ST.

PAUL

AT

ATHENS

BY

WILLIAM LINDSAY ALEXANDER,

D.D.

EDINBURGH ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK

1865

J'rinied by R.

&

R.

Clakk, EdUiburgh.

TO THE VEKY REVEREND

E. B.

RAMSAY,

M.A., LL.D., F.E.S.E.

DEAX OF THE DIOCESE OF EDINBURGH,

ETC. ETC. ETC.

Dear Mr. Dean,

I

gratify

my own
trust

feelings

of

personal friendship in inscribing this

little

work
accept

to
it

you.
as

But

you

will

also

a token of the respect with

fellows-citizens

which your

of

all

religious

denominations regard you, as one foremost

in all

works of Christian philanthropy, and

an example to
all

who

is

of us

how

the most

steadfast adherence

to

conviction

may

be

combined wdth a generous appreciation of

the
character

and motives of those who

vi

DEDICATION.
from us

ditfer

reminding us that "faith units

is

feigned^'

has ever

fittest

companion

in

that charity which "

kind," and " thinketh

no

e\TLl.''

With every sentiment

esteem,

of

respect

and

am, dear Mr. Dean,

Most

sincerely yours,

W. LINDSAY ALEXANDER.

PEEFACE.

This volume contains the substance of a

series of expository lectures, delivered

by the

author in the ordinary course of his ministry.

The subjects handled by the apostle

memorable address
on Mars'
Hill, are

in his

to the "

Men

of Athens,"

such as have engaged the

attention of thoughtful

men

in all ages of

the Church
of

and

in the present

day some
from

them have acquired

special interest

the controversies of which they have been the

theme.
it

In expounding the apostle's

fitting

address,

seemed to the author that a

viii

PREFACE.

occasion was furnished when, without mingling formally in these controversies, he

might
fitted

bring forward what appeared to

him

to help inquirers to a just decision

on the

points at issue.

He

has, therefore, entered

more

at large into

some of these subjects

than mere exposition of the text required,

especially the

deeply-important subject of

the Fatherhood of God.

In respect of this

he has sought to show that the position

which Scripture authorises and teaches

is

medium position between the

opinion of those

who would

restrict

God's Fatherhood to his

gracious special relation to redeemed men,

and that of those who deny any such

relation,

special

and maintain that God

is
is

not a
not a

Father to any in a sense in which Father to

all.

He

To

facilitate

the understanding of the

topographical references in the earlier lee-

PREFACE.
tures, the following

plan of ancient Athens

may

be found useful.

A. Tlie Acropolis.
B. Areopagus.
C.

H. Pnyx. I. Temple of Theseus.

J.

Museium.

Gymnasium

of Ptolemy.

D. Hadrianopolis.
E. G.

Temple of Jupiter Oljonpius.

K. Stoa of Hadrian. L. Gate of New Agora.

F. Theatre of Bacchus.

M. Tower

of Andronicus.

Odeium

of Regilla.

CONTENTS.

000
I.

St.

Paul in the Agora

II.

St.

Paul on Mars' Hill

Discourse

III. St. Paul's

IV.

St.

Paul's

Discourse

God and Universe Fatherhood

the
the

.....31
.
.

Page

60

of

God
V.
St.

Paul's Discourse

Unity

87
of the

Human
Ill

Race
VI.
St. Paul's

Discourse

Consequences

Flowing

out of the Divine Fatherhood to the Race

VII. Erroneous Representations of the Fatherhood
of

144

God

170

VIII. St. Paul's Discourse

as well as

God a King and Judge

.
. .

Father

IX. St. Paul's Discourse.

Men
X.
XI.
St. Paul's
St. Paul's

to

Repent

Discourse

Final Judgment Conclusion and

the

God's Summons

.199
of all
.

226
266

Result

Abiding Confidence in Christianity

as the

Power

of

God and

the

Wisdom

of

God

291

ST.

PAUL AT ATHENS.
000-

AcTS

x^ii.

16-34.

Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to
idolatry.

Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with

the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market

daily with

them

that

met with him.

of

Then

certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and

the Stoicks, encountered him.

this babbler say
?

other some.
:

And some said, What will He seemeth to be a setter

forth of strange gods

because he preached unto them

Jesus,

and the

resurrection.

And

they took Ijim, and

brought him unto Areopagus, saying,

this

May we know what

?
:

new

doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is

to

For thou

bringest certain strange things

our ears

we would

know

therefore

what these things mean.

(For all the

Athenians, and strangers which were there, spent their time

in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear
thing.)

some new-

Then Paul stood

in the midst of Mars' hill, and said,

Ye men

of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too

superstitious.

For

as I passed by,
altar

and beheld your de-

votions, I found

an

with this inscription, To the

Unknown

God.

Wliom

therefore ye ignorantly worship,

ST.

PAUL AT ATHENS.
God, that made the world, and

Him
all

declare I luito yon.

things therein, seeing that

He

is

Lord of heaven and

;

earth, dwelleth not in temples

is

made with hands

life,

neither

worshipped with men's hands, as though

He needed
all

anything, seeing
things
;

He

giveth to all

and breath, and

and hath made

of one blood all nations of

men

for to dwell

on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their that they should seek the Lord, if haply habitation they might feel after Him, and find Him, though he be
;

not far from every one of us

for in

Him we

live,

and

move, and have our being

poets have said.

as certain also

of your

own

For

ive

are also

His

offspring.

Forasmuch
to think

then as

we

are the ofifsprmg of God,

we ought not

Godhead is like unto graven by art and man's device.

that the

gold, or silver, or stone,

ignorance

God

A\-inked at
:

but

everywhere to repent
in the which

because

And the times of this now commandeth all men He hath appointed a day,
;

He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from
the dead.

And when
some mocked
of this matter.
:

they heard of the resurrection of the dead,

and others

said.

We

will hear thee again

So Paul departed fi-om among them.

Howbeit

certain

men

clave unto him,

and believed

Dionysius the Areopagite, and a

among the which was woman named Damaris,

:

and others with them.

St.

Paul

in

the Agora.

The

visit

of the Apostle Paul to Athens

lonsj after his first lanclino^

was made not

on

the shores of Europe.

Having preached the

liis

gospel with success at Philippi, Thessalonica,

and Berea, he was compelled to leave

of these places,

companions, Silas and Timothy, at the last

and escape by sea from the

persevering malice of the Jews,

who had

fol-

lowed him from Thessalonica. Athens having

been appointed as the place of reunion with
his companions, the apostle

abode there waitvisit

ing their

arrival

and

during this

occurred the circumstances narrated in the

passage which I propose to

ject of exposition

make

the sub-

and

illustration.

In what manner the apostle occupied his

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

visit,

time during the earlier period of his

we

are not informed, but

from what

is stated,

both by the historian and by himself, as to

the extent of survey which he bestowed upon the ways of the inhabitants,

we may presume

that he spent some time in contemplating

the objects of interest which the famous city

to

which he had been conducted supplied/

its

There was no city in the ancient world that

had within
the

precincts so

much

to attract

the attention and excite the admiration of

man

of taste

and

culture,

as

Athens.

Nobly

situated,

and

filled

with the most

exquisite works in architecture

and sculpsur-

ture which the genius of the most aesthetic

people

in

the world

could

supply

rounded by an atmosphere so transparent

'

Luke

uses

tlie

participle v/,hy^6[i,zvog in reference to

the apostle's abode

describe the careful
to its religious

in Athens, and the verb Qzu^sTv to

and thorough inspection which he gave phenomena. Paul himself uses still stronger
city,

terms
v/xcov.

(ver.

23), diso^o/Mivog xai avahoooojv rci 6iiSd6[Marcc

This implies that he went through the

for the force of dvadsoooi?]/).

and

minutely surveyed their religious things.

xiii. 7,

(Compare Heb.

ATHENS.
and genial that the most
works of
live

delicately -finished

art could
air,

be placed without injury

in the open

and the inhabitants could

legislate,

and worship, and

all

and

teach,

and debate under the canopy

while over

of heaven;^

looked in unclouded splen-

dour the "unresting eye of day,"^ bathing in

golden or
fluted

purple light rock

and stream,
;

column and massive temple

it

Athens
''^

stood forth the glory of the "bright land

of
of

which
the

was the metropolis, the pride

such a scene

Greece and the wonder of the world.

attraction of

To
was
for

we cannot
it

suppose that the

insensible
;

mind

of the apostle

perhaps there might be in

it

him

a deep charm to which

soul.

would be a

joy for him to yield his

But he was

not in circumstances to resign himself to such

fascinations.

There are higher objects of conEnrip.

dg/ ha. 'KcLij.'XDoraro'o (Saivovrsg a^oojg atfupog.

Med. 825.
2

ofi/j^a

aWi^og

dxdiJ.arov

czKaynrai.

Aristoph

Clouds^ 285.
^

Ai-TTa^dv ^&6va.

Ibid. 299.

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

so absorbed in great

templation tlian those which gratify the taste

and the mind maybe

themes of
scenery,

intellectual or

moral interest as to
all

be well nigh insensible to

the charms of
art.

and

all

the attractions of

When

Howard went
has called his

forth,
"

on what a great orator

circumnavigation of charity,"
cities,

he visited some of the noblest

scenery of modern Europe

and

passed through some of the most attractive

;

but neither the engage his

hospital,

splendour and wealth of the one, nor the

attractions of the
other, could

attention

the dungeon

and the

where suffering humanity invited

his aid,

had an
aside

mind which drew him from everything else, and made him
interest to his
stateliness of temples," to the curi-

insensible " to the sumptousness of palaces

and the

osity of art,

and even

to the sublimities

and

beauties of nature.
for

Cicero tells us, that

him Athens had a higher charm than

its

was derived from

arose from the

magnificent buildings
art,

and exquisite works of

the charm

that

memory

of

its illustrious

men,

MORAL BEFORE AESTHETIC.

and favourite haunts of
intent
large
each,

and which made him search out the abodes

and look with
In
all

gaze

on their

sepulchres.-^

and earnest minds the moral

;

will ever

overtop and master the aesthetic

as the latter

and, save

may

in

some way be made

not entirely to under-

subservient to the former, such minds will

be apt to overlook,
estimate
it.

if

AYliat wonder, then, that Paul,

bent on a mission of moral beneficence to

which he had consecrated

plish

his

life,

and peneto be

trated with an all-absorlDing desire to accom-

a result

which he knew

the

noblest and worthiest

and most enduring

that could be proposed to

human

exertion,

should have been content to bestow only a

passing glance on the marble splendours of

Athens, and should have been more deeply

moved by

the gloom which rested on the

all

moral features of the scene, than by

glory which lighted up
material aspect
city,
?

the

its

physical

and

As he moved through the

all this
ii.

he beheld

how
1

wealth of genius
1.

De

Legibus,

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

to the service of a vain

was prostituted

and
sur-

misleading superstition;
passing beauty which, as

how
it

all

this

was

fabled,

had

made

the city of the purple crown an object

of contention even to immortals themselves/

had but served

it

as a veil to hide

from men's

minds the knowledge of

Him
all

of

whose glory
;

was the reflection and the witness

and
spiritualise

and

how men, surrounded by

to refine

that was fitted

and elevate the

grovelling

mind, were nevertheless

under

the degrading influence of a grossly sensu-

ous and debasing idolatry.

the

Paul was not

man

to behold such a scene

unmoved.
in

Accustomed
pects,

to

look

at

things

their
as-

spiritual, rather

than in their material

misery

he took in the whole picture of moral

defilement
this smiling

and

which lay under

exterior.

and gorgeous

At the
and

sight his soul

was

stirred within him,

with

fearless zeal, yet

with a tact and sa-

gacity which bespoke

siast,

him no vain enthuPausan.

i.

he cast himself into the busy, noisy

^

Herod,

viii.

55

24, 5.

A CITY FULL OF IDOLS.

stream of Athenian
in
life,

if

liaply he might,

some measm^e
course,

at least, arrest its

it

down-

ward
foundSt.

and turn

in the direction

where alone light and blessedness could be

Paul saw the city
"

wholly given to

idolatry."

The

original
;

rather
^

means he

saw the
tion
is

city full of idols

is

and

this descrip-

one which

amply borne out by the

statements of the classical wTiters,

who speak

of the Athenians as exceeding all others in

zeal for sacred rites,
"

and describe Athens as

containing altars
;

and temples

in

every

direction " as full of " statues of gods

and

men, of every kind and material, and in

every variety of art
sacrifice
;

"

and

as one vast altar,

and

offerins;.^

Wandering^ amid

such objects, beholding in every street and

on every prominent point some symbol or

instrument of idolatrous worship, unable to
enjoy the beauty of God's
earth,

because

See the passages collected by Wetstein in Lis note

xvii. 16,

on Acts

Nov.

Test. Gr.

ii.

p.

562.

lo

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

Iris

everywhere
ate

eye lighted on some elaborthat was an insult to the

work

of

man

majesty, and a virtual denial of the existence

of the

One Living and True God

it is

not

wonderful that the apostle's righteous soul

should have been vexed, and his spirit stirred within him.
Not, however, with scorn or in-

dignation was he chiefly moved.

Such

feel-

ings the sight of a city full of objects of

idolatrous worship

might move in the bosom

is

of an enlightened theist, for under certain

of its aspects, idolatry
foolish,

so contem|)tible, so

so

God-dishonouring and man-deit is

grading, that

difficult

to think of

it

without some emotions of contempt or wrath

towards those who follow

it.

But

in the

mind

of the apostle such feelings,

we may be

well assured,

would be speedily absorbed in

suffering themselves to

one deep and overwhelming emotion of pity

for those

who were

be ensnared, and fettered, and blinded to their

eternal ruin,

by such

delusions.
altar

In every

statue

and temple and

he would see but

an additional instrument

for the destruction

ART HIDING CORRUPTION.

of immortal souls.

ii

that poured itself

The very wealth of art, out before him, would be to

of the spiritual poverty,

him but the measure

humiliation, and wretchedness of the people.

He knew

that idolatry always brings moral

its

degradation and misery in

train,

even

where intellectual culture and

artistic skill

may have thrown an

the surface of society.
vision,

air of glory

over the

worship, and an aspect of refinement over

To his enlightened the splendid and beautiful Athens

like

outwardly
full of

was but

one of her
fair

own marble sepulchres

but
"

and

attractive,
all

within

dead men's bones and

so a necessity

uncleanness."
to

And
idolaters.

came upon him

to
;

get to work and proclaim the gospel to these

Whether he had come

Athens though

with this intention

we

are not told

from his known zeal and

activity,

we can

well believe that from the time of his ap-

proach to the city this would be what he

was anxious
cult

to do.

But

it is

not surprising

that before adventuring on so

new and

diffi-

an enterprise, he should have desired the

12

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

support of his friends,

presence

a;icl

whom
delay
sight

he had
this,

left

behind at Berea.

In prospect of
to

his first purpose

had been

operations until their arrival.

of this exuberant

But the

and rampant idolatry so

it

wrought upon him, that

for

became impossible
All con-

him

to carry out that intention.

siderations of personal comfort

and advantage

gave

way

before the stirrings of holy zeal

and compassionate pity which the scene provoked.

And so, unhesitatingly

alone, for

he threw himbattle,

self into the arena,

and stood up to do

single-handed and

God and

for

truth, against the wit,

dialectic skill of the

wisdom, science, and

refined, ingenious,

most

and cultivated people of the world.

True to his national predilections, which
never suffered him to neglect his brethren
according to the
flesh,

he addressed himself

in the first instance to the

lytes^
^

Jews and prose-

whom

he found in Athens, visiting for

"
(ro7"^ ffs[3o/xBvoig),

"

Devout persons

phraseology used

to denote those

who, born heathens, had been turned from

idols to fear

and worship the true God.

TO JEW
tliis

AND ALSO TO GREEK.

Thus
far

13

purpose their synagogue, and holding

conversations with them. ^

as he

he acted

had always done since he became an

;

apostle of Christ

but

it

was not long

was a

until

he ventured upon a hitherto untried course.

Near

to the centre of the city

large

open space called the Agora, where were

several of the public buildings of Athens,

and which was

full

of

monuments

of reli-

gious and patriotic interest to the Athenians.

Here

at all times

were to be found multiof talk

tudes of people drawn together by the calls

of business, or

by the Athenian love

and here any one who wished

to inculcate

any
least

doctrines, speculative or practical,

if

was

sure to find,

not an attentive audience, at

logicians,

abundance of acute and eager

discuss
divine,

ready to

with

him any

subject,

human
1

or

on which he chose to
means
literally that a dia-

The word

used, diOJysro,

logue took place between

of this

him and them.

The
;

character

would often doubtless be controversial

but the
it.

word does not necessarily mean,

disputed."

as our version gives

14

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

speak.

Througli this place the apostle had

doubtless occasion frequently to pass, and as

he did so he took the opportunity of drawing

some of the many

conversation.

idlers

around him into

This was a

new

sphere for

the apostle, whose labours had hitherto been

confined to synagogues

and private comit,

panies; but being once embarked in

he
his

gave himself to

it

with
it

all his

native energy

and heroism,

so that

at length

became

" daily " practice.

His custom seems to have

been to get into talk with any

whom

he

chanced to meet. ^

He

did not ostentatiously

chiefs of the

throw down the gauntlet to the

great philosophic schools which then divided

the allegiance of the speculatists of Greece

but was content to speak with any one

who
was

was willing to hear what he had

to say. It

not long, however, before he came in contact

with the philosophers, abundance of

mio;ht be at
all

whom

times found in the Aofora.

The

historian mentions

two

sects,

the dis-

ciples of

which he encountered in debate,

1

Tapari/^^avovraj.

STOICS

AND EPICUREANS.
Of
all

15

the Stoics and the Epicureans.

the

sects of Grecian philosophy, these

were the

two most
St.

likely to

come

into collision with

one eno-ao^ed in such a work as that to which

Paul was devoted.

Of the other

sects,

some had renounced the search

as hopeless, to absolute scepticism

after truth

and had abandoned themselves

;

while others indulged

in etherial speculations belonging to a purely

ideal

region,
life

and having

little

relation to

actual

or the concrete interests of

man-

kind. For neither of these classes

had the busy

pragmatical Agora much attraction; and from

such questions as Paul was likely to bring

forward,

questions relating to man's

offered,

duties,

obligations,

and prospects, and the solution

not as the reward of

of

which was

philosophic inquiry, but through the

of an objective revelation,

these

medium

sceptical or

sublime speculatists were likely to turn aside

at once with

contempt or

indifference.
it

"With
differ-

the Stoics and the Epicureans

ent.

was

The aim of both was

practical rather
to settle the

than speculative.

They sought

i6

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

men
di-

foundations of virtue, and to give

rections

how

to conduct themselves, so as to
lifers

make

the best of

experiences.

Accord-

ing to the former, virtue consisted in living

according to nature, and the wise

man was
keep

he who regulated
himself in

his daily life so as to

harmony with the great ends and

were a

purposes of his being, not allowing himself

to be elated with prosperity, as if that

good in

itself,

or to be

overwhelmed with adevil in itself

versity, as if that

were an

To

this the doctrine of the

Epicureans was to a

great extent antithetical.

the main end of man's

happiness,

life

They taught that and being was

they counselled
all

and

therefore

men, on the one hand, to avoid

of discomfort or suffering, and,
rest, foolish

sources

among

the

and wicked conduct, which was

if
;

sure to bring suffering,

not directly, yet

other,

by a
to

retributive remorse

and on the
life

cultivate

whatever has a tendency to

soothe

the soul,

and make

flow on softly

and sweetly.
tell

Both schools thus professed to

to be

men how

good and blessed

both,

WHAT WOULD HE SAY

therefore,

17

naturally sought disciples

;

the masses

and both came

into

thus, as

among well by
the
he,

the nature of their doctrines as by the area

of their
activity,
collision

with

apostle as a teacher of Christianity.

too,

For
as

came

to tell

men how

they might be

wise,

and good, and blessed;

and

he
all

claimed for his doctrine a preference to

that philosophy
it

had

to teach

on these points,

was inevitable

that, as

he taught in the

Agora

at Athens, he should

have to abide the

encounter of the adherents of these schools.

The
was a

result

of these discussions

was

re-

markable.

When

one considers that Paul

if
it

foreigner,

who, even

he spoke Greek

idiomatically,

would speak

with an accent

that could not but offend ears so delicate as

those of the Athenians,

among whom even

their

the market
correcting

women
the
;

could not refrain from

mispronunciation of

foreign customers

and when,

further, it is

borne in mind that

much

of

what he had

to

say would of necessity be

new and

strange

to his auditors, it cannot appear surprising

i8

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

"

that

some should have turned scornfully

aside with the question,

What

will this

babbler say

"

that

is,

What
at
? ^

does he want to

say

What would he be

and that

others,

attracted

by the novelty

of his doctrines

impressed perhaps by the manifest sincerity

and earnestness of the man, yet utterly

sea as to the purport of his teaching

should
tells

at

have

exclaimed, "

He

seemeth to be a setter

forth of strange gods."

This latter exclamation, Luke

us,

was provoked
to

especially

by

Paul's preaching

them Jesus and the

Eesurrection.

From

the use of the plural,

"gods,"

some have

been led to suppose that the Athenians took

Jesus for one, and Anastasis, or the Kesur^

The

original conveys tins

;

t\

av 6sXoi (rre^/xoXoyog
to

Svrog Xsysiv

what may he be wishing

grain-gatherer,

say

The

epithet
to the

(T'lrso/j^oXoyog,

was originally applied

rook

and

as used of

men, conveyed the notion

sometimes of a person who picks np scraps of knowledge

from

others,

sometimes of one loquacious, garrulous, and

is

empty.

" Babhler

the very best English word, as best

signifying one

who

talks fluently to

also that his talk is not his

ownV

no purpose, and hinting

Alford, on the passage.

JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION.

rection, for

19

another of

tlie

deities,

whose

worship Paul was seeking to introduce into

Athens, famed for
its

hospitality as well to

foreign gods as men,^

But though

it

is

probable that the doctrine of the Eesurrection

was new and strange

to these philosophers,

we can hardly suppose

as to lead

that

the

apostle

would have expressed himself

so strangely

them to imagine that, in speaking of it, he was speaking of a person, or would have them place it on a footing with Jesus. Doubtless what Paul preached on this occasion, was the divine claim of Jesus to be regarded as the Son of God and the Saviour
of the world

a claim of which His resurrecwas the

tion from the dead

tation

croAvnino; attes-

and

proof.

On

this great fact

Paul

was wont to lay peculiar

ing, partly

stress in his preachit

because of the authority which

imparted to his doctrine, partly because

1

it

" The Athenians are hospitable as in other respects,

so also in respect of the gods.

For they have received

many

foreign religions, for which they were ridiculed in

the comedies."

Strabo, Geogr. x. p. 471.

20

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

to offer to

formed the security of that great privilege

which he was commissioned

the pardon of
Saviour's

men

sin

through the merit of the

intercession,

and the prospect of

in a future state.

eternal felicity with

Him

Of such things philosophy had not dreamt, and therefore when Paul connected this in
his preaching

with the claims of Jesus, these

acute Athenians saw at once that he asserted

for Jesus divine honour,

and

so represented

him as "a setter forth of strange gods." The use of the plural may be accounted for
on grammatical grounds
;

or,

perhaps, as

Paul could hardly preach Jesus and the

Kesurrection without a reference to

God

the

Father, some confusion and misapprehension

might lead these philosophers

to suppose

that he was advocating the claims of two

new

deities.
is

What
Socrates,

thus ascribed to Paul formed

one of the main charges brought against

and on which that most illustrious of the sons of Athens was condemned to
1

See Kuinoel on

tlie

passage.

STRANGE GODS AT ATHENS.

death. ^

21

But whilst

it

might be criminal

for

a citizen to seem to despise his country's

gods by introducing those of another people,

it

does not appear that

it

was so

for

foreio:ner to set forth the claims of his

deities.

own

In this respect a certain liberty

seems to have been allowed at Athens, and

a place was even conceded to foreign deities
beside those that were indigenous.
not, therefore, as charged
It

was

with a crime that

but

Paul was carried to the Areopagus, where

the supreme court of Athens had
its seat,

merely that a more commodious place might

be obtained for him in which to expound
his

novel message.

It

was

curiosity,

not

anger, which

wished to

moved to this step. His hearers know fully, and without the inter-

ruptions which in the Agora were inevitable,

what

this doctrine of his was.

The

apostle on Mars' Hill

we

leave for

subsequent contemplation.
there are one or
1

In the meantime
of a

two considerations
I,

Xenophon, Memorabilia,

1.,

1.

22

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

we

general kind, arising out of the verses

have been studying, to which

briefly to advert.
1.

it

may

be well

We

see here Christianity, in the perits

son of one of

most eminent teachers,

its

brought into contact with art in

forms.
as has
ficant

higher

Now, it must

certainly "
" to

be admitted,"
imprestaste

been remarked,^

be highly signifirst

and important, that the

on the mind of

sions

which the master-pieces of man s

St.

for art left

Paul was a
this revul-

revolting one.'^

But whence did

sion of feeling arise

conviction in the
art
it

Not surely from any ? mind of the apostle that

was

in itself an unlawful pursuit, or that

might not be worthily connected with

;

religion

for,

as a Jew,

accustomed to the
Jerusalem, no such
his

temple and
mind.

its services at

conviction could have found place in

Was

there, then,

anything in Chris-

tianity, as a religious system, hostile to art,

either in
"

itself,

or in its application to reliplace in Lange's Bihelwerk, pt.

5.

Lecliler

on

tlie

CHRISTIANITY
gious uses
?

AND ART

23

This can hardly be affirmed in

the face of the fact, that Christianity has

everywhere, not only shown an affinity with

art,

but has, more than any other influence,

dignified

and

glorified

it.

No
:

as the writer

already cited justly adds

" all
itself

It

was because
Creator,

this

majesty and beauty had placed

between

man and
faster to

his his

and

bound him the

gods,

wdiich

were not God," that painful feelings were

roused in the bosom of the apostle.

The
might

emotions of delight, wdiich the art

of mingled indignation

itself

have excited, were prevented by the feelings

and pity with which

it,

the sight of the grievous abuse of

prosti-

tuted as

it

was

to the service of idolatry,

filled his soul.

Artistic
intellect

power

is

as truly a divine gift as

feeling,

and moral

and

in its

own

place has an important bearing on the catholic

development of man's inner nature, and

be made, in a high degree, subservient
But, like
;

may

to his religious culture.

gifts to us, it

all

God's

may

be abused

and just be-

24

ST.
its

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

greater delicacy and finer temper
it

cause of

the abuse of

may result

in something viler
it
is

and more degrading than

abuses to which
it

possible for

other parts of our nature to furnish.

The

is liable are especially two.

The one
passion,

is,

when

it

becomes an all-absorbing
an
imperious tyranny
things bend to
its

exercising

over the soul, making

gratification,

all

measuring the good or

evil of

things simply by their power to minister

to its cravings,

and tempting him who

it

is

the

subject of

to trifle with the

most

sacred obligations, and postpone the most

important duties, in obedience to

its

demands.

The other
is

is,

when

it

lends itself to unholy,

;

profane, impure, or

unworthy uses

when

it

employed
;

to confirm
it

man
;

in his ungodli-

ness

when

becomes th^ minister of superor

stition or sacerdotal craft

its

when
is

it

throws

enchantment around what

In
all

degrading,

and paints a beautiful mask

ghastly face of vice.

for the foul

and

such cases, art

to bear

assumes a position which compels the moralist

and the man of

spiritual religion

CHRISTIANITY
towards
evil
it

AND PHIIOSOPHY.
it

25

a hostile front, and denounce

as

and dangerous.
2.

Christianity appears here also, in the

first

person of the apostle, for the

contact with
speculation.

time in

human systems of philosophic And here the same is to be

has been already said
such,

said, in substance, that

in relation to art.

Christianity

To philosophy, as cannot be hostile. The

great

questions of which she offers the solution

are precisely those with
its

which philosophy, in
;

higher forms,

is

occupied

and there

is

no better preparation for the lessons she has

to teach,

and no surer voucher

for their suffi-

ciency, in relation to the mind's

capacities,

wants and
legi-

than philosophy, wisely and

is fitted

timately exercised,

to furnish.

It is

not surprising, therefore, that from the earliest

ages Christianity has found in philosophy her
readiest

and deftest handmaid.

But, from

the earliest ages also, philosophy has been the

antagonist and the perverter of Christianity.

The writings

of St. Paul indicate a

mind naand

turally inclined to philosophic research,

26

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

by the metliods and lessons
St.

disciplined

of phi-

losophy

but

Paul had occasion to caution

the Christians to
" philosophy,"

whom
is

he wrote against a

which

only "an empty cheat,"

and

" oppositions of science falsely so called."^

It is to the application of philosophic prin-

ciples
tine,

and methods, by such men

is

as

Augus-

Anselm, Aquinas, and Calvin, that the

indebted for the
full

church

and

scientific

development of that doctrinal system, the

elements of which are scattered through the

pages of Holy Scripture

but

it is

no

less to

the mingling of philosophic speculations with

the teachings of Scripture, that the Church

owes most of those heretical opinions by

which her testimony has been corrupted

and her peace disturbed, from the time of

Simon Magus downwards.

cessity, therefore, for caution

There

is

a ne-

and discrimina-

tion on the partof the followers of Christ

when they
schools of

are brought into contact with the

human
^

philosophy, that they

may

wisely choose the good and refuse the evil

Col.
ii.

Tim.

^A.

20.

HOW IS IT NO Wl
among
profess.

27

the

doctrines
fast

whicli

tliese

scliools
it is

Holding

"the truth as

in Jesus/^ repudiating all attempts to modify or supplement the divine

elusions of

word by the connot shrink-

human wisdom, and

of philosophy

ing from boldly encountering the disciples

of

any school

when they
same time

cross

their path, let

them

at the

wil-

lingly accept whatever aids philosophy

may

be prepared to render as the handmaid of

theology, either in illustration or in defence
of the truths most surely believed amongst

them.
3.

As some

of those philosophers

whom

Paul encountered in the Agora of Athens

heard his doctrines only to turn from them

and him with contempt,

so there are

still

men

who, professing to be students of philoafter truth, think it not

sophy and searchers

incompatible with these pretensions to treat

Christianity with similar light-minded rejection.

Many, indeed, do
to
all

this

from mere
interests
;

in-

difference

religious

but

others, professing to recognise religion as the

28

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

some foregone

supreme concern of man, hastily repudiate

Christianity on the ground of

conclusion at which they have arrived.

To

one

man

a revelation of religious truth from

without appears unnecessary and incongruous, the spiritual nature of

man

being held

by him
velation

to be sufficient for the evolution of

a religion for itself;

is

by

another, a book-reabsurdity,
it

regarded as

ati

and the

very idea of submission to

scouted as

an insult to man's intellectual supremacy;

while a third, having settled in his
that a miracle
is

own mind

impossible, regards the fact

is

that Christianity
sufficient

a miraculous religion as

to justify

him

in passing

it

by

with neglect.
such a subject

Such methods of dealing with

are, to

say the

least,

unphilolesson

sophical as well as unwise.

The
is,

first

which true science teaches

things possible which
dictory,

to regard all

are not self-contra-

and

to reject,

on purely a fviori
a
believes in
it

grounds, nothing that claims to rest on

basis of fact.

He who

God

will

not lightly pronounce

impossible or im-

WHAT CHRISTIANITY
cate
to
directly

CLAIMS.

29

probable that the Creator sliould communithe

knowledge of His

will

His
;

intelligent

and accountable

crea-

tures

and
it

to

every serious

and earnest

thinker

must ever appear that the mere

book containing a mesall

possibility of a given

sage from

God imposes on

to

whom

it

comes an obligation to examine, with

all

candour and earnestness, the evidence on

which

it rests its

claims.

This

much

Chris-

tianity, as a professed revelation

from God,

has a right to demand, and whilst every

honest searcher after truth will concede this

right,

and submit to it, the

this are so

risks of neglecting

to

do

tremendous that no wise

Christianity

man

will lightly incur them.

asks no one to listen to her teaching until he

has satisfied himself of the truth of her

claims
;

but to refuse so

much

as to look at

these claims on the ground of

some

fore-

gone conclusion, her advocates cannot but

denounce as
Strange that
claim
that
alike

arrogant

and

foolish.

men who
is

are forward to pro-

it

only by acting as

"the

30

ST.

PAUL IN THE AGORA.

of

minister and interpreter

nature

''

that

any one can hope

to arrive at natural truth,

should imagine that divine truth

duction and subjective preference

may

be

reached by a simple process of a "priori de!

11.

St.

Paul on Mars' Hill.

its

Athens embraced within natural elevations. One

Areopagus or Mars' Hill
ing to
;

precints several

of these

was the

so called, accord-

popular tradition, because Ares or

to trial there before

Mars had been brought

the assembled gods for the murder of Halirrhothius, the son of Poseidon.
as " a narrow,
It is described

naked ridge of limestone rock,

from the northern end, and
;

rising gradually

terminating abruptly on the south

"

reachfifty

ing on this end a height of between

and sixty
at
its

feet

above the level of the valley

It

base.

stands very near to

the

Agora, in which the apostle commenced his

discussions
steps
it
still

with the Athenians;

and the

remain, cut in the rock, by which

side.

was ascended on that

On the summit

32

ST.

PAUL ON MARS'

HILL.

'

of the rock, just above the Agora,

was the spot

sat

where the judges of the Upper Council

administered justice in the open

and
still

air; their seat

was a stone bench

remains.
It

cut in the rock,

(as

which

was not
this spot,

already observed),
St.

however, as a criminal that

Paul w^as

conveyed to

nor was the manner

of the act indicative of

any disrespect

to

him him

on the part of those

in the Agora.

who had surrounded

the contrary, the ex-

On

by Luke, and rendered in our version, "they took him" (ver. 19), conveys in the original the idea of gentle and courtepression used

ous handling;^ and the historian

to tell us that
it

is

careful
dis-

was

curiosity

and not
this

pleasure which prompted the removal to the

Areopagus.

With the Athenians

had
all

was

a motive which
passion.

the power of a ruling

Luke

says of

them

here, that " all

the Athenians

and strangers which were

some new thing"
Grotius,

there spent their time in nothing else but

either to tell or to hear
^

s'TiXa^S/Mvoi, "

manu

leniter preliensum "

in

loc.

ATHENIAN LOVE OF NEWS.

(ver. 21).

33

The statement here

is

somewhat

stronger in the translation than in the original,

which simply indicates that they had

that their whole

leism^e for nothing else;^

spare time

was spent
is

in hearing

and

telling

the latest news."

the statement

But even thus modified,

might
least,
it

so sweeping that one

be tempted to set

down, in part at

to the prejudice of a foreigner,

accustomed

to the stiller life

east,

and graver manners of the

therefore, the busy, bust-

and to whom,
inquisitive,

ling,

talkative

habits

of

the

Athenians could not but be annoying, were

it

not that Athenian testimonies themselves

establish the charge.

amply

Indeed,

Demos-

thenes, in one of his addresses to his country-

men, reproaches them with

this propensity in

language almost identical with that of Luke,^

^

sOxa/^s/i/,

a later

writers,

who employed

word not used by the best Greek GyjiKaX^ih in the same sense, that
newer thing,
iii.
i.

of being at leisure.
2

-/Mivorioov,

literally a
last

e.,

something

newer than what was

"

new, the

latest news.

Philij).
;

i.

5,

Comp. Thucyd.
etc.

38

Aelian, Hist. Var.

V.

13

Seneca, Fj^. 94,

34

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.
attest the

and other witnesses abundantly

same

thing.

To such persons anything

and

really

new was

a perfect treasure, which they could

;

not too eagerly appropriate

therefore,

recognising in what Paulsaid to

them somethey
that

thing they had never heard before,

carried

him
tell.

to

the Areopagus

they

might have space and quiet

to hear

what he

had

to

But amidst

this

giddy crowd,

who hastened up

the steps of the Areopa-

gus as they might have hurried to a comedy,

may we
curiosity

not suppose there were some influ-

enced by better feelings than those of mere

some who recognised

some

in

what

St.

Paul had already uttered, something more

than mere novel talk who, really
seeking for truth, had found a strange re-

sponse in their inner nature to what had

fallen
foreio-n o

from his

lips

some

who, in

the

and strange doctrines which he ano nounced, saw, as by the glimmer of a distant lamp, a possible

pathway out

of the

maze

of speculation in which they were lost;

therefore, spoke in honest earnest-

and who,

NOVELTY OF HIS
ness

POSITION.

35

when

tliey

said,

"

We

wish to know

what these things mean/^

their language to the apostle

At any rate, was perfectly

this

courteous.

What
"

they asked, they asked as

a favour

May we know what

doctrine whereof thou speakest [this

new new

teaching of which thou art the expounder] is?"

To such

a request the apostle could have

no unwillingness to accede.
tural agitation
for the

Some

little

na-

and anxiety might probably,

as he anti-

moment, take hold of him

cipated a scene so novel and so trying as that

in

which he was about to be the principal

actor.

But

this

would soon pass away, ab-

sorbed in the nobler emotions which the prospect of proclaiming the truth, of which he

was the
and
to

herald,
so

on so conspicuous a platform
an audience, would
or if this
feelings, all

interesting
;

awaken

in his soul

could not

wholly disperse these

to shrink

tendency

from the ordeal through which he

had

to pass

would be rebuked

as he

remem-

bered the assurance of his Divine Master,

36
"

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.
what you
but what-

When

they shall lead you and deliver you

up, take no thought beforehand

shall speak, neither premeditate
;

soever shall be given you in that hour, that

speak ye

for

it

is

not ye that speak but

the Holy Ghost."^

And now
steps,

the apostle has ascended the

and stands on the summit of the Are-

opagus.

What

a scene presents itself to his

view
zens

Close beside

him

is

the crowd of

citi-

him from the Agora, and intermingled with them are not only the philosophers who have chiefly provoked this
followed
scene, but also

who have

some of the principal persons

at least of the judges of

of the city,

and one

the Areopagus.

Before and around

him

lies

the city in

all its

natural beauty, and in

al] its

wealth of

art.

little to

the east of where

he stands
Grecian art
tues,

rises

the Acropolis, abrupt and

vast, covered

temples, and
^

with the noblest monuments of

theatres,

and sculptured groups

Matt.
xiii.

and

sta-

rising

up

in

simple but majestic beauty from the stately

11.

SCENE BEFORE HIM.

37

Propylaeea to the sublime Partlienon, the masterpiece and the glory of ancient architecture.

On

the other side, also close

by the

Agora, rises the Pnyx, the place of the assemblies of the

people,

where stands the

famous stone from which the orators addressed the assembled multitude, and from

which had often sounded the voice of him

" whose resistless eloquence

Wielded

at will that fierce

democracy,

Shook the arsenal, and fulmined over Greece To Macedon and Artaxerxes' throne."

In other directions, other spots famous in history or sacred to literature and philosophy,
as well as beautified

by

art,

meet the
is

eye,

and

solicit attention.

But Paul

not there

to feast his imagination, or sate his taste

with this opulence of

has come thither,

artistic splendour.

He

filled

with the inspira-

tion of a message from God, to tell these

polished idolaters of the perfections and the

claims of that one only God, of

whom

they

had well-nigh utterly

lost

sight

amid the

multitude and variety of their mythological

38

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.
and
full of tliis, lie lias

inventions

no eyes
glories

for either the

charms of nature or the

of art

or if the scene before

him

for a

mo-

ment

attracts his attention, the sight of so

much
gives

genius prostituted to the worst of uses,

only kindles his zeal to greater fervour, and

him

fresh courage to assail the adver-

sary in this the very palace of his glory and

citadel of his strength.

And

so the apostle
alone, in the
lift

stands up, undaunted though

midst of that polished auditory to

testimony for
tion to their
their

up

his

God and

for truth, in opposi-

most cherished prejudices and

beliefs.

most favoured

With whatever other feelings the multitude around him might regard the apostle, it would be impossible for them not to respect
and admire the courage of the man.
under greater disadvantages.

Never

did orator stand up to address an audience

Everything
for

almost of an outward kind was against him.

His being a foreigner was against him

the Athenians,

who

boasted that they had

sprung from the

soil of Attica,

looked upon

HIS DISAD VANTA GES.

all

39

other nations with contempt, and spoke

of

them

as

barbarians.
;

His speech was

against

him

for,

to

the fine ears of the

Athenians, accustomed to hear their exquisite

language uttered with the nicest attention to

pronunciation and accent,
it

must have been

it

well-nigh intolerable to hear

spoken by
confession,

one whose speech was, by his

fastidious

own

contemptible, even in the esteem of the less

Corinthians/

His personal ap;

pearance was against him

for

he was of

diminutive stature, and his bodily presence

was
ful

feeble, whilst

around him were the grace-

forms and noble countenances of the most

perfectly-developed race that the world has

ever seen.
for

His subject was against him

in

he stood there to denounce the religious

beliefs

and usages of the Hellenic nations

the very centre of the Hellenic worship, and

in

the midst

of a people enthusiastically
;

devoted to their national superstitions

assail the

to

time-honoured prejudices of the

haughtiest and most self-confident of peoples;

*

2 Cor.

X.

0.

40

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.
and swarming with
as they

and

in a city full of idols,

philosophers, to prove idolatry a wicked absurdity,

and philosophy, such

had

it,

a delusion and a snare.

It was, indeed, a

bold thing for such a

man

to venture

on such
;

an attempt under such circumstances

and

one can fancy that, as the speaker raised his

unimposing form, and stretched forth his

feeble arm,
dress,

when about

to

commence

his ad-

any

feelings of surprise or

contempt

might excite, would speedily give place to those of respect and admiration, such as true bravery never
his appearance at first
fails to

which

evoke.

Trying as was the task to which he was

summoned, the
And, in
truth,

apostle

was

fully equal to

it.

amidst the outward disadvan

tages to which I have alluded, he possessed

qualities of another

kind which more than

turned the balance in his favour.

thing, his

For one

mind as much overtopped the minds

his.

of the mass of his audience as their physical

endowments excelled
the freest

His was really

and

kingliest spirit of the whole.

HIS
Not that

AD VANTA GES.
mere
all

41

in respect of

original

power

of intellect he surpassed

rounded him,

for

on

this

who then surjDoint we have no

;

means of forming an opinion

grasp and comprehend

but that there

so thoroughly

was no mind there that could

him

as his

mind could

grasp and com]3rehend them. Insignificant as

he seemed in respect of outward appearance,

he could take the measure and weight of the
w^hole assembly as they could not do of him.

them had so largely and so truly surveyed humanity in all its interests, relations, and wants as he had nor could any
of
;

None

so minister to the deepest necessities of the

human

heart as he could.

Much
as

as

some of
reveals

those beside

him had speculated on things

had seen God
;

divine, he alone

He

Himself to His people

assurance of one
lieves.

and he alone could

speak of divine things with the firmness and

who

speaks because he be-

In short, he had the power which

;

truth and knowledge confer

and he needed

but this opportunity of free speech to vindicate for himself the influence

and authority

42

ST.

PA UL ON MARS' HILL.

which the possessor of these always gains

over those
ignorance.

who

are the slaves of error or of

The oration which the

on

apostle delivered

this occasion has called forth the admiraall

tion of the most competent judges of

sub-

sequent ages and countries.

It is

marked

not only by a calm dignity and thorough

mastery of the topics discussed, but by a

wonderful adaptation to the peculiar condition

and mental habits of those

to

whom
alto-

he spoke, and by a constructive ability

gether marvellous in a discourse composed

on the spur of the moment, and by one who

had enjoyed no previous training

rience in rhetoric.

or expein
itself,

Viewed simply
it

we may

well call

a masterpiece of the
;

highest style of oratory

skilfully

adapted to

the audience, and yet

severely faithful to

truth; fitted to persuade,

by convincing the
prejudice
or

judgment without alarming

offending taste
;

calculated to stimulate

and

guide

all

the higher powers of man, so as to

bring the hearer of his

own

accord,

and with

HIS

POWER AND

ITS SOURCE.

43

the full assent of his will, to the conclusion the speaker would enforce.
in relation to himself, the whole

Viewed

address remarkably exhibits the tact and

power of the man, and

his

strikingly illustrates

own

declaration
all

that

he became "all

things to
as a Jew,

men ;"

that to the Jews he

was

and

to the Greeks

he was as a

Greek, not for the sake of securing honour,

favour, or applause, but in the sublime hoj^e of

thereby saving some.-^

And
set

herein, w^e

may

remark in passing, lay one great secret of his

power.

His soul was

;

on the great end of

lost

his mission

in the pursuit of this all con-

siderations of a

minor kind were

and

he adjusted himself to the case he had in

hand with the ease and naturalness

of one

who

seeks not his

own

things, but the

good
lies

of those

whom

he addresses.

In this out-

going of the individual upon his object

the secret of
dress.
all

great success in public adis

If a

man
'

more concerned
20-22.

to

do

justice to himself or to his subject than to

1

Cor.

ix.

44

ST.

FA UL ON MARS HILL.

win those

to

whom

he speaks

or if he be

more anxious
articles of

to keep himself in accordance

with the dogmas of some school, or the

some church, than

to get into a

living

sympathy with the

souls

and hearts

of those
fail

whom he

addresses, he will certainly

of being a great orator, whatever excel-

lence in other respects he

the pulpit such an one

may attain. In may prove himself a

acute polemic, an

luminous expositor, an

exact reasoner, a profound theologian, but

he will never attain the reputation of an

eloquent or greatly successful preacher.
It

was the
combine

apostle's peculiar gift that

all

he could

these excellences,

and whether

as the expositor, the theologian, the polemic,

or the preacher, assert for himself a foremost

place,

and subject other men

to his imperial

sway.

Let us never forget that he owed

this not to

mere natural endowment, but

to

the presence and constant aid of the Spirit

of his Master.

This he would himself have

it is

been forward to proclaim, and

for us

who admire

his gifts,

and

profit

by what he

"

MEN

OF A THENSr
the use
of

45

accomplished

tlirougii

them,

humbly
in him,

to acknowledge the grace of

God

and

to glorify

God on

his behalf.

The
tors

apostle

commences

his speech to the

Athenians exactly as one of their

own

ora-

might have done

in the very

indeed, he addresses

them
liar to

words wdiich are so fami-

the readers of the classics, as those

by

wdiich

Demosthenes always
the

countrymen
sent

words the very sound

heart
"

addressed his
of wdiich

a thrill through
"

of every
in the

Athenian.^

Men

of Athens

men

hiofher sense of

beings, but men worthy of the name

as

the term, not mere

human " Men

or,

of Athens," exclaims the apostle, " I perceive

that in every w^ay ye are very religious,"

the

strictly

word should perhaps be rendered, according to its form, " more reliis

gious," that

than the

rest of

your country-

men/'

The
it

translation in the Authorised

Version
one, for

" too superstitious " is

an unhappy

makes the

apostle open his address

46

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.
and
moreover hides from the

with an assertion which could not but offend

his hearers,
it

reader the fine and delicate tact of the speaker

by which he

at once parries the charge that

had been brought against him of being a

setter forth of strange gods, and, in

doing

so,

introduces the great truth which he

to preach.

came
be

The

original

word answers pretty

nearly to our "God-fearing," and

may
;

used either in a good or a bad sense

to describe the case of those

either

who

fear

and

worship
worship

God

aright,

and

so are religious, or

that of those

who

fear

God

ignorantly and

Him with gloomy or unholy emotions,

Perhaps the apostle
to use a

and

so are superstitious.

was not sorry

somewhat ambiguous

word

here,

but certainly he did not mean at

the very outset of his discourse to

make

charge which his hearers would have

felt to

be an
^

affront.-^

His object was simply to

" carrying your religious and remarks that " Llame is neither ex;

Alford renders the word

far,"

reverence very

pressed nor even implied

for religion laid

but their exceeding veneration

hold of as a fact^ on which Paul with

A THENIAN RELIGIO USNESS.

lay hold of a fact which furnished

47

him with
was one

a basis on which to erect the appeal he in-

tended to make to them.

That

fact

which none of them would

call in question,

and of which
offend

it

would please rather than

Notoriously
all

them

to be reminded.

they were the most religious of

accordino^ to their

peoples,

own

notions of relioion.

This

is

amply

attested

by unimpeachable
:

witnesses.

there

own says any land which knows how to be

poet of their

" If

reve-

rence and honour the gods, this surpasses

in that."^
"

An

impartial historian declares,

This

is

the chief

encomium

of the city of

the Athenians that, in every affair and at

all seasons,

they follow the gods, and engage

in nothing

without resorting to prophecy

and

oracle."^

Another says of them that

all

they abounded beyond

others in zeal for

lie is

exquisite skill engrafts his proof that

introducing no
to

new

gods, but enlightening

them with regard

an object

of worship on

which they were confessedly in the dark."

p.

Greek
'

Test.,

ii.

178.

Soph., Oed. Col 1007.

^Dionys. Halicar.,

Be

Thucycl. Hist Jvdicium, Sec. 40.

48

ST.

PA UL ON MARS' HILL.
And
Joseplms, the Jewish,

religious rites. ^

historian, calls them, in

words that furnish

St.

an admirable explanation of those of

Paul, " the

most

religious of the Hellenes."^

starts,

In the position, then, with wdiich he

tiie

apostle takes

them on

their

own
the

ground,

and thus
in

skilfully

prepares

way

for

showing them how, in that very particular

which they thought themselves above

error.

all

others,

they Avere weak through ignorance

and

In support of his assertion

St.

Paul
city,

tells

them

that, in passing

through their

and
and
on

examining their objects of religious

that

interest

is,

their temples, altars, statues,

rites (not as in

" devotions")

he

the Authorised Version their

came upon an
Considerable

altar
"

which was the inscription

an unknown God."
conciling
of
all
1

'Kyv^t^r'jo @su>,

To

difficulty

has been found by some interpreters in rethis

statement with the absence

altar in

mention of such an
i.

Athens

Pausan.,

24. 3.
:

Cont. A2non.n. 11

s\j(rij3i(!TUT0-jc rou^/ EX}.rjvc-)v.

ALTAR TO
by any ancient
sertion

AN UNKNOWN
writer.

GOD.

49

But

is

not the astlie

of

St.

Paul, in an address to
sufficient

Athenians themselves, amply

certify the fact

to

without confirmation from

?

any other source

and would

it

not be pre-

posterous to set aside or call in question the

testimony of such a witness simply because

no other witnesses can be called to

attest the

same

But
makes

as it

happens other witnesses

for

can be adduced;
writer
altar

though

no ancient

specific

mention of any one

"altars'' to

with this inscription, more than one

attest that there

were in Athens
It
is

unknown

gods.^

certain,

then,

that

such altars existed in Athens, each of them

probably bearing the inscription which Paul
quotes,

and

as he

to notice one of

had chanced particularly them he is naturally led to

it.

confine his reference to

What
an
altar

did the Athenians

mean by such
?

and such an inscription

various answers
1

have been given.

Pliilostrat.
Yit. Aiypolon.

To this Some
vi.

Pausan.

i.

1-3

3,

etc

See Wetstein on the passage.

50

ST.

PA UL ON MARS' HILL.
it

have ascribed their erecting

superstitious dread,

to a

vague
the

which led them

of

to guard

against

the

possibility
deity, of

provoking

wrath of some
heard,

whom

they had not

by

omitting to assign

him

a place

where he might receive honour and homage.

But
tion
to

this
;

seems a most improbable sugges-

for

had such an idea presented

Athenians,
it

itself

the minds of the

could

hardly have failed to be followed by the

thought that no deity would acknowledge

an

altar so inscribed,

inasmuch as
is

this

would

be a virtual admission of inferiority

potence.

and im-

More probable

the suggestion of

those

who would

attribute the erection of

such altars to the consciousness of want and

insufficiency
its

which Polytheism leaves upon

;

votaries

false

and
"

baseless,

it

cannot

satisfy the soul of

man, so that
gods

after

he has
lords
still

fancied to himself

many and

many,"
feels

till

he can fancy no more, he

an aching void, and gazes forth into the

infinite,

awful
This

and
but

cries after the

unknown.

is

true

is it all

that an altar with

JVHV so INSCRIBED.
such an inscription
indicate
?

51

may have

been meant to
there

May we

not suppose that in the

it

bosoms of those who erected

all

was a

deep consciousness that beyond and above

that eye could see, or reason discover, or

fancy imagine, there must be a mighty Power

on whose will the whole depends, and by

whose influence
to

all is

pervaded

and unable

form any conception of such a Being, yet

having some vao-ue sense of awe and worship,

may
by

they not have intended at once to

profess their belief

and
?

to confess their igno-

rance
^'

erecting an altar

and inscribing
it

to

an unknown

God

"

cannot but think that

in this light,

the apostle himself regarded

else

how

shall

he account for his admission

that the

God whom he had to declare to them was the very God whom, without
knowing
Him,
a

they

were

worshipping
light that

Was
that,

not this

distinct

acknowledgment

dim and

feeble as
it

was the
is

had

reached them,

yet was a true ray from the

?

Father of Lights

And

not the whole

discourse which the apostle founds on this

52

ST.

PAUL ON MARS'

HILL.

an endeavour to conduct to a clear and definite consciousness tliis wliicli

he recognised,
seems to
could

though in the form but of a vague longing,

as a true feeling after

God ?

It

me
the

that

only on this

supposition

apostle with full truth attach

what he had
;

to

announce to

this inscription

and only

thus that the

full force of his

felt.

following argu-

mentation can be
This

God whom, without knowing Him,

offers to

they were worshipping, Paul

clare"

"de.

unto them.

Observe his words.

He

does not say that he had come to describe

God

to them, or to give

them
to

a just definition

of God, or to help

them

form an adequate
all

conception of God.
to do
is

No;

that he offers

to declare, announce, proclaim to

them the

true God.

And

this is all that

;

any
nay,

of the sacred writers pretend to do

this is all that can be done.

For what more

the

can a creature
"

know

of

God than simply

proclaimed fact of His being and His perfections

? ?

Canst thou by searching find out

God

Canst thou find out the Almighty to

GOD UNSEARCHABLE.
perfection T^
"

53
wliicli

Dwelling in light

no

man Him

can approach unto, no

at

man
is

hath seen

any

time, or can see Him."'-^

Of

His essence and of what

He

in Himself

we can know

nothino^.

All om^ thou2:hts of

Him must
reflections

be relative and analogical

mere

and shadows of

his unutterable

majesty; and only as

us can

He

reveals Himself to

we know even this much. For us, therefore, God must ever remain in a most important sense unknown and as a great philosopher of our own age and country has
;

said,
all
0oD

"

The

last

and highest consecration of

true religion

must be an

altar

'kym<sr<ji

To the unknown and unknowable God."^

Happily
to us in such

He who

is

thus to sense and rea-

son incognoscible hath " declared " Himself

manner as that we may "acquaint

ourselves with

Him

and be

at peace."

Not

only by the works of His hand, which declare

'

Job
^

xi. 7.

Tim.

\A.

16.

Sir

William Hamilton, Discussions,

p. 15.

54

ST.

FA UL ON MARS' HILL.

His glory and show His handiwork, not only

in the written record of His character ^and
will

in

His Word, but most of

all

in the

Person, Mission, Life, and

Work

of His

Son
is

hath

He

given ns a manifestation of Himself

our religious capacity and
the

which

satisfies

adequate to
spiritual

all

requirements

of

our

condition.

To those who accept

this revelation

and submit themselves to the

mediation of Jesus Christ, the high privilege

is

secured of seeing
Christ

By

God and knowing Him. we believe in God He, the only:

begotten of the Father, has revealed

Him

unto

us.
:

Through

Him we

have access unto

"He hath suffered, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God.'' We have thus, through Him and in Him, a disGod
tinct

and impressive realisation of the

Infinite

and Eternal,
time. in a

whom

no

man

hath seen at any

We
God

rise

above the mere vag;ue belief

to the knowledo-e of the one living

and true God.

to a

We cease

to offer our homao^e

mere Power;

our hearts open to the

Deity;

recognition of a Personal

and we

IS

THE INFINITE THINKABLE

55

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as our God and our Father The Infinite we frail and through him/ finite can never comprehend but we can
rejoice in tlie
;

believe

that

He

is,

and,

coming

to

Him

through His Son, we can rest in the assurance that whatever infinite goodness, wisdom,

and power can do

for us, will be

for evermore."

done

for

us

by Him now and

APPENDIX TO LECTUEE
Professor

11.

Max

Muller on

the

Notion of

the Infinite.

On such modes
text, this

of expression as that

employed
able

iii

the

very learned and most

writer has

recently

says he, "

made some sharp strictures. " The Infinite," we have been told over and over again, is

a negative idea

it

excludes only,

it

does not include

anything; nay,

we

are assured, in the

most dogmatic
Infinite.

tone, that a finite

mind cannot conceive the

no
^

step further carries us into the very abyss of meta-

physics.

There

is

Infinite,

we

are told, for there

John

XX. 17.

See ApjDendix at the end of this Lecture.

56
is

PROFESSOR MULLER ON THE

a Finite

the

Infinite has its limit in the Finite, it

cannot be

Infinite.

Now,

all this

is

mere playing on

words without thoughts."

Lectures on the Science of

Language, sec. ser., p. 576. So far as this concluding remark may be intended to apply to what is contained
in the sentence preceding, there are few, in this coun-

try at least,

who will question its justice ; though where, in " the abyss of metaphysics," the professor

found this piece of unmeaning jargon

may be

matter of

wonder
Infinite

to

many.

Certain

it is,

that the philosophers

who have

asserted

man's incapacity to think the

do not so express themselves.

Infinite,
is

They
is

neither

deny the existence of the

that because there

nor do they say

a Finite there

no

Infinite.

What they say is, that the Finite is an object of human knowledge such as man can comprehend in a definite notion, and that from this, man infers the
Infinite,

though of

this

he can form no precise notion,

belief.

but only a vague impression and

Professor
Mliller

continues
%

thus

"

Why
in.

is

Infinite a negative idea

Because
is

infinite is

derived

from finis by means of the negative particle

tliis

is

a mere accident

But
ex-

it

a fact in the history of

language, and no more.

The same idea may be

pressed

by the

Perfect, the Eternal, the Self-Existing,

which are positive terms, or contain at least no negaOn this I would remark 1. That tive element." I am not aware that it has ever been maintained by

any one that word infinite

Infinite is a negative idea because the

is

formed from

finis

by means

of in;

NOTION OF THE
nor can I conceive of any one
utmost, I suppose, any one
direction
is
is,

INFINITE.

57

who understands what

The
it

he means maintaining anything so absurd.

has ever said in this

a nega-

that infinite being a negative concept,

properly designated by a
2.

word expressing
the

tion.

It

cannot be conceded that Perfect, Eternal,

are

Self-Existing,
Infinite.

words

of

same import

as
;

same object but they assuredly do not convey the same thought. So that, even allowing them to be " positive terms,"
are appropriate to the
it 3.

They

will not follow that Infinite is also a positive term.

The terms

Perfect, Eternal, Self-Existing,

though

in form positive terms, are in

tive.

meaning

really nega-

Of

this the Professor

may

convince himself by
Perfect

attempting to form a just explanation of them without resorting to negations.

that to which nothing
is

The
;

is

simply
is

lacking

the Eternal

that

which

is tvithout
is

beginning and

ivithout

end
its

the Self-

Existing

that which does not derive

source.

being from

any external

We

think these, as

we think

the Infinite, exclusively, to use the terminology of

the old theologians,

authority
readers,

j;er viaw^ negationis.

whom

the

Professor

Even the commends to his

Poger Bacon, in the very passage which the

Professor quotes,

a negative

is

obliged to confirm the Infinite as

" dicitum infinitum

et

....

j^;^r

negationem corruptionis

non

esse.'"

Miiller's

But the most extraordinary part of Professor remarks follows The true idea of the
:

1'

Infinite is neither a ne2;ation

nor a modification of

58

FROM FINITE TO
idea.

INFINITE.
contrary,
is

any other
nor
is
it

The Fmite, on the

if

in

reality the limitation or modification of the Infinite

possible,

we

reason in good earnest, to

conceive of the Finite in any other sense than as the

shadow of the Infinite." According to this we have no positive notion of the finite ; but, having a positive notion of the infinite,
its correlative
its

we
is

arrive at the finite as

(which

is

what

meant, I presume, by
infinite
;

"

shadow") by limiting the

in other

words,

we
is

first

realise a clear notion

limits,

of something

which

without

and by limiting that notion,

is

we

get at the notion of something which has limits.

This,

we

venture to say,

a doctrine which no man's

to

Consciousness will confirm.

when
that
tions
it

his senses

present

Every man knows that him a bounded and

it

figured object, he perceives at once that

has limits,

child

and that it is from such percepThe that he gathers up the notion of finitude. does not first form a notion of the boundless,
has a
finis ;

and then from that arrive at the notion that the The reverse is the objects around him have bounds.
process
;

everyday experience
finite,

suggests

to

us

the

notion of the
of that,
to say, "

and

it

is

only as the correlative

by

a process of negation, that

we

arrive at

such notions as

we have
every

of the Infinite.

It is in

vain

No

finger,
;"

no razor, has ever touched the end

of anything
his

man knows

that he can with

to their limit,

finger trace innumerable objects

and that a blunter instrument than a razor will sufiice to enable him to cut most things into as many

NOT THE REVERSE.

lengths,
is
i.e.

59
things,
;

finite pieces, as

he

wills.

Some

it

true,

may

elude his power in this respect

it

may

be quite true that " no eye has laid hold of the

horizon which divides heaven and earth, or of the
line

which separates green from yellow, or unites

;"

yellow with white

"

and

it

may be no

less true that

no ear has ever caught the point where one key

;"

enters into another

but what relevancy has this to

It is

the point in question?

that

surely not necessary

we

should be able to determine the limits of

everything in order to
limits.

know what

is

meant by having
it

If

we

can find the limits of anything

will suffice for that.

An

ancient heathen, with whose writings St. Paul

as

was not unacquainted,

"

he quotes from him

(1

Cor.

XV. 33), has uttered a, maxim respecting the attempt

by searching to
T/;
'

find out God,"

which

it

might be
:

well for some of our

Icr/i/ 6

modern
0og

speculatists to

ponder

oh ^ikY\c, cv [jjav^avur

Aoi^iTg rov oh ^iXovra /xav&dvs/v ^sXuv.

Menander, ex

incert.

Comoed.

"Do

not will to learn

in seeking to learn
far as

who God is thou actest profanely Him when He wills not," i.e., in so
;

He
is

has not been pleased to reveal Himself.

tells

Another Greek poet

out

us that

all

searching to find
this will only

God

vain,

and those who attempt

:

have their labour for their pains

0oi/ vo/x<^
TL'/.iTov

xai

ffs(3o[j,

Zyjrzt ds/xri
7]

ydo

ohosv

aXko

^Tjrs/i/

%'.
incert.

Philemon, ex

Comoed,

III.

St.

Paul's Discoukse

God

and the

Universe.

The

apostle, recognising tlie religions prin-

ciple whicli lay at the basis of tlie Hellenic

idolatry, bnt
satisfy,

whicli

Polytheism could not

his

commences
that

discourse

on

the

Areopagus by proposing to make known to

the Athenians

God whom, without

knowing
offers

Plim, they were worshipping.

He

no proof of a divine existence, which

would have been superfluous in addressing

an audience the religiousness of which he has
already admitted
explain to
;

nor does he attempt to

make God

them the divine nature, so as to by human reason, which he knew to be impossible he simply
com23rehensible
;

offers to " declare "

God to

them, so as to give

DECLARATION OF GOD.
an objective reality to
tions,
tlieir

6i

inner convic-

and

to satisfy their longings after

God

with a just and true presentation of Him, so

far as

He

has

made Himself known

to us,

and

so far as

it is

possible for us to appre-

hend Him.
Hellenic

In doing this Paul shows an

intimate acquaintance with the state of the

mind on such

subjects,

and goes

at

once to throw the light of revelation on

those points on which Hellenic belief and
speculation had most completely erred from

the

truth, his

and got bewildered

and

lost.

With
also

announcements concerning God he

combines some declarations concerning

man, calculated at once to correct some of

the prevailing notions of the Athenians on
this head,

and

to

awaken

their consciences to

a just consideration of their

own

relations to

God.

He

thus, taking

ground,

seeks

to

them on their own bring them under the

power of that message of which he was the herald and from the platform of Natural
;

Eeligion, on
find a

which alone they and he could

footing at the outset, to con-

common

62

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
liiglier

duct tliem to that

revelation of

and moix special

he has given by
"

God

wliicli

means

of "

holy men,"

who
by

spake as they
-^

were moved by the Holy Ghost/'

The
" hath

apostle begins

asserting the crea-

tion of all things

by God.

God, he says,
all

made
it."

the world and

things that

are in

By "the
word he
title

world" here Paul does

not intend merely the globe which

habit
;

we

inis

the

uses.

Cosmos

(xoVo?),

one which the

has

of a famous

work

of

science, published

within these few years,

made

familiar to all as a term for the

ordered universe.^

By

the Greeks this term

was employed properly to denote the universe as under law, and reduced to steadfastness and regular order, as opposed to a state
of chaos
;

and though the

it

classical writers

sometimes use

to denote the heavens, its

proper meaning always remained present to

the Greek mind.
1
"^

To the Greeks the Cosmos

2 Peter

i.

21.
Sketch of a Physical Description of the Uni-

Cosmos

verse.

By Alexander von Humboldt.

COSMOS AND CREATION.

was pre-eminently
as Aristotle

d^^

defines

it,

"the system of heaven and earth and

natures embraced by these."
-^

all

In the

New
which

Testament the word

is

frequently restricted

to that part of the ordered universe

we

inhabit; but in other passages, besides

it is

that before us,

employed in

its

proper

sense as denoting that universe as a whole.

The application

of the

word

to the earth is
;

the result of a Hebraistic influence

in ad-

dressing the Athenians Paul would of course

use the word in the sense in which

it

would

be understood by them.

The Greeks speculated much concerning

the universe
;

but the idea of creation was

not familiar.

one with which they were

Some

of their philosophers believed in the

;

eternity of matter

others dreamt of a for-

tuitous concourse of atoms, out of

which

all

forms came to be arranged by a sort of happy

chance
;

while others taught that there was

a world-soul that dwelt in the heart of the

3

Koc/Aos lar]

6\)GTri[jjCiL

1^

oupuvov

y.ai

yrig

y.ai

rojv

64

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
it.

mass, and moved, moulded, and governed

In the popular mind there was simply a

confused sense of a gradation of Being from

man up
all

through heroes and demigods, and

gods of the lesser rank, and gods of the higher,

beings like man, whose existence had had
a beginning, and of whose descent
possible to write a history

what they

it

was

called

a Theogony.

In what this series terminated

tell
;

no

man

could

all

that the Theogonists

could venture to affirm was that Chaos was

first,

and from
the

it

sprang Erebus and black

Night,

parents of

Aether

and Day.^
possessed

Even
the "

the highest gods, those

who

many-valley ed 01ymj)us,"^ were supThe idea of

and Eternal Essence, by

posed to have had a beginning.

an
all

Infinite

whom

things were made, seems hardly to have

entered the popular mind.

Even such a

sublime thinker as Plato, though he reached

to the conception of
'

an eternally existing

Hesiod, Theogon., 116-123.

iToX-j'-rrw/og

OXv/j^Tog, Horn.,

II.

viii.

4-11

Hes.,

Theog., 115, seg.

HEATHEN NOTIONS
of being apprehended

01 GOD.

being/ and asserted that everything capable

by the

senses

must

have come into being and had an author/

yet seems to have been unable to rise higher

than the conception of a Demim^ge, or Su-

preme Arranger of the

absolutely perfect

primary matter,

according to an image or paradigm of an

world

and indeed he

confesses "that to discover the

Maker and
and
impossible
clear pene-

Father of the universe

adds, " that
to speak of

is

difficult ;"
it is

when

discovered,
to
all."^

Him

The

trating

mind
the

of Aristotle enabled

him
a

to

reach

definite

conception

of

First

Cause, a First Mover,

gent, immutable,

who must be

intelli-

and perfectly

blessed,

whom

he represented as pure actuality, the thought

of thought, the unity of the

knowing and

the

known

but even he could not preserve

himself from perplexity and inconsistency,

for

he maintains that the

Cosmos

is

also

eternal
^

and immutable, and

y'iVKSi'i

it

may be doubted
Tion., p. 27,
p.

70 oV as/,
-

h\

ovz

s'^ov.
'

D.

Ibid.

Tun.

28, C.

66
if,

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.

in his highest conception of God, he rose

above the idea of an immanent world-principle

not really distinguishable from the world
itself^

As

respects the philosophers of the

sects, to

Epicurean and Stoic

those

whom belonged

who

at this time surrounded Paul, they

were wholly in the dark upon this subject.

By

the Epicureans

it

was believed that the and misery,

intelligent

universe, being full of disorder

could not be the work

cause
;

of an

that

it

was the
;

result of a fortuitous

aggregation of atoms
its

and that the idea of

gods

being

made by

the

was incomas beings

patible with just views of

them

whose

felicity consists in eternal repose,

and

who, havino^ a chano^eless existence in the

space between the worlds, do nothing, and do

not create, either by themselves or through

the

medium

of others.

The

Stoics^

on the

other hand, whilst they accused the Epicu-

reans of Atheism, and whilst they held the

existence of the Deity, were not
*

much
Pol it.

nearer
1, etc.

Arist. Metaphys. xi.

7,

p.

1072

B.

vi.
7.

Comp. Meiners, Historia

Doctr.

De

Vero I)eo, sec.

CREATION UNTHINKABLE.
the world as
Creator;

67

anything like just views of His relation to

its

for they taught

that matter was eternal as well as God, and

that, as all real existences are corporeal,

God
fire.

also is so,

though in the refined form of

With them God was a dominant power within the world, not a personal existence out
side
it

and

distinct

from

it,

by

whom

it

had

been made.^

When

the philosophers were

thus in the dark,

we need

not wonder that

from among the mass of the people the idea

of a creation of the world

by God had

utterly

disappeared.

To
it

us,

accustomed from our infancy to

ascribe the existence of the universe to God,

may

appear strange that, in the minds of

intelligent

and inquiring persons,

as

these

Athenians were, even though heathens, so

much

error, obscurity,

and ignorance should

have existed on
denied
there
^

this point.

Now,

that they

were not without blame

;

for this is

not to be

for, as

the apostle teaches elsewhere,

is left

is

no

man who

without a revesec.

Schwegler, Geschichte der Philosophie,

17 and 18.

68

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
tlie

lation of God, tlie visible creation being a

constant witness for

of

power and divinity

been made
;

Him by
of

wliom
is

it lias

so tbat

they who, notwithstanding this showing to

them
of
all

what

known

of God, refuse or
as the Creator

neglect to acknowledge

Him

things, are without excuse/

it is

At the

same time,

not surprising that ignorance

point should exist where

or error on this

men

are not favoured with an authoritative

reo^ardino; it

message

from God.

It is to

be

remembered
ence

-that the fact of creation is

one

which transcends the sphere of our experi;

and

that,

even when the fact

is

made

known
it

to us,

we

are quite unable to realise

in thought.

We

can conceive neither a

Being who has had no beginning, nor a

Being

who has

absolutely

begun

to

be.

We
we
rise

speak of the eternity of God, but, except

as a negation of

any commencement of being,

definite

attach

no

idea to the words.

How

can we,
to

who
^

are

but of yesterday,
of a

the

conception
Rom.
i.

Being

who

20.

UNBEGUN BEING.
stretches

69

away
"

amid
past,

tlie

obscurities

of

an unrevealecl
limit
?

and never reaches a

"

Could we," says Dr. Chalmers,

strides, at

by

any number of successive

reach the
spirits

length

fountain-head of
rest.

duration,
to think
;

our
of
to

might be at

But

duration as

having no fountain-head
;

think of time with no beginning

the imagination

to uplift

along the heights

of an

antiquity which hath positively no

to soar these

summit

upward

steeps

till,

dizzied

by

the altitude,

wing

for

we can keep no the mind to make

longer on the
these repeated

flights

from one pinnacle to another, and,

instead of scaling the mysterious elevation,

to lie baffled at its foot, or lose itself

among
length
:

the

far,

the long-withdrawing recesses of

distance,

that primeval

which

at

merges away into a fathomless unknown

this is

an exercise utterly discomfiting to the

puny
he

faculties of

man.

We
'

are called on,"

adds, " to stir ourselves

up that we may
clouds and dark-

take hold of God; but the

ness which are round about

Him' seem

to

70

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE,
;

repel the enterprise as hopeless

if
if

and man,

as

overborne by a sense of

littleness, feels as

nothing can be done but to make prostrate

all his

obeisance of

faculties before

Him."^

But

to this conclusion
is

his heart

right

man will come only if with God and he delights

It

to adore

where he caimot comprehend.

will be different,

where the fear of God has

ceased to predominate in

men s

minds, and

where they
of

" like

not to retain the knowledge

hearts.

Him"

in their

With such the

impossibility of realising the divine eternity

will furnish

motive
it

sufficient for relinquish;

ing belief in

altogether

and

pass easily to a belief in gods

to be,

so men will who have begun

and
to

will relieve themselves

from

all

perplexing
universe

questions

by relinquishing the the primal domain of Chaos,

of a Being

Erebus, and black Night.

The mind, unable to think

has never begun to be,
is

who

equally unable to

think this Being as beginning to create, or as

creating in the proper sense of the term.
^

Natural Theology^

cli. i.,

Worlis^ vol.

i,,

p. 18.

WHAT IS CREATIONS
How
there
are
is

71

we

to conceive of God, witli

whom

no change, as passing out of the

solitude of his
filling

own

eternity to

commence
existence
?

unpeopled

space

with

Whether we
volence,
it

ascribe creation to the action

of intelligence or to the promptings of beneis

alike

impossible

for

us to

understand

how He who

inhabiteth eternity

should have begun in time, or more properly,

as Augustine teaches us, witli time,^ to

obey

these impulses.
creation
?

And what
say
it is
;

idea have

we

of

Men

the

bringing of

something out of nothing

really

but these are

for

words that convey no meaning;

that the

sum

of being in the universe should

is

be increased out of not-being

utterly

a position

inconceivable
it

by
;""

us.

The Bible
which
are

describes

as " a calling of things

not so as that they are

the things, for

but this very lan-

guage seems to imply a jyrevious existence of

how can
?

that be called which

does not exist

^

thoughtful writer has

tempore sed cum
'

Non

est mundus factus in

tem];)ore.

Be

Civit, Dei, xi. 6.

Rom.

iv. 17.

72

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
the things
to

suggested that

which the

apostle refers are " the eternal possibilities of

the divine will/'^ and that the apostle represents

tion.

God

as calling these into actual realisa-

This comes very near to the doctrine

of a late eminent philoso]3her of our

own age
?

and country, who

tion,
is

says, in reply to the ques" It

"What

is

our thought of creation

not a thought of the mere springing of

nothing into something.

creation
is

On
is

the contrary,

conceived and

by us confiat

ceivable, only as the evolution of existence

from possibility into actuality by the

the Deity
;"

of

and

in a note he adds, "

The

Divine

fiat

was the proximate cause

of the

creation;

and thus Deity, containing the

eff'ect."^

cause, contained potentially the

this,

But

though

it is

the proper statement of the

case,

and

as such throws light

on the apostle's

words, leaves the subject itself in as great

obscurity as ever.

The

subject, in fact,

is.

beyond our reach.

^
"^

We

must be content
sec. 61..

to

Martensen, Ckristliche Dogmatih,

Sir

W. Hamilton,

Discussions, p. 620.

SOURCE OF IDOLATRY.
receive
tlie

73

fact
fact,

on competent evidence,
it

simply as a
ignorance,

without comprehending

our highest philosophy but proclaims

our
if

and bids us be humble.

is

But

men
late

will not be humble, if they will specu-

within a sphere which

too high for

them, w^iat wonder that they should go sadly

astray,

mistaking the

meteor-glimmer of
for the

their

own imagination
?

true

light,

until they are hopelessly bewildered, if not

utterly lost

But though men, through the influence

of ungodliness, are led astray in their con-

ceptions of
verse,

God and
still

his relation to the uni-

they

retain their original capacity

for receiving the truth

on these

subjects,

and

they
of

still

have within them a consciousness

impels them to worship and
it
is

God which
To

trust.

this

to be ascribed that

when men, through

aside from

disliking to retain the

knowledge of God in their thoughts, turned

Him, they swerved

into idolatry

To the ungodly heart the most satisfactorv assurance would be that

into Atheism.

and not

74

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

offers,

whicli the

latter

"that there

is

no

his rational as well as his moral and takes a and instinctive nature
nature
recoils
;

God."^

But from such an assurance man's

it

long process of intellectual hardening and

familiarity with sophistry to induce
to regard
it

any one
on the
does

with favour.

Idolatry,

contrary,

however
it

irrational

in

itself,

not so directly shock the religious instincts

of

man

rather seems to foster

as
it

and favour
relieves

them; and

at the

same time

man from
to retain,
race,
it

such thoughts of God, in his

has cauo;ht in
snare the entire

majesty, purity, and power, as he desires not

its

with the exception of those to

whom

verbal revelation has been sent from God.

In recognising the religious nature of man,

however, and in providing for
preserves the
for it leaves
it,

idolatry

means of

its

own overthrow
when God
is

open the way of access to man's

soul for the message of truth

pleased to send

it,

and lays a platform on

to declare to
xiy. 1.

which those

who have
'

men

the

Psalm

GOD THE ALL-MAKER.

true

75

God can

at once take tlieir stand.

Of

this St.

Paul availed himself in his address

to the Athenians.

When

he proclaimed to

them that "God made the world and all things that are therein," and that "He is
Lord of heaven and
earth/'

he

felt

assured

that the mere announcement

of the truth

would

flash conviction

on the minds of his

hearers,

and would
in

find a response in the in-

delible feelings of their hearts.

The words

which the

apostle's state-

ment

here

is

contained are few, but they have

reli-

a wide significancy as relating to the

oious beliefs and usao;es of those to

whom

they were addressed.

Not only did they

characterised
their

throw a luminous ray across the darkness

and

confusion

which

notions

of the universe,

but in them he

proclaimed the Unity of the Godhead, and

the sole lordship of the one
universe

He had
all

framed.

God over the " God that made

:

the world and

things therein " Here

all

is

an emphatic denial of

polytheistic

and

dualistic notions as to the origin

and govern-

76

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.

ment of the world there is but one God, and by Him alone have all things been made
that are within the compass of the ordered
universe.
"

God made
;

the world

:"
is

Here

is

an emphatic assertion that God

from Nature
its totality

distinct

that neither
is it

is

the universe in

God, nor
as its

an emanation from

Him, nor
of

is it

the mere outward investiture

Him who,
it
;

Mind
has

or Soul, informs

and

moves

it is

a "product of His plastic hand,

a thing which

He

made

distinct

from

Himself, even as

an
"is

artificer

might make

something for use or for ornament by his

fellowmen.
earth:''

God
is

Lord

of heaven

and
has

Here

an assertion

of the sole

supremacy of God over the universe

framed
;

He

that which His

possesses

hand has made His

;

hand alone
" the lords

and upholds

so that

many,"

amongst whom

the Greeks

believed that the presidency and control of

the universe are distributed, were but the idle

creations of fancy, or a vain attempt to relieve

man

of the vast idea of a superintend-

ing Providence, by representing the govern-

REACH OF ST. FA UFS STATEMENT.

meiit of
eartlily
laro^e

77

Heaven as analogous monarch who, unable

to deputies

to that of an
to survey his

domain, or to conduct

its affairs

him-

self, allots it

and

satraps,

by whom
on
this

its

affairs are

administered.
first fell

By

these few

words, w^hich

from his

lips

occasion, the apostle boldly

pushed aside a

whole host of errors to which the Athenians

had given place

a vigorous

in their minds,

and by which

they had been bewildered and injured.

With

hand

he, as it were,

swept from

the firmament of their religious consciousness the clouds that had been hanging dark and

saddening over
lio^ht

it,

and

let

the pure bright

all

of truth,

which had been

fantastic,

the while

shining behind the veil, flash upon their

minds.

For a
for

though poetical mytrue revelation of

thology, he gave

them a
and
their

God
had

an

idle

frivolous Theogony,

on

which some even of

own

philosophers

cried shame,^ he

gave them a true and

strong Theology, from which the most en-

lightened philosophers
'

may

learn
fF.

lessons,

Plato,

De

Repuhlica, p. 377,

78

ST.

PA UnS DISCO URSE.

may
be

and of which the highest philosophy

proud
to be the minister.

The

apostle leaves these inferences to be

his position

drawn from
themselves
;

there are

by his hearers for two others, of a more

practical kind,

which he formally announces

their attention.

and presses on
the former
is,

Of
of

these

shipped

God is not through the medium

that
is,

to be wor-

what

is is

merely outward; the other

that

God

supremely independent of man's worship,

and needs no

service at his hand.

On

both

these points the Athenians were under the

influence of deep

and blinding
it

error.

When

they erected a temple to any of

they spent on
all

their gods,

the

skill

and treasure they could command, not with a view of rendering it more commodious for
the worshippers,
or

more adapted

to

the

ends of worship, or more productive of a

good

religious

result

by heightening the

devotional feeling of the people

by whom

it

was frequented; but because they thought

in this

way

to gratify the

god and render

TEMPLES AND STATUES.

him
propitious to tliem.

79

"With

the same
to

view they called in the aid of sculpture

make
ment
came

beautiful representations of the gods

imagining that they thereby paid a complito the deity,

and would induce him

to

be present in his representative when they

to pray to him.

We

need not suppose

a house,

that they seriously thought that the deity in-

habited the temple as a

man might

or that the statue of marble or bronze or

wood

before

which they bent was the god

it

but they did think that

was only through

such means that he could be worshipped,

and that by the providing of such means

their interest

with him could be advanced.

is

Closely
error
that,

connected with this

the other
:

on which the apostle here animadverts

namely, of supposing that a
to

man
to

could

be

" profitable

God" by giving
needed.

Him

something that
intended as

He

Not only were

towards the
still

these splendid temples and beautiful statues

gifts to propitiate
;

donor the favour of the deity

notions

grosser

had hold of the

minds

of

the

8o

ST.

FA UrS DISCO URSE.

thought that the gods had
capable of supplying,

people

tliey

wants which

man was

and that by
fices

costly offerings

and

rich sacri-

they not only expressed their homage,

benefits

but actually effected a claim upon the deity

him by their Eeligion was thus made wholly an gifts.^ outward thing a matter of rites and ceremoniesa transaction of barter and exchange between the worshipper and the The idea of a communion between deity. by the
conferred on

the

soul

and God,

expressing

itself

in

humble

contrition for sin

and loving

trust-

fulness for grace

and blessing on the part of

and
rich

man, and of compassionate tenderness, gracious

condescension,

unmerited

beneficence on the part of God, had almost

entirely vanished

from their minds.

Here

and there one more enlightened than the

rest

might be heard reclaiming against the

gross notions

by which the multitude were

ensnared, and proclaiming that God needed not human ministrations, and that whosoever
1

See Horn. 11,

i.

39-42.

MER CENAR Y RELIGION.

did

homage

to

God

as

needing anything,

forgot that,

by

so doing, he virtually pro;^

nounced himself better than God

the mass of the people these voices

but on
withthe

fell

out effect
cherished,

for

them the temple was

necessary

still

the

dwelling-place of

the deity, and the costly offering the proper

and indispensable means of procuring

favour.

his

How

could

it

be otherwise so long

as the primary falsehood

remained which

denied the unity, the sole supremacy, and

the spirituality of
to believe in " gods
if

God ? If men are taught many and lords many,"

it

they are taught to regard the universe as

as not

not God's creature, and to view

under his

sole

control,

but as under the

vain

management
against

of a hierarchy of collateral or
it is

dependent powers,
the

to

declaim
or

grossness

of

idolatry

the

vanity of outward and mercenary worship.

^

Ipsa

[Diviim
oirog

natura]
I.

suis

pollens
Tii^q.

opibus,

niliil

indiga nostri.
'TT^oadsoixsvoVj

Lucret.

57.

S<S7ig

rhv ^zov

ug

XiXr,&v

o}6/j,svog

savrhv rov '^sov

zlvai

zoitrrova.

Hierocles in Carm. Aur. Pythagor. p. 25.

82

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
tliis

However obvious

may

appear to reason,

the mind, obscured and perplexed

by funda-

mental error as to the being and perfections

of God,
is

not in a

fit

state to feel the force

of the appeal.

Clearly perceiving this, the apostle pro-

claimed to these idolatrous Athenians

of all
is

first

that

One

Grod

who made
;

the world and

Lord of heaven and earth

and then he
that to

pressed upon

them the

inference

think of such a Being as one

for

who

could seek

accommodation

in an earthly temple, or

stand in need of help from

human

hands,

is

simply absurd.

The

apostle enters into

no

lengthened argument against idolatry, nor

does he indulge in any scornful or bitter
ridicule of idolatry, as he

might legitimately
of the Christian

have done,
prophets,^

after the examj^le of the ancient

and

as several

Fathers of a later age have done f he con^

Comp.

Is. xliv.

9-20
Aiiol.

Jer. x. 3-5
c.

Hab.

ii.

18, 19.

See TertuUian,
Iclolorum
;

10-16

Cyprian,
;

tate

Arnobius, Contr. Gentes

Be VaniAugustine, Be

Civitate Bei.

THE DIVINE
tents

UNITY.
to

83

Mmself with a calm appeal

true perfections of

the

reason of his hearers, after he has set before

them the
enough
?

God

in relation

to the universe.

Was

not such an appeal

Having

cleared
all

away the

error

that was the parent of

in religion,

their other errors

for his

what more was required

purpose than an appeal to the

of the intelligent audience he

common

sense
?

had before him

The

inference

which

St.

Paul drew as to
worshipped

the absurdity of supposing that a Being such

as he declared

God

to be could be

by men's hands, as if He needed anything, is made by him the point of transition to

another part of
his

declaration

that

in to

which he

sets forth the relation of

God

man
this

as a Father.

To the consideration

of

branch of the apostle's discourse we shall

proceed in next Lecture.

The truths concerning God, which the

apostle brings into prominence in that part
of his discourse
ing, are

which we have been studySpirituality.

is

His Unity and His

The Divine Unity

a doctrine with

84

ST.
all

FA UrS DISCO URSE.

phenomena
of the

which

the

natural

world, rightly interpreted,

is certified

fall in,

but which
revelation

to us

by the written
this,

alone.

Apart from

there

is

so

much

to

be said on both sides by the theology of

nature, that a solid

and

settled belief in the

divine unity seems unattainable

by those

who have no
such.

other guide but that, and in

point of fact never has been possessed by

the

Where men have been able to rise to conception of God as the Absolute and
they have of necessity been conto

Infinite,

strained

think of

Him

as

monadic

essence

for there cannot be

two Absolutes

or Infinites.

But

to

such conceptions of

God only a very few of the higher spirits among the heathen have ever approached.

It

is

the Bible alone that proclaims

to us, in a

way
This

to reach the convictions of

is

mankind, the great truth that there

one God.
it

but

does repeatedly and

forms,^
;

em
18

phatically and
^

in various
35,
;

thereby
5,

See Dent.
;

iv.

39
1

vi.

Is.

xiv.

6,

xliv. 8

Jolin xvii. 3

Cor.

viii. 4, etc.

THE DIVINE SPIRITUALITY.

supplementing the conclusions of
reason,

85

natural
to

and giving form and substance

those indications which nature supplies of

this

great truth, but which, without such

dogmatical teaching as the Bible furnishes,

must

ever

remain

uncertain

and unim-

pressive.

The same may be

said of the doctrine of

the Divine Spirituality.

To

this doctrine,

when dogmatically
once responds
cognise a
Eternal,
;

enunciated,

reason

at

for it is impossible

to re-

Being as Independent,

Infinite,

and Omnipotent, otherwise than

under the supposition of His being pure

Spirit.

But experience amply shows that

cannot so think of God.

man,

left to himself,

Himself
limited,

by materialism and he cannot raise his mind to the

surrounded
limits,

conception of an immaterial Being

a Being
;

without parts, without

without form,

without appreciable relations to space

a bodily
idolatry.

and

hence he invariably attributes to his deity

shape,

and sinks gradually into

It is the firm, emphatic, abiding

86

ST.

FA UBS DISCOURSE.

enunciation of the Divine Spirituality in the

written
belief of

Word which
this

alone

preserves the

in

the minds of

men

one

beneficial result

among many,

of our possess-

ing what some have contemptuously depreciated as a " Book-Eevelation."

IV.
St.

Paul's Discourse

The

Fatherhood

OF God.

As

the apostle surveyed the

buildings of

Athens, whether during his walks through

the city, or as he beheld
before
it

stretched out
of the Areo-

hhn from the summit

pagus, he might probably be struck with the

contrast which the provision for the public

and the
mestic

religious

life

of the citizens pre-

sented to that which existed for their dolife

or

individual

well-being.

On

every side he might behold what was in-

tended to exalt the gods and glorify the

people
;

but for man, as man,

little

would
for his

seem

to be cared,

and but
all

little

done

comfort.
edifices

Amidst

the costly and splendid

his view, he

which rose before

would

discover none that were devoted to the cause

88

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.

of liumanity

no

hospitals for the sick, no

refuge for the destitute, no asylum for the

insane,

no home

for the

orphan/

Even the

dwellings of the inhabitants presented an

aspect of meanness and discomfort which, in

a people so skilled in architecture, bespoke

an utter disregard of the ordinary comforts

of civilised
life.

The

streets in

which the
ill-

people dwelt were narrow, irregular, and

paved; their shops were mere open, un glazed

booths
;

and even the abodes of the most

to

wealthy and most noble were immensely

inferior

those

with which the apostle,

coming

from

Palestine

and Asia Minor,

would be familiar

as occupied

by persons

of

much
^

inferior rank.^
exception must be

May we

not say that,

general statethe Athenians

An

ment
war
up

in respect of the provision

made to this made by

;

for the education of orjDhans Avhose fathers

(Plato,

had

fallen in
I.

Menexen.
II.

p.

248 D.

Diog.

Laert,

55

Thucyd. Bk.
age, after

chap. 35, 43, 46).

These were brought

at the public expense till they

were twenty years of

If.

which they received military aj^pointments.

however,
*

we may

believe
;

Aristophanes,
Cf.

this

was not
seq.

always very faithfully done

Thesmoph. 449,

Wordsworth, Athens and

Attica, p. 57.

GOD A FATHER.
in

89

the

contrast

thus

glaringly

exhibited,

there

was a

sort of typical representation of

the

tendency and
it

operation

of

idolatry,

which, whilst
senting
it

lowers the divine

idealised

by

repre-

as

a mere

humanity,

utterly overrides the

human, and defrauds

man
and

of his best rights, his truest dignity,

his purest

enjoyments

Whether the

apostle noticed this

anomaly

or not, his discourse shows that he recog-

nised in the idolatry of the Athenians false

and misleading conceptions of men,

as ignorant

as well

and dishonouring conceptions of

then, the
'

God.
truth,

In proclaiming to them,

he had to correct the one

;

sefc

of errors

as well as the other

offshoots of the

and

as the

two were
closely

same

stock,

and were

intertwined with each other, his discourse

touches sometimes on the one and sometimes

on the
is

other. His doctrine concerning man o presented to us as involved in just views

of God's relation to

man
of

as a Father, as a

Governor, and as a Judge.

The

conce23tion

God

as

Father

90

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
to tlie
this

was not altogether strange

heathens.

ancient

The

apostle

in

discourse

cites witnesses

from amongst themselves to

\-

the fact of the divine paternity

tain of your

''

As

cer-

own

poets have said, For

we

are his offspring."

The words quoted by

the

the apostle are to be found in two ancient

poems
Aratus,

still

extant,

Phsenomena

of

who was

a native of Paul's
;

own

province of Cilicia
of Cleanthes,

and the

Hymn

to Jove,

Mysia.^
apostle

who was a native of Assos, in With both of their writings the was probably familiar it may be,

more

so than
;

many
and

of those
this

who then

sur-

rounded him

may

be the reason

why

he took a citation from them, when

there were so

many
"

of the poets

whom

the

Athenians would more heartily have acknowledged as their

own," by

whom

the same

sentiment had been uttered.^ In any case, the

^

The words
rou

of Aratus are exactly those cited

by the
Those

apostle
of

yap
are

Cleanthes

xai yhog
Ix

sff/j^sv,

Plicenom.
io/xs'i/,

5.

coD

yao

ysvog

Hymn, ad

Jov. 5.
^

See

Wetstein on the passage, and Professor

Max

GOD THE CREATOR-FATHER.

apostle's quotation

91

must be regarded
;

in the

light of

an accommodation

for

by none

of

the Greek poets was the sentiment uttered

in

the

same sense
it

as that

in

which he
used of

applies

here.

With them
;

it Avas

their fabled deity

Zeus or Jupiter, or vaguely

nor did they attach
of the actual
to the

of the gods in general

to
it

any very
in

definite idea

relation

which man thus stood

higher existences.
ever, of

In the utterance, how-

such a sentiment, the apostle saw

the concession, in words at least, of the truth

he wished to enforce, and he skilfully lays

hold of this to conduct his hearers to the
full

and

intelligent apprehension of

it.

The

apostle illustrates the Fatherhood of

God

as manifested in the creation

"

and
;"

sus-

tenance of mankind.
says, "
life,

He

giveth to
all

all,''

he

and breath, and

things

and

this

more general statement he

particularly

reiterates

more

when he
all
Science

asserts that

"God
for
Ser.,

made
Miiller,
p.

of one blood
Lectures

nations of
of Language,

men
Sec.

on

the

459, Cf.

92

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

all

to dwell

on

the face of
live

tlie earth/'

and

that "in

Him we

and move and have

our being."

In these assertions the apostle

not only struck at the pride and error of the

Athenians,

who

boasted of themselves that

they were Autochthones, sprung from the

soil

on which they dwelt

but

he also

denounced the notion, then common among

all nations,

that each people had a peculiar

origin,

and independent
the race.

and so that there

was no common bond

of

humanity uniting

He

set himself also directly against

the opinion so agreeable apparently to the

natural mind, that
self, or,

man

is

sufficient for

him-

if

he depends upon a higher power,

it

is

only as one

other,

man may depend on anwhose offices he may secure by some

service
or

reciprocal

compensatory

gift.

Leaving the subject of the unity of the

human

race for sej)arate investigation, let us

at present dwell for a little on the general

truth brought before us by the apostle, that

God

is

the Father of
all.

all,

as the Creator

and

Preserver of

ANALOGIES ON WHICH THIS RESTS.

God can
only by similitudes and analogies

93

be represented to our minds

;

and tbese
to

can never express what

He

is

in Himself,

but only Avhat

creatures.

He
no

is

in relation

His

Now,

in relation to

His

intelli-

gent

creatures,

similitudes

can more

vividly represent

God

to us than such as are

relations of depen-

drawn from the various

dence which
Accordingly,

men
it is

sustain

to

each

other.

of these the sacred writers

and teachers

chiefly

make use

in seeking to

convey just views of

Him whom

they were
to us as a

commissioned and aided by Himself to make

known

to

men

speaking of Him
a Father.

King, as a Guide, as a Leader, as a Provider,

but most of

all as

It is easy to discover

on what analogies
is

this representation of

God

founded.

As

an earthly father
the

is

the instrumental source

of his child's existence,

first

and

as

it

is

one of

duties of a parent to provide for the

sustenance, protection,
children, so He,

and well-being
is

of his

who

the real author of

our

being,

and

from

whose

exhaustless

94

ST.
all

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.

bounty

our supplies are drawn, expresses

the relation in which

we

thus stand to

Him

by

calling Himself our Father.

is

The term,
a figurative

consequently, as thus used,

one.

The
and

figure

employed, however, not

it is

only expresses a reality, but of this

just
close

so

an expression, that
fact.

it

almost
direct

ceases to be

a figure,

and becomes a

enunciation of an actual

God
Father
not one

is

the Father of

mankind
not
;

as the
all

Creator of man.

"Have we

one

asks the Prophet Malachi

"

hath

God

created us T^ where the paternal

character of

God is placed in

parallel

with His

relation to us as our Creator.

efiect
is

To the same
he

the representation of the apostle

;

here in his address to the Athenians

derives the relation in

which man stands to

God as his Father from the fact that God made all men, and that in Him all men live^
and move, and have their being. It is not, however, the mere fact of creation that lies
at the basis of this relation.
1

If this

were

all,

Mai.

ii.

10.

THE FATHER OF
God might be
mate
as well
is

SPIRITS.

95

called the Father of all inanias

animated beings, whereas

the term

applied to

Him

only in his relaIn Scripture

tion to intelligent creatures.

only angels and

and

do not

men are called sons of God know that even among the
as extending
it

heathen the fatherhood of their supreme god

was conceived of
,ferior

beyond

in-

gods and men, save as

was involved
all-perlife

in

vague pantheistic notions of an

Certainly

vading influence, the source of universal

in nature.
it

was

in his relation to

intelligent beings alone that the highest artistic

embodiment of the Greek conception of

statue of Phidias, on

their

supreme god was produced, in the famous

which the Athenians

gazed with unceasing reverence, and not to

have seen which was held to be one of the

greatest of calamities/

All this points to a

consciousness on the part of

to

man

of a relation

God

higher than that of mere creation

to

a relation which has

do with

man

as

possessed of reason and a moral sense.

^

Man

Miiller, Ancient Art, pp. 75,

362, Leitch's Translation.

96
feels

ST.
that,

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

he
is

thus endowed,

not only

raised infinitely above the brutes that perish,

but that there

is

in

some sense an

affinity

thereby established between him and the

Being of beings

whom

he worships.

The

truth of this the Bible fully recognises, and

in the Bible alone do

and true expression.

cially

we find its real basis God is our Father, not

as the

only as the former of our bodies, but espe-

and supremely
"

Author

to us of

intelligence
is

and moral discrimination.

the Father of
live
^

He
by
of
all

emphatically

subjection to

whom we
all flesh,"

Spirits,^'

" the

God

the spirits of
beings
are.

in

whose hand

And

all this falls

back on the

original account of man's creation,

where we
fa-

are told not

only that after

God had
life

shioned

man

of the dust of the earth,

He
and

"breathed into him the breath of

man became
in the image
this
^

a living soul," but also that,

thus brought into existence,

man was made

It is

and likeness of God.^

on

ground that
xii.

Adam

is
^

emphatically
ii.

Heb.

Num.

xvi. 22.

Gen.

i.

27.

GOD THE
first

LIFE-GIVER.

97

called in Scripture " the son of

God/

as tlie

on

whom was

bestowed

this sublime

gift of

standing forth the spiritual represenimage, and analogue of

tative,

God

and

though sin has sadly marred

imaoje,

this once fair

and has robbed

all

it

of

some of

its

choicest lines,

enough yet remains to

raise

man
and

above

God's creatures here, and give

to his relation to

God

as his Father a

worth

a dignity

which mere creation could

has

not confer.

And
"

as

God

made

us, so it is

He who
life,

sustains

and preserves us from day to day.

and
live

He," says the apostle, " giveth us

breath,

and

all

things.

In

Him we

and move, and have our being."

faculties of
faculties,
life,

All the

the power to exercise these

and the favourable circumstances

by which the exercise of them is rendered easy and pleasant to us, come to us as the
gift of

God.

He

has established

all

those

fine adaptations

between us and the outer

life is

world by means of which our

'

sustained

Luke

iii.

38.

98

ST.

FA UnS DISCO URSE.

are

and innumerable sources of enjoyment

opened to us
;

and

it

is

His constant care

whicli preserves these adaptations, and maintains the conditions

on which our receiving

All things,

the advantages of

them depends.
life
is

by the uses

of

which our

continued

and made prosperous, are kept

order and utility
all

in being

and

by Him. He preserveth things by the word of His power in His

;

hand

is

the soul of every living thing, and

all

the breath of

mankind.
our
life

In

Him we

live;

apart from

Him

would decay, and

be extinguished as a flame which had been

suddenly deprived of
In

its

sustaining element.

Him we

miove

apart from

Him we
life

are

not only inert and helpless, but not even

such movement as sustains the

of plants

would be possible
our being
"

for us.

"

In
;

Him we have
apart from

in

Him we

are

Him we
we
is

should not only cease to be wdiat

all
;

are,

but we should cease to be at

it

only the hand of

God

that interposes be-

tween us and

annihilation.

He

is

thus to us

an ever OTacious and bountiful Father, watch-

MEN LIVE
ing over
iis

IN GOD.

99

with a ceaseless care and un;

wearied tenderness

causing His sun to rise

;

upon the

evil as well as the. good

ever

testi-

fying Himself to men, "in that

He

doeth good
fruitful

and giveth us rain from heaven, and

seasons,
filling

our hearts with food

and

gladness/'^

There

is

a peculiarity in the language of

the apostle in the statement

last considering,

we have been
slightly
it

which must not be

does not,

passed over.
" in

He

will be

ob-

served, say, " hy

Him"

or " through Him,''

but
our

Him we live and move and have being." Now this phraseology must
it

neither be explained away, on the one hand,

as if
is

to

meant nothing more than that God us the author, somehow, of life, and
and existence
;

motion,

nor,

on the other

hand, must

we

allow ourselves to be per-

suaded that the apostle's words contain any

sanction of that view of

God which

con-

founds

Him with the

creation, or the creation

with Him.

We

are
^

bound

to believe that in

Acts

xiv. 17.

oo

ST.

FA UnS DISCO URSE.

some sense we have our being in God, and

not merely /rom
yet

Him

and through Him; and

of

we must beware

any view which

would lead us to deny or overlook the distinction

which personally discriminates us from

God.

The

apostle,

we may be

sure,

would

be especially on his guard on this occasion

against uttering anything that would seem
to give the remotest countenance to such a

view

for this

was one of the great

of

errors of

the Stoics,

by some

whom

he was at that
the apostle's

moment

surrounded.

What was

meaning here we may gather from the connection with this of his immediately preced

ing statement, that

God

is

not far from any

one of

us.

This implies at once proximity

and

distinction,

intimacy of relation, and yet

;

difference of personality

and, in connection

with

this,

we may
life
is

infer,

that the

immanence

of man's

in God, of

which the apostle

here speaks,

an immanence, not of nature

or essence, but only of relation

and
is

effect

that

man

lives in

God, not as

if

he were one
so en-

with God, but in the sense that he

THIS

NOT PANTHEISTIC.
it,

loi

compassed with the divine influence that he

cannot pass beyond

and

so dependent

on

the divine hand that he cannot exist

away
'*'

from

it.

" I

doubt not," says Calvin,

that

Paul means that we are in a sense contained

in God,
virtue.

inasmuch as

He

dwells in us

by His

And though God

we may know
alone
as
is
;

separates himself

from
ing,

all

His creatures by the name of Jehothat, properly speak-

vah, that

He

yet

we

subsist in

Him,

inasmuch
His
world

He

quickens and sustains us by

all

Spirit.
is

For through

parts of the

the power of the Spirit diffused,

preserving

them

in their condition,

and supmotion

plying to heaven and earth the vigour which

we

see,

and

to animate beings also

not as frenzied

men

foolishly talk, that all

things are full of the gods, nay, that the

very stones are gods, but because God, by

the marvellous vigour and instinct of His
Spirit, preserves

whatever

He

has

created.''^

We

are thus taught to realise God's preser-

vation of us, not as a result merely of certain

Comment, on
this place.

02

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE. He

has
insti-

laws and arrangements which

ttited,

and continues in operation

for

our

benefit,

but as the consequence of God's con-

stant presence with us, care of us, thought

concerning

us,

and acting

for us.

It is a

favourite notion with

many that God governs

;

the world only

by general laws

that having

organised this

universal system,

and

fitly

adjusted
retired
it is

all its

parts to each other,

it,

He
and

has
left

from the active control of

to w^ork

on of

itself

so that the universe

set a-

like a vast

machine which has been

going,

and

will continue to go

on without

intermission
ever.

by

its

own

inherent forces for

But

it is

not so that either the Bible

or a

sound philosophy teaches us to view

Whilst
is
it

the matter.

is

undoubtedly
less true that

true,

that the universe

under the guidance of

great general laws,

it is

no

God

has the whole under his immediate control,

and

reo;ulates

the whole accordino^ to His

plan.

own

will
;

and

The course
is

of nature

is

uniform

the laws of nature are constant

;

and reOTlar

but this course

elastic,

and

NATURE REGULAR BUT ELASTIC.

these laws leave
free
lis

103

room

for the introduction of

and rational agents.

that

Experience teaches

even we can interpose amid the

desire

operation of natural laws, so as to secure

results

how much more, then, may not God so interpose when He sees meet ? If man may come in among nature's
which we
;

laws,

and without interrupting their

action,

find scope for affecting his

carrying out his

own purposes and own thoughts, how much

Him, by

more

is

this possible for

whom

all

these laws have been instituted, and

who
Here,

holds the entire universe in His hand?

then,
is

the

point

at

which Faith comes

Wliilst she recogfor-

in with her lesson, to supplement those of

science

and observation.
all

nises the world as a

grand machine, she

bids us to believe that

events are brought

about by the mere action of natural laws.

She reminds us that the world

itself;

is

not

left to

but that over

its

material organisa-

tion

and natural order there presides an

and all-potent Mind,
for carrying out

infinite

the

purposes and thoughts

of

which the

104

ST,

FA UnS DISCO URSE.

elasticity of nature affords continual facility.

We

can thus go forth along our path in the

it is

assurance that

not a blind

fate,

not an

insensate mechanism, not a dead law that

determines our

affairs;

but that God's hand

is

is

around us, and God's eye

counsel
is

upon us, and God's

guiding us; that His "thoughts

are towards

us;"

that His mighty Spirit

breathes and energises on every side of us

and that thus encompassed by God

grandly true that "In

it

is

Him we live, and move,

God To

and have our being."

As our
Him,
and

creator, then, and. preserver,

stands to us in the relation of a father.

in this capacity,

may we

all

approach
it

to

Him,

as thus related to us,

behoves

us to render reverence and worship.

From
all

Him

all

receive their being,

and in

Him

continue to exist.

His hands have made

:

and fashioned our bodies

formed the
spirit

it is
;

He who hath
and
it

within us

is

by

His inspiration that we have understanding.^

Our

position in

life,
*

the circumstances of our

xxxii, 8.

Job

GOD CARETH FOR

birth, the

US.

105

growth and training of our inner

nature, the events of our entire history,

and

the varied influences that have moulded and

modified our characters, have

all

been under

His
as

control,

and have come into operation

It is

He saw

meet.

He who
;

has kept us

from the

first

until

now

holding us in the

hollow of His hand, and never for one instant,

by day
all

or

by

night,

withdrawing from us His

watchful eye.
our wants

The bounty that has supplied

is

His.

The Providence that

many a perilous path, and warded ofi" from us many a destructive blow, and brought smiling to us many a kindly influence, is His. And His is the wisdomhas guarded us on

guided finger that has been regulating that

vast though unseen workino; of education

and
to

discipline,

under whose constant and

plastic influence

we have been
then,
;

brought, and

which
to

it

is

mainly owing that we are

what we

are.

To Him,

it

behoves

all

men
it

come

as to a Father

at His footstool

becomes them to bend

as grateful, reve;

rent,

and obedient children

to

Him

ous^ht

io6

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
all

the sacrifice of thanksgiving and of praise to

be offered by
all to

continually

and
love,
lies

to

His

fatherly wisdom, tenderness,

and

ought
before
if

commit

their

way

for

what

them

of the journey of

life,

assured that

they acknowledge
In asserting
creator

Him
God's

in all their ways.

He
the

will direct their paths.-^

fatherhood
all

as

and preserver of

men, the apostle

had
their

in view, not only the recalling of these

Athenians to just thoughts of God, and of

own

true worth in relation to

Him, but

the arousing of their consciences to a sense

of
sin, in that,

being God's offspring, they had

" not

honoured him as God, neither been

thankful."-

For such neglect of

Him and
guiltless.

His claims
" If," said " If I

God

will not hold

men

He

to the

Jews by the prophet,

is

be a father, where

mine honour."^

This challenge proceeds on the assumption

that
it is

the duty and the natural impulse

;

of a son to honour his father

and God
Mai.

re-

presents Himself as defrauded of that which

'

Prov.

iii.

6.

Rom.

i.

21.

i.

6.

HONOUR TO GOD AS A FATHER.

is

107

His

clue,

and

his people as following a

wicked and unnatural

withhold from
father,

course

wlien they

Him

that honour which, as a

What He thus said to the Jews by the prophet. He is virtually From all He claims the' saying to all men.

He

claims.

honour due from a child to a parent, and

especially

due from

man
who
is

to one so compas-

sionate, bountiful, long-suffering,

and gracious
;

as is "

our Father

is

in heaven

"

and

wdien this honour

that he

withheld, be assured

who

is

a jealous God, and will not

suffer his glory to

be given to another,
it,

Avill

make

inquisition for

and
it,

wdll ask of each

" Wliere is

man

Avho hath withheld

?

My

honour

These Athenians had, in their error and

ignorance, been giving to graven images that

honour and
God.

praise w^hich

belong only to

How

the apostle convicts

them

of sin

and and

folly for this w^e shall afterw^ards see

in the

meanwhile

let

us look to ourselves,

see

whether we are clear of blame in

this respect.

A man

needs not to

bow dowm

io8

ST.

PA UnS DISCO URSE.

stones, or to offer

to stocks

and

worship to

the work of his

own

hands, to be an idolator.
is

Whenever the heart

set
is

upon any object

due only to God

with that affection which

whenever any pursuit

supreme
interest

or

end engrosses the

so that

and occupies supremely the

active powers of the

man

God
life

is

either entirely forgotten, or allowed only a

subordinate place in

the soul
is

and

whenever any creature

trust

made an

object of

and confidence,
is

to the exclusion of God,

or happiness

sought away from Him, and

in disregard of

Him

whenever,
God
;

in short,
is

men put

in the place of
is

that which
is

not God, there

idolatry

and there
father,

the

honour which God claims as a

tonly and wickedly withheld.

wan-

Alas

who

of us can pretend to be free from the charge of thus

dishonouring our Father?

And
fill

whilst the consciousness of this should

Avith humiliation

us

and

contrition, should not

all

the knowledge that notwithstanding

rebellion, ingratitude,
still

our

and impiety, God has

offices

been exercising towards us the

LOVE AND TRUST DUE TO GOD.

of

109

gracious

and compassionate Father,

om^
hearts,

carry

home

to

with melting
in

power, the

conviction of that relation

us,

which He stands to
derness

and

stir

up within us
and
ten-

the deepest emotions of

?

filial

desire

Should not the goodness of God,

thus manifested to us, be constantly leading

us to repentance
?

Should

it

not make us

long to return to His presence, and yield

ourselves to His love
tion to this,
?

we

are assured that

an immeasurable cost

even

And when, in addiHe has, at

by the giving

up
to

for us of

His own Son to die for us

opened a pathway by which we

may
not

return

Him, and enter into

peace

and

with
of

consideration

does duty does

Him
embrace

relations

of amity

every

not

every

emotion of gratitude urge us to hasten to

His

footstool
?

and

His

offered

mercy

What impiety can go beyond that of the man who shall harden his heart against such fatherly grace as this ? What infatuation can surpass that of the man who, for some

no

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

some worldly
the
possession,

carnal enjoyment or
shall

despise

or

neglect

riches
?

of a

beneficence so truly divine as this

Ah
On

then,

my

hungry soul

which long hast fed

idle fancies of

thy foolish thought

And, with
Hast

false beauty's flattering bait misled,

after vain deceitful

shadows sought,
:

Which all are flesh, and now have left thee nought Look up at last unto that Sovereign Light, From whose pure beams all perfect beauty springs,
That kindleth love in every godly
;

sprite.

Even the love of God which loathing brings Of this wide world and those gay-seeming things With whose sweet pleasures being so possest.

Thy

straying thoughts henceforth for ever rest.

Spenser.

St.

Paul's Discourse

Unity of the
race, as well as the

Human
The
tlie

Eace.

idea of a universal religion presupposes

unity of the

unity of God.
prevail,

human Where

polytheistic beliefs

there will naturally prevail along

re-

with them the conception of different

ligious principles, different

modes of worship,
to

and
to

different forms of service, as appropriate

different
deities,

and

the

different

kinds of relation between the worship j3er

and

his

God, arising out of the peculiar

deity,

character of each

or the

historical

circumstances which are believed to stand

connected with his apotheosis.

other

And

on the
each

hand,

when men

believe

that

nation or people has had a separate origin,

and that consecpently no common

tie

binds

112

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

of the race generally to each

the

members

other and to one

common

father, there will

be neither ground nor inclination for such a

community

of faith and. worship as the idea

of a universal religion

would imply.

Hence
and
is

we

find that fellowship in religious acts,

a unity of religion for the race, are purely

biblical conceptions of

which no trace

to

be found either in the traditions or in the

usages of polytheistic nations.
It

may

be further observed that poly-

theism and a denial of the unity of the

human
lieve

race generally go together.

Nor

is

this to be

wondered

at

for Avhen

men

be-

in

many

gods,
its its

each

nation
;

comes

naturally to have

each nation has

to

own gods and where own gods, it cannot fail

nation will trace
its
it

follow that each

origin to the deities

alone believes in and

worships.

In the minds of the Athenians

hill

whom
Filled

Paul addressed on Mars'

notions

these

erroneous

were deeply imbedded.

beliefs,

with

polytheistic

they re-

garded each separate people as having sj)rung

UNITY 01 THE RACE.

from a different source.

113

They knew

of no

common centre from Avliich all the varieties They had utterly lost of men had radiated. the knowledge of God as the creator and
father of the race,

and with that

all

know-

ledge of the race as one family, the creatures

and children of the one God and Father of

all.

It

was needful,
it

therefore, for the apostle,

whose purpose

was

to lead

them

to the
to

point where he could, with

effect,

announce

them the

doctrines and claims of Christianity

as the one religion for all

men, to endeavour
error

to disabuse their

minds of the

under

which they laboured, regarding the

of

relation

mankind

to each other

and, while he

proclaimed to them the one God, Lord of

heaven and
to tell

earth,

and Father of
"

all

mankind,

them
all

also that

blood

nations of

God had made of one men for to dwell on all

for

the face of the earth."

That the notion of distinct sources

the
different
rise in

nations of the world should

is

men s minds

not surprising

and

that

it

should have universally prevailed in

114

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

when
nations had compara-

ancient times,

tively but little intercourse with each other,

and were exposed

hostile prejudices

to all the narrowing

and

which

this fostered, will

appear the

less strange

the fact that in

when we advert to our own day such opinions

have not only been promulgated but have

found advocates amongst
It

men

of science.
first

must be admitted

also,

that at

sight

the

phenomena

of the

case

would almost

seem to authorise some such conclusion.

Whilst we see
habitable globe,

man

spread over the whole

accommodating himself to

every climate and thriving on the produce

of

every zone,

we cannot but mark

which
subsist

the

glaring

differences

between

the natives of different regions of the globe.

If

we

take the high-bred inhabitant of a

city,

European
South

and place by
or a

his side a

Mon-

golian from

Siberia,

Hottentot from

Africa, the difference

between them

will be so

marked

as not to escape the

most

cursory observer;
typical instances

and

if

we

take

tliese as

we

shall find, as

we survey

VARIETIES OE MAN.

115

the race, a vast variety of intermediate peculiarities

which may be ranked under

these,

but which, viewed by themselves,

divide

men

into classes
off

more or
it is

less distinctively

marked

from each

other.

In the pre

sence of such facts,

resist the

hardly possible to

inquiry

Are

these,

which

differ so

much from
species
?

each other, -beings of the same

Is the flat-faced

tawny Mongolian,
prominent
cheek-

with his
bones,

oblique

eyes,

retreating

forehead,

and projecting
his face so pro-

jaws
hair,

or the jet-black negro, with his woolly

and the lower part of

''

jecting as to give the head the appearance

of being placed

above

it,"-^

a being of the same

hair
?

hehind the face rather than

species with

the fair-skinned European, with his vertical

profile,

prominent features, oval countenance

and

silken

Can the rude

little

savage,

whose habits are

the brute,
in a

better than those of

who roams the forest or the desert state of nudity, who snatches a pre^

carious meal from the chances of the chase

Latham.

T 1

ST.
it

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

devouring
insects

or ekes

out by

and

reptiles, or, it

may

be, luxuriates in

devour-

ing the dead body of his enemy, be pro-

nounced a being of the same nature and kind

as the refined well-dressed EurojDean,

whose

food

is

selected with the

most scrupulous
where he
of
sur-

nicety,

and prepared with

scientific dexterity,

who

seeks a settled abode

rounds himself with provident safeguards

against

the

contingencies

the

future,

whose

tastes seek gratifications far

beyond
is

those of sense and passion, and

who

ever

pressing forward in the career of intellectual

and physical improvement

ferences, so obvious

Are the

dif-

between

these, attribut-

able AvhoUy to variety of culture,

stance,

circumpoint to

and history

or do they

some

deeper,

some

constitutional,

some

in-

eradicable variety

which forbids us

to regard
?

the two as beings of the same kind we, in short, in the

Avitli

Have

human

animal, one race

varieties of

an accidental and super-

ficial

kind, or a

number

of distinct races.

SCRIPTURE STATEMENTS.
each of whicli
liar
lias liacl

117

a separate aucl jiecu-

source

This

is

a question which has long, and

especially of late years, engaged the atten-

tion of scientific men.

scripture
as he
it

For the student of

has no especial interest, except

may

wish to see harmony preserved

statements of the Bible and
'

l3etween

the

the conclusions of science, and to derive the

satisfaction

which always accrues from

find-

ing that the

deliverances of the inspired

word
tific

are confirmed

by the

facts

which

scien-

observation collects, and the inferences

scientific

to

which

inquirers are led from

these.

So far as the testimony of scripture

there
is

goes,

no scope

for

diversity

of

opinion on this question.

to

From beginning

end

it

never recognises even the possi-

bility of

doubt as to the homogeneity of the

all its

whole race of man, and the descent of

members from one

20,

pair.

Not only have we

iii.

such express statements as that in Gen.

cause of

where Adam, doomed to mortality besin,

yet recognising, through the

1 1

ST.

FA UrS DISCO UFSE.

gospel which had been proclaimed to him,

the perpetuity and final triumph of his race,

gives utterance to his faith
calling
ie,,

and hope by Eve (Hhavvah or Life,^ the Yivifier), a name appropriate to

his

wife

her,

because
the
race
;

she

is

*'the

mother
of

of

all

living,"

progenitress

the

whole
the

human

not only have

we

the apostle,

in this discourse,

stating expressly to

Athenians
blood
all

" that

nations

God hath made of men to dwell on

;

of one
all

the

face of the earth " but the entire history

which the Bible

on
this

gives,

and the whole scheme

it

of religious truth

which

teaches, proceed

and no other assumption.

No

one

can read the earlier chapters of Genesis

without seeing that they are meant by the

writer to unfold
to us the

origin of the

human
for

race in the pair

whom God

placed in

Paradise, to

whom He

gave the whole earth

possession,

and on

whom He
fruitful

pro-

nounced
tij^ly,

the blessing, "

Be

and mul-

and replenish the

earth,

and subdue

SCRIPTURE STATEMENTS.
it."^

119

It is
jDeriocl

equally plain

tliat

at a subse-

quent

Moses distinctly represents the

as finding a second progeni-

whole human race as surviving in Noah and

his family,
tor, so to

and

speak, in him.^

We

find

him

also,

at a as

still

later period, representing the race

not only one physically, but as form-

ing only

one society and as using only

;

one language
to

and he mentions an incident

traces all the diversities
classes

which he clearly

which have since distinguished the

or nations into
divided.^

which men have

also

been since
the
sacred

AVe find

that

writers

unhesitatingly refer

certain

moral
placed,
;

peculiarities

of our race, as well as certain

spiritual disabilities

under which
with the

it is

to their connection

first

man

and

no one can receive

from the

his idea of Christianity

New

Testament, without feeling

satisfied that,

alike

by

its

divine

founder

and His
as

apostles, it is offered to
is

mankind
esseuti32.

belonging to a race which

'

Gen.

i.

28.
3

Gen.

ix. 1

x.

Gen.

xi.

1-9.

20

^7:

PA Urs DISCO URSE.

involved in one

ally one, as all

common

doom, endowed with the same capacities of

being restored, and alike dependent for recovery on
"

the

common
is

salvation/'

So

far,

then, as the Bible

concerned, this
;

must be
express

held as a settled question

statements,

neither

its

nor

its

general

tenor, nor its

peculiar doctrines, admit the hypothesis of

an essential and original diversity in the

different tribes of

man.
is,

The question
scientific

therefore, one purely of

interest.

But

is

it
?

one which

science

is

competent to

settle

On
in

this

point

men
;

of the profoundest

science are

found

unhesitatingly pronouncing

the

negative

and
right.

in this I

presume to think

they are

Observation

may

supply

them with
fall

certain facts,

and these

facts

may

in better with one hypothesis than with

;

another

but unless

it

could be scientifically

determined what diversities are and what are

not compatible with community of origin,
science can

make no

pretence to determine
It is

authoritatively this question.

compe-

TESTIMONY OF SCIENCE.
tent,

121

however, for science to pronounce on the

;

prohcibilities of the case

that

is

to say with

which hypothesis observed facts chiefly accord

;

and

so far

it

behoves us to listen to the

scientific inquirer,

and gratefully

to accept

such trustworthy aid as he

may

be able to

give us towards arriving at some satisfactory

conclusion.

Now, when we turn

those scientific

to the writings of

men who have

arrived at a

general conclusion on this subject, opposed

to that

which the Bible

authorises,

it

cannot

be said that, in the outset, they

respect

command
other de-

by the uniformity

or concurrence of

their views.

Here, as in

many
is

partments of science, one

constantly reis

minded

of the

remark of

Cicero, that there

no opinion so absurd as not to have been

advanced by some philosophers

ferences are pushed,

and when

one sees the extreme lenoths to which in-

and the narrow bases

built,

on which prodigious conclusions are

one
is

led to suspect that prejudice and pas^

De

Divin.

ii.

58.

122

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
had
as

sion have often

much
if

to

do with the

structure

as

science,

not more.

Thus

whilst some, from mere haughtiness of selfesteem, repudiate with disdain

of nature with the
all

community

more degraded specimens

that

of humanity, and some are spurred to the

same

conclusion,

they

may
;

find

an

apology for oppressing their fellowmen, and

using them as beasts of burden
others,

wdth

a startling comprehensiveness of embrace, not

only admit the unity of the whole
family, but

impute to

man

with some of the brutes

affirming

human common origin

with a

learned Scottish judge of the last century,

that the " ourang-outangs are proved to be of

our species, by marks of humanity which are

incontestable
;

"^

or,

with a more recent writer,

that

man

is

but the development of a germ,

successive stages,
If,

which, at
fish,

its

may

be

frog,

monkey, or man.^

again,

we

follow

^ 2

Monboddo, Origin of Language.

Vestiges of the Nat. Hist, of Creation; comp. also Dar-

win's

Origin of Species,

c.

xiv. p.

484, and

otlier

places.

Sse Appendix to tins Lecture.

CONFLICTING VIEWS.
those wlio are of opinion that
all

123

men

are

not the descendants of one pair,

we

are per-

plexed by the diversity of opinion in which

they involve
actual
first

us, as to

the

number
and
;

of centres
as to the
like the

they find for the

human

race,

mode

of

its

formation

some

speculator on the subject, the far-famed

Paracelsus,

Eosicrucian Theophrastus

con-

tenting themselves with two Adams, others

contending for ^y^, others for twelve

all

and
[

resting

upon grounds which would equally

well support a

demand for

scores or hundreds

while a jiving philosopher has put the crown

upon
that "
as

this

growing absurdity by declaring

originated in nations
in swarms.''^
es of

men must have

diversities

the

bees have orioinated

From such
opinion,
it

and extravaganc

must be very evident that

that
is

science

has

little

cartam

to teach in oppo-

sition to the teaching of the Bible

on this

subject.
It

may

be observed

also,

in the outset,

that so far as superior intelligence and at^Agassiz, as cited

by Hamilton, The Pentateuch,

etc.,^. '2^1

12 4

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

scientific
is

tainment can give authority to a

decision, the

preponderance in this respect

immensely

in favour of tlie Bible doctrine of

the unity of the

human race. With a few exceptions, the writers who have adopted the opposite conclusion are men who have not won for themselves a high place or much fame
in

any department of science

all

whilst on the

other side stand nearly

of
It

the great chiefs

modern

scientific research

and speculation.

may

sufiice,

on the present occasion, to

as Bufibn, Linnaeus,

name such men

mering,

Soem-

and

Cuvier,

in

natural

history

Blumenbach,Muller,and Wagner, in anatomy;

Prichard, Latham, Pickering,
logists
;

Adelung,

among ethnoW. von Humboldt, and

;

Bunsen, among philologists

and Alexander

von Humboldt,
laid

at

whose

feet all science

had

down

its treasures.

These are the names

each
a
of

of

men who have

investigated this subject

;

purely as a question of science

prince in his

is

own department

and

all

them, after the most careful study of the

subject,

have declared, as the only conclusion

DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY.

to

125

which they could come, that

is

all

men

are

of one race or species,

and that the Bible

that with which
into harmony.

account of their origin

alone science can
It is

come

not to be denied, however, that there

are difficulties in the

difficulties arising

way

of this conclusion

from the varieties which

mark the

different families or tribes of

men
But

scattered over the surface of the globe.

in regard to these

it

may

be remarked, that

though

it

should be found impossible to aclioio

count for them, or to show

they have

arisen in the case of beings descended from

one
race

pair, it will

not follow from that, that

the hypothesis of a
is

common

origin of the
It

scientifically untenable.

may

be

that these differences of external appearance,

and in some
cated; or

cases of structure, are attributable

to purely natural causes

it

which

may

be indicon-

may

be that

when God
at Babel,
varieties,

founded the

lano^uaQ;e of

men

and

produced thereby linguistic

it

which

has not yet been possible to refer to a

type, He, at the

common

same

time, caused

126

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE,

varieties of the

human

species to be pro-

duced

but whether such modes of account-

ing for the varieties be possible and admissible

or not, the

mere

fact of these varieties cannot

be held as sufficient to invalidate the hypothesis of a

it

common

origin of the race, unless

can be shown that the varieties afford

the

stronger reasons for rejecting that hypothesis

than the
for

affinities of
it.

human

race afford

adopting

If it shall be found,

on

inquiry, that the points of identity are

more
and

numerous by far than the points

of diversity;

and that whilst the

latter are superficial,

may

possibly be attributable to the influence

of outward circumstances, the former are essential,

belong to

man

as

man, and never

felt

could have been produced by any casual or

external influence,
clear

it

must be
is

by

all

and candid minds that the overwhelmin favour of that

ing weight of probability

hypothesis which accords with the teaching

of the Bible on this subject.

Now, that

this is really the true state of

the case may, I think, be

made very

evident,

MAN'S PHYSICAL STR UCTURE.

even
witlioiit entering

1 2

very deeply into in-

quiries

which are not

suitable for our present

engagement.
cal,

On

questions of an anatomi-

physiological,

and philological kind, we

allowing our
the opinions

may
of

content ourselves with

to rest very

judgment

much on

men

to

whom

these subjects have been

familiar from

constant and careful study

whilst there are other departments of

know-

ledge bearing on

this question, in

which we

may

be fully competent to judge wholly for

physiology are ques-

ourselves.

When anatomy and

human
skin,
race, the

tioned on the subject of the unity of the

answer returned
in

is

in sub-

stance, that whilst diversities of colour in the

diversities

the

structure

of

the

skeleton,

and

diversities in the texture of the

capillary integuments
ant, distinguish the
ties,

more

or less import-

human

race into varie-

none of these

is

such as to amount to
specific

an obliteration of the
unity of the race
;

and

original
re -

whereas the points of

semblance are so numerous, and so

essential,

128

ST.

PA Urs DISCO URSE.

furnished by

as to speak loudly in favour of that unity.

The
ture

greatest difficulty here

is

the existence of differences in the bony strucof certain

;

nations as compared with

others

but the fact that congenital depar-

tures from the prevailing type are

known

to

be propagated through wide-spread families

in the midst of the so-called races, goes very
far to deprive this peculiarity of

any power

to

impeach the doctrine of the original unity

;

of the race

for the skull of the Mongolian,

or the extremities of the negro,

may

have

originated

in

some congenital abnormity,

so

which has descended from generation to

generation,
nation.

and

spread

over

a whole

As

for peculiarities of the colour

and
ex-

of the hair, these are subject to too

many

ceptions in existing tribes, and can be

to be

shown

in so

many

cases materially affected

by

climate,

and

food,

and general

condition,

and have been known in so

within historical

many
to
exist
;

instances
arisen

memory

have

where they did not before

stress

that no

whatever can be laid on them as

MAN'S MENTAL CONSTITUTION

proving an original diversity in the
race.

129

naman
in all

On

the other hand,

we have

men

the same broad and Avell-defined pecu-

liarities

by which man
;

is

discriminated from
;

every other species of animals

general structm^e
teristics
;

the same

the same bodily charac;

the same physical necessities

to bodily injury

the

same
life,

liabilities
;

from the

same causes
rity,

the same average duration of

and the same process of growth, matuand decay. In the

face of such evidences

of

unity, a few diversities of colour

and of minds

form cannot be allowed to

raise in our

any

serious objection to that conclusion.

When, from observing man s bodily structure, we pass to the consideration of his inner being, we find the evidence of the unity of the race still more impressive and cogent.
All

men have
; ;

the same general mental con

stitution

number of mental faculties methods and processes of acquiring knowledge the same susceptibilithe same

the same

ties,

emotions, and passions,

the

same

in

kind, I mean,

however

different they

may

be

I30

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.

in deOTee.

We

find also that all

men

carrv

on their mental processes in obedience to

exactly the same laws
;

and that these

things,

which are common

to

to all

men, are peculiar

man

alone of

all

animals.

Another pecuarises out of

liarity

which he

has,

and which
is

his mental

constitution,
all

the

faculty of
;

speech.

This faculty
is

men

possess

and
all.

speech

essentially the

same process in

It is also peculiar to

man, who alone has

So

organs fitted for such a process, and alone

the capacity to turn these to such a use.

remarkable a peculiarity seems of

nity of our race.

itself to

pronounce decisively in favour of the commu-

By some

the argument

from language has been pushed even beyond

this.

Founding on the remarkable induccomparative philology, by which

quite
distinct

tions of

languages, apparently

from

each other, have been found not only to

stand in

afiinity,

but to be so closely related

as to be sisters of one

mother tongue, some

inquirers have not hesitated to anticipate the

time when

all

the lano^uaofes of earth shall

LING UISTIC AFFINITIES.

be shewn to
of all

be fundamentally one,

and

thus irresistibly demonstrate the deduction

nations from

one

common

source.

What

has been already accomplished in this

is

direction

so marvellous, that one Avouldbe

slow to doubt the possibility of such a result

as that indicated
;

still,

as it has not yet

is

been attained, and as

their

it

possible that in

upward generalizations, philologists may

themselves stopped at the Tower of

find

Babel, w^here the confusion of speech that

are told took place

we

by

divine interposition,

may have amounted

to a miraculous con-

struction of several essentially different lan-

guages, and not merely to the introduction

of dialectical varieties in the one language,
I

do not

feel

myself at liberty to lay

much

stress

on this as a direct argument

for the

primitive unity of the race.

Collaterally,

however, the results of comparative philology

contribute in one important respect to this

conclusion;

they show that

nations,

the
ori-

affinity of wdiose

languages proves that

ginally they were the

same

tribe,

may

in

132

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
come
to

process of time

be so physically

diverse from each other, as to be regarded

by

those

who

look only on their physical

characteristics as belonging to different races

and thus they demonstrate how

diversities as bearing

little

weight

can be legitimately attached to these physical

on this question.
merely
at the

Who,

for instance, looking

outward

appearance, would suppose that the Greek,

Eoman, the German, the Anglo-Saxon, belonged to the same family as the Brahmin
the
of India
ife

.or

that the Irish and Scottish Celt

original tribe as the Persian or

of the

same
?

the Hindoo

And yet the former of these

it
;

is

80 certain, that

no comparative philologist has

the slightest doubt of

and the latter

if
it

rests

on a basis of evidence which,

tively convincing, is such as

not defini-

would not be

easy to overthrow/

Advancing a step
^

farther,

we come

to

See Prichard's Eastern Origin of

edition

the

Celtic Nations,

new
Prof.
1st

by Latham
series,

and on the subject generally,

on
the

Max

Miiller's Lectures

Science of Language,

and 2d

and
etc.

Jolines' Philological Proofs

of the

Unity of the Race,

MAN'S MORAL NATURE.

133

look at man's moral and religious nature

and here we find the most striking indications

of original

and fundamental unity pervading

Degraded, benighted, and brutal

the race.

ised as vast masses of

mankind
by

are ; besotted

by

ignorance, blinded

superstition, pol-

luted and perverted by crime, as

many

tribes

have been

for generations, it

needs only that

we should
tially the

look a

little

below the surface to

satisfy ourselves that in

them there

is

essen-

same moral nature

In
all

as exists

and

operates in the most refined, virtuous, and

religious nations.

there

is

a sense of

the distinction between right and

in all there
is
is

wrong

an emotion of approval of what

right,

judged to be

and of condemnation
;

of

what

is

counted WTong

in all there

is

conscience,

which

is constantly either " ac-

cusing or else

excusing"
;

its

possessor
all

in

reference to his deeds

and in

there

is

sense of obligation, a feeling of responsibility,

a reference to a supreme power from

whom
by

that obligation proceeds, and to wdiom that

responsibility
is

due.

The

standard

134

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
jnclge of

which nations
be very

moral relations

may
all

different,

and yet the process of

it is

moral judging be essentially the same in

and
like

so,

in point of fact,

found to be/

In

manner, the religious

beliefs, usages,

and

tendencies of nations
religion, so far as its
its

may

differ

and yet

mental character and

place in the moral

economy
all
it

is
;

concerned,

be essentially the same in

point of fact,

and

so,

in

we

find

to be.

But the

dif-

ferences here are due to outward circumstances, to the possession or the

want

of an

objective revelation of moral

and

spiritual

truth, to favourable or unfavourable

means of

moral culture, to historical events, to local

position,

and

to

many

causes of a purely
;

outward and casual nature

man's inner nature, and
is

whereas the

points of agreement are found attaching to

therefore essen-

tially characteristic of him.

Who
it

does not

see

how
echo
Moral

forcibly this concludes for the in?

herent unity of the race

how

is,

in fact,

an
^

coming back from man's

Philoso2')hy, in the

own
p.

Art.

Encycl. Brit., vol. xv.

541.

COGNATE MYTHOLOGIES.
bosom
"

135

to

the inspired assertion that

all

hath made of one blood

here I

nations of

God men

for to dwell

on the face of

all

the earth."

And

may

notice that the comparison

of different religions professed

among men
comAffinities

has led to
parison

much

the same

result as the

of different

languages.

between the religious traditions and usages

of the most different

and apparently uncon-

nected tribes have been

pointing to a time
in a
faith

shown

to

exist,

when

these tribes lived

common home and

;

professed a

common

and the hope has been expressed, that

further investigation
clusion that
all

may

justify the con-

the heathen mythologies,

ancient and modern, are only corruptions,

more
faith

or

less

extensive,
first

of that

primitive
chil-

which the

man
w^e

taught to his

dren,

and of which

have the correct

Bible.

tradition

and perfected form in the

This inquiry, however, has not yet been prosecuted sufficiently to justify us in taking

from

it

any positions

to be used

argumen-

tatively in such an investigation as that in

136

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
Collaterally,

Avliicli

we

are engaged.

how-

ever, it is valid for tlie

wliicli

same use

as tliat to

we have

already applied the facts

furnished by comparative

philology;

and

the two together not only go in the same

direction,

but mutually confirm and supjDle;

ment each other

the hope that

so that

we may

entertain

when both have been more

and
illustration of

thoroughly explored, the result will be such

as to lend fresh evidence

the truth of

what the Bible teaches

as to the

unity of the

human

race.
it is

In the meantime,

satisfactory to

know
belief,

that science has not only nothing to

advance distinctly incompatible with this

but that
its

various streams of testi-

mony
tific

appear to converge towards the scienit.

establishment of

The

friends of the

Bible need not be greatly moved, therefore,

by the new and strange hypotheses which,

in our

own

day, are so freely ventilated, as

to the origin of the

human

race,

and which
Let us

are so utterly irreconcilable wdth the testi-

mony

of Scrijjture

upon the

subject.

HYPOTHESIS NOT SCIENCE.

distinguish between

137

what

science can 'prove,

and what men of science can ingeniously fancy and adroitly expound ; and, so long
find that
it is

as

we

only within the sphere of the

latter that doctrines adverse to the Bible are

advanced,
the
true

we may remain time when what only

science
wall

at ease

and await
put
aside.

fancy has created,

indignantly

Kemembering that the maxim

of the great

Newton

was, "Hypotheses non fingo"

''I

feign not hypotheses;"

and being confident

that the principle which guided

him

is still

that which guides the great chiefs of science

in this country,

we may

rest assured that its

supremacy

will be asserted to the discomfit-

ure of that tendency towards mere hypothesis

which has of
scientific

late so

much usurped

over true

inquuy both here and on the conassertion of the unity of the

tinent.

With the

human

race the apostle completes

what he

had to teach to these Athenians concerning the

general fact of the fatherhood of
race.

Not only has

God over the God made all men, so

138

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

tlieir

that tliey are, in virtue of

being, His

sons

but

He

lias

made

all

of one blood,

all

partakers of

tlie

same

nature,

and akin

to each other as descended

source.

from the same

These two

positions,

though they
fact that all

are complements of one great whole, are in-

dependent of each other.

The
and

men

are God's creatures

children, does

not necessarily involve the fact that the

human race is of one blood for God, had He seen meet, might have formed mankind at different centres, as we find he has
entire
;

formed the lower animals.

The unity

of the

human
by the

race, therefore, required to

aj^ostle as a distinct
;

be asserted

and further prolanguage which,

startle

position

and

this he does in

we may

well believe,

would

and

as-

tonish those

whom

he addressed.

In this

way, however, he laid broad and deep the

basis

on which he could advance and unfold

of authority

to

them that message

and of

grace with which he was charged.

Only on

the ground of a

common

creation

by God,

and a community of nature and blood, could

ONE NATURE, ONE FAITH.

he,

139

a Jew, have any

title

to

demand

the

attention of those Greeks to a message pm'-

porting to relate to their religious interests

and

welfare.

well as him,
their attention

God had not made them, as what claim had his God on
If
?

and

if

he and they were not

to sup-

of the

same blood, what right had he

pose that a religious system adapted to him,

could be appropriate to
sity, therefore,

them

Of neces-

had Paul

to assert, as he here

does, that all

men, as the children of God,

are of one blood

subject to the same natural

same moral responsi-

laws, answerable to the

bilities,

exposed to the same spiritual danbe benefited by the same methods

gers, to

of religious instruction.

In this

way he

secured for himself a platform on which he

could

firmly

stand

while

them the gospel

still

of Christ

a platform which
all

announcing to

remains available to the church in her

nations under

great enterprise of bringing

the obedience of the faith.

I40

DE VELOPMENT THE OR V.
APPENDIX TO LECTURE
Development Theory.

V.

It does not require an intimate acquaintance with

science to enable one to estimate the logical

worth of

the arguments
clusions
If
it

by which

scientific

men

arrive at conthis lecture.

stric-

on the questions considered in

their reasonings.

did, I should hesitate

about offering any

tures

upon

But

logic

is

the same

for science as for other

departments of inquiry, and a

fallacy

may be

detected in the form of scientific rea-

soning by one

who

is

obliged to take the materials of

the reasoning on trust from the party

This consideration has been present with

this lecture,
offer

who reasons. me in writing

it

and

would now take courage from

it

to

a remark on the Development Theory, as

called.

has

been

At the

basis of this theory lies a fallacy

which necessarily
clusion.

vitiates

and

nullifies

the entire con-

Its

exponents have confounded progress in a

series

with growth from a germ

incredible that

tinct in themselves as

two things as number and magnitude.

;

dis-

It
fall

may seem
so,

men
;

of ability should

into a paralogism like this

but that they have done

the following extract from one of the ablest of the

"

advocates of the Development Theory will clearly

show.
eye,

To

suppose," says Mr. Darwin,

" that the

with

all its

inimitable contrivances for adjusting

the focus to different distances, for admitting different

DE VEL OPMENT THE ORY.

141

amounts of light, and for the correction of sj^herical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by
natural selection seems, I freely confess, absurd in the

highest degree.

Yet reason

tells

us that of numerous

gradations from a perfect and complex eye to one

very imperfect and simple, each grade, being useful to

its

possessor,

can be shown to
is,

exist." ^

Now

the

argument here

that though a perfect eye seems to init is

dicate indubitably that

the product of a designing

mind, this conclusion

is

is

invalidated

by the
%

fact,

that

a gradation of eyes from the perfect to the imperfect

discoverable.

gradation in what

we ask
%

gradation in the eyes of animals of the same species,

or in the eyes of animals of diiferent species

a gra-

dation from a perfect

or from a perfect

human human eye

eye to an imperfect one,

to the imperfect eye of

the lowest of the brute tribes

ously that which Mr.

former does not

exist.

The latter is obvi% Darwin has in view, for the But what has this to do with
%

development or natural selection

Could
is

it

be

shown that

in the

human

race there

a gradation
races, as

from a perfect eye to an imperfect, and that

they advance in culture, develope gradually the organ

more and more

race, a case of

perfectly

or could

it

be shown that

a change of this sort has ever happened to the

human
eye
fish,

development would then be made out

at.

worth looking

But

to argue that the

human

has been gradually developed from that of the because a gradation

^

may be

traced through difi'erent

186.

Origin of

S2')ecies, p.

142

DE VELOPMENT THEOR V.
is

kinds of animals, from the one to the other,

less

not

absurd than

it

would

be,

where a regular grada-

tion in size

may be

traced from the eldest child in a

family to the youngest, to maintain that, therefore,

the former had been developed out of the latter. Absurd also is this talk about perfect eyes and imperThe eyes of one animal are as perfect as those fect.
of another,
i.e.,

equally fitted for the purposes for

which they are designed, and for the place the animal has to occupy. We need not go to the human
eye for evidences of design
bird, or a fish, will serve
;

the eye of an insect, a

as well.

Each

is,

as

an

organ, perfect in relation to that for which

it

exists

and we never

find

it

passing,
j)erfect.

by a

series of changes,

into something

more

Mr. Darwin goes on to

herited,

say, "

If,

further, the eye

does vary ever so slightly, and the variations be in-

which

is

certainly the case

and

if

any

vari-

ation or modification of the organ be ever useful to

an animal under changing conditions of

difiiculty of believing that a perfect or

life,

then the

complex eye
considered

could be formed by natural selection, though inseparable to our imagination, can hardly be
real."

To
it.

this I cannot reply, for I It

do not under-

stand

of diff'erent

may be at once conceded that the eyes men vary, and that these varieties may be inherited that a man with black eyes, or prominent eyes, or whose sight is short, may propagate these

peculiarities to his children.

This, however, cannot

be what Mr. Darwin refers

to, for this

has nothing to

DE VEL OPMENT THE OR K

do with his subject.
refer.

1 43

To what

variations, then, does he

which may occur in the eyes of But what are the same animal in the course of life % they % A man's eyes change, no doubt, as he grows

To

variations

older

the orb becomes less convex, the glance less

piercing,

the

movement
%

less

quick

but are such

changes propagated to his children, should he beget

any in
of the

his

old age

or in

what

possible sense can

such changes be regarded as ministering to the uses

man under

changing circumstances

I feel

That the author had myself quite thrown out here. meanmg which he sought to express by the words a but what he I have quoted, I am bound to believe
;

meant by them,

I confess

myself utterly unable to

make

out.

VI.
St.

Paul's Discourse

Consequences FlowGod

ing OUT OF THE Divine Fatherhood to

THE Eace.
In asserting
asserted
fruitful

tlie

universal fatlierliood of

in relation to the liuman race, the apostle

truth

of vast

importance and

of consequences.

Some

of these

consequences he himself expressly deduces

in this
discourse,

and others of them

are

involved in the positions he assumes and

the doctrines he announces.

L
First of
all,

he reminds the Athenians

all,

that God, as

the Father of

has,

in a

sovereign manner, disposed of the different

nations of men, and appointed to each
its

own

place on the surface of the globe.

As

DISTRIB UTION OF NA TIONS.

45

a father disposes of his estate to his sons,

and

as his simple will determines

;

and

fixes

the allotment of each

so has God, in the

exercise of his paternal rights, "appointed

men

to dwell

on

all

the face of the earth,

and hath determined the times beforehand, and the bounds of

to the children of
their habitation."

God,

the universal proprietor, has given the earth

men

He

has appointed
earth,

them

to " replenish the

it
;

whole

and
air,

to

subdue

to

have dominion over the

fish

of the sea,

and over the fowl of the

and
this

over every living thing that moveth upon

the earth." ^

And

if it

be asked.
?

Why is

nation here or that nation there

is,

the answer

Not by accident

or

by any

special original

affinity

between the place and the people,

but simply because

fixing the

God

so determined
ot

it,

bounds of the habitation

each

by His own sovereign will. And still further asked. To what is to be

some

if it

be

ascribed

the mutations of nations, the dying out of

peoples, or their absorption into others ?
1

Gen.

i.

28.

146

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
Not
to to

the answer
causes
is

is,

any mere secondary

ascribed,

this

be

but to the

supreme

will of God,

who hath determined

lifts

the times as well as the bounds of the habitation of each.

The

apostle thus

up the
same

thoughts of his hearers to the conception of

a supreme world-ruler,

who

is

at the

time the

common Father
and

of the race,

by

whose

will the place

fate of nations are

determined, and without whose appointment

no nation can either

1.

rise or fall.

This representation of the apostle supdeeper and juster view of the

plies to us a

human history than philosophers and men of science usually suggest. Whilst, on the one hand, we repudiate the
philosophy of
doctrine of separate centres of creation for

the

human
are,

race,

and treat

as a

mere philoso-

phic fantasy the doctrine of development,

we
that
to

on the other hand, taught by the

the varieties of the

apostle here to turn aside from the opinion,

all

human race are due

and outward

mere

differences of climate

circumstance.

This

is

au opinion which the

PERSISTENC Y OF RA CES.
labours of
logists

47

some of the most eminent etlmo

;

have been directed to establish

but,

as

cannot but believe, without success.

Without entering further into the subject at

present, there is one fact

which seems to me

entirely to set aside this doctrine,

is

and that

the fact of the ^persistency of races, the

retention,

generation

after

generation,

by

whole communities of the peculiar characteristics

of the variety to

which they belong

and that under the most altered conditions

of climate, occupation, food,
else

and whatever
it is

may

be brought under the head of out-

ward circumstances, by which

that varieties are produced.

supposed

Look, for in-

stance, at the Jews, living in every country,

in the world,

and yet retaining unaltered the

of their race.

peculiar

physiognomy and form

Look

at the

Europeans settled in Africa, or

;

the Africans in North America

retaining,

the former
generation,

from

generation to

amongst Hottentots and

Caffres, the colour

and features of Europeans, the

latter retain-

ing amongst white men, and in the midst of

148

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
form and complexion of their

civilization, the

African ancestors,

though centuries

may have

elapsed since those from

whom

they have

sprung were severed from the parent stock.

That outward circumstances have an

influis

ence on the physical condition of nations

reason for concluding that there

not to be denied, and I cannot but think

there
is

is

certain typical form

liar to

and habit of body pecu-

each country, and to which immigrants

from other countries, in course of generations,

tend to approximate
the
;

as witness, for instance,

gradual

approximation

of

the

New
and
to the

Englander from the round,

fresh complexion of the
.

soft features

Anglo-Saxon
face-lines

darker hue, as well as the harsher features,

and more perpendicular

of the

North American Indian; but such pheno-

mena

will not suffice to establish the theory,

that the great broad distinctions which

off the so-called races of

mark

men from

each other

are

attributable
^

to

mere outward causes/

and

The reader

will find this subject very forcibly

THEORY
The

01^

THE WORLD.
me

149

apostle seems to

to say here all that

;

can be truly said on the subject

eties exist

These vari-

because God, the supreme Father

proper place on the face

of

all,

has appointed these varieties to exist,

its

has given to each

of the earth, and has determined a certain

adaptation of the place to the people, and of

the people to the place.
2.

This doctrine of the apostle further

enables us to read

and understand aright

it is

the world's history, so far as

exposed to
see in

our study.
the

There are some

men who

changes

through which nations

pass

nothing but the results of fixed mechanical

laws, operating with iron inflexibility

and

ruthless continuity,

and reducing the phenohere under the same

mena of human existence

scientific

comprehension and the same mathe-

matical determination as the

the

phenomena
again,

of
see
re-

heavenly bodies.

Others,

nothing in the current of events but the

sult of either

an ungoverned caprice or of
liis

luminously treated by M, Roger de Balloquet, in

genie Gauloise, p. 47,
fF.,

Ethno-

Par. 1861.

5o

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

the ordinary passions and tendencies of men,

working out changes which are referable to

no higher law,
power.
Avhicli

bespeak no overruling

But on neither of these hypotheses

built.

can a real philosophy of history be

We

can reach this only by keeping fast hold

of the truth
out, that all

which the apostle here brings

human

operations are conducted

infi-

under the superintending control of an

nitely wise

and powerful Being, who, without

interfering with man's free will, or interrupt-

ing any of the ordinary laws of nature, regulates all events according to the counsel of

His own

will,

and uses

all

agencies as the

instruments of a vast world-jDlan, of which

He On

alone
these

knows the compass and the

two poles

God's

details.

sovereignty and

universal providence on the one hand, and

man's freewill and self-conduct on the other

all

true philosophy of history turns.

Only by

a due regard to these two can a just theory

of the world be wrought out. If
as

we view man
mechanism

a mere

piece

of organised

under the control of necessary law, we cannot

PHIL OSOPHY OF HIS TOR Y.

bring the

151

phenomena

of his history within

all.

the range of moral science at

other hand,

If,

on the

we deny

or overlook God's supre-

macy over the world, and His control of human interests and affairs, we are out upon
a wide sea; across which no path
is

drawn,

and over which no

of

light rests.

"

Apart from

the idea of a godhead regulating the course

human

destiny," says the deep-thinking

Friedrich Schlegel, " of an all-ruling provi

dence,

and the saving and redeeming power

of God, the history of the world

labyrinth without an outlet

of ages buried

upon ages

a confused a mighty tragedy,

would be a
pile

without a right beginning or a proper end-

From so melancholy and tragical a conclusion we can escape only by steadfastly

ing."^

contemplating
plan of

all

things as working out the

is

Him who

alike wise

and good, and

who, having given to

men

the earth for their

possession, has allotted to each people its

proper place, and has determined the fortunes of each according to the counsel of His
^

Fhilosophi/ of Histori/,

-p.

391.

152

ST,
will,

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

own
3.

without superseding the activity

this doctrine of the apostle, also,

or controlling the mental freedom of any.

From
see

we may

how

contrary to the primary

order of the world, and the will of the great

common Father
the
soil

of the race, are all attempts

to extirpate races, or to drive people

from

on which they and their forefathers

God, no doubt,

have been reared, or to take forcible possession

of countries already occupied.

may overrule

such deeds for the ultimate fur;

therance of the race

selves are impious,

but the deeds them-

and on the doer of them

law and
in-

will rest the penalty of violated

vaded

right.

Each

nation, each people, each

tribe holds the country it has aboriginally

occupied by divine right

by the will of the

not for any other

common
"

Father.

And
I

it is

tribe of His children to stand forth

and
I

say,

Give place that

appropriate

may

dwell in thy land,

and

thy heritage,

stronger and better than thou."

am As little may
for

any one people say to another, "Move hence

and dwell in another
place, for that will be

RIGHTS OF NATIONS.
better for the interests of tlie world."

153

In

all

such

cases,

under whatever plausible pre-

texts the aggressor

may

cover his
is

an iniquity of which he

guilty

which
of the
race.

he

has

perpetrated

an

a wrong
invasion

act, it is

which he has dared upon the arrangement

Supreme Sovereign and Father of the

We may

rest assured, that

however

God may

overrule

such things for good,

they are in themselves the objects of His

stern disapproval,

perpetrate

and that with those who them He will surely reckon. Who

can

tell

how many

befal great nations,

the

of the calamities that

internal dissensions

that waste their strength,

sions that bring
place,

the foreign invatheir lofty

or the slow-working causes of decay

it

them down from

that eat into the vitals of the

and gradually sink

in ruins,

are just

body

politic,

re-

tributions for deeds of rapine

and wrong per-

petrated in the day of the nation's pride and strength on some weaker or some utterly
defenceless people
?

Do you

think that the

cry of the oppressed doth not enter into the

154

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

?

ears of tlie

Lord God of Zebaoth

of His children cry to

Do you
against
?

imagine that the Ahnighty Father forgets

when any

Him

the oppressor, the tyrant, or the robber

n.

Another truth which the apostle urges

upon the Athenians

is

as a fair deduction

from

the fact of the divine fatherhood of the race,

the

duty hinding on men

to seek

after God.

This he brings in as describing the purpose

which God had in distributing the nations

over the world, and allotting to each
place
its

and time.

"He

hath determined,"

says he, " the times before appointed, and the

bounds of their habitation, that they should

seek the Lord
if

haply they might

feel after

Him, and
scribes

find

Him, though He be not

us."

far

from any one of

The

apostle here de-

men

left

without an oral or written

after

revelation as

making search

God

he

speaks of that search as one, the result of

,

which

is

highly problematical

" if haply,"^

GOD TO BE SOUGHT AFTER.

if

155

by any chance,
;

if at

all

they

may

find

Him

he describes their search as the grop-

ing of

men

in the dark,

who

try to find a

thing by

putting out their hands, so as, if

;

possible, to feel it

he intimates that though

the object of

thus hidden from man's view, and to be

found

Avith difficulty, if at

all,

their search is not far

from every one of

to leave

them, being their sustainer, protector, and

father
;

and he declares that

men

thus to seek after

Him was

the

purpose
This
diffi-

which G od' had in view in distributing the

nations over the face of the earth.^
last part of his

statement presents a

culty

for it is not easy to see the connec-

tion between the

two jd^^s

of the assertion.

Had

the apostle said simply that

God had

laid on

and had
his

man the duty of searching after Him, left man to do that as best he could,

meaning would have been perfectly ob2

XriTiiv is

here the infinitive of purpose or design

Aiisfilhrl.

comp. Kiihner
des

Grammatik,

637

"Winer, Gram,

N. Tlichen Sprackidioms,
p.

45, 3; Green,

Grammar

of the N. T. dialect,

96,

first edition.

156

ST.

PAUnS DISCOURSE.
is

vious.

But what he says

that,

with a

view to this end, God has determined for

nations the bounds and the periods of their

dwelling

and before we can understand

the question.

this

we must answer
is

What

is

the
it

bearing of the fact here stated on the end

said to have been designed to effect?

in answer to this question, I

Now, know not what

can be

said,

except that, by being thus dis-

tributed over the whole face of the globe,

and by being thus placed under the constant

control

and superintendence of God, the

nations had the entire revelation of

God
is

in

nature and in providence subjected to their

study, so that
if

the knowledge of

God

by

any natural means to be attained by man, the

amplest opportunity of attaining
it

has thus

been supplied to the

to be learned at
all,

race.

If the lesson

was
it

the means of learning

full
;

were furnished to the

for the

whole

volume was spread open

there

to man's study,

and
the

every line and letter that had been written

by the

finger of God,
;

man had

means of perusing

so that if he failed to

MEANS OF KNO WING

acquire
self,

GOD,

157

it

the reason must be found in him-

and not in any deficiency in the mateof

rials

information.
in his

Perhaps,

also,

the

apostle

had

mind some

feeling of the

contrast in this respect between the favoured

nation to which he belono-ed and the other

nations of the earth. That nation
it

had been, as
its

were, shut up in a corner of the earth, while

the other nations had been spread over

wide surface

and with

this corresponded the

forms under which

revelation to

God had conveyed His

respectively.

them

As a
first

verin-

bal revelation could only, in the

stance, be

communicated

to a limited

number,

the Israelites, to
oracles

whom

were committed the

of God, were taken apart

and

se-

cluded that they might receive them.

it

But

was important

also that the

experiment

should be fairly

tried,

by searching to find of nature and providence

of this

how far man was able out God from the book
;

and, as the leaves

book cover

all creation, it
it

was

fitting

that the nations

by whom

was

to be read

should be distributed over

all

the face of the

158

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

made
the subjects of

earth and should be

God's varying providential order.

The other parts

That
it is

of the apostle's statement

present truths with which

we

are all familiar.

is

man's duty to search after God,

one of the primary truths of morals and

of natural religion.

As God's

creature,

and

the object of His constant care,

man owes to man knows

God

reverence,

submission, gratitude, and

service.

But
is

this implies that

God, and

in a state of right relation to

Him whom
;

for

he cannot worship a Being of

is

he

ignorant,

and
it

if his

relations

with

God

be disturbed

can only be by

having these restored that he can be in a

position to offer worship and service that

can be acceptable.
state,

Now,

in

his

present

man

neither

knows God

aright,

nor are

his relations with

God such God

as they originally

were, and ought ever to have been.

lie needs to seek after

not merely that

Him,
Sin has

Hence

he

may

get some just knowledge of

but that he

may

enter into right relations

and true communion with Him.

MAN'S SEARCH AFTER GOD.

from

159

caused Gocl to withdraw and hide Himself

man

and

it

has utterly disturbed and

disarranged the happy relation in which

at first stood to God.

man

When

sin took hold

on man, God no longer appeared to him to

hold converse with
child
;

him

as a father

with a

and though God, in the infinitude of

which

His grace, and on the ground of that propitiation

did not leave

He Himself had provided, man to the full consequences

many ways
to

of his sin, but has continued from the first to

preserve and guide and in

bless the race, yet

man

feels in his

innermost

core that intimacy

between God and him no

longer exists, that estrangement has taken

place between them,
fil

and that

ere he can ful-

the

first

duty of his creature being he has

to search after God, if haply,

amid the deep

presence,

darkness which has fallen between them, he

may

get some assurance of His

of His character

some knowledge

and ways,
for resto-

and some ground on which to hope

ration to His favour.

This

is

the reason

why man

has so painfully to search after

60

ST.

PA UnS DISCO URSE.

God came
;

God.

In Eden
;

forth into man's

presence

and man beheld

and

Him in His glory

looked up into

and His beauty

His
face,

man

and

its
;

light fell

on him as that of
free

a loving father

and man, with

and

re-

joicing heart, offered in return the

a loving and obedient child.

homage of But when man

and
re-

listened to the voice of the tempter,

belled against God, all this

was changed

the free intercourse of heaven with earth

was arrested
within the
circle

God
;

retired

from man's view

clouds

and

darkness that en-

His throne

and, saving as

God was

pleased to reveal Himself to chosen individuals,

and

to

one

favoured

nation,

trustee of God's oracles for the world,

man

the

was

left

to " grope after

Him

if

haply he

might find Him."

These words of the apostle very truly and
graphically depict man's course in regard to
this great matter.
principle,

Endowed with

a religious

men

feel

themselves constrained
of their nature to seek
left to their

by the highest wants

after

God; and

yet,

when

own un-

HE CAN BUT
aided
efforts, it

GROPE.

i6i

has ever been only as one

who

gropes in the dark and at a perad ven-

ture, that

they have pursued their search.^

In a few rare cases the object of search

seemed
torch

to be touched

not

seen as in the

clear light of day, or as

but

by an illuminating
discerned

imperfectly

by the
of the

dullest of the senses.^

To a few

higher and purer

serene

spirits,

men

of calm
vision,

and

thought

and purged
visits,

there

came, like angels'

^

ever and anon, brief

How
so
!

strikingly does the language of tlie apostle here,

like

many
his

other biblical utterances, find

its

echo in

Homer

In the third book of the Odyssey, Peisistratus,

belief

expressing

that

Telemachus, though yomig,

:

would not neglect

%ai Tovrov

religious observances, says

d^avdrotffiv

6fo,u,a,i

" I think that he also prays to the immortals

For
line in

all

men

crave after the gods."

ver. 47, 48.

Melanchthon was wont

to cite this last as the finest

St.

Homer.

In the poem of Aratus, from which

is

Paul quotes, there

a similar sentiment {Phaenom.

'/.s^^ri/xeda

4).

Udvrrj ds Aibg

Tavrgg.

" All, everywhere,

^

we need

Jove."

Tactus,

sensuum densisimus

et infimus,

convenienter

hie dicitur de gentibus.

Bengel, Gnom., in

loc.

62

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE,

and transient glimpses through the gloom,

revelations of the hidden mystery, just

and

true thoughts of the Infinite.

,

But

for the

mass of men

it

was a

fruitless groping.

They

searched but they could not find.

For them

the darkness became ever deeper and deeper;

until at length,
baffled,

disheartened,

and

weary, they were ready to carry their homage

to

any

altar that priestcraft or superstition

best, to

might erect, or at the

embody

at once

their deathless longings

and

their conscious

impotence in an altar to

"An Unknown God."^

failure to

To what
traced?

is

this

melancholy
apostle

be

Not,

the

reminded the

Athenians, to want of means and materials

of success.

God,

whom
all

they thus haplessly

the while, "not far

groped
^

after,

was,

See this melanclioly result of heathen speculation

fully

and inquiry
lation, Edin.

and strikingly

illustrated

by M. De

Pressense in The Redeemer, p. 97,

ff.,

of the English trans-

1864.

The

result to

which philosoj^hy conovS'

oog

ducted Protagoras in this quest was embodied in the confession

ojg

-rs^/
slaiv,

(jj\))

rojv SsoDi/

olx ;/w ziblvai

sifflv,

ovd'

ovx

concerning the gods,

I have

no knowledge whether

they are or are not.

(Diog. Laert. ix. 51.)

GOD NEVERTHELESS NEAR.

from every one of them."
tie

163

By

this the apos

does not refer to the fact of the divine

omnipresence, so

much
to

as to the fact that it

was not owing

stacle being in

any

serious natural ob-

man's way, obstructing and

are the evidences of

hindering his approach to God, that he failed

to find

Him.

Not only

the divine existence and attributes presented

in copious abundance on every

hand; not
out-

only

is

the

argument which deduces the

existence and perfection of

God from

ward phenomena one

as the

of the simplest as well

most convincing that the mind can

;

contemplate

but the fact that

man

is

the

offspring of God, supplies to

him the most

For, if

natural help for realising, as well as appre-

hending, the truth concerning God.

man

be God's

child,
;

he must have a natural

disit

capacity for

God

however immense the

tance between the father and the child,

cannot be that the child

constitution, incapable of

is,

by

his natural

knowing the father,

trustfulness

and approaching, in loving

and

humble

confidence, to his footstool.

And

64

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.

though God be in Himself incomprehensible,

so that

we can never by any

if

searching find
to

Him

out, or

by any revelation be made

man,
his child,

comprehend Him, yet

was
like-

made by Him
ness, there

in His

own image and

must be such an analogy between

man and
far
is

God, that

man

can pass from the

true, if

knowledge of himself to a just and

from adequate, knowledge of God.^ There

thus a solid basis laid in the very consti-

tution of man's nature, on which a true theo-

logy or doctrine of

God may

be built

and
is

when

the page of creation and providence

fitted

opened before a being so

concerning God,
perversity of his

and prepared

to learn the lessons they so abundantly teach

it

can only be through some

that he fails to

own mind

attain to the knowledge of God.

apostle leaves the Athenians,

This the

whom

he ad-

dressed on Mars' Hill, to infer for themselves

but he has himself expressly asserted the position in writing to the

^

Komans.
meam

"

The invisible
ad
Ilium.

Per ipsam

animam
x. 11.

ascendam

Augustine, Confess,

'

so UR CE

01^

ID OLA TR V.

165

tilings of

Him," says

he,

"from the creation of

the world, are clearly seen, being understood

by the things that

are made, even His eternal

;

power and godhead

so that they are with-

out excuse, because that

when they knew

God they

glorified

Him

not as God, neither

were thankful, but became vain in their

imaginations, and their foolish

heart

was

darkened

professing themselves to be wise,

fools/' ^

they became

As

sin

had seduced
views of

them from God,

so

it

became the great ob-

stacle to their receiving those right

phenomena around them so The darkness amid which they groped, and in which they were for the most part utterly bewildered and lost, was a
the
clearly taught.

God which

darkness which had

its

source in themselves
theii*

in the selfishness, vanity, and folly of

hearts.

own

was thus that the nations were beNothing can be more trayed into idolatry.
It

absurd in
Spirit

itself,

than to represent the Great

under the similitude of any creature

^

Eom.

i.

20-22.

66

ST.

PAUL'S DISCO URSE,

inconsistent, as the

and nothing can be more

those

apostle here reminds the Athenians, than for

who

call

themselves God's offspring

" to think that the

godhead

is like

unto gold,

or silver, or stone graven

device."

by

art or

man's
re-

Who

of ns

would accept any image

fit

that

human

skill

could produce as a

presentation of that which really constitutes

us

our
if

soul,

our mind, our inner nature

And

we would not accept any such representation of our own spirit, how utterly
it

incongruous and wrong would

pose that
represented to us

be to sup-

by any such means there could be

that Being

who
in

is

the

Father of our

spirits,

and Himself the pure

spirit

and absolute and

live

infinite

whom

and move and have our being ? But we into this absurdity and inconsistency man
has suffered himself to be betrayed by
sin.

Not

liking to retain the

his thoughts

refusing

knowledge of God in
to render to

Him,

whose being and deity

that

all

nature proclaims,
is

yielding

homage and

gratitude which

His due

to vain, selfish, carnal imagina-

WRONG VIEWS OF
tions
;

GOD.

167

man plunged

himself into darkness

and

all

moral confusion, and so was led to

ctiange the glory of the incorruptible

into an

God
man,

image made

like to corruptible

and

to try to find a representative of deity

in figures of " birds

and four-footed
This
is

beasts,

and creeping things."^

of idolatry, of which

the true origin

men have

speculated so

much.

It

had
;

its

source in the darkness pro-

duced by sin

and that darkness prevented

men from ever finding for themselves their way back to the true knowledge of God. And this is the true source of all those
wrong, deluding, and debasing views of God,

by which men

are

still

led astray, even where

the light of written revelation is enjoyed.

The depraved heart

to

of man, unwilling to be

subject to God's law,

and unwilling
is

to render

God

that

homage which

His due, de-

sires

not the knowledge of His name, has no

liking for just conceptions of His natm^e

perfections,

and

does

not wish to be brought

under the awful influence of His real power

I

Eom.

i.

23.

68

ST.

PAUL 'S DISCO URSE.

Hence men
close their eyes

and godhead.
to the light,

and prefer being

at ease

amid

their delusions, to

coming in contact with

revelations

which would make them miser-

able in their uu godliness.

When men
own

are
it is

the enemies of God, says St. Augustine,

not from nature but their

nations,^

vicious incli-

and the same may be said of those

who

prefer superstitious or carnal or pre-

sumptuous notions of
ture

Him

to those just,

sublime, and spiritualising views which Scrip-

and nature

alike teach.

Such men wilinto a

lie ;"

fully " turn the truth of

God

and

as a necessary consequence, are left to all the

religious

and moral debasement which such

Their pun
is

falsehood naturally engenders.

ishment
It
is

heavy because

their sin is great.

more becoming, says TertuUian,

any being not
it

to

believe

to be, than to think it

be.

other than

ought to

And

so of

God

we
^

dishonour

Him more by thinking of Him

est

Natura igitur non

contraria Deo, sed vitium

quia quod
Dei,
xii. 2.

malum

est coiitrarium est bono.

De

Civitate

ATHEISTIC THEISM.
falsely,

169

than by refusing to acknowledge

Him

at all/

Would

that

all

who shudder

at the

thought of Atheism were equally alive to the

evil
ciful
^

and danger of a

false,

imperfect, or fan-

Theism
Dens si non imiis est, non est quia dignius credinms quodcunque non ita fiierit ut esse debebit. Cont.
;

non

esse,
i.

Marc.

2.

VII.

Eeroneous Eepresentations of the Fatheehood of God.

In preceding discourses we have considered
at

some length the doctrine of the divine

St.

Fatherhood as taught by
Athenians, and

Paul to the

we have

seen

and

fruitful

that doctrine

is.

how important Like many

it has been misapprehended by some, or applied in such a

other doctrines, however,

way

as to

lead

to

a misapprehension or
less

denial of other

and no

important truths

taught in

Scripture.

Before proceeding,

therefore, to other points in the apostle's dis-

course, I

must dwell for a

little

on this aspect
advert to
called, of

of the subject.

I shall especially

two great

abuses, as they

may

be

this precious doctrine of the divine Father-

GOD'S SPECIAL PATERNITY.

171

hood, which have of late been extensively

propagated and
country.

eagerly

defended in this

I.

The former of these

consists in the setting

forth of the truth of the universal Father-

hood of God, in relation to mankind,

as in-

compatible with a special relation of paternity

on the part of God towards individuals or

classes of

mankind.

It

being admitted that

God

is

in an important sense the universal

it

Father,

has been contended that this pre-

cludes the belief that

He

can be a Father to
is

some

in

any sense in which He

all
;

not a

Father to

and in

this

way

the whole

doctrine of a special relation between

God
and

and any portion of our race

with
it all

is set aside,

that w^e have been accustomed to

teach and hold concerning divine sonship as

a special privilege of the true people of God.

That
on which

I
I

may do no injustice to the opinion am about to animadvert, I shall

quote a passage or two from a recent publi-

172

ST.

PAUL'S DISCO URSE.

and taught
title

cation intended to set both teachers

right

upon this point.

It

forms part of a series

of

which bears the somewhat assuming

"Tracts for Priests and People/' and though

devoted to another subject, touches on that of

the divine Fatherhood.

Speaking of his early

:

religious education, the writer says

"

The

church, I had been taught to believe, was a

society of faithful

men

gathered out of the

world, fluctuating

day by day by new gains

from the church

and

losses, or transference

At the solemn season of conversion we become members of the church. Previous to that time we were out of all relation to God or to His church then we are made the children of God, we are permitted and invited to call Him Our Father.' Acon earth to that in heaven.
; '

cording to this view, the starting-point of

life is

a state of alienation from God.

The

Lord's Prayer, the parable of the Prodigal

Son, and afterwards the whole of the Bible,

seemed, and

still

seem

to me, to teach pre-

cisely the opposite doctrine.

We are

God's

children,

members

of His church, inheritors

HO W DENIED B Y SOME.
of His

173

kingdom

and we

are in this position,

independently of our feelings or affections

nay, in spite of them.'^

(Tract No.

5, p. 38.)

to

Now, with what the writer here says as what he had been taught to believe before
I shall

the true light daw^ned on him, I have no

special concern at present.

only ob-

serve that, so far as

it is

an inadequate repreto us

sentation

of the

truth revealed

in

Scripture concerning man's relation to Grod,

it is

to be regretted that it should his youthful mind.

have been

instilled into

And

if

what he has advanced

cited,

in the passage I have

his tract,

and throughout

had been

designed merely to guard his readers against

those narrow views of God's relation to men,

which go
as

to represent

Him

otherwise than

compassionating those

who have gone

all

astray from Him, as inviting

to return to
call

Him,

as ready to listen to all

who

upon

Him, and

as willing to receive

with joy and

love every prodigal

who

in conscious

want
part

and true penitence comes back and seeks

admission into His house
;

for

my

174

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
commended
it.

would

liave cordially
for

his essay,
has,

and thanked him

has thought
it

But he
beyond

un-

fortunately, gone greatly

this.

He

needful to the vindication of

the doctrine of the divine Fatherhood, to

deny that men before conversion are in a

state of alienation

from God, and to maintain

that

all

men
and

are in the highest

and

fullest

sense God's children, independently of their

feelings
affections

nay,

in spite of them.

Language

like this I

cannot but regard as

in its obvious

most dangerous, and deserving of the strongest reprobation.

Taken

meanfull of

ing, it declares that,

hatred to
existence,

God

though

though a

man

be

he deny the divine

blaspheme the divine character,

low, sensual,

exult in violating the divine law, revel in

all

that

is

and ungodly

he

is

nevertheless a child of

God and an

inheritor

of His kingdom, in the same sense in which

this is true of one

who

has undergone the

process of conversion.

That

this is really

the writer's meaning, other statements in his

tract clearly show.

Thus he

distinctly denies

ALL ALIKE GODS SONS.

that at conversion a

175

man in any sense

;

becomes

member

of God's family

and

asserts that

at that crisis he simply returns to his rightful place

in that family of

which he has
lest

always been a member.

suppose that
it is

And

any should
all

only in a sense that he

thus asserts the divine sonship of

men

without exception, and that he would be

willing to admit that in a different sense

only converted

men are God's sons, he peram not to draw any line between man and man, and say, God is the Father of all men in a certain sense, but He is really
emptorily says, "I

only the Father of converted men."

the assertion that there

(P. 36.)

"We are thus brought face to face with

is

no special sense in

which God

is

the father of converted

men

no

special sense in

which

He
;

is

the father of

any man, or

class of

versal fatherhood of

men God

but that the unithe only father-

is

hood that can be predicated of

relation to

Him

in

any of the human

race.

Now

one cannot help giving utterance to

a feeling of surprise, that any man acquainted

176

ST.

PA UnS DISCO URSE.

with books, and familiar with the usages of

language, should have committed himself, as
this writer has done,

to a position

which

obliges
sive of

him

to maintain that words, expresrelations, are

human

always to be
sense.

understood in their primary and direct

On
his

the assumption of this the

main proof of
be denied, the
this is

argument
falls to

rests,

and

if this

whole

the ground.

But

what

cannot be maintained for a

face of

moment

in the

common

usage, not in books only,

but in ordinary conversation.

such words, they are
secondary, tropical,

Every person

knows, that besides the primary meaning of

constantly used in
senses.

and analogical

Confining ourselves to the term

" Father,'^

do

we

not speak of a king being the father

?

of his people

of a

man

being the father of

?

a scheme, or of an institution
as fathers of the nation
?

of old

men

of the author as
father-

the father of his books

and even of

ing upon a

man something
when we go

that has pro-

ceeded from the genius or thought of another

man ?

xind

to the Bible, in

how

USES OF THE

WORD FATHER.
find
tlie
!

177

many
tlie

senses do

we

word
Jubal

"

Father"
called

used in reference to

men

is

father of

all

such, as

handle the harp

and the
ventor of
said
to

organ/ because
these

he was the inJoseph

is

instruments.

be

a father

to Pharaoh,

because
"I

of the services he
counsellor

rendered to him as a

and

viceroy.^
^

Job says

was

a father to the poor,"

because he relieved

and sustained them by his bounty.

is

A prince

called the father of a country or of a town,

as

Salma father of Bethlehem, Hareph father

Bethgader,

of

Shobal

father

of

Kirjathit.

jearim,* etc., because

he rules over

The
called

president of a school of the prophets

is

the father of the

it,^

young men connected with

is

because he

their teacher

and guide.

A man possessing any quality is said to be the

father of that quality, as Abiathar, father of

abundance;

Abinadab, father of nobleness,

and innumerable other proper names beginGen.

20, 21.
ii.

iv.

'
'

Gen. xlv.
1

8.

'

Job xxix. 16.

1 Clixon.

51, 52.

Sam.

x.

12

Kings

xiii.

11.

178

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

Abraliam
is

nino^

with

Ab.-^

called the father

of

all

ethical

them that believe/ because of the resemblance between him and all
It is needless to multiply in-

who

believe.
;

stances

nothing can be more certain than

is

that the term " Father "

used to express

many
nity.

relations besides that of natural pater-

But

this notorious fact is denied in

the position virtually assumed by the writer

I

have quoted.
;

His reasoning
is

-is

substan-

tially this

God

not a father in one sense

to one

man and

in another to another, for

the word father never can be used in any

but one sense.

Allow

this,

and
;

his reason-

ing has some show of strength

deny
to

this,

and

it

utterly falls to pieces.

his

Obviously,

therefore,

position

binds

him

the

maintenance of what cannot be maintained

for a

moment.
strikes

Another thing that

one

very

forcibly with reference to the passage I

^

have

See Kitto's Biblical Cydojjcedia, Alexander's edition,

,

under Ab.
^

Rom.

iv.

11.

ANTISCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS.
cited,
is

179

the

extraordinary

boldness

with

which the writer ventures

dict the plain

flatly to contra-

and emphatic and repeated

testimony of Scripture on the subject of

which he

is

writing

unless, indeed,

we

find

an explanation of this in his ignorance of

what Scripture
to

really does teach, in regard

man's relation to God.

God,
;

According; to

him, man, though in a state of rebellion

against
is
still

an inheritor of His
of enmity against

kingdom
God,

though

full

is still

one of His dear children; though

living in sin

and

all

ungodliness
It

is

not in a

state of alienation

from God.

may seem
to the use

strange that any

man accustomed
it

of words should think

necessary to main-

tain that alienation, enmity, banishment, are

incompatible with sonship, or should imagine

that he has disproved the existence of these

simply by asserting that this relation

subsists.

still

Absalom, no doubt, was the son

to the
less

of

David

end of his career

a rebel and an

but he
drove

was not the

enemy when
father,

he took up arms against his

i8o

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
and took possession of
the

him from

his capital,

his throne.

The

prodigal, in the parable,

continued, undoubtedly, to be
his father, even
father's

son of

when he had
;

forsaken his
his

house,

and was wasting

subT

stance with riotous living

but so long as

he continued this course, he was under his

father's censure, his

own
it

heart

was

alienated

from

his father,

and

was not

till

he be-

came a penitent that return

tent to him.
relation to

to his father's

house was either desired by him or compe-

Even
:

so

is

it

with

man

in

God

as God's creature,

and the
even
at

object of His constant care

and bounty, man

addressed
as such
;

can never cease to be God's child;

these
idolaters

whom
it

Paul

Athens are recognised by

does this render
rebel against God, to be at

Him

but

impossible for such to

enmity with Him,

to

lie

under His displeasure, to be exposed

to the penalty
sin, to

He

has denounced against

all

have thereby forfeited

right to a

place in His

kingdom

The writer

whom
;

have quoted answers in the negative

for

he

SINNERS MAY BECOME SONS OF GOD.

places alienation from

i8i

God and

the having

God

as our father in such antithesis to each

other as to

make the
and

affirmation of the one,

in all senses,

in every respect, the nega-

tion of the other.

The absm^dity
But

of this
let

needs no further illustration.

us

compare the assertions

as

this writer has

made
with

to the

state of the unconverted,

the explicit declarations of Scripture on the

same

subject.

Man, he
St.

says, does not

is

need to

become a son of God, for he

such already.

But what says

he, " as received

As many," says Him [Christ], to them gave

John
?

"

He looioer
them that
says our

to

become the sons of God, even to

believe on his name."-^

Nay, what

Lord Himself ?

" Verily, verily, I

say unto you. Except a

to the

man

be born again,

he cannot see the kingdom of God."^

And
that

same

effect is

the teaching of

St. Paul,

as for instance

when he

tells believers

they are the children of

Christ Jesus"

which
""

God by

faith in

would be of course
'

impossible
^

if
12.

in every sense they were God's

John
iii.

John

i.

3.

Gal.

iii.

26.

i82

-.

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
if all

children before tliey believed, and

men

are God's children whether they believe or

not.

Again, this writer asserts that all

men
dis-

are the children of

God

in the

same

sense.

But we

find our

Lord and His apostles

tinguishing between some

children of the devil,
call

whom they call and those whom they

are
re-

sons of

alike sons

God how can this be if all Perhaps it may be of God ?

;

plied, that it is

possible for a

man

so to ad-

vance in depravity and devilishness as to

lose his original dignity as a child of

God,
it

and become a child of the devil

is

and that
is

to such that our Lord and His apostles

refer.

But

in this case sonship

the ex-

pression

of simple moral

resemblance, an
I

explanation to which the author

have

quoted cannot resort without abandoning

his original position; for if a

man can become

sense, that

a child of the devil only in a

is

moral

by morally resembling the wicked

one, it

follows not only that a

man may
10
;

be styled

a son of
*

God
viii.

in respect of moral resemblance

44
;

John

Acts

xiii.

1 Jolin

iii.

10.

MEN ALIENS FROM GOD.

to

183

God

as well as in respect of physical rela-

tion to

Him

and dependance on Him, but

that such must be taken to be the primary

force of the phrase,

as in contrast with those

when used of believers who are described

In
fine, this

as children of the devil.

writer

denies that unconverted

men
"

are alienated

from God and exposed to His wrath.

But
but

what says the Scripture

the wrath of

He

that believlife,

eth not the son of God, shall not see

God abideth on him. we were enemies we were reconciled

of His son.

When
to

God
that

by the death

And you

were sometime alienated and enemies in

your mind and by wicked works yet now
hath

He
. . .

reconciled.

And you

hath

he

quickened
sins

who were dead

in trespasses

and

and were by nature the children

of wrath even as others"^ Can anything be more explicit than these statements? Do
they leave room for any doubt as to the condition of

men, previous to conversion by

Eom.

faith in Jesus Christ, being one of alienation

1

John

iii.

36

v.

10

Eph.

ii.

1,3.

84

ST.

FA UrS DISCO URSE.

?

from and enmity against God

" emphatically

Do

they not

convey to us the truth that

life is

the starting-point of
tion from
fore,

a state of aliena-

God?"

And

do they not, there-

stand in direct contradiction to the

positions
I

which

this writer has laid

down ?

have dwelt, perhaps, on

this erroneous

representation of the divine fatherhood at

greater length than its intriusic importance
deserves, but I

have done so because of the

it

boldness with which

has been advocated

I

and the degree of acceptance which,

stand,
it

underI

has met in several quarters.

turn

now to

the other erroneous representation on

strictures.

which I proposed to make some

IL
This consists in so presenting the doctrine
of the fatherhood of

God

as to cast into the

shade other aspects of the divine character,

and

especially that under

which God has

closely connected

revealed Himself to us as a ruler and judge.

This misrepresentation

is

with that we have been already considering;

IS
indeed
tlie

GOD ONLY A FATHERS

two are only

185

different aspects of

the same error.

is

Whilst the former, however,

chiefly

advocated with a \dew of setting

principally directed to the in-

aside the evangelical doctrine of regeneration,

the latter

is

validation of the fundamental doctrine of

the atonement, or the expiatory and propitiatory efficacy of the

work

of Christ.

The doctrine
ally

of the atonement, as generChristians, rests

held by

evangelical

ultimately on the position that God, as a

righteous ruler and just judge, cannot for-

give

sin

except upon

the

ground of an

adequate compensation being

made

to the

law and government which

for the sins

He

administers,

which man has committed.

Now,

so long as

we keep

fast

hold of the truth

that

God

is

a ruler and judge, and that our

is

relation to

Him

that of subjects to a ruler

feel ourselves confined

and a judge, we must

by an

irrefragable chain of reasoning to the

admission of the necessity of some such

compensation being made ere man^s sins can

be forgiven.
Differences of opinion

may

86

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

compensabut

arise as to the exact nature of the

tion required,

and

as to the

kind and extent

of our Saviour's acting on our behalf;

that action of a compensatory nature

was

required ere
Saviour's

we

could be saved, and that our

its

work on our behalf had

it

primary
a conse-

effect in this that

did render the compensais

tion required for our acquittal,

quence to which

all

are logically shut up,

who admit

that God's relation to

man

is

that of a righteous ruler and judge.

rid of this, then, is the

To get

main aim

of those to

whom the doctrine of salvation by atonement

is distasteful
;

and with

this view, unwilling

to

commit themselves
of God, they

to

anything like a

formal denial of the rectoral and judicial

claims

endeavour to throw

these into the shade, and so prevent their

being taken into account, by bringing for-

ward
of

into exclusive prominence the relation

as a Father.

God to man
and

Let

it

be granted,

they say, that

will,

man
is

is

a transgressor of God's

has, in consequence, incurred his

;

displeasure

not God, nevertheless, his

NEED OF ATONEMENT.
father?

187

and

as

there

is

no right-hearted

parent

who

would not Avillingly and at once

and forgive
his returning child his offence

receive back

when he acknowledged
tiated towards

and craved

forgiveness, without requiring to be propi-

him
that
to

or standing out for a

offences,

compensation being rendered for his

shall

we not say

God

is

equally ready

to

show mercy

His children, when they

repent and return to

represent

Him ?

shall

we

dare to

Him

as less placable than one of

His own

creatures,

and that

so imperfect

a creature as

man ?

Thus, these reasoners do

away

altogether with the necessity of

any

atonement as the ground of a

clusively on the
father.

sinner's accep-

tance with God, and rest our salvation ex

mercy and love of God

father,

as a

Now, were God merely a

reasoning would have force
;

this

to

Him would
according to
is

belong the same privilege of managing the

private affairs of His

own house
will,

His own pleasure and

ceded to every parent.

which
if

conis

But

God

88

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
different

king and judge, as well as a father, the case

becomes very

the

matter then

passes out of the sphere of private and personal relations into that of public and official
relations
;

there
is

is

no longer question merely

of

what

it

pleasant,

and kind, and loving

to do; the stern question of

what

it is

right

and lawful to do claims precedence.

A king
When
the

and a judge is bound by the most solemn considerations to postpone the feelings of private
affection to the claims of public duty.

public interests are

affected,

to

make

claims of law give

tion

way to

the xilaims of affecit

becomes

worse than a weakness,

becomes a crime
offender for

crime greater, because

has been comtherefore,

more widely mischievous, than that of the

whose sake
it

mitted.

At whatever

cost,

of

personal feeling, the king

who would mainmust take

tain the honour of his throne

order for the impartial administration of the

law among
it

all his

subjects;

and even though

should be his

own

son on

whom

he has to

pronounce sentence, that sentence he must

IS

GOD NOT A KING

suffer to

189

pronounce and

be executed.

Zal-

eucus the father

may

be wrung Avith pity for

his sinning child;

but Zaleucus the king

his

must adjudge that the sentence which

son has incurred shall be
inflicted.^

Are these
that

writers, then, prepared to

deny

God
?

is

a king and a judge, as well as a

father
to

It

would only be consistent

if

in

them

do

so.

But

they are not prepared to do

this,

why

labour to keep these aspects of the

divine character out of sight in dealing with

a question on which they have a primary and

necessary bearing
at truth
?
?

Is this the

way

to arrive

Is this the

way to

construct a solid
find access to

path by which the sinner

may

God ?
to "

Is it

not rather to

trifle

with the most

awful interests of man, and to persuade

men

go

down

to the grave with a lie in theii-

right

hand?"
matter we would
in.

If in this all-important

See the admirable observations

of Zaleucus to

application of tbe

case

the question of the Atonement in

Erskine's RemarJcs on the Internal Evidences for the Truth

of Revealed Religion, p. 67, 4th edit.

I90

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
we must make our facts which God has
Himself and

proceed on solid grounds,

induction from all the

made known

to us concerning

our relation to Him.

We

must neither sink

if

the father in the ruler, nor the ruler in the

father.

We
if

must remember that

we

are

God's children
jects
;

we

are not less God's sub-

we
in

are the objects of His affection,

we

are no less the subjects of His law.

We
is

must bear

mind
;

that the pardon of sin

as well
as,

a question of righteousness
question of mercy

as a

and that

on the one
on the

hand,

it is

impossible for

God

to

show mercy
it is,

at the expense of righteousness,

other, impossible for

man

really to accept a

salvation

which

his conscience tells

him has

come

to

him through any other than a

It is not

righteous channel.

man's heart

alone that needs to be reconciled to

it is

God;

his

moral nature as well

all, is

and

as con-

science, after

the mightiest power in

really

man, he can never be

cess

won by any prohim

is

which

his conscience tells

wrong,

or dishonouring to the great moral

law on

SCRIPTURE REPRESENTATIONS.
whicli the order,

191

and harmony, and

consideration to

felicity

of the intelligent universe rest.

When we
all

have allowed

full

the

elements of the question, both as respects the

revealed character of

God

in relation to

man,

and

as respects that moral constitution

which

God has given

to

man, and has adapted to

those relations in which

man

stands to Him,

we

shall

be in the

way

of arriving at a safe
subject.

conclusion on this

momentous
III.

I shall have occasion, in a subsequent

discourse, to bring forward the teaching of

Scripture concerning
ruler
;

God
let

as

a judge and

in the

meantime
light

us endeavour to

trace out,
plies,

by the

which Scripture sup-

the whole subject of the divine fatherrelation to

hood in

men.

Now,

it

is

un-

necessary that I should go over what

we

have already considered as to the recognition

which the Bible gives

to the position asserted

by the

apostle in his address to the Athe-

nians, that in virtue of our natural relation-

192

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
and He
let
is

ship to God,
all

and our dependence upon Him,

the
this

men

are His offspring,

universal Father of the race.

as
sufficiently

Assuming

ascertained,

me

direct

attention to the instances which Scripture

brings before us of a special relation in this

respect between

God and

certain portions of

the

human

family.

These are two :

in

His rerelation

lation to the ancient Israel,

and His

to those
Christ.
1.

who
is

believe

the Lord Jesus

God

frequently in Scripture spoken

of as the Father of the nation of Israel, and

they as His
the fact that

sons.^

Now this

has respect to

He was

the author to them, as

a nation, of special privileges and blessings.

He had
for

chosen them for Himself;

;

He had
provided

formed them into a people

He had

them

regulative institutions

by which
been

their national integrity

was
of

to be preserved,
;

and
the
^

their prosperity secured

He had
their
Jer. xxxi. 9

watchful
1

guardian
;

national
;

Chron. xxix. 10
ii.

Is. Ixiii.

16

Mai.

i.

Hos.

etc.

SPECIAL SONSHIP OF ISRAEL.

privileges,

193

and had protected tliem amidst

the father of the race in virtue of

innumerable sources of danger and calamity.

As He

is

being their creator and preserver, so was

in a peculiar sense a father to Israel,

He

on the

ground that
state,

He was

the

author of their

national existence and the upholder of their

who

could say to them, " Thus saith

Jacob, and

the Lord that created thee,

that formed thee,
Israel''^

He

Indebted to

Him
body
was
"

for their selection, for their national

constitution,
politic,

for the

entire fabric of their

and

for the life

by which

it

sustained, they could in a special sense

claim

as their father, and say to Him, Thou art our father we are the clay and Thou art the potter, and we all are the work of Thy hands/'

Him

Lord,

2.

This special sonship of the national

Israel

was

typical of the

relation in

which the

that believe in
to

they the Lord Jesus Christ stand

spiritual Israel

still

more

special

God

as
^

His children.

As He chose the
2

Is. xliii. 1.

js. Ixiv. 8.

194

^^ ^A UnS DISCO URSE.

tlie

national Israel from amongst

nations to be

a special people unto Himself/ so hath.

He
of

chosen

saved
"

sinners

from

the mass

humanity,

having predestinated them unto

the adoption of children through Christ Jesus

to Himself, according to the

good pleasure of
as

His

will."^

Hence
Israel,

believers are called,

was ancient
(^.e.,

"a chosen

generation, a

royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar

specially appropriated^) people/'

And as

He

formed

Israel into a corporate institution,

and gave them laws and ordinances

guidance,

for their

and
;

watched
so has

over

them with
believers in

fatherly care

He formed
;

Christ into a spiritual body, of which His

son

is

the living head

and

this

He

has

placed under laws and

into a kingdom, over

rule,

and constituted

which

He watches with
which
is

peculiar care,

and to the

interests of

He makes

all

things co-operate.^

This

the last and the loftiest of His relations to

^

Dent.

vli. 6.

'

Eph.
9.

i.

5.

3 ^

y.aoc, sJg rrsPi-ol^c^iv, 1

Pet.

ii.

Rom.

viii.

28

Epli.

i.

22, 23.

SONSHIP OF BELIEVERS. man

;

195

and" in respect of this He, in

the
calls

highest

and most impressive

sense,

Himself Our Father.

This special relationship of the believer to

God
this

rests entirely

Jesus Christ.

on the mediatorial work of Not only has He revealed to us

first

new and

highest view of
to

has

He

been the

God offer men

not only
this

high

privilege,

and invite them to accept

;

it w^ith-

out limitation to nation or person has

not only
as their

He

taught

men

the

way

to

God

spiritual father,

and attracted them

:

to

God
it
it

by His own example

is

All this

is true,

but

not the whole truth, nor the part of

first

which, in the

instance at least,

man
all

most needs
this,

to learn.

Over and above

it is

the Bible teaches us that

in Christ

that

men become
Priest,

sons of

God
in

in

Him

as

their propitiatory sacrifice

Him

as their

High

by whom they

are brought to

the father

in

Him

as their surety in

whom
It is to

they are accepted by God.

Scripture leaves no

As

to this, the

room

for doubt.

those

who

receive

Him and

believe in His

196

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
is

name

that the privilege

given of becoming

sons of God.

Christians

become the sons of

God by
are

faith in Christ Jesus, in

whom

they

chosen and created

anew unto good

so

works, regenerated,

and

born of God.
spirit

Through
and the

Him we
life;

have access by one

unto the father.

no

He is the way, man cometh

which

the truth,

unto the

Father but by Him.

The
ship.

relationship into

believers are

thus brought, through Christ,

is

a real son-

They

are not merely, in a figurative

;

sense, God's children

nor
that

is

it

merely by a

process

of adoption
;

they enter His

family
created

they become His sons by being

anew

in His image, regenerated

and

born of God.

The

believer

is

thus a child of

God by

a process analagous to that

man

at first

became God's child

by which
process

of creation.
child of

And

being thus really

all

made

God he
such

experiences

the benefits
for

of God's special

fatherly regard

him.

Over

all

God watches with

and
care
:

paternal

affection

ordering

a true
all

PRIVILEGES OE SONSHIP.
their

197

ways

in infinite wisdom, providing for

all their

wants with unceasing tenderness,

all

comforting them in
selling

their sorrows, coun-

them

in every perplexity, defending

their enemies, training

them from
beingf,

all

them

and disciplining them

transforming:

for a higher state of

them from the

imao;e of

the earthly into the image of the heavenly,

and by

all

His dealings with them, preparing

them

for that

which

is

to be the

crown and
redempthey

consummation of
tion of the body,

their sonship, the

and the glorious manifesta-

tion of the sons of

God/

Then
of

shall

apj)ear with Christ in that glory

which the
shall the

father hath given

shall

Him, and

which they

be

made

partakers.^

Then

grand pm^pose of
they

God

be completed

when

whom He hath

predestinated to be conshall stand

formed to the image of His son

by

the side of the Saviour in His kingdom,

joint-heirs with

Him

of the heavenly inherit-

ance,

and

in all respects
1

made

like

Him,

so

Rom.
iii.

viii.

19, 23.

'

Cul.

4;

1 Pet. iv. 13.

198

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
" the first-born

He shall appear as many brethren."^

that

among

Such

is

a sketch of

what Scripture teaches

concerning the Fatherhood of

various aspects.

God under

its

Instead of limiting that

representation to man's natural relation to

God

as his creator, it gives great

prominence

to other

and more special

relations

relations

of grace

and

privilege not enjoyed

is

but in virtue of which God

to

by all, some of the

human
is

race a father, in a sense in which

all.

He

not a father to

This

is

the plain,
;

unmistakable teaching of Scripture

and we

do but shut ourselves out from

of this part of revelation
if

all

the benefit

we

overlook or

deny

it.
'

Eom.

viii.

29.

VIII.
St.

Paul's Discourse

God a King and

Fatherhood of
middle

Judge as well as Father.

In
tlie

view

wliicli I

have endeavoured to
to pursue a

give, in these discourses, of the

God,

my

aim has been

course,

between two extremes of opinion,

neither of which seems to

me

to be in acScripture.

cordance with the teaching of

The one
of

of these goes to

deny the existence

any

fatherly relation on the part of

;

God
so

towards the race as such

the

other

exaggerates God's fatherly relation to the race

as to

throw into the shade and practically to

special relation to
all

deny His

redeemed men,
as ruler

and

also

His relation to

men

and

judge.

According to the former of these

views, God, as the creator of men, comes

200

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
Him
is

into

no other relation to them than that of

they have no claim upon
in no sense their father,
for
;

ruler;

anything but what simple justice prescribes

He

is

who

to deal

with them on grounds of love and tenderness.

Now, such a view

creation of

cannot but regard as

contrary both to reason and Scripture.

The

man was
;

a free and sovereign act

on the part of God

to

but having been pleased

to put forth that act,

fulfil

God bound Himself

to

man

all

the relations naturally arising

out of the nature and constitution

of His sovereign will given to man.
filial

He had
Is,

then,
in

affection to God, is love to

Him, trust
to
?

Him, joy

in

Him, loving obedience

this
?

Him,
"Who
that
as a

a part of man's original constitution

can doubt
father
trust

Who

can

doubt

Adam was made

that to

capable of loving

God

regard

Him

with a

child's

and

affection

was part of the primary

constitution of his nature

his unfallen state

and

that during

he did recognise

God

as

his father

But

if

Adam was

thus, in virtue

of his creation,

made capable

of sonship,

and

PARTIAL VIEWS.
endowed with
for liim to

201

feelings wliicli

made
of

it

natural

love God

as a father, then unques-

tionably the

fatherly relation
of,

God

to

man
act

flows out
of

and

is

necessitated by, the

otherwise,

creation.

To suppose
for
all

would be
capacities

to suppose that

God gave man

which there
duties,

and

affections

was no object; that

ments
impose

as

divine endowthat

corresponding
obligations

God

laid

upon man
this,

which there
;

were no means of his discharging

consequence of

and, as a

that the natural

man

is

not blameworthy for acting an unfilial part

towards God, inasmuch as to act as God's

child
is

no part of

his nature.

Besides, on

this hypothesis,

what

are

we

to

make

of the
to

apostle's

reasoning in his
?

address

the

Athenians

Not only does he adopt the

utterance of the Greek poet, that

men

are

God's offspring

not only does he show the

grounds of that belief lying in the natm'al

relations of

men

to

God
were

but he makes
induloino'.

it

the basis of his argument against the idolatry

in

which

his hearers

" For-

202

ST.

FA UrS DISCO URSE.

we
are the
off-

asmuch

then," says he, " as

spring of God,

we ought
like

not to think that

silver, or

the Godhead
stone

is

nnto gold, or

graven

by

art

and man's

^device."

Obviously the apostle here assumes the fact

of man's natural affiliation to

God
;

as one of

the premises

of

his

reasoning

and

his

reasoning

is

valid only on the supposition that

is true.

that assumed position

then, that the

Shall

we

say,

apostle reasoned unsoundly

here

or shall

we

suspect

him

of adopting a

position

which he knew

to be untrue, merely

for the sake of gaining

an apparent advan?

tage over those he was addressing

of these suppositions can
entertain
;

Neither

we

for a

moment

and consequently, we must regard

the apostle as here affirming

lieved to be true,

what he beto be true,

what he knew
filial

when he

affirmed the

relation of

man, as

man, to God.
"the father of

And is
?

not this what Scripture

elesewhere teaches

In what sense

is

God

spirits"^ except in i\\Q sense

intelli-

that His rational creatures derive their

'

Heb.

xii. 9.

SCRIPTURE STATEMENTS.
gent natures from

203
is

Him ?

In what sense
^

Adam

called the son of

God

except in the

sense that he
creating

came immediately from God's

?

hand

Is it

not in the same sense

sons of

that angels are called "

God ?"^

And

do we not find the prophet Malachi saying,

"Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us V'^ where the universal fatherhood of God is placed in parallelism

with His being the creator of

being involved in the latter
fore,
?

all,

the former

Surely, there-

we may hold
men,

it

as a doctrine of Scrip-

ture that God, as the creator

and preserver
?

of

all

is also the father of all

And

if

we

are

met with the objection that on

this

ground

He may
and

also

be called the father

of the devil

his angels,
it,

discomposed by

we need not be inasmuch as we find an

inspired writer not shrinking from saying

that " when the sons of

God came

to present

themselves before the Lord, Satan came also

among
^

them,"* a statement which, whatever

iii.
ii.

Luke
Mai.

38.

^ *

Job
Job

i.
i.

6
6.

ii.

xxxviii. 7.

10.

204
else it

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

teaclies us

may mean, undoubtedly

is

that there

a sense in which Satan

may
still,

be

ranked among the sons of God.

rebellious,

fallen,

doomed

outcast he

is,

but

as

respects his original relation to his creator,

one of the sons of God.

The other extreme view

more pernicious of the two.
character and relations of

is

the

much
the

By sinking
as king

God

and

judge in those of father; or what comes

practically to the

same

thing, so exclusively

presenting the fatherly relation of

God

to

men

as to create the impression that

He

stands to

them

in no other relation, the ad-

vocates of this view sap the foundations of

the entire Christian system, as a scheme of

redemption, or salvation on the ground of

atonement.

If

God

is

merely a

father, there

can be nothing properly rectoral in his administration

;

He

cannot, correctly speaking,

have His intelligent creatures under law;

there can be no such thing as penalty, or
trial,

or judgment, in His domain.

He may

express

His will as a father does to his

FATHERHOOD AND KINGHOOD.

children;

205

He may
His will
;

chastise those

who do
im-

not

fulfil

for the sake of their

provement

and He may,

for their higher

development and attainment, subject them

to varied discipline
;

but a dispensation of
penalties,

law, sanctioned

and enforced by
is

and exposing the transgressor to judicial

trial

and condemnation,

wholly foreign to

the idea of a fatherly system.

preside over an

A father may
;

economy

or house-rule

but

as a father he cannot be the

head of a polity

or

state-rule/

According to this theory,

be an erring, and unhappy,

then,

man may

and blameworthy child of God, but he cannot be regarded and treated as a rebel, as a
criminal,
case,

as

under condemnation.
of an atonement
?

In this

what need
is

what need

of

any remedial scheme whatever?

free,

The

father

surely,

to forgive
so,

his

own
satis-

child, if

he pleases to do

without any

faction being rendered on the part of the

child
;

and that

it

is

God's pleasure to rechild that has

1.

ceive back

and forgive every

^

Aristotle, Polit.

i.

2o6

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
if

wandered from Him,

forgiveness,
trine of

he will but seek His

who can doubt ?

is

Thus the docsort

atonement

adroitly got rid of as a

superfluity, if it be not

denounced as a

of blasphemy derogatory to the character

and claims of the God of love

tianity
is

and Chrissystem of

reduced to a mere
in

natural religion, without distinctive peculiarity,

and

no wise specially

fitted to

com-

mand
men.

the confidence, or satisfy the wants of

Avoiding both these extreme views, we

regard the fatherhood of

God

as

having both

a general and a special aspect, the former as

flowing out of His relation as the creator

and preserver of man, and so extending to

all

men, as His creatures and the objects of

care,
;

His
in

who
"

" live,

and move, and breathe

Him

the latter arising out of gracious

arrangements into which

dividuals or classes of

He enters with inthe human race, and

and condispecial

resting on certain special bases

tions,
results.

and

contemplating

certain

God, as man's creator, becomes,

GOD FATHER AND

conceive,

KING.

207

by that very

and man's king

other.

the one

act,

both man's father

as necessarily as the

And

out of this double relation flows

naturally the whole course of God's dealing

with our

race.

God, as man's Father, has

surrounded him with the bounties of creation

far

beyond what mere equity requires

God,

as man's King, has placed

with
live."

man under law, the strong injunction, "Do this, and And since man has sinned and fallen,
still

God, as his Father,

as his King,

pities him, has

;

com-

passion on him, desires his return

but God,

demands that

satisfaction shall

be rendered to His government and law ere

man's sin can be remitted and the sinner can

be restored.
I

do not see

how we

can lose

sight of either of these views of the divine

character, without injury to our conceptions

of God's

truth as

revealed to us in

His

Word.

If

God were

not both a father and

a king to men, the Christian system could

not have existed.

It is because

God

is

king that a remedial system was required

it is

because

God

is

a father that a remedial

2o8

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
It is the

system has been provided.

king

who
"

says,

"The

soul that sinneth

it shall die/'^

It is the

father

who

interposes

and

says,
I

Deliver from going

have found a ransom."^

the workers of iniquity
" so

down to God

the

pit, for

the king has

denounced wrath to the uttermost against

Grod the father hath

loved the world, that

He

gave His only

begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in

Him might

not perish but might have ever-

lasting life."*

With
apostle's

the

view
in full

thus

presented,

the the

teaching in this
is

address

to

Athenians
asserted

accordance.

Having
his

and pressed on the attention of

audience God's claims as a Father, he goes on

to speak to

them

of

how God

has dealt with

them

as a King.

This aspect of the divine character and

relation
is

not

brought

forward

by the
as
;

apostle in the
^

same formal manner

Job
xxxiii. 24.
^

the

Ezek.
*

xviii. 4.
iii,

Pro v.

x.

29

xxi. 15,

John

16.

See Appendix to this Lecture.

GOD A KING AND JUDGE.

former, nor
length.

209
siicli
:

does

lie

dwell on
is

it

at

The reason

of this

obvious

his

hearers did not so

much need

this part of his

doctrine as they did the other.

The heathen,

though they had

as a father,

lost sight

very

much

of

God

were deeply impressed with the

conviction that

He

is

a king.

They believed
and
guilt,

in a divine government, of

which they were

the subjects

and, conscious of sin

they only too exclusively realised the fact

that they were exposed to the divine wrath.

^j

their

own

confession theirs

was a

religion

of fear.

Fear, says one of themselves,

made

the gods.

Their entire service was an atto placate the gods

all

tempt

at propitiation;

being the prime end of

actings.

their religious
judicial rela-

Of God's kingly and

tion to

men
these

the apostle did not need to

remind

Athenians

their

countless

altars, their costly sacrifices, their

splendid
all

worship, their temples and statues,

fessed
it;

con-

nay,

the

apostle

had already
truth

recognised their submission to this

when

lie

charged them with being god-fear-

2IO

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
To such an
less

ing overmucli.
fore, it

audience, there-

was of

importance to assert the

practical workings-

general truth of God's kingship, than to call

attention to

some of

its

in their bearing
dressing.

on those

whom

he was adgovernment,

Assuming, then, that they knew

fact of divine

and recognised the

the apostle proceeds at once to open to their

minds those views

dealings with

of God's governmental
especially

mankind which were

connected with the message of which he was

a bearer to the nations.

In the statement with which he introduces this part of his address,

it

would seem
and
arise in the

as if the apostle intended to anticipate

remove au objection which might

minds of
have

his hearers in reference to

"If,"

what he

had already concluded.

said, " it

they might

be so wrong and inconsistent

to represent the deity

and God-dishonouring

by images and
that God,

pictures,

why
?

has this in-

iquity been so long endured

why

has not

whom you

say

we have

so grossly

TIMES OF IGNORANCE.
own
by

211

misrepresented and insulted, vindicated His

rights,

inflicting

condign punishment
?

on the workers of such iniquity

sible objection,

"

This pos-

which,

it

will be observed, in-

volves the assumption of the divine rule and

judicial power, St.

Paul virtually meets by the

words,

"And
;

the times of this ignorance

God

Avinked at "

whilst he at the same time

makes

this a point of transition,

whence he

advances to the announcement of his special

message as an apostle of Jesus Christ, a

preacher of the doctrine of repentance, and
the herald of a judgment to come.

For the world at

"times
of

large, the times before

the advent of Christ were, the apostle says,

ignorance."^

By

"ignorance"

here he obviously does not

absolutely

ignorance

mean ignorance
everything;
for
desti-

of

many heathen
tute of

nations,

though utterly
since,

any

direct revelation

from heaven,

both before Christ and

1 yil'j'^'ot

have advanced
tlie

rrii

ayvotac.

So

tlie

Arabs denote
p.

period

before the appearance of

to Abiil Faraji's

Mohammed.

See Pococlie's notes

82.

Specimen Historian Aralum,

212

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

knowledge.

far in tlie acquisition of

A flood

of light

had spread over many parts of the

St.

world, and nowhere more brilliantly than in

the place where

Paul uttered this

dis-

course, long before the occurrence of that event

which he regarded
latter times

as the turning-point be-

tween the former times of ignorance and the

of

which he was the

if

herald.

Of

this

he was well aware, and

we would
under-

understand aright his words,

we must

stand them on this presumption.

The ignorance
ject of

of which

he speaks

is

obviously limited and specified by the sub-

which he has been discoursing

the

subject of religious belief

is

and worship.

He

addressing idolaters on the sin and folly

;

of idolatry

on the absurdity of supposing

all

that

He who made He

things could be worgifts

shipped with mere outward

ings, as if

and

offer-

needed aught at the hand of

His creature, and on the utter incongruity of

acknowledging, on the one hand, the divine
paternity,

and on the

other, representing the

being

whom

they thus called their father

NOT BLAMELESS
stone "graven

LGNORANGE.

and preserver by pieces of

gold, or silver, or

by
of

art

and man's

device."

This
it

is

what he has been speaking about:

sort
thino;

is

this

which he

calls

"ignorance;" and the period of the world's

history

when

this sort
is

of thing prevailed

almost universally
'

what he designates the

times of ignorance/

Now,

there

is

a dans^er of the term " io^no-

ranee" misleading us here, because

often include under
it,

we

so
it,

or associate with

the idea of helplessness, inability to know,

want of the means of information, that we may come to the conclusion that Paul had
no censure to pronounce upon the idolatry
of the Athenians

and other heathen,

in these

by- gone times, of which he speaks.

Let

it

be observed, then, that in using the term

" ignorance," the apostle does

not necessarily
or

intend to convey the idea of innocent

helpless ignorance.

All

ignorance

is

not

excusable.
better,

If a
is

man might have known

sin,

he

chargeable with

and

is

under

blame

for his ignorance.

So

far as this

word

214

ST.

PA UBS DISCO URSE.

goes, then, it proves nothing as to the light

in

which Paul viewed the moral character of

state

that

of unacquaintedness with G-od,

and
his

his service

with which he charges man-

kind at large.

But from the whole

strain of

remarks we can easily gather that he

held their ignorance to be culpable.

He

plainly tells the Athenians that they ought

to

have known better

that reason and com-

mon

sense forbade the conclusions to which

fol
;

they had come, and the practices they

lowed in reference to the service of God

and

that,

consequently,

they

stood

con-

demned
rant of

for their conduct.

They

w^ere ignoit

God and

of His worship, but

was

because they had neglected or misused the

proper sources of knowledge on these points

which were within

would.

their reach, not because

if

they might not have known better

they

These "times of ignorance," therefore,

were really also times of rebellion and apostacy.

In spite of the lessons of nature pro-

claiming on every side the being and perfec-

THIS IGNORANCE WIIFUL.

tions of her

215

Maker and Lord

of

in opposition

to reason asserting the unity, the spirituality

and
of

infinitude

God, the

men
was

of these

times were idolaters, and " turned the glory

God

into a
their

lie."

And

as it

their heart

and not

head that was

at fault in this
idolaters,

matter- -as

they were ignorant

light

because they preferred ignorance to knowledge,

and darkness

to

God

was

pleased to leave

them

to the consequences of

such guidance.
in their evil

He
;

allowed them to go on

way

until they

had

filled

the

world with idols

religion

until all sense of spiritual

had passed from the minds of the

until,

people

loosened from the restraint

which the

belief in a personal, just,

all

and holy
excess of

God
riot
;

imposes, they ran wild into

and
to

until,

"wearied in the greatness of

their way," their superstition

and impurity
all

rose

frantic

height,

and

things

human and

divine seemed to be mingled in

one mass of confusion and pollution.

So much was

this the case at

it,

Athens at

the time that Paul visited

that

we may

16

ST,

PA UrS DISCO URSE.

liis

well believe that many, at least, of

audi

ence

felt in tlieir

own

hearts a witness for

the truth of what he asserted, and were ready

to admit that, with all tlieir literature,
all

and

their philosophy,

and

all

their art,

and

their countless multitude of gods,

and their

splendid apparatus of worship, they had, up

to the

moment

of his speaking to them, been

immersed

in the gross darkness of " times of

ignorance."

Of these times
says that

of ignorance the apostle

at " them.

God

"

winked

This

is

somewhat
sion
:

strange, almost startling expres-

what does the

it
?

apostle intend to con-

vey by

The
" to

original

word here used^

signifies

look over," and

may be

taken either in a
it sig-

good sense or a bad.

nifies

In a had sense

to

neglect

something which should

have been attended to

carelessness
1

to overlook

through
to

or indifierence

what ought

v'TTs^idsTvj

" frequens verbum apud Lxx. interpretes

ciiratur,

de re quae non

et

sine

animadversione severa relinqiiitur."

ope propitia vel sine

Bengel.

GOD WINKED AT IT.

and hence
sense
it

217

have been observed and guarded against,

to

contemn or

despise.

In a good

signifies to

pass over, through

ency or tenderness, some fault

leni-

to

allow

something to go on which might have been

hindered

to act, in short, as if

it

overlooked, though in reality

noticed,

it

had been had been some

rea-

and was permitted only

for

son in the

mind

of the party
willed.

who might have

it is

hindered

it

had he

Now,

clearly

in the latter of these senses that the

is

word
all

here used in reference to God.

Strictly
for

speaking.

He

overlooks

nothing,

things are open to His sight; and these times

of ignorance

He had
stages

attentively surveyed

from their
night.
is

earliest twilioiit

on throuo^h

all

the advancing

of

their

deepening
that

It can never be said of

careless or remiss,

or that

Him He

He
to.

neglects

anything

that

ought to be attended

Were

this to

happen in one

instance, or for

one moment, the whole order of nature would be disturbed, and the machinery of being

would be thrown into confusion.

Still less

ST.
it

PA ULS DISCO URSE.

He
all

can

be said that

in the remotest de-

gree connived at this

one, in

evil, for

He

is

the Holy

whose sight

evil is

unspeakably

abominable, and

who

will not pass

by

sin.

But God may permit

connive at
sinner,
it.

sin

though

He

does not

He may

forbear to smite the

his sin.

though he does not overlook

the while

He may
it

allow sin to go on uninterrupted

all

and unchecked, though

in its exceeding evil,

He

sees

and has the means

this
St.

of

arresting

and preventing it. All

God may

do; and this

says

we

take

it is

what

Paul here

He

did do in reference to these "times

of ignorance.'^
suffered

He

permitted them.
to

the
it

ignorance

begin,

He and He He
did

suffered

to grow.
it

He
it

did not interfere to

annihilate

by His judgments. by His

not interfere to arrest

grace.

He
until

simply
left, it

left it

alone for a season; and thus

in enormity

waxed

and extent
it

God's purpose in permitting

was answered,
it after

and then

He

interposed to deal with

another fashion.
I believe this is the true

explanation of

GOD KNOWS WHY IT WAS

the apostle's words, and that this

SO.
is tall

219

we
be-

can say of such matters.

Some

who
sides

claim to ask more than this

who,

there are

knowing the
for
it.

fact,

would know

also the

reason

But

all

such inquiries are In nature and

is

presumptuous and absurd.

in religion, all that

we can know
;

the fact

and order of God's acting

self tells us

unless

He Him-

we never can
That
does,

discover the rea.son

of His acting.
for all that

He

ever has a reason

firmly hold
is

He

we must

but what that reason in every case

we can

no more discover, without a revelation, than

we can fathom
eternal mind.

the infinite depths of the

There have been also persons

who have

made
If,

this fact a

ground of argument against

the divine orimn of the relirion of the Bible.

say they, the Scriptures contain a religion

from God

religion such alone as

He

will

recognise and approve, and, therefore, the

only true religion for

this

man

why

was not
?

made

universal from the

first

Why
-

were so

many

nations left to spend a pro

220

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
God emhaving
this

tracte^ period of ignorance before

powered those wlio knew

announce
it

religion to

to the

world?

And
is

asked these questions they straightway draw

the conclusion that Christianity

not from

Now, on this it may be observed, that whether we can assign any sufficient reason
God.
or not for the late appearance of the Gospel,

the argument raised on the alleged absence

of
It

any reason

for this, is altogether futile.

proceeds upon the assumption that beit is

cause no reason for

apparent to
it

us, there

could be no reason for

apparent to God.

But who has a right

assumption
?

to

make any such

:

Who
God,

has a right to say

if

"I

do not see
to send to
earlier

why

He had

this religion
it

earth, should

not have sent

and universally; and,

therefore, I infer

that

God Himself
;

could not see

I

why

this

should be done

and hence

conclude that
all."

He

never sent this religion at

Surely

nothing can be more unphilosophical than

this,

nothing more opposed to the whole

;

analogy of nature than this

unphilosophi-

ENDS ANSWERED BY IT.

col because
it

221

builds an argument on an

assumption which no

man

is

entitled
;

to

make, and
contrary

wliicli is

manifestly absurd

and

analogy of nature, for on every side of us we see that the creator has
to

the

conferred benefits on one which

He has with-

held from others.

Whilst, then,

we avow

our inability to

point out the reasons

why God
we
feel

permitted

these "times of ignorance,"

patibility

no incom-

between this and a cordial reception

of the religion

He

did in due time send to re-

move
of
life.

this ignorance,

and teach man the way

it

At

the same time

may be observed
are

that

many important

ends

manifest

even to us as secured by this delay in introducing the Christian dispensation.

inability
It af-

forded an experimental proof of the utter

of philosophy or

human

reason,

without a revelation, to find out God, and

to construct a satisfying religion for
It

man.
put

showed

also

how

apt

man

is

to

away from him

how, without

the truths of religion,

and

a written

revelation,

these

222

ST.

PAUL'S DISCO URSE.

perisli

would utterly

from

tlie

earth; for

it

should not be foro-otten that the

reliction of

God

ivas

at

first

universal

was

revealed
it

to the

wliole

human

family;

and that

ceased to be universally

known only
it

because

men
it

did not like to retain the knowledge of

in their thoughts.

And

gave scope also

for that

wonderful preparation of the world

for the reception of this world-faith

which
introjDur-

existed at the time Christianity

was

duced; as well as for the important

poses to
seclusion,

be served by the selection and

and training and treatment of the

That these were the reasons
it

Jewish people.
of the

divine procedure in this matter

to assert
;

would be presumptuous
and
as great advantage
it

but as

these ends were manifestly answered thereby,

was thus gained

for

the race,

behoves us gratefully to mark

this,

and acknowledge

instead of foolishly

and impiously replying against God.

NE W D

C TRINE.

223

APPENDIX TO LECTURE VIIL

Does the Fatherly Relation of God Include His Rectoral and Judicial Relations %

There
tion of

is

a class of theologians
is

who

think something

important
relations.

gained by extending the fatherly relaso as to include

God

His rectoral and judicial

is

They admit that God

the moral governor

of the universe, that

He

rules

His intelligent creatures

by law sanctioned by penalties, and that He can remit sins only on the ground of satisfaction being rendered to the justice which sin has offended but
;

they contend that

relation

all

this falls

under His fatherly

with the

and

is

the proper acting of a father.

Now,

I cannot helj) thinking that

it is

men
They

of this school

hardly worth while to argue.

all

admit ostensibly
phraseology.
ture,

that

This phraseology
it

we contend for, except our we borroAv from Scripit,

and we think
it

wise to retain

because

it

tends

to precision of thought

inasmuch as

and accuracy of representation, assigns different names to really different

;

objects of thought

but

if

our brethren prefer

calling-

God

a father only, to calling

Him father, and

king,

and

judge,

we do

not think

it

needful to enter into con-

troversy with
to

them

for this, so long as they ascribe

God

the functions of a king and judge as well as

the functions of a father.

add, that
it

At the same time

not worthy of

must

seems to

me

men

of their

character and abilities, to

make

a point of a matter of

224
this sort.

-4S

WORTHLESS AS NEW.
say that

To

God
as

rules,
;

and yet object to

to say that

our speakmg of
really to turn the

God

a ruler

God
is

judges but must not be represented as a judge,

whole question into as

idle a logo-

machy

as ever

employed the pen of theologian.

is

Supgained

posing the pomt conceded, what advantage

by it % Is the love of God in sending His Son to redeem man made thereby more conspicuous % Is the plan of redemption rendered thereby more glorious in the view of

men?

Is the obligation of

men

to avail themselves

of the salvation thus provided

made thereby more

imperative

And
is
it

if

our theology,

nothing is to be gained by it to worth while to introduce such a

it

departure from the time-honoured phraseology of the

church, and to contend for
as if
jt

involved some imis

portant truth

On the

other hand,

there no danger

to the Christian cause from this piece of neology'?

May
is

not some be induced by

it

to forget that

"God

angry with the wicked," that

He

will not hold the

sinner guiltless, and that

world in righteousness
puts into the

He will one day judge the May it not encourage many

which Shakespeare

to adopt a theology such as that

mouth

of one of his characters

Is
't

enough I'm sorry

mercy.

So children temporal fathers do appease

Gods are more

full of

Must

I repent
v.

Cymheline, Act

Scene

3.

And may
with the

it

not be found convenient for some

who

false

and shallow liberalism but too preva-

ALSO DANGEROUS.

225

would

lent in the present day,

like to believe

with another

fain serve two masters with one party and speak would, from regard to their own spirit-

would

ual interests, hold with the universal church,

find themselves free to fr?oternize with teachers

and yet who,

whatever their genius and goodness, have certainly departed very far from that " form of sound words "
into the

mould

Open

revolt

alarm, for
" spargere

of which the church was first delivered. from the truth need cause no serious one knows how to deal with it ; but the
" is as

ambiguas voces

mischievous to the

Cliristian cause as it is

dangerous to the safety of a

commonwealth.

IX.
St.

Paul's Discourse.

ALL

Men

to

Eepent The

God's

Summons of
Final

Judgment.

Sovereignty of power

in a ruler does not

necessarily involve equity of administration;

and, on the other hand, a ruler

in principle
his subjects

may

be just

and desirous of acting towards

with perfect equity, and yet not
the good he desires.

be

able,

from want of absolute sovereignty, to

all

do them
of these

The union
and

two

constitutes a perfect reign ;

such

is

the reign of

God

the

King

of the

whole

earth.
is

Sovereignty

the right and power of

acting according to will

of giving
it

effect to

whatever the ruler

is

pleases.

Now, when

this

associated with perfect equity,

can dis-

DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY.
play
tion.
itself

227

only in acts of gracious benefacis

There

no other

spliere left in
act.

which

sovereignty in such a case can

covers the entire field of

Equity
subject

what the
lies

may

expect of the ruler on the ground of

;

claim or desert

beyond that

only the

province of goodness, generosity, grace

the province in which undeserved benefits

may

be bestowed

and

this province,

under
is

a perfectly equitable administration,

the

only one where sovereignty, as such, can find

scope.
It is

not required for deeds of equity,

;

except to execute them

it

cannot, without
;

violating equity, be put forth to injure

it

can only, therefore, be exercised for good.^

It is in this light that the sovereignty of

God must
lutely

ever be regarded
is

by

us.

Abso-

His sovereignty
to do

His right and

with His own

power
but, as

what He

will

He

is

perfectly just,

and

as justice
his

secures

that

what

is

due to any of
it is

creatures shall be bestowed,

only in the

sphere of pure benefaction, unmerited good*

Williams' Essay on Equity and Sovereignty.

228

ST.

FA UL'S DISCO URSE.

God

doing, that His sovereignty can be exercised.

The sovereignty
creatures

of

is

thus practically
to His

His right and power to

show grace

to deal with

them on grounds

of

pure spontaneous favour.

Now

this gracious sovereignty

been pleased to
in various

exercise on

God has man s behalf

ways.

Confining ourselves at

present within the limits of St. Paul's discourse to the Athenians,

we
is

note two especial

manifestations of God's sovereign grace to

man.

The one

of these

His longsuffering

forbearance of man's apostacy and rebellion

during; the "times of if^norance;" the other is

His command

now

issued to

men everywhere

to repent. That God should have permitted

the idolatries and manifold sins of the hea-

then so long

that He should have forborne

whose whole course

to smite those nations

was
that

one of rebellion against

Him, and whose

very religion was a daily insult to

Him
at

He

should have seemed

to "

wink
to

their iniquities,

and even continue

bestow

upon them

benefits innumerable, can be as-

ALL

MEN TO

REPENT.

229

cribed only to His free, spontaneous, sovereign

beneficence
are

and

to this also
it,

and not

less

we

to ascribe

that for such trans

gressors there has been provided a place of

repentance, and that

God

should

now comThat

mand

all

men everywhere
come
is

to repent.

this should

forth in the shape of a

is

command

because His grace

;

the grace

of a sovereign
forth at all
is

that

it

should have come

is

because His sovereignty

sovereignty of grace.

By

"the times of this ignorance" the

apostle intends, as

we have

seen, the period in

the history of the heathen world anterior to

the advent of Christ.

In contrast with

this,

he says that now,

i.e.,

since Christ has come,

under the new dispensation.

He commands all
In these words
of the Christian

men everywhere to repent. we have two characteristics

dispensation brought before us

its

peculi-

arity as a dispensation of repentance,

and

its

peculiarity as a dispensation of universality.

In order to enforce his doctrine the apostle

23o

ST.

FA UnS DISCO URSE.

final

adds an announcement of the

of the universe of

judgment

men by God.
I.

Every reader of the

New

Testament
repent-

must have noticed

ance
is

how prominently
dispensation.

brought forward there as a charac

teristic of the

new

John, the

herald and forerunner of the Christ, came

"preaching the baptism of repentance for

the remission of sins ; "

the burden of his

discourse was, "Kepent ye, for the

of

kingdom

God

is

at

hand

bring forth fruits meet

for repentance,"
results

i. e.,

such as are the natural

and
to

fitting evidences of repentance.^

call

"I

am

come," said Jesus Himself, "to

repentance."^

sinners

When He
own

sent

forth the twelve during His

personal

ministry, they, being taught of

Him, went
forth as the

out and preached that

men

should repent f

and when He

finally sent

them

commissioned ambassadors of the mediatorial

^

Luke

iii.

38

Matt,
^

iii.

1, 2.

'

Matt.

ix.

13.

Luke

vi. 1 2.

REPENTANCE PREACHED.
King,
of
it

231

was that "repentance and remission

should be preached in His

sins

name

among
forth

all

nations, beginning at Jerusalem/'^

In fulfilment of this commission they went

as

preachers

of

repentance.

They

began, as commanded, with their countrymen,

to

whom

they

said,

"Kepent and be baptised

every one of you in the

name

of Jesus Christ

for the remission of sins;"^

and advancing
it
;

from them to the heathen

was

still

the

same message they brought

to

they preached

them " repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."^ Thus they announced that "now God commandeth all

men everywhere
was pressed upon
dispensation.

to
all

repent."

Repentance
the primary

men

as

duty and characteristic privilege of the new

The word
pentance,"
senses.

" repent,"

and

its

cognate " rein

are

used in Scripture

two

In the one, they have reference to

a state of feeling, that

in the
1

namely which

arises

mind when, convinced of error, mistake,

xxiv. 47.
^

Luke

Acts

ii.

38.

'

Acts xx. 21.

23 2

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

we
are

or

transgression,

in

consequence
;

grieved and vexed with ourselves

other,

in the

they have respect to a state of mind,

that namely which ensues when, convinced

of error,

we change
affections.

our opinions, and with

them our
only as

The

latter

may

be re
it is

garded as the primary meaning; for

we change our views

of things that

we can experience a change from

and admiration of any
it.

the love

course, to grief

and

vexation with ourselves for having pursued

To

this the original

word

in the Greek
signifies

seems
^

to

point,
from

for

that

word^

//-grocvo/a,

/xsravosco, whicL.

the classical authors

we use the phrase " to change one's mind." Thus Xenophon {Cyro-p. i. 3), " when we had considered these things we were compelled to change our mind {7]))ayKaXjjuse as
fxs&a [MsroLvoihy^ etc.; Plato [Euth. 279, c), "

having changed

my mind
uses the

I said {[MravoTicag

zI'ttov)"

etc.;

and Polybius
;

word very frequently in

this sense

see the exp.

amples in Eaphelii Annott. in

opinion or purpose

Script. Sac.,

ii.

726,

ff.

This writer also uses n>iTdvoia in the sense of a change of

;

of which also Eaphel gives examples.

Hierocles a Neo-Platonist of the fifth century, has a re-

markable passage, which

of
(J^zr avoid,

may throw

light

on the meaning
" Since

as used in the

New

Testament.
" let us

we

have fallen from being good," says he,

endeavour

WHAT REPENTANCE
literally a

IS.

233

change of mind or opinion, and

it

only by usage comes to include in

reference to penitential emotion.

any

Eepent-

ance thus viewed, therefore,

is

of

two kinds.

But practically the two cannot be separated,

especially in regard to religious interests
for
;

whenever the mind

is

changed in respect
will ensue

of religious belief

and duty, there

a corresponding change of feeling in respect

of ourselves
;

our former complacency in

ourselves will be disturbed, and

we

shall be

found humbled, grieved, and vexed, because

of our former errors
it is
;

and, on the other hand,

only by having our religious opinions

and modes of thought entirely changed that

we

shall

be brought out of that carnal

to

self-

complacency which reconciles us

selves,

our-

notwithstanding

all

the rebukes and

to regain it

by a

just penitence (/xsra/xsXs/a)

accepting

the divine correction.

This change of mind {fLirdvota) bestep towards a life

p.

comes the

first

principle of philosophy, the avoidance of

fii'st

foolish deeds

and words, and the

not to be repented of" {Comment, in Aurea Carmina, 126, ed. Needham).

Comp. 2

Cor.

vii.

10.

234

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE,

may
address to us

checks wliicli conscience

as sinners.

That, then, to which, under the gospel

dispensation,

men

are called,

is

a change of

mind and feeling. But this is a relative mode of expression, and we can understand it only by perceiving correctly, on the one hand, what the change is from, and on the other, what the change is to. From what and to what, then, are men called by the gospel to change ? This question we may answer in the general, by saying that they are called to
change from wrong, God-dishonouring, heartcorrupting, soul-destroying opinions, feelings,

and

habits, to right, true, purifying, sancti-

fying, ennobling opinions, feelings

and

habits.

More

particularly, the
is

change to which the

gospel calls us,

of God,

a change from wrong views

feelings towards

and wrong and

in his

Him,
and

to such views
just.

feelings as are right

Man,

natural

state,

labours

under wholly erroneous conceptions of God's

character, perfections,

and

claims.

He thinks

of

Him

as a harsh

and tyrannical task-master.

WIIA T
imposing
services,

REPENTANCE
duties,

IS.

235

onerous

exacting

costly

and ready

to visit with the heaviest

veno'eance the slio^htest omission of whatever

He demands

or he pictures

Him

as

an

easy, benevolent, almost apathetic ruler, too

indolent to notice, and too kind to punish,

the transgressions of His creatures

and in

accordance with the one or other of these

views he either fears

Him

with "a fear

which hath torment," or he regards

tempt.

Him
is

with an indifference that borders on con-

Among

heathen nations,

God

thought of as a Being
sented by images,

who may be

repre-

who may

be propitiated

by

offerings,

and to

whom
;

the fat of sacri-

fices is

a grateful oblation

and even where

men
they

are delivered
still

from such gross notions,

think unworthily of God, or they

impiously turn from

think of

Him and
Thus
;

refuse

to
dis-

Him
in

at

all.

is

God

honoured on the earth

thus does

man

be-

come "vain

his

imaginations, and his

foolish heart is

darkened

and

thus, turning
piety,

aside from the path of truth and

he

236

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
unrigliteousness,

falls into all

and

fills

the

earth with impurity, violence, and

all evil.

Now,

the call of Christianity to

man

is

a call to forsake these wrong, misleading,

degrading, perverting views of God, and to

embrace such as are

ennobling.
tianity presents to

true,

and pure, and

this,

And, in order to

Chris-

men

the true character of

God
It

and not only

so,

but presents

it

in

such a

way

as to attract, whilst it enlightens.

shows to us God

the

just, the holy, the

sin-abhorring King, as propitiated towards us

through means which

us.

He

Himself, as our

kind and loving Father, hath provided for

It

comes to

us, at

one and the same

ad-

time, declaring to

us the righteousness of
;

God, and commending to us His love

whilst

it

dresses the deepest convictions of our nature,

it

appeals to the strongest emotions of

;

our hearts

and thereby

it

brings us, at once

in reverence

and

in love, to the footstool of

It is this

the heavenly throne.

which con-

stitutes true repentance ; not

mere utterances

of regret, not

mere bursts of sorrow, not

REPENTANCE AND REMISSION

strong
expressions
casting
of

237

self-condemnation
of

but the

out

wrong thoughts of ings towards Him, and the coming,

child-like

mind of all God, and all wrong feelthe

in true

love

and

confidence,

and worjoy of His

ship, to behold His beauty, to aspire to

His

likeness,

and to

live in the

favour.
It is

worthy of notice how

sins.-^

closely in the
is it

New

Testament repentance

associated

with remission of

Now

cannot be

intended by this to teach us that repentance

'procui^es

remission; or that

it

is

on the

ground of repentance that

some have

sin is remitted.

Into this opinion some have fallen, just as

fallen into the opinion that beis

cause baptism

associated with repentance

and remission,

it is

through means of
is

it

that
to

the spiritual blessing

gives no support.

secured.

But

such views Scripture, rightly interpreted,

Baptism

is

not the remis-

sion of sins, but simply a rite to

which a
re-

person
^

is

submitted with a view to the

xxii.

Comp. Luke

47

Acts

ii.

38

v.

31

etc.

238

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
and which has
effect

mission of sins;^ in other words, an initiatory

step towards that end,

in its being a sign of submission to Christ

as the teacher of that religion

which makes
sins.

known
like

to

men

the remission of
is

In

manner repentance
but

not the remission

of sins, nor the ground on

which

this is be-

stowed,

simply the

process

through

which a

man

passes to the enjoyment of

that blessing.

The

blessing itself comes to

us on other grounds entirely; on grounds out

of ourselves
It

and independent

of our working.

comes to us solely through the vicarious

and propitiatory work of Christ Jesus our

Lord, through whose blood alone
the remission of sins, and

we have
It is

by whom alone

sinners can be reconciled unto God.

only ignorance or confusion of thought that

could lead any one to suppose that the mere

repentance of the sinner can form a ground

of his acceptance with God.
1

What
is

is

there
which

The

preposition used in sucli phrases

/^,

"expresses a stage towards which

anything

advances."

Wmer, Gram.

d.

N.

T.,

88.

TRUE GROUND OE PARDON.

in a man's turning ouglit never to to

239

from a course

wliicli

he

have followed, to compensate

law and justice for the offences he has

committed while pursuing that course ?

Or
an
that

how

could government be administered on

that

the principle

the

repentance

of

offender entitles
offence
?

him

to the pardon of his

If the principle be laid

down

man who

violates

law and incurs a penalty

has only to repent to have this penalty re-

mitted and his offence forgiven, then the

legal penalty

by which the law is sanctioned

letter
;

becomes a dead
will be

for,

in this case,

men

punished not for their offences but

simply for their impenitence, and any

will

man

have

it

in his

power

at once to

exempt
under

himself from the penalty he has incm-red by

saying he repents.

If it be said that
is

the divine government such laxity

impossible, inasmuch as not the
" I repent" will suffice,

rendered

mere saying

but the actual repentthe condition of par-

ance of the sinner as ascertained by the

divine omniscience
is

don

would ask

What

does such genuine

240

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE,
tlie

repentance imply in reference to

law

Does

it

not imply that the penalty denounced

is just,

by
to

that law against sin

and that the

sinner

who

has incurred that penalty ought

?

suffer it

Suppose, then, that sincere

repentance were to entitle a sinner to pardon,

this,

what would
that

it

come

to

AVhy, to

when

a sinner sincerely confesses

that he ought to be punished, he thereby

entitles himself

not to be punished

in other

words, that

God

binds himself not to do

what according to His own law ought to be done, whenever the sinner sincerely acknowAs if the ledges that it ouo^ht to be done
!

sinner's

acknowledgment that a certain thing

sufficient

ought to be done were a

not be done

ground

for

God's determining that that thing should

From such

absurdities

we can

escape

only by holding fast by the Scripture representation, that the

ground of a sinner's par-

don

is

found in the atoning work of Christ,

;

and in that alone

faith, is

and that repentance,

like

simply the

medium

or process

by

PERSONAL REPENTANCE REQUIRED.

241

which an individual enters into the personal

enjoyment of the blessing thus provided.

God bestows the remission of sins freely, without money and without price, on the
ground that His kingly and judicial rights
have been confirmed by the propitiation of
Christ,

and thereby a channel opened by

which His fatherly grace

lost

may

flow

down on
Id

and perishing

sinners.

But

order

that any
grace, he

man may

for himself enjoy this

must come unto God by a true and

all his

genuine repentance, giving up

wrono;

former

and dishonourinoj views

all his

of

God
dis-

purging himself of

former jealous,

trustful, unfilial feelings

towards God; re

nouncing

all

self-righteousness in
all

which he
thoughts

may

formerly have trusted, and

of being able to purchase the divine favour

by

any works of

his

own

and casting himself

there
is

on God's mercy

for salvation as a poor, help-

less transgressor, for

whom
is

no hope

anywhere
God's

else

than in the atoning death of

This
true evanorelical
is

own

son.

repentance, without which there

no salva-

342
tion,

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
is

but in which there

in a

no more power to
is

procure or merit salvation, than there

power

man

to produce

light

by merely

turning towards the sun, and opening his

eyes to receive
its

beams.
the apostle was
the

Of

this

doctrine
all

herald, as

were

who, in obedience to the

command of Christ, sought to announce to men the gospel of the kingdom. Of that
kingdom, and of the dispensation with which
it

stands connected, this doctrine of repentis

ance
there

a special characteristic.

Not

that

was no such thing

as repentance

under

the preceding dispensations, or that sinners

were then accepted by God on any other

ground than that of the Saviour s work, or

through any other medium than that of
pentance and faith
;

re-

but partly because this

way
pally

of salvation

is

more

clearly revealed

under the Christian dispensation, and princibecause the

Christian
dispensation,

being wholly one of spiritual relations and

spiritual

principles,

it is

impossible for a
it

man

to become connected with

in

any

JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY.

other

243

way than through such

a spiritual pro-

Under the Levitical dispensation a man became a member of the Jewish institute by birth and the outward rite of circumcision and he could
cess as that of repentance.
;

maintain his place without impeachment,

simply by attending to
ceremonies
system,
as
for

certain

outward
a

and observances.
a
system,
there

In such

was

plainly

no place
under

an inward

spiritual process like

that of repentance to work.

this

Men

living

system might be the subjects of a

true spiritual repentance,

and thereby con-

nect themselves with that spiritual theocracy

of which the Jewish state

was the outward

type; but this belonged to them as men, not as Jews, and was in no wise characteristic

of the

dispensation,
lived.

as

such,

under
its pri-

which they
essentially

That dispensation was

carnal,

outward and

and

vileges were secured

cesses.

by purely outward pro

spirit,

With Christianity it is quite otherwise.

the privi-

It is

a dispensation of the

leges of

which are

spiritual,

and are to be

244

ST,

PAULS DISCOURSE.
Hence
is

enjoyed througli spiritual processes.

repentance, which

a spiritual change from

an ungodly to a godly state of mind, is esseMtial

to this

dispensation

is

inseparable from

it.

Unless
is

men

repent and be converted there

for

no entrance

them

into this kingdom.

Jew was

born to his place in the dispen;

sation to

which he belonged

Christians are

not born but become such.

Christ
is

The church

of

not a nation or visible society into

which a
of birth

man
;

falls,

without any choice or

consent of his own, by the simple accident

it
is

a spiritual
their

community

into

which men enter of

which
those
is

own

will,

and

kept up by continual accessions of

saves

whom God

by working

in

them
His

to will thus to connect themselves with

church.

Our Saviour
"

said plainly to Nico-

demus,

Except a

man

be born again he

cannot see the kingdom of

God ;"^ and

it is

this regeneration (which practically

effect is

and in

not to be distinguished from repent-

ance)

which saves a man, and can alone

^

John

iii.

CHRISTIANITY UNIVERSAL.
bring

245

him

to the

enjoyment of the privileges

of the Christian dispensation.

Hence

it

is

that repentance comes to be a special characteristic of

the latter dispensation

and

that the gospel of the

kingdom

is

primarily

a preaching of repentance.

IL
Christianity being thus not an outward

but a spiritual system,

versality.

is is

adapted for uni-

That which

outward must be
national, but

more
which

or less local
is

and

that
spirit

spiritual is as
it is

wide as the
it is

whose wants
to

designed to meet.

Hence,

along with the fact that

by

calling

men

repentance that Christianity character-

isitcally

pursues
is

its

end, there

is

the fact
univer-

that this call

sally.

addressed to

men

God
this

" now," says the apostle, "

comre

mandeth
Under
pentance,

all

men everywhere

to repent.

economy

of spirituality

and

God
is

addresses the world at large

His voice

to the race of

men

His message

246
is

ST.

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

;

to every creature of that race

is

and the
every-

purport of that message

that

men

where ought to repent, that

men everywhere
men
man's
or

may

repent and turn unto God.

This message
tatively
;

God
not

sends to
left

authori-

it

is

to
it

option
;

whether he

will

accept
it

not

he

is

commanded

to accept

if

he would not

incur a deeper condemnation and a darker

doom than any

to which, during " the times

of ignorance,'' he could be exposed.

This

is

the form in which the apostle brings the

matter before his audience on Mars'

it is

hill,

and

as tending to enforce this

:

upon them that

appointed a day

he adds
in the

"

Because

He hath

which

He

will

judge the world in

righteousness,

ordained."

by that man whom He hath The fact that there is a judgment

men,

to come, that this is to extend over all

that

it is

to be conducted on the principle of

righteousness,
to one

and that

it is

to be entrusted

whom God has ordained, even Jesus Christ, through whom alone repentance has
for

become possible

men,

is

what the

apostle

FUTURE JUDGMENT.
adduces as the supreme reason
so imperatively

247

why God has summoned all men every-

where to repent.
quently,

regard to

this,

conseto in-

must form a cogent motive

all to

duce to repentance brought

whom

this message

comes; and as such, doubtless, the apostle

it

before the

minds of those

whom

on

this occasion

he addressed.

III.

general belief in a future

all

judgment

seems to have pervaded

earliest times.

nations from the

Whether

this

was received
St.

at first

by

special revelation, as one Avould

be led to conclude from the statement of

Jude

(ver. 14), that

Enoch the seventh from

;

Adam

prophesied of this

or

was a natural

conclusion from the conviction that

man

is

under a moral government here, a govern

ment by law and penal

as all the ends of that

sanctions,

and that
reason

government are not

state, there is

answered in the present

to expect a trial

and a sentence in a future

248 state
;^

ST.
it is

FA ULS DISCO URSE.

certain that the belief
all

was

to be

found among
ever

the ancient nations, and

tradition,

most

strongly where

and
this

not speculation, determined the beliefs of

men.
belief,

At Athens, when Paul

still

visited

it,

though sneered at and mocked by the

formed part of the

philosophers and wits,

popular creed.

At the same time it cannot be said that it was any clear or definite or very impressive conviction which was generally entertained by the heathen on the subject
beyond a mere vague expectation of some
trial

which each

man had

to

undergo
stories

after

death,

and

certain fantastic

which
trial, it

poets and mythologers

had concocted about

of the

the

manner and circumstances

cannot be said that the subject had

hold on their minds.
tle

much

Hence what the aposat this time

all

announced to the Athenians

would come upon them with

excitement of a

the force and

new

truth.
it

And
fore
^

in the
it

form in which he put

It

be-

them

was new.

was a new thiug

I.

See Butler's Analogy^ Part

ch. 2.

ST.

PAULS DOCTRINE NEW.

249

to

them

to be told that the

supreme God

Himself was to be the judge of mankind.

It

was a new thing

to

to be told that the judgto be a simultaneous as

ment

come was

well as a universal

judgment of the

race.

It

was a new thing

this
it

to be told that a

day has

been fixed in the councils of heaven, when

tremendous

assize is to be held.
all

And
it

was of course

new

to

them that

in the person of Jesus Christ

of

was

one in

human
world.

nature that

God was

to judge the
all

So utterly strange to them was on their powers of

belief,

this that their patience

was exhausted by the

and

strain thus laid

they, with a few exceptions, broke

away

from the speaker with derision and mockery.

What

the apostle told the Athenians in

this discourse, is

what Scripture constantly judgment

to come.

teaches us concerning the

It assures

us that the judgment will be

universal and simultaneous.

^^

God

will

then

judge

the

world!'

Before His tribunal

summoned every son and daughter of Adam, with their progenitor at their head.
shall be

250

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
of the archangel

As

the Judge descends to take His place

upon the throne the voice

,

and the trump of God

;

shall be heard,

and

they, that
forth.

are in their graves shall

come

The long slumber of

centuries shall

be suddenly broken.

The tombs

of

many

generations shall be unsealed in a moment.

From crowded
sepulchre
less hosts
;

grave-yard, and from lonely

fields,

from battle

where countfell

have
have
;

fallen in

one

slaughter,

and men who have died

conflict

in the in

agony of
one

been

buried

com-

mon

grave

from the untrodden depths of

ocean,

which no sunbeam has ever reached,

but to which the strength of manhood, and

the gentleness of

woman, and
have
;

childhood's

smiling loveliness,

gone
of

down and
burning
hapless

returned
desert,

no

more

from

the the

where the

bones

traveller

have lain bleaching on the spot

cave,

where he sank down and died; and from

mountain

where the fugitive or the

solitary has yielded

up

his spirit

was no one by

to

help

him

wherever

when

there

THE LAST JUDGMENT

man's mortal frame has found
place where
it

25

a restingits

could return to

parent

dust, the forms of living men shall be seen coming forth that they may stand before the

Judge.
world's

It will

history

the

be the closing scene of this

catastrophe
of

that

strange drama which through the ages has

been enacted on the theatre of earth

all

and

who have had

a part in

its

long and

eventful development shall be there to wit-

ness the solemnities of

its close,

and receive

the award of the Judge.

This award shall be one given " in righteousness."

The standard

by which
;

the

Judge

shall

determine the case of each, will

the de-

be a perfectly righteous standard

cision of the

Judge

will be

such as every

conscience shall approve as just and right.

How
is

can

it

be otherwise when
?

it is

God who
Is it

the judge

" Shall

not the Judge of the

is

whole earth do that which

possible that

rig^ht?"

any other than perfectly

right-

eous

judgment should proceed from "the

Lord who loveth
rio^hteousness ?"

rio'hteous

252

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
of decision at that great

The standard
assize shall be the

moral law of the universe,

all

under which God has placed

gent creatures each
as
it
;

His

intelli

and the testing question,

be
:

in

case, will

Has

that law been kept

?

ought to have been kept

this the character

To

deter-

mine

and conduct of the

individual, whilst

on

earth, will be strictly

investigated; a survey of his entire existence

here below will be taken

every thought,

and word, and deed,

the subject whilst on

of

which he has been

earth, shall

come
for

into

judgment; and from the general tenor of

the whole
it

will be

made manifest
is

what

place and for what society he

fitted

whether

for the place

and

society of those

who
His

love

God supremely and

delight to do

will, or

the place and society of those

to dishonour

whose hearts are wholly alienated from Him,

and whose constant aim

it is

and disobey Him.

In the forming of this

will be

judgment due respect

probation

had

to the

circumstances of the individual whilst under

the talents he possessed, the

privi-

A JUDGMENT IN EQUITY.
leges
lie

253

enjoyed,

tlie

oportunities with which

he was

favoured.

This both the reason of

the case and the clear declarations of Scripture forbid us to doubt.

it

We

cannot believe
equitable

compatible with

perfectly

decision, that those w^hose lot was cast in

times of ignorance

or

amid unfavourable
privi-

circumstances should be dealt with in the

same way
leo'ed

as those

who have been

of

with

the

lig;ht

revelation,

the

offers of the gospel,

and the means of

which
exist

grace.

The moral

differences

between
;

different persons are often

very great

and

in forming a

judgment

as to the moral
it is

worth

of the conduct of each

as needful that

these differences should be taken into account

as
it

is

needful that differences of weight,

and

force,

and motive power should be taken

into account in estimating the comparative

merits of machines.

To man, limited
faculty, such
;

in

knowledge and limited in

prehensive survey
fore all
is

com-

impossible

and there-

human judgments

of the moral worth

or less imper-

of individual agents are

more

254
feet.

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
judgment
of

But

to the

God no
;

such

imperfection attaches.
scrutiny
all

To His omniscient
and
in

things stand revealed

His

infinite

mind every element

that bears

on a perfectly equitable decision in the case

of each of His intelligent creatures receives

due consideration.
principle of

That

this shall be the

His adjudication

He

Himself has
is

assured us.

To whom much

given of

them the more shall be required. The servant that knew his master's will and did it
not shall be beaten with
the servant that

many

stripes,

while

knew
of
it

it

not shall be beaten

with few
able in the

stripes.

It will

be more tolerfor

day

judgment

Sodom and
They that

Gomorrha than
w^hich

will be for those cities in

the

Saviour preached.

have been exalted to heaven by privilege

shall, if

they

fail to

improve them, find that

that

exaltation only procured for

fall

them a

deeper

and a heavier
this

cloom.^

From
^

searching scrutiny no being

of our race shall

Luke
xii.

come
;

off scatheless.
x.

All

47, 48

Matt.

15

xi.

20-24.

WHO SHALL ESCAPE?

shall

255

be found to have transgressed the law

and thereby incurred the penalty.

then, shall
is

How,
to this

any escape

The answer

furnished by that announcement which

made in this discom^se to the "now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." To such as obey this command and turn unto God through that way which He has provided,
the apostle

Athenians, that

salvation

is sure.

United by
is

faith to the

Eedeemer, His righteousness

imputed

to

them

they are made the righteousness of

;

God through Him

their sins
;

they receive the redemjD-

tion of their souls, even the forgiveness of

for

them there

is

no condemnathe

tion;

Jesus has delivered them from

wrath to come;

and they are exempted

trial

from the doom they have merited, being accepted in the Beloved.^
all

this

will

At the great be made manifest, and

their

acquittal

shown

to be in full accordance with

perfect righteousness.
'

2 Cor.
;

V.
i.

21
6.

Col.

i.

14

Eom.

^^ii.

Thess.

i.

10

Eph.

256

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE,
judgment a
certain time
is

For
"

this

fixed;

God hath appointed

a day in the wliich

He

will judge the world.

The

apostle here uses

phraseology with which his auditors were

familiar
;

for,

"to ^:l a day," or " determine a

day

for

any

one,"

was a common expression

St.

with them to indicate the summoning of such

an one to
of

trial/

Paul thus conveyed to

a
settled
is

the Athenians the idea that the judgment

which he spoke was

is

thing.
fixed.

The event

certain, and the time

The judgment
the day shall

of the world will come,

and
its

the world has but a limited time to exist ere

dawn

that

is

to

summon

intelligent tribes to the presence of the judge.

Then the probation

ended
;

of the race shall be of

then

the issues

the

countless

streams of

human
sum

activity that

have been

gliding through the ages shall be gathered

up

then the

total of the

world s manibe taken

Si status conxii.

fold

and eventful history

Appian, B.C.
iii.

shall

xo'iaiv.

p.

948. Comp.
ito.

clictus dies intercedit

cum

hoste

Legg.

Tabh.

THE JUDGMENT-DA V FIXED.

then the mystery of
the

257

God

will be finished,

economy of redemption wound up, and

the enigma of divine providence solved. This day shall be " the period of this earthly
system, the dying day of this great world

on which

its last

groans will be heard,

its

knell sounded through the universe,

and

its

obsequies celebrated with most awful

pomp

and supreme
deur."^

as well as melancholy gran-

This day
heaven.

is
it

fixed

in

the

counsels

of

But

has not been revealed to

its

men, and the season of

can
foresee.

coming no one

Nor will it come after many premonitions and omens of its approach.
It will

are eating

come as the flood came, whilst men and drinking, marrying and giving
It will

in marriage.

come

as Christ came,

when
come
blast

the world

was

asleep,

and darkness
It will

was around the abodes of men.

as a thief in the night,

and the shout

the

of the descending judge,

of

and the pealing

trump, and

the
'

archangel's

D wight,

Theology^ Serm. clxvi.

258

6*7:

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
centre of the troubled earth,

shaking to

its

and the bursting open of the graves, and the

rending of the rocks, and the rushing forth

from unsounded depths of those imprisoned

fires

which are to consume the globe and

creation in one blazing ruin

spread upwards to the arched heavens, involv-

these
can
left

ing

all visible

shall
its

be the

first

intimations to the

world that

day

of

doom

has come.

With

a scene like this before his prophetic view,

we wonder

that our Lord should have

in
all

the injunction to his disciples

to be ready, seeing they

coming time
neither the
of

knew

day nor the hour when the Son

man cometh ? And as the day is appointed, so also is the Person who is to appear and act as the God will judge the world, but not judge.
immediately and in His own person.
is

There

One whom He hath constituted judge of one who shares our own nature, and all who, having once lived and died on this
;

earth, has

been raised from the dead that

office

He

might sustain the

and perform the

THE JUDGE APPOINTED.

functions of universal Lord and Judge.
apostle does not

259

The
he re-

name Him to
"that

the Athenians,

but there can be no doubt to

fers

whom
shall

the

when he world by

says,

God

judge
hath

that

man whom He

ordained."

The

general testimony of Scrip-

ture leaves us in no doubt as to the fact

that

it is

our Lord Jesus Christ

of
all.

who

is

to

be the final judge

He

Himself,

whilst on earth, declared that the Father

judgeth no man, but hath committed

all

judgment unto the Son

and He told those

who

sat in

judgment on Him, when

Son of man

He stood
on the
in the
Still

arraigned at the bar of men, that they should

hereafter see the
right
sitting

hand

of power,

and coming
all.-^

clouds of heaven as the judge of

more

explicitly

and

fully did

He

discourse

to the

people on this point, telling them

that the Son of

glory,
sit

man

should come in

all

His

and

all

the holy angels with him, and

on the throne of His glory, and before

all nations,

Him

should be gathered
^

and He should

Jolm

V.

22

Matt. xxvi. 64.

26o

ST.

PA UrS DISCO URSE,

sheep from the goats; and

separate tliem one from another as a sheplierd

separateth

tlie

then went on to describe to them the process

of the judgment,

and show them

its

final issue in the sending of the wicked to

everlasting punishment,
of the righteous to
effect are

and the admission

life eternal.^

To the same

many

statements in the writings

it is

of the apostles, which

quote.^

unnecessary to

Nothing

is

more

certain, concerning

the final judgment, than that

He who
;

is

to

occupy the throne and administer the judg-

ment
the

is

the

Man

Christ Jesus

who, though

for a season

made lower than the angels for suffering of death, is now crowned with

glory and honour, and will at the appointed

time come forth as the supreme arbiter of

the universe to
bar,

and

to

summon the nations to His judge every man according to the

deeds done in the body.^

Matt. XXV. 31-46.

'

""

Comp. Kom.
iv.

ii.

16

xiv.

9,

10

2 Cor.

v.

10

Thess.
'

16
ii.

Jude 14,
9
;

15.
;

Heb.

Matt. xxv. 32

Eev. xx. 11-15.

THE JUDGE'S FITNESS.

For
man.
this

261

He
for

is fitted

by the

glorious conless

stitution of

His person, as God no

than
never

But

His essential deity

;

He

could occupy such a post

no appointment,
fit

no decree, no exercise of power could

for
it.

Him

He, who

is

to judge the world in

divine.

righteousness,

must be

Omniscience
for such

and omnipotence are both required

speak, as

a task, and these belong only to God.

To
in

some have done, of delegation

such a

case, as if

God

shall

judge the world

by Christ
name,
is

as

an earthly sovereign judges by

means of a

substitute appointed to act in his

simply absurd.

Omnipotence can-

not be delegated;
transferred.

omniscience cannot be
does a work for which
divine.^

He who

these are required

must be Himself

Such were the new and

tions

startling revela-

by which the

apostle sought to give

weight and force to his announcement, that

God now commandeth

*

all

men everywhere
to

See Wardlaw, Discourses on

4tli edit.
ii.

the Socinian Controversi/^

p.

159,

Pye Smith, Scripture Testimony

ff.,

the

Messiah, vol.

p. 35,

4tli edit.

262

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
effect of this

to repent.

An

kind they are

well fitted to produce.

Nothing so brings

home
ment

to the soul a sense of responsibility as

the prospect of a judgment to come, a judgin righteousness, a

judgment that
life,

shall

take cognizance of the entire

and pro-

ceed to an unalterable decision upon an impartial survey secret thing,

it

of every work, with every

it

whether

be good or whether

be

evil.-^

As soon
and
"

as the belief of this

takes possession of the mind, conscience be-

comes
over

alive,

the powers of the world to

come" begin
the
earnestness,

to cast their

solemn shadows
gives

soul.

self-confidence

Frivolity

place to

to a poignant
pollution,

consciousness of deficiency,
transgression,

and

worldliness and. carnality to

a profound sense of the vanity of all present

pursuits

and enjoyments,
is

in comparison with

the mighty interests of that final state into

which the judgment

there
is

to introduce us;

and

thus over the entire inner nature of the

man

brought a change, which in

Eccles.
xii.

itself is

14.

FORCE OF THE APPEAL.

consummation of that great
spiritual

263

a part of repentance, and tends towards the

change

by which the

soul is brought to God.

When
is
is

men

are constrained to realise the fact, that

life is

the brief period of

that which alone

given to
to

them

to prepare for a trial which

determine their eternal

this,

condition,

and

when, along with

they are brought face

to face with the fact that as sinners they are

liable to a sentence of

condemnation when
;

they shall stand before the judge

excuses with which they are
sin

the easy

wont

to palliate

and soothe themselves into

indifiference

are scattered to the winds, and, in all the

earnestness of a soul that feels itself in peril

of eternal ruin, they are impelled to cry out,
"

What must we do
The

to be saved

V
Hill.

apostle sought to produce this effect

his auditory

on the minds of

on Mars'

Can

it

be unseasonable to remind the reader

not

that the same considerations are fitted to

produce the same

effect

still ?

Is

it

worth while that he should pause and ask

whether he has allowed them their

due

264

ST.

PAUL'S DISCOURSE.
liis

weight in

mind?
it is

Has he

felt

how

solemn a thing
part of which
tiny,

to be living a life every

is telling

on his eternal des-

and

for every part of

which he has to
?

give account to an omniscient judge

Does
is

he consider, as he ought,
brino;ino^

how

every day

him nearer

to the time

when he
?

shall
Is

have to abide that awful scrutiny?

he prepared to meet the judge

is,

And

if

he thinks he
for acquittal

to

what

is it

that he trusts

when brought under His peneand His impartial judgment?

trating eye,

Questions these which no wise

man

will

put
or

away from him, or answer

lightly!
" It is

carelessly

but a

little ago,"

said Augustine,

addressing a friend on this subject, " since

you witnessed how, when at the shrill trumpet-peal, and the clamour of the Goths, the city of Kome, the mistress of the world,
oppressed with sadness and terror, trembled.

Where then was Where definite and

of

the

rank

of

nobility

distinct grades of dignity

any kind ?

All things were mingled

and

SOLEMNITY OF THE PROSPECT.

house, equal fear pervading

265

confused tlirough terror, wailing in every

all.

Slave and

noble were as one

to all the

same image of

death was present, save only as those to

whom

life

had been most joyous feared death

If,

the most.

then,

men

so fear their foes

shall

and a human hand, what

clangour to

we do when

the trumpet shall have begun with appalling

sound from heaven, and the

whole world shall re-echo the voice of the

archangel louder than any trumpet's peal
?

when we shall see brandished over us not arms made with hands, but the very powers of heaven moved ? What fear shall then
seize us,

what gloom, what darkness,

if,

often

warned, that day should yet find us unpre-

pared

!''^

Ad

Demetriadem, Ep.

cxlii.

X.
St.

Paul's

Discourse

Conclusion

and

Eesult.

The announcemeiit
conducted by one in
not

of the fact of a future

race, to

judgment of the whole human

be

human

nature, could
St.

but

startle

and

astonish

Paul's

hearers on Mars' Hill, accustomed, as they

were, to put such considerations very

much

away from their minds;

or,

when they turned

form to
state.

their thoughts in that direction, to

themselves a very different

conception of

what lay before them in the future

This
fact,

however,

it

was not only of im-

portance in the general that they should be

assured
of,

but

it

had such an immediate

bearing on the main theme of the apostle's

discourse, that

he could not, in justice to his

ST.

FA ULS DESIGN.
it.

267

subject, overlook

He

liad

sought to shut

up

his hearers to a sense of sin, in that

they

dishonoured

God by

their idolatry,

and he
which

had met
tice

a possible objection to that

their long impunity whilst living in the prac-

of idolatry might have suggested,

by

telling

them

that " the times of this igno-

God had winked at,'' whereas " now He was commanding all men everywhere
rance
to repent."

To complete

his position, to
it,

make home

it

coherent, to justify

and

to send

it

Avith

due force to the minds of his needed such a further

hearers, there only

statement as that which he gave

when he

announced to them the

versal

fact of a future uni

judgment in righteousness.

He

thus

referred them for an explanation of whatever

was strange and unaccountable

that time when,

to the

human

reason in God's dealings with mankind, to

by His righteous

decisions.

He

should vindicate the method of His pro-

vidential rule,
to men."

and "justify the ways of God

fall,

Within the range of that wide

scrutiny "the times of ignorance" would

268

ST.

PAUL'S DISCO VRSE.

and God would then show how His winking

at these

was in
;

full

accordance with right-

eousness

whilst on the other hand, having

now

entered upon another method of dealing

it,

with men, and having, in pursuance of

commanded
the prospect

all

men

everywhere to repent,

of a

righteous judgment, in

which each

man

should be tried according

to his privileges

and opportunities, and each

should receive an award exactly in accordance with what equity demands, was well
fitted to enforce this

command.

The

apostle
to

might hope

also,

by giving prominence
main

such announcement, to produce an impression favourable to the

object of his

mission as an ambassador for Christ.

He

might hope thereby to awaken in them a

feeling of earnestness, to bring over their too

frivolous

minds a shadow of solemnity and

anxiety, to subjugate

them

to " the powers

of the world
better induce

to

come," and thereby the

to give heed to

them

what he

had further

to unfold to

them concerning

God's relations to mankind, and especially

CHRISrS RESURRECTION.
concerning that

269

way

of salvation

which God

has provided by the work of His Son.

That the apostle was about to open to

his audience

more
Christ,

fully

and minutely the

evident from

doctrine

of

appears

what

is

stated in the close of ver. 31.

this part of his address is

The
some-

meaning of

what obscured
"whereof

in our version

by the use
unto
all

of the addition "whereof;" the statement

men

in

He hath given assurance that He hath raised Him

from the

dead," being apt to lead the reader to suppose

that the apostle means to adduce our Lord^s

resurrection as affording

some proof or

evi-

dence or demonstration that

God

will,

on a
It is

certain day, judge the world in righteousness

by the man whom He has appointed.

not easy to see

how

this could be, for there

seems no such connection between the fact

of a future

universal
fact of

judgment by Jesus
His resurrection, as

Qhrist

and the

that the one should give assurance or proof of the other.

But

this rendering does not

apostle's

convey the proper meaning of the

270

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
lie

words.

What

intends

is,

tliat

God

has

furnished to

all

men

sufficient

ground for
raised

believing in Jesus,

by having

Him

from the dead

raised

in other words, that having

Him
and

from the dead, God has thereby

fully accredited

Him
that

to be all that

He

claims

to be,

all

He

is

set forth in the

message of His servants as being, so that

men may on
faith in

the most solid grounds have

as the future

Him

judge of

all.-^

Every reader of the Acts, and

Paul's epistles,

of

St.

must be aware how much the

to rest the evidence

apostle

was accustomed

of the doctrine he preached on the fact of the

Lord's resurrection.

Wherever he came he
this as the great
is
:

was
^

careful to

announce

The

verse literally rendered

" Because

He

hath

appointed a day in which

righteousness,

He

will judge the world in

by a man

[or in the person of a

man]

whom
The
usage,

He

hath ordained, having afforded belief

{i.e.,

reason for

belief) in that

He

hath raised
crlffriv,

Him

from the dead."

accredited

phrase

'rrao's^nv
to

according to

means

furnish grounds for

belief, to accredit, to

u-arra?it

belief in.

See the copious collections of Wetstein in his

this place.

note on this passage, and the illustrations of Eaphel and

Kypke on

EVIDENTIAL FORCE OF
fact

THIS.
;

271

of

which

He was

a witness
it

and

whether to Jew or to Greek,

was

of this

he spoke as the grand demonstration of the

claims of his master to be regarded as the

Messiah, and to be reverenced as a teacher

sent from God.

With
with

this

he seems to have
his

begun
in the

his ministry at

Athens when he taught

Agora
;^

this,

we know from

own

statement, he opened his commission at

this

Corinth

he carried with him when he

;

went up

to Jerusalem

and so constantly

did he put this in the very front of his testi-

monv, that he became noted amono; those

who were
alive.^

not Christians as a person

who

affirmed that one Jesus

The

apostle

who was dead was knew well the immense

that,

importance of this fact to the religion which

he taught.

He

felt

with this to

fall

back upon, he need fear no assault that could

be made upon the divinity of
its origin.

To

him
it

it

seemed strange that any should think

incredible that

God
*

should raise the dead,^

and being assured that Jesus Christ who had

^

Cor. XV. 3-8.

Acts xxv. 19.

'

Acts xxvi.

8.

272

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
in that the operation

been dead and buried had been raised again

from the dead, he saw

of God,

and accepted

it

as God's attestation

of the claims
trine of Jesus.

and authorisation of the doc-

By His

resurrection from the

apostle,

dead, Jesus, in the

judgment of the

was declared
power,^ that
viction to the
St.

to be the

Son of God with

really so.

is,

so as to carry irresistible con-

mind that He was

if

Paul

felt

strongly that

he were deprived

of the support of this fact, he

would be de" If Christ

is

prived of everything that was essential to

him

as a herald of Christianity.

be not arisen," he exclaimed, " then

preaching vain, and your faith
is

our

also vain."-

In this fact also he found a fruitful source of

strens^th

and establishment

for those

who had
;

committed themselves to the acceptance of

Christianity as a religious system
for,

in

the resurrection of Jesus, he recognised God's

attestation of the sufficiency of that propiti-

atory work which the Saviour had come to

accomplish, and along with that the pledge
1

Rom.

i.

4.

Cor. xv.

4.

IMPORTANCE OF

IT.

273

and assurance of the resurrection to life and As He glory of all who believe in Him.
was delivered on account of our
offences, so

was He
fication

raised again on account of our justi;

in either case a divine purpose

was

contemplated by the event of which

the subject.^

He was

By

faith in

Him

the soul be

comes one with Him, and so we participate

in His resurrection
w^e are buried
;

"

by baptism

into death
" like

with Him;'' in order that

raised

as Christ

was

up from the dead by

the glory of the ^Father, even so

we

also

should walk in newness of life." Having been

quickened from the death of sin in which

all

men

naturally are, believers in

Him
to

are
sit

raised

up

together,

and are made

together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

And

being thus vitally united to Him, they

have a certain assurance that as

the dead so shall they;
apostle to the

He rose

from

for "if," says the

" the spirit of

Eomans,

Him
in

that raised

up Jesus from the dead dwell

25.
'

you.
'

He

that raised up Christ from the dead

iv.

Eom.

Rom. T

vi.

Eph.

ii.

5, 6.

274

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
your mortal bodies by His
In the resur-

shall also quicken

spirit that clwelleth in you."^

rection of Christ, therefore, the apostle found

at once the divine authentication of his mission,

and the

vital source of present privileges

and future triumph

to all that believe in

Him.

Of
those

this fact the apostle

was well assured

of

himself.

Not only had he the testimony

sojourn,

who had been

the companions of the

Lord during His earthly

and who

had seen
"

Him

and conversed with

Him

after
say,

His resurrection, but he could himself

Have
is,

not seen Jesus Christ the Lord

?"^

that

as the connection shows, seen

Him

since His resurrection so as to be a

compe-

tent witness of that fact, and to receive from

Him
an

as the risen

Lord commission
it

to act as

apostle.

And

being well assured of the

fact himself

he boldly attested

wherever

he went, and appealed to the unanimous

consent of a multitude of competent witnesses
as affording the proper
'

kind of evidence in

Eoin.

viii.

11.

"1

Cor.

ix.

1.

THE APOSTLE INTERRUPTED.

such a
case,

27 /:)

and as affording
all

it

in sucli de-

gree as to render

scepticism on the subject

unreasonable and blameworthy. This evidence he would doubtless have

submitted to the Athenians had he been permitted to finish his discom-se

:

and he would

doubtless also have unfolded to

them the

whole doctrine of Jesus, delivering unto

them, as he did a few weeks later to the
Corinthians,
ceived,
"

that which also he had re-

how

that Christ died for our sins

according to the Scriptures, and that

He
But

was
third

buried,

and that He rose again the

to the Scriptures."^

day according

his audience

were not inclined generally to

hear any more of what he had to say to

them.

So long as he kept on the ground of

to have

mere natural reason they seem

listened
interest; or
it

with patience and perhaps with

may

be they bore with his

discourse on these points in the expectation

of having their curiosity gratified

when he
of

came to speak of those "new things"

'

Cor. XV. 1-3.

76

ST.

PA ULS DISCO URSE,

teacher.

which they supposed him to be the

But when, instead of something

their curiosity

to satisfy

and amuse

their ingenuity,
fitted

he

brought

forward what was

to

awaken

conscience,

and to elevate them to

;

the sphere of real spiritual earnestness

and

when he began
tion,

to touch

upon points more

especially belonging to the Christian revela-

they were offended, and hastily broke

:

up the assembly
and
his doctrine

some

assailing the apostle

with mockery,-^ while others

less

more courteous, though not

in their hostility, said, "

determined

We
may

will hear thee

again of this matter."^

^

How

tlie

Athenians could rid tlieinselves of a speaker

disliked,

whose sentiments they

"

be seen from what

(p.

Plato makes Socrates say in the Protagoras

319,

c).

The Athenians," says he, " when any one would address them whom they think not competent to advise them,
however respectable, wealthy, or well-born he may be, do
until either he retire of his

him down and make a tumult, own accord, overcome by the uproar, or the officers carry him off." Some commentators, among the rest Calvin, Grotius,
not permit him, but laugh

and Bengel, suppose that the proposal

to

hear Paul again

was

sincerely
left

made.

But

if so,

the apostle would hardly

have

the city without making another attempt to con-

WHAT OFFENDED
The part
ence
to

THEM.

277

of

PauFs discourse at whicli bis

hearers took especial offence

was

his refer-

resurrection

from

the

dead.

When

they heard of a resurrection of dead

^

persons

some

mocked

{i.e.,

interrupted

Paul with exclamations of

others said, "

ridicule),

and

We will

hear thee again of this

matter."

What

offended

them was

not, as

the authorised version would lead one to

suppose, the

announcement by Paul of a
;

general resurrection
nothing, nor
is
it

for of this

he had said

to be supposed that these

Athenians would perceive that the resurrection of all the dead

in the resurrection
is

in

any way involved

was

of Jesus, this beins: a

peculiarly Christian
startling

revelation which

and
2).

offensive

even to the Jews

they could not bear
as a

(comp.

iv.

What

was

his

announcement of such a thing

resurrection at all
vince tliem
;

the

resurrection
him

from

a sincere offer to hear

again, on matters

that were so important in his estimation,

would have ap-

peared to

him

in

tlie

light of

an engagement which he was

article.

bound

to fulfil.

^A>ao'rc6(y/^ vsx^&jj/,

both words without the

278

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
Of
such, in

the dead of even one person.

fact,

they had never had experience, nor had

it

the idea of

a place in their minds.

It is

to revelation alone that

for a

men

are indebted

knowledge of such a

fact.

Though

nature offers certain analos^ies which tend to

illustrate the belief after it has

been created

by

revelation, there is

nothing within the

range of ordinary experience that would of

itself
it

lead to such a belief, or even suggest

to the mind.

To
it

nature, death
;

is

wholly

anomalous and mysterious

disruption which

and the \dolent

produces of the whole

continuity of nature, precludes the possibility

of

any

certain conclusions being

drawn by
be the This

the natural reason as to w^hat

condition of the
soul
after

may

death.

terrible event suffices

even to shake the constate;

fidence of

many

in the continued existence

of the

soul

in the separate
if it

what

wonder, then,
of

should utterly shut out

mens minds

the idea of a resuscitation

?

and rehabilitation of the body

What

is

there in nature to suggest the expectation

DEATH REPUGNANT TO NATURE.

that that frame whicli

279

we

see

entirely de-

composed and mingled with the common

dust of earth, should once more be recomposed,
life?

and -raised up and endowed with

What

is

there in nature to

awaken

the hope that this terrible catastrophe which

has shaken to utter ruin the

fair fabric of
its

man's frame
citation

is

but a step towards

nobler and
all

resus-

in

more enduring-

form

Do

not

the appearances which

death produces

fix

on the mind the melanit

choly conclusion, that with

terminates, that with
it

man's history

begins a night for

?

which there
is

is

no morning
if it

When
down
the
.
.

Job, in

the bitterness of his soul, exclaimed, " There

hope of a tree
sprout

be cut

that

it

will

again,

and that

tender
.

branch thereof will not cease.

But

man

dieth

and wasteth away,

yea,
is

man
he?"^
race,

giveth up the ghost, and where

he spoke the common feeling of the

under the mere teaching of nature.
his

For

sad question nature has no

'

clear

and

Job

xiv. 7, 10.

28o

ST.

PAUL'S DISCO UP SB.

Only an express mestell

satisfactory answer.

sage from heaven can

of death

ns that the ruins

may

be repaired, and can meet ns

at the grave with the assurance that

" receive

we

shall

our dead again/'

of a resur-

But though the announcement

rection of one

thus

of necessity be

who had been dead would a new and strange

should have offended them

announcement to the Athenians, there seems

no reason why
so
it

much

as to lead to the

sudden breaking
Granting that the

up of the assembly which had hitherto been

listening to the apostle.

announcement was new to them, there was

nothing in that to offend them, but on the
contrary, something rather fitted to attract

persons devoted as they were to the gratification of curiosity

;

and although

it

would

doubtless seem to

them a very improbable

thing which the apostle announced, yet one

might imagine they would have been moved

to hear all that Paul
to see
pose.

had

to say about
of

it,

and
pur-

what he would make

Instead of
this,

it for his

however, they either

A THENIAN SENS UO USNESS.

rudely interrupted
ridicule, or politely

281

him with

expressions of

excused themselves from

any further listening to him, by adjourning

the

conference
are

for

an

indefinite
?

period.

How
this

we

to account for this

We may

account for

by supposing that it was not announcement itself which ofiended

it

them, so

much

as the gerieral

tenor and

tendency of the apostle's discourse, especially in the latter part of it

;

and that they

vent to
feel-

merely made the announcement of a resurrection the occasion for

orivino;

ings

which had been gathering

In addition to the

to a height

as they listened to the

apostle's
ofi'ence

previous

words.
carnal

which the
is

mind

receives

from

all

that

spmtual
on
this

and earnest in

religion, there

was something

in the train of the apostle's discourse

occasion which
ofi'ence to

was

fitted

to give special

the Athenians.

Their passionate

love of art,

and

their general culture,

had

given a prevailing sensuous tone to their

minds, had created in them a love of the

outwardly beautiful and symmetrical, had

282

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
from the contemplation
realities,

led

them

to be averse

of spiritual

and especially such

as

were calculated to disturb or agitate the

feelings.

Their

life

was supremely a

life

They loved to surround themselves with what pleased the eye and gratified the taste. They felt that
amid present
things.
life

was but

brief,

and that
it

it

was a pity

to

waste any portion of

on what did not

Their heaven

minister to present enjoyment.

was here

their affections
;

were rooted in the

present state

their interests were

bounded

by

"this visible diurnal sphere;'' and they

cast their thoughts into the
it

liked not to

gloomy
beyond.

void, as

seemed

to them, that lay

Hence, death, and a state after

death, were as

much

as possible

excluded

from
jects

their thoughts.

These were not subor cour-

which
where

it

was deemed proper

teous to obtrude upon society.

field

This was a

art sought not to exercise itself,

it

or into

which

entered only to throw as

much
hated

as possible a graceful
reality.
" Direct

charm over the

representations of

ARTISTIC

TREATMENT OF DEATH.

283

death/^ says the greatest authority on ancient

art,

"and the ceremonies observed

Greek
art."^

thereat

are rare in

So rare that he has

not adduced any instance that can be considered conclusive.

of Greek art

In some of the remains

we

find poetical

and

allusive

representations of death as a departure, a

going on a journey, "but without further indication of the

is

unknown bourne whither

it

directed,'^

and some which are supposed

god of death with the god of

to identify the
sleep.

In their attempts to represent scenes

of future felicity, these ancient sons of genius

could rise no higher than the picture of an

earthly banquet from which even
peculiarities
its

grosser

were

not

excluded.

Every-

thing, in short, betokens a sensuous people,

who shrank from what would

agitate the mind,

disturb or

and loved to dwell amidst

pleasing images of earthly beauty and en-

joyment.

Now,

in all ages persons of this

class resent
^

nothing so
Art and

much
its

as

an attempt
Leitcli, pp.

Miiller, Ancient

Remains, by

512, 509, 444.

284

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
It offends
;

to obtrude

upon tliem truths connected with

it

the spiritual and eternal world.

their taste
;

disturbs their equanimity

;

it

breaks up their carnal dream

it

interrupts
;

the continuity of their sensuous existence

forces

it

on them anticipations from which

;

they naturally shrink

to
realise

and

it

obliges
fain

them

facts

they would

forget.

Hence, however gently and courteously the

subject
tion of

may
it is

be introduced, the very menapt to irritate them, and they

or with

either break out in anger against the person

who

has introduced

it,

some cold

and formal courtesy they deliver themselves

from his presence.
Athenians.

So

it

was with these

The offence which the apostle

to look earnestly

gave them consisted chiefly in that he sum-

moned them
realities,

on

spiritual

and obtruded upon them truths

in

which awakened their dormant consciences,

and brought the bright sensuous world

which
alone

they

delighted

under

the

shadows of the world to come.

The

apostle

was thus taught the painful

LESSON TAUGHT THE APOSTLE.

barbaric
culture

285

lesson that not Jewish prejudice alone, not

ignorance alone, but the highest

and the habits engendered by

free

thought and unfettered speculation as well,

were at enmity with the truths which he was

sent forth to preach.

He had

done his part

confronted

nobly and fearlessly;

he had

ethnic philosophy and religion in the very

centre of their strength

and influence

he

had brought the truth

at once delicate

to bear in a

manner

and decided upon the minds

of an audience in the metropolis of

culture

human
spoken he adcredit

and refinement;

he

had

wisely and kindly to those

dressed, striving to
to their
for

whom

accommodate

his speech

modes of thought, giving them

whatever was true in their religious be-

liefs,

and seeking from the stand-point of

their

own system

to lead

them on

to higher

and more
cule
or

spiritual views.

And what had

ridi!

been the result?

polite

Only contemptuous

indifference

May we

not

suppose that the apostle learned there, as he

had never perhaps learned

before, the truth

286

ST.
lie

PAULS DISCOURSE.
to

whicli

afterwards so emphatically enuncithe

Corinthians.

ated
"

when he wrote

The natural man

receiveth not the things

of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness

to

him

neither can he

know them because

Perhaps

they are spiritually discerned."^

also

from

this signal
it is

experiment the apostle

learned that
tion,

not by scientific disputa-

not by logically confuting the errors

in-

which speculation or tradition may have

stilled into

men's minds, that the preachers

of Christianity are to advance her cause; but rather

by the

simple, authoritative procla-

mation of those truths which constitute the

substance of her religion, and the peculiar

boon which she has to

confer.

If,

scholar

and thinker

as he was, he

had hitherto had

in-

some natural confidence in the power of

tellect to force a

path through men's minds

for the truth, his experience at Athens,

we
not

may
this

well believe, would go very far to disall

abuse him of

such notions.

May

experience thus have had a powerful

^

Cor.

ii.

14.

WHAT HE EFFECTED,
effect in

287

the discipline of the apostle's

own

mind, and contributed materially to his future

success as a herald of the cross
?

May it not

have been needful for him to learn in this

pungent way that the preaching of the cross

is

foolishness to

men, in order that

faith in it as the

all

the

more he might have

of

wisdom
reso-

God ?

Certain

it is,

that
it

when he passed

from Athens to Corinth,

lution to renounce
all

was with a

attempts to secure his

end by excellency of

sjDeech

and of wisdom,

and a firm determination

to

know nothing

among men
fied.

save Jesus Christ and

apostle

Him

cruci-

The

was thus

in reality

gainer

by what seemed only a waste

for

of time

and strength, and a permanent advantage

was secured

the Christian

cause from
defeat.

what seemed

at first

an ignominious

But the
directly

apostle's labours

were not wholly

in vain, even with respect to the end he

had

in

view.

Whilst
to

the

majority

turned away from his message, there were

some who "clave

Special mention
is

him and believed.'^ made of two of these,

288

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.
is,

Dionysius the Areopagite, that

female, probably a person of

one of the

judges in the court of the Areopagus, and a

some note
any

in

the

city,

named Damaris.
further with

Of these we
certainty.

know nothing
Eusebius, the

church historian, says that

first

Dionysius was the

tian

bishop of the Chrisis

Church in Athens,^ which

;

by no

means improbable
represents

and a

later

tradition

him

as

having died the death of a

martyr

for the truth.^

few besides these

two embraced the Apostle's doctrines, and this

handful constituted the germ of the Church
at Athens, a church
centuries,

which continued

for

and was not without rendering

the association of heathenism with
it

important services to the Christian cause.

From
its

the art and philosophy of Athens,

retained

hold upon the public mind more exten-

sively

and

for a longer period in that city

than in other places where Christianity had been planted, and in consequence of this the
^

Hist

Eccl.

iii.

iv.

23.
iii.

Nicepliorus, Hist. Eccl.

11.

CHURCH AT A THENS.
Church
at

289

Athens never rose to that piace of prominence which' some churches in other

and

far less

important
it,

cities

of Greece atfirst

tained.

From

however, came forth the

Christian apologists after the days of the

apostles,

Quadratus and Aristides, who wrote

in the time of the

early part of the

emperor Hadrian,^ in the second century. Their

apologies have not been preserved, but in

them we have

to recognise the earliest at-

tempts at a systematic arrangement of the truths of revelation, and in them also there
is

reason to believe that for the

first

time

the attempt was

speculation

made
for

to

combine Hellenic

with Christianity

tendency

which was destined,

good or

for evil, to

exercise a potent influence on the form of

Christian thought in

all

subsequent time.

Athens

may thus be regarded as the cradle of systematic theology, and the birth-place
In her schools also

of Christian philosophy.

some of the great theologians of the early

'

Euseb. Hist Ecd.

i.

iv.

Hieron.

Catal,

ScrijHor.

Eccles. 19, 20, 02)era

p. 274.

290

ST.

PAULS DISCOURSE.

Eastern

Cliurcli

Clement

of

Alexandria,

Basil the Great,

and Gregory of Nazianzum,

training
;

received

tlieir scientific

and

it

was

from the Church at Athens that the writings

came

forth

which are known under the name

the
Areopagite, though cer-

of Dionysius

tainly not written

by him, and which

Middle Ages.

exer-

cised a mighty influence on the speculative

and

religious life of the

Not

in vain, therefore,

had

St.

Paul disputed in

the Agora, and discoursed on Mars' Hill, at

Athens
less,

though he had to go away mortified

for cen-

and apparently defeated, he had, neverthe-

sown a seed which bore fruit turies afterwards, and the influence
that
of the

of

which

has outlived

philosophers

by

whom the

apostle

was despised and

ridiculed.

XL
St.

Paul's abiding confidence in Christi-

anity AS THE Power of God and the

Wisdom of God.

How

long

tlie

apostle remained in Athens

after delivering his discourse

on Mars' Hill

cannot be accurately ascertained.

fact that

From

the

Timothy joined him

there,

and was

again despatched by
vious to rejoining

him

to Macedonia, preit

him

at Corinth,

may

be

presumed that he did not quit Athens immediately after that occurrence.^
dent, also, that
It is evi-

he was not compelled to

violence, but departed
;

leave
it

it

by any

from
this,
ch. ix.,

at his

own convenience
1

which

is

also in

favour of that supposition.

^

Assuming

Thes.

iii.

comp. Paley, Horce PaidincBj

^

No.

4.

Acts

xviii. 1.

292

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

that St. Paul would be oc-

we may suppose

cupied in carrying forward the work he had

begun by expounding
" the

to the

new
and

converts

way

of the

Lord more

perfectly," re-

ceiving the visits

of inquirers

sincere

doubters, arranging for the orderly conduct-

ing of Christian worship, and the polity of

the church in the infant society of which he

had

laid the foundation,

and exhorting the

brethren " that with purpose of heart they

should cleave unto the Lord."^

public assembly there.
Hill

But he

does not appear to have again addressed any

His oration on Mars'

last

was

his first

and

attempt to press
''

his doctrines

on the attention of the

Men

of Athens/'

The
in this

apostle could hardly fail to feel that

his first great

encounter with the

and philosophy of the West he had been foiled as respects the main end of his
culture

mission.

But

whilst,

as

already

hinted,

this experience

may have
him
xi.
^

been of advantage
to adopt
23.

to

him

in leading

methods

Acts

HIS CONFIDENCE IN
of presenting
his

IT.

293

doctrine

better

adapted

to carry conviction to tlie liearts of those lie

addressed;

it

did not for a

moment shake
message
"^^

his conviction of the truth of the

which he

carried,

or of its fitness to proit

mote the great ends which

in the salvation of
trary, his defeat, if so it

contemplated

mankind.

On

the con-

must be
and

called,

only

made him

cleave the

more ardently

to the

doctrines he

had

to teach,

to glor)^

more

confidently in

their

inherent power, inde-

pendent of the aid of

ment, or science.

human

rhetoric, argu-

He had had

painful ex-

perience that the doctrine of Christ and

crucified

Him

was "to the Jews a stumbling-block

and
not

to the Greeks foolishness."

it

The former
had

denounced
been

as " weakness," because it

introduced with such startling

manifestations of the divine power as those

which had accompanied the establishment

the Mosaic economy
;

of

the latter derided

it

it as

"foolishness," because

did not present a

system of doctrine addressed to the speculative reason.

But the apostle knew that the

294

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

real obstacle in both cases arose from the blind-

ness and obduracy of their hearts, which would

not suffer them to look at

it

it fairly,

to judge of
it

candidly, or to yield

it

the belief which

demanded and
experience of

deserved.

In

itself,

and

in the

all

whose hearts God had opened

to attend to
it

by His divine call

the apostle

and receive

it,

and the

knew that it was "the power of God wisdom of God."^ And, therefore, his
and
final resolution

deliberate

was

to go

on
to

preaching the gospel of Christ, assm^ed that

it

was

" the

power of God unto salvation

it/'^

every one that believed

These assertions of the apostle bring before our consideration the position that Christianity,

viewed as a proclamation of
crucified,"

and

Him

that

" Cluist

is,

of salvation for

guilty

men through an atonement wrought

cross,

out by Jesus Christ as incarnate God, and

consummated by His death upon the

is

in all respects adapted to secure the

end

it

has in view, the salvation of

men s
its
i.

souls
efiects,

and

so

is,
^

experimentally and in
Cor.
i.

23, 24.

Rom.

16.

ITS

WISDOM AND POWER.

295

a manifestation of the

power and wisdom of

as

God.

The ivisdom
tested

of

any plan or scheme,

by

its effects, is

evinced by the excel-

lency

of these effects

on the one hand, and

the simplicity and fitness of the means

by
If

which they are produced upon the

the things
it

other.

accomplishes be not in them-

selves of importance,
that,

we

are apt to conclude

whatever of

effort

has been expended

is

in the production of

them
;

only so
the

much
means
and
re-

energy thrown away

and

if

by which
achieved,
difficult

results,

however important, are

complicated,
operation,

be

cumbrous,

to set in

we cannot

gard them as indicating large resources or

great skill on the part of the contriver.
is

It

when

excellence of end

is

combined with

simplicity

and suitableness of instrumentality

that

we

willingly accord the praise of wis-

dom

to the scheme.

Power, on the other hand, as exhibited

in the

working of a plan,

is

seen in the sure

lie

and easy overcoming of obstacles which

296

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

of success.
serious,

in the

way

If these obstacles be

many and
effectually

and yet be readily and

;

surmounted
risks,

or if the success of

the

scheme be endangered by many and

alarming
surely

and these be steadily

arid

warded
issue,

off,

so that the enterprise adits

vances without serious impediment to

intended
sence of

we

at once recognise the pre-

consummate power and energy,

tests to the

in

the direction and working of the project.

Applying these

scheme of

human

redemption, by means of the atoning

death of Christ,

we

shall see, limited

though

our power of comprehending such a subject

in all its bearings

may

be,

enough

to satisfy

us that in

it

we have

a transcendent and

unequalled manifestation of the power of

God and
The
tion
is

the

wisdom

of God.

field

embraced under the head of the

so

effects or

working of the scheme of redemp:

immensely wide
It reaches

wide that
it

it

is

impossible for us to comprehend

even in
duration,
;

thought.

through
all

all

and we may say through

extension

nay,

FIELD EMBRACED.
it

297

transcends the
it

boundaries of time

and and
no
of

space, for

stretches through eternity

reaches the throne of

is

God
its

Himself.

There
;

no being

whom

it

does not concern

spot in creation where

influence does not

penetrate; no point

in

the long lapse

duration at which

its

power has not been or

government vindi-

win
is

cease to be

felt.

By it the divine character

illustrated, the divine

cated, the divine

law confirmed and magnified.

By it holy angels are filled with new accessions

of gladness, and lifted
intelligence

up

to loftier heights of

and wisdom.
vain their

taught

how

craft,

By it devils are how impotent

when

their devices,

how

feeble their resources

brought into
ficence
his

collision

with the divine beneit

and power.
felicity

By
and

man

is

restored to
his

primeval dignity and more than

;

primeval

this
its

world

which
is

Satan had seduced from

allegiance

brought back to

its

proper place in the king-

dom

of heaven.

And
it

through means of

it

all creation,

sighing and groaning under bur-

dens imposed on

by man s

apostacy, anti-

298

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL:

sons of God."^

cipates a glorious deliverance, " waiting for

the manifestation of
so vast a field
it "

tlie

Over
ele-

no created eye can gaze. For us

passeth knowledge."

Ascend to what

we may, still the prospect stretches immeasurably away from us and though at each ascending step our horizon widens and new scenes of grandeur and new forms of beauty come within our view it is ever with the humvation
;

bling yet gladdening consciousness that more,

far

more remains yet

to be discerned; that

scenes of brighter glory are yet to be unfolded,

and forms of sweeter

;

loveliness yet to

be observed

and that the transcendent whole

unfolds itself to no eye but that of

Him

of

whose power and wisdom

crowning demonstration.

it is

the living and

The part of

this

wide

field

which

lies

most before our view, and

of the

to

which we
is

shall

at present confine ourselves,

the operation

work

of redemption, through Christ

and

Him crucified, upon the human race. And here

there are

two

distinct aspects
'

under which the

ff.

Kom.

viii.

19,

EFFECTS ON THE WORLD AT LARGE.

subject

299

may

be viewed, the one of which has

reference to the

work

of Christianity in the

world, at large, the other of

which concerns
It is only

the work of Christianity in each man's soul

who

is

brought under

its influence.

a cursory survey

we can bestow upon

either

of these objects of contemplation.

I.

Glancing at the influence of Christianity

upon the world

at large, the first thing that

is
tlie

challenges attention
lence of those results
effected

exceeding excel-

which Christianity has

among men.
the religion of Jesus Christ ap-

When

peared in our world, the condition of man-

kind was, in a spiritual point of view, most

deplorable.

Among

the Gentile nations

all

knowledge of the true God seemed to have

fled

from the minds of men.

still

Whatever

embers of divine truth

survived in any

portion of the heathen world, were so covered

over with the ashes of carnal passion and

corruption that

they burned with

but a

300

ST.

FA UL AND THE GOSPEL,

smouldering fervour, and yielded but a lurid

glare.

A
veil

splendid ceremonial, casting

its

flimsy

over

degrading
or cruel

superstitions,

loathsome

orgies,

rites;

a people

sunk in
its

vice,

burdened by
;

op23ression,

and

blinded by ignorance
aid

philosophy lending

to

cast a
;

denser shadow over the

the bonds of

hopes of

man

art contributing its resources

;

to enervate

and brutalise
it

all

society loosened as if

were about to resolve

:

itself into its original elements

these were
marked out

the dark and broad lines that

the prevailing features of the heathen world

at the

dawn

of Christianity.

state of things

much

better

Nor was the among the Jews,

favoured though they were with the light of

revelation
;

for that light

was hid from them

by the thick clouds of prejudice and ignorance which had gathered over their minds.

rigid adherence to forms

a proud preten-

sion to the favour of God, that rested

upon

mere hereditary grounds; a haughty con-

tempt

for all other nations

an ingenuity in

explaining scripture which had no other

LIGHT IN DARKNESS.
effect tlian to mislead,

3oi

and give an apparent

of
;

sanction from the

Word

God

to the vain

fancies of their teachers

an utter abandon-

ment
liness

of
;

all

the elements of true vital god-

ality

these

and a rampant hypocrisy and sensuwere the features in Jewish

to

society

which formed the sad counterpart

It

those which cast so dark a colouring over

the Gentile nations.

of the world

seemed the midnight

star.

midnight without a moon,

All
or if here

and with scarce the twinkling of a

was dark and

for a season

cheerless

and there

a bright ray burst forth,

it

was but to struggle

the

with the invidious gloom, and

leaving

then

to

disappear,

darkness

deeper than before.

It

was when

this darkness

was

at its

worst that the Sun of Eighteousness arose,

and commenced a day which no night

ever terminate.

shall

Filling at first but a narrow

horizon, the light of this unsetting luminary

gradually has spread until

it

embraces

now

portions of both hemispheres, and promises ere

long to encircle the globe.

Ere

it

had been

302

Sr.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

its

many
Before
their

years at work Christianity proved

divinity
it

by the mighty
and the

results it achieved.

ancient superstitions yielded

;

up

sway

stiff

formalisms of a
to

shadowy

economy gave place

;

living

spiritual realities

and the

spirit

of man,
off its

disenchanted and emancipated, shook

fetters
its

and purged the filmy darkness from

;

eyes

and old traditions grew decrepid

their thrones
;

and wasted on

and

religion

came back

to be a dweller in
lifted herself

man's heart

and devotion

from the dust and

;

put on the garment of holiness

as

and the

reign of vice and sensuality became smitten

with a dead palsy; and the bonds of

society were re-knit

and made firmer than

ever

and the fountains of loving-kindness

afresh,

were opened

and made
all

to

pour their
bitterness

sweet waters where

before

was

and poison

and philosophy, instead of panand poetry dipped her

dering to man's passions, became the minister of his virtues

;

sparkling cup
life
;

in the river of the water of

and

art

bathed herself in the light of

SIMPLICITY OF MEANS.
heaven
;

303
field

so

that

over the

whole

of

human

interests,

and

pursuits,

and

asjDira-

tions, there

at length

spread an influence
its

which, in the transcendent excellence of

effects,

proclaims the surpassing wisdom of

the whole had been purposed

Him by whom
and performed.

But the wisdom

simjplicity of the
for this purpose.

of

God

is

further appa-

rent in the progress of Christianity

from the

means employed by

Him

These means are of a kind

so simple, that they at first liardly attracted

the notice of the world, and

they were looked

scorned them.

at,

the

when at last world mocked and

to

A few poor, illiterate, simple-

minded men went

renovate the race
their master

forth

convert

and
he

to tell the world that

deity, that

was incarnate
worlds

had died

for the

sins,

that he had

risen again

from the dead, and had gone up

into heaven,

and that through

all

Him

there
in-

was the

free remission of all sin

and an
This was

heritance of eternal felicity to

who would
all.

come unto God through Him.

304

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

of
state,

No pomp
power,

no resources of worldly learning,

to

no

glare of worldly

no artifices of carnal rhetoric,

of speech,"

of the multitude,

no pandering the no courting the favour or

evil tastes
;

no "excellency
nothing

the assistance of the great or wise

but the plain and earnest telling of a plain

nothing but
apostles,

and touching story by plain and sincere men

this

was employed

to

work out

those mighty results which, in the days of the

marked and

dignified the course of

Christianity in the world.

.Nothing could be

more simple than

this.

And

so,

when

the

apostles delivered their message to the

Jews
are
it

they ridiculed them, and

full of

said, "these

men

new wine

:"

and when they carried

it

to the Greeks,

these professed votaries of

wisdom turned from

said,

contemptuously and

" it

is

foolishness."

And

yet from

among
were
the

these very Jews and Greeks there

not

few who bowed before the

to
it

might of that message, and yielded

willing

testimony that what at

first

FITNESS TO
seemed
God.

END DESIGNED.

305

to them foolishness and weakness, was indeed the wisdom and the power of

For the simplicity of these means is not more real or even more apparent than their
suitahleness
view.

and adaptation
it

to

the

end in
Master
success.
it is

Let

be borne in mind that the de-

sign of the apostles

and

their Great

was not

to establish Christianity in the world

by

aiiij

means which might promise

is

This religion
possible for
lished
entirely

of such a nature, that

it

to be propagated

and

estabshall

outwardly by means which

destroy
its

intrinsic

power

and

excellence.

If fraud or force, for instance,

its

be used on
benefit
is

behalf,

an injury and not a

it

conferred

upon
;

loss

and not

a gain secured for

truth, it
it

it

for,

being a religion of

to supcapable of reaping advantage from the aid of falsehood; and being a religion of

would be self-contradictory

pose

love, it

would be no
of being

less

so to suppose

it

capable

aided

tyranny.

Again, as

by oppression or the aim of Christianity

X

3o6
is

ST,

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

whole being by
princispiritual cha-

to regulate man's

ples

and motives of a purely

racter, it

can only interfere with this to mix

up
for

its

appeals with anything which addresses

itself to

man's carnal and earthly nature

is

what

this

but to propose to wean

man from
great

the world by feeding

?

him wdth
Christ

the the
to

world's nutriment

And in

fine, as it is

design

of the

gospel of

erect in man's soul

an undivided empire for

God,
the

it is

necessary that in plying

of

him with

invitations

the gospel

nothing be
not

allowed to come between him and God, but

that he shall be

on the

made to feel that it ground of human reasoning,

him

is

or elo-

quence, or science, but on the ground of God's

word

to

that his hopes of pardon and

rest.

grace must

Such being the avowed

design of Christianity,
the

who does not see in means employed by God for its propagamost wisely adapted
?

tion an agency
this

to attain

end and no other

Had
it is

the apostles

come working no

miracles,

evident that

the proof of their divine commission would

FITNESS TO
have been

END DESIGNED.
:

307

defective

had

they wrought
idle love of

miracles more frequently than they did, they

might have pandered

incurred
the
risk

to a

mere

excitement on the part of the populace, and

of

attaching to

them a

multitude

who were

attracted

by

their power,

but had no they been

wield
in all
all

real love for their doctrine.

Had

men

of splendid abilities, able to

the weapons of rhetoric, and skilled

the ingenuities of philosophy, they

so

might have rested

to hide

much upon

these as

from the people the purely divine

of
their

character

doctrine

and mission.

Had

they put themselves under the protec-

tion of earthly authority, or sought to ad-

vance theh^ cause by the resources of

human

power, the empire which they would have

succeeded in founding would not have rested

simply on the basis of the inherent truthfulness

and worth of the doctrine they taught,

but would have owed something at least to

the external force

by which

it

was surrounded

and

sustained.
less

In short, had the machinery

unworldly, and spiritual

been

simple,

3o8

ST.
it

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

was
its

than

was, the real end which

lost,

to be

attained would have been

and another
place.

and

inferior

end substituted in

And

as the instrumentality

employed was

thus the best adapted to the end designed,

and was,

at the

same time, the most simple

it
is

and natural that could have been used,

impossible not to acknowledge in the attain-

ment
God.

of such

mighty

results

a glorious manifestation of

by such means, the wisdom of

illustrate the

Thus

far the facts

adduced

wisdom

of

God

as displayed in the Christian

;

scheme of redemption

we have only

to

glance at the obstacles in the face of which o this success was attained, to see how, by the
progress of the gospel,
of
is

illustrated the powei^

God with which

mio^lit

that

wisdom

is

asso-

ciated.

These obstacles were of a kind

well

which

have

discourao;ed
felt

and

driven back any but

men who
to effect

that they

were sustained by omnipotence.

think

When we

how hard

it

is

even a slight

reform in some long established and corrupt

OBSTACLES TO BE SURMOUNTED.
system
has
;

309

liow the

mind
of

cleaves to that

which

the

sanction
;

antiquity
interest,

and the
fashion,

authority of law

how

and

and

prejudice,

and

even

sometimes

the

better feelings of our nature rise

up against

any attempts

to displace venerable errors, or

:

to supplant time-honoured usages

vf e

may

well admu^e the marvellous boldness of the

disciples

of Christ,

who went
all

forth to de

mand

the overthrow of

the religions that

then enjoyed the homage of the race, and to

claim undivided reverence for that of which

they were the heralds.

sider

And when we
their

con-

the

fewness

of

numbers, the

illiteracy

and poverty in which the greater

part of

ficance of the locality

them had grown up, and the insigniwhence they emerged

glance
at the

when we

singularly unpre-

tending character of the machinery they

employed, and the utter repulsiveness to

human
claimed
all

pride
;

of

the

doctrines

they pro

when we

see all the learning,

all

and

the

wealth, and

the power of the

front, to forbid

world bristling, with angry

3IO

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

and
crusli

their progress

their enterprise

when we

see kings unsheathing the sword,

;

or kindling the fires of persecution

trates casting into prison

magishasty

and loading with

to the

chains

fierce

mobs rushing

decision of stoning on the spot, or casting

to the lions in the amphitheatre
;

and when

we

see

how

to

meet

all this

the emissaries of

tke cross had no weapons but words, no

j-esources

but those of a simple story which

philosophy heard with scorn, and which wit

mocked and
wonder

ridiculed,

we may

well stand in

at the courage which, in the face of

such terrible odds, led the apostles of Christ

to descend into the arena to do battle in His
cause.

No wonder
was not
so.

that prudent

men

of the

world thought these

men

beside themselves.

But

it

These were no madmen,

but right sober and prudent as well as

They knew perfectly what they were about what they meant to do, and how they meant to do it. They were fully
earnest men.

conscious of their

own

utter insufficiency, as
enterprise.

of themselves, for so great an

COURAGE OF THE APOSTLES.

They
felt

311

struments

mere

themselves to be but fragile inearthen vessels, ready to

first
.

be broken into sherds at the

the adversary.

shock of

And

yet they calmly con-

templated the mighty work that was before

them; and, without one faltering emotion,

themselves to do
boldness
?

set

it.

Whence this unexampled

fortitude
?

this

more than Roman

is

Was

it

not from the firm assurance that the

the power of

truth they announced

God

unto salvation

They knew that however

irresistis

humble the instrument, he becomes

ible

when

the agent
that

the Almighty.
"

They

were assured
foolish of the

God had

chosen the

world to confound the wise, and

of the world to confound

the

weak things

the mighty, and base things of the world

and things which

chosen, yea,
to

are despised

hath

God

and things that

their

are not to bring

nought things that are;"^ and knowing

they gloried in
infirmity,

this

and
as

thought nothing too great for them to attempt

and

to

do in their Master's cause.

'

And

Cor.

i.

27, 28.

12

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

work advanced,
fall,

the good

as

triumph

after

triumph was gained,

tion

as the altars of supersti-

began to
all

and the temples of idolatry

call,

to be closed,

and men were seen hastening

from

parts in obedience to the divine

they pointed their admiring converts upward

to the great source of
all,

and

said,

"We

preach Christ and

of God."

Him

crucified-

the jpower

The evidences thus

the world, of the divine
therein

afforded,

by the

operation of the scheme of redemption in

wisdom and power

not been con-

concentrated, have

fined to the days of the apostles.

In

all

succeeding ages the same evidences have

been afforded wherever the gospel has been

published, and in proportion to the freedom

and purity with which

claimed.

it

has been prothese evidences

ra-

In our

own day

have been augmented with astonishing

pidity and to an overwhelming extent.

By

the labours of faithful

men
all

the gospel has

been carried to nearly

earth,

the nations of the

re-

and everywhere with the same

SUCCESS OF THE GOSPEL.

suits.

313

In
;

ancient

cities,

and in lonely
of the

wastes

over vast continents, and in the

;

islands of distant seas

among nations
the

highest culture, and tribes in

lowest

grades of savagism

in the face of the

most

advanced
ignorance

science,
;

and in
of

spite of the densest

beside solemn temples, rich with

the votive offerings

many

generations,
of

and around the

noisy
all

frost palaces
:

speculation

everywhere,
men
made

new and
and with
It

kinds and classes of

the power of
itself felt.

the gospel of Christ has

would be refusing

to learn one of the great

lessons of the world's history were

we

to

turn aside from the evidence thus afibrded,

that the doctrine of Christ and
fied is the

Him

cruci-

power of God and the wisdom of

God.
II.

Let us now turn for a

other

little

to the

aspect

under which the theme bebe viewed,

viz.,

fore us

may

that presented
are brought

by the

case of individuals

who

314

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

Here,

under the influence of Christianity.

as under the other aspect,
it is

only in brief
consider

outline
subj ect.

that

we

propose

to

the

Look then
results

for a

moment
Here

at the

mighty

to

an individual of believing the

apostolic doctrines.

was once
righteous

afar

from God

displeasure

resting under awaiting the

with

is

man who
his
inflic-

tion of that terrible sentence

which God has

indifferent,

denounced against the workers of iniquity

having no hope of escape, and
perhaps, about futurity
of worldliness,
tion
his heart full

hastening,
guilt

and

it

may be

vice

and polluall

as fast as time could carry

him, to the judgment-seat of God, with

his

cleaving to him, and

adding at

every step to the tremendous load.

Behold
his

him now

He

has been brought nigh to

all

God
sin
;

he has found the pardon of

he has been turned from the world,

and has found a treasure which the world

cannot give and caonot take away- -a peace

which passeth

all

understanding

he

is

EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUALS.
filled witli

315

a joy unspeakable, and full of

dwells

glory;

Ms mind

on

futurity,

and

borrows thence support under

the
;

trials,

and stimulus
which
the
carries

to the duties of

life

a spirit

of holy fervour has been breathed into him,

him along an ever-ascending

and love

pathway

of purity

a path

that, as

shining light, shineth more and more

;

unto the perfect day

and he waits but the

to enter his presence,

summons
at his bar.

of the

Judge

with a good hope of a triumphant acquittal

How transcendent

the change in

that man's condition, and character, and prospects

!

And how

brought about

by the
!

simply has

it

all

been

mere reception and

and
tre-

realisation of the truth concerning Christ

Him

crucified

And

in spite of

what

mendous

obstacles has this been achieved

obstacles arising from Avithin

and from without

tide of cus-

obstacles from old habits of evil, alienation

of heart from God,

tom and

fashion

and the strong

obstacles from the claims

of worldly interest or reputation,

and the

incessant assaults of that practised deceiver

3i6

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL,

who goeth about seeking whom he may

deceive and destroy
!

Who

can account for

?

such things upon natural principles

Who

can refuse to see in them a supernatural

agency

Who

can be so blind as not to

perceive that in every such instance there

is

a trophy to the Divine grace,

and a proof

that the preaching of the cross, the doctrine

of Christ,

and
the

Him

crucified, is the

power of

God and
forget
is

wisdom

of

God

In judging of this subject,

that the redemption

we should not
of the sinner

something more than a mere restoration to

primeval
this.

man s

state.

It is this,

but

it is

far

more than

It is the raising of

him to

higher state of being and of blessedness than

that from which

Adam

fell.

of the gospel on his soul,

By the work man is taught

God
;

more of God than he ever otherwise could

have learned
he
is
;

he

is

brought nearer to

placed under higher motives than ever

to love

and serve God

and he draws from

lost that favour

the Divine favour restored a depth of joy

which those who have never

A WANDERING PLANET.
cannot
reach.

317
is

How
of
,

wonderful

this
is it

What
him
of

work

power and wisdom

sin

thus to

make man's misery the a higher bliss to make his

; ;

source to

end in

greater holiness and purity

and

to cause

a rebellion which

threatened

confusion to

the empire of God, an occasion for establish-

ing that

empire more

firmly

than

ever
!

in the affections of all its

happy

subjects

Who can refuse to behold here the of Him whose attribute it is " from
evil" to be "still educing

working
seeminoof

good"

Him

who
"

is

" excellent

in counsel " as well as

wonderful in working

Suppose that that planet which recently

came within the cognizance of astronomers,

were suddenly to be loosened from the bond

which attaches

it

to the centre of our system,

and

to yield solely to that original impulse

it

which sent
on
its

spinning through space, with

what a maddening plunge would it burst away

lawless career,
it

and what fearful devastait

tion

might

not commit as

rushed through

the peopled territories of the sidereal uni-

3i8
verse,

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

But suppose
it

and bounded impetuously on to the

!

regions of eternal niglit

it

ere
"

had reached

" the

flaming bounds of space

an unseen power suddenly arrested

wild career, and stayed
trous course,
its axis, its

in its
disasit

furious

and

and once more poised

it

on

and caused
it

to retrace its
lost

steps,

and restored to
sent
ity

its

attraction,

and

it acrain circlino^

in sunshine
;

and seren-

around

its

original centre

should

we not
that

say,

Here

is

the doing of the Almighty, and

?

the

All- wise

But,

if

besides

this,

Avandering planet were brought nearer to

the sun, and, instead of existing in the
distance,
w^ere carried in
far-off*

from

its

chilling
first

and cheerless remoteness, and placed

brightness,
in

in

and

first

in

fertility,

and

first

glory

among

its its

sister

spheres,

would
had

there be one of
fail to

inhabitants

who would

see

how

their greatest calamity

been turned into their greatest blessing?

and how that which threatened them with the extremity of evil had become the occasion

GOOD OUT OF EVIL.

of raising
of bliss
?

319

them

to an unhoped-for

eminence

And

just so

is it

with that wanrescued from

It,

dering race that

destruction

has

been

by the grace of God.

too,

had broken away from the power that bound

it

to the moral centre of the universe,

far

and
w^ith

had plunged
disastrous
ruin.

and

fearfully into the abyss

of moral darkness,

and was hastening

speed to the verge of

its
it

eternal

But
;

downward

career has been

stopped
the

and

has been brought back to the

;

regions of light and peace

and

it feels

again

power that bids

its

it

circle
is this

around the
all.

centre of

being.

Nor

Now
comes
each

that

it

has been brought back,

it

under the influence of a new and a nobler

law

in

consequence of

which,

at

revolution, the sphere of its orbit contracts,

and

it

draws nearer and nearer to the centre,

having passed within the inner-

until at length

most

circle of created being, it shall roll first

in place

among the sons of light, an eternal monument of the wisdom and the power of
God.

320

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

point shall

And from what

T,

reader
?

we

you and
from some
Shall

behold this
it

grand apotheosis of our

or

race
fied

Shall

be from the midst of the gloriitself,

and exulting band

other point in the universe of Grod

we

form part of those whose

glory, surpassing

that of seraphim, shall eternally reflect the

immediate light of God, and who

" Nearest the throne, and
first

hi song,

Their hallelujahs loud shall raise

While wondering angels round them throng,

And

swell the chorus of their praise

Or must

all this

glory and joy, shared by

race,

beings of our

own

be viewed by us as

something in which we have and can have

no share

Alas for those of our race of

gospel

whom, though they have heard the

eternal destiny
side of

preached, this latter shall be the sad, the

!

From
the

ment"
bitter

an impassable
sufiering

gulf

afar

on

the other

" being in tor-

terrible

agony of a
lost,

and hopeless remorse

for ever

lost- they shall behold the unutterable joy.

HOW IS
fore the throne
;

IT WITH US

321

the immeasurable glory of the redeemed be-

and the sight

will

add to
self-

their pangs, not the

gnawings of envy but

excluded

the keen and poison pointed stings of

reproach.

For wherefore are

?

tlieij

from that happy band

ence between
race

Why

this differ-

them and beings

of the

same
It

and nature
?

and nurture with them-

selves
tells

Conscience supplies the reason.

of sin indulged, of guilt retained, of

warnings neglected, of truth despised, of God

insulted, of justice dared, of

mercy scorned
conscience
?

fearful tale, not to be gainsaid, never to

!

be forgotten
tell

Would yon have

to

this tale
is

you

all

through eternity

There
this.

but one way with certainty to avoid

Accept now the doctrine in which the

apostle gloried.

Take Christ

crucified as

your
to

Saviour
death
;

rest

on the merit of His atoning

confide in

Him

as able

and willing

save to the uttermost

all

that

come unto God

through

Him

and through

Him you

shall

find acceptance with God, be placed

among

32 2

ST.

PAUL AND THE GOSPEL.

up your heads with joy
as

His children, and in the great day of the

Lord

shall lift

those for

whom

the Saviour has secured an

inheritance in light.

THE END.

Printed by R.

&

R.

Clark, Ediiiburgh.

^y"'.