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Untitled Article
$ L , nd would not be misunderstood J > y those to whom this epistle was addressed . A very slight acquaintance with the -forms of
speech which are common to all languages , will be sufficient to satisfy a candid mind as to the real meaning and import of such
phrases . The most that can be said of this passage is , that it alludes to an opinion that an evil being existed , and had some influence over mankind . We come
next to the General Epistle of Ja , mes where also the word &a £ b-Xo $ occurs only-once chap . iv . 7 . * Resist the devil and he will flee frora you . ' This was probably a proverbial expression , founded on the general belief of the exof an
istenCG ^ &nd agency invisible being , ' Who tempted men to sin . It proves that such an opinion was common , but the truth of it must be established by some other evidence , or the agency of such a being will rest on a very slender foundation .
The next passage deserves particular attention , as it shews how apt those persons are to do violence to the sentiments of the writers of the N . T . though perhaps undesignedly , who have a
system to support . There is no text of scripture which is so fre - quentl y quoted as containing an express and unequivocal assertion of the existence and agency of the devil . The context clearly proves that it has itb such reference . The
apostle evidently had in view the persecutions to which the early Christians were exposed , and the ill desi gns . of their enemies , who were watching for opportunities of accusing them pf being Christians , He recommends the uniform practice of Christian duties and the
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exercise of a Christian temper-In the passage to which I refer ( ch . v . 8 . ) his words , according to the received translation , are these :
* Be sober , be vigilant , because your adversary , the devil , as a roaring lion , walketh about , seeking wham he . may devour . ' They are generally supposed to mean , that the devil , as the author of sin
and the great agent in seducing men to wickedness , is watching for opportunities © f betraying them into vice , of confirming them in it , and thus , eventually , of
leading them to destruction . "N othing was further from the apostle ' s design . His object as already stated , was to fortify the minds of those to whom he wrote
against the persecutions to which they were exposed , and to form tiiem to those habits ofv 4 rtuean 4 universal goodness , by which they would most effectually refute the charges of their calumniators . Mr . Wake field therefore justly renders the passage : ' Be sober ,
be watchful , for your slanderous adversary , like a roaring lion , is going about and seeking whom he may devour , whom resist , by standing firm in the faith , knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished by your brethren in the world . ' These last words
sufficiently prove tbc justness of the interpretation attached to the preceding ones . The 4 standing firm in the faith' plainly indicates , that the enemy thus to be resisted , was the accuser , who in arrai gn * ing the genuine and consistent professors of Christianity at the tribunal of the persecuting tyrants of the age , presented no trifling temptation to make shipwreck off faith and a good conscience . Proceeding to the First E p istle
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On the Existence of the De&ii . Q 2 &
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1809, page 329, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1737/page/27/
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