If some of the Polish brethren were the first who proposed the interpretation, which I have bumbly attempted to illustrate and de. fend, I do not perceive any rea. son for rejecting it on that account. If I do not mistake, many inter. pretations of passages of scripture of a much more recent date are adopt ed by numbers in the present day, without making their novelty any objection. I was never blessed with so retentive a memory as the late Mr. G. Wakefield, and therefore cannot recollect the words of that celebrated critic, but I am pretty confident, that I have met with an observation somewhere in entirely out of the hands of the D. Feb. 1st, 1812.. Ps. civ. 28." That thou givest them, &c." To this verse King James's translators have prefixed, needlessly and injuriously, the word That. It should have been rendered, Thou givest them; they gather: Thou openest thine hand; they are satisfied with good." his writings to this purpose, that Notes on Passages of Scripture. some moderns understand the scriptures better than any who preceded them from the days of the apostles. I should probably have saved myself great part of the trouble I have taken in re-examining the passage, on which I think different ly from several Unitarians of high respectability for character, talents and learning, some of whom are removed from among us, though The parallelism is compleat others are still left to assist us in and beautiful, and is preserved by our religious inquiries-had M. Mendelsshon. Nor is this thought of looking into Artemoni- the only instance in which those us before I began to draw up what I have now written. Two persons may happen to have very similar views of a subject, when their ways of treating it may be sufficiently different to justify the publication of both. If, Sir, this should appear to be the case with respect to what Artemonius published in the last century, and what I now take the liberty of sending you, I may hope to see the latter allowed a place in the Repository. If any of your readers should think that I have failed in my at tempt to wrest an important text translators have made a plain passage obscure by their superfluity of expression. Ps. 1. 8. is sufficiently remarkable, "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings to have been continually before me." Thus exhibited, the declaration is unintelligible. Follow the construction and the order of the Hebrew, and all will be clear: "Not for thy sacrifices will I reprove thee; And thy whole burnt offerings are always before me. Here too is a parallelism: the ! sense of both clauses is the same; i. 11-18. It may be observed that paral. lelisms are often found in Virgil. See Heyne's Comment. on Æn. Potet acetum." " acre Acts. xv. 29. "That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood and from things stran gled."-The following sentences in Tertullian's Apolog, adv. Gent. 99, shew that this advice was regarded even after the apostolic Ps. cxxxix. 18. "If I should age and beyond the limits of count them, they are more in Judea, ne animalium quidem number than the sand." So, on sanguinem in epulis esculentis another subject, Pindar, Olymp. habemus-suffocatis et morticinis Od. xiii. (Erw. C, sub. fin., with abstinemus, ne quo sanguine conthe scholiast's note), xii. 727. ὡς μαν σαφες taminemur." -xvi, 30. " he brought them out, and said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved?"- from the con sequences, that is of the earthJer. x. 25. compared with Ps. quake, and from the punishment lxxix. 6. Pour out thy fury of a supposed neglect of duty.upon the heathen that know thee It is nothing to allege that the not, and upon the families that gaoler was in no real danger; as call not on thy name." In the his prisoners had not escaped. The above Ps. it is "the kingdoms meaning and the pertinency of his that have not called upon thy question, depend upon the sense name." Evidently, therefore, this which he entertained of his own passage cannot with propriety be situation. From the foregoing quoted in favour of family wor- verse it is evident that he was in ship; a practice, nevertheless, considerable agitation and terror: which rests on Scriptural examples and his subsequent kindness to and authorities as well as on other Paul and Silas, was, no doubt, for unanswerable arguments. the most part, the expression of Matt. xxvii. 48. "One of them his gratitude. ran and took a sponge and filled it xxvi. 8. "Why should it be tion without a reference of it to the context, may suppose that the apostle intimates the natural credi bility of a resurrection. The preceding and the following verses will shew that he adverts to nothing of the kind, but teaches this great doctrine on the authority of revelation, and places it, where alone it can be fixed, on the basis of 2 FACT Rom. i. 32.-"not only do the know that an idol is nothing in same, but have pleasure in them the world," would make so imthat do them." "As if," says Bow- portant a concession? Surely he yer, (Conject. in loc.) "to approve speaks here of reputed deities and a wicked act, implied more guilt describes the primary and seconthan to commit it." But this dary gods in the language with learned man would scarcely have which the Greeks supplied him: hazarded the observation, had he surely, Le Clerc's comment should attended to the nature of the hu. have been, ut tales sunt GEOL man mind. Such approbation πολλοί, &c.! supposes the existence of a disinterested, that is an inveterate, habit of wickedness, a love of it for its own sake. It marks the height of depravity, a judgment completely darkened, a conscience stupified by vice. 2 Cor. v. 16.-" though we have known Christ after the flesh" -Mr. Belsham (Calm Inquiry, &c. 357, 358) thus paraphrases the verse, If I had been the intimate friend of Christ, and in the habit of daily personal friendship -iii. 2. "Much, every way with him, I must forego all the &c." Markland (in Bowyer's delight and advantage of his so Conject.) asks, how is this to be ciety, in order to fulfil the purreconciled with 8 Tavτws in ver. 9?' poses of the mission to which I The answer is, Paul speaks there am appointed ;'- However, it of practice, here of privilege. seems but reasonable to suppose Markland stands deservedly high that the phrase "after the flesh," as a classical scholar, and was has the same meaning in both characterized by urbanity and can- clauses and this meaning is asdour as a critic*: In his re- certained by other texts to be marks on passages of Scripture, knowing any one with reference to he is less successful than many of his external distinctions of birth, his fellow-labourers. country, religion, &c. Paul's 1 Cor. viii. 5.-"though there —x. 6.—“ having in a readi. be that are called Gods, whether ness to revenge all disobedience, in heaven or in earth, (as there be when your obedience is fulfilled." gods many and lords many):" Le So far as respected the Church at Clerc (Ars Critica, 77, 2d. ed.) Corinth, the Apostle had almost thus paraphrases the last clause, effected his purpose by lenient "ut reverá sunt SEO TOO, Dii measures. But this being done he multi et Domini multi," and sup- would proceed to inflict punishposes that the apostle and the ment on their seducers. Jews in general occasionally and determination appears to have been seriously applied the word Gods voluntary, and not, as Whitby (in to the Gentile vanities. Paul, loc.) imagines, forced from him however, is addressing proselytes by the necessity of the case. from among the heathens to Chris. -xi. 8.to do you service, tianity and is it probable that he diaxoviav; that I might serve who had just before declared "we you in the ministry of the gospel.' Not, as Grotius (in loc.) interprets it, that I might help your indigent members,' of which fact we See his excellent dedication of bis edition of the Supplices of Euripides. xii. 16. or profane per have no evidence, and which in the foregoing. See 1 Sam. ii. office belonged to the deacons. 35. Διακονια is sometimes used speci fically, in the apostle's writings, for the Christian ministry: and its sense in this verse, is pointed out by the conclusion of the seventh. son, as Esau,-." He is so called only as the effect of his despising his birth-right (Gen. xxv. 34.) In this view alone the Hebrew Christians are exhorted not to follow From a conviction, I suppose, his example, i. e. not to renounce that this is a common meaning of a blessing and a hope infinitely Stanovia in the epistles to xpuyua more valuable. Though we may seems to have been employed as justly censure certain parts of explanatory of it, in Rom xii. 7, Esau's conduct, his general cha.. in a MS. which Michaëlis no- racter, some features of which tices*. were excellent, is perhaps too harshly thought of, as the consequence of its not being understood in what respect he was profane. Jamesi.22-26. "Be ye doers of ilar sentiment and turn of expression in Demosthenes—(Philip. iv.) τοσέτον χρόνον σπεδάζετε, όσον αν καθησθε ακέοντες, είτ' απελθων εκαστος ύμων, 8 μονον ἐδεν φροντίζει περί αυτών, αλλ' εδε μεμνηται. —20.—“ ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage." You al. low him to do so, i. e. says Mr. Locke (in loc.), "to his own will," I rather think to unwarrantable the word," &c. We meet with a sim. opinions and practices: for granting that this subjection had not yet been accomplished, the very attempt was suficient to justify Paul's selection of the word. Gal. iii. 27. 66 as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, -25.- continueth therein"have put on Christ." It may be rather continueth to look at it, as inquired, whence the phraseology, opposed to what precedes. The put on Christ? Or, what its pro- former 8705, in this verse is somepriety in this connection? Per- what embarrassing. Erasmus prohaps the allusion is to the baptized posed to substitute 87ws (Bowyer's person cloathing himself again, Conject. in. loc.); a reading so when he comes out of the water. happy that I would willingly adopt The proselyte when initiated into it, could I consent to alter any the gospel, lays aside his former thing in the text of the New Tes garment, renounces his prejudi- tament on the authority of conces, &c. whether Jewish or Hea. jecture. then, and puts on something new, Rom. xiii. 14. Heb. xi. 26. " Esteeming the reproach of Christ, &c." The Christ or anointed, in this verse, is the same with the people of God, Rev. xviii. 21.-" a mighty angel took up a stone like a great mill-stone, &c." A quotation from Xenophon (Anab. L. 1. chap. v. 5), may place the beauty and propriety of this image in a clearer light: ενοικεντες [τας πύλας] οιες αλετας εις βαβυλωνα ηγον. κ.τ.λ. N. REVIEW. "Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame." the ultimate happiness of mankind must rest. danger of procrastination:-reflections on the character of Barzillai :-the folly and danger of associating with the wicked-the danger of apostacy:-the wisdom and duty of perseverance:-the credibility of a future life evinced: ART. I. Practical Sermons by Abraham Rees, D. D. F. R. Š. F. L. S. Editor of the New Cy- We shall enumerate some of the clopedia. Second Edition. 2 leading topics treated on, which vols. 8vo. price 11. 1s. Long- are, the accomplishment of proman and Co. 1812. phecy in the introduction and These sermons, which, in a short progress of Christianity :-the obspace of time, have come to a se- servance of the Sabbath :-the cond edition, might, on account object and nature of Christian of their intrinsic value, have well- worship:-the evidence and prac engaged our attention at an earlier tical influence of the resurrection period. The small portion of our of Christ :-the reasonableness of pages, however, which we can al- faith as a principle of conduct :lot to this department of our Re- mutual love, the Christian test:pository, precludes us from that on a wounded spirit:-the omnipunctuality in noticing all works presence of God:-practical Atheof real merit which we could wish ism-the progress of vice:-the to observe. The author is well known to the public as a popular preacher and writer: in both relations he has long sustained a high reputation, and we may join in the testimony of our contemporaries that the sermons before us will add, in no small degree, to the the principles of Christian for fame which he has already ac- titude:-the nature and benefits quired, as an earnest, forcible and of Christian zeal :--the benefits pathetic teacher of the practical resulting from the trials of life:principles of the Christian religi- of the unequal distributions of ProThe title "Practical Ser- vidence. mons" will be readily understood by every reader: it conveys to the mind, at once, the idea that the author does not enter into any controversial points: he does not appear before the public in vindication of tenets belonging to a particular sect, or party, but under takes to plead the importance of those principles which must be true upon every theory, because upon them the well-being of man in society depends, and, because upon them it is generally agreed, that on. From this account of the subjects which are discussed in the volumes before us, and we have scarcely mentioned the half, our readers will perceive that they are of great importance, and we can assure them that they are treated on, in such a manner as to supply persons of all classes, and of all ages, with much valua ble information as to the princi ples of their holy religion, and with many useful directions in the conduct of life. These discourses are |