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ADDRESS OF THE REV. J. CLOWES. 269
right, or lead you wrong, according as you received your
report from this or that quarter. But would you have
thought it safe, or prudent, or conscientious, or becoming
your characters as members of the Sanhedrim, intrusted
with the oracles of God, and the interpretation of pro
phecy, and the instruction of the people, and peculiarly
called at that period of time to discover the marks of
Messiahship, to detect false pretenders, and to point out
the true Christ ;-would you, I say, have thought it safe
and equitable, under these circumstances, to see with
another’s eyes, and hear with another’s ears, instead of
using your own ? Would you not rather have thought it
your duty, and have made it your business, to see and
hear the wonderful Man yourselves ? to examine His
doctrines and pretentions impartially? to acquaint your
selves with the tenor of His life and conversation ? to
remove from your own hearts every unreasonable sus
picion, jealousy, or prejudice, which might pervert your
judgment ? in short, so to consult, by sincerity and purity
of intention, the divine will and wisdom in yourselves,
that you might know of the doctrine whether it were of
God, or whether the Speaker spake of Himself?
b " But you will say, perhaps, there is no similarity at
all between the two cases, and therefore no rule of con
duct can be deduced from the parallel.
"To this I beg leave to reply, that in this respect, at
least, the cases are similar ; the voice of the multitude is
divided now, as it was formerly, some asserting of the
writer in question, as was once said of the Saviour ofthe
world, He is a good man, and never man spake like
Him;’ whilst others, on the contrary, say, Nay; but
He deceiveth the people: He hath a devil, and is mad;
why hear ye Him?
’ There is also a further ground of
similarity, at least, according to the honourable author’s
own testimony, who in all his theological writings asserts,
in the plainest terms, and endeavours to support his
assertion on the evidence of the Holy Scriptures, and the
testimony of prophecy, that as the Son of Man once
came in the flesh, to be a Redeemer and Saviour of men,
by subduing the powers of darkness, and opening anew
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