ין Hebre i, phecy; confcious perhaps of this defect, he here endeavours to eke it out with the Jewish kings, whofe rhapsodies, like Sancho's proverbs, about one in fifty may apply to the fubject matter. And of these adduced by the Christian faint, one only 8 can I view in this light, viz. But unto the Son he faith, Thy throne O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the feptre of thy kingdom.' Not knowing where this quotation is taken from, I afk, Who faith this? And may add-furely not God, as is here infinuated. We have now to refute this latter; this new doctrine; first broached by St. Paul, and, as it is faid, followed by St. John. That Jefus created the world, and all things therein and that he was God. But firft it may be worth the enquiry or endeavour, to account for this deviation or novelty of Paul and John's, especially if it can be done without having recourfe to the fpirit of prophecy. We are, by hiftorians and other writers, informed, that Cerinthus, a Christian teacher, and contemporary with thefe two faints, taught―That the angels were the authors of mature that the God of the Jews was one of them; and that Jesus was merely a man, &c. St. Paul, to combat this herefy, in his Epiftles to the Coloffians, and Hebrews taught Chrift as God creator of the world, &c. With respect to St. John, it is generally fuppofed that he wrote his Gofpel, or at least published it at Ephefus in 97, after his re release release from Patmos. The ancient writers affign two reafons for his doing it. Eufebius, and St. Jerome fay-that having read the three other gofpels, he perceived that in them was wanting the hiftory of Chrift, from the first preaching to the imprisonment of John the Baptift; and therefore wrote his to fupply that omiffion. Others fay-that he did it to confound the errors of Cerinthus, and the Ebionites: the Nicoliatans, and Gnoftics by afferting the Godhead of Jesus. And of this opinion were Irenæ us, Clement of Alexandria, Victorin, Jerome, Epiphanius, and others. We have to remark upon thefe premises that St. John was upwards of ninety when his Gospel was published: at which time, St. Jerome (in his Commentary on the Epiftle to the Galatians) fays he was fo immaciated that his difciples carried him conftantly to church, where his audience complained, that a repetition of My little ' children love one another,' was all they could get from him. St. Jerome, in his commentaries on St. Matthew, fays that St. John wrote his Gospel, at the request, or prayers, of all the bifhops of Afia, and deputations from many churches. Eufebius fays only that he was prayed to do it by his friends. St. Jerome adds -that he would not undertake it unless they appointed a public faft, and implored the affiftance of God. That the faft, &c. being ended; St. John, filled with the Holy Ghoft, broke out into X 2 this this declamation- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the • Word was God *,' &c. If there is any truth in this account, we may conclude that the fubtilties, errors, and inconfiftencies of St. Paul, had bewildered the Chriftians of the firft age filled with doubts of being right, and fears of being wrong; where could they apply for information? St. John was very old, and very infirm; but he was the only furviving apoftle: to him therefore a few went, and many fent; it followed; in that age as it doth in this, the many abfent were governed by the few prefent. At that time the numbers who profeffed a belief in the divinity of Jefus, were few in comparison with those who denied it. We know that interpolations have been made in the Sacred Hiftories: that this was one of them is therefore no improbable fuppofition confidering the temper and circumftances of the age. One obfervation more, and I have done with St. John's: if, at the time this public tranfaction is faid to have happened, St. John had the perfect ufe of his faculties; if they were unimpaired, and he was convinced that he derived his knowledge of the Godhead of Jefus, from the infpiration of the Holy Ghoft; would he, in the profecution of this very history, have recorded the speeches made by Jefus himfelf, which plainly * Vide page 213. prove the contrary and these may be found in ch. v, vi, xii, xiv, and xv, as follows. ch. v. v. 30-I can of mine own felf do no vi. xii. xiv. XV. To thefe thing, &c. 38-I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, &c. 44-No man can come to me, except him. 49-For I have not spoken of myself; 28-My Father is greater than I. ment, even fo I do. 10-I have kept my Father's com- may be added feveral of the fame im port, recorded by the other Evangelifts. XX. 23-To fit on my right hand and on Matthew. my left is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for Matthew. ch. xxvi. v. 39-He prayed faying, O my Fa ther, if it be poffible let this cup pafs from me: neverthe lefs not as I will, but as thou wilt. 42-A fecond time he prayed, faying, O my Father, if this cup may xxvii. Mark, xiii. Luke. xxiii. not pass away from me except I drink it; thy will be done. 46-My God, my God! Why hast thou forfaken me? 18-Why calleft thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. 32-Of that day (the day of Judg. ment) and of that hour, knoweth no one; no not the angels, which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. 46-Father into thy hands I commend my fpirit, were his expiring words. And after his refurrection; being asked by his difciples Lord wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Ifrael?' He replied It is not for you to know the times, or the feafons, which the Father hath put in his own power.' The proofs which I have adduced, that Chrift is not God, are inconteftible, and, I think, ftand in need of no additional fupport. But |