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A53661
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Remarks on a sermon, about corrupting the word of God preach'd by Tho. Gipps Rector of Bury, on a publick occasion, July 11, 1696, wherein the dissenters are fully vindicated against his vnjust accusations / by J.O., Minister of the Gospel at Oswestry.
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Owen, James, 1654-1706.
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1697
(1697)
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Wing O709; ESTC R6175
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33,441
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32
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Waters cover the Sea Our Bibles have it thus The Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea Here also he not only changes the Construction of the former part of this Sentence but substitutes one word for another viz. might cover instead of shall be full The Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render shall be full will not admit of the Rector's Translation Schindler in his Lexic Pentaglot mentions four significations of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but not one to the Rector's purpose Nor will the Lxx's Translation relieve him for that has 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which answers our English filled And I do not find that the other Gr. Versions do vary from the Lxx upon this Text. Vid. Frag. Veter Interp. Graec. in Isa 11. The Rector therefore abuses this Scripture in the two Instances which he condemns in others viz. diminishing and adding He diminishes by expunging those words shall be full and adds of his own the words might cover VI. He thus quotes Rev. 22.18 19. I certifie to every man c. p. 13. Our English Bibles have it I testifie unto every man And the Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be so rendred It should seem the Rector wanted his Spectacles and by a mistake of the Letter read certify for testify VII He tells us that We diminish from the Word when we cast away any never so little part of it p. 13. And thus he cites Matth. 5.18 Till Heaven and Earth pass away not one jor or tittle shall pass from the Law Our Bibles render the Verse thus Till Heaven and Earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pass from the Law till all the fulfilled Here he leaves out the little word one which is repeated in the Text and the weighty words in no wise and over-looks the Concluding words till all be fulfilled Doubtless the words left out here are a little part of the Scripture and therefore by his own Doctrine he diminisheth from the Word VIII He thus gives the words of Acts 6.3 Seek out seven Men of honest Report and full of the Holy Ghost c. p. 21. Our Authorized Bibles have it thus Look ye out among you seven Men Here he puts seek for look 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perhaps this also was an Oversight in Reading But why he should leave out those words among you I can give as little Reason as he can in charging Mr. B. with abusing the Scripture in leaving out these when he did not pretend to cite the very words of the Text as the Rector here doth But I hope he 'll have the Ingenuity to confess his Error or the Courage to palliate it with an Excuse Epist the want of which he blames in Mr. B. IX He exhorts his Brethren to lay aside all guile and hypocrisies 1 Pet. 2.1 P. 26. The Text runs thus Laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and evil speakings How he comes to skip over all malice and to begin with guile I do not pretend to give a Reason tho' perhaps some may tell him That his Sermon is so full of malice against the Dissenters that he was not willing this troublesome word should stare him in the face and create any uneasiness of thought to him in his warm pursuit of that Party X. I will instance in one other Text which he thus renders 2 Pet. 3.16 Which they that are Vnstable and Vnlearned wrest as they do all the other Scriptures to their own destruction In our Bibles the words are thus Which they that are Vnlearned and Vnstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures c. Here he not only perverts the Order of the Holy Ghost in the words Vnlearned and Vnstable but for also the other Scriptures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he reads all the other Scriptures Thus we have traâ—'d him in his Scripture-Quotations in which one might have expected more Exactness from so Critical a Censor To declame with such bitterness against Innocent Men as Corrupters of the Word of God and in the same Breath to cite the Scriptures so Corruptly evidences more of Hatred to the Presbyterians than of Affection to the Word of God I will not say he had any Design to Corrupt these Scriptures I believe it was an Oversight which is culpable enough in a Man of his Character without being aggravated The Rector of any man should be charitable in his Censures of others who while he is unjustly charging the Dissenters with one false reading has made himself undeniably guilty of Ten. Ton to One is great Odds and yet our Accuser would be thought a warm and zealous defender of the Scriptures for these Epithets he gives himself p. 27. If ever poor Man has made work for Repentance the Rector has done so in this Sermon if I may abuse the Word by calling a Libel by that name the chief design of which is to load his Brethren with a Crime not to be named among Christians He tells us that the Chief Reason of his undertaking was to tax the Dissenters with corrupting the Word of God Epist p. 2. Nay he saith it is the point he chiefly aimed to insist on p. 20. Now let the World judge what a vile thing it is to accuse a Considerable Party of Sober Christians of the most impious practices without the least Proof to support the Charge A good Name is better than precious Ointment and rather to be chosen than great Riches Eccl. 7.1 Pro. 22.1 therefore he that robs me of it deprives me of that which is more valuable than Gold and Silver For this Reason a false testimony was Capitally punish'd by the old Roman Laws Aul. Gell. xx 1. And God himself has levelled one of the Ten Commandments against this Wickedness He that said Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not commit adultery hath also said Thou shalt not bear false Witness Men may talk of Religion and of their Zeal for the Word of God but when the Tongue is set on fire of Hell and full of deadly poyson they 'll scarce convince the World that they have any great share of the one or the other Can any thing be more inconsistent than at the same time to bless God even the Father and to curse or reproach men which are made after the similitude of God Can there be a greater Instance of this than for a Man to aim at the reviling of his Neighbours as the Chief Point he drives at in Preaching the Word of God He that violates the Laws of Truth in his own words may be presum'd to have no great regard to the Truth of Gods Word 'T was a saying of Pythagoras that the Gods had granted unto Men two amiable Blessings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to embrace the truth and to do good * Aelian Hist Var. xii 59. Truth and Goodness are Divine Persections and
evidently points at them When Mr. B. cites the Words of Scripture he does it in a different Character as may be seen in that very Page in 1 Cor. 11.19 which he there quotes in Italick Letters but he refers to Acts 15.28 without changing the form of the Letters by which 't is apparent he did not design to transcribe the very words of the Text. It 's haâ—d measure to Charge a Man who only refers to a Text of Scripture or gives the sense of it with corrupting the Word of God because he has not transcribed the whole â—ose 2. It would have look'd more generous in this Criminator to have answer'd Mr. B's Argument from this place against unnecessary Impositions than to blemish the Reputation of a dead Man But it 's easier to revile a Man than to confute him 3. I have reason to suspect the Rector took up this Calumny at second hand from Dr. Hook to whom he refers in the Margin and never examin'd the truth of it For thus he begins the Charge In the Dissenters Petition for Peace above years since He could not tell how many years since and therefore left a blark to be filled up by any body that would do him that kindness Had he perus'd the Petition it self it would have cured his Ignorance concerning the distance of time Besides he cites the Text out of the Petition thus To lay upon you no greater burden than necessary things Whereas if he had taken the Words out of the Petition it self he must have exhibited them as I have above to lay upon them no greater burden One may see by this what little trust is to be given to this man's Accusation who takes up any silly Calumny and reports it again for truth without once examining whether it be so or not But that is inconsistent with the Design he had in hand which was to Calumniate stoutly in hopes something might stick 4. But since the Rector so roundly Charges others with corrupting the Word of God it will not be amiss to take notice how he treats it himself I will observe a few of his own Quotations which I should have over-look'd if he had not thus unjustly accused his Brethren of that which he is notoriously guilty himself Qui alterum incusat probri ipsum se intueri oportet Thou art inexcusable O Man for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy self for thou that judgest doest the same things Rom. 2.1 I confess I love not recriminations but when a Man is so quick-sighted as to behold a mote in his brothers Eye 't is an act of Charity to help him to a Glass that may discover unto him some of the beam in his own Eye If he please to re-view the Scripture-Quotations in his own Sermon he 'l find many of 'em not exactly rendred He would reckon it unfair did we go about to aggravate its Oversights and charge him with poysoning the fountain-head refining upon the Word of God lying against the Holy Ghost c. He would say these were hard Words and yet this is the Language he gives the Dissenters for a litteral fault which he cannot prove upon them Instances of his careless and loose way of citing the Scriptures I. His very Text from which he takes occasion to aggravate his Charge against us of Corrupting the Word of God is corruptly rendred by him Prov. 30.6 Add thou not unto his Word so the Rector It should have been Add you not unto his Words in the pl. So it is in our English Bibles c. so it is in the Original Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbis ejus Here is a litteral fault and such as substitutes the singular number for the plural in our Rector's very Text. He that so grievously censures others for a litteral fault should tell by what Authority he makes bold to alter or to use his own Dialect to corrupt the very Text of his Sermon He repeat the Text in the same manner in P. 1. and 2. and therefore cannot charge the Press with this Error It 's true the variation does not corrupt the sense but allow Men a liberty of a litteral variation from the Language of the Holy Ghost the sense and meaning cannot be long secur'd II. The first Scripture that occurs after the Text and Context is 1 Cor. 10.11 written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the World are come So he reads it p. 1. but in our English Bibles it is thus written for our admonition upon whom Here he changes admonition into instruction tho the Original he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and properly render'd admonition by our Translators both here and in Eph. 6.4 Titus 3.10 III. His next Allegation is from Deut. 4.2 Ye shall not add unto the Word neither shall ye diminish ought from it It ought to be thus read Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you neither shall ye diminish ought from it Here he leaves out the Words which I command you without which the sense is imperfect He condemns Mr. B. for leaving out the word these and himself leaves out but four Words together and those also essential to the sentence he pâ—oduceth IV. Having compar'd his Text with Deut. 2. and 12.32 he enlargeth his foundations and saith for which reason therefore I would read the Text thus add not thou unto his Word neither diminish ought from it p. 2. He may read it as he pleases but those Words neither diminish ought from it are an addition to that Text which saith add not Must we tack to every Text what is said in other Scriptures more fully and make that explanatory addition an essential part of the Text And when we have thus fill'd it up from parallel Scriptures shall we pretend it ought to be read thus This would create as many various Readings as there are parallel Texts Unhappy Solomon Hadst thou liv'd in our days to consult a Man wiser than thy self he wou'd have taught thee to have put this Saying in a better form and to write it thus add thou not unto his word neither diminish ought from it However thou can'st not but take â—t kindly that he supplies in Reading the defect of thy Writing Our Hebrew Bibles have several Keri's and Cethib's in which the Marginal Reading vaâ—es from the Writing in the Text as the Masorites have observed But this new Keri or Reading escaped their Observation It 's to be hoped the Learned World will take notice of it in the next Edition of the Masora We have all read these Words neither diminish ought from it in Deut. 4.2 but a Man may sooner read out his Eyes than read the words in the Rector's Text as it lies in our Bibles And therefore to help you to the True Reading of this place you must make a Thankful Purchase of the Rectors Sermon for your Instruction V. He thus cites Isa 11.9 That the knowledge of the Lord might cover the Earth as the