in the mind of the inspired writer in this passage, but by no means, I think, so perfect and technical a poise of thought and expression as that for which the Bishop contends, and on which he even grounds a doctrinal argument, alleging that the Holy Child of the Acts is the Jehovah of the Psalms. I believe the fact, and I most heartily concur in the doctrine; but I should hesitate to urge this parallelism on a Socinian, in proof of my argument. Indeed, if parallelism is to be carried to the extent the Bishop contends for, we may have points of Calvinism and Arminianism argued on the same principles, and the whole Scripture put to the torture and crotcheted in search of equiponderants and correlatives.

Admiring, however, as I cordially do, the pious, learned, and valuable publication to which I have alluded, and feeling greatly indebted to its author for the new and interesting mine of "sacred literature" which he has opened to biblical readers, I should have been satisfied with the large, but measured, approbation awarded to it in the pages of the Christian Observer*, and by no means have thought it necessary to obtrude the present remarks upon the public, had not another writer undertaken to improve upon the Bishop's principles,and carried them out into a most singular, and, I fear I must add, dangerous and extra

A1-3. Epistolary.

vagant hypothesis. I allude to a work recently published, entitled, "Tactica Sacra, being an Attempt to develop, and to exhibit to the Eye by tabular Arrangements, a gcneral Rule of Composition prevailing in the holy Scriptures; by the Rev. Thomas Boys, A. M. of Trinity College, Cambridge, Curate of Wedford, Herts." I entertain the highest respect for the principles of this writer; but the hypothesis upon which his publication is built, is of so hazardous a character that it ought not to pass unnoticed.

The object of Mr. Boys's work is "to reduce whole Epistles to the form of regular parallelisms." We have not only the minor parallelisms which Bishop Jebb contends for, and which Mr. Boys still further extends; but, existing with these, and superadded to them, a larger scale of parallelism, including large masses of Scripture, even whole Epistles. The sacred writer, before penning a single sentence, arranges his whole intended book into one grand parallelism, and then constructs minor parallelisms as suits his plan. But the best way of conveying to the reader an idea of Mr. Boys's hypothesis, is to give one of his own illustrative specimens. The Epistle to Philemon, being the shortest, will best allow of quotation. Mr. Boys arranges its alleged parallelisms as follows:

D20. Supplication.

C21. Authority.

423-25. Epistolary.

of such an hypothesis is, I conceive, evident at the first glance; or, if more be wanted, the short Epistle above quoted will be quite sufficient for most readers: but to have the fullest idea of the extent of the absurdity, it would be necessary to follow the author through some of the longer portions of Scripture. But such a task is, I trust, utterly superfluous; and my chief object, in trespassing even thus long upon the patience of my readers on such a subject, is to warn biblical students of the danger of cherishing idle speculations and hypotheses. The scheme of Mr. Boys certainly will not find many patrons among sober critics and ripe scholars; but the innumerable crudities which have been tolerated at different times in well-disposed, but weak and illjudging minds, forbid the hope that no individual will be found to take up the "new system," and to parallelize the Bible from Genesis to Revelations, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, clause by clause, to the utter subversion alike of the sacred Scriptures and of common sense. Mr. Boys, being himself a firm believer in his system, is naturally anxious to inculcate it upon others; and he particularly appeals to devotional readers of the Scriptures, considering, as he honestly does, that it will tend greatly to their edification. "I know," he says, "there are persons who will be disposed to regard the sort of discussions which the present work contains as uninteresting and unprofitable. They want something that will excite devotional feeling; and unless they can have this, they think their souls cannot receive benefit. I wish to speak of such sentiments with respect, for they do not entirely differ from my own. As far as this at least we are of one mind, that, unless there be in the heart the feeling and the spirit of devotion, all that can be done in the way of enlightening our understandings may leave

us in a state of spiritual death. Yet I apprehend, that where there is the spirit of devotion, there it is of the first importance to inform the mind; otherwise we can only look for a zeal that is not according to knowledge: and not only this, but that where there is not the spirit of devotion, there instruction upon points of fact and argument is often made the means of giving it. Devotion is the flame; knowledge, doctrine, and sound argument the materials by which it is fed. We must throw on those coarser-looking materials at due intervals; or the purer and more etherial flame will soon go out. You delight in your Bible. You find nothing so edifying as the reading of that sacred book. Give me leave to ask, then, When your Bible is before you, do you always know what you are reading about? I venture to answer, No. You understand single verses and sentences; or can make out their meaning by the help of commentators. But of the general bearing and tendency of what you are reading, the topics which the sacred writer means to urge, the drift of the passage, in a word, what it is about, of this you are often ignorant. It is the object, then, of parallelism to shew you this. Hitherto you have travelled on, like a man making his way through a thicket; arrested perhaps occasionally by a flower growing at your feet, but utterly ignorant of the general character of the country through which you are passing. But parallelism takes you up; first sets you on an eminence, and gives you a bird's-eye view of all the adjacent country, and then carries you through it by an open path."

Such is Mr. Boys's view of the importance of his system of parallelism to devotional as well as to merely critical readers. I am far from wishing to wound his feelings in the free remarks which I have thought it my duty to offer upon it; but I cannot view it merely as a harmless absurdity, bee use of the

disrespect which (most unintentionally on the part of the author) it offers to holy Scripture; because of the injurious effects which it may have upon ill-disciplined minds; and because of the door which it opens to the sneers and cavils of the unbelieving and profane.

There is indeed another species of" scripture parallelism" which I could earnestly wish the Reverend author on whose hypothesis I have animadverted, and all his readers, deeply to study-not a parallelism of mere technical arrangement, but that juxta-position of spiritual things with spiritual, that exquisite analogy of all the disclosures of holy writ by which they reflect a flood of light upon each other, and lead the mind in devout and adoring love and gratitude, to the all-wise Inspirer of their hallowed contents. Mr. Boys evidently knows well how to turn the sacred volume to this higher account; and let him not endanger this best study of the Oracles of God, for the sake of a puerile hypothesis," with a constant reference to which he has gone through the Old Testament as often as three or four times, and the New Testament as often as five or six times."

I will only remind both him and his readers of the following excellent remarks of Bishop Horsley inculcating the study of the parallelism to which I have alluded, a parallelism not of brackets and crotchets, in which

"Verse nods to verse, each sentence has

a brother,

And half the chapter just reflects the other;"

but a sound, rational, and scriptural comparison of phrase with phrase, and thought with thought, the obscure with the lucid, doctrines with duties, promises with commands. "It should be a rule," says Bishop Horsley, "with every one who would read the Scriptures with advantage and improvement, to compare every text, which may seem either important for the doctrine it may

contain, or remarkable for the turn of the expression with the parallel passages in other parts of holy writ; that is, with the passages in which the subject-matter is the same, the sense equivalent, or the turn of the expression similar. These parallel passages are easily found by the marginal references in Bibles of the larger forms."......" It is incredible to any one, who has not in some degree made the experiment, what a proficiency may be made in that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation, by studying the Scriptures in this manner, without any other commentary or exposition than what the different parts of the sacred volume mutually furnish for each other. I will not scruple to assert that the most ILLITERATE CHRISTIAN, if he can but read his English Bible, and will take the pains to read it in this manner, will not only attain all that practical knowledge which is necessary to his salvation; but, by God's blessing, he will become learned in every thing relating to his religion in such a degree, that he will not be liable to be misled either by the refined arguments or by the false assertions of those who endeavour to in

graft their own opinions upon the Oracles of God. He may safely be ignorant of all philosophy, except what is to be learned from the sacred books; which indeed contain the highest philosophy adapted to the lowest apprehensions. He may safely remain ignorant of all history, except so much of the first ages of the Jewish and of the Christian church, as is to be gathered from the canonical books of the Old and New Testament. Let him study these in the manner I recommend, and let him never cease to pray for the ILLUMINATION OF THATSPIRIT by which these books were dictated; and the whole compass of abstruse philosophy and recondite history shall furnish no argument with which the perverse will of man shall be able to shake this LEARNED CHRIS

FAMILY SERMONS. No. CLXXXVI. Job xxii. 21-23.-Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. Thou shalt put iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

In meditating upon this interesting passage of Scripture, we shall first consider the nature of the counsel here given; and, secondly, the benefits which will result to us from following it; and, in so doing, may our hearts be directed to Heaven in secret prayer, that, while listening to the injunction in the text, we may be inclined to obey it, and thus obtain the inestimable blessings which God has graciously connected with a compliance with this command.

First, then, we are to consider the counsel here given, which consists of three parts; namely, to acquaint ourselves with God,-to be at peace with him, and to receive the law from his mouth.

1." Acquaint thyself with God." The knowledge of our Creator lies at the foundation of all religion; for," he that cometh to God must know that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." We are naturally ignorant of him. Something might indeed be learned respecting him from his works; for "the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead;" so that, adds the Apostle, men are "without excuse, because that, when they knew God, they

glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." But this knowledge is but partial; and, partial as it is, it is not generally made use of by mankind. Too many never reflect upon God as the Creator of all things; their supporter and governor; and the author of all their mercies. If a slight thought of his being or attributes pass through their minds, it is soon forgotten, and leaves behind it no traces of devout love or veneration. Though they believe in his existence, they cannot be said to be acquainted with him and the little they know, instead of being followed up by a desire after further information, is lost to all practical purposes. They pass through life almost as though there were no God; they habitually forget him "in whom they live, and move, and have their being." Such is the wilful ignorance of the large majority of mankind, even of what they might know by the mere light of reason, reflecting upon the works of God, and assisted by the obscure remains of early revelations handed down from age to age.

But still this light is very imperfect; and it is only in the Gospel of his Son that we can become fully acquainted with him. We are na▾ turally ignorant of many of his attributes; but in that Divine record they are clearly revealed, and their important relation to ourselves is also pointed out. We read of him as "a great God, mighty and terrible," "holy and reverend," "glorious and fearful," yet" merciful and gracious, and full of compassion;" a God too pure to behold iniquity, who has given us a perfect law to walk by, who weighs all our actions, and who will judge us according to our works. We learn not only his power, wisdom, and eternal existence, but also his mysterious nature as three persons in one God; each of the three persons bearing an infinitely gracious office towards us miserable sinners; the