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that man if he had not been born." 21 that this was a common saying among the Jews to de the wretchedness of any flagrant transgressor, and confirming his statement by reference to the lea Schoettgen, Dr. A. Clarke proceeds to press the lang and infer from it the final condition of Judas, as the it were a literal statement covering his entire b "Can this be said of any sinner," says he, "if ther any redemption from hell-torments? If a sinner sh suffer millions of millions of years in them, and get o last to the enjoyment of heaven; then it was well for that he had been born, for still he has an eternity of sedness before him. Can the doctrine of the non-eter of hell-torments stand in the presence of this saying Pleased with his success thus far, the learned Do views the passage in another light. "Or can the doct of the annihilation of the wicked consist with this decl tion? It would have been well for that man if he never been born! then he must be in some state of scious existence, as non-existence is said to be better that state in which he is now found." Now let us a this reasoning to a kindred saying of Christ. "W shall offend one of these little ones which believe in it were better for him that a millstone were hanged al his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea The drift of the good here, it will be seen, lies in the o direction. Pressing the words in the style above noti we get this proposition: Such a one must be in a hap state in the next world than in this; else it could not said, it were better for him that he were drowned, Now, whether this proposition is true or not, it is q certain that the Saviour intended to say nothing on subject. Christ's words are simply an assertion that exemplary punishment would overtake such a transgres Or, again, turn to Solomon's exclamation in view of 66 oppressions that are done under the sun." "Wh fore I praised the dead which are already dead more t the living which are yet alive. Yea, better than both t is he who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the work that is done under the sun.' 11 24 Shall we overl

21 Matt. xxvi. 24. 23 Matt. xxiii. 6.

22 Comment in loco. 24 Eccl. iv. 2, 3.

B

the proverbial elements in such an exclamation, and conclude that it should be literally construed. Nothing is here made to depend on the respective characters of the dead and the living. Suppose it is absolutely true that the dead are better off than the living; is that the truth which Solomon means to assert? And what Christian, accustomed to thank God for this life and for the promise of the next, would be willing to press the latter proposition as a literal one, and conclude that non-existence is preferable to the life that now is, and to that which is to come? As, in the former instances, Christ but expressed the wretched state of particular transgressors, so here Solomon but states the terrible woe occasioned by the "oppressions done under the sun." Whoever presses the language further, does not interpret it, but abuses it. Indeed, Dr. Clarke reconsiders his mode of treating the proverb relating to Judas, when he comes to consider the case of that apostate more at length; and relies on its proverbial character to set aside his own argument quoted above. His final conclusion is, that this saying of the Master does not imply the impossibility either of his repentance or salvation.25

The caution we are now considering, has a very wide. application both in the Old and in the New Testament. Take the following from the Old Testament: "The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh." "A threefold cord is not easily broken." 26 "Can the

Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots ?" 27 "What is the chaff to the wheat?" 28 "Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his ! " 29 In the New Testament, likewise, proverbs are scattered on every hand. Thus, Christ says to his disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth." 30 "Ye are the light of the world." 31 "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." 32 To the scribes and Pharisees he said, "Ye strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." To Saul of Tarsus he said, "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." 34 These examples might be multiplied indefinitely; but as few of them are involved in doctrinal controversy, we need not dwell upon them here.

25 See comment at the end of Acts i.

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19 33

26 Eccl. iv. 5, 12.

29 Hab. ii. 6. 30 Matt. iii. 13.
33 Ib. xxiii. 24. 34 Acts ix. 5.

III. A third class of Scriptures, made to teach err ous doctrines by too rigid an interpretation and by p ing the mere letter to unwarranted inferences, wil correctly understood by attending to their idiom character. In the New Testament especially, one t is affirmed and another denied, when the one is n likely to happen than the other; or one thing is c manded and another forbidden, when the one is sim preferable to the other. "I will have mercy and sacrifice," 35 is quoted by the Saviour from the prop Hosea. It was originally uttered in the midst of a pensation which required sacrifices as a religious serv When, however, the offering of sacrifice would prev deeds of mercy, its obligation must cease. This sup ority of mercy to sacrifice is what the passage is inten to affirm. Again, Christ says to the people who witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes, "La not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat wh endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of n shall give unto you." 36 Given to a multitude, every of whom, by the very necessities of daily life, was co pelled to labor for the meat that perisheth, it is quite possible to regard the injunction contained in the f clause of the above passage as absolute. On the c trary, the Saviour plants himself upon these acknowledg necessities, and, by the strong contrasts of prohibition a command, urges the superior claim of the higher go He thus gains emphasis for the command which he ai to enforce.

Of a like character are the words of Christ to his dis ples when confirming the announcements he had made the execution of divine judgments upon the wicked nati in the midst of whom he had toiled. "Heaven and ear shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.' At first blush, this declaration would seem to remove doubt touching the duration of heaven and earth. B there are at least two considerations which seem to nulli its force. In the first place, it is in accordance w Scripture usage to say one thing shall be and anoth shall not be, when the one is more likely to happen the the other. When the former is an event not likely

35 Matt. ix. 13.

36 John vi. 27.

37 Matt. xxiv. 35.

transpire, it becomes an emphatic way of saying that the latter cannot happen. Now to human sense, and as regards general appearances, the heavens and the earth seem to be absolutely eternal. The Saviour seizes upon this fact, not for the purpose of controverting it, but to gain a momentum, that he may the more strongly assert the immutability of his word. This view is confirmed by the fact that it harmonizes with the Saviour's aim-with the main drift of the place. A confirmation of the discourse he had just pronounced to his disciples, by the most emphatic declaration he could make, was the end he sought. To have turned aside to teach a new truth touching the mutability of the earth, would only have introduced confusion, or at least diversion, of thought. The allusion to heaven and earth, therefore, was undoubtedly rhetorical, and designed to give effect to the leading idea. That this purpose may be most fully gained, it is necessary to suppose that the seeming immutability of heaven and earth should constitute the basis of the Saviour's remark. Had he, instead of heaven and earth, selected for the affirmative portion of his antithesis, the tiny flower, the fading grass, the flitting cloud, or the passing shower, it is manifest that the antithesis, instead of strengthening, would have immeasurably weakened his declaration. To impart strength, the leading portion of the antithesis must be marked for durability; and the greater the apparent durability, the greater the strength. When it becomes seemingly eternal, its force becomes complete. Christ, then, seizes upon things apparently immutable, and declares that these shall sooner pass away than his words shall fail. Indeed, on another occasion, he puts his words substantially in this form: "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." 38 On the question of the duration of the heaven and earth, therefore, by this interpretation, Christ neither affirms nor denies any thing, but leaves it where he found it.

It seems probable that the Saviour's declaration touching the sin against the Holy Ghost, should be interpreted in the light of a similar principle. His language is," All

38 Luke xvi. 17.

manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto me but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not forgiven unto men." 39 The meaning appears to be th all other sins shall be more readily forgiven, than the s against the Holy Ghost; not because there is more dif culty with Deity in forgiving one than the other, b because it is more difficult to bring the transgressor repentance, and therefore to receive forgiveness. B we need not multiply examples of a principle so obviou We had intended to, mention another large class Scriptures in both Testaments, of which the imagery, lik that of many poets in all ages, appears to be moulded i part by rhetorical allusions to the superstitions of the igno rant, and in part by the glowing warmth of the write I refer to those which connect the divine judgments wit changes in the heavenly bodies. But the length to whic this article is already extended, precludes such a work a present.

We cannot close, however, without calling attention to the direct manner in which all the important truths of the Bible are stated. While those Scriptures which have been made to minister to the worst fears of men, abound with difficult allusions, figures, and images, and still leave much of the supposed terrible truth to be inferred, those which enforce duty or beget the highest hopes, are freest from perplexities. Besides being conveyed in plain and direct terms, the more important truths are continually recurring. They harmonize with the main drift of the Scriptures. And the brighter the hopes begotten, the more perfectly do they fall in with the teachings of nature, the holier aspirations of the human heart, the character of God, the side-indications of the divine. will, and the direct aims of sovereign grace.

A. A. M.

39 Matt. xii. 31.

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