foftom. And it will be seen that the greatnefs of the mystery, its alarming appearance to the Jews, and the extreme caution of the evangelists and apostles in divulging

it, gave him great scope for magnifying the courage of John, in teaching what the other apostles had only ventured to hint at, and which was referved for him, as the fon of thunder, and whofe emblem was the eagle, to express his foaring higher than any other that had gone before him.

66

John," he fays, "alone taught the eter "nal and fuper-celeftial wifdom*." John "first lighted up the lamp of theology; and "all the moft diftant churches running to "it, lighted up their lamps of theology, and returned rejoicing, faying, In the begin"ing was the logost."

Chryfoftom reprefents all the preceding writers of the New Teftament as children, who heard, but did not understand things, "and who were bufy about cheese-cakes

"and childish fports*, but John," he says,

86

taught what the angels themselves did "not know before he declared it† ;" and

he represents them as his most attentive auditors. 66 Leaving the Father," he says, "he (John) difcourfed concerning the Son, "because the Father, was known to all, if "not as a Father, yet as God, but the "unbegotten was unknown."

Of the three first evangelifts, he says, they all treated of the fleshly difpenfation, "and filently by his miracles, indicated his

σε

dignity. The dignity of the logos of "God was hid, the arrows against the he"retics were concealed, and the fortifica"tion to defend the right faith was not "raised by the pious preaching. John,

therefore, the fon of thunder, being the

* Οι γε αλλοι απάνίες, καθαπερ τα παιδια τα μικρά, ακουσι μεν, εκ ισασι δε απερ ακέεσιν, αλλά περι πλακενίας επιοηίαι, καὶ aðuguala waidina. In Johan. 1. Opera, vol. 8. p. 2.

+ Α μηδε αγγελοι πριν η τέλον γενέσθαι ήδεισαν. μεθ' ημων γαρ ખ ×zt કી મે της Ιωαννέ φωνης και δι ημων εμαθον

Ibid.

απερ εγνωμεν.

- Τι δηποτ' εν τον πατέρα αφεις, περι τα υια διαλεγεται : ότι εκεινΘ μεν δηλΘ- απασιν ην, ει και μη ως πατήρ, αλλ' ως θεΘ-, ο δε povoyevns nyvoɛilo. Ibid. p. 11.

2

"laft

"laft, advanced to the doctrine of the lo"gos," or the divinity of Chrift*.

"In the beginning was the word. This "doctrine was not published at first, for "the world would not receive it. Where"fore Matthew, Mark, and Luke” (John is here added, but it must be an interpolation)" began at a distance. When they began the preaching, they did not imme

diately fay what was becoming his dignity, but what would fuit the hearers. "Matthew, beginning his gofpel, fays, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, 4. "the Son of David, the Jon of Abraham.

Why does he not fay the Son of God?

* Πανίες εν εχώρησαν εις την της σαρκα οικονομίαν, και ηρεμα πως, δια των θαυμαίων, εγνωριζον την αξίαν . Εκρυπλεῖο δε ετι τε θες λογε αξίωμα, Εκρυπλείο δε τα καλα των αιρείικων βελη, και το της ορθής δοξης επιτειχισμα εδεποτε τω κηρυγμαλι της ευσεβειας εγηγερία. Ιωάννης τοινυν, ο υιG της βροντης, τελευταιος, παρηλθεν επι την θεολογιαν. De Sigillis, Op. vol. 6. p. 173. N. B. The fenfe of the paffage abfolutely requires expulelo and not exngurlelo in both the clauses, and in the latter it is fo rendered by the Latin tranflator, though not in the former. The obfervation, that the first verfes in the gospel of John are a refutation of all herefies is common with the Fathers. No person, except one who is pretty well converfant with them, can imagine how often those verses occur in their writings.

Why

cr

66

Why does he conceal his dignity by poor

language? Why does he conceal from

men the things relating to his deity? "He answers, I am preaching to the Jews, "who do not even believe him to be "a good man. They would not believe "Chrift to be the fon of Abraham, and "will they believe his being called the fon "of God?-The bleffed Mark, alfo, when "he applied himself to writing a gospel, "taking courage from what had been done "before" (meaning perhaps, by Matthew) "calls him the Son of God; but he imme

diately contracts his difcourfe, and cuts "fhort what he had intended to fay, that "he might footh his hearers. He there"fore, introduces what he had to say, con

cerning the Baptift, faying, The begin"ning of the gospel of Jefus Chrift, as it is "written in Isaiah the prophet, &c.'

66

"Luke follows in the third place, and goes a middle way. He touches upon

"the doctrine of the logos, but does not explain, or unfold his dignity; but fays, "Since many have undertaken to give an ac"count of what has come to pass among us, it "Seemed

K 2

feemed good to me alfo, who have attended "to every thing from the beginning, to write "in order as has been delivered to us, by thofe "who were eye-witnesses and minifters of the logos. But though he mentions the lo

66

gos, he did not fay that the logos was "God. What then does he do? Touch

ing upon the fubject, and confidering that "he was fpeaking in the ears of the dead, "he conceals his dignity, and brings on "the economy," i. e. the doctrine of the incarnation or humanity of Chrift. "There "was a priest Zacharias, &c."

66

John, therefore, the fon of thunder, "laft of all advanced to the doctrine of his

66

divinity, after thofe three heralds; and "with great propriety he followed them, "and they went before, lightening a little, "as the lightning precedes the thunder, left

66

bursting from the clouds at once it should "ftun the hearer.-They therefore lighten"ed the economy, or the humanity of Chrift, "but he thundered out the theology," that is, the doctrine of Chrift's divinity *.