or to instruct them; to entrap them into discipleship, or to present recondite truths in a mysterious, but impressive, form; still, speaking as he does, if the narrative be not plain matter of fact, as ordinary hearers or readers would understand it, but only a fabulous envelopment of truth; then, even though the narrative should contain truth, in the statement of the narrative, as such, there was nothing but falsehood. He reiterates his statement: "We have not followed cunningly-devised fables:" we were eye-witnesses of his majesty." If the facts of the transfiguration did not occur as the Evangelists represent them, then, even supposing that Peter taught what was doctrinal truth, yet he spoke that which was not true in point of fact.

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If we go on with the paragraph, we shall find Peter exactly agreeing with the very words of John: "That which we have seen and heard," &c. He says first, "We were eye-witnesses of his majesty.' He was transfigured before us; we saw the wonderful, the undeniably-supernatural, alteration of his appearance. He became, as it were, all light. His face shone as the sun. We saw Moses and Elias present with him. We beheld the bright cloud which had occasionally been visible to the Jewish fathers. We saw the excellent glory.' It came upon us, and overshadowed us, and we feared as we entered the cloud. And we not only saw, but heard; for he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.'

6

"We

It is not possible for language to be plainer than this. The record of the Evangelists, taken by itself, is sufficiently clear. To every one, on first reading it, and so long as he has no object to serve by seeking whether it may not be barely possible to ascribe to it another character, it must unavoidably appear to have been intended by the writers to be a simple narrative of facts; supernatural facts, it is true, but still facts, not parabolic fictions. But, in addition to the record itself, here is the decisive testimony of Peter, one of those who were present on the occasion. He not only denies the mythical character of the wonderful occurrences,― "We have not followed cunningly-devised fables," skilfully constructed myths; but repeatedly asserts that he himself had witnessed them : were with him in the holy mount; we were eye-witnesses of his majesty; we know that he received honour and glory from God the Father; for we saw the excellent glory, and heard the voice which came forth from it, and by which God declared him to be his well-beloved Son. All this we saw and heard." And if they did not see and hear all this, their character as men of truth is worth nothing. If, under pretensions of teaching truth, they might thus violate truth, then does the religion which they preach contain no real obligation for speaking the truth; then may the entire system of pious frauds, the whole collection of fabulous legends on which Popery so much relies, be fully justified by their example.

Having thus delivered his personal testimony concerning the power and coming of Christ, St. Peter proceeds to a wider scope, and refers to what, considered as an argumentum ad homines, was a yet "surer one, even the combined and harmonizing declarations of the entire series of the ancient Prophets, who all speak the same things in reference to the same great object. "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy." "To Him give ALL the Prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." He says, "We have also a more sure

word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." And as his object was to confirm them in the belief they had embraced, and to guard them against the errors of the teachers of falsehood, whose springing-up he foresaw, with the mischiefs it would produce, he addresses them immediately on the subject, devoting to it the whole of the second chapter, and showing them the similarity of character and plans between the older and the more recent "false prophets : and then, in the first two verses of the third chapter, he sums up what he had previously stated more fully, reminding them distinctly of his own design in writing to them. "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance that ye may be mindful," first," of the words which were spoken before by the holy Prophets, and," second, "of the commandment of us the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour." As if he had said, "For your establishment in the holy faith which you have embraced, and do profess, your earnest attention must be paid to the Scriptures of both dispensations, as testifying to the same great facts, and in reference to the same great purposes, even that you may receive remission of sins,' and not only have the light of divine revelation shining around you, but the light of spiritual experience shining within you." That the Apostle, in his references to faith, included these its results in personal and spiritual experience, is evident, not only from the conclusion of his address to Cornelius and his friends, already quoted, but from the similar language which he employs in his first epistle, speaking to those to whom it was written. Believing in Christ, as described to them, though they had not seen him, he adds the phrase, whose significance is heightened by comparing it with his language to Cornelius, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls;" that deliverance from the dominion of sin which flows from the reception of personal pardon, and enables the receivers to 66 serve God without fear, in righteousness and holiness before him, all the days of their life."

Before remarking on the language of St. Peter, we may advert to what is, in so many respects, the parallel passage of St. Paul, writing to Timothy: "From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." Both writers refer to spiritual establishment, and also to the same instrumentality, the divinely-inspired Scriptures. St. Paul refers to faith in Christ as enabling the believer to understand the otherwise inexplicable writings of the ancient Prophets, and to derive from them, thus understood in their references to Christ, whose actual history fulfilled the foregoing prophecies, and was described by the Apostles, the wisdom by which salvation might be secured. St. Peter refers to the same Prophets, as furnishing, by their consentaneous agreement in one subject, an irrefragable testimony to the truthfulness of the historical descriptions of Christ given by St. Peter and his fellow-Apostles, which, properly received, directly tended to remove all doubt and darkness from their minds, to

make them wise, and to put them in possession of the inward blessings flowing from the outward work of Christ, to make them wise unto salvation. This exact, but undesigned, harmony of the two Apostles, writing as they were to very different persons, and for the purpose of securing different objects, as will be apparent on considering the particular connexion of the passages respectively, proves both the perfect truthfulness of the writers, and that they were influenced by the same views of the religious system they had embraced, and to the establishment and diffusion of which their lives were dedicated.

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The language of St. Peter may now be considered somewhat more particularly. He had been delivering his own personal testimony concerning the facts which proved Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, the Saviour and Lord of mankind. He adds, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; or, as Bloomfield would render it," a more sure word, the word of prophecy." The question is, In what sense more sure?" He could not mean more certain, either in reference to the declaration of the Father from heaven, or of the visible manifestation of the evidently-supernatural character of Christ. Nothing could be more certain than these to him who heard and saw them. Nor could he mean more certain than his own word, in itself considered; for he knew that he was one of the holy men who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and on whom, as Apostles, together with the Prophets, the church was founded. He places himself, in set terms, in the second verse of the third chapter, in the same relation to the church as that sustained by the Prophets : "Be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy Prophets, and of the commandments of us the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour." The testimony thus delivered by himself, as an individual, he delivers as that of a living man, thus addressing the persons to whom his epistles are inscribed. But having done this, he proceeds to show them that the facts rested not on his word alone; that he brought before them no novel doctrine which they were to receive merely because stated to them by himself. We have, he says, on this subject, a word more fully confirmed, both in point of evidence, extent, and time, even the word of prophecy, contained in the ancient Scriptures. Those among the strangers scattered" abroad, who were of Jewish parentage, had been acquainted with them from their infancy, and had always been taught to acknowledge them as divine. The Gentile converts, likewise, knew the character attributed by the Jews to these writings, and had been taught themselves also to acknowledge it. The Christian converts, whether from among Jews or Gentiles, were "builded upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone." Here, then, were writings of undoubted antiquity, and confirmed as to their character by the uninterrupted acknowledgments of generation after generation, from time immemorial. No one could dream of their recent composition. The Jews who refused to acknowledge Christ, believed them as firmly as did the Christians, and held them as the divinely-inspired oracles, which God himself had committed to them. And these Scriptures had not been written by one man, at one time they had been composed by individuals whose lives, taken together, spread over a number of centuries; and these individuals were all perfectly independent of each other, except that they all belonged to the same religious community. And thus considered, Peter might well say, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy," longer and more fully and extensively confirmed, than at that time his own declarations could be said to be. And this word

of prophecy bore, throughout, decided testimony to the facts and doctrines declared by Peter. In the midst of the obscurity of the Mosaic ritual economy, its declarations were as a light shining in a dark place." The essential doctrines of the Gospel are repeatedly stated; its great facts are repeatedly predicted; and the system of religion, fully unfolded and arranged in the New Testament, is plainly seen to be that which had been previously taught in the Old Testament, though mixed up there with numerous particulars, as was to be expected, belonging to the then existing economy.

In the interpretation of this "word of prophecy," however, St. Peter states that an important canon is to be observed, issuing from the fact of its divine inspiration, as acknowledged both by Jews and Christians. In his first Epistle he had stated that the ancient seers had prophesied of the Christian salvation, and that they had done this because "the Spirit of Christ" 66 was in them," and "testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." In the second Epistle he says distinctly, "The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man.” These statements were not the result of the merely human knowledge of the writers, acquired by their own industry and skill; as, for instance, in the case of the old Grecian philosophers. "But" these "holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." It was He who wrought on their minds,—in what particular manner we now pause not to inquire,— and caused them to speak and write as they did. The various prophecies, therefore, came through them, but from Him. They were, so to speak, the penmen, the amanuenses; but He was the Author. The channels were several; but the Fountain was one, and therefore the stream one. It is from this momentous fact that the canon arises, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." Papists, and papalizing writers, have given a curious meaning to this passage. Wishing to maintain an absolute domination over conscience, they have said,—Private interpretation is the interpretation of private persons, as distinguished from the public interpretation of the Church, meaning thereby themselves. The proper meaning is most evident from the assigned reason, that these holy men spake not of themselves, but as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. No particular prophecy, therefore, is to be interpreted as if it were merely the self-cogitated sentence of the immediate writer. Each prophecy is only a part of one vast scheme, and proceeds from the same Mind from which every other proceeds. No individual, certainly, may put his own sense, according to his own notions, on any prophecy; nor may any number or collection of individuals do this. The Author of the prophecies is the Spirit of God, and the interpretation of each, of any, of all, is to be sought in the same way, by a reference to the mind of the Spirit, as disclosed in the entire scheme. Each bears a relation to the whole, and by a careful examination of the whole is the meaning of each to be sought; and that interpretation best claims reception in which that relation is most fully preserved, and most clearly shown. The proper authorship of Scripture is one. It is the work of the Holy Ghost. All Scripture is God-breathed. It is, therefore, throughout consistent with itself, whether we, in our present circumstances, can always perceive this or not. No prophecy is to be interpreted as if the writer were its sole and ultimate author. It is not susceptible of such private interpretation. It is not to be its own interpreter, considered separately and independently; nor is it to be explained by a mere reference to the opinions and circumstances of its

apparent and human author. It belongs to a whole; and that whole, in all its parts, proceeds from the Spirit of God. Each part, therefore, is to be explained by reference to the whole. Whatever subordinate help we may employ,-and there is much that may be employed most profitably, the great object must be to ascertain the relation of the part to the whole, and its consistency with the whole. Such relation and consistency are the proper tests of the correctness of any particular interpretation. If, in any one place, the meaning of the Spirit be not at once apparent, it is to be sought by reference to his language and meaning elsewhere. In Scripture, as in providence, "God is his own interpreter ; " and if, with a proper disposition, we diligently employ these the only proper means, we shall find that all will be made plain that needs to be made plain. Some portions, particularly of the prophetic Scriptures, are enveloped in a mystery hitherto baffling all research, and perhaps are left to be explained by their fulfilment, and not till that arrives; but for all that relates to the wisdom that is unto salvation, let us carefully obey the injunctions of Peter. In the Scriptures, the great facts and doctrines connected with the redemption, government, and final judgment of mankind, are clearly and impressively made known, that we may thus be made wise unto salvation. Possessing this sacred volume, let us exhibit that long-established mark of true piety, love to the law of the Lord, by frequent and regular perusal and meditation. To do this is the duty of every Christian. To forbid him is to interfere between him and the fulfilment of a divinely-imposed obligation. It is his privilege and right, and to forbid him is intolerable usurpation it is despotism, it is robbery. In itself considered, submission here is sin. We not only may read the word of God, but we ought to do It is the command of God by St. Peter that we "be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy Prophets, and of the commandment of the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour;" and whatsoever may be alleged on behalf of those who allow themselves to be deprived of their Christian birthright, and however God may exercise mercy on them, their conduct involves much evil, and leads to great mischief. He who values not the word of truth, loves not the truth itself, the chief instrument of his salvation; and God's fearful judgment on all such shows the alarming extent of their criminality. They shall be given up to strong delusion that they may believe a lie. The reception of false doctrine is often judicial. To be guarded against false prophets, we must take heed to the inspired word, and search out its instructions by a conscientious reference to its Author, character, and design. The dogmatic usurpations of spiritual despots, the arrogant and absurd speculations of proud and self-called rationalists, and the sometimes indolent and sometimes fanciful conceptions of our own careless and stagnant minds, are equally to be avoided. Scripture is not composed of cunningly-devised fables, though it may have some depths and mysteries for the exercise of our humility and faith. It is not a dark enigma, only to be understood in the explanations of human authority. The supremacy, wisdom, holiness, and benevolence of the word of God, all repudiate this. It is given to make us wise unto salvation, and it is able to effect this. Its doctrines rest on plainly-revealed facts; and they who seek to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," shall never “ wrest unto their own destruction" even the " some things hard to be understood" in Scripture. Let them be studied in reference to their design, and in such a spirit as that design intimates, a desire to know the will of God, in order to its experience and

So.