On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
Dr . S . ' s objections to the propriety of the figure , " God is thy throne , " seem to us to be either altogether unfounded , or at least greatly exaggerated . God is spoken of as a rock , a tower , a fortress , a shield , a refuge ; and we do not find much truth in the remark , that the protection or aid implied in these terms has more dignity than that implied in calling him the throne , i . e . some emblem of dominion of a creature . If we consider that the word throne is not to be understood literally as a seat , but stands for the sovereign power and dignity of which it is the symbol , and compare the passage with Numb , xviii . 20 , where God says to the house © f Aaron , *« / am thy part and thy inheritance" I will provide for thee a suitable maintenance ; Psa . xvi . 5 , " Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup , " he allots to me and secures to me my portion ; Psa . lxxiii . 26 , " God is my portion for ever , " he will provide for me , and to him I look for comfort ; we cannot but perceive that to describe God as a throne , meaning the Giver and Upholder of its glory and dominion , is not inconsistent with the poetical style of the ancient Hebrews , and by no means deserves to be spoken of as irreverent , or as indicating the want of all correct feeling . We do not decide in favour of Mr . Belsham ' s interpretation ; we are in much doubt on the subject * and rather incline to favour the common translation , understanding «* God * ' in the sense of " mighty prince ; " but we have no doubt of the original words fully admitting the sense ascribed to them by Mr . B . and so many distinguished interpreters of Scripture : we
think there is good reason for the inquiring mind to pause and hesitate between two highly probable explanations , and it only appears to us certain that the Psalm must have been originally an epithalamium addressed to some prince , ( who is determined , with great probability , to have been Solomon , ) and consequently that the words under consideration could not possibly have been designed to ascribe deity to the person addressed .
We proceed to consider the true character and intent of the quotation in the Epistle to the Hebrews , and our remarks will extend to the two passages which form the subjects of Dr . S . 's fifteenth and seventeenth sections , which are applied to the Messiah solely on the authority of the author of the Epistle . Whoever was its author , which must probably always remain a matter of extreme uncertainty , there can be no doubt that this Epistle was written by a sincere and pious Christian before the destruction of Jerusalem ; and from the general diffusion of miraculous gifts in that first period of the
church , and his having been a person of sufficient importance to offer advice to others , we see no reason to doubt that he was one who had experienced personal divine communications , or displayed supernatural powers . What he wrote , then , cannot but be read by us with interest and respect , as being sure to contain just views of Christian doctrine , and valuable instructions which we may all apply to our own improvement . But we know not upon what authority any one can affirm that he made , or was entitled to make , any pretensions to divine guidance as a writer , and we think there is scarcely any portion of the sacred volume which requires to be read with more caution , lest we should pervert the meaning of the author through ignorance of
the circumstances under which he wrote , and the customs or opinions of the age , and of the people whom he addressed . We are not bound always to assume , nor can we in all cases consistently with our own reason and knowledge admit , the soundness of the arguments employed even by writers to whose authority , as religious instructors , we implicitly defer , and this dis-
Untitled Article
162 Dr . J . P . Smiths Scripture Testimony to the Messiah
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1831, page 162, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2595/page/18/
-