Irenæus,[608]—Hippolytus in 3 places,[609]—Origen,[610]—Malchion, in the name of six of the Bishops at the Council of Antioch, a.d. 269,[611]—ps.-Dionysius Alex., twice,[612]—the Constt. App.,[613]—Athanasius in 6 places,[614]—Basil in 2 places,[615]—Didymus in 5 places,[616]—Greg. Nyssen. in 5 places,[617]—Epiphanius in 5 places,[618]—Theodoras Mops.,[619]—Methodius,[620]—Eustathius,[621]—Eulogius, twice,[622]—Cæsarius, 3 times,[623]—Theophilus Alex., twice,[624]—Nestorius,[625]—Theodotus of Ancyra,[626]—Proclus, twice,[627]—Severianus Bp. of Gabala,[628]—Chrysostom, 8 times,[629]—Cyril [pg 213] Alex., 15 times,[630]—Paulus Bp. of Emesa,[631]—Theodoret, 12 times,[632]—Gennadius, Abp. of C. P.,[633]—Severus, Abp. of Antioch,[634]—Amphilochius,[635]—Gelasius Cyz.,[636]—Anastasius Ant.,[637]—Leontius Byz., 3 times,[638]—Maximus,[639]—J. Damascene, 3 times.[640] Besides of the Latins, Tertullian, twice,[641]—Cyprian,[642]—Novatian, twice,[643]—Ambrose, 5 times,[644]—Palladius the Arian at the Council of Aquileia,[645]—Hilary, 7 times,[646]—Jerome, twice,[647]—Augustine, about 30 times,—Victorinus,[648]—the Breviarium, twice,[649]—Marius Mercator,[650]—Cassian, twice,[651]—Alcimus Avit.,[652]—Fulgentius, twice,[653]—Leo, Bp. of Rome, twice,[654]—Ferrandus, twice,[655]—Facundus:[656]—to whom must be added 6 ancient writers, of whom 3[657] have been mistaken for Athanasius,—and 3[658] for Chrysostom. All these see in Rom. ix. 5, a glorious assertion of the eternal Godhead of Christ.
Against such an overwhelming torrent of Patristic testimony,—for we have enumerated upwards of sixty ancient Fathers—it will not surely be pretended that the Socinian interpretation, to which our Revisionists give such prominence, [pg 214] can stand. But why has it been introduced at all? We shall have every Christian reader with us in our contention, that such perverse imaginations of “modern Interpreters” are not entitled to a place in the margin of the N. T. For our Revisionists to have even given them currency, and thereby a species of sanction, constitutes in our view a very grave offence.[659] A public retraction and a very humble Apology we claim at their hands. Indifferent Scholarship, and mistaken views of Textual Criticism, are at least venial matters. But a Socinian gloss gratuitously thrust into the margin of every Englishman's N. T. admits of no excuse—is not to be tolerated on any terms. It would by itself, in our account, have been sufficient to determine the fate of the present Revision.
XII. Are we to regard it as a kind of set-off against all that goes before, that in an age when the personality of Satan is freely called in question, “the evil one” has been actually thrust into the Lord's Prayer? A more injudicious and unwarrantable innovation it would be impossible to indicate in any part of the present unhappy volume. The case has been argued out with much learning and ability by two eminent Divines, Bp. Lightfoot and Canon Cook. The Canon remains master of the field. That the change ought never to have been made is demonstrable. The grounds of this assertion are soon stated. To begin, (1) It is admitted on all hands that it must for ever remain a matter of opinion only whether in the expression ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ, the nominative case is τὸ πονηρόν (as in S. Matth. v. 37, 39: Rom. xii. 9), or ὁ πονηρός (as in S. Matth. xiii. 19, 38: Eph. vi. [pg 215] 16),—either of which yields a good sense. But then—(2) The Church of England in her formularies having emphatically declared that, for her part, she adheres to the former alternative, it was in a very high degree unbecoming for the Revisionists to pretend to the enjoyment of certain knowledge that the Church of England in so doing was mistaken: and unless “from evil” be “a clear and plain error,” the Revisionists were bound to let it alone. Next—(3), It can never be right to impose the narrower interpretation on words which have always been understood to bear the larger sense: especially when (as in the present instance) the larger meaning distinctly includes and covers the lesser: witness the paraphrase in our Church Catechism,—“and that He will keep us (a) from all sin and wickedness, and (b) from our ghostly enemy, and (c) from everlasting death.”—(4) But indeed Catholic Tradition claims to be heard in this behalf. Every Christian at his Baptism renounces not only “the Devil,” but also “all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh.”[660] And at this point—(5), The voice of an inspired Apostle interposes in attestation that this is indeed the true acceptation of the last petition in the Lord's Prayer: for when S. Paul says—“the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen,”[661]—what else is he referring to but to the words just [pg 216] now under consideration? He explains that in the Lord's Prayer it is “from every evil work” that we pray to be “delivered.” (Note also, that he retains the Doxology.) Compare the places:—
S. Matth. vi. 13.—ἀλλὰ ῬΎΣΑΙ ἩΜΆΣ ἈΠῸ ΤΟΎ ΠΟΝΗΡΟΎ. ὍΤΙ ΣΟΎ ἘΣΤΙΝ Ἡ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΊΑ ... καὶ Ἡ ΔΌΞΑ ἘΙΣ ΤΟΎΣ ἈΙΏΝΑΣ. ἈΜΉΝ.
2 Tim. iv. 18.—καὶ ῬΎΣΕΤΑΊ ΜΕ ὁ Κύριος ἈΠῸ ΠΑΝΤῸΣ ἜΡΓΟΥ ΠΟΝΗΡΟΥ καὶ σώσει εἰς ΤῊΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΊΑΝ ἈΥΤΟΥ ... ᾧ Ἡ ΔΌΞΑ ΕΊΣ ΤΟΥΣ ἈΙΏΝΑΣ.... ἈΜΉΝ.
Then further—(6), What more unlikely than that our Lord would end with giving such prominence to that rebel Angel whom by dying He is declared to have “destroyed”? (Heb. ii. 14: 1 John iii. 8.) For, take away the Doxology (as our Revisionists propose), and we shall begin the Lord's Prayer with “Our Father,” and literally end it with—the Devil!—But above all,—(7) Let it never be forgotten that this is the pattern Prayer, a portion of every Christian child's daily utterance,—the most sacred of all our formularies, and by far the most often repeated,—into which it is attempted in this way to introduce a startling novelty. Lastly—(8), When it is called to mind that nothing short of necessity has warranted the Revisionists in introducing a single change into the A. V.,—“clear and plain errors”—and that no such plea can be feigned on the present occasion, the liberty which they have taken in this place must be admitted to be absolutely without excuse.... Such at least are the grounds on which, for our own part, we refuse to entertain the proposed introduction of the Devil into the Lord's Prayer. From the position we have taken up, it will be found utterly impossible to dislodge us.
XIII. It is often urged on behalf of the Revisionists that over not a few dark places of S. Paul's Epistles their labours have thrown important light. Let it not be supposed [pg 217] that we deny this. Many a Scriptural difficulty vanishes the instant a place is accurately translated: a far greater number, when the rendering is idiomatic. It would be strange indeed if, at the end of ten years, the combined labours of upwards of twenty Scholars, whose raison d'être as Revisionists was to do this very thing, had not resulted in the removal of many an obscurity in the A. V. of Gospels and Epistles alike. What offends us is the discovery that, for every obscurity which has been removed, at least half a dozen others have been introduced: in other words, that the result of this Revision has been the planting in of a fresh crop of difficulties, before undreamed of; so that a perpetual wrestling with these is what hereafter awaits the diligent student of the New Testament.
We speak not now of passages which have been merely altered for the worse: as when, (in S. James i. 17, 18,) we are invited to read,—“Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. Of his own will he brought us forth.” Grievous as such blemishes are, it is seen at a glance that they must be set down to nothing worse than tasteless assiduity. What we complain of is that, misled by a depraved Text, our Revisers have often made nonsense of what before was perfectly clear: and have not only thrust many of our Lord's precious utterances out of sight, (e.g. Matt. xvii. 21: Mark x. 21 and xi. 26: Luke ix. 55, 56); but have attributed to Him absurd sayings which He certainly never uttered, (e.g. Matt. xix. 17); or else, given such a twist to what He actually said, that His blessed words are no longer recognizable, (as in S. Matt. xi. 23: S. Mark ix. 23: xi. 3). Take a sample:—
(1.) The Church has always understood her Lord to say,—“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, [pg 218] be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory.”[662] We reject with downright indignation the proposal henceforth to read instead,—“Father, that which Thou hast given Me I will that, where I am, they also may be with Me,” &c. We suspect a misprint. The passage reads like nonsense. Yes, and nonsense it is,—in Greek as well as in English: (ὅ has been written for οὕς—one of the countless bêtises for which א b d are exclusively responsible; and which the weak superstition of these last days is for erecting into a new Revelation). We appeal to the old Latin and to the Vulgate,—to the better Egyptian and to all the Syriac versions: to every known Lectionary: to Clemens Alex.,[663]—to Eusebius,[664]—to Nonnus,[665]—to Basil,[666]—to Chrysostom,[667]—to Cyril,[668]—to Cælestinus,[669]—to Theodoret:[670] not to mention Cyprian,[671]—Ambrose,[672]—Hilary,[673] &c.:[674] and above all, 16 uncials, beginning with a and c,—and the whole body of the cursives. So many words ought not to be required. If men prefer their “mumpsimus” to our “sumpsimus,” let them by all means have it: but pray let them keep their rubbish to themselves,—and at least leave our Saviour's words alone.
(2.) We shall be told that the foregoing is an outrageous instance. It is. Then take a few milder cases. They abound, turn whichever way we will. Thus, we are invited to believe that S. Luke relates concerning our Saviour that He “was led by the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days” (iv. 1). We stare at this new revelation, and refer to the familiar Greek. It proves to be the Greek of all the copies in the [pg 219] world but four; the Greek which supplied the Latin, the Syrian, the Coptic Churches, with the text of their respective Versions; the Greek which was familiar to Origen,[675]—to Eusebius,[676]—to Basil,[677]—to Didymus,[678]—to Theodoret,[679]—to Maximus,[680]—and to two other ancient writers, one of whom has been mistaken for Chrysostom,[681] the other for Basil.[682] It is therefore quite above suspicion. And it informs us that Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness;” and there was “forty days tempted of the Devil.” What then has happened to obscure so plain a statement? Nothing more serious than that—(1) Four copies of bad character (א b d l) exhibit “in” instead of “into:” and that—(2) Our Revisionists have been persuaded to believe that therefore S. Luke must needs have done the same. Accordingly they invite us to share their conviction that it was the leading about of our Lord, (and not His Temptation,) which lasted for 40 days. And this sorry misconception is to be thrust upon the 90 millions of English-speaking Christians throughout the world,—under the plea of “necessity”!... But let us turn to a more interesting specimen of the mischievous consequences which would ensue from the acceptance of the present so-called “Revision.”