BEL

49

that man can only attain unto this hea-[ venly life of the second principle through the new birth in Christ Jesus.-3. The life of the third principle, or of this external and visible world. Thus the life of the first and third principles is common to all men; but the life of the second principle only to a true Christian or child of God.

Behmen wrote several other treati ses, besides the three already enumerated; but these three being, as it were, the basis of all his other writings, it was thought proper to notice them particularly. His conceptions are often clothed under allegorical symbols; and in his latter works he has frequently adopted chemical and Latin phrases to express his ideas, which phrases he borrowed from conversation with learned men, the education he had received being too illiterate to furnish him with them: but as to the matter contained in his writings, he disclaimed having borrowed it either from men or books. He died in the year 1624. His last words were, "Now I go hence into Paradise."

Some of Behmen's principles were adopted by the late ingenious and pious William Law, who has clothed them in a more modern dress, and in a less obscure style. See Behmen's Works; Okely's Memoirs of Behmen.

BELIEF, in its general and natural sense, denotes a persuasion or an assent of the mind to the truth of any proposition. In this sense belief has no relation to any particular kind of means or arguments, but may be produced by any means whatever: thus we are said to believe our senses, to believe our reason, to believe a witness. Belief, in its more restrained sense, denotes that kind of assent which is grounded only on the authority or testimony of some person. In this sense belief stands opposed to knowledge and science. We do not say that we believe snow is white, but we know it to be so. But when a thing is propounded to us, of which we ourselves have no knowledge, but which appears to us to be true from the testimony given to it by another, this is what we call belief. Sce FAITH.

BELIEVERS, an appellation given, toward the close of the first century, to those Christians who had been admitted into the church by baptism, and instructed in all the mysteries of religion. They were thus called in contradistinction to the catechumens who had not been baptized, and were debarred from those privileges. Among us it is often used synonymously with Christian. See CHRIS

TIAN

BENEDICTINES, an order of
monks who professed to follow the
rules of St. Benedict. They were obli-
ged to perform their devotions seven
times in twenty-four hours. They were
obliged always to go two and two toge-
ther. Every day in Lent they fasted till
six in the evening, and abated of their
usual time in sleeping, eating, &c.-
Every monk had two coats, two cowls,
a table-book, a knife, a needle, and a
handkerchief; and the furniture of his
bed was a mat, a blanket, a rug, and a
pillow. The time when this order came
into England is well known, for to it the
English owe their conversion from ido-
latry. They founded the metropolitan
church of Canterbury, and all the ca-
thedrals that were afterwards erected.
The order has produced a vast number
of eminent men.-Their Alcuinus form-
ed the university of Paris; their Diony-
sius Exiguus perfected the ecclesiastical
computation; their Guido invented the
scale of music; and their Sylvester the
organ.

BENEDICTION, in a general sense
the act of blessing, or giving praise to
God, or returning thanks for his favours.
The Jews, it is said, are obliged to re-
hearse a hundred benedictions per day,
of which eighty are to be spoken in the
morning. It was usual to give a bene-
diction to travellers on their taking
leave; a practice which is still preser-
ved among the mor.ks. Benedictions
were likewise given among the ancient
Jews as well as Christians, by imposi-
tion of hands. And when at length the
which
primitive simplicity of the Christian
worship began to give way to ceremony,
they added the sign of the cross,
was made with the same hand as be-
fore, only elevated or extended. Hence
benediction in the modern Romish
church is used, in a more particular
manner, to denote the sign of the cross
made by a bishop or prelate as con-
Benediction is also used for an eccle-
ferring some grace on the people.
siastical ceremony, whereby a thing is
rendered sacred or venerable. In this
sense benediction differs from consecra-
tion, as in the latter, unction is applied,
which is not in the former: thes the
chalice is consecrated, and the pix bles-
sed; as the former, not the latter, is
anointed, though in the common usage
these two words are applied promiscu-
ously. The spirit of piety, or rather of
superstition, has introduced into the Ro-
mish church benedictions for almost
every thing: we read of forms of bene-
dictions for wax candles, for boughs,
for ashes, for church vessels, for orna-

G

fined by several considerations; such as our knowledge of objects, and their different circumstances, as well as our own abilities and opportunities of exercising them Benevolence or good will to others does not imply that we are to

ments, for flags, cr ensigns, arms, first fruits, houses. ships paschal eggs, cilicium, or the hair-cloth of penitents, church-yards &c. In general, these benedictions are performed by aspersions of holy water, signs of the cross, and prayers suitable to the nature of the ce-neglect our own interests. Our salvaremony. The forms of these benedictions are found in the Roman pontifical, in the Roman missal, in the book of ecclesiastical ceremonies, printed in Pope Leo X.'s time, and in the rituals and ceremonies of the different churches, which are found collected in father Martene's work on the rites and discipline of the church.

tion, health, prosperity, and reputation, should all be objects of concern: nor will this clash with the affection we may bear to others; on the contrary, experiencing the importance of these blessings ourselves we shall be anxious for others to possess them also. The duties of benevolence include those we owe to men, purely on the ground of their being of the same species with ourselves; such as sympathy, relief, &c.; those we owe to our country, desiring its honour,

BENEFICENCE, the practice of doing good; active goodness.-Next to justice, the most prominent virtue in the system of morality, is beneficence. Pow-safety, prosperity; those we owe to the er makes us to be feared, riches to be church of God, as love, zeal, &c.; those flattered, learning to be admired; but we owe to families and individuals, as beneficence renders us amiable and use- affection, care, provision, justice, forful in the scale of society. Some quali- || bearance, &c. Benevolence manifests fications are solitary, and centre mostly itself by being pleased with the share of in ourselves; but this is social, diffusive, good every creature enjoys; in a dispoand kind. The objects of our benefi- sition to increase it in feeling an uncence are all those who are in the sphere easiness at their sufferings; and in the of our influence and action, without re- abhorrence of cruelty under every disspect to party or sect. Toward upe- guise or pretext. The desire of doing riors, beneficence expresseth itself in good unconnected with any idea of adrespect, honour, submission, and ser- van age to ourselves is called disintevice; toward inferiors, in liberality, con- rested benevolence, though some doubt descension, protection, and support; whether, strictly speaking, there be any toward equals, in all the offices of love such thing; as benevolence is alway's their cases require, and which they have a tended with a pleasure to our-elves, ability for. It includes all the kind ex- which forms a kind of mental interest. ertions on the behalf of the poor, the So far, however, as we are able to presick, the fatherless, the widow, the dis- fer the good of others to our own, and tressed. &c. and especially those who sacrifice our own comfort for the welare of the household of faith," Gal. vi. fare of any about us, so far it may be 10. The means of beneficence are said to be disinterested. See Hutcheson communication of temporal supplies, on the Passions, p. 13-26; DodGal vi. 6; praver, James v. 16; sym-dridge's Lect. 65; Beattie's Elements pathy, Rom. xii. 15; appropriate advice and conversation, Col iii. 16.-Obligations to beneficence arise from the law of nature, Acts xvii. 26. the law of revelation, Heb. xiii. 16; the relations we stand in to each other, Gal. vi. 1,2;|| the example of Christ and illustrious characters, Acts x. 38; the resemblance we herein bear to the best of Beings,|| Acts xiv. 17; and the pleasure we receive and give in so noble an employ. See BENEVOLENCE, CHARITY, LOVE.

BENEVOLENCE, the love of mankind in general, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. It is distinguished from beneficence, that being the practice, benevolence the desire of doing good. Benevolence must be universal, reaching to every man with out exception; but beneficence cannot be so universal, for it is necessarily con

of Moral Science, vol. i. p. 244-249; Brown's Second Essay on Shaftesbury's Characteristics; and articles LOVE, and SELF-LOVE.

BEREANS, a sect of protestant dissenters from the church of Scotland, who take their title from and profess to follow the example of the ancient Bereans, in building their system of faith and practice upon the Scriptures alone, without regard to any human authority

whatever.

As to the origin of this sect. we find that the Bereans first assembled as a separate society of Christians, in the city of Edinburgh, in the autumn of 1773, and soon after in the Parish of Fettercairn. The opponents of the Berean doctrines allege that this new system of faith would never have been heard of, had not Mr. Barclay, the

BER

51

founder of it, been disappointed of a settlement in the church of Scotland. But the Bereans in answer to this charge appeal not only to Mr. Barclay's doctrine, uniformly preached in the church of Fettercairn, and many other places in that neighbourhood, for fourteen years before that benefice became vacant, but likewise to two different treatises containing the same doctrines, published by him about ten or twelve They admit, years before that period indeed, that previous to May 1773, when the general assembly, by sustaining the king's presentation in favour of Mr. Foo e, excluded Mr. Barclay from succeeding to the church of Fettercairn (notwithstanding the almost unanimous desire of the parishioners) the Bereans had not left the established church, or attempted to erect themselves into a distinct society; but they add, that this was by no means necessary on their part, until by the assembly's decision they were in danger of being not only deprived of his instructions, but of being scattered as sheep without a shepherd And they add, that it was Mr. Barclay's open and public avowal, both from the pulpit and the press, of those peculiar sentiments which now distinguish the Bereans, that was the first and principal, if not the only cause of the opposition set on foot against his settlement in Fettercairn.

assurance

and that without revelation man would never have entertained an idea of his of salvation existence.-2. With regard to faith in Christ, and through his merits, they differ from almost all other sects whatsoever. These they reckon inseparable, or rather the same, because say they) "God hath expressly declared, he that believeth shall be saved; and therefore it is not only absurd but impious, and in a manner calling God a liar, for a man to say I believe the Gospel, but have doubts, nevertheless, of my own salvation." With regard to the various distinctions and definitions that have been given of different kinds of faith, they argue that there is nothing incomprehensible or obscure in the meaning of this word as used in Scripture; but that as faith, when applied to human testimony, signifies neither more nor less than the mere simple belief of that testimony as true, upon the authority of the testifier, so, "the belief of his when applied to the testimony of God, it signifies precisely testimony, and resting upon his veracity alone, without any kind of collateral support from concurrence of any other evidence or testimony whatever." And they insist that, as this faith is the gift of God alone, so the person to whom it is given is as conscious of possessing it as the being to whom God gives life is of being alive; and therefore he enterThe Bereans agree with the great tains no doubts either of his faith or his majority of Christians respecting the consequent salvation through the merits doctrine of the Trinity, which they hold of Christ, who died and rose again for as a fundamental article; and they also that purpose. In a word, they argue that agree in a great measure with the pro- the Gospel would not be what it is held fessed principles of both our established forth to be, glad tidings of great joy, if it churches respecting predestination and did not bring full personal assurance of election, though they allege that these eternal salvation to the believe; which doctrines are not consistently taught in assurance, they insist, is the present ineither church. But they differ from the fallible privilege and portion of every majority of all sects of Christians in va- individual believer of the Gospel-3. rious other important particulars, such Consistently with the above definition as, 1. Respecting our knowledge of the of faith, they say that the sin against Deity. Upon this subject they say, the the Holy Ghost, which has alarmed and majority of professed Christians stam- puzzled so many in all ages, is nothing ble at the very threshold of revelation; else but unbelief; and that he expresand, by admitting the doctrine of natural sion-"it shall not be forgiven neither religion, natural conscience, natural no- in this world nor that which is to come," tices, &c. not founded upon revelation, means only that a person dying in infior derived from it by tradition, they give delity would not be forgiven neither unup the cause of Christianity at once to der the former dispensation by Moses the infidels; who may justly argue, as (the then present dispensation, kingdom, or government of God,) nor under the Mr. Paine in fact does in his Age of Reason, that there is no occasion for any re- Gospel dispensation, which, in respect velation or word of God, if man can dis- of the Mosaic, was a kind of future cover his nature and perfections from world or kingdom to come.-4. The his works alone. But this the Bereans Bereans interpret a great part of the argue is beyond the natural powers of Old Testament prophecies and in parhuman reason; and therefore our know- ticular the whole of the Psalms, exceptledge of God is from revelation alone,ing such as are merely historical or lau

to any church on earth, or any number of churches or of Christians, whether decided by a majority of votes, or by unanimous voices. Neither do they think themselves authorized, as a Christian church, to enquire into each other's political opinions, any more than to examine into each other's notions of philosophy. They both recommend and practise, as a Christian duty, submission to lawful authority; but they do not think that a man by becoming a Christian, or joining their society, is under any obligation by the rules of the Gospel to renounce his right of private judgment upon matters of public or private im

datory, to be typical or prophetical of Jesus Christ, his sufferings, atonement, mediation and kingdom; and they esteem it a gross perversion of these psalms and prophecies to apply them to the experiences of private Christians. In proof of this, they not only urge the words of the apostle, that no prophecy is of any private interpretation, but they insist that the whole of the quotations from the ancient prophecies in the New Testament, and particularly those from the Psalms, are expressly applied to Christ. In this opinion many other classes of protestants agree with them. -5. Of the absolute all-superintending sovereignty of the Almighty, the Be-portance. Upon all such subjects they reans entertain the highest idea, as well as of the uninterrupted exertion thereof over all his works, in heaven, earth, and hell, however unsearchable by his creatures. A God without election, they argue, or choice in all his works, is a God without existence, a mere idol, a nonentity. And to deny God's election, purpose, and express will in all his works is to make him inferior to ourselves.

allow each other to think and act as each may see it his duty; and they require nothing more of the members than a uniform and steady profession of the apostolic faith, and a suitable walk and conversation.

It is said that their doctrine has found converts in various places of Scotland, England, and America; and that they have congregations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley, Stiriing, Cricff, Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose, Fettercairn, Aberdeen, and other towns in Scotland, as well as in London, and various places in England.

For farther particulars of the doctrines of this sect, see the works of Messrs. Barclay, Nicol, Brooksbank, and M Rae. See also Mr. A. M'Lean's Treatise on the Commission, first edi-tion, p. 88. in which Mr. Barclay's notion of assurance is combatted.

As to their practice and discipline, they consider infant baptism as a divine ordinance, instituted in the room of circumcision; and think it absurd to suppose that infants, who all agree are admissible to the kingdom of God in heaven, should, nevertheless, be incapable of being admitted into his visible church on earth. They commemorate the Lord's supper generally once a month; but as the words of the institution fix no particular period, they sometimes celebrate it oftener, and sometimes at more distant periods, as it may suit their general convenience. They meet every Lord's day for the purpose of preaching, praving, and exhorting to love and good works. With regard to admission and exclusion of member, their method|| is very simple: when any person, after hearing the Berean doctrines, professes his belief and a surance of the truths of the Gospel, and desires to be admitted into their communion, he is cheerfully received upon his profession, whatever may have been his former manner of life. But if such a one should afterwards draw back from his good profession or practice they first admonish him, and, if that has no effect, they leave him to himself. They do not think that they have any power to deliver a backsliding brother to Satan; that text, and other similar passages, such as, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," &c they consider as restrict BETHLEHEMITES, a sect called ed to the apostles, and to the inspired also Star-bearers, because they were testimony alone, and not to be extended || distinguished by a red star having five

BERENGARIANS, a denomination, in the eleventh century, which adhered to the opinions of Berengarius, who asserted that the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper are not really and essentially but figuratively changed into the body and blood of Christ. His followers were divided in opinion as to the eucharist. Some allowed them to be changed in effect; others admitted a change in part; and others an entire change, with his restriction, that, to those who communicated unworthily, the elements were changed back again.

BERYLLIANS, so called from Beryllus, an Arabian, bishop of Bozarth, who flourished in the third century. He taught that Christ did not exist before Mary, but that a spirit issuing from God himself, and therefore superior to all human souls, as being a portion of the divine nature was united to him at the time of his birth.

BIB

rays, which they wore on their breast, in memory of the star which appeared to the wise men. Several authors have mentioned this order, but none of them have told us their origin, nor where their convents were situated; if we except Matthew Paris, who says that, in 1257, they obtained a settlement in England, which was at Cambridge, in Trumping

ton-street.

ments.

53

their synagogues every sabbath day: the
number was fifty-four, because, in their
intercalated years, a month being then
added, there were fifty four-sabbaths:
in other years they reduced them to
fifty-two, by twice joining together two
short sections. Till the persecution of
Antiochus Epiphanes, they read only
then prohibited, they substituted in the
the law; but, the reading of it being
room of it fifty-four sections out of the

for their second. These sections were
divided into verses; of which division,
if Ezra was not the author, it was intro-
duced not long after him, and seems to
have been designed for the use of the
Targumists, or Chaldee interpreters;
for after the return of the Jews from the
Babylonish captivity, when the Hebrew
language ceased to be their mother
tongue, and the Chaldee grew into use
instead of it, the custom was, that the
Hebrew, and then interpreted to the
law should be first read in the original
people in the Chaldee language; for
which purpose these shorter sections
were very convenient.

II. BIBLE, History of. It is thought that Ezra published the Scriptures in the Chaldee character, for, that language being generally used among the Jews, he thought proper to change the old Hebrew character for it, which hath since that time been retained only by

BIBLE, the name applied by Christians by way of eminence, to the col-prophets; and when the reading of the lection of sacred writings, or the holy law was restored by the Maccabees, the out of the law served for their first lesScriptures of the Old and New Testa- section which was read every sabbath I. BIBLE, ancient Divisions and Or-son, and the section out of the prophets der of. After the return of the Jews from the Babylonish_captivity. Ezra collected as many copies as he could of the sacred writings, and out of them all prepared a correct edition, arranging the several oooks in their proper order These books he divided into three parts. I. The law. II. The prophets III. The Hagiographia, i. e. the holy writings. 1. The law, contains-1, Genesis ;-2, Exodus;-3, Leviticus;-4, Numbers; -5, Deuteronomy. II. The writings of the prophets are-1, Joshua-2, Judges with Ruth,-3, Samuel;-4 Kings;5, Isaiah ;-6, Jeremiah, with his Lamentations;-7, Ezekiel ;-8. Daniel; -9, The twelve minor prophets,-10, Job-11, Ezra ;--12, Nehemiah;-13 Esther. Ill. The Hagiographia consists of-1, The Psalms.-2, The Proverbs; 3. Ecclesiastes;-4, The Song of Solomon. This division was made for the sake of reducing the number of the sacred books to the number of the let-the Samaritans, among whom it is preters in their alphabet, which amount to twenty-two Afterwards the Jews reckoned twenty-four books in their canon of scripture; in disposing of which the law stood as in the former division, and the prophets were distributed into former and latter: the former prophets are Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the latter prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets. And the Hagiographia consists of the Psalms, the Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, the Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, the Chronicles. Under the name of Ezra they comprehend Nehemiah: this order hath not always been observed, but the variations from it are of no moment The five books of the law are divided into forty-five sections. This division many of the Jews hold to have been appointed by Moses himself; but others, with more probability, ascribe it to Ezra. The design of this division was that one of these sections might be read in

served to this day. Prideaux is of opi-
nion that Ezra made additions in seve-
ral parts of the Bible, where any thing
appeared necessary for illustrating, con-
necting, or completing the work; in
which he appears to have been assisted
by the same Spirit in which they were
first written. Among such additions are
to be reckoned the last chapter of Deu-
teronomy, wherein Moses seems to give
an account of his own death and burial,
and the succession of Joshua after him.
To the same cause our learned author
thinks are to be attributed many other
interpolations in the Bible, which crea-
ted difficulties and objections to the au-
thenticity of the sacred text, no ways to
be solved without allowing them. Ezra
changed the names of several places
which were grown obsolete, and, in-
stead of them, put their new names by
which they were then called in the text.
Thus it is that Abraham is said to have
pursued the kings who carried Lot away
captive as far as Dan; whereas that