To the first the author replies, that the Chriftian revelation is not come too late to the objector; that it is a free gift, and no age had a right to it; that Chrift came at a time, when God thought it moft proper; that the ages before Christ appeared may have received great advantages from his death; and that though Chriftianity has not exifted eighteen hundred years, we do not know to what length of time it may ftill fubfift.

To the fecond queftion he answers, that nations, which never heard of Chrift may probably reap fome benefit from his death and interceffion; that we may as well ask, why is not the fruitfulness of the earth univerfal, as, why is Christianity not unive: fal; that to force it upon men is not suitable to the nature of free agents; and that we have reafon to think, it will be finally extended to all nations.

To the third queftion he replies, that all Chriftians are agreed as to the great branches of Chriftianity; that, in other points, in which there is not this unanimity, the meaning of the facred writers might have once been clear and intelligible, and are only rendered obfcure by the change of languages and customs, or perverted by the prejudices of men; and that St. Peter, when he tells his converts, that St. Paul had spoken to them in his Epiftles of these matters, in which there are fome things hard to be understood,' only meant fuch things, as he had juft before been mentioning, viz. the day of the Lord, and the coming of the day of God', to take vengeance upon the Jews, as it happened in the deftruction of their temple and city; and that they were hard to be understood in no other fense, than as the Jews could not bring themfelves to believe, that heaven would take fo great a vengeance upon their na tion. We may add, as a circumftance, which feems to corroborate this interpretation, that in the original the article is in the neuter gender, εν δις, and cannot agree with επιτολαις.

--

To the last queftion the author anfwers; that men by their free agency are left to act viciously or virtuously as they please; that we live among Chriftians, and fee their faults; but we do not know the vices of former ages; that the present times in Chriflian countries may be much better than former times. in heathen countries; that Chriftianity had once an effectual influence on the morals of its profeffors; that it is still capable of producing this effect; and where it does not produce it, other caufes, such as wealth, luxury, pleafures, &c. occafion įts obftruction.

In the ninth fermon the author enquires how fin came into the world; and he anfwers in general, that it came, as virtue did, by exercite of man's freedom of will. However, he adds: • We may

6

may fay, that fin is born with all who are born into the world; or, that there is a bias, an inclination, a proneness to fin, derived to us with qur birth, through the many generations, which have paffed from our first parents. To fuppose this conveyed in fuch a manner, is no difficult thing, when we ob ferve, that tempers of mind are often conveyed from parents to their children. Pride in fome families feems to be hereditary, like their eftates, and fometimes more lafting than even these are while sweetness of manners, and gentleness of difpofition, pass in other families from father to fon, with as much conftancy, as the features and lineaments of the face. A close and referved temper is thus frequently communicated; and fo is an open and ingenuous one: and this obfervation of the tempers of parents, delivered down to their offspring, is most commonly found to be true, when the fame good or evil turn of nature happens to meet alike in both the authors of their birth.'

That a propensity to fin is propagated from father to fon, in any one inftance, is a pofition, which may be disputed. Pride, anger, perverfenefs, &c. may appear in the infant; they may

Grow with his growth, and ftrengthen with his ftrength,' But it does not from hence follow, that they are derived from his parents. Indulgence, habit, and imitation, will account for all the obliquities of the human mind. On the other hand, it is certain, that there are as early indications of virtue in children, as there are of vice. Modefty, and a fshame attending the commiffion of a fault, are perhaps univerfal, upon the first dawn of reafon. And the horror of a wicked action cannot be fuppreffed, but by repeated tranfgreffions. As we advance into life, we conftantly approve every action, that is generous and benevolent; and disapprove every thing, that is cruel or flagitious. These then, are not the fymptoms of any innate depravity, or tendency to vice; but rather the contrary.

In feveral other difcourfes in this volume, his lordship points out the advantages of Christianity above those of natural re ligion, or the law of Mofes; he anfwers fome of the principal objections, which have been made to the gofpel of Chrift, confidered as grace and truth; he fhews in what respect Chrif tianity may be ftyled the fulfilling of the moral law; he proves, that the chief end and aim of the Chriftian religion is to procure finners that pardon, which natural religion could uot provide; he enquires what Chriftianity is, and what it has done for the fupport and improvement of natural religion;

he answers the objections of those who affert, that there are myfteries in the Chriftian religion; that Jefus Chrift was not the Meffiah, whom the prophets taught the Jews to expect ;' that the miracles afcribed to our Saviour were not performed by him; and that Chriftianity is not founded upon argument, but upon faith only.

The fallacy, as his lord fhip very properly obferves, which led to the making this objection, lies in this; that faith in a Chriftian is fuppofed to be fomething different from reafon and proof; and that, when men are called upon in the New Teftament to believe, it is not expected or implied, that they fhould have any ground and motive for their belief. In this fenfe faith is the only credulity But this is not what we Chriftians are called upon to have: the faith which is required of us, is an affent given to the truth of a doctrine or fact upon fufficient evidence offered on its behalf. Let no man fay, this is faith, and that is reafon; as if they were not akin, or rather were mere ftrangers to one another: for though there may be reason, where there is no room tor faith, yet there cannot be any faith, such as the gospel recommends, without having reafon for its groundwork and foundation.'

The next difcourfe is an illuftration of thefe words, John vii. 17. If any man will do his will, he fhall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.' Our Saviour's meaning, he fays, is this whenever a man fits down to examine the truth, without having any prejudice against his living up to the precepts of it, if the doctrine, which Chritt taught fhould be proposed to him, juft fuch as it was taught, that man would be able to form a true judgment concerning the origin of it, whether it came from God, or was only of human invention.'

The defign of the eighteenth fermon is to prove, that Christianity is not a matter of an indifferent nature, and that therefore it is every man's duty to make a ferious enquiry into the truth of it.

Thefe are the fubjects explained and illuftrated in the first volume. The reader will obferve, that his lordship has purfued no regular plan. His difcourfes appear to have been written on different occafions; and feveral of them contain the fame arguments and obfervations But these repetitions, as the editor obferves, may have their ufe, by placing the fubject in different points of view, and thus rendering it the more forcibly confpicuous.

[To be continued. ]

A Re

A Revifal of the English Translation of the Old Teftament recommended. A Sermon preached before the University of Oxford, on. November 15, 1778. To which is added fome Account of an ancient Syriac Tranflation of great Part of Origen's Hexaplar Edition of the LXX. tately difcovered in the Ambrofian Library at Milan. By the Rev. Joseph White, M. A. Laudian Profelor of Arabic, &c. 4to. Is. Rivington.

IT

T is always with pleasure that we obferve any attempt towards the advancement of general knowlege; but efpecially whatever has a tendency to place in the moft dignified light the great fountain of our religion, the Bible. To correa, where neceffary, the language, to fupply defects, and to remove mistakes, which ftill, with all its excellence, are to be found in our present tranflation of the facred writings, is an object in which the Chriftian world is much interested; as tending to deftroy the grand foundations on which free-principled men have built their cavils against the truth and purity of our religion. On this fubje&t profeffor White has, in the fhort compafs of a fermon, thrown together, in a style judiciously adapted to the occafion, many important and animated obfervations, which claim the attention of the public at large; but, in a more efpecial manner, of the dignified members of our national church.

The author dedicates his Sermon to the bishop of Bangor, and takes his text from the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, v. 7,8.

And the Levites caufed the people to understand the law : and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book, in the law of God diftin&tly, and gave the fenfe, and caused them to understand the reading.'

He fets out with mentioning the explanation of fcripture as one of the grand duties of the clerical inftitution, and with confidering the ftudy of the facred text among the qualifications requifite for the purpose. He then draws a parallel between the Greek and Hebrew language, as differently patronized in our church.

With respect to that language, he obferves, in which it pleafed God to deliver his laft and fulleft offers of mercy to mankind, there is no reason to deny, that this duty is generally and competently performed. The knowlege of the Greek tongue is cultivated by no part of the Chriftian church with more diligence, than by that pure and reformed part of it to which wẹ belong the study of the language is enforced in the common practice of clerical education; and fome acquaintance with it is always required by ufage, founded upon propriety, to be fhewn by the candidates for the minifterial office. He who is unable

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to give the common evidences of this acquaintance with that language, is justly thought to incur no unreasonable hardship, if his pretenfions are rejected, and he is forbid to explain authoritatively, thofe fcriptures, which it is prefumed he cannot perfectly understand.

The other language, in which the first tidings of divine love were delivered to mankind, hath been patronized in an inferior degree. The ftudent, who poffeffes the knowlege of it, is commended for his diligence; but he who wants it, is not cenfured for his incapacity It is in all cafes voluntary-is not required by any injunction of authority-is not impofed by any neceffity of conforming to general practice; and therefore, as happens in other instances where neither power nor public opinion interfere, it is generally difregarded, and often omitted in the compofition of a clerical character, where every other ingredient perhaps is eminently poffeffed.'

Having made fome cogent and ftriking remarks concerning the connection and mutual relation between the Old and New Teftament, our author goes on to fpeak of the origin and progrefs of Hebrew learning in Europe.

During the long reign of ignorance in the western world the only knowlege of that tongue that fubfifted in Europe, was poffeffed by a defpifed people, to whofe ancestors it had been vernacular. In truth, it had no reason to complain of particular negle&t; it underwent the common fate of literature; or perhaps indeed had particular advantages in being preserved. and cultivated for peculiar reafons by a peculiar people, at a time when, amongft Chriftians in general, religion had been feparated from learning; and, according to well-authenticated accounts, the knowlege of the Greek rendered a man suspected, and that of the Hebrew amounted to herefy,'

Having fpoken of Wickliffe's version, and the Jewish Bibles, the profeffor paffes on to take notice of the diffenters from the English church.

A knowlege of the Hebrew language began however to be more generally diffufed; a knowlege that was at least fufficient to fupply objections, and to afford plaufible topics of difcontent. It did not aim at any emendation of the text, either by the col lation of manufcripts, or by a happy and temperate application of conjectural criticifm; it was better employed, at least for the intereft of a party, in depreciating former labours recommended by authority; in fanctifying novelties of opinion, and in adorning a zeal, which, if it has not always been without fome knowlege, has been often without humility, and without dif

cretion.'

After making curfory mention of the verfions of Douay and Geneva, this elegant preacher comes to confider our tranflation in its prefent form.