Observer, Feb. 1, '75. them independantly of additional human authority. We do not believe the doctrine of Eckius that " the church is more ancient than the Scriptures, and that the Scripture is not authentic but by the authority of the church." Papists have been so well pleased with this argument that they have termed it "Achilles pro Catholics." But we affirm that if the Scriptures had or have any authority they had and have it apart from the judgment of any church. They neither require the traditions of Rome, the State Church, Wesleyanism, nor Congregationalism to give them authority. For, "All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii. 16-17. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter i. 21. David said of himself, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue." 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. And Paul said, "He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit." 1 Thess. iv. 8. What man or church, in the face of these explicit statements, shall dare to supplement the Scriptures of Truth? Another proposition which we earnestly affirm, is that the Scriptures are a perfect standard of faith to the church, through all time. They are a "form of sound words." 2 Tim. i. 13. A "form-mould of doctrine." Rom. vi. 17. "The faith which was once delivered unto the Saints." Jude 3. These statements being true, apostles could exhort with authority" Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle.. . . . Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the traditions which he received of us." 2 Thess. ii. 15, iii. 6. We have here, then, the constitution and discipline of the Church of Christ. And before the last apostle died the work was complete, and has never been susceptible of improvement. Let us not, therefore, be found laying unholy hands on the Ark of God's truth. It is the study of all who love God to "search the Scriptures." This duty was enjoined by the Lord Himself. John v. 39. The Bereans did so, and many believed in consequence. Acts xvii. 11-12. And an apostle has exhorted-"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. v. 21. And another-"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God. 1 John iv. 1. It is manifest further that every one should apply that principle in searching which will lead to right conclusions. We know of no more righteous and satisfactory method than that of full induction. And were that universally applied, all must arrive at the same conclusion on things clearly revealed. And all unscriptural names and practices must cease. And, building "upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," all the followers of Jesus would become one in heart and life. This is what the end will be. This will be the outcome of the present spirit of inquiry. Men are being forced to this conclusion. Only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ.... Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." T. THOMPSON. Observer, Feb. 1, '75. 66 THE FULNESS OF TIME. (Continued from page 6.) Secondly.-Another event divinely ordered with reference to this great consummation, the fulness of time," was The Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, at Alexandria, more than two centuries before the coming of Christ. It is probable," says Thomas de Quincey, "that a far greater effect was produced by the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures, in the way of preparing the mind of nations for the apprehension of Christianity, than has ever been distinctly recognized." See E. O., 1874, p. 115, etc. Plato and Aristotle.-What has been their worth, in comparison with the language which they used, and through which Greece was but like an intelligent secretary, for helping Apostles, and others to publish their histories, epistles, and visions, in the best manner possible, for the best intellects of the age.-(Mountford in "Miracles, past and present," p. 456.) "The Greek Language," says Dr. Schaff, "is the most beautiful, rich, and harmonious ever spoken or written, and Christianity has conferred the highest honour upon it, by making it the organ of her sacred truths. We may say it was predestined to form the pictures of silver, in which the golden apple of the gospel should be preserved for all generations. To this end Providence so ordered, that by the conquests of Alexander, this language had, before the birth of Messiah, become the language of the whole civilized world. Through it the Apostles could make themselves understood in any city of the Roman Empire; it opened a way for the gospel to all hearts." Principal Sharp, of St. Andrew's, recognizes, in the ancient world, the Greeks as having the mission of culture, and the Hebrews as having the mission of religion, and he believes that, in each instance, the history and development of the nations were providentially directed. As he contemplates the two great centres of illumination, Jerusalem and Athens, he asks how the two stand related to each other, and answers that one Providence directed both. You remember that superscription which was written in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew. That superscription seems to symbolise the conference of powers which thenceforward were to rule the minds of men. That central grace aud truth which came by Jesus Christ was to go forth into the world embodied in the language which had been long since fashioned by Homer and Plato, and that Hellenic tongue in its last decadence was to be made the vehicle of higher truths, and a holier inspiration than had ever haunted the dreams of bard or sage in old Achaia. And not less, in order that the glad tidings might spread abroad, was needed the political action of Rome. The world had first to be levelled down to one vast empire, and the stern legionaries-those massive hammers of the whole earth-as they paved the great highways from the Euphrates to the Pillars of Hercules, were, though they knew it not, fulfillers of Hebrew prophecy, and "preparing the way of the Lord, and making straight in the desert a highway for our God."-See " Literary World," Nov. 25, 1870. To these Roman highways we will now direct our attention. Observer, Feb. 1, '75. Thirdly. The Roman Roads.-Imperial Rome (it has been said) was but a servant for making ready highways for its great news; and thus tied together the most distant countries. Gibbon writes-" all the cities of the Roman Empire were connected with each other, and with the capital by public highways, which, issuing from the forum of Rome traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and were terminated only by the frontiers of the empire." If we carefully trace the distance from the wall of Antoninus to Rome, and from thence to Jerusalem, it will be found that the great chain of communication from the north-west to the south-east point of the empire was drawn out to the length of 3,740 English miles: The following itinerary may serve to convey some idea of the direction of this road, and of the distance between the principal towns. 1. From the wall of Antoninus (a short distance beyond the modern cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow,) to York, 222 Roman miles. 2, London, 227. 3, Rhutupice or Sandwich, 67. 4, the navigation to Boulogne, 45. 5, Rheims, 174. 6, Lyons, 330. 7, Milan, 324. 8. Rome, 426. 9, Brundusium, 360. 10, the navigation of Dyrrachium, 11, Byzantium, 711. 12, Ancyra, 283. 13, Tarsus, 301. 14, Antioch, 141. 15, Tyre, 252. 16, Jerusalem, 168. In all 4,080 Roman, or 3,740 English miles. These roads were carefully marked at every 1,000 paces by milestones, and ran in a direct line from one city to another, with very little respect for the obstacles either of nature or private property. They were paved with large stones, and such was the strength and durability of these roads that they have not yet entirely yielded to the combined effort of sixteen centuries. Posts were regularly established in all parts of the empire, houses were erected at distances of five or six miles, each of which was constantly provided with forty horses, and by the help of these relays it was easy to travel 100 miles a day along the Roman roads." Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. I., pp. 5, 6, 7. Taylor's "Words and Places. p. 167. The machinery of a government so complete and efficient as that of the Roman Empire, the energies of commercial enterprise, and the purer commerce of the mind-the interchange of philosophy, literature, and art-all these influences combined, brought the nations, then subject to Rome, into a relationship, and communion, which, perhaps, the boasted facilities of modern times do not much, if at, all surpass. As to the actual velocity of travel, days now stand for weeks, or even for months of an ancient voyage or journey, but as to the actual intercommunication of nations, the East and the West, and Africa, it may be questioned whether it be greater now than it was in the age of Hadrian. The spread of the Gospel was favoured by all these means of interand it took to itself the wings of every energy which then carried men to and fro between the three Continents. It used the roads and the ships of the Empire, it went in the track of the caravans. It flowed, as one might say, through the arteries of the Greek language, philosophy and literature; it went wherever books had gone before it: culture was a preparation of the soil for its reception. Forests and wilds it penetrated by adventurous and precarious missions; but along with the refinements of a high civilization it dwelt as at home.-Isaac Taylor," Restoration of Belief,” p. 57. course; Observer Feb. 1, '75. "This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations." That the Gospel was very generally promulgated before the close of the Apostolic age is certain.-See Col. i. 23; Rom. x. 18. "Be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven." "Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." Did not the Roman highways help to facilitate this end? Were they not aids in bringing the glad tidings of the Gospel to all people, nations, and countries? The unity of the empire, and the ease of communication, certainly favoured the spread of Christianity; it offered facilities hitherto unknown for the diffusion of a world-wide religion. Rome gathered together into her mighty Empire many scattered limbs of the one human family. She had all the arts and conveniences of life; a net work of roads made her forum the world's centre, and her sea was a highway for all nations to exchange their commerce.-See Bryce's Holy R. E.," p. 10. Allie's "The Formation of Christendom," p. 97, etc. Eusebius says of the Apostolic age, "Under a celestial influence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole earth." 66 Fourthly.-The General Peace. One other thing which helped to constitute the time of our Saviour's birth, the fulness of time, was the universal peace which prevailed over the Roman world. If we contrast this peaceful period with the times immediately preceding and succeeding the Redeemer's sojourn upon earth, we shall not fail to see a divine hand, a providential control of the world's history." 66 The civil war between Pompey and Julius Cæsar, B.C. 49, extended over all the provinces and regions of the empire. The battle of Pharsalia, which determined the fate of Pompey, is one of the most memorable recorded in the annals of ancient history. Lucian, the Latin poet, thus describes it Now either host the middle plain had pass'd, And front to front in threatening ranks were placed; Mark where their mischiefs are assigned by fate, Remorse for one short moment stepp'd between, But oh! what grief the ruin can deplore! "To relate," says Frederick Schlegel, "the subsequent civil war of Brutus and Cassius, the reconciliation between Antony and Octavius, Observer, Feb. 1, '75. the new rupture and war between the latter rivals, would serve only to swell the account of Rome and her destinies." These contests terminated in the establishment of monarchy, and Octavius, under the name of Augustus, appeared as the restorer of general peace, and the first absolute Monarch of the Roman world; a monarch whose long reign was on the whole happy, when compared with previous times, and who, during his life, was half-deified by his subjects. It would really appear, as if the world was destined to breathe for a time in peace, and to repose awhile from those earlier wars before another, and a higher peace descended, and became visible on the earth." Philosophy of History," p. 262. "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth."—Psalm xlvi. 9. It was in the reign of Augustus Cæsar that our blessed Saviour was born. Imagine the haughty, ambitious monarch, who had sacrificed thousands and thousands in his selfish wars, seated upon a throne, flattered by all who approached him, and obeyed almost by the whole known world; whilst He, who created the heavens and the earth, condescended to be laid in a manger at Bethlehem. Peace-universal peace-now prevailed. The Temple of Janus was shut, and all the provinces of the R. E. with all the world enjoyed profound tranquility, as if the nation had agreed to rest while an event took place, which was fraught with importance to man to the latest period of time. That event was the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.-Religious Tract Society, "History of Rome," p. 226. It is remarkable that within the space of seven hundred years, the Temple of Janus (whose gates were always open during war) was shut only thrice, once by Numa, afterwards by the Consuls Marcus and Titus, and lastly by Augustus, after the victory of Actium. Horace writes Augustus bids the rage of battle cease, Andrews, in his interesting life of Christ, says "This peace was undoubtedly alluded to by the angels in their song on the night of the nativity." Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.' What an appropriate time for the Prince of Peace to be born! 66 Nor war or battles sound Was heard the world around; The idle spear and shield were high up-hung; The hooked chariot stood Unstained with hostile blood; The trumpet spake not to the armed throng; And kings sat still with awful eye, As if they surely knew their Sovereign Lord was by. Milton's "Ode to the Nativity." But He was despised, rejected, and crucified; nevertherless God's purposes of mercy and peace shall not be frustrated. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and they shall call His name Wonder, Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."-Delitzsch Trans. |