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epiftles of St. Paul, than it would have been, had it been poffible to avoid all fuch deviations. It is however obvious, that this fpecies of obscurity was, in a great degree, an inevitable confequence from the nature of the subjects which the apostle treated of, and that fo far as it was voluntary, it arofe from motives of humility and prudence, very inconfiftent with the genius of enthusiasm.

Another more general and powerful caufe of obfcurity, may be found in the very nature of epiftolary compofition, leading the apoftle to refer to past events, to perfonal and local circumftances, and even to particular converfations, perfectly known to those whom he addressed, and which he therefore speaks of, and argues on, without entering into any fuch particular explanation, as would be neceffary to illuftrate his language, and his reasonings, to modern readers.

Thus the first epistle to the Corinthians is employed, partly in answering a letter received from them, containing various enquiries about certain points of

This is acknowledged by Michaelis, ch. iv. §. 4. p. 119. The principal mode in which this obscurity affects us, seems to be the use of Greek particles, with all the latitude of the corresponding particles in Hebrew; perhaps no commentator has laboured more fuccessfully to remove this obfcurity than Dr. M'Knight, in his fourth preliminary effay particularly, fect. 4. and the fupplement to this effay, in vol. iv.

opinion

opinion and conduct, as to which they had entreated the determination of the apostle; and partly in cenfuring certain diffentions and fingularities among them, which he had been acquainted with from public rumour or private information; in both the apoftle pursues the method which the occafion naturally required; he answers their different queries, without formally repeating the terms in which they were propofed. "Now concerning the things whereof ye "write unto me," is the only direct mention made of them; and he cenfures their misconduct, without being anxious to detail minutely all the particulars in which it confifted, while both his determinations and his cenfures are blended with the various instructions and directions, which fuggested themselves to his mind on other points, without any express notice being given of the tranfition. Now, who does not see that we would much more clearly perceive the exact connection and import of this epistle, if we had the letter of the Corinthians before us, or were acquainted, as fully as the apostle, with the circumftances of their misconduct? but furely our want of this information cannot be adduced to prove St. Paul was a myftical and vifionary fanatic.

The second epistle to the Corinthians is not lefs perfonal and local than the first-it every where refers to the effects which the first had wrought upon them, a particular account of which the apostle had

t Corinth. vii. 1.

received

1

received from Titus. It pre-fuppofes a divifion in the church of Corinth, which in general adhered to the apostle, while a faction remained that still laboured to undermine his authority, and calumniate his character. The former party he encourages and fupports, against the objections and mifrepresentations of the latter he vindicates himself, rather however by advancing what his readers would themselves apply to that purpose, than by expressly stating each calumny or mifrepresentation, which he wished to repel. Now, though fuch an express statement might have made the epiftle more clear to us, it would have undoubtedly been lefs dignified, and lefs natural, in the apoftles' fituation.

Thus alfo one of the most difficult paffages in the entire New Teftament, which occurs in the fecond epiftle to the Theffalonians, chap. ii. evidently de rives its obfcurity from a reference to a past converfation. The Theffalonians feem to have mistaken a paffage in his first epistle for a prophecy, that the day of judgment was immediately to come-an error, productive of fuch alarm and confusion, the apoftle is anxious to remove; he therefore tells them"be ye not foon fhaken in mind, or be troubled, "neither by fpirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as "from us, that the day of Christ is at hand; let nọ "man deceive you by any means, for that day fhall "not come, except there come a falling away first, " and that man of fin be revealed, the fon of perdi

❝tion,

❝tion, who opposeth, and exalteth himself above all "that is called God, or that is worshipped, fo that "he, as God, fitteth in the temple of God, fhewing "himself that he is a God. Remember ye not that "when I was yet with you I told you these things, and ye know what" now restraineth him, in order to his

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being revealed in his own season; for the mystery "of iniquity already worketh, until he, who now "restraineth, be taken out of the way, and then "fhall that wicked one be revealed."

The apostle then proceeds to defcribe the character of that man of fin, in terms which the Theffalonians would, probably, easily understand, from a recollection of the apostles' converfation; but which to us partakes of the obscurity, fo generally, and almost un a verfally attending the language of prophecy. Now idfuch a reference to a past conversation was extremely natural; and if we adopt the opinion of those commentators, who conceive the power to whom the apostle alludes, to have been the Roman emperors, which he hints would be taken away: motives of prudence may have operated to prevent St. Paul from repeating, in a public epiftle, the purport of that converfation.

But I forbear to multiply inftances of obfcurity, which may be accounted for from our ignorance of

"In the 6th and 7th verfes, I adopt the tranflation of Macknight.

the

the nature of the apostles' fituation and design, in his different epiftles, without giving the least room to fufpect that it arofe from the distraction and incoherence of an enthusiastic mind. That it may be fo accounted for I quote with pleasure, the authority of *Locke, who was furely no despicable judge of intellectual excellence,

"That St. Paul (fays he) knew how to profecute "his purpose with strength of argument and close "reasoning, without incoherent fallies, or the inter"mixing of things foreign to his business, was evi"dent to me, from several speeches of his recorded "in the Acts; and it was hard to think, that a man "who could talk with fo much confiftency, and "clearness of conviction, fhould not be able to "write without confufion, inextricable obfcurity, "and perpetual rambling. The force, order and "perfpicuity, of these discourses, could not be de"nied to be very visible; how then came it that "the like was thought much wanting in his epistles?

and of this there appeared to me to be this plain ❝reason, the particularities of the hiftory in which "these speeches are inferted, fhew St. Paul's end in

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speaking, which being feen, caft a light on the

whole, and shew the pertinancy of all that he "fays; but his epistles not being so circumstanced, "there being no concurring hiftory that plainly de

* Vid. Locke's preface to his commentary on St. Paul's epiftles, vol. 3, of his works, p. 105.

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