""

make clean the outside of the cup, and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.' "Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."-From Mark vii. 11. we learn, that by an imaginary corban or a purpose of giving to the saered treasury, the Jews could evade the moral obligation to support aged and infirin parents. They were so far from seeing the necessity of a new religion, moral and spiritual, of which every Jewish rite was a type, and so to vanish away," (Heb. viii. 13.), that they expected the Messiah to complete and continue the saine. The rest of the world, beyond their own small nation, they cared little about; had they been blamed for this, they probably would have replied, let those who are dissatisfied with paganism become proselytes to our divine religion. On this matter therefore, of a new religion to be founded on virtue, or spiritual excellence, Jesus and Nicodemus would begin to confer with notions very widely different; or rather, diametrically opposite.

Fifthly, Jesus did not intend to be perfectly open and explicit so early in his ministry as when the conference with Nicodemus took place: his reasons for his reserve we may well take for granted; but intimations are given of them, an honesty on the part of the hearers, a fairness, an openness to conviction, is necessary in order to make men receive even the truth, a freedom from spiritual pride, and inveterate prejudice makes a part of such a disposition. Our Lord says, Matt. vii. 6. "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine."-Prudential reasons are assigned; your good lessons may be despised and insulted; or they may make you powerful and mischievous enemies. To the same effect St. John says, when many were at first inclined to believe in his name, that Jesus "did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man." Nay even towards the close of his ministry Jesus says, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."-"These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs, but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."-After some farther explanation, his Disciples said unto him, "lo now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb."-which implied

implied that before, Jesus had not spoken plainly. (John xvi. 12, 25, 29.) At the beginning of his ministry, then, to a person full of Jewish prejudices, so elated probably as to think he did Jesus great honour in conferring with him, to one possessed of considerable power and authority; is there any probability that Jesus meant to speak with perfect openness? Indeed what better end can we suppose Jesus to have had in view, than to set Nicodemus on thinking for himself, attentively and deeply? Was belief to depend on mere assertion of a new teacher, or on proofs and arguments? Jesus's silence on all occasions, even before Pilate, seems justifiable on these considerations. I conclude from this fifth observation, that any interpretation of the passage before us which treats it as plain and perspicuous, which does not regard it as purposely obscure, is erroneous.

Sixthly, Jesus saw the Jewish Religion as carnal, or fleshly, in comparison of that which he was about to publish; which having chiefly in view the human mind or spirit, might properly be called spiritual, more especially on account of the assistance of God's Holy Spirit which it announced. Hence the Jewish Religion is sometimes called briefly "the Flesh;"-and the Christian, when mentioned in opposition to it, "the Spirit."-Indeed all external ceremonies are, in some sense, carnal, (especially if esteemed meritorious in themselves) when compared with the inward graces of the mind; but more particularly sacrifices of beasts, and circumcision; which latter some Jews seem to have considered as "the first and great commandment." Christianity has two external rites, but they are both evidently and professedly emblematical, and imply and denote spiritual benefits. That Jesus did consider the two religions as here represented, his Apostles shew us. Though they mean by the Jewish religion such as the Jews made it, rather than such as it might and ought to have been made; but what it actually was, must have been our Lord's object in his conference wi h Nicodemus. St. Paul says, Rom. ii. 27, 28, 29, when proving that immoral Jews had no right to exclude virtuous Gentiles from the benefits of Revelation, "And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the Law, judge thee, who by the letter and circum cision dost transgress the Law? For he is not a Jew," (one of God's pecular people) "who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he Vol. IX. Churchm. Mag. Sept. 1805. Ꮓ . is a

is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." This reasoning shews that the Jewish religion, as understood by the Jews, was merely carnal: that their reliance was upon the circumcision itself; and not on any kind of moral or spiritual qualification. The same Apostle says, Gal. iii. 3. “ Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are ye now nade perfect by the flesh" that is, having begun with the Christian religion, are ye taking so preposterous a meas sure as to go back to the Jewish? That a ceremonial religion should prepare for a spiritual one, is rational; but that the more perfect should lead back to that which is imperfect, is absurd. It is scarcely needful to say, that St. Paul is here dissuading the Judaizing Christians from adhering, through prejudice and against all reason, to the religion in which they had been brought up. To the Philippians (iii. 3.) he says, " we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." I will only add Heb. ix. 10.-" Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." "Reformation" here conveys to the mind an idea with regard to things, similar to that which regeneration does with regard to persons. To re-form is to form anew.

And now that we have considered some of the circumstances in which our Lord spoke the third and three following verses of the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, let us see what meaning fairly and naturally arises out of them. I would submit to any unprejudiced person, frec from every tincture of enthusiasm, whether Nicodemus, on reflection, would not determine the meaning to have been probably what follows; or, at least, whether we may not now discern that it was the intention of Jesus to throw the Rabbi's inind into such a train of thought as our paraphrase will point out.

"You learned Jews pride yourselves on being born of Abraham and Israel, you persuade yourselves, that the kingdom of Christ, or "the kingdom of God," will raise you as a nation, amongst the nations of the earth; you flatter yourselves that your ceremonial law will be eternal, and that the dispensation of Christ will onlybe a continuation and completion of it. In all these things you are misled by your prejudices. If you will be true;

Sans

Sons of Abraham, you must do the works of Abraham. God is able to provide those who shall supply the place of spurious sons. You now trust in something different from pure virtue, therefore your religious life must begin anew: if birth be your title, you must be born again: you must have a new set of principles, else you cannot see the religion of your Messiah (or, as you rightly call it, the kingdom of God,)" in its true light ncr be qualified to enter into it. That "kingdom is not of this world"; it is meant to unite the hearts and minds, or spirits, of all men in a reasonable and spiritual worship of the Deity. As to the promises on which you build so much, they only meant that the Christ should spring from Abraham. And as to your ceremonies continuing for ever, it cannot be; that would not answer the ends of religion to all mankind. No; the religion of Christ. must be a new religion, and you must be admitted into it as such. You must indeed have an external right to signify that admission; and purification by water will answer the purpose, but your attention must be chiefly fixed on its internal, moral, spiritual benefits: your new birth may be published by water, but the mind or spirit, both as to notions and feelings, must be new formed. And the extraordinary powers of God's Holy Spirit shall be granted for thepurpose of spreading the new religion. Indeed what purpose can be answered by transmitting a carnal religion to posterity? It must still continue carnal. Whereas if the world be prepared by a carnal or ceremonial religion for one of a spiritual nature; if in their state of weakness their attention be continually kept up by the performance of ceremonies, and then, in "the fulness of time," the real intent of those ceremonies be marked out, and they be superseded by a rational, moral, spiritual religion, for which men have been exercised and disciplined; if a very few ceremonies only remain, of an evidently useful and moral nature, such a religion may wisely be extended to all mankind, and transmitted to the latest posterity."

I apprehend that this paraphrase contains the general conceptions which our Lord intended that Nicodemus, and after him Christians at large, should adopt, on reflecting upon his short and obscure expressions. And if our constructions seem in any part forced, or harsh, I believe that it may reasonably be ascribed to the style

and

and manner of speaking, which our Lord thought it most proper to adopt, in the circumstances in which he conversed with the Jewish Ruler.

It seems proper to shew that the manner of interpreting our Saviour's words here offered, is agreeable to the scope and tenor of the discourse, of which they make a part, and inconsistent with no expression contained in it. I have made some memorandums intended to answer that purpose; I have also noted down several Illustrations of what has been here observed, taken from different expressions of Scripture; but what I now send may be regarded as the main substance, the rest as a sequel, or a pendix, should you honour this little essay so far as to insert it in your miscellany, when a convenient opportunity offers, I inay be enabled to judge whether any farther discussion will be acceptable.

August 17, 1805.

WHAT'S THE HOUR?

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S

SIR,

MAGAZINE.

F the first who asked this question was an idle man,

of a country where idleness had ceased to be general: for people are already acquainted with the value and employment of time before they begin to measure it. Nevertheless how many hours have perished unperceived, ever since mankind have begun to count them! From his ever-flowing urn, Time pours them out into a sieve; and it frequently happens that they all pass through. Happy the man who has employed some of their number in aiding a friend, consoling the child of sorrow, doing a little service to his fellow-men! The hours thus employed will remain in the sieve; and they add much more to the duration of life than the others.

The Egyptians first taught the Grecks to ask "What's the hour?" But from whom did the Egyptians learn the

question?