*-.-' 
 
 V 
 
 ^ 
 
 V 
 
 > 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 lti|2£ 12: 
 ■u I2ii 12.2 
 
 g tea 1 2^ 
 
 iim 
 
 
 llil 
 
 1.25 III 1.4 1.6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 6" 
 
 »> 
 
 t 
 
 3^ 
 
 ^ ^^A 
 
 7 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sdences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 \ 
 
 ^V 
 
 [v 
 
 •^ 
 
 \\ 
 
 
 
 '^:4^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
) 
 
 ^ 
 
 A^^ 
 
 
 % 
 
 <^ 
 
 5.^' 
 
 U 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHIVI/iCJVIH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian InitltuM for Historical MIcroraproductions / Inttltut Canadian da microraproductlona historiquaa 
 
Tschnical and Bibliographic Notas/Notat tachniquaa at bibiiographiquas 
 
 Tha Instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat 
 original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of this 
 copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, 
 which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha 
 raproduction. or which may aignificantly changa 
 tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 
 
 L'institut a microfilm^ la maillaur axamplaira 
 qu'il lui a *t« possibia da sa procurar. Las details 
 da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-Atra uniquas du 
 point da yu9 bibliographiqua. qui pauvant modifier 
 una imaga raproduita, ou qui pauvant axigar una 
 modification dans la mAthoda normala da filmaga 
 sor.t indiqute ci-dassous. 
 
 Colourad covars/ 
 Couvartura da coulaur 
 
 Colourad pagas/ 
 Pagas da coulaur 
 
 Covara damagad/ 
 Couvartura andommagte 
 
 Pagas damagad/ 
 Pagas andommagAas 
 
 Covars rastorad and/or laminatad/ 
 Couvartura rastaurte at/ou pallicuita 
 
 1 Pagas rastorad and/or laminatad/ 
 Pagas rastaurias at/ou palliculAas 
 
 Covar titia missing/ 
 
 La titra da couvartura manqua 
 
 Pagas discolourad, stained or foxed/ 
 ^ Pagas dicolor^as, tachaties ou piquAes 
 
 Tha 
 tot 
 
 Tha 
 pos 
 oft 
 film 
 
 Ori( 
 
 bag 
 
 tha 
 
 sion 
 
 oth« 
 
 first 
 
 sion 
 
 ori 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 D 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartas g6ographiquas en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations an couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 ReliA avac d'autras documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 La re liure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distortion la long de la marge inttrieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pagas blanches ajouttas 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissant dans la texte, 
 mais. lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas At A filmAes. 
 
 □ 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages dAtachAes 
 
 QShowthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Quality inAgala de I'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary material/ 
 Comprend du material supplAmante're 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une oelure, 
 ate, ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 The 
 shal 
 TiNI 
 whi( 
 
 Map 
 diffa 
 antir 
 bagii 
 right 
 requ 
 mett 
 
 y 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppldmantaires; 
 
 Wrinkled pages may film slightly out of focus. 
 [9] -274 p. 
 
 Irregular pagination : [i] - v, [4i 
 
 This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est fiimd au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 
 
 10X 14X 18X 22X 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 v/ 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 

 Th* copy nimtd h«r« hM b««n r«produc«d thank* 
 to tho gonorotity of: 
 
 University of British Columbia Library 
 
 Th« ImagM oppoaring hara ara tha baat quality 
 poaaibia conaidaring tha condition and lagibility 
 of tha original copy and in icaaping with tha 
 filming contract apacif icationa. 
 
 Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad 
 baginning with tha front covar and anding on 
 tha laat paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- 
 aion. or tha back covar whan appropriata. All 
 othar original copiaa ara fllmad baginning on tha 
 firat paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- 
 aion. and anding on tha laat paga with a printad 
 or iliuatratad impraaaion. 
 
 Tha laat racordad frama on aach microfiche 
 •hail contain tha symbol — >»> (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or tha symbol y (moaning "END"), 
 whichavar applies. 
 
 L'axamplaira fiim4 fut reproduit grice A la 
 g4n4roaiti da: 
 
 Univarsity of British Columbia Library 
 
 Laa imagaa auh^antaa ont At* raproduitea avac la 
 piua grand soin, compta tenu de la condition at 
 da la nattetA de i'exempiaira film*, et en 
 conformity avac las conditions du contrat da 
 filmaga. 
 
 Lea exemplaires originaux dont la couvarture en 
 papier est imprimAe sont filmte en commen^ant 
 par la premier plot et en terminant soit par la 
 darniire page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'iilustration. soit par la second 
 plat, salon le cas. Tous lea autrea exemplaires 
 originaux sont f limAs en commenpant par la 
 pramiAra page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'iilustration et en terminant par 
 la darniire page qui comporte una telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la 
 darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE". le 
 symbols V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Maps, plates, cherts, etc.. may be filmed et 
 different reduction ratios. Those too lerge to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 
 Lea cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre 
 filmAs A des taux de reduction diffArents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre 
 reproduit en un seul clichA. 11 est filmA A partir 
 de I'engle supArieur gauche, de geuche A droite. 
 et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre 
 d'images nAcessoire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mAthode. 
 
 32X 
 
 1 
 
 ^ ■ . 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
-y 
 
4?. 
 
 A 
 
 -k':. 
 
 FEW REMAINS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D. D. 
 
 EDITED BY HIS GRANDSON, 
 
 The Rev. GEORGE PATTERSON. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 M' JOSEPH M. WILSON, 
 
 No. Ill South Tenth Strket, below Chestnut Street ; 
 
 Jaues Patterson, Pictoc, N. S. ; K. & W. KcKinlay, Halifax, N. S. 
 
 J. De Mill, St. John, N. B. ; Charles Fletcher, Toronto, C. W. ; 
 
 William Oliphant & Co., No. 7 South Bridqe, Edinburgh j 
 
 D. McLellan, Hamilton, C. W. 
 
 1859. 
 
 ■*;^#-i 
 
 r 
 
\ 
 
 #% 
 
 ^vT" 
 
 V 
 
 «^ 
 
 >- 
 
 W: 
 
 !f^ 
 
 "^J 
 
 "*^ * 
 
 ■^ 
 
 ■fliP". »|^. 
 
 ,.yr 
 
 ■tr 
 
 ^' 
 
 ^^ 
 
 * 
 
 
 I ^' 
 
 /^/^ 
 
 m 
 
 #^ 
 
 '>«• * 
 
 f#- 
 
 ■^ 
 

 •'♦•, 
 
 v."' « 
 
 •' » 
 
 .•"l^ 
 
 *■ 
 
 
 < 
 
 ••* 
 
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 ^^^tifi*^ 
 
 .4. 
 
 ■m * 
 
 &■- 
 
 
 When the Memoir of Doctor MacGregor was projected, it 
 was supposed that all his writings that remain, or are deemed 
 worthy of preservation, might be included in the same volume 
 with it. Although the materials for the history of his life in- 
 creased beyond what was anticipated, yet the same idea was re- 
 tained, until a large portion of the work was actually stereotyped, 
 when the unexpected discovery of a large amount of his MSS., 
 particularly of a treatise on " the Beligious Imprecations, and 
 denunciations of God's wrath, in the Book of Psalms," rendered 
 a change of plan necessary. It was found impossible to include 
 both the Memoir and Remains in one 12mo. volume, without 
 rendering it entirely disproportioned in bulk, and still the 
 friends of the deceased would not be willing that any portion 
 of either should be suppressed. Hence, it has been resolved to 
 issue the Remains in a separate volume, and the editor feels a 
 conviction, that, not only those who knew and admired the author, 
 but many to whom his name has been hitherto unknown, will 
 rejoice in the preservation of a treatise on an important subject, 
 but ill-understood among Christians, the discovery of which 
 has rendered the present volume necessary. 
 
 In the arrangement of these remains we have placed first 
 
 those treatises on subjects of Christian doctrine, which were 
 
 completely prepared for the press, and which the author may 
 
 have expected to form additions to general Christian literature. 
 
 Of this nature, especially, is that on Religious Imprecations, and 
 
 (iii) 
 
 
 V 
 
 '■A 
 

 iv 
 
 PBXFAOE. 
 
 that on Baptism. The subjects of both are of pennanent inter- 
 est, — he regarded both as embodying important scriptural truth, 
 which was too commonly either altogether misunderstood, or, in- 
 sufficiently appreciated ; and both were left in a state of com- 
 plete preparation for the press. The treatise on tbe Millen 
 nium is also to some extent of the same character. It was pre- 
 pared and published in a religious periodical about sixty years 
 ago, but it embodies, we believe, the views which he held till 
 the end of his life. The bringing these three treatises togef'\<^r 
 will also a£ford a favourable opportunity for a comparison of his 
 stylo at different periods of his life. The first was written 
 about the year 1789, when he was only thirty years of age, 
 that on the Millennium, about ten years later, while that on 
 Baptism was written toward the close of his life. Though, in 
 our opinion, the earliest of his productions will, in vigour and 
 clearness, scarcely suffer by comparison with those of a Iate» 
 period, yet we think the latter are freer from idiomatic expres- 
 sions, and show greater purity of language. 
 
 The other pieces contained in this volume, though some 
 of them have been published, are yet mostly of a fugitive 
 character, having arisen out of controversies or other circum- 
 stances of local or temporary interest. These, with the ex- 
 ception of two letters at the end, we have arranged according to 
 the date of composition, as far as this could be ascertained. 
 Some of these possess permanent interest in themselves, but 
 they are chiefly valuable as connected with his life and labours, 
 and illustrating his times. In the perusal of them in this order, 
 the reader will, we think, perceive a growth in Christian meek- 
 ness, as he advanced in years. A comparison of the last of 
 them, his letter to the Glasgow Colonial Society, with the 
 first, his letter on slavery, will show how thoroughly he had 
 learned the Christian duty of " speaking the truth in love." 
 
 We do not feel it necessary to indulge in any critical estimate 
 
 of these writings, more especially as, in the course of the Memoir, 
 
 .^ we have had occasion to refer, not only to the circumstances in 
 
 J which they were produced; but also in some measure to their 
 
 #-■ 
 
 4 
 
 
■«• 
 
 ^ 
 
 PfiEFAOE. , ▼ 
 
 contents. The intelligent reader has now the opportunity of 
 judging of their merits for himself. We may be permitted, 
 however, simply to record our opinion, that these productions, 
 especially the three treatises first referred to, particularly when 
 we consider the disadvantageous circumstances in which they 
 were prepared, manifest a vigour of thought, a clearness and 
 simplicity of style, and an acquaintance with Theology and fa« 
 miliarity with Scripture, which entitle their author to a high 
 place among< Theologians. Our prayer is, that, through the 
 blessing of the Great Head of the church, the author " being 
 dead may yet speak,'' through these writings, on behalf of the 
 important subject of Christian doctrines and duty, of which he 
 has treated ; and thus advance the glory of Him to whose ser- 
 vice all his powers were devoted. 
 
 George Pattebson. 
 Green Hill, Pictou, N. S., »7w?y, 1859. ^ 
 1* 
 
 ling to 
 rtained. 
 [es, but 
 ibours, 
 order, 
 meek- 
 last of 
 th the 
 he bad 
 
 re." 
 
 ^timate 
 
 [emoir, 
 
 ices in 
 
 lo their 
 
 ■:^ 
 
 ■kt- 
 
 ■'^^ 
 
 <«£ 
 
,^1h 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 '» 
 
 I. nSFENCE OP TDE KELiaiOUS IMPRECATIOXS AND DENUNCIA- 
 TIONS OP god's WRATII contained IX THE BOOK OF 
 
 t 
 
 PSALMS ACiAlNST THE ENEMIES OF THE COSPBL . 
 
 If. ON THE MILLENNIUM 
 
 III. GUIDE TO BAPTISM 
 
 IV. LETTER TO A CLERGYMAN, URGING IIIM TO SET TREE A BLACK 
 
 GIRL HE HELD IN SLAVERY .... 
 T. LETTER TO THE GENERAL ASSOCIATE SYNOD . . 
 
 TI. ADDRESS TO THE UNITED SECESSION SYNOD, ON BEHALF OP 
 PICTOU ACADEMY 
 
 9 
 
 101 
 137 
 
 169 
 191 
 
 207 
 
 rii. 
 
 " THE PROSPKRIT\ Oy THOSE WHO LOVE JERUSALEJI," A 
 SERMON PREACHED AT THE OPENING OF THE SYNOD OF 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OP NOVA SCOTIA, 28Tn 
 
 JUNE, 1825 ..,.,,.. 217 
 
 Till. ADDRESS TO THE STUDENTS OF PICTOU ACADEMY . 239 
 
 IX. LETTER TO THE GLASGOW COLONIAL SOCIETY . . . 249 
 
 X. PRITATE LETTERS • 265 
 
 XI. APPENDIX. — TRANSLATION OP A PORTION OF ONE OF HIS 
 
 GAELIC POEMS . , » . 271 
 
*'*., 
 
 '^s 
 
 «->-.'ii V^:- .<i!,-+MS8»B,., 
 
A DEFENCE 
 
 OF THB 
 
 EIESIL2O<0>TO I[M]PIKIS€ATI[<n)OT 
 
 ▲IfD 
 
 DENUNCIATIONS OF GOD'S WRATH, 
 
 CONTAINED IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS, 
 
 AOAINST 
 
 THE ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 \\ 
 
 »L 
 
f^l. 
 
 rHif 
 

 INTKODUCTION. 
 
 Benevolence, or good will, is a principle implanted in tho 
 human heart, by the great Creator. It is a part of the iinasre 
 of God, after which mar it first was made, and which he 
 in some degree still retains ; a piece of the ruins of that fabric 
 raised in Paradise, and demolished by sin. "God is love, and 
 he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 
 Being supremely and infinitely benevolent, God cannot but ex- 
 ercise a good will towards man, as far as it consists with his 
 justice, holiness, and other perfections ; nor can he give a bet- 
 ter proof of it than he hath done, in making him capable of 
 exercising such a god-like virtue. It is the source of all the 
 goodness, love, generosity, kindness, hospitality, friendship, 
 corif assion, and of all the happiness that is enjoyed in the world. 
 The mure that this divine principle is suffered to exert itself, 
 the more will man resemble his Maker, and, of course, the hap- 
 pier will he be. Without it the world would be nothing but a 
 theatre of envy, malice, revenge, murder, rapine, confusion, and 
 in short of every black and devilish crime ; and whatever of 
 these is to be found is owing to the want of benevolence. 
 
 As God is the best of all beings, he must be the first object 
 of our benevolence; and from our good will to him, as from 
 its source, must flow all that wbich we exercise towards man. 
 We cannot, indeed, by our best wishes or endeavours make 
 God better or happier; yet we have many opportunities, which 
 we should gladly embrace, of proving the sincerity of our good- 
 
 (9) 
 
 ■■SlL^ 
 
10 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 will towards him: as adoring and obeying him, rejoicing in 
 every display of his glory, and shewing our displeasure at every 
 dishonour that is done to his name, by the breaking of his laws. 
 Our benevolence to man is not to be confined to relations, friends, 
 or countrymen, but to be extended wide as the world. We 
 must be disposed to " do good to all men," to the utmost extent 
 of our power. 
 
 The rule according to which our good-will is to be exercised 
 is the law of God. Before the creation was disordered by sin, 
 there was no danger of erring in the exercise of benevolence, 
 for the rule of it was well known ; but by the entrance of sin, 
 angels became devils, and men little better; the law of God 
 was almost lost, and man's benevolence so wofully perverted 
 that he has transferred it from God to the Devil. Genuine 
 benevolence, however, must be regulated still by the same di- 
 vine rule, and not by the erring notions of ourselves or others. 
 He is not benevolent towards a bad man, who flatters and en- 
 courages him in ill, however good his intention may be, and 
 how agreeable soever his flattery be to the bad man j but he 
 is truly benevolent, who reproves and corrects him, and who 
 endeavours to prevent the execution of his wickedness. " Thou 
 shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, thou shalt in any wise 
 rebuke thy neighbour, and not sufier sin upon him." It is not 
 contrary to benevolence, to disarm and confine mad-men, to 
 punish thieves, robbers, and other disturbers of the peace, and 
 to take away the lives of murderers. To restrain these is a 
 benefit not to society only, but to themselves also, because thereby 
 they are prevented from doing more mischief, and deserving 
 greater punishment. 
 
 Because of man's natural benevolence, however perverted, 
 he is sliocked at imprecations or prayers of evil. " Quod tihi 
 fieri nan vis, alteri ne feccris ;" i. e., "What thou wouldst not 
 wish to be done to thyself, do not to another," being written, 
 however, fsiintly upon every man's heart, no man can pray for 
 evil upon another, any more than upon himself. But, by de- 
 grees, men may come to act as much in contradiction to this 
 

 * * 
 
 fiV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 11 
 
 maxim as if it were in a great measure, if not entirely, erased 
 from their hearts, for it is certain there are such monsters of 
 men in the world as think themselves entitled to pour forth 
 cataracts of venom upon all who offer them the smallest injury, 
 real or supposed. " Their throat is an open sepulchre, with 
 their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under 
 their lips, their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." Rom. 
 iii. 13, 14. If those who in their common conversation can 
 deliberately damn themselves, and their fellow-creatures, be 
 not of this stamp, they take the ready way to be so, through this 
 cunning of Satan, the deceitfulness of sin, and of their own 
 heart, and the vengeance of God giving them over to judicial, 
 incurable blindness of mind. Some have arrived at such a 
 pitch of malevolence, as to promote with both hands, earnestly 
 and knowingly, the eternal destruction of mankind. Were 
 any to be exempted from our benevolence, these are the men, 
 but even these we must not exclude. For them we must pray, 
 " if God peradventure will give them repentance to the ac- 
 knowledging of the truth." ". 
 
 Though that disposition which imprecates evil for injuries 
 received is most unlawful, detestable, and diabolical, yet it would 
 appear that benevolence cannot, with propriety, be said to be 
 unbounded. There are some who, if they are not proper objects 
 of malevolence, are at least to be exempted from all good-will. 
 It is no roan's duty to wish well to the devils, or to pity them. 
 These spirits, by their rebellion against God, completely extin- 
 guished every good principle, which the benevolent Creator in- 
 fused into them originally, and became absolutely incapable of 
 enjoying any happiness, and consequently they are in no shape 
 objects of benevolence, every species of it being entirely lost 
 upon them. Malevolence is the only good-will that can be 
 showed them, for evil is their good. To the highest degree of 
 ill-will they are most justly entitled, for, though evil gives them 
 no positive enjoyment, but on the contrary the most inexpressi- 
 ble torment, yet they pursue it with as much avidity, and as 
 incessantly as if it afforded them the highest satisfaction, or as 
 
t- .V 
 
 f ■ 
 
 12 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 # 
 
 I 
 
 \- 
 
 
 any blessed angel follows that which is really good. But, how- 
 ever unnatural it be, some men huve loved and pitied the devil, 
 or thoxight they did so. Even Milton, in his " Paradise Lost," 
 has so drawn his character, as sometimes to excite our pity and 
 admirutiou, rather than our hatred and abhorrence; and who- 
 ever reads that ingenious poem will, at times, almost wish him 
 success in his desperate enterprise against God and mankind. 
 This is a gross perversion of our aflfections. The implacable 
 hatred and enmity of that spirit against the whole human race, 
 is of such a nature, that the least degree of compassion toward 
 him must be interpreted the most perfect malice towards them. 
 We said above that there are such monsters of men in the 
 world as promote earnestly the everlasting destruction of man- 
 kind. This character is completely diabolical as far as it goes, 
 but it wants the finishing stroke to make them incarnate devils. 
 These men are within the reach of divine mercy, and conse- 
 quently of our benevolence. They may yet be " created in 
 Christ Jesus unto good works," the heavenly fire may be kin- 
 dled in their breasts, and they may be made to love the Lord 
 with all their soul, and their neighbour as themselves. For 
 their obtaining these blessings we ought to pray fervently. But 
 if to their black character, we add the single feature of Jinal 
 perseverance, they then want nothing which the devil possesses, 
 and they are deservedly excluded from our benevolence. Such 
 men there are, but they have no title to that appellation, for 
 there is not one particle of humanity in them, but they are in 
 every respect as malicious, implacable, and obstinate adversaries 
 of God and man as Beelzebub. Such was Judas, who betrayed 
 our Saviour, such were several of the chief priests. Scribes and 
 Pharisees, who knowingly delivered the Son of God to be cru- 
 cified, and such are all who are guilty of the unpardonable sin, 
 the sin against the Holy Ghost. The smallest degree of be- 
 nevolence towards these must be accounted the bitterest mal- 
 ice towards all mankind ; and, therefore our blessed Father in 
 Christ hath freed us from all good-will to them, by directing 
 us not to pray for them. " There is a sin unto death, 1 do not 
 
 ■J' 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 18 
 
 it, how- 
 le devil, 
 e Lost," 
 pity and 
 ind who- 
 ?ish him 
 nankind. 
 
 placable 
 nan race, 
 n toward 
 :ds them, 
 en in the 
 
 1 of man- 
 is it goes, 
 ate devils, 
 nd conse- 
 sreated in 
 ly be kin- 
 ! the Lord 
 
 ves. For 
 itly. But 
 re of final 
 possesses, 
 ce. Such 
 Jation, for 
 ihey are in 
 idversaries 
 betrayed 
 cribes and 
 to be cru- 
 nable sin, 
 tree of be- 
 terest mal- 
 Father in 
 directing 
 , I do not 
 
 % 
 
 say that he shall pray for it." — 1 John v. 16. These persons are 
 precisely upon a level with the devil, and we are to have the 
 same aflfection for them both. iThey are equally incapable of 
 enjoying any good or indeed evil, but since they do evil as ear- 
 nestly and incessantly as if they enjoyed it, it is highly reas- 
 onable to wish it to them, even all the length of everlasting 
 destruction. Upon this principle, I think, the severest of the 
 imprecations contained in the book of Psalms may be defended, 
 supposing the objects of them to be persons of the above char- 
 acter, which I hope fully to prove. All finally unbelieving and 
 impenitent sinners, though their sins may not be so aggrava- 
 ted as those of the above incarnate devils, are, in some respects, 
 upon a level with them ; because they completely resist, even 
 to the end, God's oflFers of salvation, or that light which he hath 
 given them J therefore to them may be applied all the less 
 grievous imprecations. 
 
 Let it not be thought that I am now contracting that be- 
 nevolence, which I formerly said, ought to grasp all mankind 
 in its liberal embrace. It is by an abuse of language that these 
 enemies of God and man are called men. They have nothing 
 of men but the shape and figure, their nature is not human, but 
 devilish ; therefore, could they be known, we might hate them 
 without contracting, in the least, our good-will to man. Again, 
 it is by an impropriety of language that the affection of malevo- 
 lence or ill-will towards devils spiritual or incarnate is so 
 termed ; for though it obtains that name with propriety when 
 applied to men, yet when referred to them it instantly changes 
 its nature, just as what we call good is evil in the language of 
 devils. They exercise this affection continually toward them- 
 selves and one another, and they are eternally incapable of any 
 other exercise or enjoyment. But if any wish them evil from 
 a disposition malicious and spiteful, it is both vain and wicked, 
 and nothing like it will be found in the imprecations in ques- 
 tion. Moreover, though there are finally unbelieving and im- 
 penitent sinners in the world, yet who they are we cannot 
 
 know. God hath wisely ordered that the finishing stroke of 
 2 
 
(.;*- 
 
 !^^, 
 
 
 f 
 
 m 
 
 \^ 
 
 14 
 
 fiEMAINS OF THE 
 
 their character, viz., final perseverance, should forever elude 
 our search, or, at least, till they be beyond our reach, and 
 therefore we have none to whom our imprecations may be par- 
 ticularly applied. The incarnate devils are so perfectly in the 
 disguise and shape of the men to whom we must do no harm in 
 thought, word, or deed, that we can never distinguish between 
 them ; and therefore we must aim at no particular person, in 
 our imprecations, lest we should hit an improper object. We 
 are bound to consider every individual in the world as a man, 
 and to treat him accordingly; hence imprecations contract not, 
 in the smallest degree, our benevolence toward our fellow-men. 
 Neither will it follow that imprecations are useless, because we 
 can apply them to no man ; for though we cannot, yet God will 
 direct them to their proper object. Man must offer them up 
 to God, and leave them in his hands to be applied as hj pleases, 
 and " his hand shall find out all his enemies, his right hand 
 shall find out those that hate him. He shall make them as a 
 fiery oven in the time of his anger, the Lord shall swallow them 
 up in his wrath, the fire shall devour them." — Psalm xxi. 8, 9. 
 But we shall take a more particular consideration of the im- 
 precations, and endeavour to vindicate them : first, as David's, 
 who wrote them 3 and then, as ours who still use them. 
 
 \\ 
 
BEY. JAMES MA0OBEQOR| D.D. 
 
 16 
 
 r elude 
 ;h, and 
 be par- 
 jf in the 
 harm in 
 between 
 irson, in 
 5t. We 
 3 a man, 
 ract not, 
 ow-xnen. 
 cause we 
 God will 
 them up 
 d pleases, 
 yhi hand 
 bem as a 
 low them 
 Kxi. 8,9. 
 ■ the im- 
 David's, 
 
 \\ 
 
 ■m 
 
 . 1 
 
 ■fVf 
 
 PART I. 
 
 VINDICATION OF THESE 
 
 .» -*• 
 
 IMPRECATIONS AS DAVID'S. 
 
 On the first part we shall consider I. what sort of men they 
 were directed against, and II. from what spirit and disposition 
 they flowed. 
 
 Chap. I. — the character op david's enemies. 
 
 David's enemies may be reduced to three classes. I. The 
 seven devoted nations. II. The other heathen nations. III. 
 Saul and his accomplices. 
 
 I. The seven devoted nations. 
 ' Their case was peculiar, and what Israel was commanded to 
 do to them is not recorded for our imitation ; because, as far as 
 we know, no other people ever was or shall be devoted, as they 
 were, indiscriminately ta utter destruction. There were good 
 reasons for this unexampled severity. Their cup was now full. 
 Every impure and abominable vice to which unclean devils 
 could tempt, or which the diabolical wisdom of man could con- 
 trive, was not only committed with greediness among them, 
 but in effect established by law, so that " the land itself 
 vomited out these inhabitants." See a sample of their vices in 
 
 :-^,. 
 
 .-i^ 
 
^ 
 
 
 16 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 Lev. xviii. God therefore doomed them to utter destruction, 
 temporal and eternal, and declared that to spare them was in- 
 consistent with the safety of the commonwealth of Israel, which 
 he had appointed as the instrument of their destruction. 
 "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land 
 whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many na- 
 tions before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the 
 Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hi- 
 vites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier 
 than thou; and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them 
 before thee ; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them ; 
 thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto 
 them ; neither shalt thou make marriages with them ; thy 
 daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter 
 shalt thou take unto thy son ; for they will turn away thy son 
 from following me, that they may serve other gods ; so will the 
 anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy thee sud- 
 denly." Deut. vii. 1-4. " But of the cities of these people 
 which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, 
 thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth. But thou shalt 
 utterly destroy them — as the Lord thy God hath commanded 
 thee ; that they teach you not to do after their abominations 
 which they have done unto their gods, so should ye sin against 
 the Lord your God." Chap. xx. 16, 18. Every Israelite, there- 
 fore, who did not engage in their destruction with heart and 
 hand, was a real enemy to God and the state. The more zeal- 
 ous and active they were in that work, the more acceptable and 
 praise-worthy was their service, and the greater slackness they 
 showed, they were the more reprehensible. The sin of their 
 slackness was visible in their punishment, '' They did not de- 
 stroy the nations concerning whom the Lord commanded them, 
 but were mingled among the heathen and learned their works. 
 And they served their idols, which were a snare unto them. 
 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 
 and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons, and of 
 their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan ; 
 
 B. 
 
 S 
 J 
 
REV. JAMES MACOftlcTOR, D.D. 
 
 17 
 
 truction, 
 was in- 
 el, which 
 truction. 
 the land 
 many na- 
 and the 
 the Hi- 
 mightier 
 ver them 
 oy them j 
 jrcy unto 
 em; thy 
 daughter 
 y thy son 
 will the 
 thee sud- 
 jse people 
 heritance, 
 hou shalt 
 mmanded 
 minations 
 in against 
 ite, there- 
 heart and 
 nore zeal- 
 )table and 
 ness they 
 Q of their 
 id not de- 
 led them, 
 sir works, 
 to them, 
 kto devils, 
 s, and of 
 Canaan ; 
 
 and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they de61ed 
 with their own works and went a whoring after their own in- 
 ventions. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against 
 his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. 
 And he gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they that 
 hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed 
 them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand." 
 Psal. cvi. 34-42. David, perceiving that Israel procured them- 
 selves God's wrath, and almost the destruction of their kingdom 
 by sparing the devoted nations, set himself and excited others, 
 to be more active in the work of their destruction, both by 
 prayers and endeavours. Had he not done so, Israel would 
 have been involved in their sin and punishment. David sub- 
 dued them so completely, though he could not make a full end 
 of them, that they never lifted up their heads more. 
 
 It may be thought that it would have been sufficient for David 
 and Israel to draw the sword against them^ without turning at 
 the same time, the edge of their prayers against their souls. It 
 would not. Had they been contented with that, it would have 
 involved them in the curse of them that do the work of the 
 Lord deceitfully ; as they could not but know that the Lord's 
 anger, kindled against the devoted nations, confirmed in every 
 vicious habit, respected their souls as well as their bodies. It 
 does not appear, however, that any of the imprecations, rj;- 
 corded in the Psalms, are directed particularly against them ; 
 though, certainly, they, like other enemies of God, had their 
 share of many of them. 
 
 If any complain of the hardship of delivering up whole na- 
 tions to destruction, either in the Providence of God or in the 
 prayers of Israel, we answer, that their rebellion, unclean, 
 ness, and idolatry, were as universal as their destruction, and 
 more so. When nations are unanimous in their guilt, they 
 must expect one common ruin. But though in the sentence 
 of the devoted nations, there was no exception of any person 
 from destruction, yet ( such is the mercy of God) they who 
 
 were not obstinate in their sins, but submitted to tlie laws and 
 
 2* 
 
 >^u 
 
18 
 
 BEMAIN8 Oi* THE 
 
 ♦: 
 
 worship of tho true God, were saved, as appears from the case 
 of Rahab the harlot, and her friends, Joshua vi. 25 ; of Oman 
 the Jebusite, 2 Sam. zziv. 22, 23, in the Old Testament ; and 
 the woman of Canaan, Matt. zv. 22, 28, in the New. 
 
 II. The Heathen nations who were neighbours to Israel. 
 
 The second class of David's enemies was the Heathen na< 
 tions that surrounded Israel. We have their character and a 
 pretty full list of them in the eighty-third Psalm. They were 
 of one heart and mind with the seven devoted nations, in their 
 enmity against Qod and Israel, yet they are not dealt with after 
 their manner. The greater number of them were indeed filling 
 up the measure of their sin always, but their cup was not so 
 soon full, therefore the irreversible sentence of their destruc- 
 tion is not so soon given ; neither is it so universal. Oppor- 
 tunity is given them to repent and reform. They heard of the 
 miracles which God wrought for Israel in Egypt, at the Bed 
 Sea, and in the wilderness; and also what he did to the seven 
 accursed nations for opposing them, and what he threatened to 
 do to all their enemies. Their duty therefore was plain ; viz., to 
 make peace with Israel, become proselytes to their religion, and 
 worship the true God. These things they had full liberty to 
 do, and they could not fail to be very acceptable to every true 
 Israelite. Had the Heathen taken this method, the God of 
 Israel would have been their defence, the people of Israel their 
 friends, and the prayers of Israel their inexpressible privilege ; 
 for David prayed more for than against the Heathen. Some 
 of them took this course and saved themselves. It is probable, 
 that great numbers of them were proselytes to the Jewish re- 
 ligion, especially in its flourishing times, since the King of Tyre, 
 2 Chron. ii. 11, 12, and the Queen of Sheba, 2 Chron. iz. 8, 
 spoke of it so honourably. But the bulk of the Heathen took 
 a very opposite course, and ruined themselves. In every age 
 they lived and died, in obstinate growing enmity and malice 
 against Israel, but chiefly against God ; for it was the displays of 
 his wisdom, power, and goodness, in behalf of Israel that provoked 
 their enmity. In like manner did they promote by all means 
 
 ''■a' 
 
 I 
 
•y 
 
 REV. JAMES MACQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 19 
 
 in their power, the eternal destruction of all mankind by their 
 constant eifurts to cut off Israel (and in them tho Messiah and 
 his Church) from being a people. By such obstinate and in- 
 veterate enmity against God and Christ, and the Church, they 
 were fitted for destruction, and therefore Qod would destroy 
 them ; and whoever would not pray against them was construed 
 to bo their helper, by that rule, " he that is not with me is 
 against me." But all these prayers were to proceed on a sup- 
 position of a final perseverance in enmity. 
 
 Let it not be said in excuse for these people that they were 
 ignorant, and that " had they known, they would not have cruci- 
 fied the Lord of glory," as in effect they did, while they at- 
 tempted to cut off that people in whose loins he existed. Such 
 an apology can proceed from nothing but an unhappy disposi- 
 tion in sinners to excuse sinners. Our first father endeavoured 
 to throw the blame of his sin off himself, but by that conduct it 
 was not lessened, but aggravated. His children should beware 
 of splitting upon the samo rock. Is it indeed as laudable to 
 fight against God as for him ? Is it a matter of indifference 
 whether a man's religion be true or false ? Are the Heathen 
 to be justified in defending their idolatry ? The conduct of 
 Israel's neighbours was equally contrary to common sense, and 
 the feelings of humanity. And if they were ignorant at first, 
 they had opportunities unnumbered of being instructed and re- 
 formed. Did they then deserve praise for hardening themselves 
 in evil, in proportion as God used means with them for their 
 good ? If they did, when shall we ever find sufficient grounds 
 for condemning the conduct of sinners ? 
 
 III. Sanl and his accomplices. -■ ' 
 
 The third class of David's enemies was Saul and his bloody 
 house, or rather his companions and accomplices in guilt, who 
 were united with him in counsel, design, and operation ; of 
 these Saul himself is to be considered as the principal, and the 
 rest in proportion to their activity in his cause ; accordingly 
 the prayers against them are to be understood as levelled di- 
 rectly against Saul, and more or less against bis accomplioes, 
 
«> 
 
 20 
 
 REMAINS OF TUE 
 
 I 
 
 according to tho demerit of their crimns. With respect to 
 Saul, it is to bo observed that ho was of tho '' Israelites, to whom 
 pertained the adoption and the glory and the covenants, and the 
 giving of tho law and tho service of God and the promises." Ho 
 was under tho most solemn engagements by tho covenant of his 
 ancestors, by his own circumcision, and by his coronation oath, 
 to fear Ood and keep his commandments, and to lovo his will 
 in all things without exception. But ho prosecuted craftily, 
 cruelly, and unremittedly, a man who, ho was convinced in his 
 heart, was righteous and innocent, a loyal subject, a faithful 
 servant, a bravo officer, a chosen son-in-law, tho friend of his 
 son, and the anointed of God. Him and all that bofrienucd 
 him, ho persecuted, after the most solemn oaths to the contrary. 
 Saul's enmity, however, was turned principally and ultimately 
 against God, though David was the immediate object of it, for 
 the avowed intention of his persecution was to defeat the pur- 
 pose of God about David ; and to effectuate this, his deceit and 
 violence, his policy and power, were at work incessantly. He 
 murdered the priests of the Lord, because they would not help 
 him to defeat God's purpo."> j and the Gibeonites whom he was 
 bound by oath to protccL ; and ho spared others whom he was 
 under tho same sacred obligation to destroy. He sacrilegiously 
 usurped the priesthood ; he consulted witches ; and he was 
 declared by the inspired prophet to be rejected of God. These 
 things being so, it is unquestionable that David was well war- 
 ranted to pray for the ruin of Saul. But it will be difficult to 
 prove that he prayed for his everlasting destruction, otherwise 
 than as he was included in his indefinite iirr<'ecntioDs. The 
 Psalms which certainly an'I plainly refer to »Sai(V > ^I'^oially aR 
 a personal enemy to David, appear not to c< ni j prayers, 
 
 but for the disappointment and confusion of his devices, and the 
 tuVing away of his natural life, which by the laws of God and 
 mrn wrs a hundred times forfeited.* It is indeed generally 
 
 *!' '?i>.*lw -7 15, yrr ,jh probably, but not certainly, alludes to Saul and 
 h'u. i>ar'y, tUo expressi •♦;, " Lot them go down quick into hell," means, " Let 
 them gc ] >\Yii quick iii;,o the grave," i. e,, Let them dio some strange untimely 
 
IIEV. JA^fT>J MACOREOOn, D.D. 
 
 21 
 
 pect to 
 
 whom 
 
 and the 
 
 .." Ho 
 
 ™t of hia 
 
 on oath, 
 
 his will 
 
 craftily, 
 
 cd in his 
 faithful 
 
 id of his 
 
 Dfricnaod 
 
 contrary. 
 
 lUimatcly 
 
 of it, for 
 
 t the pur- 
 
 deccit and 
 
 ntly. He 
 not help 
 
 [m ho was 
 
 im he was 
 
 ilegiously 
 id he was 
 These 
 well war- 
 lifficult to 
 otherwise 
 IDS. The 
 i'^oially af 
 Ij prayers, 
 !9, and the 
 God and 
 generally 
 
 |to Saul and 
 deans, " Let 
 igQ untimely 
 
 Rupposed, and with groat prub;iV;ility, that in mnny of the 
 rsuluia, in which Duviil, poif "latiug Clili f, prayed u<iiiinst his 
 eueiuic8, ho hud Suul in liis eye; (fl "nifrh it ia oh probable that 
 in others ho had not;) but in that case Saul in ooflsidered us a t} po 
 of Christ's enemies, therefore David's reason of prayinjr »j,'ninst 
 the former is equally just with Christ against the latter. In 
 the person of David, the typical Anointed and head of the churt;li, 
 Saul ptrsccutcd the Messiah with unrelenting cruelty; au un- 
 I ■ rd nablo sin, the same with that of the chief priests, K-iibes, 
 and Vharisees, in persecuting Christ personally. 
 
 To these three classes of enemies a fourth might perhaps bo 
 added, comprehending all Jews, Christians, and Heathens, which 
 were, since David's time, or ever shall he, enemies to the gospel 
 of Christ, finally and impenitently. Against all these he fre- 
 quently prays and prophesies grievous things, even all th cur- 
 ses written in God's law. Herein ho acted as an inspired pro- 
 phet, and as a common Christian. In the former character he 
 needs no defence; in the latter, whatever will justify anottier 
 will justify him. 
 
 Chap. II. — the spirit op david's imprecations. 
 
 David prayed against his enemies, I. Not out of revenge, 
 II. B%it in true faith, III. Under divine inspiration, and IV. As a 
 type of Christ. 
 
 I. David's disposition was not revengeful. 
 
 David prayed not against his enemies from a spirit of private 
 revenge. Such an imputation is quite inconsistent with the 
 character that is drawn of him hy the Spirit of truth. He 
 calls him " a man according to God's own heart," not abso- 
 lutely indeed, for that is not attainable by mortals, but by way 
 of eminence above others, and especially above Saul his prede- 
 cessor, who, with all his revenge, was not so extravagant as to 
 write a book of imprecations. The character of David by di- 
 
 death, as an evidenro of the Lord's displeasure against their devices. The 
 Hebrew word Sheol is indifferently trtmslated grave or bell. 
 
22 
 
 REMAINS OF TUB 
 
 \ 
 
 vine inspiration is such as plainly intimates, that he possessed 
 more than common benignity, forbearance, and forgiveness of 
 spirit ', " like his Father in heaven who maketh his sun to rise on 
 the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on 
 the unjust." It can hardly be imagined then, that in the most 
 unguarded moment, and under the most grievous provocations, 
 he could utter such imprecations from private revenge j but 
 that he could deliberately write them, and that with all the care 
 due to poetical composition, and with a design to publish them, 
 is perfectly incredible, abstracting from the consideration of 
 his being moved by the Holy Ghost. Seldom or never do the 
 weakest of God's saints betray such want of vigilance, as to 
 curse their enemies from revenge, or any private passion what- 
 soever; if therefore these were the principles from which Da- 
 vid's imprecations proceeded, we may truly say of him that he 
 was " less than the least of all saints.'' I would not in that 
 case hesitate a moment to pronounce him worse than the worst 
 of his enemies; and I doubt not but God would have soon 
 " turned his prayers into his own bosom, and brought down his 
 mischief upon his own head." Had he thus " loved cursing; 
 it would have come to him, even into his bowels like water, and 
 like oil into his bones." If David's Psalms teach us how to 
 acquire a revengeful temper, they ought to be expunged from 
 the Bible and condemned, as more accursed than any Komish 
 Anathema that ever was denounced ; they ought never to be 
 read or su£fered in any land. Christian or Heathen, and the name 
 of David ought to be abominated and execrated above that of 
 any persecutor that ever lived. 
 
 But what in David's conduct could lay a foundation for such a 
 charge ? Where does there appear that rashness in his words, or 
 that cruelty in his actions, which authorizes such a grievous 
 accusation ? Sure he may still complain, " False witnesses have 
 risen up against me, and laid to my charge things that I knew 
 not." Truly it is ray opinion that he was set apart by Provi- 
 dence, on purpose to be the penman of these imprecations, which 
 the most wise and holy God hath made a necessary Christian 
 
-■• ■:T''"J*;'''':v'Vjf''- 
 
 ■ ' iTI.--.'..^-- <« ■ 
 
 •» 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 23 
 
 } possessed 
 ;iveness of 
 n to rise on 
 ust and on 
 in the most 
 rovocations, 
 vengej but 
 all the care 
 blish them, 
 ieration of 
 ever do the 
 lance, as to 
 ission what- 
 1 which Da- 
 tiim that he 
 not in that 
 in the worst 
 1 have soon 
 ht down his 
 ed cursing; 
 water, and 
 us how to 
 unged from 
 ,ny Romish 
 never to be 
 id the name 
 )ve that of 
 
 n 
 
 duty, because, on account of the unequalled loveliness of his 
 disposition, every shadow of excuse for ascribing them to private 
 revenge would be removed. Had any other than David written 
 them, we might have had some pretence for such objections, but 
 now we can have none. So opposite was revenge to his temper, 
 that I may justly challenge any man to produce another of the 
 sons of Adam, who suffered so many injuries and persecutions, 
 and was so inured to blood and war, and yet retained such soft- 
 nebs of heart, such an admirable delicacy of feeling, and tender- 
 ness of conscience. Few ever surpassed him in courage and 
 bravery ; but none in forgiving injuries, in sympathy with the 
 distressed, and in concealing the faults of others. He spared 
 Saul, his restless and irreconcilable enemy, once and again, 
 when he had him entirely in his power. I believe no man in 
 the world would accuse David of cruelty, in suffering Saul to 
 leave the cave with only the loss of his skirt, but " David's 
 heart smote him ( dear sensibility !) because he cut off Saul's 
 skirt," for it looked like an affront upon his most gracious sove- 
 reign. His excusing Shimei for cursing him, and granting 
 him a pardon afterwards, is another instance of David's forgiv- 
 ing temper that ought never to be forgotten. His tender in- 
 terviews with his best beloved Jonathan are sufficient proofs 
 of his exquisite sympathy. " They wept with one another until 
 David exceeded." 1 Sam. xx. 41. How fair and bright does 
 he shine after the death of Saul and Abner ! Now he had full 
 opportunity of retaliating upon their friends, who together with 
 themselves were the cause of his miseries ; but he divinely rose 
 above all revenge, and burying their faults in their graves, he 
 avenged their deaths, and rewarded their friends. In his ele- 
 gies upon their deaths, he wept over them in the most moving 
 strains. Though we may justly wonder how he could say any 
 thing but ill of such a monster of iniquity as Saul was, yet 
 by joining him with Jonathan, he contrived a method of cele- 
 brating both his greatness and loveliness. " How are the 
 mighty fallen ! Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant." 
 Two things ma^ be considered both as causes and evidences 
 

 rs ^^ j-TT^i?— it; ;■ 
 
 ''5?^P"' 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 of David's fine dispositions, viz., his love of poetry and music, 
 and hi3 friendship for Jonathan. It is but too well known, for 
 the best things may be abused, that poetry and music are the 
 most charming and powerful of all the finer, humanizing arts. 
 The sweet Psalmist of Israel felt all their influence, and culti- 
 vated them to a higher degree than any in his age ; and being 
 properly balanced by his piety, they operated powerfully to re- 
 fine his mind, and to improve and soften his heart. Still more 
 powerfi'l to produce these effects was his friendship with Jona- 
 than, the beauty of Israel and the glory of humanity. Here 
 the most noble instances of friendship which profane history 
 records are perfectly eclipsed. The love and tenderness, the 
 sympathy and generosity of these two, are absolutely without a 
 parallel. Whoever is able to read, without tears, the simple 
 narration of their interviews in the first book of Samuel, is yet 
 a stranger to the tenderness of David's heart. " O Jonathan, 
 thy love to me was wonderful." 
 
 But we must ascend still higher. There were causes infin- 
 itely stronger than these to produce every blessed disposition 
 in David. He was a child of God, endued with the benign in- 
 fluences of the Spirit of grace, and had " the love of God shed 
 abroad in his heart," which taught him, and by a divine power 
 produced in him, tender heartedness, forbearance, and forgive- 
 ness. 
 
 David, it must be confessed, had his infirmities, and fell both 
 foully and cruelly. But no man will ever characterize him from 
 these falls, without condemning himself in the sin he reproves, 
 and betraying a most malicious, detracting spirit. If every 
 man in whose life there is a blot, be ranked among the vicious, 
 where shall we find an amiable character ? But what shall we 
 think of him, who passes over all the sound parts of a man's 
 life, and fixes upon his only sore ? It is no marvel that David 
 fell, but it is truly wonderful that his falls wore so few. Let 
 any reasonable man put himself into his place, and he will say 
 so. Whoever is so confident of himself as to fay, " But what, 
 is thy servant a dog, that he should do these great and wicked 
 
 !l 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.C. 
 
 25 
 
 and music, 
 known, for 
 isic are the 
 ^nizing arts. 
 , and culti- 
 } and being 
 jrfuUy to re- 
 Still more 
 p with Jona- 
 inity. Here 
 ifane history 
 nderness, the 
 ely without a 
 s, the simple 
 5aniuel, is yet 
 O Jonathan, 
 
 causes infin- 
 
 ed disposition 
 
 he benign in- 
 
 of God shed 
 
 divine power 
 
 and forgive- 
 
 L and fell both 
 erize him from 
 n he reproves, 
 irit. If every 
 \(* the vicious, 
 what shall we 
 Irts of a man's 
 (vel that David 
 [e so few. Let 
 Ind he will say 
 ]y, " But what, 
 [■At and wicked 
 
 things?" betrays a wretched unaequaintedness with his own 
 heart, and ignorance of the peculiar temptations of power and 
 greatness. Were all men careful to imitnte David's repentance, 
 his infirmities would pass with fewer reflections. 
 
 It will possibly be objected here, that whatever may bo said 
 in David's praise, yet it is too plain, that in his imprecations he 
 was actuated by a spirit of revenge ; for he considers the objects 
 of them all along as his personal enemies. For example, after 
 the most bitter imprecations in the 109th Psalm, he says, "Let 
 this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of 
 them that speak evil against my soul." 
 
 It is true David calls them his enemies, and adversaries, and 
 they were so truly, and his personal enemies too ; but this does 
 not even insinuate, that he imprecated their destruction as his 
 personal enemies, or from revenge. For calling and counting 
 them enemies he had most excellent reasons. For the same 
 reasons that the Lord was his God, the Lord's enemies were 
 his, and these were, his being the typical Messiah, and his 
 blessed union and communion with Christ, the Son of God. 
 The God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was 
 David's God and Father through him. God and he had one 
 common interest, and whoever was an enemy to one of them 
 was so to both. David loved and honoured his God more than 
 himself, and was far more zealous in his cause than in his own 3 
 80 that he could truly say. He that toueheth God toucheth 
 the apple of mine eye, as God himself saith of the saints. " The 
 teal of thy house, said he, hath eaten me up, and the reproaches 
 of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me," Psalm Ixix. 9. 
 We may understand in what manner he considers them as his 
 enemies, both by his commonly calling them the enemies of his 
 soul, meaning the enemies of his salvation, and of his life as 
 rod's Anointed; and from what he says in Psalm cxxxix. 
 ^' Surely thou wilt destroy the wicked, God j depart from me, 
 therefore, ye bloody men; for they speak against thee wickedly, 
 md thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, 
 
 Lord, that hate thee ? Am I not grieved with those that 
 3 
 
26 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 rise up against thee ? I hate them with perfect hatred, — I 
 count them mine enemies." He means that he hated their ha- 
 tred of God, and their rising up against him, &c., and for 
 these reasons he counted them his enemies; for still he could 
 appeal to God, that ho harboured no revenge or evil thoughts. 
 " Search me, God, and know my heart ; try me and know my 
 thoughts ; and sec if there be any wicked way in me, and lead 
 me in the way everlasting." When David speaks of his perso- 
 nal enemies as such, he breathes out meekness and peace. "If 
 I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me, 
 ( yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy ;) 
 let the enemy persecute my soul and take it." Psalm vii. 
 4-5. He even retains his peaceful and sympathising disposi- 
 tion in the very midst of his imprecations, <' I behaved myself as 
 though he had been my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily 
 as one that mourneth for his mother." Psalm xxzv. 14. 
 
 II. David prayed against his enemies in faith. 
 
 Faith stands not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of 
 God. All its acts must be in obedience to a divine command, 
 all its prayers must rest upon a divine promise, upon the word 
 of " God who cannot lie." Therefore no prayer of faith can 
 ever meet with a refusal. Such were David's imprecations. 
 He did not pray them out of his own head, but by a divine 
 warrant, and in the assured faith and hope of receiving an an- 
 swer. He knew that God would destroy his enemies, for so he 
 promised ; therefore, he prayed for their destruction. God 
 commanded him to imprecate, and he obeyed. His impreca- 
 tions were all acceptable to God, and answered fully. For the 
 satisfaction of the reader, I shall set down a few of them, with 
 the warrant for them prefixed, and the answer of them annexed 
 in different columns. 
 
 I 
 
 'IL 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 27 
 
 it hatred, — I 
 ted their ha- 
 fec, and for 
 itill he could 
 n\ thoughts, 
 ,nd know my 
 ne, and lead 
 of his perso- 
 peace. "If 
 ice with me, 
 ine enemy j) 
 Psalm vii. 
 sing disposi- 
 red myself as 
 iown heavily 
 sv. 14. 
 
 be power of 
 command, 
 
 3n the word 
 ' faith can 
 precations. 
 by a divine 
 
 iving an an- 
 
 Bs, for so he 
 tion. God 
 is impreca- 
 . For the 
 them, with 
 3m annexed 
 
 
 CO w 
 
 5 ET' 
 
 p 
 
 fi 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 o- 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 •• 
 
 < 
 
 f* 
 
 n 
 
 ET 
 
 § 
 
 ^ 
 
 ta 
 
 
 e 
 
 OD 
 
 B 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 p 
 
 
 ^ § 
 
 .y 
 
 n 
 
 «< 
 
 09 
 
 • 
 
 s 
 
 <* 
 
 3 
 
 
 n 
 
 2. -J 
 
 t«_ • 
 
 3 — 
 
 a- • 
 
 3 r* 
 
 2 to 
 
 §..=> 
 
 s L 
 
 '• sT 
 a. ex, 
 
 P P 
 
 P o 2 
 5 - P ^ 
 
 -^§>:^ 
 
 O 3 tt •. 
 
 &^ 3 's 
 
 c 3 ? 
 S^ p » 
 
 1*^ 3 
 
 3 
 8 S. 3 
 
 o 
 
 3 ^ 
 01 • 
 
 a. z^ 
 
 n A 
 
 PT • 
 
 O. 'V 
 '/> 
 
 p"^ 
 
 I? 
 
 §■ 
 
 3 
 
 OB 
 
 o 
 •-» 
 
 s- 
 
 p n o» 
 = « • 
 
 Q, « P 
 
 re o-r- 
 
 ro r» — ■ 
 •, 3* < 
 
 El 
 
 &? 
 
 3- " 
 ffl a, 
 2. 3* 
 
 B P 
 
 p a, 
 
 "J 
 p 
 
 CO 
 
 p^ 
 
 O 3* 
 
 p 
 
 3 _ 
 
 o-s: 
 
 p -V 
 
 £. - 
 
 3* 
 fD 
 CO 
 
 " ST 
 
 ►O 3 
 
 ■• o 
 
 CO 
 
 ts.5 
 
 S OS 
 
 3 » 
 P M 
 
 3 •"• 
 
 3>*| 
 
 p rD 
 
 ■"ofq 
 en 
 P 
 
 o 
 
 S = ?) ::■ 
 
 3 ' 
 
 1^ 
 
 3 < 
 
 CO 
 
 :;. p 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 O •! 
 
 ^g 
 
 .•* 3 
 
 5-Oq 
 
 o o 
 
 ►-• if 
 •^ gi 
 
 n CO 
 g g 
 
 3* 
 P 
 
 n 
 
 s 
 
 3 
 
 p d 
 
 n 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 o 
 
 a. 
 o 
 
 P 
 
 3* 
 
 3 
 
 CO 
 
 3 t^' 
 
 m o 
 
 ' TT 
 
 p o 
 
 •3 Q. 
 
 ^3- 
 
 P A 
 
 "H 
 
 s I 
 
 3- ' 
 
 ffi Hrt 
 P M 
 
 a. S' 
 
 p 3 
 3 2. 
 
 Q. 01 
 
 2-S- 
 
 ' CO «• 
 
 5' to 
 « S* 
 
 3 S. 
 
 n 
 n 
 o 
 
 , C —• 
 .— Q. • 
 
 pg I 
 3 S 
 
 ff I 3- 
 
 ■1 S. 
 
 1 
 
 •n 
 
 o 
 O C 
 
 s '^ « 
 
 « 3" P 
 
 £L P S? 
 
 STPf 
 
 O 
 
 Is 
 
 « r- 
 
 3 >-' P 
 
 tn 
 
 "» p 
 
 >a *^ 
 
 p ^ p. 
 » p 
 
 
 n 
 p 
 
 3* 
 
 o 
 
 p 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 ==" 'i 
 
 2. 
 
 p^a 
 -« if 
 
 p o- 
 
 r* ft 
 
 3 F 
 o n 
 
 £. p p 
 
 § 5 ^ 
 
 -So 
 p •, 
 
 ^■ 
 o U 
 
 3 - 
 
 3& 
 
 ^? 
 
 m 
 
 p 
 p 
 
 ? o 
 
 '■T.s'n3 
 
 sis. 
 
 o ^ • 
 
 D- 3- O 
 
 re g r^ 
 
 "3 sr "^ 
 ^- S. <=> 
 
 *< 2 S 
 
 2. 05 3 
 
 3 2. 
 
 *3 rt CO 
 
 P i^ 
 
 B !-► 
 
 O 3^ 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 3 ^9 
 
 ffi • 
 
 a IS 
 
 n W 
 
 ^ CO 
 
 3-D ^ 
 
 3 X 
 
 O 
 B 
 3 
 Oq 
 
 3 K-- 00 s 
 
 ^* i-rt t^ 
 
 2 Ht 
 
 3 o, 
 
 3=" 
 
 ^^. 
 
 tr 3 
 
 ■« to 
 
 » fi 
 
 G 
 
 II 
 
 re re 
 
 3 Z 
 
 2- I 
 
 3- L 
 
 re cr^ 
 
 '■>• a 
 
 3 re 
 
 >^ "• 
 
 re B 
 •-► re 
 
 «-* 
 
 CO 3 
 
 ►i O 
 
 P 3" 
 
 pr 
 re 
 3 Oi 
 
 p i-' 
 
 
 re 
 •1 
 
 O 10 
 
 •1L 
 
 re 
 
 P 
 re 
 
 S 
 
 re M 
 
 re ,_, 
 
 3- 
 O 
 
 B 
 
 S* 
 P 
 
 01 
 
 is- 
 
 Oq ^ 
 
 „ P 
 
 re 3: 
 
 O • 
 
 u 
 re 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 re 
 r* re 
 
 ►1 3" 
 
 P 3 • 
 
 ^■?!? 
 
 -re S- 
 
 -** a, 
 
 p < 
 
 3 r: 
 n-7- 
 
 09 ^ 
 
 C p 
 
 •-^ •! 
 
 fa !-.■ 
 
 5 =^ 
 p 2- 
 3 cu 
 
 -• o 
 3 "^ 
 
 d ►^ 
 3 » 
 
 35? 
 
 " ? 
 re re 
 
 re ^» 
 
 S,3 • 
 
 3 B 0? 
 
 — re 5 
 
 re < 2. 
 
 ;; O >■• 
 
 < B r* 
 
 3 g 00 
 01 0-- 
 
 P H I 
 
 3-0- 
 ra ►^^ 
 
 3S§.^ 
 
 r — • 00 
 
 V. S- p. 
 
 p 
 
 3 *S 
 
 I n- p: 
 re n' 
 
 Tfpl J" 
 oi tr ■ 
 p re . 
 "3s 
 
 B" £» 
 p S 
 
 I* s""^ 
 
 O (B 01 
 
 CO n- b: a 3 ►.. 
 
 " -• * 5^ m' B 
 
 re 01 res. 
 
 re 
 
 09 
 
 OQ S. -i 
 
 3 
 
 CO 
 
 P 
 
 Tre t^ 
 
 3 o 's 
 
 I' o. "Tj 
 
 p £L ^" 
 3 to n> 
 
 re S^B 
 ® c "^ 
 
 ■-§ 2, 
 «i I -♦3 
 
 
 o 
 •-' c 3 
 
 tfi 
 
 p 
 a. 
 
 p 2: re 
 a- E. ^ 
 
 2. IF 
 
 "■ B. P 
 
 OJ 
 
 re 3 
 
 3" O- 
 
 E-« 3- 
 
 F« 2 
 
 ft jy C 
 
 B 2 
 3 2-3* 
 Oq V P 
 
 g 3^ r* 
 O^ O 
 
 t^ 3 CO 
 
 •-i» 3 
 
 o re 
 B 9 
 
 H 
 CO 
 
 pa 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 «2 
 
 03 
 
Hi 
 
 28 
 
 xn 
 
 m 
 o 
 
 % 
 
 H 
 
 (4 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 V --^ 
 
 — .-a 
 
 •'o a 
 
 CO o t, 
 5^ 
 
 n) .a 
 
 « B 
 
 ft, 3 
 
 ■s 
 
 u 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 a" 
 
 £ 
 
 cd 
 
 .H 
 
 " ^s » 
 
 .J oi2^ S 
 
 > ** as ja 
 & o > o 
 
 rt J3 cd 
 
 .2"S 
 
 EQ 
 
 s « . 
 o^ -. 
 
 -o S I 
 
 ^ o • — 
 
 r^ wo 
 
 is "S a 
 > o ed 
 
 -^"T^ s 
 
 cd s e 
 
 o 5-5 
 
 C 3 
 cd o 
 
 -sa 
 
 ii cd 
 
 -BIB 
 -a S g 
 
 - « g 
 
 ,i2 a 
 
 O 3 
 «- <o 
 
 5 « 
 
 3 u 
 
 »-B 
 =* a 
 
 .A CO • 
 
 52 tS 
 
 s 
 
 
 a > C 
 ed .S ** 
 
 ^ cd 
 
 cd 
 
 ° a 
 
 CO 
 
 (o • b I 
 
 a) I— I rt _l 
 
 £ p 
 £^.» 
 
 O Sli IH 
 
 r •-« 
 
 "I g3 
 
 I =3 ed 
 
 X c 2 
 
 I— » M.< 
 
 Cd O T3 
 «■" d 
 
 . y " 
 
 
 re ^ „ 
 
 ■5 3 
 (N --a 
 
 -a S 
 
 • Cd c 
 
 S " Cd' 
 
 *3 aj h 
 
 *• "^ 
 
 £ i^ 
 
 ■S £3 
 
 s - 2 
 
 > S a 
 
 oa 
 
 00 
 
 a 
 
 cd 
 
 bo 
 
 Ed 
 
 TJ 
 
 a> 
 
 a> 
 
 J3 
 
 hi 
 
 03 
 
 a 
 
 o . 
 
 'S 1; 
 
 10 V 
 
 aj a> 
 
 «J3 3 
 
 Cd 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 01 
 
 J3> 
 
 « s s 
 
 a <-• \3 *j 
 - "^ « 3 a 
 
 00 2 "« « 
 
 S 
 
 .4 2 o 
 
 > Cd ^ 
 
 
 cd 
 
 cd 
 
 99 
 
 Ph 
 
 OS 
 
 t^ cd 
 
 «) B 
 cd 
 
 ^cd S P 
 
 •73 ••> aj o 
 
 cP M V 0) 
 
 a) a) 
 
 4^ *- « § 
 
 cd 
 
 te to - 
 
 S<!5 
 
 aj ■& 
 
 5 2 
 
 tijcd 
 
 ~-a 
 
 li 
 
 '. to _ 
 
 > s s 
 
 g-a-S 
 
 cd u p 
 Ph ed te 
 
 O "^ 
 
 1-H -O "U 
 
 c a 
 
 cd cd 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 »< 
 a> 
 
 ►•-^ 
 cd ^ 
 
 »^ a) 
 i-t ■*-» 
 '*■ >i 
 to u 
 
 ed a) 
 
 Si 
 *" .u 
 
 s| 
 
 . s 
 
 i-i bo 
 I-H -o 
 
 3 
 
 >^ E 
 
 «-a 
 
 Cd ^ 
 
 •3-H 
 E § 
 
 ^1 
 
 -1 -a 
 ©J ^ 
 
 .2 4) 
 
 Pm x^ 
 
 ed 
 as 
 
 ..: -o 
 
 Is J 
 
 8^ O 
 
 a^ 
 & « 
 
 o _j 
 
 .23 CO 
 o fL 
 
 -a « 
 .^ a> 
 
 en cd 
 
 E S 
 
 O a> 
 
 U es 
 
 •=i 
 
 1 3 
 '•2 
 
 I— I 01 
 
 cd 
 ..J U 
 
 "Se" 
 
 "^ "S 
 10 a 
 
 P. -3 
 
 • &• 
 
 ^Cd 
 
 
 a 
 
 cd 
 
 O u 
 
 -o g 
 
 ■£•5 2 "^ 
 
 2 >; 
 
 Cd ,3 .2 
 
 - f** aj ;3 
 
 3 'S.zro 
 
 ed > OS 
 
 »o — 
 
 
 •^ « 2 
 
 "ed g^ 
 
 go a 
 a) 
 
 O "3 
 
 'J. 
 
 aJ oj *j 
 03 »-i ed 
 00 ed JS 
 
 CO 
 
 u 
 
 aj T3 
 8 S) 
 
 £^ 
 
 cd a} 
 
 a , 
 
 a to 
 
 
 O I-H 
 
 So 
 
 
 to 
 
 a) 
 
 0) 
 
 a 
 
 w 
 
 00 
 
 o S «•= 
 
 
 -a 
 « '■o a 
 
 -« ed 
 
 1-* fc^ "^ 
 
 -:c5 5 b 
 
 O ■^ ^ « 
 
 Ph a 
 
 — . *• -a 
 
 es '4- Cm 
 
 a J3 o 
 
 so 
 
 bo' 
 
 "«- 
 
 5^ 
 
 u 3 3 
 ^ O O 
 
 • J CO _c 
 
 ■> a > 
 . o 
 
 "S-a ed J 
 Ph 2:S 2 
 
 05 '73 '^ 09 
 
 ^ a 
 
 '9. 2 >,•' 
 
 X J3 
 
 rt _/- « cd 
 
 rt J2 
 
 a^ •- a CL -3 o 
 
 & 5 
 
 " Cd » ^ 
 
 JS 
 u 
 to 
 
 cd 
 u 
 
 " 2 
 
 j3 O 
 
 «D 
 
 •r a 
 X o 
 
 ^ cu" 
 
 Ph 
 
 O • J= 3 • hH 
 
 >-<« <-Hfc^ed«fH=; i-H 
 
 ^ « 
 '£.2 
 
 >>2 «. 
 
 a ^a .s 
 
 S (S »4 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREQOR, D.D. 
 
 29 
 
 B5 *i 
 I % 
 
 o 
 
 U O M 
 
 cii o -d 
 to a 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 S 
 
 > ^ 
 
 
 •si 
 
 CO"!: 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 Ou 
 
 10 
 
 U 
 
 -a . 
 
 «0 Q 
 
 ■< o 
 
 eo 
 
 5 
 
 -;^ 
 
 The warrants for these imprecations were, indeed, written by 
 Duvid himself, but yet by the direction and inspiration of the 
 Holy Ghost, as we shall see afterwards, and as appears suffi- 
 ciently from this circumstance, that the prayers founded upon 
 them are all answered. Had David prophesied the destruction 
 of his enemies in the deceit of his heart, and in the wickedness 
 thereof prayed it, can we suppose that God would have engaged 
 himself to accomplish these infernal devices? When he was a 
 fugitive in the wilderness of Judah, he prophesied that his 
 " persecutors should fall by the sword ; and become the prey of 
 foxes." Psalm Ixiii. 10. Had such a prophecy been the over- 
 flowings of his venom, is it not wonderful, that he should, once 
 and again, refuse to accomplish it, when he had the fairest op- 
 portunity ? But what shall we say when God did it, a long 
 while after, when Saul fell by the sword, — by his own sword, 
 and his body lay for a good while unburied and exposed, so as 
 in all probability, to be literally a prey to foxes, which abounded 
 in that country ? From the above specimen, and other instan- 
 ces, of God's accomplishing David's wishes, we may safely con- 
 clude that every jot, both of his prophecies and prayers, was, or 
 shall be fulfilled. God expressly declares that " the curse cause- 
 less shall not come." Prov. xxvi. 2. And that " the prayers of the 
 wicked are an abomination to the Lord." Prov. xxviii. 9. And 
 hence it may be concluded, that, had David's imprecations pro- 
 ceeded from any other principle than that of true faith, God, 
 instead of granting them, would have interested himself in their 
 disappointment. 
 
 III. David's imprecations are divinely inspired. 
 
 " Then David gave to Solomon, his son, the pattern of the 
 
 porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasures thereof, and 
 
 of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlour thereof, 
 
 and of the place of the mercy-seat. And the patterns of all 
 
 that he had by the Spirit of the courts of the house of the Lord, 
 
 and of all the chambers round about, of the treasures of the 
 
 house of God, and of the treasures of the dedicated things. 
 
 Also for the courses of the priests, and the Levite.i, and for all 
 3* 
 
10 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 
 
 the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the 
 vessels of service in the house of the Lord, — All this, said Da- 
 vid, the Lord made mo understand, in writing, by his hand 
 upon me, even all the works of his pattern." 1 Chron. xxviii, 
 11-13, 19. In all this list there i», indeed, no mention of the 
 divine inspiration of the Psalms of David, but we may well ar- 
 gue, that since he was directed of God in appointing these things 
 of smaller moment, he could not be left to his own wisdom in 
 composing the Psalms; for this was a work of vastly greater im- 
 portance than the other. It is below the wisdom of man to 
 omit the greater and care for the less) far be it from us then to 
 ascribe such folly unto God, who " is the rock, and whose work 
 is perfect." At any rate, when he created officers, it must be 
 inferred that he gave them suitable work ; when he appointed 
 such a numerous set of musicians, vocal as well as instrumental, 
 it must hence be concluded that he furnished them with divine 
 songs to be sung; and yet of these they had almost none, if the 
 Psalms of David be excluded. It is certain that they were 
 sung, and continued to be sung in all ages ; for long after '< He- 
 zekiah, — the king and the princes commanded the Levites to 
 sing praise unto the Lord, in the words of David, and of Asaph 
 the singer." 2 Chron. zxiz. 30. The psalms, then commanded 
 to be sung, were no other than those which were in common use 
 in former ages, only the public singing of them had been in- 
 terrupted by Hezekiah's father, and other wicked kings. More- 
 over, in every reformation of religion from the days of David 
 to Nehemiah, the singers were appointed to their work, — the 
 same work, no doubt, to which Hezekiah and his princes com- 
 manded them. Along with these things let it be considered 
 how much of divine wisdom and design is apparent in raising 
 up David, and appointing such strange vicissitudes in his life 
 as to afiFord occasion for such a wonderful variety of songs, and 
 in qualifying him for composing them so admirably, and setting 
 them to music, and all this at the very time when the temple 
 service was going to be set on foot, and it will satisfy any im- 
 partial person about the divine inspiration of hi» Psalms. 
 
 f 
 
BEY. JAMES MACGUEOOR, D.D. 
 
 n 
 
 or all the 
 said Da- 
 his Imod 
 (D. xxviii. 
 lon of the 
 y i?ell ar- 
 ose things 
 wisdom in 
 ;reater im- 
 of man to 
 us then to 
 rhose work 
 it must be 
 I appointed 
 jtrumcntal; 
 with divine 
 aone, if the 
 , they were 
 after « He- 
 Levites to 
 |d of Asaph 
 lommanded 
 [ommon use 
 d been in- 
 Igs, More- 
 8 of David 
 ork, — the 
 inces corn- 
 considered 
 in raising 
 I in his life 
 I songs, and 
 ind setting 
 Ithe temple 
 Ify any im- 
 llms. 
 
 But why should we go about to prove this point, by deduc- 
 tions or inferences, when, with hia dying words, " David, the 
 son of Jesse, said, and the man who was raised up on high, — 
 the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet Psalmist of 
 Israel, — said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his 
 word was in my tongue." 2 Sam. zxiii. 1, 2. There is no other 
 book in the Old Testament that has half so many witnesses in 
 the New, to testify its divine inspiration. Our blessed Saviour 
 hath given his suffrage in favour of the whole book of Psalms, 
 especially as far as they re'^^te to himself " All things must 
 be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the 
 Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me." Luke xxiv. 44. 
 It is certain that the Psalms containing the bitterest impreca- 
 tions are concerning him ; therefore, these, at least, are divinely 
 inspired. The same divine witness farther testifies, that Da- 
 vid composed the hundred and tenth psalm, " in the spirit," and 
 *' by the Holy Ghost." Mat. xxii. 43, and Mark xii. 36. And 
 the apostle Peter testifies that, as a prophet foreseeing the resur- 
 rection of Christ, he composed the sixteenth psalm. Acts ii. 
 30, 31. Yet each of these contain grievous prophecies, or 
 threatenings against his enemies. But, farther, to dash in 
 pieces eternally the pride and presumption of man, we have 
 the most express testimony that any man can desire of the di- 
 vine inspiration of the two psalms, which contain the severest 
 and most grievous of all the imprecations. " 3Ien and breth- 
 ren," said an inspired apostle, " this scripture must needs have 
 been fulfilled which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David 
 spake before concerning Judas, who was guide to them that 
 took Jesua. For it is written in the book of Psalms, ( viz., in 
 Psal. Ixix. 25, and cix. 8,) " Let his habitation be desolate, 
 and let no man dwell therein, and his bishoprick let another 
 take." Acts i. 16, 20. David's psalms are quoted and alluded 
 to times without number by Christ and his apostles in proof of 
 their doctrine. Above forty, which is more than a fourth of 
 them, are witnessed to in the New Testament as divinely in- 
 
82 
 
 REMAINS OF TUB 
 
 spired, of which the greater part contain threatenings and im- 
 precations.* 
 
 What more can wo wish, unless we were to expect that the 
 Iloly Ghost should so far humour our peevishness and arro- 
 gance, as to go over them all one by one, and say of each, this 
 Psalm is divinely inspired ? Even this would not remove the 
 complaints of sclf-conccited men, determined not to be convinced 
 of any thing which contradicts their own humour; but humble 
 Christians will be satisfied with the testimonies he hath given, 
 and to them they will counterbalance ten thousand ar^mmcnts 
 against these blessed and holy denunciations of God's ri^'hteous 
 anger. If it be so that the imprecations in question f»re the 
 words of the Holy Ghost, they cannot be traduced without 
 danger, and every species of opposition to them is, in effect, 
 directed against him. Men have much need of caution, when 
 they have no alternative, if t^ey mistake, but " running upon 
 God, even upon his neck, upon the thick bosses of his buck- 
 ler." " If one man sin against another t\^ Judge shall judge 
 him, but if a man sin against the Lord who shall entreat for 
 him ?" Any venom that men may spue out upon these impre- 
 cations, will never affect them, for they have a firmer founda- 
 tion than heaven and earth ; but it will, if mercy prevent not, 
 
 * Among the psalms quoted in the New Testament, are the following : Psal. 
 ii. in Acts xiii. 33. Psal. ir. (Septnagtnt,) in Eph. iv. 26. ; Psal. v. in Rome 
 iii. 13; Psal. viii, in Heb. ii. 6-9. Psal. x. in Rom. iii. 14. Psal. xir. in 
 Rom. iii. 10. Paul. xvi. in Acts ii. 25. Psal. xviii, in Rom. xv. 9. Psal. 
 xix. in Rom. z. 18. Paul. xxii. in Mat. xxvii. 46. Psal. xxiv. in 1 Cor. x. 
 26. Psal. xxxii. in Rom. iv. 7. Psal. xxxiv. in John xix. 36, and 1 Pot. iii. 
 10, Ac. Psal. XXXV. in John xv. 25. Psal. xxxvi. in Rom. iii. 18. Psal. xl. 
 in Heb. x. 7. Psal. xli. in John xiii. 18. Psal. xlix. in Rom. viii. 36. Psal. 
 xlv. in Heb. i. 8. Psal. Ii. in Rom. iii. 4. Psal. Ixvii. in Rom. xv. 10. Psal. 
 Ixviii, in Eph. iv. 8. Psal. Ixix. in Acts i. 20. Psal. Ixxviii. in Mat. xiii. 85. 
 Psal. Ixxxii. in John x. 34. Psal. xc. in 2 Pet. iii. 8. Peal. xci. in Mat. iv. 
 6. Psal. xoiv. in 1 Cor, iii. 20. Psal. xcv. in Heb. iii. 7. Psal. xevt'i. in 
 Heb. i. 6. Psal. cii. in Hob. i. 10. Psal. civ. in Heb. i. 7. Psal. cvii. in 
 Heb. xiii. 15. Psal. cix. in Acts i. 20. Psal. ex. in Mat. xxii. 44. Psul. 
 cxii. in 2 Cor. Ix. 9. Psal. cxvi. in 2 Cor. iv. 13. Psal. cxvii. in Rom. xv. 11. 
 Peal, cxviii. in Mat. xxi. 42. Peal, cxxxii. in Acts ii. 30. Psal. cxxxv. i. 
 Heb. X. 30. 
 
 * 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 88 
 
 and im- 
 
 that the 
 ind arro- 
 sach, this 
 move the 
 sonvinccd 
 it humble 
 ith given, 
 rjTuments 
 rij'hteoua 
 m fire the 
 1 without 
 in eiFect, 
 ;ion, when 
 oing upon 
 his buck- 
 jhall judge 
 entreat for 
 lese impre- 
 ler founda- 
 ■event not, 
 
 owing : Psal. 
 V. in Ronio 
 Psal. xiv. in 
 XV. 9. Psal. 
 in 1 Cor. x. 
 md 1 Pet. iii. 
 18. Psal. xl. 
 M. 36. Penl. 
 V. 10. Ptal. 
 Mat. xiii. 85. 
 It. in Mat. iv. 
 'sal. xevii. in 
 Psal. cvii. in 
 ;ii. 44. Psal. 
 Rom. XV. 11. 
 al. cxxxv. i. 
 
 
 H 
 
 make themselves for ever feel the force of them, and give thcra 
 too clear and costly a demonstration that they arc the words of 
 the living God. 
 
 4. Ddvid's imprecations ircrc, f//pic(fl of CIiri)il\'i. 
 
 David was one of the types of Christ, and the most illustri- 
 ous of them all, especially in his sufferings, for they had a 
 peculiar resemblance to Christ's. Providence likewise so dis- 
 posed things that the temper of his enemies had a very strik- 
 ing resemblance to that of the enemies of the church, and of 
 the person of Christ, that, since the I'salms were designed to 
 be used in all ages, what he says of tile former might, without 
 violence, be applied or accommodated to the latter. What 
 David says of himself, in many of the Psalms, Christ says " is 
 written concerning me;" and when the former delineates the 
 character of the enemies of Israel, there is not a feature in it 
 which does not equally belong to the enemies of the church in 
 every future age; and, which is very remarkable, when he 
 describes the temper of his personal enemies, especially of Saul, 
 and his party, he unfolds the very hearts, the thoughts, words, 
 and actions of the Scribes and Pharisees, of the chief priest, 
 and elders of the Jews, who condemned and crucified Christ, 
 as is evident from a comparison of the Gospels with the Psalms, 
 and especially the twenty-second Psalm, if it has a typical rela- 
 tion to Saul. Since David then stood in this peculiar relation 
 to the enemies of his own person, and of the church, it was 
 lawful for him, not from a spirit of revenge, but as the typical 
 King and Head of the Church, to devote them to destruction, 
 or else it would follow that it was not lawful for Christ to do so 
 to his enemies. David personated Christ in the most of his im- 
 precations, and when Christ came to use them he employed 
 David's language. 
 
 Some of the Psalms are more applicable to Christ than Da- 
 vid. Of these are the xxii, xxv, Ixix, and cix, the two last of 
 which contain by far the severest imprecations in the whole 
 book of Psalms. There are some things in them, which can- 
 not, with any degree of propriety, be applied to David, which 
 
84 
 
 REMAINS OP TUB 
 
 yet wcro cxnotly fulfilled in Christ; whence some hnvo thouj^wt, 
 perhaps not without reason, that, in conipo.sinj; theuj, David 
 liad no eye to himself, and his own enemies, but only to (Christ, 
 niul the Jews of his ajrc. Whether that be the ease, or whe- 
 ther there was some Judas and other wicked persons in tho 
 days of David to whom he applied them typically, wo know not, 
 but it is plain, they were written chiefly for tho sake of Christ 
 and the Jews of the generation, in whom they had their prin- 
 cipal accomplishment. They contain ns full and as moving a 
 relation of the sufferings of Christ's soul, as wo have anywhere 
 in tho New Testament; 5nd one would think that the penman 
 of them had been a witness, both of Christ's agony in tho gar- 
 den, and his crucifixion, and that ho had written a history 
 rather than n prophecy, or typical representation. Christ be- 
 gan to repeat tho twenty-second Psalm upon tho cross, and 
 perhaps would have proceeded through tho whole of it had ho 
 not been interrupted. The sixty-ninth Psalm is of the same 
 nature with tho twenty-second, and very like it, only it adds 
 the imprecations; it is equally applicable to Christ's condition 
 upon the cross, and it is highly probable that he prayed over 
 the whole of it, the imprecations not excepted ; at least we 
 can conceive no exercise more suitable for him, on that occa- 
 sion, than the prayer in this Psalm, as well as that in tho 
 twenty-second. Start not, Christian reader, at the thought of 
 your Saviour's using these imprecations, for, all things con- 
 sidered, they were as proper and necessary as any part of the 
 prayer, or indeed of his whole mediatory work. " Ho came 
 not into the world to condemn the world indeed, but that tho 
 world through him might be saved ; yet upon whomsoever this 
 stone shall fall, it will grind him to powder. If he had not 
 come, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for 
 their sin. This is the condemnation that light is come into the 
 world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their 
 deeds are evil." Christ cannot but pray for the damnation of 
 all obstinate unbelievers. 
 
 We are not left to conjecture that Christ used these impre- 
 
RKV. JAMK8 MACdREOOR, D.D. 
 
 85 
 
 nvc tVouftut, 
 ^liem, Diivid 
 ily to (^lir'iHt, 
 jaso, or who- 
 raons in tho 
 wo know not, 
 ko of Christ 
 1 their prin- 
 as moving a 
 ivo anywlicre 
 tho penman 
 y in tho gar- 
 en a history 
 . Clirist be- 
 tie cross, and 
 of it had ho 
 of the same 
 only it adds 
 it's condition 
 prayed over 
 at least we 
 [)n that occa- 
 that in tho 
 e thought of 
 things con- 
 y part of the 
 " Ho came 
 but that tho 
 imsocver this 
 he had not 
 no cloak for 
 Bome into the 
 because their 
 damnation of 
 
 these impre- 
 
 cations against tho Jews ; tho mutter is decided by himself, and 
 more than one of his apostles. Himself declares that these 
 words in verse fourth, " they liatcd mo without a cause," were 
 accomplishod in him, John xv. 25; and since wo arc certain 
 thiit ho is the speaker in these words, we ought to conclude 
 that he spoke tho whole, unless wo find some good reason for 
 thinking otherwise, which is not tho case.* The disciples knew 
 very early, though then their acquaintance with the work and 
 office of Christ was very small, that these words in tho ninth 
 verse, " Tho zeal of thy house hath eaten me up," ought to bo 
 aj)plied to their Master. John ii. 17. Tho remainder of tho 
 verso is expressly applied to him by the apostlo Paul, "Even 
 Christ pleased not himself, but, as it is written, Tho reproaches 
 of them that reproached thco fell upon me." Kom. xv. 3. 
 Verses 20 and 21 are so evidently his words, that I believe, it 
 
 * One would be apt, at first sight, to think that vorso fifth, " God, thou 
 knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee," cannot bo tho 
 words of Christ ; but thoy are his defence of his prudence and innocLMice. As 
 we commonly do, in expression of irony, Christ bo") speaks directly contrary 
 to his thoughts, to add the greater force to his discourse, and the real mean- 
 ing of his words is, God, thou knowost well my prudence and wisdom in 
 thy service, the blameless purity and perfection of my obedience is no secret 
 to thee. As a faithful servant, who is conscious of tho full approbation of his 
 Master, may, upon being accused of mismanagement and disobedience, thus 
 defend himself : Master, Thou knowest my mismanagements, my disobedience 
 is not concealed from thee; that is : I appeal to thee concerning tho truth of 
 these charges, thou knowest that the very reverse of them is true, and I need 
 say no more. So when Christ, God's righteous servant, complained ns in 
 verso fourth : "They thnt hate me without cause are more than the hairs of 
 mine head, and they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, 
 are mighty;" even then when ho was " realoring that" glory to God, and hap- 
 piness to nuin, " which he took not arcai/," thus appeals to his Father about 
 the justice of his complaint: " God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my 
 sins are not hid from thee ;" that is : Though mine enemies pretend to accuse 
 ond hate me for my folly and wickedness, yet thou knowest that I have no 
 other folly, save that of dealing jtrudenthj in finishing the work of redemption, 
 anf? that all my sin is doing always the thixga that phnne thee, so causeless is 
 their hatred, and so wrongful their enmity. Accordingly he prays in the 
 sixth verse that none, who waited conscientiously for the manifestation of tho 
 glory of God in his exaltation, might be ashamed for the reproaches, calum- 
 nies, pcrsecutionsi &c., which he in the meantime endureil. 
 
86 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 
 will be denied by none : " They gave me gall for my meat, and 
 in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Wl>y then 
 should we not believe that the following versos, containing the 
 imprecations, are his also, especially sirce they arc by the apos- 
 tles applied to Judas and the other oL,.tinate Jews ? Peter 
 reading them as directed against one applies them to Judns ; 
 see Acts i. 20, compared with Psa. Ixix. 25. Paul applies 
 them to all the Jews who obstinately rejected the Messiah and 
 his gospel ', see Rom. xi. 9, 10, compared with Psa. Ixix. 22, 
 23. 
 
 It would be unreasonable to doubt of this point after so 
 much evidence ; let us then receive it as a certain truth, that 
 Jesus spake unto the Lord all the words of this Psalm, and 
 that he directed all the imprecations in it against Judas, and 
 the obstinate priests, scribes, and other Jews. He had good 
 reason to do so. He had times without number instructed, re- 
 proved, and warned them by his preaching and miracles. He 
 told them particularly, that by their wilful, and malicious re- 
 jection of his doctrine, and persecution of his person, they con- 
 tracted an inveterate enmity against the Holy Ghost, and took 
 the direct way to be guilty of the unpardonable sin, if they 
 had not committed it already. But they still rejected the 
 counsel of God against themselves ; their malice grew .greater 
 every day, and they at last deliberately and knowingli/ nmrdercd 
 the Saviour, the Son of God. They said, " This is the heir, 
 come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." 
 
 Christ foresaw that all the miracles about his death would 
 but increase their infernal hatred of him, and his gospel ; that 
 the rending of the vail of the temple, and of the rocks, the 
 prodigious eclipse of the sun for three hours, the earthquakes, 
 the resurrection of the dead, and especially of himself, notwith- 
 standing all their precautions to prevent it, would only quicken 
 their industry in persecuting and destroying all that confessed 
 themselves his followers. He foresaw that future miracles 
 would bring forth more of the same fruit; that the miraculous 
 pouring down of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles, which 
 
 L., 
 
u 
 
 I 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREaOR, D.D. 
 
 87 
 
 ' meat, and 
 Wliy then 
 tainine; the 
 y the apos- 
 i's ? Peter 
 to Judas ; 
 lul applies 
 lessiah and 
 I. Ixix. 22, 
 
 it after so 
 truth, that 
 Psalm, and 
 Judas, and 
 I had good 
 tructed, ro- 
 acles. lie 
 alicious re- 
 1, they con- 
 t, and took 
 sin, if they 
 jjected the 
 rew greater 
 )j murdered 
 s the heir, 
 irs." 
 
 eath would 
 
 ospelj that 
 
 rocks, the 
 
 irthquakes, 
 
 If, notwith- 
 
 ily quicken 
 
 t confessed 
 
 miracles 
 
 miraculous 
 
 ties, which 
 
 would enable them to speak with other tongues, with astonish- 
 ing boldness, perspicuity, and conviction ; their many miracles, 
 confessed by ail, even by their persecutors ; their deliverances 
 from prison, notwithstanding guards, chains, and bars ; and the 
 rapid spread of the gospel, in spite of torments, death, and 
 lu'll, would make those infernal fiends seven times more the 
 children of the devil in hatred to the gospel thai before, lie 
 foresaw that they would compass sea and land to stop its pro- 
 gress, and to hinder the salvation of sinners; always, and every- 
 where opposing the preaching of the apostles, contradicting 
 and blaspheming; that they would, everywhere, by their emis- 
 saries, stir up all men, Jews and Gentiles, to persecute and 
 kill them ; and that, if this should not be in their power, they 
 would disperse false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, who 
 would creep unawares into the church, and, by their erroneous 
 doctrines, cause a thousand times more mischief than by open 
 persecution. He foresaw, in short, that they would do what 
 the apostle Paul says they did do. '* They both killed the 
 Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, 
 and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding 
 us to speak unto the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill 
 up their sin alway ; for the wrath is come upon them to the 
 uttermost." 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. Moreover, he foresaw that no 
 meekness or patience in his followers would disarm them, nay, 
 that the very splendour of heaven's glory appearing in their 
 faces, (Acts vi. 15,) would only exasperate them ; and full well 
 he knew that the more worldly comfort, convenience, riches, 
 power, and other benefits from the bountiful Creator they should 
 enjoy, they would only strengthen their hands the more effect- 
 ually to accomplish their infernal device of quenching the light 
 of the gospel. 
 
 For these reasons he prayed his Father, " Let their table 
 become a snare before them ; and that which should have been 
 for their welfare, lot it become a trap;" that is : Let all their 
 worldly comforts be cursed to their destruction, may the sun 
 light them to hell, may their health enable them to work their 
 4 
 
88 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 ruin, and may their meat unci their drink be like the gall and 
 the vinegar, which they gave me to eat and to drink. " Let 
 tlieir eyes be darkened that they see not, and make their loins 
 continually to shake;" that is : May they be deprived of their 
 wisdou), that their counsels may be foolishness, and of their 
 strength, that they may not be able to peiform their enterprise. 
 "Pour out thine indignation upon them; and let thy wrathful 
 anger take hold of them;" that is : Execute thy justice and 
 vengeance upon them. " Let their habitation be desolate, and 
 let none dwell in their tents ;" that is : May their cities and 
 houses be demolished and forsaken. " For they persecute" 
 thine anointed " whom thou hast smitten, and they talk to the 
 grief of those" poor disciples " whom thou hast wounded. Add 
 iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not come into thy right- 
 eousness ;" that is : As a just punishment of their wilful and 
 obstinate persecution of knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, 
 suffer them to add sin to sin continually, and to exclude them- 
 selves from the benefit of that righteousness which thou hast 
 appointed me to work out, and to offer freely to all that hear 
 the gospel. Finally, "Let them be blotted out of the book of 
 the living, and not be written with the righteous ;" that is : 
 May they be cast out from the care of thy providence, deprived 
 of their life, and separated eternally from thy righteous ones, 
 whose portion is life everlasting. See Psa. Ixix. 
 
 Such are the exceedingly terrible and dreadful imprecations of 
 Christ against the obstinate Jews. How punctually thoy have 
 been accomplished, any one may understand, who considers the 
 case of that wretched and stubborn people for seventeen hundred 
 years past, but especially for the first century after the death 
 of Christ. Though their hellish devices against the gospel 
 were all over-ruled for its furtherance, yet they were suffered 
 to go on from evil to worse, persecuting and blaspheming, till 
 at last they, their temple, and city were overwhelmed with ruin — 
 such a ruin as has no parallel in the annals of time; and the 
 wretched remnant that escaped were made a curse and an as- 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 89 
 
 le gall and 
 nk. " Let 
 their loins 
 ed of their 
 id of their 
 enterprise, 
 liy wrathful 
 justice and 
 esolate, and 
 r cities and 
 
 persecute" 
 ^ talk to the 
 mded. Add 
 to thy right- 
 r -wilful and 
 ind holiness, 
 sclude them- 
 ch thou hast 
 ill that hear 
 the book of 
 IS ;" that is : 
 ncc, deprived 
 
 iteous ones, 
 
 prpcations of 
 ly thoy have 
 considers the 
 teen hundred 
 ;er the death 
 ;t the gospel 
 were suffered 
 ipheniing, till 
 id with ruin — 
 imc; and the 
 •SB and an as- 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 tonishment, and a hissing among all the nations on the face of 
 the earth. 
 
 As for the thirty-fifih psalm whosoever will compare it dili- 
 gently with the twenty-second, and sixty-ninth, must, from the 
 unity of the scope, and the sameness of many of the expressions, 
 conclude that it was composed for the same great occasion with 
 those, viz., the sufferings of Christ. Every syllable of it may 
 be considered as his words,* though it will bear an application 
 to David as a type. Christ quotes the nineteenth verse, and 
 declares it fulfilled in himself. John xv. 25. For, though I 
 have already referred this quotation to the sixty-ninth psalm, 
 yet it may as well be referred hither, if not better ; for Uv. ' only 
 are the words the same, but here the psalmist insists much 
 more upon his own innocence, and the causeless hatred of his 
 enemies than there. 
 
 The particular time and portion of his sufferings for which 
 this psalm was designed, seems to be the same night in which 
 he was betrayed by Judas, or rather the next morning, when 
 ho was condemned b}' the chief priests, and elders of the Jews, 
 when he told them that hereafter they should see him " coming 
 in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory" to con- 
 
 * I can see nothing throughout the psnlm that any ono may think incompe- 
 tent for Christ to speak, unless these words, " My prnyer returned into my 
 own bosom," be thought such an answer as Chrif ^ would not receive. But 
 wo are to observe that though the things sought were not bestowed upon 
 those for whom he prayed, yet the prayer was fully answered by being re- 
 turned to his own bosom. Nor was this the only time in which ho obtained 
 not the thing sought in prayer. " my father, if it be possible, let this cup 
 pass from me; nevertheless not my will but thine be done." And he went a 
 second, and a third time, and prayed more earnestly, saying the same words, 
 lie drank tho cup, but yet "was heard in that ho feared." "Without doubt 
 his prayers for his persecutors were also in submission to his Father's will, 
 expressed or understood. And ho received tho best answer, though not al- 
 ways their reformation. Besides being a man in tho likeness of sinful flesh, 
 he was, according to tho human nature, not only ignorant of some things, 
 though his divine nature was omniscient, but moreover behoved in many 
 things, for example, in social worship, to prny and get answers of prayers 
 like other believers. 
 
40 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 demn them. He unbosoms himself to his father, and prays 
 that he might be justified, in as much as " false witnesses had 
 risen up against him and laid to his charge things that he 
 knew notj" and that his quiet followers might be supported, 
 for that deceitful matters were devised against them ; and be 
 promises to praise him when he shall be exalted. With re- 
 spect to those who betrayed and condemned him, he prays, in 
 general, — once and again, verses 4-26, that they might be 
 covei'ed with eternal shame and confusion j and more particularly, 
 that they might be as "chaflF before the wind," and find no 
 rest for the soles of their feet ; that " their wjiy might be dark 
 and slippery," so that they might neither see whither they 
 were driven, nor be able to move on without constantly stumb- 
 ling and falling ; and that a good angel, or rather an evil spirit 
 from the Lord, might chase and drive them continually. The 
 restless malice of the chief priests and elders of the people dri- 
 ving them on to the persecution of the saints, and their own des- 
 truction, is sufficient evidence that these prayers were answered. 
 The next and last imprecation seems to be appropriated to Ju- 
 das, as there is a transition of the language from the plural to 
 the singular number; "Let destruction come upon him at 
 unawares, and let his net that he hath hid catch himself; into 
 that very destruction let him fall." How punctually this was 
 fulfilled will appear, when we consider, that his treason, by 
 which he meant to entrap his Master, put the halter about his 
 own neck. 
 
 It may deserve to be remarked here, also, how fully these 
 imprecations had their eflfect upon Saul, and his party, in the 
 troubles of the latter part of his reign; in his being vexed and 
 driven by an evil spirit from God, and in his falling at last by 
 the Philistines; the very net he had spread for David, saying, 
 "Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Phil- 
 istines be upon him." 1 Sam. xviii. 19. Judas and he were 
 the same in their sin and punishment. The resemblance between 
 them is not the child of fancy, for, as Christ tells us that many 
 things in the Psalms were written concerning him, it lays a 
 
 i^ I 
 
REV. 
 
 JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 41 
 
 and prays 
 iiesses liad 
 rs tbat he 
 supported, 
 1 5 »nd lie 
 
 With rc- 
 e prays, in 
 
 might be 
 articulavly, 
 nd find no 
 jht be dark 
 hither they 
 ntly stumb- 
 n evil spirit 
 ually. The 
 people dri- 
 eir own des- 
 re answered, 
 t-iated to Ju- 
 he plural to 
 
 pon 
 
 him at 
 
 imself; into 
 ally this was 
 treason, by 
 er about his 
 
 V fully these 
 party, in the 
 Of vexed and 
 ng at last by 
 )avid, saying, 
 1 of the rhil- 
 and he were, 
 lance between 
 us that many 
 im, it lays a 
 
 n 
 
 necessity upon us to look upon David and Saul, as types of him 
 und Judas. 
 
 We hope we need not say much about the hundred and ninth 
 Psalm. Whether David in composing it had an eye to Saul or 
 Ahithophel, or any other traitor in his own day, we know not; 
 but without doubt it was chiefly intended against " him that 
 was guide to them that took Jesus." It is expressly applied 
 to him in the Acts of the Apostles. Acts i. 18, 20. " This 
 Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, 
 by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas, — for it 
 is written in the book of Psalms, — Ilis bishoprick let another 
 take;" or, as it reads in Psalm cix. 3., "Let another take his 
 office." It is agreed on all hands, indeed, that he committed 
 the sin which is unto death, and completely diabolizcd himself. 
 There is all the reason in the world then that Christ should 
 imprecate upon him all the bitter things that are written in 
 this psalm, and also his share of those in the sixty-ninth and 
 thirty-fifth. Against him he thus prayed : " my Father ! 
 May the evil one be his overseer, and may Satan be his con- 
 stant companion to tempt, accuse, and torment him. When he 
 shall appear before thy judgment-seat, may his sentence be 
 eternal condemnation, and may his very prayers, proceeding 
 from a hypocritical and malicious heart, be an addition to his 
 guilt. May he be quickly cut off by an untimely death. And 
 may the apostolic office, which he hath so basely abused, be 
 given to another. By his untimely end let his children become 
 fatherless, and his wife a desolate widow. May his posterity, 
 following his evil example, be complete vagabonds and beggars ; 
 may they be excluded from the society of honest men, and seek 
 their bread in darkness and desolate places. May the covetous 
 extortioner take the substance which he got or increased, by 
 avaricious stealth out of the poor's bag, or by traitorously de- 
 livering me into the hands of my foes, and may the cursed labour 
 of his corrupted hands, instead of descending- to his children, 
 go for spoil to strangers. As he was a stranger to mercy, may 
 
 he find every heart shut and immovable to compassioti for 
 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 him and his seed. May his posterity be cut off, and, in the 
 next generation, their name and memory crazed. May the 
 sins of his ancestors * be remembered and visited upon him. 
 Take particular notice of their guilt, that thou mayest be sure 
 to cut off their seed and memory from the earth. Because he 
 remembered not to practise mercy, but persecuted the afflicted 
 and needy man, whom he ought to have relieved, being treas- 
 urer for the poor; and slew the broken in heart, whom he 
 ought to havo comforted, and healed, being a minister of the 
 Gospel of Salvation ; and especially because he persecuted me 
 in my state of humiliation, poverty, and affliction, to slay me al- 
 ready broken in heart with the burden of my Father's wrath, 
 and the guilt of sinners. As he loved cursing, so lot it come 
 unto him ; as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from 
 him. As he clothed himself with cursing, as with his garment, 
 so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his 
 bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, 
 
 * The imprecations about the ancestors and posterity of Judns must be un- 
 derstood in ft cons stency with the prophet's declaration : " The soul that 
 Binneth it shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neitlicr 
 shall the father bear the iniquity of the son ; the righteousness of the right- 
 eous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." 
 Esok. xviii. 20. Judas was not punished for the sins of his ancestors or chil- 
 dren, nor they for his, but in as far as they mutually made one another's sin 
 their own, by consent or practice; in which case it was just for a jealous Qod 
 to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third nnd 
 fourth generation of them that hated him. Christ did not prny that the sin 
 of Judas' ancestors, who were already in heaven or in hell, might not be par- 
 doned to them, but that they might be charged upon him, — him who consented 
 tc all the sins that ever were committed. The expression, " Let not the sin 
 of bis mother be blotted out," may possibly be a prayer against forgiveness 
 to his immediate parents, but if it be, it is upon supposition of their being ac- 
 cessory to his guilt; for in no other case does one sinner benr the sin of ano- 
 ther; but I rather think that it is a prayer that his mother's sin might not be 
 pardoned to Judas. In like manner his posterity is cursed, only upon suppo- 
 sition of their being, aa is too commonly the case, heirs of their father's wick- 
 edness. But upon supposition that they were good men, the imprecations 
 could not hurt thorn ; and yet they would bo fulfilled suflSciently, by their dis- 
 owning such a father, and renouncing his works. 
 
 m 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREaOR, D.D. 
 
 48 
 
 id, in thfl 
 
 May the 
 ipon him. 
 3t be sure 
 Jecause he 
 le afflicted 
 eing treas- 
 
 whom he 
 3ter of the 
 ecuted me 
 slay me al- 
 jr's wrath, 
 let it come 
 be far from 
 lis garment, 
 oil into his 
 vereth him, 
 
 IS must be un- 
 Tho soul tbat 
 father, neither 
 3 of the right- 
 be upon him." 
 lestors or chil- 
 5 another's sin 
 a jealous God 
 the third and 
 ly that the sin 
 ht not be par- 
 who consented 
 l,et not the sin 
 
 ?t forgiveness 
 their being ac- 
 the sin of ano- 
 n might not be 
 ly upon suppo- 
 
 father's wick- 
 imprecations 
 
 y, by their dis- 
 
 W 
 
 'j^ 
 
 f 
 
 and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. Let it 
 cleave to him for ever and evci*. May these things come upon 
 the head of Judas, and of every one who inipenitently approves 
 of his deed." 
 
 Every tittle of these imprecations was accomplished upon 
 Judas. " After the sop Satan entered into him," and abode 
 with him. lie was without doubt condemned at God's jutlg- 
 ment seat; for he went to " his own place," to hell. It is plain 
 that his prayer was sin. His days were few, for he soon strangled 
 himself; and then Matthias got his office, and his wife became 
 a widow, and his children fatherless. Is it not natural to think, 
 that his children became vagabonds and beggars ? No Chris- 
 tian could have respect for them, at least, without disowning 
 such a father ; and the chief priests and elders, in whose cause 
 their father died, showed them no favour ; for these rapacious 
 extortioners, near akin to Judas, confiscated, it is likely, all his 
 goods, but at any rate, the thirty pieces of silver, and, instead 
 of giving them to his children, bought with them a burial 
 place for strangers. He found none to extend mercy unto him- 
 self or his children, for he would not apply for it to Christ or 
 his disciples, and his new friends had no better comfort for his 
 wounded conscience than " What is that to us ? see thou to 
 that." The name of his posterity is blotted out, for we know 
 nothing about them. The Lord knows that the iniquity of his 
 father and of his mother was visited upon him ; and p:, for the 
 curse entering into his bowels, and cleaving unto him, let our 
 Saviour answer, " Wo unto that man by whom the Son of man 
 is betrayed ; good were it for that man if he had never been 
 born." 
 
 Such then are the tremendous imprecations of our blessed 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ against Judas, the chief priests, 
 and other persecuting Jews; and, I may add, all impenitont 
 enemies of the gospel. Thus He prayed who has power and 
 authority to answer his own prayers. " Let the earth fear and 
 be still !" Though these three Psalms, which we have been 
 considering, be the most rcn.arkable for imprecations, yet, ia 
 
44 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 several others, Christ prays against his enemies ;* and though 
 heaven and earth should pass away, yet none of his words shall 
 pass away. " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the 
 living God !" What a desperate madness it is to trample under 
 foot the infinite kindness and mercy of God I To despise the 
 blood of Christ, and neglect the gospel of peace and salvation ! 
 
 
 * In a former note, mentioning a number of Paalms quoted in the New Tes- 
 tament, those in the italic character are, either partly or wholly, spoken by, 
 to, or concerning Christ. The following, viz., Psa. xxi. xxir. xlvii. 1. Ixi. 
 Ixxii. Ixxxix. xcvi. xcviii. xcix., and others, are also concerning him, though 
 they may not bo expressly applied to him in the New Testament. If the 
 reader pleases to consult them, ho will find imprecations in many of them, 
 most or all of whieh, I humbly hope, are Christ's. 
 
 Since most of these Psalms hold out Christ to us under a shadow or typo, 
 it is to be expected that some parts of them will be most applicable to the 
 type, as well as some others to the thing typified ; but we are not for that 
 reason to reject ttiem as having nothing to do with Christ, fur no comparison 
 between temporal and spiritual things can hold in all respects. But such is 
 the wisdom with which the Spirit of God guided the Psalmist, that many of 
 his expressions may bear an application to Christ, where he perhaps did not 
 know, or intend it; and where a superficial render may not observe it still. I 
 shall adduce a few examples, Psa. xvi. 2, 3. " My goodness extendeth not 
 to thee ; but to the saints." Christ's obedience and death, though they are 
 great gain to the saints, yet they add nothing to the essential blessedness or 
 happiness of God. Psa. xl. 12. " Innumerable evils have compassed me about, 
 mine iniquities have taken hold of me, so that I am not able to look up; they 
 are more than the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth mo." All this 
 is entirely consistent with Christ's perfect innocence, and were spoken by 
 him, with great propriety, concerning the sins which were imputed to him, 
 which were indeed more than the hairs of his head, and innumerable, and 
 which, when they encompassed him about, and rushed upon him in the gar- 
 den, and on the cross, took such hold of him that he could not look up, and 
 that his heart was a-failing him. It is to be remarked that he neither repents, 
 nor asks pardon. Psa. Ixxii. 15- " Prayer also shall be made for him con- 
 tinually," that is, for his body the chutch ; or rather, about him, that is, con- 
 cer»;ing his person, cause, and kingdom. Psa. cxviii. 17, 18. "I shall not 
 die bi't live — he hath not given me over to death." These words, I hope, 
 may be thus explained, I shall not so die as not to live again very soon. lie 
 hath not so given me over to death as to leave me under its power. " Thou 
 wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see cor- 
 ruption." Christ himself said of .Jairus' daaghter, whose death was to be for 
 a short while only, " The maid is not dead but sleepeth." 
 
BEY. JAMES MACQREaOR; D.D. 
 
 45 
 
 (Is Bhall 
 8 of the 
 Ic under 
 pise tlic 
 ilvation ! 
 
 3 Now Tes- 
 spokcn l>y> 
 vii. 1. Ixi. 
 lim, though 
 nt. Tfthe 
 ly of tbem, 
 
 ow or type, 
 cable to the 
 not for that 
 I comparison 
 But such is 
 lat many of 
 laps did not 
 ■ve it still. I 
 xtendeth not 
 agh they are 
 lesseduess or 
 3od me about, 
 ook up ; they 
 10." All this 
 re spoken by 
 lutcd to him, 
 imerablo, and 
 in the gar- 
 look up, and 
 jither repents, 
 for him con- 
 I, that is, con- 
 "l shall not 
 words, I hope, 
 'ery soon. He 
 ower. "Thou 
 one to see cor- 
 h was to be for 
 
 Surely it will bo more intolfrable, in the day of judgment, for 
 Judas and the persecuting J"vs, than for " Sodom and Go- 
 morrha, who are set fortli for an example suffering the ven- 
 geance of eternal fire." What shall we then say of them who 
 despise the gospel still ? IIow unutterable must their torments 
 be, who, in spite of these warnings and a thousand more, dniw 
 down this vengeance — these curses seven fold upon themselves! 
 
 It may be proper here to obviate a plausible objection that 
 mny be made against reckoning any of the imprecations con- 
 tained in the book of Psalms to be Christ's; viz., that none of 
 the evangelists mention them, — that they seem directly oppo- 
 site to the great meekness and gentleness of Christ's disposi- 
 tion and behaviour, and in a particular manner contrary to his 
 dying prayer, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
 they do." We too should be as forward as possible to condemn 
 them, could we apprehend that they, in the ^east, detracted 
 from the innocence, the goodness, or the love of Christ; but we 
 hope to be able to show, that instead of detracting from, they 
 were an illustrious display of his goodness and love The 
 evangelists do not record them indeed, but there are also many 
 other things which Jesus did, which they have not written in 
 their books. They inform us that he prayed alone often and 
 long, and little or nothing of those secret prayers are recorded 
 in the New Testament, though it is not improbable that a con- 
 siderable part of them is contained in the book of Psalms, and 
 especially in those Psalms which we have above applied to 
 Christ. The silence of the Evangelists is no argument that 
 Christ did not use those imprecations, for though he had no 
 cause to be ashamed of them, yet he might have holy and wise 
 reasons for not uttering them in the hearing of his disciples. 
 
 But we can produce out of the gospels, other imprecations 
 used by Christ as severe as any in the book of Psalms. '< Woe 
 unto thee, Chorazin ! Woe unto th -e, Bethsaida !" See par- 
 ticularly Matt, xxiii., where Christ, eight different times, impre- 
 cates or denounces the final destruction of his enemies. " Woe 
 unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ; for ye ghut up 
 
46 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 
 the kingdom of heaven against men; for yo neither go in your- 
 selves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe 
 unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye devour 
 widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers, therefore 
 ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you. Scribes 
 and Pharisees, hypocrites j for yo compass soa and land to 
 make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two- 
 fold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, 
 ye blind guides; which say, Whosoever shall swear by the 
 temple it is nothing, but whosoever shall swear by the gold of 
 the temple he is a debtor. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites; for ye pay tithe of mint and anise atid cummin, and 
 have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, 
 mercy, and faith ; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
 the other undone. Woe unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
 crites; for ye make clean the outside of the cup, and of the 
 platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess ! Woe 
 unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye are like 
 unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, 
 but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 
 Woe unto you, Sciibes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because ye 
 build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of 
 the righteous, and say. If we had been in the days of our 
 fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the 
 blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto your- 
 selves, that ye are the children of them which killed the pro- 
 phets," for ye imitate and surpass their deeds, while ye profess 
 to disapprove of them. " Fill ye up then the measure of your 
 fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye 
 escape the damnation of hell ? upon you shall come all the 
 righteous blood shed upon the earth." And justly, for, by 
 killing Christ and his apostles, they demonstrated that it was 
 want of opportunity only that prevented them from killing 
 all other good men. Of Judas particularly Jesus said, " Woo 
 to tliat man by whom the Son of man is betrayed, good were 
 ic for that man if he had never been born." Mark xiv. 21. 
 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREOOU, D.D. 
 
 47 
 
 in your- 
 
 in. Woe 
 
 yc devour 
 
 I, therefore 
 
 m, Scribes 
 
 id land to 
 
 2 him two- 
 unto you, 
 
 car by the 
 
 the gold of 
 
 d Pharisees, 
 
 iummin, and 
 
 , judgment, 
 
 i not to leave 
 
 .riseea, hypo- 
 
 >, and of the 
 
 xccssl Woe 
 
 r ye are lilto 
 
 tiful outward, 
 uncleanness. 
 
 ( ; because ye 
 
 sepulchres of 
 days of our 
 them in the 
 es unto your- 
 illed the pro- 
 lile ye profess 
 lasure of your 
 I, how can ye 
 come all the 
 justly, for, by 
 ,d that it was 
 from killing 
 .s said, " Woe 
 lyed, good were 
 :k xiv. 21. 
 
 Tt matters not whetlicr wo consider our Saviour as denouncing 
 these woes upon Judas, the Scribes and Pharisees, or as simply 
 foretelling them ; for as in the former sense he plainly impre- 
 cated, so in the latter lie did what was equivalent, he declared 
 what was the Father's will respecting these men, and his con- 
 I stant prayer was, " Thy will bo done." This prayer for an 
 |f eigli -fold damnation upon his implacable enemies, pronounced 
 I by our Saviour, is surely as terrible as all the imprecations 
 I in the Psalms, taken together j and as i,he former is entirely 
 consistent with all tho meekness, and love, and gentleness of 
 the sweet and blessed Jesus, so wc see not how the latter can 
 be repugnant to these amiable qualities. Instead of that, his 
 imprecations are a beautiful display of his fervent love and 
 zeal for the happiness of believing sinners, as they show that 
 lie resents highly whatever is done to promote their ruin. 
 Where were the proofs of his love, if, after shedding his blood 
 for his chuioh, he should, while he can move hand or tongue 
 for her help, tamely yield her a prey to devils, and quietly give 
 her up to eternal destruction, or even to be trampled under 
 foot for a time, without avenging the injury? Were this his 
 gentleness, we should have good reason to say that his preach- 
 ing, and miracles, and sufferings were all a mere farce ; nay, 
 that he really did east out devils through Beelzebub, the prince 
 of the devils, and was the greatest pillar of the kingdom of Sa- 
 tan that ever existed ; in as much as he came to send a sword and 
 fire upon the earth, not to try and discover the difference be- 
 tween the h dy and the profane, but to destroy and consume 
 them both together. Can the love of Christ be a delight in 
 soul-murderers ? Can his meekness be a cold indifference about 
 the travail of his soul, or the safety of his redeemed ? No ; liia 
 very gentleness will be the roaring of the lion, his tcnderost 
 compassion and love will rouse him to rend in pieces the relent- 
 less murderers of those souls for whom he shed his precious 
 blood ; his very mercy and forgiveness will destroy and devour 
 at once those monsters, who were emboldened, from his meek- 
 ness, love, and patience, to " crucify him afresh, and put him 
 
48 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 to open shame," and to do him all manner of despite and af- 
 fronts. Those actions will be the i'ruit and evidence of hi.s love 
 and compasHiun to sinners; and arc not his iniprccntiuns, in the 
 Biune spirit proof's, c(|U.illy plain, of the same blessed dispositiim '( 
 
 Further, as Christ's imprecations, whether in the I'salms, or 
 in the Gospels, are not opposite to the sweetness of his temper, 
 80 neither to his dying prayer of forgiveness. His imprecations 
 were against the knowing, malicious, and impenitent crucillers 
 of the Lord of Olory, his prayer of forgiveness was in be« 
 half of them, who did the same deed, but ignorantly. That 
 both the knowing and the ignorant were accomplices in the 
 death of Christ will appear, if, upon the one hand, wo take no- 
 tice that Jesus, in the parable, puts the speech into the mouth 
 of the chief priests, and elders of the people : " This is the 
 heir, come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall bo ours," 
 Mutt. xxi. 88 ; and that John, the beloved Evangelist, de- 
 clares, " Among the chief rulers, also, many believed on him, 
 but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they 
 should be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise 
 of men more than the praise of God," John xii. 42, 48; and 
 on the other, that the Apostle Peter says to the men of Israel, 
 "Now brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did 
 also your rulers." Acts iii. 17. The prayer for forgiveness 
 was fully answered by the conversion of the throe thousand, by 
 Peter's sermon. Acts ii. 41 ; and of myriads afterwards, Acts 
 xxi. 20., which possibly comprehended every ignorant person 
 who was present, when he said, " Father, forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do ;" and the imprecations were as fully 
 answered by the fearful end of Judas and other persecutors, 
 and by the terrible destruction of the Jewish nation. 
 
 Since then Christ may be justified in using the imprecations 
 under consideration, we hope David cannot be condemned for 
 making them ready to his hand ; but that we may say of liim In 
 this case, as Peter does in another, " David being a prophet, 
 and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of 
 the fruit of his loins, concerning the flesh, he would raise up 
 
&EV. JAMES MACnilEOOR, D. D. 
 
 pito nntl af- 
 i of lii.s lovo 
 tiuna, in tlio 
 disposition 't 
 ) I'salins, or 
 his temper, 
 niprecatioiis 
 nt crucitiers 
 was in bo- 
 mtly. That 
 liccs in tho 
 wo take no- 
 tho mouth 
 This is tho 
 ill bo ours," 
 in<;elist, dc- 
 !vcd on him, 
 im, lost they 
 id tho prniso 
 42, 43 ; and 
 en of Israel, 
 
 id it, as did 
 
 forgiveness 
 thousand, by 
 rwards, Acts 
 )rant person 
 lem, for thoy 
 (vcrc as fully 
 
 persecutors, 
 n. 
 
 imprpcations 
 ndenined for 
 iay of him in 
 
 g a prophet, 
 him, that of 
 uld raise up 
 
 I 
 
 Christ tc fiit upon his throne. ITo seeing this before npako of 
 tho resurrection of (Mirist." In like manner, David being a 
 prophet, and knowing that Ood hud permitted that Judos, and 
 tho chief priests, with the elders of the Jews, should rise up 
 and betray, and crucify Christ. He seeing this before spoke 
 of the miserable destruction of these wicked men. If David 
 did well in composing Psalms about tho glory ond exaltation of 
 Christ, he did better in writing those which contain tho impre<> 
 cations ; for, in this case, he had more need of steadiness, cour- 
 age, and resolution to withstand the derision of infidels and tho 
 attacks of superficial professors of religion, who would bo sure 
 to reprobate them ; for that age, as well as this, had its mockers 
 and blasphemers. Besides, he could not fail to know that suob 
 imprecations would make his reputation to suffer (as it has 
 done) in future ages, not only in the eyes of the openly profane, 
 and of such professors of religion as could not bear tho scoff 
 of an infidel, but even of many true Christians, through ignor- 
 ance or prejudice. But none of these things moved him. lie 
 was persuaded that his heart indited a good and necessary mat- 
 ter, that he spake of the things that he made touching the King, 
 and therefore his tongue was like the pen of a ready writer, in 
 all manner of imprecations and denunciations, as well as in 
 other matters. 
 
 Before we dismiss this part of our subject, we beg leave to 
 make a reflection or two upon the justness and reasonableness 
 of the^e terrible denunciations of the vengeance of the Omni- 
 puijnt. None can deny that it was just in God to inflict all 
 the curses in these imprecations upon Judas, the chief priests, 
 and other persecuting Jews, for the proper wages of sin is death ; 
 and yet it is plain that Christ might justly pray for every thing 
 that God might justly inflict. It is equally undoniable that 
 wilful and malicious persecutors of the gospel deserve to bo 
 punished with more sin in this life ; for all that they can suffer, 
 either by feeling the wrath of God, or by being enslaved to sin, 
 can never compensate for the affront, which their wilful sin- 
 
 ing puts upon God. It is highly reasonable that those should 
 5 
 
50 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 feel justice in all its severity, both here and hereafter, who 
 will not suffer themselves to be dealt with mercifully and gra- 
 ciously, but blaspheme the very tongue that proclaims their 
 pardon, and cut off the hand that reaches them peace and sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Again, the imprecations produced no fruit different from, or 
 more bitter than, that which their life and conversation was 
 bringing forth before. They did not alter the condition of the 
 persecuting Jews to the worse, nor bring upon them any pun- 
 ishment greater than they would have received at any rate ; 
 but there was a coincidence and conformity between the effects 
 of the imprecations, and the native tendency of their conduct, 
 80 that they confirmed that punishment which was absolutely 
 sure before. Those men could not escape that very punish- 
 ment which they received, though Christ had never imprecated j 
 for hell lay at the end of the way in which they walked, as sure 
 as heaven lies in the way of holiness. " The end of these things 
 is death." If wisdom be a tree of life to them that lay hold 
 upon her, and if " the work of righteousness be peace, and the 
 effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever," then 
 wickedness must be the tree of death, and the fruit thereof 
 eternal disquiet, vexation, and despair. The righteous man 
 can never be unhappy, for nothing can disturb him but sin, and 
 even in the midst of it, he enjoys the unspeakable happiness of 
 knowing that the great Creator and he are of one heart, and of 
 one mind towards it ; but the wicked man can never be truly 
 happy, for every thing but sin is a torment to him, and that 
 root of bitterness can no more yield him any solid satisfaction, 
 than a bitter fountain can yield sweet water. So then besides 
 the hell of the wrath and curse of God, and the hell of a sting- 
 ing conscience, the wicked man unavoidably and perpetually 
 carries about with him a growing hell of discontent, vexation, 
 and rage ; for being a slave of insatiable lusts, and ungovern- 
 able passions, he is always meeting with disappointments, and 
 very frequently with crosses which produce in his mind a frett- 
 ing, foaming, and raging against every thing that stands in his 
 
REV. JAMES MACUBEQOR, D.D. 
 
 61 
 
 or 
 
 sting- 
 ketually 
 ^xation, 
 rovern- 
 ks, and 
 la frett- 
 
 in his 
 
 
 way, and that again naturally produces more crosses and dis- 
 appointments, which still swells his rage more furiously, and so 
 on for ever. " Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, 
 deceiving and being deceived," and the more " the backslider 
 in heart is filled with his own ways," he becomes the more 
 miserable. 
 
 Finally, the imprecations did not necessitate them to sin, nor 
 secretly incline their will to more evil than they would other- 
 wise have committed. As free agents, they not only began and 
 continued their persecutions, but increased them, and indeed 
 necessitated themselves to do so ; for, as a stone must gather 
 force by running down hill, so must vicious habits acquire 
 strength by indulgence. As these wicked men then did both 
 unavoidably and freely love sin, and exert themselves in its 
 service the more, the longer they continued under its power, 
 they needed no imprecations to drive them on, nor is this their 
 effect, but their blinding and hardening influence kept pace, as 
 it were, with their own growing inclination to evil. Pharaoh 
 hardened his heart, and when the Lord hardened the heart of 
 Pharaoh, he infused no obstinacy into his will, nor needed he 
 indeed; but only helped and enabled him, by making the 
 means which he used successful, to carry on that work — that 
 hardening work, which he had already begun, which he was 
 most anxious to finish, and in which he was previously wishing 
 for every assistance he could get from God or man. So was it 
 with the imprecations, and hence they were their own as much 
 as they were Christ's. They earnestly wished to be blinded 
 against the truth of the gospel, to be strengthened to suppress 
 it, and to live and die its enemies. They wished themselves 
 " accursed from Christ" and his blessings, and " his blood to be 
 for ever upon themselves and their children ;" and what mere 
 did he when he imprecated upon them eternal ruin ? 
 
^ 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 .7-^ 
 
 PART II. 
 
 VINDICATION OF THE USE OF THE IMPEECA- 
 TORY PSALMS BY CHRISTIANS. 
 
 We now proceed to the second part of our subject, viz., to 
 consider the imprecations and denunciations of God's wrath, 
 contained in the book of Psalms, as ours. In this part we 
 shall 1, endeavour to prove that they are a permanent Chris- 
 tian duty ; we shall point out 2, the objects of them ; and 3, the 
 disposition with which they are to be usedj and, lastly, we 
 shall answer the most material objections against the use of 
 them. 
 
 Chap. I. — ^imprecations are a permanent christian 
 
 DUTY. 
 
 Argument 1. Imprecations and denunciations of God's wrath 
 against the enemies of the gospel are a moral duty, required hy 
 the law of God, the eternal rule of man's obedience. Moses in 
 Deut. xi. 29, and in zxvii. 11, to the end, by the command- 
 ment of Jehovah, divides Israel into two classes, ordering the 
 one to stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and the 
 other upon Mount Ebal to curse. He does not tell how they 
 were to proceed in blessing, but he relates particularly the pro- 
 cess in cursing. "The Levites" standing between the two 
 companies, " were to speak, and say unto all the men of Israel, 
 with a loud voice, Cursed be the man that maketh any graven 
 
"^^ 
 
 REV. 
 
 JAMES MACOREaOR, D.D. 
 
 68 
 
 ECA- 
 
 viz., to 
 wrath, 
 )art vre 
 
 Chris- 
 d 3, the 
 tly, we 
 
 use of 
 
 [8TIAN 
 
 wrath 
 idred hy 
 loses in 
 )inmand- 
 jring the 
 
 and the 
 low they 
 
 the pro- 
 
 the two 
 of Israel, 
 
 y graven 
 
 or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of 
 the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place ; 
 nrd all the people," viz., the six tribes upon Mount Ebal, 
 " were to answer and say, Amen, &c." Here is a most solemn 
 transaction : Israel, by the command of God, cursing themselves, 
 that is, consenting and praying that they might be accursed, if 
 they confirmed not all the words of the law to do them. Will 
 any man have the hardiness to believe that God would have 
 appointed such a solemn ordinance, and pointed out the manner 
 of its observation so particularly, if the thing itself were sinful, 
 or calculated to promote bitterness of spirit ? There was not 
 a word of all that Moses commanded with respect to these bless- 
 ings and curses, which Joshua did not afterward perform. See 
 Josh. viii. God did not intend indeed that this ordinance 
 should over again be celebrated with the same solemnity and 
 forme;!! i it the substance of it was, and shall be, in every 
 age, c- ^ ' r^id by every Christian, because it is implied in every 
 believing consent to the goodness of God's law. 
 
 We have another plain command to curse the enemies of the 
 Lord in Judges v. 23, " Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the 
 inhabitants thereof, because they came not out to the help of 
 the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." Seve- 
 ral of the tribes of Israel are blamed for withholding their aid 
 in this war, but it seems Meroz was deeper in the transgression 
 than any others, because they were nearer the field of battle, 
 or for some other reason, for which they are laid under a most 
 terrible curse. In this denunciation there are two things which 
 deserve our particular attention. 1. To prevent their being 
 ruled by their natural feelings, which might occasion an unsea- 
 sonable compassion, and consequently a criminal slackness, or 
 treachery in this work of the Lord, the command is repeated 
 with an emphasis curse ye, curse ye hitterly. Like Pharaoh's 
 dream, it is doubled, because the thing is sure and right, and 
 the emphasis is added because the curse must be denounced 
 with fervour and vehemence, even with the whole heart, and 
 
 with the whole soul. 2. To prevent us from imputing the 
 
 5* 
 

 54 
 
 BEMAINS Of THE 
 
 curse to the impulse c^' private p&ssion, the revenge of Deborah, 
 Barak, or Israel, the inspired prophetess declares expressly 
 that it ^as denounced by command of the angel of Jehovah, 
 or rather perhaps the angel Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the same who guided Tsrael through the wilderness, and was 
 Captain of the Lord's host in the days of Joshua, the same prob- 
 ably wh.' she calls the Lord God of Israel in the former chap- 
 ter, and who commanded Barak to fight against Jabin. Or if 
 it were another angel, being the messenger of Jehovah, he ^ad 
 his authority, and delivered his command to curse the Mero- 
 zites. The particular nomination of Meroz is a circumstanoe 
 in this command which does not apply to our imprecr4,tions, 
 because we have no revelativ..:, intimating to us that such a par- 
 ticular place or people is the object of the curse, but as we 
 know that there are and will be in the world persons of the 
 same character with the Merozitcs, who shall finally refuse to 
 come out to the help of the Lord against the mighty, we are 
 under obligation by this command to curse them. 
 
 Arg. 2. I7ie Lord declares plainly that he will curse and de- 
 ttroy eternally all his tmplacahle enemies. " The curse of the 
 Lord is in the house of the wicked," Prov. iii. 33. We know 
 already the sentence which shall be pronounced against them, 
 at the great day of Judgment, " Depart from me, ye cursed, 
 into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." 
 How many thousands of tnreatenings are contained in the word 
 of God, against those who forsake not their wickedness I If any 
 man taks them for bugbears he will find himself mistaken. 
 God seriously intends to execute them, and nothing will divert 
 him from it. His threatenings, as well as his promises, being 
 declarations of his will and purpose, are a rule of prayer unto 
 his saints, and they must earnestly wish for their accomplish- 
 ment upon all who will not in time escape from within their 
 tide mark. Against their accomplishment they need not pray, 
 for they will not be heard ; ) ecause the only possible way of 
 escape is by breaking off wickedness, and doing that which ia 
 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 65 
 
 borah, 
 sressly 
 hovah, 
 Christ, 
 
 id ^88 
 e prcb- 
 r chap- 
 Orif 
 he ^a^ 
 e Mero- 
 mstanoe 
 jcations, 
 ih a par- 
 ut as we 
 is of the 
 refttso to 
 ^j we are 
 
 tf 
 
 lawful and right ; all the prayers in the world will not save the 
 man who takes any other course. 
 
 Farther, God looks upon the cause of his people as his own, 
 and he hath promised to plead it, and to destroy and curse the 
 enemies of his saints. Not t'-iat he engages to avenge every 
 private quarrel that may happen between a good and a bad man j 
 wc speak of the great quarrel only between the seed of the 
 woman and of the serpent. The children of the wicked one want 
 not a thousand pretexts for their enmity against the followers 
 of Jesus, as that they turn the world upside down by their 
 fanaticism and enthusiasm, that they rebel against the state, 
 saying that there is another king, even Jesus, that they teach 
 customs hurtful to civil society, and what not ? But the true 
 cause of the enmity is the saints' love to Christ, and their 
 attachment to his truths, by which means they are as thorns in 
 the sides of the seed of the serpent, whose wickedness is con- 
 tinually condemned by their holiness. Seeing that his people 
 suffer so much in the world for his sake, God undertakes and 
 promises that their enemies shall not only be disappointed, but 
 cursed and consumed. Thus he said to Abraham, ** I will 
 bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee,'' 
 Gen. xii. 3. Thus Balaam, contrary to his intention, said of 
 Israel, " Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that 
 curseth thee," Num. xxiv. 9. Such promises as these are, to 
 this day, the ground of the Christian's hope and comfort, ?nd 
 the rule of his duty. Every child of God, how grieved bocver 
 for the obstinacy of wicked men, and hor ojlad soever of their 
 repentance and reformation, must, if they harden themselves 
 against all rjeans of grace and salvation, pray for and acquiesce 
 in the accomplishment of the curse upon them. 
 
 Arg. 3. Since the saints have the command of God to author- 
 ize them, and the promises of God to encourage them in re- 
 ligious imprecations and der '.nciations, we may well expect to 
 find many others besides David going heforj us in this p; actice. 
 Examples might be multiplied without number. Imprecations 
 were used from the beginning to the end of the Old Testament, 
 
'■* 
 
 66 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 08 by Noah, Gen. ix. 25. j Isaac, Gen. xxvii. 29; Jacob, Gen. 
 xlix. 7 J Moses, Deut. xxxiii. 11 j Joshua, Josh. vi. 26 ; Elisha, 
 2 Kings, ii. 24 ; Jeremiah, Jer. xviii. 19-23 ;* Nehemiah, Neh. 
 vi. 11 ; Malachi, Mai. i. 14, &o. To which may be added that 
 famous example of the whole Jewish Church, who in the most 
 celebrated and praiseworthy transaction of a period of remarka- 
 ble reforma n, did, under the di'*eotion of Nehemiah, consent 
 and agree * jeomo a curse if they should iurn aside from the 
 ways of tha Lord. " And the rest of the people, the priests, the 
 Lcvites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they 
 that had separated themselves from the people of the lands, 
 unto the law of God, their wives, their sons,- and their daughters, 
 every one having knowledge and having understanding. They 
 clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, 
 and into an oal'. to walk in God's law," &c. Neh. x. 28, 29. 
 
 In the New Testament stands foremost the example of our 
 Saviour, the author and finisher of our faith, unto whom we are 
 to look, before all others ; who, though he endured the contra- 
 diction of sinners against himself, and reviled not when he 
 was reviled, nor threatened when he suflfered, yet denounced 
 the most grievous woes against Judas, and the Scribes and 
 Pharisees, who obstinately opposed his gospel to the hindrance 
 of God's glory and man's salvation, as far as lay in their 
 power. 
 
 We have next the example of the great apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles, who flew through the nations like a winged seraph, pro- 
 claiming the mercy and love of God, and warning his brethren 
 to flee from the wrath to come. " Alexander the coppersmith," 
 says he, " did me much evil, the Lord reward him according 
 to his works." 2 Tim. iv. 14. In denouncing this curse, Paul 
 was quite cool, and free of all revenge, filled with a spirit of 
 forgiveness as appears from the context, " At my first answer 
 no man stood with me, but all men forsook me j I pray God that 
 
 * But some of Jeremiah's imprecations, as Chap. xx. ld-18 ; and Job's, 
 Chap, iii., are surely lamentable infirmities, recorded not for imitation but 
 warning. 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREaOR, D.D. 
 
 67 
 
 it may not bo laid to their charge;" verse 16. But discerning, 
 by the Holy Ghost, the malicious spirit of the man, and fore- 
 seeing his obstinacy, he denounces his doom. We have not 
 now the gift of discerning spirits, therefore, wo must not pre- 
 sume in our hearts to apply our imprecations to any individual, 
 as Paul did. Nevertheless, hh example is so far for our imi- 
 tation, as to warrant us to pray indefinitely against every Al- 
 exander, that is every one who is like him, though wo cannot 
 know who they are. What in the example was extraordinary, 
 viz., the discerning of Alexander's spirit, was peculiar to Paul, 
 in other respects it ought to be imitated. These examples are 
 sufficient to establish this point ; but as the most of them havo 
 some extraordinary circumstance attending them which is n t 
 to be imitated by us, and consequently the reasoning from them 
 will not be so convincing, we shall add some others, which suit 
 the case of the church or of private christians in every age and 
 condition. 
 
 1. The example of the Churcn .„ Acts iv. 24. — 29. The apos- 
 tles having been threatened by the council of the Jews, for 
 teaching in the name of Jews, — " went to their own company 
 and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to 
 them." Then the whole company lifted up this prayer, " Lord, 
 thou art God, — who, by the mouth of thy servant David hast 
 said. Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain 
 things ? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were 
 gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. 
 For of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast 
 anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, 
 and the people of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatso- 
 ever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 
 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and grant unto thy 
 servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word." 
 The imprecation contained in this prayer may be thus expressed : 
 " thou, who sittest in the heavens, and deridest the counsel 
 of the rulers against thee, and against thy Christ, open thine 
 eyes and see, and consider these threats, their devices and op- 
 
68 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 |i 
 
 U : 
 
 position; for, even now, they have been consultiog to break 
 for ever tlio bands of thy law, and to bring tliy gospel to noth- 
 ing, that it may never more be mentioned. Disappoint their 
 devices, and overrule their threats for thy glory. If it be thy 
 will, restrain them, either by touehing their hearts by thy grace, 
 that they may be wise, and serve the Lord with fear, and re- 
 joice with trembling; or by binding their hands by thy power, 
 that they may perform no part of their enterprise : if not, let 
 them threaten on, (for by thy grace wo will overcome,) until 
 thou break them with a rod of iron, and dash them to pieces 
 like a potter's vessel." This example is a lasting rule to the 
 church, or to private Christians whon they have to do imme- 
 diately with the persons of those who oppose the gospel, whose 
 end they know not. They must not pray absolutely for or 
 against them, but on supposition both; the first of their repent- 
 ance, the last of their final impenitence. 
 
 2. 2^he example of Paul. — " If any man love not the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha," 1 Cor. xvi. 
 22, or accursed, the Lord cometh. This is a very tremendous 
 denunciation, comprehending in one word as much as David 
 has said throughout the Psalms. Paul did not denounce it 
 against any who having once hated Christ, yet in this life come 
 to him, for this were to make void that gospel, which he so 
 zealously preached ; but it expresses his desire that all who live 
 and die destitute of the love of Christ may be found accursed 
 when the Lord Jesus comes to judge the world. The same ter- 
 rible curse he denounces repeatedly against all the perverters 
 of the gospel. " Though we or an angel from heaven preach 
 any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached 
 unto you, let him be accursed. I say again, if any man preach 
 any other gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him 
 be accursed." Gal. i. 8, 9. As we said of the former, so we 
 may of this, that it is not intended, at least in its full latitude, 
 against them who for a time, pervert the gospel, but them only 
 who do so to the end. 
 
 These two examples are a lasting rule to the church, or to 
 
 iV,* 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREQOR, D.D. 
 
 69 
 
 3 break 
 to noth- 
 nt their 
 t be thy 
 »y grace, 
 , and re- 
 y power, 
 f not, let 
 le,) until 
 to pieces 
 lie to the 
 do imme- 
 lel, whose 
 }ly for or 
 lir repent- 
 
 the Lord 
 Cor. xvi. 
 remendous 
 1 as David 
 snounce it 
 3 life come 
 ich he so 
 1 who live 
 d accursed 
 |e same ter- 
 perverters 
 
 en preach 
 c preached 
 
 lan preach 
 led, let him 
 mer, so we 
 |U latitude, 
 
 them only 
 
 lurch, or to 
 
 private Christians, of indefinite imprecations, directed against 
 no particular sot of men, but proceeding upon a supposition of 
 a final hatred of Clirist, and perversion of his gospel. Thus 
 ought the imprecations in the Psalms to bo read and sung. 
 Moreover our Lord also hath left us an example of indefinite 
 imprecations, which suits i.i all circumstances. " Woe unto 
 you that are rich ; for ye have received your consolation. Woe 
 unto you that are full j for ye shall hunger. Woo unto you 
 that laugh now ; for yo shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you 
 when all men shall speak well of you ; for so did their fathers 
 to the false prophets." Luke vi. 24, 25, 26. 
 
 We may here add the following observation, as it throws some 
 light on the subject in general, though it be not immediately 
 connected with the present argument. Should any ask what is 
 the rule of the Christian, when the enmity of wicked men is 
 turned against his person or private concerns, we answer, there 
 is then no place for imprecation. The blessing is to be returned 
 for cursing, and prayer for persecution. Then the example of 
 Stephen is to be followed, '' Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge," Acts vii. 60. Such is the difference between our cause 
 and God's. How opposite is the conduct of St'^phen and Paul, 
 though both were actuated by the selfsame Holy Spirit I The 
 one says, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge ;" the other, 
 " The Lord reward him according to his works ;" but the former 
 was pleading his own cause, the latter God's. Had Stephen 
 been in Paul's place he would have imprecated, and had Paul 
 been in Stephen's he would have forgiven. Paul indeed differs 
 as much from himself as from Stephen. At one time he says, 
 " The Lord reward him according to his works," and almcst 
 with the next breath he says, " I pray God it may not be laid 
 to their charge." In the first case, he speaks of one who 
 " greatly withstood our words," that is, the doctrines which 
 were taught by him and other ministers of the gOL-cI; in tlio 
 last, of them whc« forsook him in danger, and gave him no per- 
 sonal aid. 
 
 Such are the examples which the great cloud of former wifc- 
 
60 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 I 
 f 
 
 ncsses did set us while they were on earth, let us now follow 
 them to glory, and see what is the exercise of the spirits of 
 just men made perfect. Heaven itself is not without impreca- 
 tions. " I saw under tin altar the souls of them that were 
 slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which thoy 
 held, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How lonp;, O 
 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood 
 on them that dwell on the earth ?" Rev. vi. 9, 10. Not that 
 there is resentment or revenge in heaven, but a vehement zeal 
 for the glory of God, for the display of his justice, and the 
 .lartyrs' innocence upon earth, and for the overthrow of the 
 kingdom of Satan. Moreover we are sure that Christ is in 
 heaven prosecuting for ever those prayers which he began on 
 earth, whether in behalf of his friends, or in opposition to his 
 foes. 
 
 Arg. 4. God hath promised that he will hear and answer holy 
 and good imprecations, and lie hath already, in innumerable 
 instances, accomplished that promise. Imprecations written in 
 the Scripture, or agreeable thereto, when they are sent up unto 
 God, without private motives or ends, but from a temperate 
 zeal for the glory of God, from love to our brethren, and in 
 the spirit of faith, have the same promise of an answer, with 
 other prayers. They are included in that general promise, " all 
 things," that is, all promised things, " whatsoever ye shall ask 
 in prayer believing ye shall receive j" for as we have already 
 shown, they are warranted by the command and promise of 
 God. But lest a general promise of an answer should be thought 
 insufficient, in a duty so much opposed, and so apt to be mis- 
 taken, God has been pleased to particularize it, and to appro- 
 priate it to this very subject j " For such as be blessed of him," 
 viz., of the righteous man, " shall inherit the earth, and they 
 that are cursed of him shall be cut off," Psa, xxxvii. 22. That 
 is : When a righteous man, in prayer according to God's will, 
 asks by faith a blessing upon a man, he shall obtain it; and 
 when in the same manner, he asks a curse upon a man (indefi- 
 nitely), he shall be cut off. Not that God empowers his saints 
 
 en] 
 
 ni.'i 
 
 an 
 
 tuil 
 
 off 
 
 rosi 
 
 to 
 
 tlu 
 
 voil 
 
 sH 
 
 anc 
 
REV. JAMES MACOBEQOR, D.D. 
 
 61 
 
 )W follow 
 spirits of 
 , impreca- 
 that were 
 hich they 
 vy long, O 
 our blood 
 Not that 
 lement zeal 
 •e, and the 
 iTOW of the 
 Christ is iu 
 c began on 
 iition to his 
 
 amwer hol^ 
 innumerable 
 IS written in 
 sent up unto 
 a temperate 
 hren, and in 
 answer, with 
 promise, " all 
 ye shall ask 
 have already 
 d promise of 
 lid be thought 
 ipt to be mis- 
 and to appro- 
 essedof him," 
 irth, and they 
 _vii.22. That 
 to God's will, 
 obtain it; and 
 a man (indefi- 
 )wer8 his saints 
 
 ? 
 
 to bless the cursed, or curse the blcMned, this would not be ao. 
 conlinj; to his will, but ho will bo inquired of by thorn, when 
 lio ia to bring the bk.ssing or the curse upon any man, to do it 
 lur tlicni ; so that he at once accomplishes his own purpose and 
 iiiiswors their prayers. Let not this ecoui strange, as if it were 
 a peculiar thing; for indeed it is (jod's universal rule. Though 
 " he works all things" throughout the world, "after the coun- 
 sel of his own will," yet he docs nothing, great or email, but 
 in answer to his children's prayers. Hence the Scripture as- 
 cribes to them (as they virtually pray for all that God docs) 
 the moral government of the world; "Ho that overcometh, 
 and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power 
 over the nations, (and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, 
 as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to Bhivers,) oven 
 as I received of my father." Rev. ii. 26, -7. 
 
 Farther, as an encouragement to believers to expect the 
 accomplishment of God's promise to answer their religious im- 
 precations, he hath already performed it in many instances. 
 Need we doubt if Christ was answered in his prayers against 
 his enemies? "I know," says he to his father, << that thou 
 hearest me always." We have already seen many of David's 
 imprecations answered, nay, we may say all of them ; " He 
 hath delivered me out of all trouble, and mine eye hath seen 
 bis desire upon mine enemies." Psa. liv. 7. This is not the 
 poor triumph of revenge over the fallen foe. David was never 
 cnpable of such meanness ; but a pure and holy delight in the 
 manifestation of God's faithfulness, in answering his prayer, 
 and fulfilling his own promises. Were we to consult the Scrip- 
 tures, we would also find upon record, an answer to the most 
 of those examples of imprecations mentioned above, and the 
 rest were answered as well as they. We shall only farther add, ' 
 to illustrate this argument, the thanksgiving of the church for 
 the answer of her prayers against Antichrist; " I heard a great 
 voice of much people in heaven, saying. Alleluia, salvation, and 
 glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God ; for true 
 and righteous are his judgments, for he hath judged the great 
 
!l 
 
 62 
 
 REMAINS OP TIIK 
 
 , 
 
 fi 
 
 Tvlioro, which did corrupt the cnrth with hor forniontion, nnd 
 hath avenged the bh)od of his servants at hor hand," Itov. xix. 
 1, 2. Hath God spoken and done these thinps to answer reli- 
 gious imprecations, and can they yet be sinful ? 
 
 Arif. 5. Imprecations arr jtla'm};/ irarrmifed in that form of 
 piftj/er irhirh Chn'sf. tavijht hh (lixripfen, Matt. vi. In the first 
 petition we pray that God's name may bo hallowed or glorified. 
 Hereby we express our desire, among other things, that God's 
 perfections or attributes may be glorified or displayed, as well 
 those of his justice and vengeance in tho everlasting destruc- 
 tion (and temporal too as fur as ho sees meet) of impenitent 
 sinners, as those of love, grace, and mercy in the eternal salva- 
 tion of believers; for the former are as much included in his 
 name and as essential to him as the latter. When we pray, 
 " Hallowed be thy name," we plead wickedly and deceitfully 
 for God, if we mean to exclude any of his attributes from being 
 glorified, and yet, it is certain, though justice be glorified upon 
 believers in their Surety, that it cannot be glorified upon obsti- 
 nate sinners but in their destruction 
 
 In the second petition, which is, "Thy kingdom como," wo 
 pray not only that the kingdom ^f grace may be advanced, but 
 that the kingdom of Satan maybe destroyed; which implies 
 no less than the complete and eternal overthrow of all those, 
 who are constantly and finally tho instruments of its support, 
 for how can it be destroyed unless its pillars be removed ? Who- 
 ever then repeats these two petitions, whether he means it or 
 not, makes use of implied or virtual imprecations. 
 
 The third petition contains a warrant still more evident for 
 religious imprecations, and therefore we shall dwell a little upon 
 it. " Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven." The 
 will of God is one simple act, purpose, or counsel, whereby 
 "he hath from all eternity appointed and ordered most wisely 
 and infallibly and irresistibly, all the acts and events of all his 
 creatures, so that things which seem to us most entirely or 
 most freely to remove this most free and eternal counsel of his, 
 are subservient to it in all their actings. And all those con- 
 
REV. JAMEB MAOaREQOn, D.D. 
 
 68 
 
 ion, nnd 
 ,lov. xix. 
 iwcr rcli- 
 
 form of 
 \ the first 
 
 glorifiod. 
 hat God's 
 d, as well 
 » deatruc- 
 mpenitcnt 
 rnal salva- 
 led in his 
 n via prny, 
 deceitfully 
 from being 
 rifled upon 
 upon obsti- 
 
 come," vo 
 anced, but 
 ch implies 
 all those, 
 |ts support, 
 ed? Who- 
 eans it or 
 
 I evident for 
 little upon 
 ;en." The 
 Icl, whereby 
 luiost wisely 
 Is of all his 
 entirely or 
 mscl of his, 
 those con- 
 
 currences, which pcem to ub most inconeidorablo or continjjont, 
 are fureordaincd by thu same nioHt iiit'aUiblc cuunsel, and U)a(lo 
 the InHtruuicnts of brin<;ing abuut the greatest cuiicernnicnts 
 in tlio world." " The Lord of Hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, 
 as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, und as I hnvo pur- 
 posed, so shall it stand ; that I will break the Assyriun in my 
 land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot; then shall 
 his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off 
 tlicir shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed on the 
 whole earth, and this is the liand that is stretched forth upon 
 all nations. For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who 
 shall disannul it? and his hnnd is stretched out, and who shall 
 turn it back ?" Isa. xiv. 24-27. " llemember the forr '^r thinj.'. 
 of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and 
 there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, 
 and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, sayi' ,: 
 My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." ] m 
 xlvi. 9, 10. 
 
 Even the various, and unstable, and free motions of the 
 mind and will of man, which seem to come under no rule or 
 government but of himself, are most exactly ordered to bring 
 to pass the purposes of God. " There are many devices in a 
 man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall 
 stand." Prov. xix. 2L And herein we may observe the most 
 deep and unsearchable wisdom, and power, and purity of God, 
 that while man worketh freely, yet God worketh t. ti- by power- 
 fully ; and while man worketh sinfully, yet God woikcth there- 
 by most justly, and most purely. The freedom of the will of 
 man is not controlled by the infallibility and purity of the coun- 
 sel of God, nor can it interrupt or disappoint it, and the sinful- 
 ness of the will and ways of man is not justified by the infalli- 
 bility and purity of the counsel of God, nor doth it pollute it.* 
 Thus Judas freely, but maliciously, treacherously, and diaboli- 
 cally betrayed our Saviour; the Jews delivered him to judg- 
 ment freely, but enviously ; Pilate judged him freely, but un- 
 
 * See Lord Chief Justice Ilule's Conteuiplatioua on the Lord's Prayer. 
 
64 
 
 REMAmS OP THE 
 
 justly; and the soldiers crucified him freely, but murderously; 
 yet in God there vraa in all this, though it was infallibly fore- 
 ordained by him, the greatest manifestation of his truth, and 
 justice, and wisdom, and purity, and mercy, that ever the 
 world did or shall see. " Him being delivered by the determi- 
 nate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and 
 with wicked hands have crucified and slain." " Of a truth 
 against thy holy child JeSus whom thou hast anointed, buth 
 Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of 
 Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand anc^ 
 thy counsel determined before to be done." Acts ii. 23 ; iv. 
 27, 28. 
 
 The will of God is for the most part secret and unknown, 
 till it be fulfilled. "Thy way is in the sea and thy paths in 
 the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known." Psa. Ixxvii. 
 19. Yet we must say, " Thy will be done." It is true thy 
 counsels are secret and unknown to me, but they are the coun- 
 sels of a most wise and just God, and therefore I will be content 
 to pray with an implicit faith, " Thy will be done," for " right- 
 eous art thou, Lord, in all thy ways, and holy in all thy 
 works." It is true thy " counsel shall stand," yet are not my 
 prayers impertinent ; it is the duty of thy creatures to will what 
 thou wiliest, and to pray thee to do what thou intendesL to do; 
 that my will may not only passively submit unto thy v/ill, but 
 actively run along with it.* The will of God, however, is not 
 wholly secret. The scriptures of the Old and New Testament 
 reveal unto us a part of it which, however small in comparison 
 of the whole, is yet sufficient to show us the way of salvation 
 and duty. This revelation consists not only of commands and 
 directions about what we are to do, but also of expressed decla- 
 rations, prophecies, threatenings, and promises, both about par- 
 ticular events, and the eternal state of all men, concerning all 
 which we must say, " Thy will be done." 
 
 Thus God has plainly foretold and prophesied that he T\ill 
 consume "the man of sin with the spirit of his mouth, and 
 
 * Hnle, Ao. 
 
crously ; 
 bly fovo- 
 uth, and 
 ever the 
 dotermi- 
 iken and 
 F a truth 
 ited, both 
 people of 
 hand ani^ 
 li. 23j iv. 
 
 unknown, 
 ly paths in 
 Psa. Ixxvii. 
 is true thy 
 i the coun- 
 , be content 
 for «' right- 
 in all thy 
 ire not my 
 ;o will what 
 |desl. to do ; 
 ,y m\\, but 
 iver, is not 
 Testament 
 [comparison 
 if salvation 
 mands and 
 ;ssed decla- 
 about par- 
 ■corning all 
 
 Ihat he will 
 mouth, and 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 65 
 
 destroy him with the brightness of his coming;" that he will 
 convert the Jews with the fulness of the Gentiles j that " the 
 kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of his Christ ;" that the gospel shall be preached unto all 
 nations, and be attended with most wonderful success, insomuch 
 that " the people shall be all righteous, that there shall be upon 
 the bells of the horses, holiness to the Lord, that every pot in 
 Jerusalem and in Judah, shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts, 
 and that the Canaanite shall be no more in the house of the 
 Lord of hosts ;" and that he will send his son in the clouds of 
 heaven, with power and great glory, to judge the world ; to 
 which we must subscribe ; — " Thy will be done." 
 
 Again, God, in his mercy and grace, hath plainly foretold 
 and promised that innumerable multitudes of sinners, even as 
 many as be hath ordained to eternal life and salvation, John 
 vi. 37, shall be raised out of the grave of sin, quickened to be- 
 lieve in Christ, and to grow in faith, love, knowledge, piety, 
 and holiness, Isa. liii. 10, 11 ; Psal. xcii. 12, 13, 14, till they 
 become meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 
 light ; that they shall die, their bodies rest in their grave in 
 hope, be raised again and united unto their souls; that they 
 shall be judged and receive that sentence, " Come, ye blessed 
 of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world ;" in fine, that they shall go away into 
 life eternal, and be ever with the Lord. These are parts of his 
 will which we are to pray may be done. 
 
 Lastly, God hath foretold plainly that, according to the eter- 
 nal counsel of his will, and for the glory of his goodness, justice, 
 and sovereignty, he shall certainly leave, permit, or suffer innu- 
 merable multitudes of sinners, even as many as he hath not 
 chosen to faith, holiness, and salvation, freely and willingly to 
 abide in their sins, and to multijyly them continually by obsti- 
 nate unbelief, John iii. 18, and many of them to oppose his 
 truth and persecute his saints, John xv. 20, serving divers 
 lusts which di'own men in perdition, being without God in the 
 world, haters and scoflFera of every thing sacred, blasphemers of 
 6* 
 
68 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 I 
 
 the great and terrible name of the Lord God Almighty, pro- 
 faoers of his blessed and holy day, proud, ambitious, delighting 
 in all manner of uncleanness, theft, lies, covetousness, and 
 many other sins too tedious or abominable to be mentioned, 
 and many others beyond the power of their hands, however 
 much in the desire of their hearts, to accomplish ; serving the 
 devil with more truth and zeal than ever a saint served his God. 
 Psal. xxi. 11 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1-9. It is God's will and purpose, 
 for so he hath said, that these shall at their death be driven 
 away in their wickedness, the righteous vengeance of God be- 
 ing frequently visible in the kind, manner, and circumstances 
 thereof, as in horriblC) loathsome, and impure diseases, fashiona- 
 ble murder, either by their own hands, or those of fellow-duel- 
 ists, &c., &c. Some dying with a conscience totally stupid and 
 insensible, and others awakened to see all their sins set in ar- 
 ray against them, the devils waiting to seize their souls as tiieir 
 prey, and the Almighty God preparing all his arrows against 
 them, whereby their minds are tortured with unutterable an- 
 guish and horror, waiting in dreadful suspense, or running 
 headlong to meet the full measure of their misery. Prov. xi. 
 31. Moreover, God hath foretold that many shall be suiFered 
 after making great progress in the knowledge of the doctrines 
 of Christ, perhaps as great as any saint, and a fair and blameless 
 possession for a season, to return like the dog to his vomit, and 
 like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire, to 
 pour out floods of venom and malice upon the truth and pro- 
 fessors thereof, and to wax worse and worse unto the end ; 
 though they have a competent knowledge of the power of God's 
 wrath, and see hell the inevitable reward of their ways, and 
 know full well how to make their escape. 2 Pet. ii. 20-22. God 
 hath purposed and foretold that they all shall be raised again, 
 and judged and condemned by this sentence, " Depart from me, 
 ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels j" and finally that they shall go away into everlasting 
 punishment. 
 
 The most of these things are happening every day, and all 
 
RE\. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 «T 
 
 ,y, pro- 
 
 igLting 
 
 5S, and 
 
 itioned, 
 
 lowevcr 
 
 ring the 
 
 lis God. 
 
 purpose, 
 
 e driven 
 
 God bc- 
 
 iiistances 
 
 fushiona- 
 
 low-duel- 
 
 upid and 
 
 set in ar- 
 
 s as their 
 
 ^s against 
 
 •vablc an- 
 running 
 rov. xl. 
 suffered 
 doctrines 
 jlameless 
 omit, and 
 mire, to 
 and pro- 
 the end; 
 r of God's 
 ways, and 
 -22. God 
 ed again, 
 from me, 
 1 and his 
 yerlasting 
 
 ly, and all 
 
 of them shall certainly corae to pass, and God's will in them is 
 as good, and wise, and just, and holy, and pure as in the cruci- 
 fixion of Christ, or in any other thing whatsoever. Therefore 
 we must still subscribe, " Thy will be done." Nor is it suffi- 
 cient, as we said before, that our will should passively submit 
 unto God's herein, but it must actually run along with it. Or 
 shall we say God forbid, when we know it shall not be forbid- 
 den ? Are we wiser than God that we should dissent from 
 him ? Are we stronger than he that we should oppose him ? 
 Christ, who knew the father's will most perfectly, taught us not 
 to make any exception in this petition ; he set us an example 
 of a most cheerful submission to the will of God in all things ; 
 and his main design in coming to the world was to bring our 
 will into a perfect conformity to the will of God ; and the more 
 that this is done the more complete is Christ's work within us, 
 whereas the want of it discovers a proud rebellious disposition. 
 Let us then learn to pray cordially and cheerfully. Thy will be 
 done, — be done wholly, perfectly, and as thou wiliest, — "be done 
 on earth as it is done in heaven." Thus we see that this short 
 petition, " Thy will be done," which our Saviour taught us, 
 and which we are daily to pray, comprehends all the impreca- 
 tions contained in the book of Psalms, and is sufficient authority 
 for us to use them. 
 
 Arg. 6. God hath appointed imjfrccations as means of the 
 preservation of the church, and of the destruction of her enemies. 
 She uses the means and obtains the end. The restless malice 
 of the devil, and the wickedness of men continually stir up 
 enemies of one kind or another against the church, enemies 
 numerous and strong, by far more than a match for her. Her 
 weapons are tears and prayers; prayers against as well as for 
 hor enemies. Were it not for her prayers she would have been 
 swallowed up long ago, and there would not now be any men- 
 tion of the gospel in the world, nor any history of Christ, more 
 than if he had never been, unless perhaps, an account of the 
 abortion of his scheme of reformation : but they draw down 
 God's strength for her protection, and his vengeance upon her 
 
il 
 
 i 
 
 ■ w 
 
 68 
 
 REMAINS OP TUB 
 
 enemies, so that she has been and always shall bo set free both 
 from their deceit and violence. We know that the prayers of 
 Christ and his apostles against the Scribes, Pharisees, and other 
 obstinate Jews confounded all their devices against the gospel, 
 and made persecution itself the means of spreading it wider. 
 When the rulers of the Jews resolved against the Apostles, saying, 
 "Let us straitly threate i th'm, that they speak henceforth to 
 no man in tJm name,— and command them not to speak at all, 
 nor teach in the name of Jesus," the church prays, " Lord, be- 
 hold their threatenings, and grant unto thy servants, that with 
 all boldness they may speak thy word," and their prayers are 
 answered to the confusion of the rulers. We might instance 
 also the prayer of Hezekiah against Sennacherib, of Esther 
 against Haman, and many others. In every age the prayers 
 of the church are, more or less visibly, the means of her pre- 
 servation or deliverance. Thus, when the devil stirs up his 
 instruments to teach and defend erior in the church, God, 
 through means of her prayers, makes their tongues to fall upon 
 themselves, and confound them by their contradictions and blas- 
 phemies. When her foes set their nets and snsres, she prays, 
 and they are caught themselves j when they draw the sword, 
 she prays, and it enters their own heart. In a word, whatever 
 crafty devices or violent assaults may be framed against her, 
 they shall, through the eflScacy of her prayers, be turned to 
 the confusion and destruction of their authors, and to her exal- 
 tation. 
 
 If it be objected that because God hath promised to protect 
 his church, so that the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 her, he will therefore preserve her without regard to her im- 
 precations, we answer, He hath not promised to protect her 
 without her prayers, neither will he do it. But he hath pur- 
 posed and promised as well that she shall pray against her ene- 
 mies, and that her prayers shall be answered, as that he shall 
 protect her ; and all these parts of his purpose or promise shall 
 without fail be accomplished. God's promise of protecting the 
 church, instead of freeing her from prayer, is her greatest en- 
 
B botli 
 era of 
 1 other 
 gospel, 
 wider, 
 saying, 
 brth to 
 ; al all, 
 »rd, be- 
 lat with 
 yers are 
 instance 
 
 Esther 
 prayers 
 her pre- 
 3 up his 
 bV, God, 
 fall upon 
 and blas- 
 le prays, 
 e sword, 
 [whatever 
 .inst her, 
 urned to 
 her exal- 
 te protect 
 |iil against 
 her ini- 
 Irotect her 
 
 lath pur- 
 It her enc- 
 he shall 
 lise shall 
 lectin g tbc 
 
 reatest eu- 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREQOR, D.D. 69 
 
 couragement in that duty, and makes it necessary. It is her 
 encouragement, as it ensures a gracious answer ; it makes her 
 prayers necessary, because God hath commanded her to pray for 
 whatever he hath promised. God promised that he would bring 
 back the captivity of his people, Ezek. xxxvi. 33. " But thus 
 saith the Lord, I will yet be inquired of by the house of Israel 
 to do it for them." 
 
 Arg. 7. The saints shall aftcncanls judge the enemies of the 
 gospel) and their praying against them now is hut doing, im- 
 plieiily and indefinitely, what they shall do at the day of judg- 
 ment expressly and, jiarticidarly ; therefore that is necessary as 
 well as this, to maintain a consistency and uniformity of con- 
 duct and character. It is beyond a doubt that the saints shall 
 be secondary judges at the last day, approving of the sentence 
 of the great Judge, " Ye who have followed me in the regene- 
 ration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, 
 ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
 Israel." Matt. xix. 28, " Do ye not know that the saints shall 
 judge the world? Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" 
 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. 
 
 It is equally plain that there must be a harmony betwixt 
 their conduct now and then. Their present prayers -iiust not 
 contradict their future sentence j for though they will undergo 
 a great change at ceath, they will not then receive any new 
 powers or graces, but only the completion of those they had 
 before ; for glory is but the perfection of grace. The whole of 
 the spiritual warfare and agony of the Christian is an earnest 
 striving to be now what he shall be hereafter. But how vain 
 were that agony if his present and futu.-e state were opposite ! 
 and how shocking must it be to think of a saint uttering, with 
 his dying breath, a prayer of faith from which he must shrink 
 with horror, the first moment after death ! yet that must be the 
 case if their prayers in this W'orld were to disagree with any 
 part of their conduct in the next. The only difi'erence that 
 can be allowed is such as suits the inferiority of the present to 
 the future state. Now they know only that God has enemies, 
 
^y^' 
 
 70 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 IS 
 
 and therefore their prayers must contain only an indefinite con- 
 sent to their destruction ; but then they shall know who they 
 are, and so bo in condition to make a particular application of 
 their former prayers. In lefinite imprecations are thereio) a aa 
 competent and necessary for the saints in their presei.' Runt. as 
 a particular sentence of condemnation against, every cremy >\ 
 the gospel, at the great day of Judgmeit. 
 
 When we assert that there must be ari agreement between 
 the present prayers and future judgmcnu- of the saints, we are 
 awfire that there may be an apparent opposition botv»aen them, 
 iii the case of conditional prayers. A saint miy, for example, 
 pray often foi the salvation of a particular friei d or relation, at 
 a wife, or c'.-i!d, Tvhom yet at the last day he ahall chcerl'uUy 
 sentence to everlasdng destruction. But as all such prayers 
 go upon such a oc iditiou as this, '* if God peral venture shall 
 give theui lopentance to the acknowledging of the truth/' the 
 opposition is not real. 
 
 Chap. II. — the objects of imprecations. 
 
 I. Imprecations must be directed against no enemy ofman^ 
 that is, against no man on account of either private and per- 
 sonal, or public and national enmity. It is agreed on all hands 
 that to imprecate on account of private injuries, is very abomi- 
 nable, and more so on account of national quarrels; and he 
 must be blind indeed who pretends to have Scripture authority 
 for that conduct. These give proper room for the exercise of 
 long-suiFering, meekness, and forgiveness, and here the truest 
 friends of the Scripture imprecations will not be last. They 
 will yield a cheerful obedience to our Saviour's command: 
 " Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and do good 
 to them that hate you, and pray foi' Ihtm that despitefully use 
 you and persecute you." Matt. v. 44. " Blees them which per- 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREaOR, D.D. 
 
 71 
 
 con- 
 
 they 
 
 on of 
 
 ■<.r.'d as 
 i!.^. as 
 My >^ 
 
 itween 
 
 WQ are 
 
 them, 
 
 ample, 
 :'!t.ni, at 
 icri'uUy 
 prayers 
 re shall 
 h," the 
 
 of man, 
 knd per- 
 l hands 
 abonii- 
 and he 
 uthority 
 ercise of 
 He truest 
 They 
 ►mmand: 
 do good 
 fully use 
 hich per- 
 
 secuta you, bless and curse not. Dearly beloved, avenge not 
 yourselves, bui rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, 
 Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord ; therefore if 
 thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink. 
 ]}e not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Rom. 
 xii. 14, 19, 20, 21. They will as readily as any others follow 
 the example of Christ, " Father, forgive them ;" of Stephen, 
 " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge;" and of Paul, " I pray 
 God that it may not be laid to their charge." 
 
 II. Imprecations must be directed against no present enemy 
 of the gospel as such, that is, against no man for his present 
 enmity against the gospel. Prayer must proceed upon a sure 
 foundation, but it cannot be concluded with certainty from a 
 man's present enmity against the gospel, that he shall continue 
 always in that state. He who is to-day a deadly foe to God, 
 and every thing blessed, may be to-morrow an unalterable 
 friend to both. He who now persecutes Jesus, may soon preach 
 him zealously. We know that bloody Saul of Tarsu'^ persecuted 
 Jesus of Nazareth, and being '' exceedingly mad against his 
 saints compelled them to blaspheme, and persecuted them even 
 to strange cities," making havoc of the Church, and breathing 
 out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the 
 Lord;" but he became another man, and Paul was not a whit 
 behind the chiefest apostles, but laboured more abundantly 
 than they all, in the work of the gospel. Now in him God 
 shewed forth all long-siiflFering, not for his own sake merely, 
 but for " a pattern to them which should hereafter believe to 
 everlasting life." If I pray then against any man for his pre- 
 sent er. mity against the gospel, I know not but I may be pray- 
 ing against one who is a chosen vessel unto God, and who shall 
 soon bo a partaker of the " like precious faith" with the saints, 
 and therefore such a prayer must be an abomination to the 
 Lord. But it is lawful to pray thus about all the present ene- 
 mies of the gospel, vi/. , that God may either convert them 
 from their enmity or destroy them in it, for it is evident that 
 one or other of these things is agreeable to his most holy will. 
 
72 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 III. Imprecations must be directed against all the final ene- 
 mies of God or of the gospel^ without exception. It is upon 
 that suppositiou ulone, that they persist in their enmity to the 
 end, that any are to be prayed against. Ail who die enemies to 
 the gospel, shall without doubt be punished with everlasting 
 destruction. Not one of them shall escape. " Thi? is the pur- 
 pose that God hath purposed through the whole eoi th ; and 
 when he shall stretch out his hand" to execute it, "who shall 
 turn it back ?" Upon all the final enemies of the gospel shall 
 come all the curses written in the book of Qod ; upon them 
 they would come though none were to imprecate them, and 
 whoever refuses his consent to their utter ruin, rebels against 
 his Maker. Amen to it, will be said by all who concur with 
 the will of God ; but it reaches not all alike, but " every one in 
 his own order," first they that stand foremost in guilt, and then 
 the rest in proportion to their deserts. All imprecations are 
 not to be directed against, nor shall they bo applied to, all the 
 final enemies of the gospel, equally. Those in the 69th and 
 109th Psalms belong only to them who commit the sin against 
 the Holy Ghost, or are noted apostates from the truth. 
 
 Farther, though the cause of God lights more or less upon 
 all the final enemies of the gospel, yet as we know them not, it 
 follows, 
 
 IV. That the objects of imprecations are unJencvA. He 
 who prays against God's enemies knows not who shall reap the 
 fruit of his prayers. He is certain that they shall be answered, 
 because faith cannot be disappointed, but in the meantime he 
 is ignorant upon whom. Of this he shall have little knowledge 
 till he be received up into glory, and then he shall be surprised 
 to see what effect they have taken upon persons, whom he was 
 far from suspecting to be Enemies of the gospel. He may find 
 that they have lighted not only upon the openly profane, but 
 upon ministers of the gospel, and professors of religion whom he 
 formerly took for saints; or upon his nighest and dearest rela- 
 tions, in whose behalf he had poured out many a prayer for 
 mercy, which he now finds returned into his own bosom, But 
 
 ■w jg 'wn ni ' w .; i BiMWi i .m i nm» 
 
REV. JAMES MAGGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 78 
 
 al ene- 
 
 upon 
 
 to the 
 nies to 
 Insting 
 lie pur- 
 i 5 and 
 :c shall 
 el sliuU 
 n them 
 m, and 
 against 
 ur with 
 f one in 
 ind then 
 ions are 
 I, all the 
 i9th and 
 1 against 
 
 CS9 upon 
 lu not, it 
 
 y/t. He 
 reap the 
 nswered, 
 ntinie he 
 nowledge 
 surprised 
 n he was 
 may find 
 fane, but 
 whom he 
 irest rela- 
 )rayer for 
 om, But 
 
 ) 
 
 he will not upon such discovery regret that he used impreca> 
 tions, for he sees that God " docs all things well." 
 
 V. That in absolute imprecations there must he no particular 
 object intended. Because we know not the proper objects of 
 them, we must apply them to none, for wo m^y hit the wrong 
 mark as readily as the right. In obedience to God's command 
 we must indeed send up such prayers unto hmi, but we must 
 leave it entirely with himself to apply them as he pleases. Like 
 a man who sends home from abroad a sum of money to a friend 
 in whom he can confide, desiring him to apply it for the sup- 
 pression of vice, and the relief of the oppressed in his native 
 country. He who sends home the money knows that there 
 are vices to be suppressed, and oppressed to be relieved, but he 
 knows the names of none of them, so as to be able to say, sup- 
 press this vice, relieve that man, therefore he leaves it to his 
 friend to apply the money as he pleases. So we know that in 
 all ages there are such enemies to God, as are proper objects 
 of imprecations, but as we know not who they are, we commit 
 the application of our prayers against them wholly to God ; and 
 " he who searches the heart and tries the reins of the children 
 of men," will not only apply them to the proper persons, but 
 also according to the measure and degree of their guilt, with 
 the greatest exactness. We wish this and the other observa- 
 tions in this chapter to be carefully attended to, as they remove 
 every shadow of a pretence for looking upon religious impreca- 
 tions as the effect of revenge. If I am conscious that I have 
 no mortal in mine eye, when I desire the destruction of God's 
 irreconcilable enemies, I need not be afraid that I indulge any 
 passion whatsoever. 
 7 
 
74 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 CUAP. III. — THE SPIRIT WITH WHICH WE SHOULD IMPRE- 
 CATE. 
 
 I. Imprecations should not proceed from a spirit of revenge, 
 
 II. They ought to be used pxireli/ in obedience to the divine 
 command. The authority of Jehovah is the first and best rea- 
 son of our obedience in all things, but it is to be peculiarly 
 eyed in this duty, which we uro so apt to abuse to gratify our 
 corrupt passions, and which has an appearance of being oppo- 
 site to others confessedly excellent and noble; lest, instead of 
 glorifying God by our prayers, we augment our guilt by pour- 
 ing out the rancour and venom of our own hearts. Our obedi- 
 ence in this matter must be cheerful indeed, but cautious. On 
 account of the awful nature of imprecations, there is need of 
 approaching God in them with more than ordinary reverence, 
 fear, humility, and self-deniedness, and of seeking grace to 
 purify us from all private emotions, affections, and passions; 
 for certainly he who addresses God in imprecations, with a 
 revengeful temper, takes the readiest way in the world to bring 
 them all down upon his own head. Every Christian may know 
 this, and sure nothing can be better calculated to strike the 
 mind with dread and reverence, and withal to becalm all its 
 turbulent emotions ; so that imprecations properly managed, in- 
 stead of fostering any bitterness of spirit, are one of the most 
 noble and powerful remedies against it that can be imagined. 
 The great and jealous God before whom we stand, accounts him- 
 self affronted by our corrupt passions, and he will not fail to 
 punish them. The knowledge of this makes every conscien- 
 tious Christian afraid of mixing them with his prayers. This 
 fear, however, neither make^^ him neglect his duty, for that 
 were "rebellion worse than the sin of witchcraft," nor yet in- 
 different about success therein, for indifferent prayers are as 
 offensive and detestable as the bitterest re nge; but it makes 
 him exceedingly watchful over himself, lest by any means he 
 should utter any thing rashly before God. 
 
REV. JAMES MA' lEOOR, D.D. 
 
 75 
 
 IMPRE- 
 
 ^vcnge. 
 e divine 
 )est rca- 
 souiiarly 
 itify our 
 ,g oppo- 
 stead of 
 by pour- 
 ir obcdi- 
 »ua. On 
 need of 
 3verence, 
 grace to 
 passions ; 
 3, -with a 
 to bring 
 nay know 
 strike the 
 ,1m all its 
 naged, in- 
 the most 
 imagined. 
 )unt8 him- 
 Qot fail to 
 conscien- 
 lers. This 
 
 for that 
 jor yet in- 
 srs are as 
 
 it makes 
 means he 
 
 
 III. Imprecations sliould he vsed m faithy that is, with a 
 beliof founded upon the divine promise that they shall bo 
 answered. 
 
 Wo have seen that, like other prayers, they are divinely 
 authorized, and consequently, that an answer to thorn is secured 
 by the unchangeable truth and faithfulness of God, inuomuch 
 that it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than that 
 any of them should remain unaccomplished. They are not 
 then to be used, but with a divine assurance, that thoy shall 
 be Ijoth answered and applied, with the greatest wisdom and 
 righteousness, to every one within their reach, fully and com- 
 pletely to all the final foes of Christ's gospel, and even to him 
 who uses ihem, if he is such a foe, and partially and improperly 
 to all its temporary enemies, as a means of their correction and 
 reformation. 
 
 IV. With knowledge. As in every thing else, bo hero ig- 
 norance must prove a fruitful mother of abuses, therefore it 
 ought by all means to be cured. Every one should bo in a 
 opacity to put an eternal difference between private revenge 
 and all bitterness of spirit on the one hand, and a holy zeal for 
 the glory of God, and an humble, obedient concurrence with 
 his will on the other. The former ought to be shunned more 
 than death, but the latter cultivated with diligence. Every 
 one should endeavour as much as possible to know the scope 
 and meaning of the Psalms, and of the imprecations in particu- 
 lar. Good books explaining them ought to be read frequently. 
 Ministers ought to be very areful ( perhaps more so thnii they 
 generally are) to explain them to their people. Were tho Im- 
 precations properly understood, every man of a tender ccriiicieuce 
 would sing the severest of them without scruple. 
 
76 REMAINS or THl 
 
 ClIAP. IV. — OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 OhJ. 1. — Imprecations are suited to the dark and antiquated 
 dispensation of the Old Testament only. God might then per- 
 mit them, or oven approve of them, but they cannot bo conHia- 
 tent with the milder disposition of the gospel, under which 
 we live. 
 
 Ans. We have shown the reverse of the last part of the objec- 
 tion already, from the practice of our Saviour, the Apostle Paul, 
 and the New Testament Church. Their example is a proof 
 of the full consistency of imprecations with the spirit of the 
 Gospel, and the New Testament dispensation. The first part 
 supposes that the Old Testament fathers enjoyed not the gospel 
 at all, and consequently that they were strangers to its benevo- 
 lent disposition, and imprecated merely through ignorance, 
 mistake, or something worse, all which are palpably false. 
 That the gospel did not then shine with so great light and 
 glory as now, will be readily granted. They saw Christ and 
 his spiritual blessings under a vail, and hence their knowledge 
 was not so clear, nor their love so strong as onrs, and therefore 
 it is no wonder that in some things they deviated more from 
 the path of duty than New Testament saints ; but still they saw 
 Christ and rejoiced. " They saw his promises and were per- 
 suaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they 
 were strangers and pilgrims upon the earth.'' Heb. xi. 13. 
 They knew that law which said, << Thou shalt love the Lord 
 thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
 thy might j" and, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" 
 Lev. xix. 18 ; and it was " more desirable to them than gold, 
 yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the ho- 
 ney-comb." They were not unacquainted with those beautiful 
 and benevolent precepts of justice to all men, honour to the 
 aged, compassion to the poor, pity to the distressed, love and 
 generosity to strangers, faithful reproof of faults, and avoiding 
 revenge and grudging. Exod. zxiii. Imprecations, therefore, 
 
 pro 
 
R£V. JAMES MACORRQOR, D.D. 
 
 77 
 
 wore practised under the Old Tostnmont, not in consequence 
 of their ignorance, or of any toleration or dispensation then 
 granted, and now revoked, but in obedience to the unchangeable 
 law of God. 
 
 It cannot with any appearance of reason bo maintained that 
 imprecations belong to that system of ceremonies and types 
 with which the fathers were burdened until the death of Christ ; 
 for no man can tell what is the thing typified by them. The 
 law of types and ceremonies was a shadow of good things to 
 come, but the body is of Christ. What then is the body of 
 which imprecations were the shadow ? Neither is there any 
 ground to affirm that as many of the imprecations in the Psalms 
 were primarily directed against men who were types of the 
 enemies of Christ and of the church, therefore they ought to 
 bo laid aside now when those men are gone ; for though, indeed, 
 they be gone, yet those who were typified by them, and for 
 whom the imprecations were chiefly composed, are come in their 
 room, and how preposterous would it be to lay them aside when 
 their proper objects have appeared! 
 
 It is not to be doubted, however, that imprecations ought to 
 be used less under the New Testament than under the Old, 
 or rather that other prayers ought to be used more, in proportion 
 to the superiority if our privileges. That servile fear which 
 was predominant then ought now to be swallowed up by the 
 more abundant displays of the grace and goodness of God, 
 made to us through Jesus Christ; and accordingly, though our 
 imprecations may not be fewer than theirs, yet they ought to 
 be as it were eclipsed and hid by the superior blaze of a greater 
 multitude of fervent prayers for the advancement of the Re- 
 deemer's interest throughout the world, in the success of the 
 gospel, the conviction and conversion of sinners, and the growth 
 of righteousness and holiness. This is a difference suited to 
 the real distiction between the Old and New dispensations of 
 the covenant. 
 
 Ohj. 2. Though David's imprecations might be used with 
 propriety during the first age of Christianity, ichile Judasj the 
 7* 
 
78 
 
 REiMAINS OF THE 
 
 cJiief Priests, Scribes, Pharisees, or any of the Jews were alive 
 who cnicijied Christ, and persccvJed his apostles, yet they ought 
 to he laid aside now, when those men arc dead, and when it is 
 becoD)' .mpos&ible to commit again the sins which caused the 
 denunciation of such curses upon them. There are now no 
 Scribes, &c., to persecute Christ, no Judas to betray him, no 
 Jews to crucify him, and but few to persecute his followers, 
 why then should we retain imprecations which seem to be ap- 
 propriated to the age of the apostles ? 
 
 Ans. Though the age in which Christ • ved can nerer re- 
 turn, and though he cannot be persecuted or crucified again, 
 yet these things are no evidence that there are not, in every 
 age, persons of the same disposition with his betrayers and 
 murderers, or that he would not be crucified again in this or any 
 other age, were he to act again the part he formerly acted in 
 Judea, which yet must be proved ere the objection can have 
 any weight. Christ appeared in the world but once, for a 
 short space of time, and his travels were confined within a nar- 
 row compass, and yet he met with a Judas and persecutors ; 
 whence it is natural to conclude, not that there are now no 
 traitors and persecutors of Christ, but that they are by no 
 means rare ; especially if it be also remombered that his follow- 
 ers, who resemble him in their doctrine and example, meet 
 with them in all ages and places. Our Saviour himself has 
 taught us to argue in this strain, " If they have persecuted me, 
 they will also persecute you ;" " If they have kept my sayings, 
 they will keep yours also f so that the treatment of the saints 
 is a sure rule for judging what Christ would meet with, were 
 he in their place. Indeed, human nature is the same in all 
 ages, and therefore though there is not always the same num- 
 ber of bad men in the world, because vice has not always the 
 same opportunity to display itself, yet in no generation is there 
 wanting a great number of most wicked and abandoned per- 
 sons) insomuch that " every man who lives godly in Christ Je- 
 sus must suffer persecution." * 
 
 Though Chribt then cannot be crucified again in his own 
 
's were alive 
 t they ought 
 d when it is 
 caused the 
 are now no 
 ray him, no 
 8 followers, 
 Qi to be ap- 
 
 n never re- 
 ified again, 
 fc, in eyery 
 rayers and 
 this or any 
 y acted in 
 1 can have 
 nee, for a 
 :hin a nar- 
 rsecutors ; 
 e now no 
 >re by no 
 bis follow- 
 ple, meet 
 mself has 
 juted me, 
 ^ sayings, 
 'be saints 
 ith, were 
 Qe in all 
 ne num- 
 ways the 
 is there 
 led per- 
 il rist Je- 
 
 bis 
 
 own 
 
 BEV. JAMES MACGBEOOB,i,D 
 
 person, yet he may be an^ • • ' ' ^^ 
 
 .^- body, .hose wronXTe T T ''' "'"^^' *^« -embers of 
 
 l^" Thus he said lonT 1, 'T 'T't'''' *^^ «PP^e of I J 
 '^-- »>er And thus he shlu Iv Hi ''"'' ^'^ p'"-«te 
 J»"ngered, and ye gave 1 T ^ ' *^' ^reat day, « j „,, ' 
 
 n^e no drink • T 1 "° "^'«''* ^ was thirstv «n/ 
 
 unni£,i.aga J "v^^ndyeeave 
 
 ""'•-rnasmuch as je did it „„7, '^™''"' "■"■ ?« "si.cd mo 
 
 vl""'-""'" ""■ ""^ °' "" ''"" "'■ "'«»«' "» 
 
 woJo^rX'^'r^Vatr;'?.?''' ""J"- wore the 
 ""d 'kat the worid doe, not „? ^'" "" "«"' "f a" a.>e/ 
 
 o^»oifie„ of our Saviour. h„i?r "' '""'' "'""^'or, aX 
 h-'h given „, ,h, h,.,,^^;^° ■"» oer.a,„ that the Spirit of G„d 
 
 "■« history of „„ „„„^i„J »/ 'he I3rael,te«. as a speci„,e„ of 
 
 «P "-f »goin whiehthe;", e fTr "'""' ""-^ >■«"■ - 
 "here-n all geueratious mth !i 1' ""^ ""'H «» " mirror 
 «an 'ho Scriptures be a suffi:ie„t . r^^'"'' f" ho"' 1 
 P;»ot ce to all .e„ ? j,! Z' " '"i""'^'^ ™'« of faith I" 
 'ha future ages would be a" a '/.f " ^-'»°'-' foretell, 
 of the apostles. « Xh,-, k„„^ '*„ ' !."°' T" '"' "■" ">«' 
 0U3 times shall eome; " For 1„ . n ' "" ""o tet days peril, 
 "elves, covetous, boa ter , ' ^j ti" C '"'"' "^ "-Jr Zt 
 paints, unthankful, unholv fi """'Phemers, disobedient to 
 •-oakers, false accus'e s i„t fenT^""'""' "f-""", t c 
 that are good, traitors, headv i r* "'"'' "^^^P''^^ of tho,. 
 foore than lovers of God haW„!f r'""^"' '"- «f P> a s 
 '"g the power thereof." 2 S ^S?"f of Sodliness but de„v 
 ;Peaketh expressly that i„ tie ia;;"' ':'• "^''" '"o fe 
 ^jo- the faith, giving hee s "d " '"'" ""' """' "^ 
 
 ofdevls. ,k,.„„ ,i^^ hvpocri ' . '?'""'"»'' "-'^iaes 
 »oa od with a hot iron." 1 iZl'S '^''" -"-nscience 
 
$0 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 printing, have greatly facilitated the progress of evangelical know- 
 ledge. Though Christ then cannot be crucified again actually, 
 yet he may be, and is so in the desires and endeavours of wicked 
 men, who neglect his great salvation, trample himself under 
 foot, and " count the blood of the covenant wherewith he was 
 sanctified an unholy thing, and do despite unto the Spirit of 
 grace." These " crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, 
 and put him to open shame." Heb. x. 29, and vi. 6. Thus it 
 appears that Christ still suifers a twofold persecution and cruci- 
 fixion, viz., in the members of his mystical body, and in his 
 work of grace; and therefore if ever it was lawful to imprecate 
 the wrath of God upoa his impenitent crucifiers, it must be 
 so still. 
 
 If any thing farther need be saij. in answer to this objection, 
 we may hear the decision of the great apostle. In exhorting 
 the Eomans •' to please every one his neighbour for his good to 
 edification," he uses this argument, taken from the sixty-ninth 
 Psalm, to enforce his advice, " For even Christ pleased not 
 himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of them that re- 
 proached thee fell on me," and to prevent objections, subjoins 
 immediately this remarkable and instructive caution, " For 
 whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our 
 learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
 tures, might have hope." Bom. xv. 3, 4. Let any man con- 
 sider these words with candour and modesty, and withal let 
 him remember that thty are occasioned by a quotation from a 
 Psalm which contains the most awful and tremendous impreca- 
 tions, and written for the very purpose of reconciling New Tes- 
 tament believers to that Psalm, and he cannot but be satisfied 
 fully, that divinely inspired imprecations may be used with 
 profit, in every age of the church. 
 
 Ob/. 3. It is farther objected that David's imprecations are 
 the effect of a malicious and revengeful temper^ and that they 
 have no other tendency hut to foster and cherish the same dispo- 
 sition in others; that they are fitter for the mouth of a Judas, or 
 an open persecutor of the gospel than that of a meek and sober 
 
know- 
 itually, 
 wicked 
 
 under 
 he vras 
 urit of 
 
 afresh, 
 Thus it 
 d cruci- 
 i in his 
 iprecate 
 must be 
 
 bjection, 
 shorting 
 3 good to 
 tty-ninth 
 lased not 
 that re- 
 subjoins 
 |n, "For 
 for our 
 ,e Scrip- 
 lan con- 
 ithal let 
 In from a 
 inipreca- 
 ew Tes- 
 satisfied 
 led with 
 
 lions are 
 
 \at they 
 
 \e dispo- 
 
 fudas, or 
 
 id sober 
 
 BEY. JAMES MACGREaOR, D.D. 
 
 81 
 
 Christian ; that it is even shocking to a person of any delicacy 
 and sensibility to hear the horrid expressions used in some of 
 them. Let us, say they, put ourselves into the place of these 
 men against whom they are directed, and reflect how we would 
 relish such treatment. With what horror would we look upon 
 that man, who should deliberately doom us to eternal damnation 
 in his prayers ! and how then can any one who professes to gov- 
 ern himself according to Christ's golden rule, " Whatsoever ye 
 would that men should do to you, do ye even the same unto 
 them •" — 1 say, how can he have the effrontery to deal in a 
 manner so unchristian with another ? 
 
 Ans. It is not to be wondered at that Deists ( from whom in- 
 deed this objection must have taken its rise) should talk of the 
 sacred oracles in a strain so reproachful, but it is shocking be- 
 yond measure to hear Christians imitate their impoisoned lan- 
 guage. " For whom do they reproach and blaspheme ? and 
 against whom do they exalt their voice, and lift up their eyes 
 on high ? Even against the Holy one of Israel 1" It is not 
 only the character of David that is defamed in the objection, 
 but the express words of the Holy Ghost, and the prayers of 
 our Saviour are blasphemed. Thus the Master of the house 
 is still called Beelzebub, how much more then hm; they of his 
 household expect opprobrious names, if not something worse, 
 for walking as he walked, and praying as he prayed ? But for 
 answer to the objection, let it be observed as to the first part 
 of it, that we have kept in view all along, and studied to pre- 
 vent it by showing that the imprecations in question neither 
 spring from malice and revenge, nor cherish them in the least 
 degree. We shall only add here that if people will misrepre- 
 sent or abuse them, who can help it ? " They that are un- 
 stable and unlearned may wrest these, as they do tho other 
 Scriptures, to their own destruction," but that is no reason for 
 others to lay them aside. If Christ shall be a stone of stum- 
 bling and a rock of offence to the disobedient and unbelieving, 
 must he therefore cease to bo precious to those believers who 
 build on him as their sure foundation ? 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ir- 
 
 H 
 
^v--- 
 
 8a 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 As to the appeal to our delicacy and sensibility, concerning 
 some severe expressions in the imprecations, we observe that 
 our feelings are very incompetent judges in matters of justice 
 and equity. It hurts every feeling mind to see the slightest 
 degree of pain inflicted upon any creature ; must therefore no 
 animals be killed, and must all crimes pass unpunished ? Surely 
 nothing can give a greater shock to our feelings than the 
 thought of a tender and delicate man, or " the tender and 
 delicate woman, who would not adventure to set the sole of her 
 foo: upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness," Deut. 
 xxviii. 54, 56, "dwelling with devouring fire, and abiding with 
 everlasting burnings;" but shall we therefore find fault with 
 that justice, which will efl'ect it in myriads of our fellow crea- 
 tures ? 
 
 The truth is that, through the corruption of our nature, our 
 pity for the miserable is much easier called forth than our 
 abhorrence of their guilt. Guilt being an universal thing, and 
 contracted by breaking that law to which the carnal mind can- 
 not be subject, we easily excuse it ; but misery being present to 
 our senses, or at least to our fancy, leaves behind it an impres- 
 sion that is not easily worn away. But if wc would act reason- 
 ably, we will never find fault with a punishment however severe, 
 until we have inquired into the nature of the crime for which 
 it is inflicted. If we do this common justice to the impreca- 
 tions, we will see no reason for giving them any hard or ugly 
 epithets, implying malice or injustice. Why should not I 
 deliberately desire the destruction of those, who deliberately, 
 knowingly, and perseveringly desire their own destruction ? 
 Why should I be thought to break through the golden rule of 
 our Saviour, for wishing to a man what he ardently wishes to 
 himself? If I put myself into their place, (as the objectors 
 bid me,) I will sin with both hands earnestly, I will continue 
 unbelieving, and impenitent unto the end, and I will delight 
 myself in these sins, and in such sinners as are guilty of them. 
 I will reckon those who endeavour to convert me from them 
 mine enemies, and the disturbers of my joy and happiness, and 
 
Boncerning 
 serve that 
 
 of justice 
 e slightest 
 erefore no 
 d ? Surely 
 
 than the 
 jnder and 
 iole of her 
 ss," Deut. 
 Iding with 
 fault with 
 How crea- 
 
 iture, our 
 than our 
 hing, and 
 oind oan- 
 >resent to 
 1 impres- 
 !t reason- 
 sr severe, 
 or which 
 impreca- 
 1 or ugly 
 d not I 
 berately, 
 ruction ? 
 rule of 
 wishes to 
 bjeotors 
 icitinue 
 delight 
 f them. 
 01 them 
 ess, and 
 
 '"separMe and eternaU J, 7 '°,"' ^f «»"»oq«o,UIy ,o it, 
 fnends and companion,. I no. Tl °° "'"" "^ ■'""er 
 
 eternal damnation n,y h„pi„;,°; ""J^ !,'; ^'h- worJs ,o make 
 >m self.oon»i,tene) reckon rtl ' "'' """' ">en (if j 
 
 -y damnation, than tho'e . "^ "T ^r''^ '"o P"7 for 
 e-doav„n„,. only I „,•„ ^ZeZTf "'"• ""''' ^''^--ost 
 
 '>>e.r friendship, becauao they do notTf 7 '"' ^'""^"^^ "^ 
 sample and endeavour to hein f ' 1 "= '"""' '^^ <>■«' 
 ■-''eed,iti3i,p„,3iy^,J° J^^P ow^ -y-'n. I'orhap., 
 
 <ia«nation a» such, or und^h^t 1° 7' "' ""'' ''»' <='"„„ 
 '»ve the sins ,nd vi^es that ar It m™"™ ' *"" "" "ho 
 "ecied „ith it, do love it i terorrj";" ^ ""' '"'■''"''"^ -=°°- 
 against mo wrongeth his otuC'T J' , " ''" '"" ''°-* 
 especially if ^ j, j^ knowTnl < 5 V ? "■»' '""^ ""e," 
 
 I' is "ot inconsistent wi rmJu 7 ""•" 
 *e eat olTono of them th" is p'ut^/ l""^™""^ ■»^"'-^"^. 
 a"7 service, will certainly infir '/. '"'"""' "^ ^"'"S »>» 
 Pa.rf«l and disagreeable ope"!tn" T"' "" ""' '^"■»' 
 twj to equity or uniyersarw ' , ='"'""'■ ^' " «»' eon- 
 the magis.rato,-tha' he it !' .""V" "" '° ^PP'-ato 
 »"'or malefactors, that d st^rTthe ""*"'' ""'^''-"'' and 
 -eiety; nor for'hi„ .7';,* ; ff-' »"d are the pests of 
 
 highly agreeable to overv ohrUr ^ '"" "P"" 'hem. It ;, 
 of the church ohstioatT^^d ::!"'[' "" "^'""' '" -' «« 
 thens and publicans. In lilfm," ''."°""' ""» as bea- 
 
 tent with every duty of pi tt an," " " "^""^""'y ""sis- 
 of justice and e..^ and mo eotrrb"" *T'' ""< ^^' 
 oo»passion towards man, to ZytorVT""^"""' '°'^' ""^ 
 "ho are wilful and final e emie, Tf rj fT""''"" "^ 'hose 
 ".n is necessary f„, ,h„ ^^U „f „1 ""^ f' ^'^P^'' Their 
 
84 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ness, and glory, which they hate above all things in the world, 
 would torment them more than all the pains of hell. 
 
 Imprecations would appear to be a kindnesss rather than an 
 injury to the final enemies of the gospel. Would it not have 
 been a benefit for a murderer, who has taken away the lives of 
 many of his fellow men, had he been capitally punished for the 
 first murder, rather than be suffered to live to multiply and 
 aggravate his crimes, and to increase his punishment 't Would 
 not the very hell of Judas' hell been wanting if he had been 
 cut off before he betrayed Christ ? Certainly the very marrow 
 and soul of his sufferings consists in the punishment of that 
 treachery, and of what followed thereupon. Just so is it with 
 other evil men who are not to be convinced; they sl.all wax 
 worse and worse, and the longer that their damnation is delayed 
 it must be the heavier. The sooner that it is God's will to cut 
 off such enemies, it is the better for themselves and others ; 
 they therefore who desire their ruin are more their friends than 
 they who wish they may be spared. 
 
 Ohj. 4. Imprecations are contrary to the doctrines taught in 
 many places of Scripture, where a practice directly the reverse 
 is recommended ; as, Rom. xii. 14, " Bless them which perse- 
 cute you J bless and curse not." James iii. 10-12, "Out of 
 the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, 
 these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at 
 the same place sweet water and bitter ? Can the fig-tree, my 
 brethren, bear olive-berries ? or a vine figs ? So can no foun- 
 tain yield salt water and fresh." And 1 Tim. ii. 1, 3, 4, "I 
 exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, inter- 
 cessions, and giving of thanks, be mac'?? for all men ; — for this 
 is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, \i\\o 
 will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of 
 the truth." In the first two of these texts all cursing, under 
 which every species of imprecations and denunciations of God's 
 wrath must be comprehended, is absolutely prohibited, and 
 therefore they ought never in any case to be used. The last 
 shows plainly that God is willing and designed to save all man- 
 
REV. JAMES MACUREOOR, D.D. 
 
 B5 
 
 rorld, 
 
 an an 
 have 
 fcs of 
 or the 
 ly and 
 Would 
 1 been 
 narrow 
 af that 
 it with 
 all wax 
 delayed 
 I to cut 
 others ; 
 tds than 
 
 lught in 
 reverse 
 perse - 
 Out of 
 rethren, 
 brth at 
 ree, my 
 JO foun- 
 4 "I 
 , inter- 
 for this 
 r, who 
 dffe of 
 , under 
 f God's 
 d, and 
 he last 
 11 man- 
 
 kind, which is utterly inconsistent with our praying for, or 
 consenting to, the damnation of a single individual. Besides 
 the same doctrine is taught in a variety of other places of 
 Scriptiiro. - 
 
 Ana. The first two texts cannot be a prohibition of all curs- 
 ing, unless we suppose that the apostle Paul contradicts himself 
 and the apostle James. Because in the mouth of God there is 
 not yea and nay, these words, " Bless and curse not," must be 
 understood in a full consistency with these other words, " Let 
 him be accursed," and so must these, " Out of the same mouth 
 proceedeth blessing and cursing. These things ought not so 
 to be." Some method therefore must be fallen upon to explain 
 these seemingly opposite passages, in such a manner as that 
 they shall not clash ; and this may be don 3 eflFcctually, by con- 
 sidering those quoted in the objection, sa a prohibition of all 
 malicious and revengeful cursing, and the other as an example 
 of those religious and righteous denunciations of God's wrath 
 upon his enemies which we have been defending. These two 
 methods of denouncing curses are not essentially distinct only, 
 but in direct opposition to one another, so that the one may, 
 without any inconsistency, be forbidden, while the other is 
 commanded ; and indeed, those who are the staunchest friends 
 of the religious are the steadiest enemies of the malicious im- 
 precations. The former proceed from the divine Spirit, even a 
 spirit of love to God, of benevolence to man, and of holy zeal 
 against every thing that hinders his good ; but the latter from 
 the spirit of the devil, a spirit of hellish malice, and impla- 
 cable revenge against fellow creatures. A most profound and 
 awful respect for the authority of God is the cause of the 
 former ; an outrageous enmity against his providence is the 
 cause of the latter. The former are never occasioned by pri- 
 vate quarrels, nor applied to any particular person, not even 
 the worst of men ; the latter are generally occasioned by real 
 or supposed personal injuries received, and directed against their 
 authors, and readily enough against the best of men for their 
 
 faithful reproving of faults, and chastising of vices. The former 
 8 
 
 
 m 
 11 ft 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
86 
 
 REMAINS OF THK 
 
 sort are never used by bad men except in a misrepresented or 
 perverse sense; if good men are ever so far oflF tluir guard as 
 to use the latter, the consequence is a bitter repentance. 
 
 To be fully convinced that the places cited in the o] joction are 
 cautions against the latter sort of cursing, we need do nothing 
 more than transcribe a few verses from the context, ilom. xii. 
 contains such peerless precepts as these, " Let love be without 
 dissimulation, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is 
 good. Be kindly affectioned to one another, — Bless them 
 which persecute you, — Rejoice with them that rejcj^ce, and 
 weep with them that weep. Recompense to no man evil for 
 evil. If it be possible as much as lieth in you, live peaceably 
 with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but 
 rather give place unto wrath, — If thine enemy hunger, feed 
 him, if he thirst, give him drink." Svxe, these lovely words 
 are opposite enough to every species of malevolence, but not to 
 a holy acquiescence with the righteous judgment of our hea- 
 venly Father upon them who never cease to despise his infinite 
 love. James, chap, iii., says, " Who is a wise man and endued 
 with knowledge among you ? let him t.how out of a good con- 
 versation his works, with meekness of wisdom. But if ye 
 have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and 
 lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from 
 above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying 
 and strife is there is confusion, and every evil work." Here 
 we are furnished with sufficient reasons to abhor a diabolical 
 spirit of bitter envy and heart strife ; but not that holy hatred 
 of sin out of which the great Judge punishes the obstinate 
 transgressors of his law, nor yet that disposition in man which 
 says Amen to whatever he brings to pass. 
 
 The sense of the remaining text is very much contested not 
 only in this controversy, but in that most important one between 
 the assertors of universal and particular redemption. I will 
 therefore, if I can obtain the reader's pardon, unfold it at 
 some greater length, as it will throw some light upon both those 
 subjects. They who adduce 1 Tim. ii. 1, 3, 4, as an argu- 
 
REV. JAMES MACailEGOR, D.D. 
 
 8t 
 
 d or 
 •d as 
 
 n are 
 
 L\jiug 
 
 I. xii. 
 
 thout 
 
 ich is 
 tliem 
 
 J, and 
 
 vil for 
 
 ccably 
 
 is, but 
 
 sr, feed 
 
 r words 
 
 t not to 
 
 ur bea- 
 
 infioite 
 
 I endued 
 
 lod con- 
 it if yo 
 ot, and 
 ot from 
 envying 
 Here 
 aboVical 
 hatred 
 bstinate 
 •wliicb 
 
 Bted not 
 )etween 
 I will 
 Id it at 
 ith those 
 In argu- 
 
 ment against divine imprecations, and they upon the side of 
 universal redemption, contend that thiit Scripture is expressive 
 of an intention or will in God to save all mankind, in the most 
 extensive sense of the word ; and thoy on tlie other side main- 
 tain that he neither has, nor over had such an intention or will. 
 The former insist upon the universality of the words all men ^ 
 that words of a more extensive signification cannot be used, 
 that the apostle could not have used other or better words, had 
 he designed to assert universal redemption, and that to under- 
 stand them of any number of persons less than the whole of 
 mankind is to overturn the plain and ordinary signification of 
 words ; the latter bring unanswerable reasons, however, for re- 
 jecting this extensive sense of the words all men, and giving 
 another comprehending a part only of mankind. To under- 
 stand the words in question so as to include every individual 
 of mankind is utterly inconsistent with the perfections and 
 providence of God, and with other places of Scripture. 
 
 It is inconsistent with the perfections of God ; for, 1. It 
 would follow that he is not only disappointed of his design, but 
 that his will is controlled by the will of man, since all mankind 
 are not saved, and since all who perish, perish with their own 
 will. If when man wills anything, God wills the reverse, and 
 is disappointed, where is his sovereignty and independence? 
 2. It would follow either that God eternally wills to save the 
 damned in hell, and is forever disappointed, nay, that he eter- 
 nally wills both to save and destroy them, or else that he alters 
 his wiU upon the death of every wicked man, so that though he 
 would have them saved all their life, yet at their death he will 
 have them damned. The latter of these consequences is chosen 
 by the Universalists as most defensible,* yet even it makes the 
 
 * To keep tbein in some countenance, in maintaining that God alters hid 
 mind, in consequence of being disappointed, thf.y run under the shadow of 
 such Scriptures as ascribe unto God repentance, ns Gen. vi. 6, "It repented 
 him that he made man ;" disappointment, as Isa. v. 4, " Wherefore, when I 
 looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ?" and 
 ineffectual teishea, as Psal. Ixxxi. 13, " Oh that my people had hearkened unto 
 
 : 
 
 
 
 \v]i 
 
 li 
 
88 
 
 nEMATNS OP THE 
 
 unchangeable God more variable than any creature, porhaps, 
 that ever he formed. According to the present population of 
 the world, though wo should make our coniputati">"fi uf the 
 deaths of wicked men very moderate, ho nniHt ahc. hiH v.ill 
 once, at least, every second of a minute j and moreover those al- 
 terations are as great as thoy are frc'<(uent, for tlio will to s:ive 
 is infinitely great until tho very moment of death, then, all at 
 once, it goes over to the other side, and becomes, the first mo- 
 ment after death, infinitely great to punish. But this conse- 
 quence, besides the absurdity of it, makes a wide breach 
 upon the unlimited sense of the words all men, and obliges the 
 Universalists to yield the whole contest ; for, unless it bo a fact 
 that God will have all the damned in hell to be saved, it is not, 
 and it never was true, since the death of the first wicked man, 
 that God would have all mankind to be saved. It was far 
 from being true in the days of the apostles, for then he would 
 have New Testament sinners only to be saved ; therefore Paul 
 either undorstood the words all men, in a confined sense, or 
 wrote a direct f ih: hood, themselves being judges. God, indeed, 
 upon their pfUi';ipl<^8 might hav<' willed, at the beginning, the 
 salvation Oa e"orv individual whose existence he foresa**-, but 
 ever since wiokbd men began to die, he hath been and will be, 
 in every generation till the end of time, gradually willing the 
 
 me !" It is plain enough that that these texts speak of God nftor tho niani.er 
 of men. His repentance points out an alteration in his dispensations, his dis- 
 appointment, the reasonableness of his commands, and his inefifuctual wishes, 
 the great and certain loss of them who despise very desirable mercies ; but it 
 is as absurd to maintain that there is \xi God any proper repentnuce, dii^np- 
 pointment, or fruitless wishes, as that he has eyes, ears, hands, feet, or other 
 bodily members which are frequently ascribed unto him in Scripture. Man 
 in a state of innocence could not repent, be disappointed, nor, it is lilcely, have 
 one vain wish ; neither can glorified saints or angels. What strange concep- 
 tions must these men have of tho Divine Being, who suppose that he gives 
 away what he has not, and mattes innumerable creatures more perfect than 
 himself I Is it any wonder that they are blind to the higher glories uf the 
 divine decrees, and can discover no wisdom in the eternal counsel of God's 
 will ? " Thou thoughtett that 1 toai altogether auch an one o« thyself.'*— 
 Fsal. 1. 21. 
 
 6'" 
 
 'he 
 
REV. JAMES MACailEOOR, D.D. 
 
 89 
 
 lanner 
 |ii8 dis- 
 fishes, 
 Ibut it 
 disap" 
 it other 
 Man 
 f, have 
 fconcep- 
 [e gives 
 tt than 
 of tho 
 God's 
 
 salvation of fewer ami fewer, until he corno, at tho day of judg- 
 ment, to bo uf tho Hauuo mind witli the ussurtors of particular 
 redemption, and have nono to bo saved, but thoiu who shall be 
 saved. 3. If God wills the salvation of ((ft men, in an unre- 
 strained sense, it would follow that ho wills what ho knows, 
 and Icclarcs in the oracles of truth, he shall never attain; and 
 80 his omniscience and will are troublcsnrao attributes, serving 
 ouly to aggravate his disappoiiitnien' owhat like the im- 
 
 mortality of the heathen god.s whi 'h ^ them from dy- 
 
 ing of their wounds and pains, and ou v .n end to thoir 
 misery. Man has at, least this coubv.iiatuu ihat, though he 
 meets with frequent disappointments, he knows not of them till 
 they happen, but God has tho mortification to see beforehand 
 that his will shall be ineffectual in many millions of instances, 
 without being at liberty, for a time, to alter it. 4. It would 
 follow that God, in creating man, knew that he was going to 
 make a great number of creatures, who would soon rebel against 
 him, and whom ho could not reduce to obedience again, though 
 yet he must will it, and whom ho must punish, but without 
 willing their punishment. And so wo must suppose the per- 
 son who made tliis speech in tho council of the Trinity, " Let 
 us make man," &c., to moan thus, "Already li ivo we made a 
 glorious habitation, let us now make as glorious an inhabitant, 
 ' Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let 
 them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl 
 of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over 
 every creeping thing that creepcth upon the earth,' and ( with 
 horror let me add it) even over God in the heavens ; for the 
 free will which we are to give them, and which we must never 
 touch afterwards, they will soon abuse for the purpose of rebel- 
 lion, and, by that means, they shall not only get beyond our 
 g'lvernraent, but have it in their power to hinder us from get- 
 ting our will, and shall do so in many instances. We must 
 will their salvation, but many of them shall will their own de- 
 struction, and shall prevail." 
 
 If it be said in reply to what is here advaDucd, that God 
 
 8* 
 
 
 
 ■3 li 
 
 w 
 

 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TA»^GET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 | 4i 
 ■ SO 
 
 
 2.8 
 
 it U£ ill M 
 
 IIIIIM 
 
 1.8 
 
 11.25 ill 1.4 IIIIII.6 
 
 V] 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 a 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Coiporation 
 
 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY. 14580 
 
 (716)872-4503 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 
< y'' 
 
 90 
 
 REMAINS OF THB 
 
 wills the salvation of all men only upon condition of faith, and 
 repentance, &c., we answer, not to insist upon the scripture 
 declarations that faith is the gift of God, and repentance his 
 grant, Eph. ii. 8, Acts zi. 18, and, of course, that none can 
 have them save they to whom they are given of Ood, it may he 
 asked, does God will that the condition shall be performed, or 
 does he will that it shall not ? Or, is his will in a state of per- 
 fect indifference about its performance t If the first is the case, 
 the matter is just as it was, God is disappointed ; if the second, 
 one part of his will contradicts another ; but if the last, it is 
 the same as if he had no will at all about salvation ; for the pos- 
 terior indifference defeats the prior will. Here is a chain, the 
 first link of which is an infinite volition, the next an infinite 
 indifference, and what avails it though the beginning be strong 
 if its end be rotten ? Might not God as well not have ivilled 
 salvation at all as to have willed it conditionally, and be en- 
 tirely indifferent about that condition, upon which it wholly 
 depends ? 
 
 Again, to understand the words all men, so a^ to include 
 every individual of mankind, is inconsistent with the providence 
 of God towards a great part of the world. If he will have all 
 mankind to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the 
 truth, how happens it that in the places where the gospel shines 
 most clearly, and the knowledge of the truth is most easily at- 
 tained, so many are ignorant ? If he Will have every individual 
 in the world to come to the knowledge of the truth, is it be- 
 cause of !iis weakness that he has suffered so many vast regions 
 of the earth to lie in darkness for four thousand years past ? In 
 the days of the apostles he made bare his almighty arm in spread- 
 ing the knowledge of the truth ; did that arm wax weary with 
 working so many miracles, that knowledge stopped her progress 
 ere she reached the ends of the earth ? Or were the barbarians 
 in the outskirts of the world too dull, or too stubborn to be in- 
 structed ? And is it more difficult for the divine teacher to 
 give knowledge to modern Hottentots or Patagonians than to 
 the ancient Greeks and Romans ? If those cannot be wrought 
 
REV. JAMES MAOGREGOR, D. D. 
 
 m 
 
 it be- 
 legions 
 ]? In 
 Ipread- 
 with 
 logress 
 larians 
 Ibe in- 
 ler to 
 lan to 
 lougbt 
 
 upon by ordinary means, can he not yet work miraoles for 
 their conviction ? Or does he know that they shall be proof 
 against them ? Or is his will to bring them to the knowledge 
 of the truth so faint as not to excite him to action ? Or does 
 it here too depend upon some condition to be previously per- 
 formed by the ignorant, and the barbarians? Moreover, if 
 God will have every individual of mankind to come to the 
 knowledge of the truth, how were the apostles forbidden to 
 preach the gospel in some places ? " Go not the way of the 
 Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.'' 
 Matt. z. 5. " Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia, and 
 the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to 
 preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they 
 essayed to go into Bithynia ; but the Spirit suffered them not." 
 Acts zvi. 6, 7. What ! not suffer them to preach to them 
 whom "he will have to be saved, and to come to the knowledge 
 of the truth I" 
 
 Lastly, the unlimited sense of the words all men is incon- 
 sistent with other places of Scripture, 1. With such as declare 
 God's will to be efficacious. " He is of one mind and who can 
 turn him ?" Job xxiii. 13. " He doeth according to his will 
 in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the 
 earth," Dan. iv. 35. " Who worketh all things after the coun- 
 sel of his own will," Eph. i. 11. " My counsel shall stand 
 and I will do all my pleasure," Isa. Ixvi. 10. " The counsel 
 of the Lord that shall stand," Prov. xix. 21. " The Lord of 
 Hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?" Isa. xiv. 27. 
 "1 have purposed it, I will also do it," Isa. xlvi. 11, 2. With 
 such as regulate our prayers, are we to pray for the salvation 
 of " that wicked — whom the Lord shall consume with the spi- 
 rit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his 
 coming?" 2 Thess. ii. 8. Are we to pray for the salvation of 
 them who commit the sin against the Holy Ghost of which it 
 is said, " It shall not be forgiven," Matt. xii. C2, and " I do 
 not say that he shall pray for it ?" 1 John v. 16. Are we to 
 pray for the salvation of Judas and of the spirits in prison ? 
 
vim REMAINS OF THE 
 
 Such prayers would certainly be a daring mockery of Him who 
 heareth prayer. Moreover I would ask, did ever Christ, or 
 does he still pray that every individual of the human kind may 
 be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth ? If he does 
 not, how can he say, " I delight to do thy will, O my God j yea, 
 thy law is within my heart ?" Psa. xl. 8. Or how can it be 
 said, that " he magnified the law and made it honourable/' Isa. 
 zlii. 21, while this one precept was disobeyed ? But if he does, 
 can he yet say, " I know that thou hearest me always ?" John 
 zi. 42, and what does he mean when he says, " I pray not for 
 the world ?" John xvii. 9. 
 
 Let the reader consider whether these shocking and horrid 
 consequences be not the necessary result of taking the words 
 *' all men" in a sense so extensive as to include all that ever 
 were, are, or shall be in the world. If so, it were very desir- 
 able at least to take them in a limited sense, if that could be 
 warranted from Scripture and common practice. In Scripture 
 it is very common. We shall produce two plain instances ; 
 John xi. 48, and 1 Cor. z. 33. In the first a small remnant of 
 the Jews are called all men ; " If we let him thus alone all men 
 will believe on him, and the Eomans will come, and take away 
 our place and nation." In the second a smaller remnant of the 
 Christians are so termed ; " Even as I please all men, in all 
 things." Doctor Owen affirms, that the term all aken in a 
 limited sense, near five hundred times in the i>i'jle. With 
 respect to profane authors, ancient or modern, nothing is more 
 certain than that every thing which i' public is with them 
 known to all men. The inhabitants of each city, country, pro- 
 vince, and kingdom, throughout the globe, or the tenth or hun- 
 dredth part of them respectively constitute all men, both in the 
 language of common conversation, and of the best writers. Not 
 they who take the words all men in a confined sense, then, but 
 they who do not, overturn the common and ordinary significa- 
 tion of words, as it is very evident that both in speaking and 
 writing, the words in question are much oftener used with than 
 without limitation. We hope we may now venture to assert 
 
REV. JAMIS MAOGBEQOR, D.D. 
 
 98 
 
 that the exhortation to pray for all men is to be restrained to a 
 part only of mankind; viz., "a great multitude ^hioh no man 
 can number, out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and 
 tongues," Rev. vii. 9. A prayer for all men thus limited, God 
 will hear, but a prayer for the salvation of all mankind, not 
 excepting the finally impenitent and unbelieving, is horrible 
 self-contradiction and absurdity. . ~ 
 
 The occasion and scope of the exhortation in question seem 
 to be as follows. The primitive Christians were so grievously 
 persecuted by all men, especially by magistrates, that, though 
 Christ commanded, " Fray for them that despitefully use you 
 and persecute you," yet possibly some of them might think 
 themselves excusable for not praying, at least, for such of their 
 persecutors as were apparently so hardened, that there was no 
 hope of their conversion and reformation. In opposition to 
 this contracted and unchristian spirit, Paul desires Timothy to 
 warn his hearers against confining their prayers to their Chris- 
 tian friends, and to teach them to extend them to all sorts of 
 unbelieving Jews, and Gentiles, and especially to them in au- 
 thority. The reason is added that God^would have a part of 
 all these to be saved, and perhaps the very persons they were 
 disposed to exclude from their prayers. Thus it appears that 
 the exhortation to pray for all men when properly understood, 
 is not inconsistent with those imprecations which we have been 
 defending. If any other Scripture directs us to pray in univer- 
 sal terms for man's salvation, they must also, for the reasons 
 above mentioned, be understood with the same limitation. 
 
 Obj. 5. The imprecations contained in the Psalms are to be 
 considered as prophecies of the destruction of God^s enemies, and 
 therefore they ought to be translated as predictions and not 
 prayers, and then the reading of ihem would imply no wish 
 that they should be fulfilled. 
 
 Ans. It is readily granted that thay are real and true pre- 
 dictions, but they are prayers too ; for between these there is 
 no opposition. It would make very little odds to an humble 
 and obedient Christian whether they were read as predictions 
 
 *?■ 
 
ii 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 or prayers ; for either is equally a foundation of faith, and a 
 rule of duty to him. Upon the one hand every divinely in- 
 spired prayer is to him a prophecy, because he is certain that 
 God, according to his promise, will answer the prayer; upon 
 the other hand every prophecy, whether promise or threaten- 
 ing, is to him a prayer, for it is an intimation of God's will 
 concerning their respective objects, which will he wishes may 
 be done. Therefore though all the imprecations were turned 
 to prophecies or predictions, the obligation of praying them 
 would remain as strong as ever ; for with what disposition ought 
 we to read or sing them, supposing them to be predictions ? 
 Should we say, God forbid that they should ever be fulfilled ? 
 Though we were to say so, would they not be vain and impious 
 words ? Should we not rather heartily say. Amen to them, in 
 the assured faith of their accomplishment upon all impenitent 
 unbelievers ? And what else is this but prayer ? 
 
 But God has seen meet tp deliver these portions of holy 
 writ unto us, not as predictions, but prayers. In the Hebrew 
 Bible, David's imprecations are written mostly* not in the 
 future time, but in the imperative mood, which is the proper 
 mood for prayer. In the Greek version of the Seventy, they 
 are translated in the optative, or wishing mood, and so are 
 those quoted in the New Testament. Hence in every faithful 
 version they are translated as prayers and not predictions. 
 How intolerable then is that pride and self-conoeit, which would 
 alter them, as if the works of divine wisdom might be corrected 
 by the folly of man ! Is it indeed comely in him, who is "born 
 like a wild ass's colt," to say unto the infinitely wise Jehovah, 
 Thou hast done foolishly. The plain English of such amend- 
 ments of God's words is as follows : " It seems thou. Lord, 
 hast a mind to destroy all thine irreconcilable enemies, and 
 
 * AH the imprecations, except the first, in the 109th Psalm are in the fu- 
 ture time ; thus " Set thou a wicked man," or rather the viclced one, " over 
 htm, and Satan shall stand at his right hand, &o." But that makes no mate- 
 rial odds, as all the predictions are the necessary consequences of the prayer 
 prefixed to tbem. 
 
 m( 
 
 pra 
 
 tha 
 
 tim 
 
 pro 
 
 thei 
 
 thei 
 
 hind 
 
 take 
 
 mak( 
 
 prayt 
 
 thou 
 
 so Is 
 
 sing t 
 
 Thi8( 
 
 the de 
 
 intenti 
 
 Sucl 
 
 Words ( 
 
 tions. 
 
 a meth( 
 
 in his c 
 
 his assis 
 
 to be I 
 
 reckone( 
 
 est crim 
 
 up with 
 
 ousy bur 
 
 help ? t 
 
 ''Curse 
 Why ? 
 
 their dut 
 out to the 
 the might 
 be cursed 
 much it b( 
 
 ^ 
 
«»iV. MMES MAOGBEOOB, D.„. 
 
 
 m'Mest too to make tl ' '"' ®' 
 
 P««^i»g for it. F„ „^;»'™""' «-n«„t .0 ,h„., ,„. 
 
 «■«' thou sl,„„,d,, h„^vol/;'';"'':"-'«^<^.'''«"iIy,o„y 
 
 P'oposest to deal -ith'then,, f„ iT";'^' "'"' *'"''• "-ou 
 them should be everlaatin^,; ° .""r"' •">»»«■" 'hat any „f 
 them in that ,„ ""Mtingly punished. If ,i,.„ „.,. ^ '" 
 'n tnat manner, do so win, . °" "''' P"ni«h 
 
 hinder thee? But let the W m re,, ^^°"°'' '<" "'» «" 
 t-'ke .t heinouslj, ill, howeverTh ,.1 "''°'' ""'"« <*" head. I 
 "■"^o -e a partner' i„ 7/ ; el^f ^'"'"'*' -*«v„ur to 
 Payers; but bo assured I shall n'^K^ '''■°''°'''»« '» »>« »»ch 
 
 "■«« ntendestthem.sp„!e« it- V""""" »»' «" "■«"gh 
 «» I »h.ll get „ „,„^ P ;j;'^. I "-11 turn into prophecies, and 
 
 Z T"' "'"■ ' "'"'^ "- e t r h ' '"" "» f- to read a^d 
 
 This desire it is true shall be in„ff . ? ^^ "'"^ •>» ^"Ifilled 
 
 he destruction of thine en m "s Cj' "" '' ""»'" P"-n 
 
 '"t^ntjons are better than thinl" '"'°°°' '^'P *'"'t mine 
 
 ;ordTof'yod\f:ht:b:"s:- "'f^ '"«' "-•" «"« the 
 
 "0- What would we think™';: '^ "' ''"^'"" ■■»?-«- 
 « "othod, or be prevailed ; n t „"? "''° ^'■°"''' "-->" 
 ■" h.s country's cause, agaiL Z """"" '» «tand neutral 
 '.« assistance in seizin'g SI /obr"""' "™^' « '» -f"- 
 *» be brought ,o condi J 2l«h' f "'"'••'"'"' '» o'^er 
 "ekoned an enemy to his conn? ^'^" ^'"^^ ^^ "ot be 
 est crimes? A„d^a„ hoTo //'.""•''"""'"''""^ '» "■» great- 
 "P "i'h him in a cause infinitt ''^ "•'f '-' ''"o shalf rfst 
 oup burn against that man ^ 'o^^ ', """ ''°' "■■' Je " 
 ,^'P? "He that gathereth „„:: h r *" "'"" '"■■» "'-^ 
 Curae ye Mero., curse je bitt rl^h "r^^e'^ereth abroad." 
 Jhy? What have the/done? \l; '"'"""''"'^ ">ere„f." 
 the,r duty, and stood indifferent sJ^f '' '"''''^ '"-ifed 
 -'totbe help of the Lor ,o rTrV' ^'"'^ "™^ »«' 
 the m.gb,y,, „ ^^ ^.,, ;^'* kelp of the Wd against 
 
 be cursed along with them. ZJll ^T "^""■-' "^ 3h»ll 
 ----edbytheope„i;S^-;^W.er 
 
 
REMATNS or THB 
 
 sillaniiuity, and a detestable treachery or indifference in the 
 cause of Christ, a most criminal want of zeal for the glory of 
 God, and disrespect for his comnuindments. Nuy, we must not 
 only do our duty, but we must do it heartily, as to the Lord, or 
 else he will turn us over to the other side and treat us as ene- 
 mies, « Cursed be be that doth the work of the Lord deceit- 
 fully." ....... . s •: 
 
 For my own part, I consider it as an illustrious display of the 
 goodness and mercy of God to blind mortals, for which they 
 ought to bless his name, that he hath not delivered us these 
 imprecations by way of prediction. In the method he has 
 taken he not only teaoheii us our duty, but takes us by the 
 arms, and leads us in it, delivering to us not only the matter or 
 substance of it, but also its very form and manner. He hath 
 set us a copy, that we might imitate it, and thence proceed to 
 turn predictions into prayers. What a loss should we have 
 suffered had God dealt with us otherwise ! This duty would 
 have been almost, if not altogether lost ; for if men are so back- 
 ward to make use of imprecations, when God hath made them 
 ready to their hands, what would have been the case had he left 
 them to form them out of predictions or prophecies? They 
 would then have at least more plausible pretexts for shifting the 
 duty. God, foreseeing these, condescended to make it as plain as 
 posidble, that his servants might have a full answer to the ob- 
 jections of others, and to their own scruples. 
 
 Instead therefore of replying against God, or finding fault 
 with the prayers whicb he requires me to use, I would rather 
 candidly* 
 
 that I do not pray against any of thine, alive or unborn, 
 nor against any particular person whatsoever, and that my in- 
 definite prayers against thy final haters, in obedience to thy 
 command, proceed from zeal to thee, and love to my brethren, 
 whose happiness requires the ruin of impenitent sinners. I am 
 fully persuaded that thy word is as useful and applicable to this 
 * About half a paj;e of the original MS. here, has unfortunately been lost Ed. 
 
 ar 
 
 Wi 
 
 th 
 
 niu 
 
 du 
 
 for 
 
 sho 
 
 fant 
 
 the 
 u 
 
 that 
 
 then 
 
 peris 
 
 lettl 
 
 Psa. 
 
 ■*^-:" 
 
«ft 
 
 ««V. MMIS MAOOMooit, D.D. 
 
 •nJ «II succeeding aje> « »„ .v . ' 
 
 "■^ wi„ .„d unalterable rite ''d """'' ''*" "«" '' i' 
 »>"" who die, „itb„„t fahird M :"' '° ""''"^' «'"' 
 duty .0 say ,i,„ .1, k „ "'L?'°'«f «. '■«• that it i, 4 
 
 f-'^aayit with ail pLl,, J ^ "'"''« ''°°«' I-illtheJ 
 
 fould '-esti.^ati.edre i:;:if r:'""' ""■"«" I 
 ft»at.cai, f„, 1 1„„„ ,,,., tC^™' "»;■'''"'•"«. "Hberal, ,„d 
 
 ">« great day of account.." '^''"™ "'^ "^ """"luct, at 
 
 'Ha^Klri::^':-^^^^^^ '«' 'He™ .„, 
 
 themaway. „,„ «eItetrb"ori«"'""" ""'-«'<'"■" 
 Penah at the preaenc, of God b" ,? I"' '» '" ""o "''oked 
 i«« them rejoice before God ™. b b ' "«'"~"'' ■» 8>ad ; 
 Paa. I„iii. 1-3. ' ^"^ '•' "'«»' eweedingly rejoice." 
 
 f 
 
'W 
 
 '.T./'f, ,,fci<'!'i|'fK» 
 
 ^- fr-' 
 
 M f- mn': 
 
 ■l't-»' 
 
 V ^., V,- , 
 
 w 
 
t 
 
 ,.^r. 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 Oir TBI 
 
 W 
 
 DURATION AND CHARACTER 
 
 or TBI 
 
 MILLENNIAL AGE , 
 
 OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 OBIOINALLT PUBLISHED IK THE OHRISnAR BAOAZINB, VOL. IV. 
 
*,4 
 
 / 
 
 ' W 
 
 * ON THE MILLENNIUM. 
 
 The Milleonium holds a most distinguished place among the 
 prophecies of the Scripture. Some of the prophets have given 
 large and delightful descriptions of its glory, and few or none 
 of them omit it altogether. It is their common argument of 
 consolation to the church in distress ; for the foresight of its 
 glory cheered their own spirits, and filled their souls with holy 
 joy and wonder. Their descriptions of it are always magnifi- 
 cent, and expressed in the most elegant and flowing language. 
 The apostles trod in the footsteps of the prophets. Nothing 
 can exceed the beauty and sublimity of John's description of 
 the Millennium, except his own unparalleled description of the 
 heavenly state. Indeed, the Millennium is so lively an emblem 
 of heaven, that it is not uncommon for both prophets and apos- 
 tles, in their descriptions, to slide insensibly from the one unto 
 the other, so that sometimes it is difficult to know which of the 
 two they describe. The most part of Scripture interpreters, 
 since the days of the Apostles, and even since the Reformation, 
 have had diminutive views of the Millennium, owing partly 
 to the figurative language in which it is often described in 
 the Scriptures, but chiefly to their own contracted ideas of God's 
 works. 
 
 It is probable that the prophets and apostles themselves did 
 
 not fully comprehend their own descriptions of it, and that its 
 
 glory will not be fully understood until it is declared by the 
 
 happy event ; yet it is evident from Scripture, that it is incom- 
 
 9* 101 
 
 
102 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ■^' 
 
 %♦ 
 
 parably the happiest and most prosperous time which the church 
 enjoys on earth. Isaiah regards all the previous success of the 
 gospel as nothing compared with its amazing prosperity during 
 that remarkable period. " Whereas thou hast been forsaken 
 and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee 
 an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." 
 
 Previous to the Millennium, it may be said of the heathen, 
 that " they know not the Lord," and of the nations of professed 
 Christians, that " they do after the manners of the heathen ;" 
 and of the devil, that he is " the god of this world." But 
 then God will take to himself his great power, and reign ; "all 
 the heathen shall know that he is the Lord ;" all nation? shall 
 serve him, and it will appear, that he made not the world for a 
 triumph to the devil, but for his own glory, especially the glory 
 of his mercy and grace. The Scriptures declare, that the Son 
 of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the 
 devil ; but the truth of that declaration is not yet apparent, for 
 the works of the devil are far from being destroyed. He still 
 goes about to deceive the nations, and walks about " like a roar- 
 ing lion, seeking whom he may devovr." And both ways, he is 
 most wofully successful, not only in heathen, but in Christian 
 countries, filling the church with false and pernicious doctrines, 
 and deluging the nations with the most horrid bloodshed and 
 war. But the Millennium will show that the Son of God is both 
 able and willing to accomplish his purpose for which he came 
 into. the world, viz., to destroy the works of the devil ; for then 
 not only shall Satan be chained and sealed in the bottomless 
 pit, but so vast and amazing shall be the confluence of blessings 
 poured down upon the world, that all the mischief done by the 
 devil (great as it is) shall appear as nothing. The Millennium 
 will make this wretched world, where sin and n)isery abound, 
 to become a happy world, where grace and peace shall much 
 more abound. If sin now reigns unto death, grace will then 
 reign most triumphantly through righteousness unto eternal 
 life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 The following hints are intended to throw some farther light 
 
%4 
 
 REV. JAMES MACGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 103 
 
 upon the Millennium, and to stir up others to search the Scrip- 
 tures, the only source of information upon this subject. In 
 treating of it, we need not confine ourselves to those passages 
 of Scripture which speak directly to the point, bec:vuse the 
 Millennium being the most prosperous period of the Church 
 upon earth, whatever passages will apply to other prosperous 
 periods, must apply to this with greater force. 
 
 I. The Millennium shall last three hundred thousand years at 
 least. 
 
 The thousand years spoken of in the book of Revelation, 
 (commonly called the Millennium,) are understood by some in 
 an indefinite sense, for a long space of time merely, and that 
 space they contract or extend according to fancy. Many will 
 have it finished before the wcJd shall have stood six thousand 
 years ; because they imagine, according to a Jewish tradition, 
 that then the world must come to an end. By others, they are 
 understood in a definite sense, for a precise thousand years ; by 
 others, they are taken for mystic or prophetic years, by which 
 every day is reckoned a year, according to that expression in 
 Ezekiel, " I have given thee a day for a year," Ezek. iv. 6. 
 Thus, Daniel's seventy weeks are explained, and several num- 
 bers in the book of Revelation. Some, however, make the 
 mystic or prophetic year to consist of three hundred and sixty 
 years, reckoning thirty days only to each month, and others of 
 three hundred and sixty-five. Time will best decide this dif- 
 ference. Though it amounts in the whole to five thousand 
 years, yet it is but a trifle in such a prodigious space of time. 
 According to this sense, the Millennium will last three hundred 
 and sixty thousand years at least, and, perhaps, five thousand 
 more. The first two of these senses we reject, as uncertain or 
 contracted, not allowing time enough for fulfilling all the great 
 and glorious prophecies of the Scriptures j and the third we 
 support by the following arguments : 
 
 1. The scope of the prophecy in the book of Revelation re- 
 quires that the thousand years be understood of a year for a 
 day. The prophecy foretells, that the Church shall first have 
 
 

 104 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 %:. 
 
 a time of trouble, and then a time of peace ; it represents the 
 former as short, and the latter as long ', and it contrasts them, 
 presenting the long period of peace as encouragement and con- 
 solation under the short period of trouble. The time of trou- 
 ble is foretold in these words : " The holy city shall they t'-ead 
 under foot forty and two months. My two witnesses shall pro- 
 phesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in 
 sackcloth. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she 
 had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a 
 thousand two huudred and threescore days; where she is nour- 
 ished for a time, times, and half a time, (three years and an 
 half,) from the face of the serpent," Kev. xi. 2, 3 ; xii. 6, 14. 
 All these numbers are the same, and amount to three years and 
 a half. The time of peace, or the Millennium, is thus foretold. 
 " He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the 
 devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him 
 into the bottomless pit, and shut him up and set a seal upon 
 him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thou- 
 sand years should be fulfilled. And I saw the souls or persons 
 of them which had not worshipped the beast, neither his 
 image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or 
 in their hands ;" (he saw these in their successors, persons of 
 the same spirit, as Elijah was seen in John the Baptist;) " and 
 they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. They 
 shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him 
 a thousand years," Rev. xz. 2, 3, 4, 6. Great is the difference 
 between these two periods ; but the greater it is, the stronger 
 is the consolation it yields. The Church may easily be induced 
 to bear trouble for three years and a half, by the hope of enjoy- 
 ing a thousand years prosperity. Now it is agreed, that the 
 three years and a half are mystic or prophetic years ; that is, 
 one thousand two hundred and sixty years, or, at least, one 
 thousand two hundred and forty-two. Why, then, should not 
 the thousand years be reckoned in the same manner ? Would 
 it involve any absurdity, or produce any bad consequence ? 
 None ; and there is, at least, this much in its favour, that it 
 
 I 
 
 \M 
 
 gooc 
 
 but 
 
 proa 
 
^»s^' 
 
 \^^ 
 
 Rr.V. JAMES MAOQBEaOR, D.D. 
 
 105 
 
 the 
 it is, 
 one 
 not 
 '^ould 
 Ince? 
 mt it 
 
 preserves a nnti uity in the rule of interpretation, and a due 
 proportion betweon the prophesied periods of the adversity and 
 prosperity of the ChurciP; whereas otherwise there would be 
 introduced an arbitrary rule of interpretation, and such a wild 
 disproportion between the periods of adversity and prosperity, 
 as would make a thousand years shorter than three years and a 
 half. The long period would become the short, and the short 
 the long, which could not fail to cause a great disappointment 
 in the mind of a reader who attends to the scope of the book. 
 That the same rule and the same proportion ought to be ob- 
 served in explaining both numbers, may be evident from the 
 unity of the subject. Though several chapters intervene, yet 
 the subject is the same in chapters ziii. and zx. It is evident 
 that, 1. In both, the beast is the same j for he is represented 
 as worshipped, as having an image which is worshipped, and as 
 having a mark which his admirers receive in their foreheads or 
 hands. 2. The people who are represented in chapter xiii., as 
 killed for not worshipping the beast and his image, and for not 
 receiving his mark, are the very same individuals, (we m^n in 
 vision,) who are declared, in chapter xx., to be raised again, to' 
 live and reign with Christ a thousand years. They are so clearly 
 the same, that it is the opinion of many interpreters, that they 
 are the same in fact, and so maintain that the martyrs shall ac- 
 tually rise from the dead, and reign with Christ on earth. 3. 
 The admirers of the beast in chapter xiii., are the very same 
 individuals, (in vision,) who, being killed in chapter xix., are 
 in chapter xx., declared to be dead, and not to live again till 
 the thousand years are finished. Now, how absurd is it to 
 measure two parts of the same whole by rules so dispropor- 
 tioned as three hundred and sixty to one ! 
 
 To illustrate this point, let us make a supposition, that an 
 angel sent of God, reveals to man that, being placed in certain 
 circumstances, he shall have sore sickness for a day, and then 
 good health for sixty days; that accordingly, he becomes sick, 
 but continues so almost a year, before any symptoms of ap- 
 proaching health begin to appear. What conclusion must the 
 
 '■I 
 
 i 
 
 «; 
 
 
106 
 
 llEMAINS OF TBS 
 
 man make ? At first, he might take the angel's day for a com- 
 moQ day ; but experience would soon teach him to put a dif- 
 ferent construction upon it ', and the san^e that would induce 
 him to reckon the day a year, would natively and necessarily 
 induce him to reckon the sixty days so many years. Should 
 any of his fellow creatures tell him, that though the angel 
 meant a year, by the day of sickness, yet he meant no more 
 than two months, (perhaps one month,) by the sixty days of 
 health, he could not easily believe it ; and the moment he did, 
 he would be sadly disappointed, and could not fail to accuse the 
 angel of deceiving him, promising him apparently sixty times 
 more health than sickness, and performing that promise with 
 six times more sickness than health. The case of the Millen- 
 nium, if received without prejudice, is as plain as this suppo- 
 sition. Were the mind free to extend the duration of the 
 world as far as the Scriptures permit, there would be no diffi- 
 culty in reckoning the Millennium at three hundred and sixty- 
 five thousand years ', but few study the Scriptures without fet- 
 tering the mind with previous systems and opinions. 
 # Perhaps no other passage of Scripture determines the num- 
 ber of years in the Millennium ; but there are several from 
 which it may be fairly argued, that it must last many thousands 
 of years, which is in effect the same, as no other opinion extends 
 it beyond a thousand. 
 
 2. A kind of argument may be taken from such passages 
 as these : " Unto you that fear my name, shall the sun of right- 
 eousness arise," Mai. iv. 2, and, " We, when we were children, 
 were in bondage under the elements of the world : but when the 
 fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son," Gal. iv. 3, 
 4. The rising of the sun means, the appearance of Christ in 
 human nature to the world: and the fulness of time which 
 then happened means, the time of the Church's passing from 
 childhood to manhood. It appears, then, that the Old Testa- 
 ment, which lasted four thousand years, bears no greater pro- 
 portion to the duration of the New Testament, than the time 
 before sunrise to the rest of the day, or the time of childhood 
 
 / 
 

 REV. JAMES MAOQREaOB, D.D. 
 
 107 
 
 ids 
 
 pen, 
 Ithe 
 
 3, 
 
 in 
 lich 
 rom 
 Ista- 
 
 )ro- 
 linie 
 [ood 
 
 to manhood. Even this is too little ; Irxt it is to be observed 
 that the design of these comparisons is not to determine the 
 duration of the Millennium ; and therefore, though they fail in 
 that point, it is no detriment to the argument. They show, in 
 genera], that the New Testament lasts many times four thou- 
 sand years, which is inconsistent with every view of the Mil- 
 lennium, save that which reckons it by prophetic years, unless 
 it be supposed that the world shall last many thousands of 
 years after the Millennium is over. For such a supposition, 
 there appears no foundation, as the Scripture calls that period 
 '' a little season,'^ Rev. zz. 3. 
 
 3. We argue from these words in the second command- 
 ment, ** Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, 
 unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and 
 showing mercy to thousands of them that love me.'' Genera- 
 turns is understood after thousands, and ought to be expressed, 
 as the want of it makes many readers to imagine that it is 
 thousands of individuals that is meant; whereas, from its being 
 contrasted with third or fourth generation, it appears that not 
 individuals, but generations are intended. The same phrase 
 occurs in Deut. v. 9, 10, and Exodus zzziv. 7, where, also, the 
 reading ought to be thousands of generations, (A thousand 
 generations occurs in several passages, Deut. vii. 9 ; 1 Chron. 
 zvi. 15 'f Psal. cv. 8.) Here is plain proof that the world, if 
 not the Millennium, shall last thousands of generations from 
 the giving of the law. How many thousands is not expressed. 
 Our argument requires between seven and eight) which can- 
 not be reckoned eztravagant. According to Matthew's reckon- 
 ing, two thousand years make up forty-two generations. Matt. i. 
 17 ; by which rule the Millennium will last seven thousand five 
 hundred and sixty generations, or one hundred and five more. 
 
 But, according to the other opinions of the Millennium, the 
 world may not last one tenth of one thousand generations from 
 the giving of the law j from thence until Christ is thirty-four 
 generations ; thence until the end of the current thousand is 
 forty-two ; and thence, (supposing the Millennium then to be- 
 
108 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 gin, and to last a thousand years,) to the end of the Millen- 
 nium, is twenty-one more ; all which, put together, will make 
 ninety-seven generations. Suppose three generations more 
 from thence to the end of the world, which is perhaps as much 
 as most people will aWovr, and then the world will last one hun- 
 dred generations only, where the Scripture makes it to last 
 thousands. 
 
 4. " Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that 
 no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excel- 
 lency, a joy of many generations,*' Isa. Ix. 15. In the latter 
 part of this verse, the Millennium is described by two parallel 
 phrases, each of which is parallel to John's reign of a thott- 
 sand years. Its duration is pointed out in these words, eternal 
 and many generations; etemal, because the Millennium is such 
 a prodigious extent of duration, that no words in common use, 
 descriptive of time, would serve to express it ; many genera- 
 tions, to show that it is time, and not proper eternity, that is 
 meant. The same prophet, describing the same time, uses sim- 
 ilar language again and again. " In a little wrath, I hid my 
 face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will 
 I have mercy on thee," and " Be you glad for ever, and rejoice 
 in that which I create ; for behold, I create Jerusalem a re- 
 joicing, and her people a joy," Isa. liv. 8 ; Ixv. 18. There 
 were no need of such terms as eternal, everlasting, for ever, to 
 describe a thousand years, (the Church having already had ex- 
 perience of a longer time of trouble,) but three hundred and 
 sixty-five thousand years is so exceedingly above every mea- 
 sure of time of which the world has hitherto had any expe- 
 rience, that such terms seem necessary to give a competent idea 
 of it ; and they are very suitable for that purpose when pro- 
 perly guarded, as they are in the context, to prevent their being 
 taken for a proper eternity. 
 
 5. We reason from the analogy of the magnitude of the 
 universe. The common error of mankind is to have contracted 
 views of God's works. " The works of the Lord are great." 
 
 " Great and marvellous 
 
 are 
 
 thy 
 
 works, 
 
 Lord 
 
 God 
 
 Almighty." 
 
 ''■ 
 
 
 
 '. 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 S '' y 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > • 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 * Men 
 days of ( 
 mation, i 
 would ha 
 their caU 
 tbe Millon 
 
REV. JAMES MAOOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 109 
 
 lea- 
 
 |xpo- 
 
 idea 
 
 pro- 
 
 leing 
 
 the 
 
 Icted 
 
 jat." 
 » 
 
 ty. 
 
 Psal.czi. 2. Rev. zy. 3. But man, a feeble and puny creature, has 
 naturally most diminutive ideas of these magnificent works. In 
 the moral and religious world, how mean are the ideas of mankind 
 in getieral, of the beauty of virtue and holiness, of the precious 
 bluod of Christ and God's salvation, of the happiness of heaven 
 and the enjoyment of God 1 In the natural world, how contrac- 
 ted are men's ideas of the earth and heavenly bodies ! Many 
 men do not believe the surface of the whole earth to be so exten- 
 sive as that of Great Britain. The bulk of mankind believe 
 the sun to be no bigger than a hat, and the stars to be so many 
 bright studs, fixed in the sky, a mile or two above the surface 
 of the earth. A few indeed believe the sun to be many thous- 
 ands of times larger than the earth, and distant from it many 
 millions of miles; and the greatest part of the stars to be suns 
 at inconceivable distances from the earth, and from one another. 
 But this is in consequence of education, and still even these 
 have diminutive ideas of the universe ; for, till lately, they 
 doubted not but Saturn was the most distant planet revolving 
 round our sun. Though their eyes and their telescopes were 
 BO keen, yet they entirely overlooked a part of God's works 
 many times larger than the whole earth. Large as the Herschel 
 is, it is so diminutive a part of the universe, as scarcely to be 
 discerned by the eye } who then can know the magnitude of all 
 its satellites, and all the planets that may be beyond it ? Now 
 it is not likely, when men are so far mistaken in their 
 views of the magnitude of God's works, that they should be 
 much juster in their ideas of their duration ; especially as thje 
 last is a subject into which little inquiry has been made.* Phil- 
 osophers have not had sufficient grounds for forming decisions, 
 and divines, though there are several expressions in Scripture 
 
 * Men have in fact had diminutive ideas of the duration of time. lu the 
 days of the Apostles, many thought the world near its end. At the Refor- 
 mation, many Protestants thought that the 1260 years of the reign of Popery 
 would have heen finished 200 years ago ; and many more have been short in 
 their calculations since. In Cromwell's time, many of the English thought 
 the Millennium then beginning. 
 10 
 
110 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 whioh might throw light upon it, have not turned their atten- 
 tion that way; so that the subject is as little understood as As- 
 tronomy was before Newton's days. A wide field may therefore 
 open here. It is reasonable to suppose that the duration of the 
 world holds a proportion to its magnitude, and if it does, it 
 must be very great. Some of the comets (it is said) take near 
 six hundred years to go round the sun, and have not made 
 eleven revolutions since the creation. Is it not improbable that 
 God should make such large bodies to perform twelve or thir- 
 teen rounds and then be done ? But if the Millennium endures 
 three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, there will be time 
 for these eccentric bodies to perform many revolutions, and the 
 world may have duration somewhat proportioned to its mag- 
 nitude. 
 
 Moreover, it is evident that the world is yet almost in its 
 infancy. Except a few small spots, it is a desert uninhabited ; 
 but it cannot always continue so ; for the Scripture declares, 
 that God "formed it to he inhabited." Which expression not 
 only secures that it shall be inhabited, but implies that the 
 duration of its desert state shall be nothing in comparison with 
 that of its inhabited state. Civilization, its arts, and sciences are 
 in a state of infancy, and capable of great improvements. These 
 must not only be brought to perfection, but the world must 
 afterwards have competent time to enjoy the benefit of them ; 
 for what wise man would, at great pains and expense, make a 
 machine, and improve it to perfection, and instantly destroy it 
 when it begins to be useful ? 
 
 II. The climate of the Millennium shall be everywhere moder- 
 ate. It is plain from Scripture, that the earth shall be very 
 fruitful during the Millennium. But it may be a question 
 whether that fruitfulness shall be confined to those countries 
 that are so already, or be extended from pole to pole, so that 
 the regions round the poles, which are now not habitable, shall 
 become mild and productive climates. It requires such a vast 
 change to make the poles agreeable places of abode, that doubtless 
 it will be thought incredible by many. Nevertheless, it is cer- 
 
 ■\ip' 
 
 jat- 
 
BIV. JAMES MAOQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 Ill 
 
 l- 
 B- 
 
 re 
 
 ne 
 
 it 
 
 sar 
 
 ide 
 
 aat «» 
 
 lir- 
 
 irea 
 
 ime 
 
 the 
 
 aag- 
 
 1 its 
 
 ted; 
 
 ares, 
 
 1 not 
 the 
 
 ■with 
 
 ^sare 
 hese 
 must 
 em ', 
 ike a 
 oy it 
 
 loder- 
 very 
 bstion 
 itries 
 that 
 I shall 
 vast 
 )tless 
 cer- 
 
 tain that, during the Millennium, no climate shall he immoder- 
 ately cold or hot, but that all will be so temperate, though not 
 equally so, that men may live agreeably everywhere. Let us 
 consult Scripture and facts on the point, and observe the result. 
 
 1. We argue from that common expression, tJie ends of the 
 earth. It is promised that Jesus shall be a Saviour " to the ends 
 of the earth,'' that he shall be " great to the cods of the earth ;" 
 and that his dominion " shall be to the ends of the earth." 
 Isa. zlix. 6. Mic. y. 4. Zech. iz. 10. It is promised that 
 the gospel shall so spread, that " all the ends of the earth shall 
 see the salvation of our God." Isa. Hi. 10. The gospel invita- 
 tion is, " Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
 earth," " Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from 
 the ends of the earth." Isa. zlv. 22 ; zliii. 6. The success 
 of the gospel shall be such, that " all the ends of the earth shall 
 remember, and turn unto the Lord;" "all the ends of the 
 earth shall feur him ;" and " the Gentiles shall come unto thee 
 from the ends of the earth." Psal. zxii. 27 ; Izvii. 7. Jer. zvi. 19. 
 The ends of the earth are in plain English the poles ; all the 
 ends of the earth are all the remotest parts, including whatever 
 is between them, even the whole earth. Now these great pro- 
 mises and invitations to the whole earth would never have been 
 put into God's book, if large portions of that earth, perhaps one- 
 half, were never to be inhabited. These promises must all be 
 accomplished in the fullest sense ; but how can they be so, un- 
 less the earth shall be inhabited to the eztremes of north and 
 south as fa; as earth exists ? . ^. 
 
 2, Let us review God's original grant of the earth to man. 
 " And God blessed them, and God said unto them. Be fruitful, 
 and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have 
 dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 
 and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Gen. 
 i. 28. Here is not only a grant, but a grant with God's bles- 
 sing and favour, which indicates his will and intention to have 
 all its articles fulfilled ; nay, that intention was expressed before 
 man was made : '' Let us make man in our image, — ^and let 
 
 
112 
 
 BIMAIlfS or THl 
 
 them have dominion over all the earth" Gen. i. 26. Let qb 
 observe the third article of the grant, " Replenish the earth ;" 
 that is, fill the e&.th, viz : with mankind ; — words as apposite 
 as possible to the present purpose ; for here is no exception of 
 north or south pole, nor any territory too cold or too hot. It 
 is in vain to object, that the grant being made to man in inno- 
 cence, his fall into sin authorizes the Maker to break it, for 
 that strikes equally against all the other articles of the grant, 
 which, had they been broken, would have ended the world at its 
 beginning. But we find that, notwithstanding the fall, man is 
 fruitful and multiplies, and exercises dominion over the fish 
 of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living 
 thing which moveth upon the earth. And to put the matter 
 beyond all doubt, God renewed the same grant, in almost the 
 same terms, to Noah after the flood ; " Be fruitful and multiply, 
 and replenish the earth, &c.'' Gen. iz. 1. It remains then 
 that God intends to fulfil the grant, and to fill the earth with 
 mankind. 
 
 8. " Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God him- 
 self that formed the earth, and made it; he hath established it, he 
 
 CREATED IT NOT IN VAIN, HE FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED,'* 
 
 &0. Isa. zlv. 18. The inspired prophet maintains, that the 
 earth was made in vain, and of course every part of it, were it 
 not to be inhabited ; and that God formed it, made it, established 
 it, and created it for the very purpose of being inhabited. God 
 made nothing in vain, and his purpose he will accomplish. 
 The conclusion therefore is unavoidable, that the immense des- 
 erts of America and Asia, to the utmost extremes of north and 
 south, shall be peopled and fully cultivated ; and every wild 
 and barren spot in the four quarters of the globe. A few spots 
 indeed, once inhabited, and now desert, as Babylon, &c., may 
 never more be cultivated, but may be otherwise useful. 
 
 If any shall say, How can these things be ? the answer is 
 easy : Hath God said it, and will he not do it ? Hath he spo- 
 ken it, and will he not make it good ? Nothing is impossible 
 with God. There may be various ways in which his concur- 
 
 ses. 
 
BIV. JAMIS MAOQRIOOR, D.D. 
 
 113 
 
 )f 
 
 IS 
 
 spo- 
 
 iible 
 
 Bur- 
 
 renoe with second causes, ( for we expect no miracle) may pro- 
 duce the requisite change upon a cold climate. There is one 
 cause which appears sufficient of itself to produce this amazing 
 effect, though we exclude not others. It is cultivation. 
 
 The effect of cultivation in meliorating a severe climate is 
 surprising : slow indeed, but sure. It may not bo observed in 
 Britain or Europe by the present generation, for there its 
 operation is so slow as not to be discerned in an age. It is 
 very evident in North America, (lately a desert,) where culti- 
 vation goes on rapidly. There the climate changes as fast as 
 the country is peopled and cultivated. Though the change is 
 not so rapid or visible in Europe, yet by comparing its present 
 state with what it was two thousand years ago, it will appear 
 that a great change has taken place. Then the winters in Italy 
 were so severe that the cattle were housed ; and the wine froze 
 in the casks, &o. Then the rivers of France so froze, that the 
 waggons and armies could be transported on the ice. Then the 
 weather in Britain was so tempestuous, and the winter set in 
 so early, that CsQsar hasted out of it by the middle of Septem- 
 ber. The cold of Germany was in proportion. How great the 
 change is now every one knows ; and the cause is cultivation. 
 All these countries are now much better cultivated than for- 
 merly, except Italy alone ; and though it was then populous 
 and well cultivated, yet it had not extent enough to be capable 
 to overcome the cold blast that poured ii) from the neighbour- 
 ing countries of Hungary, Poland, an^j^Mttany, which were 
 then almost a wilderness. But as these^f re now cultivated, 
 their atmosphere is become warm, and thit warmth affects Italy, 
 as the cold did formerly. Buffon, in his. natural history of the 
 Elk and Bein-Deer, writes well on this point. " It appears 
 then by positive testimonies, that i!ie rein-deer formerly existed 
 in France,'' &c. *^ It is certain that the rein-deer is now actu- 
 ally not to be found but in the most northern countries ; we 
 also know that the climate of Franco was heretofore much more 
 damp and cold, occasioned by the number of woods and moras- 
 ses, which are no longer to be seen. By the letter of the 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 BKMAIIfS or THB 
 
 
 Emporor Julian, we find thatitwas extremely ooKl in Paris in 
 his time; the dosoriptioD he gives of the ice of the Seine, per- 
 fectly resembles what our Canadians say of the Quebec river. 
 Oaul| under the same latitude as Canada, was, two thousand 
 years ago, what Canada is at this present time ; that is to say, 
 a climate cold enough for those animals to live in, which are 
 now only to be met with in the provinces of the north. 
 
 '' It appears to me, that the forests of Gaul and Germany 
 were stocked with elks and rein-deors. As soon as the earth 
 was jjultivated, and the waters dried up, the temperature of the 
 climate became milder, and those same animals who only do- 
 light in oold climates, immediately abandoned the flat countries, 
 and retired into a snowy region, on the top of high mountains, 
 where they lived in the time of Gaston du Foix ; and if they 
 are no longer to be found there, it is because this new tempera- 
 ture has ever since been increasing in heat, by the almost entire 
 destruction of the forests, and by the successive lowerings of 
 the mountains, the diminution of the waters, the multiplica- 
 tion of mankind, and by the continual decrease in every species 
 of the brute creation.'' 
 
 In the United States, the climaU- is greatly altered since 
 their population by Europeans. The winters are not so long, 
 the snow not so deep, the frosts not so severe, the north-wes- 
 terly winds ( the coldest in North America,) are not so frequent, 
 nor violent, nor lasting. Vessels used to beat for twenty or 
 thirty days against the north-west wind in the winter season 
 befi'- e they could gain a port ; now they are seldom kept off a 
 week. See an Estat/ on the Charge of Climate in the States 
 of North America in the American Museum for March 17S9. 
 
 Much the same is the case in tT o British dominions h(;vo. 
 The winters are shorter and milder than formerly. TIk ln^r- 
 bour of Halifax used to freeze, and often so strongly, that the 
 heaviest loads that horses or oxen could draw were transported 
 on the ice ; h^*^ it has not frozen within these ten years ] at 
 least so Btvn r:ly that a man might safely walk across. Even 
 the gulf of I'^i.. I<j wxence teems to feel the influence of cultiva- 
 
 \ 
 
Riy. JAMES MAOOBIOOR. D.O. 
 
 116 
 
 tion on tho neighbouring sliurec. It wai ouftoraarj for the 
 overnorofSt. John's ( Prince hdw trd'v ) Uland to send » 
 messenger ^rith letters thence lo Nova 8cotia on the ioe ; but 
 this has not been done the.s< ^ix or ei^i.l yt^ars past, cvn account 
 of the increasing danger of tho journey. The snow molts away 
 more than formerly, in the beginning of winter, by tho heat of 
 tho earth ; and in the spring by that of the air. Where tho 
 lund ia cleared, the winter is shorter by three or four weoKS 
 thu,n in the adjacent woods; nay, if a single acre be cloured 
 .wij rhcre in the woods, there, and for a small space farth^T, all 
 uround its edge, tho snow will melt sooner in the npring, 
 by two or three weeks, than in tho surrounding woods. More- 
 over, many of the swamps and smaller brooks dry up entirely 
 whon tho wood is cut down, and the land cleared. Thesr; aro 
 ascertained facts, which lay a foundation for the conclu on, 
 that cultivation has great influence in warming a cold cliiuate. 
 For if the culture of a single acre has such effect, for some 
 space uU round, as well as within itself, what must millions vt 
 square miles do ? 
 
 After all, it is not to be supposed that the polar regions will 
 over become hot oliraates. This must ever be prevented, by 
 the long absence of the sun in winter, and especially by the 
 obliquity of its rays, which prevents so many of them from fal- 
 ling on the same space, as in more southern climes. But 
 though the polar should never be near so hot as the tropical 
 i'egions, yet they may become easily habitable, and produce the 
 necessaries of life. How warm would the winters in Britain 
 be, notwithstanding the shortness of the day, were there no 
 north wind ! Much warmer must the summer at the poles, in 
 all reason, be supposed to be, when universal cultivation takes 
 place. There the sun is more elevated in summer than it ia in 
 Britain in winter, with the advantage of a constant sun without 
 setting, and, after the world is cultivated^ of uninterrupted as- 
 sistance from warmer climes. ■•/?, 
 
 Let the reader now reflect on that emphatic word in God's 
 grant of the earth to man, subdue it, and judge if it does not 
 
116 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 divinely authorize the above reasoning; subdue it, plainly 
 implying that, however perverse and difficult, no part of the 
 earth is absolutely unsubduable, but that the whole shall 
 actually be subdued. How is this to be done ? Let Buffon, 
 personating man, answer, " Brute nature is hideous, and it is 
 I, I alone, who am capable of rendering it agreeable. Let us 
 dry up these marshes ; let us open channels for all these stag* 
 nant waters ; let us form them into rivulets, into canals ', let us 
 destroy all these rank weeds, these withered and useless trees, 
 which encumber the ground. These things accomplished, in- 
 stead of the noisome productions of the earth, of which the 
 toad composes his venom, the fields will be adorned with the 
 ranunculus, and the trefoil, with every pleasant and salutary 
 herb ; flocks of bounding animals will tread on these grounds, 
 hitherto deemed impassable ; from them will they obtain a co- 
 pious subsistence, will they find an ever renovating pasture. 
 These new ideas let us still farther employ, in order to complete 
 our work; the ox subjected to the yoke shall exert all his 
 strength in tilling the ground, which will become young again 
 by our culture." — View of Nature. 
 
 Cultivation will produce a contrary effect in hot countries be- 
 tween the tropics, not by its own tendency, which would heat 
 them more, but by giving more energy to other causes which 
 already operate there, to allay the excessive heat. These are 
 thunder, lofby mountains, sea and land breezes, tropical rains, 
 &c. The heat of the air does not rise far above the surface of 
 the earth, as appears by carrying a thermometer to the top of a 
 high steeple, wher3 it will fall several degrees, and by the con- 
 tinual snow on the tops of high mountains at the equator. 
 Whatever, therefore, will agitate the atmosphere, so as to mix 
 the cold air above with the warm air below, will cool the sur- 
 face of the earth. Thunder, which happens often in hot cli- 
 mates, produces such agitation. So does the blowing of the 
 wind over a lofty mountain. Now, " the mountains between 
 the tropics are loftier than those of the temperate zones, and 
 these more than those of the frigid zones ; so that, the nearer 
 
\ 
 
 BEY. JAMES MACUREOOR, D.D. 
 
 117 
 
 we approach the equator, the greater are the inequalities of the 
 earth." — Bujffbn's Theory of the Earth. " The succession of 
 sea and land breezes renders the torrid zone not only habitable, 
 but comfortable. Besides, as these currents of cold air, rush- 
 ing from each side of the globe, [the trade-winds,] carrying 
 along with them vast quantities of aqueous vapours, which 
 they collect from the surface of the earth in their course, meet 
 and oppose one another at that part of the atmosphere where 
 the influence of the sun is greatest at the time, the water is, 
 therefore, forced from the clouds in such prodigious quantities, 
 as to produce a diversity of seasons in the torrid zone, some- 
 thing similar to what is experienced in more temperate cli- 
 mates ; with this diflFerence, however, that whereas, in tempe- 
 rate climates the warmest and most comfortable season is when 
 the sun approaches nearest perpendicular to them ; in these 
 warmer climates, the heavy rain which falls upon them in that 
 season, moderates the heat, and prevents the sun from having 
 such an effect as at other times it would ; so that their coldest and 
 most inconstant weather, which they call winter, is at that sea- 
 son, when, without this cause, they would be exposed to the 
 sun's most powerful influence." — Encyclop. Brit. Ed. I. Pneu- 
 matics. All the above causes will act more powerfully when 
 the heat of the tropical regions is increased by cultivation: 
 when nature produces a disease, she furnishes a remedy. 
 
 III. The earth and sea shall be amazingly fruitful. 
 
 Of the fertility of the earth, the Scriptures speak thus : 
 " The wilderness, and the solitary place shall be glad for them, 
 and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall 
 blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing : the 
 glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Car- 
 mel and Sharon. In the wilderness shall waters break out, 
 and streams in the desert, and the parched ground shall become 
 a pool, and the dry land, springs of water j in the habitation 
 of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and 
 rushes." " I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in 
 the midst of the valleys, I will make the wilderness a pool of 
 
118 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 water, and the dryland springs of water; I will plant in the 
 wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the 
 oil tree : I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and 
 the box tree together." " The Lord shall comfort Zion, he will 
 comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness 
 like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy 
 and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice 
 of melody/' ''Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir 
 tree, and instead of the brier, tho myrtle tree." "It shall 
 come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down 
 new wine, and all the hills shall flow with milk." " The wil- 
 derness shall be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field counted 
 for a forest." " I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear 
 the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and 
 the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel." " For the seed shall be 
 prosperous, the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall 
 give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew." *' He 
 will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and 
 the latter rain in the first month. And the floor shall be full 
 of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And 
 ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of 
 the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you." 
 " Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the ploughman 
 shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him that 
 soweth ; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the 
 hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my 
 people, Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit 
 them ', and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine 
 thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of 
 them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall 
 no more be pulled up out. of the land which I have given 
 them." " Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou 
 shalt sow the ground withal, and bread of the increase of the 
 earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous; in that day shall thy 
 cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise, and the 
 young asses that ear the ground, shall eat clean provender 
 
BEY. JAMES MACQREOOR, D.D. 
 
 119 
 
 of 
 
 my 
 fibit 
 
 which hath been wianowed with the shovel and the fan. And 
 there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high 
 hill, rivers and streams of water." " Therefore shall they come 
 and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the 
 goodness of the Lo'rd, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, 
 and for the young of the flock, and of the herd ; and their soul 
 shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any 
 more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both 
 young men and old together ; for I will turn their mourning 
 into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from 
 their sorrow. And I will satiate the souls of the priests with 
 fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, 
 saith the Lord." Isa. zzzv. 1, 2, 6, 7 ; zli. 18, 19 ; li. 3 ; Iv. 
 13. Joel iii. 18. Isa. zxzii. 15. Hos. ii. 21, 22. Zech. viii. 
 12. Joel ii. 23, 24, 26. Amos ix. 13-15. Isa. xxx. 23-25. 
 Jer. zzzi. 12, 13, 14. From these Scriptures it appears that 
 God will make wildernesses and barrens to become useful and 
 fruitful ; and dry and sandy deserts, as those of Africa, to be- 
 come well- watered countries; so that they shall vie in fertility 
 with the land flowing with milk and honey. Human industry 
 shall be the means. The world being freed from war, oppres- 
 sion, and excess, and the arts arrived at perfection, man will 
 have wonderful opportunity of turning his attention to culti- 
 vate the earth, and his success will be more than can be con- 
 ceived at present. If, in the midst of the distractions that 
 have hitherto prevailed in the world, Malta, for example, has 
 been changed from a barren rock to fertile fields, what happy 
 changes may not be expected to take place in the barrens, 
 deserts, lakes, morasses, mountains, and rocks, and all sorts of 
 stubborn and uiitowardly places in that happy period, when 
 there shall be nothing to interrupt or hinder ; but everything 
 to encourage and advance that useful art, the cultivation of the 
 earth ! What can withstand the industry of man, with the as- 
 sistance of God ? It can subdue the earth. Thus, the world, 
 from pole to pole, shal? be as a fertile garden, the seasons 
 
120 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 favourable, and harvests rich, during the long reign of the Mil- 
 lennium. 
 
 As to the sea, we may use the words of Ezekiel, speaking of 
 this very time, concerning the fish of the Dead Sea. " There 
 shall be a very great multitude of fish. It shall come to pass, 
 that the fishers shall stand upon it, from En-Gedi even unto 
 Eneglaim ; they shall be a place to spread forth nets, their fish 
 shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, 
 exceeding many,'' Ezek. zlvii. 9, 10. How amazing, then, 
 must be the number in the great sea itself ! and in all the seas ! 
 Fishes, because of their motion, must occupy more room in the 
 sea than corn does on land ; but by reason of the great depth 
 of the sea, a very great multitude of fish may have space 
 enough, under a very small surface ; for they may be storied 
 above one another, almost without end. Hence, the sea will 
 yield an inconceivable quantity of provisions, perhaps much 
 more than the land in proportion to its surface. And the 
 fishers and curers shall have full knowledge of their several 
 arts. 
 
 IV. The world shall be very populous, and the gospel uni- 
 versally successful. 
 
 It is impossible now to conceive either how fruitful the earth 
 will be, or how numerous the people ; but there will be a mu- 
 tual proportion. The present inhabitants may doubtless be 
 multiplied by thousands or myriads. " They of the city," the 
 church, "shall flourish like the grass of the earth," Psal. Ixxii. 
 16 ; that is, shall abound in number like the grass. " A little 
 one shall become a thousand, and a small one, a strong nation," 
 Isa. Iz. 22, as if there should be not only a thousand, but a 
 BtroDg nation for each individual that lived in the days of the 
 prophet, — perhaps a more literal truth than is suspected. "As 
 the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of 
 the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my ser- 
 vant, and the Levites that minister unto me," Jer. xxxiii. 21. 
 The seed of David were the civil rulers in Israel, and the Le- 
 vites were the clergy. This prophecy, therefore, seems to be 
 

 » 
 
 REV. JAMES MACaREOOR, D.D. 
 
 121 
 
 confined to the multiplication of magistrates and ministers ; 
 but if these shall be innumerable, how inconceivable shall the 
 multitude of the people be ! "I will increase them with men 
 like a flock, as the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her 
 solemn feasts, so shall the waste cities bo filled with flocks of 
 men, and they shall know that I am the Lord," Ezek. xxxvi. 
 37, 38. Vast was the concourse of people in Jerusalem, when 
 all the males of Israel flocked from every corner of the land, to 
 attend the solemn feasts in that city : such will be the popula- 
 tion of cities in general during the Millennium, — a most aston- 
 ishing number of people. 
 
 But a considerable difiiculty occurs here. The Millennium, 
 being a time of peace and plenty, of health and sobriety, all 
 which are favourable to population, it is naturally to be ex- 
 pected that the inhabitants should Increase much faster than 
 before, when they were oppressed with wars, famines, plagues, 
 and various excesses ; yet, if they increase but as fast, the earth 
 will not be able to hold them, long before that period ends. It 
 is certain a thousand years is sufficient to multiply mankind to 
 as great extent as the earth can bear, be it ever so fertile; it is, 
 therefore, to be supposed, that by one or two thousand years 
 after the beginning of the Millennium, population shall arrive 
 at a height, and thenceforward continue nearly the same. The 
 cause we leave with time to unfold, only observing, that the 
 more populous a country is, the less it increases, independently 
 of wars, emigrations, and the common casualties that destroy 
 mankind. In America, the families arc larger than in Europe, 
 and fewer die in infancy. The gracious design of the promised 
 multiplication of mankind is, that in the ages to come, God 
 may show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness 
 toward them through Christ Jesus, and for this purpose the 
 gospel shall be preached unto all nations with unprecedented 
 success. 
 
 1. The gospel shall be preached to all nations. On this point 
 the Scripture uses the most extensive language possible. " It shall 
 come to jj^B in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house 
 U 
 
122 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 . t' ■ 'J^ 
 
 shall be established on the top of the mountains, and be exalted 
 above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it, and many 
 people shall go, and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the 
 mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and 
 he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." 
 " He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river 
 unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness 
 shall bow before him. — The kings of Tarshish, and of the isles 
 shall bring presents ; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer 
 gifts. Yea, all Icings shall fall down before him, all nations 
 shall serve him." i' From the rising of the sun even unto the 
 going down of the same, my name shall be great among the 
 Gentiles, and in '^i^er^ p/ace incense shall be offered unto my 
 name.'' <' AU the ends of the earth shall remember, and turn 
 unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall wor- 
 ship before thee." Isa. ii. 2, 3. Psal. Ixxii. 8, 9, 10, 11. Mai. 
 i. 11. Psal. xxii. 27. Many other Scriptures might be cited 
 to the same purpose, but suffice it to add the apostolic commis- 
 sion, which is both the warrant and security for preaching the 
 gospel to all nations : " Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 gospel to every creature." " Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
 nations, — and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 the world." Mark xvi. 15. Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. 
 
 2. With unprecedented success. For the devil shall be sealed 
 in the bottomless pit, and the Holy Spirit poured out upon all 
 flesh. Countless, therefore, and inconceivable shall be the 
 number of converts to the gospel. The great body of the peo- 
 ple at least, among all nations, through all that long period, 
 shall be true believers. Sometimes the Scripture seems to in- 
 sinuate that there will be a remnant of unbelievers even in that 
 happy time, and at other times the contrary; and perhaps the 
 best way to reconcile these seeming opposites, may be to sup- 
 pose that the success of the gospel shall not be uniform 
 throughout the Millennium ; but that, near its beginning and 
 end, there will be a few unbelievers mixed with the saints ; and 
 that, at its meridian, none but saints shall be found tlifough all 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 REV. JAMES MACaREQOR, D.D. 123 
 
 tlie earth. Or, if it be too much to akj that the world shall at 
 any time be free of unbelievers, then it must at any rate be, 
 that they shall bo so inconsiderable as to deserve no mention, 
 for the Scripture often overlooks them, as if they had no being. 
 " Th«y lived not again till the thousand years were finished." 
 "There shall be no more rtie Canaanite [the hypocrite or 
 profane] in the house of the Lord." Kev. zz. 5. Zech. ziv. 
 21. The promises of the success of the gospel are in the most 
 universal terms. '< They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my 
 holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
 the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." "■ They shall teach no 
 more every man his neighbour, and dvery roan his brother, 
 saying, Know the Lord ; for they shall all know roe from the 
 least of them even unto the greatest of them.'' Isa. zi. 9. Jer. 
 zzzi. 34. Again, " Thy people shall be all righteous." Isa. 
 Iz. 21. Kighteous here does not mean the members of (he in- 
 visible church merely, for in that sense the promise was ful- 
 filled in every age, but in the sense of the prophet it is not to 
 be fulfilled until the Millennium ; therefore it must mean the 
 members of the visible church. Once more, ** All Israel shall 
 be saved." Rom. zi. 26. This also is a promise peculiar to 
 the Millennium ; therefore Israel does not mean the spiritual 
 Israel, which was saved in all ages, but Israel after the flesh. 
 What a cheering prospect for Jew and Gentile ! what a magnifi- 
 cent view of divine grace I As far above the common, as the 
 Newtonian astronomy is above that of the unlettered peasant. 
 
 y. Civil government, in its best form, shall be administered 
 with wisdom and equity. 
 
 The government in the Millennium is ascribed to Christ him- 
 self. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
 raise unto David a righteous branch, and a King shall rule 
 and prosper J and he shall ezecute judgment and justice in the 
 earth." " He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save 
 the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppres- 
 sor." Jer. zziii. 5. Psal. Ixzii. 4. It is also ascribed to the 
 laints, in conjunction with him. " I saw the souls of them 
 
124 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word 
 of God; — and they lived [in their successors,] and reigned with 
 Christ a thousand years. — They shall be priests of God and of 
 Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Rev. xx. 4. 6. 
 Though that reign does not mean mere civil government, yet it 
 includes it, and implies that it to* shall be in the hands of the 
 saints. It is more plainly declared in other scriptures. " The 
 kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
 the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of 
 the Most High." Dan. vii. 27. That question, which now 
 employs so many tongues, pens, and swords, whether a monar« 
 chical or republican form of government is best, shall be clearly 
 and finally decided before that time. Enough of experiments 
 upon government have not yet been made to decide the ques- 
 tion ; but men are still making more ; and when the result is 
 known, the best will be established, and shall prosper. If it be 
 monarchy, all the kings will be Davids and Solomons ; if re- 
 publicanism, it shall not be rash, faithless, nor ambitious ; but 
 prudent, equitable, and peaceful. The magistrates shall possess 
 the spirit and temper of Christ ; so that it shall not be so much 
 they who govern, as Chil&t in them. << Kings shall be thy 
 nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers." " Thou 
 shalt suck the breasts of kings. — I will also make thy officers 
 peace, and thine exactors righteousness." Isa. xliz. 23; Ix. 
 16, 17. 
 
 The consequence to the subjects will be, 1. A happy freedom 
 from every species of tyranny and oppression. " In righteous- 
 ness shalt thou be established ; thou shalt be far from oppression, 
 for thou shalt not fear ; and from terror, for it shall not come 
 near thee." '< Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,, 
 Wisting nor destruction within thy borders ; but thou shalt call 
 thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise." Isa. liv. 14 ; Ix. 18. 
 2. A. full and happy enjoyment of liberty and prosperity, nay, 
 of true liberty and equality. " They shall sit every man under 
 bis vine, and under his fig-tree, and none shall make them 
 afraid." " The Lord hath sworn by his right band, and by tho 
 
■■ ■{ i 
 
 REV. JAMES MACQREOOR, D.D. 
 
 125 
 
 arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to he 
 meat for thine enemies, and the sons of the strangers sh' not 
 drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured ; but ihey 
 that have gathered it shall cat it, and praise the Lord ; and they 
 that have jbrought it together, shall drink it in the courts of my 
 holiness." << They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and 
 they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them ; they 
 shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and 
 another eat ; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, 
 and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They 
 shall not labour in vain, nor oring forth for trouble ; for they 
 are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring 
 with them." Mic. iv. 4. Tsa. Ixii. 8, 9 ; Ixv, 21, 22, 23. 
 
 YI. Universal peace shall reign. 
 
 '< The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the 
 little hills by righteousness. In his day," (the Messiah's,) 
 " the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace so long 
 as the moon endureth." " All thy children shall bo taught of 
 the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children." " For ye 
 shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace, the moun- 
 tains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, 
 and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." " For 
 thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a 
 river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream." 
 Psal. Ixxii. 3. 7. Isa. liv. 13; Iv. 12; Ixvi. 12. Peace is put 
 in scripture for health and happiness, for perfect prosperity. 
 As it respects the Millennium, it is a most comprehensive 
 blessing, including an inward religious peace with God and 
 conscience, and every species of outward peace, domestic, civil, 
 ecclesiastic, and political, with a most universal prevalence of 
 a peaceful disposition in men and animals. The first is a ne- 
 cessary attendant on the eminent faith and holiness which shall 
 obtain in the latter days. Nor are promises of the rest want- 
 ing. Instead of household brawls and animosities, or envy and 
 malice among neighbours, men shall enjoy all the sweets of 
 
 domestic society, and the agreeable harmony of good neighbour- 
 11* 
 
126 
 
 REMAINS or TDB 
 
 hood. '' My people shall dwell iu a peaceful habitation, in sur«* 
 dwellings, and in quiet resting-places." " Ephraim shall not civy 
 Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim." Isa. xxxii. 18 j xi. 13. Dispu- 
 ting, division, and excommunication in the church, shall give 
 place to universal union and communion, on the firm foundation 
 of truth. " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
 that bringeth good tidings, that publishcth peace, that briiigcth 
 good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith 
 unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! Thy watchmen shall lift up the 
 voice, with the voice together shall they sing ; for they shall 
 see eye to eye, when the Lord bringeth again Zion." Isa. 
 lii. 7, 8. 
 
 War shiill cease j for, in the following sublime and bcauti^'ul 
 strain, sing the evangelical Isaiah and Micah : ''They hYAI 
 beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pru- 
 ning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation ; 
 neither shall they learn war any more." Isa. ii. 4. Mic. iv. 3. 
 Oh, happy era ! fraught with blessings to wretched man ! Oh, 
 foolish nations 1 who know not that your happiness consists in 
 peace ! Why may you not enjoy the promised blessings without 
 delay ? Why take up arms to effect your own rivn, or prolong 
 your own misery ? for in seeking to destroy others, you in re- 
 ality destroy yourselves. And chiefly you, ye rulers, ministers 
 of States, generals, admirals, who drag from their peaceful 
 abodes, the unwilling tradesman and peasant; who put hatred 
 in their hearts, and swords in their hands, to murder by thou- 
 sands, those who never gave them the smallest offence, peace- 
 able but deluded men like themselves ; you are the troublers of the 
 world, you lay waste the earth, you disperse the nations, you 
 prevent the weal of millions unborn, you destroy your own pro- 
 jects of happiness ! But God is hastening the time when man, 
 more ferocious and cruel, more dreaded by man than the lion 
 or tiger, shall become man again, mild and benign. The golden 
 age shall return, and peace extend her gentle sway over the 
 nations. Then shall man happily exchange the horrid din of 
 arms, and the barbarous honours of war, for the peaceful and 
 
 
REV. JAMKS MACORiaOR, S.D. 
 
 127 
 
 truly honourable cmployinonts of husbandry and vino drc8»« 
 ing. IIo Hlmll forget thut inhuman learning, tho art of train- 
 ing man to excel in the various, regular, and comprchcnBive 
 murder of man ; and shall learn to view him as his brother, 
 and to embrace him in tho arms of friendship and affection. 
 Ho shall coaso to rack his brain in search of new inventions of 
 destruction. The wealth of nations shall no more be drained 
 to destroy tho property of nations. Subjects shall no longer be 
 oppressed with insupportable taxes, employed in tho devasta- 
 tion of the world ; but universal love and peace shall unite all 
 tho nations into ono society of brothers, one band of friends. 
 For then the fierce and turbulent passions shall be brought un- 
 der the dominion of reason and grace. A pcacenbk temper 
 shall bo diffused so universally, that every one shall bo more 
 ready to bear than give provocation. The following beautiful 
 figures are employed to describe this temper of peace : " The 
 wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie 
 down with the kid ; and the calf, and the young lion, and the 
 falling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the 
 cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down 
 together ; and tho lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the suck- 
 ing child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned 
 child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not 
 hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain," Isa. xi. 6, 7, 8, 9. 
 However, we presume that these expressions are not so to be 
 applied to the happy change which shall take place in the tem- 
 per of man, as to exclude their literal signification. Scripture 
 is to be understood in a literal sense, unless it be attended with 
 absurdity, or some circumstance that makes it evident the Spi- 
 rit of God intended it should be excluded j neither of which 
 is the case here. The wildest animals may be made as tame 
 and harmless as the sheep or the cow. To suppose that they 
 shall be so, seems even necessary to complete the harmony of 
 the Millennium. It is not too great a benefit for that God to 
 grant, who hath said, " In that day I will make a covenant for 
 them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, 
 
128 
 
 BEMAINS or THl 
 
 and with the creeping thingn of the ground ; &nd I will break 
 thp bow, and the sword, and the battle out of the earth, and 
 will muko thum to lio down eafoly," Hos. ii. 18. Nor ought 
 wo 80 to undurrato the abilities of man, as to judge him inca> 
 pable of being the means to produce such a change. In fuct, 
 animals are not harder to bo tamed than man. Wonders have 
 been dono already in particular cases ; for " every kind of 
 boasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the 
 sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind," Jam. iii. 7. 
 A great deal more may bo done when the world is cultivated, 
 so that wild bocsts must be habituated to the sight of man, 
 when now uses shall bo known to which they may be applied, 
 and when men shall have full time, opportunity, and skill, to 
 excel in tho art of taming. Nor is it for nothing that God 
 said to man at tho creation, " Have dominion over tho fish of 
 the sea, and over the fowl of tho air, and over every living 
 thing that moveth upon the earth." And after the flood, " The 
 fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of 
 the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that 
 moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into 
 your hands are they delivered." Gen. i. 28 } ix. 2. 
 
 VII. Learning shall be in a state of high perfection. 
 
 ^'The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, 
 and the light of tho sun seven fold, as the light of seven days," 
 Isa. zxz. 26. This figurative prophecy may include learning 
 and science as well as spiritual knowledge. ^< Many shall run 
 to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased ;" and " the heart 
 also of the rash shall understand knowledge," Dan. zii. 4. Isa. 
 zxzii. 4. The former prophecy foretells the advancement of 
 science, by means of travelling, navigation, and an easy communi- 
 cation between nations ; and the latter shows its extent, for then 
 it shall reach to the most vulgar and inconsiderate. Such Scrip- 
 tures as the following may be applied to the arts : " Behold, I 
 will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations 
 with sapphires. And I will make thy windows with agates, 
 and thy gates of oarbuncles; and all thy borders of pleasant 
 
 

 Lsa. 
 
 of 
 
 ini- 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 
 
 REV. JAMEH MACORBOOR, D.D. 
 
 129 
 
 mt 
 
 Btoncs." " The glory of Ticbanon shall come unto thcc, the fir 
 tree, and the pino tre»% and the box, together, to beautif}- the 
 place of my sanctuary j and I will make the place of my Icot 
 glorious." '' For brass I will brinj^ gold, and for iron 1 will 
 bring silver; and for wood, brass, and for stones, iron." lsa. 
 liv. 11, 12; Ix. 13. 17. Man is of an active and enterprising 
 spirit, ond the Millennium will give scope to all his talents; 
 and the consequcuoo mast bo astonishing success in all his un- 
 dertakings. Learning and philosophy have made considerable 
 advances already, in opposition to every possible obstacle of 
 poverty, barbarity, tyranny, persecution, wor, oppression, super- 
 stition, &c. Who, then, can say to what height they may at- 
 tain, when they shall have every encouragement and assistance 
 that can be desired ? Whatever is now known, even the most 
 admired productions and inventions, shall then make a very 
 insignificant appearance ; and the name of the greatest part of 
 authors, who are now supposed to be in secure possession of 
 immortality, shall be for ever forgotten, when the celebrated 
 productions of that age appear, as the stars are lost in the 
 brightness of the sun. Perhaps there may be a small remem- 
 brance of a Luther, a Calvin, a Columbus, and a Newton ; but 
 the common herd of famous authors shali be as if they had not 
 been. Nothing shall be hid from man at that time, which shall 
 conduce to his comfortable living in the world. He shall have 
 a full knowledge of agriculture and botany, to enable him to 
 reap the richest harvests, to use the most wholesome grain, 
 herbs, and roots for food, and to make every proper use of vege- 
 tables; of mechanics, and machinery, to enable him to per- 
 form the most work with the least toil ; of navigation, to facil- 
 itate commerce, the intercourse of nations, and the success of 
 the gospel ; and so of the rest. 
 
 But the prosperity of religion shall be the most conspicuous 
 thing in the Millennium. External comforts and advantages 
 shall be enjoyed, not for themselves, but as conducive to the 
 advancement of religion. The Scripture represents the Millen- 
 nium as a period most remarkable for godliness, spiritual mind- 
 
 * 
 
 1- 
 
 J 
 
'^.-.■•^iT-iTij^Jir'-' 
 
 130 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ednesH, and communion with God, and the native fruits of these, 
 spiritual joy and peace. We shall be more brief in describing 
 the spiritual prosperity of the Millennium, because, though 
 more important, it is more obvious, and oftcner handled, than 
 its temporal prosperity. These things are most observable 
 in it: 
 
 1. The binding of Satan : " And I saw an angel come down 
 from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a f^reat 
 chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old 
 serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thou- 
 sand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him 
 up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations 
 no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled," Bev. xz. 
 1, 2, 3. Most forcible words ! expressive of a most eflFectual 
 restraint laid upon the devil, that he can do no more harm in 
 the world, than if he were out of being. What an inconceiv- 
 able deliverance to the church ! Satan consists of countless 
 myriads of restless, crafty, and evil spirits, going to and fro 
 through the earth, tempting man, not only unseen, but often 
 under the disguise of good, to every species of wickedness. 
 Perhaps there is no evil under the sun in which he has not a 
 hand. We forbear to particularize. Of all that the Church 
 will be rid at once, when he is sealed in the bottomless pit. 
 
 2. A clear and comprehensive knowledge of the gospel and 
 law of Christ. The devil's agency to keep man in ignorance 
 shall be prevented. His own natural ignorance shall be re- 
 moved by the grant of the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of wisdom 
 and understanding, of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 
 He shall have all necessary knowledge of his natural guilt and 
 depravity ; of his actual transgressions in thought, word, and 
 deed ; of the merited curse, and of God's method of salvation. 
 In these ages to come, God will show the exceeding riches of 
 his grace, in his kindness towards man through Christ Jesus. 
 And, doubtless, they shall count all things but loss for the ex- 
 cellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and but dung, that 
 they may win Christ, and be found in him, not having their 
 
 . 
 
 ^ 
 
 ' t*';i: .;.^.. . 
 
REV. JAMES MAGOBEGOR, D.D. 
 
 131 
 
 own righteonsDcss, which is of the law, but that which is by 
 the faith of Christ. Of the clearer knowledge of that time, 
 Isaiah says, '^ The light of the moon shall be as the light of the 
 sun, and the light of the sun seven fold, as the light of seven 
 days,'' Isa. xxx. 26. Nay, he uses words which one cannot 
 well tell how to apply to anything on this side of heaven : 
 " The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for bright- 
 ness shall the moon give light unto thee ; but the Lord shall 
 be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy 
 sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw 
 itself : for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the 
 days of thy mourning shall be ended," Isa. Is. 19, 20. 
 
 3. Unfeigned holiness. Holiness shall be the most conspicu* 
 ous feature in the glory of the Millennium. It is indeed the 
 beauty and excellency of man or angel. Without it he is a 
 devil ', with it, a companion for the Deity. It conforms the 
 soul to God, the practice and conversation to his law. It is 
 attended with a sacred abhorrence of all iniquity, a delight in 
 the word of God, and a pious imitation of the example of Christ. 
 It is truly its own reward, banishing from the heart all turbu- 
 lent passions and tormenting lusts ; filling the soul with sweet 
 serenity, solid contentment, and happiness. If it turned earth 
 into heaven, to the holy prophets and apostles amid their per- 
 secutions, what sweets must it yield to the saints during the 
 calm and peaceful reign of the Millennium ! Thereby the church 
 will be " an eternal excellency;" "A crown of glory in the hand 
 of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God," Isa. Ix. 
 15; Ixii. 3. Isaiah describes the Millennium saints under the sa- 
 cred character of priests : " Ye shall be named the priests of the 
 Lord, men shall call you the ministers of our God," Isa. Ixi. 6. 
 And so does John, " They shall be priests of God, and of Christ, 
 and shall reign with him a thousand years." Eev. xx. 6. 
 Zechariah hath these remarkable words on the same subject : 
 " In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, holi- 
 ness UNTO THE Lord ; — yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in 
 Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts," Zech. xiv. 20, 
 
 * 
 
132 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 If. 
 
 21. Isaiah adds, "A highway shall be there, and a way, and 
 it shall be called the way of holiness," Isa. xxxv. 8. 
 
 4. Delightful communion with God. " The name of the 
 city from that day shall be, The Lord is there," Ezek. xlviii. 
 35. God will give large measures of his gracious presence to 
 his people, and their souls shall he enlarged to receive out of 
 his fulness, grace for grace, and to praise him for his goodness. 
 Their affections shall be set on things above : God in Christ 
 will be the main object of their meditation, desire, and hope. 
 " Thou shalt no more be termed, Forsaken ', neither shall thy 
 land any more be termed, Desolate ; but thou shalt be called 
 Hephzi-bah and thy land, Beulah : for the Lord delighteth in 
 thee, and thy land shall be married. — As the bridegroom re- 
 joiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," 
 Isa. Ixii. 4, 5. A special part of this communion consists in 
 pious and earnest prayers on their part and ready answers on 
 God's part. " It shall come to pass, that before they call, I 
 will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear," 
 Isa. Ixv. 24. The sum of it is, " I will be their God, and they 
 shall be my people," Jer. xxxi. 33. A promise oft repeated, 
 still with a view to the Millennium^ and then to have an emi- 
 nent accomplishment. ^ *^ 
 
 5. Fulness of joy. This must follow of course. If great 
 temporal prosperity be enjoyed, and much faith, holiness, and 
 communion with God, and if sin and Satan be subdued, what 
 can hinder the joy of the saints ? God promises, •• I will make 
 thee a joy of many generations." — " Behold, I create Jerusalem 
 a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusa- 
 lem and joy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall no 
 more be heard in her, nor the voice of crying." " Rejoice ye 
 with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her : 
 rejoice with joy for her, all ye that mourn for her. As one 
 whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you ; and ye 
 shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And when ye see this, your 
 heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb." 
 Isa. Ix. 15 ; Ixv. 18, 19 ; Ixvi. 10, 13, 14. , 
 
EEV. JAMES MACGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 133 
 
 Passing by some objections of Icbs account, we shall notice 
 one which has great weight with many of the best Christians 
 iu the world. It is this, The above view of the jMillennium 
 represents the number of saints to be at last vastly greater than 
 that of the wicked, which is inconsistent with the words of 
 Christ: " Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which iead- 
 eth unto lite, and few there be which find it." " Many are 
 called, but few are chosen." " Fear not, little flock." 31att. 
 xvi.l4; xxii. 14. Luke xii. 32; words from which it may be 
 inferred, that the number of the wicked shall be greatest by 
 far. We answer, the inference is not just. It is founded on 
 this false supposition, that Christ intt tided to apply these words 
 
 to all generations. 
 
 There is nothing in the Wv.rds themselves 
 
 w." 
 
 to justify such a supposition; for he speaks not in the future, 
 but the present time. There is nothing in any other part of 
 Scripture to justify it j for nowhere is it said, directly or in- 
 directly, that at the end of the world, the righteous shall be 
 comparatively few. The Millennium will introduce such a change 
 into the church, that these words cannot be applied both to it 
 and to the time before it, any more than the first part of that 
 sentence, " Vv'hereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so 
 that no man went through thee; I will make thee an eternal 
 excellency, a joy of many generations." To maintain that, be- 
 cause the righteous were comparatively few in the days of 
 Christ's humiliation, or hitherto, therefore they must be so al- 
 ways, is as absurd as to maintain, that because the coming of 
 Christ was a matter of futurity to the prophets, therefore it 
 must be so always. Let us compare the above three texts to 
 other three. " Thy people shall be all righteous." " All Israel 
 shall be saved." "They shall all know me." Isa. Ix. 21. Bom. 
 xi. 26. Jer. xxxi. 34. Are not the latter texts as true as the 
 former ? Yes. Can they be both applied to the same time ? 
 Surely no. How then are they to be reconciled ? IJy apply- 
 ing them to different times ; like Isa. Ix. 15. The objection 
 goes on the supposition, that the world will always be as wicked, 
 or nearly so, as it has been hitherto j but what will then come 
 12 
 
 1 
 
134 REMAINS OP THE REV. JAMES MAOOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 of all the great promises of the universal success of the gospel ? 
 The truth is, that, when Christ spoke the words in question, 
 iiis followers were few, and it would have been false to call 
 them many, but in the Millennium a little one shall become a 
 thousand, and a small one a strong nation ; then it will be false 
 to call them few. But the real strength of the objection lies 
 in this, that the prevailing wickedness of the world is, and has 
 been all along, a fact, seen and felt; whereas the eminent ho- 
 liness and goodness of the Millennium is out of sight, a matter 
 of mere prophecy or promise. Now, it is di£Gicult to believe 
 prophecy in opposition to facts and experience. How improba- 
 ble did the spread of the gospel among the Gentiles appear to 
 the Jews, even to the true disciples of Christ ! So the glories of 
 the Millennium appear to the present age. 
 
 Of the time when the Millennium commences, we say no- 
 thing. Great preparations are necessary ; but how fast or how 
 slow these may be made, we cannot judge. However, we per- 
 ceive them begun, in the revolutions of nations, the progress 
 of arts and sciences, especially of experimental philosophy and 
 navigation ; in the growth of commerce, and the multiplicity 
 of new inventions; in the discovering and peopling of new 
 countries, and the civilization of barbarous nations ; in the 
 sending of the gospel to the heathen, and even in the horrors 
 of war. Jehovah will hasten it in its time. It is probable 
 that the glories of the Millennium will open by degrees, and 
 that its very beginning may comprehend hundreds or thous- 
 ands of years. ' 
 
 \\ 
 
 tYiUli 
 
 m, 
 
 «( 
 
« • 
 
 M 
 
 A GUIDE TO BAPTISM. 
 
 BEINO 
 
 I 
 
 AN ATTEMPT TO GUIDE THE PLAIN CHRISTIAN 
 
 tTNTO THB 
 
 SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE 
 
 OF BAPTISM. 
 
 WRITTEN ABOUT THE TEAR 1826. 
 
 ■^•' 
 
i*. 
 
 ' .Vr*^ 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The author of the following tract was brought up a Pcdo- 
 baptist, but in consequence of reading the arguments on the 
 Baptists' side he hesitated. He searched anew the New Tes- 
 tament as impartially as he could, and with a fear lest his early 
 prejudice for infant Baptism might mislead him. Still, how- 
 ever, he hesitated, for there he could not see a clear founda- 
 tion for either side. There he could not pee a command for, 
 or an example of, infant baptism so plain as to satisfy him ; nor 
 could he find satisfactory evidence for or against immersion, 
 but still he thought that all light on God's Baptism should be 
 expected from searching, not heathen avthors, but God's own 
 word. Providence having led him to notice Paul's phrases, 
 " doctrines of Baptism," in Heb. vi., and " divers Baptisms,'' 
 as the words should be rendered in Heb. iz., he was and is 
 persuaded that he found a clew to guide him into the truth. 
 Paul sent him to Moses. To Moses he went, and among his 
 Baptisms he found one, which, as he believes, the Prophets 
 foretell shall continue till the end of time-. Building the in- 
 structions of the New Testament upon this foundation, he is 
 satisfied that sprinkling of infants with clean water is an ordi- 
 nance of God. 
 
 He has a great regard and a strong feeling of sympathy for 
 his Baptist brethren ; but for the direction of his mind to 
 views of Baptism differing from theirs, he accounts himself 
 bound to be thankful. His best wish for them, is, that laying 
 aside as far as possible the prejudice on their side, they may 
 attentively hear Moses and the Prophets on this subject as well 
 as the New Testanent. 
 
 12* 137 
 
138 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 A GUIDE TO BAPTISM. 
 
 It pleased Ood to appoint in his Church an ordinance in 
 Tvhich the sprinkling of its members with water represents 
 purification from sin by the blood of Christ. In the English 
 version of the Bible, this rite is called ** cleansing/' or " purifi- 
 cation/' in the Old Testament, and Baptism in the New; but it 
 ought to be called by the same name in both, for in both the 
 ordinance is substantially the same, and in both the original 
 words signify the same thing. " Cleansing," or " purification/' 
 is a plainer translation than " Baptism/' for Baptism is not 
 properly speaking a translation at all, but a Greek word in an 
 Englisli dress, ^nd still needs a translation. " Cleansing" is 
 the plainest, being the only word of the three which is pure 
 English, but " purification/' though derived from the Latin, is 
 used so commonly in the English language, that it is under- 
 stood perhaps as well as if it were a native word. It is far 
 otherwise with '' Baptism." The English reader cannot easily 
 find its meaning, for its use is so confined as to be almost, if not 
 altogether, appropriated to express this rite. It seems to have 
 been invented for this very purpose, though with some detri- 
 ment to truth, and without any just cause, since it was not 
 needed. Nevertheless, custom has established its use so long, 
 as now to forbid the substitution of any other word. 
 
 Had the whole Scripture been originally written in one lan- 
 guage, this rite would have been expressed by one word from 
 the beginning to the end, because there could have been no 
 occasion for a change ; of course one word would have expressed 
 it in the English version also, and probably in all others, for 
 the same reason. Had the Hebrew of the Old Testament been 
 continued through the New, the words "Tahar" and others, 
 
 A^ 
 
 ^■w,- 
 
iVf^ 
 
 REV. JAMES MACQREOOR, D.D. * 
 
 189 
 
 » 
 
 mHn 
 
 t f 
 
 ''ommonly used in the Old Testament, would have been ns com- 
 monly used in the New, and have hud the .san)o translation, viz., 
 " cleansing" or "purificatiuu," in which case the word Baptism 
 would not have beon seen in the Enj^lish New Testament, nor 
 perhaps in the En<^lish language, because " cleansing" or "pu- 
 rification" would have pre-occupied its place. On the other 
 hand had the Old Testament been written in Greek like tlie 
 New, instead of the word " cleansing" or " purification," the 
 English version would have had the word " Baptism" frequently 
 in the Levitical law, and occasionally throughout the Old Tes- 
 tament, as well as the New, and with the same signification. 
 In either of these cases one word and of course one idea, would 
 have been used throughout the Scripture, which would have 
 facilitated unity of sentiment respecting the ordinance itself. 
 
 But the Scripture was originally written in two languages, 
 the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New in Greek, on which 
 account two words, one for each language, became necessary for 
 expressing one and the same rite. But in translating these 
 two words into any one language, as the English, propriety and 
 consistency required that one word only should have been used ; 
 because whatever word would have been a just translation of 
 the one would have been so of the other. Had this been done, 
 it would have rendered the connection of the Old and New 
 Testament Baptism more apparent, and probably have pre- 
 vented the debate between the Baptists and the Pedobaptists j 
 whereas the use of different words in translating the same rito 
 has occasioned a confusion of ideas and a strife about woids not 
 likely soon to end. 
 
 If I mistake not, the debate is immediately owing to the mere 
 fact, that the word Baptism does not occur in our version of 
 the Old Testament. Honce it has been supposed that the 
 thing itself did not then exist, and that John was the first who 
 baptized j whereas the truth is that Baptism was administered 
 more frequently before his time than since. There is another 
 fact which helps on this debate. In the English version the 
 Baptism of the New Testament is invariably called Baptism, 
 
140 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 but not so the Baptisms of tlie old. They are transhitcd "wush- 
 iug" ui'ttitior than liuptisin, which throws them into the Hhade, 
 so that the English reader cannot see thom to be Baptisms at 
 all, and they are so translated, where '' Baptism" would have 
 been specially serviceable for conveying a just view of the text. 
 A judicious comparison of the two Testaments together is 
 needed to throw light on the subject of Baptism. 
 
 I believe that by the positive command of Qod, and the 
 plain direction of his word, infants have been baptized by sprink- 
 ling, over since the days of Moses, and will be to the end of 
 time. I believe also that, by the same authority, adults have 
 been, and will continue to be baptized in the same manner, till 
 all the Heathen nations are converted to the profession of 
 Christianity. 
 
 In executing my office of a guide to Baptism, I shall endeav- 
 our to show, 
 
 I. That Baptism belonged to the Old Testament as well as 
 to the New. 
 
 II. That Grod directed it to be administered by sprinkling 
 both adults and infants with water. 
 
 HI. That this Baptism is continued under the New Testa- 
 ment, with some circumstantial alterations. 
 
 IV. I shall review the principal passages of Scripture sup- 
 posed to favour the opposite side. 
 
 I. My proof of the first of these position is simply this, that 
 the inspired writers of the New Testament have employed the word 
 " Baptism" in translating the purifications required by the law 
 of Moses, and that they have c:mployed it as readily and freely 
 as when they treat of Christian Baptism. This proof I reckon 
 complete, because I know no reason why they should give the 
 same name to both purifications, but because they knew them 
 to be substantially the same thing. I shall lay the passages 
 before the reader that he may judge for himself. 
 
 Heb. vi. 2. — " The doctrine of Baptisms and of laying on 
 of hands." The New Testament owns one Baptism only, here 
 are Baptisms. These Baptisms then^ and this laying on of 
 
 . 
 
 * *• 
 
 ..*>.. 
 
REV. JAMEF. MACUREOOR, D.D. 
 
 Ul 
 
 ■i •* 
 
 I 
 
 handfl. viz., on the hea'ls of tlio Bncrificps, (bco Lev. iii. 2,) 
 bi'lonj; to the law of .^ioxcs, ami tljc duotrino wliicli they teacli 
 is repentance from dead worka and faith toward God, and this 
 doetririe they teach as truly as the plainer lan^ua<;c of l*:iul. 
 All the Baptisms of Moses teach repentance, bo does tin 
 ]Japtirtm of John, Matt. iii. II, and ho does Peter's. Att> 
 ii. 3«. 
 
 Ileb. ix. 10. — " Which stood only in meats and drinks and 
 divers washings, [ Baptisms in the original Greek,] and car- 
 nal ordinances." This is a passage of great importance for 
 guiding into just views of Baptism. It is evident that by " di- 
 vers Baptisms," Paul means the various purifications of the 
 law of Moses without exception. In this verse he gives us the 
 sum of the whole book of Leviticus, and exactly in the same 
 order with Moses. Ten chapters treat of " meats and drinks," 
 that is, meat offerings and drink offerings which accompanied the 
 sacrifices ; five treat of *' divers Baptisms," and the defilements 
 vhich occasioued them ; and then " caruul ordinances" follow 
 to the end. 
 
 Attention to the law of Moses will readily discover the great 
 propriety of Paul's phraseology of "divers Baptisms," and lead 
 us infallibly to the scripture meaning of the word Baptism, so 
 much contested. There was a diversity 
 
 1. 0/ materials for Baptism. — It was administered by water, 
 blood, oil, and fire. 
 
 2. 0/ administrators. — Priests and clean persons baptized 
 others ; unclean persons baptized themselves. 
 
 3. 0/ subjects. — Persons were baptized, and a multiplicity of 
 tnings. 
 
 4. 0/ modes, as immersion, sprinkling, pouring, rinsing, and 
 washing. 
 
 To these may be added : 5. The repetition of the rite as often 
 as the defilement was contracted : 
 
 Concerning the modes of Baptism the following remarks may 
 suffice for our purpose : 
 
 1. Immersion, — Several things were baptized or purified by 
 
143 
 
 REMAINS OF TUB 
 
 
 immersion, as clothes, Lev. xi. 25, nnd vessels on which aa 
 unclean dead uniiuul fell, v. 82. 3Iotula were baptized by 
 immersion in fire, \uin. xxxi. 23. Immersion belonged to 
 the liaptisni of thitigs ; 1 seo no command for immersing 
 persons. 
 
 2. Spt'lakUnfj. — Water was sprinkled on persons and things, 
 Num. xix. 18, so was blood, lleb. ix. ll)-22, and so was oil, 
 Ex. xxix. 21. Sprinkling was a very common mode of liap- 
 tism, and when one person baptized another with blood or water, 
 it was, if I mistake not, the only mode. 
 
 3. Pouring. — Part of a leper's Baptism was by pouring oil 
 on his head, Lev. xiv. 18. 
 
 4. Riimng. — The hands and wooden furniture were baptized 
 by rinsing in water, on being touched by one who had an issue. 
 Lev. XV. 11, 12. 
 
 5. Wdnhivg. — Unclean persons baptized themselves by wash- 
 ing, see Lev. xiv. 9, ond xv. 5. The same Hebrew word is 
 translated " wash" in the first, and " bathe" in the last of these 
 texts. It is translated "bathe" about eighteen times in the 
 15th, IGth, and 17th chapters of Leviticus, and in the 10th 
 chapter of Numbers ; but every where else it is, if I mistake 
 not, translated "wash." Where it is translated "bathe," 
 " wash" is found in the clause immediately preceding, and the 
 only reason of the translation " bathe," I apprehend, is to avoid 
 the instant repetition of " wash." A more correct translation 
 I believe would have been, "shall dip his clothes and wash 
 himself." It is the word commonly used throughout the Old 
 Testament for washing, e. g., the feet, Gen. xviii. 4 ; hands, 
 Deut. xxi. 6; face, Gen. xliii. 31; eves, Song v. 12; so I make 
 this criticism merely t<3 prevent the English reader from being 
 misled by our version to imagine that the mode of self Bap- 
 tism was immersion. I see no command for self-immersion. 
 
 All the above varitHics were included in Paul's " divers Bap- 
 tisms." God was pleased to grant unto his Church a great 
 complication of cleansing ordinances during the old dispensa- 
 tion. Hereby he kept ever before their eyes their defilement 
 
 4> 
 
 T *1 
 
 ' 0' 
 
 f 
 
 ^ 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 148 
 
 t. 
 
 I 
 
 by sin, nnd their need of that blood wliich cloanseth from all 
 sin. Hereby also ho niude up in part lor the obscurity of their 
 other njcaiis of j^raec. They needed divers Hiiptisinsj oiio ia 
 sufficient for us, for our other nicaiis are abundant and clear. 
 
 Paul's two phrases, " the doctrine of Ilaptisins," and " divers 
 Baptisms," independent of all other proof, aft'ord us in my view 
 tho decision of the Spirit of Inspiration, concerninj^ tho ^erip- 
 turc meaninfj; of tho word IJaptisni. Its general meaning; 
 plainly is cleansing, nnd its special applications comprehend 
 every diversity prescribed in tho law. It is therefore improper 
 to confine its meaning to immersion, or sprinkling, or both ; 
 for more than both it clearly comprehends. To ascertain tho 
 special meaning in a given case, tho only way is to observe tho 
 direction of the law in that case. In the case of IJaptism by 
 fire it is equivalent to immersion, in the case of Baptism by 
 blood, to sprinkling, &c. 
 
 1 Cor. XV. 29. " What shall they do who are baptized for 
 tho dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then bap- 
 tized for the dead 1" Commentators have been greatly puzzled 
 about tho meaning of this text, by referring it to Christian 
 Baptism, to which it does not apply; but when referred to the 
 Baptism recorded in Num. xix., its meaning is plain, and suited 
 exactly to tho Apostle's ar'^ument. That Baptism expresses, 
 more emphatically than any other, a hope of the rcsurrcition, 
 being admin if^tered in the very face of death; and deatli, in 
 some shape, being the sole occasion of its adnjinistration, it is 
 with pe^^uliar propriety called ** Baptism for the dead." 
 
 1 Cor. X. 2. "Our fathers were all baptized unto Moses in 
 the cloud and in the sea," Paul had infallible knowledge of 
 the fact that the Israelites were baptized in passing the Red 
 Sea, otherwise he would not have ass r ted it. This Baptism 
 was extraordinary, and most magnifice-it, administered by tho 
 hand of Jehovah to about three millions of souls, men, won»en, 
 and children at once. It was administered during a thunder- 
 storm, by means of a shower of rain, alluded to by Moses, Ex. 
 ziv. 24, and declared plainly by Asaph, Psa. Ixxvii. It was a 
 
 .* 
 
mifm 
 
 '■raiewaSWWBSttSB 
 
 144 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 complete and a beautiful sprinkling ! An immersion it could 
 not be, wben the ground was dry ujider their foot and the water 
 a wall on their right hand and on their left, Ex. xiv. 29. The 
 Israelites were no more immersed than any company travelling 
 between two walls, and a cloud over their heads. In their de- 
 liverance from p]gypt, Israel enjoyed a real though obscure dis- 
 pensation of the gospel ; hence their dedication to Moses under 
 God in this ordinance, was of the same nature with evangelical 
 Baptism. 
 
 To these four passages from the Epistles of Paul, I will add 
 four more from the Evangelists. They teach us that the Phar- 
 isees found fault with Christ for neglecting Baptisms which had 
 been in common use among the Jews. These Baptisms were 
 not only those which Moses appointed by God's command, but 
 those also which were appointed by the Elders, and handed 
 down by tradition. The latter were pretended improvements 
 on tlie former, and were probably observed with more attention 
 and punctuality. The law of Moses said, Lev. xv. 11, that a 
 man should baptize himself by rinsing his hands in water, when 
 he was touched by a man having an issue ; but the Elders said 
 that he must so baptize himself before he eat, whether he was 
 so touched or not. Mark, vii. 4, says, " When they come from 
 the market, except they wash, [Gr. baptize,] they eat not;" 
 and he affirms, v. 3, " that excent they wash [that is, baptize] 
 their hands oft, [margin " with the fist,"] they eat not." Hence 
 the Pharisee, in Luke xi. 38, " marvelled that Christ had not 
 first washed [Greek, was not baptized] before dinner." 
 
 The law of Moses required that such vessels as cups and pots 
 should be baptized by immersion, when an unclean, dead ani- 
 mal fell on them, and by sprinkling, when a person died in the 
 house wherein they were, and that such things as tables or 
 beds should be baptized by rinsing in water, when they were 
 defiled, Lev. xv. 12. When therefore he says, v. 4, " Many other 
 things there be which they have received to hold, as the wash- 
 ing [Greek, Baptisms] of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and 
 tables," or beds, he seems to refer to baptisms somehow aside 
 
 C; 
 
 '^ 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 145 
 
 it could 
 the water 
 29. The 
 
 travelling 
 their (le- 
 scure dis- 
 ises under 
 vangelical 
 
 I will add 
 the Phar- 
 which had 
 dsms were 
 niand, but 
 id handed 
 irovements 
 e attention 
 11, that a 
 ater, when 
 llders said 
 her he was 
 Icome from 
 eat not;" 
 k baptize] 
 It." Hence 
 
 ,t had not 
 
 >> 
 
 \s and pots 
 dead ani- 
 iied in the 
 tables or 
 I they were 
 [any other 
 the wash- 
 Bssels, and 
 Ihow aside 
 
 from the direction of th<5 law; and in v. 8, he gives us the 
 words of Christ, condemning them ; " Laying aside the com- 
 mandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the wash- 
 ing [Greek, Baptisms] of eups and pots." But though these 
 Baptisms were not legitimate, they were real, and generslly 
 esteemed equal to those appointed of God. * 
 
 From all these passages taken together it appears evident to 
 me, 1. That the Jews who spoke the Greek language in our 
 Saviour's time, were in the habit of calling the purifications 
 both of Moses and of the Elders by the name of Baptism, just as 
 we give the same name to the Christian purification. 2. That 
 the proper Greek translation of a Mosaic purification is Bap- 
 tlsm (/?ajrr«f/io). In the Old Testament, baptism is commonly 
 expressed by the words cleanse, purify, purge, wash — better 
 words than baptism. 
 
 It may be objected to this sentiment, that the ancient Greek 
 version, commonly called the Septuagint, does not translate the 
 Mosaic purifications by the word Baptism. I answer, 
 
 1, Paul and the Evangelists were the best translators, and 
 were best acquainted with the practice of the Hellenistic Jews 
 of their own country. t^ 
 
 2. The Greek version of the law was made in Egypt, and 
 into the Alexandrian dialect. The Jews who dwelt in or 
 about Judea, and had another dialect, might use a better word, 
 Baptism. 
 
 8. According to Prideaux, the Greek version of the law was 
 made two hundred and seventy-seven years before Christ, a 
 period in which any language may undergo a considerable 
 change j baptism therefore might be a proper translation at the 
 end of that period, though not at its beginning. 
 
 4. About 145 years after the Greek version was made, the 
 apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus was translated from the He- 
 brew to the Greek of Alexandria, by Jesus the son of Sirach, 
 the author's grandson, a very learned Jew. He renders the pu- 
 rification recorded in Num. xix. 19, by the word, baptize. 
 Ecclesias. xxxiv. 25. " He who is washed [ Greek, baptized] 
 J13 
 
riP 
 
 4- ■ "S ^'^ 
 
 i: 
 
 ■MKiM 
 
 '• r 
 
 il: 
 
 146 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 after the touching of the dead body, what availeth his washing, 
 if he touch it again ?" He is the first, so far as I know, 
 who thus translated a Mosaic purification ; but as he published 
 his book 132 years before Christ, there was time enough for 
 the word to become current before the end of that period, if it 
 was not so at the beginning. 
 
 It is well known that, after the conquests of Alexander the 
 Great, the Greek language gradually spread over a great part 
 of the East. In pur Saviour's time, it had prevailed in Judea 
 80 miioh that many of the Jews spoke Greek, as is evident 
 from such facts as these : 1. The superscription upon the cross 
 was written in Greek as well as Hebrew and Latin. 2. God 
 directed that the New Testament should be written in Greek, 
 even those parts of it, which bore the most pointed reference 
 to the Jews. Peter wrote to the Jewish strangers scattered 
 throughout Pontus, Galatia, Gappadocia, Asia^ and Bithynia, 
 but in Greek. James wrote to the twelve tribes, but still in 
 Greek. Paul wrote to the Hebrews, not however in Hebrew, 
 but in Greek. 3. The Hellenists, Jews who spoke the Greek 
 language, and are called Grecians in the New Testament, dwelt 
 not only in Heather: and Jewish cities, but many of them in 
 Jerusalem itself, as is evident from Acts vi. 1, and is. 28, 29. 
 In the first of these passages, we hear of a murmuring of the 
 Christian Hellenists against the Chrircian Hebrews; and in the 
 second, of Paul's disputing with the unconverted Hellenists. 
 
 Now these Jews who spoke the Greek language were of the 
 same religious sentiments with their brethren who retained the 
 language of their ancestors, and, equally zealous of the law, be- 
 hoved to have some Greek word for expressing the Mosaic 
 purifications, seeing they were the subjects of daily talk and 
 daily practice. Baptism it appears was the word, and whether 
 it was well or ill chosen at first, it was through time appropria- 
 ted by inspired writers, as well as others, to express the religious 
 purifications of the Old Testament, according to the usage of 
 the Jews, and that of the New from .the authority of Christ. 
 When the Jews first received it, they received it not with a view 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREOOB, D.D. 
 
 U7 
 
 rasliing, 
 [ know, 
 ublished 
 mgh for 
 lod, if it 
 
 nder the 
 ;reat part 
 in Judea 
 } evident 
 the cross 
 2. God 
 in Greek, 
 reference 
 scattered 
 Bithynia, 
 at still in 
 Hebrew, 
 ihe Greek 
 lent, dwelt 
 them in 
 X. 28, 29. 
 Ins of the 
 md in the 
 lenists. 
 ere of the 
 Itained the 
 ^e law, be- 
 le Mosaic 
 talk and 
 whether 
 appropria- 
 religious 
 usage of 
 )f Christ, 
 kth a view 
 
 to express any idea which it had conveyed in Greece, but an idea 
 of their own, (never known there,) which they had possessed 
 ever since the days of Moses, and which he has distinctly de- 
 fined ; and whatever diflFerence there was between the two ideas, 
 so much change did its meaning undergo upon its adoption 
 by them. What they wanted was a word by which they could 
 express to one another the Mosaic purifications, corresponding 
 to the Hebrew word or words used by Moses and their ances- 
 tors; and they found none more suitable than Baptism, there- 
 fore they took it, and made it to answer their purpose. Chr'st 
 with his Evangelists and Apostles found the word thus appro- 
 priated and used by their countrymen, and thus they also used 
 it, probably without a thought about its classic signification. 
 When Christ employed his apostles to dispense his New Testa- 
 ment ordinance of purification, it was so like a Mosaic Baptism 
 that his infinite wisdom saw no occasion to give it another 
 name. 
 
 This I believe is the origin of Baptism as used in Scripture, 
 and to trace it farther is needless. Ancient Greece with her 
 long list of Classics never knew anything at all about it, nor 
 can she afford the least glimmering of light; and the researches 
 of Christian critics, tracing meanings among Heathen authors, is 
 " labouring in the very fire and wearying themselves for very 
 vanity '" but Moses has defined it so exactly as to leave no oc- 
 casion of mistake. Should any think it absurd to go to Moses 
 for light to a New Testament ordinance, I answer. No, for Mo- 
 ses was the first of inspired writers, and a great writer of drd;- 
 nances, but it seems absurd to expect such light from Heathen 
 authors ; nor is it less absurd to suppose that Christ rejected 
 the established sense of a word in common use in his own 
 country to use it in a foreign sense. 
 
 It is not in name only that the Baptisms of Moses agree with 
 ours J they agree in nature. I believe that all who have con- 
 sidered them candidly, allow that they all ronresented purifica- 
 tion by the blood of Christ as ours does. Both effected an 
 external purification, and that only. Of the former Paul says. 
 
in 
 
 mi 
 
 '» 
 
 148 
 
 ^*:' 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 ''The ashos of un heifer spriakUng the unclean, sanctified to 
 the purifying of the flesh/' Of the latter Peter afl&ruis that it 
 " puts away the filth of the flesh." The former, as surely as the 
 latter, represents the blood of Christ; "how much more shall the 
 * 'ood of Christ — purge your conscience?" In both defilement 
 13 pre-supposed, in both cleansing materials are used, and in 
 both purity is the consequence. 
 
 II. God directed it to be administered by sprinkling both 
 adults and infants with water. 
 
 Of all the Mosaic Baptisms with water, that for the dead, re< 
 corded in Num. xix., is the most important in itself, and the 
 most interesting to us. It was administered by sprinkling 
 water mixed with a little ashes of a burnt heifer on the unclean. 
 The reader may consult the whole chapter. I quote the fol- 
 lowing words, V. 18. "A clean person shall* take hyssop, and 
 dip it in water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the 
 vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him 
 that touched a bone or one slain, or one dead, or a grave." Here 
 is a triple Baptism, 1. That of tents and vessels. 2. That of the 
 administrator. Both these are without authority in the New 
 Testauient. 3. That of men, women, and infants, continued still. 
 Not deathf but a profession of faith in adults, is the occasion of 
 its administration. All the persons were to be sprinkled, for 
 though the term "all" is not repeated before "the persons," 
 it is evidently understood. All the vessels and persons are the 
 game with all the vessels and all the persons, even as all the 
 men and the women would be the same with all the men and 
 all the women. If infants were persons, they were to be sprink- 
 led. Infants also were liable to touch a bone or one slain, or 
 one dead, or a grave, and so were to be sprinkled. Verse 19 
 requires a twofold sprinkling, one on the third and one on the 
 seventh day, to <;omplete the Baptism. It also requires the ad- 
 ministrator to baptize himself on the seventh day, by dipping 
 his clothes, and washing himself in water. Verse 20 excom- 
 municates the neglecter of the ordinance, and verse 21 declares 
 it perpetual. - ^ 
 
 J 
 
REV. JAMES MAOaBEQOP.; D.D. 
 
 149 
 
 Bed to 
 
 that it 
 J as the 
 tiall tho 
 ilement 
 
 and in 
 
 Qg both 
 
 lead, re- 
 and the ^ 
 »rinkling 
 unclean, 
 the fol- 
 38op, and 
 )n all the 
 Lpon him 
 .» Here 
 lat of the 
 the New 
 iued still, 
 fcasion of 
 ikled, for 
 lersons," 
 is are the 
 all the 
 Imen and 
 le sprink- 
 slain, or 
 erse 19 
 le on the 
 [s the ad- 
 dipping 
 excom- 
 declares 
 
 I 
 
 Here is a Baptism of persons by sprinkling, far more com- 
 mon among the Jews than Christian Baptism is with us ; a 
 baptism by sprinkling which behoved to be administered in 
 every house in the nation, to both sexes, and all ages. Here 
 !£ infant baptism by sprinkling commanded of God as positively 
 add plainly as any reasonable man could desire ; and without 
 doubt it was practised in the Cburch from Moses to Christ, a 
 period of 1500 years. Here also is infant baptism by sprinkling 
 occasionally an initiating ordinance, as it is now statedly with 
 Pedobaptiits. If death happened in a house, where there was 
 an infant not five days old, it was baptized before it could be 
 circumcised ; but if death happened on the infant's birthday, it 
 was twice baptized before it could be circumcised. Here is an 
 ordinance admirably calculated to impress the mind with the 
 dreadful consequences of sin : death with extensive pollution 
 and infection ; but a hope of a resurrection to eternal purity, 
 through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, a hope including 
 infants. 
 
 This ordinance behoved to form a prominent feature in the 
 character of the Jewish nation, and through time to^ create 
 such a prepossession in its favour, as could not be easily 
 erased. It clearly decides the debate in favour of Pedobap- 
 tists from Moses to Christ, for here, 1. The subjects were Is- 
 raelites, professed worshippers of the God o*" Abraham, and 
 their infant children. 2. The mode was beyond all doubt by 
 sprinkling. The conclusion men is unavoidable, that the 
 Church of God during the Old Testament was a Pedobaptist 
 church. It is strange that the writers on Baptism should have 
 paid so little attention to this great fact, for the New Testa- 
 ment Baptism is little else than a continuation of it, and ac- 
 cording to the Pedobaptist scheme, clearly establishes the same 
 contrariety between these dispensations which now subsists be- 
 tween the Baptists and Pedobaptists. Were that sprinkling in 
 the minds of Christians as it was in fact among the Jews, it 
 would reconcile them to infant Baptism more than a thousand 
 arguments. 
 13* 
 
id[) REMAINS OF THE 
 
 III. This Baptism of persons by sprinkling is continued 
 under the New Testament with some circumstantial alterations. 
 
 About eight hundred years after this Baptism was in con- 
 stant use, Isaiah delivered to the Jews a prophecy about 
 ET^rinkling, Isa. Hi. 15, ''He [the Messiah] shall sprinkle 
 3 y nations." This prophecy was delivered without note or 
 CO anient to a people in the daily practice of sprinkling men, 
 women, and infants. Now, I request the reader calmly and 
 candidly to judge how an honest-hearted Jew would understand 
 the prophecy. Doubtless he would suppose it to mean some 
 such sprinkling as was in common practice with his country- 
 men. As he could form no idea of any other, and as no other 
 was hinted by the prophet, that is the fair construction of the 
 "vordt, and of course their true sense. The prophecy is, * He 
 shall sprinkle many nations," plainly showing that sprinkling 
 of men, women, and infants should continue to be enjoyed 
 under the reign of the Messiah, and that it should be extended 
 to the Gentile nations. Pious Jews upon hearing this prophecy 
 would exult and say, Then will God grant unto the Gentiles 
 the repentance unto life, which is meant by our sprinkling. 
 
 About one hundred years afterward Ezekiel, chap, xxxvi. 
 25, speaking of the times of the Messiah, introduces Jehovah, 
 saying, " I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be 
 clean." Here is a more definite prophecy, delivered to the same 
 people in the same manner. I again request the reader to 
 pause and reflect candidly how an honest Jew behoved to under- 
 stand it. He behoved to expect that under the Messiah's gov- 
 ernment, men, women, and infants, would be baptized by 
 sprinkling with clean water. He has an advantage over Isaiah's 
 hearer, for he has plain evidence that the ashes of the red 
 heifer should be laid aside, and that clean water alone should 
 be used, and should answer the purpose completely ; *' ye shall 
 be clean." From the moment that Ezekiel's prophecy was 
 published, the Church of God had good ground for believing 
 that Baptism, by sprinkling of adults and infants of both sexes 
 with clean water, would be the privilege of the New Testament 
 
 is 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 1 
 
i 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 151 
 
 itinued 
 
 ■atioDS. 
 
 in con- 
 about 
 
 prinkle 
 
 note or 
 
 g men, 
 
 Illy and 
 
 ierstand 
 
 an some 
 
 jountry- * 
 
 10 other 
 
 a of the 
 
 is, ' He 
 
 irinkling j 
 enjoyed 
 
 extended 
 
 prophecy 
 
 Gentiles 
 
 :ling. 
 ). xxxvi. 
 Jehovah, 
 shall be 
 the same 
 reader to 
 . to uader- 
 liah's gov- 
 ptized by 
 er Isaiah's 
 )f the red 
 me should 
 <•' ve shall 
 phecy was 
 r believing 
 both sexes 
 Testament^ 
 
 ^S 
 
 times, and as both prophets mention only the Baptism of per- 
 sons, they hint, and not obscurely, that all other Baptisms should 
 cease. », ^ 
 
 Let me quote the prophets once more, that " in the mouth 
 of two or three witnesses every word may bo established." 
 Malachi, the last of them and the nearest to the time of the 
 Messiah, foretell'* his coming, (chap, iii.) and that he should 
 sit as a purifier, or baptizer, and should baptize the sons of Levi. 
 How then did the law direct the Levites to be baptized ? 
 Sprinkling was a part of it. Num. viii. G, 7, God said to Mo- 
 ses, " Take the Levites, — and cleanse [baptize] them. And 
 thus shalt thou do unto them to cleanse [baptize] them, sprinkle 
 water of purifying [baptism] upon them." Does lualachi hint 
 that the Messiah should change this sprinkling ii .o immersion ? 
 No. I see not the least hint of future immersion in any of the 
 prophets. And yet if such a great change were to accompany 
 the New Dispensation, it is strange that no hint of it should 
 be found in any o*" ^ prophets. " Surely the Lord God will 
 do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto the prophets." 
 
 I come now to John the ]?aptist. lie was the link that con- 
 nected the Testaments together; a fit person for changing the 
 complex Baptisms of the Old into the sim^ Baptism of the 
 New. He appeared as a Reformer of the Church in a back- 
 sliding time, preparing the way for the Messiah, and introduc- 
 ing his kingdom, under which the temporary institutions of the 
 Old Testament were abolished, and the permanent altered and 
 reformed to suit his more spiritual and glorious dispensation. 
 To the former belong sacrifices. Sabbaths, and Baptisms ; to 
 the latter, preaching, the Sabbath, and Baptism. I will advert 
 to them by and by. John introduced an alteration in the ma- 
 terial,^ of Baptism, and in the occasion of its administration, 
 and baptized perhaps more than any who preceded him, on 
 which accounts he had the surname of Baptist. When the 
 reader thinks of it, he should also think of the cleansing or 
 purifications of the Levitical law, and in his mind call him 
 John the purifier. Or what is nearly the same; when he calls 
 
152 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 ! 
 
 him Baptist, he should in his mind call those cleansings and 
 purifications, Baptisms, as Paul does. 
 
 It appears plain to me from the voices of the prophets, that 
 nohody would have expected him to immerse, and that his 
 spiinklini; c? adults and infants would be expected by all who 
 expected him to be a Baptist. Let the reader bear in mind 
 that he appeared among a people totally unacquainted with im- 
 mersion of persons, having never heard of it as a religious or- 
 dinance, but daily accustomed to the sprinkling of men, women, 
 and infants, which sprinkling was called Baptism by that part 
 of them who spoke the Greek language, a part still increasing. 
 If John's Baptism was by immersion, and comprised adult» 
 only, it proves a great and sudden revolution in the Church, 
 respecting an ordinance of no small importance, and it is pass- 
 ing strange, that it should be nowhere mentioned by an in- 
 spired writer. If the Baptism of John (and of Christ) be a 
 continuation of the Old Testament Baptism, mentioned above, 
 or built upon it, then we need not look for an institution of it, 
 because there it must be supposed that it is already known. 
 Its practice only will be recited. But if it be wholly a nevj 
 thing, we must expect to see its institution with the directions 
 necessary for its due observation. I wish the reader to mark 
 with care, on which of these two the narratives of the Evan- 
 gelists bear. I own that there I can see no institution of Bap- 
 tism for the Jews, for whom it was originally designed, but I 
 gee it plainly for the Gentiles who never had it before. 
 
 The Baptism of John is thus recited by Mark, i. 4, " John 
 did baptize in the wilderness and preach." Similar language 
 is used by the other Evangelists. Here then John's Baptism 
 is introduced plainly as an acquaintance, not as a stranger. It 
 is not viewed as a new thing of which the reader is ignorant, 
 for he gets no instruction about it more than about preaching, 
 a well known ordinance of the Old Testament. This is quite 
 natural, if his Baptism was the same in substance with what 
 the Jews had been accustomed to see j but if it was a thing 
 entirely new, such an introduction is unaccountable. The 
 
REV. JAMES MACGllEQOR, D.D. 
 
 153 
 
 < John iif 
 iguago 
 aptism 
 er. It 
 norant,. 
 aching, 
 s quite 
 ih what 
 a thing 
 . The 
 
 reader is left Avithout any moans of knowing what sort of a 
 thing it \v;i.-, who were its subjects, or what was its mode. Hy 
 the authority of heaven »Tohn altered the ancient Baptism in 
 three points, which would bo unsuitable to the new dispensa- 
 tion. 1. He left out the ashes of the red lieifer, and baptized 
 with mere wat'T, or as the prophet Ezekiel calls it " clean 
 water." 2. He used simply the sprinkling of water, instead 
 of various and frequently repeated applications in former Ujio. 
 8. Instead of death, he made a profession of faith in Christ, 
 Acts xix. 4. the occasion of its administration. In this, how- 
 ever, there was no change of the subjects, but of their situa- 
 tion or circumstances. 
 
 When John baptized in the wilderness, and report carried 
 the fact to Jerusalem, and all round, what opinion would tho 
 people form of his Baptism ? Could thoy dream that he bap- 
 tized by immersion, a thing of which they had never heard ? 
 Or could they dream that he would make a diflFercnco between 
 adults and infants, baptizing those and refusing these, a dis- 
 tinction in Baptism of which they had never heard ? They 
 could not, and it is nowhere said that they were mistaken. 
 
 " The Jews sent priests and Levitcs to ask John, Who art 
 thou? He confessed, Lam not the Christ. They asked him, 
 What then? Art thou Elias? No. Art thou the prophet? No. 
 And they said. Why baptizcst thou then, if thou be not the 
 Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet V It appears from this 
 question that they expected the Messiah's forerunner to baptize, 
 and that John baptized as they expected; for they expressed no 
 surprise or disappointment at his Baptism, nor did they find 
 any fault with it. The only thing that puzzled them was his 
 right to baptize at all j since he said he was not Christ, nor 
 Elias, nor the prophet. But had he baptized adults only; and 
 by immersion, I see not how they could avoid asking further, 
 Did God command thee to change sprinkling into immersion 
 and to exclude infants from Baptism? Why dost thou not 
 baptize ^as God commanded by the hand of Moses ? God di- 
 rectel plainly, that men, women, and infants should be sprink- 
 
 
^r 
 
 154 
 
 REMAINS OF TUB 
 
 
 led, and our prophets have foretold that this sprinkling should 
 continue under the Messiah's reign. Dost thou pretend to bo 
 from God, and yet oppose Moses and the prophets ? 
 
 Christ's Buptism is thus introduced, John iii. 22. " After 
 these things came Jcsus and his disciples into the land of Ju< 
 dea, and there he tarried with them and baptized." The same 
 thing may bo said of Christ's I^aptism, which I have said of 
 John's. The reader is not supposed to need informatiou or 
 direction about i'., for none is given. I do not see that the 
 Jews found any fault with it, cither as to subjects or mode, but 
 had he baptized adults only, and by immersion, how could they 
 avoid telling him that his Baptism was an innovation, a trespass 
 against all antiquity, and that he could not bo the Messiah, but 
 a deceiver, because the prophets had foretold that the Messiah 
 would sprinkle, and would sprinkle with clean water. It does 
 not beem credible that God should not have given particular 
 directions respecting both the subjects and mode of Baptism at 
 its first institution. He gave the needful directions at the insti- 
 tution of all other ordinances, as sacrifices; the Lord's Supper, &c. 
 He gave them at the institution of the Mosaic purifications, 
 which Paul calls Baptisms ; but I do not see them at the intro- 
 duction of Christ's Baptism any more than John's. 
 
 There again the mere fact is recited, Jesus baptized. Let 
 this be compared with the institution of the Supper, and a 
 striking contrast will appear; for there the instructions and di- 
 rections are numerous. Jesus took bread, blessed it, brake it, 
 gave it to the disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my body. 
 He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to them, saying. Drink 
 ye all of it. What is the reason of this great difference? 
 Plainly this, that the Lord's Supper was wholly a new ordinance, 
 so that no Old Testament directions could at all suit it, whereas 
 they suited Baptism sufficiently. 
 
 It seepas equally incredible that God, at the coming of his 
 Son into the world, should exchange an ancient Baptism for a 
 new one quite different, without giving notice of the change. 
 There had been a divinely appointed rite called Baptism, ia 
 
RKV. JAMES MACURIQOR, D.D. 
 
 165 
 
 which adults and infants were sprinkled with water, practised 
 in the church for 1500 years, and to all appearance promised 
 by the prophets to last to tho end of time. Can it be believed 
 that God laid it aside and substituted a Baptism of adults only 
 by immersion, in its place, and yet never say a word about it ? 
 How then could error be avoided ? Surely plain warning 
 against the continuance of the ancient practice could never in 
 any case be more necessary ; yet I can see nothing of it in the 
 New Testament. 
 
 Baptism, I confess, underwent several alterations upon its 
 transition from the old to the new dispensation. It was surely 
 proper that it should partake of a reformation suited to the 
 superior light and glory of the dispensation into which it was 
 entering, a dispensation in which a more simple, plain, instruo* 
 tive and consolatory administration of all ordinances was pro- 
 vided. Of these alterations we are informed partly by the 
 prophets, and partly by the Evangelists. To the three already 
 mentioned I add the following. Under the old dispensation, a 
 clean person was the administrator, now a minister of the gos- 
 pel ; then it was administered simply, I suppose, into the name 
 of the God of Israel; now distinctly, into the name of the Father, 
 and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Formerly it might be re- 
 peated, now it may not. I might here mention the rapid pro- 
 gress of evangelical knowledge, but that this progress was not 
 peculiar to this time. 
 
 These alterations, however, were mere circumstances, not af- 
 fecting the nature of the ordinance. Similar alterations took 
 place in all ordinances common to both dispensations; as preach- 
 ing, praying, fasting, laying on of hands, &c., though I have 
 not room to specify them here. But I beg the reader's attention 
 to the changes on the Sabbath, as I deem it a perfect parallel 
 to Baptism. 
 
 . 1. There was a plurality of Sabbaths as well as Baptisms 
 under the Old Testament. The great festivals of the Jews 
 were Sabbaths, for on them they were forbidden to do any ser- 
 vile work, Lev. zi«. 8. 30. The first and the tenth day of 
 
150 
 
 RKMAINS OF THE 
 
 : 
 
 the seventh month are, each of them, expreflsly called a Sab- 
 bittii. Lev. xxiii. 24. 82. 
 
 2. Paul insinuates the nbolilion of both under the New Tes- 
 tament. The former in Col. ii. 10, 17, " Let no man judj^e 
 you in meat or drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the 
 new moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things 
 to come." The latter in Ileb. ix. 10, " Divers Baptisms and 
 carnal ordinances imposed oq thorn until the time of refor- 
 mation." 
 
 8. This abolition does not prevent the continuance of ono 
 Sabbath and of one Baptism until the end of time. One of each 
 is still enjoyed by the church. 
 
 4. At the resurrection of our Saviour the Sabbath underwent 
 changes corresponding to those in Baptism, respecting its occa- 
 sion, materials, and other things. The Sabbath now commemo- 
 rates the resurrection of Christ, rather than the finishing of the 
 work of creation, and it is translated from the last to the first 
 day of the week. It is not now devoted to offering of double 
 sacrifices, and other Old Testament services, but to New Testa- 
 ment preaching, prayers, sacraments, &e. 
 
 I conclude then that, with all its alterations. Baptism is still 
 the same in substan-^e that it was in the day of Moses; and 
 that by them it is reformed and perfected, so as completely to 
 suit the more simple and spiritual worship of the New Testa- 
 ment. The rite is rendered as simple and easy as possible, 
 much more so than immersion, which bears a strong resem- 
 blance to the unreformed and burdensome services of the Old 
 Testament which the wisdom of God saw meet to abolish. 
 
 When Baptism is extended to the Gentiles, a plain commis- 
 sion is given for that purpose, and a plain direction how to 
 make them subjects : '' Go ye therefore and disciple all nations, 
 baptizing them." There is no direction here about the mode ; 
 for there is no new mode of baptism for the Gentiles, though 
 they are new subjects. They had not been included in any 
 baptism of Moses, or of John, or of Christ. These three were 
 of one extent. Even Christ said to his Apostles, " Go not into 
 
REV. JAMKS MAOORSdOR, D.D. 
 
 167 
 
 tho way of tho Gentiles." The middlo wall of partition made 
 thorn Htrangorn and forci}.'ner8 till after tho death of ChriHt. 
 How adiiiiruble is the wJHiloni of our Saviour in suiting his in- 
 structions to the need of his church ! Without this direction 
 the Apostles could not know how to proceed in tho case of tho 
 Gentiles ; with it their way is plain, for Gentiles by beconjing 
 disciples become at once the seed of Abraham ; whilo tho groat 
 body of his lineal descendants by rejecting the counsel of f^A 
 against themselves, not being baptized of tho Gentiles, becui: j 
 aliens. 
 
 Comparing Tsniah's prophecy of tho f^xtcnsion of Baptism 
 with its accomplishment by means of Christ's comtuission, I 
 cannot but admire how beautifully tho latter accord-^ with, yet 
 surpasses tho former. " Ho shall sprinkle lany ni.Mons," pr>id 
 the prophet. "Disciple oil nations, baptizing them," said he 
 Saviour. But does baptizing all nations imply infant Ba^ dsm? 
 Most clearly. Tho Apostles could understand i 'n no other 
 sense, for this plain reason that in their own n(/ion Baptism 
 had uniformly included infants ever since the days of Moses. 
 Had the commission been " eircumcising the nations," it would 
 have readily been understood as including them, though males 
 only were circumcised, and these but once ; much more baptiz- 
 ing the nations, for both male and female infants had been in 
 all ages baptized repeatedly ever since Moses published his 
 laws. 
 
 On the day of Pentecost Peter exhorted his hearers, " Re- 
 pent, and be baptized, for the promii, *r unto you and unto 
 your children." Let us suppose one oi the mockers to have 
 gone home, and to have thought upon his ways, so as to be 
 pricked in his heart, like those \ihose Baptism he had lately 
 seen or heard of, and of course to have resolved on submission 
 to that ordinance. He takes his child, and goes to Peter, pro- 
 fesses faith in Christ, and repentance of his sins, and requests 
 Baptism for himself and his child. Suppose Peter to grant his 
 request for himself, and refuse it for his child, what should we 
 suppose his reply to be ? You surprise me, you have ensnared 
 U 
 
158 
 
 BEMAINS OF THE 
 
 r. 
 
 i 
 
 me. What eould you mean lately by those cheering worda^ 
 " the promise is to you and to your children ?" L never before 
 saw or heard of the parent and child separated in Baptism. 
 You know that in our great Baptism for the dead, all the chil- 
 dren are equally partakers with their parents, and your language 
 was so conformable to our ancient law and our constant practice, 
 that I did not entertain a doubt of my child's reception with 
 myself. Does God now disregard children and his promise to 
 them ? Let the reader frame an apology for Peter. 
 
 Baptism for the dead was in a great measure a family ordi- 
 nance. It was administered in every family in the nation, for 
 death missed none. The only possible exception was that of an 
 obstinate head or member of a family liable to excommunica- 
 tion. All that were in the house, old and young, were baptized, 
 and the whole family would be there at death if ever, for sym- 
 pathy and affection would convene them. It was universally 
 understood among the Jews, excepting as above, that when a 
 family was baptized, every individual of the family was bap- 
 tized. When therefore the Apostles, who were Jews, and 
 habituated to the customs and language of the Jews, ad- 
 ministered Christian Baptism to families, candour certainly re- 
 quires the language to be understood in the same latitude of 
 sense. The families of the Jailer, of Lydia, and of Stephanas 
 were baptized, and thousands of families more (for these were 
 but samples) were baptized, in the same way, that is, every 
 individual in them, (obstinate adults always excepted.) These 
 families are not noticed in the Acts of the Apostles on account 
 of any thing peculiar in their Baptism, but of remarkable oiit- 
 cumstances which attended the conversion of the three per- 
 sons who were the heads of the families. 
 
 The demand of the Baptists, Prove that there were infants 
 in these families, is in my view unreasonable, much the dame 
 as, Prove that there were infants in the Jewish nation, Prove 
 that Christians had infants. There were infants in some fami- 
 lies just as certainly as others were without them ; and if they 
 were there, they were baptized. Were an ignorant heathen to 
 
 A 
 
 t- ■ 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 159 
 
 ng worda> 
 ver before 
 Baptism. 
 1 the chil- 
 X language 
 at practice, 
 sption with 
 promise to 
 
 amily ordi- 
 nation, for 
 8 that of an 
 Bommunica- 
 ire baptized, 
 er, for sym- 
 universally 
 that vrhen a 
 ily was bap- 
 Jews, and 
 Jews, ad- 
 certainly re- 
 latitude of 
 • Stephanas 
 these were 
 at is, every 
 ed.) These 
 on account 
 larkable cit'- 
 e three per- 
 
 were infants 
 oh the Same 
 ation. Prove 
 
 some fami- 
 I and if they 
 
 heathen to 
 
 tell Peter, who knew all about the Jewish Baptisms from his 
 youth, and about Christian Baptism from the beginning, — were 
 the heathen to tell him as a wonder that he saw Paul baptizing 
 a whole family, — " That," says Peter, " is just what I would ex- 
 pect, and you would expect it too, if you knew the law." "Ah, 
 but there was an infant there so young that he could know no- 
 thing." " What then ?" says Peter. " The law always included 
 the youngest infant as well as the oldest man, and I never heard 
 our Divine Master pronounce a word to repeal it, but to confirm 
 it." 
 
 The Baptism for the dead, which required the repeated 
 sprinkling of the whole family, and of all who came in while 
 the dead was in the house, was doubtless continued by the un- 
 believing Jews, and perhaps by some Christian Jews, till the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. Christian Baptism was also all along 
 administered by the ministers of Christ. Both Baptisms tra- 
 velled on in view of one another. If therefore Christians ex- 
 cluded infants from their baptism and adopted immersion for 
 their mode, it is strange that we hear nothing of glorying or 
 complaining, of no diflFerence or party collision. The unbeliev- 
 ing Jew might glory over the Christian, " Our religion cares for 
 infants, yours does not, and your novel device of immersion is 
 neither more decent nor more expressive than the sprinkling 
 which God commanded of old." The weak believing Jew might 
 complain, " Formerly we had both circumcision and Baptism 
 to console us concerning our infants, now we have nothing." 
 But if both parties sprinkled adults and infants, there was no 
 occasion of difference on these points, and we hear none. 
 
 I have not mentioned circumcision or any of the other argu- 
 ments commonly urged in favour of infant Baptism, not that I 
 undervalue them, but because I write but a little book which 
 must leave out many useful arguments.* I only insist upon 
 
 * The following was contained in the first copies in MS. " By the cove- 
 nant of circumcision, God who had blessed Abraham engaged to be the cove- 
 nant God of his seed, and gave bis male infants the privilege of oiroumcision. 
 K'ow the blessing of Abraham comes apon the Oentiles. Baptism is in the 
 
^"Y^yiiiffV}y;fS- 
 
 ; . 
 
 160 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 one which I think plainer and more level to common capacities, 
 and which has been too much neglected. 
 
 The sum of the argument is this. The law of Moses fur- 
 nished the Old Testament Church with a plain positive com- 
 mand to baptize adults and infants by sprinkling. The pro- 
 phets handed over this sprinkling to the New Testament 
 Church, with promises of suitable alterations. The Evange- 
 lists take it, thus altered like the Sabbath according to the spi- 
 rit of the New Testament, and hand it down to all future gene- 
 rations. And thus I hope the practice will continue till the 
 Son of man shall appear in the clouds. 
 
 IV. I humbly trust that there is not a sentence in the New 
 Testament, if candidly explained, which will be found incon- 
 sistent with the view of Baptism here given ', but I will briefly 
 review the principal passages brought to support the opposite Bide. 
 
 Mark xvi. 16. " He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
 saved." Hence it is inferred that infants who cannot believe 
 should not be baptized ; but the inference is not just. The 
 proposition expressed by these words was quite as true all along 
 from Moses to Christ, when millions of infants were baptized 
 hy the positive command of God, as it is now, and therefore it 
 is quite as consistent with infant Baptism now as then. Ques- 
 tion. What good can Baptism do to an infant? Answer. 
 Would God have commanded it from Moses to Christ, if it 
 could do no good ? and what can prevent it from doing good 
 now more than then ? It may do great good directly by God's 
 blessing on the ordinance, and indirectly by animating the 
 parents to duty. 
 
 place of circumcision, for Paul says to the Philippians, ' We are the circumci- 
 sion,' and to the Colossians, ' In whom [viz., Christ] ye are circumcised — buried 
 with him in Baptism ;' and therefore it is fairly inferred that the male infants 
 of believers sh'Auld be baptized, and the femiile too, as in Christ there is no 
 difference of sex. To this agree the words of our Saviour, 'Suffer the little 
 children to come unto me — for of such is the kingdom of heaven,' and the 
 words of Paul, • Else were your children unclean, but now are they holy.' 
 Thus Christian Baptism succeeds oircumoision as aa initiating, and divers 
 Baptisme as a parif^ing ordinance." 
 
REV. JAMES MAOOREQOR, D.D. 
 
 m. 
 
 ipacities, 
 
 loses fur- 
 tive coin- 
 The pro- 
 Cestament 
 I Evange- 
 ;o the spi- 
 ture gene- 
 ae till the 
 
 I the New 
 ind incon- 
 «rill briefly 
 posite side, 
 ed shall be 
 lot believe 
 just. The 
 le all along 
 e baptized 
 herefore it 
 gn. Qucs- 
 Answer. 
 hrist, if it 
 ioing good 
 by God's 
 ating the 
 
 Ihe circumci- 
 
 lised — buried 
 
 I male infants 
 
 there is no 
 
 br the little 
 
 len,' and the 
 
 they holy.' 
 
 k and divers 
 
 John iii, 23. — " John was baptizing in Enon, near to Salim, 
 because there was much watev [ were many waters] there." A 
 favourer of immersion readily thinks that the words, " because 
 there was much water there," are inserted on purpose to re- 
 move a difficulty supposed to attend immersion rather than 
 sprinkling, and thus to decide in its favour. But such a per- 
 son totally mistakes the Baptism of John. The phraseology 
 of the following passages, " beginning from the Baptism of 
 John," "the Baptism which John preached," "knowing only 
 the Baptism of John," Acts i. 22; x. 37, and xviii. 25, shows 
 clearly that his baptism included his whole administration, 
 and of course that the water includes whatever water he and 
 his hearers needed. 
 
 The true state of the case seems to be this : — John began to 
 preach in the wilderness of Judea, Mat. iii. 4, which David 
 calls "dry and thirsty land, wherein is no water." Psal. Ixiii. 1. 
 John could not know at first what crowds would come to hear 
 him, but when they came, he felt the inconvenience of his 
 situation. He saw them suffering for want of water. He 
 would understand that its scarcity deterred some from coming 
 to hear him, and made others leave him sooner than they wished. 
 Common sense taught him to change his situation for the springs 
 of Enon and the banks of Jordan, where large assemblies might 
 be accommodated with this necessary of life. But it is obvious 
 that this change of situation was equally requisite whether he 
 baptized by immersion or sprinkling. 
 
 Rom. vi. 4. — " Buried with him by baptism," is supposed 
 to favour immersion ; but with the burying of Christ immersion 
 has not the slightest degree of analogy. He was buried in the 
 scripture sense of the word, but not in the common sense, nor 
 in any sense which accords with immersion. His body was not 
 put into a coffin or a grave, nor was a particle of earth thrown 
 over it. Joseph wrapt it in clean linen, and laid it in his 
 tomb till preparation for his burying could be made. Women 
 prepared spices and ointments, and came early in the morning 
 
 after the Sabbath, to embalm it for the burying, but were hap- 
 14* 
 
■Of 
 
 162 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 pily prevented by his resurrection. Joseph's tomb was not like 
 a grave, but like a closet or room in a Jwelling-house. Here 
 he laid the body of Jesus on the floor, or on a- table, where it 
 had neither the reality nor the resemblance of immersion more 
 than any other thing carried into a room, and laid on a floor or 
 table. Tit force of the argument here depends upon the mis- 
 take, that Christ's body was covered with earth in a grave like 
 
 our grave**. 
 
 " Buried with him in Baptism/' expresses not the mode but 
 the design of Baptism. Paul exhorts the Romans not to live 
 in sin, and urges their Baptism as a motive. Their Baptism 
 implied their believing in Christ, by which they had commu- 
 nion with him in the benefits of his death, burial, and resur- 
 rection ; which communion rightly improved would effectually 
 prevent their living in sin. 
 
 Acts viii. 38. — " And they went down both into the water." 
 Going down ( to or) into the water and com'ng up ( from or) out 
 of the water is pleaded in favour of immersion, but that some- 
 times it is most favourable to sprinkling I can attest from ex- 
 perience. Being on a Missionary excursion in Prince Edward 
 Island, I agreed with several parents to baptize their children 
 at public worship, next Sabbath, but neither they nor I took 
 thought of providing a vessel for the water. The preaching 
 was in the open air, by the side of a brook, at a good distance 
 from any house, and when I desired the parents to present the 
 children for baptism there was no vessel. This however was 
 no serious difficulty; for any one in the congregation might say, 
 " See, here is water, what doth hinder the children to be bap- 
 tized ?" As far as the brook was in sight of the congregation, 
 no part of it seemed deep enough for immersing even infants, 
 and no part of it too shallow for sprinkling them. They were 
 sprinkled by the water of the brook ; and half the congrega- 
 tion went down to the water, and came up from it, where none 
 of them could be immersed. 
 
 Should it be thought strange that there is no example of infant 
 baptism in the New Testament, I would remark in return that 
 
not like 
 Here 
 vhere it 
 on more 
 , floor or 
 the mis- 
 ave like 
 
 node but 
 at to live 
 Baptism 
 commu- 
 nd resur- 
 sffectually 
 
 le water." 
 »m or) out 
 that some- 
 from ex- 
 e Edward 
 children 
 lor I took 
 [preaching 
 distance 
 •esent the 
 ever was 
 light say, 
 ;o be bap- 
 gregation, 
 infants, 
 'hey were 
 Icongrega- 
 ere none 
 
 I of infant 
 sturu that 
 
 REV. JAMES MACUREOOR, D.D. 
 
 163 
 
 it must seem far more strange that there is none !n the 01 d, 
 when for 1500 years it was the undoubted practice. Pivint> 
 wisdom judged examples unnecessary. It was enough for tin' 
 Old Testament that the law plainly required it, and fur the 
 New that the prophets as plainly foretold it. Had it begun 
 with the apostles, a New Testament command or example would 
 have been necessary ; but not so, when in their time it was an 
 ancient practice, known and approved by all. 
 
 Finally, the Baptists tell us that a great proportion of the 
 Christian Church, as the Greeks, Russians, &c., practise im- 
 mersion to this day. True, but when we ask, by what authority 
 they do this, they can show neither precept nor exnmple from 
 scripture. They reply. The Greeks should know their own lan- 
 guage best, and they say, that Baptism is just immtrsion. 
 They may say so, but they cannot know better than others the 
 definitions of Scripture, which have decided clearly, that the 
 Baptism of one person by another with water is by sprinkling. 
 It is not superior knowledge of the Greek language, but of 
 Jewish practices, that decides the scripture meaning of the 
 vord Baptism. Besides, when the Greek Church, like the rest, 
 began to learn the way of the heathen, her superior knowledge 
 of the Greek language would serve to facilitate the reception 
 of heathenish modes and customs. 
 
 The scantiness of information about Baptism in the New 
 Testament cannot be accounted for to satisfaction but by refer- 
 ence to the light of the Old. In my view the error of the 
 Baptists lies in neglecting this light.* Consulting only the 
 
 * The light of the Old Testament shows a positive institution of Infant 
 Baptism by sprinkling, and repeated promises of its continuance under the 
 New, without the least hint of immersion. But this is not all. The practice 
 of Infant Baptism for so long a period, in every family throughout the nation 
 is a clear comment 3n the language of the New Testament respecting the 
 baptizing of Christiun /am t7te« , and the baptizing of a^^ nation; giving a cer- 
 tain sound in favour of Infant Baptism. Had the Old Testament Church been 
 a Baptist one, or without Baptism altogether, Infant Baptism could not have 
 been inierred from such expressions with any degree of clearness for want of 
 precedents to fix their sense. But as the Old Testament Church was in fkct 
 
^ja'^^;tH 
 
 ^M^ 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 164 
 
 BEMAIN8 OF THV 
 
 New Testament, and not finding there the requisite directions 
 as to its subjects or mode, they have chosen, rather than accom- 
 paiiy their brethren without light, to part "witti i\xc.n\. and strike 
 out a new path for themselves, by denying tb«; right ui infants 
 to the ordinanc'3 altogether, and by takin,', iu)f«f;r8ion and 3' ip- 
 tism to be the i^ame. But had th«y cor huhed '"jOSv aisJ ^! a 
 prophets, they would have foand a warrant both for Infact Bap- 
 tism and for sprinkling. 
 
 In Baptism the sprinkling of water leads the mind directly 
 to the blood of sprinkling for applying to our 8*>u}s .^oth its 
 atoning and purifying virtue to rctnove the gniltn^rtd defilement 
 of our SID, Thevein we profess to bo unifo-d to Jhrist, and 
 Ijsirtiikers of his redemption and of his Holy Spirit. It lays us 
 umlcr t!ie stiongest obligations to abstain from all filthiness of 
 the i]c«ih and spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God. 
 
 i3aptism is greatly abused by ministers who dispense it to the 
 ignorant or profane, and by those adui*^ persons who receive not 
 with it the blessings which it represents, nor mind its delight- 
 ful and sacred obligations. But it seals all saving blessings to 
 the faithful in Christ, and it binds them with honds of love to 
 <' observe all things whatsoever he hath commanded them." 
 
 Infant Baptism gives a striking display of the wonderful and 
 gracious regard of Christ for infants, " Suffer the little children 
 to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
 dom of God." Though he may apply his redemption to them 
 without external means, yet Baptism suits their infant state, as 
 well as the adult state of others ; for salvation is wholly the 
 work of God, and wholly of grace. He claims and recognizes 
 them as members of his body, equally with their parents, being 
 the covenant God of the seed of believers. He shows equal 
 readiness to save the parent and the child, and thus Christian 
 fathers and mothers are relieved from grievous anxiety about 
 the salvation of their offspring. By this ordinance the gracious 
 Redeemer animates the faith, the hope, and the affection of 
 
 * Pedobaptist one, her whole practice served for a precedent to establish the 
 PtdobapUat senie of the expressions. 
 
 *i8- 
 
 :53t,-* 
 
rections 
 1 accom- 
 d strike 
 
 infknts 
 ad B :p- 
 
 aii'J ''■& 
 mXi Bnp- 
 
 dirc^tly 
 ",>oth its 
 ?i31ement 
 rist, and 
 X lays U8 
 liness of 
 
 of God. 
 
 it to the 
 ceive not 
 J delight- 
 issings to 
 )f love to 
 lem." 
 lerful and 
 I children 
 the king- 
 I to them 
 t state, as 
 wholly the 
 recognizes 
 nts, being 
 ows equal 
 
 Christian 
 iety about 
 e gracious 
 Section of 
 
 )8tablish the 
 
 REV. JAMES MACaREOOB, D.D. 
 
 165 
 
 parents to devote their tender infants cheerfully to God, to pray 
 frequently with them and for them, to watch the first ilawniriir 
 of their reason for be«rinning their reiiirious instruction, a»id to 
 persevere therein while opportunity lusts. He onL'agf'S all flio 
 adult members of the Church to cherish them as infant bro- 
 thers and sisters in Christ; as fellow members, whose tender- 
 ness demands all the sympathies and energies of brotherly love. 
 He engages the infants themselves, as soon as they can reflect, 
 to cleave in love and gratitude to that Redeemer, who showed 
 his care for them, before they knew themselves, and to trust 
 him and serve him all the days of their life. 
 
 May God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
 shine into the hearts of both parties, and dispose thtm to 
 handle his word without deceit and to be taught by him as the 
 truth is in Jesus. 
 
 *: 
 

 •^m>v"a«iMM 
 
 « 
 
 W 
 
 
 I 
 
 %- 
 

 w 
 
 "'a 
 
 
 A LETTER 
 
 TO ▲ 
 
 CLERGYMAN, URGING HIM TO SET FREE A BLACK 
 GIRL HE HELD IN SLAVERY. 
 
 ORiaiNALLT PrBUSHKD IK 1788. 
 
 •ri^jf*... 
 
 
 ■0- 
 
 . yv'..r." 
 
 ■""'■■T 'f .*,">: ■ 
 
 ■■^^ 
 
 >* ■ ' i»- v "ytv^ .- 
 
rf 
 
 / 
 
 ^■■ 
 
 !*»*<-»* 
 
 -.^ 
 
 j; 
 
 'S?*?^- 
 
 •^' 
 
r 
 
 A LETTER, &C. 
 
 'f»' 
 
 ■^■*^., 
 
 Reverend Sir : — Pcriuit me to speak to you freely of one 
 matter, in which I am persuaded you offend your God. I 
 dure appeal to Ilim who searches the heart, that, so far as I 
 know my own heart, I have no worse design in speaking of it, 
 than regard for the glory of God and love to your person ; and, 
 therefore, I hope you will take what I have to say in good part. 
 The matter I mean is, the concern you have in the most infa- 
 mous and accursed of all commerce, the buying and selling of 
 man, who " is the image and glory of God." 1 Cor. xi. 7. 
 
 Is it so then that one man is born a slave, and another a 
 lord? or, (to uho an old metaphor,) are one part of mankind 
 born saddled and bridled, and the other part booted and spurred, 
 ready to mount their harnessed Hf * * 
 
 All men at their birth are equally naked, helpless, and desti- 
 tute of marks of authority. You could not distinguish between 
 his Royal Highness, and the child of the poorest beggar that 
 walks the streets. It is a maxim equally j^grienble to scripture 
 and reason, and peculiarly dear to every British subject, that 
 all mankind are born upon a level, and tLj;t lio man can rule 
 over another but by mutual consent. As, therefore, you have 
 not the consent of that girl over whom you rulej I would desire 
 you to give a solid answer to this question : " By what authority 
 dost thou these things ? and who gave thee this authority ?" 
 For my own part I see no authority you can have but that you 
 
 • A few words in this place we have l?con unable to decipher. — Editor, 
 
 15 169 
 
 
^ 
 
 "? 
 
 /■ 
 
 170 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 arc ablo to do it. I confess it would bo cat :c mod very good 
 authority in a world of tyrants; tlio same by which ti.e great 
 fishes devour the small ; but it will never satisfy the conscience 
 of a tender Christian. It' you have more power or wealth than 
 your slave, it is owing to this cause only, — that God hath been 
 more liberal to you than to her. His superior liberality to you 
 or me should be a more powerful incitement to us to bo more 
 compassionate and helpful to our poor oppressed brethren, and 
 particularly to exert ourselves to the utmost for the redemption, 
 protection, and education of slaves. But that it should bo cm- 
 ployed for the purposes of oppression and slavery, is without 
 doubt a most horrid abuse of the kindness of God, and a lasting 
 reproach to ourselves. Tell me, Reverend Sir, why you do not 
 sell me ? I am your brother, and your slave is your sister. You 
 arc not able. T bless God for his kindness to mo, which hath 
 put it out of your power to deal with me as you have done with 
 my sister. Tell mo, why may not your slave sell you ? What 
 right does she want, that you have, but power ? I hope slio 
 wants inclination too. 
 
 The apostle Paul presseth us to hospitality, from this considera- 
 tion, that " some have thereby entertained angels unawares." 
 Preposterous as it may seem to you, I must confess that I would 
 be afraid to engage in the slave trade, lest 1 should be found to 
 injure some superior beings, angelic or divine, in disguise. Had 
 you lived when angels visited the earth in human form, you 
 would not have forborne to buy and sell them if you had an 
 opportunity. Had you lived eighteen hundred years ago, you 
 would not have scrupled to buy and sell my blessed Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, if at least he had been born black, and you 
 had met with him before the fame of his miracles began to 
 arise ; for, as " he was not only made in the likeness of men 
 and found in fashion as a man ; but moreover, made himself of 
 no reputat'on and took upon him the form of a servant — and be- 
 came obedient;" Phil. ii. 7, 8; how could you have distinguished 
 between him and such as you do enslave ? But be that as it 
 will, it is plain you buy and sell Christ mystically, that is, those 
 
 % -A 
 
REV. JAMES MAOOKKOun, D.D. 
 
 171 
 
 117 pood 
 \,Q grcttt 
 nacienco 
 i\tl\ tluin 
 ,ath been 
 ty to you 
 ► bo more 
 breu, and 
 dcmption, 
 lid 1)0 cm- 
 is vritliout 
 d a lusting 
 you do not 
 Btcr. You 
 jvhich bat^ 
 Q done ■with 
 ou? What 
 I hope sho 
 
 is consideva- 
 tinawarcs.' 
 that I would 
 be found to 
 iguise. Had 
 |n form, you 
 you had an 
 lars ago, you 
 [cd Lord and 
 ^lack, and you 
 jles began to 
 [cness of men 
 le himself of 
 ant— and be- 
 distinguished 
 [t be that as it 
 that is, those 
 
 who arc united to him by faith, and nrc in the flcriptnrps com- 
 monly culled " the body of Christ," and *' tho nieinbors of iii.s 
 body." lloin. xii. 6. Eph. v. 30. Charity rcquircH nio to 
 hopo, Reverend sir, that your girl whom you hold a ^»lavo 
 and hor mother whom you 8uld, are members of tho body of 
 Christ ; because you could not fail to bo touched with more 
 than ordinary compassion toward these poor ignorant creatures, 
 to use uncommon diligence to bring them up in tho nurture 
 and admonition of the Lord, and to pour out many a fervent 
 prayer for God's blessing upon the means you used with them ; 
 all which I trust would not be in vain. })ut if they be mem- 
 bers of the body of Christ, does not ho account them precious 
 as himself? Are they not one spirit with tho Lord, of his 
 flesh and of his bones? Docs not he who touches them, touch 
 the apple of his eye, and wound him in tho tcndcrest part ? 
 Yes, Reverend Sir, for " in all their afl9iotions he is afflicted ; 
 in his love and in his pity ho redeemed them, and he bears 
 them, and carries them all their days." Isa. Iziii. 9. lie cries 
 from heaven to all who hurt them in their liberty or property, 
 as he did to him of Tarsus, — " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
 me V Take heed then, lest he should resent what you do to 
 them as much, if not more than if it had been done to himself; 
 and lest, when he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, and all 
 natioas are gathered before him, ho should say to you, " Depart 
 from me, thou cursed, into everlasting fire ; for I was in prison, 
 and thou visitodst me not," but detainedst me a captive. la 
 vain willyou reply, When did I see thee in prison and visited 
 thee not, but detained thee a captive ? for he will answer, 
 " Inasmuch as thou didst it unto the least, the very least of 
 these, thou didst it unto me." 
 
 But if you tell me your slaves cannot be members of Christ, 
 because they are igiiorant, obstinate, and wicked ; I will answer 
 thee and thy companions with thee. Be it so ; yet they may 
 be converted from the error of their way. Others, who were 
 as desperate as they, are now singing the song of Moses and 
 the Lamb. And if, in any future time, they shall be united to 
 
"Wf^ 
 
 
 172 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 \^' 
 
 Christ, your guilt will be accounted [the same] as if they were in 
 him already; for he [loves] them now as dearly as he will thenj 
 because he has loved them with an everlasting love. Nay, though 
 they should be eternally lost, it will make no alteration in your 
 guilt ; because whether they be saved or lost, for aught you know 
 they may be saved. Besides by consenting in one instance to 
 the buying and selling of man, you subscribe your approbation 
 of the whole of the slave trade, ancient and modern ; and yet, 
 certainly, some slaves hav-j been good Christians, so you are 
 still a buyer and seller of Christ. Reverend Sir, if these things 
 are so, may not your sin bear a comparison with that of Judas ? 
 Did he sin knowingly ? Surely yours cannot be through ignor- 
 ance. Did he sin from covctousness ? I appeal to your own 
 conscience, if yours proceed not from the same source. Was 
 he an apostle ? So are you. Did he sell his master ? So have 
 you. Judas sold the natural body of Christ for the very price 
 appointed by the law of Moses for a slave, viz : thirty pieces or 
 shekels of silver ; Ex. xxi. 32 ; you have sold his mystical body 
 at the very same rate. 
 
 Know you not. Reverend Sir, tnat the body of your slave is 
 (or at least may be) the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in 
 her, whom she has of God." Her " body is the temple of the 
 living God, as he hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in 
 them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 
 Again, " Know you not that she is the temple of God, and that 
 the Spirit of God dwelleth in her ? If any man debase the tem- 
 ple of God, ( and what can debase it more than to enslave it ? ) 
 him will God destroy ; for the temple of God is holy, which 
 temple she la." 1 Cor. vi. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 16. 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 
 Take heed, lest all the sanctity of your ofl&ce, and all tho attain- 
 ments of your profession, be not able to shield you from this 
 threatening. Simon Magus, after a fair profession of faith in 
 Christ, was declared to be " in the gall of bitterness and in the 
 bond of iniquity," for offeHmj to " purchase the Holy Ghost 
 with money," and perhaps you are too confident, if you are en- 
 tirely free from fears of being in the same state ; for your sin is 
 
 
-TflKB 
 
 REV. JAMES MACGREaOR, D.D. 
 
 173 
 
 greater than his, inasmuch as you have actually purchased and 
 sold the temple of the Holy Ghost wherein he dwells, and all 
 that it contains. 
 
 I said that, by your conduct, you subscribe your approbation 
 of the whole slave trade. I farther accuse you as an accom- 
 plice in all the cruel and murderous treatment that slaves have 
 ever endured. I know you disapprove of it; bul; that avails 
 you little while you help forward the affliction. While you lay 
 the foundation stone, upon which the whole structure of their 
 cruel treatment is raised, it will not justify you to say, Let not 
 the building go on. While you open the sluice, in vain do you 
 cry out, Stop the stream. You do what in you lies to make all 
 men believe the slave trade lawful ; and the native and neces- 
 sary consequence of that, with respect to the most part of man- 
 kind, is every species of cruelty. While you teach men to con- 
 sider their fellow creatures as their property, in vain will you 
 teach them to be tender hearted toward them ', in vain will you 
 attempt to restrain them from taking every advantage of them, 
 which their covetous hearts or haughty dispositions can inspire 
 or suggest, whether by hard labour, hunger, and nakedness, or 
 beating, whipping, and killing. Can you really believe that 
 any man will consider his property as his equal, and treat it 
 accordingly ? I defy all the world to prove it unlawful for mo to 
 kill and eat that man whom I may lawfully buy and sell, like 
 my ox or my horse. Is it not very evident, that I have the 
 same right to butcher a man myself, that I have to sell hira to 
 a butcher ? I must not indeed wantonly kill my ox, or destroy 
 any part of my property ; neither might I kill my negro with- 
 out cause upon supposition that he were my property j but a little 
 necessity or advantage would justify the one and the other. If 
 such be the consequence of your conduct, how horrible I In 
 vain will you object here that slaves are rational creatures, and 
 must be treated as such. Reverend Sir, if they be rational 
 creatures, then the whole world is not a sufficient ransom for 
 one of them, then they cinnot be redeemed with corruptible 
 things as silver and gold, but with the preciouB blood of Christ. 
 15* 
 
 %\ 
 
: : 1 
 
 174 
 
 BEMAINS or THE 
 
 Reverend Sir, you know that he who well understood their 
 worth, bought many of them to God by his blood, for nothing 
 less would have been a suiB&cient price ; and they shall sit with 
 him upon his throne for ever and ever, and at the great day of 
 judgment, they shall stand at his right hand, and doom many 
 of their masters to ei-ernal slavery, torment, and death. 
 *' Know ye not that these slaves shall judge the world ?" 1 Cor. 
 vi. 2. If you reply, that you do not buy and sell their souls, 
 I answer neither do you whip or kill their souls (blessed be 
 God, this is out of the reach of their haughtiest tyrant) ; but 
 as you cannot buy and sell their bodies without their souls, the 
 Almighty Judge will account that done to the man which you 
 do to the bodj. Were you self-consistent. Reverend Sir, you 
 would not, to vindicate your conduct, plead their rationality ; but 
 like your West Indian and continental friends, who deal exten- 
 sively in that commodity, you would deny that slaves have any 
 rational faculties at all, or any soul different from that of a 
 brute. Hereby you would at once establish the lawfulness of 
 the trade, and quiet all the pangs of conscience. Bursting her 
 troublesome shackles, you would feel yourself at full liberty to 
 roam without remorse through a field extensive and unconfined 
 as your fancy, and to bargain in human flesh at any rate, and 
 to any amount you pleased. And, believe it, that argument 
 which takes away the souls of slaves, whencesoever you will 
 fetch it, is the only one that will render your conduct fair and 
 honourable ; for as long as you believe slaves to be men, busy 
 meddling conscience will not suffer you to keep quiet possession 
 of your spoil. The traders that deny the rationality of their 
 slaves, act, at least, an open and consistent part. They attempt 
 not the impossibility of keeping a good conscience, and the 
 profits of an unlawful trade too; therefore, generously quitting all 
 claims to the former, they turn their whole attention to the 
 latter. But, Reverend Sir, will you tell me what Is the genu- 
 ine reason why your friends of the slave trade act a part so in- 
 conjnaous to human nature, as to degrade a fourth part of man- 
 kind intt^ the rank of brutes ? Sure it must be some uncom- 
 
 c\y^ 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 175 
 
 f^ 
 
 monly forcible temptation that shall reduce me to assert, that 
 my brother (who is indeed wiser than myself) is an irrational 
 animal. I can make only one conjecture about it, viz., that it 
 possibly flows from a secret conviction of soul, that no feebler 
 spring will sustain that commerce upon which they have re- 
 solved. 
 
 Eeverend Sir, let me ask you. Does not your practice in keep- 
 ing a slave contradict your daily prayers? It surely Cocs. 
 Do you not pray for the downfall of Ikbylon ? Yes. Then 
 you pray in effect for the total abolition of slavery : see 
 Rev. xviii. 12, 13. But were the cry presently heard, "Baby- 
 lon the great is fallen, is fallen, and shall no more arise," where 
 would you take your stand ? Not among those that say, " Ile- 
 j«"/ice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, 
 ior God hath avenged you on her;" but among the merchants 
 of the earth, who " weep and mourn over b"'*, because no man 
 buyeth their merchandise any more, the merchandise of gold 
 and silver — and slaves, and souls of men." The enslaving of 
 men is a practice truly anti-christian, and it is a lasting re- 
 proach to the Protestant name, that it should not be peculiar 
 to anti-christ. shame ! indelible disgrace ! That Protes- 
 tants, Presbyterian minister;; t ho of all others, should keep 
 farthest off from her, should be found publicly committing for- 
 nication with the Great Whore, drinking themselves drunk, and 
 stupefying their consciences with their filthy wine ! But blessed 
 be God, though hand join in hand, the JNegroes shall be free. 
 When the anti-christian fabric shall tumble down, the slave 
 merchants shall be covered with its ruins. It is hoped the 
 period is not far distant. Whoever considers, upon the one 
 hand, the rapid progress that philosophy, the fair harbinger of 
 liberty, now makes in the popish or despotic kingdoms of Eu- 
 rope, and upon the unavoidable consequences of the late memo- 
 rable revolution in America, must see that Providence is makinsr 
 haste to overturn for ever the pillars of tyranny, and to restore 
 the world to its liberty. For this glorious day let us often and 
 fervently pray. No friend of mankind need be discouvaged for 
 
176 
 
 REMAIN? OP THE 
 
 
 M ' 
 
 i 
 
 i f i 
 
 fear that the spirit of freedom should not soon reach Africa ; 
 for when the flame is once kindled, it will quickly spread to the 
 utmost boundaries of the earth. Navigation hath already ex- 
 plored every coast, and hath hardly left an island throughout 
 the globe undiscovered. It remains only that it should change 
 its tyrant masters (under whom that useful art hath been too 
 long abused to the vilest of purposes) for friends of mankind, 
 and then it will carry liberty and happiness, temporal and spi- 
 ritual, to every corner of the world, with more speed and assi- 
 duity than ever it carried slavery and death. 
 
 I would further ask you, Reverend Sir, How can you appeal 
 to the heart-searching God, and say, as a minister, " I have not 
 sh'inned to declare the whole counsel of Grod," as a Christian, I 
 discharged my duty to my fellow creatures as faithfully as I 
 could ; while you are obliged to teach that girl that she is en- 
 tirely under your power, and has no right to use any means for 
 the salvation of her soul, but such as arc subservient to the 
 secular interests of your fixmily ? How can you lay your hand 
 upon your heart and say, I wish to love my neighbour as my- 
 self, and " Whatsoever I will that others should do to me I en- 
 deavour to do the same to them ?" What sort of obedience 
 give you to the apostle's command of " preferring one another 
 with brotherly love in honour, or of giving to servants that 
 which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Master 
 in heaven ?" &c., &c. 
 
 Be pleased, my dear Sir, to consider that, except the word of 
 God, liberty is the most precious gift of heaven to man ; a gift 
 without which there can be no enjoyment in the world j a gift 
 bestowed as freely and universally as the light of the sun, or 
 the air that we breathe ; a gift, the love of which is far more 
 deeply implanted in the heart of man than that of life itself; a 
 gift, consequently, of which no man may deprive another with- 
 out being guilty of the highest contempt of God, and his best 
 bounty, and of something more horrid than murder with re- 
 spect to his brother. Shall a Heathen say 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREOOR, D.D. 
 
 n 
 
 177 
 
 A ^V, an hour Of virtuous U.e,,y' 
 ^--tha.Lo.eeternitvorbon^o?" 
 
 And shall a minister of fi.« 
 
 *i" I Oie I „i„ „o.t:ll';„;^';'?' T"'^-' ' -•" -»'"o, and 
 
 ful .nfluonce j„„ example will I, ' °°'"'" *''»' » l-»lo- 
 i' has already drawn „t J ^ " .t^^. "<>"" »">-• Doubtio™ 
 .nto i. for „e„„a.i„„, after " „ "; 'Z '"' " """^ <'™- "'hers 
 
 Surely when the KeverendTr ° "^""""'^ ''"^ 'his- 
 
 tl'ere cannot be any harm in ITT' " ^''°'^ "''"''xK^r, does it, 
 «ouId he said against slavery fro™ « • ? "'"''' """■«'' ""'""g 
 "Ovico of the apostle to IL^;: '"^^ "' """'■'"' •"" "•"' 
 '-'her;" it „„e enongh forT^an „ ^ 'T' '^ ''''' -« i' 
 "-* only to tno. his^n as er's i'tLM " "°"'""™- ">■» 
 Reverend Sir, you have co-.tinlJ '""' ''° "■ ««', 
 
 ttat I an. afraid your con ;, ' "Z Z^"' '" ""« '■""ib-o sin 
 darkened, and your heart hard n d T T! ""''""'""''■"S 
 you cannot see the evil „f a r ' *^'" '""« ''"''it, that 
 
 science cheeked you at the'l,/ •""''"'"'''"'"' """ >■»"■• "on- 
 ^ -re it „i„ awL, : d :, uTZ'' '"' ^°" ^"^"'"^O "■ 
 -ever bought a negro, though vour'/?.'""^ "'"^ ^'^ ''•■«' 
 
 ■t-refore. set fr^ee 'your Xvfdirt ly^'^'it T' 
 fte name of the Lord, that until .ITl <• '''"'' '" y" '»> 
 
 her gain .„ y„„ „;,, ^ ^urld /d '° "V" '""^ '^""^ -d 
 have a controversy with your o„, s ut "'" ""' "™^» '» 
 W'll be most cursed. By soIhL ht [ ""■ ""'' ^'^ f""" 
 another man's sin, instead of ^-^CV ' ' ""'"^^ "^ 
 
 I'-'y « your»,, *„^, ,„a ;;^"S "V yonr „„„. j,, ,,.j. 
 
 b^ acceptable. <„H y^l ^1" C 7^^ J ---'"-i" 
 'b.s, you but offer sacrifice for robbcrv t ''"°™' '""""" 
 do for her price ? « The T / ,/■ ^ay not, What shall T 
 than that." ^'^ ^•'"' " "'''^ '» S-e thee much moro 
 
 1 never saw a min nf ^ * 
 
 
 
 - A 
 

 178 
 
 REMAINS OP TUB 
 
 I 
 
 k 
 
 ^ 
 
 V _ 
 
 been speakinj;; nor indeed any man whatsoever, but such as 
 were themselves most evidently enslaved to avarice. Like 
 profane swearing, drunkenness, and whoredom, there are many 
 to praciisG it, but it has few defenders. The four following 
 objections contain the substance of all that I can conceive to be 
 said in its favour : ' " 
 
 I. Their colour may be improved as an argument to shew 
 the propriety of enslaving the Negroes. What I black devils ! 
 what are they fit for but to be trodden under foot ? They have 
 the very image of the devil ! Certainly if they have not been 
 designed for some despicable, purpose, they would not be black*. 
 Such an argument might redden the cheek of a Negro. I be- 
 lieve you blush for them that use it. Blush for yourself then ; 
 for it prevailed with you to engage in the slave trade, or it 
 proves that you want nothing but an opportunity to enslave 
 white people. 
 
 But to answer the objection : Eeverend Sir, if you maintain 
 that the Negroes have the image of the devil because they are 
 black, I will maintain with greater probability that you have 
 his image because you are white j for this reason, that twenty 
 white ghosts are seen for one black. But the truth is, the 
 devil is so contrary to man, that in the day time, and among 
 white people, you will always find him black ; but in the night- 
 time, and among the Negroes, he is invariably white. Were 
 you to meet him in Africa, if you did not cast your eye upon his 
 cloven feet, you could not distinguish him from your brother. 
 Reverend Sir, being a white maft, you are accustomed to have 
 a black idea of the devil, and I doubt not but you would have 
 taken the first ". legro you ever saw to be him, if at least he had 
 proceeded to torment you. But put yourself in the place of a 
 Negro, and the thought will apply equally well to a white man. 
 Allow me. Reverend Sir, to transport you, for a moment, to the 
 banks of Senegal or Gambia, and to metamorphose you into an 
 innocent shepherd, who never saw nor heard of a white man. 
 Let me suppose that, while you tend your flocks in some green 
 pasture, a boat full of British sailors makcB toward you. Y©u 
 
 iJd .jH-^... 
 
■'W^ 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 179 
 
 , such as 
 e. 1^'^^e 
 are iiiany 
 following 
 Bcive to be 
 
 nt to shew 
 ack devils I 
 
 They have 
 je not been 
 ,01 be black, 
 egro. I^e- 
 mrself then ; 
 
 trade, or it 
 iy to enslave 
 
 you maintain 
 jause they are 
 [hat you have 
 ,, that twenty 
 
 truth is, the 
 [e, and among 
 
 in the night- 
 
 espy them at a distance, and gaze; hut as they draw near, you 
 see plainly men of a strange, unheard of colour. You stand 
 amazed. You recollect I the instructions of your nurse, the 
 tales of your companions, and your own imagination, unatii- 
 mously concur to make them a company of devils. Amaze- 
 ment gives way to horror. You fly ! But you see your pur- 
 suers advancing, and your terror adds to their speed. You are 
 seized aad bound. Your companions share the same fate, and 
 you are all committed to the care of one of your pursuers, whili 
 the rest go in quest of more of your countrymen. Your dread 
 .and horror are unutterable. You find yourself entirely under 
 the power of that hideous monster, whom you supposed to lo 
 the devil. You and your companions are conveyed on board a 
 vessel and transported, I shall suppose, to the West Indies. 
 Reverend Sir, [ shall not attempt to unfold your thoughts du- 
 ring the passage ; but I may safely suppose, that they vrere 
 none of the most favourable towards the white people. When 
 you are landed, the first thing you notice is a nuuber of your 
 countrymen, toiling, sweating, fainting, dying under the se- 
 verity of their drudgery, and the torments of the lash waved 
 by no gentle hand. You are soon made partaker of the cheer 
 of your countrymen. Y"ou see more faces of the same colour 
 with theirs who transported you thither ; and without any ap- 
 pearance of sympathy, compassion, or love toward you in any 
 of them ; but, on the contrary, all of them filled with the same 
 aspiring pride, the same domineering haughtiness, the same 
 contempt and hatred of you which you know the devil to pos- 
 sess. Reverend Sir, what would be your thoughts in this 
 situation ? Would it be an extravagant imagination for you to 
 conceive that you were arrived in hell, and that all the white 
 people you saw were devils, whose only of&ce with respect to 
 you was hating, whipping, tormenting, and killing. If you 
 should happen to survive, you would come indeed, through time, 
 to be undeceived ; for you would find some friends among the 
 white people, which would also let you know that your oppres- 
 sors were of the same species. But still you could not help 
 
 V-. 
 
180 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 # 
 
 being astonished that there was so striking a resemblance be- 
 tween them and the devil, as miMie /oa mistake the one for the 
 other, and for so long a time. * 
 
 If it were needful, after what I ha?e said, to give a serious 
 answer to the objection, I would observe, that the devil being 
 a spirit can have no colour, and that it is merely by a figure 
 of speech we call him black. Therefore his image cannot con- 
 sist of blackness of colour, but of moral or negative blackness, 
 that is guilt. Hence the whitest man may be as black and 
 guilty as the devil, and the blackest may be exceedingly fair^ 
 and white or fair in a moral sense. Again, God being a spirit, 
 his image cannot consist of any colour, black or white, but of 
 fair qualities, viz : knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with 
 respect to which all men of what colour soever arc upon an equal 
 footing. It is true, God did not without design form the Negroes 
 of n different colour froia us j but that very different from the 
 infernal construction put upon it by many white people, was a 
 design full of wisdom and goodness, lil'e all the other works of 
 the beneficent Creator. To a white skin wliich reflects the 
 rays of the sun, the heat of the scorching climate of the Ne- 
 groes would be intolerable; therefore God hath kindly clothed 
 them with black, which, because it does not reflect, enables them 
 to bear the hottest climate without inconvenience. Reverend 
 Sir, were you or I in Guinea, we would earnestly wish for a 
 black skin. What shall we soy then of the white people, who 
 turn God's kindness to the Negroes to their destruction ? What 
 wjrds can paint their infernal conduct black enough? How 
 stroogly do men impose upon themselves, as if an imaginary 
 connection between a black colour and unworthy deeds did 
 really justify slavery ! as if a black coat were naturally and ne- 
 cessarily guilty, and a white one innocent 1 If indeed it could 
 be proven that there is a natural, intrinsic superiority in white 
 above black, and that it bears the same relation to the inferiority 
 of the black that tyranny does to slavery, without any mixture 
 of that which subsists between father and son ; I say, if these 
 
m 
 
 REV. JAMES MACUREQOR, D.D. 
 
 181 
 
 blance be- 
 )no for tlie 
 
 e a serious 
 devil being 
 by a figure 
 cannot con- 
 . blackness, 
 black and 
 lingly fair, 
 ing a spirit, 
 hite, but of 
 )liness, with 
 pen an equal 
 the Negroes 
 3nt from the 
 )cople, was a 
 ler works of 
 reflects the 
 of the Ne- 
 ndly clothed 
 inables them 
 Reverend 
 wish for a 
 people, who 
 ition? What 
 ,ugh? How 
 ,n imaginary 
 deeds did 
 [rally and ne- 
 eed it could 
 rity in white 
 le inferiority 
 any mixture 
 say, if these 
 
 two impossibilities were once proved, I would agree that Ne- 
 groes may be enslaved, but not till then. 
 
 II. You plead that it is better for them to I slaves than to 
 be free. Is it then in the height of your generosity that you 
 enslave ? Is it because you love your neighbour so dearly as to 
 prefer his welfare to your own ? Give me leave to suspect this 
 excessive generosity. I am afraid thiit among the slave-traders, 
 there are some sordid wretches, that would not suffer the Ne- 
 groes to continue in slavery if that were best ; but they would 
 strive to get the best state for themselve- and yet I see no 
 emulation among them to exchange with their slaves. Besides 
 it is not easy to conceive how beats and buffets, blood and 
 wounds, bruises and broken bones, are desirable things, or pre- 
 ferable to a safe and whole skin, liut you will say, though 
 slavery be not beneficial to all, yet it is so to the Negroes, for 
 they are different from all people, and have a disposition pecu- 
 liar to themselves, and experience shows that they thrive better 
 bound than free. I would ask, Is it their great Master in hea- 
 ven that hath given them that slavish disposition, which turns 
 liberty into a curse? If it be, he can justify himself without 
 putting you to the necessity, either of pleading wickedly for 
 God, or of doing evil that good may come; therefore let him 
 find out some other way to confer upon them this disguised 
 blessing, and do you abstain from all appearance of evil. But 
 it is their human masters, (I am widely mistaken,) I should say 
 inhuman monsters, who rule over them that implant this dispo- 
 sition into their minds. How is it possible for that man to have 
 any thing manly in him, who is taught from his youth to con- 
 sider himself as a beast of burden ? How can any thing noble 
 spring up where the very buds of sense or reason are crushed 
 to death ? Have not the brightest geniuses that ever shone been 
 completely extinguished by slavery or confinement ? Does not 
 even a brute sink below itself by bad treatment ? And can it 
 then be otherwise Avith them who are slaves from age to age, 
 and from their birth to the grave ? But surely their slavish 
 disposition will not be charged as a fault upon themselves, 
 16 
 
 ■■«* 
 
 *; 
 
\r 
 
 !l 
 
 i 
 
 |. 
 
 ■ii I 
 
 182 
 
 REMAINS OP TUB 
 
 but upon those basest of all wretches, who sink their ^Minds in 
 to fhut condition j au'l ^rcvou^l)' will tliey answer it. O dovil- 
 isli barbarity I for a man to bent and bruiHo his brother, till he 
 huth made him stupid and brutish ai:ti then to treat liim as u 
 brute, excusing himstdf that he relishes nothing else. O Jiord 
 God to whom vengeance belongeth, sliow thyself. Lift up 
 thyself, thou Judge of the earth, render a reward to tlie proud. 
 Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph ? How long sliaJi 
 they utter and speak hard things ? They break in pieces thy 
 people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage, llisc, for the p- 
 pression of the poor and for the sigliing of the needy, and set 
 him in safety from him that pufl'eth at him. Let us, lleverend 
 Sir, let us for shame, set ourselves to remedy, raihcr than in- 
 crease the sl-ivish disposition of the Negroes, and let no obstacle, 
 no disappointment, no discouragement whatsoever hinder our 
 perseverance in such a benevolent design. Were the Negroes 
 free, and properly encouraged and instructed, they would in a 
 few generations become as ooblo and free and high spirited as 
 ourselves. 
 
 IIL The example of the Jews is pled in favour of slavery. 
 1 hey indeed h, d multitudes of slaves. The devoted Canaanites 
 whom they could not kill, they were, it is likely, permitted to 
 enslave; but what the Jews did to tliem is not to be imitated 
 by us, because the Lord hath not, so far as wc know, devoted 
 any other people but themselves indiscriminately ti lostruction. 
 The Gibeonites forfeited their liberty, and were deservedly en- 
 slaved, but at the same time by a special command of God. If 
 people forfeit their liberty, let them lose it still. But what 
 have the Afri<Mns oiFended against the laws of Great Britain or 
 America, that we sliould traverse immense seas, and range their 
 deserts to enchain them ? Do the laws of ]iritain forbid any 
 negroes to be born in Africa? If they do, by what argument 
 will you justify them? If they do not, how will the example 
 of the Jews justify your conduct ? I grant, indeed, that tlie 
 Jews engaged farther (though not so far as you) in the slave 
 trade, and reduced to servitude men who had as good a right to 
 
 ,» 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREaOR, D.D. 
 
 188 
 
 r itilndH in 
 devil- 
 ,hcr, till he 
 ut him uH a 
 Q. Jiunl 
 •. Lift up 
 > the proud, 
 long hIuiH 
 I pieces tby 
 
 for the op- 
 cdy, and fiet 
 js, lleveveiid 
 her than in- 
 !t no obstacle, 
 r hinder our 
 
 the Nct^voes 
 ;y would in a 
 rh spirited as 
 
 at of slavery. 
 ,ed Canannites 
 permitted to 
 be imitiitcd 
 now, devoted 
 destruction, 
 eservedly en- 
 i of God. If 
 11. But what 
 eat Britain or 
 d range their 
 ,n forbid any 
 tat argument 
 the example 
 eed, that the 
 in the slave 
 ;ood a right to 
 
 bo freo as themselves. But for this the Lord Hcvcrcly chas- 
 tised them. In return ho s' 1<1 tliem by thousands and mlllinns 
 into the hands of the must cruel musters that ever ruled, 
 lloverend Sir, 1 am not without fears that you and your friends 
 in the slave trade, may also procure for your country the ven- 
 geance of heaven in the same way, or in some other no less 
 grievous. Beware of forging chains for your children. 
 
 It may be thought that the law of Moses allowed slavery. 
 But, 1st, it might be nee for Moses to make laws about 
 
 slaves, for the sake of forfeited their liberty, and 
 
 wore enslaved lawfully. '" es without approving of sla- 
 
 very might make laws to : Mil cruel masters from abusing 
 their slaves. Lastly, though it should be granted that the 
 law of Moses permitted the Jews to keep slaves, slaves in every 
 respect like yours, yet that will not justify you. In the infancy 
 of the world, when men hud but little knowledge and expe- 
 rience, the history and example of a few ages only, and above 
 all a very sm.iU portion of divine revelation, many things 
 might be permitted, which cannot by any means be suffered 
 now ill the fulness of time, " when the mystery that was hid 
 from iges and generations is revealed ; when life and immor- 
 tality are brought to light;" when there is no longer a favourite 
 people or any distinction of nation , " when they who were not 
 beloved are beloved ;" when " they who were not a people," 
 but slaves, " are become the people of God," when the natural 
 rights and privileges of men are understood, and in a word, 
 when the light of the gospel shines with meridian splendour. 
 If Moses's law periuitted slavery without lim'tation, the words 
 of our Lord in another case must be applied to it. " Moses, be- 
 cause of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away 
 your wives ; but from the beginning it was not so." 
 
 IV. Many think that the slave trade is fully authorized, from 
 Gen. ix. 25. " Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall 
 he be unto his brethren," The connection and force of this 
 argument must be as follows : — Slavery is entailed upon the 
 seed of Canaan, therefore also upon every Negro. Reverend 
 

 I{>?^1l^ 
 
 m \r ^ 
 
 > 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
 1^0 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 11.25 
 
 liilM 125 
 
 ISO ^^^ M^^l 
 
 m 
 
 wj^ 
 
 'V, 
 
 *^ ^^ 
 
 .V 
 
 ^V 
 
 / 
 
 '^ 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
%° 
 
184 
 
 REMAINS OF TEE 
 
 Sir, I hope there is no man who is quick-sighted enough to see 
 the force of this reasoning, but will be able fully to refute it by 
 Buch argumeDts as this : — The Grand Turk wears a turban, 
 and, therefore, ought to be held the sole author of all the hur-. 
 ricaaes in the West Indies. -^ 
 
 If the seed of Canaan be doomed to slavery, what in the wide 
 world is that to the inhabitants of Africa ? What have they 
 to do with Canaan, or his curse ? You are more likely to be 
 of the seed of Canaan than they. They can shew by probable 
 arguments, that they are descended, not of Canaan, but of 
 Mizraim, (or Egypt,) and Cush, (or Ethiopia,) who inhabited 
 Africa, anciently called Ham. But as Canaan fursook his 
 brethren and settled among his cousins in Asia, from whence 
 Europe was peopled ; you can offer little or no evidence to 
 prcve your descent from Japheth rather than Canaan. At any 
 rate you cari produce no argument to prove that you are not 
 descended of Canaan, hut what will conclude equally in favour 
 of the Africans. If you say that the Negroes are the seed of 
 Ham, the author of the crime that brought the curse upon Ca- 
 naan, and therefore that they ought to be punished with slavery 
 as well as the Canaanites, I will answer that this is to pronounce 
 the judgment of God unjust. Since he restricted the curse to 
 Canaan, no man may extend it farther. I confess, indeed it 
 looks very plausible to say that Canaan was no more guilty of 
 the sin of Ham than his brothers, and if it be just to punish 
 him, it must be equally so to punish them for it ; but it is per- 
 haps not true ; at any rate it is not solid reasoning, and me- 
 thinks it discovers a malicious disposition towards our fellow- 
 creatures, and a cruel fondness to become the executioners of 
 God's justice. Why God executed this punishment upon Ca- 
 naan rather than any of his brethren, we know not, if it be not 
 that he only was then born ; but we can render probable reasons 
 why he executed it upon hitn rather than upon Ham or his 
 whole seed. The crime of Ham was very heinous, if all cir- 
 cumstances be considered, especially that he had very lately 
 seen the whole world desolated for sin, and that his brethren 
 
BEV. JAMES MAOOBEQOR, D.D. 
 
 185 
 
 ougb +0 see 
 refute it by 
 g a turban, 
 all the bur-. 
 
 b in the wide 
 it have they 
 likely to be 
 J by probable 
 naan, but of 
 ?ho inhabited 
 1 forsook his 
 from whence 
 evidence to 
 laan. At any 
 at you are not 
 ually in favour 
 ire the seed of 
 cuTse upon Ca- 
 led with slavery 
 is to pronounce 
 led the curse to 
 ifess, indeed it 
 more guilty of 
 just to punish 
 It ; but it is per- 
 ioning, and me- 
 trds our fellow- 
 -xecutioners of 
 jiuent upon Ca- 
 |not, if it be not 
 jrobable reasons 
 Ion Ham or his 
 linous, if all cir- 
 Ihad very lately 
 lat hia brethren 
 
 could not move him to repent, or join with him in making 
 reparation for his guilt. To pass such a crime, without exem- 
 plary chastisement, could not fail to be very detrimental to an 
 infant world. Ham therefore is punished. The wisdom of 
 God however judged that no personal punishment was adequate 
 to the crime ; therefore to affect him more deeply, and also for 
 the greater terror of others, he is punished in his seed. But that 
 God might mix mercy with such a judgment, one branch only 
 of Ham's seed is punished, while the other three are suffered 
 to escape. That God meant to restrain the curse to Canaan's 
 family is sufficiently evident from this, that though it is thrice 
 repeated, yet it is never applied to Ham, who committed the 
 crime, and in whose loins the other brothers were, but to Ca- 
 naan only. Why then should you, Keverend Sir, act so male- 
 volent a part toward mankind as to curse whom God hath not 
 cursed ? 
 
 As to Canaan's bearing the punishment of his father's 
 sin, I need not trouble myself to vindicate to you the justice 
 of God in that matter ; for you know he had guilt of his own, 
 which deserved all that severity, and greater. But let us sup- 
 pose for a moment that the Negroes are included in Canaan's 
 curse, yet your conduct is, in my opinion, as defenceless as be- 
 fore. It does not appear to me that the words, " Cursed be 
 Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren," 
 ever authorized a son of Noah to enslave another. They are, 
 indeed, prophetic of what would eventually happen to the race 
 of Canaan j and they vindicate the Providence of God for suf- 
 fering them to be enslaved, and for letting loose wicked men 
 upon them, rather than others ; but they conferred no author- 
 ity upon the race of Shem or Japheth to enslave them. The 
 reason is, that no prophetic threatening alters the path of man's 
 duty in the least from what it was before, or implies a com- 
 mand to him for accomplishing the threatening. Hence, what- 
 ever was the duty of Shem and Japheth to Canaan, before Noah 
 cursed the last, continued to be so still. They had no right to 
 
 say, " Oar father hath, by the spirit of prophecy, cursed Ca- 
 16* 
 
186 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 naan ; therefore, though we were till now bound to love him 
 as a brother, yet henceforth we may treat him as a brute ;" but 
 rather, ** Our brother is doomed to severe punishment ; but 
 thanks to God, we are not appointed the executioners, nor coui- 
 manded to withdraw our fraternal affection from him, and alter 
 our conduct towards him ; we are left at liberty, as formerly, to 
 protect him as far as we may fVom all oppression, and espe- 
 cially, from such as may wickedly pretend authority from our^ 
 father's prophecy to enslave him." To illustrate what I have 
 asserted, let us compare this threatening with others. God 
 says, " The wicked shall be turned into hell." Does this 
 authorize you and me to slaughter every wicked man we see, 
 that we may fulfil his word ? No, we are rather to endeavour 
 their reformation. God doomed his own son to the cross ; but 
 had any man a right to crucify him for all that ? Christ said 
 to the Pharisees, " I send unto you prophets and wise men and 
 scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some 
 of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute 
 from city to city." Was it, therefore, no sin to persecute the 
 Apostles of Christ ? But lest you should pretend that these 
 instances are not parallel, I shall produce others, in all respects 
 similar to that under consideration. They shall be taken from 
 Jacob's benediction. See Gen. zliz. " Simeon a evi are 
 brethren: instruments of cruelty are in their imitation. 
 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it 
 was cruel ; I will divide them in Jacob, T will scatter them in 
 Israel." Did this curse confer the smallest degree of authority 
 upon the other tribes to persecute and scatter those of Simeon 
 and Levi ? By no means ; why, then, should you think that 
 Noah's curse could justify any man for enslaving the race of 
 Canaan ? Again, said Jacob, '< Dan shall be a serpent by the 
 way, an adder in the path." Did this prediction entitle that 
 tribe to deal deceitfully with their brethren, or to disseminate 
 poison among them? or would it justify the other tribes in cut- 
 ting them off utterly ? Once more, " Benjamin shall ravin as 
 a wolf, in the morning he shall devour the prey," &c. Did thest 
 
 Js^s- 
 
 ^m 
 
 ^- 
 
REV. JAMES MAOQREOOR, D.D. 
 
 187 
 
 e;" but 
 nt; but 
 ior coai- 
 nd alter 
 nerly, to 
 id espe* 
 rom our 
 ,t I have 
 rs. God 
 )oes this 
 n vie see, 
 mdeavour 
 ro88 ; but 
 hrist said 
 i men and 
 and some 
 persecute 
 •secute the 
 that these 
 ill respects 
 taken from 
 evi are 
 citation, 
 vath, for it 
 ter them in 
 )f authority 
 j of Simeon 
 think that 
 the race of 
 pent by the 
 entitle that 
 disseminate 
 iribes in cut- 
 hall ravin as 
 Did thesi 
 
 words really empower the Benjamites to eat the flesh of their 
 brethren, or to imitate any of the rapacious qualities of the 
 woU? or did they constitute their brethren a society (if iiunteis 
 fi)r clearint; the country of the ravenous Benjamites ? No su* li 
 thing. God reserved to himself the sole power of fulfilling mH 
 these patriarchal predictions ; and, therefore, I conclude, 
 though Canaan's race be doomed to slavery, yet Providence 
 hath put such a guard about them that no man may touch 
 them, and be guiltless. Nay, no man can enslave them with- 
 out first enslaving himself. For what is the meaning of the 
 phrase, a servant of servants ? One of these two things: I. 
 A wretched, despicable slave. And what does this imply the 
 matter to be ? What but a wretched, despicable, meanspirited 
 tyrant, a slave of avarice, ambition, and the basest vices ? For 
 a man of a truly free, generous, and noble disposition can never 
 bring a rational creature, or even a brute, to a state of wretch- 
 edness. 2. A slave of slaves. And what does this imply ? 
 Very plainly, that the master is a slave as well as the servant; 
 for the words are, not a servant of free men, but of servants or 
 slaves. And, indeed, if the truth may be confessed, the mas- 
 ter is by much the greater slave of the two ; for a man of fine 
 dispositions may be enslaved if he meet with a stronger than 
 himself; but none, save a very wretch, will enslave. As far as 
 I see. Reverend Sir, you are under the necessity of renouncing 
 everything amiable, divine^ or human, before the curse of Canaan 
 entitle you to enslave your fellow creatures. You must also 
 grant, 1. That you have hitherto been sinfully negligent in the 
 slave trade; for if it be a duty at all, you should do in it what- 
 soever your hand findeth to do, with all your might, and yet I 
 believe you might have done ten times more if you had been 
 zealous enough for the glory of God, and the slavery of man. 
 2. That all men are to be exhorted and commanded in the name 
 of the Lord to enslave their brethren, and that those who are 
 remiss should be censured. 3. That the laws of Great Bri- 
 tain, France, Pennsylvania, &c., abolishing slavery, laws which 
 are the envy of neighbouring States, are most iniquitous and 
 
188 
 
 BSMAINB OF TBI 
 
 oppressive, incapacitating the inhabitants from performing the 
 glorious duty of chaining, whipping, and killing innocent men. 
 
 I shall conclude with the words of a fine writer : " Let 
 avarice defend it as it will, there is an honest reluctance in hu- 
 manity against considering our fellow creatures as a part of our 
 possessions.'' 
 
 Reverend Sir, I have perhaps been too free. The subject 
 must be mj excuse. If it be not * 
 
 * The last part of the only copy we have ever seen is gone, but there are 
 only two or three aentencea wanting. — Editor. 
 
 ^: 
 
 ^m ■ 
 
 
 
 ■<- . - ' . - 
 
 
 if 
 
 '»• 
 
 
 . *- - 
 
 u 
 
 
 
LETTER 
 
 TO THX 
 
 GENERAL ASSOCIATE SYNOD. 
 
 ORIOINALIiT PUBLISHED BY THE ORDER OP SYNOD IN THE YEAR 1793, WITH 
 EXPLANATORY NOTES BY A COMMITTEE OF SYNOD. 
 
 ,!•> 
 
: ^ ^;3EPT-,: T ,,r;i^^TOTnJIT™:~.!™5^^ ' - ■.. .-sSp^^PPI 
 
 « 
 
 •fs? 
 
 -.■v-rmmu -'WW 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 (' 
 
 
 
 
 »'* 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 f 
 
 
 ■•• 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 «r 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 
 ■ . -■€■ 
 
 
 
 ^ -Sf**' < 
 
 «, 
 * 
 
 
 
 thv 
 
 ^Hii^ 
 
 
 > 
 
 . \ * 
 
 i^^fllV 
 
 
 
 
 '^ '^4^' ^- ' 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 
 ■■••.*■ 
 
 
 
 
 > ■^'' .• . , :• 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 
 ■' 
 
 
 
 
 >*'^ 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 » '' 
 
 
 
 
 - . . ■ 
 
 
 
 
 ...V , 
 
 
 
 
 - ■ : , 
 
 
 
 
 '.«, 
 
 ^^1 
 
 t 
 
 \ V 
 
rr" 
 
 '^i<f*' 
 
 Edinburgh, May Zd, 1793. 
 The ttttneral Associate Synod read a letter from Mr. James 
 MacOregor, Minister at Pictou in Nova Scotia, setting forth the 
 very clamant condition of that country for want of the gospel, 
 and earnestly supplicating the Synod to send some Ministers 
 or preachers to assist him in answering the many and urgent 
 calls he had to preach the gospel. The Synod greatly approv- 
 ing the zealous spirit that breathes through the whole of Mr. 
 MaoGregor's letter, judging it may be of advantage for engaging 
 young men to undertake to go to Nova Scotia if they had an . 
 opportunity for the perusal of it; — they agreed it should be 
 printed and published. And they appointed Me>)srs. John 
 Buist, Archibald Bruce, and James Robertson, to oversee the 
 publication of it ^ |tnd to add explanatory notes, as they might 
 see cause. - James Morrison, Synod Clerk. 
 
 Mr. MacOregor, missionary from the Associate Synod to the 
 Gaelic congregation of Pictou, Nova Scotia, was ordained by the 
 Associate Presbytery of Glasgow, May 31st, 1786. He has 
 laboured with great success. A petition from Mr. MacGregor 
 and his people for one to take the charge of the half of tha' 
 congregation, and sundry petitions from other places in that 
 country for Ministers to preach in English, are still before the 
 Synod, partly from the demand they have for preachers at 
 home, and especially from the aversion of young men to go 
 abroad. 
 
 191 
 
 A 
 
 
 

 '?>: 
 
 192 
 
 REMAINS OF TUB 
 
 TO THE REVEREND, THE MODERATOR AND REMANENT MEM- 
 BERS OF THE GENERAL ASSOCIATE SYNOD, TO MEET AT 
 BDINBURQH, APRIL BOth, 1793. 
 
 April 30/A, 1793. 
 
 Reverend Fathers and Brethren: — Some years ago ap- 
 plicatioD was made to you for another MiDister to this congre- 
 gation. Several other places in this quarter have applied to 
 you since, and none of us have hitherto received any supply. 
 I beg leave, therefore, to put you in mind of our petitions, and 
 to call your attention to a few arguments, in behalf of this 
 country and Province, to move you to compassion for us in our 
 destitute situation, and to grant us some speedy and effectual 
 assistance. As to Pictou, ever since the Synod's appointment 
 of another Minister to us, which by Divine Providence was in- 
 effectual, I have considered it as two congregations. I have 
 endeavoured hitherto to labour equally in both, though one con- 
 gregation is enough for one man. And as there is a necessity for 
 the two languages, the case is the same as to the people's benefit, 
 as if one man had the charge of four different congregations at 
 home. From this it is easy to see what a small share of public 
 ordinances must fall to everyone. Many of the people, indeed, 
 make comfortable progress under ordinances ; but, how much 
 greater might be expected were we blessed with the labours of 
 another Minister ? We suffer peculiar hardship in the time 
 of dispensing the Sacrament of the Supper. It is hard for one 
 man to dispense the sacrament in the two different languages 
 without any assistance; it is hard that the one or the other 
 half of the people must be idle during the whole time of pub- 
 lic worship, throughout the solemnity. This is such a hardship 
 as none under the inspection of the Synod, I suppose, ever suf- 
 fered but ourselves. 
 
 The assistance of a Minister who could speak but the English, 
 
RKV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 108 
 
 NT MEM- 
 MEET AT 
 
 , 1793. 
 rs ago ap- 
 is congre- 
 applied to 
 ny supply, 
 itions, and 
 ulf of this 
 r us in our 
 ,d effectual 
 ppointroent 
 nee was in- 
 is. I have 
 rh one con- 
 ecessity for 
 e's benefit, 
 relations at 
 re of public 
 pie, indeed, 
 how much 
 labours of 
 in the time 
 ard for one 
 t languages 
 the other 
 ime of pub- 
 . a hardship 
 le, ever suf- 
 
 the English, 
 
 would relieve us out of this difficulty, as ho could dispense or- 
 diuances to the one-half, and I to the other. 
 
 In the summer of 1791 a considerable number of emigrants, 
 chiefly Roman Catholics, from the West Highlands and Isles, 
 came hither. They much need the gospel, and the help of 
 another Minister might bo very useful to them. Some of them 
 usually hear with us, and probably more would if we bad ordi- 
 nances more frequently dispensed. 
 
 Because I have two, or rather four congregations to supply 
 at home, it is impossible for me to go much abroad, to supply 
 various places that are in great need, and constantly craving. 
 The case of these is the more deplorable, that there are but 
 few Ministers in the province, and still fewer that have any 
 tolerable claim to faithfulness in the work of the Lord. The 
 less supply they get, and the longer they are without a fixed 
 dispensation of the gospel, ignorance must prevail the more, 
 and as it prevails they must become a readier prey to seducers. 
 It is hardly possible for you to conceive the advantage that 
 Satan gets over a people long deprived of the public ordinances 
 of the gospel, religious books, and the conversation of people 
 acquainted with the doctrines of Christ. If any one call him- 
 self a preacher, and be able to blab out anything whatsoever, 
 there he will get hearers, admirers, and followers. Were the 
 glorious gospel of Christ preached to them, it would certainly 
 have success. These people have a powerful claim to your pity. 
 
 Reverend Fathers and Brethren, T have the satisfaction to 
 inform you that, so far as I have had access to know, there is 
 a greater desire in this Province to apply to you for Ministers, 
 than to any other denomination of Presbyterians.* Petitions 
 
 * Ever since the year 1753, the Synod have missioned Ministers and 
 preachers, from time to time, to North America. Some eongregations of the 
 now United States, and Piotou in Nova Scotia, sent home money for the ex- 
 pense of their missions ,* but the expense of the greatest number of the mis- 
 sions has been defrayed by the Synod and their congregations in Scotland. 
 And the Synod« for the encouragement of young men, and relief of the 
 ehurehes abroad, have, by a late act, made their public funds liable to ba 
 17 
 
 •«. 
 
194 
 
 BIMAIN8 or TBI 
 
 i 
 
 from sdyeral other plaoos wonld have been sent to you, but the 
 people are discouraged because all applications from this quar- 
 ter have hitherto been unsuccessful. This discouragement cannot 
 be removed till some Ministers be sent over ; and they should 
 be sent without delay, for it is not to be supposed, that people 
 will continue always waiting. Had we s few Ministers, they 
 would serve their own congregations and help others, and hereby, 
 the progress of ignorance, errors, and delusions, would be much 
 checked, the work of the Lord advanoed, and the people en- 
 couraged to apply for more Ministers. 
 
 Though the Synods were to send over presently six or seven 
 Ministers, I hope neither the Synod nor the Ministers sent, nor 
 yet we would repent it. There is little reason to fear that they 
 would want labour or sustenance. Let the Synod send over all 
 that number or any part of it, which they shall think expe- 
 dient, with all expedition. 
 
 Oh, how long shall I " dwell solitary in the wood 1" '' Two 
 are better than one, because they have a good reward for their 
 labours ; for, if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, but wo 
 to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another 
 to help him up V 
 
 But I apprehend. Reverend Fathers and Brethren, that there 
 is much more need to use arguments with young men to come, 
 than with the Synod to appoint them. The Synod has always 
 shown a forwardness to propagate tho gospel in America, but 
 many of their appointments for that purpose have been unsuc- 
 cessful and ineffectual. It seems that no invitation, no encou- 
 ragement, no argument will move many who are called to 
 preach the gospel to the Americans. Moses's excuse is still in 
 their mouth : " O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand 
 of him whom thou wilt send '/' send another, and not me. 
 
 They are strangers to generous obedience. They belie the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, saying, that his yoke is grievous, and his 
 
 charged with the expense of Missionaries returning from America, if, after a 
 trial of a few years, they cannot be reconciled to a settlement in that part of 
 the world. 
 
RIV. JAJIC8 MAOORKOOR, D.V. 
 
 10& 
 
 )tit the 
 B quar- 
 cannot 
 should 
 people 
 re, they 
 hereby, 
 te much 
 ople eu' 
 
 or seven 
 sent, nor 
 ihat they 
 1 over all 
 nk expe- 
 
 •' « Two 
 I for their 
 w, but wo 
 t another 
 
 that there 
 1 to come, 
 Las always 
 lerica, but 
 sen unsuo- 
 no encou- 
 called to 
 is still in 
 the hand 
 ot me. 
 y belie the 
 IS, and his 
 
 loa, if, after a 
 that part of 
 
 burden heavy. Instead of being ambitions, as thoy onght, to 
 know the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, thoy shun it, thoy 
 dread it as bitterness and death. That abundant consolutlon, 
 which is to be enjoyed through abundant sufferings, shall never 
 be theirs, if they can help it. With great grief and sorrow 
 have many serious Christians, both at home and abroad, ob- 
 served their unaccountable backwardness to engage in the 
 Lord's work in this Continent. 
 
 This sorrow touches me now muuh more sensibly than ever 
 I expected. I cannot holp deploring the case of my fellow 
 creatures perishing for lack of knowledge, while those whose 
 business and duty it is to help them, are utterly unwilling to 
 do them the least service. I fear the blood of many Ameri- 
 can souls shall be required at the hands of Ministers in North 
 Britain. I cannot believe that they could so steel their hearts 
 against their brethren, if they only saw them and understood 
 their forlorn situation. Could they see a people brought up in 
 a wilderness, without instruction, without example, without 
 books, and without the public ordinances of God's grace, surely 
 their bowels would yearn, their hearts would melt, and they 
 would fly to their relief. But, alas ! they see them not; they 
 only hear of them at times, and an imperfect report, not fre- 
 quently repeated, can make but a feeble impression on their 
 minds. Thus the heritage of the Lord is neglected^, and the 
 dearly beloved of his soul given into the hand of her enemies, 
 and they who ought to take the charge of her, consider it not. 
 But let them remember, that their consciences ought to be ten- 
 der, that they ought to open their ears to the first intimation 
 of their brethren's distress, and not to be rebellious nor turn 
 away back. The Lord sees the affliction of his people, though 
 they see it not, and observes with a jealous eye the backward- 
 ness, the disobedience of those whose duty it is to help them, 
 and do it not. That selfish, lukewarm spirit cannot fail to bo 
 very offensive to the glorious King of Zion. Instead of that 
 fervent and unconquerable zeal, that noble and disinterested 
 patriotism which shone so conspicuously in Paul and other 
 
196 
 
 -'t,-'' 
 
 REMAINS OF THI 
 
 
 apostles of our Lord, men who ha,d no selfishness, no home, no 
 attachment, but whither the Lord called them ; who had a keen 
 and eagle eye to discover the path of duty, and were instantly 
 ready to follow the calls of Providence ; who were exquisitely 
 jealous of their self will and of the counsels of flesh and 
 blood, in every shape, and who despised danger, and believed 
 and knew that every kind of suffering, and death itself, was 
 gain; there now prevails in those who are their professed ad- 
 mirers and followers, (and I hope, are really so in part,) a love 
 of temporal ease and convenience, a reluctance at being dis- 
 turbed, and moved out of the narrow circle of their nativity, 
 and an excessive caution and fear of venturing, doi'^"- offer- 
 ing, or losing anything considerable for the sake of Christ or 
 his church, as if they had dedicated themselves to the Lord in 
 the work of the ministry, upon condition that he would gratify 
 their humour, or comply with their inclination.''' I fear this 
 ungenerous spirit is an evil sign of the present, and forebodes 
 no good to the rising generation. If there remain unused any 
 means in the power of the Synod whereby it may be remedied^ 
 they ought to be tried. 
 
 Were there any great objections, or any remarkable cause of 
 discouragement to Ministers coming to this country, they might 
 be borne with. What if they have a long voyage, and a strange 
 country be before them? Have they not, along with that, 
 every encouragement they can wish ? Could they reckon up a 
 long list of Ministers drowned, or tossed about of violent 
 storms and tempests, in their voyages to America, or could 
 
 *The Synod are heaxtily grieved at the reluctance of preachers to undertake 
 missions to America. The language in this letter may appear severe ; but 
 some allowance should be made for one in the situation of Mr. MacGregor, 
 separated from his brethren for many years, unable to answer the demands of 
 those who apply to him, and often disappointed of expected assistance. His 
 disinterested and exemplary conduct, in his undertaking the mission, and his 
 patient continuance in his labours, have such a resemblance of the spirit of 
 the primitive apostolical times, as will excuse the warmth and zeal with which 
 he addresses his brethren — to partake with him in the difficult work which 
 he has found to be, at the same time, so very pleasant. 
 
lome, no 
 d a keen 
 instantly 
 quisitely 
 Icsh and 
 believed 
 tself, was 
 Bssed ad- 
 t,) a love 
 eing dis- 
 nativity, 
 >" uffer- 
 Christ or 
 e Lord in 
 Id gratify 
 fear this 
 forebodes 
 msed any 
 remedied, 
 
 cause of 
 ley migbt 
 a strange 
 ritb that, 
 ikon up a 
 violent 
 
 or could 
 
 > undertake 
 jfevere; but 
 IaoQregor» 
 kemands of 
 lance. His 
 pn, and his 
 |ie spirit of 
 rith which 
 ^ork which 
 
 BEV. JAMES MAOOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 197 
 
 they pretend they had some terrible persecution to face upon 
 their arrival, they might be allowed to fear ; but who knows 
 not that there is not on the globe safer sailing than across the 
 Atlantic, nor a more kind, true, generous, and free people than 
 the Americans ? Their welcome in this country would be, 
 " How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of 
 peace, and bring glad tidings of good things V How shall I 
 escuse my reluctant brethren in the Ministry, when I see the 
 men of the world undergo these dangers and difficulties, (if 
 there be any,) for far inferior considerations ? Do not the ser- 
 vants and officers of his Britannic Majesty cross that ocean at any 
 time, in obedience to their superiors ? Do not the worshippers 
 of Mammon traverse the Atl?.at\c incessantly, even in the 
 stormiest seasons of the year, for paltry trifles of filthy lucre ? 
 Do not multitudes of emigrants cross it every year, merely for 
 the hop3 of earning, more easily or comfortably, food and 
 raiment for their bodies? And above all, what shall I say 
 when rank Pelagians, Socinians, Popish priests, and filthy 
 dreamers, men whom earth and sea are ready to swallow up, 
 and for whom there is no divine promise of grace or assistance 
 to depend upon in their work, not only traverse the Atlantic, 
 but uninvited, unattended, and often unrewarded, scour the 
 wilds and deserts of America, in cold and heat, to make prose- 
 lytes to their pernicious opinions ? Alas ! shall they who 
 know themselves to serve the best of all Masters, and to be en- 
 gaged in the most precious and honourable of all employments, 
 who are not bid to cross that sea but in the calmest and mild- 
 est season of the year, and who may expect a hearty welcome 
 from their friends before them — nay more, who have the best 
 reasons to expect the attendance and ministration of angels, 
 and the blessing, favour, and protection of an infinitely gra- 
 cious and compassionate God and Saviour, — shall these flatly 
 refuse? It is astonishing that any servant of Christ can 
 seriously think that his Divine Master will admit of such an 
 excuse. For my own part, I know not whether I should more 
 pity or detest the sorry cowardice and pusillanimity of those 
 17* 
 
 vS'Sfc; 
 
198 
 
 BEMAIN8 OF THE 
 
 dastardly spirits who fright themselves with such a baghear. 
 I almost think it a happy thing, that the Atlantic lies between 
 them and us, to bar such cowards from coming hither. 
 
 The severe climate of this country is a terror to some ; but 
 tender and delicate females are able to bear it with ease. 
 Though it is cold for a while in winter, yet, upon the whole, 
 it is more healthy than that of Britain, or the United States 
 of America, and, I suppose, as agreeable.* 
 
 *Ja illustration of the above, some observations in a letter of Deeetnber 
 30th, 1790, from Mr. MacQregor to Mr. Buist, to be communicated, may be se- 
 lected. 
 
 I. As to fog or mist : Nova Scotia is a great deal clearer of it than nny 
 part that ever I saw of Scotland. Upon the fishing banks round the south 
 and east coasts, thore is a great deal of fog ; but the inland country, instead 
 of being foggy, is remarkably clear. Along the coast to the northward there 
 is very little fog. We have it only for a few days in the year, at Pictou, vias,, 
 May. Before I came to this country, I thought it was foggy,, chiefly from the 
 accounts of Geographers, and I was surprised, when, after a year's trial, I 
 found it so much the reverse. You may confidently contradict any man who 
 will assert that Nova Scotia is foggy, except a narrow strip along the south 
 and east coasts. 
 
 II. As to rain : I am confident we have much less rain here than in Scot- 
 land. It rains in April, but it cannot be called a rainy month. From May 
 till November, in general, it is drier than at home, and more agreeable. No- 
 vember is the only month that can be called rainy. 
 
 III. As to wholesomeness : Nova Scotia is far more wholesome than Scot- 
 land. There are people hero from a variety of nations, and it is generally 
 agreed that it is the most wholesome place ever they were in. 1st. About 
 22 or 23 years ago the first settlers came to Pictou, viz : 5 or 6 families ; 
 about 17 years ago, about 30 families ; 15 years ago, 12 families. The next 
 reinforcement was ut the Peace. Now, as far as I can recollect, there are not 
 any heads of those families, male or female, yet dead, except one old 
 man. 2d.''l' For my own part, I do not rememb . that sickness has confined 
 me one hour to my bed since I came here. 
 
 IV. As to the severity of the climate : The winter is severe, indeed ; bu( 
 we are not naked or destitute of fire-wood. Some freeze to death, but thej 
 are generally drunkards ; some lose their toes and the skin of their fingers, 
 but they are generally fool-hardy. Accidents have happened to the mos* 
 cautious, but very seldom. Our severe weather is not so disagreeable no» 
 hurtful as the cold, wet, sleety weather at home; nor have we ever above 
 
 * Particular cases of delicate people omitted in this extract. 
 
■- » -W^ W^!» "■ftfVp".'^Wfi ^JtT — 
 
 ILT JAMES MACQREaOR, B.D. 
 
 199 
 
 bugbear, 
 between 
 
 (me ; but 
 itb ease. 
 he -wbole, 
 ,ed States 
 
 af December 
 1, may be se- 
 
 f it than nny 
 nd the south 
 intry, instead 
 •thward there 
 t Piotou, vii., 
 liefly from the 
 year's trial, I 
 any man who 
 long the south 
 
 than in Scot- 
 From May 
 jreeable. No- 
 
 J)me than Scot- 
 lit is generally 
 1st. About 
 lor 6 families ; 
 les. The next 
 L there are not 
 kcept one old 
 ^s has confined 
 
 k indeed ; but 
 [ath, but they 
 
 their fingers, 
 Id to the mop» 
 pagreeable noi 
 
 TO ever above 
 
 let. 
 
 Again, anothev strong objection is the difficulty of leaving 
 father, mother, relations, acquaintances, and country. To this, 
 the words of our Saviour are so plain and decisive an answer, 
 that it is a wonder that any one should, for a moment, enter- 
 tain that objection. Upon the one hand, his gracious promise, 
 " Every one that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or 
 father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, 
 shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting 
 life.** Upon the other, his righteous threatening, " He that 
 loveth father, or mother, more than me, is not worthy of me ; 
 and he that loveth son, or daughter, more than me is not worthy 
 of me; and he that taketh not his cross, and foUoweth after me, 
 is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and 
 he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it." But, after 
 all, I fear that this objection maintains its ground in the heart 
 with more force than is commonly suspected ; that natural and 
 strong attachment which they have to country and friends, and 
 of course, that reluctance (equally strong) to leave them, be- 
 sides their usual and uncommon power, acquire on this occasion 
 much additional force ; so that, under their influence, they re- 
 present to themselves this country much more gloomy and dis- 
 agreeable than it really is. They magnify, beyond measure, the 
 smallest difficulty that lies in their way to it, and create many 
 where there are none. I may apply to them the parable of the 
 man who married a wife, and could not come. Their hearts 
 are wedded elsewhere, and they cannot prevail with themselves 
 to come hither ; and, indeed, if the authority of the glorious 
 Redeemer will not move them, in vain shall I hope to prevail 
 by ray arguments. But of what use are such in the service 
 of Christ ? To what purpose do they call him Lord and Mas- 
 
 three nights of severe frost at once. It never fails to relax, and it generally 
 thaws gently for a few days after the third night of severe frost. But, at 
 any rate, our charming spring and summer make up fully for the severity of 
 our winter. I believe there is no part of the globe where there is a more 
 beautiful spring than in Nova Scotia. Upon the whole, if I had no induce- 
 ment to see old Scotland but its climate, I would never desire a Bight of it. 
 
\', 
 
 200 
 
 BEMAINS OF THE 
 
 ter ? Did not he speak those words from a foresight of the 
 very case of Ministers going from Britain to America, and with 
 a special application to them ? Did he not interpose his au- 
 thority, and promise, and threatening, for their very sakes ? 
 and shall his word be without meaning or e£fect? It is certainly 
 a great shame for the Ministers of the more clear, free, and 
 joyous dispensations of the New Testament, to come so far be- 
 hind those of the Old. Levi could say unto his father, and to 
 his mother, " I have not seen him," neither did he acknowledge 
 his brethren, nor know his own children. I suppose it will be 
 necessary for the Synod to take considerable pains with young 
 men whom they appoint to America, that, if possible, they may 
 thoroughly undermine and remove this objection. One gen- 
 erous effort, could they be prevailed upon to make it, would 
 burst its shackles, and put them ever after in the way of duty 
 and comfort. And how much preferable would it be to do a 
 little violence to their feelings and affections for once, than to 
 be at times, while they live, subject to twinges of conscience, 
 for having refused a great and lasting duty ? 
 
 But I am afraid they will shield themselves from conscience 
 also. They may think, if they refuse to go to America, 
 they shall be as profitably employed in other parts of the vine- 
 yard. Others have refused before, and they see them not 
 otherwise than well, and they shall fare no worse. But I beg 
 leave to tell them, that herein they are widely mistaken. 
 Though the Master may employ them elsewhere, he must ac- 
 count their refusal a disobedience and offence, nor will he let 
 it go without chastisement. I am not inclined to tell them, 
 that hereby they endanger their souls, as to their eternal state, 
 though perhaps it might not be amiss for them, to consider 
 whether such disobedience may not be a token of the naughti- 
 ness of their hearts. I am sure that no servant of Christ ever 
 did or over will lose by his obedience, or yet gain by his diso- 
 bedience more than others. While the world stands, the Lord 
 will not only make a difference between him who serveth God 
 and him who serveth him not, but moreover he will make a 
 
~ir 
 
 BEY. JAMES MAOaBEQOB, D.D. 
 
 201 
 
 of the 
 i with 
 lis au- 
 Bakes ? 
 srtainly 
 ee, and 
 far be- 
 , and to 
 ov?ledge 
 t will be 
 ti young 
 hey may 
 )ne gen- 
 it, would 
 r of duty 
 3 to do a 
 5, than to 
 (nscience, 
 
 great difference between him that serveth him peevishly, fro- 
 wardly, negligently, and him who eerveth him freely, gener- 
 ously, and punctually. For in contempt and scorn of all human 
 devices for ease and comfort, God will be merciful to the mer- 
 ciful, pure to the pure, and froward to the froward. Though 
 the Lord may not cast them out of the ministry, nor deprive 
 them of all success in it, yet they may expect that he shall 
 deal them out both comfort and success, with a sparing hand : 
 and it is not possible that they can have that abundant, full, 
 soul-cheering, and enriching joy and consolation which they 
 might enjoy were they generously to forsake father, mother, 
 friends, and country, for Christ's sake, and the gospel's. 
 
 Disobedience to appointments for America is now become so 
 common and fashionable, that I fear they will henceforth be 
 made little account of, so that it is hoping against hope for us 
 to expect a competent supply. But I must warn my young 
 brethren, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, 
 that the more the call to preach the gospel to the Americans is 
 neglected, it grows the louder, and the sin of turning a deaf 
 ear to it the greater. Christ now says to them with peculiar em- 
 phasis, " Will ye also refuse ?" And let them remember that 
 there is a cup of fatherly chastisement, a filling-up for the disobe- 
 dient children, as well as wrath for his enemies. No one can 
 say how long his patience may last, only it is not to be supposed 
 that he will defer so long to correct those as to punish these, 
 " You only have I known, therefore will I punish you." Let 
 them therefore take heed that they do not serve themselves 
 heirs to them, who have refused former appointments, lest they 
 get the cup to drink. Though it be administered by the hand 
 of a father, it may be very bitter. I am not fond of using so 
 much severity. I would much rather allure my brethren over, 
 or rather I wish they would of their own accord come cheer- 
 fully to the work of the Lord, without regarding consequences. 
 My dear young Brethren, let me recommend America to you. 
 Whatever it be to others, it is the best place for Ministers that 
 I know in the world. Only be prevailed upon to come. Yott 
 
202 
 
 BEMAINS OF THB 
 
 will see that every thing that seemed against you will be really 
 for you. The very ignorance of the people will be unspeakably 
 in your favour j for there is every probability of your being 
 more successfui among such, and you will have a far better 
 opportunity of observing the success of your labour than if you 
 were to enter into the labours of others, or build where the 
 foundation was previously laid. I have been here above six 
 years, in as disadvantageous circumstances, I suppose, as any 
 whom the Synod ever sent to this continent; and though, indeed, 
 I have been in it, in weakness, in fear, in trembling, yet I ac- 
 count it the happiest thing that ever befel me, that I was sent 
 to America. I had my reluctance, my struggle ere I set off, 
 but I have reason to bless God while I live, that I was not suf- 
 fered to comply with the counsels of flesh and blood to stay at 
 home. I am sure that all the world would not keep you out of 
 America, if you only knew what it yields. O taste and see 
 that our God is good. Only believe, and you shall surely see 
 his glory, you shall see it far beyond what you can expect. He 
 will supply all your need according to his riches in glory by 
 Christ Jesus. He will grant you more of the unutterable and 
 glorious joy of faith in this wilderness, than in the most splen- 
 did cities of Britain. You shall indeed be partakers of the af- 
 flictions of the gospel. Let this be your joy, not your discour- 
 agement, for no suffering shall befal you here, but what shall 
 be measured out to you by infinite tenderness, love, and faith- 
 fulness, and attention to your ability to bear ; and withal coun- 
 terbalanced with exceeding joy. God will make all grace to 
 abound towards you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all 
 things, may abound unto every good work, being enriched in 
 every thing, unto all bountifulness to God's praise. I shall not 
 say that God is better in America than in Britain, but I mis- 
 take it, if you shall not find him better to you. ' '^ 
 
 Reverend Fathers and Brethren, if, after all I can say, the 
 Synod cannot send, young men will not run ; our hope shall not 
 be lost, we shall not be cut off for our own part. We know who 
 made Isaiah to say, '' Here am I, send me }" who said, " Lo I 
 
BBV. JAMES MAOGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 203 
 
 be really 
 jpeakably 
 )ur being 
 far better 
 [lan if you 
 ^bere tbe 
 above six 
 ise, as any 
 gb, indeed, 
 5, yet I ac- 
 I was sent 
 8 I set off, 
 ras not suf- 
 d to stay at 
 ) you out of 
 tste and see 
 1 surely see 
 jxpect. He 
 in glory by 
 itterable and 
 most splen- 
 srs of tbe af- 
 rour discour- 
 [t wbat sball 
 !, and faitb- 
 Iwitbal coun- 
 all grace to 
 Lcienoy in all 
 enricbed in 
 I sball not 
 i, but I mis- 
 lean say, tbe 
 lope sball not 
 Te know vrho 
 said, « Lo I 
 
 am witb you always, even to tbe end of tbe world." "We can 
 do all things through Christ Jesus who strengtheneth us. He 
 shall make worm Jacob to thresh the mountains and beat them 
 small. Our merciful and faithful High Priest has a most per- 
 fect knowledge of our situation, and his most abundant and 
 tender compassion for us will not suffer him to leave us unre- 
 lieved for one moment longer than our good requires. " 
 Lord, look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation 
 of thy holiness and of thy glory ; where is thy zeal, and thy 
 strength, and the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies 
 towards us?" They shall not be restrained. 
 
 Reverend Fathers and Brethren, I hope I shall obtain your 
 pardon, if any of you think I have written in a strain too keen. 
 My feelings and thoughts on this subject cannot be the same 
 with yours. I have been long alone. We have been repeatedly 
 disappointed. We fear we sball be so again. I know that the 
 objections which prevent our help are but trifles. I see the 
 misery of my fellow creatures without the gospel. 
 
 May the God of the whole earth bless you, and keep you. 
 Jehovah make his face to shine upon yon, and bo gracious unto 
 you. Jehovah lifib up his countenance upon you, and give you 
 peace. May the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge guide you in 
 all your deliberations, and second your appointments. May he 
 send forth labourers into his own harvest, and give them wil- 
 lingness of heart to go to the work of the Lord wherever he 
 sends them. 
 
 I am, Reverend Fathers and Brethren, your fellow-servant 
 in Christ'3 Gospel, 
 
 James MacGreoor. 
 
 Pictou, Sept. 2Qth, 1792. 
 
.,K .,:■ 'Kc,^'^ 
 
 
 
 ..■ i 
 
 •t » < » 
 
 I 
 
 u 
 
■>■ -v 
 
 -w^ 
 
 ?• 
 
 '■.;•*,. 
 
 ADDBESS 
 
 w 
 
 TO THB 
 
 U^flTED SECESSION SYNOD 
 
 » BBHAir or 
 
 THE LITERARY INSTITUTION AT PICTOU. 
 
 WRITTEM in THB TEAR 1824. 
 
 18 
 
m 
 
% 
 
 r. ' I 
 
 ■*f 
 
 a 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 Fathers and Brethren, among tho various claims pre- 
 sented to you for the exercise of your liberality, I hope that 
 none will appear more just or pressing than mine. It comef 
 on behalf of a portion of the church nearly allied to yourselvesi 
 and whose opening prospects are very extensive. It comes for 
 your assistance to enlarge a seminary of education which we 
 have founded in Pictou for the advancement of literature in 
 general, but especially for providing ministers of the gospel for 
 a growing church in this extensive wilderness. Permit me 
 then to lay before you a plain and unvarnished statement of 
 some of our facts and prospects, to show you the justice and 
 urgency of my claim. 
 
 It is now about thirty-eight years since I was missioned by 
 the Associate Synod to Pictou, where my situation for some 
 years was so discouraging, that I believe an angel from heaven 
 could not have persuaded me that in my day there would be 
 occasion for the application I am now making. Pictou, equal 
 in extent to a large county, contained then nearly ninety fami- 
 lies, of various relictions denominations, but chiefly Presbyte- 
 rians, and so scattered that nowhere was one house to be found 
 near another. They had no school, no church, no mill, no road, 
 no bridge ; indeed they had scarcely any convenience. I could 
 view myself in no other light than that of an exile from social 
 enjoyments, not only for a while, but all my life ; but my des- 
 
 207 
 
208 
 
 REMAINS or THB 
 
 pair of earthly comfortfl occasioned a more active application for 
 those that were spiritual. I have, however, enjoyed a good 
 Bhare of both. Pictou prospered far beyond my expectation. 
 It prospered more than any other part of the province, for the 
 Highland omigrauts hither gave notice to their connections at 
 home that they had the gospel, and these notices were the oc- 
 casion of turning the current of emigration towards Pictou, 
 and it has continued in that direction till almost every conveni- 
 eut spot is occupied. My congregation is now multiplied to 
 nine, three of which, however, are not under the inspection of 
 our Synod, as we could not supply them with ministers. The 
 district of Pictou now contains fifteen or sixteen thousand peo- 
 ple. We have a town, a good harbour, a court house, and jail, 
 schools, churches, mills, roads, bridges, and all the other con- 
 veniences which these imply. We have been at great toil and 
 expense in providing these establishments, but they are useful, 
 and necessary ; and though we must confess that such of them 
 as belong to this life have occupied an undue portion of atten- 
 tion and means, yet we have not wholly neglected those which 
 are more excellent and durable ; for besides our schools and 
 churches we have seven years ni^o founded the above Seminary, 
 though we knew, that it would be far above our ability to com- 
 plete it and endow it as we would wish. This measare was 
 long contemplated before it was undertaken. It was many 
 years talked of as a thing extremely desirable, could it only be 
 hoped for ; but comparing our finances and the necessary ex- 
 |K iises together, no serious hope could be entertained. But at 
 length, observing the gracious and munificent Head of the 
 Church, favouring other religious enterprises beym.il expecta- 
 tion, we began to hope that lie might also smMo up- fj curs. 
 Accordingly we took courage and began. 
 
 By the assistance of the Provincial Legislature and other 
 friend>s we have raised a decent and commodious building, and 
 procuveO .-. considerable philosophical apparatus, a printing 
 precs, mi ' i. c 'd beg'r.ning of a library. We expect some 
 periniiiucn^ assistance f -cm the Legislature, but not at all to thai 
 
BIV. JAMI8 MAOQRiaOlt, D.D. 
 
 200 
 
 Ltlon for 
 a nood 
 RCtaiion. 
 , for tho 
 ictions at 
 e the 00- 
 s Pictou, 
 J conveni- 
 tiplied to 
 )eotion of 
 icrs. The 
 usand pco- 
 e, ond jail, 
 other con- 
 cat toil and 
 
 are useful, 
 loh of tbem 
 on of atten- 
 those vliich 
 schools and 
 -e Seminary, 
 ility to oom- 
 Ueasnre vras 
 k was many 
 jld it only bo 
 
 lecessary ex- 
 
 >ed. But at 
 ead of the 
 
 Di;\ oxpecta- 
 
 degree which the Institution would reqttiro to render it czten- 
 sivi' useful. For that part of it, which lir«J n«'firest our heart, 
 via., the study of theology, the peculiar preparfttioo of young 
 men for preaching the gospel, w ' can ezpt i n(\ assistance from 
 the Legislature, but only that part of it which is outumon to 
 all who receive a liberal education, nam( ly the languages and 
 the sciences. And if you consider what weight of influence 
 the Church of England possesses wherever she is establiohed, 
 as shf' is iiore, and how natural it is for establishments to en- 
 gi ..I •. 
 
 ^p ^^ ^^ "^ ^^ ^P ^^ ^^ ^^ 
 
 A whole leaf it unfortanately lost here. 
 
 [Tht; students] licensed have been there [in Cape Breton] 
 ever since they were licensed, and their labours have been ac- 
 ceptable, and I doubt not, profitable. Indeed the relief which 
 Cape Breton had already found from our Seminary, should 
 greatly console us for the toil and expense which it has cost uh. 
 
 But exclusively of all the places which I have mentioned, 
 Nova Scotia itself is of that importance, that it deserves and 
 imperiously demands that Institution for which I am pleading. 
 We have here sixteen congregations and several vacancies, 
 and had our Literary Seminary been sooner established, both 
 our congregations and vacancies would have been more nu- 
 merous. We have numbers of young and weak settlements 
 besides, which may be called vacancies, but because of their 
 poverty cannot for a considerable time maintain ministers. 
 These need the labours of ministers to train them up in the 
 way they should go, that they may not be misled and depart 
 out of it. For the assistance of these we have Missionary So- 
 cieties}, whose cherishing exertions will gradually strengthen 
 them till they become efficient congregations. The great body 
 of the people are Dissenters from the Church of England, and 
 I believe that the majority of these will be inclined to take 
 ministers from our Seminary. 
 
 If, then, you can couceivc the growing importance of Nova 
 
 Sootia and those regions in its vicinity which I have mentioned, 
 18* 
 
210 
 
 BEMAINB OF THE 
 
 I trust you will see at once the utility and necessity of setting 
 our Institution upon a respectable foundation. But permit uie 
 to make a few remarks to prevent you from entertaining a mis- 
 taken idea of our strength for this undertaking, and of our need 
 of powerful assistance from abroad. Though the country to be 
 benefited by our Seminary be extensive, it is in the meantime 
 thinly inhabited, and in general not long settled ; nay, much of 
 it remains still unsettled, and therefore poor. It is not easy 
 for you to conceive the toil and hardship of a new settler in 
 providing a living for himself and family in a tremendous 
 American forest. He has not a spot whereon to build his house, 
 barn, and all his fences. Among the stumps and roots of the 
 trees cut down and burnt, he must raise provision for his 
 family. Add to these his share of public works, as roads, 
 bridges, court houses, &c., and you may conceive that he who 
 has undergone the toil necessary for these acquisitions, is sel- 
 dom able to part with much of his property to advance an In- 
 stitution like ours, even when it has his warm regard. 
 
 The value of education is not understood in British America, 
 hence a luke-warmness to support our Institution may be ex- 
 pected to exist. You will expect it to be extensive when you 
 reflect, that the above mentioned enthusiastic self-made preach- 
 ers decry all liberal education as a quenching of the Spirit, and 
 inconsistent with his teaching ', and not without boasting that 
 their labour is not in vain. In respect to this the influence of 
 the seminary itself Is working a favourable change, and will do 
 so more and more ; but we cannot hope that it will do so to a 
 great extent, unless it be supported so as to render it a con- 
 spicuous and attractive object. 
 
 Even in Pictou where our chief strength lies, the eff^ective 
 friends of the Academy are not what you would imagine from 
 its population. Were its whole population from the Lowlands 
 of Scotland, I do believe that we could carry on pretty well 
 without much foreign aid ; for we could depend upon the perse- 
 verance of their generosity. But the case is not so, for the ma- 
 jority of its people consbts of emigrants from the counties of 
 
BBV. JAMES MAOQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 211 
 
 setting 
 mit lue 
 a mis- 
 ar need 
 ry to be 
 eantime 
 nuch of 
 not easy 
 ettler in 
 mendous 
 is house, 
 ts of the 
 i for his 
 as roads, 
 b he who 
 ns, is sel- 
 ce an In- 
 
 America, 
 lay be ex- 
 when you 
 le preach- 
 Ipirit, and 
 sting that 
 Ifluence of 
 |nd will do 
 do so to a 
 ir it a con- 
 
 [e effective 
 
 Lgine from 
 Lowlands 
 
 Lretty well 
 the perse- 
 ar the ma- 
 
 Lounties of 
 
 Inverness, Ross, and Sutherland, Now you know that those 
 are Preshyterians by birth, yet tliere is a lu cessity of f"or«iin<^ 
 societies in the Lowl.inds to assist them in giving their iliil- 
 dren a common school education in their native country. Yuu 
 can easily conceive then that they will need the same assistance 
 here, and of course, that they have neither heart nor hand to 
 promote our grand design. Something may be expected of 
 their descendants, for they will be scholars, but of themseives 
 little or nothing. There are exceptions, but I speak of the 
 generality. 
 
 Here there is a large country filling up with inhabitants. 
 The natives will multiply fa.st, but we can receive emigrants 
 for ages. We can long find a place for your overflowings, for 
 our most populous districts can maintain twenty or thirty times 
 their present population. Let me therefore entreat you in the 
 bowels of the Lord Jesus Christ to take the state of this church 
 and country under your serious consideration, and grant us all 
 the assistance in your power for the enlargement of our Seminary 
 of education. In my opinion this is the portion of the church 
 of Christ which you are called to cherish, that province of his 
 kingdom which God hath committed to your peculiar cam — 
 next to your own. Over it you have hitherto watched with ten- 
 derness and solicitude, and much has it profited by the prudent 
 directions of your ecclesiastical courts. You have spent your 
 money in conveying ministers to it; and I believe that you 
 have followed them with your prayers to Him who can give the 
 increase, and that your labour has not been in vain in the Lord. 
 But these ministers will soon be numbered with the dead. 
 What then shall become of the church here ? " The Lord will 
 provide." He will doubtless, but he must provide by wise and 
 adequate means, and there cannot be missionaries continually 
 supplied from Scotland. Ere long the demand here will be so 
 great that it cannot be supplied thence, and besides general ex- 
 perience shows that native teachers will be more suitable than 
 foreigners. Christ will raise up ministers for his church here 
 within herself. Though the means appear wanting to uS; they 
 
212 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ^^ 
 
 r 
 
 are not so to him ; the silver is his and the gold is his, and he 
 it is who inscribes on the heart, " It is more blessed to give 
 than to receive." When he chooses the means which his own 
 glorious sovereignty accounts most wise and adequate, I trust 
 that it will be a great satisfaction to you that he take you into 
 his employment; and appoint you a high and honourable station 
 in the work. 
 
 Here a vast population is to spring up, and a great propor- 
 tion of it descendants of Scotland. You help heathen and aliens, 
 you will surelj help those who are your own flesh. It must be 
 pleasant to you who sent the gospel to your countrymen here, 
 to afford effectual aid for preserving it to the millions of their 
 descendants in the ages to come. Here they will probably re- 
 main and increase to a thousand generations, perhaps to the 
 end of time, and the bounty you bestow now may extend to the 
 last of time. Many of you have near relations here. These, 
 their children, and their children's children, shall profit by the 
 abundance of your liberality or suffer by its deficiency. Were 
 a strong impulse now given to our Seminary it would probably 
 confer an ascendancy, a most profitable ascendancy on the 
 Presbyterian interest for many ages, through a great extent of 
 country, and vice versa if it does not succeed; the loss to the 
 church of Christ here will be immense. In my journeys in the 
 vicinity of this Province I have met at different times with fa- 
 milies, descendants of Presbyterian emigrants, who had never 
 seen a Presbyterian minister before, and I believe never have 
 since. When I have told them that I was a Presbyterian min- 
 ister they have looked at me with wonder, saying, " I never 
 saw a Presbyterian minister before, but both my parents were 
 Presbyterians ;" another, " I never saw a Presbyterian minister 
 before, but many a time have I heard my mother say they were 
 the best ministers in the world." Were our Seminary to fail, 
 myriads would have the same sad tale to tell. Even a few 
 years ago I preached in Cape Breton, where there were several 
 hearers, above twenty years old, who had never heard a sermon 
 or seen a minister before. I am credibly informed that there 
 
■«» 
 
 BEY. JAMES MAOOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 218 
 
 , and he 
 i to give 
 his own 
 B, I trust 
 you into 
 le station 
 
 t propor- 
 nd aliens, 
 t must be 
 aen here, 
 8 of their 
 obably re- 
 ps to the 
 end to the 
 I. These, 
 Dfit by the 
 y. Were 
 1 probably 
 jy on the 
 extent of 
 loss to the 
 leys in the 
 IS with fa- 
 |had never 
 lever have 
 rian min- 
 "I never 
 •ents were 
 |n minister 
 they were 
 iry to fail, 
 Iven a few 
 re several 
 a sermon 
 ;hat there 
 
 
 are within the bounds of the United States, people who never 
 heard of Christ, who yet are descendants of emigrants thither 
 from Europe, perhaps from Britain, since the days of Columbus. 
 
 Fathers and brethren, the lines have fallen unto you in pleas- 
 ant places. You have plenty of ministers, books, and schools, 
 nay, and of universities too, all provided and reduced to system 
 before you were born. It is far otherwise with us. The most 
 flourishing part of America is not yet arrived at manhood, but 
 other parts are in mere childhood. In the United States there 
 are many colleges, but not half so many as they need. In every 
 two or three years we read of the formation of a new col- 
 lege. There government patronizes learning without showing 
 a predilection for one section of Christians more than another, 
 and there wealthy and public spirited farmers and merchants 
 are frequently making donations of five, ten, twenty, and forty 
 thousand dollars to such or such a college. We possess not 
 these advantages ; but you are our friends, you are able and 
 willing to help us, could wo only enable you to realize our 
 situation. And doubtless some of you are acquainted with 
 wealthy gentlemen of a generous disposition, who, had they a 
 hint of our need, would send us acceptable donations. May 
 God grant you wisdom from above to consider our Institution 
 in its various bearings, with that impartiality, respecting other 
 claims on your charity, which just views of the interest of Christ 
 and of perishing sinners will dictate, and may he grant you to 
 act accordingly. 
 
 Note. — But it is not merely a Divinity Hall or Theological 
 Seminary such as you need, that we are forming; it is rather 
 a college where our young men may learn what you learn at 
 the universities, before they attend the Divinity Hall, for 
 we have no other place where they can learn any branch 
 of education above a grammar school. We wish for the means 
 of a liberal education to enable our descendants to fill every 
 useful office in society respectably, as well as that of the 
 ministry. We are aware that to her superiority of learning, 
 Scotland owes no small part of the distinguished character 
 
214 
 
 BEMAINS OF THE 
 
 which she holds among the nations, both for the arts which 
 conduce to comfort and ornament in this life, and for her 
 higher degrees of morality and piety, which never end, and 
 we are anxious to have our posterity partakers of the same 
 privileges. 
 
 it 
 
 V V 
 
 . I 
 
*■ 
 
 *,.■ 
 
 "THE PKOSPERITTOP THOSE WHO LOVE JERUSALEM." 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED AT THE OPENING OF THE SYNOD 
 
 OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 OF NOVA SCOTIA, 
 
 28th June, 1825. 
 
St 
 
 ll 
 
 \j^ 
 
 \ 1 
 
 
 ) 
 

 
 SERMON. 
 
 Preached at Pictou, at the Opening of Synods June 28^A, 1825. 
 
 Psalm cxxii. 6. — "They shall prosper that love thee." 
 
 > 
 
 \\ 
 
 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever, he rejoiceth in 
 his works. He directs with an unerring hand every being in 
 his vast dominions for the most wise and holy ends ) or, in 
 other words, for his own glory and the good of the universe. 
 He is never disappointed in his purpose, and never needs to 
 say of anything with regret. This has not answered my design. 
 But still he is more eminently glorified in some of his works 
 than in others, and he rejoices more in some than in others ac- 
 cordingly. '< All these things hath mine hand made, and all 
 these things are mine, saith the Lord ) but to this man will I 
 look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who 
 trembleth at my word." God has a peculiar delight in his 
 people, and Will bless them with prosperity. " The Lord's por- 
 tion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." God 
 loves his Church, and will bless all its members with temporal 
 and eternal happiness. '' Godliness is profitable unto all things, 
 having the promise of the life that now, is, and of that which 
 is to come." 
 
 Jerusalem, the object of love mentioned in the text, is an 
 
 emblem of the Church, both militant and triumphant. The 
 
 Psalmist says, " As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, 
 
 80 the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for 
 
 19 217 
 
218 
 
 HEMAINS OF THE 
 
 >» 
 
 ever." Paul says, " The Jerusalem which is above is free, 
 which is the mother of us all." The gospel Church is hea- 
 venly in its nature and tendency. John the divine saw a 
 " new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from his God." 
 " Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of 
 my God, and he shall go no more out : and I will write upon 
 him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my 
 God, which is new Jerusalem, — and my new name." 
 
 Jerusalem was long the metropolis of the peculiar people of 
 God ; where king David dwelt, and the kings of his race, for 
 many generations. It is often called the Holy City, for there 
 were the temple and the altar, and there was performed the 
 principal part of the service of God, according to the law of 
 Moses. It was a city greatly respected of God, and for its sake 
 he saved, at different times, its rebellious people. Even when 
 the ten tribes revolted, it was for Jerusalem's sake, as well as 
 for David's sake, that he reserved two tribes for Rehoboam. It 
 was also greatly respected by all good people. They sang, " In 
 Judah is God known, his name is great in Israel. In Salem 
 [that is, in Jerusalem] also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling- 
 place in Zion." And in the captivity, they sung, " If I for- 
 get thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 
 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of 
 my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 
 Jerusalem was noted for good and for evil. There lived many 
 of the saints and holy prophets, who were che ornaments of the 
 ancient church, but there many of them were slain. There 
 our blessed Saviour often preached, and honoured the temple 
 with his presence, but there he was crucified. There also was 
 Stephen, the first Christian martyr, stoned to death. " Jeru- 
 salem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest 
 them that were sent unto thee," &c. 
 
 It is from Jerusalem that the New Testament dispensation 
 of the gospel has issued to us, and all the iiations of the Gen- 
 tiles, according to the ancient propheciei, : " Out of Zion shall 
 go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." 
 
 
REV. JAMIS MAOaREOOR, D.D. 
 
 219 
 
 is free, 
 I is hca- 
 8 saw a 
 8 God." 
 smple of 
 ite upon 
 by of my 
 
 people of 
 
 J race, for 
 
 for there 
 
 )Tmed the 
 
 he law of 
 
 or its sake 
 
 ilven when 
 as well as 
 
 oboam. It 
 
 r sang, " In 
 la Salem 
 
 ;8 dwelUng- 
 « If I for- 
 r cunning, 
 the roof of 
 Bhief joy." 
 
 [lived many 
 lents of the 
 kin. There 
 the temple 
 jre also was 
 « O Jeru- 
 land stonest 
 
 [dispensation 
 ]of the Gen- 
 If Zion shall 
 Ijerusalem." 
 
 And though now for many generations it hafl been trodden un- 
 der foot of the Gentiles, yet the time of the Gentilca shaK > 
 fulfilled, and then it shall again be holy, for " the Lord will yet 
 comfort Zion, and he will yet choose Jerusalem." The spurk 
 now rekindled at Jerusalem will never be quenched. We trust 
 that God in his love is now returned to Jerusalem, and that it 
 will dwell from generation to generation. 
 
 Our text promises prosperity, that is, all good or happiness to 
 the lovers of Jerusalem, viz., the gospel Church, the ordinances 
 of God, the kingdom of Christ, and the cause of truth, the 
 means of glory to God and eternal happiness to men. Here I 
 shall make a few observations on Jerusalem, as typical of the 
 gospel Church, the lovely object presented in the text, also, on 
 the character described by the phrase, <' that love thee," and 
 the prosperity promised to it. 
 
 1. Jerusalem contained the temple, the house of God. V. 
 1. ** I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the 
 house of the Lord." In the New Testament, the Church of 
 God is frequently called his house. Paul says to Timothy, 
 *' That thou mayest know how to behave thyself in the house 
 of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and 
 ground of the truth." Again, " having an high priest over the 
 house of God, let us draw near, with true hearts, in full assu- 
 rance of faith." And again, " whose house we are, if we hold 
 fast the beginning of our confidence, steadfast unto the end." 
 In this Church, God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, 
 dwells in a manner still more delightful and exalted than in 
 Solomon's temple. He bestows upon it more light and comfort 
 and endearing communion. It is vastly more extensive. Its 
 safety, stability, and dignity are more eminent. Who can con- 
 ceive the free and confident access to God, the security, the 
 beauty, the honour, the blessedness of every rational being with 
 whom Jehovah dwells, as the God of love and peace. . " My 
 God shall supply all your wants, according to his riches in glory 
 by Christ Jesus." " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with 
 men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. 
 
220 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 1 
 
 and God shall be with them and be their God ; and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall bo no more 
 death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any 
 more pain." 
 
 2. In Jerusalem were the public ordinances of God's wor- 
 ship. << Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto 
 the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the 
 Lord." These ordinances are the means whereby a gracious 
 and merciful God brings back apostate and self-ruined sinners 
 to serve and enjoy him in time and in eternity. These have 
 all a reference to the death of Christ, the only sure foundation 
 of hope for lost sinners. Under the Old Testament, his death 
 was displayed by the annual sacrifices that were offered up, not 
 only on many solemn occasions, but every morning and even- 
 ing on the altar before the temple, ever showing the deatl of 
 Christ as the real atonement. In the New Testament, we have 
 a true historical account of the death of Christ, the antetype 
 or substance of these types, the only glorious, efficacious atone- 
 ment for sin. The principal means whereby Christ and the 
 benefits of this atonement are received by believing sinners, are 
 the reading of the word, the faithful preaching and hearing of 
 the gospel, the sacraments, and prayer. TL'" energy of the 
 Holy Spirit accompanying these means, convinces sinners both 
 of their sin and misery, converts them to Christ, and *' builds 
 them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salva- 
 tion." 
 
 3. Jerusalem was the seat of civil justice. " There are set 
 thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.'' 
 The reference to the house of David seems to be, on this ac- 
 count, that David established order in the nation upon a better 
 and more stable foundation than that was before. David ruled 
 over all Israel, and David executed justice and judgment unto 
 all his people. But of the son of David, it was said, " Be- 
 hold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise to David 
 a righteous branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and he 
 jhall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days. 
 
REV. JAMK8 MACOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 \ all all 
 
 more 
 be any 
 
 !b wor- 
 :d, unto 
 
 1 of the 
 gracious 
 
 Binners 
 )se have 
 undatlon 
 ills death 
 i up, not 
 nd even- 
 dcatl of 
 , we have 
 
 antetype 
 3U8 atone- 
 i and the 
 nners, are 
 loaring of 
 jy of the 
 iners both 
 id « builds 
 
 Lto salva- 
 
 [re are set 
 David." 
 |)n this ac- 
 3n a better 
 kvid ruled 
 Itnent unto 
 [said, «Be- 
 |e to David 
 aer, and he 
 his days, 
 
 Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is 
 the name whereby he shall be called, Jeuovah our 11ioiit« 
 X0USNES8." The right and systematical administration of jus< 
 tice in public and in privato, is one of the greatest privileges 
 of civil society, and the world owes it chiefly to the gospel of 
 Christ. Injustice, oppression, and cruelty rule with a fearful 
 sway among the heathen nations. I believe it may be said with 
 truth, that the worst of the christian kingdoms have better 
 law and more equal administration of justice, than the best 
 of the heathen kingdoms. And, doubtless, the purer that the 
 Christianity of any nation is, the better will justice be admin- 
 istered. 
 
 4. Jerusalem was built with beauty and symmetry. " Jeru- 
 salem is builded as a city that is compact together." Thid is 
 an emblem of the beautiful order established in the Church of 
 Christ. Another foundation of the Church can no man lay, 
 than that is laid, Christ Jesus. This is the foundation of the 
 apostles and prophets, on which the Ephesian believers were 
 built, where " Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone," " iu 
 whom all the building, fitly framed together, growcth into an 
 holy temple in the Lord." John says, " I saw the Holy City, 
 New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, pre- 
 pared as a bride for her husband." He describes its founda- 
 tion, the wall, the street, its gates and its glory, in very beau- 
 tiful language. The most eminent attribute of the Church is 
 holiness. This is its beauty. Its officers are holy, and its 
 members are holy. Nothing unholy should ever enter within 
 its pale. I cannot speak particularly of its doctrine and wor- 
 ship, discipline or government. 
 
 II. I shall now make a few observations on the character 
 here described by the love of Jerusalem. 
 
 1. This love implies a perception of the beauty of Jerusa- 
 lem, that is, of the spiritual beauty of the Church. The beauty 
 of truth and holiness being the beauty of the Church, a spiritual 
 discernment is necessary to perceive it. Therefore the natural 
 man, who goes about to establish his own righteousness, can 
 19* 
 
 .*,..s .;JS^ 
 
222 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 admit no tnio idoa of it into his mind. His blindod mind can 
 see no beauty in Christ himself, tho glorious Head of tlic 
 Church, though " ho is fairer than tho children of men," tho 
 tost and criterion of all beauty. He may be a member or offi- 
 cer in tho Church, but he will be unfaithful and traitorous in 
 his employments. He may be zealous to promote his party, 
 nay, he may stand at his post so as to escape the censure or 
 suspicion of his fellows, yet, like Judas, he betrays the Son of 
 Man with a kiss into tho hands of sinners. But when it pleases 
 God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, to shino 
 into his heart, every thing is seen in a now light. God is seen 
 to be light and love and life. His law is seen to be holy, just, 
 and good. The plan of salvation is discerned to be tho fruit 
 of infinite wisdom, love, and grace. Christ is beheld " fairer 
 than tho sons of men," " white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten 
 thousand and altogether lovely." Of course the Church is seen 
 to be " the perfection of beauty." There is such a close con- 
 nection between Christ and the Church, that he who sees bcnuty 
 in the one sees it also in the other, and he who loves the one 
 must love the other also. He is her head and she is his body, 
 his fulness, and thus mutually suiting each other,^ they reflect 
 a glory on each other. Thus the light of tho Spirit discovers 
 the beauty of the Church, and produces lovo to it. 
 
 2. This love is the second great commandment of the law 
 like untc the first. The first commandment is, " Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." This 
 is the root of " the second, which is like unto it, Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself." Every man being our neighbour, 
 this is a love to all mankind, however sinful or degraded. All 
 men are susceptible of eternal happiness, and we are bound to 
 promote that happiness by every means in our power. If they 
 are remarkably depraved and degraded, our pity should be ex- 
 cited the more powerfully. Christ received sinners, and ate 
 with them. If again they are formed after the image of God, 
 -we are bound to have a delight or cumplacenoy in them on ao- 
 
K£V' JAMBH MACOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 22o 
 
 nind can 
 i of the 
 jcn," the 
 r or offi- 
 torous in 
 lis party, 
 ensure or 
 10 Son of 
 it pleases 
 , to shino 
 iod is seen 
 holy, just, 
 e the fruit 
 Id "fairer 
 among ten 
 rch is seen 
 close con- 
 sees beauty 
 !S the ono 
 
 his body, 
 ,hey reflect 
 
 discovers 
 
 )f the law 
 ?hou shalt 
 [th all thy 
 ih." This 
 ?hou shalt 
 {neighbour, 
 ided. All 
 bound to 
 If they 
 
 lid be ex- 
 Is, and ate 
 
 re of God, 
 lem on ao- 
 
 count of that imago, and so to promote their good by every 
 work of love, 'i'hese are *< the saints in the earth, the excel- 
 lent, in whom should bo all our delight." 
 
 This law of lovo was originally written on the hearts of our 
 first parents, and constituted an eminent part of the image of 
 Ood in them, and of their happiness in the enjoyment of him. 
 But sin and death expelled it from their hearts, and now it is 
 not to be found by nature with one individual of the race of 
 Adam. " The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, 
 neither indeed can be." This, then, is the law written on 
 the heart by the Spirit of God, according to the promise, " I 
 will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their hearts." 
 By this writing the believing soul is qualified for the exercise 
 of love towards God and man, and especially towards the church, 
 "the household of faith." This love is the same with Paul's 
 charity, which ho recommends to the Corinthians. 1 Cor. xiii. 
 4-8. It is the same with the Apostle John's lovo to the breth- 
 ren, (1 John iii. 14,) his distinguishing mark of a living chris- 
 tian. It is the same with Christ's special coBimandment of mutual 
 love. John xv. 12. " This is ray commandment that ye love 
 one another, as I have loved you," and his new commandment. 
 " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love ono 
 another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." 
 To all this we should add the words of the Apostle €Tohn : 
 " By this we know that we love the children of God, when we 
 love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love 
 of God, that we keep his commandments, and his command- 
 ments arc not grievous." 
 
 3. It includes in it a sincere, steady, and ardent attachment 
 to the cause of truth, of Christ, and the gospel. The inspired 
 prophet says, " Love the truth and peace." For the illus- 
 tration of this observation, I refer you to the example of Christ 
 and the Apostle of the Gentiles. Christ came not to do his 
 own will, nor to seek honour for himself. He came to do his 
 Father's will, to honour his Father, and to give his life a ransom 
 for many. Ho came also to bear witness to the truth^ the 
 
224 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ! 
 
 ) i 
 
 great truths of the gospel. John xviii. 87. In puhlio and 
 in private, with unexampled labour, patience, and self-denial, 
 he taught the truth, and nothing but pure truth. He taught 
 it in the face of every species of contradiction, opposition, and 
 persecution, in the face of censure, reproach, insolence, malice, 
 and cruelty. "I have preached righteousness in the great 
 congregation j lo, I have not refrained my lips, Lord thou 
 knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart ; 
 I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation ; I have not 
 concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great 
 congregation.'' His whole conduct was exactly agreeable to 
 his doctrine. In the most trying and critical situations of his 
 life, there was no deviation from his public instruction. One 
 was consistent with the other, and both with truth. The ma- 
 licious industry of his enemies could not convict him of sin. 
 " I find no fault in him." The world never saw an example 
 of spotless preaching but his own. On his trial before the 
 Sanhedrim, being adjured by the High Priest, to declare if he 
 was the Son of God, he boldly said, I am, though he k;'3w per- 
 fectly that death would be the consequence. And he added, 
 " Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand 
 of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." 
 
 Paul, after the example of his blessed Master, persevered in 
 a steady and undeviating course of zealous attachment to the 
 cause of gospel truth. His labours were as constant and un- 
 wearied, as if he hoped to convert the world by his own exer- 
 tions ; and his prayers to God for the prevalence of truth were 
 as earnest and incessant as if he laboured not at all. He 
 thought nothing of toil, aflSiction, reproach, and persecution, if 
 he could only advance his master's cause. 2 Cor. xi. 24 — 29. 
 " Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes but one, thrice 
 was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered 
 shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep ; in jour- 
 neyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
 by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in 
 the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in 
 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 225 
 
 ilio and 
 -denial, 
 
 taught 
 Lon, and 
 
 malice, 
 le great 
 ►rd thou 
 y heart j 
 have not 
 he great 
 eeable to 
 ns of his 
 )n. One 
 
 The ma- 
 m of sin. 
 
 example ■ 
 )efore the 
 ilare if he 
 ki?3W per- 
 he added, 
 •ight hand 
 
 severed in 
 ent to the 
 t and un- 
 own exer- 
 ruth were 
 all. He 
 ecution, if 
 24—29. 
 one, thrice 
 I suffered 
 p ; in jour- 
 8, in perils 
 n perils in 
 ,he sea, in 
 
 perils among false brethren ; in weariness and painfulness, in 
 watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold 
 and nakedness. Beside these things that are without, that 
 which Cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 
 Who is weak, and I am not weak ? Who is offended and I 
 burn not ?" Acts xx. 20 — 25. " I kept back nothing that 
 was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and taught you 
 publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, 
 and also to the Grreeks, repentance toward God and faith toward 
 our Lord Jesus Christ." And when he was ready to be offered, 
 and the time of his departure was at hand, he could say, (2 Tim. 
 iv. 7, 8,) " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
 I have kept the faith." 
 
 III. We shall next consider the prosperity of those who love 
 Jerusalem. " They shall prosper." The great Jehovah has 
 promised them prosperity, and they shall have it. " No good 
 thing shall he withhold from them." They shall have enough 
 of the good things of this life, and in the life to come fulness 
 of joy and pleasures for evermore, for " Godliness is profitable 
 unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and 
 of that which is to come." But they may not have what the 
 world calls prosperity, for " they are not of the world." They 
 may have but a slender share of its enjoyments, such as ease, 
 wealth, power, and honour. There are men enough belonging 
 to the world, to engross more of these than the world affords. 
 It is a spiritual prosperity which God has promised to them who 
 love Jerusalem. Of spiritual ease, wealth, power, and honour, 
 they shall have abundance. God will extend peace to them 
 like a river, though they be poor in this world. The pleasure 
 of the Lord prospered in the hand of Christ, though he was 
 crucified. Though Paul and his associates were hungry, and 
 thirsty, and naked, and buffetted, and without any certain 
 dwelling-place, yet they not only prospered, but triumphed, and 
 that always. 
 
 " 1. It is no small part of their prosperity, that they live, in 
 a great measure, above both the smiles and the frowns of the 
 
r*w^,7:«M^"fl>lf-' 
 
 226 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 world. They are " crucified to the world, and the world to 
 them." Their desire is " having food and raiment, therewith 
 to be content." Though their natural sympathies and sensi- 
 bilities be equal to other people'B,yet they are taught of Christ 
 to deny themselves, to " take up their cross, and follow him," 
 nay, to " take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessi- 
 ties, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." " Their 
 treasure is in heaven, and therefore their hearts are there also." 
 They " seek those things that are above, where Christ sitteth 
 at the right hand of God." They "set their affections on 
 things above, not on things on the earth." Their " life is hid 
 with Christ in God." 
 
 2. Much of their prosperity consists in the growth of their 
 grace and its evidences. The Holy Spirit dwells in them, to 
 sanctify them, by mortifying their members which are upon the 
 earth, and renewing them in the spirit of their minds. He 
 who implanted in them the love of truth, will enable them to 
 grow in the knowledge and faith of the truth ; and faith will still 
 continue to work by love every good work and word. It will 
 strengthen the hope of eternal life, the joy and peace of believ- 
 ing, lowliness of mind, meekness, and every excellent disposi- 
 tion, which again will increase the activity of the soul in every 
 duty. For example, a supreme love to God will incite the mind 
 to great acti/ity in everything, whereby he may be glorified. 
 A strong love to the souls of men will incite to greater activity 
 in the use of all means to circulate the knowledge of ii .^aiong 
 mankind. This is prosperity. This activity has its reward. 
 « The hand of the diligent maketh rich." « The soul of the 
 diligent shall be made fat." 
 
 3. Much of their prosperity lies in communion with God 
 through Christ. Neither in this world nor in the next is there 
 any enjoyment, like the enjoyment of God. As the love of 
 God and the Church are substantially the same, so be who 
 loves the Church of God will enjoy the God of the Church. 
 He tastes and sees that God is good, answering prayer, accom- 
 plishing promises. Love will cause him to improve more earn- 
 
n 
 
 BEV. JAMES MACQREQOil, D.D. 
 
 227 
 
 vorld to 
 lerewith 
 id sensi- 
 ,f Christ 
 w him," 
 I necessi- 
 « Their 
 ere also." 
 3t sitteth 
 utions on 
 ife is hid 
 
 I of their 
 
 them, to 
 > upon the 
 nds. He 
 le them to 
 h will still 
 . It will 
 
 of believ- 
 it disposi- 
 ^1 in every 
 
 the mind 
 glorified. 
 
 ir activity 
 ii uiuong 
 
 ;8 reward. 
 
 »ul of the 
 
 I with God 
 tt is there 
 |e love of 
 to he who 
 |e Church, 
 er, accora- 
 aore earn- 
 
 estly that access with boldness, yet with reverence, unto a gra- 
 cious God through Christ, which the gospel reveals ; and every 
 real approach to God makes him holier and happier. '' It is 
 good for me/' says Asaph, "that I draw near to God. My 
 meditation of him shall be sweet. I will be glad in the Lord." 
 And so " I have loved the habitation of thine house, and the 
 place where thine honour dwelleth." It is good and sweet, 
 above all earthly things, to hear his voice, to pray to him, to 
 praise him, to trust him, and obey him. It is to our unspeak- 
 able dishonour and loss that we have so little relish and expe- 
 rience of these sweet things. 
 
 4. We subjoin, in a word, that a very agreeable part of ^heir 
 prosperity consists in communion with one another. << I was 
 glad when they said. Let us go into the house of the Lord." 
 Why was he glad ? Because of their company, they were the 
 best of company j because of their converse, it was most agree- 
 able ; and because of their errand, '< to give thanks to the 
 name of the Lord." "Did not our hearts burn within us while 
 he talked with us by the way, and opened unto us the Scrip- 
 tures ?" " That which we have seen and heard declare we unto 
 you, that ye also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our 
 fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Christ Jesus." 
 Did infidels know the delights of christian communion, they 
 would lay down their infidelity in a moment. Wrangling 
 christians and contentious divines would ^.o the same. " We 
 took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in 
 company," they would substitute for " strife and debate." 
 
 We come now to the application. 
 
 1. Hence see that the enemies of the church must be misera- 
 ble and perish. There can be no prosperity to the haters of 
 Jerusalem. " There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 
 God saith of Jerusalem, " I will be unto her a wall of fire round 
 about." How certain, and how terrible the destruction of those 
 who attack them who are thus defended I Again, " I will make 
 Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about ; 
 when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and Jerusa- 
 
228 
 
 BEMAINS OF THB 
 
 . i ' 
 
 ) 
 
 lem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome 
 stone for all people, and all that burden themselves with it 
 shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be 
 gathered together against it." A powerful host will be crushed 
 as surely as a feeble individual. 
 
 2. How dreadfully they shall be disappointed at last, who 
 flatter themselves that they are friends of the church, but are 
 not I '' The Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh to 
 the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh to the heart." 
 Hypocrites, whether in palaces or dung-hills, shall be involved 
 in this fearful disappointment. " Fearfulness shall surprise the 
 hypocrite." Little did the rich man in the parable expect to 
 '' lift up his eyes being in torment." Little did Caiaphas and 
 the rest of the court, who condemned our Saviour, suspect that 
 they were an abomination in the sight of God. There are 
 many enemies to the church now, who have as little suspicion 
 of it as any of us all. Satan is still " transformed into an an- 
 gel of light," and it is no wonder if his ministers are trans- 
 formed into the ministers of Christ. We need to look to 
 ourselves. Ministers are unavoidably engaged in religious ex- 
 ercises, and under a necessity of appearing religious, and they 
 may mistake this for religion itself. But all this is perfectly 
 consistent with heart enmity to the real, spiritual, and holy in- 
 terests of the church. " Put me, I pray thee, into one of the 
 priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread." Their end shall 
 be according to their works. 
 
 3. If we mean to have real and listing prosperity, we must 
 love the church and the cause of Christ. " The^/ shall prosper 
 that love '.hee." Other prosperity we may have or we may not. 
 It has been denied to many, who had the fairest prospects, and 
 the h'^.Jo grounds of having it secured. At all events we ^an 
 secure it but for a moment, for it will take to itself wings, and 
 fly rtway as an eagle toward heaven. But this prosperity shall 
 grow like the oak, planted by the side of the river, or like the 
 stream itself flowing toward the ocean. '< Rejoice ye with Jeru- 
 salem, and be glad with her all ye that love her; rejoice for joy 
 
-.. y^.. 
 
 v 
 
 REV. JAMES MACOREOOR, D.D. 
 
 229 
 
 lurdensome 
 es with it 
 e earth be 
 he crushed 
 
 it last, who 
 roh, but are 
 1 looketh to 
 the heart." 
 be involved 
 surprise the 
 lie expect to 
 jaiaphas and 
 suspect that 
 
 There are 
 tie suspicion 
 id into an an- 
 srs are trans- 
 i to look to 
 religious ex- 
 ms, and they 
 
 is perfectly 
 
 and holy in- 
 one of the 
 
 eir end shall 
 
 |ity, we must 
 Ishall prosper 
 • we may not. 
 Irospects, and 
 Ivents we ^^an 
 |lf Tvings, and 
 bsperity shall 
 r, or like the 
 l^e with Jeru- 
 lejoice for joy 
 
 with her, all ye that mouin for her, that ye may suck and be 
 satisfied with the breasts of her consolations ; that ye may milk 
 out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For 
 thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a 
 river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream ; then 
 shall ye suck, ye shall be borne on her sides, and be dandled on 
 her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I 
 comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And 
 when ye shall see this, your heart shall rejoice and your bones 
 shall flourish like an herb." In another place, God says, " Oh 
 that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! then had 
 thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves 
 of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the off- 
 spring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof, his name should 
 not have been cut off, nor destroyed from before me." Here 
 is a defect of duty preventing prosperity, a defect of love to God 
 and to his church. 
 
 Here let me mention a few sins of which we are in 
 danger : 
 
 1. Sloth. To Christians and ministers, God says with pecu- 
 liar emphasis, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
 thy might." The responsibility of those who preach the gospel 
 is the greatest on earth. The souls of perishing sinners are 
 unspeakably precious. God the Son purchased sinners with 
 his own blood. He orders his messengers thus, " Preach the 
 gospel, be instant in season and out of season." If a soul dies 
 by the negligence of the watchman, "his blood," says God, "will 
 I require at the watchman's hand." Thy soul shall go for hia 
 soul. How appalling is the thought of so many negligent, un- 
 faithful ministers, leading their numerous hearers in the broad 
 way to everlasting destruction ! Isa. Ivi. 10, 11. "The watch- 
 men are blind, they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, 
 they cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 
 Yea, they are greedy dogs, that can never have enough, and 
 they are shepherds that cannot understand, they all look to 
 
 their own way} every one for his gain from his quarter." Paul, 
 20 
 
230 
 
 REMAINS OP THE 
 
 V 
 
 viewing the vast importance of the ministry, cries out, " Who 
 is sufl&cient for these things?" And if we consider the infinite 
 importance of eternal salvation and eternal damnation, it will 
 make us shudder at neglect of public duties, or our slight per- 
 formance of them. " Moreover it is required of stewards that 
 a man be found faithful." Alas! how many of us think it 
 enough to be at our post some way 1 
 
 2. Selfishness, or a seeking our private interest to the ne- 
 glect of the public good. Nothing of this disposition is to be 
 seen in the example of our Master. Ho " came not to do his 
 own will, but the will of him that sent him." He lived wholly 
 for others and died wholly for others ; and to every follower of 
 his, he says, " Let him deny himself, and take up his cross and 
 follow me." In conformity to this direction, Paul and his com- 
 panions could say, " We take pleasure in aflBictions, in re- 
 proaches, in persecutions for Christ's sake." Can we say so too ? 
 It may be said, we live in more civilized times. If so, we have 
 the less excuse for neglecting the public for our private interest. 
 We live not onl) in civilized times, but in times of unexampled 
 religious charity and generosity. Great are the exertions now 
 made both by individuals and societies to make the gospel of 
 Christ known throughout the world; and great is their success. 
 If I mistake not, this Province is none of the foremost in this 
 work of love. What is the reason ? Can we ministers declare 
 before the Searcher of hearts, that we are not in fault ? Can 
 we appeal to him that we have set an example of generosity 
 before our congregation, (all that I mean by an example of 
 generosity is merely this, that we contribute so much as will 
 convince an honest man who knows our circumstances, that we 
 are hearty in the cause ;) and that we urge our own congrega- 
 tions to set the same example before the rest of the Province? If 
 we do, then we are not to blame. But if selfishness is really our 
 character, that is, if we are afraid to give a little of our money, 
 and to urge our congregation to give of theirs, lest they should 
 not pay ourselves so well, or lest we should offend their selfish- 
 nem, then we are deficient m the love that is in our text, aud 
 
 •, 4:uA(i-., 
 
*« 
 
 
 BEV. JA1<I!£S MAOOBEOOR, D.D. 
 
 231 
 
 t, " Who 
 e infijiite 
 ti, it will 
 light per- 
 ards that 
 think it 
 
 ) the ne- 
 m is to be 
 ; to do his 
 red wholly 
 ollower of 
 I cross and 
 d his com- 
 ins, in re- 
 say so too ? 
 10, we have 
 te interest, 
 nexampled 
 srtions now 
 J gospel of 
 sir success, 
 bost in this 
 ;erg declare 
 ult? Can 
 generosity 
 ixample of 
 ,ch as will 
 les, that we 
 congrega- 
 ■ovince? If 
 s really our 
 |our money, 
 ;hey should 
 eir selfish- 
 ir text, and 
 
 
 forfeit the prosperity promibad. Here I shall mention two 
 societies, which selfishness, if it le not excessive, will support: 
 1st, The Bible Society. It is now become so extensive and 
 fashionable, that any man who wishes to maintain a character 
 for religious zeal will aid it, for fear of being thought a churl 
 or a miser. 2d, The Sabbath-school Societies. Their object 
 is the religious instruction of our own children, so that what we 
 give to support them scarcely goes away from ourselves. 
 
 But here in Nova Scotia, I may say here in Pictou, are two 
 orphans, cast upon the care of Providence, struggling for life, 
 and stinted in their growth, not likely for a long time to attain 
 to a manly stature, or to make firm and dignified exertions for 
 the public good, for want of that charity, which " seeketh not 
 her own" and " thinketh no evil." I mean the Academy with 
 the Divinity Hall, and the Domestic Missionary Society. The 
 great utility of the first of these is no longer doubtful. Its 
 students have distinguished themselves not in the pulpit only. 
 The Legislature has shown its regard so unequivocally, that a 
 permanent provision to a considerable extent [is made for its 
 support,] if it be not prevented by the slackness and coldness 
 of those who are its supposed friends. We may well suppose 
 that the Legislature will expect that its professed friends will 
 show a hearty attachment to it both by their own support, and 
 by soliciting aid from others. Why should the Legislature 
 support it, if they see no person caring for it but the Trustees ? 
 Its respectability is evidently necessary to the prosperity and 
 permanence of the Presbyterian Church. Presbyterians ought 
 to be una jimous and warm in its support. But they are not so. 
 Numbers of them are as desirous of its overthrow, as any high- 
 flying churchman can be. It is the more needful, therefore, 
 that we should give it our cordial support. If it be asked, what 
 can we do ? [I answer,] We can open our eyes to the wants 
 of the church and of the country in which we live. We can 
 lift up our hearts in prayer tv the Father of lights, the possessor 
 of heaven and earth, to sho\( it his favour. We can recom- 
 
 ^ 
 
232 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 i*' 
 
 mend it publicly and privately to the favour of others. We 
 can do more than we have done to recommend it to the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 The Domestic Missionary Society is very weak. Our out- 
 skirts, the destitute settlements in this and the neighbouring 
 Provinces, greatly need that we should " look not every man 
 on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." 
 These have had no opportunity of knowing the value of the 
 gospel, they have not been brought to order and organization, 
 BO as to co-operate in supporting the gospel occasionally or 
 statedly. Preachers cannot give their labours for nothing. 
 Are we to remain contented with this state of matters ? Is every 
 minister to look to his own congregation and no farther ? This 
 is not the [course followed by] the prosperous parts of the 
 church, nor by zealous Christians at home or abroad. 
 
 3. Party Spirit. Where love is deficient, zeal for truth 
 degenerates into zeal for a party. Then the great aim will be 
 to raise our own party, and depress the opposite. The evil of 
 our own party will not be seen or suppressed, nor the good of 
 the opposite seen or encouraged. Strife and debate, and every 
 evil work will be generated. Many cannot bear the slightest 
 personal injury without retaliation. Every injury will be con- 
 sidered as intentional, and every opportunity of revenge studied. 
 Hence come irritating allusions, and sarcastic expressions, whicli 
 gender a bitter spirit. And hence on the other hand a readi- 
 ness to find allusions, where none existed, and to wrest harm- 
 less expressions to an evil sense, contrary to the intention of 
 the speaker. This is very contrary to the love in the text, and 
 to the example of Christ, all whose words and deeds were per- 
 fect candour. He commended truth equally in the Pharisees 
 end his disciples, and he reprimanded what was amiss equally 
 in his disciples [and among the Pharisees]. He was "meek 
 and lowly in heart." " When he was reviled he reviled not 
 
 again 
 
 »> 
 
 Lastly. Anger, wrath, and clamour^ are plain evidences of a 
 
^ 
 
 
 REV. JAMES MACGREOOR, D.D. 
 
 283 
 
 era. "We 
 he Legia- 
 
 Our out- 
 
 gbbouring 
 
 5very man 
 
 af others." 
 
 lue of the 
 
 ganizatioD, 
 
 isionally or 
 
 )r nothing. 
 
 1? Is every 
 
 ther? This 
 
 parts of the 
 
 1. 
 
 il for truth 
 aim will be 
 The evil of 
 the good of 
 
 e, and every 
 he slightest 
 will be con- 
 jnge studied, 
 ssions, which 
 and a readi- 
 wrest harm- 
 intention of 
 the text, and 
 ids were per- 
 le Pharisees 
 miss equally 
 was " meek 
 reviled not 
 
 adences of a 
 
 defioionoy of love to the chr^ch. A man that hath no rule 
 over his own spirit, instead of appearing as a disciple and fol- 
 lower of the meek and lowly Jesus, is declared by the pen of 
 inspiration, to be like " a city that is broken down and without 
 walls," that is, that affords no comfort to the inhabitants, and 
 no protection from the enemy. Such Christians, and especi- 
 ally such ministers, plainly forget that they are sinners, and 
 that God has given them their lot in a world of sin and provo- 
 cation. The love in our text, instead of being transported with # 
 anger, " suffereth long and is kind, beareth all things, believeth 
 all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." Never man 
 was so abused and provoked as our Saviour, though ho never 
 gave the least occasion for such treatment, — but so far was he 
 from being at any time transported with rage, that in the whole 
 course of his life not one improper expression escaped from his 
 lips. Most emphatic is his direction, << Learn of me, for I am 
 meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls." 
 It is not enough that we speak the truth, we must " sp^ak the 
 truth in love." 
 
 Before concluding, I earnestly exhort my brethren in the 
 ministry, to consider attentively the promise of God in the text, 
 " They shall prosper that love thee." All that is good, all 
 happiness in time and eternity, is included in this promise. 
 What a powerful inducement is this to love the church and all 
 its interests 1 To promote the good of the church is in reality 
 to promote the good of the universe. But remember that he 
 who made the promise is God omniscient, the Searcher of all 
 hearts, who will neither be deceived nor mocked. Your love 
 must be sincere and strong. A cold love to such a lovely object 
 as God's church, is an affront to cur Lawgiver, which will draw 
 down upon you his threat, for consider that a fearful threatening 
 of adversity to all false and pretended lovers of the church, is 
 implied in the promise of prosperity to its true lovers. As' the 
 sacredness of your office adds a peculiar aggravation to all your 
 sins, whether directly or indirectly contrary to this love, so that 
 20* . ' '^ 
 
284 
 
 REMAINS OF THl 
 
 sacred offioe, instead of screening you from the threutoninf?, 
 will add a keenness inconceivable to your sufferings, when it is 
 executed. If others shall be punished seven times, you shall 
 be punished seventy and seven times. 
 
 Consider the love which our Divine Master bore to the 
 church, and imitate his example. " Christ loved the church 
 and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, 
 &c." He went about doing good. With more industry than any 
 of his followers, he travelled every where, in Judea and Gali- 
 lee, doing all manner of good to Jews and Heathens, Pharisees 
 and publicans, friends and foes. Unmoved by opposition or 
 provocation, he kept his heart steadily fixed on this great ob- 
 ject, throughout his life, and at last laid down his life to pur- 
 chase it to God with his blood. Let us imitate his love and 
 his conduct. Let us take his law and ordinances as our rule, 
 and cleave to them in love. Let us be " rooted and grounded 
 in love." Let us " speak the truth in love." Let us " forbear 
 one another in love." Let us " walk in love and dwell in love ; 
 for he th \t dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him." 
 " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down 
 his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the bre- 
 thren.^' 
 
 To conclude, I exhort all my hearers to consider this love, 
 and abound in it. It is " the fulfilling of the law," and the 
 end of the gospel. It is the sum of your duty and your hap- 
 piness. It is contrary to your nature. By nature you are 
 "hateful and hating one another." A change from hating 
 good to loving it is a happy change. That you may enjoy it, 
 pray that " the love of God may be shed abroad in your heart 
 by the Holy Ghost." " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," 
 and let your " faith work by love." " Let love be without dis- 
 simulation." " Love all men." " Love the brotherhood," the 
 household of faith. " Those that are over you in the Lord, 
 esteem them very highly in love." Assist them in all their 
 endeavours under Christ to make increase of the body unto 
 
 
^ 
 
 REV. JAMKS MAGOREaOR, D.D. 
 
 286 
 
 itcnmj?, 
 »cn it 18 
 )U shall 
 
 to the 
 church 
 eanse it, 
 than any 
 ind Gali- 
 Pharisees 
 sition or 
 great ob- 
 fe to pur- 
 
 I love and 
 our rule, 
 grounded 
 
 « forbear 
 
 II in love J 
 i in him." 
 
 aid down 
 the bre- 
 
 its edification in love. " May the Lord make you to incrcnHe 
 and abound in love one toward another, and toward ull ni<>n, 
 even as we do toward you, to the end he nuiy ustablioh 
 your hearts unblumablo in holiness before (Jod, even our 
 Father, at the coming of our Lord Jcaus Christ with ull his 
 saints." 
 
 •?'•' 
 
 
 Vm 
 
 this love, 
 " and the 
 your hap- 
 
 you are 
 tm hating 
 J enjoy it, 
 
 our heart 
 
 Christ," 
 
 [thout dis- 
 
 iood," the 
 
 the Lord, 
 all their 
 
 body unto 
 
 .'iS^' 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 TO TBI 
 
 STUDENTS OF THE PICTOU ACADEMY. 
 
 Jahvart 2in>, 1826. 
 

 iL- 
 
 # 
 
 r 
 
 f 
 
 r'*- 
 
 
 » «4 5 
 
 
 :'J«*t 
 
rt 
 
 %?*. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 Gentlemen, I am happy to meet with you in this place, 
 at the beginning of another year. With the greatest sincerity 
 I can say to this Institution, Have many happy returns of the 
 season. Every year that I am spared on the earth I hope I 
 will be more and more loosed from it, but I hope the Institution 
 will strike its roots deeper and deeper, for I know not how 
 long. I hope the very storms it may meet with will only serve 
 CO strengthen them, and prepare it for the spring and summer 
 of prosperity. Indeed I hope there is an invisible power and 
 wisdom protecting it, and directing all its concerns, far surpas- 
 sing the power and wisdom of man. I am not ashamed to ac- 
 knowledge that a day seldom passes in which I do not com- 
 mend it in my prayers to God for his protection and favour, 
 and I am confident that he will answer my prayers. I am so 
 confident of it that, though I were to see it dead, I would not 
 despair of its prosperity, for I would believe that it would rise 
 again from the dead. If I be asked, why I pray so steadily for 
 it, my answer is, because I esteem it of great importance both 
 for the glory of God and the good of the country. I believe 
 that without knowledge people cannot be good ; neither pood 
 Christians, nor good citizens; neither good servants to God, 
 nor good neighbours to men ; and I believe that this Institu- 
 tion is well calculated to maintain, to increase, and diffuse 
 
 
 knowledge. 
 
 239 
 
 *.» 
 
240 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 Gentlemen, we all see this country fast increasing in popula- 
 tion. In a fuw generations we shall have myriads for our 
 present thousands, and in a few more millions, and among them 
 my own offspring and yours. Without such an Institution 
 what will these millions be ? They will be ignorant, they will 
 be poor, they will be slaves, — they will be worse, they will be 
 vicious ; for such is the case with every country destitute of 
 learning. They will neither know nor relish the consolations 
 of the gospel so much needed in the hour of trial and of death. 
 They will be carried about with every wind of doctrine. They 
 will not know their owe rights, as rational beings, nor be 
 qualified to assert and defend them. And though we leave 
 them the sweet inheritance of liberty, they will not be able to 
 retain it, they will gradually degenerate into Austrians, Span- 
 iards, and Portuguese. Their narrow minds, fettered by old 
 customs, will be incapable of following the progressive improve- 
 ments of useful and ornamental arts and manufactures. They 
 must be hewers of wood and drawers of water to others who 
 will have skill to employ them, but not so readily to virtuous 
 charucrers who are friends to the good of the country, as to 
 self-conceited demagogues, and flattering ambitious politicians 
 who will employ them as tools to aggrandize themselves, that 
 they may fatten upon the spoils of their country. 
 
 This institution is calculated to remedy all these and a thou- 
 sand other evils, if it be cherished. It will diffuse all the bene- 
 fits of learning through the whole country. It will open and 
 enlarge the minds of our youth by giving them a taste for read- 
 ing and study, and exciting an ardent thirst after knowledge. 
 It will rectify their judgment, and give an energy to their mind, 
 that will enable them to decide with propriety on every subject 
 that may come under their consideration. It will furnish their 
 minds with a continual stinmlus for exertion in every com- 
 nietidible pursuit. In the natural world it will enable them to 
 examine every object they meet, with a curious yet discrimina- 
 ting eye, and while their minds are delighted with the dis- 
 ooveries they make, their hearts will be filled with admiration 
 
 ti) 
 
 
■ ..N. 
 
 BEY. JAMES MACUREQOR, D.D. ^ 
 
 241 
 
 popula- 
 for our 
 ig them 
 jtitution 
 
 bey wi^l 
 J -will be 
 litute of 
 isolations 
 of death, 
 le. They 
 i^ nor be 
 
 we leave 
 be able to 
 lans, Span- 
 red by old 
 jQ improve- 
 ^reB. They 
 others who 
 
 to virtuous 
 
 tntry, as *-<> 
 politicians 
 
 iselves, that 
 
 land a thou- 
 i\\ the bene- 
 lu open and 
 )8te for read- 
 knowledge. 
 |o their mind, 
 Bvery subject 
 Ifurnish their 
 every com- 
 lable them to 
 It discrimina- 
 nih the dis- 
 admiration 
 
 of the power, the wisdom, and the goodness of God. Tn the 
 political wurld it will enable tlicm duly to appreciate the con- 
 stitution, the government, and laws of our own country, both 
 imperial and provincial, and not only to distinguish between 
 their excellencies and blemishes, but to lend a hand in bring- 
 ing them nearer to perfection. As for the moral world, if the 
 Institution is not productive of great good to it, the present 
 trustees will be very much disappointed ; for the moral good of 
 their fellow-men was their end in laying its foundation. Their 
 design is to promote the great and benevolent purpose of the 
 Divine Being, of calling tbe attention of men from the puny 
 things of time to the immense concerns of eternity, and to ele- 
 vate them from their depraved and degraded state as sinners, 
 to a state of moral excellence and holiness in the enjoyment of 
 God for ever. Hitherto their success has surpassed their ex- 
 peott' - therefore they indulge a hope for the future, ^r' 
 
 JS tc Institution is cherished, it will increase the wisdoin of 
 our legislators, the justice of our judges, the enterprise of our 
 merchants, the scientific energy of our farmers, and the skill 
 and contrivance of our mechanics. I compare it to the sun in 
 the firmament, diffusing its light and heat all around. It will 
 extend its benign influences not only to such particulars as I 
 have mentioned, but nothing will escape it. It will improve 
 and refine the taste and manners of the people at large. It will 
 affect their houses, their furniture, their dress, and even their 
 language in common conversation ; it will communicate a neat- 
 ness and decency to them all. Any person may know this by 
 attending to the following facts. If you travel through a coun- 
 try where learning prevails, every thing appears neat and de- 
 cent, but where things are clumsy and slovenly, there learning 
 is at a low ebb. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, let me suppose that this Institution con- 
 tinues a thousand generations. How vast must the amount of 
 good be then 1 What a powerful stimulus for exertion to set it 
 upon a respectable foundation ! What a pity that any ol.ould 
 
 be indifferent to its prosperity ! Hqw earnest sl^Quld its friends 
 21 
 
242 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 be to remove this indifference I Were it removed, rvery one 
 would help a little, and a little from every one would be enough. 
 
 But I have to regret not indifference only, but actual hostil- 
 ity to the Institution. I certainly would wonder at this, had I 
 not lear*^ A that every good thing has enemies. I have seen 
 and rea . of enmity to the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 whose aim is to give the pure and saving word of God to all 
 perishing sinners, need I then wonder that this Institution 
 should have enemies ? No. And I can easily excuse the hos- 
 tility of a great proportion of its opposers. Neither they nor 
 their fathers ever learned a letter, and they may think the sup- 
 pression of this Institution the most effectual method to bring 
 back the good old times when the country was not burthened 
 with schools or learning at all. It is easy to persuade these 
 that no good can come out of it. But it is cruel and unnatu- 
 ral for any one who knows the benefit of learning to oppose it. 
 How unnatural would it be for me to v;ish that country where 
 I expect my offspring to continue to the end of time, deprived 
 of the means of a good education, and either to consign them 
 to ignorance and wretchedness, or compel them to go to another 
 part of the world for their education ! Something far off from 
 natural affection and benevolence, must bo the spring of such 
 conduct. To compare ?>mall things with great, it is like eating 
 the forbidden fruit. It must deprive all future generations of 
 all the good the Institution may produce, and entail upon them 
 all the evils from which it is calculated to deliver them. It 
 would give them ignorance, poverty, and degradation, in pre- 
 ference to learning, wealth, and character. 
 
 But I may be told that the hostility is not to the Institution, 
 but to the gentlemen who conduct its operations. They are in 
 fault, but still this ground of hostility appears to me as unreason- 
 able as the other. By whom could it be founded or its opera- 
 tions directed but by persors who lived in the place at its com- 
 mencement? And who can have a better right to continue 
 their direction till we get persons of fewer faults to succeed 
 them ? Sure it was no fault that they came here so early, or 
 
 it. 
 
REV. JAMES MACQREGOR, D.D. 
 
 243 
 
 ery one 
 enough. 
 1 hostil- 
 8, had I 
 ive seen 
 Society, 
 rod to all 
 tstitution , 
 I the hos- 
 they nor 
 : the sup- 
 , to bring 
 burthened 
 lade thesci 
 id unnatu- 
 oppose it. 
 itry where 
 5, deprived 
 sign them 
 to another 
 ir off from 
 ng of such 
 like eating 
 
 (rations of 
 lupon them 
 
 them. It 
 |on, in pre- 
 
 [nstitution, 
 Chey are in 
 I unreason- 
 its opcra- 
 I at its cora- 
 |o continue 
 to succeed 
 \o early, or 
 
 were not idle after they came. It is well known that the gen- 
 tleman at the head of it, when he came here a stranger to us all, 
 was as destitute of patronage as any one of us. By the mere 
 energy of his mind, he soon ep-.csrged from the obscurity of his 
 situation here, (Pictou was then very insignificant,) and be- 
 came known in every part of the Province. With much fatigue 
 he taught the Grammar School in this town seven years, and 
 prepared a number of scholars for entering upon philosophical 
 studies. By the help of his friends he obtained the aid of the 
 Legislature to enable him to carry on their studies, to get a 
 charter for the Institution, and to get this commodious build- 
 ing in which we are now met erected. But I remember the 
 classes were taught for some time in this little naughty house 
 behind us here. By his unwearied perseverance in scientific 
 pursuits, he turned his five talents into ten, and raised himself 
 to a high degree of celebrity in the learned world. This is 
 evinced by the many diplomas he has obtained in the United 
 States, in the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and 
 from various literary societies in England. Such a man cannot 
 escape the envenomed shafts of envy. I would only say to 
 them who throw them, that to congratulate him would be hap- 
 pier for them. 
 
 But he is a Dissenter. Yes, Gentlemen, I know it. He is 
 a Dissenter ; and more, he is a Seceder, a Dissenter from the 
 Church of Scotland. Allow me, Gentlemen, a few wo: Is on 
 these topics. He seceded not from the doctrine, nor from the 
 worship, nor from the government of the Church of Scotland, 
 but from the patronage exercised in or over it. What then is 
 this patronage ? It is a power possessed by a few great individ- 
 uals of appointing ministers to the parishes, without the least 
 regard to the consent or approbation of the parishioners, who 
 are to hear them and pay thcTi. Now I know intuitively that we 
 are all seceders as really as he is, for whero is the man among 
 us who wishes to have a minister imposed upon him against his 
 will ? Gentlemen, if patronaj,e be a blessing, we cannot enjoy 
 it, if it be a curse, we are free of it ', for it is not transportable 
 
\ f 
 
 244 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 across the Atlantio, like the doctrine, worship, and government 
 of the Church. When we emigrated from Scotland, wo in fact 
 seceded from it and all that it contains. As to the word Dis- 
 senier, it was not coined in this Province, it is an English word, 
 applicable to all who do not approve of the English Ecclesias- 
 tical Hierarchy; not only Methodists, Independents, Baptists, 
 but also t various classes of Presbyterians. The Presbyte- 
 rians estal uhcJl by law in Scotland are dissenters in England. 
 But when the term Dissenter emigrates to Nova Scotia, if it 
 preserves its identity, it makes the whole Province dissenters, 
 the Church of England herself not excepted. If you ask how 
 I make this to appear, I answer, the tithes, which are the per- 
 petual dues of the Church, are as good a test as I know to show 
 who are dissenters. Every man whose conscience revolts at the 
 payment of ti.nes is a dissenter, for the tithes are the pillar 
 and ground of the Church, the support of its magnificence and 
 grandeur. Now if the members of the Church of England 
 here pay not the tithes, as I believe they do not, what else can 
 they be but dissenters ? 
 
 The term Dissenter is a dreadful bugbear to them who have 
 not been able to emancipate themselves from the trammels of 
 bigotry, but to men of learning and liberal sentiments it is the 
 most harmless thing in the world. It is just this. If I dissent 
 from you, you dissent from me. None of the Universities and 
 literary societies who honoured Dr. McCuUoch with diplomas, 
 ever thought of asking him, if he was a dissenter. They did 
 not imagine that all merit was confined within their own walls. 
 They found him meritorious, and they looked no farther. This 
 should be the universal rule. The sum of the matter of dis- 
 sent is this. What the whole Province is practically, he is pro- 
 fessedly. Dissent, however, does not afiect the Academy. It 
 is open to all classes. 
 
 We have not the pleasure of Dr. McCulloch's company here 
 to-day. It hath pleased the Sovereign Euler so to afflict him 
 in two of his children, that it was deemed advisable for them 
 to take a voyage to Britain for the recovery of their health. 
 
REV. JAMES MAOQREQOR, D.D. 
 
 2Jc5 
 
 eminent 
 e in fact 
 ord Dis- 
 ish vrord, 
 Scclesias- 
 Baptists, 
 Presbyte- 
 England. 
 sotia, if it ^ 
 Ussenters, 
 u ask bow 
 re tbe per- 
 »w to show 
 rolta at the 
 J the pillar 
 icenoe and 
 f England 
 lat else can 
 
 a who have 
 rammels of 
 its it is the 
 ;f I dissent 
 srsities and 
 diplomas, 
 They did 
 own walls, 
 rther. This 
 fctter of dis- 
 ', he is pro- 
 |ademy. 1* 
 
 apany here 
 
 afflict him 
 
 tie for them 
 
 leir health. 
 
 Medical men there advised them not to return home for some 
 time. When he received this information bis paternal feelings 
 were roused. He quickly left home and all the endearments 
 of his family, and the direction of the Academy, now his solo 
 support, to repair to his afflicted children. But whether his 
 solicitude for them be eased or aggravated at this moment wo 
 know not. His absence in these circumstances, while it power- 
 fully claims the sympathy of his friends, should effectually dis- 
 arm all hostility against the Institution until his return ; and 
 doubtless will do it, wherever a spark of generosity or sensi- 
 bility exists. Should Providence restore him and them to their 
 country, every good man will rejoice to sec him find the 
 Academy not the worse for his absence. In the meantime h i 
 will not neglect the Academy. 
 
 Let me turn your attention again for a moment to the im- 
 portance of the Academy. This country is young, and no 
 doubt possesses many sources of we-^lth, not yet known. What 
 is more likely to bring these to Ho-it than learning ? We know, 
 however, that the country all around is fertile. I^ abounds 
 with brooks and rivers, fit for moving all kinds of machinery 
 employed in useful manufactures. It is stored with valr lo 
 minerals of various sorts. But without learning we can enjoy 
 but little of their profits. It would be some consolation to us 
 were all the world to sleep on in ignorance as ourselves ; but 
 this is not the case. In Britain the schools of art, by which 
 mechanics are turned into a sort of philosophers, are multiply- 
 ing fast in their cities and large towns. In the United States 
 they are continually building new colleges, and altering the old 
 ones, to extend the benefits of education as widely as possible. 
 And what is to be the consequence of these things with respect 
 to us ? Plainly this, tiiat they will soon get far before us. Then 
 as the country comes on they will send men among us, to direct 
 the working of our mines, to establish and manage all manner 
 of manufactures among us, and to employ us and our sons as 
 drudges to perform the slavish part of the work. But if learn- 
 ing pervade our own country, we will always have men among 
 21* 
 
S46 
 
 W 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 ourselves to take the lead in those matters, so that we shall not 
 need to depend upon other places for any branch of education, 
 which would qualify our sons to take the lead in all matters 
 of importance among ourselves, more than we do for the neces- 
 saries of life, as flour, potatoes, and water. I would, therefore, 
 have every one in hu place to encourage and support the 
 Academy. • 
 
 Not0. It cannot be good policy for the Legislature of the Province to en- 
 ooarage a monopoly in education. There are Tarious religious denominations 
 in the Province, but ire believe all of th«<in are loyal, and therefore all of thew 
 deserve the protection and favour of Government, one as well as another. It 
 is neither justice nor equity to provide means of superior education for one 
 da^fl of subjects and leave the rest to shift for themselves. Surely a semi- 
 nary whose doors are open to all denominations, ii as deserving of publio 
 patronage as another which admits one only. 
 
 
 U 
 
 '*i. 
 
 
11 not 
 
 ation, 
 
 latteTS 
 
 neccs* 
 
 refore, 
 
 it the 
 
 )e to en- 
 linationB 
 I of them 
 ther. It 
 in for one 
 y a somi- 
 of public 
 
 LETTER 
 
 \ • 
 
 TO THE FRIENDS OF THE GLASGOW SOCIETY 
 
 (in OOMDIOTIOll WITH TBI IBTABLIBHXO OHCROH Of SCOTLAIID) 
 
 FOR PROMOTING THE RELIGIOUS INTERESTS 
 
 OF THE SCOTTISH SETTLERS 
 
 n 
 
 BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 -», - V 
 
the 
 
 t&kei 
 
 of 
 
 caref 
 
 tain 
 or to I 
 Was 
 itsbel 
 
LETTER 
 
 TO THE FRIENDS OF THE GLASOOW SOCIETY ( IN CONNECTION 
 WITH THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH OF SCOTLAND) FOR PRO- 
 MOTING THE RELIGIOUS INTERESTS OF THE SCOTTISH SET- 
 TLERS IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.'*' 
 
 Gentlemen : — Having read the first Annual Report of your 
 Society, and some other things connected with it, I am enabled to 
 make ti few remarks that may possibly be of use to you and to the 
 cause of Christ, more appropriate than those i n the Memorial, which 
 I subscribed along with my brethren. Having been a minister 
 in Piotou for forty years, and having visited all the Highland 
 settlements of any consequence, ( and some of them ofiien,) in 
 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape 
 Breton, excepting some which have been made within these 
 few years, since old age has impaired my vigour, I ought to 
 know better than any of the correspondents mentioned in the 
 Report the general state of these countries, the places which 
 stand most in need of the aid of your society, what may be the most 
 useful way of employing its funds, and what bodily qualification 
 at least missionaries would need. Though my sentiments may 
 
 * The oiroumstanoes which led to this letter hare already been referred to in 
 the Memoir. It is but just to remark that the copy from irhich the abore li 
 taken, was but a first draft, and the reader will at once perceive, that in point 
 of composition it wants the finish, which it would hare received, from the 
 careful revision which he would have, given to the last copy. We are uncer- 
 tain whether the intention was to send it as a communication to the society, 
 or to publish it for circulation among its members. The last object at least 
 was never accomplished, and perhaps subsequent events may have prevented 
 its being sent at all. — Eo. 
 
 249 
 
250 
 
 RRMAINS OF TUB 
 
 not coinciJo wliully with your view8, still they may bo of Honio 
 benefit. 
 
 Perhaps a few hints of my own labours may assist you in 
 judging of some of these points. When I came to Pictou it 
 might be called a New Settlement, though fifty families had 
 been here thirteen years before my arrival, and thirty moro 
 for two years. A majority of the thirty families had been dis- 
 banded from the army after the peace of 1783, A majority 
 of the whole were Highlanders and Presbyterians, but there 
 was a number of Roman Catholics and other denominations. 
 Being a new settlement, — Pictou had no church, road, bridge, 
 mill, (but hand-mills,) and scarcely any coDvenienoe. They 
 had some surplus produce, but there was do market on the 
 whole north coast of the Province, and scarcely a vessel to 
 carry it to market elsewhere. I had to learn to walk on snow-shoes 
 in winter, and to paddle a canoe in summer, and to cross brooks 
 and swamps upon trees overturned or broken by the wind, and 
 to camp in. the woods all night, for there is no travelling the 
 woods at night, where there is no road. New settlements are 
 substantially in the same situation still, only they are fewer in 
 proportion, and not so distant from a market. For four years 
 my stipend was less than a hundred pounds currency, that is 
 ninety sterling. Afterwards it was gradually raised to a hun- 
 dred and fifty currency ; but first and last there was some de* 
 ficiency in the pay. I had much fatigue in going to the dif- 
 ferent places of public worship, but for many years my labours 
 were more successful than I could 'ive expected. Many sin- 
 ners were converted and edified and comforted.* Only two or 
 three persons, marked for a litigious disposition, expressv^d a 
 wish for the Church of Scotland. 
 
 Three Burgher ministers had been in Nova Scotia before my 
 arrival. Taught by experience that the peculiar rules of 
 church communion observed in Scotland could not apply here, 
 they offered to me the right hand of fellowship, which I, desti- 
 tute of their teaching, did not accept. For some years this 
 want of union did little harm, as there was little intercourse 
 
REV. JAMES MAOOREQOR, D.D. 
 
 251 
 
 fou in 
 
 stou it 
 
 ;s bad 
 moro 
 
 en dis- 
 
 lajority 
 
 t tUero 
 
 lations. 
 
 bridge, 
 
 They 
 
 on the 
 
 essel to 
 
 sw-shoea 
 
 iS brooks 
 
 ind, and 
 
 lling the 
 
 lents are 
 fewer in 
 ,ur ycara 
 r, that is 
 
 [to a hun- 
 Bome de- 
 lo the dif- 
 iy labours 
 any sin- 
 |ly two or 
 :pres8«3d a 
 
 )efore my 
 rules of 
 
 )ply here, 
 
 II I, desti- 
 ^ears this 
 
 Intercourse 
 
 between the congregations, an oztenHivo wilderness lying be- 
 twc^ them; but as the intercourao increased, it bccnnio by de- 
 grees to be a serious grierancc. A Pictou man removing to 
 Colchester had to turn Burgher or want church communion, 
 and a Colchester man had to turn Antiburghcr or want church 
 communion in Pictou. This communion was granted and re- 
 ceived without scruple, as the doctrine and practice of both 
 parties were the same, only the ministers did not hold church 
 communion together. During this time the Antiburgher min- 
 istors increased to seven or eight. 
 
 There was also a minister in Halifax who cumo from I he 
 established church of Scotland before I came to Pictou ; ^»ut 
 his congregation being of a peculiar constitution, and c fin- 
 ing himself to the town, he had scarcely any connection with 
 the country ministers. But seven years afterwards arrived a 
 zealous and orthodox minister of the Church of Scotlan'-.. -ho 
 laboured and travelled much through the different parts of tiie 
 Province. He settled at last in a small congregation, where 
 for a while ho had communion with none. lie could not at 
 first stoop to hold communion with dissenters, ( though he was 
 a dissenter himself here,) and they could not truckle to him.'*' 
 But time opened his eyes and theirs. They all found them- 
 selves in an awkward situation. They could not forbid their 
 people a communion which they did not hold themselves. Their 
 people could see no difference in their doctrine or practice, 
 and often asked, what the difference was. 'She answer inva- 
 riably referred to Scotland, to Patronage, the Scottish establish- 
 ment, and the Burgher's oath ; and when they retorted. But 
 what have we to do with these things, noae of them are here ? 
 the ministers had little to say. In time the ministers knew 
 one another better, conversed together, saw themselves all on 
 a par, saw more clearly the evils of division and the benefits 
 of union, and seriously resolved to unite. On considering the 
 state of Nova Scotia, they judged it to be more like the state 
 
 * We presump tho allusion is to the Kev. Jnmes Munroe, of Antigomish. — Ed. 
 
252 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 of Scotland in the days of John Knox, or the time of receiving 
 the Westminster Confession of Faith, than its present state. 
 They deliberately formed the union, and took that confession 
 for its basis. The union caused much joy. 
 
 Soon after this, many illiterate Highlanders emigrated hither, 
 and settled chiefly in Pictou. They wished, as was natural, 
 for a minister from the Established Church. As by our union 
 we mind not what party a minister comes from, but what prin- 
 ciples (and practice) he brings, we were ready to rad them. I 
 wrote repeatedly to the late Doctor Stewart of Dingwall, and 
 Mr. Macintosh of Tain, to select a suitable minister for them. 
 But after a good deal of inquiry they answered that they could 
 get none willing to come, on whom they could depend. Thus 
 the endeavours of these good men to help our church failed. 
 
 The above mentioned Highlanders obstinately cherished an 
 idea, that if they had a minister from the Established Church, 
 the king would pay his stipend, and therefore at all events a 
 minister must be had from the Established Church. It was in 
 vain that the fact was laid before them, that there were in the 
 Province two ministers who came from the Established Church 
 of Scotland, whose stipends the king did not pay. This pro- 
 duced not conviction but irritation. They applied to some 
 friends for a minister. He came, but the king did not pay his 
 stipend. This disappointment increased the irritation, and set 
 them upon divisive courses more than ever. Hostility to our 
 church was the greatest merit which their minister could possess, 
 and he needed prudence to prevent unseemly compliances with 
 their humor. Thus were our hopes of harmony so far disap- 
 pointed. 
 
 The number of Highland emigrants still increased, till all 
 the convenient places in Pictou were taken up. They hoped 
 the king would pay the stipend the next year, and the next ; 
 and though he would not pay it to one minister, if they had 
 two, he would. A second and a third came, but they had the 
 stipend to pay themselves. By these disappointments and 
 other causes, party spirit has risen to a great height in Pictou. 
 
BEY. JAMES MACQREaOR, D.D. 
 
 253 
 
 eiving 
 
 state. 
 
 Fession 
 
 hither, 
 
 latural, 
 
 : union 
 
 it prin- 
 
 ,em. I 
 
 all, and 
 
 r them. 
 
 sy could 
 
 . Thus 
 
 liled. 
 
 shed an 
 
 Church, 
 
 events a 
 
 Lt was in 
 
 re in the 
 
 I Church 
 
 [his pro- 
 to some 
 pay his 
 
 I, and set 
 iy to our 
 possess, 
 ces with 
 ,r disap- 
 
 till all 
 
 fcy hoped 
 
 jie next; 
 
 [they had 
 
 had the 
 
 bnts and 
 
 Pictou. 
 
 I would fain hope it is past its worst. Once the Presbyterian 
 Church of Nova Scotia was like to be overwhelmed by the force 
 of this spirit, but God hath relieved it, by sending the spirit 
 of division among its opposers. v 
 
 The hope of enjoying the gospel without paying stipends had 
 not long expired when the Glasgow Society sprung up, and re- 
 vived it. That society was supposed here to have a purse 
 without a bottom. To make a poor enough mouth was all that 
 was thought requisite to ensure the society's bounty. It is a 
 fact, that, at least one settlement agreed to subscribe one half 
 only of what they believed themselves able to pay, lest other- 
 wise they should not be thought poor enough. It is no wonder 
 that many applications were made. I will mention a few cases 
 which I believe have a stronger claim to the society's attention 
 than any in Nova Scotia. 1 mention none in Nova Scotia, be- 
 cause I believe that the Highlanders there are nearly as well 
 provided for as those in Scotland. There are seven Gaelic 
 ministers in Nova Scotia, a sufficient number for all the large 
 settlements; and though there are a number of small settle- 
 ments who can only obtain sermon occasionally, though they 
 need it always, yet I believe that the same is the case at home. 
 
 The settlement mentioned by the Rev. A. MacLean is un- 
 questionably the first to which the Society should attend. I 
 was some weeks among them between twelve and fifteen years 
 ago, and found them the most regular and apparently pious 
 settlement which I had seen, to be so long as they were with- 
 out the gospel. I visited many of the families, and dispensed 
 both sacraments with no little pleasure to many individuals 
 among them. They had been visited by no Presbyterian min- 
 ister before and I fear by none since, unless Mr. MacLean has 
 seen them. A Methodist minister in Scoodio visited them at 
 times, but they were somewhat shy in receiving his visits. All 
 that I could do for them was to represent the case to the Rev. 
 W. Findlater, of Durness, in Sutherland, the county whence 
 they emigrated. I am confident that they will do what they 
 
 can for themselves, and that the Society, if they can, ought 
 22 
 
'c'-' 
 
 254 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 effectually to assist them. They must be in a languishing state, 
 and they must ere long, if not helped, be lost to the Presb}te- 
 rians. They numbered about forty-five families, but they must 
 be greatly increased now. 
 
 I visited thr^p settlements, composed partly of Highlanders 
 on the east side of St. Andrew's Bay, viz., Digdeguash, Maga- 
 guadavic, and Mascareen, nearer than the above to the town 
 where Mr. MacLean resides. A young active minister could 
 serve the three places; but as Mr. MacLean does not 
 mention them, I am afraid that they may be already lost to the 
 Presbyterians. Still I must hope that the timely aid of the 
 Society would yet revive them, as some of the good old seed 
 must yet be remaining; and to me it appears to be a matter of 
 vast importance for the Society to interpose in places where the 
 Presbyterian interest is in danger of utter extinction, and pre- 
 vent this result by timely and effectual assistance. 
 
 Were the Society to supply these two congregations, they 
 with St. Andrew's might give an interest to the Presbyterian 
 cause all around. The circumstance of three congregations 
 somewhat contiguous, without the mixture of other Presbyte- 
 rian denominations, may seem favourable to the Society's views 
 of excluding other Presbyterians from their communion ; but 
 it may be really unfavourable to the true interests of Presbyte- 
 rians. These congregations would soon be known not as Pres- 
 byterians, but a particular species of Presbyterians; and that 
 moment, the idea of intestine divisions would create a coldness 
 and shynesS; among all other denominations, towards all Pres- 
 byterians. Were the Society duly to consider the feebleness 
 of the Presbyterian interest through that Province in general, 
 that it exists in a few places only, that in these it barely exists, 
 and its opposers are many, that they see not its merit, but are 
 prejudiced against it, easily stumbled, and many of them ready 
 to catch every handle against it; and withal that there is 
 scarcely such a thing as intestine division among its opposers, 
 viz., Episcopalians against Episcopalians, Methodists against 
 Methodists, Congregationalists against Congregationalists, Bap- 
 
REV. JAMES MACaREflOR, D.D. 
 
 255 
 
 g state, 
 esbjte- 
 ly must 
 
 ilanders 
 , Maga- 
 he town 
 ir could 
 oes not 
 it to the 
 I of the 
 old seed 
 latter of 
 here the 
 and pre- 
 
 ms, they 
 sbyterian 
 legations 
 ^resbyte- 
 y's views 
 ion; but 
 resbyte- 
 as Pres- 
 and that 
 coldness 
 all Pres- 
 ebleness 
 general, 
 |ly exists, 
 ]i, but are 
 em ready 
 I there is 
 [opposers, 
 against 
 Ists, Bap- 
 
 tists against Baptists; and moreover that in these Provinces 
 the members of the Established Church of Scotland are as com- 
 plete dissenters as the Cameronians ; I say, were the Society 
 soberly and impartially to consider these things, they would 
 not set Presbyterians against Presbyterians, where there is not 
 a jot of diflFerence between them. They would rather strain 
 every nerve to promote love and unanimity, to prevent division, 
 and to cultivate mutual forbearance among them for the sake 
 of the main object professedly aimed at by them all. 
 
 The next settlenrent which has the strongest claim upon the 
 Society's bounty, if they still continue Presbyterians, is on the 
 Nashwaak, a branch of St John's river, which falls into it 
 opposite to Fredericton, the seat of Government, Highlanders 
 and others settled there above forty years ago, capable before 
 now of maintaining a minister of the gospel, if they have re- 
 tained their zeal for the religion of their fathers. But I fear 
 much this is not the case, for when I was there about twenty 
 years ago inroads were made upon them by Baptists and Me- 
 thodists. Still I am confident that the old Presbyterian spirit 
 is not wholly extinct yet. If but a little of it remains, it 
 might by prudent and zealous management be recovered and 
 strengthened so as to form a good congregation. To preserve a 
 congregation from annihilation would be a worthy achievement, 
 nor should your Society lightly give it up. Congregations 
 almost dead have at times been made to revive and to flourish. 
 
 About fifteen miles from Fredericton up the river, I visited 
 a settlement of Presbyterians chiefly from New England. 
 They would prefer a minister from a seminary of the United 
 States, or that of Pictou, merely because being nearer, they can 
 more easily knov his character. This circumstance might con- 
 vince your Society of the impropriety of its plan of exclusive 
 communion. Here are two congregations who can have no 
 communion with a third, no other being at all near them. To 
 debar two Presbyterian congregations, of the very same princi- 
 ples from mutual fellowship, whose local situation debars them 
 
256 
 
 REMAINS or THE 
 
 from fellowship with all other Preshyterians, is surely " putting 
 asunder what God hath joined together." 
 
 There is a very destitute settlement of Highlanders at the 
 foot of Miramichi ri'^er, who have never received any supply 
 of sermon but a lutle that our Gaelic ministers have given 
 them. They are s*: distant from Nova Scotia, that our minis- 
 ters can visit thesi but very seldom, and I know no help for 
 them in New Brunswick. The two congregations nearest 
 them belong to our Church, and though their ministers cannot 
 preach Gaelic, yet many of the Highlanders will understand 
 them. Providence has debarred this congregation from com- 
 munion with all others but only these, and the rules of your 
 Society debar it from communion with these. Is not this rule 
 evidently pernicious ? Should your Society send out many 
 ministers, there will be many such congregations. 
 
 The newer settlements of Cape Kreton excepting one, I have 
 not seen, but I can judge of their state from those I have seen. 
 They will doubtless need the assistance of the Society for a 
 considerable number of years to come, but at the same time 
 they would need ministers of the natives of Cape Breton, or 
 Nova Scotia j and I much fear that though your Society were 
 to send them ministers just now, that they would not continue 
 with them. They would need to learn some of my first lessons 
 here. In new settlements where the people are destitute of 
 almost every convenience, there are privations and difficulties 
 which a native can easily undergo, but a foreigner with great 
 hardship or not at all. It is evident to me that the best method 
 in which your Society can provide for new settlements (or in- 
 deed old) is to assist poor pious youths natives of Cape Breton 
 or this Province, to prepare for the ministry at the Academy 
 of Pictou. By this means they would provide preachers inured 
 to the woods and the climate, acquainted with the peculiar 
 habits and customs of the country ; and the people would have 
 opportunity of acquainting themselves with their character and 
 talents, of hearing them and choosing the most suitable. There 
 is more risk in getting ministers from home. 
 
 I ^i ■ - 1 ■ 
 
 >^^>' 
 
REV. JAMES MACGREGOR, D.D. 
 
 257 
 
 Ditting 
 
 at I lie 
 supply 
 given 
 minis- 
 elp for 
 nearest 
 cannot 
 erstand 
 31 com- 
 of your 
 his rule 
 t many 
 
 , I have 
 ,ve seen. 
 ety for a 
 me time 
 reton, or 
 ety were 
 iontinue 
 t lessons 
 litute of 
 culties 
 ih great 
 method 
 (or in- 
 Breton 
 cademy 
 inured 
 [peculiar 
 \d have 
 iter and 
 There 
 
 Missionaries are necessary at the first introduction of the 
 gospel to a country, yet every where the natives will answer 
 best, as soon as they can be provided, and as much so in the 
 woody and cold colonies of British North America as elsewhere, 
 nor can foreigners be encouraged in opposition to them, with- 
 out hindering the gospel. The propriety of preferring native 
 preachers is acknowledged by the Christian world, by the 
 actual employment of them in all heathen countries where 
 they can be obtained. They are employed when their learning 
 is comparatively very deficient, and what is the design of form- 
 ing colleges at Ceylon, Serampore, Malacca, &c., but to provide 
 native preachers ? A little time will show us colleges in Africa, 
 in the Society Islands, the Sandwich Islands, and other places. 
 Should Nova Scotia be an exception ? 
 
 Perhaps, Gentlemen, your Society may think that Nova Sco- 
 tia ought to be an exception, because they suppose a pretty 
 general predilection for the Established Church of Scotland 
 obtains among Presbyterians here. But this predilection may 
 not be so general as they imagine. There is a zeal against as 
 well as for it. As the want of a legal establishment of any 
 class of Presbyterians briiigs them all upon a level, many learn 
 to esteem ministers merely according to their merit, and look 
 upon adventitious qualities as of little value. Besides this the 
 hostility established in the United States against all legal es- 
 tablishments has many advocates in the British Provinces. 
 Violent zeal for the Established Church of Scotland is almost 
 wholly confined to two classes : 1st, Ignorant Highlanders to 
 whom the name of the Church is evtry thing. 2ndly, Charac- 
 ters opposed to evangelical principles?. But it is hardly worth 
 while to set up a separate church for their sakes j for it were 
 better for the latter that they were shut up unto the faith, and 
 the former would object to no extent of communion that pleases 
 the minister. Though the emigrant Highlanders have their 
 prejudices for Scotland, their children born here will have theirs 
 for Nova Scotia, except so far as positive influence is used to 
 22 * 
 
 i 
 

 258 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 prevoDt them, and no influence m\\ prevent them long, for 
 patriotism is as natural in Nova Scotia as any where. 
 
 .You, Gentlemen, and the society are liable to be nualalen 
 in estimating the zeal of the people here. I roid in tlio lU;- 
 port, "Did they," the people of Scotland, " but know .he zeal 
 of Scotchmen, b'iried in the wilds of this country, for tho fhnrch 
 of their fathers, they would not f'vil to pur. you iu posscssioL, of 
 such means as would make our w-ildeiness to lejoice," &o. And 
 again, " Such is the zeal ot the Scotch settlera in this Province, 
 to obtain the blessio?^ of religious instruction in the vrnj io 
 which they were educated," <!^.c. Reli^iouy zeal unquestionably 
 burns wore fiercely in Pictou, than any w>)er :; else in the ». 'o- 
 vince. Bub the gentleman -who wrote the Jibove, ho^^oeer wil- 
 ling to Nfiito tS. . truth, has not the time for observation, which 
 is needful t'jr n juat idea of the zeal of the country. There is a 
 fourfold zeiil iik Pictcu : Ist, zeal for the Established Church of 
 Soofclvnd ; in some this zeal is wonderfully strong. Secondly, 
 zeal for the Presbyterian Church of Nova 8cotia. Thirdly, 
 zeal for lukcwarmness ; and this party are so earnestly set upon 
 it, that neither of the foregoing parties has been able to move 
 them. Fourthly, zeal for Norman MacLeod. The above gen- 
 tleman knows now, that numbers who had received tokens of 
 admission to the Lord's Table, at his last Sacrament, hearing on 
 Saturday evening that Norman was come back to Pictou, left 
 the Sacrament, and travelled through the night to hear him 
 preach, next day, in a distanc part of the district. He may 
 know also that Norman will get three hearers to his one ; and 
 that people will go much farther to hear him than any minister 
 in Pictoa. And who is Norman ? A self-made preacher, who 
 declares that there is not a minister of Christ in all the Church 
 of Scotland. " Such is the zeal of the Scotch settlers in this 
 Province," &c. 
 
 It is difficult for those who have lived on one side only of 
 the Atlantic, to form just views of the state of religious parties 
 on the other. At home there is real occasion for different de- 
 nominations of Presbyterians ; here there is not. There the 
 
REV. JAMES MAOaBEQOB, D.D. 
 
 259 
 
 ng, for 
 
 the Ilo- 
 •he zcxl 
 
 ssiou of 
 3. And 
 >roviuce, 
 e yinj i» 
 stionably 
 the •■ "0- 
 i>ver 'wil- 
 m, which 
 [here is a 
 Church of 
 Secondly, 
 Thirdly, 
 r set upon 
 e to move 
 bove gen- 
 tokens of 
 earing on 
 ictou, left 
 Ihear him 
 He may 
 |onej and 
 minister 
 [cher, who 
 le Church 
 irs in this 
 
 le only of 
 parties 
 Ferent de- 
 Dhere the 
 
 establishment is accused of no* small evils. Patronap^e was 
 counted a grievance by many. There were great contentions 
 about Burgess oaths. Here there is no establishment of Pres 
 bytery pure or corrupt, no room to contend for or asjainst pat- 
 ronage, nor for or against Burgess oaths. There the existence 
 of Presbytery itself is in no apparent danger from the collision 
 of parties. Few think the worse of Presbytery for the divis- 
 ions. Here it is quite the reverse. Presbyterians are few, and 
 every division among them is improved to the injury of the 
 cause. Division makes them objects of derision to others. 
 The reflection is, Oh how these Presbyterians hate one another ! 
 There Presbytery has been firmly established both by law and 
 the general consent of the people for hundreds of years, but 
 here it has not been established a moment by the one or by 
 the other. Here a mere remnant adheres to it at all, and the 
 great body of the people know nothing and care nothing about it. 
 There there is no ground unoccupied, and Presbyterians fill the 
 length and breadth of the land ; here they hrve merely ob- 
 tained a footing. The land in general is either a moral waste, 
 or in the possession of others, and the only weapon of conquest 
 in the hands of Presbyterians is a practical display of the supe- 
 rior excellency of their cause. In this situation division among 
 themselves must powerfully counteract their best endeavours 
 to promote that cause. Wherefore the society must be fearfully 
 misled, if they see not the evil of religious division to be far 
 more fatal here than at home. They are far more fatal in another 
 respect. In an infant country there are few objects to engross 
 people's attention, but on that account, they engage the mind 
 mor intensely, and are pursued with greater eagerness, and to 
 greater excess, religious divisions not excepted. 
 
 I fear, Gentlemen, that your society greatly mistake the num- 
 ber of Presbyterians in these Provinces. They need not 
 imagine that all Presbyterian emigrants continue Presbyterians. 
 Multitudes of them settle among every other religious denomina- 
 tion, and in a few years become members of their churches. 
 Not a few of the Highland emigrants have turned Roman 
 
260 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 Catholics. This need not surprise the booiety, for in Scotland, 
 where Presbytery enjoys every possible advantage, — thounands 
 have deserted it, and formed other religious denominations. 
 But still division increases this evil. We formerly experienced 
 this ; but since our union, we have fbund other denominations 
 drawing closer to us. The influence of a few Presbyterians in 
 a large settlement has procured us a favourable hearing from 
 the whole, and a good prospect of their co-operations in sup- 
 porting the gospel. The society's plan of exclusive uoaimunioa 
 will bring back this evil with interest. ' ' 
 
 There is another respect in which the plan of the society 
 will promote division. Suppose the society to help a settlement 
 to support the gospel till they are able to do it themselves. 
 Industry enables them in a few years to do so, and in a few 
 years more to do it with ease. After some time the minister 
 dies. Hostility commences almost immediately, — one party 
 says. There is a risk in sending to Scotland ; here are two or 
 three good preachers from the College of Pictou, of whose 
 character and talents we hear a very good report, let us choose 
 one of them. Another party says, No, we looked to Scot- 
 land at first, and we will look to Scotland to the last; we will 
 not desert the society. The former party exert themselves to 
 get a minister as quickly as possible, sensible that this will 
 strengthen their party. The latter will make a merit of clear- 
 ing to the society, and think itself more entitled to Its bounty 
 than at first. A lasting hostility however takes place between 
 the parties. Though this case has not happened yet, it re- 
 quires no gift of prophecy to foresee it, if Pictou Academy and 
 the society live. 
 
 It may be said in reply to these things, that division exists 
 here already, and that it exists independently of the society. 
 This is doubtless true, and thus far the society is without 
 blame ; but that can be no excuse for their increasing it. It is 
 plainly their duty to use all lawful means to lessen as well as to 
 prevent division among ministers, whose profession and charac- 
 ter they cannot blame. There is indeed a division here, which 
 
BEY. JAMES MAOaREaOR, D.D. 
 
 261 
 
 )tknd, 
 uflunds 
 utions. 
 ienced 
 nations 
 lans in 
 g from 
 in Bup- 
 Qi union 
 
 society 
 tlement 
 nselvcs. 
 in a few 
 minister 
 e party 
 ! two or 
 f whose 
 choose 
 
 Scot- 
 we will 
 lelves to 
 his will 
 Df clear- 
 bounty 
 etween 
 it re- 
 xay and 
 
 exists 
 
 Isooiety. 
 
 without 
 
 It is 
 
 pll as to 
 
 Icharac- 
 
 whioh 
 
 the society could not heal, were they wholly such as the church 
 of Nova Scotia wishes them to be. There are, and probnbly 
 there will be, in this Province Presbyterian uiinistors of bad 
 principles and bad morals. This is grently to be rctrrcttr.l, 
 but division from them is no matter 'f regret, but i> liititu! 
 and honourable; nor will it be attcnaod with the evils which I 
 have mentioned. Honest, unprejudiced luen of moderate in- 
 telligence, can distinguish beCween the faithful servants of 
 Christ and these, nor will they be offended at separation from them 
 but pleased. That they ruin men of their own cast cannot be 
 helped. God grant the society to avoid them. , 
 
 I have written the above, not from any particular fears for 
 our church, but from a concern for the Presbyterian interest. 
 I firmly believe that our church will prosper, and that tlironiih 
 time, it will attract to itself all the evanjielical ministers of tlie 
 Church of Scotland, who will come hither. If the society send 
 such, time and experience will work in them as they wroutzht 
 in those ministers, who formed the first union here, though 
 perhaps more slowly, as they will have a stronger temptation 
 to combat. Believing the same system of truths, possessing 
 the same spirit of love, and placed in circumstances entirely 
 similar. How can they avoid coming to the same conclusion ? 
 I think I see some tendency to this already. The oldest min- 
 ister of the Church of Scotland here ( not Mr. Forsyth, for it is 
 by a mistake in the Keport that he is reckoned one,) and the 
 most respectable,* — has declared lately to a correspondent, that 
 lie is weary, contending for shadows, and neglecting the sub- 
 stance. Add to this that our academy is growing every year 
 more useful and popular. Numbers, who despised it a few 
 years ago, comparing it with your Glasgow University, now, 
 seeing their neighbours' children advanced to respectable situa- 
 tions in church and state, have altered their views of it entirely, 
 and are convinced that it will be a general good. 
 
 Nothing of what I have written is intended to apply to 
 
 • We presume the allusion here is to the Rev. Archibald Gray, of Halifax. — Ed* 
 
262 REMAINS OF THE REV. JAMES MAOGREQOR, D.D. - 
 
 Canada. Of it I know nothing, but little scraps which I read 
 in the newspapers, from which I conclude that it is vastly 
 more destitute of the gospel than Nova Scotia. In Prince Kd- 
 ward Island we iiave now five ministers, one of whom preaches 
 Gaelic. There is also a minister from the Church of Scotland, 
 who preaches Gaelic. The mere circumstance of the one being 
 made in Old Scotland, and the other in New Scotland, must 
 raise a wall of partition between them. Neither of them may 
 assist his brother to dispense a sacrament. Each must send 
 across the sea and fetch assistants from the oontinent, or else 
 dispense it alone. 
 
 In conclusion, permit me, Gentlemen, to express my hope, 
 that you will allow the above remarks their due weight, and 
 that you will contribute your best endeavours to promote the 
 Presbyterian interests in these Provinces without respect of 
 persons or parties ; that you will believe it prejudicial to that 
 interest to pron ote causeless divisions among Presbytcrions by 
 supporting one denomination of them in preference to another ; 
 where there is not the least occasion for any but one, and where 
 no religious difference exists, and act accordingly; and also 
 that you will use your influeDoe in the society for the same 
 laudable purpose. 
 
 ^'X 
 
 vV 
 
 f"- 
 
D.D. 
 
 lich I read 
 t in vastly 
 Vinco Ed- 
 1 preaches 
 Scotland, 
 one bcinj^ 
 land, rauMt 
 them may 
 nust send 
 it, or else 
 
 ■:'?.vi^ 
 
 my hope, 
 eight, and 
 offlote the 
 respect of 
 ial to that 
 erians by 
 I another; 
 ind where 
 and also 
 the same 
 
 PRIYATE LETTERS 
 
 .iij^iii.- 
 
LETTERS. ' 
 
 [The most of his letters which wo have hoon ahlc to recover, 
 wore of Buoh a nnturo as to bo more suitahlo for insertion in 
 the Memoir. Ono or two others of a difTorcut nature wo insort 
 here. — Ed.] 
 
 LETTER TO A FRIEND WHO HAD EMIQ HATED TO SOME 
 PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 My Dear Sir — Doubtless you Tvould not be expecting a 
 letter from me. I long thought to have put off writing to you, 
 expecting to see you fuce to fuce. But I now begin to despair 
 of it, and being in a place where I have an opportunity of a 
 vessel going to New York, I think it best to embrace it and 
 send this line. And if it were not needless (?) I would begin 
 with upbraiding you for leaving your native country, and what 
 is infinitely mo'o valuable, the gospel of God's Son whereby life 
 and immortality are brought to light ; and leaving them for the 
 trash of this world which is but a mere shadow while it lasts, 
 and in a very short time, be eternally parted with. After death 
 you shall have no more a portion of any thing that is done 
 under the sun. Then whose shall those things be which thou 
 hast laid up ? Surely the gospel is such a blessing, as that it 
 ought not to be parted with for any worldly wealth. If there- 
 fore you deprive yourself of it without sufficient reason, (and 
 what reason can be sufficient?) you arc certainly to blame. It 
 is true God is to be found every where, (and happy for you that 
 it is SO)) and in every nation he that feareth him and worketh 
 righteousness is accepted of him. But at the same time the 
 
 iy 
 
 23 
 
 265 
 
2G6 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 means which Qod hath appointed for the spiritual ^ood and 
 ed' cation of his people should not be despised. The Bible is 
 an inestimable blessing, and this you enjoy. But the preach- 
 ing of the gospel is also an inestimable blessing, which you 
 shoulc? not want if possible at all. It is the means by which 
 God's people aic made to walk in his fear, and in the joy and 
 comfort of the Holy Ghojt, which, if you knew the value of, 
 you would not be willing to want. Doleful is the situation of 
 those without the gospel. Proportionauly blessed the situation 
 of those who enjoy it. I do not mean but that you may obtain 
 the eternal salvation of your soul, even though you should con- 
 tinue as you are, but this I am afraid of, that if you be saved, 
 it will be as by fire. Therefore if you have no prospect of en- 
 joying the gospel there, I think no worldly consideration should 
 hinder you from coming where you should enjoy it. 
 
 TO A RELATIVE OF HIS WIFE. 
 
 Dear Sister — It gave me the sincerest pleasure to receive 
 another letter from you by Mr. P. I wish that I could send 
 you something worth your (receiving) in return. Providence 
 hath so disposed of our lot that there is np probability of our 
 seeing one another in time j and though it is a comfort that we 
 can hear from one another by letters, yet it is not much con- 
 versation that we can hold, with one another in this way. But 
 there is one way in which we might often meet together much 
 to our joy, and that without trouble or expense, that is by 
 being mindful of one another at the throne of grace. Were 
 you often to pray to the Lord Jesus Christ for all manner of 
 grace and blessings to me and I to you — were we to do this 
 daily, from a real love to one another's soul, and by faith in 
 Christ's mercy and goo hiess, we certainly would have as much 
 joy thereby as if we wore to see one another every day. For 
 each of us would receive the benefit of their own and the other's 
 prayers. And did we not practise the prayer of faith, though 
 yre saw each other often, and spent much of our time in the 
 
REV. JAMES MACOREGOR, D.D. 
 
 267 
 
 od and 
 Bible is 
 preach- 
 ich you 
 J which 
 joy and 
 alue of, 
 ition of 
 ituation 
 y obtain 
 uld con- 
 e saved, 
 b of en- 
 n should 
 
 er 
 
 receive 
 lid send 
 evidence 
 of our 
 that we 
 ich con- 
 But 
 much 
 at is by 
 Were 
 Einncr of 
 do this 
 faith in 
 as much 
 ly. For 
 e other's 
 , though 
 le in the 
 
 ■« 
 
 ^ common vain conversation of the world, we would live discon- 
 tented a^.d die miserable. 
 
 You have had some heavy trials of latej I have also met 
 Rome in my lot ; though at present I have none worth speaking 
 
 •^'Of. If we live long we shall meet with more; for one wave 
 must follow another, and one tempest must follow another, so 
 long as we are at sea. Trouble is the certain lot of all mankind, 
 though almost every body is so vain as to think he should 
 escape ; and thinks he meets with hard measure. 
 
 God's people have a peculiar certainty of trouble in their lot, 
 from the promise, the love, and faithfulness of their God in 
 Christ. " In the world ye shall have tribulation." And alas ! 
 many of them arc so foolish as to think that they should escape. 
 It would be their ruin if they did, and as sure as God loves 
 them they shall not. Therefore if we, instead of spending our 
 time in fearing trouble, and contriving how to escape it, would 
 
 r|^ learn to see our need of it, and its use to us, and so to bear it 
 with faith, patience, humility, and thankfulness, we would do 
 ourselves a profitable service. Without trouble, we could hardly 
 be brought to see the wickedness of our hearts, the evil of sin, 
 and the vanity of the world, and the riches and sufficiency of 
 God's grace ; without it we could hardly be weaned from the 
 world, or brought to set our affections on things which are 
 above where Christ is. Did we know to improve our troubles 
 aright, we would find them to be the most profitable and kind 
 of God's dispensations in this world. Dear sister, I hope you 
 have learned by your trials, to be more humble to love God more 
 and to (serve him better.) 
 
 Last summer I was in Halifax seeing Mrs. M'K. and daugh- 
 ter K., and there I saw your daughter. She does not enjoy 
 her health quite well, and came to Halifax by sea, partly 
 for the benefit of her health, and partly to see me. She is 
 well enough as to her situation in this world, but I suppose she 
 is not without need of your prayers for her soul. She was 
 very happy to see me, and sorry when we had to part. She 
 
268 
 
 REMAINS OF THE 
 
 wished me very much to go along with her to L. for a short 
 time, but I had been so long from home, that I could Dot spare 
 time. 
 
 I thank you for your kiud presents. These marks of your 
 affection I highly esteem. 
 
 m 
 
 \ y 
 
 CV>^ 
 
irt 
 re 
 
 ar 
 
 -f 
 
 TRANSLATION 
 
 OF 
 
 A PORTION OF ONE OF HIS GAELIC POEMS. 
 
 By Rev. JOHN MAOKENJsON. 
 
 WF 
 
 # 
 
■FT'r'^T'*'^'**^^ rr 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE GOSPEL. 
 
 «• Good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." 
 " He shall save his people from theii' sins." 
 
 The loving gospel, bestowed upon us, by a ijracious God, 
 To effect our salvation, is the theme of my ardent song : 
 But proper knowledge of a subject so tran&cendently high. 
 Human nature unaided, unguided, can rc/cr obtain. 
 O wretched man that 1 am ! and what a number surround me. 
 To it giving audience, as to a useless, unmeaning sound! 
 How saddening the thought that multitudes will not understand 
 The noblest message in public promulged that ever was heard ! 
 
 All the children of men are firmly held in fettered bondage 
 
 By the god of this world, to whom homage they constantly pay : 
 
 jh. Trodden down by carnal desires which cannot be satisfied ; 
 
 - Without virtue, and undesirous of the free grace of God : 
 
 Contemning every thing which indicates His will's desire. 
 And every day unweariedly, still breaking his commands, 
 Banished far from their thoughts, they are, from Him, all fleeing away 
 Headlong, towards that great misery which age shall never end. 
 
 Though living under the great preserving care of nature's God, 
 They will not even draw nigh Him with earnest humble prayer ; 
 .. To them 'twould be a great loathing to spend an hour before Him 
 Within His holy habitation, in close and warm commune; 
 They pursue the wind and still are in hopeful expectation 
 Of perfect happiness obtaining from emptiness and lies ; 
 Not knowing and not perceiving any mode superior 
 Than now, at once, to seize whatever their carnal hearts desire. 
 
 271 
 
272 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 That thoy have perfect health and soundness is what they Rtill believe^ 
 And for them there'a no occasion to obtain the grace of God ; 
 The gospel they esteem but lightly, compared to worldly means, 
 Their heart is vain and toward the Physician devoid uf lore, 
 But how joyful the information, of a cure unfailing 
 To one afflicted with mortal, deep, and very painful woundt--! 
 This is a precious message announced as from the Gud of truth. 
 To one for guilt condemned, in deep abjection and vilely crushed. 
 
 To one who is anxious, because with him, ho feels God is displeased 
 And whose sins appalling, in dense array, close in around him, 
 Not knowing but that he's doomed to hell's agonizing torments, 
 E'er yet next morn arrives, with death, the grim monster, in his eye. 
 To one who the knowledge of truth from the Holy Spirit has learned 
 That the pleasure which this world imparts is empty, false and vain ; 
 For during the present, it's nu more than a fleeting shadow. 
 Whose brief existence death, most surely, shall then for ever end. 
 
 To tell of life and safety is news which great delight inspired. 
 
 From Jesus who his life resigned moved by love fyv all mankind, 
 
 His blood is the remedy in which exists the power to heal, 
 
 When with sympathizing tenderness it is at once applied 
 
 To a wounded heart and a stranger to happiness and joy, 
 
 But troubled, sorrowful, and without a guide iu search of peace, 
 
 By the noble Spirit of powers invincible and divine 
 
 When he descends upon it with mild and quickening influence. 
 
 Such a news is \ery joyful concerning wealth and heirship 
 
 To one in deepest poverty and for the world no regard. 
 
 Of a cruwn and kingdom which age eternal shall never end. 
 
 Free from feuds and turmoil and enjoying friendship, love, and peace 
 
 Such news is joy peculiar to one who feels that he's despised 
 
 Concerning exalted honour in a Paradise above. 
 
 With love unmingled amid the heavenly angelic throng ; 
 
 And speech shall never fail them, in thanks and praise to the Lanib« 
 
 Glad tidings of deliverance to a sin-polluted soul 
 
 From horrible looking guilt, in magnitide by no means small ; 
 
 Through the mighty efficacy of that Oi. 3 great sacrifice, 
 
 OfTer'd by the Royal Priest, who in nature is peaceful, kind. 
 
 And of gracious influences that render timely aid. 
 
 Even when the enemy with all his power and active might 
 
 Is drawing nigh him, so as of hope and trust to deprive him, 
 
 And thus by a furious onset him utterly overpower. 
 
 Of grace and mercy which shall give him power and energy 
 To pursue the journey which conducts to glory and the Lamb ; 
 In the highest heavens where fur them His love doth most abound, 
 Desire shall never fail them, from age to age to sing his praise. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 % 
 
r<«r 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 278 
 
 ;eve. 
 
 The beauty of that story, is its great and important truth, 
 W'itliout any loud boasting word or uiisubstantiiil fiction; 
 Clirist 18 that ransom in cHicacy the most enduring 
 The atoning sacrifice, the sure basis of lusting peace. 
 
 cd 
 
 oye, 
 ned 
 in; 
 
 God the King- Supremo gave us His only well-beloved Son 
 Who assumed o"ir nature, though above our order, distant far; 
 In which, that obedience he willingly and sincerely gave, 
 AVhich gave us a renewed claim again to draw near to God; 
 Perfect obedience now was rendered to the Trinity's law, 
 By the God-man who always engaged in the doing of good ; 
 In the form of a poor, miserable, sin-polluted man. 
 But who surpassed in goodness and in dignity all human kind. 
 
 The loving Friend who, from condemning guilt, has earned salvation 
 For the human race with mournful weeping and with burning tears ; 
 Who, here, from the moment of his birth endured contempt and shame 
 Until liie day of his death, as His people's great Substitute. 
 When yet an infant young, Herod drove him to cruel exile 
 While still earnestly contemplating the state of all mankind, 
 His life was dreary, sorrowful while here on earth he lived. 
 He was hard pursued by foes who threatened danger to his life. 
 
 aco 
 
 And on his track in swift pursuit were devils, ferocious, mad, 
 Under the Prince of darkness in look implacable and wild : '', 
 
 But what gave him the severest pain was that justice on high 
 Unmoved by pity or warm sympathy in him sheathed a sword, 
 The curse of God had seized him for human debts to justice due. 
 By his kind benignant Father he seemed treated strange and harsh ; 
 For He abandoned him in tlie moment of his greatest need. 
 When crucified with dire injutitico and with malignant rage. 
 
 lb. 
 
 Now in the highest regions power unending to him shall be 
 
 To raise as many as he has willed in safety to the skies. 
 
 And also in bold defiance his enemies to destroy. 
 
 Wicked men and angels and all the cruel, oppressive race. 
 
 lint sinners of every kind have him contemptuously despised. 
 
 Who show malignant hatred to knowledge of the will of God, 
 
 Who the truth will not believe though proved to them beyond dispute. 
 
 Who will not march straight forward but are always going astray. 
 
 O Lord Jesus, have compassion upon all Christian nations. 
 
 In all the surrounding kingdoms their knowledge; is very low: 
 
 All kinds of infidel error how quickly tlioy rise and grow. 
 
 And at the time what want of zeal Presbyterians (iis[)lay ! 
 
 Cause saving faith and knowledge, cause love of truth and righteousness. 
 
 Cause abundant joy and happiness in copious streams descend: 
 
 To turn mankind from sinful customs which lead them on to ruin, 
 
 And that holiness of heart and mind may spring, grow up, and flourish. 
 
 :V- 
 
274 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 w 
 
 O God of peace, apread far and wide the eternal Mvingf truth * 
 
 Among the peopled nationa and India'a remotest lundi : * 
 
 Aa men who are lost and bewildered amid the mountain bg. 
 
 The night approaching nigh thorn and they are faint in want of food. 
 
 Give them the purest light and give them an unobstructed way, 
 
 And a heart bold and active which shall always obey the Lamb : 
 
 Tell them of salvation, till them of your eternal love, 
 
 Upon them send in triumph the mighty power of th^ jrace. ^ 
 
 ;> 
 
 
 
 ■t 
 
 \ \ 
 
 
'^Ir- . '■* '^^'- 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 »od. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 W-f 
 
 
 
 
 y * 
 
 •*^ *1| 
 
 iu » 
 
 J. * 
 
 ♦ ■■'■-t 
 
 m