In this manner you must enter into the explication of difficulties, when the difficulty arifes either from a falfe fenfe, which may be given of your text, or from any objection, which may arise myfelf, and perceive plainly, that I have to fouls, one, that inclines me to good, and another to evil in your prefence the former prevails; but when I am alone I am conquered by the latter." Xenoph. Cyropæd. lib. i. What we call chriftian experience, in our churches, confifts of the pleasures and pains, that attend fuch conAlicts. In Arafpes it was reafon against fenfual appetites: but in chriftians it is the holy Spirit, the word of God, religion, truth, virtue, and grace, against error and vice, The work of a chriftian preacher is not to foothe the pains of fin, fo as to keep the finner quiet in his unregencrate ftate: but, on the contrary, to alarm him with a just sense of his danger, and to direct him to his only place of fafety. The man of God is to preach the law-a fire must go before him-he muft form a tempeft round about him he must call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, and judge the people He must reprove the finner, Jet things in order before him, and cover him with fhame and confufion. Then to the trembling contrite foul he muft preach the gofpel, peace, VOL. I. against peace to him, that is near, and peace to him, that is far off. When this method of preaching was ufed, pleafures and pains attached people to relìgion, and great moral good was produced. But now we read a dry moral lecture, we fear offending fcandalous livers, we laugh at religious feelings, and we say we are wifer than our predeceffors!. The great reformer fpeaks admirably on this fubject : Opus eft ut Deus primum lapidem in noftri ædificationem ponat, alioqui nugas egerimus. Hoc autem ita fit, Deus concionatores nobis mittit, quos ipfe docuit, et fuam voluntatem nobis prædicari curat. Primo, omnem noftram vitam et conditionem, quamlibet fpeciofa et fanta fit, coram ipfo nihil eft, adeoque abominatio et naufea. Quæ legis prædicatio dicitur. Poftea nobis gratiam denunciari facit, nempe, quod non in univerfum nos damnatos et rejectos velit, fed in fuo dilecto filio fufcipere, Qua evangelii prædicatio dicitur. -- Quum jam prima prædicatio, videlicet legis prædicatio procedit, quomodo fcilicet cum omnibus operibus noftris damnati fimus, tum homo ad Deum fufpirat, et nefcit against the true meaning of it. Then, as I have faid, and as it appears by the example given, you must first propofe the difficulty, and then remove it; and fo give a clear sense of the text. The fame method must be taken, when texts are misunderstood, and grofs and pernicious errors induced. In fuch a cafe, first reject the erroneous fense, and (if neceffary.) even refute it, as well by reafons taken from the text, as by arguments from other topics, and at length establish the true fenfe. Take for example, John xvi. 12. I have yet many things to fay unto you: but ye cannot bear them now. You must begin by propofing and rejecting the falfe fenfes, which fome ancient heretics gave of these words. They faid, Jefus Christ spoke here of many unwritten traditions, which he gave his difciples by word of mouth after his refurrection. (6) An argument which the church of Rome nefcit quid de rebus fuis facturus fit, malam et trepidam confcientiam contrahit, et nifi tam cito auxilium adeffet æternum ipfi defperandum foret. Quare altera prædicatio non longe differenda eft, evangelion ipfi prædicandum, et ad Chriftum via demonftranda, quem nobis pater mediatorem dedit, ut per illum folum falvi fiamus, ex mera gratia et mifericordia, citra omnia noftra opera et merita. Tum cor bilarum fit, et ad talem gratiam fe proripit, ficut fitiens cervus ad aquam currit. Lutheri Poftilla, ter. quart. pentecof. in Joan. vi. (6) Some heretics fay, Chrift has borrowed to colour her pretended traditions. After you have thus proposed the false sense, and folidly refuted it, pafs on to establish the true, ipforum apoftolorum fcriptis dijudicari; et traditiones pontificiorum hodiernas non effe apoftolicas, &c. In vita Beza, p. 216. By the word tradition the Roman church underftands do&rines, precepts, and ceremonies. Those traditions, which are not contained in the holy fcriptures, are called unwritten. They call fome apoftolical, others ecclefiaftical, &c. On this ground they place infant-baptifm, the doctrine of ecclefiaftical orders, the worshipping of images, the keeping of Lent, &c. They give a rule of S. Auguftine for their definition of unwritten tradition. Ad traditiones certo inveftigandas valet regula S. Auguftini." "Id certiffime credatur ex apoftolica traditione defcendere, quod in omni ecclefia fervatur, nec in aliquo concilio inftitutum, fed femper fervatum et retentum eft." Auguft. de bapt. iv. 24. Suarez, de legib. lib. vii. cap. 4. de leg. non fcript. Bellarmini op. tom. iii. lib. ii. cap 7. de milla. (De purgatorio, peccato originali, parvulifque baptizandis, vide Bel. tom. ii. lib.i. cap. 15. de purgat.) This is, as a learned Jefuit calls it, xgingtor traditionis and apoftolicæ difcernandi; and this, as he elsewhere fays, is the palladium of the Catholic hierarchy. Nihil hæretici frequentius objicere folent, quam nullum in facris libris extare mandatum, exemplum que nullum. Catholici, exadverfo, tametfi fcripturæ quoque teftimonio niti se docent, maximum tamen in veteri ecclefia ritu, et aɣgaḍw Tagadose, hoc eft, non fcriptis expreffa traditione, præfidium collocant. Petavii op. de theol. dog. tom. iii. hierarch. 1. 2. 7. de apoft. trad. Id. tom. i. lib. ii. 6. de trinitat. From this fort the reformers drove the catholics, and had they deftroyed it, they would have done infinite fervice to the cause of religion: but alas! it was tenable, they occupied it themselves, and they laid a foundation for future theological wars, by declaring, "The church hath power to decree rites and ceremonies." In vain they added, "If the decrees be agreeable to fcripture ;" for only the legiflators judge of that. The right of legiflation in the church belongs to Jefus Chrift alone. The holy fcriptures are his code of laws. If this book be perfect, and fufficient, as all proteftants fay it is, there is no need of additions, and fhew what were the things, which Jefus Chrift had yet to fay to his difciples, and which they could not then bear. I would advise the fame method for all difputed texts. Hold it as a maxim, to begin to open the way to a truth by rejecting a falfehood. Not that it can be always done; fometimes you must begin by explaining the truth, and afterwards reject the error; because there are certain occafions, on which the hearers minds must be pre-occupied, and because alfo, truth well propofed and fully established, naturally destroys error: but, notwithftanding this, the most approved method is to begin by rejecting error. After all, it must be left to a man's judgment when he ought to take thefe different courfes. (7) There quas tangendi artifex, ut non fibimet ipfi diffimile canticum faciant, diffimiliter pulfat. Et idcirco chorde confonam modulationem reddunt, quia uno quidem plectro, fed non uno impulfu feriuntur. Unde et doctor quifque ut in una cunctos virtute charitate ædificet, ex una doctrina, non una eademque exhortatione corda tangere audientium debet. Gregor. paftor. pars iii. prolog. and there is more frn in an ufurpation of the authority of the fon of God, than most men imagine. "De facrilegio, quod ab eo committi tur, qui in Chrifti jura involat, res eft facilis demonftratu." Vide Thef. theol. Amyrald. de perfect. fcript.jac. nec non ejufd. de ecciefiæ capite. (7) A man's judgment must difcern his proper courfe. True; for, without this difcernment, no rules can direct. A learned Danish profeffor aptly fpeaks a pontiff of Rome, of divinity, writing on this Pro qualitate audientium for- article, directs his pupils to mari debet fermo doctorum, propofe fome preacher, who ut et fua fingulis congruant, excels in the pulpit, as a moet tamen a communis ædifica- del for them to imitate. In tionis arte nunquam recedat. this he agrees with Tully and Quid enim funt intenta men- Quintilian, the last of whom tes auditorum, nifi (ut ita fays, Oratorem fibi aliquem dixerim) quædam in cithara eligat, quem fequatur, quem tenfiones frate chordarum ?imitetur. Sit certaminis, Very There are texts of explication, in which the difficulty arifes neither from equivocal terms, nor from the different fenfes, in which they may be taken, nor from objections, which may be formed against them, nor from the abufe, which heretics have made of them: but from the intricacy of the Subject cui deftinatur, frequens fpectator. Inft. x. 5. Our profeffor adds the following rules and cautions, in regard to imitation. 1. Let not a young gentleman confine himself to one model: but let him endeavour to acquire the excellencies of all. If he take Cicero for his chief example, Quid tamen noceret vim Cæfaris, afperitatem Calii, diligentiam Pollionis, judicium Calvi, quibufdam in locis affumere ? 2. Let him diftinguifh and avoid the faults of the beft examples; for labuntur aliquando, et oneri cedunt, et indulgent ingeniorum fuorum voluptati. Nec femper intendunt animum, et nonnunquam fatigantur. 3. Let him avoid a fervile fuperftitious imitation of excellencies, for many things owe their propriety and beauty to circumstances of time, place, perfons, &c. which in the abfence of these circumstances would be ridiculous. 4. Let him not affect to imitate beyond bis own genius, Ut enim fua cuique facies eft, ita fuum cuique ingenium eft, quod ab aliis exprimi non poteft per omnia. 5. Let him cherish a noble emulation, and propofe nothing lefs than to excel all his predeceffors. He adds alfo, from Erasmus, De concionandi ratione, Let him hear sometimes the vorft preachers. Quo magis appareat, quid deceat, quid non deceat. Hoc vid. confilio folebant Lacedemonii Helotas fuos ebrios adhibere conviviis, et ad barbaricas conciones, et ridiculas faltationes adigere, quo magis adolefcentes ingenui, confpecta turpitudine, a fervilibus moribus abhorrerent. Jac. Matthis doct. de concionandi ratione, tom. i. After all rules and examples, then, a man must be left, in a thousand inftances, to his own judgment, and the end of examples and rules is to form the judgment: not to confine it, nor to render it unneceffary, and useless. If a man without any dif cernment apply his rules alike to different fubjects, or to the fame fubjects on different occafions, or indifcriminately to different perfons, he would ufe his rules juft as Shakefpear's fool ufed his dial. He |