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ORIGINAL LETTERS.

No. I.

FROM THE LATE REV. JOSEPH MILNER, TO THE LATE REV. JAMES STILLINGFLEET, RECTOR OF HOTHAM, YORKSHIRE.

Hull, October 4th, 1782.

Dear Stillingfleet,

I thank you for yours, and indeed, generally hear from you with pleasure; and the more serious and weighty your mood and feelings about divine things, the more acceptable.

The mind that is in Jesus is a rare mind indeed. It is remarkable that though there is scarce a topic of scripture but is nibbled at, in these days of infidelity, yet you don't find the hardiest sceptics meddle with the moral character, temper, and conduct of Jesus Christ. It is a tacit confession of its victorious excellence, and there is great truth in an assertion of a modern publication concerning his moral character which I saw quoted the other day, to this effect: that it was not POSSIBLE such a character could have been feigned. It must have been real; it proves its Divinity by its own light.

All we want and should aim at, (repentance from dead works being supposed) is reduced, I think, to these two particulars; to have grace always most thankfully to receive his inestimable benefit; and also, daily to endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of His most holy life! The first is the substratum. We must be IN HIM; and quietly and confidently in Him, as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. As we have it not in our nature to do, any thing good to procure the Divine favour, so, thanks be to God, we need not. All is done to our hand. We have only to receive eternal life, as the inestimable gift worthy of infinite liberality. It is bad mixing foundation and building together, as Owen observes. Sanctification is a consequence of grace, rather than grace itself. I use

the word grace, in its strictest and most scriptural sense, as the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. The fruits of the Spirit must not be made use of to get peace to our consciences, that is to say, relief from the guilt of sin. They should never be conceived to exist in that relation. If we follow the mind that is in Jesus, it is an obedience of love, thanksgiving, humility, and filial reverence. It is not an obedience of selfish, proud, constrained service; no more should ours. So that the very endeavour to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life, is as inimical to a self-righteous spirit, as possible. How shocking, then, that we should pervert it to that end! You will pardon my constant drift against self-righteousness. My own experience makes it necessary for me to abound in such meditations.

Well, my dear friend, let us DAILY begin our Christianity this way. Begin with Christ, as ours already, by his own precious donation, grounding our title purely on the word. Then taking a good heart to ourselves, and not being discouraged at our imperfections, which, in this life, we shall always see to be very, very, VERY great, -unless the devil deceive us with an accursed pride indeed,―let us be looking constantly at the beautiful copy which he has set us; and though we make poor scribbling work of it, and many a foul blot, yet let us write on; and try, again and again, to cut our strokes cleaner and cleaner. If we go on thus, using in proper place and order, without jumbling them together, the two parts of the collect, we shall do well enough, and sing at last O be joyful!

I am always your's affectionately,

JOSEPH MILNER.

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THE MOSAIC INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL

HISTORY.

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OR our knowledge of the origin of nations-one of the most interesting subjects of human inquiry-we are altogether indebted to the Inspired Volume. Without this sacred "lamp," we should in vain have attempted to explore the darkness which must have involved the transactions of remote ages. It is true, indeed, that some faint traces of some of the great events related in the Mosaic history may be detected in the traditional belief of various heathen nations, both antient and modern ; but experience has proved, that events, the memory of which depends upon oral communication, are, for the most part, if not totally forgotten, so obscured by the admixture of romantic and fabulous inventions, that the accounts of them degenerate into fiction. THE BIBLE, emphatically so called, is more antient by many centuries, than any other written history; and it is the fountain alike of religious and of historical truth. By this inspired book we are taught, that after the universal deluge, when in consequence of the wickedness of mankind, the whole human family, except eight persons, had been destroyed, "the whole earth was overspread" by the descendants of the sons of Noah ;† and sufficient indications are given in the same book, concerning the portions of the globe, which were

* Les Vérités de l'Ecriture," says Chateaubriand, (Génie du Christianisme, tome premier, Note F. page 380,) se retrouvent jusque chez les sauvages du NouveauMonde."

"Vous avez pu voir, dit Charlevoix dans la fable d'Atahentsic chassée du ciel, quelques vestiges de l'histoire de la première femme exilée du paradis terrestre, en punition de sa dèsobéissance, et la tradition du déluge aussi bien que l'arche dans laquelle Noè se sauva avec sa famille." M. de Chateaubriand proceeds as follows: "Le père Bouchet, dans sa lettre à l'évêque d'Avranches, donne les détails les plus curieux sur les rapports des fables indiennes avec les principales vèritès de notre religion et les traditions de l'Ecriture." This letter of Bouchet, the whole of which is exceedingly interesting, mentions various Indian traditions which have respectively an extraordinary resemblance to the scriptural account of the garden of Eden, the tree of life, the serpent, and the deluge; also of Noah, and of Abraham, and of Moses. The whole letter, which is too long to be here quoted, is well worthy of the attention of the curious reader.

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respectively re-peopled by Shem, Ham, and Japheth.* Different authors of great and various learning,† have ascertained, with more or less of accuracy, both the relative positions and the precise boundaries of the countries of which these "sons of Noah," by whom "the nations were divided in the earth after the flood, took possession; and several travellers,§ by their observations upon Eastern customs and manners, have thrown light, sometimes unintentionally, upon this interesting topic. It may, however, suffice, in this place, briefly to describe the three great divisions of the earth which were occupied, respectively, by the three sons of Noah, and their descendants. The great outlines of these divisions are traced out with sufficient distinctness by the inspired writer of the book of Genesis.

The central parts of Asia, were allotted to the family of Shem, whose descendants afterwards widely overspread that portion of the globe, both in an eastern and southern direction. Africa, and some parts of Arabia, with Canaan, were re-peopled by the posterity of Ham; while the descendants of Japheth spread themselves over the northern parts of Asia, together with the whole of Europe, including the Isles of the Gentiles,' among which must be reckoned our own Island of Great Britain.T

The brief but comprehensive view thus afforded by the sacred records of the replenishing of the earth after the deluge, is the foundation of universal history, to which it forms the only satisfactory introduction. It would be quite beside the purpose of this article to enter into a minute investigation of the genealogies of the sons of Noah, with the view of ascertaining with precision, the countries which were, respectively, occupied by their descendants, and the order of time in which those countries were re-peopled. It is sufficient to observe, that the subsequent history of the world has fulfilled, in a most unequivocal manner, the remarkable prophecy uttered by the

*Shem was younger than Japheth, and probably also younger than Ham; but being the progenitor of Abraham, and, through him, of the Messiah, he is constantly mentioned by the sacred historian, first in order, when the sons of Noah are enumerated. † Prideaux, Mede, Bishop Newton, Sir William Jones, Bryant, Dr. Hales, Bishop Watson. Bishop Patrick, and various other more modern writers.

Gen. x. 32.

§ Bruce, Captain Cook, Shaw, Maundrell, Burckhardt, Richardson, Rae Wilson, Dr. Ed. Clarke, Chateaubriand, &c. &c,

¶ Gen. x. 5. The expression "Isles of the Gentiles" is variously explained by commentators. It may mean, in general, countries washed by the sea.

It may here be mentioned, that an objection founded on the relative positions of Asia and America, has been urged by some infidels, against the Mosaic account of the re-peopling of the earth. In reference to this objection, the voyages of Captain Cook

*

patriarch Noah ; "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan thall be his servant." Japheth† was enlarged both as it respects territory and children. As to territory, his posterity possessed, in addition to the whole of Europe, Asia Minor, Media, part of Armenia, Albania, Iberia, and Scythia; and it is reasonable to believe, that America was peopled by his descendants. He was the progenitor of above half of the human race. The words, "He shall dwell in the tents of Shem," may, as one of the most pious and able of the commentators on the prophetical parts of scripture, observes,‡ be understood in two senses;-either that the Almighty himself, or that Japheth "shall dwell in the tents of Shem." In either sense the prophecy has been abundantly fulfilled. In the former sense, literally, when the Divine Presence rested on the ark and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple of the Jews; and above all when "The Word who was with God and was God" became incarnate and" dwelt among us." In the latter sense, it was fulfilled, first, when the Greeks and Romans, who sprung originally from Japheth, subdued and possessed Judea and other countries of Asia, belonging to the family of Shem; and again, in a spiritual sense, when the same nations were proselytes to the true religion; and not being Israelites by birth, became Israelites by faith, and lived, as we ourselves, and many other nations of Japheth's posterity live at this day, within the pale of the Christian Church. §

Of the accomplishment of the declarations respecting Canaan, in this wonderful prophecy, a general knowledge of history will satisfy the serious and candid inquirer; the descendants of Canaan having been subjected through many centuries to those of Shem and Japheth.

and other navigators have rendered essential service to the cause of revealed religion. By those voyages it has been ascertained, that the continents of Asia and America, separated from each other at their southern extremities by the vast Pacific ocean, are divided towards their northern limits, by a strait of little more than thirteen leagues in width, in which strait there are some intervening islands. North America might therefore easily have been furnished with inhabitants from the opposite shores of Asia. Neither is it impossible, that South America might, in time, be colonized from the eastern coasts of Asia, by means of the chain of tropical islands which lie between those continents.

*Gen. ix. 25, 26, 27.

Japheth, in Hebrew, signifies enlargement.

Vid. Bp. Newton.

§ Bishop Newton.

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