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country, and there they make it their business to set people together by the ears, and to spy out the nakedness of their country, and divers others such conceits. And so the play went on, with divers other remarkable passages spoken by the actors, all against them. And I cannot imagine how this came into their heads, unless it be to tell the world to their teeth, that they know what folks talk and think of them; and that they value no man a farthing for it."

Father Paul's Letters, p. 326,
Venice, 1612.

No. CCLXXV. Jesuits Ontwitted.

"At Palermo these sweet fathers have met with a pretty accident. A certain wealthy gentleman died there, that was hugely devoted to them; and having made his will, and left his only son and those fathers together, his heirs, making them his executors, with a

power of dividing the estate as they pleased, and of giving the son what they should see convenient; the fathers have divided it all into ten parts, and fairly given one part to the son, and kept the other nine for themselves. The son hereupon has made his complaint to the Duke of Ossuna (the viceroy) of this great inequality; who hearing both parties, has made good the division that the Jesuits made of the whole estate; but changing the terms, has ordered that the nine parts do (by the will) belong to the son, and one part (and no more) to the fathers, because they were to give him what ploused them."

The Same, p. 326.

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BIBLICAL CRITICISM.

July 27th, 1816. Observations on MATT. xi. 27. HERE MYSTERY exists, there

compared together. This being done, if a single text can be produced which asserts the mysteriousness of any re

again, wealed

in points which are revealed there can be no mystery. If the sun burst on us in his splendour, darkness is immediately put to flight. To speak of the mysteries of Revelation, is at once to employ phraseology as incorrect as can well be conceived, and to arraign the Divine wisdom, goodness and fidelity in the doctrine of the Gospel. It is to say that God, having professed to give mankind the most important knowledge respecting himself, and the designs which he executes by Jesus Christ, has, nevertheless, failed of his intention, has withholden what, according to the persons whom I have in view, is yet essential to be believed; inasmuch as without the belief of it we can have no salvation.

The question concerning this supposed alliance of mystery with Revelation, may be brought within a short compass and to an easy issue. Let all those passages of Scripture where the word mystery occurs be collected and

tract as erroneous my opinion on the utter irreconcilableness of the term mystery with the term revelation.

"What then, it may be asked, is the import of the passage to which reference is

made at the head of this paper? Must we not pronounce it somewhat favourable to the notion that even Revelation has its mysteries? So it may be thought, when torn away from it's context, when interpreted by readers whose minds have received a bias from human creeds: so it will not be considered after it has been thoroughly examined.

As error is best confuted by the establishment of truth, I begin with endeavouring to ascertain the just sense of our Lord's declaration, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

The Gospel was rejected by numbers

Observations on Matt. xi. 27.

of those to whom it had been first of fered, and especially by the leading persons in the Jewish nation, by the sect who possessed the chief honour and influence among them. It was a consolation however to the benevolent mind of Jesus Christ that some of the lower classes of the people had received his doctrine with willing hearts, and that he could look forward to the further diffusion of it, particularly beyond the limits of Judæa. On this account, he, accordingly, presented to the God whom he worshipped the following devout acknowledgment: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent," from men who are such in their own conceit," and hast revealed them unto babes," to persons of humbler attainments and pretensions, and of teachable dispositions" Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." Here it is observable that our Lord expressly distinguishes between what is hidden and what is revealed and to this admirable devotional address succeeds the declaration, "all things, &c. &c."

:

From this reference of the passage to it's connexion, we learn that Jesus is speaking throughout of the designs of the Father, and of the instrumentality and commission of the Son, in the scheme of the Gospel.

Let us now consider somewhat more minutely the words themselves:

"All things," all matters relative to the Christian dispensation, all persons of every nation, who are to be the subjects of it," are delivered unto me of my Father," committed unto me by God, the only possessor of underived and essential power: or, as the same fact is expressed, John iii. 35,

the

Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." "And no man knoweth the Son," or is as yet acquainted with the comprehensive object of his office," but the Father," who putteth the times and seasons in his own power, and worketh according to the counsel of his own will: "neither knoweth any man the Father," no one is in possession of the extent of the plans of Divine grace, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him;" which latter sentiment is illustrated and supported by our Lord's words in John vi. 46-- not that any man hath seen the Fathersave he who is of God, he hath seen

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the Father'

533

where the term seen

is manifestly equivalent with known. To justify this exposition, which, in it's principle, agrees with Dr. S. Clarke's, and with Rosenmuller's,t it may be remarked that in the New Testament persons are not unfrequently denoted by the word things, as in 1 Cor. i. 27, 28; that the Father is the appropriate name of God under the dispensation of the Gospel, and expressive of his parental relation to all mankind; that the Son is a title of office; that nothing is more common than to state general propositions in an absolute form; and that the concise modes of speech in use among the Eastern people admit and receive light from the occasions and the subjects in respect of which they are employed.

The true sense then of the passage before us I take to be the following, 'that at the time when these words were uttered, no one, but the Father, the only God, knew the extent of our Saviour's commission, including, as it really did, the whole human race; and, on the other hand, that no man save the Son, none but Jesus Christ, possessed a knowledge of the merciful designs of the Father being thus unlimited

-although it was a truth which the Messiah had the privilege of communicating at his pleasure. How well this interpretation accords with facts, and with our Lord's character and circumstances, it is unnecessary to represent.

Of a double meaning the passage does not appear to be susceptible. Consequently, if I have succeeded in ascertaining it's just signification, all other paraphrases of it must be erro

neous.

If, for example, any persons will infer from these words that the nature or the essence of the Father and of the Son are known mutually to themselves, and to those who are favoured with this knowledge by Jesus Christ, let such expositors be informed that they substitute their own imaginations for the language and the meaning of the Bible. The Bible does not profess to instruct us in the essence of the Deity, but declares that he is a perfect spirit, and conveys to mankind the most valuable knowledge with regard to his character,

* A Paraphrase, &c. in loc:
+ Scholia in N. T. in loc :
Hammond, &c. in loc:

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534

Supplementary Remarks on the Priesthood of Christ.

Racovian Catechism;* a manual which, I hope, will soon be more extensively known among my readers, and from which I shall now make two extracts on a subject to which their attention has lately been directed:+

government and will. And of the of his characters, is adopted in The great Messiah, the Mediator of the covenant of the Gospel, it invariably speaks as the man Christ Jesus; never even intimating that his nature and person are mysterious, and certainly holding forth no such intelligence in the sentences on which I am commenting.

Further; It ought not to be concluded from the last clause, he to whosoever the Son will reveal him,' that Jesus communicates to any of his followers a private or individual revelation of the nature or the mind of God. This mistake is very current, and tends to produce in some men spiritual pride, in others religious despondency. It is a public revelation which our Lord here mentions; one that was made in part by his own instrumentality, in part by that of his apostles. There are two passages in the New Testament with which the words before us ought especially to be compared: John i. 18, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father," i. e. who has a compleat acquaintance with the Divine. counsels for the salvation of the world, "he hath declared him :" Matt. xiii. 16, 17, "—verily, I say unto you that blessed are your eyes, &c.; for many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them."

So far therefore is the phraseology which has been the subject of these remarks from stating or implying the existence of a mysterious union between the Father and the Son that it declares a plain and most interesting truth: I mean, the concurrence of God and Christ as to the grand objects and vast extent of the Christian Revelation; a truth particularly valuable to those professors of the Gospel who are of Gentile parentage!

N.

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"was he [Christ] not a priest till he entered into the heaven? not when he hung upon the cross?"

"A. At no hand; for, as you heard even now, the divine author to the Hebrews, ch. viii. 4, expressly saith that if Christ were upon the earth, he would not be a priest. Besides, forasmuch as the same author testifieth that Christ ought in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a faithful and merciful high priest to God ward, it is evident that until he had been made like unto his brethren in all things, that is in afflictions and death, he was not our merciful and faithful high priest."

The following question and answer, deserve the notice of careful inquirers into the sense of Scripture:

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Why doth the Scripture, treating of Christ's priesthood, say that he intercedeth for us?"

"A. Both that the care which Christ takes of our salvation might, by the requests which he is said to make to God, appear to us; and also that the prerogative and eminency of the Father above Christ might remain entire and inviolate."

Here the compiler of the Catechism alludes to Heb. vii. 24, 25. But the word intercession, which occurs in that passage, does not necessarily and exclusively import the act of offering supplications for the welfare of others. It is a term of very extensive signification, and means the management of the concerns of our fellow men.

The intercession of Christ, therefore, is not his pleading with offended justice, or his interposing to avert Divine wrath it is a part of his mediation or ministry as the APPOINTED Messenger of God and Saviour of mankind; and thus, in the language of this Catechism, it illustrates "the prerogative and eminency of the Father."

N.

Translated into English. Amsterdam, 1652. pp. 163, &c. Catechesis Ecclesiarum Polonicarum. 325, &c.

†M. Repos. XI. 402, 403.

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REVIEW.

Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame.”—POPE.

ART. I.—An Essay on the Existence of a Supreme Creator, possessed of Infinite Power, Wisdom and Goodness: containing also the Refutation from Reason and Revelation of the Ob'jections urged against his Wisdom and Goodness; and deducing from the whole Subject the most important Practical Inferences. By William Laurence Brown, D.D. Principal of Marischal-College and University of Aberdeen, &c. &c. 2 vol. 8vo. pp. 782. Hamilton.

the consideration of the objections to the two latter, arising from the existence of natural and moral evil; and the Third comprehends the solution given to these difficulties by Revelation, especially by the Gospel, together with some Practical Inferences deducible from the speculative part of the Essay.

After some observations on the meaning of the terms Necessary Existence, Cause and Effect, the author arranges his proofs of the existence of God into the metaphysical proof; the

WE opened this book with consi- proof from design; from the constitu

derable expectation. After the great minds which have engaged in the investigation of the subject of which it treats, the number and importance of the facts which they have left upon record relative to it, and the variety and beauty of the illustrations with which they have adorned it; though we did not anticipate much that was new, yet we did allow ourselves to hope that the benevolent and pious bequest of Mr. Burnett would call forth a work of ability and usefulness, possessing at least closeness of reasoning and clearness of illustration-a work which the philosopher might read with pleasure, and the theological student and the general reader with profit. When we heard that the prize had been adjudged to the Essay of the Principal of MarischalCollege, we were still willing to believe that our expectation was well founded: page after page, notwithstanding the misgivings which soon began to gather on our minds, we clung fondly to this hope, trusting that the author would rise with the interest and importance of the subject;-but after having read to the end, we closed the book with the melancholy regret that the munificence of the worthy founder of this prize should only have added another proof to the sad catalogue which shows that the best efforts of benevolence are doomed in this world to disappoint

ment.

The Reverend Principal divides his Essay into Three Books. The First treats of the Evidence of the Being of God; the Second of his Perfections, namely, his Power, Wisdom and Goodness, and enters particularly into

tion of the faculties of the human mind; from the almost universal assent of mankind to the truth of this opinion; from the appearances which the world exhibits of a recent origin, and the traditions concerning it; and from the testimony of Scripture.

The metaphysical proof stated originally by Clarke with an acuteness and force, which, notwithstanding an extreme prolixity, and even when his arguments fail to produce conviction, awe the mind into veneration of the strength and profoundness of the understanding that conceived them, is here given without closeness and without ability: it extends through nearly thirty pages with an uncommon feebleness; it has scarcely the strength of the echo of an echo; and in the very midst of an argument which supposes the greatest precision and accuracy, there occur such affirmations as the following:

the existence of mind as a substance entirely "We have evidence equally strong for distinct from the body, as we have for the existence of this last, and of its peculiar properties, namely, consciousness and the internal perception of our mental energies, as entirely distinct from any quality of matter. Nay, perhaps this evidence is stronger than that of our external senses, by which we ascertain corporeal substance and the properties belonging to it."-P. 64.

And again:

"Nor in reality is it more difficult to admit the creation of matter, that is, its original production, than the production of any thing which did not exist before. The only difference lies in the superior power required and in the nature of the effects.

536

Review.-Brown's Prize Essay.

To all genius a species of creative power, that is, a faculty of producing something new is ascribed. A fine statue is indeed hewn out of a block of marble; but where were the beauty, the symmetry, the proportion and exquisite composition which the statue displays?"

Again:

"In fact, if the case be accurately examined, it displayed perhaps a greater exertion of divine power to superinduce on rude, uninformed matter, that symmetry, beauty and admirable construction which the universe exhibits, than to call into being the chaotic mass."-Pp. 70. 72.

So that according to the learned Principal, it is more difficult to conceive how a beautiful statue should be hewn out of a block of marble, than how marble itself should be produced out of nothing.

The proof of the being of God, from the manifestation of design in the works of nature, is in itself complete and decisive. On this rock the Theist may take his stand; and it is not possible for all the artifice which human ingenuity can employ, to shake for a moment the firm foundation of his faith. Wherever there is design there must have been a designer; wherever there is contrivance there must have been a contriver. This simple argument is level to the comprehension of every capacity; and to him who is worthy of the name of a philosopher, it appears with an evidence which is absolutely irresistible. Show to any rational being a piece of mechanism, explain to him how one part is adapted to another, and how all the various parts are fitted to bring about some one particular result; and he must admit the existence of a wisdom to conceive and of a power to execute that result. If he affirm that he does not, all reasoning must be at an end with him; for it is no longer possible to hold an argument with a person who declares that he does not perceive the relation between what is admitted to be contrivance and what is termed a contriver. In the great controversy therefore between the Theist and the Atheist, the only question of real importance is-Are there or are there not indications of design in the works of nature? Doctor Brown says there are, and he refers in general to several things in evidence of the fact, but he does not prove the fact. He does not give, and he does not attempt to give any illustration of it, any in

stance which brings it home to the understanding with irresistible persuasion, and upon which the mind may rest in those moments of doubt and difficulty which sometimes come to all. Nothing it is true was more easy; it had indeed been perfectly done before; but Paley by no means exhausted the subject; and if Doctor Brown did not chuse to repeat what this admirable writer has said about the structure of the valves of the human heart, or the ligament attached to the head of the thigh bone, all nature was open before him-the sublime and most interesting adaptations of objects to each other on the most magnificent and on the humblest scale with which chemistry has made us acquainted; the structure of the simplest flower or the formation and the fall of the dew of heaven that ministers to its sustenance. And the omission to state in detail at least some one of those striking and wonderful adaptations with which by the light of philosophy we know that every part of nature abounds, and the simple statement of which baffles the sceptic and silences his sophisms in the same manner as the philosopher by the act of walking silenced the sciolist_who_endeavoured to persuade him that there was no such thing as motion in the world, appears to us to be a capital defect, because it is neglecting by far the most convincing argument in support of the truth, for the clear and popular illustration of which the prize was instituted.

In the next chapter Doctor Brown, wonderful as it may seem, endeavours to prove the existence of God from the immateriality of the soul. Now without entering into the dark and difficult dispute which has been agitated about the nature of matter and of mind, we are humbly of opinion that no judicious person who has at all attended to that controversy, or who is even acquainted with the opinions of Metaphysicians and Theists in the present age, would have ventured to ground such a truth upon such a basis. But indeed there is in every part of this work a looseness, an inattention to the strict accuracy of the statements, the appositeness of the illustrations, the proper selection and the judicious application of the arguments, which take from it all its value as a philosophical, and much, very much, of its usefulness as a popular work. What is to be thought of the

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