Grotius, whose paraphrase the doctor quotes, 770 And took occasion, from the healed lame, With us, much greater, who have seen th' event The two main pillars of his whole discourse, 790 810 And, that the first, from whom its preachers draw Their proof of Christ, is Moses in the law"," Both which St. Peter's evidence, again, Shows to be slips of his too hasty pen: For when th' apostle, at the temple gate, Restor❜d the cripple to a perfect state; P. 32. "And Grotius paraphrases the same words, as if the apostle had said, 'The word of prophecy had always great authority with us, but now a much greater, after we have seen the events corresponded so aptly with the predictions concerning the Messiah." P. 4. "I found much art and pains employed (by the bishop) to dress up an imaginary scheme, of which I had not discovered the least trace in any of the Four Gospels." P. 18. "Nor do they (the apostles) refer us, for the evidences of our faith, to I know not what prophecies of Enoch." See the quotation in the next column. 830 810 'Tis true, he afterwards begins to quote, And, first, the prophet of whom Moses wrote: Adding" that all, who in succession came, Had likewise spoken of the very same:" The same-(see how prophetic words conspire) God's own predicted to the Jewish sire: "And in thy seed," so Peter's words attest, "Shall all the kindreds of the Earth be blest:" Proofs of our Saviour Christ you see him draw From in, from after, from before the law. 850 What can be said in answer, sir, to this? Should the New Testament be treated so 860 6 P. 151. "From these two observations, it follows, that whatever difficulties may be charged to the particular applications of prophecies, which are found in the New Testament, yet on the whole, that way of applying them must be esteemned by Christians, as the best which the case affords; and that the authority of the gospel, as far as it is grounded on prophecy, rests on those single and independent predictions, which are delivered occasionally, he.e and there, in the Law and the Prophets. It must be confessed, however, that the author, against whom the bishop's discourses are levelled, has alleged several strong and even unanswerable objections to some of them, which are cited by the evangelists in proof of the mission of Jesus, as being of too loose and precarious a nature to build any solid argument upon.". Had Enoch's, Jude's, and Peter's words fulfill'd! "Bare prophecy" the doctor has profest, Prophecy then, as his descriptions own, A hungry question, therefore, to inquire, 880 890 - 920 This being, then, the motive which he had, A reader asks what is there in it bad? With what decorum does a priest accuse A bishop, writing against crafty views? Views of an enemy to gospel truthIs the defending of him less uncouth? Does such defence, with such a rudeness writ, The priest, the bishop, or the cause befit? So interlarded with that loose reproach, Which want of argument is wont to broach; So deeply ting'd the Ciceronian style With, what the critics commonly call, bile; That they, who thought it worth their while to seek 930 The author's motive, judg'd it to be pique. Soon as you enter on the work, you see An instant sample what the whole will be: First, "being jealous of the bishop's views, His book, for years, he dar'd not to peruse; Afraid to trust so eminent a guide, For fear his judgment should be warp'd aside:" Tho' quite secure-" for he had ever found Authority to be a treach'rous ground; 940 And even this"—this capital affair, That was to lead his judgment to a snare, "He found-and just as he expected too— Who fear'd before a bias from his view" When graciously inclin'd to see it since, "Quite of a kind that never can convince 9:" Which, to be sure, afforded reason good To write a book against it, lest it should. Had any other author, less polite, 900 With vulgar phrase attempted thus to write; And, thus, begun so fine a scheme to spin; "The reas'ners of this world had broken in, 950 Rudely unravell'd all his fine-spun scheme 10" And sent him forth to seek another theme. 910 P. 40. "Whereas a bare prophecy, delivered as the proof of a divine character in any person or doctrine, is incapable of any persuasive force, or of giving any sort of conviction, until it be accomplished; the completion of it being the sole test, by which its veracity can be determined. The event likewise, foretold by it, must be of a kind, which neither human prudence could foresee, nor human power produce; for otherwise it could not give any assurance of a divine interposition." 8 P.29."As far as these words go, there is certainly nothing in them but what a sincere advocate of the gospel might freely allow and join issue upon; but they came from an enemy, who had a crafty view in extolling the credit of prophecy, in order to depress it afterwards the more effectually; and this was the ground of his lordship's resolution to confute, or, at all events, to contradict them, &c." quoted p. 18. How suited this to any good design, That should engage a Christian, a divine? "But what are names-if not a single one Be worth regard, for sixteen ages gone? If to inquire what any of them say Be, as he thinks, but wasting time away"? 9 P.2. "I knew his lordship also to be eminently qualified to dress up any subject into any form, which would best serve his own views, and was jealous of warping my judgment by some bias, which his authority might be apt to imprint: for so far as my experience had reached, I had ever found authority a treacherous guide to a searcher after truth." P. 4. "Upon this task I soon after entered, and found this capital work of his lordship's to be just such as I expected, exhibiting a species of reasoning peculiar to himself, ever subtle and refined, yet never convincing." 10 P. 106. But his lordship being apprehensive that the reasoners of this world might break in upon him, and rudely unravel his fine-spun scheme." of P. 3. "I thought it an idle curiosity and waste time, to inquire what any modern divine had preached or written about it (viz. the nature of prophecy), because the whole that can be known authentically, concerning its relation to Christianity, must be learnt from those who first planted Christianity, and were instructed by the author of it, on what foundation it rested, and how far the argument of prophecy was useful to its propagation and support." Himself excepted in the modest creed, Unless he writes for nobody to read. 960 Sure, of all treach'rous guides, the greatest cheat His reason, judgment, mind, and sense is he. 970 981 That of conversion from his own dark mind A kind of writing on the Christian cause, May run the risque of being quite bereft; May that, which teaches rightly to divide FOUR EPISTLES 990 1000 TO THE REV. MR. I, LATE VICAR OF BOWDEN, UPON THE MIRACLE AT THE FEAST OF PENTECOST. EPISTLE I. OUR folks, gone a visiting, reverend sir, The Scripture was writ, and is oft understood, Which may yet be of use, in it's own proper field; If it be but to mend its own faults in a brother; And correct, in one man, the mistakes of another; Or to combat our scruples, and fix a true thought, When the head shall confirm what the heart has been taught. It is not my thought; for I first was appris'd Of the thing by a Jacob, too greatly despis'd; Dipping into whose writings, which little I knew, Some expression like this was presented to view→→→ "All languages spoken by Peter in one-" A truth, which the moment I entered upon, All the force of simplicity, fitness, and fact, Extorted assent, that I could not retract. If the honest old vicar, our visited friend, To St. Luke's own account will be pleas'd to attend, I cannot but think, that the current conceit Will yield to solution, so clear, and complete, For the names to that number, if rightly I count rest Must be too intermix'd to be singly addrest. "Are not these❞— said the men (the devout) of each land, [stand?" "Galileans, that speak? whom we all underAs much as to say-by what wonderful pow'rs Does the tongue Galilean become, to us, ours? While the good were so justly astonish'd, the bad, Whose hearts were unopen'd, cry'd out, they are Unaccountable charge, if we do not recall [mad: That, in one single tongue, the apostles speak all. For separate speakers, and tongues, it is clear, Good and bad, without madness, might equally hear; And surprise, in the bad, would be equally keen, How illiterate men could speak all the fifteen: But the miracle, wrought in the simplest of ways, In both good and bad, well accounts for amaze; One was sensibly touch'd with a gift so divine, One stupidly rais'd the reproach of new wine. When St. Peter stood up, and, to all the whole throng, Show'd the truth, in a sermon so good, and so long, mock-- And spake, by St. Peter, to all his whole flock. The vulgar objection, which commenting strain Has made to a thing so exceedingly plain, Is the miracle then would not be in the speaker, It would be in the hearers-now what can be. weaker? For the gift, in this case, had a twofold respect, And must needs be in both, to produce its effect; To account for the fact, which the comments forgot, [not. Why the pious could hear what the mockers could It is no where affirm'd, that th' apostles acquir'd Any tongue but their own, tho' divinely inspir'd: St. Peter, St. John are soon mention'd again, And describ'd as unlearned, and ignorant men: -But enough-or too much for the shortness of time [rhyme; Gives a hint to set bounds to the extension of Our friend will acknowledge, tho' hasty the letter, This question's solution-or give us a better. MANY thanks have been order'd, this day, to attend The receipt of your letter, dear vicar, and friend; All fair on both sides, because say it, or sing, But I cannot but marvel, that much better sight Than my own, should not see so meridian a light, As that of the speaking, at Pentecost time, By the Spirit of God, to the good of each clime, In one single tongue, by that Spirit inspir'd, Whose assistance did all, that could then be requir'd; [known, Whose power, it is certain, could make itself By a number of tongues, or by one tongue alone. So needless the many, so simple the one, That I wonder what judgment can hesitate on, Or a learned inquiry, that finds, if it seek, That the tongue might be one, in construction of Greek: Which as comma takes place (as old Gregory said, I sent you some reasons, from Baguley, why The tongue was but one, which you choose to pass by; [way, And to comment St. Luke in a many-tongu'd That darkens the light, which I took to be day: | And day it is still-for account that you give, "So plain and so obvious" is water in sieve; Which seems to be something, at first-looking view, [through. But by holes plain, and obvious, it quickly runs "The tongues which appear'd, and which sat upon each, All cloven, and fiery, (you argue,) may teach, And, by notice symbolical, make it discern'd That they spake in such tongues, as they never had learn'd'." Need I tell an Hebræan, that tongue is the same, In relation to fire, as the English word flame? Which appears to be cloven, and proof that is [the pun. From the tongues, or the flames--has too much of When you ask "Pray, what reason can else spun be assign'd [wind?" For tongues?" I ask you" Pray, what reason for Not to shun a fair question; but tongue being flame [aim: May have answer'd, already, your questioning I think that an air, that a flame from above, Both is, and betokens, the life, and the love, Which if Christians were blest with, one language would do; [be two. And their whole body fill'd with, there could not But let them be symbols, the tongues, if you will, Of the grace which the Spirit was pleas'd to instil; His gift is as good, if, in speaking their own, Men made the same truth, in all languages, known: This effect, you will grant, the good gift to intend; Now, supposing two ways of attaining one end, Is that explication less likely, or just, Which takes the more simple, more plainly august? Your account is quite new, in one thing that I meet, That is "That the speakers went into the [street; Or went out of the bouse to the multitude met 2"- 1 "The cloven tongues like fire, which sat upon each of the persons mentioned (Acts i. 15.), were a plain symbolical notice, that by the Holy Ghost, with which they were then baptized, they should be endowed, for the propagation of the gospel in all nations, with divers languages. If this is not the case, pray what reason can be assigned why there should be an appearance of fiery tongues divided, and sitting upon each of the apostles and disciples?"--Mr. Lancaster's Letter to Dr. Byrom. The apostles and disciples, upon the rumour of what had happened being spread abroad by those of the house in which they were assembled, went out to the multitude, whom such a report had brought together; and then, in order, first of them in another, and so on, till all the languages one of them in one language, and then another of the nations specified were used, addressed the multitude; who hearing illiterate Galileans speaking after such a manner, to each different class amongst them, in their own proper language, in which they were born, were amazed and confounded."Mr. L.'s Letter. But what should imply both profane, and devout May one ask what authority, then, you have got Nor-what I shall just give a hint of to you I agree that" the mockers, who mock'd with Knew only their vulgar, Jerusalem tongue 3"- Thus, my dear old acquaintance, I run thro' your So writes younger Wesley, who call'd here, and And to him I subscrib'd for it; tho' in my mind, EPISTLE III. I HOPE that the vicar will pardon the haste With which an occasion, once more, is embrac'd Of getting some knowledge, in points that I seek, From one so well vers'd both in Hebrew and Greek; 3 "The mockers appear to be such as understood the Jewish language. St. Peter's speech (beginning Acts ii. 14.) is addressed to all the multitude; and as being so, is spoke in the Jewish language, which all of them, tho' of different nations, understood."Mr. L.'s Letter. If disputes were ty'd down to dispassionate rhymes, Three things are laid down in prose favour our own. "The Hebrew word, or tongue," says he "Whene'er it is us'd, by itself, in a text, Short issue, he thinks, the dispute will admit, And prove the construction-new languages-true In the sense that he means; for, when all understood Now this, if he can, I could wish he would do, One person who spake, it was really as good 4"A much greater complaint than this I have to "The rev. Mr. John Wesley in his Explanation of the New Testament, this year published, says that the 1260 prophetical days in the Revelations are not, as some have supposed 1260, but 777 common years; and that Bengelius in his German Introduction has shown this at large. You understand the German language, and therefore, if Bengelius be in your library, I desire in a few lines you will let me know how he makes this out." Mr. L's Letter. 1 "You send me to Hebrew and Greek, and the result of my inquiry is, however the comma be managed in the verse you mean, (Acts ii. 11.) the sense is the same; and that, when used by itself, never signifies fire or flame. And therefore, to bring the dispute to a short issue, I desire your answer to the following query. "Were the new tongues, which our Saviour (St. Mark xvi. 17.) promised his disciples should speak with, new languages, i. e. such as they had never learned-or not?"- -Mr. L.'s Letter. |