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the sinner to depend alone on him for acceptance. This he does by bringing home the law to the conscience, and enlight eing the understanding to discern its spiritual nature, and the extent and goodness of its righteous demands. The soul thus taught, stands condemned before God, confesses itself to be guilty, filthy, and abominable, and pleads only the merits of Christ for pardon and justification. These convictions of sin are sometimes accompanied with great terror, especially if the soul be suffered to doubt whether God will have mercy or not; and nothing but a discovery of the all-sufficiency of Christ's satisfaction, whereby God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly, can remove these fears: and when this is done, and peace established through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit continues to convince of sin with increasing evidence: and though the soul may not feel the keen anguish it endured under its first awakenings, yet it becomes, from day to day, more deeply humbled, and is taught to rejoice alone in Christ Jesus, and to have no confidence in the flesh and as it becomes poorer and meaner in its own eyes, and viler in its own esteem, Christ becomes more precious and honourable, till at last he becomes" all in all." If this be your experience, give God the glory, and take the benefit and advantage of every ordinance? if God and you are agreed in opinion of your own vileness and Christ's sufficiency, from henceforth walk humbly and thankfully before him. If God be on your side, you may expect to meet with evils, but you need not fear them; you may expect trials and temptations, but you need not be discouraged on account of them. His power is almighty, his grace all-sufficient, and his gifts and favours without repentance. Whatever you want, he has treasured up for you in Christ Jesus, and his Holy Spirit will enable you to come to him continually, and to re ceive out of his fulness. I shall not fail to pray for your success your Christian warfare; and when you draw nigh to a throne of grace, put up a petition for one who shall always be happy in being, Dear Madam,

in

Your friend and servant in the Gospel of Jesus, Homerton, Oct. 31 1786. JOHN EYRE.

EXPLANATION OF 1 PET, III, 19, 20.

IN the interpretation of Scripture, particular attention should be paid to what is usually termed, the Analogy of Faith. One doubtful passage should not be explained so as to contradict the plain sense of another. Through the want of due re gard to this rule, erroneous principles are frequently deduced from the word of truth. The apostle Peter's expression, re

ferred unto at the head of these remarks, has been thus perverted. Speaking of Christ, he had said, that he was "put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit :" and then he adds," By which also, he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing."

From this passage the Papists infer the descent of Christ's human soul, immediately after his crucifixion, into Hell, or the place of the damned. Some of the ancient fathers entertained this opinion. What is styled the Apostles' Creed, seems to countenance the idea. But the ancient fathers were fallible men; and the Creed, called the Apostles', was not composed by the Apostles themselves. Neither the one nor the other, therefore, has proper authority to determine our judgments on this particular. There is indeed a passage in the Psalms, in which David, personating the Messiah, says, "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell. But the term Hell there, does not, in the original, signify the place of the damned; but the invisible, or separate state of the dead +. This is sufficiently evident, even to the English reader, from its immediate connexion with the following phrase: "Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption." The former part of the sentence informs us, that the soul of Christ should not continue in its state of separation from the body: the latter, that his body itself should not be so long separated from his soul, as to be reduced to a state of putrefaction.

As to the quotation from Peter, which now lies before us, it says nothing respecting the human soul of Christ, much less of its descent into Hell. It speaks only of his preaching. Li terally rendered indeed, it is," he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." The phrase, however, does not imply local motion, but only the act of preaching. We have a similar mode of expression in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians (ii. 17.) "He came and preached peace to you, who were afar off, and to them who were nigh." Does the apostle here mean to assert, that Christ actually went to the Ephesians, in order to preach to them? The case is too evident to admit an interpretation like this. The word which, in both these passages, literally denotes local and personal motion, is lost in that which expresses the act of preaching. "Many similar phrases," as Macknight observes, "might be produced from the best Greek authors." That the apostle Peter did not here intend to convey the idea of the actual descent of Christ's human

* Ps. xvi. 10.

+ See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, under : and his Greek Lex. See also Ainsworth's Annotations on Gen, xxxvii. 35; and on Pa. xvi, 10,

under Adus.

soul into Hell, is evident from the passage itself; for he speaks of his preaching, not personally, but by his Spirit; by that Spirit which, as the words immediately preceding express, quickened or raised him from the dead. This certainly was not his human soul, but the Holy Spirit himself. The notion respecting the descent of Christ's human soul into Hell, in mediately after its separation from the body by death, is evi dently contradicted by our Lord's address to the dying thief: "To-day shalt thon be with me in Paradise." This declaration of Christ, so far as it related to himself, had respect to his soul in its separate state; and it informs us, that Paradise, of Heaven (Hades, or the invisible world) was the place of its immediate reception and residence.

The sentiment to which I have adverted is not the only error that has been deduced from this passage. Some taking it for granted, that the apostle speaks of Christ's descent into Hell, in order to preach there to the spirits in prison, have hence in ferred the probability of the final salvation of the damned themselves. It appears, however, from what has been already said, that the passage does not contain the principle from whence they argue; consequently, their conclusion is groundless. It might be further urged, it the passage relates to the descent of Christ into Hell, that he might preach unto the damned, in order to their salvation, why are the unbelievers in Noah's time only mentioned, and not those of other generations? And why does the apostle say nothing of the success of Christ's preaching to the spirits in prison? Surely, he would have spoken in a very different manner, if he had meant to inform us of the probable deliverance of those who are imprisoned in Hell. To put this matter beyond all doubt, many passages of Scripture expressly teach, that the misery of those who die in a state of unbelief and impenitence, is properly eternal; equal, in point of duration, to the blessedness of those who are saved.

This controverted passage will be better understood by con sidering, a little more particularly, the persons to whom Christ is here said to have preached, the time when, and the medium through which he preached unto them. Respecting the persons, we observe, they were "disobedient in the days of Noah;" and, at the period when Peter wrote this epistle, they were disembodied spirits, coufined for their disobedience in the prison of Hell. The time of Christ's preaching unto them is not here expressly specified; but, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, it will not be difficult to point out this period. From what has been already advanced, we may safely infer that it was not in the time of their imprisonment. The Ara logy of Faith directs us to conclude rather, that it was during

Pet. ii. 19. Jude v. 6, 7. Mat. xxv. 46.

their life of disobedience," when once the long-suffering of God waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing." This interpretation exactly accords with the evident meaning of a parallel passage in this same epistle. If we turn to chap. iv. ver. 6, we find the following expression: "For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." The persons here spoken of, were certainly dead at the time when the apostle made this remark; but can any one suppose, for a moment, that he meant to say that the gospel was preached unto them when they were dead? Does not the nature of the case direct us to conclude, without any hesitation, that the preaching unto them was while they were living? If we compare the two pas sages together, we shall find, that the same mode of interpretation applies, with equal propriety, to each. But we have another particular to notice, viz. The medium through which Christ preached to these antediluvians. "This," says the

apostle," was by his Spirit ;" that is, by the warnings, the exhortations, the reproofs of his Spirit, in the ministry of his inspired servant Noah. This accords with what the apostle had suggested in the first chapter of this epistle, ver. 10, 11, 12, where he informs us, that the prophets, and, doubtless, Noah among others, conceived and spake as the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify; and it also serves to explain the declaration of Jehovah, respecting those very persons to whom the passage before us refers: "The Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with nan*."

The above is no novel interpretation of the passage in ques tion; it corresponds with the commentary of the venerable Bede. Paraphrazing on the words, as Fulke, in his notes on the Rhemish Testament, observes, he expresses himself thus: "He, who in our time, coming in the flesh, preached the way of life to the world, even he himself came before the flood, and preached to them who were then unbelievers, and lived carnally; for even he, by his Holy Spirit, was in Noah, and in the rest of the holy men, who were at that time; and, by their good conversation, preached to the wicked men of that age, that they might be converted to better manners.”

The passage thus interpreted, suggests some very interesting remarks. Hence we observe, First, That it is Christ himself who preaches by the ministry of his servants unto men. Thus he preached by his Spirit in Noah, in the prophets, and in the apostles. Thus also he preaches by his ministring ser vants in the present day. They are not indeed immediately inspired by Christ, so as to be rendered infallible, as the prophets and apostles were; but the office of a gospel-ministry is

• Gen. v i. 3.

:

ordained by him he qualifies and sends forth persons to en gage in this office; he has given them his word as the rule of their ministry; and so far as their addresses accord with this rule, it may be truly said, that Christ himself preaches by them. They who disregard the instructions, the warnings, the exhortations, thus given unto them in the name of Christ, are chargeable with the rejection of Christ himself, and must account unto him for their conduct.

Another idea which this passage suggests is, that multitudes of those to whom Christ preaches by his ministring servants, are disobedient to his word. This is the character here given of the persons to whom he preached by Noah. Moses often complained of it in the Israelites, and so did the prophets in general. "All the day long," said Isaiah," have I stretched out my hands to a gainsaying and disobedient people." We have sad evidences of the fact, even under the personal ministry of Christ himself, and that of his apostles. It is glaringly manifest in the present day. The word here rendered disobedient, properly signifies unpersuadable; and is not this descriptive of the generality of persons around us, to whom the gospel is sent Neither warnings, exhortations, nor encouragejuents, can persuade them to flee from the wrath to come. Ignorance, insensibility, self-righteous pride, delusive hopes, depraved affections, Satanic influence, so fatally stupify their minds, that they are equally unaffected by the threatenings of God's vengeance and the proclamations of his mercy.

From this passage we remark further, that God bears for a season with those who are disobedient to the word which Christ preaches by his ministring servants. Thus he did with these antediluvians. His patience bore with them during the long space of 120 years, "while the ark was preparing." Thus has he borne with similar characters in every age. What instances have we of this among ourselves! How long has he borne with us! He acts thus, in order to magnify his longsuffering, that he may have mercy on his chosen at the appointed period, that the ungodly may fill up the measure of their iniquity, and that the finally impenitent may be rendered the more inexcusable.

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Lastly, We learn from this passage, that they who continue disobedient to the preaching of Christ by his ministring servants, shall, at death, have their spirits consigned and cast into the prison of Hell. This was the miserable fate of those who were disobedient in the time of Noah. Though God bears with these characters for a season, yet he does not overlook their conduct. He marks all their ways: his patience has its limits. With respect to some, it is of comparatively short duration. They who are yet disobedient, are in a most perilous condition. The period of God's long-suffering toward then

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