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offer any comment; I have merely wished to record some observations which appear to me worthy of a few remarks from some intelligent Christian critic.

1

SIR,

Mis

E.

August 6, 1823.

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of him. I cannot refrain from introducing one or two documents on the subject to which I have adverted.", (Mr. Gurney here referred to the phrase "Son of God," and to the manner in which it was understood by the Jews, maintaining the opinion that with them it implied divinity.). He proceeded: "I would call your attention to a remarkable passage in a R. BELSHAM, in Vol. II. of book called Zohar, a cabalistic ace his Commentary on Paul's, count of the transactions recorded in Epistles," feels a difficulty in seeing Genesis, a great part of which is the force of the reasoning of the very old, of about the third century, Apostle in 1 Cor. vi. 2: Do ye not a book of great importance among know that the saints will judge the Jews. I quote it on the authority of world? And if the world shall be judged the German critic Schotgen. In it, by you, are ye unworthy?"&c. May: Messiah is denominated in his preI be permitted to say, that I am rather existing character by the titles Je, surprised that he should feel this diffi hovah, Angel of God, Angel of the culty? Whatever be the meaning of Covenant, the Word of God, the Image the Apostle in the former clause of of God, the Lord of Hosts, the Son, the verse, viz. "Do ye not know that of God, the Son of the Highest, the the saints will judge the world?" he faithful Shepherd, Lord over things. alludes to an office superior in dignity below, Lord of all ministering An to that of the determination of civil gels.' In this book it is likewise said, cases amongst the brethren, and rea-. that the spirit of God moxed upon soning à fortiori, he urges upon thei the world in the beginning, and was the consideration, that if worthy of the spirit of King Messiah. The same the superior, they cannot be unworthy doctrine is plainly recognized in the of the inferior office. Now, this arJewish Targums, which are transla- gument seems perfectly clear. If a tions of the Hebrew Scriptures in the man be thought worthy of a higher Chaldaic, for the use of the Jews office, he cannot be thought unworthy after their return from Babylon, when of the lower. The lower office, it is they had forgotten their vernacular true, may be unworthy of him, though tongue. These recognize the same he be not unworthy of the office. But character in the word of God, who is it does not seem to have been insinuby them repeatedly identified with ated by the Corinthians, that the office Jehovah as being that personal exist of the determination of civil cases ence who is one with Jehovah, and amongst the brethren was an office by whom the wonderful works of God unworthy of them, and therefore the are carried into effect. By this word. Apostle does not combat that idea. of God was the world created, by him, It will not signify whether the Apostle were the children of Israel led into reasons in the above passage from his the wilderness. He it was who ap- own principles, or the principles of peared to Isaiah in the temple; and the C Corinthians only. The argument where the salvation of Israel is spoken is equally conclusive on either suppo of, it is particularly attributed to the sition. If the Corinthians thought, word of God. Thus when Hosca says, themselves worthy of the higher office, And Jehovah shall save his people the Apostle night well, ask them, by Jehovah, their God, the Targum, though he did not himself think the paraphrases it, Jehovah shall save, worthy of the higher, how they could his people by the word of Jehovah, be unworthy of the lower. Again, it their God." The speaker concluded, will not signify whether the higher by observing that he believed the office alluded to is one, in possession Jews never would be converted till or one only in reserve. Suppose it brought to recognize their degeneracy, one only in reserve, the conclusiveness in this point. On this opinion, so of the Apostle's argument may be different from that entertained by,, illustrated by the following similar Unitarians, it is not my design to one., Suppose I was desirous to press

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upon the rich members of a Christian congregation the propriety of condescension and courtesy to their poorer Christian brethren, I might reason in this manner, “Know ye not that your poor brethren will sit with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Jesus, in heaven, and if this be their destination, are they unworthy of your fellowship?" Here would be an argument similar to that of the Apostle. Here a claim to an inferior would be deduced from destination to a superior honour.

A distinction has been made between the reasonings of the apostles and the doctrines on which they are founded; and it has been contended, that the doctrines may be divine though the reasoning should be inconclusive. Now I admit that the divinity of doctrines is independent of the conclusiveness of reasonings. At the same time, however, it appears to me that there was a necessity for guarding the apostles from error in reasoning as well as from error in doctrine, and that, therefore, as whatever was necessary for the perfection of the Chris. tian dispensation would not be with holden from it, we may believe that the apostles were guarded from error in their reasonings as well as in their doctrines. If reasoning was necessary, the conclusiveness of reasoning must have been necessary. A necessity for reasoning is just the same thing as a necessity for conclusiveness of reasoning, and, therefore, if it was necessary for the apostles to reason, it was necessary for them to reason conclusively. Now, if reasoning had not been necessary, it would never have been used. It could be only a necessity for it that could suggest the adoption of it.

Perhaps, however, it will be said, that the mere statement of the doctrines upon the authority of God was sufficient that reasoning was no further necessary than as suitable to illustrate them that reasoning was advantageous rather than necessary, and that independently of it the bare word of God would have been enough to establish the respective doctrines of Christianity. Well, let the premises be narrowed, and let it be allowed that reasonings were only useful, not necessary in the strict sense of the word, it may still be asked, " Is it

likely that he who shed such a profusion of communications upon the pri mitive Christians, as we see somewhat exemplified in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, would refuse to guard an apostle from error in an useful argument?" Surely in an age in which inspiration was communicated so copiously an age in which the words of the prophet Joel, as quoted by Peter in Acts ii., were applicable, an apostle might expect, and would expect, a communication on every oċċa. sion in which it would be useful.

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Our Lord promised to his disciples that the spirit of truth would abide with them, eis ton aiona, From this spirit of truth, then, the apostles would expect every assistance that would be beneficial to them and their cause. They would never believe that that spirit would desert them at a tîme when they were in danger of making mistakes in their reasonings.

It is true that the apostles do not say that they are divinely inspired, or divinely guarded in their reasonings, But it was not necessary to say this in an age in which divine assistance was so common, and in which divine assistance on every suitable occasion would be taken for granted. Those whom they addressed would take this for granted, without any special declaration respecting it.

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SIR,

THE

ALIQUIS.

HE following morceau is from D'Israeli's Second Series of Curiosities of Literature. (Vol. I. pp. 65, 66.) Should you be able to give the protest of Sir Isaac Newton's, to which it alludes, entire to your readers, it would, no doubt, be generally acceptable. A PURVEYOR.

When the fury of the civil wars had exhaused all parties, and a breathing time from the passions and madness of the age allowed ingenious men to return once more to their forsaken studies, Bacon's vision of a philosophical society appears to have occupied their reveries. It charmed the fancy of Cowley and Milton; but the politics and religion of the times were still possessed by the same phrenzy, and divinity and politics were unanimously agreed to be utterly proscribed

the majority probably wished to pos sess the Exposition itself; some few I know, who already had the original work, subscribed for the sake of the notes. Every subscriber will consider himself as perfectly at liberty to withdraw his name if he pleases: it will not however, be necessary for him to send me any intimation on this subject. When the new edition appears, those who wish for it will be able to obtain it, in the regular way, through the medium of their respective booksellers.

from their inquiries. On the subject of religion they were more particularly alarmed, not only at the time of the foundation of the society, but at a much later period, when under the direction of Newton himself. Even Bishop Sprat, their first historian, ob served, that they have freely admitted men of different religions, countries and professions of life; not to lay the foundation of an English, Scotch, Irish, Popish or Protestant philosophy, but a philosophy of man kind.' A curious protest, of the most illustrious of philosophers, may be found: when the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge' were de- GLEANINGS; OR, SELECTIONS AND

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sirous of holding their meetings at the house of the Royal Society, Newton drew up a number of arguments against their admission. One of them is, that It is a fundamental rule of the Society not to meddle with religion; and the reason is, that we may give no occasion to religious bodies to meddle with us.' Newton would not even comply with their wishes, lest by this compliance the Royal Society might dissatisfy those of other religions.' The wisdom of the protest by Newton is as admirable as it is remarkable, to preserve the Royal Society from the passions of the age."

SIR,

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JOHN KENRICK.

REFLECTIONS MADE IN A COURSE
OF GENERAL READING,

No. CCCCVIII. Napoleon's Estimate of Value of Time.

All men that have done great things have made much of time. The late Emperor Napoleon was celebrated for punctuality and celerity of movement, and his faithful friend the Count de las Cases has preserved some anecdotes illustrative of his rules of conduct in this particular.

"After having given any one an important mission, or traced out the plan of any great enterprise, the Emperor used frequently to say, Come,

AS'inquiries are occasionally made Sir, be speedy, use despatch, and de

respecting the proposed new edition of the late Rev. T. Kenrick's Exposition of the Historical Writings of the New Testament, I have to request your insertion of the following stateinent. More than two years have now elapsed since the proposals for a new edition with additional notes were first circulated, and the number of names received has been so small that the plan has been renounced as far as concerns the publication of additional notes. It is still, however, the wish of the author's family that the original work should be reprinted. This will be done as speedily as possible, and I hope that the new edition will be ready for delivery in the spring. The price will be considerably less than that of the first edition.

Of those who kindly gave me their names as subscribers to the enlarged edition which I once contemplated,

not forget that the world was created in six days.

"On an occasion of this kind, he concluded by observing to the individual whom he was addressing, * Ask me for whatever you please, except time; that's the only thing that is beyond my power.”

On another occasion, Napoleon commissioned a person to execute some important business, which he expected would be finished in the course of the same day. It was not, however, completed until late on the following day. At this the Emperor manifested some degree of dissatisfaction; and the individual, in the hope of excusing himself, said that he had worked all day. But had you not the night also?' replied Napoleon."

Mémorial de Sainte Hélène, Vol. IV. Pt. 7, p. 242.

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to 94 Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame."-Pore.

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"T Obelieve the Christian religion," says Dr. Hartley, "is to believe that Moses and the prophets, Christ and his apostles, were endued with divine authority, that they had a commission from God to act and teach as they did, and that he will verify their declarations concerning future things, and especially those concerning a future life, by the event; or, in other words, it is to receive the Scriptures as our rule of life, and the foundation of all our hopes and fears. Cordially assenting to the justness and importance of these remarks, we are happy that the subject of the Seventh Part of Bishop Marsh's Course of Lectures is "the Authority of the Old Testament:" nor could we have objected to its having been made the topic of a foregoing set.

The Professor's thirty-first lecture, begins with a statement of his reasons for treating previously of the authenticity and credibility of the Christian Scriptures:

Testament in an inverted order: but he does not shew that this arrange"When we undertake to establishment ought to be adopted. Since the the authority of different records, the Jewish revelation was of far earlier question, which of them shall be first date than the gospel, its pretensions submitted to examination, may depend on circumstances unconnected with priority seem to demand a prior examination: of composition: and that arrangement the rather, as the evidence is, for the must always be preferred, which enables most part, historical, and as the aid of us to conduct our proofs in the most sa- chronology must be extremely desiratisfactory manner."-P. 1. ble, if not, indeed, absolutely requisite. When a very young pupil is Observations on Man, &c. Vol. II. introduced to an acquaintance with (1749,) 71, 347, 348.

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languages, or with science, there may

be no impropriety, but even an advantage, in pursuing a series of instructions perfectly unconnected with the descent of those languages, or with the periods of the several discoveries and inventions of science. Yet in a course of lectures, delivered to an academical audience, and laying claim to the praise of systematical arrangement," we might well expect the strictest regard to the order of the Divine dispensations. Here, if any where, we might suppose, that thestream which maketh glad the city of our God," would be regularly traced from its fountain head. We can least of all overlook inattention to this kind of method, when numbers of young men are listening to a Professor of Divinity, with the express view of qualifying themselves to instruct others. Bishop Marsh can appeal, no doubt, to the example of eminent men, who have preceded him, as lecturers and writers on the evidences of Judaism and of Christianity: we, too, should make a counter appeal, did we place the issue of the question on authority, rather than on principle.

Another reason for his "beginning with the New Testament (3), is, that the proofs of authenticity and credibility, in reference to individual books, may be conducted more easily and more intelligibly, than the similar proofs in regard to the Old Testament." In somewhat different language, writings of high antiquity, are involved in greater darkness, with respect to the composers and occasions of them, than writings of a later date. This may readily be allowed: but the fact will not justify the deviation upon which we have animadverted. Let the books of the Old Testament be examined on their own ground; and we feel not the slightest apprehensions for the result of the investigation: let them be considered in the order in which they claim to have been written; and we entertain not a doubt of their authority being esta blished. Had that order been adopt

This is admirably done in Dr. John Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity, &c., which a late Regius Professor (Bp. Watson) inserted as the first article in his Collection of Theological Tracts.

+ See in Mon. Repos. XI. 406, 407,

ed by the Bishop of Peterborough, his difficulty in respect of a definition, would not have been greater than it is at present. It would still have been incumbent on him to state the meaning in which he uses certain terms, and to have employed no other words than what agree with the character and circumstances of the records on which he lectures.

We cordially wish that he had judged it consistent with his undertaking to give, in this part of his course, a repetition, or, at least, an ample summary, of those arguments for the authenticity of the Pentateuch, which he delivered, from the pulpit of Great St. Mary's Church, more than thirty years ago, and the pamphlet containing which has deservedly reached a third edition. In the same compass, scarcely any topic has been better discussed.-But we must follow in the path which the Professor himself selects.

To the greater part of the historical books of the Old Testament the term "authenticity" is inapplicable. We cannot say, that a book is authentic, or written by the author to whom it is ascribed, when the writer of that book is unknown. Now by whom the several books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles were composed, we, unquestionably, are ignorant. Nevertheless, the term “credibility” is applicable to them all. Even where we cannot argue from the known situa tion and character of the writer, we may have reason to believe, that the anonymous author wrote under circumstances which enabled him to acquire a perfect knowledge of the facts recorded. There is nothing which more displays the accuracy of an historian, or excites greater confidence in the truth of his narrative, than references to books of authority, as vouchers for his own history. And it is worthy of notice, that such references occur chiefly, though not solely, in the books of the Kings and of the Chronicles, where we are most at a loss to discover the authors.

The fidelity of the sacred historians

some account of a Course of Theological Instruction, in which this order is observed.

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