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Full text of "The Christian Religion: Illustrated and Proved by
Scripture Testimony, as Foretold by Moses and ...
"
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TRB
CHRISTIAN RELIGION,
ILLUSTRATED AND PROVED
SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY,
FORETOLD BY MOSES AND THE PROPHETS^
AHD
FDBTHES IILUST&ATEDBT
JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES.
« BlewMd are they that do hU commandmente, that they may have
right to the tree of lifS) and ntay enter in thxongh
the gates into the oity."
BY JOHNJUOCKE.I ^ ^ ,''
BOSTON :
PRESS OF J. HOWE, No. 39, MERCHANTS ROW.
1843.
J/0/
'10
Entered according to Act of Congresa, in the year 1843, by
JOHN LOCKE,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Coart in Massachusetts.
TO THE READER
The Compiler would be most happy if he could ei^
gage the candid attention o( the reader to the important
contents of the following pages. But he is most earnest
m his wishes that every person into whose hands the
following work may fidl, would examine it carefully and
impartially, and not pronounce judgment against it, till
be has, in sincerity and good conscience, deliberately
considered its various and interesting matter. Our Lord
cautioned his disciples to take heed how they heard; and.
surely there is the same necessity in our days, to take
heed how we read, lest oiu the one hand we should close
hastily and incautiously with every new doctrine pre*
sented to us, and on the other hand should reject every
one, merely because it seems at first reading to contro*
vert our pre-conceived opinions. The compiler is not
ashamed to confess his entire confidence in the doc-
trines which he here presents to the j^ublic. He is
happy also to find, that he is not quite singular in his'
sentiments, but that many others both learned and un«
learned, bear testimony to the same truths. He thought
it his duty, therefore, to endeaver to make knoMm to his
fellow creatures, what he has found to be so profitable
to himself; and he will venture to affirm, that the reader
vfiH find nothing in Ma work, but what will have a ten*
IV
• dency to make mankind good and virtuotis, if they will
live accordingty ; what every good man therefore must
needs wish might be true, and w^at Q God alone is life, it fol-
lows indisputably, that God, from his life,
quickenetfi, or giveth life to every man.
This being the case, it follows also, that
God entereth by influx into every man,
with all his divine life, that is, with alt his
divine love, and all his divine wisdom,
these two constituting his life, even as the
sun of this world with all its essensc, con-
sisting of heat and light, entereth by influx
into every tree, fruit and flower, and every
object taketh in its portion of this common
influx ; yet the sun does not divide his
light and heat. Here the words of our
Lord may be applied : Your Father mak-
eth his sun to rise on the evil and on the
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust. Matt. v. 45.
The Lord also is omnipresent in his whole
essense, and it is impossible for him to take
any thing from it, but he giveth it whole,
70
and affords every man a capacity of taking
little or much. He says, also, that he will
abide with those who keep his command-
ments, and that the faithful are in him, and
he in them ; all things are full of God, and
every one takes his portion from that
fulness.
Man is created to this end, that he may
be conjoined with God, for he is created a
native of heaven, and also of this world ;
and as a native of heaven, he is spiritual,
but as a native of this world, he is natural ;
and the spiritual man has power to think of
God, and to be affected with what proceeds
from him, and also to love him ; whence it
follows that he has a capacity of being con-
joined with God ; but conjunction with God
can be formed only through the medium of
the Son. For the Scripture says, that the
Father was never either seen or heard,
neither can be, consequently that he does
not operate in man of himself, as he is in.
his essense, for the Lord says, No one
knoweth the Father, but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal him. Matt,
xi. 27. The reason is, because he is in the
inmost principles of all things relating to
wisdom and love, with which man can have
no possible conjunction. Therefore Moses
was told, that no pfian can see God and live.
Exod. xxxiii. 20. But that conjunction
may be had with the Father by the Son,
71
who is in the bosom of the Father. He
alone has seen the Father, therefore he
alone can rev(;al the things that are of God>
as he declares in the following passages:
In that day ye shall know that I am in my
Father, and ye in me, and I in ,you. Johti
xiv, 20. I have given them the glory which
thou hast given moj that they may be one,
as we are one, I in them and thou in me.
John xvii. Jesus says, I am the way, the
truth and the life, no man cometh unto the
Father but by me ; he that seeth me seeth
the Father also, and he that knoweth me
knoweth the Father. John xiv. 6. I am
the dooip, by me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved ; but he that climbeth some
other way, the same is a thief and a robber*
John X. If a man abide not in me, he is
east forth as a branch, ..and is withered, and
man gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned, John xv. 6.^ —
The reason is, because the Lord our
Saviour is Jehovah, the Father himself, in
a human form ; for Jehovah descended, and
Was made man, that he might be able to
approach to man, and man to him, and thus
conjunction be effected, and by conjunc-^
tlon man have salvation arid eternal life.
The reciprocaltty of conjunction is taught
by the Lord when speaking of Philip, be-
lieve me, that I am in the Father and the
Father in toe. John xiv. 10.
n
The Lord declares the same of his con*
junction with man, that it is reciprocal;
for he says, Abide in me and T in you, he
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit. John xv. 4, 5* I
In that day ye shall know that I am in the
Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John
xiv. 20. He that heareth my voice and
openeth the door, I will come in to him,
and sup with him, and he with me. Rev.
iii. 20. From these plain expressions, it
is evident that the conjunction of the Lord
and man is reciprocal ; and it follows, of
course, that man ought to conjoin himself
with the Lord, in order that the Lord may
conjoin himself with him, for otherwise
there can be no conjunction. This recip-
rocal conjunction of the Lord and man, is
effected by means of charity and faith, for
so far as man is in the good of charity, and
the truths of faith, so far he is in the Lord,
and the Lord in him.
The whole man, according to his measure
and quality, with regard to his mind or his
essential quality, is in every wor^L which
proceeds from him. By mind, is meant the
affection of his love, and the principle of
thought thence derived, these form his nn**
ture,. and in general his life ; works viewed
in this light, are like so many mirrors re-
flecting the true and real image of the man.
The case is similar with brutes; a wolf
L
will be a wolf, a tiger is a tiger, in all hii
actions; the same is true of a sheep and a
kid in all their actions ; in like manner, all
man's works partake of his true nature. —
The Lord says, A good man, out of the
good treasure of his heart bringcth forth
that which is good, and an evil man, out of
the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth
forth that which is evil. Luke vi. 45,
Charity and works are distinct from eacli
other, like will and action, and like an af-
fection of the mind and an operation of the
body ; also like the internal man and the
external, and these are distinct from each
other like cause and effect, for causes of all
things are formed in the internal man, ami
the effects thence resulting are produced
in and bj* the external. Hence charity, as
it has relation to the internal man, consists
in willing what is good ; and good works,
as ^hey have relation to the external man^
consist in doing good, from and under the
influence of a good will.
The will also seeks out in the under-
standing, the means and methods of at-
taining its ends, which are effects ; and thus^
in the understanding, it betakes itself to
the liglit, in order that it may discern, not
only the reason why, but also the occasions
when and bow it should determine itself to
actions, and thus produce its effects, which
are works ;'and at the same time, in the un-
7
derstanding, it seeks and finds its power of
action ; from whence it follows that works,
in respect to their essense, are of the will;
in respect to form, are of the understand-
ing ; and in respect to act, are of the body ;
and thus charity descends into good works.
Man himself, is like a tree ; in its seed, there
lies hid as it were, an end, intention, and
purpose, of producing fruits; in which re-
spect the seed corresponds with the will of
man, which, .as was observed, contains those
three things The seed, from its interior
jparts, springs forth from the earth, and
clothes itself with branches, buds, and
leaves, and thus provides itself with means
adapted to its ends, which are fruits ; thus
a tree corresponds with the understanding
in man, and its fruits correspond to goo<
works in man. St. Paul declares that man
is a temple of God; in this case, salvation
and eternal life are the end, intention and
purpose of man, as a temple of God. The
doctrines of faith and cnarity he obtains
from his parents, his masters, and spiritual
teachers; and when he comes to riper
years, he collects them from the Word, and
other hooks of instruction ; all these are
means conducive to the end, and in these
there is correspondence with the under-
standing. Lastly ; he is directed, and deter-
mined to the performance of uses, accord-
ing to the doctrines he has imbibed as
75
means, and this is effected by acts of the
body, which are called good works, and
thus the end, by means of causes,- produces
effects, which effects,. in regard to their.es-
sense, are of the end ; in regard to their
form, are of the doctrines of the church ;
and in regard to act, are of uses. Thus
man becomes a temple of God.
The reason why a true faith abideth with
those who believe the Lord to be the Son
of God is, because they also believe him to
be God, and faith is not faith unless it be
directed toward God ; and according to the
Lord's words to Peter, the true church is
built on this faith. When Peter said, Thou
art the Christ the Son of the living God ;
Blessed art thou Simon, and I say unto thee,
upon this rock will I build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. Matt. xvi. 16, 17, 18.
By rock is meant divine truth, which is
the primary or chief of all truths ; the sec-
ond principle of the true faith is, to be-
lieve that the Lord is God of heaven and
earth ; this is proved by his words in Matt,
xxviii. 18* That he hath all power in
heaven and in earth. The third mark of
true faith is, that they believe that the Lord
is one with the Father, and is the Father
himself in the humanity. This is proved
by the Lord's word, that he and the Father
are one. John x. 80. These three precioua
76
marks of falthi are a treasure in the hearts,
and a jewel in the mouths of all those who
truly believe the Lord to be God of heaven
and earth.
THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY.
From the doctrine of Faith, we next
proceed to doctrine of Charity, for Faith
and Charity are conjoined like truth and
good, or like light and heat in time of
spring. We use this similitude, because
spiritual light which is the light that pro-
ceedeth from the sun of the spiritual worfd,
in its essense is truth, and in consequence
truth in that world, shines with a splendor
according to its purity, and spiritual heat,
which also proceeds from the same sun, in
its essense is good. Hence it follows, that
there is a similitude between these two and
the two properties of the same name in the
natural world ; that is to say, that as by
tlieir i^onjunction the earth puts forth its
blossoms, so by their conjunctions the hu-
man mind puts forth its blossoms, but with
this distinction, that the blossoming of the
earth is occasioned by natural heat and
light, whereas the blossoming of the human
mind is occasioned by spiritual heat and
light, and of consequence this latter blos-
soming, as being of a spiritual nature, con-
sists of wisdom and intelligence. There is
also a correspondence between the earth
and the human mind. Hence the mind,
wherein faith is conjoined with charity, and
eharity with faith, is in the Word likened
to a garden, and is also understood and sig-
nified by the garden of Eden.
All things in the universe which are in
divine order, have relation to good and
truth ; there is nothing in heaven, nor in
the world, which does not respect these
two principles. The reason is, because
both good and truth proceed from God,
from whom are all things ; hence it appears
how necessary it is for man to know what
good atid truth are, and how they have a
mutual regard to each other, and are recip-
rocally conjoined. Divine order requires
that good and truth should be conjoined,
and not be separated, that so they may be
one, and not two, for they proceed in con-
junction from God, and they are in conjunc-
tion in heaven, and therefore they ought to
be in conjunction in the church. This con-
junction is in heaven called the heavenly
marriage, for all there are the subjects of
such marriage ; thus the Lord is called a
bridegroom and husband, while heaven and
also the church are called the bride and
wife. Hence it is evident that good loves
truth, and that truth in return loves good,
and that they have a mutual desire to be
conjoined ; that member of the churcb»
78'
therefore, who has no such love and desire,
is not a subject of the hearenly marriage,
for the church is not in him.
Man is so created, as to be, at one and
the same time, both in the spiritual world
and in the natural world ; and being so
'created, he is endowed with an internal
and an external ; with the good, the inter-
rial is in heaven and its light, and the ex-
ternal in the world and its light, which
latter is with them illuminated by the light
of heaven, so that the internal and external
act in unity, like cause and effect ; but with
the bad the internal is in hell and in its
light, which light, with respect to that of
heaven, is thick darkness. The internal
and external man of which we have been
speaking, are the internal and external of
the spirit of man, for the body does noth-
ing from itself, but from the spirit which is
within it ; the spirit of man, after its sepa-
ration from the body, retains the same ca-
pacity of thinking and willing, of speakini
and acting, as before ; thought and wil
then, constitute its internal, and speech
and action its external.
Man is not born for the sake of himself,
but for the sake of others, or else no socie-
ty could be kept together, nor could any
good exist in it. It is a common saying,
that every man's nearest neighbor is him-
self; but the doctrine of charity teaches in
7fl
what sense this saying is to be understood.
Every one is bound to provide for himself
the nesessaries of life, food, raiment, a house
to dwell in, and other things, which the
wants of civil life, and his particular call-
ing require ; he is further bound to provide
such things, not only for himself, but also
for his family, and not only for the present
time, but also for the lime to come, for
otherwise being in want of all things, he
could be in no state or capacity of exer-
cising charity. But in what sense a man
ought, to regard himself as his nearest
neighbor, may appear from the following
similar cases. Every man ought to provide
convenient food and raiment for his body,
this must be the first object of his care ;
but the end in view must be, that he may
be in a state to serve his fellow citizens,
his country, the church, and thus the Lord.
Hence it appears, what is first in respect
to time, and what is first in respect to end,
and that the object which is first in respect
to end, is that, to which all intermediate
objects have reference ; this case may be
compared with that of a man who buildeth
a house, his first business is to lav the foun-
dation, but the foundation is laid for the
sake of the house, and the house is built
for the sake, of a place to dwell in.
To love our neighbor, is not only to will
and do good to a relation, a friend, and a
8fr
good naaiii but also to a strani^r, an enem^Tt
and a bad main. Charity towards a relation
and friendi is expressed by direct acts of
kindness; but towards an enemy and a
wicked person, by indirect acts of kind-
ness, as by exhortation, by correction, atod
by punishment for their amendment. Thus
a father expresseth his love toward his chil-
dren by correcting them when they do
amiss ; and on the other hand, if he do not
correct them when they need correction,
he then loves their vices, and such love
cannot be called charity.
Charity has its residence in the internal
man, and when a man possessed of charity
resists an enemy, and punishes the guilty,
and chastiseth the evil, he effectetb this by
means of the external man, and of conse-
quence, when he hath effected it, he re-
turneth into the charity which isjn the in-
ternal man, and then, as far as he is able,
or as far as it is expedient, wisheth well to
him whom he has punished, and from a
principle of good will doeth him good. —
Charity, whera it is genuine, is always at-
tended with zeal for what is good, which
ze^l in the external man may look like an-
ger and jflaming fire, yet on the repentance
of its adversary, it is instantly extinguished
and appeased.
As man is born to eternal life, and is in-
roduced into it by the church, therefore
81
the church ought to be loved by him as his
neighbor in.a higher degree, for she teaches
the means that lead to eternal life, and in-
troduces him into it, leading him to it by
the truths of doctrine, and introducing him
into it by the goods of life. We do not-
mean that the priesthood should be loved
in a superior degree, but that the good and
truth of the church should be loved, and
the priesthood on their account, since the.
priesthood is designed only to act as a ser-
vant to such good and truth, and should be
respected in proportion to the service which
it yields. There is also a further reason
why the church is our neighbor and enti-
tled to a superior degree of love, and con-
sequently to be ranked above our country,
and this is, because man, by his country is
initiated into civil, but by the church into
spiritual life, which latter distinguishes man
from a mere animal ; besides, civil life is
but temporal, and it comes to its end, and
is as if it had never been, whereas spiritual
life, having no end, is eternal, and may
therefore be said to have a real essense or
being.
They who love the kingdom of the Lord,
love the Lord above all things, and are thus
influenced more than others by love to God,
for the church in heaven and throughout
the earth, is the Lord*s body, the members
thereof being in the Lord and the Lord in
82
them. Love, therefore, towards the king-
dom of the Lord, is love towards our neigh-
bor, in all its fulness. Love to the Lord,
is a universal love, and is consequently in
all and every thing that belongs to spiritual
life, as well as in all and every thing that,
belongs to natural life, for love has its resi-
dence in the highest principles, and the
highest descends by influx into the lower,
communicating life to them, just as the will
entereth into the whole of the intention
and thence descends into action, and as the
understanding enters into the whole of the
thought, and thence into the speech ;—»•
wherefore the Lord saith, Seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and
all things shall be added unto you. Matt.
vi, 33. That the kingdom of God, and of
the heavens, is the Lord*is kingdom, is plain
from this passage in Daniel, And behold,
one like the Son of Man came with the
clouds of heaven, and there was given hitn
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that
all peoples, nations, and languages should
serve him : his dominion is an everlastinj
dominion, which shall not pass away, an<
his kingdom that which shall not be de-
stroyed. Chap, vii, 13, 14.
The reason why good is our neighbor is,
because good belongs to the will, and the
will is the essense of the life of man ; truth
'n the understanding U also bur neighbor,
83
X
but only so far as it proceeds from good in
^ the will, for good in the will forms itself
in the understanding, and there renders
itself visible in the light of reason, to love
what is good in another from a principle of
goodness in ourselves, is genuine love to«
wards our neighbor, for in this case, our
own and our neighbor's goodness mutually
kiss, and conjoin themselves together.
This tenet, that it is the first part of
charity to do no evil to our neighbor, and
the second to do him good, occupies th-6
first place in the doctrine of charity, for it
is as a door to it; to will evil and to do
good, are in their nature opposite to each
other, for evil is grounded in hatred toward
our neighbor, and good in love toward himj
or, in other words, evil is our neighbor's
enemy, and good his friend, which two can-
not possibly exist together in one and the
same mind, that is, evil in the internal man,
and good in the external. That a man can-
not do good which is truly so, before evil
is put away, for the Lord says, Do men
gatner grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles 1
A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good
fruit. Matt. vii. 16, 17. Wo unto you
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye
make clean the outside of the cup and the
platter, but within they are full of extor-
tion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee,
cleanse first that which is within the cup
84
iStnd platter, that the outside of them may
be clean also. Matt xxiiu 25, 26.
Man ought to purify himself from evils,
and not wait for trie Lord to purifj' him bpr
an immediate act of his power, for in this
case he would be like a servant* with his
face and clothes all bedaubed with soot and
dirt, who would go to his master, and sa^,
master, wash me. Would not his master in
such a case, naturally say to him, thou
foolish servant, what is it thou sayest: lo^
there is water, soap, and a towel, and hast
thou not hands of thy own, and strength to
use them? Go and wash thyself. Thus too
will the Lord God say unto his servant.
The means of purification are provided by
me, use then these, my gifts and talents, as
thy own, and thou shalt be purified.
It is the first part of charity to put away
evil, and the second to do good ; for it is a
universal law, that so far as a person wills
no evil, he wiileth good; consequently, so
far as he turneth himself away from hell,
whence all evil ascendetb, he turneth him-
self towards heaven, whence all good de-
scendeth, and therefore, so far as any one
rejects the devil, he is accepted by the
Lord, but no man can serve two masters.
No man is able, of his own. power and
Ms own strength to purify himself from
yils, and yet such cannot be effected with-
•ut the power and strength of man as his
6ft
own, for without this, no oiie would be
able to fight against the flesh and its lusts,
which nevertheless is required of all. By
man's being created an image of God, is
meant his reception of life, that is, of love
and wisdom, from God ; and by his being
created a likeness of God is meant his pos-
sessing add exercising such life, as his own,
but yet in dependence on the Di%'ine
Giver; thus it is plain, that man, being
endowed with reason, and thereby exalted
above the beasts, ought to resist evils by
virtue of the power and strength given
him of the Lord, which in every respect
of feeling and of sense appear to him as
his own, and this appearance is communica*-
ted to every man by the Lord, for the sake
of regeneration, conjunction, and salvation.
But for men to think that they shall go
to heaven, and for this purpose they must
do good, this is not to regard recompense
as an end, and to ascribe merit to works;
for such persons are not influenced by a
confidence in the reward to which merit
entitles them, but by a belief in the promise
made of grace. To these the delight of
doing good to their neighbour is a reward,
which -is eternal and infinite!}' superior to
every natural delight. They who are in the
enjoyment of this delight, are unwilling to
hear of merit, for they love to do good,
and in this perceive true blessedness, and
8
it grieves them to have it supposed that
they do good for the sake of recompense.
They are like such as do good to their
friends for the sake of friendship, to a
brother because he is a brother, to a wife
and children, because they are wife and
children, td their country, because it is
their country, ami thus whose actions are
dictated by friendship and love.
'But the case is very different with those
who in their works consider recompense
as the on}y end worth regard ; gucfa persons
are Hke those who make professions of
friend^ip for the sake of gain and interest ;
thence may appear the true ground and
nature of the conjunction of love to God
and love towards our neighbour ; it fe an
effect of the influx of the love of God
towards mankind, the reception of which
by man, and his co-operation, is love towards
f>ur neighbour, for the Lord says. In that
day ye shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you. John xiv. 20.
ON FREE WILL.
Every man is endowed with freedom of
will in spiritual things; were it. not so, of
what u$e would be the preaching of minis-
ters, instructing us that we must believe in
God^ be converted, and live a life according
I
87
to the command ments in the Word, that
we must fight against the lusts of (he fleshy
and prepare ourselires to become new crea«»
tures, with much more to the same purpose.
Every person of sounti rieason must con*
elude, that all such injunctions arje mere
empty sounds unless man has free-will in
what ever concerns his salvation, and to
deny such freedom, is contrary to common
sense.
How plain is it for any one to see, if he
can but think from reason elevated above
the sensualities of the body, that life is not-
creatable. For what is life, but the inmost
activity of love and wisdom, which are in
God, and which are God? He whose eyes
are open to see thus tar, may also see
farther, that this life cannot possibly be
transcribed into any man, unless love and
wisdom be transcribed into him with it,
and who can deny that all the good of love
and all the truth of wisdom are from God
alone, and that as man receiveth them from
God, in the same proportion he has life
from God, and is said to be born of God,
that is to be regenerated; but in proportion
as a man doth not receive charity and faith
from God, he doth not receive life, which
in itself is life from God, but from hell,
which life is inverted life, and called in
the Holy Scriptures, spiritual death. From
what has been said we may perceive that the
88
following things are not creatable 1, what
is infinite ; 2, love and wisdom ; .3, life ;
4, light and heat ; 5, activity, considered in
itself; but that the organs receptive of the
Above, are creatable, and are created ; light
is not created, but its recipient ors:an» the
eye, is created ; sound is not created, but its
recipient organ the ear, is. It is a law of
creation, that wherever there are things
active, there are also things passive, and that
these two should join themselves together
into one, if the active were creatablcas the
passive are, there would have been no need
of the sun, or of the heat and light thence
proceeding, but all created things might
have subsisted without them ; whereas the
fact is, that were the sun with its heat and light
to be removed, the whole universe of crea-
tion* would become a chaos ; the same
would be the case with man, isupposing
that spiritual light and heat, which in their
assense are love ami wisdom, were not to
enter into him by influx, and be received
by him ; for the whole man is nothing but
an organized form adapted to the reception
of heat and light, both from the natural
world and the spiritual. To deny that man
is a form receptive of love and wisdom
from God, would be to deny the doctrine
of influx, and consequently that aU good is
from God ; in which case conjunction with
Ood must also be denied, so that it would
be absurd to talk of man's being the habi^
tation and temple of God.
That man would have no free-will in
civil, moral, and natural concerns, unless
he had free-will in spiritual, is evident from
this circumstance, that spiritual thinss
which are called theological, have their
residence in the highest region of the
human mind, like a sole in its body. The
reason why they reside in that region, is
because there is the door, by which the
Lord enters into man« below them reside
whatever relates to civil, moral, and natural
concerns, which receive all their life from
the spiritual things that reside above them,
and since life is derived by influx from the
Lord, entering in at the supreme parts of
the soul, and the life of man consists in a
power to think and will, and thence to
speak and act, in freedom ; it follows of
course that his free-will in ))oIitical and
natural matters must be derived from this
origin, and from no other. By virtue <^
this spiritual freedom., he is gifted with a
perception of what is good and true, and
of what is just and right in civil matters^
which perception constitutes the very
essence of the understanding.
It is generally acknowledged throughout
the Christian world that the Word, is in an
extensive sense, the law, or a book of laws
for the regulation of man's life, that he
8*
90
may attain eternal life, and what is more
frequently insisted on therein, than that
he should do good, and not evil, and that
he should believe in God, and not in idols.
Moreover,, the Word abounds with injunc-
tions and exhortations to obedience, and
with blessings and promises of rewards for
those who practise its precepts, and with
curses and threatenings against those who do
not practise them. But what purpose would
all this be, 'unless man had free-will in
spiritual things. Supposing man to enter-
tain this idea, that he has no power, to
linderstand, to will, or to-do any thing in
relation to spiritual things, he would nat-
urally ask what then is religion, which
consists in doing good, but an empty sound,
and what is the Church without religion,
and what then are heaven and hell, but
fabulous devices invented by priests, to
catch the ears of the vulgar, and thereby
raise themselves to honour and profit?
Hence the question, who can do good of
himself, or who acquire faith of himself?
the consequence of which, is that they
become regardless of both^, and live like
pagans. But do you, my friend, flee from
evil, and do good and believe irt the Lord
with your whole heart, and your whole
soul, and then the Lord will love you, a^d
will give you love as a principle of action,
and faith as a principle of belief, and then
91
jrou will do good from love, arid will believe
from faith amounting to trust and confi-
dence, and if you persevere in this course,
reciprocal conjunction will be effected be-
tween you and the Lord, and this is the '
essence of salvation and of eternal life.
Predestination is a birth conceived and
brought forth by the faith of the present
Churf.h, because it springs from the belief
of man's absolute impotence, and total
want of free-will, in spiritual things; to
which may be added as a further cause of
its production, the supposition that on man^s
part the convertion to God is inanimate, in
which he is acted upon like a stock or a
stone.
It is a primary-law of order, that man
should be an image of God, consequently
that he should be perfected in love and
wisdom, and thus become more and more
such an image ; but without free-will in
spiritual things, by which he has the power
to turn himself to God and enter into
mutual conjunction with him, such opera-
tion would be to no purpose, for order is
that from which and according to which
the \trhole world and all things were created.
God cannot act contrary to order, because
that would be to act contrary to himself;
of course h^ leads every man according to
order. Su pposing it possible for man to have
been, created without free-will in spiritual
things, what could have been more easy to an
oiDDipotent God, than to cause all mankind
to believe in the Lord? Would it not have
been in his pqwer to have conferred this
faith on every man, immediately by hia
absolute power, and by making that op-
eration of it which is continually at work
to effect man's salvation irresistible? But to
this reasoning we reply in the words of
Abraham, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither would they be persuaded
though one rose from the dead. Luke
xvi. SI. N \
OF REPENTANCE.
After treating on Faiths Charity, and
Free-will, Repentance comes next in order
for consideration, since true faith and gen-
uine charity are not attainable without re-
pentance, and none can do the work of
repentance without free-will. There are
several things which prepare man for the
church, and introduce him inte it, but acta
of repentance alone effect a formatioti af
the church in him ; apts of repentance are
such as make a m?m cease to will, and in
consequence cease to practise evils, which
are sins against God ; for repentance to be
efficacious must effect the will, and thence
the thought, consequently it must be aatusj
and not merely of the lips^ That repent^
ance is the first constituent of the church,
appears evidently from the Word, for John
the Baptist, who was sent before to prepare
men for that church which the Lord was
about to establish ; while he baptized,
preached at the same time repentance, be-
cause by baptism was signified spiritual
washing, which is cleansing from sins ; this
be did in Jordan, because Jordan signified
introduction into the church, being the first
boundary of the land of Canaan, where
the church- was established. The Lord
himself also preached repentance for the
remission of sins, thus teaching that repent-
ance is the first constituent of the church,
and that as a man practises it, his sins are
removed.
That man cannot possibly have the
church in him until his sins be removed ;
for who can introduce sheep and lambs into
bis fields, until he has driven out the wild
beasts? Who can form a garden on a piece
of ground which is overrun with thorns and
briars, before he has rooted out those nox-
ious plants ? The case is similar with re-
spect to the evils in man, which are like so
many wild beasts, with which the church
could no more dwell together, than a man
could dwell in a den with tigers and leop-
ards. That actual repentance is absolutely
necessary, and that man's salvation depends
on it, is ]>lain from many passages in the
Qui
Word, such as tjie following: Jesus began
to preach and say, Repent ye, for the king-
dom of heaven is at hand. Again, Exeept
ye repent, ye shall all likewise parish. —
Again, Repent ye, and be converted, thajt
your sins may be blotted out. There is
joy in heaven over one sinner that repent-
eth ; and in a great variety of passages the
doctrine of repentance is taught as abso^
lutely necessary to salvation. Should it-
be asked how repentance is to be perform-
ed, I answer. Actually by man's examin-
ing himself, knowing and acknowledging
bis sins, making supplication to the Lord,
and beginning a new life. There can be
no repentance without self-examination;
But to what purpose is self-examination
except that a man may know his sinsi
And to what purpose is such know6ldge,
but that he may acknowledge them to be
in him ? And to what purpose are these
three duties, but that he may confess his
sins before the Lord, and pray for divine
assistance, and thus begin a new life, which
is the end to which every previous step has
been directed. This is actual repentance.
That this is the method by widen it is to
be performed, may appear plain, from the
decalogue, where, in six ef the command-
ments it is only enjoined that man should
not commit evil, and the reason is, because
unless he remove evils by repentance, he
9S
cannot possibly begin to lo\re his neighbor,
wd much less God ; when nevertheless on
these two duties hang all the law and tbe
prophets, that is the whole Word, and con*^
sequently salvation. Actual repentance^
if it be repeated at stated times, will ena*
ble a man to abstain from one or more sins
as often as he may discover $in in himself,
and in this way he may initiate himself into
the actual practice of it, and when in that
state, he is then in the way to heaven, for
he then .begins from natural to become
spiritual, and to be born anew of the Liord.
The reason why true repentance con-
sists in a man's examining not only the ac-
tions of his life, but also the intentions of
his will, is, because understanding and will
produce those actions, for man speaks from
.thougbt, and acts from will ; so that ispeeck
u thought-speaking, and action is will -act-
ing ; and because this is the source of
speech and action, it follows, that those two
principles are in fault when the body of-
fends. It is possible, also, for a man to re-
pent of the evils which he has committed
in the body, and still to think and will evil ;
but this is like cutting dpwn the trunk of
a bad tree, and leaving its roots in the
ground, from which the same bad treegrowB
and spreads itself in all directions. Far
jdiffi^rent is ike case when the root also i^
plucked up. And t?his is effected in mm
when he examines not only the actions of
his life, but likewise the intentions of his
will, and at the same time removes those
evils by repentance. Man examines the
intentions of his will at the same time he
examines his thoughts, for the intentions
manifest themselves in the thoughts ; thus,
while his thoughts are busied about re*
venge, adultery, theft, false witness, blas-
phemy against God, the holy Word, the
church, &c., he also wills and intends such
evils; but should he turn his attention to*
wards his thoughts, and ponder in his mind
whether he would commit the evils he
finds there, supposing no fear of the law,
or the loss of reputation, and then should
he determine not to cherish them in thought
or will, because they are sins, such a per-
son performs true and interior repentance ;
whoso practises such repentance repeated-
ly for any length of time, will perceive the
delights of evil, when they return, as un»
delightful, and will at length condemn them.
This is what the Lord meant when he said,
Whosoever will find his life shall lose it;
and whosoever will lose his life for my
sake, shall find it. The reason why we
should give up our lives for the sake of
Christ is, because he is God of heaven ami
earth, the Redeemer and Saviour, to whom
belong omnipotence, omniscience, omni-
presence, mercy itself, and at the same
97
time righteousness ; also, because man is
his creature, and the church his sheepfold.
He is the true Shepherd and the sheep
should look to no other ; that he alone
ought to be approached and worshipped, is
insisted on in these words in John, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not
by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same is a thief and
a robber ; but he that entereth in by the
door, is the Shepherd of the sheep. I am
the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall
be saved, and shall go in and out and find
pasture. The thief cometh not but for to
steal, to kill, and to destroy: I am come that
they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly ; I am the good
Shepherd. Chap. x. 1, 2, 9, 10, 11. Man is
forbid to climb up some other way, to pre-
vent his immediate approach to God the
Father, who is invisible, and consequently
inaccessible, and incapable of conjunction^
solely f()r this end, that man might be saved,
for unless God be approached in thought as
man, all idea of God is lost, and becomes
like bodily vision when directed towards
th« wide universe, so that it either fixes
itself on empty nothing, or on nature ; but
if we approach the Lord God the Saviour,
IV e approach the Father at the same time.
Hence the Lord's words to Philip, He that
seeth me seeth the Fatber.
9
98
OF REFORMATION AND RB6]^]^ATI0N.
Afler treating of repentance, it conies
next in order to treat of reformation and
regeneration, because these follow repent-
ance and are promoted by it. There are
two states into which man must enter, and
through which he must pass, that he may
from natural become spiritual. Th3 first
slate is called reformation, and the other,
regeneration. In the first he looks from his
natural state toward the spiritual, with ar
;reat desire to attain it ; in the other state
[6 becomes a spiritual-natural man. The
first state is formed by the truths which
belong to &ith, by which he looks towards
Charity ; t)ie other state is formed by the
goods of Charity, from which he entereth
into the truths of faithi or what is the same
thing, the first is a state of thought fram
the understanding, but the other is a state
of love from the will. As this latter state
commences, and advances, a change takea
place in the mind, for then the loVe of the
will enters by influx into the understand-
ing, acting upan, and leading it to think in
concord and agreement with its love; so
that in proportion as the good of love fills
the first station, and the truths of faith the
second; the man is spiritual, and is a new
creature. He then acts from charity, aisd
speaks from faith; he sensibly feeds the
09
good of charity, and perceives the truth of
Stith ; he is then in the Lord, he is in peace,
find thus regenerate.
That a man cannot enter the kingdom of
God except he be born again, is the Lord's
doctrine. Verily I say unto thee, except a
inan be born again, he cannot see the king-
dom of God. Again, Verily L say unto
thee, except a man be born of water and
the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God, that which is born of the flesh is
flesh, and that which is born of the spirit
is spirit. By the kingdom of God, both
heaven and the church are meant.
For the kingdom of God on earth is the
church ; to be born of water and of the
spirit, signifies, by the truths of faith and a
life in conformity to them.
That man ought to be regenerated. Is
obvious also to reason, since he is born
with a propensity to evils of every kind,
derived from his parents, and these have
their abode in his natural man ; which of
itself is opposed to the spiritual man, and
yet he is born to be an inhabitant of heaven,
to which state he cannot be admitted unless
he be rendered spiritual, which cannot
be effected but by regeneration. Hence it
necessarilv follows, that the natural man
with its fusts ought to be conquered, sub-
dued, and inverted, for otherwise he cannot
come into a state of peace and rest The
100
natural mfkii, considered in himself, as to
his nature, differs not from the beasts. The
quality of the unregenerated man, is thus
described by the prophet Isaiah: The
cormorant and the bittern shall possess it^
the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it,
he shall stretch out upon it the line of
emptiness and the plummet of desolation,
and the thorn shall come up upon its altars,
the thistle and bramble in its fortresses,
and it shall be a habitation for dragons, and
a court for the daughters of the owl. There
shall the great owl make her nest, jand lay
and gather, and hatch under her shadow ;
there shall the kites also be gathered, every
one with her mate. Chap, xxxiv. 11 — 15.
Regeneration is effected by the Lord-
alone, through charity and faith ; for the
Lord, charity, and faith, make one, like life,
will, and understanding, and if they were
divided each would perish.
Charity and faith, are called means or
mediates, because they conjoin man with
the Lord, and cause charity to be charity,
and faith faith, which could not be the case,
except man also had some share in regen-
eration. Hence it is ^aid that this work is
effected during man's co-operation with
the Lord. But since the human mind is
such, as to be led entirely by its percep-
tions to imagine that it works and eflfects
all merely by its own power and strisngth»
101
th^efore this subject shall be further illus*
trated.
In all motion, and consequently in all
action, there is an active and a passive;
that is, a something which acts as an agent,
and a something which, being passive, acts
from the agent. Hence one action is effect-
ed by both, comparatively as a chariot is
put in motion by a horse, or as a mill is
put in action by a wheel, or a dead power
put in activity by a living power, or as the
instrumental is acted upon by the principle;
in which instances it is well known, that
the two together constitute but one action.
With respect to charity and faith, the Lord
is the agent, and man ac'.teth from the Lord;
for the active power or energy of the Lord
is in the passive ground of man, where the
power of acting well is from the Lord;
and thence the will to act is as it were
man's, because he is in possession of free-will,
so that he has the power to act in unity
with the Lord, and conjoin himself with
him, or to act from the power of evil,
which is extraneous to that of the Lord,
and thus to separate himself from him.
That man cannot be regenerated but by
successive degrees, is a truth which may
be illustrated in the case of all things, in
the natural world. A tree does not arrive
at the maturity of its state in a single day,
neither does a crop of wheat become fit
9*
102
for the sickle in one day, nor is a hoct^ built
in one day, nor does man attain to his full
bodily stature in one day, much less to the
stature of wisdom ; so neither is the church
established and perfected in one day, nor
is it possible for any progression to arrive
at its end, unless there be a beginning to
set out from. They who form any other
notion of regeneration than this, are entire-
ly Ignorant of the nature of charity and
faith, and the growth of each according to
man's co-operation with the Lord. The
evils in which man is born are ingenerate
in the will of the natural man, and the will
inclines the understanding to favor its
desires, by thinking in agreement. Hence
to effect the regeneration of man, it is
necessary that it be done by the under-
standing, as by a mediate cause, and this is
accomplished by the information which the
understanding receives, first from the
parents and masters, and afterwards from
reading the Word, from sermons,^ from
books, and conversation. The subjects
which the understanding thus receives are
called truths, so that it is the same thing
whether we speak of reformation being
effected by the understanding, or by the
truths which the understanding receives,
for truths instruct man in whom, and what
he is to believe, and also what he ought to
lo ; consequently what he ought to will ;
109
fof whattoever a man does is done frokn
the will according to the understanding.
Since then the very will of man is by birth
evil, and since the understanding teacheth
what is evil and what is good, and man has
the power to will, or not to will the one,
or the other, it follows of consequence,
that he must be reformed by means of the
understanding. So long« however as he
sees and acknowledges in his mind that
evil is evil, and good is good, and thinks
that good ought to be chosen, so long that
state is called reformation, but when he ac-
tually wills to flee from evil and do good,
then commences the state of regeneration.
In every created thing, there is an inter-
nal and an external, the one never exists
without the other, as no effect can exist
without a cause ; every created thing is
esteemed in proportion to its internal good-
ness, and is held of little value in propor-
tion to its internal vileness. Every man
will form his judgment according to this
rule. The unregenerate man who assumes
the appearance of a moral member of
society, and a good Christian, may be com-
pared with a mummy laid up in a coffin ;
on looking into which, the eyes are shocked
at the sight of a black corpse. But it is
otherwise with the regenerate man ; his
internal is good, and his exteroal is like to
that of any other person, and yet in reality
104
it differs from that of the unre^enerate man,
as heaven does from hell, for a soul of good
is contained within it. Hence it is evident,
that the external derives its value from the
internal, and not the contrary ; and when a
man comes into this state, thef e arises a com-
bat between the internal and external man.
The reason why a combat arises at that
time is, because the internal man is reform-
ed by means of truths ; and from these he
sees what is evil and false which still abide
in the external or natural man. Hence
there now arises, for the first time, a disa-
greement between the new will which is
above, and the old will which is beneath ;
and this disagreement between the two
wills is attended with a disagreement also
between the respective delights of each ;
for It is Unacknowledged truth, that the
flesh is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit
to the flesh, and that the flesh with its lusts
must be subdued, before the spirit can
act, and the man become new. After this
disagreement of the two wills, a combat
arises, and this temptation or combat is
between the truths of good and the falses
of evil, for good of itself cannot fight, but
it fights by truths, neither can evil .fight of
itself but by its falses, as the will cannot
fight of itself, but by the understanding in
which its truths reside. Hence man ought
to fight altogether as of himself, . since he
105
enjoys freedom of will to act either in faror
of good, or in favor of evil, he acts in
favor of the Lord, if he abide in truths
from good, and in favor of the devil if he
abide in falses from evih Hence it follows,
that whichsoever obtains the victory, wheth-
er it be the internal man, or the external,
hath dominion over the other.
That the regenerate man is renewed, or
made new, is a doctrine confirmed both by
the Word of God, and also by reason.
Thus it is written : Make ye a new heart,
and a new spirit, why will ye die, O house
of Israel. Ezekiel, xviii. 31. Henceforth,
know we no man after the flesh ; therefore,
if any man be in Christ he is a new crea-
ture. 2, Cor. v.* 16. By a new heart in y
these passages a new will is meant; and
by a new spirit a new understanding, for
heart, in the Word, signifies the will, and *
spirit, when it is joined with the heart,
the understanding. It is plain also from
reason, that the regenerate man hath a
new will and a new understanding, for
these two faculties constitute man, and
these are the faculties that are regenerated ;
wherefore every man's true quality is de-
termined by these faculties ; he is a bad
man if his will be bad, and much more so
if his understanding favors the badness of
his will. On the contrary, he is a good,
man if his will be good, and much more so
if his understanding fovors the goodness of
his will; it is religion alone that renews
and regenerates him, for this occupies the
supreme seat in the human mind, having
under its observation those civil duties
which belong to the world, through which
also it ascends, like the pure juice in a tree^
even to its top, and from that elevated sta-
tion behold all natural concerns, as a person
standing on a high tower, or mountain,
looks around upon the plains beneath.
Man by birth is inclined to all kinds of
evil, and in consequence of such inclination
lusts after them, and so £ir as he is left at
liberty actually commits them; for by birth
he lusts for dominion over others, and to
possess the property of others, which
two lusts destroy every principle of good
towards the neighbor, so that he hates
every one that opposeth him, and by.reason
of such hatred breathes a revengeful spirit,
in which murder lies concealed, and is
cherished. Hence too it is, that he makes
light of adultery, and of fraud,, which is a
clandestine species of theft, and of revil-
ing others, which also is false witness, and
whosoever makes light of such crimes is in
his heart an atheist ; such is man by birth,
whence it is evident^ that by birth, he is a
hell in miniature. Now since man, differ-
ing from the brute creation, is born, as to
the interiors of his mind, a spiritual being,
107
and ^f c is love its^f anfd wisdbm itself. The
likeness or sippe^rance that love and wis-
dom, or gdod aind Iruth, are in man as his,
causes itian to be man, and makes him
capable of being conjoined to God, and
thereby of living :to eternity ; from which
? how can a man live eter*
nally, unless he be conjoined to an eternal,
God ; consequently how can man be a man
^without such a likeness of God in him.
The second question, why man is not
born into the science of any love, and yet
beasts are born into the sciences of all their
loves. Those of the company who first
declared their sentiments, said, that man is
born without sciences, to the end that he
may receive them all ; whereas supposing
him to be born into sciences, he could not
receive any except those into which he was
born ; in this case neither could he appro-
priate any to himself, which they illustrate*
ed by this comparison : Man at his first
birth is as ground in which no seeds are
implanted, but which nevertheless is capa-
ble of receiving all seeds, and bringing
them forth and fructifying them, whereas
a beast is as ground already sowii, and filled
with grasses and herbs, which receive no
Other seeds, than what are sworn in it ;
hence it is that man requires many years
to bring him to maturity. There were
others who said that man is not born into
setance m m beast, but that he is born
Ill
ftfiieuUy to know, and indinatioii to loTe»
not only the things relating to self and the
world, but also the things relating to God
and heaven ; consequently, man by birth
from his parents, is an organ, which lives
merely by the external senses, to the end
that he may succemvely become a man;
first natural, afterwards rational, and lastly
spiritual. The last of those who declared
their sentiments said, we are agreed with,
our brethren in the opinions which they
have delivered, that man knoweth nothing
from himself, but from others and by others,
to the end that he may know and acknowl-
edge that the all of science, understanding,
and wisdom is from God, and that man
cannot otherwise be conceived, born, and
generated of the Lord, and become an
imag^e and likeness of him, for he becomes
an image of the Lord by acknowledginj
and believing* that he hath received an<
doth receive from the Lord all the good of
love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom.
and faith, and not the least portion thereol
from himself; and he becomes a likeness
of the Lordi by his being sensible of those
principles in himself^ as if they were from
oiroseif ; this he is sensible of, because he
is not born into sciences, but receives them,
and what he receives appears to him as if il
waa from himself; this sensation is given ta
man by the Lord, to the end tlmt he may be
atnan afid not-a^tlea^. To tliisthecottipsmy
mtl agreed, andicame to thircoiielutiowy tterti
lAan is born into no seienee, to tfa^^etid tbut'
be may come into all, and advance into intie)-
ligence, and thereby to wisdom ; .and thiat'
He' is boxn into no love ; to the intjent that:
he may come in all love, by appHciations' of
the sciences from intelligenee, and- into'
love to the Lord by love to^vurds his nigh-
bor, and thereby beconjeined to?the Lord,
aif)d by such conjunction be made man^ and*
live fbrever.
The- third' qnestion for discussion wtts;.
What is signified by the. tr^e of life, w and truths are in:
man, fai&and not God^s^^^ndirmaai h^dmtik^
Eersnades him^fv thst^G:dd bssam^atatfi^
imself, or infiiseKi^bid di^itie:^ii^{4^ i^^^
lis
him. 'Tlmrelbre tlie serpent said, Grod
dotk know that in the day ye eat the fruit
of that tree, your eves shall be opened and
ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.
Gen. iii. 5. By eating of those trees is
signified' reception and approbation of good
or evil ; by the serpent is meant the evU
of self-'love, and all men who are in the
pride of their 6wn understandings from the
injfluence of that love, are Juch trees. It *
is a dreadful error tJierefbre to suppose,
that Adam enjoyed wisdom and did good of
himself, and that this was his state of in-
tegrity, seeing that Adam, on eatiug of the
tree of ktiow ledge of good and evil, in-
s^tantly fell from his state of integrity,
which state consisted in the belief that his
wisdom and power to do good were from
God ; for this is signified by eating of the
tree of life. ^ The -Lord ajone, when he
was in the world, had wisdom, and the
pmver to do good, from himself; inasmuish
as the Divine itself was in him, ai|d was
his from nativity. From all these argu*
jaeats they came to this final eonclusion.
By the tree of life, arid by the tree. of the and the other, us
§ame have done» He feels, and a cmiseiow-
iMss of biis own existence is an ii^edient
of ^at feeling; he sees, and liie existeoce
of the object seen is as: evident a» the aet
of seeing. Reasoning, w tba faculty of
combining means to attain an* endy is. Mify
m power of confirmation. The mind ^
reasoning iMrely, only opfmnA&t on. the
iieBs if alretdy has, it; strraiiges and com-*
bsne» them for ptesantation to ids imn eye^
ami tten rea^Din^ has discharged its office*
The ideas themselves and those which their
new relations suggest, are seen by the
minds eye, which act of perception, or in*
^lion, 18 not reasoning- Reasoning there*
fore, iii< itself considered', is ni9t a power of
pereeiviitg new ideas, but of altering the
refations of those already seen, and thus
confirming their truth or falsehood, by .the
new ideas those relations bring before the
mentai sight. It is directed in thisoppera^
tien by a higher faculty ; hence reasoning
requires that both the end and the means
be recognized by the foculty which thus
gorema it It supposes also, the end
already in the miiid, else why should rea^
soning be exercised to attain it« Who
Wfmid attempt tn prore the existance o^
God, for instance, if ht had not alread^y an
idea of some si:^h kind of being? Whether
timi idiea be a time one depends originally
and ceatinually, en something r^ry different
#iom reasoning. Hence it is obvious th»t
miweiiing takes its* quality from the end to
be obtained by it, and that ever depends
ma nain^s moral character or governing
love at the time, if that be evil, reasoning
bwenn erM aHKk The selection of the
etid and the means is not the dffice of rea-
. araiRg, but affisctMn^ and the affection gives
116
the power ef mental vision, by which the
mind sees both the end which afiectioii se-
lects and the means to be used to attain or
confirm it.
All reasoning from effects to causes is
founded upon analogy. We know nothing
of the ttature of the relation between any
two objects until we have some knowledge
of the qualities of both. Previous to that,
all reasoning from one to the other is a
mere transference of known qualities to an
unknown object, with nothing to guide it
in their application but some supposed
anhlogy. Hence our real knowledge of
causes rises no higher than actual expe-
rience. God and nature stand in relation
to each other ascause and effect'^ but so far
as the cause is^ not homogeneous with the
effect, no knowledge of the latter will, of
itself, advance us one step in the knowA-
-edge of the former . ,^
. We have no knowledge of any thing
above the sphere of nature, till something
above it has touched the mind and made
known its quality. All reasoning from aa-
tttre to God, being founded upon the ^sup-
posed analogy^ which some known causes
and effects bear to God and nature, man
ascribes to God only such qualities as &11
under his own experienee and observatiMi.
He will ri^t truly call God a spirit^ till he
^cnow^ what^ spirit is^^ nor ascribe love atftd
^9iUiom'iohka till .he feek what they are ;
nor can he see any eqnfirmations of these
atiibiites in the wcMrks of creation till their
^pes exist in his own mind. He cannot
see ihsFt the divine laws are laws of order,
till Older is first operative in his heart and
life* Power is the only attribute which all
men have ascribed to the God theywor*
ship ; but it is only the good man who feels
that divine power never operate but in di«
vine love. It is therefore vei7 evident that
the knowledge of the true God ever de*
SHids oo man's truly religious character,
e must receive gifts from Heaven before^
he can acknowledge the beneficence of the
giver; he must have cherished - purity of
heart before God can be in his thoughts*
A} knowledge of the true God^ cannot be
derived from the bodily senses for they
know only natural objects; nor from the
relations of any ideas gained by them^ for
they speak onlyr of things homogeneous
witH:^themselves« They teach us of phys^
ioal* energies only ^ and the properties of
matter, and no natural effect can indicate ^
mcml and inteltectiaal quality, until the
Mmdis already in possession of that quality.
A} bouse never originally suggested the
id«a>of a-man^ but wnen one \m the quali-
ties of a; man in his mind, he can see the
nrlatien between him and^a house, and per»
haps, gain; new ictew cf a man's wisdom by^
118
eaot^mpfftting its struature, and see thts
Seoius of the man represented in the house
e has built. As, therefore, the knowledge
of the true God cannot be deriired from
outward nature^ we must look above it to
know who and what God is, if we would
not worship a gaseous, shapeleira deity, goii-
sentaneous with the physical energies of
nature and the purer ^principles of matter.
Nor can any affections and thoughts of the
mind make known who and what God is
only as man is in '^ His image and likeness."
^^To whom will ye liken me and make
equal, and compare me, that we may be
like." No description of any object ean
make it known to us unless some oS its
qualities are k^wn previously.
A description of tnis world, for instemce,
could not convey a single idea to man, uqt
less he had some previous knowledge of
the tbitigs in it ; neither can any descri^
tion of God and heaven give man any
knowledge of them, till something of their
nature is already known. Miracles addre^*
ed to the bodily eye, can never oonlBr
moral affections and thoughts, they can only
disturb or confirm those already eberishea.
Hence it follows that an idiM of the true
God mu^ be originally a subject of com'*
seiousness, by influx from a spiritual spbeve
within or above the sphere of nature* ami
totally distinct fro« it ia essettse. aad qmli'*^
ty ; it nittst be frotti God k\Mm, for he atoM
can make known his own quality. It is a
^i^estion that acts in opposition to the
? roper and peculiar dictates of nature. —
*he former speaks of spirit, the latter of
matter ; the former of havenly wisdom,
the latter of worldly knowledge ; the for^^
mer purifies the heart, the latter only sheds
a false glare in the understanding ; the
former leads upward and inward, the latter
downward and outward. One is the still,
small voice, whose^ accents are not heard
till the commotions of man's natural ele-
ments are in some measure laid to rest, and
the murmurs of the waters of strife have
ceased. Then only is its language under-
stood, which si>eaks as never man spake i
the other is loud^and clamorous, and points
iff triumph to the vouchers of its truth, in
ait which the merely natural man has ex-
Eerienced. Behold I stand at the door and
nock, if any man hear my voice and oped
the door, I will enter in and sup with him
and he with me. ^ ^
If then, the first elements of the knowN
edge of Ood be fr^m within, and not from
without ; if it is God who makes known hi^s
own quality ; if the suggestion of an invis-
ible, spirittfal Being atid spiritual proper-
ties and a Auctions be at variance with the
peeuHar dictates of the bodily senses ; if
man in heart ascribes t<^ Q#d only isach at-
triiMites as Imv^e tbetr^ndUttieiltt ioriifi? oirn
mkid, it is ob?iau9 ibhat reltgioQs; kmmlesi^
4^ not a thing of aupkpMitimiftAd ^9Jeetui3e,
JMit the reaL eifieidmi^itol knowtl^ge^^f
"the faeartaiid life. It hk obvieit^ timt it is
fiBly asrmi^ beoomes in mine' measure; Uk^
JQod.sthat he known what.attrtbnldStta^M-
4;ribe to bitn ; it ia only as ^is hmtth ]m-
Tified that jhe Jcnow^ who Crod i»« He 4»a-
•notputia ,{irep» mcatiutig^^pan the rdi^ine
jnrorks until he has pfoper afifeotiaiis to*
awards ibe diYine Bei^gr Until tben>.tiBie
good and truth man >so€»s» are not g^ruiae,
rbot ionty ta{>parefitly ao^ The la^vs >iuui
r worics of Giod aawme . a different ittporty
they speak a different language, and are
viewed with di^ibreiit arf&clj^n^i as bia 'heart
beconies pure^ Before that i hey jmy^ in-
dicate t»nnipatence and amm9cienee•^ di-
vine anger and divine jiidgmmts; Imt^^Qw
.they speak: of. infinite love and n»&ircy, in-
finite oider and wisdrom. Hence it appears
how higher kinds of alfec^ims; unite' thear-
selves with higher degrees ^of trnih» ^aisd
these again give rise to more elevated aflfee-
tions. Tbia is as$ it'shonld be* It k in^ the
J^eart all true knowledge ^mtist begin, and
ihere it must end.^ It is iffaf^tioit that, gtn^ea
truth its life, and it is oiily iniaffeetion. tl^t
4ruth <»n have pow^r to; ele^ale,: anh^ give
.bir^ to a parer le to reach every grade of the
mental state, from the perfect man to per-
verted and obdurate nature ; from him who
is willing to receive good and truth from
the Lord, to him who will have none but
those of bis own making. The light of
heaven, in proceeding from the divine
source has taken the form of each succeed**
ing state it has reached* till it has merged
in a -darkness where, if the voice of con*
science is beard, it is but to make men trem**
ble and not to purify the heart Here what
is called good and truth, is not such as God
gave, but is transmuted by man's evil affecr
tions. Here how is the gold become di«Ei,
und the most fine gold changed ! Yet the
Lord does not forsake man even here ; he
speaks in a voice of terror because man is
not prepared to bear the voice of love.-^--
His fatherly care over him is not the less,
though man has so far removed himself
from the sphere of his benign presence by
the evils and disorders of his life, that only
language clothed in corresponding forms,
is adapted to his state. Here nothing butt
Amrder h seen, mi but the tbreateni»spi
124
•
of vengeance are felt. The divine Word,
mindful of the states of all, presents him-
self under the forms and language of all ;
be follows man in all his aberrauons from
divine order. Hence there are truths
in the letter of revelation to reach all, into
whatever evil and ignorance they reduce
themselves. But revelation takes this lan-
guage in the letter, because it is the highest
form of good and truth which th(r natural
man can receive ; it must descend so low
to reach the natural man's understanding.
The Divine Spirit must have some me-
dium through which it can reach man in
every state, and' serve to lead him back, so
far as man is willing, to divine order. As
the works of creation assume a different
meaning in the human mind when man is
elevated to higher goods and truths, so does
revelation, for they have both one Author,
and must be filled with the same infinite
wisdom. The tendency of the human mind
tt> self-exaggeration, has sometimes led to
inferences from the mental endowments of
the wisest ancient philosophers, which they
would have disclaimed. Their proximity
to better light was too obvious to warrant
them, notwithtanding their pride of phi-
losophizing, and their moral degradation.
There was a prevailing conviction with the
ancient philosophers and law-givers, priet^ts
and poets, and common people^ that unat*
12^
listed tiuimn resisott was iMompetent Ca
teach roan the nature of his God, and of hia
duty; and yet the wisest among them have
been cited as instances of the perfection to
which unaided reason can attain* Homer
says that Minos, the Cretan law-giver^ re^
ceived his religious institutions from Jupi^
ter, by nine years conversation with him.
Plato says, that all laws came originally
from divine inspiration, that virtue is not
by nature, but a divine gift. Socrates
says that men become good as some become
prophets, not by nature but by divine in*
spiration. The very necessity of self-
knowledge was to them so obviously tau^^ht
by divine command aloQe, that the maxim,
know thyself, was acknowledged to have
descended from heaven. All this, though
mixed with iables, the meaning of which
was lost, or clouded by their own devices*
still proves conclusively, the sense enter-
taineu by the more enlightened among them
of the necessity of light from a higher
sphere tlian that of nature. That this sense
was that of the common people is also evi«
detnt, or a religious system could not Have
been palmed upon them, for all religious sys-
tems that ever existed in the world were
supposed, or professed (o be the offspring
of divine inspiration*
Knowledge from the revelation made
subsequently to tbe Israelites^ though le^s
11*
ekten9ive1y« was in a similar manner sprcaid
among surrounding nations^ and blended
with that received from a prior source. To
this has been added, more or less widely,
light from the Christian dispensation, alike
blending with the remnants of others. —
Probably, all nations upon the face of the
globe have felt some rays, however, receiv-
ed by them from the revelation of heavenly
light which has been made to the world at
difierent times, like waves from a centre
which have succeeded each other till the
very extent of their circuniference has pre-
vented the centre and source of all from
being recognized. The light of nature is
^oftly reflected light. Exactly in propor-
tion as the human mind has been placed in
a state of freedom by light from revelation,
have all improvements in civilization and
the arts and sciences advanced. It was never
known that a nation imnaerged from bar-
barism to any state of civilization without
such aid, received in some manner. The
atheist and the deist are indiebted to the
very power they combat, for their weapons ;
the boasters of the light . of nature' are
indebted to that of revelation for the eyes
with which they think they si^e.
It is the tendency of knowledge, though
received in a distorted form, to exalt tne
natural powers of the mind ; hence its nat-
iiral cohditiOB varies with its Mfligtoiij its
-. t
1»7
vmralitjr ^nd its science* As trurth of an^
kind enters into the mind, and that princir.
pie by which it is actuated, it becomes a
part of it, a constituent member of the
mental fabric as it were, the eye by which
it sees, and the arm with which it acts.
Man thus receiving increase, his powers
and faculties thus strengthened and devel*
oped, assumes a nature, religious, moral or
intelligent, differing from his former by the
kind and degree of that development ; if
he is under a false persuasion of his own
powers, his new possessions are felt as really
his own, as those of any former state ; thus
raised, be is placed on a vantage ground of
observation, and casts his eyes abroad over
the regions of truth, now apparently sub-
ject to his own vision, and marks them as
bis natural dominions. But all that region
not so stamped with the seal of owner^ip,
he considers as debateable ground, or per-
haps feels willing to recognize in it the
right of another proprietor. It is in this
way that false persuasion leads man to ac-
count the truths of revelation, as fast n
they raise him from his former standing,
and appear within his grasp, his natural,
rightful possessions.
Hence those truths, moulded and fashion-
ed after his own heart, become as it were,
the obmmon law of his mind, whilst the
time and manner of their introduetion, the
ttode and circumstances of their enact ment
are forgotten, and referred to time imme-
morial. But others will be judged of by
the principles which make up that comnion
law, the customs and usages already estab-
lished, or rather by the principle which
renders them operative in their present
shape, be that what it will. If they cannot
be made to accord with these, they appear
to be laws for which no reason can be given,
but of arbitrary appointment, unintelligi-
ble, and repugnant to those already in force.
They, in consequence of this, become a
dead letter, they can have no hold on the
mffections, add no gem to the diadem of real
knowledge, awaken no emotion, biit, per-
chance, that of blind awe or indignation.
In short, if habit, education, self-interest,
or indifference, restrain the audacity of in-
vestigation, they may be called truths of
revelation, but such as are above reason,
which reason could not discover, and with
which it must not concern itself. Thus it
is that self-love with its attendant, false
persuaaon, forgetting that it receives all
that is good and true, claim all, and would
.extend its dominion even to the throne of
God himself; and thus the dividing line be-
tween the light of nature and that of revela-
tion is drawn by man, and not by 6od»
But truth cannot be treated in this way
iBiid remain uneontaminated. All gemane
129
truth which man can have, must be planted
in real humility of heart ; that is, this is the
only soil in which truth can grow and re-
main truth. The very ascription of it to
self-derived intelligence, at once destroys
its nature. It must cease to be legitimate
truth, before it can acknowledge such de-
rivation. Unadulterated truth must spring
from unadulterated affection, and be filled
and actuated by it. It must look in ac-
knowledgement to Him who is goodness
and truth itself, whose throne is heaven,
and whose footstool, the earth ; thus deriv-
ing life from him who is the life and light
of the world— or it ceases to have it, and
becomes the empty shade, the unembodied
spectre of vanity, or the deformed and ill-
proportioned produdt of false persuation.
Truth must be united with goodness. —
As man advances in the regeneration, he
learns, though it cost him many struggles,
how beautifully the forms of nature can
yield to the energies of divine grace, and
apparent truths vanish be^fore that which is
genuine, simply by humble, hearty and un*
reserved obedience to Him who appeared
in nature, that he might raise man to glory.
He learns how the erring prudence .of the
worldly man can give place to the ration-
ality and intelligence of the spiritual, and
finally the latter to celestial wisdom, which
18 in perfect agreement with the wisdom of
ISO
Atvine Providence ; when feeling that^ God
is iove. He dwells in love» dwelling in
Ood, and God in him. His conversation is
then, yea, yea, nay, nay ; for he knows that
whatever is more than these cometh of evil.
The word of God no longer speaks to him
In parables, but shows him plainly of the
Father, In this state only is he prepared
to say, from the depth of his heart, not my
will but thine be done, for then only can
he fully believe and feel that, what things
soever the Father doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise ; because he then knows,
by happy experience, that whatever springs
from divine love, is brought into manifesta^
lion and accomplishment oy divine wisdom*
His heart, filled with love to God, expands
correspondently towards his fellow men.
His love to them is not false and boasting
charity, but the silent, deep and constant
love of being useful to thenn It is gentle»
unassuming, yet ardent and incessant love
for their real good* It is not consistent
with indifference as to what is truth, or
whether they be in it or not, for good and
truth united are its all Nor does it &Isely
gloss over their characters, and call them
SoocI in the lump. .With heaven-taught
iscrimination, it searches their least ten**
dency to good, cherishes it, wishes to give
it more. It leads them, with a kind, yet
Hn wavering; hand 7 from what is manifestly
lai
&}se and eril in them io f^reater f(ood unci
troth, and so covers a muTtitude of sias^^-^
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would
1 have gathered thy children together, eveq
as a hen gathereth her chicl^ens under her
wings.
Man, then, is no other than the good and
truth within him, which are no longer se]H
arate, but united ; not slightly connected
with the surface, but flowing from the cen-
tra ; D^ the occasional effervescence of a
moment, but the steady, equaUe sU*eam of
his life. His truth must be vivified and nc*
tuafted, npt from without, but from within ;
the soul must give its power to the body,
and the body must acknowledge the su-
premacy of the soul. Such should be th^
order of nature, because such is th^ order
of God
All power is given to me in heaven and
in earth, all that the Father hath are mine ;
the Father is greater than L Revelatio]i|
is given to instruct man in divine order,
and the divine Spirit operates to give that
order life in man. Its energy is not out ofi
but in it ; it manifests that order that itself
nay be manifest in it. *"
He that seeth me, seeth him that sent
me. If a man love me, he will keep my
words, and my Father will love him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode
with him.
132
i The Lord gives divine truth to enlighten
the mindi and quickens that truth to purify
the feelings. I am the way, the truth and
the life.
As the Father hath life in himself, so hath
he given to the Son to have life in himself.
As the Father raiseth up the dead, and
quickeneth them, even so the Son quick-
eneth whom he will.
He assumed the humanity, and was seen
by the eye, and glorified it, to make him-
telf felt in the heart. I came forth from
the Father, and am come into the world.
Again, I leave the world, and go to the
Father.
It is expedient for you that I go away :
for if I go not away, the comforter will not
come unto you ; I will not leave you com-
fortless, I will come unto you. That thus
the intellect, which acts as one with the
«ye, its eminent bodily organ of intelli-
gence, might be made one with the will, or
ruling love, which governs the conduct, and
man thus have a unity of faith, or belief,
the glory within him.
That they, all may be one, as thou.
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be one in us, that the world may
believe that thou hast sent nie. And the
glory which thou gavest me, I have given
them, that they may be one, even as we are
one. I in them and thou in me, that they
t«8
he ttiadci perfect in vne, and thai the wbrlit
may know that thou hart sent me, and hast
lavet 1 Athens as thou hast loired me.
Thus the world, seeing the good which
flows into the church from the jjord, maj
be led to come also and glorify their Father
in heaven, a» well 2u» aH subordinate princi-
ples iii each individual of the church, pu*
rified and reduced to order, thus bow in
meek subserviency, to that love of the Lord
which then rules in the soul.
The letter of revelation, as well as tha
book df nature is, in a measure^ addressed
to the eye ; but it is only the voice of Him
who fills both 'the one and the other, that
apesiks to the heart, that developes, recon*
eiles and uniteis- their language, and givet
it power to regenerate a man. It is only
iti'Ol>eying the truth tbf' revelation^ at once
from the thdughts to the speeeh, and from
the heart to the hand, that the language of
nntM re becomes the language of God. Kev^
elalion is, then, in what is natural or ra«
lional, and what is natural or rational iii
rev«lfation, their light cease eiUphatically, an unknown God. The
human form is the noblest and most perfoct
ivhich can enter the thought Therefore
in this form, Gbd now speaks to us by his
Son, of whom it is said, that in him dwells
the fiilness, of the godhead bodily ; and we
tre directed to look to him as our Redeemer
and Saviour. Now, if we abstract this form
Irom the idea of God, it may take the out<^
line of the visible universe, or identify
itself with the volume of ether diffused
through space, and be as shapeless as that
is. In this case, there is nothing definite
lo fix the miml, and it wanders and flue*
tuates with a vague imagination. It is non*
tense to talk of pure intelligence, if bj
|>ure:i9 meant without form.
I How does intellect manifest itself, but in
a human form. Wliere does intellect re«
tide but in the subject which embodie.s it 1
itiof form, and it is diffused and- dis^
135
persed like the atmosphere. In attempt*
iDg to conceive of it, the mind looks upon
natdre, or upon nothing, because there is
then no other basis but nature for the
thought to rest upon. Such effects springs
from the propensit]^ which man has ever
had, to make unto himself a graven image,
or say in his heart, there is no God.
The idea which man has of his God, en-^'
ters into every part of his religion ; it is
the soul which animates it, and from whicb*
it takes its nature and form. Still it is the
result of his religion, as well as the cause
of it. He knows the true God, only as he
learns to receive instruction from the true
one. Therefore it is not of small impor-
tance to man what his idea of God and
heaven is, for his immortal well-being de-
pends upon it.
Man may be in, or may have within him
heaven or hell. To have the order and
power of heaven within him, man muisf
obey the order and truth of heaven in hiS'
life ; a new will is, in that measure given'
him, the gift of which he perceives and ac-
knowledges; love in him then clothes itself
with wisdom, the Father and the Son tbus^
come unto him, and make their abode with
him. In thus receiving the Lord, man re-
ceives from him the power to become a
Son of God, and iis born not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nbr of thfe witl of
136
Biati, but of God. His 1ife« is, then, from
the reception of the divine influences, and
he has the kingdom of heaven within him.
We can now see why it is the Spirit which
quickeneth,' and the flesh which proflteth
nothing.
, The sensuspl man with his lusts, is put off
as the spiritual isi put oii/by i^eceiviiig and
obeying the hws of spiritual Mfe. If man
flo receives the Spirit of truth, bis heart
becomes a living well-spring df it* It is
not water i^ilt qq the ground, which cannot
be gathered up; it is the wholesome and
vigorous stream springing from the one liv-
i«ig source, an everlnsting fountain opened
in Jud0a and Jerusalem, whose stt*eams are
received lat once in the h6art and the un-
derstanding, for washing away uncleanness.
The operations of divine Providence for
iQan*s jspirjtual gaqd, reach him i^n some
form, io. every state. They do nat. cease
when spiriti^ai light is extinguished by him,
and natMfe apparently usurps the province
of a pureir influence. Th6 attributes of
nature are still. brought into piractical : coqi-
formity withi the e/fort of the divine Prov-
idence concealed withio th^m^ and. they
afe xnada indirectly toi subserve its. end in
place of better things. The divine gov-
qrnment is, in this way,, afiicomniodated. to
aJU and tbUSToaQh^s :a.ll« beqause its end i9
tike gr^at«$t possible good of ^U.
W-hen the hiimat) mintl^cantiot be elctafi*
ed by love, it liiu^t be cotit rolled by hope
and fear ; when it cannot be led upwards
by present good, it must be taught to look
forward to future good ; when a spiritual
heaven cannot direct the mind, a naturaA
ttiust answer this purpose. In this way, an
torthly heiiven in the land of Canaan wai
graciously accorded by divine Providence
to the Israelites, as the goal to be ^imed at,
because, from their state of mind and lif^
they were capable of nothing better.
REVELATION ANP REASON.
When our Lord was in the world, tht
Authority with which he spake and taught,
was often manifest to the astonishmeint of
the people. And the authority with whiek
be now teaches in his Word, is still mani-
fest to those who are disposed to see and
fefel it. But this can be perceived to any
useful purpose, only in proportion as we
cooperate with his spirit, by obedience to his
commandments. It is in vain that we seek
from him a mere manifestation of power, a
sign from Heaven, for this is seeking to ia-
rert the order of his providence. His om-
nipotence is but the effect and operation of
his love and wisdom. It sometimes assumes
among men the external form of miracles
and mighty works ; but tfa^n, as well aa at
12*
m
aU otlicr times, the pciocipal deftisn is Hot
the wonder and astonishmeiit which the elc-
teraal work produces upon the natural inanp
tot the external work itself is but the inci'*
dental effect of. the pperatipn of divine Joye.
If, then, the miracle be but the enternal
fioveripg or. o}anifesta|ioa of divine joy e, a
messenger of mercy, its prindpal object
must be to reveal the .Iqve it bears.
, U is not the mere operation of divine
power, nor of divine wisdom, but of divine
love. The Father that dwelleth in ine, he
doeth the works. It was for this reason
that our JLoird required f^ith. in those for
whom a miracle was to be wrought. That
is,rhe required (siome degree .of ackno^vl-
edgroenjt, that be w^s able to do. the. thing.;
that be proceeded forth and came ffoni Go4,
^and is[ entitled to the .honor which is a
prophet's due. His life, being a course qf
Eerfect obedience to the Father within him,
e became an unresisting me^iupi of divine
love, jand cQuld act ip po other way. Veri-
Hy, verily^ I isay unto you, the Son. can dp
)i)pthingaf himself, bfit what.be ^.eth the
.Futher do: for. what; things soever he doeth,
these also, doeth the Son lilcewise*
, Wb^n, therefore, eur Lprd ta^ight jn his
iown: cQMntry,. though many hearing, hina,
-were astonished » yjBt, j^eause they did npt
^ive him, the hotnor that ws^s hi^ due, and
taoiuiDwledgq. the Father, to dwell, \yithin
m
htixtt but midf Whcnee fanth this man ihtm
things ? Is *not this the carpenter 7 and
were offended at him* It is written, he
could there do no mighty work, save that
he« laid his hands on a few sick folk, aiKl
healed them. Their incredulity was suffi*
cient, even to stop. up. the issues of his
miraculous power; for the divine love, the
sole fountain of all, could find no abiding
place in their unbelieving hearts.. T0
work miracles for the conversion of such
men, would be to act contrary to. the law^
of divine order, and therefore hecouJd not
do it. For he was himself the way, the
truth, and the life, and c&me not to do hir
own will, but didi always those things whiqh
were pleasing to the Father, who sent him.
The relation in .which human reason
should stand to the authority of such a
teacher, is that of profound submission and
obedience. And the only office which rear
son has in the business, is in ascertaining
what isthe import of the divine comniandi^;
this being done, reason rhas no right to de^
mur, because it does. not square with her
preconceived. opinions, for the Lord's ways
are not as our wayH» nor his thoughts our
thoughts. The incompetency of re^spn to
the discovery of spiritual ti*Mth«is«uppoflh
ed in the yery.id«?a pf a revelation* .
The truths of revelation are not the re-
sult of human research ainl inquiry, but a
140
tBf df ligtit froib thesupreifae ItitielUgeiiGe>
tro Father of Light/ d^scemJing into the
world, and addressing itself, ev^n to the
reason of mankind. For we have not cho*
sen hini) but he has chosen us. But rt^ve-
lation does not descend so low, and so ac-
^commodate itself to the rtoson of nran, that
he may sit in judgment upon it, and turn
what light there may be iii him into dark-
less, by pronouncing it absurd, and reject-
ing it as irrational. It descends into the
human mind that it nfay agaiti iascend until
the Father and Fountain of all right reason ;
and in its ascent, it would fain draw all men
unto it. It would elevate thenfi above th^
reason of the natural understanding, and
illuminate the mind with the light of life.
The elevation and illumination of reason
then, is the very object of revelation, and
he who wojuld reject its doctrines because
they are at variance with sdme of the dic-
tates of his reason, would act like the tiger,
who should hastily destroy the hand in
kindness stretched out to feed him. Far
happier is the lot of those, who, being sat-
isfied of thie authority of revelation, exer-
cise their reason merely in ascertaining
what it means, without presuming to gain-
say or resist its doctrines.
On this subject, of arriving at a true
knowledge of the doctrines of revelation,
there is an appointed way, which is through
obedience to the commandments; there is
no promise that we shall ever know the
doctrine of the Lord but by< doing his will.
It was by obedience, perfect indeed, that
our Lord was glorified and made divine.
It is by obedience that man must be regen-
erated, and made like unto- the angels. —
This brings us at once to the grand test of
truth; it3 practical character; its capabili-
ty of being united in the understanding
with goodness in the will, whence flows a
clearness of perception, and a. fulness of
joy, known only to those who have expe-
rienced it. The effect of obedienGe is to
qualify a man for new victories over him-
self; this is the strife in which (re desires
to go on conquering and to conquer. He
does not seek for truth, to be delighted with
its splendor and beauty, but to obey it as his
lord and master. His prayer is, that his
eyes may be opened ; liiut he does not for-
get that the wondrous things which he is
to see, are out of the law of the Lord.
They ar? not revealed to him, except in
the form of a rule of life. All the obedi-
ence be can yield, does only prepare him
for obedience still mofe perfect. His duty
becomes his delight, and he finds it ever
ready before him. And were it possible
for him to render his obedience perfect^
and finish the w'ork that is given hitn to do,
he would become an unresisting medium
143
of divine love ; and the continued language
of his heart would be, not as I will, but as
thou wilt. Our Lord came not into the
world to condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved. His
object was, to take away the sin of the
world. The law which he came to fulfil,
was not the law of man, but the law of God.
And as it was with the Liord himself,
while in the world, so is it with his word,
which is still in the world ; and in the life
and spirit of which, he is himself with us
always, even unto the end of the world.
It is not enough that we form our opinions
and sentiments from our own natural rea*
son, and then, in our disputes with each
other about what is true, merely appeal to
his Word as the umpire to settle the diffi-
culty, and award the palm of victor3^
The words of the Lord, are spirit, and
they are life ; and it is not their office to
decide which of the conflicting claims of
human reason is the best founded, but to
fill the heart with true wisdom, when hu-
man reason will humble itself in the dust
It still seems good in the sight of ourheav-
enly Father, to hide these things from the
wise and prudent, and reveal them unto
babes. When, therefore, human reason
presumes to arraign at its bar the oracles of
the living God, and to' judge them by its
own measure, they stand mute before it.
us
Though we question them in many word8>
they answer us nothing ; for it they tell U8»
we will not beliere^ and if they ask us, we
will not answer. The only response that
can be madoi is an assertion of their own
divinity ; and wretched must be the state
of those, who, like the chief priests of the
Jews, hear nothing in it but blasphemy.. ,
ASK ANiy YE SHALL DECEIVE.
We are repeatedly assured by the Lord^
that every one that asketh, receiveth. Yet
it is well known that we do not always rei-
ceive the things that we desire and ask for»
The inquiry, then arises^ how is tbia prpm-
iae to be understood.
Taking a getteral view of the subject, we
ar^ not to understand, by asking the ex^
pressibn of Our desires it) prayer for part icr
(liar things which we suppose would b^
good for us. But we stiati remeaibier» th^t
our own state, even from the inmost, is ex-
tooled to the ktiow ledge of .Qod. That he
knows .what things we ha,ve qeed of ; and
in his sight, those are the thingi^ which w^
ask for-^those are . the things .which he
loves to bestow.
In this view of the subject, the word ask
seems to be equivalent to the word need,
and it may be useful to keep this fact in
mind. What we need, is continually pro-
Tided for us. The Div}ne 'Provicfence
adapts and prepai^en every thing for our
good; and *in thiM adaptation, our need—
out^ whole slate, whieh is the expression of
alt that is past and all thM is within, is per*
petualiy re^rded. It is with reference to
this view of the t»tgnf fieation of ask in ja:, that
our Loixl referS'US'to the onfintscienee ^f ouv
Father in heaven, and directs us to consider
thu lilies of the field, and the fowts of the air.
That the Lord knows our wants, is not
tnerel}' matter of speculation, hut of feel-
ing. That he will provide for them^ is not
merely matter of faith, hut of joy. %Ve
not only res;ard his power as omnipotent,
and his wisiiom as omniscient, hut his will
as pure and infinite mercy. We therefore
l^ejoice that it is uncihangeable. We no Ion-
iser pray in onler to change it, but to he
changed by it. When we tn^k that it may
be done, tve rememher that it is free and
full as the sun and rain. We remember,
also, that all that hinders and obstructs is rn
ourselves. We pray that the will of God
may be done, in proportion as we cease to
have any will of our own, and in the same
proportion our prayer is answered.
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