;^0F  pmcifo^ 
 
 BS  2425.7  .S92  1847 
 Stroud,  William,  1789-1858 
 Treatise  on  the  physical 
 cause  of  the  death  of 
 
A    TREATISE 
 
 THE    PHYSICAL    CAUSE 
 
 DEATH  OF  CHRIST, 
 
 ITS    RELATION  TO    THE"  PRINCIPLES  AND  PRACTICE  OE 
 CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM  STROUD,  M.D. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HAMILTON    AND    ADAMS, 
 
 33,    PATERNOSTER- ROW. 
 
 1847. 
 
TO   THE 
 
 REV.   JOHN    PYE   SMITH,   D.D.    F.H.S.,   &c. 
 
 AS    A   TESTIMONY    OF    RESPECT 
 
 FOR   HIS   EMINENT   TALENTS,    ELEVATED   CHARACTER, 
 
 AND  ADMIRABLE  WRITINGS  ON    CONGENIAL   THEOLOGICAL    SUBJECTS, 
 
 THE    FOLLOWING   TREATISE    IS   DEDICATED    BY 
 
 THE   AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Whatever  faults  may  justly  be  attributed  to  the 
 following  treatise,  crudeness  and  precipitation  will 
 scarcely  be  among  their  number ;  for,  since  its  origi- 
 nal conception  first  occurred  to  the  author,  more  than 
 a  quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed,  during  the  greater 
 part  of  which  period  it  has  often  been  the  subject  of 
 his  thoughts,  and  not  unfrequently  of  his  conversation 
 and  correspondence.  In  the  year  1830,  an  outline 
 of  the  present  work,  comprising  its  principal  argu- 
 ments and  inferences,  was  published  in  the  Evan- 
 gelical Register,  a  magazine  which  at  that  time 
 circulated  in  the  connexion  of  the  Countess  of 
 Huntingdon;  and,  having  been  repeatedly  revised, 
 corrected,  and  enlarged,  the  result  is  at  length  laid 
 before  the  public  with  as  much  accuracy  and  fulness 
 as  the  author  has  been  able  to  impart. 
 
 Its  chief  object  is  to  demonstrate  an  important 
 physical  fact  connected  with  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
 to  point  out  its  relation  to  the  principles  and  practice 
 of  Christianity ;  but,  although  the  subjects  discussed 
 and  the  conclusions  deduced  from  them  are,  it  is 
 hoped,  of  no  inconsiderable  value  in  a  devotional  point 
 of  view,  the  treatise  itself  is  rather  argumentative 
 than  sentimental,  and  more  concerned  with  the  foun- 
 dation of  evangelical  religion  than  with  its  super- 
 structure.    The  fact  is  not  indeed  now  announced  for 
 
 A  2 
 
VI  PREFACE. 
 
 the  first  time,  having  been  more  or  less  correctly  anti- 
 cipated by  several  pious  and  excellent  writers  during 
 the  last  century ;  but,  as  in  matters  of  such  solemn 
 import  conjecture  and  probability  are  not  a  suffi- 
 cient ground  for  conviction,  the  author  has  laboured 
 to  supply  a  demonstration  of  the  fact,  which  he 
 trusts  will  be  found  both  new  and  satisfactory.  He 
 has  accordingly  been  careful  not  to  assume  anything 
 which  is  not  generally  acknowledged ;  and  has  sup- 
 ported every  point  of  the  argument  with  proofs  and 
 evidences  so  combined,  as  apparently  to  leave  no 
 other  alternative  than  that  which  is  here  maintained. 
 Should  the  attempt  have  been  successful,  it  will  fur- 
 nish a  fresh  proof  of  the  value  of  inductive  reasoning  ; 
 which,  like  a  sounding-line  let  down  into  the  ocean 
 of  time,  has  thus,  from  the  depth  of  eighteen  hun- 
 dred years,  brought  up  to  the  surface  a  pearl  of 
 great  price. 
 
 In  executing  this  design,  the  author  has  derived 
 much  advantage  from  his  medical  studies,  whereby 
 he  has  been  enabled  to  bring  forward  many  anato- 
 mical and  physiological  details  which,  although  abso- 
 lutely necessary  for  the  demonstration,  would  scarcely 
 have  been  within  the  reach  of  the  merely  theological 
 inquirer,  however  in  other  respects  able  and  well- 
 informed.  Some  of  the  facts  concerned  in  this'  in- 
 vestigation are  either  of  such  rare  occurrence,  or 
 have  been  so  seldom  verified  and  recorded,  that  a 
 few  of  them  only  could  be  adduced ;  but,  as  these 
 are  fully  authenticated,  and  free  from  ambiguity, 
 they  are  sufficient  for  the  end  in  view;  and,  on 
 account  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  subject,  it 
 would  be  alike  fruitless  and  unreasonable  to  demand 
 
PREFACE.  Vll 
 
 a  much  greater  number.  He  has  also  introduced  many 
 quotations  from  authors  of  eminence,  in  order  that, 
 on  all  points  requiring  positive  and  special  informa- 
 tion, the  reader  may  be  furnished  with  valuable 
 documents ;  and  may,  perhaps,  in  some  instances  be 
 better  satisfied  of  the  truth  and  pertinency  of  state- 
 ments, by  perceiving  that  the  original  writers  had  no 
 concern  with  the  argument  here  pursued,  and  could 
 not  even  have  conjectured  the  purpose  to  which 
 their  remarks  have  been  applied.  He  takes  this 
 opportunity  of  recording  his  acknowledgments  to 
 several  friends  who  have  supplied  him  with  useful 
 materials ;  but  whose  names,  being  for  the  most 
 part  inserted  in  the  treatise  itself,  need  not  now  be 
 repeated.  Should  the  work  ever  reach  a  second 
 edition,  he  shall  feel  much  obliged  by  any  commu- 
 nications tending  to  its  further  improvement,  with 
 which  he  may  in  the  mean  time  be  favoured. 
 
 He  has  likewise  had  occasion  to  refer  very 
 copiously  to  the  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  and  the 
 New  Testament.  In  doing  this,  he  has,  at  the  risk 
 of  incurring  some  censure  for  tediousness  and  repe- 
 tition, often  quoted  the  passages  at  large ;  fearing 
 that,  unless  he  adopted  this  plan,  the  effect  which  he 
 was  anxious  to  produce  would  in  many  cases  have 
 been  much  impaired,  if  not  wholly  defeated.  Few 
 readers  can,  in  fact,  be  trusted  to  examine  and  col- 
 late a  mere  list  of  biblical  references,  and  to  make 
 that  careful  and  intelligent  use  of  them  which  is 
 requisite  for  the  purpose  of  demonstration.  It  will 
 however  be  generally  admitted  that,  in  enouncing 
 the  truths  of  Scripture,  no  course  can  be  so  proper 
 as  to  cite  the  words  of  Scripture  ;  which  in  respect 
 
Vlll  PREFACE. 
 
 to  beauty,    energy,    and   perspicuity,    as  well  as   to 
 authority,  far  excel  all  human  compositions  whatso- 
 ever.    In  quoting  from  the  Old  Testament,  he  has 
 seldom  departed  from  the  text  of  the  English  Vulgate  ; 
 partly,  because  his   acquaintance  with   the  Hebrew 
 language  is  too  limited  to  qualify  him  for  the  task  of 
 translating  from  it ;    and  partly,  because  it  is  allowed 
 on  all  hands  that,  in  this  portion  of  the  Bible,  the 
 authorized  version  stands  in  little  need  of  improve- 
 ment.   But,  in  the  New  Testament  which,  as  being  the 
 code  of  Christianity,  is  the  most  important  part  of  the 
 sacred  volume,  and  of  which  the  original  language  is 
 more  easily  and  more  commonly  acquired,  he  has  often 
 ventured  to  deviate  from  that  version,  and  attempted 
 to  express  with  greater  clearness  and  force  the  sense 
 of  the  apostolical  writings.     For  practical  purposes 
 the  authorized  version    is    sufficiently  correct,    and 
 frequently  indeed  as    perfect  as  could    be  desired ; 
 but  the  passages  are  neither  few  nor  unimportant, 
 more  especially  in  the  epistles,  wherein,  as  compe- 
 tent judges  will  admit,  it  is  susceptible  of  improve- 
 ment, both  in  point  of  accuracy  and  of  style.     Such 
 however  is  the  force  of  long  custom  and  early  asso- 
 ciation, that  a  modified  version,  even  when  confes- 
 sedly preferable,  appears  to  most  persons,  and  particu- 
 larly to  those  who  are  not  much  accustomed  to  critical 
 researches,  strange   and  repulsive.     It  ought  at  the 
 same  time  to  be  understood  that,  although  some  of 
 the  biblical  translations  here  introduced  may  serve 
 to  elucidate  and  confirm  the  peculiar  views  proposed 
 in    this   work,    none  of  them    is   essential  to   their 
 demonstration ;  which  would  have  been  equally  cer- 
 tain, had  the  common  version  been  exclusively  em- 
 
PREFACE.  IX 
 
 ployed.  An  early  section  of  this  treatise,  describing 
 the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  besides  being  a 
 necessary  foundation  for  the  reasonings  and  deduc- 
 tions which  follow,  furnishes  a  fair  specimen  of  such 
 translation,  as  likewise  of  another  work,  in  which  the 
 author  has  also  been  for  many  years  more  or  less 
 engaged  ;  namely,  a  Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels. 
 This  he  hopes  before  long  to  publish,  in  the  first 
 instance  in  Greek  ;  and  afterwards,  if  he  has  reason 
 to  hope  that  such  a  performance  will  be  acceptable 
 to  the  public,  in  English. 
 
 Of  the  subsequent  portions  of  the  treatise  the 
 professed  object  is  to  propose  a  peculiar,  and  as  it 
 were  physical  demonstration  of  the  great  truths  of 
 the  gospel,  derived  from  internal  evidence.  Such 
 however  is  the  variety  of  human  characters  and 
 dispositions,  that  to  some  persons  its  arguments 
 may  possibly  appear  defective,  and  to  others  super- 
 fluous, or  even  presumptuous.  Both  parties  may 
 however  be  reminded  that  the  subject  is  encom- 
 passed with  difficulties  and  obscurities  which,  as  they 
 tend  to  impair  its  legitimate  influence,  it  is  desirable 
 to  diminish  or  remove.  Some  of  these,  lying  en- 
 tirely beyond  the  range  of  the  human  faculties,  at 
 least  in  the  present  stage  of  existence,  the  author 
 has  intentionally  left  untouched ;  but  others,  de- 
 pending chiefly  on  confusion  of  ideas,  or  the  want 
 of  sufficient  information,  he  has  endeavoured  to 
 dispel.  Yet,  although  he  trusts  his  arguments  may 
 have  some  w^eight,  even  with  persons  of  a  careless 
 or  sceptical  temper,  he  does  not  profess  to  have 
 written  a  work  specifically  adapted  to  their  case. 
 He  assumes,  for  instance,  at  the  outset  the  truth  and 
 
X  PREFACE. 
 
 divine  origin  of  the  canonical  Scriptures ;  but  still, 
 in  the  course  of  the  subsequent  disquisition,  subjects 
 these  Scriptures  to  so  close  and  searching  an  inves- 
 tigation, as  serves  fully  to  justify  the  confidence  pro- 
 visionally placed  in  them ;  since,  had  they  been 
 spurious  or  erroneous,  such  a  trial  would  infallibly 
 have  led  to  their  refutation.  This  process  is,  indeed, 
 the  converse  of  that  which  is  often  employed  in 
 mathematical  works,  under  the  appellation  of  the 
 Reductio  ad  ahsurdum  ;  and,  supposing  the  reason- 
 ing to  be  correct,  the  conclusions  deduced  from  this 
 source  are  universally  allowed  to  be  valid.  On  the 
 other  hand,  the  humble  and  practical  Christian, 
 whose  religious  convictions  are  chiefly  founded  on  the 
 direct  statements  of  the  Scriptures,  and  on  his  personal 
 experience  of  their  happy  effects  when  cordially  em- 
 braced, will  not  regret  to  find  that,  by  pursuing  a  par- 
 ticular course  of  research,  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  di- 
 vine revelation  may  be  illustrated  to  a  greater  extent 
 than  he  might  perhaps  have  originally  expected ; 
 and  that,  when  carefully  and  rationally  investigated, 
 its  salutary  doctrines  approve  themselves  no  less  to  the 
 understanding  than  to  the  heart.  To  all  classes  of 
 readers  the  author  therefore  respectfully  commends 
 his  treatise ;  and,  without  troubling  them  with  any 
 further  preliminary  remarks,  fervently  hopes  that, 
 in  a  matter  of  the  highest  interest  and  importance, 
 it  may,  under  the  divine  blessing,  in  some  degree 
 contribute  both  to  their  satisfaction,  and  their  ad- 
 vantage. 
 
TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 
 
 Pages 
 Introduction         ......         1 — 5 
 
 PART  I. 
 
 Investigation  of  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Death 
 
 OF  Christ      ......      7 — 156 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 Evangelical  narrative  of  the  Death  of  Christ  ,  .       7 — 27 
 
 CHAPTER  II. 
 
 Summary  of  the  principal  circumstances  which  attended 
 
 the  Death  of  Christ       .....     28—32 
 
 CHAPTER  III. 
 
 Rejection  of  erroneous  explanations  of  the  Death  of  Christ      33 — 72 
 
 CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 Demonstration  of  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Death  of  Christ    73—156 
 
 PART   II. 
 
 Elucidation    of    scriptural  truth,  by  the  fore- 
 going explanation  of  the  Death  of  Christ  .   157 — 346 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 On  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  in  relation  to  the  Death 
 
 of  Christ  ......     157—224 
 
XU  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER  II. 
 
 Pages 
 
 On  the  types  and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 
 
 relation  to  the  Death  of  Christ  .  .  •     225—268 
 
 CHAPTER  III. 
 
 On  the  narratives  and  symbols  of  the  New  Testament, 
 
 in  relation  to  the  Death  of  Christ     .  .  .     269—300 
 
 CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 <3n  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christianity,  in  relation 
 
 to  the  Death  of  Christ  ....     301—332 
 
 CHAPTER  V. 
 
 On  the  pecidiar  evidence  of  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
 furnished  by  the  foregoing  explanation  of  the  Death 
 of  Christ        ......     333—346 
 
 Conclusion  ......     347 — 360 
 
 Notes  and  Illustrations        ....     361 — 486 
 
 Note  I. — On  the  erroneous    readings    of   the  Vatican 
 
 Manuscript        .  .  .  .  .         .     561 — 367 
 
 Note  II.— On  crucifixion  ....     367—379 
 
 Note  III. — On  agony,  and  bloody  sweat    .         .  .     379 — 389 
 
 Note  IV. — On  rupture  of  the  heart  from  mental  emotion  389 — 398 
 Note  V. — On  the  blood  and  water  which  flowed  from 
 
 the  side  of  Christ      .....     399 — 420 
 
 Note  VI. — On  the  darkness  of  the  sun  and  moon  during 
 
 the  sufferings  of  Christ         ....     420 — 446 
 
 Note  VII.— On  Peter's  denials  of  Christ  .  .     446—461 
 
 Note  VIII.— On  the  scriptural  use  of  the  terms  Cove- 
 nant and  Testament      .....     462—486 
 
 List  of  authors  and  works,  to  which  reference  is  made 
 
 in  the  foregoing  Treatise      .  .  .  487—496 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Of  the  facts  on  which  Christianity  is  based,  and 
 of  the  doctrines  and  precepts  wherein  it  mainly  con- 
 sists, the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  is  the  common 
 centre,  to  which  all  the  other  parts  of  the  system  bear 
 so  special  and  intimate  a  relation,  that  without  it  they 
 would  be  unconnected  and  inefficient.  In  proportion 
 as  this  momentous  event  is  duly  appreciated,  the  Chris- 
 tian religion  may  be  expected  to  prosper ;  but,  could 
 the  fact  as  related  in  Scripture  be  disproved,  the  reli- 
 gion would  fall  to  the  ground.  Hence,  the  apostle  Paul 
 termed  the  preaching  of  the  gospel — "  the  preaching 
 of  the  cross ;" — and,  in  the  discharge  of  his  ministry 
 both  amongst  Jews  and  Gentiles,  resolved  to  build  on 
 no  other  foundation  than — "  Christ  crucified."* — -Such 
 being  indisputably  the  case,  it  must  be  regarded  as  a 
 remarkable  circumstance,  that  of  this  cardinal  fact 
 the  precise  nature  and  immediate  cause  have  never  yet 
 been  fully  explored.  That  the  subject  is  involved 
 in  considerable  obscurity  is  not  unfrequently  admit- 
 ted ;  and  yet,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  neglected 
 hints  and  conjectures,  little  progress  has  been  made 
 
 *   1  Corinth,  chap.  1,  v.  17,  18;  chap.  2,  v.  1,  2  ;— Galat.  chap.  3, 
 V.  1  ;  chap.  5,  v.  11  ;  chap.  6,  v.  12 — 14,  &c. 
 
 B 
 
 f 
 
2  INTRODUCTION. 
 
 during  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  towards  its 
 complete  elucidation.  The  solutions  proposed  by  com- 
 mentators, both  ancient  and  modern,  are  for  the  most 
 part  borrowed  from  each  other  without  sufficient  proof 
 or  acknowledgment ;  and,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown, 
 are  either  inadequate,  or  erroneous.  This  deficiency 
 of  research  on  a  point  so  interesting  and  important 
 may  be  attributed,  partly  to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
 an  accurate  view  of  all  the  conditions  concerned,  and 
 partly  to  an  ill-founded  apprehension  that  such  inqui- 
 ries are  either  presumptuous  and  impracticable,  or  at 
 best,  rather  curious  than  useful.  Whether  the  present 
 attempt  will  be  more  successful  than  those  by  which 
 it  has  been  preceded,  the  event  must  determine ;  but 
 that  it  is  neither  improper,  superfluous,  nor  unim- 
 portant, may  easily  be  proved.  It  is  not  improper, 
 because  there  are  numerous  intimations  in  Scripture 
 which  so  strongly  invite  attention  to  the  subject,  that 
 it  is  impossible  to  ascribe  to  them  any  other  use  or 
 design ;  a  circumstance  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
 general  character  of  the  sacred  volume,  which  demands 
 from  its  readers  reflection  as  well  as  docility,  and  is 
 alike  opposed  to  credulity  and  to  scepticism.  It  is  not 
 superfluous,  because  hitherto  the  subject  has  been 
 either  imperfectly  examined,  or  wholly  misunderstood ; 
 and,  with  few  exceptions,  has  received  so  little  illus- 
 tration from  expositors,  that  their  remarks  concerning 
 it  are  more  calculated  to  excite  doubt  than  to  afford 
 satisfaction.  It  is  not  unimportant,  because  it  tends 
 to  present  the  Saviour's  death  in  the  most  impres- 
 sive and  affecting  point  of  view,  and  to  furnish  new 
 and  powerful  evidence  of  the  truth  and  value  of 
 revelation. 
 
INTRODUCTION.  3 
 
 There  is  little  reason  to  regard  such  an  inquiry  as 
 presumptuous,  since  it  is  suggested  by  the  Scripture 
 itself;  which,  moreover,  assigns  no  other  limits  to  the 
 acquisition  of  knowledge  than  the  capacity  of  the  mind, 
 and  the  means  of  information  placed  within  its  reach. 
 The  Father  of  lights,  from  whom  descends  every  good 
 and  perfect  gift,  has  no  jealousy  of  his  rational  crea- 
 tures knowing  too  much  ;  but  they  are  unhappily 
 prone  to  limit  themselves,  by  neglecting  the  advan- 
 tages which  he  grants  them  for  this  end.  It  is  true 
 that  in  religion,  pure  and  elevated  affections  are  the 
 principal  object  of  pursuit ;  but,  as  a  means  both 
 of  exciting  and  of  exercising  these  affections,  sacred 
 knowledge  is  essential ;  and,  although  a  small  amount 
 of  such  knowledge  may  be  sufficient  for  salvation, 
 pious  persons  are  not  encouraged  to  rest  satisfied  with 
 low  attainments  in  this  respect,  but  exhorted  to  grow 
 in  wisdom  and  understanding,  as  well  as  in  all  other 
 spiritual  endowments.  Mankind  indeed,  whether 
 pious  or  profane,  are  throughout  Scripture  reproached 
 for  their  indifference  and  inattention  to  the  operations 
 of  God  ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  represented 
 as  approving  the  conduct  of  those  who  take  pleasure 
 in  examining  his  works  and  ways.  Much  may  be 
 learned  from  the  intelligent  contemplation  of  nature 
 and  providence,  but  it  is  in  the  Christian  dispensation 
 that  the  divine  character  is  most  conspicuously  dis- 
 played ;  and  the  more  attentively  its  discoveries  are 
 studied,  the  greater  inducement  will  there  be  to  yield 
 the  heart  to  their  salutary  influence. 
 
 Such  is  precisely  the  object  of  the  ensuing  expla- 
 nation of  the  immediate  cause  and  mode  of  the  death 
 of  Christ ; — an  explanation  which  is  recommended  to 
 
 b2 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the  reader's  favourable  regard  by  the  following  con- 
 siderations. In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  only  in  per- 
 fect harmony  with  all  the  facts  and  doctrines  of  the 
 gospel,  but  also  serves  to  elucidate  and  confirm  them. 
 Secondly,  it  demands  no  assent  except  on  the  ground 
 of  demonstration,  and  involves  no  reflection  on  the 
 piety  of  those  by  whom  it  may  be  doubted,  or 
 declined.  Thirdly,  if  admitted,  it  claims  no  higher 
 merit  for  the  author  than  that  of  having  jointly 
 cultivated  to  some  extent  physiological  and  biblical 
 studies, — a  combination  which,  although  indispensa- 
 ble for  such  purposes,  is  not  perhaps  often  realized  ; 
 and  lastly,  after  having  been  for  several  years  sub- 
 mitted to  private  examination,  it  has  received  the 
 assent  of  many  competent  judges  in  each  of  those 
 branches  of  knowledge,  without  encountering  any 
 material  objection.  In  pursuing  this  inquiry,  a 
 regular  and  inductive  method  will  be  observed.  Since 
 there  cannot  be  conclusive  reasoning  on  any  subject 
 without  a  connected  view  of  all  the  facts  relating  to  it 
 which  may  be  supplied  by  direct  observation,  a  conti- 
 nuous narrative  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ, 
 collected  from  the  separate  accounts  of  the  four  evan- 
 gelists, will  first  be  proposed.  In  order  to  concen- 
 trate attention  on  the  most  essential  points  of  this 
 narrative,  a  short  summary  of  its  principal  circum- 
 stances will  next  be  presented,  and  employed  as  a 
 chart  to  direct  the  course  of  the  subsequent  investi- 
 gation, and  as  a  criterion  to  determine  the  value  of 
 the  several  opinions  adduced.  These  opinions  will 
 then  be  reviewed;  and,  after  acknowledging  such 
 portions  of  truth  as  they  may  be  found  to  contain, 
 will  be  severally  shown  to  be  either  insufficient,  or 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 untenable.  The  explanation  which  remains  after 
 every  other  alternative  has  been  excluded  will  finally 
 be  demonstrated ;  and  the  rest  of  the  treatise  will  be 
 occupied  in  pointing  out  some  of  the  useful  purposes 
 to  which  it  may  be  applied. 
 
 That  the  subject  is  deserving  of  profound  atten- 
 tion will  not  be  disputed.  All  the  works  of  the  Deity 
 are  entitled  to  the  most  respectful  regard ;  but  some 
 of  them  are  so  obscure  and  mysterious  as  to  be  in 
 a  great  measure  beyond  the  reach  of  investigation. 
 Others,  like  the  phenomena  of  nature,  appear  mag- 
 nificent even  to  the  naked  eye,  but  still  more  so 
 when  minutely  and  scientifically  examined.  Just  so 
 it  is  with  the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross.  To  render 
 it  available  for  practical  purposes,  the  most  ordinary 
 contemplation  is  sufiicient ;  but,  under  close  and  cri- 
 tical inspection,  it  becomes  far  more  intelligible  and 
 afifecting.  With  the  inspired  narratives  and  doctrines 
 concerning  this  solemn  event  the  student  of  Scripture 
 may  well  be  content ;  but,  by  penetrating  a  little 
 beneath  the  surface,  he  finds  himself  in  contact  with 
 awful  realities,  more  impressive  than  the  most  au- 
 thentic reports,  and  which  may  be  as  distinctly  re- 
 cognised at  all  times  as  at  the  moment  of  their  ori- 
 ginal occurrence.  The  entire  system  of  evangelical 
 religion  hence  acquires  new  evidence  and  attraction, 
 tending  to  produce  a  deeper  conviction  of  its  truth, 
 and  a  more  cordial  compliance  with  its  invitations. 
 Should  the  following  attempt  to  develope  this  evi- 
 dence contribute  in  any  degree  to  promote  such 
 efiects,  the  wishes  of  the  author  will  be  amply  fulfilled. 
 
PART    I. 
 
 INVESTIGATION    OF    THE    IMMEDIATE    CAUSE 
 OF   THE   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 EVANGELICAL    NARRATIVE    OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 Having  been  divinely  anointed  as  the  prophet,  priest, 
 and  king  of  his  people,  Christ  successively  assumed 
 during  his  life  on  earth  each  of  those  sacred  charac- 
 ters ;  his  prophetical  office  having  commenced  at  his 
 baptism,  his  priesthood  at  the  last  supper,  and  his 
 kingdom  at  his  resurrection.  When  his  public  minis- 
 try in  Jerusalem  was  concluded,  he  entered  on  his 
 priestly  functions  by  celebrating  the  passover  with 
 his  apostles ;  whom,  under  the  influence  of  the  most 
 generous  affection,  he  continued  till  the  last  moment 
 to  instruct  and  console.  After  predicting  the  events 
 which  were  immediately  to  befall  him,  and  commend- 
 ing himself,  his  disciples,  and  his  cause  in  solemn 
 prayer  to  the  Father,  he  closed  the  hallowed  engage- 
 ment, and  spontaneously  proceeded  to  the  scene  where 
 his  sufferings  were  to  begin.  The  apostle  John,  by 
 whom  alone  this  prayer  is  recorded,  thus  connects  it 
 with  the  sequel. 
 
8  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 ***** 
 
 When  Jesus  had  spoken  these  words  he  went  forth 
 with  his  disciples,  and  having  sung  a  hymn,  they  re- 
 paired as  usual  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  then 
 said  to  them, — "  All  of  you  will  this  night  be  offended 
 by  me,  for  it  is  written, — /  will  smite  the  shepherd, 
 and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  will  he  scattered; — but 
 after  I  am  risen  [from  the  dead,]  I  will  go  before  you 
 to  Galilee." — Peter  answered  him, — "  Though  all 
 [others]  should  be  offended  by  thee,  I  will  never  be 
 offended." — Jesus  said  to  him, — "  I  tell  thee  truly 
 that  to-day,  [even]  this  very  night,  before  the  cock 
 crows  the  second  time,  thou  wilt  disown  me  thrice :" 
 — but  he  spoke  the  more  positively, — "  Though  1 
 should  die  with  thee,  I  will  never  disown  thee :" — So 
 likewise  said  all  the  disciples.  Then  came  Jesus  with 
 them  to  a  place  beyond  the  brook  Kidron,  called 
 Gethsemane,  where  was  a  garden,  into  which  he  and 
 his  disciples  entered.  And  Judas  also  who  betrayed 
 him  knew  the  spot,  for  Jesus  and  his  disciples  often 
 assembled  there.  On  arriving  at  this  place  he  said 
 to  them, — "  Sit  here  whilst  I  go  and  pray  yonder, 
 [and]  pray  that  ye  may  not  fall  into  temptation." 
 — Then  taking  apart  with  him  Peter,  and  the  two 
 sons  of  Zebediah,  James  and  John,  he  was  seized 
 with  consternation  and  distress  :*  and  said  to  them, 
 — "  My  soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto 
 death  :   remain  here,  and  watch  with  me." — And  he 
 
 The  portions  of  the  four  Gospels  here  harmonized  are, — Matt.  chap. 
 26,  V.  30—75  ;  chap.  27  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  26—72  ;  chap.  15  ;— 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  39 — 71  ;  chap.  23  ; — and  John,  chaps.  18,  and  19. 
 
 *  fig^aro  iK^afitetd^ai  Kai  ddrjuoveiv.     Mark,  chap.  14.  v.  33. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 hastily  withdrew  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast,*  and 
 kneeling  down,  threw  himself  on  his  face,  and  prayed 
 that,  if  it  were  possible,  the  hour  might  pass  from 
 him,  saying — "Abba!  [that  is]  Father!  if  it  be 
 possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ;  nevertheless  not 
 my  will  but  thine  be  done." — Returning  to  the  dis- 
 ciples he  found  them  asleep,  and  said  to  Peter, — 
 "  Simon !  sleepest  thou  ?  Are  ye  thus  unable  to 
 watch  with  me  a  single  hour  ?  Watch  and  pray  that 
 ye  may  not  fall  into  temptation.  The  spirit  indeed 
 is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." — Again  withdraw- 
 ing, he  prayed  a  second  time,  saying  the  same  words ; 
 — "  My  Father !  if  this  cup  cannot  pass  from  me  unless 
 I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done." — On  returning  he  found 
 them  asleep  again,  for  their  eyes  were  heavy,  and 
 they  knew  not  what  to  answer  him.  Again  with- 
 drawing from  them,  he  prayed  a  third  time,  saying 
 the  same  words ;  and  there  appeared  to  him  an  angel 
 from  heaven,  strengthening  him.  Then,  falling  into 
 an  agony  he  prayed  most  earnestly,  and  his  sweat  be- 
 came as  it  were  clots  of  blood  dropping  to  the  ground. 
 Rising  from  prayer,  he  returned  a  third  time  to  the 
 disciples,  and  found  them  asleep  through  sorrow,  and 
 said  to  them, — "Do  ye  sleep  and  rest  till  the  last 
 moment  ?  Rise,  and  pray  that  ye  may  not  fall  into 
 temptation.  There  is  no  longer  time.  The  hour  is 
 come.f  Behold!  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into 
 the  hands  of  sinners.  Rise,  let  us  go.  Behold !  he 
 that  betrayeth  me  is  at  hand." 
 
 "Whilst  he  was  yet  speaking,  behold !  Judas,  one  of 
 
 *  Kai  avTOQ  cnreuTrdaBr]  drr^  avriZv  mgu  \ibov  ^o\r]v.     Luke, 
 chap.  22,  V.  41. 
 
 t  'Attexh,  i]\^iv  r)  dlpa.     Mark,  chap.  14,  v.    41. 
 
 B    S 
 
10  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 the  twelve,  having  taken  the  Roman  guard,*  besides 
 officers  from  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees,  came 
 thither  with  lanterns,  and  torches,  and  weapons. 
 And  he  had  appointed  them  a  signal,  saying, — 
 ["  The  man]  whom  I  shall  kiss  is  he,  seize  him, 
 and  lead  him  away  securely."  —  So  he  instantly 
 went  up  to  Jesus,  and  said — "  Hail,  Rabbi !" — 
 and  earnestly  kissed  him :  but  Jesus  said  to  him, 
 — "  Companion !  for  what  purpose  art  thou  come  ? 
 Judas  !  dost  thou  betray  the  Son  of  man  by  a  kiss  ?" 
 — Then  Jesus,  knowing  all  that  was  about  to 
 befall  him,  went  forth  and  said  to  them, — "  Whom 
 seek  ye  ?" — They  answered  him, — "  Jesus  of  Naza- 
 reth ;" — Jesus  said  to  them, — "  I  am  he." — And  Judas 
 also  who  betrayed  him  was  standing  with  them.  As 
 soon  then  as  he  had  said  to  them, — "  I  am  he," — they 
 drew  backwards,  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Then  he 
 asked  them  again, —  "  Whom  seek  ye  ?" — They  said, 
 — "  Jesus  of  Nazareth." — Jesus  answered, — "  I  have 
 told  you  that  I  am  he  :  if  therefore  ye  seek  me, 
 allow  these  men  to  depart ;" — thus  fulfilling  the  de- 
 claration which  he  had  made, — "  Of  those  whom  thou 
 gavest  me  I  have  not  lost  one." — Then  they  advanced, 
 laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and  seized  him.  On  this  those 
 who  were  with  him,  perceiving  what  was  about  to 
 happen,  said  to  him, — "  Lord,  shall  we  smite  with  the 
 sword?" — and  Simon  Peter  having  a  sword  drew  it, 
 and  smote  the  high  priest's  slave,  and  cut  off  his 
 right  ear  :  the  slave's  name  was  Malchus.  Then  said 
 Jesus  to  Peter, — *'  Put  the  sword  into  the  scabbard, 
 for  all  who  take  the  sword  will  perish  by  the  sword. 
 
 *  \a€wj/  rrjv  (TTreJpav.     John,  chap.  18,  v.  3. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  \\ 
 
 The  cup  which  the  Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not 
 drink  it  ?  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  even  now  re- 
 quest my  Father,  and  he  would  send  to  my  aid  more 
 than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  [but]  how  then  would 
 the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  [which  declare]  that  thus 
 it  must  be  ?" — And  he  said, — "  Suffer  [me]  thus  far:" 
 — and,  touching  the  ear  of  Malchus,  he  healed  him. 
 Then  said  Jesus  to  the  chief  priests,  commanders  of 
 the  temple  [guard,]  and  elders,  who  had  come  forth 
 against  him, — "  Are  ye  come  forth  as  against  a  robber, 
 with  swords  and  staves,  to  seize  me  ?  I  sat  daily 
 amongst  you,  teaching  in  the  temple,  and  ye  did  not 
 seize  me  ;  but  this  is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of 
 darkness,  in  fulfilment  of  the  writings  of  the  pro- 
 phets."— Then  all  the  disciples  forsook  him,  and  fled. 
 So  the  guard,  and  [their]  commander,  and  the 
 officers  of  the  Jews,*  seized  Jesus,  and  bound  him. 
 And  there  followed  him  a  certain  youth  having  no 
 other  clothing  than  a  linen  sheet,  and  the  young  men 
 seized  him  ;  on  which  leaving  the  sheet  he  fled  from 
 them  naked.  They  led  Jesus  in  the  first  instance  to 
 Annas,  for  he  was  father-in-law  of  Caiaphas  who 
 was  high  priest  that  year.  Caiaphas  was  he  who  had 
 counselled  the  Jews  that  it  was  expedient  one  man 
 should  die  for  the  nation.  Annas  sent  Jesus  bound 
 to  Caiaphas  the  high  priest,  at  whose  palace  all  the 
 chief  priests,  scribes,  and  elders  were  assembled. 
 Now  Simon  Peter  had  followed  Jesus  at  a  distance ; 
 another  disciple  also  [followed  him :]  that  disciple 
 was  known  to  the  high  priest,  and  entered  with  Jesus 
 
 *  'H  ovv  (TTreipa,  /cat  6  %i\tap%oc,  Kal  oi  VTrijp&rai  twv  'lovdaitov, 
 &c.    John,  chap.  18,  v.  12. 
 
12  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 into  the  palace,  but  Peter  stood  without  at  the  gate ; 
 so  the  other  disciple  who  was  known  to  the  high 
 priest  went  out,  and  spoke  to  the  maidservant  who 
 attended  the  gate,  and  obtained  admission  for  Peter. 
 Then  said  the  maidservant  to  Peter, — "  Art  not  thou 
 also  [one]  of  this  man's  disciples  ?" — He  said, — "  I 
 am  not :" — and  he  went  in,  and  joined  the  officers,  to 
 see  the  end.  The  slaves  and  officers  were  standing 
 round  a  fire  of  embers  which  they  had  kindled  in  the 
 midst  of  the  hall,  for  it  was  cold,  and  were  warming 
 themselves,  and  Peter  stood  with  them,  and  warmed 
 himself.  Whilst  he  was  there,  one  of  the  maidser- 
 vants of  the  high  priest  came,  and  seeing  Peter  sitting 
 at  the  fire,  after  looking  stedfastly  at  him,  said, — 
 *'  This  man  also  was  with  him, — Thou  also  wast  with 
 Jesus  of  Nazareth :" — but  he  disowned  him  before 
 them  all,  saying, — "  Woman,  I  know  him  not,  neither 
 do  I  understand  what  thou  meanest." — A  little  after 
 another  person  saw  him,  and  said, — "  Thou  also  art 
 [one]  of  them :" — but  Peter  said,—*'  Man,  I  am 
 not :" — and  he  went  out  into  the  porch,  and  the  cock 
 crew.  Whilst  he  was  there,  another  [maidservant] 
 saw  him,  and  said  to  those  who  were  present, — ''  This 
 man  also  was  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth." — Again  he 
 denied  [it]  with  an  oath,  [saying,] — "  I  know  not  the 
 man." — Now  the  high  priest  questioned  Jesus  con- 
 cerning his  disciples,  and  his  doctrine.  Jesus  answered 
 him, — "  I  spoke  openly  to  the  world,  I  always  taught 
 in  synagogues,  and  in  the  temple,  where  all  the 
 Jews  assemble,*  and  I  have  not  taught  anything 
 in  secret.     Why  askest  thou  me  ?     Ask  those  who 
 
 *  OTTov  Trdvreg  ol  ^lovdaioi  o■v^•^pxo*'^<^*•     John,  chap.  IS,  v.  20. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  jg 
 
 heard  [me]  what  I  spoke  to  them.  Behold !  they 
 know  what  I  have  spoken." — On  his  saying  this,  one 
 of  the  officers  who  stood  near  struck  him  with  his 
 staff,  saying, — "  Answerest  thou  the  high  priest  thus  ?" 
 — Jesus  replied  to  him, — "  If  I  have  spoken  evil, 
 bear  witness  of  the  evil ;  but  if  well,  why  strikest  thou 
 me  ?" — Then  the  chief  priests,  and  the  elders,  and  the 
 whole  Sanhedrim  sought  for  evidence  against  Jesus 
 that  they  might  sentence  him  to  death,  but  were  un- 
 able to  obtain  it ;  for  although  many  witnessed  falsely 
 against  him,  their  charges  did  not  agree.  At  length 
 two  false  witnesses  came  forward,  and  declared, — 
 "  This  man  said, — I  am  able  to  destroy  the  temple 
 of  God,  and  in  three  days  to  build  it  again. — We 
 heard  him  say, — I  will  destroy  this  temple  made  with 
 hands,  and  in  three  days  I  will  build  another  not 
 made  with  hands  :" — yet  even  thus  their  evidence 
 did  not  agree.  Then  the  high  priest  standing  up  in 
 the  midst  questioned  Jesus,  saying, — "  Dost  not  thou 
 make  any  answer  ?  What  is  it  that  these  men  wit- 
 ness against  thee  ?" — but  he  continued  silent,  and 
 returned  no  answer ;  on  which  the  high  priest  said 
 to  him, — "  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God  to  tell  us 
 whether  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." — 
 Jesus  said  to  him, — ["  It  is  as]  thou  hast  said ;  [and] 
 I  further  tell  you.  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of 
 man  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Almighty,*  and 
 coming  on  the  clouds  of  heaven." — -Then  the  high 
 priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying, — "  He  hath  spoken 
 blasphemy  :  what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ? 
 Behold !  ye  have  now  heard  his  blasphemy.    What 
 
 *  KaSrtjfievov  t/c  dt^iuiv  riiQ  dvi^d[jieoj<^.     Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  G4. 
 
14.  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 think  ye  ?" — They  all  answered, — "  He  is  deserving 
 of  death." — [Meanwhile]  Simon  Peter  was  standing 
 and  warming  himself.  So  they  said  to  him, — **  Art 
 not  thou  also  [one]  of  his  disciples  ?" — He  denied 
 [it,]  and  said, — "I  am  not." — One  of  the  high  priest's 
 slaves,  a  relative  [of  him]  whose  ear  Peter  cut  off, 
 said, — ^'  Did  not  I  see  thee  in  the  garden  with  him  ?" 
 — Again  Peter  denied  [it.] — A  little  after  another 
 man  confidently  affirmed,  saying, — "  Certainly  this 
 man  also  was  with  him,  for  he  is  a  Galilean." — So 
 the  bystanders  came  up,  and  said  again  to  Peter, — 
 **  Certainly  thou  also  art  [one]  of  them,  for  thy 
 [manner  of]  speaking  is  similar,  [and]  discovereth 
 thee :" — but  he  began  to  utter  oaths  and  curses 
 [saying,] — *'  Man,  I  knov^  not  v^hat  thou  meanest : 
 I  know  not  this  man  of  whom  ye  speak  :" — and  in- 
 stantly, whilst  he  was  yet  speaking,  the  cock  crew 
 the  second  time.  And  the  Lord  turned  and  looked 
 on  Peter ;  and  Peter  remembered  what  the  Lord 
 had  said  to  him, — "  Before  the  cock  crows  the  second 
 time  thou  wilt  disown  me  thrice  :"* — and  he  went 
 out,  and  wept  bitterly.  The  men  w^ho  guarded  Jesus 
 mocked  him,  and  beat  him  :  some  began  to  spit  on 
 him,  and  to  blindfold  him,  and  to  buffet  him,  and  the 
 officers  struck  him  [with  their  staves,]  saying, — 
 *'  Divine  to  us,  Christ :  Who  is  it  that  smote  thee  ?" — 
 and  many  other  blasphemies  uttered  they  against  him. 
 As  soon  as  it  was  morning,  all  the  chief  priests, 
 
 *  Before  the  second  cock-croving  Peter  denied  Christ  seven 
 times.  Four  times  he  declared  that  he  was  not  one  of  his  disciples, 
 and  three  times  that  he  did  not  know  him.  It  was  the  latter  mode  of 
 denial  which  Christ  had  specially  predicted.     Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  34. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  25 
 
 with  the  elders  of  the  people,  and  the  scribes,  held 
 a  consultation  against  Jesus,  to  put  him  to  death ; 
 and  having  brought  him  again  into  their  Sanhedrim, 
 they  said, — "  Tell  us  whether  thou  art  the  Christ." — 
 He  said  to  them, — ''  If  I  tell  you  ye  will  not  believe, 
 and  if  I  question  [you]  ye  will  neither  answer  me, 
 nor  release  [me.]  Henceforth  the  Son  of  man  will 
 sit  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Almighty." — On  this  they 
 all  said,— "Art  thou  then  the  Son  of  God?"— He 
 replied  to  them, — "  Ye  say  what  I  am." — They  said, 
 — "  What  further  need  have  we  of  evidence,  since 
 we  ourselves  have  heard  [enough]  from  his  own 
 mouth  ?" — And  the  whole  assembly  of  them  rose  up, 
 and  having  bound  Jesus,  led  [him]  away,  and  deli- 
 vered him  to  Pontius  Pilate,  the  governor.  When 
 Judas  who  had  betrayed  him  found  that  he  was 
 condemned,  he  regretted  [what  he  had  done,]*  and 
 brought  back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief 
 priests  and  elders,  saying, — "  I  have  sinned  by  be- 
 traying innocent  blood." — They  replied, — "  What 
 [is  that]  to  us  ?  See  thou  [to  that :]" — on  which  he 
 threw  down  the  silver  pieces  in  the  temple,  and  went 
 away,  and  hanged  himself.  The  chief  priests  took 
 the  money,  and  said, — "  It  is  not  lawful  to  put  it 
 into  the  treasury,  because  it  is  the  price  of  blood:" — 
 and  after  consulting,  they  purchased  with  it  the 
 potter's  field,  as  a  burial-ground  for  strangers;  on 
 which  account  that  field  is  to  this  day  called  a  field 
 of  blood.  Then  was  fulfilled  what  was  spoken  by 
 the  prophet  Jeremiah : — And  I  took  the  thirty  pieces 
 of  silver,  the  price  of  him  who  was  appraised,  whom 
 
 *  utTajxeXri^dg.     Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  3. 
 
IQ  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 some  of  the  sons  of  Israel  appraised,^  and  I  gave 
 them  for  the  potter  s  field,  as  the  Lord  commanded 
 me. — So  they  led  Jesus  from  [the  palace]  of  Caiaphas 
 to  that  of  the  Roman  governor, f  and  it  was  early. 
 They  did  not  themselves  enter  the  governor's  palace, 
 lest  they  should  be  defiled,  and  prevented  from  keep- 
 ing the  passover.J  Pilate  therefore  went  forth  to 
 them,  and  said, — "  What  accusation  do  ye  bring 
 against  this  man  ?" — They  answered  him, — "  If  he 
 were  not  a  malefactor  we  should  not  have  delivered 
 him  to  thee." — Pilate  said  to  them, — "  Take  him 
 yourselves,  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law." — 
 The  Jews  said  to  him, — "  We  have  no  authority 
 to  put  any  one  to  death ;" — thereby  fulfilling  what 
 Jesus  had  said,  when  intimating  what  kind  of  death 
 he  was  to  die.  Then  they  began  to  accuse  him,  say- 
 ing,— ^^  We  found  this  man  perverting  the  nation, 
 and  forbidding  to  pay  tribute  to  Ceesar,  declaring 
 himself  to  be  Christ  [the]  king." — And  Jesus  stood 
 before  the  governor :  so  the  governor  asked  him, 
 — ^'  Art  thou  the  king  of  the  Jews  ?" — He  answered 
 him, — [*'  It  is  as]  thou  sayest :" — and  on  being 
 accused  by  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  he  made 
 no  reply.  Then  Pilate  asked  him  again,— "Dost 
 not  thou  make  any  reply  ?  See  how  many  charges 
 they  bring  against  thee  :" — but  Jesus  still  made  no 
 reply,  whereat  the  governor  wondered  exceedingly. 
 
 *  TrjV  Tinifv  Tov  Terifirifikvov,  ov  tTif-irjcavTO  cnrb  viojv  'IcfpaijX. 
 Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  9  ;— Zech.  chap.  11,  v.  12,  13. 
 
 f  diib  TOV  Ka'iacpa  di;  to  TrpaiTMpiov.     John,  chap.  18,  v.  28. 
 
 +  dXX'  'iva  (pdyojffi  to  rrdaxa.  John,  chap.  18,  v.  28  ; — not  the 
 paschal  supper,  which  had  been  celebrated  the  evening  before,  but 
 the  paschal  festival  regarded  as  a  whole. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  17 
 
 Then  Pilate  returned  into  the  palace,  and  having 
 called  Jesus,  said  to  him, — "  Art  thou  the  king  of 
 the  Jews?" — Jesus  answered, — ''  Say  est  thou  this  of 
 thyself,  or  have  others  told  it  thee  concerning  me  ?" — 
 Pilate  replied, — "  Am  I  a  Jew?  Thine  own  nation, 
 and  the  chief  priests  have  delivered  thee  to  me. 
 What  hast  thou  done  ?" — Jesus  answered, — "  My 
 kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  If  my  kingdom  were 
 of  this  world,  my  followers  would  have  striven  that  I 
 should  not  have  been  delivered  to  the  Jews ;  but  now 
 [it  is  evident  that]  my  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."* 
 — Pilate  said  to  him, — "  Art  thou  a  king  then  ?" — 
 Jesus  answered, — [*'  As]  thou  sayest,  I  am  a  king. 
 For  this  purpose  was  I  born,  and  for  this  purpose 
 came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  to 
 the  truth.  Whosoever  is  of  the  truth  obeyeth  my 
 voice." — Pilate  said  to  him, — "  What  is  truth  ?" — 
 Having  thus  spoken,  he  again  went  forth  to  the  Jews, 
 and  said  to  the  chief  priests,  and  to  the  multitude, — 
 "  I  find  no  fault  in  this  man :" — but  they  became 
 more  urgent,  saying, — "  He  stirreth  up  the  people, 
 and  hath  spread  his  doctrine  throughout  all  Judea  to 
 this  place,  beginning  from  Galilee." — On  hearing  of 
 Galilee,  Pilate  asked, — "  Is  the  man  a  Galilean  ?"-{" — 
 and  having  learned  that  he  belonged  to  Herod's 
 jurisdiction,  he  sent  him  to  Herod,  who  also  was  at 
 Jerusalem  during  that  season.  When  Herod  saw 
 Jesus  he  was  very  glad,  for  he  had  long  wished  to  see 
 him  on  account  of  the  numerous  reports  which  he 
 had  heard  of  him,  and  he  hoped  to  see  some  miracle 
 
 *  vvv  dt  1]  [3a<nXeia  tj  kfir)  ovk  'icrnv  ivTtvStev,     John,  chap.  18, 
 V.  36. 
 
 '  +  k7rt)pb}Trj<Tev, — Ei  6  avOptoTrog  FaXiXaXog  eori ;  Luke,  chap.  23, 
 V.  6. 
 
Ig  NARRATIVE     OF    THE 
 
 performed  by  him :  he  therefore  asked  him  many 
 questions,  but  Jesus  gave  him  no  answer.  Meanwhile 
 the  chief  priests  and  the  scribes  stood  by,  vehemently 
 accusing  him ;  but  Herod,  with  his  guards,  made 
 light  of  him,  and  mocked  [him,]  and  after  dressing 
 him  in  a  splendid  robe,  sent  him  back  to  Pilate. 
 The  same  day  Pilate  and  Herod  were  reconciled  to 
 each  other,  for  they  had  previously  been  at  enmity. 
 Then  Pilate,  having  called  together  the  chief  priests, 
 with  the  rulers,  and  the  people,  said  to  them, — 
 "  Ye  have  brought  me  this  man  as  a  perverter  of  the 
 people,  and  behold  !  after  examining  [him]  before 
 you,  I  have  not  found  him  guilty  of  any  of  the  crimes 
 whereof  ye  accuse  him ;  neither  has  Herod,  for  I  sent 
 you  to  him,  and  behold !  nothing  deserving  of  death 
 has  been  done  by  the  man.*  I  will  therefore  chastise 
 him,  and  release  [him."] — Now  at  each  return  of  the 
 festival  the  governor  had  been  accustomed  to  release 
 to  the  multitude  any  prisoner  whom  they  chose.  And 
 they  had  at  the  time  a  prisoner  of  note,  named  Bar- 
 abbas,  a  robber,  who  on  account  of  a  sedition  at- 
 tended with  murder  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
 city,  was  in  prison  with  his  accomplices.  The  multi- 
 tude then  began  with  loud  cries  to  request  [Pilate  to 
 do  for  them]  what  he  had  always  done  :  so,  as  they 
 were  assembled,  he  said  to  them, — "  Ye  have  a 
 custom  that  at  the  passover  I  should  release  a  [pri- 
 soner] to  you.  Which,  therefore,  do  ye  msh  me  to 
 release  to  you,  Barabbas,  or  Jesus  who  is  called 
 Christ  ?  Do  ye  choose  that  I  should  release  to  you 
 the  king  of  the  Jews  ?" — for  he  knew  that  through 
 
 *  ovdav  d^iov   Sravarov   lort    irtTrpayn'ivov  avT<p.      Luke,  chap. 
 23,  V.  15 — "  has  been  done  by  him." 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  19 
 
 envy  tlie  chief  priests  had  delivered  him  [into  his 
 hands.]  Whilst  he  was  sitting  on  the  judgment-seat, 
 his  wife  sent  to  him,  saying, — "  Have  nothing  to  do 
 with  that  righteous  man,  for  I  have  suffered  much  in 
 a  dream  to-day  because  of  him:" — but  the  chief 
 priests  and  elders  persuaded  the  multitude  to  demand 
 Barabbas,  and  destroy  Jesus.  Then  the  governor  said 
 again  to  them, — ''  Which  of  the  two  do  ye  wish  me 
 to  release  to  you  ?" — They  all  cried  aloud  in  a  body, 
 — **  Away  with  this  man,  and  release  to  us  Bar- 
 abbas."— Desirous  to  release  Jesus,  Pilate  once  more 
 addressed  [them,] — "  What  then  shall  I  do  to  Jesus, 
 who  is  called  Christ,  whom  ye  term  king  of  the 
 Jews  ?" — They  cried  out  in  reply, — "  Crucify  [him,] 
 crucify  him." — He  spoke  to  them  the  third  time, — 
 "  Why  ?  what  evil  hath  he  done  ?  I  have  not  found 
 him  guilty  of  any  crime  deserving  of  death,  I  will 
 therefore  chastise  him,  and  release  [him :]" — but  they 
 were  urgent  with  loud  cries,  demanding  that  he  should 
 be  crucified.  Then  Pilate  took  Jesus,  and  caused 
 him  to  be  scourged  :*  and  the  soldiers,  after  strip- 
 ping him,  threw  around  him  a  purple  military  robe, 
 and  having  platted  a  crown  of  thorns,  they  put  [it] 
 on  his  head,  and  a  cane-j-  in  his  right  hand,  and 
 kneeling  before  him  they  mocked  him,  saying — 
 "  Hail,  king  of  the  Jews !" — and  after  spitting  on 
 him,  they  took  the  cane  and  struck  him  on  the  head. 
 Pilate  then  went  out  again,  and  said  to  the  Jews, — 
 
 *  kfiaffriycixje.     John,  chap.  19,  v.  1. 
 
 t  KoXaixov.  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  29.  For  the  convenience  of  the 
 narrative,  the  accounts  given  by  Matthew  and  Mark  of  the  second 
 mockery  of  Christ  by  the  Roman  soldiers  are  transferred  to  this 
 place. 
 
go  NARRATIVE    OF   THE 
 
 "  Behold !  I  bring  him  forth  to  you,  to  let  you  know 
 that  I  find  no  fault  in  him." — So  Jesus  came  forth, 
 wearing  the  crown  of  thorns  and  the  purple  robe. 
 And  Pilate  said  to  them, — '*  Behold  the  man  !" — but 
 when  the  chief  priests  and  the  officers  saw  him,  they 
 cried  out, — "  Crucify  [him,]  crucify  him." — Pilate 
 said  to  them, — "  Take  him  yourselves  and  crucify 
 [him,]  for  I  find  no  fault  in  him." — The  Jews  an- 
 swered him, — "  We  have  a  law,  and  according  to  our 
 law  he  ought  to  die,  because  he  hath  claimed  to  be 
 the  Son  of  God."* — On  hearing  this,  Pilate  became 
 more  alarmed,  and  returning  into  the  palace,  said  to 
 Jesus, — "  Whence  art  thou  ?" — but  Jesus  gave  him 
 no  answer.  Pilate  said  to  him, — "  Dost  thou  refuse 
 to  speak  to  me  ?  Knowest  thou  not  that  I  have  au- 
 thority to  crucify  thee,  and  authority  to  release 
 thee  ?" — Jesus  replied, — "  Thou  wouldest  not  have 
 had  any  authority  at  all  against  me,  had  it  not  been 
 given  thee  from  above ;  therefore  he  that  delivered 
 me  to  thee  hath  the  greater  sin." — Thereupon  Pilate 
 endeavoured  to  release  him,  but  the  Jews  cried  out, — 
 "  If  thou  release  this  man,  thou  art  no  friend  of 
 Csesar.  Whosoever  claimeth  to  be  a  king  denieth 
 the  claims  of  Caesar."  f — On  hearing  these  words 
 Pilate  brought  Jesus  forth,  and  sat  down  on  the 
 judgment-seat  in  a  place  called  the  Pavement, — -in 
 Hebrew,  Gabbatha.  It  was  the  preparation-day  of 
 the  passover,  and  about  the  sixth  hour.  J     And  he 
 
 *  OTi  eavTov  v'lov  ^eov  tTroiijcrtv.     John,  chap.  19,  v.  7. 
 
 f  Hag  6  jSacTiXea  kavTOv  ttolujv  avTiKkyti  rqi  'Kaiarapi.  John, 
 chap.  19,  V.  12. 
 
 X  So  termed  by  John,  chap.  19,  v.  14;  probably  in  reference  to 
 some  ecclesiastical  computation  of  the  day,  equivalent  to  the  third 
 civil  hour  so  distinctly  mentioned  by  Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  25. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^l 
 
 said  to  the  Jews, — "  Behold  your  king  :" — but  they 
 cried  out, — "  Away  with  him,  away  with  him,  crucify 
 him." — Pilate  said  to  them, — "  Shall  I  crucify  your 
 king  ?" — The  chief  priests  replied, — "  We  have  no 
 king  but  Caesar." — When  Pilate  perceived  that  his 
 efforts  were  of  no  avail,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  a 
 tumult  was  arising,  he  took  water,  and  washed  his 
 hands  before  the  multitude,  saying, — "  I  am  innocent 
 of  the  blood  of  this  righteous  man :  See  ye  to  it." — 
 All  the  people  replied, — "  His  blood  be  on  us,  and 
 on  our  children." — And  their  clamours,  and  those  of 
 the  chief  priests  prevailed ;  for  Pilate,  desirous  to 
 satisfy  the  multitude,  gave  sentence  that  their  demand 
 should  be  executed.  So  he  released  to  them  Bar- 
 abbas,  imprisoned  on  account  of  sedition  and  murder, 
 whom  they  had  desired,  and  delivered  Jesus  to  them 
 to  be  crucified. 
 
 Then  the  soldiers  of  the  governor  took  Jesus  into 
 the  palace,  and  gathered  around  him  the  whole 
 guard ;  and  when  they  had  [again]  mocked  him,  they 
 stripped  him  of  the  purple  robe,  put  on  him  his  own 
 clothes,  and  led  him  away  to  crucify  [him.]  As  they 
 went  forth,  they  met  coming  from  the  country  a  Cy- 
 renian  named  Simon,  the  father  of  Alexander  and 
 Rufus :  him  they  compelled  [to  assist,  and]  laid  on 
 him  the  cross  to  carry  behind  Jesus.  And  there  fol- 
 lowed him  a  great  multitude  of  the  people,  as  like- 
 wise many  women,  who  smote  their  breasts  and 
 lamented  him ;  but  Jesus  turned  towards  them  and 
 said, — "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me, 
 but  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children  :  for 
 behold !  days  are  coming  wherein  they  will  say,  Happy 
 [are]  barren  women,  wombs  which  never  bare,  and 
 
22  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 breasts  which  never  suckled.  Then  M^ill  they  begin 
 to  say  to  the  mountains,  Fall  on  us,  and  to  the  hills, 
 Cover  us ;  for  if  they  do  these  things  to  the  green 
 tree,  w^hat  will  be  done  to  the  dry  [tree  ?"] — And  two 
 malefactors  were  also  led  forth  to  suffer  death  with 
 him.  So  bearing  his  cross,  Jesus  went  forth  to  the 
 place  named  after  a  skull,*  and  in  Hebrew  called 
 Golgotha.  On  arriving  at  this  place,  they  offered  him 
 a  draught  of  wine  and  myrrh, f  [as  it  were]  vinegar 
 mingled  with  gall ;  but  after  tasting  he  refused  to 
 drink  [it.]  Then  they  crucified  him  there,  as  like- 
 wise the  malefactors,  one  on  the  right  hand,  the  other 
 on  the  left,  and  Jesus  in  the  midst;  in  fulfilment  of 
 the  Scripture  which  saith, — He  was  ra7iked  amongst 
 transgressors; — but  Jesus  said, — "Father!  forgive 
 them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  are  doing." — 
 Pilate  also  caused  a  title  denoting  the  charge  against 
 Jesus  to  be  written,  and  fixed  to  the  cross  over  his  head, 
 — This  is  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  king  of  the 
 Jews. — Many  of  the  Jews  therefore  read  this  title ; 
 for  the  quarter  of  the  city  where  Jesus  was  crucified 
 was  near,;|:  and  it  was  written  in  Hebrew,  Greek, 
 [and]  Latin.  Then  said  the  Jewish  chief  priests  to 
 Pilate, — "  Write  not,  The  king  of  the  Jews ;  but 
 that  he  said,  I  am  king  of  the  Jews." — Pilate  an- 
 
 *  i%ri\^tv  eiQ  Tov  Xeyofievov  Kpaviov  tottov.  John,  chap.  19, 
 V.  17.      Golgotha  is  never  in  Scripture  termed  a  mount. 
 
 f  lafxvpviankvov  olvov :  Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  23 ;  here  supposed 
 to  be  equivalent  to  the  vinegar  mingled  with  gall,  mentioned  by 
 Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  34. 
 
 X  OTi  lyyvg  ijv  o  roTTog  Tijg  ToXewg  ottov  laravpio^^r]  6  'Irjcrovg. 
 John,  chap.  19,  v.  20;  so  termed  in  a  general  sense,  although  with- 
 out the  walls  of  Jerusalem.     Heb.  chap.  13,  v.  11,  12. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gg 
 
 swered, — "  What  I  have  written  I  have  written." — 
 When  the  soldiers  had  crucified  Jesus  they  took  his 
 outer  garments,  and  divided  them  into  four  parts,  for 
 each  soldier  a  part,  as  likewise  his  vest.  Now  the 
 vest  was  without  seam,  woven  from  the  top  through- 
 out :  so  they  said  one  to  another, — "  Let  us  not  rend 
 it,  hut  cast  lots  for  it,  [to  settle]  whose  it  shall  be;" — 
 in  fulfilment  of  the  Scripture  which  saith, —  They 
 parted  my  garments  amongst  them,  and  for  my  vesture 
 they  cast  lots, — Thus  accordingly  the  soldiers  did; 
 for  after  parting  his  outer  garments,  they  cast  lots  for 
 them,  [to  settle]  what  each  man  should  take.  It  was 
 the  third  hour  when  they  crucified  him,  and  they  sat 
 down  and  guarded  him  there,  whilst  the  people  stood 
 looking  on.  And  those  who  passed  by  reviled  him, 
 shaking  their  heads,  and  saying, — "  Aha !  thou  that 
 destroy  est  the  temple,  and  rebuildest  [it]  in  three 
 days,  save  thyself.  If  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  come 
 down  from  the  cross." — In  like  manner  the  chief 
 priests  also,  jesting  amongst  themselves,  with  the 
 scribes  and  elders  said, — "  He  saved  others,  [but] 
 cannot  save  himself.  If  he  is  the  Christ,  the  chosen 
 of  God,  the  king  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down 
 from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe.  He 
 trusted  in  God ;  let  [God]  now  deliver  him  if  he  will 
 have  him,  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God." — The 
 soldiers  likewise  mocked  him,  coming  up  and  oiFering 
 him  vinegar,  and  saying, — "  If  thou  art  the  king  of 
 the  Jews,  save  thyself." — One  even  of  the  crucified 
 malefactors  reviled  him,  saying, — "  If  thou  art  the 
 Christ,  save  thyself  and  us  :" — but  the  other  replied, 
 and  rebuked  him,  saying, — *'Dost  not  thou  fear  God, 
 
24  NARRATIVE    OF    THE 
 
 since  thou  art  suffering  the  same  punishment.*  We 
 indeed  [suffer]  justly,  for  we  receive  the  due  recom- 
 pense of  our  actions,  but  this  man  never  did  any- 
 thing amiss." — And  he  said  to  Jesus, — "Lord!  re- 
 member me  when  thou  comest  in  thy  kingdom." — 
 Jesus  said  to  him, — '*  I  tell  thee  truly,  this  day  thou 
 shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise." — Now  there  stood  near 
 the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother,  and  Mary  the  [wife] 
 of  Cleopas,  her  sister,  and  Mary  of  Magdala.  Then 
 Jesus  seeing  his  mother,  and  the  disciple  also  whom 
 he  loved  standing  near,  said  to  his  mother, — "Wo- 
 man !  behold  thy  son :" — then  he  said  to  the  dis- 
 ciple,— "  Behold  thy  mother  :"■ — and  from  that  hour 
 the  disciple  received  her  to  his  home.  When  the 
 sixth  hour  was  come  a  darkness  overspread  the  whole 
 land  till  the  ninth  hour,  and  the  sun  was  obscured. 
 At  the  ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice, — 
 "  Eloi !  Eloi !  lamma  sabachthani  ?  " — which  when 
 translated  is, — "My  God!  my  God!  why  hast  thou 
 forsaken  me  ?" — On  hearing  [this,]  some  of  the  by- 
 standers said, — "  Behold  !  he  calleth  on  EUjah." — 
 Then  Jesus,  knowing  that  all  things  were  now  accom- 
 plished, that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled,  said — 
 "  I  thirst." — And  there  stood  near  a  vessel  full  of 
 vinegar :  so  one  of  them  immediately  ran,  and  took 
 a  sponge,  and  having  filled  [it]  with  vinegar,  and  fast- 
 ened [it]  to  a  rod  of  hyssop,f  gave  him  drink ;  but 
 the  rest  said, — "Hold!   let  us   see  whether  Elijah 
 
 *  on  tv  rep"  avTi^  Kpifiari  tl.~    Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  40. 
 
 t  Kui  TrepiSrtiQ  Ka\di.i(^.  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  48 ; — Mark,  chap.  15, 
 V.  36  ;  Kai  vtsaoiirii)  TTspi^evreg.  John,  chap.  19,  v.  29  ;  supposed  to 
 be  the  stem  of  a  large  species  of  hyssop,  probably  growing  on  the  spot. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  25 
 
 will  come  and  deliver  him." — When  Jesus  had  received 
 the  vinegar  he  again  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
 — ["All]  is  accomplished  :  Father!  into  thy  hands  I 
 commit  my  spirit." — Having  thus  spoken,  he  howed 
 his  head  and  resigned  his  spirit.  And  behold  !  the 
 veil  of  the  temple  split  asunder  in  the  midst  from  the 
 top  to  the  bottom,  and  the  earth  quaked,  and  the 
 rocks  were  rent,  and  the  tombs  were  opened,  and  many 
 bodies  of  holy  persons  deceased  arose,  who  coming 
 out  of  the  tombs  after  his  resurrection,  entered  the 
 holy  city,  and  appeared  to  many.  When  the  cen^ 
 turion  who  stood  opposite,  and  those  who  were  with 
 him  guarding  Jesus,  observed  the  earthquake  and 
 the  [other]  events,  [and]  that  he  expired  with  such  a 
 cry,  they  feared  greatly,  [and]  gave  glory  to  God, 
 saying, — "  Certainly  this  man  was  a  son  of  God."* — 
 And  the  whole  multitude  who  had  come  together  to 
 this  spectacle,  on  observing  these  events,  returned 
 smiting  their  breasts.  And  all  the  friends  and  ac- 
 quaintance of  Jesus  stood  afar  off  beholding  these 
 things,  with  many  women,  amongst  whom  was  Mary 
 of  Magdala,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  the 
 less,  and  of  Joses,  and  Salome  the  mother  of  the 
 sons  of  Zebadiah ;  who  had  also  followed  him  and 
 ministered  to  him  when  he  was  in  Galilee,  as  likewise 
 many  other  women  who  had  come  up  with  him  to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Now  in  order  that  the  bodies  might  not  remain  on 
 the  cross  during  the  sabbath-day,  as  it  was  then  the 
 preparation-day,  for  that  sabbath-day  was  a  high  day, 
 the  Jews  requested  Pilate  that  their  legs  might  be 
 
 *   S-fou  vioe,  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  54  : — vlbg  ^tov,  Mark,  chap.  15, 
 V.  39  : — diKaioc,  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  47. 
 
 C 
 
2(3  NARRATIVE  OF  THE 
 
 broken,  and  that  they  might  be  taken  away.  So  the 
 soldiers  came,  and  broke  the  legs  of  the  first  and  of 
 the  other  who  was  crucified  with  Jesus  ;  but  on  coming 
 to  him,  as  they  perceived  that  he  was  already  dead, 
 they  did  not  break  his  legs  :  one  of  the  soldiers,  how- 
 ever, pierced  his  side  with  a  spear,  and  immediately 
 there  came  forth  blood  and  water.  He  that  bears 
 [this]  testimony  saw  [the  fact,*]  and  his  testimony  is 
 true,  and  he  is  sure  that  he  relates  what  is  true,  that 
 ye  also  may  believe  :  for  these  things  happened  in 
 fulfilment  of  the  scripture, — Not  one  of  his  hones 
 shall  he  broken; — and  again,  another  scripture  saith, — 
 They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  pierced. — After 
 this,  when  it  was  now  late,  there  came  a  rich  man 
 of  Arimathea  a  city  of  the  Jews,  named  Joseph,  a 
 good  and  upright  man,  and  a  member  of  the  San- 
 hedrim, but  who  had  not  consented  to  their  plot  nor 
 to  its  execution,-}-  being  himself  one  who  expected  the 
 kingdom  of  God,  and  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  although 
 secretly  through  fear  of  the  Jews  :  this  man  went 
 boldly  to  Pilate,  and  requested  that  he  might  take 
 the  body  of  Jesus.  Pilate  wondered  if  Jesus  were 
 already  dead,  so  calling  the  centurion,  he  asked  him 
 if  he  had  been  any  time  dead,  and  having  been  as- 
 sured [of  this]  by  the  centurion,  he  granted  the  body 
 to  Joseph.  Then  Joseph  came,  and  took  the  body 
 [from  the  cross :]  Nicodemus,  who  at  first  went  to 
 Jesus  by  night,  also  came  bringing  a  mixture  of 
 myrrh  and  aloes- wood,  about  a  hundred  pounds  [in 
 weight :]  so  they  took  the  body  of  Jesus,  and  having 
 
 *  Kai  o  i:0)QaKojQ  [.lenapTvprjKS.     John,  chap.  19,  v.  35. 
 f  OvroQ   ovK   ijv   (TvyKaraTtSrtifievog   ry   ISovXy"   Kai   ry    irpd^fi 
 avrdjv.     Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  51. 
 
DEATH  OF  CHRIST.  27 
 
 purchased  new  linen,  bound  the  body  in  bandages 
 with  the  spices  according  to  the  Jewish  manner  of 
 embalming.  Now  in  the  place  where  Jesus  had 
 been  crucified  was  a  garden,  and  in  the  garden  a  new 
 tomb  which  [Joseph]  had  caused  to  be  hewn  for 
 himself  out  of  the  rock,  [but]  wherein  no  one  had 
 ever  been  laid.  There  then,  on  account  of  the  Jews' 
 preparation- day,  as  the  sabbath  was  approaching  and 
 the  tomb  near,  they  laid  Jesus,  and  after  rolling  a 
 large  stone  against  the  entrance  of  the  tomb  they 
 departed.  Meanwhile  Mary  of  Magdala,  and  Mary 
 [the  mother]  of  Joses  were  sitting  opposite,  and  with 
 the  other  women  observed  the  tomb,  and  how  the 
 body  was  laid  ;  after  which,  returning  [into  the  city,] 
 they  provided  spices  and  ointments,  but  rested  on  the 
 sabbath-day  according  to  the  commandment.  On 
 the  following  day,  that  is  [the  day]  after  the  prepa- 
 ration-day,* the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  went  in  a 
 body  to  Pilate,  and  said, — "  Sir,  we  remember  that 
 when  this  impostor  was  alive  he  said,  Within  three 
 days  I  shall  rise  [from  the  dead.]  Command  there- 
 fore that  the  tomb  be  secured  till  the  third  day,  lest 
 his  disciples  should  go  and  steal  him  [away,]  and  tell 
 the  people,  He  is  risen  from  the  dead ;  for  this  last 
 imposture  would  be  worse  than  the  first." — Pilate 
 said  to  them, — "  Take  a  guard,  go  [and]  make  [every- 
 thing] secure  in  your  own  way."-)- — So  they  went,  and 
 
 after  sealing  the  stone,  secured  the  tomb  by  the  guard. 
 
 ***** 
 
 *  Namely  the  sabbath ;  described  in  this  circumlocutory  manner 
 by  Matthew,  chap.  27,  v.  62,  apparently  to  avoid  the  indecorum  of 
 directly  charging  the  chief  priests,  &c.,  with  sabbath-breaking. 
 
 •f'  *E;^£r£  KovcTTOjdiav,  vTrdySTSy  dacpaXiaac^e  cJfi  oi'^are.  Matt, 
 chap.  27,  V.  65. 
 
 C2 
 
CHAPTEE  II. 
 
 SUMMARY      OF     THE      PRINCIPAL      CIRCUMSTANCES      WHICH 
 ATTENDED     THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST. 
 
 Although  important  explanations  of  the  death  of 
 Christ  are  furnished  by  other  portions  of  Scripture, 
 the  principal  information  respecting  the  mode  in 
 which  it  happened  must  obviously  be  derived  from 
 the  narratives  of  the  four  evangelists,  which,  in  a 
 combined  and  harmonized  form,  have  now  been  pre- 
 sented. The  whole  transaction  was  extraordinary 
 and  peculiar.  On  this  occasion,  as  on  some  others 
 which  required  a  decisive  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
 revelation,  the  hand  of  God  was  displayed  in  first 
 appointing,  and  afterwards  accomplishing  a  conjunc- 
 ture of  circumstances  so  complex  and  seemingly  in- 
 compatible, that  had  it  not  been  actually  realized, 
 few  persons  would  have  believed  its  possibility,  and 
 none  would  have  ventured  to  predict  its  occurrence. 
 Many  centuries  before  the  event,  the  voice  of  pro- 
 phecy had  proclaimed  that  the  Saviour  of  mankind 
 would  suffer  a  death  at  once  violent  and  voluntary,  as 
 a  criminal,  and  as  a  victim,  universally  approved  by 
 God  and  man,  yet  loaded  with  the  malediction  of 
 both.  His  death  was  to  be  directed  by  Jewish  priests 
 without  power,  and  executed  by  Gentile  rulers  with- 
 out authority,   and  he  was  to  be  condemned  on  a 
 
CIRCUMSTANCES    OF    THE    DEATH   OF  CHRIST.  0() 
 
 charge  in  which,  notwithstanding  their  religious  hos- 
 tility, both  parties  could  unite  in  attesting  and  re- 
 jecting his  claims  as  the  Messiah.  He  was  to  suifer 
 the  death  of  the  cross,  which  commonly  happened  by 
 slow  exhaustion,  and  in  Judea  was  usually  hastened 
 by  breaking  the  legs,  yet  none  of  his  bones  was  to  be 
 broken.  His  heart  was  at  the  same  time  to  be 
 pierced,  and  he  was  to  die  suddenly  as  a  sin-offering 
 by  the  effusion  of  his  life's  blood,  the  appointed 
 means  of  atonement,  although  the  former  was  not  es- 
 sential to  the  punishment  of  crucifixion,  and  the  latter 
 was  the  very  reverse  of  its  usual  effect.  The  actual  ac- 
 complishment of  all  these  -intricate,  and  apparently 
 discordant  conditions  is  formally  asserted  in  various 
 parts  of  the  New  Testament,  not  as  a  casual  coinci- 
 dence, but  as  indispensably  necessary  to  the  fulfil- 
 ment of  prophecy,  the  veracity  of  which  would  have 
 been  forfeited  had  any  one  of  them  failed  to  take 
 place. 
 
 To  prevent  misapprehension,  it  is  proper  to  state 
 that  in  the  following  investigation  the  union  of  the 
 divine  and  human  natures  in  the  person  of  Christ  is 
 fully  acknowledged,  but  that,  in  conformity  with  the 
 dictates  both  of  reason  and  revelation,  the  two  na- 
 tures are  regarded  as  totally  distinct,  the  latter  only 
 having  been  susceptible  of  suffering  and  death.  Hence, 
 in  all  that  concerns  the  sufferings  and  death  of  the 
 Saviour,  attention  will  be  exclusively  directed  to  a 
 pure  and  perfect  human  nature,  subject  to  those  influ- 
 ences and  agencies  which  the  circumstances  involved, 
 and  which  the  Scriptures  represent.  With  such  a 
 nature  specially  prepared  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
 fitted  to  make  an  atoning  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the 
 
30  CIRCUMSTANCES    OF    THE 
 
 world,  in  the  full  possession  of  all  liis  faculties,  and 
 in  the  very  prime  and  vigour  of  life  a  little  under 
 thirty-five  years  of  age,  the  Redeemer  entered  on 
 his  sufferings,  which  were  completed  within  the  space 
 of  eighteen  hours,  and  actually  occupied  eight.  The 
 discourses  and  devotional  exercises  in  which  he  en- 
 gaged with  his  apostles  after  the  paschal  supper,  pro- 
 bably celebrated  in  a  house  on  Mount  Zion,  must 
 have  been  continued  till  an  advanced  hour  of  the 
 night,  since  they  were  of  considerable  length,  and  it 
 was  already  late  when  they  began.*  Hence,  it  could 
 not  have  been  much  before  midnight  when  he  arrived 
 in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  at  the  foot  of  the  Mount 
 of  Olives.  There,  during  an  hour  from  which  he 
 earnestly  prayed  to  be  delivered,  he  was  seized  with 
 mental  anguish  of  so  peculiar  and  intense  a  character 
 as  to  force  from  him  a  bloody  sweat ;  and  which,  had 
 he  not  been  strengthened  by  supernatural  aid,  might 
 very  possibly  have  occasioned  his  death  on  the  spot. 
 During  the  ten  following  hours,  the  greater  part  of 
 which  was  passed  before  the  tribunals  of  the  Sanhe- 
 drim and  of  Pontius  Pilate,  he  evinced  the  utmost 
 firmness  and  self-possession  ;  and  with  the  exception 
 of  the  indignities  offered  him  by  the  Jewish  domestics 
 and  the  Roman  soldiers,  his  bodily  sufferings  were 
 chiefly  confined  to  the  scourging  which  generally  pre- 
 ceded crucifixion,  and  in  his  case  was  designed  to 
 supersede  it.  Some  commentators  have  imagined 
 that  this  scourging  was  unusually  severe,  but  to  such 
 
 *  On  mentioning  the  retirement  of  Judas  Iscariot,  which  took 
 place  after  the  paschal  supper,  and  before  the  commencement  of 
 Christ's  discourses  with  the  other  apostles,  John  states  that — "  it  was 
 night."— Chap.  13,  v.  29,  30. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  3  J 
 
 a  supposition  the  scriptural  narrative  gives  no  coun- 
 tenance, and  the  respect  manifested  by  Pilate  towards 
 a  prisoner  whom  he  repeatedly  declared  to  be  inno- 
 cent, and  anxiously  laboured  to  release,  renders  it 
 inadmissible.       The    crucifixion   of   Christ  occupied 
 the  exact  interval  of  six  hours,  between  the  times  of 
 the  morning  and  evening  sacrifice  in  the  temple,  on 
 the  first  day  of  the  paschal  festival,  having  commenced 
 at  the  third  hour  of  the  day,  and  terminated  at  the 
 ninth.*    From  some  expressions  which  fell  from  him, 
 it  is  evident  that  during  the  latter  part  of  this  awful 
 period  the  peculiar  sufferings  of  Gethsemane  were 
 renewed,  whilst  at  the  same  time  his  energy  of  mind 
 and  body  was  displayed  by  characteristic  actions  and 
 discourses,  and  by  several  loud  and  pious  exclamations 
 uttered   immediately  before   his  death,   which   took 
 place  very  suddenly,   and   much  earlier   than  might 
 naturally  have  been  expected.     Its  speedy  and  abrupt 
 occurrence  accordingly  excited  the   surprise  of  the 
 centurion  who  superintended  the  execution,  and  of 
 the    Roman   governor   who    commanded   it.      Thus, 
 when  Joseph  of  Arimathea  asked  permission  to  re- 
 move the  body  of  Jesus  for  the  purpose  of  interment, 
 Pilate  wondered  if  he  were  already  dead,  and  it  was 
 not  until  he  had  ascertained  the  fact  from  the  centu- 
 rion, that  he  granted  the  request.     The  two  malefac- 
 tors, crucified  at  the  same  time  and  place,  were  still 
 living,  and  in  compliance  with  the  customs   of  tlie 
 country,  were  despatched  and  buried  before  sunset. 
 When  however  the   soldiers  came  for  a  similar  pur- 
 pose to  Jesus,  as  they  found  him  already  dead,  they 
 
 *  Coinciding  with  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  three  in  the 
 afternoon,  according  to  modern  European  computation. 
 
3£  CIRCUMSTANCES    OF    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST. 
 
 did  not  break  his  bones  ;  but,  as  if  to  remove  all  possi- 
 bility of  doubt  on  the  subject,  one  of  them  pierced  his 
 side  with  a  spear,  whereupon,  as  recordedby  the  apostle 
 John  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene  from  its  commence- 
 ment to  its  close, — *'  immediately  there  came  forth 
 blood  and  water." — In  opposition  to  various  misrepre- 
 sentations of  this  momentous  fact,  originating  either 
 from  inadvertence  or  design,  the  Scriptures  plainly 
 state  that  Christ  died  the  death  of  the  cross,  appointed 
 by  the  Father,  accepted  by  himself,  demanded  by  the 
 Jewish  people,  and  executed  by  the  Gentile  govern- 
 ment to  w^hich  they  were  then  subject.  In  proof  of 
 this  assertion  many  passages  might  be  cited,  but  two 
 will  suffice.  When  addressing  the  immense  multitude 
 of  Israelites  assembled  at  Jerusalem  from  all  parts  of 
 the  world  on  the  ensuing  day  of  Pentecost,  Peter 
 distinctly  charged  the  nation  with  the  murder  of 
 Jesus: — '*  Him,  having  been  delivered  up  by  the  de- 
 terminate counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  took, 
 and  by  the  hands  of  wicked  men  crucified  and  slew  ;" 
 — and  Paul,  writing  to  the  Greek  church  at  Philippi, 
 says  of  the  Saviour  that, — "  although  in  the  form  of 
 God,  and  deeming  it  no  robbery  to  be  equal  to  God, 
 he  stripped  himself  of  his  glory,  assumed  the  form 
 of  a  slave,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and 
 having  been  found  in  aspect  as  a  man,  humbled  him- 
 self, and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death 
 of  the  cross."* — No  explanation  of  the  fact  can  there- 
 fore be  admitted,  in  which  this  condition  is  not  fully 
 acknowledged. 
 
 *  Acts,  chap.  2,  v.  22,  23 ;  chap.  3,  v.  13—15  ;  chap.  5,  v.  29,  30 
 chap.  7,  V.  51,  52  ;— Philipp.  chap.  2,  v.  5 — 8,  &c. 
 
CHAPTER  III. 
 
 REJECTION     OF     ERRONEOUS     EXPLANATIONS     OF     THE 
 DEATH     OF     CHRIST. 
 
 By  a  certain  class  of  German  theologians  who 
 arrogate  to  themselves  the  title  of  Rationalists,  the 
 reality  of  Christ's  death  -  on  the  cross  has  been 
 questioned,  or  denied.  In  the  course  of  this  treatise 
 the  fact  will  be  incidentally  established  by  new  and 
 conclusive  evidence,  but  for  the  present  will  be  sim- 
 ply assumed  on  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  the  state- 
 ments of  which  concerning  this  point  are  so  numerous 
 and  positive  that,  could  they  be  disproved,  its  claims 
 not  merely  to  inspiration,  but  even  to  ordinary  credi- 
 bility would  be  destroyed,  and  any  further  inquiry 
 on  the  subject  would  be  irrational.  The  fact  being 
 therefore  assumed,  its  explanation  will  now  be  at- 
 tempted, and  in  order  to  exclude  mere  conjecture 
 and  aim  at  demonstration,  the  common  rules  respect- 
 ing the  assignment  of  causes  will  be  strictly  observed  ; 
 namely,  those  causes  only  will  be  deemed  admissible 
 which  actually  preceded  the  eifect,  were  adequate  to 
 its  production,  and  perfectly  accord  with  all  the  cir- 
 cumstances of  the  case,  and  the  cause  in  which  these 
 conditions  are  found  most  completely  to  concur  will 
 be  regarded  as  the  true  one.  By  a  majority  of  those 
 whose  knowledge  of  the  subject  is  chiefly  derived  from 
 
 c  S 
 
34  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 the  evangelical  narrative,  the  death  of  Christ  is  not 
 unreasonably  ascribed  to  the  ordinary  sufferings  of 
 crucifixion  ;  but  as  the  nature  of  this  punishment  is 
 at  present  very  little  understood,  and  no  conclusion 
 respecting  it  can  be  satisfactory  which  does  not  rest 
 on  competent  information,  a  short  account  of  it  will 
 here  be  introduced. 
 
 The  cruel  mode  of  putting  condemned  persons  to 
 death  by  nailing  them  to  a  cross  prevailed  amongst 
 various  nations  of  the  ancient  world,  both  civilized 
 and  barbarous,  from  the  earliest  times*  till  the  reign 
 of  the  emperor  Constantine,  by  whom,  partly  from 
 motives  of  humanity,  but  chiefly  from  reverence  to 
 Christ,  it  was  finally  abrogated  throughout  the  Roman 
 empire. — "  His  respect  for  the  cross  of  our  Saviour" — 
 says  Crevier,^ — "  made  him  abolish  crucifixion,  a  death 
 which  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  at  ail  times  in- 
 flicted upon  criminals,  particularly  slaves.  He  would 
 not  suffer  the  instrument  of  our  salvation  to  be  dis- 
 honoured by  any  use,  not  only  profane,  but  capable 
 of  making  men  look  upon  it  with  horror.  He  thought 
 it  indecent  and  irreligious  that  the  cross  should  be 
 used  for  the  punishment  of  the  vilest  offenders,  whilst 
 he  himself  erected  it  as  a  trophy,  and  esteemed  it  the 
 noblest  ornament  of  his  diadem,  and  military  standards. 
 The  text  of  this  law,  so  worthy  of  the  piety  of  the 
 first  Christian  emperor,  has  not  been  preserved ;  but 
 the  fact  is  asserted  by  a  pagan  writer,  and  the  prac- 
 tice of  all  the  princes  and  nations  who  profess  Chris- 
 
 *  The  earliest  example  of  crucifixion  on  record  is  probably  that 
 of  Pharaoh's  chief  baker,  said  in  the  authorized  English  version  to 
 have  been  hanged,  but  by  Josephus  to  have  been  crucified. — Gen. 
 chap.  40,  V.  16 — 22 ; — Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  i.  pp.  6.5,  66. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  35 
 
 tianity  is  agreeable  to  it.  The  same  religious  senti- 
 ment induced  Constantine  likewise  to  forbid  breaking 
 the  legs  of  criminals,  a  punishment  often  annexed  to 
 that  of  the  cross,  as  appears  from  the  example  of  the 
 two  thieves  crucified  with  Christ."* — Crucifixion  hav- 
 ing in  consequence  scarcely  been  witnessed  in  Europe 
 during  the  last  fifteen  hundred  years,  has  often  been 
 erroneously  represented  by  painters,  poets,  and  devo- 
 tional writers,  who  have  followed  the  dictates  of  their 
 imagination,  or  the  guidance  of  vague  tradition,  rather 
 than  the  evidence  of  facts.  In  order  to  obtain  cor- 
 rect notions  on  this  subject  it  is  therefore  necessary 
 to  consult  the  records  of  antiquity,  the  testimony  of 
 which  has  long  since  been  collected  and  reported  in 
 a  very  satisfactory  manner  by  two  eminent  scholars 
 of  the  seventeenth  century,  Salmasius,  and  Lipsius. 
 From  these  and  similar  authorities  it  is  clearly  ascer- 
 tained that  the  punishment  of  crucifixion  was  pecu- 
 liarly painful,  lingering,  and  ignominious.  The  cross 
 consisted  of  a  strong  upright  post,  sharpened  at  the 
 lower  end  by  which  it  was  fixed  in  the  ground,  having 
 a  short  bar  or  stake  projecting  from  its  middle,  and  a 
 longer  transverse  beam  firmly  joined  near  its  top. 
 As  the  middle  bar,  although  an  important  appendage, 
 has  been  almost  universally  overlooked  by  modern 
 authors,  it  will  be  proper  here  to  insert  the  account 
 given  of  it  by  some  of  the  early  fathers  of  the  church, 
 and  founded  on  personal  observation. — "  The  struc- 
 ture of  the  cross," — says  Irenaeus, — '*  has  five  ends 
 or  summits,  two  in  length,  two  in  breadth,  and  one 
 in  the  middle,  on  which  the  crucified  person  rests." — 
 
 *  Crevier's  History  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  vol.  x.  p.  132. 
 
3g  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 Justin  Martyr,  in  like  manner,  speaks  of — **  that 
 end  projecting  from  the  middle  [of  the  upright 
 post]  like  a  horn,  on  which  crucified  persons  are 
 seated  ;*' — and  the  language  of  Tertullian,  who  wrote 
 a  little  later,  exactly  corresponds. — "  A  part,  and  in- 
 deed a  principal  part  of  the  cross  is  any  post  which  is 
 fixed  in  an  upright  position  ;  but  to  us  the  entire 
 cross  is  imputed,  including  its  transverse  beam,  and 
 the  projecting  bar  which  serves  as  a  seat."* — The 
 criminal  condemned  to  this  dreadful  mode  of  death, 
 having  first  been  scourged,  was  compelled  to  carry 
 the  cross  on  his  shoulders  to  the  place  of  execution, 
 a  circumstance  which  implies  that  the  scourging  was 
 not  excessively  severe,  and  that  the  dimensions  of  the 
 gibbet  did  not  in  general  much  exceed  those  of  the 
 human  body.  On  arriving  at  the  spot  he  was  stripped 
 of  his  clothes ;  and  after  receiving  a  cup  of  wine, 
 sometimes  medicated  with  a  view  to  impart  firmness 
 or  alleviate  pain,  was  speedily  nailed  to  the  cross, 
 either  before  or  after  its  erection.  In  either  case  he 
 was  made  to  sit  astride  on  the  middle  bar ;  and  his 
 limbs  having  been  extended  and  bound  with  cords, 
 were  finally  secured  by  large  iron  spikes  driven 
 through  their  extremities,  the  hands  to  the  transverse 
 beam,  and  the  feet  to  the  upright  post.  The  cruci- 
 fixion of  Christ  is  thus  accurately  described  by  Bishop 
 Pearson. — "  The  form  of  the  cross  on  which  our  Sa- 
 viour suffered  was  not  a  simple  but  a  compounded 
 figure,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Romans  by 
 whose  procurator  he  was  condemned  to  die.  In  which 
 
 *  Irenseus,  Opera,  p.  166; — Justinus  Martyr,  Cum  Tryphone 
 Jiidceo  Dialogus,  pp.  271,  272 ;  — Tertullianus,  Ad  Nationes,  p.  49; 
 Adversus  Judseos,  p.  195. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  g^ 
 
 there  was  not  only  a  straight  and  erected  piece  of 
 wood  fixed  in  the  earth,  but  also  a  transverse  beam 
 fastened  unto  that  towards  the  top  thereof;  and  be- 
 sides these  two,  cutting  each  other  transversely  at 
 right  angles,  so  that  the  erected  part  extended  itself 
 above  the  transverse,  there  was  also  another  piece  of 
 wood  infixed  into,  and  standing  out  from  that  which 
 was  erected  and  straight  up.  To  that  erected  piece 
 was  his  body  being  lifted  up  applied,  as  Moses's 
 serpent  to  the  pole,  and  to  the  transverse  beam  his 
 hands  were  nailed.  Upon  the  lower  part  coming  out 
 from  the  erected  piece  his  sacred  body  rested,  and  his 
 feet  were  transfixed  and  fastened  with  nails.  His 
 head,  being  pressed  with  a  crown  of  thorns,  was 
 applied  to  that  part  of  the  erect  which  stood  above 
 the  transverse  beam ;  and  above  his  head  to  that  was 
 fastened  the  table  on  which  was  written  in  Hebrew, 
 Greek,  and  Latin  characters  the  accusation,  according 
 to  the  Roman  custom,  and  the  writing  was, — Jesus 
 of  Nazareth,  the  king  of  the  Jews."* — The  bodily 
 sufferings  attending  this  punishment  were  doubtless 
 great,  but  either  through  ignorance  or  design,  have 
 been  much  exaggerated.  The  insertion  of  the  cross 
 into  its  hole  or  socket,  when  the  criminal  was  pre- 
 viously attached  to  it,  did  not  necessarily  produce  the 
 violent  concussion  which  has  been  supposed ;  and  as 
 the  body  rested  on  a  bar,  it  did  not  bear  with  its  whole 
 weight  on  the  perforated  extremities.  At  all  events, 
 there  have  been  many  examples  of  persons  enduring 
 these  sufferings  with  the  utmost  fortitude,  and  almost 
 without  a  complaint,   until  relieved    from    them  by 
 
 *  Bishop  Pearson,  Exposition  of  the  Creed,  pp.  203—205. 
 
33  ERRONEOUS     EXPLANATIONS 
 
 death.  A  fact  of  importance  to  be  known,  but  which 
 has  not  been  sufficiently  regarded,  is  that  crucifixion 
 was  a  very  lingering  punishment,  and  proved  fatal  not 
 so  much  by  loss  of  blood,  since  the  wounds  in  the 
 hands  and  feet  did  not  lacerate  any  large  vessel,  and 
 were  nearly  closed  by  the  nails  which  produced  them, 
 as  by  the  slow  process  of  nervous  irritation  and  ex- 
 haustion. This  would  of  course  be  liable  to  variety, 
 depending  on  differences  of  age,  sex,  constitution, 
 and  other  circumstances ;  but  for  persons  to  live  two 
 "or  more  days  on  the  cross  was  a  common  occurrence, 
 and  there  are  even  instances  of  some  who,  having 
 been  taken  down  in  time  and  carefully  treated,  reco- 
 vered and  survived.  In  many  cases  death  was  partly 
 induced  by  hunger  and  thirst,  the  vicissitudes  of  heat 
 and  cold,  or  the  attacks  of  ravenous  birds  and  beasts  ; 
 and  in  others  was  designedly  accelerated  by  burning, 
 stoning,  suffocation,  breaking  the  bones,  or  piercing 
 the  vital  organs.* 
 
 In  proof  of  the  lingering  nature  of  crucifixion,  and 
 of  the  courage  with  which  it  was  often  endured,  a  few- 
 instances  will  be  adduced  from  ancient  and  modern 
 authors ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  many  examples 
 of  this  kind  at  once  sufficiently  detailed,  and  fully 
 deserving  of  credit.  In  his  elaborate  work  entitled 
 *'  The  Cross  Triumphant,"  &c.,  Bosius  recites  from 
 the  Roman  Martyrology  the  crucifixion  of  the  apostle 
 Andrew,  who  is  said  to  have  lived  on  the  cross  two 
 days,  which  he  spent  in  preaching  and  instructing  the 
 
 *  Claudius  Salmasius,  De  Cruce,  &c.,  pp.  229—340,  &c. , — Justus 
 Lipsius,  De  Cruce,  pp.  98—109,  &c. ; — Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  The  New- 
 Testament,  with  a  Commentary,  &c. ;  Comment  on  Matt.  chap. 
 27,  V.  35. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  QQ 
 
 people  ;  also  that  of  Victor,  bishop  of  Amiterna,  who 
 although  crucified  with  his  head  downwards,  a  posture 
 unfavourable  to  the  continuance  of  life,  survived  in 
 like  manner  two  days ;  which,  according  to  Origen 
 and  other  early  fathers,  seems  to  have  been  the  usual 
 period  during  which  crucified  persons  survived,  when 
 their  death  was  not  hastened  by  additional  means. 
 He  likewise  repeats  the  marvellous  story  of  Timo- 
 theus  and  Maura,  a  married  pair  who  suffered  in  the 
 Thebaid  about  the  year  286,  under  the  Diocletian 
 persecution.  After  enduring  many  horrible  tortures 
 with  invincible  constancy,  these  pious  persons  were, 
 it  is  said,  crucified  together ;  and  having  hung  alive 
 on  the  cross  nine  days  and  nights,  mutually  exhorting 
 and  confirming  each  other  in  the  faith,  expired  on 
 the  tenth  day.*  Although  this  last  narrative  may 
 justly  be  suspected  of  exaggeration,  it  serves  to  show 
 that  in  ancient  times,  when  the  punishment  of  cruci- 
 fixion was  common,  it  was  well  known  to  be  a  tedious 
 mode  of  death.  The  following  examples,  extracted 
 from  the  same  Martyrology  by  the  Rev.  Alban 
 Butler,  seem  to  be  more  authentic.  The  same  year 
 286  proved  fatal  to  Marcus  and  Marcellianus, — "  twin 
 
 brothers  of  an  illustrious  family  in  Rome 
 
 who  were  condemned  to  be  bound  to  two  j)illaTS, 
 with  their  feet  nailed  to  the  same.  In  this  posture 
 they  remained  a  day  and  a  night,  and  on  the  follow- 
 ing day  were  stabbed  with  lances,  and  buried  in  the 
 Arenarium,  since  called  their  cemetery,  two  miles  out 
 of  Rome,  between  the  Appian  and  Ardeatine  roads." — 
 
 *  Jacobus  Bosius,  Crux  Triuraphans  et  Gloriosa,  pp.   8,  9,  43, 
 47,94,  112—115. 
 
4,Q  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 In  the  year  297,  by  order  of  the  emperor  Maxi- 
 mia-ii,  seven  Christians  at  Samosata  were  subjected  to 
 long  and  various  tortures,  and  ultimately  crucified. — 
 "  Hipparchus," — a  venerable  old  man, — "  died  on  the 
 cross  in  a  short  time.  James,  Romanus,  and  LoUianus 
 expired  the  next  day,  being  stabbed  by  the  soldiers 
 whilst  they  hung  on  their  crosses.  Philotheus,  Ha- 
 bibus,  and  Paragrus  were  taken  down  from  their 
 crosses  whilst  they  were  still  living.  The  emperor 
 being  informed  that  they  w^ere  yet  alive,  commanded 
 huge  nails  to  be  driven  into  their  heads," — by  which 
 they  were  at  length  despatched.  Under  the  reign 
 of  the  same  execrable  tyrant,  Calliopius,  a  handsome 
 youth  bom  at  Perga  in  Pamphilia,  was  put  to  death 
 in  the  year  304,  at  the  city  of  Pompeiopolis  in 
 Cilicia.  After  suffering  the  most  cruel  tortures  by 
 being  scourged,  broken  on  the  wheel,  and  partially 
 burnt,  he  was  crucified  with  his  head  downwards  on 
 the  fifth  day  of  the  passion-week,  and  expired  on  the 
 following  or  preparation-day,  at  the  same  hour.* — 
 The  fortitude  displayed  under  crucifixion  by  Bo- 
 milcar  is  thus  described  by  the  pagan  historian 
 Justin.  After  a  severe  defeat  of  the  Carthaginian 
 army  by  Agathocles  king  of  Sicily,  this  African  chief 
 had  shown  a  disposition  to  desert  to  the  enemy; — 
 ''  for  which  offence," — says  Justin, — "  he  was  nailed 
 by  the  Carthaginians  to  a  gibbet  in  the  middle  of  the 
 forum,  that  the  same  place  which  had  been  the  scene 
 of  his  honours  might  now  witness  his  punishment. 
 But  Bomilcar  bore  the  cruelty  of  the  citizens  with 
 
 *  Rev.  Alban  Butler,  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  &c.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  251, 
 252;  vol.  xii.  pp.  175,  176  ;— Acta  Sanctorum,  cura  BoUandi,  vol.  i. 
 pp.  659—662. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  4^| 
 
 magnanimity,  and  from  the  height  of  the   cross,  as 
 from    a   tribunal,    declaimed    against    their    crimes, 
 
 &;c Having  thus  spoken  with  a  loud  voice 
 
 amidst   an   immense    concourse    of  the    people,    he 
 expired." 
 
 The  following  testimonies  on  the  same  subject  are 
 derived  from  more  modern  times. — "  The  capital 
 punishments  inflicted  in  Soudan" — observes  Captain 
 Clapperton,  writing  in  1824, — "  are  beheading,  im- 
 paling, and  crucifixion ;  the  first  being  reserved  for 
 Mahometans,  and  the  other  two  practised  on  Pagans. 
 I  was  told,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  that  wretches  on 
 the  cross  generally  linger  three  days  before  death  puts 
 an  end  to  their  sufiferings."* — When  describing  the 
 punishments  used  in  Madagascar,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis 
 remarks, — "  In  a  few  cases  of  great  enormity  a  sort  of 
 crucifixion  has  been  resorted  to ;  and  in  addition  to 
 this,  burning  or  roasting  at  a  slow  fire,  kept  at  some 
 distance  from  the  sufferer,  has  completed  the  horrors 
 
 of  this  miserable  death In  the  year  1825  a 
 
 man  was  condemned  to  crucifixion,  who  had  mur- 
 dered a  female  for  the  sake  of  stealing  her  child.  He 
 carried  the  child  for  sale  to  the  public  market,  where 
 the  infant  was  recognised,  and  the  murderer  detected. 
 He  bore  his  punishment  in  the  most  hardened  manner, 
 avenging  himself  by  all  the  violence  he  was  capable 
 of  exercising  upon  those  who  dragged  him  to  the 
 place  of  execution.  Not  a  single  groan  escaped  him 
 during  the  period  he  was  nailed  to  the  wood,  nor 
 whilst  the  cross  was  fixed  upright  in  the  earth.     The 
 
 *  Justinus,    Historic  PhilippicEC,   pp.    490,  491  ;— Denham  and 
 Clapperton,  Travels  in  Africa,  &c. ;  Clapperton's  Narrative,  p.  107. 
 
4f2  ERRONEOUS     EXPLANATIONS 
 
 wooden  frame  used  in  the  place  of  a  cross  resembles 
 a  gallows.  To  this  the  malefactor  is  nailed  whilst  it 
 remains  flat  upon  the  earth,  after  which  it  is  lifted  up 
 with  its  miserable  burden,  and  fixed  in  two  holes 
 made  in  the  ground  for  the  purpose.  Here  the  suf- 
 ferer is  kept  until  he  dies  of  cold,  hunger,  or  agony. 
 Some  criminals  after  being  nailed  to  the  frame,  have 
 remained  for  hours  for  the  gaze  of  the  multitude.  A 
 fire  has  oftentimes  been  placed  to  windward  of  them, 
 by  which  they  and  the  cross  have  been  consumed  to- 
 gether."— Even  the  still  more  horrible  punishments 
 of  impalement,  and  suspension  on  a  hook,  whereby 
 the  vital  organs  are  severely  bruised  or  lacerated,  are 
 longer  protracted  and  better  supported  than  might  be 
 imagined.  After  describing  the  manner  in  which  the 
 former  is  executed  amongst  the  Turks,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
 Maundrell  continues  as  follows  : — "  The  criminal  sit- 
 ting [on  the  stake]  remains  not  only  still  alive,  but  also 
 drinks,  smokes,  and  talks  as  one  perfectly  sensible,  and 
 thus  some  have  continued  for  twenty-four  hours  :  but 
 generally,  after  the  tortured  wretch  has  remained  in 
 this  deplorable  and  ignominious  posture  an  hour  or 
 two,  some  one  of  the  standers-by  is  permitted  to  give 
 him  a  gracious  stab  to  the  heart,  so  putting  an  end  to 
 his  inexpressible  misery."* — Of  the  same  punishment 
 Dr.  Russell  states, — '*  It  is  seldom  seen  at  Aleppo, 
 though  a  certain  Hussein  Bashaw  is  well  remembered 
 there  who  some  years  before  impaled  twenty  Kurds 
 at  one  time  close  to  the  city.  Several  of  them  re- 
 mained many  hours  alive  on  the  stake,  nor  is  it  known 
 
 *  Rev.  W.  Ellis,  History  of  Madagascar,  vol.  i.  pp.  371,  372; — 
 Rev.  H.  Maundrell,  Journey  from  Aleppo  to  Jerusalem,  &c., 
 pp.  189  —  191. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF     CHRIST.  ^g 
 
 how  long  they  might  have  survived,  liberty  having 
 been  obtained  to  put  an  end  to  their  torture  by  shoot- 
 ing them." — Referring  to  numerous  executions  which 
 took  place  at  Constantinople  in  1829,  Mr.  Slade  says, — 
 "  In  many  shapes  death  triumphed  during  this  terrible 
 fortnight.  Two  wretches,  convicted  of  attempting  to 
 fire  the  new  seraglio  at  Beglerbey  on  the  Bosphorus, 
 were  impaled ;  one  still  breathed  on  the  following 
 day." — The  same  author  thus  reports  the  execution 
 at  Salonica  in  the  ensuing  year  of  Chaban,  a  captain 
 of  banditti, — "  described  by  those  who  saw  him  as 
 
 a  very  fine-looking  man,  about  thirty-five As 
 
 a  preparatory  exercise,  he  was  suspended  by  his  arms 
 
 for  twelve  hours The  following  day  a  hook 
 
 was  thrust  into  his  side,  by  which  he  was  suspended 
 to  a  tree,  and  there  hung  enduring  the  agony  of  thirst 
 till  the  third  evening,  when  death  closed  the  scene ; 
 but  before  that  about  an  hour  the  birds,  already 
 considering  him  their  own,  had  alighted  on  his 
 brow  to  peck  his  eyes.  During  this  frightful  period 
 he  uttered  no  unmanly  complaints,  only  repeated 
 several  times, — *  Had  I  known  that  I  was  to  suffer 
 this  infernal  death,  I  would  never  have  done  what 
 I  have.  From  the  moment  I  led  the  klephte's 
 life  I  had  death  before  my  eyes,  and  was  prepared 
 to  meet  it,  but  I  expected  to  die  as  my  predeces- 
 sors, by  decapitation."* — A  similar  account  is  given 
 by  Mr.  Morgan  of  the  execution  at  Algiers,  in  1556, 
 of  Hassan  Corso,  who  was  of  moderate  stature,  and 
 in  his  thirty-eighth  year.     Having  been  cast  from  a 
 
 *  Dr.  Russell,  Natural  History  of  Aleppo,  vol.  i.  p.  332  ; — Slade's 
 Records  of  Travels  in  Turkey,  Greece,  &c ,  vol.  i.  p.  447;  vol. 
 ii.  p.  447,  448. 
 
44  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 considerable  height  on  the  clilngan^  or  hook, 
 
 *'  he  remained  in  that  torture  three  whole  days  and 
 two   nights,    with  the   hook  through  his    right-side 
 
 ribs At  the  third  day's  end  he  expired." — 
 
 From  the  "  Chrestomathia  Arabica"  of  Kosegarten, 
 published  in  1828,  Bishop  Wiseman  borrows  an  in- 
 teresting narrative  originally  written  in  Arabic,  and 
 remarkably  apposite  to  the  present  purpose,  of  the 
 execution  of  a  Mameluke,  who  was  crucified  imder 
 the  walls  of  Damascus  for  the  murder  of  his  master, 
 and  although  quite  a  youth,  was  possessed  of  great 
 strength  and  prowess.  His  hands,  arms,  and  feet 
 having  been  nailed  to  the  cross,  he  remained  alive 
 from  mid-  day  on  Friday  to  the  same  hour  on  Sunday, 
 when  he  died.  He  bore  his  punishment  with  great 
 firmness,  without  uttering  a  groan  or  changing  his 
 countenance,  complaining  only  of  thirst  during  the 
 whole  of  the  first  day,  after  which  he  was  patient  and 
 silent  till  he  died.* — Of  persons  recovering  from  the 
 effects  of  crucifixion  when  taken  in  time  from  the 
 cross,  besides  a  few  instances  which  may  be  found 
 amongst  the  records  of  insanity,  one  example  is  men- 
 tioned by  Herodotus,  and  another  by  Josephus.  In 
 describing  a  singular  incident  which  occurred  dur- 
 ing the  naval  warfare  between  the  Greeks  and  the 
 Persians,  the  former  author  states  as  follows  : — "  Here 
 also  it  was  that  the  fleet  of  Xerxes  came  to  anchor, 
 [namely,  in  the  gulph  of  Magnesia.]  Fifteen  of  these 
 being  at  a  considerable  distance  from  their  compa- 
 
 *  Morgan,  Complete  History  of  Algiers,  pp.  391,  392;— Bishop 
 Wiseman,  On  the  Connexion  between  Science  and  Revealed  Re- 
 ligion, vol.  i.  pp.  265—275. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  45 
 
 nions,  discovered  the  vessels  of  the  Greeks  at  Arte- 
 misium,  and  mistaking  them  for  friends,  sailed  into 
 the  midst  of  them.  The  leader  of  these  ships  was 
 Sandoces,  son  of  Thamasias,  the  governor  of  Cyma 
 in  ^olia.  This  man  Darius  had  formerly  condemned 
 to  the  punishment  of  the  cross  :  he  had  been  one  of 
 the  royal  judges,  and  convicted  of  corruption  in  his 
 office.  He  was  already  on  the  cross  when  the  king, 
 reflecting  that  his  services  to  the  royal  family  ex- 
 ceeded his  offences, commanded  him  to  be 
 
 taken  down :  thus  he  escaped  the  punishment  to 
 which  Darius  had  condemned  him.  His  escape  now 
 from  the  Greeks  was  altogether  impossible :  they  saw 
 him  sailing  towards  them,'  and  perceiving  his  error, 
 attacked  and  took  him  and  his  vessels." — In  enu- 
 merating his  various  claims  to  the  gratitude  of  his 
 countrymen,  the  Jewish  historian  relates, — "  When  I 
 was  sent  by  Titus  Caesar  with  Cerealius  and  a  thou- 
 sand horsemen  to  a  certain  village  called  Thecoa,  in 
 order  to  know  whether  it  was  a  place  fit  for  a  camp, 
 as  I  came  back  I  saw  many  captives  crucified,  and  re- 
 membered three  of  them  as  my  former  acquaintance. 
 I  was  very  sorry  at  this  in  my  mind,  and  went  with 
 tears  in  my  eyes  to  Titus,  and  told  him  of  them.  So 
 he  immediately  commanded  them  to  be  taken  down, 
 and  to  have  the  greatest  care  taken  of  them  in  order 
 to  their  recovery  ;  yet  two  of  them  died  under  the 
 physicians'  hands,  whilst  the  third  recovered."* 
 
 In  Palestine,  under  the  Roman  government,  cru- 
 cifixion during  life  was  a  punishment  peculiar  to  the 
 
 *  Herodotus,  History  hy  Beloe,  vol.  iii.  p.  292;  vol.  iv.  pp.  125, 
 126  ; — Josephus,  Works  by  Whiston,  vol.  iii.  pp.  242,  243. 
 
46  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 conquerors.  Amongst  the  Hebrew  people,  in  wliose 
 institutions  owing  to  their  divine  origin  justice  was 
 tempered  with  mercy,  it  was  either  not  practised  at 
 all,  or  only  on  dead  bodies ;  and  in  such  cases  the 
 Mosaic  law  strictly  commanded  that  the  body  of  a 
 person  suspended  on  a  tree  should  be  taken  down 
 and  buried  before  sunset.*  In  the  crucifixion  of 
 Jesus  by  their  Roman  masters  the  Jewish  authorities 
 icquiesced  the  more  willingly  because,  like  their  own 
 national  punishment  for  blasphemy,  namely  stoning 
 followed  by  suspension,  it  involved  the  stigma  of 
 divine  malediction  which  they  were  anxious  to  attach 
 to  him.  Knowing  that  the  former  mode  of  death 
 was  generally  protracted,  and  obliged  to  comply  with 
 the  requisitions  of  their  law,  more  especially  as  the 
 sabbath,  which  began  at  sunset,  was  rapidly  approach- 
 ing, they  applied  to  Pilate  soon  after  the  ninth  hour 
 of  the  day,  and  obtained  the  usual  order  that  the 
 crucified  persons  should  be  despatched  and  removed. 
 The  soldiers  appointed  to  this  duty  accordingly  came, 
 and  broke  the  legs  of  the  two  malefactors  executed 
 with  Jesus.  Observing  however  that  he  was  already 
 dead,  they  did  not  break  his  legs ;  but  to  prevent  all 
 doubt  on  the  subject,  one  of  them  pierced  his  side 
 with  a  spear,  when  the  result  confirmed  their  previous 
 decision.  The  circumstances  above  stated  fully  de- 
 monstrate that,  in  whatever  degree  the  ordinary  suf- 
 ferings of  crucifixion  contributed  to  his  death,  they 
 were  not  its  immediate  cause.  Without  the  concur- 
 rence of  other  causes  they  rarely  proved  fatal  in  less 
 than  two  days,  whereas  Jesus   died  suddenly  after 
 
 *  Levit.  chap.  24,  v.  10—16 ;— Deut.  chap.  21,  v.  22,  23. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  4^^ 
 
 enduring  them  only  six  hours.  The  remarks  made 
 on  the  occasion  by  the  Roman  centurion  and  his  sol- 
 diers, as  well  as  by  Pontius  Pilate,  all  of  them  com- 
 petent judges  of  the  fact,  and  interested  in  ascertain- 
 ing its  reality,  plainly  show  that  they  regarded  the 
 death  of  Christ  as  having  happened  much  earlier  than 
 might  have  been  expected,  and  coincide  with  the 
 conclusion  deducible  from  other  considerations,  that 
 it  was  not  the  result  of  crucifixion  alone. 
 
 Although  the  matter  has  never  yet  been  thoroughly 
 investigated,  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  prin- 
 cipal commentators  on  Scripture,  both  ancient  and 
 modern,  have  either  openly  or  tacitly  adopted  the  ne- 
 gative conclusion  here  taken,  and  that  many  of  them 
 have  even  suggested  additional  causes  by  which,  in 
 conjunction  with  crucifixion,  the  Saviour's  death  might 
 in  their  opinion  have  been  induced.  These  causes  have 
 been  proposed  under  various  modifications,  which  are 
 all  reducible  to  three ;  namely — supernatural  agency, 
 — the  wound  inflicted  by  the  soldier's  spear, — or  an 
 unusual  degree  of  weakness,  original  or  acquired.  It 
 will  be  the  object  of  the  following  remarks  to  show 
 that  neither  of  these  explanations  is  admissible,  all  of 
 them  being  at  variance  with  well-known  facts,  and 
 that  another  is  therefore  absolutely  requisite.  In  the 
 early  times  of  Christianity,  not  long  after  its  apo- 
 stolical period,  and  when  pretensions  to  miraculous 
 power  were  still  made  and  credited,  it  is  by  no  means 
 wonderful  that  the  death  of  Christ  should  have  been 
 ascribed  to  supernatural  influence,  which  is  accord- 
 ingly the  solution  adopted  by  almost  all  the  ancient 
 Christian  writers  who  have  considered  the  subject. 
 The   opinion    of  Tertullian   is    thus  briefly  stated : 
 
48  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 [Christ] —  ^'  when  crucified  spontaneously  dismissed 
 his  spirit  with  a  word,  thus  preventing  the  office 
 of  the  executioner." — That  of  Origen  is  more 
 full.  —  "Since"  —  says  he, — "those  crucified  per- 
 sons who  are  not  stabbed  suffer  greater  torment, 
 and  survive  in  great  pain,  sometimes  the  whole  of 
 the  following  night,  and  even  the  whole  of  the 
 next  day  ;  and  since  Jesus  was  not  stabbed,  and 
 his  enemies  hoped  that  by  his  hanging  long  on  the 
 cross  he  would  suffer  the  greater  torment,  he  prayed 
 to  the  Father  and  was  heard,  and  as  soon  as  he  had 
 called  was  taken  to  the  Father  ;  or  else,  as  one  who 
 had  the  power  of  laying  down  his  life,  he  laid  it  down 
 when  he  chose.  This  prodigy  astonished  the  centurion, 
 who  said — '  Truly  this  man  was  a  son  of  God.' — For 
 it  was  a  miracle  that  he  who  would  otherwise  perhaps 
 have  survived  two  days  on  the  cross,  according  to  the 
 custom  of  those  who  are  crucified  but  not  stabbed, 
 should  have  been  taken  up  after  three  hours,  so  that 
 his  death  seems  to  have  happened  by  the  favour  of 
 God,  and  rather  through  the  merit  of  his  own  prayer 
 than  through  the  violence  of  the  cross."* — Origen 
 proceeds  to  observe  that  the  marvellousness  of  the 
 occurrence  was  further  proved  by  the  surprise  of 
 Pilate  on  hearing  that  Christ  was  dead  so  early,  and 
 by  his  caution  in  ascertaining  the  fact  from  the  centu- 
 rion before  he  granted  the  body  to  Joseph.  In  com- 
 menting on  Matt.  chap.  27.  v.  50,  Jerome  similarly 
 
 *  Tertullianus,  Apologeticus,  p.  20  ; — Origenes,  Opera,  vol.  ii. 
 p.  237.  By  misunderstanding  the  statement  concerning — "  the  sixth 
 hour," — in  John,  chap.  19,  v.  14,  Origen  seems  to  have  concluded 
 that  the  time  during  which  Christ  hung  alive  on  the  cross  was  only 
 three  hours. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  4.9 
 
 remarks, — *'  In  the  first  place,  it  must  be  declared  that 
 for  Jesus  to  lay  down  his  life  when  he  chose,  and  to 
 take  it  again,  was  an  act  of  divine  power.  Then  the 
 centurion  hearing  him  say  to  the  Father, — *  Into  thy 
 hands  I  commit  my  spirit,' — and  perceiving  that  he 
 immediately  dismissed  his  spirit  of  his  own  accord, 
 was  struck  with  the  greatness  of  the  miracle,  and 
 said, — *  Truly  this  man  was  a  son  of  God.'" — Cyprian 
 follows  in  the  same  track. — "  That  the  Jewish  rulers 
 would  deliver  Christ  to  Pontius  Pilate  to  be  crucified, 
 he  had  himself  predicted,  and  the  testimony  of  all 
 the  prophets  had  also  previously  declared  that  it  was 
 necessary  for  him  to  suffer,  not  that  he  might  feel, 
 but  conquer  death,  and  after  he  had  suffered  to  return 
 to  heaven,  that  he  might  display  the  power  of  the 
 divine  majesty.  The  course  of  events  corresponded 
 to  expectation  ;  for  when  he  was  crucified  he  dismissed 
 his  spirit  of  his  own  accord,  preventing  the  office  of 
 the  executioner,  and  also  of  his  own  accord  rose  from 
 the  dead  on  the  third  day."* — Theophylact,  metro- 
 politan of  Bulgaria,  who  stands  as  it  were  midway 
 between  the  ancients  and  the  moderns,  exhibits  similar 
 views  in  expounding  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  46. — '*  When 
 [Jesus]  had  exclaimed  with  a  loud  voice  he  expired, 
 for  he  had  power  to  lay  down  his  life,  and  to  take  it 
 again.  That  exclamation,  and  other  miracles  fur- 
 nished to  the  centurion  grounds  of  faith  :  for  [Christ] 
 did  not  die  like  an  ordinary  man,  but  with  great 
 power,  and  called  death  a  deposit,  like  one  who  was 
 about  to  take  his  life  airain." — So  likewise  in  com- 
 
 *  Hieronjmus,  Opera,  vol.  iii.  pp.  47,  48  ; — Cyprianus,  Opera  :— 
 De  idolorum  vanitate,  p.  223. 
 
 D 
 
50  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 menting  on  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50. — "  He  lays  down 
 his  life  by  his  own  power.  But  what  was  the  ex- 
 clamation?— 'Father!  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my 
 spirit :' — for  he  expired  not  by  compulsion,  but  vo- 
 luntarily, this  being  the  signification  of, — *  I  commit 
 my  spirit,'  &c., — and  therefore  with  a  loud  voice  he 
 called  on  death,  which  dared  not  to  come  to  him 
 without  being  called."* 
 
 Amongst  the  more  modern  commentators  the  earlier 
 generally  adopt  the  miraculous  hypothesis  of  their  pre- 
 decessors, but  the  superior  judgment  of  a  few  is  evinced 
 by  their  expressing  themselves  with  becoming  reserve 
 on  a  subject  which  they  felt  they  did  not  perfectly  un- 
 derstand, and  some  are  absolutely  silent.  Thus  Calvin 
 remarks, — "  The  circumstance  that  after  breaking  the 
 legs  of  the  two  malefactors  the  soldiers  found  Christ 
 dead,  and  therefore  did  not  assail  his  body,  shows  an 
 extraordinary  operation  of  divine  providence.  Pro- 
 fane persons  may  indeed  say  that  it  is  natural  for  one 
 man  to  die  sooner  than  another ;  but  whoever  care- 
 fully examines  the  whole  series  of  the  narrative  will 
 be  compelled  to  ascribe  the  exemption  of  Christ  from 
 the  breaking  of  his  legs,  by  a  death  beyond  all  ex- 
 pectation rapid,  to  the  secret  counsel  of  God."f — In 
 commenting  on  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50. — "  Jesus,  having 
 again  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  resigned  [his]  spirit," — 
 Grotius  subjoins, — "  in  the  very  act  of  exclamation, 
 as  we  have  found  Tertullian  saying,—*  He  sponta- 
 neously dismissed  his  spirit  with  a  word.' — This  ex- 
 
 *  Theophylact,  Opera ;  Comment  on  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50  ;  Mark, 
 chap.  15,  V.  37  ;  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  46  ;  and  John,  chap.  19,  v.  30. 
 
 t  Joannes  Calvinus,  Comment ;  in  quatuor  Evangelistas  ; — John, 
 chap.  19,  V.  33. 
 
OF   THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  51 
 
 clamation   was, — *  [All]  is   accomplished,' — as  men- 
 tioned by  John,  and^ — '  Father !    into  thy  hands    I 
 commit  my  spirit.' — This  very  circumstance, — *  that 
 he  expired  with  such  a  cry,' — was  regarded  by  the 
 centurion   as   miraculous;   for  the   event  itself,  im- 
 mediately responding  to  the  words  of  Christ,  showed 
 that  his  soul  had  really  been  taken  by  God.     His 
 death  was  in  fact  accelerated  by  divine  counsel  be- 
 fore the  failure  of  his  natural  strength,  otherwise  it 
 could  not  have   been    expected   to   occur  so  soon ; 
 (Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  44.)  and  therefore  the  malefactors 
 were  despatched  by  breaking  their  legs."* — In  his 
 discourse  on  the  fourth  article  of  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
 Lightfoot  observes, — "  Christ  could  not  die,  nay   I 
 may  say  he  would  not  die,  till  all  things  were  fulfilled 
 that  were  written  concerning  his  death.     Therefore, 
 when  he  had  hung  above  three  hours,  and  knowing 
 it  was  written, — *  They  gave  me  vinegar,'  &c., — he 
 said — '  I  thirst.' — He  tastes  and  finds  it  vinegar,  and 
 says — '  It  is  finished.' — Now  all  is  accomplished,  so 
 he  bows  his  head,  and  composeth  himself  to  die,  and 
 cries, — '  Father  !  into  thy  hands,'  &c. ; — and  having 
 so  said  he  let  go  his  soul,  and  delivered  it  up  into 
 the  hands  of  God.     Remember  that,  John,  chap.  10, 
 v.  17,  18.  and  you  see  the  sense  of  these  expressions; 
 — '  I  lay  down  my  life  that  I  may  take  it  again.     No 
 man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself. 
 I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to 
 take  it  again.' — He  had  life  in  his  own  hand,  and  the 
 Jews  could  not  take  it  from  him,  but  he  let  it  go 
 himself,  and  delivered  it  up. — *  When  the  centurion 
 
 *  Hugo  Grotius,    Opera  Theologica,   &c. ;    Comment  on    Matt, 
 chap.  27,  V.  50. 
 
 D    2 
 
25  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 saw  that  he  thus  cried  out  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  he 
 said, — Surelj  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God.'— Doubt- 
 less this  man  hath  the  disposal  of  his  own  life.  So 
 strong  a  cry  is  not  the  cry  of  one  that  is  spent  and 
 dying  through  weakness  and  fainting,  but  it  argues 
 life  strong  and  vigorous  to  be  still  in  him,  and  there- 
 fore he  dies  not  of  weakness,  but  gives  up  his  life 
 at  his  own  pleasure." — ^^  Jesus" — says  the  cele- 
 brated Bishop  Taylor, — "  took  all  his  passion  with 
 a  voluntary  susception,  God  heightening  it  to  great 
 degrees  of  torment  supernaturally,  and  he  laid  down 
 his  life  voluntarily,  when  his  Father's  wrath  was  to- 
 tally appeased  towards  mankind."* — Matthew  Henry 
 makes  the  following  observations  on  Matt.  chap.  27, 
 V.  50. — "  Two  things  are  here  noted  concerning  the 
 manner  of  Christ's  dying  ;  1st,  that  he  cried  with  a 
 lo7id  voice,  as  before,  v.  46.  Now  this  was  a  sign  that 
 after  all  his  pains  and  fatigues  his  life  was  whole  in 
 him,  and  nature  strong.  The  voice  of  dying  men  is 
 one  of  the  first  things  that  fails.  With  a  panting 
 breath  and  a  faltering  tongue  a  few  broken  words  are 
 hardly  spoken,  and  more  hardly  heard ;  but  Christ 
 just  before  he  expired  spoke  like  a  man  in  his  full 
 strength,  to  show  that  his  life  was  not  forced  from 
 him,  but  was  freely  delivered  by  him  into  his  Father's 
 hands,  as  his  own  act  and  deed.  He  that  had  strength 
 '  to  cry  thus  when  he  died  could  have  got  loose  from 
 the  arrest  he  was  under,  and  have  bid  defiance  to  the 
 power  of  death;  but,  to  show  that  hy  the  eternal 
 Spirit  he  offered  himself,  being  the  priest  as  well  as 
 
 *  Dr.  Lightfoot,  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  1354  ; — Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor» 
 Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  374. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OP    CHRIST.  53 
 
 the  sacrifice,  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice" — In  his  an- 
 notations on  John,  chap.  19,  v.  30,  the  same  author 
 •emarks, — **  *  He  gave  up  the  ghost.'' — His  life  was  not 
 tbrcibly  extorted  from  him,  but  freely  resigned  ;'* — 
 and  on  v.  SS. — "  They  supposed  him  to  be  dead,  and 
 therefore  did  not  break  his  legs,' — Observe  here  that 
 Jesus  died  in  less  time  than  persons  crucified  usually 
 did.    The  structure  of  his  body,  perhaps  being  extra- 
 ordinarily fine  and  tender,  was  the  sooner  broke  by 
 pain ;  or  rather,  it  was  to  show  that  he  laid  down  his  life 
 of  himself,  and  could  die  when  he  pleased,  though  his 
 hands  were  nailed.     Though  he  yielded  to  death,  he 
 was  not  conquered."* — Christ's — "  being  able  to  ex- 
 press himself  in  such  a  manner," — says  Dr.  Gill, — 
 '*  declared  him  to  be  more  than  a  mere  man;   for 
 after  such  agonies  in  the  garden,  and  so  much  fatigue 
 in  being  hurried  from  place  to  place,  and  such  loss  of 
 blood  from  being  buffeted,  scourged,  crowned  with 
 thorns,  and  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree,  where  being 
 stretched  he  had  hung  for  some  hours,  to  speak  with  so 
 loud  a  voice  was  more  than  human,  and  was  a  convic- 
 tion to  the  centurion  that  he  was  a  divine  person ;  for 
 — *  when  he  saw  that  he  so  cried  out  and  gave  up  the 
 ghost,  he  said, — Truly  this  man  was  the  Son  of  God  ;' 
 — (Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  39.)  and  likewise  it  shows  that 
 he  died  freely  and  voluntarily,  and  not  through  force 
 and  necessity.     It  was  not  all  that  men  had  done,  or 
 could  do  to  him  that  could  have  forced  his  life  from 
 him.     He   died  willingly,  and  when  nature  was  in 
 its  full  strength,  and,  which  is  signified  in  the  next 
 phrase, — *  yielded  up  the  ghost,' — or — 'dismissed  the 
 
 *  Matthew  Henry,  Exposition  on  the  New  Testament ;  Comment 
 on  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50 ;  John,  chap.  19,  v.  80,  33. 
 
54  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 spirit,' — as  the  Syriac  version  truly  renders  it,— he 
 sent  it  away.  It  was  not  taken  from  him,  he  laid 
 down  his  life  of  himself  as  the  lord  of  it,  and  gave 
 himself  freely  to  be  an  offering  and  sacrifice  in  the 
 room  of  his  people,  which  is  a  proof  of  his  great 
 love  and  amazing  grace  unto  them." — Dr.  Doddridge 
 also  contends  that  the  phrase — *^  acl)iJK€  to  irvevfjLa,'' — 
 in  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50.  should  be  rendered, — ''  he 
 dismissed  his  spirit ;" — and  observes, — *'  Now  this  ex- 
 pression seems  admirably  to  suit  our  Lord's  words, 
 John,  chap.  10,  v.  18. — '  No  man  taketh  my  life  from 
 me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself,'  &c. — showing,  as  the 
 strong  cry  which  so  much  impressed  the  centurion 
 did,  that  he  died  by  the  voluntary  act  of  his  own 
 mind,  according  to  the  power  received  from  the  Fa- 
 ther, and  in  a  way  peculiar  to  himself,  by  which  he 
 alone  of  all  men  that  ever  existed  could  have  conti- 
 nued alive,  even  in  the  greatest  tortures,  as  long  as 
 he  pleased,  or  have  retired  from  the  body  whenever 
 he  thought  fit.  Which  view  of  the  case,  by  the  way, 
 suggests  an  illustration  of  the  love  of  Christ  mani- 
 fested in  his  death  beyond  what  is  commonly  ob- 
 served; inasmuch  as  he  did  not  use  this  power  to 
 quit  his  body  as  soon  as  ever  it  was  fastened  to  the 
 cross,  leaving  only  an  insensible  corpse  to  the  cruelty 
 of  his  murderers,  but  continued  his  abode  in  it  with 
 a  steady  resolution  as  long  as  it  was  proper,  and 
 then  retired  from  it  with  a  majesty  and  dignity  never 
 known,  or  to  be  known  in  any  other  death ;  dying,  if 
 I  may  so  express  it,  like  the  prince  of  life."* 
 
 *  Dr.  Gill,  Exposition  of  the  New  Testament ;  Comment  on 
 3Iatt.  chap.  27,  v.  50. — Dr.  Doddridge,  Family  Expositor  of  the  New 
 Testament;  Comment  on  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  46. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  55 
 
 Lastly,  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  taking  the  same  view  of 
 the  phrase,  remarks, — "  He  himself  willingly  gave  up 
 that  life  which  it  was  impossible  for  man  to  take  away. 
 It  is  not  said  that  he  hung  on  the  cross  till  he  died 
 through  pain  and  agony,  nor  is  it  said  that  his  bones 
 were  broken  the  sooner  to  put  him  out  of  pain,  and  to 
 hasten  his  death,  but  that  himself  dismissed  the  soul, 
 that  he  might  thus  become  not  a  forced  sacrifice,  but 
 a  free-will  offerinsr  for  sin."* 
 
 The  quotations  above  collected  plainly  show  that 
 from  an  early  period  of  Christianity  down  to  the 
 present  day  many  learned  and  pious  men  have  agreed 
 in  ascribing  the  death  of  Christ  to  supernatural  agency. 
 Had  not  the  later  writers  of  this  class  been  guided 
 by  an  undue  deference  to  the  opinions  of  their  pre- 
 decessors rather  than  by  independent  inquiry,  it  is 
 difficult  to  understand  how  so  many  able  divines 
 should  have  concurred  in  a  view  decidedly  contra- 
 dicted by  several  passages  of  the  New  Testament, 
 which  positively  declare  that  Christ  was  slain  by  his 
 enemies,  and  died  the  death  of  the  cross.  Thus, 
 when  anticipating  his  crucifixion  a  few  days  before 
 its  occurrence,  the  Saviour  himself  predicted, — "  If 
 I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  I  will  draw  all  men 
 unto  me  :" — on  which  the  apostle  John  remarks, — 
 "  In  thus  speaking,  he  signified  the  kind  of  death 
 which  he  was  about  to  die." — Paul,  in  like  manner, 
 affirms  that  Christ — "  assumed  the  form  of  a  slave, 
 and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and  having 
 been  found  in  aspect  as  a  man,  humbled  himself,  and 
 
 *  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  Comment  on  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50. 
 
tjQ  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
 cross." — In  his  defence  before  the  Sanhedrim,  Stephen 
 indignantly  asked, — "  Which  of  the  prophets  did 
 your  fathers  forbear  to  persecute  ?  Yea,  they  slew 
 those  who  foretold  the  coming  of  that  righteous 
 person,  of  whom  ye  have  now  been  the  betrayers 
 and  murderers." — Similar  statements  were  on  various 
 occasions  made  by  Peter ;  as  for  example,  when  re- 
 plying to  the  Sanhedrim, — "  The  God  of  our  fathers 
 raised  from  the  dead  Jesus,  w^hom  ye  slew  by  cruci- 
 fixion;"— when  addressing  the  vast  multitude  assem- 
 bled at  Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, — "  Him, 
 having  been  delivered  up  by  the  determinate  counsel 
 and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  took,  and  by  the  hands 
 of  wicked  men  crucified  and  slew ;" — and  in  a  second 
 address  to  the  same  multitude  shortly  afterwards, — 
 *'  The  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  God 
 of  our  fathers  hath  glorified  his  Son  Jesus,  whom  ye 
 delivered  up,  and  rejected  before  Pilate,  when  he  had 
 decided  on  releasing  him;  but  ye  rejected  that  holy 
 and  righteous  person,  and  [in  his  stead]  begged  for 
 the  release  of  a  murderer,  and  slew  the  prince  of 
 life,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  whereof  we  are 
 
 witnesses And  now,  brethren,  I  know  that 
 
 ye  did  [this]  through  ignorance,  as  likewise  did  your 
 rulers  ;  but  those  sufferings  of  Christ  which  God  fore- 
 told by  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets,  he  hath  thus 
 accomplished."* — In  his  "  Exposition  of  the  Creed," 
 
 *  John,  chap.  12,  v.  30—34  ;  chap.  18,  v.  31,  32  ;— Acts,  chap.  2, 
 V.  22,  23  ;  chap.  3,  v.  12—18  ;  chap.  5,  v.  29,  30  ;  chap.  7,  v.  51,  52; 
 chap.  10,  V.  38,  39  ;— Philipp.  chap.  2,  v.  5—8  ;— Heb.  chap.  12,  v. 
 1—3. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  57 
 
 Bishop  Pearson  discusses  the  subject  with  much  abi- 
 lity ;  and,  although  his  own  explanation  is  equally 
 objectionable,   deserves  credit  for  the   soundness   of 
 his  judgment,  in  rejecting  that  which  is  now  under 
 consideration.     Christ,  he  observes, — *'  died  not  by, 
 but  with  a  miracle.     Should  we  imagine  Christ  to 
 anticipate  the  time  of  death,  and  to  subtract  his  soul 
 from  future  torments  necessary  to  cause  an  expiration, 
 we  might  rationally  say  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  were 
 guilty  of  his  death,  but  we  could  not  properly  say 
 they  slew  him.     Guilty  they  must  be,  because  they 
 inflicted  those  torments  which  in  time  death  must 
 necessarily  follow ;  but  slay  him  actually   they  did 
 not,  if  his  death  proceeded  from  any  other  cause, 
 and  not  from  the  wounds  which  they  inflicted."* — 
 After  a  careful  perusal  of  the  passages  above  cited,  it 
 does  not  require  any  long  or  elaborate  reasoning  to 
 prove  that,  if  the  Saviour  humbled  himself  to  death, 
 even  the  death  of  the  cross,  if  the  Father   accom- 
 plished his  designs  in  this  respect  through  the  instru- 
 mentality of  Christ's  enemies,  and  if  in  the  midst  of 
 their  fancied  triumph  over  him  they  were  in  reality 
 blindly  executing  the  divine  purposes,  whatever  may 
 be  the  true  explanation  of  his  death,  it  cannot  be 
 attributed   to   supernatural   agency.      The   opposite 
 opinion  has  been  chiefly  deduced  from  the  declaration 
 of  Jesus  that  no  man  took  his  life  from  him,  but  that 
 he  laid  it  down  of  himself,  and  from  the  expressions 
 of  some  of  the  evangelists,  that  at  his  death  he  resigned 
 or  dismissed  his  spirit;  but  the  foregoing  passages, 
 in  conjunction  with  several  others  which  might  be 
 
 *  Bishop  Pearson,  Exposition  of  the  Creed,  pp.  212,  213. 
 D    3 
 
58  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 added,  prove  the  meaning  of  these  expressions  to  be 
 simply  this  ;  that,  in  fullihnent  of  the  divine  plan  of 
 human  redemption,  Christ  voluntarily  submitted  to  a 
 violent  death  which  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  avoid. 
 That  he  actually  suffered  such  a  death  is  indeed  re- 
 peatedly stated,  both  before  and  after  the  event. 
 Thus,  in  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem, — "he  took 
 the  twelve  aside,  and  began  to  apprize  them  of  what 
 was  about  to  befall  him,  [saying] — Behold  !  we  are 
 going  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  Son  of  Man  will  be 
 delivered  to  the  chief  priests,  and  scribes,  and  they 
 will  condemn  him  to  death,  and  deliver  him  to  the 
 Gentiles,  who  will  mock  him,  and  scourge  him,  and 
 spit  on  him,  and  kill  him,  but  on  the  third  day  he 
 will  rise  from  the  dead." — That  it  was  in  the  power 
 of  Christ  to  avoid  such  a  death,  had  he  chosen  to 
 renounce  the  object  of  his  mission,  is  evident  amongst 
 other  reasons  from  his  miraculous  overthrow  of  the 
 hostile  band  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane ;  from  his 
 question  to  Peter, — "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot 
 even  now  request  my  Father,  and  he  would  send  to 
 my  aid  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  [but] 
 how  then  would  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  [which 
 declare]  that  thus  it  must  be  ?" — and  from  his  remark 
 to  Pilate, — "  Thou  wouldst  not  have  had  any  autho- 
 rity at  all  against  me,  had  it  not  been  given  thee  from 
 above."* — In  all  the  scriptural  allusions  to  this  subject. 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  16,  v.  21  ;  chap.  17,  v.  22,  23  ;  chap.  20,  v.  17—19  ; 
 chap.  26,  V.  51—54  ;— Mark,  chap.  8,  v.  31  ;  chap.  9,  v.  30,31  ;  chap. 
 10,  V.  32—34  ;— Luke,  chap.  9,  v.  21,  22  ;  chap.  18,  v.  31—33  ;— John, 
 chap.  10,  V.  17,  18  ;  chap.  18,  v.  1—6  ;  chap.  19,  v.  8—11 ;— 1  Thess. 
 chap.  2,  V.  14,  15  ;— Revel,  chap.  5,  v.  9»  12,  &c. 
 
OF    THE     DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  KQ 
 
 the  death  intimated,  although  voluntary,  is  moreover 
 represented  not  as  self-inflicted,  but  as  penal  and 
 vicarious.  In  the  very  passage  which  has  been  thus 
 misinterpreted,  the  death  encountered  by  the  good 
 shepherd  for  the  safety  of  his  flock  is  ascribed  to 
 the  vvolf  from  whom  the  hireling  flees.  So,  when 
 Peter  promised  to  lay  down  his  life  for  Christ's 
 sake,  his  meaning  is  explained  to  be,  that  he  would 
 follow  him  both  to  prison  and  to  death.  The  true 
 interpretation  of  this  passage  is  however  ascertained 
 beyond  all  doubt  by  the  same  apostle  who  records  it ; 
 for  he  declares  that,  as — "  Christ  laid  down  his  life  for 
 us,  we  ought  also  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the 
 brethren ;" — not  of  course  by  suicide,  but  by  cheer- 
 fully submitting  to  death  from  persecution,  when- 
 ever it  may  appear  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the 
 church  ;  an  act  of  self-devotion  which  the  apostle 
 Paul  repeatedly  professed  himself  ready  to  perform, 
 and  at  last  actually  accomplished.  On  such  occa- 
 sions it  was  usual  for  Christian  martyrs  to  resign, 
 or  commend  their  spirits  to  God,  in  token  of  their 
 perfect  acquiescence  in  his  will,  and  confidence  in  his 
 fidelity ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  his  having  been  a 
 victim  of  an  infinitely  higher  order,  this  was  all  that 
 was  done  by  Christ  himself  when  he  died  on  the  cross. 
 Accordingly,  whilst  Matthew  and  John  state  that  he 
 dismissed  or  resigned  his  spirit,  Mark  and  Luke  say 
 simply,  that  he  expired.* 
 
 *  Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  33; — John,  chap.  10,  v.  11 — 15;  chap.  13, 
 V.  36,  37  ; — Acts,  chap.  7,  v.  59,60  ;— Rom.  chap.  5,  v.  6— 8;— Philipp. 
 chap.  2,  V.  17,  18;— Coloss.  chap.  1,  v.  23,  24  ;— 2  Tim.  chap.  1, 
 V.  12  ;  chap.  4,  v.  6—8  ; — 1  Peter,  chap.  4,  v.  12—19  ; — I  John,  chap. 
 3,  V.  16. 
 
go  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 From  the  concurrence  of  so  many  pious  and 
 learned  authors  in  ascribing  the  death  of  Jesus  to 
 supernatural  agency,  one  advantage  however  results, 
 namely,  the  acknowledgment  thereby  made  that  in 
 their  opinion  this  solemn  event  cannot  be  satisfactorily 
 explained  by  any  other  cause  ; — neither  by  the  princi- 
 pal, nor  the  accessory  sufferings  of  crucifixion, — ^by  an 
 extraordinary  degree  of  weakness  original  or  acquired, 
 — nor  by  the  wound  inflicted  with  the  soldier's  spear  ; 
 — and  this  acknowledgment  is  the  more  valuable  in 
 the  case  of  several  of  the  early  writers,  because  they 
 lived  in  times  when  all  the  circumstances  attending 
 crucifixion  in  general,  and  that  of  Christ  in  particu- 
 lar, must  have  been  perfectly  known.  So  much  the 
 more  remarkable  is  the  fact  that  certain  manuscripts 
 of  the  Greek  New  Testament,  particularly  the  Vati- 
 can, and  the  Ephrem,  with  some  others  of  minor  note, 
 contain  a  various  reading  which  seems  to  affirm  the 
 cause  last  mentioned,  namely,  the  wound  with  the 
 soldier's  spear ;  and  that  a  recent  and  talented  author, 
 the  late  Mr.  Granville  Penn,*  has  zealously  adopted 
 this  reading,  which  it  will  be  the  object  of  the  fol- 
 lowing observations  to  show  is  spurious,  and  unworthy 
 of  regard.  It  occurs  as  an  additional  clause  to  Matt, 
 chap.  27,  V.  48,  49.  after  the  statement  that  a  little 
 before  his  death  Christ  uttered  the  cry, — *'  Eloi ! 
 Eloi  I  lamma  sabachthani  ?  "  —  which  some  of  the 
 bystanders  erroneously  supposed  to  be  an  invocation 
 of  the  prophet  Elijah.      In  order  to   do  justice  to 
 
 *  Granville  Penn,  The  Book  of  the  New  Covenant  of  our  Lord 
 and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; — Annotations  to  the  Book  of  the  New 
 Covenant,  ^ith  an  Expository  Pretace,  &c. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gj 
 
 the  subject,  the  original  passage,  as  it  stands  in  the 
 Vatican  manuscript,  is  here  subjoined,  together  with 
 Mr.  Penn's  translation.— "  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  48. 
 Kat  €vdicos  hpajjiiiiv  ets  e^  avTu>v,  kol  ka(3oi)v  (nroyyoVf 
 7T\r]aas  re  o^ovs,  kol  Trepcdeh  KaAa/xco,  €7r6TLC€V  avTov : 
 49.  oi  8e  XoiTTol  ekeyov,  "A(j)€S,  tboiixev  el  epyerai  'HA-tas 
 (Tcocraiv  avrov :  aXkos  he,  XajSojv  Xoyx^v,  evv^ev  avTov 
 rrjv  irkevpav,  koI  i^ijkOev  vhcop  kol  aTpia.  50.  *0  5e 
 lrj(TOvs,  TiaXiv  Kpd^as  (po)vf]  fieydXri,  dcpTJKe  to  Tfvevfjia' 
 48.  And  straightway  one  of  them  ran,  and  took  a 
 sponge,  and  filled  it  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on  a 
 reed,  and  gave  it  him  to  drink :  49.  the  rest  said, 
 Let  him  alone  ;  let  us  see  whether  Elijah  will  come 
 to  save  him  :  50.  but  another,  taking  a  spear,  pierced 
 his  side  ;  and  there  came  forth  water  and  blood :  and 
 Jesus,  crying  out  again  with  a  loud  voice,  expired." — 
 Mr.  Penn  supposes  this  clause  to  have  been  ex- 
 punged from  the  ancient  copies  of  Matthew's  gospel 
 through  the  influence  of  Origen.  His  principal,  if 
 not  his  only  reasons  for  regarding  it  as  an  authentic 
 portion  of  Scripture,  are  its  insertion  in  the  Vati- 
 can and  Ephrem  manuscripts,  and  its  adoption  by 
 Chrysostom.  The  high  value  which  he  attaches  to  it 
 is  evinced  by  the  ensuing  remarks. — "  The  restora- 
 tion of  this  verse  to  its  due  place  in  the  Gospel 
 is  the  most  important  circumstance  of  this  Revi- 
 sion ;" — and  again, — "  The  recovery  of  this  important 
 record,  possibly  reserved  with  a  view  to  rouse  and 
 quicken  the  languor  of  the  Christian  church  in  this 
 its  last  age,  and  its  restoration  to  the  evangelical 
 text,  is  well  calculated  to  fan  the  embers  of  Chris- 
 tian devotion,  and  to  cause  them  to  revive  with  a 
 iiame  answering  to  that  with  which  it  shone  at  the 
 
QO  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 first."* — Notwithstanding  so  high  a  eulogium,  it  will 
 be  easy  to  prove  that  this  clause,  excluded  by  almost 
 all  the  ancient  manuscripts,  versions,  and  fathers,  re- 
 jected by  the  principal  critics  and  editors  of  the  Greek 
 New  Testament,  and  stamped  with  internal  marks  of 
 inconsistency  and  falsehood,  is  an  unwarrantable 
 interpolation  in  Matthew's  gospel  of  words  borrowed 
 from  that  of  John.  In  opposition  to  the  weight  of 
 adverse  evidence  on  this  point,  the  authorities  ad- 
 duced by  Mr.  Penn  are  quite  insufficient.  That  of 
 Chrysostom  he  himself  disregards,  in  reference  to  a 
 closely  connected  passage,  and  in  the  present  case  it  is 
 scarcely  available ;  for  Chrysostom  represents  the  spear- 
 wound  as  having  been  inflicted  on  the  body  of  Christ 
 when  dead,  and  declares  that  he  laid  down  his  life  by 
 his  own  power.  The  Ephrem  manuscript  is  probably 
 little  more  than  a  duplicate  of  the  Vatican,  and  for 
 the  extraordinary  and  exclusive  deference  paid  by  Mr. 
 Penn  to  the  Roman  document  no  just  reason  can  be 
 assigned.  To  ascertain  the  precise  age  of  a  manu- 
 script is  not  a  very  easy  task  ;  but  granting  that  the 
 Vatican  is  one  of  the  oldest  now  extant,  it  by  no 
 means  follows  that  all  junior  manuscripts,  some 
 of  W'hich  must  be  of  nearly  equal  antiquity,  are 
 either  derived  from  it,  or  of  inferior  authority. 
 Granting  that  this  clause  was  known  in  the  fourth 
 century,  there  is  no  proof  that  it  existed  in  the 
 first  copies  of  Matthew's  gospel,  or  that  it  was  ex- 
 punged by  Origen.  That  distinguished  author  testi- 
 fies that  in  his  time,  and  doubtless  long  before,  the 
 Scriptures  of  the    New  Testament  presented  many 
 
 *  Granville  Perm,   Annotations  to  the  Book  of  the  New  Cove- 
 nant, &c.,  pp.  176,  184. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gg 
 
 various  readings,  which  he  judiciously  refers  to  three 
 different  sources ;  namely,   the   negligence    of  tran- 
 scribers, the  presumption  of  heretics,  and  the  offi- 
 ciousness  of  critics.*     To  the  last  of  these  classes 
 may  reasonably  be  ascribed  several  of  those  families, 
 as  they  have  been  termed,  of  manuscripts,  which, 
 whilst  agreeing  in  all  essential  points,  differ  consider- 
 ably with  respect  to  style  and  diction,  in  consequence 
 of  the  simple  and  oriental  phraseology  of  the  original 
 writings  having  been,  as  it  seems,  variously  modified 
 and  re-touched,  to  suit  the  taste  of  those  for  whose 
 use  they  were  successively  transcribed.      That  the 
 text  of  the  Vatican  manuscript  was  thus  modified,  at 
 least  in  the  New  Testament,  will  plainly  appear  to 
 any  competent  inquirer  who  will  carefully  and  can- 
 didly   examine   its   peculiar   readings.      Were  such 
 interference  with  Scripture  ever  admissible,  many  of 
 these  readings  might,    in   reference    to    expression, 
 be  deemed  improvements ;  but,  as  might  naturally 
 have  been  expected,  when  the  editor  had  once  en- 
 gaged in  this  critical  career,  he  was  induced  to  pro- 
 ceed further  than  at  first  perhaps  he  intended ;  and 
 not  content  with  correcting  the  style  of  the  sacred 
 original,    presumed   in    some   instances    to    alter  its 
 matter.     Thus,  for  example,  he  has  expunged  the 
 clause  in  Luke,  chap.  2S,  v.  43,  44.  which  describes 
 the  agony  and  bloody  sweat  of  Christ  in  the  garden 
 of  Gethsemane ;   and  has  inserted  after  Matt.  chap. 
 27,  V.  49.  the  clause  now  under  consideration,  which 
 attributes  the   death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  to  the 
 wound  inflicted  by  the  soldier's  spear.     In  both  these 
 alterations,  as  well  as  in  most  other  cases,  he  is  im- 
 
 *  Lardner  (Dr.  Nathaniel),  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  522,  523. 
 
(34  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 plicitly  followed  by  Mr.  Penn,  wlio  gladly  cites  the 
 authority  of  Chrysostom  in  support  of  the  latter 
 clause,  but  apparently  forgets  that  the  same  au- 
 thority confirms  the  former  one  which,  in  defer- 
 ence to  the  Vatican  manuscript,  he  himself  re- 
 jects ;  and  on  which  this  prince  of  interpreters,  as 
 he  is  styled  by  Dr.  Isaac  Barrow  and  Mr.  Penn, 
 makes  the  following  apposite  remark: — "Lest 
 heretics  should  say  that  [Christ]  pretended  agony, 
 his  sweat  was  as  clots  of  blood,  and  an  angel  ap- 
 peared strengthening  him,  and  [he  showed]  many 
 other  infallible  signs  of  fear,  lest  any  one  should  say 
 that  [his]  words  were  feigned."* — After  stating  that 
 this  clause  was  acknowledged  as  authentic  by  Justin 
 Martyr  and  Tatian,  in  the  second  century,  as  well  as 
 by  other  early  authors,  Dr.  Lardner  adds  that  it — 
 "  was  wanting  in  some  ancient  copies,  as  we  learn 
 from  Hilar}?,  Jerome,  and  Photius,  which  last  inti- 
 mates that  the  omission  of  this  text  was  owing  to 
 some  Syrians.  Mill  thinks  they  must  have  been  of 
 the  sect  of  the  Jacobites ;  and  Dr.  Assemann  has  par- 
 ticularly observed  that  this  text  is  quoted  by  Ephrem 
 the  Syrian.  Epiphanius  likewise  says  that  these  two 
 verses  were  in  the  ancient  copies,  before  they  were 
 corrected  and  altered  by  some  over-nice  catholics 
 who  did  not  well  understand  them."f — With  the 
 exception  of  the  Alexandrian  manuscript,  which 
 likewise  omits  it,  this  clause  is  accordingly  retained 
 by  almost  all  the  ancient  editors,  critics,  and  com- 
 mentators of  the  New  Testament,  and  is  further 
 supported  by  a  well-known  passage  in  the  Epistle 
 
 *  Joiinnes  Chrysostomus,  Opera,  vol.  vii.  p.  79 i. 
 t  Lurdner,  vol.  ii.  p.  425,  426. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  (55 
 
 to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  5,  v.  7 — 10.  where,  although 
 the  sacred  writer  does  not  minutely  describe  the 
 scene  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  he  evidently 
 alludes  to  it  in  a  manner  exactly  corresponding  to  the 
 narrative  of  Luke,  with  which  the  statements  of  Paul 
 generally  present  a  very  close  and  striking  coinci- 
 dence. Speaking  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  the 
 apostle  remarks  that, — "  having  in  the  days  of  his 
 flesh  offered  prayers  and  supplications,  [accompanied] 
 with  tears  and  loud  cries,  to  him  who  was  able  to 
 save  him  from  death,  and  having  been  heard  on  ac- 
 count of  his  pious  fear,  although  he  was  a  son,  he 
 learned  obedience  from  his  sufferings ;  and  when  [at 
 length]  perfected,  became  the  author  of  eternal  sal- 
 vation to  all  who  obey  him." — This  allusion,  which 
 intimates  that  previously  to  his  crucifixion  Christ 
 piously  endured  a  degree  of  mental  agony  which 
 threatened  his  life,  but  from  which  he  was  for  the 
 time  delivered  by  divine  succour,  in  answer  to  his 
 intense  and  urgent  prayers,  furnishes  a  powerful 
 confirmation,  were  any  wanting,  of  that  important 
 passage  in  Luke's  gospel  which  the  Vatican  manu- 
 script has  improperly  dropped,  whilst  with  equal  im- 
 propriety it  has  admitted  into  the  gospel  of  Matthew 
 a  spurious  passage,  which  disfigures  and  contradicts 
 the  scriptural  narrative.*     The  internal  proof  of  its 
 
 *  In  consequence  of  mistaking  the  golden  censer,— BvfiiaTrjpiovt 
 — for  the  golden  altar, — SrvaiaaTtjpwv, — the  same  manuscript  has 
 transferred  the  clause  respecting  it  in  Heb.  chap.  9,  from  the  fourth 
 to  the  second  verse.  This  transposition,  cited  by  Mr.  Penn  as  a  tri- 
 umphant proof  of  the  superiority  of  the  Vatican  manuscript,  is  in 
 reality  another  example  of  its  injudicious  and  unwarrantable  inter- 
 ference with  the  original  text.  See  Rev.,  chap.  8,  v.  1 — 5. — Gran- 
 ville Penn,  Annotations,  &c.,  Preface,  pp.  32,  33. 
 
QQ  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 being  spurious  is,  that  the  passage  is  inconsistent  with 
 the  accounts  given  both  by  Matthew  and  John,  as 
 well  as  with  other  circumstances  belonging  to  the 
 event.  Having  stated  that  about  the  ninth  hour  of 
 the  day  on  which  he  was  crucified  Jesus  uttered  the 
 cry, — '^  Eli !  Eli !  lama  sabachthani, — that  is, — My 
 God !  My  God !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — 
 Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  46.  the  evangelist  relates, — v.  47. 
 — "  On  hearing  [this,]  some  of  the  bystanders  said, 
 — This  man  calleth  for  Elijah. — 48.  One  of  them 
 immediately  ran,  and  took  a  sponge,  and  having 
 filled  it  with  vinegar,  and  fixed  it  on  a  reed,  gave  him 
 drink  :  49.  but  the  rest  said, — Hold  !  let  us  see 
 whether  Elijah  will  come  to  save  him.  50.  Having 
 again  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  Jesus  expired." — It  is 
 between  verses  49  and  50,  that  the  Vatican  manuscript 
 inserts  the  clause, — "  but  another,  taking  a  spear, 
 pierced  his  side,  and  there  came  forth  water  and 
 blood :" — which  clause,  short  as  it  is,  entirely  dis- 
 agrees both  with  the  immediate  context,  and  with 
 the  facts  of  the  case.  The  bystanders  were  evidently 
 the  Roman  soldiers  on  guard,  who  knew  little  of  the 
 Hebrew  language,  but  could  not  have  resided  long  in 
 Palestine  without  learning  something  of  the  great 
 prophet  Elijah,  and  of  the  expected  Messiah  of  the 
 Jews.  Now,  after  stating  that  one  of  these  men, — 
 619  ef  avT^v, — on  hearing  Jesus  complain  of  thirst, 
 (John,  chap.  19,  v.  28,  29.)  offered  him  vinegar, 
 and  that  the  rest  —  ol  KolttoI  —  desired  their  com- 
 rade not  to  interfere,  but  to  await  the  event,  what 
 intelligent  writer  would  have  introduced  another, — 
 akXos  5e, — and  that  to  perform  an  act  in  opposition 
 to  the  wish  just  before  expressed  ?      Besides,   the 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  67 
 
 soldiers  were  not  at  liberty  thus  to  interfere 
 with  the  execution  at  their  pleasure,  and  had  any 
 of  them  presumed  to  do  so,  it  would  have  been 
 at  the  risk  of  his  life.  When  the  Jewish  autho- 
 rities were  anxious  to  have  the  crucified  persons 
 despatched,  and  their  bodies  removed  before  the 
 sabbath  began,  that  is  before  six  o'clock  the  same 
 evening,  they  were  under  the  necessity  of  apply- 
 ing to  the  Roman  governor,  who  gave  orders  ac- 
 cordingly. That  he  did  not  issue  any  other  order 
 is  manifest;  since  after  giving  this,  and  when  he 
 had  reason  to  believe  that  it  had  been  carried  into 
 effect,  Pilate  was  astonished  to  hear  that  Jesus  was 
 already  dead.  By  the  apostle  John,  a  deeply  inte- 
 rested spectator  of  the  whole  scene,  the  sequel  is 
 thus  described: — "Now  in  order  that  the  bodies 
 might  not  remain  on  the  cross  during  the  sabbath- 
 day,  as  it  was  [then]  the  preparation-day,  for  that 
 sabbath-day  was  a  high  day,  the  Jews  requested 
 Pilate  that  their  legs  might  be  broken,  and  that  they 
 might  be  taken  away.  So  the  soldiers  came,  and 
 broke  the  legs  of  the  first  and  of  the  other  who  was 
 crucified  with  Jesus,  but  on  coming  to  him,  as  they 
 perceived  that  he  was  already  dead,  they  did  not 
 break  his  legs :  one  of  the  soldiers,  however,  pierced 
 his  side  with  a  spear,  and  immediately  there  came  forth 
 blood  and  water." — John,  chap.  19,  v.  28—34.  No- 
 thing can  be  plainer  or  more  complete  than  this 
 account.  The  death  of  Christ  happened,  not  in  con- 
 sequence of  his  having  been  stabbed  to  the  heart,  but 
 from  some  other  cause,  immediately  after  he  had  re- 
 ceived the  vinegar.  His  side  was  pierced,  not  whilst 
 he  was  alive,  but  after  he  was  dead,  and  as  the  alter- 
 
68  ERRONEOUS    EXPLANATIONS 
 
 native  of  breaking  his  legs,  an  act  which  the  soldiers 
 were  otherwise  about  to  perform  ;  implying  that  until 
 that  moment  they  were  not  aware  of  his  death,  and 
 even  then  thought  it  proper,  by  wounding  him  with 
 a  spear,  to  ascertain  its  reality.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
 that  this  very  clear  and  unequivocal  statement  should 
 have  been  misrepresented  by  Mr.  Penn,  no  doubt 
 unintentionally,  and  under  the  influence  of  an  undue 
 partiality  for  a  favourite  manuscript.  The  evange- 
 list's words  are  as  follows, — John,  chap.  19,  v.  32. — 
 HK0OV  ovv  01  arparMTai,  koI  tov  \xkv  irpiiiTov  Karia^av 
 Ta  (TKekrj,  Kai  tov  akXov  tov  crvcTTavpodOivTos  avT(D :  33. 
 €TTL  be  TOV  'It](tovv  iX.66vT€i,  0)?  dbov  avTov  7]bri  TeOvrj- 
 KOTa,   ov  KaTia^av    avTov    to.    (TKekrj:   34.   aA.A.'  etj  T(av 
 
 (TTpaTLCOTQ^V    Aoy)(?7    CLVTOV    TTjV    TTkevpCLV    €VV^€,     Kol      €v6vS 
 
 i^TJXOev  al[Aa  kol  vbcop. — The  following  is  Mr.  Penn's 
 translation  : — "  o2.  Then  the  soldiers  came,  and 
 brake  the  legs  of  the  first,  and  of  the  other  which  was 
 crucified  with  him  ;  S3,  but,  coming  to  Jesus,  they 
 brake  not  his  legs,  when  they  saw  that  he  was  already 
 dead;  34.  for,  one  of  the  soldiers  pierced  his  side 
 with  a  spear,  and  immediately  came  forth  blood  and 
 water." — Every  competent  and  unprejudiced  reader 
 will  perceive  that  the  mental  substitution  in  this 
 version  of  the  explanatory  particle, — yap,  for, — in- 
 stead of  the  distinctive  one, — akXa,  but, — entirely 
 perverts  the  meaning  of  the  sentence,  which  is 
 thereby  tacitly  acknowledged  to  be  incompatible 
 with  the  corresponding  clause,  interpolated  in 
 Matthew's  gospel  by  the  Vatican  manuscript.  Far 
 however  from  seeing  this,  Mr.  Penn  supposes 
 that  in  the  following  verses  35 — 37,  John  quotes, 
 and   thereby  confirms   the   pretended   statement  of 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^q 
 
 Matthew,  as  if  it  were  credible  that  John,  who 
 during  the  whole  scene  of  the  crucifixion  stood 
 near  the  foot  of  the  cross,  should  have  suppressed  his 
 own  testimony,  and  given  in  preference  that  of  Mat- 
 thew, who  if  present  at  all,  must  have  been  stationed 
 at  a  distance,  and  consequently  far  less  qualified  to 
 bear  witness  on  the  subject,  Luke,  chap.  2S,  v.  49. 
 It  must,  on  the  contrary,  be  evident  that  John,  who 
 through  modesty  generally  speaks  of  himself  anony- 
 mously, and  in  the  third  person,  is  here  placing  on 
 scriptural  record  that  testimony,  which  as  an  eye- 
 witness of  these  momentous  events  he  had  from  the 
 first  orally  delivered,  and  that  previously  to  citing 
 two  remarkable  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament 
 respecting  them,  he  accurately  describes  the  occur- 
 rences by  which  they  were  simultaneously  fulfilled, 
 — John,  chap.  19,  v.  35.  "  He  that  bears  [this]  tes- 
 timony saw  [the  fact,]  and  his  testimony  is  true,  and 
 he  is  sure  that  he  relates  what  is  true,  that  ye 
 also  may  believe :  36»  for  these  things  happened 
 in  fulfilment  of  the  Scripture, — Not  one  of  his  bones 
 shall  be  broken: — 37.  and  again  another  Scrip- 
 ture saith, —  They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they 
 piercedJ'^ — Other  objections  might  be  urged  against 
 the  allegation  that  the  spear -wound  was  inflicted  on 
 the  body  of  Christ  whilst  he  was  yet  alive,  such  as 
 the  immediate  effusion  of  blood  and  water,  and  the 
 loud  and  distinct  exclamation, — "  [^H]  is  accom- 
 plished :  Father !  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit," 
 — neither  of  which  could  on  this  supposition  have 
 taken  place  ;  but  those  already  adduced  will  probably 
 be  deemed  sufficient. 
 
 •  Granville  Penn,  Annotations,  &c. ;  pp.  286,  287. 
 
>^Q  ERRONEOUS   EXPLANATIONS 
 
 The  opinion  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  accele- 
 rated by  supernatural  agency  originated  with  some  of 
 the  early  Christian  writers  ;  that  which  ascribes  its 
 speedy  occurrence  to  an  extraordinary  degree  of  de- 
 bility, either  constitutional  or  superinduced,  is  chiefly 
 confined  to  a  small  number  of  modern  theologians  ; 
 and,  as  will  now  be  shown,  is  equally  untenable  with 
 the  former,  being  not  only  destitute  of  proof,  but 
 positively  contradicted  by  the  well-known  facts  of  the 
 case.    Both  as  a  priest  and  as  a  victim,  it  was  necessary 
 that  Christ  should  possess  a  human  nature  absolutely 
 pure  and  perfect.     This  perfect  nature  was  accord- 
 ingly provided  by  a  special  interposition  of  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  in  the  manner  related  by  the  evangelist  Luke  ; 
 and  from  such  a  source  it  is  evident  that  nothing 
 feeble,  vitiated,  or  defective  could  have  proceeded.* 
 As  a  child,  Jesus  rapidly  grew  in  wisdom,  and  in  sta- 
 ture, and  in  favour  with  God  and  man ;  and  at  the 
 early   age  of  twelve   years    exhibited   a  degree    of 
 energy  and  intelligence,  which  astonished  the  doctors 
 of  the  law  with  whom  he  conversed  in  the  temple. 
 The   subsequent   course    of    his    life    corresponded 
 to   its  commencement.     Until  the   age  of  thirty  he 
 chiefly  resided  in  the  country,  where  his  occupations, 
 although  humble  and  laborious,  were  well  adapted  to 
 promote  health  and  strength.     During  the  three  or 
 four  years  of  his  personal  ministry  nothing  of  a  con- 
 trary kind  occurred.     He  now  took  much  mental  as 
 well  as  bodily  exercise,  mingled  freely  with  all  classes 
 
 *  Levit.  chap.  21,  V.  16—24;  chap.  22,  v.  17— 25;— John,  chap.  1, 
 V.  29,  36  ;— Heb.  chap.  7,  v.  23—28  ;  chap.  9,  v.  13.  14;  chap.  10, 
 V.  1—14 ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  18,  19,  &c. 
 
OF    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  Yl 
 
 of  society,  was  often  engaged  in  public  speaking,  and 
 made  frequent  journeys  on  foot ;  but,  under  the 
 guardianship  of  a  special  providence,  appears  never  to 
 have  suffered  the  slightest  accident  or  indisposition. 
 The  notion  of  his  having  been  weakened  and  emaci- 
 ated by  continual  watchings  and  fastings  is  worthy  of 
 the  monkish  writers  by  whom  it  was  first  suggested, 
 but  utterly  at  variance  with  the  evangelical  narrative. 
 Whatever  might  in  this  respect  have  been  the  prac- 
 tice of  John  the  Baptist,  who  was  sent  to  announce  the 
 divine  judgments  impending  over  a  guilty  nation,  the 
 Son  of  Man  came,  as  he  himself  declares,  eating  and 
 drinking ;  his  first  miracle  was  performed  at  a  mar- 
 riage-feast, for  the  purpose'  of  furnishing  a  liberal  sup- 
 ply of  excellent  wine  ;  and  on  all  occasions,  he  readily 
 accepted  the  hospitalities  both  of  his  friends  and  his 
 enemies.  Even  his  disciples  could  not  fast  whilst 
 he  was  with  them  ;  and  the  malicious  aspersion  thrown 
 against  him  of  being  a  gluttonous  man  and  a  wine- 
 bibber,  false  as  it  was,  served  to  prove  that  he  did  not 
 profess  to  lead  a  life  of  abstinence  and  mortification. 
 His  last  sufferings  befell  him  when  in  the  flower  of 
 his  age,  at  the  period  of  his  greatest  vigour  and 
 maturity.  Those  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
 although  intense,  were  of  short  duration,  and  he  was 
 supernaturally  strengthened  for  the  very  purpose  of 
 enabling  him  to  support  them.  Those  incidental  to 
 crucifixion  were  not  more  severe  in  his  case  than 
 in  that  of  others.  His  deportment  throughout  the 
 whole  scene,  whether  in  the  garden,  before  the  tribu- 
 nals of  the  Sanhedrim  and  of  Pilate,  or  at  Golgotha, 
 evinced  the  utmost  piety,  fortitude,  and  self-posses- 
 sion.     The    circumstance   of   Simon    the    Cyrenian 
 
<^2  ERRONEOUS     EXPLANATIONS,   &C. 
 
 having  been  compelled  to  assist  in  bearing  bis  cross, 
 by  no  means  proves  that  mere  weakness  disabled 
 Christ  from  bearing  it  alone.  The  contrary  appears 
 from  his  immediately  afterwards  addressing  the 
 Jewish  women  who  bewailed  his  fate,  and  bidding 
 them  weep  not  for  him,  but  for  themselves  and  their 
 children.  On  arriving  at  the  fatal  spot  he  refused 
 the  cup  of  medicated  wine,  usually  given  as  a  cordial 
 to  crucified  persons  ;  and  after  praying  for  his  execu- 
 tioners, assuring  the  penitent  malefactor  of  eternal 
 happiness,  providing  for  the  future  support  of  his 
 widowed  mother,  and  actively  concurring  in  the  ful- 
 filment of  prophecy,  he  suddenly  expired  amidst  loud 
 and  fervent  ejaculations,  which  alone  were  sufi5cient 
 to  show  that  he  retained  all  his  faculties  of  mind  and 
 body  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life.  The  opposite 
 opinion  is  so  manifestly  unfounded  and  erroneous, 
 that  to  illustrate  it  by  quotations  from  the  writ- 
 ings of  authors  who  have  taken  that  view  of  the 
 subject,  would  be  a  mere  loss  of  time  and  labour. 
 Some  of  the  principal  expositions  of  this  class  will 
 however  be  stated  and  refuted  in  the  following 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 DEMONSTRATION    OF    THE    IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 SECTION    I. 
 
 In  the  preceding  chapter  it  is  presumed  to  have 
 been  demonstrated  that  neither  the  ordinary  suffer- 
 ings of  crucifixion,  nor  the  wound  inflicted  by  the 
 soldier's  spear,  nor  an  unusual  degree  of  weakness, 
 nor  the  interposition  of  supernatural  influence,  was 
 the  immediate  cause  of  the  Saviour's  death.  The 
 first  of  these  conditions  was  inadequate,  the  second 
 follow^ed  instead  of  preceding  the  eifect,  and  the  third 
 and  fourth  had  no  existence.  What  then,  it  will  be 
 asked,  was  the  real  cause  ?  In  conformity  with  the 
 inductive  principles  announced  at  the  commencement 
 of  this  inquiry,  it  must  have  been  a  known  power 
 in  nature,  possessing  the  requisite  eflicacy,  agreeing 
 with  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  by  suitable 
 tests  proved  to  have  been  present  without  counterac- 
 tion. It  will  be  the  object  of  the  ensuing  observa- 
 tions to  show  that  the  power  in  which  these  characters 
 perfectly  and  exclusively  concurred,  was  agony  of 
 
 MIND,    PRODUCING     RUPTURE    OF     THE     HEART.       To 
 
 establish  this    conclusion  numerous  details  will  be 
 adduced,  but  the  argument  itself  is  short  and  simple. 
 
 E 
 
74  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE     OF     THE 
 
 In  the  garden^of  Gethsemane  Christ  endured  mental 
 agony  so  intense  that,  had  it  not  been  limited  by 
 divine  interposition,  it  would  probably  have  destroyed 
 his  life  without  the  aid  of  any  other  sufferings ;  but 
 having  been  thus  mitigated,  its  effects  were  confined 
 to  violent  palpitation  of  the  heart,  accompanied  with 
 bloody  sweat.  On  the  cross  this  agony  was  renewed, 
 in  conjunction  with  the  ordinary  sufferings  incidental 
 to  that  mode  of  punishment ;  and  having  at  this  time 
 been  allowed  to  proceed  to  its  utmost  extremity 
 without  restraint,  occasioned  sudden  death  by  rup- 
 ture of  the  heart,  intimated  by  a  discharge  of  blood 
 and  water  from  his  side,  when  it  was  afterwards 
 pierced  with  a  spear. 
 
 In  reference  to  their  influence  on  the  functions  of 
 body  and  mind,  the  human  passions  are  naturally  di- 
 visible into  two  opposite  classes,  the  exciting,  and  the 
 depressing ;  the  former  giving  rise  to  energy  and 
 animation,  the  latter  to  debility  and  torpor.  Pro- 
 vided they  are  sufficiently  strong  or  long  continued, 
 passions  of  either  class  may  induce  death,  either  by 
 simple  exhaustion  of  vital  power,  or  by  some  special 
 injury  to  the  heart,  brain,  or  lungs.  Agony,  or 
 the  conflict  between  two  exciting  passions  having 
 opposite  objects,  is  in  this  respect  peculiarly  effi- 
 cacious ;  and  when  intense,  produces  violent  pal- 
 pitation, bloody  sweat,  oppression  of  the  chest, 
 loud  cries,  and  ultimately  rupture  of  the  heart. 
 Such  rupture  is  usually  attended  with  immediate 
 death,  and  with  an  effusion  into  the  pericardium 
 (the  capsule  containing  the  heart)  of  the  blood  pre- 
 viously circulating  through  that  organ  ;  which  when 
 thus   extravasated,  although  scarcely   in  any   other 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 75 
 
 case,  separates  into  its  constituent  parts,  so  as  to 
 present  the  appearance  commonly  termed  blood  and 
 water.  In  support  of  these  statements  several  proofs 
 and  illustrations  will  now  be  proposed,  and  others 
 will  be  inserted  at  the  end  of  the  volume.  It  must 
 not  however  be  expected  that  many  distinct  ex- 
 amples of  this  kind  can  be  cited ;  since  whilst  few  it 
 may  be  hoped  have  occurred,  still  fewer  have  been 
 duly  authenticated  and  recorded.  For  the  satisfac- 
 tion of  persons  not  familiar  with  anatomy,  it  may  be 
 proper  to  premise  that  the  heart  is  a  double  muscular 
 bag,  of  a  conical  form,  lined  within  and  without  by  a 
 dense  membrane,  and  loosely  inclosed  in  a  receptacle 
 of  similar  material,  called  the  pericardium.  It  con- 
 sists of  two  principal  sacs,  the  right  and  the  left, 
 which  lie  side  by  side,  and  adhere  firmly  together, 
 so  as  to  form  a  strong  middle  wall,  but  have  no  in- 
 ternal communication.  Each  of  these  is  subdivided 
 into  two  connected  pouches,  or  chambers,  termed 
 auricle  and  ventricle,  whereof  the  auricle  is  round 
 and  thin,  the  ventricle  long  and  fleshy ;  the  two 
 former  constituting  the  base,  and  the  two  latter  the 
 body  of  the  organ.  Placed  in  the  centre  of  the  vas- 
 cular system,  the  heart  promotes  and  regulates  the 
 circulation  of  the  blood,  received  on  each  side  from 
 two  or  more  large  veins  of  a  soft  and  compressible 
 texture,  and  discharged  through  a  single  artery 
 which,  being  firm  and  elastic,  is  kept  constantly  per- 
 vious. Returning  from  all  parts  of  the  body  except 
 the  lungs,  blood  of  nearly  a  black  colour,  and  become 
 unfit  for  the  purposes  of  life,  is  poured  by  two  prin- 
 cipal veins,  called  venaa  cavae,  into  the  right  auricle, 
 whence,  after  a  momentary  delay,  it  is  transferred  to 
 
 E  2 
 
76  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF     THE 
 
 the  corresponding  ventricle,  its  reflux  being  prevented 
 by  a  membranous  valve  interposed  between  them. 
 By  the  powerful  contraction  of  the  ventricle  it  is 
 transmitted  through  the  pulmonary  artery  to  the 
 lungs,  where  by  minute  subdivision,  and  contact 
 with  atmospheric  air  inhaled  through  the  wind-pipe, 
 it  is  purified,  and  acquires  a  bright  crimson  colour. 
 Returning  from  the  lungs  by  the  four  pulmonary 
 veins,  the  renovated  blood  next  passes  into  the  left 
 auricle,  and  from  thence  in  a  similar  manner  and  at 
 the  same  time  as  on  the  right  side  into  the  left 
 ventricle,  by  the  contraction  of  which  it  is  distri- 
 buted with  great  force  through  the  aorta  to  the 
 remaining  parts  of  the  body,  whence  it  was  originally 
 derived. 
 
 Whilst  undisturbed  by  accident  or  disease,  the 
 actions  just  described  are  maintained  during  the 
 whole  of  life  with  admirable  energy  and  regularity, 
 but  are  liable  to  be  deranged  or  interrupted  by 
 various  causes,  and  particularly  by  the  passions  of  the 
 mind.  Thus  it  is  observed  by  Baron  Haller,  the 
 father  of  modern  physiology,  that  excessive  grief  occa- 
 sions palpitation,  and  sometimes  sudden  death ;  that 
 the  corporeal  efiects  of  anger  and  terror  are  nearly 
 alike,  including  increased  strength,  and  violent  mo- 
 tions both  in  the  heart  and  throughout  the  body,  and 
 producing  bloody  sweats,  and  other  kinds  of  hemorr- 
 hage.*— "  Anger  " — says  Senac, — "  has  in  certain 
 cases  torn  the  fibres  of  the  heart,  and  even  opened  the 
 ventricles.     It  is  not  therefore  extraordinary  that  it 
 
 *  Haller,  Element.  Physiolog.  Corp.  Human,  vol.  v.  pp.  50,  583, 
 586,  587. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  Y? 
 
 should  be  followed  by  palpitation,  and  accordingly, 
 
 various  physicians  have  observed  such  a  result 
 
 But  fear  and  terror  are  not  less  powerful  causes, 
 especially  when  they  seize  suddenly.  In  that  case  the 
 nerves  act  with  violence  on  the  heart,  and  derange 
 the  order  of  its  movements.  The  blood  is  at  the  same 
 time  propelled  in  these  passions  by  a  general  shock, 
 or  commotion  of  all  the  parts  of  the  body  :  it  there- 
 fore necessarily  accumulates  in  the  two  trunks  of  the 
 venae  cavae,  rushes  into  the  auricles,  and  overcharges 
 them,  as  well  as  the  ventricles.  Here  then  are  two 
 causes,  one  the  consequence  of  the  other,  which,  as 
 is  proved  by  numerous  examples,  produce  palpita- 
 tion. Dilatations  are,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
 frequent  results  of  fits  of  passion.  Grief  and  sadness 
 do  not  act  so  suddenly,  nor  with  equal  force ;  but,  as 
 we  have  said,  these  secret  and  silent  passions  induce 
 similar  disorder."* — "  If  any  one  " — remarks  Cor- 
 visart, — "  can  seriously  deny,  or  even  doubt  the  fatal 
 physical  influence  of  the  passions  on  the  heart,  let  it 
 suffice  him  to  know  that  a  fit  of  anger  may  produce 
 
 rupture  of  the  heart,  and  cause  sudden  death 
 
 Complete  rupture  of  the  heart  has  rarely  been  ob- 
 served in  the  sound  state  of  this  organ :  some  ex- 
 amples may  however  be  cited  of  this  lesion,  in  conse- 
 quence of  a  violent  effort,  a  fit  of  anger,  an  epileptic 
 
 paroxysm,  &c But  of  all  the  causes  capable 
 
 of  producing  organic  diseases  in  general,  and  more  es- 
 pecially those  of  the  heart,  the  most  powerful  beyond 
 dispute  are  mental  affections No  mental  affec- 
 tion can  indeed  be  experienced  without  the  movement 
 
 *  Sr^nac,  Traite  du  Coeur,  vol.  ii.  p.  515. 
 
78  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 of  the  heart  being  either  augmented,  accelerated,  re- 
 tarded, weakened,  or  disturbed,  without  its  force  in 
 fact  being  increased,  enfeebled,  or  almost  annihilated. 
 Pleasure,  pain,  fear,  anger,  in  short  all  the  powerful 
 passions,  cause  the  heart  to  palpitate,  to  beat  more  or 
 less  frequently,  strongly,  slowly,  or  regularly,  or  to 
 suspend  its  action  momentarily,  sometimes  even  mor- 
 tally."* 
 
 In  his  admirable  dissertations  on  the  nervous  sys- 
 tem. Sir  Charles  Bell  has  not  only  confirmed  these 
 statements,  but  explained  them. — "  The  language  and 
 sentiments  of  every  people" — he  observes, — "  have 
 pointed  to  the  heart  as  the  seat  of  passion,  and  every 
 individual  must  have  felt  its  truth.  For,  though  the 
 heart  be  not  in  the  proper  sense  the  seat  of  passion, 
 it  is  influenced  by  the  conditions  of  the  mind,  and 
 from  thence  its  influence  is  extended  through  the 
 respiratory  organs,  so  as  to  mount  to  the  throat, 
 lips,  and  cheeks,  and  account  for  every  movement  in 
 passion  which  is  not  explained  by  the  direct  influ- 
 ence of  the  mind  upon  the  features.  So  we  shall 
 find,  if  we  attend  to  the  expression  of  grief,  that 
 the  same  phenomena  are  presented,  and  we  may 
 catalogue  them  as  it  were  anatomically.  Imagine 
 the  overwhelming  influence  of  grief.  The  object  in 
 the  mind  has  absorbed  the  powers  of  the  frame  ;  the 
 body  is  no  more  regarded,  the  spirits  have  left  it ;  it 
 reclines,  and  the  limbs  gravitate  ;  the  whole  frame 
 is  nerveless  and  relaxed,  and  the  person  scarcely 
 breathes Althouoh  the  heart  has  not  the 
 
 o 
 
 common  sense  of  touch,  yet   it  has  an  appropriate 
 
 *  Corvisart,  Sur  les  Maladies  du  Coeur,  &c. ;  Discours  Prelimi' 
 naire,  p.  xli,  pp.  259,  369,  370. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^9 
 
 sensibility,  by  which  it  is  held  united  in  the  closest 
 connexion  and  sympathy  with  the  other  vital  organs, 
 so  that  it  participates  in  all  the  changes  of  the  gene- 
 ral system  of  the  body.  But,  connected  with  the 
 heart,  and  depending  on  its  peculiar  and  excessive 
 sensibility,  there  is  an  extensive  apparatus  which 
 demands  our  attention.  This  is  the  organ  of  breath- 
 ing, a  part  known  obviously  as  the  instrument  of 
 speech,  but  which  I  shall  show  to  be  more.  The  organ 
 of  breathing,  in  its  association  with  the  heart,  is  the 
 instrument  of  expression,  and  is  the  part  of  the 
 frame  by  the  action  of  which  the  emotions  are  deve- 
 loped, and  made  visible  to  us.  Certain  strong  feelings 
 of  the  mind  produce  a  disturbed  condition  of  the 
 heart,  and  through  that  corporeal  influence,  directly 
 from  the  heart,  indirectly  from  the  mind,  the  exten- 
 sive apparatus  constituting  the  organ  of  breathing  is 
 put  in  motion,  and  gives  us  the  outward  signs  which 
 
 we  call  expression The  heart  and  lungs^ 
 
 though  insensible  to  common  impression,  yet  being 
 acutely  alive  to  their  proper  stimulus,  suffer  from 
 the  slightest  change  of  posture,  or  exertion  of  the 
 frame,  and  also  from  the  changes  or  aflections  of  the 
 
 mind But  it  is  when  the  strong  are  subdued 
 
 by  this  mysterious  union  of  soul  and  body,  when 
 passion  tears  the  breast,  that  the  most  afflicting  pic- 
 ture of  human  frailty  is  presented,  and  the  surest 
 proof  afforded  that  it  is  on  the  respiratory  organs 
 that  the  influence  of  passion  falls  with  so  powerful  an 
 expression  of  agony."* — Precisely  similar,  and  some- 
 
 *  Sir  Charles  Bell,  On  the  Nervous  System  of  the  Human  Body, 
 pp.  170 — 172  ;— The  Anatomy  and  Philosophy  of  Expression, 
 pp.  90—92. 
 
30  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 what  more  explanatory,  is  the  testimony  of  Crich  - 
 ton. — "The  internal  gratifications  and  uneasinesses 
 which  we  call  mental,  are  all " — says  he, — '*  felt  about 
 the  praecordia,  [the  region  of  the  heart,]  and  strictly 
 speaking  therefore,  are  sensual.  It  would  appear 
 that  the  sensorial  impressions,  which  all  ideas  belong- 
 ing to  these  causes  produce,  are  communicated  by 
 a  necessary  law  of  our  economy  to  these  parts,  affect- 
 ing particularly  the  heart,  diaphragm,  and  organs  of 
 respiration.  It  is  there  that  the  pleasure  or  pain  is 
 experienced.  Nothing  can  be  a  more  convincing 
 proof  of  this  than  the  common  expressions  and  actions 
 of  mankind  when  under  the  influence  of  one  or  other 
 of  these  feelings.  Our  hearty  we  say,  is  relieved  from  a 
 load f— -it  is  light, — itjumpsforjoy, — it  is  oppressed, — 
 it  is  full, — it  is  ready  to  break, — it  is  touched  with 
 sorrow."' — The  involuntary  effects  of  terror  on  a  man 
 are  thus  described. — "  His  heart  is  thrown  into 
 greater  and  more  violent  action  than  usual,  but  the 
 arterial  system,^  so  far  from  corresponding  with  it  in 
 a  general  sense,  is  either  rendered  torpid  at  its  extre- 
 mities, or  else  is  affected  with  a  spasm  ;  a  sudden 
 paleness  spreads  itself  over  his  countenance,  his  lips 
 lose  the  coral  tint,  and  the  whole  body  of  the  man 
 seems  to  shrink  into  a  smaller  compass,  a  tremor 
 agitates  his  whole  frame,  and  he  feels  as  if  he  had 
 
 suffered  a  great  diminution    of  strength ,  It 
 
 happens  now  and  then,  when  the  whole  play  of  the 
 mental  faculties  is  as  it  were  destroyed  by  the  im- 
 pression of  the  dreadful  object,  and  no  possibility  of 
 escape  appears,  that,  volition  being  then  without  a 
 stimulus,  a  person  drops  down  on  the  earth,  as  if 
 suddenly  bereft  of  all  his  animal  powers 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gj 
 
 That  the  sanguiferous  system  does  sustain  great  and 
 sudden  changes  from  the  influence  of  the  passions,  is  a 
 fact  which  common  observation  is  sufficient  to  prove. 
 In  all  those  which  are  the  ofl^spring  of  desire  it  is  accele- 
 rated, and  in  all  those  which  spring  from  aversion  it  is 
 slower.  In  sudden  joy,  in  eager  hope,  in  the  expecta- 
 tions of  love,  in  the  endearments  of  friendship,  the 
 pulse  beats  quick,  the  face  glows,  and  the  eyes  glisten. 
 In  grief  and  sorrow,  extreme  anger,  hatred,  jealousy, 
 and  envy,  the  blood  stagnates  about  the  heart,  a 
 chilling  cold  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  surface 
 of  the  body,  the  blood  forsakes  the  cheeks,  and  a  tre- 
 mor   ensues The  general    corporeal  effect 
 
 of  all  the  modifications  of  grief  and  sorrow  is  a  torpor 
 in  every  irritable  part,  especially  in  the  circulating 
 and  absorbent  system  :  hence  the  paleness  of  the 
 countenance,  the  coldness  of  the  extremities,  the  con- 
 traction and  shrinking  of  the  skin  and  general  surface 
 of  the  body,  the  smallness  and  slowness  of  the  pulse, 
 the  want  of  appetite,  the  deficiency  of  muscular  force, 
 and  the  sense  of  general  languor  which  overspreads 
 the  whole  frame.  As  the  action  of  the  extreme 
 branches  of  the  arterial  system  is  greatly  diminished, 
 the  heart,  and  aorta  and  its  larger  vessels,  and  the 
 whole  system  of  the  pulmonary  artery  become  loaded 
 and  distended  with  blood.  The  painful  sense  of  ful- 
 ness which  this  occasions  gives  rise  to  a  common  ex- 
 pression, which  is  in  some  degree  descriptive  of  what 
 really  exists.  In  sorrow  the  heart  is  said  to  be  fuUf 
 and  in  deep  sorrow  it  is  often  said  to  be  like  to  hurst. 
 A  sense  of  oppression  and  anxiety,  a  laborious  and 
 slow  respiration,  and  the  remarkable  phenomena  of 
 sobbing  and  sighing,  naturally  arise  from  this  state  of 
 
 E  3 
 
82 
 
 IMMEDIATE   CAUSE    OF   THE 
 
 torpor  and  retarded  circulation The  debili- 
 tating powers  of  grief  seem  to  exhaust  the  irritability 
 of  the  system,  without  a  previous  increase  of  vascular 
 action.  When  a  person  is  suddenly  informed  of  some 
 melancholy  event  that  deeply  aifects  his  life,  fortune, 
 or  fame,  his  whole  strength  seems  at  once  to  leave 
 him,  the  muscles  which  support  him  are  all  relaxed, 
 and  he  feels  as  if  his  knees  gave  way  under  him.  In 
 some  people  the  sensorial  impression  exhausts  the 
 irritability  so  completely,  as  to  cause  the  action  of  the 
 heart  and  arteries  and  organs  of  respiration  to  cease, 
 and  the  person  then  falls  into  a  swoon,  as  it  is  called. 
 When  a  person  is  suddenly  terrified,  the  mo- 
 tion of  the  heart  is  generally  quickened,  a  kind  of 
 spasmodic  contraction  seizes  all  the  arteries,  especially 
 the  extreme  ones,  causing  an  accumulation  of  blood 
 in  the  larger  vessels.  The  sudden  and  forcible  dis- 
 tension of  the  heart  makes  it  move  on  its  basis,  and 
 produces  that  peculiar  sensation,  which  most  people 
 endeavour  to  express  by  saying  that  their  heart  seems 
 
 to  jump  to  their  throat In  some  cases  the 
 
 debility  which  is  produced  is  so  great  as  to  render  it 
 impossible  for  the  person  to  support  himself  in  an 
 erect  posture,  and  he  therefore  falls  down,  apparently 
 senseless  and  speechless,  on  the  ground.  In  this 
 way  the  strongest  man  is  often  deprived  in  a  few 
 seconds  of  almost  the  whole  of  his  natural  strength. 
 
 As   soon  as   burning  anger  is  excited,  the 
 
 impressions  are  directed  to  the  heart  and  arteries, 
 and  they  are  stimulated  to  a  preternatural  degree  of 
 action,  the  blood  is  propelled  with  violence  to  the 
 surface  of  the  body,  and  circulates  with  force  and 
 rapidity   through   the    smallest    and    most   extreme 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 83 
 
 arteries,  and  hence  the  burning  heat  which  charac- 
 terizes this  sort  of  passion."* 
 
 Of  rapid  death  occasioned  by  the  direct  operation 
 either  of  joy  or  grief,  Robinson,  in  his  work  on 
 the  spleen,  furnishes  two  examples. — "  Mrs,  Davise, 
 a  lady  of  consummate  virtue,  was  so  sensibly  touched 
 with  excessive  joy  on  suddenly  hearing  of  the  re- 
 turn of  her  son  from  the  Indies,  that  the  passion 
 was  too  big  for  her  soul  to  struggle  with,  which 
 in  a  moment  disconcerted  all  the  animal  springs, 
 and   put   an  everlasting    stop   to   all   their  motions. 
 
 Mrs.  Chiswell  was  so  extremely  affected 
 
 with  sorrow  at  the  departure  of  her  son  for  Tur- 
 key, that  she  expired  that  very  moment  she  was  about 
 to  withdraw  her  hand  from  a  parting  farewell."f 
 — The  increased  influence  of  these  passions,  when 
 they  abruptly  succeed  one  another,  is  thus  noticed  by 
 Dr.  Cogan. — "  There  are  many  instances  on  record 
 of  sudden  death  having  been  occasioned  by  the 
 hasty  communication  of  very  joyful  tidings.  Like  a 
 stroke  of  electricity  indiscreetly  directed,  the  violent 
 percussion  has  probably  produced  a  paralysis  of  the 
 heart  by  the  excess  of  its  stimulus.  These  incidents 
 are  most  likely  to  take  place  in  subjects  who  were  at 
 the  instant  deeply  oppressed  with  the  opposite  pas- 
 sions of  fear  and  anxiety,  by  which  the  natural  and 
 salutary  action  of  the  heart  and  arteries  was  greatly 
 impeded.  This  of  consequence  will-  create  a  resist- 
 ance to   the  impulse,  and  render  it  more  liable  to 
 
 *  Alexander  Crichton,  On  Mental  Derangement,  vol.  ii.  pp.  119 
 —121,  127—134,  178,  183,184,  260,288,289. 
 
 t  Nicholas  Robinson,  System  of  the  Spleen,  &c.  pp.  91,  92. 
 
84  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 destroy  the  tone  of  that  sensible  organ.  In  most  of 
 the  instances  recorded,  the  persons  who  have  fallen  a 
 sacrifice  to  the  excess  of  joy  were  in  this  particular 
 situation,  nor  was  there  an  opportunity  given  to 
 soften  the  agony  of  fear  by  a  cautious  manner  of 
 
 communicating  the  tidings Historians  present 
 
 us  with  many  instances  of  fatal  effects  from  the 
 excess  of  joy;  but  it  plainly  appears  from  their  nar- 
 ratives that  the  subjects  were  at  the  instant  preceding 
 under  the  pressure  of  extreme  anguish  of  mind. 
 Pliny  informs  us  that  Chilo  the  Lacedemonian  died 
 on  hearing  that  his  son  had  gained  a  prize  in  the 
 Olympic  games.  We  may  consider  the  excess  of  joy 
 in  this  case  as  an  indication  of  his  previous  solicitude 
 concerning  the  issue.  (Lib.  vii.  sect.  7.)  But  the  fol- 
 lowing instances  are  more  express.  Valerius  Maxi- 
 mus  tells  us  that  Sophocles  the  tragic  writer,  in  a 
 contest  of  honour,  died  in  consequence  of  a  decision 
 being  pronounced  in  his  favour.  (Lib.  ix.  cap.  12.) 
 Aulus  Gellius  mentions  a  remarkable  example  of  what 
 may  be  termed  accumulated  joy  in  [the  sudden  death  of] 
 Diagoras,  whose  three  sons  were  crowned  the  same  day 
 as  victors,  the  one  as  a  pugilist,  the  other  as  a  wrestler, 
 and  the  third  in  both  capacities.  (Noct.  Attic,  lib.  iii. 
 cap.  15.)  Livy  also  mentions  the  instance  of  an  aged 
 matron  who,  whilst  she  was  in  the  depth  of  distress 
 from  the  tidings  of  her  son's  having  been  slain  in 
 battle,  died  in  his  arms  in  the  excess  of  joy  on  his  safe 
 return.  (Lib.  xxii.  cap.  7.)  Not  to  enumerate  more 
 examples,  we  are  told  by  the  Italian  historian  Guic- 
 ciardini  that  Leo  X.  died  of  a  fever,  occasioned  by 
 the  agitation  of  his  spirits  on  his  receiving  the  joyful 
 news  of  the  capture  of  Milan,  concerning  which  he 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  g5 
 
 had  entertained  much  anxiety.  (Lib.  xiv.)  In  all 
 these  instances,  the  previous  state  of  mind,  with  its 
 pathological  effects  on  the  body,  made  the  impulse  of 
 joy  the  stronger,  and  contributed  to  render  it  fatal."* 
 From  the  foregoing  testimonies  of  eminent  authors, 
 to  which  many  more  might  be  added,  it  thus  appears 
 that  one  of  the  principal  corporeal  effects  of  the 
 exciting  passions  is  palpitation,  or  vehement  action  of 
 the  heart ;  and  it  will  now  be  shown  that,  when  this 
 action  is  intense,  it  produces  bloody  sweat,  dilata- 
 tion, and  ultimately  rupture  of  the  heart.  By  those 
 acquainted  with  the  structure  and  functions  of  the 
 animal  frame  such  results  might  readily  be  antici- 
 pated ;  but  to  others,  authentic  records  of  their  actual 
 occurrence  will  furnish  the  best  proof  of  the  fact. 
 Perspiration,  both  sensible  and  insensible,  takes 
 place  from  the  mouths  of  small  regularly  organized 
 tubes,  which  perforate  the  skin  in  all  parts  of  the 
 body,  terminating  in  blind  extremities  internally, 
 and  by  innumerable  orifices  on  the  outer  surface. 
 These  tubes  are  surrounded  by  a  network  of  minute 
 vessels,  and  penetrated  by  the  ultimate  ramifications 
 of  arteries  which,  according  to  the  force  of  the  local 
 circulation,  depending  chiefly  on  that  of  the  heart, 
 discharge  either  the  watery  parts  of  the  blood  in  the 
 state  of  vapour,  its  grosser  ingredients  in  the  form 
 of  a  glutinous  liquid,  or  in  extreme  cases  the  entire 
 blood  itself.  The  influence  of  the  invigorating  pas- 
 sions, more  especially  in  exciting  an  increased  flow 
 of  blood  to  the  skin,  is  familiarly  illustrated  by  the 
 
 *  Dr.  Cogan,  Philosophical  Treatise  on  the  Passions,  pp.  285, 
 363,  364. 
 
gg  IxMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 process  of  blushing,  either  from  shame  or  anger ;  for 
 during  this  state  the  heart  beats  strongly,  the  surface 
 of  the  body  becomes  hot  and  red,  and  if  the  emotion 
 is  very  powerful,  breaks  out  into  a  warm  and  copious 
 perspiration,  the  first  step  towards  a  bloody  sweat. 
 Of  the  latter  affection  several  instances  are  related 
 in  the  German  Ephemerides,  wherein  Kannegiesser 
 remarks, — "  Violent  mental  excitement,  whether  oc- 
 casioned by  uncontrollable  anger,  or  vehement  joy, 
 and  in  like  manner  sudden  terror,  or  intense  fear, 
 forces  out  a  sweat,  accompanied  with  signs  either  of 
 anxiety  or  of  hilarity." — After  ascribing  this  sweat  to 
 the  unequal  constriction  of  some  vessels  and  dilata- 
 tion of  others,  he  further  observes, — "  If  the  mind 
 is  seized  with  a  sudden  fear  of  death,  the  sweat, 
 owing  to  the  excessive  degree  of  constriction,  often 
 becomes  bloody." — The  eminent  French  historian  De 
 Thou  mentions  the  case  of — "  an  Italian  officer  who 
 commanded  at  Monte-Maro,  a  fortress  of  Piedmont, 
 during  the  warfare  in  155^,  between  Henry  II.  of 
 France  and  the  emperor  Charles  V.  This  officer, 
 having  been  treacherously  seized  by  order  of  the 
 hostile  general,  and  threatened  with  public  execution 
 unless  he  surrendered  the  place,  was  so  agitated  at 
 the  prospect  of  an  ignominious  death,  that  he  sweated 
 blood  from  every  part  of  his  body." — The  same  writer 
 relates  a  similar  occurrence  in  the  person  of  a  young 
 Florentine  at  Rome,  unjustly  put  to  death  by  order 
 of  Pope  Sixtus  V.  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  and 
 concludes  the  narrative  as  follows. — "  When  the 
 youth  was  led  forth  to  execution,  he  excited  the  com- 
 miseration of  many,  and  through  excess  of  grief,  was 
 observed  to  shed  bloody  tears,  and  to  discharge  blood 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  g^ 
 
 instead  of  sweat  from  his  whole  body ;  a  circumstance 
 which  many  regarded  as  a  certain  proof  that  nature 
 condemned  the  severity  of  a  sentence  so  cruelly  has- 
 tened, and  invoked  vengeance  against  the  magistrate 
 himself,  as  therein  guilty  of  murder." — Amongst 
 several  other  examples  given  in  the  Ephemerides,  of 
 bloody  tears  and  bloody  sweat  occasioned  by  extreme 
 fear,  more  especially  the  fear  of  death,  may  be  men- 
 tioned that  of — "  a  young  boy  who,  having  taken 
 part  in  a  crime  for  which  two  of  his  elder  brothers 
 were  hanged,  was  exposed  to  public  view  under  the 
 gallows  on  which  they  were  executed,  and  was  there- 
 upon observed  to  sweat  blood  from  his  whole  body." — 
 In  his  Commentaries  on  the  four  Gospels,  Maldonato 
 refers  to — "  a  robust  and  healthy  man  at  Paris  who, 
 on  hearing  sentence  of  death  passed  on  him,  was 
 covered  with  a  bloody  sweat." — Zacchias  mentions 
 a  young  man  who  was  similarly  affected  on  being 
 condemned  to  the  flames.  Schenck  cites  from  a 
 martyrology  the  case  of — "  a  nun  who  fell  into  the 
 hands  of  soldiers  ;  and,  on  seeing  herself  encompassed 
 with  swords  and  daggers  threatening  instant  death, 
 was  so  terrified  and  agitated,  that  she  discharged 
 blood  from  every  part  of  her  body,  and  died  of  he- 
 morrhage in  the  sight  of  her  assailants;"* — and  Tissot 
 reports  from  a  respectable  journal  that  ofr— "  a  sailor 
 who  was  so  alarmed  by  a  storm,   that  through  fear 
 
 *  Ephemerid.  Acad.  iNatur.  Curios.  Ann.  2,  p.  34  ; — Dec.  ii. 
 Ann.  10,  p.  354  ; — Dec.  iii.  Ann.  1,  Append,  pp.  124,  125  ; — Ann. 
 7  and  8,  Append,  p.  124; — Ibid.  edit.  2da,  vol.  i.  p.  84; — vol.  viii. 
 p.  184 ; — Thuanus,  Hist,  sui  Temp.  vol.  i.  p.  373 ;  vol.  iv.  p.  300 ; — 
 Joannes  Maldonatus,  Comment,  in  quatuor  Evangelist,  p.  601 ; — 
 Paulus  Zacchias,  Qiisestiones  Medico-legales,  lib.  iii.  p.  154; — Joan- 
 nes Schenck  a  Grafenberg,  Observ.  Medic.  &c.  lib.  iii.  p.  458. 
 
83  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF     THE 
 
 he  fell  down,  and  his  face  sweated  blood,  which 
 during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  storm  re- 
 turned like  ordinary  sweat,  as  fast  as  it  was  wiped 
 away."* 
 
 That  several  of  the  instances  on  record  of  sudden 
 death  from  exciting  passions  were  occasioned  by 
 rupture  of  the  heart,  the  circumstances  which  at- 
 tended them  render  it  impossible  to  doubt ;  although, 
 owing  to  the  neglect  of  examination,  the  decisive 
 proof  afforded  by  actual  inspection  is  seldom  attain- 
 able. The  following  examples  may  however  suffice ; 
 but,  previously  to  stating  them,  it  seems  proper  to 
 explain  the  manner  in  which,  under  such  agency, 
 rupture  of  the  heart  takes  place.  The  immediate 
 cause  is  a  sudden  and  violent  contraction  of  one  of 
 the  ventricles,  usually  the  left,  on  the  column  of 
 blood  thrown  into  it  by  a  similar  contraction  of  the 
 corresponding  auricle.  Prevented  from  returning 
 backwards  by  the  intervening  valve,  and  not  finding 
 a  sufficient  outlet  forwards  in  the  connected  artery, 
 the  blood  reacts  against  the  ventricle  itself,  which  is 
 consequently  torn  open  at  the  point  of  greatest  dis- 
 tension, or  least  resistance,  by  the  influence  of  its 
 own  reflected  force.  A  quantity  of  blood  is  hereby 
 discharged  into  the  pericardium,  and  having  no  means 
 of  escape  from  that  capsule,  stops  the  circulation  by 
 compressing  the  heart  from  without,  and  induces 
 almost  instantaneous  death.f  In  young  and  vigorous 
 subjects,  the  blood  thus  collected  in  the  pericardium 
 
 *  Tissot,   Traite   des    Nerfs,  &c.    pp.  279,  280. 
 
 t  Allan  Burns,  On  Diseases  of  the  Heart,  pp.lSl  — 186,  223,  224, 
 254,255. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  §9 
 
 soon  divides  into  its  constituent  parts,  namely,  a  pale 
 watery  liquid  called  serum,  and  a  soft  clotted  sub- 
 stance of  a  deep  red  colour  termed  crassamentum ; 
 but,  except  under  similar  circumstances  of  extrava- 
 sation, this  distinct  separation  of  tbe  blood  is  seldom 
 witnessed  in  the  dead  body.  When,  however,  the 
 action  of  the  ventricle  is  less  violent,  instead  of  burst- 
 ing under  the  continued  injection  from  the  auricle, 
 it  merely  dilates ;  but,  as  in  consequence  of  this 
 over-distension  its  power  of  contraction  is  speedily 
 destroyed,  death  takes  place  with  equal  certainty, 
 although  perhaps  with  less  rapidity,  and  in  this  case 
 as  well  as  in  the  former  one,  the  blood  remaining 
 within  the  heart  has  been  found  divided  into  serum 
 and  crassamentum. 
 
 In  «xact  conformity  with  the  foregoing  state- 
 ment Dr.  Hope  observes, — "  It  is  generally  in  the 
 left  ventricle  that  the  rupture  [of  the  heart]  takes 
 place  ;  a  circumstance  which  at  first  appears  remark- 
 able, since  this  ventricle  is  the  stronger,  but  for  the 
 same  reason  it  contracts  more  energetically,  and  .... 
 it  is  only  strong  muscles  which  undergo  rupture 
 from  the  energy  of  their  own  contraction.  Hence 
 rupture  of  the  auricles  is  much  more  rare  than  that 
 of  the  ventricles.  The  exciting  causes  of  rupture 
 are  generally  considerable  efforts,  paroxysms  of  pas- 
 sion, external  violence,  as  falls,  &;c Rupture 
 
 of  the  heart  or  great  vessels  into  the  pericardium  is 
 not  always  immediately  fatal,  as  a  solid  coagulum  or 
 a  fibrinous  concretion  has  in  several  instances  been 
 known  to  arrest  the  hemorrhage  for  a  few  hours. 
 Of  ten  cases  mentioned  by  Bayle,  eight  died  instan- 
 taneously, one  in  about  two  hours,  and  another  in 
 
90  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 fourteen." — Amongst  the  causes  of  rupture  of  the 
 heart  Dr.  Copland  enumerates,  —  "violent  mental 
 emotions,  especially  anger,  fright,  terror,  unexpected 
 disappointment,  distressing  intelligence  abruptly  com- 
 municated, anxiety,  &c.,  sudden  and  violent  muscular 
 efforts,  and  laborious  or  prolonged  physical  exertions 
 of  any  kind,  particularly  in   constrained   positions. 
 
 In  some  cases," — he  observes, — '*  inexpressible 
 
 anxiety  and  pain  have  been  felt  in  the  prgecordia 
 and  epigastrium,  with  cold  extremities,  and  cramps, 
 shortly  before  dissolution.  In  the  majority  rupture 
 has  produced  instant  death,  but  in  some  this  has  not 
 
 been  the  case In  most  of  the  cases  in  which 
 
 the  rupture  is  preceded  by  violent  pain,  M.  Ollivier 
 thinks  that  it  is  produced  gradually  from  the  succes- 
 sive laceration  of  several  layers  or  fasciculi  of  muscular 
 fibres,  and  that  the  pericardium  becomes  only  gra- 
 dually distended  by  the  effused  blood.  Where  the 
 laceration  and  aperture  are  at  once  large,  a  copious 
 effusion  instantly  occurs,  fills  the  pericardium,  and 
 abolishes  the  contractions  of  the  organ."* — The  dis- 
 tinguished Italian  anatomist  Morgagni  judiciously 
 remarks,  that  the  cause  of  death  on  such  occasions  is 
 not  the  mere  loss  of  blood,  since  under  different  cir- 
 cumstances a  greater  quantity  may  be  lost  without 
 destroying  life,  but  the  sudden  compression  of  the 
 heart,  and  stoppage  of  the  circulation,  in  consequence 
 of  which,  as  he  says, — "  a  small  hemorrhage  within 
 the  pericardium  causes  death  far  more  rapidly  than 
 
 *  Dr.  Hope,  On  the  Diseases  of  the  Heart  and  great  Vessels, 
 pp.  198,  199  ; — Dr.  Copland,  Diet,  of  Practical  Medicine,  Part  v. 
 p.  224. 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  92 
 
 a  much  larger  one  in  most  other  parts  of  the  body."* 
 — This  is  proved  by  several  examples,  in  w^hich 
 without  any  obvious  rupture  of  the  heart,  blood 
 effused  into  the  pericardium  induced  sudden  death. 
 One  is  mentioned  by  Christian  Vater,  in  the  German 
 Ephemerides,  and  another  by  Van  Geuns,  in  a  sepa- 
 rate work.  Both  the  subjects  were  robust  soldiers 
 who  died  of  excessive  joy,  and  in  whose  bodies  no 
 morbid  condition  was  afterwards  found,  except  a 
 large  quantity  of  clotted  blood  in  the  pericardium, 
 by  which  the  action  of  the  heart  had  been  sup- 
 pressed. The  latter  author  ascribes  the  effect  to 
 sudden  distension  of  the  exhalants  opening  on  the 
 inner  surface  of  the  membrane.  This  would  corre- 
 spond to  the  manner  in  which  bloody  sweat  is  pro- 
 duced ;  but,  as  the  exhalants  of  the  pericardium  are 
 very  inferior  both  in  size  and  activity  to  those  of  the 
 skin,  it  is  more  probable  that  in  such  cases  the  effu- 
 sion is  due  either  to  rupture  of  some  of  the  nutrient 
 vessels  of  the  heart  itself,  termed  its  coronary  vessels, 
 or  to  hemorrhage  from  without,  penetrating  by  a  mi- 
 nute or  circuitous  passage  into  its  capsule.  Such  at 
 least  is  the  opinion  of  Morgagni,  Zecchinelli,  and  other 
 anatomists.  Of  blood  thus  finding  its  way  into  the 
 pericardium  by  a  small  aperture,  which  without  great 
 attention  might  easily  escape  notice,  the  former  gives 
 several  examples  ;  and  in  the  Ephemerides,  Dr.  Daniel 
 Fischer  mentions  the  case  of  a  soldier  who  died  sud- 
 denly after  eating  a  hearty  dinner,  and  in  whose  body 
 the  only  morbid  appearance  discovered  on  inspection 
 was, — "  the   pericardium   filled  and   distended  with 
 
 *  Morgagni,  De  Caus.  et  Sed.  Morb.  vol.  iii.  pp.  433—445,  465- 
 467  ; — vol.  vii.  pp.   654—657. 
 
92  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 very  fluid  and  florid  blood.  The  membrane  having 
 been  divided  longitudinally,  in  order  to  trace  more 
 exactly  the  source  of  the  hemorrhage,  this  was  found 
 at  the  base  of  the  heart,  where  a  branch  of  the 
 coronary  artery  had  ruptured,  and  from  which  blood 
 was  still  actually  flowing."* 
 
 The  lower  and  more  common  degrees  of  injury  of 
 the  heart  from  passions  of  the  mind  are  well  adapted 
 to  illustrate  the  higher  ones,  which  are  necessarily 
 rare.  Thus,  Harvey  relates  the  case  of  a  man  who, 
 under  the  long-continued  working  of  indignation 
 which  he  was  compelled  to  restrain,  and  of  vindictive 
 feelings  which  he  was  unable  to  gratify,  fell  after  some 
 years  into  a  scorbutic  or  hemorrhagic  state,  attended 
 with  extreme  oppression  and  pain  of  the  chest,  owing 
 to  an  immense  enlargement  of  the  heart  and  principal 
 arteries,  entirely  occasioned  by  mental  emotion.  Had 
 this  emotion  been  more  intense,  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
 that,  instead  of  a  slight  oozing  of  blood  from  the  cuta- 
 neous vessels,  and  a  mere  enlargement  of  the  central 
 organs  of  circulation,  the  result  would  have  been 
 bloody  sweat,  and  rupture  of  the  heart.  Dionis  gives 
 an  interesting  account  of  a  French  naval  oflicer  who 
 laboured  for  several  years  under  disease  of  the  heart, 
 to  which  he  at  length  fell  a  victim.  On  subsequent 
 examination,  the  right  auricle  was  found  as  big  as  the 
 head  of  a  new-born  child,  and  contained  nearly  a  pint 
 
 *  Ephemerid.  Acad.  Natur.  Curios.  Dec.  iii.  Ann.  9  and  10. — p. 
 293;— Ibid.  Edit.  2da.  vol.  v.  pp.  141,  142  ;— Matt.  Van.  Geuns, 
 De  Morte  Corporea,  &e.  p.  591  ;— Zecchinelli,  Sulla  Angina  del 
 Petto,  &c.  vol.  i.  pp.  95,  96  ;— Thurnam,  in  Lond.  Med.  Gazette, 
 1838,  pp.  813—817  ;-  Curling,  ibid.  pp.  894,  895;— Fitzpatrick,  in 
 Lond.  Med.  Repository,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  295 — 298. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  93 
 
 and  a  half  of  blood,  the  greater  part  of  which  was 
 coagulated.  He  uniformly  ascribed  his  complaint  to 
 the  strong  efforts  which  he  used  twelve  or  thirteen 
 years  before,  in  suppressing  the  first  motions  of  a 
 violent  fit  of  anger;  for  at  that  time  the  cardiac 
 symptoms  commenced,  and  continued  ever  after  till 
 the  day  of  his  death.  In  like  manner,  Tissot 
 quotes  from  Viridet  the  case  of  a  merchant,  who 
 in  consequence  of  violent  grief  was  seized  with  con- 
 striction and  severe  pain  of  heart,  terminating  in 
 death.  On  inspection  of  the  body, — "the  heart 
 was  found  twice  as  large  as  it  should  have  been,  and 
 the  whole  of  its  left  cavity  filled  with  blood  strongly 
 coagulated." — In  another  merchant  aged  sixty-two 
 years,  who  suddenly  died  of  grief,  Bonet  states  that 
 the  heart  and  lungs  were  found  greatly  distended 
 with  blood,  which  in  the  right  ventricle  was  almost 
 entirely  coagulated.  Of  the  separation  of  the  blood 
 in  some  of  these  cases  into  its  constituents,  the  same 
 author  gives  two  examples. — "  A  paralytic  orphan 
 girl,  seventeen  years  of  age,  suddenly  died  of  suffoca- 
 tion without  any  obvious  cause.  On  dissecting  the 
 body,  I  found  the  heart  of  twice  the  usual  size,  its 
 auricles  very  large,  and  like  the  veins  and  arteries, 
 much  distended  with  water,  and  black  clotted  blood. 
 In  a  soldier  who  suddenly  died  after  long- 
 continued  grief,  whilst  all  the  other  viscera  were 
 healthy,  the  pericardium  was  found  to  contain 
 not  only  water,  but  also  much  coagulated  blood."* — 
 
 *  Harvseus,  Opera,  pp.  127,  128;— Dionis,  Anatomy  of  Human 
 Bodies,  pp.  270,  445—451 ,— Tissot,  Traite  des  Nerfs,  &c.  p.  361  ; 
 — Bonetus  Sepulchretum,  vol.  i.  pp.  585,  887,  899. 
 
94,  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 The  popular  use  of  the  terms  blood  and  water,  or 
 their   equivalents  in  different  languages,   to   signify 
 the  dissevered  crassamentum  and  serum  of  the  blood, 
 is  thus  explained,  and  the   expressions  are  natural 
 and   reasonable ;    since   the    crassamentum,    or    red 
 clotted  portion,  comprises  nearly  all  the  more  essential 
 ingredients  of  the   blood,    and  the  serum,   or    pale 
 yellow   liquid,    consists    chiefly  of  water.     In  com- 
 menting   on    the    last    case,    Morgagni    makes    the 
 following   apposite    remark. — "  Although    you    will 
 see    it    repeated    in   a    note    that    the     heart    was 
 loaded  both  with  blood  and  water,  it  is  by  no  means 
 necessary    that    you    should    believe    this   water   to 
 have  been  any  other  than  the  serum  of  the   blood 
 separated  from  the   coagulated   part,  as   not  unfre- 
 quently   happens   to    a   considerable   amount." — An 
 interesting  example  of  the  same  kind  is  furnished 
 by    Mr.    Bedingfield,    who    observes, — "  In   persons 
 who   die  of  what  is  called  a  broken  heart,  the  auri- 
 cles will  sometimes  be   found   much    distended.     I 
 remember  examining  a  case  of  this    description  in 
 which  no  trace  of  disease  could  be  detected  except 
 in  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart.       This  compart- 
 ment  was   of   three    times    its    natural   dimensions. 
 It  contained  a  large   quantity  of  blood   which  had 
 separated  into  serum,  crassamentum,  and  coagulable 
 lymph,  as  perfectly   as  inflamed  blood   does   when 
 drawn  from  a  vein." — In  such  circumstances  the  cause 
 of  death  is,  as  Haller  and  others  have  explained,  a 
 sudden  and  excessive  distension  of  the  cardiac  cavity, 
 which  thereupon  loses  its  power  of  contraction,  more 
 especially  when  the  contained  blood  coagulates,  and 
 
DEATH    OF    CPIRIST.  95 
 
 the    circulation     is     in    consequence     permanently 
 stopped.* 
 
 When,  however,  the  distension  is  followed  by 
 violent  contraction,  the  result  may  be  rupture 
 which,  as  before  stated,  generally  takes  place  in 
 the  left  ventricle ;  and,  unless  the  vital  force  hap- 
 pens at  the  time  to  be  much  depressed,  the  blood 
 thus  discharged  into  the  pericardial  sac  divides  into 
 its  constituents  more  readily  than  when  it  remains 
 within  its  natural  receptacles.  These  constituents 
 are  commonly  termed  blood  and  water  ;  but  in  medi- 
 cal writings  there  is  reason  to  believe  the  same  sepa- 
 ration is  sometimes  intended  by  the  less  accurate 
 expression, — "  coagulated  blood;" — as  perhaps  in 
 the  following  examples  of  rupture  of  the  heart 
 recorded  by  the  late  Dr.  Abercrombie  of  Edin- 
 burgh. A  man  aged  thirty-five  years,  on  stooping 
 forwards  to  lift  something,  died  suddenly.  As  he  had 
 made  little  previous  complaint  except  of  headache, 
 the  case  might  have  been  mistaken  for  apoplexy.  On 
 dissection,  however,  all  was  sound  in  the  brain,  but 
 the  pericardium  was  found  distended  with  coagulated 
 blood.  A  woman  aged  twenty-eight  years  died  sud- 
 denly, after  complaining  of  pain  extending  from  the 
 left  side  of  the  chest  to  the  left  shoulder.  On 
 inspection,  the  pericardium  was  found  distended  with 
 coagulated  blood,  but  there  was  also  some  bloody 
 fluid  in  the  left  cavity  of  the  chest,  and  the  right 
 lung  adhered   extensively  to  the   side.     In   an   old 
 
 *  Morgagni,  De  Caus.  et  Sed.  Morb.  vol.  iii.  p.  465 ;  Bedingfield, 
 Compendium  of  Medical  Practice,  p.  154; — Haller,  Onthe  Motion 
 of  the  Blood,  &c.  p.  1 11  ; — Senac,  vol.  ii.  p.  540. 
 
96  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 man  aged  seventy-seven  years,  vv^ho   died   suddenly 
 owing   to  a  rupture  of   the    heart   from  accidental 
 injury,  the    cavities  of  the  pleura   contained   about 
 three  pounds  of  fluid,  but  the  lungs  were  sound.    The 
 pericardium  appeared  greatly  distended,  and  when 
 opened,  was  found  to  contain  an  immense  quantity  of 
 coagulated  blood.     The  heart  was   much   enlarged, 
 and  very  flabby.     Dr.  Thurnam   reports  a    similar 
 — "  case  of  rupture  of  the  heart  from  external  vio- 
 lence,  but   without   any   penetrating   wound.     The 
 pericardium  contained  several  ounces  of  serum  and 
 coagulated  blood.     There  was  a  considerable  rupture 
 of  the  right  auricle,  and  a  smaller  one  at  the  apex 
 of  the  heart." — He  also  mentions  an  instance — "  of 
 spontaneous  rupture  of  the  right  auricle  and  ventricle, 
 attended   with   great    and   general    softening.     The 
 pericardium   was  fllled  with  liquid  blood," — coagu- 
 lation  having    apparently   been    prevented    by   the 
 feebleness  of  the  heart's  action,  which  is  usually  at- 
 tended with  a  corresponding  condition  of  the  blood.* 
 Dr.  Elliotson  relates  the  case  of  a  female  who  died 
 suddenly  with  severe  pain  of  the  heart.     On  open- 
 ing the  body,  the  pericardium  was  found  distended 
 with    clear    serum,    and    a    very   large  coagulum    of 
 blood    which    had   escaped   through   a   spontaneous 
 rupture  of  the   aorta  near  its    origin,  without  any 
 other  morbid  appearance.     This  author  is  neverthe- 
 less of  opinion   that — "  ruptures   of    the   heart   and 
 aorta  rarely  occur  under  the  most  violent  impulse. 
 
 *  Trans,  of  the  Medico- Chirurg.  Society  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  i. 
 pp.  60—63  ; — Dr.  Thurnam,  in  the  London  Med.  Gazette  for  1838, 
 pp.  813—817. 
 
DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  9Y 
 
 unless  there  be  disease  of  substance ;" — but  the  con- 
 trary is  proved  by  several  eminent  pathologists,  par- 
 ticularly Portal,  and  Rostan,  who  have  written  distinct 
 treatises  on  the  subject,  containing  the  results  of  nume- 
 rous observations,  which  decidedly  show  that  rupture 
 of  the  left  ventricle  may  take  place  without  any  previous 
 alteration  of  tissue,  and  whilst  the  walls  of  the  heart 
 are  perfectly  sound.*  The  following  case,  furnished 
 by  Dr.  Fischer,  a  German  physician,  confirms  this 
 view,  and  is  at  the  same  time  a  good  example  of 
 rupture  of  the  heart,  occasioned  by  the  slow  operation 
 of  continued  grief. — "  A  gentleman  aged  sixty-eight, 
 and  apparently  possessing  every  claim  to  longevity, 
 was,  after  having  spent  many  years  at  court,  com- 
 pelled to   quit  it,  and  retire  to  a  country  residence. 
 
 Towards  the  close  of  life  his  attention  was 
 
 occupied  by  an  unpleasant  business  which,  as  inter- 
 fering with  the  indulgence  of  his  propensity  for 
 solitude,  had  the  effect  of  aggravating  his  melancholy. 
 
 On  the  16th  of  October,  1817,  he  was  seized 
 
 whilst  walking  with  a  severe  pain,  which  he  supposed 
 to  be  cramp  at  the  stomach.  [This  pain,]  after  re- 
 turning repeatedly,  attended  with  violent  agitation 
 and  agony,  proved  fatal  on  the  evening  of  the  20th. 
 On  examination  of  the  body  eighteen  hours  after 
 death,  the  only  morbid  condition  of  any  import- 
 ance was  rupture  of  the  heart.  On  puncturing  the 
 pericardium,  which  had  the  appearance  of  being  dis- 
 tended by  a  substance  of  a  dark  blue  colour,  a  quan- 
 
 *  Dr.  Elliotson,  Lumleyan  Lectures  on  Diseases  of  the  Heart, 
 pp.30 — 34; — Portal,  Sur  la  Nature  de  plusieurs  Maladies,  vol.  ii. 
 pp.  7 — 12, 17  ; — Rostan,  Memoires  sur  les  Ruptures  du  Coeur,  p.  10. 
 
 F 
 
98  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 tity  of  reddish  fluid  escaped,  and  afterwards  florid 
 blood  to  the  amount  of  two  or  three  pounds.  The 
 membrane  was  then  slit  up,  and  the  heart  seen 
 surrounded  by  a  coagulum  more  than  three  pounds 
 in  weight.  This  having  been  cleared  away,  a  rup- 
 ture was  discovered  in  the  aortic  [left]  ventricle, 
 which  extended  upwards  from  the  apex,  about  an  inch 
 and  a  half  on  the  external  surface.  The  internal 
 wound  was  found  but  about  half  an  inch  in  length, 
 and  its  lips  [were]  at  least  as  wide  again  asunder  as 
 those  of  the  external  breach."* — Owing  to  the  small- 
 ness  of  the  aperture  the  fatal  result  was  more  pro- 
 tracted, the  discharge  of  blood  into  the  pericardial 
 sac  less  rapid,  and  its  consequent  separation  into  its 
 constituents  less  complete  than  would  otherwise  in 
 all  probability  have  been  the  case. 
 
 In  his  treatise  on  the  Influence  of  the  Passions,  Mr. 
 Townsend,  of  New  York,  remarks, — "  Anger,  fear,  and 
 grief  always  occasion  distress.  The  diseases  which  they 
 produce  must  necessarily  correspond  ;  hence,  those 
 which  accompany  these  passions  are  of  the  most  dan- 
 gerous and  fatal  kind,  as  rupture  of  the  heart,  and  of 
 
 the    large  blood-vessels,   &c An  unfortunate 
 
 female  of  this  city literally  and  truly  died  of  a 
 
 broken  heart,  as  was  found  on  dissection ;  and  there 
 was  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  consummation  of 
 her  misery  was  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  her 
 exquisite  dejection  of  mind  at  that  particular  mo- 
 ment."— In  this  instance, — "  the  subject  was  a  robust 
 and   plethoric   female,  aged   twenty-two  years,  long 
 
 *  Dr.  Fischer,  in  the  London  Medical  Repository,  &c.,  vol.  xi. 
 pp.  422— 427;  vol.  xii.  pp.  164— 168. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  99 
 
 addicted  to  dissolute  and  intemperate  habits.  For 
 some  time  previously  to  her  decease  she  had  com- 
 plained only  of  slight,  and  apparently  rheumatic 
 pains  ;  but,  within  a  day  or  two  of  the  fatal  event, 
 she  had  been  deserted  by  a  man  to  whom  she  was 
 engaged  in  marriage.  In  consequence  of  this,  her  mind 
 became  very  deeply  affected.  After  having  supped 
 on  the  preceding  night,  she  retired  to  rest  as  usual, 
 and  in  the  morning  was  found  dead  in  bed.  She  lay 
 in  a  bent  position  on  the  left  side,  and  was  hence 
 supposed  at  first  to  be  in  a  profound  sleep.  Neither 
 the  countenance  nor  the  limbs  were  at  all  contorted. 
 On  dissection,  the  sac  of  the  pericardium  was  found 
 filled  with  about  ten  ounces  of  coagulated  blood,  and 
 two  of  serum.  The  heart,  on  all  sides  covered  by 
 it,  was  of  the  ordinary  volume,  but  much  loaded 
 with  fat.  At  the  summit  of  the  aortic  [left]  ventricle 
 was  discovered  the  breach,  from  which  the  effused 
 blood  had  issued.  It  was  irregularly  lacerated,  and 
 measured  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter."* — In  this 
 case,  the  rupture  of  the  heart  was  combined  with  some 
 degree  of  inflammatory  affection  attributable,  it  may 
 be  presumed,  to  the  same  mental  cause ;  but  in  the 
 ensuing  one,  communicated  by  Dr.  Williams  of 
 Southampton,  and  never  before  published,  the  rup- 
 ture, besides  being  much  more  extensive,  was  free 
 from  any  material  complication. — "  R.  W.,  a  labourer, 
 aged  fifty-six  years,  had  generally  enjoyed  good 
 health,  but  for  ten  years  had  suffered  great  despon- 
 
 *  P.  S.  To^vnsend,  On  the  Influence  of  the  Passions  in  the  pro- 
 duction and  modification  of  Disease,  pp.51— 56,  65.— London  Medi- 
 cal Repository,  vol.  xi.  pp.  427,  428. 
 
 F    2 
 
100  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 dency  of  mind,  owing  to  the  unfaithfulness  of  his 
 wife.  About  six  months  before  his  death  he  was 
 troubled  with  severe  cough,  which  came  on  in 
 paroxysms,  generally  at  night  and  early  in  the  morn- 
 ing, and  after  a  fit  of  this  kind  was  found  one 
 morning  dead.  A  post-mortem  examination  took 
 place  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Boulton,  surgeon,  of 
 Leamington.  On  opening  the  chest,  the  bag  of  the 
 pericardium  appeared  much  distended  with  fluid, 
 and  was  of  a  dark  blue  colour.  On  cutting  into  it, 
 a  pint  at  least  of  transparent  serum  issued  out,  leav- 
 ing the  crassamentum  firmly  attached  to  the  anterior 
 surface  of  the  heart.  On  further  examination  to 
 ascertain  the  source  of  this  hemorrhage,  we  found 
 the  left  ventricle,  from  the  origin  of  the  aorta  dow  n- 
 w^ards  to  within  an  inch  of  the  apex,  ruptured.  The 
 heart  appeared  in  no  way  disorganized,  there  was 
 no  softness  of  its  walls,  the  internal  membrane  was 
 healthy,  and  so  w^ere  the  valves  of  each  cavity.  Some 
 portions  of  both  lungs  were  found  slightly  hepa- 
 tized," — that  is,  consolidated,  so  as  to  present  an  ap- 
 pearance like  that  of  the  liver.  The  following  case, 
 related  by  Mr.  Adams,  is  remarkably  similar.' — 
 "  Thomas  Treacher,  forty-six  years  of  age,  a  stout 
 muscular  working  man,  who  had  laboured  for  many 
 years  under  great  mental  anxiety,  was  attacked  with 
 severe  cardiac  symptoms  on  Sunday  evening,  Novem- 
 ber the  5th,  1 S26,  and  after  great  agony  of  body  and 
 mind,  died  on  November  the  9th.  On  opening  the 
 thorax,  the  pericardium  was  found  distended,  and 
 emitted  when  divided  a  quantity  of  serous  fluid ;  but 
 the  heart  was  entirely  concealed  by  an  envelope  of 
 coagulated  blood  in  three  distinct  layers,  owing  to 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 101 
 
 rupture  of  tlie  left  ventricle  close  to  the  septum,  and 
 nearer  the  apex  than  the  base  of  the  heart,"* 
 
 SECTION    II. 
 
 By  the  facts  and  reasonings  above  adduced  it  may 
 be  regarded  as  proved  that,  owing  to  the  natural 
 constitution  of  the  human  frame,  the  exciting  pas- 
 sions when  violent,  and  especially  when  accompanied 
 with  agony  or  conflict,  are  capable  of  inducing  bloody 
 sweat,  and  when  still  more  intense,  rupture  of  the 
 heart ;  both  effects  depending  on  an  excessive  and  irre- 
 gular action  of  that  organ,  occurring  in  a  lower  or 
 higher  degree.  The  next  step  in  the  process  of  demon- 
 stration is  to  show,  that  this  natural  and  adequate 
 agency  was  really  present  and  operative  in  the  suf- 
 ferings and  death  of  Christ, — a  task  which,  owing  to 
 the  fulness  and  precision  of  the  evangelical  narrative, 
 is  by  no  means  difficult.  The  peculiar  sufierings  of  the 
 Saviour  commenced  in  the  solitude  of  Gethsemane, 
 as  if  it  had  been  the  divine  purpose  to  prove,  by 
 the  absence  of  every  other  cause,  that  at  this  time 
 they  were  wholly  occasioned  by  mental  distress.  His 
 enemies  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  he  was  still  attended 
 by  his  three  principal  apostles,  Peter,  James,  and 
 John,  when  retiring  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night  to  a 
 lonely  spot  in  the  garden, — "  he  was  seized  with 
 consternation  and  distress  :  and  said  to  them, — 
 *  My  soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto  death. 
 Remain  here,  and  watch  with  me.' — And  he  hastily 
 withdrew  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast,  and  kneel- 
 ing down,  threw  himself  on  his  face,  and  prayed  that, 
 
 *  Journal  of  Morbid  Anatomy,  Ophthalmic  Medicine,  &c.    Art.  v. 
 
IQO  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 if  it  were  possible,  the  hour  might  pass  from  him, 
 saying — *  Abba  !  [that  is]  Father  !  if  it  be  possible, 
 let  this  cup  pass  from  me;  nevertheless,  not  my  will 
 but  thine  be  done." — The  terms  used  by  the  evan- 
 gelists on  this  occasion  are,  as  competent  judges  have 
 often  noticed,  the  strongest  which  the  Greek  language, 
 one  of  the  most  expressive  which  ever  existed,  could 
 supply.*  Thus  the  Rev.  Archibald  M'Lean,  in  his 
 Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  judi- 
 ciously remarks, — "  We  have  an  account  of  the  ex- 
 ceeding greatness  of  his  soul-sufFerings  in  the  garden, 
 as  related  by  the  evangelists,  and  expressed  by  him- 
 self.— '  He  began  to  be  sorrowful,  and  very  heavy,' — 
 and  this  he  expressed  by  saying, — *  My  soul  is  exceed- 
 ingly sorrowful,  even  unto  death,' — Matt.  chap.  26, 
 v.  ti7,  38.  On  which  we  may  observe,  1 .  That  the  seat 
 of  his  sufferings  at  this  time  was  his  soul,  his  body 
 being  no  otherwise  concerned  than  as  it  was  affected 
 by  the  distress  of  his  mind,  for  as  yet  there  was  no 
 human  hand  upon  him.  2.  The  words  set  forth  the 
 greatness  of  his  soul-sufFerings.  His  soul  was  not 
 only  sorrowful,  but  (TrepiAvTroj,)  exceeding  sorrow- 
 ful. The  word  signifies  to  be  beset  with  sorrow  round 
 about,  and  is  well  expressed  in  the  Psalms, — *  The 
 sorrows  of  death  compassed  me,  and  the  pains  of  hell 
 gat  hold  upon  me.'— Psalm  18,  y,  5,  Q',  Psalm  116, 
 V.  3.     His  soul  was  now  besieged  v/ith  sorrow  and 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  36—42  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  32—36 ;— Luke, 
 chap.  22,  V.39 — 42. — Mark's  statement,  probably  derived  from  Peter, 
 an  eye-witness  of  the  scene,  is  perhaps  the  most  striking, — '•  Kal 
 yp^UTO  eKBa/jitdffBai  Kal  ddrjixovelv,  Kai  \syei  avTotg, — IlepiXvTroQ 
 lariv  t)  tpvxv  l^ov  £wc  ^avuTov  :  fxeivaTS  ioSe,  Kal  yp?;yop£tr€."— 
 Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  33, 34. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  |()3 
 
 sore  amazement  on  every  side,  so  that  there  was  no 
 evasion  for  him.  Turn  which  way  he  will,  nothing 
 but  the  bitter  cup  presented  itself  to  him,  in  all  its 
 dreadful  ingredients.  His  soul  was  thus  sorrowful, 
 even  unto  death.  It  was  a  deadly  sorrow,  the  sorrows 
 of  death  ;  and  this  sorrow  seems  actually  to  have  killed 
 him  before  the  time  in  which  the  tortures  of  the  cross 
 could  have  effected  his  death.  He  is  said  to  be  sore 
 amazed,  and  very  heavy,  Mark,  chap.  14,  v,  S3 ; 
 which  sets  forth  the  greatness  of  his  fear,  terror,  and 
 consternation.  This  we  may  conceive  to  arise  from 
 his  clear  apprehensions  of  the  evil  and  demerit  of  sin, 
 of  the  infinite  opposition  of  the  divine  holiness  and 
 justice  to  it,  and  of  the  power  of  God's  wrath  as  the 
 <;urse  threatened  against  it,  which  he  now  saw  ready 
 to  be  inflicted  upon  him  as  the  devoted  victim  ;  for — 
 *  the  Lord  made  to  meet  upon  him  the  iniquities  of 
 us  all.' — Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  6.  In  the  full  view  of 
 all  this,  it  is  no  wonder  that  his  human  soul  was-filled 
 with  the  most  dreadful  amazement  and  fear."* 
 
 To  the  same  effect  are  the  observations  of  the  acute 
 and  pious  Rambach. — "'  The  sorrow  of  the  blessed 
 Jesus  is  further  represented  as  very  bitter  and  vehe- 
 ment. The  evangelists  use  different  phrases  to  express 
 the  anguish  of  his  soul.  He  began  to  be  overwhelmed 
 with  sorrow,  to  be  sore  amazed,  to  be  troubled,  and 
 seized  with  fear  and  dread ;  as  it  is  said  of  St.  Paul 
 when,  frightened  by  a  sudden  flash  of  lightning,  he 
 spoke  trembling  and  astonished  ;  and  likewise  of  the 
 women,  when  surprised  by  the  appearance  of  an  angel 
 at  the   sepulchre.      He   began   to   be   sore   amazed ; 
 
 *  Archibald  M'Lean,  Paraphrase  and  Commentary  on  the  Epistle 
 to  the  Hebrews,  vol.  i.  pp.  163,  164. 
 
104'  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 which  word  in  the  original  denotes  the  most  painful 
 
 anguish  of  soul,  and  depression  of  spirit The 
 
 chief  seat  of  his  agony  was  his  soul,  which  was  sub- 
 ject to  the  like  passions  with  ours.  See  Psalms  18, 
 40,  69,  and  88.  And  this  sorrow  was  unto  death ; 
 that  is,  it  was  so  great  that  it  might  have  broken  his 
 heart,  and  thus  have  brought  on  his  death  ;  or  because 
 
 it  would  not  cease  till  death  put  an  end  to  it 
 
 He  prays  that,  if  it  were  possible,  this  hour  might 
 pass  from  him.  He  calls  the  suffering  allotted  to 
 him,  and  of  which  he  had  already  a  foretaste,  an  hour. 
 It  had  before  been  said.  His  hour  was  not  yet  come ; 
 but  now  it  was  come,  as  our  blessed  Lord  himself  says 
 in  his  prayer, — ^  Father,  the  hour  is  come.'  ....  It 
 more  particularly  denotes  the  present  hour  of  his 
 inward  agony,  his  angnish  of  soul,  when  the  floods  of 
 God's  wrath  were  discharged  on  him,  when  he  stood 
 before  the  divine  tribunal  as  the  greatest  criminal  j 
 loaded  with  the  oppressive  weight  of  the  sins  of  the 
 
 whole  world He  does  not  properly  petition 
 
 his  Father  that  all  the  sufferings  he  was  to  undergo 
 may  pass  from  him,  as  it  is  commonly  expounded ; 
 but  he  means  only  to  obtain,  in  the  present  hour  of 
 extreme  inward  trouble  and  anguish,  an  abatement 
 and  shortening  of  the  dreadful  agony  he  felt,  which 
 might  have  given  offence  even  to  his  disciples,  who 
 were  unacquainted  with  the  mystery  of  his  sufferings. 
 ....   By  the  cup  is  to  be  understood  the  present 
 excruciating  sense  of  the  wrath  of  God,  and  the  with- 
 drawing of  the   sensible  and  comfortable    assistance, 
 ^    which  at  other  times  his  human  nature  used  to  enjoy 
 '   from  the  divine.    Hence,  all  the  evangelists  subjoin — 
 ^    ^  this  cup.' — All  the  other  cups  of  his  passion  he  was 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 105 
 
 most  willing  and  ready  to  drink  ;  but  this  cup,  which 
 he  now  first  began  to  taste,  in  which  were  poured 
 the  dregs  of  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God,  was  so  ex-« 
 tremely  bitter  that  his  spotless  and  feeble  humanity 
 shuddered  at  it.  Hence  he  cries  out, — '  Let  this  cup 
 pass  from  me ;' — in  which  words  he  only  prays  for  the 
 shortening  of  the  duration  of  his  painful  inward 
 agony,  that  it  might  soon  pass  over." 
 
 It  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  noticed  that  under  the  influ- 
 ence of  a  sort  of  pious  instinct  or  sagacity,  the  result 
 of  long- continued  and  ardent  contemplation,  these  and 
 other  authors  almost  divined  the  latent  cause  of  the  Sa- 
 viour's death,  without  possessing  a  distinct  knowledge 
 of  those  physical  facts  by  which  alone  it  can  be  fully 
 demonstrated.  Thus  M'Lean  observes  that  the  sor- 
 row of  Christ — "  seems  actually  to  have  killed  him 
 before  the  time  in  which  the  tortures  of  the  cross 
 could  have  effected  his  death  ;" — and  Rambach  affirms, 
 — "  it  was  so  great  that  it  might  have  broken  his 
 heart,  and  thus  have  brought  on  his  death." — Even  Dr. 
 Priestley  says  the  agony  of  Christ — "  affected  him  so 
 much,  that  it  would  not  have  been  extraordinary  if  he 
 had  actually  died  in  consequence  of  it ;  since  such 
 consternation  and  terror  as  he  appears  to  have  been 
 in,  is  well  known  to  have  been  of  itself  the  cause  of 
 death  to  many  persons."* — A  still  nearer  approxima- 
 tion to  the  truth,  although  intermixed  with  some 
 errors  of  detail,  was  attained  by  the  celebrated  Presi- 
 dent Edwards,  who  in  his  Sermon  on  the  excellency 
 
 *  J.  Rambach,  Considerations  on  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,  trans- 
 lated from  the  German ;  vol.  i.  pp.  35 — 37,  48,  49,  55,  56. — 
 Di'.  Priestley,  Discourse  on  the  Evidence  of  the  Resurrection  of 
 Jesus;  p.  12,  13. 
 
 f3 
 
106  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 of  Christ  makes  the  following  observation, — *'  In 
 Christ's  great  sufferings  did  his  infinite  regard  to  the 
 honour  of  God's  justice  distinguishingly  appear ;  for 
 it  was  from  regard  to  that  that  he  thus  humbled  him- 
 self. And  yet,  in  these  sufferings,  Christ  was  the  mark 
 of  the  vindictive  expressions  of  that  very  justice  of 
 God.  Revenging  justice  then  spent  all  its  force  upon 
 him, which  made  him  sweat  blood,  and  cry  out  upon  the 
 cross,  and  probably  rent  his  vitals,  broke  his  heart,  the 
 fountain  of  blood,  or  some  other  blood-vessels,  and  by 
 the  violent  fermentation  turned  his  blood  to  water;  for 
 the  blood  and  water  that  issued  out  of  his  side  when 
 pierced  by  the  spear  seems  to  have  been  extravasated 
 blood,  and  so  there  might  be  a  kind  of  literal  fulfil- 
 ment of  Psalm  S2,  V.  14 ; — *  I  am  poured  out  like  wa- 
 ter, and  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint ;  my  heart  is  like 
 wax,  it  is  melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels."* — But 
 the  most  complete  statement  of  this  kind  has  been 
 given  by  an  eminent  living  divine,  Dr.  Russell,  of 
 Dundee,  whose  remarks  on  the  subject,  had  they  been 
 accompanied  by  a  competent  demonstration  of  the 
 facts,  would  have  superseded  the  present  work.  Speak- 
 ing of  Christ's  sufferings  at  Gethsemane,  he  says, — 
 *'  His  heart  was  preternaturally  fired  within  him,  so  as 
 to  force  a  passage  through  the  body  for  his  rarefied 
 blood ;  for  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of 
 blood  falling  down  to  the  ground.  The  agony  of  his 
 soul  milst  have  been  bitter  beyond  conception,  when 
 such  was  its  effect  upon  his  body  in  the  open  air,  at 
 midnight,  and  when  they  who  were  within  found  it 
 
 *  President   Edwards,  Works,  in  eight  vols.  8vo.    Lond.   1817; 
 voL  vi.  pp.  413,  414. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  JQy 
 
 necessary  to  defend  themselves  against  the  cold.  His 
 firm  heart  was  ready  to  break,  and  immediate  death 
 was  threatened ;  but  knowing  that  much  remained  to 
 be  accomplished,  it  was  his  prayer  that  the  cup  might 
 for  a  time  pass  from  him.  His  prayer  was  heard. 
 An  angel  appeared  to  strengthen  him,  and  he  regained 
 composure  to  act  with  propriety  before  his  judges 
 and  the  people,  and  to  suffer  what  he  endured  before 
 he  reached  the  cross.  On  the  cross  the  scene  of  Geth- 
 semane  was  renewed ; — the  cup  was  again  presented  to 
 him,  and  there  he  drank  it  to  the  very  dregs.  On 
 Calvary  his  distress  reached  its  height,  and  drew  from 
 him  the  bitter  exclamation, — *  My  God !  my  God  ! 
 why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  V — Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  46. 
 Mysterious  dereliction !  only  to  be  accounted  for  by 
 
 the  nature  of  his  death He  at  last  expired 
 
 under  the  curse,  not  so  much  in  consequence  of  the 
 exhaustion  of  nature  by  bodily  pain  and  the  loss  of 
 blood,  (for  in  the  article  of  death  he  cried  with  a 
 loud  voice,  and  Pilate  marvelled  when  he  heard  of  it,) 
 as  in  consequence  of  the  extreme  pressure  of  mental 
 torture;  Matt.  chap.  27,  ver.  50;  Mark,  chap.  15, 
 V.  44.  This  was  too  racking,  too  exquisite  for  nature 
 to  support, — it  literally  broke  his  heart.  That  sorrow 
 which  is  the  very  soul  of  the  curse  terminated  his 
 life,  and  thus  discovered  the  nature  of  his  sufferings, 
 together  with  their  great  and  glorious  design."* 
 
 The  mortal  tendency  of  the  mental  sufferings  of 
 Gethsemane  is,  however,  placed  beyond  all  doubt  by 
 the  authority  of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  in  his  epistle  to 
 
 *  Dr.  David  Russell,  Letters,  chiefly  practical  and  consolatory, 
 &c. ;  vol.  i.  pp.  7—9. 
 
IQ3  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 the  Hebrews  states  of  Christ,  that — "  in  the  days  of  his 
 flesh  he  offered  prayers  and  supplications,  [accom- 
 panied] with  tears  and  loud  cries,  to  him  who  was 
 able  to  save  him  from  death,  and  was  heard  on  account 
 of  [his]  pious  fear :  [that  thus,]  although  he  was  a 
 son,  he  learnt  obedience  from  his  sufferings,  and 
 when  [at  length]  perfected,  became  the  author  of 
 eternal  salvation  to  all  who  obey  him,  having  been 
 proclaimed  by  God  a  high-priest  after  the  order 
 of  Melchisedek." — This  interpretation  of  the  pas- 
 sage is  adopted  by  the  writers  above-mentioned,  and 
 by  many  others. — *'  I  apprehend" — says  McLean, — 
 "  that  the  deprecations  and  supplications  here  men- 
 tioned, are  chiefly  those  which  he  offered  up  in  the 
 garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  also  on  the  cross." — "  It 
 must  have  been" — 'observes  Rambach, — "  a  petition 
 in  which  he  was  heard,  which  cannot  be  said  if  he 
 prayed  for  the  removal  of  all  his  sufferings  in  gene- 
 ral."— "  I  do  not  suppose" — remarks  Dr.  Doddridge, 
 — *'  our  Lord  here  prayed  to  be  excused  entirely  from 
 sufferings  and  death.  It  appears  to  me  much  safer 
 to  expound  it  as  relating  to  the  terror  and  severity  of 
 the  combat  in  which  he  was  now  actually  engaged. 
 This  throws  great  light  on  Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  7 ; — *  He 
 was  heard  in  that  he  feared."* — *'  What  then" — asks 
 Dr.  Moses  Stuart, — "  was  it  in  respect  to  which  he 
 was  elaaKova-Oeh,  heard  or  delivered?  The  context 
 necessarily  limits  the  hearing  or  deliverance  to  some- 
 thing in  his  petitions  which  appertained  to  suffering, 
 
 *  M'Lean,  vol.  i,  p.  163  ; — Rambach,  vol.  i.  p.  56  ; — Dr.  Dod- 
 dridge, Family  Expositor  of  the  New  Testament,  vol.  ii.  p.  483. — 
 Hebrews,  chap.  5,  v.  7 — 10. 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  |  QQ 
 
 which  was  an  object  of  dread.  What  could  it  be  but 
 the  dread  of  sinking  under  the  agony  of  being  de- 
 serted by  his  Father?  Matt.  chap.  9,1,  v.  46.  Great 
 as  his  agony  was,  he  never  refused  to  bear  it,  nor  did 
 he  shrink  from  tasting  the  bitter  cup.  Luke,  chap. 
 22,  V.  42 ;  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  39.  And  does  not 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  43,  explain  our  do-aKovaOeh  cltto 
 ei/Aa/Setaj,  [he  was  heard  on  account  of  his  pious  fear,] 
 — *  There  appeared  unto  him  an  angel  from  heaven 
 strengthening  him,  ivta-xvoov  avrov.' — This  w^as  the 
 only  kind  of  deliverance  he  sought  for,  or  on  the 
 whole  desired ;  Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  42.  ttXtjv  ixrj  to 
 d€\7]ijid  ixov,  aXXa  to  crbv  yeviaOco'  [nevertheless,  not 
 my  will  but  thine  be  done.]  The  dread  in  question 
 was,  like  all  his  other  sufferings,  incident  to  his 
 human  nature,  and  the  fact  shows  that  he  suffered 
 under  it  to  a  high  degree  ;  but  he  did  not  shrink  from 
 it,  and  so  he  was  heard  or  delivered  in  respect  to  the 
 object  of  his  petition  in  regard  to  it."* 
 
 It  is  indeed  sufficiently  evident  that  in  this  remark- 
 able passage  the  apostle  is  speaking  of  the  peculiar 
 mental  sufferings  of  Christ  in  the  garden  of  Gethse- 
 mane,  and  not  of  the  ordinary  sufferings  attending  his 
 seizure,  trial,  and  crucifixion ;  which,  as  is  manifest 
 from  the  sacred  narrative,  he  endured  not  only  without 
 dismay,  but  with  the  utmost  dignity  and  firmness. 
 That  his  mental  sufferings  proceeded  not  from  men  or 
 demons,  but  from  God,  was  stated  by  himself,  when  on 
 his  way  to  the  garden  he  said  to  his  apostles, — ^*  All  of 
 you  wdll  this  night  be  offended  by  me,  for  it  is  written, 
 
 *  Dr.  Moses  Stuart,  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
 vol.  ii  pp.  12G,  127,420-422— See  also  Poole's  Synopsis. 
 
IIQ  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 — '  /  will  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the 
 flock  will  he  scattered ;'' — when  he  afterwards  en- 
 treated the  Father  to  withdraw  from  him  the  fatal 
 cup ;  and  when,  as  this  was  impossible,  he  meekly 
 asked, — "  The  cup  which  the  Father  hath  given  me, 
 shall  I  not  drink  it  ?" — This  language  exactly  cor- 
 responds to  his  affecting  demand  on  the  cross, — "  My 
 God !  my  G  od !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — and 
 shows  that  in  their  general  nature  his  mental  suffer- 
 ings in  both  instances  were  identical.  Too  violent  to 
 last  long,  they  began  and  ended  abruptly,  continuing 
 in  the  first  case  one  hour,  in  the  second  three  hours, 
 leaving  his  mind  during  the  interval  comparatively 
 calm  and  self-possessed.  The  scene  at  Gethsemane 
 was  a  wise  and  necessary  prelude  to  that  at  Calvary, 
 a  foretaste  or  trial,  which  prepared  him  for  the  last 
 awful  conflict ;  and  his  conduct  on  the  two  occasions 
 exhibits  a  marked  and  corresponding  difference.  In 
 the  garden  these  sufferings  were  absolutely  new"  to 
 him.  Never  before  had  his  filial  communion  with 
 God  been  interrupted.  On  suddenly  losing  it,  and 
 finding  himself  exposed  without  protection  to  the 
 horrors  of  his  responsibility,  and  the  malignity  of  tlie 
 powers  of  darkness,  he  was  as  it  were  taken  by  sur- 
 prise, and  nearly  destroyed  by  consternation  and 
 distress.  So  the  terms  used  by  the  evangelists  lite- 
 rally imply.  According  to  the  apostle  Paul,  he  had 
 now  for  the  first  time  to  learn  this  peculiarly  difficult 
 lesson  of  obedience  to  the  divine  will,  and  found  it 
 almost  insupportable.  With  tears  and  cries,  he  re- 
 peatedly prayed  for  relief  to  him  who  alone  was  able 
 to  save  him  from  death,  and  by  supernatural  aid  was 
 strengthened  and   delivered.      Thus   instructed   and 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 HI 
 
 experienced  he  endured  these  sufferings,  when  re- 
 newed on  the  cross,  with  less  consternation  and  greater 
 energy  than  before.  Until  near  the  end,  when  he 
 uttered  a  few  fervent  exclamations,  he  was  silent,  and 
 opened  not  his  mouth  ;  and  instead  of  being  delivered 
 from  death,  was  left  to  bear  the  full  weight  of  the 
 divine  malediction  in  helpless  agony,  till  by  the  rup- 
 ture of  his  heart  he  completed  that  atoning  sacrifice 
 which  he  had  undertaken  to  offer,  and  by  which,  as 
 the  high-priest  of  his  people,  —  **  he  became  the 
 author  of  eternal  salvation  to  all  who  obey  him."  * 
 
 The  more  minutely  the  subject  is  examined,  the 
 more  perfect  will  be  found  the  accordance  between 
 the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  cause  here  assigned 
 for  them.  These  sufferings  presented  two  successive 
 stages, — consternation,  and  agony, — conditions  which, 
 although  frequently  confounded  by  commentators, 
 are  not  only  different,  but  actually  opposite  to  each 
 other.  The  natural  contrast  which  subsists  betvv^een 
 the  exciting  and  the  depressing  passions,  as  likewise 
 between  their  respective  effects,  has  been  already 
 mentioned.  Excessive  fear  and  grief  debilitate  and 
 almost  paralyse  the  body,  whilst  agony  or  conflict  is 
 attended  with  extraordinary  strength.  Under  the 
 former  the  action  of  the  heart  is  enfeebled ;  and  if, 
 owing  to  constriction  of  the  cutaneous  vessels,  per- 
 spiration ever  occurs,  it  is  cold  and  scanty.  Under  the 
 latter  the  heart  acts  with  great  violence,  and  forces 
 a  hot,  copious,  and  in  extreme  cases  a  bloody  sweat 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  30,  31,  36—44  ;  chap.  27,  v.  45,46  ;— Mark, 
 chap.  14,  V.  26,  27,  32— 39;  chap.  15,  v.  33,  34  ;— John,  chap.  18, 
 V.  11  ; — Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  7—9. 
 
112  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 througli  the  pores  of  the  skin.  The  testimony  of  Crich- 
 ton  on  this  subject  is  so  apposite  and  decisive,  that  it 
 deserves  to  be  repeated. — "  In  grief  and  sorrow." — he 
 observes, — *^  in  extreme  anger,  hatred,  jealousy,  and 
 envy,  the  blood  stagnates  about  the  heart,  a  chilling 
 cold  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  body, 
 the  blood  forsakes  the  cheeks,  and  a  tremor  ensues," 
 — On  the  contrary,  under  anger  and  other  invigorat- 
 ing passions, — '^  the  heart  and  arteries  are  excited  to 
 a  preternatural  degree  of  action,  the  blood  is  pro- 
 pelled with  violence  to  the  surface  of  the  body,  and 
 circulates  with  force  and  rapidity  through  the  smallest 
 and  most  extreme   arteries,  and  hence  the  burning 
 heat    which    characterizes   this    sort    of  passion."  — 
 When  Belshazzar  saw  the  handwriting  on  the  wall, 
 his — '*  countenance  was  changed,   and  his  thoughts 
 troubled  him,  so  that  the  joints    of  his  loins  were 
 loosed,  and  his  knees  smote  one  against  another.'*— 
 When  Daniel  was  accosted  in  vision  by  an  angel  of 
 surpassing  majesty,—-'^  his  comeliness  was  turned  into 
 corruption,  and  he  retained  no  strength  ;" — and  when 
 the  apostle  John  saw  Christ  in  his  glory, — **  he  fell  at 
 his  feet  as  dead." — On  the  other  hand,  when  Samson, 
 labouring  under  the  united  stings  of  shame,  indigna- 
 tion, and  revenge,  agonized  in  the  temple  of  Dagon,  he 
 recovered  all  his  original  might,  threw  down  the  two 
 massy  columns  which  supported  the  building,  and  to- 
 gether with  himself,  buried  thousands  of  his  own  and 
 his  country's  enemies  under  its  ruins.*     It  has  been 
 suggested  that  the  bloody  sweat  of  Christ  miaht  be 
 
 *  Crichton,  On  Mental  Derangement,  &e  ,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1.34,  288, 
 289 ; — Judges,  chap.  16,  v.  23—30 ; — Daniel,  chap.  5,  v.  1—6  ;  chap. 
 10,  V.  7—11,    15— x7  ;— Rev.  chap.  1,  v.  12—17. 
 
DEATH     OF      CIimST.  1|3 
 
 attributed  to  relaxation  of  the  cutaneous  vessels,  in 
 conjunction  with  a  dissolved  state  of  the  blood;  but 
 the  explanation  is  inadmissible,  since,  as  has  been 
 shown,  his  condition  at  the  time  was  not  that  of  weak- 
 ness, but  of  strength,  and  the  blood  which  issued  with 
 his  sweat  was  not  liquid,  but  clotted.  Besides,  except 
 under  peculiar  circumstances,  and  in  connection,  there 
 is  reason  to  believe,  with  violent  action  of  the  heart, 
 relaxation  of  the  cutaneous  capillaries  is  not  produc- 
 tive of  bloody  sweat,  which  on  the  contrary  requires 
 and  implies  a  strong  expulsive  force. —  **  In  all  he- 
 morrhage"— says  Harvey, — "  the  more  vehemently  the 
 arteries  pulsate,  the  more  speedily  will  the  body  be 
 emptied  of  its  blood.  Hence  also,  in  all  fainting,  fear, 
 and  similar  affections,  when  the  heart  beats  languidly, 
 weakly,  and  without  impulse,  all  hemorrhage  is 
 checked  and  restrained."* — The  natural  association 
 of  bloody  sweat  with  agony  and  exertion  is  well  ex- 
 emplified in  the  case  of  Charles  ix.  of  France,  a 
 prince  of  execrable  cruelty,  but  at  the  same  time 
 of  great  energy,  both  of  mind  and  body,  who  died  of 
 a  singular  complaint  in  his  twenty-fifth  year. — "The 
 disease  which  carried  him  off" — says  Voltaire, — "  is 
 very  uncommon ;  his  blood  flowed  from  all  his  pores. 
 This  malady,  of  which  there  are  some  examples,  is 
 the  result  either  of  excessive  fear,  furious  passion,  or 
 of  a  violent  and  melancholic  temperament." — The 
 circumstances  of  the  case  are  graphically  described  by 
 the  old  French  historian,  De  Mezeray. — "  After  the 
 vigour  of  bis  youth   and   the   energy  of  his  courage 
 
 *  Harvseus,  de  Motu  Cordis  et  Sanguinis  in  Animalibus  ;  pp.  118, 
 119;— Kuinoel,  Lib.  Historic.  Nov.  Test.  Comment  on  Luke,  chap. 
 22,  V.  43,  44. 
 
114  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 had  long  struggled  against  his  disease,  he  was  at 
 length  reduced  by  it  to  his  bed,  at  the  castle  of 
 Vincennes,  about  the  8th  of  May  [1574.]  During 
 the  two  last  weeks  of  his  life,  his  constitution  made 
 strange  efforts.  He  was  affected  with  spasms  and 
 convulsions  of  extreme  violence.  He  tossed  and 
 agitated  himself  continually,  and  his  blood  gushed 
 from  all  the  outlets  of  his  body,  even  from  the  pores 
 of  his  skin,  so  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  found 
 bathed  in  a  bloody  sweat."* 
 
 The  intense  grief  and  consternation  which  the  Sa- 
 viour experienced  at  the  commencement  of  his  sufier- 
 ings  in  the  garden,  and  under  the  shock  of  which  he  fell 
 prostrate  to  the  earth,  might  possibly  have  destroyed 
 him  by  simple  exhaustion,  but  would  never  have  pro- 
 duced the  bloody  sweat  reported  by  Luke ;  who,  inde- 
 pendently of  his  guidance  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  was,  as 
 a  physician,  peculiarly  well  qualified  to  notice  and  re- 
 cord such  an  occurrence.  He  therefore  ascribes  this 
 sweat  to  a  cause  by  which  it  is  fully  and  solely  ex- 
 plained, namely,  the  communication  of  supernatural 
 strength ; — "  There  appeared  to  him  an  angel  from 
 heaven,  strengthening  him."^ — It  was  then  that, — 
 "  falling  into  an  agony,  [Christ]  prayed  most  ear- 
 nestly, and  his  sweat  became  as  it  were  clots  of  blood 
 dropping  to  the  ground  :" — implying  that  he  was  no 
 longer  prostrate  as  at  first,  but  on  his  knees.  At- 
 tempts have  been  made  to  explain  away  the  strong 
 terms  used  by  the  evangelist,  but  they  certainly  de- 
 note a  sweat  mixed  with  blood  in  a  half-coagulated 
 
 *  Voltaire,     Giuvres    completes;     vol.    xviii.   pp.  531,   532. — 
 De  Mezeray,  Histoire  de  France ;  vol.  iii.  p.  306. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  II5 
 
 state,  so  profuse  as  to  fall  from  the  head  and  neck, 
 (the  parts  chiefly  liable  to  be  uncovered,  and  from 
 which  sweat  of  any  kind  is  most  readily  furnished,) 
 in  thick  and  heavy  drops  to  the  ground.  Unless 
 Luke  meant  to  convey  this  meaning,  his  employment 
 of  such  expressions  is  unaccountable.*  The  fact  is 
 well  stated  by  M'Lean. — [Christ]  "  is  said  to  be  in 
 an  agony.  An  agony  is  the  conflict  of  nature  in  the 
 extremity  of  distress.  The  Lord  was  now  bruising 
 him,  and  putting  him  to  grief.  So  great  was  the 
 agony  and  conflict  of  his  soul,  that  it  produced  the 
 most  wonderful  effect  upon  his  body ;  for  we  are  told 
 that — *  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood 
 falling  down  to  the  ground.' — A  common  sweat  in 
 the  open  air,  and  exposed  to  the  cold  damp  of  night, 
 when  those  within  doors  required  a  fire  of  coals  to 
 warm  them,  must  have  been  the  effect  of  very  great  fear 
 and  agony.  What  then  must  his  agony  have  been, 
 which  induced  a  bloody  sweat,  and  so  copious  as  to 
 fall  down  in  great  drops  to  the  ground  ?" — It  was  then 
 that,  as  intimated  by  the  apostle  Paul, — ^'  he  offered 
 prayers  and  supplications,  [accompanied]  with  tears 
 and  loud  cries,  to  him  who  was  able  to  save  him  from 
 death,  and  was  heard  on  account  of  his  pious  fear ;" 
 — in  other  words,  these  peculiar  and  overwhelming 
 
 *  "QcpOrj  ^£  avT(^  dyyeXog  aTr'  ovpavov  iviox^^'^  avTOV :  /cat, 
 ytvofiivoQ  iv  dyujvi^i,  iKTSvearepov  Trpoarjvx^TO  :  kyevero  de  6  i^piji; 
 aiiTOv  ojcrti  ^p6fi€oi  aifiarog  Kara^aivovrtg  tiri  tt^v  yijv  Luke, 
 chap.  22,  V.  43,  44.  See,  also,  Coloss.  chap.  4.  v.  14;  Poole's  Sy- 
 nopsis, Schleusuer's  Lexicon  of  the  New  Testament,  &c.  The  force 
 of  the  term  ojijei,  frequently  used  by  Luke  in  a  similar  sense,  evi- 
 dently is,  that  Christ's  sweat  on  this  occasion  consisted  of  clotted 
 blood,  not  pure,  but  mixed  with  the  usual  watery  liquid. 
 
11(3  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 sufferings  were  by  divine  interposition  suddenly  ter- 
 minated, leaving  him  with  restored  strength,  ready 
 to  undergo  the  trials  which  next  awaited  him.* 
 
 Since  the  scene  at  Gethsemane  was,  as  has  been 
 shown,  a  prelude  and  foretaste  of  that  at  Calvary, 
 the  same  explanation  is  applicable  to  both.  In  both, 
 mental  sufferings  of  a  peculiar  character  and  of  ex- 
 treme severity  produced  on  the  body  of  Christ  their 
 natural  effects, — in  the  garden  a  bloody  sweat, — on 
 the  cross  sudden  death,  followed  by  an  effusion  of 
 blood  and  water  from  his  side,  when  it  was  afterwards 
 pierced  by  a  spear.  In  both,  the  immediate  cause 
 of  these  effects,  the  link  wliich  connected  them  with 
 their  more  remote  cause,  the  mental  anguish,  was 
 violent  action  of  the  heart,  ultimately  proceeding  to 
 rupture,  the  proof  being  that,  of  all  the  causes  which 
 can  be  assigned,  this  alone  fulfils  the  requisite  con- 
 ditions, having  been  at  once  present,  adequate,  and 
 in  strict  accordance  with  the  circumstances.  The 
 death  of  Christ  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  ordinary 
 sufferings  of  crucifixion,  because,  far  from  destroying 
 life  in  six  hours,  they  often  allowed  it  to  be  pro- 
 tracted for  three  or  more  days ;  nor  to  miraculous 
 interposition,  because  he  was  slain  by  his  enemies, 
 and  died  the  death  of  the  cross ;  nor  to  original  fee- 
 bleness of  constitution,  because,  as  the  priest  and 
 victim  of  an  atoning  sacrifice,  he  was  perfect  in  body 
 and  mind ;  nor  to  temporary  weakness  resulting  from 
 his  recent  agony,  because  his  strength  was  sustained 
 by  angelic  agency.     That  his  mental  sufferings  were, 
 
 *"  M'Lean,  On  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  vol.  i.  pp.  IG3,  164  ; — 
 John.  chap.  16,  v.  31,  32  ;— Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  7—9. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST. 
 
 117 
 
 on  the  contrary,  adequate  to  the  effect,  is  evident 
 from  their  influence  at  Gcthsemane,  where,  had  he 
 not  received  supernatural  aid,  they  w^ould  apparently 
 have  proved  fatal  without  the  addition  of  any  others ; 
 and,  if  in  a  lower  degree  they  excited  palpitation  of 
 the  heart  so  violent  as  to  occasion  bloody  sweat,  it  is 
 equally  evident  that,  when  aggravated  and  longer  con- 
 tinued, they  were  capable  of  producing  rupture.  That 
 the  same  sufferings  were  present  in  both  instances, 
 and  arose  from  a  sense  of  the  divine  malediction,  is 
 proved  by  his  referring  them  in  both  to  the  imme- 
 diate hand  of  God,  by  his  allusion  in  the  garden  to 
 the  cup  given  him  by  his  heavenly  Father,  and  to  the 
 ancient  prophec}^, — "  1  will  smite  the  shepherd^  and 
 the  sheep  of  the  flock  will  he  scattered  ;" — and  by  his 
 final  exclamation  on  the  cross, — "  My  God  !  my  God  ! 
 why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  "-—That  rupture  of  the 
 heart  thus  induced  was  in  conformity  with  the  cir- 
 cumstances, and  actually  implied  by  them,  will  now 
 be  demonstrated. 
 
 The  ordinary  sufferings  incidental  to  crucifixion  have 
 been  minutely  analyzed  by  Richter,  the  Bartholines, 
 Griiners,  &c.,  and  are  often  injudiciously  exagge- 
 rated, in  order  to  account  for  the  speedy  occurrence  of 
 the  Saviour's  death.  Richter's  explanation  of  them,  as 
 quoted  in  a  note  of  the  Pictorial  Bible  on  John,  chap. 
 19,  V.  18,  is  somewhat  fanciful  and  overstrained ;  yet, 
 after  all,  the  author  acknowledges  that  they  were  not 
 calculated  to  occasion  rapid  death,  and  concludes  as 
 follows  : — "  The  degree  of  misery  is  gradual  in  its  in- 
 crease, and  the  person  crucified  is  able  to  live  under 
 it  commonly  until  the  third,  and  sometimes  till  the 
 seventh  day.     Pilate,   therefore,   being   surprised  at 
 
11 Q  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 the  speedy  termination  of  our  Saviour's  life,  inquired 
 in  respect  to  the  truth  of  it  of  the  centurion  himself 
 who  had  the  command  of  the  soldiers.     (Mark,  chap. 
 15,  V.  44.) — Concurring  in  this  opinion,  the  editor  of 
 the  Pictorial  Bible  observes,—-''  It  may  be   added, 
 that  no  act  in  the  punishment  of  crucifixion  was  in 
 itself  mortal,  the  sufferer  died  rather  from  the  con- 
 tinuance and  increase  of  the  unutterable  anguish  and 
 exhaustion    of  his   torturing   position ;" — and    then 
 subjoins  the  account,  already  cited  from  Josephus,  of 
 a   person  known   to    that   historian,  who  had  been 
 crucified  apparently  for   several   hours,   but  having 
 been  taken  down  from  the  cross,  and  committed  to 
 medical    care,    survived    and    recovered.      In   their 
 laborious  attempts  to  prove  that  for  some  time  before 
 his  death  Christ  was  reduced  to  a  state  of  extreme 
 debility,  the  Griiners  strongly  insist  on  the  accessory 
 or  subordinate  sufferings  of  crucifixion,  as  materially 
 concurring  with  the  principal  ones  in  producing  this 
 effect ;  but,  on  an  impartial  examination  of  the  mat- 
 ter, their  insufficiency  is    obvious.     The  scourging, 
 mockery,  and  labour  of  carrying  the  cross,  were  not 
 in  themselves  more  distressing  to  Jesus  than  to  the 
 malefactors  who  accompanied  him ; — his  fasting  and 
 watching    had    not,    at    furthest,    continued    longer 
 than  from  the  preceding  evening ; — his  removal  from 
 place  to  place  was  not  likely  to  be  attended  with 
 much  fatigue,  since  all  the  places  lay  within  a  narrow 
 compass  ; — and  heat  of  climate  could  not  have  been 
 very  oppressive  in  Jerusalem  at  the  vernal  equinox,  to  a 
 native  of  the  country ;  more  especially  when  it  is  consi- 
 dered that,  during  the  last  three  hours  of  his  life,  from 
 the  sixth  to  the  ninth  hour,  the  sun  was  obscured, 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  219 
 
 and  that  in  the  much  hotter  climate  of  central  Africa 
 crucified  persons  usually  live  three  days  on  the  cross.* 
 But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  severity  of 
 the  ordinary  sufferings  of  crucifixion,  whether  prin- 
 cipal or  accessory,  the  sacred  writers  of  the  New 
 Testament  uniformly  represent  Christ  as  bearing 
 them  with  becoming  dignity,  and  without  betraying 
 the  least  weakness  either  of  body  or  mind ;  for  the 
 circumstance  of  Simon  the  Cyrenian  having  been 
 compelled  to  assist  in  carrying  his  cross,  furnishes  no 
 sufficient  proof  that  Christ  was  disabled  by  mere 
 weakness  from  carrying  it  alone.  Whilst  undergoing 
 the  very  act  of  crucifixion,  which  occurred  at  nine  in 
 the  morning,  he  prayed  -for  his  executioners,  and 
 during  the  three  following  hours  evinced  the  utmost 
 patience  and  self-possession,  assured  the  penitent 
 malefactor  that  he  should  that  day  be  with  him  in 
 Paradise,  and  committed  his  afflicted  mother  to  the 
 care  of  the  beloved  disciple,  John.  At  noon,  how- 
 ever, a  remarkable  change  took  place  in  this  respect, 
 evidently  owing  to  a  renewal  of  the  mental  sufferings 
 of  Gethsemane.  On  both  occasions  these  sufferings 
 were  distinguished  from  all  others,  by  beginning 
 and  ending  abruptly,  as  well  as  by  their  peculiar 
 circumstances  and  effects.  On  both  occasions,  the 
 gloom  which  oppressed  the  Redeemer's  soul  was  by 
 divine  appointment  accompanied  with  external  dark- 
 ness, as  its  appropriate  sign  and  illustration.  When 
 he  was  in  the  garden  the  preceding  evening,  it  appears 
 from    astronomical  calculation  that  the  paschal  full 
 
 *  The  Pictorial  Bible,  by  Knight  and  Co.  Note  on  John,  chap,  19, 
 V.  18  ; — Kuinoel,  Lib.  Historic.  Nov.  Test.  Comment  on  Matt, 
 chap.  27,  V.  50. 
 
120 
 
 IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 moon  underwent  a  natural  eclipse  ;  on  which  account, 
 perhaps,  the  numerous  party  which  went  forth  to 
 seize  him  were  provided  with  lanterns  and  torches.* 
 Twelve  hours  later  on  the  same  day,  according  to  the 
 Jewish  mode  of  reckoning,  a  preternatural  darkness 
 overspread  the  whole  land,  from  the  sixth  to  the  ninth 
 hour.  Herehy  were  realized  several  prophecies  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  particularly,  a  most  important  predic- 
 tion of  Joel,  cited  by  the  apostle  Peter  in  his  discourse 
 at  Jerusalem  on  the  subsequent  day  of  Pentecost,  when 
 describing  the  principal  signs  of  that  eventful  time, 
 which  intimated  the  end  of  the  Mosaic,  and  the  com- 
 mencement of  the  Christian  dispensation. — "  It  shall 
 come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  that  I  will 
 pour  out  of  my  Spirit  on  all  flesh,  and  your  sons  and 
 your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  your  young  men  shall 
 see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams. 
 And  also  on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaids  will 
 I  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  in  those  days,  and  they  shall 
 prophesy.  And  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heaven 
 above,  and  signs  on  the  earth  beneath,  blood,  and  fire, 
 and  vapour  of  smoke.  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into 
 darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  coining 
 of  the  great  and  illustrious  day  of  the  Lord ;  and  it  shall 
 be  that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord 
 shall  be  saved." — In  conformity  with  this  prophecy,  on 
 one  and  the  same  day,  the  day  of  Christ's  death  accord- 
 ing to  Jewish  reckoning,  the  two  luminaries  of  heaven 
 were  successively  darkened  ;  first,  the  moon  by  an  ordi- 
 nary eclipse,  which  on  account  of  the  dusky  red  colour 
 with  which  it  is  attended,  is  in  figurative  language 
 
 *  John,  chap.  18,  v.  1 — 3. 
 
DEATH    OF     CHRIST. 
 
 121 
 
 compared  to  blood  ;  and  afterwards,  the  sun,  most  pro- 
 bably by  a  dense  shower  of  volcanic  ashes,  accompany- 
 ing the  repeated  shocks  of  earthquake  by  which,  owing 
 to  divine  interposition,  Palestine,  and  perhaps  some  of 
 the  adjacent  countries,  were  then  convulsed.*  Such  at 
 least  is  the  scriptural  explanation  of  a  similar  occur- 
 rence exhibited  amongst  the  apocalyptic  visions  to  the 
 apostle  John,  when,  on  the  central  pit  or  abyss  of  the 
 earth  being  laid  open,  it  is  said, — "  there  came  up  a 
 smoke  out  of  the  pit  like  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace, 
 and  the  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by  the  smoke  of 
 the  pit." — Such  also  is  the  description,  addressed  by 
 God  himself  to  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  of  the  prodigies 
 which  would  mark  the  downfal  of  Pharaoh  Hophrah  ; 
 and  a  similar  explanation  may  be  given  of — "  the  pal- 
 pable darkness," — which  constituted  one  of  the  plagues 
 of  Egypt  at  an  earlier  period. — "  And  when  I  shall 
 put  thee  out  I  will  cover  the  heaven,  and  make  the 
 stars  thereof  dark.  I  will  cover  the  sun  with  a  cloud, 
 and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light.  All  the  bright 
 lights  of  heaven  will  I  make  dark  over  thee,  and  set 
 darkness  upon  thy  land,  saith  the  Lord  God."f 
 
 The  darkness  which  now  enveloped  the  cross  of  Christ 
 but  faintly  represented  that  which  overwhelmed  his 
 soul,under  a  renewed  sense  of  the  divine  abandonment. 
 During  three  hours  he  endured  in  silent  agony  the 
 
 *  Joel,  chap.  2,  v,  28—32  ; — Amos,  chap.  8,  v.  9  ; — Zeehar.  chap.  14, 
 V.3— 7  ;— Matt.  chap.27,v.45, 51;— Luke,  chap.23,v.44,45  ; — Acts, 
 chap.  2,  V.  14  —  21 ;— Rev.  chap.  6,  v.  12. — In  the  last  passage  the 
 phraseology  is  more  adapted  to  European  usage ; — "  The  sun  becam. 
 black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood.'' 
 
 t  Exodus,  chap.  10,  v.  21—23  ;— Ezek.  chap.  32,  v.  1—8  ;— Revel, 
 chap.  9,  V.  1,  2. 
 
 G 
 
2^0  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 tremendous  infliction.      At  length  about  the  ninth 
 hour,  the  hour  of  sacrifice,  feeling  his  end  approach, 
 he  uttered  the  loud  cry  which  expressed  the  most 
 exalted  piety  combined    with    the    severest   mental 
 anguish;    and  having  committed  his  spirit  into  the 
 hands  of  his  heavenly  Father,  suddenly  bowed  his 
 head,  and  expired.     At  the  same  time  the  darkness 
 cleared  away,  the  mystery  which  had  so  long  veiled 
 the  scene  terminated,  and  the  evening  sun,  shining  on 
 Golgotha  with  renovated  splendour,  revealed  to  the 
 world  the  momentous  fact  of  the  Saviour's  death.  The 
 solemn  spectacle  was  not  however  to  be  long  con- 
 templated.    That  day  was  the  preparation-day,  and 
 at  six  in  the  evening  the  sabbath  began  ;  previously 
 to  which  it  was  necessary,  in  compliance  with  the  laws 
 of  Moses,  that  the  crucified  persons  should  be  des- 
 patched and  removed.    The  Jewish  authorities  there- 
 fore made  the  usual  application  to   Pilate,  and  ob- 
 tained the  necessary  order.    It  was  probably  between 
 four  and  five  in  the  afternoon  when  the  Roman  sol- 
 diers came,  and  broke  the  legs  of  the  two  malefactors 
 who  were  crucified  with  Jesus.     On  finding  him  al- 
 ready dead,  they  abstained  from  offering  this  need- 
 less   violence  to    his    corpse ;    but,  as   if    to  make 
 sure,    one   of  them   with  a  spear  pierced  his  side, 
 whence,  says  the  beloved  disciple,  an  eye-witness  of 
 the    transaction,  —  "  immediately   there    came   forth 
 blood  and  water," — and  with  peculiar  solemnity  re- 
 marks that  the  whole  took  place   under  the  superin- 
 tendence of  divine  providence,  in  fulfilment    of  tW'O 
 ancient  prophecies  concerning  Christ,  one  of  which 
 declared  that    none  of  his  bones  should  be  broken, 
 and  the  other,  that  the  guilty  people  of  Israel  should 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  223 
 
 look  on  him  wliom  they  had  pierced.  Like  the  bra- 
 zen serpent  in  the  wilderness  he  was  now  lifted  up 
 from  the  earth,  that  w^hosoever  looked  to  him  with 
 sincere  penitence  and  cordial  faith  might  not  perish, 
 but  have  eternal  life.* 
 
 Taken  in  conjunction  with  the  events,  these  pre- 
 dictions imply  that  the  Saviour's  death  happened 
 in  an  extraordinary  manner,  and  earlier  than  could 
 naturally  have  been  expected.  Its  immediate  cause 
 was  more  fully  intimated  by  the  flow  of  blood  and 
 water  from  his  wounded  side,  a  remarkable  occur- 
 rence, with  which  a  true  explanation  must  of  course 
 perfectly  agree.  Owing  to  the  necessary  exclusion 
 of  all  other  causes,  as  formerly  shown,  two  only  now 
 remain  to  be  considered  ;  namely,  exhaustion,  and 
 rupture  of  the  heart.  That  death  may  result  from 
 exhaustion,  or  simple  failure  of  vital  power,  occa- 
 sioned either  by  loss  of  blood,  over-excitement, 
 violent  exertion,  or  depressing  passions,  cannot  be 
 doubted,  since  many  cases  of  this  kind  are  on  record, 
 but  the  circumstances  which  attended  the  death  of 
 Christ  are  incompatible  with  such  causes,  and  with 
 such  an  effect ;  whilst  on  the  other  hand  they  are  in 
 perfect  accordance  with  rupture  of  the  heart,  fol- 
 lowed as  a  necessary  consequence  by  effusion  of  blood 
 into  the  pericardium,  and  sudden  suppression  of  the 
 circulation.  That  the  ordinary  sufferings  of  cruci- 
 fixion were  not  sufficient  to  destroy  a  young  and 
 vigorous  person,  either  by    exhaustion  or    in    any 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  12,  v.  43—46  ;— Numb.  chap.  21,  v.  4—9  ;~Deut. 
 chap.  21,  V.  22,  23  ;— Zechar.  chap.  12,  v.  10 ;— John,  chap.  3,  v.  14, 
 15 ;  chap.  12,  v.  30—34  ;  chap.  19,  v.  31—37 ;— Revel,  chap.  1,  v.  7. 
 
 G    2 
 
124;  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE     OF     THE 
 
 other  manner,  witliin  the   short  period  of  six  hours, 
 has  already  been  demonstrated ;  as  likewise  that,  with 
 the  exception  of  his  first  feelings  of  consternation  at 
 Gethsemane,  which  seem  never  to  have  recurred,  the 
 mental  sufferings  of  Christ  were  not  of  a  debilitating, 
 but  of  an  exciting  nature,  consisting  in  a  severe  agony 
 or  struggle  between  two  opposite  motives,  the  desire  of 
 deliverance  from  the  intolerable  sense  of  divine  male- 
 diction, and  the  desire  of  fulfilling  the  will  of  God  by 
 enduring  the  malediction  even  unto  death,  that  by  the 
 atoning  sacrifice  thus  offered  he  might  accomplish  the 
 work  of  human  redemption,  which  was  the  great  ob- 
 ject of  his  coming  into  the  world.     Had  this  struggle 
 been  much  longer  continued,  it  might  possibly  have 
 proved  fatal  by  exhaustion,  but  not  within  the  period 
 of   three    hours    indicated    in    the    sacred    narrative, 
 which  moreover  plainly  proves  by  the  occurrences  pre- 
 ceding and  following  his  death,  that  it  was  occasioned, 
 not  by  weakness,  but  by  violence.    His  energy  of  mind 
 and  body  immediately  before  his  death  was  evinced 
 by  the  most  perfect  self-possession,  and  by  loud  and 
 fervent   exclamations.     The  expressions  used  by  the 
 evangelists  in  describing  his  last  moments  are,  it  is 
 well  known,  emphatic. — "  About  the  ninth   hour," 
 — says  Matthew, — ^^  Jesus  cried  with  aloud  voice,  Eli ! 
 Eli !  lamma  sabachthani  ?  that  is,  my  God  !  my  God ! 
 why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — Even  in   this  mortal 
 struggle  his  mind  was  neither  paralyzed,  nor  engrossed 
 by  his  sufferings,  but  full  of  intelligence,  piety,  and 
 love,  engaged  in  earnest  meditation  on  the  prophecies 
 of  Scripture,  and  taking  an  active  part  in  their  com- 
 pletion.    For  it  was  chitfly  on  this  account,  and  not 
 merel}^  to  satisfy  a  natural  want,  which  in  such  cases 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  |25 
 
 is  exceedingly  urgent,  that  for  the  first  and  only  time 
 he  complained  of  thirst. — "  Jesus,  knowing  that  all 
 things  were  now  accomplished,  that  the  Scripture 
 might  be  fulfilled,  said,  I  thirst." — Hereupon  a  sponge 
 dipped  in  vinegar,  probably  mixed  with  water,  was 
 applied  to  his  lips  by  one  of  the  soldiers,  and  he  soon 
 afterwards — "  cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
 [All]  is  accomplished :  Father !  into  thy  hands  I 
 commit  my  spirit.  Having  thus  spoken,  he  bowed  his 
 head,  and  resigned  his  spirit."* — The  energy  of  mind 
 and  body  thus  displayed  by  the  Saviour  in  the  very  act 
 of  dissolution,  proves  beyond  all  contradiction  that 
 his  sudden  death  was  the  result,  not  of  exhaustion,  but 
 of  some  latent  and  destructive  agency.  Such  was  the 
 impression  which  it  made  on  competent  and  unpreju- 
 diced spectators,  the  Roman  officer  on  duty,  and  his 
 soldiers  ;  for  we  are  told  that — "  when  the  centurion 
 who  stood  opposite,  and  those  who  were  with  him 
 guarding  Jesus,  observed  the  earthquake,  and  the 
 [other]  events,  [and]  that  he  expired  with  such  a  cry, 
 they  feared  greatly,  [and]  gave  glory  to  God,  saying, 
 Certainly  this  man  was  a  Son  of  God." 
 
 Respecting  the  final  exclamation  of  Christ,  the 
 younger  Griiner  has  made  an  apposite  remark,  which  is 
 confirmed  by  other  authors. — "It  is  common" — say  she, 
 — "  for  persons  whose  heart  is  oppressed  by  excessive 
 congestion  of  blood,  with  anxiety  and  palpitation,  and 
 who  are  threatened  with  suffocation,  to  cry  out  with  a 
 
 *  ITfpi  ce  T7JV  ivvciTriv  wpav,  dvefioijaev  6  *Ir]T0VQ  cjxovy  ixtyii\y, 
 
 Xsywv,   &c "O  ^£  'lr](rovQ,7raXiv  Kpd^ag  (pix)vy  fieydXy^ 
 
 d<priKs  TO  TTvtvfxa.     Matt. chap.  27,  v.  46,  50  ;  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  46  ; 
 John,  chap.  19,  v.  28—30. 
 
|2g  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 loud  voice."* — Assuming  that  the  heart  of  Christ  was 
 ruptured,  the  suddenness  of  his  death  implies  a  rapid 
 and  extensive  rent,  the  natural  result  of  violent  action. 
 That  even  during  so  brief  an  interval  there  would  be 
 sufficient  time  for  his  uttering  the  few  words  ascribed 
 to  him  by  the  evangelists,  appears  from  several  record- 
 ed examples,  amongst  others,  from  a  case  mentioned 
 b}'-  Mr.  Griffiths  of  Hereford,  in  the  following  terms. — 
 *'  A  stout  man,  forty- three  years  of  age,  fell  from  the 
 height  of  about  five  feet  on  an  iron  spike,  which 
 wounded  his  left  breast.  Getting  up  without  assist- 
 ance, he  staggered  towards  me,  made  one  or  two  ex- 
 clamations, and  died  in  my  arms  about  two  minutes 
 after  the  accident.  On  examining  the  body,  it  was 
 found  that  the  sixth  rib  on  the  left  side  had  been 
 fractured,  and  that  in  penetrating  the  thoracic  cavity, 
 the  iron  spike  had  driven  in  the  pericardium  without 
 tearing  it,  whilst  the  heart  itself  had  been  ruptured, 
 and  its  bag  completely  filled  with  blood." — A  similar 
 instance  is  related  by  Christian  Vater,  in  the  Ger- 
 man Ephemerides. — '*  I  examined" — says  he, — "the 
 body  of  a  woman  about  thirty  years  of  age,  who,  on  the 
 9th  of  April,  1695,  was  struck  on  the  chest,  and  killed 
 by  a  carriage  running  over  her.  I  observed  that  on  the 
 left  side  the  upper  ribs  near  the  breast  bone,  together 
 with  the  clavicle,  were  fractured,  but  scarcely  de- 
 pressed, whilst  the  pericardium  was  not  at  all  injured. 
 The  right  ventricle  of  the  heart  was,  nevertheless, 
 found  ruptured  to  the  extent  of  more  than  an  inch 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  54  ; — Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  39  ;— Luke,  chap.  23, 
 V.  47 ; — Kuinoel,  Comment  in  Lib.  Hist.  Nov.  Test.,  Matt.  chap. 
 27,  V.  50. 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  ]  27 
 
 not  far  from  the  apex,  and  the  pericardium  was  fully 
 distended  with  blood.  Hence  I  concluded  that  the 
 rupture  had  been  occasioned,  not  so  much  by  the 
 fractured  ribs,  as  by  the  reaction  of  the  blood,  which, 
 under  the  sudden  concussion  and  compression  of  the 
 chest,  had  yielded  a  proportionally  greater  resistance." 
 — Another  case  is  given  by  Ludwig,  in  his  Adversaria. 
 — "  A  robust  young  man  nineteen  years  of  age,  em- 
 ployed as  a  groom,  received  a  violent  kick  on  the 
 breast  from  a  furious  horse,  by  which  he  was  thrown 
 backwards  on  the  ground.  He  speedily,  however, 
 got  up,  and  evinced  a  feeling  of  indignation  ;  but  on 
 hastening  shortly  after  towards  the  stable,  dropped 
 down  dead.  On  inspecting  the  body,  the  sternum  was 
 found  fractured  transversely,  about  four  inches  and  a 
 half  above  its  point,  the  lower  portion  having  been 
 forced  in  so  as,  without  injuring  the  pericardium,  to 
 occasion  a  rupture  of  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart. 
 The  pericardium  was  so  distended  by  a  large  quan- 
 tity of  transparent  serum  and  coagulated  blood,  as  to 
 push  the  lungs  upwards.  The  yellowish  serum  con- 
 tained in  its  cavity  exceeded  half  a  pound.  The 
 heart  was  encompassed  by  much  clotted  blood,  which 
 adhered  to  it  on  all  sides,  and  was  perceived  to  have 
 escaped  slowly  through  a  fissure  detected  in  the 
 margin  of  the  right  auricle." — These  cases  afford 
 a  further  proof  that  in  such  occurrences  death  is  less 
 attributable  to  the  rupture  of  the  heart,  abstractedly 
 considered,  than  to  the  extravasation  of  blood  into 
 the  pericardial  sac* 
 
 *  Miscellan.  Acad.  Curios.  Naturae;  Dec.  3;  Ann.  9  et  lU; 
 pp.  293,  294  ;—C.  D.  Ludwig,  Adversaria  Medico- Practica;  3  vols. 
 8vo.  Lipsise,  1769  ;  vol.  i.  pp.  136,  137. 
 
12S  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 SECTION    III. 
 
 The  flow  of  blood  and  water  from  the  side  of  Christ, 
 when  pierced  some  time  after  his  death  by  the  soldier's 
 spear,  has  been  a  source  of  difficulty  and  perplexity 
 both  to  ancient  and  modern  commentators.  To  ac- 
 count for  so  extraordinary  a  circumstance,  many  of  the 
 former  had  recourse  to  their  favourite  expedient  of 
 miraculous  interposition,  designed,  as  they  imagined, 
 to  convey  important  symbolical  instruction.  Several 
 of  the  latter,  amongst  whom  the  Bartholines  and  the 
 Griiners  are  the  most  considerable,  have  on  the  con- 
 trary ascribed  it  to  serous  effusion,  either  into  the  peri- 
 cardial or  pleural  sacs,  naturally  produced  by  that  ex- 
 treme debility  which  they  suppose  to  have  attended  the 
 Saviour's  death.  The  two  opinions  are,  it  is  evident, 
 mutually  destructive,  and  for  the  refutation  of  both, 
 the  arguments  already  proposed  might  perhaps  be 
 deemed  sufficient,  but  others  will  here  be  added.  In 
 favour  of  miraculous  agency  for  such  a  purpose,  nei- 
 ther necessity  nor  proof  can  be  alleged,  and  that  w^hich 
 really  occurred  on  this  occasion  was  of  a  widely  dif- 
 ferent character.  It  will  now  be  shown  that  serous 
 effusion  into  the  pectoral  cavities  did  not  take  place, 
 and,  if  it  had,  would  not  account  for  the  fact ;  whilst 
 rupture  of  the  heart,  which  furnishes  a  complete  so- 
 lution of  it,  is  distinctly  intimated  by  all  the  circum- 
 stances. In  order  to  explain  the  effusion  of  blood 
 and  water  from  the  side  of  Christ,  it  is  necessary  to 
 understand  the  nature  of  the  wound  inflicted  on  him, 
 namely,  that  it  was  a  stab  to  the  heart.  This  appears 
 from  the  prediction  of  Zechariah  quoted  by  John, — 
 "  They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  pierced ;" — for 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  |29 
 
 in  this  passage  both  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  terms 
 signify  a  fatal  wound,  and  in  the  Old  Testament  the 
 meaning  of  the  former  is  almost  always  that  of  stab- 
 bing to  the  heart,  a  practice  familiar  to  the  ancient 
 Israelites,  on  which  account  mention  is  so  often  made 
 in  that  portion  of  Scripture  of  smiting  under  the  fiftli 
 rib;  so  that  the  prediction  might  with  perfect  pro- 
 priety have  been  rendered, — "  They  shall  look  on  him 
 whom  they  pierced  to  the  heart."* — It  appears  also, 
 from  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  the  evident 
 intentions  of  the  soldier  in  wounding  the  body  ot 
 Christ ;  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  through  mere 
 wantonness  or  insolence,  but  for  a  very  reasonable 
 and  even  necessary  purpose,  namely,  to  ascertain,  or 
 insure  his  death.  For  the  soldiers  had  received  a 
 command  from  the  Roman  governor  to  despatch  the 
 crucified  persons,  in  order  that  their  bodies  might  be 
 removed  and  buried  before  sunset,  then  rapidly  ap- 
 proaching. After  breaking  the  legs  of  the  two  male- 
 factors they  came  to  Jesus,  whom  in  appearance  as 
 well  as  in  reality,  they  found  alread}?^  dead.  But  tlie 
 sudden  death  of  a  young  and  robust  man,  after  a 
 crucifixion  of  only  six  hours,  was  extraordinary,  and 
 
 *  "  npi,  to  thrust  through,  to  pierce,  stab,  as  with  a  sword  or 
 spear." — Gesenius's  Hebrew  and  English  Lexicon  ; — "  'EtcKev-kw, 
 pungo,  stimulo,  transfigo,  transverbero ; — Nyrrw,  vel  'NvaaM,  pungo, 
 punctim  coedo,  vulnero,  fodico ;" — Schleusner's  Lexicon  of  the  Greek 
 Test. — See  also  Numbers,  chap.  25,  v.  6 — 8  ; — Judges,  chap.  9, 
 V.  53,  54  ; — 1  Sam.  chap  31,  v.  3, 4  ;— 2  Sam.  chap.  2,  v.  22, 23  ;  chap, 
 3,  V.  27;  chap.  4,  v.  5,  6;  chap.  18,  v.  14;  chap.  20,  v.  9,  10;— 
 1  Chron.  chap.  10,  v.  3,  4; — Prov.  chap.  12,  v.  18; — Isaiah,  chap.  13, 
 V.  15  ; — Jerem.  chap.  37,  v.  9,  10  ;  chap.  51,  v.  4  ; — Lament,  chap.  4, 
 V.  9  ; — Zechar.  chap.  12,  v.  10  ; — John,  chap.  19,  v.  34,  37  ;— ReveL 
 chap.  1,  V.  7  ;  &c. 
 
 G    O 
 
J  30  IMMEDIATE  CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 to  them  unaccountable.  Like  the  G rimers,  and  other 
 modern  authors,  the  soldiers  might  readily  have  sus- 
 pected that  he  was  not  actually  dead,  but  only  in  a 
 tainting  state,  and  they  had  good  reason  to  make  sure 
 of  the  fact ;  for,  if  through  carelessness  or  mistake 
 they  had  suffered  any  of  the  crucified  persons  to 
 escape,  they  would  have  been  answerable  for  the  neg- 
 lect with  their  lives.  An  example  of  such  severity 
 occurs  in  Luke's  account  of  the  persecution  of  the 
 early  Christians  at  Jerusalem  by  Herod  Agrippa  I., 
 who,  having  been  disappointed  in  his  designs  against 
 Peter,  owing  to  the  deliverance  of  the  apostle  from 
 prison  by  miraculous  interposition,  ordered  the  guards, 
 although  perfectly  innocent  in  the  matter,  to  be  put 
 to  death. 
 
 The  Roman  practice  of  despatching  in  some  in- 
 stances crucified  persons  by  breaking  their  legs, 
 stabbing  them  with  swords  or  spears,  &c.,  is  well 
 known,  and,  as  above  noticed,  has  been  fully  de- 
 scribed by  Salmasius,  Lipsius,  Bosius,  and  others. 
 When  the  soldier,  therefore,  pierced  the  side  of 
 Christ,  he  did  nothing  more  than  w^hat  was  usual,  and, 
 having  such  an  object  in  view,  would  naturally  inflict 
 a  decisive  wound,  that  is,  a  stab  to  the  heart.  This 
 opinion  has  accordingly  been  adopted  by  a  great 
 number  of  theological  writers,  many  of  whom  are 
 cited  by  Thomas  Bartholinus,  a  Danish  physician,  w^ho, 
 however,  in  an  express  treatise  on  the  subject  follows 
 the  guidance  of  his  father  Caspar,  and  objects  to  this 
 opinion  for  no  better  reason  than  that,  when  speaking 
 of  the  wound,  and  of  the  scar  which  remained  after 
 Christ's  resurrection,  the  evangelist  John  mentions 
 the  side  only,  and  not  the  heart.     As  a  faithful  wit- 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  I^J 
 
 ness  of  the  transaction,  John  of  course  relates  only 
 what  he  saw,  but  leaves  his  readers  to  draw  a  rational 
 inference  from  the  facts  described,  which  can  be  none 
 other  than  that  here  stated.*     The  subject  is  treated 
 with   considerable  accuracj^    in   the   Pictorial  Bible, 
 from  which  the  following  is  an  extract : — '^  In  the 
 accounts  of  our  Lord's  crucifixion  there  are  several 
 circumstances   which    exhibit   differences    from    the 
 customary  practice  of  the  Romans,  and  which  were  in 
 fact  so  many  points  of  accommodation  to  the  pecu- 
 liar  notions  of  the    Jews,  and   operated   rather  fa- 
 vourably for  the   condemned  persons.     In  the  first 
 place,  the  Romans  usually  left  the  crucified  ones  to 
 linger  on  in   their  tortures  till  life  became  extinct, 
 and  this  commonly  did  not  happen  till  the  third  or 
 fourth  day,  and  some  even  lingered  until  the  seventh. 
 Soldierswere  stationed  to  prevent  interference  or  relief 
 from  friends,  till  they  were  dead,  and  a  guard  was  even 
 afterwards  maintained,  that  the  bodies  might  not  be 
 stolen  away  and  buried.     For  the  Romans  left  the  bo- 
 dies to  consume  on  the  crosses,  as  formerly  [happened] 
 on  gibbets  in  this  country,  by  the  natural  progress  of 
 decay,  or  from  the  ravenings  of  birds,  or,  if  the  cross 
 were  low,  beasts  of  prey.     But,   as  such  lingering 
 deaths,  as  well  as  the  continued  exposure  of  the  body, 
 were  most  wisely  and  mercifully  forbidden  by  the 
 letter  and  spirit  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which  directed 
 that  criminals — '  hanged  on  a  tree ' — should  be  taken 
 down  before  sunset,   the  Roman  soldiers   in  Judea 
 were  directed  to  extinguish,  on  the  approach  of  sunset, 
 
 *  Thomas  Bartliolinus,  De  latere  Christi  aperto,  &c,,  pp.  17 — 22, 
 45,"  &c. ; — Idem.  Epistola  ad  Hieron.  Bardium,  pp.  5G5 — 570. — Acts, 
 chap.  12,  V.  18,  19. 
 
13^2  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OP    THE 
 
 what  remained  of  life  in  those  upon  the  cross.  We 
 see  that  the  two  thieves  were  thus  despatched  by  their 
 legs  being  broken,  and  the  body  of  Christ  would 
 doubtless  have  been  thus  treated ;  but  it  had  been 
 foretold  that  not  a  bone  of  him  should  be  broken, 
 and  he  expired  before  this  became  necessary.  The 
 spear-thrust  given  him  by  the  soldier  was  doubt- 
 less to  ascertain  whether  he  were  really  dead,  or 
 only  in  a  swoon,  and  the  resulting  evidence  that 
 life  had  departed  from  him  rendered  further  mea- 
 sures unnecessary  ;  indeed,  the  wound  then  inflicted, 
 being  in  the  left  side,  piercing  the  pericardium,  as 
 evinced  by  the  outflow  of  blood  and  lymph,  would 
 have  been  sufficient,  and  was  no  doubt  intended  to 
 produce  death,  if  Jesus  had  not  been  dead  already. 
 (See  John,  chap.  19,  v.  3S.)  Piercing  the  side  is 
 said  to  have  been  one  of  the  common  methods 
 of  accelerating  the  death  of  crucified  persons, 
 as  well  as  the  breaking  of  their  bones."* — Nearly 
 similar  is  the  view  taken  by  Rambach. — "  The 
 indignity" — says  he, — *'  offered  to  our  Saviour's  body 
 was  this  :  a  soldier  with  a  spear  stabbed  it  in 
 the  breast,  or  side.  This  was  done,  indeed,  out  of 
 wantonness  or  insolence ;  or  perhaps  the  soldier  might 
 at  the  same  time  have  an  intention  of  trying  whether 
 Jesus  was  really  dead,  or  only  in  a  swoon.  He 
 therefore  stabs  him  with  a  spear  near  the  heart,  that 
 he  might  see  whether  he  had  still  any  life  in  him ; 
 so  that  by  giving  him  a  wound  he  designed  to  des- 
 patch him,  in  case  any  life  remained  in  him.  That 
 it  was  no  small  wound  which  the  spear  made  in 
 the    breast  of    our   blessed   Lord,    but   a  large  in- 
 
 *  Pictorial  Bible ;  Note  on  Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  43. 
 
DEATH  OF  CHRIST.  ]  ^g 
 
 cision,  appears  from  what  he  says  to  the  incre- 
 dulous Thomas  after  his  resurrection,  —  *  Reach 
 hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side.' — What 
 followed  this  injurious  piercing  of  our  Saviour's  side 
 is  likewise  mentioned  by  St.  John  in  these  words  ; — 
 *  And  forthwith  came  thereout  blood  and  water.' — 
 This  was  undoubtedly  an  extraordinary  event,  shice 
 the  providence  of  God  directed  the  soldier's  spear  to 
 make  an  incision  in  the  place  where  these  different 
 humours  were  lodged,  and  at  the  same  time  hindered 
 these  two  fluids  from  intermixing ;  for  St.  John,  who 
 stood  by,  could  plainly  distinguish  both  blood  and 
 water  issuing  from  the  wound." — On  a  subject  of  this 
 kind,  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Priestley  is  not  undeserving 
 of  notice. — "  The  death  of  Jesus" — he  observes, — 
 '*was  so  evident  to  the  soldiers  who  attended  the 
 execution,  and  who  no  doubt  (being  used  to  the 
 business)  were  sufficient  judges  of  the  signs  of  death, 
 that,  concluding  him  to  be  actually  dead,  they  did  not 
 break  his  bones,  as  they  did  those  of  the  other  per- 
 sons who  were  executed  along  with  him.  One  of 
 them,  however,  did  what  was  fully  equivalent  to  it, 
 for  he  thrust  a  spear  into  his  side,  so  that  blood  and 
 water  evidently  flowed  out  of  the  wound.  Now, 
 though  we  may  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  water, 
 it  was  certainly  impossible  so  to  pierce  the  body  as 
 that  blood  should  visibly  and  instantly  flow  from  the 
 wound,  without  piercing  either  the  heart  itself,  or 
 some  large  blood-vessel,  the  rupture  of  which  would 
 have  been  mortal."* — The  views  of  the  Griiners  con- 
 
 *  Rambach,  On  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,  vol.  iii.  pp.  271,  272  ;  — 
 Dr.  Priestley,  On  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus,  pp.  12,  13. 
 
jg^  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 cerning  this  point  are  to  tlie  same  effect,  and  on  ac- 
 count of  the  medical  character  of  the  authors,  are 
 perhaps  still  more  entitled  to  attention. 
 
 Admitting  therefore  as  a  fact,  that  not  long  after 
 the  death  of  Christ  his  heart  was  pierced  by  a  spear, 
 the  next  inquiry  relates  to  the  blood  and  water 
 which  immediately  flowed  from  the  wound.  On 
 this  subject  two  opinions  have  prevailed  in  modern 
 times :  the  one,  that  the  blood  and  water  were 
 mixed,  and  derived  from  one  or  both  of  the  pleural 
 sacs;  the  other,  that  they  issued  separately,  the  blood 
 from  the  heart,  the  water  from  the  pericardium. 
 The  former  opinion  was  supported  by  the  Bartho- 
 lines,  the  latter  by  the  Griiners.  Before  entering 
 into  this  discussion,  it  may  be  proper  to  state  for  the 
 information  of  readers  not  familiar  with  anatomical 
 details,  that  as  the  heart  is  surrounded  by  the 
 pericardium,  so  each  lung  is  enveloped  by  a  double 
 membrane  or  bag,  called  the  pleural  sac,  adhering 
 by  its  outer  surface  to  the  lung  and  side,  and  in- 
 closing between  its  layers  a  space  or  cavity,  which 
 in  health  is  merely  bedewed  with  a  little  watery  fluid 
 or  vapour,  serving  the  purpose  of  lubrication  ;  but  in 
 certain  morbid  states  is  capable  of  containing  a  con- 
 siderable quantity  of  serous  liquid,  either  pure,  or 
 tinged  with  blood.  In  reference  to  the  efl*usion  of 
 blood  and  water  from  the  side  of  Christ,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
 Hewlett,  a  commentator  of  judgment  and  research, 
 expresses  himself  in  the  following  dubious  manner. — 
 "  Medical  writers  afford  numerous  instances  of  a  large 
 eflTusicn  of  bloody  lymph  into  the  cavities  of  the 
 pleura,  from  diseases  of  the  lungs,  and  in  cases  of 
 violent  death  with  long  struggling A  skilful 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  235 
 
 and  learned  physician  informed  the  editor  that  in  cases 
 of  violent  and  painful  death  there  is  usually  an  effu- 
 sion of  lymph,  or  of  lymph  mixed  with  blood,  into 
 
 the  cavities  of  the  chest  and  abdomen It  is, 
 
 however,  reasonable  to  acquiesce  with  those  who  are 
 of  opinion  that  the  evangelist  here  intended  to  ex- 
 press more  than  a  pathological  fact." — The  physician 
 meant  in  this  passage  was  no  doubt  the  late  Dr. 
 Willan,  who — in  his  "  History  of  the  Ministry  of 
 Jesus  Christ," — makes  a  similar  remark,  equally  in- 
 dicative of  doubt  and  uncertainty. — **  We  have  in- 
 stances of  watery  effusion  into  the  cavities  of  the 
 pleura  to  a  considerable  amount,  in  cases  of  violent 
 
 death  with  long  struggling The  phenomenon 
 
 here  mentioned  by  the  evangelist  is  generally  looked 
 on  as  miraculous."* 
 
 Hieronymus  Bardus  ascribes  the  blood  to  the  heart, 
 and  the  water  to  the  pericardium,  both  of  which  he 
 supposes  were  pierced  by  the  soldier's  spear  ;  but 
 is  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  the  two  liquids 
 could  have  issued  separately  without  a  miracle, 
 which  to  this  extent  he  consequently  admits.  His 
 correspondent  Thomas  Bartholinus  judiciously  re- 
 jects supernatural  agency  altogether,  but  his  own 
 view  of  the  matter  is  equally  inadmissible.  He 
 objects  to  the  notion  that  the  heart  and  pericardium 
 were  wounded,  because  in  that  case  he  imagines 
 their  contents  would  not  have  flowed  out  imme- 
 diately nor  completely,    but    that   a  part    of  them 
 
 *  He-wlett's  Bible,  &c. ;  Notes  on  John,  chap.  19,  v.  34,  and  Acts, 
 chap.  1,  V.  18  ; — Dr.  Willan,  History  of  the  Ministry  of  Jesus  Christ, 
 &c. ;  p.  195. — Mr.  Hewlett  also  regards  Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  43,  44,  as 
 of  doubtful  authority. 
 
136  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 would  have  escaped  into  the  bottom  of  the  chest. 
 He  therefore  prefers  the  explanation  proposed  by 
 his  father  Caspar,  and  previously  mentioned  ;  namely, 
 that  the  spear  opened  one  of  tlie  pleural  sacs,  and 
 discharged  a  collection  of  bloody  serum,  which 
 he  thinks  would  naturally  have  been  formed  there 
 during  the  sufferings  of  crucifixion,  especially  in  a 
 person  of  delicate  frame  and  feeble  constitution, 
 which,  like  Priestley  and  others,  he  improperly  attri- 
 butes to  Christ.  The  Griiners,  on  the  contrary, 
 maintain  the  opinion  of  Bardus,  with  the  addition  of 
 some  erroneous  notions  of  their  own.  Thus,  in 
 commenting  on  John,  chap.  19,  v.  3i,  the  elder  Grii- 
 ner  observes, — "  It  was  doubtless  the  left  side  that 
 was  pierced  by  the  soldier's  spear.  According 
 to  the  testimony  of  John,  immediately  after  the 
 infliction  of  this  wound  there  flowed  out  blood  and 
 water.  Such  an  effusion  could  scarcely  have  taken 
 place  except  from  the  left  side,  under  which,  besides 
 the  lung,  lies  the  pericardium  full  of  water  when  a 
 person  dies  after  extreme  anxiety,  as  likewise  the 
 heart,  connected  with  the  arch  of  the  aorta.  The 
 lung  slightly  wounded  might  have  yielded  a  little 
 blood,  but  certainly  not  water.  That  conjecture  is 
 therefore  the  most  probable,  and  the  most  in  accord- 
 ance with  forensic  medicine,  which  derives  the  blood 
 from  the  [left]  ventricle  of  the  heart,  and  the  water 
 from   the  pericardium."* — In  a  special  treatise  on 
 
 *  Thomas  Bartholinus,  De  Latere  Christi  aperto,  &c.  pp.  1 7 — 
 22,  45,  165; — Hieron.  Bardus,  Epist.  ad  Thorn.  Bartholinura,  ibid, 
 pp.  553—656 ; — Thorn.  Bartholinus,  Epist.  ad  Hieron.  Bard,  re- 
 scripta,  pp.  565— 570;— Kuinoel,  Comment,  in  Lib.  Historic.  Nov. 
 Test.,  John,  chap.  19,  v.  34. 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  Jg* 
 
 the  cross  and  crucifixion,  Kipping  draws  the  same 
 conclusion,  with  the  exception  of  regarding  the  water 
 poured  out  on  this  occasion  as  naturally  contained 
 in  the  pericardium. — "  The  soldier" — he  remarks, 
 — "  pierced  with  a  spear  the  Redeemer's  left  side,  not 
 to  try  whether  he  was  dead,  but,  supposing  that  he 
 was  in  a  dying  state,  to  deprive  him  entirely  of  life, 
 and  put  an  end  to  his  pains  ;  also,  that  he  might 
 thus  be  [legally]  removed  from  the  cross,  on  which 
 according  to  the  Jewish  law  he  could  not  be  left. 
 lie  transfixed  the  heart,  for  it  was  from  thence  that 
 the  blood  flowed,  and  by  the  same  stroke  previously 
 wounded  the  pericardium,  which  contains  a  quantity 
 of  water  for  the  purpose  of  cooling  the  excessive  heat 
 of  the  heart." — This  opinion  has  been  adopted  by 
 Biiihop  Watson  in  his  Apology  for  the  Bible. — 
 "  John"' — says  he, — '^  tells  us  that  he  saw  one  of  the 
 soldiers  pierce  the  side  of  Jesus  with  a  spear,  and 
 that  blood  and  water  flowed  through  the  wound  ; 
 and  lest  any  one  should  doubt  of  the  fact  from  its 
 not  being  mentioned  by  the  other  evangelists,  he 
 asserts  it  with  peculiar  earnestness; — '  And  he  that 
 saw  it  bare  record,  and  his  record  is  true,  and  he 
 knoweth  that  he  saith  true,  that  ye  might  believe.' — 
 J  ohn  saw  blood  and  water  flowing  from  the  wound ;  the 
 blood  is  easily  accounted  for,  but  whence  came  the  wa- 
 ter ?  The  anatomists  tell  us  that  it  came  from  the  peri- 
 cardium. So  consistent  is  evangelical  testimony  with 
 the  most  curious  researches  into  natural  science."* 
 
 *  M,  H,  Kipping,  De  Cruce  et  Cruciariis,  pp.  187 — 19.t  ; — 
 Bishop  Watson,  Apologies  for  Christianity,  and  the  Bible,  pp. 
 313,  314. 
 
133  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE     OF    THE 
 
 This  consistency  is  indeed  perfectly  admirable,  and 
 extends  much  further  than  the  learned  bishop  could 
 have  imagined,  but  not  exactly  in  the  manner  which 
 he  supposed :  for  in  the  ordinary  state  of  things 
 the  quantity  of  water  found  in  the  pericardium 
 after  death  is  so  minute,  that  in  a  case  like  that 
 under  consideration  it  would  have  been  absolutely 
 imperceptible.  Haller  states  that  a  small  quan- 
 tity of  water,  not  exceeding  a  few  drachms,  has 
 frequently  been  found  in  the  pericardium  of  ex- 
 ecuted persons;  but,  except  under  very  peculiar 
 or  morbid  circumstances,  the  eminent  anatomists 
 John  and  Charles  Bell  deny  the  occurrence  altoge- 
 ther.— "  If" — they  observe, — "  a  person  have  laboured 
 under  a  continued  weakness,  or  have  been  long  dis- 
 eased, if  a  person  have  lain  long  on  his  death-bed,  if 
 the  body  have  been  long  kept  after  death,  there  is 
 both  a  condensation  of  the  natural  halitus  in  all  the 
 parts  of  the  body,  and  an  exudation  of  thin  lymph 
 from  every  vessel,  there  is  water  found  in  every 
 cavity  from  the  ventricles  of  the  brain  to  the  cavity 
 of  the  ankle-joint,  and  so  in  the  pericardium  amongst 
 the  rest.  But,  if  you  open  a  living  animal,  as  a  dog, 
 or  if  you  open  suddenly  the  body  of  suicides,  or  if 
 you  have  brought  to  the  dissecting-room  the  body 
 of  a  criminal  who  has  just  been  hanged,  there  is  not 
 in  the  pericardium  one  single  particle  of  water  to  be 
 found.  When  such  fluid  is  to  be  found,  it  is  of  the 
 same  nature  with  the  dropsical  fluids  of  other  cavities. 
 In  the  child,  and  in  young  people,  it  is  reddish, 
 especially  if  the  pericardium  be  inflamed  ;  in  older 
 people  it  is  pellucid,  or  of  a  light  straw  colour ;  in 
 old  age,  and  in  the  larger  animals,  it  is  thicker,  and 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  139 
 
 more  directly  resembles  the  liquor  of  a  joint." — 
 The  slight  discrepancy  observable  between  writers 
 on  this  subject  may,  as  Klefeker  has  remarked,  be 
 referred  to  their  having  described  the  state  of  the 
 pericardium  under  very  different  circumstances.  Na- 
 turally it  exhibits  scarcely  anything  which  deserves 
 the  name  of  liquid ;  but  after  some  forms  of  violent 
 death,  more  especially  when  attended  with  obstructed 
 circulation,  it  may  contain  a  little  serum,  either  pure 
 or  mixed  with  blood.  An  effusion  of  the  latter  kind 
 is  said  to  have  been  noticed  in  stags  killed  after  a 
 hard  chase ;  and  in  some  rare  instances  of  sudden 
 death  occasioned  by  strong  mental  emotion,  the  peri- 
 cardium has  been  found  distended  with  blood,  owing 
 probably,  as  Morgagni  suspected,  to  organic  disease, 
 and  the  rupture  of  vessels ;  but  for  the  statement  of  the 
 Griiners,  that  after  death  accompanied  with  anxiety 
 the  pericardium  is  full  of  water,  there  is  no  evidence.* 
 Whether,  however,  such  conditions  are  of  common 
 occurrence  or  not,  their  occurrence  at  the  death  of 
 Christ  is  disproved  by  the  well-known  facts  of  the 
 case.  Neither  the  period  of  three  hours  occupied  by 
 his  peculiar  mental  sufferings,  nor  that  of  six  hours 
 which  comprised  the  entire  crucifixion,  were  sufficient 
 to  occasion  in  a  young  and  vigorous  person  such  an 
 effusion  of  blood  or  serum  into  the  pectoral  cavities 
 
 *  Haller,  Element  Physiolog.  Corp.  Human,  vol.  i.  pp.  282, 283  ; — 
 John  and  Charles  Bell,  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Body,  vol..  ii. 
 p.  53—55  ; — Johan  Bohn,  De  Renunciatione  Vulnerum,  pp.  226, 
 227  ;— J.  P.  Klefeker,  De  Halitu  Pericardii,  pp.  25—28 ;— G.  M. 
 Zecchinelli.  Sulla  Angina  del  Petto,  &c.  vol.  i.  pp.  95,  96  ;— Morgagni, 
 De  Causis  et  Sedibus  Morborum,  vol.  iii.  pp.  462 — 467, 
 
140  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 as  is  here  supposed.  Had  it  really  happened  within 
 so  short  a  space  of  time,  it  would  have  produced 
 symptoms  of  debility  and  suffocation,  quite  incompa- 
 tible with  the  intelligence,  the  presence  of  mind,  and 
 the  loud  and  pious  exclamations  which  immediately 
 preceded  his  death  ;  and  the  manner  of  that  death,  in- 
 stead of  being  sudden  and  unexpected,  would  have 
 been  slow  and  progressive.  Still  less,  if  possible, 
 would  such  an  effusion  have  accorded  with  the  dis- 
 charge of  blood  and  water  from  the  side  of  Christ, 
 when  afterwards  pierced  by  the  soldier's  spear.  As 
 this  remarkable  fact  was  witnessed  by  the  apostle 
 John,  a  person  of  humble  rank,  destitute  of  medical 
 or  other  learning,  and  at  the  time  of  observation  pro- 
 bably removed  to  some  distance  from  the  cross,  whilst 
 the  soldiers  were  occupied  in  despatching  the  cruci- 
 fied persons,  it  is  obvious  that  the  discharge  of  blood 
 and  water  must  have  been  considerable,  and  the  dis- 
 tinction between  the  two  substances  strongly  marked. 
 Bloody  serum,  whether  originally  effused  in  that  state, 
 or  resulting  from  subsequent  mixture,  would  not 
 have  presented  this  character  ;  for  it  would  neither 
 have  issued  rapidly,  nor  in  sufficient  quantity,  nor 
 would  its  distinction  from  ordinary  blood  have  been 
 so  striking  as  to  have  attracted  the  attention  of  an 
 uninformed,  and  somewhat  distant  spectator.  More- 
 over, unless  blood  has  been  previously  extravasated, 
 little  or  none  can  by  any  kind  of  wound  be  extracted 
 from  a  dead  body,  except  by  the  action  of  gravity, 
 the  heart  being  usually  empty,  or,  if  otherwise,  de- 
 void of  power  to  expel  its  contents.  This  important 
 fact,  overlooked  by  most  other  writers,  ^v^as  perceived 
 and  acknowledged  by  the  Griiners,  who  nevertheless 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  J^| 
 
 failed  to  discover  the  true  explanation,  and  were  in- 
 duced to  adopt  the  inadmissible  opinion,  that  Christ 
 was  not  actually  dead  when  pierced  by  the  soldier's 
 spear,  but  merely  in  a  faint  and  languid  condition, 
 which  allowed  the  heart  to  act  feebly,  and,  on  being 
 wounded,  to  pour  forth  its  blood  preceded  by  the 
 water,  which  they  suppose  had  previously  collected 
 in  the  pericardium. — "  Blood  and  water" — they  re- 
 mark,— "  flow^ed  from  the  wound  together,  and  as  it 
 appears  with  force,  which  is  the  act  not  of  a  dead, 
 but  of  a  living  body.  Therefore,  when  Christ  on  the 
 cross  was  stabbed  by  the  soldier,  he  still  retained  a 
 degree  of  life,  although  extremely  feeble  and  ready 
 to  expire ;  but  on  receiving  the  wound  in  his  breast, 
 he  must  be  regarded  as  having  truly  and  suddenly 
 died,  for  by  this  wound  the  fountain  of  life  must  have 
 been  exhausted,  and  its  small  remaining  force  entirely 
 extinguished." — In  confutation  of  this  opinion  it  is 
 sufficient  to  adduce,  as  has  been  already  done,  the 
 testimony  of  the  evangelists,  that  the  condition  of 
 Christ  immediately  before  his  death  was  not  that 
 of  debility,  but  of  agony,  and  that  he  died  some  time 
 before  receiving  the  wound  with  the  spear,  and  not 
 of  course,  as  the  Griiners  and  others  pretend,  in 
 consequence  of  that  wound.  The  statement  of  John 
 on  this  point  is  clear  and  decisive. — "  So  the  soldiers 
 came,  and  broke  the  legs  of  the  first  and  of  the  other 
 who  w^as  crucified  with  Jesus ;  but  on  coming  to  him, 
 as  they  perceived  that  he  was  already  dead,  they  did 
 not  break  his  legs:  oneof  the  soldiers,  however, pierced 
 his  side  with  a  spear,  and  immediately  there  came  forth 
 blood  and  water." — But  supposing,  for  the  sake  of 
 argument,  that  Jesus  was  really  although  feebly  alive 
 
142 
 
 IMMEDIATE     CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 at  the  time,  there  could  have  been  little  or  no  efFu- 
 sion  of  any  kind,  and  certainly  none  of  blood  and 
 water  from  his  side  when  it  was  pierced  with  a  spear ; 
 for  in  such  cases  there  is  little  or  no  serous  fluid  in 
 the  pericardium,  the  blood  does  not  separate  into  its 
 constituents,  and  the  heart  is  nearly  empty,  and 
 scarcely  able  to  maintain  the  slightest  motion  in  its 
 contents,  much  less  to  discharge  them  with  force  from 
 the  body  ;  so  that,  after  all,  nothing  is  gained  by  this 
 extravagant  and  antiscriptural  supposition.  The  ne- 
 glect or  contradiction  by  these  otherwise  estimable 
 authors  of  the  narratives  of  the  evangelists,  as  if  they 
 were  not  entitled  to  the  fullest  confidence,  is  much  to 
 be  regretted,  since  it  vitiates  their  reasonings  on  the 
 subject,  and  leaves  a  painful  impression  that  they 
 were  not  entirely  free  from  the  lax  and  neological 
 sentiments  which  they  undertook  to  oppose.* 
 
 It  will  now  be  shown  that  the  efliision  of  blood  and 
 water  from  the  side  of  Christ,  whereof  no  satisfactory 
 solution  can  otherwise  be  given,  is  fully  explained  by 
 the  rupture  of  his  heart ;  and  that  the  exact  and  cri- 
 tical accordance  of  this  presumed  event  with  all  the 
 circumstances  of  the  case,  taken  in  conjunction  with 
 the  arguments  previously  adduced,  may  justly  be 
 regarded  as  completing  the  demonstration  that  it  was 
 the  true  and  immediate  cause  of  his  death.  It  has 
 been  already  proved  that  in  such  cases  rupture  of  the 
 heart  is  the  result  of  its  own  violent  action,  and  gene- 
 rally occurs  in  the  left,  or  principal  ventricle.  Of 
 such   action   the  mental   agony   endured   by    Christ 
 
 *  Kuinoel,  Comment,  in   Lib.   Historic.  Nov.  Test.,  John,  chap. 
 19,v.  31— 34. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  |^^ 
 
 during  the  last  three  hours  of  his  crucifixion,  and 
 which  not  long  before  forced  from  him  a  bloody 
 sweat,  was  a  real  and  adequate  cause  ;  and  the  rapid 
 manner  of  his  death  implies  that  the  rent  was  large 
 and  sudden.  Rapid  as  it  was,  the  space  of  a  minute 
 or  two  would  naturally  however  intervene,  and  this 
 would  afford  a  sufficient  time  for  his  uttering  the  two 
 short  sentences  ascribed  to  him  by  the  evangelists, — 
 ["  All]  is  accomplished :  Father !  into  thy  hands  I 
 commit  my  spirit ;" — as  likewise  for  a  discharge  of 
 blood  from  the  ruptured  heart  into  its  inclosing  cap- 
 sule. The  excessive  excitement  which  led  to  this 
 catastrophe  would  occasion  the  words  to  be  pro- 
 nounced with  vehemence,  and  the  previous  accumu- 
 lation in  the  heart  and  great  vessels  produced  by 
 such  excitement  would  cause  the  effusion  to  be 
 copious.  From  the  researches  of  Lancisi,  Ramaz- 
 zini,  Morgagni,  and  other  anatomists,  it  appears  that 
 a  quart  of  blood,  and  sometimes  much  more,  might 
 thus  be  collected  in  the  pericardium,  where  it  would 
 speedily  separate  into  its  solid  and  liquid  consti- 
 tuents, technically  called  crassamentum  and  serum, 
 but  in  ordinary  language, — "  blood  and  water."* — 
 Several  instances  have  been  adduced  of  the  common 
 use  of  such  language  even  by  medical  writers,  and,  as 
 before  observed,  it  is  not  less  natural  than  common, 
 since  the  crassamentum  contains  the  greater  part  of 
 the  solid  and  more  essential  ingredients  of  the  blood. 
 
 *  B.  Ramazzini,  Opera,  p.  171 ; — J.  M.  Lancisi,  Opera,  vol.  i., 
 pp.  157—159,  &c.  ; — Morgagni,  De  Causis  et  Sedibus  Morborum, 
 vol.  ii.  pp.  296,  297;  vol.  iii.  pp.  442,  443;  vol.  iv.  p.  557.— See 
 also  Dr.  Fischer's  case,  at  pp.  97,  98. 
 
1^4-  IMMEDIATE     CAUSE     OF     THE 
 
 whilst,  with  the  exception  of  albumen,  the  serum 
 consists  chiefly  of  water.  Accordingly,  in  the  book 
 of  Exodus,  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb  sprinkled  at 
 evening  on  the  lintel  and  door-posts  of  the  Israelitish 
 dwellings  in  Egypt,  is  still  termed  blood  when  viewed 
 by  the  destroying  angel  at  midnight,  although  at  that 
 time  nothing  but  the  solid  coagulum  could  have 
 remained.*  Other  examples  of  a  similar  kind  will  be 
 subjoined.  It  has  also  been  shown  that,  as  the  object 
 of  the  soldier  in  wounding  the  body  of  Christ  must 
 have  been  either  to  ascertain,  or  to  insure  his  death, 
 he  would  purposely  aim  at  the  heart,  and  therefore 
 transfix  the  lower  part  of  the  left  side,  an  act  suffi- 
 ciently intimated  by  the  statement  of  the  evangelist, 
 — *'  They  did  not  break  his  legs  :  one  of  the  soldiers, 
 however,  pierced  his  side  with  a  spear." — In  so  doing 
 he  would  open  the  pericardium  obliquely  from  below ; 
 and,  supposing  that  capsule  to  be  distended  with 
 crassamentum  and  serum,  and  consequently  pressed 
 against  the  side,  its  contents  would  by  the  force  of 
 gravity  be  instantly  and  completely  discharged  through 
 the  wound,  in  a  full  stream  of  clear  watery  liquid  in- 
 termixed with  clotted  blood,  exactly  corresponding  to 
 the  remaining  clause  of  the  sacred  narrative, — '"  and 
 immediately  there  came  forth  blood  and  water." — 
 The  amount  of  such  contents  must  of  course  vary 
 with  the  circumstances,  but  may  be  very  considerable, 
 and  therefore,  when  outwardly  discharged,  sufficient!}^ 
 conspicuous.  In  one  of  the  instances  on  record 
 it  was — '^  about  a  quart  of  blood  and  water ; " — in 
 another, — "  five    or  six  pounds   by  weight ;" — in  a 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  12,  v.  21—23. 
 
DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  145 
 
 third, — "  an  immense  quantity  of  coagulated  blood  ;" 
 — and  in  two  cases  of  spontaneous  rupture  of  the  left 
 ventricle  of  the  heart  described  by  Taxil  St.  Vincent, 
 — "an  enormous  collection  of  half-coagulated  blood."* 
 It  will  next  be  shown  that,  whilst  such  an  effusion 
 would  necessarily  have  followed  rupture  of  the  heart, 
 it  could  not  have  occurred  under  any  other  con- 
 ceivable circumstances ;  thus  proving,  by  a  sort  of 
 experimentum  crucis  which  leaves  no  alternative,  that 
 the  former  was  truly  and  exclusively  the  immediate 
 cause  of  the  Saviour's  death.  The  laws  which  regu- 
 late the  separation  of  the  blood  into  its  constituents 
 are  still  involved  in  some  degree  of  obscurity,  partly, 
 because  the  process  is  connected  with  the  mysterious 
 principle  of  life,  which  the  blood  possesses  in  common 
 with  the  solids  of  the  body.  In  its  perfect  and  living 
 state  the  blood  is  a  complex  but  uniform  liquid,  com- 
 posed chiefly  of  water,  albumen,  and  fibrine,  holding  in 
 solution  minute  quantities  of  saline  matters,  and  hav- 
 ing diffused  through  it  numerous  organized  particles, 
 which,  being  the  source  of  its  colour,  are  called  the 
 red  globules.  This  constitution  of  the  blood  is  main- 
 tained more  or  less  completely  as  long  as  it  remains 
 within  the  vascular  system,  and  during  life ;  but  on 
 the  failure  of  either  of  these  conditions,  it  undergoes 
 a  remarkable  change.  In  ordinary  circumstances,  the 
 blood  when  discharged  from  its  vessels  soon  loses  its 
 vitality,  and  not  long  after  becomes  dissevered.  The 
 fibrine  spontaneously  concretes  into  a  soft  spongy 
 mass,  within  the  interstices  of  which  the  red  globules 
 are  entangled  and  detained.     The  other  ingredients, 
 
 *  Journal  Universel  des  Sciences  Medicales,  vol.  xix.  pp.  257 — 260, 
 
 H 
 
146  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 namely  t^ne  water,  albumen,  and  saline  matters,  con- 
 tinue liquid ;  and  as  the  specific  gravity  of  the  two 
 portions  is  different,  they  necessarily  separate  from 
 each  other,  and  there  results  a  large  quantity  of 
 transparent  straw-coloured  liquid,  in  which  a  smaller 
 quantity  of  dark  red  coagulum  sinks  or  swims,  ac- 
 cording as  it  is  more  or  less  firmly  consolidated.  The 
 blood  retained  in  the  vascular  system  after  death 
 often  undergoes  a  somewhat  similar  change,  but  nei- 
 ther so  rapidly,  nor  so  completely.  The  coagulation  of 
 the  fibrine  takes  place  more  slowly,  the  red  globules 
 are  more  uniformly  diff'used  amongst  the  other  ingre- 
 dients, and  the  consequence  is,  that  in  the  heart  and 
 vessels  of  dead  bodies  pale  or  red  coagula  often  occur, 
 but  clear  and  colourless  serum  is  very  seldom  found. 
 If,  however,  at  or  before  death  blood  is  extravasated 
 into  the  pericardium,  or  any  of  the  other  serous  cap- 
 sules, it  suffers  the  same  change  as  if  it  were  removed 
 from  the  body ;  that  is  to  say,  it  speedily  separates 
 into  serum  and  crassamentum. 
 
 In  confirmation  of  these  statements,  some  autho- 
 rities and  examples  will  now  be  cited.  The  influ- 
 ence of  vital  conditions  in  modifying  the  spon- 
 taneous decomposition  of  the  blood  is  mentioned 
 by  several  physiologists. — "  In  persons  killed  by 
 lightning,"  —  says  Mr.  Mayo, — "by  blows  on  the 
 stomach,  by  the  bite  of  venomous  serpents,  or 
 through  the  influence  of  acrid  vegetable  poisons,  or 
 in  persons  dying  from  violent  mental  emotion,  the 
 blood  is  said  to  be  found  fluid,  and  the  muscles  do 
 not  become  rigid."* — The  principle  was  more  fully 
 
 *  Herbert  Mayo,  Outlines  of  Human  Physiology,  pp.  30,31. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  J^'7 
 
 expounded  by  the  celebrated  John  Hunter,  who 
 writes  as  follows : — "  In  many  diseases  not  inflam- 
 matory, namely,  those  called  putrid,  where  the  solids 
 have  a  tendency  to  fall  into  those  changes  natural  to 
 animal  matter  deprived  of  its  preserving  principle,  the 
 
 blood  has  no  disposition  to  coagulate Many 
 
 kinds  of  death,  as  well  as  putrid  diseases,  produce  this 
 effect  on  the  blood,  an  instance  of  which  was  met  with 
 in  a  gentleman,  who,  being  in  perfect  health,  died 
 instantaneously  from  passion  ;  this  having  been  so 
 violent  as  to  produce  death  in  every  part  at  once,  and 
 his  blood  did  not  coagulate.  A  healthy  woman  was 
 taken  in  labour  of  her  fourth  child.  As  the  child 
 was  coming  into  the  world,  the  woman  died  almost 
 instantly.  On  opening  the  body  next  day,  there 
 appeared  no  cause  for  death  whatever,  every  part 
 being  natural  and  sound;  but  the  blood  was  in  a 
 fluid  state,  nor  did  it  coagulate  on  being  exposed.  A 
 soldier,  a  healthy  young  man,  confined  for  desertion, 
 received  a  blow  on  the  pit  of  his  stomach  from  one  of 
 his  comrades,  from  which  he  dropped  down,  and  died 
 almost  instantly.  On  opening  the  body  no  preterna- 
 tural appearance  was  observed,  but  the  blood  was  in 
 a  perfectly  fluid  state,  and  did  not  coagulate  when 
 taken  out  of  the  vessels,  and  exposed  a  considerable 
 time.  In  animals  struck  dead  by  lightning  the  blood 
 does  not  coagulate,  nor  [do]  the  muscles  contract,  both 
 being  killed  at  once.  There  are  other  instances. 
 Two  deer  were  hunted  to  death,  in  which  case  they 
 acted  till  the  very  power  of  action  ceased,  and  of 
 course  death  ensued.  On  opening  them  the  blood  was 
 fluid,  only  a  little  thickened,  and  the  muscles  were  not 
 rigid,  as  we  find  them  where  they  are  capable  of  acting 
 
 H  2 
 
]48  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 from  the  stimulus  of  death.  In  both  cases  the  life  of 
 the  solids  and  of  the  blood  was  destroyed  at  the  same 
 time,  and  at  once."* — These  observations  strongly 
 support  the  conclusion  already  established,  that  the 
 death  of  Christ  was  not  the  result  of  simple  exhaus- 
 tion, occasioned  either  by  the  ordinary  sufferings  of 
 crucifixion,  or  by  the  influence  of  powerful  passions, 
 independently  of  rupture  of  the  heart ;  since  in  the 
 former  case  he  could  neither  have  exhibited  for  so 
 long  a  time  the  signs  of  mental  and  bodily  energy, 
 nor  could  his  blood  after  death  have  divided  into  its 
 constituents ;  a  process  which  the  opposite  state  of 
 agony  must  on  the  contrary,  by  exalting  vital  action, 
 have  tended  to  promote.  In  mentioning  the  flow  of 
 blood  and  water  from  the  side  of  Christ,  it  is  most 
 probable  that  the  apostle  John  was  at  first  unac- 
 quainted with  the  nature  and  import  of  the  fact 
 which  he  related  ;  but  that  by  meditation  and  inquiry 
 he  subsequently  became  aware  of  the  different  con- 
 ditions assumed  by  blood  under  different  circum- 
 stances ;  and  hence,  in  Rev.  xvi.  3,  when  describing 
 the  visionary  conversion  of  the  sea  into  liquid  blood, 
 he  says, — **  'EyeVero  aijua  wj  v€Kpov  ;  It  became  blood 
 like  that  of  a  corpse." 
 
 The  fact  that  clear  serum  is  very  rarely  found  within 
 the  heart  and  great  vessels,  and  consequently  that 
 the  blood  of  Christ,  which  actually  separated  into 
 its  constituents,  must  have  been  previously  extrava- 
 sated  into  some  internal  cavity  where  that  change 
 might  have  taken  place,  is  proved  by  the  most  satis- 
 factory  evidence.      Schwencke,    one   of  the    earlier 
 
 *  John  Hunter,  Works,  vol.  i.  pp.  238,  239. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  |^J,C) 
 
 writers  on  this  subject,  briefly  remarks, — "  In  dead 
 bodies  the  separation  of  the  blood  into  its  parts  is  not 
 strictly  observed,  for  within  the  vessels  it  is  found 
 mixed  and  fluid." — Mr.  Paget,  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
 Hospital,  who  has  witnessed  several  hundreds  of  dis- 
 sections, and  taken  accurate  notes  of  the  condition  of 
 the  blood  found  after  death  in  nearly  a  hundred  and 
 fifty  of  the  bodies  which  he  examined,  intimates  in 
 a  published  report,  and  still  more  explicitly  in  a 
 letter  to  the  author, — "  I  have  never  found  clear 
 serum,  such  as  I  could  suppose  to  be  separated  from 
 the  blood  in  its  coagulation,  collecting  in  any  part  of 
 the  body  after  death." — Dr.  John  Davy,  whose  prac- 
 tice as  an  army  physician  has  been  most  extensive, 
 was  for  many  years  accustomed  in  the  examination  of 
 dead  bodies  to  pay  attention  to  the  condition  of  the 
 blood  in  the  heart  and  great  vessels,  especially  in 
 reference  to  coagulation,  and  of  about  two  hundred 
 of  these  inspections  he  has  published  detailed  ac- 
 counts. The  result  is  that,  although  he  has  found 
 the  blood  either  wholly  solid,  wholly  liquid,  or  in 
 various  intermediate  conditions,  he  met  with  only  a 
 single  instance,  and  that  under  very  peculiar  circum- 
 stances, in  which  a  portion  of  clear  serum  was  de- 
 tached from  the  crassamentum.*  In  his  excellent 
 work  on  Human  Physiology,  Dr.  Carpenter  remarks, 
 — "  Instances  occasionally  present  themselves  in 
 which  the  blood  does  not  coagulate  after  death,  and 
 in  most  of  these  there  has  been  some  sudden  and 
 violent  shock  to  the  nervous  system,  which  has  de- 
 
 *  Thomas  Schwencke,  Haematologia,  pp.  90,  91 ;— Dr.  John  Davy, 
 Researches  Physiological  and  Anatomical,  vol.  ii.  pp.  190 — 213. 
 
150  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 stroyed  the  vitality  of  solids  and  fluids  alike.  This 
 is  generally  the  case  in  men  and  animals  killed  by 
 lightning,  or  by  strong  electric  shocks,  and  in  those 
 poisoned  by  prussic  acid,  or  whose  life  has  been  de- 
 stroyed by  a  blow  on  the  epigastrium.  It  has  also 
 been  observed  in  some  instances  of  rupture  of  the 
 heart,  or  of  a  large  aneurism  near  it,  and  a  very 
 interesting  phenomenon  then  not  unfrequently  pre- 
 sents itself ;— the  coagulation  of  the  blood  which  has 
 been  effused  into  the  pericardium,  (the  effusion  having 
 taken  place  during  the  last  moments  of  life,)  whilst 
 that  in  the  vessels  has  remained  fluid."* — The  variable 
 tendency  of  blood  in  dead  bodies  either  to  separate 
 into  its  constituents  or  not,  according  as  it  is  situated 
 within  or  without  the  vascular  system,  and  the  occur- 
 rence of  a  complete  division  into  crassamentum  and 
 colourless  serum  in  extravasated  blood  only,  are  here 
 stated  so  distinctly  as  almost  to  preclude  the  necessity 
 of  any  further  quotations ;  but  for  the  sake  of  illustra- 
 tion a  few  examples  will  be  annexed. 
 
 The  Commentaries  of  the  Academy  of  Bologna,  for 
 1757,  contain  an  account  by  Galeati  of  a  man  who, 
 after  having  long  enjoyed  good  health,  and  taken  much 
 equestrian  and  other  exercise,  adopted  a  sedentary 
 mode  of  life,  in  consequence  of  which  he  laboured  for 
 more  than  thirty  years  under  various  pains  and  ail- 
 ments, and  at  length  died  suddenly.  Besides  several 
 other  lesions  observed  in  the  body,  a  small  rupture  was 
 found  in  the  left  ventricle  of  the  heart ;  and  the  peri- 
 cardium was  so  distended  as  to  occupy  a  third  part  of 
 
 *  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter's  Principles  of  Human  Physiology,  &c. 
 pp.  475,  476. 
 
DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  151 
 
 the  cavity  of  the  chest.  On  opening  it,  a  large  quan- 
 tity of  serum  was  discharged,  and  two  pounds  of  clotted 
 blood  were  seen  adhering  at  the  bottom. — In  the  Lon- 
 don MedicalRepository  for  1814,  Mr,  Watson  relates 
 the  case  of  a  gentleman  between  fifty  and  sixty  years 
 of  age,  who  died  suddenly  from  the  rupture  of  an 
 aneurism  of  the  aorta ;  and  observes, — "  The  sac  had 
 burst  by  an  aperture  of  nearly  three  fourths  of  an 
 inch  in  length  into  the  pericardium,  which,  as  well 
 as  the  sac  itself,  was  filled  with  coagula  and  serum, 
 to  the  amount  of  about  five  pounds." — The  London 
 Medical  and  Physical  Journal  for  May,  182^,  reports 
 from  the  Paris  Atheneum  of  Medicine,  an  instance  of 
 spontaneous  rupture  of  the  heart  in  a  gentleman  aged 
 about  sixty-five  years,  of  moderate  habits,  and  in  the 
 full  enjoyment  of  health.  With  the  exception  of  the 
 rupture,  the  heart  was  in  every  respect  perfect,  its  sub- 
 stance being  neither  softer  nor  thinner  than  usual. — 
 "  The  pericardium,  which  appeared  much  distended, 
 had  a  blueish  colour,  and  presented  an  evident  degree 
 of  fluctuation,  contained  a  quantity  of  serum  and 
 coagulated  blood." — The  same  Journal,  for  April, 
 1826,  mentions  a  case,  in  which  a  small  aneurism  of 
 the  aorta  burst  by  a  minute  orifice  into  the  pericardial 
 sac,  and  occasioned  immediate  death, — "On  opening 
 the  body,  the  pericardium  was  found  to  be  distended 
 with  blood ;  separated  however  into  coagulum  and 
 serum."* — Wheeler's  Manchester  Chronicle,  for  No- 
 
 *  Comment,  de  Rebus  in  Scient.  Nat.  et  Medicina  gestis.  8vo, 
 Lipsiae,  1758  :  vol.  vii.  pp.  389,  390. — London  Medical  Repository, 
 vol.  i.  pp.  99 — 102  ; — London  Med.  and  Phys.  Journal,  vol.  xlvii. 
 pp.  432,  433;  vol.  Iv.  pp.  271—274. 
 
152  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 vember  22nd,  1834,  describes  a  diseased  aorta,  which 
 had  ruptured  by  a  small  aperture  into  the  pericar- 
 dium, and  must  have  induced  almost  instantaneous 
 death.      On  inspection  the  heart  was  found  enlarged, 
 and — 'Hhe    pericardium" — says    the    surgeon,  Mr. 
 Oilier, — "  contained    about    a    quart   of    blood,    and 
 water ;" — which  he  afterwards  explains  by  saying,— 
 "  The    blood  was  separated,    although    indistinctly, 
 into  serum  and  crassamentum." — Morgagni  relates  a 
 similar  case  ;  also  another,  in  which  an  aneurism  of 
 the  aorta  produced  sudden   death  by  bursting  into 
 the  left  pleura,  which  inclosed  a  large  quantity   of 
 clear  water  and  coagulated  blood,  whilst  the  blood  in 
 the  heart  and  vessels  was  liquid  and  black.     The  late 
 Sir  David  Barry  died  suddenly,  owing  to  the  bursting 
 of  an  aneurism  of  the  aorta  into  the  right  pleural  sac, 
 which   contained    a  great  quantity  of   clear  serum, 
 intermixed  with  large  coagula  of  blood,  the  whole 
 effusion    amounting   to  full  five  pints.     A  parallel 
 case  is  reported  in  the  Edinburgh  Medical  and   Sur- 
 gical Journal  for  January,    1843,  in  which, — "  the 
 cavity  of  the  right  pleura  was  found  to  be   almost 
 filled  with  blood,  which  had  separated  into  serum 
 and  crassamentum ;    the  former  amounted  to  three 
 pints,  and  the  coagulated  portion,  which  was  exceed- 
 ingly firm,  weighed  about  three  pounds." — The  Dub- 
 lin Medical  Transactions,  for  1830,  mention  the  case 
 of  a  robust  man  who  died  suddenly  from  pulmonary 
 hemorrhage  bursting  into  the  left  pleural  sac,  which 
 on  examination  was  found  to  contain — ^*  about  three 
 quarts  of  blood,   the   serum   supernatant  to   a  great 
 degree,  as    in    blood    allowed  to  stand    after  vene- 
 section, and  the   clot  in   considerable   quantity,  but 
 
DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  253 
 
 very  soft,  occupying    the    most   dependent   portion 
 
 of  the   cavity The    heart  was   sound,    and 
 
 empty  of  blood,  and  the  blood  of  the  body  generally 
 was  fluid."* 
 
 The  facts  above  stated  are,  it  is  presumed,  sufficient 
 to  prove  that  the  blood  and  water  which  flowed  from 
 the  side  of  Christ,  when  pierced  by  the  soldier's  spear, 
 were  the  result  of  a  previous  effusion  into  the  peri- 
 cardial sac  of  a  quantity  of  blood,  which  had  there 
 separated  into  serum  and  crassamentum,  and  was 
 derived  from  rupture  of  the  heart.  The  only  con- 
 ceivable alternatives  are  simple  hemorrhage  into 
 the  pericardium,  and  dilatation  of  one  or  more  of  the 
 cardiac  chambers ;  each  of  which  conditions  might, 
 like  rupture  itself,  be  induced  by  violent  action  of 
 the  heart  owing  to  agony  of  mind,  and  in  each  of 
 which  the  blood  might  be  found  after  death  divided 
 into  its  constituents.  Of  these  alternatives  the  former 
 is  liable  to  the  objection,  that  the  few  instances  of 
 the  kind  placed  on  record  seem  to  have  depended 
 either  on  the  rupture  of  a  blood  vessel,  or  on  some 
 peculiar  laxity  of  the  pericardial  capillaries,  implying 
 local  debility  or  disease.  But,  as  no  defect  of  this 
 or  any  other  description  could  have  existed  in  the 
 body  of  Christ,  which  was  perfect  and  vigorous,  and 
 when  previously  tested  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane 
 had  been  proved  to  be  free  from  such  predisposition, 
 this  solution  is  inadmissible.    Objections  still  stronger 
 
 *  Morgagni,  De  Caus.  et  Sed.  Morb.  vol.  iii.  pp.  116—118;  433 
 —436. — Medico-Chirurg.  Review  for  1836,  vol.  xxiv.,  pp.  298—300. 
 Edinb.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal;  vol.  lix.  pp.  115 — 117. — Dublin 
 Med.  Trans.  New  Series,  vol.  i.  part  i.  pp.  11 — 16. 
 
 h3 
 
l^^  IMMEDIATE    CAUSE    OF    THE 
 
 apply  to  the  other  alternative,  namely,  dilatation  of 
 one  or  more  of  the  cardiac  chambers,  for  in  that  case 
 neither  would  the  mode  of  death  have  been  equally 
 speedy  and  sudden,  nor  would  the  quantity  of  blood 
 retained  in  the  heart  have  exceeded  a  few  ounces ; 
 and,  as  even  of  this  small  quantity  the  whole  could 
 scarcely  have  been  discharged  through  the  wound 
 made  by  the«  spear,  the  consequent  flow  of  blood 
 and  water  would  not  have  been  sufficiently  conspicu- 
 ous to  attract  the  attention  of  the  evangelist  John, 
 and  induce  him  to  insert  it  in  his  narrative.  A 
 weightier  objection  is  suggested  by  the  different  time 
 required  for  the  coagulation  of  blood,  according  as  it 
 is  situated  within  or  without  the  vascular  system. 
 When  effused  into  the  pericardium,  owing  to  a 
 rupture  of  the  heart  which  proves  almost  immedi- 
 ately fatal,  its  mode  of  concretion  cannot  materially 
 differ  from  that  which  occurs  when  it  is  drawn  from 
 the  body  during  life.  In  the  latter  case  it  happens, 
 generally  speaking,  in  a  few  minutes,  and  the  com- 
 plete separation  of  the  serum  and  crassamentum  in 
 an  hour ;  the  process  being  more  rapid  when  the 
 original  temperature  of  the  blood  is  maintained, 
 than  when  it  is  allowed  to  cool.*  From  a  great 
 number  of  accurate  dissections,  Mr.  Paget  has  as- 
 certained that  this  change  takes  place  much  more 
 slowly  in  blood  remaining  after  death  within  the 
 heart  and  great  vessels,  than  in  that  which  has  been 
 removed  from  them. — *^  In  the  majority  of  cases" — 
 
 *  Hewson  on  the  Blood,  pp.  1,  5,  25,  26,  120  ;— Hey,  pp.  37, 
 38;— Hunter,  pp.  19,  21,  22  ;— Wilson,  pp.  28— 31  ;— Thackrah, 
 pp.  33,  34,  67,  91. 
 
DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  l^^ 
 
 he  observes, — "the  blood  does  not  coagulate  in 
 the  body  for  the  first  four  hours  after  its  rest  has 
 commenced,  and  in  many  it  remains  fluid  for  six, 
 eight,  or  more  hours,  and  yet  coagulates  within  a  few- 
 minutes  of  its  being  let  out  of  the  vessels."* — This 
 important  fact,  not  hitherto  generally  known,  is  deci- 
 sive of  the  point  now  under  consideration.  For  the 
 death  of  Christ  happened  at  the  ninth  hour,  that  is 
 about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  on  Friday,  the 
 first  day  of  the  paschal  festival,  which  as  is  well  known 
 was  celebrated  at  the  vernal  equinox;  and  his  body  was 
 embalmed  and  laid  in  the  tomb  before  six  the  same 
 evening,  when  the  sun  set,  and  the  Jewish  sabbath 
 began.  Between  the  time  of  his  death  and  that  when 
 his  side  was  pierced  by  the  soldier,  the  longest  inter- 
 val which  can  with  any  probability  be  assigned  is 
 two  hours ;  an  interval  which,  although  abundantly 
 sufficient  for  the  separation  of  extravasated  blood 
 into  its  constituents,  more  especially  in  the  pericar- 
 dium of  a  body  still  warm,  and  fixed  in  an  erect 
 posture  on  a  cross,  was,  as  it  now  appears,  far  too 
 short  for  the  coagulation  of  blood  still  remaining  in 
 the  heart. 
 
 In  conclusion  it  may  therefore  with  certainty  be 
 affirmed,  that  between  the  agony  of  mind  which  the 
 Saviour  endured  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  the 
 profuse  sweat  mixed  with  clotted  blood  which  so 
 rapidly  followed  it,  violent  palpitation  of  the  heart 
 must  necessarily  have  intervened ;  this  being  the  only 
 
 *  James  Paget,  Esq.  On  the  Coagulation  of  the  Blood  after  Death ; 
 in  the  London  Medical  Gazette  for  1840; — New  Series,  vol.  i. 
 pp.  613— 618. 
 
l^Q        IMMEDIATE    CAUSE  OF    THE   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 
 
 known  condition  which  could  have  been  at  once  the 
 effect  of  the  former  occurrence,  and  the  cause  of  the 
 latter.  In  like  manner,  when  on  the  cross  this  agony 
 was  renewed,  and  by  the  addition  of  bodily  suffering 
 was  increased  to  the  utmost  intensity,  no  other  known 
 condition  could  have  formed  the  connecting  link 
 between  that  mental  anguish  and  his  sudden  death, 
 preceded  by  loud  exclamations,  and  followed  by  an 
 effusion  of  blood  and  water  from  his  side  when  after- 
 wards pierced  with  a  spear,  than  the  aggravation  even 
 to  rupture  of  the  same  violent  action  of  the  heart,  of 
 which  the  previous  palpitation  and  bloody  sweat  were 
 but  a  lower  degree,  and  a  natural  prelude.  If,  whilst 
 every  other  explanation  hitherto  offered  has  been 
 shown  to  be  untenable,  the  cause  now  assigned  for 
 the  death  of  Christ,  namely,  rupture  of  the 
 HEART  FROM  AGONY  OF  MIND,  has  been  proved 
 to  be  the  result  of  an  actual  power  in  nature, 
 fully  adequate  to  the  effect,  really  present  without 
 counteraction,  minutely  agreeing  with  all  the  facts  of 
 the  case,  and  necessarily  implied  by  them,  this  cause 
 must  according  to  the  principles  of  inductive  reason- 
 ing be  regarded  as  demonstrated. 
 
PART  II. 
 
 ELUCIDATION    OF     SCRIPTURAL     TRUTH    BY    THE 
 FOREGOING    EXPLANATION. 
 
 CHAPTER  I. 
 
 ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OP    ATONEMENT     IN     RELATION    TO    THE 
 DEATH    OF     CHRIST. 
 
 If  the  view  above  taken  of  the  immediate  cause  of 
 the  death  of  Christ  is  correct,  it  ought  to  be  in  per- 
 fect harmony  with  all  the  representations  made  on 
 the  subject  in  Scripture,  whether  in  the  form  of 
 types,  prophecies,  narratives,  symbols,  doctrines,  or 
 precepts.  To  show  that  this  is  really  the  case,  and 
 that  it  not  only  agrees  with  all  the  inspired  state- 
 ments, but  also  affords  them  new  and  valuable  ilhis- 
 tration,  thereby  acquiring,  if  that  were  necessary, 
 additional  evidence  for  itself,  is  the  object  of  the 
 remaining  part  of  this  treatise. 
 
 Had  it  pleased  God  to  proclaim  atonement  by  the 
 blood  of  Christ  as  a  matter  of  simple  revelation,  it  would 
 have  been  the  duty  of  mankind  to  accept  the  testimony 
 without  further  inquiry.  Since,  however,  he  has  chosen 
 that  it  shall  be  not  onl}^  declared  as  a  doctrine,  but  also 
 demonstrated  as  a  fact,  it  becomes  at  once  their  duty 
 
158  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 and  their  privilege  to  examine  with  devout  attention 
 the  evidence  whereby  he  proves  that  he  pardons  sin 
 without  clearing  the  guilty,  and — "  is  just  even  in 
 justifying  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus."* — That  sinful 
 beings  could  not  be  thus  justified  by  an  arbitrary  act 
 of  grace,  but  only  through  the  medium  of  an  atone- 
 ment, that  is,  by  a  competent  victim  suifering  in  their 
 stead  the  penalty  due  to  their  sins,  is  the  dictate  both 
 of  reason  and  of  revelation.    The  laws  of  God,  like  the 
 divine  essence  itself,  are  immutable,  and  constantly  in 
 action.  Their  claims  are  imperative  and  inviolable.  To 
 pardon  transgression  without  demanding  compensation 
 would  render  the  judge  an  accomplice  with  the  crimi- 
 nal ;  and  in  no  other  way  can  the  bolt  of  vengeance  be 
 averted  from  the  head  of  the  guilty,  than  by  falling 
 on  that  of  a  suitable  substitute.     Yet,  it  may  natu- 
 rally be   asked,    How  can   these   things  be  ?     The 
 penalty  due  to  sin  is  nothing  less  than  the  divine 
 malediction.     Was  it  either  just  or  possible  that  this 
 malediction  should  fall  on  the  beloved  Son  of  God, 
 in  whom  the  Father  was  ever  well  pleased,  and  never 
 more  so  than  when  he  was  thus  achieving  by  his  death 
 the  salvation  of  mankind  ?      To  elucidate   in   some 
 degree  this  point,  without  pretending  to  fathom  all 
 the  depths  of  a  subject  which  in  its  full  comprehen- 
 sion exceeds  the  capacity  of  the  human  mind,  it  may 
 be  observed  that  the  primitive  character  both  of  sin 
 and  of   its   punishment   is    negative.     In   violating 
 moral  principle  the  sinner  abandons  God,  and,  by  a 
 necessary  reaction,  God,  who   is   as   it  were   moral 
 principle    personified,    abandons    him;    not    indeed 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  34,  v.  5—7 ;— Rom.  chap.  3,  v.  23—26. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  |59 
 
 totally,  for  that  would  be  annihilation,  but  to  the 
 precise  extent  prescribed  by  consummate  equity 
 and  wisdom.  His  outward  support  he  withdraws  in 
 part,  the  enjoyment  of  his  friendship  and  the  sancti- 
 fying influence  of  his  Spirit  he  withdraws  entirely ; 
 but  still  retains  the  prerogative  of  providing  an  atone- 
 ment in  harmony  with  all  his  attributes,  and  of  there- 
 by restoring  the  sinner,  otherwise  without  hope  and 
 without  God  in  the  world,  to  grace  and  succour,  and 
 consequently  to  rectitude  and  happiness.  The  misery 
 inseparable  from  sin  depends  primarily  on  loss  of 
 the  divine  favour  and  protection,  and  not  on  any 
 positive  infliction  from  that  adorable  Being  whose 
 work  is  perfect,  whose  nature  is  love,  and  who  cannot 
 be  directly  the  author  of  evil,  either  physical  or  moral. 
 It  depends  more  immediately  on  bereavement  of  the 
 conditions  necessary  to  happiness  ;  on  disorder  inter- 
 nal and  external,  producing  anguish,  disease,  and 
 death  ;  and  on  exposure  to  the  assaults  of  other  de- 
 praved beings,  more  especially,  Satan  and  his  angels. 
 In  sustaining  the  divine  malediction,  the  impenitent 
 sinner  is  distressed  by  those  evils  only  which  are  its 
 remote  result.  In  reference  to  God,  his  desperate 
 enmity  prompts  him  to  say, — "  Depart  from  me,  for 
 I  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  thy  ways  ;" — but,  could 
 such  an  infliction  befall  a  pure  and  perfect  human 
 being,  his  language  would  be, — "  Cast  me  not  away 
 from  thy  presence,  and  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from 
 me."* — As  such  a  being  could  not  however  thus 
 suflfer  on  his  own  account,  but  only  as  the  substi- 
 tute of  others,  it  will  here  be  proper  to  inquire  what 
 
 *  Job,  chap.  21,  v.  14,  15  ;— Psalm  51,  v.  11. 
 
IQQ  ON     THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 are  the  conditions  requisite  to  constitute  an  atoning 
 victim,  capable  of  propitiating  divine  justice,  and  of 
 making  reconciliation  for  transgressors. 
 
 The  Scriptures,  v^hicli  in  such  an  inquiry  must 
 be  our  principal  guide,  represent  the  atonement 
 as  having  regard  not  only  to  the  intrinsic  nature 
 of  God,  but  also  to  his  relative  character,  as  the 
 moral  governor  of  the  universe.  Hence  it  was 
 necessary  that  it  should  be  both  adequate  and  ex- 
 emplary, for  an  insufficient  and  clandestine  trans- 
 action, under  the  name  of  an  atonement,  would 
 have  been  rather  an  insult  than  a  satisfaction. 
 In  a  work  planned  and  executed  by  the  Deity,  it 
 might  be  expected  that  the  three  sacred  persons 
 would  perform  their  respective  and  appropriate 
 offices  ;  and  they  are  accordingly  found  harmoniously 
 co-operating  in  every  step  of  the  process.  To  consti- 
 tute a  suitable  mediator  between  God  and  man,  it  was 
 requisite  that  the  two  natures  should  be  intimately 
 associated,  and  that  the  human  nature  thus  adopted, 
 although  derived  from  a  fallen  race,  should  be  pure 
 and  perfect.  Hence  the  necessity  for  that  special 
 interposition  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  conception  of 
 Christ,  which  is  so  plainly  described  in  Luke's  gos- 
 pel. By  means  of  this  mysterious  union,  the  sufter- 
 ings  and  death  which  the  human  nature  alone  could 
 sustain,  were  invested  with  that  transcendent  dignity 
 and  value  which  the  divine  nature  alone  could  im- 
 part.*    To  render  an  atonement  for  human  guilt,  it 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  1,  v.  18— 25;— Luke,  chap.  1,  v.  26—38  ;— 1  Tim. 
 chap.  2,  V.  5,  6;— Heb.  chap.  2,  v.  9—18;  chap.  4,  v.  14—16; 
 chap.  7,  V.  13—17,  23-28  ;  chap.  9,  v.  11—15. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  JgJ 
 
 was  necessary  that  the  victim  thus  provided  should 
 endure  the  penalty  incurred,  namely,  the  divine 
 malediction,  which  in  such  a  case  could  assume  no 
 other  outward  form  than  that  of  a  public  execu- 
 tion, wherein  all  parties  concerned  should  in  some 
 measure  concur  in  acknowledging  the  innocence  of 
 Christ,  and  at  the  same  time  in  subjecting  him  to  a 
 cruel  and  ignominious  death,  such  as  that  of  cruci- 
 fixion. It  was  further  necessary  to  show  that  he 
 died  not  merely  as  a  martyr,  but  as  a  victim.  For  this 
 purpose  the  ordinary  sufferings  of  the  cross  would 
 not  have  been  sufficient,  but  those  which  he  actually 
 endured  were  conclusive,  by  exhibiting  the  awful 
 spectacle  of  an  innocent  human  being  dying  of  grief 
 under  the  divine  malediction.  The  discharge  of  such 
 an  office  was  an  act  which,  although  requiring  the 
 sanction  of  the  Deity,  could  not  even  by  the  Deity 
 be  commanded,  but  must  have  been  purely  volun- 
 tary ;  implying  a  virtual  compact  between  the  parties, 
 securing  to  the  meritorious  sufferer  a  commensurate 
 reward,  namely,  the  salvation  of  all  who  should  em- 
 brace the  atonement  which  he  thus  accomplished. 
 The  well-known  statement  of  prophecy  is, — "  It 
 pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put  him  to 
 grief.  When  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for 
 sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days, 
 and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his 
 hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and 
 shall  be  satisfied.  By  his  knowledge  shall  my  righ- 
 teous servant  justify  many,  for  he  shall  bear  their 
 iniquities."* — To  such  a  being  the  divine  malediction 
 
 *  Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  10—12  ;— Luke,  chap.  24,  v. 25— 27  ;— Heb. 
 chap.  12,  V.  1—3  ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  10—12. 
 
162  ^^    ^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 must  have  been  productive  of  the  severest  mental 
 anguish ;  and,  although  from  a  regard  to  the  object 
 in  view  this  infliction  would  be  sustained  with  the 
 most  dutiful  submission,  yet  in  reference  to  his  own 
 personal  feelings  it  must  have  been  endured  with  the 
 greatest  horror  and  repugnance.  This  conflict  of 
 opposite  motives,  far  from  indicating,  as  some  have 
 imagined,  any  defect  of  character  or  of  cordiality, 
 implied  on  the  contrary  the  highest  moral  excellence  ; 
 since  the  strong  aversion  of  Christ  to  incur  the  male- 
 diction, and  his  still  stronger  resolution  to  bear  it 
 with  all  its  consequences,  were  alike  expressive  of  the 
 most  exalted  piety  and  benevolence.  With  the  ut- 
 most reluctance  to  lose  his  habitual  enjoyment  of  the 
 divine  communion,  he  nevertheless  submitted  to 
 abandonment  in  compliance  with  the  gracious  pur- 
 poses of  God  towards  mankind,  which  could  no 
 otherwise  have  been  fulfilled.  The  natural  effect  of 
 such  a  struggle  on  the  body  of  Christ  must  have 
 been,  not  a  simple  extinction  of  vitality,  as  might 
 have  happened  from  mere  sorrow  or  consternation,  but 
 violent  excitement  and  excessive  palpitation,  occa- 
 sioning in  the  first  degree  bloody  sweat,  and  in  the 
 second  sudden  death  from  rupture  of  the  heart.* 
 That  the  Saviour's  death  was  actually  thus  induced, 
 has  already  it  is  presumed  been  demonstrated ;  it 
 now  appears  that  such  a  mode  of  death  was  not  only 
 in  full  accordance  with  the  principle  of  atonement, 
 but  also  its  necessary  expression  and  result ;  and  it 
 will  next  be  shown,  rather  more  distinctly  than  before, 
 that  the  agony  which  ruptured  the  heart  of  Christ 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  36—44,  53,  54;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  32—39  ; 
 —Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  39—44  ;— Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  5—10. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  Jgg 
 
 was  really  occasioned  by  his  pious  endurance  of  the 
 divine  malediction  due  to  human  depravity. 
 
 To  render  this  atonement  complete  and  effectual, 
 it  vv^as  indispensable  that  it  should  be  both  real  and 
 public ;  in  other  w^ords,  that  the  malediction  should 
 be  borne  truly,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  divine 
 justice,  and  conspicuously,  in  order  to  produce  on  the 
 human  race,  and  perhaps  also  on  other  classes  of  in- 
 telligent beings,  a  salutary  and  indelible  impression. 
 In  accomplishing  this  design,  notwithstanding  diiR- 
 culties  seemingly  almost  insuperable,  the  wisdom, 
 power,  and  goodness  of  the  Deity  were  strikingly 
 displayed. — *'  This  thing  " — said  the  apostle  Paul, — 
 *'  was  not  done  in  a  corner." — On  the  contrary, 
 nothing  was  omitted  which  could  attract  attention  to 
 the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  and  mark  it  as  an  event 
 unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  place, 
 the  time,  the  season,  the  agents,  the  circumstances, 
 were  all  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose.  The 
 place  was  Jerusalem,  then  in  the  perfection  of  its 
 strength  and  beauty,  the  centre  of  revealed  leligion, 
 the  city  of  the  living  God,  and  the  only  spot  on  earth 
 where  sacrifice  could  be  lawfully  offered  ; — the  time, 
 the  latter  period  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  shortly 
 about  to  be  superseded  by  the  new  and  better  cove- 
 nant, a  period  long  before  predicted,  when  Judah, 
 deprived  of  his  sceptre,  had  become  tributary  to  th« 
 Roman  empire,  then  in  the  zenith  of  its  power  ;* 
 the  season,  the  passover,  that  solemn  festival,  typical 
 of  human  redemption,  to  which  millions  of  worship- 
 
 *  Genesis,  chap.  49,  v.  8—10; — Daniel,  chap.  2,  v.  40 — 45; — 
 Acts,  chap.  26,  v.  24—26. 
 
1^4  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 pers  from  all  quarters  of  the  world  zealously  re- 
 sorted ; — the  principal  agents,  the  Israelitish  nation, 
 once  the  favoured  people  of  God,  but  now  in  a  low 
 and  degenerate  state,  and  evidently  labouring  under 
 his  displeasure ;  seconded  in  their  hostility  to  Christ 
 by  their  Roman  masters,  but  headed  by  their  own 
 civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers,  who  throughout  the 
 whole  transaction  took  a  prominent  and  official  part ; 
 — the  circumstances,  the  crucifixion  of  a  holv  and 
 mysterious  person  charged  with  the  most  atrocious 
 crimes,  but  whom  all  parties  virtually  acquitted,  and 
 who  died  on  the  cross  suddenly  and  prematurely, 
 after  first  complaining  of  abandonment  by  the  Deity, 
 and  finally  claiming  his  acceptance.  To  render  this 
 extraordinary  person  an  object  of  universal  attention, 
 divine  providence  employed  all  possible  and  suitable 
 means.  After  a  long  succession  of  types,  prophecies, 
 and  other  preparatory  measures,  he  appeared  in  the 
 world  as  the  heir  of  David,  and  of  the  throne  of  Israel. 
 His  birth,  which  occurred  in  a  supernatural  manner  at 
 Bethlehem,  the  city  of  David,  had  been  announced  by 
 a  star  or  meteor  ;  his  claim  to  be  the  Messiah  had  been 
 recognised  by  the  usurper  Herod,  who  commanded  an 
 indiscriminate  massacre  of  all  the  male  children  in 
 Bethlehem  below  a  certain  age,  in  the  vain  hope  of 
 destroying  amongst  their  number  the  new  born  king 
 of  the  Jews.*  After  passing  thirty  years  in  humble 
 and  laborious  privacy,  Christ  at  length  shone  forth  as 
 a  sacred  person,  introduced  by  John  the  Baptist,  the 
 greatest  of  preceding  prophets,  raised  up  for  the  ex- 
 press purpose  of  proclaiming  his  title,  and  preparing 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  1,  2  ;— Luke,  chap.  1,  v.  26-38  ;  chap.  2,  v.  1—38. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  [Q^ 
 
 his  way.     During  his  own  ministry  of  three  years  in 
 the  capital  and  provinces  of  Palestine,  he  exercised 
 the  prophetical  office  with  equal  dignity  and  meek- 
 ness, speaking  as  never  man  spake,  and  doing  works 
 which  no  other  man  ever  did,  teaching  the  sublimest 
 truths  of  morality  and  religion  with  original  autho- 
 rity, and  confirming  them  by  numerous  and  splendid 
 miracles  of  beneficence.     So  unexampled  a  display  of 
 goodness  and  power  excited  the  admiration,  if  it  did 
 not  win  the  affections  of  the  people  of  Israel,  and  his 
 name  was  celebrated  not  only  throughout  his  native 
 land,  but  also  in  the  neighbouring  countries,  whence 
 many — "  came  to  hear  him,  and  to  be  healed  of  their 
 diseases." — Far  from  courting  retirement,  he  showed 
 himself   freely   to   the    world,    delivered    discourses 
 and  performed    miracles — *'  in    synagogues,    and  in 
 the     temple,    where    all    the    Jews    assembled,"* — • 
 addressed  vast  multitudes  in  the  open  air,  disputed 
 publicly   with    the    scribes,    Pharisees,    and  priests, 
 and  became  still  more  conspicuous  by  the  very  oppo- 
 sition which  they  raised  against  him,  as  well  as  by 
 the   marvellous  wisdom  with  which,  until  his  hour 
 was  come,  he  defeated  all  their  efforts  to  subvert  or 
 destroy  him.    As  that  hour  approached,  his  celebrity 
 rapidly  increased,  and  attained  its  highest  develop- 
 ment within  a  few  days  of  his  death  on  the  cross, 
 whereby,  as  before  stated,  the  necessary  conditions  of 
 atonement,  namely,  a  real  and  public  endurance  of 
 the  divine  malediction,  were  fulfilled. 
 
 The  malediction  borne  by  Christ  consisted,  as  has 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  4,   v.  23— 25  ;— Luke,  chap.  6,  v.  17—19; — John, 
 chap.  1,  V.  28—36  ;  chap.  18.  v.  19,  20. 
 
IQQ  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF     ATONEMENT 
 
 been  suggested,  in  a  partial  loss  of  God's  protection, 
 and  a  temporary  loss  of  his  communion,  voluntarily 
 sustained  by  an  innocent  human  being,  as  the  just 
 retribution  of  human  guilt.     Up  to  this  time  he  had 
 constantly  enjoyed    both   those   blessings,   but   now 
 began  to  be  deprived  of  them,  and  consequently  to 
 be  abandoned  to  the  power  of  his  malignant  enemies, 
 the  chief  of  whom,  it  is  lamentable  to  reflect,  were 
 the  Jewish  hierarchy.     Enjoying    the   highest  reli- 
 gious privileges,  these  priests  ought  to  have  been  the 
 most  pious  and  virtuous  of  mankind ;  but  their  ex- 
 tensive degeneracy,  and  more  especially  their  inve- 
 terate hatred  to   Christ  and  the  gospel,  practically 
 demonstrated  the  desperate  nature  of  human  depra- 
 vity ;    whilst    this    very    character,    in    conjunction 
 with  their   sacred    office,  peculiarly   qualified   them 
 to  take    a  principal,  although   an   unconscious  part 
 in    accomplishing   the    atoning   sacrifice,    which    on 
 account  of  that  depravity  he  was  about  to  render.* 
 Had  they  declared  in  his  favour,  the  intended  sacri- 
 fice could  not  have  been   properly  effected,  and  it 
 might  with  some  plausibility  have  been  alleged  that 
 it  was  not  necessary ;    since  mankind  were    not  so 
 completely  fallen  as  had  been  supposed,  and  did  not 
 therefore  stand  in  need  of  so  costly  and  transcendent 
 a  remedy  for  their  restoration.   The  Jewish  hierarchy 
 were,  moreover,  the  only  earthly  tribunal  competent 
 to  try  the  cause  now  at  issue,  namely,  whether  Jesus 
 of  Nazareth  was,  or  was  not  the  predicted  Messiah ; 
 and,  if  he  were  condemned,  to  pronounce  against  him 
 the  divine  malediction,  as  a  false  pretender  to  so  sub- 
 
 *  John,  chap.  15,  v.  18—25;  chap.  18,  v.  33—35. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH    OF     CHRIST.         Jg^ 
 
 lime  and  sacred  a  character.  The  result  proved  that 
 with  all  their  superior  religious  advantages,  with  the 
 Scriptures  in  their  hands,  and  with  a  perfect  know- 
 ledge of  the  facts  concerned,  they  were  destitute  of 
 true  piety,  alienated  from  the  life  of  God,  and  bit- 
 terly opposed  to  his  plan  of  salvation.  Slaves  to  their 
 passions,  and  idolaters  of  wealth  and  power,  they 
 despised  the  claims  of  a  lowly  and  suffering  Messiah, 
 and  openly  declared  that  they  would  not  have  such  a 
 man  to  reign  over  them.  Abhorring  the  gospel, 
 which  they  soon  perceived  tended  to  the  overthrow 
 of  their  own  temporary  institution,  they  were  anxious 
 to  crush  at  one  blow  both  the  person  of  Jesus,  and  his 
 cause  ;  and  therefore  resolved  that  his  death  should 
 be  the  result  of  a  judicial  sentence  from  the  Sanhe- 
 drim, the  supreme  council  of  the  nation,  condemning 
 him  as  a  blasphemer  and  an  impostor.  In  the  exe- 
 cution of  this  project,  they  had  however  great  diffi- 
 culties to  encounter.  Deprived  by  their  political 
 condition  of  the  authority  to  inflict  capital  punish- 
 ment, they  had  no  other  means  of  obtaining  the  fulfil- 
 ment of  their  sentence  than,  either  by  soliciting  the 
 consent  of  the  Roman  procurator,  or,  as  in  the  case 
 of  Stephen  the  first  martyr,  by  instigating  the  people 
 to  an  act  of  lawless  and  sanguinary  violence.*  The  for- 
 mer of  these  expedients  was  humiliating,  the  latter  was 
 dangerous,  and  both  were  uncertain.  During  the  pre- 
 ceding visit  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem,  about  three  months 
 
 *  The  reduction  of  Judea  several  years  before  to  a  Roman  pro- 
 vince under  the  government  of  a  procurator,  without  whose  sanction 
 capital  punishment  could  not  be  inflicted,  is  accurately  described  by 
 the  Jewish  historian. — Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  iii,,  pp.  55,  56,  373. 
 John,  chap.  11,  v.  47—53  ;  chap.  18,  v.  28—32 ;  chap.  19,  v.  8—11. 
 
]g3  *^N    THE    DOCTRINE    OF   ATONEMENT 
 
 before,  the  people  were  indeed  so  far  influenced  by 
 their  rulers,  that  they  twice  attempted  to  stone  him 
 in  the  very  courts  of  the  temple  ;  and  nothing  less 
 than  an  exertion  of  supernatural  power,  and  a  speedy 
 retreat  from  the  capital,  was  sufficient  to  preserve  his 
 life.  So  confident,  in  consequence,  were  the  Sanhe- 
 drim of  their  success  on  the  next  occasion,  that  they 
 issued  an  edict  for  his  apprehension  whenever  he 
 should  again  appear  in  the  city.*  But  in  this  expec- 
 tation they  were  completely  disappointed  ;  for,  by 
 seasonably  interposing  the  miracle  of  raising  Lazarus 
 from  the  dead,  a  miracle  which  Christ  himself  stated 
 was  performed  to  promote  his  own  glory,  the  tide  of 
 popularity  was  entirely  turned  in  his  favour ;  and, 
 instead  of  being  seized  and  arraigned  as  a  criminal, 
 he  entered  Jerusalem  a  few  days  before  the  passover 
 in  peaceful  triumph,  amidst  the  plaudits  of  his  dis- 
 ciples, and  the  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  who 
 hailed  him  with  hosannas  as  the  son  of  David,  and 
 the  king  of  Israel.  Instead  of  hiding  himself  in 
 obscurity,  he  boldly  encountered  his  powerful  enemies 
 on  their  own  ground,  in  the  courts  and  porticos  of 
 the  temple,  where  he  freely  exposed  their  ignorance, 
 reproved  their  vices,  baffled  all  their  attempts  either 
 to  take  him  by  force,  or  to  lower  him  in  public  esti- 
 mation, and  displayed  the  true  dignity  and  authority 
 of  a  prophet,  by  healing  the  sick,  instructing  the 
 people,  and  for  the  second  time  expelling  the 
 traders  in  victims  from  the  sacred  precincts.  No 
 better  means  could  have  been  devised  to  raise  the 
 
 *  John,  chap.  8,  v.  59  ;  chap.  10,  v.  31—33,  39  ;  chap.  11,  v.  55 
 —57. 
 
m    RELATION  TO   THE    DEATH   OF  CHRIST.  ]g9 
 
 celebrity  of  Christ,  to  attract  attention  to  his  person, 
 and  to  render  him  an  object  of  universal  interest  and 
 admiration.  Accordingly,  on  his  arrival — "the  whole 
 city  was  moved,  saying,  Who  is  this  ?  The  multi- 
 tudes replied.  This  is  Jesus,  the  prophet  from  Naza- 
 reth in  Galilee." — Early  every  morning  they  thronged 
 to  the  temple  to  hear  his  discourses,  and  seemed  to 
 hang  on  his  words.  Even  Greek  proselytes,  who  had 
 come  up  to  worship  at  the  festival,  expressed  a  desire 
 to  see  him  ;  and  the  two  disciples,  travelling  to 
 Emmaus  on  the  day  of  his  resurrection,  thought  it 
 incredible  that  there  should  be  a  single  stranger  in 
 Jerusalem,  who  had  not  heard  of — '*the  prophet 
 mighty  in  word  and  deed,  before  God  and  all  the  peo- 
 ple."— The  Sanhedrim  were  now  sorely  perplexed. 
 They  had  a  little  before  asked  themselves  the  ques- 
 tion,— "  What  are  we  doing  ?  for  this  man  worketh 
 many  miracles.  If  we  let  him  thus  alone,  all  men  will 
 believe  on  him,  and  the  Romans  will  come  and  destroy 
 both  our  place  and  nation." — They  observed  with  dis- 
 may that  this  prediction  seemed  to  be  on  the  point 
 of  fulfilment,  and  with  undissembled  vexation  said 
 to  each  other, — "  Do  ye  see  that  your  efforts  are  un" 
 availing?  Behold!  the  [whole]  world  is  gone  after 
 him."* — Fully  aware  of  the  evils  of  delay,  they  still 
 more  apprehended  the  perils  of  precipitation.  They 
 were  sensible  that  the  cause  of  Christ  must  rapidly 
 advance,  if  they  suffered  the  passover  to  terminate 
 without  carrying  into  effect  their  loudly-proclaimed 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  21,  v.  10,  11  ;— Luke,  chap.  19,  v.  47,  48  ;  chap.  21, 
 V.  37,  33  ;  chap.  24,  v.  17—19  ; — John,  chap.  11,  v.  45—48;  chap.  12, 
 V.  17—23. 
 
 I 
 
170  ^^  '^^^    DOCTRINE   OF   ATONEMENT 
 
 tlireatenings  against  him,    and  permitted   the  great 
 body  of  Israelites,  assembled  at  Jerusalem  from  all 
 parts  of  the  world,   to  return  to  their  homes  with 
 the  intelligence  of  his  triumph,  and  of  their  defeat ; 
 yet  on  the  other  hand  they  feared  that,  in  the  actual 
 state  of  affairs,  any  attempt  to  seize    him  publicly 
 and  bring  him  to  trial,  might  provoke  resistance  and 
 insurrection.     Only  two    days   before    the   passover 
 they  consequently  held  a  special  council,  and  came  to 
 the  resolution  that  it  was  expedient  to  postpone  the 
 execution  of  their  design  to  a  more  convenient  season. 
 They  said — "  Not    during  the  festival,  lest  there  be 
 a  tumult  amongst  the  people."* — Of  the  danger  to  be 
 dreaded  from  such  tumults    they   were    sufficiently 
 apprized.     From   an    estimate    taken   by   the    chief 
 priests   at  the  request  of  Cestius   Gallus  during  the 
 reign  of  Nero,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  persons 
 of  both  sexes  who  celebrated  the  passover  was  at  one 
 particular  time  nearly  three  millions.    Supposing  only 
 half  that  number  to  have  been  males,  the  presence  in 
 Jerusalem  of  more  than  a  million  of  zealous  Israelites, 
 conscious  of  their  own  strength,  and  animated  by  civil 
 and  religious  enthusiasm,  furnished  a  sufficient  ground 
 of  anxiety  and  apprehension  both  to  the  Jewish  and  the 
 Roman  governors  ;  and  it  was  but  a  few  years  before 
 that,  on  occasions  like  the  present,  the  most  appalling 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  1—5  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  1,  2.  The  expres- 
 sion in  the  authorized  version, — "  Not  on  the  feast-day," — is  incor- 
 rect;  since  the  original  terms, — "  M?)  Iv  ry  kopry," — are  not  re- 
 stricted to  the  paschal  day,  but  equally  include  the  seven  following 
 days  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  during  the  whole  of  which 
 the  same  danger  was  to  be  dreaded. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  J'J']^ 
 
 scenes  of  bloodshed  and  devastation  had  been  wit- 
 nessed. At  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Ar- 
 chelaus  a  sedition  broke  out  during  the  passover, 
 and  was  not  suppressed  until  three  thousand  of  the 
 people  had  been  slain  by  the  royal  troops,  many  of 
 whom  likewise  were  stoned  in  the  first  assault.  Soon 
 afterwards,  owing  to  the  avarice  and  audacity  of  Sabi- 
 nus,  a  procurator  of  Augustus,  another  sedition  arose 
 during  the  pentecost,  wherein  a  great  number  both 
 of  Jews  and  Romans  perished,  and  a  considerable 
 portion  of  the  outer  colonnades  of  the  temple  was 
 destroyed  by  fire.*  Whatever  might  be  the  result  of 
 a  popular  insurrection  at  the  moment,  the  more  pru- 
 dent and  intelligent  amongst  the  Jews  were  well 
 persuaded  that  the  Roman  domination  must  ulti- 
 mately be  promoted  by  such  outrages,  and  were 
 therefore  more  disposed  to  pursue  a  pacific  and  tem- 
 porizing policy,  than  to  provoke  the  exertion  of  a 
 hostile  force  which  they  felt  themselves  unable  per- 
 manently to  resist.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy,  the 
 chief  priests  and  the  other  members  of  the  Sanhedrim 
 determined  to  postpone  their  designs  against  the  life 
 of  Jesus ;  but  a  higher  power,  which  looked  down 
 with  supreme  contempt  on  all  their  projects,  had 
 otherwise   ordained. 
 
 It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  prerogatives  of  the  Deity, 
 by  an  administration  of  inscrutable  wisdom,  to  render 
 the  motives  and  actions  of  depraved  beings  subser- 
 vient to  his  own  purposes,  without  in  the  slightest 
 degree  restricting  their   freedom,  diminishing  their 
 
 *  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  iii.  pp.  33,  34,  39,  40  ;  vol.  iv.  pp.  231, 
 232. 
 
 i2 
 
I^jg  ^^    "^^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 responsibility,  or  participating  in  their  crimes.  The 
 evil  passions  and  culpable  delusions  of  the  Jewish 
 hierarchy  were  thus  overruled,  in  a  manner  which 
 they  neither  intended  nor  understood,  to  accomplish 
 the  great  atoning  sacrifice  which  God  had  announced 
 from  the  beginning,  and  by  which  their  typical  and 
 temporary  priesthood  was  shortly  to  be  abolished. 
 The  Scripture  had  long  before  declared  of  them,  and  of 
 their  Gentile  allies, — "  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
 shall  laugh,  the  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision." — 
 It  was  through  such  a  secret,  yet  effective  interpo- 
 sition of  providence  that,  at  the  very  moment  when 
 they  were  on  the  point  of  abandoning  their  prosecution 
 of  Christ,  Judas  Iscariot  was  thrown  in  their  way.* 
 Without  stopping  to  analyze  the  character  or  cir- 
 cumstances of  this  wretched  apostate,  whose  treachery 
 had  been  predicted  more  than  a  thousand  years  be- 
 fore, it  is  obvious  that,  with  the  opportunities  and 
 facilities  which  as  one  of  the  apostles  and  companions 
 of  Jesus  he  enjoyed,  it  was  completely  in  his  power, 
 under  divine  permission,  to  fulfil  the  promise  which  he 
 now  made  them,  to  deliver  him  into  their  hands  without 
 tumult,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  multitude.  Overjoy- 
 ed at  so  gratifying  and  unexpected  a  proposal,  of  which 
 they  at  once  perceived  the  practicability  and  advan- 
 tage, the  Sanhedrim  instantly  reversed  their  previous 
 decision,  and  closed  with  the  offer  ;  but,  doubting  per- 
 
 *  The  resolution  of  Judas  Iscariot  to  betray  his  master  was  evi- 
 dently formed  at  Bethany  on  the  preceding  Saturday  evening ;  but, 
 by  the  unexpected  popularity  of  Christ,  its  execution  was  providen- 
 tially restrained  until  four  days  afterwards.  Matt.  chap.  26.  v.  1—16  ; 
 — Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  1— ll;~Luke,  chap.  22.  v.  1— 6 ;— John, 
 chap.  12.  v.  1  —  8  ;— Psalm  2,  v.  1—4. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  ]  ^g 
 
 haps  whether  Judas  would  really  accomplish  so  infam- 
 ous an  undertaking,  they  at  first  agreed  to  give  him 
 no  higher  a  reward  than  thirty  shekels,  the  price  of  a 
 slave,  until  by  his  fidelity  and  success  he  should  have 
 proved  himself  worthy  of  their  further  patronage 
 and  liberality. 
 
 They  now  saw  their  way  clear,  and  their  plan  of 
 operation  was  soon  fixed.  Having  been  foiled  in 
 all  their  attempts  to  excite  the  people  against 
 Christ,  they  determined  to  convert  his  popularity 
 into  a  crime,  and  to  denounce  him  to  Pontius 
 Pilate  as  a  dangerous  demagogue,  whom  it  was  expe- 
 dient to  arrest  without  delay,  in  order  to  prevent  a 
 general  insurrection  of  the  nation  against  the  Roman 
 government,  to  which  at  this  juncture  they  affected 
 to  be  warmly  attached.  Although  such  an  applica- 
 tion is  not  described  by  the  evangelists,  it  is  evidently 
 implied,  since  without  the  consent  of  the  goVernor 
 the  aid  of  the  garrison  could  not  have  been  obtained. 
 Were  Jesus  once  a  prisoner  in  their  hands,  and 
 branded  with  their  official  censure,  the  Jewish  rulers 
 easily  foresaw  that  the  multitude,  disappointed  in 
 their  expectations  of  hhn  as  a  temporal  Messiah, 
 would  speedily  exchange  their  admiration  for  ab- 
 horrence, and  zealously  join  with  themselves  in 
 demajiding  his  crucifixion  as  an  impostor.  The  great 
 point  was  to  make  themselves  quietly  masters  of  his 
 person,  and  the  means  of  doing  this  seemed  to  be 
 now  within  their  reach.  To  prevent  suspicion,  and 
 avoid  unnecessary  danger,  Jesus  was  in  the  habit  of 
 retiring  from  Jerusalem  every  evening,  and  of  passing 
 the  night  either  at  Betliany,  or  on  some  part  of  the 
 Mount  of  Olives.     Without  the  assistance  of  a  parti- 
 
174  ON    THE     DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 zan,  his  enemies  found  it  difficult  to  discover  his 
 place  of  retreat.  They  were  also  uncertain  what 
 auxiliaries  he  might  have  at  command,  and  fearful  of 
 provoking  public  indignation  by  openly  pursuing  him 
 with  a  civil  or  military  force.  Besides  which,  to  what- 
 ever source  they  might  choose  to  ascribe  his  miraculous 
 powers,  they  were  firmly  convinced  of  their  reality, 
 and  appTehensive  that  by  their  means  he  might,  as  on 
 former  occasions,  escape  from  their  view,  and  elude 
 their  pursuit.  But  they  had  now,  as  they  supposed, 
 an  unexpected  opportunity  of  surmounting  all  these 
 difficulties  at  once.  By  the  help  of  a  disciple  who 
 had  voluntarily  abandoned  his  master's  cause,  they 
 calculated  that  they  should  be  able  to  surprise  him 
 in  his  retirement  at  a  short  distance  from  Jerusalem, 
 a  little  before  midnight,  during  the  approaching 
 paschal  festival,  when  the  whole  Jewish  people  would 
 either  be  engaged  in  that  solemnity,  or  retired  to  rest. 
 All  this  they  probably  represented  to  Pilate,  with  a 
 view  to  prejudice  his  judgment,  and  gain  his  concur- 
 rence, at  the  same  time  requesting  that,  in  order  to 
 be  provided  against  every  chance  of  resistance,  he 
 would  on  this  occasion  grant  them  the  aid  of  the 
 Roman  cohort.  Such  at  least  was  their  mode  of 
 proceeding  on  the  following  day,  when  they  were 
 anxious  that  the  tomb  containing  the  body  of  Christ 
 should  be  effectually  secured.*  From  the  conduct  of 
 Pilate  throughout  the  whole  affair,  it  may  be  inferred 
 that  he  regarded  Jesus  as  a  harmless  and  benevolent 
 enthusiast,  whose  popularity  excited  the  envy  of 
 the  Jewish  priests,  but  was  not   of  a  nature  to   oc- 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  62—66. 
 
IN    RELATION     TO     THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  J^fJ 
 
 casion  the  slightest  alarm  to  himself.  But  although  , 
 such  might  he  his  private  opinion  on  the  subject,  he 
 could  not  with  propriety  refuse  the  application  of  so 
 dignified  a  body  as  the  Sanhedrim,  more  especially 
 when  they  merely  urged  him  to  sanction  a  precau- 
 tionary measure,  the  neglect  of  which  might  have 
 been  dangerous,  whilst  its  execution  would,  as  he 
 imagined,  be  free  from  inconvenience,  and  leave  him 
 at  perfect  liberty  to  dispose  of  the  case  afterwards 
 as  he  might  think  proper.  He  therefore  gave  the 
 necessary  orders,  and  at  the  appointed  hour  of  the 
 night  the  assembled  force,  guided  by  the  traitor 
 Judas,  and  furnished  with  lanterns  and  torches, 
 apparently  on  account  of  the  darkness  caused  by  the 
 lunar  eclipse  then  in  progress,  silently  issued  from 
 Jerusalem  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  Jesus  in  the 
 garden  of  Gethsemane. 
 
 Of  the  number  and  strength  of  this  force  it  is  pro- 
 bable that,  owing  to  the  brevity  and  simplicity  of  the 
 evangelical  narrative,  few  persons  have  an  adequate 
 notion.  From  that  narrative  it  may  however  be  col- 
 lected that  it  was  extremely  numerous,  and  con- 
 sisted of  a  Jewish  and  a  Gentile  party.  The  Jewish 
 party,  chiefly  described  by  Luke,  comprised  a  large 
 body  of  the  officers  attendant  on  the  Sanhedrim,  sup- 
 ported by  several  members  of  the  supreme  council 
 itself,  as  well  as  by  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  temple 
 guard,  and  followed  by  many  of  their  servants  or 
 slaves.*  The  Gentile  party  which,  although  intimated 
 by  the  other  evangelists,  is  expressly  named  by  John 
 
 ■  *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  47  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  43  ;— Luke,  chap.  22, 
 V.  47— 53;— John,  chap.  18,  v.  1—3,  10—12. 
 
176  ^^    TH^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 only,  was  the  Roman  cohort,  under  the  orders  of  its 
 prefect,  or  commander.  These  were  armed  with 
 swords,  and  if  they  were  merely  an  ordinary  legionary 
 cohort,  their  number  must  have  been  from  four  to 
 six  hundred ;  but  if,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Biscoe 
 and  others,  an  independent  body,  they  amounted  to  a 
 thcJusand  men.  It  is  by  no  means  unlikely  that  some 
 of  the  guards  of  Herod  Antipas,  the  tetrarch  of 
 Galilee,  who  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem  to  keep 
 the  passover,  and  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
 proceedings  of  the  following  day,  were  likewise 
 added,  with  a  view  to  obviate  any  difficulty  which 
 might  have  arisen  from  the  circumstance  of  Jesus 
 being  a  subject  of  that  government,  and  more  espe- 
 cially to  suppress  any  resistance  which  might  have 
 been  apprehended  from  his  Galilean  followers.* 
 Well  therefore  might  the  apostles,  when  they  after- 
 wards reflected  on  this  marvellous  transaction, 
 thus  acknowledge  in  their  prayer  to  God  its  minute 
 and  accurate  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy: — 
 "  Lord !  thou  art  God,  who  madest  heaven,  and 
 earth,  and  the  sea,  and  all  that  is  in  them  ;  who  by 
 the  mouth  of  thy  servant  David  saidst, — *  Why  did  the 
 Gentiles  rage,  and  the  people  project  vain  things  ? 
 The  kings  of  the  earth  came  forth,  and  the  rulers 
 were  assembled  in  a  common  purpose  against  the 
 Lord,  and  against  his  Christ.' — For  in  truth  against 
 thy  holy  Son  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  anointed,  both 
 
 *  Biscoe,  Sermons  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  vol.  i.  pp.  328,  329, 
 335  ; — Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  iv.  p.  8  ; — Luke,  chap.  23.  v.  5 — 12. 
 The  statement  of  John,  chap.  18,  v.  12,  is,  r)  (T7rt7pa,Kai  6  xf^^^^PX^Qy 
 Kcd  01  vTTtjpkrai  tojv  'lovSaiujv :  that  of  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  47,  and  of 
 Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  43,  is  ox^og  7roXi»f 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  J  77 
 
 Herod,  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles,  and 
 the  people  of  Israel,  were  assembled  in  this  city,  to 
 accomplish  the  things  which  thy  hand  and  thy  counsel 
 had  fore-appointed  to  take  place." — The  final  suffer- 
 ings of  Christ,  which  terminated  the  next  day  in 
 his  death  on  the  cross,  had  now  commenced.  For 
 the  first  time  in  his  life  the  protection  of  Providence 
 was  withdrawn  from  him.  The  scriptural  promise 
 which  had  always  hitherto  been  realized, — "  He  shall 
 give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in 
 all  thy  ways,"  &c.,  —  no  longer  applied  to  him;  for 
 he  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
 including  not  only  evil  men,  but  evil  spirits,  as 
 appears  from  his  previous  intimation, — '^  The  prince 
 of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath  nothing  in  me ;" — - 
 and  from  his  remark  to  the  chief  priests,  elders, 
 &c.,  who  came  forth  to  seize  him, — "  This  is  your 
 hour,  and  the  power   of  darkness."* 
 
 The  explanation  of  this  change  is  easy  and  obvious. 
 His  public  ministry  had  now  closed,  and  he  was 
 about  to  offer  the  atoning  sacrifice  which  had 
 been  so  long  predicted,  and  of  which  the  essential 
 conditions  were,  that  a  pure  and  perfect  human  being 
 should,  by  his  own  free  will  and  consent,  suffer  the 
 divine  malediction  due  to  the  sins  of  mankind.  It  is 
 a  most  remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  innocence 
 of  Christ  was  attested  by  the  same  parties  who  were 
 concerned  in  his  death.  The  Deity  had  more  than 
 once  proclaimed  by  a  voice  from  heaven, — •"  This  is 
 
 *  Psalm  2,  V.  1— 3  ;  Psalm  91,  v.  9—12  ;— Matt  chap.  4,  v.  5,  6;— 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  52,  53 ;— John,  chap.  14,  v.  30,  31; — Acts, 
 chap.  4,  V.  23—28. — tv  ry  ttoXu  ravry.,  added  by  Griesbach,  in  v.  27. 
 
 i3 
 
173  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." — Satan 
 liad  often  acknowledged  by  the  mouth  of  demoniacs, 
 — "I  know  who  thou  art,  the  holy  one  of  God;" — His 
 wretched  agent,  Judas  Iscariot,  had  scarcely  com- 
 pleted the  treachery  which  he  had  been  bribed  to 
 commit,  when  he  was  overwhelmed  with  remorse  and 
 despair ;  and  having  thrown  back  to  the  priests  in 
 the  temple  the  thirty  shekels,  with  the  spontaneous 
 confession, — "  I  have  sinned  by  betraying  innocent 
 blood," — went  away,  and  hanged  himself; — Pontius 
 Pilate,  although  a  cruel  and  unprincipled  man,  was 
 by  his  conversation  with  Christ  impressed  with 
 such  a  respect  for  his  character,  that  he  repeatedly 
 declared  him  to  be  guiltless,  earnestly  pleaded  his 
 cause,  made  strong  efforts  for  his  release,  and  did  not 
 pronounce  sentence  against  him  till  his  own  life 
 seemed  to  be  endangered  by  his  refusal.  Then,  in 
 the  presence  of  the  assembled  people  he  took  water, 
 according  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews  and  other  eastern 
 nations,  and  washed  his  hands,  saying — "  I  am  inno- 
 cent of  the  blood  of  this  righteous  man :  See  ye  to 
 it." — Herod  Antipas,  in  whose  dominions  Jesus  had 
 passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  ridiculed  his 
 claim  to  a  kingdom  which  was  not  of  this  world, 
 but  tacitly  agreed  with  Pilate  in  acquitting  him 
 of  all  blame.* — The  penitent  malefactor  crucified 
 with  him  confessed  his  own  delinquencies,  and 
 those  of  his  accomplice,  but  affirmed  of  Jesus  with- 
 
 *  Deuteron,  chap.  21,  v,  1—9  ;— Psalm  26,  v.  6  ;— Matt.  chap.  3, 
 V.  16,  17  ;  chap.  27,  v.  3—5,  24,  25  ;— Mark,  chap.  i.  v.  23,  24,  34 ; 
 chap.  3,  V.  9—12;  chap.  5,  v.  6— 8  ;— Luke,  chap.  8,  v.  27 — 29; 
 chap.  9,  V.  34,35;  chap.  23,  v.  6—15  ;— 2  Peter,  chap.  i.  v.  16  —  18. 
 
IN    RELATION  TO  THE   DEATH   OF  CHRIST.  J  79 
 
 out  contradiction, — *'  This  man  never  did  anything 
 amiss." — The  centurion  who  attended  at  the  cruci- 
 fixion, struck  with  astonishment  on  beholding  tlie 
 manner  of  his  death,  and  the  prodigies  by  which  it 
 was  accompanied,  exclaimed — '^  Certainly  this  man 
 was  a  son  of  God  ;" — and  even  the  multitude,  wh() 
 had  recently  clamoured  for  his  destruction,  were 
 seized  with  compunction,  and  retired  from  the  scene 
 smiting  their  breasts.* 
 
 Lastly,  his  inveterate  enemies  the  Jewish  hier- 
 archy, bore  unintentionally  a  similar  testimony. 
 Had  they  been  well  disposed,  all  of  them  would  at 
 once  have  adopted  the  language  of  Nicodemus,  one 
 of  their  number  ; — "  Rabbi !  we  know  that  thou 
 art  a  teacher  come  from  God,  for  no  one  can  do 
 these  miracles  which  thou  doest  unless  God  be 
 with  him  ;" — and,  in  fact,  but  a  few  days  before 
 his  death,  they  publicly  addressed  him  in  language 
 nearly  equivalent,  —  "  Rabbi !  we  know  that  thou 
 speakest  and  teachest  rightly,  and  dost  not  accept 
 persons,  but  teachest  the  way  of  God  truly." — Never- 
 theless, so  bitterly  opposed  were  they  to  this  way  of 
 God  which  they  affected  to  approve,  that  on  his 
 raising  Lazarus  from  the  dead,  and  thereby  gaining 
 many  proselytes,  they  held  a  council ;  and  at  the 
 suggestion  of  Caiaphas  their  president,  resolved  that, 
 for  the  safety  of  the  nation,  it  was  expedient  as  soon 
 as  possible  to  put  Jesus  to  death.  To  term  such  an 
 act  expedient,  was  in  effect  to  acknowledge  it  to  be 
 unjust.     By  the  evangelist  John,  who  alone  records 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  54  ;— Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  39  ;— Luke,  chap.  23, 
 V.  39-41,  47,48. 
 
ISO        ^^  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT. 
 
 the  transaction,  it  is  intimated  that,  however  unworthy 
 of  such  an  honour,  Caiaphas,  as  high-priest,  spoke  on 
 this  occasion  under  a  divine  impulse,  when  he  pre- 
 dicted that  Christ  would  die  for  the  Israelitish  people ; 
 — "  and  not  for  that  people  only," — adds  the  evan- 
 gelist,— "but  also  that  he  might  gather  together  in 
 one  [body]  the  children  of  God  who  were  scattered 
 abroad."  —  On  their  own  admission,  the  death  of 
 Christ  was  therefore  regarded  by  the  Jewish  hierarchy 
 as  a  public  sacrifice,  and  they  unintentionally  pro- 
 ceeded to  accomplish  it  in  a  manner  exactly  corre- 
 sponding to  this  view.  Before  offering  any  victim  at 
 the  altar,  it  was  their  duty  as  priests  carefully  to 
 examine  it,  in  order  to  ascertain  that  it  was  pure  and 
 perfect.  Thus,  during  the  last  few  days  of  the  life 
 of  Jesus,  they  subjected  him  to  every  possible  trial ; 
 being  indeed  provoked  to  do  their  worst  by  his  severe, 
 yet  merited  denunciations  against  themselves ;  but 
 with  all  their  efforts,  were  unable  to  detect  in 
 him  the  slightest  fault.  When  at  length  he  was 
 delivered  into  their  hands,  and  placed  at  their  bar, 
 they  could  not,  even  with  the  aid  of  false  witnesses, 
 convict  him  of  any  offence  ;  and  to  effect  their  pur- 
 pose had  no  other  resource  than,  by  a  previous  and  ar- 
 bitrary compact  among  themselves,  to  pronounce  him 
 guilty  of  blasphemy,  and  deserving  of  death,  merely 
 for  declaring  himself  to  be  the  Christ;  although  by 
 an  overwhelming  display  of  miraculous  and  other 
 evidence,  which  they  could  neither  refute  nor  deny, 
 he  had  fully  established  his  claim  to  that  character.* 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  62— 66;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  60—64  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  20,  V.  19— 22 ;— John,  chap.  3.  v.  1,  2;  chap.  11.  v.  47—53  ; 
 chap.  15.  V.  22—25  j  chap.  18,  v.  12—14. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO  THE   DEATH     OF    CHRIST.         Jg^ 
 
 By  SO  doing,  they  virtually  proclaimed  what  was 
 actually  the  case ;  namely,  that  he  was  an  innocent 
 victim,  who  for  the  benefit  of  others  was  unjustly 
 treated  as  a  malefactor,  and  devoted  to  a  cruel  and 
 ignominious  death.  They  at  the  same  time  exhi- 
 bited in  their  own  persons  the  desperate  nature  of 
 human  depravity,  the  insufficiency  of  all  the  means 
 hitherto  employed  for  its  correction,  and  the  con- 
 sequent necessity  of  that  atoning  sacrifice  which  they 
 were  now  unconsciously  labouring  to  fulfil. 
 
 It  was  requisite  however  to  show  that,  on  the  part 
 of  Christ,  this  sacrifice  was  spontaneous  and  inten- 
 tional ;  and  that,  although  abandoned  for  a  while  to 
 the  power  of  his  enemies,  he  was  neither  surprised 
 by  fraud,  nor  subdued  by  force,  but  voluntarily  sub- 
 mitted to  a  violent  death,  which,  had  he  been  disposed, 
 he  might  at  any  moment  have  declined.  In  proof  of 
 this,  he  publicly  declared  at  Jerusalem  a  few  months 
 before, — ^'  Therefore  doth  my  Father  love  me,  because 
 I  lay  down  my  life  to  take  it  again.  No  one  taketh 
 it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  my  own  accord.  I 
 have  authority  to  lay  it  down,  and  authority  to  take 
 it  again.  This  commandment  I  have  received  from 
 my  Father."* — He  had  also  repeatedly  predicted  to  his 
 disciples  all  the  particulars  of  his  capture,  crucifixion, 
 death,  and  resurrection  ;  and,  by  his  recent  institution 
 of  the  Lord's  Supper,  distinctly  apprized  them  that 
 he  was  about  to  offer  himself  as  an  atoning  sacri- 
 fice for  the  sins  of  mankind,  and  to  ratify  by  his  blood 
 a  new  covenant  of  reconciliation  with  God,  whereof 
 
 *  John,  chap.  10,  v.  17,  18. 
 
13^  ON     THE     DOCTRINE     OF      ATONEMENT 
 
 that   sacrifice   was  to   be   the   basis.      Having   soon 
 afterwards  intimated  to  Judas   Iscariot  that  he  was 
 aware  of  his  intended   treachery,    he  dismissed  him 
 from  the  table,  with  an  injunction  to  execute  speedily 
 what  he  had  undertaken.     But  a  more  complete  and 
 public  proof  of  his  self-dedication  was  given  a  little 
 later  at  Gethsemane,  where  he  had  scarcely  recovered 
 from  his  deadly  agony,  and  resumed  his  usual  energy 
 and   composure,   when    the    formidable  band  above 
 described,  conducted  by  Judas,  came  forth  to  appre- 
 hend him.     To  prevent,  as  they  supposed,  any  mis- 
 take or  disappointment,  they  halted  at  the  entrance 
 of  the  garden,  whilst  their  infamous  guide  went  for- 
 wards, and  executed  the  preconcerted  signal  by  which, 
 amidst  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  the  night,  the 
 person  of  Christ  was  to  be  made  known  to  his  pur- 
 suers.    But  in  this  case  artifice  and  violence  were 
 alike  superfluous  ;  for  Jesus,  as  is  stated  by  the  evan- 
 gelist John, — '^  knowing  all  that  was  about  to  befall 
 him,"— was  fully  prepared  to  surrender  himself  into 
 their  hands.     To  the  salutation  of  his  treacherous 
 disciple  he  therefore  calmly  replied, — "  Companion  ! 
 for  what  purpose  art  thou  come  ?     Judas  !  dost  thou 
 betray  the  Son  of  Man  by  a  kiss  ?" — Then  advancing 
 with  consummate  dignity  towards  the  armed  band, 
 who  stood  waiting  for  his  appearance,  he  asked  them 
 whom  they  sought ;  and  on  their  answering — "Jesus 
 of  Nazareth,"' — replied — "  I  am  he." — These  few  and 
 simple  words  were  accompanied  with  a   supernatural 
 influence  which,  like  a  shock  of  earthquake,   pros- 
 trated the  whole  adverse  party  to  the  ground,  whence, 
 but  for  the  permission  of  him  whom  they  regarded  as 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST,         |  §3 
 
 their  victim,   they  would  never  again  have  risen.* 
 As  however  he   came  into  the  world,  not  to  destroy 
 men's  lives  but  to  save  them,  they  were  merely  ad- 
 monished, not  injured  by  a  miraculous  interposition, 
 which  in  extent  and  moral  value   exceeded  that  dis- 
 played by  the  prophet  Elijah  who,  on  a  somewhat 
 similar  occasion,  had  called  down  fire  from  heaven 
 against  his  assailants.     Elated  by  this  achievement, 
 and  imagining  that  nothing  more  was  requisite  for 
 his  master's  deliverance  from  his  adversaries  than  a 
 suitable  exhibition  of  zeal  and  courage  on  the  part 
 of  his  friends,  the  apostle  Peter,  ever  foremost  both 
 in  word  and  deed,  drew  his  sword,  and  wounded  one 
 of  the  hostile  band,  who  happened  to  be  a  slave   of 
 the   high-priest.       Far  from  rendering  any  service, 
 this  rash  and  unwarrantable  act  seriously  endangered 
 his  own  life,  as  well  as  the  cause  which  he  meant  to 
 sustain ;  but,  by  a  wise  and  energetic  interference, 
 Christ  at  once  protected  his  disciple,  and  vindicated 
 his  own  character.     He  severely  reproved  the  offence, 
 healed  the  wounded  slave,  disclaimed  all  recourse  to 
 violence,  and  stated  that  his  surrender  to  the  con- 
 stituted authorities  was  voluntary  and  predetermined. 
 Remonstrating  with   Peter  without  naming  him,  he 
 asked, — "  The  cup  which  the  Father  hath  given  me, 
 shall  I  not  drink  it  ?     Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot 
 even  now  request  my  Father,  and  he  would  send  to 
 my  aid  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  [but] 
 how  then  would  the   Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  [which 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  47—50  ;— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  47,  48  ;— John, 
 chap.  13,  V.  1—3;  chap.  18,  v.  1—6. 
 
134  ^'^    T^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 declare]  that  thus  it  must  be  ?"* — Then  turning  to- 
 wards his  Jewish  opponents,  he  strongly  exposed 
 their  injustice  in  attacking  him  by  night  with  a  mili- 
 tary force,  designed  to  intimate  that  he  was  the  chief 
 of  a  political  faction ;  whereas,  had  there  been  any 
 real  ground  for  apprehending  him,  he  was  during 
 several  preceding  days  completely  in  their  power, 
 whilst  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  courts  and  porticos 
 of  the  temple.  By  this  touching  and  unanswerable 
 appeal,  he  drew  the  attention  of  all  the  Jews  present 
 to  the  accomplishment  of  the  ancient  prophecy  con- 
 cerning him,  which  announced  that,  although  he  had 
 done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his 
 mouth,  he  was  ranked  with  transgressors.-}-  Having 
 thus  demonstrated  that  he  was  an  innocent  and  willing 
 victim,  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  about 
 to  lay  down  his  life,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  to  fulfil 
 the  divine  purpose,  he  resigned  himself  into  the  hands 
 of  his  obdurate  enemies,  whilst  his  terrified  apostles, 
 concluding  that  all  was  lost,  forsook  him  and  fled. 
 
 After  a  long  and  anxious  struggle,  the  Sanhedrim 
 seemed  at  length  to  have  gained  a  triumph  over  Christ, 
 by  which  they  were  enabled  on  the  following  day  to 
 bring  him  to  an  ignominious  death,  tending,  as  far  as 
 human  influence  could  avail,  to  brand  with  perpetual 
 infamy  both  his  character  and  his  cause.  For, 
 although  his  death  was  executed  by  Gentiles,  who 
 were  then  the  political  masters  of  Judea,  it  was 
 virtually  the  act  of  the  Israelitish  people,  headed  by 
 
 *  2  Kings,  chap.  1,  v.  1 — 15 ; — Matt,  chap,  26,  v.  51  —  54  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  9,  V,  51 — 56  ; — John,  chap.  18,  v.  10 — 11. 
 
 t  Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  9, 12  ;  —  Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  28  ;—  Luke,  chap. 
 22,  V.  37. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH     OF  CHRIST.  J §5 
 
 their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers.  The  consent  of 
 Pilate,  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  their  wishes, 
 was  so  manifestly  extorted  from  him  by  importunity 
 and  intimidation,  that  he  loudly  protested  against 
 the  injustice  of  the  sentence  which  he  was  in  a  mea- 
 sure compelled  to  pronounce.  Abandoned  to  the 
 malice  of  his  enemies,  Christ  was  now  subjected  to 
 every  kind  of  cruelty  and  outrage.  By  the  multi- 
 tude, who  had  previously  favoured  him,  in  the  hope 
 that  he  would  shortly  appear  as  their  temporal  sove- 
 reign and  deliverer,  he  was  pursued  with  a  savage  ani- 
 mosity, expressive  of  their  bitter  disappointment  and 
 mortification.  By  the  Jewish  hierarchy,  the  highest 
 religious  authority  on  earth,  he  was  condemned  for 
 blasphemy ;  by  the  Roman  government,  the  highest 
 temporal  authority,  for  sedition.  Excommunicated  by 
 the  one,  degraded  by  the  other,  and  rejected  by  all,  he 
 was  mocked,  and  buffeted,  and  scourged,  and  finally 
 led  forth,  laden  with  the  cross,  to  suffer  without  the 
 walls  of  Jerusalem  the  death  of  a  miscreant  and  a  slave. 
 Stripped  as  a  criminal,  and  crowned  with  thorns  as  an 
 impostor,  he  was  crucified  between  two  malefactors, 
 in  the  room  of  their  leader  Barabbas  who,  although 
 guilty  of  sedition  and  murder,  was  by  the  special 
 request  of  the  Jewish  people  rescued  from  deserved 
 punishment,  in  order  that  Jesus,  the  inodel  of  every 
 virtue,  might  be  numbered  with  transgressors.*  Nor 
 was    the    malignity  of  his  adversaries   yet  satisfied. 
 
 *  In  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire  crucifixion  was  the 
 punishment  usually  inflicted  on  robbers,  murderers,  and  persons 
 guilty  of  sedition  or  rebellion  against  the  government.  For  examples^ 
 see  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  iii.  pp.  45,  120,  169,  172, 173,  367,  368  ; 
 vol.  iv.  pp.  171,  172. 
 
186  ^N  '^HE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 Whilst  he  hung  on  the  cross,  a  spectacle  to  men  and 
 angels,  and  an  object,  it  might  have  been  supposed, 
 of  commiseration  even  to  the  most  hostile  of  his  per- 
 secutors, they  barbarously  continued  to  revile  and 
 insult  him.  Approaching  in  quick  succession,  Jews 
 and  Gentiles,  priests  and  soldiers,  rulers  and  popu- 
 lace,  down  to  the  hardened  criminal  crucified  by  his 
 side,  vied  with  each  other  in  deriding  his  pretensions, 
 and  exulting  in  his  disgrace.  Forgetful  of  their  rank 
 and  station,  many  even  of  the  chief-priests,  scribes, 
 and  elders,  joined  with  the  multitude  in  swelling  the 
 note  of  execration.  Whilst  thus  unwittingly  fulfill- 
 ing the  prophecies  of  Scripture  by  rejecting  their  own 
 Messiah,  and  avowing  themselves  in  their  official 
 character  the  principal  authors  of  his  death,  they 
 proved  how  incapable  they  were  of  contriving  or 
 conceiving  the  sublime  plan  of  human  redemption ; 
 and,  although  esteemed  the  holiest  of  mankind,  how 
 absolutely,  and  even  more  than  others,  they  stood  in 
 need  of  its  succour.  Not  less  blind,  however,  than 
 depraved,  they  remarked  with  peculiar  satisfaction 
 that  Christ  was  now  evidently  abandoned  by  God,  of 
 whom  he  had  proclaimed  himself  the  beloved  and 
 only -begotten  Son,  and  triumphantly  appealed  to  the 
 divine  rejection  of  him,  as  justifying  and  confirming 
 their  own. — "  He  saved  others,  [but]  cannot  save  him- 
 self. If  he  is  the  Christ,  the  chosen  of  God,  the 
 king  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the 
 cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe.  He  trusted  in 
 God,  let  [God]  now  deliver  him,  if  he  will  have  him, 
 for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God."* 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  41—43  ;— Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  31,  32  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  23,  V.  35. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ^^J 
 
 But,  their  inference  was  as  fallacious  as  tlieir  con- 
 duct was  execrable.     The  outward  dispensations  of 
 God's  providence  are  no  certain  tests  of  his  estima- 
 tion ;  and  thus  far  all  the  load  of  suffering  accumu- 
 lated on  the  head  of  Jesus,  grievous  as  it  was,  yet 
 being  the  result  of  malignity  and  violence,  and  en- 
 tirely opposite  to  his  desert,  was  neither  sufficient  to 
 overwhelm  his  spirit,  nor  to  prove  him  the  object  of 
 divine  malediction.     On  the  contrary,  he  had  himself 
 taught  his    disciples, — "  Happy  are   they    who   are 
 persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the 
 kingdom  of  heaven.     Happy  are  ye,  when   for  my 
 sake  men  shall  hate  you,  and  excommunicate  you, 
 and  reproach  j^ou,   and  persecute  you,  and  utter  all 
 maimer  of  calumny  against  you.     Rejoice  and  exult 
 in  that  day,  for  behold !  great  is  your  reward  in  hea- 
 ven, for  in  like  manner  did  their  fathers  to  the  pro- 
 phets who   [came]  before  you." — The  apostles  and 
 their  associates  seconded  this  doctrine,  both  by  pre- 
 cept and  example.     In  his  address  to  the  Sanhedrim, 
 Stephen  the  first  martyr    indignantly  exclaimed, — • 
 "  Ye  stiff-necked,  and  uncircumcised   in  heart  and 
 ears  !    ye  always  resist  the  Holy  Spirit.      As  your 
 fathers  [did,]  so  do  ye.    "Which  of  the  prophets  did 
 your  fathers  forbear  to  persecute  and  slay  ?  even  those 
 who  foretold  the  coming  of  that  righteous  person,  of 
 whom  ye  have  now  been  the  betrayers  and  murder- 
 ers."*— Paul  assured  both  the  Jewish  and  Gentile 
 churches  that  their  persecutions,  like  his  own,   far 
 from  implying  God's  displeasure  against  them,  were 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  5,  v.  10—12  ;— Luke,  chap.  6,  v.  22,  23  ;— Acts,  cliap. 
 7,  V.  51,  52. 
 
188  '  ^^    ^^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 a  proof  of  his  confidence  and  favour,  and  secured  to 
 them  an  eternal  reward  so  infinitely  outweighing 
 their  temporal  sufferings,  that  it  was  their  privilege 
 not"  merely  to  endure,  but  even  to  glory  in  tribula- 
 tions. The  language  of  Peter  is  precisely  similar : — 
 **  If  any  one  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him  not  be 
 ashamed,  but  [rather]  glorify  God  on  that  account : 
 
 Let  those  who  suffer  by  the  will  of  God 
 
 commit  their  souls  to  him  in  well-doing,  as  to  a  faith- 
 ful creator."* — The  whole  deportment  of  Christ 
 under  his  outward  sufferings  served  to  show  that, 
 considered  in  themselves  alone,  he  regarded  them 
 without  dismay,  and  endured  them  without  dis- 
 tress. That  the  captain  of  salvation  should  have 
 evinced  less  courage  than  many  of  his  humble  fol- 
 lowers, or  failed  to  exemplify  his  own  precepts, 
 would  be  an  incredible  supposition.  The  annals  of 
 most  nations  afford  numerous  instances  in  which 
 torments  still  greater  than  those  of  crucifixion  have 
 been  borne,  even  by  youths  and  women,  with  the 
 most  invincible  constancy  and  patience.  Several 
 have  been  already  mentioned;  and  were  it  necessary, 
 others  to  an  almost  unlimited  extent  might  be 
 adduced.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  quote  the  account 
 given  by  Josephus  of  the  fortitude  of  the  Essenes, 
 who,  in  addition  to  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees, 
 constituted  the  third  religious  sect  amongst  the  Jews, 
 — "  They  contemn" — says  that  historian,  —  "  the 
 miseries  of  life,  and  are  above  pain  by  the  genero- 
 sity of  their  mind.     And  as  for  death,  if  it  will  be 
 
 *  Romans,  chap.  5.  v.  I — 5  ;  chap.  8,  v.  16—18; — Philipp.  chap.  1, 
 V.  27— 30;— 2  Thess.  chap.  1,  v.  3—7  ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  4,  v.  12—19. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ioq 
 
 for  their  glory,  they  esteem  it  better  than  living 
 always.  And,  indeed,  our  war  with  the  Romans 
 gave  abundant  evidence  what  great  souls  they  had  in 
 their  trials ;  wherein,  although  they  were  tortured 
 and  distorted,  burnt  and  torn  to  pieces,  and  went 
 through  all  kinds  of  instruments  of  torment,  that 
 they  might  be  forced  either  to  blaspheme  their  legis- 
 lator, or  to  eat  what  was  forbidden  them,  yet  could 
 they  not  be  made  to  do  either,  no,  nor  once  to 
 flatter  their  tormentors,  nor  to  shed  a  tear;  but 
 they  smiled  in  their  very  pains,  and  laughed  those 
 to  scorn  who  inflicted  the  torments  upon  them,  and 
 resigned  up  their  souls  with  great  alacrity,  as  expect- 
 ing to  receive  them  again," 
 
 The  evangelical  narrative  accordingly  shows  that,  on 
 the  very  evening  when  Christ  was  betrayed,  instead  of 
 brooding  in  solitary  apprehension  over  the  doom  which 
 awaited  him,  and  of  which  he  had  the  most  distinct  an- 
 ticipation, he  affectionately  joined  his  apostles  at  the 
 paschal  supper,  which  he  superintended  as  the  head  of 
 the  family,  and  employed  several  of  the  few  remaining 
 hours  of  his  life  in  consoling,  instructing,  and  pray- 
 ing for  them. — '*  Jesus,  knowing  before  the  feast  of 
 the  passover  that  his  hour  to  depart  from  this  world 
 to  the  Father  was  arrived,  having  [hitherto]  loved  his 
 disciples  who  were  in  the  world,  continued  to  show 
 his  love  for  them  to  the  end."* — The  calm  and  digni- 
 fied manner  in  which  he  surrendered  himself  to  his 
 
 *  The  authorised  version  of  this  passage  is  ambiguous,  and  tends 
 to  countenance  the  error  committed  by  Lightfoot  and  other  com- 
 mentators, that  Christ  either  did  not  partake  of  the  paschal  supper 
 at  all,  or  not  at  the  same  time  with  the  Israelitish  people  generally. 
 John,  chap.  13,  v.  1  ;— Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  iii.  pp.  377,  378. 
 
|Q/\  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF     ATONEMENT 
 
 enemies  at  Getlisemane,  after  giving  them  suffi- 
 cient proof  that,  had  he  been  disposed,  he  possessed 
 abundant  power  to  deliver  himself  from  their  hands, 
 has  been  noticed.  Both  before  the  Sanhedrim,  and 
 at  the  tribunal  of  Pilate  he  displayed  similar  firm- 
 ness, made  the  noble  profession  recommended  by  the 
 apostle  Paul  to  the  imitation  of  Timothy,  and  of 
 course  of  all  other  Christians  subjected  to  persecu- 
 tion, and  declined  the  repeated  opportunities  offered 
 him  by  the  Roman  governor,  to  save  his  life  by  low^er- 
 ing  his  pretensions.  When  on  his  way  to  Golgotha 
 his  fate  was  bewailed  by  a  number  of  compassionate 
 Jewish  women,  he  turned  towards  them,  and  replied 
 with  the  majesty  of  a  prophet,  and  the  benevo- 
 lence of  a  martyr, — "Daughters  of  Jerusalem!  weep 
 not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves,  and  for  your 
 children." — In  like  manner,  whilst  suffering  the  very 
 act  of  crucifixion,  he  prayed  for  his  executioners, — 
 "  Father  I  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
 are  doing ;" — assured  the  penitent  malefactor, — "  I 
 tell  thee  truly,  this  day  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in 
 Paradise  ;" — and  with  kind  and  provident  considera- 
 tion for  his  afflicted  mother,  committed  her  to  the 
 care  of  his  beloved  apostle,  John.  He  refused  the 
 cup  of  medicated  wine,  usually  taken  by  crucified 
 persons  in  order  to  mitigate  their  bodily  sufferings  ; 
 and,  in  uttering  the  only  complaint  of  this  kind 
 which  fell  from  his  lips,  the  same  apostle  intimates 
 that  it  was  not  so  much  with  a  view  to  his  own  relief, 
 as  to  the  accomplishment  of  prophecy  that  he  ex- 
 claimed,— "  I  thirst." — A  similar  representation  is 
 given  by  Paul,  when  encouraging  the  persecuted 
 Hebrew   Christians  of  his  time  to  imitate  the  forti- 
 
IN   RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ini 
 
 tude  and  perseverance  of  their  divine  master: — "Let 
 us  run  with  patience  the  race  set  before  us,  fixing 
 our  attention  on  Jesus,  who  in  the  [conflict  of]  faith 
 led  and  overcame ;  who  for  the  sake  of  the  joy 
 proposed  to  him  endured  [the]  cross,  despising  [the] 
 shame,  and  has  [in  consequence]  sat  down  at  the 
 right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God."* — In  this  pas- 
 sage it  is  remarkable  that  the  apostle  alludes  only  to 
 "  the  shame"  of  the  cross,  as  if,  under  ordinary  cir- 
 cumstances, that  was  the  only  part  of  the  punishment 
 capable  of  distressing  a  mind  of  superior  dignity  ; 
 and  as  if  the  mere  bodily  pains  of  crucifixion,  on 
 which  some  authors  have  so  profusely  descanted, 
 were  scarcely  deserving  of -notice. 
 
 Thus  far,  therefore,  it  is  impossible  to  trace  in  the 
 sufferings  of  Christ  any  evidence  of  the  divine  male- 
 diction, under  which  it  was  necessary  that  he  should 
 die,  both  really,  in  order  to  make  an  adequate  atone- 
 ment for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  manifestly,  in 
 order  to  demonstrate  to  all  intelligent  beings,  that  in 
 the  work  of  human  salvation  the  justice  of  God  was 
 not  less  glorified  than  his  mercy.  Thus  far,  Christ 
 appeared  only  as  a  martyr  to  the  cause  which  he  had 
 undertaken ;  and  had  this  been  all,  would  doubtless 
 have  maintained  to  the  end  the  same  calmness  and 
 patience  which  he  had  evinced  from  the  beginning ; 
 nor  would  the  manner  of  his  death  have  varied  in  any 
 material  respect  from  that  of  many  of  the  early 
 Christian  martyrs,  who,  when  condemned  to  the  cross 
 or  the  stake,  employed  themselves  as  long  as  breath 
 
 *  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  27—34,  39— 43;— John,  chap.  19,  v.  28;— 
 1  Tim.  chap.  6,  v.  12— 14;— Heb.  chap.  12,  v.  1—3  ;— Revel,  chap. 
 3,  V.  21. 
 
192  ^^    '^^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 and  strength  remained,  either  in  acts  of  devotion  to 
 God,  or  in  religious  exhortations  to  the  surrounding 
 multitude.  But  a  different  scene  now  claims  our 
 attention.  He  who  sustained  every  other  suffering 
 with  unshaken  firmness,  was  destined  to  endure  an 
 infliction  of  overwhelming  severity,  in  which  the  very 
 perfection  of  his  nature  was  to  prove  the  principal 
 source  of  his  distress.  To  advance  the  divine  glory, 
 to  magnify  the  law  and  make  it  honourable,  and  to 
 accomplish  the  redemption  of  mankind,  Christ  volun- 
 tarily consented  to  bear  in  his  own  person  the  re- 
 tribution due  to  human  depravity,  and  in  that 
 capacity  to  lose  for  a  thne  all  sense  of  God's  friend- 
 ship, and  all  enjoyment  of  his  communion,  although 
 conscious  that  the  misery  thence  arising  would 
 occasion  his  death.  From  this  internal  and  actual 
 abandonment,  all  the  outward  manifestations  of  male- 
 diction to  w^hich  he  was  exposed  derived  their  signi- 
 ficancy  and  effect.  The  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  including 
 the  hierarchy,  who  by  virtue  of  their  sacred  office 
 were  really  invested  with  the  power  of  blessing  and 
 cursing,  had  judicially  condemned  him  to  death  on  a 
 charge  of  blasphemy.  The  punishment  of  this  offence, 
 according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  was  stoning  by  the 
 people  without  the  city,  followed  by  the  suspension 
 of  the  corpse  on  a  gibbet,  or  tree. — "  The  Hebrews" 
 — says  Kipping, — "  first  put  to  death,  either  by  strang- 
 ling or  stoning,  those  criminals  whom  they  hanged. 
 The  dead  bodies  were  afterwards  exposed  to  view, 
 suspended  from  a  tree,  not  by  the  neck,  but  by  the 
 arms ;  and  this  kind  of  suspension  was  not  so  much 
 a  punishment  itself,  as  a  consequence  of  punishment. 
 The  Rabbi  Solomon  Jarchi  cites  as  a  common  rule 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  JQg 
 
 amongst  the  Hebrews, — "  All  those  who  are  stoned 
 are  [subsequently]  hanged." — Salmasius  gives  a  similar 
 account,  and  adds  from  the  rabbinical  writings,  that 
 only  blasphemers  and  idolaters  were  wont  to  be  thus 
 suspended.*  Had  the  people  of  Israel  at  that  time 
 possessed  political  independence,  this  would  have 
 been  the  punishment  inflicted  on  Christ,  but  as  they 
 were  subjects  of  the  Roman  empire,  it  was  commuted 
 for  that  of  crucifixion.  In  this  change  they  acqui- 
 esced the  more  readily  because,  together  with  an 
 equal,  or  even  a  greater  share  of  ignominy  and  tor- 
 ture, the  Roman  punishment  bore,  like  their  own, 
 the  stamp  of  divine  malediction,  agreeably  to  the 
 declaration  of  the  Old  Testament  quoted  by  the 
 apostle  Paul, — "  Cursed  [is]  every  one  that  hangeth 
 on  a  tree  ;" — and  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  same 
 law  that  they  were  so  anxious  for  the  despatch  and 
 removal  of  the  crucified  persons  before  sunset.  On 
 the  occasion  of  an  act  of  blasphemy  having  been  com- 
 mitted by  one  of  the  mixed  multitude,  soon  after  the 
 departure  of  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt, — "  the 
 Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying ;  Bring  forth  him 
 that  hath  cursed  without  the  camp,  and  let  all  that 
 heard  [him]  lay  their  hands  upon  his  head,  and  let  all 
 the  congregation  stone  him.  And  thou  shalt  speak 
 unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying.  Whosoever  curseth 
 his  G  od  shall  bear  his  sin  ;  and  he  that  blasphemeth 
 the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  surely  be  put  to  death, 
 [and]  all  the  congregation  shall  certainly  stone  him." — 
 
 *  Kipping,  De  Cruce,  et  Cruciariis,  pp.  18, 19,  (freely  translated). 
 — Salmasius,  De  Cruce,  &c.,  pp.  620,  621.— Poole,  Synopsis  Criti- 
 corum,  &c.  ;  Note  on  Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  33. 
 
 K 
 
194  <^N     'T^^     DOCTRINE     OF     ATONEMENT 
 
 It  was  further  commanded,  — "  If  a  man  have 
 committed  a  sin  worthy  of  death,  and  he  be  to  be 
 put  to  death,  and  thou  hang  him  on  a  tree,  his 
 body  shall  not  remain  all  night  upon  the  tree,  but 
 thou  shalt  in  any  wise  bury  him  that  day ;  (for  he 
 that  is  hanged  [is]  accursed  of  God,)  that  thy  land  be 
 not  defiled,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  [for} 
 an  inheritance."* — Amongst  other  outward  signs 
 of  malediction  were  the  earthquake,  which  at 
 the  same  time  rent  the  rocks ;  and  the  extraordi- 
 nary darkness,  owing  perhaps,  as  already  suggested, 
 to  a  shower  of  volcanic  ashes,  which  for  three 
 hours  during  the  middle  of  the  day  obscured  the 
 sun  and  the  air,  and  overspread  the  whole  of  Pales- 
 tine, To  discuss  the  subject  at  large  in  this  place 
 would  be  unsuitable,  but  both  reason  and  Scripture 
 seem  to  intimate  that,  during  the  present  period  of 
 the  world,  these  terrific  convulsions  of  nature  are 
 results  of  the  primeval  curse  which  the  fall  of  man 
 entailed  on  the  earth,  exhibiting  a  partial  return  to- 
 wards the  original  chaos  whence  it  was  produced  by 
 the  Deity,  when  he  beheld  everything  which  he  had 
 made,  and  declared  it  to  be  very  good  ;  and  affording 
 a  fearful  presage  of  the  general  conflagration,  prepar- 
 atory to  a  new  and  happier  arrangement,  which  it  is 
 ultimately  destined  to  undergo.  In  all  other  parts  of 
 the  sacred  writings,  when  volcanic  movements  are 
 noticed,  they  are  represented  as  tokens  of  God's  dis- 
 pleasure, and  there  is  therefore  the  less  ground  to 
 doubt  that  they  were  intended  to  have  the  same  im- 
 port on  this  solemn  occasion. 
 
 *  Levit.  chap.  24,  v.  10—16  ;— Deut.  chap.  21,  v.  22,  23 ;— Joshua, 
 chap.  8,  V.  28,  29  ;  chap.  10,  v.  26,  27  ;— Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  13. 
 
IN   RELATION   TO   THE   DEATH   OF  CHRIST.  J 95 
 
 The  external  signs  of  divine  malediction  which 
 accompanied  the  death  of  Christ  were  necessary  for 
 the  purpose  of  public  impression,  a  purpose  which 
 has  ever  since  been  fully  accomplished ;  although, 
 owing  to  the  perverseness  of  the  human  mind,  too 
 often  with  an  unfavourable  effect. — '*  The  doctrine 
 of  the  cross" —  says  the  apostle  Paul,  — *'  is  to 
 them   that    perish    foolishness,   but   to   us  who    are 
 
 saved   it  is  the  power  of  God  ; for   the 
 
 Jews  require  signs,  and  the  Greeks  seek  aftei 
 wdsdom,  but  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  to  the  Jews 
 an  offence,  to  the  Gentiles  foolishness,  but  to  them 
 that  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the 
 power  of  God,  and  the'  wisdom  of  God." — The 
 apostle  Peter,  writing  concerning  the  Saviour  to 
 the  Jewish  converts  of  Asia  Minor,  remarks  in  like 
 manner, — "  To  you  that  believe  [he  is]  precious, 
 but  to  them  that  are  disobedient  the  stone  which 
 the  builders  disallowed  has  [nevertheless]  become 
 the  corner  stone,  and  [at  the  same  time]  a  stone  of 
 stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence."* — The  extreme 
 repugnance  of  unconverted  Israelites,  for  the  reason 
 here  stated,  to  the  doctrine  of  the  cross,  is  well  dis- 
 played in  the  interesting  conference,  whether  real  or 
 imaginary,  between  Justin  Martyr  and  Trypho  the 
 Jew.  Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  discussion  the 
 latter  observes, — *' Respecting  the  ignominious  cruci- 
 fixion of  Christ  we  hesitate,  for  the  law  declares  that 
 a  crucified  person  is  accursed,  and  of  this  point  I 
 cannot  therefore  easily  be  persuaded.  That  Christ 
 is  doomed   to    suffer,    the    Holy   Scriptures   plainly 
 
 *  Rom.  chap.  9,  v.  30—33  ;— 1  Corinth,  chap.l,  v.  17—25  ;— Galat. 
 chap.  5,  V.  11  -,—1  Peter,  chap.  2,  v.  6—8. 
 
 k2 
 
196  ^N    '^^^     DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 announce  ;  but  whether  to  suffer  in  a  manner  which 
 by  the  law  is  connected  wdth  a  curse,  we  wish,  if  you 
 
 have  any  proof,  to  learn  [from  you] That 
 
 he  is  to  suffer,  and  to  be  led  as  a  sheep  [to  the 
 slaughter]  we  know  ;  but  show  us  whether  he  is  also 
 to  be  crucified,  and  to  die  in  so  base  and  ignominious 
 a  manner,  under  a  punishment  which  by  the  law  is 
 devoted  to  malediction ;  for  of  such  an  indignity  we 
 cannot  even  entertain  the  thought."* — To  expect  sal- 
 vation from  one  who  suffered  the  death  of  the  cross, 
 attended  with  every  circumstance  of  infamy  and  con- 
 tempt, has  always  appeared  to  the  unbelieving  Gentile 
 the  height  of  folly,  and  to  the  unbelieving  Jew  not 
 only  absurd  but  impious,  in  consequence  of  the  death 
 of  the  cross  being  by  the  law  of  Moses  indelibly 
 stamped  with  the  divine  malediction  ;  and  yet  it  is  to 
 this  very  malediction,  really  but  vicariously  endured, 
 that  it  owes  all  its  efficacy  and  glory. 
 
 The  nature  of  those  mental  sufferings  of  Christ 
 which  depended  on  this  cause  has  been  much  misre- 
 presented, both  by  the  adversaries  and  the  advocates 
 of  the  gospel.  By  some  of  the  former  they  have  been 
 ascribed  to  the  disappointment  and  despair  of  a  de- 
 luded enthusiast,  convinced  too  late  of  the  folly  of 
 his  expectations,  and  the  vanity  of  his  pretensions  ; 
 by  some  of  the  latter  they  have  been  either  exagger- 
 ated, as  denoting  an  infliction  of  divine  wrath  iden- 
 tical with  that  which  is  supposed  to  attend  final 
 condemnation  ;  or  underrated,  as  not  exceeding  the 
 natural  and  moderate  sorrow  which  might  be  felt  by 
 any  virtuous  and  benevolent  man,  on  contemplating 
 
 *  Justinus,  (Martyr,)  cum  Tryphone  Judseo  Dialcgus,  pp.  271, 
 272  ; — Bosius,  Crux  triumphans,  &c.,  p.  47. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  197 
 
 the  painful  spectacle  of  human  vice  and  misery,  more 
 especially  if  persecuted  to  death,  on  account  of  his  well- 
 meant  but  unsuccessful  endeavours  to  promote  refor- 
 mation and  happiness.  Of  hostile  sentiments  thinly 
 covered  by  a  veil  of  affected  candour,  a  striking  in- 
 stance occurs  in  the  celebrated  work  of  Gibbon, 
 from  which  the  following  are  extracts. — *'  The  fami- 
 liar companions  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  conversed  with 
 their  friend  and  countryman,  who  in  all  the  actions 
 of  rational  and  animal  life,  appeared  of  the  same 
 species  with  themselves.  His  progress  from  infancy 
 to  youth  and  manhood  was  marked  by  a  regular  in- 
 crease in  stature  and  wisdom  ;  and  after  a  painful 
 agony  of  mind  and  body,  he  expired  on  the  cross. 
 He  lived  and  died  for  the  service  of  mankind,  but 
 the  life  and  death  of  Socrates  had  likewise  been 
 devoted  to  the  cause  of  religion  and  justice  ;  and 
 although  the  stoic  or  the  hero  may  disdain  the  humble 
 virtues  of  Jesus,  the  tears  which  he  shed  over  his 
 friend  and  country  may  be  esteemed  the  purest  evi- 
 dence of  his  humanity The  heretics  abused 
 
 the  passionate  exclamations  of — '  My  God!  my  God  ! 
 why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  V — Rousseau,  who  has 
 drawn  an  eloquent  but  indecent  parallel  between 
 Christ  and  Socrates,  forgets  that  not  a  word  of  impa- 
 tience or  despair  escaped  from  the  mouth  of  the 
 dying  philosopher.  In  the  Messiah  such  sentiments 
 could  be  only  apparent,  and  such  ill-sounding  words 
 are  properly  explained  as  the  application  of  a  psalm 
 and  prophecy."* — More  chargeable    with  forgetful- 
 
 *  Gibbon  ;  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  vol,  viii.  pp. 
 261,262,270,  271. 
 
198        ON  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 
 
 ness  than  Rousseau,  Gibbon  omits  to  mention  that 
 these  ill-sounding  words,  as  he  terms  them,  were  fol- 
 lowed by  others  of  a  more  auspicious  nature,  and  that 
 immediately  before  his  death  Christ  triumphantly 
 exclaimed, — ["  All]  is  accomplished:  Father  !  into  thy 
 hands  I  commit  my  spirit." — Even  such  disparaging 
 remarks  may,  however,  have  their  use,  by  deterring 
 better-disposed  persons  from  inadvertently  following 
 a  similar  course,  and  making  injudicious  attempts  to 
 extenuate  the  Saviour's  mental  sufferings,  as  if  they 
 implied  despondency  or  pusillanimity,  and  tended  to 
 throw  discredit  on  his  character  and  cause.  It  is 
 remarkable  that,  owing  no  doubt  to  want  of  due 
 consideration,  several  pious  and  learned  authors,  and 
 even  reverend  prelates,  have  fallen  into  this  error,  of 
 which  the  subjoined  passage  from  Bishop  Home's 
 excellent  Commentary  on  the  Psalms  furnishes  an 
 example  : — "  In  the  language  of  this  divine  book" — 
 he  remarks, — "  the  prayers  and  praises  of  the  church 
 have  been  offered  up  to  the  throne  of  grace  from  age 
 to  age.  And  it  appears  to  have  been  the  manual  of 
 the  Son  of  God  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  who  at  the 
 conclusion  of  his  last  supper  is  generally  supposed, 
 and  that  upon  good  grounds,  to  have  sung  a  hymn 
 taken  from  it,  (Psalms  113  to  118  inclusive,)  who 
 pronounced  on  the  cross  the  beginning  of  the  twenty- 
 second  psalm, — '  My  God !  my  God  !  why  hast  thou 
 forsaken  me  ?' — and  expired  with  a  part  of  the  thirty- 
 first  psalm  in  his  mouth, — '  Into  thy  hands  I  com- 
 mend my  spirit.' — Thus  he  who  had  not  the  Spirit  by 
 measure,  in  whom  were  hidden  all  the  treasures  of 
 wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  who  spake  as  never  man 
 spake,  yet  chose  to  conclude  his  life,  to  solace  himself 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  J  99 
 
 in  his  greatest  agony,  and  at  last  to  breathe  out  his 
 soul,  in  the  psalmist's  form  of  words  rather  than  his 
 own.     No  tongue  of  man  or  angel,  as  Dr.  Hammond 
 justly  observes,  can  convey  a  higher  idea  of  any  book, 
 and  of  their  felicity  who  use  it  aright."* — This  style, 
 of  exposition  is  singularly  defective  and  objectionable. 
 More  importance  is  apparently  attached  to  the  pro- 
 phecy than   to    its   fulfilment.     It  seems  to  be  for-  . 
 gotten  that  the  psalms  were  not  mere  human  com- 
 positions, but  indited  by  the  same  Holy  Spirit  which 
 was  bestowed  on  Christ  without  measure ;  and  he  is 
 improperly  represented  as  solacing  himself  by  cita- 
 tions from    them  when,   in   reality,    he  was   giving 
 expression    to    the    spontaneous    and    overpowering 
 emotions    of    a    heart    bursting    with    grief.      The 
 remarks  of  Paley  on  the  same  subject,  in  his  valu- 
 able   work    on    the    evidences   of    Christianity,    are 
 liable  to  similar  censure. — "  Our  Saviour" — he  ob- 
 serves,— "  uttered  no  impassioned  devotion.     There 
 was  no  heat    in  his  piety,    or   in   the   language   in 
 which  he  expressed  it,    no  vehement   or   rapturous 
 ejaculations,  no  violent  urgency  in  his  prayers.     The 
 Lord's  prayer   is   a   model   of  calm  devotion.     His 
 words  in  the  garden  are  unaffected  expressions  of  a 
 deep  indeed,  but  sober  piety.     He  never  appears  to 
 have  been  worked  up  into  anything  like  that  elation, 
 or  that  emotion  of  spirits,  which  is  occasionally  ob- 
 served   in   most   of  those,    to    whom    the  name    of 
 enthusiast  can  in  any  degree   be  applied." — Under 
 the  influence  of  such  sentiments,  it  is  not  remarkable 
 that  Paley  should  have  disliked  the  term  agony  em- 
 
 *  Bishop  Home ;  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Psalms ;  vol.  i. 
 Preface,  pp.  3,  4. 
 
2QQ  ON     THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 ployed  by  Luke,  and  have  endeavoured  to  explain  it 
 away. — "The  three  first  evangelists" — says  he, — "re- 
 cord what  is  called  our  Saviour's  agony,  i.  e.^  his  devo- 
 tion in  the  garden,  immediately  before  he  was  appre- 
 hended."— The  best  refutation  of  such  low^ering  state- 
 ments is  furnished  by  the  words  of  the  sacred  writers 
 themselves.  Luke's  description  of  the  awful  scene  at 
 Gethsemane  is, — "  And  there  appeared  to  him  an 
 angel  from  heaven,  strengthening  him.  Then,  falling 
 into  an  agony  he  prayed  most  earnestly,  and  his 
 sweat  became  as  it  were  clots  of  blood  dropping  to 
 the  ground." — The  apostle  Paul  in  like  manner 
 declares,  that — "  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  [the  Saviour] 
 offered  prayers  and  supplications,  [accompanied]  with 
 tears  and  loud  cries,  to  him  who  was  able  to  save  him 
 from  death,  and  was  heard  on  account  of  [his]  pious 
 fear  :  [and  that  thus,]  although  he  was  a  son,  he 
 learnt  obedience  from  his  sufferings."* — That  his 
 language  and  conduct  were  perfectly  rational  and 
 unaffected,  is  undoubtedly  true  ;  but  if  the  narrative 
 of  which  this  is  a  part  does  not  describe  the  most 
 vehement  and  impassioned  devotion ;  if  a  state  of 
 mental  distress  which  threatened  to  destroy  his  life, 
 and  brought  an  angel  to  his  aid,  does  not  imply 
 strong  emotion ;  if  agony  and  bloody  sweat  did  not 
 exhibit  heat  in  piety ;  and  if  earnest  and  reiterated 
 supplications,  attended  with  tears  and  cries,  did  not 
 express  urgency  in  prayer,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
 what  can.  The  palpable  contradiction  of  Scripture 
 in  this  instance,  by  so  acute  and  talented  an  author, 
 plainly   shows    that   his  views    on  the  subject,   like 
 
 *  Paley,  View  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  vol.  ii.  pp.  59,  60, 
 118  ;— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  39—44  ;— Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  5—10. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^QJ 
 
 those  of  many  others,  were  erroneous,  and  that  fur- 
 tlier  explanation  was  required. 
 
 There  is  a  different  class  of  theologians  who  readily 
 admit  that  on  this  occasion  Christ  suffered  profound 
 grief,  but  are  willing  to  ascribe  it  to  natural  and 
 ordinary  causes,  such  as  his  abhorrence  of  the  depra- 
 vity, and  compassion  for  the  misery  of  mankind, 
 more  particularly  of  his  countrymen  the  Jews,  his 
 foreknowledge  of  the  awful  doom  which  awaited 
 them,  his  dejection  on  account  of  their  almost  uni- 
 versal opposition  to  himself,  and  his  dissatisfaction 
 at  the  ill  success  of  his  laborious  efforts  for  their 
 conversion  and  salvation.  But  these  and  similar 
 causes  which  have  been  alleged,  supposing  them  to 
 have  been  real,  which  is  not  always  the  case,  are  quite 
 inadequate  to  explain  the  sorrows  of  Gethsemane  and 
 Calvary,  which  lasted  but  a  few  hours,  and  were  evi- 
 dently of  a  very  peculiar  and  personal  nature.  The 
 influence  of  such  causes,  whatever  might  have  been  its 
 amount,  was  not  limited  to  those  periods,  but  must 
 have  operated  more  or  less  uniformly  throughout  the 
 whole  course  of  his  life,  or  at  least  of  his  ministry  ; 
 and  yet,  as  will  presently  be  shown,  his  habitual  state 
 of  mind  was  far  from  being  unhappy.  Any  sufferings 
 of  this  kind  to  which  he  was  liable  must  have  been 
 greatly  alleviated  by  his  complete  knowledge  of  the 
 divine  purposes,  and  his  cordial  acquiescence  in  them, 
 by  the  satisfaction  which  he  derived  from  pursuits  of 
 active  usefulness  and  benevolence,  by  the  soothing 
 intercourse  of  friends  and  disciples,  and  by  the  spon- 
 taneous tendency  of  eminent  piety  and  virtue  to  pro- 
 duce serenity  and  joy.  It  should  also  be  remembered 
 that  the  humanity  which  he  assumed  was  perfect  in  all 
 
 k3 
 
202  ON  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 
 
 points,  and  therefore  not  less  endued  with  energy  and 
 courage,  than  with  kindness  and  humility.  In  this 
 and  other  respects  the  apostle  Paul  closely  imitated 
 his  divine  master,  and,  as  before  remarked,  recom- 
 mended the  persecuted  Hebrew  Christians  of  his  time 
 to  follow  the  example  of  him, — "  who  for  the  sake  of 
 the  joy  proposed  to  him  endured  [the]  cross,  (as  well 
 as  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself,)  de- 
 spising [the]  shame,  and  had  [in  consequence]  sat 
 down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." — With 
 all  his  meekness  and  compassion,  Christ  could  on 
 proper  occasions  severely  rebuke  the  vices  of  men, 
 and  predict  their  punishment.  He  exhorted  his  fol- 
 lowers to  bear  persecutions  and  afflictions  not  only 
 with  patience,  but  with  exultation,  as  proofs  of  the 
 divine  confidence,  and  pledges  of  future  reward  ;  and 
 his  addresses  to  his  apostles  at  the  last  supper,  a  few 
 hours  only  before  his  death,  were  full  of  conso- 
 lation and  encouragement. — **  Peace  I  impart  to 
 you,  my  peace  I  give  to  you  :  not  as  the  w^orld 
 giveth  give  I  to  you.    Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
 
 neither  let  it  be  afraid These  things  I  have 
 
 spoken  to  you  that  my  joy  in  you  may  continue, 
 that  your  joy  may  be  complete,  ....  [and]  that  in  me 
 ye  may  have  peace.  In  the  world  ye  have  affliction, 
 but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world."* 
 
 The  sorrow  which  caused  his  sudden  death  must 
 consequently  have  had  a  deeper  source  than  that 
 here  suggested ;  but,  in  avoiding  one  error,  some 
 caution  is  necessary  to  avoid  falling  into  the  oppo- 
 
 *  John,  chap.  14,  v.  27  ;  chap.  15,  v.  11 ;  chap.  16,  v.  33  ;— He- 
 brews, chap.  12,  V.  1 — 3  ; — See  also  the  Treatises  of  Moore,  and 
 Harwood,  on  the  agony  of  Christ. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^03 
 
 site  one.  By  an  improper  use  or  interpretation  of 
 figurative  language,  some  of  the  older  theological 
 writers  represent  Christ  as  having  suffered  a  positive 
 infliction  of  divine  wrath.  Thus  the  celebrated  Pre- 
 sident Edwards  observes : — "  Christ  never  so  emi- 
 nently appeared  for  divine  justice,  and  yet  never 
 suffered  so  much  from  divine  justice,  as  when  he 
 offered  up  himself  a  sacrifice  for  our  sins.  In  Christ's 
 great  sufferings  did  his  infinite  regard  to  the  honour 
 of  God's  justice  distinguishingly  appear,  for  it  was 
 from  regard  to  that,  that  he  thus  humbled  himself; 
 and  yet,  in  these  sufferings  Christ  was  the  mark  of 
 the  vindictive  expressions  of  that  very  justice  of  God. 
 Revenging  justice  then  spent  all  its  force  upon  him, 
 
 on  account  of  our  guilt And  this  was 
 
 the  way  and  means  by  which  Christ  stood  up  for  the 
 honour  of  God's  justice,  viz.,  by  thus  suffering  its  ter- 
 rible executions :  for  when  he  had  undertaken  for 
 sinners,  and  had  substituted  himself  in  their  room, 
 divine  justice  could  have  its  due  honour  no  other  way 
 than  by  his  suffering  its  revenges."* — The  erroneous- 
 ness,  not  to  say  the  absurdity  of  such  views,  has  been 
 exposed  by  several  judicious  authors,  amongst  others 
 by  Dr.  Moses  Stuart,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Epis- 
 tle to  the  Hebrews,  whose  words  are  as  follows : — 
 "  The  sentiment  of  the  clause  [Heb.  ix.  ^8]  clearlv 
 is,  that  Jesus  by  his  death,  (which  could,  take  place 
 but  once,)  endured  the  penalty  that  our  sins  deserved, 
 or  bore  the  sorrows  due  to  us.  But  this  general 
 expression  is  not  to  be  understood  as  if  the  writer 
 meant  to  say  with  philosophical  precision,   that  the 
 
 *  President  Edwards,  Works,  vol.  vi.  pp.  413,  414, 
 
204  ^^    "^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 sufferings  of  Jesus  were  in  all  respects,  and  considered 
 in  every  point  of  view,  an  exact  and  specific  quid  pro 
 quo,  as  it  regards  the  penalty  threatened  against  sin. 
 A  guilty  conscience  the  Saviour  had  not ;  eternal 
 punishment  he  did  not  suffer  ;  despair  of  deliverance 
 he  did  not  entertain.  It  is  altogether  unnecessary  to 
 suppose  that  the  writer  meant  to  be  understood  here 
 with  metaphysical  exactness.  But  that  vicarious 
 suffering  is  here  designated  seems  to  be  an  unavoidable 
 conclusion,  as  well  from  the  usus  loquendi  of  the  Scrip- 
 tures, as  from  the  nature  of  the  argument  through 
 the  whole  of  chapters  ix.  and  x." — A  similar  view  of 
 the  matter  is  taken  by  Outram,  Whitby,  Doddridge, 
 Dr.  Pye  Smith,  and  other  commentators.  So  far 
 indeed  was  Christ  on  the  cross  from  having  been  the 
 object  of  God's  wrath  that,  as  he  himself  often  de- 
 clared, he  was  on  that  very  account  the  object  of 
 his  highest  approbation  and  complacency. — **  There- 
 fore"— said  he, — "  doth  my  Father  love  me,  because 
 I  lay  down  my  life  to  take  it  again."* 
 
 How  then,  it  may  be  asked,  did  Christ  suffer  the 
 divine  malediction,  not  in  appearance  only  but  in 
 reality,  in  order  to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the 
 world  ?  In  order  to  answer  this  question,  it  is  neces- 
 sary to  consider  the  absolute  perfection  of  his  human 
 nature,  and  his  constant  and  beatific  communion 
 with  the  Father,  up  to  the  period  immediately  pre- 
 ceding his  death ;  for  to  suppose  that  his  whole  life 
 was  one  continued  scene  of  sorrow  and  distress  is 
 a  great,  although  not  an  uncommon  mistake.     It  is 
 
 *  Dr.  Moses  Stuart ;  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
 vol.  ii.  pp.  445 — 447; — John,  chap.  10,  v.  17,  18. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  205 
 
 true  that  he  stripped  himself  of  his  primeval  glory, 
 assumed  the  form  of  a  servant,  submitted  to  poverty, 
 opposition,  and  contempt,  and  was  painfully  affected 
 by  contemplating  the  depravity   and  misery  of  man- 
 kind ;  but  all  this  was  compensated  by  that  happy 
 and  intimate  friendship  with  God  which  he  uninter- 
 ruptedly   enjoyed,    in    a  degree  of  which  the  most 
 pious  and  virtuous  of  men  cannot  form  any  adequate 
 conception.    That  such  was  the  fact  might  reasonably 
 be   presumed    from    the    dignity  of  his   person,  the 
 superlative  excellence  of  his  character,  and  his  pecu- 
 liar relation  to  the  Deity ;  but  it  is  also  fully  stated 
 in  Scripture,  and  abundantly  proved  by  his  own  de- 
 clarations,  his   frequent  acts  of  private  and   public 
 devotion,  his  unexampled  power  of  performing  mira- 
 cles, and  the  remarkable  tokens  of  divine  protection 
 and  distinction  which  he  repeatedly  received.  Even  as 
 a  child,  it  is  recorded  of  him  that — "  he  became  strong 
 in  spirit,  being  filled  with  wisdom,  and  that  the  grace 
 of  God  was  upon  him." — When  at  the  age  of  twelve 
 years  he  first  went  up  to  the  paschal  festival  at  Jeru- 
 salem, he  was  unexpectedly  found  in   the   temple, 
 which  he  claimed  as  his  Father's  house,  discoursing 
 with  the  doctors  of  the  law,  and  astonishing  them  by 
 his  early  proficiency  in  religious  knowledge.     After 
 his  return  to  Nazareth,  he  continued — "  to  grow  in 
 wisdom,  and  in  stature,  and  in  favour  with  God  and 
 man." — At  the  age  of  thirty  years  he  Vv^as  baptized 
 by  his  precursor  John,  and  at  the  same  time  installed 
 into  his  own  prophetical  office.     On  this  important 
 occasion  he  received  the  most  distinguished  attesta- 
 tion which  the   Deity  could    bestow,  for   the  Holy 
 Spirit  descended  on   him  in   a  visible   form  like  a 
 
206  ^^    '^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 dove,  and  a  voice  from  heaven  proclaimed, — "  Thou 
 art  my  beloved  Son  :  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased."* — 
 A  similar  recognition  took  place  about  three  years 
 afterwards  at  his  transfiguration,  when,  says  the 
 apostle  Peter,  one  of  the  three  select  witnesses  of  that 
 august  scene, — "  he  received  from  God  the  Father 
 honour  and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to 
 him  from  the  majestic  glory.  This  is  my  beloved  Son, 
 in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." — Both  on  his  first  and 
 last  official  visits  to  Jerusalem  he  was  evidently  sus- 
 tained by  supernatural  influence,  when,  amidst  the 
 immense  multitudes  assembled  at  the  passover,  and 
 notwithstanding  the  formidable  hostility  of  the  civil 
 and  ecclesiastical  rulers,  he  went  boldly  into  the 
 temple,  and  expelled  from  its  outer  courts  those  w^ho, 
 by  establishing  therein  a  market  for  victims,  had 
 rendered  the  sacred  place  a  scene  of  extortionate  and 
 unhallowed  gain,  or  as  he  emphatically  termed  it, — 
 "  a  den  of  thieves." — Throughout  the  whole  of  his 
 brief  ministry  he  was  under  the  special  care  of  divine 
 providence ;  and  the  prediction  quoted  by  Satan, 
 during  the  severe  temptation  with  which  immediately 
 after  his  baptism  he  was  permitted  to  assail  him,  was 
 not  on  that  account  the  less  applicable, — •"  He  will 
 give  his  angels  charge  concerning  thee  to  guard  thee 
 thoroughly,  and  they  will  support  thee  on  their  hands, 
 lest  thou  shouldst  strike  thy  foot  against  a  stone." — 
 Agreeably  to  this  prediction,  holy  angels,  who  had 
 doubtless  been  unseen  spectators  of  the  temptation, 
 appeared  at  the  end  of  it,   and  ministered  to  him. 
 
 *  Luke,  chap.  2,  v.  40—52  ;  chap.  3,  v.  21—23. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF     CHRIST.         ^07 
 
 In  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  an  angel  was  despatched 
 to  strengthen  him,  when  in  danger  of  sinking  under 
 consternation  and  grief ;  and,  had  it  been  compatible 
 with  the  great  object  which  he  was  pursuing,  he  could 
 at  that  or  at  any  time  have  summoned  more  than 
 twelve  legions  of  those  mighty  spirits  to  his  aid.* 
 When  on  his  first  evangelical  visit  to  Nazareth 
 his  life  was  in  imminent  peril  from  the  rage  of  its 
 inhabitants,  who  were  hurrying  him  to  the  brink 
 of  a  precipice,  with  the  intention  of  casting  him 
 down  headlong,  it  was  manifestly  by  divine  assist- 
 ance that, — *'  passing  through  the  midst  of  them, 
 he  went  his  way." — In  a  similar  manner  he  was 
 repeatedly  preserved  from  the  violence  of  his  enemies 
 at  Jerusalem,  particularly  in  one  instance  when, 
 on  the  multitude  proceeding  to  stone  him,  he  was 
 suddenly  concealed  from  their  sight, — "  and,  going 
 through  the  midst  of  them,  passed  by." — The  evan- 
 gelist John,  who  alone  records  these  latter  interposi- 
 tions, also  furnishes  their  explanation,  namely,  that — 
 "  his  hour  was  not  yet  come  ;" — in  other  words 
 that,  until  the  hour  of  his  final  suffering  arrived, 
 he  was  under  the  peculiar  protection  of  Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 The  unlimited  amount  of  miraculous  power  with 
 which  Christ  was  invested,  more  especially  when 
 viewed  in  connexion  with  the  attendant  circum- 
 stances,   affords    conclusive    evidence   of   his  having 
 
 *  Psalm  91,  V.  9—12  ;— Matt.,  chap.  4,  v.  5,  6, 11 ;  chap.  26,  v.  51 
 — 54; — Mark,  chap.  1,  V.  12, 13;  chap.  11,  v.  15 — 18; — Luke,  chap. 
 4,  V.  9—11,  28—30  ;  chap.  9,  v.  28—36;  chap.  22,  v.  43  ;~John, 
 chap.  2,  V.  13 — 17  ;  chap.  7,  v.  30;  chap.  8,  v.  20,  59;  chap.  10, 
 V.  31,  39  ;— Acts,  chap.  10,  v.  3?,  38  ;— 2  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  16— 18. 
 
QQg  ON     THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 possessed  in  the  highest  degree  the  friendship  of  his 
 heavenly  Father. — "  God" — says  the  apostle  Peter, 
 — "anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
 and  with  power,  who  went  about  doing  good,  and 
 healing  all  who  were  oppressed  by  the  devil,  for  God 
 was  with  him." — To  this  decisive  test  of  divine  co- 
 operation he  himself  often  appealed.  Thus,  on  de- 
 fending himself  from  the  prosecution  of  the  San- 
 hedrim for  restoring  on  a  sabbath-day  the  infirm 
 man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  he  said, — "  My  Father 
 
 worketh  thus  far,  and  I  W'Ork The  Father 
 
 loveth  the  Son,  and  showeth  him  all  things  which  he 
 himself  doeth,  and  will  show  him  greater  works  than 
 these,  to  your  astonishment ;  for  as  the  Father  raiseth 
 and  reviveth  the  dead,  so  likewise  the  Son  reviveth 
 whomsoever  he  chooseth  ;" — a  miracle  beyond  all 
 others  stupendous,  and  which  he  afterwards  re- 
 peatedly displayed.  Both  to  his  enemies  and  to  his 
 disciples  he  addressed  the  cogent  argument, — "  If  I 
 do  not  the  works  of  my  Father,  beheve  me  not ;  but  if 
 I  do  [them,]  although  ye  believe  not  me,  believe  the 
 w^orks,  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father 
 is  in  me,  and  I  in  him." — When  at  the  last  supper 
 the  apostle  Philip  inconsiderately  requested, — "Lord, 
 show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us," — he  replied 
 with  some  warmth, — "  Have  I  been  so  long  with  you, 
 and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that 
 hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father.  How  [then] 
 sayest  thou.  Show  us  the  Father  ?  Believest  thou 
 not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  [that]  the  Father  is 
 in  me  ?  The  words  which  I  speak  to  you  I  speak 
 not  of  myself,  but  the  Father  who  dwelleth  in  me 
 doeth  the  works ;" — and    the   unanswerable    charge 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  gQQ 
 
 which  he  brought  against  his  adversaries  was, — "  If 
 I  had  not  come  and  spoken  to  them,  they  would  not 
 have  had  sin  ;  but  now  they  have  no  excuse  for 
 their  sin.  He  that  hateth  me,  hateth  my  Father 
 also.  If  I  had  not  done  amongst  them  such  works 
 as  no  one  else  ever  did,  they  would  not  have  had 
 sin ;  but  now  they  have  both  seen  and  hated 
 both  me  and  my  Father."* — His  constant  and  inti- 
 mate friendship  with  God  was  further  proved  by  his 
 repeated  declarations,  and  his  frequent  acts  of  devo- 
 tion both  private  and  public.  During  his  ministry 
 in  Galilee  he  often  retired  from  the  multitude,  and 
 even  from  the  society  of  his  relatives  and  disciples, 
 to  some  solitary  place,  where  he  might  more  freely 
 and  uninterruptedly  pour  forth  his  adorations  and 
 thanksgivings  ;  and  previously  to  the  election  of  the 
 twelve  apostles,  ascended  a  mountain  near  Caper- 
 naum, and  passed  a  whole  night  in  secret  prayer. 
 To  his  public  devotions  he  twice  subjoined  the  as- 
 surance,— "  All  things  are  delivered  to  me  by  my 
 Father,  and  no  one  knoweth  the  Son  but  the  Father, 
 neither  knoweth  any  one  the  Father  but  the  Son, 
 and  [he]  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  [him.]" — Imme- 
 diately before  raising  Lazarus  from  the  dead, — "  he 
 lifted  up  his  eyes  and  said,  Father  !  I  thank  thee 
 that  thou  hast  heard  me.  I  know  indeed  that  thou 
 hearest  me  always,  but  because  of  the  multitude  who 
 stand  by  I  said  [it,]  that  they  may  believe  that  thou 
 hast  sent  me;" — and  after  another  public  address 
 to  the   Father,  during    his  last  visit  to  Jerusalem, 
 
 *  John,  chap.  5,  v.  17—21,  36;  chap.  10,  v.  37,  38;  chap.  12, 
 V.  44,  45  ;  chap.  14,  v.  8—11  ;  chap.  15,  v.  22—24. 
 
giO  O^    T^E     DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 was  answered  by  a  voice  from  heaven.  His  prede- 
 cessor, John  the  Baptist,  testified  of  him, — "  He 
 whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God,  for 
 the  Father  giveth  [him]  the  Spirit  without  measure. 
 The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things 
 into  his  hand." — Christ,  in  like  manner,  said  of 
 himself  to  his  disciples, — "My  food  is  to  do  the 
 will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work;" 
 — and  to  his  adversaries, — '*  He  that  sent  me  is  with 
 me.  The  Father  hath  not  left  me  alone,  because 
 I  always  do  the  things  which  please  him."* — Ex- 
 pressions of  this  kind  abound,  as  might  be  ex- 
 pected, in  his  discourses  to  the  apostles  at  the 
 last  supper,  and  in  his  sublime  prayer  at  the  end 
 of  it.  The  following  are  specimens : — "  As  the 
 Father  hath  loved  me  so  have  I  loved  you  :  con- 
 tinue in  my  love.  If  ye  keep  my  commandments 
 ye  shall  continue  in  my  love,  even  as  I  have  kept 
 my  Father's  commandments  and  continue  in  his 
 love." — In  his  final  address  to  God,  which  is  a 
 model  of  fervent  devotion,  he  says  of  himself, — -"  I 
 have  glorified  thee  on  the  earth,  I  have  finished  the 
 work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do  ;  and  now,  Father ! 
 glorify  me  in  thy  presence  with  the  glory  which  I 
 there  enjoyed  before  the  world  existed  ;" — and  of  his 
 apostles, — *'  The  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have 
 given  them,  that  they  may  be  one  even  as  we  are 
 one  :    I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
 
 *  Matt,  chap.  11,  v.  25— 27  ;— Mark,  chap.  1,  v.  35;— Luke, 
 chap.  5,  V.  16  ;  chap.  6,  v.  12,  13  ;  chap.  10,  v.  21,  22  ;— John,  chap. 
 3,  V.  34,  35;  chap.  4,  v.  31—34;  chap.  8,  v.  16,  29;  chap.  11,  v. 
 41,  42 ;  chap.  12,  v.  27—30. 
 
IN     RELATION     TO     THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  g^^ 
 
 perfected  in  one,  and  that  the  world  may  know  that 
 thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved  them  as  thou  hast 
 loved  me  ;" — and  concludes  with  the  important  state- 
 ment,— "  I  have  declared  to  them  thy  name,  and  will 
 declare  [it,]  that  the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved 
 me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them."* 
 
 The  preceding  quotations  may  suffice  to  illustrate 
 the  close  and  endearing  friendship  with  the  Father 
 which  Christ  must  necessarily  have  enjoyed  during 
 the  whole  of  his  life  on  earth,  down  to  its  final  scene, 
 a   friendship  which    enabled   him  to  bear   outward 
 trials  and  troubles  with  patience  and  serenity,  and 
 yielded   him  a  constant   supply  of  the   purest  and 
 most  elevated  happiness.'    Of  the  intensity  of  this 
 friendship  it  is  impossible  for  any  human  being  to 
 form  an  adequate  conception,  but  it  must  evidently 
 have  included  the  following  conditions  ; — a  vivid  sense 
 of  the  presence  and  favour  of  God,  an  ardent  admi- 
 ration of  his  character  and  works,  a  perfect  confor- 
 mity to  his  mind  and  will,  an  implicit  confidence 
 in  his  plans  and  arrangements,  and  a  cordial  devoted- 
 ness  to  his  service  and  glory.     This  is  in  fact  a  brief 
 description  of  true  religion,  as  suggested  both  by  rea- 
 son and  revelation,  a  state  of  mind  which  may  be  real- 
 ized to  a  considerable  extent  on  earth,  but  of  which 
 the  full  attainment  constitutes  the  peculiar  felicity 
 of  heaven.     By  profane  persons  it  is  regarded  with 
 incredulity  and  contempt,  as  a  fallacy  or  a  fraud ; 
 but  since  they  are  confessedly  ignorant  of  the  quali- 
 fication which  they  presume  to  deny,  their  objec- 
 tions are  entitled  to  no  greater  respect  than  would 
 
 *  John,  chap.  15,  v.  9,  10;  chap.  17,  v.  4,  5,  22,  23,  26. 
 
212         ON  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 
 
 be  those  of  persons  born  blind  or  deaf  to  the  alleged 
 capacity  of  others  to  perceive  beautiful  sights  or 
 melodious  sounds.  Religion,  or  friendship  with  God, 
 is  nevertheless  the  indispensable  basis  of  human 
 happiness.  To  promote  it,  both  by  precept  and  ex- 
 ample, is  the  grand  object  of  the  Scriptures,  wherein 
 it  is  accordingly  depicted  in  the  most  splendid  co- 
 lours, and  represented  by  the  most  attractive  images, 
 sometimes  by  the  conjugal  relation  in  its  highest  per- 
 fection, sometimes  by  a  fountain  of  living  water  spring- 
 ing up  in  the  human  heart,  as  an  inexhaustible 
 source  of  joy  and  satisfaction,  extinguishing  its 
 morbid  thirst  for  inferior  gratifications,  and  flowing 
 onwards  to  eternal  life.  Of  the  emphatic  language 
 in  which  its  blessings  are  celebrated  by  those  who 
 have  experienced  them,  the  following  are  well-known 
 specimens. — '*  Howexcellent  [is]  thy  loving-kindness, 
 O  God  !  therefore  the  children  of  men  put  their 
 trust  under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings.  They  shall  be 
 abundantly  satisfied  with  the  fatness  of  thy  house, 
 and  thou  shalt  make  them  drink  of  the  river  of  thy 
 pleasures.     For,  with  thee  [is]  the  fountain  of  life  ;  in 
 
 thy  light  shall  we  see  light [There  are]  many 
 
 that  say.  Who  will  show  us  [any]  good  ?  Lord !  lift 
 thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us. 
 Thou  hast  put  gladness  in  my  heart,  more  than  in 
 the  time  [when]  their  corn  and  their  wine  increased. 
 
 Because  thy  loving-kindness   [is]   better  than 
 
 life,  my  lips  shall  praise  thee I  [am]  continually 
 
 with  thee  :  thou  hast  holden  [me]  by  my  right  hand. 
 Thou  shalt  guide  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterwards 
 receive  me  [to]  glory.  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  [but 
 thee  ?]  And  [there  is]  none  upon  earth   [that]  I  de- 
 
IN     RELATION     TO    THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  ^lo 
 
 sire  besides  thee.  My  flesh  and  my  heart  fail,  [but] 
 God  [is]  the  streVigth  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion 
 
 for  ever Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life. 
 
 In  thy  presence  [is]  fulness  of  joy.  At  thy  right  hand 
 [are]  pleasures  for  evermore."* — Not  less  energetic, 
 on  the  other  hand,  is  the  language  in  which 
 pious  persons  are  represented  in  Scripture  as  be- 
 wailing their  loss  of  the  light  of  God's  coun- 
 tenance, and  expressing  the  intolerable  anguish  and 
 desolation  of  heart  occasioned  by  a  sense  of  his  aban- 
 donment. Thus  the  Psalmist  complains, — "  Unto 
 thee  will  I  cry,  O  Lord,  my  rock  !  Be  not  silent  to 
 me,    lest,  [if]  thou  be  silent  to  me,  I  become  like 
 
 them    that    go    down    into    the    pit Thou 
 
 hast  laid  me  in  the  lowest  pit,  in  darkness,  in  the 
 deeps.    Thy  wrath  lieth  hard  upon  me,  and  thou  hast 
 
 afflicted  [me]  with  all  thy  waves Lord !  why 
 
 castest  thou  off  my  soul,  [why]  hidest  thou  thy  face 
 from  me  ?  I  [am]  afflicted  and  ready  to  die  from  [my] 
 youth  up  :  [whilst]  I  suffer  thy  terrors,  I  am  distracted. 
 Thy  fierce  wrath  goeth  over  me  :  thy  terrors  have 
 cut  me  off." — Thus  Job  laments, — *'  Oh  that  I  knew 
 where  I  might  find  him,  [that]  I  might  come  [even]  to 
 
 his  seat! Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  [is]  not 
 
 [there,]  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him  ;  on 
 the  left  hand  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  cannot 
 behold  [him ;]  he  hidcth  himself  on  the  right  hand 
 that  I  cannot  see  [him.]  ....  Oh  that  my  grief  were 
 thoroughly  weighed,  and  my  calamity  laid  in  the 
 balances  together !    for  now  it  would  be  heavier  than 
 
 *  Psalm  4,   V.  6-8;    Psalm    16,    v.    11;    Psalm  36,    v.  7—9; 
 Psalm    63,  v.  3  ;  Psalm  73,  v.  23—26.; 
 
214  O^    ^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 the  sand  of  the  sea,  therefore  my  words  are  swallowed 
 up  ;  for  the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  [are]  within  me, 
 the  poison  whereof  driiiketh  up  my  spirit :  the  terrors 
 of  God  do  set  themselves  in  array  against  me."* 
 
 The  happiness  derived  from  the  friendship  of  God, 
 •and  the  misery  occasioned  by  its  privation,  are  thus 
 powerfully  felt  by  pious  persons,  and  by  them  alone  ; 
 but  even  such  persons  cannot  suitably  appreciate  the 
 intensity  of  these  emotions,  as  they  were  experienced 
 by  the  pure  and  perfect  humanity  of  Christ.  Hence 
 the  difBculty  of  conceiving,  in  a  manner  at  all  ade- 
 quate to  the  dignity  of  the  subject,  the  mental  suf- 
 ferings which  he  endured  from  the  temporary,  but 
 complete  interruption  of  his  hallowed  communion 
 with  the  Father ;  a  privation  which,  attended  as  it 
 was  with  a  partial  loss  of  protection,  and  with 
 all  the  subordinate  manifestations  and  inflictions 
 thereon  depending,  constituted  the  divine  male- 
 diction which  he  had  undertaken  vicariously  to 
 sustain.  The  nature  of  these  sufferings,  as  distin- 
 guished from  all  others,  is  indicated  by  their  limita- 
 tion with  respect  to  time,  place,  and  circumstances, 
 by  their  extraordinary  intensity  and  fatality,  and  by 
 his  own  explicit  declarations.  His  earliest  anticipa- 
 tion of  them  seems  to  have  occurred  at  the  conclu- 
 sion of  his  ministry  in  Jerusalem,  wdien  he  publicly 
 acknowledged, —  "  Now  is  my  soul  troubled,  and 
 what  shall  I  say  ?  Father  !  save  me  from  this  hour  ? 
 Yet,  for  this  [purpose]  am  I  come  to  this  hour.  Father, 
 glorify  thy  name !" — This  w^as,  however,  merely  an 
 
 *  Job,  chap.  6,  v.  1— 4 ;   chap,  23,  v.  3,  8,  9 ;— Psalm  28,  v.  1 ; 
 Psalm  88,  V.  6,  7,  14— 16. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  O^^ 
 
 anticipation,  and  not  the  reality  ;  for  a  voice  from 
 heaven  hnmediatelj  replied, — "  I  have  both  glorified 
 [it,]  and  will  glorify  [it]  again  ;" — and  he  remarked  to 
 the  surromiding  multitude, — "  This  voice  came  not 
 for  my  sake,  but  for  yours." — His  peculiar  mental 
 sufferings  commenced  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
 and  were  renewed  and  completed  at  Calvary.  Their 
 identity  on  the  two  occasions  was  proved  by  their 
 proceeding  from  the  same  cause,  and  producing  simi- 
 lar effects :  by  the  abruptness  of  their  commence- 
 ment and  conclusion,  and  the  shortness  of  their  con- 
 tinuance ;  by  the  similar  language  which  he  applied 
 to  each,  and  by  his  comparative  calmness  and  com- 
 posure during  the  intervening  period.  A  transition 
 more  sudden  or  violent  than  that  which  took  place 
 from  the  seraphic  discourses  and  devotions  of  Christ 
 after  the  paschal  supper,  to  the  horrors  of  Gethse- 
 mane, can  scarcely  be  conceived.  That  he  was  about 
 to  suffer  from  the  immediate  hand  of  God,  is  implied 
 by  his  prediction  to  the  apostles  on  the  way.  In  the 
 absence  of  all  external  infliction,  the  cup  of  trembling 
 which  was  then  presented  to  him  by  the  Father,  and 
 which  he  so  earnestly  petitioned  might  if  possible  be 
 withdrawn,  could  have  been  none  other  than  the  cup 
 of  the  wrath  of  God, — "  the  poison  whereof  drinketh 
 up  the  spirit.*'* — It  was  piety  which  prompted  his 
 reluctance  to  receive  this  cup,  and  piety  which 
 urged  him  to  drain  it  to  the  dregs ;  and  the  deadly 
 struggle  between  these  powerful  and  opposite  emo- 
 tions  occasioned  that  agony  and  bloody  sweat,  the 
 
 *  Job,  chap.  6,  v.  4  ; — Isaiah,  chap.  51,  v.  17  ; — Zechar.  chap.  13, 
 V.  7  ;— Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  30—42 ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  26—36  ;— 
 Luke,chap.  22,v.39— 44  ;— John, chap.  12,  v.  23— 33;chap.  18,  v.  11; 
 — Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  5 — 10; — Rev.  chap.  14,  v.  10;    chap.    16,  v.  19. 
 
2\Q  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 natural  prelude  to  rupture  of  the  heart,  which  with- 
 out the  interposition  of  miraculous  aid,  would  appa- 
 rently   have    realized    his    own    previous    declara- 
 tion,— "  My  soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto 
 death." — In   reference    to   the   dependence   of  these 
 physical  effects  on  mental  causes,  it  is  rather  singular 
 that  whilst,  as  was  formerly  shown,  a  majority  of  the 
 older  theological  writers  proposed  explanations  which 
 are  unsatisfactory   and  inadmissible,   r,  few  of  them 
 adopted  views  which,   with  the  exception    of  some 
 extravagant  expressions  and  errors  of  detail,  nearly 
 resemble  those  above  stated.    Thus  Gisbert  Voetius, 
 about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  speak- 
 ing of  Christ's  bloody  sweat  observes, — "  Like   the 
 flow  of  blood  and  water  from  his  side,  I  regard  it  as 
 natural  in  reference  to  its  proximate  cause,  although 
 marvellous,  a  miracle  of  nature,  and  even  supernatural, 
 if  we  regard  the  efficient,  remote,  and  final  causes.   The 
 proximate  cause  is,  I  think,  to  be  found  in  the  passions 
 and  their  conflict,  that  is,  partly  in  the  passions  of  grief 
 and  fear,  which  dra.w  the  blood  and  animal  spirits  from 
 the  external  parts  towards  the  heart,  and  partly  in 
 those  of  love,  desire,  and  zeal,  which  propel  the  blood 
 and  spirits  from  the  heart  towards  the  external  parts. 
 Hence  it  happened  that  the  blood,  driven  backwards 
 and  forwards  like  the  sea  in  the  straits  of  Euripus, 
 and  thereby  attenuated,  burst  forth  from  the  veins,  in 
 conjunction  with    serous   liquid    through    the    skin. 
 That  such  a  circumstance  may  actually  take  place,  es- 
 pecially when  the  texture  of  the  body  and  skin  is  thin 
 and  porous,  is  testified  by  philosophers  and  physicians, 
 suggested  by  reason,  and  taught  by  experience."* — 
 
 *  Kipping,  De  Cruce,  et  Cruciariis,  pp.  199,  200;— Matt.  chap.  26, 
 V.  38  ; — Marl^  chap.  14,  v.  34. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  gj^ 
 
 Bartholomew  a  Medina,  after  remarking  that  Christ 
 was  young  and  vigorous,  gives  a  similar  explanation 
 of  his  bloody  sweat. — *'  For," — says  he, — "  through 
 the  fervour  of  his  prayer,  and  his  fear  and  horror 
 of  death,  his  blood  at  first  collected  about  the  heart ; 
 but  afterwards,  his  strong  love  and  ardent  desire  of 
 accomplishing  his  Father's  will  and  of  redeeming 
 mankind,  intervening  like  a  mighty  force,  overcame 
 his  fear  and  sensitive  affection,  and  drove  the  blood 
 powerfully  outwards.  Hence,  owing  to  the  sudden 
 violence  occasioned  by  this  glorious  victory,  blood 
 .mixed  with  common  sweat  burst  forth  abundantly 
 through  all  the  pores  of  the  skin,  dilated  by  the 
 excessive  effort,  and  flowed  to  the  ground." — On 
 experiencing  at  Gethsemane  for  the  first  time  the 
 terrors  of  divine  abandonment,  Christ  appears  to 
 have  been  seized  with  such  consternation  and  dis- 
 tress, as  threatened  to  destroy  him  by  the  simple 
 extinction  of  vital  power.  Falling  prostrate  on 
 the  earth — "  he  prayed  that,  if  it  were  possible,  the 
 hour  might  pass  from  him  ;" — meaning  by  that  ex- 
 pression, not  as  the  above  and  other  authors  have 
 supposed,  the  ordinary  sufferings  and  death  of  the 
 cross  then  comparatively  distant,  but  the  peculiar 
 mental  sufferings  of  the  hour  which  he  was  now 
 encountering.*  The  favour  so  earnestly  solicited 
 could  not  however  be  granted.  To  his  reiterated 
 supplications  no  direct  answer  was  returned ;  but, 
 after  a  fearful  interval,  an  angel  was  despatched 
 to  restore  his  sinking  strength,  and  thereby  to  save 
 
 *  Julius  Cfjesar  Baricelli,  De  Hydronosa  Natura,  &c.  pp.  156 — 158  ; 
 —  Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  35. 
 
 L 
 
^[3  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 him  from  immediate  death.  This  partial  relief  sup- 
 plied by  a  subordinate  agent  was  itself  a  humiliation, 
 and  proved  that  the  principal  source  of  comfort,  the 
 light  of  God's  countenance,  was  still  withheld.  He 
 accordingly  availed  himself  of  his  renovated  energy 
 to  pray  with  increased  importunity,  till  the  violent 
 effort  forced  a  bloody  sweat  from  his  body,  a  natural 
 sign  and  result  of  the  corresponding  conflict  of  his 
 soul.  At  length — "  he  was  heard  on  account  of 
 [his]  pious  fear." — The  hour  of  preliminary  maledic- 
 tion came  to  an  end,  and  when  the  hostile  band 
 drew  near  to  apprehend  him,  it  was  evident  from 
 his  conversation  and  conduct  that  he  had  recovered 
 all  his  usual  dignity  and  self-possession.  That  he 
 should  again  enjoy  a  sense  of  the  divine  friendship, 
 at  the  very  time  when — "  all  the  disciples  forsook 
 him  and  fled," — he  had  himself  not  long  before  pre- 
 dicted, when  he  said  to  them — •"  Do  ye  now  believe  ? 
 Behold  the  hour  cometh,  and  is  now  come,  when 
 ye  will  be  dispersed  each  one  to  his  own  [home,]  and 
 v>^ill  leave  me  alone  ;  and  yet  I  am  not  alone,  be- 
 cause the  Father  is  with  me."* — That  God  was 
 really  with  him  appeared,  amongst  other  indications, 
 by  his  renewed  exercise  of  miraculous  power,  both 
 in  overthrowing  the  party  that  went  forth  against 
 him,  and  in  healing  the  slave  wounded  by  Peter ; 
 and,  until  the  hour  of  noon  on  the  following  day, 
 the  internal  support  which  he  thus  enjoyed  enabled 
 him  to  bear  with  firmness  all  the  sufferings  of  mind 
 and  body,  which  the  powerful  and  malignant  enemies 
 
 *   Matt.,  chap.  26,  v.  56  ; — Luke,   chap,  22,  v.  43,  44  ;— John, 
 chap.  16,  V.  31,  32  ;— Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  7—9. 
 
IN  RELATION   TO  THE  DEATH   OF  CHRIST.  g]^9 
 
 into  whose  hands  he  was  delivered  were  permitted 
 to  inflict.  These  ordinary  sufferings  were,  however, 
 only  the  outward  manifestations  and  eff'ects  of  that 
 divine  malediction,  which  he  was  now  again  actually 
 to  endure. 
 
 The  second  period  of  Christ's  abandonment,  like 
 the  former  one,  began  and  ended  abruptly.  During 
 the  first  three  hours  of  his  crucifixion  he  had  calmly 
 conversed  with  those  around  him,  and  by  his  bene- 
 volent concern  for  the  penitent  malefactor,  for  his 
 afflicted  mother,  and  even  for  his  ferocious  execu- 
 tioners, as  likewise  a  little  before  for  the  women 
 who  bewailed  his  fate,  and  for  his  fellow-countrymen 
 generally,  had  shown  himself  more  attentive  to  the 
 feelings  and  interests  of  others  than  to  his  own. 
 But  at  noon  a  sudden  change  occurred,  accompanied 
 by  a  preternatural  darkness,  expressive  of  a  second 
 hiding  of  God's  countenance,  which  overspread  Jeru- 
 salem and  the  whole  land  for  three  successive  hours. 
 During  the  interval  no  intercourse  took  place  be- 
 tween Christ  and  the  bystanders,  and  a  solemn  pause 
 in  the  evangelical  narrative  concurs  with  other  cir- 
 cumstances, to  intimate  that  he  was  again  enduring 
 the  peculiar  sufferings  of  Gethsemane,  which  not 
 even  inspired  writers  felt  themselves  competent  to 
 describe.  The  following  remarks  of  the  excellent 
 Rambach  are  perhaps  as  suitable  as  any  which 
 merely  human  faculties  could  suggest. — "With 
 regard  to  our  blessed  Lord  himself,  this  outward 
 darkness  was  an  emblem  of  the  inward  darkness  in 
 which  his  sacred  soul  was  then  involved.  For,  as 
 the  light  of  the  natural  sun  was  then  withdrawn 
 from  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  so  the  light  of 
 
 L  2 
 
9^0  ON    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 the  divine  consolation  and  inward  joy  was  at  that 
 time  withdrawn  from  the  soul  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and, 
 as  cold  and  darkness  then  prevailed  throughout  the 
 whole  region  of  the  air,  so  the  soul  of  our  blessed 
 Saviour  was  to  experience  something  of  the  terrors 
 of  eternal  darkness,  which  now^  overwhelmed  his 
 conscience  from  a  sense  of  the  imputation  of  all  the 
 sins  of  the  whole  world,  and  threw  it  into  the  utmost 
 
 anguish  and  consternation The  only  begotten 
 
 Son  of  the  Father  here  laments  that  he  is  forsaken  of 
 God,  and  this  not  in  mere  idea,  but  in  reality.  For 
 as  Christ  had  taken  our  sins  upon  him,  and  become 
 a  curse  for  us,  so  was  he  forsaken  by  God,  not  only 
 outwardly,  by  withdrawing  his  protection  from  him 
 and  giving  him  up  to  his  enemies,  but  likewise  in- 
 wardly, the  Deity  suspending  his  blissful  operations 
 on  his  understanding,  will,  conscience,  and  affections, 
 and  permitting  all  the  power  of  the  devil  and  the 
 agonies  of  death  jointly  to  assault  him.  As  in  quality 
 of  our  surety  he  was  to  feel  our  pains,  to  bear  our 
 griefs,  and  carry  our  sorrows,  so  was  his  soul  to  be 
 deprived  for  a  while  of  the  brightness  of  God's  coun- 
 tenance, and  the  enjoyment  of  the  supreme  good, 
 by  which  the  inward  sensation  of  the  pain  would 
 have  been  very  much  abated,  if  not  totally  extin- 
 guished. On  the  other  hand,  he  was  to  suifer  all 
 the  floods  of  the  divine  wrath  to  pass  over  him  ; 
 which  would  have  overwhelmed  our  Saviour's  human 
 nature,  had  not  the  divinity  within  him  supported 
 it  in  this  terrible  trial."* — On  this  occasion  his  de- 
 
 *  Rambach,  on  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  183,   184, 
 187,  188. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  0C}J^ 
 
 meanour  was  widely  different  from  that  at  Gethse- 
 maiie.  He  uttered  neither  prayers  nor  lamentations, 
 which  would  now  have  been  not  only  unavailing, 
 but  in  the  presence  of  an  immense  and  hostile  mul- 
 titude unsuitable,  and  liable  to  misinterpretation. 
 Having  as  it  were  learnt  to  suffer,  and  become  ac- 
 quainted with  grief,  he  was  not  as  before  over- 
 whelmed with  consternation.  His  outward  suffer- 
 ings, abstractedly  considered,  were  not  indeed  dif- 
 ficult to  support;  and  yet,  regarded  as  intimations 
 of  the  divine  abandonment  on  account  of  human 
 depravity,  appreciated  by  a  mind  of  exquisite  moral 
 sensibility,  they  no  doubt  contributed  to  his  distress. 
 But  the  principal  and  immediate  cause  of  his  sorrow 
 was  the  abandonment  itself.  His  human,  and  per- 
 haps also  his  spiritual  enemies  had  done  their  worst, 
 and  having  exhausted  every  torment  which  malice 
 could  suggest,  or  cruelty  execute,  were  reduced  to 
 sullen  inaction.  He  had  been  despised,  rejected, 
 insulted,  scourged,  and  crucified,  and  had  borne  all 
 this  with  patience  and  fortitude ;  but  the  sufferings 
 of  malediction,  now  superadded,  were  of  a  different 
 nature,  and  occupied  a  distinct  period  of  time. 
 Lacerated  in  body,  and  still  more  wounded  in  spirit, 
 he  hung  for  three  hours  longer  on  the  cross,  en- 
 veloped in  darkness,  deprived  of  divine  communion, 
 and  destitute  of  comfort  from  any  other  source. 
 Nothing  less  than  his  unspeakable  love  to  God  and 
 man  induced  and  enabled  him  thus  to  endure  from 
 both  an  infliction,  alike  tremendous  and  undeserved, 
 and  to  persist  till  the  last  moment  in  fulfilling  the 
 fatal  task,  which  he  had  undertaken  without  com- 
 pulsion, and  might  have  declined  without  reproach. 
 
222  ^^     -^^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT 
 
 If  one  hour  of  such  suffering  at  Gethsemane  had 
 nearly  been  destructive  to  him,  its  renewal  for  three 
 hours  at  Golgotha  might  well  prove  actually  so,  more 
 especially  as  he  had  now  no  prospect  of  relief  except 
 from  a  violent  death,  and  this  only  to  be  effected 
 by  draining  the  cup  of  malediction  to  the  dregs. — 
 "  Christ" — says  the  apostle  Paul,-7-"  hath  redeemed 
 us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  by  being  cursed  on  our 
 behalf;  for  it  is  written,  Cursed  [is]  every  one  that 
 hangeth  on  a  tree,  ....  [God]  made  him  who  knew  not 
 sin  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  become  the  righ- 
 teousness of  God  by  him."* — The  natural  and  neces- 
 sary result  at  length  took  place.  For  three  hours 
 he  sustained  unutterable  agony,  in  a  deadly  and  in- 
 cessant struggle  between  two  opposite  passions, 
 each  indicative  of  the  most  ardent  piety,  and  the  most 
 consummate  moral  excellence  ; — an  intense  desire  to 
 recover  that  divine  communion  which  was  essential 
 to  his  existence,  and  a  still  stronger  desire,  by  re- 
 signing it  at  the  expense  of  his  life,  to  fulfil  the 
 gracious  purposes  of  God  towards  mankind.  The 
 latter  ultimately  prevailed,  but  the  mental  conflict, 
 the  continuance  of  which  depended  every  moment 
 on  his  own  voluntary  yet  reluctant  concurrence,  occa- 
 sioned the  rupture  of  his  heart;  a  little  before  which 
 he  publicly  revealed  the  true  cause  of  his  sufferings, 
 by  uttering  the  loud  and  bitter  cry, — '*  My  God  !  my 
 God !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — Here,  however, 
 his  sufferings  ended,  and  his  sorrow  was  turned  into 
 joy.  The  victory  for  which  he  had  so  energetically 
 contended  was  won,  in  proof  of  which  the  preterna- 
 
 *  2  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  20,21  ;— Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  1.3. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST. 
 
 tural  darkness  cleared  away,  the  evening  sun  shone 
 forth  with  renewed  splendour,  and  the  Saviour's 
 dying  words  were  those  of  exultation  and  triumph  ; — 
 ["All]  is  accomplished:  Father!  into  thy  hands  I 
 commit  my  spirit." 
 
 The  sudden  occurrence,  the  peculiar  manner,  and 
 all  the  affecting  circumstances  of  Christ's  death,  point 
 to  one  only  conclusion,  and  admit  of  no  other  expla- 
 nation, than  that  it  was  the  death  of  an  atoning  victim 
 vicariously  enduring  the  divine  malediction,  for  which 
 purpose  no  other  mode   of  death  would  have  been 
 adapted.     An   incompetent   or    sinful   being   would 
 have  perished  by  some  of  the  remote  consequences  of 
 this  malediction  ;  but  an  adequate  and  innocent  victim 
 must  have  been  destroyed  by  the  malediction  itself, 
 and  in  the  manner  here  represented.    It  was  the  only 
 death  worthy  of  him  to  suffer,  who  was — "  the  lamb 
 of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," — and 
 of  him  to  accept,  who  had  intimated, — "  The  sacrifices 
 of  God  are  a  broken  and  contrite  heart." — It  was  the 
 death  of  a  pure  and  perfect  human  being  sustaining 
 and  discharging  the  penalty  due  to  human  depravity, 
 and  thereby  acquiring  an  equitable  claim  to — "  see 
 of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  to  be  satisfied," — by  be- 
 coming the  author  of  eternal  salvation  to  all  that  obey 
 him.*     If  in  this  inquiry  the  mysterious  association 
 of  the  divine  with  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  which 
 is    so    plainly   revealed    in    Scripture,  has   hitherto 
 received  little   notice,   it  has  been  for  the  obvious 
 reason  that  with  the   Saviour's  sufferings  and  death 
 
 *  Psalm  51,  V.  16,  17  ;— Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  10,  11  ;— John,  chap.  1 
 V,  29,  35,  36  ;— Heb.  chap.  5,  v.  9, 
 
224>  ^N    "T^^    DOCTRINE    OF    ATONEMENT,    ETC 
 
 his  human  nature  alone  was  directly  concerned.  It 
 may  now  however  be  appropriately  remarked,  that 
 the  happiness  which  he  enjoyed  from  divine  commu- 
 nion, and  the  misery  which  he  endured  from  its  loss, 
 must  both  have  been  unspeakably  augmented  by  this 
 association,  which  moreover  imparted  an  infinite 
 dignity  and  value  to  his  atoning  sacrifice.  The  de- 
 monstration of  the  immediate  or  physical  cause  of  the 
 death  of  Christ  which  has  now  been  given  serves, 
 therefore,  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  scriptural 
 doctrine  of  atonement ;  which,  when  rightly  under- 
 stood, is  evidently  worthy  of  universal  acceptance, 
 demanding  alike  the  homage  of  the  understanding, 
 and  the  adoration  of  the  heart. 
 
CHAPTER   II. 
 
 ON    THE    TYPES    AND     PROPHECIES    OF    THE     OLD    TESTAMENT 
 IN    RELATION     TO     THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST. 
 
 Evangelical  religion,  the  remedy  which  God  has 
 provided  for  the  restoration  of  human  nature  from 
 its  fallen  and  degenerate  state  to  his  favour  and 
 friendship,  although  revealed  with  more  or  less  clear- 
 ness at  different  periods  of  the  world,  has  always 
 been  essentially  one  and  the  same.  Previously  to 
 the  advent  of  the  Saviour,  it  could  scarcely  be  repre- 
 sented otherwise  than  through  the  medium  of  types 
 and  prophecies,  with  which  both  the  patriarchal  and 
 the  Mosaic  dispensations  were  therefore  duly  provided. 
 In  the  preceding  chapter  it  was  shown  that  the  pecu- 
 liar cause  and  manner  of  the  death  of  Christ,  now 
 presumed  to  have  been  demonstrated,  furnish  a 
 new  and  powerful  illustration  of  the  principle  of 
 atonement,  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  gospel. 
 In  the  present  one  it  will  be  shown  that  the  same 
 fact  throws  a  remarkable  light  on  the  types  and  pro- 
 phecies of  the  Old  Testament  relative  to  the  same 
 subject,  and  that  some  of  them  could  not  by  any 
 other  means  have  been  explained  or  fulfilled. 
 
 Of  scriptural   prophecies,    or    divine    predictions 
 respecting  coming  events,  it  seems  to  be  a  necessary 
 
 l3 
 
a2Q        TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 rule,  that  until  the  time  of  their  accomplishment  they 
 are  to  a  certain  extent  mysterious  and  obscure ;  for 
 it  is  obvious  that  an  unreserved  disclosure  of  futurity 
 to  the  human  race  would  in  general  be  incompatible 
 with  their  actual  condition,  as  well  as  with  the  regu- 
 lar  accomplishment   of  the   events    predicted.     It  is 
 indeed  the  dictate  of  revelation,  as  well  as  of  reason, 
 — "  that  no  prophecy  of  Scripture  furnishes  its  own 
 interpretation ;" — and    the   very    circumstance,    that 
 precisely  such  an  amount  of  information  is  in  this 
 manner  afforded  as  tends   to  do  good,  without  being 
 liable  to  abuse,  is  in  itself  a  strong  proof  of  divine 
 superintendence.*     Another,  and  not   less    striking 
 proof  of  the  same  kind  is  suggested  by  the  connection 
 of  these  prophecies  with  appropriate  types ;  that  is, 
 with  familiar  illustrations  of  important  facts  or  prin- 
 ciples   by  sensible    and  similar    objects.     Owing   to 
 the  happy  combination  of  these  two  modes  of  instruc- 
 tion, the  one  supplying  certainty,  the  other  clearness, 
 those  cardinal  truths  of  Christianity  which  are  neces- 
 sary for  salvation  were  from  the  earliest  times  suffici- 
 ently declared  and  inculcated  for  practical  purposes. 
 No  sooner  had  the  first  parents  of  mankind  fallen  from 
 their  original  state  of  innocence  and  happiness,  than 
 it  pleased  God  to  give  them  a  prediction,  and  a  type 
 of  restoration.     The  prediction,  remarkable  for  its 
 sententious  brevity,  assured  them  that  one  of  their 
 descendants,  who  should  be  in  a  peculiar  sense — "  the 
 seed  of  the  woman," — would  crush  the  head  of  Satan, 
 the  infernal   serpent  by  whom    they  had  been  be- 
 
 *  2  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  19 — 21.     Tovro  tvqmtov  yivuxTKovng,  oti- 
 Traca  7rpc^}]Ttia  ypcKprjg  idiag  kinXvatdJQ  ov  yivsTai. 
 
IN  RELATION   TO   THE  DEATH   OF  CHRIST,  227 
 
 guiled  into  sin ;  and  that  the  victor  himself  would 
 be  wounded  in  the  conflict.*  The  type  consisted 
 in  the  rite  of  animal  sacrifice,  appointed  at  the 
 same  time  as  the  basis  of  acceptable  worship,  plainly 
 intimating  that  for  the  reconciliation  of  sinners  to 
 God,  the  violent  death  of  a  suitable  victim,  offered 
 to  him  as  their  substitute,  was  absolutely  necessary. 
 Hence  originated  the  use  of  skins  for  vesture,  which 
 by  his  command  they  then  adopted,  and  by  which 
 he  practically  taught  them  that,  although  in  the 
 dignity  of  their  native  innocence  they  had  no  need 
 of  clothing,  they  could  not  as  fallen  creatures  be 
 permitted  to  enter  his  presence,  except  in  the  garb 
 of  atonement.  The  prediction  conjoined  with  the 
 type  conveyed  to  them  therefore  the  important  in- 
 formation, that  the  future  Saviour  would  be  one  of 
 their  race,  yet  descended  from  a  female  parent  only  ; 
 and,  as  such  an  event  implies  divine  interposition, 
 and  every  work  of  God  is  perfect,  would  possess  a 
 pure  and  immaculate  human  nature,  wherein  by  the 
 sacrifice  of  himself  he  would  render  an  atonement 
 for  the  sins  of  mankind,  and  deliver  them  from  the 
 tyranny  of  Satan,  who  by  instigating  his  death 
 would  unwittingly  contribute  to  the  destruction  of 
 his  own  power.  Thus,  by  the  divine  prerogative 
 of  regarding  the  future  as  the  past,  Christ  was   ''  the 
 
 lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
 
 whom  God" — says  the  apostle  Paul, — "foreappointed 
 [to  be]  a  propitiatory  [sacrifice]  through  faith  in  his 
 blood,  to  demonstrate  his  justice,  because  of  the 
 seeming   impunity    of    previous    sins    through    the 
 
 *  Gen.  chap.  3,  v.  14,  15  ;— 2  Corintli.  chap.  11,  v.  3  ;— 1  Tim. 
 chap.  2,  V.  13,  14  ;— Heb.  chap.  2,  v.  14, 15  ;— Revel,  chap.  12.  v.  9  ; 
 chap.  20,  V.  1,2. 
 
TYPES  AND  PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 forbearance  of  God,   to  demonstrate    his   justice  at 
 the  present  time,  [and  to  show]  that  he  is  just  even 
 in  justifying  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus;" — -a  pas- 
 sage of  the  greatest  value,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
 a  somewhat  similar  one  in  the  first  epistle  of  Peter, 
 almost  unique.     It  is  highly  probable  that,  owing 
 to    their    peculiar    position,    as    well    as    to    their 
 superior    knowledge     derived    from    former    inter- 
 course with  the    Deity,    these    comparatively  brief 
 declarations    were    sufficient    for    the    spiritual    in- 
 struction and  guidance  of   the  primeval    pair,    and 
 throujjh    them    of    their    antediluvian    descendants. 
 At   that   early   period  however,   as    in   later    times, 
 the  gracious   plan   of  salvation,    although    cordially 
 embraced   by  a  few,  was  by  the  majority  of  men 
 rejected   to  their  own  perdition.      It  was,   for   ex- 
 ample,— "  by  faith  that  Abel  offered  to  God  a  more 
 complete  sacrifice  than    Cain,   and  on   that  account 
 is    recorded     [in     Scripture]     as     a     just    person, 
 God    [himself]    testifying    concerning  his  gifts;" — 
 whilst  Cain,   who  presuming   on  the  sufficiency  of 
 mere    natural    religion    repudiated    the    atonement, 
 was  disapproved,    and   still  persisting   in   the  same 
 evil  course,  incurred  the  guilt  of  fratricide,  and  the 
 penalty    of   malediction.*     By  this  solemn  transac- 
 tion it  was   plainly    proved    that    animal    oblations, 
 representing  the    sacrifice  of  Christ,   were  divinely 
 instituted  from  the  beginning ;  and  this  simple   but 
 
 *  "Ov  irpokOeTO  6  OtoQ  iXaorr/ptov  dia  Trjg  Triareug  iv  ri^  avrov 
 aifiari,  tig  ivdii^iv  rfjg  diKuioavvtjg  avrov,  did  ttjv  irdptcnv  twv 
 TrpoyeyovoTiov  duapTrjfid-MV  iv  rrj  dvoxy  rov  6tov,  irpug  tvdei^iv 
 rfjg  diKaioavvrig  avrov  iv  r^  vvv  Katpt^,  tig  rb  tlvai  avrov 
 diKaiov,  Kal  diKuiovvra  rbv  Ik  TrlartMg  ^Irjaov' — Romans,  chap.  3, 
 V.  23 — 26  ; — Gen.  chap.  4,  v.  I — 12  ; — Heb.  chap.  11,  v.  4  ;— 1  Peter, 
 chap.  1,  V.  18—21 ;— Rev.  chap.  13,  v.  8. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  0^9 
 
 expressive  rite  was  ever  afterwards  employed  for 
 the  same  purpose  till,  as  the  shadow  gives  place  to 
 the  substance,  the  type  was  at  length  superseded  by 
 the  reality. 
 
 Still  further  to  designate  the  purity  and  benefi- 
 cence of  the  future  Saviour,  a  distinction  was  also 
 established    between    clean    and    unclean    animals, 
 those  only  being   accepted  for  sacrifice  which  ex- 
 hibit a  mild  and  gentle  nature,  subsist  on  vegetable 
 food,  and  are  friendly  and  serviceable  to  mankind. 
 Thus — "  Abel  brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock, 
 and  of  the  fat  thereof," — as  an  offering  to  the  Lord  ; 
 and  after  escaping  from  the  deluge, — "  Noah  built 
 an  altar  to  the  Lord,  and  took  of  every  clean  beast, 
 and  of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered  burnt-offerings 
 on   the    altar." — The    animals  which  Abraham  was 
 directed    to    sacrifice,    on    his   admission     into    the 
 Israelitish  covenant,  were  the  heifer,  the  goat,  the 
 sheep,   the  dove,  and  the  pigeon  ;    but,  when  at  a 
 later  period  he  was  commanded  to  present  his  only 
 son  Isaac  as  a  burnt- offering  on  Mount  Moriah,  he 
 received  a  significant  intimation,  that  the  lamb  pro- 
 vided by  God  as  the  true  atoning  victim  for  the  sins 
 of  the  world  would  be,  like  Isaac,  a  human  being, 
 and  an  only  and  well-beloved  son.*     As  a  recom- 
 pense of  his  faith  and  obedience,  Abraham  now  re- 
 ceived  a  renewed    promise,    accompanied  with    an 
 oath,  that  in  his  seed  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
 should  be  blessed ;  and  anticipated  with  joy  the  day 
 of  Christ,  which  he  was  thus  enabled  to  see  afar  off*. 
 
 *  Gen.  chap.  4,  v.  3 ;  chap.  7,  v.  1,  2,  7—9;  chap.  8,  v.  20,  21  ; 
 chap.  15,  V.  8,  9  ;  chap.  22,  v.  1,  2  ;— Levit.  chap.  1,  v.  1—3,  10,  14. 
 
23Q       TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT 
 
 His  pious  successors — '^  Isaac  and  Jacob,  joint-heirs 
 with  him  of  the  same  promise," — publicly  professed 
 their  faith  and  hope  in  the  future  Redeemer, 
 through  the  same  divinely  appointed  rite  of  animal 
 sacrifice.*  The  suitableness  and  significancy  of  this 
 rite,  in  reference  to  the  purpose  which  it  was  de- 
 signed to  answer,  cannot  be  better  expressed  than 
 in  the  words  of  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  in  his  work  on  the 
 priesthood  of  Christ.—"  A  sacrifice,  properly  so  call- 
 ed,"— observes  this  excellent  author, — -"  is  the  solemn 
 infliction  of  death  on  a  living  creature,  generally  by 
 effusion  of  its  blood,  in  a  way  of  religious  worship ; 
 and  the  presenting  of  this  act  to  the  Deity,  as  a  sup-r 
 plication  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  a  supposed  means 
 of  compensation  for  the   insult  and  injury  thereby 
 
 offered  to  his  majesty  and  government Let  us  in 
 
 imagination  view  the  striking  scenery  of  a  patriarchal, 
 or  a  Levitical  sacrifice.  A  victim  is  selected,  the 
 best  of  the  flock  or  the  herd,  without  blemish  or 
 defect.  It  is  brought  before  the  altar  of  the  Lord, 
 its  owner  lays  his  hand  upon  its  head,  its  life-blood 
 flows  upon  the  ground,  it  is  divided  and  burned 
 with  fire ;  whilst  the  conscious  sinner  sees  his  own 
 desert,  and  prays, — *  Now,  O  Lord  !  I  have  sinned, 
 I  have  committed  iniquity,  I  have  rebelled,  thus 
 and  thus  have  I  done  ;  but  I  return  in  repentance  to 
 
 thy  presence,  and  be  this  my  expiation!' In  this 
 
 solemn  and  aff*ecting  manner  was  it  declared  to  ages 
 and  generations,  that — *  God  is  the  righteous  judge, 
 of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,  and  who  cannot 
 
 *  Gen.  chap.  15 ;  chap.  22,  v.  1—18  ;  chap.  26.  v.  23—25  ;  chap. 
 33,  V.  18—20 ;— John,  chap.  8,  v.  56  ;— Heb.  chap.  1 1,  v.  8—10. 
 
IN   RELATION  TO  THE   DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  gg  [ 
 
 countenance  iniquity,  that  his  wrath  is  revealed  from 
 heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness 
 of  men,  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  that  there 
 is  forgiveness  with  the  Lord  and  plenteous  redemp- 
 tion, but  that  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there 
 
 is  no  remission.'* The  ancient  sacrifices  were 
 
 originally  designed  as  symbols,  emblems,  and  repre- 
 sentations of  the  great  work,  for  the  effecting  of 
 which  the  Messiah  was  promised  to  fallen  man.  In 
 support  of  this  proposition,  our  first  article  of  evi- 
 dence is  deduced  from  explicit  declarations  of  the 
 Old  Testament. — '  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst 
 not.  A  body  hast  thou  prepared  for  me.  Burnt 
 offering  and  sin  offering,  thou  requirest  not.  Then 
 said  I,  Lo  I  come  !  In  the  volume  of  the  book  it 
 is  wTitten  of  me,  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  God ! 
 yea,  thy  law  is  within  my  heart.' — The  authority  of 
 the  New  Testament  decides  the  application  of  this 
 passage  to  the  Messiah.  The  language  of  rejection 
 applied  to  the  legal  offerings  can  be  understood  only 
 as  a  strong  denial  of  any  intrinsic  value  or  efficacy 
 in  them  ;  for  the  command  to  offer  those  sacrifices 
 was  unquestionably  binding  upon  the  Hebrew  na- 
 tion, so  long  as  the  Levitical  covenant  continued  in 
 force.  The  leading  idea  in  this  distinguished  pas- 
 sage manifestly  is,  that  the  Messiah  should  super- 
 sede all  the  sacrificial  observances  by  actually  per- 
 forming that  very  requisite,  that  good  pleasure  of 
 Jehovah,  which  they  were  totally  unable  to  accom- 
 plish.    Now,  their  known  and  avowed  intention  was 
 
 *  Psalm  7,  V.  11 ;  Psalm  130,  v.  4,  7  ;— Habak.  chap.  1,  v.  12, 
 13  ;— Rom.  chap.  1,  v.  18  ;  chap.  6,  v.  22,  23  ;— Ileb.  chap.  9, 
 V.  27,  28. 
 
TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 — *  to  make  an  atonement  before  the  Lord  for  the  soul 
 that  had  sinned,  that  it  might  be  forgiven  him  for 
 
 all  that  he  had  done The  blood  I  have  given  to 
 
 you  [to  be  offered]  upon  the  altar,  to  make  atone- 
 ment for  your  souls,  because  it  is  the  blood  which 
 maketh  atonement  for  the  soul.'  —  But  to  this 
 point  they  could  never  attain.  For  this,  as  con- 
 sidered separately  from  their  declarative  inten- 
 tion, he  that  commanded  them  had  no  delight  in 
 them.  ThiSf  therefore,  must  have  been  the  object 
 in  which  the  divine  complacency  rested,  this  the 
 grand  purpose  for  which  in  due  time  the  Messiah 
 should  be  manifested, — '  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sa- 
 crifice of  himself."* 
 
 When  the  descendants  of  the  patriarchs  had  grown 
 into  a  nation,  and  after  being  delivered  from  their 
 bondage  in  Egypt,  were  conducted  by  Moses  and 
 Aaron  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  and  there  brought 
 into  covenant  with  God  as  his  chosen  and  peculiar 
 people,  the  system  of  types  and  prophecies  respecting 
 Christ  was  more  fully  developed.  From  that  time 
 till  his  entrance  into  the  world, — "  the  law  was  our 
 schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ,  [and]  a  shadow 
 of  good  things  to  come ;" — in  other  words,  it  was 
 one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the  Mosaic  institution  to 
 announce  and  illustrate  the  great  facts  connected  with 
 his  person   and  office,  and  more  especially  to  show 
 
 that  he  would  become  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  by 
 
 » 
 
 suifering  in  their  stead  the  divine  malediction  due  to 
 
 *  Dr.  J.  P.  Smith,  On  the  Sacrifice  and  Priesthood  of  Jesus 
 Christ,  &c.,  pp.  3,  4,  U — 17,  19—21; — Levit.  chap.  6,  v.  1  —  7; 
 chap.  17,  V.  10— 12  ;— Psalm  40,  v.  6—8;  Psalm  110,  v.  4  ;— Heb, 
 chap.  9,  V.  24—26  ;  chap.  10,  v.  1—10. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^33 
 
 their  sins.*  Hence,  under  the  Israelitish  dispensation 
 the  principle  of  atonement  was  typically  represented 
 on  the  largest  scale.  One  of  their  tribes  was  wholly 
 consecrated  to  religious  offices,  and  the  rest  of  the 
 nation  was  commanded  to  provide  for  its  mainte- 
 nance, and  to  reverence  its  authority.  To  intimate 
 the  constant  presence  of  God  with  his  people  as 
 their  benefactor  and  protector,  he  commanded  that  a 
 splendid  tent,  afterwards  exchanged  for  a  still  more 
 magnificent  temple,  should  be  erected  in  the  midst  of 
 them,  like  a  royal  palace,  where  he  would  statedly 
 dispense  his  favours,  and  receive  their  homage  and 
 adoration.  But  none  could  enjoy  these  privileges 
 except  through  the  medium  of  a  figurative  atone- 
 ment, which  was  therefore  continually  exhibited  in  a 
 most  distinct  and  impressive  manner.  With  the  ex- 
 ception of  the  sacred  tribe,  the  worshippers  were 
 never  admitted  into  the  temple  itself,  but  only  into 
 its  outer  court,  where  twice  every  day  animal  sacri- 
 fices were  offered  on  a  spacious  brazen  altar.  At  each 
 of  these  times,  whilst  some  of  the  priests  were  thus 
 engaged,  others  within  the  sanctuary  burnt  incense  on 
 a  smaller  golden  altar,  whence  a  cloud  of  fragrance, 
 ascending  before  the  most  holy  place  which  sym- 
 bolized the  divine  presence,  signified  that,  in  virtue 
 of  the  atoning  sacrifice  wherein  they  had  just  parti- 
 cipated, the  prayers  and  thanksgivings  of  the  people 
 were  accepted  by  God.  Besides  these  constant  and 
 ordinary  rites,  others  still  more  specific  and  expres- 
 sive were  occasionally  interposed,  by  which  this  figu- 
 rative mode  of  representation  was  rendered  complete. 
 1 
 
 *  Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  21—26  ;— Coloss.  chap.  2,  v.   16,  17  :— Heb. 
 chap.  8,  V.  1—6;  chap.  10,  v.  1  —  10. 
 
234 
 
 TYPES   AND    PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 It  was  moreover  supported  throughout  by  a  corre- 
 sponding series  of  predictions,  delivered  by  prophets 
 raised  up  from  time  to  time,  and  qualified  by  superior 
 wisdom  and  virtue,  as  well  as  by  an  extraordinary  en- 
 dowment of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  the  religious  instruc- 
 tors of  the  Israelitish  nation,  to  write  their  annals,  and 
 to  foretel  future  events,  particularly  those  which  relat- 
 ed to  the  promised  Messiah.  With  a  view  to  prevent 
 interference  and  abuse  on  the  part  of  profane  persons, 
 whilst  communicating  sufficient  information  for  the 
 benefit  of  the  pious  and  well-disposed,  these  predic- 
 tions are,  with  a  few  remarkable  exceptions,  brief, 
 partial,  and  intermixed  with  other  matters.  Their 
 separate  impression  is  hereby  somewhat  weakened  ; 
 but  when  collected  and  arranged,  they  are  found  to 
 be  so  copious,  distinct,  and  precise,  as  to  resemble 
 history  rather  than  prophecy.  Retrospectively  con- 
 sidered, it  seems  indeed  wonderful  that  previously 
 to  their  accomplishment  they  were  not  recognised 
 and  opposed,  and  that  no  Celsus  or  Porphyry  should 
 have  subsequently  arisen,  to  denounce  them  as  the 
 forgeries  of  a  later  age.  The  consummate  skill  dis- 
 played in  this  administration  of  the  prophecies  con- 
 cerning Christ,  as  likewise  in  their  conjunction  with 
 types  and  ceremonies,  which  silently  presented  the 
 same  testimony  in  a  form  adapted  to  all  capacities, 
 affords  a  strong  proof  of  the  truth  and  divine  origin 
 of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 A  still  stronger  proof,  if  possible,  is  furnished  by 
 the  event  itself;  since  it  involved  conditions  so  singu- 
 lar, complex,  and  apparently  incompatible,  that,  as 
 formerly  remarked,  by  no  wisdom  or  power  less  than 
 those  of  the  Deity  could  they  have  been  either  anti- 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  235 
 
 cipated  or  fulfilled.  That  the  death  of  Christ  should 
 exactly  agree  with  all  the  types  and  prophecies  by 
 which  it  had  been  previously  announced,  was  obvi- 
 ously necessary ;  and  in  various  parts  of  the  New 
 Testament  this  necessity  is  accordingly  affirmed  with 
 a  degree  of  earnestness  and  solemnity,  well  calcu- 
 lated to  rebuke  the  licentious  practice  which  is 
 sometimes  adopted,  of  suppressing  or  evading  positive 
 predictions  of  Scripture,  merely  because  it  is  diffi- 
 cult to  conceive  how  they  could  be  realized.  Thus, 
 when  Christ  on  the  day  of  his  resurrection  conversed 
 with  the  two  disciples  travelling  to  Emmaus, — "  he 
 began  from  Moses,  and  [proceeding  through]  all 
 the  prophets,  explained  -  to  them  throughout  the 
 Scriptures  the  things  respecting  himself;" — and  im- 
 mediately before  his  ascension  said  to  the  apostles, — 
 "  These  [are]  the  words  which  I  spake  to  you  whilst 
 [I  was]  yet  with  you,  that  all  which  is  written  con- 
 cerning me  in  the  law  of  Moses,  in  the  prophets,  and 
 in  the  psalms,  must  be  fulfilled.  Then  he  opened 
 their  minds  to  understand  the  Scriptures,  and  said  to 
 them.  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  was  necessary 
 that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise  from  the  dead  on 
 the  third  day,  and  that  repentance  and  discharge  of 
 sins  should  be  proclaimed  in  his  name  to  all  the 
 Gentiles,  beginning  from  Jerusalem."* — In  like  man- 
 ner Peter,  when  addressing  the  vast  multitude  in 
 that  city  on  the  miraculous  cure  of  the  man  who 
 had  been  lame  from  his  birth,  after  reproaching 
 them  with — '^  killing  the  prince  of  life," — observed. 
 
 *  Luke,  chap.  24,  v.  25—27,  44—47. 
 
ggg       TYPES  AND  PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 — "  Now  I  know,  brethren,   that  ye   did   [this]  in 
 ignorance,  as  [did]  also  your  rulers,  but  the  suffer- 
 ings  which  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets  God 
 had  before  declared  that  Christ  should  undergo,  he 
 hath    thus    accomplished;" — and,    after    quoting    a 
 suitable  passage  from  the  writings  of  Moses,  added, 
 — "  Yea,  and  all  the  prophets  who  have  spoken,  from 
 Samuel  downwards,  have  also  announced  these  days." 
 — So,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthian  Christians, 
 Paul  reminds   them, — "  I   delivered  to  you  at  the 
 beginning    [the    same    gospel]    which    I    received, 
 [namely,]  that   Christ  died  on  account  of  our  sins, 
 according  to  the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  was  buried, 
 and   rose  again  on  the   third  day,  according  to  the 
 Scriptures." — His    discourse    at    the    synagogue    of 
 Antioch  in  Pisidia  commenced  with  these  words, — 
 "  Brethren  of  the  race  of  Abraham  !  and  [all  others] 
 amongst  you  who  fear  God,  to  you  is  the  message  of 
 this  salvation  sent.     For  they  that  dwell  at  Jerusa- 
 lem,   and    their    rulers,   having   neither    recognised 
 [Christ,]  nor  [understood]  the  words  of  the  prophets 
 which  are  read  every  sabbath-day,   fulfilled  [them] 
 by  condemning  [him].     Although  they  did  not  find 
 [in  him]   any  offence  deserving  of  death,    they    re- 
 quested Pilate    that   he  might  be   slain ;  and,  when 
 they  had  accomplished  all  that  was  written  concern- 
 ing liin),  they  took  [him]  down  from  the  tree,   [and] 
 laid  [him]  in  a  tomb  ;  but  God  raised  him  from  the 
 dead."* — Finally,   in  his  celebrated    defence   before 
 Agrippa,  the  same  apostle  said  of  himself, — "  Having 
 
 *   Acts,    chap.    3,    V.    13—18,    22—24;    chap.    13,   v.  26—30;- 
 1  Corinth,  chap.  15,  v.  3,  4. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ggy 
 
 received  help  from  God  I  continue  to  this  day,  bear- 
 ing witness  to  small  and  great,  [yet]  without  stating 
 anything  more  than  both  the  prophets  and  Moses  pre- 
 dicted ;  [namely,]  that  Christ  should  suffer  [death,] 
 [be]  the  first  to  rise  from  the  dead,  [and]  show  light 
 to  the  people  [of  Israel,]  and  to  the  Gentiles." 
 
 From  these  and  otiier  scriptural  explanations  it  is 
 evident  that  almost  all  the  types  of  Christ  under  the 
 Mosaic  dispensation,  such  as  the  daily  sacrifice,  the 
 paschal  lamb,  the  scape-goat,  the  sin-offering,  &c., 
 intimated  that  his  death  would  be  that  of  an  atoning 
 victim,  vicariously  suffered  for  the  expiation  of  human 
 guilt ;  agreeably  to  which  his  forerunner,  John  the 
 Baptist,  publicly  proclaimed  him  to  be — "  the  lamb 
 of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." — 
 The  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament  relative  to 
 this  momentous  subject  give  a  similar  representation, 
 strengthened  by  the  superior  fulness,  perspicuity,  and 
 authority  derived  from  written  language.  '  With  the 
 types  and  prophecies  thus  interpreted,  the  facts  of 
 Christ's  death,  as  recorded  in  the  New  Testament, 
 exactly  and  exclusively  correspond  ;  and  the  internal 
 evidence  of  truth  furnished  by  a  connected  view  of 
 the  whole  is  like — "  a  threefold  cord,  which  is  not 
 quickly  broken."* — In  the  following  remarks,  the 
 principal  particulars  of  this  evidence  will  be  pro- 
 duced and  illustrated.  To  make  atonement  for  the 
 sins  of  the  world,  it  was  necessary  that  Christ  should 
 possess   a   pure  and   perfect  human  nature,   and  in 
 
 *  Eccles.  chap.  4,  v,  9— 12;— John,  chap.  1,  v.  29,  36  ;— Acts, 
 chap.  26,  V.  22,  23. 
 
238        TYPES   AND    PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 that  nature  voluntarily  suffer  the  malediction  due 
 to  human  depravity.  It  has  been  shown  that  in  his 
 case  the  divine  malediction  consisted  in  a  partial  loss 
 of  God's  protection,  and  a  temporary  loss  of  his  com- 
 munion, the  former  constituting  its  outward  mani- 
 festation, the  latter  its  intrinsic  reality ;  and  that  the 
 result  of  this  infliction  was  intense  mental  agony, 
 terminating  in  sudden  death  by  rupture  of  the 
 heart,  attended  with  a  copious  effusion  of  the  heart's 
 blood  into  its  containing  capsule,  and  a  subsequent 
 separation  of  that  blood  into  its  solid  and  liquid 
 ingredients.  Marvellous  and  unparalleled  as  was 
 this  combination  of  circumstances,  it  is  depicted 
 with  almost  equal  clearness  in  the  types  and  pro- 
 phecies of  the  Old  Testament,  as  in  the  narratives 
 of  the  evangelists.  In  reference  to  its  outward  mani- 
 festation, the  malediction  was  necessarily  confined 
 to  the  channel  of  divine  institution.  It  could  not 
 have  been  legitimately  pronounced  except  by  the 
 Jewish  hierarchy,  nor  fully  sustained  except  by  a 
 member  of  the  Mosaic  covenant.  Hence  Christ 
 was — "  born  under  the  law,  that  he  might  redeem 
 those  [who  are]  under  the  law;" — and  thereby  became 
 subject  to  the  authority  of  its  priesthood,  who,  whilst 
 professing  to  expect  the  promised  Messiah,  were  de- 
 voted to  worldly  affections,  and  predetermined  not  to 
 acknowledge  any  one  in  that  capacity,  unless  he  were 
 a  powerful  and  magnificent  prince.  The  lowly  and 
 indigent  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  therefore  the  object  of 
 their  aversion  and  contempt ;  and  they  firmly  persuad- 
 ed themselves  that,  should  the  nation  be  induced  by 
 his  discourses  or  his  miracles  to  accept  him  as  their 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF  CHRIST.  ^39 
 
 leader,  the  result  would  be  ruinous  to  their  pros- 
 perity, and  perhaps  fatal  to  their  existence.*  They 
 had,  however,  little  ground  of  apprehension,  for  in 
 their  rejection  of  his  claims,  and  their  hostility  to 
 his  person,  they  were  zealously  seconded  by  the 
 great  body  of  Israelites  assembled  at  the  paschal 
 and  other  festivals  in  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  was  thus 
 demonstrated  that,  in  spite  of  their  superior  religious 
 advantages,  both  priests  and  people  thoroughly  par- 
 ticipated in  the  general  depravity  of  mankind,  and 
 were  in  consequence  abandoned  to  judicial  blindness, 
 and  to  the  most  culpable  and  pernicious  delusions. 
 When  Jesus  was  arraigned  before  the  Sanhedrim, 
 he  was  accordingly  declared  guilty  of  blasphemy,  and 
 deserving  of  death,  merely  for  avowing  his  true  cha- 
 racter as  the  Messiah,  which  had  not  only  been  pro- 
 claimed by  John  the  Baptist,  but  also  publicly  and 
 repeatedly  acknowledged  by  the  Deity  himself.  Had 
 they  possessed  civil  power  as  well  as  sacerdotal 
 authority,  they  would  on  that  occasion,  in  confor- 
 mity with  the  directions  of  the  law  of  Moses  respect- 
 ing such  offences,  have  despatched  him  by  stoning ; 
 and  his  dead  body,  after  having  been  suspended  or 
 crucified,  would  have  been  cast  the  same  day  before 
 sunset  into  some  common  and  dishonoured  grave. 
 The  law  in  question  is  thus  cited  by  Josephus : 
 — "  He  that  blasphemeth  God,  let  him  be  stoned, 
 and  let  him  hang  upon  a  tree  all  that  day,  and  then 
 let  him  be  buried  in  an  ignominious  and  obscure 
 manner." — To  the  same  effect  he  remarks  in  another 
 part    of  his   works  : — "  The    Jews  used  to  take  so 
 
 *  John,  chap.  11,  v.  45—50; — Galat.  chap.  4,  v.  4,  5. 
 
240     TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES  OF  THE    OLD   TESTAMENT 
 
 much  care  of  the  burial  of  men,  that  they  took  down 
 those  that  were  condemned  and  crucified,  and  buried 
 them  before  the  going  down  of  the  sun." — But  such 
 a  mode  of  death,  involving  the   semblance    only  of 
 malediction,  not  its  reality,  would  have   been   unfit 
 for  the  purpose  ;  and  in  order  to  fulfil  the  conditions 
 of  atonement,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be  cru- 
 cified  alive.     Hence,    as    this    cruel    and    infamous 
 punishment  was  not  in  use   amongst  the  Israelitish 
 people  when  governed  by  their  own  laws,  they  were 
 at  that  critical  period  placed  by  divine  providence 
 under  the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  by  whom  it  was 
 habitually  practised.*     But  the   Roman   procurator 
 was  neither  obliged  nor  disposed  to  execute  the  sen- 
 tence  of   death   pronounced   against   Jesus    by   the 
 Jewish  Sanhedrim  on  the  ground  of  blasphemy,  and 
 they  were  therefore   under    the  necessity  of  trans- 
 forming that  accusation  into  one  of  sedition  against 
 the  state,  before  they  could  obtain  a  corresponding 
 sentence  from  the  civil  tribunal.     Of  the  falsehood 
 of  this  latter  charge  the  governor,  after  due  inquiry, 
 was    fully    convinced.       In    a     private     conference 
 Christ  explained  to  him,  as  he  had  formerly  done  to 
 his  own  countrymen,  that,  although  he  was  truly  a 
 king,  and  in  a  certain  sense  the  king  of  the  Jews, 
 yet  his  kingdom  was  purely    spiritual,  and   totally 
 unconnected  with  the  politics  of  the  present  world. 
 
 *  The  crucifixion  of  eight  hundred  Jewish  prisoners  at  Jerusa- 
 lem by  their  king  Alexander  Jannseus,  forms  no  exception  to  this 
 statement ;  since  that  prince  was  a  usurper  and  a  tyrant,  who  violated 
 the  laws  of  Moses,  as  well  as  those  of  justice  and  humanity.  Levit. 
 chap.  24,  V.  10— 16;— Deuteron.  chap,  21,  v.  22,  23  ;— Whiston's 
 Josephus,  vol.  i.  p.  188  ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  243,  244 ;  vol.  iv.  p.  87. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  0/[,\ 
 
 On  hearing  this,  Pilate,  who  probably  regarded  such 
 a  kingdom  as  the  delusion  of  a  visionary  mind,  ac- 
 quitted him  of  all  blame,  and  earnestly  laboured  to 
 release  him  ;  but  having  been  guilty  of  great  abuses 
 in  his  government,  fearful  of  being  accused  to  the 
 emperor  as  a  favourer  of  usurpation,  and  alarmed  by 
 the  grovs^ing  violence  of  the  multitude,  he  was  at 
 length  induced  to  comply  with  their  demands,  by 
 ordering  the  crucifixion  of  their  innocent  victim. 
 Nothing  could,  however,  be  more  evident  than  that 
 in  so  doing  he  was  merely  the  instrument  of  the 
 Jewish  priesthood  and  people,  who  by  their  outrage- 
 ous conduct  before  the  judgment-seat,  and  their 
 savage  triumph  at  the  place  of  execution,  openly 
 avowed  that  they  were  the  principal,  although  not 
 the  immediate  agents  in  the  death  of  Jesus,  and  that 
 their  chief  object  in  accomplishing  it  was,  to  deny  on 
 behalf  of  the  nation  at  large  his  claim  to  be  the  pre- 
 dicted Messiah,  and  as  they  supposed  effectually  to 
 defeat  it.  Hence,  the  apostles  and  their  associates 
 soon  afterwards  charged  them,  in  the  most  direct 
 manner,  with  being  the  authors  of  this  judicial  mur- 
 der. Speaking  of  Christ  to  the  people  assembled  at 
 Jerusalem  on  the  subsequent  day  of  pentecost,  Peter 
 boldly  affirmed, — "  This  man,  having  been  delivered 
 up  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of 
 God,  ye  took,  [and]  by  the  hands  of  wicked  men 
 crucified  and  slew."* — The  language  which  they  ad- 
 dressed on  this  subject  to  the  Sanhedrim  was  equally 
 strong,  as  appears  from  the  following  speech  of  the 
 same  apostle,  when   first  arraigned  before  them : — 
 
 *  Acts,  chap.  2,  V.  22,  23. 
 
 M 
 
242        TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 *'  Rulers  of  the  people,  and  elders  of  Israel !  If  we 
 are  this  day  examined  concerning  the  benefit  [con- 
 ferred] on  the  lame  man,  [and]  the  means  by  which 
 he  has  been  healed,  be  it  known  to  you  all,  and  to 
 all  the  people  of  Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus 
 Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified,  [but]  whom 
 God  raised  from  the  dead,  [even]  by  him,  does  this 
 man  stand  before  you  whole.  This  is  the  stone 
 which  was  set  at  nought  by  you  builders,  [but] 
 which  has  become  the  head  [stone]  of  the  corner."* — 
 The  prominent  part  taken  by  the  Jewish  people  and 
 their  rulers  in  this  transaction  did  not,  however,  ex- 
 culpate Pontius  Pilate  and  Herod  Antipas,  the  legi- 
 timate governors  of  the  nation,  from  their  share  in 
 its  guilt.  They  were  well  aware  of  the  innocence  of 
 Christ,  and  humanly  speaking,  it  was  not  less  in 
 their  power,  than  it  was  their  duty  to  have  protected 
 him ;  yet,  through  fear  or  indifference  they  basely 
 abandoned  him  to  his  enemies,  and  thereby  rendered 
 themselves  equally  responsible  for  the  crime  of  his 
 crucifixion. 
 
 Such  were  the  principal  external  circumstances 
 which  attended  this  awful  event ;  and  it  will  now  be 
 shown  how  exactly  they  were  intimated  long  before, 
 more  especially  in  reference  to  the  peculiar  mode 
 and  cause  of  the  death  of  Jesus,  by  the  types  and 
 prophecies  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  That  all  the 
 animal  sacrifices  under  the  law  were  types  of  the 
 one  great  sacrifice  offered  by  Christ,  is  plainly  de- 
 
 *  Psalm  118,  V.  22,  23  ;— Matt.  chap.  21,  v.  42—44  ;— Acts,  chap. 
 3,  V.  13—15  ;  chap.  4,  v.  8—12  ;  chap.  5,  v.  29—31  ;  ch.  7,  v.  51,52. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ^43 
 
 clared  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  He- 
 brews. It  is  also  intimated  in  numerous  other 
 passages  both  of  the  New  and  Old  Testaments,  par- 
 ticularly in  the  very  remarkable  one  quoted  by  the 
 same  apostle  from  the  fortieth  psalm  : — **  On  coming 
 into  the  world  [Christ]  said, — Sacrifice  and  oiFering 
 thou  desiredst  not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  for 
 me.  In  whole  burnt  offerings  and  [sacrifices]  for 
 sin  thou  hadst  no  pleasure  ;  then  I  said,  Lo,  I  come  ! 
 (In  a  chapter  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,)  to  do 
 thy  will,  O  God!"* — In  these  few  words  several 
 important  truths  are  announced  ;  namely,  that  the 
 Levitical  sacrifices,  although  divinely  appointed,  were 
 incapable  of  rendering  a  real  atonement  for  sin,  and 
 therefore  merely  prefigured  the  perfect  and  satisfac- 
 tory sacrifice  of  Christ ;  that  he  came  into  the  world 
 to  accomplish  by  his  vicarious  death  the  gracious 
 designs  of  the  Father,  who  prepared  for  him  a  body 
 specially  adapted  for  the  purpose ;  but  that  his  ac- 
 ceptance of  this  office  was  purely  voluntary,  and  the 
 result  of  his  own  free  and  benevolent  choice. 
 Amongst  the  many  statements  of  the  New  Testament 
 to  this  effect,  the  following  may  be  cited  as  speci- 
 mens. The  apostle  John  says  of  Christ: — ''Ye  know 
 that  he  was  manifested  to  take  away  our  sins,  and 
 that  in  him  there  is  no  sin." — Referring  to  himself 
 and  the  other  apostles,  Paul  remarks  : — "  We  are  am- 
 bassadors for  Christ,  as  if  God  entreated  you  through 
 us,  we  beseech  [you]  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  recon- 
 ciled to  God ;  for  he  hath  made  him  who  knew 
 not  sin  to  be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  become  the 
 
 *  Psalm  40,  v.  6—8  ;— Heb.  chap.  10,  v.  1  —  10. 
 M    2 
 
044       TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF   THE    OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 righteousness  of  God  by  him We  have  not  a 
 
 high-priest  who  cannot  sympathize  with  our  infirmi- 
 ties, but  was  in  all  respects  tried  as  we  are,  [yet] 
 
 without  sin  ; for  it  was  fit  that  we  should  have 
 
 such  a  high-priest  [as  is]  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
 separate   from   sinners,    and   made  higher   than    the 
 
 heavens As  beloved  children,  be  ye  therefore 
 
 imitators  of  God ;  and  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also 
 loved  us,  and  presented  himself  to  God  on  our  behalf, 
 as  a  sweet-smelling  oblation  and  sacrifice." — Id  a 
 manner  precisely  similar  Peter  observes,  in  his  first 
 epistle  to  the  Christian  Jews  of  Asia  Minor: — "  Christ 
 suffered  once  on  account   of  sins,   the  just  for  the 
 
 unjust,   that  he  might  bring  us  to  God; for 
 
 it  was  not  by  perishable  things,  [such  as]  silver  or 
 gold,  that  ye  were  redeemed  from  your  unprofitable 
 [religious]  course  derived  by  tradition  from  the 
 fathers,  but  by  the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a 
 
 lamb  without  blemish,  and  without  spot; who 
 
 did  no  sin,  neither  was  deceit  found  in  his  mouth; 
 who  when  reviled  did  not  revile  in  return,  when  he 
 suffered  did  not  threaten,  but  committed  [himself]  to 
 him  that  judgeth  righteously;  who  himself  bore  our 
 sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we  being  deli- 
 vered from  sins  should  live  unto  righteousness,  by 
 whose  stripes  ye  were  healed ;  for  ye  were  as  sheep 
 going  astray,  but  have  now  returned  to  the  shepherd 
 and  bishop  of  your  souls."* — In   the   sentence   last 
 
 *  2  Coriuth.  chap.  5,  v.  20,21 ;— Ephes.  chap.  5,  v.  1,  2  ;— Heb. 
 chap.  4,  V.  14—16;  chap.  7,  v.  26;  chap.  9,  v.  13,  14  ;— 1  Peter, 
 chap.  1,  V.  18—21  ;  chap.  2,  v.  21—25;  chap.  3,  v.  18.— 1  John,  chap. 
 3,  V.  5. 
 
IN   RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST. 
 
 9A5 
 
 quoted,  and  in  some  other  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, the  well-known  and  marvellous  prophecy  which 
 occupies  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  is  clearly 
 represented  as  having  been  fulfilled  in  Christ. — 
 **  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our 
 sorrows,  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of 
 God,  and  afflicted ;  but  he  [was]  wounded  for  our 
 transgressions,  [he  was]  bruised  for  our  iniquities, 
 the  chastisement  of  our  peace  [was]  upon  him,  and 
 with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep 
 have  gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his 
 own  way,  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
 of  us  all.  He  was  oppressed  and  he  was  afflicted, 
 yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth :  he  is  brought  as  a 
 lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her 
 shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth." — 
 The  language  of  prophecy  respecting  the  death  of 
 Christ,  delivered  more  than  seven  hundred  years 
 before  its  occurrence,  was  therefore  sufflciently  ex- 
 plicit ;  and  the  typical  indications  of  the  same  event, 
 furnished  by  the  Mosaic  institution  at  a  still  earlier 
 period,  were  not  less  so.  Besides  many  other  ex- 
 piatory sacrifices  presented  on  various  occasions,  two 
 were  celebrated  in  the  court  of  the  tabernacle  or 
 temple  every  day,  such  being  the  divine  direction. 
 — "  This  [is]  the  offering  made  by  fire,  which  ye 
 shall  offer  unto  the  Lord  ;  two  lambs  of  the  first  year 
 without  spot,  day  by  day,  [for]  a  continual  burnt- 
 offering  ;  the  one  lamb  shalt  thou  offer  in  the  morn- 
 ing, and  the  other  lamb  shalt  thou  offer  at  even." 
 
 Types  and  prophecies  thus  concurred  in  announc- 
 ing that  the  true  lamb  of  God,  who  by  a  public 
 and    violent    death    would   ultimately  make   atone- 
 
946        TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 ment  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  was  to  be  perfect 
 in  body  and  mind,  the  demand  of  the  law  respect- 
 ing every  such  victim  being, — *'  It  shall  be  perfect 
 to  be  accepted :  there  shall  be  no  blemish  therein." 
 — Agreeably  to  this  requirement,  as  well  as  to  the 
 intrinsic  exigency  of  the  case,  the  human  nature 
 of  Christ  was,  as  he  himself  declared,  specially 
 provided  b}^  the  Deity: — ''A  body  hast  thou  pre- 
 pared for  me;" — and  it  is  obvious  that  a  body  so 
 provided  could  not  have  been  otherwise  than  perfect. 
 Hence,  both  the  prophet  and  the  apostle  describe 
 him  as  God's — "  elect  and  righteous  servant,  in 
 whom  his  soul  delighted,  who  did  no  violence,  neither 
 [was  any]  deceit  in  his  mouth." — In  the  primeval 
 promise  also,  the  future  deliverer  of  mankind,  who 
 was  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  is  significantly 
 styled — "  the  seed  of  the  woman  ;" — a  term  evidently 
 implying  supernatural  interposition,  by  which  alone 
 the  prediction  could  have  been  realized.  The  corre- 
 sponding fact  is  appropriately  supplied  by  Luke,— 
 **  the  beloved  physician," — who  intimates  on  angelic 
 authority,  that  the  Saviour's  body  was  formed  by  the 
 Holy  Spirit  in  the  womb  of  a  pious  Hebrew  virgin, 
 whereby  he  was  entirely  preserved  from  the  heredi- 
 tary corruption  of  fallen  humanity,  which  he  must 
 otherwise  have  participated.*  Amongst  the  nume- 
 rous proofs  of  Christ's  immaculate  sanctity,  it  will  be 
 
 ♦  Gen.  chap.  3,  v.  14, 15  ;— Levit.  chap.  22,  v.  17—25  ; — Numb, 
 chap.  28,  V.  1—8;— Isaiah,  chap.  28,  v.  16;  chap.  42,  v.  1;  chap. 
 53,  V.  4—7,  9  —  11 ;— Luke,  chap.  1,  v.  34,  35  ;— Acts,  chap.  8,  v.  30 
 — 35  ;— Galat.  chap.  4,  v.  4,  5  ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  18 — 20;  chap. 
 2,  V.  3—7,  21—23  ;  chap.  3,  v.  18  ;— 2  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  16—18. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO   THE   DEATH     OF    CHRIST.        ^  t7 
 
 sufficient  to  refer  to  the  testimony  of  the  Deity  him- 
 self, communicated  more  than  once  by  a  voice  from 
 heaven.  The  first  declaration  of  this  kind  occurred 
 at  his  baptism,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  descending  in 
 a  visible  form,  conferred  on  him  without  measure 
 the  extraordinary  and  miraculous  powers  necessary 
 for  the  discharge  of  his  prophetical  office,  which  then 
 commenced,  and  also  distinctly  marked  him  out  as 
 the  atoning  victim  of  the  new  covenant ;  in  allusion 
 to  which  the  Baptist  thenceforth  proclaimed  him  to 
 be — "  the  lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
 the  world." — It  was  no  doubt  to  this  divine  testimony 
 that  Christ  alluded  at  a  later  period,  when  in  the 
 synagogue  at  Capernaum  he  said  to  the  multitude 
 whom  he  had  recently  fed : — *^  Labour  not  for  the 
 food  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  which  endureth  to 
 eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  Man  will  give  you,  for 
 him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed."* — It  appears  from 
 the  rabbinical  writings  that,  before  a  victim  of  this 
 description  was  presented  at  the  altar,  it  was  most 
 carefully  examined  within  and  without  by  the 
 priests ;  and  if  found  in  the  slightest  degree  faulty 
 or  defective,  was  rejected  as  inadmissible.  That  a 
 similar  practice  prevailed  amongst  the  ancient  Egyp- 
 tians is  stated  by  Herodotus ;  who,  after  minutely 
 describing  the  details  of  the  process,  observes, — '*If 
 in  all  these  instances  the  bull  appears  to  be  unble- 
 mished, the  priest  fastens  the  byblus  round  his  horns  ; 
 he  then  applies  a  preparation  of  earth  which  receives 
 
 *  John,  chap.  1,  v.  29—39  ;  chap.  3,  v.  34  ;  chap.  vi.  v.  27  ;— 
 Acts,  chap.  10,  V.  34—38  ;— 2  Corinth,  chap.  1,  v.  21,  22  ;  — Ephes. 
 chap.  1,  V.  12 — 14 ;  chap.  4,  v.  30. 
 
O^S       TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 
 
 the  impression  of  his  seal,  and  the  animal  is  led 
 away.  This  seal  is  of  so  great  importance,  that  to 
 sacrifice  a  beast  which  has  it  not,  is  deemed  a  capital 
 offence."* — Although  not  positively  mentioned  in 
 Scripture,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  amongst  the 
 Jews  also,  approved  victims  were  in  like  manner 
 sealed  by  the  priests ;  and  it  is  therefore  more  than 
 probable  that  when  the  Saviour  said  of  himself, — 
 "  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed," — he  alluded  to 
 his  pubUc  designation  by  divine  authority  as  the  true 
 atoning  victim,  who  was  to  give  his  flesh  and  blood  for 
 the  life  of  the  world. 
 
 This  office  was  accordingly  prefigured  by  all  the 
 animal  sacrifices  under  the  Mosaic  law,  but  especially 
 by  those  offered  on  the  great  day  of  expiation  in 
 the  seventh  month.  On  this  solemn  occasion  a  bul- 
 lock and  a  goat  were  slaughtered  as  sin-offerings, 
 the  former  for  the  priesthood,  the  latter  for  the 
 people.  A  portion  of  their  blood,  accompanied  with 
 the  fumes  of  incense,  was  presented  to  God  by  the 
 high-priest  in  the  inner  sanctuary,  and  their  bodies 
 were  consumed  with  fire  without  the  camp  or  city, 
 where  the  tabernacle  or  temple  was  situated.  An- 
 other goat,  ceremonially  charged  with  the  collective 
 sins  of  the  nation,  was  at  the  same  time  conducted 
 to  a  desert,  and  there  abandoned.  Deliverance 
 from  sin  and  its  consequences  by  the  intervention  of 
 an  approved  substitute,  taking  on  himself  the  guilt 
 of  the  transgressor,  and  suffering  in  his  stead  the 
 punishment  due  to  his  offences,  was  by  these  rites 
 plainly  indicated ;  but  to  render  the  figure  still  more 
 
 *  Beloe's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.  pp.  357,  358  ; — Job,  chap.  38,  v.  14. 
 
IN    RELATION     TO     THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  049 
 
 expressive,  tlie  animals  thus  devoted,  although  clean 
 by  nature,  were  regarded  as  polluted  by  the  transac- 
 tion, so  that  the  priests  and  others  who  touched  them 
 became  legally  defiled,  and  were  obliged  to  wash  both 
 their  persons  and  their  clothes.  It  is  evident,  how- 
 ever, that  all  this  was  representation  only,  not  reality; 
 a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  not  the  substance. 
 In  the  former  point  of  view  nothing  could  be  more  sig- 
 nificant: in -the  latter,  nothing  could  be  more  absurd  ; 
 and  the  very  grossness  of  the  absurdity  seemed  to  be 
 an  effectual  security  against  any  misapprehension  or 
 abuse.  The  following  remarks  from  a  treatise  on  the 
 atonement  by  the  late  Mr.  Hey  of  Leeds,  may  serve  to 
 elucidate  tliis  subject. — "  The  true  notion  of  a  sacrifice 
 
 for  sin is  that  of  something  devoted  to  death,  as 
 
 the  means  of  expiating  guilt,  or  removing  the  obli- 
 gation to  punishment  from  the  offender Both 
 
 the  goats  appointed  for  a  sin-offering  are  spoken  of 
 as  making  atonement,  Lev.  chap.  16,  v.  5.  They 
 were  both  likewise  made  ceremonially  accursed,  and 
 equally  defiled  the  persons  who  touched  them  ;  for 
 neither  the  man  who  led  the  scape-goat  into  the 
 wilderness,  nor  he  that  carried  out  the  flesh  of  the 
 goat  slain,  could  return  into  the  camp,  until  he  had 
 washed  his  clothes,  and  bathed  his  flesh  in  water ; 
 from  all  which  it  is  probable  that  the  two  goats  were 
 intended  to  point  out  the  same  thing  in  different 
 respects  ;  the  one  by  its  death,  the  means  of  pardon  ; 
 the  other  by  its  removal  into  the  wilderness,  the 
 certainty  of  it." — In  another  passage  of  the  same 
 work  the  author  judiciously  observes, — "  There  is  no 
 necessity  to  suppose  that  each  circumstance  of  every 
 institution  which  was  designed  to  typify  the  method 
 
 M  3 
 
250       TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 of  our  redemption  by  Christ,  should  have  some- 
 thing corresponding  to  it  in  the  antitype ;  because 
 many,  if  not  all  of  those  institutions  had  other 
 purposes  to  answer,  besides  that  of  being  types  of 
 our  redemption.  The  propitiatory  sacrifices,  as  I 
 have  already  observed,  w^ere  branches  of  a  political 
 law,  and  had  an  immediate  reference  to  crimes  com- 
 mitted against  God  as  civil  governor.  Various  cir- 
 cumstances belonging  to  them  might  be  needful  in 
 this  respect,  which  were  not  intended  to  be  typical. 
 The  same  may  be  said  with  regard  to  the  passover, 
 and  other  types  of  Christ.  Besides,  so  many  things 
 were  to  be  prefigured  concerning  our  Redeemer,  that 
 no  one  institution  could  exhibit  them  all,  and  there- 
 fore it  was  necessary  that  different  types  should  be 
 appointed.  The  whole  ceremonial  law  did  but 
 afford  an  imperfect  resemblance  of  the  things  which 
 it  typified ;  it  was  but  the  shadow  of  good  things  to 
 come,  and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things."* — These 
 rites  were  in  fact  merely  types  of  the  true  atonement 
 ultimately  accomplished  by  Christ,  and  are  thus  ex- 
 plained by  the  apostle  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews  ;  —  "  for,  of  those  animals" — says  he, — 
 "  whose  blood  is  brought  as  a  sin-offering  by  the  high- 
 priest  into  the  most  holy  place,  the  bodies  are  burnt 
 without  the  camp;  on  which  account  Jesus  also,  that 
 he  might  consecrate  the  people  with  his  own  blood, 
 suffered  without  the  gate  [of  Jerusalem ;]  where- 
 fore let  us  go  forth  to  him  without  the  camp,  bearing 
 his  reproach." — The  fact  of  his  having  been  put  to 
 
 *  W.  Hey,  Short  Defence  of  the  Doctrine  of  Atonement,  pp,  57, 
 71,  76  ;— Levit.  chap.  16,  passim ;  chap.  23,  v.  26 — 32. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  251 
 
 death  without  the  camp  was  obscurely  predicted  by 
 Christ  himself  a  few  days   previously  to  the  event, 
 when  in  the  parable  of  the  proprietor  and  his  hus- 
 bandmen he  represented  the  latter  as  casting  the  heir 
 out  of  the  vineyard,  and  slaying  him ;    but  is  more 
 clearly  stated   by  the    beloved   disciple. — "  Bearing 
 his  cross," — says  John,  [Jesus]  "  went  forth  to  the 
 place   named  after  a  skull,  and   in    Hebrew    called 
 Golgotha,  where  they  crucified  him,  and  with   him 
 two  others,  one  on  each  side,  and  Jesus  in  the  midst ;" 
 — and,  after  describing  his  death,  subjoins, — "  Now 
 in  the  place  where  he  had  been  crucified  was  a  garden, 
 and  in  the  garden  a  new  tomb,"  &c. — These  circum- 
 stances are  decisive ;  for  neither  gardens,  tombs,  nor 
 public  executions  were  permitted  within   the  walls 
 of  Jerusalem.     The  same  fact  is  implied,  although 
 not  quite    so   distinctly,  by  the    other   evangelists  ; 
 amongst  whom  Matthew,  when  mentioning  the  report 
 of  Christ's  resurrection  carried  to  the  chief  priests  by 
 the    soldiers   who   guarded    the   tomb,   says,  they — 
 "came  to  the  city;" — signifying,  of  course,  that  they 
 had  previously  been  out  of  it.*     The   passage  last 
 quoted  from  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  of  great 
 value   and  importance,  for  it  proves  that  the  death 
 of  Christ  on  the  cross  was   in    the    divine  estima- 
 
 *  It  is  remarkable  that  Josephus  often  calls  the  Israelitish  camp 
 in  the  wilderness  the  city,  and  the  tabernacle  the  temple  ;  whilst  in 
 this  part  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  the  apostle  Paul  adopts  the 
 opposite  practice.  See  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  i.  pp.  146 — 148  ;~ 
 Matt.  chap.  21,  v.  36—39  ;  chap.  27,  v.  31—34  ;  chap.  28,  v.  11  ;  — 
 Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  20— 22  ;- Luke,  chap.  20  v.  13—15;  chap.  23, 
 V.  26,  33  ;— John,  ch.  19,  v.  16—20,  41,  42  ;— Heb.  ch.  13,  v.  10— 1-i. 
 
2^2        TYPES  AND  PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 tion  a  real  sacrifice,  and  the  antitype  of  the  various 
 sin-oiferings  appointed  by  the  Mosaic  law.  This 
 was  indeed  the  only  mode  in  which  such  a  sacrifice 
 could  have  taken  place,  since  by  the  same  law,  as 
 well  as  by  the  law  of  nature,  the  formal  immolation 
 of  human  beings  was  absolutely  prohibited  ;  and  one 
 of  the  many  charges  brought  against  the  ancient 
 Israelites  in  their  own  Scriptures  is,  that — "  they 
 shed  innocent  blood,  [even]  the  blood  of  their  sons 
 and  of  their  daughters,  whom  they  sacrificed  unto 
 the  idols  of  Canaan,  and  the  land  was  polluted  with 
 blood."* — All  the  essential  conditions  of  a  sacrifice 
 were,  however,  realized  in  the  Saviour's  crucifixion  ; 
 for  he  was  virtually  oftered  up  by  the  legitimate 
 authorities,  the  Jewish  priesthood,  who  with  the 
 other  members  of  the  Sanhedrim  appeared  on  the 
 occasion  as  principals,  and  of  whom  the  Roman 
 governor  was  merely  the  reluctant  instrument.  Yet, 
 with  all  their  power  and  malice,  they  were  unable  to 
 deny  the  miracles  which  proved  his  mission,  or  to 
 convict  him  of  the  smallest  offence ;  but,  on  the 
 contrary,  were  compelled  indirectly  to  acknowledge 
 that  he  was  an  innocent  victim  sacrificed,  as  they 
 supposed,  for  the  safety  of  the  nation. 
 
 The  crucifixion  of  Christ  was  thus  prefigured  in  a 
 lively  manner  by  the  Levitical  sacrifices,  wherein  the 
 violent  death  of  a  pure  and  perfect  animal,  and  its 
 oblation  to  God  on  account  of  sin  in  the  presence  of 
 his  assembled  people,  closely  resembled  the  public 
 execution  of  an  innocent  human  victim.     With  these 
 
 *  Psalm  106,  v.  34 — 38  ; — Isaiah,  chap.  57,  v.  4,  5  ; — Ezek.  chap. 
 16,  V.  20,  21. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST,  25S 
 
 typical  representations  addressed  to  the  senses,  the 
 special  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  on  the  same 
 subject  strikingly  agree ;  particularly  those  contained 
 in  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  the  twenty- 
 second  psalm.  That  Christ  died  as  an  atoning  sacri- 
 fice for  the  sins  of  his  people,  could  not  be  more 
 clearly  stated  than  in  the  well-known  words  of 
 the  evangelical  prophet,  who  by  the  privilege  of 
 inspiration  describes  the  future  as  if  it  were 
 already  past. — "  He  [was]  wounded  for  our  trans- 
 gressions, [he  was]  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  the 
 chastisement  of  our  peace  [Was]  upon  him,  and  with 
 his  stripes  we  are  healed." — A  little  after  the  Deity 
 himself  is  represented  as  declaring, — *'  He  shall  see  of 
 the  travail  of  his  soul,  [and]  shall  be  satisfied.  By  his 
 knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many,  for 
 he  shall  bear  their  iniquities." — That  his  death  should 
 take  place  by  a  public  execution,  the  result  of  a 
 judicial  sentence,  is  expressed  in  the  following  terms. 
 — "  He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judgment, 
 and  who  shall  declare  his  generation  ?  for  he  was  cut 
 off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living,  for  the  transgression 
 of  my  people  was  he  stricken." — The  psalmist  is  still 
 more  explicit,  and  plainly  intimates  the  specific  mode 
 of  execution,  namely  by  crucifixion,  the  principal 
 circumstances  of  which  are  detailed  with  a  degree  of 
 minuteness,  belonging  to  history  rather  than  to  pro- 
 phecy. The  derision  of  Christ  by  the  priesthood 
 and  the  people  is  thus  anticipated. — "  All  they  that 
 see  me  laugh  me  to  scorn,  they  shoot  out  the  lip, 
 they  shake  the  head  [saying,]  He  trusted  on  the 
 Lord  [that]  he  would  deliver  him.  Let  him  deliver 
 him,  seeing  he  delighted  in  him Many  bulls 
 
254       TYPES   AND  PROPHECIES   OF   THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 have  compassed  me,  strong  [bulls]  of  Bash  an  have 
 beset  me  round.  They  gaped  upon  me  [with]  their 
 mouths,  [as]  a  ravening  and  a  roaring  lion." — The 
 narrative  of  the  evangelists  is  precisely  similar,  and 
 in  some  parts  identical. — "  Those  who  passed  by 
 reviled  him,  shaking  their  heads,  and  saying.  Aha  ! 
 thou  that  destroyest  the  temple,  and  rebuildest  [it] 
 in  three  days,  save  thyself.  If  thou  art  the  Son  of 
 God,  come  down  from  the  cross.  In  like  manner  the 
 chief  priests  also,  jesting  amongst  themselves  with 
 the  scribes  and  elders,  said.  He  saved  others,  [but] 
 cannot  save  himself.  If  he  is  the  Christ,  the  chosen 
 of  God,  the  king  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down 
 from  the  cross,  that  we  may  see  and  believe.  He 
 trusted  in  God  ;  let  [God]  now  deliver  him  if  he  will 
 have  him  ;  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God."* — But, 
 as  before  observed,  the  crucifixion  of  living  persons, 
 although  common  amongst  some  other  nations,  was 
 not  practised  by  the  people  of  Israel :  and  hence,  in 
 language  familiar  to  the  Jews,  who  were  in  the 
 habit  of  styling  Gentiles — "  dogs,  the  wicked,  the  pro- 
 fane," &c., — the  psalm  proceeds  to  mark  that  pecu- 
 liarit}^  in  the  death  of  Christ. — "  Dogs  have  com- 
 passed me,  the  assembly  of  the  wicked  have  inclosed 
 me,  they  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet.  I  may  tell 
 all  my  bones.  They  look  [and]  stare  upon  me  :  they 
 part  my  garments  amongst  them,  and  cast  lots  upon 
 my  vesture." — The  account  given  by  the  evangelists 
 is  the  exact  counterpart  of  this  description. — "  When 
 
 *  Psalm  22,  v.  7,  8, 12, 13  ;— Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  5,  8,  11  ;— Matt. 
 chap.  27,  V.  39—43  ;— Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  29—32  ;— Luke,  chap.  23, 
 V.  35. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  255 
 
 the  [Roman]  soldiers  had  crucified  Jesus,  they  took 
 his  outer  garments,  and  divided  them  into  four  parts, 
 for  each  soldier  a  part,  as  likewise  his  vest.  Now 
 the  vest  was  without  seam,  woven  from  the  top 
 throughout ;  so  they  said  one  to  another,  Let  us  not 
 rend  it,  but  cast  lots  for  it,  [to  settle]  whose  it  shall 
 be ;  in  fulfilment  of  the  Scripture  which  saith, — 
 They  parted  my  garments  amongst  them,  and  for 
 my  vesture  they  cast  lots.  Thus  accordingly  the 
 soldiers  did  ;  for  after  parting  his  outer  garments , 
 they  cast  lots  for  them,  [to  settle]  what  each  man 
 should  take.  It  was  the  third  hour  when  they  cruci- 
 fied him ;  and  they  sat  down  and  guarded  him  there, 
 whilst  the  people  stood  looking  on." — A  remark  for- 
 merly made  may  here  be  repeated ;  namely,  that  the 
 prophecies  of  Scripture  are  usually  clear  or  obscure, 
 in  proportion  as  there  was  more  or  less  danger  that 
 the  information  afforded  by  them  might  be  abused 
 by  human  interference.  In  the  present  instance, 
 those  which  relate  to  the  Jewish  priesthood  and 
 people  are  so  full  and  distinct  that,  had  not  their 
 minds  been  thoroughly  blinded  by  prejudice  and 
 passion,  in  consequence  of  which  they  did  not  under- 
 stand the  words  of  the  prophets  read  in  their  syna- 
 gogues every  sabbath-day,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
 how  they  could  have  fulfilled  them  by  condemning 
 and  persecuting  Christ.  With  respect  to  the  Roman 
 soldiers  no  such  danger  was  to  be  apprehended,  and 
 their  proceedings  on  this  occasion  are  therefore  still 
 more  plainly  predicted.  After  crucifying  their  pri- 
 soner, they  were  to  take  possession  of  his  clothing, 
 dividing  for  that  purpose  his  outer  garments  into 
 portions,  but  disposing  of  his  vesture,  without  rend- 
 
25Q        TYPES  AND   PROPHECIES  OF   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 ing  it,  by  lot.  The  design  and  use  of  this  minute 
 intimation,  in  itself  of  no  importance,  are  sufficiently 
 obvious  ;  namely,  to  identify  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  the 
 Saviour  of  the  world,  by  showing  that  in  him  alone 
 all  the  numerous  and  extraordinary  circumstances 
 ascribed  to  the  Messiah  in  the  Old  Testament  actually 
 concurred.  A  similar  remark  may  be  made  on  the 
 prediction  of  Isaiah,  that,  although  by  the  enemies 
 of  Christ  his  grave  was  appointed  amongst  the  wicked, 
 his  tomb  should  be  with  a  rich  man  ;  or,  as  it  is  ac- 
 curately rendered  by  Dr.  Henderson : 
 
 "  They  had  also  assigned  him  his  grave  with  the  wicked, 
 But  he  was  with  the  rich  after  his  death." 
 
 This  prediction,  than  which  few  things  could  at  the  time 
 have  appeared  more  improbable,  was  wonderfully  ac- 
 complished when  it  might  least  have  been  expected,  by 
 the  pious  zeal  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  a  rich  man,  and 
 a  member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  who,  having  promptly 
 obtained  the  necessary  permission  from  Pontius  Pilate, 
 rescued  the  body  of  Jesus  from  the  hands  of  those  who 
 would  otherwise  have  speedily  thrown  it,  together 
 with  those  of  the  malefactors,  into  some  ignominious 
 pit ;  and  having  with  the  aid  of  Nicodemus  embalmed 
 it  according  to  the  Jewish  manner,  gave  it  an  honour- 
 able interment  in  his  own  new  tomb,  hewn  out  of 
 the  native  rock  in  tile  immediate  vicinity  of  the  place 
 of  crucifixion,  and  wherein  no  one  had  previously 
 been  deposited.* 
 
 *  Dr.  Henderson's  Isaiah,  p.  384  ; — Psalm  22,  v.  16— 18  ;— Isaiah, 
 chap.  53,  V.  9  ;— Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  35,  36,  57—60 ;— Mark,  chap.  15, 
 V.  24, 42—46  ;— Luke,  chap.  23,  v.  33—36,  50—54  ;— John,  chap.  19 
 Y.  23,  24,  38—42  ;— Acts,  chap.  2,  v.  22,  23. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH     OF  CHRIST.  257 
 
 The  sino'ular  combination  of  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
 notwithstanding  their  mutual  enmity,  in  opposing 
 Christ,  is  likewise  noticed  in  the  second  psalm, 
 which  was  quoted  and  explained  in  this  sense  by 
 the  twelve  apostles  shortly  after  the  day  of  pen- 
 tecost : — *'  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people 
 imagine  a  vain  thing  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth  set 
 themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  council  together 
 against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed,  [saying,] 
 Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away 
 their  cords  from  us." — In  another  part  of  the  pro- 
 phetical Scriptures, — the  book  of  Daniel, — the  par- 
 ticular Gentile  nation  which  w^ould  be  engaged  in 
 this  transaction  is  clearly  indicated,  as — "  the  fourth 
 kingdom  iipon  earth,"^ — that  is,  the  Roman  empire, 
 under  which  crucifixion  was  a  common  punish- 
 ment, more  especially  for  political  offences,  and  in 
 the  eastern  provinces.  In  this  sublime  book,  the 
 Roman  empire,  like  its  predecessors,  the  Babylonian, 
 Persian,  and  Grecian,  is  depicted  by  the  emblem  of  a 
 ferocious  wdld  beast ;  and  its  character  is  drawn  too 
 graphically  to  be  mistaken. — "  The  fourth  beast  shall 
 be  the  fourth  kingdom  upon  earth,  which  shall  be 
 diverse  from  all  kingdoms,  and  shall  devour  the 
 whole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it    down,  and  break  it 
 
 in  pieces The  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong 
 
 as  iron.  Forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in  pieces  and 
 subdueth  all  [things ;]  and  as  iron  that  breaketh  all 
 these,  shall  it  break  in  pieces  and  bruise." — That  the 
 kingdom  of  God,  that  is  the  gospel  dispensation, 
 portrayed  by  a  stone  cut  out  of  a  mountain  without 
 hands,  and  becoming  itself  a  great  mountain  which 
 fills    the  whole  earth,   should  spring  up  under  the 
 
258        TYPES   AND   PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 Roman  empire,  and  ultimately  overthrow  it,  is  thus 
 plainly  announced: — "And  in  the  days  of  these 
 kings,  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which 
 shall  never  be  destroyed ;  and  the  kingdom  shall 
 not  be  left  to  other  people,  [but]  it  shall  break  in 
 pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall 
 stand  for  ever." — The  manner  in  which  the  incipient 
 fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  is  intimated  by  the  evan- 
 gelist Luke,  is  at  once  simple  and  effective. — "  Now 
 in  those  days  there  went  forth  a  decree  from  Au- 
 gustus Caesar,  that  the  whole  empire  should  be  regis- 
 tered ....  In  the  fifteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
 Tiberius  Caesar,  Pontius  Pilate  being  governor  of 
 Judea,  &c.,  ....  a  message  from  God  came  to  John 
 
 the   son  of  Zachariah,  in  the  wilderness In 
 
 those  days" — adds  Matthew, — "  appeared  John  the 
 Baptist,  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea,  and 
 saying.  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
 hand."* — Amongst  the  minor  types  or  illustrations 
 of  crucifixion,  may  be  reckoned  the  brazen  serpent 
 which  by  divine  command  Moses  erected  in  the  wil- 
 derness, when  the  Israelites  on  account  of  their 
 murmurings  against  God  were  plagued  with  ser- 
 pents, whereby  many  of  them  were  destroyed  ;  but, 
 on  looking  towards  the  brazen  serpent,  all  who 
 had  been  bitten  and  survived,  recovered.  The  aged 
 Simeon  may  be  supposed  to  have  had  this  type  in 
 view,  when  he  said  of  the  infant  Jesus  to  Mary  his 
 
 *  Psalm  2,  V.  1—3; — Daniel,  chap.  2,  v.  31 — 45;  chap.  7,  v.  7, 
 23—27  ;— Matt.  chap.  3,  v.  1,  2 ;— Luke,  chap.  2,  v.  1  ;  chap.  3, 
 V.  I,  2  ;— Acts,  chap.  4,  v.  23—28. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  O^C) 
 
 mother : — "  Behold !  this  [child]  is  set  for  the  fall 
 and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign 
 which  shall  be  spoken  against;  (yea,  a  sword  shall 
 pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also,)  that  the  thoughts 
 of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed." — But  the  prin- 
 cipal ground  for  this  opinion  is  that  Christ  him- 
 self, in  his  conference  with  Nicodemus,  made  a 
 similar  application  of  the  fact : — '*  As  Moses  lifted 
 up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the 
 Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up ;  that  whosoever  believeth 
 in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life ;" 
 —  and  on  two  other  occasions  remarked,  that,  when 
 he  had  been  thus  lifted  up  or  crucified,  he  would 
 draw  all  men  to  himself;  and  that  his  Jewish  adver- 
 saries, in  spite  of  their  inveterate  repugnance  to  the 
 doctrine  of  the  cross,  would  then  at  length  discover 
 his  true  character  and  office.* 
 
 The  indications  respecting  the  Saviour's  death, 
 furnished  by  the  types  and  prophecies  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  are  not  however  confined  to  its  outward 
 circumstances,  but  extend  to  its  intrinsic  nature,  and 
 show  that  it  was,  not  in  appearance  only  but  in 
 reality,  the  death  of  an  atoning  victim  suffering  the 
 divine  malediction  due  to  human  transgression.  The 
 Gentile  punishment  of  crucifixion  alive  was  the  only 
 one  whereby  these  indications  could  have  been  suit- 
 ably accomplished,  because  it  was  the  only  one 
 in  which  the  sign  and  the  reality  of  malediction 
 could  be  efiectually  united.    Hence,  both  the  punish- 
 
 *  Numb.  chap.  21,  v.  4 — 9  ;— Isaiah,  chap.  45,  v.  20—25  ;-Zech. 
 chap.  12,  V.  10  ;— Luke,  chap.  2,  v.  34,  35  ;  chap.  13,  v.  22—30  ;— 
 John,  chap.  3,  v.  14—17;  chap.  8,  v.  28  ;  chap.  12,  v.  30— 34. 
 
C)(]()         TYPES   AND    PROPHECIES   OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 raent  and  the  agents  by  whom  it  was  to  be  executed 
 were  so  plainly  designated  in  the  ancient  Scriptures  ; 
 and,  as  it  was  not  in  use  amongst  the  Jews,  they  were 
 at  that  critical  period  placed  by  divine  providence 
 under  the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  amongst  whom 
 it  was  familiar.  The  period  may  well  be  termed 
 critical;  for  in  DaniePs  celebrated  prophecy  of  the 
 seventy  weeks  it  had  been  accurately  defined,  and  no 
 other  period  before  or  after  would  either  have  cor- 
 responded in  point  of  time,  or  have  supplied  the 
 necessary  conditions.  As  in  the  atoning  sacrifice 
 which  he  offered  Christ  was  the  priest  as  well  as  the 
 victim,  it  was  necessary,  according  to  the  law  of 
 Moses,  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  should  not  be 
 less  than  thirty  years  of  age.  Had  it  occurred  under 
 the  reign  of  Jewish  princes,  either  twenty-three  years 
 earlier,  when  Archelaus  was  ethnarch  of  Judea,  or 
 eight  years  later,  when  Herod  Agrippa  was  king  of 
 Palestine,  it  would  not  have  been  the  death  of  the 
 cross ;  and  in  the  former  case  he  would  have  been 
 too  young  for  the  office.  That  he  should  be  crucified 
 alive  by  the  hands  of  Romans,  was  not  however 
 sufficient ;  for,  had  he  died  on  the  cross  in  the  ordi- 
 nary manner,  his  death  would  have  been  that  of  a 
 martyr  only,  not  that  of  an  atoning  victim.  To  sig- 
 nify that  he  would  not  die  in  this  manner,  it  was 
 therefore  ordained  by  the  Mosaic  law,  which  in  such 
 matters  was  wisely  respected  by  the  Roman  gover- 
 nors of  Judea,  that  those  who  were  suspended  on  a 
 tree  should  before  sunset  the  same  day  be  taken  down 
 and  buried  ;  and  as  crucified  persons,  if  left  to  them- 
 selves, might  continue  alive  on  the  cross  for  two  or 
 three  days,  the  command  implied  that  the  death  of 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  261 
 
 Christ  would  be  accelerated  by  some  additional 
 agency.  The  method  usually  employed  for  this  pur- 
 pose was  that  of  breaking  the  legs,  but  the  same 
 law  intimated  that  in  his  case  there  should  be  no 
 such  infliction  ;  for  concerning  the  paschal  lamb,  one 
 of  the  principal  types  of  Christ,  it  positively  com- 
 manded,— "Ye  shall  not  break  a  bone  thereof:" — 
 a  prohibition  w^hich  is  accordingly  thus  applied  by 
 the  apostle  John.* 
 
 But  the  indications  of  prophecy  on  this  point  are 
 not  negative  only,  they  also  distinctly  describe  the 
 agency  by  which  the  effect  was  to  be  produced  ; 
 namely  agony  of  mind,  under  a  sense  of  divine 
 abandonment  piously  eiidured  to  expiate  human 
 guilt,  and  terminating  in  rupture  of  the  heart,  with 
 effusion  of  the  life's  blood,  and  consequently  pre- 
 mature and  sudden  death.  The  language  of  the 
 evangelical  prophet  on  these  points  is  strong  and 
 unequivocal. — "  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray, 
 we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way,  and 
 the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  .  .  . 
 ...  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him,  he  hath 
 put  [him]  to  grief.  When  thou  shalt  make  his  soul 
 an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall  see  [his]  seed,  he  shall 
 prolong  [his]  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall 
 prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of 
 his  soul,  [and]  shall  be  satisfied  ;  by  his  knowledge 
 shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many,  for  he  shall 
 bear  their  iniquities." — The  mental  agony  of  the 
 Saviour  could  not  be  more  forcibly  depicted  than  by 
 
 *  Exod.  chap.  12,  v.  43—46  ;— Numb.  chap.  4,  v.  1—3;  chap.  9, 
 V.  9  —  12  ;— John,  chap.  19,  v.  30—37  ;— 1  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  7. 
 
0(^2       TYPES  AND   PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 the  expression, — "  the  travail  of  his  soul;"— and  this 
 is  declared  to  have  been  occasioned  by  divine  inflic- 
 tion, in  consequence  of  his  becoming  the  righteous 
 substitute  of  sinners,  and  bearing  the  iniquities  of 
 mankind.  In  the  corresponding  prophecy  of  Zecha- 
 riah,  the  Deity  is  in  like  manner  represented  as  say- 
 ing,— "  Awake,  O  sword  !  against  my  shepherd,  and 
 against  the  man  [that  is]  my  fellow,  saith  the  Lord 
 of  hosts  :  smite  the  shepherd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be 
 scattered ;" — a  passage  of  which  the  import  and  ap- 
 plication cannot  be  mistaken,  since  it  is  thus  appro- 
 priated by  Christ  himself.  In  the  twenty-second 
 psalm,  the  very  words  in  which  he  expressed  his 
 bitter  sense  of  divine  abandonment  are  accurately 
 predicted : — *'  My  God  !  my  God  !  why  hast  thou 
 forsaken  me  ?  [Why  art  thou  so]  far  from  helping 
 me,  [and  from]  the  words  of  my  roaring?  O  my 
 God !  I  cry  in  the  daytime,  but  thou  hearest  not, 
 and  in  the  night  season,  and  am  not  silent." — A  dis- 
 tinct reference  seems  here  to  be  made  to  his  mental 
 sufferings  both  at  Gethsemane,  and  at  Golgotha, 
 of  which  the  former  occurred  during  the  night, 
 and  the  latter  during  the  day;  as  likewise  to  the 
 loud  cries  which  on  each  occasion  were  their  natural, 
 and  almost  necessary  consequence.  A  little  later, 
 allusion  is  made  to  the  other  physical  effects  pro- 
 ceeding from  the  same  cause^  including  bloody 
 sweat,  intense  thirst,  and  ultimately  rupture  of  the 
 heart. — ''  I  am  poured  out  like  water,  and  all  my 
 bones  are  out  of  joint;  my  heart  is  like  wax,  it  is 
 melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels.  My  strength  is 
 dried  up  like  a  potsherd,  and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to 
 my  jaws,  and  thou  hast  brought  me  into  the  dust  of 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  QfyS 
 
 death."* — Isaiah  goes  a  step  further,  and  intimates 
 that  the  Saviour's  death  was  more  immediately  in- 
 duced by  a  copious  and  rapid  effusion  of  blood  ;  but 
 in  order  to  perceive  the  full  force  of  this  intimation, 
 it  is  necessary  to  modify  in  a  slight  degree  the  autho- 
 rized English  version  of  the  passage,  and  to  adopt 
 that  proposed  by  several  eminent  biblical  critics  of 
 modern  times ;  a  version  the  more  entitled  to  confi- 
 dence because,  although  it  strongly  confirms  the 
 views  here  advocated,  it  was  made  without  any  know- 
 ledge of  them.  Of  these  versions,  borrowed  from 
 Dr.  Pye  Smith's  excellent  work  on  the  sacrifice  and 
 priesthood  of  Christ,  the  first  is  by  the  distinguished 
 scholar,  Sir  J.  D.  Michaelis,  professor  at  Gottingen, 
 who  died  in  1791  ;  the  second  by  the  celebrated  pro- 
 fessor of  divinity  in  the  university  of  Erlangen,  Dr. 
 G.  F.  Seller,  who  died  in  1807.  The  translation  of 
 Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  12,  furnished  by  Michaelis  is, — 
 "  Therefore  will  I  give  him  a  share  of  booty  with 
 the  great  ones,  and  he  shall  have  the  mighty  ones  for 
 his  spoil,  since  he  hath  poured  out  his  life's  blood 
 unto  death,  and  was  reckoned  amongst  malefactors  ; 
 but  he  bare  the  sins  of  many,  and  will  pray  for  the 
 transgressors." — The  version  of  Dr.  Seller  is, — 
 "  Therefore  I  assign  to  him  many  for  his  booty,  and 
 he  himself  shall  as  his  booty  distribute  the  mighty ; 
 because  he  poured  out  his  life's  blood  unto  death, 
 because  he  was  reckoned  amongst  the  transgressors, 
 because  he  hath  borne  the  sins  of  many,  and  hath 
 prayed    for  the   transgressors." — When    it  is  consi- 
 
 *  Psalm  22,  V.  1,  2,  14,  15  ;— Isaiah,  chap.  53,  v.  6,  10,  11;— 
 Zechar.  chap.  13,  v.  7  ; — Matt.,  chap.  26,  v,  31  ;— Mark,  chap.  14, 
 V.  27  ; — Heb.  chap.  5,  v,  5 — 10. 
 
OQ/^        TYPES   AND  PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 dered  that  the  Hebrew  term  corresponding  to  soul  is 
 not  unfrequently  used  in   the  sense  of  life,  or  life's 
 blood,  and  that  in  this  passage  the  prophet  is  describing 
 Christ  as  a  sin-offering,  a  lamb  led  to  the  slaughter 
 to  expiate  the   transgressions  of  many,   there  can  be 
 little  doubt  that  he  is  alluding  to  the  sacrificial  effu- 
 sion of  his  blood,  typified  by  that  of  ordinary  victims 
 both  under  the  patriarchal  and  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
 tions, wherein  the  life's   blood   of  animals  was   by 
 divine   appointment   made    the  ostensible   means    of 
 purification,  ransom,  and  atonement ;  and  hence,   in 
 order  to  mark  and  maintain  its   ritual  sanctity,  its 
 use  as  an  article  of  food  was  prohibited  on  pain  of 
 death.     In  the  strongest  possible  language  the  Deity 
 is  thus  represented  as  declaring, — "  Whatsoever  man 
 [there  be]  of  the  house  of  Israel,  or  of  the  strangers 
 that  sojourn  amongst  you,  that  eateth  any  manner  of 
 blood,  I  will  even  set  my  face  against  that  soul  that 
 eateth  blood,  and  will  cut  him  off  from  amongst  his 
 people  :  for  the  life  of  the  flesh  [is]  in  the  blood,  and  I 
 have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar  to  make  an  atone- 
 ment for  your  souls;  for  it  [is]  the  blood  [that]  maketh 
 an    atonement    for    the    soul;" — and    again, — "Be 
 sure   that  thou  eat  not  the  blood,  for  the  blood  [is] 
 the  life,  and  thou  mayest  not  eat  the  life  with  the 
 flesh.     Thou  shalt  not  eat  it,  thou  shalt  pour  it  upon 
 the  earth  as  water.     Thou  shalt  not   eat  it,  that  it 
 may  go  well  with  thee,  and  with  thy  children  after 
 thee,  when  thou  shalt  do  [that  which  is]  right  in  the 
 sisfht  of  the  Lord." — The  comment  of  the  Jewish 
 historian    on  these  laws  is    remarkable.  —  **  Moses" 
 — says  Josephus,  —  "entirely  forbad  us   the  use    of 
 blood  for  food,  and  esteemed  it  to  contain  the  soul 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  265 
 
 and  spirit."* — In  order  the  more  exactly  to  fulfil  the 
 divine  directions  in  this  respect,  it  was  the  practice 
 of  the  Hebrew  priests  when  slaughtering  a  victim, 
 rapidly  to  divide  all  the  large  vessels  of  the  neck,  as 
 well  as  the  wind-pipe,  with  a  sharp  two-edged  sword 
 driven  nearly  to  the  back-bone,  so  as  to  destroy  the 
 animal's  life  by  the  sudden  effusion  of  the  greater 
 part  of  its  blood,  which  was  afterwards  solemnly 
 sprinkled  or  poured  out,  as  the  symbol  of  atonement 
 and  propitiation.  The  process  is  well  described  by 
 Outran!  in  his  treatise  on  sacrifices,  who  further 
 remarks : — "  The  most  sacred  of  all  rites  was  the 
 sprinkling  of  blood,  whereby  the  life  or  soul  of  the 
 victim  was  supposed  to  be  offered  to  God,  as  the 
 supreme  lord  of  life  and  death ;  for,  as  in  these  reli- 
 gious acts  whatsoever  was  laid  on  the  altar  of  God 
 was  thought  to  be  offered  to  him,  so  with  the  blood, 
 as  the  vehicle  of  the  life  and  soul,  and  sometimes  even 
 termed  the  life  itself,  the  life  and  soul  were  supposed 
 to  be  thus  offered.  Hence  may  be  understood  the 
 passage  in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John, — *I  saw  under 
 the  altar  the  souls  of  those  who  had  been  slain  on 
 account  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of  the  testimony 
 which  they  had  given-,' — for  the  souls  of  whom  he 
 here  speaks  were,  as  the  words  themselves  show,  the 
 souls  of  those  who,  like  so  many  sacred  victims,  had 
 shed  their  blood. "f — ^That  the  blood  of  inferior  vic- 
 
 *  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  i.  p.  146  ; — Dr.  J.  P.  Smith,  On  the 
 Sacrifice  and  Priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ,  pp.  284 — 288,  294  ; — Gen. 
 chap.  9,  V.  3 — 5  ; — Levit.  chap.  3,  v.  17;  chap.  7,  v.  22 — 27  ;  chap.  17, 
 V.  10— 14;— Deut.  chap.  12,  v,  1.5,  16,  23—27;  chap.  15,  v.  22,  23. 
 
 t  Outram,  De  Sacrificiis,  pp.  164 — 169  ; — Rambach,  On  the 
 Sufferings  of  Christ,  vol.  iii.  pp.  281,  282,  289—292  ;— Heb.  chap.  4, 
 V.  12  ;— Revel,  chap.  1,  v.  16  ;  chap.  6,  v.  9—11. 
 
 N 
 
2(yQ      TYPES   AND  PROPHECIES   OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
 
 tims  represented  that  of  Christ  is  declared  in  many 
 parts  of  the  New  Testament,  more  especially  by  the 
 apostle  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  who 
 observes, — "  According  to  the  law  almost  all  things 
 are  purified  by  blood,  and  without  effusion  of  blood 
 there  is  no  discharge  [of  sins.  It  was]  therefore 
 necessary  that  the  types  of  heavenly  things  should 
 be  thus  purified,  but  the  heavenly  things  them- 
 selves by  better  sacrifices  than  these." — This  view  of 
 the  subject  is  well  expressed  by  Rambach,  who  re- 
 marks that,  under  the  Mosaic  law, — '^  the  atonement 
 for  sin  was  not  made  till  all  the  blood  of  the  animal 
 was  drained  off  and  poured  at  the  foot  of  the  altar. 
 Hence  St.  Paul  says,  that — 'without  shedding  of  blood 
 there  is  no  remission.' — The  pouring  forth  the  blood 
 of  the  sacrifice  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  represents  with 
 regard  to  Christ  the  abundant  shedding  of  his  blood 
 on  the  cross,  till  the  absolute  separation  of  his  body 
 and  soul.  For  it  is  said  of  Christ, — '  He  hath  poured 
 out  his  soul  unto  death ;' — and  consequently  he  poured 
 out  his  blood  with  the  utmost  willingness  and  overflow- 
 ing zeal  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  the  unspeakable 
 good  of  mankind."* — But  here  a  formidable  difficulty 
 presents  itself.  The  ordinary  death  of  the  cross  did 
 not  furnish  the  requisite  condition.  Instead  of  occur- 
 ring suddenly  by  the  effusion  of  the  life's  blood,  it 
 was  effected  by  slow  exhaustion,  and  protracted  torture. 
 The  scanty  drainings  of  blood  from  the  transfixed 
 extremities  could  not  satisfy  the  demands  of  the 
 Levitical  law ;  and  if  under  that  dispensation  one  of 
 the  inferior  animals  had  been  thus  slain,  it  could  not 
 
 *  Rambach,  as  above  cited ; — Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  11—15,  19 — 23. 
 
IN     RELATION     TO    THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  267 
 
 have  been  accepted  as  a  victim  at  the  altar.    The  stab 
 vv^ith  the  soldier's  spear  might,  in  appearance  at  least, 
 have  answered  the  purpose,  had  it  been  given  during 
 life,  but  Jesus  was  already  dead  when  it  took  place. 
 The  fatal  hemorrhage  foretold  in  Scripture  is  more- 
 over represented  as  the  result,  not  of  external  vio- 
 lence  but  of  inward  grief,    and  in  a  certain  sense 
 as  his  own  act; — "  He   poured  out  his  life's  blood 
 unto  death." — During  a  long  succession  of  ages  the 
 types  and   prophecies  of  Scripture  announced  that 
 Christ  would  suffer  the  death   of  malediction,   and 
 of  the  cross ;  not  however  in  the  usual  manner,  nor 
 yet  by  the  fracture  of  his  limbs,  but  by  some  ex- 
 traordinary process  connected  with — **  the  travail  of 
 his  soul," — and  terminating  on  the  very  day  of  his 
 crucifixion   in   the   efiusion  of  his  life's  blood,  the 
 indispensable   medium  of  atonement.      The  key  to 
 this  enigma  has  already  been  supplied.     By  volun- 
 tarily suffering  the  divine  malediction,  of  which  the 
 cross  was  the  appointed  emblem,  Christ  endured  a 
 degree  of  mental  agony  which,  after  previously  forcing 
 from  him  a  bloody  sweat,  at  length  occasioned  sudden 
 rupture  of  the  heart,  attended  with  an  internal  dis- 
 charge of  blood  proving   instantly  fatal.     In  order 
 that  there  might  be  a  public  demonstration  of  this 
 event,   which   otherwise  would  not  have   been  per- 
 ceived, it  was  further  predicted, — *^  They  shall  look 
 on  him  whom  they  pierced.^' — This  actually  happened 
 some  time  after  his  death,  and  the  immediate  flow  of 
 blood  and  water,  which  followed  the  wound  made  in 
 his  side  by  the  soldier's  spear,  proved  that  it  had 
 been  preceded  by  rupture  of  the  heart,  which  was  like- 
 wise predicted  in  express  terms : — "  My  heart  is  like 
 
 N  2 
 
2gS  TYPES    AND    PROPHECIES,     ETC 
 
 wax,  it  is  melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels." — Thus, 
 as  was  intimated  at  the  begimiing,  the  peculiar  cause 
 of  the  death  of  Christ,  which  by  a  regular  induction 
 from  the  evangelical  narrative  has  been  ascertained 
 as  a  fact,  remarkably  illustrates  the  entire  series  of 
 types  and  prophecies  relating  to  that  solemn  event, 
 which  could  not  indeed  in  any  other  manner  have 
 been  completely  fulfilled.  These  in  turn,  by  their 
 minute  and  perfect  correspondence  with  the  circum- 
 stances, afford,  if  that  were  necessary,  an  additional 
 confirmation  of  the  fact  itself,  and  the  whole  transac- 
 tion demonstrates  with  irresistible  evidence  the  special 
 interposition  and  superintendence  of  the  Deity. 
 
CHAPTER   III. 
 
 ON  THE   NARRATIVES  AND   SYMBOLS   OF   THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 IN   RELATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 
 
 In  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament,  composed 
 directly  or  indirectly  by  the  apostles  under  the  guid- 
 ance of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  death  of  Christ  occupies 
 a  prominent  place,  as  the  common  centre  or  founda- 
 tion of  tlie  entire  system  of  evangelical  truth  therein 
 delivered.  Hence,  if  the  explanation  of  the  event 
 which  has  now  been  offered  is  correct,  it  may  be  ex- 
 pected to  elucidate  and  confirm  all  the  representations 
 given  of  it  in  that  portion  of  the  sacred  volume, 
 whether  in  the  form  of  narratives  and  symbols  by 
 which  the  fact  is  described,  or  in  that  of  doctrines 
 and  precepts  by  which  it  is  applied  to  important 
 purposes. 
 
 The  four  gospels  are  brief  but  graphic  memoirs  of 
 the  life  of  Christ  on  earth.  Those  of  Matthew  and 
 John  were  composed  by  the  apostles  whose  names 
 they  bear,  those  of  Mark  and  Luke  by  eminent  dis- 
 ciples under  the  superintendence  of  apostles,  particu- 
 larly Peter  and  Paul.  They  are  all,  however,  similar 
 in  their  origin,  and  equal  in  their  authority,  consisting 
 of  reports  furnished  by  eye-witnesses  and  attendants 
 of  Christ,  selected  by  himself  as  his  ambassadors  to 
 the  world,  qualified  for  their  office  by  the  extraordi- 
 
g70      NARRATIVES  AND  SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 nary  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  accredited  by 
 their  personal  character,  their  successful  ministry, 
 and  their  miraculous  powers.  All  the  gospels  were 
 published  within  a  few  years  after  the  ascension 
 of  Christ,  whilst  the  events  which  they  commemo- 
 rate were  still  recent,  and  the  greater  part  of  them 
 well  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  where 
 they  occurred.  The  genuineness  of  these  narra- 
 tives was  attested  by  the  contemporary  churches  to 
 whose  care  they  were  committed;  and,  with  the 
 exception  of  slight  and  immaterial  variations,  un- 
 avoidable when  manuscripts  are  repeatedly  copied, 
 they  have  been  transmitted  unaltered  to  the  pre- 
 sent day.  The  earliest  gospel  was  probably  that 
 of  Luke,  addressed  to  converted  Greeks  ;  the  se- 
 cond that  of  Matthew,  addressed  to  converted 
 Jews.  The  third,  that  of  Mark,  is  chiefly  a  har- 
 monized epitome  of  the  two  precedmg  ones,  omit- 
 ting the  preliminary  transactions,  and  most  of  the 
 longer  discourses  ;  and  the  last,  that  of  John,  is 
 a  supplemental  gospel,  furnishing  many  interesting 
 particulars  concerning  the  opposition  made  to  Christ 
 by  the  Jewish  rulers  and  people,  which  could  not 
 have  been  conveniently  related  at  an  earlier  period, 
 and  which  this  apostle  was  peculiarly  qualified  to 
 describe. 
 
 In  the  narratives  of  the  four  evangelists,  more 
 especially  when  harmonized  and  combined,  the  out- 
 ward circumstances  connected  with  the  sufferings  of 
 Christ  are  so  admirably  depicted,  that  by  their  aid 
 the  attentive  reader  is,  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen 
 centuries,  rendered  almost  a  spectator  of  the  scene. 
 Whilst,  however,  the  inspired  writers  faithfully  re- 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  0*7 1 
 
 cord  all  that  was  seen  and  heard  on  the  occasion, 
 it  is  not  probable  that  they  understood,  and  it  is 
 certain  that  they  do  not  explain  the  immediate 
 cause  of  the  Saviour's  death.  On  the  contrary, 
 their  accounts  of  it,  although  bearing  all  the  marks 
 of  fidelity,  appear  at  first  sight  so  strange  and 
 mysterious,  that  some  persons  have  deemed  them 
 incredible.  Yet,  when  carefully  examined,  they  are 
 found  to  be  perfectly  natural  and  consistent,  and 
 whilst  excluding  every  other  interpretation,  actually 
 suggest  that  which  has  been  so  often  repeated,  and 
 may  now  be  regarded  as  demonstrated.  The  satis- 
 factory solution  which  it  affords  of  every  difficulty,  and 
 its  critical  accordance  with  four  independent  reports, 
 neither  entirely  similar,  nor  equally  complete,  are  in- 
 teresting facts,  which  strongly  confirm  the  truth  both 
 of  the  narratives  and  of  the  explanation.  After  cele- 
 brating the  paschal  supper,  and  instituting  his  own, 
 the  evangelists  state  that  Christ  devoted  a  consider- 
 able time  to  the  instruction  and  consolation  of  his 
 apostles,  and  concluded  the  sacred  engagement  by  a 
 prayer  to  God,  remarkable  for  its  ardent  and  elevated 
 piety.  In  reference  to  his  human  nature,  he  was 
 now  in  the  flower  of  his  age,  full  of  health  and 
 vigour,  and  perfect  in  body  and  mind;  yet,  on  re- 
 tiring wdth  his  disciples  from  the  upper  chamber 
 in  Jerusalem  to  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  they 
 represent  him  as  suddenly  falling  into  a  state  of 
 consternation  and  distress  so  intense  that,  had  he  not 
 been  relieved  by  divine  interposition,  it  would  pro- 
 bably within  the  short  space  of  an  hour  have  termi- 
 nated his  life.  Having,  however,  prayed  to  him  who 
 had   power  to   save   him    from    death,  he    received 
 
^72    NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW   TESTAMENT 
 
 supernatural  aid,  which  enabled  him  to  subdue  the 
 dreadful   emotions  by  which   he    had  been    at    first 
 almost  overwhelmed.     Matthew  and  Mark  express 
 these   emotions    with   corresponding    emphasis,    em- 
 ploying for  the  purpose  the  strongest  terms  which 
 the   Greek  language   could   supply.     They  describe 
 him  as  saying, — "  My  soul  is  exceedingly  sorrowful, 
 even  unto  death  ;" — and  having  thrown  himself  on  the 
 ground,  as  praying  that,  if  possible,  the  hour  might 
 pass  from  him.     Luke  alone  mentions  that  an  angel 
 was  sent  to  strengthen  him ;  on  which,  says  the  sacred 
 historian, — *'  falling  into  an  agony  he    prayed  most 
 earnestly,  and  his  sweat  became  as  it  were  clots  of 
 blood  dropping  to  the  ground." — John,  the  latest  of 
 the  evangelists,  takes  no  notice  of  the  sufferings  of 
 Christ  at    Gethsemane,    evidently   implying   by  his 
 silence  that  the  account  given  of  them  by  his  prede- 
 cessors was  accurate  and  complete.     At  the  conclu- 
 sion of  this  fearful  hour,  the  Saviour  resumed  with 
 astonishing  rapidity  his  accustomed  energy  and  com- 
 posure.    Although  perfectly  aware  of  all  that  was  to 
 befall  him,  he  intrepidly  went  forth  to  meet  the  for- 
 midable party  who  were  advancing  to  apprehend  him  ; 
 and   before    surrendering   himself  into    their   hands 
 showed  them  that,  had  it  been  compatible  with  the 
 object  of  his  mission,  he  could  easily  have  delivered 
 himself  from  their  power.      He  asked   them  whom 
 they  sought :  they  answered,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ;  and, 
 on   his  replying — "  I  am  he,  they  drew  backwards, 
 and  fell  to    the  ground."* — From   that  moment  he 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  36  -39  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  32—36  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  22,  V.  39—44  ;— John,  chap.  18,  v.  1—6. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  O^^ 
 
 maintained  the  same  firm  and  dignified  demeanour 
 throughout  the  harassing  scenes  of  his  trials  by  the 
 Sanhedrim,   and  by   Pilate,  as  well  as    during  the 
 first   three    hours   of  his    crucifixion  ;    proving   that 
 there  was   nothing  in   the    ordinary  sufferings  con- 
 nected with   that   punishment  which  he  could    not 
 have  borne  with  fortitude.     But  another  astonishing 
 change  now  took  place.     At    the  moment  of  noon 
 the  peculiar  sufferings  of  Gethsemane  were  renewed, 
 although,  conformably  to  the  difference  of  circum- 
 stances, with   less   of   outward    manifestation    than 
 before.     Durino^  three  additional  hom-s  he  hunsr  on 
 the  cross  in  silent  agony,  aptly  represented  by  the 
 supernatural  darkness  which  simultaneously  covered 
 the   land.     At  the  end  of  that  time,  Matthew   and 
 Mark  relate  that  he  complained  of  divine  abandon- 
 ment ;  John  states  that  he  declared  all  to  be  accom- 
 plished ;   and  Luke  that  he  commended  his  spirit  to 
 the  care  of  his  heavenly  Father.     All  the  evangelists 
 describe  his  death  as  happening  suddenly,  and  much 
 earlier  than  could  have  been  expected,  whilst  utter- 
 ing in  a  remarkably  loud  voice  these  solemn  and  de- 
 vout exclamations.     Mark  alone  mentions  the   sur- 
 prise of  the  Roman  governor  on  hearing  of  so  un- 
 exampled an    occurrence ;    and   John  that,   an   hour 
 or  two  later,  one  of  the  soldiers  sent  to  despatch  the 
 crucified  persons  found  him  dead  ;  but  from  anxiety, 
 as  may  justly  be  presumed,  to  make  sure  of  the  fact 
 which  he  might  otherwise  have  reasonably  doubted, 
 pierced   the   side  of  Christ  with  a  spear,  on  which 
 there  immediately  flowed  out  blood  and  water. 
 
 Now  it  is  evident  that  each  of  these  accounts  is 
 marvellous,  and  the  combination  of  them  all  still  more 
 
 N  3 
 
gY4     NARRATIVES  AND  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 SO.  Yet,  the  latter  alone  furnishes  the  materials  of 
 the  solution  above  given,  the  only  one  which  per- 
 fectly agrees  with  each  of  the  evangelical  narratives 
 taken  separately,  and  with  the  whole  united,  but 
 which  none  of  them  singly  supply.  For  the  extreme 
 consternation  of  Jesus  on  entering  the  garden  of 
 Gethsemane,  as  particularly  described  by  Matthew 
 and  Mark,  an  adequate  cause  is  assigned  by  his  then 
 experiencing  for  the  first  time  the  terrors  of  divine 
 abandonment,  which  occasioned  him  to  fall  prostrate  on 
 the  ground,  and  almost  destroyed  him  by  the  simple 
 exhaustion  of  vital  power.  His  agony  and  bloody 
 sweat,  mentioned  by  Luke  alone,  who  as  a  physician 
 was  more  likely  than  others  to  notice  the  occurrence, 
 implied  renovated  strength,  which  the  same  evangelist 
 accordingly  ascribes  to  angelic  agency.  This  enabled 
 him  to  sustain  a  severe  conflict  between  two  opposite, 
 but  equally  virtuous  emotions;  the  desire  of  recovering 
 his  habitual  communion  with  God,  in  which  his  hap- 
 piness consisted,  and  the  desii'e,  by  resigning  that  com- 
 munion, of  making  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the 
 world,  which  could  by  no  other  means  have  been  accom- 
 plished. Of  such  a  conflict,  excessive  action  of  the 
 heart  and  bloody  sweat  were  the  natural  consequences 
 and  exponents.  The  subsequent  return  of  his  ordi- 
 nary firmness  and  tranquillity  is  satisfactorily  account- 
 ed for  by  the  temporary  suspension,  as  predicted  by 
 himself  a  little  before,  of  this  peculiar  mode  of  suf- 
 fering; and  the  horror  and  distress  which  charac- 
 terized the  last  three  hours  of  his  crucifixion  by  its 
 renewal;  although,  owing  to  its  having  been  pre- 
 viously experienced,  it  was  now  attended  with  less 
 consternation  than  at  first.    The  cause  of  this  distress 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  0^5 
 
 was  plainly  avowed  by  himself  in  the  affecting  words 
 recorded  by  Matthew  and  Mark, — "  My  God !  my 
 God!  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" — The  thirst  men- 
 tioned by  John,  and  the  loud  exclamations  described 
 by  all  the  evangelists,  as  well  as  by  the  apostle  Paul, 
 are  the  usual  concomitants  of  over-action  of  the  heart ; 
 and  the  sudden  death  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  these 
 exclamations  is  fully  explained  by  the  final  rupture 
 of  that  organ.  To  render  the  demonstration  com- 
 plete, John  alone,  who  by  standing  near  the  cross  had 
 superior  opportunities  of  observation,  notices  the  sub- 
 sequent piercing  of  his  side  with  a  spear  by  one  of 
 the  soldiers,  an  act  immediately  followed  by  an  effu- 
 sion of  blood  and  water,  the  necessary  result  of  pre- 
 vious rupture  of  the  heart,  but  which  could  not  have 
 occurred  under  any  other  circumstances.  The  critical 
 accordance  of  the  four  gospels  on  this  and  other  occa- 
 sions with  singular  and  complex  realities,  capable  of 
 being  independently  verified,  but  which  there  is  every 
 reason  to  believe  the  authors  themselves  did  not  at  the 
 time  thoroughly  comprehend,  affords  a  striking  proof 
 that  they  were  written  from  actual  observation,  and  un- 
 der the  superintendence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  thus 
 as  it  were  affixed  his  seal  to  the  evangelical  narrative. 
 That  the  death  of  Christ  was  the  death  of  an 
 atoning  victim,  and  his  blood  that  of  the  new  cove- 
 nant, is  sufficiently  demonstrated  by  the  types,  pro- 
 phecies, and  narratives  of  Scripture  already  adduced ; 
 but  on  account  of  the  immense  importance  of  the 
 subject,  and  the  necessity  of  impressing  it  in  the 
 strongest  possible  manner  on  the  human  mind,  it 
 pleased  God  to  provide  two  significant  symbols,  as 
 additional  testimonies  to  the  fact,  the  former  on  his 
 
gyg       NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE   NEW   TESTAMENT 
 
 own  part,  the  latter  on  that  of  Christian  churches. 
 These  were  the  rending  of  the  veil  in  the  temple, 
 and  the  Lord's  supper.  Whatever  view  might  have 
 been  taken  of  the  death  of  Christ  either  by  his 
 enemies  or  his  friends,  it  was  between  himself  and 
 his  heavenly  Father  a  transaction  of  the  most  sublime 
 and  momentous  character.  Through  the  eternal 
 Spirit  he  offered  himself  a  spotless  sacrifice  to  God, 
 by  whom  the  atonement  was  accepted  as  perfectly 
 satisfactory,  and  available  to  all  the  purposes  for 
 which  it  was  designed.  Of  the  divine  acceptance  it 
 was  most  desirable  that  there  should  be  at  the  time  a 
 direct  and  decisive  proof;  and  this  was  furnished  by 
 the  supernatural  rending  of  the  veil  in  the  temple, 
 a  remarkable  occurrence,  which  had  been  in  some 
 degree  intimated  by  one  of  the  later  prophets  of  the 
 Old  Testament.  The  second  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
 erected  by  the  comparatively  small  and  feeble  body 
 of  Israelites,  who  at  the  termination  of  the  Babylonish 
 captivity  returned  to  their  native  land,  and  were 
 there  reorganized  as  the  chosen  people  of  God,  was, 
 as  might  have  been  expected,  very  inferior  in  beauty 
 and  magnificence  to  its  celebrated  predecessor,  the 
 temple  of  Solomon  ;  and  hence,  at  its  foundation, 
 whilst  the  younger  part  of  the  assembly  shouted  for 
 joy,  the  aged  men  who  had  seen  the  first  temple 
 wept  aloud.  The  fact  is  thus  reported  by  Ezra  the 
 priest,  an  eye-witness  of  the  scene. — "  When  the 
 builders  laid  the  foundation  of  the  temple  of  the 
 Lord,  [the  high-priest  and  his  attendants]  set  the 
 priests  in  their  apparel  with  trumpets,  and  the  Levites 
 the  sons  of  Asaph  with  cymbals,  to  praise  the  Lord, 
 after  the  ordinance  of  David,  king  of  Israel.     And 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  277 
 
 they  sang  together  by  course,  in  praising  and  giving 
 thanks  unto  the  Lord,  because  [he  is]  good,  for  his 
 mercy  [endureth]  for  ever  towards  Israel.     And  all 
 the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout  when  they 
 praised  the  Lord,  because  the  foundation  of  the  house 
 of  the  Lord  was  laid.     But  many  of  the  priests,  and 
 Levites,  and  chief  of  the  fathers,  [who  w^ere]  ancient 
 men  that  had  seen  the  first  house,  when  the  founda- 
 tion of  this  house  was  laid  before  their  eyes,  wept 
 with  a  loud  voice,  and  many  shouted  aloud  for  joy, 
 so  that  the  people  could  not  discern  the  noise  of  the 
 shout  of  joy  from  the  noise  of  the  weeping  of  the 
 people  ;  for  the  people  shouted  with  a  loud  shout, 
 and  the  noise  was  heard  afar  ofi"."* — This  interesting 
 circumstance  was  noticed  by  the  Deity  himself,  and 
 through  the  medium  of  the  prophet  Haggai  made  the 
 subject  of  the  following  comment. — "  Speak  now  to 
 Zerubbabel  the  son  of  Shealtiel,  governor  of  Judah, 
 and  to  Joshua  the  son  of  Josedech,  the  high-priest, 
 and  to  the  residue  of  the  people,  saying, — Who  [is] 
 left  amongst   you   that  saw  this  house  in  her   first 
 glory  ?     And  how  do  ye  see  it  now  ?     [Is  it]  not  in 
 your  eyes  in  comparison  of  it  as  nothing  ?     Yet  now 
 be  strong,  O  Zerubbabel !    saith  the   Lord,  and  be 
 strong,  O  Joshua  son  of  Josedech,  the  high-priest! 
 and  be  strong,  all  ye  people  of  the  land !  saith  the 
 Lord,  and  work,  for  I  [am]  with  you,  saith  the  Lord 
 of  hosts.     [According  to]  the  word  that  I  covenanted 
 with  you  when  ye  came  out  of  Egypt,  so  my  Spirit 
 remaineth  among  you.     Fear  ye  not ;  for  thus  saith 
 the  Lord  of  hosts,  Yet  once  it  [is]  a  little  while,  and 
 
 *Ezra,  chap.  3,  v.  8-13. 
 
£78      NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea, 
 and  the  dry  [land ;]  and  I  v^^ill  shake  all  nations,  and 
 the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come,  and  I  will  fill  this 
 house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  The  silver 
 [is]  mine,  and  the  gold  [is]  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of 
 hosts.  The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  be  greater 
 than  [that]  of  the  former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
 and  in  this  place  will  I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of 
 hosts." — The  frequent  repetition  of  the  epithet, — 
 "the  Lord  of  hosts," — seems  designed  to  suggest 
 that,  however  great  might  be  the  effect  to  be  pro- 
 duced, or  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  he  who 
 made  the  promise  was  able  to  accomplish  it.  The 
 substance  of  this  remarkable  prediction  is  concen- 
 trated in  the  last  verse,  which  was  partially  fulfilled 
 a  few  years  before  the  Christian  era,  when,  as  related 
 by  Josephus,  the  temple  was  taken  down  to  its  foun- 
 dation, and  rebuilt  with  the  utmost  splendour  by  the 
 first  Herod. 
 
 Of  its  extraordinary  magnificence  some  notion  may 
 be  obtained  from  the  descriptions  of  the  Jewish 
 historian,  who  flourished  during  its  most  perfect 
 state,  and  as  a  priest  must  have  been  intimately  ac- 
 quainted with  every  part  of  the  edifice.  After  giving 
 an  account  of  the  massy  foundations  by  which  the 
 mount  of  the  temple  was  covered  and  inclosed,  he 
 proceeds: — "  Now,  for  the  works  that* were  above, 
 
 these  were  not  unworthy  of  such  foundations, 
 
 for  all  the  cloisters  [or  colonnades]  were  double,  and 
 the  pillars  to  them  belonging  were  twenty-five  cubits 
 in  height,  and  supported  the  cloisters.  These  pillars 
 were  of  one  entire  stone  each  of  them,  and  that  stone 
 was  white  marble,  and  the  roofs  were  adorned  with 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gyg 
 
 cedar  curiously  graven.      The  natural  magnificence 
 and  excellent  polish,  and  the  harmony  of  the  joints 
 in  these  cloisters,  afforded  a  prospect  that  was  very 
 remarkable.      The   cloisters  [of  the  outmost  court] 
 were  in  breadth  thirty  cubits,  whilst  the  entire  com- 
 pass of  it  was  by  measure  six  furlongs,  including  the 
 tower  of  Antonia." — After  stating  that  the  wall  of 
 the  inner  court  or  sanctuary,  which  was  four  square, 
 had  ten  gates,  he  observes, — "  Nine  of  these  gates 
 were  on  every  side  covered  over  with  gold  and  silver, 
 as  were  the  jambs  of  their  doors  and  their  lintels ; 
 but  there  was  one  gate,  that  was  without  the  [inward 
 court  of  the]  holy  house,  which  was  of  Corinthian 
 brass,    and   greatly    excelled    those   that  were   only 
 covered  over  with  silver  and  gold.     Each  gate  had 
 two  doors,  whose  height  was  severally  thirty  cubitSj 
 and  their  breadth  fifteen." — Of  the  temple  itself,  pro- 
 perly so  called,  the   same  historian  writes, — "  Now, 
 the  outward  face  of  the  temple,  in  its  front,  wanted 
 nothing  that  was  likely  to  surprise  either  men's  minds, 
 or  their  eyes ;  for  it  was  covered  all  over  with  plates 
 of  gold  of  great  weight,  and  at  the  first  rising  of  the 
 sun  reflected  back  a  very  fiery  splendour,  and  made 
 those  who  forced  themselves  to  look  upon  it  to  turn 
 their  eyes  away,  just  as  they  would  have   done  at 
 the  sun's  own  rays.     But  this  temple  appeared  to 
 strangers,  when  they  were  coming  to  it  at  a  distance, 
 like  a  mountain  covered  with  snow ;  for  as  to  those 
 parts  of  it  that  were  not  gilt,  they  were  exceedingly 
 white." — Thus  literally  and  completely  was  the  ancient 
 prophecy  fulfilled : — "  The  silver  [is]  mine,  and  the 
 gold  [is]  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.     The  glory 
 of  this  latter  house  shall  be  greater  than  [that]  of  the 
 
OgO    NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF   THE   NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 former,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;  and  in  this  place  will 
 I  give  peace,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." — And  it  Vi^as 
 most  suitable  and  wise  that  when  the  great  atoning 
 sacrifice,  which  the  temple  had  been  divinely  ap- 
 pointed to  typify  and  attest,  was  about  to  be  offered, 
 it  should  thus  recover  all  its  primitive  magnificence, 
 so  as  to  attract  universal  attention  ;  and  that,  w^hen 
 after  the  lapse  of  about  eighty  years  this  important 
 purpose  had  been  fully  accomplished,  it  should  be 
 finally  destroyed.* 
 
 Herod  was,  it  is  true,  unworthy  of  sustaining 
 such  an  office,  but  the  sanctity  of  the  renovated 
 building  was  nevertheless  acknowledged  by  Christ  at 
 his  coming;  for  although  he  came  to  establish  a  pure 
 and  spiritual  religion,  independent  of  forms  and  cere- 
 monies, yet,  as  a  faithful  member  of  the  Mosaic  cove- 
 nant, he  always  paid  the  strictest  attention,  as  did 
 likewise  his  apostles,  to  its  ritual,  as  well  as  its  moral 
 requirements.  It  was  in  the  temple  thus  restored  to 
 its  original  opulence  and  beauty  that,  when  an  infant, 
 he  was  solemnly  presented  to  God,  as  the  long-pro- 
 mised seed  of  the  woman,  the  first-born  son  of  a 
 virgin  mother,  and  the  illustrious  heir  of  the  house  of 
 David.  There,  when  about  twelve  years  of  age,  he 
 was  found  conversing  on  religious  subjects  with  the 
 doctors  of  the  law  ;  and,  when  gently  reproved  by 
 Joseph  and  Mary  for  leaving  them  without  stating 
 whither  he  was  going,  replied — "  Knew  ye  not  that 
 I  must  be  in  my  Father's  house  ?"'i~ — Twice  after- 
 
 *  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  ii.  pp.  369 — 376  ;  vol.  iv.  pp.  141 — 
 148  ; — Haggai,  chap.  2,  v.  1 — 9. 
 
 t  OuK  ijSeiTS  OTi  kv  ToXg  70V  TrarpoQ  fxov  hi  dvcu  juf  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  2,  V.  49. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ggj 
 
 wards,  at  tlie  beginning  and  the  end  of  his  public 
 ministry,  he  expelled  from  its  outer  courts  the 
 dealers  in  victims,  and  the  money-changers,  who 
 there  pursued  a  profane  and  extortionate  trade ; 
 saying  to^  them, — "  Make  not  my  Father's  house  a 
 place  of  merchandize." — On  the  last  of  these  occa- 
 sions, a  little  before  the  passover,  he  further  honoured 
 the  temple  by  performing  there  several  miraculous 
 cures ;  and,  although  generally  slighted  by  its  older 
 inhabitants,  was,  agreeably  to  an  ancient  prediction, 
 welcomed  by  their  children  with  shouts  of — "  Ho- 
 sanna  to  the  Son  of  David ! " — At  the  same  time  he 
 may  be  supposed  to  have  mentally  devoted  himself, 
 on  the  very  day  appointed  by  the  law  of  Moses,  to 
 his  sacrificial  office,  as  the  true  paschal  lamb  by  whose 
 blood,  just  about  to  be  shed,  his  faithful  followers 
 were  to  obtain  eternal  redemption.*  Several  other 
 declarations  of  the  later  prophets  were  thus  realized, 
 particularly  that  of  Malachi, — "  Behold!  I  will  send, 
 my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before 
 me,  and  the  Lord  whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come 
 to  his  temple,  even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant 
 whom  ye  delight  in.  Behold  !  he  shall  come,  saith 
 the  Lord  of  hosts;" — and  that  of  Zechariah — "  Be- 
 hold !  the  man  whose  name  [is]  the  Branch,  he  shall 
 grow  up  out  of  his  place,  and  he  shall  build  the 
 temple  of  the  Lord,  even  he  shall  build  the  tem- 
 ple of  the  Lord ;  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory,  and 
 shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne,  and  the  counsel  of 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  12,  v.  1— 13 ;— Matt.  chap.  21,  v.  12  —  16;— 
 Mark,  chap,  11,  v.  11-  17;— Luke,  chap.  2.  v.  21 — 38;  chap.  19, 
 V.  45,  46  ; — John,  chap.  2,  v.  13 — 17  ; — 1  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  6 — 
 8;— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  11,  12. 
 
2S2    NARRATIVES  AND  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 peace  shall  be  between  them  both." — In  conformity 
 with  this  statement,  Christ  on  his  first  official  visit  to 
 Jerusalem  referred  to  his  body  as  the  true  temple ; 
 and  in  reply  to  the  demand  of  his  antagonists  for  a 
 sign,  said — "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  within  three 
 days  I  will  raise  it  up.'* — In  a  similar  sense,  the  Chris- 
 tian church  universal  is  in  the  New  Testament  repre- 
 sented as  a  holy  temple, — "  built  on  the  foundation 
 of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
 being  the  chief  corner-stone  ;" — and  in  the  heavenly 
 world  there  will  be  no  temple, — "  for  the  Lord  God 
 Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  thereof."* 
 
 But  the  prediction  of  Haggai  was  destined  to  re- 
 ceive a  still  closer  and  more  important  accomplish- 
 ment, for  the  proper  understanding  of  which  it  is 
 necessary  to  revert  to  some  of  the  ceremonial  arrange- 
 ments of  the  Mosaic  dispensation.     The  temple  at 
 Jerusalem,  like  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  was 
 designed   to  represent   the   residence  of  the   Deity 
 in  the  midst  of  the  Israelitish  nation,  as  their  sove- 
 reign and  protector.     Independently  of  the  portico  or 
 entrance,  which  was  closed  by  a  veil,  it  consisted  of  two 
 apartments,  whereof  the  larger  and  exterior,  called  the 
 sanctuary,  was  as  it  were  the  antechamber,  and  the 
 inner,  termed  the  most  holy  place,  was  the  presence 
 chamber  of  the  great  king.     Between  the  two  was  a 
 door-way,  closed  by  a  second  veil  which  completely 
 concealed  the  interior  from  view.    Into  the  sanctuary 
 the  priests  only,  as  the  chosen  ministers  of  God,  were 
 
 *  Zechar.  chap.  6,  v.  9—13  ;— Malachi,  chap.  3,  v.  1  ;— John, 
 chap.  2,  V.  18—2]  ;— Ephes.  chap.  2,  v.  19— 22;— 1  Peter,  chap.  2, 
 V.  4  -  6  J— Revel,  chap.  21,  v.  22. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^§3 
 
 daily  admitted,  and  there  performed  their  sacred 
 functions,  whilst  the  people  worshipped  in  the  outer 
 court.  Into  the  most  holy  place  none  was  allowed 
 to  enter  but  the  high-priest,  and  that  only  once  a 
 year,  on  the  day  of  atonement,  when  he  there  pre- 
 sented the  blood  of  victims,  together  with  a  censer 
 of  incense,  which  having  been  kindled  at  the  brazen 
 altar  without  the  sanctuary,  was  laid  on  the  golden 
 altar  within.  The  whole  was  intended  to  show  in  a 
 lively  and  impressive  manner,  that  the  Deity  can 
 neither  hold  communion  with  sinful  men,  nor  receive 
 their  worship,  except  through  the  medium  of  an 
 interceding  priest,  and  an  atoning  sacrifice,  both  pro- 
 vided by  himself.  In  his  omniscient  view,  Christ  was 
 from  the  beginning  the  great  high-priest  consecrated 
 for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  and  the  lamb 
 of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world ;  but 
 during  the  preparatory  period  of  the  Levitical  eco- 
 nomy that  priesthood  and  sacrifice  were  prefigured 
 by  various  types,  which,  although  intrinsically  of  no 
 value,  effectively  represented  the  future  reality.  At 
 length,  however,  the  shadows  gave  place  to  the  sub- 
 stance, and  the  important  transition  was  announced 
 by  a  suitable  symbolical  attestation.  Immediately 
 before  he  expired  on  the  cross,  Christ  proclaimed 
 with  a  loud  voice, — "  [^^1]  is  accomplished ;" — and, 
 in  accordance  with  this  declaration,  at  the  very  mo- 
 ment of  his  death,  the  mysterious  veil,  which  for  so 
 many  ages  had  hung  before  the  most  holy  place,  was 
 supernaturally  rent  asunder  from  the  top  to  the 
 bottom,  affording  a  plain  intimation  that  God  had 
 now  received  that  long-predicted  and  perfect  atone- 
 ment,  by  means   of  which   all  wJio   are  willing  to 
 
234    NARRATIVES  AND  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 embrace  the  covenant  thus  ratified  have  free  access 
 to  his  presence,  and  are  restored  to  his  friendship  and 
 favour.  This  explanation  is  ably  illustrated  in  Ram- 
 bach's  treatise  on  the  suiferings  of  Christ. — "  In  the 
 temple" — says  this  judicious  author, — **  were  two 
 veils,  one  of  which  hung  before  the  door  leading 
 into  the  sanctuary,  and  the  other  before  the  door  or 
 opening  into  the  holy  of  holies  ;  and  these  were  made 
 of  azure,  purple,  and  scarlet  silk  threads,  curiously 
 interwoven,  and  embroidered  with  the  most  beautiful 
 flowers  and  cherubims.  But  the  latter  only  of  these 
 veils  is  here  spoken  of.  If  one  considers  that,  accord- 
 ing to  the  testimony  even  of  the  Jews  themselves,  this 
 veil  was  of  a  most  curious  and  strong  texture  like 
 tapestry,  and  was  thirty  ells  in  length,  and  four 
 fingers  thick,  that  it  was  no  old  tattered  curtain,  but 
 a  masterly  piece  of  art  lately  woven,  (for  a  new  veil 
 was  made  and  hung  up  in  the  temple  every  year,)  and 
 lastly,  that  this  strong  veil  hung  in  a  place  where  it 
 could  not  be  damaged  by  the  weather,  the  hand 
 of  God  must  necessarily  be  acknowledged  to  have 
 been  concerned  in  the  rending  of  it.  What  a  terror 
 must  this  sudden  and  unexpected  rent  have  struck 
 into  the  priests,  who  probably  were  performing 
 the  service  in  the  sanctuary,  lighting  the  lamps  of 
 the  golden  candlestick,  and  burning  incense  ;  for  it 
 
 was  about  the  time  of  evening  sacrifice  ! But 
 
 to  the  faithful  this  rending  of  the  veil  is  a  joyful 
 type,  representing  that  an  entrance  was  then  opened 
 to  them  into  the  sanctuary  which  is  not  made  with 
 hands.  Hitherto  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the 
 imputation  of  our  sins  to  him,  had  hung  before  it  as 
 a  veil ;  but  when  this  veil  was  rent  at  the  separation 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gg^ 
 
 of  his  soul  and  body  by  death,  and  Jesus  Christ  the 
 true  high-priest  had  himself  with  his  own  blood  en- 
 tered into  the  holy  place,  i.  e.  into  heaven,  the  way 
 to    the  throne  of  grace  is  cleared  of  all  obstacles, 
 heaven  is   laid  open,  and  the  covering  which  hung 
 before    the  mysteries    of    the    Levitical   worship    is 
 removed." — This    exposition    rests,    however,    on   a 
 better  foundation  than  any  merely  human  opinion ; 
 for  the  apostle  Paul  expressly  declares  in  his  epistle 
 to  the   Hebrews,    that  the  inner  veil  of  the  temple 
 signified  the  body  of  Christ,  and  that  by  the  rending 
 of  that    body,   and  the   effusion  of  his  blood  as  an 
 atoning  sacrifice,  he  entered  as  mediator  of  the  new 
 covenant,  and  high-priest  of  future  blessings,  into  the 
 heavenly  sanctuary,  whereof  the  most  holy  place  in 
 the  Jewish  temple  was  but  a  type,  having  thus  ob- 
 tained eternal  salvation  for  all   his  faithful  follow- 
 ers.*   The  symbolical  attestation  of  this  event,  by  the 
 supernatural  rending  of  the  veil  in  the  temple  at  the 
 very  moment  of  his  death,  was  therefore  most  appro- 
 priate   and  significant ;    since  it  certified  by  divine 
 authority  the  nature  of  the  transaction,  as  well  as  the 
 true  character  and  mutual  relation  of  the  Mosaic  and 
 the  Christian  covenants.     The  agreement  of  this  tes- 
 timony with   the   explanation  which  has  now  been 
 given  of  the  Saviour's  death  is  complete.     The  two 
 circumstances  peculiar  to  that  explanation,  namely, 
 the  sudden  rupture  of  his  heart,  and  the  effusion  of 
 his  life's  blood,  were  thus  actually  pointed  out  in  the 
 
 *  Rambach,  On  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,  vol.  iii.  pp.  23G— 240;— 
 Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  i.  pp.  126,  127  ;  vol.  iv.  pp.  144,  145  ; — 
 Heb,  chap.  6,  v.  16—20;  chap.  9,  v.  1—14;  chap.  TO,  v.  19—22. 
 
23g    NARRATIVES  AND   SYMBOLS  OF  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 most  striking  manner  by  tlie  Deity  himself,  as  the 
 essential  conditions  of  the  great  atonement  which  he 
 had  provided,  and  which  could  in  no  other  way  have 
 been  properly  accomplished  or  represented.  Thus 
 were  fulfilled  the  ancient  prophecy,  that  in  the 
 second  temple  God  would  give  peace,  and  the  apos- 
 tolical declaration  that  Christ  made  peace  by  the 
 blood  of  his  cross. 
 
 This  miraculous  occurrence  may  be  regarded  as 
 the  second  of  the  three  principal  testimonies, — the 
 water,  the  blood,  and  the  Spirit, — which,  as  stated  by 
 the  apostle  John,  God  gave  to  his  Son ;  namely,  at 
 his  baptism,  when  he  entered  on  his  prophetical 
 office ;  at  his  death,  when  as  the  high-priest  of  his 
 church  he  completed  the  atonement ;  and  at  the  sub- 
 sequent feast  of  pentecost,  when,  having  commenced 
 his  kingdom,  he  sent  forth  his  apostles  to  preach  the 
 gospel  to  the  world  at  large.  The  passage  has  long 
 been  disfigured,  as  is  well  known,  by  interpolations, 
 apart  from  which  it  reads  as  follows  : — '*  Who  is  he 
 that  overcometh  the  world  but  he  who  believeth  that 
 Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ?  This  is  he  who  came  with 
 water  and  blood,  [even]  Jesus  Christ,  not  with  water 
 only,  but  with  water  and  blood,  and  it  is  the  Spirit 
 that  beareth  witness,  because  the  Spirit  is  the  truth  ; 
 for  there  are  three  that  bear  witness,  the  Spirit,  and 
 the  water,  and  the  blood,  and  these  three  agree  in  one. 
 If  we  receive  the  testimony  of  men,  the  testimony  of 
 God  is  greater,  for  this  is  the  testimony  of  God 
 which  he  hath  given  concerning  his  Son.  He  that 
 believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  testimony  in 
 himself;  he  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him  a 
 liar,  because  he  believeth  not  the  testimony  which 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^87 
 
 God  hath  given  concerning  his  Son  :  and  the  testi- 
 mony is  this,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life, 
 and  [that]  this  life  is  in  his  Son.  He  that  hath  the 
 Son  hath  life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God 
 hath  not  life." — That  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is 
 involved  in  this  passage  is  true,  but  not  in  the  direct 
 manner  commonly  supposed.  The  three  sacred  per- 
 sons repeatedly  concurred  in  bearing  witness  to  Christ, 
 not  however  in  heaven,  where  such  testimony  would 
 have  been  superfluous,  but  on  earth,  where  it  was 
 strongly  required.  The  first  of  these  testimonies 
 occurred  at  the  baptism  of  Christ,  when  the  Holy 
 Spirit  descended  on  him  in  visible  form  like  a  dove, 
 and  a  voice  from  heaven  proclaimed — "  Thou  art  my 
 beloved  Son :  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased."* — The 
 third  took  place  on  the  memorable  day  of  pentecost, 
 when  the  apostles  were  endued  with  those  miraculous 
 gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  at  once  stamped  their 
 mission  with  divine  authority,  and  qualified  them  for 
 its  effective  discharge.  On  that  occasion  Peter,  speak- 
 ing of  Christ,  said  to  the  multitude, — "  This  man, 
 having  been  delivered  up  by  the  determinate  counsel 
 and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  took,  [and]  by  the  hands 
 
 of  wicked  men  crucified  and  slew This  Jesus 
 
 God  raised  [from  the  dead,]  whereof  we  all  are  wit- 
 nesses. Having  therefore  been  exalted  to  the  right 
 hand  of  God,  and  having  received  from  the  Father  the 
 promised  [gift]  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  hath  shed  forth 
 that  which  ye  now  see  and  hear." — The  second  testi- 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  3,  v.  16,  17  ;— Mark,  chap.  1,  v.  9—11 ;— Luke, 
 chap.  3,  V.  21—23  ;— John,  chap.  1,  v.  29—34 ;— 1  John,  chap.  5, 
 V.  5-12. 
 
Qgg    NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF   THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 mony  was  that  now  under  consideration,  given  at  the 
 crucifixion  of  Christ,  when  he  poured  forth  his  life's 
 blood  unto  death,  and  through  the  eternal  Spirit 
 offered  himself  as  a  spotless  victim  to  God ;  and  when 
 by  the  earthquake,  the  revival  of  many  pious  persons 
 long  deceased,  and  above  all  by  the  rending  of  the 
 veil  in  the  temple,  the  Father  publicly  signified  his 
 acceptance  of  the  atoning  sacrifice  thus  accom- 
 plished.* 
 
 Of  the  two  symbols  connected  with  the  gospel 
 dispensation,  the  first  was  therefore  a  testimony  re- 
 specting the  nature  and  design  of  the  death  of  Christ 
 rendered  by  the  Deity  ;  the  second  was  a  similar 
 testimony  rendered  by  Christians  in  their  collective 
 capacity,  as  religious  societies  or  churches.  The 
 Lord's  supper,  instituted  by  the  Saviour  himself,  is  a 
 simple  but  significant  rite,  whereby  he  directed  that 
 his  atoning  death  should  be  commemorated,  and  in  a 
 certain  sense  represented,  as  the  foundation  and  bond 
 of  the  new  covenant.  It  was  probably  in  reference 
 to  this  rite  that  the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the 
 Galatians,  reminds  them  that  Jesus  Christ,  who  suf- 
 fered the  death  of  malediction,  had  been  visibly  ex- 
 hibited to  them  as  a  crucified  victim.  Until  his  death 
 actually  took  place,  the  Christian  covenant,  which 
 had  been  virtually  introduced  immediately  after  the 
 fall,  and  a  second  time  at  the  call  of  Abraham,  was 
 neither  ratified,  nor  fully  developed ;  for,  as  the  same 
 apostle  remarks, — "  A  covenant  has  no  force  whilst 
 the  covenant-victim  remains   alive." — In    this   point 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  50—54 ;— Mark,  chap.  15,  v.  37—39  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  23,  V.  44—47  ;— Acts,  chap.  2,  v.  1—4,  22—24,  32—36. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  039 
 
 of  view,  although  really  prior,  it  was  apparently 
 posterior  to  the  Mosaic  covenant ;  on  which  account, 
 and  with  regard  more  especially  to  the  Israelitish 
 nation,  as  the  depositaries  of  revelation  and  the  pecu- 
 liar people  of  God,  it  is  termed  in  both  volumes  of 
 Scripture — '^  the  new  covenant."* — Thus,  in  his 
 epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Paul  quotes  a  remarkable 
 passage  from  the  book  of  Jeremiah  v^here  it  is 
 thus  described.  Christ,  oberves  the  apostle, — "  hath 
 obtained  a  more  exalted  ministry  [than  that  of 
 Aaron,]  inasmuch  as  he  is  [the]  mediator  of  a  better 
 covenant,  which  was  established  on  better  promises. 
 For  if  the  first  [covenant]  had  been  faultless,  no  place 
 would  have  been  sought  for  a  second.  Nevertheless, 
 when  rebuking  [the  people,]  it  is  said  [in  the  Scrip- 
 ture,] Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  when  I 
 will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
 and  with  the  house  of  Judah,  not  according  to  the 
 covenant  which  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day 
 when  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of 
 the  land  of  Egypt,  because  they  forsook  my  cove- 
 nant, and  I  disregarded  them,  saith  the  Lord  ;  for  this 
 [is]  the  covenant  which  I  will  make  with  the  house 
 of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put 
 my  laws  into  their  minds,  and  will  write  them  on 
 their  hearts,  and  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they 
 shall  be  to  me  a  people,  and  they  shall  not  teach 
 every  one  his  neighbour,  and  every  one  his  brother, 
 saying,  Know  the  Lord,  for  they  shall  all  know  me 
 
 *  AiaOi'iKr)  yap  liri  vtKpoT^  f3i€aia,  STrd  juj7  Trore  iir^^vsi  ore  Z,y 
 6  diaQsjjitvoQ'  Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  15 — 17;  chap.  11,  v.  4"; — Rom. 
 chap.  4,  V.  9—13  ;— 1  Corinth,  chap.  11,  v  23  —  26 ; — 2  Corinth,  chap. 
 3,  V.  5,  6  ; — Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  1 — 9. 
 
 O 
 
290    NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 from  the  least  of  tliem  to  the  greatest;  for  I  will  be 
 merciful  to  their  iniquities,  and  their  sins  and  trans- 
 gressions I  will  remember  no  more."- — With  similar 
 views,  Peter  congratulates  the  Jewish  Christians  of 
 Asia   Minor   on   having   actually  made   this   happy 
 transition  ; — "  Ye  [are]  a  chosen  race,  a  royal  priest- 
 hood, a  holy  nation,   a  favoured  people,  and  should 
 therefore  show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath 
 called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light ; 
 who  formerly  [were]  not  a  people,  but  [are]  now  the 
 people  of  God,  w^ho  [had]  not  obtained  mercy,  but 
 now  [have]  obtained  mercy/'* — At  the  ratification  of 
 the  first  covenant,  says  Paul, — "when  every  command- 
 ment of  the  law  had  been  recited  to  all  the  people  by 
 Moses,  he  took  the  blood  of  calves  and  goats,  with  water 
 and  scarlet  wool,  and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the 
 book  and  all  the  people,  saying.  This  [is]  the  blood  of 
 the  covenant  which  God  hath  appointed  for  you."-— 
 At  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  supper,  which  imme- 
 diately   followed    the    last    passover    celebrated    by 
 Christ  with  his  apostles,  it  is  stated  that, — "  as  they 
 were    eating,   Jesus  took   bread,   and   after  offering 
 thanks  brake,  and  gave  [it]  to  the  disciples,  and  said, 
 Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body  which  is  broken  for  you. 
 Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me.     In  like  manner  also, 
 after  ofiTering  thanks,  he  gave   them  the   cup    after 
 supper  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it.     And  they  did  so. 
 And  he  said  to  them.  This  cup  [is]  the  new  covenant 
 by  my  blood,  which  [is]  shed  for  you  [and]  for  many 
 for  the  discharge  of  sins.    Do  this,  whenever  ye  drink 
 [of  it,]  in  remembrance  of  me.    I  tell  you  that  I  will 
 
 *  Jerem.  chap.  31,  v.  31 — 34; — Heb.  chap.  8,  passim; — 1  Peter, 
 chap.  2,  V.  9,  10. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gQ]^ 
 
 not  henceforth  drink  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  till  the 
 day  when  I  shall  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's 
 kingdom."* — The  meaning  and  design  of  this  rite, 
 as  well  as  of  the  supernatural  rending  of  the  veil  in 
 the  temple,  are  strongly  illustrated  by  the  explana- 
 tion here  given,  which  in  its  turn  is  confirmed  and 
 dignified  by  the  association.  This  symbol,  like  the 
 former  one,  overlooks  the  minor  circumstances  of  the 
 crucifixion  ;  and  singling  out  the  two  essential  con- 
 ditions which  proved  it  to  be  an  atoning  sacrifice, 
 namely,  the  rending  of  the  Saviour's  body, — in  other 
 words,  the  rupture  of  his  heart,  and  the  consequent 
 efifusion  of  his  life's  blood, — assigns  to  them  that 
 prominence  and  importance  in  the  plan  of  redemp- 
 tion, to  which  they  are  justly  entitled.  By  these  sym- 
 bols the  seal  of  divine  authority  was  affixed  to  the 
 transaction  now  explained  ;  since  with  all  the  weight 
 of  that  authority  they  demand  attention  to  two 
 cardinal  facts  in  the  death  of  Christ,  which  admit 
 of  no  other  interpretation.  In  this  manner  only 
 could  his  body  have  been  broken,  or  his  life's  blood 
 poured  out,  as  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of  man- 
 kind. By  these  symbols,  therefore,  the  two  parties 
 to  the  new  covenant,  the  Deity  on  the  one  side, 
 and  Christian  churches  on  the  other,  appropri- 
 ately signified  their  concurrence  in  the  mediatorial 
 
 *  Exod.  chap.  24,  v.  4—8  ;  —Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  26—29  ;— Mark, 
 chap.  14,  V.  22— 25  ;— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  17— 20;— 1  Corinth, 
 chap.  11,  V.  23—26  ;— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  16—23.  By  the  hook,  in  the 
 latter  passage,  is  meant  the  book  or  roll  of  that  national  covenant, 
 in  its  more  detailed  or  extended  form,  which  God  made  with  the 
 Israelitish  people  at  Mount  Sinai. 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
292    NARRATIVES  AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 sacrifice  by  wliicli   alone    that  covenant  could  have 
 been  ratified. 
 
 Nor  was  this  their  only  use  ;  for  they  also  power- 
 fully contributed  to  mark  the  important  distinction 
 between  the  two  covenants,  which  by  many  persons, 
 more  especially  at  the  commencement  of  the  gospel 
 dispensation,  were  apt  to  be  confounded.     In  refer- 
 ence to  religion,  the  whole  human  race  was  at  that 
 time  divided  into  four  classes  of  very  unequal  extent; 
 namely.  Christian  Jews,  Christian  Gentiles,  and  those 
 who,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles,  had  not  embraced  the 
 gospel.     For  acceptance  with  God  unbelieving  Jews 
 relied  on  the  old  covenant,  Christians  of  both  sections 
 on  the  new,  and  unbelieving  Gentiles,  who  had  no 
 covenant  at  all,  on  their  self-imposed  and  idolatrous 
 worship.    In  repudiating  open  idolatry  Christians  and 
 unbelieving  Jews  were  agreed,  but  respecting  the  na- 
 ture and  import  of  the  two  covenants  they  widely  dif- 
 fered.    Both  covenants  were  in  fact  of  divine  origin, 
 but  the  Mosaic  was  merely  a  national  and  external  co- 
 venant, introductory  to  the  Christian,  which  it  typified 
 and  predicted.    During  the  apostolical  period  of  nearly 
 forty  years  both  dispensations  were  coexistent ;  and, 
 whilst  Christian  Gentiles  had  no  connection  with  the 
 old  covenant,  and  unbelieving  Israelites  rejected  the 
 new.  Christian  Jews  were  consistent  members  of  both. 
 To  prevent  as  far   as  possible   the  confusion  w^hich 
 was  liable  to  arise  from  so  extraordinary  a  state  of 
 things,  it  pleased  God  to  ordain  that  Christianity, 
 like  Judaism,  should  have  its  initiatory  and  comme- 
 morative rites,  whereby  the   true  relation,  as  well  as 
 distinction    between   the    two    covenants    might    be 
 clearly  displayed.     The  initiatory  rite  of  Judciism  in- 
 
IN     RELATION     TO     THE     DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  O93 
 
 timated  that  impurity  of  conduct  was  incompatible 
 with  a  divine  alliance  ;  that  of  Christianity  represented 
 the  special  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  puri- 
 fies and  consecrates  the  heart.     The  commemorative 
 rite  of  Judaism  intimated  that  an  adequate  atoning 
 sacrifice  was  necessary  for  salvation ;    that  of  Chris- 
 tianity represented  this  sacrifice  as  actually  accom- 
 plished.    By  observing  the  Christian  rites,  both  Jews 
 and  Gentiles  professed  that  they  sought  the  favour 
 of   God,   not    through   the   works    of  the    law,    but 
 through   faith   in    Christ.      Both  parties,  however, 
 evinced   a  proper  reverence  for  the  Mosaic  institu- 
 tion which,    although    temporary    and    subordinate, 
 was  nevertheless  divinely  appointed,  and  highly  im- 
 portant ;    the  former  by  a  cheerful  compliance  with 
 all  its  requirements,  until  by  the  interposition  of  its 
 supreme  author  it  was  finally  abolished ;    the  latter 
 by  abstaining  from  blood  as  an  article  of  food,  so 
 long  as  by  its  sacrificial  employment  at  the  temple  in 
 Jerusalem  it  typified  the  blood  of  Christ.     Nothing 
 could  be  better  adapted  than  these  symbols  to  show 
 that,  although  both  religions  came  from  God,  Juda- 
 ism was  merely  the  scafiblding,  and  Christianity  the 
 finished   edifice.      By   adopting    them,    the   Jewish 
 convert   publicly    professed    that    he    renounced  all 
 dependence  on  the  old    covenant    for    the    salvation 
 of  the    soul ;    and,    in    common    with    the    Gentile 
 convert,  sought  reconciliation  with  God  exclusively 
 from  the  new.     By  refusing  them,   the   unconverted 
 Jew  made  it  manifest  that  he  preferred  the  shadow 
 to    the     substance,    rejected    the    counsel    of    God 
 against  himself;    and,  in  his  idolatry  of  the  temple 
 and  its  ceremonies,  was  guilty,  like  the  unconverted 
 
294-    NARRATIVES    AND  SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 Gentile,  of  worshipping  the  creature  more  than  the 
 Creator.*     , 
 
 The  distinctive  character  and  mutual  relation  of 
 the  two  covenants  were,  however,  chiefly  intimated 
 by  their  commemorative  rites.  In  order  to  make  a 
 powerful  and  vivid  impression  on  the  human  mind 
 during  the  many  ages  which  preceded  the  coming  of 
 Christ,  it  was  expedient  that  his  sacrificial  death 
 should  be  represented  by  that  of  animals.  The  rup- 
 ture of  his  heart  owing  to  mental  agony  could  not 
 indeed  be  thus  expressed  ;  but  the  effusion  of  his 
 life's  blood  was  plainly  foreshown  by  the  manner 
 in  which  victims  were  slain,  namely,  by  the  rapid 
 division  of  the  large  vessels  of  the  neck,  which 
 necessarily  occasioned  a  copious  and  fatal  discharge 
 of  blood,  derived  almost  directly  from  the  heart. 
 Yet,  from  the  intrinsic  worthlessness  of  these  sacri- 
 fices, and  from  their  perpetual  repetition,  as  well  as 
 from  the  continued  suspension  of  the  veil  before  the 
 inner  sanctuary  of  the  tabernacle,  or  temple,  notwith- 
 standing their  oblation,  it  might  reasonably  have 
 been  inferred  that  they  were  merely  outward  and 
 temporary  signs  of  some  great  future  reality.  The 
 same  conclusion  misfht  have  been  deduced  from  the 
 circumstance,  that  the  semblance  of  atonement  which 
 they  displayed  was  palpably,  and  it  may  be  said  de- 
 signedly imperfect.     On  some  occasions,  it  is  true. 
 
 *  This  charge  seems  to  be  preferred  by  the  apostle  Paul  against 
 unbelieving  Jews,  in  Philipp.  chap.  3,  v.  2,  3  ; — Heb.  chap.  8,  v.  3 — 5  ; 
 chap.  9,  V.  11 — 14  ;  and  chap.  13,  v.  10  ;  as  against  unbelieving  Gen- 
 tiles in  Rom.  chap.  1,  v.  21 — 25.  See  also  John,  chap.  4,  v.  19 — 24  ; 
 —Acts,  chap.   15,  v.  19,20,28,  29  ;  chap.  21,  v.  17—26. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  OCjtj 
 
 thej  presented,  in  accordance  with  the  common  feel- 
 ings and  usages  of  mankind,  the  aspect  of  a  friendly 
 repast,  wherein  the  parties  to  the  covenant  solemnly 
 united ;  the  blood    and  fat   of   the    victims,  accom- 
 panied with  flour,  unleavened  bread,  wine,  oil,  and 
 especially  with  salt,  the  emblem  of  friendship,  being 
 offered  on  the  altar,  whilst  their  flesh  was  eaten  by  the 
 worshippers   and    the  priests.      Yet,   even   on  these 
 occasions,  the  incomplete  and  shadowy  character  of 
 the  transaction  was  strongly  marked ;  for  the  use  of 
 blood  and  fat  as  articles  of  food  was  universally  pro- 
 hibited on  pain  of  death,  as  was  likewise  the  flesh  of 
 all  victims  peculiarly  significant  of  propitiation,  such 
 as  those  offered  on  the  day  of  atonement ;  which,  as 
 if  really   defiled  by  imputed  sin,  were  commanded, 
 after  being  slaughtered  in  the  usual  manner,  to  be 
 wholly  consumed  by  fire  without  the  walls  of  the 
 city.*     The  commemorative  rite  of  Christianity  tes- 
 tified, on  the  contrary,  that,  by  means  of  a  propitia- 
 tory sacrifice   of  infinite  value  recently  offered,  the 
 types  and  shadows  of  the  preceding  institution  had 
 been    realized,   and  a  full   reconciliation  with  God 
 procured  for  all  who  are  willing  to  embrace  it.     The 
 perfection  of  the  sacrifice  was  denoted  by  the  breaking 
 of  bread,  and  the  pouring  out  of  wine,  representing 
 the  rupture  of  the  Saviour's  heart,  and  the  effusion 
 of  his   blood,   the    two    essential  conditions  of  his 
 atoning  death  on  the  cross,  which  proved  that  the 
 malediction  due  to  human  depravity  had  been  actu- 
 
 *  Levit.  chap.  2  ;  chap.  3,  v.  16 — 19  ;  chap.  6,  v.  14 — 30  ;  chap.  7, 
 V.  22 — 27  ;  chap.  16;  chap.  17,  v.  10 — 14; — Numb.  chap.  15,  v.  1 — 
 12;  chap.  18,  v.  19;  chaps.  28,  29  ;— Deut.  chap.  12,  v.  15, 16,23—27  ; 
 —  2  Chron.  chap.  13,  v.  4,  5  ; — Ezra,  chap.  6,  v.  8—10. 
 
296     NARRATIVES   AND  SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 ally  sustained  and  exhausted.  The  completeness,  of 
 the  reconciliation  was  denoted  by  Christians  par- 
 taking together  of  the  bread  and  wine,  thus  broken 
 and  poured  out,  in  token  of  their  being  voluntarily 
 identified  with  that  atoning  sacrifice  of  which  the 
 Deity  himself  had'  publicly  signified  his  acceptance, 
 and  of  their  consequent  restoration  to  his  favour  and 
 communion.  In  reference  to  the  solemn  import  of 
 the  sign,  the  apostle  Paul  puts  the  question  to  the 
 Corinthians, — "  The  cup  of  blessing  [over]  which  we 
 give  thanks,  is  it  not  a  participation  of  the  blood  of 
 Christ  ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it  not  a  par- 
 ticipation of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  For  we,  [however] 
 many,  are  one  bread,  [that  is]  one  body,  because  we 
 all  partake  of  that  one  bread.  Behold  Israel  after 
 the  fiesh.  Are  not  those  who  eat  of  the  sacrifices 
 partakers  with  the  altar?" — In  conformity  with  this 
 view,  the  apostle  subsequently  declares, — "  Whoso- 
 ever shall  eat  the  bread,  or  drink  the  cup  of  the 
 Lord  unworthily,  will  be  guilty  of  [an  offence 
 against]  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord ;  therefore 
 let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of 
 the  bread,  and  drink  of  the  cup." — In  reference  to 
 the  importance  of  the  spiritual  reality  thereby  signi- 
 fied, Christ  himself  assured  the  Jews, — '*  Unless  ye 
 eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his, blood, 
 ye  have  no  life  in  you.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and 
 drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  wiil  raise 
 him  up  at  the  last  day  ;  for  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed, 
 and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed.  He  that  eateth  my 
 fiesh,  and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth  in  me,  and  I 
 [abide]  in  him.  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me, 
 and  I  live  by  the  Father,  even  so  he  that  eateth  me 
 
m    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  O97 
 
 shall  live  by  me.  This  is  the  bread  that  came  clown 
 from  heaven ;  not  as  your  fathers  ate  the  manna  and 
 are  dead,  he  that  eateth  this  bread  shall  live  for 
 ever." — As  if  for  the  express  purpose  of  preventing 
 the  misapplication  of  these  figurative  terms  in  a 
 literal  sense,  which  has  since  so  lamentably  pre- 
 vailed, he  afterwards  added, — "  Doth  this  offend 
 you  ?  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
 ascend  where  he  was  before  ?  It  is  the  Spirit  which 
 giveth  life :  the  flesh  availeth  nothing.  The  words 
 which  I  speak  to  you  are  spirit  and  life." — Yet, 
 although  such  expressions  cannot  prove,  what  is  evi- 
 dently impossible,  the  presence  of  the  Saviour's  body 
 and  blood  in  the  sacramental  elements,  they  most 
 undoubtedly  imply  the  rupture  of  his  heart,  and  the 
 effusion  of  his  blood,  as  the  consummation  of  his 
 atoning  sacrifice  on  the  cross  ;  in  reference  to  which 
 they  are  not  stronger  than  the  nature  of  the  subject 
 requires,  but  would  otherwise  be  extravagant,  or  un- 
 meaning.* To  express  by  suitable  ceremonies  the 
 participation  of  human  beings  in  such  a  sacrifice,  and 
 its  resulting  benefits,  two  methods  were  appointed  in 
 Scripture,  the  one  connected  with  the  exterior  of  the 
 body,  the  other  with  its  interior.  Thus,  under  the 
 patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dispensations,  dedication  to 
 the  service  of  God  was  represented  by  pouring  oil  or 
 water  on  the  head ;  worshippers  partook  in  certain 
 cases  of  the  flesh  of  victims,  or  walked  between  their 
 severed  halves,  and  the  first  parents  of  mankind  were 
 even  clothed  in  their  skins.     These  two  modes  were 
 
 *  John,  chap.  6,  v.  53— 63;  — 1  Corinth,  chap.  10,  v.  15—18;  chap, 
 11,  V.  27,  28. 
 
 o3 
 
^98     NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE   NEW  TESTAMENT 
 
 equally  adopted  in  the  Christian  rites  of  baptism  and 
 the  Lord's  supper ;  the  former  denoting  the  purifying 
 influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  descending  on  converts 
 like  dew  from  heaven,  and  consecrating  them  to  the 
 divine  service ;  the  latter  the  efficacy  of  the  body  and 
 blood  of  Christ  symbolically  eaten  and  drunk,  in  other 
 words,  of  his  atoning  sacrifice  cordially  embraced  by 
 them,  as  the  source  of  their  spiritual  life  and  energy, 
 and  the  pledge  of  their  friendship  with  God.  The 
 rites  thus  attached  to  both  dispensations  exhibited, 
 like  the  dispensations  themselves,  characteristic  fea- 
 tures of  similitude  and  diversity.  The  Mosaic  rites 
 represented  the  objects  in  view,  as  was  desirable 
 before  the  reality  had  taken  place,  in  a  more  lively 
 and  expressive  manner,  but  at  the  same  time  in  a 
 manner  less  suited  for  general  and  permanent  use. 
 The  blood  of  victims  was  daily  poured  out  at  the  foot 
 of  the  altar.  Their  flesh  was  sometimes  eaten  by  the 
 worshippers,  but  on  the  most  solemn  occasions  was 
 wholly  consumed  by  fire  without  the  camp  ;  and  the 
 baptismal  water  was  mingled  either  with  their  ashes, 
 or  their  blood.  The  Christian  rites,  more  simple  and 
 more  easily  practised,  were  thereby  better  adapted  to 
 a  spiritual  and  universal  dispensation,  following  in- 
 stead of  preceding  the  reality,  and  accompanied  with 
 a  larger  measure  of  scriptural  instruction.  Under 
 this  dispensation  the  baptismal  water  was  pure  and 
 clean,  and  the  sacred  repast,  open  to  all  sincere  con- 
 verts, consisted  of  unleavened  bread  and  red  wine. 
 The  apostle  Paul  accordingly  invites  such  converts 
 to  approach  the  throne  of  grace,  having  their  hearts 
 purified  by  sprinkling  from  an  evil  conscience,  and 
 their  bodies  washed  with  pure  water.     As  the  Lord's 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ^99 
 
 supper  was  originally  instituted  during  the  paschal 
 festival,  the  bread  used  in  it  on  that  occasion  was 
 necessarily  unleavened ;  and,  as  pointed  allusions  to 
 red  wine  occur  in  several  parts  of  Scripture,  and 
 much  of  the  wine  made  in  Palestine  was,  and  still  is 
 of  that  colour,  it  may  reasonably  be  presumed  that 
 the  wine  employed  to  typify  the  blood  of  Christ  was 
 red.*  That  these  changes  in  the  sacramental  ordi- 
 nances were  predicted  in  some  passages  of  the  Old 
 Testament  may  the  more  confidently  be  inferred, 
 because  language  precisely  similar  is  applied  to  cor- 
 responding evangelical  subjects  in  the  New.  Thus, 
 after  inquiring, — "What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord 
 [for]  all  his  benefits  towards  me?" — the  psalmist 
 replies, — "  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation,  and  call 
 upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;" — and,  in  a  remarkable 
 prophecy  of  Ezekiel  concerning  the  future  restora- 
 tion and  conversion  of  the  people  of  Israel,  a  passage 
 strikingly  analogous  to  that  previously  quoted  from 
 the  book  of  Jeremiah,  God  is  represented  as  saying, — 
 "  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye 
 shall  be  clean  :  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all 
 your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  A  new  heart  also  will  I 
 give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you,  and 
 I  will  take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and 
 will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh  :  and  I  will  put  my  Spi- 
 rit within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes, 
 and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments  and  do  [them."] 
 
 *  Exod.  chap.  24,  v.  3—8  ;— Levit.  chap.  14  ;— Numb.  chap.  19  ;— 
 Psalm  75,  v.  8  ;  Psalm  133  ;— Prov.  chap.  23,  v.  31  ;— Isa.  chap.  27, 
 V.  2  ;  chap.  63,  v.  1—3 ;— 1  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  6—8  :— Heb.  chap.  9, 
 V.  8—14,  18—24  ;  chap.  10,  v.  19—22  ;— Rev.  chap.  14,  v.  17—20; 
 chap.  19,  V.  11 — 15. 
 
300    NARRATIVES   AND   SYMBOLS   OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 
 
 The  simultaneous  observance  by  divine  authority 
 both  of  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  rites,  during  the 
 apostolical  age,  served  to  distinguish  the  shadow  from 
 the  substance,  the  type  from  the  antitype ;  and  to 
 show  that,  valuable  as  was  the  Mosaic  covenant  for 
 many  external  and  national  objects,  personal  recon- 
 ciliation and  friendship  with  God  are  attainable  by 
 that  covenant  only  which,  although  instituted  from 
 the  beginning,  is  in  a  relative  sense,  and  in  reference 
 to  its  actual  ratification,  termed  new.  Whilst,  there- 
 fore, the  explanation  of  the  death  of  Christ  now 
 given  strongly  ill^trates  the  import  and  design  of 
 the  two  symbols  connected  with  it,  the  divine  ap- 
 pointment of  those  symbols  implies  and  confirms  the 
 explanation.* 
 
 *  Psalm  16,  V.  4,  5  ;  Psalm  116,  v.  12,  13  ;— Isa.chap.  52,  v.  IS- 
 IS ;— Jer.  chap.  31,  v.  31— 34;— Ezek.  chap.  36,  y.  22—28  ;— Acts, 
 chap.  9,  V.  13,  14,  20,  21;  chap.  22,  v.  16;— Rom.  chap.  10,  v.  4— 
 13  ;— 1  Corinth,  chap.  1,  v.  1,  2;  chap.  10,  v.  15— 21;— 2  Tim. 
 chap.  2,  V.  22;— Heb.  chap.  8,  v.  6—13;  chap.  10,  v.  15—22;— 
 1  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  1,  2. 
 
CHAPTER  IV. 
 
 ON    THE     DOCTRINES      AND     PRECEPTS     OF     CHRISTIANITY     IN 
 RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST. 
 
 The  systematic  theology  of  the  New  Testament, 
 both  doctrinal  and  practical,  is  chiefly  contained  in 
 the  epistles,  or  pastoral  letters,  addressed  to  particular 
 churches  or  individual  Christians  by  some  of  the 
 apostles ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  almost 
 all  the  expositions  of  evangelical  truth  furnished  by 
 these  inspired  w^riters,  as  well  as  all  their  applications 
 of  it  to  the  improvement  of  character  and  conduct,  are 
 expressly  grounded  on  the  death  of  Christ,  and  dis- 
 tinctly refer  to  its  two  principal  features  above 
 pointed  out,  namely,  as  constituting  a  propitiatory  sa- 
 crifice, and  as  occasioned  by  the  effusion  of  his  blood. 
 In  the  following  discussion,  this  fact  will  first  be 
 proved  by  quotations  from  the  apostolical  writings, 
 and  afterwards  illustrated  by  showing  its  significancy 
 and  importance. 
 
 The  plan  of  human  salvation  is  described  in  Scrip- 
 ture as  commencing  with  a  covenant  of  reconciliation 
 between  God  and  men,  founded  on  the  atoning  sacri- 
 fice of  Christ.  To  atone  for  sin,  the  vicarious  death 
 of  a  suitable  victim  by  the  effusion  of  its  life's  blood 
 
303         DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 was  indispensable.     For  this  purpose  the  life's  blood 
 of  the  victims  offered  under  the  patriarchal  and  Mo- 
 saic dispensations  was  totally  inadequate,  but  that  of 
 Christ  was  perfectly  sufficient ;  audit  was  through  the 
 oblation  of  this  blood  on  the  cross  that  he  became  at 
 once  the  mediator,  priest,  and  victim  of  the  new  cove- 
 nant, whereby  those  who  embrace  it  are  spiritually 
 united  to  him,  to  each  other,  and  to  God.  This  arrange- 
 ment is  most  clearly  and  copiously  described  by  the 
 apostle  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Hebrew  Christians  of 
 Palestine.    After  alluding  to  the  structure  and  furni- 
 ture of  the  tabernacle,  or  temple,  and  particularly  to 
 the  veil  which  concealed  the  inner  sanctuary  from 
 view,  he  proceeds  as  follows. — "These  things  being 
 thus  arranged,  the  priests  enter  at  all  times  into  the  first 
 sanctuary  to  perform  the  sacred  services;  but  into  the 
 second  the  high-priest  alone  [enters]  once  a  year,  not 
 without  blood,  which  he  offers  for  his  own  sins,  and 
 for  those  of  the   people.      The   Holy  Spirit  herein 
 signified  that  the  way  into   the  most  holy  place  was 
 not  yet  made  manifest,  whilst  the  first  tabernacle  re- 
 tained [its]  institution  ;  which  [is  only]  a  figure  [refer- 
 ring] to  the  present  time,  whereby  both  gifts  and 
 sacrifices   are  offered  which  cannot  make  the  wor- 
 shipper perfect   as  regards    the  conscience,  [being] 
 merely  rites  of  outward  purification  by  meats,  and 
 drinks,  and  various  washings,  reserved  for  a  time  of 
 reformation.      But  Christ  having  arrived,  [as]  high- 
 priest  of  the  blessings  to  come,  by  the  greater  and 
 more  perfect  tabernacle  not  made  wdth  hands,  that  is, 
 not  of  this  institution,  neither  by  the  blood  of  goats 
 and  calves,  but  hy  his  owti  blood,  entered  once  for  all 
 into  the  most  holy  place,  having  achieved  an  everlast- 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST.         3QQ 
 
 ing  redemption.  For,  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats, 
 and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer,  sprinkled  on  those  who  are 
 unclean,  sanctify  to  the  purification  of  the  flesh,  how 
 much  more  will  tJie  blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the 
 eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  [as  a]  spotless  [sacrifice] 
 to  God,  purify  your  consciences  from  dead  works  to 
 worship  the  living  God  ?  And  for  this  end  he  is  [the] 
 mediator  of  [the]  new  covenant ;  that,  [in  conse- 
 quence of]  a  death  having  taken  place  as  a  ransom  for 
 the  transgressions  [committed]  under  the  first  co\e- 
 nant,  those  who  are  called  might  attain  the  promised 
 [gift]  of  the  eternal  inheritance.  For,  where  [there 
 is]  a  covenant,  the  death  of  the  covenant-victim 
 must  necessarily  take  place ;  for  a  covenant  [is]  ra- 
 tified over  dead  [victims,]  not  having  any  force  whilst 
 the  victim  remains  alive.  On  which  account,  neither 
 was  the  first  [covenant]  solemnized  without  blood ; 
 for,  when  every  commandment  of  the  law  had  been 
 recited  to  all  the  people  by  Moses,  he  took  the  blood 
 of  calves  and  goats,  with  water,  and  scarlet  wool,  and 
 hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the  book  and  all  the  peo- 
 ple, saying,  This  [is]  the  blood  of  the  covenant  which 
 God  hath  appointed  for  you.  And  in  like  manner 
 he  sprinkled  with  the  blood  both  the  tabernacle,  and 
 all  the  implements  of  the  sacred  service ;  and  [indeed,] 
 according  to  the  law,  almost  all  things  are  purified 
 by  blood,  and  without  eflusion  of  blood  there  is  no 
 discharge  [of  sins.  It  was]  therefore  necessary  that 
 the  types  of  heavenly  things  should  be  thus  puri- 
 fied, but  the  heavenly  things  themselves  by  better 
 sacrifices  than  these ;  for  Christ  has  not  entered  into 
 the  most  holy  place  made  with  hands,  the  figure  of 
 the  true   [sanctuary,]  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to 
 
304 
 
 DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 appear  in  the  presence  of  God  on  our  behalf.* 
 
 For  the  law,  presentmg  a  shadow  [only]  of  the 
 future  blessings,  [and]  not  their  very  substance,  can 
 never  by  the  same  sacrifices  which  they  offer  year  by 
 year  render  those  who  attend  them  thenceforth  per- 
 fect ;  for  [otherwise,]  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  be 
 offered  ?  since  the  worshippers,  once  purified,  would 
 have  had  no  further  consciousness  of  sins.  But 
 by  these  [sacrifices]  a  fresh  commemoration  of  sins 
 [is  made]  every  year ;  for  [it  is]  impossible  that  the 
 blood  of  bulls  and  goats  should  take  away  sins. 
 Wherefore,  on  coming  into  the  world  [Christ]  said. 
 Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  desiredst  not,  but  a  body 
 hast  thou  prepared  for  me.  In  whole  burnt-offerings 
 and  [sacrifices]  for  sin  thou  hadst  no  pleasure,  then  I 
 said,  Lo,  I  come,  (in  a  chapter  of  the  book  it  is 
 wTitten  of  me,)  to  do  thy  will,  O  God  !  [When,  after] 
 previously  saying.  Sacrifice,  and  offering,  and  whole 
 burnt  offerings,  and  [sacrifices]  for  sin  thou  desiredst 
 not,  neither  hadst  pleasure  [therein,]  which  are 
 offered  according  to  the  law,  he  adds,  Lo,  I  come  to 
 do  thy  will !  he  taketh  away  the  first,  that  he  may 
 establish  the  second  ;  by  which  will  we  are  sanctified 
 through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once 
 
 for  all Having  then,   brethren,  liberty  to 
 
 enter  into  the  most  holy  place  by  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
 that  newly  opened  and  living  way  which  he  hath 
 consecrated  for  us  through  the  veil,  that  is,  his  flesh, 
 and  [having]  a  high-priest  over  the  house  of  God,  let 
 
 *  Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  6 — 24.  With  a  view  to  show  the  frequency 
 and  force  of  the  allusions  made  in  the  epistles  to  the  blood  of 
 Christ,  the  corresponding  words  are  throughout  this  chapter  printed 
 in  Italics. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  gQ^ 
 
 US  draw  near  with  a  sincere  heart  in  full  assurance  of 
 faith,  having  our  hearts  purified  by  sprinkling  from 
 an  evil  conscience,  and  our  bodies  washed  with  pure 
 water."* 
 
 Nor  was  this,  as  some  may  have  supposed, 
 merely  a  figurative  mode  of  speaking  adopted  to 
 conciliate  Jews ;  for  the  apostle  uses  precisely  simi- 
 lar language  when  addressing  Gentile  Christians, 
 as  appears  from  the  following  passages  in  his  epis- 
 tles to  the  Ephesians  and  Colossians. — *'  Remem- 
 ber"— says  he  to  the  former, — "  that  ye  who  were 
 once  Gentiles  in  flesh,  and  called  uncircumci- 
 sioii  by  those  who  derive  their  name  from  the  cir- 
 cumcision made  by  hands  in  the  flesh,  were  at  that 
 time  without  Christ,  aliens  from  the  commonwealth 
 of  Israel,  and  strangers  to  the  covenants  of  promise, 
 without  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world  ;  but 
 that  now,  by  Christ  Jesus,  ye  who  once  were  far  ofl* 
 have  hij  the  blood  of  Christ  been  brought  nigh.  For 
 he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  united  the  two  [parties,] 
 destroyed  the  middle  wall  of  separation,  and  abolished 
 by  his  flesh  the  enmity,  [namely,]  the  law  of  command- 
 ments in  [the  form  of]  decrees,  that  by  [thus]  making 
 peace  he  might  combine  in  himself  the  two  [parties] 
 into  one  new  man,  and  reconcile  both  in  one  body  to 
 God  through  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity  thereby ; 
 and  came  and  proclaimed  peace  to  you  who  [were]  far 
 off",  and  to  them  [who  were]  nigh  ;  for  through  him  we 
 both  have  access  by  one  Spirit  to  the  Father." — To  the 
 Colossians  the  apostle  remarks, — "  It  pleased  [the  Fa- 
 ther] that  in  him  the  whole  church  should  dwell ;  and 
 
 *  Ileb.  chap.  10,  v.  1— 10,  19—22;  chap.  13,  v.  10—14. 
 
306        DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by 
 him  to  reconcile  all  to  himself,  by  him  [alike,]  whether 
 those  on  earth,  or  those  in  heaven;" — that  is,  whether 
 Jews  or  Gentiles.  That  the  new  covenant  like  the  old 
 was  ratified  by  the  life's  blood  of  its  victim,  is  moreover 
 declared  by  Christ  himself,  who  said  on  instituting  the 
 Lord's  supper, — "  This  cup  [is]  the  new  covenant  by 
 my  blood,  which  [is]  shed  for  you  [and]  for  many, 
 for  the  discharge  of  sins  ;" — and  the  same  meaning  is 
 evidently  attached  by  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul  to 
 the  same  term,  whether  they  mention  the  blood  of 
 the  covenant,  or  the  blood  of  sprinkling.  When  con- 
 gratulating the  Hebrew  Christians  on  their  conversion, 
 the  latter  observes  that  they  had  come — "  to  Jesus, 
 [the]  mediator  of  [the]  new  covenant,  and  to  [the] 
 blood  of  sprinkling,  which  speaketh  better  things  than 
 [that  of]  Abel ;" — and  in  another  place  styles  Christ, 
 — **  the  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep,  by  the  blood  of 
 [the]  everlasting  covenant.""^ — In  the  administration 
 of  this  covenant  the  three  divine  persons  manifestly 
 concurred :  planned  and  executed  by  the  Father,  it 
 was  ratified  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  published  to 
 the  world  by  his  chosen  ambassadors,  whose  testi- 
 mony was  supported  by  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  To 
 demonstrate  the  truth  of  this  covenant,  to  explain  its 
 nature,  and  to  press  it  with  authority  on  the  accept- 
 ance   of  mankind,    was    the    peculiar    office    of  the 
 
 *  "On  iv  avT(^  evdoKyjae  ttciv  to  7rX/;pwjwa  KaToiKrjaai'  Coloss. 
 chap.  1,  V.  19,  20; — Ephes.  chap.  2,  v.  11— 18;— Heb.  chap.  10, 
 V.  28,  29 ;  chap.  12,  v.  22—24 ;  chap.  13,  v.  20,  21.  Whether 
 the  epistle  which  bears  the  name  of  the  Ephesians  was  addressed  to 
 the  Gentile  Christians  of  Ephesus,  or,  as  is  more  probable,  to  those 
 of  Laodicea,  does  not  affect  the  present  argument. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE   DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gQJ 
 
 apostles;  an  office  partly  discharged  during  tlieir 
 lives  by  preaching,  but  which  by  means  of  their 
 inspired  writings  they  will  continue  to  exercise  till 
 the  end  of  time. — *'  How  shall  we  escape," — says  one 
 of  their  number, — "  if  we  neglect  so  great  a  salva- 
 tion ?  which  began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord,  [and] 
 was  confirmed  to  us  by  those  who  heard  [him  ;]  God 
 [also]  subjoining  his  testimony  by  signs,  and  wonders, 
 and  various  miraculous  powers  and  gifts  of  the  Holy 
 Spirit,  dispensed  according  to  his  own  will." — On  an- 
 other occasion  he  remarks, — "  The  whole  [proceeds] 
 from  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  through 
 Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  re- 
 conciliation  We  are  therefore  ambassadors  for 
 
 Christ;  [and,]  as  if  God  entreated  [you]  through  us, 
 we  beseech  [you]  in  Christ's  stead, — Be  ye  reconciled 
 to  God :  for  he  hath  made  him  who  knew  not  sin  to 
 be  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  become  [the]  righteous- 
 ness of  God  by  him."* 
 
 The  covenant  of  reconciliation,  thus  attested  and 
 recommended,  may  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  amnesty 
 granted  b}'  the  gracious  sovereign  of  the  universe  to 
 his  rebellious  subjects  of  the  human  race,  and  during 
 a  certain  period  lying  open  for  the  benefit  of  all  who 
 are  willing  to  embrace  it ;  the  Scripture  declaring 
 that — "  God  would  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and 
 to  come  to  an  acknowledgment  of  the  truth," — and 
 proclaiming  with  some  of  its  latest  words, — *'  Who- 
 soever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely," — 
 By  the  same  inspired  authority  the  blood  of  Christ 
 is  represented,  not  only  as  the  bond  of  this  covenant, 
 
 *  •?.  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  18—21  ;— Ileb.  chap.  2,  v.  1—4. 
 
3Qg  DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 but  also  as  the  medium  of  all  the  benefits  thence 
 resulting,  namelyj  spiritual  knowledge,  and  a  com- 
 plete deliverance  from  the  guilt,  the  power,  and  the 
 penal  consequences  of  sin;  or,  to  use  the  emphatic 
 language  of  the  apostle  Paul, — **  Christ  is  by  God 
 made  to  us  wisdom,  and  justification,  sanctification, 
 and  redemption." — The  wisdom  which  is  from  above, 
 or  evangelical  instruction,  necessarily  lies  at  the  root 
 of  the  process.  Thus,  after  stating  that  under  this 
 dispensation — "whosoever  calls  on  the  name  of  the 
 Lord  shall  be  saved," — the  apostle  asks, — "  How 
 then  shall  they  call  [on  him]  in  whom  they  have  not 
 believed,  and  how  shall  they  believe  [in  him]  of  whom 
 they  have  not  heard,  and  how  shall  they  hear  without 
 a  preacher,  and  how  shall  they  preach  unless  they  are 
 sent?" — ^justly  concluding, — "  So  then  faith  [cometh] 
 by  preaching,  and  preaching  by  the  command  of 
 God."* — In  this  process  the  Deity  shows  a  due  regard 
 to  the  nature  of  man,  who,  although  fallen  and  de- 
 praved, is  still  a  rational  and  moral  agent,  and  cannot 
 be  rendered  wise,  virtuous,  or  happy,  without  his  own 
 consent  and  co-operation.  The  message  of  the  gospel 
 having  been  authenticated  and  explained,  he  is  in- 
 vited to  believe  and  accept  it ;  and  on  so  doing,  is 
 reconciled  to  God,  and  entitled  to  all  the  blessings  of 
 salvation.  Evangelical  faith  is  not,  however,  a  mere 
 belief  in  the  message,  or  a  vague  and  general  trust  in 
 the  divine  mercy,  but  a  cordial  and  practical  adhesion 
 to  the  new  covenant,  on  an  adequate  understanding  of 
 its  nature.    Hereupon  the  convert  becomes  spiritually 
 
 *  Kvpif,  Tig  hTriarivai.  ry  aicoy  yfnov  ;  "Apa,  y  Triarig  k^  dicorjg,  ij 
 Sk  ciKorj  Sid  pfjixaTog  Qeov'  Rom.  chap.  10,  v.  13 — 17  ; — 1  Corinth, 
 chap.  1  V.  30,  31 ;— 1  Tim.  chap.  2,  v.  1—4  ;— Revel,  chap.  22,  v.  17. 
 
IN     RELATION     TO    THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  gQQ 
 
 united,  and  as  it  were  identified  with  the  mediator, 
 by  virtue  of  whose  atoning  sacrifice  he  is  justified  by 
 God,  as  the  moral  governor  of  the  world  ;  or  in  other 
 words,  is  legally  absolved  from  guilt,  and  regarded  as 
 an  innocent  rnd  upright  person.  This  unspeakable 
 benefit  is  in  Scripture  distinctly  ascribed  to  the  blood 
 of  Christ,  who  on  instituting  the  Lord's  supper  pre- 
 sented a  cup  of  wine  to  his  apostles,  in  token  of  their 
 embracing  the  new  covenant  about  to  be  ratified  by 
 his  blood,  and  thereby  obtaining  the  discharge  of  their 
 sins.  ..."  That  he  might  consecrate  the  people  with 
 his  own  blood,'' — says  the  apostle  Paul, — ''Jesus  suf- 
 fered without  the  gate  [of  Jerusalem  ;"] — and  hence, 
 — "  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  [even]  the 
 discharge  of  sins,  according  to  the  munificence  of  his 
 
 grace for  all  have  sinned,  and  fallen  short  of 
 
 the  glory  of  God,  being  justified  freely  by  his  grace, 
 through  the  redemption  wdiich  [is]  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
 whom  God  foreappointed  [to  be]  a  propitiatory  [sa- 
 crifice,] through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  demonstrate  his 
 justice, — because  of  the  seeming  impunity  of  previous 
 sins  through  the  forbearance  of  God, — to  demonstrate 
 his  justice  at  the  present  time,  [and  to  show]  that  he 
 is  just  even  in  justifying  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus.* 
 
 God  displays  his  love  towards  us,  in  that 
 
 whilst  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us.    Much 
 
 *  The  term  TragtcriQ  ai.iapTt]i.idrii)v,  whicli  occurs  in  no  other  part 
 of  the  New  Testament,  and,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  expressing 
 its  meaning  by  any  single  English  word,  is  here  rendered. — "seeming 
 impunity,"— probably  signifies  the  apparent  discharge  of  sins  without 
 an  adequate  rausom,  as  for  example  by  the  Levitical  sacrifices. — 
 Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  26—29  ;— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  17— 20;— Rom.  chap.  3, 
 V.  23— 26  ;— Ephes.  chap.  1,  v.  4— 7;— Heb.  chap.  13,  v.  10—12. 
 
^IQ         DOCTRINES    AND     PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 more,  therefore,  being  now  justified  hy  his  blood,  shall 
 we  be  saved  from  wrath  by  Inm  ;  for,  if  when  we  were 
 enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through  the  death 
 of  his  Son,  much  more  being  reconciled  shall  we  be 
 saved  by  his  life." 
 
 The  blessings  of  salvation  are  so  intimately  and 
 inseparably  connected,  that  the  existence  of  any  one 
 of  them  necessarily  implies  that  of  all  the  rest,  agree- 
 ably to  the  statement  of  the  same  apostle: — "We 
 know  that  to  those  who  love  God,  who  are  called 
 according  to  [his]  purpose,  all  things  work  together  for 
 good.  For  whom  he  foreknew  them  he  also  predes- 
 tined [to  be]  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  that 
 he  might  be  the  first-born  amongst  many  brethren ; 
 and  whom  he  predestined  them  he  also  called,  and 
 whom  he  called  them  he  also  justified,  and  whom  he 
 justified  them  he  also  glorified."* — In  reference  to 
 human  agency,  ttiese  blessings  commence  at  the 
 moment  of  conversion,  when  justification  by  faith  and 
 reconciliation  with  God  are  immediately  attained ; 
 but  sanctification  and  redemption  are  slow  and  gra- 
 dual processes,  the  former  not  being  completed  till 
 death,  nor  the  latter  till  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
 By  the  message  of  the  gospel  addressed  to  the  under- 
 standing, in  conjunction  with  the  influence  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit  applied  to  the  affections,  men  are  in- 
 vited to  embrace  the  Christian  covenant.  If  they 
 do  so,  they  are  regenerated,  that  is,  become  in  the 
 highest  sense  of  the  term  children  of  God,  who 
 accepts  them  graciously,  loves  them  freely,  translates 
 them  from  the  kingdom  of  Satan  into  the  kingdom 
 
 *  Rom.  chap.  5,  v.  8—10 :  chap.  6,  v.  22,  23 ;  chap.  8.  v.  28—30. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gJJ 
 
 of  his  beloved  Son,  and  places  them  under  the  tuition 
 and  guidance  of  his  Spirit,  the  author  and  finisher 
 of  this  new  creation.  John  accordingly  remarks, — 
 "  To  as  many  as  received  him  [Christ]  granted  the 
 privilege  of  being  children  of  God,  [even]  to  those 
 who  believed  on  his  name." — A  genuine  filial  affec- 
 tion towards  their  heavenly  Father,  resembling  in 
 kind  that  of  Christ  himself,  and  grounded  on  his 
 atoning  sacrifice,  is  at  the  same  time  formed  in  their 
 hearts  ;  a  principle  at  first  feeble  and  rudimental,  like 
 a  vegetable  or  animal  germ,  but  which  is  progres- 
 sively nurtured  and  increased  till,  on  becoming  fully 
 developed  and  matured,  it  transforms  the  whole  cha- 
 racter into  the  divine  image.  This  is  the  process  of 
 sanctification,  wherein  the  convert  himself  performs 
 a  subordinate  but  important  part ;  since  throughout 
 his  subsequent  life  it  is  powerfully  opposed,  although 
 with  continually  decreasing  effect,  by  the  remains  of 
 a  corrupt  and  fallen  nature.*  Redemption,  or  de- 
 liverance from  sin  in  consequence  of  the  payment  of 
 the  requisite  ransom,  comprehends  in  a  large  sense 
 the  entire  process  of  salvation  ;  but,  whilst  justifica- 
 tion is  a  deliverance  from  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  sancti- 
 fication a  deliverance  from  its  power,  redemption  is 
 more  properly  a  deliverance  from  its  penal  conse- 
 quences. This  is  partially  eifected  in  the  present 
 life,  the  troubles  and  sorrows  of  which  are  to  a 
 Christian  either  mitigated,  or  overruled  for  good ; 
 but  death,  the  common  lot  of  fallen  men,  cannot  be 
 
 *  John,  chap.  1,  v.  11— 13 ;— Galat.  chap.  4,  v.  19,  20 ;— Ephes. 
 chap.  5,  V.  1,  2  ;— Coloss.  chap.  1,  v.  12,  13,  27  ;— 2  Peter,  chap.  2. 
 V.  1 — 4; — 1  John,  chap.  3,  v.  7 — 9. 
 
312        DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 avoided.  At  tlie  moment  of  dissolution,  however,  the 
 ransomed  spirit,  clothed  with  some  ethereal  vehicle, 
 specially  provided  by  the  Deity,  and  admirably 
 adapted  to  its  intermediate  stage  of  existence,  passes 
 at  once  into  the  blissful  presence  of  God;  and  at  the 
 resurrection  of  the  just,  when  the  work  of  redemption 
 will  be  completed,  the  body  also,  raised  from  the  earth 
 in  a  refined  and  glorified  state,  will  be  reunited  to  the 
 spirit,  and  thenceforth  be  its  inseparable  companion 
 through  a  happy  eternity.  These  latter  blessings, 
 like  the  former  ones,  are  in  Scripture  ascribed  to  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  as  their  procuring  and  meritorious 
 cause  ;  but,  owing  to  their  mutual  connection,  two  or 
 more  of  them  are  sometimes  included  under  the  same 
 general  expression,  on  which  account,  when  a  separate 
 proof  of  each  is  required,  the  repeated  quotation  of 
 such  passages  can  scarcely  be  declined.  By  those,  for 
 example,  which  mention  the  blood  of  Christ  as  sprin- 
 kling, washing,  purifying,  &c.,  it  is  probably  repre- 
 sented as  the  medium  of  sanctification  no  less  than  of 
 justification.  Thus  Peter  salutes  the  Christian  Jews 
 of  Asia  Minor  as, — "  elect  according  to  the  foreknow- 
 ledge of  God  the  Father,  by  sanctification  of  the 
 Spirit,  unto  obedience,  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
 of  Jesus  Christ;'' — and  reminds  them — "that  they 
 had  been  redeemed  from  their  unprofitable  [religious] 
 course,  derived  by  tradition  from  the  fathers,  not  by 
 perishable  things,  [such  as]  silver  or  gold,  but  hy  the 
 precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish 
 and  without  spot."* — After  cissuring  those  of  Pales- 
 
 *  1  CorJuth.  chap.  15,    v.  42—57  ;--2  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  1 — 8; 
 —  1  Peter,  chap.  1,    v.  1,  2,  18,  19. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH    OF     CHRIST.        3]^ 
 
 tine  that,  not — *'by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves, 
 but  by  his  own  blood,  [Christ]  entered  once  for  all 
 into  the  most  holy  place,  having  achieved  an  ever- 
 lasting redemption," — Paul  asks — *'  How  much  more 
 will  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal 
 Spirit  offered  himself  [as  a]  spotless  [sacrifice]  to  God, 
 purify  your  consciences  from  dead  works  to  worship 
 the  living  God?" — and  denounces  a  fearful  doom  to 
 the  apostate, — "who  had  trampled  on  the  Son  of  God, 
 regarded  the  blood  of  the  covenant  by  which  he  was 
 purified  as  destitute  of  sanctity,  and  insulted  the  Spirit 
 of  grace." — In  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  he  speaks 
 of  the  Father,  as — "  having  by  the  good  pleasure  of 
 his  will  predestined  us  to  be  his  adopted  children 
 through  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  glory  of  his  grace,  which 
 he  hath  bestowed  on  us  in  the  beloved  one,  by  whom 
 we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  [even]  the 
 discharge  of  sins,  according  to  the  munificence  of  his 
 grace  ;" — a  passage  which  corresponds  with  his  part- 
 ing injunction  to  the  elders  of  the  Ephesian  church : 
 — "  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock 
 wherein  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  made  you  pastors,  to 
 tend  the  church  of  the  Lord  which  he  hath  purchased 
 with  his  oivn  blood;*' — and  is  more  fully  explained  in 
 his  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  where  he  mentions  him- 
 self as — "giving  thanks  to  the  Father,  who  hath 
 qualified  us  to  share  in  the  inheritance  of  the  saints 
 in  light,  w^ho  hath  delivered  us  from  the  dominion  of 
 darkness,  and  translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  his 
 beloved  Son,  by  whom  we  have  redemption,  [even] 
 the  discharge  of  sins.* If," — says  the  apostle 
 
 *  Acts,  chap.  20,  v.  28  ; — Ephes.  chap.  1,  v.  3 — 7 ; — Coloss.  chap.  1, 
 V.  12— 14;— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  11—15  ;  cbap.  10,  v.  28,  29. 
 
 P 
 
3 14         DOCTRINES     AND     PRECEPTS     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 John, — ^'  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with  [God,] 
 and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie  and  do  not  the  truth  ; 
 but  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  [even]  as  he  is  in  the  light, 
 we  have  fellowship  with  each  other,  and  the  blood  of 
 his  Son  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." — At 
 the  commencement  of  the  Apocalypse  he  breaks  forth 
 into  the  subhme  doxology, — "  To  him  that  loveth  us, 
 and  hath  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  hlood, 
 and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  to  his  God  and 
 Father,  to  him  [be  ascribed]  glory  and  power  through- 
 out endless  ages.  Amen." — The  glorified  Saviour 
 appears  on  the  celestial  throne,  as — "  a  lamb  that  had 
 been  slain." — Of  the  souls  of  the  early  martyrs  in 
 heaven  it  is  said, — "  These  are  they  who  have  come 
 out  of  the  great  persecution,  and  have  washed  their 
 robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  hlood  of  the 
 Lamb.'''' — It  was — "  because  of  the  hlood  of  the  Lamb, 
 and  of  the  word  of  their  testimony,  that  they  over- 
 came [Satan,]  and  withheld  not  their  lives  from 
 death  ;" — and  lastly,  the  glorified  spirits  around  the 
 throne  are  described  as  addressing  the  Saviour  in  a 
 new  hymn  of  praise, — •"  Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the 
 book  [of  prophecy,]  and  to  open  its  seals,  because 
 thou  wast  slain  [as  a  sacrifice,]  and  hast  redeemed  us 
 to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  tribe,  and  language, 
 and  people,  and  nation."* 
 
 It  has  thus  been  shown  that,  in  many  parts  of  the 
 apostolical  writings,  the  blood  of  Christ  is  emphati- 
 cally declared  to  be  the  bond  of  the  new  covenant, 
 the  price   of  human  redemption,  and    the    medium 
 
 *  1  John,  chap.  1,  t.  5 — 7; — Revel,  chap.  1,  v.  5,  6;  chnp.  5,  v.  6 
 -10;  chap.  7,  V.  13,  14  ;  chap.  12,  v.  10,  11. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  3^5 
 
 whereby  men  are  enlightened,  justified,  sanctified, 
 and  finally  saved.  On  their  first  proposal  such  state- 
 ments are  liable  to  the  objections  formerly  suggested  ; 
 namely,  that  the  death  of  the  cross  is  not  naturally 
 attended  with  the  requisite  effusion  of  blood,  and 
 that  blood  abstractedly  considered,  even  the  blood  of 
 Christ  itself,  does  not  possess  the  requisite  value.  The 
 explanation  already  given  under  the  first  of  these  heads 
 is  equally  applicable  to  all  the  rest.  The  life's  blood 
 of  Christ  was  actually  poured  out,  owing  to  the  rup- 
 ture of  his  heart,  occasioned  by  his  pious  endurance 
 of  the  divine  malediction  due  to  human  depravity,  of 
 which  malediction  suspension  on  a  tree  was  the  ap- 
 pointed sign.  Hence,  this  blood  publicly  displayed 
 after  his  death,  is  the  natural  proof  and  expression  of 
 his  atoning  sacrifice,  and  the  central  fact  wherein  all 
 the  other  conditions  of  the  plan  of  salvation  visibly 
 unite.  It  is  accordingly  always  in  reference  to  the 
 atonement  thereby  accomplished  that  the  blood  of 
 Christ  is  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  from  its  rela- 
 tion to  that  stupendous  transaction  it  derives  all  its 
 significancy  and  importance.  For  such  a  purpose  a 
 fatal  effusion  of  blood  was  necessary,  no  other  blood 
 than  that  of  Christ  on  the  cross  would  have  sufficed, 
 and  in  no  other  manner  could  the  cross  have  fur- 
 nished the  blood  so  required.  Taken  in  this  con- 
 nexion, the  blood  of  Christ  aptly  represents  the 
 satisfaction  which  he  made  to  divine  justice,  whereby 
 God  is  enabled,  consistently  with  all  his  attributes, 
 to  enter  into  a  covenant  of  reconciliation  with 
 sinful  men ;  as  likewise  the  ransom  whereby  they 
 are  lawfully  redeemed  from  the  dominion  of  Satan, 
 translated  into  the  kingdom    of  Christ,  and  placed 
 
 p  2 
 
316         DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 under    the    influence    of  the    Holy  Spirit,   in  order 
 to  their  immediate    regeneration,  and  ultimate  per- 
 fection.    In  the  first  and  last  steps   of  the  process 
 the  subjects  of  it  are  comparatively  passive  ;  but  in  the 
 two  intermediate  stages  of  justification  and  sanctifica- 
 tion  they  actively  co-operate,  and  in  both  of  them  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  regarded  as  the  sign  of  his  atoning 
 sacrifice,  is  an  important  agent.     For,  the  Christian 
 covenant  is  not  like  the  Mosaic  national  and  external, 
 but  personal  and  spiritual.      No    one  can  enter  it 
 except  by  his  own  free  will,  and  with  a  full  under- 
 standing and  approval  of  its  terms  and  conditions. 
 This  is  no  slight  or  easy  act,  implying  merely  assent 
 to  a  doctrine,   or  compliance  with  a  ceremony,  but 
 one  which  involves  on  the  part  of  the  convert  a  deep 
 conviction  of  his  sin  and  danger,  genuine  repentance 
 towards  God,  an  earnest  desire  to  be  restored  to  his 
 favour,  and  a  cordial  concurrence  in  the  plan  which 
 he  has  provided  for  that  end.     With  reverential  gra- 
 titude and  affection  he  therefore  embraces  Christ,  as 
 the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  lays  his  hand  as 
 it  weie  on  the  head  of  the  bleeding  victim,  appro- 
 priates  to   himself    the   atoning  sacrifice    by  which 
 alone  he  can  be  rescued  from  merited  malediction, 
 and  thus  performs  his  humble  but  indispensable  part 
 in  the  solemn  compact.    With  such  explanation,  it  is 
 not  difficult  to  understand  the  scriptural  statement, 
 that,  on  doing  this,  he  is  for  Christ's  sake  absolved 
 from  all  iniquity,  and  admitted  as  if  he  were  a  pure 
 and  innocent  being  to  the  friendship  and  favour  of 
 God;  in  other  words,  that  he  is  freely  justified  by 
 faith    through   the    blood    of   the   cross,   and  conse- 
 quently has  peace  with  God.    On  the  same  principle. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gj^ 
 
 the  influence  ascribed  to  the  blood  of  Christ  in  the 
 work  of  sanctification  is  easily  explained.     When  a 
 convert  embraces  the  Saviour  as  his  substitute,  he 
 also  embraces  him  as  his  model,  and  becomes  identi- 
 fied with  him  in  all  possible  respects.     Hence,  in 
 Scripture  he  is  said  to  put  on  Christ,  to  be  one  spirit, 
 and  in  a  certain  sense  one  body  with  him,  and  Christ 
 is  said  to  be  formed  and  to  dwell  in  his  heart,  as  the 
 hope  of  glory.     Thus,  the  apostle  Paul  exhorts  the 
 Romans — '*  to  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;" — asks 
 the  Corinthians, — "  Know  ye  not  that  your  bodies 
 are  members  of  Christ  ?" — assures  them, — "  He  that 
 is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit ;" — declares  to  the 
 Ephesians, — "  We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his 
 flesh,  and  of  his  bones  ;" — and  prays — "  that,  through 
 faith,   Christ  may  dwell  in  their  hearts ;" — reminds 
 the  Galatians, — **  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  bap- 
 tized into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ ;" — and,  appre- 
 hensive  lest  by  adopting  Judaism   they  had  fallen 
 from  a  state  of  grace,  affectionately  addresses  them, 
 — "  My  little  children,  with  whom  I  again  travail  in 
 birth  until  Christ  is  formed  within  you."* 
 
 But  the  character  preeminently  displayed  by  Christ 
 is  that  of  filial  piety  and  devotedness  to  God,  carried 
 to  such  an  unbounded  extent,  that  in  order  to  promote 
 his  glory  he  voluntarily  endured  his  malediction.  A 
 character  similar  in  kind,  although  inferior  in  degree, 
 is  impressed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  all 
 
 *     John,  chap.  17,  v.  26;— Rom.  chap.   13,  v.    14; — 1  Corinth. 
 cha?  6,  V.  15—17  ;— Gilat.  chap.  3,  v.  26,  27;  chap.  4,  v.  19,  20;— 
 Eph33.  chap.  3,  v.  14—19;  chap,  5,  v.  29,  30;— Coloss.  chap.  1, 
 V.  26,27. 
 
313         DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 who  enter  into  tlie  Christian  covenant.  By  that  act 
 they  become  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term  sons  of 
 God,  and  thenceforth,  like  beloved  children,  imitate 
 the  perfections  of  their  heavenly  father,  in  whatever 
 manner  those  perfections  are  displayed,  but  more  espe- 
 cially as  they  are  exhibited  in  the  person  and  office  of 
 Christ.  In  common  with  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
 they  are  enabled  to  say, — "  The  [same]  God  who  com- 
 manded light  to  shine  out  of  darkness  hath  shined  into 
 our  hearts,  enlightening  [us]  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
 glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ;" — and 
 therefore, — "  whilst  diffusing  with  unveiled  face  the 
 glory  of  the  Lord,  we  are  transformed  into  the  same 
 image,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of 
 the  Lord." — Their  filial  aifection  towards  God  is 
 moreover  combined  with  profound  gratitude  for  their 
 personal  salvation,  a  cordial  approval  of  the  principles 
 and  means  by  which  it  is  accomplished,  and  a 
 zealous  desire  to  serve  and  please  their  divine  bene- 
 factor.— "  It  was  fit" — says  Paul, — "  that  he  for 
 whom  are  all  things,  and  through  whom  are  all 
 things,  in  conducting  many  sons  to  glory,  should 
 make  the  leader  of  their  salvation  perfect  through 
 sufferings :  for  he  who  sanctifieth  and  they  who  are 
 sanctified  [are]  all  [children]  of  one  [father ;]  where- 
 fore [Christ]  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren, 
 saying,  I  will  declare  thy  name  to  my  brethren,  in  the 
 midst  of  the  church  I  will  sing  praise  to  thee.*  .... 
 As  beloved  children,  be  ye  therefore  imitators  of 
 God,   and    walk   in    love,    as  Christ  also  loved  us. 
 
 *  2  Corinth,  chap.  3,  v.  18;  chap.  4,  v.  6; — Heb.  chap.  2, 
 V.  10— 12. 
 
IN     RELATION     TO    THE    DEATH     OF     CHRIST.  3^9 
 
 and  presented  himself  to  God  on  our  behalf,  as  a  sweet- 
 smelling  oblation  and  sacrifice I  beseech  you, 
 
 brethren,    by   the  mercies   of  God  to  present  your 
 bodies  [as]  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  [and]  well-pleasing 
 to  God,  [which  is]  your  reasonable  service  ;  and  be 
 not  conformed  to  this  world,  but  be  transformed  by 
 the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what 
 is  the  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God." 
 — Treading  in  the  footsteps  of  their  Saviour,  they 
 adopt,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  copy  all  his  proceedings 
 on  their   behalf.     Like    him,  they  die    to    sin,  rise 
 again  to  a  new  and  holy  life,  and,  by  a  well-grounded 
 anticipation  of  future  glory,  virtually  sit  down  with 
 him  in  the  heavenly  regions. — "  What  then" — asks 
 the  same  apostle, — "  shall  we  say  ?     Shall  we  conti- 
 nue in  sin  that  grace  may  abound  ?     Certainly  not. 
 How  shall  we  who  have  died  to  sin  live  any  longer 
 therein?     Know  ye  not  that  as  many  of  us  as  have 
 been  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  have  been  baptized 
 into  his  death  ?    We  have  therefore  been  buried  with 
 him  by  this  baptism  into   death ;  so  that,  as  Christ 
 was  raised  from  the  dead  by   the  glorious  power  of 
 the  Father,  we  also  have  walked  in  newness  of  life. 
 For,  if  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness 
 of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  [in  the  likeness]  of  his 
 resurrection ;  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man  hath 
 been  crucified  with   [Christ,]  that  the   body  of  sin 
 might  be  mortified,  that  we  should  no  longer  be  the 
 slaves  of  sin,  for  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin."* — 
 When  admonishing  the  Colossians  to  avoid  Judaical 
 
 *    Rom.  chap.  6,   v.   1—7  ;  chap.   12,  v.  1,  2  ;— Ephes.  chap.  2, 
 V.  1  —  6;  chap.  5,  v.  1,  2;  — Philipp.  chap.  3,  v,  7 — 14. 
 
320        DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 errors,  he  tells  them, — "Ye  are  complete  in  [Christ,] 
 who  is  the  head  of  all  principality  and  power,   by 
 wnom  also  ye  have  been  circumcised  with  a  circum- 
 cision not  made  by  hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of 
 the  flesh  by  the  circumcision  of  Christ ;   having  in 
 baptism  been  buried  with  him,  by  whom  also  ye  have 
 been  raised  together  [with  him,]  through  that  faith 
 [which  is  produced]  by  the  operation  of  God  who  raised 
 him  from  the  dead;" — and  therefore  exhorts  them, 
 — "  If  then  ye  have   been  raised  with  Christ,  seek 
 those  things  which  are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  at 
 the  right  hand  of  God.     Set  your  affections  on  things 
 above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth,  for  ye  are  dead, 
 and   your  life   is   hid  with  Christ  in  God.     When 
 Christ  [who  is]  our  life  shall  appear,  ye    also  shall 
 appear  with  him  in  glory."* — But  their  progress  is 
 slow  and  difficult,  owing  to  the  opposition  of  a  fallen 
 and  depraved  nature  with  which,  as    it   cannot  be 
 instantaneously  destroyed,  they  are  appointed  during 
 the  remainder  of  their  days  unceasingly  to  contend. 
 At  the  commencement  of  their  course  this  nature, 
 which  like  a  corrupt  tree  yields  only  evil  fruit,  is 
 strong  and  vigorous  ;    whilst  the  regenerate  nature, 
 like  a  germ  of  heavenly  origin  engrafted  on  it,  is 
 feeble   and  rudimental.       These    two  principles  are 
 mutually  counteractive  ;  and,  in  proportion  as  either 
 of  them  flourishes  and  prevails,  the  other  is  enfeebled 
 and  subdued.     The  conflict  between  them  is  some- 
 times illustrated  by  the  imaginary  conjunction  in  one 
 person  of  two  men, — the  old,  and  the  new, — each 
 struggling  for  the  mastery;   and  according  to  either 
 
 *  Coloss.  chap.  2,  v.  8—12;  chap.  3,  v.  1—4. 
 
IN    RJELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  O^j 
 
 illustration,  if  the  new  nature  is  assiduously  culti- 
 vated, it  becomes  strong  and  advances  to  maturity, 
 whilst,    by  means   of   an    intrinsic    antagonism,  the 
 old  nature  gradually  decays  and  dies.     Thus,  in  the 
 well-known  account  of  his  religious  experience,  the 
 apostle  Paul  sorrowfully  acknowledges, — "  I  find  a 
 law,  that  when  I  would  do  good  evil  besets  me :  for 
 I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  according  to  the  inward 
 man,  but  see  another  law  in  my  members   warring 
 against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into 
 captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members. 
 Wretched   man  that  I  am  !     Who  will   deliver  me 
 from  this  dead  body  ?     I  thank  God   through  Jesus 
 Christ  our  Lord." — He  accordingly  admonishes  the 
 Galatians, — '*  Walk  in  the   Spirit,  and  ye  will  not 
 fulfil  the    lust   of  the  flesh ;    for  the   flesh   lusteth 
 against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh, 
 and  these  are  at  war  with  each  other,  so  as  to  prevent 
 your  doing  the  things  that  ye  would  ;" — charges  the 
 Ephesians — "to  put  off"  in  reference  to  their  former 
 mode  of  life  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  according 
 to  the  deceitful  lusts,  and  to  be  renewed  in  the  spirit 
 of  their  mind,  and  to  put  on  the  new  [man,]  which  ac- 
 cording to  God  is  renewed  in  righteousness  and  true 
 holiness  ;" — and  reminds  the  Colossians — "  that  they 
 had  put  ofl"  the  old  man  with  his  deeds,  and  had  put 
 on  the  new  [man,]  which  is  renewed  unto  knowledge 
 according"  to  the  imasre  of  his  Creator."* 
 
 In  this,  as  in  all  the  other  parts  of  the  plan  of  sal- 
 vation, the  conduct  of  the  Deity  is  not  less  distin- 
 
 *  Rom.  chap.  7,  v.  21—25  ;  chap.  8,  v.  12—17  ;— Galat.  chap.  5, 
 16,  17  ;— Ephes.  chap.  4,  v.  20—24  ;— Coloss.  chap.  -3,  v.  9,  10. 
 
322        DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 guished  by  wisdom,  than  by  benevolence  and  power. 
 Had  men  retained  their  original  innocence,  the  ordi- 
 nary manifestations  of  his  attributes  in  the  course  of 
 nature  and  providence  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
 excite  them  to  piety  and  virtue  ;  but,  since  in  conse- 
 quence of  their  depravity  this  is  not  the  case,  he  has 
 been  pleased  to  interpose  for  their  recovery  by  an 
 extraordinary  manifestation  of  the  same  attributes, 
 directed  to  this  special  object,  and  accompanied  with 
 a  corresponding  supply  of  renovating  influence.   Yet, 
 although   the  agency  employed  for  this  purpose  is 
 chiefly  supernatural,  the  mode  of  action  is  strictly 
 natural.     The  laws  of  the  human  mind  are  neither 
 violated,  nor  superseded.     The  most  effective  means 
 are  applied  to  enlighten  the  understandings  of  men 
 with  moral  and  religious  truth,  to  awaken  their  con- 
 sciences, and  to  purify  their  affections  ;  but  after  all, 
 the  result  must  depend  on  their  own  choice.     As  has 
 been  already  remarked,  they  cannot  be  made  holy  or 
 happy  by  mere  external  agency,  without  their  own 
 consent  and  concurrence.     Life  and  death,  a  blessing 
 and  a  curse,  are  set  before  them;  but  they  are  at 
 liberty  either  to  reject  the  counsel  of  God  against 
 themselves,  or  to  accept  it.    If  they  cordially  embrace 
 his  covenant  of  reconciliation,  he  admits  them  at  once 
 into  his  family  as  beloved  children,  gives  them  the 
 paternal  injunction, — "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy," — 
 and  offers  them  the  aid  of  his  Spirit,  to  enable  them 
 to  carry  this  command  into  effect.     But,  in  order  that 
 their   obedience   may   be  genuine    and   liberal,   the 
 result  of  conviction  and  approval,  and  alike  exempt 
 from  the  compulsion  of  fear  and  the  pretension   of 
 merit,  they  are  first  freely  justified  through  faith  in 
 
IN    RELATION    TO    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  3^3 
 
 the  blooci  of  Christ,  and  afterwards  sanctified  through 
 the  same  faith  working  by  love.  Sanctification  is 
 therefore  merely  the  progressive  development  of  con- 
 version, the  same  principles  and  motives  operating  in 
 both. 
 
 This  important  truth  is  clearly  stated  in  many 
 parts  of  the  New  Testament,  particularly  in  Paul's 
 epistle  to  Titus  : — "  The  saving  grace  of  God  " — 
 says  the  apostle, — "  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teach- 
 ing us  that,  renouncing  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts, 
 we  should  live  rationally,  justly,  and  piously  in  the 
 present  world,  looking  forward  to  the  blessed  hope, 
 and  the  glorious  appearing  of  our  great  God  and 
 Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us  that 
 he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  [us] 
 to  himself,  [as]  a  superior  people  zealous  of  good  works. 
 
 When  the  kindness  and  benevolence  of 
 
 God  our  Saviour  towards  men  appeared,  [it  was]  not 
 by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  had  done,  but 
 according  to  his  mercy  that  he  saved  us,  through  [the] 
 washing  of  regeneration,  and  [the]  renewing  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit,  which  he  shed  on  us  abundantly  through 
 Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  that,  having  been  justified 
 by  his  grace,  we  might  become  heirs  according  to  the 
 hope  of  eternal  life.  [It  is]  a  true  saying,  and  on  these 
 [points]  I  wish  thee  to  insist,  that  they  who  have 
 believed  on  God  should  set  their  hearts  on  excelling 
 in  good  works." — The  Christian  is  enjoined  to  add  to 
 his  faith  virtue,  and  to  work  out  his  salvation,  which 
 here  means  his  sanctification,  with  fear  and  trem- 
 bling, because  it  is  God  who  of  his  own  good  pleasure 
 works  in  him  both  to  will  and  to  do,  but  who  does 
 this  only  on  condition  of  his  faithful  and  cordial  co- 
 
334  DOCTRINES    AND    PRECEPTS    OF     CHRISTIANITY 
 
 operation.*  Although  found  in  a  fallen  and  degraded 
 state,  he  is  wisely  treated  as  a  rational  and  moral 
 agent,  who  in  accepting  and  fulfilling  the  plan  pro- 
 vided for  his  restoration  must  exert  his  own  intelli- 
 gence, energy,  and  free  will.  By  daily  employing 
 his  faculties  for  this  purpose,  vigorously  practising 
 self-denial,  resisting  temptation,  enduring  affliction, 
 and  cultivating  right  principles  and  affections,  in  con- 
 junction with  a  diligent  use  of  outward  ordinances, 
 and  a  humble  dependence  on  the  influence  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit,  he  daily  grows  in  grace,  and  continually 
 approaches  nearer  to  that  standard  of  perfection, 
 which  in  the  present  stage  of  existence  he  does  not 
 expect  fully  to  attain.  All  this  is  in  strict  accord- 
 ance with  the  laws  of  the  human  mind.  Active 
 powers  are  strengthened  by  exercise,  ardent  affec- 
 tions are  nurtured  by  long  and  devoted  attention  to 
 their  objects,  and  principles  are  tested  and  invigor- 
 ated by  overcoming  obstacles,  whether  pleasing  or 
 painful.  But,  to  maintain  a  conflict  so  arduous 
 strong  motives  are  required.  These  are  in  part  sup- 
 plied by  gracious  promises  of  realizing  the  divine 
 friendship  and  favour  during  the  life  which  now  is, 
 and  in  a  still  higher  degree  at  its  termination,  when 
 the  purified  spirit  will  pass  at  once  into  the  blissful 
 presence  of  its  father  and  its  God,  where  there  is 
 fulness  of  joy,  and  where  there  are  pleasures  for 
 evermore.  Such  promises  frequently  occur  in  the 
 messages  sent  by  Christ  to  the  seven  Asian  churches ; 
 as  for   example,   in  the  concluding  passage, — "  Be- 
 
 *  Philipp.  chap.  2,  v.  12,  13  ;— Titus,  chap.  2,  v.  11—14  ;  chap.  3, 
 .  4—8  ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  14—16  ;— 2  Peter,  chap.  1,  v.  5—11 ; 
 chap.  2,  V.  20—22. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ^^O 
 
 hold !  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.  If  any  one 
 hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to 
 him,  and  sup  with  him,  and  he  [shall  sup]  with  me. 
 To  him  that  overcometh  I  will  give  the  privilege  of 
 sitting  with  me  on  my  throne,  as  I  also  overcame, 
 and  am  seated  with  my  Father  on  his  throne.  He 
 that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
 to  the  churches."-r-Tn  eastern  courts,  when  the  sove- 
 reign invites  himself  to  sup  with  any  of  his  cour- 
 tiers, his  invitation  is  regarded  as  a  command,  and 
 the  favoured  subject,  far  from  presuming  to  sit  at 
 table  with  his  royal  guest,  waits  on  him  as  a  servant. 
 But,  such  is  the  superiority  of  divine  condescension 
 to  anything  witnessed  amongst  men,  that  Christ 
 stands  at  the  door  of  the  heart,  and  knocks;  and, 
 when  freely  admitted,  obliges  his  host  to  sup  with 
 him.*  The  apostle  John,  through  whom  these  mes- 
 sages were  transmitted,  remarks  in  bis  first  epistle, — 
 "  Beloved,  we  are  now  the  children  of  God,  and  it 
 doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know 
 that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him, 
 for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is ;  and  every  one  who 
 hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself  even  as  he 
 is  pure." — The  apostle  Peter  likewise  reminds  the 
 Christian  Jews  of  Asia  Minor,  that  they  had  received 
 from  Christ — "  exceedingly  great  and  precious  pro- 
 mises, in  order  that  by  them  ye  might  become  par- 
 takers of  the  divine  nature,  having  escaped  from  the 
 corruption  which  is  in  the  world  through  lust; 
 wherefore,  giving   all  diligence,    add   to  your   faith 
 
 *  The  effect  is  well  illustrated  by  the  conversion  of  Zaccheus,  Luke, 
 chap.  19,  V.  1—10.  See  also  chap.  12,  v.  35—37  ;  chap.  22,  v.  24—30  ; 
 — Revel,  chap.  3,  v.  20—22. 
 
32Q         DOCTRINES     AND     PRECEPTS     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 virtue,"  &;c  ; — and  lastly,  Paul  tells  the  Corinthian 
 Christians, — "  Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God, 
 as  Grod  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  [in 
 them,]  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
 people.  Wherefore,  come  out  from  amongst  them 
 and  be  separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  that 
 which  is  unclean,  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be 
 your  father,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters, 
 saith  the  Lord  Almighty.  Having  then  such  pro- 
 mises, beloved,  let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  every 
 defilement  of  flesh  and  spirit,  and  perfect  holiness  in 
 the  fear  of  God."* 
 
 But,  although  other  influences  may  legitimately 
 co-operate  in  exciting  the  Christian  to  perform 
 his  part  in  the  work  of  sanctification  with  dili- 
 gence and  fidelity,  the  most  powerful  of  all  is  that 
 derived  from  a  grateful  and  affectionate  contem- 
 plation of  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ,  as  repre- 
 sented by  his  blood,  which  is  therefore  said  to  be 
 applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  heart.  The  pecu- 
 liar efficacy  of  this  motive  has  often  been  noticed  in 
 treatises  on  practical  religion,  but  has  seldom  perhaps 
 been  better  expressed  than  in  those  published  several 
 years  since  by  Thomas  Erskine,  Esq.,  of  the  Scottish 
 bar. — "  The  sacrifice  of  Christ" — says  this  excellent 
 author, — '*  has  associated  sin  wdth  the  blood  of  a 
 benefactor,  as  well  as  with  our  own  personal  suffer- 
 ings ;  and  obedience  with  the  dying  entreaty  of  a 
 friend  breathing  out  a  tortured  life  for  us,  as  well  as 
 with  our  own  unending  glory  in  his  blessed  society. 
 The  same  God,  that  he  might  declare  his 
 
 *  2  Corinth,  chap.  G,  v.  16  —  18;  chap.  7,  v.  1  ;--2  Peter,  chap.  1, 
 V.  3—5  ;— 1  John,  chap,  3,  v.  1 — 3. 
 
IN     RELATION    TO    THE     DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  gg^ 
 
 abhorrence  of  sin  in  the  very  form  and  substance  of 
 his  plan  of  mercy,  sent  forth  his  Son  to  make  a  pro- 
 pitiation through  his  blood.  This  is  the  God  with 
 whom  we  have  to  do :  this  is  his  character,  the  just 
 God,  and  yet  the  Saviour  .  .  .  The  same  truth,  with 
 regard  to  the  character  of  God  and  the  condition  of 
 man,  which  is  so  fully  developed  in  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, is  exhibited  also  in  the  Old,  through  an  ob- 
 scurer medium  of  types,  and  shadows,  and  prophecy. 
 
 This  belief  is  inseparably  connected  with  a 
 
 belief  of  the  reality  of  Christ's  sufferings  ;  and,  if 
 Christ's   sufferings  were  not   real,  we  may  give  up 
 
 the  bible And  when  we  see  a  system  such 
 
 as  Christianity  asserting  to  itself  a  divine  original, 
 tending  most  distinctly  to  the  eradication  of  moral 
 evil,  harmonizing  so  beautifully  with  the  most  en- 
 lightened views  of  the  character  of  God,  and  adapted 
 so  wonderfully  to  the  capacities  of  man,  does  not  the 
 probability  amount  to  an  assurance  that  God  has 
 indeed  made  a  movement  towards  man,  and  that  such 
 an  antidote  is  indeed  contained  in  the  truth  of  the  eros- 
 pel  ?*  .  .  .  Thus  it  appears  that  the  heart  of  man,  the 
 bible,  and  the  course  of  Providence  have  a  mutual 
 adaptation  to  each  other;  and  hence  we  may  conclude 
 that  they  proceed  from  the  same  source, — we  may 
 conclude  that  the  same  God  who  made  man,  and 
 encompassed  him  with  the  trials  of  life,  gave  the 
 bible  to  instruct  him  how  these  trials  might  be  made 
 
 subservient  to   his  eternal    happiness The 
 
 death  of  Christ,  in  which  all  the  facts  of  the  gospel 
 meet  as  in  their  centre,  is  described  as  an  atonement 
 
 *  Thomas  Erskine,  Esq.,  Remarks  on  the  Internal  Evidence  for 
 the  Truth  of  Revealed  Religion,  pp.  73,  104,  130,  149,  164,  165. 
 
g2S        DOCTRINES    AND     PRECEPTS    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 for  the  sins  of  the  world,  required  by  infinite  holi- 
 ness, provided  by  infinite  love.  He  by  the  grace  of 
 God  tasted  death  for  every  man:  he,  the  one,  bare 
 the  sins  of  the  many.  This  marks  God's  judg- 
 ment of  human  guilt :  the  punishment  inflicted  on 
 the  representative  measures  the  deservings  of  those 
 whose  place  he  filled.  It  was  an  act  of  justice. — 
 '  Christ  died  under  the  sentence  of  sin.' — This  is 
 an  address  to  the  conscience,  to  the  sense  of  right 
 and  wrong;  and  it  is  only  through  the  information 
 of  the  conscience  that  we  can  comprehend  it.  It  was 
 an  act  of  generous  love,  of  self-sacrifice. — '  Herein  is 
 love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  usj  and 
 
 sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.' 
 
 The  unmeasured  love  which   provided  the 
 
 lamb  for  the  burnt-offering,  the  pure  and  awful  holi- 
 ness which  required  the  atonement,  the  eternal  iden- 
 tity of  a  departure  from  God  and  a  departure  from 
 happiness,  of  a  return  to  God  and  a  return  to  happi- 
 ness,— this  is  the  lesson  of  the  cross.*  ....  Joy  in 
 the  atonement,  merely  as  the  means  of  escape  from 
 misery,  is  blessed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  bring  forth 
 the  fruit  of  holy  love,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of 
 his  grace,  in  the  hardest  and  the  foulest  heart.  The 
 joy  of  a  free  deliverance  softens  and  expands  the 
 heart :  it  is  thus  prepared  to  look  at  the  blood  which 
 was  its  ransom  with  tenderness  and  gratitude,  and 
 thus  it  is  led  to  rejoice    in  the  love  of  him  whose 
 
 blood  was  shed And,  when  the  affections  are 
 
 attracted,  think,  what  it  is  which  attracts  them:    it 
 
 *  Thomas  Erskine,  Esq.,  Remarks  on  the  Internal  Evidence  for 
 the  Truth  of  Revealed  Religion;  pp.  175,  176,  186; — Essay  on 
 Faith,  pp.  49,  51. 
 
m    RELATION    TO     THE     DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  309 
 
 ii  not  a  kindness  merely,  it  is  a  high  and  holy  kind- 
 ness, it  is  a  wise  kindness,  it  is  an  eternal  kindness : 
 it  is  the  perfection  of  moral  beauty,  an  uncreated 
 loveliness,  which,  whilst  it  expands  the  affections, 
 purifies  and  tranquillizes  them.  In  like  manner  self- 
 love,  or  the  prudential  principle,  finds  its  object  and 
 
 its  repose  in  the  atonement Any  one  of  the 
 
 doctrines  of  the  atonement  which  can  make  us  fear- 
 less or  careless  of  sinning  must  be  a  wrong  view, 
 because  it  is  not  good  nor  profitable  to  men.  That 
 blessed  doctrine  declares  sin  pardoned,  not  because 
 it  is  overlooked  or  winked  at,  but  because  the  weight 
 of  its  condemnation  has  been  sustained  on  our  behalf 
 by  our  elder  brother  and  representative  :  this  makes 
 sin   hateful,    by    connecting    it   with   the   blood   of 
 
 our  best  friend We  may  without  faith  in 
 
 Christ  regard  the  consequences  of  sin  with  dislike 
 and  apprehension,  and  we  may  even  feel  it  to  be  a 
 pollution  to  the  dignity  of  our  nature  ;  but  our  hearts 
 can  never  loathe  it  for  its  own  sake  until  we  see  it 
 connected  with  the  blood  of  him  who  loved  us,  and 
 
 gave  himself  for  us The  more  freely  grace  is 
 
 proclaimed,  the  more  deeply  sin  is  condemned  ;  and 
 it  is  the  belief  of  having  much  forgiven  that  compels 
 the  heart  to  love  much.*  .  .  .  Who,  it  may  be  asked, 
 is  this  God  whom  we  are  called  on  thus  to  love  ?  It 
 is  that  God  who  hath  so  hated  sin,  and  so  loved  the 
 world,  that  he   gave  his  only  begotten  Son  to   the 
 
 death,  to  condemn  sin,  and  to  save  the  world 
 
 That  blood  branded  sin  :  it  removed  every  obstacle 
 that  barred  the  approach  of  the  sinner  to  God,  or  of 
 
 *  Thooiis  Erskine,  Es^,  Essay  on   Faith,  pp.  75,  100,  112,  113, 
 113, 119. 
 
330        DOCTRINES     AND    PRECEPTS     OF     CHRISTIANITY 
 
 God  to  the  sinner ;  and  it  gave  a  pledge  and  a  speci- 
 men of  the  richness  and  the  holiness  of  divine  love. 
 This  revelation  is  the  instrument  by  which  the  Spirit 
 of  God  writes  the  law  upon  the  heart,  in  fulfilment 
 of  the  promise  made  through  Jeremiah,  (chap.  31, 
 v.  13.)     It  was  given  that  men  might  see  God  as  he 
 is,  and  learn  to  love  him  as  he  ought  to  be  loved."* 
 — Such   love   when   perfect   fulfils   the   moral   law. 
 That  law  merely  demands  from  intelligent  beings  a 
 cordial  and  universal  regard  to  the  relations  in  which 
 they  are  placed  ;  and  nothing  can  be  so  effectual  in 
 producing  this  regard,  the  deficiency  of  which  consti- 
 tutes depravity,  as  a  filial  love  to  God,  founded  on  a 
 grateful  acceptance  of  the  salvation  which  he  freely 
 offers  through   the  atoning  blood  of  Christ.     Such 
 love  implies  unbounded  admiration  for  the  perfections 
 of  the  Deity,  and  profound  reverence  for  his  laws  and 
 arrangements,  the  excellence  and  necessity  of  which 
 are  so  strikingly  displayed  in  that  wondrous  transac- 
 tion.    This  therefore  is  the  true  principle  of  evange- 
 lical sanctification,  the  fundamental  motive  by  which 
 all  the  moral  precepts  of  the  New  Testament  are 
 ultimately  enforced.     Thus,  in  one  place,  after  esta- 
 blishing the  doctrine   of  justification   by  faith,  the 
 apostle  Paul  remarks, — "  But,  if  whilst  seeking  to  be 
 justified  by  Christ  we  ourselves  are  found  sinners,  [is] 
 Christ  on  that  account  a  minister  of  sin  ?     By  no 
 means.     For,  if  I  rebuild  the  things  which   I  de- 
 stroyed, I  prove  myself  a  transgressor:  for  I  through 
 the  law  have  become  dead  to  the  law,  that  I  might 
 
 *   Thomas  Erskine,  Esq.    Three    Essnys  on  the  Unconditional 
 Freeness  of  the  Gospel,  p.  54. 
 
IN    RELATION    TO     THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  ggj 
 
 Kve  unto  God.  I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  yet  I 
 live,  nevertheless  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  ;  and 
 the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  faith 
 in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself 
 for  me." — In  a  similar  style  he  observes  on  another 
 occasion, — "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us,  since 
 we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  all  were  [virtu- 
 ally] dead ;  and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  who 
 live  should  no  longer  live  to  themselves,  but  to  him 
 who  for  their  sake  died  and  rose  again.  Henceforth 
 therefore  we  know  no  one  according  to  the  flesh  ; 
 yea,  if  we  have  even  known  Christ  according  to  the 
 flesh,  we  now  know  [him  so]  no  more.  Hence,  if  any 
 one  [is]  in  Christ,  [he  is]  a  new  creature  :  old  things 
 have  passed  away,  behold,  all  things  have  become 
 new."* 
 
 It  thus  appears  that  the  explanation  here  given  of 
 the  cause  and  mode  of  the  Saviour's  death,  not  only 
 perfectly  harmonizes  with  all  the  doctrines  and  pre- 
 cepts of  the  New  Testament,  but  also  powerfully 
 illustrates  and  confirms  them ;  a  circumstance  which 
 aifords  additional  proof  of  its  truth  and  utility. 
 Yet,  as  this  explanation  is  discoverable  by  reason, 
 and  the  knowledge  of  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary 
 for  the  purposes  of  practical  religion,  it  accords  with 
 the  general  character  of  revelation  that  it  should  not 
 be  formally  stated,  but  merely  suggested  by  the 
 Scriptures.  They  therefore  simply  declare  that  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  poured  forth  at  his  death  on   the 
 
 *  2  Corinth,  chap.  5,  v.  14— 17  ;— Galat.  chap.  2,  v.  17—20; 
 chap.  5,  V.  24  ; — Philipp.  chap.  2,  v.  5— 8  ; — Heb.  chap.  12,  v.  1 — 3  ; 
 1  Peter,  chap.  4,  v.  1,  2. 
 
SS2 
 
 DOCTRINES    AND     PRECEPTS,    ETC. 
 
 cross,  rendered  an  atonement  to  divine  justice  for 
 human  depravity,  and  was  consequently  the  source 
 of  all  the  blessings  of  salvation,  the  medium  by  which 
 those  who  come  to  God  through  him  are  justified, 
 sanctified,  and  finally  redeemed.  Such  statements, 
 abstractedly  considered,  are  attended  with  some  degree 
 of  obscurity  which  the  explanation  now  proposed 
 satisfactorily  removes,  and  thereby  furnishes  a  new 
 elucidation  of  the  gospel  plan,  calculated  under  the 
 divine  blessing  to  produce  a  salutary  effect,  both  on 
 the  understanding  and  on  the  heart. 
 
CHAPTER  V. 
 
 ON  THE  PECULLAR  EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 
 FURNISHED  BY  THE  FOREGOING  EXPLANATION  OF  THE 
 DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 It  has  been  the  object  of  the  former  parts  of  this  trea- 
 tise to  demonstrate  the  immediate  cause  and  mode  of 
 the  death  of  Christ ;  and  the  proof  has  chiefly  consisted 
 in  showing  that  the  explanation  proposed  is  in  exact 
 accordance  both  with  the  laws  of  nature,  and  with  all 
 the  representations  made  on  the  subject  in  Scripture. 
 The  design  of  the  present  section  is,  on  the  other 
 hand,  to  show  that  the  representations  thus  made  and 
 explained,  furnish  new  and  peculiar  evidence  of  the 
 truth  of  the  Scripture,  and  consequently  of  the  reli- 
 gion which  it  reveals.  These  representations  include 
 a  circumstance  which,  although  undoubtedly  implied, 
 is  nevertheless  so  latent  and  extraordinary,  that  it 
 has  never  yet  been  fully  recognised  ;  namely,  that  the 
 death  of  Christ  on  the  cross  was  induced,  not  as  is 
 commonly  imagined,  by  the  usual  sufferings  of  cruci- 
 fixion, but  by  the  rupture  of  his  heart,  and  the 
 effusion  of  his  life's  blood,  occasioned  by  his  pious 
 endurance  of  the  divine  malediction  due  to  human 
 depravity.  This  circumstance,  which  manifestly 
 bears  a  most  intimate   relation  to  the  whole  circle  of 
 
334<        EVIDENCE     OF    THE    TRUTH     OF     CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Christian  doctrines,  is  found  to  be  not  only  in  perfect 
 accordance,  but  also  in  necessary  connexion,  with  all 
 the  other  circumstances  of  the  case.  On  many  pas- 
 sages of  Scripture  it  casts  a  new  and  unexpected 
 light ;  and  to  some,  which  without  its  aid  appear 
 inexplicable,  or  are  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  it 
 supplies  a  satisfactory  and  useful  elucidation.  The 
 argument  now  maintained  is,  that  this  minute  and 
 universal  agreement  is  incompatible  with  delusion, 
 imposture,  or  casual  coincidence,  and  admits  of  no 
 other  solution  than  the  truth  of  the  religion  to  which 
 it  appertains.  The  several  particulars  of  this  agree- 
 ment, in  reference  to  the  laws  of  the  human  body  and 
 mind,  the  fundamental  principle  of  atonement,  the 
 types  and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
 narratives,  symbols,  doctrines,  and  precepts  of  the 
 New,  have  already  been  considered  at  some  length  ; 
 but  a  brief  recapitulation  of  them  will  here  be  given, 
 in  order  to  show  their  special  application  to  the  pre- 
 sent purpose,  and  the  irresistible  evidence  which  re- 
 sults from  the  harmonious  concurrence  of  the  w^hole. 
 In  the  first  place, — Mental  agony,  or  a  violent 
 conflict  between  opposite  and  distressing  emotions, 
 naturally  occasions  palpitation  ;  and,  when  rapidly 
 raised  to  the  highest  degree,  produces  either  bloody 
 sweat,  or  sudden  death  by  rupture  of  the  heart, 
 an  event  usually  attended  with  loud  cries.  In 
 the  latter  case,  although  scarcely  in  any  other,  the 
 blood  inwardly  effused  separates  after  death  into  its 
 solid  and  liquid  parts,  so  as  to  present  when  exposed, 
 the  appearance  commonly  termed  blood  and  water. 
 Such  is  precisely  the  view  which,  in  the  simplest 
 form  of  narrative,  and  without  note  or  comment,  the 
 
FURNISHED     BY    THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ^jg^ 
 
 Scripture  gives  of  the  death  of  Christ.  In  the  gar- 
 den of  Gethsemane  he  was  subjected  for  the  first  time 
 to  mental  sufferings  of  overwhelming  severity,  which 
 rendered  his — **  soul  exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto 
 death  ;" — and,  had  he  not  received  angelic  succour, 
 would  apparently,  without  the  aid  of  any  external 
 infliction,  have  proved  fatal  on  the  spot ;  but,  having 
 been  thus  seasonably  counteracted,  proceeded  no 
 further  than  to  induce  a  bloody  sweat. — "  His  sweat 
 became  as  it  were  clots  of  blood  dropping  to  the 
 ground." — After  a  respite  of  some  hours,  during 
 which  he  evinced  the  greatest  fortitude  and  self- 
 possession,  these  peculiar  sufferings  were  renewed  on 
 the  cross,  w^here  the}^  again  attained  their  highest 
 intensity,  and  on  this  occasion  were  unattended 
 with  any  intermission  or  relief.  The  consequence 
 was  that,  after  silently  enduring  them  for  three 
 hours,  he  suddenly  expired  amidst  loud  and  fervent 
 exclamations,  long  before  the  outward  punishment 
 could  have  proved  fatal ;  and,  on  his  side  having  been 
 afterwards  pierced  by  a  spear, — "  immediately  there 
 came  forth  blood  and  water," — implying  that  his  heart 
 had  been  previously  ruptured.  The  correspondence 
 of  the  several  occurrences  here  related  to  the  natural 
 order  of  things  is  sufficiently  obvious  ;  and,  as  amidst 
 the  wide  range  of  possibilities  many  other  causes  and 
 effects  might  have  been  assigned,  although  none  of 
 them  would  have  possessed  this  necessary  character, 
 so  exact  and  critical  a  correspondence  between  the 
 statement  and  the  realitv,  and  that  in  reference  to  a 
 transaction  so  singular  and  uncommon,  must  un- 
 doubtedly be  regarded  as  a  strong  internal  evidence 
 of  truth. 
 
oo/^  EVIDENCE   OF   THE   TRUTH   OF  CKKISTIANITY 
 
 Secondly, — The  doctrine  of  atonement,  abstract- 
 edly considered,  involves   conditions   seemingly  dis- 
 cordant and  almost  incompatible,  but  by  the  scrip- 
 tural account  of  the  death  of  Christ  is  fully  verified 
 and  explained.     In  order  to  reconcile  the  conflicting 
 demands  of  justice  and  mercy,  the  malediction  due 
 to    human    depravity   was  to    be   diverted    from    its 
 proper  objects,  by  falling  on  the  head  of  a  suitable 
 substitute.       That   substitute    must    therefore    have 
 possessed   a  pure   and  perfect  human  nature.     The 
 divine  malediction  falling  on  such  a  being  must  have 
 assumed  the  form  of  a  partial  and  temporary  aban- 
 donment, and  have  occasioned  intense  mental  agony 
 ending  in  rupture  of  the  heart,  the  extreme  limit  of 
 meritorious  endurance.     All  this  is  accordingly  re- 
 presented  in  Scripture,   which   not  only  afhrnis  the 
 general  principle  of  atonement,  but  also  exhibits  its 
 fulfilment.     Had   the    Scripture    announced   pardon 
 for  sin  without  providing  satisfaction  to  divine  justice, 
 it  would,  by  violating  the  moral  law,  have  forfeited 
 its  title  to  inspiration  ;    but,  by  realizing  all  the  con- 
 ditions of  atonement,  fully  establishes  its  claim.     Se- 
 veral   elements    of  the  process,  being   spiritual   and 
 invisible,    could  be    ascertained    only    by   competent 
 testimony,  or    by    external    signs  and    results ;    and 
 both  are  therefore  liberally  supplied.     The  purity  of 
 Christ's   human   nature   was  announced  by  an  angel 
 before  his  conception,  and  ascribed  to  its  only  pos- 
 sible   cause,   the    special   interposition  of  the    Holy 
 Spirit ;  but  it  was  also  practically  demonstrated  by 
 his  surmounting  every  trial  and  temptation  to  which 
 he  could  be  exposed,  and  was  either  directly  or  indi- 
 rectly acknowledged  both  by  his  enemies  and  by  the 
 
FURNISHED    BY     THE    DEATH    OF     CHRIST.  337 
 
 Deity.  That  he  voluntarily  submitted  to  divine 
 abandonment  in  order  to  make  atonement  for  the 
 sins  of  the  world,  was  distinctly  predicted  by  the 
 prophets,  and  declared  by  himself;  but  it  was  also 
 proved,  as  has  now  been  shown,  by  the  natural  and 
 destructive  effects  of  the  malediction  on  his  body 
 and  mind,  namely,  by  his  agony  and  bloody  sweat  at 
 Gethseinane,  by  his  premature  and  sudden  death  on 
 the  cross,  and  by  the  effusion  of  blood  and  water 
 which  ensued  on  his  side  being  afterwards  pierced 
 with  a  spear.  The  prominence  thus  given  to  the 
 principle  of  atonement,  and  the  critical  agreement 
 with  that  principle  of  the  physical  facts  described  as 
 its  results,  furnish  therefore  a  peculiar  and  incon- 
 testable evidence  of  the  veracity  and  divine  origin  of 
 the  Scriptures. 
 
 Thirdly, — The  numerous  types  and  prophecies  of 
 Scripture  relating  to  this  momentous  event,  when 
 separately  contemplated,  preisent  difficulties  and  ob- 
 scurities so  great,  and  seemingly  so  insurmountable, 
 that  nothing  but  truth  can  account  for  their  original 
 introduction,  and  ultimate  fulfilment.  Of  this  trans- 
 action, all  preceding  religious  ceremonies  were  merel}- 
 shadows  and  representations.  A  covenant  of  recon- 
 ciliation freely  granted  by  God  to  fallen  man,  and 
 ratified  by  an  atoning  sacrifice,  was  the  common  ob- 
 ject which  they  attested  and  prefigured,  but  could 
 not  realize.  The  insufficiency  of  the  ancient  sacri- 
 fices for  their  professed  purpose  was  proved  by  their 
 intrinsic  worthlessness,  and  obvious  inability  to 
 purify  the  conscience,  and  hence  by  their  endless 
 repetition.  They  served,  however,  to  maintain  a  per- 
 petual record  of  the  demerit  of  sin,  to  intimate  the 
 
 Q 
 
333         EVIDENCE    OF     THE    TRUTH     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 need  of  expiation,  and  to  define  the  singular  and 
 almost  inconceivable  combination  of  circumstances 
 required  in  the  one  great  and  perfect  sacrifice,  by 
 which  they  were  at  length  to  be  for  ever  superseded. 
 A  true  atoning  sacrifice  implied  that  the  divine  male- 
 diction due  to  sin  was  vicariously  endured  by  a 
 suitable  victim.  As  endured  by  Christ,  it  necessa- 
 rily produced  rupture  of  the  heart,  and  eff'usion  of 
 the  lifers  blood.  To  indicate  this  reality,  the  life's 
 blood  of  animal  victims  was  from  the  earliest  period 
 made  an  indispensable  condition  of  ceremonial  atone- 
 ment;  and  it  was  distinctly  announced  that — '*the 
 sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  and  a  contrite 
 heart." — For  the  same  reason  it  was  ordained  that 
 Christ  should  die  the  death  of  the  cross,  decreed  by 
 the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  but  executed  by  a  Gentile 
 magistrate  ;  and  yet  that,  contrary  to  the  usual  cus- 
 tom in  Judea,  none  of  his  bones  should  be  broken, 
 an  exception  which  implied  his  premature  dissolu- 
 tion on  the  same  day ;  because,  under  all  the  cir- 
 cumstances of  the  case,  this  was  the  only  mode  of 
 death  which  combined  the  appearance  with  the  reality 
 of  that  malediction,  whereof  suspension  on  a  tree  was 
 the  appointed  emblem,  and  the  Jewish  hierarchy 
 were  the  authorized  ministers.  But  the  punishment 
 of  crucifixion  during  life  was  not  in  use  amongst  the 
 people  of  Israel ;  and  it  was  therefore  predicted  that 
 at  the  time  of  the  Saviour's  death  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
 of  which  he  was  a  member,  should  be  subject  to  the 
 Roman  empire.  The  power  of  blessing  and  cursing 
 was  placed  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  Aaronic 
 priesthood ;  and  it  was  consequently  foretold  that 
 in    accomplishing  the    death  of  Christ  they   would, 
 
FURNISHED     BY    THE     DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  339 
 
 although  such  an  alliance  was  repugnant  to  their 
 national  customs  and  prejudices,  be  associated  with 
 Gentiles.  His  death  was  however  occasioned,  not  by 
 the  ordinary  sufferings  of  the  cross,  but  by  the  divine 
 malediction  itself,  through  the  medium  of  agony  of 
 mind,  and  rupture  of  the  heart.  A  slow  and  lingering 
 punishment  was  therefore  selected,  as  the  only  one 
 suitable  for  the  purpose,  and  it  was  predicted  that  he 
 would  pour  forth  his  life's  blood  unto  death.  This 
 announcement  determined  the  precise  mode  in  which 
 his  life  was  to  be  sacrificed ;  since  in  no  other  mode 
 could  the  punishment  of  the  cross,  which  conven- 
 tionally denoted  malediction,  have  furnished  that 
 effusion  of  life's  blood  which  in  this  case  was  its 
 natural  result,  and  without  which  the  Scripture  de- 
 clared there  could  be  no  discharge  of  sin.  It  was 
 moreover  requisite  that  this  result  should  be  pub- 
 licly demonstrated ;  and  it  was  accordingly  predicted, 
 — "  They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  pierced;" — a 
 prophecy  literally  accomplished  by  the  spear  of  the 
 Roman  soldier  after  the  death  of  Christ,  but  vir- 
 tually by  the  sin  of  the  world,  which  in  this  very  man- 
 ner had  proved  its  cause.  The  effusion  of  blood  and 
 water  which  followed  the  wound  formed  an  essential 
 part  of  the  demonstration,  and  was  therefore  pre- 
 figured by  the  employment  of  blood  and  water  as  the 
 outward  seal  of  the  first  covenant ;  wherein  the  life's 
 blood  of  a  clean  and  unoffending  animal,  mixed  with 
 pure  and  running  water,  faintly  portrayed  the  stu- 
 pendous reality  which  constituted  the  seal  of  the 
 second.  The  extreme  complication  and  singularity 
 of  these  conditions,  which  it  is  evident  could  never 
 occur  more  than  once,  and  which  it  seemed  almost 
 
 Q  2 
 
310        EVIDENCE    OF    THE    TRUTH     OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 impossible  should  ever  occur  at  all,  their  express 
 prediction  so  many  ages  before  the  event,  and  their 
 exact  accomplishment  when  the  proper  time  arrived, 
 triumphantly  prove  the  truth  and  divine  origin  of  the 
 religious  dispensation  w^hereof  they  form  a  part ;  a 
 dispensation  as  much  beyond  the  wisdom  of  men  to 
 contrive,  as  it  was  beyond  their  power  either  to  exe- 
 cute, or  to  prevent. 
 
 Fourthly, — A  similar  conclusion  results  from  the 
 fact,  that  the  same  explanation  of  the  death  of 
 Christ  which  is  thus  shown  to  be  in  perfect  harmony 
 with  the  laws  of  the  human  body  and  mind,  with  the 
 fundamental  doctrine  of  atonement,  and  with  the  types 
 and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  also  suggested 
 by  the  evangelical  narratives  of  the  New,  although  un- 
 noticed, and  seemingly  unperceived  by  the  evangelists 
 themselves.  Until  this  explanation  is  applied,  their 
 account  of  the  event  appears  strange  and  mysterious. 
 That  a  person  in  the  prime  of  life  and  vigour  should 
 have  died  in  six  hours,  under  a  punishment  which 
 rarely  proved  fatal  in  less  than  three  days,  that  he 
 should  have  previously  sweated  blood,  and  that,  on 
 his  side  being  afterwards  pierced  by  a  spear,  there 
 should  immediately  have  issued  blood  and  water,  are 
 circumstances  which  savour  of  the  marvellous,  and 
 which  those  inclined  to  cavil  at  revelation  might 
 reject  as  incredible.  This  very  narrative  is,  neverthe- 
 less, found  on  inquiry  to  contain  the  elements  of  an  ex- 
 planation which,  although  entirely  satisfactory,  is  yet 
 so  latent,  that  it  has  never  hitherto  been  generally 
 acknowledged,  and  which  it  is  manifest  the  sacred 
 writers  had  neither  the  disposition  nor  the  capacity 
 to  invent.     Although  doubtless   endued  with   good 
 
FURNISHED    BY     THE    DEATH     OF    CHRIST.  ^^J 
 
 natural  abilities,  they  were,  with  one  exception,  un- 
 educated men,  selected  from  the  lower  classes  of 
 society  to  be  witnesses  of  occurrences,  some  of  which 
 they  were  unable  at  the  time  fully  to  comprehend. 
 Luke,  as  a  physician,  had  in  this  respect  an  advan- 
 tage over  his  brethren,  and  it  was  perhaps  owing  to 
 this  peculiarity  that  he  alone  mentions  the  bloody 
 sweat  of  Christ  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane ;  but, 
 in  his  brief  account  of  the  Saviour's  death  there 
 is  no  sign  of  his  having  discerned  its  immediate 
 cause,  and  the  subsequent  effusion  of  blood  and 
 water,  which  was  not  less  deserving  of  notice,  he 
 totally  omits.  At  that  period,  indeed,  physiolo- 
 gical science  was  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  enable 
 him  to  form  a  correct  judgment  on  the  subject; 
 yet  the  same  science,  in  its  more  improved  state 
 at  the  present  day,  recognises  in  these  simple  re- 
 ports the  distinct  but  unobtrusive  traces  of  natural 
 actions,  remarkable  for  the  singularity  of  their  charac- 
 ter and  the  rarity  of  their  occurrence,  by  means  of 
 which  every  difficulty  is  removed,  and  the  whole 
 transaction  is  cojnpletely  elucidated.  That  amidst  a 
 multitude  of  possible  alternatives,  the  narratives  of 
 the  four  evangelists,  although  differing  from  each 
 other  on  several  minor  points,  should  exactly  agree 
 in  supplying  the  materials  of  such  an  explanation, 
 which  it  is  probable  the  writers  themselves  did  not 
 clearly  understand,  is  a  most  extraordinary  coinci- 
 dence, which  admits  of  no  other  solution  than  the 
 truth  of  the  narratives,  and  the  reality  of  the  events 
 which  they  describe. 
 
 But,   besides   their   characteristic   reports   of  the 
 death  of  Christ,  three  of  the  evangelists  give  similar 
 
S4:2        EVIDENCE    OF    THE    TRUTH     OF    CHRISTIANITr 
 
 accounts  of  two  symbolical  actions  intimately  con- 
 nected with  that  event,  namely,  the  institution  of  the 
 Lord's  Supper,  and  the  miraculous  rending  of  the 
 veil  in  the  temple  during  the  crucifixion.  These 
 actions  seem  to  have  been  expressly  designed  by  the 
 Deity  to  form  a  congenial  supplement  to  the  types 
 and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  to  prove 
 that  the  whole  emblematical  system  exhibited  in  the 
 Scripture  had  the  same  divine  author,  and  the  same 
 ultimate  object.  The  two  essential  circumstances  in 
 the  death  of  Christ  which  rendered  it  effectual  as  an 
 atoning  sacrifice,  were  the  rupture  of  his  heart,  and 
 the  effusion  of  his  life's  blood ;  and  these  were  pre- 
 cisely the  circumstances  which  he  commanded  his 
 disciples  symbolically  to  represent,  when  occasionally 
 commemorating  that  sacrifice  by  a  sacred  and  social 
 repast,  consisting  of  bread  broken,  and  of  wine 
 poured  out.  The  peculiar  importance  of  these  cir- 
 cumstances was  clearly  expressed  by  him,  when 
 founding  this  simple  but  significant  rite  after  cele- 
 brating the  paschal  supper  with  the  apostles,  on  the 
 evening  immediately  preceding  his  death  ;  for,  on 
 giving  them  the  bread  he  said, — '*  Take,  eat,  this  is 
 my  body  which  is  broken  for  you.  Do  this  in  re- 
 membrance of  me  ;" — and,  on  presenting  the  wine, — 
 "  This  cup  [is]  the  new  covenant  by  my  blood,  which 
 [is]  shed  for  you  [and]  for  many,  for  the  discharge 
 of  sins.  Do  this,  whenever  ye  drink  of  it,  in  remem- 
 brance of  me." — The  same  circumstances  were  pub- 
 licly signalized  in  the  same  sense  on  the  following  day 
 by  a  remarkable  interposition  of  the  Deity  himself. 
 The  incompetency  of  the  annual  sin-offering,  as  well 
 as  of  all  the  other  sacrifices  under  the    Mosiiic  law. 
 
FURNISHED    BY    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  34,3 
 
 to  accomplish  their  ostensible  purpose  of  atonement, 
 was  intimated  by  the  mysterious  veil,  which  during 
 the  whole  of  that  dispensation  excluded  its  members 
 on  pain  of  death  from  the  inner  sanctuary  of  the 
 tabernacle,  or  temple,  representing  the  beatific  pre- 
 sence   of  God.     But  the    efficacy   of  the    blood  of 
 Christ  to  procure  complete  reconciliation  was  practi- 
 cally acknowledged,  at  the  very  moment  when  owing 
 to  the  rupture  of  his  heart  it  was  actually  poured 
 out,  by  the  supernatural  rending  of  the  veil  in  the 
 temple  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  implying  that  a 
 living,  or  acceptable  way  of  access  to  the  divine  pre- 
 sence was  then  for  the  first  time  opened,  to  all  who 
 are  willing  to  avail  themselves  of  so  inestimable  a  be- 
 nefit.    The  testimony  respecting  the  immediate  cause 
 and  mode  of  the  death  of  Christ  which  by  means  of 
 these  two  symbols  is  thus  attributed  to  the  Saviour, 
 and  to  the  Deity,  is  so  direct  and  specific,  so  exactly  in 
 harmony  with  all  the  other  alleged  facts  of  the  case, 
 as  well  as  with  the  explanation  deducible  from  them, 
 and  so  utterly  incompatible  with  chance  or  impos- 
 ture, that  it  cannot  fail  to  be  regarded  as  a  distinct 
 and  decisive  proof  of  the  truth  and  divine  origin  of 
 those  Scriptures,  whereof  it  forms  so  remarkable  a 
 feature. 
 
 Fifthly, — In  the  doctrinal  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, Christ  is  represented  as  having  suffered  the 
 death  of  the  cross,  and  at  the  same  time  all  the 
 blessings  of  salvation  are  ascribed  to  his  blood. — 
 **  He  became  obedient  to  death,  even  the  death  of 
 
 the  cross, made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his 
 
 cross, and  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
 
 law,  by  being  cursed  on  our  behalf;  for  it  is  written, 
 
344        EVIDENCE    OF    THE    TRUTH    OF    CHRISTIANITY 
 
 Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree." — State- 
 ments of  this  kind  frequently  repeated,  and  strongly 
 enforced,  are  at  first  sight  not  free  from  obscurity  ;  for 
 the  ordinary  death  of  the  cross  does  not  furnish  the 
 requisite  effusion  of  blood,  neither  does  blood  ab- 
 stractedly considered  possess  the  requisite  value.  But 
 for  practical  purposes  a  general  comprehension  of  the 
 subject  is  sufficient ;  and,  therefore,  in  most  of  these 
 cases  the  connexion  between  the  means  and  the  end 
 is  assumed  by  the  Scripture,  and  not  improperly 
 admitted  by  the  majority  of  Christians.  Yet,  a  clear 
 explanation,  besides  being  manifestly  conformable  to 
 the  divine  intentions,  is  highly  desirable,  not  only  to 
 remove  objections,  but  also  because  it  may  reasonably 
 be  expected  that  evangelical  doctrines  will  be  more 
 efficacious  in  proportion  as  they  are  better  under- 
 stood. The  demonstration  now  given  of  the  imme- 
 diate cause  and  mode  of  the  death  of  Christ  answer& 
 this  purpose,  and  shows  that  the  remarkable  state- 
 ments made  in  Scripture  respecting  that  cardinal 
 event,  instead  of  being  referrible,  as  some  have  sup- 
 posed, to  poetical  or  figurative  language,,  are  strictly 
 accurate  and  true,  and  that  the  more  closely  they  are 
 scrutinized  the  more  weighty  and  affecting  do  they 
 appear.  As  the  natural  expression  and  result  of 
 superlative  moral  excellence,  perfect  obedience  to- 
 wards God,  unbounded  benevolence  towards  man, 
 and  voluntary  endurance  of  the  malediction  due  to 
 human  depravity,  the  life's  blood  of  Christ  flowing 
 from  a  heart  ruptured  by  an  agony  of  pious  grief, 
 was  at  once  the  blood  of  atonement,  and  the  blood  of 
 the  cross.  Viewed  in  this  connexion,  it  is  evidently 
 well   adapted  to   fulfil  all    the   important  functions 
 
FURNISHED    BY    THE    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  345 
 
 assigned  to  it.  As  the  blood  of  propitiation,  it  ren- 
 ders satisfaction  to  divine  justice,  and  expiates  the 
 sins  of  the  world.  As  the  blood  of  the  new  covenant, 
 it  is  the  medium  whereby  God  reconciles  mankind  to 
 himself,  not  imputing  to  them  their  transgressions. 
 As  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  it  purifies  the  conscience 
 from  dead  works,  to  serve  the  living  God.  As  the 
 blood  of  redemption,  it  ransoms  those  who  claim  its 
 protection  from  the  primeval  curse,  and  the  conse- 
 quent bondage  of  Satan,  sin,  and  death,  and  exalts 
 them  to  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 
 The  blood  of  Christ  is  thus  perceived  to  be  the  only 
 effectual  instrument  of  conversion  and  sanctification. 
 Had  mankind  retained  their  original  innocence,  the 
 ordinary  manifestations  of  the  character  of  God,  in 
 his  works  of  nature  and  providence,  would  have  been 
 sufficient  to  maintain  them  in  an  undeviating  course 
 of  piety  and  virtue  ;  but,  after  they  had  fallen  from 
 their  integrity,  a  far  more  impressive  display  of  the 
 divine  character  became  necessary  for  their  moral 
 regeneration;  and  this  is  supplied  by  the  plan  ox 
 salvation  revealed  in  Scripture,  and  of  which  the 
 blood  of  Christ  is  the  natural  emblem  and  expression. 
 Ordained  by  the  Father,  provided  by  the  Son,  and 
 applied  by  the  Spirit,  this  blood  exhibits  the  triune 
 Deity  engaged  in  the  work  of  human  restoration. 
 Wisdom  and  power  make  the  necessary  arrangements, 
 and,  without  violating  in  the  slightest  degree  the  laws 
 of  rectitude  and  order,  overcome  difficulties  apparently 
 invincible,  and  realize  conditions  which  might  have 
 been  supposed  unattainable.  Mercy  and  justice 
 combine  to  prove  that  God  is  just,  even  in  justifying 
 the  guilty,  on  their  cordially  embracing  the  covenant 
 
 Q   S 
 
346      EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TRUTH  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC. 
 
 of  reconciliation.  Transfused  as  it  were  from  tlie 
 heart  of  Christ  to  that  of  the  convert,  this  blood  dis- 
 solves its  enmity,  heals  its  barrenness,  and  imbues  it 
 with  those  filial  sentiments  of  veneration,  gratitude, 
 and  love  towards  a  reconciled  God  and  father,  which 
 constitute  the  germ  of  the  regenerate  character,  and 
 the  root  of  evangelical  religion.  A  method  of  instruc- 
 tion which  provides  ample  information  of  a  general 
 nature  for  all,  but  at  the  same  time  reserves  for  those 
 who  more  deeply  investigate  the  subject  the  means  of 
 obtaining  still  clearer  views  of  the  fundamental  truths 
 of  the  gospel,  by  which  their  reality  and  mutual  rela- 
 tion are  rendered  more  manifest  and  more  impressive, 
 bears  unequivocal  marks  of  divine  origin  and  design. 
 The  natural  connexion  which  is  thus  discovered  to 
 exist  between  the  death  of  Christ  on  the  cross,  and 
 its  various  applications  in  Scripture  to  doctrinal  and 
 practical  purposes,  presents  a  minute  consistency,  an 
 adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  and  a  conformity  with 
 the  principles  of  morality,  and  the  constitution  of  the 
 human  mind,  which  furnish  a  peculiar  and  undeniable 
 evidence  of  truth.  And,  if  either  of  the  evidences 
 here  adduced  would  separately  be  sufficient  for  the 
 purpose  of  demonstration,  the  conclusion  resulting 
 from  the  harmonious  concurrence  of  the  whole  of 
 them  to  the  same  end  can  be  none  other  than  that 
 expressed  in  the  words  of  the  apostle  Paul, — "  It  is 
 an  infallible  declaration,  and  worthy  of  universal 
 acceptance,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
 save  sinners,  and  to  cancel  sin,  by  the  sacrifice  of 
 himself." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 As  the  principal  object  of  this  treatise  is  to  demon- 
 strate and  explain  a  fundamental  fact  in  Christianity, 
 many  of  its  readers  may  be  disposed  to  think  that  it 
 should  here  terminate,  and  that  any  attempt  at  prac- 
 tical application,  especially  on  the  part  of  one  who 
 has  no  regular  call  to  such  an  office,  would  be  super- 
 fluous and  obtrusive.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems 
 scarcely  proper  to  quit  so  solemn  a  subject  without 
 making  an  effort  to  secure  some  of  the  beneficial 
 effects  which  it  is  calculated  to  produce  ;  and  the 
 author  will  therefore  venture  to  address  a  few  remarks 
 of  this  kind,  both  to  professed  Christians,  and  to  those 
 by  whom  the  gospel,  although  sufficiently  known, 
 has  never  yet  been  cordially  embraced. 
 
 Amongst  the  many  who  belong  to  the  latter  class, 
 no  reasonable  person  will,  it  is  presumed,  question 
 the  possibility  of  a  revelation  from  heaven,  the  ex- 
 pediency of  its  publication  in  the  written  form,  or 
 the  duty  incumbent  on  all  who  are  apprized  of  the 
 existence  of  such  a  document,  to  give  it  a  careful  and 
 candid  examination ;  in  order  that,  if  spurious,  it 
 may  be  rejected,  and  if  genuine,  it  may  be  acknow- 
 ledged and  obeyed.  Such  is  confessedly  the  duty  of 
 subjects  with  regard  to  the  alleged  proclamations  of 
 their  human  governors ;  and  the  duty  must  be  still 
 more  cogent  in  reference  to  proclamations  which  pro- 
 
348  CONCLUSION. 
 
 fess  to  emanate  from  the  sovereign  of  tlie  universe  ; 
 for,  when  the  reality  of  a  message  from  God  is  under 
 consideration,  indifference  and  neglect  are  scarcely 
 less  criminal  than  blind  credulity,  or  wilful  unbelief. 
 Except,  therefore,  a  document  of  this  kind  is  discre- 
 dited by  some  glaring  falsehood  or  deficiency,  it 
 demands  immediate  and  impartial  investigation,  and 
 the  proper  course  to  be  pursued  is  to  inquire  at  once 
 for  positive  evidences  of  truth  ;  since,  whether  these 
 are  discovered  or  found  wanting,  the  principal  ques- 
 tion will  thus  be  promptly  resolved;  and,  if  it  is 
 answered  in  the  affirmative,  there  will  be  time  enough 
 afterwards  for  the  examination  of  difficulties  and 
 obscurities,  inseparable  from  such  subjects,  but  which 
 in  the  case  here  supposed  cannot  be  of  material  im- 
 portance. To  commence  with  the  latter  process  is 
 manifestly  wrong ;  since  it  is  well  known  that  re- 
 searches of  this  kind  are  usually  unsatisfactory,  and 
 often  interminable.  After  the  most  persevering  and 
 laborious  study,  no  higher  conclusion  can  result  from 
 them  than  the  negative  one  above  mentioned  ;  and 
 in  the  mean  while,  decisive  proofs,  admitting  of  easy 
 and  rapid  attainment,  may  have  been  entirely  ne- 
 glected. 
 
 Of  the  divine  origin  of  the  Scriptures  relating  to 
 the  Mosaic  and  Christian  covenants,  which  although 
 distinct  are  intimately  connected,  many  demonstra- 
 tions have  been  given ;  and  another  of  a  somewhat 
 novel  description  is  now  added,  to  which  the  serious 
 attention  of  those  who  are  still  unconvinced  is  ear- 
 nestly  entreated.  To  such  persons  the  author  would 
 respectfully  say; — Examine  strictly,  but  fairly,  the 
 evidence  here  presented,  and  ask  yourselves  whether 
 
CONCLUSION.  349 
 
 it  is  chargeable  with  any  fallacy  or  defect.  Would  a 
 fable,  whether  cunningly  or  grossly  devised,  endure 
 so  minute  and  searching  a  scrutiny  without  being  de- 
 tected ?  Can  a  system  of  religious  doctrine,  which  un- 
 der such  a  scrutiny  becomes  only  so  much  the  clearer 
 and  the  more  confirmed,  be  otherwise  than  true  ?  Con- 
 sider the  force  which  this  demonstration  derives  from 
 its  physical  character,  whereby  all  the  tangibleness 
 and  reality  belonging  to  that  branch  of  knowledge  is 
 extended  to  spiritual  topics  of  the  most  refined  and 
 elevated  nature  ; — from  its  latency,  whereby  it  plainly 
 appears  not  to  be  artificially  contrived,  but  essentially 
 connected  with  the  subject; — and  from  its  perfect 
 harmony,  when  at  length  developed,  with  all  previous 
 evidences  to  the  same  effect.  If,  on  doing  this,  you 
 find  that  you  can  neither  deny  the  facts,  refute  the 
 reasoning,  nor  disprove  the  conclusion,  you  have  no 
 alternative  but  to  acknowledge  the  Scriptures,  thus 
 and  otherwise  demonstrated,  and  more  especially  the 
 gospel,  which  it  is  their  principal  object  to  proclaim, 
 as  a  genuine  revelation  from  God. 
 
 But  the  matter  does  not  end  here.  The  gospel  is 
 not  merely  a  message  to  be  believed,  but  an  offer  to 
 be  accepted,  and  that  offer  nothing  less  than  the 
 divine  friendship,  which  on  certain  conditions  you 
 are  graciously  invited  to  embrace,  with  a  view  to  your 
 present  and  eternal  happiness,  thus  only  to  be  se- 
 cured. These  conditions  are  repentance  towards 
 God,  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  co-opera- 
 tion with  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  work  of  personal 
 sanctification  ;  implying  on  your  part  a  consciousness 
 of  depravity,  a  desire  of  salvation,  and  a  willingness 
 to  adopt  the  plan  divinely  provided  for  that  purpose. 
 
350  CONCLUSION. 
 
 To  refuse  this  plan,  or  to  substitute  another,  in  its 
 place,  would  manifestly  be  the  height  of  impiety  and 
 presumption.  Whatever  may  be  the  ultimate  fate  of 
 those  who  have  never  heard  of  a  Saviour,  little  reflec- 
 tion is  required  to  answer  the  questions  proposed  by 
 the  two  principal  apostles ; — "  How  shall  we  escape,  if 
 we  neglect  so  great  a  salvation  ?" — and — "  What  [will 
 be]  the  end  of  those  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?"* 
 — This  plan  commends  itself  to  the  approbation  of  all 
 well-disposed  and  intelligent  minds,  by  its  exact  con- 
 formity to  natural  facts  and  principles.  It  is  obvious, 
 even  to  ordinary  reason,  that  God  can  neither  trans- 
 gress his  own  laws,  nor  suffer  them  to  be  trans- 
 gressed with  impunity  by  others,  hence  the  neces- 
 sity of  atonement ; — that  depraved  beings  cannot  be 
 reclaimed  and  elevated  by  their  own  unassisted  efibrts, 
 hence  the  necessity  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence  ; — 
 and  that  free  agents,  when  thus  depraved,  cannot  be 
 made  virtuous  and  happy  without  their  own  concur- 
 rence, hence  the  vast  amount  of  religious  and  moral 
 instruction  communicated  by  the  Scriptures,  and 
 their  numerous  and  urgent  exhortations  to  repent- 
 ance and  self-culture. 
 
 Depravity,  or  deficiency  of  moral  principle,  is  the 
 mental  malady  of  all  mankind  in  their  present  stage 
 of  existence.  Under  many  varieties  of  mode  and 
 degree,  it  adheres  more  or  less  to  every  human  being 
 without  exception,  prevails  in  all  times  and  places ; 
 and,  if  left  to  itself,  shows  no  tendency  to  amend- 
 ment. The  explanation  of  this  state  of  things 
 may  be  difficult,  but  the  fact  is  certain,  being   as 
 
 *  Heb.,  chap.  2,  v.  1—4  ;— 1  Peter,  chap.  4,  v.  17,  18. 
 
CONCLUSION.  35  J 
 
 fully  attested  by  experience  as  by  revelation. 
 From  this  negative  yet  prolific  source  are  derived 
 the  various  defects  and  derelictions  of  duty  which, 
 although  less  appalling  than  positive  transgressions, 
 involve  so  large  an  amount  of  evil ;  as  well  as  the 
 more  flagrant  crimes  which,  with  all  their  aggrava- 
 tion, are  merely  the  result  of  unbridled  appetites  and 
 passions,  neither  hurtful  nor  sinful  in  themselves,  but 
 liable  to  become  inordinate  and  destructive  when  not 
 controlled  by  higher  motives.  The  supremacy  of 
 moral  principle  in  rational  beings,  that  is,  of  a  cordial 
 and  inviolable  regard  to  the  relations  in  which  they 
 are  placed,  is,  on  the  other  hand,  the  original  law  of 
 their  nature,  indispensable  to  their  complete  enjoy- 
 ment of  the  divine  friendship,  and  consequently  to 
 their  happiness.  The  demands  of  this  principle  are 
 represented  in  Scripture  by  the  two  cardinal  com- 
 mandments,— "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
 with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  mind,  with  all  thy 
 soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength;'*  —  and — ^*'  Thou 
 shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." — The  means  of 
 recovering  this  principle,  when  lost,  are  supplied 
 by  the  gospel  alone,  which  not  merely  exhibits  in 
 theory  the  conditions  required  for  the  purpose, 
 but  has  also  been  found  practically  efficacious  by 
 men  of  all  classes,  and  under  all  circumstances. 
 Whether  high  or  low,  young  or  old,  refined  or 
 ignorant, — "  Greek  or  Jew,  Barbarian,  Scythian, 
 bond,  or  free," — all  who  ever  gave  it  a  fair  trial  have 
 experienced  that — "  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto  sal- 
 vation  to  every    one  that   believeth."* — Under    the 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  22,  v.  .34—40  ;— Mark,  chap.  12,  v.  28—31  j—  Rom. 
 chap.  1,  V.  14—16; — Coloss.  chap.  3,V.  10,  11. 
 
352  CONCLUSION. 
 
 gospel  dispensation,  the  Deity  does  not  command 
 mankind  to  make  an  atonement  for  their  sins,  and  by 
 their  own  efforts  to  re-establish  the  authority  of  the 
 moral  principle  over  their  hearts ;  but  graciously 
 offers  to  bestow  on  them  both  these  inestimable  bless- 
 ings, on  the  sole  condition  of  their  grateful  and  willing 
 co-operation. 
 
 Unless,  however,  men  are  conscious  of  their  men- 
 tal disease,  anxious  for  its  removal,  confident  in  the 
 means  appointed  for  their  recovery,  and  resolute  in 
 applying  them,  the  remedy  is  provided  in  vain.  Ra- 
 tional conviction  is,  accordingly,  the  first  step  towards 
 conversion.  It  is  on  this  account  that  so  many  de- 
 monstrations of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  so 
 many  expositions  of  its  nature  and  design,  have  been 
 collected.  It  is  for  this  purpose  that  the  present 
 treatise  has  been  composed.  Once  more,  therefore, 
 would  the  author  say  to  all  who  on  this  momentous 
 subject  have  hitherto  been  sceptical,  or  indifferent, — 
 Examine  attentively  the  foundation  on  which  you 
 are  invited  to  build,  and  convince  yourselves  of  its 
 firmness  and  security,  as  likewise  of  the  guilt  and 
 danger  of  rejecting  it.  Having  done  this,  break  off 
 delay,  resist  the  evil  influences  which  would  oppose 
 a  right  decision,  and  engage  with  energy  in  the 
 course  enjoined  by  your  benevolent  Creator.  Life, 
 the  only  opportunity  granted  for  this  purpose,  is 
 short  and  uncertain.  Death  can  never  be  far  dis- 
 tant. The  prize  to  be  lost  or  won  is  nothing  less 
 than  the  friendship  of  God,  and  eternal  happiness. 
 Compared  with  such  a  prize,  no  exertions  can  be  too 
 great,  no  sacrifices  or  sufferings  too  severe ;  and  yet 
 it  is  offered  to  you  as  a  free  gift,  demanding  only 
 
CONCLUSION.  QK^ 
 
 your  cordial  and  active  concurrence.  Resolve,  then, 
 to  close  at  once  with  the  gracious  invitation.  You 
 cannot  decide  too  soon.  To-morrow  may  be  too 
 late. — "  Behold  !  now  is  the  accepted  time,  behold  ! 
 now  is  the  day  of  salvation."* 
 
 To  Christian  readers  the  foregoing  treatise  cannot 
 be  expected  to  communicate  much  information  ;  but 
 may  nevertheless  be  of  some  service,  either  by  pre- 
 senting old  truths  in  a  new  light,  or  by  suggesting 
 useful  applications.  Thus,  it  may  perhaps  induce 
 them  to  maintain  with  increased  earnestness  the 
 supreme  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  rationally  inter- 
 preted, as  the  sole  and  sufficient  code  of  revealed 
 religion,  to  the  total  exclusion  of  human  opinions 
 and  traditions.  But,  as  these  Scriptures  were  com- 
 posed in  ancient  times,  and  foreign  languages,  they 
 require  to  be  translated  and  explained ;  and,  in 
 order  that  the  meaning  and  spirit  of  the  original 
 may  be  fully  and  faithfully  represented,  such  trans- 
 lation and  exposition  must  be  founded  on  fixed  and 
 demonstrative  principles,  and  sustained  by  the  aids 
 of  sound  and  scientific  learning.  To  a  considerable 
 extent  this  has  been  already  accomplished ;  so  that, 
 notwithstanding  the  impediments  occasioned  by  the 
 number  and  variety  of  existing  languages,  almost 
 all  nations  are  now  enabled  to  read  the  word  of  God 
 in  their  own  tongues.  There  still  remain,  however, 
 difficulties  and  obscurities  connected  with  scriptural 
 subjects,  which,  although  not  of  vital  consequence, 
 are  neither  uninteresting  nor  unimportant.  To  elu- 
 cidate them,  as  far  as  may  be  practicable,  recourse 
 
 *  2  Corinth,  chap.  6.  v.  1,2  ^— Heb.  chap.  3,  v.  7 — 15. 
 
354  CONCLUSION. 
 
 must  be  had  to  the  same  method  of  critical  investi- 
 gation which  is  employed  to  illustrate  human  writ- 
 ings ;  namely,  an  accurate  analysis  and  application  of 
 all  the  facts  and  principles  concerned,  including  the 
 laws  of  mind  and  speech,  to  which  must  be  added  a 
 due  regard  to  the  effects  of  divine  interposition,  whe- 
 ther providential  or  miraculous.  This  is  indeed  the 
 only  method  which  exists  for  the  attainment  of 
 knowledge  on  such  subjects,  and  the  only  one  capable 
 of  yielding  rigorous  demonstration.  Nothing,  there- 
 fore, can  be  substituted  in  its  place ;  and  the  mere 
 opinions  and-traditions  of  men,  even  of  the  wisest  and 
 best,  cannot  of  themselves  furnish  sufficient  ground 
 for  assent.  On  the  other  hand,  when  a  scriptural 
 demonstration  has  once  been  established,  it  becomes 
 a  permanent  and  universal  acquisition,  independent 
 of  authority,  incapable  of  refutation,  and  available  to 
 all  mankind.  The  treatise  now  completed  has  been 
 constructed  throughout  in  accordance  with  these 
 views  ;  and  if  the  efforts  of  the  author  have  proved  in 
 any  degree  successful,  they  may  give  encouragement 
 to  others  to  do  likewise. 
 
 It  may  also  suggest  to  Christians  of  different  deno- 
 minations additional  motives  to  unity  and  brotherly 
 kindness ;  by  reminding  them  that,  in  spite  of  their 
 lamentable  dissensions  on  religious  subjects,  the 
 points  wherein  they  agree  are  far  more  numerous  and 
 important  than  those  on  which  they  differ.  By  all 
 who  make  a  credible  profession  of  the  gospel,  the 
 divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  for  example,  is 
 fully  admitted,  and  by  a  large  proportion  of  them 
 the  scriptural  system  of  facts,  doctrines,  and  precepts, 
 which  has  been  cited  in  this  treatise,  is  firmly  main- 
 
CONCLUSION.  qp.»r 
 
 tained.  Might  they  not  hence  infer,  even  independ- 
 ently of  other  arguments,  that  this  system  comprises 
 the  essentials  of  Christianity,  and  was  intended  by 
 its  adorable  author  to  be  the  basis  on  which  his  fol- 
 lowers should  universally  combine  ?  If  such  is  the  case, 
 ought  they  not  on  this  very  ground  to  esteem  all  other 
 religious  tenets  and  observances,  even  when  correct 
 and  useful,  as  non-essential ;  to  regard  all  their  fellow- 
 Christians,  notwithstanding  minor  differences  of  opi- 
 nion and  infirmities  of  character,  with  cordial  affection, 
 as  members  of  the  same  spiritual  family  ;  and  to  join 
 them  as  freely  as  possible  in  friendly  communion, 
 with  a  view  to  their  mutual  improvement,  and  the 
 benefit  of  the  world  at  large  ?  That  during  the  long 
 period  of  eighteen  centuries  Christian  churches  should 
 have  pursued  a  course  so  opposite,  should  have  com- 
 mitted so  many  crimes  and  errors,  and  at  the  end  of 
 that  period  should  still  continue  in  a  state  so  de- 
 fective and  discordant,  is  a  deplorable  fact,  which 
 strongly  illustrates  the  force  of  human  depravity, 
 and  the  obstinate  resistance  which  it  opposes,  even  in 
 persons  professedly  pious,  to  the  only  remedy  which 
 God  has  provided  for  its  correction.  In  order 
 to  prevent  similar  evils  in  time  to  come,  and  to 
 hasten  the  final  triumph  of  the  gospel,  every  Chris- 
 tian should  remember  that,  whatever  may  be  his 
 predilection  for  the  particular  church  with  which  he 
 is  connected,  nothing  can  justify  him  in  countenanc- 
 ing its  abuses,  or  release  him  from  his  responsibility 
 to  obey  all  the  commands  of  God,  without  exception 
 or  reserve,  especially  the  great  command  so  distinctly 
 stated  by  the  apostle  John, — "  that  we  should  believe 
 on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,   and  love  one 
 
^^Q  CONCLUSION. 
 
 another  as  he  gave  us  commandment." — And  lest 
 there  should  be  any  doubt  respecting  the  proper 
 objects  of  this  brotherly  love,  the  same  apostle 
 shortly  afterwards  adds  ;  —  "  Whosoever  believeth 
 that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God,  and  whoso- 
 ever loveth  him  that  begat  loveth  him  also  [that  is] 
 begotten  by  him."* — Every  Christian  who  means  to 
 comply  with  this  command  must,  therefore,  faith- 
 fully maintain  the  system  of  evangelical  truth  ex- 
 hibited in  the  sacred  volume,  and  zealously  cultivate 
 the  holy  and  benevolent  dispositions  which  it  is  the 
 principal  design  of  that  system  to  produce.  If  he 
 does  this,  he  will  be  infallibly  led  to  esteem  as  his 
 fellow-Christians  all  who  sincerely  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ,  to  delight  in  their  society,  and,  as  opportu- 
 nity permits,  to  co-operate  with  them  for  the  ad- 
 vancement of  their  common  cause.  An  absolute 
 uniformity  on  all  points  of  religious  opinion  and 
 practice  is  neither  possible,  nor  perhaps  desirable  ; 
 but  such  a  degree  of  unanimity  as  is  here  advocated 
 would  answer  every  useful  purpose,  and  might  easily 
 be  attained  by  all  who  really  desire  it,  and  who  for 
 this  end  are  resolved,  at  whatever  sacrifice,  to  obey 
 God  rather  than  man. 
 
 Lastly,  this  treatise  may  furnish  Christians  with 
 additional  motives  to  engage  with  energy  in  mission- 
 ary exertions,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  For  the 
 office  of  pastor,  or  superintendent  of  a  church,  few 
 of  them  comparatively  have  either  call  or  qualifica- 
 tion ;  but  to  be  a  missionary,  on  a  larger  or  smaller 
 
 *  1  John,  chap.  3,  v.  21—23  j  chap.  4,  v.  19—21 ;  chap.  5,  t.  1—3. 
 
CONCLUSION.  g^y 
 
 scale,  is  the  duty  and  privilege  of  every  Christian. 
 In  a  remarkable  passage  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the 
 Ephesians,  it  is  expressly  affirmed  that  one  of  the 
 principal  objects  of  the  higher  offices  divinely  estab- 
 lished in  the  Christian  church  is  to  train  its  members 
 to  ministerial  work,  for  the  edification  of  the  body  of 
 Christ ;  and  the  apostle  therefore  subjoins  the  appro- 
 priate exhortation, — "  Let  us  be  no  longer  children, 
 
 but,  holding  the  truth  in  love,  let  us  in  all 
 
 things  grow  up  unto  him  who  is  the  head,  [even] 
 Christ,  by  whom  the  whole  body  is  organized  and 
 compacted,  and  through  the  active  co-operation  of 
 every  member,  according  to  the  due  proportion  of 
 each,  increaseth  unto  the  edification  of  itself  in 
 love."* — On  this  plan  the  primitive  Christians  con- 
 stantly acted.  So  when,  after  the  martyrdom  of 
 Stephen,  the  infant  church  at  Jerusalem  was  severely 
 persecuted  by  the  Jewish  authorities,  all  its  members, 
 with  the  exception  of  the  apostles,  fled  from  the 
 capital,  and  dispersing  themselves  through  the  regions 
 of  Judea  and  Samaria,  went  everywhere  preaching 
 the  gospel.  Some  of  them  even  proceeded  to  Phoe- 
 nicia and  Cyprus  ;  and,  as  soon  as  by  the  conversion 
 of  Cornelius  and  his  friends  the  door  of  faith  had 
 been  opened  to  the  Gentiles,  preached  at  Antioch  to 
 the  idolatrous  Greeks,  with  the  happy  result  men- 
 tioned by  the  evangelist  Luke,  namely,  that — "  the 
 hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them,  and  a  great  number 
 believed,  [and]  turned  to  the  Lord."f — To  this  plan. 
 
 *  Ephes.  chap.  4.  v.  7—16  ;— Coloss.  chap.  2,  v.  16—19. 
 t   A-Cts,  chap.  8,  v.  1 — 4;  chap.  11,  v.  18—21  ;  chap.  15,  v.  7—9, 
 13,  14. 
 
358  CONCLUSION. 
 
 under  the  divine  blessing,  Christianity  owed  much  of 
 its  wonderful  success  at  the  commencement  of  its 
 career  ;  and  to  the  same  plan,  too  generally  neglected 
 in  later  times,  it  must  again  be  indebted,  if  that  suc- 
 cess is  ever  to  be  renewed.  At  present  it  scarcely 
 keeps  pace  with  the  progress  of  population ;  but, 
 were  every  Christian  to  do  his  duty  in  this  respect, 
 its  converts  would  probably  multiply  with  accelerat- 
 ing rapidity,  till  they  filled  the  earth.  For  the  effec- 
 tive discharge  of  the  missionary  office,  nothing  mxore 
 is  required  than  a  faithful  application  of  the  prin- 
 ciples already  described.  The  divine  authority  and 
 sufiiciency  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  strongly  incul- 
 cated. From  these  sacred  records  the  system  of 
 evangelical  truth  must  be  simply  and  clearly  deduced, 
 without  addition,  subtraction,  or  alteration.  Nothing 
 must  be  represented  as  essential  to  it  which  is  not 
 therein  declared  to  be  so;  and  the  doctrines  taught 
 must  be  illustrated  by  suitable  conduct  on  the  part  of 
 the  teacher,  and  more  especially  by  the  genuine  mani- 
 festations of  piety  and  integrity,  of  brotherly  kindness 
 towards  all  fellow-Christians,  and  of  benevolence  to- 
 wards all  mankind. 
 
 The  inducements  to  pursue  this  course  are  many 
 and  great ;  since  it  is  evidently  most  acceptable  to 
 the  Deity,  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  human 
 race,  both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  beneficial  to 
 the  agents  themselves,  and  comparatively  easy  of 
 execution.  It  is  stated  on  the  highest  authority  that 
 — "  all  have  sinned,  and  fallen  short  of  the  glory  of 
 God,  [and  are]  justified  freely  by  his  grace,  through 
 
 the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ; that 
 
 God  would  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to  an 
 
CONCLUSION.  o^Q 
 
 acknowledgment  of  the  truth  ;  for  [there  is]  one  God, 
 and  one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man 
 Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be 
 testified  in  due  time ;  .  .  .  .  that  there  is  no  salvation 
 in  any  other,  for  there  is  no  other  name  under  hea- 
 ven, given  amongst  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved  ; 
 
 that  whoso  reclaimeth  a  sinner  from  the  error 
 
 of  his  way,  will  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  cover  a 
 multitude  of  sins ;" — and  finally,  that.  .  .  "the  teach- 
 ers [of  piety]  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
 ment, and  they  who  turn  many  to  righteousness  as 
 the  stars  for  ever  and  ever."* — This  is  therefore  the 
 only  method  of  salvation  which  God  has  provided, 
 the  only  one  which  Christians  are  authorized  to  pro- 
 claim. It  is  not  their  office  to  judge  other  men, 
 especially  those  to  whom  the  message  has  never  been 
 addressed,  nor  to  pronounce  concerning  their  future 
 destiny.  It  is  not  their  province  to  convert  the 
 heart  to  God,  a  work  far  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
 power,  and  to  effect  which  is  the  peculiar  prerogative 
 of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  the  work  of  ordinary  in- 
 struction and  persuasion  which  is  really  assigned  to 
 them,  although  humble  and  subordinate,  is  not  the 
 less  necessary.  That  blessed  agent  declines  the  task 
 of  preliminary  cultivation  ;  but,  when  the  ground  has 
 been  duly  prepared,  and  the  seed  liberally  sown,  it  is 
 he  alone  who  can  impart  the  vital  principle  of  genu- 
 ine religion,  and  afterwards  advance  it  to  perfection. 
 Their  simple  but  honourable  duty  is  to  disseminate 
 
 *  Dan.  chap.  12,  v.  2,  3  ; — Acts,  chap.  4,  v.  8 — 12  ; — Rom.  chap. 
 3,  V.  23,  24;— 1  Tim.  chap.  2.  v.  3—6  ;— James,  chap  5,  v.  19,  20  ; 
 —2  Peter,  chap.  3,  v.  9. 
 
3gQ  CONCLUSION. 
 
 the  Scriptures  as  widely  as  possible,  to  make  known 
 the  gospel  therein  revealed  by  their  words,  and  to 
 recommend  it  by  their  actions.  But,  as  conversion 
 is  founded  on  conviction,  and  as  miraculous  proof  is 
 not  now^  afforded,  they  must  have  recourse  to  rational 
 and  demonstrative  evidence.  To  assist  in  furnishing 
 such  evidence  is  the  object  of  the  treatise  now 
 brought  to  a  close  ;  and,  if  it  has  accomplished  this 
 object,  and  shall  in  consequence  contribute,  however 
 feebly,  to  the  diffusion  and  beneficial  influence  of 
 divine  truth  in  the  world,  it  seeks  no  other  reward. 
 
NOTES  AND  ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 Note  I.,  Pages  60—69. 
 
 ON   THE  ERRONEOUS  READINGS  OF  THE  VATICAN   MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 The  Vatican  manuscript  omits  the  verses  in  Luke's  gospel 
 which  describe  the  agony  and  bloody  sweat  of  Christ  in 
 the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  inserts  a  new  clause  in 
 Matthew's  gospel  which  virtually  attributes  the  death  of 
 Christ  on  the  cross  to  the  wound  inflicted  by  the  soldier's 
 spear.  These  variations,  which  were  zealously  advocated  by 
 the  late  Mr.  Granville  Penn,  are  by  no  means  of  a  trifling 
 nature,  but  involve  very  serious  consequences.  If  they  are 
 correct,  the  view  taken  of  the  atonement,  not  only  in  this 
 treatise,  but  also  throughout  the  Scripture,  is  erroneous  ; 
 if  false,  the  Vatican  manuscript,  hitherto  esteemed  of  great 
 value,  is  convicted  of  corrupting  the  sacred  text,  at  least  in 
 the  New  Testament,  and  must  therefore  lose  much  of  its 
 authority,  These  variations  are  however  negatived,  as 
 has  been  already  shown,  by  the  strongest  evidence,  exter- 
 nal and  internal.  In  addition  to  the  arguments  previously 
 employed  for  this  purpose,  the  opposite  testimony  of  some 
 of  the  earliest  biblical  versions,  namely,  the  Old  Italic,  the 
 Vulgate,  and  the  Peshito  Syriac,  will  here  be  adduced  ; 
 as  likewise  a  few  further  remarks  on  the  statements  of 
 Chrysostom,  who  is  cited  with  so  much  confidence  by  Mr. 
 Penn  in  support  of  his  own  opinions,  and  of  the  pre- 
 eminent   superiority    of    the   Vatican    manuscript.      The 
 
 R 
 
3g2  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Italic  version  of  the  passages  in  question  is  copied  from  the 
 splendid  work  of  Bianchini ;  the  Vulgate  from  the  folio 
 Paris  edition  of  1549  ;  and  of  the  Peshito  a  literal  Eng- 
 lish translation  is  given,  which  has  been  kindly  furnished 
 to  the  author  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henderson. 
 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  43,  44. 
 
 VERCELLI    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  43.  Appamit  autem  illi  angelus  de  coelo,  confortans 
 eum.  Et  factus  est  in  agonia,  et  prolixius  oravit.  V.  44, 
 Et  factus  est  sudor  illius  quasi  guttoe  sanguinis  decurrentis 
 super  terram. 
 
 VERONA    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  43.  Apparuit  autem  illi  angelus  de  coelo,  confortans 
 eum.  Et  factus  est  in  agonia,  et  prolixius  oravit.  V.  44, 
 Et  factus  est  sudor  ejus  sicut  guttae  sanguinis  decurrentes 
 in  terram. 
 
 VULGATE. 
 
 V.  43.  Apparuit  autem  illi  angelus  de  coelo,  confortans 
 eum.  Et  factus  in  agonia  prolixius  orabat.  V.  44.  Et 
 factus  est  sudor  ejus  sicut  guttae  sanguinis  decurrentis  in 
 terram. 
 
 PESHITO. 
 
 And  there  appeared  to  him  an  angel  from  heaven,  who 
 strengthened  him.  And  when  he  was  in  fear  he  prayed 
 earnestly,  and  his  sweat  was  as  drops  of  blood,  and  it  fell 
 upon  the  ground. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  3^3 
 
 Matthew,  chap.  27,  v.  47 — 50. 
 
 VERCELLI    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  47.  Quidam  autem  illic  stantes  et  audientes  dicebant, 
 Heliam  vocat  iste.  V.  48.  Et  continuo  currens  unus  ex 
 eis,  accepta  spongia,  implevit  aceto,  et  imposuit  in  harun- 
 dine,  et  dabat  ei  bibere.  V.  49.  Ceteri  vero  dixerunt, 
 Sine,  videamus  si  venit  Helias  et  liberavit  eum.  V.  50. 
 Jesus  autem,  iterum  clamans  voce  magna,  emisit  spiritum. 
 
 VERONA    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  47.  Q.uidam  autem  illic  stantes  et  audientes  dicebant, 
 Heliam  vocat  iste.  V.  48.  Et  continuo  currens  unus  ex 
 eis,  accepta  spongia,  implevit  aceto,  et  imposuit  in  harun- 
 dine,  et  dabat  ei  bibere.  V.  49.  Ceteri  vero  dixerunt, 
 Sine,  videamus  si  venit  Helias  et  liberavit  eum.  V.  50. 
 Jesus  autem,  iterum  clamans  voce  magna,  emisit  spiritum. 
 
 VULGATE. 
 
 V.  47.  Quidam  autem  illic  stantes  et  audientes  dice- 
 bant, Eliam  vocat  iste.  V.  48.  Et  continuo  currens  unus 
 ex  eis  acceptam  spongiam  implevit  aceto,  et  imposuit 
 arundini,  et  dabat  ei  bibere.  V.  49.  Caeteri  vero  dice- 
 bant, Sine,  videamus  an  veniat  Elias  liberans  eum.  V.  50. 
 Jesus  autem,  iterum  clamans  voce  magna,  emisit  spiritum. 
 
 PESHITO. 
 
 Now  certain  men  of  them  that  stood  there,  when  they 
 heard  said,  This  person  calleth  Elias.  And  immediately 
 one  of  them  ran,  and  took  up  a  sponge,  and  filled  it  with 
 vinegar,  and  placed  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  him  to  drink. 
 But  the  rest  said.  Desist !  we  shall  see  whether  Elias 
 will  come  to  deliver  him.  And  Jesus  cried  again  with  a 
 loud  voice,  and  resigned  his  spirit. 
 
 r2 
 
gg4  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 John,  chap.  19,  v.  32—34. 
 
 VERCELLI    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  32.  Venerunt  ergo  rnilites,  et  primi  quidem  crura 
 fregerunt,  et  alterius  similiter  qui  simul  crucifixus  erat. 
 V.  33.  Ad  Jesum  autem  cum  venissent,  et  viderunt  eum 
 jam  mortuum,  non  fraegerunt  crura  ejus.  V.  34.  sed 
 unus  ex  militibus  lancia  latus  ejus  percussit,  et  exiit  con- 
 festim  sanguis  et  aqua. 
 
 VERONA    MANUSCRIPT. 
 
 V.  32.  Venerunt  ergo  milites,  et  illius  quidem  primi  fre- 
 gerunt crura,  et  alterius  qui  simul  crucifixus  erat  cum  eo. 
 V.  33.  Ad  Jesum  autem  cum  venissent,  ut  viderunt  eum  jam 
 mortuum,  non  fregerunt  crura  ejus.  V.  34.  Sed  unus 
 militum  lancea  latus  ejus  pupugit,  et  exivit  continuo  san- 
 guis et  aqua. 
 
 VULGATE. 
 
 V.  32.  Venerunt  ergo  milites,  et  primi  quidem  fregerunt 
 crura,  et  alterius  qui  crucifixus  est  cum  eo.  V.  33.  Ad 
 Jesum  autem  cum  venissent,  ut  viderunt  eum  jam  mor- 
 tuum, non  fregerunt  ejus  crura  ;  V.  34.  sed  unus  militum 
 lancea  latus  ejus  aperuit,  et  continuo  exivit  sanguis  et 
 aqua. 
 
 PESHITO. 
 
 And  the  soldiers  came  and  brake  the  legs  of  the  first, 
 and  of  the  other  who  was  crucified  with  him  ;  but  when 
 they  came  to  Jesus,  they  saw  that  he  was  already  dead, 
 and  brake  not  his  legs  ;  but  one  of  the  soldiers  smote  him 
 in  his  side  with  a  lance,  and  immediately  there  came  out 
 blood  and  water. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  3g5 
 
 It  thus  appears  that  these  venerable  and  justly  esteemed 
 versions,  which  are  probably  more  ancient  than  any  Greek 
 manuscript  of  the  New  Testament  now  extant,  confirm  the 
 common  readings  of  the  two  passages   under  discussion, 
 and  contradict  those  of  the  Vatican  manuscript.     To  the 
 omission  by  this  manuscript  of  the  former  passage,  which 
 describes  the  agony  and  bloody  sweat  of  Christ,  the  autho- 
 rity   of   Chrysostom,    quoted  by   Mr.   Penn,    is  not   less 
 opposed  than  these  versions,  as  will  be  evident  from  the 
 following  paragraph,    of  which  a  translation  has   already 
 been  given  in  the  text.     In  commenting  on  Matt.  chap.  26, 
 v.  36 — 38,  this    writer    remarks: — " 'O  Sc  e/crei/cos'  evx^rai: 
 Koi,  Iva  fXT)  do^T]  vTTOKpicns  eiuai  to  npayixa,  Koi  tSpcorey  eTvippeovai 
 dta  rfju  alriav  ttoXlv  ttjv  avTr]v  '.    koi,    iva  p,r)   tovtO   enrcocriv  aipe- 
 TiKol,   OTL   vTroKpiverai     rrjv  ayoiviav,   bia  tovto    koI    ibptores    &)? 
 6p6}i^oi,    aip-aro^,   koi  ayyeXos  ivKTx^oiv  avrbu  €<pdvi]^   kol   p^vpia 
 (}>6^ov  T€Kp.r]pia,  Iva  p.)]   tls   e'irrrj  ra  prjfxara  TrcTrXac/xeVa  eivai. 
 — Chrysostom  here  supposes  that   one  principal  object  of 
 recording   in    Scripture   this   narrative  of  the  agony   and 
 bloody  sweat  of  Christ,  was  to  refute  the  error  of  those 
 heretics  who  denied   the  reality  of  his  mental  sufferings  ; 
 and  it  is  in  singular  accordance  with  such  a  supposition, 
 that  the  subtraction  of  this  narrative  from  Luke's  gospel 
 is  by  competent  judges    attributed    either  to  heretics,   or 
 to  rash  and  injudicious  critics,  who  did  not  well  under- 
 stand it. 
 
 How   far    Chrysostom   approved    of    the    new    clause 
 respecting  the  manner  of  Christ's  death,  inserted  by  the 
 
 *  Chrysostomus,  Opera,  vol.  vii.  p.  791.  On  account  of  its  seem- 
 ing to  favour  his  own  interpretation,  Mr.  Penn  adopts  a  various 
 reading  of  this  passage,  introduced  by  Morel  ; — "  oig  kciI  eig  vikqov 
 (Tuiua  XoiTTov  v^pi'CovTiQ :"  —  but  this  reading,  disapproved  by 
 Montfaucon,  in  his  magnificent  edition  of  Chrysostom,  and  at  variance 
 with  the  context,  is  evidently  a  corruption. 
 
3gg  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Vatican  manuscript  in  Matthew's  gospel,  -will  be  seen  by 
 another  paragraph  from  his  writings,  wherein  he  comments 
 as  follows  on  Matt.   chap.  27,  v.  48,  49.—"  Kai  dBeois 
 iTTOTicrav    avrbv    o^os  I    erepos   de   TrpoaeXdoiv    ^oyxjj    avrov    rrfv 
 TrXevpav  fjvoi^e'    Ti  yevoir  av  tovtcov  Trapavopmrepov,  ri  8e  Orjpici}' 
 decrrepov ;   oi  p^XP''  toctovtov  ttjv  iavrmv  paviav  i^ereivavy  Koi   els 
 V€Kp6v    aiopa    Xolttov    v^pi^ovres'      Si/   Se  poi  (XKOTret,  irSiS  rats 
 Trapavopiais   avrmv    els   iiperepav  Kexprjrai  craTTjpiav  I    pera   yap 
 TTjv  Trkrjyrjv,  at  TrTjyal  rrjs   (Tarrfpias  T)pa>v  eKeldev  dvejSXvaav'      'O 
 de  ^Irjaovs,  Kpd^as  (f)a>vfj  peyakrj,  dcprJKe  to  Trvevpa.    Tovro  ecrriv  o 
 eXeyevi  'E^ovciW  e^co   Oelvat.  rrjv  '^v^rjv  pov,   koi  i^ova-'iav  e^to 
 ttoXlv  \a^eiv   ai/Trjv,  Koi  cyo)  ridrjpi  avr^v  utt'  ipavTov'      Aia  yap 
 TOVTO  Kal  (f)a)vfj  cKpavyaffeVf  Iva  heixOr)  on  Kaff  i^ovalav  to  irpdypa 
 eyevcTO.     'O  yovv   MdpKog  (jiTjalv  oti  eOavpacrev  6  TLiKdTOQ  el  ffbrj 
 TeOvqKe,  /cat  oVi  6  KevTvpiav  did  tovto  pakia-Ta  inicTTevarev,  oti  per 
 e^ova-lag  divedavev"^ — This  passage  relates  to  the  treatment 
 of  Christ  by  the  soldiers,  after  he  had  uttered  the  cry,  Eloi ! 
 Eloi !  lamma  sabachthani  ?  and  may  be  freely  rendered  thus. 
 — "  They  immediately  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink  ;  but  an- 
 other of  them  coming  up,  with  a  spear  pierced  his  side. 
 What  can  be  conceived  more  lawless,  or  more  brutal  than  the 
 conduct  of  these  men,  who  indulged  their  rage  to  such  an 
 extent  as  even  to  insult  a  dead  body  ?    But  observe  how  he 
 employed  their  lawlessness  for  our  salvation  ;  for  from  the 
 wound  thus  made  the  fountains  of  our  salvation    sprang 
 forth.     And  Jesus,  having  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  resigned 
 his  spirit.     This  fulfilled  what  he  had  previously  said  :■ — 
 I  have  authority  to  lay  down  my  life,  and  authority  to 
 take  it  again,  and  I  lay  it  down  of  my  own  accord. — For 
 it  was  to  show  that  the  act  was  voluntary,  that  he  cried 
 with    a  loud  voice.      Mark  accordingly  says  that  Pilate 
 wondered  if  he  were  already  dead ;   and  that  the  centurion 
 
 Chrysostomus,  Opera,  vol.  vii.  p.  825. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  3(57 
 
 believed  on  this  account  chiefly,  because  he  died  of  his 
 own  accord." — Now,  although  Chrysostom  here  adopts 
 the  same  order  of  narration  as  the  editor  of  the  Vatican 
 manuscript,  the  diversity  of  their  expressions  renders  it 
 doubtful  whether  in  so  doing  he  followed  his  guidance. 
 The  words  of  the  manuscript  are, — **  oKXos  6e,  Xa/3a)i/  Xoyxrjv, 
 €vv^(v  avTOv  TTjv  nXevpav,  Koi  e^rjXdev  vdwp  Koi  alixa  :'  — those 
 of  the  commentator, — *'  CT^pos  di  TrpocreXdo)!/,  Xoyxu  avTOVTrjv 
 
 TrXfvpav  Tjuoi^f'" — It  is  far  more  probable  that  he  borrowed 
 the  clause  directly  from  John's  gospel,  for  the  purpose  of 
 describing  in  a  single  paragraph  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
 soldiers  on  this  occasion  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  he  did  not 
 draw  from  it  those  conclusions  which  have  been  so  zeal- 
 ously embraced  by  Mr.  Penn,  since  he  ascribes  the  death 
 of  Christ,  not  to  the  wound  inflicted  by  the  soldier's  spear, 
 but  to  his  own  voluntary  and  supernatural  agency,  and 
 represents  that  wound  as  a  brutal  insult  offered  to  his  dead 
 body.  On  the  whole,  it  must  be  evident  that  the  objec- 
 tions which  have  been  alleged  against  the  various  readings 
 of  the  Vatican  manuscript  in  these  two  important  passages 
 of  the  evangelical  narrative,  are  not  weakened,  but  on  the 
 contrary  fully  confirmed,  by  an  appeal  to  the  authority  of 
 Chrysostom. 
 
 Note  II.,  Pages  33—47. 
 
 ON   CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 The  treatise  of  Salmasius  on  the  cross,  composed  with 
 great  judgment  and  perspicuity,  and  evidently  founded  on 
 careful  and  extensive  research,  is  a  good  specimen  of  the  class 
 of  writings  to  which  it  belongs,  and  of  the  scholarship  of 
 the  seventeenth  century.  The  following  passages  are  parti- 
 cularly deserving  of  attention,  and  their  insertion  will  render 
 it  unnecessary  to  add  other  quotations  of  the  same  kind. — 
 
3G8  NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "  Medium  ....  crucis  lignum,  quod  eminebat  ex  anteriore 
 parte,  equi  vice  fuit  lignei,  quod  inscendebat  et  inequitabat 
 cruciarius.  Corpus  itaque  ejus  illo  portabatur  et  susten- 
 tabatur.  Unde  et  enoxelaBai  eo  dixit  crucifixiim  Justinus,  in 
 Trypnonis  dialogO  ;  —  *  kuI  to  iv  t<^  ^ika^  Trriyvvfievov  (oq  Kspag, 
 Kal  avTO  k^kxov  tcFTiv,  i<\><^  eTTOxovvTai  ol  CTavpovfxevoi.  JEt  qUod 
 in  medio  impactum  est  instar  cornu,  et  ipsum  eminet,  cui 
 inequitant,  et  quo  vectantur  quicruci  afRguntur.' — De  sup- 
 pedaneo  haec  accipi  non  posse  certo  certius  est.  E  medio 
 crucis  stipite  extabat  hoc  lignum,  in  ipso  stipite  infixum  et 
 impactum.  Eo  vectatum  dicit  crucifixum.  Ergo  inter- 
 femina  hoc  habebat,  eique  quasi  inequitabat,  quod  est 
 tiroxeiaBaL'  Nam  de  equo  dicitur  cui  eques  insidet,  tTrcxov 
 yivta^ai,  et  67rox£t(T^af    Eustathius,  in  loco  superius  citato, 
 
 tig  Tov  'iTTTTov  dvdyeiv,  Kai  ixoxov  ttouIv'      An    CO   llgno   Velutl 
 
 subsidebant,  toto  corpore  sustentati,  quia  illud  natibus  pre- 
 mebant,  cruribus  hinc  inde  pendulis.  Hinc  explicanda 
 sunt  ilia  Maecenatis,  quae  et  alibi  emendavimus,  quibus 
 proeoptare  se  dicit,  vel  vitam  in  cruce  retinere  quam  mori. 
 — '  Hanc  mihi  vel  acuta  subsidem  cruce  sustine' — Subsi- 
 (lere  se  mavult  in  cruce  vivum  et  videntem,  quam  extra 
 crucera  lumine  cassura  esse.  Subsidem  dixit  propter 
 illud  medium  lignum,  in  quo  quasi  equitantes  subsidebant. 
 Hominis  ita  subsidentis  brachia,  utrimque  expansa,  ad 
 duas  latitudinis  partes  extremas  deligabantur,  clavis  etiam 
 afRxae :  pedes  in  ima  extremitate  longitudinis  vinciebantur, 
 et  clavis  configebantur :  caput  reclinatum  habebatur  ad 
 extremitatem  longitudinis  summam,  nee  is  pedibus  insiste- 
 bat  suppedaneo,  ut  falso  imaginati  sunt.  In  medio  igitur 
 crucifixus  requiescebat  ligno,  cui  et  insidebat  ea  parte  quae 
 sedes  in  homine  ex  eo  dicitur.  Idque  clare  Irenaeus  ex- 
 plicat,  lib.  IT.  adversus  Haereses,  cap.  46. — '  Ipse  habitus 
 crucis' — inquit, — *  fines  et  summitates  habet  quinque, 
 duos  in  longitudine,  et  duos  in  latitudine,  et  unum  in 
 medio,  ubi  requiescit  qui  clavis  affigitur.' — Unum  ilium  in 
 
NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  gQg 
 
 medio  stipitis  crucis  finem,  sive  extremitatem,  r^  aKpov  in 
 Graeco  fuit;  Tertullianus,  in  libro  II  adversus  Nationes. 
 sedilis  excessum  appellat  liis  verbis : — *  Pars  crucis,  et 
 quidem  major,  est  omne  robur  quod  erecta  statione  defigitur. 
 Sed  nobis  tota  crux  imputatur,  cum  antemna  scilicet  sua, 
 et  cum  illo  sedilis  excessu.' — Sedile  est  in  quo  sedetur,  non 
 quod  pedibus  subjicitur.  Non  potest  itaque  accipi  de  suppe- 
 daneo.  Excessum  vocat  sedilis,  quia  excedens  illud  et  emi- 
 nens  in  medio  crucis  lignum  pro  sedili  fuit,  ad  sustinendum 
 cruciarium  ei  insidentem.  T6  £?£xov  sv  ukaifi  Trrjyixa  appellat 
 Justinus.  TXijyixa  est  id  omne  quod  ex  duobus  lignis  com- 
 ponitur.  Lignum  igitur  illud  eminens  e  medio  stipite 
 crucis,  quod  ipso  stipiti  infixum  et  impactum  foret,  7r^y/ta 
 appellatur.  Idem  Tertullianus,  in  libro  adversus  Judseos, 
 cap.  10,  unicornis  cornui  comparat  palum  ilium  e  medio 
 stipitis  crucis  exeuntem,  sustentando  corpori  cruci  affixi  : 
 — "  Nam  et  antemna  navis,  quae  crucis  pars  est,  hoc  ex- 
 tremitates  ejus  vocantur  ;  unicornis  autem  in  medio  stipite 
 palus.' — Sic  legendus  ille  locus  ex  veteribus  libris."* 
 
 "  Bene  ait  [Augustinus,]  corpus  videri  stare  crucifixi 
 in  ea  longitudine  crucis  quae  a  transverso  ligno  pertinet 
 ad  solum  usque,  id  est,  ad  eam  partem  quae  desinit  esse 
 conspicua,  et  in  terram  demersa  occultatur.  Nam,  quam- 
 vis  in  ea  parte  sederet  crucifixus,  ligno  e  medio  stipite 
 longitudinis  extante  sustentatus,  stare  tamen  potius  vide- 
 batur  quam  sedere.  Palus  quippe  fuit  inter  femina  cruci- 
 arii  positus,  cui  tanquam  equuleo  sic  insidebat  ut  stantis 
 statum  praeberet.  Non  enim  prohibebat  recta  extendi 
 femora  et  genua,  pedesque  in  imo  conjungi,  ubi  et  clavis 
 confixi  tenebantur  ad  ipsum  lignum  arrectarium.  Sic 
 stabat  simul  et  sedebat  cruciarius.  Stabat,  quia  directum 
 et  extentum  corpus  ejus  stantis  formam  praeferebat.    Sede- 
 
 *  Salmasius,  De  Criice,  pp.  229— 2o2. 
 R    3 
 
370  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 bat  autem,  quia  ea  parte  qua  sedetur  in  pale,  qui  sedilis 
 instar,  erat  requiescebat.  Mala  tamen  ea  sessio  fuit,  et  ad 
 hoc  tantum  instituta,  ut  diutius  persistere  in  cruce  posset  ac 
 durare  corpus  cruciarii.  Cum  enim  ad  exemplum  eden- 
 dum,  ut  alia  omnia  supplicia,  ita  istud  prascipue  inventum 
 esset,  ea  de  causa  longo  tempore  in  cruce  detinebantur  qui 
 hoc  supplicio  afFecti  fuerant.  Necessaria  itaque  plane  fuit 
 hsec  pali  in  media  cruce  defixio,  ad  sustentandum  corpus 
 patientis,  quo  in  hoc  statu  diutius  posset  pendens  conser- 
 vari.  Manus  enim  confixas  clavis,  aut  brachia  funibus 
 religata,  vix  potuissent  molem  corporis  suo  pondere  deor- 
 sum  mentis  sustinere,  ubi  tabo  diffluere  ac  dissolvi  ex 
 mora  longiore  caepisset.  Q,uod  enim  de  suppedaneo  aiunt, 
 cui  et  pedes  innixos  quasi  scabello  volunt  requievisse^ 
 nemo  est  sensus  communis  vel  mediocriter  particeps  quin 
 videat,  mentis  pondere  suo  deorsum  corporis  mortui  oner- 
 osum  truncum  non  posse  pedibus,  quamvis  in  ligno  vjnctis 
 et  constrictis,  portari  etsustentari."* 
 
 "  Cum  satis  constet  cruciarios  suam  crucem  ipsosmet 
 portasse,  non  tam  magnam  aut  altam  fuisse  oportet  quin 
 hominis  unius  onus  esse  potuerit.  Alta  admodum  crux, 
 cum  sua  antemna,  et  cum  palo  qui  e  medio  stipite  emine- 
 bat,  non  fuisset  ferendo,  uni  praesertim  homini,  et  per  ali- 
 quantum  itineris  spatium,  ut  saepe  locus  supplicii  extra 
 urbem  satis  longe  distabat  a  carceris  loco  e  quo  educebatur 
 nocens  plectendus.  Praeterea,  cum  elogium,  sive  titulus, 
 ad  caput  crucifixi  poneretur,  omnibus  iegendus  expositus, 
 si  nimis  alta  crux  fuisset,  de  piano  non  potuisset  legi.  Nam 
 XfVKMixara  non  solebant  grandioribus  literis  exarari,  quam 
 quae  possent  non  nimium  excelso  loco  positae  a  praetereun- 
 tibus  facile  cognosci.  Postremo,  certum  est,  nulla  scala 
 admota,  impositos  fuisse  cruciarios  illi  sedili  quod  in  liriedia 
 
 *  Salmasius,  De  Cruce,  pp.  251,  252. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 371 
 
 cruce  depactum  erat.  Denique,  de  piano  etiam  cruciariis 
 crura  frangebant  carnifices.  Miles  deinde  ille  qui  lancea 
 transfodit  latus  Domini  in  cruce  pendentis,  non  alte  sus- 
 pensum  fuisse  indicat.  Nam  lancea,  sive  hasta  Romana, 
 quamvis  aliquantum  excesserit  staturara  hominis,  tamen 
 miles  qui  transverberasse  ea  dicitur  Christi  latus,  non  ex 
 imo  in  altum  debuit  hastam  infigere,  sed  ictum  dirigere 
 
 paululum  ea  allevata Crura,  ut  jam  dixi,  fran- 
 
 gebantur  cruciariis,  et  de  piano  quidem,  a  carnificibus 
 vel  militibus.  Quod  et  historia  Christi  ostendit  apud 
 Johannem,  ubi  narratur  petiisse  a  Pilato  Judaeos  ut  Christo, 
 et  latronibus  cum  eo  crucifixis,  crura  frangi  juberet,  et  de 
 cruce  eorum  corpora  tolli. — *  Venerunt  ergo  milites,  et 
 prioris  quidem  latronis  fregerunt  crura,  et  alterius  qui  cum 
 eo  crucifixus  est.  Ad  Jesum  autem  cum  venissent,  ut 
 viderunt  eum  jam  mortuum,  non  fregerunt  ejus  crura.' — 
 [Joann.  cap.  19,  v.  32,  33.]  Ex  quibus  verbis  non  obscure 
 liquet  de  piano  frangi  potuisse,  et  fracta  vulgo  esse  crura 
 cruciariis,  absque  ulla  scalarum  ope,  aut  scamni.  Tres 
 igitur,  aut  ad  summum  quatuor  pedes  a  terra  elatus  videtur 
 fuisse  locus  crucis  in  quo  pedes  cruciarii  erant  sufRxi,  ut  a 
 milite  vel  carnifice,  stante  in  pedibus  suis,  crura  ejus 
 frangi  facile  possent.  Unde  etiam  colligi  potest,  minima 
 adjutum  longitudine,  aliquem  protensa  manu  potuisse  os 
 in  cruce  pendentis  attingere.  Manum,  inquam,  aliquis 
 extendens,  et  in  manu  habens  vel  pedalis  longitudinis  aut 
 bipedalis  bacillum  vel  virgam,  ad  os  cruciarii,  in  humerum 
 puta  inclinatum  caput  habentis,  potuit  pervenire.*" 
 
 With  slight  exceptions,  a  more  graphic  or  correct  ac- 
 count of  crucifixion  than  is  here  furnished  by  Salmasius 
 can  scarcely  be  conceived.  Amongst  other  points,  he 
 fully  proves  the  existence  and  utility  of  a  material  part  of 
 
 *  Salmasius,  De  Cruce,  pp.  283,  284,  316,  317. 
 
37^  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 the  cross  which,  although  described  by  several  ancient 
 authors,  has  been  almost  entirely  overlooked  in  modern 
 times  ;  namely,  the  short  horizontal  bar  which  projected 
 forwards  from  the  middle  of  the  upright  post,  and  whereon 
 the  crucified  person  sat  astride  ;  whilst,  in  consequence  of 
 his  legs  being  extended,  and  his  feet  nailed  to  the  lower 
 part  of  the  post,  he  at  the  same  time  appeared  to 
 stand.  Owing  to  this  arrangement,  the  punishment  was 
 less  excruciating,  and  more  protracted  than  is  commonly 
 imagined  ;  in  proof  of  which  examples  are  above  given  of 
 persons  who,  having  been  taken  from  the  cross  within  a 
 moderate  time,  and  consigned  to  medical  care,  recovered 
 and  survived.  The  following  are  additional  instances  of  the 
 same  kind  : — »The  first  is  the  case  of  Matthew  Lovat,  an 
 Italian  lunatic,  labouring  under  that  peculiar  form  of  insa- 
 nity which  prompts  to  suicide,  who  from  this  cause  inflicted 
 various  injuries  on  himself,  repeated  at  intervals  during 
 several  years.  In  the  month  of  July,  1802,  he  committed  an 
 act  of  self-mutilation  ;  and  on  the  21st  of  September,  1803, 
 attempted  to  crucify  himself,  but  was  prevented  from  ac- 
 complishing his  purpose  by  several  people,  who  came  upon 
 him  just  as  he  was  driving  the  nail  into  his  left  foot.  He  was 
 more  successful  in  a  second  attempt  of  this  kind,  which  took 
 place  at  Venice  on  the  19th  of  July,  1805,  when  he  was 
 forty- six  years  of  age.  About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
 ing of  that  day  he  was  observed  by  the  people  who  passed 
 in  the  street  fixed  to  a  cross,  with  the  exception  of  his 
 right  hand,  which  hung  loosely  by  his  side.  The  cross 
 was  inclosed  in  a  net  of  small  cords,  and  suspended  by 
 ropes  from  a  beam  in  his  chamber,  out  of  the  window  of 
 wliich,  having  a  low  parapet,  he  had  contrived,  after  nail- 
 ing himself  to  the  cross,  to  throw  the  whole  apparatus. 
 He  had  also  crowned  himself  with  thorns,  two  or  three  of 
 which  pierced  the  skin  of  his  forehead  ;  had  transfixed  his 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  g^S 
 
 hands  and  feet  with  three  long  and  sharp  nails,  and  inflicted 
 two  inches  below  the  left  hypochondrium  a  wound  with  a 
 cobler's  knife,  which  did  not  however  injure  any  of  the 
 internal  parts.  As  soon  as  he  was  perceived,  some  humane 
 people  ran  up  stairs,  disengaged  him  from  the  cross,  and 
 put  him  to  bed.  In  the  course  of  the  day  he  was  removed 
 to  an  hospital,  where  he  was  carefully  treated,  and  early  in 
 August  all  his  wounds  were  completely  cured.  He  was 
 afterwards  transferred  to  a  lunatic  asylum,  and  on  the  8th 
 of  April,  1806,  died  of  exhaustion,  induced  partly  by  long 
 and  repeated  abstinence  from  food,  and  i)artly  by  pectoral 
 disorder.* — Several  other  cases  of  voluntary  crucifixion  are 
 mentioned  in  the  Correspondence  of  the  Baron  de  Grimm,  as 
 having  occurred  at  the  French  metropolis  during  the  years 
 1759,  and  1760,  amongst  the  fanatical  followers  of  the 
 Abbe  Paris  who,  in  consequence  of  the  irregular  nerv- 
 ous and  muscular  actions  which  they  displayed,  obtained 
 the  name  of  Convulsionnaires.  All  the  parties  were  females 
 of  humble  condition,  and  regarded  as  nuns,  or  religious 
 devotees,  acting  under  the  guidance  of  an  ecclesiastical 
 director.  They  were  liable  to  fits  of  nervous  agitation,  or 
 weakness,  which  were  said  to  be  relieved  by  bodily  inflic- 
 tions, administered  at  their  own  request  by  the  director  or 
 others.  Four  women  are  particularly  described  as  having 
 with  this  view  undergone  crucifixion,  one  of  them  twice, 
 and  another  three  times,  and  as  having  remained  on  the 
 cross  for  different  periods,  varying  from  half  an  hour  to 
 nearly  four  hours  ;  yet  they  uttered  no  cries,  did  not  lose 
 any  considerable  quantity  of  blood,  and  all  speedily 
 recovered.  Tliese  facts  appear  to  have  been  minutely 
 observed   by  numerous  spectators,  and  to  have  been  im- 
 
 *  Cesare  Ruggieri,  M.D.,  Narrative  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Matthew 
 Lovat,  &c.,  in  the  Pamphleteer,  vol.  iii.  pp.  361 — 375. 
 
374  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 mediately  committed  to  writing  from  notes  taken  at  the 
 time.  Like  similar  facts  previously  mentioned,  they  serve 
 to  show  that  the  death  of  the  cross,  when  not  accelerated 
 by  extraneous  agency,  is  peculiarly  slow  and  lingering, 
 and  that  the  bodily  sufferings  with  which  it  is  attended  are 
 by  no  means  so  intolerable  as  is  usually  supposed.* 
 
 Of  the  fortitude  with  which  such  sufferings,  and  even 
 much  greater  ones,  have  been  encountered  and  endured, 
 numerous  examples  might  be  added  to  the  few  here  sub- 
 joined, several  of  which  are  borrowed  from  Wanley's 
 extensive  collection  of  anecdotes  illustrative  of  human 
 character. — "  Asdrubal  managed  the  war  of  the  Carthagi- 
 nians in  Spain,  and  by  force  and  fraud  had  made  himself  the 
 master  of  most  of  it ;  but  having  slain  a  certain  nobleman 
 of  Spain,  a  servant  of  his,  a  Frenchman  [Gaul]  by  birth, 
 highly  resented  it,  and  determined  with  himself  to  revenge 
 the  death  of  his  lord,  though  at  the  price  of  his  own  life. 
 Whereupon  he  assaulted  Asdrubal,  and  slew  him.  He  was 
 taken  in  the  fact,  tormented,  and  fastened  to  a  cross ;  but, 
 in  the  midst  of  all  his  pains,  he  bore  a  countenance  that 
 showed  more  of  joy  than  grief,  as  one  that  was  well  satisfied 
 in  his  revenge." — The  description  of  this  occurrence  by  Va- 
 lerius Maximus  is  equally  concise  and  forcible. — "  Servus 
 barbarus  Asdrubalem,  quod  dominum  suum  occidisset 
 graviter  ferens,  subito  aggressus  intererait.  Cumque  com- 
 prehensus  orani  modo  cruciaretur,  laetitiam  tamen  quam  ex 
 vindicta  ceperat  in  ore  constantissime  retinuit." — "  Theo- 
 dorus  being  threatened  with  death  by  Lysimachus  ; — Speak 
 in  this  manner — said  he, — to  thy  purple  minions,  for  to 
 Theodorus  it  is  all  one  whether  he  putrefy  under  ground, 
 or  on  a  cross  above  it." — '*  Andronicus  Comnenus  fell  alive 
 
 *  Grimm,  et  Diderot,  Correspondance  Litteraire,  &c.,  vol.   iii. 
 pp.  U— 24,  134—157. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 375 
 
 into  the  hands  of  his  enemy ;  who,  having  loaded  him  with  in- 
 juries, abandoned  the  miserable  emperor  to  the  people,  for  the 
 punishment  of  his  perfidiousness,  [and  during  several  days 
 he  was  consequently  subjected  to  every  kind  of  cruelty  and 
 indignity.]  All  these,  and  greater  inhumanities,  the  aged  em- 
 peror underwent  with  that  invincible  patience,  that  he  was 
 heard  to  say  no  other  thing  than, — Lord  have  mercy  upon 
 me; — and— Why  do  ye  break  a  bruised  reed?" — "  When 
 they  would  have  ftistened  Polycarp  to  the  stake,  the  brave 
 bishop  cried  out  to  let  him  alone  as  he  was  ;  for  that  God, 
 who  had  enabled  him  to  endure  the  fire,  would  enable  him 
 also,  without  any  chains  of  theirs,  to  stand  unmoved  in  the 
 midst  of  the  flames  ;  so  with  his  hands  behind  him,  un- 
 stirred he  took  his  crown."* — Josephus  gives  an  account 
 of  a  deserter,  who  during  the  siege  of  Jotapata  by  Vespa- 
 sian went  over  from  the  Jews  to  the  Romans,  and  remarks ; 
 — '*  But  Vespasian  had  a  suspicion  about  this  deserter,  as 
 knowing  how  faithful  the  Jews  were  to  one  another,  and 
 how  much  they  despised  any  punishments  that  could  be 
 inflicted  on  them  ;  this  last,  because  one  of  the  people  of 
 Jotapata  had  undergone  all  sorts  of  torments,  and  though 
 they  made  him  pass  through  a  fiery  trial  of  his  enemies  in 
 his  examination,  yet  would  he  inform  them  nothing  of  the 
 affairs  within  the  city,  and,  as  he  was  crucified,  smiled  at 
 them." — That  the  tortures  of  impalement  and  of  burning 
 alive  are  far  greater  than  those  of  crucifixion,  there  can  be 
 no  doubt ;  yet  even  these  dreadful  punishments  have  often 
 been  borne  with  admirable  courage  and  magnanimity.  An 
 example  of  the  former  kind  occurred  a  few  years  since,  at 
 the  execution  of  some  chiefs  taken  prisoners  from  the 
 eastern   part  of  the  kingdom  of  Sennaar  by  the  present 
 
 *  Wanley,  Wonders  of  the  Little  World,  vol.  i.  pp.  260,  341,  356, 
 402  ;— Valerius Maximus,  Opera,  pp.  285,  532  ;—Whiston's  Josephus, 
 vol.  iv.  pp.  32,  33. 
 
376  NOTES     AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 viceroy  of  Egypt. — "  Two  of  these  chiefs  tjie  pasha  ordered 
 to  be  impaled  in  the  market-place  of  Sennaar.  They  suf- 
 fered this  horrid  death  with  great  firmness.  One  of  them 
 said  nothing  but, — There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Moham- 
 med is  his  apostle, — which  he  frequently  repeated  before 
 impalement ;  whilst  the  other,  named  Abdallah,  insulted, 
 defied,  and  cursed  his  executioners,  calling  them  robbers 
 and  murderers,  till  too  weak  to  speak,  when  he  expressed 
 his  feelings  by  spitting  at  them."* 
 
 By  these  and  many  other  instances  recorded  in  history  it 
 is  abundantly  proved  that  persons  of  both  sexes,  and  all 
 ac^es,  have  often  endured  the  most  severe  torments  with 
 invincible  fortitude  ;  and  it  cannot  therefore  be  supposed 
 that  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  whose  human  nature  was 
 perfect  both  in  body  and  mind,  was  deficient  in  so  common 
 an  endowment.  Some  commentators  have,  nevertheless, 
 injudiciously  ascribed  the  agony  of  Christ  in  the  garden  of 
 Gethsemane  to  liis  dread  of  the  ordinary  sufferings  of  cru- 
 cifixion, which  awaited  him  on  the  following  day  ;  but  the 
 opinion  is  so  manifestly  erroneous  that,  without  further 
 argument  on  the  subject,  the  following  facts  will  alone 
 suffice  for  its  refutation.  They  are  derived  from  the  well- 
 known  narrative  of  the  last  days  of  Dr.  Rowland  Taylor, 
 rector  of  Hadley  in  Suffolk,  and  one  of  the  early  victims  of 
 the  Marian  persecution.  On  account  of  his  refusal  to  con- 
 form to  the  Church  of  Rome,  the  domination  of  which  was 
 at  that  time  promoted  by  the  whole  force  of  the  govern- 
 ment, this  venerable  and  exemplary  clergyman  was,  after 
 a  tedious  imprisonment  of  nearly  two  years,  condemned  to 
 be  burnt  at  a  stake  in  the  very  town  where  he  had  exer- 
 cised his  ministry  ;   and  the  cruel  sentence  was  carried  into 
 
 *  Narrative    of   an   Expedition   to   Dongola  and  Sennaar,  &c. 
 pp.  177,  178. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  g-^^ 
 
 effect  on  the  9th  of  February,  1555,  O.S.  It  could  not 
 in  this  case  be  pretended  that  natural  sensibility  was 
 blunted  by  ferocity  of  character,  defect  of  education,  or  a 
 low  and  brutal  course  of  lifs  ;  for  Dr.  Taylor  was  a  pious 
 and  learned  Christian  minister,  remarkable  for  his  faithful 
 and  benevolent  attention  to  his  pastoral  duties,  and  greatly 
 beloved  by  his  parishioners.  He  was  also  a  married  man, 
 advanced  in  years,  and  had  been  the  father  of  nine  children. 
 If  under  such  circumstances,  and  in  the  immediate  prospect 
 of  so  horrible  a  death,  he  had  given  way  to  fear  and  dejec- 
 tion, it  would  have  been  very  natural  and  excusable ;  but, 
 instead  of  this,  he  uniformly  evinced  a  degree  of  cheerful- 
 ness and  courage  which  some  persons  might  even  be  dis- 
 posed to  condemn,  as  bordering  on  levity.  His  conduct  on 
 the  occasion  could  not  however  be  duly  appreciated, 
 without  quoting  the  lively  description  of  Fox  the  martyro- 
 logist,  which  will  form  a  suitable  conclusion  to  these  re- 
 marks. When  Dr.  Taylor  was  travelling  to  the  place  of 
 his  execution,  he  was  conducted  from  London  to  Chelms- 
 ford by  the  sheriff  of  Essex,  with  his  yeomen. — "  At 
 Chelmsford"—  says  the  historian, — "  the  sheriff  of  Suffolk 
 met  them,  there  to  receive  him,  and  to  carry  him  forth  into 
 Suffolk.  And  being  at  supper,  the  sheriff  of  Essex  very 
 earnestly  persuaded  him  to  return  to  the  popish  religion, 
 thinking  with  fair  words  to  persuade  him." — After  doing 
 this  the  sheriff  and  all  the  yeomen  of  the  guard  drank  to  his 
 health. — "  When  they  had  all  drunk  to  him,  and  the  cup 
 was  come  to  him,  he  stayed  a  little,  as  one  studying  what 
 answer  he  might  give.  At  last,  he  thus  answered  and  said  ; 
 — Mr.  Sheriff,  and  my  masters  all,  T  heartily  thank  you 
 for  your  good  will.  I  have  hearkened  to  your  words,  and 
 marked  well  your  counsels.  And,  to  be  plain  with  you,  I 
 do  perceive  that  I  have  been  deceived  myself,  and  am  like 
 to  deceive  a  great  many  of  Hadley  of  their  expectation. — 
 With  that  word  they  all  rejoiced At  last, — Good 
 
378  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr.  Doctor, — quoth  the  sheriff, — what  meant  ye  by  this, 
 that  ye  say  ye  think  ye  have  been  deceived  yourself,  and 
 think  ye  shall  deceive  many  one  in  Hadley  ? — Would  ye 
 know  my  meaning  plainly  ? — quoth  he. — Yea, — quoth  the 
 sheriff, — good  Mr.  Doctor,  tell  it  us  plainly. — Then  said  Dr. 
 Taylor, — I  will  tell  you  how  I  have  been  deceived,  and,  as 
 I  think,  I  shall  deceive  a  great  many.  I  am,  as  you  see, 
 a  man  that  hath  a  very  great  carcase,  which  I  thought 
 should  have  been  buried  in  Hadley  church-yard,  if  I  had 
 died  in  my  bed,  as  I  well  hoped  I  should  have  done.  But 
 herein  I  see  I  was  deceived.  And  there  are  a  great  number 
 of  worms  in  Hadley  church-yard,  which  should  have  had 
 jolly  feeding  upon  this  carrion  which  they  have  looked  for 
 many  a  day.  But  now  I  know  we  be  deceived,  both  I  and 
 they  ;  for  this  carcase  must  be  burnt  to  ashes,  and  so  shall 
 they  lose  their  bait  and  feeding  that  they  looked  to  have 
 had  of  it. — When  the  sheriff  and  his  company  heard  him 
 say  so,  they  were  amazed,  and  looked  at  one  another, 
 marvelling  at  the  man's  constant  mind,  that  thus  without 
 all  fear  made  but  a  jest  at  the  cruel  torment  and  death  now 
 at  hand  prepared  for  him.  Thus  was  their  expectation 
 clean  disappointed." — Nor  was  this  a  solitary  instance  of 
 his  intrepidity,  for  the  same  author  soon  after  adds ; — 
 "  They  that  were  present  and  familiarly  conversant  with 
 this  Dr.  Taylor  reported  of  him,  that  they  never  did  see  in 
 him  any  fear  of  death  ;  but  especially  and  above  all  the 
 rest  which  besides  him  suffered  at  the  same  time,  always 
 showed  himself  merry  and  cheerful.  In  the  time  of  his 
 imprisonment,  as  well  before  his  condemnation  as  after,  he 
 kept  one  countenance,  and  like  behaviour.  Whereunto  he 
 was  the  rather  confirmed  by  the  company  and  presence  of 
 Mr.  John  Bradford,  who  was  in  the  same  prison  and  cham- 
 ber with  him.  The  morning  when  he  was  called  up  by  the 
 sheriff  to  his  burning,  being  suddenly  awaked  out  of  his 
 sound  sleep,  he  sat  up  in  his  bed,  and  putting  on  his  shirt, 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  379 
 
 had  these  words,  speaking  somewhat  thick  after  his  accus- 
 tomed manner ; — Ah,  whoreson  thieves  !  ah,  whoreson 
 thieves  !  rob  God  of  his  honour  ?  rob  God  of  his  honour  ? 
 — Afterwards,  being  risen,  and  tying  his  points,  he  cast 
 his  arms  about  a  great  beam  which  was  in  the  chamber 
 between  Mr.  Bradford's  bed  and  his,  and  there  hanging  by 
 the  hands,  said  to  Mr.  Bradford, — O  Mr.  Bradford — quoth 
 he, — what  a  notable  sway  should  I  give,  if  I  were  hanged ! 
 — meaning  for  that  he  was  a  corpulent  and  big  man. 
 These  things  I  thought  good  here  to  note,  to  set  forth  and 
 declare  to  those  who  shall  read  this  history,  what  a  notable 
 and  singular  gift  of  spirit  and  courage  God  had  given  to 
 this  blessed  martyr."* 
 
 Note  III.,— Pages  85—88. 
 
 ON  AGONY  AND  BLOODY  SWEAT. 
 
 *'  Of  all  the  maladies  which  affect  cutaneous  transpiration, 
 diapedesiSf  or  sweating  of  blood" — says  Dr.  Millingen, — 
 **  is  the  most  singular  ;  so  much  so  indeed,  that  its  existence 
 has  been  doubted,  although  several  well  authenticated 
 cases  are  on  record,  both  in  the  ancient  and  modern  annals 
 of  medicine.     It  is  mentioned  by  Theophrastus,  Aristotle, 
 
 and  Lucan The  base  Charles  ix.  of  France  sank 
 
 under  this  disorder,  as  stated  by  Mezeray.  The  same 
 historian  relates  the  case  of  a  governor  of  a  town  taken  by 
 storm,  who  was  condemned  to  die,  but  was  seized  with  a 
 profuse  sweating  of  blood  the  moment  he  beheld  the  scaf- 
 fold.    Lombard  mentions  a  general  who  was  affected  in  a 
 
 *  Fox,  Book  of  Martyrs,  &c.  pp.  128,  129. 
 
330  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 similar  raanner  on  losing  a  battle.  The  same  writer  tells 
 us  of  a  nun  who  was  so  terrified  when  falling  into  the 
 hands  of  a  ruthless  banditti,  that  blood  oozed  from  every 
 pore.  Henry  ab  Heer  records  the  case  of  a  man,  who  not 
 only  laboured  under  diapedesis,  but  small  worms  [also] 
 accompanied  the  bloody  secretion.  In  the  Memoirs  of  the 
 Society  of  Arts  of  Haarlem,  we  read  of  the  case  of  a  sailor 
 who,  falling  down  during  a  storm,  was  raised  from  the 
 deck  streaming  with  blood.  At  first  it  was  supposed  that 
 he  had  been  wounded,  but  on  close  examination  the  blood 
 
 was  found  to  flow  from  the  surface  of  the  body 
 
 Dr.  Fournier  relates  the  case  of  a  magistrate  who  was 
 attacked  with  diapedesis  after  any  excitement,  whether  of 
 
 a  pleasurable  or   painful  nature The  case  of 
 
 Catherine  Merlin,  of  Chamberg,  is  well  authenticated,  and 
 worthy  of  being  recorded.  She  was  a  woman  forty-six 
 years  of  age,  strong  and  hale.  She  received  a  kick  from 
 a  bullock  in  the  epigastric  region,  [pit  of  the  stomach,] 
 that  was  followed  by  vomiting  of  blood.  This  discharge 
 having  been  suddenly  stopped  by  her  medical  attendants, 
 the  blood  made  its  way  through  the  pores  of  various  parts 
 of  her  body,  every  limb  being  affected  in  turn.  The  san- 
 guineous discharge  was  invariably  preceded  by  a  prickly 
 and  itching  sensation.  Frequently  this  exudation  pro- 
 ceeded from  the  scalp.  The  discharge  usually  occurred 
 twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  and  on  pressing  the  skin 
 the  flow  of  blood  could  be  accelerated  and  increased." — 
 Dr.  Millingen's  explanation  of  bloody  sweat,  although 
 brief,  is  judicious- — *'  It  is  probable" — says  he, — "  that 
 this  strange  disorder  arises  from  a  violent  commotion  of 
 the  nervous  system,  turning  the  streams  of  blood  out  of 
 their  natural  course,  and  forcing  the  red  particles  into  the 
 cutaneous  excretories.  A  mere  relaxation  of  the  fibres 
 could  not  produce  so  powerful  a  revulsion.     It  may  also 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ggj 
 
 arise  in  cases  of  extreme  debility,  in  connexion  with  a 
 thinner  condition  of  the  blood."* — It  is  in  like  manner 
 remarked  by  Schwencke,  that  a  dissolved  state  of  the  blood 
 cannot  in  all  instances  be  assigned  as  the  cause. — "Nee 
 tamen  omnis  eruptio  sanguinea  quae  vulgo  creditur  a  dis- 
 solutione  sanguinis  fieri  talis  est,  ut  ex  sequenti  historia 
 satis  singulari  patebit.  Puella  quindecim  annorum,  a 
 tribus  annis  jam  menstruam  purgationem  largiter,  imo 
 nimium  passa,  ex  quinque  retro  annis  convulsionibus  cor- 
 repta,  tenuis  habitus,  acris  ingenii,  et  facile  animo  mota, 
 extra  paroxysmum  bene  valens,  quacunque  diei  atque  noctis 
 hora,  per  quoscunque  superficiei  corporis  locos  subinde  san- 
 guinem  fundebat  per  cutim  erumpentem,  idque  vel  brevi 
 post  convulsiones,  vel  eodem  simul  cum  convulsionibus 
 tempore,  nee  ulla  corporis  pars  est  quae  banc  evacuationem 
 non  experta  est ;  namque  ex  oculis,  naribus,  auribus, 
 labiis,  lingua,  mammis,  ano,  et  omnibus  extremitatibus, 
 instar  sudoris  profluebat.  Prsedicebat  saepissime  ex  qua- 
 nam  parte  sanguis  proflueret ;  erantque  signa  prsesagii 
 ordinaria,  anxietas,  voniitus,  gravitas,  pruritus,  et  calor 
 partis,  fere  nullo  cum  tumore  ;  tumque  dein  ex  ea  parte 
 sanguinis  sudoris  specie  expulsio  fiebat,  brevi  sponte 
 cessans ;  neque  ullum  vitium  aut  vestigium  sudoris  san- 
 guinei  relictum  animadvertebatur,  quamvis  aliquando  vi- 
 ginti  quatuor  horarum  spatio  ante  paroxysmum  sanguinis 
 eruptionem  praediceret.  Per  quinque  annos  hunc  effectum 
 durasse  norunt  multi,  quern  tamen  ex  dissolutione,  prseser- 
 tim  putrefaciente,  fuisse  natum  nemo  concedet,  praecipue 
 si  attento  percipiat  animo  atque  perpendat,  post  paroxys- 
 mum eam  bene  valuisse,  eamque  sudoris  sanguinei  evacu- 
 ationem   sequuta  fuisse    nulla    alia    symptomata,    sed    et 
 
 *  Dr.    Millingen,   Curiosities    of    Medical    Experience,    vol.   ii. 
 pp.  338—342. 
 
382  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 omnis  generis  earn  medicamenta  deglutivisse." — A  case 
 very  similar  to  the  foregoing  is  quoted  in  the  Medico-Chirur- 
 gical  Review,  from  the  French  "  Transactions  Medicales" 
 for  November,  1830. — "A  young  woman  aged  twenty-one 
 years,  irregular  in  menstruation,  and  of  indolent  habits, 
 and  obstinate  temper,  had  been  much  irritated  by  some 
 reflections  made  by  her  parents,  on  account  of  her  abjuring 
 the  Protestant  religion.  She  left  her  paternal  roof,  and 
 after  wandering  about  for  some  time,  took  up  her  residence 
 in  an  hospital.  She  was  then  suffering  violent  attacks  of 
 hysteria,  attended  with  general  convulsions,  and  exquisite 
 sensibility  in  the  pubic  and  hypogastric  regions,  [lower 
 part  of  the  belly.]  After  paroxysms  of  hysteria,  which 
 sometimes  lasted  twenty-four  or  thirty-six  hours,  this 
 female  fell  into  a  kind  of  ecstacy,  in  which  she  lay  with 
 her  eyes  fixed,  sensibility  and  motion  suspended.  Some- 
 times she  muttered  a  prayer,  but  the  most  remarkable 
 phenomenon  was  an  exudation  of  blood  from  the  cheeks 
 and  the  epigastrium,  [pit  of  the  stomach,]  in  the  form  of 
 perspiration.  The  blood  exuded  in  drops,  and  tinged  the 
 linen.  The  cutaneous  surface  appeared  injected  in  those 
 parts  whence  the  blood  escaped,  being  red,  and  showing  a 
 network  of  arborescent  vessels.  This  bloody  perspiration 
 took  place  whenever  the  hysteric  paroxysm  lasted  a  consi- 
 derable time.     This  state  continued  for  three  months,  and 
 
 ultimately  gave  way,  it  is  said,  to  local  bleeding 
 
 together  with  strong  revulsive  measures."* — Such  cases 
 are  valuable,  by  proving  the  possibility  and  actual  occur- 
 rence of  bloody  sweat  which,  although  attested  by  authors 
 of  the  highest  eminence  and  credibility,  some  persons  have 
 on  speculative  grounds  disputed,  or  denied.     Thus  Baron 
 
 *  Schwencke,  Hcematologia,  pp.  130,  13  ; — Medico-Chirurgical 
 Review,  from  July  to  October,  1831,  p.  496. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  3g3 
 
 Haller  declares  that  passions  of  the  mind  sometimes  force 
 blood  from  the  skin,  and  infers  that  the  sudoriferous  tubes 
 are  not  much  smaller  than  the  capillary  blood-vessels. — 
 *'  Sanguis  ipse  in  summo  aestu,  in  motu  vehementi,  a  vita 
 vinolenta,  ex  terrore  et  anxietate,  [in  Servatoris  exemplo,] 
 ex  dissolutione  sanguinis,  variisque  causis  per  sudoris  vias 
 sequi,  etiam  minime  malo  eventu ;  manifesto  argumento 
 vasa  sudorifera  arteriolis  rubris  non  valde  minora  esse, 
 summa  violentia  sanguinem  indigere,  ut  in  ea  succedat." — 
 "  AfFectus  animi,  qui  nihil  mutant  nisi  nervorum  stricturas, 
 miras  secretionum  mutationes  faciunt,  sanguinem  per  cutis 
 vasa  expellunt,  bilemque."* 
 
 For  the  satisfaction  of  those  readers  who  love  to 
 ascertain  the  authenticity  and  value  of  the  evidence  sub- 
 mitted to  them,  the  original  accounts  of  most  of  the  cases 
 of  bloody  sweat  mentioned  in  the  text  are  here  subjoined, 
 with  two  or  three  additional  ones.  The  first  are  from 
 the  German  Ephemerides.  —  "  Prseter  naturam  aliquos 
 sanguinem  sudasse  annotarunt  Aristoteles,  lib.  iij.  de  part, 
 animal,  cap.  v. ;  et  lib.  iij.  de  histor,  animal,  cap.  xvj. ; 
 Rondelet,  de  dignosc.  morb.  cap.  xj. ;  Fernel.  lib.  vj.  de 
 part,  morb,  et  symptom,  cap.  iv.  ;  Marcellus  Donatus, 
 lib.  j.  de  medic,  histor.  mirab.  cap.  ij. ;  Mercurialis,  lib.  iv. 
 variar.  lect.  cap.  xij. ;  Greg.  Horstius,  lib.  j.  part.  ij.  ; 
 Obs.  15;  Thomas  Bartholinus,  cent.  ij.  epist.  xij.  p.  440. 
 Henricus  Ab  Heer,  Observ.  23,  meminit  cujusdam  no- 
 bilis,  qui  sanguinem,  cumque  eo  pedicillos  ruberrimos 
 sudaviu" — "  Juvenis  quidam  studiosus,  cum  propter  inso- 
 lentias  nocturnas  et  alia  tentata  carceri  injiceretur,  talem 
 timorem  et  anxietatem  cordis  passus  est  ac  si  ad  mortem 
 usque  deliquisset,  ut  sparsim  in  pectore  manibus  et  brachiis 
 guttulae  sanguinis  erumperent   et   transudarent.      Re  ad 
 
 *  Haller,  Element.  Physiolog.  Corp.   Human.   toI.  v.  p.  50 ; — 
 Primse  Linese  Physiol ogise,  p.  126. 
 
384 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 inclytum  magistratum  delata,  jussus  sum  eum  visitare,  et 
 historiam  explorare:  quae  omnia  cum  oculis  meis  vidissem, 
 et  incarceratum  in  periculo  vitse  constitutum  depre- 
 hendissem,  ad  instantiam  meam  (poena  quidem  reservata) 
 dimissus,  et  tenuior  factus  sanguis,  sublata  omni  anxietate, 
 ad  pristinum  statum  reductus  est." — "  Observatum  fuit 
 puellulum,  dum  duo  sui  fratres  majores  laqueo  sus- 
 penderentur,  quia  delicti  erat  particeps,  et  in  poena  juxta 
 patibulum  spectaculo  adstabat,  sanguinem  toto  corpore 
 sudasse." — "Joachimus  Scacerna,  Ferrariensis,  anno  aetatis 
 sexagesimo  secundo,  alioquin  sanus,  vexabatur  forti  animi 
 pathemate  ob  criminationem  alicujus,  ut  asserebat,  testifi- 
 cationis  falsse  ;  qua  de  re  mense  Novembris  sub  meridiem 
 mihi  obviam  factus,  et  lugens,  suum  narrabat  infortunium, 
 et  consilium  poscebat,  veritus  ne  in  carcerem  conjiceretur. 
 Ego  interim,  misertus  ejus  calamitatis,  observavi  ex  oculis 
 lachrymas  exire  rubicundas,  ad  instar  sanguinis,  Eum 
 consolatus  discessi.  Postea  vero  a  satellitibus  in  carcerem 
 ductus,  sanguineas  effundens  lachrymas,  dolore  cordis 
 vexatus,  rigore  in  toto  corpore  afficitur,  et  exinde  maligna 
 febri,  quae  trium  dierum  spatio  ilium  necavit."* — In  another 
 volume  of  the  same  work  is  related  the  case  of  a  boy, 
 twelve  years  of  age,  who  was  relieved  from  a  severe  coma- 
 tose and  convulsive  disorder  by  a  bloody  sweat,  which 
 broke  out  August  the  2nd,  1746.  After  describing  this 
 occurrence,  the  author,  J.  C.  Schilling,  observes ;  — 
 "  Q,uum  deinde  mensis  hujus  die  17°  sudor  hie  cessasset, 
 acerbissimi  recurrerunt  capitis  dolores,  pectoris  oppres- 
 siones  et  anxietates,  immo  aliquot  motuum  convulsivorum 
 paroxysmi,  quos  sanguinis  excreatio  et  ejectio  cum  tussi 
 sequuta,    itemque   sanguinis   per  alvum   secessio  ;    quales 
 
 *  Ephemerid.  Acad.  Natur.  Curios,  Ann.  2,  p.  34  ; — Dec.  ij. 
 Ann.  10.  p.  354  ; — Dec.  iij.  Ann.  7  and  8  ;  Append,  p.  124  ;  Edit.  2da. 
 Norimb.  vol,  j.  p.  84. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  g§5 
 
 excretiones  sanguinis,  modo  per  os,  modo  per  alviim,  modo 
 per  pores  cutis  hinc  inde,  ad  sequinoctium  hujus  anni  ver- 
 nale  usque  et  ultra  alternatim  ssepius  recurrerunt ;  et,  licet 
 puer  per  aliquot  interdum  hebdomadas  liber  fuerit,  non 
 prius  tamen  quam  post  illud  tempus  prorsus  convaluit. 
 Jam  vero,  quae  singularis  Dei  gratia  est,  optime  valet."* 
 
 The  two  cases  of  bloody  sweat  from  mental  emotion 
 mentioned  by  De  Thou  are,  in  his  own  words,  as  follows. 
 The  first  is  that  of  the  commander  at  Monte-Maro  in 
 Piedmont,  who  was  treacherously  seized  and  threatened 
 with  an  ignominious  death  by  the  general  of  the  besieging 
 army. — "  Capta  Dragonera,  Magio  negotium  datum  ut 
 Montem-Marinum,  munitissimum  locum,  aggrederetur ; 
 qui  secum  ducto  Augusto,  Saluciarum  principis  notho 
 filio,  eo  tendit ;  evocatoque  quasi  ad  colloquium  prsesidi- 
 ariorum  duce  ab  Augusto,  qujcum  arctissima  intercedebat 
 amicitia,  Magius  ex  compacto  superveniens  eum  com- 
 prehendi  jussit ;  et  ut  locum  dederet  hortatus,  cum  nihil 
 proficeret,  postremo  minas  addidit,  et  ipsum  vinctum  quasi 
 ad  supplicium  in  oppidi  conspectum  deduci  imperavit.  Tarn 
 miserabili  spectaculo  victi  oppidani,  ut  ducem  suum  peri- 
 culo  eximerent,  deditionem  fecere.  Observatum  tarn  in- 
 dignae  mortis  vehementi  metu  adeo  concussum  animo  eum 
 fuisse,  ut  sanguineum  sudorem  toto  corpore  funderet." — 
 The  second  case  is  that  of  the  Florentine  youth  at  Rome, 
 who  for  a  trifling  offence  was  publicly  executed  by  order 
 of  Pope  Pius  the  Sixth. —  "  Insigne  severitatis  sig- 
 num  dedit  in  causa  juvenis  cujusdam  Florentini ;  qui, 
 quod  in  heri  sui  pedibus  in  Transtiberina  regione  latrun- 
 culatoribus  de  asino  quid  postulantibus,  aut  exsequi  volen- 
 tibus,  sola  denegatione  simpliciter  restiterat,  quanquam. 
 postea  non   aquarii  qui   amissum  asinum  reposcebat,  sed 
 
 *  Ephemerid.  Acad.   Natur.  Curios,  edit.  2da.  vol.  j.  p.   84  ; — 
 vol.  viij.  p.  425,  &c. 
 
 s 
 
336  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 heri  sui  eum  fuisse  constitisset,  nihilominus  ad  mortem 
 damnatus  est,  ita  Sixto  volente  ac  jiibente ;  nam  quo 
 minus  recuperatores  in  juvenem  mortis  sententiam  ferrent 
 urbana  lex  obstabat,  quae  quenquam  ob  ejusmodi  crimina 
 ante  vicesimum  annum  completum  morte  affici  vetat.  Cum 
 duceretur  ad  supplicium  juvenis,  multorum  commisera- 
 tionem  excitavit ;  ipse  prse  doloris  vehementia  lachrymas 
 cruentas  fundere,  et  sanguinem  pro  sudore  toto  corpore 
 mittere  visus  est;  quod  multi  pro  certo  documento  acce- 
 perunt  naturae  festinati  crudeliter  judicii  severitatem  im- 
 pugnantis,  et  de  magistratu  ipso,  quasi  percussore,  ultionem 
 reposcentis."* 
 
 Next  come  the  somewhat  similar  instances  furnished  by 
 Maldonato,  Zacchias,  and  Schenck.  In  illustration  of  the 
 bloody  sweat  of  Christ  the  former  observes  ; — "  Audio  de 
 his  qui  viderunt  aut  cognoverunt  ante  annos  duos,  Lutetise 
 Parisiorum,  hominem  robustum  et  bene  valentem,  audita 
 in  se  capitali  sententia,  sudore  sanguineo  fuisse  perfu sum." 
 — After  distinguishing  between  real  and  fictitious  cases  of 
 this  kind,  Zacchias  remarks  ; — *'  Si  ergo  talia  symptomata 
 abessent,  per  artem  procuratum  fuisse  talem  audorem  asset 
 suspicandum  ;  qui  tamen  non  ita  extra  naturam  est,  quin 
 aliquando  observatum  sit  ilium  ex  ingenti  animi  an  gore  in 
 iis  qui  morte  damnati  sunt  prorupisse  ;  ut  in  juvene  Belba, 
 igni  destinato,  non  multis  abhinc  annis  quicunque  voluit 
 adnotavit ;  et  notavit  etiam  Cardanus,  De  subtilitate,  et 
 alibi." — The  case  of  the  nun,  to  which  Dr.  Millingen  seems 
 to  have  referred,  is  thus  described  in  the  work  of  Schenck 
 a  Grafenberg. — "  Soror  qusedam  religiosa,  cum  incidisset 
 in  militum  manus,  et  evaginatos  gladios  ac  macherulas  vi- 
 bratas  mortem  intentantes  videret,  adeo  territa  fuit  et  com- 
 mota,  ut  sanguis  ab   omnibus   corporis  partium  meatibus 
 
 *  Thuanus,  Hist,  sui  Temp,  vol.  j.  p.  373  ;  vol.  iv.  p.  300. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  3S7 
 
 manaret ;  ita  ut,  in  oculis  hostium  exanguis  efFecta,  vitam 
 finiret  mortalem." — To  these  may  be  added  the  original 
 account  given  by  De  Mezeray,  concerning  the  death  of 
 Charles  IX.  of  France.  After  mentioning  the  various  pro- 
 jects which  this  unprincipled  but  active  monarch  contem- 
 plated during  his  last  illness,  the  historian  observes  : — 
 *'  Mais  c'etoit  en  vain  qu'il  faisoit  tous  ces  grands  projets  ; 
 le  ciel  en  avoit  autrement  dispose.  II  se  consumoit  a  petit 
 feu,  et  pour  ainsi  dire,  il  fondoit  a  vue  d'oeil.  Tous  les 
 remedes  de  ses  medecins  pallioient  son  mal,  mais  ils  ne  le 
 guerissoient  pas  ;  et  apres  que  la  vigueur  de  sa  jeunesse  et 
 la  grandeur  de  son  courage  eurent  longtemps  combattii 
 contre  sa  maladie,  il  en  fut  enfin  abattu  au  lit  dans  le  cha- 
 teau de  Vincennes,  vers  le  huitieme  jour  de  Mai,  [1574.] 
 La  nature  fit  d'etranges  efforts  pendant  les  deux  dernieres 
 semaines  de  sa  vie.  II  tressailloit  et  se  roidissoit  avec  une 
 extreme  violence.  II  s'agitoit  et  se  remuoit  sans  cesse,  et 
 le  sang  lui  jaillissoit  par  tous  les  conduits,  memo  par 
 les  pores,  de  sorte  qu'on  le  trouva  une  fois  qui  baignoit 
 dedans."* 
 
 The  statement  that  the  agony  of  Christ  was  a  violent 
 conflict  between  opposite  mental  emotions,  and  that  his 
 sweat  was  literally  mixed  with  blood  in  a  half-coagulated 
 state,  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  consideration  that  Luke, 
 the  only  sacred  writer  by  whom  the  awful  scene  is  de- 
 scribed, was  a  physician,  and  that  the  terms  which  he  em- 
 ploys, and  which  occur  in  no  other  part  of  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, are  strictly  medical.  Their  proper  import  is  attested 
 by  all  the  lexicons,  as  for  example  by  that  of  Castello.— 
 "Agonia,   dyoma,  angorem  significat,   et  verbum    ayavuiv^ 
 
 *  Joannes  Maldonatus,  Comment,  in  quatuor  Evangelist,  p.  601 ; 
 — Paulus  Zacehias,  Quaestiones  Medico-legales,  lib.  iij.  p.  154; — 
 Joannes  Schenck  a  Grafenberg,  Observ,  Medic.  &c.  lib.  iij.  p.  458  ; — 
 De  Mezeray,  Histoire  de  France,  vol.  iij.  p.  306. 
 
 s  2 
 
;]3g  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 juxta  Galen,  lib.  2,  de  symptom,  caus.  cap.  5,  ad  finem, 
 affectum  aninii  compositum  ex  ira  et  timore  ;  ilia  quidem 
 sanguinem  et  spiritum  foras  agente  et  fundente,  hoc  vero 
 utrumque  ad  vitae  principium  et  interiora,  cum  refrigera- 
 tione  eorum  quae  in  summo  corpore  sunt,  reducente  et 
 eontrahente.  Derivatur  ab  aywv,  certamen,  lucta.  Unde  et 
 dyojvla  certamen  quandoque  significat  .....  Ad  summam, 
 Agonia  significat  in  genere  colluctationem  diversorum 
 afFectuum  animi  inter  se  contrariorum.*' — *'Thrombos.  OpofX' 
 /3o?5  Vide  Grumus. — Grumus,  Opo/x^os,  est  liquidse  rei  in 
 ijnam  massam  concretje  et  coagulatse  frustum.  Ad  lac  et 
 sanguinem  translata  vox  est  medicis  ;  imprimis  Hippocrates 
 frequenter  de  sanguine  usus  est  concreto  ;  4.  aph.  80. 
 Coac.  t.  123,  lib.  5.  Epid.  v.  5." — A  similar  account  of 
 these  words  is  given  in  Poole's  Synopsis,  at  the  note  on 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  41. — " 'Aycbv  est  certamen,  periculum, 
 labor.  Hinc  dycovia,  quse  est  horror  quo  homo  corripi  solet 
 in  gravi  discrimine.  Proprie  usurpatur  de  eo  motu  animi 
 ad  grave  periculum,  quitamen  fortitudinem  non  expectoret. 
 Vide  Porphyrium  ad  illud  Homeri ;  Tpwas  fxev  rpoixos,  &c. 
 — Cum  esset  in  aestu. — Significat  a.ya)via  summam  Christ! 
 angustiam,  luctantis  et  cum  terroribus  mortis,  et  cum  ter- 
 
 ribili  Patris  irati  judicio .  acrel  dpofx^oi  mfxa-os 
 
 KaraSalvovTes  I  quasi  grumi,  vel  guttse,  Vulg.  Grumi  sunt 
 ^uttse  ampliores  sive  crassiores  sanguinis  descendentes,  &c., 
 
 vel   decurrentes,   fluvii   aut  torrentis   more Est 
 
 enim  6p6p.^os  Galeno  ro  alfxa  TreTn^yos,  sanguis  concretus, 
 qui  Latinis  grumus  in  Glossario,  et  in  vetere  Onomastico. 
 
 Docet  Aristoteles,  3  de  histor.  animal,  accedere 
 
 rionnullis  l^pacrai  alfxaroodei  z-cpiTTcopLaTi :  sudare  sanguineo 
 excremento,  propter  malum  corporis  habitum,  et  defectum 
 
 caloris ' Aycovmvres  autem  maxime  sudant,  inquit 
 
 Aristot.  Problem,  Sect.  2  De  sudore.  Idemque  testamur 
 Artemidorus,  Philostratus,  et  Philo.  Sed  illud  quasi  non 
 significat    hunc    non     fiiisse    vere    guttas    aqueas   mistas 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ggQ 
 
 sanguine  ;  quod  etiam  fieri  possit  per  naturam  vim  intas 
 patientera,  ac  proinde  per  poros  ejicientem  una  cum  aqua 
 sanguinem,  praesertim  ubi  corpus  rarum  est  ac  delicatum, 
 et  sanguis  subtilis,  ut  in  Christo  indubie  erat." — Schleus- 
 ner  in  like  manner  remarks  that  the  adverbs  cog  and  oxrei 
 sometimes  denote  reality,  and  gives  the  following  references 
 respecting  the  use  of  Opoix^oi,  in  the  sense  of  clots  of  blood. 
 In  scriptis  medicorum  Grsecorum  admodum  fre- 
 quenter vox  dpofjilBoe  de  gutta  spissi  et  coagulati  sanguinis, 
 et  de  sanguine  coagulato  in  universum  usurpatur.  v.  c. 
 Dioscorid.  I,  c.  102;  Hesych.  Opon^os:  alp.a  rraxvi  nenrj-ybsi 
 ius  ^ovvoi'     Confer.  Fsesii  CEcon.  Hippocr.  p.  167." 
 
 Note  IV.,— Pages  73—127. 
 
 ON  RUPTURE  OF  THE  HEART  FROM  MENTAL  EMOTION. 
 
 Sudden  death  from  violent  emotions  of  mind  may  be 
 induced  in  various  ways ;  sometimes  by  a  sort  of  palsy  of 
 the  heart,  at  other  times  by  its  over  distension,  the  latter 
 condition  often  terminating  in  rupture.  The  following 
 references  to  cases  of  both  kinds  are  borrowed  from  Zim- 
 mermann. — "Joy"  —  says  this  author,  —  "is  much  more 
 dangerous  to  life  than  sudden  grief.  The  instances  we 
 meet  with  of  the  fatal  effects  of  sudden  joy  are  more  nu- 
 merous than  those  of  the  latter.  Sophocles,  being  desirous 
 of  proving  that  at  an  advanced  age  he  was  in  full  posses- 
 sion of  his  intellectual  powers,  composed  a  tragedy,  was 
 crowned,  and  died  through  joy.  The  same  thing  happened 
 to  Phillipides,  the  comic  writer.  We  see  Chilo  of  Lace- 
 daemon  embracing  his  son,  who  had  borne  away  the  prize 
 at  the  Olympic  games,  and  dying  in  his  arms.  Two  Ro- 
 man ladies,  seeing  their  sons  return  from  the  battles  of 
 Thrasymenus  and  Cannae,  died  in  the  same  manner.     M. 
 
390 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Juventius  Thalna,  on  being  told  that  a  triumph  had  been 
 decreed  to  him  for  having  subdued  Corsica,  fell  down  dead 
 before  the  altar  at  which  he  was  offering  up  his  thanksgiv- 
 ing. Vaterus  relates  that  a  brave  soldier,  who  had  never 
 been  sick,  died  suddenly  in  the  arms  of  an  only  daughter 
 whom  he  had  long  wished  to  see.  A  worthy  family  in 
 Holland  being  reduced  to  indigence,  the  elder  brother 
 passed  over  to  the  East  Indies,  acquired  considerable 
 riches  there,  and  returning  home  presented  his  sister  with 
 the  richest  jewels.  The  young  woman  at  this  unexpected 
 change  of  fortune  became  motionless,  and  died.  The  famous 
 Fouquet  died  on  being  told  that  Louis  xiv.  had  restored  him 
 to  his  liberty.  The  niece  of  the  celebrated  Leibnitz,  not  sus- 
 pecting that  a  philosopher  would  hoard  up  treasure,  died 
 suddenly  on  opening  a  box  under  her  uncle's  bed  which 
 contained  sixty  thousand  ducats.  Dr.  Mead  tells  us  that, 
 in  the  memorable  year  of  the  South  Sea  bubble,  more  of 
 those  went  mad  who  acquired  fortunes,  than  of  those  who 
 
 lost  them Many  observations  tend  to  prove  that 
 
 sudden  fear  has  occasioned  syncope,  [fainting]  and  even 
 death.  The  face  grows  pale,  the  blood  seems  to  stop  in 
 the  vena  cava,  or  in  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart,  the  vessels 
 become  distended,  and  the  heart  itself  in  these  cases  has 
 sometimes  burst.  Philip  ii.,  king  of  Spain,  only  said  to 
 his  first  minister,  the  Cardinal  Espinosa,  Cardinal,  know 
 that  I  am  master^  and  the  minister  was  so  much  terrified 
 that  he  died  a  few  days  afterwards.  The  same  prince,  per- 
 ceiving that  one  of  his  ministers  answered  him  with  some 
 hesitation,  gave  him  a  severe  rebuke :  the  minister  with- 
 drew from  the  apartment,  and  died.  Philip  v.  died  sud- 
 denly on  being  told  that  the  Spaniards  had  been  defeated  ; 
 and,  on  opening  him,  his  heart  was  found  ruptured."* 
 
 *  Zimmermann,   On  Experience  in  Physic,  vol.  ii.  pp.  268,  269, 
 274,  275. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  39  J 
 
 To  collect  instances  of  rupture  of  the  heart  from  agony 
 of  mind  is  a  difficult  task  ;  partly,  because  such  instances 
 are,  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed,  of  rare  occurrence  ; 
 and  partly,  because  few  of  those  which  do  occur  are  either 
 verified  or  recorded.  There  cannot,  for  example,  be  much 
 ground  to  doubt  that  the  following  case,  abridged  from  the 
 Annual  Register,  was  one  of  this  description  ;  although, 
 owing  to  the  want  of  actual  inspection,  it  is  impossible  to 
 speak  with  absolute  certainty  on  the  subject. — "  Mr.  John 
 Palmer,  comedian,  aged  about  fifty-six  or  fifty-seven  years, 
 died  suddenly  on  the  stage  of  the  Liverpool  theatre,  Au- 
 gust 2nd,  1798,  whilst  performing  the  part  of  the  Stranger^ 
 in  the  play  of  that  name.  He  was  a  man  of  acute  and 
 affectionate  feelings,  which  had  been  much  exercised  by 
 the  course  and  events  of  his  life.  He  had  recently  lost 
 his  wife  and  a  favourite  son,  laboured  in  consequence  under 
 profound  grief  and  depression  of  mind  which  .he  strove  to 
 overcome,  and  had  expressed  a  conviction  that  these  men- 
 tal sufferings  would  very  shortly  bring  him  to  his  grave. 
 During  some  days  he  seemed  however  to  bear  up  against 
 his  misfortunes,  and  performed  in  some  pieces,  including 
 the  Stranger,  with  much  success.  About  a  week  after- 
 wards he  appeared  a  second  time  in  that  character,  when 
 he  fell  a  victim  to  the  poignancy  of  his  feelings.  On  the 
 morning  of  the  day  he  was  much  dejected,  but  exerted 
 himself  with  great  effect  in  the  first  and  second  acts  of  the 
 play.  In  the  third  act  he  showed  evident  marks  of  de- 
 pression ;  and  in  the  fourth,  when  about  to  reply  to  the 
 question  of  Baron  Steinfort  relative  to  his  children,  ap- 
 peared unusually  agitated.  He  endeavoured  to  proceed, 
 but  his  feelings  overcame  him.  The  hand  of  death  arrested 
 his  progress,  and  he  fell  on  his  back,  heaved  a  convulsive 
 sio-h,  and  instantly  expired  without  a  groan.  Having 
 been  removed  to  the  scene-room,  and  medical  aid  imme- 
 diately procured,  his  veins  were  opened,  but  yielded  not  a 
 
39^  KOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 single  drop  of  blood,  and  every  other  means  of  resuscita- 
 tion was  tried  without  effect.  His  death  was  by  most 
 persons  ascribed  to  apoplexy  ;  but  Dr.  Mitchell  and  Dr. 
 Corry  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  he  certainly  died  of  a 
 broken  heart,  in  consequence  of  the  family  afflictions 
 which  he  had  recently  experienced." — Unfortunately,  this 
 highly  probable  opinion  was  merely  argued,  and  not 
 verified,  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  by  actual  inspection. 
 On  this  point  the  friends  and  colleagues  of  the  deceased 
 actor  had,  it  is  likely,  insurmountable  prejudices,  and  the 
 unopened  body  was  accordingly  — "  interred  on  the  6th  of 
 August,  at  the  neighbouring  village  of  Walton,  in  a  grave 
 seven  feet  deep,  dug  in  a  rock."* — In  like  manner  Mallet's 
 tale  of  Edwin  and  Emma,  in  which  the  latter  is  represented 
 as  dying  of  a  broken  heart  owing  to  the  death  of  her  lover, 
 whose  union  with  her  had  been  forbidden  by  his  parents, 
 appears  to  have  been  founded  on  a  real  occurrence,  briefly 
 related  in  the  subjoined  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
 the  curate  of  Bowes,  in  Yorkshire. — "  The  young  lover 
 sickened,  and  took  to  his  bed  about  Shrove  Tuesday,  and 
 died  the  Sunday  seven-night  after.  On  the  last  day  of 
 his  illness  he  desired  to  see  his  mistress.  She  was  civilly 
 received  by  the  mother,  who  bid  her  welcome  when  it  was 
 too  late.  But  her  daughter  Hannah  lay  at  his  back,  to 
 cut  them  off  from  all  opportunity  of  exchanging  their 
 thoughts.  At  her  return  home,  on  hearing  the  bell  toll 
 out  for  his  departure,  she  screamed  aloud  that  her  heart 
 was  burst,  and  expired  some  moments  after.  The  then 
 curate  of  Bowes  inserted  it  in  his  register  that  they  both 
 died  of  love,  and  were  buried  in  the  same  grave,  March  1 5th> 
 1714." — In  this  case  also,  as  in  many  others,  the  circum- 
 
 *  Annual  Register   for  the  year    1798, —  Chronicle   Section^ 
 
 pp.  73  —  78. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  393 
 
 stantial  evidence  is  extremely  strong,  but  the  positive 
 proof,  which  might  have  been  furnished  by  an  examination 
 after  death,  is  irrecoverably  lost.* 
 
 Dilatation  of  some  of  the  chambers  of  the  heart,  or  of 
 the  great  vessels  connected  with  them,  is  a  lower  degree  of 
 the  same  train  of  action  which,  when  sudden  and  intense, 
 occasions  rupture ;  and,  like  rupture,  is  often  induced  by 
 mental  anguish  and  distress,  only  less  violent,  and  longer 
 continued.     The  remarkable  instance  inserted  in  the  text 
 is  borrowed  from  a  work  by  Mr.  Bedingfield,   who,  in  a 
 letter  to  the  author,  dated  April  12th,  1839,  kindly  fur- 
 nished tlie  following  additional  particulars. — "  Elizabeth 
 Creasey  was  about  twenty -eight  years  of  age,  an  interesting 
 creature,  whose  unfortunate  situation  excited  much  sym- 
 pathy. The  poor  girl  had  been  seduced,  and  then  abandoned ; 
 and  when  admitted  into  the  hospital  was  in   a  state  of  ex- 
 treme emaciation  and  debility.     Her  lips  and  cheeks  were 
 of  a  blueish  colour,  indicating  an  imperfect  oxygenation  of 
 the  blood.    The  action  of  the  heart  was  laboured,  the  pulse 
 languid,  and  varying  from  90  to   100  in  the  minute.      She 
 never  uttered  a  complaint,  seldom  spoke,  was  never  known 
 to  laugh,  nor  seen  to  smile.     She  did  not,  although  as 
 patient  as  patience  on  a  monument,  even  'smile  at  grief.' 
 Nothing  appeared  to  excite  the  slightest  emotion,  except 
 when  any  allusion  was  made  to  her  removal.     She  would 
 then  raise  her  dark  blue  eyes,  and  throw  an  imploring 
 look  into  her  countenance,  the  meaning  of  which  it  was 
 impossible   to    mistake.     Neither    physician    nor    visitor 
 ever  ordered  her  discharge  from  the  hospital,  where  she 
 continued  for  I  think  eighteen  months,  and    then    sank 
 rapidly.     The    only   morbid   appearances   met  with   after 
 death  are  those  detailed  in  the  page  to  which  you  have 
 referred;" — namely, — "  the  right  auricle  of  the  heart  was 
 
 *  Johnson's  English  Poets,  vol.  63,  pp.  174 — 176. 
 s  3 
 
394  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 of  three  times  its  natural  dimensions,  and  contained  & 
 large  quantity  of  blood,  which  had  separated  into  serum, 
 crassamentum,  and  coagulable  lymph,  as  perfectly  as 
 inflamed  blood  does  when  drawn  from  a  vein." 
 
 Although  the  term — broken  heart — is  not  always  used 
 literally,  but  often  in  a  figurative  sense,  to  denote  intense,  or 
 perhaps  mortal  sorrow,  it  was  no  doubt  originally  de- 
 rived from  the  actual  fact,  either  accidentally  observed,  or 
 sagaciously  conjectured  by  poets  and  moralists,  habitually 
 engaged  in  the  study  of  the  human  passions,  and  of  their 
 influence  on  the  bodily  frame.  Rupture  of  the  heart  from 
 agony  of  mind  appears  to  have  been  familiar  to  the  pene- 
 trating genius  of  Shakspeare,  who  has  frequently  depicted 
 it  in  the  most  lively  manner ;  and  the  sacredness  of  the 
 present  subject  will  not  be  injured  by  one  or  two  refer- 
 ences, for  the  sake  of  illustration,  to  the  works  of  this 
 master  mind.  Thus,  the  well-known  demand  which  Mac- 
 beth, anxious  for  the  relief  of  his  conscience-stricken  queen, 
 makes  of  the  physician  called  to  attend  her,  has  a  general 
 bearing  on  the  subject. 
 
 *'  Canst  thou  not  minister  to  a  mind  diseased, 
 Pluck  from  the  memory  a  rooted  sorrow, 
 Raze  out  the  written  troubles  of  the  brain, 
 And,  with  some  sweet  oblivious  antidote. 
 Cleanse  the  foul  bosom  of  that  perilous  stuff 
 Which  weighs  upon  the  heart?" — 
 
 The  admonition  of  Malcolm  to  Macduff,  when  the  latter 
 is  thrown  into  consternation  on  hearing  of  the  murder  of 
 his  wife  and  children  by  order  of  the  usurper,  is  still  more 
 explicit. 
 
 *'  Give  sorrow  words  :  the  grief  that  does  not  speak 
 Whispers  the  o'er-fraught  heart,  and  bids  it  break." 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  395 
 
 By  a  poetical  license  the  great  dramatist,  speaking  in  the 
 person  of  Mark  Antony,  represents  the  death  of  Julius 
 Caesar  as  occasioned,  not  by  the  daggers  of  the  conspira- 
 tors, but  by  the  anguish  of  the  ambitious  chief,  on  seeing 
 his  well-beloved  Brutus  amongst  their  number. 
 
 "  This,  this  was  the  unkindest  cut  of  all ; 
 For,  when  the  noble  Caesar  saw  him  stab. 
 Ingratitude,  more  strong  than  traitors'  arms. 
 Quite  vanquished  him  :  then  burst  his  mighty  heart, 
 And,  in  his  mantle  muffling  up  his  face, 
 Even  at  the  base  of  Pompey's  statue, 
 Which  all  the  while  ran  blood,  crreat  Coesar  fell."* 
 
 'J  a' 
 
 That  Shakspeare  was  fully  aware  of  the  physical  fact 
 here  intimated,  is  plainly  shown  by  some  other  passages 
 of  this  kind,  where  it  is  described  with  that  minute  and 
 circumstantial  reality  which  is  peculiar  to  genius  of  the 
 highest  order.  See  particularly  Coriolanus,  Act  V., 
 Scene  5  ; — Hamlet,  Act  I.,  Scenes  2  and  5  ; — Julius 
 Caesar,  Act  IV.,  Scene  2; — Lear,  Act  II.,  Scene  4; 
 Act  v.,  Scene  3  ;  —  Richard  III.,  Act  IV.,  Scene  1  ; 
 —  Titus  Andronicus,  Act  II.,  Scene  5 ;  Act  III., 
 Scene  2. 
 
 Several  instances  have  been  given  in  the  text,  wherein 
 the  view  here  taken  of  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Sa- 
 viour's death  has  been  more  or  less  distinctly  anticipated 
 by  pious  persons,  on  ordinary  grounds,  without  the  ad- 
 vantage of  that  scientific  knowledge  of  the  subject,  from 
 which  alone  demonstrative  proof  can  be  obtained.  Many 
 more  might  probably  be  added,  but  one  or  two  may 
 suffice.  The  first  specimen  is  from  the  psalms  and  hymns 
 of  Dr.  Watts. 
 
 *  Shakspeare's  Plays,  in  21  vols.,  1803 ;— vol.  x,  pp.  248,  270,  27 i  ; 
 vol.  xvi.  pp.  357,  358. 
 
S96  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "  All  my  reproach  is  known  to  thee, 
 The  scandal  and  the  shame  : 
 Reproach  has  broke  my  bleeding  heart. 
 And  lies  defiled  my  name." 
 
 Psalm  69,  Part  II.,  C.  M.  Verse  6. 
 
 "  Here,  says  the  kind  redeeming  Lord, 
 And  shows  his  wounded  side, 
 See  here  the  spring  of  all  your  joys. 
 That  opened  when  I  died." 
 
 Hymns,  Book  III.,  H.  11,  Verse  3. 
 
 "  Justice  unsheathed  its  fiery  sword, 
 And  plunged  it  in  my  heart : 
 Infinite  pangs  for  you  I  bore. 
 And  most  tormenting  smart." 
 
 Hymns,  Book  III.,  H.  21,  Verse  7. 
 
 "  My  Saviour's  pierced  side 
 
 Poured  out  a  double  flood  : 
 By  water  we  are  purified. 
 
 And  pardoned  by  the  blood." 
 
 "  Look  up,  my  soul,  to  him. 
 
 Whose  death  was  thy  desert ; 
 And  humbly  view  the  living  stream 
 
 Flow  from  his  breaking  heart." 
 
 Hymns,  Book  III.,  H.  9,  Verses  4,  6. 
 
 "  And  here  we  drink  our  Saviour's  blood  : 
 We  thank  thee.  Lord,  'tis  generous  wine 
 Mingled  with  love  :  the  fountain  flowed 
 From  that  dear  bleeding  heart  of  thine." 
 
 Hymns,  Book  III.,  H.  18,  Verse  2. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  397 
 
 A  curious  example   of  this  kind,  although  neither  the 
 source  whence  it  is  derived,  nor  the  form  in  which   it  is 
 presented,  is  entitled  to  much  respect,  occurs  in  the  pre- 
 tended Revelations  of  St.  Bridgit,  a  Swedish  lady,  who 
 flourished  in  the   fourteenth    century,   and   founded    the 
 religious  order  which  bears  her  name.     In  these  visions, 
 or  prophecies,   Christ  and  his  mother  are  represented  as 
 holding  conversations  in  the  glorified  state  concerning  his 
 life,   sufferings,  death,  &c.,   on    earth;   wherein,  amongst 
 other  circumstances,  it  is   repeatedly   stated   that   imme- 
 diately before  he  expired  on  the  cross,  his  heart  was  rup- 
 tured through  pain  or  grief.     The  following  description  is 
 ascribed  to  the  mother  of  Christ. — "  Appropinquante  autem 
 morte,  cum  cor  prae  violentia  dolorum  rumperetur,  tunc 
 omnia  membra  contremuerunt,  et  caput  ejus,  quasi  modi- 
 cum se  erigens,  inclinabatur,     Os  ejus  apertum  videbatur, 
 et  lingua  tota  sanguinolenta.     Manus  ejus  retraxerunt  se 
 modicum  de  loco  perforationis,  et  pondus  corporis  pedes 
 amplius    sustentabant.      Digiti   et    brachia   quodammodo 
 extendebant  se,  et  dorsum  fortiter  stringebatur  ad  stipi- 
 tem.     Tunc  quidam  dixerunt  ad   me,  Maria,  filius  tuus 
 mortuus   est.      Alii   autem    dixerunt,    Mortuus   est,    sed 
 resurget.     Omnibus   itaque    dicentibus,    unus   adveniens, 
 adfixit  lanceam  in  latus  ejus  tam  valide,  ut  pene  per  aliud 
 latus  ejus  transiret.     Et  cum  extraheretur  hasta,  apparuit 
 cuspis  rubea  sanguine.     Tunc   mihi  videbatur   quasi  cor 
 meum  perforaretur,  cum  vidissem  cor  filii  mei  charissinii 
 perforatum." — The  subsequent  reply  is  attributed  to  Christ 
 himself. — "  Quia,  quando  cor  meum  in  cruce  prae  vehe- 
 mentia  doloris  rumpebatur,  cor  tuum  ex  hoc  quasi  ferro 
 acutissimo  vulnerabatur,  et  libenter  scindi  permisisses,  si 
 fuisset  voluntas  mea."* 
 
 *  Memoriale  Effigiatum  LibrorumB.  Brigidse,  &c.,  lib.  i.  cap.  10, 
 p.  38  ;  lib.  ii.  cap.  20,  p.  45. 
 
ogg  NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 These  passages  evidently  contain  a  reference  to  the  pre- 
 diction, long  before  addressed  to  Mary  by  Simeon  in  the 
 temple, — "  Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own 
 soul  also  ;"* — and  plainly  intimate  a  conviction  that  the 
 heart  of  Christ  was  ruptured  through  excess  of  pain  or 
 grief.  Nor  does  it  appear  wonderful  that  such  a  conclusion 
 should  have  been  deduced  by  persons  of  piety  and  intelli- 
 gence from  long  and  intense  meditation  on  the  Scriptures, 
 when  it  is  remembered  that  the  following  expressions, 
 some  of  which  have  been  repeatedly  quoted  in  this 
 treatise,  are  found  in  several  of  the  Psalms,  more  espe- 
 cially in  those  which  relate  to  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
 Christ. 
 
 Psalm  38,  v.  8.  "  I  am  feeble  and  sore  broken.  I  have 
 roared  because  of  the  disquietude  of  my  heart." 
 
 V.  10.  **  My  heart  panteth  :  my  strength  faileth  me." 
 
 Psalm  40,  v.  12.  "  Innumerable  evils  have  compassed 
 me  about :  mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  so 
 that  J  am  not  able  to  look  up.  They  are  more  than  the 
 hairs  of  my  head  ;  therefore  my  heart  faileth  me." 
 
 Psalm  51,  v.  17.  "  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken 
 spirit :  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God  !  thou  wilt 
 not  despise." 
 
 Psalm  69,  v.  20.  "  Reproach  hath  broken  my  heart, 
 and  I  am  full  of  heaviness." 
 
 Psalm  109,  v.  22.  "  I  am  poor  and  needy,  and  my 
 heart  is  wounded  within  me." 
 
 *  Luke,  chap.  2,  v.  34,  35; — John.  chap.  19,  v.  25—27. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  399 
 
 Note  V.,  Pages  128—156. 
 
 ON   THE  BLOOD  AND   WATER   WHICH   FLOWED  FROM   THE  SIDE 
 
 OF  CHRIST. 
 
 The  perplexities  and  errors  of  commentators  respecting 
 this  subject  have  been  chiefly  owing,  either  to  deficiency 
 of  information,  or  to  want  of  judgment.  Many  of  them 
 have  gratuitously  imagined  that  the  blood  which  flowed 
 from  the  side  of  Christ  was  liquid,  and  the  water  pure  ; 
 and,  in  order  to  account  for  so  marvellous  an  occurrence, 
 have  had  recourse  to  miraculous  agency,  or  to  other  equally 
 untenable  suppositions.  Their  difficulties  and  mistakes 
 might  have  been  in  a  great  measure  avoided,  had  they 
 perceived  that  the  scriptural  expression — "  blood  and 
 water," — taken  in  this  connexion,  simply  denotes  the 
 crassamentum  and  serum  of  blood  which  has  separated 
 into  its  constituents,  and  that  the  same  terms  are  con- 
 tinually used  in  the  same  sense  both  by  medical  per- 
 sons, and  by  others.  Of  such  usage  several  examples 
 have  been  given  in  the  text,  particularly  two  cases  from 
 the  Sepulchretum  of  Bonet,  accompanied  by  an  apposite 
 comment  of  Morgagni.  The  original  statement  is  as  fol- 
 lows.— "  Filia  septemdecim  annorum,  orphana  paralytica, 
 sine  manifesta  causa  suffbcatur  subito.  Secto  cadavere, 
 cor  inveni  duplo  magis  ordinario,  auriculas  ejus  maximas, 
 venas,  arteriasque,    aqua    et   sanguine  nigro   grumosoque 
 
 admodum   distentas Miles  subito  post  longum 
 
 maerorem  mortuus,  visceribus  reliquis  salvis,  habuit  in 
 pericardio  non  aquara  modo,  sed  et  copiosum  sanguinem 
 concretum." — The  comment  of  Morgagni  on  the  latter  of 
 these  cases  is  ; — "  Ubi,  etsi  in  scholio  quoque  inculcatum 
 videbis  obrutum  oppressumque  cor  fuisse,  turn  oh  aquce 
 copia,  turn  a  sanguine,  minirae  tamen  necesse  est  aliam 
 aquam   fuisse  credas   quam    serum,  a  concreta  sanguinis 
 
400  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 parte  reliqua  uberiore,  ut  non  rare  fit,  copia  separatum." — 
 A  remark  of  Mr.  Coleridge  on  this  subject,  although  in 
 other  respects  erroneous,  furnishes  a  further  illustration  of 
 the  same  usage. — "  St.  John  did  not  mean" — says  he, — 
 **  I  apprehend,  to  insinuate  that  the  spear-thrust  made  the 
 death,  merely  as  such,  certain  or  evident,  but  that  the 
 effusion  showed  the  human  nature. — *  I  saw  it' — he  w^ould 
 say, — '  with  my  own  eyes.  It  was  real  blood,  composed 
 of  lymph  and  crassamentum,  and  not  a  mere  celestial 
 ichor,  as  the  Phantasmists  allege."* — An  example  of  simi- 
 lar language  has  already  been  quoted  from  Wheeler's  Man- 
 chester Chronicle  ;  and,  as  that  journal  cannot  very  easily 
 be  consulted,  the  passage  is  here  more  fully  transcribed. — 
 "  A  man  named  James  Brown,  about  twenty-seven  years 
 of  age,  who  had  been  at  sea,  and  lost  his  left  leg,  and  sub- 
 sequently lived  as  a  tramper  about  the  country,  was  drink- 
 ing with  two  others  in  a  beer-shop  in  Blakeley-street, 
 when  he  suddenly  complained  of  illness,  lay  down  on  one 
 of  the  forms,  and  vomited  a  little ;  and,  ere  a  surgeon  who 
 had  been  sent  for  could  arrive,  expired.  Mr.  Oilier,  on 
 examination  of  the  body,  found  it  wholly  free  from  any 
 mark  of  violence,  the  stomach  and  liver  were  in  a  very 
 diseased  state,  the  heart-purse  contained  about  a  quart  of 
 blood  and  water,  and  there  was  a  rupture  in  the  great 
 artery  leading  from  the  heart,  which  was  produced  by 
 disease,  and  must  have  caused  death  almost  instanta- 
 neously. An  inquest  was  held  on  view  of  the  body  on 
 Monday,  by  W.  S.  Rutter,  Esq.,  Coroner,  when  the  jury 
 found  that  his  death  had  been  caused  by  disease,  and  not 
 otherwise." — A  letter  on  the  subject,  addressed  to  the 
 author  by  the  late  J.  A.  Ransome,  Esq.,   of  Manchester, 
 
 *  Bonetus,  Sepulchretum,  vol  j.  pp.  585, 887  ;  — Morgagni,  de  Caus. 
 et  Sed.  Morb.  vol,  iij.  p.  465  ; — Coleridge  (S.  T.)  Specimens  of  his 
 Table-talk,  vol.  j.  pp.  19,  20. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^.QJ 
 
 confirms  the  foregoing  narrative,  and  contains  the  following 
 note  from  Mr.  Oilier. — "  The  disease  of  the  aorta  was  a 
 thickening  of  its  coats,  without  any  ossific  deposit.  The 
 size  of  the  aperture  was  very  small,  and  was  situated  just 
 where  it  rises  from  the  ventricle,  and  would  not  have  been 
 observed  but  for  the  consequences.  The  blood  was  se- 
 parated, although  indistinctly,  into  serum  and  crassamen- 
 tum." — As  a  proof  of  the  equivalence  of  the  terms,  the 
 same  surgeon,  when  delivering  his  testimony  at  the  Coro- 
 ner's inquest,  judiciously  used  the  more  popular  language 
 above  mentioned, —  '*  The  pericardium  contained  about  a 
 quart  of  blood  and  water."* 
 
 If  it  is  admitted  that  in  the  evangelical  narrative  of  the 
 death  of  Christ  the  terms  blood  and  water  signify  crassa- 
 mentum  and  serum,  a  critical  examination  of  the  circum- 
 stances under  which  alone  such  a  discharge  could  have 
 taken  place  from  his  dead  body,  on  the  side  being  pierced 
 by  a  spear,  leads  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that  he  died 
 from  rupture  of  the  heart.  The  condition  of  the  blood  in 
 dead  bodies  varies,  according  to  the  cause  and  mode  of 
 death.  In  persons  killed  by  lightning,  by  blows  on  the 
 stomach,  or  by  the  more  simple  and  direct  operation  of 
 violent  passions,  the  blood  remains  liquid.  A  striking 
 case  of  the  former  kind  is  related  in  the  Philosophical 
 Transactions. — "  On  the  29th  of  September,  1772,  about 
 two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  were  three  remarkably  loud 
 claps  of  thunder,  attended  with  proportionate  lightning. 
 Mr.  Thomas  Heartly,  formerly  a  wine-merchant  of  Leeds, 
 but  lately  retired  from  business  to  Harrowgate,  lived  there 
 in  a  hired  house,  the  second  northward  from  the  Queen's 
 Head.     Whilst   he  was   in   bed  with   his  wife,   she  was 
 
 *  Wheeler's  Manchester  Chronicle  for  Saturday,  November  22nd,; 
 1834. 
 
402  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 awaked  from  sleep  by  the  thunder,  and  went  to  the  win- 
 dow, but  not  being  afraid  she  got  to  bed  again,  and  fell 
 asleep.  About  five  she  awaked,  and  not  perceiving  her 
 husband  to  breathe,  though  warm,  endeavoured  to  awake 
 him  in  vain.  She  quickly  sent  for  Mr.  Hutchinson,  a 
 considerable  apothecary  at  Knaresborough,  who,  upon 
 sight  of  Mr.  Heartly,  and  some  experiments,  declared  him 
 dead,  though  still  very  warm.  At  her  request,  however, 
 he  opened  a  vein,  and  Mr.  Heartly  bled  freely,  insomuch 
 that  the  blood  did  not  cease  to  ooze  out  of  the  orifice  till 
 the  body  was  put  in  the  cofiin,  which  was  on  Thursday 
 evening,  October  1st;  and  it  was  not  then  cold."* 
 
 Within  the  heart  and  vessels  of  dead  bodies  the  blood  is 
 commonly  found  either  wholly  liquid  or  solid,  or  a  portion 
 of  liquid  blood  is  intermixed  with  pale  or  dark-coloured 
 coagula  ;  but  its  distinct  separation  into  serum  and  crassa- 
 mentum  is  scarcely  ever  seen.  On  this  subject  few  obser- 
 vations occur  amongst  the  earlier  medical  writers.  In  a 
 small  treatise  on  polypous  concretions,  &c.,  Dominicus  De 
 Marinis  remarks, — "  Scribit  Fernelius,  ex  rara  quadam  et 
 abdita  morbi  causa,  se  vidisse  quempiam  post  diuturnum 
 languorem  de  vita  exiisse,  cui  sanguis  universus  in  vasis 
 concreverat,  adeo  ut  demum  coralli  modo  fruticans  illinc 
 
 eximeretur.     Physiolog.  lib.  6,  cap.  7 Non  absi- 
 
 milem  sanguinis  constitutionem,  in  venis  meseraicis  in 
 hectica  tumefactis,  descripsit  Platerus."  Observ.  lib.  2.  .  .  . 
 Audivisse  notat  Ballonius  sanguinem  nigrum  ita  in  jugu- 
 laribus  venis  eoncrevisse,  ut  carbones  illic  impacti  crede- 
 rentur,  Eph.  2." — On  the  other  hand,  Schwencke,  in  his 
 Hsematologia,  states  somewhat  too  decidedly, — "  Raro  vel 
 nunquam  sanguis  in  vasis  mortuorum  coagulatus  reperitur. 
 In  cadaveribus,    sanguinis    in   partes    secessus 
 
 *  Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  63,  pp.  177,  178. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^Qg 
 
 stricte  non  observatur,  sed  mistus  et  fluidus  in  venis  re- 
 peritur;"  —  unless,  which  is  not  improbable,  he  herein 
 refers  to  the  complete  division  of  the  blood  into  its 
 constituents.* 
 
 The  deficiencies  of  the  earlier  writers  in  this  respect  are, 
 however,  amply  compensated  by  two  living  authors  quoted 
 in  the  text ;  namely.  Dr.  John  Davy,  and  James  Paget, 
 Esq.  The  physiological  and  anatomical  researches  of  the 
 former  contain  a  table,  which  gives  a  condensed  account  of 
 249  bodies  examined  at  Malta,  from  the  year  1828  to 
 1835.  In  85  of  these  the  state  of  the  blood  was  not 
 noticed,  but  in  the  remaining  164  it  was  recorded. — "The 
 fatal  cases  affording  the  subjects  of  these  observations 
 were," — says  Dr.  Davy, — "  without  exception,  soldiers  of 
 our  regiments  serving  in  Malta,  composed  of  Englishmen, 
 Scotch,  and  Irish.  In  the  cool  season  the  bodies  were 
 commonly  inspected  in  from  12  to  17  hours  after  death; 
 in  the  hot  season  in  from  3  to  12." — Amongst  the  164 
 cases  above  mentioned,  the  blood  was  found  coagulated, 
 and  containing  fibrinous  concretions,  in  105  ; — coagulated 
 and  broken  up,  as  if  by  the  contractions  of  the  heart,  feebly 
 continued  for  some  time  after  apparent  death,  in  17  ; — 
 liquid,  in  14; — in  the  state  of  soft  coagulum,  or  merely 
 grumous  and  without  fibrinous  concretions,  in  12  ; — partly 
 liquid  and  partly  coagulated,  in  9  ;  —  and  wholly  or 
 nearly  deficient  in  the  heart,  in  6. — In  one  instance  only 
 there  were  fibrinous  concretions  without  cruor,  that  is, 
 without  liquid  blood,  or  bloody  serum.  Next  follows  a 
 tabular  account  of  35  cases  of  post-mortem  examination, 
 made  in  the  General  Hospital  at  Fort  Pitt,  Chatham,  from 
 January  to  September,  1838.  The  various  conditions  in 
 which  the  blood  was   found  are  still  more  minutely  de- 
 
 *  Domin:c.  De  Marinis,  De  Re  Monstrosa,  &c.  p.  74  j— Schwencke, 
 Haematologia,  pp.  81,  91. 
 
404  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 scribed  in  these  eases  than  in  the  preceding  ones ;  but  in 
 none  of  either  set  does  clear  serum  appear  to  have  been 
 discovered,  except  in  one  solitary  instance,  and  under  very- 
 peculiar  circumstances  ;  namely,  in  No.  16,  a  case  of 
 phthisis  wherein,  says  the  author, — "  a  mass  of  fibrin  in 
 the  right  ventricle  contained  a  collection  of  transparent 
 serum.  The  mass  was  firmest  externally.  There  was 
 some  crassamentum,  fibrinous  concretions,  and  a  good 
 deal  of  cruor  in  the  right  cavities  of  the  heart.  Two 
 hours  after  examination  the  cruor  was  found  jellied.  After 
 twenty-four  hours  the  coagulum  had  contracted,  and  serum 
 had  separated.  When  broken  up  and  agitated,  some  air 
 was  given  off."* 
 
 The  testimony  of  Mr.  Paget,  equally  positive,  and  in 
 some  respects  even  more  precise  than  that  of  Dr.  Davy,  is 
 summed  up  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of  his — "  Obser- 
 vations on  the  Coagulation  of  the  Blood  after  Death,"— 
 published  in  the  London  Medical  Gazette. — "  In  all  cases 
 it  must  be  remembered  that  the  coagulation  which  takes 
 place  in  the  body  is  much  slower  than  that  which  ensues 
 in  blood  drawn  from  it,  either  during  life  or  after  death ; 
 so  that  a  quantity  of  uncoloured  fibrine  is  found  in  the 
 heart  and  uppermost  vessels  of  the  dead  body  in  many 
 cases,  in  which  it  is  most  probable  that,  had  the  blood 
 been  drawn  during  life,  it  would  not  have  presented  a 
 bufFy  coat.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  the  blood  does  not 
 coagulate  in  the  body  for  the  first  four  hours  after  its  rest 
 has  commenced.  In  many  it  remains  fluid  for  six,  eight, 
 or  more  hours,  and  yet  coagulates  within  a  few  minutes  of 
 its  being  let  out  of  the  vessels.  But,  as  this  greater  slow- 
 ness of  coagulation  is  common  to  all,  it  is  not  material  in  a 
 comparison  of  the  blood  of  the  dead  with  that  of  the  liv- 
 
 "^  Dr.  John  Davy.   Researches   Physiological   and   Anatomical, 
 vol.  ii.  pp.  190—213. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 405 
 
 ing."* — In  a  letter  on  the  subject,  -with  which  the  author 
 has  been  favoured  by  Mr.  Paget,  the  following  additional 
 explanations  are  supplied. — **  I  have  never  found  clear 
 serum,  such  as  I  could  suppose  to  be  separated  from  the 
 blood  in  its  coagulation,  collecting  in  any  part  of  the  body 
 after  death  ;  but  I  have  marked  passages  in  my  paper 
 which  express,  though  ambiguously,  what  I  believe  be- 
 comes of  that  which  does  separate.  I  suppose  that  it 
 gravitates  to  the  dependent  parts  of  the  body,  and  is  there 
 imbibed  by  the  adjacent  tissues,  which  are  thus  rendered 
 moister  and  more  oedematous  than  those  in  the  upper  or 
 anterior  parts.  That  the  serum,  if  it  at  all  separated  from 
 the  blood,  would  thus  pass  to  the  dependent  parts,  is  I 
 suppose  certain,  and  I  have  never  met  with  any  facts  to 
 lead  me  to  imagine  that  it  is  not  separated.  All  that  I 
 have  seen  leads  me  to  think-=-that  in  the  very  great  ma- 
 jority of  cases  all  the  blood  remains  fluid  till  the  heart 
 ceases  to  act ; — that  then  it  gradually  coagulates,  in  the 
 same  manner  as  it  would  out  of  the  body,  though  much 
 more  slowly  ; — that  the  colouring  particles,  descending 
 more  and  more  deeply  in  direct  proportion  to  the  time  occu- 
 pied in  the  coagulation,  leave  a  certain  portion  of  uncoloured 
 fibrine  above  them  ; — and  that,  just  as  happens  in  blood 
 drawn  from  the  body,  the  serum  is  in  part  separated  during 
 the  coagulation  of  the  fibrine,  and  in  part  squeezed  out 
 by  the  contraction  of  the  clot.  The  clot,  I  suppose,  is 
 detained  in  the  place  in  M^hich  it  forms,  either  by  its  ad- 
 hesion to  the  adjacent  structures,  or  by  being  supported 
 by  the  parts  in  which  it  is  as  it  were  modelled  ;  and  the 
 serum,  as  it  separates,  flows  down  to  the  most  depending 
 portions  of  the  body,  and  is  there  either  retained  in  the 
 vessels,  or  infiltrated  into  the  adjacent  porous  tissues." 
 
 *  James  Paget,  Esq.,  On  the  Coagulation  of  the  Blood  after  Death  ; 
 —  in  the  London  Medical  Gazette  for  1840,  vol.  i.  p.  618. 
 
406 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The  conclusion  that  the  blood  and  water  which  issued 
 from  the  side  of  Christ  were  crassamentum  and  serum, 
 necessarily  implies  three  conditions  ;  namely, — first,  that 
 a  considerable  quantity  of  his  blood  separated  into  its 
 constituents  previously  to  the  infliction  of  the  wound ; — 
 secondly,  that  this  separation  took  place  within  two  hours 
 after  he  expired,  the  longest  period  which  can  be  assigned 
 for  such  an  effect,  since  the  entire  interval  between  his 
 death  and  the  commencement  of  the  Jewish  sabbath  was 
 only  three  hours ; — and  thirdly,  that  the  blood  and  water 
 thus  separated  were  in  a  situation  whence  they  could  easily 
 flow  out  when  the  wound  was  inflicted,  according  to  the 
 statement  of  the  evangelist  John, — "  One  of  the  soldiers 
 pierced  his  side  with  a  spear,  and  immediately  there  came 
 forth  blood  and  water." — These  conditions  prove,  as  has 
 been  already  shown,  that  the  blood  and  water  flowed  from 
 the  pericardium,  and  consequently,  that  the  death  of  Christ 
 was  occasioned  by  the  rupture  of  his  heart,  the  blood  from 
 which  had  been  discharged  into  its  investing  capsule,  and  had 
 there  divided  into  its  elements  ;  inasmuch  as  they  perfectly 
 agree  with  this  explanation,  and  are  incompatible  with  any 
 other.  To  the  supposition  that  the  blood  and  water 
 proceeded  directly  from  the  heart,  there  are  three  insuper- 
 able objections  ;  namely, — first,  that  the  separation  into 
 serum  and  crassamentum  of  the  blood  remaining  in  the  vas- 
 cular system  of  dead  bodies,  is  of  very  rare  occurrence  ; — 
 secondly,  that  such  separation,  if  it  happened  at  all,  could 
 not  have  happened  within  the  specified  period  of  two 
 hours,  since, — *'  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  blood  [thus 
 situated]  does  not  coagulate  for  the  first  four  hours  after 
 its  rest  has  commenced,  [and]  in  many  it  remains  fluid  for 
 six,  eight,  or  more  hours;" — and  thirdly,  that,  independ- 
 ently of  these  difficulties,  the  escape  of  such  constituents 
 from  any  of  the  cavities  of  the  heart  would  be  scanty,  slow, 
 and  probably  indistinct,  and  therefore  at  variance  with  the 
 
NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  jq^^ 
 
 evangelical  narrative.  On  the  other  hand,  by  the  expla- 
 nation here  adopted  all  these  objections  are  avoided  ;  since 
 a  much  larger  quantity  of  blood  would  thus  be  discharged 
 into  the  pericardium  than  could  possibly  be  retained  in  the 
 heart ;  the  blood  so  effused  would  long  within  the  time 
 mentioned  divide  into  its  constituents ;  and,  on  the  side 
 being  pierced  by  a  spear,  these  constituents  would,  by  the 
 mere  force  of  gravity,  instantly  and  completely  flow  out 
 in  so  conspicuous  a  manner,  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the 
 most  ignorant  or  indifferent  spectator. 
 
 A  good  many  examples  have  been  given  in  the  text, 
 tending  to  show  that  the  separation  of  blood  into  serum 
 and  crassamentum,  or  blood  and  water,  which  is  so  rarely 
 observed  within  the  heart  and  vessels  of  dead  bodies,  fre- 
 quently happens  when  death  has  been  suddenly  induced  by 
 internal  hemorrhage,  and  blood  has  been  extravasated  into 
 any  of  the  serous  capsules,  whether  the  pleura,  the  peri 
 cardium,  or  the  peritoneum.  Some  of  the  original  state- 
 ments, and  two  or  three  additional  cases  are  here  annexed  ; 
 and,  as  in  all  of  them  the  general  principle  is  the  same,  it  is 
 a  matter  of  no  consequence  in  reference  to  the  illustration 
 from  what  quarter  the  extravasated  blood  proceeded,  nor  into 
 which  of  these  capsules  it  entered.  Several  instances  are 
 however  adduced  in  which,  as  in  the  great  event  which  it 
 is  the  object  of  this  treatise  to  explain,  blood  was  dis- 
 charged from  the  ruptured  heart  into  the  pericardium,  and 
 there  divided  into  its  constituents.  The  two  following 
 cases  occurred  in  the  Manchester  workhouse,  and  are  thus 
 reported  by  Dr.  Francis. — "  Samuel  J  ....  ,  aged  fifty- 
 nine  years,  a  hand-loom  weaver,  of  spare  frame,  middle 
 height,  and  temperate  habits,  at  ten  a.m.,  Sept.  22nd, 
 1844,  was  seized  with  intense  pain  across  the  forehead, 
 faintness,  and  vomiting  ....  He  was  conveyed  to  bed, 
 but  died  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half  from  the  commence- 
 ment of  the  seizure,  having  previously  experienced  severe 
 
403  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 pains  in  the  cardiac  region.  On  inspection  of  the  body, 
 the  arteries  generally  were  found  in  a  morbid  state,  espe- 
 cially the  coronaries.  The  aorta  was  greatly  diseased, 
 and  about  an  inch  above  its  valves  was  ruptured.  The 
 external  opening  did  not  correspond  to  the  internal,  and 
 would  just  have  admitted  a  crow-quill.  The  pericardium 
 contained  twenty-six  ounces  of  blood,  which  had  escaped 
 through  this  aperture,  and  was  equally  made  up  of  dark 
 clot  and  serum Nicholas  D  .  .  .  ,  .  aged  thirty- 
 five  years,  a  tall,  well  developed,  stout  young  man,  of  dark 
 complexion,  a  power-loom  weaver,  had  been  in  the  work- 
 house during  the  six  weeks  preceding  his  death,  complain- 
 ing of  wandering  pains  in  the  upper  Hmbs,  lumbago,  and 
 especially  a  severe  pain  commencing  at  the  fourth  or  fifth 
 dorsal  vertebra,  and  passing  along  the  corresponding  inter- 
 costal nerves  to  the  sternum.  On  the  8th  of  February, 
 1845,  he  was  more  cheerful  than  usual;  but  about  nine 
 P.M.  was  heard  to  groan,  and  immediately  afterwards 
 turned  on  the  left  side,  and  died  within  a  few  minutes. 
 On  examining  the  body,  an  aneurism  was  found  projecting 
 from  the  anterior  surface  of  the  aorta,  opposite  the  third 
 dorsal  vertebra.  In  the  left  pleura,  close  to  the  lung  at  its 
 root,  was  a  slit  parallel  with  the  long  axis  of  the  artery, 
 four  lines  in  length,  through  which  the  aneurism  had 
 burst.  The  left  pleural  sac  contained  five  imperial  pints 
 of  blood,  separated  into  a  straw-coloured  serum  and 
 a  firm  clot,  which  latter  had  subsided  to  the  depending 
 parts."* 
 
 Of  the  striking  contrast  which,  as  remarked  by  Dr.  Car- 
 penter, is  sometimes  presented  in  the  same  subject,  between 
 the  complete  separation  of  extravasated  blood  into  serum 
 and  crassamentum,  and  the  continued  fluidity  of  the  blood 
 
 *  Dr.  Francis,  in  the   Guj's   Hospital   Reports,   Second  Series, 
 No.  5,  pp.  89-92. 
 
"NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 409 
 
 Remaining  within  the  heart  and  vessels,  a  good  example  is 
 furnished  by  Morgagni,  in  these  terms. — "  Mulier  con- 
 sistente  aetate,  quae  alias  in  nosocomio  Patavino  fuerat  ob 
 dolorem  in  sinistra  intima  thoracis  parte,  in  idem  rediit 
 ante  medium  Januarium,  anni  1717,  de  eodem  illo  dolore 
 querens,  nunc  magna  cum  febre  conjuncto.  Pulsus  erant 
 vibrati,  morbusque  omnino  videbatur  gravis,  sed  non  adeo 
 ut  mors  jam  proxima  esse  crederetur.  Fuit  tamen ;  nam 
 postridie  quam  in  nosocomium  venerat  mulier  improvise 
 mortua  est.  Thorace  aperto,  hujus  quasi  hydrops  a  prime 
 apparuit.  Sed,  cum  infra  aquam  magna  concreti  sanguinis 
 copia  occurreret,  intellectum  est  hujus  serum  hydropis 
 speciem  reprsesentasse.  Quaerentibus  unde  sanguis  pro- 
 diisset  magnum   se   obtulit   aortse   aneurysma,  idque  per- 
 
 ruptum Cseterum  nullum  in  corde  vitium,  nulla 
 
 polyposa  concretio,  si  unam  excipias,  longulam  quidem  sed 
 exilem,  quae  ex  sinistro  ventriculo  per  aortam  ad  hujus 
 usque  curvaturam  pertinebat ;  quin  sanguis  in  corde  et 
 alibi  fluidus,  non  minus  quam  ater  conspectus  est." — The 
 same  author  judiciously  explains  the  cause  of  death  when 
 blood,  derived  from  whatever  source,  is  poured  into  the 
 pericardial  sac,  namely,  compression  of  the  heart,  and 
 consequent  arrest  of  the  circulation  ;  whence,  as  he  ob- 
 serves, it  arises  that — "  multo  minor  intra  pericardium, 
 quam  plerisque  aliis  in  locis  haemorrhagia,  longe  citlus 
 interitum  afFerat,"* 
 
 Perhaps  the  smallest  amount  of  hemorrhage  into  the  peri- 
 cardium which  has  ever  been  known  to  prove  fatal  in  this 
 manner,  is  that  mentioned  in  the  following  case,  communi- 
 cated to  the  Lancet  by  Mr.  Taylor,  of  Guildford. — "  Mrs. 
 Keele,  aged  fifty-three  years,  the  wife  of  a  farmer's  labourer, 
 was  taken  ill  suddenly  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  [of  Sept. 
 
 *  Morgagni,  De  Caus.  et  Sed.  Morborum,  vol.  iij.  pp.  116 — 118, 
 442—445;  vol.  vij.  pp.  654—657. 
 
 T 
 
410  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 1843,]  and  died  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour Her 
 
 husband  stated  that  she  had  been  in  very  good  health,  and 
 only  the  day  before  had  walked  five  miles  v^^ith  a  burden." — 
 On  inspection  of  the  body, — "  the  muscular  tissue  [of  the 
 heart]  appeared  somewhat  pale  and  softened,  its  fibres 
 being  intermixed  with  fat,  the  right  ventricle  rather  dilated, 
 and  its  walls  much  thinned,  so  that  near  the  point  of  rup- 
 ture their  thickness   did  not  exceed  half  a  line,  and  here 
 
 the  accumulation   of  fat  was  greatest The  right 
 
 ventricle  was  collapsed,  and  on  the  middle  of  its  anterior 
 surface,  close  to  the  septum,  I  observed  a  depression, 
 which  proved  to  be  a  perforation  into  its  cavity  large 
 enough  to  admit  a  goose-quill,  and  showing  one  of  the 
 fleshy  columns  through  it.     About  an  ounce  and  a  half  of 
 
 fluid  blood  was  effused  into  the  pericardium The 
 
 only  comment  that  I  have  to  make  on  the  case  is,  that  a 
 very  small  quantity  of  blood  was  effused  from  a  consi- 
 derable breach  in  the  ventricle ;  whence  I  conclude  that 
 death  must  have  been  instantaneous,  from  the  heart's 
 action  being  suspended  by  pressure  of  the  sudden  efiu- 
 sion."* — As  a  further  proof  that  compression  of  the  heart, 
 irrespectively  of  the  compressing  agent,  whether  blood  or 
 not,  is  in  such  cases  the  principal  cause  of  death,  another 
 narrative,  supplied  by  R.  Allan,  Esq.,  staff-surgeon  at 
 Port  Louis,  Mauritius,  and  probably  almost  unique  in  its 
 kind,  may  be  cited  from  the  same  work. — "  Cumia,  aged 
 thirty-five  [years,]  native  of  Bombay,  had  been  in  Mauri- 
 tius one  year,  working  as  a  field-labourer,  when  he  came 
 into  the  Immigration  Depot,  on  the  21st  of  December, 
 1844,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  into  a  new  engagement, 
 having  walked  seven  or  eight  miles  on  that  day.  He 
 remained  in  apparent  good  health  until  six  o'clock  on  the 
 
 *  Mr.  H.  T.  Taylor,  in  the  Lancet  for  Nov.  1 1th,  1843,  p.  181. 
 
NOTES     AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^H 
 
 morning  of  the  26th,  when  he  began  to  complain  of  pain  at 
 the  pit  of  the  stomach,  and  died  at  half-past  ten  a.m.  On 
 inspecting  the  body  twenty-one  hours  after  death,  about 
 two  pints  of  reddish  pus  and  serum  [were  found]  within 
 the  pericardium,  the  entire  of  which  membrane  was  slightly 
 inflamed.  On  laying  the  pericardium  freely  open,  thick 
 yellowish-green  pus  was  seen  oozing  from  an  aperture  large 
 enough  to  admit  the  finger,  which  led  through  the  dia- 
 phragm into  an  abscess  in  the  smaller  lobe  of  the  liver, 
 capable  of  containing  a  pint  of  fluid.  It  is  probable  that 
 the  pus  of  the  hepatic  abscess  had  been  oozing  into  the 
 sac  of  the  pericardium  during  some  hours  before  death, 
 causing  inflammation,  and  then  annihilating  the  heart's 
 action  by  pressure."* 
 
 Although  a  small  portion  of  blood  effused  into  the  peri- 
 cardial sac  may  be  sufficient  to  destroy  life,  it  has  been 
 shown  in  the  text  that  the  quantity  actually  collected  in 
 that  receptacle,  owing  to  rupture  of  the  heart,  is  often  very 
 considerable,  amounting  in  some  instances  to  two,  three,  or 
 even  several  pounds  by  weight.  How  soon  the  blood  thus 
 extravasated  coagulates,  has  not  been  precisely  ascer- 
 tained ;  but,  as  in  such  cases  death  is  usually  sudden,  and 
 the  separation  of  the  blood  into  serum  and  crassamentum 
 exactly  resembles  that  which  occurs  out  of  the  body,  there 
 is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  takes  place  with  similar 
 rapidity,  especially  when  the  quantity  is  large,  and  cer- 
 tainly far  within  the  allotted  period  of  two  hours.  If  the 
 separation  were  slow,  and  the  red  particles  had  time  to 
 subside,  the  serum  would  probably  be  turbid  and  deep- 
 coloured,  and  the  crassamentum,  as  remarked  by  Mr. 
 Paget,  would  be  covered  with  a  layer  of  fibrine,  commonly 
 termed  buffy  coat.     The  absence  of  these  peculiarities  may 
 
 *  R.  Allan,  Esq.,  in  the  Lancet  for  June  7,  1845,  p.  645. 
 
 T  2 
 
/^12  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 therefore  be  regarded  as  a  sufficient  proof  that  the  process 
 is  rapid. — *'  When  blood" — says  Mr.  Wilson, — '*  passes 
 in  a  free  stream  into  a  basin,  and  is  allowed  to  remain  at 
 rest,  it  begins  to  jelly  or  coagulate  in  three  minutes  and  a 
 
 half. In  blood  taken   from  a  healthy  person  the 
 
 coagulation  is  usually  completed  in  seven  minutes,  and  in 
 twelve  minutes,  (although  it  will  sometimes  take  a  longer 
 period,)  the  mass  will  be  very  firm.  Soon  after  this  a 
 transparent  watery  part  will  be  perceived  transuding 
 through  the  pores  of  the  coagulum,  the  coagulum  at  the 
 same  time  contracting  itself,  leaving  the  sides  of  the  basin, 
 but  still  preserving  its  original  shape.  The  transparent 
 watery  part  forms  the   serum ;  the  coagulum  retains  the 
 
 red  colour,   and  forms  the    crassamentum The 
 
 experiments  made  by  Mr.  Hewson,  and  those  made  by 
 Mr.  Hey,  of  Leeds,  prove  that  the  coagulation  and  separa- 
 tion of  the  blood  take  place  most  readily  when  that  fluid 
 is  kept  in  a  temperature  nearest  to  its  standard  heat, 
 viz.  99°.  It  is  therefore  ascertained  that  cold  does  not  pro- 
 duce the  coagulation." — "  The  period  at  which  concretion 
 takes  place" — observes  Mr.  Thackrah, — "  depends  upon 
 circumstances  that  will  be  afterwards  considered,  but  the 
 common  time  is  from  three  to  eight  minutes  after  the  blood 
 has  been  taken  from  the  body.  The  subsequent  effusion 
 of  serum  is  effected  generally  in  from  one  to  three  hours."* 
 — -Hence  it  appears  that,  in  a  young  and  vigorous  person, 
 rupture  of  the  heart  induced  by  agony  of  mind  would, 
 within  a  moderate  time,  occasion  the  collection  in  the  pericar- 
 dium of  a  large  quantity  of  clotted  blood  and  clear  serum, 
 which,  on  the  side  being  afterwards  pierced  with  a   spear, 
 
 *  James  Paget,  Esq.,  in  the  London  Medical  Gazette  for  1840, 
 vol.  j.  pp.  613 — 618  ; — James  Wilson,  Esq.,  Lectures  on  the  Blood, 
 &c.  pp.  28 — 31  ;— C.  T.  Thackrah,  Esq.,  Inquiry  into  the  Nature 
 and  Properties  of  the  Blood,  &c.  pp.  33,  34,  67. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  413 
 
 would  immediately  flow  out  in  a  full  and  copious  stream. 
 The  facility  with  which  in  such  a  case  this  capsule  might 
 be  pierced,  and  the  readiness  with  which  its  contents  would 
 be  discharged,  are  well  illustrated  in  an  able  work  on  the 
 situation  of  the  internal  organs  of  the  body  by  Mr.  Sibson, 
 of  Nottingham,  who  having  injected  into  the  pericardium 
 twenty-six  ounces  of  water,  found  that — ''  the  great  volume 
 of  the  sac  surrounding  the  body  of  the  heart  was  globu- 
 lar ;" — and  subjoins  the  following  accurate  description  of 
 its  bulk  and  position. — "  The  distension  by  fluid  of  the 
 pericardial  sac,  besides  displacing  the  surrounding  organs, 
 pushes  forward  the  sternum  and  costal  walls,  elevates  the 
 second  costal  cartilage,  and  to  a  less  degree  the  third, 
 fourth,  and  fifth ;  widens  the  spaces  between  the  cartilages 
 and  ribs,  from  the  second  cartilage  to  the  seventh  rib,  pro- 
 jects outwards  the  sixth  rib,  and  causes  some  degree  of 
 bulge  over  the  left  side,  and  some  protrusion  of  the  slope 
 formed  by  the  lower  edges  of  the  costal  cartilages."* 
 
 After  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  perhaps  scarcely  neces- 
 sary to  insist  on  the  negative  proof,  that  the  blood  and 
 water  which  flowed  from  the  side  of  Christ  had  no  other 
 source  than  that  here  assigned.  Yet,  as  authors  of  consi- 
 derable note  have  imagined  that  the  blood  might  have 
 flowed  from  the  heart,  and  the  water  from  the  pericardium, 
 a  few  remarks  will  be  added  in  further  refutation  of  that 
 opinion.  Lower  states  that  when  animals  are  suddenly 
 slaughtered  amidst  robust  health,  a  large  quantity  of  gela- 
 tinous matter  is  found  in  their  pericardium.  After  re- 
 marking that  the  liquor  of  this  capsule  is  serous,  and 
 coagulable  by  heat,  he  thus  proceeds  : — "  Super  hac  re 
 obiter    notandum    est,    aquam   in    pericardio    contentam 
 
 *  Francis  Sibson,  Esq.,  in  the  Trans,  of  the  Provincial  Med.  and 
 Surgical  Association,  vol.  xij.  pp.  8,  357,  527 — 531. 
 
414  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 solummodo  huic  experimento  idoneam  esse,  quae  in  ani- 
 mali  bene  constituto  et  violenta  morte  perempto  reperitur, 
 cujus  utpote  sanguis  sero  nutricio  diluitur  ;  nam  in  anima- 
 libus  morbo  defunctis,  aut  longa  inappetentia  et  inedia 
 confectis,  quorum  nempe  sanguis  succo  chyloso  prorsus 
 destituitur,  neque  eadem  ratio  est,  et  impar  successus. 
 Caeterum  in  sanioribus  tarn  manifesta  res  est  ut,  aperto 
 jugulati  bo  vis  pericardio,  magnam  plerumque  concretae 
 gelatinae  copiam  invenias,  quae  extincto  tantum  calore 
 partis  aut  sponte  sua,  aut  a  frigore,  in  istam  consistentiam 
 condensatur,  non  aliter  quam  decoctum  cornu  cervi,  ubi 
 frigido  aeri  exponitur,  in  gelatinam  subito  concrescit."* — 
 On  this  passage  it  may  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that 
 a  gelatinous  effusion  which  concretes  spontaneously  with- 
 out the  aid  of  heat  is  neither  water,  nor  serum,  but  fibrine  ; 
 and  secondly,  that,  whatever  may  be  the  case  with  respect 
 to  oxen  slaughtered  in  the  usual  manner,  there  is  no  evi- 
 dence that  anything  of  the  kind  occurs  in  the  human 
 subject.  Haller  however  states  that,  under  the  circum- 
 stances mentioned  by  Lower,  that  is,  when  persons  are 
 suddenly  killed  whilst  in  good  health,  a  small  quantity  of 
 serum,  namely  from  two  to  six  drachms,  has  been  found 
 in  the  pericardium.  His  words  are  ; — "  Neque  rari  auctores 
 sunt  qui  aquam  in  pericardio  aut  cadaveris,  aut  denique 
 vivi  hominis  viderunt,  etsi  hujus  quidem  generis  experi- 
 menta  non  possunt  vulgaria  esse.  Excitabo  vero  ea  sola 
 quae  a  sanis  et  subita  morte  enectis  hominibus  sumpta 
 sunt.  In  homine  fulgurato  cochlear  plenum  visum  est ; 
 et  quindecim  omnino  cochlearia  in  alio,  quem  nimia  con- 
 tentio  cursus  suffocaverat.  In  strangulato  aqua  pericardii 
 adfuit ;  et  in  occisa  muliere,  alioque  sano  homine  subito 
 enecto.  Ejusmodi  eventus  minime  raro  in  hominibus 
 ultimo  supplicio  adfectis  mihi  vidisse  contigit.  ....  Ego 
 
 *  Lower  (Richard)  De  Corde,  &c.  pp.  6,  7. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 415 
 
 quidem   vaporem    de    corde    exhalantem    ssepissime   vidi, 
 neque   tamen  eo   minus  etiam  aquam  veram  et  in  clause 
 quidem,   quod    aliorum   etiam    testimoniis  confirmo,  peri- 
 cardio,   et  maxime  in    vivis   canibus.     Copiam  non   sum 
 metitus,  quam  a  duabus  drachmis  ad   tres   uncise  quartas 
 partes    alii    definiverunt." — The    anatomists    John    and 
 Charles   Bell    admit,   with    respect  to   persons  who    have 
 laboured  under  long-continued  weakness  or  disease,  that  a 
 little  watery  fluid  may  be  found  after   death  in  the  peri- 
 cardium, as  in  all  the  other  cavities  of  the  body  ; — *'  but" — 
 they  add, — *'  if  you  open  a  living  animal,  as  a  dog,  or  if 
 you  open  suddenly  the   body  of  suicides,  or  if  you  have 
 brought  to  the  dissecting-room  the  body  of  a  criminal  who 
 had  been  just  hanged,  there  is  not  in  the  pericardium  one 
 single   particle  of  water   to    be    found.'"* — Bohn   in   like 
 manner  affirms  that,  except  under  morbid  circumstances, 
 serous  fluid  is  rarely  observed  in  the  pericardium. — '*  Vide- 
 tur  enim  serum    hoc  in   se  quidem   succus   laudabilis  et 
 naturalis,  ast  situ  peccans,  et  per  motus  cordis  impetuo- 
 siores,  ac  circulationem  per  pulmones  impeditam  secretus; 
 pari  modo  ac  in  corporis  partibus  diversis  arte  talem  seri 
 eongestum  parare  licet,  circulo  nempe  sanguinis  per  vincula 
 venis  injecta  intercepto.     Adeoque  non  mirum  in  cunctis 
 quocunque  morbo  defunctis  illud  reperiri,   utpote  quibus 
 in  agone  ad   minimum  respiratio    et   circulatio   per   pul- 
 mones fatiscit,    copiosius    tamen  in  his  qui   ex   hydrope, 
 asthmate,  phthisi,  similive  pathemate  strangulatorio  peri- 
 bant,  ita  utin  phthisico  ejus  uncias  quinque  J.  D.  Horstius, 
 Obs.   Anat.    18,   testetur.      Qui   violenta   morte   pereunt, 
 quia  pariter  vel  aquis  submerguntur  et  strangulantur,  vel 
 confossi  et   decollati,  i.  e.  sine  notabili  circulationis  tur- 
 
 *  Haller,  Element.  Physiolog.  Corp.  Human,  vol.  j.  pp.  282,  283  ; 
 —John  and  Charles  Bell,  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Body,  vol.  ij. 
 pp.  53 — 55. 
 
4  J  (5  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 batione  expirant,  non  in  his,  sed  in  illis  tantum  lympham> 
 hanc  cardiacam  animadvertere  licet ;  ut  aliquoties  in  pub- 
 licis  aeque  ac  privatis  sectionibus  ostendi."* — The  distinc- 
 tion here  made  by  Bobn  is  very  judicious,  and  has  been 
 too  often  neglected  by  other  authors.  It  is  not  in  every 
 case  of  violent  death,  but  chiefly  in  cases  where  there  has 
 been  much  struggle  for  breath,  as  in  strangling,  drowning, 
 &c.,  that  serum  is  found  in  the  pericardium,  and  even  then 
 the  quantity  is  but  small. 
 
 So  much  the  more  objectionable,  therefore,  is  the  state^ 
 ment  of  the  elder  Griiner,  in  his  comment  on  John,  chap. 
 19,  v.  34,  that  after  death  preceded  by  great  anxiety  the 
 pericardium  is  full  of  water. —  "Sine  dubio" — says  he, — ■ 
 "  lancea  militis  sufRxa  hsesit  in  latere  sinistro.  Johanne 
 teste,  post  illam  j/vo-ti/,  vel  KevTi]artp,  post  ictum,  et  infiictam 
 lateri  plagam,  illico  profluxit  sanguis  et  aqua.  Tale  pro-^ 
 fluvium  vix  fieri  potuit  nisi  a  latere  sinistro,  sub  quo,  prseter 
 pulmonem,  est  et  fericardium  aquce  plenum,  si  qnis  jQOst 
 anxietatem  summam  mortuus  est,  et  cor  cum  arcu  aortae  co-^ 
 
 pulatum Pulmo    leviter    ictus   quidem    poterat 
 
 parum  sanguinis  profundere,  aquam  minime.  Probabilis 
 ergo  prse  caeteris,  et  medicinae  forensi  magis  consentanea 
 ea  conjectura  est,  qua  fons  sanguinis  profusi  in  cordis 
 ventriculo,  aquae  in  pericardio  quseritur." — This  author 
 was,  like  his  son,  a  physician,  and  the  term  anxiety,  as 
 used  by  both,  is  ambiguous,  since  in  medical  writings  it  is 
 equally  applied  to  the  body  and  the  mind.  That  the  peri- 
 cardium is  full  of  water  after  death  preceded  by  great 
 mental  anxiety,  is  an  assertion  without  proof;  but,  if  the 
 statement  refers  to  bodily  anxiety,  occasioned  by  obi- 
 structed  circulation  through  the  heart  and  lungs,  it  corre- 
 sponds to  that  already  quoted  from  the  Commentary  of 
 
 *  Bohn,  (Johann.)  De  Renunciatione  Vulnerura,  pp.  226,  227  ;  — 
 Kuinoel,  Comment,  in  Lib.  Hist,  Nov.  Test.  John,  chap.  19,  v.  34. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  427 
 
 Hewlett : — '*  Medical  writers  afford  numerous  instances  of 
 a  large  effusion  of  bloody  lymph  into  the  cavities  of  the 
 pleura,  from  diseases  of  the  lungs,  and  in  cases  of  violent 
 
 death  with  long  struggling A  skilful  and  learned 
 
 physician  informed  the  editor,  that  in  cases  of  violent  and 
 painful  death  there  is  usually  an  effusion  of  lymph,  or  of 
 lymph  mixed  with  blood,  into  the  cavities  of  the  chest  and 
 abdomen."* — This  information  was  no  doubt  obtained  from 
 the  late  Dr.  Willan,  who,  in  one  of  the  notes  annexed  to  his 
 — "  History  of  the  Ministry  of  Jesus  Christ," — remarks, — 
 "  We  have  instances  of  watery  effusion  into  the  cavities  of 
 the  pleura  to  a  considerable  amount,  in  cases  of  violent 
 
 death  with  long  struggling The  phenomenon  here 
 
 mentioned  by  the  evangelist  is  generally  looked  on  as 
 miraculous." — It  is  singular  that  the  only  testimony  cited 
 on  the  occasion  by  this  accomplished  physician  is  that  of 
 Wepfer,  in  reference  to  a  beaver,  which  having  been  caught 
 in  a  net  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  after  making  despe- 
 rate but  unavailing  efforts  to  escape,  fell  into  the  river, 
 and  was  drowned.  In  a  report  of  the  appearances  observed 
 in  the  body  of  this  animal,  nothing  is  said  of  the  pericar- 
 dium, but  the  right  pleural  sac  contained  four  ounces  of 
 bloody  serum,  and  the  left  about  three  ounces ;  which,  as 
 no  liquid  was  found  in  the  lungs,  the  author  concludes 
 were  effused  by  the  blood-vessels  during  the  animal's 
 violent  struggles  for  life.  His  words  are  as  follows. — 
 "  Incisa  aspera  arteria,  nullam  aquam  ex  pulmonibus  ex- 
 primere  potui :  fortius  illis  manu  constrictis,  prodiit  spuma 
 albicans  ;  adeo  ut  in  flumine  suffocata  nihil  prorsus  per 
 laryngem  intra  asperam  arteriam  liquoris  admisisse  videre- 
 tur.    Utrinque  quidem  in  cavo  pectoris  aqua  loturae  carnium 
 
 *  Hewlett's  Bible,  &c.,  Notes  on  John,  chap.  19,  v.  34,  and  Acts, 
 chap.  1,  V.  18;— Dr.  Willan,  History  of  the  Ministry  of  Jesus 
 Christ,  &c.  p.  195. 
 
 T  3 
 
^1g  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 similis,  scilicet,  in  dextro  latere  ad  uiicias  quatuor,  in 
 sinistro  circiter  uncias  tres  cruoris  istius  limpidioris  invenie- 
 bantur ;  quern  potius  ex  vasis  sangiiiferis  in  animali  cum 
 violentissima  morte  luctante  expressum  existimo  quam 
 pulmones  transiisse,  simulque  sanguinis  aliquid  secum 
 fapuisse,  et  pectori  infusum  fuisse  ;  nam  in  asperag  arteriae 
 vel  trunco,  vel  ramis,  nee  aqua  pura,  nee  sanguine  tincta, 
 extra  vasa  apparuit." 
 
 With  no  better  explanation  than  that  here  suggested,  it 
 is  not  very  surprising  that  both  Dr.  Willan  and  Mr.  Hew- 
 lett were  disposed  to  attribute  the  death  of  Christ  to  mira- 
 culous agency  ;  whilst  the  Griiners,  in  direct  contradiction 
 of  the  evangelical  narrative,  ascribe  it  to  the  wound  in- 
 flicted by  the  soldier's  spear. — "  Christus  a  spiculatore, 
 ictus  atque  transfossus,  e  vulnere  pectoris  profudit  sangui- 
 nem  et  aquam  simul ;  ergo  tunc  temporis,  cum  jam  expi- 
 rasse  credebatur,  vixit  adhuc  lipothymicus  :  (in  hoc  enim 
 statu  datur  aliquis  sed  proedebilis  sanguinis  motus,  in 
 mortuo  minime  :)  ergo  eo  lancess  ictu  vitalis  vis  demum 
 frangi,  spes  vitse  revocandse  et  redintegrandae  omnino  tolli 
 debuit.  .  .  .  Ex  vulnere  profluxit  cum  impetu,  ut  videtur, 
 sanguis  et  aqua  simul,  neque  hoc  mortui,  sed  viventis  est ; 
 ergo  Christus,  dum  cruci  affixus  a  milite  fodiebatur,  vivebat 
 quidem  vitam  aliquam  sed  praedebilera,  proximeque  casu- 
 ram  ;  at  vero,  vulnere  pectoris  allato,  e  vita  subito  ac  vere 
 excessisse  putandus  est.  Ex  hoc  enim  vitalem  fontem  ex- 
 hauriri,  atque  vim  vitae  perexiguam  omnino  tolli  oportuit."* 
 — In  order  to  refute  these  and  similar  erroneous  explana- 
 tions, to  which  some  biblical  critics  have  paid  far  greater 
 attention  than  they  deserve,  little  more  is   necessary  than 
 
 *  Wepfer,  in  Miscellan,  Acad.  Curios.  Naturae,  Annus  2,  1671, 
 pp.  353 — 355 ; — Kuinocl,  Comment,  in  Lib.  Hist.  Nov.  Test.  John, 
 chap.  19,  V.  34,  35. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4J9 
 
 to  state  them,  since  it  is  manifest  on  the  slightest  reflection 
 that  they  are  totally  inadmissible. — "  We  have" — says  Dr. 
 Willan, — "  instances  of  watery  effusion  into  the  cavities  of 
 the  pleura  to  a  considerable  amount,  in  cases  of  violent 
 death  with  long  struggling;" — but  in  a  body  nailed  and 
 otherwise  fastened  to  a  cross  there  could,  have  been  no 
 struggling.  Moreover,  crucified  persons  often  survived 
 two  or  three  days  ;  and  the  death  of  Christ,  after  a  suspen- 
 sion of  only  six.  hours,  took  place  in  a  manner  so  sudden 
 and  extraordinary,  that  the  spectators  were  astonished,  and 
 many,  like  Dr.  Willan  himself,  have  since  ascribed  it  to 
 miraculous  agency. — "  In  persons  who  die  after  extreme 
 anxiety" — say  the  Griiners, — "  the  pericardium  is  full  of 
 water  ;" — but,  in  the  first  place,  this  is  a  gratuitous  asser- 
 tion, and  in  the  second,  the  mental  condition  o»f  Christ 
 immediately  before  his  death  was  not  that  of  anxiety,  but 
 of  intense  agony.  That  he  was  not  in  a  weak  and  fainting 
 state,  owing  to  an  effusion  of  serum  into  the  pectoral 
 cavities,  is  evident  from  the  energy  and  self-possession 
 which  he  displayed,  and  from  his  loud  and  repeated  ex- 
 clamations. But  had  it  been  otherwise,  this  supposition 
 accounts  for  the  water  only,  and  not  for  the  blood.  The 
 latter,  according  to  the  Griiners,  came  from  the  heart,  which 
 they  accordingly  assume  to  have  been  pierced  by  the  spear. 
 Yet,  if  the  pectoral  cavities,  or  even  the  pericardium  alone 
 vas  at  that  time  full  of  water,  the  heart  must  have  been 
 compressed  and  empty  ;  or,  if  it  contained  any  blood  at  all, 
 that  blood  could  scarcely  have  been  extracted  from  a  dead 
 body.  Aware  of  this  difficulty,  the  authors  maintain  that 
 at  the  moment  of  receiving  the  wound  Christ  was  still 
 alive  ;  but  as  their  statement  is  at  variance  with  the  scrip- 
 tural narrative,  it  ruins  the  argument  which  it  is  intended 
 to  support. — *'  The  soldiers" — says  the  evangelist  John, — 
 **  came,  and  broke  the  legs  of  the  first  and  of  the  other  who 
 was   crucified   with  Jesus  ;   but  on  coming  to  him,  as  they 
 
420  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 perceived  that  he  was  already  dead,  they  did  not  break  his 
 legs :  one  of  the  soldiers,  however,  pierced  his  side  with  a 
 spear,  and  immediately  there  came  forth  blood  and  water."* 
 — But,  even  if  the  contrary  supposition  were  admissible, 
 nothing  would  be  gained  by  it.  The  heart  of  a  fainting 
 and  dying  person  would  not  be  more  able  than  that  of  a 
 corpse  to  expel  its  blood  with  force,  when  pierced  with  a 
 spear.  In  either  case,  the  blood  effused  would  be  scanty 
 and  liquid ;  and,  if  there  were  at  the  time  any  serum  in 
 the  pericardium,  the  two  fluids  would  immediately  mix,  so 
 that  a  distinct  flow  of  blood  and  water  could  not  be  ob- 
 served. It  is  therefore  manifest  that  all  the  explanations 
 of  this  kind  which  have  been  proposed  are  either  incapable 
 of  accounting  for  the  facts  recorded,  or  inconsistent  with 
 them  ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  that  which  is  here  sub- 
 stituted in  their  place  has  been  proved  to  be  real,  adequate, 
 and  in  perfect  accordance  with  all  the  circumstances  and 
 requirements  of  the  case. 
 
 Note  VI.,  Pages  119—122,  194. 
 
 ON     THE   DARKNESS     OF    THE     SUN    AND    MOON,    DURING    THE 
 SUFFERINGS    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 It  has  been  briefly  suggested  in  the  text,  that  during  the 
 hour  of  Christ's  agony  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  there 
 was  probably  a  natural  eclipse  of  the  moon,  and  during 
 the  three  last  hours  of  his  crucifixion  an  extraordinary 
 darkness  of  the  sun,  occasioned  by  a  shower  of  volcanic 
 ashes  which  at  that  time  overspread  the  land  of  Palestine. 
 
 *  John,  chap.  19,  v,  31 — 34. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4^1 
 
 It  has  also  been  remarked  that  this  darkness  of  the  sun 
 and  moon  on  the  same  day  was  apparently  one  of  the 
 signs  of  the  times,  divinely  appointed  to  indicate  the 
 approaching  conclusion  of  the  Mosaic,  and  commence- 
 ment of  the  Christian  dispensation  ;  and  that  the  predic- 
 dion  of  Joel,  quoted  by  the  apostle  Peter  in  his  address 
 to  the  Israelitish  people  assembled  at  Jerusalem  on  the 
 memorable  day  of  Pentecost,  may  thus  be  satisfactorily  ex- 
 plained : — "  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heaven  above,  and 
 signs  on  the  earth  beneath,  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapour  of 
 smoke.  The  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the 
 moon  into  blood,  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  illus- 
 trious day  of  the  Lord  ;  and  it  shall  be  that  whosoever  shall 
 call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved."* — In  the  He- 
 brew and  other  eastern  languages,  the  phrase  of  the  moon 
 being  turned  into  blood  signifies  a  lunar  eclipse,  and  the 
 origin  of  the  expression  is  well  known ;  namely,  that  on 
 such  occasions  the  moon  is  not  absolutely  black,  like  the 
 sun,  but  of  a  dull  red,  or  blood  colour.  This  appearance  is 
 most  conspicuous  at  the  equinoctial  seasons  ;  and,  as  the 
 Jewish  passover  always  takes  place  at  the  vernal  equinox, 
 and  during  the  time  of  full  moon,  the  only  time  when  lunar 
 eclipses  occur,  the  supposition  is  so  far  in  harmony  with 
 the  circumstances  of  the  case.  That  an  eclipse  of  the 
 moon  actually  happened  about  the  period  of  the  cruci- 
 fixion, is  affirmed  by  several  writers,  although  concerning 
 the  precise  day  and  hour  of  the  event  they  are  not  perfectly 
 agreed.  Thus,  in  a  physiological  treatise  on  the  passion 
 of  Christ,  published  in  1673,  by  V.  H.  Vogler,  professor 
 of  philosophy  and  medicine  in  the  university  of  Helmstadt, 
 the  author  regards  the  darkness  of  the  sun  as  miraculous, 
 but   ascribes    that    of   the  moon  to    a   natural  eclipse. — 
 
 *  Joel,  chap.  2,  v.  28—32  ;— Acts,  chap.  2,  v.  16—21. 
 
^22  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "  Venimus  ad  obscuratum  solem,  cujus  solus  Lucas  signato, 
 Matthseus  autem  et  Marcus  generatim  duntaxat  tenebrarum 
 factarum,  quarum  tamen  etiam  ipse  Lucas  antea  mentionem 
 fecit,  meminerunt.  Notumvero  est  alias  soli  reapse  tenebras 
 non  ofFundi,  sed  lumen  ejus  duntaxat  intercipi,  luna  inter 
 eum  ac  terram  nostrumque  adspectum  posita.  At  solis  iste 
 defectus  qui  tempore  passionis  Domini  evenit,  prorsus 
 a  naturalibus  causis  fuit  alienus ;  utpote  qui  plena  luna 
 contigerit,  quae  et  ipsa  eopse  die,  sed  naturaliter,  eclipsin 
 est  passa,  id  quod  aliunde  constat."* — A  similar  state- 
 ment was  made  about  a  century  later  by  a  learned  English 
 clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy,  in  his  *'  System  of 
 Astronomical  Chronology  unfolding  the  Scriptures,"  from 
 which  the  following  is  an  extract.  — "  In  the  year  of  our 
 Saviour's  crucifixion,  the  true  astronomical  time  of  the 
 paschal  new  moon  happened  some  hours  before  six  in  the 
 evening,  in  the  meridian  of  Jerusalem  ;  whilst  the  mean 
 time,  as  computed  by  the  Jews,  followed  some  hours  after 
 six  in  the  evening ;  by  which  means  Neomenia  Nisan,  the 
 first  day  of  Nisan,  began  in  the  second  evening  after  the 
 true  conjunction,  on  which  evening  the  moon  was  visible, 
 although  the  Jews  did  not  propose  to  calculate  the  visibi- 
 lity, but  under  the  aforementioned  circumstances  it  must 
 necessarily  begin  in  that  manner.  Now,  if  to  the  second 
 evening  after  the  conjunction  we  add  14  days,  it  will  bring 
 us  down  to  the  15th  day  of  the  moon's  age,  or  to  the 
 day  of  the  full  moon  ;  and  that  the  moon  was  at  the  full 
 on  the  passover  day  on  which  our  Lord  suffered,  (in  the 
 19th  year  of  Tiberius  Csesar,  and  the  33rd  of  the  vulgar 
 Christian  era,  as  the  best  chronologers  agree  to  fix  it,)  is 
 not  difficult  to  prove  ;  for,  as   there  was,  by  the  gospel 
 
 *  Vogler,  (V.  H.,)   Physiologia  Historiae  Passionis  Jesu  Christi, 
 p.  23, 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4Q3 
 
 history,  on  the  noon  of  that  day  a  supernatural  eclipse  of 
 the  sun,  so  was  there  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  (as 
 astronomers  report,)  a  natural  eclipse  of  the  moon,  which 
 is  a  clear  proof  that  it  was  at  the  full.  So  far  is  it  from 
 being  true  that  the  moon  would  be  constantly  visible  at 
 the  end  of  the  first  day  of  the  month  that,  on  the  con- 
 trary, the  month  would  sometimes  begin  on  the  evening 
 on  which  the  moon  was  visible.  It  began  so  in  the  year 
 of  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  and  by  the  laws  of  Jewish  com- 
 putation."*— The  final  determination  of  this  interesting 
 point  must  be  left  to  astronomers  ;  but  their  calculations 
 may  perhaps  be  assisted  by  the  following  records,  borrowed 
 from  Archbishop  Usher's  Annals,  of  several  lunar  eclipses 
 which  were  observed  and  reported  in  the  first  half-century 
 of  the  Christian  era, — (During  Herod's  last  illness,  a.m. 
 4000,  a.  r.  J.  4710,  and.  4  years  before  Christ,  that  is, 
 before  a.  d.,  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  ;)  '*  which 
 eclipse  to  have  been  on  the  3rd  day  of  March,  three  hours 
 after  midnight,  the  astronomical  table  doth  show."  (He- 
 rod's death  took  place  a.  m.  4001,  A.P.J.  4711,)  "about 
 
 the  25th  of  our  November The  legions  of  Pan- 
 
 nonia  being  in  a  mutiny,  are  afirighted  at  a  sudden  eclipse 
 of  the  moon,  and  so  submit  themselves  to  Tiberius. 
 This  total  eclipse  was  seen  on  the  27th  of  Septem- 
 ber,   [a.m.   4018,    A.P.J.  4728,]  five   hours    after    mid- 
 
 night,  so  that  the  moon  set  in  the  very  eclipse 
 
 Valerius  Asiaticus  being  again  consul,  the  island  Therasia 
 rose  out  of  the  jEgean  sea  in  a  night  wherein  the  moon 
 was  eclipsed.  This  eclipse  was  seen  the  very  night 
 between  the  last  day  of  December  (which  terminated 
 that    year   in  which  Valerius    Asiaticus  was   the  second 
 
 *  Kennedy,  (John,)   A.  Complete  System  of  Astronomical  Chro- 
 nology, &c.  pp.  367,  368. 
 
4,^4  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 time  consul),  and  the  kalends  of  January."  [a.  m.  4050, 
 A.  p.  J.  4760.] — In  the  well-known  chronological  work, — 
 L'Art  de  Verifier  les  Dates, — a  total  eclipse  of  the  moon 
 is  said  to  have  occurred  June  14th,  a.  d.  29,  at  8|  p.m.  ; 
 and  another  April  14th,  a.  d.  32,  at  9^  a.  m.  ;  a  partial 
 eclipse  Dec.  9th,  a.  d.  29,  at  8|  p.  m.  ;  and  another, 
 April  25th,  a.  d.  31,  at  9  p.  m.* 
 
 If  in  Joel's  remarkable  prediction  the  allusion  to  blood, 
 in  connexion  with  the  darkening  of  the  moon,  signifies  a 
 lunar  eclipse,  the  reference  to  fire  and  smoke,  in  con- 
 nexion with  the  darkening  of  the  sun,  may  justly  be 
 regarded  as  intimating  that  this  darkness  would  be  occa- 
 sioned by  a  volcanic  eruption,  attended  with  a  discharge 
 of  smoke  and  ashes  : — "  I  will  show  wonders  in  the 
 heaven  above,  and  signs  on  the  earth  beneath,  blood, 
 and  fire,  and  vapour  of  smoke,  The  sun  shall  be  turned 
 into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  coming 
 of  the  great  and  illustrious  day  of  the  Lord." — The  terms 
 used  by  the  prophet,  as  quoted  in  a  Greek  translation  by 
 the  apostle  Peter,  exactly  correspond  to  those  of  the 
 three  earlier  evangelists,  when  recording  the  darkness 
 at  the  crucifixion ;  as  likewise  to  those  of  John  in  the 
 Apocalypse,  when  describing  the  appearance  in  vision  of  a 
 volcanic  eruption.  The  words  from  Joel  are, — "  Kal  Scoo-w 
 TSpara  iv  rco  ovpava  au(o,  Koi  arjfiela  eVi  rfjs  yrjs  Karco,  aijia,  Koi 
 TTvp,  KOI  dr[xida  KaTTvov  :  6  ijXioQ  ix€Ta(TTpac{)Tj(reTai  elg  (tkotoq, 
 Koi  Tj   aeXt]!/!]    elg   aipa,  irpXv  rf   iXdelv    ttjv    rjpepai/   Kvpiov,   rrjp 
 
 p.eydXr)v  koi  eVi^aj/j),"  &c. ; — those   of  the  Apocalypse, — 
 
 -"  Kal  rjvot^e  to  (ppeap  Trjg  d^vaaov,  Koi  apejSi]  Kanvbg  i<  tov 
 (ppearoQ,  cog  KUTTPOg  Kapivov  peyaXrjg,  Kal  effKOrlaOr]  6  rjXiog  Kui 
 6  d^p  eK  TOV  Kairvov  tov  (j)piaTos." — "  And  he  opened  the  bot- 
 
 *  Usher,  (Archbishop,)  Annals  of  the  World,  &c.  pp.  794,  795, 
 809,  873  ;— L'Art  de  Verifier  les  Dates,  &c.  depuis  J.  C.  vol.  i.  p.  271. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^^5 
 
 tomless  pit,  and  there  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  like 
 the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace  ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air 
 were  darkened  by  the  smoke  of  the  pit." 
 
 Language  precisely  similar  is  employed  in  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament to  represent  the  awful  convulsions  which  attended 
 the  overthrow  of  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  the  promulga- 
 tion of  the  Mosaic  law  from  Mount  Sinai,  and  which  in 
 both  cases  may  reasonably  be  ascribed  to  volcanic  agency, 
 under  the  guidance  of  divine  interposition.  On  the  former 
 occasion, — "  the  Lord  rained  upon  Sodom,  and  upon  Go- 
 morrah, brimstone  and  fire  from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven  : 
 
 and  Abraham  gat  up  early  in  the  morning  to  the 
 
 place  where  he  stood  before  the  Lord ;  and  he  looked 
 towards  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  towards  all  the  land  of 
 the  plain,  and  beheld,  and  lo !  the  smoke  of  the  country 
 went  up  as  the  smoke  of  a.  furnace." — On  the  latter, — 
 '*  Moses  brought  forth  the  people  out  of  the  camp  to  meet 
 with  God,  and  they  stood  at  the  nether  part  of  the  mount. 
 And  mount  Sinai  was  altogether  on  a  smoke,  because  the 
 Lord  descended  upon  it  in  fire,  and  the  smoke  thereof 
 ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  the  whole  mount 
 quaked  greatly."* — That  shocks  of  earthquake  actually 
 occurred  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem,  both 
 at  the  crucifixion  of  Christ,  and  at  his  resurrection,  is  dis- 
 tinctly stated  by  the  evangelist  Matthew  : — "And  behold  ! 
 the  veil  of  the  temple  split  asunder  from  the  top  to  the 
 bottom,  and  the  earth  quaked,  and  the  rocks  were  rent, 
 
 and  the  tombs  were  opened When  the  centurion, 
 
 and  those  who  were  with  him  guarding  Jesus  observed  the 
 
 *  Daubeny's  Description  of  Active  and  Extinct  Volcanoes,  &c. 
 pp.  278— 290;— Genesis,  chap.  19,  v.  23 — 28  ;— Exodus,  chap.  19, 
 V,  16— 18;— Joel,  chap.  2.  v.  30,  31 ;— Acts,  chap.  2,  v.  19,  20; 
 — Revel,  chap.  9,  v.  1,  2. 
 
^^26  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 earthquake,  and  the  [other]  events,  they  feared  exceed- 
 ingly," &c.  ; — and  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  it 
 is  stated  by  the  same  sacred  writer, — "  Now  behold !  there 
 had  been  a  great  earthquake." — The  close  resemblance  of 
 Luke's  description  of  the  darkness  at  the  crucifixion  to  the 
 passage  above  quoted  from  the  Apocalypse,  naturally 
 suggests  the  conclusion  that  the  same  explanation  is  ap- 
 plicable to  both. — "^Hi/  de  coael  (opa  eKTrj,  koL  ctkotos  iy^vfTO 
 e^'  oK-qv  rrjv  yrjv  ecos  &pas  evvdrr)?  '.  Koi  eaKOTLcrdr)  6  rp^ios,  Kai 
 i(T-)(i(T6ri  TO  KaTaTreTacrfia  rov  vaov  fxecrov.^^ — *'  It  was  about  the 
 
 sixth  hour,  and  a  darkness  overspread  the  whole  land  till 
 the  ninth  hour,  and  the  sun  was  obscured,  and  the  veil  of  the 
 temple  split  [asunder]  in  the  midst." — This  description  inti- 
 mates that  the  darkness  which  covered  the  land  gradually 
 increased  in  density,  until  the  sun  became  invisible  ;  which 
 is  precisely  the  effect  that  would  be  produced  by  a  shower 
 of  volcanic  ashes,  represented  in  the  language  of  the  apostle 
 John  as  a  smoke  arising  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  darken- 
 ing the  sun  and  the  air.  The  darkness  of  three  days'  con- 
 tinuance, which  constituted  one  of  the  plagues  of  ancient 
 Egypt  at  the  period  of  the  Exodus, — *'  even  darkness  which 
 might  be  felt," — was  evidently  of  a  similar  nature  ;  and  by 
 the  apocryphal  author  of  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  is  ac- 
 cordingly said  to  have  proceeded  from  Hades,  that  is,  from 
 the  internal  abyss  of  the  earth. — "  Ol  de  rfjv  abvvarov  ovtohQ 
 vvKTa,  Koi  i^  ahvTov  adov  p-vx^cov  ETriKBovcrav,  rbv  avrov  vrrvov 
 Kotp.(o}i(voiy"  &c. ; — *'  But  they,  sleeping  the  same  sleep  that 
 night,  which  was  indeed  intolerable,  and  which  came  upon 
 them  out  of  the  bottoms  of  inevitable  hell,  were  partly 
 vexed  with  monstrous  apparitions,"  &c.* 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  10,  v.  21 — 23  ; — Wisdom,  chap.  17,  v.  14,  15  ; — 
 Matt.  chap.  27,  v.  51—54}  chap.  28,  v.  1,  2 ;— Luke,  chap.  23, 
 V.  44,  45. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4^7 
 
 The  view  here  taken  implies  that  the  darkness  at  the 
 crucifixion  was  not  universal,  but  limited  to  the  land  of 
 Judea,  or  at  furthest  of  Palestine,  in  conformity  with  its 
 presumed  import  and  design  ;  namely,  like  the  star  or 
 meteor  which  preceded  the  birth  of  Christ,  to  mark  out 
 that  land  as  the  scene  of  a  momentous  transaction,  wherein 
 the  Deity  was  directly  concerned.  Such  was  also  the 
 case  on  the  two  analogous  occasions  in  Egypt,  already 
 noticed  ;  for,  when — "  Moses  stretched  forth  his  haijd 
 towards  heaven,  and  there  was  a  thick  darkness  in  all  the 
 land  of  Egypt  three  days,  [so  that]  they  saw  not  one 
 another,  neither  rose  any  from  his  place  for  three  days, 
 [it  is  added,]  but  all  the  children  of  Israel  had  light 
 in  their  dwellings." — So  also,  when  through  the  prophet 
 Ezekiel  God  denounced  a  similar  judgment  against 
 Pharaoh-Hophrah,  the  infliction  was  expressly  limited  to 
 the  country  concerned  : — "  All  the  bright  lights  of  heaven 
 will  I  make  dark  over  thee,  and  set  darkness  upon  thy 
 land,  saith  the  Lord  God."* — Both  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in 
 other  books,  the  Greek  word  yt],  like  the  Hebrew  p« ,  is 
 perhaps  more  frequently  used  in  a  restricted  than  in  an 
 extensive  sense,  and  its  actual  signification  must  therefore 
 be  determined  in  each  particular  case  by  the  circumstances, 
 and  the  context.  That  a  preternatural  darkness  should 
 overspread  the  entire  globe  of  the  earth,  one  half  of  which 
 lies  always  in  shadow,  is  physically  impossible  ;  and  that 
 even  a  whole  hemisphere  should  be  thus  obscured  for  three 
 hours,  without  the  slightest  notice  being  taken  of  such  an 
 event  by  the  eminent  naturalists  and  historians  who  flou- 
 rished in  those  times,  is  morally  impossible  ;  whilst,  on 
 the  other  hand,  the  absence  of  any  record  except  by  the 
 evangelists  of  a  merely  local  occurrence  of  this  kind,  con- 
 
 *  Ezek.  chap.  32,  v.  7,  8  ; 
 
428  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 fined  to  the  province  of  Judea,  cannot  reasonably  excite 
 either  doubt  or  surprise.  Neither  is  it  necessary  to  sup- 
 pose that  the  shower  of  ashes  issued  from  that  very  land, 
 and  accompanied  the  earthquake  mentioned  by  Matthew  ; 
 since  it  might  have  proceeded  from  a  simultaneous  erup- 
 tion in  Asia  Minor,  or  some  other  neighbouring  volcanic 
 country,  whence  it  would  naturally  have  been  wafted  over 
 Palestine  by  the  westerly  winds  which  always  prevail  at 
 the  paschal  season.  The  following  instances  of  similar 
 occurrences  in  modern  times  will  show  how  complete  and 
 continued  a  darkness  might  thus  be  induced  at  noon 
 day. 
 
 The  first  took  place  at  Detroit,  in  North  America,  in  the 
 year  1762  ;  and  is  thus  described  in  a  letter  communicated 
 to  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  and  inserted  in  their 
 Transactions.  [On]  "  Tuesday  last,  being  the  19th  inst., 
 we  had  almost  total  darkness  for  the  most  of  the  day.  I 
 got  up  at  day-break.  About  ten  minutes  after  I  observed 
 it  got  no  lighter  than  before.  The  same  darkness  conti- 
 nued until  nine  o'clock,  when  it  cleared  up  a  little.  We  then, 
 for  the  space  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  saw  the  body 
 of  the  sun,  which  appeared  as  red  as  blood,  and  more  than 
 three  times  as  large  as  usual.  The  air  all  this  time,  which 
 was  very  dense,  was  of  a  dirty  yellowish  green  colour. 
 I  was  obliged  to  light  candles  to  see  to  dine  at  one 
 o'clock,  notwithstanding  the  table  was  placed  close  by  two 
 large  windows.  About  three  the  darkness  became  more 
 horrible,  which  augmented  until  half-past  three,  when  the 
 wind  breezed  up  from  the  S.  W.,  and  brought  on  some 
 drops  of  rain,  or  rather  sulphur  and  dirt,  for  it  appeared 
 more  like  the  latter  than  the  former,  both  in  smell  and 
 quality.  I  took  a  leaf  of  clean  paper,  and  held  it  out  in 
 the  rain,  which  rendered  it  black  whenever  the  drops  fell 
 upon  it ;  but,  when  held  near  the  fire,  turned  to  a  yellow 
 colour,  and  when  burned,  it  fizzed  on  the  paper  like  wet 
 
NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^^9 
 
 [gun]  powder.  During  this  shoM^er  the  air  was  almost 
 suffocating,  with  a  strong  sulphurous  smell :  it  cleared  up 
 a  little  after  the  rain.  There  were  various  conjectures 
 about  the  cause  of  this  natural  incident,  ....  but  I  think 
 it  most  probable  that  it  might  have  been  occasioned  by  the 
 eruption  of  some  volcano,  or  subterraneous  fire,  whereby 
 the  sulphurous  matter  may  have  been  emitted  in  the  air, 
 and  contained  therein,  until  meeting  with  some  watery 
 clouds,  it  has  fallen  down  together  with  the  rain. — 
 Detroit,  October  25th,  1762."  —  The  second  case  oc- 
 curred at  Tripoli,  in  Africa,  and  is  mentioned  in  a 
 letter  from  Miss  Tully,  the  sister  of  the  British  resi- 
 dent at  that  court,  to  a  friend  in  England,  which  has  been 
 published  in  the  narrative  of  his  proceedings. — "  Accounts 
 we  have  just  received  from  Europe  having  explained  to  us 
 a  preternatural  appearance  that  happened  there  some  time 
 since,  leads  me  to  tell  you  of  the  extraordinary  manner  in 
 which  an  eruption  of  Mount  Etna  affected  this  country. 
 Nothing  could  make  a  more  desolate  appearance  than  this 
 town.  The  sky  was  extremely  thick  and  dark,  and  the 
 heavy  rain,  as  it  fell,  left  the  white  walls  of  the  houses 
 streaked  with  black,  as  if  from  sooty  water  tinged  with 
 red.  This  phenomenon  appears  now,  without  doubt,  to 
 have  been  caused  by  the  eruption  of  Mount  Etna  in  July 
 last.  From  the  great  convulsions  of  the  mountain,  showers 
 of  hot  sand  were  carried  towards  Malta  ;  and  the  amazing 
 column  of  fire  that  issued  took  at  last  its  direction  across 
 the  sea  towards  Barbary,  when  the  atmosphere  on  this 
 coast  became  heated  to  an  alarming  degree,  and  occasioned 
 great  consternation,  no  one  at  the  instant  being  able  to 
 account  for  such  a  phenomenon, — Nov.  22nd,  1787."* 
 
 *  Philosophical  Transactions  for  the  year  1763,  vol.  liij.  pp.  63,  64  : 
 TuUy's  Narrative  of  a  Ten  Years'  Residence  at  Tripoli  in  Africa, 
 pp.  153,  1.54. 
 
430  NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The  remaining  examples  of  this  kind  are  on  a  larger 
 scale,  and  of  a   still  more   striking  character.     The  first 
 is    derived   from  a  vivid   description  in   Tilloch's  Philo- 
 sophical Magazine,  of  the  dreadful  eruption  of  the  Souffrier 
 Mountain,  in  the  island  of  St.  Vincent,  on  Thursday  night, 
 April    30th,    1812,   which   concludes  as  follows: — "The 
 break  of  [the  next]  day,  if  such  it  could  be  called,  was 
 truly  terrific.     Darkness  was  only  visible  at  eight  o'clock, 
 and  the  birth  of  May  dawned  like  the  day  of  judgment. 
 A  chaotic  gloom  enveloped  the  mountain,  and  an  impene- 
 trable haze  hung  over  the  sea,  with  black  sluggish  clouds 
 of   a  sulphureous  cast.     The   whole  island  was   covered 
 with  favilla,  cinders,  scoria,  and  broken  masses  of  volcanic 
 matter.     It   was   not  until   the   afternoon   the    muttering 
 noise  of  the  mountain  sank  gradually  into  a  solemn,  yet 
 suspicious    silence."  —  From  this    eruption    an    enormous 
 shower  of  ashes  drifted  with  the  wind  to  the  island  of  Bar- 
 badoes,  distant  from  St.  Vincent  about  110  miles  ;   and  the 
 darkness  thereby  produced  is  thus  depicted  by  a  resident 
 planter. — *'  About  half-past  seven  o'clock  [a.  m.  May  1st.] 
 it  was   so  dark   that   candles  were  brought  in.     At  eight 
 o'clock  it  was  pitch  dark  in   the  open  air  ;   or,  in   other 
 words,  so  dark  that  we  could  not  perceive  our  hands  when 
 held  up  before  our  faces  at  two  feet  distance.     No  night  at 
 home  in  winter,  when  neither  the  moon  nor  a  star  is  to  be 
 seen,  was  ever  more  sombre.     This  darkness  continued  of 
 the  same  intenseness  until  twenty- five  minutes  past  twelve 
 o'clock ;  that  is,  for  the  space  of  four  hours  and  twenty- 
 five  minutes ;  at  which    time    we    perceived    very    indis- 
 tinctly the  outlines  of  large  and   near  objects.     At  half- 
 past  twelve  o'clock  we  distinguished  them  more  correctly  ; 
 from  which  period  the  light  increased  until  between  three 
 and  four  o'clock  p.  m.,   but  was  very  obscure.     From  the 
 time  at  which  I  got  up  in  the  morning,  until  we  went  to 
 bed  in  the  evening,  at  eight  o'clock,  there  was  a  constant 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  431 
 
 fall  from  the  clouds  of  a  substance  in  extremely  fine  flakes, 
 which,  when  first  gathered  from  our  clothes,  had  the  ap- 
 pearance of  the  dust  of  wood-ashes,  but  which,  when  suffered 
 to  accumulate,  assumed  the  resemblance  of  powdered 
 rotten-stone,   and  possessed  the  same  quality  of  cleaning 
 
 brass Assuming  the  product  of  an  experiment 
 
 as  the  medium  quantity  which  fell  on  a  foot  square 
 throughout  the  island,  and  estimating  from  our  best  maps 
 the  quantity  of  land  in  the  island  at  106,470  acres,  the 
 total  quantity  of  this  extraneous  substance  which  is  now 
 on  its  surface,  independent  of  that  which  is  upon  the  trees, 
 could  not  be  less  than  1,739,187,750  gallons  wine  mea- 
 sure, or  6,811,817,512  pounds  avoirdupois."* 
 
 The  following  graphic  account  of  a  still  more  awful 
 eruption  of  the  Tomboro  Mountain,  in  the  island  of  Sum- 
 bawa,  which  occurred  in  April,  1815,  is  borrowed  from  the 
 History  of  Java  by  the  late  Sir  T.  S.  Raffles. — ''  In  order 
 to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  tremendous  violence 
 with  which  nature  sometimes  distinguishes  the  operations 
 of  the  volcano  in  these  regions,  and  enable  him  to  form 
 some  conjecture  from  the  occurrences  of  recent  experience 
 of  the  effects  they  may  have  produced  in  past  ages,  a  short 
 account  of  the  extraordinary  and  wide-spread  phenomena 
 that  accompanied  the  eruption  of  the  Tomboro  Mountain, 
 in  the  island  of  Sumbawa,  in  April,  1815,  may  not  be 
 uninteresting.  Almost  every  one  is  acquainted  with  the 
 intermitting  convulsions  of  Etna  and  Vesuvius,  as  they 
 appear  in  the  descriptions  of  the  poet,  and  the  authentic 
 accounts  of  the  naturalist  ;  but  the  most  extraordinary  of 
 them  can  bear  no  comparison  in  point  of  duration  and 
 force  with  that  of  Tomboro.  This  eruption  extended 
 perceptible  evidences  of  its  existence  over  the  whole  of  the 
 
 *  Tilloch's  Philosophical  Magazine,   8vo.  London,  1812,  vol.  xl. 
 pp.  67—76. 
 
^^2  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Molucca  islands,  over  Java,  a  considerable  portion  of 
 Celebes,  Sumatra,  and  Borneo,  to  a  circumference  of  a 
 thousand  statute  miles  from  its  centre,  by  tremulous 
 motions  and  the  report  of  explosions  ;  whilst  within  the 
 range  of  its  more  immediate  activity,  embracing  a  space  of 
 three  hundred  miles  around  it,  it  produced  the  most  asto- 
 nishing effects,  and  excited  the  most  alarming  apprehen- 
 sions. On  Java,  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  it 
 seemed  to  be  awfully  present.  The  sky  was  overcast  at 
 noon-day  with  clouds  of  ashes  ;  the  sun  was  enveloped  in 
 an  atmosphere  whose  '  palpable*  density  he  was  unable  to 
 penetrate ;  showers  of  ashes  covered  the  houses,  the 
 streets,  and  the  fields,  to  the  depth  of  several  inches  ;  and 
 amidst  this  darkness  explosions  were  heard  at  intervals, 
 like  the  report  of  artillery,  or  the  noise  of  distant  thun- 
 der  All  conceived  that  the  effects  experienced 
 
 might  be  caused  by  eruptions  of  some  of  the  numerous 
 volcanoes  on  the  island  ;  but  no  one  could  have  conjec- 
 tured that  the  showers  of  ashes  which  darkened  the  air,  and 
 covered  the  ground  of  the  eastern  districts  of  Java,  could 
 have  proceeded  from  a  mountain  in  Sumbawa,  at  the  dis- 
 tance of  several  hundred  miles The  first  explo- 
 sions were  heard  on  this  island  (Java)  in  the  evening  of 
 the  5th   of  April.     They  were  noticed  in  every  quarter, 
 
 and  continued  at  intervals  until  the  following  day 
 
 From  the  6th  the  sun  became  obscured  :  it  had  every- 
 where the  appearance  of  being  enveloped  in  a  fog.  The 
 weather  was  sultry,  and  the  atmosphere  close,  and  still  the 
 sun  seemed  shorn  of  its  rays  ;  and  the  general  stillness 
 and  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  seemed  to  forbode  an 
 earthquake.  This  lasted  several  days.  The  explosions 
 continued  occasionally,  but  less  violently  and  less  fre- 
 quently than  at  first.  Volcanic  ashes  also  began  to  fall, 
 but  in  small  quantities,  and  so  slightly  as  to  be  hardly 
 perceptible  in  the  western   districts.     This  appearance  of 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  433 
 
 the  atmosphere  continued  with  little  variation  until  the 
 1 0th  of  April,  and  till  then  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
 volcano  attracted  much  observation,  or  was  considered  of 
 greater  importance  than  those  which  have  occasionally 
 burst  forth  in  Java.  But  on  the  evening  of  the  10th  the 
 eruptions  were  heard  more  loud  and  more  frequent.  From 
 Cheribon  eastward  the  air  became  darkened  by  the  quantity 
 of  falling  ashes,  the  sun.  was  nearly  darkened  ;  and  in  some 
 situations,  particularly  at  Solo  and  Rembang,  many  said 
 that  they  felt  a  tremulous  motion  of  the  earth.  It  was 
 universally  remarked  in  the  more  eastern  districts  that  the 
 explosions  were  tremendous,  continuing  frequently  during 
 the  11th,  and  of  such  violence  as  to  shake  the  houses  per- 
 ceptibly. An  unusual  thick  darkness  was  remarked  all 
 the  following  night,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  next  day. 
 At  Solo  candles  were  lighted  at  4  p.  m.  of  the  12th.  At 
 Magelan  in  Kedu  objects  could  not  be  seen  at  three  hun- 
 dred yards  distance.  At  Gresik,  and  other  districts  more 
 eastward,  it  was  dark  as  night  in  the  greater  part  of  the 
 12th  of  April,  and  this  saturated  state  of  the  atmosphere 
 lessened  as  the  cloud  of  ashes  passed  along,  and  discharged 
 
 itself  on  its  way The  distance  to  which  the  cloud 
 
 of  ashes  was  carried  so  quickly  as  to  produce  utter  dark- 
 ness was  clearly  pointed  out  to  have  been  the  island  of 
 Celebes,  and  the  district  of  Gresik  on  Java.  The  former 
 is  two  hundred  and  seventeen  nautical  miles  distant  from 
 the  seat  of  the  volcano  ;  the  latter,  in  a  direct  line,  more 
 than  three  hundred  geographical  miles."* 
 
 The  last  occurrence  of  this  nature  which  will  be  here  cited, 
 and  the  most  dreadful  of  all,  took  place  in  central  America, 
 and  is  thus  described  in  a  communication  inserted  in  the 
 Edinburgh  Philosophical  Magazine. 
 
 *  Sir  T.  S.  Raffles,  History  of  Java,  vol.  i.  pp.  29—33. 
 
 u 
 
431-  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 "  Rio  Mopari,  April  13th,  1835.— One  of  the  most  stu- 
 pendous convulsions  of  the  globe  ever  knovv^n  in  this 
 hemisphere  took  place  last  January,  on  the  eruption  of  the 
 volcano  of  Cosiguina.  This  volcano  is  situated  in  Nica- 
 ragua, one  of  the  states  of  Central  America,  and  stands 
 near  the  eastern  promontory  of  the  bay  of  Conchagua, 
 separating  the  waters  of  the  gulf  from  the  Pacific.  I  can 
 give  no  more  faithful  or  vivid  description  of  its  appearance 
 and  effects  in  the  immediate  vicinity  than  the  following 
 translation  of  a  report,  dated  January  29th,  from  the 
 Commandant  of  Union,  a  sea-port  situated  on  the  western 
 shore  of  the  bay  of  Conchagua,  and  the  nearest  place  of 
 
 any  consequence  to  the  volcano. *  On  the  20th  inst., 
 
 day  having  dawned  with  usual  serenity,  at  eight  o'clock, 
 towards  the  S.  E.,  a  dense  cloud  was  perceived  of  a  pyrami- 
 dal figure,  preceded  by  a  rumbling  noise,  and  it  continued 
 rising  until  it  covered  the  sun,  at  which  elevation,  about  ten, 
 it  separated  to  the  north  and  south,  accompanied  by  thun- 
 der and  lightning.  The  cloud  finally  covered  the  whole 
 firmament  about  eleven,  and  enveloped  everything  in  the 
 greatest  darkness,  so  that  the  nearest  objects  were  imper- 
 ceptible. The  melancholy  howling  of  beasts,  the  flocks  of 
 birds  of  all  species  that  came  to  seek  as  it  were  an  asylum 
 amongst  men,  the  terror  which  assailed  the  latter,  the  cries 
 of  women  and  children,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  issue  of 
 so  rare  a  phenomenon, —  everything  combined  to  overcome 
 the  stoutest  soul,  and  fill  it  with  apprehension  ;  and  the 
 more  so  when  at  four  p.  m.  the  earth  began  to  quake,  and 
 continued  in  a  perpetual  undulation,  which  gradually  in- 
 creased. This  was  followed  by  a  shower  of  phosphoric 
 sand,  which  lasted  till  eight  o'clock  p.  m.  on  the  same  day, 
 when  there  began  falling  a  heavy  and  fine  powder,  like 
 flour.  The  thunder  and  lightning  continued  the  whole 
 night,  and  the  following  day  (the  21st;)  and  at  eight  mi- 
 nutes past  three  o'clock  p.  m.,  there  was  a  long  and  violent 
 
NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^.g^ 
 
 earthquake,  [so]  that  many  men  who  were  walking  in  a 
 penitential  procession  were  thrown  down.  The  darkness 
 lasted  forty-three  hours,  making  it  indispensable  for  every 
 one  to  carry  a  light,  and  even  these  were  not  sufficient  to 
 see  clearly  with.  On  the  22nd  it  was  somewhat  less  dark, 
 although  the  sun  was  not  visible  ;  and  towards  the  morn- 
 ing of  the  23rd,  the  tremendously  loud  thunder-claps  were 
 heard  in  succession  like  the  firing  of  pieces  of  artillery  of 
 the  largest  calibre,  and  this  fresh  occurrence  was  accom- 
 panied by  increased  showers  of  dust.  From  day-dawn  of 
 the  23rd  until  ten  o'clock  a.  m.  a  dim  light  only  served  to 
 show  the  most  melancholy  spectacle.  The  streets,  which 
 from  the  rocky  nature  of  the  soil  are  full  of  inequalities 
 and  stones,  appeared  quite  level,  being  covered  with  dust. 
 Men,  women,  and  children  were  so  disfigured,  that  it  was 
 not  easy  to  recognize  any  one  except  by  the  sound  of  their 
 voices,  or  other  circumstances.  Houses  and  trees,  not 
 to  be  distinguished  through  the  dust  which  covered  them, 
 had  the  most  horrible  appearance.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these 
 appalling  sights,  they  were  preferable  to  the  darkness  into 
 which  we  were  again  plunged  from  after  the  said  hour  of 
 ten,  as  during  the  preceding  days.  The  general  distress, 
 which  had  been  assuaged,  was  renewed;  and,  although 
 leaving  the  place  was  attended  by  imminent  peril  from  the 
 wild  beasts  that  had  sallied  from  the  forests,  and  sought  the 
 towns  and  high  roads,  as  happened  in  the  neighbouring  vil- 
 lage of  Conchagua  and  this  town  into  which  tigers  thrur^t 
 themselves,  yet  another  terror  was  superior ;  and  more  than 
 half  the  inhabitants  of  Union  emigrated  on  foot,  abandon- 
 ing their  houses,  well  persuaded  that  they  should  never 
 return  to  them,  since  they  prognosticated  the  total  destruc- 
 tion of  the  town,  and  fled  with  dismay  for  refuge  to  the 
 mountains.  At  half-past  three  on  the  morning  of  the  24th 
 the  moon  and  a  few  stars  were  visible,  as  if  through  a  cur- 
 tain, and  the  day  was  clear,  although  the  sun  could  not  be 
 
 u  2 
 
436  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 seen,  since  the  dust  continued  falling,  having  covered  the 
 ground  all  round  about,  to  a  thickness  of  five  inches.  The 
 25th  and  26th  v^^ere  like  the  24th,  with  frequent  though 
 not  violent  earthquakes.  The  cause  of  all  this  has  been 
 the  volcano  of  Cosiguina,  which  burst  out  on  the  20th,  I 
 am  also  informed  that  on  the  island  of  Tigre,  in  that 
 direction,  the  showers  of  the  21st  were  of  pumice  stones 
 of  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  some  even  as  large  as  a  hen's 
 egg.  The  earth  quaked  there  more  than  here,  but  no 
 houses  or  other  edifices  have  been  thrown  down.  Here 
 there  are  many  people  with  catarrhs,  headachs,  sore  throats, 
 and  pectoral  affections,  resulting  doubtless  from  the  dust. 
 Several  persons  are  seriously  unwell,  and  yesterday  a  girl 
 of  seven  years  old  died,  with  symptoms  of  an  inflammatory 
 sore  throat.  Flocks  of  birds  are  found  dead,  lying  on  the 
 roads,  and  floating  on  the  sea.  The  showers  of  dust 
 lasted  till  the  27th."* 
 
 It  is  impossible  to  read  with  attention  the  foregoing  and 
 similar  extracts,  without  perceiving  that  the  awful  scenes 
 described  in  several  parts  of  Scripture, — the  overthrow  of 
 Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  the  conflagration  on  Mount  Sinai, 
 the  extraordinary  darkness  in  Egypt,  and  that  at  the 
 crucifixion  of  Christ,  although  primarily  induced  by  divine 
 interposition,  were  in  their  immediate  nature  and  origin 
 volcanic.  The  short  and  simple  account  given  by  Moses 
 of  the  phenomena  which  occurred  at  Mount  Sinai,  during 
 the  promulgation  of  the  Israelitish  covenant,  is  decisive  in 
 this  respect. — "  It  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day  in  the 
 morning,  that  there  were  thunders,  and  lightnings,  and  a 
 thick  cloud  upon  the  mount,  and  the  voice  of  the  trumpet 
 exceeding  loud,  so  that  all  the  people  that  [were]  in  the 
 
 camp  trembled.     And  Moses  brought  forth  the  people  out 
 
 . _ — . . __i 
 
 *  Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Journal,  vol.  xx.  pp.  165—167. 
 (From  Silliman's  Journal,  July,  183.5.) 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^^^-jf 
 
 of  the  camp  to  meet  with  God  ;  and  they  stood  at  the 
 nether  part  of  the  mount.  And  mount  Sinai  was  alto- 
 gether on  a  smoke,  because  the  Lord  descended  upon  it  in 
 fire,  and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a 
 furnace,  and  the  whole  mount  quaked  greatly." — When 
 reminding  them  a  little  before  his  death  of  the  same  solemn 
 transaction,  he  uses  similar  language  : — "  Ye  came  near 
 and  stood  under  the  mountain,  and  the  mountain  burned 
 with  fire  unto  the  midst  of  heaven,  with  darkness,  clouds, 
 and  thick  darkness.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  you  out  of 
 the  midst  of  the  fire  :  ye  heard  the  voice  of  the  words,  but 
 saw  no  similitude,  only  [ye  heard]  a  voice.  And  he  declared 
 unto  you  his  covenant  which  he  commanded  you  to  per- 
 form, [even]  ten  commandments,  and  he  wrote  them  upon 
 two  tables  of  stone."* — This  description,  a  little  magnified, 
 would  be  perfectly  applicable  to  the  eruption  of  the  Souffrier 
 mountain,  in  the  island  of  St.  Vincent.  The — "  thick  dark- 
 ness"— at  Mount  Sinai,  and  the — "  darkness  which  might 
 be  felt" — in  ancient  Egypt,  correspond  to — "  the  palpable 
 density  of  the  atmosphere," — occasioned  by  the  showers 
 of  volcanic  ashes  which  fell  in  the  island  of  Java,  during 
 the  eruption  of  Tomboro.  In  reference  to  Egypt,  the 
 scriptural  statement  is  remarkably  distinct. — "  And  the 
 Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thy  hand  towards 
 heaven,  that  there  may  be  darkness  over  the  land  of 
 Egypt,  even  darkness  [which]  may  be  felt.  And  Moses 
 stretched  forth  his  hand  towards  heaven,  and  there  was  a 
 thick  darkness  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  three  days.  They 
 saw  not  one  another,  neither  rose  any  from  his  place  for 
 three  days  ;  but  all  the  children  of  Israel  had  light  in  their 
 
 dwellings." — The    comment    on   this    event   in  the 
 
 "■0 
 
 apo- 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  19,  v.  16—18;  chap.  20,  v.  18—21  ;  chapt  24, 
 V.  15—17; — Deuteron.  chap.  4,  v.  10 — 12;  chap.  5,  v.  22,  23  ; — 
 Heb.  chap.  12,  v.  18—21. 
 
438 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 cryphal  book  of  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon  appears  at  first 
 sight,  like  many  other  oriental  narratives,  extravagant  and 
 hyperbolical : — "  Being  scared  with  beasts  that  passed  by, 
 
 and  hissing  of  serpents,  they  died  for  fear Whether 
 
 it  were  a  whistling  wind,  or  a   melodious  noise  of  birds 
 among  the  spreading  branches,  or  a  pleasing  fall  of  water 
 running  violently,  or  a  terrible  sound  of  stones  cast  down, 
 or  a  running  that  could  not  be  seen  of  skipping  beasts,  or 
 a  roaring  voice  of  most  savage  wild  beasts,  or  a  rebounding 
 echo  from  the  hollow  mountains, — these  things  made  them 
 to  swoon  for  fear." — Nevertheless,  with  some  allowance 
 for  the   diffuse   and  florid   style   of    this  uninspired   but 
 venerable  writer,  his  description  bears  a  close  resemblance 
 to  that  of  the  eruption   of  Cosiguina  only   a  few  years 
 since ;  when  the  appalling  sounds  which  accompanied  the 
 heavy   showers   of  dust   and    pumice,   drifting   with    the 
 wind,  were  aggravated  by  the  howling  of  wild  beasts,  the 
 rushing  of  domestic  animals,  and  the  screaming  of  birds, 
 impelled  by  terror  to  seek  refuge  amongst  the  dwellings  of 
 men,  and  thus  furnishes  an  internal   evidence  of  truth.* 
 The    darkness  for  three  hours  at  the  crucifixion  finds  a 
 parallel  in  the  darkness  for  more  than  four  hours  in  Bar- 
 badoes,  derived  from  the  smoke  and  ashes  of  the  Soufifrier 
 mountain.     In  the  former  case  its  volcanic  origin  was  in- 
 dicated by  the  shocks  of  earthquake  which  occurred  on  the 
 spot,  yet  it  might  very  possibly  have  been  occasioned  by 
 a  shower  of  ashes  which  had  travelled  from  another  region; 
 since  in  Java,  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred  miles  from 
 the  crater,  it  was,  owing  to  a  similar  cause,  as  dark  as  pitch 
 during  a  whole  day.     It  is  also  illustrated  by  the  catas- 
 trophe  at  Union,  in   central  America ;    where,  in  conse- 
 quence  of    the   eruption   of   Cosiguina,  —  "a   pyramidal 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  10,   v.  21— 23  ;— Wisdom,   chap.   17,  v.  9,  10, 
 18,  19. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 439 
 
 cloud  rose  gradually  until  it  covered  the  entire  firmament, 
 darkened  the  sun,  and  enveloped  everything  in  the  greatest 
 obscurity ;" — exactly  corresponding  to  the  description  of 
 the  apocalyptic  vision, — ^'  There  arose  a  smoke  out  of  the 
 [bottomless]  pit,  like  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace ;  and 
 the  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by  the  smoke  of  the  pit." 
 The  view  here  taken  is  strongly  confirmed  by  its  re- 
 markable agreement  with  a  conclusion  briefly  noticed  in 
 the  text,  and  which  seems  to  be  equally  suggested  by 
 reason  and  by  Scripture ;  namely,  that  in  the  present  con- 
 dition of  the  world,  all  volcanic  movements  are  effects  of 
 the  malediction  which  God  denounced  against  the  earth  at 
 the  fall  of  man,  and  evidences  of  his  displeasure  at  human 
 depravity.  Not  long  before  that  event  the  globe  was, 
 according  to  the  Mosaic  narrative,  in  a  state  of  chaos  and 
 ruin,  when  the  Deity  interposed  ;  and,  having  by  succes- 
 sive operations  reduced  it  to  order,  and  furnished  it  with 
 living  beings,  including  mankind  as  the  lords  of  all,  pro- 
 nounced his  blessing  on  the  new  creation,  and  declared  it 
 to  be  very  good.  Had  mankind  retained  their  primitive 
 innocence  and  friendship  with  God,  this  happy  state  of 
 things  would  doubtless  have  continued,  and  in  that  case  it 
 cannot  be  supposed  that  earthquakes  or  volcanic  eruptions 
 would  ever  have  occurred.  But  the  numerous  events  of 
 this  kind  which  have  actually  taken  place,  wherein  large 
 tracts  of  land  and  myriads  of  persons  have  been  sud- 
 denly destroyed  by  fire,  plainly  indicate  the  reality  of 
 the  malediction,  and  the  consequent  tendency  of  the  earth 
 to  relapse  into  its  original  chaos.  These  partial  catas- 
 trophes are  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  preludes  to  the 
 final  and  universal  one  predicted  in  Scripture,  and  which, 
 according  to  the  same  authority,  is  to  be  followed  by  the 
 reconstruction  of  the  globe  in  more  than  its  pristine  per- 
 fection, as  the  eternal  abode  of  virtue  and  happiness. 
 Thus,  after  referring  to  the  general  deluge  in  the  time  of 
 
440  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Noah,  another  stupendous  intimation  of  the  same  kind,  the 
 apostle   Peter  declares ; — "  The   heavens    and   the  earth 
 
 [which  are]  now are  kept  in  store,  being  reserved 
 
 to  fire,  at  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of  ungodly 
 
 men The  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief, 
 
 wherein  the  heavens  will  pass  away  with  a  great  noise, 
 and  the  elements  will  be  dissolved  by  fervent  heat,  and 
 the  earth    with  [all]  its    productions    will  be  burnt  up : 
 
 nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  promise,  expect 
 
 new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  righteousness  will 
 dwell." — The  description  of  the  renovated  world,  given  by 
 the  apostle  John  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  Apoca- 
 lypse, exactly  corresponds. — "  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a 
 new  earth,  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  had 
 passed  away,  and  there  was  no  more  sea.  And  I  saw  the 
 holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from 
 God,  prepared  like  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband,  and  I 
 heard  a  loud  voice  from  heaven  saying, — '  Behold !  the 
 tabernacle  of  God  [is]  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with 
 them,  and  they  will  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  will 
 be  with  them  [as]  their  God,  and  will  wipe  away  all  tears 
 from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  will  be  no  more  death,  neither 
 grief,  nor  crying,  nor  pain,  for  the  former  things  have 
 passed  away.' — And  he  that  sat  on  the  throne  said, — 
 *  Behold !  I  make  all  things  new.'  ....  And  he  showed 
 me  a  river  of  [the]  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  flowing 
 from  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb ;  [and]  in  the 
 midst  of  the  street  [of  the  city,]  and  on  each  side  of  the 
 river  [the]  tree  of  life,  producing  twelve  kinds  of  fruit, 
 [and]  yielding  its  fruit  every  month  ;  and  the  leaves  of  the 
 tree  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  and  there  will  be  no 
 more  curse.''* 
 
 *  2  Peter,  chap.  3,  v.  7—13  ;— Revel,  chap.  21,  v.  1—4  j  chap.  22, 
 V.  1—3. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  441 
 
 It  is  still  further  in  favour  of  this  view  if,  as  there  is 
 much  reason  to  conclude,  the  majority  of  epidemic  and 
 pestilential  diseases  are  occasioned  by  volcanic  effluvia, 
 emitted  either  silently  or  with  explosion  from  the  interior  of 
 the  globe,  and  wafted  by  winds  over  various  regions,  until, 
 after  causing  great  ravages,  they  are  finally  decomposed  or 
 dispersed.  That  such  is  the  case  has  been  strongly  sus- 
 pected by  physicians  and  philosophers  from  the  earliest 
 periods  down  to  the  present,  and  no  other  explanation  of 
 the  facts  equally  probable  has  ever  been  proposed.  The 
 connexion  observed  in  all  times  and  countries  between 
 pestilential  disorders  and  volcanic  agency  has  been  abun- 
 dantly proved  by  Short,  Webster,  Forster,  and  others,  who 
 have  also  shown  that  this  connexion  is  regular  and  constant. 
 In  several  instances  the  cause  of  epidemics  has  been  rendered 
 manifest  by  their  being  attended  with  a  fog  or  cloud,  or 
 with  coloured  rains,  fancifully  compared  to  showers  of 
 blood  ;  and  during  the  prevalence  of  the  Asiatic  cholera 
 in  England,  in  the  year  1832,  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
 atmosphere  was  found  by  Dr.  Prout  to  be  sensibly  in- 
 creased. This  author  judiciously  observes  that  the  poison- 
 ous character  of  certain  effluvia  from  volcanoes  is  well 
 exemplified  by  two  of  them, — Selenium,  and  Sulphur. 
 When  dissolved  in  hydrogen  gas,  and  diffused  through  the 
 air,  the  minutest  quantities  of  these  substances,  more  espe- 
 cially of  the  former,  produce  the  most  powerful  and  dele- 
 terious effects  on  the  animal  frame.*  Mr.  Parkin,  who  has 
 published  a  distinct  treatise  on  the  subject,  remarks  that, 
 
 *  Dr.  Prout,  Bridgewater  Treatise,  pp.  347-354; — Orton,  On 
 Cholera,  pp.  258,  259,  466; — Parkin,  On  Epidemic  Diseases,  pp.  170, 
 — 177  ; — Webster,  On  Pestilential  Diseases,  vol.  i.  pp.  87 — 90,  100 
 —  102,  116—121,  140  —  146,  165,  166,  191,192,  226  —  228,  436, 
 437,  443—446  ;— vol.  ii.  p.  13—23. 
 
 U  3 
 
^/^O  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 independently  of  violent  eruptions,  and  of  earthquakes, 
 which  according  to  Lyell  are  merely  abortive  eruptions, 
 volcanic  action  accompanied  with  gaseous  exhalations  is 
 almost  always  going  on  in  a  silent  and  invisible  manner  ; 
 and  that  the  occasional  presence  in  the  atmosphere  of  a 
 virulent  poison  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  during  remark- 
 able epidemic  periods  the  lower  animals,  and  even  vege- 
 tables, suffer  as  well  as  man*  It  may  be  added,  that  in 
 some  of  these  cases  the  waters  of  lakes,  rivers,  and  of  the 
 sea  itself  have  become  contaminated,  and  that  great  numbers 
 of  fishes  have  in  consequence  been  infected  and  destroyed.* 
 That  during  volcanic  eruptions  enormous  quantities  of 
 gas,  vapour,  or  impalpable  powder  are  often  discharged 
 from  the  interior  of  the  earth,  and  after  rising  to  an  im- 
 mense height  are  transported  to  vast  distances,  is  well 
 known  ;  and  the  extensive  diffusion,  and  sometimes  capri- 
 cious course  of  epidemic  disorders,  as  well  as  their  variable 
 prevalence  and  intensity,  exactly  correspond  to  the  influ- 
 ence of  such  a  cause.  A  complete  demonstration  of  this 
 theory  must,  of  course,  be  a  work  of  time  and  labour  ;  but 
 enough  has  been  done,  especially  of  late  years,  to  render  it 
 highly  probable,  and  to  encourage  further  research. 
 
 Let  the  result  however  be  what  it  may,  it  is  an  indis- 
 putable and  appalling  fact  that,  even  omitting  for  the  pre- 
 sent the  formidable  effects  of  malaria,  a  poison  generated 
 on  the  surface,  the  interior  of  the  earth  is  to  a  great  extent 
 a  source  of  disease  and  death  to  its  inhabitants,  and  chiefly 
 to  the  human  race.  By  way  of  illustration,  it  is  sufficient 
 to  mention  that  two  epidemics  alone,  the  Black  Death 
 in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  Asiatic  Cholera  in  the 
 nineteenth,  are  each  computed  to  have  destroyed  within  a 
 
 *  Parkin,  On  Epidemic  Diseases,  pp.  34,  35,  48,  64,  70,  71,  170, 
 J71,  177— 184;— Webster,  On  Pestilential  Diseases,  vol.  i.  pp.  131 
 ^135,  184—188,  201—203,  219—221,427—430. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4.4^3 
 
 few  years  fifty  millions  of  mankind.  Concerning  the  for- 
 mer it  is  stated  by  Hecker, — "  This  great  pestilence  of  the 
 fourteenth    century,   which    desolated  Asia,   Europe,  and 
 
 Africa,  was  an  oriental  plague On  account  of  the 
 
 inflammatory  boils  and  tumours  of  the  glands,  and  from  the 
 black  spots  indicatory  of  a  putrid  decomposition  which 
 appeared  on  the  skin,  it  was  called  in  Germany,  and  the 
 northern  kingdoms  of  Europe, — The  Black  Death.  From 
 China  to  the  Atlantic  the  foundations  of  the  earth  were 
 shaken.     Through  Asia  and  Europe  the  atmosphere  was 
 
 in  commotion In  the  inmost  depths  of  the  globe 
 
 that  impulse  was  given  in  the  year  1333,  which  in  unin- 
 terrupted succession  for  twenty-six  years  shook  the  surface 
 
 of  the  earth,  even  to  the  western  shores  of  Europe 
 
 It  was  reported  to  Pope  Clement  [VI.]  at  Avignon,  that 
 throughout  the  East,  probably  with  the  exception  of  China, 
 23,840,000  had  fallen  victims  to  the  plague.  ...  It  may 
 be  assumed  without  exaggeration  that  Europe  lost  during 
 the  Black  Death  25,000,000  of  inhabitants." — The  mor- 
 tality occasioned  by  the  Asiatic  Cholera,  which  in  the 
 early  part  of  the  present  century  made  the  entire  circuit  of 
 the  world,  can  scarcely  have  been  less  ;  since  in  British 
 India  alone,  during  the  short  space  of  fourteen  years,  it  is 
 estimated  by  Scoutetten  and  Desruelles  at  eighteen  mil- 
 lions, and  the  latter  author  infers  that  in  China  it  was 
 still  more  considerable.*  The  connexion  of  the  Black 
 Death  with  earthquakes  is  mentioned  above  in  very  striking 
 terms  by  Hecker ;  that  of  Cholera  is  thus  noticed  by  Orton. 
 — "  It  has  been  very  long  and  generally  observed  that 
 earthquakes  either  accompany  or  precede  severe  epidemical 
 
 *  Hecker,  On  the  Black  Death,  pp.  4,  28,  29,  44, 45,  56,  57, 77  ;- 
 Desruelles,  Precis  Physiologique  du  Cholera  Morbus,  pp.  26,  27  ;- 
 Scoutetten,  Histoire  du  Cholera  Morbus,  &c.  pp.  20—27. 
 
441.  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 diseases.  Mr.  Webster,  (who  has  paid  the  most  minute 
 and  laborious  attention  to  all  the  histories  of  epidemics, 
 and  all  the  remarkable  phenomena  o-f  nature  of  which  any 
 records  are  to  be  found,)  is  extremely  clear  and  explicit  on 
 this  head,  and  his  evidence  is  such  as  to  place  the  truth 
 of  at  least  this  part  of  his  interesting  speculations  beyond 
 
 a  doubt The  epidemic  Cholera  in  India  affords 
 
 the  strongest  confirmation  of  this  remarkable  fact.  Earth- 
 quakes are  in  general  by  no  means  common  in  India ;  but 
 since  the  appearance  of  the  epidemic  they  have  been  ex- 
 tremely so,  and  in  some  instances  their  eifects  have  been 
 very  ruinous.  .  .  .  The  connexion  of  earthquakes,  and  at- 
 mospherical disturbances,  and  irregularities  of  seasons,  with 
 epidemics  can  scarcely  be  disputed  ;  and  if  the  eruption  of 
 volcanoes,  particularly  of  new  or  extinct  ones,  forms  a  part 
 of  the  concatenation,  it  lends  a  degree  of  probability  to  the 
 hypothesis  of  changes  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  being  the 
 original  cause  of  all."* 
 
 "  This  state  of  things,  far  from  being  "  very  good,"  is 
 therefore  a  painful  proof  of  the  reality  of  the  malediction, 
 and  the  explanation  here  offered  merely  indicates  the  mode 
 in  which  that  malediction  usually  operates ;  for,  although 
 such  visitations  are  doubtless  always  to  be  regarded  as  divine 
 judgments,  they  do  not,  except  in  special  cases,  imply  a 
 direct  interposition,  nor  do  they  alv/ays  imply  even  in 
 these  cases  a  different  mode  of  action,  but  often  merely  a  new 
 and  supernatural  impulse,  agreeably  to  the  rule  observed  in 
 all  genuine  miracles ;  namely,  that  supernatural  agency  is 
 employed  with  the  strictest  economy,  and  no  further  than 
 is  absolutely  necessary.  This  principle  is  well  illustrated 
 by  a  passage  in  the  book  of  Isaiah,  wherein  it  is  said  ; — 
 "  Tophet  [is]  ordained  of  old,  yea,  for  the  king  it  is  pre- 
 
 *  Orton,  On  the  Epidemic  Cholera  of  India,  pp.  258,  259^,  466. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  445 
 
 pared :  he  hath  made  [it]  deep  [and]  large :  the  pile 
 thereof  [is]  fire  and  much  wood  :  the  breath  of  the  Lord, 
 like  a  stream  of  brimstone,  doth  kindle  it." — The  imme- 
 diate dependence  of  pestilential  diseases  on  volcanic  agency 
 is  intimated  in  various  parts  of  Scripture.  The  murrain 
 and  pestilence,  for  example,  in  Egypt,  together  with  most 
 of  the  other  plagues  inflicted  on  that  country  in  the  time 
 of  Moses,  exhibit  this  character,  and  it  is  distinctly  avowed 
 in  the  sublime  hymn  of  Habakkuk. 
 
 "  God  came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  Mount 
 Paran  : 
 His  glory  covered  the  heavens,  and  the  earth  was  full 
 
 of  his  praise. 
 [His]  brightness  was  as  the  light : 
 He    had   beams   [coming]  forth    from    his    hand,   and 
 
 there  [was]  the  hiding  of  his  power. 
 Before  him  went  the  pestilence,  and  burning  diseases 
 
 went  forth  at  his  feet. 
 He  stood,   and  measured  the  earth  :   be  beheld,  and 
 
 drove  asunder  the  nations  : 
 The  everlasting  mountains  were  scattered  ;    the  perpe- 
 tual hills  did  bow  : 
 His  ways  [are]  everlasting."* 
 Similar  intimations  are  found  in  the  New  Testament, 
 particularly  in  Christ's  principal  prediction  of  the  destruc- 
 tion of  Jerusalem,  and   of  the  physical  and  political  con- 
 vulsions which  would  precede  that  awful  event. — "  Nation 
 will  rise  up  against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom  ; 
 and  there  will  be  great  earthquakes  in  various  places,  and 
 
 *  Genesis,  chap.  14,  v.  10  ;  chap.  19,  v.  23—28  ;— Exodus,  chap,  y, 
 V.  1—7,  13—15;  chap.  12,  v.  29,  30;— Psalm  78,  v.  49— 51 ;— Isaiah, 
 chap.  30,  V.  33  ; — Habakkuk,  chap.  3,  v.  1—6.  In  the  latter  passage 
 the  marginal  readings,  which  are  almost  always  the  best,  have  been 
 here  adopted. 
 
446  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 famines,  and  pestilences ;  there  will  also  be  fearful  sights, 
 
 and  great  signs  from  heaven, in  the  sun,  and  in 
 
 the  moon,  and  in  the  stars ;  and  on  the  earth  distress  of 
 nations  with  perplexity ;  the  sea  and  its  waves  roaring, 
 [and]  men  fainting  through  fear,  and  apprehension  of  the 
 [events]  coming  on  the  earth  ;  for  the  powers  of  the 
 heavens  will  be  shaken."* — If,  therefore,  at  the  crucifixion 
 of  Christ  an  extraordinary  darkness  at  noonday,  expressive 
 of  the  malediction,  w^as  produced  by  volcanic  agency 
 operating  under  divine  direction,  it  was  an  occurrence 
 peculiarly  suited  to  the  occasion,  and  in  perfect  accordance 
 both  with  general  principle,  and  with  ancient  prophecy. 
 
 Note  VII.,  Pages  11—14. 
 
 ON    PETER'S    DENIALS    OF    CHRIST. 
 
 It  is  seldom  desirable  that  an  author  should  be  his  own 
 commentator,  but  there  are  two  subjects  of  considerable 
 importance  mentioned  in  the  preceding  treatise  which  re- 
 quire explanation  ;  and,  as  that  explanation  could  not  be 
 conveniently  given  in  the  work  itself,  it  is  here  subjoined. 
 These  subjects  are  the  denials  of  Christ  by  Peter,  and  the 
 representation  of  Christianity  as  founded,  not  on  a  testa- 
 ment, but  on  a  covenant. 
 
 Concerning  the  nature  and  number  of  Peter's  denials  of 
 Christ  much  misapprehension  has  prevailed.  By  the  ma- 
 jority of  harmonists  and  commentators  they  are  reckoned 
 as  three,  and  ascribed  either  to  disaffection,  timidity,  or 
 unbelief;    but,    if  all    the  circumstances  of  the  case   as 
 
 *  Matt,  chap,  24,  v.  3— 8 ;— Mark,  chap.   13,  v.  3—8;— I.uke, 
 chap.  21,  V.  7—11,25,26. 
 
NOTES     AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^4y 
 
 described  by  the  evangelists  are  carefully  examined,  it  will 
 plainly  appear  that  they  were  seven  in  number,  and  occa- 
 sioned by  presumption  and  spiritual  pride. 
 
 After  celebrating  his  last  paschal  supper  with  the  apos- 
 tles, instituting  his  own  supper,  and  dismissing  from  the 
 apartment  Judas  Iscariot,  whose  intended  treachery  he  had 
 previously  intimated,  both  to  the  traitor  himself,  and  to 
 the  beloved  disciple,  Christ  said  to  the  eleven, — *'  Chil- 
 dren, yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you.  Ye  will  seek  me, 
 and  as  I  said  to  the  Jews, — Whither  I  go  ye  cannot  come, 
 — so  now  I  say  to  you.  A  new  commandment  I  give  you, 
 — to  love  one  another;  [I  mean]  to  love  one  another  as  I 
 have  loved  you.  Hereby  all  men  will  know  that  ye  are  my 
 disciples,  if  ye  have  love  to  one  another.' — And  the  Lord 
 said,  '  Simon  !  Simon  !  behold  Satan  hath  demanded  to 
 have  you,  that  he  may  sift  [you]  like  wheat,  but  I  have 
 prayed  for  thee  that  thy  faith  may  not  fail.  When  [there- 
 fore] thou  art  restored,  strengthen  thy  brethren.' — Simon 
 Peter  said  to  him, — '  J^ord,  whither  goest  thou?' — Jesus 
 answered  him, — '  Whither  I  go  thou  canst  not  follow  me 
 now,  but  thou  shalt  follow  me  hereafter.' — Peter  said  to 
 hira, — '  Lord !  why  cannot  I  follow  thee  now^  ?  I  am 
 ready  to  go  with  thee  both  to  prison  and  to  death  :  I  will 
 lay  down  my  life  for  thy  sake.' — Jesus  answered  him, — 
 '  Wilt  thou  lay  down  thy  life  for  my  sake  ?  I  assuredly 
 tell  thee,  the  cock  will  not  crow  this  day  before  thou  wilt 
 thrice  deny  that  thou  knowest  me." — The  important  dis- 
 courses of  Christ  which  followed  this  conversation  termi- 
 nated in  his  well-known  prayer  to  the  Father,  after  record- 
 ing which,  the  narrative  thus  proceeds. — "  When  Jesus  had 
 spoken  these  words  he  went  forth  with  his  disciples,  and 
 having  sung  a  hymn,  they  repaired  as  usual  to  the  Mount 
 of  Olives.  He  then  said  to  them, — '  All  of  you  will  this 
 night  be  offended  by  me,  for  it  is  written, — /  will  smite  the 
 shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the  flock  will  be  scattered : — 
 
^^g  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 but  after  I  am  risen  [from  the  dead,]  I  will  go  before  you 
 to  Galilee.* — Peter  answered  him,—*  Though  all  [others] 
 should  be  offended  by  thee,  I  will  never  be  offended.' — 
 Jesus  said  to  him, — '  I  tell  thee  truly  that  to-day,  [even] 
 this  very  night,  before  the  cock  crows  the  second  time, 
 thou  wilt  disown  me  thrice :' — but  he  spoke  the  more 
 positively, — '  Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  I  will 
 never  disown  thee  :' — so  likewise  said  all  the  disciples."* 
 
 The  foregoing  passages  relate  the  predictions  made  by 
 Christ  on  this  subject :  the  following  ones  exhibit  the 
 accomplishment  of  these  predictions.  About  an  hour  after 
 his  entrance  into  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  a  formidable 
 band  of  soldiers  and  civil  officers,  despatched  by  the 
 military  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  arrived 
 there  to  apprehend  him.  Before  surrendering  himself  to 
 them,  he  stipulated  with  characteristic  kindness  for  the 
 safe  retreat  of  his  apostles. — "  If  ye  seek  me,  allow  these 
 men  to  depart ;' — thus  fulfilling  the  declaration  which  he 
 had  made, — '  Of  those  whom  thou  gavest  me  I  have  not 
 lost  one.' — Then  they  advanced,  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and 
 seized  him.  On  this  those  who  were  with  him,  perceiving 
 what  was  about  to  happen,  said  to  him, — '  Lord,  shall  we 
 smite  with  the  sword  V — and  Simon  Peter  having  a 
 sword  drew  it,  and  smote  the  high-priest's  slave,  and  cut 
 off  his  right  ear.  The  slave's  name  was  Malchus.  Then 
 said  Jesus  to  Peter, — '  Put  the  sword  into  the  scabbard, 
 for  all  who  take  the  sword  will  perish  by  the  sword.  The 
 cup  which  the  Father  hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? 
 Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  even  now  request  my  Father, 
 and  he  would  send  to  my  aid  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
 
 *  The  portions  of  the  four  gospels  here  harmonized  are,  Matt, 
 chap.  26,  V.  30—35  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  26—31  ;— Luke,  chap.  22, 
 V.  31  —  34,  39  ;— John,  chap.  13,  v.  33—38  ;  chap.  18,  v.  1. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  44,9 
 
 angels  ?  [but]  how  then  would  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled, 
 [which  declare]  that  thus  it  must  be  V — And  he  said, — 
 '  Suffer  [me]  thus  far  :' — and,  touching  the  ear  of  Malchus, 
 he  healed  him.  Then  said  Jesus  to  the  chief-priests, 
 commanders  of  the  temple- [guard,]  and  elders,  who  had 
 come  forth  against  him, — '  Are  ye  come  forth  as  against  a 
 robber,  with  swords  and  staves,  to  seize  me  ?  I  sat  daily 
 amongst  you,  teaching  in  the  temple,  and  ye  did  not  seize 
 me  ;  but  this  is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness,  in 
 fulfilment  of  the  writings  of  the  prophets.' — Then  all  the 
 disciples  forsook  him,  and  fled."* 
 
 In  order  to  represent  more  distinctly  the  seven  denials 
 of  Christ  by  Peter,  which  shortly  followed  these  events, 
 they  are  here  separately  stated  in  the  words  of  the  evan- 
 gelists. 
 
 FIRST    DENIAL. 
 
 Annas  sent  Jesus  bound  to  Caiaphas  the  high-priest, 
 at  whose  palace  all  the  chief-priests,  scribes,  and  elders 
 were  assembled. — Now  Simon  Peter  had  followed  Jesus 
 at  a  distance ;  another  disciple  also  [followed  him :]  that 
 disciple  was  known  to  the  high-priest,  and  entered  with 
 Jesus  into  the  palace,  but  Peter  stood  without  at  the  gate  ; 
 so  the  other  disciple  who  was  known  to  the  high-priest 
 went  out,  and  spoke  to  the  maid-servant  who  attended  the 
 gate,  and  obtained  admission  for  Peter.  Then  said  the 
 maid-servant  to  Peter, — "  Art  not  thou  also  [one]  of  this 
 man's  disciples?" — He  said, — "I  am  not." — John,  chap. 
 18,  V.  15—17,  24. 
 
 *  The  portions  of  the  four  gospels  here  harmonized  are,  Matt, 
 chap.  26,  V.  50—56  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  46—50  ; — Luke,  chap.  22, 
 V.  49— 53;— John,  chap.  18,  v.  7— 11. 
 
450  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 SECOND    DENIAL. 
 
 And  he  went  in,  and  joined  the  officers,  to  see  the  end. 
 The  slaves  and  officers  were  standing  round  a  fire  of  em- 
 bers which  they  had  kindled  in  the  midst  of  the  hall,  for  it 
 was  cold,  and  were  warming  themselves,  and  Peter  stood 
 with  them,  and  warmed  himself.  Whilst  he  was  there,  one 
 of  the  maid-servants  of  the  high-priest  came,  and  seeing 
 Peter  sitting  at  the  fire,  after  looking  steadfastly  at  him, 
 said, — "  This  man  also  was  with  him, — Thou  also  wast 
 with  Jesus  of  Nazareth;" — but  he  disowned  him  before 
 them  all,  saying, —  "  Woman,  I  know  him  not,  neither  do  1 
 understand  what  thou  meanest." — Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  58, 
 69, 70  ;~Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  54,  66—68  ;— Luke,  chap.  22, 
 V.  55 — 57. 
 
 THIRD    DENIAL. 
 
 A  little  after  another  person  saw  him,  and  said, — 
 "  Thou  also  art  [one]  of  them  :" — but  Peter  said, — "  Man, 
 I  am  not." — Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  58. 
 
 FOURTH    DENIAL. 
 
 And  he  went  out  into  the  porch,  and  the  cock  crew. 
 Whilst  he  was  there,  another  [maid-servant]  saw  him,  and 
 said  to  those  who  were  present, — "  This  man  also  was 
 with  Jesus  of  Nazareth." — Again  he  denied  [it]  with  an 
 oath,  [saying,] — '*  I  know  not  the  man." — Matt.  chap.  26, 
 V.  71,  72  ;~Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  68—70. 
 
 The  first  trial  of  Christ  by  the  Sanhedrim,  occupying 
 about  an  hour,  here  intervened, 
 
 FIFTH    DENIAL. 
 
 [Meanwhile]  Simon  Peter  was  standing  and  warming 
 himself.     So  they  said  to  him, — "  Art  not  thou  also  [one] 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4,5  J 
 
 of  his  disciples  ?" — he  denied  [it,]  and  said, — "  I  am  not." 
 — John,  chap.  18,  v.  25. 
 
 SIXTH    DENIAL. 
 
 One  of  the  high-priest's  slaves,  a  relative  [of  him] 
 whose  ear  Peter  had  cut  off,  said, — "  Did  not  I  see  thee 
 in  the  garden  with  him?" — Again  Peter  denied  [it.] — 
 John,  chap.  18,  v.  26,. 27. 
 
 SEVENTH    DENIAL. 
 
 A  little  after  another  man  confidently  affirmed,  saying, 
 — "  Certainly  this  man  also  was  with  him,  for  he  is  a 
 Galilean." — So  the  by-standers  came  up,  and  said  again  to 
 Peter, — "  Certainly  thou  also  art  [one]  of  them,  for  thy 
 [manner  of]  speaking  is  similar,  [and]  discovereth  thee  :" — 
 but  he  began  to  utter  oaths  and  curses,  [saying,] — "  Man, 
 I  know  not  what  thou  meanest :  I  know  not  this  man  of 
 whom  ye  speak  :" — and  instantly,  whilst  he  was  yet  speak- 
 ing, the  cock  crew  the  second  time.  And  the  Lord  turned 
 and  looked  on  Peter  :  and  Peter  remembered  what  the 
 Lord  had  said  to  him, — "  Before  the  cock  crows  the  second 
 time  thou  wilt  disown  me  thrice  :" — and  he  went  out,  and 
 wept  bitterly."* — Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  73—75; — Mark, 
 chap.  14,  V.  70—72  ;— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  59—62. 
 
 The  general  correctness  of  this  representation  of  Peter's 
 denials  will  perhaps  be  sufficiently  obvious  on  inspection  ; 
 but  there  are  two  points  connected  with  the  subject  which 
 may   seem   to   require    further   explanation,    namely,    the 
 
 *  The  portions  of  the  four  gospels  here  harmonized  are,  Matt, 
 chap.  26,  V.  57,  58,  69—75 ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  53,  54,  66—72  ;— 
 Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  54—62  ;— John,  chap.  18,  v.  15—18,  24—27. 
 
4,52  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 motives  of  these  denials,  and  their  number.  The  narrative 
 itself  suggests  as  their  primary  cause,  that  presumption 
 and  self-confidence,  which  prompted  Peter  to  declare  that 
 he  would  stand  by  Christ  even  if  all  others  abandoned 
 him,  and  to  contradict  his  master  when  foretelling  the  re- 
 verse ;  for,  on  hearing  the  prediction, — *'  he  spoke  the  more 
 positively, — '  Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  I  will  never 
 disown  thee." — But  the  immediate  cause  was  no  doubt  the 
 dread  of  capital  punishment,  as  the  natural  consequence  of 
 his  atrocious  assault  on  Malchus  in  the  garden  of  Gethse- 
 raane  ;  for,  although  this  act  "^was  providentially  arrested, 
 it  was  evidently  one  of  intentional  murder  towards  the  in- 
 dividual, and  of  open  sedition  against  the  lawful  governors 
 of  the  land,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  It  was  an  act 
 alike  opposed  to  the  spirit,  and  hostile  to  the  success  of 
 the  gospel ;  and  had  not  Christ  promptly  remedied  the 
 evil,  by  rebuking  the  apostle,  and  healing  the  wounded 
 slave,  might  have  seriously  injured  his  character  and  cause. 
 The  apostles  were  apparently  unprepared  for  his  ready 
 submission  to  the  power  of  his  adversaries  ;  and  hence,  on 
 seeing  him  calmly  resign  himself  into  their  hands, — "  they 
 all  forsook  him,  and  fled." — Finding,  however,  that  they 
 were  not  pursued  by  the  guard,  Peter  and  John  speedily 
 returned  to  the  spot,  and  followed  him  to  his  destination  ; 
 but  with  a  remarkable  difference  in  their  demeanour,  corre- 
 sponding to  the  difference  of  their  previous  conduct.  John, 
 who  had  not  committed  any  offence,  entered  boldly  with 
 Jesus  into  the  high-priest's  palace,  where,  although  well 
 known  to  be  one  of  his  disciples,  he  was  allowed  to  remain 
 unmolested  ;  whilst  Peter,  conscious  of  the  danger  which 
 he  had  incurred  by  his  recent  outrage,  followed  at  a  dis- 
 tance, and  when  admitted  into  the  palace,  was  soon  be- 
 trayed into  a  denial  of  his  discipleship. 
 
 His  danger,  both  then  and  long  afterwards,  was  indeed 
 great.     Owing  to  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  the  scene 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^^g 
 
 in  the  garden,  he  fortunately  escaped  without  being  recog- 
 nized as  the  man  who  wounded  Malchus  ;  for,  had  he  been 
 detected,  he  might  have  been  legally  put  to  death  for  a 
 crime  precisely  similar  to  that  of  Barabbas, — **  who,  on 
 account  of  a  sedition  attended  with  murder  which  had 
 taken  place  in  the  city,  was  in  prison  with  his  accom- 
 plices."— The  reality  and  extent  of  the  danger  are  indi- 
 cated by  the  fact,  that  both  Christ  and  the  three  earlier 
 evangelists  carefully  abstained  from  mentioning  the  name 
 of  Peter  in  connexion  with  this  occurrence.  When  Jesus 
 said, — *'  Put  the  sword  into  the  scabbard,"  &c., — he  did  not 
 name  him.  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  merely  intimate 
 that  it  was  one  of  the  disciples  who  thus  acted  ;  and  John 
 alone,  who  wrote  at  a  later  period,  when  the  danger  was 
 past,  expressly  names  both  the  apostle  and  his  victim, — 
 *'  Simon  Peter  having  a  sword  drew  it,  and  smote  the  hio-h- 
 priest's  slave,  and  cut  off  his  right  ear.  The  slave's  name 
 was  Malchus." — Neither  was  the  danger  confined  to  Peter, 
 but  involved  also  the  sacred  cause  to  which  he  was  devoted. 
 His  fear  on  this  occasion  was  therefore  natural  and  ra- 
 tional ;  and,  had  he  been  wise,  he  would,  like  the  apostles 
 generally,  have  yielded  to  circumstances,  and  taken  refuge 
 in  retirement.  But  his  pride  forbad  so  humiliating  a 
 course.  He  had  confidently  promised  to  follow  his  mas- 
 ter both  to  prison  and  to  death,  to  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
 sake,  and  faithfully  to  adhere  to  him  though  all  others 
 forsook  him.  He  was  aware  that  by  entering  into  the 
 high-priest's  palace  he  should  run  the  risk  of  being  de- 
 tected as  the  assailant  of  Malchus,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
 could  not  without  a  struggle  submit  to  the  disgrace  of 
 grossly  breaking  his  word,  and  forfeiting  his  engagements. 
 He  therefore  followed  the  guard  afar  off;  and  through 
 the  influence  of  John  who  had  entered  some  time  before, 
 obtained  admission  in  an  evil  hour  into  the  dreaded 
 mansion. 
 
454  NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 In  order  that  the  sequel  may  be  better  understood,  it  is 
 proper  to  notice  that  this  mansion,  like  that  of  Eliashib, 
 in  the  time  of  Nehemiah,  was  apparently  an  official  resi- 
 dence within  the  precincts  of  the  temple,  where  during  the 
 passover  and  other  solemn  seasons  the  attendance  of  the 
 high-priest  was  frequently  required.  Here  alone,  until 
 the  final  decline  of  the  Jewish  state,  the  Sanhedrim  held 
 their  sittings,  in  a  large  circular  saloon,  called  by  the 
 Jews, — the  chamber  of  free-stone.  Here  the  trial  of 
 Stephen  was  conducted  ;*  and  here  they  were  at  this  time 
 assembled,  anxiously  awaiting  the  appearance  of  Jesus,  as 
 a  prisoner  at  their  bar.  Those  who  entered  this  apart- 
 ment from  without  passed  in  succession  through  a  portico 
 or  vestibule,  and  a  spacious  hall,  the  roof  of  which,  as  well 
 as  that  of  the  council-chamber,  was  probably  perforated, 
 and  in  fair  weather  partially  open  to  the  sky.  At  the  en- 
 trance of  the  vestibule  a  maid-servant  was  stationed,  as 
 portress,  to  take  cognizance  of  those  who  went  in  or  out. 
 In  the  midst  of  the  hall  a  fire  of  embers  or  charcoal  was 
 kindled  in  a  brasier,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  slaves 
 and  oflficers  who  attended  on  the  high-priest,  and  the 
 other  members  of  the  Sanhedrim.  Under  the  disquietude 
 of  mind  naturally  induced  by  the  perilous  position  into 
 which  he  had  thrown  himself,  Peter  twice  approached  the 
 fire  in  the  hall,  and  twice  retired  to  the  vestibule,  in 
 which  two  apartments  all  his  denials  were  committed. 
 The  identity  or  diversity  of  these  denials,  as  described 
 with  some  variety  by  the  four  evangelists,  is  determined 
 by  those  of  the  times,  places,  persons,  or  other  principal 
 circumstances  connected  with  them ; — their  arrangement 
 is  fixed  either  by  the  order  of  narration,  when  uncontra- 
 dicted, or  by  more  positive  indications  of  sequence,  when 
 
 *  See  Calmet's  Dictionary,  Article  Saahedrim ;  also  Nehemiah, 
 chap.  3,  V.  20,  21  ;— Acts,  chap.  6,  v.  8—15. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^5^ 
 
 these  are  supplied.  The  first,  fifth,  and  sixth  denials  are 
 peculiar  to  John's  gospel,  the  third  to  that  of  Luke,  the 
 second  and  seventh  are  related  by  the  three  earlier  evan- 
 gelists in  common,  and  the  fourth  by  Matthew  and  Mark 
 alone. 
 
 The  first  of  Peter's  denials  was  addressed  to  the  maid- 
 servant at  the  gate ;  and  having  occurred  at  the  very  mo- 
 ment of  his  entrance  into  the  palace,  cannot  be  confounded 
 with  any  other.  The  second,  addressed  to  another  of  the 
 high-priest's  maid-servants,  is  represented  by  Luke  as 
 having  happened  almost  immediately  after  Peter's  first 
 approach  to  the  fire  in  the  hall.  It  must,  of  course,  have 
 followed  the  former,  and  preceded  all  the  rest.  The  third 
 denial,  given  in  reply  to  a  man,  is  by  Luke  expressly 
 dated  a  little  after  the  last,  and  about  an  hour  before  the 
 seventh.  On  this  ground  it  is  left  where  it  is  found  in 
 the  narrative,  annexed  to  the  preceding  one  ;  and  from 
 the  shortness  of  the  interval,  and  the  similar  expression 
 applied  by  the  evangelist  to  the  parties,  both  of  whom 
 seem  to  have  observed  Peter  by  the  light  of  the  fire,  it 
 may  reasonably  be  concluded  that  both  denials  occurred 
 in  the  same  situation.  From  John's  statement  it  is  evi- 
 dent that  the  three  concluding  denials  also  took  place  in 
 the  hall,  whither  Peter,  who  had  previously  retired  from  it, 
 must  therefore  after  a  time  have  returned,  the  interval  of 
 about  an  hour  having  been  occupied  by  the  first  trial  of 
 Christ  before  the  Sanhedrim.  The  two  former  of  these 
 denials,  whereof  the  second  is  by  John  almost  confounded 
 with  the  seventh  which  so  speedily  ensued,  are  conse- 
 quently the  fifth,  addressed  to  the  attendants,  on  their 
 asking  Peter  whether  he  were  not  a  follower  of  Jesus  ; 
 and  the  sixth,  in  reply  to  a  relative  of  Malchus,  on  his 
 putting  a  similar  question.  The  seventh,  in  reply  to  the 
 attendants,  on  their  again  charging  him  more  positively 
 with  being  a  disciple,  was  manifestly  the  last  denial,  having 
 
4,56  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 immediately  preceded  the  second  crowing  of  the  cock, 
 and  the  final  retirement  and  penitence  of  Peter ; — "  In- 
 stantly, whilst  he  was  yet  speaking,  the  cock  crew  the 
 second  time,  ....  and  he  went  out,  and  wept  bitterly." 
 Supposing  it  to  have  been  now  demonstrated  that  Peter 
 denied  Christ  seven  times,  it  may  reasonably  be  asked 
 how  this  view  can  be  reconciled  with  the  express,  and 
 seemingly  restrictive  declarations  of  all  the  evangelists, 
 that  he  denied  him  thrice,  a  declaration  repeated  in  not 
 less  than  seven  different  passages.*  The  solution  of  this 
 difficulty  depends  on  a  right  interpretation  of  the  terms 
 employed,  an  interpretation  which  is  happily  furnished  by 
 some  of  the  evangelists  themselves  ;  amongst  whom  Luke 
 alone  intimates  what  the  Saviour  meant  by  denying  him, 
 and  Mark  alone  what  he  meant  by  the  crowing  of  the 
 cock.  Of  disowning  Christ  there  were  evidently  two 
 modes  or  degrees,  the  lower  degree  consisting  in  a  person 
 denying  that  he  was  his  disciple,  the  higher  in  denying 
 that  he  had  any  knowledge  of  him  whatever.  Amongst 
 the  Jews,  as  amongst  most  other  civilized  nations,  when  a 
 man  was  tried  on  a  capital  charge,  it  was  usual  to  receive 
 any  respectable  testimony  which  might  be  adduced  in 
 fav'our  of  his  general  character.  There  were  doubtless 
 many  persons  in  Jerusalem  at  that  time  who,  although 
 they  were  not  disciples  of  Jesus,  could  bear  witness  to  the 
 purity  and  beneficence  of  his  life.  Even  his  adversaries, 
 either  directly  or  indirectly,  admitted  the  fact.  Caiaphas 
 declared  that  it  was  expedient  to  sacrifice  him  to  the  safety 
 of  the  nation,  implying  that  it  was  unjust ;  Judas  Iscariot 
 confessed,  when  it  was  too  late,  that  he  had  betrayed  inno- 
 cent blood  ;  and  Pontius  Pilate,  after  the  fullest  investiga- 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  34,  75  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  30,  72  ;— Luke, 
 chap.  22,  V.  34,  61 ;— John,  chnp.  13,  v.  38. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  45^ 
 
 tion,  pronounced  him  a  righteous  man.  Yet  Peter,  the 
 most  eminent  and  zealous  of  the  apostles,  owing  to  the 
 unhappy  predicament  into  which  he  had  brought  himself, 
 rendered  less  justice  to  the  character  of  his  master  than 
 those  who  were  concerned  in  his  death  ;  and  thus  perhaps 
 contributed  unwittingly  to  the  fulfilment  of  a  remarkable 
 passage  in  Isaiah's  prophecy  concerning  the  sufferings  of 
 the  Messiah,  chap.  53,  v.  8. 
 
 *'  By  an  oppressive  judgment  he  was  taken  off; 
 And  his  manner  of  life  who  would  declare  ?"* 
 
 for  he  was  guilty  of  denying  Christ  in  both  the  modes  above 
 described,  having  repeatedly  protested,  not  only  that  he  was 
 no  disciple  of  Christ,  but  even  that  he  did  not  know  the 
 man.  It  was  the  latter  more  aggravated  kind  of  denial  which, 
 during  the  paschal  supper,  the  Saviour  predicted  Peter 
 would  commit  before  cock-crowing  the  next  morning ; 
 — "  I  assuredly  tell  thee,  the  cock  will  not  crow  this 
 day  before  thou  wilt  thrice  deny  that  thou  knowest  me''' 
 — When  on  the  subsequent  passage  from  Jerusalem  to 
 Gethsemane  this  prediction  was  repeated,  the  time  of  its 
 accomplishment  was  intimated  with  equal  precision  ; — 
 "  I  tell  thee  truly  that  to-day,  [even]  this  very  night,  be- 
 fore the  cock  crows  the  second  timej  thou  wilt  disown  me 
 thrice." — These  two  explanatory  passages  serve  to  show 
 that,  in  all  the  corresponding  ones,  the  more  general  terms 
 employed  for  this  purpose  are  to  be  understood  in  the 
 special  sense  here  expressed  ;  that  by  Peter's  disowning 
 Christ  thrice  is  meant  his  thrice  denying  that  he  hneiv  him; 
 and  by  the  cock- crowing,  not  the  slight  and  casual  crow- 
 ing which  often  takes  place  during  the  middle  watch  of  the 
 
 *  Bishop  Lowth's  New  Transiation  of  Isaiah,  vol.  i.  p.  171. 
 See  also  the  note  in  vol.  ii.  pp.  327,  328,  which  strongly  supports  the 
 correctness  of  this  interpretation. 
 
 X 
 
458  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 night,  but  the  loud,  regular,  and  repeated  cry  of  that  bird 
 which  introduces  the  following  watch,  at  three  o'clock  in 
 the  morning^  according  to  the  division  of  the  day  then  in 
 use,  as  noticed  in  Mark's  gospel ;  namely,  evening,  mid- 
 night, cock-crowing,  and  morning.*  Jewish  writers  are 
 said  to  have  objected  to  the  evangelical  narrative  in  this 
 respect,  that  on  account  of  the  sanctity  of  Jerusalem  fowls 
 were  not  allowed  to  be  kept  there  ;  but,  supposing  this 
 to  have  been  the  case  the  objection  is  unimportant,  since 
 they  might  have  been  kept  immediately  without  the  walls, 
 from  which  no  part  of  the  city  was  very  remote,  and  the 
 distance  to  which  the  crowing  of  cocks  can  be  heard  in 
 early  morning  is  well  known. 
 
 The  Jewish  day  commenced  at  sunset,  the  period  of 
 darkness  preceding  that  of  light,  agreeably  to  the  mode  of 
 expression  so  often  repeated  in  the  Mosaic  history  of  the 
 creation, — "  The  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first 
 day,"  &c. ; — and  to  the  divine  direction  respecting  the  day 
 of  atonement, — "  From  even  to  even  shall  ye  celebrate  your 
 sabbath." — During  the  original  passion-week,  as  it  may  be 
 termed,  the  paschal  day  began  about  six  o'clock  on  Wednes- 
 day evening,  being  the  fourteenth  day  of  Nisan,  which  was 
 the  first  month  of  the  sacred  year,  and  coincided  with  the 
 vernal  equinox.  The  first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened 
 bread,  being  an  extraordinary  sabbath,  began  at  the  same 
 hour  on  Thursday  evening  ;  the  second  day  of  the  feast, 
 which  in  this  instance  was  the  ordinary  weekly  sab- 
 bath, on  Friday  evening  ;  the  third  day  of  the  feast,  and 
 first  of  the  week,   on  Saturday  evening,  and   so  forth. f 
 
 *  Mark,  chap.  6,  v.  48 ;  chap.  13,  v.  35 ;  chap.  14,  v.  29,  30  ;— 
 Luke,  chap.  12,  v.  38  ;  chap.  22,  v.  34. 
 
 t  Genesis,  chap.  1,  v.  5,  &c. ; — Exodus,  chap,  12,  v.  14 — 20 ; — 
 Le-vit.  chap.  23,  v.  4—8,  26—32  ;— Numbers,  chap.  9,  v.  1 — 5  ; — 
 Deuteron.  chap.  16,  v.  1  —  8, 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  /^^^ 
 
 Attention  to  these  facts  is  necessary,  in  order  fully  to  un- 
 derstand the  circumstances  described  in  the  gospel  narra- 
 tive of  that  important  period.     Thus,  notwithstanding  the 
 objections  of  some  commentators,  it  is  most  clearly  and  posi- 
 tively stated  by  the  evangelists  that  Christ  and  his  apostles 
 celebrated  the  paschal  supper  on  the  accustomed  day  and 
 hour ;  namely,  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  fourteenth 
 of  Nisan,  the  solemnity  having  naturally  been  protracted 
 into  the  ensuing  night,  that  is,  into  the  commencement 
 of  Friday,  the  fifteenth  ;  on  which  memorable  day  the  whole 
 of  our  Saviour's   sufferings  and  death  were  accomplished. 
 The  Mosaic  law  directed  that  the  paschal  supper  should 
 not  commence  later  than  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  of 
 Kisan,  and  that  no  part  of  the  lamb  or  kid  should  remain 
 unconsumed  beyond  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth.* — It  is 
 accordingly   stated  by  the  three  earlier    evangelists  that, 
 on   the  appointed   day, — "  when  the  evening  was    come, 
 [Christ]  placed  himself  at  table  with  the  twelve;" — and, 
 long  before  they  quitted  the  upper  chamber  where  they 
 partook   of  the  paschal  supper,  John  mentions  that — "  it 
 was    night." — Hence    appears    the    perfect    accuracy   of 
 Christ's  second  prediction  concerning  Peter,  in  reference  to 
 time  ;  — "  To-day,  [even]   this  very  night,  before  the  cock 
 crows  the  second  time^  thou  wilt  disown  me  thrice;" — cor- 
 responding to   the  accuracy  of  his  first  prediction  in  refer- 
 ence to  mode  ; — *'  The  cock  will  not  crow  this  day  before 
 thou  wilt  thrice  deny  that  thou  knowest  we." — These  pre- 
 dictions are  exceedingly  precise,  and  they  were  most  pre- 
 cisely fulfilled ;    for  on    inquiry  it  will    be   found    that, 
 among  the  seven  denials  of  Christ  by  Peter  which  pre- 
 ceded the  second  crowing  of  the  cock,  there  were  just  three 
 of  the  personal  kind  ;    and  by  so   critical  an  accordance 
 
 *  Exodus,  chap.  12,  v.  1—28  ;— Numbers,  chap.  28,  v,  16—25. 
 
 X  2 
 
460  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 with  the  facts  of  the  case,  the  truth  of  the  predictions  is 
 more  strikingly  displayed  than  if  there  had  been  no  other 
 denials.*    The  proof  of  this  statement  is  as  follows : 
 
 Peter's  first  denial  was  a  general  one  ;  for,  on  being 
 asked  by  the  portress  at  the  gate, — "  Art  not  thou  also 
 [one]  of  this  man's  disciples?" — he  said, — "  I  am  not."-^ 
 The  second  was  a  personal  and  more  public  disavowal ; 
 for,  when  another  maid-servant,  having  observed  him  sit- 
 ting at  the  fire  in  the  hall,  positively  asserted, — "  Thou 
 also  wast  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth,' — he  disowned  him  before 
 them  all,  saying, — *  Woman,  /  know  him  not,  neither  do  I 
 understand  what  thou  meanest." — The  third  was  general, 
 in  reply  to  another  person  who  affirmed, — *'  Thou  also  art 
 [one]  of  them'  : — but  Peter  said, — '  Man,  I  am  not." — He 
 then  went  out  into  the  vestibule,  or  portico  ;  and,  as  Mark 
 alone  relates,  the  cock  crew.  Peter  had  therefore  in  some 
 sort  denied  Christ  three  times,  even  before  the  first  crowing 
 of  the  cock ;  but,  as  has  been  above  shown,  this  did  not 
 fulfil  the  prediction,  neither  is  it  so  represented  by  the 
 evangelists.  The  fourth  denial  was  personal,  when  the 
 portress,  again  observing  him  in  the  vestibule,  more  con- 
 fidently affirmed  to  those  who  were  present, — "  This  man 
 also  was  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth' : — again  he  denied  [it] 
 with  an  oath,  [saying,] — *  I  know  not  the  man." — The  fifth 
 was  general,  on  Peter's  return  to  the  fire  in  the  hall ;  for, 
 the  by-standers  having  asked  him, — **  Art  not  thou  also 
 [one]  of  his  disciples'  ? — he  denied  [it,]  and  said, — *  I  am 
 not." — The  sixth  also  was  general,  when  a  relative  of 
 Malchus  having  put  to  him  the  searching  question, — "Did 
 not  I  see  thee  in  the  garden  with  him'  ? — again  Peter  denied 
 [it."] — The  seventh  and  last  denial  was,  however,  in  the 
 
 *  Matt,  chap.26,  V.  17—20  ;— Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  12—17,  29,  30  ; 
 -Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  7—14,  33,  34  ;— John,  chap.  13,  v.  25—30. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4^, 
 
 highest  degree  personal  and  decided ;  for,  on  the  attend- 
 ants at  the  fire  making  the  positive  charge, — "  Certainly 
 thou  also  art  [one]  of  them,  for  thy  [manner  of]  speaking 
 is  similar,  [and]  discovereth  thee,' — he  began  to  utter  oaths 
 and  curses,  [saying,] — '  /  know  not  this  man  of  whom  ye 
 speak,''^ — Peter's  conduct  on  this  latter  occasion  is  well 
 illustrated  by  that  of  John  of  Gischala,  one  of  the  leaders 
 of  the  Jews  in  their  final  war  with  the  Romans,  as  thus 
 escribed  by  Josephus. — "  But  now  John  was  afraid  for 
 himself,  since  his  treachery  had  proved  unsuccessful ;  so 
 he  took  the  armed  men  that  were  about  him,  and  removed 
 from  Tiberias  to  Gischala,  and  wrote  to  me  to  apologize 
 for  himself  concerning  what  had  been  done,  as  if  it  had 
 been  done  without  his  approbation,  and  desired  me  to 
 have  no  suspicion  of  him  to  his  disadvantage.  He  also 
 added  oaths,  and  certain  horrible  curses  upon  himself,  and 
 supposed  he  should  be  thereby  believed  in  the  points  he 
 wrote  about  to  me."* 
 
 The  preceding  remarks  may  serve  to  show  that  a  well- 
 constructed  Harmony,  or,  in  other  words,  a  careful  analysis 
 and  consolidation  of  the  statements  of  the  four  evangelists, 
 affords  great  and  peculiar  advantages.  In  many  cases,  a 
 complete  and  methodical  view  of  the  events  which  they  re- 
 late cannot  otherwise  be  obtained  ;  but  by  this  means  every 
 occurrence  is  placed  in  the  clearest  and  most  natural  light, 
 and  circumstances  are  often  discovered  which,  without  such 
 a  process,  might  easily  be  overlooked.  The  character,  origin, 
 and  design  of  the  several  gospels  are  also  hereby  thoroughly 
 illustrated ;  whilst  their  veracity  is  at  the  same  time  con- 
 firmed by  a  train  of  internal  evidence  which,  although 
 minute  and  subtile,  is  on  that  very  account  the  more 
 demonstrative  and  irresistible, 
 
 *  Whiston's  Josephus,  vol.  ili.  pp.  204,  205 ;— Congregational 
 Magazine  for  1833  ;  pp.  85—91 ;  143—148. 
 
^Q2  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Note  VIII.,  Pages  288—317. 
 
 ON    THE    SCRIPTURAL    USE    OF    THE    TERMS    COVENANT 
 AND    TESTAMENT. 
 
 The  scriptural  term  diadr^Kr]  may  signify  either  a 
 covenant  or  a  testament.  In  the  authorized  English 
 version,  and  in  some  others,  both  these  senses  are  occa- 
 sionally adopted ;  but  in  the  foregoing  treatise  the  former 
 only.  It  is  the  object  of  the  following  remarks  to  assign 
 the  grounds  of  this  preference,  and  to  show  that  in  an 
 accurate  translation  of  the  Bible  the  latter  term  should 
 never  be  employed,  except  perhaps  in  the  technical  ap- 
 pellations,— Old  Testament,  and  New  Testament, — which 
 at  the  present  period  it  might  be  difficult  as  well  as  incon- 
 venient to  alter. 
 
 The  terra  duiOrjKrj  occurs  in  thirty-three  places  of  the 
 New  Testament,  and  in  three  more  is  evidently  implied. 
 In  seventeen  of  these  instances  the  authorized  version 
 renders  it — Covenant* — in  fourteen — Testament,  and  in 
 the  remaining  five  the  translators  have  candidly  intimated 
 their  doubts,  by  inserting  one  of  these  words  in  the  text, 
 and  the  other  in  the  margin.  In  order  to  obtain  a  clear 
 view  of  the  question,  and  to  aid  the  judgment  in  drawing 
 a  correct  conclusion,  the  nineteen  passages  of  the  author- 
 ized version  wherein  the  word  Testament  occurs  wall  first  be 
 collated  with  the  version  now  proposed ;  and,  as  the  real 
 import  of  terms  is  often  overlooked  when  long  use  has 
 rendered  them  familiar,  the  word  Testament  will  on  this 
 
 *  Luke  chap,  1,  v.  72  ; — Acts,  chap.  3,  v.  25  ;  chap.  7,  v.  8;— 
 Rom.  chap.  9,  v.  4  ;  chap.  11.  v.  27  ;— Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  17; — 
 Ephes.  chap.  2,  v.  12  ;— Heb.  chap.  8.  v.  7,  8,  9,  10  ;  chap.  9,  v.  1, 4 ; 
 chap.  10,  V.  16,  29. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  j^Qg 
 
 occasion  be  exchanged  for  its  equivalent,  Will,  with  a  view- 
 to  fix  the  attention  more  closely  on  the  object  which  it 
 actually  represents. 
 
 No.   1.— Matt.  chap.  26,  v.  28. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION  PROPOSED    VERSION. 
 
 For  this  is  my  blood  of  the  new  For  this  is  my  blood,  the  [blood] 
 WILL,  which  is  shed  for  many,  for  of  the  new  covenant,  which  [is] 
 the  remission  of  sins,  •  shed  for  many,  for  [the]  discharge  of 
 
 sins. 
 
 No.  2. — Mark,  chap.  14,  v.  24. 
 
 This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  will,  This  is  my  blood,  the  [blood]  of 
 which  is  shed  for  many.  the  new  covenant,  which  [is]  slied 
 
 for  many. 
 
 No.  3.— Luke,  chap.  22,  v.  20. 
 
 This  cup  [is]  the  new  will  in  This  cup  [is]  the  new  covenant 
 my  blood,  which  is  shed  for  you.  by  my  blood,  which   [is]    shed  foi- 
 
 you. 
 
 No.  4. —  1  Corinth,  chap.  11,  v.  25. 
 
 This  cup  is  the  new  will  in  my  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  by 
 blood.  my  blood. 
 
 No.  5. — 2  Corinth,  chap.  3,  v.  6. 
 
 Who  also  hath  made  us  able  mi-  Who  hath  also  qualified  us  [as] 
 nisters  of  the  new  will,  not  of  the  ministers  of  [the]  new  covenant, 
 letter,  but  of  the  spirit.  not  of  [the]  written   [law,]  but  of 
 
 [the]  Spirit. 
 
 No.  6.-2  Corinth,  chap.  3,  v.  14. 
 
 But   their   minds  were   blinded ;  But    their   minds  were   blinded  ; 
 
 for  until  this  day  remaineth  the  same  for  even  to  this  day,  at  the  reading  of 
 
 vail  untaken  away,  in  the  reading  of  the  old   covenant,   the  same  vail 
 
 the  old  will,  which  [vail]  is  done  remains  unwithdrawn,  for  by  Christ 
 
 away  in  Christ.  [ooly]  it  is  abolished. 
 
 No.  7. — Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  15. 
 
 Brethren,  I  speak  after  the  manner  Brethren,  I  speak  after  [the  mau- 
 
 of  men,  though  [it  be]  but  a  man's  ner  of  ]  mjin,   [that  when]  a  human 
 
 will,  yet  [if  it  be]   confirmed,   no  covenant  [is]    confirmed,  no  one 
 
 man  disannulleth,  or  addeth  thereto,  [either]  setteth  [it]  aside,  or  addeth 
 
 {Marginal  reading.)  [to  it.] 
 
464 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No.  8.— Galat.  chap.  4,  v.  24. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION. 
 
 PROPOSED    VERSION. 
 
 Which  things  are  an  allegory,  for  Which  things  are  allegorical,  for 
 these  are  the  two  wills.  {^Marginal  these  [women]  represent  two  COVE- 
 rea  ding. )  N  ANTS . 
 
 No.  9.— Heb.  chap.  7,  v.  22. 
 
 By  so  much  was  Jesus  made  a  Of  a  covenant  so  much  the  bet- 
 surety  of  a  better  WILL.  ter  is  Jesus  [the]  surety. 
 
 No.  10.— Heb.  chap.  8.  v.  6. 
 
 But  now  hath  he  obtained  a  more 
 excellent  ministry,  by  how  much 
 also  he  is  the  mediator  of  a  better 
 WILL,  which  was  established  upon 
 better  promises.  {^Marginal  reading.') 
 
 But  [Christ]  hath  obtained  a  more 
 exalted  ministry  [than  that  ofAaron,] 
 inasmuch  as  he  is  [the]  mediator  of 
 a  better  covenant,  which  was  esta- 
 blished on  better  promises. 
 
 No.  11.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  15. 
 
 And  for  this  cause  he  is  the  medi- 
 ator of  the  new  WILL  ; 
 
 And  for  this  end  he  is  [the]  medi- 
 ator of  [the]  new  covenant  ; 
 
 No.   12.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  15. 
 
 that  by  means  of  death,  for  the  re- 
 demption of  the  transgressions  [that 
 were]  under  the  first  will,  they 
 which  are  called  might  receive  the 
 promise  of  eternal  inheritance. 
 
 that  [in  consequence  of]  a  death 
 having  taken  place,  as  a  ransom  for 
 the  transgressions  [committed]  under 
 the  first  covenant,  those  who  are 
 called  might  attain  the  promised 
 [gift]  of  the  eternal  inheritance. 
 
 No.   13.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  16. 
 
 For  where  a  will  [is,]  there  must 
 also  of  necessity  be  the  death  of  the 
 testator  : 
 
 For  where  [there  is]  a  cove- 
 nant, [the]  death  of  the  covenant- 
 victim  [must]  necessarily  take  place: 
 
 No.   14. — Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  17. 
 
 for  a  WILL  [is]  of  force  after  men  are  for  a  covenant  [is]  ratified  over 
 dead,  otherwise  it  is  of  no  strength  dead  [victims,]  not  having  any  force 
 at  all  while  the  testator  liveth.         while  the  victim  remains  alive. 
 
 No.   15.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  18. 
 
 Whereupon,     neither     the     first 
 [will]  was  dedicated  without  blood. 
 
 On  which  account,  neither  was  the 
 first  COVENANT  Solemnized  without 
 blood. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4g5 
 
 No.  16.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  20. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION.  PROPOSED    VERSION. 
 
 This  [is]  the  blood  of  the  will  This  [is]  the  blood  of  the  covE- 
 which  God  hath  enjoined  unto  you.      nant  which  God  hath  appointed  for 
 
 you. 
 
 No.   17.— Heb.  chap.  12,  v.  24. 
 
 And  to  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  the        And  to  Jesus,   [the]   mediator  ot 
 
 new    WILL,    and    to   the   blood   of  [the]  new  covenant,  and  to  [the] 
 
 sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  blood  of  sprinkling,  [which]  speaketh 
 
 than    [that  of]    Abel.      {Margiyial  better  things  than  [that  of]   Abel. 
 reading.^ 
 
 No.  18. — Heb.  chap.  13,  v.  20,  21. 
 
 Now  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  May  the  God  of  peace,  who  brought 
 again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus, 
 that  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  the  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  by 
 through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  [the]  blood  of  the  everlasting  cove- 
 Will,  make  you  perfect,  &c.  {^Mar-  nant,  make  you  perfect,  «Sic. 
 ginal  reading.) 
 
 No.  19.— Revel,  chap.  11,  v.  19. 
 
 And  the  temple  of  God  was  opened  And  God's  temple  in  heaven  was 
 in  heaven,  and  there  was  seen  in  his  opened,  and  the  ark  of  the  Lord's 
 temple  the  ark  of  his  will.  covenant  appeared  in  his  temple. 
 
 To  the  rendering  of  diadrjKr]  by  Covenant  rather  than 
 Testament,  in  the  seventeen  passages  wherein  the  former 
 terra  has  been  adopted  by  the  authorized  version,  no  objec- 
 tion will,  it  is  presumed,  be  made  ;  and,  in  the  greater  part 
 of  the  nineteen  passages  above  quoted,  the  superiority  of 
 the  same  rendering  will  probably  be  admitted  by  most 
 readers  on  a  simple  comparison,  with  the  exception  per- 
 haps of  Nos.  7,  13,  and  14,  wherein  the  other  rendering 
 may  seem  to  be  admissible  at  least,  if  not  preferable  ;  and 
 which  will  therefore  be  reserved  for  a  separate  considera- 
 tion. In  the  mean  while  some  general  arguments  will  be 
 adduced,  to  show  that  in  Scripture  the  word  biaO-qKr^  always 
 signifies  a  covenant,  and  never  a  testament  or  will. 
 
 This  conclusion  is,  in  the  first  place,  deducible  from  the 
 nature  of  the  subject.     A  covenant  is  a  mutual  engage- 
 
 x3 
 
455  NOTES    AND    ItLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ment  between  parties  respecting  their  subsequent  relation 
 and  conduct  towards  each  other.  A  testament  is  the  de- 
 claration of  a  person's  will  respecting  the  disposal  of  his 
 property  after  his  death.  According  to  these  commonly- 
 received  definitions,  a  divine  covenant  is  a  perfectly  con- 
 ceivable transaction ;  but  a  divine  testament  is  an  ab- 
 surdity. All  the  circumstances  of  a  will  are  characteristic 
 of  the  weakness,  selfishness,  and  mortality  of  inferior 
 beings,  but  are  utterly  incompatible  with  the  attributes  of 
 him — •'  from  whom,  and    through  whom,  and  for  whom 
 
 are  all  things, the  blessed  and  only  potentate, 
 
 the  king  of  kings,  and  lord  of  lords,  who  alone  possesseth 
 immortality,  dwelling  in  light  inaccessible,  whom  no  man 
 hath  seen  nor  can  see,  to  whom  be  honour  and  eternal 
 dominion.  Amen."* — A  will,  notwithstanding  its  appel- 
 lation, is  an  act  which  is  seldom  performed  willingly.  A 
 man  gives  directions  respecting  the  disposal  of  his  property 
 after  his  death,  merely  because  death  compels  him  to  part 
 with  it ;  but,  as  long  as  he  lives  he  has  the  right,  and 
 usually  also  the  inclination  to  retain  it  in  possession ;  on 
 which  account  his  will  cannot  be  lawfully  executed  before 
 his  decease,  nor  altered  after  it.  The  Deity,  on  the  con- 
 trary, can  neither  die,  nor  part  with  property,  nor  remove 
 from  one  world  to  another.  As  the  absolute  lord  and  pro- 
 prietor of  all  things,  he  is  never  impoverished  by  his  gifts, 
 which  belong  to  him  as  much  after  they  are  granted  as 
 before,  and  which  he  is  always  at  liberty  to  bestow  or 
 withdraw  at  his  pleasure. 
 
 Should  it  be  alleged  that  Christ  is  the  testator  here 
 intended,  it  must  be  replied  that  such  a  view  is  at  variance 
 with  the  Scripture,  which  always  represents  him  as  the 
 
 *  Rom.  chap.  11,  v.  36  ;— 1  Tim.  chap.  1,  v.  17  ;  chap.  6,  v.  15, 
 I6;— Heb.  chap.  2,  v.  10. 
 
NOTES    AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  4,^7 
 
 mediator,  not  as  the  principal ;  and  his  followers  as — "  heirs 
 of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." — The  general  notion 
 is  moreover  equally  unsuitable  in  this  case  as  in  the  former 
 one  ;  for,  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  crucifixion,   Christ 
 assured  his  disciples  that  he  would  not  leave  them  in  the 
 forlorn  condition  of  orphans,*  but  would  speedily  return 
 to  them  as  their  eternal  protector  and  benefactor  ;  a  pro- 
 mise which  he  performed  by  rising  from  the  dead  the  third 
 day,  conversing  with  them  during  forty  days  on  earth,  and 
 granting  them,  after  his  ascension  to  heaven,  the  extraor- 
 dinary gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     From  that  period,  instead 
 of  losing  or  transferring  any  property  by  his  death, — "  God 
 hath  constituted  his  Son  heir  of  all  things  ;  .   .   .  and  hath 
 seated  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly  [places, J 
 far  above  all  rule,  and  authority,  and  power,  and  dominion, 
 and  every  name  [that  is]   named,   not  only  in  this  world, 
 but  in  that  also  [which  is]  to  come  ;  hath  put  all  things  in 
 subjection  under  his  feet,  and  hath  appointed  him  to  be 
 [the]  supreme  head  of  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  the 
 completion  of  him  who  completeth  all  in  all."'f' — If  there 
 is    any  passage  in  the   New  Testament  which  bears    the 
 semblance  of  a  bequest  made  by  Christ  to  his  disciples,  it 
 is   Luke,    chap.  22,  v.  29  ; — "  Kayo)   diarideixat   vixiv,    Kadais 
 dieOero   /xoi  6  Trarrjp  fiov,  ^aaikeiav' — I   appoint  unto  you  a 
 kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto  me." — Regard- 
 ing the  term  abstractedly,  without  reference  to  the  context, 
 this  passage  might  certainly  be  lendered,—'^ I  bequeath  unto 
 you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  bequeathed  unto  me." — 
 
 *  OuK  cKprjau)  vfiUQ  6p<pavovg  :  tpxojuai  rrpbg  vfiaQ. — John,  chap. 
 14,  V.  18;— See  also  v.  1—4;  and  chap.  16,  v.  19—22. 
 
 t  Rom,  chap.  8.  v.  14 — 17  ;— Galat.  chap.  4.  v.  1—7  ; — Ephes. 
 chap.  1,  V.  19— 23 ;— Philipp.  chap.  2,  v.  5—11  ;— Heb.  chap.  1, 
 V.  1—4 ;  chap.  7,  v.  23—28,  &c. 
 
468  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 But  the  authors  of  the  English  Vulgate  doubtless  per- 
 ceived that  such  a  translation  is  inadmissible,  both  as 
 regards  the  Father,  to  whom  such  an  act  is  utterly  inap- 
 plicable, and  as  regards  the  Son,  to  whom  the  very  next 
 verse, — "  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my 
 kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of 
 Israel," — as  well  as  the  corresponding  passages  in  Matt, 
 chap.  19,  V.  27 — 30 ;  Rev.  chap.  3,  v.  20,  21 ;  and  chap.  21, 
 V.  6,  7,  &c.,  plainly  shows  that  it  was  never  intended  to  be 
 applied  ;  since  a  bequest  is  enjoyed,  not  in  conjunction 
 with  the  testator,  but  in  succession  to  him. 
 
 Secondly,  this  conclusion  is  deducible  from  the  fact,  that 
 the  word  diaOrjKT)  is  chiefly  used  by  the  sacred  writers  when 
 addressing  their  Hebrew  fellow-countrymen,  who,  although 
 familiar  with  covenants,  knew  nothing  of  testaments ;  be- 
 cause amongst  their  nation  the  transmission  of  property 
 after  death  was  determined  by  law,  and  not  by  the  will  of 
 the  previous  possessor.  On  this  ground  alone  it  might  rea- 
 sonably be  inferred  that,  under  such  circumstances,  the 
 word  diadrjKTj  would  uniformly  be  employed  in  the  sense  of 
 covenant,  and  never  in  that  of  testament.  The  frequent 
 occurrence  in  Scripture  of  the  words  heir,  and  inheritance, 
 in  connexion  with  the  death  of  Christ,  may  not  unnatu- 
 rally have  suggested  the  notion  that  his  followers  obtain  a 
 heavenly  inheritance,  as  a  legacy  bequeathed  to  them  by 
 his  will ;  but  this  error,  like  some  others  which  disfigure 
 biblical  interpretation,  has  chiefly  arisen  from  inattention 
 to  Hebrew  customs  and  idioms,  and  from  neglecting  to 
 distinguish  things  which,  although  they  may  have  a  super- 
 ficial resemblance,  are  essentially  different.  With  the  ex- 
 ception of  some  of  the  Asamonean  and  Herodian  princes, 
 and  a  few  other  opulent  persons  who  adopted  Gentile 
 manners,  Israelites  when  in  their  own  land,  and  under  the 
 Mosaic  dispensation,  did  not  dispose  of  their  property  by 
 will.     During  their  life-time  they  gave  to  their  younger 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  459 
 
 children  such  portions  as  they  thought  fit,  but  at  their 
 death  the  bulk  of  their  estate  descended,  as  a  matter  of 
 course,  to  their  legal  heir.     Thus,  at  the  very  commence- 
 ment of  their  history,  it  is   stated  that — "  Abraham  gave 
 all  that  he  had  to  Isaac ;  but  unto  the  sons  of  his  concu- 
 bines which  Abraham  had,  Abraham  gave  gifts  whilst  he 
 yet  lived,  and  sent  them  away  from  Isaac  his  son  eastward, 
 unto  the  east  country." — So,  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal, 
 the  younger  son  demanded  from  his  father  a  portion  of  the 
 family  property,  and,  having  received  it,  withdrew  to  a 
 distant  land  ;  but  to  the  elder  son  the  father  said,  when 
 endeavouring  to  appease  his  resentment, — "  Son,  thou  art 
 ever  with   me,  and  all  that  I   have  is  thine." — Hence, 
 among   the    people  of  Israel,  the  term  corresponding  to 
 inheritance  was   applicable  to  property  lawfully  acquired 
 by  whatever  tenure,  but  was  perhaps  most  frequently  ap- 
 plied to  that  which  children  derived,  either  by  gift  or  by 
 succession,  from  their  father.     That  by  the  death  of  Christ 
 those  who  believe  on  his  name  become  the  adopted  chil- 
 dren of  God,   and  obtain   a   title   and  qualification  to  a 
 heavenly  inheritance,  is  undoubtedly  true,  but  it  is  not 
 the  whole  truth  ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  partial  and  im-^ 
 perfect  view  of  the  doctrine,  aided  by  a  misinterpretation 
 of  some  of  the  terms  employed,  that  the  notion  of  a  will 
 has  been  introduced.     A  little  reflection,  however,  is  suffi- 
 cient to  prove  its  incorrectness  ;   since  it  is  evident   that 
 these  unspeakable  blessings  are  procured  by  the  death  of 
 Christ,  not  as  a  testator,  who  in   the  ordinary   course  of 
 mortality  is  compelled  to  resign  a  property,  to  which  other 
 parties  may  succeed  by   a  natural   claim  as  soon  as   the 
 former   possessor   is    deceased,    but   by  his  death    as    an 
 atoning  victim,  through  the  infinite  value  and  efficacy  of 
 which,  penitent  sinners,  who  cordially  embrace  the  offers 
 of  divine  mercy  proclaimed  in   the  gospel,  are  redeemed 
 from  the  bondage  of  sin,  and  the  malediction  of  the  law. 
 
470  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and  admitted  into  a  covenant  of  reconciliation  and  friend- 
 ship with  God,  ratified  not  merely  by  the  death,  but  also 
 by  the  life's  blood  of  the  Redeemer.* 
 
 Thirdly,  the  same  conclusion  is  suggested  by  the  con- 
 text and  connexion  of  all  the  passages  in  which  the  term 
 tcadrjKt]  is  found ;  for  they  all  agree  with  the  notion  of  a 
 covenant,  and  are  opposed  to  that  of  a  testament.  The 
 inference  here  drav/n  is  much  facilitated,  in  consequence  of 
 the  Scripture  describing  under  this  name  two  dispensa- 
 tions, the  Mosaic  and  the  Christian,  which  are  evidently 
 of  the  same  general  nature,  and  concerning  one  of  which 
 no  doubt  can  be  entertained.  In  the  Septuagint  version 
 of  the  Old  Testament  the  word  ImOt^kt)  frequently  occurs  ; 
 and,  like  the  corresponding  Hebrew  term  rr^li,  uniformly 
 signifies  a  covenant,  and  never  a  testament,  an  object  to 
 which  there  is  not  in  the  whole  of  this  portion  of  the 
 sacred  volume  the  slightest  allusion.  In  those  passages 
 of  the  New  Testament,  more  especially  Heb.  chap.  8  and  9, 
 where  the  two  dispensations  are  minutely  compared,  and 
 called  by  the  same  name  bLaBrjKq,  it  is  manifest  that,  if  the 
 meaning  of  this  term  is  covenant  in  the  former  case,  it 
 must  be  equally  so  in  the  latter.  Thus  in  Galat.  chap.  4, 
 v.  24,  the  apostle  Paul,  speaking  of  Abraham's  wives 
 Hagar  and  Sarah,  remarks, — "  Which  things  are  allegori- 
 cal, for  these  [women]  represent  [hvo  Sta^^Kat,]  two  cove- 
 nants."— ^In  Rom.  chap.  9,  v.  4,  he  observes  of  the  Jews, 
 — "  Who  are  Israelites,  to  whom  belong  the  adoption,  and 
 the  glory,  and  \_ai  biadriKai^']  the  covenants,  and  the 
 giving  of  the  law,  and  the  [appointed]  worship,  and  the 
 promises,"  &c. ; — andinEphes.  chap.  2,  v.  11,  12,  he  says 
 
 *  Genes,  chap.  25,  v.  5,  6  ; — Numb.  chap.  27,  v.  1 — II  ; — Luke, 
 chap.  15,  V.  11 — 13,31; — John,  chap.  1,  v.  10 — 13; — Rom.  chap.  5, 
 V.  8— 11 ; — Galat.  chap.  4,  v.  1 — 7  ;— Titus,  chap.  3,  v.  3—7. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  471 
 
 to  Christian  Gentiles, — *'  Remember  that  ye  who  were 
 once  Gentiles  in  flesh,  and  called  uncircumcision  by  those 
 who  derive  their  name  from  the  circumcision  made  by 
 hands  in  the  flesh,  were  at  that  time  without  Christ,  aliens 
 from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  [^^epoi,  rav  bi.a6r)K(hv 
 rjjy  eVayyeXias-,]  Strangers  to  THE  COVENANTS  of  promise, 
 without  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world." — The 
 appendages  also  which  are  associated  by  the  sacred  writers 
 with  each  of  these  dispensations,  such  as  temple, — ark, — • 
 mediator, — surety, — victim, — atoning  blood, — discharge  of 
 sins, — reconciliation, — and  redemption, — are  all  appro- 
 priate to  the  notion  of  a  covenant,  but  inapplicable  to  that 
 of  a  testament  or  will.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
 various  relative  or  comparative  terms  so  often  applied  to 
 them  in  Scripture  ;  for,  as  it  is  notorious  that  there  never 
 was  any  first, — -former, — old, —  inferior,  —  or  temporary 
 divine  will,  there  cannot  have  been  any  second, — lat- 
 ter,— new, — better,  or  everlasting  one ;  whereas,  if  the 
 word  COVENANT  is  substituted,  all  these  appellations  are 
 suitable  and  true.  Hence,  whenever  the  word  diadrjKT}  is 
 accompanied  with  any  such  terms  or  allusions,  it  must 
 undoubtedly  signify  a  covenant,  not  a  testament ;  and  by 
 this  simple  rule,  the  import  of  almost  all  the  passages 
 above  quoted  may  easily  be  determined. 
 
 To  avoid  prolixity,  the  majority  of  these  passages  will 
 therefore  be  left  without  further  comment  to  the  reader's 
 investigation  ;  and  the  following  remarks  will  comprehend 
 three  of  them  only,  to  which  the  rule  does  not  so  strictly 
 apply,  and  which  are  also  the  only  ones  wherein  the 
 notion  of  a  will,  abstractedly  considered,  seems  capable  of 
 being  seriously  entertained.  These  passages,  which  in  the 
 preceding  tabular  statement  are  numbered  7,  13,  and  14, 
 will  for  the  sake  of  perspicuity  be  here  reproduced,  both 
 in  the  authorized,  and  in  a  modified  version. 
 
47^  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 No.  7. — Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  15. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION. 
 
 Brethren,  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men,  though  [it 
 be]  but  a  man's  will,  yet  [if  it  be]  confirmed,  no  man 
 disannuUeth,  or  addeth  thereto.     (^Marginal  reading.) 
 
 PROPOSED    VERSION. 
 
 Brethren,  I  speak  after  [the  manner  of]  man,  [that 
 when]  a  human  covenant  [is]  confirmed,  no  one  [either] 
 setteth  [it]  aside,  or  addeth  [to  it.] 
 
 In  this  instance  it  cannot  be  difficult  to  decide  which  of 
 the  two  senses  is  the  true  one,  since  one  of  them  only 
 agrees  with  the  context,  and  with  the  general  subject. 
 Throughout  the  whole  of  this  and  the  following  chapter 
 the  apostle  is  speaking  of  the  two  covenants, — bvo  diadrJKoif 
 — which  God  successively  made  with  Abraham.  On  that 
 and  similar  grounds  he  maintains  that,  notwithstanding 
 the  aversion  of  the  Israelitish  people  to  Christianity,  there 
 is  no  opposition  between  the  law  and  the  gospel ;  and  that, 
 supposing  even  it  were  otherwise,  the  Christian  covenant, 
 which  God  originally  established  with  Abraham  and  his 
 spiritual  seed,  that  is  with  Christ,  could  not  be  superseded 
 by  the  Mosaic  covenant,  which  was  not  introduced  until 
 four  hundred  and  thirty  years  afterwards.  The  apostle 
 enforces  his  argument  by  remarking  that  there  are  two 
 parties  to  a  covenant ; — that,  when  it  is  once  confirmed, 
 neither  party  can  alter  it  without  the  consent  of  the  other; 
 — and  that,  if  such  a  rule  is  binding  in  a  human  covenant, 
 it  must,  if  possible,  be  still  more  so  in  one  that  is  divine. 
 This  reasoning  is  apposite  and  conclusive  ;  but,  except 
 in  reference  to  the  single  point  of  inheritance,  common  to 
 both  subjects,  and  which  has  been  already  explained,  any 
 allusion  to  a  testament  or  will  in  this  connexion  would 
 have  been  incongruous  and  unsuitable ;  for,  to  say  that  a 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  473 
 
 will  cannot  be  altered  after  the  death  of  the  testator,  would 
 afford  no  proof  that  God  cannot  alter  a  covenant  into 
 which  he  has  entered.  In  all  transactions  of  this  kind 
 those  who  embrace  the  offer  made  to  them  are,  it  is  true, 
 entitled  to  an  inheritance,  either  in  heaven,  or  on  earth ; 
 but  this  is  secured  to  them  by  a  covenant,  not  by  a  testa- 
 ment ;  a  mode  of  proceeding  which,  as  previously  observed, 
 cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  Deity  without  absurdity. 
 
 No.  13.— Heb.  chap.  9.  v.  16. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION. 
 
 For  where  a  will  [is,]  there  must  also  of  necessity  be 
 the  death  of  the  testator  : 
 
 PROPOSED   VERSION. 
 
 For  where  [there  is]  a  covenant,  [the]  death  of  the 
 COVENANT  VICTIM  [must]  uccessarily  take  place : 
 
 No.  14.— Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  17. 
 
 AUTHORIZED    VERSION. 
 
 for  a  WILL  [is]  of  force  after  men  are  dead,  otherwise  it  is 
 of  no  strength  at  all  while  the  testator  liveth. 
 
 PROPOSED    version. 
 
 for  a  COVENANT  [is]  ratified  over  dead  [victims,]  not  hav- 
 ing any  force  while  the  victim  remains  alive. 
 
 These  verses  present  the  case  which,  separately  consi- 
 dered, is  of  all  others  the  most  favourable  to  the  notion  of 
 a  Will,  were  that  notion  in  any  case  admissible  ;  but  that 
 it  is  utterly  untenable,  will  appear  from  its  total  discre- 
 pancy with  the  phraseology,  the  argument,  and  the  entire 
 object  of  these  passages ;  whilst  that  of  a  Covenant  is  in 
 perfect  accordance  with  each. 
 
 Before  proceeding  with  this  inquiry,  it  may  be  useful  to 
 recollect  that  amongst  the  more  important  ancient  cove- 
 nants were  treaties   of  peace  and   alliance,   adopted  by 
 
474  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 parties  previously  hostile ;  who,  having  at  length  agreed 
 on  terms  of  reconciliation,  pledged  themselves  by  oaths 
 and  sacrifices  to  their  faithful  observance.  On  these  oc- 
 casions the  victims  were  divided  longitudinally  into 
 corresponding  halves,  between  which  the  contracting 
 parties  solemnly  passed  in  succession,  thereby  literally 
 entering  into  a  covenant,  and  imprecating  on  themselves, 
 in  the  event  of  breaking  their  engagements,  a  similar  fate. 
 Hence,  the  Hebrew  name  for  a  covenant,  and  perhaps 
 also  the  Greek  word  biadrjKr),  are  derived  from  roots  signi- 
 fying to  sever  or  divide  ;  and  hence  probably  the  ancient 
 punishment  of  cutting  or  sawing  asunder,  to  which  there 
 seems  to  be  some  allusion  in  a  few  passages  of  the  New 
 Testament,  was  originally  contrived  to  mark  the  peculiar 
 atrocity  of  treachery,  or  the  violation  of  covenants.*  A 
 memorable  example  of  a  covenant  of  this  kind  occurs  in 
 Jerem.  chap.  34,  v.  6 — 22,  and  may  be  thus  described. — 
 At  the  commencement  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, during  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  many  of  the 
 higher  and  more  opulent  classes  among  the  Jews  who,  in 
 opposition  to  the  law  of  Moses,  had  reduced  their  country- 
 men and  countrywomen  to  domestic  slavery,  set  them  at 
 liberty,  and  confirmed  this  act  of  justice  by  a  solemn 
 covenant,  celebrated  in  the  manner  above  mentioned. 
 This  procedure  was  however  the  result,  not  of  principle, 
 but  of  fear;  and  hence,  on  the  subsequent  retirement  of 
 the  Babylonish  army  from  the  city,  they  basely  broke 
 their  covenant,  and  reduced  to  their  former  slavery  the 
 persons  whom  they  had  recently  emancipated.  Such  con- 
 duct was  of  course  highly  offensive  to  God,  who  threatened 
 them  in  consequence  through  the  prophet  Jeremiah  with 
 the  severest  judgments,  and  in  the  course  of  these  denun- 
 
 *  Matt.  chap.  24,  v.  45— 51  ; — Luke,  chap.  12,  v.  41—46  ; — Acts, 
 chap.  1,  V.  16— 20  J— Rom.  chap.  1,  v.  31 ; — 2  Tim.  chap.  3,  v.  3. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  475 
 
 ciations  used  the  following  remarkable  expressions, — 
 chap.  34,  V.  18, — "  I  will  give  the  men  that  have  trans- 
 gressed my  covenant,  who  have  not  performed  the  words 
 of  the  covenant  which  they  had  made  before  me,  when  they 
 cut  the  calf  in  twain,  and  passed  between  the  parts 
 thereof,  19.  the  princes  of  Judah,  and  the  princes  of  Jeru- 
 salem, the  eunuchs,  and  the  priests,  and  all  the  people  of 
 the  land,  who  passed  between  the  parts  of  the  calf,  20.  I 
 will  even  give  them  into  the  hand  of  their  enemies,  and 
 into  the  hand  of  them  that  seek  their  life  :  and  their  dead 
 bodies  shall  be  for  meat  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and 
 to  the  beasts  of  the  earth,"  &c. 
 
 Such  having  been  the  established  practice  in  ancient 
 times  and  eastern  countries,  it  pleased  God  in  making  his 
 primitive  covenant  with  Abraham  to  adopt  similar  obser- 
 vances. The  condescension  of  God,  both  in  providing  a 
 method  of  reconciliation  between  himself  and  sinful  men, 
 and  in  pressing  it  on  their  acceptance,  is  indeed  almost  too 
 great  to  be  believed ;  and  hence  a  second  act  of  conde- 
 scension became  necessary,  especially  before  the  birth  of 
 Christ,  in  order  to  prove  the  reality  and  certainty  of  the 
 first.  The  fact  is  thus  noticed  by  the  apostle  Paul. — ■ 
 "  When  God  made  a  promise  to  Abraham,  since  there  was 
 none  greater  by  whom  he  could  swear,  he  swore  by  him- 
 self, saying — '  I  will  assuredly  bless  thee  and  multiply 
 thee  ;'— and  accordingly,  after  patiently  waiting,  [Abraham] 
 obtained  the  promised  [blessing.]  For  men  swear  by  a 
 superior,  and  an  oath  furnishes  them  with  a  confirmation 
 beyond  all  dispute.  On  which  account  God,  being  desir- 
 ous to  prove  more  fully  to  the  heirs  of  the  promise  the 
 unchangeableness  of  his  purpose,  had  recourse  to  an  oath, 
 that  by  means  of  two  unchangeable  acts,  wherein  [it  was] 
 impossible  that  God  should  deal  falsely,  we,  who  have  fled 
 [for  refuge]  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope  set  before  [us,]  might 
 have  a  strong  consolation." — Nor  was  this  all  ;  for  the 
 
476  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 patriarch  having  by  God's  direction  slain  and  divided 
 victims  in  the  usual  manner,  the  Shechinah,  or  emblem  of 
 the  divine  presence,  actually  went,  like  a  human  party, 
 between  the  severed  halves. — *'  It  came  to  pass  that  when 
 the  sun  went  down,  and  it  was  dark,  behold !  a  smoking 
 furnace  and  a  burning  lamp  that  passed  between  those 
 pieces.  In  the  same  day  the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with 
 Abram." — Thus  by  every  conceivable  token,  both  in 
 word  and  in  deed,  the  gracious  engagement  of  God  with 
 repenting  sinners  is  throughout  Scripture  represented  as  a 
 covenant  of  reconciliation  ;  and  the  short  description  which 
 he  himself  gives  of  them  is, — *'  Those  who  have  made  a 
 covenant  with  me  by  sacrifice."* 
 
 Returning  to  the  two  passages  in  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
 brews which  are  now  under  consideration,  it  will  be  recol- 
 lected that  in  this  portion  of  Scripture  the  apostle  Paul  is 
 addressing  Israelitish  Christians,  more  especially  perhaps 
 those  of  Palestine,  with  a  view  to  confirm  them  in  the 
 faith  and  practice  of  the  gospel,  and  probably  also  to  pro- 
 duce through  them  a  favourable  impression  on  the  minds 
 of  their  unbelieving  countrymen.  For  this  purpose,  he 
 draws  a  full  and  minute  comparison  between  the  two  cove- 
 nants, the  Mosaic  and  the  Christian  ;  shows  that  the 
 Mosaic  covenant,  and  the  whole  ceremonial  law  annexed 
 to  it,  were  merely  typical  and  temporary  institutions,  pre- 
 paratory to  the  great  and  spiritual  realities  of  Christianity ; 
 and  intimates  that,  as  the  substance  was  now  come,  the 
 shadow  would  speedily  vanish  away.  This  discussion  is 
 chiefly  pursued  in  the  long  section  which  extends  from  the 
 eighth  chapter  to  the  middle  of  the  tenth,  and  includes  the 
 two  verses   in  question,  together  with  the  following  con- 
 
 *  Gen.  chap.  15,  v.  7 — 21; — Psalm  50,  v.  5; — Rom.  chap.  5,  v.  1 — 11; 
 — 2  Cor.  chap.  5,  v.  14—21 ; — Ephes.  chap.  2,  v.  11 — 18  ;— Heb.  chap. 
 6,  V.  13—20. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  477 
 
 text : — "  Christ  having  arrived  [as]  high-priest  of  the 
 blessings  to  come,  by  the  greater  and  more  perfect  taber- 
 nacle not  made  with  hands,  that  is,  not  of  this  institution, 
 neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  his  own 
 blood,  entered  once  for  all  into  the  most  holy  place,  hav- 
 ing achieved  an  everlasting  redemption.  For,  if  the  blood 
 of  bulls  and  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer,  sprinkled  on 
 those  who  are  unclean,  sanctify  to  the  purification  of  the 
 flesh,  how  much  more  will  the  blood  of  Christ,  who 
 through  the  eternal  Spirit  oflfered  himself  [as  a]  spotless 
 [sacrifice]  to  God,  purify  your  consciences  from  dead 
 works,  to  worship  the  living  God  ?  And  for  this  end  he 
 is  [the]  mediator  of  [the]  new  covenant ;  that,  [in  conse- 
 quence of]  a  death  having  taken  place  as  a  ransom  for  the 
 transgressions  [committed]  under  the  first  covenant,  those 
 who  are  called  might  attain  the  promised  [gift]  of  the  eternal 
 inheritance.  For,  where  [there  is]  a  covenant,  [the]  death 
 of  the  covenant- victim  [must]  necessarily  take  place  ;  for 
 a  covenant  [is]  ratified  over  dead  [victims,]  not  having 
 any  force  while  the  victim  remains  alive.  On  which  ac- 
 count, neither  was  the  first  [covenant]  solemnized  without 
 blood  ;  for,  when  every  commandment  of  the  law  had  been 
 recited  to  all  the  people  by  Moses,  he  took  the  blood  of  calves 
 and  goats,  with  water,  and  scarlet  wool,  and  hyssop,  and 
 sprinkled  both  the  book,  and  all  the  people,  saying — '  This 
 [is]  the  blood  of  the  covenant  which  God  hath  appointed 
 for  you.' — And  in  like  manner  he  sprinkled  with  the  blood 
 both  the  tabernacle,  and  all  the  implements  of  the  sacred 
 service  ;  and  [indeed,]  according  to  the  law,  almost  all 
 things  are  purified  by  blood,  and  without  effusion  of  blood 
 there  is  no  discharge  [of  sins."]* — The  whole  tenour  of 
 this  important  passage  proves  that  the  term  diadrjKT]  is 
 therein  used  in  the  same  sense  as  in  all  the  passages  pre- 
 
 *  Heb.  chap.  9,  v.  11—22. 
 
478  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 viously  cited.  Christ  is  here  described,  not  as  the  testator  of 
 a  will,  but  as  the  mediator,  the  surety,  the  high-priest,  and 
 the  victim  of  a  covenant.  That  the  transaction  was  a 
 covenant,  not  a  testament,  is  determined  by  its  collation 
 with  the  Mosaic  covenant,  concerning  which  there  cannot 
 be  any  dispute.  For  the  ratification  of  such  a  covenant, 
 the  apostle  observes  that  the  violent  death  of  a  suitable 
 victim,  attended  with  the  effusion  of  its  life's  blood,  was 
 indispensable ;  that  until  these  conditions  were  fulfilled 
 the  covenant  was  not  valid;  and  that  the j^rs^  covenant 
 was  ratified  by  the  blood  of  animals,  but  the  new  covenant 
 by  that  of  Christ.  These  circumstances  have  no  relation 
 or  analogy  to  those  of  a  will,  nor  are  they  explained  by 
 stating  that  a  will  is  not  in  force  until  after  the  death  of 
 the  testator.  If  any  one  doubts  this,  let  him  consider 
 which  of  the  following  answers  to  the  questions  implied 
 in  the  foregoing  passage  is  the  most  rational  and  satis- 
 factory. 
 
 Queries. — Why  did  Christ  become  the  mediator  of 
 the  new  covenant,  and  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of 
 mankind  by  the  effusion  of  his  blood? — and  why  was  the 
 Mosaic  covenant  solemnized  by  shedding  the  blood  of 
 calves  and  goats  ? 
 
 Answer  I. — Because  a  will  is  not  in  force  until  after 
 the  death  of  the  testator. 
 
 Answer  II. — Because  a  covenant  of  reconciliation  is 
 not  ratified  without  the  sacrifice  of  the  appointed  victim, 
 or,  in  other  words,  without  a  suitable  atonement. 
 
 The  natural  conclusion  is,  that  an  inspired  writer  could 
 not  have  intended  to  construct  a  solid  argument  by  the 
 combination  of  such  heterogeneous  materials,  and  that  the 
 term  biadrjKrj,  which  in  every  other  part  of  Scripture  sig- 
 nifies a  covenant,  cannot  on  this  single  occasion,  without 
 warning,  and  against  reason,  have  been  employed  in  a 
 sense  so  different  and  incongruous  as  that  of  a  will. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  479 
 
 '  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  not  a  little  surprising  that 
 some  eminent  theologians  of  the  present  day  either  hesitate 
 to  admit  this  conclusion,  or  even  adopt  the  opposite  one. 
 The  latter  course  is  taken  by  Dr.  Moses  Stuart,  in  his 
 Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  but  with  a 
 feebleness  which  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  general 
 merit  of  his  excellent  work,  and  with  concessions  which 
 greatly  detract  from  the  weight  of  his  authority  on  this 
 point.  For,  in  the  first  place,  although  he  zealously  advo- 
 cates the  notion  of  a  testament,  and  although  with  a  view 
 to  consistency  the  authorized  version  has  actually  inserted 
 the  word  in  several  places,  he  has  never  introduced  it  in 
 his  own  translation  except  in  these  two  solitary  verses  ; 
 and  admits  that — "  this  mode  of  illustration  or  comparison 
 depends  entirely  on  the  sense  of  the  Greek  word  biaOr^ta^^ 
 and  is  not  at  all  supported  by  any  meaning  of  the  Hebrew, 
 n'^'il," — the  corresponding  term  in  the  Old  Testament.*  But 
 the  very  language  which  he  employs  in  support  of  this 
 opinion  affords  a  convincing  proof  of  its  unsoundness  ;  for 
 the  divine  transaction  denoted  by  either  of  these  terms, 
 whether  Hebrew  or  Greek,  is  in  Scripture  uniformly  repre- 
 sented as  a  sacred  reality  ;  and,  as  in  this  case  the  notion 
 of  a  will  or  testament  could  at  best  be  nothing  more  than 
 — *'  a  mode  of  illustration  or  comparison," — and  that  a  very 
 inapposite  one,  it  cannot  be  the  object  intended.  In  com- 
 menting on  the  text, — "  "Oirov  yap  Cia6r]KT],  Qdvarov  dvdyKT] 
 4>€pe(Tdai  Toil  diaOcfiivov,''' — Heb.  chap.  9,  V.  16,  Dr.  Stuart 
 in  like  manner  makes  the  following  concession. — "  ^epeaSai, 
 in  the  sense  of  intervening,  happening,  taking  place,  (which 
 must  necessarily  be  attached  to  it  here,)  has  no  exact  paral- 
 lel, that  I  can  find,  either  in  classic  or  sacred  usage.     It  is 
 
 *  Dr.  Moses  Stuart,  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
 vol.  ii.  pp.  225—228. 
 
480  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 as  to  such  a  meaning  a  true  arra^  Xeyd/xevoj/," — a  singular 
 expression.  Were  this  statement  strictly  correct,  it  would 
 strengthen  the  argument  for  interpreting  the  word  diaOef^vos 
 in  the  peculiar  sense,  wherein  the  context  shows  that  it 
 must  here  have  been  employed.  But,  although  the  terras 
 — *'  intervening,  happening,  or  taking  place," — may  to- 
 lerably well  represent  the  general  meaning  of  the  verb 
 ^epo/xai,  they  do  not  express  its  full  meaning,  the  character 
 of  which  is  not  passive,  but  forcible,  and  in  this  particular 
 case  might  very  properly  be  rendered — "  to  be  brought 
 about  or  induced," — in  other  words, — "  to  be  inflicted  ;" 
 — a  meaning  which  perfectly  agrees  with  the  death  of  a 
 victim,  but  not  at  all  with  that  of  a  testator.  Again,  in  the 
 following  verse  17, — "  Aia6r)KT]  yap  im  veKpois  j3e^aia,"  &C., 
 — the  expression,  cVi  vcKpolg,  which  has  been  translated — 
 *'  over  dead  victims," — and  literally  means — *'  over  dead 
 bodies," — is  inapplicable  to  a  deceased  testator,  whose  will 
 is  certainly  not  confirmed  over  his  corpse,  but  fully  accords 
 with  the  victims,  often  numerous,  over  whose  dead  and 
 dissevered  bodies  a  covenant  of  reconciliation  was  anciently 
 ratified.  The  version  of  this  passage,  proposed  after  much 
 deliberation  by  Dr.  Stuart,  and  which  is  probably  the  best 
 which  could  be  contrived  in  favour  of  the  opinion  which  he 
 endeavours  to  support, — "  because  a  testament  is  valid  in 
 respect  to  those  only  who  are  dead," — affords  a  further 
 proof  that  the  opinion  is  untenable ;  since,  if  such  were 
 the  fact,  a  will  could  never  be  executed.* 
 
 Dr.  Pye  Smith,  in  his  admirable  work  on  the  Priesthood 
 of  Christ,  evidently  inclines  to  the  opposite  opinion ;  but, 
 with  his  usual  modesty  and  candour,  mentions  two  diffi- 
 culties   with   which    he    and    others    conceive   it   to    be 
 
 *  Dr.  Moses  Stuart,  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
 vol.  ii.  pp.  7,  226. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  481 
 
 pressed,  namely, — "  the  necessity  of  making  6  diaOsfjievos 
 and  v€Kpo\  to   signify  the  animal  sacrifices  by  which  the 
 most    solemn    covenants    in    early    times    were    ratified ; 
 whereas   the  phrase   diadea-dat  dcadrjKrjv  is  common  in  the 
 Septuagint,  and  always  refers  to  the  act  of  the  person  who 
 constitutes    the    covenant,    and  v€Kpo\,  or   veKpa,  is  never 
 applied    to  the   dead  bodies  of  any  but  mankind." — He 
 adds, — "  Perhaps  we  must  humbly  say  that  this  passage 
 is  among  '  the  things  hard  to  be  understood'  of  the  apostle 
 Paul's  writings,  and  that  the  satisfactory  elucidation  of  it 
 is  not   yet  attained."* — With  much   deference  to  so   re- 
 spected an  authority,  it  may  be  replied  that   neither  of 
 these  remarks  is  strictly  accurate  ;  for,  in  the  Septuagint 
 version,  the  phrase  diadea-Oat  diadrjKrjv  or  its  equivalents  is 
 often  applied  to  either  or  both  of  the  parties  engaging  in 
 a  covenant,  as  well  as  to  the  mediator  or  agent  by  whom 
 it    is    administered.     Of  its  application   to    the    principal 
 party,  and  more  especially  to  the  Deity,  the  instances  are 
 too  numerous  and  familiar  to  require  quotation.     In  the 
 following  cases  the  term  is  applied  to  both  parties.     Abra- 
 ham and  Abimelech  entered  into  a  covenant  at  Beersheba; — 
 "  and  both  of  them  made  a  covenant ;  koL  dudevro  afxcporepot 
 diadyjKTjv'^' — Jacob  and  Laban,  at  the  proposal  of  the  latter, 
 entered  into  a  covenant  on  Mount  Gilead  ; — "  Now  there- 
 fore come  thou,  let  us  make  a  covenant  I  and  thou  ;   'Nvv  ovv 
 devpo,  diaOapeda  BiadrjKTjv  eyoi  /cat  av'^' — David  and  Jonathan, 
 in  the  wilderness  of  Ziph  ; — "  And  they  two  made  a  cove- 
 nant before  the  Lord  ;    Kat  buOevro  dpcJioTepoi  EiadrjKrjv  evoiTnov 
 Kvpi'ou*" — and  Solomon  and  Hiram,  through  the  medium  of 
 ambassadors  ; — "  And  they   two  made  a  league  together  ; 
 Kat   duBePTO   diadrjKrjv    ava    fieaov    eavrcov.""|' — In    some  in- 
 
 *  Dr.  J.  P.  Smith,  On  the  Sacrifice  and  Priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
 pp.  110—120. 
 
 t  Gen.  chap.  21,  v.  27,  32 ;  chap.  31,  v.  43,  44  ;— 1  Sam.  chap.  23, 
 V.  16— 18;— 1  Kings,  chap.  5,  v.  12. 
 
 Y 
 
482 
 
 NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Stances  the  expression  is  employed  in  reference  to  par- 
 ties making  a  covenant  with  God.  Thus  Hezekiah,  in 
 an  address  to  the  priests  and  Levites  at  the  commence- 
 ment of  his  reign,  intimated,—  ''  Now  [it  is]  in  my  heart 
 to  make  a  covenant  with  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  'Etti 
 TOVTOis,  vvv  ecTTtv  cVl  Kapblas  ^loBeadai  diaBrjKrjv  jxov,  dia^TjKTjv 
 Kvpiov,  Qeov  'lo-pa>/X'" — Josiah,  on  mounting  the  throne, 
 followed  the  example  of  his  pious  ancestor  ; — "  And  the 
 king  stood  by  a  pillar,  and  made  a  covenant  before  the 
 Lord  ;  Kal  eaTrj  6  ^aaiXevs  npog  tov  arrvkov,  Ka\  dUBero  diaBrj- 
 Krjv  evamov  Kvpiov'" — and,  after  the  return  of  the  Jews 
 from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  Shechaniah,  in  an  address  to 
 Ezra,  recommended  a  similar  proceeding  to  those  among 
 them  who  had  married  foreign  wives ; — "  Now,  therefore, 
 let  us  make  a  covenant  with  our  God,  &c.  ;  Kai  vvv  dia6b>~ 
 
 p.e0a  ciaBrjKTjv  t«  Qea  rjixcov."* 
 
 There  are  other  cases  again,  and  more  to  the  present 
 purpose,  where  the  term  is  applied  to  those  who  act  as 
 mediators,  or  ministers,  in  bringing  other  parties  into  a 
 covenant.  Thus,  in  the  national  covenant  established 
 between  God  and  the  people  of  Israel  at  Mount  Sinai,  and 
 afterwards  renewed  on  the  plains  of  Moab,  Moses  was  the 
 appointed  mediator.  This  circumstance,  to  which  allusion 
 is  made  in  Galat.  chap.  3,  v.  19,  20,  is  described  on  the 
 first  occasion  in  the  book  of  Exodus,  and  on  the  second,  in 
 the  following  manner,  in  that  of  Deuteronomy  ; — "  These 
 [are]  the  words  of  the  covenant  which  the  Lord  com- 
 manded Moses  to  make  with  the  children  of  Israel  in  the 
 land  of  Moab,  besides  the  covenant  which  he  made  with 
 them  in  Horeb Keep  therefore  the  words  of  this  co- 
 venant, and  do  them,  that  ye  may  prosper  in  all  that  ye  do. 
 
 *  2  Kings,  chap.  23,  v.  1—3;— 2  Chron.  chap.  29,  v.  10 ;  chap.  34, 
 T.  29—32  ;— Ezra,  chap.  10,  v.  1—3. 
 
NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  4,g3 
 
 Neither  with  you  only  do  I  make  this  cove- 
 nant, and  this  oath  ;  Kat  ovx  vjjlIv  fxovois  e'ycb  ^lariQe^ai  ttjp 
 Sia9^Kr]v  ravTrjv,  <al  rrjv  af)av  tuvttjv'^' — Joshua,  a  little  before 
 his  death,  imitated  the  conduct  of  his  illustrious  predecessor, 
 and  persuaded  the  people  of  Israel  to  renew  their  covenant 
 with  God. — "  So  Joshua  made  a  covenant  with  the  people 
 that  day ;  Kat  dieOero  ^Itjctovq  diaOi]Kr)v  Trpog  tov  Xaov  iv  rf]  rjfiepa 
 eWj/j;*" — Jehoiada  the  high-priest  performed  a  similar  act 
 after  the  deposition  of  the  idolatrous  Athaliah,  and  the 
 restoration  of  true  religion  under  Joash,  the  rightful  sove- 
 reign.— "  And  Jehoiada  made  a  covenant  between  the 
 Lord,  and  the  king,  and  the  people,  that  they  should  be 
 the  Lord's  people ;  Kal  BieOero  'icoaSae  dLa9r)Kr)v  ava  fieaov 
 Kvptov,  Kal  dva  p,€(Top  tov  ^actXecos,  Koi  ava  fxecrov  tov  \aov,  tov 
 €ipat  elg  Xaov  t<Z  Kvpi'o)'" — and  lastly,  during  the  siege  of 
 Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians,  Zedekiah  the  king  brought 
 the  people,  as  above  related,  into  a  solemn  covenant  with 
 God,  to  emancipate  their  Hebrew  slaves.*  It  hence  ap- 
 pears that  the  scriptural  use  of  the  phrase  diaOeaOat  dia9^Kr)v 
 is  more  extensive  than  was  supposed  by  Dr.  Smith  ;  a  fact 
 which  may  be  still  further  illustrated  by  the  text  already 
 cited;  namely.  Psalm  50,  v.  5.  "  Gather  my  saints  toge- 
 ther unto  me,  those  that  have  made  a  covenant  with  me 
 by  sacrifice ;  tovs  oiaTiOefievovs  ttjv  diaOi^KTjv  avTOv  cVt 
 ^vffiaisi"  —  literally, — "over  slaughtered  victims;" — an 
 expression  exactly  corresponding  to  that  in  Heb.  chap.  9, 
 v.  17.  "A  covenant  [is]  ratified  over  dead  [victims;] 
 hiaQriKq  irri  veKpois  ^e^ala'*' — Dr.  Smith's  objection  to  such 
 an  application  of  the  term  veKpoTs,  on  the  ground  that  it  is 
 always  restricted  to  the  dead  bodies  of  mankind,  is  in  like 
 manner  obviated   by   three  opposite   examples  ;   to  which 
 
 *  Deuteron.  chap.  29,  v.  1 — 15; — Joshua,  chap.  24,  v.  25; — 
 2  Kings,  chap.  11,  v.  4,  17,  18  ;— 2  Chron.  chap.  23,  v.  1—3,  16  ; 
 — Jerem.  chap,  34,  v.  8,  9  ; — Hosea,  chap.  2,  v.  18. 
 
484  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 several  others  might  doubtless  be  added.  Two  of  these  are 
 derived  from  ^sop's  Fables  ; — "  'O  aiXovpos  ....  rrpoae- 
 TToielro  avTov  NEKPON  etvciL'  The  cat  ....  pretended  to  be 
 dead;" — "  eVetSj)    elde  rfjv   x.^\cd6va    NEKPAN     ip-qjxovpevqv' 
 
 when  he  saw  the  swallow  left  dead  ;" — and  the  third  from 
 the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  ; — 
 "  'O  Kvcov  6  ^a>v,  avTOQ  dyaOos  inrep  tov  Xeovra  rov  NEKPON* 
 A  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion."* 
 
 Supposing  the  other  difficulties  connected  with  the  inter- 
 pretation of  this  passage  to  have  been  now  removed,  there 
 remains  only  that  of  explaining  the  exact  signification  of  the 
 term  6  dia^epevos,  and  of  accounting  for  its  being  so  applied. 
 But,  if  dia^^KT]  here  means  a  covenant  of  reconciliation, 
 6  biaQipcvoQ  cannot  mean  the  testator;  for,  as  has  been  well 
 observed  by  the  Rev.  Archibald  M'Lean,  in  his  judicious 
 commentary  on  this  epistle,  the  expressions  mediator  of 
 a  testament f  and  testator  of  a  covenant,  are  alike  un- 
 intelligible.-j-  It  must  therefore  mean  the  covenant  vic' 
 tim  ;  since,  of  all  the  parties  concerned  in  such  a  trans- 
 action, the  victim  is  the  only  one  whose  death  is  necessary 
 for  the  purpose  of  ratification,  and  by  the  effusion  of  whose 
 blood  atonement  is  made  for  the  offences  which  occasioned 
 the  previous  hostility.  This  usage  of  the  term  is  perhaps 
 somewhat  uncommon ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 
 the  sacred  writers  of  the  New  Testament  do  not  confine 
 themselves  to  classical  Greek,  that  the  subject  is  one  of 
 great  complexity,  and  of  supreme  importance,  that  it  was 
 difficult  to  find  Greek  idioms  perfectly  adapted  to  the  case, 
 and  that  in  addressing  Hebrew  Christians  familiar  with 
 the  topics  under  discussion,  and  accustomed  to  the  Hellenis- 
 tic dialect,  the  apostle  might  very  naturally  have   been 
 
 *  ^sopicse  Fabulse,  Fab.  67,  and  12.3  ; — Ecclesiast.  chap.  9.  v.  4. 
 t  Rev.  Archibald  M'Lean,  Paraphrase  and  Commentary  on  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  vol.  i.  pp.  259,  260 ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  38—41. 
 
NOTES     AND     ILLUSTRATIONS.  4g5 
 
 induced  to  employ  an  expression  which,  although  a  little 
 irregular,  would  probably  convey  to  their  minds  more  pre- 
 cisely than  any   other,  the  object  which  he  had  in  view. 
 This  object  was  to  show  that,  whereas  under  the  Mosaic 
 covenant  the  blood  of  inferior  victims  offered  on  the  altar 
 accomplished  a  figurative  and  ceremonial  atonement,  the 
 blood  of  Christ,  who  was  at  once   the  mediator,   surety, 
 high-priest,  and  victim  of  the  new  covenant,  accomplished 
 a  real  one,  whereby  all  who  cordially  embrace  it  are  recon- 
 ciled to  God,  and  entitled    as  his   adopted  children   to  an 
 eternal  inheritance.     Nor  was  this  proceeding  arbitrary,  or 
 unreasonable,  but  founded  on  the  intrinsic  nature  of  the 
 case,  and  analogous  to  human  usages  on  similar  occasions. 
 Except  through  a  suitable  mediator,  God  could  not,  con- 
 sistently with  the  perfection  and  dignity  of  his  character, 
 have  made  overtures  of  friendship  to  depraved  and  sinful 
 men  ; — unless  security  had  been  given  for  the  full  satisfac- 
 tion of  divine  justice,  the  negotiation  could  not  have  pro- 
 ceeded ; — unless  the  pledge  so  given  had  been  thoroughly 
 redeemed  by  the  death  of  Christ  as  an  atoning  victim,  it 
 could  not  have  been  completed  ; — and  it  is  obvious  that  he 
 who  thus  consecrates  and  presents  acceptable  worshippers 
 to  God,  is  a  high-priest.     As  all  these  offices  are  virtually 
 united  in  that  of  a  reconciler  of  hostile  parties  through  the 
 medium    of   a    sacrificial   covenant,    the    term   dia^efievosj 
 which  in  this  sense  is  generally  applicable  to  every  cove- 
 nant-victim, is  peculiarly  applicable  to  Christ.      The  texts 
 recently  quoted  from  the  Septuagint  show  that  the  corre- 
 sponding verb  is  occasionally  there  used  in  reference  to  the 
 office  of  a  mediator ;  and  both  the  verb  and  its  participles 
 are  often  employed  by  the  ancient  Greek  authors  in  the 
 sense  of  composing  animosities,  and  reconciling  parties  who 
 have   been  at  variance.      Among  the   meanings  assigned 
 to  the  middle  verb  diaTiSrenai  in  Stephens's  Thesaurus,  are — 
 componere,  ad  concordiam  reducere,  concorditer  constituercj 
 
 Y  2 
 
4,g6  NOTES    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 placare  ; — among  those  mentioned  in  Donnegan's  Lexi- 
 con,— to  conciliate,  to  reconcile,  to  accommodate  a  difference; 
 — and,  by  the  evidence  thus  supplied,  the  use  of  this  term 
 by  the  apostle  Paul  in  the  sense  here  assigned  may  there- 
 fore be  regarded  as  sufficiently  explained.  At  all  events, 
 it  is  far  better  to  admit  that  in  such  a  use  of  the  term  the 
 apostle  committed  a  slight  irregularity,  if  it  really  is  one, 
 than  to  consign  the  whole  of  a  most  important  passage  to 
 obscurity,  or  absurdity. 
 
 Nor  is  this  view  of  the  passage  now  proposed  for  the 
 first  time,  having  long  since  been  adopted  by  several  emi- 
 nent authors,  and  amongst  others  by  Mr.  Taylor,  in  his 
 well-known  edition  and  continuation  of  Calmet's  Dic- 
 tionary of  the  Bible,  as  appears  from  the  following  extract, 
 which  will  form  a  suitable  conclusion  to  the  present  re- 
 marks : — "  Now,  where  there  is  a  .  .  .  covenant,  the  death 
 of  .  .  .  the  coNFiRMER  OF  THE  COVENANT  is  ncccssary  ;  for 
 a  .  .  .  covenant  is  of  no  authority  while  the  confirmer  of 
 the  .  .  .  covenant  is  living  :' — i.  e.  while  that  beast  w^as  not 
 slain,  between  whose  divided  parts  the  persons  covenanting 
 were  to  pass,  the  covenant  wanted  the  most  solemn  token 
 of  its  ratification."* — But,  as  in  a  modern  translation  of 
 Scripture  such  expressions  as  covenant-confirmer,  or  cove- 
 nant-ratificator,  would  be  harsh,  and  scarcely  intelligible, 
 the  term  covenant-victim,  which  is  nearly  equivalent, 
 and  actually  implied,  is  here  substituted. 
 
 END    OF    THE    NOTES. 
 
 *  Calmet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  edited  by  Taylor ;  Article 
 Covenant ;  — also  Fragments,  vol.  i.  pp.  205 — 210,  539—542;  — 
 Evangelical  Register  for  1830;  vol.  iv.  pp.  69— -73  ;  103—109. 
 
LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  WORKS, 
 
 TO    WHICH 
 
 REFERENCE  IS  MADE  IN  THE   FOREGOING    TREATISE. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abercrombie,  (Dr.  John,)  Cases  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ; — 
 in  the  Trans,  of  the  Medico-Chirurg.  Society  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  i. 
 
 Academia  Naturae  Curiosorum, — Ephemerides ;  sive  Acta  Physico- 
 Medica ;  in  many  volumes. 
 
 Acta  Sanctorum  ;  (cura  BoUandi,)  50  vol.  fol.  Antuerp.  1643,  &c. 
 
 Adams,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ; — in  the  Journal  of 
 Morbid  Anatomy,  Ophthalmic  Medicine,  &c.  Art.  5. 
 
 ^sopicse  Fabulae,  (cura  Francisci  De  Furia ;)  8vo.   Lips.  1810. 
 
 Allan,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Hepatic  Abscess  bursting  into  the  Pericar- 
 dium;— in  the  Lancet  for  1845. 
 
 Annual  Register  for  the  year  1798  ;  2nd  Edit.  8vo.   Lond.  1806. 
 
 Arnott,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium ; — m  the 
 Lond.  Med.  and  Phys.  Journal  for  1826. 
 
 Art  de  Verifier  les  Dates,  in  many  vols.;   8vo.    Paris,  1818,  &c. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bardus,  (Hieronymus,)  Epistola   ad  Thomam  Bartholinum,  12mo. 
 
 Lugd.  Bat.  1646. 
 Baricelli,  (Julius  Caesar),  De  Hydronosa  Natura,  &c.  4to.    Neapol. 
 
 1614. 
 Bartholinus,  (Thomas,)  De  Latere  Christi  Aperto,  &c.  12mo.  Lugd. 
 
 Bat.  1646. 
 
 Epistola  ad  Hieron.  Bardium  ;  ibid. 
 
 Bedingtield,  (James,)  Compendium  of  Medical  Practice  ;  8vo,  Lond. 
 
 1816. 
 
4,g3  I-IST    OF      AUTHORS    AND     WORKS. 
 
 Bell,  (Sir  Charles,)  On  the  Nervous  System  of  the  Human  Body : 
 
 4to.  Lond.  1830. 
 ....  Anatomy  and  Philosophy  of  Expression,  &c. ;  large  8vo.  Lond. 
 
 1844. 
 ....  (John  and  Charles,)  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Body  ;  4  vol.  Svo. 
 
 Edinb.  1797. 
 Biblia  Sacra,  juxta  Vulgatam  Editionem  ;  fol.  Paris,  1549. 
 Biblia  Sacra,  Vet.  Test,  juxta  Septuaginta  Interpretes,  (cura  Grabe,) 
 
 fol.  Oxon.  1707. 
 Biscoe,  (Rev.  Richard,)  Twenty-four  Sermons   on  the  Acts  of  the 
 
 Apostles;  2  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1742. 
 Blanchinus,    (Josephus,)    Evangeliarium  Quadruplex  Latins  Ver- 
 
 sionis  Antiquse,  &c. ;   4  vol.  fol.    Romaj,  1749. 
 Bohn,  (Johannes,)  De  Renunciatione  Vulnerum,  &c. ;    12mo.    Am- 
 
 stelod.  1710. 
 Bonetus,  (Theophilus,)  Sepulchretum,   (cura   Manget,)   3  vol.  fol. 
 
 Genevse,  1700. 
 Bosius   (Jacobus,)   Crux    Triumphans  et  Gloriosa,  fol.   Antuerp, 
 
 1617. 
 Brigida,  (Beata,)  Memoriale  Effigiatum  Librorum  Prophetiarum,  &c.  j 
 
 fol.  Romae,  1556. 
 Burns,  (Allan,)  On  Diseases  of  the  Heart ;  8vo.  Edinb.  1809. 
 Butler,  (Rev.  Alban,)  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  &c. ;  12  vol.  8vo.  Lond. 
 
 1812—1815. 
 
 C. 
 
 Calmet,   (August.,)  Dictionary  of  the  Holy  Bible,  edited  and  en- 
 larged by  C.  Taylor;  5  vol.  4to.  Lond.  1823. 
 Calvinus,  (Joannes,)  Comment,  in  Quatuor  Evangelistas ;   fol.  Am- 
 
 stelod.  1667. 
 Carpenter,  (Dr.  W.  B.,)  Principles  of  Human  Physiology,  &c. ;   Svo. 
 
 Lond.  1842. 
 Castellus,  (Barthol.,)  Lexicon  Medicum ;  4to.  Genev.  1746. 
 Chrysostomus,  (Joannes,)  Opera,  (cura  Montfaucon ;)  13  vol.   fol. 
 
 Paris,  1727. 
 Clarke,  (Dr.  Adam,)  The  New  Testament,  with  a  Commentary, 
 
 &c. ;  3  vol.  4to.  Lond.  1817. 
 Cogan,  (Dr.  Thomas,)  Philosophical  Treatise  on  the  Passions  ;  Svo. 
 
 Bath,  1802. 
 Coleridge,  (S.  T.,)  Specimens  of  his   Table   Talk;   2  vol.    12mo. 
 
 Lond.  1835. 
 
LIST  OF  AUTHORS   AND  WORKS.  ^.gQ 
 
 Comment.  [Lipsienses,]  de  Rebus  in  Scientia  Natural!  et  Medicina 
 
 gestis,  &e. ;  40  vol.  8vo.  Lips.  1752—1792. 
 Congregational  Magazine;  28  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1818 — 1845. 
 Copland,  (Dr.  James,)  Dictionary  of  Practical  Medicine  ;  in  several 
 
 vols.  8vo.  Lond.  1832—1847. 
 Corvisart,  (J.  N.,)  Sur  les  Maladies  du  Coeur,  et  des  Gros  Vaisseaux ; 
 
 12mo.  Paris,  1811. 
 Crevier,  (J.  B.  L.,;  History  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  &c. ;  (trans,  by 
 
 Mill,)  10  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1814. 
 Crichton,   (Dr,  Alexander,)-  On  Mental  Derangement ;  2  vol.  8vo. 
 
 Lond.  1798. 
 Curling,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium  ; — in  the 
 
 London  Medical  Gazette  for  1838. 
 Cyprianus,  Opera,  fol.  Paris,  1726. 
 
 D. 
 Davy,  (Dr.  John,)  Researches  Physiological  and  Anatomical ;  2  vol. 
 
 8vo.  Lond.  1839. 
 Daubeny,  (Dr.  Charles,)  Description  of  Active  and  Extinct  Vol- 
 canoes, &c. ;  8vo.  Lond.  1826. 
 DeMarinis,(Dominicus,)  De  Re  Monstrosa,  &c. ;  32mo.  Romae,  1678. 
 De  Mezeray,  Histoire  de  France,  3  vol.  fol.    Paris,  1685. 
 Denham  and  Clapperton,  Travels  and  Discoveries  in  Nor*hern  and 
 
 Central  Africa;  4to.  Lond.  1826. 
 Desruelles,  (Dr.,)  Precis  Physiologique  du   Cholera  Morbus ;  8vo. 
 
 Paris,  1831. 
 Dickson,  (Sir  D.  J.  H.,)  Case  of  Aneurism  of  the  Aorta  bursting 
 
 into  the  right  Pleural  Sac ; — in  the  Edinb.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal 
 
 for  1843. 
 Dionis,  Anatomy  of  Human  Bodies,  &c.,  (trans,  from  the  French ;) 
 
 8vo.  Lond.  1703. 
 Doddridge,  (Dr.  Philip,)  Family  Expositor  of  the  New  Testament, 
 
 &c. ;  6  vol.  4to.  Lond.  1761. 
 Dongola  and  Sennaar,  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to,  in  1820;  8vo. 
 
 Lond.  1822. 
 Dublin  Medical  Transactions,  (New  Series;)  8vo.  Dublin,  1830,  &c. 
 Durrius,  (G.  T.,)  Case  of  Bloody  Sweat; — in  the  Ephemerid.  Acad. 
 
 Natur.  Curios. 
 
 E. 
 
 Edinburgh  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 
 
 Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Journal,  (by  Brewster.) 
 
490  ^^^^    ^^    AUTHORS    AND    WORKS. 
 
 Edwards,  (Jonathan,)  Works,  8  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1817. 
 
 Elliotson,  (Dr.  John,)  Lumleyan  Lectures  on  Diseases  of  the  Heart  ; 
 
 fol.  Lond.  1830. 
 Ellis,   (Rev.  W.,)   History  of  Madagascar ;   2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  and 
 
 Paris,  1838. 
 English  Poets,  Works  of,  edited  by  Dr.  S.  Johnson  ;  75  vol.  12mo. 
 
 Lond.  1790. 
 Erskine,  (Thomas,  Esq.,)  On  the  Internal  Evidence  for  the  Truth 
 
 of  Revealed  Religion  ;  18mo.  Edinb.  1829. 
 
 Essay  on  Faith  ;  18mo.  Edinb.  1829. 
 
 On  the   Unconditional   Freeness  of  the  Gospel ;   12mo. 
 
 Edinb.  1829. 
 Evangelical  Register,    or    Magazine  for   the   Connexion    of    the 
 
 Countess  of  Huntingdon  ;  4  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1824—1831. 
 
 Ferguson,  (J.  C.,)  Two  Cases  of  Pulmonary  Apoplexy  ; — in  the 
 
 Dublin  Medical  Transactions  for  1830. 
 Fischer,  (Dr.  Daniel,)  Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium  ; — 
 
 in  the  Ephemerid.  Acad.  Natur.  Curios. 
 Fischer,  (Dr.,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ; — in  the  London  Me- 
 dical Repository,  vol.  xi.  and  xii. 
 Fitzpatrick,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium  ; — in 
 
 the  London  Medical  Repository,  vol,  xvii. 
 Forster,  (T.,)  Illustrations  of  the  Atmospherical  Origin  of  Epidemic 
 
 Disorders,  &c. ;  8vo.  Chelmsford,  1829. 
 Foxe,  (Rev.  John,)  The  Book  of  Martyrs  in  the  Reign  of  Queen 
 
 Mary  the  First,  (edited  by  Madan,)  small  folio.   Lond.  1760. 
 Francis,  (Dr.,)  Cases  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium,  &c.  ; — 
 
 in  the  Guy's  Hospital  Reports  for  1845. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galeati,  (D.  G.,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart  ;— in  the  Comment. 
 
 Lipsiens.  for  1758. 
 Gesenius,  (Rev.  Dr.,)  Hebrew  and  English  Lexicon ;  Svo.  Lond. 
 
 1827. 
 Gibbon,  (Edward,)  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
 
 Empire  ;  12  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1807. 
 Gill,  (Dr.  John,)  Exposition  of  the  New  Testament ;    3  vol.  fol. 
 
 Lond.  1746. 
 
LIST    OF    AUTHORS    AND    WORKS  4,9] 
 
 Grimm,  and  Diderot,  Correspondance  Litteraire,  &c.,  depuis  1770, 
 
 jusqu'en  1790  ;  G  vol.  8vo.  Paris,  1813. 
 Grotius,  (Hugo,)  Opera  Theologica,  &c.  ;  4  vol.  fol.  Lond.  1679. 
 Griiner,  (Father  and  Son,)  On  the  Death  of  Christ,  &c. ; —  a  Kuinael's 
 
 Lib.  Historic.  Nov.  Test. 
 Guy's  Hospital  Reports. 
 
 H. 
 
 Haller,  (Baron,)  Element.  Physiolog.  Corp.  Human. ;   8  vol.  4to. 
 
 Lausaun.  1757. 
 On  the  Motion  of  the  Blood,  &c. ;  8vo.  Lond.  1757. 
 
 Harvseus,  (Gulielmus,),  Opera,  4to.  Lond,  1766. 
 De  Motu  Cordis  et  Sanguinis  in  Animali- 
 
 bus;  32mo.  Roterodam.  1648. 
 Harwood,  (Edward,)  On  the   Probable   Causes  of    our  Saviour's 
 
 Agony  ;  8vo.  Lond.  1772. 
 Hecker,  (Dr.  J.  F.  C.,)  The  Black  Death  in  the  14th  Century, 
 
 (translated  by  Dr.  Babington  ;)  12mo.  Lond.  1833. 
 Henderson,  (Rev.  Dr.,)  Translation  of  Isaiah,  &c..  8vo.  Lond.  1840. 
 Henry,  (Rev.  Matthew,)  Exposition  on  the  New  Testament,   2  vol. 
 
 fol.  Lond.  1763. 
 Herodotus,  History,  (translated  by  Beloe,)  4  vol.  Svo.   Lond.  1806. 
 Hewlett,  (Rev.  Mr.,)  Bible,  with  Notes;  3  vol.  4to.  Lond.  1812. 
 Hewson,  (William,)  Inquiry  into  the  Properties  of  the  Blood,  &c. ; 
 
 Svo.  Lond.  1772. 
 Hey,  (William,)  Observations  on  the  Blood;  Svo.  Lond.  1779. 
 ....  Short  Defence  of  the  Doctrine  of  Atonement,  &e. ;  Svo.   Leeds, 
 
 1774. 
 Hieronymus,  Opera,  (cura  Erasmi,)  9  vol.  fol.  Paris,  1546. 
 Hope,  (Dr.,)   On  the  Diseases  of  the  Heart  and  Great  Vessels ; 
 
 3rd  edit.  Svo.  Lond.  1839. 
 Home,  (Bishop,)  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Psalms,  2  vol.  Svo. 
 
 Lond.  1802. 
 Hunter,  (John,)  Works,    (edited  by  Palmer,)    4  vol.  Svo.    Lond. 
 
 1835. 
 
 I. 
 
 Irengeus,  Opera,  (cura  Grabe,)  fol.  Oxon.  1702. 
 
 J. 
 
 Josephus,  Works,  (trans,  by  Whiston;)  4  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1806. 
 Journal  of  Morbid  Anatomy,    Ophthalmic    Medicine,   &c. ;     Svo. 
 Lond.  1828. 
 
49^ 
 
 LIST    OF    AUTHORS    AND    WORKS. 
 
 Journal  Universel  des   Sciences   Medicales ;   32   vol.   8vo.     Paris, 
 
 1816,  &c. 
 Justinus,  HistorijE  Philippicse  ;  Svo.  Lugd.  Bat.  1760. 
 Justinus,  (Martyr,)  Cum  Tryphone   Judseo  Dialogus,  (cura  Sam. 
 
 Jebb.)  Svo.  Lond.  1719. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kannegiesser,   (G.   H.,)  On  Bloody   Sweat; — in   the   Ephemerid. 
 
 Acad.  Natur.  Curios. 
 Kennedy,  (John,)  Complete  System  of  Astronomical  Chronology, 
 
 &c. ;  4to.  Lond.  1762. 
 Kipping,  (M.  H.,)  De  Cruce  et  Cruciariis ;  12mo.  Bremse,  1671. 
 Klefeker,  (J.  P.,)  De  Halitu  Pericardii;  4to.  Lugd.  Bat.  1758. 
 Kuinoel,  (C.  T.,)  Comment,  in  Lib.  Historic.  Nov.  Test.  4  vol.  Svo. 
 
 Lips.  1816.  ' 
 
 L. 
 
 Lancisi,  (J.  M.,)  Opera;  2  vol.  4to.  Genevae,  1718. 
 
 Lanzoni,  (Joseph,)  Case  of  Bloody  Sweat ;— in  the  Ephemerid.  Acad. 
 
 Natur.  Curios. 
 Lardner,  (Dr.  Nathaniel,)  Works;  11  vol.  8o.  Lond.  1788. 
 Lentilius,  (Rosinus,)  Cases  of  Bloody  Sweat ; — in  the   Ephemerid. 
 
 Acad.  Natur.  Curios. 
 Leti,  (Gregorio.)  Life  of  Pope  Sixtus  V.  (translated  by  Farneworth  ;) 
 
 fol.  Lond.  1754. 
 Lightfoot,  (Dr.  John,)  Works,  2  vol.  fol.  liOnd.  1684. 
 Lipsius,  (Justus,)  De  Cruce  ;  12nio.  Amstelod.  1670. 
 London  Medical  and  Physical  Journal ;    67  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1799 — 
 
 1832. 
 London  Medical  Repository;  29  vol.  Svo.   Lond.  1814—1828. 
 Lower,  (Richard,)  De  Corde,  &c.  ;    12mo.    Lugd,  Bat.  1728. 
 Lowth,  (Bishop,)    New  Translation  of  Isaiah ;    2  vol.  Svo.  Lond. 
 
 1795. 
 Ludwig,   (C.  D.,)  Adversaria  Medico-Practica ;    3  vol.  Svo.    Lips. 
 
 1769  —  1774. 
 
 M. 
 
 M'Lean,  (Rev.  Archibald,)  Paraphrase  and  Commentary  on  the 
 
 Epistle  to  the  Hebrews;  2  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1820. 
 Maldonatus,  (Joannes,)  Comment,  in  Quatuor    Evangelistas ;    fol. 
 
 Paris,  1639. 
 Maundrell,  (Rev.  H.,)  Journey  from  Aleppo  to  Jerusalem,  &c, ;  8vo. 
 
 Lond.  1810. 
 
LIST    OF    AUTHORS    AND    WOUKS. 
 
 493 
 
 Mayo,  (Herbert,)  Outlines  of   Human  Physiology ;    8vo.    Lond. 
 
 1827. 
 Medical  Observations  and  Inquiries.  4th  edit.  6  vol.  8 vo.  1776 — 1784. 
 Medico-Chirurgical  Review. 
 Medico-Chirurgical    Society    of    Edinburgh, — Transactions;  8vo. 
 
 Edinb.  1824. 
 Michaelis,  (Sir  J.  D.,)  Translation  of  Isaiah,  quoted  in  Dr.  J.  P, 
 
 Smith's  Treatise  on  the  Priesthood  of  Christ. 
 Millingen,  (Dr.  J.  G.,)  Curiosities  of  Medical  Experience  ;  2  vols. 
 
 8vo.  Lond.  1837. 
 Moore,  (Thomas,)  On  the   Nature  and  Causes  of  our   Saviour's 
 
 Agony  in  the  Garden  ;  8vo.  Lond.  1757. 
 Morgagni,  (J.  B.,)  De  Causis  et  Sedibus  Morborum ;  8  vol.  8vo. 
 
 Paris,  1821. 
 Morgan,  (J.,)  Complete  History  of  Algiers  ;  4to.  Lond.  1731. 
 
 N. 
 
 Novum  Testamentum,  Grsece,  juxta  recensionem  J.  J.  Griesbach  ; 
 2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1809. 
 
 O. 
 
 Oilier,  (Mr.,)   Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium ; — in  the 
 
 Manchester  Chronicle  for  Nov.  22nd,  1834. 
 Origenes,  Opera,  Gr.  Lat. ;  2  vol.  fol.   Basil.  1545. 
 Orton,  (Reginald,)  On  the  Epidemic  Cholera  of  India ;  2nd  Edit. 
 
 8vo.  Lond.  1831. 
 Outram,  (Gulielmus,)  De  Sacrificiis;  12mo.  Amstelod.  1688. 
 
 i.  ^- 
 
 Paget,  (James,)  On  the  Coagulation  of  the  Blood  after  Death ; — 
 
 in  the  London  Med.  Gazette  for  1840. 
 Paley,  (Rev.  Dr.,)  View  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,   &c. ; 
 
 2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1805. 
 Parkin,  (John,)  On  the  Remote  Cause  of  Epidemic  Diseases ;  8vo. 
 
 Lond.  1841. 
 Patissier,  (Dr.,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ;— in  the  London 
 
 Med.  and  Phys.  Journal,  vol.  47. 
 Pearson,  (Bishop,)  Exposition  of  the  Creed  ;  fol.  Lond.  1741. 
 Penn,  (Granville,)  Book  of  the  New  Covenant,  &c. ;  8vo.  Lond. 
 
 1836. 
 
 Annotations  to  ditto ;  8vo.  Lond,  1837. 
 
 z 
 
494 
 
 LIST    OF    AUTHORS    AND    WORKS. 
 
 Philosophical  Magazine  ;  68  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1798—1826. 
 
 Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London, 
 
 Pictorial  Bible,  by  Knight  and  Co.  ;  3  vol.  large  8vo.  Lond.  1838. 
 
 Poole,  (Matthew,)  Synopsis  Criticorum;  5  vol.  fol.  Lond.  1649. 
 
 Portal,  (Dr.  A.,)  Sur  la  Nature  et  le  Traitemeut  de  plusieurs 
 Maladies;   5  vol.  12mo.  Paris,  1800—1825. 
 
 Priestley,  (Dr.  Joseph,)  Discourse  on  the  Evidence  of  the  Resurrec- 
 tion of  Jesus;  8vo.  Birmingham,  1791. 
 
 Provincial  Med.  and  Surg.  Association  ; — Transactions. 
 
 Prout,  (Dr.  W.,)  Bridgewater  Treatise;  On  Chemistry,  Meteorology, 
 &c. ;  8vo.  Lond.  1834. 
 
 R. 
 
 Raffles,  (Sir  T.  S,,)  History  of  Java  ;  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1830. 
 
 Ramazzini,  (Bernard.)  Opera,  4to.    Genevse,  1716. 
 
 Rambach,  (J.,)  Considerations  on  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,  (translated 
 
 from  the  German  ;)  3  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1759. 
 Richter,  (G.  G.,)   Opuscula  Medica;    3vol.^4to.    Lips.  1780,  1781; 
 
 vol.  iii.  pp.  313—366. 
 Robinson,  (Nich.,)  System  of  the  Spleen,  &c.     12mo.  Lond.  1729. 
 Rostan,  Memoires  sur  les  Ruptures  du  Coeur;  12mo.  Paris,  1820. 
 Ruggieri,  (Dr.  C.,)  Narrative  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Matthew  Lovat, 
 
 &c.,  (translated  from  the  Italian ;) — in  the  Pamphleteer ;  vol.  iii. 
 
 8vo.   Lond.  1814. 
 Russell,  (Dr.  Alexander,)  Natural  History  of  Aleppo ;  2nd  Edition, 
 
 2  vol.  4to.  Lond.  1794. 
 
 Russell,  (Dr.  David,)  Letters,   chiefly  Practical  and  Consolatory ; 
 
 3  vol,  12 mo.   Edinb.  1825. 
 
 S. 
 
 Salmasius,  (Claudius,)  De  Ci'uce,  &c. :  12mo,  Lugd.  Bat.  1646. 
 Schenck,  (Joann.  a  Grafenberg,)  Observ.  Medicae  Rariores,  &c;  fol. 
 
 Francofurt,  1609. 
 Schilling,  (J.  C.,)  Case  of  Bloody  Sweat ; — in  the  Ephemerid.  Acad. 
 
 Natur.  Curios. 
 Schleusner,  (J.  F.,)  Lexicon  of  the  Greek  Testament;  2  vol,  8vo. 
 
 Glasgow,  1817. 
 Schwencke,  (Thomas,)  Hsematologia;   12mo.  Hag,  Com.  1743. 
 Scoutetten,  (Dr.,)  Histoire  Medicale  et  Topographique  du  Cholera 
 
 Morbus,  &c. ;  8vo.  Metz,  1831. 
 Seilei*,  (Dr.  G.  F.,)  Translation  of  Isaiah; — quoted  in  Dr.  J.  P.  Smith's 
 
 Treatise  on  the  Priesthood  of  Christ. 
 
LIST    OF    AUTHORS    AND    WORKS.  4,95 
 
 Senac,  (Pierre,)  Traite  du  Coeur,  &c. ;  2  vol.  4to.  Paris,  1783. 
 
 Shakspeare,  (William,)  Plays,  in  21  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1803. 
 
 Short,  (Thomas,)  General  Chronological  History  of  the  Air,  Wea- 
 ther, &c.  ;  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1749. 
 
 Sibson,  (Francis,)  On  the  Changes  induced  in  the  Situation  and 
 Structure  of  the  Internal  Organs,  &c. ;  8vo.  Worcester,  1844  ; — 
 in  the  Trans,  of  the  Provinc.  Med.  and  Surg.  Association ;  vol.  xii. 
 
 Slade,  (Adolphus,)  Records  of  Travels  in  Turkey,  Greece,  &c. ; 
 2  vol.  Svo.  Lond.  1833. 
 
 Smith,  (Dr.  J.  P.,)  Four  Discourses  on  the  Sacrifice  and  Priesthood 
 of  Jesus  Christ,  &c. ;  12mo.  Lond.  1842. 
 
 Stuart,  (Dr.  Moses,)  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews ; 
 2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1828. 
 
 Taxil  St.  Vincent,  Cases  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ; — in  the  Journal 
 
 Universel  des  Sciences  Medicales  ;  vol.  xix. 
 Taylor,  (Bishop  Jeremy,)  Works,  (edited  by  Bishop  Heber,)  15  vol. 
 
 Svo.  Lond.  1824. 
 Taylor,  (Mr,,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart; — in  the  Lancet  for 
 
 1843. 
 Tertullianus,  Opera;   fol.  Paris,  1675. 
 Thackrah,  (C.  T.,)  Inquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Properties  of  the 
 
 Blood,  &c.;  8vo.  Lond.  1834. 
 Theophylact,  Opera;  fol.  Paris,  1635. 
 Thuanus,  (J.  A.,)  Historia  sui  Temporis,  (cura  Buckley;)   7  vol.  fol. 
 
 Lond.  1733. 
 Thurnam,  (Dr.  John,)  On  Rupture  of  the  Heart,  and  Hemon-hage 
 
 into  the  Pericardium ; — in  the  London  Medical  Gazette  for  1838. 
 Tissot,  (S.  A.  D,,)  Traite  des  Nerfs,  &c. ;  12mo.  Avignon,  1800. 
 Townsend,  (P.  S.,)  On  the  Influence  of  the  Passions  in  the  Produc- 
 tion and  Modification  of  Disease  ;  8vo.  New  York,  1816. 
 Tully,  (Miss,)  Narrative  of  a  Ten  Years'  Residence  at  Tripoli,  in 
 
 Africa;  4to.  Lond.  1816. 
 
 V. 
 
 Valerius  Maximus,  Opera;  12mo.  Lugd.  Bat.  1660. 
 
 Van  Geuns,  (Matt.,)  De  Morte  Corporea,   &c. ;    4to.   Lugd.  Bat. 
 
 1761. 
 Vater,  (Christian,)  Cases  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium,  and 
 
 Rupture  of  the  Heart; — in  the  Ephemerid.  Acad.  Natur.  Curios. 
 
496  ^^^^    ^^    AUTHORS    x\ND    WORKS. 
 
 Voetius,  (Gisbert,)  On  the  Flow  of  Blood  and  Water  from  the  Side  of 
 Christ; — quoted  in  Kipping,  De  Cruee  et  Cruciariis. 
 
 Vogler,  (V.  H.,)  Physiologia  Historise  Passionis  Jesu  Christi ;  small 
 4to.  Helmestad.  1673. 
 
 Voltaire,  (F.  M.,)  (Euvres  completes;  71  vol.  8vo.  Basle,  1785. 
 
 I 
 
 Usher,  (Archbishop,)  Annals  of  the  World,  &c. ;  fol.  Lend.  1658. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wanley,  (Rev.  Nathaniel,)  Wonders  of  the  Little  World,  &c.,  (edited 
 
 by  Johnston;)  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1806. 
 Watson,  (Bishop,)  Apologies  for  Christianity  and  the  Bible  ;  8vo. 
 
 Lond.  1816. 
 Watson,  (Mr.,)  Case  of  Hemorrhage  into  the  Pericardium; — in  the 
 
 London  Medical  Repository  for  1814. 
 Watts,  (Dr.  Isaac,)  Psalms  and  Hymns. 
 
 Webster,  (Noah,)  Brief  History  of  Epidemic  and  Pestilential  Dis- 
 eases, &c. ;  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1800. 
 Wepfer,  (J.  J.,)  Anatomia  aliquot  Castorum ; — in  the  Ephemerid. 
 
 Acad.  Natur.  Curios. 
 Willan,  (Dr.  Robert,)  History  of  the  Ministry  of  Jesus  Christ,  &c. 
 
 12mo.  Lond.  1786. 
 Wilson,  (James,)  Lectures  on  the  Blood,  &c. ;  8vo.  Lond.  1819. 
 Wiseman,  (Bishop,)   Twelve  Lectures  on  the  Connexion  between 
 
 Science  and  Revealed  Religion;  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1836. 
 Wright,  (J.,)  Case  of  Rupture  of  the  Heart ; — in  the  Med.  Obs.  and 
 
 Inquiries,  vol.  vi. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zacchias,  (Paulus,)  Quaestiones  Medico-Legales ;  fol.  Avenion.  1657. 
 Zecchinelli,  (G.  M.,)  Sulla  Angina  del  Petto,  &c. ;  8vo.  Padova,  1813 
 
 and  1814. 
 Zimmermann,  (J.  G.,)  On  Experience  in  Physic,  (translated  from 
 
 the  German;)  2  vol.  8vo.  Lond.  1782. 
 
 Tyler  &  Reed,  Bolt-court,  Fleet-street. 
 
 A- 
 
BS2425.7  .S92 
 
 r%A  treatise  on  the  physical  cause  of  the 
 
 Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 
 
 1    1012  00057  6142