necessarily to understand all things which concern FAITH and OBEDIENCE.

These two distinct branches of his office I shall consider in their order.

CHAP. II.

FIRST of all, let us observe the method employed by Divine Wisdom in manifesting the operations of the HOLY GHOST, as the SPIRIT AND GUIDE OF TRUTH *.

The first extraordinary attestation of his descent was at the day of Pentecost, in the GIFT OF TONGUES.

Besides the great and almost indispensable use of this endowment on the first disciples of Christ, who were to convey the glad tidings of the Gospel throughout the whole earth; the elegance and propriety in the choice of this miracle, to attest the real descent of that Spirit who was to teach us all things, can never be enough admired: for wQRDS being the human vehicle of our knowledge, this gift was the fittest precursor of the Spirit of Truth.

But this first opening scene of wonders, which was to prepare and influence all their subsequent labours, a late eminent Writer would, from a SIGN, reduce to a shadow; in which he seems to think, fancy set itself on work, to produce a prodigy. "The gitt of tongues

upon the day of Pentecost (says the learned person) "was not lasting, but instantaneous and transitory; "not bestowed upon them for the constant work of "the ministry, but as an occasional sign only, that "the person endowed with it was a chosen minister of "the Gospel: which sign, as soon as it had served that

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particular purpose, seems to have ceased, and totally to have vanished *.”

Let us examine now the grounds of this new interpretation, so apparently derogatory to the operation of the Holy Spirit.

The learned writer proceeds in order; first, to reduce the type or visible sign of the gift, the FIERY TONGUES: for having declared the gift itself to be instantaneous and transitory, he has, very consistently, endeavoured to shew that the sign of it was merely fanciful. He explains it to be no more than a sudden flash of lightning, "which, he says, like all other phænomena of that sort, no sooner appeared, than "vanished t."

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His reason for this opinion is, "because when the "Disciples spoke in strange tongues to the multi"tude, the conclusion they drew from that circumstance seems to shew, that the celestial fire did not, at that time, sit upon their heads +."

But the learned person has omitted to bring this other circumstance into his account, that when the cloven tongues appeared upon each of them, they were assembled together in a private room, sequestered and apart and that it was not till the thing was noised abroad, and the multitude come together, to inquire into the truth of it, that the apostles spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now between this visible descent of the Holy Spirit, and their speaking to the multitude, a considerable time must have intervened; sufficient to convince the apostles, from the steady duration of the appearance, that it was not natural, but miraculous. And this the original words

Dr. Middleton's Essay on the Gift of Tongues, vol. ii. of his works, p. 79.

+ P. 81.

↑ P. 82.

well

well express : ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ ̓ ἕνα ἕκασον αυτῶν, properly rendered by the phrase of SITTING upon each of them: words so inconsistent with a momentary appearance, that it would be trifling with common sense to deduce such an interpretation from oblique circumstances and collateral reasoning. It is true the learned writer concedes, even from the sign's being only a sudden flash, which vanished almost as soon as it appeared, that "it indicated something miraculous and super"natural*." But I am afraid, that those who are the readiest to embrace his physiology, will not be the first to admire his theology; especially as it is so gratuitously deduced. It may therefore not be improper to consider the evangelical account of this visible descent, with a little more exactness. In this place (we see) the fiery tongues are said, to sit upon each of them and other places of Scripture, which mention the like descent of the Holy Spirit in visible form, describe it in such terms as denote a very different appearance from a sudden flash of lightning. St. Matthew tells us, that the Spirit of God descended like a dove, wo wpisepan; that is, with a dove-like motion; as birds, when about to settle upon any thing, first hover over it with quivering wings: it then lighted upon Jesus, ipxómov ' autóv. So, in the place in question, the same Spirit is said to descend under the appearance of cloven tongues, like as of fire, wr wupós. In the former instance, only the motion of the descent is described in this, both the motion, figure, and colour. And the term of cloven tongues, which the sacred historian employs to describe the motion, and which the learned writer takes up, to prove his hypothesis of a momentary existence of the phænomenon, proves it, in truth, to be of some con

*P. 82.

επ

tinuance.

tinuance. "We cannot (says he) think it strange "that fire flashing from Heaven, and suddenly vanish"ing, should yield some resemblance of tongues to "the eyes of the MULTITUDE; for this is no more "than what is natural, and what we may observe, "in some measure, from every flame that flashes "from the clouds, and breaks itself, of course, in a "number of small pointed particles not remote from "that shape *."

To this, let us, in the first place, observe, that the thing seen, was wupès, on the heads of the apostles, was no more an elementary fire, than the thing seen, we weρisepav, on the head of Jesus, was a real dove: for, as only a dove-like motion is intimated in this latter expression, so only a flame-like motion is intimated in the former; and what this was, the historian tells us in its effect, the appearance of cloven tongues. The learned person is certainly mistaken in supposing a sudden flash of lightning has naturally the appearance of cloven tongues. Such a phænomenon exhibits to the eye of the beholder only a line of light angularly broken into several directions; very different from the form of tongues, whether whole or cloven. Whenever a flame assumes this appearance, it is become stationary, as this was, which, the historian says, SAT upon each of them, ixábor: and then its natural motion being upwards, it represents, when divided lengthwise, a pyramidal or tongue-like figure, cloven. A demonstration that the appearance in question was not momentary, but of some continuance.

The learned writer having thus accounted for the precursor of the gift, comes to consider the gift itself; and attempts to shew that "the chief or SOLE END "RATHER of the gift of tongues was to serve as a

* P. 82.

"sensible

“sensible sign in that infirm state of the first Chris"tians, that those to whom it was vouchsafed were "under a divine influence, and acted by a divine com"mission.So that it is not reasonable to think that "this diversity of tongues was given to the apostles "for the sake of converting those people before whom they then spoke *." Hence (says he)“ it appears "that the gift was not of a stable or permanent na

ture t."-That is, it was no lasting endowment, to enable the apostles to perform their ministry amongst those whose language they had never learnt; but, a momentary power, which served that day for a sign to the multitude: and consequently, they had these lan guages to learn anew when they wanted the use of them. This, I say, appears to be his inference; for the arguments he brings to support his principle will lead us to no other. At the same time it must be observed, he has laid down the proposition so loosely and ambiguously, that, when considered alone, it may either mean, "that the power of speaking strange languages was only infused occasionally, like the power of working miracles;" or else," that the know ledge of the language, when infused, was not lasting, but momentary, like the cloven tongues; the inspired linguist presently falling back into his natural state of idiotism."

In the first sense, the assertion seems to be well founded and from its sobriety, and more especially from the extravagance of the other meaning, which leaves but little distinction between the power of speaking strange tongues at the day of Pentecost, and the ecstatic ravings of modern fanatics, one would wish to find was the sense we could tairly ascribe to it.