CHRISTIAN OBSERVER. No. 14. FEBRUARY, 1803. [No. 2. VOL. II. Religious Communications. ACCOUNT OF IGNATIUS. Tit. Peters Bishop of the Church HIS_ apostolical man succeeded of Antioch, about the year of Christ 70. By Eusebius he is represented as second, but by Jerom as third in the succession. Both accounts may nevertheless be true, as the one historian might reckon inclusively, and the other not. Ignatius appears to have been his original name; though he seems to have assumed that of Theophorus when he became a Christian. Of his birth and parentage nothing is known: that he was an Asiatic, there can be no doubt, and he was probably a Syrian. Though he occupied, during the time of Domitian's persecution, the conspicuous and dangerous station from which he was afterwards called to martyrdom, Ignatius was preserved by Divine Providence to act his part on a nobler theatre than Antioch, from which it is probable that he would not have been removed, had he been called to suffer at the former period. But an interview with Trajan at that place, which was sought by Ignatius in expectation of averting the Emperor's displeasure from the Church in general, by turning it upon himself, produced in its consequences several of the most memorable and edifying circumstances in ecclesiastical story. For to this interview is owing a very interesting conference between the Emperor and the Martyr; a sentence to the wild beasts at Rome, pronounced by Trajan in person; the particulars of a long and trying journey to that capital; of an interview by the way with Polycarp and his brethren, at Smyrna; and, lastly, the Epistles of Ignatius to the Seven Churches of Asia, dictated as his dying exhortations, and containing an original portrait both of the state of his own soul, and of their respective situations at that early period. His conference with Trajan was retrieved by Abp. Usher, from an ancient martyrology, which CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 14, and is at least free from those symp bears strong marks of authenticity, toms of fraud and imposture, which too often disgrace that species of ancient narrative. The first address of the Emperor to the Bishop of Antioch, proves how much the native mildness of his temper was warped by religious prejudice. Impious wretch! who fearest not to break our laws in thine own person, and even labourest to entangle others in the same snare. Ign. Theophorus ought not to be called impious, for evil spirits no longer dwell in the servants of God. But if you call me impious because of my enmity to those spirits, I freely own the charge. For by the assistance of Christ, the heavenly king, I have broken all their snares, Emp. Who is this Theophorus ? Ign. The man who hath Christ dwelling in him. Emp. And do not the gods reside in us also, when they give us victory against our enemies? Ign. You greatly err in calling dæmons by the name of gods. For there is no God but one, the God who made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are therein, and one Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, whose kingdom I pray may be my inheritance. Emp. What! The kingdom of that man who was crucified under Pilate? Ign. Yes: his kingdom, who nailed to his cross my sin with its father, and hath subjected all the wiles and malice of Satan to those who bear HIM in their heart. Emp. Dost thou then profess to bear him within thee? Ign. Doubtless I do; for it is written," I will dwell with them, and walk in them." This bold confession produced the intended effect, and Trajan, who considered Ignatius as the ringleader of a dangerous and fanatical sect, inI stantly pronounced upon him the following sentence. "Ignatius having confessed that he bears within himself the man who was crucified, we command that he be carried by a band of soldiers to Rome, there to be exposed to wild beasts.” Such and so terrible was the sentence drawn forth by a confession which, in any other cause than that of Christ, would have produced in a mind like that of Trajan nothing more than a mixture of pity and contempt. It has been doubted, and with some reason, who is meant by Theophorus in the foregoing dialogue. It should seem from the general turn of the passage, to mean the Christian in general, and so the earlier ecclesiastical writers seem to have taken it: but the later Greeks, from Theodoret down ward, understand it as an assumed name of Ignatius himself. The controversy is scarcely worth a decision. The Emperor's commands would not long be delayed: we may imagine, though they have never been related, the many tender and edifying circumstances which would attend the last parting of Ignatius from his family, his friends, and his flock. He was first conducted to Seleucia, and thence coasted along to Smyrna, where he was indulged in an interview with Polycarp, and many other eminent Christians. Nor was his departure greatly hastened; for of the seven Epistles of Ignatius which have come down to us, four were written from this place, and shew that the writer wanted neither time nor leisure when he wrote them. The cause of Ignatius was adopted by all the Asiatic Churches: all sympathized in his sufferings, or anticipated his triumph. Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, flocked to Smyrna, to have a last interview with the martyr, and his instructions were received with that peculiar reverence which always accompanies the last words of those who devote themselves for the truth. Yet all these demonstrations of applause and veneration had no improper effect on a mind humbled at once and fortified by divine grace: "For though I am in bonds," saith he, " for the name of Christ, I am not yet perfected in him. It is but now that I begin to be his disciple, and I want to be supported by you in faith and patience. These sentiments ought to have had greater weight with the martyrs of later times, some of whom appear to have been actuated in a very improper degree by the love of that applause which is sure to accompany every species of heroism from its own partizans. But this season of refreshment and mutual joy must come to an end; his keepers probably endangered their own safety by delay, and Ignatius was conveyed to Troas: here, however, another comfort awaited him; as he was met by intelligence that the persecution of his flock at Antioch had ceased. Here also he met with the same tokens of affectionate regard from the neighbouring Churches, which he had experienced at Smyrna; and here Providence indulged him with a second interval of leisure to write three other Epistles. I suspect this indulgence to have been immediately providential, as nothing but unfavourable winds and weather could have procured any farther intermission of his journey, when the spectacles at Rome were approaching, and it was now more than possible that he might arrive too late. Neither did Ignatius study delay: on the contrary, he seems to have precipitated his fate, and to have prevented the means of his own safety with an anxiety for death, not altogether to be approved, and certainly not authorized either by the conduct of Christ or St. Paul. From that part of the European coast, which is opposite to the Troad, the martyr and his company now journied over land through Macedonia and Epirus. They next embarked on the Ionian sea, and instead of landing at any of the ports on the Adriatic, coasted round the southern parts of Italy, and doubled, as appears, the promontories of Pachynuin and Lilybaeum in Sicily. Turning to the north, after a long course, they came in view of Puteoli, which instantly reminding Ignatius of St. Paul, his great forerunner in the same race, he was desirous of landing there, but was prevented by a storm which suddenly arose, and hurried him nearer to the place of his martyrdom. Ignatius disembarked at Ostia, where he was met by some Christian brethren, who were anxious for his preservation, and were willing in this last extremity to exert their little influence to effect it. But Trajan was now on the confines of Parthia, and what subordinate magistrate would dare to suspend the execution of the imperial sentence? Neither did Ignatius wish,, nor would have consented to its suspension. On his arrival at Rome, he was brought before the Prefect of the city, and soon after led to execution, attended by many of the Roman Christians in person, and by the prayers of all the rest. He also prayed to the son of God for the peace of all the Churches, for the continuance of unity and love, and for an end of that severe persecution. Nothing but the last trial of his faith and patience now remained; he was exposed to the wild beasts: his sufferings appear to have been short, as his consummation was triumphant. His body was so nearly devoured, that a few bones only were left, which the attendants collected with care, and conveyed for interment to Antioch, A decent respect to the remains of illustrious sufferers, of which this is the first instance in ecclesiastical history, soon degenerated into a base and abject superstition.. To the Editor of the Christian Observer, As you profess to admit biblical criticisms, the following remarks on the 50th psalm are at your service, if you think them worthy of a place in your respectable miscellany. In the interpretation of scripture, the cardinal rule is first to endeavour to be fully acquainted with the general design and scope of the sacred writers. The subordinate parts need not at first be accurately studied: they require only to be considered as throwing light upon the main purport of the writer, in cases where, as in many of the sacred writings, that purport is to be collected solely from the intrinsic evidence. But when they have served this purpose, and discovered the general design of the writer, or explained the probable occasion upon which he wrote, they should then be distinctly reconsidered, with a special view in each paragraph, as far as it will bear, to that design or occasion. A light will thus be thrown upon passages otherwise obscure; a new meaning will often be given to sentences which, considered as detached, might have had a very differ ent sense imposed on them. In a word, the connection of the writer must be studied, and the unity of his design, as far as the subject extends, be maintained unbroken. By not paying a sufficient attention to this rule, many commentators have, I conceive, destroyed the harmony, and even mistaken, the sense of the sacred penmen. In the psalm before us, they have, if I am not deceived, weakened its force, and defaced its beauty, by representing it as containing a number of prophetic truths, important indeed, but connected with each other by no very strict bond of association; instead of considering it as a whole, the several parts of which are all united to each other by the closest connexion. Thus they tell us, one part seems to describe the day of judgment, another relates to the promulgation of the Gospel, here the abolition of the Jewish sacrifices is intimated, and there the punishment of hypocrisy in religion is foretold. To me, Sir, I own, this psalm presents no such various or distant meanings. It seems to possess a complete unity of subject, which the author a dorns by a most beautiful and maglivens by spirited and convincing apnificent display of scenery, and enpeals to the understanding. Every sentence, every word in it, bears an immediate reference to the main subject; a subject certainly of the first importance to the whole human race, viz. the readiness of God to hear and answer the prayers of his creatures in distress. Under this view, let us examine the structure and parts of the whole. *The mighty God, even Jehovah, speaks; and calls the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Sion in perfection of glory, God shineth. Our God cometh; and will not keep silence. A consum ing fire goes before him, and round him rages a violent tempest. He calleth the heavens from above, and the earth, that he may contend in judg ment with his people. Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice, and the heavens shall declare his righteous-, ness; for God is judge himself. * Some liberty has been taken with the translation, which is partly justified by Bishop Lowth's version, and partly by the evident signification of the place. AND PAY THY VOWS UNTO THE MOST HIGH, AND CALL UPON More magnificent imagery cannot THANKSGIVING, be conceived than that, which is presented in the opening of this psalm. The mighty God, whose power enables him to accomplish whatever he pleases in heaven or in earth, even Jehovah, known particularly under that title as a God propitious to his creatures, speaks, and summons together all the inhabitants of the earth; for the subject of his discourse is of equal concernment to all, from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. It is before Sion that the scene is laid; before Sion, illustrious for so many remarkable interpositions of divine deliverance, so many rich displays of pity and benignity to man; Sion, where the visible Shechinah had long been a wonderful testimony of God's dwelling amongst men as their friend and father; where God was well known in her palaces as a sure refuge: Before Sion, the countless multitude was assembled. They wait, and God approaches. He is arrayed with ensigns of majesty, which mark at once his right to the confidence of his people, and his power to fulfil the petitions they make unto him. He comes attended with legions of Angels from heaven Angels, the constant witnesses of the truth of his promises, and the readiness he has ever shewn to pity and succour the afflicted children of men. While the attention of this vast assembly is turned, in awful suspence, to the glorious being who appears in it, he commands his "saints," those who are more particularly connected with him by covenant, to separate from the mass of the ungodly, and to approach more nearly to his throne. These he first addresses. "Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. I do not reprove thee on account of thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings: they have been continually before me. I do not come to take any bullock out of thine house, or he-goats out of thy fold, for every beast of the forest is mine, and so are the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell thee, for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?-OFFER UNTO GOD Man is prone to superstition. Ignorant of the greatness and majesty of his creator, he is apt to think that God can be pleased with gifts, and delighted with the vain honours of incense and sacrifice. In all ages, man has been prone to believe, that something external, some rite or ceremony, possesses some intrinsic value in the eyes of the Lord of Hosts. The assembled multitude would, therefore, probably expect, that God had made this solemn appearance to institute some new rites, to demand hecatombs of sacrifices, or to require a more punctual performance of the stated solemnities of religion. This vain, this degrading idea of the deity, is fully refuted by the energetic language, in which is pointed out the utter inutility of all sacrifices to the creator of heaven and earth. By an irradiation of divine truth equally instructive and convincing, a just view of the nature of God and of the services he requires from man, is there conveyed; we perceive that it is for the benefit of man and not of God, the divine king holds communication with his creatures. That the name of God should impress man with the ideas of protection, of benignity, of watchful providence; that God has instituted every ceremonial of worship merely as the vehicle of bringing man nearer to his Maker, by adapt. ing, to the infirmity of sense, the spirituality of religion; that, in a word, "GOD IS THE FATHER" of his creatures, and will prove himself to be such to them, by the sensible test of delivering them when, placing their whole dependance upon him, they call upon him in trouble. It is CONFIDENCE, therefore, which God comes from heaven to claim. He requires his creatures in trouble to honour him by dependance upon his goodness and care: he enjoins them, when they are delivered from trouble, to ascribe (as they ought) that deliver, ance immediately to God, and to ho nour him by the offering of thanksgiving, and by paying the vows they made in their distress. The same superstition which is prone unduly to magnify the cerema, nials of religion, is equally apt to tax the deity with injustice and want of faithfulness to his promise, when he does not, in every instance, speedily relieve the distress of the afflicted in answer to their cries. Hence the reply, which would naturally be made to this express declaration of the readiness of God to answer prayer, is prevented and answered "We have called," the wicked will say, "upon the Lord in our trouble, and we have prayed to him earnestly, yet he has not delivered us." In how many sceptical minds does this objection possess a firm hold. Jehovah, therefore, vindicates the truth of his word, and exposes the vain presumption of the wicked, by explaining the nature of that prayer to which deliverance will be surely granted.. It is not the mere cry extorted by distress, which can be called prayer. The distinction between this and true prayer is forcibly stated in the prophet Hosea, ch.7.ver. 14. "They have not cried unto me when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine and they rebel against me." That humble confidence in God, which true prayer supposes is necessarily made up of veneration for his character, admiration of his perfection, gratitude for his kindness, and, of eourse, obedience to his commands. There is a connection, therefore, between true prayer and holiness of life necessary and inseparable: well would it be for the world if this connection were clearly understood. Multitudes would no longer deceive themselves, by kneeling down in the morning to repeat a form of prayer, from which they rise to neglect almost every precept of the Gospel. They would understand the meaning of those important, but neglected, words of St. John, 1 Epist. chap. iii.ver. 19. "Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him; for if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight." What the Apostle here declares, is the same truth which is inculcated in the latter part of the psalm before us. "But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth?" (as if I would afford thee the benefit of it without compliance with the terms it prescribes) seeing thou hatest instruction, and hast cast my words behind thee. When thou savest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with the adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frumeth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; yea, and hast slandered thy own mother's son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence, and thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this ye that forget God," (who offers now to be your friend and parent, but will prove your terrible judge, if you continue to forget him); "lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver." The divine speaker concludes with a suitable lesson of instruction to each of the divided classes: to his saints, he addresses this important maxim"WHOSO OFFERETH ME PRAISE," (not merely sacrifice) “HE GLORIFIETH ME;" to the rest, he delivers a caution equally instructive "To HIM THAT, (not only cries for help in distress, but) ORDERETH HIS CONVERSATION RIGHT, WILL I SHEW THE SALVATION OF GOD," will I manifest the deliverance I am intreated to effect. Many important inferences might be deduced from this interesting psalm; but I dare not trespass longer upon the time of your readers to mention them, and they are such as will occur to every devout reader of scripture, who endeavours to apply the word of God to his own practical benefit. Let me, however, briefly advert, Mr. Editor, to the numbers amongst your readers, who are suffering under the various trials incident to human life, and perhaps sorrowing as if they had no hope-my hearts bleeds for the case of the mourning widow, the desolate orphan, the parent bereaved of his children, the unfortunate bankrupt, and the miserable victim to agonizing pain, or to some incurable disease, who are sinking in despair without even the hope of reliefshould such unhappy persons take up this paper, let them know that there is yet hope for them; let them remember, that they have still a God, a father, whose tender mercies are over |