iiiiliiiiii tjitiiyiyii a it ! m f :j ill ill BR A5 .H84 1850 , Humphry, William Gilson, ^ 1815-1886. I The early progress of the gospel ^ / / /J A^VH l-^<7-7c THE HULSEAN LECTURES FOR M.DCCC.L. Cambritrge : enntrt at fje fflnfftcrsffp Tress. THE EARLY PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL : IN EIGHT SERMONS, PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, IN THE YEAR M.DCCC L. AT THE LECTUEE FOLDED BY THE REV. JOHN HULSE, M,A. BY y WILLIAM GILSON HUMPHEY, B.D-, FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, AND EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON. LONDON: JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND. CAMBRIDGE: JOHN DEIGHTON ; MAC'MILLAN AND CO. .M.DCCC.LI. TO THE REV. JAMES CARTMELL, D.D. MASTEK OP Christ's college, AND LATE VTCE-CITANCELLOR; REV. WILLIAM WHEWELL, D.D. MASTER or TRIXITT COLLEGE; REV. RALPH TATHAM, D.D. MASTER OF ST .TORN's COLLEGE ; THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSES, PREACHED BY THEIR APPOINTMENT, ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. The Rev. John Hulse, M.A., by his will bearing date July 21, 1777, founded a Lectureship in the University of Cambridge, to be held by a Clergyman in the University of the degree of Master of Arts, and under the age of forty years : the Lecturer to be elected annually on Christmas-day, or within seven days after, by the Vice-Chancellor, the Master of Trinity College, and the Master of St John's College, or any two of them : the subject of the Lectures to be as follows : " The Evidence of Revealed Religion ; the Truth and Excellence of Christianity ; the Prophecies and Miracles ; direct or collateral proofs of the Chris- tian Religion, especially the collateral arguments ; the more difficult texts, or obscure parts of Holy Scrip- ture ;" or any one or more of these topics, at the discretion of the Lecturer. CONTENtS. LECTURE I. THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. LUKE Y. 4—6. PAGi; He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy tcord I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of Jishes 1 LECTURE IL THE EFFECT PROl^UCED ITPON JEWS AND GENTILES BY THE EVIDENCE OF THE MIRACLES. JOHN XIV. 12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that helicveth on me, the works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father 25 LECTURE IIL THE EFFECT PRODUCED UPON JEWS AND GENTILES BY THE EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY. ROMANS XA^I. 25, 26. The revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since- the world began, htt now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the com- mandment of the ecerlasting God., made known to all nations for the obedience of faith 51 X CONTENTS. LECTURE IV. TIIK CHRISTIAN liOCTRLNE, AND THE CUUISTIAN LIFE. TITUS II. 11—14. PAGE For the grace of God that hringeth salvation hath ap- peared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodli- ness and worldly lusts, -we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem tis from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealoics of good works 81 LECTURE V. REVIEW OF THE CAUSES CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. THE HINDRANCES OCCASIONED BY THE CALUM- NIES OF THE HEATHEN, AND BY THE ILL LIVES OF NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. 1 PETER II. 12. Having your conversation honest among the Gcjitile^ : that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation Ill LECTURE VI. THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. MATTHEAV X. 16. Behold, I send you forth as shei'p in the midst of wolves ]3() CONTENTS. LECTURE VII. THE EFFORTS MADE BY THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY TO RESIST AND CORRUPT THE GOSPEL. LUKE X. 21. PAGE In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes : even so. Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight 161 Note on Lecture VII 184 LECTURE VIII. THE RESISTANCE MADE TO THE GOSPEL BY THE PAGAN SUPER- STITION. THE RELICS OF PAGANISM. GALATIANS IV. 8. Hoicbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or ratJier are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in Itondage ? 190 PEX^G^'^^^ cWrT I. ,# . .^v^vv . vv'" THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. LUKE V. 4- He said unto Simon, Launch out info the deep, and let doivn your nets for a draught. And Simon an- swering said unto him. Master, ive have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing : nevertheless at thy ivord I ivill let doivn the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes. rpHE holy Apostles, while engaged in their -■- humble calling as fishermen on the lake of Gennesaret, were twice visited by their divine Lord and Master; and on each occa- sion they received a proof of his almighty power. First, at the commencement of his ministry, and again after his resurrection, he appeared to them at break of day, at the moment when they were desisting from the fruitless labours of the night. At his com- mand they once more ca;St forth their net; and now they were scarcely able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes M'hich it had in- closed. We learn indeed, that when he first performed the miracle, they were terribly afraid; but he invited them to follow him, 2 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. bidding them be of good courage, inasmuch as from that time they should be "fishers of men." Tliis invitation, strange as it must haA^e appeared, and requiring as it did the sudden abandonment of all that had ever been dear to them, they joyfully and at once accepted. On the second occasion, when he came to them after his resurrection, he not only led them away again from their worldly calling, but to one of their number he solemnly and emphatically renewed that pastoral com- mission, that Apostolic office which he had previously given to them all. " Feed my lambs," he said to Simon Peter; and again he i-aid, "Feed my sheep:" and a third time, " Feed my sheep." Thus did he raise up the holy Apostle, and reinstate him in that high office, from which, in consequence of his re- cent backsliding, he might otherwise have felt himself degraded. When therefore we recollect that in both cases the working of the miracle was pre- sently followed by a declaration of the Apos- tolic office, we can scarcely doubt that the miracle itself had some reference to that office ; and that the two were intended to be associated together in the minds of those who received them. Indeed, our Lord himself sug- gested such a conviction when he said to 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 3 them, as he took them away from their &hips and their fishing implements, " Fear not ; from henceforth ye shall catch men." They might marvel for a moment at the saying, that they should catch men ; but though they did not understand it, they readily believed it, not doubting that he who had such power over the fish of the sea was Lord also of the human race. Surely the miracle was intended to be a pledge to those disciples of the success which awaited them in their new and heavenly call- ing. It was a token, that by them and their colleagues and successors the world should be converted, and that though the labour might be long, and for a while without reward, yet at last mankind should come, as it were in shoals, to the receptacle of Christ's Church. In this light the miracle was regarded by the great divines of ancient times ; and their in- terpretation has been adopted by many expo- sitors, who cannot be accused of looking for mystical or fanciful senses in holy Scripture. There is good reason, therefore, for saying that in the miraculous draught of fishes, twice repeated, our Lord prefigured to his Apostles the success which they were to have in preach- ing his Gospel. But whether we accept or reject this figurative interpretation, one thing is certain, that the conversion of the world to 1—2 4 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [LEr-T. I. Christianity was no less preternatural than the wonder which was wrought on the waters of Gennesaret. The one event, no less than the other, denoted a divine interference in the natural order of the universe. Undoubtedly, the capture of a great multi- tude of fishes at a single cast of the net was a thing, which, however unusual, could only be determined to be miraculous, by the cir- cumstances under which it occurred. But that it should happen immediately upon the bidding of the Lord, at the very spot where they had toiled all night in vain, in the morn- ing when they had given up hope, these cir- cumstances at once directed the disciples to see in it the handiwork of their divine Master. In like manner it is conceivable, that a doc- trine ot\ merely human origin might, under a favourable combination of events, have spread through the world, and obtained the assent of mankind, more rapidly and more generally than the Gospel did on its first promulgation. But the Gospel had no outward circumstances in its favour. Humanly speaking, it com- menced its career under every disadvantage. Its propagation depended in the first instance on the zeal and fidelity of a few fishermen, ignorant and unlearned men, whose occupa- tion did not allow them to hold much inter- 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 5 course even with the inhabitants of their own remote and barbarous district. They knew so much of the world, and so much only, as they could survey from the peaceful bosom of their lake. Rude in their speech, and little versed in the arts of persuasion, they w^ere commissioned to proclaim facts most hard to be believed, and doctrines most repugnant to human prejudice and pride. If there was a place where the facts were sure to be de- nied, that place was Jerusalem ; for the people who had delivered up the holy One and the Just to be put to death, were not likely to lend a willing ear to the tidings of his resur- rection. If there was a time, when the doc- trines were likely to be unpalatable, that time was the day of Pentecost, the festival which gathered together the Jews out of every na- tion under heaven', to commemorate the giv- ing of the Mosaic law. Then, if ever, those ancient ceremonies, the only ties which held together the scattered fragments of the nation, were regarded with aifection and enthusiasm. But the Apostles had a doctrine to announce, which threw a new light upon the law of Moses, shewing it to be but the shadow of a substance, the 'type of a reality, a subor- dinate and temporary institution, the days of » ' Acts ii, 5. 6 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. which were numbered. Jerusalem therefore was the most unfavourable place, and Pen- tecost the most unpropitious time. Yet at Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, they commenced their ministry ; and there, and then, Galileans as they were, and the hum- blest of Galileans, they stood up before an assembly collected from distant lands, they spoke to every man in his own tongue, they put to silence the scoffers, they rebuked the murderers of their Lord, they asserted his resurrection, they exhorted their hearers to be baptized in his name. " And the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls^" They soon acquired the favour of the people. Many also of the rich cast in their lot with them ; and even of the priests a great company " became obedient to the faiths" It was not long, however, before the pre- diction of their Master was fulfilled, that they should be hated for his Name's sake. But when the Rulers took counsel, and thought to pluck up the new religion by the roots, they were only instrumental in causing it to shoot forth more abundantly. The little commu- nity of believers at Jerusalem was indeed broken up, and for a time dispersed. But Acts ii. 41. - Acts vi. 7- 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 7 wherever they went, they preached boldly, and made converts to the faith. One of their bitterest persecutors became their most zealous leader and champion. The glad tidings of salvation were received with joy in Antioch, the abode of pagan learning, in Ephesus, the stronghold of superstition, in Corinth, the sink of depravity, and in the haughty and imperi- ous city, which styled herself the mistress of the world. The faith was everywhere spoken against; for its Jewish persecutors relaxed not in their efforts to destroy it ; yet many were found in every place who for the glory that was set before them, despised the shame and courted the reproach of the cross of Christ. When St Paul had finished his course, and was offered up at Rome, he left in the city of his martyrdom, as we learn from^ heathen testimony, a "vast multitude" of believers. Forty years later, when the last of the apo- stolic band had scarcely closed his labours, the state of Bithynia, a remote province of Asia Minor, was described by its^ heathen governor. That country, so far as we can tell, had enjoyed no especial advantages ; it was not one of the countries in which we should have looked for an early and rapid propaga- tion of the Gospel ; yet we learn from the un- ' Tac. Arm. xv. 44. " Pliny, ^u^. x. 97, written a.d. 110, 8 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. exceptionable testimony to which I refer, that it was completely penetrated, in all its towns and villages, by the Christian faith. There is no reason to think, that this description is too highly coloured ; and if it was applicable to Bithynia and Pontus, it must have been true of many other districts both in Asia and Europe. Descending through a period of one hun- dred years, and taking our station at the be- ginning of the third century, we find .the prospect far brighter and much more exten- sive. That the Christians at that time formed an important element in the body politic of the Roman empire, is shewn not by the favour, but by the hostility with which they were re- garded by the rulers of the state. The picture which is drawn of their condition at this time by their own writers, may be too flattering to be entirely relied on. But after every allow- ance is made for the bias and partiality of its authors, it justifies us in concluding, that the Christians abounded in every rank of society, in the court, in the camp, in the senate, in the forum, ii*- the highways and byways of the world. It is clear, that at the period of which we speak, the Gospel had been more or less widely diffused through every province of the Roman world — not only in Egypt and Africa, where it was firmly established, but certainly 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 9 in Spain and Ganl, and Britain, if not in Germany, Dacia, and Scythia. If we pass over the interval of another century, and again contemplate the altered scene, we find that the Christians by their patient continuance in well-doing, had over- come the jealousy of the rulers and the preju- dices of the vulgar. They were admitted to the highest offices of state, and had ready access to the sovereign. Some of the imperial family were of their number. If not an abso- lute majority of the whole population, they appear to have been more numerous, and more conspicuous, than the worshippers of any other religion. Another struggle awaited them, a long and sharp one, and then their creed was to be accepted as the religion of the empire. They had yet to endure a Diocletian, before they should receive a Constantine. Whether the fury of the one, or the favour of the other, was most conducive to the real interests of Christianity, we may not now stop to inquire. In concluding our brief and im- perfect sketch of the progress of Christianity, we will only observe, and it is an important observation, that before the Gospel received any support from the ruling powers, it had already established itself firmly in every pro- vince, in every city, almost in every village of 10 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. the Roman world ; and the sound of it had gone forth into countries which had never received the yoke of Rome. The faith of Christ at the beginning of the fourth century had taken deep root in ^Ethiopia and Persia ; in Armenia it was the religion of the state ; and there were Christian congregations and Christian bishops among the barbarous hordes which began to gather on the Northern frontier of the Empire ^ "So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed." But this result might have passed for nothing more than a remarkable fact in history, if the powers of the world had co- operated in producing it. If the Christian faith had from the first been favoured by kings, or recommended by philosophers, or embraced by the multitude, its success might have been attributed, with some show of rea- son, to the policy of rulers, or the sophistry of the wise, or the madness of the people. But the very reverse of this was the case. The Gospel was assailed by every engine which the ruler, the philosopher, or the multitude could devise for its destruction. Its professors were accused by atheists of superstition, and by idolaters of atheism. The common people * See Lectures on the Ecclesiastical History of the First Three Centuries^ by the late Dr. Burton. 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 11 imputed to them the most abominable prac- tices, and the most impious doctrines. Sor- cerers and wizards endeavoured, with their lying wonders, to emulate the miracles of Christ. His doctrines were the theme of phi- losophic scorn and ridicule. The Rulers from the first had viewed with suspicion a sect whose principles they were unable to under- stand ; they soon regarded it with hatred, and strove to extinguish it by intolerance and per- secution. The Christians were oppressed, pillaged, tortured, put to death ; or, worse than all, they were tempted by the fear of these things, and sometimes induced to deny their faith, and to sprinkle incense on the altar of a pagan deity. Lastly, we must not forget, that within the fold of Christ there were controversies and dissensions, which must have operated as sore lets and hindrances to the propagation of the truth. Yet, with all these impediments, such was the progress of the Gospel, that when the last and most deadly persecution had been carried on, for a period of ten years, throughout the greater part of the empire, the tyrant^ who directed it was at length compelled to desist, admitting that he found it impossible to eradicate a religion which had become almost universal. ^ Galerius, Euseh. viii. I7. 12 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. When the power and vitality of the Gospel had been thus fully evinced, it pleased God that his faithful servants should be no more tried in that way ; and the conversion of Con- stantine at length gave rest to the Church, and completed the discomfiture of the ancient superstition. Such a progress, effected under so many and great difficulties, may well be regarded, not merely as a secondary evidence, but as a substantial and convincing proof that our holy religion is derived from God himself. If it had been of man's device, assuredly it would have come to nought, in those fiery days of trial. The establishment of the Go- spel, we must acknowledge, was the Lord's doing, and ^as such it is marvellous in our eyes. The ancient apologists of Christianity did not fail to see the force of this argument, and they urged it against their opponents with more and more effect, as each succeed- ing age increased its weight. And if we have to reason with the sceptic, we shall see the necessity of recurring to this evidence, drawn from the early history of the Church. We must not allow him to confine our attention to the aspect which Christianity now presents. He will say, and say truly, that the jjreva- lence of our religion at the present day is not 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 13 a conclusive proof of its divine origin, any more than the religions of Mahomet and Brahma are proved to be true by their pre- dominance in Asia and India : for the human mind is so constituted, as to acquiesce wil- lingly, and without inquiry, in .any system to which it has been from infancy inured. He will remind us also, that a great portion of the world still remains unreclaimed, un- visited by the light of the Gospel ; that those regions which were the first homes and nursing-places of the Christian Church, have fallen back into a state little better than their original heathenism ; and that even in Chris- tian countries, even for instance in this highly favoured land, a large proportion of the in- habitants are either ignorant of the precepts of the Gospel, or living as if they had never known them. These facts we cannot gain- say; sorrowfully and with reluctance, we must admit them. We can explain them indeed, in a manner satisfactory to ourselves, without any impeachment of the Christian Dispensa- tion ; for we justly attribute them to the de- pravity of man, and not to any failure in the promises of God. But the sceptic, we may be sure, will take full advantage of our con- cessions, and will turn a deaf ear to our explanations. And therefore we must lead 14 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect.L. him back to the first ages of the Gospel ; and when we shew him a religion, promulgated in the first instance by a few fishermen, when we bid him observe that religion, in its sub- sequent progress, not leaning on the arm of human power, not allying itself with the vices or prejudices or follies of the age in which it aj^peared, but always taking the highest ground, and combating vice and corruption in every shape, incurring the ridicule of the foolish, and the disdain of philosophers, ex- posed to the rivalry of impostors, subsisting unimpaired, when tyrants wreaked their fury on its professors, and when those professors were at strife among themselves, and all the while not losing ground, but winning its way incessantly, till it had converted by far the greater part of the Roman world ; and when we avouch as evidence of these facts, not the partial testimony of friends, but the involun- tary admissions of heathen historians, satirists, philosophers and persecutors; I do not say that we shall convince our opponent, for it is his will, not his reason, which resists us, but we shall reduce him, at least on this head of the argument, to an ignominious silence. Our position is, that all these facts, taken together, shew the Gospel to have been not a human invention, but a divine truth. This position 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 15 he can never overthrow ; let him turn aside, let him retreat, and discover a more vulnerable point in the evidences, if he can. The success of Christianity therefore, under the circumstances which surrounded it, is a proof of its divine origin. There were brood- ing over its cradle all kinds of malignant in- fluences, intent upon its destruction ; but it arose in its might, and wrestled with its ene- mies, and overcame them. It succeeded, we say, because it was divine. Yes, but did it succeed simply because it was divine ? Would a divine Revelation, promulgated by a few fishermen, approve itself to the consciences and hearts of men, if it were not supported by any external evidence whereby it was proved to be divine? Whatever answer we might have given to this question on a priori grounds, it is certain with regard to the Gospel, that it was not left thus unsupported. We are able to assign certain causes which contributed to its success ; certain tokens which accompanied it, by which men re- cognised its heavenly origin. It was attested by miracles, it was heralded by prophecies, it was recommended by its intrinsic excellence, and by the fruit which it bore in the lives of those who adopted it. Assuming, therefore, the divine origin of 16 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. Christianity, which no one here will deny, and assuming its rapid progress in the first three centuries, which even its enemies must admit, I propose in the Course of Lectures which I am now commencing, to consider the causes which were concerned in its success, the evidences that is to say, by which men knew it to be divine, and the barriers which w ere raised up against its progress, but which were overruled so as to become instrumental in its propaga- tion and development, I shall ask you to observe the hand of God, building up the edifice of his Church, and the hand of man endeavouring, vainly endeavouring, to impede the work. As I set out with assuming the truth of Christianity, my observations will not tend, except indirectly, to confute the infidel; but I trust they will have the effect of con- firming our own faith, by reminding us, how^ God wrought for his Name's sake in former times, and that they will also quicken our zeal, by shewing us, that a work still remains to be done, and that we are concerned in the doing of it. The success of the Gospel is the fact to be accounted for; a fact which even the infi- del cannot deny. But he approaches the con- sideration of it in what he deems a philosophic spirit, and thinks to explain it by the opera- I860.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 17 tion of ordinary and natural causes ; causes, that is to say, which have their origin in the constitution of our nature, in the state of society, in the moral and political condition of mankind. But we, as Christian men, in the spirit of a sounder philosophy, assert the cooperation of other causes, such as never before were permitted to sway the destinies of the human race, causes which we, therefore, denominate extraordinary and supernatural. The action of some of these we may be able to trace ; as for instance, we may observe the effect produced by miracles, by prophecies, by the intrinsic truth and beauty of the Gospel, in converting the minds of men. Moreover, there has been a power, working through all ages, in a manner which we cannot discern, and with a force which we cannot estimate, I mean the influence of God's Holy Spirit, dis- posing the hearts of men to listen to his Holy Word. That influence, however it may be withdrawn from our notice, must never be absent from our recollection ; and the thought of it will restrain us from attempting to define with any thing like precision, the effects of those other causes of which we propose to speak. Our subject, therefore, is one which we cannot exhaust ; for after our closest ana- lysis, there will remain an element which 18 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. baffles our observation, and eludes our grasp : an element which is not " given to any man by measure," and concerning which we cannot tell " whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth." Yet we may hope that the consideration of this subject, imperfect as it must needs be, will be profitable to us, and attended with some practical lessons. Profitable it cannot fail to be, by way of meditation, if it lead us, I will not say to forget for a moment our own trials and troubles, the afflictions of our Church, the unhappy divisions of our times ; but if it lead us, bearing all these things in mind, to dwell awhile on the ages that are past, and to remember the noble things that God did in the days of our fathers and in the old time before them — how he caused the vineyard which his servants had planted to increase and flourish, in spite of difficulties at least as great as any by which we are encom- passed. And for practical lessons, we cannot turn in vain to any period in the history of the Church; but most surely we shall find them, if we revert to that epoch, when Christianity was destitute of any outward pomp or circum- stance, owing nothing to prescription, or the fashion of the day, or human power or autho- rity ; advancing, as it has been said, like a ship against wind and tide. We behold it I860.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 19 walking then in its own strength, beautiful in its own simplicity, not disfigured or encum- bered by any trappings of man's invention. It concerns us much to ascertain, as well as we are able, by what means in those ages it achieved its triumphs. For are there no re- semblances between those ages and our own ? Indeed there are many, too many to be now enumerated. Of one only will I now remind you, not because it is the most obvious, but because it is closely connected with my pre- sent subject. The ancient Christians were sometimes met by their opponents with an objection of this kind^: — If our pagan religion be false and hateful to God, as you would persuade us, why has he granted such signs of his favour, such dominion and power to the Roman people, a nation of polytheists and idolaters? Does not the prosperity of this great empire afford a proof that the divine blessing is with us, and is it not a refutation of your new religion ? To this question the following reply was made on the part of the Christians: It is true, they said, that God has greatly prospered you ; we admit that he ' See Prudent, Contr. Sym. ii. 578 ; Origen, Contr. Cels. II. 30 ; Ambros. Comm. in Ps. 45 ; Augustin. De Civ. Dei. XVIII. 46. 2—2 20 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. has given success to your armies, and to your senators wisdom, bringing the nations under your sway, and establishing tranquillity and peace in all your borders. He has done this however, not to reward your merits, nor to sanction your mythology, but to carry out his own purposes ; one of those purposes being the overthrow of polytheism and idolatry, and the propagation of our hoh^ religion. If the kingdoms of the world are given into your hands, it is that they may the more easily become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. If you are permitted to civilise man- kind, it is that we may come after, and evan- gelize them. If there is peace in all your vast dominions, it is that the Gospel may everywhere have free course. If roads are carried by your legions to the uttermost parts of the earth, it is that they may be trodden by the feet of them who publish glad tidings. You are but making straight in the desert a highway for our God. Such was the view taken by those ancient Christians, of God's purpose in raising up the Roman empire : and surely we cannot say that this was a fan- ciful or vain conceit. We cannot deny that the progress of the Gospel was in some degree facilitated by the consolidation of many countries in one empire, and by the 1B50.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 21 commerce and intercourse which subsisted amongst them. And they who have carefully traced the vicissitudes of history observe, that the Church in after times well repaid this adventitious aid, by imparting to the empire in its period of decrepitude and dissolution, some fresh principles of union and strength. Surely the establishment of his own king- dom upon earth was among the purposes which the Almighty had in view, in permit- ting the domination of Imperial Rome. But do not we ourselves belong to a nation which surpasses Imperial Rome, both in the extent and population of her dependencies ; a nation which holds the furthest corners of the earth in her dominion, and has a great por- tion of the heathen for her inheritance ? By her military prowess, and by her commercial enterprise, she is continually increasing her influence, for good or for evil, on the destinies of mankind. The paths of the great waters are in her keeping ; her ships are in all the havens of the world. Peace is within her walls, and plenteousness within her palaces ; and, greatest blessing of all, in her Churches, if anywhere on earth, God is worshipped in sincerity and in truth. Shall we say that he who ordained us to this pre-eminence, has done so with no regard to the increase of his 22 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL [Lect. I. own Spiritual kingdom in the world? Is it not clear that God has shewn us all this favour, and invested us with all these privi- leges, in order that we may be his instruments and ministers, in making his way known upon earth, his saving health among all nations ? This undoubtedly is our high call- ing : may we, in our generation, even we who are assembled here, be not backward to ac- complish it. It is true, there are many difficulties and discouragements in the work. The Christian world is lukewarm, hesitating, or divided. The heathen are suspicious, incredulous, or super- stitious. We may think that if we had such advantages as were enjoyed by the early preachers of the Gospel, we should quickly overcome all obstruction. But let us not magnify our difficulties, nor disparage our resources, nor imagine it will be any excuse for our indolence, that other ages had greater facilities for propagating the Gospel than ourselves. Are we sure after all that they were more highly favoured in this respect than we are? Have we only the single talent, and had they the ten ? I would invite you to recur to those early ages, to consider the evi- dence by which the Gospel was then sup- ported, the favourable and adverse circum- 1850.] AN EVIDENCE OF ITS TRUTH. 23 Stances by which it was surrounded. The result, I trust, will be such as to give us en- couragement, rather than to make us despond. For we shall see that God did not interfere to compel the submission of mankind. The evi- dences of Christianity may have been in some respects stronger, in others less clear than they are at present ; but their aggregate force has not varied materially from age to age, and has never been so irresistible as to fetter the free-will, and leave men no alternative but to obey. God has chosen that his Go- spel should advance with a gradual, and not always with an uniform, progress. It some- times appears to be stationary, sometimes to recede ; like the infant Spring, which often falls back into the arms of Winter, or like the planets, which to a terrestrial observer seem at times to stand still, and even to go back in their courses. Neither was it the will of God that his ministers should be exempt from human infirmities ; he entrusted the treasure, then, as he does now, to earthen vessels, to men of like passions with ourselves. His most faithful servants he suffered not always to see the fruit of their labours, but per- mitted them to be sore perplexed and dis- comfited, and cut off in the midst of their efforts to promote his glory. But when the 24 THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL, &c. [Lect. I. Stability of the Gospel had been tried in every way, and the patience of his'servants had had "its perfect work," then he delivered his Church from all its enemies, and brought it forth into a place of liberty. In like manner we doubt not, but firmly believe, that though the difficulties of the present time are neither imaginary nor few, though a large portion of our people here at home is in a state appa- rently little better than that of the beasts which perish, and though abroad we have to contend, as it were single handed, against all the idolatries of the world, and though among ourselves there be much dissension and con- troversy, much coldness and faintness of heart, and though we are not sufficient for these things ; yet God is true, and his Gospel waxes not old, but is as strong now as it was in former ages : and when he has tried his Church and proved it, he will assuredly visit it, and bless it, and stablish it, and multiply it; and, as aforetime, he made it to be universal throughout the Roman empire, so he will do to it again and more also, among all the na- tions and languages, which in these latter days he has committed to our keeping. And this may he do, for his Name's sake ! LECTURE II. THE EFFECT PRODUCED UPON JEWS AND GENTILES BY THE EVIDENCE OF THE MIRACLES. JOHN XIV. 12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the ivorks that I do shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do ; because I go unto my Father. rpHE rapid progress made by our holy re- J- ligioii in the first ages of its promulgation is a historical fact, as I observed in my last lecture, which stands above all dispute : and it was deservedly placed, by the ancient apologists, in the foremost rank of the evi- dences. Not that the success of a doctrine is always, and under all circumstances, to be taken as an infallible proof of its truth. With the thoughtless multitude, success is every- thing : it will often carry persuasion, where more solid reasons are disregarded. But when impartially examined by the light of history and experience, the argument from success, taken by itself, is found to conclude nothing for certain. Many forms of religious belief, as we know, have prevailed extensively, and do still prevail, concerning which we are sure that they are not of God. They have been 26 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. H. successful, yet they are not true : and when we inquire into the matter, we find that their good fortune has been owing to certain external circumstances. But in the case of Christianity, external circumstances were adverse to its growth. Upon its humble birth the smiles of human authority and patronage, of science and learning, were not bestowed ; and as it increased in strength, and proceeded on its march through the world, it had to quench the fiery darts with which it was assailed by the jealousy, the prejudice, and the depravity of mankind. In such a case, success may well be adduced as a proof of internal life and power. The continued pro- gress of a doctrine, in spite of all that man could do to oppose it, is without a parallel, and admits of no explanation, except we confess that the doctrine was instinct with divine energy and truth. This explanation, I am sure, will not be questioned by those who hear me ; and it is not my purpose further to insist upon it. I do not propose now to argue from the success of the Christian dispensation up to its divine origin ; but, supposing this to be done, I pro- ceed to descend as it were from the source, and to consider the means, so far as they are open to our observation, by which God 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 27 was pleased to effect the establishment of his Gospel ; we shall analyze the favourable or adverse circumstances, the propelling or retarding forces, which were concerned in that great result. That our review must of necessity be incomplete, is at once apparent, when we call to mind that all-pervading powerful influence, of which we can neither discern the operation nor measure the effect, I mean the grace of God's Holy Spirit, by which the hearts of men are in the first instance disposed to receive the Gospel, and afterwards enabled to obey it. Never let us forget the presence of that divine Advocate, pleading with men, and beseeching them to be reconciled to God through Christ. His godly motions are as hidden from our view, as the thought of our soul is from our bodily eye. What we are able to observe, is the machinery by which he acts ; the agencies and appliances, the proofs and evidences, which he employs according to his good pleasure. These are, indeed, all intimately blended and combined ; and in their union lies a great portion of their strength. For practical purposes, we should not rely on any one of them singly, to the exclusion of the rest. This would be to tempt God, and to lose sight of the "proportion of the 28 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. H. faith." Yet it is possible, and it may be instructive, to separate for a moment the several means which God employed for the propagation of his Gospel ; to view each one apart, and trace its distinct operation and effect. The first subject which engages our atten- tion is the great apparatus of miracles, which accompanied the promulgation of the Christian faith. What influence, we ask, had those signs and wonders, either at the time they were exhibited, or subsequently, in the con- version of mankind ? — How much of this re- sult may be referred to their agency ? We shall do no more than approximate to a solu- tion of this question. Still, let us not be deterred from entertaining it ; for even if we should fail of obtaining any definite answer, we shall surely meet with much instruction in the course of our inquiry. We begin therefore with the ministry of our blessed Lord ; we endeavour to follow him as he went about doing good, healing all manner of diseases, feeding the hungry, cast- ing out devils, walking on the waves, rebuk- ing the winds, reading the secret thoughts of men, restoring the dead to life. Doubtless these mighty works are to be regarded as the tokens of his boundless love and compas- 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 29 sion for the children of men. But they also answered another purpose ; for we find him continually appealing to them as the evidence of his divine mission and authority. When the two disciples of John came and asked him, *' Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" he answered by shewing them the miracles which he wrought ; "Go," he said, "and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see^" And to the same evidence he made his ultimate ap- peal, whenever he was questioned by the people. The people indeed, as he said, had '' sent unto John," to inquire concerning the Christ : "and he bare witness unto the truths" John answered and said, " There standeth one among you, whom ye know not ; he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me : for he was before me^." But the testimony of John was soon disregarded and forgotten ; for though he appeared as a " burning and a shining light," it was only for a short season that the Jews were willing to " rejoice in his light*." And therefore our Lord did not rest solely upon his testimony, but proceeded to give other evidence : " I have greater witness than that of John ; for the works which the ' Matt. xi. 3, 4. ^ John v. 33. = Johni. 26, 15. * John v. 35. 30 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. H. Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me^" And again he said, " Though ye believe not me, believe the works^" And he used the same argument to his own disciples : " Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else," i.e. if ye will not receive my bare assertion, "believe me for the very works' sake^" If his own declarations concerning himself were discredited, and the testimony of John had lost its weight, he referred men to his mira- cles, as to an evidence which was notorious, incontrovertible, and level to every man's understanding. He alluded indeed, in a passing way, to other kinds of evidence ; to the testimony of the Father'*, who had de- clared that he was his beloved Son^ ; and to the testimony of the Holy Ghost, who spake by the prophets ; for he told the Jews, that if they searched the Scriptures, it would appear that they were they which testified of him«. But he refrained from pressing the Jews strongly with either of these testimonies. It was useless to refer them to the Father ; for they had no living faith in him, and as our Lord declared, they had not his word abiding ' John V. 36. - John x. 38. ^ John xiv. 11. ' John V. 37. ' Matt. iii. 1 7- ' John v. 39. 1850.] UPON THB JEWS. 31 in them^ And with regard to the predictions of the prophets, though even at that time they were sufficiently plain to convince any one who searched them closely and honestly ; as we know that Philip in this way identified the Messiah, and declared that he had found him of whom Moses in the Law and the Pro- phets did write^ ; yet it was not likely that the people in general would be able to recognise their Messiah, by the light of prophecies which for the most part were yet to be ful- filled. We must remember that, at that time, he had not been led as a lamb to the slaugh- ter, his soul had not been reclaimed from hell, nor his body rescued from corruption. The argument from prophecy was still unfinished. So also was that which results from the consideration of his doctrine. Men heard him gladly, and even his first public dis- course produced this effect, that the people were astonished at his teaching^ ; and he declared, that whosoever was really desirous of doing God's will, should " know of the doctrine, whether it be of God^." But before his death, the doctrines of the atonement and justification of mankind were not revealed in their full proportions ; those doctrines ' John V. 38. - John i. 45, ' Matt. vii. 28. * John vii. 17. 32 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. which are best calculated to strike the con- science, and which now awaken in every heart an echo to the saying of the centurion : *' Truly this was the Son of God^" While, therefore, the other branches of evidence were incomplete, our Lord conde- scended to make his chief appeal to miracles. And we might have thought that tlie ocular demonstration which he thus afforded, would have superseded the necessity of any other proof, and would have been in itself irre- sistible. How then were his miracles received, and what conviction did they work in the minds of those who witnessed them ? They induced Nathanael to exclaim, as though he were anticipating both the confession made at the foot of the cross, and the superscription written above : " Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of Israel'." They constrained Peter to fall down at Jesus' feet, and in a transport of awe and self-abasement to say, " Depart from me ; for I am a sinful man, O Lord^." They brought Nicodemus to Jesus by night, and prompted him to confess : *' No man can do these miracles that tliou doest, except God be with him'*." The man who was born blind, when he received his ^ Matt, xxvii. 54. - John i. 49. * Luke V. 8. ' John iii. 2. 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 33 sight, protested, "If this man were not ot God he could do nothing^" And he was not to be driven by the frowns and threats of the Pharisees from reiterating his simple and conclusive argument. But these deep impres- sions appear to have been produced only on a few individuals. The Pharisees, in general, hardened their hearts against the miracles of Jesus : " We know," said they, " that this man is a sinner^." And again, " He casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils^" And no sooner was that fallacy exposed, than they changed their ground, and demanded of him a sign ^-om heaven; as if the wonders which he wrought on earth were not sufficient, unless the heavens should give their testimony. Such were the pretexts for unbelief to which the Pharisees had recourse. As to the multitude, when Jesus fed them with bread in the wilderness, they were ready enough to cry, " This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world." And no wonder ; for had they beheld that miracle with indifference, had they held their peace, surely the very stones would have cried out". But when he offered to that same multitude the bread of life, when he gave ' John ix. 33. - John ix. 24. ' Luke xi. 15. * Luke xix. 40. 34 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. them a morsel of doctrine, a hard saying or two, they melted away from his presence, and followed him no more^ When he raised Lazarus from the grave, they again gathered about him, and shouted hosannas. But when he proceeded to take advantage of this feeling in his favour, and to engraft upon it a know- ledge of the truth, how were his words re- ceived ? We learn from his apostle St John, that at this period, at the very close of his ministry, "Though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him^." The hosannas were heard no more; and before many days were passed, "Away with him, away with him," was the popular cry. But why should we dwell on the incon- stancy of the people? when even his most favoured disciples, who had seen all his mira- cles, and to whom, on more than one occasion, a sign from heaven was actually given, even they demanded something more, and on the last evening of his life exclaimed, " Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us^." And that night, before the cock crew, when the time of temptation came, they were offended because of him, and " fell away*." We conclude, therefore, that so long as * John vi. 14, 26, 66. ' John xii. 37- ^ John xiv. 8. * Luke viii. 13. 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 35 the Christian Dispensation rested principally on the evidence of miracles, as it did during the ministry of our Lord, it produced no per- manent or deep impression on the minds of men. The strongest possible evidence, ad- dressed to the sense, was not sufficient to con- vert the heart. It is easy now to descant on the incredulity of those men ; to blame their fickleness, their wilful blindness, their base ingratitude ; but is it certain that we, in their case, should not have been equally ungrate- ful, perverse, inconstant, and incredulous? are we sure that even a sign from heaven would have converted us ? We turn, however, to the events which took place when the ministry of our Lord upon earth was at an end, and he had re- turned to that place "where he was before." By the miraculous descent of fiery tongues the Apostles were endued with power from on high ; their own faith was confirmed, and they were enabled to gain a hearing for the doctrine which they were commissioned to publish. Thus being strengthened both in- wardly and outwardly, they preached boldly and with success. The Church of Christ traces its origin from the miracles of Pente- cost; and the large accessions which it re- ceived in the first stage of its history, may 3—2 36 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect.II. be attributed in a great measure to the mighty works which the Apostles wrought with their own hands, combined with the testimony which they gave of their Master's chief and crowning miracle, his Resurrection from the dead. Of this they all were witnesses ; and they gave their testimony, as we are told, with great power', that is, with persuasive effect. We have no very minute or circumstantial account of the manner in which the Apostles conducted their ministry. We learn, however, that not at Jerusalem only, but at many other places, they proved their divine mission by the exhibition of miracles : and the miracu- lous powers which they exercised, they com- municated to some of their disciples, as for example to St Stephen and his colleagues^ to Cornelius^, to the twelve disciples at Ephe- sus^, and to the daughters of Philip at Cae- sarea^. They spoke of their Lord and Master as of one "approved of God," demonstrated to be from God, " by miracles and wonders and signs"." But it does not appear that they arrayed all his miracles in order, or that they dwelt on any one of them particularly, except on the last and greatest of all, which was in itself a sufficient proof of his divinity, while ' Acts iv. 33. ^ Acts vi. 8; viii. (5. ' Acts x. 46. * Acts xix. 6. * Acts xxi. 9. * Acts ii. 22. 1850] UPON THE JEWS. ^7 it attested the doctrine which they taught, the general Resurrection of the dead^ They did not fail also, as we shall see on another occasion, to adduce the evidence of prophecy, as well as that which was furnished by the divine beauty and excellence of their doctrine. They shewed by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christy They laboured to prove that the Gospel is " the power of God unto salva- tion^/' These points we may consider here- after. But the fact to which we now confine our attention is this, that the miracles which the Apostles wrought had great effect in pre- paring the minds of men to receive the Gos- pel. Thus the promise of our Lord was lite- rally fulfilled: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also ; and greater works than these shall he do." Yes, greater works did they than their Master; for he indeed gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf; he restored the dead to life : but his doctrine was not fully received by any class of his hearers, not by the Phari- sees, not by the people, nor even — before his death — by his most favoured disciples, who had been with him from the beginning. After his departure from the world, when he had sent to those disciples the aid of the promised » Acts iv. 2. * Acts xviii. 28. ' Rom. i. 16. 38 THE CONTINUANCE [Lect. II. Comforter, they were endued with power : they wrought miracles, by means of which they were enabled to shed light into the hearts of men, and to raise up those who were dead in trespasses and sins to a new and spiritual life. So that the humblest of their disciples, he who was least in the kingdom of God, was in one sense greater, had a livelier and more enlightened faith, not merely than "many prophets and kings" of the Old Tes- tament, not merely than John the Baptist, though he was "more than a prophet;" but even than Peter and James and John, such as those disciples were before the Crucifixion of their Lord. The Apostolic miracles were *• greater " than those of Christ, not indeed in themselves, but in their consequences. For they gave birth to no momentary feeling of amazement, to no transient burst of enthu- siasm, but to a faith which was destined to go round the world, and to endure throughout all generations. But the time arrived, when either in the course of nature, or by the hand of persecu- tion, all these inspired teachers were removed, and the community which they had planted was left alone in the world. And yet it was not alone ; for Christ and his Holy Spirit were 1850.] OF MIRACULOUS POWERS. 39 with it always : and before his witnesses de- parted to their rest, they committed to writing an imperishable memorial, an inspired record of his life and doctrine. We could well be- lieve that these assistances would be sufficient for the Church in every time of need, and that without any additional aid she might have passed safely through the fiery trial which awaited her. Not the necessities of her position, but the abundance of God's mercy, must account for whatever miraculous interpositions were subsequently vouchsafed to her. It is well known that the continuance of supernatural powers in the Church is asserted by nearly all the ancient fathers ; not indeed by those who lived nearest to the Apostolic age ; for their scanty remains throw little light on this subject; but by a great number of independent writers, widely separated from each other both in time and place ; by Justin Martyr and Tatian at Rome, by Theophilus of Antioch, by Irenseus in Gaul, by Tertul- lian and Cyprian and Arnobius in Africa, by Origen in Egypt. They repeatedly speak of demons exorcised in the name of Christ, of visions seen, of diseases healed, and even of the dead restored to life. Though they do not pretend to the possession of such powers them- 40 THE CO^^TINUANCE [Lect, 11. selves, they sometimes declare that they had witnessed the marvels of which they speak. " These statements are made by them," as it has been well observed, "not among- them- selves only, but to their professed, avowed enemies ; not in their private writings only, but iii their public apologies. These things are asserted by them before the Roman magis- trates, not only the inferior judges and go- vernors of provinces, but before the emperors themselves, and the Roman senate. They not only speak of these things as what they had seen done themselves, but they tell their ene- mies that they had been very frequently per- formed also in their presence. They proceed yet further, and desire that an experiment may be made, they call aloud for an open trial, and offer willingly to die, if this mira- culous power be not manifestly shewn. These are men, not only of eminence in the Church, but they had been so, many of them, among the heathen ; they had been philosophers, lawyers, orators, or pleaders, and distin- guished as such ; were wonderfully skilled in all the heathen learning; understood in the grccttest perfection the heathen theogony and mythology, as well as philosopliy. Few of them were brought up as Christians. Far the most of them became such in their riper 1850.] OF MIRACULOUS POWERS. 41 years^" All these circinnstaiices serve to give weight to their testimony, aiid entitle it to our respectful consideration. In one in- stance where a miracle was alleged, there may have been a mistake, in another an ex- aggeration, in a third an imposture. And unquestionably no single case is attested by the same amount of evidence by which the Scripture miracles are substantiated. The age was a credulous one, at least in some respects : and a marvellous story would by willing hearers be readily received upon insufficient grounds. But still, if we are to discredit the whole mass of testimony to which I have alluded, if we are to treat those allegations of miraculous powers as entirely fabulous, we have only one alternative; we must suppose that there existed in the Christian community an extensive system of imposition, which we would not without strong reason attribute to any age of the Church, and which there is no reason for imputing to the age about which we are now concerned. Granting, however, that the miracles in question have a claim to be considered ge- nuine, they have evidently not been handed down to us in such a form that we can dwell on them profitably in meditation, or insist on * Biscoe, On the Acts, p. 304; ed. 1840. 42 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. them strongly in argument, as a branch of the evidences. They are presented to us in a dim and undefined shape, so as not to inter- cept or divert our view from the cardinal miracles, if we may so term them, displayed by our blessed Lord and his Apostles. And even in the times of which we speak, there is no good proof that any large additions were made to the Church by the agency of mira- cles. The vision, the cure, the exorcism, were seldom if ever exhibited in public, and at the utmost led only to the conversion of a few individuals. And there was a reason why this should be so. For in that age of the world it was popularly believed, that a controul might be obtained over the powers of nature, and miracles might be wrought, by what in Scrip- ture are called " curious arts^" that is to say, by sorcery and magic ; and in every part of the empire there were strollers, of various nations, such as the "vagabond Jews at Ephesus," who deceived the people by their lying wonders. Thus it has ever been, in all ages of the world. The truth of God has no sooner been announced by his messengers, than it has been opposed by counterfeits, the invention of the Father of lies. Moses had to contend ' Acts xix. 19. 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 43 with the magicians of Egypt. There were false prophets and diviners in the days of Elijah, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and MicahS So also it was, in a remarkable degree, during the first ages of the Gospel. Our holy religion was accompanied in its progress by a troop of mockeries and delusions. St Peter was pre- ceded in Samaria by Simon Magus. St Paul at Cyprus encountered Bar- Jesus the sorcerer. Ephesus was renowned for enchantments, which were, however, destined only to be a foil to the divine virtue residing in the Apostle. Alexander strove with his sorceries, but strove in vain, to supplant the faith in Pontus. Even Athens and Rome beheld with admiration the refined and subtle tricks of Apollonius^. The Christian miracles were readily confounded, by the careless and wilful observer, with these impostures ; and while all were considered to be in some sense supernatural, none were allowed to be pre-eminently divine. When therefore the apologist appealed to the won- ders which were daily wrought in the name of Jesus, his heathen opponent did not take exception to those wonders, as being ill-attest- ed, improbable, or spurious ; but he proceeded ' 1 Kings xxii. 12. Isai. xxx. 10. Jer. v. 31. Mic. v. 5. '^ See the lives of Alexander of Abonoteichus and Apollo- nius of Tyana, by Lucian and Philostratus. 44 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. to make them void and of none effect, by ascribing them to the arts of magic. " He cast- eth out devils through Beelzebub ;" this was the cry of the Pharisees : " The Christians seem to prevail by the enchantments of de- mons," was still the explanation of Celsus and Porphyry. Among such a people it was not likely that many mighty works \yould be shewn forth ; partly because of their credulity, and partly because of their unbelief. Ac- cepting whatever professed to be supernatural, they were incapable of discerning that which alone was divine. Even if miracles were of frequent occurrence, it is not likely that in such an age they would tend greatly to the spread of Christianity: and we have no reason to think that they did. The conversion of some few individuals may perhaps have been due to this cause. But there is no well-au- thenticated instance, subsequent to the Apos- tolic age, of any large addition made to the fold of Christ by the intervention of miracles. We may well therefore doubt whether the ancient Church possessed in this respect any great advantage over ourselves. Again, with regard to the miracles of Christ and his Apostles, we find the ancient apolo- gists occasionally insisting on them, as an evidence of the truth of the Gospel, but fre- 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 45 qiiently also waiving this argument, as if they did not expect it to have the same eftect upon otiiers which it had upon themselves. They declare that to their own minds it was entirely conclusive'. The mighty works of Jesus were to them a proof that he was no other than the Christ, the Son of God. But they anticipated that those works, like the miracles of their own time, would be referred by the heathen to the agency of sorcery and magic. And therefore they do not put forward the miracles, as has been done in later times, to bear the main brunt of the conflict ; but having briefly noticed them, they leave them as it were in the background, and proceed to bring for- ward other arguments, not more forcible, but more likely, in their opinion, to convince the persons whom they addressed^. Upon this branch of the evidences, there- fore, it would appear that the preacher of the Gospel at the present time has no disadvan- tage, when compared with his predecessors of the early Church. In arguing from mira- cles, he is met by objections of a different kind from those which were formerly ad- vanced. The attack has been shifted to an- ' Origen contr. Cels. it. 48. The argument from miracles is strongly urged by Eusebius, Demonstr. Evang. iii. p. ] 09, &c. * See Lecture III. 46 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. Other ground, but is scarcely more formidable than it was before. He may now insist on the wonderful works of Christ and his Apo- stles, without any fear of their being attributed to magic. It is admitted that if the miracles really occurred, he who wrought them must have had his power from God. It is not sought now to depreciate the miracles, sup- posing them to be true, but to disparage the testimony by which they are authenticated. This attempt has been made in various ways ; for error is manifold, its name is Legion : and when men have made up their minds to dis- believe, any hypothesis will serve their pur- pose. But no hypothesis has yet been framed, which does not involve such monstrous absurd- ities, and such insuperable difficulties, as to make the acceptance of the Gospel appear, in comparison, an easy, and indeed a neces- sary alternative. Every new hypothesis, when it has been tried and found untenable, becomes a further confirmation of the truth ; and as the devils were forced to cry out and bear witness unto Christ, so we may claim the attacks of Celsus, of Hegel, and of Strauss, as unwilling testimonies to the truth of that Reli- gion which they have unsuccessfully assailed. But we must not forget, that besides en- 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 47 countering the avowed sceptic, we have to preach to the heathen. And here it is to be confessed, that when we carry the light of the Gospel into those lands which still sit in darkness and superstition, we cannot produce such miraculous credentials of our mission as the early teachers were enabled to exhibit. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit have been withdrawn ; but have we nothing to shew instead, — no other proofs, less instanta- neous indeed, but not less permanent in their effects ? I speak not now of the wonders of art and civilization, which the Christian bears with him to distant climes, and by means of which he may gain at once the attention and respect of the heathen, and dispose them to receive favourably the doctrines which he teaches. But is it not in his power still to display an irresistible evidence of his Religion, not the extraordinary gifts, but the ordinary and accustomed fruit of the Spirit, which is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance^ ? " Will not the exhibition of these virtues avail, in the long run, to overthrow the strongholds of Satan, and to establish the Kingdom of Christ? Has it not done so in time past? will it not do so in the time to come? We * Gal. V. 22. 48 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES [Lect. II. cannot now enter on this important subject. I will only appeal to the testimony of an ancient Father, who was in his day a great promoter of missions. I quote the words of St Chrysostom, not because they are his words, but because they are full of sense and wisdom, conveying an encouragement and a warning to our age, as well as to his own. In concluding one of his Homilies^ he says: ^ Chrysostom, Homil. in Joannem. lxxii. (al. lxxi.) ad Jin. I subjoin the orioinal, of which the passage in the text is rather a paraphrase than a translation : Ka\ "E\\r]va<: ce oJ;i^ ovTm<; e-TrajeTai (ytjfxeia, wc /J/o? • /3ioi/ Ze ovZev outu>vu)v. AfXt]v. H. H. L. 4 60 THE EFFECT OF THE MIRACLES, ETC. [Lect. H. they continue to wander from the truth, we are to blame. For they have ah'eady con- demned their own superstitions ; they admire the principles which we profess, but by our lives they are deterred from embracing them. It is an easy thing to speak the language of wisdom ; many among themselves have done this ; but they demand of us a further sign, an experimental proof of our doctrine. ' Shew us,' say they, ' your faith by your works.' And this we cannot do. When, therefore, they see us tearing each other in pieces, after the manner of wild beasts, they denounce us as the plague of the universe. These things hold back the heathen, and suffer them not to come over to us. So that we are responsible not only for our evil deeds, but for giving occasion that the name of God should be blasphemed. ... Wherefore, I am afraid, that some dreadful thing will happen to us, and that we shall draw down upon our- selves the heavy wrath of God. That this may not come to pass, let us apply ourselves to all virtue : so shall we obtain those good things, which are prepared for us by the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ ; through whom and with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and for evermore. Amen." LECTURE III, THE EFFECT PRODUCED UPON JEWS AND GENTILES BY THE EVIDENCE OF PROPHECY. ROMANS XVI. 25, 26. The revelation of the mysterrj^ ivhich ivas kept secret since the world began, hut now is made tnanifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. ^HESE words direct our attention forcibly -*- to the Hebrew prophecies, and teach us to regard them as among the principal instru- ments placed in our hands by God, for the conversion of the heathen world to the Chris- tian faith. We might not, perhaps, have expected that the Apostle would place them in quite so strong a light. Addressed in the first instance exclusively to the Jewish people, written in their language, interwoven with their history, coloured in some degree by their national customs and habits of thought, the prophecies might seem peculiarly calcu- lated to persuade the Jews, but not so likely to affect the minds of mankind in general. The Apostle, however, declares that the mys- tery was made known not to the Jews merely, but to all nations, by the Scriptures of the prophets ; not of course meaning that this was 4—2 52 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. IH. the only channel by which such knowledge was conveyed, but certainly implying that this was second in importance to none other. We are now about to observe, as closely as the nature of the case will permit, the use which was made of the evidence of prophecy, and the effect which it produced, in the first ages of the Gospel. It will, I think, appear as we proceed, that the words of my text were not written unadvisedly ; that they are true in the largest sense, and require no qualification ; and that while the prophecies were generally slighted by the nation to which they were first published, they were urged with great effect by the early promulgators of the Gospel in heathen lands. The prophets were not with- out honour, save in their own country. I observed in my last Lecture, that our blessed Lord, in proof of his divine mission, appealed chiefly to the evidence afforded by his miracles. " The works which I do, these bear witness of me ;" such was the declara- tion which he repeated again and again, not only to the multitude and the Pharisees, but also to his own disciples. He relied but little on the argument from prophecy. Not indeed that he omitted it altogether ; he affirmed that if the Scriptures, which the Pharisees re- garded with so much complacency, were duly 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 53 searched, they would be found to testify of him. And he not only spoke in this general way, but he sometimes intimated that certain events were about to happen to him, in fulfil- ment of prophecy. "Behold," he said, "we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished ^" And again, "The Son of man goeth as it is written of him; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed^." But we are told by the Evangelist, that " they understood none of these things^." It does not ap- pear that he quoted the prophecies at large ; he did no more than allude to them : and his allusions were among those dark say- ings of his, which as yet he did not ex- plain, and they could not interpret ; serving more for the trial than for the confirmation of their faith. It would be presumptuous to assign positively the reason, which induced our Lord to rely on one kind of evidence, rather than on another ; but we can very well understand, that had he developed the argu- ment from prophecy, it would not have been conclusive, while an important class of pre- dictions, those namely which related to his sufferings and death, were not yet fulfilled. 1 Luke xvlii. 31. ' Matt. xxvi. 24. ' Luke xviii. 34. 54; THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. As an example of the manner in which men sometimes pervert the Gospel history to suit their own futile imaginations, it is worthy of notice, that the reserve maintained by our Lord with respect to this branch of evidence, was by certain heretics in the fifth century made a ground for discarding it altogether. *' He did not appeal to the prophets," they said, "and why should we? Sufficient for us is the testimony which he gave concerning him- self; why need we any further witness ?" As if men could afford to dispense with any por- tion of that knowledge which God has revealed to them. But they were fully answered by the observation, that if they gave any credence at all, as they professed to do, to the Apostles of our Lord, they must accept the prophetic Scriptures to which those Apostles so largely refers But if before his death our Lord was com- paratively silent on the subject of prophecy, his conduct in this respect appears to have undergone a change after his Resurrection. The great mystery of prophecy had now been accomplished. The volume of the book was unrolled, and he who ran might read it. Ac- cordingly, on the very day that he rose from the dead, he explained^ it to two of his disci- * S. Auj^ustin. ad Faust, xiii. 2. ' Luke xxiv. 25, &c. I860.] UPON THE JEWS. 55 pies, while they were on the way to Emmaus. He upbraided them as " fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." And then, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." And the same evening he appeared to the eleven, and '* opened their under- standing, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." Thus he not only referred them to prophecy^ but he took away *' the veil " which was on their hearts, he opened their understanding, that they might see the wondrous things con- tained in the word of God. The Apostles, in their teaching, were not backward to use the argument which had been suggested to them by their divine Master. St Peter, in his very first speech, boldly declared that the effusion of the holy Spirit was in fulfilment of " that which was spoken by the prophet Joel^" And he directed them to see in one of the psalms of David, an intima- tion of the Resurrection of Christ. In his second address, he said that " those things * Acts ii. !(). 56 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer," had now come to pass. He reminded his hearers of the prediction of Moses, " A pro- phet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me." He declared that " all the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days^" This argument, when followed out, as we may be sure it was, through all the Scriptures of the Old Testament, must have contributed greatly to swell the numbers and confirm the faith of the infant Church. The only wonder is, when we consider the matter, that any men, being Jews, were able to resist such evidence. For we must remember, that it was no new thing to them to hear the predictions of the prophets referred to the Messiah and his times. We are assured, that almost every passage of the Old Testament which the Apostles applied to Jesus, was already re- garded by the Jews as prophetic of the Messiah. Thus we learn from the Gospel history, that in answer to the question where Christ should be born, the scribes said, " In Bethlehem of Judaea," quoting as their au- ' Acts iii. 18—25. 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 57 thority the words of the prophet Micah^ They also expected that Elias would first appear 2, and that there would be something mysterious in the birth of the Messiah ; "when Christ Cometh, we know not whence he is^" They neither inquired nor wished to learn, whether or not these expectations had been fulfilled in Jesus. But leaving the page of inspiration, we turn to another authority, which for our present purpose is equally conclusive, namely, to the rabbinical books, composed either before the coming of Christ, or within two centuries after that event. From this source of infor- mation, which certainly cannot be suspected of any misrepYeser\tation& Javotirable to Chris- tianity, we find that almost every passage of the Old Testament which the Apostles apply to Jesus, was by the Jews themselves referred to the Messiah'*. The 2nd psalm, which begins, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" The 8th, " What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" &c. ' Matth. ii. 5. ^ Matth. xvil. 10. ' John vii. 27. * For an elaborate proof of this statement, see the interest- ing and learned work of the present Dean of Canterbury (Dr Lyall) entitled Propa'dia Prophetica, p. 101. 58 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect HI. The 16th, '*Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell," &c. The 22nd, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" &c. The 40th, "Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not," &c. The 45th, " My heart is inditing of a good matter," &c. The 68th, "Thou art gone up on high," &c. The noth, "The Lord said unto my Lord," &c. The 118th, " The stone which the builders refused," &c. The 9th chapter of Isaiah, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," &c. (though this does not appear to be quoted in the New Testament^) ; The 28th chapter, " Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone," &c. The 40th, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," &c. The whole of the 53rd chapter, " He is despised and rejected of men," &c. ' This passage is not in the LXX. Mr Grinfield sup- poses, with some probability, that this is the reason why it was not qiioted by the Apostles. {Apology for the LXX., p. 71.) 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 59 The 60th, " Arise, shine, for thy light is come," &c. The 61st, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me," &c. The prophecy of Daniel respecting the 70 weeks, and the threescore and two weeks, when the Messiah was to be " cut off, but not for himself S" &c. The declaration of Haggai, that the glory of the latter temple should exceed that of the former^ ; All these passages, and many besides, all these notes of time and place and cir- cumstance, these traits of character, these predictions of suffering and triumph, of humiliation and glory, were to have their fulfilment, as the ancient Jews themselves expected, in the promised Messiah. Yet, strange to say, when the Apostles cited all these passages, and shewed how one was fidfilled in the place, and another in the time of their Master's birth, a third in his miracles, a fourth in his sufferings, a fifth in his resur- rection, a sixth in his ascension ; when they went on in this way through the whole chain of prophecy, and shewed that each portion had its counterpart in the history of Jesus, and when they confirmed their testimony by ^ Dan. ix. 24. ' Haggai ii. T, 9. 60 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. the signs and wonders which they wrought, they produced little or no impression on that class which was most learned in the law and tlie prophets, namely, the scribes and Phari- sees, and scarcely more upon the nation at large, anxiously as they were at that time ex- pecting the advent of the Messiah. The Jews were unable to receive the spiritual interpretation of prophecy. They were fully persuaded, that in the Messiah they were to have a Deliverer, who should restore their temporal prosperity, and the glory of their theocracy ; that he was to be a prophet like unto Moses, and a king to sit on the throne of his Father David, in a literal sense. These expectations not all the argu- ments and mighty works of the Apostles could induce them to forego. In vain they were directed to compare the predictions of the prophets with the history of Christ. In vain they were assured, that the Mosaic eco- nomy was not made void, but fulfilled by the new dispensation ; that it was not merely attended with prophecies, but was itself a prophecy, a great prophetic system, consist- ing of types and symbols, the shadows of good things to come. For a moment they shewed signs of relenting : and when the Apostles commenced their ministry, a considerable 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 61 number became obedient to the faith. But the mass was unmoved ; or if they were moved, it was with a transient agitation, like that which, after an angel's visit, troubled the stag- nant waters of Bethesda^ When they saw that the doctrine of Christ tended to supersede the ceremonial law, and to place the Gentiles on the same level with themselves; when St Stephen uttered what they considered " blas- phemous words against Moses and against God^;" when StPeter began to plant the Church among the heathen; the stiff-necked people fell back into their ancient obstinacy. They " stoned Stephen," and would gladly have slain St Peter and St Paul. The Jews at An- tioch, upon hearing St Paul's exposition of the prophecies, " were filled with envy, and spake against those things" which he had spoken, "contradicting and blaspheming^" At Corinth in like manner they opposed and blasphemed*. At Rome, when the same Apostle had " per- suaded them both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening," they agreed not among themselves, and departed ; St Paul repeating to them, as they left his presence, yet another prophecy, an awful warning out of the book of Isaiah, which their wilful blindness and stubborn ^ John V. 4. ^ Acts vi. 1 1. ' Acts xiii. 45. * Acts xviii. 6. 62 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. IH. unbelief had now fulfilled. And he added these words, "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto tlie Gentiles, and that they will hear it^" The longsutfering of God was at last ex- hausted ; the day of vengeance arrived ; and it was their own infatuation which hastened the catastrophe. For it is recorded by the historian, that the expectation of an universal king, who was to go forth from Palestine, encouraged the Jewish people to enter upon that desperate struggle, which ended in the total desolation of their city and temple 2. The hope which they had cherished so long, and the fulfilment of which, plainly set before their eyes, they had refused to see, was now finally extinguished. They were destroyed, and they could not say that their destruction had come upon them unawares. It had been foretold by one who sought to deliver them, and they would not hear him. Now, at least, he was proved to be a true j^rophet ; what he foretold was actually accomplished. Their ^ Acts xxviii. 28. ^ Josephus {de Bell. Jud. in. 28) says tliat tlie chief thing wliich excited tlie Jews to tlieir last and fatal war with the Romans was the ambiguous prophecy (;^/3>;(T/io? ctfx(plj3o\ov) which promised that one of their countrymen should become ruler of the world. lie himself told Vespasian that this pro- phecy applied to him. 1850.] UPON THE JEWS. 63 city was in ruins ; their house was left unto them desolate. What then? Did they at length turn and look on him whom they had pierced ? Were the eyes opened which had been so obstinately closed, and the ears which had been so dull of hearing? No ; they were not even now convinced. And therefore their descendants wander upon the face of the earth to this day, a bye-word among the nations, and a testimony, in spite of themselves, that the Gospel is the word of God. Unhappy people, once singled out as the objects of God's especial favour, now joyless and un- visited, when a blessing is on all the rest of the world ! As it was with the fleece of Gideon, upon which at first the dew fell, when it was dry upon all the earth beside ; but afterwards " it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground^ :" so it has been with the people of Israel. May God permit the dew of his blessing to descend upon them yet again, as it fell at the begin- ning, and still more abundantly ! ' Turn them again, thou Lord of Hosts, shew the light of thy countenance, and they shall be whole^.' But we must proceed with our inquiry as to the eff'ect produced upon mankind by the * Judges vi. 37. * Psalm Ixxx. 3. 64 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. evidence of prophecy at the first promulgation of the Gospel. We have seen how little in- fluence it had upon the Jews ; as a nation they hardened their hearts against it, and resisted it to their final ruin. St Paul, finding that his efforts to persuade his own countrymen were ineffectual, said, " Your blood be upon your own heads ; I am clean : from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles \" Let us also now turn to the Gentiles, and see Avhether they were more amenable to the particular argument of which we are treating. We might perhaps suppose that if the Christian inter- pretation of prophecy was rejected by the Jews, it was little likely to find favour with any other people. By the Jews, the chain of prophecy might have been regarded as a connecting tie between the old and new dispensation, making the transition from one to the other appear only a further stage in the same system, and not a change to one entirely different. But among the Gentiles, Christianity was altogether aggressive. It sought to displace every existing system of religion, denouncing them all as idolatries and superstitions ; and the prophecies, so far from recommending it to general attention by con- necting it with any old Pagan memories and ' Acts xviii. 6, I860.] UPON THE GENTILES. 65 traditions, rather served to raise a prejudice against it, by binding it up with the his- tory of an obscure, a turbulent and a despised people. Knowing that the Jews were greatly dis- liked by the Gentiles, we might have thought that Christianity would have fared better in that age of the world, if it had disclaimed, as much as possible, all connexion with Judaism. But the progress of the Gospel was not ac- cording to human expectation ; and though the prophets were not accepted in their own country, their voices were listened to with respect and attention in strange and distant lands. We cannot collect any thing with cer- tainty on this point from the writings of the Apostles, because their Epistles are addressed to communities or individuals already in- structed in the faith, and do not set out in order the arguments proper to be used with the heathen. The same remark applies to the Epistles of the venerable Christian fathers, who followed immediately after the Apostles. But in every one of those treatises, which were compiled in the second and third centuries, for the express purpose of converting the heathen, we find the argument from prophecy occupying a most conspicuous place. Thus the writer of one of those ancient apologies 66 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. forbears to dwell on the miracles of Christ', lest the objection should be made that they were the effect, not of divine power, but of magic ; an objection which, as we saw in my last Lecture, was actually raised. On this ac- count he waves the evidence of miracles, and, proceeding to that of prophecy, dwells at great length on the various passages of the Old Testament, in which the history of Christ, the doctrines which he taught, and the success of his preaching, are foreshewn. In another very powerful and elaborate defence of Chris- tianity 2, the prophecies are declared to be *' the most important head of the evidences," "the most convincing demonstration" of the truth of the Gospel. Another writer^ says, " We do not believe Christ to be God, merely because he performed miracles ; but because we have seen all things fulfilled in him which the prophets foretold. He did miracles, it is ' Justin Martyr. Apol. i. § 30. Origen, Contr. Cels. l. II. : to fxeyia-rov -rmv irepi rf}^ (Ti/o-Tacrew? tov ^Itjaov Ke(pa\aiou, And again : la-yvpoTaTt]!' d-TTolei^iv. See Dean Lyall's Fropeed. Prophet, p. 84. * Lactantius, Div. Inst. v. 3. Disco igitur, non solum id- circo a nobis Deum creditum Christum, quia mirabilia fecit, sed quia vidimus in eo facta esse omnia, quae nobis annuntiata sunt vaticinio proplietarum. Fecit mirabilia : magum putas- scmus, ut ot vos nunc putatis, et Judtci tunc putaverunt, si non ilia ipsa facturum Christum propheta? omnes uno spiritu pra?dicassent. 1850.J UPON THE GENTILES, 67 . true ; and we should have supposed him to have been a magician, as you now think, and as the Jews formerly thought, if all the pro- phets had not with one consent predicted that he would do these very things." More- over, several^ of these writers profess that they had themselves been converted from Paganism mainly by the study of the Scriptures of the Old Testament. And when the heretics, to whom I have alluded above, proposed to carry on their teaching without the aid of the pro- phecies, they were met by St Augustine ^ with the argument from experience. "It is mad- ness," said he, " to treat theHebrew prophecies as an evidence not fit to be addressed to the heathen, when we see that all the heathen nations have by those prophecies been brought to believe in Christ." It was therefore no unmeaning or idle phrase of St Paul, which I have taken for my text, that the Revela- tion of the mystery is "by the Scriptures of the prophets made known to all nations, for the obedience of faith." ^ e.g. Tatian, Tlieophilus. ^ Contr. Faust, xiii. 2: Dicere non esse aptam gentibus Hebrteam prophetiam, ut credant in Christum, cum videat omnes gentes per Hebrjeam prophetiam credere in. Christum, ridicula insania est. In later times the importance of prophecy, as a branch of the evidences, has been maintained, against Grotius, by Huet. Demonstr. Evang. Propos. \n. 5. 5—2 68 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. Having regard then to the ancient autho- rities, we shall hesitate to agree with those divines^ of modern times, who have classed the prophecies among the "auxiliary" or "secondary" proofs of our holy religion, as if they were inferior in importance to the proof from miracles. We shall rather esteem these two kinds of evidence co-ordinate in rank and importance, believing that they greatly strengthen each other, and that when viewed apart, neither of them can be seen in its j ust proportions. It has been shewn that in those early times the prophecies were allowed to take the lead in the argument. What there was in the character of that age which might render the miracles a less conclusive kind of evidence than they are at present, I endea- voured on a former^ occasion to point out. I shall now proceed to inquire whether there were any circumstances peculiar to the same period, which might lend especial weight to the argument from prophecy. I. In the first place, then, I would remind you, that prophetic knowledge M^as supposed by the heathen to be a higher gift than the power of working what we call miracles : it was thought to be derived from a superior ' e.g. Paley, Evidences, Part II. cb. i. See Lecture II. 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 69 Deity. Possibly the knowledge of the future was considered to imply a control over the future ; and a control over a future event, implied a control over the whole intermediate chain of causes and effects; whereas a miracle involved only a momentary disturbance of the usual course of nature. But whether the an- cient mythology was founded on this or any other sort of reasoning, certain it is, that many of the inferior gods were believed to interfere with the order of nature, according to their own unfettered caprice, by a power originating in themselves ; but the Deity who presided over the oracles, exalted as he was in their estimation, was only an instrument in the hands of the supreme God, and was styled by one of their ancient and most religious poets, " the prophet of his Father^" Hence it would follow, that a single clear instance of a prophecy, which had been fulfilled, would weigh more with the men of that age than a series of miracles ; since the latter might be referred to inferior demons, but the former was ascribed only to the chief deity of Olym- pus. And when a religion was placed before them, professing to be founded both on pro- phecies and miracles, the prophetic part of the evidence would produce the stronger im- ^ ^Sch. Eumen. 19. Aio? •7rpo(pt]Tr]<; 3' eo-rl Ao^ia<; Trarpm, 70 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. pression on their minds. Accordingly we find that the opponents of Christianity ventured to attribute the miracles to magic ; and in so doing, they carried with them the opinion of the vulgar ; but they had no explanation to give of the prophecies, and are accused by Origen of slurring them over in silence — like other controversialists, who contend for vic- tory rather than for truth, and take notice only of those arguments which they consider themselves able to refute. II. Again, we must remember, that the heathen had the very best means of ascer- taining for themselves, whether the prophecies to which the Christians made appeal, were genuine, or not. For those prophecies were carried about through every province and city of the empire, and were regarded with the highest veneration, by large numbers of persons, who were independent of the Chris- tians, and even totally opposed to them, I mean the Jews. The dispersion of the Jews throughout the world did not commence, as you well know, from the final destruction of their city by the Roman emperor. It had been going on for centuries; ever since the time of the Babylonish captivity ; and it must be enumerated among the dispositions made by the divine Providence, with the view 1S50.] UPON THE GENTILES. 71 of preparing the Gentiles for the reception of the Gospel. The number of Jews in Egypt was computed, soon after the Christian era, to be not less than a million ; in Rome they occupied at the same period a very extensive quarter of the city. In the Eastern provinces they were asserted by a Roman proconsul to be almost as numerous as the indigenous in- habitants. And however much they were disliked, oppressed, and treated with con- tempt, they were by no means an obscure or uninfluential element in the population of the heathen cities. They not only compassed sea and land to make proselytes to their religion, but in many cases, as we know, they were successful, and that too among the highest and most intelligent classes of the community. The proofs of this are to be found, as I need not remind you, both in Scripture and in pro- fane authors. Those heathen proselytes had opportunities, long before the Gospel was preached to them, of hearing Moses and the prophets read in the synagogue every sab- bath-day. Passages were pointed out to them in those sacred books, which were considered to have reference to the future Messiah. In the course of time the synagogue was visited by teachers, who declared that the prophetic passages had been fulfilled in the life of 72 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. IH. Jesus ; and going through the Gospel history, about the facts of which there was no dispute, they shewed how each event tallied exactly with a prophecy. The intelligence might be scouted by the Jewish part of the congrega- tion ; for they had set their expectations on a temporal Messiah, a national deliverer, an earthly king. But the Gentile proselytes had no such prejudice to overcome. It was no objection in their minds, that Christ had come and gone, and left the kingdoms of the world unaltered. A revolution in secular affairs was not what the Gentiles desired. They had embraced the Jewish religion, because it was more pure and spiritual than their own : now something was offered them still more spi- ritual, still more pure. Why should they stop short where they were ? They had newly ac- cepted the Mosaic dispensation ; could they reject that which was its sequel and its con- summation? They could not, and they did not. I am here stating no imaginary case ; I am describing what appears to have actually taken place in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia ; where, after St Paul had treated at length of the argument from prophecy, the result of his preaching was this, that the Jews " spake against those things which were spoken 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 73 by him," but the Gentiles "were glad, and glorified the word of God^" And we cannot doubt, that the same process of reasoning and feeling operated upon the Gentiles in many other places. III. Moreover, there is some reason to think that when the Gospel was first propa- gated, the knowledge of the Hebrew pro- phecies was not confined to those Gentiles who were proselytes. A rumour of them, more or less distinct, would seem to have gone abroad among the people. Such at least was the opinion of a person not ill qualified to judge of the matter, namely, of the emperor Constantine. In the remarkable discourse^ which he addressed to his Christian subjects, on the anniversary of our Lord's crucifixion, he dwelt particularly on a celebrated com- position of the greatest of Latin poets, which certainly bears a striking resemblance, and as he considered, no accidental one, to the in- spired raptures of Isaiah. He quoted that work as a proof that the coming of the Messiah was anticipated among the heathen at the time when he actually appeared. He has been followed in that opinion by many of the learned and pious in later ages. The poem ^ Acts xiii. 45, 47. ° See Euseb. Constantin. Oral, ad Sanct. 18. 74 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. III. has been adopted into our language by the scarcely inferior genius of one of our own poets ; and who would wish to reject the evangelical interpretation which he has given it?— Hark, a glad voice the lonely desert cheers ; Prepare the way, a God, a God, appears. At least we can hardly resist the conclu- sion, that the ancient poet was acquainted with the letter, though he might be unable to enter into the spirit of the Hebrew prophecy. But whatever may be our judgment in this particular instance, we may say with confi- dence, that the heathen world were looking for a king who was to establish an universal empire, and that their expectations were, in process of time, directed towards Judaea, as the place from which he was to come forth. I need not remind you of the passages in pagan authors \ which bear witness to the existence of such a presentiment. And if it existed, it might well dispose the heathen to give greater heed both to the Hebrew pro- phecies, which so minutely prefigure the Messiah, and to the assertion of the Christians, that he had already been manifested. They were told, indeed, that the kingdom, the universal empire, which he came to esta- ^ Siieton. Vespas. 4 ; Tac. Hist. v. 13. 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 75 blish, was not of this world; but when the spiritual sense of the prophecies was placed before them, they received it without preju- dice. They were not yearning, like the Jews, for a temporal deliverer. They were led to see that it was an unearthly, a heavenly king- dom, which had been foretold by the prophet and founded by the Saviour. To them it was not difficult to believe that in that kingdom they should reign with Christ, and be invested with a citizenship far more enduring, and far more glorious than any which they could attain on earth. These considerations will, perhaps, enable us to understand, why the argument from prophecy was made so prominent by the early Christian apologists. For in the first place, it was more likely to have influence with the heathen than the appeal to miracles, inasmuch as it gave them to understand, that not any inferior demon, but the Supreme Deity himself had interposed in the affairs of men. Secondly, this argument was confirmed by the conduct of the Jews, the keepers of the Old Testament, who while they disputed the fulfilment of the prophecies, yet admitted their genuineness and inspiration. Lastly, the same argument fell in with certain antici- pations, which, from whatever causes, had 76 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. HI. already begun to prevail among the heathen, before the Gospel was preached to them. An eminent living divine^ has insisted strongly on the probability, that the heathen nations of antiquity were well acquainted with the Hebrew prophecies, and were by them prepared for the reception of the Gospel. According to his view, prophecy was the schoolmaster which brought the Gentiles unto Christ. Their previous knowledge of the pre- diction led them to recognise and welcome the fulfilment. And if we admit that they possessed such antecedent knowledge, we have less difficulty in accounting for what otherwise appears so extraordinary, their rapid conver- sion to Christianity. It follows, on the same hypothesis, that we ought not to wonder if the heathen at the present day are slow to receive the Gospel, seeing that they have no previous knowledge of the prophecies, and of course, no "earnest expectation" that those prophe- cies will be accomplished. We must now be at much pains to prove the genuineness, the antiquity, the signification of the Old Testa- ment. All this trouble, it is said, was saved to the early propagators of the Gospel, by the previous instruction which their hearers had received at the hands of the Jewish people, ^ Dcaii Lyall, Propwdia Prophetica, p. 325, &c. 1850.] UPON THE GENTILES. 77 who dwelt numerously in all the heathen cities. There may be some truth in these observations. The prophecies of the Old Tes- tament may have been made known to the heathen either through the Septuagint transla- tion, or in some other way, before Christ was preached to them : and if so, they were in that respect better prepared to accept the Christian Covenant, than are the heathen at the present day. We have seen reason to believe that the great Latin poet was ac- quainted, through whatever channel, with the phrases and imagery of the prophet Isaiah, if not with the subject and scope of his pre- dictions : and we have noticed rumours, how- ever vague and undefined, of an universal King expected from the East. There is evi- dence to shew, that at least some faint echo of the voices of the prophets had reached to the heathen ; and doubtless, even this was favourable to the Christian teacher. There may have been more than this ; but we are unable to say certainly that there was. If there was, the proof of it has not descended to our times. Neither the writings of the Apostles, nor the remains of Christian anti- quity, present us with any clear instance, where the messenger of Christ, addressing an exclusively heathen audience, appeals to the 78 THE EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES [Lect. UI. Hebrew prophecies, or assumes on the part of his hearers a knowledge of the Old Testa- ment. Upon the whole, then, it appears not im- probable that the heathen, from their pre- vailing habits of thought and superstition, were more accessible to the evidence of pro- phecy than to that of miracles. We may also conjecture, but cannot affirm positively, that they were predisposed in favour of the Gospel, by a knowledge, more or less accu- rate, of the Hebrew prophecies. And these considerations are sufficient to explain the great prominence which is given by the ancient Apologists to this branch of the evi- dences. There may be some truth in the remark, that mankind are not at the present day so disposed to receive the evidence of prophecy, as they were in the first age of the Gospel. But we must remember that the argument itself has not been impaired by the lapse of time. It is as strong now as it ever was. It has even gained in strength ; for the predic- tions of our Lord, which he spake concerning the fall of Jerusalem, and the universal diftu- sion of his Gospel, have been fulfilled. And it may be that there yet remains a great body 1850.J UPON THE GENTILES. 79 of prophecy, the accomplishment of which will give additional assurance to future gene- rations. The proof, however, which we have now been considering, is of itself amply sufficient, if only men are disposed to examine it fairly and with an earnest and simple desire to arrive at the truth. But how often is such a temper "the one thing needful," in minds which are otherwise richly gifted ! Let us not close our present meditations without a feeling of thankfulness, that we ourselves were early instructed and trained in the faith of Christ, not left to form our reli- gious convictions in riper years, from a compa- rison and combination of proofs and arguments however clear and however irresistible. We may take to ourselves the language which St Peter addressed to the Jews, when he de- scribed them as " the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers ^" Our attachment to the Gospel of Christ rests not primarily on those proofs which are addressed to the reason, but on those, which, while the reason was yet slum- bering, appealed to our conscience and touch- ed our heart. Of that evidence we have yet * Acts iii. 25. 80 EFFECT OF THE PROPHECIES, ETC. [Lect. HI. to treat ; without which the Christian teacher, whether in ancient or modern times, would have been but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. We have yet to speak of " a more excellent way^" And this we will do, if God be willing, on a future occasion. ' 1 Cor. xii. 31. LECTURE IV. THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. TITUS II. 11—14. For the grace of God that hringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, lue should live so- berly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap- pearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto him- self a peculiar people, zealous of good works. I HAVE spoken on former occasions of the miracles and the prophecies, which we may call the external evidences vouchsafed by God for the establishment of his Gospel : it now remains to inquire in what degree the inherent beauty, the moral excellence of Christianity, contributed to its success. There is no ques- tion among ourselves, that the doctrine of Christ is admirable, and his example alto- gether lovely. We readily accept the sum- mary of Evangelical morality, which is given by the Apostle in my text. We all admit that such perfect rules, and such high motives, were never propounded by any human teacher. And some of us, I would hope, have tested the 82 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. doctrine by their own experience ; and so have acquired that assurance of its divine origin which was promised by its Author; " My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." But what, if any, were the intrinsic recom- mendations of the Gospel in the sight of the heathen ? Was it repugnant to their customs, habits, prejudices, vices, and passions? We may well believe that it was. What then ; did it appeal to a higher tribunal ; did it approve itself to the consciences of men, to their in- most feelings, their deepest convictions and yearnings? In proposing this question, we enter upon an extensive field of inquiry, which it is impossible to traverse in all directions. We shall prescribe to ourselves such a course as may enable us to see the general bearings of the subject, without dwelling upon the par- ticular details. Of one thing we are certain at the outset, that there must have been in Christianity a living power, and that power congenial to the nature of man. Not all the miracles and prophecies would have availed to make it strike its root into the hearts of the heathen, and bring forth fruit, had it * John vii. 17. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 88 possessed no life in itself, and had it not also fallen upon a soil in some degree fitted for its reception. The lifeless and withered trunk may be planted with all solemnity, and ho- noured with a sounding name, but it remains lifeless and withered still. And the seed which has life in itself will fare little better, if it alight upon stony ground. But the word of the Lord "grew mightily, and prevailed." What then were the affinities which existed between the doctrine of Christ and the heart of man ? The Gospel, be it remembered, was first proclaimed in an age of high civilisation. The restless mind of the philosopher had endea- voured to explore, not merely the practical rules of morality, which were to guide men in their mutual intercourse, but the relation of man to a higher being, and the nature of that being. In default of anything which could be believed, or accounted certain, the world was teeming with theories and speculations. But to none of these did the Gospel ally itself, no, not for a moment. Had it done so, it would only have rendered the confusion worse con- founded, and Christ would have been the re- storer, not of Paradise, but of chaos. No ; he cancelled, on the one hand, the guesses of human reason, while, on the other, he swept 6—2 84 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. away the hypocrisies, the excuses, the cloaks for sin, which the vices and passions of man- kind had invented. Yet he did not leave him- self without a witness; he was able to appeal to certain deep instincts of our nature, which had long been stifled and neglected, but which could never be entirely extinguished. He struck the stony hearts of men, and forthwith there issued from them a fountain, which had been congealed, but never dried up. Men talked and acted as if this life were all in all. " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die ;" this was become the maxim of those times, a maxim not censured, but rather sanctioned, by the authority of the wise. Yet there was ever a voice in the soul, protesting against this doctrine, and whispering a hope — for which it could scarcely give a reason — that when the last to-morrow came, it would be the begin- ning, not of eternal night, but of eternal day. With this " testimony of the soul," as it was termed by a Christian ^ writer, the Gospel made common cause ; and the revelation, which it gave to man, was the more acceptable, inas- much as the human reason had lately done its utmost to throw a light across " the valley of the shadow of death," and had entirely failed 2. * See Tertull. De Testimonio Animce. - See Hulsean Lectures for 1849, Lecture III. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 85 But this was not the only point in which the Gospel coincided with the deeply-seated feelings of our nature. The discernment of moral good and evil, a predilection for the former, and an abhorrence of the latter, these great principles were disowned, disregarded, disobeyed : they consequently became torpid and irregular in their action ; but they did not on that account cease to exist. It was a doc- trine not altogether exploded from the schools, that virtue is the highest good, and that to live agreeably to our nature, we must live virtu- ously ; and a sentiment resembling this still retained a hold, even upon the hearts of those who had done every thing to discard it. To this sentiment the Gospel gave fresh strength and boldness; confirming it, not by an elabo- rate theory, not by a systematic code of pre- cepts, but by that which is far more touching than any code or theory, the force of example. It exhibited the perfection of human nature, the very pattern of all virtue ; and thus re- kindled the desire for whatever is just, and holy, and lovely, and pure, and true. But these moral perceptions are connected in the human breast with another class of feelings, with the conviction of sin, the sense of alienation from God, the desire to be recon- ciled to him. And these feelings are not of 86 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. partial or accidental growth, but are as inti- mately bound up in our nature as are the moral notions themselves. For they came in, as we learn from holy Scripture, with the original transgression ; which transgression consisted in eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. No sooner had our first parents tasted the fruit, than they hid them- selves from the presence of God\ Their pos- terity have inherited not only the sense of moral distinctions, but the sense of guilt, the shame, which they then acquired. Men have felt that they could not live without God, yet they have feared to meet him face to face. How were they to obtain boldness to approach him? By sacrifices and offerings they could not compass an atonement, though they might acknowledge their need of one. Not being able to lift up their own hearts to God, tliey sought in their folly to bring down the God- head to the level of human nature, by invest- ing it with our weaknesses, our passions, and our vices. But even so they did not satisfy themselves ; for such a system was revolting to their deepest convictions, and though it was the basis of their mythology, their ordi- nary language and feelings rebelled against it. Yonder, they said, beyond the starry * Gen. iii. 8. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 87 heavens, there is a being pure and happy ; and here are we, his creatures, in some re- spects godlike, wallowing in the mire of vice and misery. Wide is the gulph which sepa- rates between him and us ; but is it impass- able? The schools of philosophy endeavoured to return an answer to this question, but they could not. It is admitted by an ancient^ ad- versary of the Gospel, that no method of de- livering the soul, capable of universal appli- cation, had been discovered by any sect of philosophy. If this pagan writer could have purged his ears from the jargon of the schools, and listened to a doctrine not recommended by " enticing words of man's wisdom," he might have found what he sought; he might have known one who had made the required expiation, one who had satisfied the blind yearnings of the human race: one who was "the desire of all nations^" From these observations it appears, that the doctrine of Christ, however opposed to the fashions and conventions of the world, was in harmony with the profound convictions and cravings of human nature; and when viewed as a whole, it was seen to be consistent with itself, and satisfactory to the consciences ^ Porphyry ; see Augustin. De Civ. Dei. x. 32. ^ Hag. ii. 7. 88 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. and spiritual wants of those, for whose benefit it was intended. It held up for their imitation a standard of moral excellence ; it revived in them the consciousness of moral guilt and degradation, and at the same time shewed them a sacrifice already made for their sins. It told them that the gate of death, at which they had been gazing so wistfully and so hopelessly, was the portal of everlasting life. Taken as a whole therefore, and viewed in connexion with the supernatural evidence of miracles and prophecies by which it was supported, the Christian doctrine was too vast, and too comjjact, to be assailed with any prospect of success. Accordingly, its adver- saries pursued the policy of breaking it up into fragments, and attacking it in detail ; diverting the attention of men as much as possible from any general and comprehensive views. The miracles, as I have already men- tioned \ they ascribed to magic; their way of dealing with the prophecies, as I have also observed^, was to say nothing about them, to pass them by without notice. But what ob- jections did they make to the doctrine itself? Its general morality they did not call in question ; the atonement they did not declare unnecessary; the hope of a future life they ' Lecture II. - Lecture III. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 89 dared not reject. Yet upon each of these heads they discovered some ground for cavil. 1. Thus we are told, that Christ crucified was "foolishness" to the Greeks ^ ; for they pretended that it was the height of absurdity to worship as God one, who had died the death of a malefactor. And so indeed it was, if the history had ended there. But they chose to put out of sight the evidence which proved that he, who so died, had also risen from the dead. " It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again 2." 2. At another time the Resurrection of the body was made the subject of mockery 3. And while they endeavoured to bewilder the disciples with subtle questions upon this subject^ they excluded from view the other doctrines with which it is connected. 3. Again, the ob- jection was made, that Christianity addresses itself only to sinners, unlike all other religious systems, in which none were invited or allowed to approach the mysteries, but such as were of a pure conscience and innocent life^. True it is that Christ came " not to call the right- eous, but sinners^" It is however equally true, that the Gospel concludes all under sin, ^ I Cor. i. 23. "- Rom. viii. 34. = Acts xviii. 32. * 2 Tim. ii. 17. ^eeHidsmn Lectures for 1849, Lect. VII. ' Origen, Contr. Cels. iii. 59. ^ Matt. ix. 13. 90 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. saying that " all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God^" And the conscience of every human being bears witness to the truth of this declaration. All have been con- cluded under sin, " that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe^." And herein lies the grand differ- ence between the heathen mysteries and our own ordinances ; that whereas the former were open only to persons who ventured to consider themselves pure and perfect, and the impure and wicked were not even invited to assist at them, we exhort all persons, however far gone from righteousness, to repent them truly for their sins past, to have a lively and stedfast faith in Christ our Saviour, to amend their lives, to be in perfect charity with all men, that so they may be meet partakers of those holy mysteries. If it is a fault in a religion, to hold out hope to the sinner, Christianity un- doubtedly has this fault, and makes no secret of it, but rather glories in it. If any man be without sin, let him be the first to blame our religion on this account. In like manner the moral principles of the Gospel, instead of being considered in relation to one another, were made, each in its turn, the subjects of separate animadversion. Thus ' Rom. iii. 23. * Gal. iii. 22. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 91 the virtue of humility, one of the very chief ornaments of the Christian character, most strongly enforced both by the precept and example of our divine Master, excited the scorn of the heathen philosopher ^ To him it seemed a slavish self-abasement, a morbid sentiment, or else a form of hypocrisy and affectation. And yet in another point of view he could not but see that the Gospel imparts to its disciples a certain magnanimity, a nobility of thought and feeling : this he de- nominated immoderate pride and foolish ex- altation. He did not perceive the true nature either of the Christian humility or of the Christian dignity ; much less did he discern the indissoluble link by which these evan- gelical graces are united. He did not under- stand the force of the maxim, " He that humbleth himself shall be exalted^" He did not know that forasmuch as we are all sinners in the sight of God, it is our duty to carry ourselves very humbly towards him, to be meek and lowly in our conversation even with the most abject of our fellow-creatures, to take nothing upon ourselves, " in honour preferring one another, and each accounting other better than themselves^;" but that as * See Origen, Contr. Cels. vi. 15. ^ Luke xiv. 11. ^ Rom. xii. 10. 92 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. fellow-citizens of the saints and of the house- hold of God, chosen of him and precious in his sight, we are emboldened to lift up our hearts above this transitory world, to entertain very great and glorious anticipations. Humil- ity and dignity, self-abasement and self- respect under the Christian scheme are not incompatible. They have been joined toge- ther in us by one who in his own person united so many qualities apparently irrecon- cileable. In him divine strength and human weakness have been combined ; in him mercy and justice, righteousness and peace have met together. The principle of faith, being so prominent ia the Christian system, was, of course, the especial object of the adversary's attack'. He surnamed it credulity ; he vilified it as a barren, barbarous, unscientific principle, fit only for the dotard and the slave. He did not care to observe the mutual relations and dependencies of faith and reason on the one hand, of faith and practice on the other ; how the Christian is enjoined to have a reason for the faith m hich is in him ; to " prove all things" first, and then to "hold them fast;" and how again it is declared that all things are possible to them that believe ; that if our ' CIcm. Alex. Strom, ii. § 7; Origen, Contr. Cels, in. 44. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 93 faitli has any life in it, even though it be only as a grain of mustard -seed, we may triumph over all things that are without that vital principle, we may bid the mountains to be removed, as our Lord declares, or in the words of his Apostle, we have a victory which "overcometh the world^." The objections taken to the Christian doctrine were in all cases deduced from such narrow and partial views as I have now de- scribed. They had no respect to the general "proportion of the faith," but touched certain isolated portions, which might well appear incongruous and anomalous, when they were separated from the body to which they ap- pertained, and placed in juxta-position with other systems of mans invention. And if the coherence of the different parts was disre- garded, still less was the great principle un- derstood, the principle of heavenly love, which pervades and animates the whole scheme of the Gospel. The cold obdurate sceptic was ill qualified to discern that divine principle, descending upon earth, diffusing itself in this vale of tears, and causing itself to be reflected back to heaven, from the hearts of sinful men. It was only to the Christian that the words of the Apostle conveyed any meaning, " We love ' Matt. xvii. 20 ; 1 John v. 4. 94 THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. [Lect. IV. him, because he first loved us." "We have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren ^" To a knowledge of these truths the unrenewed heart of man can never attain. It is no wonder, therefore, that objections of the kind which I have mentioned, should have occurred to men brought up in the darkness of error, and blinded by their own vain con- ceits. The objections for a time, perhaps, fulfilled their purpose, by raising a prejudice against the Gospel, and delaying its progress. But we cannot doubt that in a much larger measure they accomplished the purposes of God, by leading the disciples themselves to take broader and more comprehensive views of the Christian Dispensation, to observe its harmonies, to explore its depths and heights, and to know, better than they w ould other- wise have known, the vast dimensions of the love of God. The objections in due time fell to the ground ; and having been preserved from oblivion by Christian writers, they now serve as trophies to remind us of the ancient conflicts and triumphs of the Church. Hitherto we have spoken of the doctrine of the Gospel, as a system, which was pro- pounded in teaching, and in that way sub- ' 1 John iv. 19 ; iii. 14. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 95 mitted to the judgment and conscience of mankind. And we have seen that when viewed in this light, though opposed to the prevailing spirit of the times in which it appeared, it was congenial to the unchange- able instincts of our nature. But we must remember that there is another method by which religious and moral truths may be recommended and inculcated, a method often as effectual as that of direct dogmatic teach- ing, I mean the persuasive force of example. Some minds indeed, are so constituted by nature, or so warped by habit, as to be acces- sible to no other influence. And the ablest reasoners, addressing the most intelligent hearers, are glad to illustrate and fortify their arguments by an appeal to example and experience. And certainly this principle is not to be overlooked, when we are giving an account of the propagation of our holy reli- gion. It is impossible to estimate the extent to which the cause of Christianity has been advanced, either in ancient or modern times, by those who have adorned its doctrine in their lives. Beginning with its divine founder, we not only find that he illustrated by his most holy life the precepts which he taught, bidding men "learn of" him, and follow him, but he also directed his Apostles to look to 96 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [Lect. IV. the example furnished by their lives, as a means of promoting their doctrine. *' Let your light so shine before men," he said, "that they may see your good works, and glorify yonr Father which is in heaven ^" This maxim, uttered by our Lord at the outset of his ministry, was not forgotten by those who received it. Especially it was treasured up by St Peter, whose writings so often remind us of the sayings of our Lord ; and he evi- dently had it in mind, when he exhorted his HebrevY converts to have their "conversation honest among the Gentiles;" "that whereas the*' speak against you," he continues, "as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation 2." For the same reason St Paul exhorts the brethren, whether in the control of their temper, or in the exercise of benevolence, to "provide things honest in the sight of all men^," that is, to provide, or furnish, a fair and good example. And he enjoins one who was his own " son after the common faith," and whom he appointed to be the chief pastor of the Cretan ChurchS that he should in all things shew himself a " pattern of good works," ' Matt. V. 16. - I Pet. ii. 12. ' Rom. xii. 17; 2 Cor. viii. 21. ' Titus ii. 7- 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 97 and for this reason, "that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you." And with regard to himself, meek as he was, and without boasting (save in the cross of Christ), reckon- ing himself the least of all saints, he was not ashamed to hold up his own activity and energy in the cause of his Master, as a pattern to others. " Brethren," he says to the Philip- pians, " be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample^" " I beseech you," he says to the Corinthians, " be ye followers of me." Nor did the successors of the Apostles underrate the importance of providing "things honest" in the sight of men. They were per- suaded that if their conduct were in conformity with their professions, the world woidd not long stand against them ; and that all their professions would go for nothing, if they were unable to point to some real and unquestion- able fruits of their faith. Their doctrine, beautiful as it was in itself, needed to be adorned by the lives of those who adopted it : without such an illustration, it would scarcely have been distinguished from the philosophic fancies which it was endeavouring to sup- plant; it would have been regarded as the ' Phil. iii. 17. (See also 1 Cor. iv. 16 ; Acts xxvi. 29, &c.) H. H. L. 7 98 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. [Lect. IV. pleasing but Utopian theory of a set of noon- day dreamers. But those ancient apologists were able to appeal, and did appeal with force to the moral change produced by Christianity in those who embraced its doctrines. "Be- hold," said one of them^ "we who were once slaves of lust, now are devoted to chastity; we have forsaken the arts of magic, in which we were sometime employed, and have dedicated ourselves to the only good and eternal God ; lovers of riches as we were, and only anxious to increase our store, we now give what we have to the common use, and share it with every one that has need ; we who once hated and murdered one another, and, on account of the difference of national customs, would have no common hearth with strangers, now, since the manifestation of Christ, live peaceably with each other, and pray for our enemies, and seek to persuade those who hate us with- out a cause, that they also may live according to the commands of Christ, and have a good hope of receiving the like blessings with us, from God, the Lord of all." And another says : "The Christian communities, compared with the people among whom they dwell, are as lights in the world^." "The name of Jesus * Justin Martyr, J;?o^. I. 15. Scea\soBpist.adDio^n.§5. - Origen, Contr. Cels. in. 29. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 99 produces a wonderful gentleness, humanity, and goodness, in those who embrace his doc- trines without hypocrisy, from no considera- tion of worldly advantage, but in sincerity and truths" Thus they challenged their heathen adversaries to test the Christian doc- trine by the Christian life. And such an appeal, we may be sure, would not have been made so confidently, had it been without foundation. But we are not left to rely on these general statements. The facts speak for themselves. We are able to mention several particulars, in which the doctrines of Christ visibly and unquestionably affected the lives of the believers. We at once call to mind their mutual love, to which even their perse- cutors bore testimony, unable as they were to discern the source from which it sprang. To make provision for the widows, the fatherless, and the destitute, was one of the first cares of the infant Church^ ; and it was not long before the occurrence of a famine served to exercise the charity of the believers in a different way. In order to relieve "the brethren which dwelt in Judaea^" a subscription was set on foot by St Paul, the first perhaps ever made for a charitable purpose ; to which it pleased them ^ Contr. Gels. i. 67. See also Tertull. Apol. c. 46. ^ Acts ii. 45 ; vi. 1. ' Acts xi. 29. 7—2 100 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. [Lect. IV. of Achaia and Macedonia to make contribu- tion ^ These apostolic examples were largely followed in succeeding times. To provide for the sick and needy was acknowledged to be a paramount duty : and those institutions were originated, which now fill every land with visible memorials of Christian benevolence. The hospital, the almshouse, and the charity school, are so familiar to our eyes, that we scarcely stop to ask ourselves what spirit it was, that first called them into existence. Yet it must not be forgotten, that they are essen- tially Christian Institutions, and that if there is in them any virtue or any praise, it is due entirely to our holy religion ^ Such then was the internal goodwill and harmony which subsisted among the first dis- ciples. But this, striking as it was, might have been misinterpreted by the pagans, had it proceeded no further. For those who on any account have incurred the hatred of the world, are by that very circumstance drawn more closely to each other. The scourge of leprosy reconciled together the Jew and the Samaritan=^, who else had no dealings toge- ther: and even criminals and outcasts from ' Rom. XV. 26. * See Ryan's Effects of Religion, chap. iii. (Dubliii;, 1802.) ' Luke xvii. 16. 1850.] THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 101 society are found to exhibit a mutual amity, until some accident discloses the hoUowness of their friendship. But the love of the Chris- tian believer extended itself beyond the pale of his own community. When a pestilence visited the chief city of Africa, and the pagan part of the inhabitants abandoned their dying friends, and shrank from the duty of burying their dead, the Christian flock bravely under- took the work, and in a short time the bodies which filled the streets were interred, and the city delivered from the danger of an universal infection ^ The last of the persecutors (the emperor Maximin) was wont to boast, that by his severities against the Christians, he had secured the favour of the gods, and warded oiFfrom his dominions the calamities of famine and pestilence. But ere yet his persecution was at an end, his boastings were cut short, and famine and pestilence fell upon the cities un- der his sway. Then the persecuted Christians arose, and gathered together the famishing multitudes, and ministered to their necessities. Thus did they heap coals of fire upon the heads of their oppressors, thus did they make the name of Christ to be glorified among the Gentiles^. And upon this point we have the ^ See Neander, Church Hist. i. p. 352. * Euseb. Hist. ix. 8. 102 THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. [Lect. IV. testimony of one of the bitterest enemies of the Gospel. The emperor Julian, in his en- deavour to infuse new life into Paganism, was willing to kindle its ashes if he could, by borrowing a spark from that holy religion which he had deserted. He pointed to the example of charity which the Christians set. "The Galileans," he said, for so he called them, *' the impious Galileans support not only their own poor, but ours. Why do we not follow their example^?" Again, I need not remind you of the de- graded and miserable condition of the slaves, who constituted so large a portion of the com- munity in ancient times. It is a common remark, that the slave was regarded not as a man but a thing ; that he was thought to be of an inferior order of beings, born to servi- tude. Here and there perhaps a philosopher was bold enough to assert, that nature had made no difference between the master and his slave. In like manner there were phi- losophers who arrived at the great Christian maxim, that men should do unto others, as they would that others should do unto them. ' Julian, liJpist, 49 : Ti ovk dTrofSXeironev o ndXia-Ta Ttjv dOeoTrjra d Tertull. Apol. ii. Just. Mart. Apol. i. 4. - The name appears not to have been assiimed by the dis- ciples, but fixed upon them as a term of reproach by tlie hea- then. See my Commentary on Acts xi. 26. ^ 1 Pet. iv. 14, 16. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 145 spoke not in vain ; for they who came after him, the more they were reviled for the name of Christ, the more they gloried in it ; they remembered how their Master had foretold that they should be hated of all men for his name's sake. And even the boy of ten- der age with that name defied his tormentors, saying, "Do what you will; I am a Chris- tiani." The disciples were hated without a cause, and condemned without a crime ; and human- ity shudders at the thought of the cruelties to which they were exposed. But into the detail of those horrors we need not enter. For it is rather our object to follow their con- sequences, and to ascertain what effect they produced upon the condition and progress of the Church. Did the noble army of martyrs and confessors suffer in vain ? or did the holy Church throughout the world only increase the more rapidly, for the loss of her best and most devoted children? Persecution has not been altogether an ineffectual weapon in the hands of our ene- mies. It has inflicted many grievous and lasting wounds upon the cause of Chris- tianity ; in one age driving out the Gospel from the kingdoms of the East, at a later > See Neander, Ch. Hist. i. 208. (Engl, transl.) H.H.I,. 10 146 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. period compelling the doctrines of the Re- formation to relinquish the ground which they had occupied in Italy and in Spaing We cannot doubt that while it lasted, it did in some degree retard the progress of the Gospel in the Roman Empire. It is no wonder that Christians were found, who, in the pre- sence of horrors worse than death, sprinkled incense on the heathen altars, and bowed the knee to Caesar's image, and renounced the name of Christ, and gave rather their bibles than their bodies 2, to be burned, thereby earn- ing for themselves the ignominious name of traditores, betrayers of the Word of God. The death of so many who were strong in the faith, and still more the apostacy of the weaker brethren, must have afflicted and dis- heartened many of those who remained ; and had not those days been shortened, and the arm of the destroyer stayed, perhaps the Church would hardly have been saved upon the earth. But for the sake of the elect those days were shortened. And when the direct and immediate consequences had passed away, it was found that the persecution had produced ^ See the interesting treatises of M'Cric, on the Reformation in Italy and Spain. ' 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OP PERSECUTION. 147 results the very opposite of those which its authors had anticipated. I. The martyrs and confessors generally witnessed their good confession in a public manner, before many witnesses ; and the constancy which they exhibited was not only a subject of joy and thankfulness to the bre- thren, but sometimes also put the accuser to shame, and excited the compassion of the magistrates; while he who had come as a careless spectator, went away thoughtful and disquieted. It had been said by a great phi- losopher of old\ that the righteous man will endure, in defence of the truth, to be scourged, imprisoned, mutilated, crucified^ An almost prophetic saying, as a Christian father^ has observed in quoting it; a saying destined to have its full accomplishment in the unflinch- ing stedfastness of the army of martyrs. And if even the unlearned centurion, standing at the foot of the cross, was moved to exclaim, " Certainly this was a righteous man !" well might the student of the academy and the porch be impressed by what he saw, when he followed the infuriated multitude to the am- ^ Plato, Befuh. ii. p. 361. Compare Cic. Acad. Qucest. n. 8. " di'aa-KiuZv\€vdr](T€Tai. ' Euseb. Prcep. Ev. xii. 10. 10—2 148 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. phitheatre or the forum, and there beheld the most meek and quiet of his fellow-citizens emboldened in the name of Christ to confront " the mouths of lions," to endure " the violence of fire" and " the edge of the sword." Let it be sufficient now to make mention of one^ such philosophic pagan, who by observing the fortitude of the martyrs was " not only almost but altogether" persuaded to be a Christian, and who having three times em- ployed his learned pen in defence of the gospel, was finally required to seal his testi- mony with his blood. Nor did he disgrace that example of holy courage, which he had once beheld with so much admiration. Indeed, the endurance manifested by the Christians took the whole world by surprise. It was a new phenomenon, not to be compared to anything which had taken place before : and even the persecutors could not fail to be amazed at it. With some^ it passed into a proverb to express unconquerable pertinacity ; but others were induced by it to relent, to inquire, and finally to believe. Subsequent experience perhaps has taught us, that such fortitude is not always to be taken as a conclusive test of truth and orthodoxy. We ' Justin Martyr. See his Second Apology, c. 12. " Galen, -n-ep) oiacp. (Tcpvy. Lib. III. fol. 18. p. 2. Tom. rii. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 149 know that the courage of the early Christians, like every other great example, has given rise to many spurious imitations. Some men^ in their fanaticism have even courted martyr- dom; others have submitted to it out of obstinacy, rather than from conviction, as champions of an opinion, and not as servants of the truth. The fire of persecution has been sustained not only by Christians but also by Mahometans 2, not only by Catholics but by heretics, not only by protestants but by papists. The evidence of martyrdom was most unimpeachable when it first appeared, before it had acquired respect and dignity in the eyes of mankind ; but if it were now repeated, it would probably be received with some reasonable doubts and suspicions. Not that we are even now altogether without this testimony ; the same at least in kind, though not in the same degree. For there is a per- secution which is not unto death, nor even unto blood, and yet is hard to bear; its weapons being disparagement, misrepresenta- tion, and ridicule. And there is a certain unobtrusive courage in the cause of Christ, joined with patient submission to personal 1 See Bp Kaye's Eccles. Hist. pp. 137—142. ^ Foster's Malwmctanism Unveiled^ ii. 467- Sale's Koran^ Vol. 11. p. 91, note o. 150 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. insult, which is nowhere to be found in the list of pagan virtues, and is the offspring of our holy religion. It is the almost involuntary habit of the truly religious mind, and being altogether without ostentation, and not capa- ble of being attributed to hypocrisy or any false motive, it touches the hearts of men, and constrains even the scorner for a moment to believe and tremble. II. Again, there was another way in which the persecutions tended manifestly to the diffusion of that religion which it was their object to suppress. Our Lord had warned the disciples', that when they were persecuted in one city, they should flee to another ; he himself having given an example of such conduct, when to avoid the sword of Herod, he removed with his earthly parents into Egypt. They who obeyed this command, while they consulted for their self-preserva- tion, did not fail to spread a knowledge of the Gospel whithersoever they went. Thus it came to pass, that in the persecution which ensued upon the death of the protomartyr St Stephen 2, the disciples were scattered abroad throughout all Judaea, and Samaria, and Phoenicia and Syria ; and they preached the Gospel in those countries. In like man- ' Matt. X. 23. '^ Acts vili. 1 ; xi. 19. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 151 ner it is related, that when our own land was visited by that deadly persecution, to which the British protomartyr St Alban fell a victim, some of the clergy, withdrawing from the rage of the oppressors, fled to the remote and heathenish corners of these islands, and planted there the standard of the cross ^ Thus it commonly happens, that the machi- nations of human policy are made to defeat and stultify themselves, when they contravene the eternal purposes of God. III. But there was a circumstance con- nected with the persecutions, which though almost unheeded by modern historians, was not without its weight upon the men of for- mer times. It was observed ^ that all the per- secutors, with scarcely an exception, received even in this life a token of the divine displeasure, and came to a miserable end. Nero was driven from his throne and hunted to death like a wild beast. Domitian was assassinated ; Decius with his army sank in a morass ; Valerian was taken prisoner by the enemy, Aurelian slain by his friends ; Diocletian became insane ; Galerius was the prey of a loathsome disease. To the Christian ' See Usher, A7it. Brit. cap. xvr. ' See the Treatise of Lactantius de Mortibus Persecutorum j Jerome, Comm. in Zach. xiv. 12. 152 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. apologist this series of disasters did not ap- pear a blind coincidence, the result of chance. He traced in it the hand of an avenging God. He strongly urged it as an evidence of the truth and divine origin of the Gospel. This consideration may be set at nought by him who denies that the judgments of God can be discerned in the transactions of the world ; but it was regarded in a very different light by the men of former times ; and it appears to have made a strong impression on the mind of the imperial convert, who finally gave rest to the afflicted Church ^ Well would it have been for the Christian name, had its professors learnt in their dis- tress, that all persecution, whether on the side of truth or against it, is hateful in the sight of God, and in a worldly point of view inexpe- dient. But when they had been delivered from external enemies, they began to be at strife among themselves ; and they thought to terminate their disputes by turning against each other those weapons, which had been wrested out of the hands of their common enemies. Catholics and heretics alike dis- graced their cause, by resorting to measures of violence and extermination. Doubtless they ^ See Constantine's Epistle to Sapor, ap. Euseb. Vit Con- slant. IV. 11, and Oral, ad Sanctos. xxiv. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 153 thought they were doing God service; but they knew not what they did. Those domestic persecutions presented a miserable and re- pulsive spectacle to the heathen world, and greatly retarded the progress of the Gospel. And many centuries were lost, and much injury was done, to the cause of religion before men arrived at the conviction, that the peaceful weapons of persuasion are the only instruments, by which error can be extir- pated, and truth established. Men have learnt this at last, if indeed they have now learnt it, by long and painful experience ; yet they might have known it from the beginning, had they duly studied the example and the pre- cepts of the Master whom they professed to serve. For he unceasingly addresses to his impatient followers, the rebuke which in the beginning he gave to Peter; "Put up again thy sword into his place ; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of AngelsM" IV. But it is not our present concern to lament over the evils of the latter days; we return to the inquiry, what were the conse- ^ Matt. xxvi. 52. 154 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. quences arising out of those persecutions to which the early Christians were exposed ? We have still another result to mention, which was favourable to the internal health, and by consequence, to the growth of the Church. It was supposed by some who lived in that fiery time of trial, that the prophecy ^ of John the Baptist was in process of fulfilment, which pointed to the coming of Christ with the fan in his hand to purge his floor, and gather up the wheat, and burn the chaff. And though we cannot accede to that application of the prophecy, we must allow that the Christian community was at that time sifted like wheat, and by the fire of persecution cleansed from many of its impurities. It is a subject of frequent lamentation with the ancient Fathers of the Church, that during the intervals of repose many disorders sprang up, and scan- dals prevailed, which caused the old and base- less calumnies of their enemies to be super- seded by well-founded reproaches and accusa- tions. Indolence*, indifference to holy things, the excessive indulgence of private reason, ambition, uncharitableness, these and other faults incidental to a state of security, are mentioned as having been the Church's bane ' Matt. iii. 12. = Euseb. vm. 1. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 155 in a peaceful and prosperous age. But when the time of persecution ensued^, the diminished band of believers became again a brotherhood that was at unity in itself; having a common sense of danger, and a common hope of re- ward ; setting no thought on this world or the things thereof; carrying their lives as it were in their hands, ready to be laid down cheer- fully whenever they should be required. Their loins were girded and their lights burning; they were sober and vigilant, tender-hearted and compassionate ; they humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God. Majestic indeed may have been the aspect of the Church, when after all her trials she sat down in peace, and kings became her nursing fathers, and the heathen who had raged against her were given her for an in- heritance ; when the kingdoms of the earth became the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ. Yet we cannot forget the corruptions which befell her in that state of her pros- perity — how by the smiles of imperial favour she was beguiled into a love of temporal pomp and power, and how the discomfiture of ex- ternal foes was but a signal for the commence- ment of internal dissensions, heresies and persecutions. But to us who now look back ^ Tertull. De Fuq. hi Pers. i. 156 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. upon those times, seeking in them for some- thing which may quicken our faith and our zeal, that spectacle appears more edifying, more truly noble and triumphant, that spec- tacle which was given "to the world, and to angels, and to men^" when the Church was beleagured by enemies intent on her downfall, and her children, if we may apply the words which the great Apostle^ spake concerning himself, were troubled on every side, but not distressed, perplexed, but not in despair, per- secuted, but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in their body. We see therefore what were "the uses of adversity" to the Church in former times. The constancy of the Christians in their sufferings led the heathen to suspect that there must be some vital energy and truth in a religion for which men were even content to die; and every persecution had the effect of sending fugitives abroad, to preach in districts previ- ously unvisited by the doctrine of Christ. The miserable fate of so many persecutors, whatever might be thought of it in such times as our own, was then regarded as no obscure ' 1 Cor. iv. 9. = 2 Cor. iv. 8. 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 157 intimation of the divine displeasure — while under the chastening hand of affliction the Church became more pure, more amiable, more worthy of her heavenly Lord ; his strength being made perfect in her weakness\ And upon the whole we are justified in saying, that the very measures which were taken to destroy our holy Religion, became instru- mental in educing fresh evidence of its truth, and in giving a new impulse to its progress. But let us not coldly assent to this con- clusion, and then dismiss it from our minds, as if for ourselves it could have no practical interest. It may be true that only a dis- tempered imagination would seek to trace a parallel between the former and the latter times. Yet there is hardly any period in the Church's history, which if we approach it in a teachable spirit, and ask of it a lesson for our guidance, will refuse to give us a response. And this is the warning which we receive from the ages of persecution. They assure us that any discouragement or opposition which the Church may encounter from the nations and rulers of the world is of little importance, in comparison of those domestic evils which are brought upon her by her own unworthy children. The efforts of the open enemy only ' 2 Cor. xii. 9. 158 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. develope and consolidate her strength; but the elements of human imperfection, which she carries in her own bosom, are ever tend- ing to mar her beauty, to impair her strength, and make her " ashamed to speak with the enemy in the gate." And, on the other hand, we learn, that as the arm of flesh cannot much retard, so neither can it greatly promote her advance. And though it may be in the power of a Constantine or a Theodosius to confer upon her the outward signs of stability and honour, the only real sources of her pros- perity are to be sought first in the blessing of him who is her head, and next in the faith, the zeal, the mutual charity of those who are truly called her children. Far be it from her to deprecate the good-will of the nations and their rulers ; for in doing her honour they are but rendering that homage which is due from the earthly powers to the will of God. And far be it from any of us to desire for her the hostility of the world, for though from such a struggle the Church as a body might come forth not only unscathed, but purified and strengthened, what individual among us can be sure that his own faith would not fail? It is the duty of the Church to conciliate the powers that be, and do all she can to bring them into subjection to the will of him by 1850.] THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. 159 whom they were ordained. She cannot look upon them with an indifferent or unfriendly spirit; but she has no need to court either their enmity or their goodwill. She may receive either the one or the other with equanimity, not doubting that either way the kingdom of Christ will be eventually promoted and established. But I cannot turn from this subject with- out reminding you, that the truth which we have found to hold with regard to the Chris- tian community at large, must be continually enforced upon its individual members. Each one of us is well aware, that he has to fear not so much the time of his tribulation as the time of his wealth, not so much the enemies which are without, as those which are within, even the lusts and deceits of his own heart. And many of us, I doubt not, may attribute their deliverance from a besetting sin, and the purity and inward peace which they now possess, to the hardships, the injuries, and the insults which they have experienced in their passage through the world. They are able to say with the psalmists " Before I was troubled, I went wrong ; but now have I kept thy word." And of this we are one and all convinced, that if we walk stedfastly in the ^ Ps. cxix. 67- 160 THE EFFECTS OF PERSECUTION. [Lect. VI. faith and fear of Christ, as by the assistance of his holy Spirit we hope to do, then let the chances and changes of the world be what they may, they will contribute to make us more fit for the kingdom of heaven. LECTURE yil. THE EFFORTS MADE BY THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY TO RESIST AND CORRUPT THE GOSPEL. LUKE X. 21. In that hour Jesus i^ejoiced in sjmnt, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes : even so, Father ; for so it seemed good in thy sight. rj^HE emotions of joy and sorrow are not so J- repugnant to each other as we are apt to imagine. They often dwell together in the same bosom. If the sweet water and the bitter, as the Apostle^ says, are not sent forth from "the same fountain, at the same place," yet they sometimes have their sources not far apart ; and in the tide of our feelings they blend in such a manner, that while the one prevails on the surface, there is a silent under- current of the other. Such has been the case, we may well believe, with the children of affliction in every age, and above all with him who was pre-eminently " a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" He possessed at all times, as we cannot doubt, a joy which the world knew not of, and which the world could ^ James iii. 11. H. H. L. 11 162 RESISTANCE MADE BY [Lect. VII. neither give nor take away. Yet there was one occasion on which he appears to have been moved with a peculiar impulse of joy; for on that single occasion it is said that he " rejoiced in spirit." And why was he glad ; was it for his own sake, or for ours? He re- joiced that his Gospel was revealed ** unto babes ;" that while it was beyond the compre- hension of those who were filled with the con- ceit of human wisdom, it was plain and easy to every one, however lowly he might be, who received it with a simple and teachable spirit. The words of our Lord will find an echo in every Christian school of learning. For we willingly acknovv^ledge, that all our studies are useless, and worse than useless, if, instead of Immbling our pride, they minister to it, — if, instead of leading to the knowledge and love of God, they make us forgetful of his Provi- dence, and impatient of his service. They who come up to this seat of learning with the desire to enter fully into its spirit, and to make a right use of its privileges, must be assured that the knowledge of Christ, and of him cru- cified, is here confessed to be the first and best of all wisdom ; and that to this all other objects, even all the studies and concerns of the world, are secondary and subservient; — secondary, because they belong to the things I860.] THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 163 of time, which will soon pass away ;— subser- vient, inasmuch as each of them, in its differ- ent way, will discipline our minds, or school our hearts, making us more able to compre- hend the doctrine, and to follow the example, of our Lord. The wisdom of this world has long since done homage to the wisdom which is from above, and which was first revealed in the Gospel. The banner of human pride has been lowered before the standard of the cross, that standard which was once accounted to be the ensign of foolishness. But this submis- sion was not made without a struggle. Long- did the wise and prudent reject a revelation, which can be duly received by none but the meek and humbie-minded. Men had been accustomed to think that a true acquaintance with the Most High was to be sought in learned contemplation and retirement, and that he was accessible only to those who trod the paths of human science. It was not to be expected, therefore, that philosophers would look with favour on a doctrine which spoke in equal language both to the wise and simple, first humbling them vvith the same sentence of condemnation, and again raising them up with the same promise of pardon and immortality. To assert that the common herd of men could 11—2 164 KESISTANCE MADE BY [Lect. VII. be purified and admitted to communion with God, was, in the opinion of the learned, an insult to their own dignity, a theory as absurd as if one should invest an inferior order of creation with the attributes of humanity. The philosophers, therefore, made common cause with the enemies of the Gospel ; but being- unable to assail their adversary with sound and valid argument, they betook themselves to the weapons of sophistry and ridicule ; they scrupled not to conjure up ancient pre- judices, and even sought to breathe new life into the dry bones of an obsolete mythology. But their mischief returned upon their own head. Christianity overthrew all its enemies. Philosophy shared in the general discom- fiture ; and being regarded as an implacable antagonist of true religion, it was for ages dis- credited and depressed below its proper level. The human reason being once subdued, was kept in bondage, and permitted only to labour like a culprit in chains. In this condition she raised up, as a great memorial of her slavery, the edifice of the scholastic philosophy. At length the time of her deliverance drew nigh, the era of the Reformation ; then her chains were struck off, and she became what God intended her to be, the handmaid of Divine Revelation. To a higher place than that may 1850.] THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 165 she never aspire, lest she be again smitten to the earth. For if she commit the sin of the angels, how shall she escape their punish- ment ? I have considered in my two preceding Discourses, some of the obstacles which the Gospel encountered in the commencement of its career. And we saw that, by its manner of overcoming those obstacles, an additional proof was given, that it was not a device of man, but a message from on high. We shall probably be led to the same conclusion, by observing its long-continued struggle against " the oppositions of science, falsely so called ^" Human nature, in those ages, had its dwelling, as it were, "among the tombs^;" for it had buried out of sight the great primeval truths of morality and religion ; and it was possess- ed by philosophic fancies so multitudinous, that their name might have been called Le- gion, had they been marshalled in any order, or governed by any leading principle. In driving out those delusions, the Gospel ob- tained a triumph, which may justly be enu- merated among the evidences of its divine power and truth. The first great impediment to the Chris- tian doctrine arose, not from direct opposi- ' 1 Tim. vi. 20. = Mark v. 3. 166 RESISTANCE MADE BY [Lect. VII. tion, but from an insidious attempt, on the part of certain heathen philosophers, to ac- commodate it to their own tenets. We may trace the origin of this evil in the book of the Acts, where Simon, surnamed Magus, is men- tioned as a temporary^ convert to the preach- ing of the Apostles. We learn from other sources, that he employed to an ill purpose the knowledge which he thus acquired, dis- torting it to suit the oriental philosophy of which he was a professor. In this way a sys- tem was constructed, which, tinder the name of gnosticism, flattered the pride of the human intellect; and as it also gave the rein to the vicious propensities of our nature, it met with a ready acceptance, and rapidly overspread the world, threatening to supersede the pure and simple doctrines of the Gospel. How great and how imminent was the danger, we may infer from a single example, from the case of the Church of Ephesus. The great Apostle, who founded that community, never ceased to watch over it, to the very close of liis life. On one occasion 2, he was hastening from Macedonia, wishing to reach Jerusalem before the feast of Pentecost; and as he knew not what might befall him in the holy city, he turned aside on his voyage, in order to ' Acts viii. 13. - See Acts xx. 1850.] THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 167 give a parting admonition to the Ephesian elders. And against what enemies did he warn them ? Not against the priests or vota- ries of the ancient superstition, the men who had once been ready to tear him in pieces, crying, " Great is Diana of the Ephesians/' He warned them not against the wolves which remained without the fold, but against those more grievous wolves which should enter with- in it, the false teachers, who should speak perverse things, and endeavour to mislead the flock of Christ to its destruction. And though he left them sorrowing at his departure, they were not long without comfort. For he ap- pointed his beloved disciple Timothy to be their Bishop and Pastor. And when the danger which he had foreseen actually came upon them, he addressed Timothy once and again in Epistles which shew the anxiety of the Apostle, and the prophetic wisdom of his former exhortations. Hymenaeus and Phile- tus and Alexander he mentions by name, as men who had erred concerning the truth, and made shipwreck of the faith ; and others, it appears, had followed their bad example. Again and again he bids Timothy beware of the profane and vain babblings, *' the ques- tions and strifes of words," the " perverse dis- putings of men of corrupt minds." While he J 68 RESISTANCE MADE BY [Lect. VII. wrote thus, the time was at hand for him to be "offered^." But ere long another of the Apostolic band became the guardian of the Ephesian Church. Though the brethren were mistaken in supposing that St John^ should not see death, but tarry till the return of their Lord, yet it was not without a purj^ose that his life was protracted beyond the usual span. He employed his concluding years in denounc- ing and confuting the heresy of Cerinthus. And if we ask what was the result of that long and perilous conflict, we have our answer in the inspired language of the same venerable Apostle. For thus was he commissioned to write to the angel of Ephesus: "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil ; and thou hast tried them which say they are Apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted^." The primitive father Ignatius also gives his testimony, that in Ephesus no heresy took up its permanent abode ^ This one example may serve to shew us, by how great a danger the Church was menaced in the earliest times, when false ' 2 Tim. iv. 6. = John xxi. 23. ' Rev. ii. 2. Ad Ephes. vi. : cr vfiTv ovlenia a't'pecri^ KciTotKeT. 1850.] THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 169 philosophy endeavoured to act as a step- mother to the Gospel of Christ. But in order to see the danger at the height, and to observe the human reason in full conflict with Chris- tianity, our attention must be transferred to another scene, and a somewhat later age. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was in those times the great emporium of the nations, a principal center both of learning and com- merce. There the east and west met to- gether, and interchanged not only the pro- ductions of nature, and the works of art, but the labours of the mind and the creations of the fancy. Thither the philosophers^ repaired, and added to that land of monsters yet another chimaera, by combining the theories of Greece with the fables of Persia and India. They be- came strong in numbers and renown, and even threw into the shade the famous schools of Athens. But St Paul had not been afraid to confront the Epicureans and Stoics in the ancient seat of wisdom ; nor were the succes- sors of the Apostles backward to encounter the sages of Alexandria ; and in the second century of our era, a Christian school was * See Simon, Ecole d! Alexandrie, Vol. i. After its sub- mission to the Romans, Alexandria began to lose the literary reputation which it had previously enjoyed, and became famous as the resort of philosophers. 170 RESISTANCE MADE BY [Lect. VII. established in that city, within sight of those who styled themselves the disciples of Plato. On one side were the shafts of wit and rail- lery, the dreams of the mystic, the cavils of the sceptic, and all the memories and preju- dices which could hold men to the ancient paths. But on the other side there was a message of glad tidings announced to be from God himself, certified by a cloud of witnesses, recorded in books of unquestionable authen- ticity, proclaimed by an order of ministers set apart for the purpose, illustrated by the devo- tion and active benevolence of those who ac- cepted it. Against such a power what could be done by a philosophy, human in its origin, and without even human authority to recom- mend it, built on no uniform plan, but made up of different and contending systems, en- cumbered with theories which it did not be- lieve, entangled in doubts which it could not solve ; able to prove nothing, scarcely ventur- ing to assert any thing for certain. We indeed can see that such a conflict could have only one result. But those who were engaged in it were unable or rather unwilling to perceive hovv' great a strength was arrayed against them. Their efforts betokened infatuation and de- spair. They felt that the point at issue was not the predominance of one school or sect 1850] THE HEATHEN PHILOSOPHY. 171 over another, but the supremacy of the human reason itself. They were not content there- fore now, as in former times, to remain coldly declaiming in their schools, but they conde- scended to go forth into the streets, and en- deavoured to persuade the people. In the extremity of a common danger, philosophy entered into alliance with the pagan supersti- tion, which it had always secretly despised, and sometimes openly ridiculed. Attempts were made to shew, that the various mytho- logies of the world were so many allegories, masking indeed, but still containing, the truth. It was observed, that the sacred books in the hands of the Christians, were a power- ful instrument both for attack and defence. The ancient oracles, therefore, were collected into a book'; that so paganism also might be able to appeal to its Scriptures. Elaborate treatises were composed attacking the Chris- tian doctrine with all the objections which the most ingenious adversary could devise. The quiver of scepticism was exhausted ; and if the modern infidel would assail the Gospel, ' By Porphyry. Euseb. Prcep. Ev. iv. 6 : Owtos (o IIo^- vpio^^ avvaywytjv iTroirjaaTO '^^prja-jjiwv tou tc 'AiroWmvo'i Koi TtSv XoiTTtSv dewv TC KOI dyadujv hntfxouwv ou? kui fxd\i|/-ev8ccrt Xoyotr, €iKa fifj e'Ue dXddeai. Plato, in his RepiihUc, (Lib. in. p. 389), justifies falsehood on somewhat different grounds from his master, but has adopted and improved his medical illustration. He says that the gods have no need of falsehood ; and men only require it as a medicine. And as medicines ought to be administered by none but physicians, so de- ception should only be practised by the rulers of a state, 186 NOTE. [Lect. VII. for the advantage of the subjects, and not by the subjects themselves. Beolcn ^ev axprjo-rov ^evBos, dvOpcoTTOis Se ;^pr/(7t/J0j', 03S iv (jiapfiaKov etdei. 8fj\ov, on to ye toiovtou larpols boreov, Ididrais 8e ov^ anreov. Tols apxovai Se rrjs iroXecos, e'lTrep ricrlv aWois, Trpoa-^Kei ■^ev^etrdai, rj jroXe/xicpi' fj ttoXitcop eveKa, eV cocpeXeiq Trjs TToXetoff* rot? 8e aWocs iraaiv ov)( anreov tov toiovtov, &C. Clement of Alexandria (a.d. 200), probably had in his mind the passage which I have just quoted from Plato, though he found in the healing art a different analogy, when he said {Strom, vii. p. 863, Potter), that the good Christian is sincere in all his thoughts and words, except it be for the good of others, in which case he speaks falsely, as a physician sometimes does, to cure his patients ; a\T]6fi re yap (ppovet afia Ka\ akrjdfvei, ttXtjv et fii] irore eV depaTTfias pepei (compare Plato's eV (papfMUKOv ei'Sei) KuddjTfp larpos npos vocrovvTas em aaiTTjpiq rav KajivoPTcov •^evaerai. Origen quoted with approbation the sentiment of Plato, and for so doing is severely censured by St Jerome. The original words of Origen are not extant, having been con- tained in the 6th book of his Stromata. Jerome translates them as follows : " Vos igitm- loquimini veritatem unusquisque cum proxi- mo suo : non debemus dicere, quis est proximus mens ? sed considerare, quomodo philosophus (Plato) caute dixerit : Deo indecens et inutile esse mendacium, hominibus inter- dum utile, et quod ne pro dispensatione quidem putandus sit Deus aliquando mentiri. Sin autem commodum audi- entis exegerit, verbis loquitur ambiguis et per senigmata quae vult profert, ut et civitatis apud eum dignitas conser- vetur, et quod noxium esse poterat, si necdum proferretur in vulgus, quodam tectum velamine proferatur. Homo autem, cui incumbit necessitas mentiendi, diligenter atten- dat, ut sic utatur interdum mendacio, quomodo condimento atque medicamine, ut mensuraejus ne excedat terminos. .. 1850.] NOTE. 187 Ex quo perspicuum est, quod nisi ita mentiti fuerimus, ut magnum nobis ex hoc aliquid quceratur bonum, judicandi simus, quasi inimici ejus qui ait, ego sum Veritas." On this passage St Jerome makes the following com- ment; " Hsec scripsit Origines : negare non possumus : scripsit in his libris quos ad perfectos et ad discipulos loquebatur, docetque magistris mentiendum, discipulos autem non de- bere mentiri. Qui ergo bene mentitur, et absque uUa verecundia quicquid in buccam venerit, confingit in fratres, magistrun se optimum probat." {Apol. i. Contr. Buffin. Tom. II. p. 138). Yet, strange to say, he who here censures Origen so severely, and even unfairly, is himself, in other parts of his works, the professed advocate of deception ; citing as his examples Origen, Methodius, Eusebius, &c., and even St Paul, of whom he says ; " Quam artifex, quam prudens, quam dissimulator sit, ejus quod agit, {Op. iv. pars ii. p. 236). He thought St Paul only pretended to rebuke St Peter. (See Op. iv. pars ii. p. 630 — 642. Contr. Jovin. \. cap. IV. p. 235. Epist. Augustin, ad Hieron. 76, al. 96). St Clirysostom speaks to the same purpose, saying that deception may be used with honour not only in war, and towards our enemies, but in peace, and towards our friends, de Sacerdot. I. ovk iv TroXe/xo) fiovov, oiS' eVi Tovs e;^^povs', aXXa Koi iv elprjvrj Koi ejrt toxjs (piKrarovs XPW^^*- Tavrj; (rfj aTTarrj) KoKov. And again, ttoXXi) ?; ttjs dnciTTjs Icrxvs, [jlovov (j.^ fxera doXepas TrpoayeaBo) rrjs Trpoaipecreas' p,aWov Se ovde aTrdrqv ro TOiovTo del Kokftv, dXX' olKovop.iav Tiva Koi ao({)[av. Such was the teaching of the principal fathers of the Church, at the beginning of the 5th century. An occasion soon arose, which put their principles to the test. A sect of heretics, called the Priscillianists, in their intercourse with the Catholics, affected the Cathohc faith,^ and pre- 188 NOTE. [Lect. Vir. tended to condemn Priscillianus and his tenets ; justif) ing this dissimulation by examples from Scripture, such as that of Jehu, (2 ^Kings x. 18), and by the words of St Paul, (Ephes. iv. 25), " Speak every man truth with his neighbour ;" i. e. with his 7ieighhour only. In order to expose and refute these heretics, it was proposed that the orthodox should turn against them their own weapons, and should mingle among them, professing for a time to approve of their doctrines. St Augustine in his treatise cow^r* Mendaciam^ combats this scheme, shewing that it is contrary to the principles of the Gospel, and to the example and command of Him who is "the Truth;" that it is a worse sort of wickedness than that of the heretics who are sought to be reclaimed by it ; and that its most probable effect will be to confirm them in their heresy. " Videsne quo tendat hoc malum ? ut scilicet non solum nos illis, ipsique nobis, sed omnis frater omni fratri non immerito videatur suspectus. At- que ita dum per mendacium tenditur ut doceatur fides, id agitur potius ut nuUi habenda sit fides." (§ 7) What if they ravage the flock of Christ like wolves in sheep's cloth- ing ? Our Lord has not commanded us to oppose them by putting on wolves' clothing ; " non addidit ex mendaciis vestris, sed ex fructibus eorum cognoscitis eos Interest quidem plurimum, qua causa, quo fine, qua intentione quid fiat ; sed ea qua; constat esse peccata, nullo bonie causic obtentu, nullo quasi bono fine, nulla velut bona intentione facienda sunt." He defends the suppression of the truth, as in the case of Abraham about his wife ; and excuses Jacob's decep- tion of his father as " non mendacium sed mysterium." In neither of these examples, I think, should we agree with him. He allows (§ S3) that it is a point of some difficulty, whether we may not have recourse to a falsehood, for the I860.] NOTE. 189 preservation and welfare of others ; but he meets the ques- tion fairly and boldly. " The man," he says, " who never speaks falsely except it be for the good of others, may well be regarded with hope, though he is not yet entitled to our praise. But when we inquire, whether a good man may ever utter a falsehood, we ask a question which re- lates not to one who belongs merely to Egypt, or Jericho, or Babylon, or even to the earthly Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her sons ; but we ask concerning a citizen of that commonwealth which is above, which is free, the mother of us all, eternal in the heavens. And to this question the answer is, No lie is of the truth. " lUe certe est, quamvis re ipsa nondum, jam tamen spe et indole laudandus, qui nunquam nisi hac intentione mentitur, qua vult prodesse alicui, nocere autem nemini. Sed nos cum quaerimus, sitne boni hominis aliquando mentiri, non de homine quaerimus, adhuc ad ^gyptum, vel ad Jerichum, vel ad Babylonian! pertinente, vel adhuc ad ipsam Hiero- solymam terrenam, qupe servit cum filiis suis ; sed de cive illius civitatis quse sursura est, libera, mater nostra, jeterna in ccelis. Et respondetur quserentibus nobis ; omne men- dacium non est ex veritate." The same language is held by St Bernard, de Modo Bene Vivendi, xxxi. " Non studeas mentiri, nee ut praestes alicui." It is worthy of observation that the indulgent view of falsehood which the fathers entertained is not made a ground of attack upon them by Barbeyrac, in his treatise sur la Morale des P^res ; on the contrary, he adopted it himself, and defended it in his notes on Puffendorfs Droit de la Nature et des Gens, Lib. iv. c. 1 ; and Grotius, de Jure Belli et Pads, Lib. in. c. 1. LECTURE VIII. THE RESISTANCE MADE TO THE GOSPEL BY THE PAGAN SUPERSTITION. THE RELICS OP PAGANISM. GALATIANS IV. 8. Hoivheit then, wlien ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But noiv, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, hoiv turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bond- age ? TF it is the propensity of some minds to -■- be always contemplating the future with hope, it appears no less characteristic of others, to look back with regret upon the past. Many persons, indeed, have too good reason to take a sorrowful and wistful retro- spect of their former lives. But there are not a few, whose course has been always a pro- gressive one, and who yet, from time to time, remember fondly the low degrees^ from which they have ascended. The mature man, in the exercise of all the faculties and affections of * The ambitious man, according to Shakspearc, " Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees By which he did ascend;" {Jid. Coesar, ll. 1). Perhaps he does this generally ; but there are moments when he is under the influence of the oppo- site feelins. 1850.] RESISTANCE MADE TO THE GOSPEL, ETC. 191 humanity, indulges a passing wish, that he could resume the thoughts and feelings of a less perfect age. He who has gained a high eminence in the path of ambition, is arrested for a moment, by the desire to return to his former obscurity. Even the liberated prisoner has been known to sigh for the land of his captivity, or the walls of his dungeon. This inconsistency of our nature is too familiar to require illustration. And if we have duly observed it, we cannot be surprised to hear, that some of the early Christian converts were occasionally disquieted and dejected, when they called to mind the old associations, the cherished friends, the time-hallowed customs, all which, in accepting the Gospel, they had for ever renounced and forsaken. Such feel- ings, though culpable, we should deem to be not wholly without excuse. It appears, however, from the language of the Apostle in my text, and from other au- thorities, that there were some members of the infant Church, who clung to the memory of their former superstitions with more than transitory regret. Despising the liberty where- with Christ had made them free, they con- templated a return to their ancient bondage. Certain of the Galatian converts had been, to use the expression of St Paul, " bewitched " 192 RESISTANCE MADE TO [Lect. VIII. with this feeling. Having formerly served those that were no gods, the deities of pagan mythology, and having been brought to a knowledge of the true God, they were lapsing again to those weak and beggarly elements, that doting and terror-stricken religion, to which they had been originally devoted. And if they did not actually return to the altars of idols, if they were ashamed of so directly con- tradicting their baptismal professions, yet they betook themselves to those obsolete Jewish observances, which bore an outward resem- blance to the solemnities of paganism. They observed " days and months, and times and years." That is to say, they kept in a super- stitious manner the sabbaths and new moons, the changes of the seasons, the revolutions of the years. Their former misbelief had left in them a morbid taste for ceremonies, a craving which the Gospel refused to gratify. They had recourse to the Mosaic ritual ; and the Apostle does not scruple to say, that in comparison of the Christian worship, that ritual with all its external pomp, was poor and barren, and that the Gentiles, who went over to it, were but exchanging one yoke of bondage for another. In the first age of the Church therefore, there were persons, outwardly Christians, who remained pagans at heart. When we trace 1850.] THE GOSPEL BY PAGANISM. 193 the history of later times, we find that this evil, instead of subsiding, increased, and at- tained its greatest height when paganism was nominally extinct. Several laws are still ex- tant, which were enacted against Apostates from our holy Religion by Christian emperors^ : from these we learn that at a time when all the powers of this world were on the side of the Gospel, there were Christians who either relapsed altogether into their former super- stition, or at least resorted frequently to the idolatrous rites of the pagan altars. And when such scandals were rendered impossible by the suppression of the sacrifices, and the destruc- tion of the temples, the spirit of paganism found a sanctuary even within the precincts of the Church. But before we follow the pro- gress of that secret and subtle mischief, let us endeavour to estimate the open opposition which the heathen religion presented to the march of Christianity. Undoubtedly the system of paganism had been shaken to its foundations, even before the coming of Christ. It had been weighed in the balance by philosophers, and by them it had been found wanting. But we must not underrate the power which it still retained. It * Gratian and Theodosius. See Codex Theodosianus, Lib. XVI. tit. 7- 1 — 5. H.H.L. 13 194 RESISTANCE MADE TO [Lect. VIII. is true that the educated classes almost uni- versally regarded it with a scepticism which they scarcely deigned to conceal. It could not well be otherwise with men, who had been taught to think for themselves. Yet even they could not entirely divest themselves of the suspicion, that there were some par- ticles of heavenly truth, buried in the mass of absurdities which they despised. Nor were they willing to overthrow a religion which had at least been found useful, as a political engine, for the government and civilization of the lower classes. And in the eyes of the unthinking multitude what was paganism ? It was a system, whose foundations indeed could not be ascertained, for they were lost in the depth of antiquity : but in its superstructure it was interwoven with the whole framework of society. It was connected with the public institutions of the state ; it penetrated to the inmost recesses of domestic life. There was no part of the natural world which it did not pervade. To its service the sister arts of painting and sculpture had from their infancy been devoted. Its grossest fables had been made, through the medium of poetry, to as- sume an air of elegance, and a semblance of reality. It was so elastic a system, that while it readily sympathized with the virtues of 1850.] THE GOSPEL BY PAGANISM. 195 men, and encouraged their highest aspira- tions, it was indulgent and even obsequious to their vices. In a word, it was intimately bound up with the language and literature, with the habits and customs of the most civil- ized and the most powerful nation in the world. Was this a system likely to be over- thrown and scattered to the winds by the assault of a i'ew obscure strangers ? St Paul has described the Athenian people as ex- ceedingly afraid of their gods^ ; and without asserting that the ribald populace had a dis- tinct and serious belief in every fable of their mythology, or that the untutored rustic really suspected the presence of a particular deity in every brook which he crossed, in every thicket through which he threaded his path, we are justified in saying that the national religion, with its unlimited polytheism, with its gorgeous temples and images and altars, with its sacrifices and processions and festi- vals, had a strong hold upon the imagination and affections of the people at large. In the face of such a system, what could the men of Galilee have done, had they been mere impostors or enthusiasts ? They might possibly have erected at Athens an altar to * hfia-ilaifxovea-Tepov;, Acts xvii. 22. 13—2 196 RESISTANCE MADE TO [Lect. VIII. their Lord, by the side of that which had been dedicated to "the unknown God." They might have added one statue more to the assemblage congregated in the Pantheon at Rome. For so much was conceded to the devotees of Egyptian Isis and Serapis, and many a barbarous divinity. But could they have prevailed upon the various nations of that great empire to renounce the ancient faith, and to receive a new one at their hands ? Could they have overthrown every pagan altar, and dismounted every pagan god, not only from his pedestal of stone, but from his shrine in the hearts of men ? Could they have made Christ Jesus to be all in all ? The question is not whether this revolution could have been effected by a conqueror like Mahomet, who carried in his sword the irre- sistible credentials of his religion : but could it have been brought to pass by such persons as the men of Galilee and their successors, had not God been with them? Assuredly it was no effort of mere human strength, by which Samson brought down the temple of Dagon on the heads of the idolatrous Philis- tines ^ ; in like manner it was at the bidding of God, and not of man, that the stately edifice * Judges xvi. 30. 1850.] THE GOSPEL BY PAGANISM. 197 of paganism disappeared, and gave place to the Christian Church. Paganism did not yield without a long and desperate resistance ; and the efforts which it made to maintain its ground, are such as usually mark the decline of an ancient and popular, but false and hollow system. The most contemptuous language was held to- ward the Christians ; prejudices were excited, calumnies propagated, persecutions fomented ; but no attempt was made to shew, that the old religion had truth on its side, or that it satis- fied the wants and yearnings of human nature. The tumult at Ephesus which is described in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apo- stles, is a good illustration of the manner in which the popular feeling was excited against the teaching of the apostles. We find that for no less a time than two years St Paul had preached in that city openly and without mo- lestation ; and the nature of his doctrine had be- come known throughout the whole province of Asia. With the prudence which characterised every part of his conduct, he had avoided irri- tating the prejudices of his Ephesian hearers ; and while he proclaimed the glad tidings of the Gospel, and denounced idolatry in gene- ral, he had abstained from any pointed and particular attack upon the local superstition. 198 RESISTANCE MADE TO [Lect. VIII. It was acknowledged, that he was not a blas- phemer of the goddess ^ This being the case, the people viewed with indifference the pro- pagation of a new religion, till their jealousy was aroused by the apprehension that it was likely to supplant the old. At length he was obstructed in his preaching ; not, however, by those whom we should have thought to be the natural defenders and patrons of supersti- tion, the magistrates and priests. It even ap- pears that he had conciliated the friendship of the officers, to whom the conduct of the pagan festivals was entrusted. For I need not re- mind you, that they who in our English Version are called the chief of Asia^ were in reality the persons appointed to preside over the great religious ceremonies of the city. These magistrates were friendly, as they well might be, to one who came preaching a reli- gion of peace and charity and obedience. As for the priests, they had their resources and their fixed sources of support, and so long as these were untouched, their zealotry was not greatly excited. But the alarm was taken by parties whose gains were immediately curtailed by the preaching the Gospel. The silversmith and his craftsmen, who made the models of the temple and its statue, and sold ' Acts xix. 37- * Waiap-^a'i. 1850.] THE GOSPEL BY PAGANISM. 199 them to the pilgrims, these persons were na- turally the first to raise an outcry against a religion, which declared " that they be no gods which be made with hands." They speedily produced a commotion, which it required all the address and authority of the chief magis- trate to allay. And that which occurred at Ephesus, was repeated with more serious re- sults in almost every city of the empire. They who gained their livelihood by the pa- gan ceremonies, were the unscrupulous pro- moters of all kinds of calumnies. And by means of those calumnies the populace were wrought up to a pitch of religious fury which frequently could only be appeased by the shedding of Christian blood. But notwith- standing these outbreaks, the old religion was gradually relaxing its hold on the minds of men. The calumnies were found to be false. Many persons in all ranks of life became believers. The attendance at the pagan sa- crifices was sensibly diminished. Men were found bold enough to assert, that Caesar was not a God. The alarm which had commenced with the makers of the idols, extended up to him who was the great earthly object of idol- atry. The emperor conceived that the stabi- lity of his throne and the safety of the whole social fabric was connected with the national 200 RESISTANCE MADE TO [Lect. VIII religion. A general persecution was com- manded ; with what results to Christianity, we have on a former occasion seen. At length paganism was compelled to stand on the defensive, and to contend against its adversary in the equal field of argument. And then it was, in the last stage of its exist- ence, that an attempt was first made to re- commend it to the reason and consciences of men. For at that period, as 1 observed in my last lecture, philosophy also was reduced to its final extremity ; and waving, in the common danger, the contempt which it had entertained for the ancient superstitions, recanting all the slights and insults which it had cast on them, it held out to them a helping hand. Besides the elaborate treatises in which every possible objection was arrayed against Christianity, attempts were now made to supply paganism with that which it so greatly needed, an apo- logy for itself. Until recently, it had been the fashion to discredit and explain away the myths and traditions of antiquity. But now a different language was adopted. To attend the feasts, the dances, the sacrifices, the mys- teries, was now represented as tlie most de- lightful exercise and enjoyment of the soul. As for the images, they, after all, were not deities, but instruments, the conductors as it 1850.] THE GOSPEL BY PAGANISM. 201 were of human adoration, by which it passed from earth to heaven. And the innumerable deities themselves were not to be regarded as so many independent powers, and dominions, and principalities, but as the agents by whose intervention the Supreme Being regulated the order of the universe. The mythologies were recognised, not as literally true, but as symbolical of truth. The divine beauty of the oracles, their plenary, verbal and literal inspiration, was defended with a pertinacity, which reminds us of the purists, and other over-zealous advocates, who have upheld the canon of holy Scripture : while our more moderate and sensible divines are on this subject only adopting a theory, which a hea- then philosopher had invented for the oracles. " From the Deity," said Plutarch \ " proceeds the higher influence, the inspiration ; he com- municates the ideas to the soul, he kindles in it that light by which the future is surveyed ; but neither the voice, nor the language, nor the expression, nor the metre, is from him." Yet even supposing that the divine authority ^ De Pytli. Orac. v. : ov ydp ea-Ti 6eov tj ytjpv7? tmv avOpwirwv e^rjketxjyav Ctavoia<; (o/ pLapTvp€