red to those paffages of facred writ. as for the * rest of fcripture, every portion of it is uniform and confiftent; every part bears the peculiar character that becomes it ; the history, the particular detail of laws, the defcrip. tions, the vehement and pathetic paffages, the mysteries, and prophecies, and moral discourses; in all these there appears a natural and beautiful variety. in short, there is as great a difference betwixt the heathen poets, and the prophets; as there is betwixt a false enthusiasm, and the true. the facred writers, being truly inspired, do in a fenfible manner exprefs fomething divine: while the others, striving to foar above themselves, always fhew human weakness in their loftieft flights. the fecond book of Maccabees, the book of Wisdom efpecially at the end; and Ecclefiafticus in the beginning, discover the + gaudy fwelling ftile that the degenerate

See the letter to the Academy. + Wisdom. ch. xvii. 17.--They were all bound with ⚫ one chain of darkness: whether it were a whistling • wind, or a melodious noise ⚫ of birds among the spreading branches; or a pleafing fall of water running violently or a terrible found of stones caft down; or a running that could not be • feen of skipping beasts, or a

roaring voice of most savage 'wild beasts; or a rebounding echo from the hollow moun-⚫tains: these things made them to fwoon for fear.---Ch. xviii. 20. Yea the tafting of death touched the

righteous also, and there 'was a destruction of the 'multitude in the wilderness: ⚫ but the wrath endured not long. for then the blameless

Greeks had spread over the eaft; where their language was established with their dominion, but it would be in vain to enlarge upon all thefe particulars: it is by reading that you must discover the truth of them,

B. I long to fet about it: we ought to apply ourfelves to this kind of study, more than we do.

C. I easily conceive that the Old Testament is written with that magnificence; and those lively images you speak of. but you fay nothing of the fimplicity of Chrift's words.

A. That fimplicity of ftile is intirely according to the antient taste. it is agreeable both to Mofes and the prophets, whofe expreffions Chrift often ufes, but tho' his language be plain and familiar, it is however figurative and fublime in many places. I could eafily fhew by particular instances, (if we had the books here to confult,) that we have not a preacher of this age who is fo figurative in his moft ftudyed fermons, as Jefus

*

Chrift was in his most popular difcourfes. I do not mean those that St. John relates, where almost every thing is fenfibly divine: I speak of his most familiar difcourfes recorded by the other evangelifts. the apostles wrote in the fame manner; with this difference; that Jefus Chrift being master of his doctrine, delivers it calmly. he says just what he pleases; and speaks, with the utmost easiness, of the heavenly kingdom and glory, as of his father's house. all those exalted things that aftonish us, were natural and familiar to him: he is born there; and only tells us what he † faw; as he himself declares. on the contrary the apostles ‡ funk under the weight of the truths that were revealed to them they want words, and are not able to express their ideas. hence flow those digreffions and obfcure paffages in St. Paul's writings, and thofe tranfpofitions of his thoughts, which fhew his mind was transported with the abundance and greatness of the truths that offered themselves to his attention. all this irregularity of stile fhews that the spirit of God forcibly guided the minds of the apostles. but notwithstanding these little diforders of their ftile, every thing in it is noble, lively, and moving. as for St. John's Revelation, we find in it the fame grandeur and enthusiasm that there is in the prophets. the expreffions are ofttimes the fame and fometimes this resemblance of stile gives a mutual light to them both. you fee therefore that the *Joh, xiv, 2. ↑ Ch. viii. 38. † 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4, 7,

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eloquence of fcripture is not confined to the books of the Old Testament; but is likewise to be found in the New. C. Suppofing the scripture to be eloquent, what will you conclude from it?

A. That those who preach it, may, without fcruple, imitate, or rather, borrow, its eloquence.

C. We find that preachers do chuse those paffages they think most beautiful.

A. But it mangles the fcripture thus to fhew it to Christians only in feparate paffages. and however great the beauty of fuch paffages may be, it can never be fully perceived unless one knows the connection of them: for, every thing in fcripture is connected: and this coherence is the most great and wonderful thing to be seen in the facred writings. for want of a due knowledge of it, preachers mistake those beautiful paffages; and put upon them what fenfe they please. they content themselves with fome ingenious interpretations; which being arbitrary, have no force to persuade men, and to reform their manners.

B. What would you have preachers to do? must they use only the language of fcripture ?

A. I would have them at least not think it enough to join together a few paffages of fcripture that have no real connection. I would have them explain the principles, and the series of the scripture-doctrine; and take the spirit, the ftile, and the figures of it; that all their difcourfes may ferve to give people a

right understanding, and true relish of God's word. there needs no more to make preachers eloquent: for by doing this, they would imitate the best model of antient eloquence.

B. But in this cafe we behoved (as I faid before) to explain the several parts of scripture as they lie.

A. I would not confine all preachers to this. one might make fermons upon the fcripture without explaining the feveral parts of it, as they lie. but it must be owned, that preaching would be quite another thing, if according to antient custom, the facred books were thus explained to the people in a connected judicious manner. confider what authority a man must have who fhould fay nothing from his own invention; but only follow and explain the thoughts and words of God. befides he would do two things at once. by unfolding the truths of fcripture, he would explain the text; and accustom the people to join always the sense and the letter together. what advantage must they not reap they were used to nourish themselves with this spiritual bread? an audience who had heard the chief points of the Mofaic law explained, would be able to receive far more benefit from an explication of the truths of the gospel, than the greatest part of Christians are now. the preacher we spoke of before, has this failing among many great qualities, that his fermons are trains of fine reasoning about religion; but they are not religion itfelf. we apply ourselves too much to drawing of moral

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