תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

not inquire diligently into the truth is, that he loves darkness rather than light. And will you not then come out of Babylon, my people? Will you go to the city of confusion, to learn there to confound truth and falsehood, right and wrong?

But to proceed with the danger of secret associations, a warning against them was sounded, in the year 1798, by two unexceptionable witnesses; the Abbé Barruel and Professor Robison. The former wrote to prove that these associations were the cause of the French Revolution; and the latter, that they were the cause of the corruption and apostasy exhibited in Germany at the same time, which rendered the German empire unable to stand against the arms of the flood of lawlessness. When I was at the university of Oxford, about the time of the death of the French king, I was myself invited to join a club of this dangerous nature, and I met the persons who belonged to it. After having heard them harangue upon justice, equality, and liberty, I put the following question to one of them:-Is it just that a man should honour his father more than he honours any indifferent person?The answer was, Certainly not just that he should honour his father more than he honours other persons. The Abbé Barruel alludes to this Oxford club, which, thank God, was soon discovered and suppressed. A friend of mine did attend their meetings, and informed me of what passed there. I have since been assured by an old Mason, a most respectable clergyman, that in his youth, he heard in the lodges commonly the phrases liberty and equality, before the French Revolution taught him the intention of the words. Another friend, high in this society, told me that Professor Robison might have written his book without betraying the secret of Masonry, which he had done.

Shortly after these works appeared, I asked the late Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Andrews, what he thought

of them. His answer was, I have compared Barruel and Robison together, and, by comparing their testimonies, feel certain that it is impossible that they can be false witnesses. The charges of Bishop Horsley and Bishop Pretyman, published in 1800, relating to these works, decidedly confirm them, and might seem even to pour the last vial upon the mystery of iniquity, and to say to darkness, It is done, but that we will decide for ourselves without examining duly questions which can be properly settled only by the closest examination of witnesses. But if these witnesses, Barruel and Robison, be true witnesses, what words can express the importance of the truths which they tell us! In these works we may contemplate the old serpent in all his operations to this hour, from the rising of the day-star of Reformation. It was necessary to oppose light by light; and for this purpose the Jesuits were established. At length the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, that last explosion of papal intolerance, either banished the French Protestants, or compelled them outwardly to conform to papal superstition. These latter, as Voltaire notes in his History of Louis XIV., propagated from father to son a rancorous hatred of the Church of Rome, and of the Bourbons in particular. These persons ceased to be Christians altogether, and by degrees formed those dreadful associations which turned the rivers of France into blood, poured the vial upon her sun, and proclaimed to Pius VI. on his throne, mene, tekel, peres. The Jesuits, in the mean time, being suppressed, joined the infidel associations, and introduced their secret organization into the system.

"The venomous reptile," says Barruel, "is often discovered by the stench of its poison: the beaten and blood-stained track leads to the discovery of the cavern inhabited by brigands. Very few years suffice to extend these tenebrous and myste

rious conquests. But the thunderbolts of Heaven warn mankind of their danger. Shrinking back, however, to its dark recesses, with unabating ardour, it crawls from den to den. The Jacobins have seduced nations by means of a subterraneous warfare of illusion, error, and darkness. Let the honest man oppose them with wisdom, truth, and light." (Vol. iv. pp. 3, 6, 560, 491.)

The sixth vial warns us of the speedy advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, and joins issue with the charge given to Laodicea, to maintain evangelical righteousness, until the end, to be pronounced in the beginning of the last vial. Witness, for the support and consolation of believers, what Rudd says, in his Essay on the Millennium:—

66

Hence upon pouring out of the sixth vial, and drying up of the river Euphrates, we are told that three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (Rev. xvi. 13: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.') These, as has been observed, are satan's instruments in the Roman and Turkish empires, and the other heathen kingdoms in the world; and their work, (as appears by the following verse, Rev. xvi. 14: For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty,') is to propagate heresies among the people, and stir up the nations of the earth against the Jews immediately, but in them against the whole church and interest of Christ. Now how exactly do these agree with the insects, creeping things, and the rest, created upon the former part of the sixth day. View them together, and see if they do not appear as a collection of the most venomous, bloody, voracious creatures.

What

can look more like Ezekiel's Gog army, as they are to be gathered together at Armageddon, and perish there under God's hand, to make way for the public establishment and glory of the spiritual kingdom?— Certain it is, the latter days, i. e. the days immediately preceding the deliverance of the church from all her avowed enemies, will be a time of great tribulation, such, says the prophet, as never was since there was a nation. (Dan. xii. 1: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.') If the Papacy in the West will make considerable efforts to preserve that life which remains in some of its branches, after the body of the beast is destroyed*; I mean, if after a Revolution in France, which (I take for the body of the beast) the other kingdoms in the papal interest will not give up without the hazard of a war, (though it must in the issue fall heaviest on themselves,) no more, we may be sure, will the Turk suffer the land of Canaan to be taken from him, and be quietly possessed by the Jews; but, as is probable, in conjunction with the Romans, rally all his forces, and employ all his cunning, to bring the kings of the earth over to his side, to make one general attempt against the Christian powers. The consequence of which is easy to be seen; namely, that the church will herein be exposed to the outrageous attempts of these lions and wolves. But then, after all, notwithstanding their natures are thus fierce, and their efforts so violent, the judgment shall sit, the kingdom or empire of the world be taken from them and given to the saints of the Most High. (Dan. vii. 26, 27: But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to Dan. vii. 11, 12.

consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.) This, I apprehend, is pointed out to us by the creation of Adam in the latter part of the sixth day. For as he was made lord of this lower world, and was to rule over all the creatures with which it was furnished; so he certainly therein was an eminent type of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that universal government he is to possess in the latter part of the sixth period. Then these tigers and wolves shall be as entirely subject to the Second Adam, as the literal brute beasts were to the first Adam in paradise. And as Adam, in his person and rule over the creatures, was a type of Christ, and his dominion over the world; so the woman who was made in, and taken from, Adam, was a type of the church, in her union with Christ, and the derivation of life from him. From whence this instance of analogy is observable, namely,-That whereas God finished his work, and did all that was necessary to complete the happiness of Adam, in the latter part of the sixth day; so Christ, in the close of the sixth period, will finish his work in this world, by completing the number of his elect, and bringing the church to perfection. So that the bride being made ready, (Rev. xix. 'Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready,') nothing remains but solemnizing the marriage."- Rudd's Essay on the Millennium, 1734, p. 388.

7:

Compare the following contemporaneous predictions:- Isaiah xi. 15, 16; xii.; Ezek. xxxviii. 19; xxxix. 7, 8; Daniel xi. 45; xii. 1; 2 Esd. xiii.; Luke xxi. 20; Zech. xii. 10, 11; and Rev. i. 7.

[blocks in formation]

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer. THE exposure of error naturally leads to the more easy reception of truth, and to establish the true interpretation of any doubtful passage of Scripture, it may be necessary not merely to rest it on its own proper grounds, but to shew the fallacy or incorrectness of other interpretations of the same passage, especially if they are plausible, or have been generally received. I therefore send, for insertion in your pages, the following remarks on the two interpretations of Gal. i. 7. cited in your note on the objection made by me to the common version, which version I maintained involves the Apostle in a contradiction. (See Christian Observer for November, p. 652.)*

• We of course offer no opinion of our own upon the interpretation of the passage; correspondents briefly to give from Poole, but it may facilitate the discussion by our (who copies Beza and other annotators) the main part of the comment to which D. M. P. alludes. Poole (or rather Beza) says "Quod non est aliud; x T aλλo. Ambrosius hoc non legit. Hieronymus vero duntaxat legit x est, quod non exsistit, sive quod nusquam est; ut habet etiam Syrus interpres...... Evangelium aliud per concessionem vocaverat versu præcedenti; id nunc corrigit, et declarat quo sensu id dixerat; scilicet non quod esset aliud Evangelium Christi, seu verum, sed adulteratum, &c. q. d. doctrina eorum quid à meo diversum afferunt, non est non est digna nomine Evangelii. QuicEvangelium, sed pseudo-Evangelium, magistris pseudo-apostolis congruens. Quod

66

These interpretations differ not essentially from one another. Both endeavour to remove the difficulty attending the clause "our or aAAo, which is not another," by considering it as a sort of parenthetic and abrupt exclamation of the Apostle, against the new Gospel into which they had been seduced, as not being the Gospel, according to the first interpretation, or, according to the second, as a Gospel without existence, or a mere nullity, as if the words of the clause had run thus ὁ ουκ εστι το ευαγγελιον, or supply ὁ ουκ εστιν.

Both demand an alteration of the text by the omission of aλλo; and the former requires also the addition or repetition of ευαγγελιον, for it lays the whole emphasis upon the word Gospel" Another Gospel did I say?" (to quote the words of those who adopt this interpretation as already cited in your pages:) "Alas! it deserves not the name; for it is not the Gospel."

Now on these interpretations I would observe

Ist, That so far from vindicating the common version of the clause in question, from the objection which I have made to it, they indirectly admit the full force of it, by having recourse to such a mutilation and transformation of the original text; for they do not in any way clear up the version as it now stands, but present us with a new version, which the text, it is plain, cannot admit, without such violence being committed upon it.

2dly, That for any such readings of the text there is no authority. The note intimates, indeed, that the word αλλο is omitted in some manuscripts; but as I find no various readings noticed by Griesbach, I conclude that no such manuscripts exist, or at least none of any weight.

3dly, That the omission of allo leaves the succeeding exceptive con

non est aliud, nisi nomine tenus." Dod

dridge says, "Is not in strict propriety another Gospel, nor worthy the name of Gospel at all."

junctions & un without a grammatical government, and renders the passage unintelligible; and this objection is, I think, quite conclusive against any such conjectural correction of the text. This objection may easily escape the notice of the English reader, because the English particle but, by which & un are rendered, may be taken either in an adversative or an exceptive sense, and in fact it appears to have an adversative sense in the passage before us, and is probably generally so taken. But the Greek particles ε μn are exclusively exceptive.

4thly, That the idea of retaining aλλo, but carrying it forward to the succeeding clause, though it may seem to obviate the foregoing objection, cannot, I think, be seriously entertained by any sober-minded scholar or critic; for it is not only harsh and unnatural, but transforms the Apostle's language into an unintelligible jargon: for how would the literal translation of his words then stand? Thus " I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another Gospel; which is not; another but there be some that trouble you." What is to be made of this?

But, 5thly, If we vary the words of the clause so as to admit of either of the foregoing interpretations, reading the passage thus," I marvel that ye are so soon removed ...... unto another Gospel; which is not the Gospel; (or, which has no existence;) but there be some that trouble you." Placed in this connexion the particle but has plainly an adversative sense, and therefore is no translation of ει μη.

On these grounds, it appears to me that the interpretations cited in the note are inadmissible. But I can surmise no rational ground of objection to the translation which I have ventured to offer to your readers: it requires no mutilation or change of the text, and as it obviates every seeming contradiction in the sense, so it affords the most

close and correct rendering of the On this latter point I ventured, in my former communication, to appeal to every respectable Greek scholar; but this appeal, I presume, in consideration for me, you omitted in committing my paper to the press*. I now, however, hesitate not again to make this appeal; and in truth the translation I have given appears to me to be so obviously the true one, that it has been great matter of surprise to me that it should not have presented itself to former critics; and allow me, in conclusion, to submit the passage thus rendered, to the eye of your readers, divested of paraphrase, that they may more easily compare it with the above:-"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel, which is no thing else but that there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ."

D. M. P.

FAMILY SERMONS.-No.CCXVII. 2 Cor. vi. 1. We beseech you, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

Is the conclusion of the former

chapter, St. Paul makes a very honourable representation of the mi

• It was merely for brevity's sake that our respected correspondent's appeal was omitted; the publication of his paper itself being, we considered, a sufficient appeal. Such appeals are appended to almost every article of Biblical criticism that reaches us, and we therefore generally elide them as superfluous.

The following sermon is abridged from an original discourse by Dr. Doddridge, lately given to the world with various others in 4 vols 8vo. Dr. Doddridge directed, in his will, that four volumes of sermons, including some "already transcribed in long hand," and others to be selected by Mr. Orton, and written out from the mass of his unpublished discourses in short hand, should be printed after his decease, by subscription, for the benefit of his family. A selection was accordingly made and written out for press; but the publication of the posthumous part of his Family Expositor appeared first to demand

nisterial office; which, though it essentially belongs to the Apostles, yet may, with a great deal of propriety, be applied to inferior officers. in the church of Christ: "They are ambassadors for Christ, and do beseech men in his stead that they would be reconciled to God." And, to persuade them to this, immediately before the text, he displays the riches of that grace which was revealed in the Gospel; and gives a summary account of the method of salvation by a Redeemer. "God," says he, " has made," or constituted, "him," that is, Christ, his own most beloved Son, "a sin-offering for us: though he knew no sin," though he never approved, nor loved, nor practised it, yet has God given him up to the punishment of it," that we might be made the righteousness of God in him;" that is, that we, upon his account, and with a regard to what he has done and suffered, might be accepted by God as righteous persons. Now, says the Apostle, when we have thus deit is our business, earnestly to enclared the method of Divine grace, treat you that ye would not reject it. "We, therefore, as workers together with him, beseech you

Mr. Orton's attention; and this having been printed by subscription, an immediate second application to the public was thought improper. Mr. Orton's health failing, the manuscript was left unpublished at his death, in 1783; and Mrs. Doddridge, into whose care it then fell, was prevented, by illness and other circumstances, from urging its publication. Similar causes have postponed its appearance to the present time; but none who value, and what Christian does not highly value? the works of Dr. Doddridge, will regret to learn that these discourses have been at length given to the world. It is out of our power to review, in detail, a tithe of the sermons which are published in this prolific age; and the sentiments and the style of Dr. Doddridge are too well known to render this necessary on the present occasion; but we have gladly availed ourselves of the best recommendation we can give to the work, by presenting to our readers, as a specimen, one of the discourses, with no alteration except such abridgment as was requisite to bring it within our limits as a family sermon.

« הקודםהמשך »