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all his strength to substantiate; and it is obvious that such a construction may be put upon this share of Deity assigned to the Son,' as to render the whole representation of his nature and character perfectly consonant to the amphibious Christianity of the Unitarians. Yet at other times he approaches the very confines of a purer faith, asserting that the Son existed in the beginning; that by a delegated power he created all things; that he has the power of conversion, of remission of sins, of renovation, of the mediatorial office; and that he was endued with the divine nature and substance, though distinct from, and inferior to the Father. In short, he seems to represent the Redeemer as omnipotent and omniscient, yet a creature; as a God, yet without participating in the essence of Deity. Into such inconsistencies do those fall who once desert the unvaried and unvarying faith of the orthodox church of Christ!

"With respect to the third person in the Trinity, he acknowledges the personality of the Holy Ghost; at the same time, since he rejects his essential divinity, it is only the personality of a created being. The sum of his doctrine on this point is, briefly

"That the Holy Spirit, inasmuch as he is a minister of God, and therefore a creature, was created or produced of the substance of God, not by a natural necessity, but by the free will of the agent, probably before the foundations of the world were laid, but later than the Son, and far infe rior to him? P. 171.

"Such is Milton's creed upon that all-important subject, the sacred Trinity: we shall not, however, waste our reader's time and our own, by staying to point out its absurdities and inconsistencies. Those who are but moderately read in the Trinitarian controversy, will meet with nothing to repay the trouble of perusal; no recondite learning, no happy illustration of the subject, no ingenious exposition of disputed texts. They will only find scholastic subtilties which have been long exploded, sophistry which has been again and again refuted, and misinterpretations which have been a thousand times corrected. Through the whole

of the discussion there is nothing characteristic of the cautious divine, but every where a precipitancy of judgment which cannot be too much condemned, and a flippancy of argument, evidently arising from a presumptuous confidence in human reason on matters which human reason can never 'search out to perfection.' Since the pride of reason seems to be the root of Milton's predominant errors on this fundamental subject, it may be well to give a specimen. Arguing against the eternal generation of the Son, he observes—

'Him who was begotten from all eternity the Father cannot have begotten, for what was made from all eternity was never in the act of being made; him whom the Father begat from all eternity he still be begotten, and therefore is not yet a son; gets; he whom he still begets is not yet for an action which has no beginning can have no completion. Besides, it seems to be altogether impossible that the Son should be either begotten or born from all eternity. If he is the Son, either he must have been originally in the Father, and have proceeded from him, or he must always have been as he now is, separate from the Father, self-existent and independent. If he was originally in the Faundergone a certain change at some time ther, but now exists separately, he has or other, and is therefore mutable. If he always existed separately from, and independently of the Father, how is he from the Father, how begotten, how the Son, how separate in subsistence, unless he be also separate in essence? P. 133.

"With such reasoning as this he seeks to demolish the doctrine of the Son's filiation; reasoning which has been often used both before and since the author's time, but which is obviously nothing better than applying to the Creator notions derived from the generative process of created beings. It proceeds also upon the fallacy of confounding personality with essence. A distinction of the former is perfectly compatible with an unity in the latter. If the Son be a person in an eternal and immutable Godhead, his personality must have been from eternity; for an origination of it in time is incompatible with the immutability of God. The perfections of the Deity require us to believe that what he now is, he always was, being always Father as always God. Little dependance, it

is granted, can be placed in metaphysical reasonings upon the nature and attributes of the Trinity: our ideas on this abstruse subject have no other firm foundation to rest upon than the Scriptures; and, as this important, though mysterious doctrine of the Son's eternal filiation is revealed in them, we ought to receive it as an infallible truth, without presumptuously attempting to explain or reject a subject so far above finite understandings.*

"Instances of rash judgment and weak reasoning on the tri-personality of the Godhead are innumerable; so that in turning from the sublime strains, of Paradise Lost' to this tissue of error and heresy, we are tempted to exclaim

If thou beest he; but Ohow fall'n! bow changed From him, who in the happy realms of light, Clothed with transcendant brightness, didst outshine

Myriads tho' bright!'"

(To be continued.)

From the Christian Observer for November, 1825.

Scriptural Illustrations.

AMONG the interesting scriptural il lustrations which have from time to time appeared in the Christian Observer, selected from the publications of Oriental travellers, works often costly in their price, and of very confined circulation I have looked in vain for any portion of those contained in Mr. Jowett's Researches in Syria and the Holy Land. The following passages will, it is trusted, interest both the biblical student and the general reader, though it must be confessed that this species of illustration, useful as it is in its place, has been greatly over-rated. Seldom does it solve any real difficulty; or offer more than casual elucidations, and those confined chiefly to points of inferior moment; besides which, too large a portion of such alleged "illustrations," illustrate nothing but the fancifulness or puerile taste of the collector. It might be invidious to cite instances; but every sound biblical critic will acknowledge the truth of this remark.

«See Holden's Scripture Testimonies to the Divinity of Christ, cap. viii."

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The following illustrations from the pen of Mr. Jowett are of a higher class :"House of the Dead."-" While walking out, one evening, a few fields' distance from Deir el Kamr, with Hanna Doomani, the son of my host, to see a detached garden belonging to his father, he pointed out to me, near it, a small, solid, stone building, apparently a house; very solemnly adding, Kabbar beity,' the sepulchre of our family.' It had neither door nor window. He then directed my attention to a considerable number of similar buildings, at a distance: which, to the eye, are exactly like houses; but which are, in fact, family mansions for the dead. They have a most melancholy appearance, which made him shudder while he explained their use. They seem, by their dead walls, which must be opened at each several interment of the members of a family, to say, 'This is an unkindly house, to which visitors do not willingly throng: but, one by one, they will be forced to enter; and none who enter, ever come out again.' Perhaps this custom, which prevails particularly at Deir el Kamr, and in the lonely neighbouring parts of the mountain, may have been of great antiquity; and may serve to explain some Scripture phrases. The prophet Samuel was buried in his house at Ra mah,' (1 Sam. xxv. 1 :) it could hardly be in his dwelling-house. Joab was buried in his own house in the wilderness, (1 Kings ii. 34.) This is the house appointed for all living, (Job xxx. 23.) Possibly, likewise, the passages in Proverbs ii. 18, 19, and vii. 27, and ix. 18, may have drawn their imagery from this custom. He know eth not that the dead are there-her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again."

Gen. xviii. 6, 10, and xxvii. 14, 17. "When we had finished our meals, in the family in which I resided at Deir el Kamr, and were risen, the mother, daughter, and daughter-in-law, who had been waiting at the door, came in, and partook of what remained. Thus it is. in Syria; and thus it has been, probably, ever since Abraham, a Syrian ready to perish, traversed these re

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gions, dwelling in tents: when Sarah, having prepared an entertainment for three divine strangers, did not present it, that being Abraham's office; but stood at the tent-door, which was behind him. So Rebekah prepared food for her husband to eat, and sent it in by the hand of Jacob."

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Prov. xi. 21." The expression, ' though hand join in hand,' may bear a slight correction; conformable both to the original Hebrew and also to the custom actually prevailing in Syria. The original simply signifies 'hand to hand.' And this is the custom of persons in the East, when they greet each other, or strike hands, in token of friendship and agreement. They touch their right hands respectively, and then raise them up to their lips and forehead. This is the universal Eastern courtesy. The English version, and the devices grounded upon it, give the idea of hand clasp ed in hand, which is European, rather than Oriental. The sense, therefore, is, Though hand meet in hand'-intimating, that heart assents to heart in the perpetration of wickedness- yet shall not the wicked go unpunished."" Isaiah xiv. 8. "As we passed through the extensive forest of firtrees situated between Deir el Kamr and Ainep, we had already heard, at some distance, the stroke of one solitary axe, resounding from hill to hill. On reaching the spot, we found a peasant, whose labour had been so far successful, that he had felled his tree and lopped the branches. He was now hewing it in the middle, so as to balance the two halves upon his camel; which stood patiently by him, waiting for his load. In the days of Hiram, king of Tyre, and subsequently under the kings of Babylon, this romantic solitude was not so peaceful: that most poetic image in Isaiah, who makes these very trees vocal, exulting in the downfal of the destroyer of nations, seems now to be almost realized anew

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Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee,, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.' "

Isaiah lii. 2, 10.-" The use of the Oriental dress, which I now wear, brings to the mind various scriptural

illustrations, of which I will only mention two. The figure in Isaiah lii. 10, The Lord hath made bare his holy arm,' is most lively: for the loose sleeve of the Arab shirt, as well as that of the outer garment, leaves the arm so completely free, that, in an instant, the left hand passing up the right arm makes it bare; and this is done when a person-a soldier, for example, about to strike with the sword-intends to give his right arm full play. The image represents Jehovah as, suddenly prepared to inflict some tremendous, yet righteous judgment-so effectual, that all the ends of the world shall see the salvation of God.-The other point illustrated occurs in the second verse of the same chapter: where the sense of the last expression is, to an Oriental, extremely natural-Shake thyself from the dust-arise-sit down, O Jerusalem.' It is no uncommon thing to see an individual, or a groupe of persons, even when very well dressed, sitting, with their feet drawn under them, upon the bare earth, passing whole hours in idle conversation. Europeans would require a chair; but the natives here prefer the ground. In the heat of summer and autumn, it is pleasant to them to wile away their time in this manner, under the shade of a tree. Richly adorned females, as well as men, may often be seen thus amusing themselves. As may naturally be expected, with whatever care they may, at first sitting down, choose their place, yet the flowing dress by degrees gathers up the dust: as this occurs, they, from time to time, arise, adjust themselves, shake off the dust, and then sit down again. The captive daughter of Zion therefore, brought down to the dust of suffering and oppression, is commanded to arise and shake herself from that dust; and then, with grace and dignity, and composure and security, to sit down; to take, as it were, again, her seat and her rank amid the company of the nations of the earth, which had before afflicted her, and trampled her to the earth. It may be proper to notice that Bishop Lowth gives another rendering- Arise, ascend thy lofty seat'-and quotes Eastern custems, to justify the version: but I see

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no necessity for the alteration, although to English ears it may sound more appropriate. A person of rank in the East often sits down upon the ground, with his attendants about him."

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Matt. vi. 3, and Prov. vi. 13." The manner in which the Samaritan priest desired me, on parting, to express our mutual good-will, was by an action, than which there is not one more common in all the Levant. He put the forefinger of his right hand parallel to that of his left, and then rapidly rubbed them together, while I was expected to do the same, repeating the words right, right; or, in common acceptation, together, together.' It is in this manner that persons express their consent on all occasions; on concluding a bargain, on engaging to bear one another company, and on every kind of friendly agreement or good understand ing. May not this serve to explain the phrase in Matt. vi. 3; Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth?' that is, 'Let not thy heart consent to its own good thoughts, with a sinful self-applause.' So much is said, in the Old Testament, of speaking with the eyes, hands, and even feet, that it is scarcely understood by Englishmen. They should see the expressive and innumerable gesticulations of foreigners when they converse: many a question is answered, and many a significant remark conveyed, by even children, who learn this language much sooner than their mother-tongue. Perhaps the expression of Solomon, that the wicked man speaketh with his feet, (Prov. vi. 13,) may appear more natural, when it is considered that the mode of sitting on the ground in the East brings the feet into view, nearly in the same direct line as the hands; the whole body crouching down together, and the hands, in fact, often resting upon the feet."

Matt. xxvi. 23, and John xiii. 2527.-"To witness the daily familyhabits, in the house in which I lived at Deir el Kamr, forcibly reminded me of Scripture scenes. The absence of the females at our meals has been already noticed. There is another custom, by no means agreeable to an European; to which, however, that I

might not seem unfriendly, I would have willingly endeavoured to submit, but it was impossible to learn it in the short compass of a twenty days' visit. There are set on the table, in the evening, two or three messes of stewed meat, vegetables, and sour milk. To me, the privilege of a knife and spoon and plate was granted: but the rest all helped themselves immediately from the dish; in which it was no uncommon thing to see more than five Arab fingers at one time. Their bread, which is extremely thin, tearing and folding up like a sheet of paper, is used for the purpose of rolling together a large mouthful, or sop ping up the fluid and vegetables. But the practice which was most revolting to me was this: when the master of the house found in the dish any dainty morsel, he took it out with his fingers, and applied it to my mouth. This was true Syrian courtesy and hospitality; and, had I been sufficiently well-bred, my mouth would have opened to receive it. On my pointing to my plate, however, he had the goodness to deposit the choice morsel there. I would not have noticed so trivial a circumstance, if it did not exactly illustrate what the evangelists record of the last supper. St. Matthew relates that the traitor was described by our Lord in these terms: 'He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me,' (xxvi. 23.) From this it may be in ferred that Judas sat near to our Lord; perhaps on one side next to him. St. John, who was leaning on Jesus's bosom, describes the fact with an additional circumstance. Upon his asking, Lord, who is it?' Jesus answered,

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He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered into him,' (xiii. 25-27.)"

B.

For the Christian Journal. On the Demoniacs of Scripture. THERE have been three opinions on this obscure yet interesting subject. Some have thought the cases of demoniacal possession to have been only mental derangement, in its several

forms; and the production of them by devils to have been allowed in Scripture only in compliance with popular opinion. But this theory is so extremely objectionable, that most sound interpreters of Scripture have agreed that the demoniacs were actually "possessed with devils;" particularly as they are distinguished from "lunatics" in Matt. iv. 24. A third explanation, however, is that these unhappy persons were under the sway of the de parted souls of wicked men; an opinion very ancient, though probably little known at the present day. We extract some remarks on this latter view of the subject from the (London) Quarterly Theological Review. They are contained in a review, in that work, of "Townsend's New Testament."

"But there is an opinion on the general subject of possession, whose ancient acceptance by the world and the church, whose probability and whose accordance with the Scripture we think worthy of Mr. Townsend's future examination:That those unclean spirits are not what we ordinarily understand by devils,' but are the souls of evil men.'

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Throughout the New Testament there is but one spirit called the devil, (in the original, the Araßoos), or Satan, or Beelzebub. The word is not used in the plural number.

Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.-Matt. xxv. 41.

That old serpent called the Devil and

Satan.'-Rev. xii. 9.

Paul says to Elymas, "Thou child of

the devil."-Acts xiii. 10.

'Resist the devil, and he will fly from you.'-James iv. 7.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour'-1 Pet. v. 8.

Then was Jesus led up of the spirit, to be tempted of the devil '-Matt. iv. 1. 'And he was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan.'

"Thus there is one evil spirit distinctly marked by an appropriate name, which is never used in the plural. Where other evil agencies are spoken of, they are either (and it appears, indifferently) VOL. XI.

called in the original Пvevμara πovnpa, or Aaiμovia.

• Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils,' (in the Greek, demons.)— Matt. x 8.

'If I by Beelzebub cast out devils (demons,) by whom do your children cast them out?'-Matt. xii. 27.

Now I say that the things which the (demons,) not to God.-1 Cor. x. 20. Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils

'But if I cast out devils (demons,) by the finger of God, then is the kingdom of God come unto you.'-Matt. xii. 28. the devils (demons) also believe and trem

• Thou believest that there is one God,

ble.'-James ii. 19.

·

"When our Saviour and his apostles spoke, they of course used their words in the customary meaning. But the meaning of the word Demon among the Jews, in the time of the apostles, was, we learn from Josephus, the soul of a wicked man,' which was supposed forms of the living, and destroying to have the power of entering into the them, unless relief was speedily administered, Ta yap xansμeva daimovia, ταυτα δε πονηρών εστιν ανθρώπων πνευMara. (De Bell. Jud. 1. vii.)

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"Justin Martyr, (a Samaritan, and the son of Greek parents,) in the second century, speaks of those tormented by the souls of the dead, whom all call demoniacs, and madmen.' If these testimonies be allowed, our Lord, when he commands, 'Come forth, thou demon,' used words which, to his hearers, were, come forth, thou evil soul of a dead man.'

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"In the New Testament, this conception is sustained: 'the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God,' 1 Cor. x. 20. Now it is notorious that the Greek and Roman sacrifices were declaredly to deities and demigods, who were, for the most part, once men; and not to good or bad angels, of whom they do not appear to have had any public knowledge. They deified heroes and kings down to a late period. To the Jews this heathen worship was an abomination, as defrauding the worship of the true God, and they accounted all the objects of the worship evil.

"It was the conception of the oldest Greek philosophy, that the air was

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