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young friends indicates some excess of a reactionary vigour; and that care is now required to avoid relying on all that is not postReformational or un-Protestant, as much as energy was lately necessary in restoring a reverence for the ancient authorities of the Church throughout the world. But in Professor Blunt's hands no one could be in danger; and we shall be heartily glad to see such a spirit of reverent, while severe, criticism as he has shown in these lectures widely diffused among our rising theologians.

And certainly the present moment seems especially favourable for the publication of this volume. The two great controversies on Doctrine and Ritual, which have been so long agitating the Church, have been set at rest, if not in a manner altogether satisfactory, yet at least so as to convince every impartial person that in the great essential principle which divides the existing English Church, right and truth are altogether with those who advocate High views.

What these views really are, the great majority of professing Churchmen must be pronounced, yea, they would pronounce themselves, supremely ignorant. But there is good hope that they are prepared to learn. The debates in Convocation will assist them much in this inquiry. And of individual books and writers we know of none that is so well calculated to act as a pioneer as Professor Blunt in this most attractive posthumous work. He will be followed, we doubt not, by more dogmatic writers in the province of doctrinal theology; while we seem in a fair way also at length to have the exegesis of Holy Scripture rightly cared for. Nor are the prospects less hopeful in respect to those smaller manuals of instruction and devotion on which the edification of our people so largely depends. The best of all these we noticed in our last number; and what we have now apparently most to deprecate is the multiplication of such little works, which, though well intended, often fail in one point or other of that deposit of Catholic Faith, which the English Church has received as her inheritance and which it must be her highest privilege to hand on uninjured to succeeding generations.

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CLARK'S FOREIGN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY.

Clark's Theological Library. Edinburgh.

THE study of Hebrew amongst us is at a low ebb, from the want of books which may give it real life, by showing how it bears upon the controversies of the day. This want needs to be supplied. In the hard battle which will have to be fought for the Canon of ancient Scripture, it is important that men should be aware of the philological arguments which are supposed to militate against the antiquity of the canonical writings, and the extremely futile character of most of those which are not positively false statements. Why men should be trained to read Holy Scripture in a less careful manner than they would read Herodotus, it is hard to say. Probably we have been driven into this state of things by the extremely dry and scholastic nature of the notes on the Old Testament which come to hand. A change in some respects good is now beginning. The translation of German polemical criticisms restores the subject of Biblical philology to the battle-field of life, and this is well, when the writers are trustworthy, for mankind is so constituted as generally to turn aside from studies which forge no weapons for immediate use. Such at least is the case in modern England, and we call this being practical. It is not certainly the highest tone of mind, or the best calculated to produce Biblical insight or critical perception. The true principle of study and of success in study is pure love. They who read their Bibles because they love them, will know far more about the contents than those who read for any ulterior object. This must be the case especially in this branch of study, for it is written, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD." Yet are the circumstances of the age productive of some profit even for those who wish to read as worshippers and not as advocates. The minute points which adversaries assail develope the strength of harmony, and the elasticity of thought which spreads through the whole Čanon. The more critical our study of Holy Scripture, the more devotional it will be, if we set about it in a devotional spirit. If we receive the Canon as the Church has handed it down to us, we shall find that all these attacks which are made against it stablish us only the more in our conviction of its Divine authority. There must be heresies to try the faith of those who will persevere, but the faith which does not fail under trial is strengthened by it. It may sometimes occur that faithful minds will resort to different modes of solving a difficulty. We should then remember that the variety of operation in repelling the attack does not destroy the ground for which we are fighting. No one

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should be perplexed because he finds that different answers to the objector satisfy different classes of mind. This proves the manifold strength of truth, and results from a further unseen quality of truth, viz., that each argument which arises on behalf of truth possesses a strength beyond its own actual value. We perhaps are not satisfied with some argument, while it is at the same time conclusive to another person. If the argument partakes of a real correspondence with the truth, his conviction probably arises not from the abstract argument but from the living power generated within it by correspondence and interdependence with other phases of the truth, unperceived by us at the time. This is the case in all philosophy which is not barely mechanical. It is the case in all matters of art, and the faculty of taste is just the power of appreciating these undeterminable relations. The possession of this faculty is the essence of rhetorical power, the power of persuasion as contrasted with the power of deceit. In true oratory there can be no deceit, but the hearer is led by sympathy to realize the emotion of feelings suitable to the subject of discourse which give life and strength to arguments incapable abstractedly of compelling a reasonable conviction. Inasmuch also as our natures are mixed natures having other elements than those which are purely intellectual, we are intended to gather conviction by these processes. Convictions gained by reason alone are generally dead and inoperative. The variations consequently of sympathy and feeling lead to various phases of conviction. If we are to be really persuaded, it must be by having learnt to love. We are not then to depreciate the truth which is argued for, because we fail to enter into the particular line of the argument. Quite otherwise. We must feel that every bulwark is an additional token of strength, although it may seem to us exposed by some special weakness to the assaults of the enemy. This too must be always remembered, that everything is strong which is in accordance with the proportions of faith, and everything weak which contravenes them. Intellect which is used by the faithful will become nobler and stronger in the exercise. Just in the same way also does intellect which is opposed to faith become dwarfed and crippled. In nothing is this more clearly seen than in the absurdity of many of the criticisms solemnly proposed against the integrity of Scripture. Oftentimes no answer will satisfy those who bring them, because they spring from a blind and perverted reason. An infatuation seems to come over the sceptical mind, and the writers of Holy Scripture have a rule applied to them, which would be felt in its utter worthlessness if applied to any heathen author.

Furthermore, it must ever be borne in mind, that as love is the true means of obtaining critical insight, so also is it the true strength of controversial persuasiveness. In the defence of Holy Scripture, as of all the doctrines of the Church, we must not trust

ourselves upon the ground of indifference. In the coldness of exegetical inquiry we must be stimulated by the consciousness of the dignity of the matter which that inquiry concerns. These are days in which we must expect much intellectual weariness in the various conflicts of truth and error, but we must not shrink from the repulsiveness of the campaign, even though it be tedious, and at times seemingly unprofitable. Every effort which is undertaken in the spirit of faith and love will strengthen hope within us, and we shall learn to value that for which we have learnt to endure. If, however, we cannot abide the patient preparation of careful study, how can we expect to stand amidst the perplexities of subtle argument? We, therefore, would earnestly enforce the diligent investigation of Holy Scripture, not for the purpose of discovering new and imaginary treasures, over-valued for their novelty, and for the same reason frequently delusive, but for the purpose of identifying our own minds with the real treasures which have been handed down to us, in the conviction that we shall gather strength from that identification.

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The translations given in Clark's Theological Library are, we should hope, likely to conduce to this end. We have upon our table at present the Commentary on Kings and Chronicles by Keil and Bertheau, and a volume of Stier's "Words of the LORD JESUS," which are to be completed in the course of the year. is desirable that English students should see the painstaking method pursued by some foreigners. Stier may be somewhat cumbrous, but his pages are generally suggestive. The Commentary on the Hebrew Historical Books is of less general interest, but it is ably done, and fairly translated. We could certainly sometimes wish the English were less hampered by its German original. A critical work, however, does not suffer by a defect of style in the same way that an oratorical treatise would do. Messrs. Clark have now given us several translations which, if not taking the highest and truest tone, are yet good as far as they go, and will perhaps do good service in the battle with scepticism by meeting objectors on their own ground in a way which can scarcely be done by higher controversialists without disregard of principle.

The difficulty respecting the age of Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, who would appear from the statement in 2 Chron. xxii. 2, to have been two years older on his accession to the throne than his father was at his death, is easily removed by the interchange of two similar letters. The reading of modern copies, which our translation naturally follows, is (42,) for which probably the original text had (22). The letters to be changed were so closely alike in their more ancient form, that there can be next to no doubt that this is the true solution of the difficulty. Other solutions can be found, by those who desire to know them, apud Michaelis in Hagiog. vol. 3. Other similar changes by copyists

will be found in Professor Lee's Treatise on Inspiration, p. 198. There is, however, another difficulty in this passage. We read that the Arabs killed all the sons of Jehoram except the youngest; and yet 42 brethren of Ahaziah are slain when Jehu rebelled. Who are these? And again, how could Ahaziah who was the youngest son of Jehoram, born when his father was 18, have 42 brethren? The simple answer which solves these two objections, removes them from the side of difficulties to that of undesigned coincidences. The two historians who seem to differ, coincide in requiring the same solution. Keil says:

"The two accounts in 2 Kings x. 13, 14, and 2 Chron. xxii. 1-8, can easily be reconciled, when we consider the latitude allowed to the use of the word. The expression includes grandsons, [nephews,] and other near relatives."-Vol. II. p. 401.

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בְּנֵי אֲחֵי אֲחַזְיָהוּ ,8 .for which stands 2 Chron. xxii אֲחִי אֲחַזְיָהוּ *

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nephews of Ahaziah, are not full brothers of Ahaziah, as these were carried away by the Arabians and slain, before he ascended the throne, (2 Chron. xxi. 17; xxii. 1,) but partly stepbrothers, that is, sons of Jehoram by his concubines or wives of the second rank, partly brothers' sons, nephews, and cousins, in general blood relations of Ahaziah. When could Jehoram, who died when 40 years old, have begotten 42 sons ?"-Vol. I. p. 423.

In fact this 2 Chron. xxii. 8, supplies the interpretation of 2 Kings x. 14, and solves the two difficulties.

With reference to the character of Jehoram's idolatry in establishing "high places," 2 Chron. xxii. 11, we have the following

note :

"Not only did Jehoram forsake the GOD of his fathers, he also established high places on the mountains of Judah (the LXX. and the Vulg. read in the cities of Judah'); this must have been for the Phoenician gods; for the word he led away to adultery, refers to the introduction of Phoenician idolatry (cf. v. 13)."-Vol. I. p. 399.

"Jehoram died of a horrible disease, in which his bowels fell out, and was buried, indeed, with his fathers in the city of David; but not in the royal burial-place, nor with the funeral solemnities performed to his fathers. 2 Chron. xxi. 18."

Elijah's prophecy, respecting Jehoram's death, (vol. I. p. 411,) has been adduced as implying something "unhistorical" in the Scripture narrative. On this Keil remarks with justice:

"The passage, (2 Chron. xxi. 12,) does not speak of a letter (

as a letter is called in 2 Chron. xxx. 1, 6; or 2) but of a writing (), which came (arrived) from Elijah to Jehoram." -Vol. I. p.

350.

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