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A VIEW OF THE

in order, and after the other three, may be made evident in this manner." Eusebius then proceeds to show, that John wrote the 'ast of the four, and that his gospel was intended to supply the omissions of the others, especially on the part of our Lord's ministry, which took place before 'he imprisonment of John the Baptist. He observes, "that the apesues of Christ were not studious of the ornaments of composition, nor indeed forward to write at all, being whony occupied with their ministry.”

This earned author makes no use at all of Christian writings forged with the names of Christ's apostles, or their

companions.

We close this branch of our evidence here; because after Eusebius, there is no room for any question upon the subject, the works of Christian writers being as full of Lexis of scripture, and of references to scripture, as the discourses of modern divines. Future testimonies to the books or sempitre could only prove that they never lost her character or authority.

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SECT. II.

Then he Scriptures are quoted, or alluded to, they are quotrespect, us books sui generis, as posseosung dan buluray Zenich belonged to no other books, and la condudarce in all questions and controversies amongst

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BESIDES he general strain of reference and quotation, which amlociny and strongly ndicates this distinction, the Wildwing hay be regarded is specific testimonies.

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1. Theophilus, & Dishop of Antoch, the sixth in successou rom ne spostles, and who fourished little more than a century auter (de books of the New Testament were Wrritting loving occasion to quite one of our gospels, writes These hings the woly scriptures teach us, and all wao were moved by de doly Spirit, among whem Jehn soy In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was With God." Igal -"Concerning the righteousness which the law teaches, he 'ike things are to be found in the prophots and the grapes, because that ail being inspired, spoke by vue and the sane Spirit of God.”** No words can testiA more song that Dose 10, the 'liga and pecular respect in which 19050 HOURS were hidem

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publication of the scriptures, in a passage quoted by Essebius, uses these expressions: "Possibly what they (our adversaries) say, might have been credited, if first of all the divine scriptures did not contradict them, and then the writings of certain brethren, more ancient than the times of Victor." The brethren mentioned by name, are Justin, Miltiades, Tatian, Clement, Irenæus, Melito, with a general appeal to many more not named., The passage proves, first, that there was at that time a collection called divine scriptures; secondly, that these scriptures were esteemed of higher authority than the writings of the most early and celebrated Christians.

III. In a piece ascribed to Hippolitus,* who lived near the same time, the author professes, in giving his correspondent instruction in the things about which he inquires, "to draw out of the sacred fountain, and to set before him from the sacred scriptures, what may afford him satisfaction." He then quotes immediately Paul's epistles to Timothy, and afterwards many books of the New-Testament. This preface to the quotations carries in it a marked distinction betwixt our scriptures and other books.

IV. “Our assertions and discourses,” saith Origen,† "are unworthy of credit; we must receive the scriptures as witnesses." After treating of the duty of prayer, he proceeds with his argument thus: "What we have said may be proved from the divine scriptures." In his books against Celsus, we find this passage: "That our religion teaches us to seek after wisdom, shall be shown, both out of the ancient Jewish scriptures which we also use, and out of those written since Jesus, which are believed in the churches to be divine." These expressions afford abundant evidence of the peculiar and exclusive authority which the scriptures possessed.

V. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, whose age lies close to that of Origen, earnestly exhorts Christian teachers in all doubtful cases, "to go back to the fountain: and if the truth has in any case been shaken, to recur to the gospels and apostolic writings."—"The precepts of the gospel," says he in another place," are nothing less than authoritative divine lessons, the foundations of our hope, the supports of our faith, the guides of our way, the safeguards of our course to heaven."

VI. Novatus,§ a Roman contemporary with Cyprian,

Ib. vol. III. p. 112.

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appeals to the scriptures, as the authority by which all errons were to be repelled, and disputes decided. “That Christ is not only man but God also, is proved by the sacred authority of the divine writings."—"The divine scripture easily detects and confutes the frauds of heretics.” It is not by the fault of the heavenly scriptures, which perer deceive." Stronger assertions than these could not be used.

VH. At the distance of twenty years from the writer last cited. Anatolius,* a learned Alexandrian, and bishop of Laodicen, speaking of the rule for keeping Easter, a quesKon at that day agitated with much earnestness, says of those whom he opposed, "they can by no means prove their point by the authority of the divine scripture."

Vill. The Arians, who sprung up about fifty years after alis, argued Strenuously against the use of the words consubstantial and essence, and like phrases; "because they And in the same strain, one of arem in scripture."† heir advocates opens a conference with Augustine, after the following manner: "if you say what is reasonable, I must submit. If you allege any thing from the divine eriences, which are common to both, I must hear. But

ptural expressions (quaæ extra scripturam sunt) deserve no regard."

Athanasius, the great antagonist of Arianism, after havgenumerated the books of the Old and New Testament, als, "These are the fountains of salvation, that he who thirsts may be satisfied with the oracles contained in them, In these alone the doctrine of salvation is proclaimed. Let wo man add to them, or take any thing from them.”‡

IX. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem,§ who wrote about twenty years after the appearance of Arianism, uses these rearkable words : "Concerning the divine and holy mysteries of faith, not the least article ought to be delivered withWe are assured, that Cyril's out the divine scriptures," scriptures were the same as ours, for he has left us a catalogue of the books included under that name.

X. Epiphanius, twenty years after Cyril, challenges the Arians, and the followers of Origen, "to produce any of the Old or New Testament, favouring the sentiPassage upents."

XI. Phabadius, a Gallic bishop, who lived about thirty *ears after the council of Nice, testifies, that "the bishops

$44 val. V. p. 146

+ Ib. vol. VII. p. 283, 284.

II. p. 276.

Ib. vol. XII. p. 182.

Ib. p. 314.

of that council first consulted the sacred volumes, and then declared their faith."*

XII. Basil, bishop of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, contemporary with Epiphanius, says, "that hearers instructed in the scriptures, ought to examine what is said by their teachers, and to embrace what is agreeable to the scriptures, and to reject what is otherwise."t

XIII. Ephraim, the Syren, a celebrated writer of the same times, bears this conclusive testimony to the proposition which forms the subject of our present chapter: "The truth written in the sacred volume of the gospel, is a perfect rule. Nothing can be taken from it, nor added to it, without great guilt."

XIV. If we add Jerome to these, it is only for the evidence which he affords of the judgment of preceding ages. Jerome observes, concerning the quotations of ancient Christian writers, that is, of writers who were ancient in the year 400, that they made a distinction between books, some they quoted as of authority, and others not: which observation relates to the books of scripture, compared with other writings, apocryphal or heathen."§

SECT. III.

The scriptures were in very early times collected into a distinct volume.

IGNATIUS, who was bishop of Antioch, within forty years after the ascension, and who had lived and conversed with the apostles, speaks of the gospel and of the apostles in terms which render it very probable, that he meant by the gospel, the book or volume of the gospels, and by the apostles, the book or volume of their epistles. His words in one place are,|| "fleeing to the gospel as the flesh of Jesus, and to the apostles as the presbytery of the church;" that is, as Le Clerc interprets them, "in order to understand the will of God, he fled to the gospels, which he believed no less than if Christ in the flesh had been speaking to him; and to the writings of the apostles, whom he esteemed as the presbytery of the whole Christian church." It must be observed, that about eighty years after this we have direct proof, in the writings of Clement of Alexandria,** that these two names, "gospel" and "apostles," were the names by which the writings of the New Testament, and the division of these writings were usually expressed.

* Ib. vol. IX. p. 52. +Ib. vol. IX. p. 121. Lard. Cred. pr. ii. vol. I. p. 180.

Ib. p. 202.

Vol. X. p. 123, 124.

** Ib. vol. II. p. 516,

Another passage from Ignatius is the following:-"But the gospel has somewhat in it more excellent, the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, his passion, and resurrection."*

And a third, "ye ought to hearken to the prophets, but especially to the gospel, in which the passion has been manifested to us, and the resurrection perfected." In this last passage the prophets and the gospel are put in conjunction; and as Ignatius undoubtedly meant by the prophets a collection of writings, it is probable that he meant the same by the gospel, the two terms standing in evident parallelism with each other.

This interpretation of the word "gospel" in the passages above quoted from Ignatius, is confirmed by a piece of nearly equal antiquity, the relation of the martyrdom of Polycarp by the church of Smyrna. "All things," say they, "that went before were done, that the Lord might show us a martyrdom according to the gospel, for he expected to be delivered up as the Lord also did."† And in another place, "we do not commend those who offer themselves, forasmuch as the gospel teaches us no such thing." In both these places, what is called the gospel seems to be the history of Jesus Christ, and of his doctrine.

If this be the true sense of the passages, they are not only evidences of our proposition, but strong and very ancient proofs of the high esteem in which the books of the New Testament were holden.

II. Eusebius relates, that Quadratus and some others, who were the immediate successors of the apostles, travelling abroad to preach Christ, carried the gospels with them and delivered them to their converts. The words of Eusebius are, "then travelling abroad, they performed the work of evangelists, being ambitious to preach Christ, and deliver the scripture of the divine gospels."|| Eusebius had before him the writings both of Quadratus himself, and of many others of that age, which are now lost. It is reasonable, therefore, to believe, that he had good grounds for his assertion. What is thus recorded of the gospels took place within sixty, or at the most seventy years after they were published; and it is evident, that they must, before this time, and, it is probable, long before this time, have been in general use, and in high esteem in the churches planted by the apostles; inasmuch as they were now, we + Ig. Ep. c. i. Lard. Cred. pr. II. vol. I. p. 236.

* Ib. p. 182.

Ib. c. ir.

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