REMARKS ON JOHN XV. 20.

"Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also."

On this passage the learned Dr. Bloomfield, in the fourth edition of his Greek New Testament, furnishes the following note:- -“ Ει τον λογον μου ετήρησαν, και τον υμετερον. The sense of these words would seem to be directly contrary to that which the context requires. To remove this difficulty, some think that τηρειν is put for παρατηρειν. But for such a sense of the word with rov λoyov there is no authority, The same objection applies to that method of interpretation which is founded on the use of a to signify as. The best method of removing the difficulty hitherto propounded is that of Tittman, who assigns the following sense:- If they had admitted and observed my doctrine, they would admit and observe yours.' Yet this involves such an anomaly of language, as one must hesitate to ascribe to the Evangelist; because, though inattentive to the nicer idioms of the Greek language, yet he nowhere so openly sets all rules at defiance ;—not to say that the use of the terms in the antithetical forbids the sense. The difficulty may, I think, be effectually removed by considering the affirmative enunciation as dependent on the hypothetical e, as meant to imply also its negative; the full sense being: If they have observed (which they have not done) my words,' &c., meaning, if they have not observed, my words, neither will they observe yours.' Thus I find Enthymius, and some of

possessed Mr. Tulk to bring the ultra-magisterial amongst us, and leave the gentlemanly behind him! I must take leave to tell him, that while he talks of being abused himself, he is himself the only one, of the parties implicated, who is guilty of abuse. For what is abuse but depreciating language incapable of proof, and therefore incapable of use? How will Mr. Tulk PROVE that the parties he depreciates know not what spiritual truth is? I believe all that the editor of the Intellectual Repository and FIDES have said of Mr. Tulk, is either self-evidently true, or capable of proof, and not said unnecessarily or wantonly, and therefore cannot, with propriety, be termed "abuse." Certainly, nothing has been said by either of the parties alluded to, at all beyond the strong language of the Resolution passed by the Conference of 1829, solemnly declaring the views of Mr. Tulk to be utterly repugnant to the doctrines of the New Church. I cannot but think that a service would be rendered by reprinting that Resolution in the Conference Magazine, for the information of the generation which has arrived at maturity since that period. Certain I am that, with the fewest exceptions imaginable, the whole church is still of the opinion of the Conference of 1829.

the early modern commentators, took the words as equivalent to a negative sentence; but how this arose, they have failed to explain."

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Dr. Bloomfield's Greek New Testament is, according to the title, especially for the use of academical students, candidates for the sacred office, and ministers; though also intended for the use of theological readers in general." It consists of two octavo volumes, beautifully executed; the Greek text is accompanied with most copious notes in English, together with an excellently-arranged parallel reference; but as to the amount of real information which the Biblical student may hope to obtain from the notes, a tolerably fair specimen is afforded in the above quotation.

Strange, passing strange, indeed, it is that a scholar such as Dr. Bloomfield unquestionably is, should, after tunnelling, as he has done, through mountains of criticism, have left such a plain passage of Scripture as this in a state of doubt. Such a failure powerfully reminds one of the interrogative exclamation of Paul in reference to what is said in the Prophets of the wisdom of this world. (1 Cor. i. 20.)

All apparent difficulty and contrariety of meaning will vanish from the passage in an instant if we properly attend to the rendering of the verb rηpew (tereo) in other parts of the New Testament. In many passages this verb is used to signify to keep, to observe, as commands, ordinances, traditions, a law, or the like. One or two examples will be sufficient. "Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man keep (Tnpnon) my saying, he shall never see death." (John viii. 51.) But I know him, and keep (rp) his saying." (Ver. 55.) Thus also Paul says: “ I have kept (TETηpηka) the faith." (2 Tim. iv. 7.) And in the Revelations:-"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep (TnpovvTes) those things which are written," &c. (Chap. i. 3.)

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It is not, however, in this, but in an opposite sense that the Lord uses the word in the passage under our notice. And, indeed, this might at once appear evident to the mere English scholar, from the circumstance of the Lord's classing the KEEPING of his word with the other instances of opposition or persecution which he told his disciples they might expect to encounter from the world in the discharge of their duty. Such keeping of his word was one of the " all things" which they, the men of the world, would do unto the disciples because of their master's name, and because they knew not him who sent him. In one word, it was one of the forms of persecution which the disciples must expect to endure. Hence the Lord calls on them to remember the word that he had said unto them; that word was merely an intimation that they might expect to be treated as he himself had been treated,

that is to say, calumniated, persecuted, narrowly watched in all his movements, with intent to ensnare, to entangle him in his speech, that they might find matter of accusation against him.

In proof of this, and without availing ourselves of the use of the compound word πaрaтnрew, which, by the way, we might legitimately use, but for which the learned doctor says there is " no authority," we offer the following, out of many other instances that might be adduced, of the word signifying the strict vigilance which a guard, a watch, or a jailer, must exercise over the subject of his charge. Thus in Matthew: And sitting down they watched (ernpovv) him there." (xxvii. 36.) And in the same chapter: "Now when the centurion, and they that were with him watching (TnpovvTes) Jesus," &c. (ver. 54.) And again: "And for fear of him the keepers (o rnpovvtes) did shake," &c. (xxviii. 4.) And again: "The same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers without kept (ernpovv) the prison." (Acts xii. 6.) Again: "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep (Tnpe) them safely." (xvi. 23.) Other passages might be adduced, but the above are deemed sufficient to confirm the view here offered of the meaning of the word.*

From what has been said, then, it will appear that the plain import of the passage may be thus expressed:-" If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have watched (with insidious design) my saying, they will watch yours also." How truly this was accomplished in the case of the apostles, and how strikingly it holds true in the case of all who acknowledge the Divine Humanity of the Lord in the present day, need not here be dwelt on.

* The reader, it is presumed, will feel pleased with the following scrap of natural history, which affords a collateral proof of the opinion contended for in this paper. It is abridged from the Encyclopædia Britannica, by Valpy, in his "Fundamental words of the Greek Language." Under the word II (pinna) he says it is "a kind of shell fish. The scuttle fish is its foe; as soon as the pinna opens its shell, he rushes on her, and would always devour her, but for an animal of the crab kind whom she protects within her shell, and from whom, in return, she receives very important services. When the pinna opens her valves in quest of food, she lets him out to look for prey. During this the scuttle fish approaches; the crab returns with the utmost speed to his hostess, who shuts her doors, and keeps out the enemy. Oppian thus describes it :

The pinna and the crab together dwell,

For mutual succour, in one common shell:
They both, to gain a livelihood, combine,—

That takes the prey when this has given the sign;
From hence, this crab, above his fellows famed,

By ancient Greeks was pinna-teres named."

To the above it is truly gratifying to the writer of these remarks to be able to add the testimony of the venerable Clowes, of Manchester, as given in his translation of the Gospel according to John. The following is the internal sense offered by him of this verse, together with that of the context:-" Yet that they who have attained such love, through the acknowledgment of the Divinity of the Lord's Humanity, will be opposed and vilified, as the Lord himself was opposed and vilified, and for the same reason too, because their affections and thoughts are in contrariety to those of the worldly-minded. (ver. 18, 19.) They therefore keep in mind, that if the divine love itself be opposed, and the divine truth itself rejected, they also will be opposed and rejected who are only receivers of that love and truth, and for this reason, because the Divinity in the Lord's Humanity is not acknowledged." (ver. 20, 21.)

ΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ.

DEAR SIR,

CONCERNING FAITH.

(In a Letter to a Dissenting Minister.)

ALLOW me to advert to a remark you made in our recent conversation. You think I do not entertain just sentiments con-cerning the preaching of faith. Bear with me, then, while I make you acquainted with my sentiments on this subject, and then, wheyou deem them accurate or not, you will, at least, be under no mistake respecting them.

ther

It is a common fault of Christians, I consider, that they are much more anxious about their faith than about their love, and by love, I mean practical, active love. It is not seen, that a doctrinal faith is but the threshold of the church; that the first degree of spiritual life, or of the interior Christian life, within the church, is the good of faith, or the state of the heart which results from practising the "obedience of faith,"-" obedience unto righteousness." (Rom. i. 5; vi. 16; 1 Peter i. 22.) Faith, by union with this good, becomes purifying, justifying, and therefore saving faith; for it is by works only that faith is, or can be, " made perfect." (James ii. 22.) This I call vital religion, in its first degree.

The second degree of the interior Christian life, is the love of our neighbour, or of all those who are near to us by any kind of near

ness, owing to the absence of all kind of disunion, and thence separation or mental distance or alienation.

The third degree of the interior Christian life is the love of our enemies, or of all those who are separated from us by the various gulphs of disunion which so commonly divide man from man. This degree is a state of mercy, and it is coincident in operation with the supreme and all-pervading love of our Lord and Saviour. In attaining to it, a conformity is attained with the precepts, "Be ye merciful as your Father also is merciful:" "Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

No one can enter into the first degree of saving faith and love, or vital religion, except by passing over the threshold of doctrinal faith; nor can any pass to the perfection of the second degree, except through the previous attainment of that of the first degree; nor can any pass to the perfection of the third degree, except after completing that of the second.

All advancement proceeds, and all appropriation of the Divine gift of love takes place, as the result of continuous and successful endeavours towards self-renunciation.

I consider that these propositions are self-evident truths, that is, to persons of real religious experience; being founded in our very nature, and proved by experience, wherever that experience is of a genuine, and not of a morbid and merely fanciful character.

It is in consequence of the above obvious gradations of Christian excellence, of practical piety,-being overlooked, that there are actually found Christian professors who appear to think neighbourly love as of no consequence, and who, at least in practice, appear to regard love to mankind as no part of spiritual religion, (except, indeed, in the form of alms-giving or missionary zeal,) and who, in the absence of love, indulge freely in hatred towards those who do not please them, or whose religious sentiments are obnoxious to them, appearing even to have persuaded themselves that faith and malice may legitimately go hand in hand, and eventually obtain admittance into the heavenly mansions, the mansions of eternal love!-If this be not "strong delusion to believe a lie," what is ?

From long observation, I have come to the conclusion, that the danger of this state is greatly increased by the injudicious preaching of justification by faith alone, because such preaching, not being properly guarded, is liable to be understood as giving a sanction to the notion, that faith by itself suffices for salvation; that is, a mere doctrinal faith,-not faith made perfect by works,-not faith