Befides the works of Clemens Alexandrinus, which are usually found together, there is also a small tract extant, intitled, Tiswóμero @xãoro; i. e. What rich man can be faved? published laft by Bishop Fell at Oxford, 1683; it feems to have full evidence of its genuineness, not only that Eufebius, Hift. Ecclef. 1. 3. c. 23. cites a large piece of it as the work of Clemens under this fame title, but that Photius, Cod. cxi. fays, The Stromata of Clemens Alexandrinus were in a very antient copy of that Father's works reckoned to be eight; whereas now there are but feven: the first feven, fays he, had the fame title, but the eighth differed, being intitled in fome copies, What rich man can be faved?-The treatise is very fmall, not making above fixty small pages in the Oxford duodecimo edition, but contains fuch numerous citations of this and other proofs of the New Teftament, that I thought it proper to collect them. ARG. III. The Gospel of St. Matthew is Canonical, because it was read as Scripture in the assemblies or churches of the primitive Chriftians, by Prop. VI. I have above proved (Vol. I. Part I. Ch. X.) from Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Cyprian, &c. that it was the constant custom of the primitive churches to read the facred Scriptures as part of their moft fölemn divine service; I am now to prove that St. Matthew's Gofpel Gospel was always among these books; and that will be evident; 1. From Cyril of Jerusalem; who, enumerating the books which ought to be read in the Churches, and which were read in the Churches, fays, Among the New Testament books there were only four Gospels, and that all others were fpurious and hurtful. After reciting the other books of the New Teftament, he adds a little below, That all others were to be rejected, and as not being read in the church, were not to be read in private by his catechumen-No one acquainted with Cyril's writing, and the other books of his time, can poffibly question whether St. Matthew is included among the four Gospels, which he speaks of, as being read in the churches; especially confidering that he frequently appeals to that Evangelist's Gofpel, as facred; and in one place does appeal to him, as having wrote a Gofpel in teftimony of the truth of Christianity, which ought to be credited. 2. From the council of Laodicea, Can. LIX. where it is declared, that no books which were not of the Canon should be read in the churches, and that those which were of the Canon and ought to be read, were the Gospel according to St. Matthew, &c. 3. From the teftimony of Juftin Martyr it seems not unfairly to be concluded, that St. Matthew's Gospel was read in the primitive churches. The proof I aim at, is as followeth: That Father tells us, that on every Sunday there was an af fembly of the neighbouring Chrifians, and τὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα τῶν ̓Αποςόλων—ἀναγινώσκεται, the Memoirs or Commentaries of the Apofles were read; under this word άñoμmμovúμiara were included those books which we now call Gospels, as is plain from what he faid immediately before, viz. ἐν τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπ ̓ αὐτῶν ἀπομνη‐ μονεύμασιν, ἃ καλεῖται εὐαγγέλια: i. e. in the Commentaries made by the Apoftles, which are called GOSPELS: it follows therefore, that the Gospels, which were made by the Apoftles, were read in the churches of Chriftians in the time of Juftin Martyr; and that St. Matthew's Gofpel was among these is most apparently evident, because Justin in many places of his writings, citing paffages out of this Gofpel, cites them as what he read in, and learnt from, there ἀπομνημονεύμασιν τῶν ̓Αποςόλων, 1, e. from these Commentaries or Gofpels of the Apoftles; i. e. from St. Matthew's Gospel, where those words only are to be found. ARG. IV. The Gospel of St. Matthew is Canonical, because it is found among those which the churches of Syria received as fuch, and which they collected together, and tranflated as Scripture in or near the Apoftles' time, Prop. XV. I fhall only obferve farther, that the Author of this excellent verfion of the New Testament into Syriac (or fome one elfe) at the end of St. Matthew's Gospel has annexed the following teftimony, which it will not be foreign to my purpose to transcribe: la;l Alpaa 1;91: LAD: 12010pɔ laço eat gol sto i. e. The end of the Holy Gospel of the preaching of Matthew, which he preached in Hebrew in the land of Palestine. Thus I have endeavoured to establish the Canonical authority of this Gospel of St. Matthew by various arguments. CHAP. 4 CHA P. IV. Other Arguments to prove the genuine Authority of St. Matthew's Gospel. Bartholomew took it to preach in his Travels. Papias and Hegefippus give Credit to it. The Manichees Objection against this Gofpel. Fauftus's Objection from St. Matthew's oblique Way of Speech (ix. 9.) confidered and refuted. Other Objections confidered. B ESIDES the preceding arguments, I have met with feveral other things, which feem to be no small proof of St. Matthew's Gospel being of genuine and Canonical authority. These are; 1. That St. Bartholomew, who was one of our Saviour's twelve Apoftles, when he went forth to preach and propagate the Chriftian faith, took along with him the Gospel of St. Matthew; and particularly that he preached according to this Gofpel among the Indians, and left it among them at his departure from them and that Pantænus afterwards, viz. in the fecond century, found this Gofpel among them; this is related both by Eufebius, and Jerome, and feems clearly to prove that St. Matthew's Gospel met with a fuitable reception, and was esteemed of the greatest authority even in the Apostles' time, It may indeed be objected, that the Gospel which St. Bartholomew left among the Indians, is faid by Eufebius to have been written in Hebrew letters, and that I have elsewhere © attempted to prove that this very Gospel was that of the Naza renes. To which I answer, that as I have endeavoured largely to prove, that St. Matthew's Gospel was originally written in Greek, fo I easily allow there was a very early version of it made into Hebrew; and this as yet uninterpolated nor enlarged d Vindication of St. Matthew's Gospel against Mr. Whiston, ch. 17, 18, 19. |