gofpel through Judea, during the space of three years; and confirmed the truth of it by miracles. The religion he taught was very plain, however wrought, by the inventions of man, into a complex and mysterious inftitution. It was founded on the loft condition of mankind, and their utter inability of restoring themselves to God's favour. Faith in him, as their Saviour and lawgiver, was the first condition he required; and that men might not believe without a fufficient ground for their faith, he appealed to the prophecies he fulfilled, the miracles he performed, and the holy doctrines he taught. As the fruits of faith, he expected men to repent of their fins and lead holy lives; thus reftoring themselves, through God's grace, (which was promised to their prayers and endea vours,) to that purity of heart which they had originally loft. These were the plain conditions of the gospel: and on the performance of them, he promised mankind the pardon of their fins through his death, and a restoration to that everlasting happiness, which their first father had förfeited. He did not, however, openly profefs himself the Meffiah, even to his own difciples; at least not till towards the conclufion of his miniftry. Their prejudices were yet too strong to bear the truth. The idea of a crucified Redeemer was ftill beyond their conception. He expreffed himself, therefore, indirectly on this head; but yet with fuch perfpicuity, that, after his refurrection and ascension, his difciples, remembering what he had faid, received it as full conviction.--On many occafions, alfo, he used the parabolic manner of teaching; which was, indeed, the common vehicle of knowledge in the eaft. The talmudical writings are full of it. The precepts of the gospel our Lord renders fufficiently plain; though he fometimes inforces them by a parable. But the chief use he makes of this mode mode of inftruction, is in defcribing the future progress of his kingdom, and its reception in the world. Thefe notices the ill-difpofed could not mifapply; while the be liever, afterwards feeing them completely fulfilled, (as parables of this kind have a prophetic caft,) was confirmed in his faith. The preaching and miracles of Jefus had their due effect on the fimplicity of the common people, who attended him in great numbers; though many of them probably under the expectation of a temporal deliverance; which he always endeavoured, however, to reprefs. The Jewish rulers, in the mean time, could not bear the idea of a religion, which was intended to fuperfede the Levitical law, and to introduce all the nations of the earth to the fame degree of favour with God, which the Jews had arrogantly appropriated to themselves. But the character of Jefus was fo popular, that his enemies were obliged to act with great caution. Having at length, however, obtained a favourable opportunity of feizing him privately, through the treachery of one of his difciples, they accufed him to the Roman governor, and had influence enough to procure his condemnation. On the third day after his death, he arose from the dead, and appeared to many people. We have an account of his appearing to more than five hundred perfons at one time*. But his apoftles were the only perfons whom he appointed as his chofen witnesses to to atteft and record this great truth to the world. He continued with his difciples on earth only a fhort time after his refurrection, and then afcended finally into heaven. * 1 Cor. xv. 6. + Acts, x. 41. After After these great events, the disciples, under the influence of the Holy Ghoft, with which they were powerfully endowed, spread the gospel through various parts of the world. It had hitherto been confined to Judea: but the prophecies which foretold the call of the Gentiles, began now to be fulfilled. The next step they took, was to provide for the future ftate of the church, by writing faithful narratives of the life and doctrines of their Mafter. The doctrines are not drawn out in fyftematic form, but blended with the life of their divine Author; and calculated, not so much to exercife the understanding, as to imprefs the heart. The narratives are all artless in the greatest degree. No means are ufed, in any shape, to prejudice or fafcinate the reader. Jefus is no where praised, nor his enemies afperfed; nor the leaft attempt made to prove by argument the truth of any thing that is faid. The plain narrative, in its simplest form, is laid before thofe, who, living at the time, had an opportunity to know the truth, and were left to make their own comments upon it, and hand down their teftimony to others. No internal evidence, I think, can have more weight. The epiftles took their origin from the errors of the times. While the Jewish church was governed by prophets, who had the whole under their eye, licentious opinions, as we obferved, were eafily reftrained. But this order could not fubfift in the Chriftian church, which was widely difperfed. It pleased the Divine Providence, therefore, to leave it, after its first establishment, to its own native force and evidence. Well difpofed períons had all the means they could defire of being acquainted with the truth: but it was foon found that ill-difpofed perfons began to mix their prejudices and private views with the fimplicity and purity of the gospel. We meet with many traces of this this undue mixture even in apoftolical times. The opinions of Simon Magus-of the Nicolaitans-of Hymeneus and Philetus, were all of this kind. But the wrong opinions, which were the most prevalent in the early church, were thofe of Judaizing Chriftians. A numerous body of thefe, in all parts, being ftill zealous for the Levitical law, blended their Jewish ideas with Christianity; placing circumcifion on the fame footing with faith in Chrift and good works. To obviate these and other licentious opinions, the apoftles, especially St. Paul, wrote their feveral epiftles. The primary occafion, it is true, of moft of thefe epiftles, was to oppofe the erroneous opinions which prevailed in the different churches to which they were written: but still they were intended to be of ufe to future Chriftians, by completing their ideas of Chriftianity. And, indeed, many of the erroneous opinions of later times are very fimilar to those of ancient date, The ftile of thefe facred writings is, in general, plain and unadorned. The narratives, particularly, are drawn up with wonderful fimplicity. The fame artlefs character which marks the lives of the writers, diftinguishes alfo their writings. Numerous inftances, indeed, we find of trong figurative expreffions: but these are merely the idioms of eaftern phrafeology. In point of compofition, I think, it must be owned, thefe writings are by no means elegant models, according to the rules of criticifm now established; nor equal, in this refpect, to many works, both historical and philofophical, which have been handed down to us from antiquity. * Some learned writers have taken great pains to evince their elegance and claffical purity. But I think none have * See particularly Blackwall in his Differt. on the Sac. Claf. gone gone much farther than to fhew, that a few words and phrafes, which have been efteemed barbarous in the New Teftament, may be found in good writers. They have not entered critically into the compofition of thefe writings, which on this plan ought chiefly to have been laboured; both as it is the most effential part of elegant writing, and as the facred writers appear to have paid fo little attention to it. Indeed they fcarcely fpake with ordinary propriety; certainly not with what is called the purity and elegance of their tongue." t But the credit of thefe divine books does not in any refpect depend on inquiries of this kind, which indeed feem rather debafing. It appears equally abfurd to fuppofe, either that the Holy Spirit attended to the trifling forms and critical rules of human compofition; or that the writers, if we may suppose them left to themselves in this matter, had an eye to the elegance of their works. How would every serious man think they had miftaken the point, if they had attended to all the littleneffes of fine writing, while they were engaged in the great work of publishing falvation to mankind ? And yet Dr. Middleton, with a strange hardinefs of criticifm, thinks their want of elegance is an argument of their want of infpiration. Through all they spoke a noble plainness ran : And tricks, and turns, that fancy may devife, In the manner, therefore, of cloathing their thoughts, the facred writers feem to have been left entirely to themselves; and to have written with that fimplicity which men, big See Hurd's Sermons, vol. iii. fer. 7. † Cowper. |