Concerning the class of quotations contained in the preceding table, it has been remarked, that when the inspired writers quote a passage from the Old Testament, merely in the way of allusion, it is enough that the words which they borrow emphatically express their own meaning. It is not necessary that they be precisely the same with those of the passage alluded to, nor that they be there used, either of the same subject or of a similar subject. Thus, Deut. xxx. 12-14. which was originally written concerning the law, is by Saint Paul accommodated to the Gospel (Rom. x. 6-8.), with proper variations and explanations.

CHAPTER VII.

ON HARMONIES OF SCRIPTURE.

I. OCCASION and Design of Harmonies.

The several Books of the Holy Scriptures, having been written at different times, and on different occasions, necessarily treat on a great variety of subjects, historical, doctrinal, moral, and prophetic. The sacred authors. also, writing with different designs, have not always related the same events in the same order; some are introduced by anticipation; and others again are related first, which should have been placed last. Hence, seeming contradictions have arisen, which have been eagerly seized by the adversaries of Christianity, in order to perplex the minds and shake the faith of those who may not be able to detect their sophistries. These contradictions, however, are not real: for they disappear as soon as they are brought to the test of candid examination.

The manifest importance and advantage of comparing the sacred writers with each other, have induced many learned men to undertake the compilation of works which, being designed to show the perfect agreement of all parts of the sacred writings, are commonly termed Harmonies. Two classes of these principally claim to be noticed in this place, viz. Harmonies of the Old, and Harmonies of the New Testament.

II. Harmonies of the OLD TESTAMENT.

The design of these is to dispose the historical, poetical, and prophetical Books in Chronological Order, so that they may mutually explain and authenticate one another. Our learned countryman, Dr. Lightfoot, in the year 1647, published a "Chronicle" or Harmony of the Old Testament; on the basis of which the Rev. George Townsend constructed "The Old Testament arranged in Historical and Chronological Order;" but he has deviated from, and improved upon the plan of Lightfoot very materially. His work is noticed in the Appendix. III. Harmonies of the NEW TESTAMENT are of two sorts; viz.

1. Harmonies of the ENTIRE New Testament, in which not only are the four Gospels chronologically disposed, but the Epistles are also placed in order of time, and interspersed in the Acts of the Apostles. Mr. Townsend's "New Testament arranged in Chronological and Historical Order is the most complete work of this kind in the English language.

2. Harmonies of the Gospels, in which the narratives or memoirs of the four evangelists are digested in their proper chronological order. These are very numerous, according to the plans which their several authors proposed to themselves. Among foreign authors, the Latin Harmony of Chemnitz (or Chemnitius) is the most esteemed and among our British divines those of Drs. Doddridge and Macknight are most generally read, on account of their valuable expositions and commentaries.

THE Literary History of the Sacred Volume having thus been considered, we now proceed to discuss its INTERPRETATION: and here the various subsidiary means for ascertaining the sense of the inspired writers first demand attention. This is the subject of the first chapter of the present book: the remaining chapters will show, in what manner the sense, when discovered, is to be communicated, expounded, and applied.

MAN, being formed for society, has received from his Creator the faculty of communicating to his fellow-men, by means of certain signs, the ideas conceived in his mind. Hence, his organs of speech are so constructed, that he is capable of forming certain articulate sounds expressive of his conceptions; and these, being fitly disposed together, constitute discourse; which, whether it be pronounced or written, must necessarily possess the power of declaring to others what he wishes they should understand.

I. NATURE OF WORDS. The vehicles, or signs, by which men communicate their thoughts to each other, are termed WORDS; whether these are orally uttered or described by written characters; the idea, or notion, attached to any word, is its SIGNIFICATION; and the ideas which are expressed by several words connected to

gether, that is, in entire sentences and propositions, and which ideas are produced in the minds of others,are called the SENSE or proper meaning of words. Thus, if a person utter certain words, to which another individual attaches the same idea as the speaker, he is said to understand the latter, or to comprehend the sense of his words. If we transfer this to sacred subjects, we may define the sense of Scripture to be that conception of its meaning, which the Holy Spirit presents to the understanding of man, by means of the words of Scripture, and by means of the ideas comprised in those words.

EVERY WORD MUST HAVE SOME MEANING. Although in every language there are very many words which admit of several meanings, yet in common speech there is only ONE true sense attached to any word, which sense is indicated by the connection and series of the discourse, by the design of the speaker or writer, or by some other circumstances, unless any ambiguity be purposely intended. The same usage obtains in the sacred writings. II. THE SENSE OF SCRIPTURE DEFINED.

1. The LITERAL SENSE of any place in Scripture is that which the words signify or require, in their natural and proper acceptation. Thus, in

Gen i. 1. God created the heavens and the earth, the words mean what they literally import, and must be interpreted according to the letter. So, in John x. 30. the words, I and the Father are one, so distinctly and unequivocally assert the deity of Christ and his equality with God the Father, that it is difficult to conceive how any other than their proper and literal meaning could ever be given to them.

The literal sense has been termed the HISTORICAL SENSE, as conveying the meaning of the words and phrases used by a writer at a certain time.

Thus, in Gen. x. 5. Isa. xi. 11. and many other passages of Scripture, the word isles or islands signifies EVERY inhabited region, particularly all the Western Coasts of the Mediterranean