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THE RACTICAL


Devoted to Tl'uth and Righteousness,


MENDON, MASS. , ~ IAY 15, 1840. No. 2.


EXPOSITION or rAITH.


VOL. I.


I denc e in them all. I disbelieve in no single I - and inqu iring thus : o: J'" Who ' said this ? I his mur derous brother Ab imel ech-" Hearken


THE ACTICAL CHRISTIAN e one of them. But what do I mean by the lwhe n, where, to whom, on wha t occ as ion, unde r unto me ye men of S hec hem, th at God may


Is published twice every calendar , month on I ~ ' II t ? I ' II explain \ what circu mstances ? Is this the language of hearken unto you. The trees went forth to an-


D II r annum payable always to advan 0 p irase, \ l.. i" mteroa y vurpor S . WI . "' , d h id h


cr~ di;~ ond No, 2of each volume, P e rsons respons;. There may be a diffe re'nc e between wha t ce rtain genealogy, chronology, hist ory, ar gu ment, des- oint a km g over the m: an t ey sal unto ~ e


ble for sixcopies receive the seventh graus, No sub- b k d ' f S int ' t II ur- I cr iption ? Is it th e lan gua ge of fact or of fie- olive tr ee, reign th ou over ~ S. But the olive


, tion received fo r less than one year, 00 s, an portions 0 cn p ure, merna y P '" , ' I f


scr.;::,~ ular contributors to the Work,- ADINnA L Lo ~, port to be, an d what they exte rnally purport to t ion ? Is it lit er al or figura tive ? ~ s It the Ian- tree sal ~ unto them, Should I eave my atness


( Editor and Publishing A!!: enl ;) D AVID R, LA> lSON, be ' Tradition educ ation false rever enc e erro- gualYe of divine inspiration , or of infernal sug - wher ewith they hon or God and man, and go to


W S D ' E L is WHITNEY WM. H, FISH" " ' . '" " I ' A d th t


G EAOl, llel, leTrsArCeYm, illaAnNetos and, commum, ea' l, lons 10 be senI neous trainsta I" On, mcorrect capti0ns andmar gi- g" estion or ofonlyordinaryhuman" conceptlOn?, Is be promoteu over Ctne tr ehes . d rnei e rees,


[ post paid) { o Adiu B allou, lUendon, !; lass , nal notes, or a super ficial read ing of th e te xt, it natural , or superuatc ra l P Is It proph~ tlcal, said ~ o th e fig- tree, , orne t ou an reign oyer . us.


may mak e the Bibl e seem to be and to mean poetical, mandatory, monitory, denunciatory, But the fig- tree said unto them~ Should I leave


somethimg qUiIte dIifferent firom th e realiI t y. I sup plicatory, consolatory , suasory, or declamato- Illy sweetness and my goo d frui t , an, d . go to be


caII thliiS tlIe ' extcrnaipurtpor of Scripture • ry '' \ Vhat does it affirm .' What does it te, ach" ? promoted over the trees. Then' said the tr" ees


CHAPTER I. Since th er efor e the Bibl ~ may externally pur- Ho w is it to be und ers~ ood? \ Vhat , does It Ill- unto t~ e vme, come , thou al:?, reIgn oV, er us . -


CONCERNINGTHE BIBLE. t b h t it . t I b und to look terT/ ally purport? . Huvinz duly co nsidered and The vme also decl ined, fh en said all the


f


port 0 e w a I IS no , am 0 - . '" .


I believe- that every consti tuent porti on 0 dee pedr, ant0 ascertaaim, if possible, by clos- e, an swered th ese question s, so far as they admit trees unto the bramble, Come , th ou and reign


the Bible is what, and only what the same in ter- pat i, ent an d pray er fuI examminaat iIOn W thlaat , I'n its of an answer, I am prepar ed to say, of an y suc h o' ve. r us. And th e' bramble. said unto the trees


'


Ially Purports to be', that it s, honld a, h, vays b, e se vernI consti' tue nt portiIO ns, Iit I'n ternaIIy pur- smaller con st itu en t porti on of SCriptu. re, what I If III tru th ye anom" t me king ove r you, Come


constru ed according to the evide nt spm t of Its ports to be an d to mean . I f firom WIithliin IitseIf I Ibel eve it to be and to mean . And 01 cour se I and put your tru st in my sh adow; andd If not, lhet


text, rath er than th e mere letter ; that it contains Iea rn'Its purpo rt; I' . e. wI" JOt Its authors meant t0 am" prepared to say' if necess, ary, what I do not fire come out of the" braJmble, and J eIvour t e


a complete revelat ion of the divine perfect ions,' express and to have unde rstood, I am sa tiISfied. believe It to mean. Let me Illu strate . , " c, edars of Leban, on , Now to. appr. y the ques-of


human duty, and of th e futu re state; that It ' I' huis I, SI' ts m, terna I purp ort; thiIS I, S Wrhat I be- I read th e, se words-" L et th, ere be lIgh t. - u, on- « o: J"' ls' tIns the lan , gu age oifa' ct or, of fie-furnishes


an infallible directory of religious faith I' T hey ar e the words of the Almighty ; and when t lOn ? Certainly of fict ion, very ingeniously


and practice', and that the auth or, ity 0f the New ie'vI'eII. US on takning up any b00k- 0f tlie BiIbl e fior II consider the a" w fuI oc cas i'on, c'ircumstances' il adn perti'nentIy empIoye d. , I


T estam ent supe rsedes that of the Old on all cxam" man on, I nat urally m" qurre i- s-' Vh0 wrote an d effect of their express ion, they hecome un- Take the Parab le of Nath an to DaVId, the


questions of doctr ine and morals. th'IS b00k rP When was Iit wniu en.' I n what speakably su blime and s ig nificant . " Am I m, y para ble of the good Samaritan, the parable of


Section 1. cou ntry , Under what c r' rcurn stances ,' H ow brother's keeper ?" ' I'hese are the wor ds of ca. m, ] the ten virgins, or any other of our Lord's para-


E ve ry co nstit uent portion of th e Bibl e is what , has I' t be'e n preserv ed . t How IJUS Iit reneIied me the first murde rer. Their sophistry an d malig - bles j and we find them set forth to a greater or


and only what , the same in ternally purports to m, I, ts present foorrmm . P ' VIrat I'S IitS eredIibiIliItYv , P nity can only be ap prec iate d,, when we un der- Iless exte" n t in the langua ge offiction, . Thhe per-be


• h ' I' hese questi'onIs en deavor t0 answer by mean s I sta. n d that they were uttered in the p, rese " nce of Isons and tra nsactions are not r, eal Illes, owev er


" I will slieu: thee that which is not ed in t e f I ' " I did I ' I ' th e Supreme J udge, in reply to the inquiry af- , near th ey may resemble real iti es. How then


o somet lin g positive y ec are , or p am y In- , ' I ' ,


Scripture of truth." Don. Y0 : 2 1. tnimnantteed ., Ijn the b00k IitseIf..' PerhapsIca n gath - te r an only and murder ed broth er, by ' one who Isha ll we under" st an d and bel ieve in them? I


The ' Dible, co nsisti ng of the, Ol d and New er Jrrom ' t IIe b00k I'ts eIf onIy cer tam' data.;' whI'cII kne• w and felt his ' g uilt . " Art thou m health Ianswer acc ordmg to what th ey tnt crnally pur ·


T estaments, contai ns liG books, ] 189 chapte rs, J'Ust1' fy me m' reIeirr'mg fior l' nfiOrln atl'on to ot he r t' my brother .'" These ar e the treacherous words port to be llnd to mean. ,


3 1,164 verses, These books , chapters an d verses books in the Bibl e, or to c re dib le hist orie s out 0: Joab to Amasa, w~ l en at th e same moment he , On th e other hllnd, we have htera~ . facts - a~ d


nrc the const itue nt port ions of the sacred volume. of the Bible. If by su ch means I ca n obtain kIssed ~ n d stabbed Inm. " I am the, good ~ hep. Illstory: " ! n those , days came J ohn th~, Baptlst


The eI, oTJta s and ver.< cs, as now dis ting uished satisfact ory' answer s to my quest ions, I con sider he rd." These are th e words of Jesus Chrlst ,-:; preachmg' III the wild erness of Judea, & c. ­alld


enumerat ed, are tile result ofa com parative - myself gu ided by th e in ternal pu rports of the " Command that th ese stones be mad~ br~ ad. This is the language of fact, not fiction. ~ here


Iv modern arra n" ement, designed to facil itat e book ex amine d . It may how ever happen, th~ t These are th e, words of Satan. " Tlus IS,~ lY was a real John, the ~ aptist, and a real '~ Ilde, r­r~


ference anu qn~ tation. The books, and ce rta in none of the se mea ns ava il for finding a sati s- beloved Son, In whom I am well pleas~ u. -:- ness of Judea, In wluch he cam e preachIng In


parts or- books, particul arly th e Psalms, & c" have fastory a nswer to every que stion; in which case T hese are the words of God. " Away WIth thIS the days alluded to . It would be as absurd to


come down as such from remote antiquity . T he I c ont ent mys elf to wave the inquiry. L et me fe llow; cru ci fy, cr ucify him." These are the set asi de th e reality of all th i3, as to ajfirm the


books of the Old T estament, 37 in numb er, are illu strale. 11' (\ i s of a Jewish mob, thirsting for innocent reality of the oth er persons and events fictitious­beheved


tu hav" been cllil1l'ited cl Jj.; f1y Ly E ;: ra I inq uire concerni ng the- F fve ' books'Ut'Moses. UN& d. " H e is not here, he is CL. Oll." TheSJlY, dc, scrib < 2d in fabl~ nnil para ~ le . : rhus I dis­about


500 years before Chris t. T hey were read I become satisfied tha t Moses either wro te th em, are the words of an an gel. CrImmate. \ Vhat IS taught In fictIOn by holy


in the J ewish Syna gogues as canonical in the or at least dictated the writing of them t hroug h Thus I dist ingu ish between the word s of God , wri ter s may be quite as important, nay 8. th ous­tim


e of our Savior, and ar e the writ ings to which his scribes - with the ex ce ption of the last chap- Christ, an gels, and men ; and between th e words . a nd times more important , than Borne matters of


he and the Apostl es always refe rred, when te r of Deu~ eronomv, an d a few explanatory ad- of holy and si nful bein gs; ne ver confou nding fact lite rally rec orded. Still, the difference be­th


ey snoke of" the Scr iptures." F or in stance ditions intersp ersed through the origin al text by the words of Satan with tho se of Jehovah, nor tw eim f act and fiction demands proper considera­fi?"


Search the Sc riptu res ; for these a re th ey th e hand of some revis er in later times. I am also those of holy men with those of murderers and t ion.


which test ify of me."-" Ye do err not knowing sat isfied that they mus t have been written in the gu ilty monsters. Henc e, if I am asked- Do yo u In an other class of passa ges th e que stion fre­the


Scriptures." - " Have . ye not read in the Hebrew language, not far from thr ee thousan d believe the entire Bib le in all its, se nte nces and que ntly arises, Is this langu age literal orfi~ ura.


Scriptures."-" From a child tho u has t kn own ve n. rs alYO in the countri es of southweste rn Asia, phrases, to be Ihe word of God? I answer i tit · c? A very large part of the lan gu age of the


the holy Scriptures ,"-" He was mighty in t, he du ring ili~ progress or" the Israeli tes from Egypt promptly, no ! I believe every const itu ent por- IBibl e, llnd indeed of all la nguage, is more or


, Sc riptures." T he re we re the'l no othe r Scr lp- to the land of Canaan ; that they have been pre - t ion of th e Bible to be what , and only what, the I less figurative. There a re a grea t many kinds,


tur es, than those, of ~ he Ol d T estament, acknowl- served by tbe H eb rew people with th e utmost sam e i~ tcrnally p~ rports t~ be. . ' \ ~ nd va rieties, of figur~ tive langu age. T~ e more


edged as authOrita t ive. ca re from lYene ratio n to lYeneration till the pres · I Agalll . I find m th e Bible here and the re ta- Important only require my pr es ent n oll ce. I


. ] I' r b b , • I " J But the gos~ e l s and eplst es~ ~ av n~ g ~ ter - ; e nt t ime; that th ey have been tr a nsla ted into bles, and st atements of ge nea log y- the reg lster- ha,: e already m e ntlO~ ed the f: lbul ous and para-wards


been writt en by th e chri st Ian apo~ tl es , th e E nglish language, printed and published, I ed nam es offathe r, son, grand- son, and so down · bohc lon d. L et me Inst an ce a few ot hers. Mo­.


soon became sac re d among all who professed with few or no important e rrors ; so th at th ey are ward . Is this any thing more than mere ge ne- ses say s- " For th eir rock is not as our rock."


, christianity. ' When th e books of th e Ne,: T es - worth y of my profound cred ence and co usidera. alogy? Am I bound to look upon it in any oth- David sa ys " Lead me to th e rock th at is higher


. tament we re compiled we have no certam ac- \ t ion. I take up th e book of J ob" and make the same er , light ? Does it int ernally pur port to be any \ t~ la n I." " He onlY. is my ro c~ and ~ y sall'a­,


count. But that there were catal~ g u es , of th e Iinquiries. I t is a suhlime and mast erly poem, thlDg more or less? Surel y not. Then so I re- tlon," " For th e Lord God IS a S un alld a.


very same 27 books, now comp osm g thiS T es - originally in th e Hebrew langu age by some wise gard it. The same may be said ufthe h istorical s hie ld ," Again, Moses s ays, " Thy heaven


• : tament, so early us t~ e mid, dle ofth~ second ce n- Ia nd holy man , betw een two and three thousand , and chronolog ica l port ions of the Bibl e, wh~ re Ithat is over th y head shall be brass, and the


· t ury, is well es t~ b h s he d III the his tory of the years ago, in southwes te rn , Asia . It has been th ey claim to be nothing beyond the authOrIty [ e arth that is und er th ee sha ll be iron. The


· church. A llluititud ~ of spurious and a~ o c ry - I prese rved by th e Hebrew peop le, with the same of human record ancl narr at ion. T ake th e books Lord shaH make th e rain of thy land powder and


phalwritings, pretendmg to be th03e of Chnst and ca re, as th e books of Moses, and comes to me of Kings and Chronicles, for example, and par ts dust ."


his apostles, cam e into circulati on in th e sec ond, : through the same transla tion, print and form of of many oth ers. Is all this var ious matter the I J ob says, " I put on righteousness and it


th ird and fourth centuries j but they were car e- ' publication. I believe in it, revere it. But ther e word of God? Is it all div inely inspi red wr it · cl othe d me .; my judcim en t was as a robe and a.


fully excluded from th e ca talog ues co nta ini ng is one ques tion which I have be en una ble satis- ing ? Does it in tcmally purp ort to be of any I diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and fee t was I


th e names of the genuine books. There a re factorily to solve ; viz. Wlto lOa! i ts author? such cljaracter ? S ure ly not. T hen I have no to the ' lame." , Again ; " I am a brothe r ofdrag­.


seven books in, th e New T estament which have , T his I cannot certainly ascertain. H e might reason for believi'ng iu i as such . I main tain ! ons an d a comptlnio n to owls. " Isaiah says, " A


been set down as doubtful in some respects , from have heen a man whose name was J ob ; he good ground, when I bel ieve it to be wltat , and : bruised re ed sh all h e not br eak, and the smok­the


times of the first catalogues ; bu t which have i migh t have be en E lihu, or Moses, or Solomon, only what it int ern ally purports to be . T o go I ing flax s hall h~ not que nch." Christ says­nev


erth eless been regarded with deep venerati on I or some one whose name has not re ached the bEyond th is is adding to th e word of God. i" I am the light of th e world. " " . Jam the true


and r~ ad in the cl~ urc hes , T hey are the follow~ Iprese nt ag e. I wave th e quest ion; for it is un. Again ; we have descriptions of a mere geo - I vine, and my Father is th e husb andman." ­~


ng, VIZ. The Epistle to the Hebrews, J a ~ es, I important. The book is a g lorio us and precious graphi cal , to pographical and agri cu ltural na- I " This ' is th e stone whic h \ l'a~ se t at nought of


' 2 Peter, 2 J ohn, 3 J ohn , Jude, RevelatIOn., producti on, whoever may have been the write r . ture, concerning co untries, cities and fields.- lyour builde rs." " Get th ee behind me Satan."


' Concern ing these, the celeb rate d Dr. Lar dner , I. ther efore content myself with bel ieving wha t Am I to believe th ese descriptions to have '" I have ch osen you twel ve, and one of you is II


. after the most th orough research and investiga- \ 1seems to be fairly matt er of fai th. been especially in spi red from heaven, ", h en they I devil." ,. 0 ge ne ration . of , vipers, llOw can ye


etioD, says,-" They should be all owed to be I n thi s manner I pass in review every book of cla im no such ori gin, and no such deference? esca pe th e dlun natio n of hell." " If thy hand


fPublicly re ad in Christian Assembli es" for the both T estaments, and weigh their c red ibility. In Certa inly not. It is eno ug h to talm th e'm for offend th ee, cut it off and cast it from th ee."


Edification of the peopl e, but not be all eg ed re spect to some, every que stion finds a satisfac- what th ey int ern ally purp ort to be. Similar re- ! Now we are aJ] fa: mili ar with these quota t ions,


' < as affording alon~ sufficient proof of any tory answer; whil st othe rs furnish only parti al mark s ar e equally ap plicabl e to nu~ erou s pecu- I an d perhaps all readily unders tand tlJCm. ' They


- rloctr ine." and therefore less satisfactory inform ation on liar port io: 1s of th e Old and New T est amen ts ~ ar e expressed in the lan!! uage of bold meta phor_


Such is, the Dible with all its constituent por · th e leaclin l7' points of inquiry. But what ever th e in relYard to which th er e can be no enliO'hte ned \ Vithout collsiderinlY this they would ind eed c on · \ 0 b b eo


· l ions. I profess to believe that eve ry one of these particul ar issu e in each cawe, I adh ere to my po- faith , with out a just disc rimination. vey most stra nge and absu rd ideas to our minds.


_ portions is wltat , and only what, the same inter- siti on : that every con stituent portion of the Bi- But here is a noth er portion of S cri pture, con- T heir terms are fig ura/ i l'c, not lit eral,- and


nally purports to be. I do not say that I believe ble is wha t, and only what the same illt~ rna lly cern ing which ' the que stion is proper- Is th is thev must be. understood accordingly.


' this with equal assurance and . confidence in purports to be. fact or fictioll? F or instance , I am considering ' i'h en · . we ' have the more exte nded forms of


' respecH o every portion ; for some of the books Adher illgto tb is pos ition I oesce ndto the parts the following passage in the 9th Chapter of , metaph or.


: are not ' equally cre dible with oth ers; yet 1 and particulars of each book ; taking up sec- Judges, l otham, thp, Son ' of . Gideon says to the , J acob in blessin g his sons says"":' uJ udah is a


' believe with mor e or less assurance and confi- ti ons, paragraphs and sentenees, as they occur vile men of Shcchem, whahad made a king of lion's ... help, he stooped down, he oouched as a

Page 5 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840