that we should never for one moment dream of accepting as truth

called on to bless the Lord.

that which, if we know anything of His Word, we should

The Te Deum, also, which does not date further back than the

instantly and instinctively detect as human tradition used for a

fifth century, likewise speaks of the Apostles and Prophets and

special purpose. But, unfortunately, we have been brought up for

Martyrs as praising God now.

the most part on man's books, instead of the Bible. People draw

From all this it seems to us perfectly clear that the Lord was

their theology from hymns written by men who were saturated

not delivering this as a Parable, or as His own direct teaching;

with tradition; who, when they did write a good hymn generally

but that He was taking the current, traditional teachings of the

spoiled it in the last verse, by setting "death" as the church's

Pharisees, which He was condemning; and using them against

hope, instead of Christ's coming. Hence, hymns are solemnly

themselves, thus convicting them out of their own mouths. We

sung which contain such absurd, paradoxical teaching as the

are quite aware of the objection which will occur to some of our

singing of God's praises while our tongues are seeing corruption,

readers. But it is an objection based wholly on human reasoning,

and "lie silent in the grave".

and on what appears to them to be probable. It will be asked, is it

Persons saturated with such false traditions come to this

possible that our Lord would give utterance in such words

Scripture with minds filled with the inventions, fabrications, and

without giving some warning to us as to the way to which He

imaginations of man; and can, of course, see nothing but their

used them? Well, the answer to such is that, warning has been

own traditions apparently sanctioned by our Lord. They do not

given in the uniform and unanimous teaching of Scripture. His

notice the fact that in the very parable itself the Lord corrected

own words: "they have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear

the false doctrine by introducing the truth of resurrection. But

them", addressed to the Pharisees through "the Rich Man" may

when we read the passage in the light of the whole Word of God,

be taken as addressed to us also. We have (as they had) the

and especially in the light of the context, we see in it the

evidence of the Old Testament (in "Moses and the Prophets"),

traditions of the Pharisees, which were "highly esteemed among

and we have also the evidence of the New Testament, which

men", but were "abomination in the sight of God" (v. 15).

accords with the Old. If we "hear them", it would be impossible

All these traditions passed into Romanism. This is why we

for us to suppose, for a moment, that Christ could be teaching

read in the note of the English Romish Version (the Douay) on

here, that which is the very opposite to that of the whole Word of

Luke 16: "The bosom of Abraham is the resting place of all them

that died in perfect state of grace before Christ's time ­ heaven,

We have the Scriptures of truth; and they reveal to us, in

before, being shut from men. It is called in Zachary a lake

plain, direct, categorical, unmistakable words, that "the dead

without water, and sometime a prison, but most commonly, of

know not anything"; and that when man's breath goeth forth, "in

the Divines, 'Limbus Patrum', for that it is thought to have been

that very day his thoughts perish". It is taken for granted,

the higher part, or brim, of hell", etc. Our Protestant friends do

therefore, that we shall believe what God says in these and many

not recognize this fact; and hence they have not wholly purged

other passages of His Word; and had we not absorbed tradition

themselves from Romish error. The Jews corrupted their religion

from our earliest years we should have at once seen that the

by taking over the Pagan teachings of Greek Mythology.

popular interpretation of this passage is quite contrary to the

Romanism adopted these Jewish traditions of prayers for the

whole analogy of Scripture. We ought to discern, at the very first

dead and added others of her own; and the Reformed Churches

glance at it, that it is unique, and stands out so isolated, by itself,

took over Romish traditions connected with the so-called