near that it must die, it makes itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when its time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But its flesh putrefying breeds a certain worm which, being nourished with the juice of the dead bird, brings forth feathers; and when it is grown to a perfect state, it takes up the nest in which the bones of its parent are, and carries it from Arabia into Egypt to a city called Heliopolis; and flying in open day, in the sight of all men, lays it upon the altar of the Sun, and so returns from whence it came. The priests then search into the records of the time, and find that it returned precisely at the end of five hundred years.' In point of education the authors of the New Testament did not generally enjoy higher advantages than Clement; and yet, writing " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," they were prevented from giving currency, even in a single instance, to such a story as this fable of the phoenix. All ΑΠ their statements will be found to be true, whether tried by the standard of mental or of moral science, of geography, or of natural history. The theology which they teach is at once sound and genial; and those by whom it is appreciated can testify that whilst it invigorates and elevates the intellect, it also pacifies the conscience and purifies the heart. Clement's "Epistle to the Corinthians," § 25. The fragment of the second epistle is not generally considered genuine. CHAPTER II. THE DOCTRINE OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH THE same system of doctrine is inculcated throughout the whole of the sacred volume. Though upwards of fifteen hundred years elapsed between the commencement and the completion of the canon of Scripture; though its authors were variously educated; though they were distinguished, as well by their tastes, as by their temperaments; and though they lived in different countries and in different ages; all the parts of the volume called the Bible exhibit the clearest indications of unity of design. Each writer testifies to the "one faith," and each contributes something to its illustration. Thus it is that, even at the present day, every book in the canon is "good to the use of edifying." The announcements made to our first parents will continue to impart spiritual refreshment to their posterity of the latest generations; and the believer can now give utterance to his devotional feelings in the language of the Psalms, as appropriately as could the worshipper of old, when surrounded by all the types and shadows of the Levitical ceremonial. The Old Testament is related to the New as the dawn to the day, or the prophecy to its accomplishment. Jesus appeared merely to consummate the Redemption which "the promises made to the fathers" had announced. "Think not," said he, "that I am come to destroy the law or the The prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfil.”* mission of our Lord explained many things which had long remained mysterious; and, in allusion to the great amount of fresh information thus communicated, He is said to have "brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."+ They When the apostles first became disciples of the Son of Mary, their views were certainly very indefinite and circumscribed. Acting under the influence of strong attachment to the Wonderful Personage who exhibited such wisdom and performed so many mighty works, they promptly obeyed the invitation to come and follow Him; and yet when required to tell who was this Great Teacher to whom they were attached by the charm of such a holy yet mysterious fascination, they could do little more than declare their conviction that Jesus was THE CHRIST. knew, indeed, that the Messiah, or the Great Prophet, was to be a Redeemer, and a King;§ but they did not understand how their lowly Master was to establish His title to such high offices. Though they "looked for redemption," and "waited for the kingdom of God," T there was much that was vague, as well as much that was visionary, in their notions of the Redemption and the Kingdom. We may well suppose that the views of the multitude were still less correct and perspicuous. Some, perhaps, expected that Christ, as a prophet, would decide the ecclesiastical controversies of the age; ** others, probably, anticipated that, as a Redeemer, he would deliver His countrymen from Roman domination; whilst others again cherished the hope that, as a King, he would erect in Judea a mighty monarchy. ‡‡ The expectation that he would assert the possession of * Matt. v. 17. + 2 Tim. i. 10. § Luke xxiv. 19, 21; John i. 49. ¶ Mark xv. 43; Luke ii. 38. ++ John xix. 12. Matt. xvi. 16; John i. 41. || Matt. xvi. 21, 22; John xii. 34. ** John iv. 20-25. Matt. ii. 2, 3, xx. 21; John vi. 15. temporal dominion was long entertained even by those who had been taught to regard Him as a spiritual Saviour.* During the interval between the resurrection and ascension, the apostles profited greatly by the teaching of our Lord. "Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures," shewing that all things were "fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms" concerning Him. The true nature of Christ's Kingdom was now fully disclosed to them; they saw that the history of Jesus was embodied in the ancient predictions; and thus their ideas were brought into harmony with the revelations of the Old Testament. On the day of Pentecost they, doubtless, received additional illumination; and thus, maturely qualified for the duties of their apostleship, they began to publish the great salvation. Even afterwards, their knowledge continued to expand; for they had yet to be taught that the Gentiles also were heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven; § that uncircumcised believers were to be admitted to all the privileges of ecclesiastical fellowship; || and that the ceremonial law had ceased to be obligatory. ¶ We do not require, however, to trace the progress of enlightenment in the minds of the original heralds of the gospel, that we may ascertain the doctrine of the Apostolic Church; for in the New Testament we have a complete and unerring exposition of the faith delivered to the saints. We have seen that, with a few comparatively trivial exceptions, all the documents dictated by the apostles and evangelists were at once recognised as inspired, so that in them, combined with the Jewish Scriptures, we have a perfect ecclesiastical statute-book. The doctrine set forth in the New Testament was cordially embraced in the first century ** Luke xxiv. 44. by all genuine believers. And it cannot be too emphatically inculcated that the written Word was of paramount authority among the primitive Christians. The Israelites had traditions which they professed to have received from Moses; but our Lord repudiated these fables, and asserted the supremacy of the book of inspiration.* In His own discourses He honoured the Scriptures by continually quoting from them;t and He commanded the Jews to refer to them as the only sure arbiters of his pretensions. The apostles followed His example. More than one-half of the sermon preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost consisted of passages selected from the Old Testament.§ The Scriptures, too, inculcate, not only their claims as standards of ultimate appeal, but also their sufficiency to meet all the wants of the faithful; for they are said to be "able to make wise unto salvation," || and to be "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." ¶ The sacred records teach, with equal clearness, their own plenary inspiration. Each writer has his peculiarities of style, and yet each uses language which the Holy Spirit dictates. In the New Testament a single word is more than once made the basis of an argument; ** and doctrines are repeatedly established by a critical examination of particular forms of expression. tt When statements advanced by Moses, or David, or Isaiah, are adduced, they are often prefaced with the intimation that thus "the Holy Ghost saith," ‡‡ or thus "it is spoken of the Lord."SS The apostles plainly aver that they employ language of infallible authority. "We speak," says Paul, "in the words * Mark vii. 7-9. John v. 39. || 2 Tim. iii. 15. Matt. iv. 1-10, xii. 3, 5, 7; Mark xii. 26. § Acts ii. 14-36. T2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. ** Matt. xxii. 43, 45; Gal. iii. 16; Heb. ii. 8, 11. ++ John x. 34, 35; Heb, viii. 13. §§ Heb. i. 1, 2; Matt. i. 22, ii. 15. Acts xxviii. 25; Heb. iii. 7. |