence of the High Priest and Elders of the Jews, saying—
Ye Rulers of the People, and Elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good Deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that BY THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH,
whom ye crucified,
whom God raised from the dead (even) by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone Which was set at nought of you builders,
(see Psal. cxviii. 22. Isai. xxviii. 16.)
which is become the Head of the Corner;
neither is there
SALVATION
(says he, still alluding to
the Name
JESUS)
in any other: for there is
NONE OTHER NAME
under Heaven given among Men, whereby we must be
SAVED.
Acts iv. 5—12.
This Name of SALVATION therefore exactly corresponds with the Title, by which the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed to the Jews the Advent of that Divine Person, who was to redeem ZION.
&c.
Say ye unto the Daughter of Zion,
Behold thy
SALVATION
(
JESHO)
cometh; behold, his Reward is with him, and his Work before him, and they shall call them, The Holy People, the
REDEEMED
of
JEHOVAH:
&c.
Isai. lxii. 11, 12.
, and CHRIST, as he is indeed the Fountain of
Life
and
Light
to every Being that partakes of either, &c.
(Serm. before the King in 1718. p. 21.)
Sometimes he is indeed treated
(says the same learned Writer, p. 15.)
as an
Angel,
or
Messenger;
but even then is so distinguished from all other Angels, in respect of Majesty, Autority, and Power, or dignify'd with the incommunicable Title of JEHOVA, that they had not the least Thought of his being a meer Angel,
&c.
The Eternal WORD, though he was in
the Beginning with
GOD, and was GOD, yet under the Dispensation of the Gospel (that he might restore the lost Dignity of fallen Man) became the
Angel,
or MESSENGER of GOD; that is, of Jehovah Tsabaouth,
the Lord of Hosts.
For He was—
the Messenger of the Covenant,
foretold by the Prophet
Malachi,
and being also
Lord of Hosts himself,
he sent
another Messenger before his Face
to prepare
his
Way—"BEHOLD, I" (that is, I JEHOVAH TSABAOUTH,
or Lord of Hosts,
see the End of the Verse) "
will send
MY MESSENGER" (that is,
John
the Baptist
Our Lord himself applied this Prophecy to
John
the Baptist—
for this is
(he)
of whom it is written
(said our Lord)
"Behold I send my Messenger before thy Face, which shall prepare thy Way before thee.
Matt. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. Luke vii. 27.
)
and he shall prepare the Way before me
(that is,
before the Divine
WORD, which, being included in the Unity of JEHOVAH, then spoke to the Jews under the Title of LORD OF HOSTS) "
and
THE LORD" (
THE ADOUN
Adoun
is a Title for a great Lord; and from thence one of the false Deities of the Phoenicians is named ADONIS; but when the
is prefixed to this Title in
the singular Number,
it marks, that the Person spoken of is not only
a hard,
but THE LORD, by way of Eminence, as being
the
only supreme Lord and Governor of all things; for it is then applicable to none but JEHOVAH THE LORD OF HOSTS, and is so applied in no less than
seven
other Instances of Scripture, without
one
Instance of a different Application. See Exod. xxiii. 17. and xxxiv. 23. Isai. i. 24. iii. 1. x. 16. x. 33. xix. 4.
, or supreme Lord)
"whom ye seek"
(whom the Jews were taught by their Prophets to expect)
shall suddenly come to
HIS
If THE ADOUN,
or Lord,
who was
the Messenger
of the Covenant, was not also
Jehova,
he could not be said to come to HIS Temple.
Temple, even
THE MESSENGER
(or
Angel,
Malach,
from whence the Prophet
Malachi
himself was also named)
OF THE COVENANT,
whom ye delight in: Behold, he shall come, saith the
LORD
OF HOSTS.
Malachi iii. 1.
Thus it appears, that
the Messenger
(whom our Lord himself declared to be
John the Baptist
) was to be sent to prepare the Way before JEHOVAH OF HOSTS, the same Divine Being who SPOKE by the Prophet,
Behold, I will send
MY
Messenger, and he shall prepare the Way before
ME.
But our Lord himself, in referring to this Passage, varies a little from the Original, by making a Distinction
of Persons
between
the Lord
(or
Jehovah of Hosts
) who spoke, and the Divine Person before whom the Messenger was to prepare the Way—
Behold, I send
MY
Messenger before
THY
Face,
which shall prepare THY
Way before
THEE.
Matt. xi. 10.
This Variation from the first to the second Person, from
my
to
thy,
and from
me
to
thee,
proves that Christ (for it cannot be applied to any other but Christ and Jehovah) was indeed the Person before whom the
Messenger,
John, was to prepare the Way; and the original Text (which undoubtedly is also a true Reading in this Place, as it perfectly corresponds with all the ancient Versions) proves at the same time, that
the Way
was to be prepared for
Jehovah,
who said,
Behold,
I will
send
MY
Messenger, and he shall prepare the
Way
before
ME; and consequently it appears, by comparing both Texts, that CHRIST is included in the Eternal Being JEHOVAH. The Socinians endeavour to evade this Testimony of the Scripture concerning
the Divine Nature
of the Messiah, by supposing that he is called
Jehovah
only in a
relative
Sense, as being
the Prophet,
or
Ambassador of
JEHOVAH,
the Representative being named for the Principal.
In like manner, for Instance (say they) as he that
despiseth Christ's Messengers,
is said to
despise Christ himself; and he that despiseth him, despiseth also him that sent him.
Luke x. 16.
And he that lied to the Apostles, lied to God.
Acts v. 4.
In these and such like Passages, indeed, the
relative
Sense is manifest; and it may also, in a certain degree, be admitted in the Construction of the Text in question, but yet not so as to favour the Socinian Argument in the least respect whatsoever.
The Prophecy, for instance, concerning
the Messenger
therein mentioned (of whom JEHOVAH said,—"
he shall prepare the Way before
ME) was fulfilled in the Person of John the Baptist, as our Lord himself declared (see Note in p. 227.); and therefore, according to the
Socinian
Method of Argument, it might indeed be said of those worldly Men, who despised that extraordinary
Messenger
of
Jehovah,
and neglected the Doctrine of Repentance, which he enforced; that they, in so doing,
despised the Lord Jehovah,
by whom this Messenger was sent; and, on the other hand, those Jews, who readily received John's Doctrine of Repentance, and attended diligently to his Instructions, may, in the like relative Sense, be said to
honour Jehovah,
by paying due Respect to his Messenger. But a mere
relative Honour,
such as might lawfully be given to the
Messenger of Jehovah,
will bear no Comparison with
the Honour
that is due to
Jehovah
himself:—the latter must be supream
Honour and Worship,
whereas the former amounts only to
Respect, Attention,
and
good Offices,
for whatever is more than these must lead to Idolatry; so that the Comparison can be carried no farther.
A Messenger of
Jehovah
cannot, therefore, merely as such, be allowed
the Name of
JEHOVAH, because this would entitle him also to
the Honour
that is due to JEHOVAH alone; so that when Jehovah said,
MY
Messenger
—
he
shall prepare the
Way
BEFORE ME,
he must mean (if Language has any Use) that the
Messenger
was to prepare the Way for the Advent of
Jehovah
himself, who could not be said to come in the Person of any
Messenger,
or Ambassador whatsoever, except in one of the Divine Persons that are manifestly included in the same Eternal BEING, and consequently are entitled to the
Honour
and
Worship,
as well as to the
Name,
of JEHOVAH! This glorious Title JEHOVAH is no where in Scripture attributed to any Person whatever, that is not thus included in the Unity of the Godhead, neither can it be without Blasphemy (so that the Socinian Argument must fall to the Ground) because it is the distinguishing Title of the supreme Divine Nature!—
Thou, whose Name alone
(is) JEHOVA (art) the most High over all the Earth.
Psal. lxxxiii. 18.
or it should rather be rendered, as we find it in the old English Versions—
Thou whose Name is
JEHOVAH,
art
ONLY (or alone)
the most High,
&c.
This Division of the Sentence is agreeable to all the ancient Versions, except the Syriac; but, in either way of translating, the Name of JEHOVAH is manifestly given as
the distinguishing Title of the supreme
GOD; and cannot therefore be attributed to any Person whatever, that is not
truly God,
because the said Distinction would be destroyed, if the Name was ever used merely in that relative Sense for which the Socinians contend: Proper Names, indeed, were frequently formed or compounded with that Holy Name, by having it prefixed, or postfixed, to some other Word, apparently with an Intention to distinguish
the Servants of
JEHOVAH
See my Remarks concerning the Names
Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin,
and
Zedekiah,
in my Tract on
the Law of Retribution,
p. 47.
Note
101. 109, 110, and 166.
; but the peculiar and incommunicable Name itself has never been mentioned by any of the Sacred Writers in such a manner, as to refer us either in direct Terms, or by necessary Implication, to any other Persons whatsoever, besides those of the Holy Trinity; and, on the other hand, with respect to Christ, it is not only
the Name
of JEHOVAH that is referred to him by the necessary Interpretation of several incontestable Passages of Scripture; but also the
Power
And Jesus came and spake unto them
(his Disciples)
saying,
ALL POWER
is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth—Go ye, therefore, and teach all Nations, baptizing them in the
NAME
of the
FATHER,
and of the
SON,
and of the
HOLY GHOST.
Matt. xxviii. 18, 19.
For as the Father raiseth up the Dead, and quickeneth
(them)
even so the
SON
quickeneth whom he will.
John v. 21.
, the
Honour
For the
FATHER
judgeth no Man; but hath committed
ALL JUDGMENT
unto the
SON:
that all
(Men)
should
HONOUR
the
SON,
even as they
HONOUR
the
FATHER.
He that
HONOURETH
not the
SON, HONOURETH
not the
FATHER
which hath sent him.
John v. 22▪ 23.
, and the
Glory
of
Jehovah
And now, O Father
(said our Lord Jesus)
GLORIFY
thou me with thine ownself
(and surely to be GLORIFIED with the
Father himself,
is the same Thing as to partake of the GLORY OF JEHOVAH)
with the
GLORY
which I had
WITH THEE
before the World was.
John xvii. 5.
: so that the Socinian Evasion before-mentioned is as vain as it is wicked, whenever it is applied to those Passages of Scripture wherein the Name of
Jehovah
is attributed to that Divine Person,
in whom dwelleth all the Fullness of the Godhead, bodily!
Coloss. ii. 9.
JEHOVAH is the proper and
essential
Name of ALMIGHTY GOD, because it, in some degree, expresses his Eternal
Being
or
Existence,
being a compound Word, including different Tenses or Times of the Hebrew Verb
TO BE, or rather (as it is the Preterperfect Tense, signifying HE WAS; from whence is formed
, the Participle as well as Present Tense, signifying, according to Buxtorf's Concordance (though, in his Lexicon, he renders it also FUIT)
ens, es, est;
being, thou art, he is;
to which the prefixed
, the true characteristic Letter of the Future Tense (
shall
or
will be
), is also added to form the Word
JEHOVAH; so that this mysterious and awful Name seems to express ALL TIME, or ETERNITY; as if, for instance, a Word was to be compounded of three different Tenses of the Latin Word
esse, to be,
viz.
est, fuit, erit (he is,—he was,—he shall be)
yet so as to include the Sense of all three, and consequently to denominate in one single Word an
Eternal
BEING, that
ever did,
and
ever will,
EXIST.—And such seems to be the Interpretation of the glorious Name JEHOVAH, according to the Opinion of the most learned in the Hebrew Tongue, viz. "ENS, EXISTENS AB ETERNO ET IN ETERNUM," A BEING
existing from all Eternity and for ever.
This is the Sense which the learned Buxtorf has quoted in his Hebrew Lexicon from the famous Jewish Rabbin
Aben Ezra,
and he cites also the Authority of several others of the most eminent Jews much to the same Purpose
Amongst the rest he cites a Commentary on some of the Psalms, viz. x. 16. and cxlvi. 9. &c. from a Jewish book, wherein this sense is plainly laid down.—
Textus hïs docet de
DEO CREATORE,
quòd est
PRIMUS
sine Principio, et
ULTIMUS
sine Fine.
Sic Nomen ejus
testatur de tribus existens
is, seu existendi differentiis ejus,
PRAESENTI, PRAETERITO,
et
FUTURO,
quae sunt literae ipseu smet Nominis appropriati
et profort tr
s
EXISTENTIAS EJUS,
Voce Regui et Dominii, ad indicandum, quòd ipse regnat et gubernat in Mundo fuo, secut Rex regit serv
s fuos.
The Text here teaches concerning
GOD THE CREATOR,
that he is
FIRST
without Beginning, and
LAST
without End.
So his Name bears witness of his three
Existences,
or Differences of
Existing,
in the
Present,
the
Preter,
(or
Past
) and the
Future
Tenses, which are the letters of his own appropriated (or peculiar name)
and proclaims his
three Existences
with the Voice of Rule and Dominion, to denote that he reigns and governs in his World, as a King governs his Subjects.
. But, as the Words of
Holy Scripture
are best interpreted by
Holy Scripture,
he refers us at the same time to a Text in the Revelations, wherein the Apostle John addresses the Seven Churches of Asia in the NAME OF GOD, which is there clearly expressed in the same Sense that the Jews (as I have before remarked) have attributed to the Hebrew Name JEHOVAH, and seems therefore to be the true Interpretation of it.—"
Grace be unto you, and peace from him, which
IS,
and which
WAS,
and which
IS TO COME,
. Rev. i. 4. In like manner the four Beasts, or rather living Animals
(which in the Revelations represent the
Hosts or Armies of Israel,
by the Figures of those Animals which were borne on the Standards of the four principal Tribes in their Encampments round the Tabernacle)
rest not Day and Night, saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty; which
WAS,
and
IS,
and
IS TO COME,
.
Rev. iv. 8. So also
the four and twenty Elders, which sat before God on their Seats, fell upon their Faces and worshipped God, saying, We give Thanks to thee, O
LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,
which
ART,
and
WAST,
and
(WILT BE, or) ART TO COME,
&c.
. Rev. xi. 16, 17.
This Eternal BEING, which has been pleased to reveal himself to us in such clear and comprehensive terms, is the same Almighty JEHOVAH that is mentioned in Genesis (xiv. 22.) in the highest terms of Power and Glory—
the Lord
(in the original JEHOVAH)
the most high God, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth.
The same Eternal BEING, or JEHOVAH, is also called "JEHOVAH, GOD OF ISRAEL,"
in Exod. xxxii. 27. Joshua vii. 19. xiii. 33. xxii. 24. Judges xi. 23, &c. He is also called
JEHOVAH,
the
GOD OF GODS,
(
) in Joshua xxii. 22. where we find this glorious title twice expressed in the same sentence:
The
LORD (or JEHOVAH)
God of Gods;
THE LORD
God of Gods, he knoweth,
&c. And therefore, as the LORD, or JEHOVAH, mentioned in these several texts, is undoubtedly THE SUPREME GOD, we are naturally led to attribute the same
Divine Excellence,
and
supreme Dignity,
to the glorious name JEHOVAH, wherever it occurs in other parts of Scripture, because there is but ONE JEHOVAH! "
Hear, O Israel!
—
—
"The Lord,"
(or Jehovah) "
our God
(is) ONE LORD" (viz. ONE JEHOVAH—
and thou shalt love
JEHOVAH
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, &c.
(Deut. vi. 4, 5.)
Thus
the Unity of God
is proved to be an indispensable article of our Faith! And yet we are equally bound to acknowledge, that
Three Divine Persons
are comprehended in that
One,
Almighty and Eternal BEING, or JEHOVAH!— because this glorious name is clearly applied, in the Holy Scriptures (even in those of the Old Testament) to as many
distinct Persons;
who are, therefore, to be esteemed
equal,
or ONE, with
the supreme God,
as
Jehovah our God
(is) ONE JEHOVAH!
Deut. vi. 4.
For though we are bound to acknowledge a manifest subordination with respect to the merciful and gracious OFFICES of
Redemption
and
Sanctification,
whereby Two of the Divine Persons are particularly distinguished in Scripture, yet we are obliged, at the same time, to believe, that the several Divine Persons are of
One and the same
Eternal and Almighty EXISTENCE with respect to that incomprehensible BEING, or
Divine Nature,
wherein their
Unity
consists; because the contrary Doctrines of those Men, who deny that OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and THE HOLY GHOST, partake of the
same Divine Nature
with THE FATHER, do manifestly and necessarily include the supposition of a
superior
and
inferior
order of DIVINE EXISTENCE (for that all the Three Persons have
Divine Existence
and
Divine Attributes
cannot be denied, without setting aside the whole tenour of the Holy Scriptures) which EXISTENCE could not, without absurdity, be called
one
and
the same,
but must necessarily be esteemed
several,
or
separate
and
different,
if the least degree of
Inequality
with respect to the
Divine Nature
be admitted; and therefore
such Doctrines
are totally inconsistent with our indispensable Belief in
the Unity of God,
whatsoever those mistaken people, who call themselves
Unitarians,
may think!
But a due regard to these two necessary distinctions, viz. the
Equality
and
Unity
(as there is but ONE GOD) of the THREE Persons with respect to their
Divine Nature,
and the revealed subordination of TWO of them with respect to the merciful and gracious OFFICES of
Redemption
and
Sanctification,
whereby they are
personally
distinguished and made known to us in Scripture;—a due regard to these
two necessary distinctions
(I say) and to the proper application of the several texts by which
both
are respectively proved, will clearly demonstrate (at least to all Men who sincerely
ask
and
seek
the knowledge of Truth, as Christ has commanded) that
the Doctrine of the Trinity,
as received by THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, is strictly consistent with the indispensable doctrine of Scripture before-mentioned concerning the
Unity of God.
That there are
Three
distinct Persons in that
One
ETERNAL BEING, or JEHOVAH, is clearly revealed in Scripture; for each Person is occasionally mentioned under that distinguishing and peculiar Name of
the Supreme God.
And first, with respect to the
first
Divine Person in the Holy Trinity.— In the 42d chapter of Isaiah, the Divine Person, whom the Prophet represents in the 6th verse, as speaking in the name of
Jehovah,
is clearly distinguished from the MESSIAH and HOLY SPIRIT; and though it may seem a needless work to produce any proofs that the Almighty Father,
THE GOD
and
FATHER
of our Lord
JESUS CHRIST
Ephes. i. 3. See also the 17th verse—
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory.
Our Lord himself likewise said unto Mary Magdalene, after he arose from the dead,—
Go to my
BRETHREN,
and say unto them, I ascend unto
MY FATHER,
and
YOUR FATHER,
and to
MY GOD,
and YOUR GOD.
John xx. 17.
,
is truly JEHOVAH (which no Man will deny) yet I propose to recite some parts of this chapter, in order to prove the clear distinction of
Persons
and
their Offices,
as revealed even in the Old Testament.—
Thus saith
GOD JEHOVAH,
he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and Spirit to them that walk therein: I
JEHOVAH
have called
THEE
(apparently meaning the MESSIAH)
in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, and for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
(and)
them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
I AM JEHOVAH;
that
(is) MY NAME:
and
MY GLORY WILL I NOT GIVE TO ANOTHER,
&c.
Isai. xlii. 5—8.
These words of JEHOVAH are manifestly addressed to the MESSIAH, as a
distinct
Person, in his mediatorial Office of Redeemer; and the Divine Person, who thus addresses
the Messiah,
is manifestly the same that speaks in the first verse of the same chapter, and mentions both THE MESSIAH and the HOLY SPIRIT in that one sentence
as distinct
PERSONS FROM HIMSELF, and under different and distinct characters or offices of the Christian Dispensation, suitable to the nature of that extraordinary prophecy concerning the future Redemption of Mankind!
Behold,
MY SERVANT,
(apparently meaning the MESSIAH in his state of humiliation as SON OF MAN)
whom I uphold; mine Elect
(in whom)
my Soul delighteth; I have put
MY SPIRIT
upon
HIM:
(Here the Three Persons are distinctly expressed)
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles! He shall not cry, not lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, &c.
Isai. xlii. 1—3.
Thus we find
the Office
of THE MESSIAH particularly described in this chapter, as well as the descent of THE HOLY SPIRIT upon HIM: and this is expressly foretold by the
Lord
JEHOVAH, who speaks of
himself distinctly from the other two;
so that the distinction of Persons is hereby clearly manifested.
Secondly, The glorious Name of
the supreme God
JEHOVAH, is plainly attributed, in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, to the Second Person,
the Divine Messiah,
in his
Pastoral
Office, as
Shepherd of Israel.
The peculiar Harbinger or Forerunner of the Messiah is described and foretold in the third verse, as the Forerunner also of JEHOVAH—
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the
WAY
of the
LORD
(
THE WAY OF JEHOVAH)
make straight in the desert a
HIGHWAY
for
OUR GOD.
(3d verse).
And John the Baptist, in whom alone that prophecy could be fulfilled (as I have shewn more particularly in my Tract on Prophecy
Remarks on several very important Prophecies.
2d Edit. p. 177—189.
) declared the identity of the Divine Person whom
he preceded
in the world, and whose WAY he was SENT TO PREPARE, saying,—
He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the
HOLY GHOST,
and with Fire.
Matt. iii. 11.
— And afterwards, when the Priests and Levites (those that were sent from Jerusalem to ask him,
Who art thou
) questioned him, saying,
Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that
CHRIST,
nor
ELIAS,
neither that
PROPHET? John
answered them, saying, I baptize with water:
BUT THERE STANDETH ONE AMONG YOU,
whom ye know not;
HE IT IS, WHO, COMING AFTER ME,
is preferred before me, whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose. &c.
John i. 19—27.
And
"the next day"
he bore full and express testimony to the identity of the Divine Person that
came after him,
whose WAY HE PREPARED—
John seeth
JESUS
coming unto him, and saith—
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
THIS
is
HE
of whom I said,
AFTER ME COMETH
a
MAN,
which is preferred before me;
FOR HE WAS BEFORE ME.
And I knew him not: but that he should be
MADE MANIFEST
to
ISRAEL,
therefore I am come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw
THE SPIRIT DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN
like a dove, and
IT
abode upon
HIM.
And I knew him not: but
HE
that sent me to baptize with water,
THE SAME
said unto me
(now mark again the clear declaration of Two Divine Persons, separate and distinct from the Divine Being now represented as speaking)
UPON WHOM
thou
(John)
shalt see
THE SPIRIT
descending and remaining on
HIM,
the same is
HE
which baptizeth with
THE HOLY GHOST.
And I saw
(said John)
and bare record that
THIS
is the
SON OF GOD.
Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; and
(bore the like testimony to the Divine Person, WHOSE WAY he was sent TO PREPARE; for)
looking upon
JESUS
as he walked, he saith—
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD!
John i. 29—36.
Thus John declared himself to be
the peculiar, Harbinger
(as I have said)
of the
SON OF GOD; so that the name of JEHOVAH (whose WAY, in the prophecy, he is expressly said to
prepare
) must necessarily be attributed to the
Messiah,
to whom afterwards this long expected
preceding Messenger
did personally apply the prophecy.
THE VOICE OF HIM
that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
THE WAY OF JEHOVAH,
make straight in the desart a highway for
OUR GOD,
(Isai. xl. 3.)
And the Divine Person, for whom THE WAY was to be thus
prepared,
is so distinctly described by his
Advent,
and
Pastoral Office,
in the 9th, 10th, and 11th verses of this chapter, that the proper application of the glorious titles therein mentioned, cannot be mistaken, at least by those who sincerely seek after truth!
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength: lift
(it)
up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah,—
BEHOLD YOUR GOD!
To the fulfilling of which in Christ the Apostle Paul (as I have already shewn) bears ample testimony, saying,
GOD
is as manifest in the flesh,
&c.
1 Tim. iii. 16.—I have just now seen a new edition of the Greek Testament, by the Rev. B. HARWOOD▪ D. D. published at London, in the present year 1766, wherein (contrary to the general evidence of the best Greek MSS.) the editor has boldly ventured to alter the common reading of this text, and to insert the
masculin̄ e
article
,
(This)
instead of the substantive
,
God.
Had he added an accent to the article, in order to render It
neuter;
viz.
, instead of
, (
which
instead of
this
) his NEW TEXT would have seemed rather more probable; because
the article
(which at present is without
a Substantive
) would, in that case, have agreed with the preceding noun substantive of the
neuter
gender (
), and would also have been countenanced by the
neuter
relative
(quod)
in the
Latin Vulgate.
This remark proves, also, that accents, in some particular cases, are essential to the meaning, and proper construction of the text, and should not, therefore, be indiscriminately omitted, together with such as are useless, as they are in this edition. But, indeed, in either way (with or without the accent) the expression, which he has introduced into the text, is entirely unscriptural! Even, if (to make the best of it) we should suppose that the
accent
is to be
understood,
and the article to be construed as if written
—what sense can be made of it? A MYSTERY—
which was
MANIFEST
in the flesh!—received up into glory!
—A parallel reading cannot be found in Scripture!
As the Editor, in his Preface, appeals to God concerning his
Sincerity
and
Integrity,
it would be uncharitable to call either of these in question; but we are not bound to think so favourably of his
Discretion!
—The zeal, which he has expressed at the end of his Book for the opinions of
the Polish Brethren
(who were most notorious SOCINIANS) gives us too much cause to suspect not only his want of
Discretion,
but also such
a want of Moderation
and
Impartiality,
as must render him totally unfit to DECIDE for us in the choice of controverted readings of the Holy Scriptures; and consequently the preference which he has paid to his
own Opinion,
by arbitrarily taking upon himself
to alter Records
The particular
alteration,
of which I complain at present, has but
one single Greek manuscript
to support it; and, what is worse, even this
single
MS. is not a
credible Evidence!
For it has been condemned in the
strongest
terms by the most eminent criticks and judges of ancient MSS. in Europe. So that Dr. Harwood has been particularly unfortunate to adopt this very exceptionable evidence, I mean the CLAROMONTAN
MS. of St. Paul's Epistles,
together with the old CAMBRIDGE MS.
of the Gospels and Acts,
as the principal authorities to justify his presumption
in altering the Sacred Records!
He tells us, in p. vii. of his Preface—that they
approach the nearest of any manuscripts now known in the world to the original text of the Sacred Records
—that is, he must mean, in HIS OWN OPINION; and
accordingly in this edition
(says he)
these have been most commonly followed.
But the famous FATHER SIMON, speaking of the
Claromontan
or
Clerment
MS. together with that at
St. Germains,
(which seems to have been only a continuation or part of the two former in a third volume) says—
MAGNUM ILLUM ERRATORUM,
quae inveniuntur in duobus illis exemplaribus, in textu Graeco,
ESSE INDICIUM A LATINIS ESSE SCRIPTA, QUI GRAECAE LINGUAE COGNITIONEM NULLAM HABUERE.
With respect to the
Cambridge
MS. the learned Dr.
Mill
calls it—"CODICEM PESSIMI COMMATIS;" and asserts, that it contains many things that
are not Greek,
and that the writer has
"presumed to add, substract, and change"
(this includes all the various modes of corrupting Evidence, and ALTERING RECORDS)
an infinite number of places
("pro arbitrio,"
says he
)
according to his own caprice!
The very learned GER. VAN MASTRICHT,
Syndic of Bremen,
asserts the same thing only in different words —
Prolixior fui de hoc Codice
(says he, speaking of the Cambridge MS.)
quia omnes Paginas implet, addit, detrabit, mutat pro lubitu, omniumque Codicum varias lectiones superat, ideoque
NON MULTUM EI TRIBUENDUM,
quod ex examine hoc critico affatim patet,
&c. The same learned writer informs us, that M. Le Clerc esteemed it a mere paraphrase. ("JOH. CLERICUS
in Arte Critico hunc habet
PRO PARAPHRASI," &c.)
and that
Father Simons,
and the learned
Fr. Gomarus held it cheap.— Non magnam auctoritatem tribuunt.
And in the Preface to Wetstens 2d Edition of the Greek Testament in 12mo. the character of the
Cambridge, Clermont,
and
St. Germain
MSS. is summed up in such terms, at must oblige us to think very indifferently of Dr. Harwood's CHOICE of MSS. and much worse of his PRESUMPTION, in daring to ALTER THE SACRED RECORDS upon such miserable evidence! —
A Librario Latino Scripti
(says the Author of the abovementioned Preface)
et ad versionem Italicam corruptam
TAM INEPTE
atque
IMPERITE DEFORMATI
atque
DEPRAVATI SUNT, UT RISUM MOVEANT,
qui
ILLIS
locum dignitatemque genuinorum Codicum Graecorum conciliare voluerunt.
—Now what must we think of Dr. Harwood's assertion, that these MSS.
approach the nearest of any MSS. now in the known world to the original text of the Sacred Records!
If my readers have not leisure to consult the works of the several authors which I have quoted on this occasion, they may see the evidence collected in the Prolegomena to the last mentioned Edition of the Greek Testament. And I hope these few hints will induce the learned among the Clergy (who ought to be the Guardians of the Sacred Text) to examine Dr. Harwood's
New Text
with care and accuracy, to point out its errors to the publick, and to consider of the best means to prevent any ill effects from so dangerout an attack upon the
Sacred Records!
of so much importance, must, at best, be esteemed a dangerous presumption! His indiscriminate and unjust censure of the doctrine of
Athanasius
(which he has been pleased to intitle—
The Athanasian Impiety of Three Co-equal Gods,
Vol. II. p. 284.
) is a sufficient proof of the
Intemperance of his Zeal,
and the
Hastiness of his Conclusions;
so that THE ADVENTUROUS VARIATIONS which he has made from the common Greek Text will gain but little credit by his authority! Athanasius was a steady assertor of THE UNITY OF GOD, and could not, therefore, be guilty of so shocking an "IMPIETY," as to assert the Existence
of Three Co-equal Gods!
And if the Doctor meant only to reflect, on the Confession of Faith, which is commonly called
The Athanasian Greed,
his censure is
equally unjust;
for
the Unity of God
is clearly and expressly taught and declared therein; neither does it contain any assertions whatever concerning the Divine Nature of the
Son
and the
Holy Ghost,
which are not strictly warrantable according to the clearest evidence of Holy Scripture—by the evidence even of incontrovertible texts! So that the charge about
"Three Co-equal Gods,"
seems to be founded only in the
indiscriminate Zeal
of him who published that
unjust assertion
against
Athanasian!
It distresses me much to speak so freely of this Gentleman's performance; but the cause of
Truth
compels me; insomuch, that if he had even been one of my own Brothers, whom I dearly love, I must have done just the same! The opposers of the common reading (
, &c) in the above-mentioned text, are so clearly confuted by the Rev. Dr. Veithusen, (as I have before remarked in p. 223.) that I must request my readers, if they have any doubts concerning the true reading of this passage, to consult his judicious and accurate remarks upon it. They are published at the end of a very thin Octavo pamphlet, intituled—
Observations on varius Subjects.
—Printed for C. Heydinger, in the Strand. 1773.
. And again,
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Coloss. ii. 9.
So the Apostle John, "
The
WORD
was
GOD," &c.
"All things were made by him,"
&c.
And the
WORD
was made
FLESH,
and dwelt among us, and we
BEHELD HIS GLORY,
the
GLORY,
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John i. 1—14.
See notes in p. 222—224. But to return to the Prophet.
Behold
(said he)
the
LORD GOD
(that is, ADONI JEHOVAH, or
the Lord Jehovah)
WILL COME
with strong
(hand),
and his arm shall rule for him: behold,
HIS REWARD (is)
with him, and
HIS WORK
before him.
HE
shall feed his flock
LIKE A SHEPHERD
(the peculiar Office of the Messiah, who himself declared,
I am the
GOOD SHEPHERD.
The
GOOD SHEPHERD
giveth his life for his sheep,
&c.
John x. 11.
) "HE" (said the Prophet)
shall gather the Lambs with his arm, and carry
(them)
in his bosom,
(and)
shall gently lead those that are with young.
(Isai. xl. 3—11.)
It is surely the REWARD and WORK
of the
MESSIAH in his
Pastoral Office,
that are here so distinctly foretold; and therefore the Adjective HIS, and the Personal Pronoun HIM (both expressed by
in the Original, and so often repeated in these verses) as also the Personal Pronouns HIM and HE must necessarily be referred, by the plainest rules of grammar, to the Personal Nouns (THE LORD GOD, or ADONI JEHOVAH) which immediately precede them, and by which the
Holy Spirit
has marked the supreme or equal
Divinity
of the
Messiah
with the Father, and that he is really JEHOVAH and GOD beyond all possibility of contradiction!
Before the Incarnation of the Divine
Logos,
or WORD OF GOD (that is, before he
was
MADE FLESH,
and dwelt among us
John i. 14.
) God revealed himself to the children of Israel, not only by the name of
(JEHOVAH, signifying
Eternal Existence,
by including the characteristical letters of the
Present, Preterite,
and
Future Tenses,
as I have already shewn) but also by the name of
A-hi-ah, which is the same verb of
Being
or
Existence,
with the sign only of the
Future Tense,
signifying, I WILL BE
In the common English version this name is rendered,
I AM
—
God said unto Moses,
I AM THAT I AM:
and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM,
hath sent me unto you.
(Exod. iii. 14.)
The literal meaning, however, of the word
, as it is in the
future
tense, is, I WILL BE, and so indeed it was rendered in the older English versions—I have a copy printed in 1549, wherein the word is rendered,
I WIL BE.
And the translator has added the following remark upon it.
Thys traunslation
(says he)
foloweth the Hebrue, whyche hathe,
I WYLL,
for that whyche is in all Latten traunslations,
SUM, I AM.
But whyche waye soever it be taken, it signifieth, that God onely
HATH BENE, IS,
and
SHALL BE,
and hath hys beynge of hymselfe, and that all other thynges have theyr beynge of hym. Stryve not therefore for the matter, but let it be,
WAS, AM,
or
WYL BE,
al is one matter.
: and when the Son of God was personally
present
on earth, in our HUMAN NATURE,
as a Descendant of Abraham,
he asserted his
pre-existent
state, by giving himself a similar title of
Eternal Existence,
though in a different
Tense;
for he used the
Present Tense
alone, without any characteristical Letter of
the Future,
, I AM, instead of, I WILL BE (as the promises respecting his own Person were accomplished by his PRESENCE, which, as he himself also promised, will continue to the end of the world
Lo, I am with you alway
(even)
unto the end of the world.
Matth. xxviii. 20.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Matth. xviii. 20.
How the Son of God, who
was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God,
(Mark xvi. 19.)
and will continue to sit there till all enemies are subdued or put UNDER HIS FEET, as the Holy Ghost declared by David, saying,
The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
FOOTSTOOL.
(Psa. cx. 1.)
How the Son of God (I say) whose
personal residence in heaven
is so expressly declared, may yet be said to be always
present on earth
with his Church, will be more easily explained when I come to speak of the Divine Nature and Existence of the HOLY SPIRIT in the
Eternal Being,
JEHOVAH.
Before Abraham was,
(said our Lord)
I AM.
—
(John viii. 58.)
This expression (if the occasion of its being made be duly conconsidered) cannot be made to accord properly with its context in any other sense than as a reference to Christ's Eternal Existence; and, as such, it manifestly corresponds with the meaning of the glorious Name JEHOVAH.
The purpose of our Lord's argument was, certainly, to declare his
pre-existent State of Glory,
in answer to the Jews, who said—
Art thou greater than our Father Abraham, which is dead? &c.
(John viii. 53.)
—
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
So that his immediate answer—
Before Abraham
WAS, I AM,
must necessarily be understood in the sense which I have mentioned.
He had, a little time before, told the Jews, who disputed with him,
I proceeded forth
(said he)
and came from God.
(v. 42.)
The expression in the original Greek has a much deeper meaning; it is not merely
"from God,"
as in the common English translation; but
out of God,
EK
— "OUT of GOD,
I
PROCEEDED FORTH," &c. which is much more expressive of that procession, which is commonly called
the Eternal Generation of the
SON, —of that Divine Person, who
is in the Bosom of the Father
(John i. 18.)
and
whose
GOINGS FORTH (have been)
from of old, from everlasting.
Micah v. 2.
Had not these Jewish unbelievers been blinded by their own wickedness, and worldly desires, they would have understood by the Prophets, that their Messiah, though he was to be
a Descendant of Abraham,
according to the promises, was yet to be one who had ETERNAL EXISTENCE, and consequently must be entitled to the incommunicable name of
Eternal Existence,
JEHOVAH; for he,
whose goings forth
(have been)
from of old, from everlasting,
was the same of whom the Prophet Micah saith, that he should come out of BETHLEHEM EPHRATAH,
"to be Ruler in Israel,"
viz. that Ruler, of whom the same Prophet foretold,
that they should smite the
JUDGE OF ISRAEL
with a rod upon the cheek.
Compare the first and second verses of this chapter. And in the fourth verse the name of
Jehovah
is manifestly attributed to the same Divine Person.—
And he shall stand and feed
(that is,
"as a Shepherd," compare with Isaiah xl. ii.)
in the strength of
JEHOVAH,
in the Majesty of the
NAME
of
JEHOVAH
his God.
Compare this also with the Prophecy of Jeremiah concerning THE BRANCH from, the stock of JESSE—
And this
(is) HIS NAME,
whereby he shall be called,
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jer. xxiii. 6.
His
Eternal Existence,
and
Almighty Power,
as GOD, were plainly declared by the Psalmist—
Thy throne, O
GOD,
is for ever and ever.
(Psa. xlv. 6.)
This, as the Apostle Paul testifies, was said of the SON—
But unto the
SON
(he saith)
Thy throne, O
GOD (is) FOR EVER AND EVER:
a Scepter of Righteousness
(is)
the Scepter of thy Kingdom. Thou hast loved
RIGHTEOUSNESS
(which accords with the Name of the
Divine Branch,
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS)
and hated iniquity; therefore God,
(even)
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
(Heb. i. 8, 9.)
In the latter part of this sentence, indeed, the Prophet manifestly alludes to the
inferior Nature
(THE NATURE OF MAN) which this Divine Person was to assume, for the
Angels
were not HIS FELLOWS; but
Men:
—it was
Human Nature
alone that was to be exalted and restored by that peculiar union with the
Divine Nature
in Christ, whereby
all Mankind
are rendered FELLOWS and BRETHREN to him
that is ready to judge the quick and the dead,
(1 Pet.iv. 5.)
and may thereby become (if their own negligence and wilful abuse of God's gifts do not prevent them) even FELLOW HEIRS (Eph. iii. 6.)
Heirs of God, and
JOINT HEIRS
with Christ:
(Rom. viii. 17.)
who is
the Heir of all things,
Heb. i. 2.
—
For verily he took not on
(him the nature)
of
ANGELS;
but he took on
(him)
of the
SEED
of Abraham.
Heb. ii. 16.
And accordingly the same Apostle calls him
the first-born among many
BRETHREN,
Rom. viii. 29.
and informs us also, that
it behoved him to be made like unto
(his) BRETHEN,
that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
(pertaining)
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb. ii. 17.
But the Apostle, nevertheless, amply proclaims
the Eternal Existence
and Divine Nature of that Person, mentioned in his quotation from the 45th Psalm, who was to be
anointed
above HIS FELLOWS; for he immediately afterwards quotes another Psalm (viz. cii. 25—27.) to assert the ETERNAL DIGNITY AND POWER of the same Person—
And thou,
LORD
Lord
—The Apostle manifestly applies to Christ the title of
(Lord)
which is the usual
Greek
rendering of the
Hebrew
title, JEHOVAH, the
essential
name of that Eternal BEING, to whom the Prophet, in the ciid Psalm, here quoted, really addressed himself, as appears by the first verse
"JEHOVAH,
Hear my prayer,"
&c. And in the 24th verse, which immediately precedes the Apostle's quotation, the Person addressed by the Psalmist is expressly called upon as God (
, my God!)—
I said, O
MY GOD,
take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years
(are)
throughout all generations;
and then immediately follows the Apostle's quotation,
Of old, thou laid the foundation of the earth,
&c. To which he has added the word
, though not expressed in the original; so that he must mean thereby to express the Person to whom the Psalm in general was addressed, viz.
the Lord
, or JEHOVAH. There is something peculiarly deep and mysterious in this
Psalm
—The Prophet, in his own person, as a man of afflictions, seems to express and prefigure the temporal sufferings, humiliation, and death
See particularly the 23d and 24th verses —
He weakened my strength in the way
(probably alluding to the failure of our Lord's bodily strength,
"in the way"
to Mount Calvary, when he was
led away, bearing bis cross,
before the soldiers compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. Compare John xix. 16, 17. with Matt. xxvii. 32.)
he shortened my days. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years
(are)
throughout all generations.
The Hebrew word here rendered
"to take away,"
is formed from the root
to
ascend;
and from the ASCENDING of smoke
towards heaven,
the same word signifies also to
offer a burnt-offering;
and, as a substantive, it signifies
a burnt-offering
or
sacrifice;
for it is thus used (both as a
substantive
and as a
verb
) in that remarkable command of God to
Abraham,
by which THE SACRIFICE OF THE SON OF GOD was manifestly prefigured.—
Take now
THY SON
(said God to Abraham)
THINE ONLY (Son) ISAAC,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into
THE LAND OF MORIAH;
and
OFFER HIM
there for
A BURNT-OFFERING
(
) upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
(Gen. xxii. 2.)
It was also
"upon one of the mountains,"
in "THE LAND OF MORIAH," that the
"Beloved Son of God,"
(who is also eminently called
Son of Man,
by having voluntary taken upon himself the
Seed of Abraham,
in which, according to the promise in Gen. xxii. 18.
all the nations of the earth were to be blessed
) was really sacrificed, and became
"the propitiation for our sins."
(1 John ii. 2.)
as even Caiaphas the wicked High Priest himself had foretold, saying,
It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
(John xi. 50.)
He was accordingly
brought as
A LAMB
to the slaughter,
which Isaiah had long before declared (Isai. liii. 7.) nay, Abraham himself seemed to have foretold this long before the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai, at a time indeed when he thought of another sacrifice, even when he led his own
Beloved Son
as the victim BEARING THE WOOD for the sacrifice, just as the
Beloved Son
of God was afterwards
led away
to death BEARING HIS CROSS! (John xix. 17.) For Isaac said to Abraham,
Behold the fire and the wood, but where is
THE LAMB FOR A BURNT-OFFERING?
"And abraham said, My Son,
GOD
will provide himself
A LAMB
for a Burnt-offering.
(Gen. xxii. 6—8.)
And accordingly we find the Harbinger of the Messiah proclaiming the manifestation of that promised Lamb—
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
(John i. 29.)
for Isaiah had also foretold this propitiation, saying,
He was wounded for our transgressions,
(he was)
bruised for our iniquities.
(Isai. liii. 5.)
In like manner the inspired Psalmist (in the particular Psalm already mentioned) seems to allude also to the same great
sacrifice
of
the Son of God,
if the interpretation of the word
, which it necessarily bears in the above-cited command of GOD to Abraham (and many other places) be admitted—
He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. I said, O my
GOD,
—
SACRIFICE ME NOT
in the midst of my days.
Psa. cii. 23, 24.
So Christ afterwards in reality prayed to God, that the bitter cup of his sufferings might pass from him—
O
MY FATHER,
(said he)
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as that wilt.
(Matt. xxvi. 39.)
for being
in all points tempted like as
(we are yet)
without sin.
(Heb. iv. 15.)
he was affected (through the weakness of that
Human Nature
which he had taken upon him) with all the horrors of an approaching agonizing death; but as he knew that
all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and
(in)
the Prophets, and
(in)
the Psalms concerning himself,
(Luke xxiv. 44.)
he soon afterwards declared his steady resolution to suffer for us, saying,
The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?
(John xviii. 11.)
And accordingly he was
taken away
(or rather
sacrificed
)
IN THE MIDST OF HIS DAYS,
agreeable to the expression above cited from the Psalmist, being in the
thirty-fifth
year of his age, as Scaliger, and several other learned men have supposed (see the Rev. Mr. Burton's Essay towards reconciling the Numbers of Daniel and John, p. 335.) which is exactly
half
the age of MAN; I mean,
half
the term which Moses in the 90th Psalm has declared to be the usual period of
Human
Life! But even if our Lord was only in the thirty-third year of his age when he suffered (according to the common chronology) he might, still, with sufficient propriety be said (agreeable to the Psalmist's expression) to be SACRIFICED IN THE MIDST OF HIS DAYS.
of the MESSIAH as A MAN upon earth, at the same time that he prays to him as GOD, and JEHOVAH, that
looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven,
&c. See verse 19.
, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest: and they all shall wax old as doth a garment: and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
Heb. i. 10, 11, 12.
—So that our Lord was really in his
Being,
or
Existence,
what the same Apostle seems to apply to his
Doctrine,
JESUS CHRIST
the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.
(Heb. xiii. 8.)
For it was He, who said,
Fear not;
I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST: (I am)
He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.
(Rev. i. 17, 18.)
—Thus it appears, that our Redeemer was not only JEHOVAH in
Name,
but in
Effect
or
Reality
also, if the true meaning of that title be considered, as his being THE FIRST and THE LAST, demonstrates his Eternal
Existence
and
Power
as much as the Name of JEHOVAH.—Compare the last-mentioned text with the exhortation of GOD by Isaiah (xli. 10.) to his people Israel—
FEAR THOU NOT;
for I
(am)
with thee: be not dismayed;
FOR
I
(am) THY GOD:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
And again, in the 13th and 14th verses,
For I the
LORD (or JEHOVAH)
thy
GOD,
will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee,
FEAR NOT,
I will help thee.
FEAR NOT,
thou worm Jacob,
(and)
ye men of Israel: I will help thee, saith
THE LORD
(i. e. JEHOVAH)
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
And this LORD, or JEHOVAH, who here declares himself to be THE GOD
of Israel,
proclaims his own ETERNAL EXISTENCE near the beginning of the same chapter (viz. 4th verse)
in the very same terms
that were used in the Revelations by him
THAT LIVETH, AND WAS DEAD
—
Who hath wrought and done
(it)
(said JEHOVAH by Isaiah)
calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord
(JEHOVAH) THE FIRST,
and
WITH THE LAST,
I
(am) HE.
And also in the 44th chapter, ver. 6.
Thus saith the
LORD (JEHOVAH)
the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the
LORD OF HOSTS (JEHOVAH TSABAOUTH) I (am) THE FIRST,
and
I (am) THE LAST;
and beside me
(there is)
no God.
See also Isai. xlviii. 12. wherein we find that
the God of Israel, the Lord of Hosts
(mentioned in the 2d verse) declares his
Eternal Existence
in the very same terms used by
Christ
in the Revelation, viz.
I (am) THE FIRST: I ALSO (am) THE LAST
— and as it has already been shewn, that the true meaning of the title JEHOVAH is nearly to the same purpose, it is manifest that
Christ
is JEHOVAH in
effect,
as well as in
name!
He is JEHOVAH also in
power
and
glory
—
Who have declared this from the ancient time?
(said Isaiah)
(Who)
hath told it from that time?
(Have)
not
I JEHOVAH?
and
(there is) NO GOD ELSE BESIDE ME; A JUST GOD,
and
A SAVIOUR: (there is)
none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved all the ends of the earth: for I
(am) GOD
and
(there is)
none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth
(in)
righteousness, and shall not return,
THAT UNTO ME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, EVERY TONGUE SHALL SWEAR.
Isai. xlv. 21—23.
Now let us see to whom this is applied by the Apostle Paul—
For none of us
(that is, no true Christian)
liveth to himself
(says the Apostle)
and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto
THE LORD;
and whether we die, we die unto
THE LORD:
whether we live therefore, or die,
WE ARE THE LORD'S.
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might
BE LORD
both of the dead and living. But why dost thou
JUDGE
thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the
JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.
For it is written
Here the Apostle applies to
Christ
the very text which I last cited from Isaiah.
, as I live, saith
THE LORD
It was JEHOVAH who spake by Isaiah, in the text cited by the Apostle—
Unto
ME
every knee shall bow,
&c. for
Jehovah
proclaimed his title in the preceding context, which I quoted above
I JEHOVAH,
and
(there is)
"no God else beside me,"
&c. and therefore it is certain that the Apostle here uses the word
, or LORD, as the usual Greek rendering for JEHOVAH: for so it is generally translated in the Greek versions of the Old Testament, as well as in the Gospels; so that by applying the title
, or LORD, in this place to Christ, he manifestly applies to him the title of JEHOVAH, to which it refers in the Hebrew.
,
EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself
TO GOD.
Let us not therefore
JUDGE
one another any more, &c.
Rom. xiv. 7—13.
The reason here assigned by the Apostle for the illegality of JUDGING our
Brother,
is, that
we shall all stand at the
JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST,
to whom he attributes the dignity of JEHOVAH, by maintaining in the preceding context, that he is THE LORD, to whom we
live
and
die,
&c. and by applying to him Isaiah's prediction of universal homage to JEHOVAH, as if Christ himself, in his pre-existent state, had said,
I JEHOVAH, &c.—
Unto me every knee shall bow,
&c.—And from this application of the Prophecy to the Person of Christ, the Apostle immediately draws a conclusion with a manifest reference to what he had before said of
our standing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
—
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to
GOD.
Let us not therefore
JUDGE
one another any more,
&c.
From this whole quotation it appears, that when the Apostle asserts the dignity of Christ, as being THE LORD of us all—
(that we live and die "UNTO THE LORD,"
, &c.) he in effect applies to him the dignity of JEHOVAH, as that title is usually expressed in Greek by
, THE LORD. In the Septuagint tranflation we read,
,
(Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord)
for
that is,
Hear, O Israel,
JEHOVAH
our God, is
ONE JEHOVAH.
Deut. vi. 4.
—And the same text is expressed exactly in the same words by the Evangelist Mark (xii. 29.) where he recites our Lord's answer to the question of the Scribe about the first (or chief)
Commandment;
for the Evangelist unquestionably substitutes the word
(Lord) in his Greek text for
(Jehovah) in the original Hebrew, of which there are many more instances in the New Testament; so that from thence we are taught the true import and meaning of the title
,
the Lord,
as applied to Christ in the New Testament.
LORDS there are, indeed, many; and the word
is of as general use and application in the
Greek Tongue,
perhaps, as SIR in the
English Tongue;
but yet, whenever it is preceded by the article
(as,
) and has no express reference to any particular place, title, office, or
temporal
dignity, it must necessarily, in that case, be understood as a title of
Supreme Dignity,
because it is then applicable to no other Being, but that alone, which is most eminently
the Lord
(
) as being "
Lord of all
This title of
supreme Dignity
is due, not only to THE HEAVENLY FATHER, but is also expressly applied to his MESSIAH—
The word which
(God)
sent unto the children of Israel, preaching Peace by
JESUS CHRIST;
he is
LORD OF ALL.
Acts x. 36.
;" so that the title
, THE LORD (and many times
even without the article) is with propriety substituted in the Greek Scriptures
When the Apostle Matthew cites Isaiah's prophecy, that
"a Virgin shall be with child,"
and applies it to the birth of
Jesus
by the Virgin Mary, a descendant of the house of David, he says,
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of
THE LORD
(
) by the Prophet, &c.
Matt. i. 22, 23.
whereas in the Book of the Prophet himself, we find that the prediction was the Word of
Jehovah.
See Isai. vii. 10—14.
Moreover, the Lord
(i.e. JEHOVAH)
spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign-of
JEHOVAH
thy God,
&c.
Again, when Isaiah's Prophecy concerning the Harbinger of Christ—"
Prepare ye the way of
JEHOVAH," &c. (Isai. xl. 3.) is cited in the New Testament, we find the Greek word
,
Lord,
substituted for the Hebrew name JEHOVAH by all the Four Evangelists, Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke iii. 4. and John i. 23. This Prophecy, by the unanimous testimony of all these Evangelists, is applied to the
Preaching of John the Baptist,
who himself pointed to JESUS, as the Person whom he was sent to
precede
in the world, and for whom he prepared
the way.
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
(saith the Baptist)
which taketh away
(or beareth)
the sin of the world.
THIS IS HE
of whom I said,
AFTER ME COMETH
a Man which is preferred before me,
&c.
John i. 23—36.
Jesus, therefore, is undoubtedly that
, that
Lord
or
Jehovah
before whom John prepared the way, agreeable to the prediction of the Prophet, as I have elsewhere remarked.
—"
Ye shall not tempt
JEHOVAH
your God,"
&c. in Deut. vi. 16. is rendered by Matthew (iv. 7.) and also by Luke (iv. 12.)
Thou shalt not tempt
THE LORD
thy God
(
) and the like rendering of the title JEHOVAH may be found in the 10th verse of the same chapter of Matthew, and in the 8th verse of the same chapter of Luke.
Also—
thou shalt keep and perform a free-will offering, according as thou hast vowed unto
JEHOVAH
thy God, &c.
in Deut. xxiii. 23.
is rendered by the Apostle Matthew (v. 33.)
Thou—shalt perform
UNTO THE LORD
(
) thine oaths.
Deut. vi. 5.—
Thou shalt love
JEHOVAH THY GOD
with all thine heart,
is rendered by Matthew (xxii. 37.) by Mark (xii. 30.) and by Luke (x. 27.)
Thou shalt love
THE LORD THY GOD,
—
.
Also
—
JEHOVAH
said unto my Lord,
in the 110th Psalm, ver. 1. is rendered by the
Apostle Matthew, xxii. 44.
—THE LORD
said unto my Lord,
&c. and in the same manner exactly by Mark (xii. 36.) and by Luke (xx. 42.) and also in the Acts (ii. 34.)
In the remarkable Prophecy of Isaiah (lxi. 1.) quoted by St. Luke (iv. 18, 19.) concerning the Preaching of the MESSIAH, or ANOINTED
—
The Spirit of
ADONI JEHOVAH (or
the Lord
JEHOVAH
) is upon me, because
JEHOVAH
hath
ANOINTED
me to preach to the poor,
&c. The Evangelist has substituted the Greek title
for the Hebrew titles Adoni Jehovah.
The Prophecy in the 118th Psalm (ver. 26.) which was cited by our Lord himself,
"
Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of
JEHOVAH," is rendered by the Evangelist Luke, xiii. 35.
Blessed is he that cometh
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD,
.
And he expresses the Name
Jehovah,
by the same Greek title
, when he afterwards records the circumstance whereby that Prophecy was in part fulfilled, viz. the publick entry of Christ into Jerusalem, when the
whole multitude of disciples
proclaimed before him, saying, "
Blessed is the King that cometh
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD,"
. Luke xix. 37, 38. See also John xii. 13. where we find the same rendering of the words—
in the Name of
JEHOVAH,
by
in the Name of
THE LORD
(
).
The Prophecy of Isai. (liii. 1.)
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of
JEHOVAH
revealed,
is rendered by the Evangelist John—
Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm
OF THE LORD
(
) been revealed.
John xii. 38.
—These examples from the Evangelists, I hope, are amply sufficient to prove the true meaning and importance of the Greek title
,
Lord,
when it is applied to
God
or to
Christ;
in which case it implies nothing less than the dignity of
Jehovah!
for the title JEHOVAH, in translations and quotations from the Hebrew original, wherein that Holy Name occurs!
It would take up too much of my reader's time (as well as of my own) were I to cite all the examples that may be found in the Greek Scriptures, of quotations from the Hebrew text, wherein the word
, or Lord, is substituted for the Hebrew title
Jehovah: however, I have inserted in the preceding note a sufficient number (I hope) of examples from the Evangelists to demonstrate, beyond contradiction, the true meaning and importance of the Greek title,
(LORD) when it is applied to GOD, or to CHRIST; for in that case, if there is any truth in the Evangelists, as faithful translators, it implies and expresses nothing less than the dignity of JEHOVAH! Exactly in this sense, therefore, we must necessarily understand the Apostle Paul, when he tells us, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (xv. 47.)
that the first Man
(is)
of the earth, earthy: the second Man
(is)
—
THE LORD, (or JEHOVAH)
from heaven.
—The effect of this translation of mine will appear sufficiently justifiable, if it is compared with a parallel expression of
John the Baptist
recorded by
John the Evangelist
(iii. 31.)—
He that cometh from above,
IS ABOVE ALL
(
)
he that is of the earth, is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven
(the Apostle repeats his assertion)
IS ABOVE ALL!
This is clearly a part of the testimony of
John the Baptist,
concerning the
supreme Dignity
of that Divine Person, whose WAY he was sent TO PREPARE
John the Baptist, as I have already remarked, was sent
to prepare the way of
JEHOVAH—
his voice
—was the long expected
voice
foretold by Isaiah—
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
JEHOVAH,
(xl. 3.)
He was that extraordinary
Messenger of
JEHOVAH, foretold by Malachi (iii. 1.)
Behold, I will send
MY
Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before
ME,
&c.— that is,
I
(JEHOVAH)
will send my Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before
ME;
viz.
before
JEHOVAH; for the Divine Person, whom the Prophet represents as speaking these words, is expressly mentioned in the 6th verse of the same chapter,—
For I
(am) JEHOVAH,
I change not,
&c. It therefore evidently appears, that
the way was to be prepared for
JEHOVAH; and indeed the prediction was fulfilled in the most exact, literal sense: for when this extraordinary Messenger was questioned by his own disciples, and the Jews, concerning JESUS, saying—
he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
John shewed them, that their report of the increasing power and fame of Christ contained nothing contradictory to the testimony which he had always borne concerning his own office and calling—
Ye yourselves
(said he)
bear me witness that I said, I am not
THE CHRIST,
but that I am sent before him,
(that is, before the Christ or Messiah). And after assuring them, that Christ must increase, saying,
"he must increase, but I
(must)
decrease,"
he added the highest testimony that could be given of Christ's heavenly Power and Divine Existence, (such a testimony as became that extraordinary Messenger, who was sent
to prepare the way of Jehovah
), saying, "
he that cometh from above,
IS ABOVE ALL;" which expression cannot, with propriety, be applied to any person that is not really and truly
Jehovah!
John iii. 26—31.
! For the sentence immediately follows, what the Baptist said of Christ—
"He must increase, but I
(must)
decrease."
John iii. 30.
&c.
Now it must be allowed that none, except
the God of Israel, whose name alone is
JEHOVAH,
(Psa. lxxxiii. 18.)
can justly be said to be ABOVE ALL! —So that if THE MESSIAH was not truly GOD, and included with the
Almighty Father
and
the Holy Ghost
in the Eternal BEING, JEHOVAH, this expression (that he "IS ABOVE ALL") could not, with the least propriety, be so peremptorily and repeatedly applied to him! But as
John the Baptist
(who was sent to
prepare the way of
JEHOVAH, as I have already remarked) has positively asserted concerning him that
cometh from heaven,
that he
"is above all,"
we must necessarily conclude, that
the LORD FROM HEAVEN
(the title applied to Christ by the Apostle Paul in the parallel text recited above) is a title of
supreme Dignity,
and implies as much as if the Apostle had expressly intituled the Messiah—"JEHOVAH
from heaven;"
for had this latter been literally expressed by some Prophet in the Hebrew tongue, the Apostle's words,
, would have been the regular Greek version of such an expression, which I have already proved by a variety of examples. (See pages 275—281.)
But Christ is not only
, THE LORD (or JEHOVAH)
from heaven,
but he is also
"the Lord of Glory"
Which none of the princes of this world knew:
for had they known
(it)
they would not have crucified,
—
THE LORD OF GLORY.
1. Cor. ii. 8.
, one of the highest titles that can be conceived! So that if he were not really of one and the same
Divine Nature
with the
Almighty Father,
this title of
Supreme Excellence,
THE LORD OF GLORY,
could not be used with the least degree of propriety, especially as God (i. e. the LORD
Jehovah
) has declared to the Jews,
that he will not give his Glory to another
—viz.
I am
THE LORD (i. e. JEHOVAH);
that is
MY NAME:
and
MY GLORY
will I not give to another, &c.
(Isai. xlii. 8.)
—If Christ, therefore, is
the
LORD OF GLORY,
he must necessarily be esteemed ONE
with the Father,
in the Eternal BEING JEHOVAH!—Our Lord himself also declared,
I and the Father are
ONE.
—
. (John x. 30.) and yet this very sentence, which asserts THE UNITY of the Father and the Son, expresses at the same time a manifest
Distinction of Persons;
which is also clearly demonstrable in almost every other page of Scripture; though the doctrine of the
Unity
of
God
is not less clearly laid down and inculcated throughout the Scriptures!
Our Lord has delivered this doctrine of his
Unity with the Father,
in various modes of expression; as—
He that hath seen me
(said he)
hath seen the Father,
&c. and
I am in the Father, and the Father in me, &c.
(John xiv. 9, 10.)
and yet the true nature and manner of that UNITY must still remain
a Mystery,
because a perfect knowledge of that
Eternal
BEING, which in every way is
infinite,
cannot possibly fall within the comprehension of our
finite
understandings
See page 212.
!
This doctrine is, nevertheless, a necessary part of our Faith; because the Scriptures contain such a proportion of evidence, really within the measure of
Human
judgment, as is sufficient to authenticate the whole, and demonstrate the Divine Mission of those Holy Persons, by whom they were, from time to time, delivered for our instruction: and therefore, as we are answerable to God for the use or abuse of that
Knowledge of Good and Evil,
which we inherit from our first parents (as I have already shewn in the beginning of this Tract) we cannot reject any part of
the Scripture Evidence,
without being guilty of such a manifest perversion and abuse of that hereditary
Knowledge,
as must render us highly culpable before God, and endanger our eternal welfare! We are bound, therefore, to receive even some things that we do not understand, for the sake of those things which we do understand; just as our Lord himself instructed
Philip
to believe this very doctrine of his UNITY WITH THE FATHER, for the sake of
the mighty Works
—
or else believe me
(said our Lord)
for the very works sake.
John xiv. 11.
Our Lord had been instructing his disciples concerning his own dignity and office—
I am
THE WAY,
(said he)
and
THE TRUTH,
and
THE LIFE:
no man cometh unto the Father,
BUT BY ME.
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth
YE KNOW HIM,
and
HAVE SEEN HIM.
Philip saith unto him,
LORD,
shew us
THE FATHER,
and it sufficeth us.
JESUS
saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known
ME,
Philip?
HE THAT HATH SEEN ME, HATH SEEN THE FATHER;
and how sayest thou
(then)
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 speak not of myself: but
THE FATHER,
that dwelleth in me, he doeth
THE WORKS.
Believe me,
THAT I AM IN THE FATHER,
and
THE FATHER IN ME:
or else believe me for the very
WORKS
sake!
John xiv. 6—11.
which he had shewn him: for these, indeed, were evident to his senses, and could not be denied; and therefore, as the Divine Mission was so strongly authenticated,
Philip
was bound to receive
the whole Doctrine
of the Gospel, as delivered by Divine Authority, even though he did not comprehend it! And, in like manner, is every man indeed obliged to submit his judgment in receiving and acknowledging these revealed mysteries of our religion, for the sake of that substantial evidence which the Scriptures afford us of other
Truth and Facts,
which fall more immediately within the measure of Human Comprehension—
Believe me, that I am in the Father
(said our Lord)
and the Father in me,
or else BELIEVE ME FOR THE VERY WORKS SAKE!
But our Lord, nevertheless, condescended to illustrate this doctrine, in some degree, by
a most interesting comparison,
which relates, very materially, to the principal subject of this Tract, (THE NATURE OF MAN) because it informs us, at the same time, concerning that
intimate Connexion with
THE DIVINE NATURE, which HUMAN NATURE is rendered capable of acquiring, through the Divine Mediator between GOD
and Man!
Sanctify them,
(said that DIVINE MEDIATOR, when he prayed to his "HOLY FATHER" for his Disciples)
through thy Truth:
THY WORD IS TRUTH,
.
(And who is this
Logos,
this
Word,
this
Truth of the
"HOLY FATHER," both under the
Old
and
New Covenant,
but our
Divine Mediator
himself? who immediately added)
As thou hast sent
ME (said he)
into the world, even so have I also sent them
(viz. the Disciples, as he had formerly sent the Prophets)
into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the Truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their Word; that
THEY ALL MAY BE ONE
(which is the
interesting comparison
before-mentioned)
AS THOU FATHER (art) IN ME, AND I IN THEE, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And
THE GLORY
which
THOU
gavest
ME
I have given
THEM;
that
THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE: I IN THEM, AND THOU IN ME,
that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent
ME,
and hast loved
THEM,
as thou hast loved
ME. FATHER, I WILL
(
) that they also, whom thou has given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold
MY GLORY
which
THOU
hast given
ME:
for thou lovedst me
BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. O RIGHTEOUS FATHER,
the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy Name, and will declare
(it):
that
THE LOVE,
wherewith thou hast
LOVED ME
may be
IN THEM,
and I in them.
John xvii. 17—26.
Here is a glorious declaration of the
Dignity,
to which God has been pleased to call MANKIND! And as
the Unity
of the Disciples, or true Believers, is thus clearly compared to
the Unity
of THE FATHER and THE SON, it is manifest that the doctrine of the last-mentioned UNITY (as far as the Scriptures have revealed it to us) is a topic necessarily included in the subject of this Tract—
"The Nature of Man."
But this
Unity
of THE FATHER and THE SON is not in all respects
the same Unity,
as that wherein the Church (or Congregation of Disciples and true Believers) is included with
the Father and the Son
That they also
(said Christ to his Heavenly Father)
may be
ONE IN US.
; though the Faithful undoubtedly partake of
the Divine Nature
by the HOLY SPIRIT, agreeable to the promises (see p. 200—202), and both CHRIST and THE FATHER are "IN THEM," as our LORD said—
I
IN THEM,
and
THOU
in me,
agreeable to what our Lord had once before declared—
If a man love me, he will keep my words: and
MY FATHER
will love him, and
WE
will
COME UNTO HIM,
and make
OUR ABODE
with him!
(John xiv. 23.)
Thus HUMAN NATURE is capable of being
exalted
and
dignified,
even in this life, notwithstanding the uncertainties and sufferings attending our worldly condition!
The Faithful, indeed, are ONE
in the Father, and the Son,
as our Lord prayed for them to his Heavenly Father,
that they all may be
ONE
(
)
AS
thou
FATHER (art)
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
ONE IN US,
&c. and again, that
they may be
ONE,
,
EVEN AS WE ARE ONE:
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in
ONE,
&c. but we must be careful to maintain the due distinction between
the Unity
of THE FATHER and THE SON, and
the Unity
of the Faithful
in the Father and the Son!
The latter is, indeed (in some respect or other)
like
the former,
alike
probably in that very circumstance alone of being in
Unity
— in
Unity
of WILL, of LOVE, and UNIVERSAL
Benevolence,
&c. for
GOD IS LOVE,
and he that dwelleth
IN LOVE,
dwelleth
IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM, &c.
(1 John iv. 16.)
but it is not altogether the
same Unity,
wherein the Scriptures declare
the Almighty Father
and his Son to be ONE (as some
Socinians
have conceived) or it could not with propriety be compared with it!
Like
is compared with
Like;
but
Like is not the same,
even to a proverb! In what respect the latter
Unity
may be
like
the former, I have already shewn by authority of Scripture: but THE HEAVENLY FATHER and HIS SON are ONE in many other respects, which cannot with the least degree of propriety be attributed to the Unity of the Church in Christ! The Son of God is ONE with his Almighty Father in
Eternal Existence,
in that BEING of Eternity, JEHOVAH! (See p. 258—275, &c.) They are ONE also
in Power
and Divine Attributes! The Son being expressly intitled
LORD OF ALL.
(See page 276.)
THE LORD FROM HEAVEN,
(page 283.)
THE LORD OF GLORY,
(p. 284.)
and is also declared to be
ABOVE ALL,
(p. 281.)
and
OVER ALL, GOD
(says St. Paul, speaking of the people of Israel)
.
Whose
(or of whom are)
the Fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh
CHRIST (came) WHO IS OVER ALL, GOD
blessed for ever.
Amen.
Rom. ix. 5.
BLESSED FOR EVER
And our Lord manifested himself to be truly GOD, when he asserted his
"Power on earth to forgive sins,"
without contradicting the inward sentiment of the Scribes,
"reasoning in their hearts"
—
Who can forgive sins, but
GOD
only.
See Mark ii. 5—12.
.
These are undoubtedly Attributes of the Heavenly Father (and many more shall hereafter be mentioned in the course of the argument) so that THE FATHER and THE SON are manifestly ONE in these several respects, and in many more, as there is but ONE GOD, or ONE JEHOVAH! But
the Unity
of the Congregation of true Believers, (that they are ONE in
Christ,
&c.) must be considered in a more confined sense: the true Believers are ONE glorious Universal Church, ONE Building, of which our Lord JESUS CHRIST is
the Foundation,
(1 Cor. iii. 11.)
the chief Corner Stone,
(Eph. ii. 20.)
"they are a Spiritual House,"
(1 Pet. ii. 5.)
a Bride
For thy Maker is thine
HUSBAND;
the Lord
(Jehovah)
of Hosts
(is)
his Name: and thy
REDEEMER,
the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall he be called.
Isai. liv. 5.
,
(John iii. 29.)
a Being of
many
in
one
So we
(being) MANY,
are
ONE BODY
in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Rom. xii. 5.
, as the symbol of the Cherubim,
four
living Creatures in
one,
which moved with
one Spirit,
and represented
the Hosts of Israel
(see p.
): and of course all those that are engrafted on that stock (the Olive-tree of Israel) through Christ
For—
if ye be
CHRIST'S,
then are ye
ABRAHAM'S SEED,
and heirs according to the promise.
Gal. iii. 29.
Thus all true believers in Christ, by being accounted
"Abraham's Seed,"
are included in the
Spiritual Israel,
and are esteemed ONE in Christ; that is, ONE
Catholick Church,
but not ONE
Jehovah;
for in the peculiar
Unity
of the latter, none can be included, except the Three Divine Persons, to whom alone the supreme Title JEHOVAH is distinctly attributed in the Scriptures!
My reason for making this remark is, that some learned Men, in their Comments on Jeremiah xxxiii. 16. (viz. Grotius, Vitringa, and several others) have applied to
Jerusalem
that glorious Title, which the Scriptures have given to Christ alone; viz. "JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! The learned and Rev. Mr. William Lowth (formerly Prebendary of Winchester) in his Commentary on Jeremiah, p. 293. also applies it to
JERUSALEM,
that is
(says he)
to the
CHURCH,
&c. The learned Authors of our last excellent English Version have likewise unhappily fallen into the same error (though the older English Versions were clear from it) and have rendered the passage as follows—
And this
(is the name)
wherewith
SHE
shall be called,
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
So Vitringa—
Hoc est
(Nomen)
quo
IPSA
denominabitur,
JEHOVA JUSTITIA NOSTRA.
(Anacrisis Apocalypsios, p. 188.)
But the Hebrew Text will bear no such construction, insomuch that the abovementioned Translators have been obliged to
interpolate
their respective Versions of this passage with words that have
nothing to answer them in the original,
in order to make up that imaginary sense of it, which they have erroneously adopted! for they supply the words
"is the name"
and "NOMEN," for which there is not the least authority in the original Text! Supplementary words are never allowable in translations from the Hebrew Scriptures, unless they are absolutely
necessary
to render the sense compleat by filling up such a vacuum in the English Expression as sometimes arises from the difference of idiom in the two Languages; but they are very far from being
necessary
in the Text before us, which will appear by two plain Circumstances, viz.—1st. That
a literal rendering
of the Hebrew in this Text into English affords
an intelligible and just construction
without that
interpolation,
so that
here can be no reason or authority whatever for making it!—And 2dly. That the Words supplied by the Translators have led them (for they could not have so rendered the Hebrew Text without them) to attribute to
Jerusalem
that glorious Title, which in the Parallel Passage of Jeremiah (Ch. xxiii. 5, 6, as well as in the Text before us) apparently belongs to the
Righteous
Branch of David,
the King
that should reign and execute Judgement and
Righteousness
(
) in the earth; so that the passage instead of being (as in the Hebrew Bible)
parallel
to the former
In the former passage (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6.) the RIGHTEOUS
Branch
of the House of David,
the King
that was to
reign,
and
do judgement
and RIGHTEOUSNESS
in the Land,
is manifestly called "JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."—
"In
HIS
days"
(
, here is a
masculine
relative plainly refering back to the substantive
—
King,
in the preceding sentence)
"Judah shall be saved"
(
—feminine—i. e. Judah
she
shall be saved)
and Israel shall dwell safely
(these are mentioned as
contingents
of that
King's Reign,
so that the
principal Substantive
must be known by the reference of the
Relative,
which plainly points to
the
King,
mentioned in the preceding sentence);
And this
(is) HIS
name whereby he shall be called
(
. Here the
Masculine Relative
is again inserted and connected by the copulative
[and]
to the
Relative
in the beginning of the same sentence, so that
both relatives
manifestly refer back to
the same principal Substantive
the King
mentioned in the preceding sentence, and not to the nearest substantives
Judah
and
Israel
as some have erroneously conceived, in order to make the Text correspond with the
mistaken
construction of the Parallel Text, which cannot be done without violence to
both
Texts, and therefore we must abide by
the Letter
and construe this part of the Sentence as follows—
And this
(is) HIS
Name which
THEY
shall call
[or "proclaim"] rather than—
"whereby he shall be called,"
for the Verb is in the 3d person plural) "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."—The expression in the other
parallel Text
varies in several circumstances from this, so that Critics cannot be justified in attempting to warp the sense of this passage to that, nor the sense of that to this, but on the contrary are bound to give to each of them their
true literal
Sense; and we shall find that
the parallel
will be so far from being weakened thereby, that it will, on the contrary, appear much more clear and consistent.
, is rendered by their Translation absolutely
dissonant, irreconcileable,
and
unparallel
not only to that particular Text, but to every other part of Scripture!
Jerusalem,
or
the Church,
might be allowed, by way of Title, to bear a Motto, or Memorial respecting
the Righteousness of Jehovah,
or that
Jehovah is Righteous,
as King ZEDEKIAH and others certainly did hear such a memorial of JEHOVAH in their names (see my Tract on
the Law of Retribution,
p. 110, 166); but neither
Zedekiah,
nor even the
Redeemed Church
or
Spiritual Jerusalem,
could with the least degree of propriety be called, what Christ alone really was and is,—
"Jehovah
OUR
Righteousness!"
But the impropriety of thus applying that glorious Title need not be argued: it is amply sufficient to shew that the Hebrew Text cannot admit of such a construction without doing violence to it (as Vitringa and the learned English Translators have done) by supplying the Word
, Nomen, or name which is not found in the Text! See the words at length.
That is—
In those days
(referring back to the former Sentence wherein THE RIGHTEOUS BRANCH of David is foretold, and that he shall execute Judgement and RIGHTEOUSNESS in the Land)
shall Judah be saved
(
feminine,
She
shall be saved)
and Jerusalem shall dwell
(
also feminine,
she
shall dwell)
safely;
AND HE
(
Iste
or
this person
)
WHO SHALL CALL HER
(or rather—"he who shall call
to
HER"
)
is
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Here is a Translation strictly
literal
(the only word supplied being the common auxiliary verb
is,
which very frequently is found necessary to be added to the English Expression in Translations from the Hebrew) and though we find the manner of expression very different from the Text in the 23d Chapter, there being here a
feminine
Relative instead of a
masculine
Relative, the Verb being also varied from
plural
to
singular,
and the noun
(Name) entirely omitted, yet the sense according
to this most literal rendering,
is not only
consonant
and
parallel
to the former passage, but also strictly
scriptural.
For
Jehovah
certainly CALLED TO
Jerusalem and her Inhabitants
both before and after that Prophecy of Jeremiah;—
I have called unto them
(said JEHOVAH, speaking to the Inhabitants of
Jerusalem
by Jeremiah, Chap. xxxv. 17)
but they have not answered.
Here is the very same verb
to call,
and the preposition
, prefixed in like manner to the pronoun following the verb; so that the expression is the same. And again we read in the Prophet Micah (vi. 9.)—
The Voice of Jehovah shall
CALL TO
the City
. Here the very same Verb
is used in the same sense—
shall call;
and in the two preceding Chapters
Sion
is called upon under the figure of A WOMAN—
Be in pain, and labour to bring forth,
O DAUGHTER OF ZION, LIKE A WOMAN
in Travail,
&c.
Thou shalt go even to Babylon, &c.
Chap. iv. 10.
And again in the 5th Chapter 1st Verse,
Gather thyself in Troops—O Daughter of Troops
(manifestly refering to
the Daughter of Zion
mentioned in the preceding Verse)
he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite
THE JUDGE OF ISRAEL
with a rod upon the Cheek,
&c. And who is this JUDGE OF ISRAEL? Surely it is the Divine WORD who, not only by his Prophets in ancient times
"
Are not these the Words which
JEHOVAH
hath
CALLED" —(
called
or
proclaimed,
i. e. to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem)
"by the former Prophets, when
JERUSALEM
was inhabited?"
— &c.—Zech. vii. 7. Here the Verb
to call
is used in the very same sense that I have given to it in the Text of Jeremiah now under consideration.
but also in his own Person (as
Son of God,
and
Son of Man
) CALLED TO THE CITY and its unwary inhabitants?—Who said by Isaiah—
I have spread out my hands all the Day unto a rebellious People,
&c.
(Ch. lxv. 2.)
—
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the Shoulder, and stopped their Ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts
(as)
an Adamant Stone, lest they should hear the Law, and the Words which the Lord of Hosts hath sent
IN HIS SPIRIT
by the hand of the former Prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of Hosts. Therefore it came to pass
(that)
as
HE CALLED
(
the same Verb, still used in the same sense)
and they would not hear, so
THEY SHALL CALL
(
in the future Tense
)
and I will not hear
(
)
saith
JEHOVAH
of Hosts: and
I WILL
scatter them
(
still in the future Tense: and be pleased to remark, that the prophecy of this
scattering
or
dispersion
was delivered by Zechariah
after
the return of
Israel
and
Judah
from their former
dispersion
in the Provinces of Babylon; but this
future Dispersion
was to be much more notorious and general)—
I will
SCATTER
them with a whirlwind
AMONG ALL THE NATIONS
whom they knew not, &c.
(Zech. vii. 11—14.)
From this last dreadful and
general Dispersion,
the Jews have never yet returned to their own proper Country, but
the Land is
(still)
desolate after them
(see the 14th Verse)
having been ever since possessed and plundered by
standing Armies
(the bane of Mankind) consisting alternately of various foreign Nations; and the frightful
desolation
of that Devoted Land has been continued and prolonged by the detestable
Arbitrary Governments
of Arabians, Turks, and such other foreign Despots, the Scourges of Mankind!—
For they laid the pleasant Land desolate!
This
determined Vengeance
against the Jews (viz.
"They
SHALL CALL
and I will not hear,"
&c.) was lamented in the most affecting Terms by "THE JUDGE OF ISRAEL" abovementioned, whom they
smote
and
despised,
for
he called and they would not hear!
—
O JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM,
that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
HOW OFTEN WOULD I HAVE GATHERED THY CHILDREN TOGETHER,
even as a hen gathereth her Chickens under
(her)
wings, and
YE WOULD NOT!
Behold, your House is left unto you
DESOLATE!
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.
(Matt. xxiii. 37—39.)
May God of his infinite Mercy hasten that time, and give grace to the Descendants of his once
peculiar people
that they may acknowledge
the true Shepherd and King of Israel,
and be collected from this fatal
dispersion,
which hath already endured more than 1700 YEARS! Then will they know and declare that
the Branch of
RIGHTEOUSNESS
that grew up unto David, and executed judgement and
RIGHTEOUSNESS
in the Land,
is he that CALLED TO HER
(
) that is,
to Jerusalem
(Jer. xxxiii. 16.) and that
this is
HIS NAME (
) which they shall
call
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
(Jer. xxiii. 6.)
Nay some of the most learned Rabbins have declared long ago that this is the title of the
Messiah;
and even Grotius himself who applies this Title to THE CITY (
hic de
CIVITATE
agitur,
see on Jer. xxxiii. 16.)
yet acknowledges that not only Christians, but also the learned Rabbi KIMCHI refers it in a more sublime sense to the MESSIAH.
Sensu sublimiore non Christiani tantum, sed et
KIMCHI
hoc ad Messiam refert.
And therefore if all the Texts above cited be duly compared and considered, it must appear that the Title
"Jehovah our Righteousness"
is not applied by Jeremiah (xxxiii. 16.) to JERUSALEM, but to him, who (as the prophet said)
shall call her.
This it seems has been the opinion of
several Interpreters, particularly
HUETIUS,
Demonstr. Evang. Prop.
vii.
cap.
16,
and our learned
Bishop PEARSON
in the Notes upon his exposition of the Creed,
p. 165,
who, as the abovementioned Mr. Lowth acknowledges,
'render the Words thus:'
"HE THAT SHALL CALL HER" [i. e.
to be his peculiar people
] "IS THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." See also the Old English Translation by Tindal, printed in 1549—
And
HE THAT SHAL CAL HER,
is even God our Ryghteous Maker.
—In the Old Version called the Bishop's Bible, we read—
And he that shall call her, is even God our righteousnesse.
And in the common English Version printed by the King's Printer in 1611, we find nearly the same rendering—
And hee that shall call her is the Lord our righteousnesse.
—These are sufficient authorities, I trust, for what I have asserted in this note, and for the translation which I have ventured to make of the Text in question; and therefore if all the Texts also above cited be duly compared and considered, it must appear that the Title
JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
was NOT applied by Jeremiah to
Jerusalem,
but only to the
Righteous Branch,
which (as he foretold)
grew up to David,
and
called to her!
, are in like manner esteemed ONE; because all distinctions of
Nation, Rank,
and
Dignity,
and even of
Sex,
are set aside in the true Church—
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all
ONE
in
CHRIST JESUS.
And if ye
(be) CHRIST'S,
then are ye
ABRAHAM'S SEED,
and Heirs according to the promise.
(Gal. iii. 28, 29)
. Thus the Faithful are
one in Christ,
but surely not
with Christ;
—I mean, not
with
him, in the UNITY of
Power, Glory,
and
Eternal Existence,
wherein he and the Holy Ghost are (and ever were) included with the Almighty Father!
The Unity
of the Church is, indeed, in some respects (as I have shewn) LIKE
the Unity
of THE FATHER and THE SON, but it is not
the same Unity,
as the Socinians would insinuate
This attempt of the Socinians to exclude the doctrine of Christ's
Divine Dignity,
which necessarily arises from the repeated declarations in Scripture, that
the Father
and
the Son
are ONE, is vain and futile; because the many circumstances of
Divine Omnipotence
and
Eternal Existence
(already recited) in which they are ONE, cannot without blasphemy be attributed to
the Church,
or to that other
Unity,
wherein the Church is included
in the Father and the Son.
. In the Communion Service of the Church of England, indeed, mention is made of our
Unity
WITH
Christ
—
We are
ONE WITH
Christ, and Christ
WITH
us,
(see Exhortation at the time of the Celebration, &c.) but this has not the least reference to
the Unity of Christ
WITH
the Father,
but only to the declared
Unity
of the Faithful, who form that
one Building,
whereof Christ is the
chief Corner
(Stone).
In whom all
THE BUILDING
fitly framed together groweth unto
AN HOLY TEMPLE
in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of
GOD
through the Spirit.
(Eph. ii. 20—22.)
So that all faithful disciples are, undoubtedly, ONE
in Christ
(that is, ONE "
Holy Temple
With respect to the
"One Holy Temple,"
we may say, that the Faithful are
One,
either
in
or
with
Christ; because Christ is called
"the chief Corner,"
and
the Head
And gave him to be
HEAD
over all
(things)
to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Eph. i. 22, 23.
of the Church, and consequently in this figure is esteemed
a part of the Church.
," or ONE
Catholick Church
) even as
the Father
and the Son are ONE: but it must appear from the several texts already quoted (if they are duly compared and weighed together) that
the Unity of the Church in Christ,
is not mentioned as
the same Unity,
wherein
the Father and the Son are
ONE (viz.
One
in
Power, Glory,
and
Eternal Existence,
or
One
GOD) but only as a resemblance or illustration,
in some respects,
of that DIVINE UNITY!—
In some respects
(I say) as being
united
in
Will,
or in
Divine Love
(as I have already shewn) or by the inspiration of the HOLY SPIRIT in each individual,
through which
the whole Congregation of the Faithful that are
"builded together"
in Christ, become "
an Habitation of
GOD," (see the text last quoted from Eph. ii. 20— 22.) but not
in all respects,
because there are many circumstances (some of which I have already mentioned) wherein the Unity or Fellowship of Christ with the Heavenly Father is infinitely transcendent, and such as cannot, without Blasphemy, be attributed to the redeemed Brethren, or those that are
merely
Members of the Church; so that the
Socinian
objection to the doctrine, which necessarily arises from the several texts, wherein
the Father and the Son
are declared to be ONE, is apparently unjust and false! May any other
Man,
but
the Man Christ Jesus,
(1 Tim. ii. 5.)
say as he did—
ALL THINGS THAT THE FATHER HATH ARE MINE?
(John xvi. 14.)
And again—
"As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father?"
(John x. 15.) or, as Christ expressed himself to his Heavenly Father in Prayer —
And now, O Father,
GLORIFY THOU ME WITH THINE OWN SELF, WITH THE GLORY
which I had with thee before the world was?
(John xvii. 5.)
Thus Christ declares his right to be
glorified with the Heavenly Father himself,
which must mean,
to be glorified with
SUPREME GLORY, as it is
the Glory
of the Almighty Father,
"the Glory which"
the Son had with his Almighty Father
"before the world was!"
This glorious Person assumed
the
NATURE OF MAN, and for a time dwelt among men, that he might
"fulfill all righteousness"
(Mat. iii. 15.) even in his
Human Nature,
and thereby restore the lost dignity and privileges of
that Nature;
—
the first Man
(being)
of the Earth, earthy;
but
the Second
MAN THE LORD FROM HEAVEN!
(1 Cor. xv. 47.)
Human Nature,
therefore, is indeed exalted to
eternal Glory,
but that is only
in, by,
and
through him,
who alone is
truly
and
essentially
the "SON OF GOD," as well as the "SON OF MAN!" For he is
the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: No man cometh unto the Father
(said our Lord)
but by me.
(John xiv. 6.)
The miserable state of fallen MAN is already described in the former part of this Tract. The means of retrieving our lost dignity remains still to be shewn. God has mercifully revealed to us these necessary means, and tendered them in the Scriptures to our
Choice,
that by a prudent use of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil,
we may constantly prefer, and
chuse the Good,
earnestly claiming the promises of
Divine Assistance;
whereby we shall also be enabled to
reject the Evil
on all occasions, and effectually to resist
the Spiritual Enemy,
and maintain our integrity in the severest trials of our Faith; for
in all these things we are more than Conquerors through him that loved us.
(Rom. viii. 37.)
Thus the device of SATAN, in promoting MAN'S assumption of
forbidden Knowledge,
is compleatly turned against himself; for that very KNOWLEDGE, which (through his deceit and temptation) subjected
all Mankind
to SIN and
Death,
is now (through the mercy of God) become a proper
Principle of Action
(if we use it as we ought) to incline us to RIGHTEOUSNESS, and lead us to "
the Tree of Life
The hereditary
KNOWLEDGE
of Good and Evil,
which our first parents unlawfully took upon themselves, by eating of "THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE," is shewn in the beginning of this Tract to be a
Divine Knowledge,
such as must have originally proceeded from GOD; and as THE DIVINE WORD, which "
was with
GOD," and "
was
GOD," (John i. 1.) is declared also to be
the true
LIGHT,
which
LIGHTETH
every man that cometh into the world,
(John i. 9.)
we may perhaps, without impropriety, conceive, that the said
Divine Knowledge
(of which man unlawfully partook) was in some way or other originally communicated to the
Tree of Knowledge
in Paradise, by the ETERNAL WORD, because LIGHT and KNOWLEDGE, when mentioned as
mental Properties,
are certainly synonymous terms; so that to impart KNOWLEDGE
to every man,
is the same thing as to LIGHT, or ENLIGHTEN
every man that cometh into the world.
But, whether this conjecture be true or not, yet we are certain that we can have no hopes of regaining the privileges which were lost by the former fatal disobedience, except through CHRIST alone: for to him are attributed all the properties of "THE TREE OF LIFE
From which our beguiled ancestor was unhappily excluded, being driven from paradise—
lest he
(should)
put forth his hand, and
TAKE
also of
THE TREE OF LIFE,
and
EAT
and
LIVE
for ever.
Gen. iii. 22.
;" so that, in Him, we may truly partake of such benefits, as are amply sufficient to restore
the original Dignity of
MAN!
And this is the record, that
GOD
hath given to us
ETERNAL LIFE;
and this
LIFE
is in his
SON.
He that hath the Son, hath
LIFE; (and)
he that hath not
THE SON OF GOD
hath not
LIFE.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of
THE SON OF GOD,
that ye may know that ye have
ETERNAL LIFE,
and that ye may believe on the Name of the
SON OF GOD.
1 John v. 11—13.)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what
THE SPIRIT
saith unto the Churches: To him that overcometh,
WILL
I
GIVE
(THE SPIRIT here speaks in his own Name, and thereby declares his own Omnipotence and DIVINE NATURE—"
To him will I
GIVE," saith the Spirit)
to eat of the
TREE OF LIFE;
which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
(Rev. ii. 7.)
—Therefore, to "
eat of the Tree of
LIFE," is manifestly a
spiritual
repast, though
real
in its eternal effects, which are undoubtedly the same as those we expect in Christ.
As the
LIVING FATHER
hath sent me
(said our Lord)
and I
LIVE
by the Father: so he that
EATETH ME,
even he
SHALL LIVE
by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your Fathers did eat Manna, and are dead. He that
EATETH
of this bread
SHALL LIVE FOR EVER.
John vi. 57, 58.
Christ is therefore, in a most effectual manner to us,
THE TREE OF LIFE;
and accordingly he himself has assured us in the strongest terms—
VERILY, VERILY,
I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no
LIFE
in you. Whose eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
LIFE,
and I will raise him at the last day. For my
FLESH
is
MEAT INDEED
(
, "TRULY SO")
and
MY BLOOD
is
DRINK INDEED,
&c.
(John vi. 53—55.)
Now as
the eating the flesh of the Son of Man, and drinking his blood
(
EXCEPT YE EAT, &c.—YE HAVE NO LIFE
in you,
&c.) is thus declared to be absolutely necessary for us, of course THE MEANS given us of DOING SO, demand our most serious consideration, especially as they were expressly and clearly revealed to the Apostles in the solemn hour of Christ's latest instructions
The Apostle Paul relates the
last commands
of Christ on this subject, as they were revealed to him by our Lord himself, even after his ascension, whereby the necessity and importance of them are still further confirmed! viz.
That
THE LORD JESUS,
the night he was betrayed, took
BREAD:
and when he had given thanks, he brake
(it),
and said, Take, eat:
THIS IS MY BODY,
which is broken for you:
THIS DO
(
, manifestly directing his disciples to use the solemn ceremony of breaking bread, AS HE HAD DONE)
in
remembrance
(said he)
of me.
After the same manner also the CUP,
when he had supped,
saying,
THIS CUP
is the New Testament
(or New Covenant)
in my blood:
THIS DO YE,
as oft as ye drink
(it)
in remembrance of me.
Thus far the Apostle relates
the commands of Christ,
which clearly relate to what our Lord himself had before declared concerning the necessity of
eating his flesh, and drinking his blood;
so that this solemn ceremony of
Bread and Wine
is manifestly the means he had given us of
doing so;
because our Lord declared of the
Bread—This is my Body,
&c. adn of the
Cup, This is the New Covenant in my blood,
&c. And therefore we may be assured, that all persons, who sincerely and with due faith and disposition, partake of these two outward symbols of his
Body
and
Blood
in remembrance of him
(according to the form which he himself so expressly instituted) do most certainly, in a
spiritual
manner, partake also of
"the Tree of Life,"
agreeable to the promise of THE SPIRIT
"to him that overcometh!"
THE BREAD is no otherwise THE BODY OF CHRIST, than as it is used in this institution—viz.
received,
and
eaten
in
remembrance of Christ;
by which we have
Communion of his
Body.
1 Cor. x. 16. For we have no authority whatever to esteem it the
Body of Christ
in any other respect; so that for all other purposes and uses whatsoever, it cannot be allowed
so much as the Name
of any thing else, but what it really is—
mere Bread
—even when it is held up to be worshipped; and therefore that Church which uses it in suth an unjustifiable manner, is certainly guilty of the grossest idolatry!
, which confirms the doctrine of their necessity and importance!
As our Lord had before declared—
My flesh is
MEAT (
, FOOD, from thence the German BROAT, and English word BREAD)
INDEED,
and my blood is
DRINK INDEED,
he now substituted the real viands of
bread
(
, or FOOD INDEED) and wine
(drink indeed)
as the outward symbols of that FLESH and BLOOD (that spiritual
meat
and
drink
for the soul) of which all persons must of necessity partake, who hope for ETERNAL LIFE!
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
TREE OF LIFE,
&c.
Rev. xxii. 14.
! But we must remember, at the same time, that this
Knowledge
in Man is far from being of itself sufficient for these purposes! The dignity and privileges of
Human Nature
cannot be known, nor the manner of communicating them properly understood without a
right Faith
in the Dignity and
Divine Nature
of
Christ,
because, in
his Promises
alone, our title to those extraordinary Privileges is founded!
Whatsoever ye shall ask
IN MY NAME
(said our Lord JESUS)
that
WILL I DO
(a clear proof of his Divine Nature)
that the Father
(said he)
may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in
MY NAME
(said our Lord again)
I WILL DO IT, &c.
John xiv. 13, 14.
A right Faith, therefore, concerning the true Dignity of that Divine Person,
in whose Name
we hope to obtain the heavenly Gift of the Holy Ghost, is undoubtedly necessary; and we must
"give him the honour due unto his Name,"
or the very mention of that Name, instead of intitling us to favour, would be an offence to God, who
hath highly exalted
his only begotten Son,
and given him
A NAME,
which is above
EVERY NAME:
that at the
NAME
of
JESUS
every knee should bow, of
(things)
in heaven, and
(things)
in earth; and
(things)
under the earth: and that every tongue should confess,
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD,
to
THE GLORY OF GOD
the Father.
(Philip. ii. 9—11.)
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN
given among Men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts iv. 12.
For as the Father raised up the dead, and quickeneth them: even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
John v. 21.
In a preceding verse (viz. 17th) our Lord, in like manner, compared (with a seeming insinuation of equality) his own works with the works of his Father—
My Father worketh hitherto
(said he)
and I work.
The
Father which worketh hitherto,
was clearly understood by the Jews to signify the
Almighty Father,
the
Worker
or
Maker of all things,
and therefore they could neither brook the mention he made in the same sentence of his own
working,
nor the particular claim which our Lord expressed in that sentence to the Almighty Father as his peculiar
Father,
calling him
My Father,
instead of
Our Father,
as the common Parent or Creator of Mankind.
All this is plainly implied in the following verse; and
therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
(viz. by his
miraculous Works
in
healing the Sick,
and doing good
)
but said also, that
GOD WAS HIS FATHER,
, (said that God was his proper or peculiar Father)
making himself
EQUAL
with God.
For to call God his peculiar Father was
justly
esteemed by the Jews the same thing as making himself
"equal with God,"
though they were
unjustly
incensed at it, through a want of due attention to the mighty
Works
(similar to those of the Almighty Father) to which Christ appealed, as a proof that he was really
the Son of God!
That SUPREME HONOUR is therefore due unto THE NAME AND PERSON OF THE SON, our Blessed Redeemer, who, for OUR SAKE, took THE NATURE OF MAN upon himself, is manifest, because we are expressly commanded to
honour the Son, even as we honour the Father;
so that we cannot exceed—
FOR THE FATHER JUDGETH NO MAN;
but hath committed
ALL JUDGMENT UNTO THE SON:
that all
(Men)
should honour
THE SON,
even as they honour
THE FATHER, (
). And again,
He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
John v. 22, 23.
To "honour the Son" (
, from
and
,
according as,
or)
even as
they "honour the Father," would be idolatry, if the Son was not a Divine Person, really and truly God from all Eternity! Because the God of Israel, the Eternal and Everlasting
Jehovah, and Creator of all things
Thus saith God the Lord
(or Jehovah)
he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it,
and Spirit
to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee
(that is, Christ)
in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, &c.
Isai. xlii. 5—8.
, at the very time that he promised this Glorious Redeemer
for a Covenant of the people, for a Light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the
PRISONERS
from the
PRISON
(that is, from the bondage and slavery of Satan)
and them that sit in darkness out of the
PRISON-HOUSE,
he immediately added in the very next sentence,
I am the
LORD
(or
Jehovah)
THAT IS MY NAME:
and my
GLORY
will I not give to
ANOTHER,
&c.
Isai. xlii. 5—8.
It is impossible therefore, that the Supreme God, JEHOVAH, should
give his Glory,
or require Men
to honour the Son, even as they honour the Father,
if the Son was
another,
or not in Unity or
One
with the Father in the
Eternal Being
of the One God; I mean, if he was not included in the
One
Eternal Divine
Being
which is but ONE (
One
Jehovah) that is, UNITY ITSELF, and therefore incapable of different Degrees, or
Inequality.
Hear, O Israel
(said Moses)
the Lord
(or Jehovah)
our God, is One Lord,
or
ONE
Jehovah.
(
) Deut. vi. 4.
And yet we find, that this glorious Name of the One Eternal God of Israel; viz. Jehovah
, is manifestly attributed, both in the Old and New Testaments (as I have already shewn), to the Messiah as a distinct Person from the Father; and therefore, when we read our Lord's expression in John xiv. 28.
"My Father is greater than I,"
we must necessarily understand, that no comparative reference can possibly have been intended thereby, nor is to be made, concerning the
Divine Nature,
or
Godhead,
which certainly is but
One,
viz. "ONE JEHOVAH," as the text expressly declares, and consequently we must acknowledge with the Author of the Creed, commonly attributed to Athanasius, that
the Son is equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead,
(viz. the
One Eternal Being,
or Jehovah)
though inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood,
or his Mediatorial Office; for in some such qualified sense we must of course understand our Lord's expression in John (
The Father is greater than I
) before-mentioned; for those Men, who venture to assert, that the Inferiority of the Son consists in his
Divine Nature,
must evidently suppose a
Superior
and
Inferior
Divine Nature, and consequently, that there are Two
Divine Natures,
which Idea the Scriptures expressly forbid—
(JEHOVAH, OUR GOD,
is
ONE JEHOVAH,
(Deut. vi. 4.)
—And therefore, as the Son is also JEHOVAH, we are bound by the Scriptures to believe, that he is of the same
Divine Nature
with the Father in that
One Eternal
Being, agreeable to what he himself has declared—
I and the Father are One.
(
) John x. 30.
And as the
Plurality
of Persons is clearly expressed in the latter text by the
Plural
Verb
,
we are;
so the word
,
One,
evidently demonstrates the UNITY and EQUALITY of
their Divine Nature;
for it is no less evident from the context, that the said word
, ONE, refers to the
Being of God,
or Jehovah, and was intended to express the
Unity
of their
Divine Nature
,
the Divine Nature,
or
Godhead
(Acts xvii. 29.) which can be but
One,
(
,
One Godhead
) as there is but
One God,
, 1 Tim. ii. 5.
. James ii. 19.
. The Jews, it is plain, understood the expression in that sense, and immediately charged our Lord with
Blasphemy
— saying,—
Because that thou, being a Man, makest thyself God.
And though our Lord condescended to cite a passage from the Psalms, wherein the title
of Gods
is applied to
mere Men,
viz.
I said ye are Gods,
in order to shew, that the Scriptures
would not be broken
by the consequence which they had drawn from his expression; yet he immediately after maintains the evident meaning of his first expression, as it was at first
understood by the Jews,
and, by a fair comparison, shewed his infinite superiority over them that were called
Gods,
in the Law,
If he,
(said our Lord, meaning the Prophet David)
called them
GODS,
unto whom the Word of
GOD
came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemest; because I said, I am
THE SON OF GOD?
And our Lord immediately added an incontestable proof of his being GOD [not merely in a
confined, qualified Sense,
like those
Men
called GODS in Scripture
I have said, Ye
(are) GODS;
and all of you
(are)
children
(or SONS)
of the most High.
(Psa. lxxxii. 6.)
The whole Psalm is plainly intended as a reproof and warning to wicked
Rulers
or wicked
Judges,
whom the inspired Psalmist calls
Gods,
probably because they ought to act as
God's Vicegerents
on earth, in
judging righteously,
according to GOD'S LAW, as Moses
charged them
—
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,
(but)
ye shall hear the small, as well as the great: ye shall not be afraid of the face of man;
FOR THE JUDGMENT IS GOD'S,
&c.
Deut. i. 16, 17.
or, as King
Jehoshaphat
afterwards warned his
Judges,
in a most excellent charge, which ought to be wrote in letters of gold on the most conspicuous part of every Court of
Judicature
—viz.—
Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man,
BUT FOR THE LORD, WHO IS WITH YOU IN THE JUDGMENT.
Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you!—Take heed; and do it! for
(there is)
no iniquity with
THE LORD OUR GOD,
nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
(2 Chron. xix. 6, 7.)
It is obvious, therefore, when these texts are duly considered, that
Judges and Magistrates
are called GODS, by the Psalmist, only in a confined and qualified sense, because they
"judge not for man, but for the Lord,"
and because
"the judgment is God's;"
and though in the same sentence they are called "SONS OF THE MOST HIGH," yet this is no disparagement or lessening to the title and dignity of the REAL SON OF GOD, because the former (which are mere
men
by nature) are no otherwise
SONS
of the most High,
than by
Adoption,
for the sake of the REAL SON, who was
not ashamed
to call them BRETHREN
I will declare thy Name unto MY BRETHREN,
Psa. xxii. 22.
And again—
Who are
MY BRETHREN? And he stretched out his
hands towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my
Mother, and
MY BRETHREN. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my BROTHER, &c.
Mat. xii. 48—50.
,
(Heb. ii. 11.)
and even vouchsafed to take
Human Nature
upon himself, and to become also "THE SON OF MAN," that he might be our BROTHER indeed, and the Restorer of
Human Dignity
in his own Person!
The quotation made by our Lord (John x. 34.) from the 82d Psalm, viz. "I SAID
ye are Gods,"
manifestly refers us back to a preceding expression in the 1st verse of the same Psalm, wherein the inspired Psalmist had "SAID," that God "
judgeth among
THE GODS,"—meaning
the congregation of God,
mentioned in the beginning of the same verse—
God standeth in
THE CONGREGATION OF GOD:
he judgeth among
THE "GODS.
How long will ye judge unjustly?
&c. The whole Psalm, as I have before remarked, is a reproof or warning to
unjust Judges,
who are here called GODS, apparently in no other sense, than what I have already described.
The congregation of God,
(
and
) signifies, for the most part, the
main body of the people,
or
the congregation of the Israelites in general,
as in Numbers xxvii. 17, and xxxi. 16. and also in Joshua xxii. 16, 17; but in the text before us (when the subject of the context is duly considered) the expression seems to mean,
the congregation
or
assembly of the Judges
or
Senators of the people,
and not the whole
"Congregation of God;"
though indeed the said assembly was
the proper representative
of the whole
"Congregation of God;"
because
the Judges, Magistrates,
and other Officers, were originally ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE, AS ALL MAGISTRATES and PUBLICK OFFICERS (in strict justice) OUGHT TO BE! We read, indeed, that Moses
CHOSE
able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people.
(Exod. xviii. 25.)
but, in fact,
"the able men"
were chosen
by the people,
and not
by Moses
(though it is here said, that
"he chose"
them, as it was,
indeed,
by HIS advice, that they were
chosen,
agreeable to the council and proposal of Jethro, related in the preceding context) for in the first chapter of Deuteronomy, wherein Moses begins to repeat the history of former transactions, he relates this amongst the rest, in terms, which clearly shew, that
the election
of the
"able men"
was BY THE PEOPLE.
I spake unto you
(says he)
at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: the Lord your God hath multiplied you,
&c.
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
TAKE YE,
(
CHUSE YE TO YOURSELVES
In the Hebrew
(says the learned Bp. Patrick)
it is,
GIVE YE,
i. e.
present unto me
(says he)
such persons
AS YOU THINK FIT,
according to the following characters.
WISE MEN,
and
UNDERSTANDING,
and
KNOWN AMONG YOUR TRIBES,
&c. Thus the learned Bishop's paraphrase amounts to the full meaning of my interpretation above,
"Chuse ye to yourselves"
—But there is no need of a paraphrase to justify this rendering: the word
indeed, literally signifies, GIVE YE, as the Bishop remarks; but neither his Lordship, nor the English version, have taken any notice of the word which immediately follows it, viz.
.—
TO YOURSELVES;
for, when these two words come together,
they form
a phrase,
which, construed literally indeed, it,
Give ye to yourselves
(
, as the DXX. have
literally
rendered it) but as such a sentence necessarily implies
a choice,
the phrase is much better expressed when rendered,
"Chuse ye to yourselves,"
as above; above; which is the version of the
Syriac
"Chuse ye to yourselves,"
both in this text, and in Joshua xviii. 4. where the same Hebrew phrase occurs
—
CHUSE YE TO YOURSELVES
three Men for each Tribe, and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come
(again)
to me,
&c. Thus Joshua also, as a faithful
Minister of State
under GOD, was careful to maintain
the popular Rights of Election,
and to promote them by his advice! Even a survey of the country, in his opinion (it seems) was not to be trusted to any publick officers or commissioners whatever, but such as were duly
chosen by the people,
and those
in equal proportions
for each Tribe—
Chuse ye to yourselves
(said he)
three Men for each Tribe,
&c.
) wise men and understanding, and
KNOWN AMONG YOUR TRIBES,
(which necessarily implies that the Tribes were to NOMINATE)
and I
(said Moses)
will make them Rulers over you,
(i. e. the returns of the elections were to be made to Moses, and he was to invest
the Elected
with publick authority).
And ye
(said Moses)
answered me, and said—The thing which thou hast spoken
(is)
good
(for us)
to do.
(Thus Moses, like a good politician, and faithful publick minister under under God, declared
the free assent of the people,
whereby the important measure he had
proposed,
by the advice of JETHRO, was
enacted,
and became a publick LAW, or STATUTE).
So I took
(said Moses)
the Chief of your Tribes, wise men and known
[that is,
"known among the Tribes," (as expressed in the 13th verse) which necessary
qualification
could not fairly be ascertained, unless the
known
men were really
returned
or
named
to Moses, as such, by the Tribes themselves]
and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your Tribes.
[Thus it appears, that the officers in general, from
the colonel,
or captain of a thousand (whether of
individuals
or
families
) down to
the serjeant,
or tything-man, were recommended or
nominated
by the people, before they were invested with authority by Moses] And I charged your
JUDGES
at that time (whereby it must of course be understood, that the JUDGES also had been previously nominated by the people as
wise men, and understanding, and known among the Tribes,
agreeable to the preceding
enacted
proposal)
saying, Hear
(the causes)
between your brethren, and
JUDGE
righteously between
(every)
man and his brother, and the stranger
(that is)
with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment,
&c. Deut. i. 9—17. The remainder of the excellent charge I have quoted above.—I have thus far digressed from my subject, not only for the sake of explaining several texts of Scripture, which occurred to me in the course of my argument, but also, for the honour of
Human Nature,
to shew
the glorious State of Political Liberty,
with which God was pleased to bless his people ISRAEL; and in which he would, most certainly, have maintained them, if they had persevered in
the right Faith,
and in due obedience to
his Laws!
But when men forsake GOD, they unavoidably lose their LIBERTY!
, but GOD also]
in Effect
and
Power!
—
If I do not
THE WORKS OF MY FATHER
(continued our Lord)
believe me not.
BUT IF I DO,
though you believe not me,
BELIEVE THE WORKS:
that ye may know and
BELIEVE
that the
FATHER
is
IN ME,
and I
IN HIM.
(John x. 31—38.)
This reference to
the Works of the Father,
was a manifest appeal of Christ to the understanding of his hearers, concerning the peculiar manner in which he was
really God,
and of the same
Divine Nature
with THE FATHER, agreeable to the obvious sense of his first proposition—
I and the Father are One,
(ver. 30.)
—and the unbelieving Jews (notwithstanding their
mental blindness, and hardness of heart,
foretold by their own Prophets) as plainly
understood,
that the necessary effect of this argument was exactly the same upon the whole, that they at first apprehended; viz. that he
MADE HIMSELF,
(i. e. declared himself to be
really
)
GOD,
and therefore they immediately renewed their wicked persecution as at first; for
they sought again to take him,
(says the text)
but he escaped out of their hand,
(ver. 39.)
My readers may perhaps think, that I prolong my work too much, and render it tedious, by inserting so many proofs concerning the
Divine Nature of
THE SON OF GOD; but alas! I find, that my labour on this point is become necessary! Many learned men, and some, even of my own particular friends, have unhappily overlooked that indispensable doctrine, and do not perceive, that the glorious Name JEHOVAH (the peculiar Name of THE ONE SUPREME GOD) is clearly in the Scriptures attributed also to
the Son of God!
And we cannot rightly understand
the Nature and Dignity of
MAN (which is my leading subject in this Tract) nor the true value of THE PRICE which was given for MAN'S REDEMPTION (as we
are bought with
A PRICE,
1 Cor. vi. 20.
) unless we are truly sensible of
the Nature and Dignity
(as far as God has revealed it to us in the Scriptures) of that Divine Person, who took
Human Nature
upon himself, in order to restore the lost
Dignity
and
Privileges
of
fallen
MAN!
One of my learned friends (though a sensible and worthy man) amongst other arguments and quotations against my doctrine, remarks as follows.
The Apostle Paul
(says he)
saith, in Ephes.
i. 17—20.
that
THE GOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF GLORY
—
SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND.
Hence
(says my learned friend)
it necessarily follows that Christ is not Jehovah, but the Son of Jehovah.—God, who made the worlds by his Son, is the Father of Christ.
(Heb. i. 2.)
See likewise (says he) Isaiah xi. 2.—
The Spirit of
JEHOVAH
shall rest upon him.
—
Also Isai.
lxi. 1, 2.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because
JEHOVAH
hath anointed me to preach,
&c.
compared with Luke
iv. 18.
Now that Christ is
the Son of God,
or (as my friend stiles him)
the Son of Jehovah
I will declare the decree:
THE LORD
(in the Hebrew JEHOVAH)
hath said unto me, Thou art
MY SON;
this day have
I BEGOTTEN THEE.
Psal. ii. 7.
,
every true Christian must readily allow to be a true and indispensable doctrine; but it by no means
follows
from thence (though my friend says it
necessarily follows
)
that Christ is not Jehovah!
To the direct contrary of my friend's assertion, I am obliged to remark, that
as Christ is the Son of Jehovah, and the Son of God
in a
peculiar
and
essential
manner
Christ is, in a
peculiar
and
essential
manner, the
Son of God,
because he
proceeded forth, and came out of God,
(see p. 261, 262.)
and is expressly called
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN
of the Almighty Father—
And the
WORD
was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER
) full of grace and truth.
John i. 14.
And again,
GOD
so loved the world, that he gave
HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For
GOD
sent not
HIS SON
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of
THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD.
John iii. 16—18.
,
it necessarily follows
from thence, that he is also really and truly GOD and JEHOVAH in an
essential
manner; for
as a
SON must necessarily partake of the
Nature
or
Essence
of his natural FATHER, so "THE SON OF JEHOVAH" must necessarily be of the same
Nature, Being,
or
Essence
with his ALMIGHTY FATHER, JEHOVAH; and as there is but ONE JEHOVAH, must necessarily in some way or other (though incomprehensible to us at present) be included in that ONE
Eternal
BEING! The very circumstance which my friend assigns as a proof that "
the Son
is NOT JEHOVAH," was esteemed by the unbelieving Jews (when our Lord was on earth) as a proof that he
made himself equal with God!
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath
(that is, as they falsely alledged, because he had healed the Sick, and done good on the Sabbath Day, which was certainly lawful)
but said also, that
GOD WAS HIS FATHER
(
, his
own proper
or
peculiar
Father, that is, his Father in a
real
or
essential
manner; and this, it seems, is the very reason which my friend has assigned as a proof that
Christ is not Jehovah,
but which, on the contrary, the Jews rightly esteemed to be the same thing as)
making himself
EQUAL WITH GOD!
. John v. 18.
Our Lord was so far from denying the truth of
the consequential Doctrine,
which the Jews had drawn from his having said, that
"God was his Father,"
—"his
own proper Father,"
that he immediately, in the very next verse, appealed to
his works
for the truth of it!
Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do:
(shewing thereby, that
the Father
is indeed the Fountain of Power; but immediately afterwards he shews likewise, that he himself, as being
Son of the Almighty Father,
was therefore
equal in Power with
THE FATHER)
for what things soever he
(that is, the Father)
doeth
(said our Lord)
THESE ALSO DOETH THE SON LIKEWISE!
(or
in like manner
, which is surely such an ample declaration of his
own Almighty Power,
as could not be true, were he not really JEHOVAH)
For the Father
(continued our Lord)
loveth the Son, and sheweth him
ALL THINGS THAT HIMSELF DOETH:
and he will shew him greater
WORKS THAN THESE
(alluding to the mighty WORKS, by which he proved himself to be "THE SON OF JEHOVAH")
that ye may marvel
(said he).
For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth
(them); EVEN SO THE SON QUICKENETH WHOM HE WILL.
[Another incontestable declaration of ALMIGHTY POWER, such as cannot be attributed to any that is not TRULY GOD, though it is certainly an especial
Attribute
of him that is called
—"THE PRINCE (or Author) OF LIFE
But ye denied the Holy One, and the Just
(said the Apostle Peter to the Jews)
and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. And killed
THE PRINCE OF LIFE,
whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses: and
HIS NAME
[i. e. the Name of JESUS, as a proof that he hath
LIFE IN HIMSELF, (John v. 26.) and QUICKENETH WHOM HE WILL
]
through faith in
HIS NAME
hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know, &c.
Acts iii. 14—16.
For as the Prophets of old wrought miracles in the Name of JEHOVAH, so the Apostles and Primitive Christians wrought miracles in the Name of JESUS, to prove that he was the
Son of Jehovah,
and consequently is truly
God
and
Lord!
]!
For the Father
(continues our Lord)
judgeth no man; but hath committed
ALL JUDGMENT
unto the Son, that all
(men)
should honour
Which
Honour
(as I have before remarked) implies
supreme Honour,
and
Worship,
such as would be gross idolatry, if THE SON was not truly JEHOVAH; because
the Law
(which Christ came to fulfill
Think not that I am come to destroy
THE LAW,
or
THE PROPHETS:
I am not come to destroy, but
TO FULFIL.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
THE LAW,
till all be fulfilled.
Matth. v. 17, 18.
) declares expressly —
Thou shalt fear
JEHOVAH THY GOD;
him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, &c.
Deut. x. 20.
And this Law Christ himself, in his quotation of it, has taught us to understand as an injunction to serve and fear JEHOVAH
only,
or
exclusively
of every other BEING—
for it it written
(said our Lord)
Thou shalt worship
THE LORD THY GOD
(
, for "JEHOVAH
thy God") "and him
ONLY
shalt thou serve"
(or worship)
, (Matth. iv. 10.) whereas if
the Son
was not truly JEHOVAH, this also would be an irreconcilable contradiction to the command above-mentioned, that
all men should honour the Son, even as (
) they honour the Father!
the Son, even as they honour the Father.
(And as
supreme Honour
is certainly due to THE FATHER, we must of course honour THE SON with
supreme Honour,
EVEN AS (
)
we honour the Father.
This is so necessary a part of the Christian Duty, that men cannot pay the proper honour to THE HEAVENLY FATHER, unless they
thus honour
THE SON, also, with supreme Honour; for)
HE THAT HONOURETH NOT THE SON
(that is,
He that honoureth not the Son, even as he honoureth the Father
—for this is necessarily implied from the preceding Context) "HONOURETH NOT THE FATHER "
How dangerous, therefore, is the doctrine of some modern Clergymen, who have seceded from the Church of England, merely because the Litany, and other Parts of our excellent Liturgy, express
Divine Honour to
THE SON OF GOD! What mental blindness! not to perceive that we are bound to
honour
THE SON (not merely for
his own sake,
but also)
for the sake of our
HEAVENLY FATHER
"which hath sent him,"
that
the
FATHER, in return, may have mercy on us,
for the sake
of
his
ONLY SON! For the Scriptures assure us, that we cannot
honour the Father,
if we do not
honour the Son;
— and the Jews of old were warned by the Psalmist concerning the necessity of
"Honouring the Son,"
lest they should perish from the right way!
Kiss
THE SON,
lest he be angry, and ye perish
(from)
the way,
(Psal. ii. 12.) The literal sense of this passage is fixed by the preceding context—
I will declare the decree—
JEHOVAH
hath said unto me, Thou art
MY SON;
this day have I begotten thee,
v. 7.
, WHICH HATH SENT HIM. John v. 17—23.
The Scriptures attribute Eternal
Honour
and
Glory
to THE SON, and that jointly with THE HEAVENLY FATHER —
Blessing, and
HONOUR,
and
GLORY,
and
POWER,
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne,
AND UNTO THE LAMB,
for ever and ever. And the four beasts
(or animals
The Redeemed out of the twelve tribes of Israel, which are represented by the figures that anciently distinguished the standards of the four principal tribes in their encampments round the tabernacle. This opinion has been adopted by the great Sir Isaac Newton—
The people of Israel
(says he)
in the wilderness encamped round about the tabernacle, and on the east side were three tribes under the standard of
Judah,
on the west were three tribes under the standard of
Ephraim,
on the south were three tribes, under the standard of
Reuben;
and on the north were three tribes under the standard of
Dan,
Numb. ii. And the standard of JUDAH was
a Lion,
that of EPHRAIM
an ox,
that of REUBEN
a man,
and that of DAN
an eagle,
as the Jews affirm.
(Compare this with Revel. iv. 7.
And the first beast
(was)
like
A LION,
and the second beast like
A CALF,
and the third beast had a face as
A MAN,
and the fourth beast
(or animal) was)
like a
FLYING EAGLE.
Rev. iv. 7.
)
Whence were framed
(says Sir Isaac Newton)
the Hieroglyphicks of
Cherubims
and
Seraphims,
to reprepresent the people of
Israel.
A
Cherubim
had one body with four faces, the faces of a
lion,
an
ox,
a
man,
and an
eagle,
looking to the four winds of heaven, without turning about, as in Ezekiel's vision, chap. i. And four
Seraphims
had the same four faces with four bodies, one face to every body. The four beasts are therefore four
Seraphims
standing in the four sides of the peoples court; the first in the eastern side with the head of
a lion,
the second in the western side, &c. and all four signify together the twelve tribes of
Israel,
out of whom the hundred and forty four thousand were sealed.
Apoc. vii. 4. Observ. on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apoc. p. 259.
representing the Redeemed Hosts of Israel)
said,
AMEN.
(Rev. v. 13, 14. See also the 12th verse.)
Thus we find, that
HONOUR, and GLORY, and POWER,
belong
UNTO THE LAMB FOR EVER!
He had indeed,
for a time,
laid aside this SUPREME GLORY (this
Glory
which is attributed to him jointly
with him that sitteth upon the Heavenly Throne
) that he might become
"the Son of Man,"
and
by Obedience
For as
BY ONE MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE
many were made sinners, so
BY THE OBEDIENCE OF ONE
shall many be made righteous.
Rom. v. 19.
in fulfilling the Law
Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
Matth. v. 17.
,
and
all Righteousness
And Jesus answering, said unto him
(John the Baptist)
Suffer
(it to be so)
now: for thus it becometh us
TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Then he suffered him.
Matth. iii. 15.
,
even as A MAN, might retrieve the dignity and lost privileges of HUMAN NATURE: but the
Divine Glory
was again to be restored to him, though he now partook of
the Nature
of his
Creature Man;
nay, the Son himself, even when
a Man,
claims
the Glory
of his Heavenly Father!—
And now, O Father
(said he)
GLORIFY THOU ME WITH THINE OWNSELF, WITH THE GLORY
which I had
WITH THEE
before the world was.
John xvii. 5. See also p. 308.
It was not only in his
Divine Nature,
that THE SON was to be thus
glorified,
but expressly as "MAN;" so that
the Nature of
MAN is indeed exalted in Christ to the highest pitch of glory!—
Behold
THE MAN,
whose Name is
THE BRANCH
(says the Prophet Zechariah)
he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall
BUILD THE TEMPLE
of the Lord
That is—
"The Holy
TEMPLE
in the Lord,"
(i. e. in Christ)
"in whom"
the Faithful
are
BUILDED
together for an habitation of
GOD
through
THE SPIRIT.
Ephes. ii. 21, 22. See also p. 305—307.
: even he shall
BUILD THE TEMPLE
of the Lord; and he shall
BEAR THE GLORY,
(that is,
even he,
—THE MAN that is called
the Branch,
shall BEAR THE GLORY)
and shall
SIT
and
RULE UPON HIS THRONE;
and he shall be
A PRIEST UPON HIS THRONE,
[that is, a ROYAL PRIEST, after the order of that
Righteous King,
The Lord
(Jehovah)
hath sworn, and will not repent. Thou art
A PRIEST FOR EVER
after the order of
MELCHIZEDEK,
or
"the righteous King."
Psa. cx. 4.
Compare with Heb. v. 6—10. and also with Heb. vii. 1—11.
, who was KING of SALEM, or King of PEACE
For this
MELCHI-SEDEC,
King of Salem, Priest of the most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first, being by interpretation,
KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of Peace, &c.
Heb. vii. 1, 2.
]
and the Counsel of
PEACE
shall be between them both.
(Zechariah vi. 12, 13.)
The throne or kingdom here promised, was also to be
an everlasting Kingdom,
though given to Christ, expressly as
"Son of Man;"
for it is certainly the same Kingdom foretold by the Prophet
Daniel,
—
I saw in the night visions,
(says Daniel)
and behold
(one)
like
THE SON OF MAN
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him
DOMINION,
and
GLORY,
and
A KINGDOM,
that all People, Nations, and Languages, should serve him:
HIS DOMINION IS AN EVERLASTING DOMINION, WHICH SHALL NOT PASS AWAY,
and
HIS KINGDOM (that) WHICH SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED.
Dan. vii. 13, 14. Compare this with chap. ii. 44. wherein the same Prophet informs us, that—
in the days of these Kings
(meaning the Kings, or rather Kingdoms, which succeeded the fourth great Kingdom or Roman Empire)
shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall
NEVER BE DESTROYED:
and the Kingdom shall not be left to other People,
(but)
it shall break in pieces, and consume all these Kingdoms, and IT SHALL STAND FOR EVER.
The Psalmist had also previously declared—
Thy Throne, O
GOD,
is
FOR EVER AND EVER.
Psal. xlv. 6.
Which the Apostle Paul has applied expressly to the Son. Heb. i. 8. These Prophecies of an
Eternal Kingdom,
proclaimed by the Prophets under the Old Testament, were confirmed by the Angel GABRIEL, when he declared the Eternity of CHRIST'S Government:—
And behold
(said he to the Blessed Virgin)
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his Name
JESUS
(which signifies A SAVIOUR. See note in p. 225.)
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and
THE LORD GOD
shall give unto him
THE THRONE
of his Father David. And he shall
REIGN
over the House of Jacob
FOR EVER
(—
): and of
HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END
(
.
)
Luke i. 31—33.
The Apostle Paul, nevertheless, informs us of a time,
when he
(Christ)
shall have
DELIVERED UP THE KINGDOM TO GOD, EVEN THE FATHER;
when he shall have put down all Rule, and all Authority and Power.
(meaning ALL POWER that in any degree is opposite or inimical in its Nature to his KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS)
For he must
REIGN
till he hath put all Enemies under his Feet.
1 Cor. xv. 24, 25. And again, in the 28th verse—
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall
THE SON ALSO HIMSELF BE SUBJECT UNTO HIM THAT PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIM, THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.
The two last mentioned texts, when collated with the preceding declarations concerning
the Eternity of Christ's Kingdom,
would contain an irreconcileable difficulty, were it not clearly demonstrable, that
"the Son of God"
is really included with THE ALMIGHTY FATHER in the Eternal BEING JEHOVAH, and consequently is truly GOD! For the fact is, that he is called JEHOVAH and GOD in many unquestionable passages of Scripture, in some
expressly,
in others by
necessary implication,
(several examples of which are already cited in this Tract) and no inference to the contrary can be justly drawn from any of the texts which my learned friend (before mentioned) has laid before me as proofs of an opposite sentiment!
Most of these indeed are such as relate to
the Son,
merely in his
mediatorial Office
as MESSIAH, or
the Anointed of
JEHOVAH;—as Psal. ii. 2.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed.
Psal. ii. 2.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The Kings of the earth stood up, and the Rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Acts iv. 24, 25, 26.
But unto the Son
(he saith)
Thy throne, O God
(is)
for ever and ever: a Scepter of righteousness
(is)
the Scepter of thy Kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God
(even)
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Heb. i. 8, 9.
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand: until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psal. cx. 1.
For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1 Cor. xv. 25.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation, in the knowledge of him,
&c.
which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set
(him)
at his own right hand in the heavenly
(places).
Eph. i. 17.20.
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by
(his)
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
Heb. i. 2.
compared with Acts iv. 24, 25, 26. also Heb. i. 8, 9.—Psal. cx. 1. 1 Cor. xv. 25. (which is the particular text now under consideration) Eph. i. 17.20. and Heb. i. 2. And others relate particularly to Christ's ministry, whilst he dwelt personally as
a Man
upon earth;—as Isai. xi. 2.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord.
Isai. xi. 2.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.
lxi. 1, 2.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Luke iv. 18.
lxi. 1, 2. compared with Luke iv. 18.—These prove indeed that he is
inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood,
and all of them demonstrate his subordination to the Almighty Father in the ministry and gracious offices which he had undertaken for the restoration of mankind; but none of them afford the least shadow of contradiction to the texts wherein his
Divine Nature
is declared! One particular text, however, remains to be mentioned, which at first sight, seems to militate against my general argument—viz. Psal. lxxxiii. 18.—
That
(men)
may know that thou
(i. e. GOD mentioned in the 1st and 13th verses)
WHOSE NAME ALONE IS JEHOVAH, (art)
the most High over all the earth.
—Now, it is strictly true, indeed, (though I do not think it the proper translation of this text, see pages 233—236.) that
God
ALONE
is
JEHOVAH, because
Jehovah alone
is God
For who is God but Jehovah?
Psa. xviii. 31.
; and the Scriptures assure us, that there is but ONE JEHOVAH, (Deut. vi. 4.) or
One
"ONLY WISE GOD." (Rom. xvi. 27. 1 Tim. i. 17.) And therefore, when
the Son of God
is called JEHOVAH, or GOD, he is not so named, as being distinct or separate with respect to that ONE
Eternal Being,
JEHOVAH, or GOD, but as being included in that
Divine Nature,
or GOD,
whose Name alone is
JEHOVAH,
and as being ONE
with the
ALMIGHTY FATHER! which was declared by the Son himself; —
I and the Father (
)
WE ARE ONE.
(John x. 30.)
I am in the Father, and the Father in me.
(John xiv. 11. xvii. 21. and x. 38.)
And therefore, though
the Son
shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father,
—and shall
also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all,
(as declared in the texts cited above from 1 Cor. xv. 24—28.) yet, as
the Son is in the Father, and the Father in him,
and as
"all things that the Father hath are" the Son's
(John xvi. 15.) and as he must of course be
glorified with the Glory which he had with the Father himself before the world was,
(John xvii. 5.) it is manifest that he will
still reign in and with the
ALMIGHTY FATHER in that Eternal Being of GOD, which will then
"be all in all!"
In the above mentioned text of St. Paul, it is said, that
He
(Christ)
must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet,
and that
the last enemy
(that)
shall be destroyed is
DEATH.
(1 Cor. xv. 25, 26.)
This opens to us the time that Christ will deliver up the kingdom. DEATH, that last enemy, will be effectually destroyed, when all men, that are redeemed by Christ, are
risen from
DEATH! The world itself (where alone
Death
reigned) and all that is desirable in it, will then not only be
"burned up,"
(2 Pet. iii. 10.) but will be made the seat of
eternal Horror
and
"everlasting Fire,"
(see Notes in pages 130 and 142.) and the irrevocable decrees of
the Son of
MAN, in his final Judgment upon MEN and ANGELS, will by that time have taken place! Here, then, is an end of the whole Christian Dispensation! What need can there be of a
Redeemer,
a
Mediator,
or of a
Judge,
after the Fate of all Mankind is determined!—It is no lessening, therefore, of the Son's Dignity, that he then delivers up the several charges which he had undertaken in obedience to his Father's will, when the same shall have been compleatly executed and fulfilled!—The generality of Commentators agree, that it is Christ's
Mediatorial Kingdom
which will then be delivered up; but they should also have mentioned that
Sovereignty,
which is still of higher degree, that glorious
Sovereign Authority,
which is of unspeakable Dignity; I mean that of sitting as SUPREME JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE! An Authority of which even the
Almighty Father
hath divested himself—
For the Father judgeth no Man, but hath committed all Judgment unto the Son
(and the
supreme Dignity
of the Trust is fully declared by the reason of its being given);
that all
(Men)
should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
(John v. 22, 23.)
Nay, not only Men, but Angels must
honour him;
for the word ALL (
) includes
Angels
as well as
Men;
and we read expressly, that
Angels
are required to WORSHIP HIM
And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith
(says the Apostle to the Hebrews)
And let
ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.
Heb. i. 6. Compare with the Greek version of Psalm xcvii. 7.
, which would be gross idolatry, if Christ was not truly GOD, and
One with the Father
in the Eternal Being JEHOVAH! And when the important Trust shall have been fulfilled, and compleatly executed, that
Divine
Authority and Jurisdiction, as
supreme Judge
(which had been committed only to
One
of the Divine Persons) shall be delivered up, together with all other offices of
distinct
or
separate
Authority, that
GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.
And
in
GOD, undoubtedly,
the Son of God
shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever: and of his Kingdom there shall be no end!
—Agreeable to the Angels Prophecy. Luke i. 33.
The Scriptures indeed are every where filled with clear Testimonies concerning
the Divinity
of our BLESSED REDEEMER, so that the command to
honour
him,
"even as we honour the Father,"
is perfectly consistent with all the rest. And therefore, unless we HONOUR the Son with SUPREME HONOUR,
even as we honour the Father,
we fall short of the command; and, for want of
due Faith,
cannot expect to obtain of the Father that
glorious
and
heavenly Gift
for the necessary improvement of
Human Nature,
which our REDEEMER has promised
to them that ask in his Name, even the Spirit of Truth,
(John xv. 26.)
which
will guide us into all Truth.
(John xvi. 13.)
The supreme, or equal
Divine Nature
of THE HOLY SPIRIT, is not less clearly declared, in several parts of Scripture, than the
Divine Nature
of THE SON OF GOD, notwithstanding that some other parts of Scripture express a manifest
Subordination of Office;
as that
he shall
NOT SPEAK OF HIMSELF;
but whatsoever he "
SHALL HEAR, (that)
shall he speak
John xvi. 13. Upon this Augustine has remarked, that
AUDIRE
illi
SCIRE
est,
SCIRE
verò
ESSE.
Ab illo à quo precedit, illi est
ESSENTIA SCIENTIA
et
AUDIENTIA.
Semper
AUDIT
Spiritus Sanctus quia semper scit.
(Tract. 99)
. But the true sense of this
Hearing
and
Speaking
of the Holy Ghost will be best understood by comparing the text with another passage of Scripture, wherein
God's Revelation by his Spirit
is further explained. St. Paul, speaking of
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him,
intimates, that—
GOD
hath
REVEALED (them)
unto us
BY HIS SPIRIT:
for the Spirit
(says he)
searcheth all things, yea,
THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.
For what Man" (continues the Apostle) "knoweth the things of a Man, save
THE SPIRIT OF MAN
which is in him? Even so" (
,
so also
) "the things of
GOD
knoweth no Man but
THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
1 Cor. ii. 10, 11.
Thus by
comparing spiritual things with spiritual
(agreeable to the Apostle's advice in the next verse but one, ver. 13.) we learn how to understand what is said of the Holy Ghost's
Hearing
what
"he shall speak:"
for the manner of his
knowing,
or being acquainted with
"the things of God,"
we find is plainly compared to the knowledge of the Soul
in a Man,
respecting
the things of a Man;
and surely a stronger declaration of supreme and infinite Knowledge could not have been made! He therefore that
searcheth
the deep things of God,
speaks not of himself,
because he speaks
"the things of God,"
and of course
the things of Christ,
because
"all things that the Father hath"
(said Christ)
"are
MINE:
therefore said I"
(continues our Lord)
that he
(i. e. the Spirit)
shall take of
MINE,
and shall shew it unto you.
John xvi. 15.
;"
and that he is sent or given
by the Father
Our Lord said to his disciples—
I will pray
THE FATHER,
and
HE
shall
GIVE
you another
COMFORTER,
that he may abide with you for ever;
(even)
the
SPIRIT OF TRUTH,
&c.
John xiv. 16, 17.
—
But the Comforter
(which is)
the Holy Ghost, whom
THE FATHER WILL SEND
in my Name, he shall teach you all things, &c.
Ch. xiv. 26.
; and also
by the Son
—
It is expedient for you
(said our Lord to his disciples)
that I go away: for if I go not away,
THE COMFORTER
will not come unto you; but if I depart,
I WILL SEND HIM
unto you.
John xvi. 7.
Compare this with ch. xv. 26.—
When
THE COMFORTER
is come, whom
I WILL SEND
unto you from the Father, even
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH,
which proceedeth
(
,
proceedeth out
)
from the Father, he shall testify of me.
This text affords an ample proof of
the Divine Nature
of the HOLY SPIRIT, and shews, that he is not like other Spirits,
a created Spirit,
but, on the contrary,
proceeded out from the Father,
as Grotius remarks—
Non creatus aliquis Spiritus, sed qui de patris ipsius substantia procedit et ab ipso emanat.
, ut Athenagoras loquitur.
The Divine Word, in like manner,
proceeded out from the Father,
as I have already remarked, see p. 261.
; and again, that he is declared to be
"the Spirit of Christ"
Of which salvation,
(
meaning
"the salvation of souls"
mentioned in the preceding verse
)
the Prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the Grace
(that should come)
unto you: searching what or what manner of time
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST
which was
IN THEM
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings
OF CHRIST,
and the glory that should follow
1 Pet. i. 10, 11.
From hence it is manifest, that this
Spirit of Christ
is the same identical
Spirit of God
(
THE SPIRIT OF JEHOVAH) which spake
beforehand the sufferings of Christ by the Prophets
in old time; so that
the Spirit of God
is unquestionably
the Spirit,
also,
of Christ,
agreeably to what our Lord himself declared,
All things that
THE FATHER
hath are
MINE,
(see page 308.)
and therefore the
Almighty
Operations of
the Holy Spirit
manifested the Glory of the
Son
as well as the Glory of the
Father
—
He
(said our Lord, speaking of THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH)
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of
MINE,
and shall shew it unto you. All things that
THE FATHER
hath
ARE MINE:
therefore said I, that he shall take of
MINE,
and shew
(it)
unto you.
(John xvi. 15, 16.)
Compare this with John xvii. 10.—
And all mine are thine
(said Christ to his Heavenly Father)
and thine are mine; and I
AM GLORIFIED IN THEM.
, as well as
"the Spirit of God!"
—yet (I say, notwithstanding these expressions of
Subordination
) the supreme or equal
Divine Nature
of THE HOLY SPIRIT is clearly revealed in several parts of Scripture. The Prophet Isaiah, for instance, has declared the Divine Omnipotence of
the Spirit
in the strongest terms;—in terms which prove, that
"the Spirit of God"
is a free and independent Spirit, and is truly
God
of the same
supreme Divine Nature,
or
Eternal Being,
with the other
Two Divine Persons;
for this Prophet expressly applies to
"the Spirit of God"
the same supreme Attributes of
Creation
and
Almighty Power,
which in other parts of Scripture are occasionally attributed to the other Two Divine Persons!
But hear the words of the Prophet himself, dictated by
that same Spirit.
—
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD,
(or rather the SPIRIT OF JEHOVAH
, for thus exactly is
the Spirit
of the Lord commonly expressed in the Old Testament, when mention is made of his inspiration or coming down upon the Prophets)
or who (being) his Counsellor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel; and
(who)
instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
(Thus the Prophet clearly insists on the independency of the
free
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
LIBERTY!
2 Cor. iii. 17.
—
Take not thy
HOLY SPIRIT
from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy
FREE SPIRIT.
Psa. li. 11, 12.
Spirit of the Lord
)
—Behold, the nations
(are)
as as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Libanon
(is)
not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering! All nations before him
(are)
as nothing: and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
(Isaiah xl. 12—17.)
The Prophet afterwards proceeds to speak of GOD (
) without further distinction of Persons, having already, in the preceding part of the chapter, clearly distinguished the Person of the Son of God under the title of
"Jehovah,"
and
"our God,"
whose Advent was to be proclaimed by the voice in the wilderness, and of whom
Sion
and
Jerusalem
were directed to say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God,
(see p. 248—258)
and having also expressly distinguished
the Spirit of Jehovah,
and proclaimed his
Divine Attributes
and
supreme Dignity,
(see ver. 12—17. last cited) he now proceeds to speak of GOD (in the 18th verse) without further distinction of Persons.
To whom then
(continues he)
will ye liken
GOD?
or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
(ver. 18, &c.)
The Spiritual Nature of GOD is surely so far above our finite comprehension, that it cannot be explained or expressed by any likeness or comparison whatsoever!—But yet, as we may clearly perceive and understand, by what is revealed to us, that the supreme Attributes of
Creation
and
Almighty Power
are applied expressly to
the Holy Spirit
(as in the above cited text of Isaiah) which in other parts of Scripture are equally attributed to THE FATHER AND THE SON, we may reasonably conclude, that the
supreme Dignity
of the HOLY SPIRIT must necessarily consist in his entire
Union
and
Equality
with
the Father
and with
the Son
in the
Divine Nature,
or GODHEAD
See note in p. 322. and note (148) in p. 371.
—that ONE eternal and glorious
Being,
JEHOVAH,
which is, and which was, and which is to come,
THE ALMIGHTY!
(Rev. i. 8. see also p. 239.)
This entire
Union
of THE HOLY SPIRIT with the Almighty Father and the Son, in the
One
Eternal Being of GOD, is a necessary doctrine, without which THE ALMIGHTY POWER, attributed in the Scriptures to
the Holy Spirit,
cannot be reconciled to that other indispensable Article of our Faith,
the Unity of God!
In the Book of Job (ch. xxxiii. 4.)
the Spirit
is declared to be the
Creator!
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
The words here rendered
"the Spirit of God,"
are
, which are both Noun Substantives, and therefore ought not to be construed —
the Divine Spirit,
as in the Greek version (
, &c.) but
the Spirit of God,
as it is rendered in the Chaldee Paraphrase or Targum
, and also in the Syriac version
for in both these, the Article of the Genitive Case is added to the second Substantive, to mark the
sense
of the Hebrew in such cases, though that most ancient language has no Article to express the Genitive Case.
hath
MADE
me, and
THE BREATH
(a term synonymous to SPIRIT)
of the Almighty hath given me Life.
In the account also which Moses has given us of
the Creation,
we read, that
the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(Gen. i. 2.)
And the Psalmist attributes
the Creation
to THE SPIRIT jointly with the Divine WORD; —
By the
WORD
of
JEHOVAH
were the heavens made: and all the host of them, by the
BREATH (or SPIRIT
Or SPIRIT—for the word here rendered
Breath,
is
, i. e. the very same Hebrew Noun, by which the
Spirit
is most commonly expressed in Holy Scripture.
of his mouth.
(Psal. xxxiii. 6.)
And afterwards, when the Divine WORD
was made flesh and dwelt among us,
he himself expressly attributed to
the Spirit of God
Attributed to
"the Spirit of God."
—Our Lord said to the Jews—
If I cast out Devils
BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD,
then the Kingdom of
GOD
is come unto you.
(Matth. xii. 28.)
those mighty WORKS, to which he appealed for the truth of his doctrine concerning his
Unity
with the
Almighty Father
(see p. 287.) and which, at another time, he expressly calls the
Works of his Father!
If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
John x. 37.
So that without the doctrine of
the Unity of the Divine Nature,
this application of
the same
Attributes to
different
Persons could not be understood!
St, Paul also attributed to
THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD
I have therefore whereof I may glory,
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,
in those things which pertain unto God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which
CHRIST HATH NOT WROUGHT BY ME,
to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through
MIGHTY SIGNS AND WONDERS, BY THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD;
so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.
(Rom. xv. 17—19.)
the miracles, which he wrought
"through Jesus Christ,"
in preaching his Gospel to the Gentiles. Nay, even the miraculous Conception of the Blessed Virgin (from whence the Holy Child
Jesus
was called
"the Son of God"
) is expressly attributed to the
Holy Ghost
by St. Matthew—
She was found with Child of the Holy Ghost
(i. 18.)
for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.
(i. 20.)
Compare this with Luke i. 35.—
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
&c.
The glorious Title
—
the Power of the Highest,
which immediately follows these words concerning
the Holy Ghost
in the last mentioned text, is by several learned Commentators attributed also to him, viz.
the Holy Spirit
"
Et Virtus Altissimi,
i. e. Spiritus Dei (qui
Virtus Dei,
Luc. xxiv. 49.) efficacissimus." Lucas Brugensis, as quoted in Pole's Synopsis. And Grotius, on the 17th verse of this chapter, says—
Quoties
nominatur
SPIRITU
nominato, vis quaedam
SPIRITUS
solita major indicatur, ut infra 35.
(meaning the 35th verse, the text in question)
Actor. x. 38. 1 Cor. ii. 4. 1 Thess. i. 5.
; and a Title nearly similar is certainly attributed to the
same Spirit,
even by our Lord himself, when he foretold the fulfilling of God's promise in the Gift of the Holy Ghost. —
And behold (said he) I send the promise of my Father
Compare with John xiv. 16—26.
upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
POWER FROM ON HIGH.
(Luke xxiv. 49.)
Similar Titles are also given to the Son of God; for even in his ministerial Character as
Messiah,
or
Christ,
after he had taken
Human Nature
upon him, he is called
THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD.
(1 Cor. i. 24.)
Surely these are Attributes of
the Divine Nature,
and Titles of
supreme Dignity!
The Power of
Justification
must certainly be also accounted a
Divine Attribute,
and as such can belong to none but GOD;
for it is
GOD
that
JUSTIFIETH
(Rom. viii. 33.)
but yet both
Justification,
and
Sanctification
also, (another
Divine Attribute
) are expressly attributed to the HOLY SPIRIT, jointly with CHRIST!—
But ye are washed, but ye are
SANCTIFIED,
but ye are
JUSTIFIED,
in the Name of the
LORD JESUS,
and by (
or
in)
THE SPIRIT
of our God.
(1 Cor. vi. 11.)
To give
Life,
also, is not less apparently an Attribute of THE DIVINE NATURE than
Creation,
whether we speak of mere
Animal Life,
or the
Spiritual
or
Eternal Life,
but more especially the latter, and yet this ALMIGHTY POWER is attributed both to
the Son,
and to the
Holy Spirit!
For though it is
GOD
who quickeneth the dead,
(Rom. iv. 17.)
and
who quickeneth all things;
(1 Tim. vi. 13.)
yet
the Son
also is called
a quickening Spirit,
1 Cor. xv. 45.
and quickeneth whom he will,
(
, John v. 21.)
and by the same authority we know likewise, that
it is
THE SPIRIT
that
QUICKENETH!
(John vi. 63.)
In consequence of this Almighty Power
the Son
is called
THE PRINCE (or Author) OF LIFE
And killed the
PRINCE (or Author) OF LIFE
(
) whom
GOD
hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
(Acts iii. 15.)
See also a note in p. 336.
, and
the Spirit
is expressly intituled—
the Spirit of
LIFE
(There is)
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
THE SPIRIT.
For the Law of
THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death.
Rom. viii. 1, 2.
—
And after three days and an half,
THE SPIRIT OF LIFE
from God entered into them: and they stood upon their feet, &c.
Rev. xi. 11.
.
Add to this, that
the Spirit
is expressly intituled
the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Might
And
THE SPIRIT OF JEHOVAH
shall rest upon him
(viz. upon the Branch from the Stem of Jesse),
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord; &c.
Isai. xi. 2.
, the Spirit of Holiliness
And declared to be
THE SON OF GOD
with
POWER;
according to
THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS,
by the resurrection from the dead.
Rom. i. 4.
, and
THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
—For
THE SPIRIT OF GLORY
and of God resteth upon you.
1 Pet. iv. 14.
! These expressions of Dignity and Power are
unlimited,
and do certainly include the highest or
supreme
degree of the several recited Attributes, even the infinite
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel,
&c. of GOD, because they are attributed to that glorious
Spirit,
which
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God!
(1 Cor. ii. 10.)
and they are attributed to him, also, as
essential
Properties, which are so eminently
his,
that he is even named from them—
the Spirit of Wisdom
—
the Spirit of Might
—
the Spirit of Glory;
as Christ is also intituled—
the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God,
(see p. 367.)
and
"the Lord of Glory,"
see pages 283, 284.
These Titles and Attributes cannot (in that eminent and
essential
degree in which they are attributed both to
the Son
and
Holy Spirit
) belong to any Being that is not
truly God,
and
Jehovah:
and it is clearly revealed to us, that there is but
One Jehovah
Hear, O Israel, the Lord
(or Jehovah)
our God, is
ONE JEHOVAH.
Deut. vi. 4.
(as I have before remarked in pages 241—244) who is the
only true God; the God of Israel
When GOD delivered the Law to his people
Israel,
he said—
I am
JEHOVAH THY GOD,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
Exod. xx. 2.
; and yet we learn by the Scriptures, not only that CHRIST is truly GOD, and JEHOVAH (of which I have already produced many authentic proofs from Scripture in pages 216—354) but that THE HOLY GHOST is also JEHOVAH, and consequently is included likewise in the Unity
,
,
of the Deity,
or
Godhead.
This is a scriptural expression for
the Nature of God;
for we read in Col. ii. 9. that
in him
(i. e. in Christ)
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
(
,
of the Deity, or Divine Nature
)
bodily!
Nearly the same word (but in the Nominative Case, viz.
) is also used in Rom. i. 20. Another expression for the
Divine Nature,
or
Deity,
we read in Acts xvii. 29. viz.
. That there is but
One Divine Nature
is a necessary doctrine, because there is but
One God;
and though it is difficult for our finite understandings to comprehend how
Three Divine Persons
are included in that
One God,
yet these scriptural expressions for
the Divine Nature
(
, and
) afford great relief to our conceptions of that necessary doctrine, for there is no difficulty in comprehending, that
Three Divine Persons
may be united
in One Divine Nature,
, or
. And hence also it is a necessary doctrine, that
the Son,
(and not less
the Spirit
likewise) is
equal to the Father as touching the Godhead
(though inferior and subordinate in some other respects) because it would be absurd to contend for
the Unity of the Divine Nature,
if the least degree of
Inequality
respecting that
Nature,
or
Existence,
be admitted! See pages 242—244.
of the Deity
or
Godhead!
The Holy Ghost is
Jehovah,
because it is he who
"limiteth a certain day,"
saying in David, To-day, after so long a time
(see St. Paul's Commentary on the 95th Psalm)
as it is said, Today if ye will hear
HIS VOICE
(the Holy Ghost refers them to THE VOICE of another Person, who appears by the Apostle's argument to be the Messiah)
harden not your hearts.
Heb. iv. 7.
In the preceding chapter the Apostle tells us expressly, that it was
the Holy Ghost
who said these words—
Wherefore
(says he)
as the
HOLY GHOST SAITH
—
To-day if ye will hear
HIS VOICE,
harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your Fathers tempted
ME
(saith the Holy Ghost)
proved
ME,
and saw MY WORKS forty years.
[But in the several accounts which Moses has given us of these glorious
Works
and Transactions, we find them mentioned as the
Works
of
Jehovah,
and by St. Paul they seem to be attributed to
Christ
For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
1 Cor. x. 4.
And again in the 9th verse—
Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
; and therefore if the
Holy Ghost
was a mere ministering
Spirit,
employed only as an agent in
Jehovah
's Works with
Jehovah
's Power, and was not also truly
Jehovah
himself, he
(the Spirit of Truth)
could not have called them
his Works.
]
Wherefore I was grieved
(continues
the Holy Ghost,
still speaking in David)
with that generation, and said, They do alway err in
(their)
heart; and they have not known
MY
ways. So I sware in
MY wrath, they shall not enter into
MY rest.
Heb. iii. 7—11.
Surely these are expressions of
supreme
Authority, which could not be used by any
Spirit
that was not truly
Jehovah!
Again, in the 10th chapter of the same Epistle (15th verse) we read—
, &c.—
THE HOLY GHOST
also is a witness to us: for after that
HE
had said before,
This is the covenant that I
WILL MAKE
with them,
&c. The text to which the Apostle apparently refers us is in Jeremiah, xxxi. 33. where we find, that it was
Jehovah,
who said these words by the Prophet!
See also the two verses preceding—
Behold the days come,
SAITH JEHOVAH,
that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, &c.
(Jer. xxxi. 31.)
And afterwards in the 33d verse (the text quoted by St. Paul as words
said by
THE HOLY GHOST) the Prophet adds in the Name of JEHOVAH—
But this
(shall be)
the covenant that I
WILL MAKE
with the House of Israel; after those days,
SAITH JEHOVAH,
I will put
MY
Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be
THEIR GOD,
and they shall be my people.
This text is expressly attributed to the
Holy Ghost
by the Apostle, and the next verse is joined by the Copulative
(and)
as the words of the same Divine Speaker—
AND
they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
KNOW JEHOVAH:
for they shall all
KNOW ME
[saith THE HOLY GHOST, this being a regular continuance (as I before remarked) of the words attributed to him by the Apostle]
from the least of them unto the greatest of them,
SAITH JEHOVAH:
for I will forgive their iniquity
(and none but God can forgive sins
See a note in p. 294. marked †.
!)
and I will remember their sin no more.
(Jer. xxxi. 33, 34.)
This Promise is apparently to the same effect, as that which JEHOVAH had before proclaimed by his Prophet Isaiah, viz.—
And all thy children
(shall be) TAUGHT OF JEHOVAH.
Isai. liv. 13.
To these texts, therefore, our Lord probably referred, when he said to the Jews—
'It is written in the Prophets,'
And they shall be
ALL TAUGHT OF GOD.
Every man therefore that hath
HEARD,
and hath
LEARNED OF THE FATHER,
cometh unto me.
John vi. 45.
Thus, the being
taught of God,
is manifestly esteemed by our Lord to be the same thing as
hearing and learning of the Father,
for he mentions these circumstances apparently to illustrate what he had before said (in the preceding verse) concerning the Father's
drawing
the true Believers—
No man
(said our Lord)
can come unto me, unless
THE FATHER,
which hath sent me,
DRAW
him,
(John vi. 44.)
so that Christ's reference to what was
written in the Prophets
on this subject (especially as he applies these Prophecies to the
Drawing
and
Teaching of the Father
) seems, at first sight, to make against my argument, which was to shew, that the Prophecies here cited were the
Words of
THE HOLY GHOST, speaking in the Prophets under the Title of
Jehovah!
But this is so far from being a real objection, that it is truly a confirmation of the former argument concerning
the speaking of
THE HOLY GHOST, when we consider, that
the Drawing of the Father,
and the
Teaching of God,
is effected only
by the Spirit of God!
For the same Apostle (John), who recorded our Lord's reference to the Prophets last cited, tells us in his First General Epistle (ii. 20.) how this
Teaching of God
is communicated.
.—
And ye have
AN UNCTION
from the Holy One
"From the Holy One"
—
That is
(
says Dr. Whitby
)
From JESUS CHRIST,
emphatically so called
Acts iii. 14. Apoc. iii. 7.
But then that
UNCTION (says he)
is the
HOLY SPIRIT,
which he hath given to them that believe. For he being
ANOINTED WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE HIS FELLOWS,
Psa. xlv. 7.
ANOINTED BY GOD WITH THE HOLY GHOST,
Acts x. 38.
This Grace
(says the Dr.)
is given to Christians,
ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF THE GIFT OF CHRIST,
Eph. iv. 7.
And we all beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same likeness, as by the Spirit of the Lord,
2 Cor. iii. 18. Vol. 2. p. 759.
, and ye
KNOW
all things.
(1 John ii. 20.) This
Unction,
or
Anointing,
is generally understood by Commentators to signify the Influence of
the Holy Spirit
By the
UNCTION
here, and the
ANOINTING, ver. 27. is meant the HOLY SPIRIT, whose Gifts and Graces are diffused throughout the whole Church, and to every living Member thereof.
Rev. Francis Fox, M. A. See his New Test. with references, printed in 1722. p. 999.
—
Thereby are signified the gifts of THE HOLY GHOST, bestowed on Believers, whereby they are consecrated to God,
Psa. xlv. 7. Heb. i. 9. (Assembly's Annotations)
.
In Novo Testamento ubi omnes sunt Reges et Sacerdotes, per UNGUENTUM intelligitur QU
E VIS DEI GRATIA, ut diximus Hebr. i. 9. et Iac. v. 14. EXIMIè verò ILLA per quam SPIRITUS nobis in singulis circumstantiis suggerit, et Christi praecepta et monita quae cuique tempori sunt idonea.
Joh. xiv. 26. Grotius.
See also the opinion of Dr. Whitby in the preceding note. But the Scriptures themselves teach us plainly, that the Inspiration of
the Holy Spirit
is to be understood by the
Unction
or
Anointing
—
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD JEHOVAH
is upon me,
because JEHOVAH
hath
ANOINTED
me,
&c.
Isaiah lxi. 1. Compare with Acts x. 38.
—
How God
ANOINTED
Jesus of Nazareth with
THE HOLY SPIRIT,
and with Power.
See also note in p. 381.
, and the Effect of that Influence is further explained in the 27th verse of the same chapter—
But
THE ANOINTING,
which ye have received of him, abideth in you, and ye need not that any man
TEACH
you: but as the same
ANOINTING TEACHETH
you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie: and even as it hath
TAUGHT
you ye shall abide in him.
(1 John ii. 27.)
And it is manifest, that this
"Anointing, which teacheth all things,"
is to be understood of THE HOLY SPIRIT; for the Apostle Paul informs us, that the Communication of this
Knowledge
or
Teaching
from God is by
the Holy Spirit
—
Eye
(says he)
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which
GOD
hath prepared for them that love him. But
GOD HATH REVEALED (them) UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT:
for
THE SPIRIT
searcheth
ALL THINGS,
yea,
THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so
THE THINGS OF GOD
knoweth no man, but
THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but
THE SPIRIT WHICH IS OF GOD
[or rather THE SPIRIT OUT OF GOD,
, that is, which
proceedeth forth
(
, see John xv. 26.)
"out of God,"
see note 132 in p. 357];
that we might
KNOW
the things that are freely given to us of
GOD
(whereby it is manifest, that we obtain
this Knowledge of the things of God
by the Holy Spirit).
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
THE HOLY GHOST TEACHETH
This
Teaching of the Holy Ghost
is also fully declared by our Lord's promise of that Heavenly Gift to his disciples—
But the Comforter
(which is) THE HOLY GHOST
(saith our Lord)
whom the Father will send in my Name,
HE SHALL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, &c.
John xiv. 26.
And again,
When he,
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
is come, he will guide you
INTO ALL TRUTH,
&c.
John xvi. 13.
; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But
THE NATURAL (
, or Animal) MAN
receiveth not the things of
THE SPIRIT OF GOD,
[How urgent and importunate ought we therefore to be in claiming, on all occasions, the gracious Promises of
Spiritual Assistance
(see p. 200—202) as
the Nature of Man
is declared to be thus miserably deficient without that Heavenly Gift, the neglect of which is the first foundation of Infidelity and Scepticism]
for they are foolishness unto him;
[even
the things of infinite Wisdom
(for such must be
the things of the Spirit of God
) are
foolishness
to the mere
Natural
Man!]
neither can he know
(them)
because they are
SPIRITUALLY
discerned. But he that is
SPIRITUAL,
judgeth all things, &c.
(1 Cor. ii. 9—15.)
The glorious Effect of
Christ's Promises
upon those who duly claim them, is principally (as I have before remarked, see p. 196—202) that we shall
"partake of the Divine Nature!"
But how can that Effect take place, if
the Spirit of God, and of Christ
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
dwell in you. Now if any man have not
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST,
he is none of his. And if
CHRIST (be) IN YOU
(i. e. in
you by his Spirit,
mentioned in the preceding sentence)
the body
(is)
dead, because of sin, but the Spirit
(is)
life, because of righteousness. But if
THE SPIRIT OF HIM
that raised up
JESUS
from the dead,
DWELL IN YOU,
he that raised up
CHRIST
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal mortal bodies
BY HIS SPIRIT
that
DWELLETH
in you.
Rom. viii. 9—11.
Here we find
"the Spirit of God,"
and
"the Spirit of Christ,"
distinctly mentioned in the same context, though the
spiritual Effects
of both are undoubtedly the same, because both these titles belong to one and the same
Holy Spirit,
as St. Paul elsewhere declares—
"For through him"
(says the Apostle, speaking of the reconciliation, or uniting of the Gentiles, and the commonwealth of Israel, through Christ)
we both
(i. e. Jews and Gentiles)
have access
BY ONE SPIRIT
unto the Father.
Eph. ii. 18.
This
One Spirit,
therefore, must necessarily be understood, not only when
"the Spirit of God"
is mentioned, but also whenever we read of "
the Spirit of the Son
Because ye are Sons,
GOD
hath sent forth
THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON
into your hearts.
Gal. iv. 6.
,"—
the Spirit of Jesus
I know that this shall turn to my salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of
THE SPIRIT OF JESUS CHRIST.
Phil. i. 19.
,
or
the Spirit of Christ,
(see note in p. 357)
; for as Christians are
builded together for
AN HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT,
(Eph. ii. 22.)
so likewise it must be THROUGH THE SAME SPIRIT that they become
AN HABITATION OF CHRIST,
—
if Christ be in you,
&c. because the same text informs us, that—
if any man have not the
SPIRIT OF CHRIST,
he is none of his.
, (see page 357),
the Spirit of the Father, and of the Son,
by which alone we can have communication with either
Compare the preceding note in page 383, with the note in p. 385.—See also page 292.
, is not
really Divine?
We are taught by a multitude of texts throughout the New Testament, that MAN
by Nature
is capable of receiving THE HOLY SPIRIT
within him;
so that the
Human Body
is expressly called in Scripture
the Temple of the Holy Ghost
What, know ye not that your
BODY
is
THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST, (which is)
in you? which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Cor. vi. 19.
;
and therefore, if THE HOLY GHOST were not really and truly GOD, of the same
Divine Nature
with THE FATHER (for there can be but ONE
Divine Nature,
as there is but ONE GOD, which I hope is already clearly demonstrated, see pages 241—244) how improper would be the idea of comparing
Man
to
a Temple?
For Christians are not only called
the Temple of God
2 Cor. vi. 16.—
And what agreement
(says the Apostle Paul)
hath
THE TEMPLE OF GOD
with idols? for ye are
THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD:
as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in
(them)
and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And this
In-dwelling,
or
Inhabitation of God
in the Faithful, is declared in Scripture to be
"through the Spirit,"
which affords an ample proof, that
the Spirit
is truly GOD!
In whom
(says St. Paul to the Ephesians, ii. 22. speaking of
Jesus Christ
)
ye also are builded together for
AN HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT.
Thus the true Christian doth really become a TEMPLE OF GOD, "for
where God dwells is a Temple,"
as Grotius remarks
Templum est ubi
DEUS
habitat. In piis habitat Deus
PER SPIRITUM SANCTUM.
Sunt igitur
TEMPLUM DEI.
Grot. Annot. Tom. IV. p. 482.
; and GOD
dwells is good men
BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT. "
Therefore
(says he)
are they
THE TEMPLE OF GOD." This
Inhabitation,
or
In-dwelling
of the HOLY SPIRIT
in the Temple of
GOD, is plainly declared by the Apostle Paul in another text—
"Know ye not"
(says he)
that ye are
THE TEMPLE OF GOD,
and that
THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU?
If any man defile
THE TEMPLE OF GOD,
him shall God destroy: for
THE TEMPLE OF GOD
is holy
"is holy,"
—"
being sanctified by
THE HOLY GHOST." Rom. xv. 16.
,
which
(Temple)
ye are.
1 Cor. iii. 16, 17.
, but expressly (as I have already remarked)
the Temple of the Holy Ghost,
as if the terms were synonymous!
Too many
Temples,
indeed, through the Depravity of
Mankind,
and the Influence of
Devils,
have been dedicated to those, "
which by Nature are
NO GODS!" But that was only amongst men —
"who knew not God."
(Gal. iv. 8.) But shall we conceive of the inspired Writers of the New Testament, that they would also DEDICATE
Temples
to a Being,
"which by Nature is no God!"
For if we could suppose it true, that THE HOLY SPIRIT
by Nature is no
GOD,
the TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST would be no better, in that one respect, than
Heathen
Temples! And therefore, if we really believe the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God, we must necessarily believe that THE HOLY GHOST is really and truly GOD; for otherwise we should not have been required by the Holy Scriptures to esteem our
Bodies
as the
Temple of the Holy Ghost!
And as it thus appears to be a necessary conclusion, that THE HOLY GHOST is
truly
GOD, it is equally a necessary doctrine, that he is also JEHOVAH— "
For who is
GOD" (i. e. truly God) "
except
JEHOVAH?"
Compare this with Ps. lxxxvi. 10.—
Thou art God alone,
that is,
Thou
(JEHOVAH)
art God alone,
for the whole Psalm is a prayer addressed to JEHOVAH— "
Bow down thine ear,
O JEHOVAH," &c.—See also Isaiah xxxvii. 16. and compare th
se texts with the note in p. 323. concerning those persons, whose title of
"Gods,"
was merely
nominal.
Psa. xviii. 31. And therefore, though THE HOLY GHOST is clearly revealed to us in Scripture as a distinct Person from THE FATHER and THE SON, he must nevertheless be included in that One Divine and Eternal
Being,
JEHOVAH; and accordingly, in that supreme character, he revealed the Divine Will to the Prophets! Of this I have already produced some remarkable, and (I trust) incontrovertible proofs, and therefore shall only request my reader's attention to one more example of it.
Well spake
THE HOLY GHOST
(said the Apostle Paul to the unbelieving Jews at Rome)
by Isaias the Prophet unto our Fathers, saying; Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. For the heart of this people is waxed gross, &c.
Acts xxviii. 25.
But when we turn to that part of Isaiah's Prophecy to which the Apostle refers us, as the SAYING of THE HOLY GHOST, we find it was JEHOVAH which
spoke
to the Prophet!—
I heard
(says the Prophet)
the
VOICE
of the
LORD (Adonai)
saying, Whom shall I
SEND?
and who will go for US?
(speaking expressly in a Plurality of Persons).
Then said I, here
(am)
I; send me. And
HE
said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed,
(or in hearing)
but understand not; and see ye indeed
(or in seeing)
but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed
See some Observations on this passage in my Tract on several important Prophecies. 2d Edit. pages 222, 223, and 228—235.
. Then said I,
LORD, (or Adoni)
how long? And
HE
answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, &c.
Isai. vi. 8—11.
Now the
Lord,
or
Adoni,
who then spake to Isaiah, was represented to the Prophet (see the beginning of the chapter) as
sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple,
&c.
and one cried unto another,
(that is, the Seraphims mentioned in the preceding verse)
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY (IS) JEHOVAH OF HOSTS,
the whole earth is full of his glory, &c.
(ibid. 1—3.)
Now, notwithstanding that
the Lord
JEHOVAH is represented in this Divine Revelation as speaking in the
Plural
Number
("who will go for us"),
and that the
threefold
repetition of the Epithet
Holy,
in the proclamation of God's glorious Title,
Jehovah of Hosts,
seems to correspond with the above-mentioned Idea of a Plurality of Persons being comprehended in that
One Eternal Being
JEHOVAH, which then revealed himself to Isaiah, yet the Apostle Paul expressly attributed the Revelation to the
Holy Ghost,
as being the Divine Person which then spake!
Well
SPAKE THE HOLY GHOST
(says he)
by Isaias the Prophet,
SAYING,
Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear,
&c. Who then shall presume to say that THE HOLY GHOST is not really and truly GOD; when it is apparent by the citations already made, that the glorious Name JEHOVAH, which includes THE DIVINE NATURE OF THE FATHER, and OF THE SON, is expressly attributed also to THE HOLY GHOST?
Without a due sense of this supreme Dignity of the
Holy Spirit,
we should form but a very unworthy idea of the
real Dignity
of HUMAN NATURE, which (as I have already shewn) is not only capable of
receiving
the Gift, or internal Communication, of that
glorious
and
eternal
FREE SPIRIT
See note in p. 360.
OF GOD, as
a Principle of Action,
but is absolutely entitled even
to claim
that wonderful participation of the
Divine Nature!
to
claim
it, I say, by a written Charter of Privileges, which can never be taken from us (as
God's Word
cannot fail), he having bound himself to us on certain reciprocal conditions by an irrevocable covenant (as sure as his Word) that MAN might be FREE indeed! We are FREE (I say) having now a
free Choice,
through Christ, to partake,
if we will
"If we will."
For, notwithstanding all that has been said and wrote concerning
Predestination
and
Reprobation,
yet it must surely be our own fault, a depravity in our own
choice,
or
will,
if we partake not of
"the Tree of Life!"
No man
(indeed)
can come to me
(said that Divine Person, who alone is THE WAY,
and
THE TRUTH,
and
THE LIFE," John xiv. 6.
)
except the Father, which hath sent me,
DRAW
him: and I
(said he)
will raise him up at the last day.
(John vi. 44.)
But though
this Drawing
depends on
the Will of the Father,
yet no just argument arises from thence against
the free Will of
MAN, because we have ample assurance on the part of the Almighty, that his
Good Will
to DRAW us will not be wanting, if we seek him as we ought, and do not resist his Divine Grace in our hearts; of this
Good Will
his affectionate remonstrances from time to time by his Prophets bear unquestionable testimony. —
Why
WILL
ye die, O House of Israel? For I
HAVE NO PLEASURE
in the death of him that dieth, saith the
LORD JEHOVAH,
wherefore turn yourselves,
(
in Hiphil. cause ye to turn; i. e. the repentance must be by your own will and deed)
"and live ye."
(Ezek. xviii. 31, 32.) And again, GOD
swears by himself,
that we may have full assurance of
his Will
in our favour, if our own
Will
is not wanting!—
Say unto them
(as) I LIVE,
saith the
LORD JEHOVAH,
I have
NO PLEASURE
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way, and live: turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways: for why will ye die, O House of Israel?
Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
These texts, indeed, are assurances of God's love to
the House of Israel;
but in Christ, even
the Gentiles
are entitled to claim them, being now engrafted on the stock of
Israel
(see p. 296) and are thereby rendered
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(Gal. iii. 29.)
And under the New Covenant, also, God hath confirmed these assurances of favour
on his part,
if we are not wanting to
ourselves,
promising us that we shall
receive,
if we will but
ask
(see note in p. 395)—
For
THE LORD
is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us ward,
NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT
that
ALL
should come to repentance.
2 Pet. iii. 9.
From hence it follows, that, if any perish, it is not by God's
Will,
(though he certainly foreknows their destruction) but by their own
wilful
Abuse of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil;
for we are assured also by another Apostle, that GOD
will have
ALL MEN
to be saved, and to come unto the Knowledge of the Truth.
(1 Tim. ii. 4.)
The Word
ALL
(says the learned Mr. Francis Fox on this text)
here stands for
EVERY MAN; for so it is used ver. 1. where we are commanded to pray for ALL MEN. Hence (says he) we may argue, that if God WILLS the Salvation of ALL MEN, and would have ALL come to the acknowledgment of the Truth, then he affords ALL sufficient MEANS and GRACE, in order to their obtaining Salvation; because without this they cannot be saved.
(See John vi. 44. quoted in the beginning of this note)
.
If any therefore perish, it is not because God DENIES them GRACE and HELP, but because they are WANTING TO THEMSELVES, and WILL NOT BE PREVAILED WITH to USE the assistance he affords. Their destruction, therefore, is not FROM any peremptory DECREE of God's, but FROM THEMSELVES.
New Testament with references, p. 867. note.
, of the
Tree of Life
(see note in p. 310) from which our first Parents were unhappily excluded in this world!
But these glorious Privileges being granted to
Human Nature
only through the Merits of that
"Son of Man,"
who voluntarily took
our Nature
upon him, we must always remember, that our Title to the Benefits of the free Covenant, before-mentioned, is valid only when claimed
in his Name,
and for
his Sake,
as we ourselves are otherwise totally unworthy of them; for he alone is
"the Way, and the Truth, and the Life;"
and
no Man cometh unto the Father, but by him.
John xiv. 6.
He hath, therefore, particularly instructed us how to
claim
the Privileges of
Human Nature,
assuring us by
re-iterated
And I say unto you
(said our Lord Jesus)
ASK,
and it shall be
GIVEN
you: seek, and ye shall find:
KNOCK,
and it shall be
OPENED
unto you.
(For our Lord had just before given a parable of a man's going to his friend's house even at midnight, and
knocking
at the door to borrow bread).
For every one, that
ASKETH, RECEIVETH:
and he that
SEEKETH, FINDETH:
and to him that
KNOCKETH,
it shall
BE OPENED.
If
A SON
shall ask bread of any of you that is
A FATHER,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
IF YE THEN, BEING EVIL,
know how to give good Gifts unto
YOUR CHILDREN:
how much more shall your
HEAVENLY FATHER,
give the
HOLY SPIRIT
to them that
ASK
him?
(Luke xi. 9—13.)
"
And whatsoever ye shall
ASK
in
MY NAME" (said our Lord JESUS) "
that will
I DO" [an ample proof, as I before remarked, of his being truly GOD in
Effect
and
Power,
as well as in
Name;
and that
he and the Father are
ONE, as he himself not only
said,
but
proved
by his
Works;
so that we must necessarily understand, as there is but ONE GOD, (Jehovah) that he is included with THE FATHER in the ONE Eternal Being JEHOVAH]
that
THE FATHER
may be glorifed in
THE SON.
If ye shall ask any thing in
MY NAME
(our Lord JESUS again repeated and enforced his gracious promise)
I WILL DO (it).
If ye love me
(said he)
keep
MY
commandments,
(and who hath a right
to command,
but GOD?—Our Lord, nevertheless, immediately afterwards declares the
ministerial Office,
which he had condescended to undertake for our sake, as
Mediator
between GOD and
Man,
himself being both!)
And I
(said he)
will
PRAY THE FATHER,
and he s
ll give you
ANOTHER COMFORTER,
(or ADVOCATE, see ABp. Sharp's Sermons, 5 vol. Disc. 2d.)
that he may abide with you for ever; even
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH,
(here the Three Divine Persons are distinctly mentioned together, in their separate personal functions under the Christian Dispensation)
"whom"
(i. e. the Spirit of Truth)
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him:
(and of course all other true disciples of Christ know him, as the promises are
to all,
and cannot fail)
for he dwelleth with you, and shall be
IN YOU.
John xiv. 13—17.)
Again, I say unto you
(said our Lord JESUS)
that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of
MY FATHER,
which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together
IN MY NAME
(i. e. in the Name of JESUS)
there
AM
I in the midst of them.
(Matt. xviii. 19, 20.)
These, and many more such, declarations of Christ, are the
reiterated Promises
(mentioned above) on which the restored Dignity and Privileges of
Human Nature
are firmly founded, and may be effectually secured, if the future
building
be raised thereupon with the plumb line of
Integrity,
and be afterwards maintained with
Perseverance
to the end of life!
"He is faithful that promised."
(Heb. x. 23.)
Wherefore,
be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid: for
THE LORD (Jehovah) THY GOD,
he it is that doth go with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
(Deut. xxxi. 6.)
Promises, tendered in the most urgent and affectionate manner, that Prayers
in his Name
shall
certainly be effectual;
that is, provided there be no
wilful
Defect on our part; which
conditional
Clause is always to be understood, wherever Promises of Blessings are delivered in Holy Scripture.
Let us therefore be mindful,
that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy
(to be compared)
with the glory which shall be revealed to us,
(Rom. viii. 18.)
, that is,
towards
us, or respecting ourselves; referring, probably, to that
Eternal Weight of Glory
with which
Human Nature
is capable of being invested
after the sufferings of this present time,
as signified by the same Apostle in a parallel passage of another Epistle—
For our light affliction
(said the Apostle)
which is but for a moment
(i. e. comparatively speaking)
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of
GLORY!
2 Cor. iv. 17,
This further Revelation of God's
Will
[variously expressed in the New Testament
When Christ
(who is)
our life, shall
APPEAR,
then shall ye also appear with him
IN GLORY.
Mortify therefore your members, &c.
Col. iii. 4.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for
THE SAVIOUR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:
who shall change our vile
BODY,
that it may be fashioned
LIKE UNTO HIS GLORIOUS BODY,
according to the working, whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
(Ph. iii. 20, 21.)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when he shall
APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM:
for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1 John iii. 2, 3.
But some
(man)
will say, How are the dead raised up? and
WITH WHAT BODY
do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: "And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that
BODY
that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other
(grain),
but God giveth it
A BODY
as it hath pleased him,
AND TO EVERY SEED HIS OWN BODY.
All flesh is not the same flesh, but
(there is)
one
(kind of)
flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes,
(and)
another of birds,
&c.
— So also
(is)
the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour;
IT IS RAISED IN GLORY:
it is sown in weakness;
IT IS RAISED IN POWER:
it is sown a natural (
or
,
animal
)
BODY,
it is raised
A SPIRITUAL BODY.
There is a natural
(or animal)
body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam
(was made)
a quickening Spirit,
&c.
—And as we have borne the image of the earthy,
WE SHALL ALSO BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY
[
i. e.
of the Lord Jehovah from
HEAVEN, mentioned in the 47th verse, see also pages 181—285, 294—308.].
Now this I say, brethren, that
FLESH AND BLOOD
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth
CORRUPTION
inherit
INCORRUPTION
By this latter part of the sentence (i. e.
neither doth corruption haberit incorruption)
the Apostle explains what he meant by the
flesh and blood
which
"cannot inherit,"
&c.
"ita explicat"
(as Grotius justly remarks)
"quid intelligi voluerit per
et
." It is manifest from the whole context, that the Apostle,
by flesh and blood
in this text, meant only
corruptible
and
perishable flesh and blood;
for it is not
the substance
or solidity
of flesh and blood,
which cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, but only
the corruptibility,
or
dissoluble
and
corrupt quality of it,
as another learned commentator (Slater) has remarked—
Non intelligit
CORPORIS SUBSTANTIAM,
sic enim resurget.
Job xix. 26, 27.
sed qualitatem corruptam.
Pol. Synop. Vol. V. page 539.
We have incontestable evidence, by the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, that the real human substances of
"flesh and bones"
(of which his revived body consisted) can, and doth
inherit the kingdom of heaven.
—Our Lord was particularly careful to convince his disciples of this truth after his resurrection, saying—
Behold my hands and my feet,
THAT IT IS I MYSELF (
, thus insisting upon
the identity
of his own person)
handle me, and see
(thus urging his disciples to receive undeniable conviction by all their senses)
for
A SPIRIT
(says he)
hath not
FLESH AND BONES,
as ye see we have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them
(his)
hands and
(his)
feet.
Luke xxiv. 39, 40.
Now this was not to convince them merely, that the
hands
and
feet,
which he then shewed, were
"flesh and bones,"
but that they were also (to undeniable demonstration) the same identical
"flesh and bones"
that had been publickly nailed to the cross; for our Lord shewed them likewise
his side,
John xx. 20.
undoubtedly that same wounded
side
which had been pierced with a lance; for it was manifestly on account of the
wounds,
which he had received in his
flesh,
that he now pointed out, as unquestionable evidences of his identical body, those particular parts thereof (his
hands, feet,
and
side
) in which the principal wounds had been made, agreeable to the predictions of the Prophets (Ps. xxii. 16. Zech. xii. 10. and xiii. 6, 7.) and at the same time, he submitted himself to the most critical examination of those select persons, whom he had chosen for witnesses—
It is I myself
(says he)
handle me and see,
&c. That our Lord appealed to the evidence of real
wounds
in his
flesh,
is further demonstrated by the declaration of the Apostle Thomas, when he had heard the account of our Lord's appearance from the other disciples: for Thomas answered them, saying—
Except I shall see in his
HANDS
the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his
SIDE,
I will not believe.
And accordingly, this palpable and unquestionable demonstration was graciously allowed him, even in the presence of the former witnesses; for—
After eight days, again the disciples were within, and
THOMAS
with them:
(then)
came Jesus, the doors being shut,
AND STOOD IN THE MIDST,
and said, Peace
(be)
unto you. Then saith he to
THOMAS,
reach hither thy finger, and behold
MY HANDS;
and reach hither thy hand, and
(thrust)
it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
(John xx. 24—27.)
And after our Lord had at several other times, (1 Cor. xv. 4—8.) visited, instructed, and confirmed his disciples concerning
the truth and reality of his resurrection,
and other necessary doctrines, he at length ascended from among them towards heaven, even while their whole attention was fixed upon him—
"While they beheld"
(says the text)
he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while
THEY LOOKED STEDFASTLY
(
) toward heaven,
AS HE WENT UP,
behold two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
THIS SAME
JESUS,
which is taken up from you
INTO HEAVEN,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go
INTO HEAVEN.
(Acts i. 9—11.)
Thus we have incontestible evidence concerning the identical substance of our Lord's revived body,
"Flesh and Bones;"
and therefore with certainty we know that the
Human Body
(consisting of solid and palpable substances of
"Flesh and Bones"
) is capable of
inheriting the kingdom of heaven;
and consequently we must understand that the
Flesh and Blood
mentioned by the Apostle, which
cannot inherit,
&c. must necessarily mean
corrupt
and
mortal Flesh and Blood,
before it has undergone the promised
change
to
incorruption
and
immortality,
as explained above; for our Lord's body (it is manifest, if all these circumstances are considered) could not possibly have undergone
any other change
than that of being "RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE," whereas, before, it was
corruptible
(or liable to injuries) and
mortal,
or it could not have
suffered
and
died:
and in like manner all the rest of the "
dead shall be raised
INCORRUPTIBLE;" as the resurrection of Christ is the pledge of our hope, he being declared
"the first fruits of them that slept."
1 Cor. xv. 20. I shall not apologize to my readers for the length of this note, because the subject of it very materially concerns
the Nature of Man;
and all mankind are personally interested in the assurances we have, that even the
Body
(as well as the
Soul
) shall one day be raised to
immortality
and eternal duration; nevertheless, I confess, that I should have neglected to treat upon this very material part of my subject (as I conceived that the doctrine was sufficiently understood, and generally received among Christians) had not a new pamphlet, on very different principles, been put into my hands, at the very time when I had proceeded in transcribing the above note for the press, even to the very sentence where I have placed the mark of reference; so that I thought myself obliged to add these remarks upon the text, in order to guard against the plausible insinuations in the said Tract.
. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: (for the trumpet shall sound
"For the trumpets
SHALL
sound,"
(
) says the Apostle; but the Author of the New Pamphlet, mentioned in the preceding note, boldly insinuates, that it
shall
NOT
sound!
And as this Author has thought proper to conceal his name, I hope I may censure his opinions with less reserve, because he cannot suspect me of any
personal
dislike to an unknown author; and must therefore consider my severity as levelled merely against his erroneous doctrines, and not against himself.
Do you take the
LAST TRUMPET
(says he, in page 13.)
to be some instrumental sound?
&c.—
The word
LAST,
(says he again)
evidently implies a
FIRST:
now who is he that heard the instrumental sound of the
FIRST
Trumpet?
Thus, on the strength of a mere sophistical quibble, he ventures to found his opposition to the clearest evidence of scripture, that
the Trumpet
SHALL SOUND,
and the dead shall be raised,
—as if these great articles of the Christian Faith,
the Resurrection of the Dead,
and the awful summons to the
Judgment Seat of Christ,
could possibly be set aside by such superficial reasoning! For though we may not be able to answer his question, viz.
Who is he that heard the instrumental sound of the
FIRST
Trumpet?
Yet any plain honest Christian, who reads his Bible with a proper humble disposition, can easily inform him, who they were (even a whole nation at once) that really and truly heard the actual sound of a
former
heavenly
trumpet.
See the 19th chapter of Exodus; wherein the
instrumental sound
is clearly expressed by two different technical Hebrew names of an
instrument,
well known among the Israelites, which seems to have been a kind of
horn
or
cornet.
The use of such
instruments
is particularly recorded in Joshua vi, 4, for seven of them were
sounded
by the priests at the taking of Jericho. The
sound
only of
one instrument
(bearing two different names) was heard at Mount Sinai, tho' it is described as being loud to a most tremendous degree, being a
heavenly
trumpet. And answerable to this the future
heavenly
trumpet, foretold by St. Paul, is mentioned in the singular number, viz.
the trump of God.
1 Thess. iv. 16.
—Now as the
sounding
of the
former
trumpet was previously appointed and foretold, as the awful signal to apprize the Israelites of
the Coming of Jehovah
upon Mount Sinai, and to summon them up to the Mount (see Exodus xix. 11, and 13.) so the actual tremendous
sounding
of that former trumpet (see verses 16 and 19) is an incontestible earnest or pledge to us (even upon the principles of this author's own argument) that we ought to expect an actual
sounding
also of the
last trumpet,
because it is as clearly appointed to be the
awful signal
of the future
Coming
and
Appearance
of the
Messiah
to judge the world, as the
former
trumpet was of the descent of
Jehovah
upon Mount Sinai, so that the ingenious hypothesis of this Author about the
soundless
summons of the
last
trumpet falls at once to the ground!
There is such ample evidence (God be thanked) of
outward
transactions throughout the whole account which Moses has given of God's
coming down
upon Mount Sinai (or Horeb, which is only a different part of the same mountain) that the
literal
sense of his relation cannot, without the most glaring perversion, be enveloped and darkened by the delusive mist of
figurative
sophistry! And the same, indeed, may be said of what is revealed to us in the Scriptures concerning the future
Coming
and
Appearance
of the Messiah to judge the world; but this Author nevertheless (presuming upon the supposed force of his insidious quibble about the
last
trumpet) ventures openly to profess his disbelief of the actual
future judgment of the world by Christ;
and boldly asserts, that
there will be no such process hereafter. The judgment seat
(says he)
is in every man's heart; and it is there, and
THERE ONLY,
that man can, or
EVER WILL,
feel acquittance, or
CONDEMNATION,
&c.
(Note in p. 25.)
And this
unscriptural
doctrine he has attempted (in a preceding part of his book) to illustrate by an example drawn even from
Scripture
itself!
When Paul stood before Felix
(says he in p. 20.)
Felix stood before the judgment seat of Christ; else what made him tremble? What but the secret condemnation he felt in his breast?
But give me leave for a moment to treat this Author in his own evasive stile, by
answering question with questions,
though I by no means wish to avoid giving him a direct answer to his
trembling
system! — Would not Felix have had much less cause to
tremble,
if (with the
spirit
of our modern Author) he had conceived that there would never be any other
condemnation,
than that which he felt within himself? And again—Did not Felix
tremble
whilst (or as) the Apostle
"reasoned"
(
, a genitive case
taken absolutely,
as the grammarians say, i. e. to mark the precise interval of any action, or corresponding circumstance, as that it happened
during the very time
that the Apostle
reasoned) "of righteousness, temperance,
and THE JUDGMENT TO COME (expressly
, or the
future
judgment) so that the Apostle could not possibly mean the
present
internal
condemnation,
which at that very interval of time caused Felix to
tremble?
Acts xxiv. 25. But this author not only denies the
future
JUDGMENT OF CHRIST, but also, it seems, the
future
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD!
He feels
" (speaking in p. 23. of a man that has the witness within himself) "
that he is
RISEN WITH CHRIST;
and so experiences with St. Paul,
THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION:
and being made
A PARTAKER OF THE FIRST RESURRECTION,
flesh and blood then convinces him what it is,
&c. Now, as he thus asserts, that he is "made a partaker of the first resurrection," and that there will be
"no process hereafter,"
nor
judgment of Christ,
besides that which (as he conceives) is in every man's heart, it necessarily follows, that (with respect to himself, and such other
"truly awakened such"
) this Author must suppose
the resurrection to be already past!
This is
a leading principle,
which, being once admitted, all the other doctrines, which this Author has laboured to inculcate, must necessarily follow as concomitant circumstances: the perusal of his book, therefore, enables us to form a very probable idea of the particular doctrines held by those very ancient heretics,
Hymeneus
and
Philetus;
for tho' this author himself (a
similar spirit
) conceives, that his doctrines are
not only uncommon, but n
w,
&c. and accordingly (in his preface) apologizes for
"the untrodden path,"
yet his path is very old, and so strongly marked in antiquity, that the
leading principle
above-mentioned, on which almost all the rest depends, was described more than 1700 years ago, even by St. Paul himself, who mentioned the promoters of it expressly by name, and warned us against the pernicious effects of their errors in the strongest terms—
Their word
(says the Apostle)
will eat as doth a canker: of whom is
HYMENEUS
and
PHILETUS;
who concerning the truth have
ERRED,
saying, that the
RESURRECTION IS PAST ALREADY;
and overthrow the faith of some.
2 Tim. ii. 17, 18.
) and
THE DEAD
shall be raised
INCORRUPTIBLE,
and we shall be
CHANGED.
That is,
we living men,
whoever we are, that shall be found alive, and remaining in the body at that awful period,
"shall be changed;"
for the Apostle had before declared, that
"we shall not all sleep"
(that is, in death) but we "
shall all be
CHANGED," viz. both
Dead
and
Living
shall be
changed
from
corruptible
to
incorruptible
Beings, though the manner of THE CHANGE will be different in these two different states of mankind, the
Dead
will be RAISED
incorruptible,
but the
Living
shall be instantaneously rendered so,
"in the twinkling of an eye."
Thus
the change
will be made in the
property
or
quality
of our living bodies, and not in the
identity
of them. It will be an annihilation or dissolution of
corruptibility,
and not of
substance;
for the
substance,
on the contrary, will be rendered
indissoluble
and
eternal;
even that substance which now is subject to so many fatal accidents, diseases, and death)
For
THIS CORRUPTIBLE
must put on
INCORRUPTION,
and this mortal
(must)
put on
IMMORTALITY.
[So that it is, manifestly,
"this"
same
mortal
body,
"this"
earthly tabernacle in which we now live, that shall hereafter
"put on"
immortality and incorruption—
We that are in
(this)
tabernacle do groan
(says the same Apostle in another place)
being burdened: not for that we would be
UNCLOTHED,
but
CLOTHED UPON,
that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2 Cor. v. 4.
and this is further explained in the former text, viz.]
So when
THIS CORRUPTIBLE (says the Apostle)
shall have
PUT ON
incorruption, and
THIS MORTAL
shall have
PUT ON
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written; Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? &c.
1 Cor. xv. 35—55.
concerning the sure and most certain expectation, that we may entertain, of being invested with ETERNAL GLORY
in the world to come,
(if we persevere in the true Faith and Practice of Christianity
in this world
); completes our
Charter of Privileges and Immunities,
or,
"the perfect Law of Liberty,"
which THE ALMIGHTY has been pleased to tender to his Creature
Man!
—
Who
(then)
shall separate us from the love of Christ?
(shall)
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter). Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded
(said the Apostle to the Romans)
that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
(that is, the angels of Satan)
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heighth, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Rom. viii. 35—39.
Here is a noble declaration of that
"perfect Liberty,"
to which Christ has restored mankind! that glorious Dignity of
"Human Nature,"
which even the poorest and meanest persons amongst us (the
distressed,
the
hungry,
and the
naked
) are capable of attaining by Perseverance
in Faith,
and Resolution in observing and keeping,
on their Part,
THE CONDITIONS
(The conditions of our reciprocal covenant with God.)
Let us but satisfy ourselves that we perform
the conditions
which Christ hath required of mankind, in order to salvation (which
conditions
are all summed up in these two words,
Faith
and
Repentance
) and we may be as certainly assured that we belong to God, and are entitled to his favour, as if we saw our particular names recorded in a book, among them that are appointed to salvation. Away, therefore, with all fears and doubts concerning our
eternal Predestination.
Let us never be solicitous in enquiring, whether God hath decreed such a particular number of persons (in exclusion to the rest of mankind) to eternal life; or, if he hath done so, whether we be in the number of them; but let us take care to secure our own duty.
Secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed, to us, and to our children, that we may do all the works of his law;
as we have it in
Deuteronomy.
Let us take care to obey God's commandments: let us live as well as we can, and if we do so, it is certain we cannot miscarry; and if God hath made any such
Eternal Decrees
concerning the lot of particular persons, it is certain likewise that we are in the number of those that are
predestinated
to eternal salvation, provided we continue in our faith and obedience.
ABp. Sharp's Sermon—
"Of the Fewness of those who shall be saved."
Vol. III. p. 111.
of our reciprocal Covenant with God!
Let us therefore (like the Apostle) approach unto the Throne of Grace,
in full Assurance of
FAITH, always remembering, that a SOUND FAITH must be the principal Foundation of our Pretensions to the promised
Dignity and Privileges of
HUMAN NATURE, and that by Perseverance in the true Faith, and a continual Renewal of those inestimable Claims, from time to time, while we remain in this world, we may be as confident as the Apostle, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heighth nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
THE LOVE OF GOD,
which is in
CHRIST JESUS
our Lord;
because,
through him,
God has put it absolutely in our own Power (whatever our
temporary
Afflictions and Sufferings may be in this Life) to attain an "ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY:" 2 Cor. iv. 17.—
For which cause we faint not
(
though our outward man perish
) being fully persuaded that he, who PROMISED, is
able also to
PERFORM.
The Defects of this Tract, wherever the Reader discovers any, are certainly to be attributed to the fallible Author, whose Name is prefixed; but whatever may seem praise-worthy, and instructive therein, to GOD ALONE!
"SOLI DEO, GLORIA ET GRATIA."
INDEX OF TEXTS referred to in the foregoing Work; OF THE Various TOPICS discussed; AND OF THE Different AUTHORS referred to.
INDEX OF THE TEXTS referred to in the foregoing Work.
GENESIS.
Chap.
Verses
Pages
i.
2.
368.
ii.
17.
11.14.
iii.
4, 5.
19.
 
17 to 19.
22.
 
19.
28 n.
 
22.
20.43.
 
 
311 n.
 
 
313 n.
xiv.
2.
92 n.
 
22.
240.
xviii.
19.
91.
 
23 to 25.
88 n.
 
33.
92 n.
xxii.
1.
188 n.
 
2.
267 n.
 
6 to 8.
267 n.
 
18.
267 n.
EXODUS.
iii.
14.
259 n.
xviii.
25.
326 n.
xix.
 
403 n.
 
11 to 13.
404 n.
 
16.19.
404 n.
xx.
2.
371 n.
xxiii.
17.
228 n.
xxx.
12 to 16.
104.
xxxii.
9, 10.
80.
 
7 to 17.
83.
 
27.
240.
 
31 to 33.
96 n.
xxxiii.
18.20.
215.217 n.
xxxiv.
23.
228 n.
LEVITICUS.
xvii.
2.
52.
xix.
18.
68.
 
28.
156.
NUMBERS.
ii.
 
339 n.
xiv.
7.
84.
 
11 to 20.
86.
 
13 to 20.
86 n.
 
20 to 22.
88.
xvi.
1 to 40.
94.
 
10 to 22.
88.
 
19.
92 n.
 
41 to 48.
96.
xx.
12.
97 n.
xxv.
15.
166.
 
18.
165 n.
xxvii.
12 to 14.
97 n.
 
17.
325 n.
xxxi.
8.
166.
xxxi.
16.
165 n.
 
 
325 n.
 
20.
165.
DEUTERONOMY.
i.
 
326 n.
 
9 to 17.
328 n.
 
13.
328 n.
 
16, 17.
324 n.
iv.
37.
97 n.
vi.
4.
242.275.320.
 
 
321.350.
 
 
371.
 
4, 5.
241.
 
5.
278 n.
 
16.
278 n.
viii.
16.
189 n.
x.
20.
337 n.
xviii.
18 to 20.
104 n.
xxii.
44.
278 n.
xxiii.
23.
278 n.
xxxi.
6.
397 n.
xxxii.
22.
131 n.
JOSHUA.
vi.
4.
403 n.
vii.
19.
240.
xiii.
33.
240.
xviii.
4.
327 n.
xxii.
16, 17.
325 n.
 
22.
241.
 
24.
240.
JUDGES.
vi.
39.
189 n.
xi.
23, &c.
240.
1 SAMUEL.
xvi.
14.
190.
xx.
31 to 14.
102.
xiv.
1.
189 n.
xviii.
33.
109.
xxiv.
17.
105.
1 KINGS.
xviii.
12.
183 n.
xxii.
20 to 23.
137 n.
2 KINGS.
ii.
16.
184 n.
1 CHRONICLES.
xxi.
1.
190 n.
2 CHRONICLES.
xix.
6, 7.
324 n.
xxxii.
26.
136 n.
 
31.
136 n.
JOB.
xix.
26.
130 n.
 
26, 27.
400 n.
xxxiii.
4.
363.
xlii.
7.
215.
PSALMS.
ii.
2.
347.
 
7.
331.338 n.
 
12.
338 n.
x.
16.
238 n.
xi.
6.
144 n.
xviii.
31.
349.387.
xxii.
16.
401 n.
xxiv.
1.
27 n.
xxvi.
2, &c.
189 n.
xxxiii.
6.
364.
xlv.
 
265.344.
 
6.
263.
 
7.
378 n.
 
 
379 n.
xlvii.
2.7.
27 n.
l.
23.
225 n.
li.
11, 12.
360 n.
lviii.
11.
145 n.
lxxxii.
6.
323 n.
lxxxiii.
1.
349.
 
13.
349.
 
18.
233.282.
 
 
349.
lxxxvi.
10.
387 n.
xc.
 
268 n.
xcv.
 
372.
xcvii.
7.
353 n.
c.
5.
148 n.
cii.
19.
266 n.
 
23, 24.
266 n.
 
 
268 n.
 
24.
266 n.
 
25 to 27.
265.
cvi.
32.
97 n.
cx.
1.
216 n.
 
 
260 n.
 
 
278 n.
 
 
347.
 
4.
342 n.
cxv.
16.
27 n.
cxviii.
22.
225 n.
 
26.
279 n.
cxxxix.
 
46 n.
cxliii.
2.
49.51.
cxlvi.
9.
238 n.
ISAIAH.
i.
24.
228 n.
vi.
1 to 3.
390.
 
8 to 11.
289.
 
9.
223.
 
9, 10.
223 n.
 
10 to 14.
277 n.
vii.
15.
31.
 
15, 16.
45.
x.
16.
228 n.
xii.
2.
331. 348.
 
 
369 n.
xix.
4.
228 n.
xxv.
8.
214.
xxviii.
16.
225 n.
xxxiv.
6.9, 10.
132 n.
xxxvii.
16.
387 n.
xl.
 
248.
 
 
277 n.
 
3.
248.252.
 
 
281 n.
 
3.5.
221.
 
3 to 11.
257.
 
9.
220.
 
9, 10, 11.
252.
 
11.
263.
 
12 to 17.
360, 361.
 
18.
213.361.
xli.
4.
270.
 
10.
269.
 
13, 14.
270.
xlii.
1 to 3.
247.
 
5 to 8.
246.
 
 
318 n.
 
 
319.
 
6.
245.
 
8.
282.
xliv.
6.
271.
 
13.
376.
xlv.
21 to 23.
272.
 
7.
134 n.
xlviii.
12.
271.
liii.
1.
280 n.
 
5.
268 n.
 
7.
221 n.
 
 
267 n.
liv.
5.
295 n.
lviii.
3.
22 n.
lxi.
1.
279 n.
 
 
379 n.
 
1, 2.
331.348.
lxii.
11, 12.
226 n.
lxv.
2.
302 n.
JEREMIAH.
xxiii.
 
300 n.
 
5, 6.
298 n.
 
6.
263.
xxxi.
31.
375.
 
33.
374, 375.
 
33, 34.
376.
xxxiii.
6.
303 n.
 
16.
296 n.
 
 
303 n.
 
 
304 n.
xxxv.
17.
301 n.
LAMENTATIONS.
iii.
38.
137.
EZEKIEL.
viii.
14.
163 n.
xii.
2.
223 n.
xviii.
31, 32.
393 n.
xxiii.
11.
393 n.
DANIEL.
ii.
44.
344.
v.
6.
144 n.
vii.
13, 14.
344.
MICAH.
iv.
 
301 n.
 
10.
301 n.
v.
 
301 n.
 
1.
301 n.
v.
1, 2.
262.
 
2.
262.
vi.
9.
301 n.
ZECHARIAH.
vi.
12, 13.
343.
vii.
7.
301 n.
 
11 to 14.
302 n.
 
14.
302 n.
xii.
10.
401 n.
xiii.
6, 7.
401 n.
MALACHI.
iii.
1.
228.
 
 
281 n.
MATTHEW.
i.
18.
365.
 
20.
365.
 
21.
225.
 
22, 23.
277 n.
iii.
3.
277 n.
 
5.
185 n.
 
 
220 n.
 
11.
249.
 
15.
308.
 
 
341 n.
iv.
 
149.
 
1 to 11.
184 n.
 
7.
278 n.
 
10.
337 n.
v.
18.
132 n.
 
17.
340 n.
 
17, 18.
337 n.
 
29, 30.
130 n.
 
33.
278 n.
vi.
7, 8.
159 n.
 
33.
193, 194.
vii.
12.
75.
 
7.
197.
viii.
28 to 32.
177.
 
31, 32.
179 n.
 
32.
ibid.
xi.
10.
227. 229.
 
12.
227 n.
xii.
28.
364 n.
 
48 to 50.
324 n.
xiii.
14.
223 n.
xviii.
19, 20.
397 n.
xix.
23, 24.
29.
xxi.
22.
197.
xxii.
37.
278 n.
 
44.
216 n.
xxiii.
35 to 39.
98 n.
 
37 to 39.
303 n.
 
38.
98 n.
xxiv.
15 to 21.
98 n.
 
30.
223 n.
 
35.
132 n.
xxv.
14.
24.
 
14 to 30.
24. 27 n.
 
41.
131 n.
 
 
132 n.
 
 
142.
xxvi.
39.
268 n.
xxviii.
18, 19.
235 n.
 
19.
200 n.
 
20.
260 n.
MARK.
i.
 
149.
 
2.
227 n.
 
3.
277 n.
 
5.
185 n.
 
12, 13.
184 n.
ii.
5 to 12.
295 n.
v.
12.
179 n.
 
13.
ibid.
 
 
180 n.
ix.
24.
197.
 
45, 46.
131 n.
xii.
29.
275.
 
30.
278 n.
 
36.
278 n.
xvi.
19.
260 n.
LUKE.
i.
31 to 33.
345.
 
33.
354.
iii.
35.
365.
 
 
366 n.
 
4.
277 n.
iv.
 
149.
 
12.
278 n.
 
18, 19.
279 n.
 
18.
331. 348.
vi.
12.
278 n.
 
31.
75.
vii.
27.
227 n.
viii.
32.
179 n.
 
33.
ibid.
x.
16.
230.
 
27.
278 n.
xi.
9 to 13.
198.
 
 
396 n.
xii.
19, 20.
25.
xiii.
7.
26.
 
13.
50.
 
35.
98 n.
 
 
279 n.
xiv.
2.
27.
 
9.
195.
xvi.
2.
27 n.
 
17.
132 n.
 
25.
30.
xvii.
29, 30.
144 n.
xix.
37, 38.
279 n.
xx.
42.
278 n.
xxii.
31, 32.
149.
 
53.
139 n.
xxiii.
30.
50.
xxiv.
17.
366 n.
 
35.
366 n.
 
39, 40.
400 n.
 
44.
268 n.
 
49.
366 n.
JOHN.
i.
1.
310 n.
 
1 to 14.
222 n.
 
 
257.
 
5.
224.
 
9.
258.
 
 
310 n.
 
14.
332 n.
 
18.
262.
 
19.
224 n.
 
23.
277 n.
 
23 to 26.
277 n.
 
29.
267 n.
 
29 to 31.
222 n.
 
29 to 36.
251.
ii.
5.
200 n.
 
16.
332 n.
 
19.
206 n.
 
19 to 21.
96.
 
26 to 31.
282 n.
 
29.
295.
 
30.
281 n.
 
31.
281.
iv.
9.
222 n.
v.
17.
315.
 
17 to 23.
338.
 
18.
334.
 
21.
315. 338.
 
21, 22, 23.
235 n.
 
22, 23.
318. 353.
 
26.
336 n.
vi.
44.
377.
 
 
392 n.
 
 
394 n.
vi.
45.
377.
 
53 to 55.
312 n.
 
57 to 58.
312 n.
 
63.
362.
 
64.
146 n.
 
70.
146 n.
viii.
34.
55 n.
 
44.
148 n.
 
 
261.
 
 
154 n.
 
53.
261.
 
58.
260.
x.
6 to 11.
287 n.
 
11.
257.
 
 
287 n.
 
15.
308.
 
30.
285. 321.
 
 
328. 350.
 
31 to 38.
325.
 
34.
325 n.
 
37.
364 n.
 
38.
350.
 
39.
329.
xi.
50.
267 n.
xii.
6.
146 n.
 
13.
279 n.
 
31.
141 n.
 
 
195.
 
38.
280 n.
 
45.
222 n.
xiv.
6.
53. 148 n.
 
 
392 n.
 
 
395.
 
9, 10.
285.
 
11.
350.
 
13, 14.
314.
 
13 to 17.
397 n.
 
16, 17.
357 n.
 
16 to 26.
366 n.
xiv.
23.
292.
 
26.
357 n.
 
 
379 n.
 
 
381 n.
 
28.
320.
xv.
26.
355. 381.
xvi.
6.
309.
 
13,
355.
 
 
381 n.
 
14.
308.
 
15.
351.
 
 
356 n.
 
15, 16.
358 n.
xvii.
5.
341. 351.
 
10.
358 n.
 
15,
236 n.
 
 
308.
 
17.
291.
 
21.
350.
xviii.
11.
268 n.
xix.
17.
267 n.
xx.
17.
245 n.
 
20.
400.
 
24 to 27.
401 n.
ACTS.
i.
9 to 10.
402 n.
ii.
34.
279 n.
iii.
14.
378 n.
 
15.
363 n.
 
14 to 16.
336 n.
iv.
5 to 12.
225 n.
 
12.
315.
 
24, 25, 26.
347.
v.
4.
230.
x.
38.
366 n.
 
 
368 n.
 
 
378 n.
 
 
379 n.
xvii.
27, 28.
217.
xvii.
29.
322 n.
 
 
372 n.
xxiv.
25.
405 n.
xxviii.
25.
388.
ROMANS.
i.
4.
369 n.
 
20.
371 n.
 
20 to 32.
136 n.
ii.
14.
37.
 
14, 15.
37.
iv.
17.
368.
v.
 
53.
 
7.
100.
 
12 to 14.
48.
 
19.
340 n.
 
21.
48.
viii.
1, 2.
369 n.
 
9 to 11.
383 n.
 
17.
264.
 
18.
398.
 
29.
265.
 
33.
367.
 
35 to 39.
98 n.
 
37.
310.
ix.
3.
97.
 
5.
294 n.
xii.
5.
296 n.
xiv.
7 to 13.
274.
xv.
16.
386 n.
 
17 to 19.
365 n.
xvi.
27.
350.
1 CORINTHIANS.
i.
24.
367.
ii.
4.
366 n.
 
8.
284 n.
 
9 to 15.
382.
 
10.
370.
 
10, 11.
356 n.
ii.
13.
356 n.
 
14.
212 n.
iii.
11.
295.
 
16, 17.
386.
v.
 
129.
vi.
11.
367.
 
19.
384 n.
 
20.
330.
x.
4.
373 n.
 
16.
314.
xiv.
33.
135.
xv.
4 to 8.
401 n.
 
20.
402 n.
 
24, 25.
346.
 
24 to 28.
350.
 
25.
347.
 
25, 26.
351.
 
28.
346.
 
35 to 55.
407 n.
 
45.
368.
 
47.
280.308.
 
53.
130 n.
 
53, 54.
214 n.
 
56, 57.
31 n.
2 CORINTHIANS.
ii.
10, 11.
129.
iii.
17.
360 n.
 
18.
378.
iv.
4.
220.
 
17.
398.410.
v.
4.
407 n.
 
17.
200.
vi.
16.
385 n.
xi.
14.
138 n.
GALATIANS.
iii.
28, 29.
300.
 
29.
296 n.
 
 
393 n.
iv.
6.
383 n.
 
8.
386 n.
v.
14.
77.
EPHESIANS.
i.
3 to 17.
245 n.
 
17 to 20.
331.348.
 
22, 23.
306.
ii.
2.
141 n.
 
18.
383 n.
 
20.
295.
 
20 to 22.
306, 307.
 
21, 22.
342 n.
 
22.
384 n.
 
 
385 n.
iv.
7.
378.
 
27.
128.
vi.
 
128 n.
 
11, 12,
128.141.
 
12.
138 n.
 
27.
128.
PHILIPPIANS.
i.
19.
384 n.
ii.
9 to 11.
315.
COLOSSIANS.
i.
12.14.
139 n.
 
14.19.
218 n.
 
15 to 19.
218.
ii.
9.
219.236.
 
 
253.
iii.
4.
398 n.
1 THESSALONIANS.
i.
5.
366 n.
iv.
16.
404 n.
2 THESSALONIANS.
i.
7.
143 n.
ii.
9 to 12.
135 n.
1 TIMOTHY.
i.
17.
217 n.
 
 
350.
ii.
1.
394 n.
 
4.
394 n.
 
5.
307.
 
 
322 n.
iii.
16.
223 n.
 
 
252 n.
iv.
1 to 3.
157 n.
vi.
16.
217 n.
 
 
221 n.
 
13.
368.
2 TIMOTHY.
ii.
17.15.
406 n.
iii.
16, 17.
214 n.
HEBREWS.
i.
1, 2.
264.
 
1 to 4.
219 n.
 
2.
231.343.
 
3.
217.219.
 
6.
353 n.
 
8.
344.
 
8, 9.
264.347.
 
9.
379 n.
 
10, 11, 12.
268.
ii.
11.
324 n.
 
14, 15.
139 n.
 
16.
265.
 
17.
265.
iii.
7 to 11.
374.
iv.
7.
372.
 
15.
149.
 
 
268 n.
v.
6 to 10.
342 n.
vii.
1, 2.
343 n.
 
1 to 11.
342 n.
ix.
14.
208.
 
22.
51.
x.
15.
374.
 
23.
198.
 
 
397 n.
 
26, 27.
145.
 
27.
49.
 
29.
208.
xiii.
8.
264.
JAMES.
i.
13.
137.
 
 
188 n.
 
13 to 15.
137 n.
 
14.
121 n.
ii.
19.
50.145.
 
 
322 n.
iv.
1 to 4.
121 n.
 
7.
129.
v.
1.
30.114.
 
14.
379 n.
1 PETER.
i.
10, 11.
358 n.
ii.
5.
295.
iv.
14.
208.
 
 
369 n.
v.
5.
264.
 
8.
129.
2 PETER.
i.
2 to 4.
201.
ii.
4.
130.
 
 
139 n.
 
11.
147.
 
19, 20.
55 n.
iii.
6, 7.
143 n.
 
9.
394 n.
iii.
10.
132 n.
 
 
143 n.
 
 
352.
1 JOHN.
i.
5.
147 n.
 
5 to 7.
138 n.
ii.
2.
267 n.
 
20.
378.
 
27.
379, 380.
iii.
2, 3.
399 n.
 
8.
135 n.
iv.
8.
148 n.
 
9.
222 n.
 
16.
293.
v.
7.
138 n.
 
9.
216.
 
11.
216.
 
11 to 13.
311 n.
JUDE.
 
6.
125 n.
 
 
133 n.
 
 
139 n.
REVELATIONS.
i.
4.
239.
 
7.
224.
 
8.
362.
 
17, 18.
269.
ii.
7.
311 n.
iii.
7.
378.
iv.
7.
399 n.
 
8.
239.
v.
12, 13, 14.
339.
vi.
15, 16.
50 n.
vii.
4.
340 n.
xi.
11.
369 n.
 
16, 17.
240.
xix.
20.
143 n.
xxii.
14.
313 n.
INDEX OF THE Various TOPICS discussed in this Work.
A.
AARON.
See
Moses.
Abraham.
Remarks on his attempt to sacrifice his son, 79. His
remonstrance
to the Almighty, 88, agreeable to that due exertion of
Reason
which GOD requires of his creature
Man,
89. See
Moriah, Moses.
Accents
(Greek) essential sometimes to the meaning and proper construction of the sacred text, 253 n.
Adam.
No descendant of his, though ever so
rich,
has any right to eat the
bread of idleness;
nor can do so without offence against
his own soul,
and the
universal ordinance of God,
Gen. iii. 17 to 19. p. 22, 23.
Adam and Eve.
See
First Parents, Bread of Idleness, Man, Human Nature.
Adonis.
Etymology of that name, 227 n. See
Thammuz.
Affections
(natural). Their superiority to
self-love,
instanced from the
brute creation,
9, 10. Are
principles of action,
108.111. But
not rules of obedience,
112. Instanced in the
avaritious
man,
ibid.
In
drunkards
and
gluttons,
114. In the vices of
lust, gaming,
&c. 115.
African Slave-trade,
encouraged by the
English government,
205.
African Traders and American Slave-holders,
are petty tyrants, and destroyers of mankind, 10.
Alexander Severus.
His favourite maxim, 68.
Appetites,
not
rules of obedience,
33. See
Affections.
Arabians, Turks,
&c. Their detestable
arbitrary
governments in Judea, 302 n.
Arbitrary Power.
See
Despotism, Arabians,
&c.
Aristotle.
Just answer of his, 74.
Athanasius.
His creed defended against the Rev. Dr. E. Harwood, 256 n. See
Unity of God.
Avarice,
defeats
self-love,
114.
Author.
Not his design to define what
is
the
universal principle of action,
but to point out what it
ought
to be, 56, 65. His reasons for introducing
religious topics
into
Tracts of Law,
198. 212. A
sincere
advocate for
liberty of conscience,
210 n. See
Brooke, Fool of Quality, Human Nature, Religious Melancholy.
B.
Balaam.
His counsel promoted the
service
and
worship
of
Devils,
166 See
Fornication.
Baptismal Vow.
Resistance to
evil spirits,
a necessary article thereof, 122.
Beads,
used by Mongulian priests and nuns in their devotions, like the
Roman Catholics,
158 n. and among the idolatrous Calmues and Chinese 159 n. by the Great
Lama
of the
Tartars,
and by the priests of the idol
Menipe,
162 n.
Bread of Idleness.
No
descendant of Adam
can eat thereof, without offence against
his own soul,
as well as against the
universal ordinance of God,
pronounced against our first parents after the fall, 23.
Bread and Wine.
See
Communion.
Brooke
(Mr. of Dublin). His
Fool of Quality
applauded by the author, 105 n. See
Author.
Brutes,
never violate the
universal principle of
SELF-LOVE, 171, except for a
reasonable
cause, 173. But
one
instance of their being actuated by
evil spirits,
and that by the
express permission of our Lord himself,
174. See
Devil, Man.
C.
Calmucs.
See
Beads.
Cambridge MS.
condemned by the best critics, 254 n. 255 n.
Chinese.
The idolatries of their priests are, in many respects, like those of the
Romish priests,
159 n. See
Beads.
Christ.
His
promises,
relative to the
gift of the Holy Ghost,
are clear and absolute, 196. Is always with his
church on earth,
217. In
him only
can
God be seen,
220. Included in the
Eternal Being
JEHOVAH, 230. Is
One
with his
Almighty Father
in
Eternal Existence,
in that BEING of Eternity, JEHOVAH, 258—275. 294. Was affected (through the weakness of that
Human Nature,
which he had
taken
upon him) with all the horrors of an approaching, agonizing death, 268. Was not only JEHOVAH in
name,
but in
effect
and
reality,
269. 271. And in
power
and
glory,
ibid. & seq. IS LORD OF ALL, 276. ABOVE ALL, 281. The LORD FROM HEAVEN, 283. The LORD OF GLORY, 284. OVER ALL, GOD BLESSED FOR EVER, 294.
Truly
and
essentially
the SON OF GOD, as well as the SON OF MAN, 309. Is, in the most
effectual
manner, to us, the TREE OF LIFE, 312 n. The same
supreme honour
due
to him,
as to
the Father,
317. Our Lord's expression,
My Father is greater than I,
considered, and explained, 320.
Christ
was not only
glorified
in his
divine nature,
but expressly as MAN, 341. By
Christ
's resurrection and ascension is
incontestably
proved, that the
real substances
of
flesh
and
bones
can, and do,
inherit the kingdom of heaven,
400, 401, 402 notes. See
Eternal Word, Jesus, Communion, Father and Son,
GOD,
Human Nature, John the Baptist, Paul, Socinians, True Believers, Commentators on Scripture.
Church of England.
Articles and Liturgy thereof, how cautiously worded, 209. Its Articles, &c. defended, 210 n. See
Jehovah, Mental Blindness, Non-subscribing Clergymen, Trinity.
Church of Jerusalem.
Their happy manner of living in common, 107 n.
Church of Rome.
Similarity of the
antichristian
ceremonies in that church to the religious forms of worship amongst the antient and modern
Heathens,
156, et seq.
forbidding to marry,
a doctrine of devils,
ibid. See
Papists, Mongulians, Heathens, Chinese, Tartars, Monks, Nuns,
and
Beads.
Cicero.
His just definition of
law,
30. Of the
law of nature
in man, 33. Clearly describes the natural instinct of the
knowledge of good and evil,
under the title of
common sense,
34.
Claromonian or Clermont MS.
See
Cambridge MS.
Clergymen.
See
Non-conforming Clergymen, Mental Blindness.
Commentators on the H. Scriptures.
Grotius and Vitringa have erroneously attributed the title of
Jehovah our Righteousness
(which the scriptures give to Christ alone) to Jerusalem. Also Mr. W. Lowth, and the Authors of the last English version, 296 to 304.
Common Sense.
See
Cicero, Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Communion.
In what manner the
bread
and
wine
received therein are the BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, 312 n. See
Papists.
Confucius.
Just maxim of his, 74.
Conscience.
Few men so bad, as not to be sometimes sensible of its accusations, 38. 49. A
principle of action,
44. Men seldom fall into
gross crimes,
till they have gradually stifled it, 53. See
Knowledge, Reason, Sinderesis.
Cremensis
(Joannes). Remarkable story of him, 168 n.
D.
David.
Was not actuated by
self-love,
when he tendered
his own life,
to save those of his subjects, 102. The nature of his crime,
in numbering the people,
explained, 103. His
natural paternal affection
was more powerful than
self-love,
in the case of
Absalom,
108. See
Satan.
Day of Judgment.
Dreadful state of
this world
after that awful and tremendous day, 352. See GOD,
Hell, Last Day, Last Trumpet, Sharp
(Archbp.)
Death.
The
penalty
of breaking the
first
and
only penal law,
14. Its not being inflicted
immediately after the fall,
affords no objection to Moses's relation of that transaction, 14. 21. No
elevation of station
will
exempt us from it,
25. Penalty of
labour
added thereto, ibid. The consideration of this universal doom to
death
and
labour,
ought to incite us as
a principle of action,
28. Death is not the
only
object of the sinner's fear, 51. The time when, and by what means,
death will be destroyed,
351. See
Fall.
Demoniacal Possessions.
Their reality defended, 175 n. et seq. See Case of Saul in the Appendix. Also
Gadarene Demoniacs.
Demons.
Have no power over the
brute creation,
175 n. See
Devil, Satan, Enemies, Evil Spirits, GOD.
Depravity of Mankind.
Not
universal;
so that
the universal principle of action
in man is not to be drawn from thence, 56. See
Man.
Desires.
Not unlawful
in themselves,
but
in
their excess, 120 n.
Despotism
(political), and
arbitrary power,
prevail almost throughout the world, 205.
Devil.
Is not merely a name, 117 n. 123. His
personality
asserted by Archbishop
Sharp
against Mr.
Hobbs,
123 n. Not to be understood as
one particular being,
but as the
whole company of evil spirits,
124. Proved from scripture, 128, et seq. Commonly understood of the
prince,
or
chief
of the
fallen angels,
140.
Worshipped
by the name of
Satan
by the heathen Tartars, 159 n. Has no power over brutes, but by
divine permission,
176 n.
Forbidding to marry,
a doctrine of
devils,
156, et seq. See
Satan, Enemies, Evil Spirits, Demons, Fallen Angels, Balaam, Human Nature, Man.
Divine Nature.
Man entitled to
partake
of it through Christ, 196 to 202. This participation of the
divine nature
is the
glorious effect
of
Christ's promises,
to those who duly claim them, 382. See
Man, Human Nature, Christ, Holy Ghost.
Doing as we would be done by.
The
true Christian
RULE OF ACTION, and a
fundamental
axiom of the
law of nature,
75. The ONLY PATERNAL PRECEPT to which the Creator
has graciously reduced the rule of obedience,
76. Ought to be the UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE OF ACTION IN MAN, 78. See
Puffendorff.
Doctrine of Devils.
See
Church of Rome.
Drunkards and Gluttons.
Their deplorable state, 114.
E.
Enemies (spiritual).
Their
influence
a distinct
principle of action in man,
18. 117. They take a most dangerous advantage, though unperceived, of all immoral, carnal
affections,
119. See
Devil, Demon, Satan, Evil Spirits.
English government.
See
African Slave-trade, Slavery in the Colonies.
Eternal Word.
Though in the beginning with
God,
and
was God,
yet, under the
gospel,
became the
angel,
or
messenger of God,
226, 227.
Proceeded out from the Father,
261. See
Christ, Jesus, Son of God, John the Baptist.
Evil Spirits.
Resisting them an express article of the
baptismal vow,
122. Are used to fulfil the eternal
judgment
and
justice
of the Almighty upon the unrighteous, 137 n. And may then be said to become
principles of action
in man,
ibid.
The propriety of calling them
angels of darkness,
132, et seq. Foreknow their own certain damnation, 145.
Human Nature
liable to their temptations, (150, 190.) if we do not resist them, as the scriptures command us, 192. When men neglect the due resistance, these spirits gain such advantage over them, (193.) that at last men will become personal enemies, even to
themselves,
194. See
GOD, Human Nature, Demons, Fallen Angels, Devils, Satan, Enemies Spiritual.
F.
Faith,
in the
Three Divine Persons
of the
Trinity
absolutely necessary to salvation, 200 n. 209. See
Human Nature, Jehovah, Trinity.
Faithful,
are ONE
in the Father and the Son,
292. but we must be careful to distinguish between the
unity
of the FATHER and the SON, and the
unity
of the
faithful
in them, 293. See
Father and Son.
Fall of Man.
History of it considered, 11, et seq. An enquiry into the principles of
our own nature
more
important
than any other branch of
natural philosophy,
12.
Death
not being inflicted on the
day
of the transgression, affords, no just exception against the
truth
and
propriety
of the relation, 14. See
Bread of Idleness, Death, Reason.
Fallen Angels.
Difference between them and the
good,
125 n. See
Devil, Satan, Evil Spirits, Demons, Enemies (spiritual), Spirits.
Father (Almighty) and Son,
are ONE in many respects, which cannot, with the least propriety, be attributed to the
unity of the church in Christ,
294, 305. See
Faithful, Man.
First Parents.
The
nature of the penalty
due for their transgression, was clearly
revealed
to them, and was as clearly
understood
by them before they fell, 15. See
Bread
of Idleness, Reason, Sin.
Forbidden Fruit.
See
Tempter.
Fool of Quality,
the author's reason for quoting it, 106. n.
Fornication,
its baneful consequences; being a snare to enslave men to
spiritual adversaries,
and to
idolatry,
166, et seq.
Freedom
(true). See
True Freedom.
What it is, p. 196, 197.
G.
Gadarene Demoniacs,
their case examined and explained, 175, et seq.
Gentiles,
have universally demonstrated a sense of the precept of
doing as we would be done by,
even without the
assistance of scripture,
73.
Ghost.
See
Holy Ghost.
Gluttons.
See
Drunkards.
GOD.
Delivered a clear and express law to
man
before the
fall,
14. which was the
first
and
only penal law,
ibid. and which
he himself
cautioned them not to transgress, 16. Never judges men
without law,
like the
arbitrary princes
of this world, 21. Love of him, the
great first principle
of
all duty,
79. his command ought to supersede all
natural affection
and
self-love,
79. requires his
creature, man,
to judge of
right
and
wrong,
89. is said in scripture to
do
what he
only permits,
135 n. 178 n. his servants, sometimes
left to themselves,
136. he sometimes uses the
very devils
as instruments of his
justice,
137 n. difference between his
agency
and
permission,
178 n. wickedness of ascribing to his
agency
the agitations occasioned by the
inspiration
of
unclean spirits,
181 n. 190 n. he
tempteth
no man, 188 n. his command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, was
no temptation
to evil, but a
trial
or
proof of faith,
189 n. has lodged the power of
admitting
or
resisting evil spirits
or
damons,
entirely in the
human breast,
190. a perfect knowledge of him
only to be attained in heaven,
213. It is our duty to cultivate our
limited knowledge of him,
214. is a
spirit,
and cannot be seen with
human eyes,
217. but in Christ,
who is the image of God,
he
can
be seen; and in
him alone
can be fulfilled that ancient prophecy to the
Jews,
that they should SEE THEIR GOD, 220.
All flesh
shall
literally
SEE Christ at the DAY OF JUDGMENT, 223. See
Christ, Eternal Word, Happiness, Jehovah, Knowledge of Good and Evil, Moses, Political Liberty, Sodom.
Gods.
See
Judges and Magistrates.
God's Word.
The extreme danger of paying any attention to any doctrines or interpretations, which in the least contradict the literal or most obvious meaning of it, 18. See
Scriptures, Eternal Word.
Gospel.
See
Eternal Word.
Greek Accents.
See
Accents.
Grotius.
See
Commentators on Scripture.
H.
Happiness.
The
pursuit
of it not the
universal principle of action,
neither is it the proper
rule of obedience,
as advanced by a learned law-commentator, 57, et seq. There is nothing so liable to be misunderstood, as
happiness,
65. None equal to that acquired by a
perfect knowledge of God,
213.
Harwood
(Rev. Dr. E.) An indiscreet alteration in his new edition of the Greek Testament, 253. Dangerous presumption of that alteration, 254 n. which has but one single Greek MS. to support it, ibid. See
Athanasius.
Heathens
(Eastern). Similarity of their
religious ceremonies
to those of the
Papists,
157, et seq. Shameful rites of the ancient heathens, 162, et seq. See
Church of Rome, Beads, Chinese, Prostitution, Tartars.
Hebrew Scriptures.
Supplementary words never allowable, but where
absolutely necessary
to complete the sense, 297 n.
Hell.
A
real place
of material
fire,
130 n. Probably the present terrestrial globe may hereafter become that place of
eternal fire,
131 n. The objection that the world will be
consumed,
and therefore will not feed an
everlasting fire,
is of no force, 132 n. The above conjecture confirmed by Archbishop
Sharp,
142.
Hobbes
(Mr.) His judicious opinion of the
Law of Nature,
68. See
Devil.
Holy Ghost.
Mankind have a free choice, either to admit that
heavenly gift,
or the contrary
spirit
of the
prince of darkness,
196. Every one who
claims
that gift properly, will undoubtedly receive it, 198. The
divine nature
of the
Holy Spirit
is as clearly declared in scripture, as that of the SON OF GOD, 355, et seq. The
Holy Spirit
is not, like other spirits, a
created spirit,
but
proceedeth out from the Father,
357 n. The
almighty
operations of the
Holy Ghost
manifested the
glory
of the
Son,
as well as the
glory
of the
Father,
358 n. Is truly
God,
of the same
supreme, divine nature,
or
eternal being,
with the other
Two Divine Persons
of the
Trinity,
358. His entire
union
and
equality
with the
Father
and the
Son,
in the Divine Nature, or GODHEAD, proved, 362. Is declared to be the
Creator
in
Job,
and by the
Psalmist,
363.
Power from on high, justification,
and
sanctification
(all
divine attributes
) expressly attributed to the
Holy Ghost,
jointly with
Christ,
367. Similar titles given to the
Son of God,
and the
Holy Spirit,
367, 369. The power of giving
life,
especially
life eternal,
attributed both to the
Son,
and to the
Holy Ghost,
368. If we really believe the
holy scriptures
to be the
word of God,
we must necessarily believe that the HOLY GHOST is really and truly GOD, 387. See
Christ, GOD, Man, Virgin, Unity of God.
Holy Spirit.
See
Holy Ghost.
Honesty.
Is the best policy, even for a
selfish
man to pursue, 7.
Human Nature.
Is really liable to the
impulse
and
inspiration
of
evil spirits,
150. But is still equally capable of
divine inspiration,
and to partake of
the divine nature,
196 to 202.
Human nature,
and the
principles of human actions,
cannot be easily defined, without the assistance of
religious topics,
198. It was
human nature alone
that was to be exalted and restored, by that peculiar union with the
divine nature
in Christ, whereby all mankind are rendered
fellows
and
brethren
to him, 264. Is capable of being
exalted
and
dignified,
even in this life, 292. Is exalted to
eternal glory,
but only
in, by,
and
through Christ,
309. The means of retrieving its lost
dignity
pointed out, 309. That
dignity
cannot be properly known or understood, without a
right faith
in the
dignity
and
divine nature
of
Christ,
312. The
necessity
of such a faith, 314. The glorious privileges granted to
human nature
are only through the merits of that
Son of Man,
who voluntarily took
our nature
upon him, 394. God hath
instructed
us how those privileges are to be claimed, 395. See
Christ, Man, Sin.
Human Sacrifices.
Amongst the heathens, accounted for, 153. Account of one in North America, 154 n.
J.
Jehoshaphat.
His wise charge to his judges, 324 n.
Jehovah.
A name no where in scripture attributed to any person that is not included in the
unity of the Godhead,
233. The complicated etymology of that name, 236. Each person of the
Holy Trinity
is occasionally mentioned in scripture under that
distinguishing
and
peculiar name
of the SUPREME GOD, 245. That name given to the
Almighty Father,
the
First Person
of the
Holy Trinity,
245 to 248.
Secondly,
To
Christ
the
Son,
248 to 355. And,
Thirdly,
To the
Holy Ghost,
355 to 382. Many learned men do not perceive, that the glorious Name JEHOVAH, (the peculiar Name of the ONE SUPREME GOD) is clearly in the scriptures attributed to the
Son of God,
330. Their objections answered, 330, et seq. The
threefold
repetition of the epithet
Holy,
in the proclamation of God's glorious title,
Jehovah of Hosts,
seems to correspond with the idea of a
Plurality of Persons
comprehended in that
One Eternal Being,
JEHOVAH, 390. See
Christ, GOD, Commentators on Scripture, Holy Ghost, John
(the Baptist)
Trinity. Jehovah our Righteousness.
Jefferies
(Lord Chanc.) Character of him and Gen.
Kirke,
from
Rapin,
62 n. See
Sharp,
Archbp.
Jesus.
The meaning of that name explained, 224 n. See
Christ, Eternal Word.
Jews.
Have never returned to their
own proper country
since the general dispersion foretold by Zechariah, 302 n. Which hath continued more than 1700 years, and they shall not be restored till they are
converted,
303 n. Their judges and magistrates originally elected
by the people,
as
all public officers
(in strict justice)
ought to be,
325 n. et seq. See
Judges and Magistrates, Law of Nature, Newton, Paul
(St.)
Inspiration.
See
Human Nature.
Involuntary Servitude.
Agreed by all the best writers to be
contrary
to the
Law of Nature,
3.
John
(the Baptist). The
Messenger
of the
Eternal Word,
227, 228. Was the long-expected
Voice in the Wilderness
foretold by Isaiah, 281 n. And the
extraordinary
messenger of JEHOVAH foretold by Malachi, 281 n. Gave the highest testimony that could be of
Christ's heavenly power
and
divine existence,
282 n. See
Eternal Word.
Jonathan
—was not actuated by
self-love,
in his noble and virtuous friendship for
David,
100. Could not submit, like modern statesmen,
to do evil, that good might come,
101.
Isaac.
See
Abraham, Moriah.
Israel.
See
Political Liberty.
Judas
became a
Devil,
and how, 146 n.
Judges and Magistrates.
In what sense they are called
Gods,
and
Sons of the most High,
by the Psalmist, 323 n. Which is no degradation from the title and dignity of the REAL SON OF GOD, 324 n. See
Jews.
Justification.
See
Holy Ghost.
K.
Kings
—ought constantly to study the Holy Scriptures, 103 n. See
Judges and Magistrates, Monarchs.
Kirke
(Gen.) See
Jesseries.
Knowledge of good and evil
—seems plainly to be the
grand principle,
whereby men,
who have not the law,
are
a law unto themselves,
36. It is an
universal principle,
57. 64. But not the
universal principle of action,
65. Duly exerted, promotes our
love of God,
79 et seq. That very
knowledge
is now (through the mercy of God) become
a principle of action
(if used as it ought) to incline us to RIGHTEOUSNESS, and lead us to the
Tree of life,
310. See
Cicero, Reason, Scripture Evidence, Sin, Tree of Life.
L.
Last Day.
Terrible and striking description of it, by Archbp.
Sharp,
144. The resurrection of Christ's body, a proof to us that
flesh
and
bones
can inherit the kingdom of heaven, 400. See
Day of Judgment, Hell.
Last Trumpet.
Answer to objections about the future
sounding
thereof, 402 n.
Law.
See
GOD.
Law of Nature.
The author does not intend to give a regular definition of it, 1. All pretensions to an
unlimited authority
of any
man
or
men
over
others
are contrary to it, and to
natural equity,
2. Jewish constitutions not always consistent with it, 3. Opposers of it censured by
Puffendorff,
4. Unreasonable to search for it amongst
slaves,
55. Cannot be properly
understood,
without a competent knowledge of those
spiritual beings,
by whom our minds are liable to be influenced, 191. See
Author, Hobbes, Involuntary Servitude, Reason.
Liberty of Conscience.
See
Author.
Life.
The FORFEITURE of it the declared penalty of breaking the
first penal law,
14. See
Death.
Litany.
See
Trinity.
Liturgy.
See
Trinity.
Love of hoarding.
See
Self-love.
Lowth
(Mr. William). See
Commentators on H. Scripture.
Lusts of all kinds
are
principles of action,
which unavoidably produce
oppression,
and other evils, 6.
M.
Man
—by
apostacy
may become a sort of
devil,
146. Exemplified by the case of
Judas,
146 n. Why more depraved than the
brute creation,
173. Through the privileges of the
Gospel,
MAN may become a
new creature,
and a
partaker
of the
divine nature,
200 n. In what his dignity and superiority over the rest of the creation consists, 201. 288: which cannot be attained without the
inspiration of God's Holy Spirit,
211. The
unity
of the FATHER and the SON with the
church
is a topic necessarily included in a Tract on the
Nature of Man,
291. The means of retrieving his
lost dignity
pointed out, 309, et seq. which is not to be accomplished, but
through Christ alone,
311 n.
Man
is called a
Temple
in the New Testament, 384. The doctrine necessarily arising from thence, 384, et seq. See
Christ, GOD, Holy Spirit, Divine Nature, Human Nature, Depravity, Reason, Temple.
Magistrates.
See
Judges and Magistrates.
Marriage.
The
forbidding
it a
doctrine
of
devils,
156, et seq. Its wicked tendency, 167 n. See
Church of Rome.
Melancholy.
See
Religious Melancholy.
Mental Blindness,
of some modern clergymen, who have seceded from the Church of England, because the Litany, and other parts of our excellent Liturgy,
express divine honour
to the SON OF GOD, 338 n. See
Trinity.
Monarchs
—should not despise the reasonable
remonstrances
of their subjects, 83. The right of
remonstrating
proved from scripture, 83. See
Kings, Judges and Magistrates.
Mongulians,
or
Mogulians.
Their idolatrous customs similar to those of the
church of Rome,
158, et seq, n. See
Church of Rome, Papists, Beads.
Monks
(Heathen). Have a grand
monastery
in
Crim Tartary,
157 n. See
Church of Rome, Papists, Devil.
Moriah
(mount) — the place where
Abraham
was commanded to
sacrifice
his son
Isaac,
and likewise the place where the BELOVED SON OF GOD was
really sacrificed,
as the
propitiation
for our sins, 267 n.
Moses.
His
remonstrance
to God approved by the Almighty, as also that of
Aaron,
91. His zeal for the
glory of God,
81. 84. et seq. Moses' manner of
seeing God
explained, 215. See
GOD, Self-love.
N.
Natural Affection.
See
Affections, GOD.
—
Equity.
See
Law of Nature.
—
Philosophy.
See
Fall.
Nature.
See
Law of Nature.
Neighbour.
The duty of loving
our neighbour as ourselves
enforced, 68. A maxim almost universally acknowledged, 73, 74. Is the
true Christian rule of action,
75. and the
only paternal precept
to which the Creator has reduced the rule of obedience, 76. See
Doing as we would be done by.
Newton
(Sir Isaac). His account of the encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness, 339 n. His explanation of the
four beasts
in the Apocalypse, 340 n.
Non-subscribing clergymen.
The doctrine of the
Trinity
the principal cause of their objections to the
Church of England,
209. Reasons why their petition to parliament could not be granted, 210 n. See
Church of England, Mental Blindness, Trinity.
Nuns.
Women bound to celibacy,
contrary to nature,
amongst the heathen
Tartars, Chinese,
&c. 157. Orders of them amongst both the ancient and modern heathens, 157. See
Church of Rome, Devil.
O.
Original Sin.
Nature of it explained, 17 to 48.
P.
Parents.
See
First Parents.
Papists.
A
public promulgation
of some parts of their religion ought not to be tolerated, and why, 210 n. Their manner of adoring the sacramental bread,
unjustifiable
and
idolatrous,
314 n. See
Beads, Chinese, Church of Rome, Heathens, Tartars, Mongulians, Monks, Nuns.
Patriotism
and
Brotherly Love
has superseded
self-love
in many instances, 95—99. 102.
Paul
(St.). His anxiety for the
eternal welfare
of the
Jews,
97. His wishing himself
accursed from Christ
explained, 97. His disinterestedness, and unbounded affection, 97 to 100. See
Christ.
Penal Law.
See
Death, Life.
Philosophy
—is vain, if the philosopher is unacquainted with
himself,
12.
Polish Brethren.
Some of them notorious Socinians, 253 n. See
Socinians.
Political Liberty.
The
glorious state
of it, with which God was pleased to bless his people ISRAEL, 328 n. and three preceding pages.
Popery.
See
Papists, Church of Rome.
Power from on High.
An attribute given by our Lord himself to the
Holy Ghost,
366. See
Holy Ghost.
Pride.
In
temporary honours
and
worldly possessions,
the folly thereof, 203. Is a
principle of action,
203. See
Satan.
Pride
(spiritual), and
pride of learning,
their bad tendency, 206, et seq. See
Satan.
Priests.
The immoral tendency of
forbidding them
to
marry,
167 n. See
Marriage, Church of Rome.
Prince of Darkness.
See
Devil, Satan.
Principles of Action.
See
Happiness, Affections, Author, Conscience, Death, Depravity of Mankind, Doing as we would be done by, Enemies, Evil Spirits, Knowledge of Good and Evil, Reason, Satan, Self-love, Sinderesis, Temptations,
&c. &c.
Prostitution,
and a promiscuous use of
women
promoted by
Satan,
as a sacred rite amongst the heathens, and why, 159, et seq.
Psalm
cii. Something peculiarly deep and mysterious therein, 266 n.
Puffendorff.
A position of his examined, 69, et seq. Has well defended the general rule of
Doing as we would be done by,
against Dr. Sharrock, 70.
R.
Reason,
or the
knowledge of good and evil,
was unlawfully assumed by our
first parents,
11. 43. 192. Is the cause that
sin
is imputed to us, 30. A
divine attribute,
which the Gentiles acknowledged, 31, 32. Is properly the
grand principle,
or
law of nature,
or
conscience,
37. Man not endowed with so ample a portion of it
before the fall,
41, et seq. A
rule of obedience,
33. God
requires us
to exert it, 89. See
Knowledge of Good and Evil, Sinderesis, Conscience.
Religious Melancholy.
The author precluded from making any remarks of his own thereon, by the observations of his grandfather, Archbishop Sharp, 150 n. See
Sharp,
(Archbp.)
Religious Topics.
See
Author, Human Nature.
Remonstrance.
See
Monarchs, Abraham, Moses.
Riches
—are a continual snare of temptation, as well to acquire them
unjustly,
as to expend them
improperly,
29.
Roman Catholics.
See
Church of Rome, Papists, Monks, Heathens, Tartars.
Rules of Action and Obedience.
See
Affections, Appetites, Doing as we would be done by, Neighbour, Reason, Death, Sinderesis.
S.
Sadducees
(modern)—answered, 122—196. See
Evil Spirits.
Satan.
His success in misleading mankind, a
distinct principle of action,
19. Draws us into temptation, by
enlarging our desires,
119 n. The
devil
at present worshipped by the name of
Saitan
among the Tartars, 159 n. Provoked David to number the people, 190.
Pride
the occasion of
Satan
's fall, 203. His device, in promoting
man
's assumption of
forbidden knowledge,
is completely turned against himself, 310. See
Devil, Evil Spirits, Enemies Spiritual, Demons, Wicked Spirits.
Saitan.
A name amongst the Calmues for one of their idols, 160 n.
Sanctification.
See
Holy Ghost.
Saul.
His
melancholy,
or
madness,
not a mere
natural disorder,
191 n. An evil spirit the
real agent
which troubled him, 190 n. See Case of Saul (Appendix).
Scriptures.
We cannot reject any part of the
scripture evidence,
without a manifest perversion and abuse of our hereditary
knowledge of good and evil,
286. We are obliged to believe the scriptures, though we do not fully comprehend them, 288. See
Hebrew Scriptures, Commentators on Holy Scripture.
Self-love
—is not the
universal principle of action,
(7, et seq. 61, et seq.) even in
brutes,
11. 96.
Bad actions
manifestly tend, even in the opinion of the offenders themselves, to defeat the most essential purposes of
self-love,
63.
Patriotism
and
brotherly affection
manifestly superseded
self-love
in
Moses
and
Aaron,
(95, 96.) and also in St.
Paul,
99. Was not the
ruling principle of action
in
Jonathan,
100. nor in
David,
102, et seq.
Self-love
must yield to the
love of hoarding,
113. See
Avarice, David, Jonathan, Moses, Paul.
Servitude
(involuntary). Illegality of it pointed out, 2, et seq.
Sharp
(Archbp.) Remarkable instance of his truly Christian behaviour to
Judge Jefferies
in his misfortunes, 62, 63 n. Extract from his sermon on the
day of judgment
concerning
hell,
142 n. His sermons recommended as an
antidote
against
religious melancholy,
150 n. See
Day of Judgment, Reason, Last Day, Hell.
Sharrock
(Dr.) See
Puffendorff.
Sin
—is imputed to us, whether rich or poor, through the
knowledge of good and evil,
that additional
faculty
acquired by
human nature,
through the transgression of our
first parents,
30. In what manner it is the
sting of death,
explained, 49. See
Original Sin, First Parents, Human Nature, Knowledge of Good and Evil, Reason.
Sinderesis
—sometimes treated as distinct from
reason
and
conscience,
though in fact it is the same, 39, et seq. A
principle of action,
40 n. 41 n. See
Reason, Conscience.
Slave.
None so miserable, as the man that is a
slave
to his own passions and desires, 55. See
Law of Nature.
Slavery in the Colonies
—is favoured and encouraged by the
English
government at home—a
national disgrace!
205.
Socinians.
The manner in which they endeavour to evade a certain scripture testimony of the
divine nature
of
Christ,
230. confuted, 231, et seq. That evasion it as vain as it is wicked, 236. A mistaken doctrine of theirs, (293. 305.) proved to be unjust and false, 307. See
Polish Brethren.
Sodom.
God's gracious condescension to
Abraham,
when he
remonstrated
in behalf of the condemned inhabitants thereof, 91. See
Abraham.
Son of God.
See
Christ Jesus, GOD, Holy Spirit, Jehovah, Judges and Magistrates, Mental Blindness.
Sons of the most High.
See
Judges and Magistrates.
Sorrow.
The Hebrew word so rendered in Gen. iii. more properly signifies
labour,
21 n.
Spirit.
See
Holy Ghost.
Spirits
—may converse with us by secret illapses without our perception, 118 n. See
Enemies (Spiritual) Satan, Devil, Demon, Evil Spirits.
Sting of Death.
See
Sin.
Suicide.
The maxim, that
all who commit it are
mad, erroneous, 171. Otherwise accounted for, 173.
T.
Tartars
— have monasteries for heathen
monks
and
nuns,
157 n. See
Devil, Church of Rome, Papists.
Temple. Man
is a
temple, "the temple of the Holy Ghost,"— "the temple of God,"
384, 385. The doctrine
necessarily
arising from this revelation, 384—388.
Temptations.
We ought not to murmur at God's
permitting
them, 121. Why they are
permitted,
135 n. Will become
principles of action,
if not carefully resisted, 150. That the
temptation
of our
Saviour
was a
fact,
not a
vision,
proved, 184, et seq.
Tempter
—was well acquainted with the
nature
of the
forbidden fruit,
19. See
Enemies (Spiritual) Satan, Devil, Evil Spirit, Demon.
Thammuz,
or
Adonis.
Manner of mourning over him among the ancients, 163.
Thompson
(Rev. Mr.) His doctrine concerning the
law of nature,
very convenient for
tyrants
and
slave-holders,
5.
Translators of the Bible.
See
Grotius and Vitringa.
Tree of Life.
See
Christ, Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Trinity.
That doctrine is to be received more by
faith
than by
human comprehension,
212. The incommunicable name, JEHOVAH, never applied by the sacred writers to any persons but those of the
Holy Trinity,
235. The doctrine of the
Trinity,
as received by the
Church of England,
strictly consistent with the scripture doctrine of the
Unity of the Godhead,
244. Some clergymen have seceded from the
Church of England,
because the Litany and Liturgy express this doctrine, and attribute divine honour to Christ, 338. The clear distinction of the Three
Divine Persons
in the
Holy Trinity,
as revealed even in the
Old Testament,
245, et seq. The true nature of the
unity
thereof must still remain a
mystery,
because our
finite
understandings cannot comprehend a
perfect knowledge
of the ETERNAL BEING, 285. The
Three Persons
clearly distinguished by the prophet Isaiah, 360. And by our Saviour, 396 n. See
Faith, Christ, Holy Ghost, Jehovah, Non-subscribing Clergymen, Unity of God, Unitarians.
True Believers.
Their
unity in Christ,
explained, 295 to 309. See
Faithful.
True Freedom.
What it is, 196, 197.
Trumpet.
See
Last Trumpet.
Truth
—more dangerous than
falsehood
itself, when blended with
falsehood,
20.
Tubourai Tamaide
(an Otaheitan). Remarks on his behaviour, 36.
Turks.
See
Arabians,
&c.
Tyrants.
It is necessary for them, either to
misrepresent,
or to
deny
the
law of nature,
5. See
Thompson.
U.
Vestal Virgins.
See
Nuns, Heathens, Church of Rome.
View of the Soul.
Extract from a treatise so called, 110 n. et seq.
Virgin
(Blessed). Her miraculous conception expressly attributed to the
Holy Ghost,
by St. Matthew, 365.
Vitringa.
See
Commentators on Scripture.
Universal Principle of Action in Man.
See
Doing as we would be done by, Happiness, Self-love.
Unitarians.
Some of the
mistaken people,
who vainly call themselves
Unitarians,
hold doctrines which are inconsistent with our belief in the
Unity of God,
242, 243.
Unity of God
—an indispensable article of our
faith,
yet are we equally bound to acknowledge, that
Three Divine Persons
are included therein, 241.
Athanasius,
a strict assertor of this doctrine, 255 n. Without the doctrine of the
Unity
of the
Divine Nature,
the application in scripture of the
same
attributes to
different persons,
could not be understood, 364. The
Holy Ghost
included in that
Unity,
371. To contend for the
Unity
of the
Divine Nature,
if the least degree of
inequality
therein be admitted, is absurd, 243, 244. 372. See
Holy Ghost, Jehovah, Trinity.
Unlawful Affections
—ought to be carefully guarded against, lest any of them should become the reigning
principle of action,
and should lead the poor
enslaved
mortal to
eternal destruction,
116.
Unlimited Servitude.
See
Law of Nature.
W.
Wicked Spirits.
See
Evil Spirits.
Word Eternal.
See
Eternal Word.
Y.
Ynca Manco Capac.
Wise precept of his, 75.
INDEX OF THE Different AUTHORS referred to.
A.
ABEN EZRA, 238.
Alexander Severus, 68. 73.
Anacrisis Apocalypsios, 297 n.
Answer (the author's) to the Rev. Mr. Thompson, 2 n.
Arabic version, 219 n.
Aristotle, 74.
Assembly's Annotat. 379 n.
Athanasius, 254 n. 255 n. 256 n.
Athenagoras, 357 n.
Augustine, 355 n.
B.
Bishop's Bible, 304 n.
Bracton, 4 n. 8.
Brooke (Mr. of Dublin) 105 n.
Broughton (Mr. Hugh) 219 n.
Brugensis (Lucas) 366 n.
Burkitt (Mr.) 97.
Burton (Rev. Mr.) 268 n.
Buxtorf, 237, 238.
C.
Cambridge MS. 254 n. 255 n.
Carniades, 5.
Chaldee Par. 363 n.
Chandler (Bp.) 224.
Christ's temptations real facts, 188 n.
Chrysostom, 97 n.
Cicero, 6. 31.
Claromontan or Clermont MS. 254 n. 255 n.
Commentary on Isaiah (Louth's) 134 n.
Commentary (Jewish) on some of the Psalms, 238.
Common Eng. version, 1611. 304 n.
Complete Christian Dictionary, 204 n.
Confusius, 74.
Cowell, 4 n.
Critica Sacra, 216.
D.
Day of Judgment, Sermon on the manner of it, by Archbp. Sharp, 142 n.
De Dieu (Mons.) 219 n.
De la Vega, 75.
Demoniacks of the N. Test. Essay on, 177 n. 186 n. 191 n.
Deodati, 134.
Diogenes Laertius, 74.
Doctor and Student, 12. 39. 42. 44 n.
Dutch annotations, 136 n.
Dutch embassy to the Cham of Tartary, account of, 159 n.
E.
Erasmi Paraphrasis in Evang. Joan. 217 n.
Essay towards reconciling the numbers of Daniel and John, by the Rev. Mr. Burton, 268 n.
Evangelical discourses, 119 n.
Ezekiel, 182 n.
F.
Fleta, 4 n.
Fool of Quality, 105 n. 108 n.
Fox (Rev. Francis, M. A.) 379. 394 n.
Friendly admonition to drinkers of gin, brandy, &c. 115.
G.
Gomarus (Fr.) 255 n.
Greek Test. new edit. of, by the Rev. E. Harwood, D.D. 252 n. 254 n. 255 n. 256 n.
Greek Test. (Wetsten's) 2d edit. Preface to, 255 n.
Grotius, 296 n. 303 n. 357 n. 366 n. 379 n. 385 n. 400 n.
H.
Hales (Dr. Stephen) 115.
Hebrew text, 297 n.
Herodotus, 164 n. 165 n.
Hill (Dr.) 254 n.
Hobbes, 68. 70. 123 n.
Huetius, 304 n.
I.
Jackson (Dr.) 55 n. 121 n.
Ides (Mr. Isbrant's) 157 n.
Inquiry into the nature and design of Christ's temptation, 181 n. 185 n. 186 n. 189 n.
John (St.) 182 n.
Justin, 3 n.
K.
Kennet (Basil) 69 n.
Kimchi (Rabbi) 304 n.
Kircher (Athanasius) 161 n.
L.
Lactantius, 5.
Lampridius, 68.
Lardner, 176 n.
Lafitau, 155 n.
Last English translation, 297 n.
Law of Liberty, or Royal Law, 77.
—of Retribution, 178. 234 n. 299 n.
—of Nature and Nations, 69.
Le Brun, 157 n. 159 n.
Le Clerc (Mons.) 255 n.
Leigh (Mr.) 216.
Louth (Rev. Mr. William) 134 n. 296. 304.
M.
Marcinus, 74.
Mastricht (Ger. Van.) 255 n.
Maundrel's Travels, 163 n.
Mede (Joseph) 68.
Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, 156 n.
N.
New Test. with references, 394 n.
Newton (Sir Isaac) 339 n.
Novis Orbis Regionum et Insularum, &c. 157 n.
O.
Observations on various subjects, 256 n.
— on Daniel and the Apocalypse, 340 n.
Old English translation, 297 n. 304 n.
Oratio Philippica, 57 n.
P.
Paris (Matt.) 167 n. 168 n.
Patrick (Bishop) 165 n. 166 n. 326 n.
Paul (Father Mark) 157 n.
Payne (Mr. John) 119 n.
Pearson (Bishop) 304 n.
Pole's Synopsis, 366 n. 400 n.
Puffendorff, 4. 69. 71, 72. 74.
R.
Rapin, 62 n.
Remarks on several very important Prophecies, 249. 389 n.
S.
Scaliger, 268 n.
Seneca, 74.
Septuagint, 275. 327 n.
Sermon (Bp. Chandler's) before the King, 226.
Sharrock (Dr.) 68.
Sharp (Archbp.) 123 n. 128 n. 145 n. 150 n. 395 n.
Sharp (Dr. John) 99 n.
Simons (Father) 254 n. 255 n.
Slater, 400 n.
St. Germain MS. 255 n.
Sykes, 176 n.
Symphonia Prophet. et Apost. 99 n.
Syriac version, 219 n. 234. 327 n. 363 n.
T.
Targum, 363 n.
Thompson (Rev. Mr.) 2 n. 3. 5.
Tindal, 304 n.
U.
Velthusen (Dr. J. C.) 223 n. 256 n.
View of the Soul, 100.
Vitringa, 134 n. 296 n. 297 n. 300 n.
Univ. Hist. 162 n. 163 n. 164 n.
Vulgate (Latin) 253 n.
W.
Wetsten, 255 n.
Warburton (Dr.) 178 n.
Whitby (Dr.) 378 n. 379 n.
FINIS.
ERRATA.
P. 12. for
compouna
read
compound.
130. line 6. for
, r.
.
134.— 2 n. dele the c. after Isaiah.
144.— 14 n. dele IT.
161. instead of
woman
r.
women.
186. instead of,
by a comparative consideration of our own bodies,
r.
by a comparative consideration of the contrary nature of our own bodies,
&c.
191. line 8, for
as,
r.
that.
199. line 1. for
carefully,
r.
usefully.
201. line 18. for ΚΟΝΩΝΟΙ, r. ΚΟΙΝΩΝΟΙ.
216. line 13. for 1 John xiv. 9. r. John xiv. 9.
252. last line, n. for 1766, r. 1776.
278. n. line 7. for
r.
.
327. line 3. 2d n. for
it,
r.
is.
296. line 4. after
see p.
add 339.
339. line 17 n. for
sebond,
r.
second.