disappointed if I expected to see a splendid
mansion. Perhaps, he added, you will be bet-
ter pleased, because you will see many objects
which will remind you of your native land.

We reached the house of Mahomed Rahem, who received us with great cordiality, and spoke to me in a manner quite free from that reserve which appeared on the former occasion. I was soon charmed with his agreeable manners and even vivacity; for no appearance of frigidity remained. He was a remarkably cheerful and well informed man.

I was surprised that he made no reply to these observations. At the hazard of being deemed importunate, I proceeded to panegyrize the leading principles of Christianity, more particularly in respect to their moral and practical character; and happened, amongst other reflections, to suggest that as no other concern was of so much importance to the human race as religion, and as only one faith could be the right, the subject admitted not of being regarded as indifferent, though too many did so regard it.

"Do not you esteem it so?" he asked.

Certainly not," I replied.

"Then your indifference at the table of our friend Meerza Reeza, when the topic of religion was under consideration, was merely assumed, out of complaisance to Mussulmans, I presume?"

Our interview was short; we seemed both to feel that the presence of Meerza Reeza was a restraint upon us. I therefore took my leave, after obtaining permission to repeat my visit. I remarked in the dwelling of Mahomed Rahem a neatness and comfort which are extremely rare in Persian houses generally: even when the proprietor is wealthy and the apart- I remembered the occasion to which he alments spacious, there is almost always a griev-luded, and recognised in his countenance the ous absence of what the French term propreté same expression, compounded half of pity, half in that country. As Meerza Reeza had in- of surprise which it then exhibited. I owned formed me, I perceived in the furniture of his that I had acted inconsistently, perhaps infriend's house several articles of European ma- cautiously and imprudently; but I made the nufacture not often found in Persia. best defence I could, and disavowed in the most solemn manner any premeditated design to contemn the religion I professed.

A few days after this, I called alone upon Mahomed Rahem. I found him reading a volume of Cowper's poems! The circumstance led to an immediate discussion of the merits of English poetry and European literature in general. I was perfectly astonished at the clear and accurate conceptions he had formed upon these subjects, and at the precision with which he expressed himself in English. We discoursed upon these and congenial topics for nearly two hours; and whether I was interested by the novelty of the occurrence, or by the mystery which still seemed to hang about the individual, I know not, but I never felt less fatigued, or, to speak more correctly, I never enjoyed a literary tête-a-tête with more goût. Surprised that a man with such refined taste and just reflection as he seemed to be, could still be enthralled in the bondage of Islamism, or could even relish the metaphysical mysticism of the Soofees, I ventured to sound his opinions upon the subject of religion. "You are a moollah, I am informed."

"No," said he; "I was educated at a Madrussa, but I have never felt an inclination to be one of the priesthood.'

"The exposition of your religious volume," I rejoined, "demands a pretty close application to study; before a person can be qualified to teach the doctrines of the Koran, I understand he must thoroughly examine and digest volumes of comments, which ascertain the sense of the text and the application of its injunctions. This is a laborious preparation, if a man be disposed conscientiously to fulfil his important functions." As he made no remark, I continued: "our Scriptures are their own expositors; we are solicitous only that they should be read; and although some particular passages are not without difficulties, arising from the inherent obscurity of language, the faults of translation, or the errors of copyists; yet it is our boast that the authority of our holy Scriptures is confirmed by the perspicuity and simplicity of their style as well as precepts."

"I am heartily glad I was deceived," he said; "for sincerity in religion is our paramount duty. What we are we should never be ashamed of appearing to be."

"Are you a sincere Mussulman, then?" I boldly asked.

An internal struggle seemed, for an instant,
to agitate his visage: at length he answered,
mildly, "No."

"You are not a sceptic or free-thinker?"
"No; indeed I am not."

"What are you then?-Be you sincere.-
Are you a Christian?"

"I am," he replied.

I should vainly endeavour to describe the
astonishment which seized me at this decla-
ration. I surveyed Mahomed Rahem, at first,
with a look which, judging from its reflection
from his benign countenance, must have be-
tokened suspicion, or even contempt. The
consideration that he could have no motive to
deceive me in this disclosure, which was of
infinitely greater seriousness to himself than
to me, speedily restored me to recollection,
and banished every sentiment but joy; I could
not refrain from pressing silently his hand to
my heart.

He was not unmoved at this transport; but
he betrayed no unmanly emotions. He told
me that I had possessed myself of a secret,
which, in spite of his opinion that it was the
duty of every one to wear his religion openly,
he had hitherto concealed, except from a few
who participated in his own sentiments.
"And whence came this happy change?" 1
asked.

"I will tell you that, likewise," he replied..
"In the year 1223 (of the Hejira) there came
to this city an Englishman, who taught the
religion of Christ with a boldness hitherto un-
paralleled in Persia, in the midst of much scorn
and ill treatment from our moollahs, as well as
the rabble. He was a beardless youth, and
evidently enfeebled by disease. He dwelt

amongst us for more than a year. I was then a
decided enemy to infidels, as the Christians
are termed by the followers of Mahomet, and
I visited this teacher of the despised sect with
the declared object of treating him with scorn,
and exposing his doctrines to contempt. Al-
though I persevered for some time in this be-
haviour towards him, I found that every inter-
view not only increased my respect for the in-
dividual, but diminished my confidence in the
faith in which I was educated. His extreme
forbearance towards the violence of his oppo-
nents, the calm and yet convincing manner in
which he exposed the fallacies and sophistries
by which he was assailed, for he spoke Persian
excellently, gradually inclined me to listen to
his arguments, to inquire dispassionately into
the subject of them, and finally to read a tract
which he had written in reply to a defence of
Islamism by our chief mooilahs. Need I de-
tain you longer? The result of my examina-
tion was a conviction that the young disputant
was right. Shame, or rather fear, withheld
me from avowing this opinion; I even avoided
the society of the Christian teacher, though he
remained in the city so long. Just before he
quitted Shirauz, I could not refrain from pay-
ing him a farewell visit. Our conversation,
the memory of it will never fade from the tab-
let of my mind,-sealed my conversion. He
gave me a book-it has ever been my constant
companion-the study of it has formed my
most delightful occupation-its contents have
often consoled me."

Upon this he put into my hands a copy of the New Testament, in Persian; on one of the blank leaves was written: "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.-HENRY MARTYN."

Upon looking into the memoir of Mr. Mar- | tyn, by Mr. Sargent, one of the most delightful pieces of biography in our language, I cannot perceive therein any allusion to Mahomed Rahem, unless he be one of the young men (mentioned in p. 350) who came from the college, "full of zeal and logic," to try him with hard questions.

B. B.

From the New Baptist Miscellany.
THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST PROVED
FROM HIS REASONING WITH THE
PHARISEES, Mat. xxii. 41-46.

It is exceedingly evident from various passages in the New Testament, that about the time in which our Lord appeared on earth, the Jews were in lively expectation of the Messiah. The devout among them expected him: "Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel," and Anna, that pattern of purity and devotion," spake of Christ to all that looked for redemption in Israel." But this expectation was not confined to the devout, it was general: "and as the people were in expectation, all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not;" indeed they anticipated that the era of the Messiah's reign was soon to dawn, and that its blessings were soon to be realized. "He spake a para

ble," because they thought the kingdom of God
should immediately appear.

We can be at no loss for the origin of this
general expectation amongst the children of
Israel. They had before them the whole
range of prophecy from which they might ga-
ther, with great accuracy, the circumstances
of the birth and the events of the life of Christ.
Some of the prophets are exceedingly minute
in their descriptions; the place of his birth,
the line of his ancestry, and the signs which
mark the period of his advent, are distinctly
noticed. Bethlehem is announced as the place
which should give him birth, David is predict-
ed as his father, and one of the most public
and striking signs of his advent is the depar-
ture of the sceptre from Judah. Other cir-
cumstances equally minute are mentioned
which could not have escaped the observation
of the Jews. But what particularly deserves
our attention, is the opinion which universally
prevailed amongst them, that the Messiah
should be the son of David. In this they were
strictly correct; and their idea was in accord-
ance with that of the angel-" the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne of his father
David; and he shall reign over the house of
Israel for ever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end." Hence when the Saviour asked,
"What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?"
the reply," he is the son of David," is positive-
ly true and liable to no objection. The Jews
believed that the Christ would be distinguish-
ed by the unparalleled greatness of his cha-
racter, the peerless splendour of his works,
and the universal extent of his conquests—
that his unrivalled conduct would perpetuate
his name, and render him the object of univer-
sal admiration. They had great advantages
for forming a correct opinion of the person, the
character, and the work of the Messiah; the
prophecies were clear and distinct; and it
would seem almost impossible to fail of a right
opinion. The prophecies which were deliver-
ed by inspiration of God, which were gather-
ing daily an increased degree of perspicuity
from the events which were transpiring, the
momentous scenes which
were shifting on the
theatre of the world, contained the most gra-
phic delineations of the appearance and cha-
racter of the Redeemer, as also of the design
of his advent, and the means which he should
employ for the accomplishment of his great
and benevolent purposes. Yet it would ap-
pear that the Jews as a body, had not profited
much by their advantages; they were far from
possessing scriptural views of the person or
work of the Messiah. Those prophetic de-
scriptions which apply to Christ in the high-
est, in a spiritual sense, they interpreted in a
natural; for his work they had no conception
of its being more than a temporal, a national
deliverance; and whatever may have been the
views of their ancestors, in the time of our
Lord they appear to have considered the Mes-
siah no more than human. They knew that
he was the son of David; but they did not
know apparently that he was more than a
man: hence when the Redeemer asked, "If
Christ be the son of David, how did David call
him Lord?" they were speechless, and thrown
into utter confusion:

!

represented in Scripture as a man, and a descendant of the royal prophet; we may take as an example the prediction of the angel, "the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David." He was promised and universally expected by the Jews as the son of David, and his descent is clearly traced from the king of Israel. It could not therefore be the intention of the Redeemer to deny this fact. And as David would not have called the Messiah his Lord, unless he were more than human; neither, on the other hand, would Christ have been called the son of David, unless he were man, and of his seed according to the flesh. It appears therefore a very obvious conclusion from the whole, that there is in the person of Jesus Christ, a real, though to us a mysterious union of the divine and human natures; in virtue of the former he is strictly the Lord of David, and in virtue of the latter he is emphatical

ment of this paper, viz. the general expecta-
tion of some distinguished personage which ob-
tained in the world about the period of our
Saviour's birth. This expectation was not
confined to the Jews; the Samaritans, and
even the Gentiles, participated in it; and from
one remarkable passage in the evangelical his-
tory,* it would appear that the expectations of
the Christ formed by the Samaritans were
vastly more correct and scriptural than those
which prevailed amongst the Jews. It is un-
necessary to inquire into the origin of this ex-
pectation amongst the Gentiles; the Samari-
tans formed theirs from the Pentateuch, and
the Jews from the prophecies which abound in
the divine oracles with which they were en-
trusted. What we wish to propose is simply
this: Can it be thought probable that the Di-
vine Being would, almost from the commence-
ment of time, deliver predictions, give pro-
mises, and institute types;-that he would re-ly his Son.
new these predictions and promises, and con-
tinue these types during ages and centuries
until four thousand years had rolled away;-
that he would appoint altars to stream with
blood, and victims to die in sacrifice;-that he
would raise up a succession of priests to offer
the immolations, and of prophets to read the
events of futurity, for the purpose of inducing
and continuing in the world the expectation of
the Christ; can we suppose that he would
cause every age to reveal its wonders, that
thrones should be erected and crushed, that
empires should rise and fall;-that he would
raise the pulse of universal expectation to the
highest point, that he would raise the world to
the very summit of desire; in a word, can we
suppose that the God of infinite wisdom and
order would have caused every event which
ever transpired on the theatre of this earth to
have transpired for the purpose of ushering
into the world-a mere man, a mortal feeble
as ourselves? No, verily. When viewed in
this extravagant light, the whole creation ap-
pears in disorder, and all the works of Deity
seem in completest confusion. There is a vast
assemblage of most important and even splen-
did circumstances for the mere purpose of in-
troducing a very ordinary event. The whole
is a contradiction to the character of Deity.

But when viewed in the light which we propose, that is to say, when we consider Jesus Christ as a divine no less than as a human being, every thing assumes the strictest propriety and order; the sweetest regulation and harmony pervade the whole. What though there be prophecies, promises, and types; what though there be a continued succession of prophets and priests; what though every dispensation of Providence be intended to introduce, and evidently point to the birth of Jesus; it is no more than infinite propriety; the Eternal descends, the Deity becomes incarnate, the Messiah is Immanuel, God with us.

It might appear to a superficial reader of this passage as though our Saviour wished to oppose the idea that the Messiah was the son of David; but the real object evidently was to prove that he was the Lord of David, and not to deny that he was his son. Jesus Christ is frequently

* John iv. 25 & 42.

It is perfectly vain to object that this is incomprehensible, and that we cannot be required to believe what we are not able to comprehend: for our faith embraces simply the fact, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, in a sense peculiar to himself. The ground of this our faith is the testimony of God; and since he "who cannot lie," when he bringeth the first-begotten into the world, saith, "Let all the angels of God worship him ;" and again thus addresseth the Son, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever"-our confidence in the divine veracity renders our faith in this important fact most unhesitating and unreserved.

On the supposition that Christ is a mere man, many passages in the inspired volume appear to us perfectly inexplicable; we should feel a thrill of horror at the impiety of prophets, apostles, and evangelists, in applying such mysterious terms to a mortal, as though they were a confederacy of malignant spirits whose purpose it was to involve the world in perdition, by leading mankind, with a certain step, to all the abominations of idolatry. But when we embrace the idea that Jesus Christ is possessed at once of deity and humanity, scripture resumes and maintains the character of perspicuity and consistency, of harmony and of beauty. On the former supposition we read the oracles of God with a degree of caution which is truly painful; we strip the divine declarations of their force, and rob them of their beauty, we render the book of God remarkable only for a constant attempt to conceal real poverty of thought by the most fulsome exaggeration and the most puerile pomp of words: but, on the latter supposition, which yet is not a mere supposition, we are free from such painful apprehension, we feel the utmost confidence in the divine word, we embrace without reserve the divine testimony, our minds are open to the sanctifying and consoling influences of truth, and we are happy while we reverence the Son even as we reverence the Father.

It is true that the assertion that Jesus is God and man, may be said to involve two propositions which appear to us paradoxical. But if one of these propositions, that Christ is man, be clearly proved from the sacred Scriptures, and then the second, that Christ is God, be

T

also proved by the divine testimony, it is our
duty cordially to believe both, though the point
of connexion (if we may so speak) is to us in-
visible, and sure we are, that any two scriptu-
ral propositions, though to our limited concep-
tions they may appear paradoxical, are not like
two lines running parallel with each other, yet
never making the least approximation; but
like the radii of a circle, which though distant
from each other at the circumference, never-
theless meet in the centre. The centre of all
truth is the mind of the Deity, where all the
lines meet in one eternal point; and in the gos-
pel which he hath given us concerning his Son
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer is said, as to his
human nature, to be born of the seed of David;
but as to his holy, spiritual nature, he is clearly
proved, by his resurrection from the dead, to be
the Son of God.
T-

From the Eclectic Review.

.M.

AN INQUIRY, WHAT IS THE ONE TRUE FAITH, and whether it is professed by all Christian Sects: with an Exposition of the whole Scheme of the Christian Covenant, in a Scriptural Examination of the most important of their several Doctrines. 8vo. pp. 394. London. 1829.

he is performing a service both welcome and beneficial."-p. xviii.

"Although, without confidence in the truth of the Scriptures, it is certain we cannot possess the true faith-because these are the only documents which remain, to teach us that Jesus is our Saviour-we may, without the least danger, misconceive many parts of them; we may even be persuaded, as some persons are, that many passages are spurious; and we may entertain different opinions on many of the doctrines-on many which some persons deem of vital importance,-without being in the least degree mistaken or deficient in our faith. In our opinions on these doctrines, we may widely differ, without at all differing in our essential Christian belief. Whether Christ is equal with the Father, and the same with the Father and the Holy Ghost, is merely matter of opinion; for whether we think him so or not, so long as we regard him as our Lord and Redeemer, it will make no alteration in our faith-in our reliance on him. Whether we think he died to make atonement for our sins, or, by his resurrection, to assure us of his power to break the bonds of death-' to bring life and immortality to light,' is of no importance to our faith; for, in embracing either of these persuasions, we adopt an opinion only of the purpose, without any difference of belief as to the fact and whether we think it right to personify, or not, the Holy Ghost, is of no consequence to our faith in Christ. If we believe that Jesus is Christ, and consequently confide in his promise and power to save us, our faith will not be at all affected-for it really cannot be of any importance to our welfare -whether we know or believe that he possesses this power in himself as God, or by the gift and appointment of God."-pp. 19, 20.

THIS is an imposing title, and we opened the volume with feelings of deep interest, excited by the proposed Inquiry. We had read but a few pages, however, before those feelings gave way to disappointment and disgust. We have no reason to doubt that the Writer is an honest inquirer, but he has miserably lost his way. For the diligence with which he appears "Every man is frequently led by his evil to have consulted the Holy Scriptures, he de- propensities from the path of rectitude; and serves commendation; and had he adopted therefore, every man's conduct can be obedient this only rational method of ascertaining the only in a very deficient degree. So far, howtrue faith, with the humility that becomes a ever, as it is obedient, (and every Christian's novice, and with earnest prayer for the illumi- conduct must be so in some acts)-to this denation of the Divine Spirit, we cannot doubt gree he is vindicated by it;-for this part of that he would have arrived at conclusions his conduct he wants no other justification widely different;-although we question whe- than his deeds; an assertion that he stands in ther he would even then have been qualified need of any other, would be manifestly false : to set the whole Christian world right upon and to this degree, however little or great, but the subject of the "One Faith." A few de- not further, the doctrine of the Scripture is, tached sentences will sufficiently show the that he is so justified; justified, as Abraham views and opinions of the Writer. In his pre- was, by his works. For the very great defiface, he expresses his confidence, that the reciency of this degree of obedience,-of these sults of his inquiry will be acceptable to such works, to a complete justification of his conpersons as have been so dissatisfied with the duct, God, from his infinite mercy and kindirrationality and inconsistency of all previousness, has promised to regard faith as a comrepresentations on the subject, as to be obliged to hold their opinions in suspense.

"Equally or still more acceptable, he presumes, it may prove to others, who have been so far repulsed from Christianity, by the ridiculous comments and silly notions of the writers and teachers of different sects, as to slight its doctrines and precepts as unsatisfactory and beneath attention. In showing to these, that its whole tenor is exactly what they would reasonably wish and approve it to be ;— that the imperfections they have thought at tributable to it, can truly be ascribed only to erroneous interpretation, he cannot doubt that

pensation; and so far, therefore, as God may deem this deficiency excusable, accordantly with the conditions of the new covenant, we are taught, that man will be justified by faith. But neither by faith further than this: for it is only because faith thus atones for the unavoidable defects of his conduct, and consequently enables him to gain salvation, which he could not otherwise; that justification, righteousness, salvation, are said to be through faith:' and they are declared to be through grace-through favour-because it is, certainly, an unmerited kindness, that the reward which only perfect obedience could claim under the law, or from