Galatians and the Ephesians'. And in most ancient Manuscripts now extant, the Epistle to the Hebrews is placed before the Epistles to Timothy and Titus 3, and not after them, as in the majority of modern editions.

It is also worthy of remark, that in the earliest Manuscripts which have been preserved to us, the Epistles of St. Paul are placed after the General Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, St. John, and St. Jude, and not before them, as in the common order.

In addition to such considerations as these, the following reflections presented themselves to the Editor of this volume.

The present Edition of the Greek Testament is designed mainly for the use of younger students of Theology.

What therefore is the order, in which the Epistles of St. Paul may be read most profitably by them?

There seemed to be only one answer to this inquiry,-The order of time.

In confirmation of this opinion, the following reasons may be adduced;

It has pleased Almighty God to bestow upon His Church an Apostolic History, as well as Apostolic Epistles. The Apostolic History, written by St. Paul's faithful companion the Evangelist St. Luke, illustrates the Apostolic Epistles, and is illustrated by them.

But the benefit of this mutual illustration is much impaired, if the Apostolic Epistles are not studied in connexion with, and in the order of, the Apostolic History.

On the other hand, if the Epistles of St. Paul are read according to the sequence of time, the student has at hand an inspired running comment upon them in the Acts of the Apostles.

Again; if the theological student does not read St. Paul's Epistles in chronological order, but approaches them in that order in which they are commonly presented to his view, he will commence his task with the most difficult of all the Epistles of St. Paul,— the Epistle to the Romans.

He will enter upon his arduous undertaking without due previous preparation, and will find himself perplexed, and perhaps discouraged; and he may even be betrayed into distressing doubts, or dangerous errors, from which he would have been preserved, if he had come to the study of that Epistle in the natural order of time, when he would have been familiarized with the thoughts, the diction, and the teaching of the great Apostle; and would thus have been prepared and qualified for the study of the Epistle to the Romans by the previous discipline and training, which would have been afforded him by a careful perusal of those other Epistles which were written by St. Paul before the date of that Epistle.

Another reflection suggests itself here. All who believe the Gospel, regard the Apostle St. Paul with religious reverence, as a chosen vessel of God to bear His Name before the Gentiles 5, and acknowledge him to have been a wise master-builder of the Church; and they are persuaded, that the Epistles written by his instrumentality were

'See Cardinal Mai's note in his edition of the Codex Vaticanus, Vol. v. p. 429, Rom. 1858.

2 In the Alexandrine MS., the Vatican MS., the Codex Ephrem, and the Coislinian MS.

4

As they are in the editions of Lachmann, Berolini, 1850, and Tischendorf, Lipsia, 1859. 5 Acts ix. 15.

6 1 Cor. iii. 10.

given by inspiration of God, and are no other than words which the Holy Ghost teacheth'; and that though addressed in the first instance to particular Cities and Churches, they were designed for the perpetual edification of the Universal Church of Christ in every age and place. They also know, that the Divine Being Who inspired the Apostle, is a God of Order, and that He does every thing by counsel, measure, number, and weight, especially in the building up of His Church; and they will therefore feel a strong persuasion, that St. Paul's Epistles are not to be viewed as mere disjointed and fugitive essays, thrown out extemporaneously on the spur of the moment; but that they have a mutual connexion and coherence, and that they were designed by the Holy Spirit of God to bear a reciprocal relation to one another, and lend to each other mutual help and support, like joints and members of a well organized body; and to instruct the World in the religion of Jesus Christ, by a well ordered system of doctrine and discipline; and that therefore, if the Epistles of St. Paul were placed in chronological order, they would be found to form a consistent and harmonious whole. This anticipation is fully realized by the result.

Let the reader commence the study of the writings of the divine Apostle with that Epistle which was first produced, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, and let him pursue that study in regular order of time, with the Acts of the Apostles at his side, till he reaches the limits of that Apostolic History, and till he arrives in due time at the conclusion and consummation of all the Epistles in the Second Epistle to Timothy; and he will thankfully acknowledge, that such an order of study is the most agreeable to reason, most gratifying to the intellect, most productive of spiritual benefit to his own soul, and will be most salutary to the souls of others also, whom he may be called upon to teach, if he is ordained to the Pastoral Office. He will recognize the blessed truth, that in reading St. Paul's Epistles, he has not only been following the Apostle in his travels, and labours, and sufferings for Christ, but that he has also been learning a lesson of Christian edification; that he has been there trained in the best method of building up himself and others, by God's grace, in the Christian Faith; and that he has been admitted to behold the great Apostolic Architect in his spiritual workshop, and has seen him, as it were, with rule and compass in hand, drawing the plan of his Apostolic work, and then laying its foundations deep and strong, and placing the first stone of the sacred edifice, and gradually rearing the fabric, which rises silently and securely, without noise of axe or hammer, like the Temple of Solomon, till it stands in stately grandeur before the delighted eye, a glorious building, complete in all its parts and proportions, and perfectly compacted, harmonized, and adorned, in solidity, symmetry, and beauty.

The proof of this statement will be submitted to the reader's consideration in the Introductions that will be prefixed to the several Epistles.

In the mean time it may be observed, that St. Paul, in his earliest Epistles, particularly those to the Thessalonians, begins with laying down those sacred elementary truths, which are enumerated in the Epistle to the Hebrews as among the first principles

1 1 Cor. ii. 13.

2 As is excellently expressed by Tertullian (c. Marcion. v. 17), “ Ad omnes Apostolus scribit, dum ad quosdam." 3 Wisd. xi. 20. * 1 Kings vi. 7.

of the doctrine of Christ',—namely, the doctrine of Repentance, and of Faith, and of the Resurrection of the Dead, and of Eternal Judgment; that in the Epistle to the Galatians he vindicates his own Apostolic Commission; and in that Epistle, and in the later Epistle to the Romans, he proclaims the Universality of the Redemption provided by God in Christ for all of every nation under heaven who accept the Gospel by Faith, as the only means of Justification, and as distinguished from the Ceremonial and Moral Law, which was preparatory to the Gospel. He thus fortifies the citadel of Christian doctrine with strong buttresses and bulwarks against the assaults of false teachers, who undermined its foundations. In the succeeding two Epistles to the Corinthians he provides for its internal safety, by cementing it strongly with Christian Charity, and makes it to be like a City at unity with itself 5.

4

It was not till he had trained the Church by this preparatory discipline, that the holy Apostle ventured to speak fully of the great mystery of Godliness, the Incarnation of the Son of God, and of the means by which its blessings are dispensed and diffused to all the faithful members of the Mystical Body of Christ; and to dilate on the practical duties which result from the doctrine of the Incarnation, and of their incorporation in Him. He has accomplished this blessed work in the two Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians; in the former of which he displays the doctrine of the Incarnation in its divine splendour; in the other he defends it from those who would mar and obscure it. The Epistle to Philemon, written at the same time, is a practical application of the same doctrine of the Incarnation to the solution of a great social question, that of Slavery'.

The Epistle to the Philippians completes the Apostolic labour of love to the Gentile Churches. In the Epistle to the Hebrews he performs a similar office to his own kindred. Both of these Epistles are built as a superstructure on the doctrine of the Divinity of Christ, and of His Incarnation.

The Epistles to Timothy and Titus naturally fall into the last place.

The Apostle was now like the great Lawgiver of his nation when about to leave the world. He would therefore provide for the government of the Church after his decease in all future ages. Moses appointed a Joshua, one person only, because the people was one, and was destined to dwell in one country, and gave him a solemn charge ". St. Paul appoints several persons, such as a Timothy at Ephesus, and a Titus at Crete, and others in other great cities of the world, to be his successors, and to execute Apostolic functions in various places, because the Church of Christ is universal. And in writing to two of that Apostolic family, Timothy and Titus, he has bequeathed a spiritual legacy to all Christian Bishops, and has left a pattern of Church-regimen and polity, even to the end of time ".

Thus, then, in contemplating St. Paul's Epistles arranged in chronological order, we behold an uniform system of Christian Doctrine and Discipline.

4

1 Heb. vi. 1, 2.

See below, Introduction to the Epistle to the Thessalonians, p. See further, Introduction to the Epistle to the Galatians, p. 39, and to the Romans, p. 183–193.

See further, Introduction to that Epistle, p. 72-74.

5 Ps. cxxii. 3.

See the Introduction to that Epistle, p. 329.

See below, p. 360–368.

4.

See below, Introduction, p. 302-5.

See below, p. 332.

10 Deut. xxxi. 14. 23.

11 See below, Introduction to the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, p. 421, 422.

The reader, therefore, it may be hoped, will not require an apology for the adoption of such an order in the present edition. He will not be unwilling to concede, that if the writings of Heathen Authors, which have any historical value and connexion, have been thus dealt with by recent Editors, and if a chronological arrangement has been adopted by them, in lieu of, or in addition to, the order which existed in former editions, a like principle may be reasonably accepted in an edition of the Epistles of St. Paul'. The readers of Æschylus, it may be presumed, have now concurred in the reasons, which induced some recent Editors to place the Supplices first, and the Orestean Trilogy last, in their recensions of his writings.

3

All academical students, who desire to read intelligently the writings of Aristophanes, will thank those Editors who have removed the Plutus from the place which it occupied in the older editions, and have put the Acharnians in its room, and have arranged the other Comedies in their proper historical series. All will acknowledge the wisdom which dictated Bentley's remarks on the importance of studying the writings of Horace in chronological order. And although from the miscellaneous character of the Roman Poet's compositions a chronological arrangement of his works was not so easy of adoption, yet all will be disposed to commend the labours of a late learned Canon of St. Paul's, in giving practical effect to Bentley's remarks, and in publishing the works of Horace arranged in order of time 5.

Perhaps, however, it may here be said, that these considerations would confessedly be of much weight, if the chronology of St. Paul's Epistles could be accurately determined. But it may be alleged by some, that differences of opinion exist with regard to the order of time in which they were written, and that attempts to arrange them in that order are precarious.

A principle already adopted in the valuable work of Messrs. Conybeare and Howson, "The Life and Epistles of St. Paul," 2nd ed. Lond. 1856, 2 Vols.

2

3

e. g. Hermann, in his edition of Eschylus, 1852; and before him, Professor Scholefield, Cambridge, 1828. e. g. William Dindorf, London, 1825; Immanuel Bekker, Lond. 1829.

Which deserve to be placed before the student's eye, especially on account of the important moral lesson with which they conclude. "His jam positis, primum Horatii opus statuo Sermonum librum primum, quem triennio perfecit intra annos ætatis xxvi. xxvii. xxviii.; postea Secundum triennio itidem, annis xxxi. xxxii. xxxiii.; deinde Epodos biennio, xxxiv. and xxxv.; tum Carminum librum primum triennio, xxxvi. xxxvii. xxxviii.; Secundum biennio, xl. xli.; Tertiumque pariter biennio, xlii. xliii.; inde Epistolarum primum biennio, xlvi. xlvii.; tum Carminum lib. quartum et Sæculare triennio, xlix. 1. li. Postremò Artem Poëticam et Epistolarum librum alterum, annis incertis. Intra hos cancellos omnium poëmation natales esse ponendos, et ex argumentis singulorum et ex Annalium fide constabit. Inde est, quod in Sermonibus, et Epodis, et Carminum primo, Cæsar semper, nunquam Augustus dicitur; quippe qui id nomen consecutus est, anno demum Flacci xxxix.; in sequentibus verò passim Augustus appellatur. Inde est, quod in Sermonibus et Epodis Juvenem se ubique indicat; et quod sola Satirarum laude inclaruisse se dicit, ut Bucolicorum tum (Virgilium Serm. i. 10; v. 46), nulla Lyricorum mentione facta. In cæteris autem singulis procedentis ætatis gradus planissimis signis indicat: idque tibi ex hâc serie jam à me demonstratâ jucundum erit animadvertere, cum operibus juvenilibus multa obscœna et flagitiosa insint, quantò annis provectior erat, tantò cum et poëticâ virtute et argumentorum dignitate gravitateque meliorem castioremque semper evasisse.” Bentleii Præfatio ad Horatium, ed. Amst. 1728.

* Horatius Restitutus, ed. Iac. Tate. Cantabr. 1832.

On the benefits to be derived from a chronological arrangement of the Books of Holy Scripture, the reader may consult the Introduction of Canon Townsend in his edition of the Old Testament, 4th ed. Lond. 1836.

VOL. II.-PART III,

a

If such an objection should be raised, it may not be irrelevant to observe,

1. That all persons are agreed, that the commonly received order is not chronological.

2. That no doubt can reasonably be entertained as to the dates of the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, the two Epistles to the Corinthians, and the Epistle to the Romans.

3. That it is also certain, that the Epistles to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Philippians, and the Second to Timothy, were written by St. Paul when he was in prison', and that therefore they are subsequent in time to the Epistles to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Romans.

4. That it is generally acknowledged, that the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians, were written about the same time, and that they were composed during the imprisonment of the Apostle, described by St. Luke at the conclusion of the Acts of the Apostles, and are therefore subsequent in time to the events recorded in the far greater part of that history.

5. These propositions appear to be almost universally admitted'; and therefore, even though the precise years of the several Epistles may not be determined, yet their relative order may be ascertained, at least within certain narrow limits. Accordingly, they may be arranged chronologically, although differences of opinion may exist as to the length of the intervals of time which separate them respectively from each other.

6. But further. Important results have been obtained by the recent historical and critical researches into the Life and Writings of St. Paul. One of the most valuable of these results is, that, at least in our own country, a general consent with regard to the order of Time in which the Epistles of St. Paul were written, and also, with slight exceptions, as to the date of each several Epistle, now prevails.

The time therefore seems to have arrived, when an Editor of St. Paul's Epistles, profiting by the labours of others3 who have gone before him in the same field, may,

As is clear from internal evidence, Eph. iii. 1; iv. 1. Col. iv. 3. 10. Philem. 1. 9. Phil. i. 13. 2 Tim. i. 8. Cp. Winer, R. W. B. ii. p. 764.

2 The following is the language of a writer on this subject who will not be charged with any disposition to dogmatize. Credner (Einleitung in das N. T., Halle, 1836, p. 338), "Concerning the time of the composition of the Epistles to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Romans, no doubt can exist, except where an hypercritical spirit of scepticism seduces the inquirer into error. The Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians, and the Second to Timothy, proclaim themselves to have been written from prison. Only the place of the Epistle to Titus, to the Galatians, and the First of Timothy, remains undefined."

Particularly in this country, Abp. Ussher, Bp. Pearson, Dr. Wells, Dr. Lardner, Dr. Paley, Canons Townsend and Tate, Mr. Fynes Clinton, Greswell, Biley, Lewin, J. B. Lightfoot, Dr. Bloomfield, Dr. Peile, Dean Alford, Messrs. Conybeare and Howson, F. C. Cook, and Mr. Birks. In the results attained by many of these writers, the Editor concurs in all respects; and the particular points in which there is not a concurrence are comparatively so few, trivial, and insignificant (e. g. whether the Epistle to the Galatians was written before or after the Epistles to the Corinthians), that they only serve to bring out more clearly the points of agreement, and to confirm them by the suffrages of independent judgments.

Among foreign writers, the authority of the following eminent critics may be cited as harmonizing almost entirely with the opinions formed by the Editor of the present volume, concerning the chronological arrangement of St. Paul's Epistles. Tillemont, Basnage, Hottinger, Eichhorn, and De Wette (the last with reservation as to the Pastoral Epistles), Kirchhofer, Feilmoser, Schott, Wurm, Neander; and especially Guerike, to whose observations he would refer, as very full and satisfactory. They may be seen in his Einleitung in d. N. T., Leipzig, 1843, pp. 342-409.