is the church's eternal rule, (3) the foundation of our confolation, inftruction, and hope. (4) the time of Mofes, and that they, and fome of the writings of Mofes alfo, are loft. Videtur enim Mofes præter Pentateuchum, Jobum, et Pfalmos quofdam, varia confcripfiffe quæ perierunt:" The next claufe is a very bold affertion indeed, "Ex quibus Plato et Pythagoras dogmata fua hauferunt." Sandii Nucleus Hift. Eccles. lib. i. De Platonicis Philofophis. Thefe conjectures are void of all foundation. Our beft divines affirm, that none of the canonical books of the Old Teftament are loft. I should be afraid to reft the evidence of this propofition, however, on what fome of our divines plead, that is, the accuracy of the ancient Maforites in numbering the lines and the letters of the holy canon. Arias Montanus, Buxtorf, and others, extol the maforetical enumeration very highly; and, in confequence of an opinion of the infallibility of it, fome give us the number of verfes and of letters in each facred book. Genefis, fays one, has 1534 verfes, 4395 letters. Having ex numero Judæorum, Literarum vero fexagies millena millia quadraginta quinque. Hen. Hottingeri Thefaur. 1. i. c. 1. De Sing. V. T. Lib. The New Testament writers have had their Maforites too, who have numbered the verfes and the letters of the New Teftament. An author, who relates this, adds, Quemadmodum Mafora a Rabbinis fepes legis dicitur; ita horum labor vocari potest Evangelii fepimentum. Joan. Croii Sacrar. et Hift. Observ. par. i. cap. 1. The above quoted Hottinger fpeaks much to the purpofe, Etfi vero in fupputatione hac accuratiorem numerum, exactiorem que diligentiam defiderent eruditi, magnam nihil ominus hanc Judæorum pro V. T. curam mereri laudem. Ubi Supra. Father Simon, who" would not have the Mafora wholly rejected, because it was the labour of the doctors of a most famous academy, who were fkilful in the language, and verfed in the manufcripts, yet obferves, that there is a great variation in Verfes. the numbers, and therefore 1209 the Masoretic lection is not to 859 be esteemed decifive, nor are 1288 all other exemplars of the BiDeuteronomy - 955 ble to be corrected and reObfervabis univerfum Pen- formed after the emendations tateuchum versus habere 5845 of the Maforites." Simon's Critical Exodus Leviticus Numbers Having thus explained the first part, pafs on to the fecond, Grace and truth came by Jefus Chrift. Critical Enquiries, chap. iii. iv. v. Salmafius has given scveral examples of what he calls miram difcordiam in veteribus libris, the fhortest of which follows. Epiftola Pauli ad Philemonem ex vulgari diftinctione noftrarum editionum verfus continet viginti quinque. In antiquis exemplaribus computantur triginta fep* em. Προς Φιλήμονα ειχων λζ. In antiquo latino laterculo habentur quinquaginta. Salmaf. Prolegom. in Solin. The evidence, therefore, must be fought elfewhere. The following arguments feem to fome fufficient. 1. Math. v. 18. If one effential letter cannot pass from the law, much lefs can whole books be loft. 2. Rom. xv. 4. If the Scriptures were written for our learning, the end of the author, God, would not be anfwered, if they were loft. 3. The Scriptures were intended for a canon, or rule of faith and action to all people, which they could not be, if loft. (See 2 Cor. x. 13. Gal. vi. 16.) 4. The Jews, who were entrusted with the oracles of God, Rom. iii. 2. were never reproved by Christ or his apoftles, for negligence on this head. 5. The providence of God interpofed itfelf in its prefervation in all their cap You tivities. Alting. Probl. Theol. pars i. pr. 6. De Script. Mofes quotes a book called, The Book of the Wars of the Lord: Numb. xxi. 14. but it does not follow that this book was canonical; for S. Paul quotes the writings of Aratus, Menander, and Epimenides; but they are not therefore canonical. This is S. Auguftine's reply, in his queflions on the book of Numbers. Alting obferves, the word fepher does not always fignify a book, fometimes it is put for a catalogue, as Gen. v. I. This book is loft: but it was not canonical. Joshua alfo quotes a book, entitled, The Book of Jasher, or the Book of the Upright. Josh. x. 13. Some of the Rabbies think, it is the book of Genefis; others fay, it is that called Exodus, and others take it to be the whole Pentateuch. Grotius thinks, it was a triumphant fong, compofed immediately after the defeat of the Gibeonites. Bishop Huet fuppofes, it was a book of meral inftructions. Mafius, Junius, and Tremellius, think, it was a book of Jewish annals, and they affign for a reason, that this book is quoted 2 Sam. i. 18. as containing the death of Saul, and the lamentations of David on that account. This was, therefore, a public record You must explain what grace is, and what truth is; you may apply both to the perfon of Jefus record begun before Joshua's time, and continued down beyond the reign of Saul. This book is loft: but it was not canonical. The books of Nathan the prophet, and Gad the feer, are canonical: but not loft; for Samuel wrote only a part of the first book of Samuel, to the end of the xxift or xxivth chapter; the rest of the first book of Samuel, and all the fecond, were written by Nathan, and Gad, as the Rabbies affirm. The books of Nathan, Abijah, and Iddo, 2 Chron. ix. 29. are canonical: but not loft; for, of them, Ezra, who was infpired, compofed the 2 books of Kings, and the z books of Chronicles. The Scripture mentions the book of the Acts of Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 41. which is probably loft: but we know not the author, nor, dare any one affirm, the book was canonical. See 2 Chron. ix. 29. Solomon is faid to speak, not to write three thousand proverbs, and one thousand and five fongs, 1 Kings iv. 32. One fong remains; and the books of Proverbs, and Ecclefiaftes, are compofed of the fentences, that are faid to have been spoken by him; the rest are loft: but, we fay as before, nobody can prove them canonical. VOL. I. Chrift, Some fay, one Epistle of S. Paul to the Laodiceans is loft. But the text fays it was an epiftle from Laodicea, Col. iv. 16. It was either a copy of the epittle to the Ephefians, which the Ephefians had fent to the Laodiceans, and they to Coloffe, if fo it is not loft. Or it was a letter from Laodicea to S. Paul, loft, but not canonical. Finally, fome think, one epiftle of S. Paul to the Corinthians is loft: but others remove the difficulty by reading the paffage (1 Cor. iv. 9.) thus, I write unto you in this epifle not to company with fornicators. They fay, spate in the 9th verfe is in the fame tenfe as it is in the 11th. They fay, in the 11th verfe is not to diftinguith the time of one sypala from the other: but to introduce an explication, for the fake of removing an objection mentioned in the 10th verfe. They fay, τη επιτολή is equal to ταιλη &c. &c. son, that on ro is a demonftrative pronoun, See Monf. Claude oeuvres poftbumes, tom. v. let. 41. All the writings of infpired men were not canonical; we may therefore fafely allow, that fome of their writings are loft, while we maintain, that none of their inspired writings have perished. See U 2 Sam. Chrift, and to the manner of his converfation here upon earth; for there were two perpetual quali collated the manufcripts, perhaps amended fome errors, that copyifts might have inferted, added here and there a line explicatory of the text, and arranged the whole in its prefent order. In this work he was affifted by inspired perfons then alive, by Haggai,Zechariah, Malachy, and, fome add, Daniel. Whether he added the points is uncertain. Some Jews, and fome Chriftians, refer the invention of points to Mofes, and to God. Hæc traditur in libro Zohar, et a Junio, et Buxtorfio approbatur. Others attribute them to Ezra, for then, fay they, points became necessary, becaufe the language was dead. Aria Montano multis que aliis eruditiffimis hæc opinio defenditur. A third clafs afcribe them to the Maforites, who were learned Jewish doctors at Tiberias, and who published a new version of the Holy Scriptures, anno Chrifti, 476. Imperante Theodofio. See Claude ubi fupra, Let. xli. Alting. Prob. Theolog. par. i. prob. 6. Uferii Syntagma. Epift. Ludovico Capello. z Sam. xi. 14. As for the hiftories, of Jannes and Jambres of the confternation of Mofes-of the difpute about the body of Mofes-of the prophecy of Enoch, &c. they were either traditional, or contained in the Jewish hiftories: but we fay of quotations from them as we fay of quotations from Aratus and Menander. The Holy Ghost has fanctified what are entered in the holy canon : but the rest remain as before. (3) The Holy Scripture is the eternal rule of the faith and practice of the church. Some pretend, that the infpired writings were loft in the captivity, and that Ezra, by infpiration, restored them in forty days. But this is a Jewifh fable. A great divine denies this pretended lofs for four good reasons. 1. Daniel had facred books in Babylon. Dan. xi. z. 2. It is not imaginable, that Ezekiel, and other pious priefts, were fo carelefs as to go into Babylon without these books. 3. Ezra reformed according to the law of God, which was in his band, which he had in keeping, not which he compofed. 4. Nehemiah directed Ezra, not to compofe: but to produce the book of the law in a public affembly of the people. Neh. viii. 1, 2, 3. Ezra indeed collected, and When we have ascertained the perfection of the holy canon, we have two other claffes to contend with, as a learned foreign divine obferves, concerning the fufficiency of Scripture. The first confifts of Roman qua grach anger an Aftur They a trable, and the most fa under lumi lightning, Jefus Chrift Roman Catholi (4) The Holy Scrip qualities diffufed through all his converfe, affability and fincerity; affability, or sweetness, expreffed by grace, and integrity, or fincerity, expreffed by truth. Sinners are generally governed by two contraries, anger and deceit. Aftutum geftant rabido fub pectore vultum. They are profound, myfterious and impenetrable, and under fpecious appearances they hide the most fatal designs, like those clouds, which under luminous afpects conceal thunder and lightning, and hail and storm. The heart of Jefus Chrift was all love, peace and benevolence towards Roman Catholics, who plead for the infufficiency of Scripture, for the fake of introducing the pope, and traditions. The fecond confifts of enthufiafts, who place their own private opinions, which they call fpiritual revelations, on the fame ground with holy Scripture. Against both these proteftantifm pleads, and juftly, for on the Sufficiency of Scripture the whole fabric refts. See Glaffi Philol. Sac. tom. i. Epift. Dedic. (4) The Holy Scriptures are the foundation of our confolation, inftruction, and hope. The Scriptures were written to instruct us in thofe theological articles, from the knowledge of which we might derive fpiritual comfort and hope. Some of the writers were learned, Mofes particularly was learned in all the human literature of the Egyptians of his age: but does it follow that therefore the Pentateuch was written to fettle every branch of modern learning. Some have written Differtationes de Moyfe Philofopho, and have afferted that he was fummus grammaticus, poeta, hiftoricus, genealogus, geographus, logicus, metaphyficus, mathematicus, phyficus, chymicus, moralis et civilis doctor. Others have explained the Mofaic philosophy, as Burnet-Theoria facra-Fludd. Op. Cum philofophia Mofaica Fluddi, fays a judicious foreigner, conjungi poteft J. Boehmi liber, myfterium magnum dictum, item Paul Riccius in Agricul tura cælefti. Fr. Georg. Venetus in harmonia mundi, &c. Fonfii de Script. Hiftor. Philof. lib. iii. cap. 32. 1. 36. 26. We may clafs all these writers with him, who endeavoured to prove that Solomon understood the doctrine of tranfubftantiation, and was well verfed in the occult quas lities of Aristotle. |