nity. We have, I say, words and notions about these things; but as to the things themselves, what do we know? what do we comprehend of them? Can the mind of man do any thing more but swallow itself up in an infinite abyss, which is as nothing? Give itself up to what it cannot conceive, much less express? Is not our understanding brutish, in the contemplation of such things? and is as if it were not? Yea, the perfection of our understanding is, not to understand, and to rest there: they are but the back parts of eternity and infinity that we have a glimpse of. What shall I say of the trinity, or the subsistence of distinct persons in the same individual essence; a mystery by many denied, because by none understood; a mystery whose very letter is mysterious. -How little a portion is heard of him!"

In the epistles of Paul there are various instances in which, having mentioned the name of GoD, he stops to pay him adoration. Thus, when describing the dishonour put upon him by worshipping and serving the creature more than the Creator, he pauses and adds, Who is blessed forever, Amen! Thus also, speaking of Christ, as having given himself to deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of GOD and Our Father, he adds, To HIM be glory for ever and ever, Amen! And thus, when having spoken of the exceeding abundant grace shown to himself as the chief of sinners, he adds, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen! It is the name of God that gives authority, importance and glory, to every person or thing with which it stands connected. The glory of man, above the rest of the creatures, consisted in this: God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him. This, and not merely the well-being of man, is the reason given why murder should be punished with death. He that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; FOR IN THE IMAGE OF GOD MADE HE MAN. This is the great sanction to the precepts and threatenings of the law: That thou mayest fear that fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD. Herein consists the great evil of sin ; and of that sin especially which is committed immediately against God. Know thou therefore, and see, that it is an evil thing, and bitter, that thou hast forsaken THE LORD THY GOD, and that my

fear is not in thee, saith the Lord of hosts. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him; but if a man sin against the LORD who shall intreat for him? The sin of the men of Sodom, though it had reached to heaven, yet was not completed till they persevered in it, when smitten of God with blindness. Pharaoh and the Egyptians had greviously oppressed Israel; but it was by persevering in their sins, notwithstanding the judgments of God, and presuming to follow his people into the sea, that they brought upon themselves destruction. Of this nature was the disobedience of Saul, the boasting of Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, the pride of Nebuchadnezzar, the profanation of the sacred vessels by Belteshazzar, and the shutting up John in prison by Herod. Each of these men had done much evil before; but, by setting themselves directly against GOD, they sealed their doom. It is on this principle that idolatry and blasphemy were punished with death under the theocracy, and that under the gospel, unbelief and apostacy are threatened with damnation.

GOD manifested himself in creation, in giving laws to his creatures, in the providential government of the world, and in other ways; but all these exhibited him only in part; it is in the gospel of salvation, through his dear Son, that his whole character appears; so that from invisible, he in a sense becomes visible. No one had seen God at any time; but the only begotten Son, who dwelleth in the bosom of the Father, he declared him. What is it that believers see in the gospel, when their minds are spiritually enlightened? It is the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. Whatever is visible in an object is called its face. Thus we speak of the face of the heavens, of the earth, and of the sea; and in each of these the glory of God is to be seen: but in the face of Jesus Christ; that is, in that which has been manifested to us by his incarnation, life, preaching, miracles, sufferings, resurrection, and ascension, the glory of God is seen in a degree that it has never been seen in before. The Apostle, when speaking of God in relation to the gospel, uses the epithet blessed with singular propriety: According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. The gospel is the grand emanation from the fountain of blessedness, an overflow of the divine goodness. It is the infinitely happy God, pouring VOL. IV.

36

forth his happiness upon miserable sinners, through Jesus Christ. The result is, that as God is the Great Supreme, he must in all things occupy the supreme place. Thus we are required, by his law, to love him first, and then to love our neighbour as ourselves; and thus the coming of Christ is celebrated, first as giving glory to God in the highest, and then peace on earth and good will to men. Affectionately yours,

?

A. F.

LETTER V.

ON THE NECESSITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION.

My dear Brother,

It would be improper, I conceive, to rest the being of God an scripture testimony; seeing the whole weight of that testimony must depend upon the supposition that he is, and that the sacred scriptures were written by holy men inspired by him. Hence the scriptures, at their outset, take this principle for granted yet in the way that the works of nature imply a divine first cause, so does the work of revelation. Men were as morally unable to write such a book as they were naturally unable to create the heavens and the earth. In this way the sacred scriptures prove the being of a God.

I wish to offer a few remarks on the necessity of a divine rev elation on the evidence of the Bible being written by inspiration of God, so as to answer this necessity-and on its uniform bearing on the doctrine of salvation through the cross of Christ: but, as this is more than can be comprehended in a single letter, I must divide it into two or three.

:

The

First I shall offer a few remarks on the necessity of a revelation from God. In establishing this principle, let it be observed, we are not required to depreciate the light of nature. word of God is not to be exalted at the expense of his works. The evidence which is afforded of the being and perfections of God, by the creation which surrounds us, and of which we ourselves are a part, is no more superceded by revelation, than the law is rendered void by faith. All things which proceed from God are in harmony with each other. If all the evidence which the heathens have, of the being and perfections of God, consist of traditional

accounts derived originally from revelation, there must be great uncertainty in it, as in every thing else that comes through such an uncertain medium; and if so, though they should disbelieve it how are they without excuse? and how are we to understand the reasonings of the Apostle, on the subject? he appears to represent the wrath of God as revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, because that which may be known is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him, that is, his eternal power and godhead, are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made: so that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE. This is equal to saying, God is invisible, but his works are visible: his eternal power and godhead are manifest from the things which he has created. All things which have a beginning must originate in a cause without beginning; so that they are without excuse. Whether the heathens in any instance have, or have not, actually perceived the eternal power and godhead of the Creator, merely from the works of his hands, is a question that I shall not undertake to answer. If such a case never occurred, it is sufficient for my argument that it has not been for want of objective light, but of a state of mind to receive it. In pleading for the necessity of divine revelation, as the means of enlightening and saving sinners, we should beware of imitating those who, in arguing for the necessity of divine grace to renew and sanctify them, represent them as physically unable to do good without it, and so excuse them in their sins. Every mouth will be stopped, and all the world, whatever advantages or disadvantages they may have possessed in these respects, will be found guilty before God. It is true, that the guilt of those who have lived in sin without the light of revelation, will be much less than theirs who have continued in their sins under it; but all are without excuse before God. Divine revelation is necessary to a competent knowledge of God, and of his will concerning us. This principle will be evident by a review of two others; namely, the insufficiency of human reason for these important purposes, and the connexion between revelation and faith.

1. Let us review the insufficiency of human reason to obtain from the mere light of nature a competent knowledge of God, and