mans at the time of Christ's trial, they had not the power of taking away life: therefore, they were under the necessity of bringing Christ to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, (Matt. xxvi. 2. 11. 17.) He most reluctantly passed sentence of death on him, "for he knew that for envy they had delivered him!" (vers. 18.) Both Josephus, the Jewish historian, and Tacitus, the Roman historian, who lived about those times, mention the death of Christ to have occurred under this governor. See Josephus. Tacitus. Evidence.

DECEIVED. The prophet Ezekiel, after having by the authority of God, proclaimed many admonitions to the Jews, for their iniquity and sins; for having set up idols in their hearts, for having encouraged false prophets, &c., says, in chap. xiv. 6, "thus saith the Lord God; repent, and turn from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations," &c. But if not, (vers. 7, 8,) "I will set my face against that man," &c. "And if the prophet," (the false prophets who were deceiving the Jews by their lies, &c. xiii. 1. 10,) “be deceived when he hath spoken any thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet;" that is, when the false prophet prophesies peace to you, when there was no peace, (xiii. 10) saying the Lord hath sent him, and the Lord hath spoken, when the Lord hath not sent him, and the Lord hath not spoken, (xiii. 6, 7,) I the Lord will deceive, that is, frustrate or disappoint, (see Webster's American Dictionary,) that prophet. The very words immediately following, fully warrant this explanation; "and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (vers. 9.) See Language.

To imagine for a moment that this expression implied that God deceived the prophet, is not only in direct op

position to the whole tenor of the chapter, but absurd! For, suppose, for the sake of giving the infidel every possible advantage, that God had deceived the prophet, what could induce God, or any of his servants, to tell the people he had done so? What, He calls upon them to repent, and yet he tells them, he has deceived them! An idiot would laugh at such a palpable absurdity! See Temptation.

DEIST. One who professes to believe in the existence of God, yet disbelieves the sacred Scriptures. Formerly, such characters were found principally among men who were called Philosophers, but whose acquaintance with the laws and operations of Nature, was little more than that possessed by modern empirics. In our times, there is no such being as a Deist among Philosophers; he is to be found only among the illiterate, and consequently conceited, portion of the community. Why this remarkable change? I answer, because as men become really well acquainted with the laws and operations of Nature, do they find, that so far from these laws of Nature contradicting the Scriptures, they materially substantiate them. Whereas those who fancy they are acquainted with these laws, yet in reality know little or nothing about them, are puffed up with the little they know, and from an actual ignorance of the operations of Nature, think they militate against the word of God. But it is an undeniable fact, that just in proportion as men become thoroughly acquainted with these laws of Nature, are they convinced, the Bible contains a revelation from the Creator. Hence the greatest Philosophers of modern times strike to the authority of the Bible; Newton, Bacon, Locke, Rush, Hunter, Haller, Davy, &c. all concurred that " it had God for its author,

salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its substance." "A little learning is a dangerous thing." See Atheist. Light. World. Moses. Language. Names. Evidence.

DEVIL. An attributative name given in the sacred Scriptures to the Evil Spirit, the god of this world, the great enemy of GoD and man. The term, devil, or Satan, signifies traduçer, calumniator, false accuser; and although sometimes applied in the Bible, to men of this character, yet it is, by way of eminence, employed to denote that apostate angel; who is also called a liar, and the FATHER of lies. "He was," says Christ, "a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him; when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of that which is his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John viii. 44.) When we reflect on the manner, in which he attacked our first parents, viz. by assuring them, that they should "not die," that is, should not become mortal, (Gen. iii. 4.) and compare this assurance of his, with the universal experience of all mankind, in that, "in Adam all die," we behold every member of the human family, testifying in their own persons, (most reluctantly,) that he is not only a liar, but the first liar. Thus is he publicly convicted by every man; and the truth of the declaration of the Son of God, that Satan is the father of lies, made manifest. And it is most remarkable that in the whole warfare which Satan carries on against the most high God, he attacks all men, just in the same way, as he attacked our first parents, viz. by persuading them, that the Creator is not a God of truth. To illustrate this we must first recollect that the living God is called the God of Truth, to whom, Christ said, before Pontius Pilate, he came to bear wit

ness. (John xviii. 37.) Satan is, on the contrary, called "a liar, and the father of lies." (John viii. 44.) Satan has ever attempted to seduce the sons of men to rebel against the most high God by persuading them "God is not a God of truth." In this way he attacked our first parents. He did not then plainly say, (any more than he does now) God is a liar. No! no! he only replied, after Eve had informed him that God hath said "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,"" Ye shall not surely die! She believed him! Disbelieved God! The consequences I need not relate. Upon this same principle Satan has ever carried on, and still does, his rebellion against the Living God; and we can trace every species of human rebellion against the Creator, from that of the open infidel, to the religious Pharisee, to this source. The infidel rejects divine revelation! Why so? Satan persuades him it is a lie! The immoral man violates the commands of the God of Heaven! Why so? Because although God has said, "The wicked shall not go unpunished," yet Satan says, "Ye shall not be punished!" The self-righteous man (who, being ignorant of God's righteousness, goes about to establish his own righteousness, Rom. x. 2, 3,) despises and rejects the plainest declarations of scripture. Why so? Because Satan suggests they are not true-yea, where God says he is perfectly satisfied with the work of his Son-that His is the only name under Heaven whereby man can be saved-Satan undermines this glorious truth by his inventions. Thus man makes God a liar, rejecting the record which God hath given of his Son; (John v. 10.) and this because Satan persuades him that God does not mean what he says. For instance, when Christ says, (John xvii. 14.) "I have finished the work which thou hast given me to do," Satan whispers, "Yea, hath God

said so? he never meant it!" When Christ says He "came to seek and to save that which was lost," Satan whispers, Lost? Do not believe it; you have only strayed! So far as your abilities are concerned you are as sound as ever! and as to saving you; do you imagine Christ does not require something at your hands? Believe me, (Satan continues,) Christ came to do only his part of the work, and he leaves you to finish it; you must perform some act or work to make Christ yours, to close with him-I care not what it is, but you must accept of the Gospel terms. If you prefer water to fire, a dip is not much trouble, that will do; or if you do not like to be immersed, why then some other work will answer every purpose! By these and various other similar means, Satan has ever endeavoured to tarnish the glorious work of the Son of God; persuading men that something must be done by them to obtain the benefits of the Gospel; in fact that God will be pleased with an imperfect righteousness, or in other words with a righteousness stained by sin. How contrary is all this to the express declarations of scripture, which reveals Jesus the Son of the living God, as the character in which alone God is well pleased-for whose sake alone he passeth by transgression and pardoneth sin-who by himself alone hath completed and finished that work which justifieth the ungodly, but which vain man now impiously attempts doing, or to which, at least, he thinks of adding something to make it more complete.

This glorious truth is called the Gospel, or good news; and the real belief of which as certainly produces, in him who believes it, the fruits of righteousness, as a good tree produces good fruit. If a man says, he believes, and that a life and conversation becoming godliness, are not manifested in him; he either lies in saying he believes