SECT. III.

The Scriptures were in very early times collected into a diftinct volume.

IGNATIUS, who was bishop of Antioch within forty years after the afcenfion, and who had lived and converfed with the apostles, fpeaks of the gospel and of the apoftles, in terms which render it very probable, that he meant by the gofpel, the book or volume of the Gospels, and by the apostles, the book or volume of their Epiftles. His words in one place are *, "fleeing to the Gospel as the flesh of Jefus, and to the Apostles as the prefbytery of the church;" that is, as Le Clerc interprets them, order to understand the will of God, he fled to the gofpels, which he believed no lefs than if Christ in the flesh had been speaking to him; and to the writings of the

*Lard. Cred. pt. ii. vol. i. p. 180.

in

apostles,

apostles, whom he esteemed as the presbytery of the whole Chriftian 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 Teftament, and the divifion of thefe writings, were usually expreffed.

Another paffage from Ignatius is the fol lowing:-" But the Gofpel has fomewhat in it more excellent, the appearance of our Lord Jefus Chrift, his paffion, and refurrection t."

And a third, "Ye ought to hearken to the Prophets, but 'efpecially to the Gospel, in which the paffion has been manifefted to us, and the refurrection perfected." In this laft paffage the prophets and the gospel are put -in conjunction ; and as Ignatius undoubtedly meant by the Prophets a collection of writ

* Ib. vol. ii. p. 516.
6

+ Ib. p. 182.

ings,

ings, it is probable that he meant the fame by the Gospel, the two terms ftanding in evident parallelifm with each other.

This interpretation of the word "gofpel" in the paffages 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," fay they," that went before were done, that the Lord might fhew us a martyrdom according to the gofpel, for he expected to be delivered up as the Lord also did*.* And in another place, "We do not commend those who offer themfelves, forafmuch as the gospel teaches us no fuch thing t." In both thefe places, what is called the gospel seems to be the history of Jesus Christ, and of his doctrine.

If this be the true fenfe of the paffages, they are not only evidences of our propofi tion, but ftrong, and very ancient proofs

*Ig. Ep. c. i.

+ Ib. c. iv.

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of

of the high efteem in which the books of the New Teftament were holden.

The

II. Eufebius relates, that Quadratus and fome others, who were the immediate fucceffors of the apoftles, travelling abroad to preach Christ, carried the gofpels with them, and delivered them to their converts. words of Eufebius are: "Then travelling abroad, they performed the work of evangelifts, being ambitious to preach Chrift, and deliver the feripture of the divine gospels* Eufebius had before him the writings both of Quadratus himself, and of

many others of that age, which are now loft. It is reafonable, therefore, to believe, that he had good grounds for his affertion. What is thus recorded of the gofpels took place within fixty, or at the most seventy, years after they were published: and it is evident, that they muft, before this time. (and, it is probable, long before this time), have been in general ufe, and in high efteem in the

*Lard. Cred. pt. ii. vol. i. p. 236.

churches

churches planted by the apoftles, inafmuch as they were now, we find, collected into a volume; and the immediate fucceffors of the apoftles, they who preached the religion of Chrift to those who had not already heard it, carried the volume with them, and delivered it to their converts.

III. Irenæus, in the year 178*, puts the evangelic and apoftolic writings in connection with the law and the prophets, manifeftly intending by the one a code or collection of Chriftian facred writings, as the other expreffed the code or collection of Jewish facred writings. And

IV. Melito, at this time bishop of Sardis, writing to one Onefimus, tells his correfpondent†, that he had procured an accurate account of the books of the OLD Teftament. The occurrence, in this paffage, of the term Old Teftament, has been brought to prove, and it certainly does prove, that there was

* Ib. vol. i. p. 383.

+Ib. p. 331.

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then